NFL News

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George Kittle: Trey Lance looks better than a rookie quarterback

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on May 26, 2021, 12:37 AM EDT

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New 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has already left a positive impression with one of his prominent targets in San Francisco.

“He looks better out there than a rookie quarterback,” tight end George Kittle said of Lance, via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. “When he’s out there, he’s slinging it.”

Kittle has yet to work with Lance during the first few days of OTAs, but he’s understandably curious about the quarterback his team selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. What’s he’s seen of the North Dakota State star has looked the part.

“I was really excited yesterday, he made an awesome throw on a play action,” Kittle said.. “He found my rookie Josh Pederson on a far corner on a roll-out which is the last guy you would throw it to on the play. The fact that he found him on his first ever roll-out is pretty cool.”

The 49ers appear intent on rolling through this season with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starter and giving Lance a chance to develop after playing just one game in college last year due to COVID-19 cancellations. However, talent usually wins out in the end. If Lance is able to prove he’s the better option — or gets a chance to play due to a Garoppolo injury — he may never look back.

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Dak Prescott: Cowboys’ high attendance at OTAs is “going to pay off”

Posted by Charean Williams on May 25, 2021, 9:50 PM EDT

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PFT reported last month the Cowboys held a players-only video conference to discuss the recommendation from the union that players not attend organized team activities. Cowboys players, though, never issued a statement and, according to quarterback Dak Prescott, there wasn’t much to discuss.

The Cowboys are all in on the voluntary workouts, with high attendance at The Star.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s going to be huge. It’s going to pay off,” Prescott said. “Obviously the mental aspect, knowing the scheme whether it’s the defense learning a new scheme or whether it’s offense being on the same page and communicating better, I think it’s going to pay off huge when we get to training camp to have maybe that step that these other teams may not take during the offseason for us to get that and then to build off of that in training camp and just continue to grow as we get into the season.”

The Cowboys will hold eight of the 10 allowable OTA practices with veteran players can leave on the last day of the mandatory three-day veteran minicamp June 10. The rookies will remain another week.

“The conversations have been ongoing,” tight end Dalton Schultz, the Cowboys’ player representative, said. “Even still we’ve got a lot of teams that are not participating. I think as a team, we came together, and we realize we need this kind of work in the offseason. We support everything the NFLPA is doing and we support our guys who aren’t showing up. and it’s very personal decision for a lot of people. But I think we’re a very young team and we can benefit very highly from this work that we’re dong now.”

[Futureshock]

Jimmy Garoppolo hints he considered requesting a trade but decided to “go out there and ball”

Posted by Charean Williams on May 25, 2021, 8:58 PM EDT

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The phone call from Kyle Shanahan came March 26. The coach told Jimmy Garoppolo the 49ers were trading up in the draft to take a quarterback — Garoppolo’s replacement.

Garoppolo didn’t know what to think, he said Tuesday. He hints he briefly thought of requesting a trade.

“When it initially happened, there’s a million emotions that go on throughout your head, and you think of all the possible scenarios and things like that,” Garoppolo said, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “But at the end of the day, I want to play football. I want to go out there and win games. That’s what I do. And so it wasn’t anything too crazy. It took a little while to process everything. But once I did, it was just, ‘Go out there and ball.’ You got to go out and attack it. The NFL is a crazy business. Things happen, but you have to attack it day by day and make the best of it.”

High-ankle sprains limited Garoppolo to six games last season. He has missed 23 games since the 49ers made him their full-time starter.

Now, for the first time since the 49ers traded for him, Garoppolo isn’t the man. The 49ers didn’t draft Trey Lance third overall to sit him for long.

Despite the uncertainty about his future, Garoppolo vows to “keep pushing.” He took all the first-team reps in the team’s organized team activities Tuesday.

“Being in the NFL for as long as I have, you kind of get used to it,” Garoppolo said of criticism. “It kind of comes with the job. It’s one of those things that it keeps pushing you, though.

“When you hear those critiques and you hear those little things out there, it pushes you to take your game to the next level. We’re all competitors out there. We all want to go [play] the perfect game, and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to do. I’ll keep pushing myself.”

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Packers’ top five receivers join Aaron Rodgers in skipping start of OTAs

Posted by Charean Williams on May 25, 2021, 8:18 PM EDT

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Aaron Rodgers was not expected to show up for the start of voluntary organized team activities. Instead, the Packers quarterback and his fiancée, actress Shailene Woodley, have appeared to be having great time vacationing in Hawaii based on social media posts.

But the Packers also were without their top five receivers at Tuesday’s session.

Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Devin Funchess and Equanimeous St. Brown left backup quarterback Jordan Love to work with a makeshift receiving corps, Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com reports.

So did they stay away in solidarity with Rodgers?

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he communicated with the five wideouts, and the notion of a coordinated effort to skip the practice sessions never came up.

“I think, as a coach, you always want as many guys that choose to show up here,” LaFleur said, via Schneidman. “I think there’s a lot of team chemistry, which is so important in winning and losing in this league and just learning how to play together, learning how to practice together, setting the standards for this football team. So certainly, yeah, you’d love to have everybody here.”

Cornerback Jaire Alexander, left tackle David Bakhtiari, who is rehabbing a torn ACL, cornerback Ka’dar Hollman and cornerback Stanford Samuels also did not attend Tuesday’s work, according to Schneidman. Tight end Josiah Deguara, cornerback Kevin King and quarterback Blake Bortles were present but were either limited or not participating.

[Futureshock]

This whole power play thing with Rodgers is smart on his part. Last year I knew GB would have an advantage because they were just going to continue to do the same things as they did the year before. It worked out well for them in a Pandemic. With the other teams being able to have some off season work and a little pre-season this year, I think they will not come close to their 2020 record, OR look as formidable.

He knows he needs to strike now

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Report: Bears show interest in Bashaud Breeland

Posted by Charean Williams on May 25, 2021, 5:16 PM EDT

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The Bears cut Kyle Fuller, who was scheduled to make $20 million in 2021, on March 20. Chicago signed Desmond Trufant to a one-year, $1.075 million deal, and it has two draft choices from last year, Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor, as the Bears seek to replace the two-time Pro Bowler.

While the Bears are optimistic about their cornerback competition, they apparently aren’t done shopping.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports the team has expressed interest in free agent cornerback Bashaud Breeland.

Breeland visited the Vikings last week and other teams have interest.

He spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs and started 32 games in the regular season and playoffs. Breeland made 86 tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the regular season. He added 35 tackles in the postseason and had an interception of Jimmy Garoppolo in Super Bowl LIV.

Breeland played for the Packers in 2018 and was with Washington for the first four years of his career.

[Futureshock]

Thank you BAL...



Ravens took Rashod Bateman at 27 thinking Packers would take him at 29

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 25, 2021, 4:23 PM EDT

USA Today

The Ravens owned the 27th and 31st picks in the 2021 NFL draft, and part of their decision-making in taking wide receiver Rashod Bateman 27th and waiting until No. 31 to take defensive end Odafe Oweh was the Ravens’ belief that the Packers, sitting at No. 29, would have taken Bateman.

Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, a good friend of Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst, said he thinks Bateman was the guy the Packers wanted. Hortiz said he came to that conclusion in part from spending time with Gutekunst at Bateman’s pro day workout.

“Certainly, we knew [the Packers] liked him and a lot of teams like Rashod,” Hortiz said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “We don’t know for certain, but you do try to pay attention to, ‘OK, the GMs were at this pro day’ — especially this year because the GMs weren’t able to get out and see players. Brian is going to look at players that he was interested in.”

Hortiz said he and the other Ravens staffers who attend pro day workouts will report back to Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta about which teams seemed particularly interested in which players.

“We try to give Eric all the information that we can get at a pro day [and] at a school visit,” Hortiz said.

Teams try their best to keep their draft evaluations close to the vest, and so we may never find out for sure whether the Packers really did want Bateman. (Green Bay ended up selecting cornerback Eric Stokes 29th.) But the Ravens got a player at 27 they don’t think would have been there if they had waited until Pick No. 31.

[Futureshock]

30 teams approved for full crowds in fall, “clear path” for Broncos, Colts

Posted by Josh Alper on May 25, 2021, 4:15 PM EDT

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The NFL’s plan is to have all of its stadiums open at full capacity for the 2021 season and almost all of the stadiums have already been approved to return to that level.

NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said on a call with teams on Tuesday that 30-of-32 teams have been given approval by local authorities to plan for full crowds in the fall. The Broncos and Colts are the only teams that have not been given the green light to move ahead at this point.

O’Reilly said, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, that “both have a clear path” to getting that approval in time for the season. Protocols for fans attending the games, including masking and vaccinations, will be determined by teams in accordance with local guidelines.

With plans also underway for fans to attend training camp practices and preseason games back on the calendar, the 2021 season continues to look like it will play out against a much more normal backdrop than the 2020 campaign.

[Futureshock]

They spelled Highschool as: M-a-r-c-h...

Trevor Lawrence “probably knew sometime in March” that he’d be the first overall pick

Posted by Mike Florio on May 27, 2021, 6:40 AM EDT

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For media and fans, there was no mystery regarding the fact that Trevor Lawrence would be the first overall pick in the draft. For Lawrence, there wasn’t much of a mystery, either.

“I’m a guy that never really wants to put the cart before the horse,” Lawrence told PFT PM on Wednesday regarding when he knew he’d be the selection. “I didn’t make many assumptions. I probably knew sometime in March. I was thinking like, ‘This is probably going in this direction.’ You never want to say for sure that something’s going to happen. I was keeping all my options open and just trying to stay ready for whatever. I knew that was likely going to be the spot where I land. I kind of figured there.”

In a video recently posted by the Jaguars, G.M. Trent Baalke explained that the league wanted them to wait at least seven of the 10 allotted minutes before turning in the card. So the Jaguars waited to call Lawrence. The first three calls went to voicemail, with the message that the mailbox hasn’t been set up.

So what happened?

“I don’t know, honestly,” Lawrence said. “I was sitting there by my phone. Had my Bose headphones in there, just waiting. I live kind of in the woods in South Carolina. That was where my place was and the service was terrible. I guess that’s what it was. People were texting me like, ‘I didn’t know you hung up on them three times in a row.’ And I’m like, ‘I didn’t even get the calls.’”

Lawrence still hasn’t set up his voicemail box, by the way.

“I can’t set up a voicemail to let them know they got the right number if they’re trying to call me,” he said, laughing.

[Futureshock]

Danielle Hunter not at Vikings’ OTAs

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 27, 2021, 6:32 AM EDT

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Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter is reportedly unhappy with his contract, so it’s no surprise he’s not participating in Organized Team Activities.

Hunter didn’t attend the start of OTAs and the Vikings aren’t anticipating him being there, according to ESPN.

By staying home, Hunter is foregoing a $100,000 workout bonus. But Hunter reportedly has his sights set on a new contract that would more than make up for a measly $100,000.

However, it’s hard to see the Vikings agreeing to a new deal. Hunter is still under contract for three more seasons, and at the time Hunter and the Vikings agreed to his current contract, the Vikings weren’t anticipating the salary cap shrinking, as it has this year. Hunter is also coming off a 2020 season in which he didn’t play at all because of a neck injury.

Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman sounded unconcerned about the situation with Hunter when asked about him after the draft.

“I think he’s going to have an excellent, outstanding year for us,” Spielman said. “Looking forward to getting him back on the field along with all the other guys that we weren’t able to play with last year. Getting all that gang back together along with the new additions in free agency and the picks we had in the draft. Very excited to see where this team is headed.”

If Hunter returns to health and has a big year in 2021, he may get a raise in 2022. But this year, the Vikings’ stance will likely be that Hunter needs to get to work under his current deal.

[Futureshock]

Because he's



Ryan Fitzpatrick: It’s easier for me to switch teams because I’ve done it so many times

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 27, 2021, 4:41 AM EDT

USA Today

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the starting quarterback for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Buccaneers and Dolphins. Now he’s with the Washington Football Team, and he says he’s having no trouble fitting right in on his ninth team.

“There are certain things that maybe it is easier for me to switch teams than other guys because I’ve done it so many times,” Fitzpatrick said, via ESPN. “I’ve been through the process.”

Fitzpatrick said he’s quickly learning the language of his new offense and serving as a leader in Organized Team Activities.

“Communication is a huge thing,” Fitzpatrick said. “When that communication gets crisp, you can play faster and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I have a lot of discussion with the guys up front. I’m the one having to catch up right now with what they’re doing.”

On eight different teams, Fitzpatrick has figured out how to communicate with new teammates. On Team 9, he knows how it’s done.

[Futureshock]

Wow! Good for the youngin


Rae Carruth’s son prepares for high-school graduation

Posted by Mike Florio on May 26, 2021, 11:36 PM EDT

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If his father had had his way, Chancellor Lee Adams never would have lived. Now, as explained by Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, he’s about to graduate high school.

The son of Rae Carruth, a first-round pick of the Panthers in 1997, the 21-year-old Adams has battled brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of the murder of his mother and the failed attempt to kill him, a crime commissioned by Carruth, who hired a trio of assassins to kill Cherica Adams and her unborn child.

Carruth was convicted and served 19 years in prison. He was released in 2018 and currently lives in Pennsylvania.

Cherica’s mother, Saundra, raised Chancellor Lee.

“He’s really worked hard,” Saundra said. “He’s been on the A/B honor roll a lot. I’m just so proud, so I may be a little loud.”

It remains a sad and tragic story. But Chancellor Lee’s ability to survive and to thrive provides a thick silver lining. And his grandmother’s dedication and devotion to Chancellor Lee is an example we should all strive to emulate with our own family members.

[whatever_gong82]

Wow! Good for the youngin


Rae Carruth’s son prepares for high-school graduation

Posted by Mike Florio on May 26, 2021, 11:36 PM EDT

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If his father had had his way, Chancellor Lee Adams never would have lived. Now, as explained by Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, he’s about to graduate high school.

The son of Rae Carruth, a first-round pick of the Panthers in 1997, the 21-year-old Adams has battled brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of the murder of his mother and the failed attempt to kill him, a crime commissioned by Carruth, who hired a trio of assassins to kill Cherica Adams and her unborn child.

Carruth was convicted and served 19 years in prison. He was released in 2018 and currently lives in Pennsylvania.

Cherica’s mother, Saundra, raised Chancellor Lee.

“He’s really worked hard,” Saundra said. “He’s been on the A/B honor roll a lot. I’m just so proud, so I may be a little loud.”

It remains a sad and tragic story. But Chancellor Lee’s ability to survive and to thrive provides a thick silver lining. And his grandmother’s dedication and devotion to Chancellor Lee is an example we should all strive to emulate with our own family members.

Carruth is scum, and I hope that he's permanently banned from all NFL stadiums.

[Futureshock]

My condolences for a guy I grew up watching and wanting to emulate. I met him in 1982 when I was contemplating whether to attend Alcorn State or Ferris State. He went to SVSU and he was the first player to get drafted from there. He tried to talk me into going to Saginaw Valley, but he just helped steer me to another GLIAC (Div 2) university. I didn't see or speak to him until 2011 at the Sarvis Center (Flint) when he was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Afro-American Hall of Fame. My father was inducted the year before and had to attend the ceremony the following year and I was his plus 1. Gene was a good dude, a good competitor and representative of our hometown. RIH Gene.


Former Bills, Bucs linebacker Eugene Marve dies at 60

Posted by Charean Williams on May 26, 2021, 10:02 PM EDT

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Former NFL linebacker Eugene Marve died Monday after a short hospital stay for an undisclosed medical condition, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Marve was 60.

He became the first player from Saginaw Valley State drafted into the NFL. The Bills made Marve a third-round choice in 1982, and he played six seasons in Buffalo.

Marve played four seasons in Tampa before ending his career with the Chargers, playing in San Diego in 1992.

He played 156 games, starting 126, and made three career interceptions.

Marve is survived by his wife, Stacey, son, Robert, and daughter, Rebecca.




Former NFL player Eugene Marve of Flint Northern, SVSU dies at age 60

Today 7:07 AM

Eugene Marve (back row, far right) was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Afro-American Hall of Fame in 2011. (MLive File Photo by Emily Rose Bennett)The Flint Journal

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By Brendan Savage | bsavage@mlive.com
FLINT – Eugene Marve, a former Flint Northern football player who went on to play in the NFL, has died.

He was 60.

Marve never made the All-State team during his high school career at Flint Northern and he played in college at tiny Saginaw Valley State University. But that didn’t prevent him from playing 11 seasons in the NFL after being a third-round draft pick.

Mave was selected by Buffalo with the 59th overall pick in the 1982 draft and spent six seasons with the Bills before playing four years in Tampa and one in San Diego.

He started 126 of 156 games at linebacker and finished his career with 299 tackles, nine sacks, three interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. He had 124 tackles in 1981.

Marve only appeared in two playoffs games after being traded by the Bills three years before Buffalo began its run of four straight Super Bowl berths. But he had no regrets about his career.

“Sure, I would have liked to have had success with Buffalo when success came,” Marve said in 1998, when he was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. “On the other hand, I have no regrets there. I feel very fulfilled and grateful to Buffalo to give me the opportunity to play six years.

“We played some great football. Our won-loss record wasn’t the best but having been able to be a National Football League player was a big honor for me.”

After signing with the Bills, Marve began preparing for life after football by purchasing houses in the Flint area. At one point, he owned 65 homes and made his living as landlord. He also earned a degree in criminal justice from SVSU.

At SVSU, he was a first-team All-American in 1980 and ’81. He was inducted into the SVSU Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Greater Flint Area Afro-American Hall of Fame in 2011.

Marve was the first SVSU player to play in the NFL.

He is survived by his wife Stacey, son Robert and daughter Rebecca.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

[Futureshock]

What a co-wink-a-dence. Right after Allen's weaponz improved, he did too. Funny how that works.

Stefon Diggs had to get used to improvising with Josh Allen

Posted by Myles Simmons on May 27, 2021, 9:05 AM EDT

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Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen have played only one season together with the Bills. But in 2020, the wide receiver and quarterback displayed undeniable chemistry.

Diggs led the league with 127 receptions and 1,535 yards — both of which set new single-season franchise records.

When a receiver makes so many plays, most of them are called. And in a recent interview with Modern Luxury DC, Diggs explained that he’s usually a “by-the-book” guy. But playing with Allen, a quarterback who can make big plays through improvisation, things are a little different.

“Josh will just look at me and say, ‘Stef, just get open and catch the ball. I really don’t care what you do before that,'” Diggs said, via Ryan Talbot of Syracuse.com. “And that’s hard to hear because I’m so used to timing routes and doing things in a certain type of way. But this is where the creativity comes in. I can mix things up a little bit, and the quarterback trusts me. The only way you can build that trust is by making plays.”

After five seasons in Minnesota, Diggs and Allen made a lot of plays last year in Buffalo. With so much continuity on the Bills’ offense, the duo is in good position to make plenty more in 2021.