NFL News

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Eagles will bring back their classic green uniforms in 2023

Posted by Mike Florio on March 29, 2022, 7:52 PM EDT

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On a day chock full of news, here’s one that easily may have been overlooked.

In 2023, the Eagles will be bringing back their classic Kelly Green uniforms.

They’ll be throwbacks (good) and not permanent uniforms (which would be even better). The Eagles switched from the bright, vibrant shade to a darker “midnight” green in 1996, not long after Jeffrey Lurie bought the team.

The move means that the Eagles are taking advantage of the NFL’s abandonment of the one-helmet rule, which limited the options of most teams for alternative uniforms. It also means that the team won’t be utilizing 1934 throwbacks that seemed to have been fashioned after the uniforms of the Brazilian soccer team.

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Browns owners say they have received no “cold shoulder” for Deshaun Watson’s deal

Posted by Charean Williams on March 29, 2022, 6:58 PM EDT

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Despite the 22 civil lawsuits that Deshaun Watson faces, the Browns gave him a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract. That has created some grumbling among other teams.

Peter King reported this week that Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam could expect a cold shoulder from the rest of the league at the NFL owners meetings this week.

But the Haslams told the team’s beat writers Tuesday that they have received no negative reaction to Watson’s deal, which guarantees him $80 million more than any other player in NFL history.

“Normal. Yeah, I mean, really good,” Jimmy Haslam said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “I saw Peter King’s story, and there may be people that don’t want to say something to your face, but we’ve had great interactions with the owners like we always do. So we’ve noticed no difference.”

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti publicly questioned the deal Tuesday, but it is unknown whether he spoke to his division rival about it.

“Yeah, I haven’t had anybody make any comments positive or negative,” Dee Haslam said.

Jimmy Haslam has talked to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about Watson, who Goodell said Tuesday will not be placed on the Commissioner Exempt List but could be suspended following a league investigation.

“I think it’s probably appropriate that stays between us, but we’ve had good conversations,” Haslam said of his conversations with Goodell. “He didn’t ask me like, ‘Why did you do this?’ It was more I was asking him about, ‘Well, where are we on the investigation?’”

[Futureshock]

NFL requiring players at certain positions to wear helmet shells in training camp

Posted by Charean Williams on March 29, 2022, 3:09 PM EDT

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The NFL voted on two health and safety changes Tuesday.

They are mandating that all offensive lineman, tight ends, defensive linemen and linebackers practice while wearing Guardian Cap helmet shells from the beginning of training camp until the second preseason game.

The soft-shell helmet cover is engineered for impact reduction.

“Our aim is very clear: We want to reduce the amount, the intensity and the timing of head contact,” Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said. “That is a goal that we’ve stated. Our concussion numbers have gone down, but we think that’s not the full story. We recognize concussion as being on one end of the spectrum of brain injuries. We want to reduce avoidable head contact. We’ve been very public about that goal. The Guardian Cap is part of that effort.”

The NFL also is requiring teams use sensors during training camp practices and activities and provide the raw data from those sensors to the league. It is part of the league’s injury reduction efforts.

[Futureshock]

Matt Eberflus looking for “a big jump” from Justin Fields in 2022

Posted by Myles Simmons on March 30, 2022, 8:34 AM EDT

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The Bears’ last regime drafted Justin Fields at No. 11 overall last year and the quarterback showed only flashes of his potential as a rookie.

New head coach Matt Eberflus is expecting some significant progress from the signal-caller in his second season.

“I said last time in public that the development of him for the second year should be a big jump,” Eberflus said at the annual league meeting this week, via Larry Mayer of the team’s website. “It should be. That’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for better technique, better fundamentals, better decision-making, better timing, everything.

“He’s all on board on that. He’s excited about where he is and he’s been working his tail off. That’s what we want, just that big jump from Year One to Year Two.”

One factor in him getting there will be the team’s coaching. Eberflus brought on former Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy as his first offensive coordinator in Chicago. Even though Getsy has not called plays before in the league, Eberflus is confident in Getsy’s ability to do the job.

“You have to have instincts,” Eberflus said. “You have to go with your gut sometimes. But it’s all based on information that you have through analytics and study and statistics before you get to the game, and then you rip your call … Before the game, you understand, ‘Hey, I want to call this and the sequence in which you call it.’ So, we’re having conversations about all those different types of items of being a play-caller right now. He’s excited to get going. I know he’s excited for the challenge.”

Fields appeared in 12 games with 10 starts last season. He completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 420 yards with a pair of TDs.

[Cody_Russell]

Eagles will bring back their classic green uniforms in 2023

Posted by Mike Florio on March 29, 2022, 7:52 PM EDT

Excellent decision by the Eagles. I love those throwback uniforms.

Lions should take note if they change their uniforms in 2023. The 90s classic look was the best for the Lions IMO.

[Futureshock]

Free agent DL Arden Key signs with Jaguars, not Lions

By Jer

[jaadam4]

Free agent DL Arden Key signs with Jaguars, not Lions

By Jer

Maybe now they can skip Hutch and take the OL

[jaadam4]

Bruce Arians retired, what the hell is going on down there? Did Brady and him have friction or is he sick again?

[dpatnod]

Whoa

[Futureshock]

Ndamukong Suh hints he wants to play for Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 31, 2022, 8:46 AM EDT

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Ndamukong Suh, who has spent the last three seasons with the Buccaneers, is now a free agent. But he wants to return to Tampa Bay.

Suh tweeted this morning that he’s excited for new head coach Todd Bowles, and hinted that he’d like to keep playing for Bowles.

“Congrats to Todd Bowles on becoming head coach of a great team that still feels one man light on talent,” Suh wrote.

Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht confirmed this week that the team has remained in touch with Suh, but the Bucs will likely only sign Suh if he’s willing to take a cheap contract. If Suh wants to maximize his earnings, he’ll likely end up elsewhere, but the opportunity to earn another ring and keep playing for Bowles could be enough to get him to take a discount.


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[Futureshock]

The Bruce Arians resignation has no impact on the Buccaneers’ betting odds

Posted by Mike Florio on March 31, 2022, 9:23 AM EDT

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The spread of legalized gambling has sparked a new branch in the NFL’s tree of information when it comes to additions to or departures from teams. These transactions routinely change bettings odds, when it comes to winning the division, the conference or the Super Bowl.

The surprise resignation of Bruce Arians as head coach of the Buccaneers has resulted, via PointsBet, in no change at all to the Tampa Bay betting odds.

On one hand, the Arians resignation has sparked no sense of dismay from quarterback Tom Brady or any other players who re-signed or joined the team. Indeed, many realize that — despite the predictable denials — there’s a clear connection between Brady returning and Arians leaving.

On the other hand, the semi-retired Arians remained in charge of the team during games. For those three hours, that’s when a head coach does his job the most intensely and comprehensively. Will Bowles guide the ship the way Arians did? The assumption that there will be no decline from Arians to Bowles possibly understates Arians’s abilities.

When has Arians ever found himself criticized for bad clock management or otherwise ill-advised decisions of the kind that get coaches criticized? As noted during PFT Live, coaches are like long snappers; they’re only noticed when the ball goes sailing over the punter’s head. Arians rarely if ever sailed the ball over the punter’s head.

Even though this looks and feels like an inside job arranged directly or indirectly by Brady (indeed, we got a preliminary tip on the same night Brady returned that Arians would be leaving), Arians’s departure will change things. We just won’t see the changes until the regular season begins.

[Futureshock]

Noah Fant: The way Broncos used me was a little frustrating

Posted by Josh Alper on March 31, 2022, 8:44 AM EDT

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When tight end Noah Fant joined the Broncos as a 2019 first-round pick, hopes were high for what he’d bring to the team’s passing game.

Fant caught 170 passes for 1,905 yards and 10 touchdowns over the last three seasons, but he wasn’t thrilled with how he was used in the Broncos offense. Fant said on 104.3 The Fan this week that he felt the Broncos failed to utilize him to the best of his abilities during his three seasons in Denver.

“Yeah, I mean, I agree, man. I feel like when I came into the league, that’s what I was drafted to do, right? Get down the field, make those explosive plays, and kind of be that pass catching tight end,” Fant said. “And over my time in Denver, I felt like that narrative kind of got muddled down a little bit. It was more of a focus of me catching flat balls or whatever it may be, and then trying to be a shifty guy and elusive guy and try to break as many tackles possible to get my yards. I view myself as a downfield threat, getting open space, then I can make things happen. It was a little frustrating being used in the short field.”

The Broncos’ quarterback play has been frustrating since Fant entered the league, but he won’t get a chance to benefit from Russell Wilson‘s arrival because he was part of the package sent back to Seattle. The Seahawks’ top quarterback at the moment is former Bronco Drew Lock and a failure to upgrade there is likely to keep Fant from fully spreading his wings in his new home.

[Futureshock]

Patrick Peterson: Vikings didn’t put it together last year, but we’re even better now

Posted by Josh Alper on March 31, 2022, 7:25 AM EDT

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Cornerback Patrick Peterson announced that he’s re-signing with the Vikings on Wednesday night’s edition of his podcast and he also discussed why he decided to stay put over taking an offer from another team.

Peterson said that he became close with safety Harrison Smith and other teammates during the 2021 season and felt it was “right just to be there and grind with those guys” again this season. He also saw the arrivals of head coach Kevin O’Connell, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, and edge rusher Za'Darius Smith as reason to think that the Vikings will be able to take a step forward this season.

“That team is stacked, just like I talked about last year,” Peterson said, via the team’s website. “We just didn’t put it all together in certain situations, but we got even better this year in the offseason by adding a great offensive mind in Kevin, adding a pass rusher to help Danielle [Hunter] and with Ed coming from his defensive background. . . . These guys are definitely trying to put the pieces in the right place. Now it’s just all on us and the coaching staff and the players to go out and execute and put together the best game plan possible.”

The Vikings were 8-9 last season and it seems clear that Peterson thinks the changes the team has made since the end of the season will allow them to wind up on the right side of .500 this time around.

[Futureshock]

Report: Todd Bowles finalizes new five-year contract

Posted by Charean Williams on March 30, 2022, 9:59 PM EDT

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The Buccaneers and Todd Bowles agreed to a new five-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Bowles was named the team’s new head coach Wednesday, replacing Bruce Arians. Arians stepped down as head coach to move into a front office role.

Bowles, 58, spent the past three seasons as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. He had two years remaining on his defensive coordinator contract.

But the Bucs tore up that one and gave him a head coaching deal.

Bowles previously was head coach of the Jets from 2015-18, going 24-40. He also served as interim coach of the Dolphins for three games to end the 2011 season, going 2-1.

[Futureshock]

Report: Tom Brady knew Bruce Arians was stepping down the day Brady returned, or the next

Posted by Mike Florio on March 30, 2022, 9:58 PM EDT

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Obviously, former Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians didn’t roll out of bed this morning and decide to resign. It was coming, at least for a little while.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that quarterback Tom Brady “was informed Bruce Arians planned to step down and Todd Bowles would succeed him as head coach either the same day or a day after the QB announced he was ending his retirement.”

So Brady learned Arians was leaving the same day Brady unretired, or Brady found out about it the next day. Either way, the prospect of a coaching change gave Brady no pause about playing for the Buccaneers. And all that that implies.

Consider that for a moment. No one is suggesting that Brady is even remotely upset that, just as he’s coming back, the head coach is leaving. This only fuels the notion that Brady wanted the coaching change as a condition of his return to the team.

Per Stroud, the Buccaneers insist that the Arians’s departure was not related to Brady’s decision. What else will they say? Of course they’ll deny a connection, regardless of whether there is one.

Still, the notion that Brady is barely even shrugging at the Arians-for-Todd-Bowles swap says plenty. Either Brady wanted this outcome or he has zero qualms about it happening. Regardless, it seems to confirm the notion that, after two years together, Brady was ready for a change.