NFL News

[TheLondonLion]

The good thing is Ngakoue is pretty useless against the run but that’s a pretty good pash rushing tandem in Minnesota. The whole division is stacked apart from our own.

[Cody_Russell]

It's a bad matchup for Vaitai in the passing game. Signed as a RT better known for run blocking. Questionable pass blocking.
Vikings, you have to worry about Hunter and Ngakoue on the edge.
Packers, the Smiths bros + maybe Gary (having a great camp).
Bears, why in the hell would the Bears not lineup Mack vs Vaitai in passing situations.

At the same time, Lions have spent plenty of resources to have a competent running game. Needs to come through in NFC North games this year or Quinntricia is done. Use the TEs to help out the OTs in pass blocking.
Kerryon, Swift, Vaitai (run blocking RT), Hockenson ("BEST RUN BLOCKING TE in the draft herp derp.")

[Forsh]

Jaguars releasing Leonard Fournette

Posted by Darin Gantt on August 31, 2020, 8:26 AM EDT

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The Jaguars declined Leonard Fournette‘s fifth-year option this offseason, and they decided they didn’t want the fourth year either.

According to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, the Jaguars are releasing the former first-round running back.

Not only was Fournette the fourth overall pick in 2017, he was taken four spots ahead of Christian McCaffrey, who has gone onto sign a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Panthers this offseason.

Fournette ran for 1,152 yards last year in 15 games last year, so he should get opportunities (though the Jaguars were unable to trade him).

Ultimately, it’s another sad personnel chapter for a team that has collected talent, but continues to shed it at a rapid rate and hasn’t turned any of those good players into consistent winning.

He'd be a great 3rd back.

He must have some major character issues or something. Either that or they just wanted to avoid any chance of winning

[TheLondonLion]

Mack didn’t seem as productive last season getting constantly double teamed. How many sacks was it?

[Futureshock]

He must have some major character issues or something. Either that or they just wanted to avoid any chance of winning

He did say something against mgmt in the early spring, but this feels like a tank job with everyone they've cast out...

[Futureshock]

Bruce Arians: We’ll wait and see on Leonard Fournette

Posted by Josh Alper on August 31, 2020, 11:52 AM EDT

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Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said on Monday that they got no trade offers for running back Leonard Fournette before deciding to waive him on Monday, but that doesn’t mean teams won’t have interest in his services without the need to offer compensation in return.

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians didn’t take his team out of the running for Fournette during a Monday videoconference with reporters.

“We’ll wait and see. He’s been a good player. We have to see where he fits,” Arians said, via Greg Auman of TheAthletic.com.

The Bucs currently have Ronald Jones, LeSean McCoy and Dare Ogunbowale at the top of their running back depth chart and they picked a pair of running backs — third-rounder Ke'Shawn Vaughn and seventh-rounder Raymond Calais — in April. That wouldn’t seem to leave much room for Fournette unless he’s going to start playing a special teams role he never did in Jacksonville.

[Futureshock]

Raiders release Prince Amukamara

Posted by Josh Alper on August 31, 2020, 11:35 AM EDT

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Cornerback Prince Amukamara won’t be in the Raiders secondary when they visit the Panthers in Week One.

NFL Media reports that the Raiders released Amukamara on Monday. Amukamara was released by the Bears in February and signed with the Raiders in May.

Amukamara said a short time after signing that he thought he’d be a perfect fit in Paul Guenther’s defensive scheme, but it seems that was not the case once the team got on the field this summer. Amukamara spent the last three years with the Bears after opening his career with the Giants and spending one year with the Jaguars. He was a starter in each of those stops and will now try to find somewhere else to keep that streak alive.

The Raiders have second-year corners Trayvon Mullen and Isaiah Johnson to go with first-round pick Damon Arnette, nickel back Lamarcus Joyner, fourth-rounder Amik Robertson and Nevin Lawson.

[TheLondonLion]

Talk of Reiff getting cut in Minnesota. Yes please.

[JGSpartan]

The crack you have to be smoking to think Nevin Lawson is a better roster spot than Amukamara is some powerful stuff.

[Futureshock]

[Futureshock]

Matt Nagy clarifies, says he’ll announce QB next week

Posted by Darin Gantt on September 1, 2020, 5:47 AM EDT

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Maybe Bears coach Matt Nagy reconsidered. Or maybe it wasn’t quite the cliffhanger he thought it was.

Either way, Nagy has circled back and said that he would in fact name a starting quarterback next week, after initially saying Saturday it wouldn’t be before their opener against the Lions:

“What I meant by that, to keep it real simple, was that there was not going to be a quarterback named this week that we’re in right now, up until that first week,” Nagy said, via J.J. Stankevitz of NBCSportsChicago.com. “There will be no waiting until the middle of [next] week or the end of the week for that to happen. That wouldn’t be fair to our team and it wouldn’t be fair to the quarterbacks.”

Teams are required to post depth charts by Monday, though there are still plenty of ways to obfuscate once you do that, such as saying the starter would be Nick Foles or Mitchell Trubisky.

Of course, solving that riddle is probably more important to Bears fans than the Lions as they prepare, as Trubisky and Foles aren’t so dissimilar they require different game plans.

[Futureshock]

Josh Gordon’s Super Bowl ring sells for $138,000

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 1, 2020, 5:22 AM EDT

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Suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon has missed out on millions of dollars in potential earnings because of his multiple violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, but he did make some money this weekend.

Gordon’s Super Bowl ring sold for $138,000 at an auction of sports memorabilia.

Although Gordon was suspended during the 2018 season and did not play in Super Bowl LIII, the Patriots still issued him a ring because he contributed to the team during the regular season.

Gordon is attempting to apply for reinstatement, but there’s been no indication of whether the NFL is going to reinstate him.

Other items sold at the auction included a Michael Jordan rookie card for $420,000, a Mickey Mantle World Series-used bat for $288,000 and Babe Ruth’s 1934 Yankees contract for $234,000.

[Futureshock]

Bills players cite vision, breathing concerns as reasons they aren’t using face shields

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on September 1, 2020, 2:32 AM EDT

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An additional face shield for football helmets designed by Oakley intended to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on the football field appears to have met a lukewarm reception from players across the league.

The Buffalo Bills don’t have any player using the additional attachment for their helmets as the season approaches, according to Jason Wolf of the Buffalo News.

The reasons vary from player to player but they’ve all elected not to use the device. Linebacker Jerry Hughes tried it in the early days of training camp and ditched due to the extra sweat and heat inside the helmet.

“I think I was the first guinea pig,” Hughes said, “and I think the guys watched me during one training camp practice just sweat profusely and just get overheated in that helmet that they were like, ‘No, we’ll stay away from the Covid shield.’”

Visibility was another concern, particularly for long snapper Reid Ferguson who has to look through the lower portion of his facemask while snapping.

“I don’t foresee myself using one just because given my position, every time I’m on the field I’m using the bottom half of my face mask in general to look through, whether I’m looking at the holder or the punter, underneath my legs. So that face mask could potentially create some problems for my vision as I’m snapping. That’s the extent of my feelings on the subject,” Ferguson said.

Several members of the Los Angeles Rams have expressed similar sentiments as to why they don’t intend to use the shields either. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been using it during training camp just to be prepared to use it in case its use becomes mandatory. He doesn’t intend to use it currently.

[Futureshock]

Report: NFL nearly set to allow local affiliate replays of games this season

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on August 31, 2020, 10:45 PM EDT

Peyton Manning

With local television partners losing their chance to air preseason games this season due to the lack of an exhibition schedule, the NFL could be giving those affiliates a chance to make up for it.

According to Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal, the NFL is closing in on clearance to allow games to be re-aired in home markets on local affiliates the week after the game has been played.

The games would likely be rebroadcast only on the official partner stations of the teams in their given home markets.

As an example, the Seattle Seahawks partner with Q13 to air their preseason contests in their home market. That would be the network to expect any rebroadcasts of Seahawks game this season. The same would go for SNY and the New York Jets, CBS 11 for the Dallas Cowboys, CBS 5 for the San Francisco 49ers, etc.

Those networks may not preempt regular programming for rebroadcasts of NFL games, but they may be able to put them on their own affiliate sites as additional options as well.

Replays of games had been accessible via the NFL Game Pass service with select games from each week re-aired on NFL Network as well during the week.

[Futureshock]

Inside the Logan Ryan deal

Posted by Mike Florio on August 31, 2020, 8:24 PM EDT

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It was reported as a one-year, $7.5 million deal. It’s not.

It’s a one-year deal with a base value of $5 million. However, the deal has readily achievable playing-time incentives of $1.5 million and tougher-to-achieve incentives worth another $1 million.

Per a source with knowledge of the deal, the contract pays a $3.5 million signing bonus. That’s significant given the financial rules of the pandemic. If games are missed, salary will be lost. The signing bonus, however, can’t be touched.

Ryan’s salary of $1.05 million, and he has another $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

The playing-time incentives are structured like this: $500,000 for participating in 60 percent of the snaps, $750,000 for 70 percent, $1 million for 80 percent, and $1.5 million for 90 percent. Last year, Ryan participated in 99 percent of the defensive snaps with the Titans, and he has missed only three games in his career.

The final $1 million in incentives will be a little harder to get: $500,000 for making the Pro Bowl and $500,000 for All-Pro. (He hasn’t achieved either in his seven-year career.)

So he has a good shot at earning $6.5 million, and it’s good that he gets $3.5 million up front. But it’s not, and shouldn’t be characterized as, a $7.5 million deal. Even though it was.