NFL News

[froot loops]

The Stafford trade itself locked Holmes into not being able to do much on offense. They restructured Goff's contract and had 1 million left over by the end of the year.

They could have denied his trade request and alienated another star. I think they are trying to change things.

[Futureshock]

Yeah. I think they did the right thing for Staff. And it is about time they started treating players like him, Barry, Calvin, etc... better like that. No matter what Matt gave Detroit his best years. Let him go win and enjoy not having to carry the full brunt of winning/losing on his shoulders alone.

Whether it favored the Lions team is still up in the air. The players look to seem like they are going to be a better team, but, they have to put Ws in the column. Or else.

In today's NFL and sports world, you don't have 5 years. 3 years top, before they have to start picking up 5th year options and resigning players that are cornerstones.

They probably do not have the depth or talent to be a playoff team this year. But they shouldn't be anyone's easy game either. If they are coached like they were at the end of the season, they should win 6-8 games, I think I think. Fingers crossed.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

I think to say “Holmes screwed the offense”….might be a bit much.

He could have went out and overpaid a WR or 2….I don’t get to say this about the lions very often, but hindsight actually works in our favor here

[Futureshock]

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar entity. Are they making players pay, to discourage them changing jerseys? Seems like they could just drop a rule and be done with it...


Derwin James waited a year so he wouldn’t have to pay to switch to jersey No. 3

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 25, 2022, 8:11 AM EDT

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As soon as the NFL announced last year that defensive players could wear single-digit jersey numbers, Chargers safety Derwin James expressed interest in switching from his NFL number, 33, to his college number, 3. But he didn’t make the switch immediately.

When the Chargers opened Organized Team Activities this week, James was in his No. 3 jersey, and he revealed that he waited a year because of the NFL policy that players who make an immediate jersey number switch have to buy up the remaining inventory of their jerseys, while players who give a full season of advance notice before switching don’t have to pay anything.

“I didn’t have to give anything, actually,” James said. “I waited a year so I didn’t have to do anything. I told them last year that I was going to do it.”

Last year the Chargers’ No. 3 jersey belonged to practice squad quarterback K.J. Costello, whom the Chargers didn’t re-sign this offseason, so James didn’t have to pay a teammate to get the jersey.

[Futureshock]

Yikes


T.J. Watt “definitely not satisfied” after 22.5 sacks in 2021

Posted by Josh Alper on May 25, 2022, 7:18 AM EDT

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Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt left himself with a lot to accomplish if he wants an encore of his 2021 season.

Watt tied the NFL’s official single-season sack record with 22.5 and was named the league’s defensive player of the year as a result of his efforts. Watt is the 12th player to record 20 sacks in a season and most of the others saw a sharp decline in that total the next season.

It remains to be seen what this season will bring for Watt, but he said Tuesday that he won’t be resting on his laurels.

“Trust me, more people bring that up to me than I ever think about it,” Watt said, via Mark Kaboly of TheAthletic.com. “I have a very short memory when it comes to things like that. I feel that I have so much more to give to the game. I am definitely not satisfied. I am trying to continue to grow and be one of the best who ever played this game.”

One thing that might help Watt out is a more routine offseason than he had last year. He didn’t do much in the offseason or training camp while working on a contract extension and that might have contributed to injuries that kept him out of two full games and parts of others.

Those aches and pains didn’t slow him down when he was on the field, but the prospect of seeing him back at 100 percent has to be an appealing one for the Steelers.

[Futureshock]

Kirk Cousins felt like “eighth-grader” learning offense from scratch

Posted by Josh Alper on May 25, 2022, 6:53 AM EDT

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Quarterback Kirk Cousins is entering his fifth season with the Vikings and he’s playing for his fifth different offensive play caller, so getting the handle on changes to the scheme is nothing new for him.

This offseason played out a bit differently than the last few, however. The arrival of head coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips left Cousins feeling “like an eighth-grader studying for a quiz in school the next day” as he tried to get the offense down.

“This is the first time really since 2014 when Jay Gruden was hired and then back in 2012 when I was a rookie coming from Michigan State to Kyle Shanahan’s offense,” Cousins said, via Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Those were the only other two times in my career where I truly felt like I was learning it from scratch. I guess you could also say coming here in 2018 as well.”

With the cramming done, the next few months will be about moving from learning the basics to mastering the details in order to hit the ground running come September.

[Futureshock]

If Jacksonville had hired him it would be Kahn-Kahn

Report: Steelers hire Omar Khan as G.M. to replace Kevin Colbert

Posted by Charean Williams on May 24, 2022, 9:59 PM EDT

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The Steelers are staying in house for their next General Manager.

Not long after news broke that Eagles vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl was leaving to become the Steelers’ assistant General Manager comes word that the expected will happen. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports the Steelers are promoting their vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan to General Manager.

Khan will replace Colbert, who is retiring after 22 seasons with the Steelers.

Khan has spent the last two decades with the Steelers. He also interviewed for the Bears G.M. opening before they hired Ryan Poles this year.

Weidl, Steelers pro scouting director Brandon Hunt, Titans vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, Buccaneers vice president of player personnel John Spytek and former Bills G.M. Doug Whaley were the other candidates to have two interviews with the team for the job.

[Futureshock]

I do not agree with what he's been accused of, but, it is an accusation without a final legal judgement or acknowledgement. He has lost a year (and counting) that he won't ever get back. I guess that is not enough...


Ashey Solis: Deshaun Watson’s contract was “just like a big screw you”

Posted by Mike Florio on May 24, 2022, 8:21 PM EDT

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Multiple NFL owners weren’t the only ones not thrilled with the $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract that the Browns gave to quarterback Deshaun Watson. Two of the persons accusing Watson of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions object to it as well.

“It’s just like a big screw you,” plaintiff Ashley Solis tells Soledad O’Brien in an item that debuts tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. “That’s what it feels like. That we don’t care. He can run and throw, and that’s what we care about.”

Added plaintiff Kyla Hayes: “It was sick to me. . . . I felt like he’s being rewarded for bad behavior.”

Their lawyer, Tony Buzbee, chimed in as well.

“I don’t think the team cares about what Deshaun Watson may have done in a massage session,” Buzbee said. “And based on my personal experience with the NFL, I don’t think they care either.”

The former, frankly, seems to be accurate based on the comments made by G.M. Andrew Berry at Watson’s introductory press conference. The latter remains to be seen, sooner than later.

[Futureshock]

Roger Goodell say NFL is “nearing the end” of investigative period on Deshaun Watson

Posted by Mike Florio on May 24, 2022, 7:58 PM EDT

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The NFL, as expected, is closing in on making a decision regarding Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.

At the May ownership meetings in Atlanta, Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear that things are moving toward a conclusion.

“I can’t give you a timeline,” Goodell told reporters, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We are nearing the end of the investigative period and then it will be handled by our Disciplinary Officer.”

As we’ve explained, the Disciplinary Officer — jointly hired and paid by the NFL and NFL Players Association — will make a decision on discipline, after the NFL proposes a punishment. Goodell then handles any appeal, unless the Disciplinary Officer decides to impose no discipline at all.

The clock is ticking. It’s time for the NFL to initiate the process. It sounds like it will happen sooner than later.

[dpatnod]

If Jacksonville had hired him it would be Kahn-Kahn

[Futureshock]

[Futureshock]

Why not load the players in Madden and have them watching the game with the audience being able to see their reactions? The game itself is meaningless and noone wants to see their player(s) getting hurt from it.

Roger Goodell: Pro Bowl game doesn’t work

Posted by Josh Alper on May 24, 2022, 6:36 PM EDT

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It sounds like there are going to be changes to the Pro Bowl in the near future.

Word on Tuesday morning was that discussion about ways to improve the Pro Bowl would be on the agenda at the league meetings and that the league could even eliminate it entirely. At a press conference, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that the league is unhappy with the distant facsimile of football played during the game and that they want to find a different manner of recognizing the achievements of players each season.

“The game doesn’t work. We need to find another way to celebrate the players,” Goodell said.

Goodell did not delve into what such celebrations might look like, but any option the league considers would likely have to bring in at least as many viewers as the annual exhibition game for it to become a longstanding tradition.

[Futureshock]

Kyle Shanahan expects Jimmy Garoppolo to be traded but admits it’s “not a guarantee”

Posted by Charean Williams on May 24, 2022, 6:27 PM EDT

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The 49ers were close to trading Jimmy Garoppolo before his March 8 surgery on his right shoulder. Garoppolo remains on their roster, due to make $25 million as a backup to Trey Lance.

That’s not good for anyone involved, and the 49ers would love to deal Garoppolo. But he’s not scheduled to throw until sometime this summer, so even Kyle Shanahan isn’t sure what Garoppolo’s future is.

“Nothing’s changed since that surgery,” Shanahan said Tuesday. “Where we were at before that, and then he got the surgery, so everything went on hold. I expect him at some time, most likley, to be traded, but who knows? That’s not a guarantee. It’s been exactly on hold when that happened. When he’s healthy, we’ll see what happens.”

The 49ers traded up to draft Trey Lance with the third overall selection in 2021. Lance is expected to take over as the full-time starter this season after Garoppolo started 15 of 17 games last season.

[Futureshock]

The NFL really wants the Rams to work in LA...

NFL takes $7.5 million from each team for St. Louis settlement

Posted by Mike Florio on May 24, 2022, 5:27 PM EDT

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Rams owner Stan Kroenke doesn’t back away from his obligations. Unless he does.

Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones proclaimed last year that Kroenke is a “man of principle” who “doesn’t back away” at a time when reporting suggested that Kroenke was trying to back away from his promise to indemnify his partners regarding the litigation filed following the relocation of the Rams, a significant portion of the $790 million settlement has been foisted upon the league’s teams.

Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com reports that the league has “quietly” taken $7.5 million from each team in connection with the settlement. This amounts to $232.5 million.

It’s unclear whether they’ll get the money back. Per Kaplan, some team executives complained that the situation has created budgeting issues, since they don’t know whether and when the money will be returned.

Kroenke’s argument for solely bearing the costs of the litigation but not the settlement comes from the indemnity provision crafted by the league and adopted by the owners. At least one owner previously, and privately, has characterized the failure of the indemnity provision to include the amount of the settlement “malpractice” by the lawyers.

Based on documents recently obtained from the litigation, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch raised the very fair question of whether the league may try to discreetly resolve the situation in order to cover up the mistake. Or maybe, as Frederickson also suggested, the mistake wasn’t really a mistake, but an escape hatch for Kroenke.

Time will tell what it all means. For now, though, there are real questions being asked about the fact that $232.5 million has been taken by the league to cover an obligation that most if not all owners thought would be covered by Kroenke and Kroenke alone.

[chemiclord]

I think a large part of the problem with the Pro Bowl currently was the decision to move it to the week before the Super Bowl, because apparently there simply cannot be ANY dead air allowed once the football year begins in March and it ends in February.

"Come see the best in the league all on one field, voted by you! Well... except all the players playing in the Super Bowl, who likely contribute a significant portion of those players voted by you... uh... let me come in again!"

If the league absolutely can't let the Pro Bowl be played after the Super Bowl, maybe shift it to the start of the following year, move it back to Hawaii, and just let it be an interesting little side show that's part of the preseason build up.