NFL News

[Futureshock]

Nick Chubb: Guys are excited about Deshaun Watson’s return

Posted by Josh Alper on December 1, 2022, 6:28 AM EST

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Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson didn’t talk to reporters on Wednesday, but there was plenty of conversation about him around the team’s facility.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski spent a good deal of time talking about the quarterback ahead of his first game action since the end of the 2020 season. Watson sat out all of last season while with the Texans and was suspended for the first 11 games of this season after being traded to the Browns this offseason.

Browns players got a chance to practice with Watson before the suspension kicked in and he’s been back on the field for the last couple of weeks, which running back Nick Chubb says has stoked excitement about the prospect of having him back in the lineup against the Texans this Sunday.

“He’s special,” Chubb said, via the team’s website. “He’s a playmaker. He puts the ball exactly where he needs it to go. Guys like that. Guys are excited. We all are. We’re ready.”

Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah agreed with Chubb about the excitement that exists around the team right now and said that Watson adds “a diverse aspect” to the offense because of his ability to make plays through the air and on the ground. The Browns have waited a long time to see that in action and that wait will end this weekend.

[Futureshock]

Bears and Packers tied with 786 franchise wins, meet Sunday for most wins in NFL history

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 1, 2022, 4:29 AM EST

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For more than a century, the Bears have been the winningest franchise in NFL history. That could change on Sunday.

The Packers and Bears are currently tied with 786 wins in franchise history, so the winner of their game on Sunday will have the title as the winningest team in league history. If that’s the Packers, it will mean a team other than the Bears owns the title of winningest franchise in NFL history for the first time since before they were called the Bears and before the league was called the NFL.

In 1920 and 1921, when what is now the NFL was called the American Professional Football Association, the franchise that is now the Bears and was then called the Staleys won the most games, and that team has remained the NFL’s all-time winningest franchise for more than a century since then.

The Packers entered the league just a year after the Bears did and had plenty of success in their early years, but the Bears had plenty of success too, and the Packers weren’t able to gain significant ground on the Bears in the franchise win total until the arrival of Brett Favre, and then Aaron Rodgers: Since Favre arrived in Green Bay in 1992, the Packers have won 85 more games than the Bears. Three decades of first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks are good for a franchise’s win total.

This has been a disappointing season for Rodgers, but he likes to say that he owns the Bears, and owning the franchise win total record that has long belonged to the Bears would be an achievement for Rodgers and the Packers to celebrate.

[Futureshock]

Kyler Murray, Patrick Peterson exchange pleasantries

Posted by Mike Florio on November 30, 2022, 8:15 PM EST

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Unfortunately, the Cardinals and Vikings have already played this year.

In the newest episode of the All Things Covered podcast, former Cardinals and current Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson, who played with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray for two years, offered a blunt assessment of his former teammate.

“Kyler Murray don’t care about nobody but Kyler Muray,” Peterson said. “That’s just a matter of fact.”

The comment bubbled up from a conversation regarding the possibility that coach Kliff Kingsbury will be the scapegoat for the struggles of the team in 2022.

“Ain’t no maybe, he will,” Peterson said. “He will be. He will be. And the crazy thing about it, the guy who hired him will still have a job.”

The discussion pivoted to whether Murray would stick up for Kingsbury. And then Peterson said what he said.

Murray responded on social media: “This isn’t true…you on some weird shit [Peterson], you got my number, if you really felt like this as a ‘big bro’ or ‘mentor’ you supposed to call me and tell me, not drag me so your podcast can grow…”

Regardless of where Peterson has said it, it’s not a new thing. There’s a clear belief in league circles that Peterson wasn’t a fan of the way Murray handled his business.

Some also believe that future Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald retired when he did specifically because of Murray. While Fitzgerald has never said that publicly (and probably wouldn’t), he heaped praise on Colt McCoy before the recent Monday night game between the 49ers and Cardinals in Mexico City for his leadership and attention to detail.

The implication seemed obvious; Colt McCoy does things that Kyler Murray doesn’t.

What Murray does moving forward will be very compelling, to say the least. A cold war between Peterson and Murray has turned hot. Who else will chime in?

[Futureshock]

Aaron Rodgers links finishing the 2022 season to 2023

Posted by Mike Florio on November 30, 2022, 7:49 PM EST

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The Packers have another potential Aaron Rodgers problem. And Aaron Rodgers knows it.

He’s due to make nearly $60 million in 2023. Every penny of it is fully guaranteed. If the Packers decide they’d like to move on, there’s not much they can do about it, if he decides he wants to stay.

Rodgers, by virtue of his contract, holds all the cards. He sets the agenda. He decides whether he plays in 2023.

It also becomes a factor in whether he’ll finish 2022 on the field or on injured reserve. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether it would be beneficial to Rodgers to not finish the season, given his lingering thumb and rib injuries, Rodgers tied the balance of 2022 and 2023 together.

“That’s an assumption that this place won’t look any different next year,” Rodgers said. “So I think, again, that’s part of the conversation.”

Rodgers first addressed “the conversation” as it relates to whether the team wants to evaluate younger players late in the season, once it’s clear that the playoffs aren’t a possibility for the Packers.

“I’d love to finish the season out, but I understand this is a business,” Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of us kind of older guys who play a decent amount, who they might want to see some younger guys play. Hopefully, we don’t have to have that conversation. But if that conversation comes up, you know, I’ll approach that with an open mind, and without any bitterness or resentment. Obviously, like I said, I want to win out and then we don’t have to have those conversations. But, you know, I understand if we don’t, that it’s a possibility to have that conversation.”

The fact that Rodgers would connect 2022 to 2023 is interesting, to say the least. Some would say the Packers need to know what quarterback Jordan Love can do. There’s less urgency to know what Love can do if the Packers plan to keep Rodgers for 2023.

That said, even if the Packers would welcome Rodgers back for next year, they need to know whether to pick up Love’s fifth-year option for 2024. It would be useful for them to see him play in a setting other than the preseason.

Again, Rodgers holds the cards. Unless he chooses to retire, the Packers are stuck with Rodgers’s contract.

Some have suggested they could just trade Rodgers. Apart from the fact that the cap hit would be significant, Rodgers could always say, “No, I don’t want to be traded. I want to finish my career here.”

Rodgers had a chance to leave in 2022. Many think that the Broncos hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett with the expectation that they’d trade not for Russell Wilson but for Aaron Rodgers. What if Rodgers put on the parachute, stood at the open door to the plane, and decided not to jump? What if he has decided to stay exactly where he is next year, too?

Yes, the Packers are potentially stuck with Rodgers for 2023. At nearly $60 million. With the only option being to cut him (and owe him every penny) or to keep him and bench him for Love, if they decide based on Rodgers’s performance in 2022 that it’s time to turn the page to the player for whom they traded up in the 2020 draft.

[CGVT]

Nick Chubb: Guys are excited about Deshaun Watson’s return

Posted by Josh Alper on December 1, 2022, 6:28 AM EST

Getty Images

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson didn’t talk to reporters on Wednesday, but there was plenty of conversation about him around the team’s facility.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski spent a good deal of time talking about the quarterback ahead of his first game action since the end of the 2020 season. Watson sat out all of last season while with the Texans and was suspended for the first 11 games of this season after being traded to the Browns this offseason.

Browns players got a chance to practice with Watson before the suspension kicked in and he’s been back on the field for the last couple of weeks, which running back Nick Chubb says has stoked excitement about the prospect of having him back in the lineup against the Texans this Sunday.

“He’s special,” Chubb said, via the team’s website. “He’s a playmaker. He puts the ball exactly where he needs it to go. Guys like that. Guys are excited. We all are. We’re ready.”

Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah agreed with Chubb about the excitement that exists around the team right now and said that Watson adds “a diverse aspect” to the offense because of his ability to make plays through the air and on the ground. The Browns have waited a long time to see that in action and that wait will end this weekend.

Chubb is hoping Watson can rub out a win.

[Futureshock]

Chubb is hoping Watson can rub out a win.

Well that was a money shot!

[Futureshock]

Seahawks claim Johnathan Abram off waivers

Posted by Myles Simmons on November 30, 2022, 4:27 PM EST

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Johnathan Abram has found a new football home.

The Seahawks have claimed Abram off waivers after the safety was cut by the Packers this week, according to multiple reports.

A Raiders first-round pick in the 2019 draft, Las Vegas waived Abram in early November. His playing time had been reduced on defense while his special teams snaps went up.

Abram appeared in two games for Green Bay, playing mainly on special teams. He had just one defensive snap.

The safety has recorded 50 tackles so far this season in 10 games with six starts. He also has one pass defensed and two quarterback hits.

Last season, Abram recorded 116 tackles, an interception, five tackles for loss, and three QB hits for the Raiders in 14 games.

The Seahawks have a need at safety with Ryan Neal dealing with an elbow injury.

[Futureshock]

Fake?

https://www.tmz.com/2022/11/27/terrell-owens-fight-knock-out-punch-cvs-heckler-witness-video-nfl-football/

Terrell Owens claims he punched a man in self defense

Posted by Mike Florio on November 30, 2022, 4:11 PM EST

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Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens recently went to the CVS in Inglewood, and he exited with a TKO.

Owens told the Associated Press that he punched a man in the store’s parking lot in self defense. Owens contends that the man “made offensive gestures and threatening statements” to Owens and to a fan who had approached the former player.

According to Owens, it started inside the store. He was speaking with the fan. Then, the man approached. Owens left the store in an effort to de-escalate the situation.

“The aggressor continued threatening the fan just as he did in the store,” Owens said. “Once again, attempting to [defuse] the ongoing situation, I placed myself between the fan and the aggressor. I made verbal demands asking the aggressor to stop his threatening behavior.”

Owens claim the man sung at him first.

TMZ.com posted video of the incident. The images suggest an old-school fistfight, with both participants squaring off and with Owens having his fists up. He eventually drops the man with a right cross. He got up several seconds later, and the discussion continued until the person taping the interaction stopped recording.

According to the AP, it’s unclear whether police were called. Inglewood authorities did not immediately respond to requests from the AP for comment.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

It looks like Antonio Brown is currently in a mini-standoff with police right now.

as in the cops are there to arrest him…and he’s saying na-an-boo-boo, I ain’t comin’ out.

[jaadam4]

It looks like Antonio Brown is currently in a mini-standoff with police right now.

as in the cops are there to arrest him…and he’s saying na-an-boo-boo, I ain’t comin’ out.

Hopefully they charge him for his shitty rap career.

So bad

[Futureshock]

Hopefully they charge him for his shitty rap career.

So bad

Life?!!!!

[edindetroit]

It looks like Antonio Brown is currently in a mini-standoff with police right now.

as in the cops are there to arrest him…and he’s saying na-an-boo-boo, I ain’t comin’ out.

Is he the one that ended his career mid game?

[dpatnod]

antoinio clown.jpg

[kreton]

As of this morning he is still refusing to be arrested. I didn't know just saying no and not coming out was an option.

[Futureshock]

As of this morning he is still refusing to be arrested. I didn't know just saying no and not coming out was an option.

Police still wait outside Antonio Brown’s house to arrest him

Posted by Mike Florio on December 1, 2022, 8:49 PM EST

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Free-agent receiver Antonio Brown has made himself a prisoner in his own home.

Police officers are waiting outside his house in Tampa to arrest him on misdemeanor domestic violence charges. Brown apparently is inside the dwelling, and he won’t come out.

Via ABC Action News, police used a megaphone to urge Brown to give himself up. The authorities said they had spoken to Brown’s attorney. They continued to knock on the door and to call out for him.

“We’re not going anywhere,” the police said.

Brown apparently isn’t going anywhere, either.

Again, he’s only facing misdemeanor charges. The situation should be resolved simply and peacefully. Hopefully, that will happen sooner than later.