NFL News

[Cody_Russell]

I think Sean Payton will want a better job (LA Chargers?)
Plus there was the rumor about Vic Fangio being Payton’s DC. I can’t see Fangio coming back to Denver…


If Russell Wilson’s struggles in recent years is truly about Wilson regressing, that Denver job opening is terrible. Not to forget their loss of draft capital and cap space.
As Baker Mayfield has proved to us this year… coaching and environment around a QB is a significant factor. Who knows how much of Denver’s struggles is Wilson vs Hackett.

As for Ben Johnson. Do you think Denver will really try an unproven 30 year old OC from the NFC North again? Eh, maybe. The Sean McVay effect.

[The Ken]

we thought we had it bad in Detroit after Patricia or during his era. Denver is a pure shitstick with very little hope. Their 1st round draft pick is gone, Wilson is there for at least another year or more, the team is pretty devoid of talent and their head coach was hired to bring of Erin Rodgers, not because he was a superstar head coach.

[ghandi]

Odd that Denver gave WIlson the huge extension without first seeing how things played out.

[chemiclord]

Odd that Denver gave WIlson the huge extension without first seeing how things played out.

Wilson signing off on the trade (he had a no-trade clause) was contingent on that huge extension.

[foxhopper]

JJ Watt to retire after the season.
https://sports.yahoo.com/jj-watt-cel...162556823.html

[Futureshock]

Broncos fired HC Nathaniel Hackett.
Not surprising. I actually checked the ESPN app this morning with the assumption of a HC (Hackett, Kingsbury, Lovie Smith, or Arthur Smith) being fired. Guess we received the news this afternoon!

Hackett was god awful. Bottom tier of NFL HC hires in recent memory. Put him in the tier of guys like Freddie Kitchens, Hugh Jackson, Rod Marinelli, Matt Patricia, etc.

Caldwell would have been a better hire...

Yeah, that's why there's that horrible rule. Yet the good ole boys produces this horrific hire...

[dsred]

Stop running so much and make plays from the pocket young man. OR STFU

Justin Fields on Ndamukong Suh hit: Too many times I’ve slid and been hit and don’t get flags

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 20, 2022, 2:36 PM EST

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Eagles defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was somehow not flagged despite hitting Bears quarterback Justin Fields in the head after Fields had gone to the ground in a slide on Sunday, and Fields said today that it didn’t feel good.

Asked what he thought about the play, Fields said he’s getting frustrated with how often he takes illegal hits that don’t get called.

“It’s been too many times I’ve slid and been hit too late and I don’t get the flags,” Fields said. “I’m going to be on the refs, looking for a call. When I thin it’s a flag I’m going to ask the ref. On Sunday he said he didn’t think it was a foul. I’m just going to be begging for those calls and hope that I get one in the near future. I felt like I was down and then I felt a 300-pound guy.”

Suh has a long history of committing personal fouls and getting flagged, fined and suspended for them, and it’s surprising that the officials missed that one. It’s likely that the league disciplinary office won’t miss it, and that Suh’s paycheck will be docked.

Nonsense. These "running QBs" wanna take advantage of the rules. Jalen Hurts should have been flagged multiple times for intentional grounding vs. the Lions, but wasn't because he was a "runner".

Runner or QB. Pick one.

[dsred]

Neither are Lions. I don’t really care

I don't care about the Pro-bowl (or any All Star type thing in any sport, for that matter). Much ado about nothing.

[ghandi]

JJ Watt to retire after the season.
https://sports.yahoo.com/jj-watt-cel...162556823.html

He probably thought they had a good shot at a super bowl when he joined the Cards....Hard to believe that team was 10-2 at one point last season...then they lost to the Lions and the wheels have come off ever since.

[Futureshock]

NFL circles the wagons on latest Tua Tagovailoa head injury

Posted by Mike Florio on December 27, 2022, 8:58 PM EST

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The people paid to spot potential head trauma during NFL games failed (again) to do their jobs. The NFL is (again) circling the wagons in any effort to persuade fans and media that all is well.

Appearing on NFL Network (i.e., a league-owned outlet that isn’t naturally inclined to pose tough questions to in-house colleagues), NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills defended the handling of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s latest concussion.

Because of course he did.

“What our spotters and our unaffiliated neuro doctors are looking for is any blow that transmits force to the head or neck area, followed by that injury behavior,” Sills said, via Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports. “And so, there are many blows to the head that occur during a game. . . . There were no visible signs present, even though there was a blow to the head and the player did not report any symptoms, despite being in contact with the medical staff throughout the game. So, there was nothing that would have triggered the protocol in the moment.”

That’s an adroit way of tiptoeing around the reality that the player/patient’s specific history should have compelled a concussion evaluation during the game, after Tua hit his head on the turf. Whether anyone noticed any symptoms during the game is one thing. Whether anyone noticed a blow to the head that should have resulted in a simple sideline examination of Tua for any symptoms whatsoever is another.

Dr. Sills, frankly, is adept at maneuvering his way through the potential land mines that lurk after a situation like this happens. He can, with confidence and authority, say whatever needs to be said to make it sound like everything was handled properly. Even if it wasn’t.

In this case, the question isn’t whether Tua should have been placed in the protocol. It’s whether he should have had a proper evaluation, based on the fact that his head struck the turf.

Obviously, something happened to Tua. A day later, he had sufficient symptoms to land in the protocol. The comments from Dr. Sills gloss over the simple reality that maybe, just maybe, someone should have taken a close look at Tua during, not after, the game.

[Futureshock]

Bethune-Cookman hires Ed Reed as its next head coach

Posted by Charean Williams on December 27, 2022, 6:27 PM EST

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HBCU lost a Hall of Fame defensive back turned head coach when Deion Sanders left Jackson State to go to Colorado. A few weeks later, another Hall of Fame defensive back is starting his head coaching career at a HBCU.

Ed Reed has accepted the job at Bethune-Cookman, the school announced Tuesday. He will become the 16th head coach in the Wildcats’ history.

Bethune-Cookman, which is located in Daytona Beach, Florida, is a member of the SWAC. The Wildcats finished 2-9 last season, including 2-6 in conference play.

Reed’s alma mater, the University of Miami, hired him in 2020 to serve as the football team’s chief of staff, an advisory role to head coach Manny Diaz.

He played for the Ravens from 2002-12 and finished his career in 2013 with the Texans and Jets. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him into Canton in 2019 in his first year of eligibility.

[Futureshock]

Jim Irsay: I reluctantly gave Frank Reich a contract extension before I wanted to

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 27, 2022, 5:06 PM EST

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Colts owner Jim Irsay cost himself a lot of money by giving head coach Frank Reich a contract extension before the 2021 season, only to fire him in the middle of the 2022 season. Irsay now regrets it.

In an interview with ESPN, Irsay said the contract he gave Reich wasn’t something he was eager to do.

“I reluctantly gave Frank an extension sooner than I wanted to,” Irsay said.

But Irsay didn’t elaborate on that claim, and it’s a strange one: Irsay owns the team. He calls the shots, makes the final decisions, and decides who gets a contract and who doesn’t. It’s unclear why he would extend Reich if he didn’t want to extend him. If Irsay didn’t think Reich was the right person to coach his team for years to come, no one was making Irsay extend him.

But Irsay did extend him, through the 2026 season, and ESPN reported that Irsay now owes Reich $36 million over the length of that contract.

[Futureshock]

Laremy Tunsil wants to be the highest-paid tackle in the NFL

Posted by Josh Alper on December 28, 2022, 3:47 PM EST

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Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil has shared one of his plans for the offseason.

The 2023 season is the final one covered by Tunsil’s current contract and he told DJ Bien-Amie of ESPN.com that he wants to negotiate a new deal with Houston this offseason. Tunsil also shared his desire to see that contract make him the highest-paid tackle in the league.

“I don’t know who’s the highest right now, maybe Trent [Williams] at $23 [million], but I want to top that,” Tunsil said. “Always want to reset the market. Perfect opportunity to reset the market. Everything is lining up as far as my contract to how I’m playing. Everything lining up perfectly.”

Williams’ $23,010,000 average annual salary is the best in the league. Tunsil had an average annual salary of $22 million in the three-year extension he signed with the Texans in 2020.

Tunsil has a non-guaranteed base salary of $18.5 million next season and a cap hit of over $35 million.

[Futureshock]

Kliff Kingsbury: Cardinals had “no idea” J.J. Watt was announcing retirement

Posted by Mike Florio on December 28, 2022, 4:01 PM EST

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The Cardinals found out that J.J. Watt was retiring at exactly the same time the rest of us did.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters on Wednesday that the team had “no idea” Watt would be announcing his retirement when he did it.

It’s unclear why Watt didn’t bother to share the information with his current employer before telling the world. His contract expires after the season, so it’s not as if he’s walking away with time left on his deal.

Maybe Watt simply didn’t trust the Cardinals to keep it quiet. When Watt deliberately announced that he’d had an issue with his heart, he did it because someone had said something to someone in the media about it, forcing his hand.

Regardless, the Cardinals didn’t know it was coming. Which is definitely a little weird.

[Futureshock]

Raiders bench Derek Carr

Posted by Myles Simmons on December 28, 2022, 2:37 PM EST

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The signs were there in the last few days. But now the news has become official.

The Raiders have benched Derek Carr.

Head coach Josh McDaniels made the announcement at his Wednesday press conference. Jarrett Stidham will serve as the starting quarterback for the last two games with Chase Garbers coming up to be the backup. Carr will be inactive as the No. 3 QB.

“None of us is happy with where we’re at. But we think it’s an opportunity to evaluate a younger player who hasn’t had much time to play,” McDaniels said. “Talking to Derek — who was great — he understands the scenario that we’re in and the situation. And very supportive of the two young guys. Those three guys, obviously, have worked together hand-in-hand all year. And he’ll do anything he can to help them. So, that’s what we’re going to do.”

The elephant in the room is Carr’s contract. He has $40.4 million in guarantees that become fully vested if he’s unable to pass a physical before the third day of the 2023 waiver period, when that money becomes fully guaranteed. So, benching Carr now ensures he’ll be healthy enough to be released before the guarantees convert from injury only.

The Raiders could release Carr or they could work out a deal to trade him — though that trade would not become official until the start of the new league year in March.

While it seems obvious that Carr’s time with the Raiders has come to an end, McDaniels said that nothing definitive has been decided.

“There’s no finality to today,” McDaniels said. “This is just a decision that we thought, after talking about it and contemplating it, that we thought would be an opportunity for us to see what we have in [Stidham]. And how we do going forward, we’ll see.

“There’s a lot to be sorted through once the season’s over.”

Carr has completed just 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards with 24 touchdowns and a league-high 14 interceptions this season. His passer rating is down from 94.0 in 2021 to 86.3.

“He’s been accountable all year and I know he’ll continue to do that — that’s the kind of person and teammate he is,” McDaniels said. “Those aren’t easy conversations, but that’s the nature of the position. Like I said, I couldn’t be more complimentary of him, the way he handled it.

“This is an A-1, class human being. And he’s obviously meant a lot to this place for a long time. And, as I said, we’ll see how this goes going forward. I’m not going to sit here and predict the future. There’s a lot that could happen. And we’re going to take these things one day at a time.”

A second-round pick in 2014, Carr has started 142 games for the Raiders, missing just two regular-season games due to injury. He’s become the team’s franchise leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. With 63 victories as a starter, he trails only Ken Stabler (69) on the franchise list.