NFL News

[Topweasel]

Brady is 6'4". That's damn near the ideal height for a QB.

The major knock on Tom Brady was that he couldn't even secure the starter job in college, so how good could he possibly be?

There is also all those Frumpy nothing but shorts shots of him. I think they question his work ethic because he wasn't toned. I think there may have been a couple of arm strength questions. Even if Drew never played and it was just Brady, I think he is only a 3rd or 4th rounder at best.

[Cody_Russell]

Jets, Saints, Panthers, and Titans mentioned.
If the Jets strike out on Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson trade conversations, could see them sign Carr. Otherwise, Saints make the most sense.

[Futureshock]

I turned it on for a minute. I watched the catch competition and during the whole damn thing, all I could think of was the fucking Sun God was going to blow out a knee coming off of the trampoline and landing on those pads

I did find it pretty funny when the announcer asked Pete Davidson, "why are you so low" after he posted a score, and he and Snoop just about lost it.

[Futureshock]

Jets, Saints, Panthers, and Titans mentioned.
If the Jets strike out on Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson trade conversations, could see them sign Carr. Otherwise, Saints make the most sense.

Why does this feel like Baker again? Somehow it is going to come back on us?

For our sake lets hope Jets or Saints. That's 2 teams that wouldn't want (or have the ammo) to trade up in the top 6. Panthers could be a potential trade partner.

[Cody_Russell]

I can’t see the Panthers going there. Give it a 1% chance of happening IMHO. Frank Reich was stuck with the old /mediocre veteran QB cycle with the Colts. Panthers have been doing a musical chairs of crappy veteran QBs recently too. Panthers/ Frank Reich are going a different direction and drafting a QB in the top 9 for sure.

Titans? That’s a little more tricky to figure out.
Total wild card with the direction they can go at QB with a new GM.

[Mainevent]

Exactly Cody. I don’t think Reich would sign up for the aging vet throwaway ride again.

[ghandi]

Yes we definitely want that option of trading back to 9...The more desperate the panthers are, the better.

[Cody_Russell]

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort + HC Jonathan Gannon is very reminiscent of Quinntricia. Interested to see how that plays out over the next few years.

“The Patriot way” GM and a questionably qualified HC that was just smoked in the Super Bowl. Questionably qualified because Eagles fans will tell you Gannon wasn’t that good (even prior to the Super Bowl). Arguing the roster is what made the 2022 Eagles defense perform well at times.

[jaadam4]

Carr and Carolina aren’t a good match, he won’t go there

[Futureshock]

Great move by the Jags.

Calvin Ridley is now eligible to apply for reinstatement

Posted by Josh Alper on February 15, 2023, 9:03 AM EST

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Wednesday is a big day for Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

The NFL suspended Ridley in March 2022 for at least one season after he gambled on NFL games and set February 15, 2023 as the first day that Ridley will be eligible to apply for reinstatement. Wednesday is February 15, so Ridley is now free to begin the process of returning to active duty.

Ridley acknowledged placing $1,500 in bets while he was a member of the Falcons during the 2021 season and they came at a period when he was taking a leave of absence to deal with mental health issues. The Falcons traded Ridley to the Jaguars before the trade deadline last year and he’s set for a base salary of over $11.1 million after his contract tolled as a result of his suspension.

Ridley only played five games in 2021, so it’s been a while since his last full season in the NFL. He posted 90 catches for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020 and the Jaguars would love to add that kind of production to a receiving corps that will also feature Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in 2023.

[Futureshock]

James Bradberry wants to play on a contender but won’t play “for cheap”

Posted by Charean Williams on February 14, 2023, 6:18 PM EST

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The Eagles have 19 free agents, and one of those at the top of that list is cornerback James Bradberry. The holding call on him on third down with 1:48 left in Super Bowl LVII has overshadowed the season he had.

Bradberry was second-team All-Pro with three interceptions and 17 pass breakups.

But could his first season in Philadelphia be his last season in Philadelphia?

He signed a one-year contract worth $7.5 million after being released by the Giants last offseason. The Eagles might not be able to afford to keep him, with Darius Slay slated to have a $26 million cap hit for 2023.

Bradberry said Tuesday his agent has not started talks with the Eagles yet.

“I don’t know what they are got planning on over there, and I didn’t want to ask about it because I just wanted my mind to be on football,” Bradberry said, via Kevin Cooney of the Associated Press. “But we’ll talk about it soon.”

Bradberry wants to be somewhere he can win, but he also acknowledges he wants to be paid.

“It’s kind of hard to put like a percentage on which one is more important,” Bradberry said, via video from Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94 WIP. “It’s kind of just based upon case-by-case scenario. But I do know those two things are probably the most important to me — being on a good roster, having the ability to get to the playoffs and win in the playoffs, but also I don’t want to play for cheap, you know.”

[Futureshock]

Eagles have plenty of impending free agents

Posted by Mike Florio on February 15, 2023, 9:28 AM EST

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Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will eventually have to balance his desire to maximize his compensation with his desire to maximize his ability to win. His stellar 2022 season has increased his value dramatically, and the Eagles are now only one season away from playing the franchise-tag dance with Hurts.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are only one season removed from not being completely sold on Hurts as the present and the future. They’d had a perpetual wandering eye at the position. Now, they shouldn’t be looking at anything other than a long-term deal for Hurts.

Whatever they do with Hurts, they’ll surely be saying farewell to several free agents. Twenty Eagles players have expired contracts, including running back Miles Sanders, cornerback James Bradberry, linebacker Kyzer White, linebacker T.J. Edwards, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, safety Marcus Epps, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, and offensive lineman Isaas Seumalo.

Defensive end Robert Quinn, running back Boston Scott, and quarterback Gardner Minshew also are able to walk away.

So there’s plenty of work to be done by the Eagles this offseason, from hiring new coordinators to figuring out who to keep to finding a way to strike a long-term deal with the most important player on the roster.

[Futureshock]

Derek Carr hits free agency a month early; where will he go?

Posted by Mike Florio on February 14, 2023, 5:33 PM EST

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Quarterback Derek Carr has gotten a one-month had start on free agency. It’s a great position to be in, allowing him to talk to other teams, to visit other teams, and eventually to sign with other teams before any of the looming free agents are available.

So where will he go? After he was benched in December, we painted with the broadest possible brush regarding his possible destinations. Now, sports books have listed odds on Carr’s next team.

Earlier today, PointsBet updated their board. The Panthers are the favorites at +140, with the Saints (a team Carr visited last week) at +150.

Next are the Jets at +275, with the Buccaneers at +800, the Commanders at +1400, the Patriots at +1400, the Titans at +1800, the Colts at +2000, the Falcons at +2000, the Packers at +2000, and the Texans at +4000.

The Commanders won’t do it, based on coach Ron Rivera’s on-the-record comments from last week. The Patriots seem to be not an option, given that McDaniels didn’t do well ;ast season in Patriot Way West. And the Colts seem to be off the “veteran quarterback” wagon.

The Jets become intriguing, now that former Raiders quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Todd Downing is the passing-game coordinator in New York.

For the Panthers to be the favorite, the sports books must know something. And given the team’s struggles when it comes to finding a great quarterback, why not roll the dice on someone who has been good enough?

Generally, it’s hard to make a case for the long shots. Which is probably why they’re long shots.

[Futureshock]

Aaron Rodgers: Ian Rapoport, Adam Schefter “don’t know shit about me”

Posted by Mike Florio on February 14, 2023, 5:11 PM EST

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Super Sunday’s Sunday Splash! reports included an item from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers planned to start his voluntary solitary confinement on Monday.

It didn’t happen. As evidenced by the fact that Rodgers was in the daylight on Tuesday, doing his weekly paid spot with Pat McAfee and former Green Bay teammate A.J. Hawk. Rodgers took some time to call out those who have, in his view, reported erroneous facts about him.

“There’s an inner circle and in my inner circle, nobody talks to Ian Rapoport [or] Adam Schefter or to any of those people,” Rodgers said, via Chris Mason of MassLive.com. “Just stop with the fake news. I speak for myself and I will continue to do that.

“I have no problem with Ian Rapoport, [Adam] Schefter, I think they’re really good at their jobs. When it comes to me, they don’t know shit. They really don’t. They don’t have people in my inner circle who are sources. I can promise you that. Anybody who would talk to them is not in my inner circle. It’s that simple. So I’ve had this plan on the books for four months, for the same time. When someone like that goes on and says something that’s not true it creates a story that’s [expletive].” (Usually, the expletive is obvious, and we’ll add the actual word. For this one, I’d just be guessing from three or four possible choices.)

It’s unclear why Schefter was mentioned. He didn’t report that Rodgers was about to lock himself in a closet for 96 hours. Schefter’s reports of late regarding Rodgers haven’t broken much actual ground beyond the things Rodgers has said himself, or that were otherwise obvious. For example, Schefter reported there’s a “very real possibility” that Rodgers will be traded days after Rodgers’s comments to McAfee and Hawk made it obvious that a trade is indeed a very real possibility.

“How many [expletive] narratives can come from one [appearance last week] where they didn’t even actually listen to what I said?” Rodgers added. “Or the intent? Or the tone? And again, nothing against Rapoport, but he doesn’t have anybody who knows legitimately what’s going on in my life. So for him to say something, ‘Monday through Thursday I was supposed to be in there,’ that was never the plan. It hasn’t been the plan for four months. So don’t make [expletive] up. I don’t have your number, you’re not gonna have my number, you do a great job, but not when it comes to my life, so stop talking about it.”

There’s a difference between creating or construing narratives and reporting facts. Rapoport reported a fact. And he surely got the information from a source that he believes was in the right position to know it was accurate.

Hell, we can’t rule out the possibility that Rodgers was sufficiently upset that the information got out from the inner circle of his inner circles that he changed his plans, if only to make the report look erroneous. It definitely would not be the first time the subject of a report pivoted to a new approach once the prior one came to light, whether for spite or some actual strategic reason.

Regardless, Rodgers needs to realize that he can’t have fame and attention on his own terms. If he’s going to regularly speak to the world about his thoughts and plans, others will try to find out more about them. Others will talk about them, possibly seizing on narratives that Rodgers didn’t intend, because not everyone will accurately solve the beautiful mysteries he tries to build.

So, Aaron, if you want us to stop talking about you, there’s one specific thing you can do to achieve that objective.

Stop talking.

[CGVT]

Fuck Rodgers. He is a pretentious, self aggrandizing piece of shit