NFL News

[jaadam4]

Tampa would not get Gronk without Brady.

Moot question.

I‘m still completely blown away that Quinn and Patricia we’re going to trade a 1st round draft pick for Gronk. Don’t get me wrong he’s a beast but we weren’t 1 Gronk away from a SB and his body was so beat up by then.

Those 2 are idiots

[TheLondonLion]

Almost like they had no idea what they were doing. If Spielman had sat in that interview and heard how Patricia was going to recruit Paul Pasquoloni out of Syracuse because he gave Patricia his first job, I think red flags would have been raised.

[Futureshock]

Almost like they had no idea what they were doing. If Spielman had sat in that interview and heard how Patricia was going to recruit Paul Pasquoloni out of Syracuse because he gave Patricia his first job, I think red flags would have been raised.

Orrrrr did they?

[edindetroit]

Thanks Debs. I’m clearly an idiot.

Can we please just dwell on how insane this play was cos a second?

That streaker got closer to the endzone than the Chiefs did.

[Futureshock]

Report: Eagles don’t feel they’ve received a fair offer for Carson Wentz

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 9, 2021, 6:43 AM EST

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The Eagles want a higher price to part with quarterback Carson Wentz.

Despite reports in recent days that a Wentz trade agreement is close, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that the Eagles are still waiting for an offer that they feel is fair. So far, they haven’t gotten one.

What is fair? Some reports have indicated that the Colts or Bears may part with their first-round draft pick for Wentz, but there’s been no solid reporting about exactly what has been offered, and exactly what the Eagles are demanding.

So now we wait to see whether any team is willing to meet the Eagles’ asking price for a quarterback who was once an MVP candidate, but is now coming off a season in which he got benched. The Eagles want more than anyone has offered so far.

[Futureshock]

Kevin Colbert: I was happy for Antonio Brown winning the Super Bowl

Posted by Josh Alper on February 9, 2021, 6:42 AM EST

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Boston kept close tabs on Tom Brady‘s first Super Bowl appearance for a team other than the Patriots and that wasn’t the only other NFL city with ties to this year’s Buccaneers squad.

The Steelers have plenty of connections to Tampa. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was the Steelers offensive coordinator for five seasons while Bucs assistants Byron Leftwich, Larry Foote, and Antwan Randle-El all played for the team. So did defensive tackle Steve McLendon and cornerback Ross Cockrell, but the active player with the deepest history in Pittsburgh is likely wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Brown starred for the Steelers for nine seasons, but his tenure with the team ended in acrimony at the end of the 2018 season. Brown forced a trade away from the team after missing practices, criticizing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and generally making life miserable for the team. Despite all that, Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert had a positive response to Sunday’s win.

“I was happy for A.B. to win a Super Bowl trophy,” Colbert said on WDVE, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That’s something that is unique. Once a player does it, there is nothing else that can compare. When you get that first one, it’s unique and you remember it. Those [ex-Steelers], I know they enjoyed that. That was a special group. And we are happy for all of them.”

Brown’s behavior with the Raiders made for a short stay with them and accusations of sexual assault brought his time with the Patriots to an end after one game. He served an eight-game suspension to open this season as well and the distance all of that provides from his time with the Steelers may have made it easier for Colbert to find a smile for the wideout on Sunday.

[Futureshock]

Jaydon Mickens goes from sleeping in car while on Jaguars practice squad to Super Bowl champion

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on February 9, 2021, 1:40 AM EST

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When Jaydon Mickens first got to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a member of their practice squad three years ago, the former undrafted wide receiver found himself sleeping in his car in the parking lot at Everbank Field.

Three years later, he’s got a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In an interview with Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle on Monday, Mickens spoke about his experience sleeping in his car and having it now pay off with a Lombardi Trophy.

Mickens said that he couldn’t find anywhere to say on a practice squad salary that would give him the flexibility of a short-term lease should he have been released by the Jaguars. Mickens got to Jacksonville shortly after Hurricane Irma had ravaged the city in 2017 and the places Mickens was trying to stay wanted the security and cash flow security of longer leases as they had damaged properties to repair.

“If I sign this lease for $1,300 and I get cut tomorrow and I’m in Washington or I’m in Seattle or with any other team, I will not be able to hold that up with $5,000 to my name,” Mickens said.

Mickens said he hung out at teammate Marqise Lee‘s house until around midnight and then went to the gated lot at the stadium and would stay in his car from around 1 a.m. until 5:30 a.m. before going into the facility for work. Mickens said fellow receiver Larry Pinkard did the same thing.

Mickens would eventually get his chance on the active roster and he made his way as a kick and punt returner. Mickens handled the return duties for the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs. He had three returns for 75 yards in the victory.

“Man, it honestly doesn’t feel real. It’s very surreal,” Mickens said of winning the Super Bowl. “I haven’t won a championship since probably 2004, my Pop Warner days. This is something that I’m not used to but it’s something I knew we were able to accomplish through everything we’ve been through this season. But it doesn’t feel real.”

[Futureshock]

Bucs QB coach says Antonio Brown ran wrong route on Super Bowl touchdown

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on February 9, 2021, 12:00 AM EST

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Antonio Brown scored a touchdown for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl and managed to accomplish the feat while running the wrong route.

According to Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, Brown did the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do on the play.

“A.B. on his touchdown catch was supposed to go down and in and then pop back out. He goes out and pops back in,” Christensen said in an interview with former NFL punter Pat McAfee on YouTube and Sirius XM. “I’m kind of going through the headset like ‘did he run the right route? Did he just do opposite of what he was supposed to do and we hit it for a touchdown?’ That was the case.”

Brown was lined up one-on-one against Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu on the play. He ran a “whip” route, which was supposed to see him initially cut inside before bouncing back toward the sideline. Instead, Brown reversed the action and whipped back inside instead.

Despite the mistake from Brown, Tom Brady managed to compensate for the diversion from the plan and still connected with Brown for the score.

“And that’s where Brady doesn’t get thrown for a loop,” Christensen said. “He just hits the guy. ‘Hey, you get open, I’ll hit you.’ That’s where he’s pretty darn unique. A lot of quarterbacks are like ‘hey, he’s supposed to do this. A to B to C.’ This guy, A.B., goes C to F back to A and he just hits him for a touchdown. It was unbelievable.”

[Futureshock]

Report: Washington pauses cheerleader program, will rebrand and have new director

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on February 8, 2021, 11:06 PM EST

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The Washington Football Team has halted its cheerleading program and will rebrand the group under a new director, according to Darren Haynes and Nick Boykin of WUSA9.

The operation has been heavily scrutinized with a group of former cheerleaders filing a lawsuit against the team for unauthorized videos filmed by the team. Additionally, a 2013 photo shoot in Costa Rica allegedly had male sponsors of the team invited to attend as cheerleaders had their pictures taken in various levels of undress.

The Washington Football Team has dismissed director Jamilla Keene from her position running the unit.

“The time is right to reimagine our entire gameday experience to reinvent it in a way that reflects our modern identity and aligns with what today’s fan seeks. Coach Rivera has done an incredible job on the field. We will elevate our off-the-field product to match,” team president Jason Wright said in a statement on Monday.

The team has hired Code and Theory to help with their rebranding efforts.

The NFL is nearing the completion of an investigation of sexual harassment allegations into the team that led to the dismissal of three member of the front office, Alex Santos, Richard Mann III and play-by-play voice Larry Michael last summer.

[Futureshock]

Texans claim they’re holding firm on Deshaun Watson

Posted by Mike Florio on February 8, 2021, 10:21 PM EST

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When on the record 10 days ago, the Texans said nothing to suggest that the door is slammed shut on a possible trade of quarterback Deshaun Watson. More recently, they’ve said something else under the guise of anonymity.

“The goal is to get him back, period,” an unnamed person with knowledge of the team’s thinking said, via NFL Media.

The goal may be to get him back, but that ship by all appearances has sailed. It’s over. He’s done. He waited to ask for a trade because he knew that, one he did, there was no going back.

And while it’s entirely possible that, instead of holding out, he’ll choose to hold in (not practicing or playing due to actual, embellished, and/or fabricated injuries), Watson doesn’t seem to be wired that way. He’s either all in or all out. And if he all out, he’s not showing up — no matter the fine, the bonus repayment, or the salary forfeiture.

The Texans surely are smart enough to know this. Are they smart enough to make the right decisions in the face of it? That’s really the question.

Some teams simply don’t know enough to know what’s good for them. G.M. Nick Caserio likely does. But he’s the new guy. Owner Cal McNair and/or executive V.P. of football operations Jack Easterby may give Caserio marching orders that conflict with good, sound, sensible decisions.

Of course, it’s possible that the Texans have decided to take the position that the goal is to get Watson back, with the goal of driving up the price for a trade.

However it plays out, recent events involving the Texans justify a plausible conclusion that, whatever the team chooses to do, it will choose wrong.

[Futureshock]

Seahawks release Chance Warmack

Posted by Myles Simmons on February 8, 2021, 5:32 PM EST

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Seattle has released offensive lineman Chance Warmack.

Warmack elected to opt out of the 2020 season on Aug. 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had agreed to a one-year deal with the Seahawks on March 30.

Warmack hasn’t played a game since 2018, when he appeared in nine games for the Eagles.

Warmack has 51 career starts. He played his first four seasons with the Titans from 2013-2016 before spending a pair of years with Philadelphia.

Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, Warmack would like to play in 2021 and the Seahawks have interest in bringing him back. But Seattle wants to have Warmack go through a physical and/or a workout to see how he is after a year away from football.

[Futureshock]

Bears promote John DeFilippo to pass game coordinator

Posted by Myles Simmons on February 8, 2021, 4:31 PM EST

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The Bears announced a promotion on their coaching staff Monday afternoon, with John DeFilippo adding passing game coordinator to his title.

DeFilippo will continue to serve as Chicago’s quarterbacks coach.

The promotion fills the role vacated by Dave Ragone, who left the organization to become Atlanta’s offensive coordinator under Arthur Smith. Rqgone was previously the Bears’ quarterbacks coach from 2016-2019.

But as Chicago’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, DeFilippo could soon be working with Carson Wentz once again. DeFilippo was the Eagles’ QBs coach for Wentz’s first two years in the league, from 2016-2017.

Chicago and Indianapolis are thought to be the two teams with the most interest in acquiring Wentz from Philadelphia.

[Futureshock]

2021 NFL OFFSEASON PREVIEWS

Hayden Winks takes a look at every NFL team's offseason situation and outlook for 2021 ahead of free agency and the NFL Draft.
MORE

7. Detroit Lions (February 15)

[Masspartan]

Dan added that Mahomes also failed to run out of the back of the endzone during the game..........

for all the talk about Bienemy being ready, his gameplan for the Super Bowl was garbage. I agree with Orlovsky 100% on this one.

By the way I had the numbers 1-1 for the Super Bowl. I was definitely hoping Brady would be willing to take the last snap and run out of the back of the endzone. sigh.

[Masspartan]

I mean I guess definie trying to run? They only ran 6 run plays in both halves and 7 out of 12 of them were for 5 or more yards. It was there all day and they just didn't do it. They should have pushed it until the bucs started cheating their safeties up and got the D-line more reserved.. They let those pass rushers keep cooking.

I think this was stubbornness that no one could stop them all day and with their tackles healthy perhaps that's true.

Ried came right out and said. He thought they could just do what they had been doing. His quote was "I didn't see it coming".