NFL News

[Futureshock]

Witness suggests Travis Rudolph acted in self-defense

Posted by Mike Florio on April 8, 2021, 12:43 PM EDT

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Former NFL receiver Travis Rudolph faces charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. A witness to the incident contends that Rudolph may have had justification.

Hannah Winston of the Palm Beach Post reports that Rudolph acted in self-defense after a group of men came to “talk with” him.

Per the report, witnesses to the relevant events contend that Rudolph had a physical altercation with his girlfriend. Later, a group of four people drove up to Rudolph’s home, knocked on the door, and said they wanted to talk to him. A fight then broke out between those inside and outside the house, and Rudolph allegedly returned to the home at one point to get a rifle.

Rudolph allegedly started shooting as the group ran back to their car and attempted to flee. This fact, if true, would tend to undercut the self-defense argument.

The self-defense argument hasn’t worked yet. Rudolph remains jailed without bond.

[Futureshock]

Former NFL player Phillip Adams kills five, then himself

Posted by Mike Florio on April 8, 2021, 10:20 AM EDT

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Philip Adams, a former NFL defensive back who played for the 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Raiders, Jets, and Falcons, shot and killed five people on Wednesday and then committed suicide.

Via the Associated Press, Adams killed Dr. Robert Lesslie, his wife Barbara, two of their young grandchildren (Adah and Noah), and James Lewis.

A sixth person has been hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds,” per the report.

Adams killed himself after midnight with a .45 caliber handgun.

The shootings occurred in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where Dr. Lesslie had been practicing medicine since 1981.

A seventh-round pick of the 49ers in 2010, Adams was a Rock Hill native who played college football at South Carolina State. He appeared in 78 total NFL regular-season games.

[chemiclord]

Why can't these fuckers start shooting people in the right order?

[Futureshock]

Exactly right!

[Futureshock]

Panthers announce deal with A.J. Bouye

Posted by Charean Williams on April 7, 2021, 9:03 PM EDT

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The Panthers have made it official: They agreed to terms with cornerback A.J. Bouye.

The team previously signed Rashaan Melvin in free agency, leaving defensive tackle as the one glaring need on the defense.

“What we wanted to do going into this draft, through free agency, through this trade with Sam [Darnold], was to just get rid of all the needs we have,” General Manager Scott Fitterer said Monday after acquiring Darnold. “We wanted to get to a place where the roster was in a good spot, and we could take the best available player at number eight.

“We could always move up, and we could always move back, but this puts us in a position to make the right football decision for this team moving forward.”

Bouye, 29, will miss the first two games of the regular season while finishing up a suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

The Broncos released Bouye on Feb. 10 in a cost-cutting move after only one season. Bouye joined the Broncos last spring in a trade with the Jaguars but played only seven games due to a shoulder injury, a concussion and his suspension.

Bouye has started 69 games in his career and has 14 career interceptions, including one off Darnold in 2019.

[Iron Lion]

Why can't these fuckers start shooting people in the right order?

I wonder if the NFL is suppressing this story because he may have had severe CTE. We see what it's done to Antonio Brown.

[froot loops]

At this point when I see these football players do these wacked out violent things, I assume the repeated hits to the head are the #1 suspect. It's kind of like in a TV show involving cops, the #1 suspect is always the spouse. It doesn't mean it's always the case, but it's the most likely.

[Futureshock]

I wonder if the NFL is suppressing this story because he may have had severe CTE. We see what it's done to Antonio Brown.

Well,

With Occupational illnesses it is a lot harder to prove then an injury.

With CTE, the condition can be Acute Injury (from one hit) or a Chronic Illnesses, from many hits from a longer duration in time. Acute Injuries are slam dunks on the proof of being from your occupation. Chronic illnesses take a lot more proof (usually studies and a number of proof) due to the fact that a person could have stressors in their personal life. I have seen a company lawyer ask a plaintiff if he drove in rush hour traffic, smoked cigarettes (or been around others that did) or waited in a drive through line. And the defendant (company) won that trial. As they do most.

The NFL's position has been weakened by the amount of information and public sentiment the last few years, but, it is no slam dunk. Even with all the prevailing information, the chronic version is really hard to prove and win in court.

It's akin to the catch rule. You know it when you see it but you can't always convince the refs it was what we saw it was.

[Futureshock]

FMIA: 20 QB Decisions Shaping This NFL Offseason, Draft Like No Other

Posted by Peter King on April 11, 2021, 11:16 PM EDT

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There has never been an offseason like this one, which sets up a draft the likes of which we’ve never seen. Never has there been such a league-wide gold rush for quarterbacks. Never has the draft gone 1-2-3-4 with quarterbacks at the top. But with the assurance now that the top three picks will be, [more]

Finally, general managers are not risk-averse in this generation. They used to be, back in the eighties and nineties. I think Jimmy Johnson began to change that; he never met a trade he didn’t like. Now, look at the GMs making the big deals: Miami’s Chris Grier, Seattle’s John Schneider, L.A.’s Les Snead, Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas of the Jets, Brad Holmes of the Lions, John Lynch of the Niners, Baltimore’s Eric DeCosta. In general, they have no fear about shaking up their roster, and quickly.

Jan. 30


The Los Angeles Rams acquire Matthew Stafford from Detroit.

Detroit acquires Jared Goff plus a ransom from the Rams for Stafford: a third-round pick this year, and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.

Decision 1: Rams. Jared Goff out, Matthew Stafford in.

Decision 2: Lions. Stafford out, Goff in.

As for the teams with decisions to make between now and training camp:

Atlanta has the fourth pick in the draft, with Matt Ryan slated to play his 14th season this year at 36. Three years left on his contract—or two years plus a $15.6-million cap hit if the team cuts him after 2022. Ryan told me two years ago he wanted to play into his forties. Question for new Falcons hierarchy (GM Terry Fontenot, coach Arthur Smith): Do you believe Ryan can take you to a Super Bowl? If so, you trade down from the fourth pick in the first round or sit at four and take the best player in the draft who’s not a quarterback. If you don’t believe it, you take the best quarterback available this year—because it may be years before you have a top-five pick in a quarterback-heavy draft again.

Decision 16: Falcons. Do they commit to Ryan or do they draft his successor?



Pittsburgh has not fortified the position of heir to 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger, unless you trust Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins to be the heir—and I doubt sincerely the Steelers do. Could be Teddy Bridgewater buyers, but his $22.9-million and $26-million cap numbers are nightmarish for an acquiring team, and the Panthers would likely have to eat some of the money to enable a deal to happen.

Decision 17: Steelers. No one trustworthy is behind Roethlisberger. Best guess: Steelers will delay big decision till 2022.

Denver, with the ninth pick in the draft, has had a presence at every pre-draft quarterback workout, new GM George Paton’s staff has been fact-finding up a storm with the top passers, and could be in play to pick a passer in the top 10. Could be in play, too, to trade the pick, with Paton schooled in the Vikings’ never-met-a-draft-trade-they-didn’t-like ethos. Whatever the Broncos do, Drew Lock’s hold on the starting job is tenuous.

Decision 18: Broncos. Denver needs a QB of the future, but the Broncos might be able to trade back for draft capital they can’t refuse.

Seattle: This is either crazy or logical, I don’t know which. But the Seahawks had more than one team inquire about trading for Russell Wilson, and nothing ever got close, and I don’t see the scenario of Wilson being dealt re-emerging till February 2022.

Decision 19: Seahawks. Seattle, barring a mega-offer before August, enters 2021 with Wilson the starting quarterback.

Houston sits on Deshaun Watson, whose pressing legal problems make a trade very unlikely. One club exec with significant interest in Watson asked me the other day: “What’s your gut feeling on the market for Watson right now? Would anyone do a deal now?” I said I just can’t see it. How? How possibly do you trade for a guy, particularly sometime in the 17 days before the draft when so many quarterback decisions are being made, with 22 women accusing him of sexual impropriety? And how do you make such a deal knowing the league could/probably will suspend Watson for at least part of the 2021 season? Three bad things for Houston GM Nick Caserio, who basically is running an expansion team:

1. Caserio doesn’t get the benefit of any added 2021 draft capital to use this year.
2. The Texans, the only NFL team with zero picks in the top 60 this year, have precious little ammo to rebuild in 2021.
3. The ability to trade Watson for anything close to 70 cents on the dollar has vanished.

Decision 20 / Backstopping decision 7: Texans. Tyrod Taylor likely to start the season as Houston’s starter. That’s all we can project right now.

2. PHILLIP ADAMS. In 2012, Adams, playing safety for Oakland, intercepted Peyton Manning. In 2014, with the Jets, he picked off Philip Rivers. But Adams never stayed in one place too long, playing for six teams in six seasons (2010-15), an end-of-the-roster player battling to make a career out of South Carolina State. In recent months, those who know him say he’d been depressed and not his old optimistic, driven self. “His mental health degraded fast and terribly bad,” his sister, Lauren Adams, told USA Today. And on Wednesday, Phillip Adams went to the home of a doctor, who had reportedly treated him, and murdered six people—the doctor, his wife and two grandchildren, as well as two HVAC technicians working at their home—before Adams shot and killed himself.

Seven dead. Why? Adams’ father told a Charlotte TV station that “football messed him up,” and the New York Times reported that Adams’ brain will be studied to determine if he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that can cause depression and erratic behavior. CTE has been found in many deceased football players, with repeated blows to the head suspected of causing it. Such a tragedy, with so many lives forever altered. There may be a link to football; there may not be. Regardless of the cause of Adams’ actions, his apparent change in mental state five years after his career ended is just one more reminder that the league cannot spend too much time, resources and money on post-career mental-health services for former players.

5. THE FALCONS. The top of the draft, one through three, goes QB, QB, QB. Now Atlanta. I don’t know what the Falcons will do. But I do feel strongly about three things:

• They will not force a quarterback. Lots of people around the league feel they’ll just sit and take Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. That could be pre-draft logical thinking without any real knowledge. The Falcons know they have a perfectly fine quarterback in Matt Ryan (at $23 million, $23.75 million and $28 million owed in cash over the next three years), entering his age-36 year, figuring he’s got several seasons of above-average play left. When I say they won’t force a quarterback, I mean that GM Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith share this view: They’re not going to enter this draft thinking, “This might be the last year for a while that we’ll be in position to take a good quarterback prospect, so let’s grab one now.” No. They’ll take a quarterback if they love one. Like, really love one. They understand that forcing a quarterback could lead to misery.

• They would love a trade that enriches them. I doubt they’ll find one. But for two future first-round picks, they’d be compelled to take the long view. I don’t see that happening. I love Peter Schrager, and he had the Patriots trading up from 15 to four to take a quarterback in his Friday mock; I can see the Patriots trading up to pick a passer, but I can’t see them denuding two drafts to do so. But that’s what makes this fun. Schrager will be Nostradraftus if it happens. Also don’t see the Bears, in desperationville, doing it.

• If there’s a transcendent player they love, like Florida TE Kyle Pitts, they’ll take him. Do the Falcons truly NEED a quarterback? No. They’ve got a good one for, say, the next four years. It will take a new contract to keep him for that long, and that’s slightly problematic. But they must be thinking right now: Other than Tampa Bay, there’s a void atop this division right now, and we can be a playoff team in 2021 with Julio Jones (32), Calvin Ridley (26), Russell Gage (25) and Hayden Hurst (27) at key targets by simply adding the best tight end prospect in years (decades?) in Pitts. Best tight end in the 43-year history of Mel Kiper grading drafts. Tough to turn that down, even if the Falcons have many other needs.

[Futureshock]

Alvin Kamara says he hasn’t spent any of his football money

Posted by Mike Florio on April 12, 2021, 11:09 AM EDT

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Like long-time NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, four-year veteran running back Alvin Kamara has found a way to pay his bills without touching his football money.

Appearing on Uninterrupted’s Kneading Dough series, Kamara said that he has not yet spent any of the money he has earned playing pro football.

“I got my signing bonus, I went and got some wings, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m not spending any of this money.’ . . . I still have not spent $1 of my football money — new money or rookie contract money,” Kamara said, via Bleacher Report.

A player like Kamara, who makes money from endorsement deals, can live off that revenue while banking the football money. The challenge then becomes putting the football money in a place where it can earn good interest but that the principal remains secure.

It’s a good lesson for anyone who suddenly finds himself or herself with plenty of money. It’s very tempting to make a series of big expenditures. It’s smart to save as much of it as possible, to protect it, and to invest it wisely and prudently.

[Futureshock]

That's amazing. I don't think I could have that discipline. I wouldn't go on spending sprees either, but I would spend some.

[Futureshock]

Kevin James to play Sean Payton in movie based on 2012 Bountygate suspension

Posted by Mike Florio on April 12, 2021, 10:45 AM EDT

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Nine years ago, a gross miscarriage of NFL justice carried Saints coach Sean Payton out of the NFL for a year. During that year, he helped coach his son’s youth football team.

And there’s a show, that’s a show. Or at least a movie. From Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions, Home Team stars Kevin James as Payton, via Peter King of Football Morning in America.

King writes that Payton recently read the script and made some corrections. Filming starts later this year; the movie will land on Netflix.

James starred in the long-running CBS sitcom The King of Queens along with multiple films, including the Paul Blart: Mall Cop franchise. Which is fitting, because it was mall-cop level investigation and decision-making that resulted in such stringent penalties being imposed against the Saints for a cultural phenomenon that happened in most if not all NFL locker rooms until the league office decided to make an example out of one team — and to ignore everywhere else that it was happening.

[Futureshock]

Sam Darnold: It “stings a little bit” to be “unwanted” by the Jets

Posted by Mike Florio on April 12, 2021, 10:24 AM EDT

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Jets quarterback Sam Darnold spent more than two months not knowing whether he’d still be the Jets quarterback. That’s now over. And he’s happy about that.

“There’s a little bit of both — relief and excitement,” Darnold said, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. “There’s been so much uncertainty this offseason, not knowing what your future was going to look like, that was hard. . . . But now that I’m in Charlotte, I’m excited, and yeah, I guess I am kind of relieved to be here.”

The relief came after some “tough” conversations with his agent regarding the possibility of being traded to Carolina.

“I imagined I was going to be the franchise quarterback of the New York Jets for a long time,” Darnold said. “And once you realize that the team that drafted you is moving on, it stings a little bit.”

The fact that the Panthers wanted Darnold took away some of the bite.

“To go from being unwanted to being wanted is huge,” Darnold said. “Getting that news that you’re going to be traded, of a team saying, ‘Hey, we didn’t want you,” for whatever reason, is hard. . . . But right now, I feel great about it, and I’m excited to get here, and get started.”

Before Darnold gets too excited, he should talk to Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy was the flavor of the offseason for Carolina in 2020, but the Panthers decided after only one season to move on to Darnold. As they search and search and search for a franchise quarterback, there’s no guarantee that the Panthers won’t decide after only one season to move on from Darnold.

[Futureshock]

Unnamed agent says Packers are delaying free agent moves due to Aaron Rodgers’ contract

Posted by Mike Florio on April 11, 2021, 1:10 PM EDT

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Recently, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com took a comprehensive look at the issues surrounding the relationship between the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While much of the article consists of opinions from an anonymous agent, scout, and executive, there’s an important piece of anonymously-supplied news.

The agent suggested that the Packers are refraining from making free-agent moves until something is done with Rodgers’ contract.

“They’ve called me about one of my players and said, ‘Hey, this is where we are now, and until we get something big done — hint, hint — we don’t have any space,'” the unnamed agent told Demovsky.

The Packers could easily create significant cap space by converting a large chunk of Rodgers’ $14.7 million base salary to a signing bonus. PFT has obtained the relevant contractual language; the Packers have the absolute right to make such conversions with or without the player’s blessing.

The problem for the Packers comes from the reality that creating cap space now will push cap dollars into 2022, making it harder to trade him before June 1 of next year. That’s why Rodgers should actually want a full and complete restructuring. It would as a practical matter tie player and team together for two more years. Currently, the Packers are able to proceed on a year-to-year basis.

The decision to be made at the top of the organization is simple. Do the Packers want to preserve the ability to move Rodgers and elevate Jordan Love in 2022, or are they willing to proceed with Rodgers for 2021 and 2022 — regardless of whether he slips at all in 2021?

CEO Mark Murphy seems to realize the value of keeping Rodgers in a sweet spot of pissed off, mad enough to be highly motivated to perform at a high level but not so mad that he wants out. Murphy therefore seems to be willing to proceed with a contract that keeps Rodgers on a year-to-year arrangement.

There’s a clear risk inherent to that approach. If Rodgers has another MVP-quality year, he could make his push for a new team in early 2022. If that allows the Packers to sell the remainder of Rodgers’ contract for a significant haul of draft picks before the inevitable slide arrives and then shift to Love, that could be exactly what Murphy is hoping to achieve.

Regardless, the choices for the Packers are simple: current contract and a year-to-year relationship or new contract that makes it clear that Rodgers will play and Love will sit through 2022, if not longer. Rodgers surely prefers the latter. This could be the last year that he tolerates the former.

[Futureshock]

DESHAUN WATSONQB, HOUSTON TEXANS
NBC Sports' Peter King reports a trade for Deshaun Watson is "very unlikely" while the quarterback is immersed in legal troubles.


"How possibly do you trade for a guy, particularly sometime in the 17 days before the draft when so many quarterback decisions are being made, with 22 women accusing him of sexual impropriety?" King said. "And how do you make such a deal knowing the league could/probably will suspend Watson for at least part of the 2021 season?" They are valid questions that have surely been asked by team owners and general managers across the league in recent weeks. Watson, who has been accused by 22 massage therapists of sexual misconduct and sexual assault, has a non-zero chance of sitting out the entire 2021 season. There's also the issue of a public relations nightmare for any team that would trade for Watson, though we've seen NFL fanbases quickly forget about the improprieties of their favorite players.

SOURCE: FMIA
Apr 12, 2021, 9:15 AM