NFL News

[Futureshock]

Will the Cardinals cut DeAndre Hopkins?

Posted by Mike Florio on May 19, 2023, 10:14 AM EDT

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For weeks, it seemed inevitable that Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins would be traded. And then he wasn’t, even though at one point it was reportedly imminent.

Will he be?

At this point, it makes sense for the Cardinals to wait until after June 1. That would split the $22.6 million cap charge in half between 2023 and 2024.

But the problem is, as recently noted by Albert Breer of SI.com, that no one wants to pick up his $19.45 million salary for 2023. Faced with that reality, Hopkins’s best move is to love the one he’s with, since the Cardinals remain willing, for now, to proceed with that salary.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way. If they can’t trade him, maybe the Cardinals will cut him. His salary is non-guaranteed. It becomes guaranteed, as a practical matter, as of Week One.

Until then, the Cardinals risk that Hopkins will suffer an injury that will prevent them from cutting him, and that forces them to pay the money.

So, yes, he’s still a Cardinal. Unless he’s willing to take less, he won’t be traded. If/when he’s cut, he’ll have a chance to get whatever the open market will pay him.

[Futureshock]

Tom Clements: Jordan Love has all the qualities you’re looking for to be successful

Posted by Myles Simmons on May 19, 2023, 9:43 AM EDT

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Tom Clements returned to the Packers organization last year to be the club’s quarterbacks coach, primarily to work with Aaron Rodgers.

But while Rodgers is gone, Clements remains. Head coach Matt LaFleur said recently credited Clements for some of the “huge strides” Love made over the last year.

On Thursday, Clements told reporters that he feels like Love has the traits to be a franchise QB.

“He can throw the ball, number one,” Clements said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “Which he needs to do in the NFL. He’s good athletic. He can move around, buy time. And he’s intelligent.

“He generally makes good decisions, and at this point just needs to play, work on processing information, making good decisions, and getting it to the right guy. He has all the qualities you’re looking for in a guy to be successful.”

Love has received limited regular-season playing time over the last two years, starting one game in 2021. In all, he’s completed 50-of-83 passes for 606 yards with three touchdowns.

Clements said Love “did some very good things” in his appearance against Philadelphia last year in particular.

“I’m sure that helped his confidence,” Clements said. “It helped the confidence of guys around him, and he’s just got to build on that.”

But Clements also tempered expectations when he was asked how much time it may take to know if Love can truly be successful.

“I don’t think you can put a time on it,” Clements said.

[edindetroit]

Tom Clements: Jordan Love has all the qualities you’re looking for to be successful

Posted by Myles Simmons on May 19, 2023, 9:43 AM EDT

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Tom Clements returned to the Packers organization last year to be the club’s quarterbacks coach, primarily to work with Aaron Rodgers.

And he did a fine job of chasing Erin out of town.

[edindetroit]

Jets Impressed By How Quickly Aaron Rodgers Complaining About Roster

NEW YORK—Complimenting the quarterback for the speed with which he’d acclimated to their team, members of the New York Jets coaching staff told reporters Wednesday they were impressed by how quickly Aaron Rodgers was complaining about the roster. “It’s amazing to watch how Aaron’s mind works, how rapidly he found at least one thing about every single guy on this team that he absolutely loathes,” said Jets head coach Robert Saleh, adding that Rodgers had been proactive about meeting with wide receivers Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, and Mecole Hardman individually to offer them personalized criticism about their play. “Aaron has already come to us with detailed gripes about nearly everyone, from the veterans to the rookies, and even the guys he asked us to sign. He’s already giving the offensive line the silent treatment, and he showed up to the defense’s practice to complain about those guys too. To have a veteran QB show from day one how seriously he takes grumbling about his teammates, it’s really inspiring our younger guys to bitch and moan as well. After all the controversy surrounding him coming here, we’re all just glad to see that Aaron is exactly the kind of locker-room cancer we hoped he’d be.” Jets general manager Joe Douglas told reporters that he was also impressed with how quickly Rodgers had demanded that the team’s entire coaching staff be fired.

https://www.theonion.com/jets-impressed-by-how-quickly-aaron-rodgers-complaining-1850439569

[jaadam4]

Instant classic

[Cody_Russell]

I ordered mine Cody. I did the standard one package for 349.
You are supposed to get two streams. You can also share it with another person. ( split the fees with someone else) .
Keeping the directv ( wife loves it) . Either upgrading to a giant OLED smart tv or getting two Rokus .

Yup. 👍 Nice.

I did the Redzone package option for $389. The total purchase pushed up to $420 after taxes. However, my Chase card has a deal that expires tomorrow that gives back $20 from YouTube TV purchases. Plus there will be cash back on rewards points too.

Expensive, but it’s expected of Sunday Ticket. The $100 off inaugural offer ends 06/06/23 FYI.

[CGVT]

360_F_113327427_6FCrecysdGiP5R5mBG40DyWU186C3xLz.jpg

[Futureshock]

20 teams start OTAs today

Posted by Mike Florio on May 22, 2023, 6:34 AM EDT

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The offseason program is a three-phase process. And Phase Three is the most important of all of them.

That’s when Organized Team Activities happen, a fancy, verbose phrase for “practice.” They’re now commonly known as OTAs, still one syllable more than just saying “practice.”

Twenty teams start OTAs on Monday, based on the calendar the NFL released earlier this year. They are the Cardinals, Ravens, Bills, Bears, Cowboys, Packers, Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Rams, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Giants, Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, and Titans.

Another 10 teams start OTAs on Tuesday. The Eagles begin next week, and the Bengals don’t begin until June 5.

The OTA practices are non-contact in nature. There was a time when contact happened on a consistent basis during offseason workouts, to the point at which most linemen would have preferred to wear pads, given the extent to which helmets were banging against their upper bodies.

Even now, contact sometimes happens — especially for first-year, first-time coaches who either want to see some fire from their players or who can’t properly reel in the intensity displayed by up to 90 men trying to win 53 roster spots or both.

It’s the final push toward a six-week (or so) pause in activity before training camps open and the process formally begins of 32 teams competing for one eventual prize.

One of the other big questions is who will be there, and who won’t? In New York, how many of the sessions will new quarterback Aaron Rodgers attend? In Baltimore, how often will the Ravens — who are installing a new offense — see new receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and quarterback Lamar Jackson?

Yes, it’s all voluntary. But, in most cities, the players will be volunteering to put in the time now, in an effort to better prepare for the Royal Rumble to come.

[Futureshock]

Petty mf

Ben Roethlisberger: I didn’t want Kenny Pickett to play so well that people said, “Ben who?”

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 22, 2023, 4:49 AM EDT

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Ben Roethlisberger admits that he was ambivalent about Kenny Pickett following in his footsteps as the Steelers’ franchise quarterback.

Roethlisberger had Pickett as the guest on his podcast and told Pickett that he was nervous about Pickett playing so well that people would be glad the Steelers moved on.

“I’ll be completely honest, I’ll be super transparent here and I’m gonna get blasted,” Roethlisberger said. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but who cares at this point. I wouldn’t say that I wanted Kenny to necessarily fail, but when someone comes to replace you, I still feel like I had it, I hope he doesn’t come ball out. Because then it’s like, Ben who?”

Roethlisberger said that especially in Pickett’s first few starts, it was hard to want him to win.

“Early on I didn’t want you to succeed because you followed me up, I didn’t want it to happen. I think that’s probably the selfishness of me, and I feel bad for it,” Roethlisberger said.

But Roethlisberger told Pickett that after watching him, he came to appreciate him.

“As you started playing, I found myself rooting more and more for you,” Roethlisberger told Pickett. “I wanted you to succeed, I wanted you to win games, I wanted you to go in the playoffs. I feel bad that I felt that early on but I’m glad I transitioned to loving and rooting for you.”

Pickett told Roethlisberger that he appreciates his support, and his candor. Roethlisberger is surely not the only great player who feels that way after walking away.

[Futureshock]

Report: Commanders unlikely to face punishment for Andrew Luck tampering

Posted by Mike Florio on May 21, 2023, 10:25 PM EDT

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The best way to avoid the consequences of an unfortunate new precedent is to ignore the existence of the precedent.

That’s what the NFL might be doing, given the possibility that the Commanders made contact with retired Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in 2022, at a time when the Commanders were searching high and low for a new starter.

The Washington Post reports that the Commanders are “unlikely” to face punishment for tampering with Luck. The report explains that “there probably is ‘not enough hard evidence’ of impermissible contact” for a penalty to be imposed.

Here’s the question: What was done to look for evidence, hard or otherwise? The Post continues to treat as dispositive its own report that someone from Luck’s camp said the Commanders did not contact Luck, his father Oliver, or his agent. That denial hardly ends it; Luck, who has walked away from the game, surely has no interest in getting involved.

It wouldn’t be difficult to properly investigate this, if the NFL wanted to do so. Either the Commanders directly contacted the Colts about Luck, or the Commanders didn’t. If they didn’t directly contact the Colts, there’s a chance the Commanders contacted Luck or some intermediary.

A proper investigation would not be difficult to design. The Commanders would be directed to surrender text messages, emails, and/or phone records from executives, coaches, and scouts during the period of, for example, November 1, 2021 through the date on which the Commanders traded for Colts quarterback Carson Wentz. The information would then be reviewed carefully for any indication of an effort to explore whether Luck would be interested in returning to play.

The league could do this, if the league wanted to do it. Chances are the league doesn’t want to do it.

Per the report, the issue probably is “going to fade away.” That’s right, because that’s what the league apparently wants.

The league shouldn’t be surprised that the Colts demanded an investigation after ESPN reported that the Commanders “even phoned the retired Andrew Luck” while searching for a quarterback in early 2022. Given the resolution of the Jonathan Gannon tampering situation, which involved the unprecedented move of allowing the two involved teams to negotiate draft-pick compensation to settle things, any team that believes it has been the victim of tampering should demand an investigation in the hopes of a similar strategic edge.

By apparently looking the other way and hoping that this one is “going to fade away,” the league kills this new precedent before it can become one. Even if it’s entirely possible that the Commanders did indeed contact Luck or someone connected to Luck at a time when Luck remains under contract with the Colts.

[Futureshock]

His gloves are from the Baby GAP....

Kenny Pickett: Teams told me I was off their draft boards over hand size

Posted by Mike Florio on May 21, 2023, 8:56 PM EDT

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Much was made before the 2022 draft about the size of Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett‘s hands. And for good reason. Some teams have a minimum hand size below which they will not go.

And some teams aren’t bashful about saying so.

Appearing on Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast, Pickett said that multiple teams told Pickett he was off the draft board due to his hand being smaller than nine inches.

“There’s teams that were like, ‘If you’re not at nine [inches], you just get off the board,'” Pickett said, via SteelersDepot.com. “And those teams were high. I’m obviously going to do everything I can [to get drafted as high as possible].”

Pickett told The Pivot podcast that he wore a splint at night during the pre-draft process in order to stretch his hands. It worked, a bit. His 8.5-inch hand size grew to 8-5/8ths.

Some teams have certain prototypes from which they won’t deviate, with height, weight, and hand size being the most important of them, when it comes to a quarterback.

It’s an analytics tool, developed long before analytics became widely used in sports. The thinking is that deviation from those basic minimums introduces a level of risk to the process that, over time, will result in more failures than successes.

It’s nothing personal against the player who doesn’t get drafted. It’s a matter of basic numbers from which certain evaluators simply will never, ever deviate.

That doesn’t mean Pickett will not be successful. It means that certain teams refuse to ever make exceptions when it comes to basic size minimums, given the enhanced risk of failure when doing so.

[Futureshock]

Brett Favre asks Mississippi Supreme Court to dismiss him from civil case over welfare funds

Posted by Mike Florio on May 20, 2023, 10:01 PM EDT

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While Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre continues to deal with the possibility of a criminal indictment, he’s still fighting the reality of a civil suit.

Favre recently took to the Mississippi Supreme Court his effort to be dismissed from a lawsuit aimed at recovering welfare funds that allegedly were misappropriated.

Favre has tried repeatedly to secure an order removing him from the lawsuit, arguing that he had nothing to do with the scheme to direct welfare funds to allegedly illegitimate causes. Favre also argues that the Mississippi Department of Human Services has sued Favre as a deflection to its own role in allowing the fraud to happen.

Regardless of Favre’s beliefs as to the motivations or responsibilities, there’s only one way to secure an early dismissal from a civil case — by proving that there is no basis under the law to recover a penny from the defendant, even if the alleged facts are taken to be true.

But Favre seems to be as obsessed with securing dismissal as he was with securing funding for a volleyball venue at the University of Southern Mississippi, as illustrated in a recent article from Michael Rosenberg of SI.com.

[Futureshock]

Opposition increases to new fair catch rule

Posted by Mike Florio on May 20, 2023, 8:11 PM EDT

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The next evolution in the kickoff rule was supposed to be the adoption of the NCAA-style rule that results in a fair catch inside the 25 being placed at the 25. That apparently won’t be happening.

As recently explained by Albert Breer of SI.com, special-teams players and coaches have accelerated the opposition to the rule.

The proposal was passed unanimously by the Competition Committee in March. The issue was tabled from March to May, an acknowledgement that the vote would have failed if it had happened at the annual meeting in Arizona.

Based on Breer’s report, it sounds as if it’s even more likely to fail now.

The issue, according to Breer, was discussed last week during a regularly-scheduled call among the league’s special-teams coordinators. They decided to recruit special-teams players to participate in active opposition against the rule.

One concern with the rule is that it will spark more squib kicks inside the 25, which couldn’t be fair caught and would have to be returned. That could create more, not less, chaos on special teams.

The proposed change comes from an overriding desire to make the most dangerous play in the game, as the league has called it, more safe. It’s been a focal point for the past decade or so, with gradual changes aimed at making the play safer.

It started with efforts to spark fewer returns. Several years ago, a more comprehensive change to the rules was devised to reduce the full-speed nature of the impacts during kick returns.

One question that emerged in the aftermath of the March meetings was whether playing surface has a role in the question of injuries during kickoff returns.

If switching to grass could make the play safer, it’s another reason to switch to grass. But the NFL has no desire to do it, because it would be expensive to do so.

So in lieu of spending a little extra money to make the game safer in all phases, the NFL would rather make dramatic changes to one of the most important aspects of special teams.

[Futureshock]

Darnell Mooney plans to “ball out” and dominate in return from ankle injury

Posted by Josh Alper on May 20, 2023, 5:52 PM EDT

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Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney wasn’t able to build on his breakout 2021 season last year.

Mooney had 81 catches for 1,055 yards in 2021, but was limited to 40 catches for 493 yards in 12 games before fracturing his ankle. Mooney had surgery to repair the injury and said in a conversation with Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown for The 33rd Team that he expects to be 100 percent by the start of the season.

Once he’s back to full speed, Mooney said he also plans to push his game to an even higher level.

“Do whatever I can do for my team, or whatever,” Mooney said. “I mean ball out, of course. Dominate. Not really on the ‘respect my name’ anymore. I’m just disrespecting everybody now. I don’t really care about respect no more. Other than that, I just want to win. I don’t really care about anything else, for real.”

Mooney was the No. 1 receiver last season, but DJ Moore‘s arrival changes the dynamic at wideout this year. If the pairing works out, it should help Justin Fields progress as a quarterback and make for a more competitive offense in Chicago.

[Futureshock]

Could the Raiders decide to trade Davante Adams after June 1?

Posted by Mike Florio on May 20, 2023, 12:47 PM EDT

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Raiders receiver Davante Adams recently spoke with surprising candor regarding his concerns regarding the organization. His only gesture in response to the kerfuffle was to post a photo of himself and G.M. Dave Ziegler with the message, “The Man.”

As someone in league circles pointed out, perhaps Adams was trying to make the point that his issue is with someone else. Someone perhaps not in the photo.

Regardless, the Raiders and Adams seem on the surface to be bound together, thanks to the contract he signed last year. As noted by Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com, an Adams trade would spark a cap charge of $31.4 million this year, or $23.6 million next year.

But let’s not forget June 1. The Raiders could, in theory, trade Adams after June 1, limited the cap charge to $7.85 million this year and $23.6 million in 2024. Alternatively, he could be traded after June 1, 2024, once again cutting the cap charge to $7.85 million, and kicking $15.7 million to 2025.

Adams has a manageable salary of $6.03 million in 2023; he already has received a $20 million roster bonus. If Adams’s agitation is enough to get the Raiders to move on, they could do so with a reasonable cap consequence this year, and a larger (but not crippling) one in 2024.

The money that makes up the $31.4 million in total cap charges has already been spent. It’s gone. Those cap dollars will count against the Raiders’ cap, sooner or later.

If the things Adams said are enough to persuade the organization to move on, it would not be impossible to do so. The question is whether that’s what the team chooses to do — and whether that’s the outcome Adams is trying to instigate.

So where would he go, if traded? The Jets surely don’t have a spot for him, not with so many solid receivers on the roster. The Saints would be an intriguing option, allowing for another reunion with Derek Carr.

Fascinating possibilities, as contenders go, include the Bills and Giants.

Regardless, a trade is not an impossibility. The cap consequence is manageable, and the current cap charge is unavoidable.

The biggest impediment to doing a deal could be the total investment made for what would be one year with Adams. They Raiders have paid him $42.75 million. They gave up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to get him.

They would need a significant haul to justify what was surrendered for a single 17-game, no-playoffs season. If they should get one, maybe they would take it. Again, 12 days from now, the cap consequence won’t be nearly as bad as it would be today.