NFL - NEWS & NOTES

NFL teams asking Lamar Jackson to work out as a wide receiver

Lamar Jackson was a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Louisville, but some teams think he’ll be better off changing positions in the NFL.

That’s why Jackson has been asked to work out both as a quarterback and as a wide receiver at the Scouting Combine, according to Peter Schrager of NFL Network.

Multiple teams have made that request, but it’s unclear whether Jackson will comply.

Jackson wants to play quarterback, but the question is whether some team could convince him he’d be a higher pick at wide receiver. Matt Jones, who played quarterback at Arkansas, worked out at wide receiver at the Scouting Combine and put on a show, and he ended up going in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft.

But Jackson was a much better college quarterback than Jones was, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Jackson takes the position that he’s done enough as a passer that he doesn’t need to consider changing positions — even if that stance hurts his draft stock, in some teams’ eyes.

 

@Will

Lamar should tell em to kiss his ass.

You diggin’ on the combine today?

 

I haven't done enough personal scouting to have a firm opinion of whether or not Jackson is going to be an NFL success at QB, but he certainly has the tools to be worth a shot. Hell, if anything, the amount of work he'd have to do to be a successful WR or RB... put that work in at QB and you're probably better off. I agree, Tim - Jackson should tell those teams to go screw. If he can impress with his throwing ability in the next few months, he'll be better for it.

 

Man, I'm whipped. I had a 1 year old girl and a 3 year old boy today. Uncle Willie to the rescue, so I didn't see a lick of the combine. I just sat down and have a lot of catching up to do. Every time I tried to get online, it was Uncle Willie this and Uncle Willie that, lol, so I gave up and gave them my best 100%... kids wear me out, I'm too old for this shit, lol.

AS for Jackson, I agree with you, I would tell them all where to go and tell them to read the resume. How in Green Apples are GM's and such even asking this of the kid? He has a trophy at QB, I don't get it.

If I were him id stick to my guns and play QB somewhere. I hear Cleveland and Minnesota are hiring.

 

Hold a clipboard pays the same as getting hit going over the middle.

 

Wow Falcons have cut TE Levine Toilolo.
He signed a 3-year, $12M extension just last year.

 

Hahha, welcome to my life Will.

 

49ers win coin toss and will pick 9th.
Garappolo still hasn’t had a loss.
Pats lose out in the 2nd round and fall to pick 43.

 

Lamar Jackson says he’s a quarterback, and as far as he knows no NFL team disagrees.

Asked about today’s report that NFL teams wanted him to do wide receiver drills at the Scouting Combine, Jackson dismissed it and said all he plays is quarterback.

“No team asked me to try out at wide receiver,” Jackson said. “I don’t know where that came from. I’m strictly a quarterback.”

Jackson said he has always played quarterback, since he first played youth football, and he thinks it’s “crazy” that anyone would suggest he needs to change positions after a Heisman Trophy-winning career as a quarterback at Louisville.

So that’s that. Lamar Jackson is playing quarterback in the NFL. If you’re a team that wants him to play wide receiver, don’t draft him.

 

Baker Mayfield thinks he can turn around the Cleveland Browns

We already knew Baker Mayfield was confident.

We may not have known he plans on being a miracle worker.


The Oklahoma quarterback wasn’t shying away from his reputation at the Scouting Combine, even expressing confidence in his abilities if he’s picked first overall.

“If anyone is going to turnaround the Cleveland Browns, it’s going to be me,” Mayfield said, immediately establishing that he didn’t come to Indianapolis to tell people what they wanted to hear.

He defended his approach, saying “I don’t think I’m cocky, just confident.”

“I’m not going to go in [the locker room] and act like I’ve got it all figured out,” he said.

Asked how he’d approach things if he was drafted by a team with an entrenched starter (specifically the Giants), he replied: “First things first, whichever team I go to, I’m not going to settle for a backup job.”

But throughout the interview, there was the confidence he’s expressed throughout his career, sometimes more exuberantly than others. He said his plan when talking to teams was to express himself with “brutal honestly,” and referred to himself as “the most accurate quarterback in this draft, by far.”

And while there have been negative comparisons to Johnny Manziel, he also pointed out that Manziel was also a talented player at one time. It’s not a comparison he particularly likes because of the way things have transpired off the field for his fellow Heisman winner, but Mayfield’s certainly not going to shy away from the expectations. (PFT)

 

The stunner was signing him to that contract last year. Cutting him now was fully expected. Dimitroff had said earlier that some cuts would be coming to free up cap space. Toilolo might have been the single most obvious cut on the roster.

 

I'm not too shocked with the cut. It's just a sad situation.

 

I don't know if I'd call it sad, at least not for him. The dude collected $4.5M last year alone and is now free to sign with anyone he wants.

Or to rephrase that, he's free to sign with anyone that wants a TE who was projected to be a great red zone target but had more drops than TDs and who averages less than one reception per career game played in spite of starting nearly 75% of his games.

 

Kurt Coleman agrees to three-year deal with Saints



Veteran safety Kurt Coleman has a new team to call home but is remaining in the NFC South.

Less than a week after being released by the Carolina Panthers, Coleman has agreed to a three-year deal with the New Orleans Saints according to multiple reports.

Coleman met with the Saints and Cincinnati Bengals in Indianapolis on Thursday night while the teams were working at the NFL Combine.

Coleman started all 42 games he appeared in over the last three seasons for the Panthers. He recorded at least 90 tackles in each of his first two seasons in Carolina with 11 total interceptions over that span. However, Coleman missed four games last season and didn’t record an interception for just the second time in his eight-year career.

The need for safety help increased for New Orleans when the team decided to move on from Kenny Vaccaro. (PFT)

 

Michigan DT Maurice Hurst has heart condition

Doctors at the combine have diagnosed Michigan defensive tackle Maurice Hurst with a heart condition, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Hurst will not participate in combine drills and will undergo further testing this week.

Hurst was projected as a possible first-round pick.

He was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection and an All-American last season when he made 60 tackles, including 13.5 for loss, and five sacks.

 

NCAA considers new rule to reduce kickoff returns, which will get the NFL’s attention

The NFL has already followed the NCAA’s lead in changing a kickoff rule once, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen again.

The NCAA is currently exploring a rule change that would allow the receiving team to fair catch a kickoff inside the 25-yard line and have it treated as a touchback. The idea behind the rule is that it would reduce the number of kickoff returns, and therefore the number of collisions on kickoff returns, and therefore the number of injuries on kickoff returns.


It was college football that led the way on the rule that moved touchbacks on kickoffs out to the 25-yard line, rather than the 20-yard line. The NFL followed suit and adopted the 25-yard line rule.

If college football also adopts this new touchback rule, and it seems to work well, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the NFL do it as well. The NFL has said that its injury data shows that kickoffs result in more head and neck injuries per play than any other play in football, and the league wants to reduce those injuries. Touchbacks aren’t as exciting as kickoff returns, so not all fans would be on board, but the league will surely keep an eye on this NCAA proposal. (PFT)
________
________________

WTF? Just a bunch of dumb stuff being reported lately on rule changes and the changes are asinine to begin with. Returns is part of the game and violent hits can and do happen on any given play, so lets just make it a two-handed tap game.

 

Jarvis Landry will sign franchise tender



The Dolphins were the first team to use the franchise tag this year. And receiver Jarvis Landry will be the first one to accept it.

Per multiple reports, Landry will be signing the one-year offer.

Once signed, Landry will be under contract for 2018, at a salary that is expected to be in the range of $16.2 million (it could be higher). That amount will count against the Miami salary cap for 2018, and the team will no longer be able to rescind it.

Signing the tender is required before Landry can be traded. It remains to be seen whether anyone wants to give the Dolphins value for Landry, or whether any team wants to acquire him at a steep one-year salary or a long-term deal with the franchise tender as the starting point. (PFT)