NFL - NEWS & NOTES

If I had to speculate it would be my guess that there is some type of player conduct rule that Gordon flirted with the edges of and the league appears to be working with him to sort it out before the season starts.

It could have something to do with his legal status regarding his child support issue or it might be something regarding his extended absence and the details of his substance abuse program (I think there is a difference between coming of the NFI and reentering when being involved in the program as it pertains to his absence/reason for absence).

For whatever reason, the league appears to have involvement beyond simply giving him the go ahead from the non-football injury list but there is nothing I've read so far that gives an exact answer.

 

This thought just popped into my head . . .

What if the league has some internal "rule" that states a player can only be on one list and he failed a mandatory test while on the Non-football injury list? Could the league be waiting for the Browns to remove him from the Non-football injury list only to suspend him again?

 

i know the Eagles are having trouble with not leading with the crown of the helmet even on a basic tackle. pass thrown by brady to the sidelines. wr catches it an runs with it. eagles player leads with helmet towards mid-section which causes the player to be down on the ground. old rules - legal. now - leading with the helmet. players better get used to this new rule fast. season opens in 3 weeks.

 

Its really odd to me that the NFL is painting a gray area on the Gordon case. That in itself leaves the door open for more trouble with other players. Seems to me this all should be dealt with pout in the open in order to set a common standard. Why is there no questions about this from other teams and personal? Seems strange to say the least.

 

Hard to say. Whatever has happened I believe it likely falls in some kind of gray area and the negotiations are ongoing.

 

I think the league sees all the litigation that comes out of these high profile cases as bad for business so negotiating punishment is a much better alternative.

 

The last I knew, child support is handled in Family (Civil) Courts, not Criminal Courts.

If his child support was calculated based on his gameday check, and he wasn't receiving gameday checks . . . . ???

 

Steelers wide receiver Eli Rogers has been suspended for the first game of the season.

The NFL announced today that Rogers was suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. There was no word on the nature of the violation.


Rogers was a free agent who made several visits around the NFL this offseason before eventually re-signing with the Steelers just as training camps were getting underway.

After joining the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2015, Rogers spent his rookie year on injured reserve. In 2016 and 2017 Rogers caught a total of 66 passes for 743 yards and four touchdowns. He was also the Steelers’ primary punt returner last year.

Rogers tore his ACL in the playoffs and the Steelers did not tender him as a restricted free agent. It’s unclear whether Rogers will be healthy enough to play in Week One anyway, although the suspension will still cost him a week’s salary, as suspensions are unpaid but players who miss games because of injuries do get paid. (PFT)

 

Report: Vikings expected to sign George Iloka...

The Vikings’ defense is about to add a veteran who should make an immediate impact.

George Iloka, the safety who was cut by the Bengals this week, is on his way to Minnesota and expected to sign with the Vikings, according to NFL Network.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator for Iloka’s first two seasons in Cincinnati, so there’s a comfort level between them, and a belief that Iloka can get up to speed in Minnesota quickly.

Iloka started all 16 games last season for the Bengals and should be able to start in Minnesota as well. In Minnesota Iloka would likely be the starting strong safety, and pairing him with starting free safety Harrison Smith would give the Vikings one of the best safety combos in the league.

 

That would indeed be a frightening addition to Minnesota's secondary.

 

Out of nowhere thought for preseason. Atlanta plays Jacksonville this week. Jags GM Dave Caldwell and DPP Chris Polian were hired from the Falcons. They knew Atlanta's scouting department extremely well and hired the younger brother (with no previous NFL experience) of one of Atlanta's college scouts.

Five years later, Anthony Robinson has been promoted to Regional Scout for the Falcons while brother Antonio has become a full-fledged college scout for Jacksonville.

Can you imagine how much fun it would be to watch the preseason game at a bar somewhere with the two of them? They would have personally done at least some of the scouting work on a heck of a lot of the players who will be in the game - both "established" players and prospects.

 

Maybe ought to pump the brakes a little here. Teams (not even the Bengals) don't release "frightening additions" for no good reason.

 

There are ties between Iloka and Zimmer along with Terrence Newman... this familiarity played a part and no matter what reason Cincy cut him for, Iloka' numbers are pretty decent.

 

I'm thinking more in the sense of system fit and an already strong team getting an extra player without spending key resources.

Iloka was brought in for Zimmer and was a good fit in his scheme. Probably not as good a fit for the post-Zimmer defense. (My understanding is that it's a pure cap move though - they'll shave 4.4 million off the cap by releasing him.)

But reunite him with Zimmer? One of the top NFC teams just added a "free" puzzle piece - they get a starting-caliber DB who is already somewhat familiar with the defensive scheme. They didn't spend a draft pick to get him, they aren't mortgaging their cap future with the signing (it's a one year deal), and he won't even count against them in the compensatory draft pick formula.

 

I agree he's a decent free safety. He's no Ed Reed but he is decent. I do wonder though, why would a starting free safety only play on less than 90% of the snaps? His best year (statistically) was two years ago.

The Bengals did clear $5.3M in cap space so that alone may explain it.

 

Cap space was a reason, not gelling with the DC, has a big mouth on social media and the big X-Factor was probably the drafting of Jessie Bates.

I looked at the reactions of Bengals Nation and the fanbase was and is surprised by this move to cut Iloka. Maybe just another bungle by the Bengals? lol