NFL - NEWS & NOTES

That sounds good. I can answer questions for sure. also if you need me I should be free Sunday or Monday for a podcast. Maybe this time it will actually render properly.

 

No chance. The Steelers always operate under the premise that the other 52 players are watching. They believe treating these players like family helps them when it's time to re-sign their draft picks and for the most part that is true. They typically get deals done with guys they want to keep. Bell is the obvious exception.

 

i hear ya beach. im shocked the quote i posted said they would let him go and go with their other RB.

 

If Bell is the obvious exception . . . Then there is a chance ???

 

Tonights Week 4 Action... the next time they, its for real.

 

Are you guys seeing a large picture of the schedule (above) or just a thumbnail that is small and hard to read???

 

I got the large picture. It's much appreciated. Had no idea tonight was basically all the preseason had left to give us.

 

Thanks for replying. When I open the site with Crome or IE, its a dinky little box you have to click on, but on my new computer with Win 10 it looks large and pretty cool.

 

Will, i see the large pic of the week 4 preseason schedule.

 

Yeah, the last games are all at once (not exactly the same time, but not days apart) so that everyone has the same number of days remaining for the roster cuts and waiver pickups.

 

I'd say doing the written articles would be best, but some podcast(s) as follow-ups would be awesome if you're already intending to do podcasts this year.

 

Rob Gronkowski’s reworked deal gives him max value of $13.05 million for 2018...

Rob Gronkowski said earlier this week he was open to a new deal. The Patriots tight end didn’t get that, but he did agree to a restructured deal Thursday.

The Patriots added $1 million in per-game bonuses and $3.3 million in incentives to Gronkowski’s contract, raising his maximum value for 2018 to $13.05 million, Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told PFT.

Gronkowski will make the full amount if he’s on the 46-man roster for 16 games and hits three of four performance triggers: $1.1 million for 80 percent play time; $1.1 million for 70 catches; $1.1 million for 1,085 yards; and/or $1.1 million for nine touchdowns.

That is one more yard, one more catch and one more touchdown than Gronkowski had last season. He played 79.3 percent of the team’s snaps.

Gronkowski was due to make $8 million in base salary and $750,000 in per game roster bonuses this season. He didn’t earn a $250,000 workout bonus in the offseason, choosing to stay away and train on his own.

The Patriots added $5.5 million in incentives to Gronkowski’s deal last season to go with his $4.25 million base salary for 2017. (PFT)

 

For the final preseason game, Atlanta didn't just sit the starters.

They held 42 players out completely, and by my count there were 6 more roster-lock players who only appeared briefly to help round out special teams. (Two of them were the long snapper and the punter, who didn't punt or kick off but did come in as the holder on an extra point.)

 

Dallas Cowboys trading for OL Parker Ehinger…

With 10 days until kickoff, the Dallas Cowboys are adding a piece to their offensive line.

The Kansas City Chiefs are trading offensive lineman Parker Ehinger to the Cowboys for cornerback Charvarius Ward, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation.
Ehinger was a fourth-round pick of the Chiefs out of Cincinnati in the 2016 draft and won a starting guard job as a rookie, but saw that campaign cut short by a torn ACL. The knee injury has kept him from regaining his job since -- save for his lone start in Week 17 of 2017 -- and GM Brett Veach evidently deemed him expendable.

Dallas welcomes him in a move that appears to be for interior depth. We took a close look Wednesday at the struggles the Cowboys have faced and likely will continue to endure with Joe Looney taking over at center, but Ehinger has only seen starting snaps in the NFL as a guard. The Cowboys are looking at starting rookie Connor Williams at left guard, opposite two-time All-Pro Zack Martin, and might feel more comfortable with Ehinger behind (or competing with) Williams than the previous situation. It doesn't appear as though Ehinger will play center, though crazier things have happened.

The loss of backup Marcus Martin to a torn ligament in his toe during this preseason likely is a more logical explanation for this trade. Dallas doesn't want to enter the season without reliable depth behind the rookie guard and acquiring Ehinger for a bubble player addresses that concern.

Ward was an undrafted free agent who some expected to make the final 53-man roster in Dallas after he showed potential during camp. He'll instead move to a team that has had issues with its secondary during the preseason. (PFT)

 

These are the finals to Week 4... the real deal is upon us!

 

Ward played pretty well, and I was hoping he made the team. He has definite upside. But with Travis Frederick sidelined, Dallas needs O-line depth badly.

 

Report: Patriots trading Jordan Richards to Falcons...

Today’s the day for teams to see if the guys they were cutting might have value to others. It appears the Patriots have found a buyer.

According to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, the Patriots are trading safety Jordan Richards to the Falcons.

The former second-round pick (of which the Patriots have made a mess of on defensive backs over the years) was buried on the depth chart, but has more of a chance to stick in Atlanta.

He might not measure up to Ras-I Dowling or Tavon Wilson on the list of underwhelming Patriots draft picks, but he also never measured up to expectations in New England.

UPDATE 11:33 a.m. ET: Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the compensation is a conditional seventh-rounder. (PFT)

 

Cyrus Jones (2016 2nd rounder) might not be far behind him. He was playing late in the game yesterday.

 

Texans waive Braxton Miller...

Wide receiver Braxton Miller will be among the players let go by the Texans as they drop to 53 players.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the team will place Miller on waivers. Miller was a third-round pick in the 2016 draft.

Miller was a three-year starter at quarterback at Ohio State, but moved to wide receiver after a shoulder injury caused him to miss the entire 2014 season. He caught 34 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns over his first two NFL seasons.

While the rest of the cuts in Houston aren’t known, we do know DeAndre Hopkins will be fronting the receiver group. Will Fuller, Bruce Ellington and fourth-round pick Keke Coutee seem likely to join him. (PFT)