NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Gates is back with the Chargers...

 

I hope its in a coaching role. The dude's almost MY age.

 

So he must be pretty good with that walker to play TE for an NFL team.

 

Antonio Gates isn’t done just yet.

Gates, the 38-year-old tight end who has been out of action all offseason, signed a one-year deal with the Chargers today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

There had been talk all offseason that Gates might return for one more go-round, but it didn’t materialize until today, when the two sides finally worked out a deal. Gates shouldn’t need too much time to get on the same page with Philip Rivers and get ready to play. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the field when the Chargers’ season starts a week from today.

Although he doesn’t have a whole lot left (last year Gates had a career-low 319 receiving yards despite playing in all 16 games), the Chargers still think he can bring something to the table.

Gates is one of the best tight ends in NFL history, with 927 career catches for 11,508 yards and 114 touchdowns. He’s a future Hall of Famer, but it’ll be at least one more year before that Hall of Fame career ends. (PFT)

 

Legit question for the group . . .

Will Dez Bryant be signed by someone by the end of this week?

If so, where?

 

Personally, I don't think so. To hear him talk, he believes that a team will come begging him to play when they are on a winning path and have an injury that requires his services to save their season. That is what I believe he is waiting on.

 

Saints add running back depth, signing Mike Gillislee…

The Saints hosted running back Mike Gillislee on a visit Sunday. It didn’t take long for them to make a deal.

Gillislee signed a one-year deal with New Orleans a day after the Patriots cut him, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

The Saints needed depth at the position with Mark Ingram suspended for four games for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. They kept only Alvin Kamara and rookie Boston Scott on their 53-player roster, with Jonathan Williams among their cuts Saturday.

New Orleans also placed veteran running back Shane Vereen on injured reserve Saturday, and two weeks ago, the team released veteran running back Terrance West.

Gillislee rushed for 960 yards and 13 touchdowns the past two years with the Bills and Patriots.

In the 2017 offseason, with Gillislee a restricted free agent, New England signed him to a deal the Bills didn’t match. (PFT)

 

Dez is overvaluing himself. His skills have diminished with injuries and even the Cowboys knew that he wasn't worth the money he was wanting. He made a big mistake in turning down multiple offers already. If he doesn't lower his expectations, he will end up just like Kaepernick has, on the outside looking in.

 

Is James Conner's FF value ticking upwards?

 

Raiders sign receiver Brandon LaFell to one-year deal...

While the masses gathered in an uproar over the Khalil Mack trade, sneaking quietly through the back of the room was the Raiders' need at receiver.

Oakland attempted to address that Monday by signing former Bengals receiver Brandon LaFell to a one-year deal, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. The team later made the news official.

The triple whammy of the Ryan Switzer trade, the injury settlement release of Griff Whalen and Martavis Bryant's release trimmed Oakland's supporting cast to a group led by Seth Roberts. That's not exactly ideal for a team that just surrendered its best defensive player for draft picks and will need to rely on its offense much like it did in 2016.

Sure, there's Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson, but much like coach Jon Gruden admitted in a Sunday press conference, the question related to Bryant's release was simple: Who steps in if Cooper or Nelson goes down?

With Bryant facing a potential suspension, Oakland needed to look elsewhere for immediate help. LaFell fills that role for now, at least.

At 31 years old, LaFell can still supply adequate production as a third receiver. Last season, LaFell caught 52 passes for 548 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 2 wideout in Cincinnati. For his career, he's caught 394 passes for 5,263 yards and 29 touchdowns. The Bengals granted his request for a release in August.

Perhaps one of those first-round picks received in the Mack trade will be spent on a receiver. In the meantime, though, LaFell will have to do. (NFL.com)

 

Agree with you and Irish.

 

Steelers appear ready to start James Conner this week even if Le’Veon Bell reports...

Le'Veon Bell ended his 2017 holdout in time to practice with the Steelers the first week of the season. He started the season opener but had only 32 yards on 10 carries against the Browns followed by 87 yards on 27 carries against the Vikings in Week Two.

The running back still hasn’t reported to the team with the 2018 season opener only five days away, and the Steelers appear ready to start James Conner even if Bell shows up before Sunday, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Coach Mike Tomlin said he feels more comfortable with Conner this year.

“James — the status and condition and approach of James,” Tomlin said. “Being a rookie who missed a lot of time due to soft tissue injuries and lack of general readiness to a guy who’s done the things that we outlined.”

The Steelers have a two-week roster exemption they can use on Bell, who won’t get paid until he’s on the 53-player roster. They could save $856,000 this week and another $856,000 next week if they choose that route. Bell is due to make $14.55 million under the one-year franchise tag, which he has yet to sign.

Tomlin does not know when Bell might arrive, saying Tuesday that he has not talked to Bell this week.

“Much like I’ve told you guys throughout this process when he gets here is when we will start quantifying all Le’Veon Bell-type things,” Tomlin said, via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. “His overall readiness, the amount of time that we have between our arrival and our next competition, etc. We will weigh all of those things at the appropriate time. Right now, we are singularly focused on the guys who are here working and have been here working and building a plan around variables that we know. That’s the appropriate thing.” (PFT)

 

Cowboys still have serious interest in Earl Thomas - and made Seattle an offer recently.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...-second-rounder-for-earl-thomas-in-last-week/

 

I heard this morning that the Seahawks turned down a 2nd round offer from the Cowboys and that Thomas will play out his contract year. Thomas made a statement that he is ending his holdout but won’t forget the disrespect form the organization.

 

Report: Adrian Peterson will start on Sunday...

Adrian Peterson‘s comeback in Washington has seen him rapidly rise to the top of the depth chart.

Peterson will be Washington’s starter on Sunday in Arizona, John Keim of ESPN reports. That represents an impressive turnaround for Peterson, who when he signed wasn’t even guaranteed of making the roster at all. Peterson acknowledged the people who questioned whether he had anything left have motivated him.

“I feel like anyone who’s doing anything, you always have some doubters who give up on you, and it motivates you to keep pressing forward. So that’s been part of my motivation,” he said.

Peterson will be playing against the Cardinals, the team he started six games for last year. He was up and down in Arizona, twice topping 130 yards in a game but also totaling less than 30 yards while averaging less than two yards a carry three times.

Which version of Peterson we’ll see on the field on Sunday remains to be seen, but Washington coach Jay Gruden apparently thinks Peterson is ready to go. (PFT)

 

Le’Veon Bell situation quickly disintegrates...

As Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell continues to stay away from the team in advance of the first game of the regular season, his teammates have provided fairly stunning on-the-record criticism of Bell’s failure to show up. At least one teammate has provided a clearly stunning off-the-record assessment of the situation.

“One veteran Steeler told me players waited a day to criticize Bell to give him a chance to come in Wednesday but ‘he f—ed us,'” reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Bell’s plan isn’t clear, but the comments that have come on Wednesday surely require his agent, Adisa Bakari, to re-evaluate things. If Bell will be facing something other than a warm welcome when he returns, he may not want to return any time soon, if at all.

Then there’s the question of whether this parade of negative remarks was instigated in any way by the team, or whether it just happened organically. Reading between the lines of the various comments, it’s possible that the players believed that Bell would be back this week, possibly because he told them that. Now that he’s not there, they believe it’s fair game to call him out, despite the general sense that players should not get between other players and their money.

For his part, Bell has been silent in recent days. We’ll see if he remains silent, now that so many of his teammates aren’t. (PFT)

 

Still hoping that somewhere along the line Dallas can land Thomas. If he plays the season through and becomes a free agent, I'd like Dallas' chances. If he's dealt mid-season, I could see Seattle saying "F.U." and dealing him somewhere other than Big D.