NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Patriots cut Austin Seferian-Jenkins...

The ASJ era is over in New England. There was one?

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has gotten his walking papers from the Patriots, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. The move came during the team’s mandatory minicamp.

The former Buccaneers, Jet, and Jaguars was a second-round pick in Tampa five years ago. He had received a $50,000 signing bonus to join the Patriots, which is all he’ll have to show for his time with the team.

Coupled with veteran tight end Ben Watson‘s four-game PED suspension, the Patriots have a real need at the position. They’ve been linked via rumor to Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who is entering the final year of his contract. - PFT

 

Patriots fans a few weeks ago: "We've got Sefarian-Jenkins and Watson! We're good!".

My buddy was one such fan. It's gonna be awesome telling him what a moron he is for at least the first four weeks of the season.

 

The move makes me nervous in the sense that the Patriots will probably go very hard after Rudolph and might just make him an offer to good to refuse. Id like Kyle to stay in Minnesota.

 

Isn't he under contract? I think the Vikes should be fine with NE desperately sending them assets in trade for Rudolph, if he's unwilling to re-sign at the Vikes' terms.

That said, I don't think Belichick is dependent on a position. He was successful before Gronk. He'll be successful after him. I don't think he's chasing talent at one position - he just wants talent that fits.

 

Almost makes me think there's already a deal in place and Sefarian-Jenkins was released to make room on the roster. I'd like to see Rudolph stay in Minnesota too and off the Patriots. I just find it hard to believe that they would release him without having a viable TE for the 1st 4 weeks of the year.

 

ASJ was a lottery ticket for the Pats. If they expected him to be the savior I doubt they’d’ve waited until a month into FA to sign him with a 50k bonus.

Reports are he’s taking a month off to deal with personal issues (cough rehab cough). Some speculation he could be brought back later but I doubt it.

Also, I don’t think they have enough cap space to acquire Rudolph. So Matt LaCosse, come on down.

 

The PATS always seems to find a way!

 

NFL wants new CBA by September 1...



The successful negotiation of any complicated transaction requires mutual agreement as to the deadline for getting a deal done. When it comes to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, one side has a clear timetable in mind for getting things resolved.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL genuinely wants an agreement by September 1.

The league targets September 1 because the league doesn’t want the CBA negotiations looming over the multi-month 100th season celebration, with Sunday Splash! reports regarding every push and pull in the negotiations pushing and pulling focus away from football.

The NFL also wants to take the promise of long-term labor peace and parlay that into new TV deals, from Sunday Ticket (satellite and streaming, which expires after 2019), Monday Night Football (which expires after 2021), and the rest of the broadcast packages (which expire after 2022).

While the union has a shared interest in striking it rich(er) from a television standpoint, the players don’t care if a new deal isn’t done before September 1. Thus, if the NFL truly wants it by then, the NFL may have to give more (and/or get less) at the bargaining table.

 

Carson Wentz got a new 4 year deal

 

Wentz is getting $32M a year in new money years 3-6 of the deal. He still has two years left on the rookie deal plus 5th year option.

 

The fifth year option is one of those two years. He has played three seasons already

 

Year 1 is this year on the rookie deal, year 2 is the 5th year option, years 3-6 are the new deal.

It's $100M guaranteed so most of the 5th year.

 

Philly could really get screwed on this If he keeps getting injured

 

And they could be set for awhile if he doesn’t. You could say the same about every team who has a QB on a 2nd or more contract

 

While Shaquill Griffin has lost 12 pounds, down to 194 pounds, his twin, Shaquem, is seeking to add to his listed weight of 227 pounds.

The linebacker wants more bulk to adapt to playing more on the edge and closer to the line of scrimmage in pass-rushing situations, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

“Now you get to see his speed on the edge like he did in college,’’ Shaquill Griffin said of his brother, via Condotta. “. . .He’s a little rusty so when we are going back home, we are talking about he’s got to work back on his pass rush. He’s definitely not the same. But to see him back into it, he’s loving it. Definitely enjoying that part of that he gets to rush again back like he did in college.’’

Shaquem Griffin still is working at weakside linebacker, with some snaps at strongside linebacker.

Special teams coordinator Brian Schneider expects Shaquem Griffin to “be great this year.”

“I have already seen the improvement,” Schneider said. “He was a flash player last year because he has that natural ability, and I just think he is going to be really, really consistent in terms of how he does it consistently [this year].”

Shaquem Griffin, a fifth-round pick last year, played all 16 games with one start. He made 11 tackles. - PFT

 

Agreed - but not every quarterback has been as injury-prone as Wentz.

Be interesting to see now where Dak Prescott's contract will come in at.

 

I gotta believe that team doctors and trainers got questioned before the Eagles even thought about inking Wentz to a new deal.

Wentz is good enough to be a Top 2 or 3 QB in this league.

 

If I'm the Cowboys, I'm very hesitant about giving him an extension. Personally, I think his ceiling is very low. The worst thing for a franchise is to be financially committed to a mediocre quarterback for multiple years. If Dak turns out to be the franchise QB they need to get to the next level, then they should reward him - once he has proven that. Whether it's the franchise tag or shorter term deals, don't lock yourself in until you know.