NFL - NEWS & NOTES

It's just going to take one person to screw up and the whole house of cards falls down.

 

Even if there is 1 who carries, others can be safe. Im high-risk personally, but ive not contracted it as of yet because ive been dillegant (blessed) in my defensive approach and decision making.

 

I'm the same way. I don't go anywhere unless I absolutely have to. The fan belt in my swamp cooler broke the other day so I had to go to the hardware store. 102 degrees here. But I was in and out fast. Mask and all.

 

49ers sign Jordan Reed



The 49ers are adding to a position of strength.

Veteran tight end Jordan Reed is signing with the 49ers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Reed has previously played for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan in Washington, and he was a Pro Bowl tight end in Washington. Pairing him with George Kittle could give the 49ers the best 1-2 punch at tight end in the NFL, if both players are healthy.

But health is a big “if” for Reed, whose concussion history has raised questions about whether it’s wise for him to keep playing.

Reed, however, wants to give it a go, and the 49ers are willing to give him a chance.

NBC

 

Players have until Thursday to opt out

The NFL had agreed to give players seven days after finalization of the revised Collective Bargaining Agreement to opt out of the 2020 season. The revision hasn’t been executed, but the deadline has been revised.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that players will have until 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday to opt out. The league and the NFL Players Association still haven’t signed the agreement officially adjusting the CBA to account for the consequences of the pandemic.

As one source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT, the agreement is still being finalized.

It’s unknown at this point whether and to what extent the NFLPA will receive one or more concessions from the league to agree to the shorter deadline to opt out. Teams wanted the window to close sooner than later, given concerns that players who were destined to be cut were opting out and collecting six-figure stipends, and that some agents have been using the threat of an opt out to try to leverage new contracts.

NBC

 

NFL, NFLPA have resolved all issues for 2020 CBA changes

All remaining issues between the NFL and the NFL Players Association on the side letter to the collective bargaining agreement making changes for the 2020 season have been resolved and, following a review by the union, the deal is done, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday evening.

Perhaps the largest agreement comes with the sides' accordance for an opt-out deadline, which will be Thursday at 4 p.m. ET, as Pelissero reported players were informed of the deadline on Monday night. They were likewise told that the annual drug testing window would commence on Friday.

While the deadline for players to opt out of the season is set for Thursday, the deal the NFL and NFLPA finalized will also permit players to opt out later in specified situations due to family or medical circumstances, Pelissero reported. Another resolution of note is that any player who is defined as high-risk, including undrafted free agents and players who did not earn a credited season in 2019, qualify for the same $350,000 stipend if they opt out of the 2020 season, Pelissero reported.

Nearly 50 NFL players have decided to opt out of the upcoming season, thus far.

As for the opening of the drug-testing window, there is a bit of augmentation there, as well. Traditionally, players are tested in the first two weeks of training camp, but this year a bit of a grace period has been extended with a window of Aug. 7-17, Pelissero reported. It's also notable as under the new CBA's policy on substances of abuse, players can no longer be suspended for positive drug tests, but can incur fines.

Among the accords in the adjusted CBA, the league and union agreed to extend the deadline for players living with high-risk individuals to request alternate housing for the season to Week 1, or seven days after a later diagnosis, Pelissero reported. The team must provide housing, which counts as a player-benefit cost.

Following the agreement, the NFL Management Council sent NFL teams an updated discipline schedule that included suspensions and fines for what is deemed "High Risk COVID-19 Conduct," such as going to bars, clubs and house parties without personal protective equipment or that involve greater than 10 people in attendance.

Players will also be subject to fines for refusing to submit to virus testing ($50,000) and refusing to wear a mask, PPE or tracking devise or failing to maintain social distancing during team travel, which would be progressive fines of up to $14,650.


All Tier 1 and 2 non-player employees, such as coaches and medical staff, are subject to similar discipline for violations of COVID-19 rules, Pelissero added.

With CBA changes now resolved, more details are available on how the league and teams can handle unpredictable scenarios possible due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One pointed out by Pelissero was if a player is diagnosed with COVID-19 or quarantined the night prior to or the morning of a game, the league will allow teams to promote a practice squad player with notice to the league office until 90 minutes ahead of kickoff.

NFL.com

 

Lions Clear Matthew Stafford After “False-Positive”

 

I wonder how many players turned out to be false positives this is becoming a big mess

 

I wonder how many plain old people turned out to be a false positive.

 

Voluntary bubbles could be the key to minimizing virus transmission

NFL teams have, technically, a “virtual bubble” around each practice facility. But the bubble bursts each night, as players and coaches go home.

Coupled with testing that has a 24-hour turnaround, the ability of players to go home (and potentially catch the virus from a family member, even if the player himself doesn’t go anywhere) creates a real risk of an outbreak. An easy way to limit that risk is to harden the bubble, putting players, coaches, and other essential staff in a hotel.

That issue has been discussed in recent days from the perspective of whether the league should mandate a harder bubble. Apparently, however, there’s another way to skin the cat: Set up a voluntary bubble.

You know, voluntary. Like voluntary workouts. Voluntary, as in not really voluntary.

That’s exactly what the Saints are doing during camp. According to the NFL, nothing prohibits it, because the Saints aren’t mandating it. It’s voluntary.

So why isn’t every team doing it during training camp? Those that do it likely will have fewer outbreaks, and in turn will have a team that is more prepared for the regular season.

As to the regular season, why not continue the voluntary bubble? If the coaches are doing it and the executives are doing it and the team leaders are doing it, everyone else will fall in line. Really, who wants to be the one who’s going home at night and showing up the next day to interact with teammates who are sacrificing family time to remain sequestered? Whether side eye or stink eye or evil eye or some combination of the three, the player who doesn’t go along will have a hard time getting along.

That’s not to say that squeezing a player to choose living with the team over living with his family is right or wrong. But the reality is that teams can set up a voluntary bubble, and that the teams that are the most effective at getting everyone to volunteer will likely do a better job of keeping their players available to play. Which will in turn give them a better chance to win.

NBC/PFT

 

Cooper: Cowboys expect 'three 1,000-yard receivers this year'

When CeeDee Lamb landed in the lap of the Dallas Cowboys on draft night, fans, coaches and players alike began daydreaming of what the best trio of receivers in the NFL would look like.

Lamb joined Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, already a formidable duo who each earned 1,100 receiving yards last season. EVP Stephen Jones said recently he hasn't "seen anything like" the WR crew the Cowboys have assembled.

The question is whether all three can feast, or if the addition of Lamb would carve into the production of the other two wideouts.

Cooper, for his part, has no questions that all three can be successful right off the bat.

"You have to draft the best player on the board -- everybody understands that," he said, via the team's official website. "I think he's a great receiver. And I think with me and Michael Gallup going for 1,000 yards last season, I think the expectation is to have three 1,000-yard receivers this year."

Lamb isn't a speeding burner but enters the NFL as a big-play target with great hands, run-after-catch acumen, and stellar route-running ability. Many viewed the Oklahoma product as the best receiver in the draft. He should immediately help fill the slot position with Cooper and Gallup on the outside.

"I think he's a quick learner. He already has a good foundation, he's fundamentally sound as a route runner," Cooper said of Lamb. "It's very small, nitpicky things that I help him with, that I may see -- him being a rookie."

If Lamb smooths out those "nitpicky" issues, the Cowboys receiver corps will be dangerous. He complements the others' strengths well, with Cooper's star qualities and Gallup's ability to pressure defenses deep. Fantasy Football fans might complain that the depth will hinder them all from putting up big gross numbers -- particularly Gallup's upside might be subdued -- but in the real world, the trio will be a menace to defenses.

NFL.com

 

I wonder if any team has ever had 3 WR's achieve 1000 yards in a season?

 

Lions Activate Kenny Golladay From COVID-19 List

A day after the Lions cleared quarterback Matthew Stafford, they welcomed his leading receiver back to the fold.

Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions activated wide receiver Kenny Golladay from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, so he can resume working out with his teammates.

Golladay was one of eight Lions players to hit the list so far, though four have been activated. He tested positive when he reported last Tuesday.

The team said Stafford’s inclusion on the list was the result of a false positive.

Golladay led the league with 11 receiving touchdowns last year, despite playing with not-Stafford for half the year after the quarterback’s back injury.

NBC

 

Buccaneers plan a “voluntary” bubble during the regular season



Why bargain with the union for the right to compel players to live in a hotel all season when it can be done on a “voluntary” basis?

NFL teams are waking up to the ability to create a hardened bubble without seeking formal permission to do so. The league already has said, in an email to PFT, that it’s permissible to have a voluntary sequestration, which the Saints are doing during training camp. One of their top rivals is now taking it to the next level.

Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Wednesday that the team has secured a hotel in Tampa for players to sequester “if they choose.”

Spoiler alert: They will choose.

Despite Tom Brady‘s cavalier attitude toward the coronavirus during the offseason, he surely realizes that a positive test will shut a player down, for at least a game. So he’ll encourage players — especially those deemed to be at the highest risk of doing something that would expose them to the virus — of staying there.

It will be interesting to see whether Brady stays there himself. His candid remarks to Howard Stern regarding past friction with Mrs. Brady could make a five-month disappearing act a very delicate proposition. But if Brady doesn’t stay at the hotel, how can he expect teammates to do the same?

Regardless, the dynamic of voluntary sequestration is about to become a thing for NFL teams. Those that do it will be less likely to be derailed by an outbreak.

NBC/PFT

 

1980 Chargers
1989 Redskins
1995 Falcons
2004 Colts
2008 Cardinals
Five times trams have had three WRs with 1000 yards

 

Adrian Peterson wants a Super Bowl and Emmitt Smith’s rushing record



Adrian Peterson is 35 years old, ancient for a running back, but he thinks he’s a long way from done.

Heading into his 14th NFL season and his third in Washington, Peterson says he still has more he wants to accomplish, starting with winning a Super Bowl.

“Winning a championship is the one I want most,” Peterson said on NFL Network.

Peterson also said he’d like to catch Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader. Peterson, who has 14,216 career rushing yards, needs to gain 4,140 more yards to pass Smith’s record of 18,355.

“That’s one of the goals I set to myself when I entered the NFL was to pass the GOAT,” Peterson said. “I look forward to playing a couple more years, 3-4 more years, who knows, depending on how my body is feeling.”

Realistically, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that Peterson will catch Smith. But even in his mid-30s, he’s not ready to walk away just yet.

NBC/PFT

 

Lambeau Field will be empty for first two games, Packers will re-evaluate after that



The Packers will play at least their first two home games in an empty stadium.

Lambeau Field will not host fans during first two home games this season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Packers announced today.

The Packers’ third home game is on November 1 against the Vikings, and the Packers say they will decide during the season whether they’re ready to host fans by then, after consulting with public health officials.

“Lambeau Field will not be the same without our fans’ energetic support in the stands,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement. “Given the extraordinary circumstances this year and the additional protocols in place, though, we determined it was best to take incremental steps to start the regular season. These two games will allow us to focus our attention on safely conducting games inside the stadium with all necessary participants. We are hopeful that we will be able to host fans for games later in the season, should conditions allow.”

America’s failure to get the virus under control has had a profound effect on the entire country, and the NFL is no different. Football will not be the same, but at this point most fans are just hoping there’s any football to watch at all.

NBC/PFT

 

Not to be a dick but...

1980 Chargers only had (2), the other was Kellen Winslow a TE. Winslow was awesome. I wish some of his work ethic had rubbed off on his son.

Knowing that, I checked the others as well.

89' Skins - legit: Art Monk, Ricky Sanders and Gary Clark
04' Colts - legit: Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Brandon Stokely
08' Cards - legit: Larry Fitzgerald, Anquon Boldin and Steve Breaston

95' Falcons - I call BS on... they had Terance Mathis and Bert Emanuel, but their third "WR" was Eric Metcalf... a bonafide RB.

If the Cowboys can achieve it, it would be pretty awesome, even though today's pass happy offenses actually help to achieve this. The 89 Redskins are the most impressive imo. The 80's were a running back NFL.

 

Vic Beasley's mysterious absence has ended.

The edge rusher reported to Titans camp Friday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported, per a source informed of the situation.

Beasley joined the Titans this offseason on a one-year, $9.5 million deal that included a $6 million signing bonus, but more than a week after reporting for COVID-19 testing began, Beasley had yet to show up. With more than 60 NFL players opting out of the 2020 season due to concerns related to the ongoing pandemic, there was some thought Beasley might simply be opting out.

Thursday's opt-out deadline passed without Beasley doing so, though, adding further intrigue to Beasley's absence. Titans coach Mike Vrabel was straightforward with reporters on Beasley's absence earlier this week, telling them "we expect him to be here," on Wednesday, while Titans general manager Jon Robinson called Beasley's absence "unexcused" a week ago.

The new collective bargaining agreement essentially made holdouts financially prohibitive because of a fine structure built into the CBA, though as a new addition on a one-year deal, this wouldn't have been a holdout for Beasley. He might still face fines from the team, though, which could be worked out Friday, if at all.

In Robinson's statement, the GM said the Titans expected Beasley to report to camp "in the near future." The near future has become present-day reality for all involved, as Beasley will now begin the acclimation process the rest of his teammates started more than a week ago. Stay tuned for the explanation for Beasley's extended absence.

NFL.com

 

I remember those Chargers teams. They could score 35-45 points without hardly trying. But the defense would allow 40-50 points a game. They were fun to watch though.