NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Friermuth will be a lot better than Njoku this season, he doubled Njoku’s catches last season, more yards and TDs too.

 

PFF listed the top 15 TEs in the NFL and Njoku wasn’t on it, Friermuth was #11. I don’t see Njoku cracking this list anytime soon.

 

Running back Darrel Williams is headed to Arizona.

The Cardinals announced Williams’ signing on Tuesday. He visited the team in April and there was word last week that a deal was in the works.


Williams spent the last four seasons with the Chiefs after going undrafted out of LSU in 2018. He is coming off his biggest workload as he ran the ball 144 times for 558 yards and six touchdowns while also catching 47 passes out of the backfield.

The Cardinals released running back Jaylen Samuels in a corresponding move. He played in three games for the Texans last year and 42 games over three seasons with the Steelers.

Williams joins James Conner, Eno Benjamin, and sixth-round draft pick Keaontay Ingram in Arizona’s backfield.

PFT

 

Ja’Marr Chase wants and expects to top what he did last season



Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase wrote his rookie goals on his mirror, so they would stare him in the face every day. He won offensive rookie of the year honors with 81 receptions, an NFL-rookie record 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He already has two goals written on his mirror for this season.


“I’m not going to say what they are, but I don’t think they’re hard,” Chase said, via Jay Morrison of TheAthletic.com. “They’re a little more than last year, like catches and yards. I’ve still got to find my touchdown minimum.

“I’ll give y’all the list maybe before training camp.”

Few standout rookie receivers have improved their numbers their second season, but Chase’s former college teammate, Justin Jefferson, did. The Vikings receiver had 20 more catches, 216 more yards and three more touchdowns last season than he did in his rookie season of 2020.

Chase expects to do the same.

“Last year I was just out there running routes, having fun again,” Chase said. “Now I’ve got all the small details down, like learning how to set people up before the next route. And I feel more comfortable with the offense. Maybe I can move around a little more when we see different things on film. I feel like all of that’s going to make me a lot better this year.”

PFT

 

Bills’ Andre Smith hit with six-game PED suspension



Bills special teams player Andre Smith has been suspended for the first six games of the season.

Smith was suspended six games for violating the league’s policy against performance-enhancing substances, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.


The 25-year-old Smith is heading into his third season with the Bills. Although he is listed as a linebacker, last year he didn’t play any snaps on defense, but he did play 68 percent of the Bills’ special teams snaps.

Originally a seventh-round draft pick of the Panthers in 2018, Smith has found a niche for himself as a role player, but he will now have an uphill battle to make the roster, as the Bills may find someone else who can do his job while he’s out for the first six games of the season.

Smith is eligible to practice and play in the preseason for the Bills but will have to be away from the team starting in Week One.

PFT

 

Cameron Batson agrees to sign with Falcons



Wide receiver Cameron Batson is set to join the Falcons.

Batson’s agent Cameron Weiss said that his client has agreed to sign with the NFC South club. The move will reunite him with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, who coached Batson when he was the offensive coordinator of the Titans.


Batson joined Tennessee as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and played 11 games as a rookie. He missed all of 2019 with a shoulder injury, but returned to play 12 games in 2020 and appeared in four games last season before tearing his ACL.

He had 22 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns during his time with the Titans. He also saw time as a punt and kickoff returner.

PFT

 

Tim Patrick: It’s Super Bowl or bust this year



It’s early June and OTAs are in full swing, which means it’s time for players to make grand statements about the possibilities of the upcoming season.

Broncos receiver Tim Patrick obliged on Wednesday when talking about the team’s raised expectations now that Russell Wilson is its quarterback.


“He’s a big presence and he carries himself the right way,” Patrick said. “If you see Russ doing it and you’re not — if you can’t put in extra work, you’re not serious about winning and you don’t belong on this team.”

To that end, Patrick said the Broncos have a lot of meetings, many of which are led by the players themselves.

“It helps because, like you guys know, the offense is difficult. And just the regular routine practice is not going to be enough for us to get it down pat,” Patrick said. “So, we have to do things on our own so we can get it because we don’t want to be one of those teams to make excuses — new coach, new quarterback, new offense, and we don’t get going until the end of the year.

“We want to come out the gate firing on all cylinders because it’s Super Bowl or bust this year.”

There you have it.

But really, what team shouldn’t have that attitude in early June? Everyone is 0-0. Hope gets to spring eternal. And frankly, the Broncos didn’t trade for Russell Wilson to miss the postseason.

We’ll see if Denver can meet that high bar once the games start to count in September.

PFT

 

The Steelers agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Tuzar Skipper, his agency, JL Sports, tweeted.

The Titans cut Skipper on May 2, and he had remained a free agent since.

Skipper has spent time with the Giants, Steelers, Titans and Falcons. He has played 10 games with two starts, but Skipper did not get into a game last season.

Skipper has totaled eight tackles, half a sack and a fumble recovery in his career.

PFT

 

Atlanta has gone from having a shambles of a WR group to a situation where guys who might have even started late last year won't make the roster this year. For my way-too-early projections, I'm pegging Batson, Khadarel Hodge and last year's sixth rounder Frank Darby as three receivers who won't have chairs when the music stops. Flip a coin on Geronimo Allison.

How it all progressed (shameless plug): How Terry Fontenot rebuilt Atlanta's passing attack

 

Frank Reich on Parris Campbell: A complete receiver, if he can stay healthy



Michael Pittman Jr. has established himself over his first two seasons in the NFL, but the Colts receiving corps is short on sure things once you move beyond his name on the roster.

They added second-round pick Alec Pierce to a group that was already banking a lot more on promise than production. Parris Campbell is a perfect example of that as he has flashed signs of talent over his first three seasons, but has only played 15 games because of injuries.


On Wednesday, Colts head coach Frank Reich rattled off an extensive list of the things that Campbell brings to the offense before dropping the caveat that none of it matters if he isn’t able to get on the field.

“I’ve always seen Parris, since the day we drafted him, as a guy who can play every position and can really do it all,” Reich said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “I think he can play in the slot, he can play all that game — the shallows, the crosses, the option routes. . . . He’s explosive. You can put him on the outside and he’s got speed to get deep. . . . We’ve developed him as a complete receiver. That’s the upside, if he can stay healthy.”

The inexperience of Campbell, Pierce and others has kept T.Y. Hilton’s name in the mix for a return to Indianapolis. Reich didn’t close the door on that, but indicated that any call will wait until the offseason work concludes and the Colts have a firm grasp of what they already have in hand.

PFT

 

T.J. Watt closing in on Steelers’ all-time sack record

T.J. Watt is closing in on the Steelers’ franchise record for most career sacks, a record Watt should break this season.

Watt has 72 sacks so far in his NFL career, and as noted by the Steelers’ website, that puts him just nine sacks away from breaking James Harrison’s franchise record of 80.5 sacks as a Steeler.

Although the NFL only began recording sacks as an official statistic for defensive players in 1982, Pro-Football-Reference.com has sack data going back to the 1960s, and that data shows the two Steelers closest behind Harrison both played before sacks were an official statistic: L.C. Greenwood retired with 78 sacks, while Mean Joe Greene retired with 77.5. Both Greenwood and Greene played for the Steelers from 1969 to 1981.

In fourth place in Steelers history is Jason Gildon, with 77 sacks, and then Watt with 72.

Watt has led the NFL in sacks two years in a row, with 22.5 last year and 15 the year before, so he’s highly likely to get the nine sacks he needs to become the Steelers’ all-time leader.

YAHOO/PFT

 

Bears free up additional cap space as Danny Trevathan, Tarik Cohen cuts become official



When the Chicago Bears released linebacker Danny Trevathan and running back Tarik Cohen earlier this offseason, they designated them as post-June 1 cuts to lessen the dead cap hit and free up additional salary cap space.

Those releases have now officially gone into effect, which freed up an additional $7.29 million in cap space.

The Bears currently have $22.21 million in available cap space, which is currently the fifth-most in the NFL. It gives Chicago plenty of breathing room to make moves later this offseason and heading into the 2022 season.

Trevathan and Cohen account for $4.18 million in dead money, which brings the Bears’ total to $56.15 million. Believe it or not, it’s only the second-most dead money in the league behind the Atlanta Falcons ($63.16 million).

Both Trevathan and Cohen remain unsigned in free agency. Unfortunately for Cohen, he recently tore his Achilles while training live on Instagram, which means he’s not likely to find a new team anytime soon.

BEARS WIRE

 

Indianapolis Colts rookie wide receiver Alec Pierce appears to be in the lead for the second starting receiver role opposite Michael Pittman Jr. heading into training camp. Kevin Hickey of Colts Wire stated, "The No. 52 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft should be competing for a starting role right away. In fact, the starting role opposite Michael Pittman Jr. is likely Pierce's to lose going into training camp. It may take some time before his production catches up simply given the learning curve for rookie wide receivers, but Pierce should be competing for the second-most targets in the offense right off the bat." The obvious (and perhaps only) competition for this starting role would be wide receiver Parris Campbell, who has been plagued by injuries over his three years in the league. There were a total of seven wide receivers selected in Round 2 of the NFL draft, and while the 22-year-old Pierce may not flash the upside of others he could realistically win the most snaps among all of them in 2021.--Dessy John - RotoBaller

 

Yep, it's June 2. All those rumored "post June 1" moves should start happening...


The big one for Atlanta is whether they trade / release / keep linebacker Deion Jones. He presumably had his worst season in the NFL last year in Atlanta's new defensive system and is the highest cap figure (by far) remaining on the team. But virtually all of his cap is guaranteed. So the Falcons would save his base if they could trade him, but they won't get jack in cap relief if they release him.

And... he had shoulder surgery after the season and is out for the entire offseason program. So trading him right now would be dicey and releasing him impossible until he's medically cleared.

 

Remember these... there back!



Week 6 home matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

 

Niners center Alex Mack retiring after 13 seasons, seven Pro Bowls

Alex Mack is retiring from the NFL following a 13-year career that saw him emerge as one of the premier centers over the past decade, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday.

Mack earned seven Pro Bowl selections and a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-2010s Team during his career.

Mack, 36, played his final season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, earning a Pro Bowl nod. His campaign in the Bay Area followed seven seasons to start his career with the Cleveland Browns and five with the Atlanta Falcons thereafter.

A decision in regard to Mack's future has been one of many uncertainties hanging over the 49ers this offseason, along with Deebo Samuel wanting to be traded and San Francisco wanting to trade Jimmy Garoppolo.

Now San Francisco will look to replace a Pro Bowl talent who also boasted veteran leadership and experience.

Much as a Mack decision loomed over the Niners, former Browns center JC Tretter has loomed as the top free-agent center since his release by Cleveland, so perhaps he's a candidate to add to the 49ers fold.

Regardless of who replaces Mack, there will be large cleats to fill.

Mack turned in a potential Hall of Fame career.

He was a 2009 NFL Draft first-round selection of the Browns out of Cal who started every game his rookie season and ended up starting every game he played in during his decorated NFL career.

In all, Mack started and played in 196 games. He played seven seasons for the Browns and collected three Pro Bowl nods before moving on to the Falcons. In Atlanta, Mack played five years and garnered a trio of Pro Bowl trips in his first three seasons with the club.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Mack signed a three-year deal with the 49ers, but despite playing at his usual dominant level, played just one year in San Francisco and has decided to call it a career.

NFL.com

 

Pretty sweet!!

 

Great player. One of the few solid draft picks we had in that era.

I was always a little bent that we didn't just stay put and take Julio, but admitedly, that was the right move at the time for Cleveland. It's not like we had a QB that could get it to him anyway...Mack is a baller. Great career.

 

Myles Garrett: If Jadeveon Clowney comes back in shape, we’ll be able to do something special



The Browns brought back defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on a one-year deal over the weekend, which made fellow Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett pretty happy.

Garrett told reporters this week that he’d recruited Clowney to return to the Browns with a fairly simple message.

“I told him to get his ass here. That was about it,” Garrett said Wednesday, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Garrett was a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler for the second season in a row, recording 16.0 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 33 quarterback hits playing opposite Clowney. In his first year with Cleveland, Clowney posted 9.0 sacks, 11 TFLs, and 19 QB hits.

Heading into the second season of the partnership, Garrett is expecting to be even more productive in 2022.

“We were probably the best duo in the league as far as getting pressure, not always completing the play,” Garrett said. “I know teams like to get it out a little bit quick against us, but trying to put pressure on them, getting hands up, just his athleticism, the wingspan, causing guys trouble. It’s a special combo, and if he comes back in shape, I think we’ll be able to do something really, really special this year as well.”

PFT