NFL - NEWS & NOTES

J.K. Dobbins: I’m damn sure going to be ready for Week One



J.K. Dobbins had a promising start to his career, rushing for 805 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie in 2020.

But Dobbins’ second year was over before it even began, as the running back tore his ACL during the Ravens’ final preseason contest last August.


Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said in June that he was hopeful Dobbins would be ready for Week One. While there’s some concern about Dobbins’ availability from someone, somewhere, Dobbins does not share it.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said on Monday that while Dobbins’ recovery is going well and he has not encountered any setbacks, the running back is still “no sure thing” to play in the season opener. And there’s a possibility he may not play until a few weeks into the year, simply due to the severity of the injury.

But Dobbins saw that report and disputed it, saying on Twitter, “I might not even go on PUP [the physically unable to perform list] because that’s how good my rehab is going and I’m damn sure going to be ready for week 1.”

Dobbins posted a series of tweets, ending with, “I would post videos but I want all you fake a** doctors and people who have never spoken a word to me to see what me and Jesus been up to on the biggest stage.”

The Ravens lost most of their running back room due to injury last year. But the club now has Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Mike Davis, Nate McCrary, Ricky Person, and Tyler Badie at the position.

But Dobbins, who averaged 6.0 yards per carry as a rookie, returning would be a significant boost to the offense to start the season.

The Ravens begin 2022 on the road against the Jets.

PFT

 

Ricky Wiliams peels back the curtain on marijuana use during his playing days



The world has changed dramatically in recent years when it comes to attitudes regarding marijuana. When running back Ricky Williams entered the NFL in 1999, viewpoints and laws were very different. But players still used marijuana then, as they do now, to manage pain.

Williams shared two stories with USA Today regarding marijuana use during his career.


“My rookie year, a Hall of Fame player on the team, he’s in the Hall of Fame now, invited me over to his house and he gave me the speech about how to take care of yourself in the NFL,” Williams said “And he pulled out some cannabis, crushed it up, split a blunt, opened it up, put the cannabis in there, took a Vicodin, crushed it up, sprinkled the Vico in there, rolled up the blunt and passed it to me. That was a vet, teaching me as a rookie, how to take care of myself in the NFL.”

The only Hall of Fame player on the 1999 Saints was tackle Willie Roaf.

Fast forward to 2011. That was Williams’s one and only season in Baltimore.

“My last year in the NFL, I was playing for the Ravens,” Williams said. “And one point we were in the playoffs and I was leaving the facility and there were guys coming in with a plate full of brownies. They [were] going to go watch film, so yeah. . . . And now, because it’s more legal, it’s to the point, why wouldn’t you [use it] if you’re in the NFL?”

The league no longer suspends players who aren’t already in the program for testing positive. And it’s easy to avoid testing positive because players know when the window opens on annual testing. After that, it’s essentially a non-issue, as long as some basic level of discretion is exercised.

Such as, you know, not talking quite as candidly about marijuana use as Williams currently is. At least not until after the player has retired.

PFT

 

Texans running back Darius Anderson charged with burglary with intent to rape



Texans running back Darius Anderson was arrested Friday and charged with burglary with intent to rape, Aaron Wilson of profootballnetwork.com reports citing Harris County court records.

Anderson, who is free on bond, is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.


“We are aware of the report involving Darius Anderson,” the Texans said in a statement to Wilson. “We are gathering information and have no further comment at this time.”

Anderson, 24, allegedly broke into a Houston townhome and pursued a woman into her bathroom, according to court records. The woman told law enforcement authorities that after she called police from the bathroom, Anderson left.

As part of the bail agreement, Anderson is prohibited from returning to the accuser’s home or possessing a firearm.

He spent time on the Texans’ practice squad last season before signing a futures deal with the team. The Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020, and he joined the Colts’ practice squad after the Cowboys waived him. Indianapolis twice elevated him to the active roster, but he did not play.

PFT

 

May I preempt this by asking that no one makes any Deshaun Watson jokes regarding this?

 

I'm too confused at the "intent to rape" charge to make any joke. What the heck kinda legal lingo is that? How do you prove it?

 

What kind of a Browns joke can you make with this guy? He’s an undrafted FA. So it wouldn’t make sense to say that they wanted to trade for him.

 

Nothing to do with Browns, everything to do with Watson and being on his previous team.

 

My guess is she escaped the situation and locked herself in the bathroom to get away before he was able to, thankfully.

 

Alls you need is a butcher knife and a hardon to establish intent.

 

This is a Harvard Law quality explanation.

Thank you

 

The part about it being easy to avoid testing positive makes me flash back to when running back Jason Snelling retired.

His pending retirement was well known, but he waited until after the offseason testing began and he tested positive before he filed and made his retirement official. I always suspected that he did that intentionally to help draw attention to the medical benefits of cannabis for patients with epilepsy or MD. (Snelling has epilepsy.)

Or maybe he did it just for laughs, to go out on a high, so to speak.

 

Easy come, easy go.

Last Monday, Atlanta signed free agent defensive lineman Eddie Goldman, who was released by the Bears in March in a cap-cutting move. Today, he informed the Falcons that he intends to retire.

 

Report: Browns have no interest in Ndamukong Suh but could consider Sheldon Richardson



A report last week indicated the Browns have interest in free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Mary Kay Cabot, who covers the team for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, disputes that.

“Despite reports that the Browns are interested in five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, they’re not,” Cabot writes. “The Browns have been linked to Suh, 35, at various points this offseason, but he hasn’t been on their radar.”


Cabot adds that if the Browns decide to sign a veteran defensive tackle, they could consider Sheldon Richardson. Richardson, 31, played for the team in 2019-20 but returned to the Vikings last season rather than taking a paycut from the Browns.

The Browns, though, want to see how their young defensive tackles perform in camp before seeking help. They have fourth-round choice Perrion Winfrey and third-year pro Jordan Elliott and signed free agent Taven Bryan in the offseason.

Suh remains a free agent, and the Bucs will not re-sign him after signing Akiem Hicks.

PFT

 

Kinda leaves them short on depth at least on the D-line, right? They may need to try another vet who has the heart to play.

 

I've been anticipating another DL signing even without his retirement, so it does seem even more likely now.

In the meantime, they had already signed Vincent Taylor as an experienced player to join Grady Jarrett up front. They also have several prospects on the rise. I'll be especially interested in watching Marlon Davidson, Ta'Quon Graham and Anthony Rush in the preseason games.

Rush (nose tackle) was originally a UDFA with the Eagles in 2019, bounced around (a lot) and landed with Atlanta's practice squad in 2021. He was called up to the roster in midseason and averaged 25 defensive snaps per game for the rest of the year.

Davidson was a 2nd round pick in 2020 but missed time with injuries and COVID in both 2020 and 2021. The media makes him out to be a disappointment thus far, but I note that the team cut ties with line prospect John Cominsky (who was generally regarded more favorably by local media) and kept Davidson. I contend that this is a make-or-break year for him, but that he's still a factor in the team's plans for the 2022 line rotation. Flip side: he was drafted by former GM Thomas Dimitroff for former coach Dan Quinn and not by Terry Fontenot for new DC Dean Pees. So will he really be able to step up in the new Atlanta defense? I'm optimistic but cautious.

I really like Ta'Quon Graham and will be rooting for him to make it. The fifth round rookie progressed well as the 2021 season went along and ended up starting five games. I do think he and the team would be better off this year if he was part of a rotation rather than working him like they do Grady Jarrett. But I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in his second season.


I would have projected Goldman to be a starter along with Jarrett and Taylor, with Rush, Graham and Davidson in rotation. Now I'm replacing Goldman with The Player To Be Named Later, but I'll still project the three rising prospects to make the roster and get significant playing time even if they don't start.

 

Report: Saints optimistic about returns of Jameis Winston, Michael Thomas



Jameis Winston participated in the Saints’ offseason workouts, and he recently posted a video to Instagram that showed him throwing without a brace on his surgically repaired left knee. So the expectation has been that he will be fully healthy for the start of the season.

Indeed, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports “there’s optimism in the building” about the returns of both Winston and receiver Michael Thomas.



Winston, 28, threw 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, and the Saints had a 5-2 record in Winston’s seven starts. He injured his knee in an Oct. 31 game against the Bucs, which required season-ending surgery.

He spent the rest of the season rehabbing and began to feel a return to normalcy early in the offseason.

Thomas has been working at the team facility after spending much of the offeason rehabbing in Southern California. The Saints are optimistic the medical staff will clear him sometime early in training camp, Rapoport reports.

The three-time Pro Bowl receiver has not played a game since 2020.

He posted video of himself running routes earlier this month as he works his way back from ankle surgery, which kept him out all of last season. Thomas diidn’t participate in team drills in the offseason program.

PFT

 

Buccaneers land Kyle Rudolph



The Buccaneers apparently have taken “I’m done playing, and I mean it” for an answer.

Veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph has signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers, according to ESPN.


Rudolph, who spent 10 years with the Vikings before a one-year stint with the Giants, becomes the veteran replacement for Rob Gronkowski, who has repeatedly said his career is over — even if those close to him (including his agent and girlfriend) don’t buy it.

A two-time Pro Bowler and a captain of a 2017 Minnesota team that came within a game of the Super Bowl, Rudolph has 479 career regular-season catches for 4,475 yards and 49 touchdowns. His most productive year came in 2016, with 83 catches for 840 yards. In his lone season in New York, Rudolph had 26 receptions for 257 yards and a touchdown.

Veteran Cameron Brate is the expected starter, but Rudolph should get plenty of opportunities, especially with Gronk not coming back.

Rudolph, 32, entered the league in 2011, one year after Gronkowski. The terms of the deal, which have not yet been leaked, will go a long way toward determining whether Rudolph is a lock for the 53-man roster, or whether he’ll have to earn a job in August.

Regardless, the move should be regarded as further proof that Gronkowski won’t be back in Tampa in 2022. Whether he joins forces with Brady if/when Brady plays for another team in 2023 remains to be seen.

PFT

 

With fans back in stands in 2021, Green Bay Packers posted record $579 million in annual revenue

Green Bay Packers report record revenue and profit figures for 2021-22

GREEN BAY – COVID-19 is not gone, but it ceased to be a factor for the Green Bay Packers' attendance numbers, and that resulted in a rebound in the team's financial performance.

The Packers reported a record $579 million in revenue for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which concluded at the end of March. The team reported profit from operations of $77.7 million, also a record.

"I think the storyline this year is return to normalcy," Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said Friday. The Packers released their financial results ahead of the annual shareholders meeting, scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Lambeau Field.

The NFL's smallest-market team, and the only one that makes its financial results public, the Packers reported $61.6 million in net income. Total revenue and profit from operations, rather than net income, are the more significant numbers in Packers' finances because all money, whether profit or not, goes into team operations or the community. Packers stock cannot be traded and does not pay dividends.

The most significant result last year was the increase in local revenue, also a record at $231.7 million, compared to $61.9 million during the 2020-21 year, when fans did not attend regular-season games, or $210.9 million in 2019-20, before COVID.

"The atrium contributed to that," said Paul Baniel, Packers vice president of finance and administration. "The Packers Pro Shop had its best year."

The Packers also made a $3 million contribution to the Packers Foundation, that team's charitable organization which, like the corporate reserve, suffered investment losses. As it happened, the contribution offset those losses, keeping the fund at $46 million.

A stock sale earlier this year added 177,000 shareholders to the Packers ownership roster. The team now has more than 537,000 shareholders.

The money raised in the stock sale, about $66 million, will be used for non-player-related construction projects, such as concession stands renovation and new video scoreboards, scheduled to be installed for the 2023 season.

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Always like when the Packers report their financials to their fake stockholders. It's the only true insight we get into how much money these teams make. And how much it takes to operate an NFL team.

The bullet points:

Total Revenue 579,000,000
National Revenue 347,300,000 (the amount every team receives)
Local Revenue 231,700,000

Players salaries 273,131,695
Other expenditures 228,168,305

Packers profit 77,700,000

 

John Metchie III is unlikely to play his rookie season after being diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia, the Texans wide receiver announced Sunday.

"Recently I was diagnosed with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia), the most curable form of Leukemia," Metchie said in a statement. "I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time. As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery. Thank you in advance for your support and well-wishes. I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever. God bless."

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a blood cancer characterized by a marked increase in a type of immature white blood cells known as promyelocytes, according to the National Organization of Rare Disorders.

Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with APL during the 2012 season and took a three-month leave of absence in order to receive treatment. Upon learning his cancer was in remission, Pagano returned to the sidelines later that season for the team's playoff run. Pagano's treatment and recovery inspired the "CHUCKSTRONG" rallying cry that season not only for the Colts franchise but the NFL as a whole.

The Texans selected Metchie with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The former Alabama product tallied 96 receptions for 1,142 receiving yards and eight touchdowns during his junior season before tearing his ACL in the SEC Championship Game.

NFL.com