NFL - NEWS & NOTES

To land running back Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers, the 49ers sent four draft picks to Carolina. Per multiple reports, the Panthers get from San Francisco a second-round, third-round, and fourth-round pick in 2023, along with a fifth-round pick in 2024.

 

...and score they did!

The Cardinals found the magic elixir at State Farm Stadium. The Saints were no match for the Cardinals, who ended an eight-game home losing streak.

Arizona had not won at home since Oct. 24, 2021, when it beat the Texans.


The Panthers had lost seven in a row at home before beating the Saints in Week 3.

The Cardinals intercepted Andy Dalton three times, returning two for touchdowns, in a 42-34 victory. The Cardinals moved to 3-4, and the Saints fell to 2-5.

Dalton became the first quarterback to throw pick-sixes on back-to-back drives since former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick did it in Week 2 of 2019 against the Patriots.

The Cardinals trailed 14-6 late in the first half before the Saints fell apart in an eight-play, 1:42 sequence. Cardinals running back Keaontay Ingram scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:28 remaining, and a two-point conversion tied the game.

Dalton then threw two pick-sixes: Marco Wilson had a 38-yard return off a rebound of a perfectly thrown pass to Marquez Callaway with 1:50 left; and Isaiah Simmons picked Dalton and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown with 46 seconds left in the first half.

The Cardinals led 28-14 at halftime.

Dalton finished 30 of 47 for 361 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Rookie Chris Olave caught seven passes for 106 yards; Juwan Johnson made five receptions for 32 yards and two touchdowns; and Taysom Hill completed 2 of 2 passes for 48 yards, caught one pass for 3 yards and had three carries for 9 yards.

Saints receiver Tre'Quan Smith left the game for the locker room before the finish, appearing to injure his arm or shoulder.

Kyler Murray completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 40 yards on seven carries. Eno Benjamin had 12 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, and DeAndre Hopkins returned from his six-game suspension to catch 10 passes for 103 yards.

PFT

 

I knew they were searching for a 1st, but didn’t expect they’d get one from SF. Not a terrible haul but I do feel like they could have gotten a bit more.

 

McCaffrey pulled a hamstring while packing and will be out six weeks.
(Sorry. I had the first pick in fantasy last year and I took him. I'm still miffed).

 

Hmmm... I wonder how many of these picks they'll use to get quarterbacks...


[edit to add explanation: they used four total picks to trade for Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, who will both be free agents after this season. Backup P.J. Walker will be a restricted free agent, and it's questionable whether a new coach would tender him - Matt Rhule had been his college coach.

So Matt Corral might be the only QB left on the roster at the end of the season, and GM Scott Fitterer has a track record of throwing picks at QBs.]

 

The timing of the trade is perfect for Atlanta. The Falcons just played SF and have two games upcoming against Carolina.

 

If we use low rent math...

The Panthers traded Christian McCaffery for Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield?

49ers are sending CAR - 2nd, 3rd, 4th and future 5th

Panthers gave up:

• Darnold - 2nd, 4th and 6th
• Baker - 5th (conditions for the 4th not likely met)

I can name 5 GMs off of this board that should be hired by the Panthers today...

 

Browns DC Joe Woods: I thought we’d be further along defensively



The Browns are riding a three-game losing streak into this Sunday’s game against the Ravens and the defense has been a big reason why they’ve been falling short so far this season.

The Falcons and Chargers both posted more that 200 rushing yards in their wins over Cleveland and Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe threw for 309 yards last Sunday, so the unit has struggled in all phases while allowing the fourth-most points in the league to this point in the season. On Thursday, defensive coordinator Joe Woods said the group is “underperforming” across the board and called the struggles “really hard to explain” because of how good everyone felt coming into the season.


“I thought there would be more things we could do at this point,” Woods said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Not that more means better, but we do have some young guys in there playing for us at all three levels of the defense, and they’re learning too. I thought we’d be further along obviously. There are a lot of things we are trying to clean up, and we just have to clean them up in a hurry.”

Injuries have kept some key veterans out of the lineup, but young players haven’t made the kind of progress that the Browns were looking for this season and the combination has led to the poor results that Woods is trying to fix. If that doesn’t happen soon, the second half of the Browns season will not hold much promise.

PFT

 

You don't think that Darnold and Mayfield AND a 3rd round pick for McCafferey is a good trade?

Panthers feel entirely mismanaged. It's a shame.

 

49ers must have been licking their chops while making this trade. They couldn’t dream of drafting a player of that caliber with all those picks combined and Carolina will probably turn every pick into a pile of crap. Fortyniners obviously won the trade.

 

If McCaffrey can stay healthy.

 

He won’t be the whole offense in San Francisco like he was in Carolina. The 9ers have so many play makers that he can not have to be the offense. It’s going to help his career get going again.

 

Bad news Ravens fans...

Report: J.K. Dobbins is expected to undergo knee surgery, out 4-6 weeks



The Ravens will be without at least one of their key offensive players for Sunday’s game against the Browns — and that player will be sidelined for several weeks.

Shortly after Baltimore ruled out running back J.K. Dobbins with a knee injury, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Dobbins is expected to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks.


Dobbins did not practice all week. Dobbins is coming off an ACL tear suffered last year, but started each of the last four games. However, he played just 16 offensive snaps in last week’s loss to the Giants.

While he averaged 6.0 yards per carry as a rookie in 2020, he’s rushed for just 3.5 yards per carry this season.

Kenyan Drake played the majority of offensive snaps for Baltimore last week and recorded 119 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. He could be in line for a big day against Cleveland’s defense, which has let up 5.0 yards per carry.

After missing the first two days of practice, tight end Mark Andrews (knee) was a limited participant in Friday’s practice and is questionable for Sunday. Via Jamison Hensley, Andrews said after practice, “My body feels good. I’m ready to go.”

Receiver Rashod Bateman (foot), cornerback Marcus Peters (quad), guard Ben Cleveland (foot), outside linebacker Justin Houston (groin), offensive tackle Morgan Moses (heel), and fullback Patrick Ricard (knee) are all questionable.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson (hip) was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, but was full on Thursday and Friday and is off the injury report. He’s expected to start Sunday’s game.

PFT

 

Packers Rule Out Christian Watson
Giants Rule Out Azeez Ojulari, Oshane Ximenes
Julio Jones, Cameron Brate Ruled Out For Sunday
Shaquille Leonard Ruled Out Against Titans, Jonathan Taylor Likely To Play
Commanders Rule Out Dyami Brown, List Jahan Dotson As Questionable

 

Julio Jones is missing games due to injury? Shocking...

 

Elijah Moore's trade request prompted a change, but not the one he was seeking.

Moore will not play in the Jets' Week 7 game against the Denver Broncos, coach Robert Saleh told reporters Friday, reiterating New York won't trade the WR.

Instead of a trade, Moore's request earned him a timeout of sorts. Moore was in the Jets' building Friday, per Saleh, but was excused from meetings and spent his time working out. Saleh cited the emotional and mental impact of requesting a trade as why he decided Moore would not participate this weekend in Denver.

"In my view -- whether we agree or not, it doesn't matter -- to ask him to play a football game with where is from a mental standpoint wouldn't be fair to him in my opinion," Saleh said. "But that's strictly my decision."

Moore's displeasure first appeared on Twitter following New York's 27-10 win over Green Bay on Sunday, with Moore posting a message that read: "If I say what I really wanna say ... I'll be the selfish guy ... we winning." Moore later added he felt "Grateful! Huge blessing! All I ever wanted. [Bitter] sweet for me em but I'll be solid. So I'll just stay quiet. Just know I don't understand either."

Evidently, that was just the beginning of Moore's frustration with his usage. By Thursday, he'd officially requested a trade, and Saleh made a decision to give Moore more time to think about what he wants from his NFL career instead of immediately trying to prove it on the field or with a moving truck.

"It could be (a selfish act). You could view it a million ways," Saleh said of Moore. "You could view it however you want. It's not for me. Just knowing the individual and knowing what he wants, he wants to contribute. He's a competitive kid. He's a competitive man. He wants, he feels like he can do more within the offense to help us cross the goal line. To me, that's admirable."


Moore's production hasn't been remarkable, but he's been a decent contributor in an offense that relies on all of its skilled players to move the ball. Moore has 16 catches for 203 yards, however he hasn't scored a touchdown, and he's well below his average target rate from 2021.

A year ago, Moore was the center of attention. The 2021 second-round selection turned heads in camp and gave downtrodden Jets fans a reason to believe this was the start of a bright future for their team. Then Moore got hurt, slowing his hype train and limiting him to 11 games as a rookie, while the Jets were left to figure things out with Corey Davis, Keelan Cole, Jamison Crowder and Braxton Berrios, among others.

Moore still caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns in his first season, but that didn't preclude the Jets from spending another top-64 pick on a receiver. Now, Moore can't buy more than a few targets per game in an offense that is suddenly stocked with playmakers.

"You want your guys to have that type of confidence in themselves where they know that they can do more for the offense," Saleh said. "But we are in a really cool situation where Corey Davis deserves the ball, Garrett Wilson deserves the ball, Breece Hall deserves the ball, so does Braxton Berrios, so does Michael Carter, so do the two tight ends, so does Elijah. ... It's just a matter of continuing to work and trust the direction that we're going.

"We're young at the skill positions on offense and it's got a really good chance to grow together. So from his perspective, I just think he's competitive. He wants more, and that doesn't make himself. it just, in my mind, makes him a competitor."

Moore took a page out of teammate Denzel Mims' book by requesting a trade, but much like Mims -- who will take Moore's spot on the gam-day roster -- he's still on the team and likely isn't going anywhere -- including Denver this weekend.

NFL.com

 

Drama in NY... Im on Saleh's side on this one.

 

What makes it even worse for Carolina is now they have $18 million dead money for 2023 on McCaffrey, which will make it slightly harder for them to sign/resign free agent quarterbacks. So they're getting back the picks they sunk into Mayfield and Darnold, but they lose McCaffrey and cap space in the process.

As a Falcons fan, I love it !

 

Grow up!!!!

 

I think this wanting to change teams is going to get worse because the transfer portal bs in the NCAA football world.