NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Awesome dude that obviously gets it. lol! Seriously though, how did 98 players come off the board in front of this kid? That's ridiculous. Good for Cleveland. It was meant to be...Landry 2.0....Bell is a baller right out of the same mold.

Who cares about 40 yard dash times when ya consistently show the ability to separate from defenders and make plays? Wasn't that the knock on Cooper Kupp? Hmmm, both wildly productive college WR's taken in the 3rd round due to perceived lack of speed. That's crazy. Browns got a steal.

Just a reminder, Jerry Rice ran a 4.6+...

 

Free agent RB Tarik Cohen streamed a training session on his Instragram account - and ruptured his Achilles' tendon during the live stream.

 

Ja’Marr Chase: We have to roll with higher expectations this year



Predictions that the Bengals would win the AFC title for the 2021 season were all but impossible to find at this time last year, but the team made more progress than expected and wound up losing a close Super Bowl to the Rams in Los Angeles in February.

On Tuesday, quarterback Joe Burrow said that “we know what it takes” to win now and that’s not the only change to the team’s circumstances this time around. The rest of the league knows that they can win as well and any thought that teams will take it easy against them is a wishful one.


Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase said that the team has to embrace their new standing as they prepare to defend their conference title.

“Now we just have to add the expectation we’re one of the best in the league and we have to keep that expectation and roll with it,” Chase said, via the team’s website. “Every game is a tough game in the NFL. We’re not worried about our X. Everybody has an X on their back.”

The Bengals have been overshadowed a bit in the offseason because of the big moves made by other AFC teams trying to get to where they were last season. That expanded number of contenders should make it easier for teams to recognize the importance of each game as they try to position themselves for the postseason.

PFT

 

James Bradberry agrees to deal with Eagles



The Giants cut cornerback James Bradberry this month, but they’ll be seeing him a couple of times during the 2022 season.

The Eagles announced that Bradberry has agreed to terms on a one-year contract. According to multiple reports, it is a $10 million deal for Bradberry in Philadelphia but there’s no word on how much of that might be in incentives rather than base salary. Bradberry was set to make a $13.4 million salary before being released.


Bradberry spent the last two seasons with the Giants after signing as a free agent and he was selected to the Pro Bowl after his first season with the team. He recorded 101 tackles, seven interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries in 32 appearances for the team.

Bradberry will join Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox at the top of the cornerback depth chart for the Eagles, who will be trying for their second straight playoff appearance during the 2022 season. Adding a corner like Bradberry to the defense should be a big boost to that bid.

PFT

 

Thank God.

 

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson on new era under head coach Matt Eberflus: 'It's a complete reset'

There are few franchises in the NFL that take the "defense wins championships" maxim more seriously than the Chicago Bears. In the Bears' six postseason trips since the turn of the century, only one has taken place with a defensive unit ranked worse than fourth overall in points allowed, and half of Chicago's 21st-century playoff defenses have ranked No. 1 overall.

Given the Bears' failure to live up to tradition during a lackluster 2021 campaign under offensive guru Matt Nagy, it's no wonder the organization changed tact by handing the keys to the former Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

The hiring appears to have lit a fire under at least one budding star in Chicago's secondary.

"It's a complete reset," third-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson said Tuesday, per Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. "Everything I've done in the past with the other coaches, with the other staff, it really doesn't mean anything. I mean, the film is not going to lie to you. But at the end of the day, they want me to show them what I can do in person."

Johnson is correct about the film. Although the Bears defense fell to pedestrian levels in 2021 -- the unit finished 22nd overall in points allowed and recorded fewer interceptions than 28 other clubs -- the former second-rounder flashed his lockdown potential and was often trusted to match up with the opposing team's top receiving threat each week.

He's also correct about the reset aspect.

As is the case with most regime changes, Eberflus and his new staff have facilitated the departure of several defenders that were recently considered mainstays by trading linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chargers in March and releasing defensive lineman Eddie Goldman shortly thereafter. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, a Chicago favorite since 2016, remains a free agent.


Despite the heartache fans may feel over those absences, Eberflus and Alan Williams, Chicago's new defensive coordinator who served as Eberflus' defensive backs coach in Indianapolis from 2018-21, boast the track record to inspire confidence. The Colts put a top-10 scoring defense on the field in three of Eberflus' four years in charge.

After acknowledging the blank slate for both player and coach alike, Johnson's next step is continuing to prove himself as part of the solution in the Windy City through his work ethic -- and a little dose of swagger.

"I feel as confident as ever," Johnson said. "I don't feel like there's anything I can't do."

His bravado also carries over into his mindset regarding Chicago's first two picks in the recent draft, defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker: "I'd throw 'em in the fire if you're asking me. I mean, they're our first two draft picks. I feel like we've got to see what they can do right now. And then we can know what the attitude and what the vibe is heading into camp. If I was the coach, I wouldn't ease them into it. I would throw them out there."

Whether Eberflus adapts the suggested trial-by-fire approach or not, both Johnson and the incoming rookies will need to gel with their new coaching staff in the coming months to turn an offseason reset into a postseason return.

NFL.com

 

L’Jarius Sneed’s car shot up in Louisiana, but he wasn’t in it at the time



Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was not inside a car he owns when it was shot up in Louisiana sometime Friday, TMZ Sports reports.

Sneed is in Minden, Louisiana, where he played high school football, and he showed up on scene to check out his bullet-ridden Ford Bronco.


Sneed and others were questioned at the scene by officers.

Two of the cornerback’s friends were in the vehicle at the time, but no one was injured.

The shooting is believed to be random, per TMZ, and police have made no arrests.

“A random and unnecessary act of violence occurred while Mr. Sneed was visiting his hometown,” Saffarah Lawson, Sneed’s agent, said in a statement. “No one was injured, but gunshots damaged his vehicle. He was briefly questioned and released without incident. There is a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.”

A Chiefs’ spokesman said the team is aware of the incident and gathering information.

Sneed, a fourth-round choice of the Chiefs in 2020, has started 21 games and made five interceptions, three sacks and 117 tackles.

PFT

 

Adding Odell Beckham Jr. listed as top priority for Colts

The Indianapolis Colts will be entering OTAs next week with a pretty inexperienced wide receiver corps, which means several analysts view it as a potential landing spot for Odell Beckham Jr. following the 2022 NFL draft.

While the Colts used the No. 53 overall pick to add Alec Pierce out of Cincinnati, it wouldn’t be a shock to see general manager Chris Ballard add a veteran to the group.

Marc Sessler of NFL.com believes “exploring the concept” of adding Beckham Jr. to the roster should be the top priority for the Colts.

Taking Alec Pierce in the second round addressed a tangible need for the Colts. Beyond the rookie, Michael Pittman Jr. is a pleasure to watch, but injuries have limited Parris Campbell to 15 games in three seasons. Depth is a concern. With Matt Ryan at the motherboard, Indy looms as a potential tractor beam for Odell Beckham Jr., who is coming off the knee injury he suffered in the Super Bowl. The Rams are interested in bringing him back, but Beckham went out of his way in March to issue a glowing review of the Ryan acquisition. With more than enough cap space in a winnable AFC South, why not spend the requisite dead presidents to lure in a veteran pass-catcher who can mentor Pierce and add holy fire to Indy’s air attack?

Beckham Jr. proved during the second half of the 2021 season that he can still help teams win. He may not be the same player that was on a historic pace early in his career, but he provided the Los Angeles Rams some much-needed value as a WR2.

Beckham Jr. also seemed to be a fan of the Colts’ trade for Matt Ryan earlier in the offseason.

There are, of course, a few question marks surrounding Beckham Jr. and his potential. The most immediate one comes with the fact that he tore his ACL during the Rams’ Super Bowl win. It’s unlikely he would be ready for training camp, and it isn’t clear if he would have to miss time during the regular season.

The other question comes with his fit in the locker room. Beckham Jr. has always had a desire to win. But there have been questions about him becoming a distraction. The Colts locker room could handle Beckham Jr.’s personality. This would be a reason why they built the culture they have. It just remains to be seen if the Colts believe it would be worth it.

Assuming there are no complications with his ACL rehab, Beckham Jr. would help the Colts’ passing attack on the field.

Whether the Colts believe it would be worth it to spend up for him is the bigger question, and it’s one that doesn’t have a definitive answer.

COLTS WIRE

 

A year ago, who would have guessed the Colts might feature Matt Ryan throwing to OBJ?

 

Bud Grant urges NFL to change rules to reduce kneeldowns, fair catches, touchbacks



Hall of Fame former Vikings coach Bud Grant is, at 95, almost as old as the NFL itself. But he’s not done offering suggestions for how the league can improve quality of play.

Grant told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he wants to take out the boring parts of every game, specifically kneeldowns at the end of the game, fair catches on punts and touchbacks on kickoffs.


“I would complain to people about the idea that when the trailing team was out of timeouts, the quarterback starts kneeling down and the fans are leaving,” Grant said. The answer always was, ‘There’s nothing that can be done about it.’ I kept thinking about it and decided, ‘Yes, there is. The team on offense has to make a yard — 1 yard — or the clock stops. A few things can happen when trying to make a yard. You can get stuffed. You can fumble. You can get a penalty. And you keep the fans interested.”

Grant, a four-time Grey Cup winner who is also in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, also wants the NFL to follow the CFL’s lead on punts.

“I attended enough meetings to know the NFL wants to avoid admitting Canadian football has a better idea about anything. Yet, they should follow Canada and take away the fair catch,” Grant said. “There’s no fair catch in Canada, but the coverage also has to give the returner 5 yards. NFL people hear this and they’ll say, ‘It will increase injuries.’ The 5-yard cushion makes all the difference. My opinion is there won’t be a real increase in injuries, and the punt would become an interesting play.”

Grant also wants to disincentivize touchbacks on kickoffs.

“Why bother, if your goal is to make the kickoff the most-nothing play in football? They say it’s about safety. Injuries happen on every play,” Grant said. “They have made several changes on the way you can block on the kickoff. They can keep those. But you wait three minutes through a timeout, they come back, kick off, walk the ball out to 25. It’s ridiculous. Move the kickoff back 5 yards [to the 30], and if you don’t bring it out, you don’t get rewarded with the 25. You get the ball at the 15.”

Unfortunately for Grant, the NFL has prioritized injury reduction in its rules changes, and kickoffs and punts are at the top of the list of plays the NFL wants to make safer. Which means there’s really no chance of Grant’s rules being implemented. And Grant’s proposal for eliminating kneeldowns could also increase injuries late in games. So it’s safe to say the NFL won’t be bringing Grant on as a rules consultant, no matter how passionate he is for adding to the sport’s entertainment value.

PFT

 

Bears throwing Velus Jones “into the fire pretty quick”



Wide receiver Velus Jones never played a high-profile role in the passing game during his first five college seasons, but he caught 62 passes at Tennessee last year and the Bears have high hopes for what that will mean in their offense.

The Bears made Jones a third-round pick last month and wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said the team isn’t moving slowly when it comes to integrating him into their scheme. Jones is working at both inside and outside receiver during their offseason program.


“We’ve thrown him into the fire pretty quick, put him at two positions immediately,” Tolbert said, via Adam Jahns of TheAthletic.com. “Get him to learn it now. Because we want him to learn the whole concept but, specifically, a couple of positions to get him going. The more he can do, the more, obviously, he’ll have a chance to play.”

Tolbert said that “any situation is about opportunity” and the thin Bears receiving corps offers Jones a big opportunity to show that he was overlooked earlier in his college career. If he can, the feeling the Bears didn’t do enough to bolster their offense this offseason may not be a lasting one.

PFT

 

Per report . . .

Jadeveon Clowney agreed to terms on a deal with the Cleveland Browns, according to Ian Rapoport. Clowney, a former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick out of South Carolina, played his lone season in Cleveland in 2021 after bouncing around between the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans in 2019 and ‘20.

 

Good for the Browns!

 

1yr/$11M
Lyman beat me to it... lol!
WOOF!!!

 

11 million seems pretty cheap for Clowney

 

Chase Winovich: Trade to Browns could be the best thing that ever happened to me



The Browns traded for defensive lineman Chase Winovich in mid-March in exchange for linebacker Mack Wilson, setting up two defensive players for a needed change of scenery.

After recording 5.5 sacks in each of his first two seasons, Winovich saw his playing time reduced to just 10.5 percent of New England’s defensive snaps in 2021. He ended the year with no sacks and just one quarterback hit.


So as he begins his time with Cleveland as a potential rotational edge rusher, Winovich is optimistic about his opportunity in the AFC North.

“In life, we’re very quick to assign things as good or bad, success or failure, this or that,” Winovich said in an interview with Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “But I think ultimately that removes any possibility, and the possibility is that it could be the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Winovich added that he’s gained 10 to 15 pounds this offseason to help his transition into Cleveland’s defensive scheme.

“It’s the heaviest I’ve weighed in probably three years, the strongest I’ve probably ever been,” Winovich said, “so I have a lot to be optimistic about, and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m just very thankful that the Cleveland Browns believe in me, and I certainly have been putting in the work and effort to make sure that I’m prepared come season. I’m just really fired up to be here.”

While the Browns agreed to re-sign starting defensive end Jadeveon Clowney over the weekend, Winovich is still likely to get some snaps playing opposite back-to-back All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely thought a lot about it,” Winovich said. “These are things that I’m kind of trained as a Patriot to not speak about but, yeah, I’ve thought a lot about what we could do together on the football field.”

The Browns tied for ninth in the league with 43 sacks in 2021. If Winovich has his way, Cleveland could perhaps make it into the top five in the coming season.

PFT

 

Former longtime Vikings QB installs Packers urinal in home



There’s no love lost for former longtime Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer when it comes to the Green Bay Packers.

He ate, slept and breathed the rivalry in his 13 years of playing across from them as a member of the Vikings in the 1970s and 1980s. But if his recent social media post is any indication, it’s clear that he still eats, sleeps and breathes the rivalry to this very day.

In a video uploaded to Twitter, Kramer shows off his brand new Packers urinal recently installed in his home.

Granted, turning Green Bay’s colors and logo into a toilet for daily use is already next level when it comes to rivalry ideas, but he takes things even further with the choice of picture neatly placed above the urinal at eye level.

It’s a picture of Aaron Rodgers writhing in pain after getting blasted by linebacker Anthony Barr in 2017. The legendary Packers quarterback suffered a broken collarbone after that hit, but he did end up returning near the end of the season.



Now, Kramer can flush the Packers anytime he wants.

YAHOO