NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Bears work out Michael Schofield



The Bears took a look at a veteran offensive lineman as they move toward the start of the 2022 season.

Field Yates of ESPN reports that the team worked out Michael Schofield.


Schofield started 12 of the 15 games he played for the Chargers last season. He has made 81 starts overall since entering the league as a 2014 third-round pick of the Broncos.

He has played both guard and tackle during a career that’s also featured a previous three-year stint with the Chargers and a year with the Panthers in 2020.

The Bears drafted four offensive linemen earlier this year, so there should be a fair amount of competition for spots on the line this summer. If Schofield signs, he’ll be in the thick of it.

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All the help they can get for Fields... the better.

 

You know its slow when the 'alternate helmet' is the top news story.

Let the Camps begin!

 

At least they look good. Are the Steelers getting those awesome yellow helmets?

 

Offensive lineman Michael Schofield’s visit with the Bears apparently went well.

According to multiple reports, Schofield is signing with the NFC North squad. Schofield visited with and worked out for the team over the weekend.


Schofield was a Broncos third-round pick in 2014 and started 29 games for Denver before moving on to the Chargers. He spent three seasons with the team, jumped to the Panthers in 2020 and then returned to the Chargers to make 12 starts last year.

Schofield has played guard and tackle during his NFL career. The Bears have rookie Braxton Jones at tackle along with Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom, and they experimented with different combos of those three players along with left guard Cody Whitehair and right guard Sam Mustipher this spring.

 

All the throw back helmets look pretty good.

 

Report: Orlando Brown Jr. will not report to training camp



Chiefs coach Andy Reid said last week he was uncertain whether Orlando Brown Jr. would report to training camp. Translation: The left tackle simply hadn’t yet told Reid officially of his plans to stay away.

Indeed, Brown will not show up at St. Joseph tonight when the entire team is due to arrive at training camp, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports.


Brown’s absence was expected after he and the Chiefs were unable to reach agreement on a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline for franchise tagged players. He has not signed the one-year, $16.66 million tag, so he is not subject to fines for staying away from camp.

Garafolo previously reported that “even Week 1” is in question for Brown to sign the tag and commit to playing this season.

Brown wanted a long-term deal and surely is frustrated and disappointed not to get one, but some within the organization are as frustrated and disappointed that Brown declined their long-term offer, Jeffri Chadiha previously reported.

The Chiefs do not have a great option at left tackle without Brown. Reid mentioned left guard Joe Thuney as a possibility but added that the team isn’t to the point where it needs to figure out Brown’s replacement yet.

The Chiefs acquired Brown from the Ravens in April 2021. He started 16 games for Kansas City last season and was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl.

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Two-time Super Bowl-winning WR Danny Amendola retires

Following 13 seasons with five teams, including winning a pair of Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, wide receiver Danny Amendola is retiring, his agent Erik Burkhardt tweeted.

The 36-year-old Amendola's final season ended up being a 2021 campaign with the Houston Texans in which he played in only eight games, but he'll be most remembered for his time in Boston.

From 2013 through 2017, Amendola was a trusted slot receiver for Tom Brady and a special teams standout to boot, playing in three Super Bowls with two victories.

All told, Amendola played 163 games with 76 starts, and recorded 617 career receptions for 6,212 yards receiving and 24 touchdowns during his time with the St. Louis Rams, Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Texans. He finished his career with 11,761 all-purpose yards.

Of greatest note, though, is that when it counted most, the receiver nicknamed "Playoff Danny" had some of his best games.


He played in 13 postseason games and they were all with the Patriots. In the playoffs, he had 57 receptions for 709 yards and six touchdowns, with TD catches in New England's XLIX and LI wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.


His finest showing came in his final postseason run with the Pats during the 2017 season. Amendola had eight catches for 152 yards in the Patriots' Super Bowl LII loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It concluded a three-game run in which he had 26 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns -- both of the scores coming in the fourth quarter of an AFC Championship Game win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A 5-foot-11, 185-pound Texas Tech product, Amendola went undrafted and started his career with the Rams in 2009.

In his second season, Amendola began to make noise as he worked well with quarterback Sam Bradford to the tune of catching a career-high 85 receptions for a career-high 689 yards. Amendola proved to be a dependable option out of the slot and at the second level.

Following four seasons with the Rams, Amendola joined New England and proved to be a perfect fit for the Patriot Way. Amendola's five seasons in New England were his most with any team, and he registered 230 grabs for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns during this stay.

Amendola also took pay cuts multiple times to stick with Brady and the Pats, but eventually moved on to Miami in 2018. After just one season with the Dolphins, he was released and went on to play two seasons with the Lions from 2019-2020 before his final year in Houston.

Known for his clutch play in the playoffs, Amendola never saw the postseason after he shipped out of Boston. But he continued to produce with the Dolphins and Lions, putting up numbers consistent to his Patriots production (at least 45 catches each season and at least 575 yards receiving each year).

Now, having spent time recently with Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski filming 80 for Brady, Amendola can join Gronk and Jules in retirement, thinking of the games and glory won during their winters in New England.

NFL.com

 

Mohamed Sanu signs with Dolphins



The Dolphins are adding a veteran wide receiver to the roster as training camp gets underway.

Agent Mike McCartney announced that his client Mohamed Sanu is signing with Miami. There’s no word on any terms of the deal.


Sanu played for Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel with the 49ers over the last couple of seasons. He had 16 catches for 186 yards in 11 games for the NFC West club. Sanu has also played for the Lions, Patriots, Falcons, and Bengals since entering the league as a 2012 third-round pick.

Sanu joins Tyreek Hill, Cedrick Wilson, Jaylen Waddle, Trent Sherfield, Lynn Bowden, Preston Williams, and fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma in the Miami receiving corps.

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Report: Julio Jones agrees to terms with Buccaneers



As if the Buccaneers weren’t already stocked at the receiver position, they have added another big name to the room.

Julio Jones is signing a one-year deal with the team, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.


He joins Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage and Breshad Perriman, among others, at the position on the roster. Godwin did not go on the team’s active/physically unable to perform list as he recovers from an ACL tear, which was more good news for the team.

Jones appeared in 10 games for the Titans last season and totaled 31 catches for 434 yards and a touchdown. It was a career low in all three categories, including 2013 when he appeared in only five games.

Jones, 33, has made seven Pro Bowls but 2019 was the last time. That also was his last 1,000-yard season. He has played 19 games and missed 14 with injuries the past two seasons.

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Jones might mesh well with the buccaneers. Brady will find him open quite a bit more than Tannehill did.

 

I count six former Atlanta players now on Tampa's roster. I'm looking forward to the games between the Tampa Bay Falcons and the Atlanta Bears.

 

You won’t like the results. After the TBs kick your ass.

 

Chiefs place Clyde Edwards-Helaire on PUP



The Chiefs placed running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and defensive tackle Cortez Broughton on the active/physically unable to perform list.

They join cornerback Rashad Fenton and offensive linemen Lucas Niang and Prince Tega Wanogho on PUP.


The team can activate the players off the list at any point during the preseason, but they can’t practice until then.

Edwards-Helaire faces a crucial third season.

He totaled 1,100 yards from scrimmage during his rookie season but had gall bladder surgery after the year and then battled injuries while missing seven games last season. He finished 2021 with 517 rushing yards and 129 receiving yards.

The former first-round choice admitted this offseason that he has a “sense of urgency” to reach his potential.

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The neck injury that torpedoed the 2021 season for Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson will end his career.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Carson has decided to retire due to the injury, per a source informed of the situation.

The decision comes after the running back failed his physical, Rapoport added. The Seahawks released Carson with a failed physical designation later Tuesday, which allows the RB to receive injury protection benefits.

"Ever since the first time I saw Chris on film, I loved his style, and I was thrilled when we were able to get him when we did," head coach Pete Carroll said in a statement Tuesday. "To see him grow and become such an impacting part of our program with such a great style and all of that, it was a thrill to watch. We'll miss him and everything he brought to our program."

The 27-year-old played in just four games last season before being sidelined by the injury.

In June, Carson was optimistic he'd be able to return at some point this season.

"Oh, we still going right now," Carson said at the time. "I see myself playing until I feel like stopping. My mindset is never to give up. So, I'm staying positive like I said, and continue to fight and get back onto the field."


Ultimately, the neck injury will not allow Carson to get back on the field. Given the physical nature of football and the seriousness of the injury, he becomes the latest player to see his career prematurely ended by a neck issue.

"It's a big disappointment," Seahawks general manager John Schneider said. "We took it as long as we possibly could with him, he saw a number of specialists, but unfortunately he wasn't able to pass our physical."

In five seasons with the Seahawks after being selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft out of Oklahoma State, Carson was one of the most underrated, hard-nosed backs in the NFL. He ran with a purpose, owning the speed to get the edge and and ability to drag tacklers for extra yards on every run.

Carson finishes his career with 3,502 yards on 796 carries and 24 TDs, including back-to-back 1,100-plus rushing campaigns in 2018 and 2019.

With Carson retired, the Seahawks will plow forward with Rashaad Penny and rookie running back Kenneth Walker III. Seattle's selection of Walker in the second round underscored the uncertain nature of Carson's future. Now that the veteran is retiring, Walker and Penny will battle for reps in the ground-first offense Pete Carroll favors.

NFL.com

 

It would be even more lopsided if they DIDN'T have all the ex-Falcons. Atlanta went 18-30 with those guys from 2018-2020. Having them on Tampa's roster helps level the playing field.

Side note... Vegas has the Atlanta Bears as the favorites against the actual Chicago Bears. It's the only game this season where Atlanta is the favorite, though three games do not have lines posted yet. So our roster really is viewed as one of the worst in the league, if not the worst outright.

But the oddsmakers seem to like all the ex-Chicago guys that came to the Falcons better than the ones that are still in Chicago.

 

Steelers DB Minkah Fitzpatrick (wrist) starting training camp on NFI list after falling off bike

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick won't be riding into training camp just yet.

Fitzpatrick is headed to the active/non-football injury list with a wrist injury sustained when he fell off a bike during a vacation, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters in a Tuesday news conference.

Tomlin underscored that he does not anticipate the injury being a long-term problem, just some discomfort. For now, though, it will delay Fitzpatrick joining his teammates on the practice field in camp.

Tomlin also announced that defensive lineman Tyson Alualu will start on the physically unable to perform list due to a knee injury. The Steelers announced the Alualu and Fitzpatrick moves shortly after Tomlin's announcement. Furthermore, Tomlin said wide receiver Diontae Johnson , who's seeking a new contract, reported on time and he does not anticipate any type of "hold-in."

Fitzpatrick, 25, who recently signed a blockbuster new deal with Pittsburgh that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL, is heading into his fourth season with the Steelers. A two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro, Fitzpatrick isn't just a standout with his play, but has been a model of consistency since he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2018. Fitzpatrick has played in all 64 games to start his career and has started in 46 consecutive games since joining the Steelers during the 2019 campaign.

NFL.com

 

Ravens sign Bailey Gaither



The Ravens have made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday.

The team signed receiver Bailey Gaither and announced guard Ben Cleveland has been placed on the non-football injury list.


Gaither joins the Ravens after working out with the club earlier this week. He went undrafted last year but spent time with the Panthers. He registered 135 receptions for 2,227 yards with 18 touchdowns at San Jose State.

Reporters on the Ravens beat have speculated that Cleveland potentially did not pass Baltimore’s conditioning test. Selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, Cleveland is competing to start at left guard. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie with four starts.

 

Steelers released RB Trey Edmunds to make room to sign RB Jeremy McNichols.

Hopefully McNichols lasts longer in Pittsburgh than he did in Atlanta. The Falcons signed him at the end of May and released him in mid-June.