NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I remember that game!!

 

Report: Jeffery Simmons deal is for four years, $94 million



Word that Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons agreed to a contract extension with the team on Friday has been followed by reports about the terms of the deal.

Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports that there it is a four-year, $94 million deal for Simmons. Simmons had been set to make a base salary of $10.753 million under the terms of the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

Closer looks at Simmons’ new pact will show further details, but Davenport reports there is $66 million in guaranteed money and a $24 million signing bonus. The annual average of the deal puts Simmons behind only Aaron Donald among defensive tackles.

That will be of interest to a number of other teams and players as they move toward deals of their own. Simmons’ fellow 2019 first-round picks Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver, Christian Wilkins, and Dexter Lawrence are all looking for new deals this offseason and Simmons’ agreement — along with Daron Payne‘s new deal in Washington — will likely have ripple effects through their own negotiations in the coming weeks and months.

PFT

 

Richie James agrees to deal with Chiefs



The Chiefs are adding another wide receiver to their roster.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the team has agreed to sign Richie James as a free agent.

James comes to the Chiefs off of the most productive year of his NFL career with the Giants. He had 57 catches, 569 yards, and four touchdowns last season, which was good for best or tied for the most on the team.

Those were also career highs for a player who had 38 catches for 689 yards and three touchdowns over his three seasons with the 49ers.

The Chiefs have lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman from their receiving corps in free agency. James will join Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore in this year’s corps.

PFT
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Is he super freaky?

 

Patrick Mahomes roasts Travis Kelce after star TE botches first pitch at Cleveland Guardians' home opener

Kelce was raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio


Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce took the mound at the Cleveland Guardians' home stadium, Progressive Field, Friday.

He was joined by his mother Donna before a sold-out crowd as he threw the ceremonial first pitch a few miles from where he grew up.

After hyping up the fans, Kelce reared back and let it fly. But the ball hit the grass and bounced past home plate instead of landing inside the glove of Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber.

Kelce quickly ran to hug Bieber after the awkward throw, and the pair seemed to have a good laugh about it.

Before the baseball left Kelce's hand, a commentator was heard saying, "Hopefully, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gave him a few lessons before today's game."



It wasn't Kelce's first time on a baseball diamond. He played three sports — football, basketball and baseball — at Cleveland Heights High School.

The two-time Super Bowl winner has shown what he can do with a bat, playing in multiple celebrity home run derbies over the years.

Earlier this year, former Atlanta Braves scout Reggie Sanders told TMZ Sports Kelce was a "good hitter with blazing speed" during his teenage days.

Mahomes seemed to enjoy Kelce's botched pitch, writing "Ayyyyyy bruhhhhhhhhh," with several crying laughing emoji.

Mahomes called on the Kansas City Royals to give Kelce a shot at redemption.

"Ayyy @Royals lets give him another chance. ASAP!!!" Mahomes wrote in a tweet.

Mahomes is the son of former MLB pitcher Pat Mahomes. The elder Mahomes made his big league debut in 1992 with the Minnesota Twins.

His son, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was a pitcher during his time at Texas Tech and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 MLB Draft.

FOXNEWS

 

lol

 

Is Berrios, Hill and Waddle the best WR core in the NFL right now?

 

Report: Kareem Hunt won’t return to Cleveland, Browns think he has lost speed



Last summer, Browns running back Kareem Hunt thought he deserved more money. Now that he’s a free agent, he’s finding that NFL teams don’t think he deserves much.

Hunt will not be back in Cleveland, where the Browns think his speed is slipping, according to Terry Pluto, cleveland.com.

Last year Hunt averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry and a career-low 6.0 yards per catch, so the numbers would seem to confirm the sense that Hunt doesn’t have the big-play speed he had earlier in his career.

Hunt is 27, which might not seem old, but running backs don’t age well. Hunt’s best days may be behind him.

It’s been a rough year to be a free agent running back, as NFL teams are increasingly concluding that they can get just as much production from young running backs on cheap contracts as they can from veteran free agents. Hunt joins Jerick McKinnon, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, J.D. McKissic, Mark Ingram and other well-known veteran running backs who aren’t generating much interest.

PFT

 

Odell Beckham Jr. receives a 1yr. Deal worth 15 Mil (up to 18 mil with all bonuses) from Baltimore Ravens


"

 

Now they need to secure a QB.

 

Its weird how over the weekend all the talk was about an indepth meeting between OBJ and the Jets... and then BOOM, he's a Raven, go figure.

 

Who is the source besides Terry Pluto? I find Terry entertaining, but he is usually behind Mary Kay Cabot when it comes to breaking news, which is saying something. The Browns "don't want him back" because they are paying over 4X the amount they have ever paid a QB in the history of their franchise.

Watson $230M guaranteed (5 years)
Mayfield $51.56M (5 years), only one in the conversation...

They can't afford to pay the #2 RB starter money, which is what Kareem wants. The sad part is, RB starter money isn't what it used to be.. but you still have to be budgeted per position group because of Watson's contract. Now, if Kareem can't get another deal, which is possible with the soft RB market, I could see them bringing him back on a one year deal that makes sense for both.

 

So un-like the Ravens. This was a surprise.

 

Steelers agree to terms with Armon Watts



Free agent defensive tackle Armon Watts is signing with the Steelers, his agent, David Canter, announced on social media.

Watts spent last season with the Bears, playing all 17 games after Chicago claimed him off waivers out of the preseason. He started 12 games and played nearly half the defensive snaps, seeing action on 532.

Watts totaled 35 tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits in 2022.

The Vikings made him a sixth-round selection in 2019, and he spent his first three seasons in Minnesota.

Watts played 40 games with 10 starts for the Vikings and recorded 90 tackles, seven sacks and three forced fumbles.

PFT

 

Guaranteed, $15M also... I dont understand any of it.

 

Trade price for Okudah was just a 5th rounder. Falcons have until May 1 to decide on picking up his 5th year option.

I love the trade, but I would not pick up the option. If he can't stay healthy, you save a fortune. You can still resign him if you want - at a much cheaper cost.

If he stays healthy, look to extend/resign him. If you can, great - you get a former top five draft pick hitting his prime for the price of a 5th rounder. Major steal. If he jumps ship for 2024 rather than resigning with you, that's fine too - you're then in line for a 2025 third or fourth round comp pick. That plus the season of service you got from him in 2023 is still a good return on a 2023 fifth round pick.

Atlanta now has A.J. Terrell, Jeff Okudah, Mike Hughes and Casey Hayward at CB with Jessie Bates, Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins at safety. Still a few questions remaining up front, but there's no doubt that the secondary is not just solid but STRONG.

 

Report: Saquon Barkley won’t sign tag ahead of Giants offseason program



Giants running back Saquon Barkley isn’t expected to join the team when they start their offseason program next week.

Barkley received the team’s franchise tag before the start of the new league year, but he has not signed it yet. Kim Jones of Newsday reports that Barkley will not sign the tag before the start of the team’s offseason work and will not be reporting for the first team work of the offseason.

This portion of the offseason program is voluntary, but Barkley isn’t officially under contract with the team without signing the tag so there would be no repercussions for Barkley even if the work was mandatory.

With the market for running backs soft around the league, Cowboys running back Tony Pollard opted to sign his $10.1 million tag. Barkley stands to make the same amount by signing his, but, for now, he’s opting for a different approach than his fellow NFC East back.

If that remains the case through the July deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals, Barkley will have to make a choice about whether to report to training camp under the terms of the tag.

PFT

 

Dan Snyder nearing deal with Josh Harris group to sell Washington Commanders franchise

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and Josh Harris of Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment are nearing a deal to complete the sale of the team to Harris' group for just under $6 billion, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday, per sources.

Rapoport added that the sale is not final and no agreement has been sent to the league for approval.

Any sale of an NFL franchise would need to be approved by the NFL's finance committee and at least three-fourths (24) of the league's 32 owners. Owners are scheduled to meet in Minneapolis in May for the Spring League Meeting.

Harris, who owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils and is currently a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is the head of an investment group that includes Maryland businessman and philanthropist Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Magic Johnson.

Snyder, who, along with his wife, Tanya, has owned the Washington franchise since 1999, retained Bank of America Securities last November to explore a potential sale of the team.

The potential sale price of the Commanders would be the highest in NFL history. Last year, the Denver Broncos were sold to the Walton-Penner group for a then-record $4.65 billion.

Snyder and the Commanders remain the subject an internal league investigation led by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, concerning allegations of workplace misconduct and potential unlawful financial conduct. In addition, the franchise recently settled lawsuits with Maryland and the District of Columbia over fans' season-ticket deposit money.


The NFL hired White to lead the investigation in Feb. 2022 after Snyder was accused of sexual misconduct by a former team employee during a congressional roundtable. Snyder denied the allegations.

White's investigation came after the league's initial independent investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson's firm, which found Washington's workplace culture to be toxic. Dan Snyder and the team were fined $10 million in July 2021, and the league said he turned day-to-day operations over to his wife, but no written report of Wilkinson's findings was released.

In 24 seasons under Snyder's ownership, the Commanders have posted a 164-220-2 record with six playoff appearances. Washington last made the playoffs following the 2020 regular season and last won a playoff game following the 2005 regular season.

NFL.com