NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Bills sign Chase Claypool to one-year deal

Chase Claypool has made his way to another team in the AFC East.

The Bills announced they have signed Claypool to a one-year deal, adding a veteran receiver to the club.

Claypool, 25, split last season between the Bears and Dolphins. He caught just eight passes for 77 yards with a touchdown in 12 games between the two teams. After Chicago sent a second-round pick to Pittsburgh to acquire him in 2022, Claypool appeared in just three games with two starts for the Bears in 2023. He then played in nine games for Miami, though he was on the field for just 51 offensive snaps and 102 special teams snaps.

A second-round pick by the Steelers in 2020, Claypool’s career got off to a solid start. He caught 62 passes for 873 yards with nine touchdowns as a rookie — also rushing for two TDs. He then had 59 receptions for 860 yards with two TDs in 2021.

But his production started to dip in 2022 with the Steelers, catching 32 passes for 311 yards with one touchdown in eight games before he was traded for the first time. He has been rendered ineffective since departing Pittsburgh.

With the Bills trading Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis leaving the team in free agency, Claypool should add another bit of competition for the receivers room.

Buffalo also announced defensive end Dawuane Smoot and linebacker Deion Jones have signed with the team on one-year deals. While the Jones signing was previously reported, Smoot, 29, joins Buffalo after spending the last seven seasons with the Jaguars. He has 23.5 career sacks with 27 tackles for loss and 64 quarterback hits.

PFT

 

The Bills seem like they want to tank this season.

 

I since updated this due to further scrutiny. Wilson and Rice were the names blurred to the left and just below. So Wilson was the highest rated WR of a certain TYPE they had but Malik was higher. Maybe they weren't sniped becasue they already took Smith at the same position type but Washington seemed to be graded a tier higher.

 

Joe...........good luck for your Leafs tonight......May the 4th be with you...lol...I'm saying 3-2 in OT for TO.

Torgo I felt just like everyone else with the Falcons 1st RD pick...(shock).............BUT Penix JR. has Major protentional for the Falcons.

As a Washington Huskie his numbers were excellent and very exciting to watch...with the left arm throw he reminded me of Michael Vick another 1st RD draft pick by the Falcons moons ago.

JR took the Huskie to National Championship only to Lose

JR was 2nd in voting for Heisman Trophy.

JR was MVP for Pac12.

But what I like the most is Kirk Cousins has stated he will Mentor JR.......well done Kirk very classy.....Ryan Tannehill of the Titans 2 years ago stated he would NOT Mentor Will Levis....and he is Gone Yahoo Buckaroo.

 

The more that comes out about the Penix selection, the more interesting it gets to me. A lot of the bashing is along the lines of "if they planned to pick Penix, why did they sign Cousins?" The answer is they didn't exactly PLAN to take Penix.

Apparently they didn't think he'd still be on the board when #8 was up. But they were so big on Penix that they didn't give a rat's ass. Since he's there, we're grabbing him, and anyone who doesn't like it can enjoy the blessings of involuntary marital relations with packs of large angry zoo animals.

The really wild thing is that Atlanta reportedly also wanted to trade for the #10 overall. Not trading down from #8, but doing what Houston did last year and landing a second prime pick. The team hasn't said as much, but video from the Jets war room has the details. NYJ traded the pick to Minnesota instead, with that trade probably happening specifically because Atlanta shook up everyone's plans by unexpectedly taking another top QB off the board.

Atlanta's bad draft grades are also because of the trade up to take Rororororo-ho-ho when the "experts" felt they shouldn't have traded up and also that they should have taken an edge guy instead of a DT. Time will tell if they got the right guys, but they did have specific profiles in mind and they made no secret about wanting to get guys for the interior of the line. Especially when you consider the scheme change, DT actually was a top area of need.

(edit... what Houston did last year)

 

Eagles have signed yet another rookie CB. They invited Ferris State Shon Stephens to camp and he earned a contract. He killed Michigan State's pro day and I figured he'd be drafted in the 6th round or something (he was one of my ignored risers in the value challenge). He was going to go to the Steelers camp next to try to earn a contract but the Eagles locked him up. He's Joey Porter Jr.'s cousin.

 

He was scheduled for a visit with the Steelers until he signed with the Eagles.

 

That is what I said lol.

 

High speed hit and run and now...

Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice, who already faces eight felony charges for a multi-car crash on March 30, now is being investigated for allegedly hitting a photographer at a nightclub in Dallas on Monday night, WFAA reports.

DALLAS — Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice is under investigation for allegedly hitting a photographer at a club in Dallas early Monday, police sources say.

Dallas police sources say officers are interviewing witnesses about the incident that allegedly happened Monday at 609 N. Harwood Street, which is the listed address for Lit Kitchen & Lounge and its attached speakeasy venue Feu Nightclub.

 

Why is it when one thing happens, it starts to spiral out of control?

 

Terrion Arnold: Raiders told me it was a coin flip between me and Brock Bowers at No. 13

Lions first-round draft pick Terrion Arnold says he could have been a Raider, if the flip of a coin had gone the other way.

Arnold said on the Next Round podcast that someone on the Raiders’ coaching staff told him after the draft that the Raiders were down to Brock Bowers and Arnold and resolved it with a coin toss, which resulted in drafting Bowers with the 13th overall pick.

“The Raiders coach, they called me after the draft, they were actually like, ‘We had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers and landed on him,’” Arnold said.

Arnold also said that the Lions, who traded up to No. 24 to draft him, were making calls about trading up even higher because of how much they wanted him. Arnold said Lions General Manager Brad Holmes tried to trade up to No. 15 or No. 16 because the Lions thought they needed to move ahead of the Jaguars, who picked at No. 17. In reality the Jaguars passed on Arnold to trade down from No. 17 to No. 23, and then passed on Arnold again at No. 23.

Stories about teams’ decision-making processes on draft day often get exaggerated in the re-tellings and should be taken with a grain of salt, but Arnold believes the first round could have gone very differently.

PFT

If true the Raiders are not really running their show correctly. No beers were involved, so the quarter was useless.

 

Steelers signing Scotty Miller: Former Super Bowl champion getting one-year deal, per report

While it's not Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel or even Tyler Boyd, the Pittsburgh Steelers have added an established veteran wideout to its receiving corps. Pittsburgh is signing former Buccaneers and Falcons wideout Scotty Miller to a one-year deal, according to ESPN.

Miller is the latest former Falcon who will reunite in Pittsburgh with former Atlanta head coach and new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The Steelers signed running back Cordarrelle Patterson and tight end MyCole Pruitt earlier this offseason.

A 2019 sixth-round pick, Miller spent his first four NFL seasons with the Buccaneers before spending the 2023 season with Atlanta. The 5-9, 174-pound wideout played a key role in Tampa's Super Bowl run in 2020. His biggest play in the NFL so far was his 39-yard touchdown catch just before halftime of the Buccaneers' win over the Packers in that year's NFC title game.

 

Haven't look at the story yet but I did see the headline. Rice right now is easy to paint as the villain rl but was is a photographer or paparazzi? Also was the photographer being. Pushy and not leaving him alone? It's not a good look for rice but it could very well turn out the photographer deserved being hit.

 

Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels have a $10,000 bet on offensive rookie of the year



They’re barely in the NFL, and they’re already jumping with both feet onto the wrong side of the NFL’s gambling policy. If they’ve even been told about the NFL’s gambling policy.

Giants receiver Malik Nabers, appearing on The Pivot podcast at the draft, said this regarding former LSU teammate (and new Commanders quarterback) Jayden Daniels: “We got a bet going for rookie of the year. Whoever lose gotta pay I think it’s $10,000 cash.”

Daniels was asked about that during a recent podcast appearance with Keyshawn Johnson. Here’s the exchange:

Daniels: “Man, he wasn’t supposed to tell nobody. It’s supposed to be — we got a little something going on.”

Johnson: “What’s the bet though? Is it money or is it —"

Daniels: “Yes, money.”

Johnson: “How much?”

Daniels: “Ten. Who won rookie of the year.”

Johnson: “That’s nothing for y’all now.”

Daniels: “I mean, he put it out there, so it’s like I can’t say he cap, so.”

Daniels seemed to realize it’s not something that should be advertised. It’s also something that shouldn’t be done. And that’s something anyone who has been following the NFL for the past year or so already knows.

For those inclined to say we’re snitching on Nabers and Daniels (and some will undoubtedly say that), they told on themselves. They said it on public forums. It’s out there.

Their nonchalance speaks to the deeper issues the NFL is facing (or, as the case may be, ignoring) regarding the ongoing influx of new players who have come of age in an era of legalized, and desensitized, gambling. The stigma is long gone. Kids who haven’t been following the various ups and downs and ins and outs of the NFL might not know much if anything about the rules.

Nabers and Daniels should know. It’s something the NFL should tell them before they’re drafted.

We’ve asked the NFL about this one, along with several related questions. For more commentary on the issue, check out the attached video.

The fact that Nabers and Daniels had no qualms about making a five-figure wager is a symptom of a far deeper problem that the league seemingly isn’t taking seriously. And it’s a problem that flows from the NFL’s inherently contradictory and hypocritical stance on gambling, which allows ownership to pocket plenty of cash (and to hold equity in sports book companies) while dropping the players into a minefield that they must figure out how to navigate, with our without effective or timely guidance.

It didn’t have to be this way. The league didn’t have to jump into bed with the sports books. The league could have said, “We shun gambling. We require our players to do so, too. And we remind our fans that the entire system is rigged for you to lose your money, over time.”

But the league didn’t do that. Because the league saw easy money. And it also saw a way to become the most powerful party to the gambling relationship: the house.

PFT/Mike Florio

 

I wonder which one has JJ McCarthy....

Here's the thing, Nabers will definitely get an edge as he will be in the starting lineup day 1... I don't think Daniels will beat out Mariota for week 1 starter. I don't think it will take past half a year to surpass him, but not week 1.

On the other hand, I don't think McCarthy will beat out Sam Darnold for week 1 either... that was just a funny...


If I were betting on ORY... especially if I had to put down $10k on the bet... There is only one man I would be betting on... I don't think I even have to say the name out loud..

 

After these two, Nabers and Daniels seen the light, they have called off their bet as it is in violation of NFL's gambling rules.

"All NFL Personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or through a third party, on any NFL game, practice or other event (e.g., Draft or Combine). This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant, 'futures,' or any other kind of 'proposition bet' in any way related to the NFL (regardless of whether such bet involves actual on-field play) (e.g., prop bets related to Gatorade color, pre- or post-game events, halftime show, off-field player conduct or outcomes, etc.)"
_____
______________

OK, they called it off... or did they actually call it off, think on that.

 

Terrion Arnold on competitiveness: If my mom was a WR, I’d jam her into the dirt

The Lions selected cornerbacks with their first two picks in this year’s draft and they got a chance to see them on the field for the first time Friday.

First-rounder Terrion Arnold and second-rounder Ennis Rakestraw Jr. are taking part in the team’s rookie minicamp as they begin their push to earn roles in the secondary during the 2024 season. Assistant G.M. Ray Agnew said he thinks “both of those guys think they will start, and they’ve got their work cut out for them” in order to reach that goal.

Agnew also said that “we don’t want guys that bow down to people” on the Lions defense and Arnold’s answer to a question about his competitiveness shows that he draws no lines on that front.

“I’ll never forget one time my mom kicked my tooth out because we was just going at it so hard so if my mom was out here right now and she lined up across me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt,” Arnold said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “That’s my mindset and my mom knows that right now. I just mean it in the simple aspect of like football-wise, that’s just the way that I think and the way that I was brought up.”

Arnold is unlikely to find a Mother’s Day card that expresses that sentiment, but the Lions are likely happy to have that kind of competitive fire on the defense.

PFT
_______
_______________

What a lovely couple. Happy Mother's Day everybody.