MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

I worked for 2 minutes and got a performance bonus.

 

I mean as far as 2024 prospects. Blue chippers. There should be some very good DL and OL talent to go along with WR talent left on the board at 9. I would opt for the DL or OL talent. IMO it is easier to find a stud WR than a stud Edge or Tackle.

I am not satisfied with what the Bears have done at C but even if they don’t add another player it will be better than the shitshow last season. I’d be happy with a trade down but it takes 2 to party and it is never a guarantee your guy will be there.

I don’t necessarily agree that Williams is just like Fields and needs a ton of talent to succeed. The thing that let him down the most at USC was his defense. Having More and Allen

 

Good news for the Colts and their fans...



Shane Steichen: Anthony Richardson is in a really good spot, shoulder is feeling good

During the annual league meeting last month, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said he thought Anthony Richardson would be ready for the start of the offseason program after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.

That now has turned out to be the case.

“He’s in a really good spot,” Steichen said in his Tuesday press conference. “Had really good discussions that I’ll obviously keep private, but he’s in a really good spot. His shoulder is feeling good. He should be good to go for practices like we talked about earlier. He will be out there throwing, but we’ll limit — we’ll obviously monitor it, make sure we’re smart with that but he’s in a really good place.”

Steichen noted that while Richardson will likely want to push things, the Colts will keep a watchful eye on the quarterback to hold him back if necessary.

“I mean, he’s a competitor,” Steichen said. “I think most guys that are competitors that want to be great are going to want to push themselves. But again, we’re just going to have to monitor it and then we’ll go from there.”

Richardson was able to play just four games as a rookie before being shut down due to injury. But going into his second year, Richardson has the advantage of already knowing the offense at this point in the offseason.

“Yeah, it’s big. It’s not new for him,” Steichen said. “He’s heard the terminology. Going through those meetings right now, going through it, quizzing and he’s all over it. We’ve got a good foundation going into this offseason and going into the season. So, it’s been good.”

Richardson completed 60 percent of his passes for 577 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in 2023, while also rushing for 136 yards with four TDs.

PFT

 

Joe Schoen denies Giants have buyer’s remorse on Daniel Jones

Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is disputing talk that he and the team have regrets about the contract they signed quarterback Daniel Jones to last year.

Schoen was asked today about comments from Rich Eisen, who said after hosting NFL Network’s Scouting Combine coverage that he heard multiple times at the Combine that the Giants have “buyer’s remorse” about Jones and are ready to move on from him. Schoen disputed that.

“There’s stuff out there all the time that’s not true,” Schoen said.

So how does Schoen view Jones heading into 2024? Schoen says he still thinks Jones can be the quarterback he was in 2022, when he led the Giants to the playoffs.

“I’m still confident in Daniel, the way he’s wired, what he showed us in 2022,” Schoen said. “I’ve still got a lot of confidence in Daniel.”

Jones got off to a disastrous start last season before suffering a season-ending injury. If the Giants don’t have buyer’s remorse now, they will if Jones doesn’t both stay healthy, and dramatically improve upon his 2023 performance.

PFT

 

The Broncos have agreed to acquire Wilson, the Jets’ No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft, according to a report from NFL Media.

Denver will send New York a sixth-round pick, No. 203, in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick, No. 256. The Jets will also pay some of Wilson’s salary. He’s due to make $5.5 million in 2024. Teams in trade will split the $5.5M

 

Steelers are not expected to pick up Justin Fields’ 2025 option

The Steelers traded for quarterback Justin Fields this offseason and it looks like any future for him in Pittsburgh will be contingent on what happens in the coming months.

Fields is in the fourth year of the rookie deal he signed with the Bears after being drafted 11th overall in 2021 and the Steelers have until May 2 to decide on picking up an option for the 2025 campaign. That would cost a fully-guaranteed $25.7 million and Fields is currently No. 2 on the depth chart, so Adam Schefter of ESPN’s report that they are expected to pass on the option isn’t a surprising one.

It’s even less surprising when flipping back to the Steelers’ pre-draft press conference on Monday. General Manager Omar Khan didn’t make any commitments regarding the options for Fields or running back Najee Harris, but he did say that the team has “three guys who are on one-year deals” while discussing the possibility of drafting a quarterback this week.

Heading to free agency off a year spent as a backup to Russell Wilson wouldn’t be an ideal situation for Fields, but there’s a lot to play out before we know how the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh will shape up in 2024.

PFT

 

If Giants draft a quarterback, what will they do with Daniel Jones?

The Giants seem to be serious about drafting a quarterback. Specifically, about drafting Drake Maye — if they can get him.

If they do, what happens with Daniel Jones?

They gave him a contract last year that guaranteed the first two years of the contract. Jones has $35.5 million in fully-guaranteed salary for 2024.

The Giants could try to trade Jones. They’d have to be willing to pay a large chunk of his salary, like the Jets did in splitting the $5.5 million obligation to Zach Wilson with the Broncos. Buy why not pay $17.75 million to move Jones, if keeping him means paying him $35.5 million to ride the pine.

That’s the other question. Would he play in New York or would he be benched? They signed Drew Lock early in free agency. His contract was curiously underreported to omit a $3 million incentive package. Which might have been calculated to conceal the team’s interest in drafting a new quarterback.

If they don’t trade Jones, it would be Jones and Lock and Maye on the depth chart. Would Jones be QB1? Would he start until Maye is ready, like Kurt Warner did 20 years ago when Eli Manning was a rookie?

The situation has hot-mess potential written all over it. Which makes sense. The Giants have been a hot mess since winning Super Bowl XLVI. Since 2012, they have the fourth fewest regular-season wins in the NFL, with 76.

If they do indeed get a quarterback to replace Jones, they need to figure out what to do with Jones in 2024.

It becomes an interesting decision point for the Giants on Jones, especially since they’ve blown each of the two prior key decision points. They failed to pick up his fifth-year option when they should have. Then, they gave him a significant new contract when they shouldn’t have.

Some would say the Giants blew three decision points on Jones, dating back to April 2019 when they put his name on a draft card with the sixth overall pick in the draft. Given that they’re currently thinking about using another top-10 pick on a new quarterback, that’s not an unfair characterization.

PFT

 

Joe Schoen: As it sits today, we expect Daniel Jones to be our starting quarterback

The Giants were one of the teams considered to be a landing spot for a quarterback in the first round of the draft and there was word of interest in trading up for Drake Maye, but Maye is in New England and the Giants took wide receiver Malik Nabers sixth overall.

With no new additions at quarterback, the team has Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito on hand at quarterback. Jones is returning from a torn ACL and Schoen reaffirmed the plan is for him to start this fall when asked how he considers the quarterback position now and in the future.

“Yeah, for me, I said it in January after the season,” Schoen said, via a transcript from the team. “Our expectation was Daniel would be our starter and we brought Drew Lock to be his backup and Tommy is a backup, so that’s where we are and that’s how we’ll move forward this season. Daniel is still under contract for three more years. As it sits today, that’s where we are.”

There’s not likely to be another move for the Giants to make that changes the picture before the 2024 season begins, so Jones will be set for another chance to show what he can do as long as he’s healthy. If he can’t do more with it than he did last season, things will likely sit differently come next year.

PFT

 

Jaguars exercise fifth-year options for Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne

Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke said the team will exercise the fifth-year options on the contracts for quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.

Lawrence’s is worth $25.7 million for 2025 and Etienne’s is $6.1 million.

The Jaguars made Lawrence the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, and in three seasons, he has a 20-30 record as a starting quarterback with a Pro Bowl appearance in 2022. He has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.

Etienne, the 25th overall pick in 2021, missed his rookie season but has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since. He has 487 career carries for 2,133 yards and 16 touchdowns, while catching 93 passes for 792 yards and a touchdown.

PFT

 

How is Fields and Lawrence’s 5th year option the same amount? Lawrence #1 overall, Fields was the 11th… hmmm

 

The Commanders weren’t done adding quarterbacks when they drafted Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick.

Washington has also signed former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman as an undrafted free agent. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Hartman got one of the biggest guarantees among undrafted free agents, with a $20,000 signing bonus and $225,000 base salary guarantee. Typically, teams only give guarantees that big to undrafted rookies they expect to make the roster.

In addition to Daniels, the Commanders have quarterbacks Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel and Jake Fromm under contract. Most likely, Daniels will start, Mariota will back him up, and Hartman will get a strong opportunity to beat out Driskel and Fromm for the No. 3 spot.

The 24-year-old Hartman spent five seasons at Wake Forest before finishing his college football career at Notre Dame last year. He started 57 games in six seasons.

PFT

 

calculated from the average of the 3rd to 20th highest salaries at their position over the past five seasons, provided that their snap counts over their first three seasons meet one of the following three criteria:

• 75% or greater in two of their first three seasons
• an average of 75% or greater over all three seasons
• 50% or greater over all three seasons

Neither player made the pro bowl without being an alternate so they don't get more. If they didn't qualify for the above they'd get it averaged to the 25th.

 

So now that the draft grades are in, Atlanta gets the worst grades across the board and yes, it's 99% because they took Penix at #8 after having already signed Cousins. I'm still wrapping my head around the entire off-season myself, and I'm definitely not at peace with the cap costs yet.

But something to ponder... what's the most important position in football? The universal answer is QB.

Last year Atlanta finished the season with QB1 = Taylor Heinecke, QB2 = Desmond Ridder, QB3 = Logan Woodside.

Now it's QB1 = Kirk Cousins, QB2 = Michael Penix, QB3 = Heinecke.

Has any other team in the league had that much improvement in the QB group? Or in any position group, for that matter?

Everybody has three months to get over the shock before training camp. Then the narrative is more likely to focus on other details - like the entire offensive line returning intact, Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier in the backfield, and Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore as the top four WR / TE targets.

Cousins and Penix should be very happy with what they have to work with on offense.

 

Whether people agree or disagree with the Falcons 1st round surprise pick, the signing of Penix has Atlanta with a legitimate QB1 for the next 5 years at least. Cousins from what I gathered over multiple years is an outgoing do anything for you guy... he will work with Penix and show him the ropes and ways of the NFL... imo, he's a great mentor.

The pick is history and written in stone, the best thing to do is move forward, train, coach and play the game as a team with the cards Fontenot dealt. Its not the end of the freekin world, in a positive light its money in the bank. Cousins if not injured has 2 years to win a SB and he has weapons in ATL just like Minny, so if he prevails, good, if he's injured, you have a good guy to step in... bottom line the pick isnt as bad as I first thought. If the Falcons compete at a championship level and have a future in place by the surprise, sneaky, un-seen pick of Penix, he would look like a miracle worker.

Forget about the 'printed press' stuff and look at the tangibles; what do we have?... we have Cousins QB1, and Penix lurking. All-in-all, its all good , imo.

 

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow says he’s bigger and stronger after spending the last several months focusing on his nutrition and lifting weights.

Asked how much muscle mass he has added, Burrow didn’t put a number on his gains but said he’s, “Bigger, definitely bigger.”

Burrow said he feels very good about where his body is right now and expects to be even stronger when the Bengals open training camp in July.

“I’m gonna continue to get stronger and bigger throughout the offseason and just play it by ear, depending on how I feel,” Burrow said. “I’m in a good spot right now. I’m really strong, bigger than I was. We’re gonna continue to eat right, lift and go through my routine and see where I’m at.”

MEANWHILE...

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t spent his offseason sitting around, eating and watching TV. He’s been hard at work as evidenced by his current weight.

Jackson revealed on an “I Got Time Today” segment from Complex Sports on Instagram that he’s down to 205 pounds.

Jackson read a series of social media posts about him, including one from nittygrittysportstalk that said, “Lamar Jackson is definitely 2019 MVP slim now. . . . It may get spooky.”

Jackson answered, “Most definitely. I was 230 two years ago. I was 215 last season, but now I’m like 205.”
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Thats news you cant use right there. For the record Ive lost just under 40lbs this 2024 year and still losing weight.

 

Good job Willie!

 

Jayden Daniels on starting Week One: They said whenever I’m ready, I’m ready



The Commanders made it clear that they are staking their future on quarterback Jayden Daniels when they made him the second overall pick in the draft last month, but there’s still some question about when the future will meet the present.

Daniels addressed that question during an appearance on the All Facts No Brakes podcast with Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson asked Daniels if he expects to be the team’s starter in Week One and the rookie answered that he’s “confident in my abilities” while saying the decision was not for him to make. Johnson pressed Daniels for more of an answer about whether he thinks the team plans to bring him along slowly.

“From what I heard, they said whenever I’m ready, I’m ready,” Daniels said. “So whenever I feel like I’m ready, I’m ready. . . . They didn’t tell me, ‘Oh, you’ve got to start Week One.’ They just said, ‘Whenever you’re ready, you’re ready. Whenever you feel ready, we feel you’re ready, we’re gonna throw you out there.’”

It’s hard to imagine Marcus Mariota showing the Commanders enough to justify keeping the second overall pick of the draft on the bench, especially when Daniels’ ascension to the No. 1 job represents the start of what the current management hopes will be a brighter era of football in Washington. That doesn’t mean Daniels is close to a finished product, but it should mean the Commanders let him sort that out on the field.

PFT

 

One of the more interesting QB battles this Summer may be in Vegas with the Raiders, Gardner Minshew versus Aidan O'Connell. Those two might really push each other.

 

They do have a bit more money invested in Minshew so I think he may get the nod. He played pretty well on a bad Colts team. I'm rooting for him.