MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Frickin' soap opera, lol. (tom brady situation)

 

Actually rumor is he was being traded to the Browns and he said screw that

 

k….

 

Jimmy Garoppolo: We’ll see what happens, but I love this team



Jimmy Garoppolo knew his time as the 49ers starting quarterback was limited the moment that the team traded up to take Trey Lance with the third overall pick in last year’s draft and it likely came to an end on Sunday night.

That’s when Garoppolo’s backhanded fling under pressure late in the fourth quarter was intercepted by Rams linebacker Travin Howard to set up a game-winning field goal that sent Los Angeles to the Super Bowl. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan declined to make a “farewell statement” about Garoppolo after the game, but one is likely coming and Garoppolo sounded like a man summing things up when it was his time to speak to the media.


“They hit pretty hard in the locker room,” Garoppolo said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “I think these next couple days it’ll really start to settle in a little bit. Emotions are high after a game, win or loss. It’s one of those things you’ve got to be glad it happened, smile from it, and think about the good things. We’ll see what happens in these next couple of days, weeks, whatever, but I love this team. The fight and the battle in this team throughout the entire year has been really impressive, and I love those guys.”

It’s not clear what the 49ers’ exact steps will be with Garoppolo, but the only surprise will be if they involve bringing him back for another season when Lance is waiting in the wings and more than $25 million in cap relief is staring them in the face.

PFT
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I almost feel sorry for this guy. All people do is critique this guy and talk about his future with the team. The pressure he is under must be insane... he could use some support in a positive light from his own team and coaches even. Oh well, I guess it goes with the territory.

 

"That’s when Garoppolo’s backhanded fling under pressure late in the fourth quarter was intercepted by Rams linebacker Travin Howard to set up a game-winning field goal that sent Los Angeles to the Super Bowl"

That's not what happened

 

Brian Daboll: A lot to like about Daniel Jones



During his time as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll worked with quarterback Josh Allen and helped him develop into one of the league’s top players after a rocky first couple of years in the league.

That work helped Daboll get hired as the Giants’ head coach and he’ll be working with another first-round quarterback in Daniel Jones. Jones has not progressed as the team would have hoped over his first three seasons, but new General Manager Joe Schoen said the team will build its offense around him and Daboll echoed that sentiment in his introductory press conference on Monday.


Daboll said the team will “implement a system that suits him” and bring in pieces that allow Jones to be the “best version of himself.’

“He’s got the right mindset, he’s got good size, there’s a lot of things to like about Daniel,” Daboll said. “We’ll just take it one day at a time. We’ll work with him, help him get better. . . . It takes a lot to raise a quarterback. He’s been around the block through these last three years with some different pieces. We’re going to try to give him some stability and just take it from there.”

While the hope is that Daboll’s arrival leads to the kind of leap that Allen took, Daboll said that he doesn’t think it is “fair to compare him to another guy that I was working with.” One big difference between the two is that Daboll worked with Allen from the start of his career while Jones is heading into his fourth season, so there’s less time for Jones to show progress before the Giants have to make long-term calls about his future with the franchise.

PFT

 

TOM BRADY has retired again, lol...

Per, PFT -

Tom Brady said on Monday that he was “still going through the process” of deciding whether or not he would retire from the NFL and that process came to an end on Tuesday morning.

Brady announced his retirement in posts on social media. He began by saying that football requires an “all in” commitment in order to succeed and that he has had that commitment for the last 22 years before going on to say that the commitment is no longer there.


“This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore,” Brady wrote. “I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”

Brady went on to thank teammates, coaches, fans, and his family in a lengthy message.

“My playing career has been such a thrilling ride, and far beyond my imagination, and full of ups and downs,” Brady wrote. “When you’re in it every day, you really don’t think about any kind of ending. As I sit here now, however, I think of all the great players and coaches I was privileged to play with and against — the competition was fierce and deep, JUST HOW WE LIKE IT. But the friendships and relationships are just as fierce and deep. I will remember and cherish those memories and re-visit them often. I feel like the luckiest person in the world.”

Signs have pointed to Brady walking away from the game since the Bucs lost to the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. Now we know for certain that he’s reached the end of the road.

 

Kyler Murray: We have made strides in three years, but we have to get better



When they were 7-0 and then 8-1, the Cardinals were considered one of the best teams in the NFL if not THE best team in the NFL. But Arizona lost five of its last seven regular-season games that included losses to the Lions, Seahawks and Panthers.

The Cardinals had a chance to win the division in Week 18 when the 49ers beat the Rams, but Arizona lost to the Seahawks 38-30.


The Cardinals were blown out by the Rams 34-11 in the wild card round of the postseason as Kyler Murray had the worst game of his career. He had a 40.9 passer rating in completing 19 of 34 passes for 137 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

So how do the Cardinals learn and grow from the end of 2021 to improve in 2022 in what seems a must-win season for Kliff Kingsbury?

“I wouldn’t get into too much detail but just get better,” Murray told Darren Urban of the team website on Saturday. “I think there are a lot of things we all need to address individually. Team-wise we understand kind of what happened, how we get there. We’ve got to do it together. Obviously everyone has to work hard individually. When we come together we’ve got to be ready to go, because it doesn’t get any easier.

“We made strides throughout the three years I’ve been here but we haven’t reached that ultimate goal.”

Murray, who has made his second Pro Bowl, is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. The Cardinals have until May to decide whether to exercise the fifth-year option on his contract if they don’t sign him to an extension before then.

PFT

 

Patrick Mahomes: I don’t think I’ll be over Bengals loss until we’re in another Super Bowl



Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was available to play in the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday because of his team’s 27-24 loss to the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game and he made no secret of the fact that the loss continues to eat away at him.

Mahomes told Lisa Salters of ESPN that it will be at least a year before he’ll be able to say that he’s over losing a game that the Chiefs once led 21-3 in the first half.


“I’m still not over it,” Mahomes said, via Ethan Sears of the New York Post. “I don’t think I’ll be over it until we’re playing in another Super Bowl. So I’ll use that as motivation going forward.”

The Chiefs had been to the previous two Super Bowls and they’ve hosted four straight AFC Championship Games, so it wouldn’t come as a great surprise if the team is back in the title mix again next season. Being in the mix and winning are two different things, however, and back-to-back overtime games in the playoffs against the Bills and Bengals make it clear that the Chiefs aren’t going to have an easy path back to where they want to go.

PFT

 

Mike McDaniel to Tua Tagovailoa: My job is to get greatness out of you



The Dolphins appear to be all-in on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami posted a video to social media on Tuesday of new head coach Mike McDaniel talking to Tagovailoa from the private jet taking him to South Florida to begin his new job. McDaniel vocalized his excitement to work with the young quarterback.

“We’re going to have an extensive professional relationship, my man,” McDaniel told Tagovailoa. “One thing I know about you is you have the ambition to be great. My job is to coach you, to get all that greatness out of you. And it’s going to be fun, man. It’s going to be work, but I know you’re not afraid of that. So this is an awesome day for me and I’m damn sure going to make sure that when you look back on this day, you’re going to be like, ‘Damn, that was one of the best days of my career,’ too. OK? But I’ll earn that from you. You got me?”

McDaniel then turns to the camera and says, “Since you can’t hear him, he’s telling me how excited he is and that there’s no other coach he’d rather play for in the entire world, which I thought was nice since that’s the first time I’ve really talked to him.

“It is an unbelievable opportunity for me that I do not plan on wasting in the slightest. I can promise you that. I’m all in. You’re going to get the best out of me that you can possibly get.”

Tagovailoa completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,653 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in the 13 games of his second season. He also rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

The Dolphins won eight of their last nine games to finish the 2021 season 9-8. But with McDaniel’s offensive scheme, the club surely hopes Tagovailoa can become its undisputed franchise quarterback going forward.

PFT

 

It’s official: Aaron Rodgers wins fourth MVP award



Aaron Rodgers was wrong about the “woke mob” not voting for him for MVP because of his COVID-19 stance. He was right Thursday morning when he held up four fingers on the golf course, indicating a fourth MVP award.

It became official Thursday night at NFL Honors when Rodgers was announced as the winner of the award, beating out Tom Brady. Rodgers received 39 votes to Brady’s 10 and Cooper Kupp‘s one.


Only Peyton Manning, with five, has won more MVP awards than Rodgers, who also won in 2011, 2014, 2020.

Rodgers became the fifth player in NFL history with consecutive MVP awards, joining Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Brett Favre and Manning.

It was a given Rodgers was going to win the award after the All-Pro results were announced. Rodgers received 34 votes as the All-Pro quarterback and Brady got 16. The same media members vote for both awards.

Despite Bruce Arians’ conviction that it would be a “travesty” for Brady not to win his third MVP award, Rodgers deserved it. He led the Packers to the best record in the NFL with 13 wins. He completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 4,115 yards with 37 touchdowns, four interceptions and a league-leading 111.9 passer rating.

The question now becomes: Will he return to Green Bay for a chance to tie Manning with a fifth MVP award next season?

PFT

 

Bengals QB Joe Burrow named 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had to rehab before he could walk, and walk before he could make his unexpected run to Super Bowl LVI.

That run now includes another achievement: 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Burrow was named the recipient of the award during NFL Honors on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Burrow edged Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, 28-21, in the voting. Chargers safety Derwin James got the other vote.

Burrow's tale -- taking a team that had won just four games a year ago all the way to its third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history -- is remarkable for a second-year quarterback. It's even more impressive when considering he had to undergo knee surgery to repair a significant injury suffered as a rookie, rehabilitate, overcome the mental hurdles of returning to a high-speed contact sport, and then proceeded to light up the NFL in the final portion of the regular season.

The Bengals wouldn't sniff the Super Bowl without Burrow, and Burrow wouldn't have reached this stage had he sustained a setback along that road back to the field.

Burrow's second professional season has him on the doorstep of the elite class of NFL quarterbacks. Burrow finished sixth in passing yards in the regular season, posted a 34-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio and the second-best passer rating in the entire NFL at 108.3, trailing only Aaron Rodgers. Burrow stuffed the stat sheet in the latter portion of the season, throwing for 440-plus yards in two of his final five games and breaking 500 yards in a win over Baltimore to complete the Bengals' season sweep of the Ravens. In a three-game winning streak from Week 15 through Week 17, Burrow's broke 103 in passer rating in each game, and Cincinnati sprinted to the AFC North title following a Week 17 win over the Chiefs.


In the lead-up to Super Bowl LVI, Burrow spoke of his in-season improvement, which he said began following Cincinnati's Week 10 bye. With concerns about his knee behind him following the break, Burrow flourished, and anyone paying attention to Cincinnati was well aware of Burrow's success and rapid status climb among NFL quarterbacks. His team's run to an AFC crown put him on the map for every football fan.

Comeback Player of the Year is a great award for his trophy case, but if he continues at this rate, it's likely to pale in comparison to what awaits him.

NFL.com

 

Russell Wilson: Hope and goal is to be back and keep winning



Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson‘s future in Seattle was a storyline last offseason and there’s been plenty of chatter about whether he could be traded to another team could be in the cards this year.

Wilson, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, said near the end of the regular season that his “goal is to win more Super Bowls” and that he plans to win them with the Seahawks. He was singing the same tune during a Friday appearance with Chris Russo on Mad Dog Sports Radio.


“I’ve been fortunate to be able to play 10 amazing years in Seattle,” Wilson said. “My hope and goal is to be back there and keep winning there. That’s the vision, that’s the goal. That’s always been it, never been anything different.”

Hopes, goals, and plans don’t always come to fruition and they can change, so further discussion about where he’ll be playing next season probably won’t be stifled as a result of that answer. The longer Wilson remains in Seattle, though, the better the chances that he’ll be the Seahawks’ quarterback for an 11th season.

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I cant see Wilson getting traded if Seattle is where he wants to play. If he wanted out, that might be a different story.

 

Report: Colts likely to trade or release Carson Wentz



The Colts appear ready to cut bait on quarterback Carson Wentz.

Wentz will probably be traded or released by March 18, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.


The reason March 18 is significant is that Wentz’s contract calls for his full $22 million base salary to be guaranteed, and for him to receive a $6.29 million roster bonus, if he’s still on the roster on March 18. If Wentz is released before then, the Colts are still on the hook for $15 million of his base salary, but they’d be off the hook for the other $13.29 million.

Trading Wentz to a team willing to take on his full contract as-is would be the ideal choice for the Colts, but it seems unlikely that any team is going to give anything up to take on a contract that the Colts don’t want. It is possible that Wentz, the Colts and another team could all agree to a re-worked contract that makes it easier for him to be traded.

The Colts gave up their first-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-round pick last year for Wentz. Obviously they wouldn’t have done that if they had thought Wentz would be one-and-done, but given his disastrous play at the end of the season as the Colts were knocked out of playoff contention, it’s unsurprising that the team has apparently decided to move on.

PFT

 

Wentz cant find a home and that surprises me. He sure draws value and then, boom, he's gone. Maybe people put too much value on him and the QB position in general?

 

Raiders prepared to commit to QB Derek Carr with extension

For years, it appeared Derek Carr's future with the Raiders was in doubt. Whenever former coach Jon Gruden had the opportunity to fully support him, he often left it open.

With new coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler officially on board, Carr is finally set to receive the support that has eluded him.

Sources say the Raiders are moving forward with Carr at QB and prepared to discuss a contract extension that would keep him in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future. Carr has one year left on his contract, making nearly $20 million.

For weeks, as the Raiders searched for a coach, Carr mulled his future, with both sides left to make a mutual decision about what would come next. Sources say Carr's top choice for a new coach was actually the one the team hired. In the past, McDaniels' and Ziegler's affection for the three-time Pro Bowler led them to consider trading for him.

Now, they don't have to.

Carr has earned a near-top of market contract extension, and a strong, short-term deal may be in his future. He would be a top target for QB-needy teams this offseason, but barring a breakdown in current plans, those teams will need to look in another direction.

NFL.com

 

Joe Burrow will not need surgery for Super Bowl knee injury



The Bengals got some good news on the health of quarterback Joe Burrow.

Burrow will not need surgery for the knee injury he suffered in Super Bowl LVI, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.


Although Burrow will have to do some rehab work, the injury is not likely to affect his offseason significantly.

Burrow’s rookie season ended with a torn ACL, and it would have been devastating to lose him to another serious knee injury. Fortunately the Bengals dodged a bullet, and Burrow’s knee appears to be OK.

The next step for Burrow and the Bengals is to figure out how to stop him from getting hit so often after he took 70 sacks in 2021-22.

PFT

 

Good news for Joe and the Bengals... must protect him better. Joe might need to learn a few things on avoiding certain hits and just not hanging on to the ball, but just throw it away and live for the next down.

 

Brandon Beane: Protecting Josh Allen is the first priority for Bills’ offense this offseason



Bills General Manager Brandon Beane says protecting quarterback Josh Allen is his top priority.

Beane told the Bills’ website that when it comes to the draft and free agency, making sure the offensive line isn’t letting Allen get hit is job No. 1.


“First thing, I’m going to try and protect him,” Beane said of Allen. “As I said earlier, I have to make sure the o-line is set and that we’re confident in them. But beyond that, always looking for the various pieces.”

Allen was sacked on just 3.9 percent of his dropbacks last season, the lowest rate of his career, but his completion percentage declined in part because he was often hurrying throws to avoid getting hit. The Bills would like to see that improve, and they think the offensive line is the place to make that improvement.

PFT

 

Lamar Jackson back throwing, as promised, after Super Bowl for Ravens



Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in January that Lamar Jackson told him he’d be back to work the day after the Super Bowl.

Well, two days after the Super Bowl, Jackson posted videos to his instagram stories of him back throwing a football.


Jackson missed the final four games of the season for Baltimore due to a bone bruise in his ankle.

“Those things are really unpredictable,” Harbaugh said. “And there was a thought — and even with Lamar, Lamar felt he was going to be back. First week, he thought he had a chance. Second week, he assured me — he said, ‘I’ll be back, I’ll be back.’ He worked really hard at getting back. But it just didn’t really heal.”

Jackson remained in a walking boot through the end of the season as the injury took a while to recover.

“He was still limping even at the end of the season,” Harbaugh said. “I talked to him Saturday and he said he felt great. He said he was really getting better. And he said he felt really confident that he was going to get started. He said he’s starting back to work the day after the Super Bowl. That’s his time frame to get going. He should be healed up by then.”

It appears as though Jackson’s prognostication was spot-on, which bodes well for the offseason ahead for the Ravens’ signal-caller.

PFT