MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Here's the article by Florio/PFT

It’s not quite Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but the potential partnership of Bill Belichick and Kirk Cousins seems a little odd on the surface.

Maybe it isn’t.

Appearing Thursday with CBS Sports as part of a media car wash, Cousins addressed the possibility of playing for Belichick.

“I have great respect for him as a coach, like everyone else in pro football,” Cousins told Isabel Gonzalez. “I mean, if you go to that many Super Bowls, win that many Super Bowls, go to that many conference championship games, have the defensive production he’s had for years and years, it says it all.

“We played them last year on Thanksgiving night. And, once again, I noticed several times what he did coverage-wise was challenging and it was different. You always know when you play him that you’re kind of looking over your shoulder [and] wondering if what you’re seeing is correct. Because you know he usually is going to break the mold and do something different, and that’s part of what has made him a great coach.”

So would he ever play for Belichick?

“I’m not gonna turn down an opportunity to play with a future Hall of Fame coach,” Cousins said. “But we’ll have to see where March leads. It’s just a lot of unknowns right now.”

The first unknown is whether the Vikings will try to keep Cousins, and whether Cousins wants to stay in Minnesota. With or without Cousins on the roster, he’ll count for $28.5 million under the salary cap for the Vikings in 2024.

It’s also unknown where Cousins wants to live. As Peter King mentioned on PFT Live, Cousins’s wife is from Alpharetta, Georgia — and her parents still live there. That becomes a very powerful magnet, especially in combination with the attraction of playing for Belichick.

As long as Matt Patricia and Joe Judge aren’t running the offense in Atlanta. And as long as Cousins doesn’t plan on telling Belichick that the quarterback won’t be working on Tuesdays.

 

Would you give him a deal that would get him to age 40?

 

Thats tough, but if he went team friendly, Id consider it, but a whole lotta things would have to be implemented in said contract like injuries and maybe taking it easy on the Cap hit by using incentive pay for certain accomplishments like winning a Division, Playoffs etc etc... but then he would probably bolt to Georgia, lol. He'd have to supply his own Geritol too.

Its really a tough call to as Kwesi said he'd like Cousins back, but liking him back and paying the man is 2 different stories. Cousins has said himself that he's made a ton of money, more than he had ever dreamed, so if he's not greedy and Kwesi means business, maybe they could work something out, but im thinking 2 years is all they would risk at his 35 years of age deal. Sitting at #11 in the Draft gives the Vikings good options too if they want to get the future QB.

 

I wonder if they would do a 2 yr with some sort of third year option. 38 isn't that old.

 

Most hated man in Buffalo is now Kevin Bass . Scott Norwood just high fived his grandkids

 

Got to love seeing them crying fans in the stands.

 

Joe Flacco is a humble SOB and a good man...

Joe Flacco came off the couch to start six games for the Browns, one of four quarterbacks to start for the team after Deshaun Watson was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.

Earlier this week, Flacco was named a finalist for the league’s comeback player of the year award. Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are the other finalists.

Voting took place the day after the regular season ended and will be announced at the NFL Honors show during Super Bowl week.

Flacco, though, doesn’t understand why he’s a finalist.

“I don’t necessarily know what I’m coming back from,” he told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports. “I would say most of the guys on that list I’m not sure what we’re coming back from, so that’s probably my initial reaction.”

The problem is the comeback player of the year award is absent a definition. It’s up to each of the 50 selectors to decide what a player is coming back from.

“I’m just coming back from being old and from not being on a team for a couple months,” Flacco said.

While Hamlin should be a no-brainer, coming back from the dead last January when he went into cardiac arrest on the field during a game, Flacco is a close betting favorite to Hamlin for some reason.

Flacco said he would vote for Hamlin.

“For sure,” Flacco told Gelb. “I don’t know how many snaps he played. I just think mentally, to get yourself back to the point where you feel comfortable doing that kind of thing . . . is pretty cool.”

That’s what could prevent Hamlin from winning the award: He played 17 defensive snaps and 94 on special teams in only five games. So, some voters didn’t see enough from him to list him No. 1.

Hamlin, though, should be the definition of the award.

PFT

 

Colts' Gardner Minshew uncertain of future despite going from QB2 to Pro Bowler: 'Ain't no tellin'. That's something they gotta tell me.'

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A mustachioed traveler with a drawl accompanying a quick wit and an easy grin, Gardner Minshew has acclimated himself well on every stop of an entertaining NFL odyssey.

His latest stop was Indianapolis, where he began the 2023 season as the Colts' second-stringer and ended it as the franchise's first Pro Bowl quarterback since Andrew Luck. It was an unpredictable turnabout in one memorable season's time.

"Right? Right? Anything can happen, man," Minshew told NFL.com on Friday at Pro Bowl Games practice. "Just super grateful, man. Had a lot of good people around me this year. Loved it, man. Just super proud of the season we had, the work we put in and, man, just loved the guys we had and wish it would've never ended."

It did come to an end, though. And now the all-star QB is a pending free agent with the Colts' future under center reserved for Anthony Richardson, so Minshew is once again at a career crossroads.

"Ain't no tellin' man, ain't no tellin'," Minshew said when asked about where he sees himself playing in 2024. "That's something they gotta tell me, that free agency stuff."

Once a rookie sixth-rounder for the Jacksonville Jaguars who authored Minshewmania in 2019, Minshew has now played for three teams in five seasons. He fit Indy to aplomb this past year, though. Having taken over the starting reins when Richardson was lost to a shoulder injury, Minshew racked up a career-high 3,305 yards in 13 starts to go with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. While he wasn't the rushing marvel that Richardson is, he also had three rushing scores.

NFL.com

 

If I'm ever terminally ill and I get one wish, it's doing some brews with Minshew and just talking. The guy is so cool.

 

Minshew said on Friday that he has no idea how things are going to play out this offseason, but that he wouldn’t mind a long stay somewhere after bouncing from Jacksonville to Philadelphia and Indianapolis over the last four years.

“I’m a ramblin’ man, a little bit in my soul, but, man, love to settle down and find somewhere to call home, but until we get there we’re gonna keep on rollin’,” Minshew said, via NFL.com.

 

Browns' Ken Dorsey explains excitement about coaching Deshaun Watson


New Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey sounds eager to coach quarterback Deshaun Watson ahead of what could become a franchise-altering season.

"I’m extremely excited to work with this offense, especially Deshaun and him being one of the top quarterbacks in this league, the opportunity to really go out there this season and help him prove that he really is that — a top quarterback in this league that can operate and help us win a bunch of football games," Dorsey said during his introductory news conference on Monday, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "So, I’m super excited about that opportunity and really looking forward to this challenge."

The Browns parted ways with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt even though the club earned a trip to the playoffs despite Watson appearing in just six games before he was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury. In total, Watson has played in just 12 regular-season contests since he signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022.

Cleveland theoretically could consider moving on from Watson and/or head coach Kevin Stefanski if the team fails to return to the postseason next January. For now, Dorsey is concentrating on getting the best out of the 28-year-old signal-caller who hasn't earned a Pro Bowl nod since the 2020 campaign.

"[T]he exciting thing about Deshaun, is from everything I’ve been told from Kevin and the guys here, this guy, he wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed and driven," Dorsey added on Monday. "And I think I’ll be able to pick up where the staff has left off on that."

Across his 12 games with Cleveland, Watson has completed 204-of-341 passes (59.8%) for 2,217 yards with 14 touchdowns, nine interceptions and an 81.7 passer rating. To compare, he posted a 104.5 passer rating during his four seasons of playing for the Houston Texans.

YARDBARKER

 

Anthony Richardson has resumed throwing

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson’s return from the right shoulder injury that ended his rookie season has taken a big step forward.

Richardson’s agent Deiric Jackson posted video of Richardson throwing on Tuesday. Richardson is barefoot and doesn’t appear to be delivering the ball with full force, but it’s still a significant step for the 2023 first-round pick.

Richardson said in late December that he hoped to be throwing in about a month, so he would seem to be on pace with his recovery timeline.

The Colts won’t start their organized offseason workouts for some time and Richardson’s progress should have him on track to do at least some work with the team this spring. That would set him up for a full workload during training camp and a return to the starting role that the Colts had in mind when they made him the fourth overall pick last year.

PFT

 

Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson says “all options are on the table” at quarterback

The Falcons have a new head coach in large part because they don’t have a consistently reliable quarterback. Now that a new coaching staff is in place, the next big step is finding a quarterback.

And new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has made it clear that the Falcons will be casting a wide net.

“All options are on the table,” Robinson told reporters on Wednesday, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.

By all options, that means the Falcons will consider anyone and everyone, regardless of playing style.

“Whether it’s a pocket guy, whether it’s a guy that can move around a little bit, we’re just looking for the best guy,” Robinson said. “Certainly [we] know the guys that are here, we’re evaluating everybody, so Taylor [Heinicke] and Desmond [Ridder], we’re looking at those guys.”

They’ll be looking at other guys, too. There will be options in free agency, headlined by Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Whose wife grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, and whose parents still live there.

There will be options in trade, too. Possibly headlined by Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

The Falcons also can look to the draft, where they once again hold the eighth overall pick in the draft, for the third straight year.

Whatever they do, they surely will have options other than Ridder and Heinicke. If those guys were getting it done, there wouldn’t be a new coaching staff.

PFT

 

Bears CEO Kevin Warren praises Justin Fields

One of the biggest questions of the 2024 offseason centers on Chicago, where the Bears have both a fourth-year player who could become a franchise quarterback and dibs on drafting any potential franchise quarterback they want in April.

Some think the Bears should trade Justin Fields and draft Caleb Williams. Others, including Bears receiver D.J. Moore (the video of our interview with him is attached), believe the Bears should keep Fields, trade the pick, and get more help around Fields and Moore and the other talented players on the team.

The Bears have not tipped their hand. Which only adds to the drama and the debate.

In a new interview with WGN News, Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren praised Fields.

“I’m a supporter of Justin because I got a chance to work with him when I was Commissioner of the Big Ten conference,” Warren said, via Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago. “He is incredibly talented. He is smart. He works hard. And he wants to be a great NFL football player. And now he just needs to make sure he has the support around him. He’s working hard. I would love to see him this offseason and make sure he’s totally healthy going into the season next year.”

That sounds a lot like an endorsement of Fields, along with a plan to keep him around.

“Justin has a rare combination of intelligence, of size, of strength and speed,” Warren added. “You forget how big of a man he is until you’re up on him. He’s not a small man. I just think every year he’s going to continually get better. . . . I’m glad he’s [Fields] on the Chicago Bears.”

Some will interpret Warren’s words as an effort to increase Fields’s trade value. Others will take Warren’s words at face value, reflecting a commitment to let him keep reaching his ceiling.

Regardless, until the start of the new league year comes and goes, it won’t be clear what the Bears plan to do. Even then, the final strategy won’t be fully revealed until they use, or trade, the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.

NBC
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Id take Fields in Minnesota in a heartbeat, period. I highly doubt he could be afforded by the Vikings at this moment tho.

And since Warren praised him... Fields is doomed.

 

Jimmy Garoppolo facing two-game suspension, Raiders are expected to release him

The picture for Jimmy Garoppolo’s NFL playing future is currently unclear.

But wherever he’s playing in 2024, he won’t be on the field for the first two weeks of the season.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Garoppolo is being suspended for two games due to violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Schefter also reports that the Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo before the fifth day of the new league year in March.

Garoppolo used a prescribed medication without having a valid therapeutic use exemption. He is not planning to appeal the two-game suspension.

After signing a three-year deal with Las Vegas last March, Garoppolo is due to earn an $11.25 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the new league year next month. The Raiders plan to release him before that kicks in, though there is time for Las Vegas to find a theoretical trade partner.

Garoppolo, 32, started six games and made seven appearances for the Raiders in 2023. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,205 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He was replaced by Aidan O’Connell when Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach.

PFT

 

There’s a quarterback carousel every offseason, one that starts playing out after the coaching carousel has concluded. This year, there will be plenty of free-agent quarterbacks available with starting experience.

From the list posted at Spotrac.com, consider these names, in no particular order: Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Ryan Tannehill, Gardner Minshew, Marcus Mariota, Tyrod Taylor, Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Drew Lock, Joe Flacco, Tyler Huntley, Carson Wentz, Josh Dobbs, Mason Rudolph, Eason Stick.

Mitchell Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017, is already available.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson, and Zach Wilson undoubtedly will be released, and Justin Fields could be available in trade, along with Mac Jones. The Falcons could move on from Desmond Ridder or Taylor Heinicke, or both.

Former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles was and is available, too.

in part from; PFT

 

Kevin O’Connell: I think we’re headed toward a good place in negotiations with Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins has been here before.

The last time, though, his departure from Washington was pre-determined. The team had used the franchise tag on him in back-to-back offseasons to keep him in Washington but making a third tag astronomical.

The Vikings hope to have better luck re-signing the quarterback than Washington did in 2018. (The Commanders still are searching for his replacement.)

“This is not Kirk’s first time in free agency,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Tuesday at the Scouting Combine. “Kirk Cousins knows how I feel about him. I’ve held no secrets there. He knows how the Minnesota Vikings feel about him. I believe Kirk wants to be a Viking, and we’re going to work to try to make that the outcome.

“I think anytime you go into situations like this, it is a negotiation, and we’re trying to come to an agreement that works for both sides, as we not only build our football team for 2024, but we’re trying to do some things to help us sustain for the future as well. . . . I feel like we’re heading toward a good place with Kirk, but like we’ve seen, free agency and the uncertainties for this time of year, you’ve got to be ready in a leadership role to have contingency plans and adjust on the fly.”

O’Connell was attracted to the Vikings job partly because the franchise quarterback was in place with Cousins, who is 17-8 over the past two seasons. He has given the Vikings a chance in his six years in Minnesota, though the team is only 1-2 in two postseason appearances with him.

Cousins is coming off a ruptured Achilles that ended his 2023 season after only eight games and failed the Vikings’ chances at winning the division.

“We come here two years, and Kirk was a huge reason why,” O’Connell said. “I thought so highly amongst a lot of things about the Minnesota Vikings’ opportunities because of my belief of him. We’ve won a lot of games over these two years with Kirk as our quarterback and thought he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League when he got hurt after beating the Packers at Lambeau last year. . . . To have that happen was a big deal for me personally and much beyond just my role of coaching the team. But it’s been awesome to see him through his rehab and where he’s at now, really getting right back up on his feet and attacking this thing.

“My feelings on Kirk Cousins, they really have not wavered in two years. If anything, they’re stronger now having gone through a lot of adversity together, but we’ve had a lot of success as well.”

PFT

 

Andrew Berry confirms Deshaun Watson will begin throwing next month

The Browns started five different quarterbacks last season, with the last one of those, Joe Flacco, winning comeback player of the year honors. The team still managed to make the postseason.

Browns General Manager Andrew Berry was asked about his fear of injuries at the position after last season.

“You don’t have to worry us living in our fears; we don’t really have any,” Berry said Tuesday. “I mean, injuries are part of the game, so that really won’t change our function. Obviously, it’s something that we’ve looked at pretty intently over the last couple of weeks, because of the volume of injuries that we’ve had and making sure we’re doing everything in our power to maximize player availability. But in terms of being worried about that, it’s football.”

The Browns’ starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson, is working his way back from shoulder surgery. He fractured his right shoulder socket during Cleveland’s Week 10 victory over Baltimore and did not play again.

It was the second shoulder issue of the season for Watson, with the other sidelining him for a few weeks earlier in the year.

Watson, though, is making progress in his rehab.

Berry confirmed a recent report that Watson will begin throwing next month.

“He’s worked his tail off in terms of his rehab and recovery,” Berry said. “He’s in a really good place. We’re excited when the spring hits, and we can get him back on the field, but he’s making really good progress, and we’re really excited to see that continue.”

In two seasons in Cleveland, Watson has played 12 games and completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,217 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

PFT

 

Nick Sirianni: Jalen Hurts will put everything he has into getting better

Like just about everyone associated with the Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts found himself under the microscope after the team’s collapse in the final weeks of last season.

After an 10-1 start, the Eagles went 1-6 and crashed out of the playoffs against the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. Hurts went from being an MVP candidate over those first 11 games to being criticized for the team’s offense slowdown and hearing questions about whether he’s going to be able to turn things back around.

On Tuesday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni held a press conference in Indianapolis expressed confidence in Hurts’ ability to rebound.

“Here’s what I know about Jalen, whatever we see that he needs to work on or he sees that he needs to work on, he’s going to get better at that because he puts everything he has into it, and that’s a form of leadership too,” Sirianni said. “Like Jalen sees something that he feels is a weakness of his or we feel like is a weakness of his, he’s going to dive everything that he has and pour everything that he has into it to get better from that. Like that’s leadership. That’s a form of leadership. I’ll keep some of the things we all talked about, what I need to get better at, what he needs to get better at, to ourselves. But I know this, that he’ll put everything he has into getting better as a football player, being better as a quarterback so we can win more games as a team.”

If Hurts can’t get the Eagles moving in the right direction, Sirianni’s chances of making it to a fifth year in Philly aren’t going to be great so the two men have little choice but to count on each other as they move into a pivotal season for both their careers.

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