NFL - NEWS & NOTES

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Report: Sheldon Richarsdon won’t re-sign with Browns, could rejoin Vikings



The Browns wanted Sheldon Richardson to return, but the defensive tackle apparently doesn’t have interest in a return.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports that Richardson has decided he will play elsewhere next season. The Browns have made it clear since releasing Richardson in a salary-cap move in April that they hoped to re-sign him.

Richardson pondered returning, Cabot reports, and even might have received his best offer from the Browns, but “it wasn’t about the money for him.”

Richardson seemed to move on the day the Browns cleared more than $11 million in cap space with his release. He posted a good-bye to Browns fans on Instagram, writing, “It was just starting to feel like home. Dawg Pound, I had a great time . . . #til next time.’’

A reunion with the Vikings is possible for Richardson, Jack Day of KFAN 100.3 reports, with the sides discussing a deal. Richardson, 30, played in Minnesota in 2018 before signing a three-year, $37 million deal with the Browns in March 2019.

The Browns have Malik Jackson, Andrew Billings, Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai, Marvin Wilson and Malik McDowell at the position.

Richardson would join Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson in a three-man rotation with the Vikings.

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Chiefs plan to use Chris Jones as an edge rusher



Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones may be Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones for much of this season.

Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Jones is practicing on the outside and that the Chiefs think they can benefit from using him as an edge rusher this season.

“He is an imposing player inside,” Spagnuolo said, via ESPN. “We all know that. . . . Hopefully, we will gain something on the edge. When somebody changes a position, obviously the first part of it is the mental part of it. Chris is working through that. That’s important when you change a position. It’s just not that easy to pick up a whole new spot. There are some different things with a defensive end. He’ll play out there a little bit. We’ll move him back inside when we have to.”

Jones will still line up plenty at tackle, but the Chiefs believe they can create matchup advantages by moving Jones around on the defensive line.

“Maybe it will come down to who we’re playing and where maybe we can find a weakness and expose that weakness in the five offensive linemen,” Spagnuolo said. “We’ve just got to get him used to playing the two spots right now and figure out the rest of it.”

Jones is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and the Chiefs think they can make him even better by making him more versatile, and lining him up all over their defensive line.

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The mayor of a Chicago suburb is continuing to make noise about the Bears moving to his city.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said a new stadium for the Bears could be built on the current site of the Arlington Park race track, located about 30 miles from Soldier Field. Arlington Park is for sale and is expected to be demolished and redeveloped by its next owner.

“It’s still on the table, to my understanding, but it’s a complete, definite ‘maybe,'” Hayes said of the Bears moving, via the Daily Herald. “I’m not in a position where I could say it’s a definite ‘go’ or definite ‘no go.'”

The Bears have stayed mum about the possibility as speculation has raged in the Chicago area. When teams don’t want to talk about their stadium plans, that often means they want to use another potential venue as leverage to get a better deal at their current venue.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged that the Bears have valid concerns about Soldier Field, but the Bears’ lease with the city to play at Soldier Field runs through 2033 and Lightfoot said she is confident the Bears won’t move, and that the NFL wouldn’t let them if they tried.

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Vikings announce return of Sheldon Richardson



He’s back, and the Vikings Defense is instantly better.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, cut by the Browns earlier this year after two seasons in Cleveland, has returned to Minnesota. Richardson spent the 2018 season with the Vikings.

The Vikings announced the move on Tuesday morning.

Richardson, the 2013 NFL defensive rookie of the year and a first-round pick of the Jets, gives the Vikings a potent defensive tackle rotation, joining Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson. Minnesota also has beefed up the cornerback position this year, signing Patrick Peterson and Bashaud Breeland, and bringing back Mackensie Alexander.

Throw in the resolution of the Danielle Hunter impasse, and the Vikings will be much improved on that side of the ball. Add to that an actual home-field advantage and the Vikings should be able to maintain their rollercoaster of playoffs in odd-numbers years, non-playoffs in even-numbered years.

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Could you provide any data at all to support the latter assertion?

To the former point: if a player is being cut because they're not living up to their contract, they're not getting a second lucrative contract thereafter. If they're being cut because the team has horribly mismanaged their roster and cap, then yes, they may be getting a second lucrative contract thereafter. But that second scenario is in no way the player's fault, and happens all the time.

I do not. To clarify, my point is that I don't hold anything against players trying to leverage their talent to obtain more compensation, specifically because teams have far more leverage and power over player compensation / employment than the players do.

Your argument is that you do hold it against players when they try to leverage their talent to obtain more compensation, specifically because... players bad, owners good? I haven't really understood what argument you're making, besides a moral one based on your personal feelings. And I can't logically argue with that. So while I'll agree to disagree, it's not because I see both sides of the argument.

 

It's pretty simple, take the number of players that holdout with 1-2 years left on their contract vs. those that are cut with 1-2 years left on their contract, the latter is far greater. What other data are you looking for?

You can choose to see it however you like.

I don't personally hold it against anyone. It's their life, their choice. I am not boycotting anyone because they choose to holdout.

Just because I have a point of view on contracts doesn't make me "pro owner". I am not arguing anything. I respect all views on the subject. I just have a perspective, not even a view or side on the argument of players vs. owners.

edit: "not even a view or side on the argument of players vs. owners." I take this back... I am certainly pro player in the over all argument. Without players I wouldn't be a fan of the NFL. I am certainly not a fan of any of the NFL owners/ownership groups. I am a diehard fan of one franchise, but through multiple owners, I am still a fan of the team. Through countless changes in player personnel, I am still a fan of that team, but do follow favorite players after they leave, even if I am not a fan of the team. I don't know how else to speak on the player vs. owner.

 

No, that would not directly correlate to the following that you stated: "There are more players that make out on inflated contracts than players that feel like they outplayed their contract". We can't conclude that all players outplaying their contract hold out. That's not realistic. It actually supports the idea of owners having greater leverage, because a player holdout is only possible / beneficial in extreme cases where the player is exceptionally talented and has the financial ability to suffer fines / penalties through a holdout. You also have any number of rookies each year being paid well below what their talent / production would dictate due to a fixed contract based solely on their draft position - these players can't hold out, and thus that number cannot correlate directly to players outperforming their contract.

But wait, this is the opposite of what's been said in the past, and is the whole point here. Do you, on principle and not specific to any player / team, have any problem with a player holding out?

 

The rookies being underpaid is ok, because when they used to get big contracts most of them underperformed. The rookie pay scale at least makes them have to earn that big contract.

 

I'm not arguing the validity of the fixed rookie pay scale (also, watch the "most" comment lest ye be guilt of personal bias without substance, same as Irish). I'm saying that because the rookie wage scale exists, we can definitively not correlate number of holdouts to number of players that outplay their contract.

 

I understood what you meant and was just adding to it.

 

Jadeveon Clowney: Browns D reminds me of 49ers a couple of years ago



Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney did his first on-field work this week since signing with the Browns as a free agent and head coach Kevin Stefanski said he liked what he saw from one of this year’s biggest acquisitions.

Clowney likes what he’s seeing in Cleveland as well. Clowney held a press conference with reporters on Wednesday and said he was “very excited” about the players he’s joining on the defensive line.

The group, which includes Myles Garrett, Takk McKinley, Malik Jackson, Andrew Billings, and others, reminds Garrett of a defense that did a lot to propel the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV a couple of years ago.

“A rotational group that guys can get in, backups can come in and play just as good as the 1s, even better,” Clowney said. “Any time you’ve got that going on, it’s a good group. I’m looking forward to it. It reminds me of San Fran a couple years ago that went to the Super Bowl with that defense. I’m thinking we can do that up front.”

Clowney said his surgically-repaired knee feels good and that he feels he’s best in 4-3 schemes like the Browns utilize because he can go forward all of the time. The Browns are hoping those two things equal a big impact up front this fall.

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Buccaneers 2021 tickets are sold out



Winning the Super Bowl was good business for the Buccaneers.

The Bucs will play at full capacity this season and have already sold out all eight regular-season games, plus both preseason games, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

The arrival of Tom Brady created high demand for tickets last offseason, but the Buccaneers didn’t play in front of a full stadium because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as they won the Super Bowl on their home field, the Bucs played in front of only 24,835 fans, or about 38 percent of the 65,890 capacity at Raymond James Stadium.

This is believed to be the earliest in franchise history that the Buccaneers have sold out all their games.

 

Have not seen reports for other teams but in betting the majority will sell out after fans not being able to go last season.

 

DeSean Jackson: Rams’ offense is going to be scary



Rams wide receiver DeSean Jackson says other teams should be scared of what the Rams’ offense is going to do this season.

Jackson said that with himself joining holdovers Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson, and the Rams drafting Tutu Atwell in the second round, the Rams have more receivers than opposing defenses will know what to do with.

“With a quarterback like Matthew Stafford, it’s really mind-boggling for other defenses or defensive coordinators to really be sitting back, like, ‘Man, how are we going to stop these dudes?’ For me, I’ve been on some pretty good receiving corps, but Robert and Coop, in addition to Van and Tutu, it’s going to be scary,” Jackson said on NFL Network.

Jackson signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Rams this offseason and indicated that the team’s recruiting pitch to him was less about the money than about the way he’d be used in their offense.

“I have an offensive-minded coach in Sean McVay who’s attuned and knows how to put his players in a position to win,” Jackson said.

If Jackson is right, McVay should have his best offense yet in 2021.

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Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell is entering his 14th season in the NFL and that could be his last.



OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell is entering his 14th season in the NFL and it could be his last.

"That’s something that I’m still figuring out, I guess," Campbell said about retirement. "I kind of take it one year at a time, and I know that I’ve got this year in me, for sure. I’m going to give everything I have this year, and then we’ll re-evaluate once the season ends. But it’s definitely something you think about. ‘When?’

"And I used to always say when I was younger that I wanted to play 15 [years]. I didn’t realize how hard 15 was going to be; I think I was a little young. But this is 14 for me, and I know I’ve got this in me, for sure. But I still would like to play 15, so hopefully, I’ve got another one. So, we’ll see.”

Campbell, who was acquired via a trade with Jacksonville, is in the final season of his two-year contract with Baltimore and will turn 35 on Sept. 1.

Last season, Campbell, 6-foot-8, 300 pounds, started all 12 games in which he appeared and led all of the defensive linemen with four sacks.

He also finished with 28 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss and six passes defended for the NFL’s No. 2 scoring defense (18.9 ppg) and No. 2 third-down defense (34.0%.). He earned his sixth-overall and fourth-consecutive Pro Bowl selection.

“I think last year was a very unique year throughout pretty much anybody’s career, really, just with COVID-19 and the way you prepared, and we all had to prepare – just how the season went – with all the restrictions and protocols just to keep us safe," Campbell said. "It really was a unique year, as far as football goes, and I’m really looking forward to getting back to kind of my regular routine and regular preparation to get ready for the season. And I really feel like this could be a really big year for me and for us as a team.”

 

It has nothing to do with morality. It has to do with contract language. Every player contract includes the right for a team to terminate the contract. It's IN the contract. It's a PART of the contract.

Owners aren't breaking an agreement when they terminate a player. They are exercising a provision that they negotiated into the deal. I don't know why this is so difficult to understand.

 

And for the record the player has the same option if that is important to them. Player opt outs have been written into contracts for years - most recently by Tom Brady to get out of New England.

This debate is so dumb. Both sides know their rights and every scenario is covered. The contract is binding for both parties the day it is executed. Early termination by either side is spelled out very clearly.

 

Funny some of the hold outs of players that want more money when they got an advance on their pay checks when they opted out last year because of the virus. I would dare them to hold out and demand all the money back and I would win. You are not going to use it as leverage on me sorry.

 

Trai Turner visits Steelers



We haven’t heard much from free agent guard Trai Turner since the Chargers cut him in March, but the Steelers are showing some interest.

The Steelers hosted Turner for a visit today, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The 27-year-old Turner went to five straight Pro Bowls from 2015 to 2019 with the Panthers before he was traded to the Chargers last year.

Turner was a starter when healthy but missed seven games because of injuries in 2020.

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