NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Commanders haven’t decided whether or not to pick up Chase Young’s fifth-year option



Commanders defensive end Chase Young returned from his torn ACL to play the last three games of the 2022 season.

Now Washington has a significant decision to make on Young’s contract this spring.


Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Wednesday that the organization has not yet come to a consensus on whether or not to exercise Young’s fifth-year option.

Via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, Rivera noted that the club needs to discuss Young’s health and review the edge rusher’s growth and development.

Young was the 2020 AP defensive rookie of the year after the Commanders took him with the No. 2 overall pick. He recorded 7.5 sacks with 10 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries that season.

But he had just 1.5 sacks in nine games before suffering his season-ending knee injury in 2021. He also posted three tackles for loss and four QB hits.

Young had one QB hit over three games in 2022.

If Washington doesn’t pick up Young’s fifth-year option, Rivera said he’s not concerned about the message it would send, in part because of what the club went through with defensive tackle Daron Payne. The 13th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Payne is set to become an unrestricted free agent after he didn’t receive a contract extension before the 2022 season.

“It cost us,” Rivera said, via Jhabvala, of the decision to not extend Payne. “But it cost us in a good way, because the young man played, he did things the right way. He didn’t sit out, he didn’t withhold, he could have done that sit-in during training camp, but he didn’t. And because he didn’t, now we’re in that position where we have to find a way to say, ‘thank you, OK, you’ve earned it.’”

Rivera added that if Washington does not pick up Young’s option, it could be a motivator for the defensive end.

“Most certainly,” Rivera said. “If you look at what Daron did, why wouldn’t you think of it that way? Believe me, that would be my approach, especially looking at what Daron did and the situation he put himself in.”

Payne registered a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2022 — more than doubling his previous career-high in sacks. He also had a career-high 18 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits.

The Commanders have plenty of time to decide on Young’s option. But it will be a significant choice either way.

PFT

 

Partly depends on details we haven't heard yet. The key is "retreat", which suggests to me that it's a guided retreat (which is becoming sort of a hot new thing) and that he's not simply going off to live in a pitch black cave on his own for a week. If done properly there can be health benefits, particularly in terms of helping reset the body's sleep cycles.

I'm sure Rodgers is more interested in the hallucinations though. He might as well just buy a sensory deprivation tank. Maybe that's next...

 

Wow interesting thought!

 

Whose to say he doesn't already own one?

 

T.J. Watt: I don’t know if George Pickens understands just how good he is



The Steelers selected a pair of offensive players with their top two picks in the 2022 draft in quarterback Kenny Pickett and receiver George Pickens.

Both made plays throughout the regular season, with Pickens finishing second on the club with 801 receiving yards while catching a team-high four touchdowns.


Pickett made steady improvements, too, as Pittsburgh ended up 7-5 in games he started. Pickett also registered three fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives.

At radio row, Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt shared his impressions of the two rookies with Peter King and had high praise for both of them, saying he could tell how hard they worked.

“George Pickens is one of those guys that’s like, I don’t know if he understands how good he is,” Watt said. “It’s like holy cow — some of the things you see in practice. But it’s also on top of that, it’s the little things. Like finishing plays, running — he can run for days.

“Kenny Pickett, getting better each and every week. Commanding two-minute drills back in training camp. You could just see the progression. Then you come to the Ravens game down the stretch where he was able to lead the team down the field. And we just had a feeling — we’re going to score this, we’re going to get on defense, and we’re going to win this game. So, it’s just little things like that.

“It’s all about gaining respect through teammates, through work. And those guys came to work every day.”

With Pickett and Pickens in tow, along with their offensive teammates like running back Najee Harris, receiver Diontae Johnson, and tight end Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers should be well-positioned on offense in 2023.

PFT

 

Tee Higgins: Trade chatter “shocking,” I love being in Cincinnati



Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is heading into the final year of his rookie deal at a moment when the team has a lot to sort out when it comes to long-term contract planning.

Quarterback Joe Burrow is eligible for an extension and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase will be up for one after next season, so there’s been some speculation about how things will play out for Higgins. A recent report indicated that the Bengals could try to trade Higgins this offseason if contract talks don’t find the two sides on the same page.


During a Thursday appearance on PFT Live, Higgins said it was “shocking” to hear chatter about being traded and that none of the speculation has been coming from his camp.

“At the end of the day, I know what I got going on internally with the organization. I love Cincinnati, I love being there. Hopefully I’m there for most of my career,” Higgins said.

Wide receiver Tyler Boyd is also heading into the final year of his contract, so the Bengals will have some decisions to make about what they want their offense to look like as they move into the coming seasons.

PFT

 

All 53 players for the Chiefs had full participation Friday in the final official practice before Super Bowl Sunday. They do not have any players with a designation.


The Eagles have only player who did not have a full practice Friday. Receiver/punt returner Britain Covey is questionable with a hamstring injury, the only Eagles player with a designation.

 

Conrad Dobler dies at 72



Former NFL offensive lineman Conrad Dobler, who reveled in his reputation as a player who landed from time to time on the wrong side of the rulebook, has died. He was 72.

Dobler entered the league as a fifth-round draft pick in 1972, selected by the then-St. Louis Cardinals. He spent six years with the Cardinals, two with the Saints, and two with the Bills.

Dobler was a second-team All-Pro in 1976, and a three-time Pro Bowler, qualifying for the game in 1975, 1976, and 1977.


“He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s.”

Dobler played in 129 regular-season games, with 125 starts.

Dobler landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated with this headline: Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player. In the article, Dobler admitted to dirty play — but he offered a justification.

“I’ll do anything I can get away with to protect my quarterback,” Dobler said.

We extend our condolences to Dobler’s family, friends, teammates, and colleagues.

PFT

 

I remember football in the 70's ìt was rough and very different from the football they play now RIP

 

Calvin Ridley applies for reinstatement



Calvin Ridley is not wasting any time.

After being suspended for the entire 2022 season for gambling on NFL games, Ridley is applying for reinstatement on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.


The day’s date, Feb. 15, is the first day Ridley is eligible to apply.

Ridley acknowledged that he placed $1,500 in bets while a member of the Falcons during the 2021 season. That happened when he was away from the team while dealing with mental health issues.

The receiver has since been traded to the Jaguars, who acquired him in November for conditional draft picks.

Ridley caught 31 passes for 281 yards with a pair of touchdowns in 2021. He set career highs with 90 receptions for 1,374 yards with nine TDs for Atlanta in 2020.

PFT

 

Alvin Kamara indicted in Las Vegas battery case



Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been indicted by a Las Vegas grand jury on charges related to an incident during last year’s Pro Bowl weekend.

Kamara and three other men, including Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons, have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit battery and battery resulting in substantial bodily harm. The men are accused of hitting and kicking another man after he and Kamara got into a dispute outside a hotel elevator.

“The state has avoided a contested preliminary hearing by indicting Mr. Kamara,” Kamara’s attorneys David Chesnoff, Drew Findling, and Richard Schonfeld said in a statement, via KLAS. “He intends to vigorously fight the allegations at trial as he was defending himself and others at the time of the incident.”

Hearings in the case were continued several times over the last 12 months. A court date is now set for March 2 in Las Vegas District Court.

PFT

 

What was it àll about? ì don't get this acting stupid GROW UP your grown men I read this also

 

Aaron Jones agrees to new deal to stay with Packers



Packers running back Aaron Jones was slated to have by far the highest salary cap hit of any running back in the NFL in 2023, but he has now agreed to a deal that will let him stay with the Packers for less.

Jones and the Packers have agreed to a new contract and he will stay in Green Bay in 2023, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Schefter’s report doesn’t make clear precisely how Jones’ contract has been restructured, but it appears that he will now make $11 million from the Packers this season, down from the $16 million he was scheduled to make.

Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst said last month that he was confident Jones would be back. Now he’s been proven right.

PFT

 

Report: Trending toward Eric Bieniemy becoming Commanders offensive coordinator

Eric Bieniemy remains in Washington on Friday for a second day of conversations with the Commanders about their offensive coordinator vacancy and it looks like he maybe staying there for the 2023 season as well.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that there is mutual interest between Bieniemy and the Commanders and that things are trending toward Bieniemy taking the job. There are still details to be ironed out before any deal is done, but a deal could be done before the day is out.

Bieniemy has spent the last five seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Chiefs and has helped the team win a pair of Super Bowl titles during that span, but his success has not paid off with a head coaching job. While his Kansas City predecessors Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy both took that step, Bieniemy may feel he needs to go somewhere without Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in order to climb the final rung of the coaching ladder.

Nagy returned to the Chiefs in 2022 after being fired by the Bears and he’d be a leading candidate to return to the offensive coordinator role in Kansas City if Bieniemy does move on to Washington.

PFT
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Kind of a headscratcher to me... Chiefs > Commanders.

Wanting to get out from under Mahomes and Reid doesnt sound like it makes any sense to me and in Washington he wont have the tools for success that he does in KC, so maybe, for the time being, its a spaghetti western thing; For a Few Dollars More?

 

He needs to get a name for himself outside of KC before anyone is going to credit him with being ready to run a franchise.

There's also some back history stuff that needs to be forgotten by having his name pumped into a bigger media market.

 

Dude is doubling down on himself and it could pay off big.

People are questioning him staying under Reid, not calling his own plays, having a generational QB, etc. If he goes to a poverty franchise like Washington with awful leadership and no QB and has even the slightest bit of success turning them into a force on offense, he'll get HC job offers from everywhere after a season or two.

 

Or he goes, 0-17 and solidifies his chances at a HC position at zero, lol

Of course, Im just kidding. What you and Tim have said makes good sense, thanks.

 

lol - kidding or not, that's not entirely out of the question (maybe not 0-17), but it's definitely riskier than going somewhere with better prospects. Unless he knows he can always go back to Reid for a position?

But yeah, it could backfire spectacularly.

 

Patriots captain putting off retirement to return for 16th season



Hold off on the retirement balloons and confetti because the New England Patriots have announced Matthew Slater is returning in 2023.

The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer was contemplating retirement, but he’ll now look to help boost a Patriots special teams unit that struggled in 2022.

Slater, a three-time Super Bowl champion, has been awarded five All-Pro awards and 10 Pro Bowl invitations.

He has long been one of the best special-teamers in the NFL, and his presence, along with promising rookie Brenden Schooler, could set the Patriots up for a major bounce-back season.

This is the first domino to fall for New England with legendary safety Devin McCourty also contemplating his football career. The return of both would do wonders for a Patriots team that finally appears to be moving in the right direction.

PATRIOTS WIRE
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16 years, damn, imagine that... very incredible.

 

Aw. I love that movie. Lee VanCleef was great as Douglas Mortimer.