NFL - NEWS & NOTES

CeeDee Lamb is not expected to attend OTAs

As expected, CeeDee Lamb is not expected.

The Cowboys begin organized team activities Tuesday, but their star receiver will continue to be a no-show at the voluntary work, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

Lamb wants a contract extension and the question now is: How long does he stay away? Running back Ezekiel Elliott and right guard Zack Martin both held out into training camp in recent summers, and the Cowboys eventually gave both what they wanted before the season started.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons, all of whom are expected to reset the market at their positions if only briefly, all want extensions. Parsons also has not participated in the team’s offseason program, though it is unknown whether he will show up Tuesday.

Lamb is set to make $17.99 million this year on the fifth-year option and is eligible for the franchise tag in 2025, but he wants to be paid as one of the top receivers in the NFL now.

Lamb and Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson both are waiting for new deals, which complicates both their situations. Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase also is seeking a long-term extension. All three hope to reset the market.

Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill’s $30 million a year average is the highest at the position currently.

Lamb led the league with 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns last season in earning All-Pro honors for the first time.

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Kind of a contractual mess these days for a handful of teams. The Lamb and Jefferson drama is almost comical. I suspect its like a game of chicken with these 2 contracts as each thinks he's the best. Sure hope no one makes a couple million more than the other... the horror of it all.

 

The cowboys are screwed. They have three players that want a brinks truck to make a delivery right now. I don’t think they can afford all three.
Lamb, Parsons and Martin. They all are going to get top dollar at their respective positions. Sticky buns aren’t that sticky.

 

No contract expert, but lets throw Prescott in the mix also.

 

I don’t think they can afford all three.
Lamb, Parsons and Martin. They all are going to get top dollar at their respective positions. Sticky buns aren’t that sticky.


Gidi I don't think Jerry Jones will worry about whether he can afford to sign these player's as his Net worth must be 15 B US $....But whether or not he wants them on the Cowboys ?

 

It has more to do with salary cap than anything. How good is Jerrah Jones at making it all fit under the cap?

 

Salary cap. Jerruh wouldn’t have a problem writing the checks

 

NFL to test optical tracking system for line-to-gain rulings in preseason with eyes toward 2024 implementation

The NFL is moving forward this preseason with an optical tracking system for line-to-gain rulings, sources tell CBS Sports. The system had been tried out in a few NFL stadiums this past season, and it will get a full preseason trial this summer.

If the trial goes well and everyone's on board, the tracking system will be implemented full time for the 2024 NFL regular season, sources say.

In March, the NFL's competition committee quietly approved its use across all teams in the preseason. But before the league fully implements it for the full season, it wants to make sure the system works well enough to be trusted.

The chain gang won't exactly become a thing of the past, though. Sources say the chains will still exist on the sideline, but they'll be used both as a backup for game operations and as a reference point for coaches, players and fans in the stadium.

All game footballs are microchipped and have been for years. But this technology doesn't employ the chip and instead relies entirely on optical tracking. The system, which was used at MetLife Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium last year, would need to be installed across all 30 NFL stadiums as well as any international stadium where NFL games are played.

If the system works, it would make for a more accurate measuring system that reduces the amount of human error. If the league sees there are problems such as latency issues in the preseason, the move can be tabled until 2025 with the chain crew continuing to do the same job as always.
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Ball spots arnt really the issue in comparison to the PI calls and the new tackling calls which are totally discretionary on the humans in stripes. If they would just keep things simple, there wouldnt be all the knee-jerk reactions to human error and the human element being in over their collective heads on trying to view and make calls on the fly in an ever-increasingly fast game. Taking a minute to view a replay in the booth and getting the call right by someone with two good eyes, NOT a biased Mr. Magoo, would go a long way also.

 

I agree Willie... If this technology works flawlessly, it would be just as easy to implement a digital board that shows down and distance with markers and eliminate the chain crew altogether. Take that money you are spending on 3 guys, hire two guys per crew to do nothing but review plays in real time. If you have two guys watching angles constantly throughout a game, you can even eliminate some of the onfield crew. They currently have 7 on the field crew members. If they can transition a couple to the on sight booth, that would also help in making these calls. If this technology works, it would essentially eliminate the need for the line judge and side judge. Electronic "eyes" would be much ore accurate and just as fast as human eyes. Those human eyes can then be redirected to other responsibilities.

 

Gotta have the two guys that hold the markers for the offense and defense to recognize.

Players need to be able to have easy identifiable reference points to know the down and distance.

 

OK, keep the two chain members and eliminate the ball marker official and the two side line judges. If the referee can't remember where the ball was on the previous play, they should get someone else to replace him. Someone from the booth can be at the ready to remind him of where the ball was/is and where according to the hash marks.

As far as "lining up off sides", it would become as relaxed as the spot when they know it's not effecting a first down. Watch a game and pay attention to spots. The referee hurries to the line and just drops the ball to the closest hash mark for reference, rather than placing the ball exactly where the line judge is placing it. This is done until the ball gets within the 1-2 foot mark of the line to gain marker, then they get a little more specific, but I don't think removing these two side judges off the field and into a booth would effect much negatively. What it would gain to the positive would far outweigh the negative.

 

If the league can replace the time it takes to measure with the chain and insert 30 seconds of commercial, that's probably all the incentive they need.

 

While were at it. The chain gang need to be babes in bikinis. Then you know damn straight they will lineup correctly... after their flagged for delay of game (5 yards for gawking).

If I were commissioner...

 

George Pickens: I can only go off of how the QB plays, I can thrive more

Steelers receiver George Pickens has shown plenty of playmaking ability through his first two seasons in the league.

The 2022 second-round pick led the NFL with 18.1 yards per reception last year, finishing the year with 63 catches for 1,140 yards with five touchdowns.

But with a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith and a quarterbacks room now led by Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, Pickens could be even more effective in 2024.

“I feel like it can benefit a lot,” Pickens said on Tuesday, via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “With this type of mindset or scheme, my job is to just get open.”

Asked how much of his ability he’s displayed through his career thus far, Pickens replied, “I’d probably say 80 percent.”

“I can only go off of how the quarterback plays. I can thrive more,” Pickens said. “The yardage showed it. I should have made the Pro Bowl.”

If Wilson or Fields can deliver Pickens the ball effectively, there’s plenty of reason to believe Pickens could become one of the NFL’s All-Stars in 2024.

In 34 career games to date, Pickens has 115 receptions for 1,941 yards with nine touchdowns. He’s also taken six carries for 42 yards with a TD.

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Diva

 

The Chiefs’ Organized Team Activities are giving quarterback Patrick Mahomes an opportunity to see how this year’s receiving corps compares to last year’s. Mahomes likes what he sees.

Mahomes told Pat McAfee that free agent wide receiver Hollywood Brown, rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy and rookie tight end Jared Wiley make for a strong addition to the group that returns receiver Rashee Rice and tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray.

“I’m excited,” Mahomes said. “Hollywood’s been making plays all week long since we started OTAs, practicing against the defense. Seeing X-Man running, how fast he is, and then adding to guys like Rashee and Travis, and the tight end we got, Wiley, and Noah Gray. It’s cool to have weapons. It’s cool to have these guys out there that want to go out there and be great. . . . I think we’re going to be a hard team to beat when the season comes around.”

The Chiefs will always be a hard team to beat when Mahomes is there, but this year they’ve given him a better set of weapons than he had last year. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.

 

Cardinals first-round WR Marvin Harrison signs rookie contract

Harrison’s deal is worth $35.3 million guaranteed, with a $22.5 million signing bonus.

“All the guys around, offense and defense, have done a great job welcoming me,” Harrison said. “I’m excited to go out there, earn the trust of my teammates, and earn a role any way I can.”

 

Josh Allen: Keon Coleman’s style of play what we need in this offense

After the Bills drafted wide receiver Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round last month, Coleman told reporters that Bills quarterback Josh Allen texted him to say that “you’re the guy I want” to be part of the team’s offense.

Similar feelings were shared by Allen during an appearance on NFL Network this week. Allen said that Coleman’s style of play is “what we needed in our offense” because of what Coleman’s size and physicality bring to the table.

“I think you pair him with some of the guys we have in our room right now, I think Mack Hollins has been such a great addition so far to that room with his mentality, his mindset is infectious to others,” Allen said. “Curtis Samuel, he’s been showing up every single day ready to work. . . . You start pairing those guys up with Dawson [Knox] and Coleman in this mix now, we’re gonna have a pretty solid group that works together.”

Allen will be spending the next few months familiarizing himself with a number of new receivers. Most of them have an NFL track record, but Coleman is the wild card and a splashy debut for him would serve the Bills well this fall.

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DJ Moore: The race is on to see which Bears WR gets to 1,000 yards first

DJ Moore has four 1,000-yard seasons. Keenan Allen has six. Rome Odunze had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons the past two seasons at the University of Washington.

That’s the Bears’ top three receivers, making them arguably the top trio in football.

“You’ve got Keenan, Rome. You’ve got Velus [Jones Jr.]. You’ve got Tyler [Scott],” Moore said Thursday, via Gabby Hajduk of the team website. “You got endless playmakers in there. It’s probably going to be a race to 1,000 [yards] now. I don’t know who’s going to get there first, but it’s going to be a race.”

When a reporter asked Moore if he considered himself “the favorite” to get to 1,000 yards first, Moore cracked a joke.

“There’s no betting going on. You can’t do that,” Moore said with a smile to end the news conference.

Moore likely was referring to the trouble that rookies Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers found themselves in when Nabers revealed the former LSU teammates had a $10,000 bet on offensive rookie of the year honors. After being “educated” on the NFL’s betting polices, the players called off the bet.

The Bears are a good bet to finish better than they did last season.

Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, is the first rookie quarterback to have two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher. Running back D’Andre Swift had his first career 1,000-yard season in 2023, rushing for 1,049 with the Eagles.

But with Williams, Swift, Allen and Odunze all new faces to the offense, the Bears have much work left to do this offseason.

“You’ve got to get that connection down with Caleb and with everybody, even Rome and the whole room,” Moore said. “The whole offense just wants to be around each other and build that bond, the relationships that we had last year, and form it with new people.”

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