NFL - NEWS & NOTES

yep - it's like "what will they rule today?"

 

Bears, Ravens to meet in Hall of Fame Game

The Bears and Ravens each had a first-ballot Hall of Famer in this year’s class, and now their fans have another reason to travel to Canton for the induction ceremony.

The NFL announced today that the Bears and Ravens will meet in the Hall of Fame Game on August 2.

Chicago and Baltimore are easy choices for the NFL, as Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis were both selected to the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Plenty of fans from both cities will make the trip to Ohio for the game, and for the enshrinement ceremony.

In addition to Urlacher and Lewis, this year’s class consists of Bobby Beathard, Robert Brazile, Brian Dawkins, Jerry Kramer, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. (PFT)
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I cant wait!

 

Giants hiring Mike Shula as offensive coordinator

The Giants have looked to General Manager Dave Gettleman’s last stop to fill a key position on head coach Pat Shurmur’s coaching staff.

Kimberly Jones of NFL Media reports that the Giants will hire Mike Shula as their offensive coordinator. An official announcement from the team is expected later on Tuesday. Jones’ colleague Ian Rapoport reports that Shula is expected to coach the quarterbacks as well.

Shula was fired after the end of the 2017 regular season after five years coordinating the offense in Carolina. Gettleman was the General Manager of the Panthers for the first four of those seasons before being relieved of his duties last July.

Shula’s final offense in Carolina did well running the ball, but the team’s results through the air were underwhelming. The Giants can certainly use help on the ground, although Shurmur is expected to call the offensive plays.

The Giants had reportedly been interested in hiring Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski as their coordinator, but the Vikings blocked him from making a move. There had also been talk about Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley joining the staff, but he may be in line for a promotion to offensive coordinator in Philadelphia after Frank Reich left to become the Colts head coach. (PFT)

 

Eagles may go without an offensive coordinator in 2018

The Eagles lost offensive coordinator Frank Reich to the top job in Indianapolis, but they may decide not to replace him.

Philadelphia currently has no plans to hire an offensive coordinator to take Reich’s place, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Instead, running backs coach Duce Staley and wide receivers coach Mike Groh may get more responsibilities in planning the offense but not a promotion to a coordinator role.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson prefers to call the plays himself, so the Eagles don’t necessarily need an offensive coordinator. And bringing in someone from the outside to change a Super Bowl-winning offense wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

So despite losing both Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, the Eagles’ offense likely won’t be undergoing any significant changes. (PFT)

 

Derrick Johnson’s time in Kansas City is up

The turnover on Kansas City’s defense is beginning, and starting with a big name.

The Chiefs announced that veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson would become a free agent on March 14.


There was another year left on the 35-year-old linebacker’s contract, but it will void, setting him free.

“Few players in recent history have meant more to the Chiefs franchise and the Kansas City community than Derrick Johnson,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a statement. “His tireless work ethic and passion for the game made him one of the most productive defensive players to ever wear a Chiefs uniform and one of the most respected players both in our locker room and around the league. Over the last 13 seasons, Derrick represented himself and the Chiefs organization with integrity and class, and he will always be a part of our Chiefs family.”

He just won’t be on the field with them after 13 seasons.

The 2005 first-round pick is the team’s all-time leading tackler.

“I’ve been blessed to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization my entire career,” Johnson said. “I’d like to thank the Hunt family, my coaches, teammates and the staff for the tremendous amount of support I received over the years. I love Kansas City and this fan base, they’ve always had my back. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to spend 13 years in a place I love. I plan on playing for several more years because I love this game so much, but I look forward to retiring as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs when my career is over. I’ll miss my Chiefs teammates – we made a lot of big plays together over the years – and I wish them the best in bringing a championship home to the best and loudest fans in the NFL.”

That “when my career is over” indicates that he wants to keep playing, and it will be interesting to see how quickly he’ll find work.
(PFT)

 

Pfft. Our Chiefs GM did it last night.

 

Draft will be televised by FOX

Several years ago, the NFL moved the draft to Thursday night in an effort to generate prime-time viewership. Starting this year, the NFL plans to take it the rest of the way, generating prime-time broadcast-network viewership.

Per multiple sources, the draft will be televised by FOX.


It’s believed FOX will carry a simulcast of the NFL Network feed, with ESPN continuing to televise the event on its own.

Last year, a separate source told PFT that the league already had the ability to place the draft on a broadcast network, hinting that it would be the next logical step in making the draft a bigger and better event. The league drew rave reviews for choosing Philadelphia as the destination, with more than 70,000 fans showing up for the first night.

This year, the draft will be held in Dallas, and the crowd surely will be even larger. The TV audience definitely will be; events carried on channels available through the public airwaves always do better than events televised on cable. (PFT)

 

Sebastian Janikowski not in Raiders’ 2018 plans

The Raiders are moving on from Sebastian Janikowski. They have informed the kicker that they do not plan to bring him back for the 2018 season, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Janikowski’s future has been in doubt since the Raiders placed him on injured reserve with a back injury on September 9. He had lowered his 2017 base salary from $4.505 million to $3 million fully guaranteed to remain with the team.


He will become a free agent in March with his career in Oakland over.

Janikowski, who turns 40 next month, spent 18 seasons with the Raiders and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

Giorgio Tavecchio replaced Janikowski as the team’s kicker last season. The Raiders are expected to tender Tavecchio, who becomes an exclusive rights free agent. (PFT)
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I just know everybody was waiting for some kicker news, lol. 18 years with the Raiders is pretty cool tho.

 

Janikowski earned $51.2M in 18 seasons, most all-time among kickers. (Vinatieri, $43.6M)

 

Isn't Vinatieri still active?

 

As of today, they are both still active...both careers are wide left at this point. Spending big bucks on a kicker or long-snapper doesn't work well.

 

Larry Fitzgerald tells Cardinals he’s playing

Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been coy, saying he needed time to decide whether to play in 2018.

He has apparently had enough time.

Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said on AZ Sports 98.7 FM that Fitzgerald told him last night he intends to play in 2018.

There has been plenty of speculation about the future of the 34-year-old wideout, especially after a coaching change and the lack of, you know, a quarterback in Arizona.

But for $11 million, Fitzgerald obviously felt it was worth it to give it one more shot.

He caught 109 passes last year so he can obviously still play at a high level, so the news had to come as a huge relief to Wilks. (PFT)

 

until I see 70,000 in Dallas, I won't believe the draft will be larger. The Philly crowds were unexpected and unprecedented. and - it rained during one of the draft nights. 70,000 to a draft showing is a lot of fans. Philly was bummed he couldn't host again this year. haha.

 

$11 mil for his services is a bargain. I wish Philly had him!

 

Do you want people to hate us?

 

Fitz IMHO is one of the rare WRs that can get into the GOAT argument. The GOAT of course being Jerry Rice.

 

I think Fitz is more of a Chris Carter type WR, Rice was electric. All 3 had the ability to catch the ball on poorly thrown passes.

 

Fitz is so far ahead of Carter its not even funny.

 

Arbitrator finds Bengals improperly placed A.J. McCarron on NFI

He's now a Free Agent...