NFL - NEWS & NOTES

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No wonder Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim was “very optimistic” D.J. Humphries would remain with the team.

Three days after Keim made his declaration, the left tackle and the Cardinals reached agreement on a new deal.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports Humphries will sign a three-year, $45 million with $30 million over the first two years and $29 million guaranteed.

Humphries, 26, would have found a healthy free agent market but opted to return to the team that drafted him in the first round in 2015.

In 2019, Humphries played all 16 games for the first time in his career. That came at a good time, in the final year of his deal, setting him up for a big pay day.

Humphries earned $18.5 million in the first five seasons of his career, while starting 43 games.

NBC

 

Seahawks land Greg Olsen

Greg Olsen took some time to make up his mind about what to do after visiting Buffalo, Seattle and Washington following his release from the Panthers, but he’s come to a decision.

PFT has learned, via a league source, that Olsen is signing with the Seahawks. It is a one-year deal worth $7 million with $5.5 million in guaranteed money.

Buffalo and Washington had clear connections to Olsen from his time in Carolina, but he’ll be playing for Pete Carroll rather than reuniting with Sean McDermott or Ron Rivera in a new city. That will make him a new target for Russell Wilson to use as the Seahawks try to return to the postseason in 2020.

Will Dissly, Jacob Hollister and Luke Willson saw the most snaps at tight end for Seattle in 2019. Dissly tore his Achilles during the 2019 season while Willson is set for free agency in March. Ed Dickson spent all of the regular season on injured reserve and is under contract for 2020, but the Seahawks may prefer to spend his $3 million cap hit elsewhere.

NBC

 

Redskins pick up 2020 option on RB Adrian Peterson

Age is but a number for Adrian Peterson.

The Washington Redskins picked up an important number -- one -- as in the option on Peterson's contract for 2020, the team announced Wednesday.

"Adrian Peterson is the epitome of what it means to be a pro in this league," Redskins coach Ron Rivera said in a statement from the team. "Adrian's leadership and passion towards the game of football will set an example of what is expected of the players in this program moving forward."

In a demonstration of how valuable the Redskins deem Peterson to be, Washington opted to take on the $3 million in cap space to keep the soon-to-be 35-year-old Peterson on its roster as opposed to saving $2.25 million by cutting ties with him. It's hard to blame them: Peterson has rushed for over 1,900 yards and 12 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Redskins, providing Washington with a steady backfield option amid a rash of injuries suffered by other younger running backs.

"Going into this season, there's so much more I can do and how I can help this team," Peterson told ESPN's John Keim. "My mentality is showing the Adrian Peterson of old and not just flashes; really showing, 'Wow, this cat is on a whole different level.'"

Rivera is looking to establish a winning culture within a franchise that has become all too accustomed to losing in the last two decades. Peterson, a 2019 team captain, can serve as an example of what is needed on a daily basis to win for a team that is young at most positions.

"I think it's different with guys of my stature," Peterson said. "When [teammates] see a 35-year-old running back at camp going 100 miles an hour with each rep, every rep, competing at the highest level and working to get yourself and teammates better, it's inspiring.

"That's not natural with a lot of guys and something I've been blessed with. It's all about sharing that and being an example and showing these young guys and vet guys what it takes to be great. Just seeing that mentality from a player of my stature helps out tremendously when you have a young team and you're trying to build that type of culture."

Peterson's 2020 season could bring some historical significance, too. The veteran is within shouting distance of fourth on the all-time rushing list, trailing Barry Sanders by 1,053 yards, and he trails Marcus Allen by 12 touchdowns for No. 3 in all-time rushing touchdowns. While he hasn't hit such marks in a season since 2015 (1,485 yards) and 2012 (12 touchdowns), he's at least come close to hitting the rushing total, finishing with 1,042 yards in 2018.

Peterson's first job in Washington won't be about breaking records, though -- it'll be about setting an expectation.

NFL.com

 

Report: NFL will add playoff team to each conference beginning this season

The Chiefs earned a first-round bye on the last day of the 2019 regular season on their way to the Lombardi Trophy. That quite possibly could mark the final season of two teams getting byes in each conference.

Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal, the NFL would add a playoff team to each conference beginning this season, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

That means only the team with the best record in each conference would receive a bye during wild-card weekend. It would add two games — one from each conference — to wild-card weekend for a total of six games on the first weekend of the postseason.

The expanded playoffs was an easy sell to the players, according to Schefter, unlike increasing the number of regular-season games to 17.

The NFL currently has 12 playoff teams — eight division winners and four wild-card teams. The two teams in each conference with the best records receive the byes into the divisional round.

The Ravens and Chiefs earned byes in the AFC in 2019, and the 49ers and Packers did the same in the NFC.

Under the old CBA, players on teams that earned a first-round bye did not receive postseason pay that weekend. They will under the new agreement, according to Schefter.

There is growing optimism the sides soon could finalize a new CBA, with owners meeting in New York this week and the Players Association conducting a conference call with player reps.

NBC

 

I can take this or leave it. But my question is who gets the TV rights ? The big 3 networks or will they screw it all up by throwing in ESPN and the NFL Network ??

 

After seven years in Washington, tight end Jordan Reed is done.

Reed was officially released today, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The move was widely expected, and Washington was apparently just waiting until Reed became cleared to return to action following his latest concussion. That happened yesterday.

Despite having seven reported concussions, Reed reportedly wants to keep playing. He has, at times, shown the potential to be a very good tight end, and he’ll likely draw some interest from at least a few NFL teams.

The move will save Washington $8.5 million against the salary cap.

NBC

 

NFL owners flew into New York for a meeting about the current Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal on the table and they wound up voting on whether or not to accept it.

According to a release from the league, they have opted to accept the terms of the deal negotiated with the NFL Players Association. As they note in a statement, the agreement must also be accepted by the union in order for the agreement to go in place.

“The membership voted today to accept the negotiated terms on the principal elements of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Players Association would also need to vote to approve the same terms for there to be a new agreement.”

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the new CBA terms were not unanimously accepted. Owners also voted to move forward with the rules for the final year of the 2011 CBA should the union not approve the terms.

Player reps from the league’s 32 teams will have a conference call on Friday. Those representatives will vote on whether or not to pass the proposed CBA onto the full body of players. Two-thirds of the player reps would have to be in favor, but the final vote would need a simple majority for approval.

NBC

 

Absolutely awful - nothing more than a money grab. Too many teams in it already.

 

Only part I like about it is that half as many teams get a free pass to the second round.

Beyond that, clearly a money grab

 

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen had eight sacks while playing 78 percent of the defensive snaps during the 2019 season and he’s set for free agency as a result.

Griffen’s contract contains a clause allowing him to opt out of the remaining three years of his deal as long as he had six sacks while playing 57 percent of the defensive snaps in 2019. Griffen had until February 25 to exercise that right, but Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports that he has already done so.

The move, which was expected, clears $13 million in cap space while leaving $800,000 in dead money.

Cronin adds that there’s a feeling that the team can work out a deal to keep Griffen in Minnesota for less money and Griffen said last month that he wants to stay in Minnesota, so there may not be a change in address this offseason. Talking to other teams next month could shake up that view and voiding the contract opens the door to that possibility.

NBC

 

Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes has had surgery for the second time this offseason.

Hughes had surgery to repair torn wrist ligaments last month and he had surgery to repair a groin injury this week. Hughes’ wife posted a picture of her husband in a medical gown at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia, which is the home of noted core muscle surgeon Dr. William Meyers, on Thursday.

The NFL took a look at the Bills’ injury reporting after Hughes revealed his wrist injury because he was never listed with that issue, but he was listed with a groin injury at points. He is still wearing a cast on his wrist in the most recent picture.

Hughes had 23 tackles and 4.5 sacks during the 2019 season.

NBC

 

After NFL owners approved a proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement on Thursday, attention shifted to players as they need to approve any deal before it can go into place.

The NFL Players Association is holding a conference call with player representatives to discuss the deal on Friday and the union’s executive committee has already held a vote about whether or not to recommend accepting the deal.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports and PFT has confirmed that the committee voted 6-5 against recommending it to the overall body of players. The committee led negotiations with owners from the union side to put together the proposed CBA.

That’s just a recommendation and the 32 player reps are also expected to hold a vote Friday. That will also serve as a recommendation as the NFLPA will submit the proposal to the full membership whether or not the player reps vote in favor of the deal.

If more than 50 percent of the membership votes for the proposal, the deal will be approved.

NBC

 

The expectation was that a Friday NFL Players Association conference call featuring player representatives from all 32 teams would include a vote about whether they would recommend the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement to the full membership of the union, but that did not happen.

The NFLPA announced that no vote will take place. The NFLPA executive committee, which negotiated with team owners on the proposed deal, voted 6-5 against recommending it earlier in the day.

In a statement, the union said the executive committee hopes to meet with the NFL management council executive committee in Indianapolis at the Scouting Combine next week. A vote would then follow that meeting, although it is not clear which issues have led to the change in plans.

It is also unclear what the response will be from the owners side of the table. Their statement after approving the proposed deal on Thursday said “the membership also approved moving forward under the final year of the 2011 CBA if the players decided not to approve the negotiated terms,” which suggests that they may not be as willing to sit back down for negotiations as the players seem to be.

 

I think that both sides will be motivated to get this done now even if it means a little more negotiating. Having a deal done will maximize the new TV contract. A stall or worse, a fight could cost both parties $$$ if the TV companies fear a hold out.

 

I can't think of any reason why I would say adding the extra wild card team is awful/bad. It's a lesser evil than adding a 17th regular season game, the one added postseason game is obviously meaningful, and the trade-off is one less awarded bye.

All in all, nice move.

For that matter, I'd propose knocking off two games from the regular season, building in an extra bye week during the season, and expanding the postseason. Yes, it breaks from "tradition", but to be honest tradition wasn't all that big on player health.

Other suggestion: drop the preseason down to three games and expand the offseason training program to help ramp up player conditioning.

Add an extra week (or two) of training camp, a second minicamp, an extra week of "rookie OTAs" following rookie minicamp, and an extra week of full team OTAs. Add an extra half hour or full hour of allowed "coaching time" in the non-contact walk-through sessions during training camp. Allow one or two scrimmages (full simulated games) among the training camp sessions.

The extra OTAs and minicamps would still be non-contact, but the extra training camp sessions would be full contact.

 

The XFL is looking ok a lot better than the first time

 

It's quality football...There's no question many of those players are right on the edge of making an NFL roster.

I don't know squat about the XFL, but when I'm at the bar on the weekends it's always on, and it's entertaining IMO....

 

I just hope it does not fold like the AAF cause it was amazing how fast it went, good luck XFL

 

What I like best about the XFL is that all of these guys - largely practice squad players on the fringe of making a roster in the NFL - are getting the competitive reps that they were never able to get once the regular NFL season began.

The best comparison I can think of is NFL-E, circa 2005-2007. The quality of play was pretty high but inconsistent - both from play to play and from player to player. I enjoyed watching how some of the players truly progressed over the course of the season. The offensive linemen got better at tandem play in addition to being more consistent in their techniques. The quarterbacks and receivers got better with their timing.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much better the XFL prospects are two weeks from now compared to two weeks ago.

The NFL has really needed a developmental league, particularly with the 2011 CBA cutting back on the number of preseason practices. If it lasts, the XFL might be a perfect substitute.