Albert Breer On Elliott, Bills, Rams, Watkins

The NFL and the NFLPA were at odds last week over a purported leak in the Ezekiel Elliott saga. When the press learned that ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson thought about blackmailing the Cowboys running back with a sex tape, the league pegged the union as the source. The NFL wasn’t just guessing – Albert Breer of The MMQB was told that the league was explicitly told that the union was responsible for the leaks.

The leak especially irked the NFL because the league office believed that certain facts were cherry-picked to paint Thompson as the villain. For example, Thompson told league investigators that she realized it would be “crazy” to go through with the blackmail plot.

It sounds like things are only going to get uglier from here as we look ahead to Elliott’s appeal hearing. As of this writing, Elliott is slated to serve a six-game suspension for the allegations of domestic abuse.

Here’s more from Breer’s column:

• Although Doug Whaley was technically in charge for the Bills‘ draft this year, Breer hears that coach Sean McDermott was given carte blanche to pull players off of the board for character reasons. That could help to explain this month’s surprising move to jettison wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Ronald Darby via trade. Darby came into the league with some red flags and his performance has dipped since his strong rookie season in 2015. Watkins, meanwhile, didn’t have character issues, but his lingering injury problems could have posed a hurdle for the first-year head coach. Brandon Beane now holds the GM title, but McDermott may have been the real driving force behind the trades.
• The Rams‘ interest in Watkins is nothing new. Breer hears that the wide receiver was a real consideration for GM Les Snead & Co. in 2014 before the team settled on offensive lineman Greg Robinson at No. 2 overall. The jury is still out on whether Watkins can live up to his draft status, but he has certainly done better than Robinson. Years later, Snead is hoping that Watkins can stay healthy and become a superstar for his squad.