HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Latest On Texans, Deshaun Watson

March 30th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

More lawsuits have been filed against Deshaun Watson this week, as ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop details. This latest round of suits includes one alleging that Watson is deleting Instagram messages and contacting plaintiffs in an effort to settle. 

“Like a lot of people, Deshaun regularly deletes past Instagram messages,” Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said. “That said, he has not deleted any messages since March 15th, the day before the first lawsuit was filed. We categorically deny that he has reached out directly to his accusers in an attempt to settle these cases.”

Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing Watson’s accusers, now says that he has filed 20 lawsuits in total.

“Plaintiffs have not brought these cases for money or attention; instead Plaintiffs seek a change in behavior with regard to Watson, and a change of culture in the NFL,” Buzbee wrote in one lawsuit.

Before the lawsuits, the biggest questions surrounding Watson had to do with his future in Houston. The trade rumors have obviously taken a backseat, but NFL execs seem to think that a deal could still be in play.

“If you’re a team that had been interested in him, you have to do your own research into this, with whatever resources you have,” one anonymous NFL exec told Lindsay Jones of The Athletic. “You have to do your own due diligence, in the event that [someone from the Texans] one day picks up the phone and says they are ready to move him.”

Steelers Sign RB Kalen Ballage

March 30th, 2021 at 10:27am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers announced that they have signed running back Kalen Ballage to a one-year deal. Ballage, entering his fourth pro season, split the 2020 campaign between the Jets and Chargers.

After being drafted by the Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, Ballage has appeared in 35 games across multiple stops. All in all, he has 629 yards off of 201 carries with seven touchdowns. He’s also tacked on 52 grabs for 285 yards. His best year came as a rookie — in an admittedly small sample size of 36 carries, the Arizona State product averaged 5.3 yards per tote.

The Steelers finished last in rushing yards per attempt last year, so they’re expected to prioritize RBs in the draft next month. Ballage won’t be the main ball-carrier in Pittsburgh, but he can offer support for the lagging group.

“We’ve got to be a lot better in running,” team president Art Rooney II said recently. “Certainly we don’t want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers being last in the league in rushing again ever. I think it’s something our coaches are focused on and we’ll be looking for ways to improve in the draft. It’s something we’ve got to fix, and we are working on it.”

Texans Restructure Zach Cunningham’s Deal

March 30th, 2021 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have restructured Zach Cunningham‘s contract (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). The move will allow Houston to save $5.63MM in cap space by converting $7.51M of the linebacker’s 2021 base salary converted into a signing bonus. 

Cunningham inked a four-year, $58MM extension last summer, keeping him under club control through 2024. Since then, Cunningham has been a fixture in the Texans’ front seven. In 2019, he took a big leap forward with 142 stops, two sacks, and two passes defensed in 16 games (all starts). He led the league in run stops that year, posting a career-best run-defense grade of 84.8, per Pro Football Focus.

This past year, he shined on a less-than-stellar Texans defense and led the league with 164 total tackles. He also posted a career-high three sacks. Still, his 43.0 coverage grade needs to improve in order for the Texans to keep opposing tight ends in check.

The Texans have been working diligently to tamp down their cap figure in recent days. Last week, they also adjusted Witney Mercilus’ deal to find extra space while allowing the linebacker to reach free agency after the 2021 season.

Hue Jackson: Browns “Lied” To Me

March 29th, 2021 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns moved on from Hue Jackson nearly three years ago. Jackson, who is planning to release a book about his run in Cleveland, has not moved on entirely from his rocky tenure.

“There is no doubt I was lied to by ownership and the executive team,” Jackson said (via Tom Withers of the Associated Press). “They were going to be football plus analytics, but they intentionally made it football versus analytics. They were going to take two years and they were going to find a way to use us as an experiment to make sure that they got the data that they needed for it to get better — at the expense of whoever — and that’s not right.”

At one point in time, Jackson was regarded as one of the NFL’s top offensive gurus. Then, a 3-36-1 record across two-and-a-half Browns seasons sank his stock. Jackson has been out of the NFL picture ever since, save for a brief return to the Bengals as an assistant in late 2018.

“I want to make sure everybody knows and understands exactly what went on in Cleveland,” said Jackson. “The truth needs to come out. I am tired of being the brunt of jokes and memes and things that people say when they don’t know.”

Jackson, 55, interviewed for the Steelers’ OC job earlier this year, but Pittsburgh promoted Matt Canada instead. Jackson’s latest comments (and forthcoming book) could be an attempt to get back into the coaching mix.

Jaguars’ Urban Meyer: “Zero Chance” Of NCAA Return

March 29th, 2021 at 7:39pm CST by Zachary Links

After years of speculation, Urban Meyer finally made the jump to the pros. Unlike other well-known college coaches before him, the Jaguars’ HC says there’s “zero chance” that he’ll return to the NCAA ranks.

“Zero chance at that happening,” Meyer said (via Peter King of NBC Sports). “What coach [Nick] Saban went through, I don’t know. That’s Coach Saban’s business. I’m not quite sure. At some point, I might talk to him about it…he’s a friend of mine and I got great respect for him. It is different. It’s completely different. My mind is set. There’s gonna be some losses. That’s gonna be miserable. I hate losing. We all do. But the reality is that you’re gonna lose. Hopefully you win more than you lose. But that’s something that’s gonna be new to me. I have to get my mind right and I’m working on that.”

Two years after leaving LSU for the Dolphins’ job, Saban requested his releasee so that he could go to the University of Alabama. Meyer, on the other hand, says he’s in it for the long haul. With a lucrative contract in hand and Clemson star Trevor Lawrence (likely) on the way, the former Ohio State and Florida coach has little reason to look in the rear view mirror.

Morgan Burnett Announces Retirement

March 29th, 2021 at 5:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Morgan Burnett did not play last season, and the veteran safety will not opt to make a comeback in 2021. Burnett announced his retirement (via Instagram) on Monday.

The former Packers third-round pick played 10 NFL seasons — with Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Cleveland — and started 112 games out of the 121 he played. The Packers traded up with the Eagles to select Burnett in 2010 and deployed him as a first-string safety for seven-plus seasons.

While never a Pro Bowler, Burnett led two playoff-bound Packers teams in tackles, with 123 in 2012 and 130 in 2014, and totaled more than 90 in three other Green Bay seasons. The Georgia Tech product intercepted 10 passes and forced eight fumbles in his NFL career.

Although Burnett’s rookie season doubled as Green Bay’s fourth Super Bowl-winning campaign, he was on IR during those playoffs. Burnett, however, started in 11 postseason games with the Packers. He intercepted two playoff passes.

The Packers gave Burnett a four-year, $24.75MM extension in 2013. He played out that contract. Burnett moved on in unrestricted free agency in 2018, signing with the Steelers. After a year in Pittsburgh, Burnett spent his final season in Cleveland. Injuries intervened during Burnett’s Steelers and Browns stays, and the Steelers did not use him as a full-time starter. While the Browns gave Burnett a two-year contract and did use him as a full-time first-stringer, they released him after he missed eight games due to injury. Despite reaching the 10-season threshold, Burnett was just 30 when he played his final NFL game.

Shanahan: 49ers Comfortable With 3 Quarterbacks In Draft

March 29th, 2021 at 4:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers spent the past three weeks trying to trade up in the draft, finally securing a deal with the Dolphins to climb to No. 3 overall. Kyle Shanahan addressed the trade, confirming it was indeed to draft a quarterback.

“We looked at how our four years have gone and we looked at how we want the next four years to go and we looked at where we’re at in the draft and the options that are there,’ Shanahan said, via NFL.com. “And that’s why sitting there looking at this stuff since January and going all the way through the process, we felt pretty strongly we were gonna be left at the altar sitting there at 12.”

This move comes despite the Jets’ plans not being fully known. While Urban Meyer essentially confirmed the Jaguars will draft Trevor Lawrence first overall, the Jets will either trade the pick or trade Sam Darnold. Increased noise on option B, with the Jets then taking BYU’s Zach Wilson, has emerged in recent days.

[RELATED: Who will 49ers draft at No. 3 overall?]

The 49ers appear to be fine with selecting the third quarterback in this draft. Shanahan said the team is comfortable with three of the quarterback prospects being the long-term answer, adding that the Nos. 4 and 5 options would also have potential to elevate the team (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). Shanahan expects the draft’s top five QBs to be drafted earlier than most currently anticipate. No draft has begun with four straight passers being chosen, but that possibility is live this year. Picking in the top five for the first time since they drafted Matt Ryan, the Falcons have a chance to select the 35-year-old’s heir apparent at No. 4.

With Lawrence and Wilson expected to be gone by the time the 49ers pick, they are likely going to draft either Justin Fields, Trey Lance or Mac Jones. Interestingly, Jones and Fields’ pro days are both Tuesday. Shanahan and John Lynch will attend Jones’, with the 49ers sending other staffers to Fields’, Peter King of NBC Sports notes. Assistant GM Adam Peters will be in Columbus for Fields’ pro day, per Wagoner, who adds that Shanahan plans to meet with the ex-Buckeyes standout at some point. Shanahan and Lynch did not attend Wilson’s or Lance’s, with the 49ers not wanting to arouse suspicion of their plans (Twitter link via SI.com’s Albert Breer). Shanahan also plans to meet with Lance.

While Shanahan said anyone on the 49ers could be traded, the team thus far wants to keep Jimmy Garoppolo around this season. The 49ers have become the latest team to mention the Chiefs’ Alex Smith-to-Patrick Mahomes transition. Shanahan said it will be difficult for the 49ers to find a quarterback better equipped to lead the team to wins this season, per Wagoner (on Twitter).

“We went to ownership and said, ‘Hey, things are looking good. We’d like to make this move, but we also don’t want to say goodbye to Jimmy,” Lynch said. “We’ve shown we can get to a Super Bowl with him. We can play at a high level and we don’t think those two things have to be mutually exclusive.”

Two years remain on Garoppolo’s contract. He is set to count $26.4MM against San Francisco’s cap this season. The 49ers could trade their incumbent starter and incur less than $3MM in dead money. The Patriots, who sent Garoppolo to the 49ers in 2017, may be interested.

Chiefs To Re-Sign WR Tajae Sharpe

March 29th, 2021 at 4:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tajae Sharpe did not have a role with the Vikings or Chiefs last season, but Kansas City kept the veteran wide receiver on its practice squad. The Chiefs will retain Sharpe for the 2021 season.

The former fifth-round pick agreed to a deal to stay with the Chiefs, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The sides agreed to a one-year contract, Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star tweets. This will be Sharpe’s sixth NFL season.

Kansas City’s receiver group will look different than it has over the past three seasons, with Sammy Watkins opting to leave for Baltimore late last week. Watkins had operated as the Chiefs’ No. 2 wideout (when healthy) since 2018. The Chiefs, however, did re-sign Demarcus Robinson for a second straight year and have Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle still on the roster as well.

The Vikings cut Sharpe in December; he did not catch a pass with Minnesota. Sharpe did not play in any Chiefs games and hit unrestricted free agency earlier this month.

Sharpe’s best season remains his 2016 rookie year with the Titans, when he caught 41 passes for 522 yards and two touchdowns. Sharpe, 26, surpassed 300 yards in 2018 and ’19, bouncing back somewhat from a season-nullifying injury in 2017.

Steelers Re-Sign P Jordan Berry

March 29th, 2021 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

After going into the 2020 season without Jordan Berry as their punter, the Steelers restored their usual order at the position by adding the veteran around the midseeason point. The team is bringing Berry back for another season.

Berry re-signed with the Steelers on Monday. It’s a one-year deal. Should the veteran specialist make Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster, it will be his seventh season with the team.

The Steelers previously extended Berry to keep him in 2018 and, a year later, gave him a two-year contract that ran through 2020. However, the team cut its incumbent punter and went with longtime Chief Dustin Colquitt going into last season. The Steelers backtracked on Colquitt after five games and brought back Berry, who punted in the team’s final 11 contests and its wild-card game.

Berry, who turned 30 earlier this month, averaged a career-best 45.8 yards per punt last season. While he was not with the Steelers for the first five games last season, the former UDFA has never missed a game when under contract.

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