HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Vikings Using Josh Metellus As Nickel CB

July 2nd, 2023 at 10:14am CST by Rory Parks

After finishing as the second-worst team in the league in 2022 in terms of total defense and passing defense, it came as no surprise that the Vikings parted ways with a few of the cornerbacks who played major roles in last year’s secondary. Patrick Peterson, Chandon Sullivan, and Cameron Dantzler all found themselves on other clubs this offseason, while Minnesota added Byron Murphy in free agency and will look for some of its recent draft selections to prove their worth under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Players like Andrew Booth (second round, 2022), Akayleb Evans (fourth round, 2022), Mekhi Blackmon (third round, 2023), and Jay Ward (fourth round, 2023) are all in line for significant CB snaps this season (while Ward was drafted as a safety, he lined up at every position in the defensive backfield during his collegiate career at LSU). Plus, as Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com writes, Josh Metellus could see significant action in the slot, as the coaching staff gave him plenty of reps in that role during spring work and made a concerted effort to keep him on the field.

Metellus, a 2020 sixth-round choice, was used primarily on special teams in his first two years in the NFL. Last season, he saw the most extensive action of his pro career, earning three starts and a 22% defensive snap share. His time on defense, though, was spent mostly as a replacement for stalwart safety Harrison Smith, so the fact that Flores wants to see what Metellus can do as a nickel corner is notable.

Although Murphy is perfectly capable of playing in the slot and should be expected to line up there frequently in 2023, it could be that Flores wants his most experienced corner to spend the bulk of his time outside the numbers. That, along with the fact that Smith and Camryn Bynum will reprise their roles as starting safeties, could explain why Metellus is getting a long look at nickel.

According to Seifert, Metellus appeared comfortable in that spot, and assuming he carries that momentum into training camp, he will be ticketed for the most playing time of his career this season. With 2023 serving as his platform year, the timing is perfect for the Michigan product to maximize his earning power, particularly since slot corners are effectively starting players in today’s pass-heavy league (even if the market has been slow to recognize that).

In his time on defense last season, Metellus allowed a 68.4% completion percentage but generally kept the ball in front of him, as he yielded a modest 83.9 QB rating on the 19 balls thrown in his direction. He also recorded five passes defensed and the first interception of his career, which represents quality ball production in such a small sample.

Latest On Eagles’ RG Competition; Team To Add OT?

July 2nd, 2023 at 8:20am CST by Rory Parks

Like many players who lined up at offensive tackle in college, Eagles third-round rookie Tyler Steen is, according to Bo Wulf of The Athletic (subscription required), set to play guard at the NFL level, at least in his first professional season. Which certainly makes sense, as Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are locked into the starting tackle jobs.

However, the decision to deploy Steen on the interior is notable for two reasons. One, it sets up an intriguing position battle at right guard between the rookie and 2022 second-rounder Cam Jurgens. Jurgens, a natural center, was drafted as the eventual replacement for five-time First Team All-Pro pivot Jason Kelce, but Kelce elected to put off retirement for another year and agreed to a new contract with Philadelphia in March. As such, there is only one starting spot available on the club’s O-line, and that is the RG post that was vacated when Isaac Seumalo defected to the Steelers in free agency this offseason.

Although Jurgens appeared in only 34 snaps as a rookie (28 of which came at center), he has the benefit of having spent a year learning the Eagles’ offense and the blocking schemes of OL coach Jeff Stoutland. He also lined up with the first-stringers during OTAs, and while that is obviously not as important as who gets the first-team reps in training camp, one would think that Jurgens has a leg up on Steen at the moment, even if the coaching staff has not tipped its hand one way or another.

The loser of the competition will nonetheless become a key reserve, as the guard depth presently consists of the likes of Sua Opeta, Tyrese Robinson, and Julian Good-Jones. The tackle depth behind Mailata and Johnson is similarly uninspiring, and since Steen is focusing his efforts on guard as opposed to tackle, Wulf expects GM Howie Roseman to add an OT before Week 1.

Of course, the market for quality tackles is largely bare at this point in the offseason, though George Fant remains available and would, in Wulf’s estimation, represent an ideal fit. Fant has extensive experience at both OT spots and could be waiting for a clearer path to a starting job to open up in camp. If such an opportunity does not become available, the Eagles have enough cap space (roughly $14MM as of the time of this writing) to entice him. Wulf names the Cardinals’ Kelvin Beachum as a potential trade target, as the rebuilding Arizona outfit used its top pick in this year’s draft on an elite offensive lineman (Paris Johnson Jr.) and could therefore see the 34-year-old Beachum as surplus to requirements, especially with longtime LT D.J. Humphries healthy again.

Wulf also sees wide receiver, inside linebacker, and pass rush as areas in which the Eagles could seek an upgrade, though he does not envision Roseman making a big splash at any of those spots, unless he can pounce on a pass rusher like Yannick Ngakoue that has lingered on the open market.

Latest On Titans, DeAndre Hopkins

July 1st, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The waiting game continues with respect to DeAndre Hopkins and his relatively small list of known suitors. One of them is the Titans, a team which has a standing offer in place for the All-Pro wideout.

Hopkins visited Tennessee and New England last month, and each team was sufficiently impressed to put a contract on the table. The 31-year-old is staying patient with plenty of time remaining between now and training camp, which could extend his free agent period especially if his market fails to heat up in the coming weeks.

In that event, the Titans could represent an intriguing option for Hopkins. Tennessee is lacking in known producers at the WR spot, and a signing could give them a signficant boost in the passing game. On that point, ESPN’s Turron Davenport notes that the team believes it has a “legitimate chance” at landing the five-time Pro Bowler.

Tennessee has 2022 first-rounder Treylon Burks at the top of the depth chart as things currently stand, and expectations will be high for him after an underwhelming rookie season. To little surprise, though, the Arkansas alum publicly praised the in-house options in place, a group which includes Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Kyle Philips, Racey McMath and free agent signing Chris Moore. Hopkins would represent by far the most accomplished pass-catcher for the Titans if he were to ink a contract with them.

However, the former Texan and Cardinal has been closely connected to the Patriots during his time on the open market, and their new deal for DeVante Parker has not taken them out of the running for him. New England currently has just under $15MM in cap space, while Tennessee has $8.3MM, meaning the latter team would be underdogs in a potential bidding war.

Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly echoed Burks’ confidence in the Titans’ current setup, but a signficant step forward is needed through the air compared to 2022 when the post-A.J. Brown era began. Tennessee could see themselves competing with New England and potentially Carolina to land Hopkins, but belief within the organization that his arrival remains a distinct possibility is noteworthy. Hopkins’ market is one they, among others, will no doubt continue to monitor.

NFL Urged To Release Mary Jo White’s Commanders Report

July 1st, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL is inching closer and closer to the conclusion of its relationship with Commanders owner Dan Snyder. A special league meeting has been set for July 20, in which the team owners are expected to vote to ratify the sale of the franchise to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion. That’s only one part of the league’s situation with Snyder. The other part entails their investigations into allegations against the soon-to-be former owner of sexual misconduct and financial malfeasance. According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, the NFL has been urged by the House Committee to release a report on the investigation upon its completion.

To be clear, this is the second investigation into the allegations against Snyder. The first investigation, conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, was conducted back in 2021. The findings of the investigation were not released by the NFL, but it did result in a fine to the team of $10MM and the forced assumption of day-to-day operating duties by Snyder’s wife, Tanya. The findings were concealed due to promises of confidentiality made to witnesses.

The Oversight Committee released a 79-page report on the Wilkinson investigation in December claiming that Snyder “obstructed” the committee’s investigation and failed to provide full and complete testimony, as his attorney had pledged he would. The report also claimed that the NFL failed “to address Mr. Snyder’s interferences” and that the league played a role in concealing the team’s toxic work environment.

This second investigation was conducted by attorney Mary Jo White, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The investigation has not yet concluded, but already, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has urged the league to release the findings of the report upon its completion. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had pledged before to release the report in “full transparency,” so the letter from representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Committee, was a call to abide by Goodell’s pledge when the opportunity comes.

“More than a year has passed since your pledge to ‘share the results of that investigation,’ yet, to date, no part of the information has been released to the public,” Raskin wrote. “In light of the impending sale of the Commanders franchise, I urge you to honor your commitment to release the report in its entirety and ‘take additional disciplinary action if warranted.'”

We’ve seen in previous reports that Snyder is opposed to the pledge by Goodell. It’s been reported that Snyder had called to keep the findings confidential in February and was lobbying the league to limit the release in May, though the Commanders denied both reports. Despite Snyder’s continued efforts to cover up the findings of White’s report, it’s not believed that the issue should hold up the sale of the franchise at all.

It’s unclear, as of yet, exactly when the report will be concluded. Snyder has refused to be interviewed by White for the investigation to date, but some believe that White will request his participation at least one more time before concluding her investigation. It will be interesting to see just how much, if anything, is released by the league upon the report’s conclusion and if any action will be taken due to the results.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 7/1/23

July 1st, 2023 at 8:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s list of rookie deals:

Los Angeles Rams

Each of the Rams’ sixth-round selections are now on the books, as is the case for all of their Day 3 picks. Of the team’s 14-man draft haul, only two members are now unsigned: Byron Young and Kobie Turner. Those third-rounders still have plenty of time to ink their rookie deals before the start of training camp and the regular season, one which will in many ways be marked by a youth movement in Los Angeles.

Cardinals’ Zaven Collins In Line For Starting Edge Rush Role

July 1st, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

Zaven Collins entered the league with questions about where he would best be suited to line up. During his first two years with the Cardinals, he played primarily as an inside linebacker, but that will change this season.

The former first-rounder will shift to a pass-rushing role under new head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis. Collins spent OTAs and minicamp working on the outside, learning a position other than the one he served as a full-time starter at in 2022. He logged over 1,000 snaps last season, 785 of which came inside the box.

Collins’ run defense PFF grade (45.2) took a considerable step back from that of his rookie season, though, and it came in much lower than that of his pass rushing-mark (65.5). He will look to continue his success in the latter department after the position adjustment, one which should keep him in a starting role moving forward. The Tulsa product may in fact be the Cardinals’ top edge rusher based on spring practices, as noted by team reporter Darren Urban.

Arizona lost plenty of pass-rushing production from its defensive line this offseason with J.J. Watt retiring and Zach Allen departing in free agency. That will leave added emphasis on the team’s outside linebackers, a group which includes Collins along with 2022 third-rounders Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas. That pair each played a rotational role during their rookie seasons, and their experience relative to Collins on the outside does not appear likely to move them higher on the depth chart.

The Cardinals added BJ Ojulari in the second round of this year’s draft, giving them another young option in their edge rush group. The LSU product has been sidelined through injury during the offseason, though, leaving plenty of first-team snaps available to Collins as he prepares for a position change come the fall (something which also holds true of fellow former first-rounder Isaiah Simmons). Their success in adjusting to altered roles will no doubt go a long way in determining Arizona’s level of play on their new-look defense in 2023.

NFC South Rumors: Alford, Mays, Saints

July 1st, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Ely Allen

In January 2022, the Falcons signed cornerback Dee Alford out of the Canadian Football League to a reserve/futures contract. A year and a half later, Alford could be pushing for a starting role, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

After going undrafted out of Tusculum, Alford signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2020 but didn’t get to play after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. When the team returned in 2021, Alford won a starting job and helped lead the Bombers to their second consecutive Grey Cup title.

Following his signing in the offseason, Alford defied the odds by making the 53-man roster. Alford served as a depth piece in the Falcons secondary for much of the year but did come up with a few big plays. In a Week 2 loss to the Rams, Alford gained his team two points with a safety. Two weeks later, he recorded a game-clinching interception over the Browns.

According to Rothstein, Alford has been rising in the offseason for Atlanta. In spring practices, Alford reportedly “took the vast majority of first-team reps at slot (cornerback).” Mike Hughes was the presumed starter at nickelback heading into the offseason, but Alford is making himself hard to ignore as he pushes for a starting role.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of the NFC South:

  • A sixth-round pick for the Panthers last year, Cade Mays may find himself in a bit of a larger role than last year to start the 2023 season, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. With starting right guard Austin Corbett still recovering from an ACL repair surgery, Mays has reportedly stepped up this offseason. While his rookie year saw him block out of the backfield in short-yardage situations, Mays is in line to begin the season as a starter at right guard for Carolina.
  • The Saints are no strangers to injuries in the past few years. They are feeling it the worst this season in the wide receiving corps, where we got some recent updates from Terrin Waack of nola.com. Michael Thomas‘s woes continued thanks to toe surgery that landed him on injured reserve last year. He’s “slowly but surely” working his way back but is, reportedly, “still not full-go.” Last year’s rookie sensation Chris Olave missed the end of minicamp with an inflamed Achilles tendon but is expected to be okay. The other rookie from last year, Rashid Shaheed, suffered a groin injury in organized team activities that held him out of minicamp. He’s also expected to be fine by the time camp rolls around.

Latest On Steelers’ ILB Situation

July 1st, 2023 at 4:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The Steelers will have quite a different look at inside linebacker in 2023 than they had in 2022. Free agency took a toll on the room in the offseason but still helped them to reload a bit at the position. In a mailbag Q&A this week, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic addressed the question of whether or not Pittsburgh did enough to address the position this spring.

First, let’s address the losses. All three of the team’s top contributors at inside linebacker departed in free agency in the offseason. Myles Jack was heading into the second year of the two-year contract he had signed to join the Steelers last year, but the team, instead, decided to release the veteran linebacker to open up about $8MM of cap space. After being allowed to test his market in free agency, Devin Bush signed a one-year contract in Seattle. Lastly, Robert Spillane, who served as a spot starter and factored heavily into the defensive rotation last year, also found his way to free agency, departing for Las Vegas.

That left three holes atop the roster at inside linebacker, including two starting spots. For one spot, the team signed former Commanders linebacker Cole Holcomb. A fifth-round pick for Washington back in 2019, Holcomb was an immediate starter as a rookie. This wasn’t the first time that Holcomb had surpassed expectations as, in college, he earned a scholarship after initially walking on at North Carolina. He’s now started 48 of the 50 games he’s appeared in, but injuries have kept him from appearing in a possible 16 additional games. Most crucially, he missed 10 games in 2022 due to a knee injury in November and foot surgery that ended his season in December. If healthy, though, Holcomb can certainly perform as the team’s top linebacker. His best season saw him rank as the league’s 23rd best linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), in 2020, and despite his injuries, he ranked 35th in 2022.

Another spot was filled by former Patriots and Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts. An eighth-year veteran, Roberts had a bit of a breakout year in 2022. After seeing his role diminish over his final years with the Patriots, Roberts found a way to improve over each season in Miami. Finally starting in every game of the season in 2022, Roberts recorded career-highs in total tackles (107), tackles for loss (10), and sacks (4.5) and tied a career-high in quarterback hits (6). He’s never graded out highly by PFF standards as a full-service linebacker, but last year, Roberts topped all NFL linebackers with an 89.2 pass rushing grade.

Pittsburgh is planning on filling the third hole internally by putting more responsibility on the shoulders of Mark Robinson to fill Spillane’s role from last year. A seventh-round pick for the team in 2022, Robinson only appeared in four games last season, making two starts in the final two games of the year. The Steelers have taken their time with Robinson, who had only played one season at linebacker in college after switching from running back. The team seems confident in Robinson’s ability to step up in Year 2. They relied on him last year in the team’s last two games against the Ravens and Browns, two run-heavy teams, and he may play a similar role this year.

For depth at inside linebacker, the team brought in Nick Kwiatkoski and Tanner Muse. Kwiatkoski has past experience as a full-time starter but hasn’t started a game since the 2020 season. Muse is primarily a special teamer.

So, did the Steelers do enough to address the losses at the position? It may be too soon to say whether they’ve successfully filled the holes in the roster. They did a lot, and the holes are filled, but whether they’ve been filled effectively has yet to be determined. Kaboly does think that the team has done enough to at least satisfy the demands of the roster. He doesn’t believe that the team will continue to pursue Kwon Alexander or other free agents, barring injury to the three players above. Unless Holcomb, Roberts, and Robinson make it clear that they can’t handle the duties of the position, Kaboly believes that “the 90 they have is the 90 they will bring to camp.”

Colin Kaepernick Staying In Shape, Talks Raiders Workout

July 1st, 2023 at 12:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Colin Kaepernick is still staying prepared in case an NFL opportunity comes his way. The former 49ers quarterback told Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano that he’s training at least five days each week with an eye on eventually getting another NFL call.

“I’m going to keep pushing,” Kaepernick says. “I’m going to keep fighting for it because I know I can step on the field and play. Every workout, every opportunity I’ve had to show that, the feedback has always been positive. Everything from, ‘He’s still an elite player,’ to ‘The workout was great; it was better than expected.’

“When I had my workout with the Raiders last year, even training with guys, there’s a decent amount of people who may have forgotten what I was capable of doing on the field, so any chance to be able to remind people of what I can do out there, I look forward to and embrace, and I look forward to the day that I get to step on the field and show people what I can do.”

As Kaepernick noted, he earned his first NFL workout in years when he auditioned for the Raiders in 2022. Ultimately, the team decided to opt for the likes of Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens to serve as Derek Carr‘s backup, and Kaepernick found himself questioning the organization’s logic for the moves.

“I’ve heard a lot of excuses over the years,” Kaepernick says, “but most of the time it ends up, ‘Oh, we’re going to see how the guys that we have do.’ With the Raiders’ situation last year, that was Stidham and Nick Mullens, which to me, you just compare résumés and capabilities, on top of the workout and the feedback, it’s like, ‘O.K., cool.’

“Obviously, there’s something else within this decision. To me, that’s typically what it ends up being, or has been for the last seven years. So, I just want the opportunity to come in, show what I can do on the field. Judge me based upon that, not the political bias that you have.”

Despite not getting an offer in Las Vegas, Kaepernick still apparently left a good impression, with some reports praising his arm strength and conditioning. Back at the time, there were rumors that a handful of other teams were also considering bringing in the QB for a visit. However, the 35-year-old hasn’t had any reported visits since that time, and he told Manzano that he doesn’t currently have any scheduled workouts on the docket.

Prior to his visit with the Raiders, Kaepernick hadn’t been on the NFL radar for years. Kaepernick met with the Seahawks in 2017 and threw in front of a handful of NFL personnel at a Georgia workout he reorganized at the 11th hour two years later. The QB hasn’t seen the field for an NFL game since New Year’s Day in 2017, and years later, the NFL settled with Kaepernick (and Eric Reid) on a collusion lawsuit, with the QB claiming he was exiled from the league after his protests of racial injustice during the national anthem.

Latest On Joe Burrow, Bengals Contract Negotiations

July 1st, 2023 at 11:37am CST by Ben Levine

The Bengals have been negotiating a new deal with Joe Burrow for months, and with the offseason all but over, the front office’s current top priority is extending their franchise quarterback.

[RELATED: Bengals Pick Up Joe Burrow’s Fifth-Year Option]

Since we last learned in May that Burrow was taking a hands-on approach to negotiations, there haven’t been many updates. As Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic writes, there may be a reason for the holdup, with sources attributing the slow-going nature of negotiations to “outside forces at play.”

Dehner surmises that both the Bengals and Burrow may be waiting to see how Justin Herbert‘s negotiations unfold with the Chargers. That impending extension would be the “final piece of the puzzle” that would allow both Burrow and the Bengals to feel comfortable about the QB’s market.

Of course, both sides have kept negotiations “close to the vest,” and Dehner cautions that any reports on specific contract details would likely be speculation. In other words, there’s no reason for Bengals fans to fret over the lack of reports coming out of Cincinnati.

Burrow has quickly put himself in position to be one of the highest-paid QBs in the NFL, having guided the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021 before tossing a career-high 35 touchdowns during his third NFL season. Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson recently eclipsed the $50MM-per-year mark on their new contracts, and Burrow will likely be eyeing a similar payout on his next deal.

The former first-overall pick has one year remaining on his rookie pact, and he will be tied to a 2024 salary of $29.5MM given the Bengals’ decision to pick up his fifth-year option. There’s no true urgency to agree to an extension, but considering some of the other Bengals players due new contracts, some cost certainty at the QB position should only help the front office.

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