HEADLINES

Justin Blackmon

AFC Notes: Browns, Texans, Pats, Jets, Jags

May 9th, 2014 at 11:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite reports of Josh Gordon facing a possible season-long suspension and Nate Burleson suffering a broken arm in minicamp, Browns GM Ray Farmer “isn’t concerned” with the team’s depth at receiver, he told reporters tonight, including Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Farmer indicated that Burleson’s injury isn’t expected to sideline him for any games, and pointed to the final day of the draft, trades, and additional free agent signings as ways the club can fortify its group of wideouts, if need be (Twitter link via Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle).

Let’s round up a few more leftover Day Two draft items from around the AFC…

  • General manager Rick Smith confirmed that the Texans had a few conversations about moving down from the No. 33 pick, but the club ultimately liked UCLA guard Xavier Su’a-Filo better than any trade offers (Twitter link via James Palmer of CSN Houston).
  • Discussing the Patriots‘ selection of Eastern Illinois signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo, head coach Bill Belichick said the club wanted to address its quarterback situation “too soon rather than too late” (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). The Pats would have been set for the 2014 season, with Tom Brady returning and Ryan Mallett on the last year of his deal, but there’s a good chance neither of those players will be on the roster within a few years.
  • We heard earlier tonight that the Jets were pushing hard to trade up in the second round to nab USC wideout Marqise Lee, and while GM John Idzik didn’t confirm that Lee was his target, he admitted he made calls about moving up (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News).
  • Asked about whether he’ll use all nine of the Jets‘ remaining 2014 draft picks, Idzik was noncommittal: “It’s good to have some ammunition” (Twitter link via Mehta).
  • In non-draft news, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley strongly suggested today that wide receiver Justin Blackmon is done in Jacksonville, as Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union details.

Jaguars GM Talks Blackmon, Draft, Trades

May 2nd, 2014 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy week for NFL general managers, many of whom are taking a break from draft preparation by speaking to the media about that draft and other team-related topics. It was Jaguars GM David Caldwell‘s turn today, and he provided a few interesting tidbits while speaking to John Oesher of Jaguars.com, Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union, and Ryan O’Halloran of the Times-Union, among others. Here are some highlights from Caldwell (all links go to Twitter):

  • The Jaguars aren’t counting on having wide receiver Justin Blackmon available for the 2014 season, and would be “relatively surprised” if he returned and contributed. Blackmon is facing an indefinite suspension after violating the league’s substance abuse policy multiple times.
  • Most of the Jaguars’ pre-draft work is done, and the team is pretty confident about which direction it’ll go with the No. 3 pick if no trades occur.
  • However, Caldwell sounded open to trading down, suggesting that the club believes it can get good value as far down as the 10th, 11th, or 12th pick, if the price is right. If the Jags were to trade out of the top 10, a 2015 first-round pick would become the minimum requirement, in the GM’s view.
  • Jacksonville also isn’t ruling out trading up, with Caldwell noting that a few extra picks this year gives the team a little more flexibility than usual. Caldwell adds that the Jags aren’t against the idea of trading with division rivals
  • The Jaguars used 27 of 30 allowable pre-draft visits, and ended up with about 180 draftable players on their board. Caldwell hopes to come out of the draft with four or five players capable of starting.

Extra Points: Kluwe, Blackmon, Rogers

February 6th, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Clayton Halunen, the attorney for former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, says he’s upset with the club’s decision to retain special teams coach Mike Priefer before the conclusion of the investigation into his comments, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press details. The punter, who has been a vocal advocate for gay marriage, alleged that Priefer made a number of homophobic remarks in his presence. More from around the NFL..

  • At a fan event, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell said that at some point, suspended wide receiver Justin Blackmon will be back with the team, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. That falls in line with recent comments from Jags owner Shad Khan.
  • The 49ers may ask cornerback Carlos Rogers to take a pay cut yet again, writes CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco. Money is fairly tight in San Francisco. The salary cap is expected to be in the $126-128MM range and the 49ers’ top 51 players currently under contract account for $121.2MM, according to a league source. The club has an additional $2.175MM in carryover of unused cap space from the 2013 season, but Rogers, Jon Baldwin, and others may have to take less to stay in SF.
  • Newly-minted Browns defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil is glad to have Barkevious Mingo on his squad. In fact, Buffalo’s former outside linebackers coach pushed the Bills to pick Mingo with the eighth pick in last year’s draft but he was off the board once Cleveland grabbed him at No. 6, writes Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. “I’m a big fan of Mingo. I’m looking forward to working with him. He flashes some on tape. He did a lot of good things. He’s obviously a young player. He’s got some things to work on, but we’re excited as a defensive staff to get him back here and start working with him,” said O’Neil.
  • Albert Breer of NFL Network (via these five Twitter links) rightfully notes that the NFL salary cap isn’t set in stone at the $126.3MM estimate that came about in December. A number of factors, including TV money and the influence of the NFLPA, could drive that number closer to $130MM.
  • Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter) expects the Cowboys to sign quarterback Mike Kafka. Dallas will need a QB to get through the offseason program while Tony Romo goes through rehab. Earlier today we learned that Dallas auditioned the former Northwestern signal caller.

AFC Notes: Kraft, Talib, Wilson, Blackmon

January 31st, 2014 at 11:06pm CST by Matt Feminis

Patriots owner Robert Kraft sat down with Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub (full interview here), addressing the team’s window to contend for a championship in relation to 36-year-old quarterback Tom Brady‘s twilight years. When asked if the closing window inspires the organization to be more aggressive in surrounding Brady with win-now players, Kraft brushed off the philosophy: “We have to try to sustain success by managing as wisely as we can. It’s not dependent on any one player. . .I think a better strategy is to try to be solid and be able to compete year in and year out.”

  • When asked about free agent-to-be Aqib Talib, Kraft laid the groundwork for the team’s typical hardball approach, saying, “He wasn’t on the field a lot of the time since he’s been with us.” However, in the next breath, Kraft expressed his belief that both parties would be interested in extending the relationship: “I think he’s happy here and would like to be here, and we’re happy with him and we’d like to have him here. Now it’s just about doing business.”
  • Patriots veteran safety Adrian Wilson, who spent the year on IR, spoke with “The Drive” with Jody, MJ and Bauer on Fox Sports 910 AM Phoenix, saying he doesn’t know if he’ll be back in New England despite signing a three-year deal in 2013.
  • Jaguars owner Shad Khan “absolutely” wants suspended receiver Justin Blackmon back on the team when he is reinstated, according to Florida Times-Union beat writer Ryan O’Halloran (via Twitter).
  • In theory, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton should be entering his prime, but it’s not unreasonable to draft another quarterback, according to ESPN’s Cole Harvey.