Raiders coach Jack Del Rio offered some support for Sean Smith as he faces felony assault charges. “I think we’ll let him battle legally what issues he has,” Del Rio said (via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle). “I don’t really have anything to add to it. I mean, I think you heard the story. He was defending his sister. Obviously, things occurred that were taken issue with, so he’s having to defend himself right now.” Smith played in the team’s second preseason game Saturday night and right now there’s no reason to believe that the team will come down on him with a suspension. However, depending on how things shake out, Smith may have to answer to the legal system and the league office.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was unequivocal when asked whether rookie Patrick Mahomes could start over quarterback Alex Smith. “It’s Alex’s job. There’s no gray area,” Reid said (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com on Twitter). John Dorsey was in charge at the time of the Mahomes pick, but apparently new GM Brett Veach was the one who put him on Dorsey and Reid’s radar. There’s every reason to believe that Mahomes will wind up as the Chiefs’ main QB at some point, but the Chiefs want to avoid speculation of the transition happening this year.
Chargers back up offensive tackle Tyreek Burwell has a broken hand, as Alex Flanagan of NFL Network tweets. Burwell first joined the Bolts as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He appeared in eleven games as a rookie and five last season.
Andy Reid credited recently hired GM Brett Veach of alerting him to the likes of DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Fletcher Cox during the duo’s time together with the Eagles. The new Chiefs GM’s latest pet project was a player who figures to have a big say in whether the franchise can challenge for a Super Bowl title in the years to come. Reid said Veach was “all in on” Patrick Mahomes during the franchise’s draft preparation and brought the Texas Tech prospect onto he and then-GM John Dorsey‘s radar.
“If he brings you (a player) and he’s that sold on him, you better take a look at him,” Reid said, via Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star. “He’s brought to me (guys) like DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Fletcher Cox — all these guys, and it was early, before anybody really had a beat on it. And (back then) … I’m going, ‘Wow, he’s got kind of a knack for this thing.”
The Chiefs have brought in several cornerstone players during Dorsey and Veach’s time as top execs, with Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters and Tyreek Hill becoming first-team All-Pros in 2016. Mahomes recently commandeered Kansas City’s backup quarterback job.
Here’s the latest out of the Western divisions.
Viewed as the AFC West favorite despite the Chiefs’ sweep in this rivalry last season, the Raiders have seen their backup quarterback picture clear up to some degree in recent days. Jack Del Rio said (via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle) said E.J. Manuel has outperformed Connor Cook so far and is in the No. 2 spot behind Derek Carr. A former Bills first-rounder, Manuel signed a modest one-year deal with the Raiders early in free agency.
The Raiders’ current depth chart has two recent Day 3 draft picks as starters at the non-rush linebacker spots, with second-year sixth-rounder Cory James stationed as Oakland’s first-team weakside ‘backer and fifth-round rookie Marquel Lee in the middle. Lee’s spot may be less certain, per Tafur, who adds the Raiders will likely look to the waiver wire to add another inside linebacker if the Wake Forest product falters. The Raiders signed Perry Riley midway through last season, and the former Redskins starter became a quality performer for the Silver and Black. Still a free agent, the 29-year-old Riley would seemingly be an option. Reggie McKenzie said the 2016 starter was a consideration, but that was back in May. The Dolphins passed on Riley as a Raekwon McMillan replacement, choosing to sign Rey Maualuga instead.
The 49ers entered camp uncertain if they had one starting-caliber guard on their roster, let alone two, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes. Brandon Fusco will play right guard, but the 49ers are on the lookout for outside help opposite the longtime Vikings cog, Maiocco reports. Zane Beadles is penciled in on the other side, with Joshua Garnett sidelined due to knee surgery.
Jimmie Ward will return to safety this season after a lengthy cornerback experiment, but the 49ers have yet to see him work at that spot during camp. Maiocco reports the 49ers expect the fourth-year defensive back to be cleared this week. He suffered a hamstring injury during San Francisco’s conditioning tests.
Maiocco adds recently signed corner K’Waun Williams is in position to function as the 49ers’ top nickel back. He’s in the lead over 2016 third-rounder Will Redmond for that job. Neither Williams nor Redmond played last season. A torn ACL during his final college season led to Redmond missing 2016, and a controversial injury ended Williams’ time with the Browns. Cleveland’s two-year slot corner was not on a team last season but participated in a lengthy visit tour before deciding on a one-year, $765K deal with the 49ers.
Although the Eagles dealt Jordan Matthews rather than make him part of their large recent group of extension signees, Howie Roseman said the trade wouldn’t preclude the team from re-signing Matthews as a free agent, Eliot Shorr-Parks tweets. Whether Matthews would consider a return to Philadelphia after this is another story. The Bills wideout is one of many notable receivers entering contract years. He joins fellow Friday traded pass-catcher Sammy Watkins, along with DeAndre Hopkins and fellow 2014 draftees Jarvis Landry, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, Donte Moncrief as a prospective UFA.
The Bills have a revamped wide receiver corps, having traded Watkins and observed Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin leave in free agency, so it would stand to reason they’d want to keep Matthews past 2017. But the acquisitions of Matthews and E.J. Gaines may have been secondary to the second- and third-round draft choices received, so Buffalo’s strategy with the newly acquired players will be interesting.
Here’s the latest from around the league as preseason’s first week wraps up.
Teams have reportedly attempted to lureCalvin Johnson out of retirement, but the Lions still have the rights to Megatron if he were to return. But the timing of a Johnson comeback could affect where he’d end up. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes Johnson could put the Lions in a tough spot by notifying the NFL he intends to come back now. Operating under the premise Megatron was retired, the Lions have barely $7MM in cap space. Florio posits a Johnson comeback could get him to free agency — and teams he may believe have a better shot at contention — since his $16MM salary would hit the Lions’ payroll and force the team to act quickly to get in line with the cap. A trade or release would get Johnson out of Detroit, something he may not mind in a comeback scenario given the comments he made this offseason. The potential Hall of Famer turns 32 in September.
This probably shouldn’t be a surprise, but it appearsPatrick Mahomes has leapfrogged Tyler Bray on the Chiefs‘ depth chart after their first preseason game, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. Despite the rare first-round investment from a franchise that spent a generation signing free agent quarterbacks or trading for them, the Chiefs first installed Mahomes as their third-stringer to start camp.
Injuries are again affecting Markus Wheaton‘s status. The Bears wideout missed over a week of camp because of an emergency appendectomy and didn’t return until Saturday, but the fifth-year pass-catcher now has a broken pinkie finger sidelining him, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com reports. John Fox doesn’t have a return timetable for Wheaton. The Bears signed three veteran wideouts to one-year deals, but Wheaton received more of a commitment than Kendall Wright or Victor Cruz. Wheaton is guaranteed $6MM in 2017 as part of his two-year contract. Dickerson adds the Bears still envision a large role for Wheaton, who missed 13 games last season due to a shoulder injury.
The Jets drafted safeties with their first two picks, leading to a shakeup this offseason. But one of their second-stringers may not be playing for them for a while — if at all — in 2017. Second-year safety Doug Middleton is expected to undergo surgery after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in Gang Green’s first preseason game, Manish Mehta and Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News report. Middleton and Rontez Miles were running with the Jets’ second team behindJamal Adams and Marcus Maye. An ex-UDFA, Middleton will seek a second opinion, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Jets signed safety Robenson Therezie earlier Sunday, a sign they believe they may be a man short going forward.
The Chiefs have signed their first-round pick, quarterbackPatrick Mahomes, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). It’s a four-year deal worth a guaranteed $16.4MM, including a $10MM-plus signing bonus.
Mahomes, the 10th overall selection, went to the Chiefs after they paid a heavy price in a deal with the Bills to move up for him. Kansas City was originally in line to pick 27th, but then-general managerJohn Dorsey boldly packaged that choice with a third-rounder this year and a first-rounder in 2018 to go up 17 spots for Mahomes. In doing so, Dorsey surrendered a whopping 170 cents on the dollar, according to Chase Stuart of Football Perspective.
Formerly a star at Texas Tech, where he combined for 93 touchdowns, 29 interceptions and 11,252 yards from 2014-16, Mahomes will sit behind veteran Alex Smith initially. But if the Chiefs, who went to the playoffs for the third time in four tries under Smith in 2016, don’t take a step forward this season, Mahomes could grab the reins under center by 2018. The Chiefs have gone just 1-3 in the playoffs with Smith at the helm (they were one and done last winter after a 12-4, AFC West-winning campaign), and releasing him after the season would save the team $17MM of his $20.6MM cap hit in 2018 – the final year of his contract.
With Mahomes under contract, Solomon Thomas (49ers), Corey Davis (Titans), Jamal Adams (Jets), Gareon Conley (Raiders) and Jabrill Peppers (Browns) are the only members of this year’s first-round class who haven’t signed yet. Raiders second-round pick Obi Melifonwu also remains unsigned.
Of the 15 quarterbacks selected in last year’s draft, seven ended up starting at least one regular-season game in 2016. The Rams’ Jared Goff and the Eagles’ Carson Wentz comprised the top two picks of the draft, but it was Cowboys fourth-round signal-caller Dak Prescott, the 135th overall choice, who ultimately emerged as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and the face of a 13-3 team.
When the Cowboys drafted Prescott, there was little expectation he’d garner significant playing time right away, let alone thrive from the get-go, with Tony Romo on the roster. But debilitating summer injuries to Romo and backup Kellen Moore opened the door for Prescott, who’s now firmly entrenched under center in Dallas. Romo, realizing he wasn’t going to start again for the Cowboys, is now working for CBS.
While it’s hard to imagine any rookie quarterback from this year’s 10-man class bursting on the scene in Prescott-like fashion, it stands to reason at least some will get opportunities to do so. Like last year, three passers went in the first round of the 2017 draft, though immediate playing time isn’t a guarantee for any. For now, Mitch Trubisky (No. 2 overall, Bears), Patrick Mahomes (No. 10, Chiefs) and Deshaun Watson (No. 12, Texans) are in understudy roles.
Trubisky, a one-year starter at North Carolina for whom Chicago somewhat controversially traded up a spot to select, reportedly won’t see the field as a rookie unless free agent investment Mike Glennon flops. Considering Glennon previously held a starting job in Tampa Bay but didn’t do enough to keep it, he very well could struggle enough for Trubisky to grab the reins in 2017.
Watson might also take the helm sooner than later, as the ex-Clemson national championship winner whom the Texans traded up 13 spots to draft is behind a veteran, Tom Savage, who’s almost completely untested. Given that the Texans have sullied quality rosters with subpar quarterbacks in recent seasons, it could behoove them to plug in Watson if Savage, he of two career starts and zero touchdown passes, looks like another Brock Osweiler this year.
An early path to playing time appears less clear for Mahomes, even though Kansas City paid a high price to go up 17 places to secure him. At the moment, the ex-Texas Tech gunslinger looks like a good bet to red shirt 2017 behind Alex Smith as the Chiefs take at least one more kick at the Super Bowl can with the steady (albeit non-elite) veteran at the helm.
Perhaps more than any other QB in this year’s class, Browns second-rounder DeShone Kizer stands out as someone who looks destined to amass playing time as a rookie. The 52nd pick and former Notre Dame dual threat has impressed in the very early going in Cleveland. Moreover, his main competitors for the Browns’ open starting job, Osweiler and Cody Kessler, aren’t exactly Otto Graham and Bernie Kosar.
As Prescott and 2012 third-rounder Russell Wilson have shown in the past half-decade, a quarterback doesn’t necessarily have to come off the board at the top of the draft to star right away. That’s surely heartening to the Giants’ Davis Webb (third round, No. 87), the 49ers’ C.J. Beathard (third round, No. 104), the Steelers’ Joshua Dobbs(fourth round, No. 135), the Bills’ Nathan Peterman (fifth round, No. 171), the Lions’ Brad Kaaya (sixth round, No. 215) and the Broncos’ Chad Kelly (seventh round, No. 253). Barring injuries, though, Webb, Dobbs and Kaaya have virtually no chance to earn starting roles at any point in 2017, as each is behind an established veteran. On the other hand, there’s no Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or Matthew Stafford on any of the rosters of the 49ers, Bills and Broncos, which could give Beathard, Peterman and Kelly a glimmer of hope. Still, for various reasons, all three look like major long shots to break out as rookies. Then again, the same could’ve been said about Prescott 12 months ago.
The Chiefs gave Alex Smitha heads-up before drafting Patrick Mahomes, but the veteran is realistic about what the rookie’s presence means for him.
“I think [the Chiefs are] committed to me [only] through this year,” Smith said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher). “That’s just the nature of it. If you don’t go out there and perform, I mean, coach [Andy] Reid and [quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy] are very honest. You’ve got to go out there and do your deal. We all have to. Whether or not we drafted Patrick, it doesn’t change that, right? If you’re not good enough and didn’t get it done, you’re not going to be around long. That’s just our culture. I know it. That’s the nature of the position.”
Smith is under contract for two more seasons, but KC can drop him next year and save $17MM versus just $3.6MM in dead money. If Mahomes gets an opportunity this year and performs well, it’s conceivable that Smith won’t be around to see the scheduled end of his contract.
Here’s more from the AFC West:
The Chiefs are hiring former Packers Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Tim Terry to be their new Director of Pro Personnel, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Terry was started with the Packers in 2004 and ascended to Assistant Director of Pro Personnel in 2008. After roughly 13 years in Green Bay, he’s going from the NFC North to the AFC West and getting a promotion.
Tre Boston was moved to sign with the Chargersafter a chance meeting with a random man, as ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams writes. “I crossed two lanes to get to the gas station. I pump my gas. After I pump my gas, I put my wallet in my car. After I put my wallet in my car, there’s a guy with three kids and he asked me for a little bit of change, or if I had a dollar or two,” the safety explained. “I gave him a $20. So he tells me thank you so much, and that God put me in his life for a reason. And in my mind I’m saying you’re here for a reason, too. So in my mind I’m saying should I ask him, ‘L.A. or Buffalo.’ And before I could ask him, my man told me, ‘Thank you so much. There aren’t too many people like you in this world, God’s children. My name’s Mike Daniels, but people call me L.A.'” Pittsburgh also reportedly expressed interest in signing Boston, but it sounds like the Bills were the real runners-up for his services.
As the Chiefs were preparing to trade up 17 spots in the first round of this year’s draft to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes 10th overall, they reached out to starting signal-caller Alex Smith to make sure he’d be OK with it, general manager John Dorsey told the NFL Network on Monday (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). “You know, Alex is the consummate professional,” said Dorsey. “He’s been through these types of situations before and we made sure we communicated with Alex leading up to the draft that we may make a move like this. And when we were on the clock and traded up with Buffalo, we made sure we again got in contact with Alex and he’s all on board with this.” Even after the addition of Mahomes, Smith knows the Chiefs are “his team,” per Dorsey, who praised the 33-year-old for owning “the fourth-winningest record” among QBs since his KC tenure began in 2013. The Chiefs have indeed posted an excellent regular-season mark (41-20) with Smith at the controls, but they’ve managed only one playoff win in three trips. Now, thanks in no small part to the Chiefs’ investment in Mahomes, Smith appears unlikely to last as their starter for much longer. The 12-year veteran’s contract will expire after the 2018 season.
More from the AFC:
The Ravens are the best fit for free agent running back LeGarrette Blount, opines ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley, who writes that the ex-Patriot’s “bruising” style would be perfect for Baltimore’s offense. Moreover, running back is a need for the Ravens, Hensley points out. With Kenneth Dixon set to miss the opening quarter of the season on account of a suspension and Terrance West having led the team last year with a so-so 774 yards on 193 carries, it’s hard to argue with Hensley. PFR’s Zach Links recently made a case for Baltimore to sign Blount, who set a career high with 1,161 rushing yards and finished with an NFL-best 18 touchdowns on the ground last season.
Retired quarterback Peyton Manning had a hand in the Dolphins’ late-winter acquisition of tight end Julius Thomas from the Jaguars, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post details. Manning played in Indianapolis under now-Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christiansen, who contacted the future Hall of Famer about Thomas when Miami was considering trading for him. Thomas’ best seasons, the 2013 and ’14 campaigns, came in Denver with Manning under center (and now-Dolphins head coach Adam Gase at offensive coordinator). Having tossed 24 touchdown passes to Thomas during that two-year span, Manning offered Christiansen a positive review of the tight end, saying “that (Thomas) figured it out. (Thomas’) figure-it-out factor was high. That’s what you look for. There’s a guy who came in and probably didn’t know a whole bunch about football, or played very little. His experience was very minimal, and then (he) came in and figured it out and then worked.”
The Titans are likely to promote Jon Salge to director of college scouting, a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Salge, a college scout who’s in his 11th year with the Titans, would replace the recently fired Blake Beddingfield.
The Giants exit draft weekend without many questions about their defense, but their offense has a few. Mainly, Big Blue’s offensive line may still have some issues, particularly after the blocking prospect the team preferred, Garett Bolles, went just before New York made its first-round selection. The Giants were hoping the Broncos, whose left tackle need is probably bigger than theirs since former first-rounder Ereck Flowers is an option in New York, would bypass Bolles in favor of Ryan Ramczyk or Cam Robinson, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports. Multiple sources told Vacchiano the Giants zeroed in on Bolles at No. 23, but Jerry Reese has not made a first-round draft maneuver — up or down — in his 11 years leading the franchise.
With Vacchiano noting the Giants were not as high on Ramczyk or Robinson, the Giants moved on. They did not select an offensive lineman until the sixth round, though, which is interesting for a team that has concerns — per the New York-embedded reporter — about Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg and newly signed D.J. Fluker entering contract years. Earlier this month, Reese said the positions up front weren’t solidified. So, the statuses of Flowers and Fluker, who played right tackle and right guard with the Chargers, are probably yet to be determined.
Here’s more from the Giants, courtesy of Vacchiano.
Multiple sources refuted talk of the Giants wanting to trade up to No. 10 to select Patrick Mahomes, who went to the Chiefs after they made a 17-spot jump. The Giants would have been willing to consider Mahomes at No. 23, per Vacchiano. But with Eli Manning likely to play out his contract as the team’s starter, and he’s signed through 2019, using a first-rounder on a quarterback may not have made much sense.
LeGarrette Blount was linked to the Giants on multiple occasions earlier this month, but the team’s selection of Clemson running back Wayne Gallman in the fourth round may have closed that avenue for the 30-year-old Blount. The Giants, though, haven’t moved on from the prospect of adding Blount, Vacchiano reports. However, it looks like they are going with a backfield depth chart that houses Gallman, Paul Perkins, Shane Vereen and Shaun Draughn.
The Giants opted to select Evan Engram over David Njoku, doing so despite the Miami product receiving a bit more pre-draft hype, and that pick was viewed by some as a reach. But Vacchiano notes buzz swirled about a team trying to trade up in front of the Giants to select Engram, identifying the Bills and Falcons as interested suitors. The Browns traded back into the first round to take Njoku, so they may have been in on this pursuit as well. Njoku was scheduled to visit the Giants earlier this month, but the team cancelled the meeting.
A jump in front of the Buccaneers or Broncos for the right to take O.J. Howard, whom the Giants “loved,” or Bolles would have cost the team a third-round pick, Vacchiano reports. The Giants stood tight at 23, viewing Engram and third-round pick Davis Webb as a better package than either Howard or Bolles.
Webb’s addition makes Geno Smith‘s place in New York odd, with Vacchiano writing the former Jets starter is almost certain to open camp on the PUP list and is a likely candidate for the Reserve/PUP come the regular season. Smith is recovering from a torn ACL and is signed through 2017 only. Vacchiano views returning backup Josh Johnson as the favorite to beat out Smith for a job. This could end up being a paid rehab year for the fifth-year passer, especially considering Manning hasn’t missed a start since becoming the starting quarterback in 2004.
Reports emerged last night that Bears head coach John Fox was unaware of his club’s intention to draft North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky until a “couple hours” before the draft. GM RyanPace subsequently denied those reports, saying his head coach is involved in all of the team’s decisions.
“That stuff is so false,” Pace said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “There’s consistency in everything we do, so we all work arm-in-arm and that’s the way it is and that’s the way it should be.
“John is involved in every decision deeply. The respect I have for John is enormous, especially his experience and all of the players that he’s been with. I think if you look back — and we talked about this — I think a lot of it was kept secret I thought we did a good job keeping this thing pretty under wraps, it’s so sensitive. But if you go back to the private workouts that we had, I mean John and I — it’s pretty hard to hide him — but we’re traveling to Chapel Hill and having dinners and workouts with Mitch, so he’s been deeply involved from the very beginning.”
Let’s check out some other draft notes from around the NFC…
The Vikings reportedly approached the 49ers about trading for the 104th pick, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). However, San Francisco wanted to guarantee that they’d get Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, so they rebuffed Minnesota’s advances. Ironically, Minnesota was previously in possession of that pick.
The Saints were fans of Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, general manager MickeyLoomis told Larry Holder of NOLA.com (Twitter link). However, with Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimorestill being on the board, New Orleans wasn’t too interested in moving up for the signal-caller. Mahomes was ultimately reelected 10th overall by the Chiefs.
UCLA cornerback Fabian Moreau‘s pectoral muscle is “looking great,” tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. This reassurance probably convinced the Redskins to take the defensive back with the 81st-overall pick.
The Lions selected cornerback Teez Tabor with the 53rd pick, despite the fact he suffered a hamstring injury during his workout with the team. Rapoport tweets that the Florida product didn’t end up working out for any other teams.
Even though the Seahawks have one of the top starting quarterbacks in the NFL in Russell Wilson, they would have strongly considered drafting Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes if he were still on the board for their first-round pick, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Mahomes, who went 10th to Kansas City, was long gone by the time Seattle was on the clock at No. 26. The Seahawks ultimately traded out of the opening round.
More from Seattle and a few other NFL cities as Day 2 of the draft approaches:
Speaking of the Seahawks, the Cowboys had an opportunity to swap picks with them in the first round, per Dallas executive Stephen Jones (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). The Cowboys instead chose to stay at No. 28 because they liked the players remaining on the board, and ended up choosing Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton.
When the 49ers calledReuben Fosterto inform him they were selecting him 31st overall, he was on the phone with the Saints at the time. New Orleans, which picked 32nd, was already welcoming Foster to the organization. But once Foster got word that he was going to San Francisco, he hung up on the Saints (Twitterlinks via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee).
The Texans sent a significant haul to Cleveland to move from No. 25 to No. 12 and select Clemson QBDeshaun Watson, but it appears he’ll begin his pro career as a backup. Head coach Bill O’Brien told reporters, including Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, that Tom Savage will be the Texans’ starting signal-caller next season (Twitter link).
The Raiders were not the team to request a polygraph test from Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley. Instead, it was the Ravens who ordered the test, as Peter King of The MMQB writes. Once the results came in, Conley’s camp forwarded them to teams around the league, but the Raiders would not say whether the results impacted their evaluation of what happened. Conley will meet with Cleveland police on Monday and he’s “very confident that it will be resolved” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Journal Review). First, however, the 24th overall pick is headed to the Raiders’ facility on Friday to meet with team brass.
