While he won the Butkus Award as the country's best linebacker with Clemson last season, Simmons has proven himself to be a versatile defender heading into the NFL draft. He won a championship two seasons ago with the Tigers and during his collegiate career spent time at linebacker, nickel cornerback and safety.
Along with his blistering 40-yard dash time, Simmons posted a 39-inch vertical jump and a 11-foot broad jump at the combine. Both those times nearly led all linebackers, as the vertical came in second and the broad jump in first.
During his final season with Clemson, Simmons was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and recorded 102 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions.
the 4.27 he posted in the 40 on Thursday night. I’ve heard he expected to be a touch faster than that. The silver lining is that he can count this one as a win, regardless of whether or not he reached a goal or broke a record. There was some question about how players would handle the workouts being at night, and some players posted times a little less impressive than some expected. Both Texas’s Devin Duvernay (4.39) and TCU’s Jalen Raegor (4.47) were categorized with Ruggs coming into Indy. Ruggs separated himself once he got here. And now Ruggs stands to benefit, with teams starting to see players of his type a little more favorably, given the impact Tyreek Hill has had the last couple of years.
• Another guy with opportunity here was Oregon QB Justin Herbert. With LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa not throwing in Indy, the door opened for Herbert to make up a little ground. And while he remains a polarizing prospect, he did well with that chance. One QB coach who was in the stadium for the workout texted that Herbert “looked comfortable and relaxed throughout, showed touch and accuracy. Was particularly impressed with his deep balls—great trajectory and made it look easy. Throws a very catchable ball.” The flip side? There are teams that like Utah State’s Jordan Love more, feeling he’s a more natural athlete and thrower.
• Jalen Hurts has helped himself pretty consistently through the first six or so weeks of the draft process, and Thursday night gave him another checked box. I don’t know how high the Oklahoma star will go (Day 2?), but I do know that he’s done plenty to dispel the idea that he isn’t an NFL quarterback, since leaving Alabama after being beat out by Tagovailoa.
• Louisville OT Mekhi Becton checked in at 6' 7" and 364 pounds at weigh-ins, but here’s the really impressive number: I was told his body fat came in at 19% (agent Damarius Bilbo confirmed that for me). Any offensive lineman coming in under 20% is really, really good. Coming in under 20 at 364 pounds is obscene. And Becton has the athleticism to match. And things like this could break ties among the quartet of top tackles (Iowa’s Tristan Wirks, Alabama’s Jedrick Wills and Georgia’s Andrew Thomas are the others).
• As for the drills, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb continues to distinguish himself, and I’ve heard some comps to Texans star DeAndre Hopkins of late. Lamb is in a battle with Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, among others, to be the first receiver taken.
• It’ll be interesting to see how Missouri TE Albert Okwuegbunam’s 40 time (4.49) impacts his stock. Everyone knew he had freakish athleticism. Still, running in the 4.4s as a tight end is beyond impressive. The problem? His production hasn’t always matched his ability, and he has a rep for being a little soft, which will be tough to dispel in the run-up to the draft.
• We tend to downplay the testing (as we should), but at a tightly-contested position group, the numbers can make a difference. Along those lines, keep an eye on the running backs tonight. Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Hellaire are jockeying for position.
• Coaches and scouts haven’t been much enthused by the new schedule. There’s too much downtime, and it’s inefficient in how interviews are spread throughout the day. Agents are worried about their players working out at night, too, after sitting around all day. But news that the ratings have more than doubled over last year, even if the numbers are still very modest, probably means that we aren’t going back. (Or that we’re going to L.A., where the time zone might make the whole scheduling part of this a little easier.)
Sanu struggled late in the 2019 season while dealing with a high ankle injury. In Week 11, the veteran wide receiver appeared to twist his leg on a punt return against the Philadelphia Eagles. He missed the next game before returning in Week 13.
The Patriots acquired Sanu from the Falcons last season ahead of the Oct. 29, 2019, trade deadline to fill their second receiver role. In his second game with the Patriots, Sanu had a strong performance posting 10 receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. However, after suffering his ankle injury, his production dwindled for the rest of the season. In his last five games, Sanu recorded only 12 receptions for 99 yards and zero touchdowns.
New England's receiving corps was not reliable during 2019. Julian Edelman had a team-high 100 catches, and Phillip Dorsett was second with 29. A frustrated Tom Brady was openly critical of the Patriots' offense throughout the season. With Sanu headed to undergo surgery, the team has already taken a hit ahead of the 2020 season.
Arizona's home game will be held at Estadio Azteca. The date, time and opponent have yet to be announced. The Cardinals had to sacrifice a traditional home game in exchange for hosting Super Bowl LVIII in February 2023.
"Two years ago when the NFL awarded Super Bowl LVII to Arizona and State Farm Stadium, we understood the requirement of hosting an international game before 2023," Cardinals chairman and president Michael Bidwill said in a statement. "We are thrilled to learn that this game will take place at Estadio Azteca where we received such an enthusiastic reception in 2005."
"We are extremely grateful for the support we receive from fans in Mexico and look forward to an incredible experience."
Last season, the Chiefs beat the Chargers 24–17 in Mexico City.
Arizona previously played in Estadio Azteca in 2005, defeating the 49ers 31-14 in front of a 103,467 spectators.
The Cardinals finished last in the NFC West in 2019 at 5–10–1. They have not reached the playoffs since 2015.
3. Unbelievable moment in Ottawa last night when forward Bobby Ryan played in his first game since leaving the team three months ago to enter rehab for alcohol addiction. After scoring his third goal of the game, the crowd and his teammates went absolutely bonkers, leading to Ryan becoming overwhelmed with emotion.
Here's Ryan speaking about the special moment after the game.
4. As if NFL prospects don't have to deal with enough BS at the Combine, now they're getting nailed in face with passes.
5. If you're a fan of watching the Dan Patrick Show, you can find it starting Monday on YouTube each day.
6. Sports Illustrated Senior Writer, Tom Verducci, is the guest on the latest episode of the . SI Media Podcast. Verducci explains why Astros batters won't be hitting hit as much as people think, but why this will be a mentally exhausting season for Houston's players. Verducci also explains why MLB's new proposed playoff format is good for the sport and reveals the one thing he'd do to improve the game.
per NFL Research. It was also better than more than a dozen offensive linemen at the 2020 combine and better than all but one tight end who took part in the event on Thursday.
Historically, Turk's total is also greater than what Jadeveon Clowney, Frank Clark and DeMarcus Lawrence recorded during their recent combine appearances.
The Sun Devils punter joined ASU after transferring from Lafayette. Last season he averaged 46.0 yards per punt on 59 punts, which ranked 11th in the FBS and led the Pac-12.
Turk's uncle, Matt, was an NFL punter for 17 seasons with the Texans, Redskins, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets and Rams.
He is near the top of most punter Big Board rankings.
LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss's medical exam at the 2020 NFL combine revealed the tight end had a fracture in his right foot that will require surgery, according to ESPN's Jeff Legwold.
Moss, son of legendary NFL WR Randy Moss, went through the NFL combine's medical examination on Tuesday where doctors discovered he had a fracture to his fifth metatarsal bone. The recovery time for the expected procedure usually lasts between six to eight weeks, meaning Moss should be ready for the start of his rookie season.
Moss started his NCAA career at NC State where he had just six receptions for 49 yards as a freshman in 2016.
He then sat out 2017 due to transfer rules and missed the 2018 season due after needing multiples surgeries to repair a fracture in his left foot. Moss recorded 47 catches for 570 yards and four touchdowns last year. He shined during LSU's national title win over Clemson, hauling in five catches for 36 yards and two scores.
Despite the injury, Moss took part in the measurement portion of the combine. His combine measurable are as followed.
Height: 6'1 7/8''
Weight: 250 lbs.
Hand Size: 9 7/8''
Arm: 31 7/8''
Wingspan 78 2/8''
Per Legwold, Moss was at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday night, but will leave Indianapolis on Friday.
top tight end prospect on SI draft analyst Kevin Hanson’s rankings. The former Golden Domer said he looks up to both Kelce and Gronkowski and tries to model his game after both the former Patriots star and Chiefs All-Pro.
a 17-game season? DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA’s executive director, said Thursday morning that extending the NFL’s regular season by one game was the starting point for negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players.
“That’s a conversation I had with every team, that the league was conditioning an early deal on the 17th game, and that was a part of the package for an early deal,” Smith said, standing outside the NFLPA’s agent seminar at the Scouting Combine.
The 17th game has been central to the CBA talks, particularly since high-profile players and union reps Aaron Rodgers and Richard Sherman have spoken out against the extension of the regular season. In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Rodgers wrote, “16 games to me, was never something to be negotiated.” Both players said they voted no on the proposed deal, which needed a simple majority from player reps to go to a full membership vote.
“Democracy is messy,” Smith said. “I understand that Aaron is passionate, and he expressed his opinion. Other players have come out, and they are passionately expressing their opinion. It’s fine, and I would much prefer than for anybody to think that they didn’t have a voice, that they didn’t have a vote.”
Much of the focus has been on if the players are getting enough in return for the addition of the 17th game—a 1.5% increase in their share of the league’s revenue pot, improved benefits for current and former players, more practice restrictions, roster expansion and more—but it’s notable that the players’ most significant concession was where negotiations began. Smith said he conveyed during his visits to each team last year that this was the table-setter to get a deal done early, thus avoiding a work stoppage and implementing some of the other benefits in working conditions a year early. But in the same breath, he also conceded that a 17th game is something that none of the union’s membership would want.
“I get that,” Smith said, when asked about players who are opposed to 17 games, “and I think that no player would want to play an extra game. That’s why it’s been such a long, tortured process of talking about it.”
The proposal that the approximately 2,000 players will soon vote on—Smith did not give a definitive timetable for when that vote will take place—allows for the season to jump to 17 games no earlier than 2021. The extra game, in addition to two extra playoff contests, is appealing to ownership because of the increased revenue it will generate. But it also runs counter to steps the league and the union have jointly taken to better address the health and safety of current and former players. The preseason would be reduced to three games—and the number of allowed padded practices and joint practices will also be cut significantly—but to the surprise of some around the league, the 17-game season would still include only one bye.
Some in the room in Thursday’s agent meeting felt Smith emphasized the positive aspects of the proposed deal, while not doing enough to acknowledge its limitations. When speaking to the media, Smith emphasized the additional revenue that will go to players—he estimated the total is about $3.5 billion—and said that an important goal for this CBA was to better serve the 60% of players who are employed on minimum-salary contracts. This deal would increase minimum salaries $100,000 in the first year, and NFL Network reported that they would rise past $1 million for all players by 2029. The proposed CBA, which the owners already approved, will pass if more than 50% of players vote yes, and thus this core 60% would have the power to pass the deal. Some agents said they are recommending to their players that they vote yes for this reason.
But despite gains like these, the change to 17 games is a major one that could have short- and long-term effects on player health, as well as the lengths of their careers. Players around the league clearly have differing views on if they got enough in return from the owners. But some of the doubts come from what Smith admitted on Thursday: No player would want a 17-game season, but yet this CBA was negotiated without that major concession ever in doubt.
historic start that Mahomes’s career is off to. But the truth is that the NFL’s committee wasn’t alone back in 2017. And even Kingsbury himself will admit that he may not have seen Mahomes the same way he did seven years ago, when he landed at Tech and first started recruiting the East Texas prep prospect in earnest.
Kingsbury had first been put on to Mahomes by his line coach at A&M, B.J. Armstrong, who was from East Texas originally and used to tell his old staffmate that Mahomes’s dad was the greatest athlete he’d ever seen—and that he had a son who Kingsbury should check out. A year later, in the fall of 2013, Kingsbury had a verbal commitment from Mahomes and went to use his, by rule, one opportunity to watch the kid live.
The Whitehouse High senior torched Carthage for seven touchdowns that night, and Kingsbury and his OC at Texas Tech, Sonny Cumbie, got nervous in those stands, thinking the recruiting radar of the college-football bluebloods might start to go off. “We were freaking out over it,” he said.
Thankfully for Tech, that didn’t happen. Oklahoma State and Rice were the two offers most competitive with Kingsbury’s, and Mahomes signed in February 2014 without incident. And that it played out that way isn’t totally unrelated to the NFL not quite getting it with Mahomes in 2017.
“It didn’t look like traditional quarterback play,” Kingsbury said. “He kind of shuffled back with the ball, he ran around, and just made play after play after play, kind of just doing his own thing. He played in a great system. They spread it out, his high school coach let him do his deal, and had a hell of an offense for him. But I think more than anything, he just didn’t look like your traditional quarterback.”
And at one point, that might’ve bothered Kingsbury. At one point, he might’ve missed what others did. But at this point, after his experience with Manziel, he wasn’t missing on Mahomes, like some would three years later.
***
Mike Smith was a teammate of Kingsbury’s at Tech, and assistant defensive line coach with the Chiefs during Mahomes’s final year at school, and he’d tipped his old buddy off that Andy Reid was watching the quarterback’s tape every week with a young exec named Brett Veach.
“They love this kid,” Smith said.
“Nobody else is on him like that,” Kingsbury responded.
And as the weeks passed, and Mahomes’s last season at Tech came and went, and that grade came back, that really didn’t change. The Chiefs were all over him. Few others were.
“I just think there was a lot of bias at that point—the spread offense, the Air-Raid, Texas Tech, all these things,” Kingsbury said. “He didn’t have a winning record in college because we didn’t play good defense. We led the country in scoring with him at Tech, and in yards, third downs and all these categories. And I just think people couldn’t get past that bias.”
So if it wasn’t the funky mechanics, it was the supposedly non-translatable offense. If it wasn’t the hair-on-fire, outside-of-structure style of play, it was the lack of history of any quarterbacks from Tech, Kingsbury included, making it in the pros.
And what Kingsbury told teams wasn’t enough to overcome all that.
“That was interesting. People that I’ve known in the profession forever, I’d tell them, I’ve been around Tom Brady, I’ve seen it at the highest level, and this kid, he does stuff that nobody has ever done,” said Kingsbury, once a teammate of Brady’s in New England. “Nobody comes close. But I could tell the Chiefs were the ones that kind of got it. I remember talking to Andy, and I just said, ‘Listen, I don’t know much about football, but I know about quarterbacks, and I’ve never seen anything like this.’
“If you’re gonna miss on a first-rounder, this kid has a chance to be all-time.”
There are, of course, lessons in here for NFL teams, and Kingsbury having learned them helped lead him to the quarterback he has in Arizona now. He’d trusted that Murray’s otherworldly playmaking ability would be there in the NFL, like it had been in college. So he advocated for him, and the Cardinals got him last April.
“I just think if you have that ability—and I’ve been very fortunate to be around some of these guys, that extend plays and make plays like nobody else—if they can do that, it may not look the same as being on time and things of that nature,” Kingsbury said. “But if it’s effective, there’s a good chance it’s gonna be effective at the next level.”
Kingsbury saw proof of that when he went to Miami for the Super Bowl, fulfilling a promise to Mahomes to be there with him if the quarterback ever made it that far.
Kingsbury sat in the stands with Mahomes’s high school coach, Adam Cook, nervous for his old quarterback. Cook, Kingsbury said, was considerably calmer—and confident that, even as Mahomes got knocked around by a fierce Niners rush, he’d find a way in the end. We know now, after an electric fourth quarter, that Cook was right.
And that both were right about the kid who took a little bit of a different road to get to the pinnacle of the sport than most of the greats do, getting there quicker than even Kingsbury thought he would.
“I mean, I felt really, really good about him being an All-Pro, a franchise guy, highest-paid quarterback of all-time,” Kingsbury said. “I didn’t know it would happen this quickly. I thought there’d be a little more ball security issues, because he does take chances and he does push the ball down the field. But they did such a good job, Andy’s done such a good job building it around him, that it’s just taken off quicker than anybody would’ve imagined.”
And because it has, especially this week, maybe there are a few more guys who are looking at the quarterback position a little differently than they used to.
***
POWER RANKINGS
The NFL’s tag window opened Thursday. So here are five guys who, in my opinion will be the best to get to the market without being tagged.
1) Tom Brady, QB, Patriots: He can’t be tagged, and he’s the greatest of all-time.
2) Jadeveon Clowney, DE, Seahawks: Clowney can’t be tagged either and it’s rare pass-rushers of his ilk make it to free agency.
3) Amari Cooper, WR, Cowboys: The Cowboys will have to use the tag on Dak Prescott if they can’t get a deal done by March 12, which would give Cooper open road to the market.
4) Byron Jones, CB, Cowboys: He won’t be tagged, and given the leverage Cooper and Prescott have in their negotiations, it’s hard to see Dallas matching what Jones will command out on the market.
5) Jack Conklin, OT, Titans: With the Redskins’ Brandon Scherff likely being tagged, Conklin becomes the best lineman on the market. And while I considered slotting A.J. Green here, linemen that make it to free agency always get paid.
***
THE BIG QUESTION
Will the CBA get done?
We’ve covered thispretty extensively over the last couple weeks. And we’re entering a critical time. The NFLPA will be electing a new president in two weeks, and that creates a real deadline for everyone—because if they get there without a ratified deal, they’ll be picking a new leader with the chance of a 2021 lockout in mind.
At this point, avoiding that, I believe, will be about fence-mending. Certain players are irate over how some of the framework of negotiations from the summer changed over the course of the season. Others aren’t happy that the 17-game schedule has become a fait accompli. I don’t know exactly what’ll fix that, but I do know that trying to hustle a new CBA through won’t do it.
So this is where executive director DeMaurice Smith’s leadership has to come it. Based on what Smith said Thursday, he knows it.
“Why would I ever be in a world where I would look at them voicing that in a negative way?” he told reporters. “I get that Aaron [Rodgers] is passionate and he expressed his opinion, other players have come out and are passionately expressing their opinion, it’s fine. I would much prefer that than for anybody to think they didn’t have a voice.”
The next step, for the union’s senior staff, should be to work on educating all of those guys, as thoroughly as they can, on why the deal they brokered was the right one. And if the players still think it isn’t, then they should vote no.
***
WHAT NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT
That last year’s tag-and-trades involving Frank Clark and Dee Ford could have a serious effect on how teams use the franchise tag over the next two weeks.
In the past, the Seahawks and Chiefs might’ve approached those situations by conceding the price was too high, before letting them go to free agency with hopes that a comp pick would come back a year later. Now? Well, last year proved that teams are more willing to fork over a pick or picks and a massive contract to get a difference-maker. What’s more, it worked. Both the Chiefs (who dealt for Clark) and Niners (who got Ford) made it to the Super Bowl.
That’s why, outside of Clowney, I think there’s a chance every other high-end pass-rusher on an expiring deal—Matthew Judon, Shaq Barrett, Arik Armstead and Yannick Ngaukoe—gets tagged over the next two weeks. And why I think that will not mean that those guys are off the market altogether for other teams.
***
THE FINAL WORD
The NFL really needs to keep the combine in Indianapolis. This is the best place for it.
unlikely to return to the Patriots in 2020, fueling what could be one of the more explosive bidding wars in recent memory. The Raiders and Chargers are among the potential suitors for Brady, and a mystery team could certainly emerge over the next month.
But the Brady saga is far from the only storyline surrounding free agency. With less than a month before free agency, catch up on more NFL rumors below:
• The Colts "appear to make the most sense," as a landing spot for former Chargers QB Philip Rivers. (Ian Rapoport, NFL Network)
• Dallas is expected to bring back LB Sean Lee in 2020. (Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News)
• New England will look to bring back veteran safety Devin McCourty. (Karen Guregian, Boston Herald)
• There is "no timeline" on a potential extension for Rams CB Jalen Ramsey. (Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times)
• Florida WR Van Jefferson has fractured his right foot and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. (Adam Schefter, ESPN)
On Thursday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Brady is "operating under the belief that he will enter free agency." The 42-year-old may be the NFL's oldest quarterback, but he appears to be a coveted commodity if he enters the free-agent market.
Brady can sign with another team when the new league year opens March 18, and he can begin negotiations with teams two days prior. Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick have yet to schedule a meeting, although it is expected to happen. Belichick and Brady have won six Super Bowls together over 20 seasons.
Las Vegas predicts Brady will play with the Patriots again in 2020, per FanDuel Sportsbook. However, the recent rumors have dropped New England's odds from -400 to -180.
"I definitely think I'm the best player in the draft,'' Young told reporters at the scouting combine on Thursday. "I think I showed on my tape, you can look at every game, I think I showed [it]. I think I put my best foot forward this year. ... I think I bring a lot to the table, the whole package as a defensive end.''
Young led the country with 16.5 sacks last season despite missing two games due to suspension.
The 2019 Chuck Bednarik Award winner for best defensive player in college football didn't bring down the quarterback in his final three games, against No. 13 Michigan, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 3 Clemson. Young dismissed that fact on Thursday.
"I'm not really tripping on numbers I could have put up,'' Young told reporters. "I put up some pretty good numbers so far. I led the nation in sacks missing two games. What I did was enough.
"If you know football, you would see that. You would see who they changed their whole offensive game plan for one guy, but you know a lot of people may not really know how to study the tape, they may not know how to watch football, but if you know, you know. Being the best defensive end is not about sacks, it's about being the most destructive player on the field. You can do that without sacks.''
The Redskins, Lions and the Giants hold the No. 2, 3 and 4 overall picks in the draft, respectively.
Top players like Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Titans running back Derrick Henry and Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones are among the top players expected to be tagged.
Keep up with the latest franchise tag news and rumors around the NFL:
The Chiefs will tag star DT Chris Jones. The team sees Jones in its long-term plans and hopes to reach a deal with him. (Ian Rapoport, NFL Network)
This post will be updated when more information is available.
Bartch then combined all the ingredients in a blender and choked down his improvised protein shake.
“I would just throw it all in and then plug my nose,” Bartch said. “In the dark. I would gag sometimes. That’s what you have to do sometimes.”
Without access to the nutritionists big-time programs have, Bartch resorted to using the internet to figure out how he could gain weight quickly and safely.
“I just kind of researched online for the most clean and healthy ingredients for putting on good mass,” Bartch said. “That summer I went from 250 (pounds) to 275, and then after that I went from 275 to 305.”
Did any of that research say you had to blend everything together, though? A breakfast of scrambled eggs with grits, cottage cheese and a peanut butter-banana sandwich on the side, washed down with Gatorade sounds decent enough. Putting it all together in one protein-packed slurry just sounds like a nightmare. It must have looked as disgusting as it tasted, especially if he used a brightly dyed Gatorade flavor like fruit punch or orange.
As horrifying as it may have been, forcing himself to consume the concoction has propelled Bartch to a likely spot in the NFL. Once he’s in the pros, he’ll have a whole team of nutrition advisors who can help him maintain a healthy weight without drinking things that make him want to barf.
What an upset!
The Hartford women’s basketball team entered Wednesday’s season finale winless (0–28, 0–15 in America East play). Picking up their first victory of the season in their last shot would be a tough task for the Hawks, who were playing the best team in their conference, Stony Brook (25–2, 13–1 in-conference).
But Hartford pulled off the massive upset, 70–67, and avoided becoming the only team in Division I (men’s or women’s) to go winless this season.
It was first-year Hartford head coach Morgan Valley’s first career victory and her old coach Geno Auriemma was thrilled to hear about it.
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
The current proposal eliminates game suspensions strictly for positive marijuana tests, narrows the testing window from four months to two weeks before the start of training camp, reduces the number of players tested and increases the nanogram limit from 35 to 150.
These changes represent a huge win for players who want to use marijuana for treating injuries and anxiety. The NFL’s potential relaxing of the policy still pales in comparison to other professional sports leagues. While the NBA has a similar substance abuse program, MLB announced in December that it will remove marijuana from its list of banned substances. The NHL started the movement of decriminalizing marijuana use in professional sports, and instead recommends treatment for “abnormally high levels” of THC.
As the CBA takes shape here in Indianapolis, the changes to the drug policy raise an important question: How will the lesser punishments and loosened-up rules affect the way teams evaluate prospects and free agents who have a marijuana red flag in their past?
Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, who will likely be a first-round pick, was charged for marijuana possession in December. The charges were ultimately dropped, but Love is the exact prospect, with just one documented instance of marijuana use, who may benefit from the change in policy, and a shift in attitudes toward use of the drug.
In polling general managers and head coaches during their podium sessions, and floating the question to scouts and agents, many said that they didn’t think the changes to the policy would change their evaluation process much at all.
“Don’t think how we scout these guys will change,” said one scout. “It’s already a pretty relaxed policy on infrequent users and guys with infrequent failed tests.”
“I don’t think teams have cared about that for the last 10 years,” said one veteran NFL agent.
“I think it has been less of a big deal for a while, in my opinion,” said another scout.
But one team executive says he can already see a noticeable change in how his organization would weigh a marijuana incident. In a recent meeting about free agents, a player with a marijuana suspension wasn’t docked in the same way that he would have been in previous years. “In the past you were going to knock them down a round or in some cases, take them off the board completely. I think it will barely be mentioned now.”
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians admitted to some change in his thinking. “Yes and no,” he said, when asked if the policy change would affect his evaluation process. “I think it is still an individual thing. That guy has to prove to me it is not a problem and it’s not going to be a problem. That has always been a part of it, the relaxation of the rule is not a problem.”
One scout pointed out that while the weight of a marijuana “red flag” now might come with fewer tangible consequences, like dropping a round or two, it all depends on the context of the failed test. If a prospect tested positive at the combine, that would still be taken seriously because players know in advance they will be drug tested at the combine.
And even though the proposed policy is more lenient, a player with multiple positive tests and an established pattern of behavior will always be a concern for teams.
“It’s no different in some ways than alcohol,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. “If guys abuse it and it’s a problem, it’s a problem for us. And if they don’t, they don’t.”
One scout said, “Even with a relaxed policy, guys like Martavis [Bryant], Josh Gordon, Randy Gregory are going to miss games because they have true substance abuse issues that may stem from deep-rooted issues. For all others with infrequent positive tests, I don’t believe anything really changes.”
Because this CBA has not yet passed, it might be too early to say how this will affect the way teams value prospects and free agents with a marijuana suspension in their history. Even so, most team personnel I spoke with expressed support for the changes in the drug policy.
“That is something that needs our discussion and needs our time and is important to the players,” said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. “So we shouldn’t put a deaf ear onto that. So I am glad that people are looking into it and finding the benefits of how it could be.”
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to charges from the 2018 beating of his girlfriend.
Boykin and prosecutors agreed to the sentence in return for his guilty plea Wednesday to aggravated assault and witness tampering charges. Boykin's attorney said his client will be eligible for parole in less than a year.
Boykin had been in the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth since December after he ducked paying for a hotel room in nearby Arlington.
Shabrika Bailey alleged that Boykin broke her jaw in two places in the March 2018 beating. The Seahawks cut Boykin in the wake of the allegation.
Boykin, a West Mesquite High School graduate who played for the TCU Horned Frogs in 2012-15, was the 2014 Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and set team career records in career passing yards (10,728), passing attempts (1,356), pass completions (830) and touchdown passes (86). He also set single-season team records in 2014 for passing yards (3,901), touchdown passes (33), touchdowns responsible for (42) and total offense (4,608), and set a single-game team record with seven touchdown passes in a 2014 game that TCU won over Texas Tech, 82-27.
With the Seahawks, Boykin played in five games in 2016, completing 13 of 18 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown and one interception. He spent 2017 on the Seahawks practice squad.
He had been in trouble with the law since 2015, however, when he had a barroom brawl in San Antonio two days before the Frogs were to meet the Alamo Ducks in the 2016 Alamo Bowl. He was suspended for the game, then pleaded no contest to a resisting-arrest count and got a year's deferred adjudication probation. in June 2016.
In March 2017, he was arrested on public intoxication and misdemeanor marijuana possession charges after a car in which he was a passenger struck a tavern, hitting seven people on the sidewalk.
The AAFC merged with the NFL following Taliaferro's rookie season in 1949—folding the Dons in the process. He joined the NFL's New York Yanks shortly afterward.
NFL executives continued to be racist once Taliaferro actually entered the league.
The Washington Redskins owner at the time, George Preston Marshall—who disallowed his team from having African-American players for decades—once yelled toward Taliaferro that "N----- should never be allowed to do anything but push wheelbarrows," according to the book Race and Football in America: The Life and Legacy of George Taliaferro.
Taliaferro said in that book that, in response, he bowled over his Redskins opponents, scoring three touchdowns in the process.
“The thing I liked most about football was hitting people,” he said in an interview for a documentary film, George Taliaferro: Hoosier Legend. “It allowed me to vent my frustrations with being discriminated against in the United States.”
Through it all, Taliaferro made three All-Pro teams and set the table for thousands of African-American players after him.
In his later years, Taliaferro accomplished plenty of achievements in the realm of education and social justice. He received a master's degree in social work from Howard University. He founded a branch of the Big Brothers Big Sisters foundation, which aims to help children in underprivileged communities gain guidance and mentorship. He also returned to Indiana University to become an affirmative action coordinator while serving as a special assistant to the president of the school. He became dean of students at Morgan State University.
Taliaferro died at the age of 91 in 2018.
His legacy lives on through his commitment to breaking barriers—both on and off the field.
Sports Illustrated mock draft projects six wide receivers to get selected in the first round: Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, Colorado’s Laviska Shenault Jr., Clemson’s Tee Higgins and Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk.
When it comes to style of play and skill set no two NFL receivers have all the same technique. So it should come as no surprise to learn the incoming rookie wide receivers don’t just model their game after one pass-catcher, but instead take a few qualities from today’s NFL star playmakers.
The widest range of desired ability came from Shenault Jr. The Colorado standout says he admires the aggressiveness of Jarvis Landry, the focus of Larry Fitzgerald and the freakish athletic ability of Julio Jones. Shenault was just 6 years old when Fitzgerald was drafted in 2004. When it comes to making plays, the 21-year-old says he’s like Fitzgerald in that he too is “about business” when he gets on the field. University of Central Florida’s Gabriel Davis also tries to model his game after Fitzgerald. Davis said he’s looked up to the long-time Cardinal since he was 9. In addition to Fitzgerald’s on-the-field skills, Davis cited the future Pro Football Hall of Famer’s composure and “stay out of trouble” mentality as a great characteristic to embrace.
Fitzgerald and Jones were both popular answers when we asked the soon-to-be rookie receivers who they emulate. Michael Thomas, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green were other common answers.
on the verge of another decade of labor peace, I can’t get that out of my head, and my reasoning is simple. Over the last couple weeks, we’ve discussed everything from the revenue split to pensions to how individual contracts will work under a reformatted NFL schedule, and the main thing is still the main thing.
My belief is the reason why opposition against the current CBA proposal has persisted lies therein. It’s the 17th game. Period. End of story.
It’s been clear from the start that players are leery about the idea of extending their season—creating another set of car crashes in a system that already called for 16 of them. And a lot of them knew that the owners’ strong desire to do that, in addition to their concern over further delaying the broadcast negotiation, created leverage.
So some players wanted the union to push for more, in just about every category.
You want 17 games? Fine. Then it’s on our terms.
And they did get more in some areas. The money in this deal is good, and if the goal is, “Let’s keep getting rich!” then the deal the union’s done is totally fine. But if you were looking for a game-changer, then this really isn’t that.
The franchise tag system is the same, as is the vesting schedule. There were tweaks to rookie contracts and the funding rule, but problems with those (team control over players for six or seven years, a crutch to use in not guaranteeing contracts) aren’t going away. And specific to the issue of 17 games, there are problems. The max number of padded practices in training camp was cut from 28 to 16, but offseason and in-season rules didn’t change.
All of that’s to say, this can positioned as a good deal, but not a great one. And given the circumstances, some players wanted to shoot for the moon—and they’re going to let that be known right up until the final vote is taken, some time in the next couple weeks.
Will it be enough to stop a deal? Probably not. But it will make for some interesting discussion, at the very least.
On to your mail…
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MAIL TIME
From Gambling Avengers (@GamblingAvenge1): As part of the push for 17 games, has the league considered a second bye? Or the second bye before the Thursday games? Would seem to alleviate some of the safety concerns.
Gambling, my understanding is that the NFL and NFLPA have been working on the premise that it’ll be 17 games over 18 weeks, with each team getting one bye. Two byes made some sense to me throughout this, for health-and-safety reasons, and even the opportunity to move the Super Bowl to President’s Day Weekend. But I don’t think it’s happening because of, you guessed it, television.
The TV networks, and particularly the ones bidding on the Sunday afternoon slots, don’t want to the schedule stretched any more than it already has been. You already have three primetime windows pulling games away, and adding a second bye week to every team’s schedule will only make it more difficult to ensure solid early and late afternoon window lineups on a week-to-week basis. Which is why it’ll by 17 games over 18 weeks.
Arod, I don’t know. It’s a good question. Right now, only Gurley’s $7.55 million roster bonus is guaranteed, and $2.55 million of that can be offset (meaning if a team signed him for, say, $3 million, the Rams would only be responsible for paying him $5 million). Could the Rams swallow that? Sure. But is it worth doing that rather than just carrying him for $13.05 million in cash, or a number negotiated closer to his guarantee? Maybe.
My belief is the Rams don’t have a firm decision on this one yet. Sean McVay said himself on Tuesday that the team is still “working through” that call. Where the team stands on rising sophomore Darrell Henderson, you’d think, would play into that. Henderson, on paper, is an awfully good fit for McVay’s offense. But he didn’t produce much in his first year in it.
From Andre (@AndreCheezus): Why aren’t the Cardinals considering giving
@DavidJohnson31 30 WR snaps a game and 5-7 RB snaps
Andre, based on David Johnson’s contract situation, it makes sense for Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals to do all they can to get the most out of their 28-year-old tailback—and he’s proven versatile enough to play at those receiver spots. But I’m not sure whether that happens really boils down to Johnson’s ability to do it.
To me, this is more about whether or not the Cardinals sign Kenyan Drake to a new deal. Drake rushed for 643 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games after being traded to Arizona, and if the Cardinals bring him back, at the price it’ll cost, he’s back as starter. And if that’s how it is, Kingsbury and Co. will have to creatively find ways to incorporate Johnson, and get the most out of the eight-figure investment they’ve made in him.
From Eric Thomas (@airickthomas): Any chance lions take Tua?
From Josh Polley (@JdayneP): Okudah, Brown, or Simmons? Which is the best fit for the #Lions?
Let’s combine these two questions. No, I don’t think the Lions are taking Tua Tagovailoa. And I know some speculation in league circles over this relates back to the team kicking the tires on some quarterbacks before the 2019 draft (Daniel Jones was one). But I believe the Lions now in their stated commitment to Matthew Stafford for 2020, and that’s because of what the powers-that-be think of him, and the financial commitment already made.
As for the second question, I actually think all four of those guys would be in play. Auburn DT Derrick Brown is probably the best prospect of the three—and a bit closer to Chase Young as a player than you might think. Jeff Okudah, a blue-chip corner, would fit a need the best for the Lions. And Isaiah Simmons, as versatile a linebacker as you’ll see, is intriguing in that he looks made to play in Matt Patricia’s Patriot-like scheme.
Then, there’s what neither of you guys mentioned: If Tagovailoa’s draft stock gets hotter, the value of the Lions’ pick goes through the roof. And with quarterback-hungry teams like the Dolphins and Chargers within the first six picks, they may not even need to drop too far to capitalize.
From mm (@meek858): What whispers are you hearing at the combine regarding how the Chargers plan to address their QB position? Surely they cannot go into Sofi Stadium with Tyrod Taylor as their starter…
MM, I am anticipating that the Chargers make a run at Tom Brady, but for it to be viable, I think a couple things need to happen. One, new offensive coordinator Shane Steichen will have to adjust his offense to look more like what Brady’s been running in New England—which I think he would be capable of. Then, they’d need to convince Brady they’ll fix their offensive line (signing Patriot free-agent Joe Thuney wouldn’t be a bad step). And after that, I think they have to show they’ll align with his family and business needs.
Maybe all that comes together. Maybe it doesn’t.
If the Chargers don’t land Brady, then I think the most likely scenario is that Anthony Lynn and Co. move forward with Tyrod Taylor as a bridge starter, and they look very hard at the top quarterbacks in the draft class. Since they’re picking sixth, there’s no guarantee that one they like winds up falling to them. And with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields expected to come out next year, I’d think waiting might be an option too.
That’d be tough from a business standpoint, of course, given the Chargers’ situation and the massive stadium they’ll be trying to fill. But it would make some football sense.
From Max S. (@MxGraffiti): How do you think the NFL feels about the early XFL success?
NFL teams have absolutely quietly kept an eye on the XFL. And first and foremost, that’s because there’s talent three. Football has long needed another developmental league (in addition to Canada), and for the second straight year, they have one in the spring. That’s a good thing for teams and players on the fringe, no doubt about it. That said, I don’t think the NFL is lining up to help fund this sort of operation—just look how they shuttered NFL Europe when it wasn’t making money—without financial gains that’ll be tough to attain.
Where I do think they’ll pull from the league is with the rules. I personally think the PAT system is too gimmicky for the NFL. But the kickoff innovation should be adopted yesterday. There are lot of coaches that have been, for a variety of reasons, sensitive over what’s looked like the slow death of the kickoff in the pros. It feels like this is the NFL’s chance to pump life into one of football’s most exciting plays and reverse that trend.
I wouldn’t be surprised if, at the very least, the league experiments with it in the preseason. And I wouldn’t mind them just putting the rule in, on maybe a trial basis.
From John Worrall (@john_worrall): What can the Redskins expect as an offer to move to the number 2 pick? Not that they should necessarily accept the offer, but what's the acceptable ballpark?
Let’s start here: The Redskins should take Chase Young second overall. Bringing aboard the freakish edge rusher has a chance to unlock the Washington defensive front the same way Nick Bosa kicked the 49ers front into overdrive last year. Like San Francisco did before taking Bosa, the Redskins have a plethora of former first-rounders on their D-line (Da’Ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat and Ryan Kerrigan), who could have their collective dynamic changed with the addition of a special talent.
But if I’m going to play your game, I’d say I’d be looking for a haul from either the Dolphins or Chargers, at 5 or 6, approximating what the Redskins themselves gave up to go get Robert Griffin III in 2012. Washington gave up the sixth pick that year, a 2012 second-round pick, and first-rounders in 2013 and ’14 to jump four spots.
In this case, like that one, the team coming up would be coming up for a quarterback. The difference here is in 2012, when the Rams dealt down, they weren’t walking away from a prospect like Young (Trent Richardson went third and Matt Kalil fourth that year).
From Stephen G (@Stephen26497576): Before knowing what happens at the combine, which players do you think have the most on the line as far as draft position based on their combine performance?
Tagovailoa’s the obvious one—how team doctors see his medicals will be important. There are guys presumed to be really fast, like Alabama WR Henry Ruggs, who will have to run really fast in Indy to validate their superhero reputations. There are others, like Colorado WR Laviska Shenault, who have been great players that are presumed to be slow, that could be really helped by a good 40 time.
The interviews will be really important for Washington QB Jacob Eason, who will have to answer questions surrounding his maturity that stem back to his time at Georgia. Utah State QB Jordan Love’s time on the board, to show how much football he knows, will be watched, and his explanation for a late-season arrest will be scrutinized by teams trying to figure out whether to roll the dice with another enticing talent.
And the overall workout will be big for Louisville’s mammoth tackle, Mekhi Becton, to show what kind of shape he’s in and how he carries his weight. So there are a few.
From Back2Beantown (@Back2Beantown): Where do you see Tom Brady signing?
Back2, I feel like I have a different opinion every day. Today? Give me 40 percent New England, 40 percent Tennessee, and 20 percent for the field. And I don’t think Brady knows quite yet what he’s going to do, which is why, in my opinion, it’s so important that he and Bill Belichick sit down.
Here’s what I know: Tom Brady is amenable to returning to Foxboro under the right terms. Bill Belichick is amenable to having Tom Brady back in Foxboro under the right terms. And now, it’s up to them to figure out whether those terms can mesh. That doesn’t mean the rest isn’t relevant—there’d still be a contract to work out—but getting there, I think, would make a huge difference.
It’s also possible that the Patriots decide to rip the Band-Aid off, disband an aging defense, start to build assets up and get a young quarterback they really like, in Jarrett Stidham, into a competition for a starting job, in which case bringing Brady back would make a lot less sense for everyone. In that case, I think playing for his good buddy Mike Vrabel—who could sell Brady on sticking it to Belichick together—seems more likely.
We’ll see. All I know is March 18 can’t get here fast enough.
From Ian Fitzsimmons (@Ianfitzespn): Best and worst press box food spread in the @nfl in your opinion is?
My buddy Fitz asked me this on ESPN Radio the other night. So if you already heard my answer, you can disregard this one. But here goes…
1) Dallas: The food’s fantastic, the dining area’s spacious, and the beer taps go on in the fourth quarter. Jerry Jones wanted AT&T Stadium to be palatial in every regard, and it definitely is in that press box.
2) Philadelphia: Usually good variety, an area for snacks and drinks, and a carving station adds up to an edgy press corps getting fat and happy. Or at least, the Eagles give themselves a better shot at that result.
3) Pittsburgh: Like the team on the other side of Pennsylvania, they’ve got a carving station next to a loaded buffet line, which goes a long way on this list.
4) Seattle: Food’s generally good, and there’s a Starbucks in the press box.
And I told Fitz this the other night: I’m not ranking the worst. Mostly because that would be complaining about free food, which seems like a bad idea.
