1. [Cowboys TE James] Hanna (knee) is not expected to return to team activities until training camp, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.
Hanna underwent a second surgery in November to repair a knee injury he sustained last summer. The team does not anticipate him participating in any organized team activities until training camp commences. Barring any setbacks, he appears to be on track to be healthy prior to the 2017 season kicking off.
2. James Hanna, coming off a serious bone bruise in his knee, will have a hard time making a case for the 53. Swaim is just as good as a blocker and was starting to become a receiving threat before his injury sidelined him last year, taking Hanna’s position for TE2. The coaching staff is high on Gathers as an offensive weapon and he improves his blocking this year, making Hanna becomes fully expendable.
3. [Cowboys DE] Charles Tapper, last season’s red-shirt linemen, looked great in limited action last offseason so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Tapper could play either side as well. Frankly, with so little seen of him, we just have no idea what to expect from the 2016 fourth round pick.
4. Charles Tapper is another Jaylon Smith story. Got a redshirt year his rookie season and appears to be healthy and has slimmed down a bit to get ready to play the right defensive end spot. He’ll have to get back into game shape, but could be an enormous addition to the defensive line rotation.
5. Sterling Shepard broke on the scene as a rookie last season with the Giants and quickly became the team’s No. 2 receiver. He finished the year with 65 catches for 683 yards and eight touchdowns. While he was plagued by the occasional drop, Shepard gave the team some speed. Now, with Marshall and Engram, it is likely Shepard’s numbers will drop.
The Giants wanted more options on offense and now can go with a four-wide set, and all four would be a viable option. The good thing for the Giants is that Shepard is returning to a position he is familiar with – slot. While at Oklahoma, Shepard played mainly slot. Also, with him being in his second year, Shepard will be more comfortable with everything, including how defenses are trying to play him.
While the Giants did play the majority of their snaps in three wide-receiver sets, the additional talent may affect Shepard’s numbers the most this season. Being able to learn from a veteran like Marshall, however, should help Shepard’s play in the long run.
6. It's been written plenty of times before, but it bears repeating: When Lane Johnson was in the lineup last season, the Eagles went 5-1. When he wasn’t, they went 2-8. There was a variety of reasons for this disparity, and let’s not forget that the Cowboys sat many of their starters in the season finale. But Johnson helped make the offense better -- that is without dispute. The numbers back it up. The Eagles scored 27.1 points per game, averaged 5.4 yards per play and allowed only 1.5 sacks per game when Johnson played. They scored 20.1 points, averaged 4.8 yards per play and allowed 2.4 sacks when he was suspended.
7. The Eagles officially signed running back LeGarrette Blount to a one-year contract Thursday morning.
That meant someone had to go.
To make room for Blount on the 90-man roster, the Eagles waived undrafted defensive tackle Charles Walker with an injury designation (knee).
Walker said he already had surgery and will be back on the field in six to eight weeks, in time for training camp.
Walker, from Oklahoma, was once thought to be a possible first-round pick but ended up going undrafted in this year's draft. He had multiple concussions in college and left his team midway through his 2016 season. Then, Walker revealed about a month before the draft, that he has been dealing with depression.
Walker participated in the team's rookie minicamp last weekend, but won't get to see OTAs, when they start May 23. When a player is waived/injured, they must pass through waivers, then revert to IR or reach an injury settlement with the team.
8. Redskins All-Pro Trent Williams has jersey retired at alma mater's spring game
By: Tim Whelan Jr., USA TODAY High School Sports May 18, 2017
Trent Williams has walked through the tunnels of some of the most famed football stadiums in the country.
On Tuesday, he returned to his football roots as he walked the Lobo Stadium tunnel at his alma mater of Longview (Texas).
The former All-American at the University of Oklahoma and five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins was back home in Texas to have his high school No. 71 retired. The school held the ceremony for the 2006 Longview graduate in conjunction with the football team’s Green-White Game.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Williams said, according to ET Varsity. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine getting my jersey retired, especially at a high school like this that’s rich in tradition in football.
“To know that I’ve done enough in my career, and I feel like I’ve got a lot left to do, to have my jersey retired, it’s a blessing.”
Aside from his status as one of the best linemen in all of football, Williams has gained a positive reputation in his hometown for his charity. In 2015, he donated $25,000 for EKG screening for Longview ISD athletes. He has also donated a new locker room, new shoes for elementary students and Christmas gifts for the needy.
In return, the football program retired just its second jersey, joining former NFL cornerback Bobby Taylor (#24 at Longview) as the only alums to receive the honor.
“He has never forgotten where he was born and raised from the very beginning,” Longview head coach John King, who first coached Williams as a position coach when Williams was a freshman, told ET Varsity. “From how he announces himself on Monday Night Football, to the money he’s given our football program, our athletic program, our high school, the at-risk kids throughout the district and in this community, he’s never forgotten home.
“He’s done a lot of things that haven’t gotten recognition. Just a tremendous person and that’s exactly why we’re honoring him.” [OUB: Wonder if Finebaum will mention this?]
9. Free agency brought Terrell McClain over [to Redskins] from the Cowboys, but more notably, the quietly effective Stacy McGee left the Raiders to head East and play nose tackle. While McGee has struggled to stay healthy as a pro, he has been an impact run-defender and beat the far more expensive Dan Williams for a job in Oakland last year.
10. The Jacksonville Jaguars used the fourth overall pick in this year's draft to select LSU's Leonard Fournette, yet he's not the rookie running back generating the most buzz at the onset of his professional career. The Washington Redskins' Samaje Perine is.
"You see him out there running around—were you impressed?" Washington head coach Jay Gruden asked after Saturday's practice, per the Washington Times' Nora Princiotti. "Yeah, so was I. I like guys who come in here and love football, and he does. ... You can tell that he's going to be a very hard worker and, of course, he runs hard."
Washington traded up in the fourth round to acquire the 235-pound back. Perine is already projected as the team's starter, per ESPN.com's John Keim. Such projections make sense on a couple of levels.
First, Perine is a talented runner. During his collegiate career, the Oklahoma product ran for 4,122 yards, including the FBS single-game record with 427 yards against Kansas in 2014.
The 21-year-old runner split carries with Joe Mixon as part of the Sooners backfield, and he'll continue to do so with the Washington backs. But Robert Kelley and Matt Jones aren't as talented as Mixon. The franchise attempted to trade Jones during the draft, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Kelley, on the other hand, isn't an explosive back, and he struggles to make an impact in the red zone.
A clear path exists for Perine to become the Washington's top back.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars organization won't guarantee Fournette a starting spot, despite its recent investment in the running back.
"Obviously he's shown that ability [to be a workhorse], but at the same sense, when you have the team, the one thing about a team is you have to earn that," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said, per ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco. "So he's going to have to go and show that he has to do that."
Certain expectations involve the draft's top back, but there is always another who surprises after being a mid- to late-round selection. Fournette and Perine should both be lead backs early in their careers.
11. Minnesota Vikings: Sam Bradford set up for best year of his career in 2017
Caleb Ikerd May 16, 2017
The Minnesota Vikings are not a franchise known for their consistent quarterback play. But the past few years have shown promise, as Teddy Bridgewater was drafted in 2014 to turn around the team’s quarterback issues. While he showed a lot of talent, his devastating knee injury set back his career by at least two seasons. In order to replace him, the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford in a deal that could pay off in a big way in 2017.
Since coming into the league in 2010, Bradford has had a tough time living up to his billing as a first overall draft pick. He had a promising rookie season, but injuries have kept him from reaching his full potential. Still, he has shown in his past two seasons that he can be trusted to stay healthy and may be finally ready to show the league why he won a Heisman Trophy and was the first man selected seven years ago.
Bradford took a beating as the Vikings’ quarterback in 2016, but he remained healthy and achieved the record for best completion percentage in a season in NFL history. His performance last season helped to ease the minds of Vikings fans and showed the team may have made the right choice in trading for him. Now, in 2017, he receives his best chance to reach his full potential.
There are key offensive pieces already in place to help Bradford succeed. Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph lead the corps of pass-catchers. These players all appeal to Bradford’s skill set of quick, short-to-intermediate passes.
This offseason has led the Vikings to improve on the major holes they had on the offense. Their offensive line was the main source of the team’s inability to sustain success in 2016. Injuries and inconsistency forced major struggles in the run game and caused Bradford to get the ball out almost instantly after the snap. Now, with the addition of players like Mike Remmers and Pat Elflein, the Vikings appear to have a unit that can help Bradford stay upright and improve the rushing attack.
With the addition of Latavius Murray through free agency and Dalvin Cook through the draft, the Vikings now have a solid duo of running backs that can support Bradford. The team also recently added Michael Floyd to help add depth to the receiving unit, so there is no shortage of pass-catchers for Bradford to utilize.
On top of the influx of talent the Vikings have received, Bradford now gets an entire offseason to continue working with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and the rest of the offense to make him even more comfortable in the system. Bradford has not had the luxury of working with the same coordinators for an extended period of time, so this is a big advantage for him.
While Bradford is receiving his best chance to succeed in 2017, that also means it may be his final opportunity to show he deserves to be in the league. He has yet to break through into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, so he must take full advantage of what he has around him. 2017 is primed to be the year Bradford finally solidifies himself as a top-tier quarterback and to get the Vikings into true contention.
It is clear that Bradford has major talent, so it is now up to him to use that to prove the Vikings made a good decision by trading for him.
12. Sam Bradford's Timing Is Impeccable, And It Has Made Him A Ton Of Money
By Joey Held on May 15, 2017
For the players, NFL contracts are among the worst in professional sports. Upon entering the league, they're signed to fixed-rate contracts that can't be negotiated for three years. At most, they may get one or two shots at actually having leverage for a deal – if they're lucky.
However, there's one man who's somehow risen above all of the mess that surrounds NFL contracts. His name? Sam Bradford. Through an incredible combination of timing and luck, as well as a bit of skill, he's earned $114 million over eight seasons.
Bradford was the top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. That timing was terrific, as it was the last year of the old collective bargaining agreement. Rookies weren't locked into a pay scale then, so Bradford was able to sign for $50 million guaranteed with the Rams. The following season's number one overall pick, Cam Newton, only made $22 million guaranteed from the Panthers. To this day, the top overall pick in the draft gets less than $30 million guaranteed.
Bradford had a less than stellar career with the Rams – he never completed more than 61 percent of his passes in a season and missed 31 games due to injury over five seasons. In 2015, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Rams, wanted Bradford to take a pay cut. He refused, so they traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles for fellow quarterback Nick Foles and a second-round pick. In five years with the Rams, Bradford made $65 million.
At the time, Bradford had limited options. He could have either taken a pay cut to stay with the Rams, go to the Browns (who have had a rotating cast of characters at QB the past two decades), or be traded to the Eagles and learn from a coach who just led Foles to an incredible season. It should have been easy for the Eagles to offer him a modest deal to get him to stick around.
Instead, they didn't request an extension after trading for Bradford, so the quarterback and his agent, Tom Condon, were able to leverage a new deal to the tune of $18 million fully guaranteed in 2016, plus another $4 million guaranteed (and $18 million total) in 2017. In total, Bradford earned $24 million from the Eagles, even though the team gave up plenty of assets to draft his eventual replacement in Carson Wentz.
Last August, Bradford once again lucked out, albeit at the misfortune of someone else. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the entire season. That led to the Vikings trading for Bradford, giving up a first-round pick while absorbing Bradford's $7 million salary for last season and $18 million for this upcoming one. Bradford had already received an $11 million bonus from the Eagles.
Though he did have his best statistical season of his career in Minnesota, the team still didn't make the playoffs. Bradford has already made $25 million from the Vikings. And now, with Bridgewater's injury still murking the picture, Bradford is once again going to have the opportunity to earn a big contract.
Bradford has never made a Pro Bowl, yet he's made an average of $14.25 million per season. Not too shabby.
Hanna underwent a second surgery in November to repair a knee injury he sustained last summer. The team does not anticipate him participating in any organized team activities until training camp commences. Barring any setbacks, he appears to be on track to be healthy prior to the 2017 season kicking off.
2. James Hanna, coming off a serious bone bruise in his knee, will have a hard time making a case for the 53. Swaim is just as good as a blocker and was starting to become a receiving threat before his injury sidelined him last year, taking Hanna’s position for TE2. The coaching staff is high on Gathers as an offensive weapon and he improves his blocking this year, making Hanna becomes fully expendable.
3. [Cowboys DE] Charles Tapper, last season’s red-shirt linemen, looked great in limited action last offseason so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Tapper could play either side as well. Frankly, with so little seen of him, we just have no idea what to expect from the 2016 fourth round pick.
4. Charles Tapper is another Jaylon Smith story. Got a redshirt year his rookie season and appears to be healthy and has slimmed down a bit to get ready to play the right defensive end spot. He’ll have to get back into game shape, but could be an enormous addition to the defensive line rotation.
5. Sterling Shepard broke on the scene as a rookie last season with the Giants and quickly became the team’s No. 2 receiver. He finished the year with 65 catches for 683 yards and eight touchdowns. While he was plagued by the occasional drop, Shepard gave the team some speed. Now, with Marshall and Engram, it is likely Shepard’s numbers will drop.
The Giants wanted more options on offense and now can go with a four-wide set, and all four would be a viable option. The good thing for the Giants is that Shepard is returning to a position he is familiar with – slot. While at Oklahoma, Shepard played mainly slot. Also, with him being in his second year, Shepard will be more comfortable with everything, including how defenses are trying to play him.
While the Giants did play the majority of their snaps in three wide-receiver sets, the additional talent may affect Shepard’s numbers the most this season. Being able to learn from a veteran like Marshall, however, should help Shepard’s play in the long run.
6. It's been written plenty of times before, but it bears repeating: When Lane Johnson was in the lineup last season, the Eagles went 5-1. When he wasn’t, they went 2-8. There was a variety of reasons for this disparity, and let’s not forget that the Cowboys sat many of their starters in the season finale. But Johnson helped make the offense better -- that is without dispute. The numbers back it up. The Eagles scored 27.1 points per game, averaged 5.4 yards per play and allowed only 1.5 sacks per game when Johnson played. They scored 20.1 points, averaged 4.8 yards per play and allowed 2.4 sacks when he was suspended.
7. The Eagles officially signed running back LeGarrette Blount to a one-year contract Thursday morning.
That meant someone had to go.
To make room for Blount on the 90-man roster, the Eagles waived undrafted defensive tackle Charles Walker with an injury designation (knee).
Walker said he already had surgery and will be back on the field in six to eight weeks, in time for training camp.
Walker, from Oklahoma, was once thought to be a possible first-round pick but ended up going undrafted in this year's draft. He had multiple concussions in college and left his team midway through his 2016 season. Then, Walker revealed about a month before the draft, that he has been dealing with depression.
Walker participated in the team's rookie minicamp last weekend, but won't get to see OTAs, when they start May 23. When a player is waived/injured, they must pass through waivers, then revert to IR or reach an injury settlement with the team.
8. Redskins All-Pro Trent Williams has jersey retired at alma mater's spring game
By: Tim Whelan Jr., USA TODAY High School Sports May 18, 2017
Trent Williams has walked through the tunnels of some of the most famed football stadiums in the country.
On Tuesday, he returned to his football roots as he walked the Lobo Stadium tunnel at his alma mater of Longview (Texas).
The former All-American at the University of Oklahoma and five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins was back home in Texas to have his high school No. 71 retired. The school held the ceremony for the 2006 Longview graduate in conjunction with the football team’s Green-White Game.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Williams said, according to ET Varsity. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine getting my jersey retired, especially at a high school like this that’s rich in tradition in football.
“To know that I’ve done enough in my career, and I feel like I’ve got a lot left to do, to have my jersey retired, it’s a blessing.”
Aside from his status as one of the best linemen in all of football, Williams has gained a positive reputation in his hometown for his charity. In 2015, he donated $25,000 for EKG screening for Longview ISD athletes. He has also donated a new locker room, new shoes for elementary students and Christmas gifts for the needy.
In return, the football program retired just its second jersey, joining former NFL cornerback Bobby Taylor (#24 at Longview) as the only alums to receive the honor.
“He has never forgotten where he was born and raised from the very beginning,” Longview head coach John King, who first coached Williams as a position coach when Williams was a freshman, told ET Varsity. “From how he announces himself on Monday Night Football, to the money he’s given our football program, our athletic program, our high school, the at-risk kids throughout the district and in this community, he’s never forgotten home.
“He’s done a lot of things that haven’t gotten recognition. Just a tremendous person and that’s exactly why we’re honoring him.” [OUB: Wonder if Finebaum will mention this?]
9. Free agency brought Terrell McClain over [to Redskins] from the Cowboys, but more notably, the quietly effective Stacy McGee left the Raiders to head East and play nose tackle. While McGee has struggled to stay healthy as a pro, he has been an impact run-defender and beat the far more expensive Dan Williams for a job in Oakland last year.
10. The Jacksonville Jaguars used the fourth overall pick in this year's draft to select LSU's Leonard Fournette, yet he's not the rookie running back generating the most buzz at the onset of his professional career. The Washington Redskins' Samaje Perine is.
"You see him out there running around—were you impressed?" Washington head coach Jay Gruden asked after Saturday's practice, per the Washington Times' Nora Princiotti. "Yeah, so was I. I like guys who come in here and love football, and he does. ... You can tell that he's going to be a very hard worker and, of course, he runs hard."
Washington traded up in the fourth round to acquire the 235-pound back. Perine is already projected as the team's starter, per ESPN.com's John Keim. Such projections make sense on a couple of levels.
First, Perine is a talented runner. During his collegiate career, the Oklahoma product ran for 4,122 yards, including the FBS single-game record with 427 yards against Kansas in 2014.
The 21-year-old runner split carries with Joe Mixon as part of the Sooners backfield, and he'll continue to do so with the Washington backs. But Robert Kelley and Matt Jones aren't as talented as Mixon. The franchise attempted to trade Jones during the draft, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Kelley, on the other hand, isn't an explosive back, and he struggles to make an impact in the red zone.
A clear path exists for Perine to become the Washington's top back.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars organization won't guarantee Fournette a starting spot, despite its recent investment in the running back.
"Obviously he's shown that ability [to be a workhorse], but at the same sense, when you have the team, the one thing about a team is you have to earn that," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said, per ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco. "So he's going to have to go and show that he has to do that."
Certain expectations involve the draft's top back, but there is always another who surprises after being a mid- to late-round selection. Fournette and Perine should both be lead backs early in their careers.
11. Minnesota Vikings: Sam Bradford set up for best year of his career in 2017
Caleb Ikerd May 16, 2017
The Minnesota Vikings are not a franchise known for their consistent quarterback play. But the past few years have shown promise, as Teddy Bridgewater was drafted in 2014 to turn around the team’s quarterback issues. While he showed a lot of talent, his devastating knee injury set back his career by at least two seasons. In order to replace him, the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford in a deal that could pay off in a big way in 2017.
Since coming into the league in 2010, Bradford has had a tough time living up to his billing as a first overall draft pick. He had a promising rookie season, but injuries have kept him from reaching his full potential. Still, he has shown in his past two seasons that he can be trusted to stay healthy and may be finally ready to show the league why he won a Heisman Trophy and was the first man selected seven years ago.
Bradford took a beating as the Vikings’ quarterback in 2016, but he remained healthy and achieved the record for best completion percentage in a season in NFL history. His performance last season helped to ease the minds of Vikings fans and showed the team may have made the right choice in trading for him. Now, in 2017, he receives his best chance to reach his full potential.
There are key offensive pieces already in place to help Bradford succeed. Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph lead the corps of pass-catchers. These players all appeal to Bradford’s skill set of quick, short-to-intermediate passes.
This offseason has led the Vikings to improve on the major holes they had on the offense. Their offensive line was the main source of the team’s inability to sustain success in 2016. Injuries and inconsistency forced major struggles in the run game and caused Bradford to get the ball out almost instantly after the snap. Now, with the addition of players like Mike Remmers and Pat Elflein, the Vikings appear to have a unit that can help Bradford stay upright and improve the rushing attack.
With the addition of Latavius Murray through free agency and Dalvin Cook through the draft, the Vikings now have a solid duo of running backs that can support Bradford. The team also recently added Michael Floyd to help add depth to the receiving unit, so there is no shortage of pass-catchers for Bradford to utilize.
On top of the influx of talent the Vikings have received, Bradford now gets an entire offseason to continue working with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and the rest of the offense to make him even more comfortable in the system. Bradford has not had the luxury of working with the same coordinators for an extended period of time, so this is a big advantage for him.
While Bradford is receiving his best chance to succeed in 2017, that also means it may be his final opportunity to show he deserves to be in the league. He has yet to break through into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, so he must take full advantage of what he has around him. 2017 is primed to be the year Bradford finally solidifies himself as a top-tier quarterback and to get the Vikings into true contention.
It is clear that Bradford has major talent, so it is now up to him to use that to prove the Vikings made a good decision by trading for him.
12. Sam Bradford's Timing Is Impeccable, And It Has Made Him A Ton Of Money
By Joey Held on May 15, 2017
For the players, NFL contracts are among the worst in professional sports. Upon entering the league, they're signed to fixed-rate contracts that can't be negotiated for three years. At most, they may get one or two shots at actually having leverage for a deal – if they're lucky.
However, there's one man who's somehow risen above all of the mess that surrounds NFL contracts. His name? Sam Bradford. Through an incredible combination of timing and luck, as well as a bit of skill, he's earned $114 million over eight seasons.
Bradford was the top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. That timing was terrific, as it was the last year of the old collective bargaining agreement. Rookies weren't locked into a pay scale then, so Bradford was able to sign for $50 million guaranteed with the Rams. The following season's number one overall pick, Cam Newton, only made $22 million guaranteed from the Panthers. To this day, the top overall pick in the draft gets less than $30 million guaranteed.
Bradford had a less than stellar career with the Rams – he never completed more than 61 percent of his passes in a season and missed 31 games due to injury over five seasons. In 2015, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Rams, wanted Bradford to take a pay cut. He refused, so they traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles for fellow quarterback Nick Foles and a second-round pick. In five years with the Rams, Bradford made $65 million.
At the time, Bradford had limited options. He could have either taken a pay cut to stay with the Rams, go to the Browns (who have had a rotating cast of characters at QB the past two decades), or be traded to the Eagles and learn from a coach who just led Foles to an incredible season. It should have been easy for the Eagles to offer him a modest deal to get him to stick around.
Instead, they didn't request an extension after trading for Bradford, so the quarterback and his agent, Tom Condon, were able to leverage a new deal to the tune of $18 million fully guaranteed in 2016, plus another $4 million guaranteed (and $18 million total) in 2017. In total, Bradford earned $24 million from the Eagles, even though the team gave up plenty of assets to draft his eventual replacement in Carson Wentz.
Last August, Bradford once again lucked out, albeit at the misfortune of someone else. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the entire season. That led to the Vikings trading for Bradford, giving up a first-round pick while absorbing Bradford's $7 million salary for last season and $18 million for this upcoming one. Bradford had already received an $11 million bonus from the Eagles.
Though he did have his best statistical season of his career in Minnesota, the team still didn't make the playoffs. Bradford has already made $25 million from the Vikings. And now, with Bridgewater's injury still murking the picture, Bradford is once again going to have the opportunity to earn a big contract.
Bradford has never made a Pro Bowl, yet he's made an average of $14.25 million per season. Not too shabby.
