NFL: News and transactions

Justthetippett

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Aug 9, 2015
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Just heard on the radio that Godwin tore his ACL. Wow. Crushing loss for TB12.
I generally hate Collinsworth and there’s no clear fix, but I thought his points last night about low hits had some validity. Problem is that if you create a strike zone for all defenseless players, all those plays are going for substantially more yards. For competition’s sake, I think it would have to be mitigated by letting defenders get their hands on guys deeper into the secondary.
 

BigSoxFan

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I generally hate Collinsworth and there’s no clear fix, but I thought his points last night about low hits had some validity. Problem is that if you create a strike zone for all defenseless players, all those plays are going for substantially more yards. For competition’s sake, I think it would have to be mitigated by letting defenders get their hands on guys deeper into the secondary.
We know how Gronk feels on the matter. Godwin just didn’t have a chance to protect himself. Really unfortunate.
 

johnmd20

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Kelce is definitely vaccinated. He must have been showing symptoms because he wouldn't have been tested otherwise, if I have the new protocols right.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Not sure who else saw this, but very cool move by the Rams organization:

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/rams-activate-cam-akers-noble-move

The Los Angeles Rams activated running back Cam Akers for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, but he may not be able to play for the next three or four weeks.

Akers tore an Achilles tendon during the offseason and was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start his second season. The Rams made the decision to activate Akers while considering his future.

While Los Angeles is anticipating having him back for a potential playoff run, the team activated Akers to allow him to lock in a year of benefit and pension credit. He must be on the active roster for at least three games of the season to qualify, according to NFL.com.

Akers isn't expected to play until the playoffs, maybe week 18.
 

Kliq

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Trey Hendrickson has had an interesting career. He spends his first three years in New Orleans really not doing anything, then suddenly explodes in his fourth season for 13.5 sacks. Feels like a huge contract-year push, and Cincinnati signs him to a 4-year-$60 million deal in the off-season. I thought it was a really questionable deal at the time, but he is a legit DPOY candidate with 14 sacks and counting this year.
 

Rudy's Curve

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Trey Hendrickson has had an interesting career. He spends his first three years in New Orleans really not doing anything, then suddenly explodes in his fourth season for 13.5 sacks. Feels like a huge contract-year push, and Cincinnati signs him to a 4-year-$60 million deal in the off-season. I thought it was a really questionable deal at the time, but he is a legit DPOY candidate with 14 sacks and counting this year.
As a Bengals fan who hated letting Carl Lawson go for him, I've never been more happy to be dead wrong. There were a lot of questions about his sacks being a product of the players around him and playing with a lead all the time in New Orleans, but he's just a relentless pressure monster. Who knows how Lawson's season would have turned out had he not torn his Achilles in camp, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have looked like this.

The offense deservedly gets a ton of headlines, but they've really fixed the defense through free agency (an avenue they rarely ventured into, and when they did it usually wasn't great). Hendrickson has been awesome, Chidobe Awuzie has been a borderline #1 corner and Mike Hilton has brought stability to the slot they've been missing the last few years. In addition, DJ Reader (their big splash from 2020) has played like a top nose tackle after missing most of last year while Eli Apple has been a revelation off the scrap heap (and much needed as Trae Waynes has continued to be hurt and ineffective).

There's still potential for this season to go awry given they have the Chiefs and at the Browns (who have owned them the last 3+ years) remaining, but it's at least fun to see meaningful football in December again and the future looks very bright.
 

BaseballJones

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Wentz is out for Indy this wee as he is unvaxxed and hit the protocol.

View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1475895147837726720?s=20


Indy hosts the Raiders. Sam Ehlinger will start for Indy.
Not that Wentz is all-world or anything, but that's probably going to open the door for Vegas, which could help the Pats potentially.

EDIT: I was thinking about seeding, and a Vegas win could help the Pats leap over Indy. But more important is the ability to make it into the playoffs in the first place, and a Vegas loss combined with a NE win clinches it for the Pats. So....this probably isn't actually good news for NE.
 
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BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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Are they going to wear masks during game? Aren't the CDC guidelines 5 days quarantined plus 5 additional days of mask wearing whenever around people?

edit:
From the CDC
Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.
 

AB in DC

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Yeah it's terrible news. If Miami beats Tennessee they will have to assume they will need to beat Miami as well to get in the playoffs.
Well, I doubt Belichick will rest his starters either way -- they'll technically still be alive for the division, even though that would require the Bills laying an egg against the Jets. And frankly if the Pats get swept by Miami then they're not going to be a playoff threat anyway.

But the #5 seed looks like a huge advantage relative to the #6 or #7 seed -- it very likely means a winnable round 1 game against the AFC North champion (assuming Cin doesn't win out vs KC and @Cle) and potentially a more favorable matchup in round 2 if one of the other wild cards pulls out a win. But a lower seed will mean round 1 against either Buffalo or a healthy Tennessee, followed by round 2 against KC. That seems like something we should hope to avoid.

So I'm still going to root for a Colts loss this weekend.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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Are they going to wear masks during game? Aren't the CDC guidelines 5 days quarantined plus 5 additional days of mask wearing whenever around people?

edit:
From the CDC
I'm not trying to be a dick, but does it matter? The game is literally built around continuously touching strangers.
 

axx

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Well, I doubt Belichick will rest his starters either way -- they'll technically still be alive for the division, even though that would require the Bills laying an egg against the Jets.
Yeah but if the Bills are up big BB could pull the starters at halftime or something like that.
 

BigJimEd

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I'm not trying to be a dick, but does it matter? The game is literally built around continuously touching strangers.
Good question. I don't know but those are the CDC guidelines and the reports are that they will adopt those.
Edit: to be clear, as mentioned, CDC policy is a person can leave isolation "if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others." So apparently it matters to the CDC. Whether they should play at all is another question.


If as Schefter and co. are reporting the NFL is adopting CDC guidelines then players would need to wear a mask or stay in isolation for another 5 days.

Or are they going to go against the CDC and make their own rules?

My guess is probably that. I don't see the players wearing masks during the game.

And Schefter and company are carrying the league's water as usual.

But I've been wrong plenty enough before.
 
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GB5

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Aug 26, 2013
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Wow, this situation is ripe for abuse. So the rule has been changed so that whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated if you test positive, you quarantine and if you are “asymptomatic” after 5 days you can play. Asymptomatic according to whom? Without any idea what the long term ramifications are of playing with the virus, isn’t playing it safely the best measure here? As of yesterday they didn’t want you playing for 10 days if you were unvaccinated, today it’s five.
Say you are Carson Wentz and late Saturday or early Sunday you are feeling better. Some mild headaches, slight fatigue, maybe no taste or smell, and the team doctor passes you(of course), and you consult your personal physician who says there is not enough data here to here to give you a clear answer, and you are on the fence. Isn’t a near certainty that all involved on the football side are going to subtly say, playoffs, responsibility to team, you are making 30 plus million…
 

Sox and Rocks

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Wow, this situation is ripe for abuse. So the rule has been changed so that whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated if you test positive, you quarantine and if you are “asymptomatic” after 5 days you can play. Asymptomatic according to whom? Without any idea what the long term ramifications are of playing with the virus, isn’t playing it safely the best measure here? As of yesterday they didn’t want you playing for 10 days if you were unvaccinated, today it’s five.
Say you are Carson Wentz and late Saturday or early Sunday you are feeling better. Some mild headaches, slight fatigue, maybe no taste or smell, and the team doctor passes you(of course), and you consult your personal physician who says there is not enough data here to here to give you a clear answer, and you are on the fence. Isn’t a near certainty that all involved on the football side are going to subtly say, playoffs, responsibility to team, you are making 30 plus million…
Yes, this is crazy. The new rules say that, vaccinated or not, you must quarantine for 5 days and then can return. Also, if you test positive and return, you don't need to be tested for 90 days.

A smart team will have every player on the roster test positive today (either for real, by running enough tests until, at the very least, a false positive occurs or simply reporting they did.) Then, every player will be available come Sunday, and no further testing for the team will be needed for the rest of the season, up to the superbowl.

Why not?
 

Norm Siebern

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Well, I doubt Belichick will rest his starters either way -- they'll technically still be alive for the division, even though that would require the Bills laying an egg against the Jets. And frankly if the Pats get swept by Miami then they're not going to be a playoff threat anyway.

But the #5 seed looks like a huge advantage relative to the #6 or #7 seed -- it very likely means a winnable round 1 game against the AFC North champion (assuming Cin doesn't win out vs KC and @Cle) and potentially a more favorable matchup in round 2 if one of the other wild cards pulls out a win. But a lower seed will mean round 1 against either Buffalo or a healthy Tennessee, followed by round 2 against KC. That seems like something we should hope to avoid.

So I'm still going to root for a Colts loss this weekend.
This is a well thought out post. I'm not quite as logical. For me, the question will always be "Are the Colts playing? Yes?" Then I'm rooting for them to lose. Always.
 

cshea

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Kirk Cousins tested positive and is out for this weeks game against Green Bay. Minnesota is a game behind the final WC spot in the NFC, have to imagine this is a kill shot (which was probably coming with or without Kirk having to play in Green Bay).

Cousins is unvaxxed, apparently he self-reported symptoms. Kellen Mond and Kyle Sloter (??) are the two QB's remaining on the Vikings roster. I suspect Mond will get the start.

View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1476944201694777369?s=20


View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1476946181007806510?s=20
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Kirk Cousins tested positive and is out for this weeks game against Green Bay. Minnesota is a game behind the final WC spot in the NFC, have to imagine this is a kill shot (which was probably coming with or without Kirk having to play in Green Bay).

Cousins is unvaxxed, apparently he self-reported symptoms. Kellen Mond and Kyle Sloter (??) are the two QB's remaining on the Vikings roster. I suspect Mond will get the start.
It‘s really remarkable to me that in a league that claims to be 85% vaxxed, seems like relatively few QBs are.
 

cshea

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I think it's just more notable when it's a starting QB. They stand out.

Maybe I'm missing something, but the 3 known unvaxxers are Rodgers, Wentz and Cousins. Anyone else? That's 3 out of 32 starters which would roughly line up to the 85% number the league is reporting.

Edit: Guess I missed others. Disregard.
 
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johnmd20

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It‘s really remarkable to me that in a league that claims to be 85% vaxxed, seems like relatively few QBs are.
QBs are special. Special people have special genes that don't allow viruses to enter their body. No need for a vaccine. But you are right, the number of unvaccinated QBs is far higher than you would expect. Rodgers, Lamar, Cousins, Taysom, Wentz, Allen.

Allen is lucky, he hasn't caught Covid yet. But he will. Rodgers got it, Cousins got it, Lamar got it like 2 or 3 times. Taysom. Wentz. All snagged. Obviously some vaccinated QBs have gotten Covid too.
 

BigSoxFan

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Can’t imagine the (relatively) low paid guys who’ve tried to do everything right will be happy with potentially missing out on playoff checks while the high paid QB materially hurts their chances with his absence because of refusal to get vaxxed.

Will be interesting to see these last 2 weeks how COVID impacts the playoff races.
 

kenneycb

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Dude’s on rookie deals are fungible? Ok.
Some aren’t. A lot are and are primarily on the team because they’re roughly as good as a veteran but cheaper. But that’s besides the point. The point is teams and execs care more about what the stars think and say than anyone else on the team. Everyone else better get in line because, unless you’re really good or okay but really cheap, it doesn’t pay to give your opinion.
 

BigSoxFan

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Some aren’t. A lot are and are primarily on the team because they’re roughly as good as a veteran but cheaper. Point is teams and execs care more about what the stars think and say than anyone else on the team.
True but we’re talking coaches and execs whose job security largely relies on making the playoffs too. All of them are impacted by the availability or lack thereof of the starting QB. Just has to complicate things behind the scenes a bit, especially as we get to week 18 when the playoff scenarios and impact of absences becomes even clearer.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Dak is another that I believe is unvaxxed
Seems like Dak and Josh Allen may have grudgingly vaxxed off my googling.

Some QBs who have proactively and positively described being vaccinated are Russell Wilson, Mayfield, Mahomes, Matt Ryan. Others Im sure too, but it’s a short list. Most, even those who took the shot, hide behind the “it’s a personal choice” line.

I do not at all believe the NFL’s claim that 80-85% of players are vaxxed.
 

Euclis20

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The major benefit being the likelihood of not missing games.
Yup. Regardless of the reason, would not have thought Brady would be known as one of the most vocal pro-vaccine NFL QB:

https://sports.yahoo.com/tom-brady-reportedly-preached-bucs-185251322.html

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were pushing for players to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the lead-up to the season, Tom Brady was reportedly one of the biggest advocates.

According to Defector's Kalyn Kahler, a Buccaneers player said Brady "often spoke to teammates during training camp and OTAs about the importance of getting vaccinated."
 

Mystic Merlin

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Wentz is off the COVID reserve list in part because the mandatory period for unvaccinated players shortened from 10 to 5 days.

‘ Wentz was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday and needed to be activated by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET to have a chance to play Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Next up for Wentz will be testing out of COVID-19 protocols on Sunday to be able to take the field. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Saturday that the expectation is Wentz will be cleared on Sunday.’

https://www.nfl.com/news/colts-qb-carson-wentz-activated-off-reserve-covid-19-list