The President of the United States, Donald Trump, offered up his congratulations via Twitter to rookie San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa on being the No. 2 overall pick.
“Big Talent! San Francisco will embrace you but most importantly, always stay true to yourself,” Trump added.
The President did not comment on any of the other 102 selections made during the first two days of the 2019 NFL Draft. Bosa has in the past expressed his support of President Trump via social media.
Bosa recently came under fire for his past social media activity, including pro-Trump tweets deleted by his agent. ESPN recently asked him why he wanted to abandon something he had previously embraced.
Turns out the Miami Dolphins tried to move on from quarterback Ryan Tannehill a year earlier than anyone thought.
The team mounted an effort, led by former coach Adam Gase, to trade for a quarterback to replace Tannehill before the 2018 season, according to multiple league sources.
And the target of Gase’s attempt to upgrade the Dolphins at quarterback was Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, sources also say.
Gase, in fact, reached out personally to Lions coach Matt Patricia to try to pry Stafford away from the Lions.
Gase and Patricia are friends and the Lions coach was new to the Lions at the time and considering all options on how to improve his new team.
Although it’s not believed the talks reached a point where the Dolphins were asked what they were willing to give for Stafford, it is believed Gase would have offered at minimum Miami’s 2018 first-round pick and probably more.
Patricia, obviously recognizing Stafford’s value to the Lions, told Gase he was not willing to move on from the quarterback at that point, per sources.
The San Francisco 49ers already have some decent offensive potential with young players such as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle, but could they add a veteran star on top of that?
According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the 49ers may be looking to do just that, as Mortensen is reporting that San Francisco may be in on free-agent running back Le’Veon Bell.
The New York Jets are viewed as the favorites for Bell, mainly due to the fact that they have $102 million in cap space, but the Niners would certainly be an interesting destination.
Bell sat out the entire 2018 campaign due to a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also held out through Week 1 of 2017, but returned in Week 2 and ended up rushing for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns while hauling in 85 receptions for 655 yards and a couple of scores on the season en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
The Bears could be looking to add a new running back.
If Washington doesn’t retain Adrian Peterson, Chicago might be interested in making a play on the 2012 MVP, according to an NFL Network report.
Teams reportedly have interest in trading for Chicago’s young running back Jordan Howard, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020. Howard’s perceived value and the free agency market are expected to impact the Bears’ effort to add new personnel to their backfield.
According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Bears could be the team to land Adrian Peterson depending on what happens with AP and Washington.
The 33-year-old back signed a one-year deal with the Skins last season after injuries plagued Washington’s backfield. AP rushed for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns with a 4.2 yard per rush average, as he proved doubters wrong once again in 2018.
Tom Pelissero added that Brad Childress could even be joining Matt Nagy’s coaching staff next season, which further increases the chances that AP could be a target for Chicago.
Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins finished the 40 with a super-slow time. And then the excuse-making began.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Haskins was “battling leg cramps prior to running.” Rapoport adds that Haskins had been timed in the 4.8s while training for the Combine, and that Haskins will run the 40 again at his Pro Day workout.
Officially, Haskins ran the 40 in 5.04 seconds on Saturday in Indianapolis.
I’m not going to say that Rapoport’s source isn’t telling the truth, but there’s definitely a motivation to embellish in these situations. Also, if Haskins truly had leg cramps before running, why run? Why not say instead, “I’ve got leg cramps”?
Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid felt he was targeted by the NFL for random drug testing that was not truly random during the regular season, but it does not appear his complaint is going to get him anywhere.
Back in November, Reid revealed that he had been selected for random drug testing for the fifth time since he signed with the Panthers on Sept. 27. That led him to conclude that the system “doesn’t feel very random,” which was basically an accusation that the NFL was trying to railroad him. On Tuesday, the NFL and NFL Players Association released a statement insisting there is no evidence of that.
What’s a catch? Better yet, what’s a recovery? And what happens when there is no recovery?
That controversy briefly reared its ugly head early Sunday in the wild-card playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears.
The good news is that the call on the field, ultimately, was correct. The bad news is that the sequence was confusing to viewers as it was unfolding.
In the moment, game officials were left to sort out a situation in which Mitchell Trubiskyhit receiver Anthony Miller with a pass just before halftime. Miller took a few steps before losing possession as Eagles defensive back Cre’von LeBlanc grabbed hold. The play was ruled an incomplete pass, but replays showed Miller securing and then losing possession of the ball, apparently making it a completion followed by a fumble. Here’s the kicker: No one recovered the ball, which was picked up by an official.
So often, defensive players scoop up a dead ball and run with it, not giving officials a chance to interfere. Better to suffer the momentary embarrassment of a touchdown or return that doesn’t count than to violate Coaching 101 and fail to play on until you’re certain the action is over. In the earlier Chargers-Ravens wild-card game, the Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey did just that, returning a Melvin Gordon fumble more than 100 yards, only to have officials determine that Gordon was down and that Humphrey’s return never happened.
Back to the Eagles-Bears situation. Because neither team gained possession, officials (correctly) stuck with their (incorrect) initial ruling, which was later explained by Al Riveron, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating.
Trey Burton on Monday clarified the strange, 11th-hour injury that sidelined him from the Bears’ 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that knocked his team out of the playoffs.
Burton said he came into the Bears’ practice Friday feeling a little stiff, but was able to fully participate for the duration of practice. When he got home on Friday, his groin felt stiffer, and then when he woke up Saturday morning it was “completely locked.”
“I had a tough time walking, tough time really doing anything,” Burton said. “Tried to do everything we could Saturday, Saturday night, really all day, and then Sunday morning. But it wouldn’t loosen up and let go. I wasn’t able to play.”
Burton initially said he thought he was fine after Friday’s practice and would be able to push through it, so he didn’t get any treatment. But he did mention his body has a history of locking up like it did when “it feels any threat,” and even in doing “everything possible” on Saturday, he said, he wasn’t able to go.
Bears coach Matt Nagy is optimistic regarding the statuses of five injured players for Sunday’s wild card round playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, though he said Monday he’ll have a better idea of their potential availability come Wednesday when the Bears practice for the first time this week.
Of those five players — safety Eddie Jackson, outside linebacker Aaron Lynch, and wide receivers Anthony Miller, Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson — only Lynch did not travel to Minnesota for Week 17’s season-ender against the Vikings on Sunday. Gabriel (ribs) and Miller (shoulder) were injured against the Vikings, along with defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris, who had “a little whiplash” that Nagy didn’t frame as concerning.
“Nothing significant there,” Nagy said of Gabriel and Miller. “I think we’ll be good.”
Jackson (ankle), Robinson (ribs) and Lynch (elbow) are all at different places in their respective recoveries, Nagy said. Robinson would seem the most likely of the three to play against the Eagles, though Jackson’s ankle injury suffered in Week 15 hasn’t been framed by Nagy as serious.
“I’m hoping that they (play),” Nagy said. “I think they’re all in a little bit different situations right now. I’m excited to see come Wednesday, after talking to ‘Dre, Andre (Tucker). our head trainer, where they’re at. I think they’re all kind of (at) different levels. But I’m hoping they’re all ready to go.”
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