2022 Off season news, notes, and other chat worthy things for the other 31 NFL Teams (Training camp news as well)

@artis posted:

It's a really odd angle in all of this. I don't recall such a scenario happening previously. How many qbs were alienated in the pursuit of Watson? Can't blame anyone for joining the sweepstakes, but guys like Mayfield were put in a really shitty position. Same for Ryan had ATL closed the deal. I know it's a business, but Mayfield was invested and a big part of what they put together regardless of their disappointing 2021 season. Is Deshaun Watson a sure thing in cold, dank, windy Cleveland?

I realize that teams have info not publicly available on Watson and his legal status, including the possibility of a suspension, but I don't understand the feeding frenzy.
It's not like that he's accomplished much since coming into the league, other than creating a huge amount of hype. I don't think playing under Bill O'Brien did him any favors, but he's basically a .500 QB at this point in his career.
No doubt he has skill and speed, and he can be a good QB, but I don't know that he will ever attain the level that Mahomes reached.
And regardless of how all his crap plays out, the distraction(s) that are bound to be associated with him will be huge.

@Timmy! posted:

I realize that teams have info not publicly available on Watson and his legal status, including the possibility of a suspension, but I don't understand the feeding frenzy.
It's not like that he's accomplished much since coming into the league, other than creating a huge amount of hype. I don't think playing under Bill O'Brien did him any favors, but he's basically a .500 QB at this point in his career.
No doubt he has skill and speed, and he can be a good QB, but I don't know that he will ever attain the level that Mahomes reached.
And regardless of how all his crap plays out, the distraction(s) that are bound to be associated with him will be huge.

I think the case could be made that he's only scratched the surface of the player he could be. The Texans had a good 2 year run with what they had put together and a lot to look forward to. Also probably an indication of how few really good qbs there are in the league. Cleveland is a whole lot different than Houston, though.

Watson is a decent player but at this point in time guys like Wilson and Stafford are better, and look at what those teams gave up to acquire them?

Cleveland is in a tough situation so they had to make a bold move.  Mayfield has been a massive disappointment and they’ve built a pretty good team around him yet they need a QB to get to the next level.   I’ll admit, I was shocked at what they gave up, but if his potential translates to performance it’s a good move.

Disturbing pic.

Same attitude towards women. Nice job Cleveland.

Plenty of people around these parts celebrate Wayne Simmons.  You want to be disturbed go look up his criminal record.  

There’s a reason he was traded midway through the 1997 season and it had nothing to do with his ability to play football.

And yes, for the record, I think Watson is a scumbag.  And I think a lot less of the Browns for taking on a guy like that who is a d bag.

Matt Ryan traded to Indy for a 3rd rounder

@Chongo posted:

Matt Ryan traded to Indy for a 3rd rounder

Matt Ryan is not Aaron Rodgers, but he's still a former MVP and a 4-time Pro Bowler who I believe has the highest QB rating for any Super Bowl in NFL history (17-23 for 284 yards, 2 TDs, 0 interceptions).

The Seahawks got 2 1st round picks, 2 second round picks, a TE drafted in the 1st round 2 years ago (Noah Fant), a good rotational DL (Shelby Harris), and Drew Lock.

If you assumed the Packers would have gotten at least the same for Rodgers and you could have flipped one of those second round picks for Ryan, the Packers could have had

2 first rounders, 1 second rounder, Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, Drew Lock, and Matt Ryan for Aaron Rodgers.

I'd have made that trade in a heartbeat. Ryan would probably have been at least the 4 best QB in the NFC this year (Rodgers, Brady, Stafford) and I'm not sure he's not better than Stafford.

@RapSheet:  That was fast: The #Falcons have agreed to a 2-year deal with QB Marcus Mariota.

@ilcuqui posted:

@RapSheet:  That was fast: The #Falcons have agreed to a 2-year deal with QB Marcus Mariota.

Probably just a bridge, but makes sense so they were not getting caught without one.

That’s a great move by Indy.  A 3rd round pick?   Ballard fleeced the Failcons

Vikings or Ravens? He likes purple?

They devour ex-Packers like no other.

Chargers signed our former punter JK Scott.

He went to where the climate suits his leg.

@Tschmack posted:

Plenty of people around these parts celebrate Wayne Simmons.  You want to be disturbed go look up his criminal record.  

There’s a reason he was traded midway through the 1997 season and it had nothing to do with his ability to play football.

And yes, for the record, I think Watson is a scumbag.  And I think a lot less of the Browns for taking on a guy like that who is a d bag.

The Packers have had 6 guys in the last 20 years arrested for domestic violence - most of them were before they played with the Packers or while they were in Green Bay: Letroy Guion, Ahman Green, Vaughn Booker, Najeh Davenport, Terry Glenn, and Erik Walden.

James Lofton, Eddie Lee Ivery, and Mark Chmura were all in the news for at best being creepy.

Wayne Simmons was intimidating to opponents probably partially because of his behavior off the field. He beat the crap out of opposing TEs on the field.

Finally, the Packers just retired the number of a guy who was sending dick pics to a 20 something intern and would have been suspended for several games had he ever tried to come back.

Wasn’t Mossy Cade mentioned in some creepy episode?

@Pikes Peak posted:

Wasn’t Mossy Cade mentioned in some creepy episode?

I left him out because he was a whole other level. He raped his aunt.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1...exual/8894548568000/

Sending dick pics is a little less egregious than raping and beating the shit out of a victim.  And that’s just one of Simmons’ many transgressions.

He definitely had a screw loose and his off the field violence probably suited him well on the football field.

So you talk about Cleveland trading for Watson knowing what they know well Carl Peterson and the Chiefs knew what they were getting w/Simmons as well.  

Za’Darius Smith agreed to terms with the Minnesota Vikings, per source.

3 year deal
Base value of 42 million
Worth up to 47 million with incentives
14 million APY

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 22, 2022

When healthy, he's a beast.  Will be fun watching him and Bahk go at it.

Continue to wonder what else was going on with him besides the back injury.

Loved Z's production in years 1 & 2 and the fact he played with the type of passion that had been so sorely lacking in the Packer defense for so many years.

Did not like the 2021 injury and didn't mind the decision to move on.

Could not help but notice that the D was not appreciably worse without him in 2021 either.

Would be nice if Jaire's contract was extended so the Pack could actually ADD a veteran or two and actually improve the roster heading into this "all in" season.

vikings continuing their tradition of signing Packers cast-offs.....

@michiganjoe posted:

Continue to wonder what else was going on with him besides the back injury.

Prior to last year and after a play was over I often saw him on the ground with what looked like an injury. Then he would get up and play later. As a guy with a tricky back myself I thought that he was fighting through something like that. I think that he played through a nagging injury. I don’t know if it was fully fixed so it might flare up again. He also seems to have a chip on his shoulder about his worth. Maybe that is part of the reason the Ravens balked and why he got mad about it. In any case he gets to play for Mike Smith again.

The whole thing with him not being voted a captain and his subsequent reaction was really strange. Can't help but believe something else was going on with him both within the locker room and the organization.

@michiganjoe posted:

The whole thing with him not being voted a captain and his subsequent reaction was really strange. Can't help but believe something else was going on with him both within the locker room and the organization.

I have to agree with you on this.   Something was going on behind the scenes especially when he wasn't voted a captain he put out some cryptic posts on social media about it.  I obviously have no clue what was going on but perhaps someone was questioning his toughness?

Who knows but I used to like him a lot but now I have to hate him.

I’d rather see Z in Balt than MN but it’s good for the rivalry.

Z could be a time bomb with Qs about both his back and his attitude.

I can see it now...

PAUL ALLEN: "Rodgers drops back to throw. The pocket collapses AND IT'S ZA'DARIUS SMITH with his second sack of the night! What an effort against his former team! Green Bay will have to punt!

And Minnesota gets the ball back, down 34-13 with 1:54 to play."

— Tim Backes (@timbackes) March 22, 2022

@PackerPatrick posted:

In any case he gets to play for Mike Smith again.

and Mike Pettine, with DC Ed Donatell.

My take on Z was that he had difficulty keeping a level head after having the most success and publicity he'd ever experienced after his first year in GB .... he began "chasing" sacks which resulted in him not containing the edge. In addition, he attempted to be a leader by being very vocal, but it resulted in 2 things ; his teammates perceiving that he was doing it more for publicity ...and it revealed that he wasn't very smart.

I see Aaron Jones getting lots of yards as Bahk pushes Z way past the back of the pocket...

@RapSheet: Another blockbuster coming? Despite an offer from the #Chiefs that would make superstar Tyreek Hill one of the highest-paid receivers, extension talks have stalled and Kansas City has now given Hill’s agent permission to seek a trade, sources tell me and @TomPelissero.

@TomPelissero: How would the #Chiefs begin to replace superstar Tyreek Hill? Sources say #Packers free-agent WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling is on his way to Kansas City today for a visit. No deal imminent, but a logical option to help fill the void. Speed for speed.

On-field only, Tyreek Hill makes perfect sense in Green Bay. The #Packers desperately need a top WR. They have extra draft picks. And they’re in the NFC.

But on like 5 levels, that would be a brutal sell to go from Davante Adams to Hill like that.

— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) March 23, 2022

Multiple teams were approached about a potential Tyreek Hill trade, but the Jets and Dolphins emerged in recent days as the two finalists, per sources. Hill is now likely to wind up as a Jet or Dolphin.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 23, 2022

#Packerpeople

I think I would quit watching the Packers if they signed Hill. I know a lot of these guys aren't Boy Scouts, but purposely punching your pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and later having your 3-year-old son scared of you (after his arm was broken in a case investigated by CPS) is a lot worse than a lot of these other cases.

From Wikipedia.

Legal issues

Domestic assault conviction

Stillwater police records indicate that on December 12, 2014, Hill was arrested on complaints of assault of his 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Crystal Espinal. The police report states that the two got into an argument and he threw her around "like a ragdoll", punched her in the face, sat on her and repeatedly punched her in the stomach, and choked her.^[101] Oklahoma State dismissed him from the football team after the charges.^[102]

Hill eventually pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation and was sentenced to three years of probation, an anger-management course, a year-long batterer's program, and was required to undergo a domestic-abuse evaluation, a sentence that Espinal was consulted about and said she was comfortable with.^[24][103] Espinal eventually gave birth to a boy.^[21][104]

Child abuse investigation

In March 2019, Hill was investigated for alleged battery after an incident in which his three-year-old son sustained a broken arm.^[105] The following month, his son was placed into care temporarily as a result of an emergency hearing conducted by the Kansas Department of Children and Families.^[106] On April 24, the Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe released a statement, saying that his office believed a crime had been committed but the evidence did not allow them to conclude the perpetrator, and that the Kansas Department of Children and Families continued to investigate.^[106] The following day, an audio recording of Hill and Espinal discussing the injury to their son and the subsequent investigation was released.^[106] In the recording that surfaced, Hill and his fiancée discuss their son's broken arm; she says that their son is scared of him, to which Hill responds, "You should be afraid of me too."^[107] As a result, the criminal investigation into Hill was re-opened.^[108] On June 7, prosecutors announced the case against Hill was inactive.^[109] On June 10, reports surfaced that medical investigations showed his son's arm was broken by accident and in a way that indicated it was broken bracing for a fall.^[110] On July 9, 2019, the full unedited audio from the recording was released. In the full audio, Hill accuses Espinal of lying about the domestic violence accusations in 2014 and about Hill breaking their son's arm.^[111] The NFL stated they have always had the full audio of the recording.^[112] On July 19, 2019, the NFL released a statement saying that Hill will not be suspended and that they found no evidence that Hill violated the personal conduct policy, but the incident will be re-examined if new evidence emerges.^[113]