2018 NFL Transactions & News

Super Nomario

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Reuben Foster waived after another off-field incident.

I can't think of anyone who has gotten so much praise for doing so little as the Lynch / Shanahan combo in SF.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Sep 21, 2007
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Reuben Foster waived after another off-field incident.

I can't think of anyone who has gotten so much praise for doing so little as the Lynch / Shanahan combo in SF.
Yikes.

How’s Solomon Thomas (serious question, I don’t follow the Niners anywhere near well enough to know how their line play is)?
 

JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
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Yikes.

How’s Solomon Thomas (serious question, I don’t follow the Niners anywhere near well enough to know how their line play is)?
Extremely disappointing. He's been kept on the sideline for most late game situations. He'll get another year or two, but it's not looking promising. Between him and Armstead (Baalke pick), they've blown a ton of high draft capital on defensive line busts. At least Buckner is really good.

I also don't think it's super fair to blame Kyle at this point. They just don't have the personnel to win right now.
 

DJnVa

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Andy Dalton placed on IR, Bengals get Tom Savage off of waivers from SF.
 

DeadlySplitter

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Oct 20, 2015
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Jags bench Bortles for [at least] the season. credit to them for starting to realize a massive mistake.

that playoff run last year was maybe the worst thing for them long-term
 

McBride11

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Jul 15, 2005
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kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
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Dec 2, 2006
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Jags bench Bortles for [at least] the season. credit to them for starting to realize a massive mistake.

that playoff run last year was maybe the worst thing for them long-term
They would’ve been fine if he didn’t hurt his wrist. That guaranteed his money for this year and made them spread out the cap hit because they were up against it. Of course they never should’ve picked up the option the year before but the BOAT is gonna BOAT.
 

EL Jeffe

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Aug 30, 2006
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I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Bortles lands in New England this offseason. There's going to be a limited number of teams looking for QBs and the Pats are going to be a desirable landing spot for backups with Brady's contract situation/career winding down. For all the grief that Bortles gets, he still checks some worthwhile boxes: he's played well against the Pats (which they seem to care about when it comes to free agents), he has all the physical skills you'd want in a QB, he takes care of the football. I remember reading (maybe from Lombardi?) that the Pats really liked him coming out of college.

There's some chicken and egg stuff when it comes to Bortles. Jax has a very conservative offense so Bortles rarely gets a chance to let it rip. Do they have a conservative offense because Bortles isn't good enough to thrive in a "modern" NFL offense or are they conservative because Coughlin, Hacket, Marone et al haven't caught up to the times. Both? (Probably some of both). Still, a $10m/year short-term contract for Bortles would make a lot of sense for both sides.
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Bortles lands in New England this offseason. There's going to be a limited number of teams looking for QBs and the Pats are going to be a desirable landing spot for backups with Brady's contract situation/career winding down. For all the grief that Bortles gets, he still checks some worthwhile boxes: he's played well against the Pats (which they seem to care about when it comes to free agents), he has all the physical skills you'd want in a QB, he takes care of the football. I remember reading (maybe from Lombardi?) that the Pats really liked him coming out of college.

There's some chicken and egg stuff when it comes to Bortles. Jax has a very conservative offense so Bortles rarely gets a chance to let it rip. Do they have a conservative offense because Bortles isn't good enough to thrive in a "modern" NFL offense or are they conservative because Coughlin, Hacket, Marone et al haven't caught up to the times. Both? (Probably some of both). Still, a $10m/year short-term contract for Bortles would make a lot of sense for both sides.
He takes care of the football?

There are 34 guys who have thrown 100+ passes this year. Bortles is 25th in the NFL in interception %.
There are 25 guys who have thrown 300+ passes this year. Bottles is 23rd among that group in interception %.

His first three seasons he had 17, 18, and 16 interceptions. The 18 led the NFL. This year he's thrown 10 picks in just 11 games. I don't know that in today's NFL he can reasonably be thought of as a guy who "takes care of the football". He does have a very strong arm and at times displays a nice touch, and he's a terrific athlete. Plus, he's big. There are tools to work with there, and I'm not opposed to a guy like this being brought in as the Brady backup. Maybe a year under McDaniels could get him to be a good NFL quarterback. He's only 26 and there's still time for improvement.
 

EL Jeffe

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Yeah, that's fair. In my head, his interception rate was better than it is in reality (I should have checked). 2.5-2.7% is lower/middle of the pack. I still think he's worth a shot if they don't draft a QB early in 2019 (and this QB class is rough).
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
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Yeah, that's fair. In my head, his interception rate was better than it is in reality (I should have checked). 2.5-2.7% is lower/middle of the pack. I still think he's worth a shot if they don't draft a QB early in 2019 (and this QB class is rough).
We don’t know if Herbert and Haskins are coming out yet. If they aren’t this is a rough class. Even if they are I am not sure either are guys you’d want to plug in right away especially Haskins. The more I see of Haskins the more I like but I’m not a QB guru.
 

axx

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Jul 16, 2005
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We don’t know if Herbert and Haskins are coming out yet. If they aren’t this is a rough class. Even if they are I am not sure either are guys you’d want to plug in right away especially Haskins. The more I see of Haskins the more I like but I’m not a QB guru.
The following draft is going to be super loaded since I figure everyone who is eligible is going to come out because it's the last draft before the lockout. Probably in their best interest of both to declare unless they have a really good reason.
 

EL Jeffe

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We don’t know if Herbert and Haskins are coming out yet. If they aren’t this is a rough class. Even if they are I am not sure either are guys you’d want to plug in right away especially Haskins. The more I see of Haskins the more I like but I’m not a QB guru.
Everything I've read from the people I trust, Herbert is staying in school. As for Haskins, I'm a HUGE fan of his (he's my QB1, regardless of what Herbert does). Honestly, I don't see Haskins making it out of the top 5-6 picks (Giants?). The rest of the class looks pretty bleh to me. Grier has some It Factor to him, but I don't like his release or velocity. Not sure his arm plays in the Northeast in the winter. Etling might have as many (or more) NFL traits than a good chunk of the class. Where's Mascho when you need him? :) I'd love his thoughts on the Buffalo and Oklahoma State kids (I think they're both intriguing longer-rage developmental kids).
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
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Nov 1, 2006
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Reuben Foster waived after another off-field incident.

I can't think of anyone who has gotten so much praise for doing so little as the Lynch / Shanahan combo in SF.
I somewhat agree with you, though the one caveat is Shannahan has had an actual NFL starting caliber QB for 8 games and is 6-2 in those 8.

It's just insanely hard to judge him when his starting QB went down in game 3 for the entire season (and his starting RB went out for the season before Game 1).

That said, the Thomas pick was not great and Foster, while talented, was a risk that didn't pay off. This year's draft class has been better, but there's not much talent on the team. Next year should be where both Shannahan and Lynch can be better evaluated (they're going to have high draft picks and a good amount of cap space, without a QB need).
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
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On mobile: I asked Mark about it on Twitter. He is going to look more into Haskins when he declares. Well, IF, but we know that it’s an if right now. I had Herbert as my clear #1 guy coming into the year. I still believe in him as a first round guy. This reminds me a bit of 2017. You have 2-4 guys who might warrant consideration as a first round QB but none of them necessarily are ready to start year one. Or if you want to be a stickler, they are less ready to start year one than say a Josh Rosen was last year. That’s ok. We wouldn’t need to start someone in year 1. We hope anyway.

Edit: here’s the rub on Haskins so far: elite traits. Raw. Has trouble facing pressure and making decisions facing pressure. He also takes off and runs too much. He’s not an elite speed guy. Mark painted him as more of a Big Ben play strength to extend plays type. None of these are mistakes that can’t be corrected. It’s not just the meat or the prospect but how you cook/develop.
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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“Tom” is salty —

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25391741/tom-coughlin-defends-offseason-moves-jacksonville-jaguars

Valid point — moves often don’t work out. But Tom, who fucked your team culture?
His stance that they were “a whistle away” from the Super bowl is stupid. Every year multiple teams end up one play away from not losing their elimination game. That doesn’t make you a dynasty. The Jags had a crap quarterback who played one of his best halves or more to help put them ahead in the AFCCG and then predictably couldn’t close the deal, and the Jags were a 10-6 team in a division with two potential star QBs out for most of 2017 (Luck and Watson) and another 2017 playoff team (Titans). And your plan is to bring back by far the worst starting QB in the division and hope the stars all align for your team again?

If anyone on earth should know that sometimes the stars align for an ok team and then that team, brought back pretty much the same, is likely regress to or below the mean the next year it should be Tom Coughlin.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Tom Savage has a job but Kaep can’t get a sniff, yet Foster gets claimed off waivers by the same team that apparently doesn’t care that Adrian Peterson beats his kids.

I love football and am hopelessly addicted to the league but it is increasingly clear that’s a huge character flaw that I have to figure out.
 

dcmissle

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Schefter reports that the other 30 teams passed on Foster. The immediate reaction here is about what one would expect. Not good.

The move screams desperation, and from that I can only assume that someone's job is in the line, specifically, team President Bruce Allen's. This move is way above the pay grade of Coach Gruden and personnel guy Doug Williams. So unless Snyder had a relapse and demanded, sign that fucking guy, it's Allen. Politics is in his bloodlines, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with the shitstorm.
 

Super Nomario

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I also don't think it's super fair to blame Kyle at this point. They just don't have the personnel to win right now.
I somewhat agree with you, though the one caveat is Shannahan has had an actual NFL starting caliber QB for 8 games and is 6-2 in those 8.

It's just insanely hard to judge him when his starting QB went down in game 3 for the entire season (and his starting RB went out for the season before Game 1).

That said, the Thomas pick was not great and Foster, while talented, was a risk that didn't pay off. This year's draft class has been better, but there's not much talent on the team. Next year should be where both Shannahan and Lynch can be better evaluated (they're going to have high draft picks and a good amount of cap space, without a QB need).
It's not so much that I'm blaming Shanahan or calling him a bad coach, it's that immediately after the 2017 draft people were gushing over SF fleecing the Bears to get Thomas, jumping in front of the Saints to get Foster, and nabbing Shanahan's "hand-picked" guys in Beathard and Joe Williams, and now it looks like they're going to get zero out of that quartet. I'm agnostic on the Shanahan / Lynch duo; I just thought they got praise that was totally out of proportion to what they had and have accomplished. They can still be good, I just need to see it first.
 

dcmissle

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Got part of Washington's Foster claim wrong -- it's not about this year. Putting him on the field in "18 is a bridge too far even for them, and with three arrests in 18 months, the League would probably say no.

It is a smartest-kid-in-the-class, "gangsta" move, a "value" play that confuses cost and value. Redskins
cynically took the kick in the shins, figuring they have boosted a 1st round talent.

Not shocking -- much of the fan base appears to be spiking the football. A few weeks after Maryland fans' reaction to the DJ Durkin dismissal taught that football > life itself.

This is not an NFL problem. It certainly is not a DC metro area problem. It is a problem that cuts across this sport from sea to shining sea at all levels. The minds of many fans are diseased.
 

mauf

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“Tom” is salty —

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25391741/tom-coughlin-defends-offseason-moves-jacksonville-jaguars

Valid point — moves often don’t work out. But Tom, who fucked your team culture?
Ugh, I feel sorry for Jags fans. Both of them.

It’s one thing to build a team around the running game because you’re making the best of the shitty QB situation you inherited, but adhering to that as a philosophy in today’s NFL is something different. The Jags have had more than their share of bad luck, but they’ve compounded it with big mistakes. Bringing back Coughlin was one of them.

Edit: Also, good point about team culture — that’s the one thing that Gus Bradley, by all accounts, got right. Whether the current culture is broken or would be fixed by a few wins is up for debate.
 
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InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
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Jalen Ramsay talking more shit than Kevin Garnett is both a symptom and a bellwether. Any culture that doesn't get him to realize he's hurting the team (i.e., he can be outspoken, but he's taking it too far) is, to my eyes, definitionally not working.
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
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Ugh, I feel sorry for Jags fans. Both of them.

It’s one thing to build a team around the running game because you’re making the best of the shitty QB situation you inherited, but adhering to that as a philosophy in today’s NFL is something different. The Jags have had more than their share of bad luck, but they’ve compounded it with big mistakes. Bringing back Coughlin was one of them.

Edit: Also, good point about team culture — that’s the one thing that Gus Bradley, by all accounts, got right. Whether the current culture is broken or would be fixed by a few wins is up for debate.
Is your son still one of them?
 

loshjott

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dcmissle

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The team press release said they consulted other ex-AL players on the roster before making the move. Now the media is talking to those guys and so far 2 said they were not consulted: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Jonathan Allen.
Yup. They’re not even good at this but don’t much care because the diehard fans are all in.

Informal sports talk radio poll here today —58 % approval of the claim.

What is interesting is that beneath the surface, because of 25 years of mediocrity or worse and an awful stadium, this team has massive marketing problems. Look up Brian LaFemina some time. There’s a good chance he was assigned here by the League.
 

koufax32

He'll cry if he wants to...
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Dec 8, 2006
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Yup. I caught hell from my wife for letting him wear his mustard yellow “color rush” Blake Bortles shirt to school on picture day this fall.
You’re lucky the school didn’t call DCF. Those baby poop unis might be the worst uniforms in league history.
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
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Yup. I caught hell from my wife for letting him wear his mustard yellow “color rush” Blake Bortles shirt to school on picture day this fall.
Being loyal is more important than being fashionable. Not more fun, but like a more noble thing.
 

dcmissle

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Barry Svrluga is a great columnist for the Washington Post. Boom —

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/sports/redskins/redskins-ignore-colin-kaepernick-sign-reuben-foster-and-remind-us-of-who-they-are/2018/11/28/b9ed5e2e-f339-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html?__twitter_impression=true

If you hit a paywall, try somehow to find this column.

There is a tremendous divide on these issues between the people who think and write and the fans. The latter give a strong thumbs up to the moves on both players. And there is no way this dichotomy is confined to Washington.
 

loshjott

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Dec 30, 2004
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Meanwhile, in a column lambasting Snyder for nearly killing the 80 year relationship between the DC football team and its fanbase, Boz says "This team would claim Paul Manafort on waivers."

He's a national treasure.