The Ravens struck a deal with Grant on Tuesday after many of the top free-agent wide receivers signed elsewhere.

Posted on March 30, 2018 by admin

Kiyomiya is the next potential superstar to wear the Fighters’ uniform. Ohtani played five seasons for the Fighters, dropping jaws with his bat and his arm, before leaving Japan to start his MLB career this offseason. And Darvish was a superstar pitcher for the Fighters from 2005 through 2011 — his year-by-year ERAs his final five seasons are crazy: 1.82, 1.88, 1.73, 1.78, 1.44 — before jumping to MLB.

He was given the second-biggest contract ever to a wide receiver in franchise history despite producing only 84 catches for 985 yards receiving in his four-year career with the Washington Redskins.

The plan was for Grant and wide receiver John Brown to take their physicals Thursday and attend a news conference later that day.

But there was an issue with Grant’s physical, which caused the Ravens to walk away from the deal.

Brown, the former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, passed his physical and signed a one-year, $5 million contract.

He has a Sickle Cell trait and missed six games last season due to quadriceps, back and toe injuries.

The Ravens will now meet with Crabtree, who has a history with the team.

After his debut last year, Mejia went to the Arizona Fall League, where he spent time at third base, a position that’s something of a question mark for the Indians with Michael Brantley’s injury potentially shuffling Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez to different spots on defense.

But even with the roadblock on the depth chart at catcher, Mejia might simply be good enough to force Terry Francona’s hand at some point during the season, even if it’s not opening day. Eventually, Mejia is going to make himself a presence in the Indians lineup.

This is a three-year deal but the expectation from both sides is we raise our kids here and then if everything goes as planned that I’d be here for a long, long time.” Joined by Vikings owner Mark Wilf, coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman at his introductory news conference, Cousins became the franchise’s next quarterback, a role Minnesota allocated significant financial resources toward in free agency.

The Vikings had over $50 million in available cap space before Cousins signed his contract. ravens_177

Colin Kaepernick Ripping Passes In Houston…’Training Every Day’

Posted on March 27, 2018 by admin

Colin Kaepernick wants everyone to know he’s still NFL ready… and he’s showing off his rocket arm during a training session in Houston.

Kaepernick hit the field with Josh Hidalgo — Head of Sports Performance at William Paterson University — and threw some darts with a team of pass catchers.

When healthy, there aren’t many?tight ends in the NFL more dynamic than Eifert. The 13 games he played in 2015 led to a Pro Bowl berth after catching 52 passes – 13 for touchdowns. In just two starts (eight games) in 2016 he caught five touchdowns on 29 receptions.

Of his 127 career receptions, 20 have gone for scores.

He is coming off back and knee surgeries that ended his season after two games in 2017, but he has said he’s healthy and believes he’s on track to participate in spring workouts.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction and I’m just happy to be back,” Eifert said.?

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Browns head coach Hue Jackson already named Tyrod Taylor his starting quarterback for 2018.

That’s not exactly a surprise, as the Browns appear committed to contending next season and acquired Taylor from the Buffalo Bills as a means of gaining stability at the most important position on the field.

While the signings are far from finished, a busy run of?deals helped fill in the blanks about many teams and their needs. Moreover, a number of moves set the table for April’s draft, as some of the biggest decision makers showed where their priorities sit.

Ahead of Kirk Cousins zeroing in on the Vikings, several of the most quarterback-needy teams looked elsewhere to address their deficiencies. But none of at the top of the draft board emerged with a definitive long-term solution that would make drafting a passer redundant. ravens_014

Michael Crabtree’s Oakland career is over after three productive seasons.

Posted on March 25, 2018 by admin

The Raiders released Crabtree on Thursday afternoon.

Although Jon Gruden expressed optimism over Crabtree’s prospects in mid-February, the new coach was noncommittal when asked about the veteran wideout at the NFL Scouting Combine two weeks later.

In 2017, Gabriel was 0-for-9 on those same throws.

The New York media was lousy with reports of Wilkerson plodding through practices and games, and by the end of his run, he was being suspended for missing multiple team meetings.

The natural assumption is that Wilkerson got his big contract from the Jets before the 2016 season and suddenly stopped caring.

Maybe he didn’t get along with new coach Todd Bowles.

Perhaps Wilkerson was a product of playing alongside Damon Harrison and a motivated Sheldon Richardson, although Wilkerson did get to spend the last two years with the wildly talented Leonard Williams.

Furthermore, $9 million (or $14.9 million last season) is far too much money for a receiver who’s gained just 1,689 yards on 194 catches over five NFL seasons. The gamebreaking threat the Rams envisioned they were getting when they selected him eighth-overall in the 2013 draft still shows up occasionally, but isn’t worth close to $10 million annually when it’s only on display a handful of times per season.

Los Angeles has realized this and adjusted compensation accordingly, keeping alive Austin’s chance to significantly impact the team while also costing them much less in the long run. It will be interesting to see how much less (especially in terms of cap space) it will be.

He was astute, exceptionally smart and an accomplished sportsman and businessman. His marketing and finance expertise guided the League’s Finance Committee for years. He pumped life and enthusiasm into a community and a franchise that had no winning seasons before he became involved, and he brought them a championship and a great sense of pride that will be felt for years to come. Our thoughts go out to his family and all of the lives that he touched. This is a sad day for the NFL. canucks_002

The quarterback Beane wants might still be on the board at 12.

Posted on March 22, 2018 by admin

Eh, not exactly. Instead, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that New York is looking at some lesser talents, such as Andrew Cashner, Jason Vargas, Jaime Garcia, Jeremy Hellickson and John Lackey. Sure, they bring depth, but not the talent a team on the bubble of contention needs. Of course, those pitchers were cheap before spring training started — at this point it can only be assumed the Mets are salivating at the thought of such savings.

Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard should be considered the only sure things in New York’s rotation. deGrom, to the Mets’ delight, threw a career-high in innings last season, but he had elbow surgery in 2016. Syndergaard, meanwhile, missed the majority of last season with a lat injury.

Then there’s Matt Harvey, who hasn’t thrown a complete season since 2015. He also had a 6.70 ERA last year. He’s penciled in as the Mets’ No. 3 starter. Again, this team is striving for contention.

After him, there’s Steven Matz, whose career-high in innings pitched is 140.2 — if you count the minor leagues. Zack Wheeler, after missing all of 2015 and 2016 thanks to Tommy John surgery, had a 5.21 ERA over 17 starts in his return last season.

Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman and Rafael Montero fill out the bottom of the depth chart. Not one of them has had success as a starter, and Lugo dealt with his own health problems last season.

He also can hold on to a fair amount of his pick haul; if Beane wants to move up for the third pick, as an example, the Jimmy Johnson chart says the Bills would only need to deal their two first-round picks and the third-rounder they just got from the Browns.

At the same time, it’s fair to wonder whether the Bills should have been this aggressive to move on from an above-average left tackle in the prime of his career.

Glenn’s extension was massive at the time, but the Bengals are acquiring Glenn with three years and $30 million left on his deal.

That’s not an awful contract by any means, and while the Bills were impressed with rookie Dion Dawkins last season, Buffalo could have kept Glenn on the left side and installed Dawkins as an upgrade over Jordan Mills at right tackle.

Their new quarterback might have appreciated having Glenn around.

As for the Bengals, their offense was sunk by a dismal offensive line last season.

The move to push overmatched right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to the left side as a replacement for Andrew Whitworth was disastrous, and they couldn’t run behind that line in 2018. packers_119

K.J. Wright feeling pained by Seahawks’ sudden defensive purge

Posted on March 20, 2018 by admin

One of the Seahawks’ top defensive players knew his unit would look different next season.

K.J. Wright, though, admits he couldn’t envision how much personnel turnover would be coming.

In the past week, Seattle has cut ties with two mainstays of its vaunted “Legion of Boom” by releasing cornerback Richard Sherman and agreeing to trade end Michael Bennett to the Eagles. Two more cornerbacks — Jeremy Lane and DeShawn Shead — were cut, and three other veterans — tackle Sheldon Richardson, linebacker Michael Wilhoite and cornerback Byron Maxwell — could be poised to leave in free agency.

Crabtree was the Raiders’ receptions leader last year and he had the most touchdowns on the team and the second-most receiving yards.

But he only put up 618 yards — and also also had a very public beef with former Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib.

He’ll turn 31 in September, but Crabtree is also just one year removed from from his last 1,000-yard season.

Here’s the outlook for the Raiders and Crabtree after this move.

Nelson was a preferred target for Aaron Rodgers and a fan favorite. Green Bay’s recent luck with free-agent tight ends such as Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks and Martellus Bennett didn’t go according to plan. This is the first free agency cycle for general manager Brian Gutekunst. All of that must be taken into account.

None of it will matter if Rodgers establishes an efficient connection with his new tight end, something that has been missing from Green Bay’s offense for the last four years, and, quite honestly, from Graham’s game. That’s going to be the key for this move.

Green Bay tight ends in that time frame averaged 96.9 targets, 66.6 catches, 735.2 yards and 5.8 TDs per season. In the last four seasons, however, those numbers have dropped to 90.3 targets, 60 catches, 567 yards and 4.5 TDs. Most Packers fans can tell you the reason why.

Green Bay hasn’t found an adequate replacement since Jermichael Finley was injured in 2013. That shows in the overall production; from 2009-12 the Packers were 47-17 in the regular season and won a Super Bowl in 2010 while Rodgers was playing at an all-time level.

Finley put up numbers, but the production wasn’t necessarily efficient. Green Bay’s leading tight end averages 67.8 targets and 40.4 catches per season, a catch percentage of 67.8 percent. The leading tight end averaged 436.3 yards and 3.6 TDs. packers_143

c is their starter, though, and nobody can challenge that.

Posted on March 17, 2018 by admin

The Miami Dolphins are expected to release Ndamukong Suh at some point this week, but the decision apparently has nothing to do with the way the star defensive tackle has played over the past three seasons. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Dolphins are parting ways with Suh for locker room reasons more than anything else. The 31-year-old has played well for Miami and not missed a game in three years, but head coach Adam Gase feels moving on from Suh is necessary.

A year ago, that might have been a deal-breaker for Peterson, but after an up-and-down season in which he was traded, he might be more willing to humble himself in a smaller role.

Much like John Elway promised Peyton Manning the Broncos would do whatever was necessary to put a Super Bowl team around him — the Broncos went twice and won one in Manning’s four-year tenure — Elway can show Cousins he’s the only one of the suitors to have made that kind of promise to a quarterback and kept it. — Jeff Legwold, ESPN Broncos reporter

What if the Broncos can’t get Cousins? The Broncos will take a long look at Case Keenum as a potential multiyear solution or a veteran like Josh McCown as a bridge quarterback to mentor a prospect. The Broncos have about $25 million in cap space, with the ability to create $15.5 million more once Aqib Talib’s trade to the Rams becomes official and by releasing running back C.J. Anderson. — Legwold

Under the contract, negotiated by agent Deryk Gilmore, Evans receives $55 million in injury guarantees (the previous high was $48.7 million by Johnson); Evans has $38.3 million fully guaranteed over the next two years alone.

The five-year extension is worth a whopping $16.5M per year, putting it on par with the new money yearly average Antonio Brown received from the Steelers on his four-year extension. Over the first three years of the deal — always a key metric in this league — Evans will average a massive $18 million per season. The deal includes rolling guarantees early in the contract and a $1.5 million bonus in the final year of the deal that will essentially force the Bucs to make a decision on his future prior to the 2023 season.

Evans earns $18 million in salary and bonus in 2018, and then would have a cash flow of $20 million in 2019, $18.72 million in 2020, $12.25 million in 2021, $14 million in 2022 and $14,5 million in 2023. buccaneers_073

Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy still recovering, won’t commit to opening day return

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin

When Daniel Murphy comes back from offseason knee surgery, he does not plan on going to the disabled list again. Taking that into account, he is not rushing to get back onto the field and risking pushing back his timetable for a full recovery.

“I think the work has been good,” he said. “Currently right now, a lot of strengthening in the weight room, starting to get introduced to some baseball activities. Right now, it’s mostly just laying on the strength as much as we can to get my body and my leg ready.”

Baltimore seems to be built for one more year before a lengthy rebuild, with infielder Manny Machado, outfielder Adam Jones, pitcher Zach Britton, manager Buck Showalter and general manager Dan Duquette all entering the last year of their contracts. Their offense should be good enough to compete. Their pitching is the question mark, and they did not do anything to address it this offseason. If they hope to hang around in the AL East, they need a rebound year from Gausman.

Gausman had a horrendous start to his 2017 campaign. On June 16, he had the highest ERA (6.60) and wOBA allowed (.397) of all pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched, striking out just 6.5 per nine while also issuing 4.3 free passes per nine.

Honeywell tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm last week. He originally was diagnosed with a right forearm strain before further testing revealed the severity of the injury.

He was 13-9 with a 3.49 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 172 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings last season, splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A, and had been expected to make the jump to the big leagues this season.

This bullpen is also pretty decent. Colome is a known quantity at closer, and a good one at that. Barralclough and Ziegler will provide some relatively steady hands in the late innings. Romo is a bit of a wild card at this point, but if he’s pitching well he’s a nice guy to have around. Steckenrider is someone you’ve probably never heard of, but he pitched very well out of the Miami bullpen in his rookie campaign last year. Jennings is a good lefty, and Banda, acquired by the Rays in Tuesday’s Steven Souza trade, gets the nod for the last spot. A starter by trade, he can serve as a swingman while being a second southpaw out of the pen. I also like the chance for his stuff to play up in relief, and if he’s a reliever in the long run he could be a darn good one. buccaneers_004

Felix Hernandez injury update: Mariners ace expected to miss only one spring start

Posted on March 13, 2018 by admin

Felix Hernandez won’t be missing in action for long.

Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto on Wednesday revealed the ace avoided serious injury after being hit by a line drive and is expected to miss only one spring start.

“It was one of those moments that stops your heart a little bit,” Dipoto said on the Wheelhouse Podcast. “But once we got some feedback from the training staff and doctors and ultimately took three sets of images to make sure he’s in a good place, I was very encouraged when he walked in yesterday with minimal swelling, the pain was down, and there were no obvious signs of a fracture or break.”

Explained: Team chemistry is a pretty big thing in baseball, and I’ll always contend that: After all, you’re spending 250 days out of the year with 25 different egos, attitudes and motivations. Of course, almost everyone wants to get off on the right foot.

After all, no one will ever say, “Man, that guy plays like a real jerk.” It just doesn’t happen. They always say nice things during spring.

And then, before you know it, someone is getting choked in the dugout.

FOSTER: Welcome back, bullpen carts. Goodbye entrance music?

If Rubin wins the bid and becomes the new Panthers owner, he would have to sell his stake with the 76ers, per NFL rules.

Current owner Jerry Richardson put the team up for sale once allegations of workplace misconduct and harassment became public.

At times, Moustakas was one of the best players in baseball last season. He was at least one of the most improved. The third baseman bashed 38 home runs with 85 RBIs, while sustaining a solid 272/.314/.521 slash line. So why is he still on the market? seahawks_161_59e05b6f2575c6bc-180x180

The Cleveland Browns aren’t done reshaping their roster.

Posted on March 12, 2018 by admin

The Browns agreed to trade defensive tackle Danny Shelton to the New England Patriots , a source informed of the deal told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. In return, the Browns will receive a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and Cleveland will send a 2018 fifth-rounder to New England, per Rapoport.

The Bills can’t come away without a quarterback from one of their two first-round picks, especially after trading Tyrod Taylor to the Browns. Buffalo now may dip into the free-agent market to buy time for Jackson to develop his passing skills as coordinator Brian Daboll installs an offense tailored to his special speed and athleticism. Coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane while with the Panthers learned how far a team can go with defense, a running game and a mobile QB.

It’s when the kids from Double-A play with the big leaguers, and when we hold our collective breath and hope that not too many of them tear their ligaments in their elbows before the real games begin. It’s when we wonder why there are coaches riding camels in the Nats’ camp .

It’s also when ridiculous claims are made and when everyone’s in the best shape of their lives. Sure enough, both are true of Hanley Ramirez.

Who knows whether Ramirez was being serious when he proclaimed his intent to get back to the 30-30 club. It’s better if he was. Baseball, and all sports, really, are about setting crazy goals and dreaming on them. Hit this round ball with this round bat and make it go a long way. Race some other people on ice skates. Put the ball in the net on the other side of the field, but don’t use your hands. Use big pole to propel yourself over a bar and go as far as possible. seahawks_083_81cb0b15cb15da8e-180x180

Warriors’ Draymond Green calls out ‘no neck’ Brian Windhorst

Posted on March 8, 2018 by admin

The Warriors didn’t play Wednesday night, so instead of prepping for a game, Draymond Green was watching ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” when the topic of Kevin Durant sprung into the conversation.

Durant became a topic of conversation after he apologized for criticizing the officials the night before. NBA reporter Brian Windhorst was on the “Countdown” panel, and he brought up Green’s comments from earlier in the month when he said the NBA needs a new crop of officials.

After Bailey’s opening goal, Tavares scored off a beauty touch pass from Thomas Hickey through his legs after getting the puck from Barzal.

Leipsic scored his first of the game, and first as a Canuck, after taking a pass from Virtanen near the net at 14:25. Archibald tied it when he converted a penalty shot by wristing it over Halak’s stick.

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who were both chosen as All-Star reserves, joked about the drafting process for Curry and fellow captain LeBron James. This year’s All-Star format has changed from being a battle of East vs. West to essentially the best pickup game in the world with Curry and James choosing from the pool of All-Stars. (Note: Players are still divided evenly between the two conferences with 12 from the East and 12 from the West.)

After the Warriors’ 123-112 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night, Thompson had a funny response to a question about campaigning for a spot on Curry’s team.

“I would probably actually request a trade if [Curry] doesn’t pick me,” Thompson said.

“We’ll see if [Curry] picks me,” Green said. “Setting no more screens if he don’t.”

“You don’t replace [Roberson],” Donovan said Sunday. “It’s no different than having a person who averages 25 a game and goes out — you’re not gonna replace 25 points. And you’re not gonna replace Andre’s defense.” lions_004

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Month: March 2018