Category: NFL

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes added another layer of hype to the impressive highlight grab new receiver Justyn Ross made at OTAs.

Justyn Ross went from one of college football’s biggest talents to an undrafted free agent, largely because of a devastating injury that put his playing career in jeopardy.

Ross worked his way back from injury to compete for Clemson against the odds. He’s now in the first stage of proving he deserved to be selected in the draft by making a name for himself with the Chiefs.

He’s wasting no time either, producing a jaw-dropping highlight with a one-handed catch during OTAs.

Patrick Mahomes is hyped over Justyn Ross’s catch at OTAs

The catch was so impressive that it caught the attention of Patrick Mahomes.

“Craziest part about this was dude acted like this was normal after he caught it,” Mahomes tweeted.

Every year the crop of undrafted free agents produces a few diamonds in the rough and Ross has every chance of being one of them this year.

He starred as a freshman at Clemson in 2018 with 1,000 yards receiving. He had a stellar performance against Alabama in the national championship game as the Tigers routed Alabama.

After a strong sophomore campaign, Ross was considered one of the best receivers in the country heading into the 2020 season when it was discovered he had a congenital fusion condition of his neck and spine. He missed the campaign and had a long road to recovery before returning in 2021 to catch 47 passes for 524 yards.

Ross’s talent could make him the biggest UDFA pick-up of the bunch. OTAs are just the start, especially since Kansas City is rebuilding their receiving corps after trading away Tyreek Hill and letting several others go in free agency.

After winning the NFC East and disappointing in the playoffs, the Dallas Cowboys offseason has featured several moves that don’t inspire confidence.

On the heels of a 12-5 season that ultimately ended with a letdown in the playoffs, the hope among fans — and almost surely within the organization otherwise — was that the Dallas Cowboys were set to build upon the groundwork they laid with a healthy Dak Prescott, a talent-laden offense, and a drastically improved defense.

Unfortunately, the 2022 offseason hasn’t done much to further that optimism. Between the numerous key players that are no longer in the building and a draft class that’s fine but surely not great based on a gut reaction, the Cowboys’ offseason has been one of the most criticized in the league.

But as we are set to enter the summer months, let’s look back at the biggest missteps for the organization with the worst moves Dallas made in the 2022 offseason.

Cowboys worst moves of the 2022 offseason

3. Releasing La’el Collins and inadequately replacing him

Amid a number of cost-cutting moves that the Cowboys were forced to make throughout the offseason, one of them was releasing last year’s starting right tackle La’el Collins. He went on to eventually sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. As for Dallas, they’re set to move their backup who replaced Collins during a suspension last season, Terrence Steele, into the full-time starting role.

On the most basic level, Collins is just a superior player to Steele, even with the improvements that the latter made in the 2021 campaign. The front office has long mismanaged big contracts, which led to them feeling as if they had to part ways with Collins and effectively downgrade on the right bookend of the offensive line.

Assuming that Steele continues to improve, the two tackle spots should be fine for the club in the 2022 season. However, the issue arises with the fact that they now have inadequate depth at the position. Sure, the team drafted Tyler Smith out of Tulsa in the first round, but he’s slated to likely replace Connor Williams, who also left this offseason, at left guard.

Outside of Smith, the club has 2022 fifth-round pick Matt Waletzko and 2021 fourth-rounder Josh Ball as the backup tackles. For a team that has long been invested in running the ball and that surely needs to keep Dak Prescott healthy, it’s hard to not look at the shuffling on the O-line as a net negative, which starts with feeling compelled to release Collins.

A sports reporter covering the San Francisco 49ers criticized 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, and Kinlaw replied in a heated online interview. 

Early in their career, first-round draft picks often get more attention than their late-round counterparts, and this is both good and bad. It means that successful rookie campaigns are highlighted, but it also means that those who are considered “draft busts” tend to face heavy scrutiny.

It’s much too early to call Javon Kinlaw a “bust”: the No. 14 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft made the PFWA All-Rookie in his first season, and his sophomore season was shortened in October due to a torn ACL.

Despite this, All49ers publisher Grant Cohn went ahead and hurled a multitude of insults Kinlaw’s way. According to Cohn, this is a small sample of what he’s said about Kinlaw that prompted the defensive tackle to confront him at a 49ers practice.

“Javon, what are you so upset about? Is it the fact that I said you have an 80-year-old knee…is it the fact that I said you’re unprofessional and immature? It escapes me, which of the hundred negative things I’ve said about Javon Kinlaw the last couple of years moved him to approach me in such a way.”

Apparently Kinlaw and Cohn didn’t speak at the practice, but Kinlaw approached him and stood behind him to physically intimidate him.

A few hours later, Kinlaw confronted Cohn during a video interview, telling him to stop criticizing him.

Javon Kinlaw calls out 49ers reporter for “hundreds” of criticisms

Some of what Kinlaw said to Cohn is detailed below, per AwfulAnnouncing:

“Stop talking about people like people don’t got families,” Kinlaw said. “Stop doing that sh**, bruh. What you get out of doing this? What satisfaction do you get out of this, man…You’re analyzing people like they’re not human, fam.

I understand that’s your job – but, bruh – you gotta start going about this thing in a different way. You talk sh*t about everybody on this team, bruh. Nobody f**** with that. Nobody f**** with you, bruh. You don’t even understand that. Nobody f**** with you, brother. You need to go find a new job.”

To Kinlaw’s point about other players disliking Cohn, fellow San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Arik Armstead agreed with Kinlaw, sharing a video of Cohn and calling him a “low life.” Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and others apparently criticized Cohn as well.

In the video, Cohn said that, “if [Kinlaw] would have touched me, if he would have pushed me, I could have retired today.” Cohn said he was thinking, “‘Oh damn, I’m about to retire. I’m about to be out of the game. I’m about to be a multi-millionaire.’”

Although Cohn repeatedly took opportunity to antagonize Kinlaw and escalate the situation to promote his content, Kinlaw’s response may not go over well with the 49ers camp.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly hired their new general manager, and he was in the organization this whole time.

At the end of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers not only began their search to replace quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but also general manager Kevin Colbert. The team revealed that the longtime general manager would stay on until after the NFL Draft. After a lengthy search that included 16 candidates, the Steelers have found their new general manager, and they were in the organization this whole time.

According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Steelers are promoting vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan to be their next general manager. CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala was first to say that Khan was expected to get the job.

Steelers promote VP Omar Khan to be their next GM

Khan joined Pittsburgh in 2001 as a football administration coordinator, which happened after working with the New Orleans Saints since 1997. Khan was promoted to director of football operations in 2011 and vice president in 2016.

There was also another hiring made in Pittsburgh, which broke just before the Khan news.

Kinkhabwala reported that the Steelers were hiring Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl as their new assistant general manager. Weidl is a native of Pittsburgh and was also a finalist for the general manager position.

The other finalists for the general manager position included Tampa Bay Buccaneers vice president of player personnel John Spytek, Tennessee Titans vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley and Steelers pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt.

Pittsburgh spent the offseason looking to build off of a successful 2021 season where they clinched a Wild Card berth. They addressed the quarterback position this offseason by bringing in Mitchell Trubisky and drafting Pittsburgh Panther signal caller Kenny Pickett. They also signed former Chicago Bears guard James Daniels to a three-year contract, $26.5 million contract to shore up the offensive line.

Steelers fans have waited a long time to find out who will be their general manager, but they received their answer on May 24. It will be Khan, who had been working alongside Colbert in the organization for over 20 years.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones has an exciting message for Chiefs fans to get them in the spirit for the upcoming year.

The AFC West is being considered the toughest division in the NFL, and everyone has a say about which team is the toughest.

The Los Angeles Chargers made a dig at every other AFC West team in their NFL schedule announcement, the Denver Broncos are looking to turn things around with Russell Wilson at quarterback, and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller agrees that it’s the most difficult division — and that the Raiders won free agency this year.

For the Kansas City Chiefs, there’s four years of consecutive AFC Championship appearances, two Super Bowl appearances and a ring in the 2019 season, so picking the Chiefs as an early favorite for the division probably has the best odds based on the past.

And despite all the quarterbacks crowding the decision, the Chiefs are still the team with the magician, Patrick Mahomes.

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is already hyped up for the season, sharing his enthusiasm with Chiefs fans who were absolutely here for it.

Chris Jones is getting Chiefs fans excited for 2022

As the team heads into June, they will continue playing their way through OTAs and building chemistry in the offseason. Mahomes spent some time before OTAs working with his wide receivers in Texas, which inspired Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy to host voluntary virtual meetings for the offense.

“Having them with a little time away to do their bonding with themselves, especially with the influx of new players, I think is important,” Reid said according to Fox4KC. “It says a lot about Patrick.”

On the Arrowhead Addicts podcast, hosts Patrick Allen and Matt Verderame recently discussed whether or not the Chiefs were being disrespected with the AFC West winner conversation.

“It’s completely reasonable to look at the Chiefs and say, ‘They’ve got a lot of young players who are gonna play real snaps on defense, they brought in a lot of new pieces on offense, they lost their most dynamic weapon offensively — they’re not gonna be as good,” said Verderame.

“I do think, though, the idea that they’re gonna fall off a cliff and not make the playoffs… if Mahomes is healthy and breathing, they’re making the playoffs,” Verderame continued.

With Mahomes and Jones taking the field, there’s a lot the Chiefs have to look forward to, especially since they are still very much in the race for the AFC West title.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is being sued by Leaf, a trading card company, for not autographing enough memorabilia items. 

Autographs have long been a way for elite athletes to connect with admiring fans, but they’ve gone long beyond scoring signatures at events. Athletes now have game-worn items sold at pricey auctions, commanding thousands with proof of authentication.

Often, an autograph is partial proof of that authentication, and for one trading card company, it became grounds for a lawsuit.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is being sued by Leaf, a trading card company, for not fulfilling autograph orders with his prized signature, according to a lawsuit filed by the company.

Leaf CEO Brian Gray tweeted about why the company took this drastic measure against Lamb.

“We hate doing this, but customers need defending here,” Gray wrote.

Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb is being sued for his autograph

Cowboys Country’s Mike Fisher shared the legal documents detailing the lawsuit in which the company claimed “significant damages” because Lamb “breached his License Agreement with Leaf to sign and return to Leaf trading cards in return for a payment from Leaf at a stated amount per each signed card.”

Essentially, Lamb did not sign the required number of cards, meaning that Leaf was unable to fulfill orders and satisfy customers.

The lawsuit arrives while Lamb is currently practicing at OTAs with his team following a highly-successful season. According to PFF, CeeDee ranked third for the highest rate of contested catches among wideouts in 2021.

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema expects 2022 to be even better for Lamb.

While the lawsuit certainly presents an off-the-field headache for Lamb and the Cowboys this offseason, ideally, Lamb can continue to focus on his game and build off of a successful 2021 campaign.