Category: NFL

Drew Brees stepped down as an announcer for NBC after one season. The network is reportedly looking at former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to replace him.

After announcing his retirement from the NFL, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees became an analyst for NBC. He worked on “Football Night in America” and called Notre Dame Fighting Irish football games alongside Mike Tirico. But after one year, Brees and NBC parted ways, leaving the network with a vacancy.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, NBC is looking to former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to replace Brees for Notre Dame games and potentially the “Football Night in America” show.

NBC reportedly looking at Jason Garrett to replace Drew Brees

Garrett is already working for the network as a commentator for the USFL.

A former NFL quarterback, Garrett made the jump to coaching in 2005. After becoming the interim head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2010, Garrett was promoted to full-time head coach in 2011. Following the 2019 season, the Cowboys parted ways with Garrett.

In his 10 years as head coach, Garrett accumulated a 85-67 record in the regular season, and a 2-3 record in three playoff stints. He was named Coach of the Year in 2016.

After his Dallas tenure, Garrett joined the New York Giants as their offensive coordinator in 2020. The offense was stagnant during Garrett’s time with the team, and he was fired midway last season.

When it comes to who will replace Brees, Garrett is a name to keep an eye on, according to Marchand.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that he thinks about retirement “all the time.”

Ahead of the 2022 season, fresh off a newly signed contract with the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers participated in The Match VI. Rodgers nailed the winning putt to give himself and teammate Tom Brady the win over fellow quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. While what he did on the golf course was noteworthy, it was what he said after the event that caught everyone’s attention.

When speaking with TNT Sports’ Ernie Johnson, Rodgers revealed that retirement is on his mind constantly.

“I think about it all the time,” said Rodgers, h/t Nick Kosko of 247Sports. “And I resonate with what Tom [Brady] said about the mindset of 55-45. You know, when you commit, you’re 100%. But the older you get, the interests change and the grind, I think wears on you a little bit more and the football part, that’s the easy part. That’s the joy. It’s the other stuff that wears on you and makes you think about life after football. Tommy obviously set the bar so high with playing so many years, but I can definitely see the end coming.”

Aaron Rodgers says he thinks about retirement ‘all the time’

Rodgers and retirement is not necessarily a new topic. Prior to the end of last season, the quarterback said that bringing an end to his NFL career was an option for him.

This past season, Rodgers won his fourth NFL MVP award and his second in consecutive years after throwing for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns and seven interceptions all while completing 68.9-percent of his passes. The Packers had the best record in the NFL, but they were eliminated in the Divisional Round by the San Francisco 49ers.

After wondering what was next for Rodgers this offseason, it was answered rather quickly after he and the Packers agreed to a three-year, $150.8 million contract.

Rodgers is set to enter his age-39 season, and Packers fans have to know that it is only a matter of time before he decides to retire. When that happens remains to be seen. The Green Bay faithful certainly hope that this is the year that the team returns to the Super Bowl and brings home their fifth Lombardi Trophy and that Rodgers gets the second ring of his career.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa says that he is ready to silence the critics and “keyboard warriors” this season.

Tua Tagovailoa has been the subject of criticism throughout the first two years in the NFL. Not only is he being compared to his fellow 2020 NFL Draft classmates Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, but he is also criticized for his arm strength, which was noted by social media users after the team tweeted and deleted a video of a pass to Tyreek Hill in practice.

Following Miami Dolphins minicamp on Thursday, June 2, Tagovailoa says that he is zoning out and not paying attention to the “keyboard warriors” because they are not out with the team practicing. Not only that, but he brought up a deep pass he threw to Hill in practice that day, and said he thought it looked pretty good.

You can listen to Tagovailoa’s comments below, courtesy of Safid Deen of USA Today.

Tua Tagoailoa says he’s tuning out ‘keyboard warriors’

When Tagovailoa bragged a bit about his throw to Hill and asked if anyone filmed it, the media said they were not allowed to. So you’ll have to take his word for it. And really, there is some nonsensical nature to the whole situation, as pointed out by Warren Sharp.

This offseason, the Dolphins have made moves to give Tagovailoa some extra support on the offensive side of the ball this offseason. First, they hired former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as their next head coach. Then, the front office signed left tackle Terron Armstead and running backs Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel. Then, perhaps the biggest move was acquiring Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs and signing him to a four-year, $120 million contract extension.

Make no mistake about it, Tagovailoa has the pieces around him to succeed. Now it is up to him to get the offense to thrive.

Through the first two seasons of his career, Tagovailoa completed 66.2-percent of his passes for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 23 games played.

Tagovailoa is not focused on the critics, instead concentrating on practice as the Dolphins look to make a return to the playoffs out of what has become a stacked AFC.

The Dallas Cowboys would be wise to continue to bolster coordinator Dan Quinn’s defense, and there is one player that is still available that they should target.

This offseason, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was the most popular head coaching candidate in the cycle. Even though he interviewed for nearly every vacancy, Quinn opted to return to the Cowboys. That is obviously great news for Dallas, since he played a significant role in the defense improving drastically.

The defense remains relatively intact, but they could still stand to make an addition before the start of the season. One area that needs to be addressed is linebacker, and luckily for the Cowboys, there is a player available in free agency, and that is Anthony Barr.

Cowboys should sign Anthony Barr to add to Dan Quinn’s defense

Having a four-time Pro Bowler available this far into the offseason is a bit stunning, and it would definitely catch the attention of teams who are looking to improve the outside linebacker position.

Barr spent his entire eight-year career with the Minnesota Vikings, the very team that drafted him with the ninth overall pick in 2014. While he did make the Pro Bowl in four consecutive seasons from 2015-18, he has dealt with the injury bug in the past two years.

He played in two games in 2020 after suffering a pectoral injury and participated in 11 games this past year after being limited by a knee injury.

Throughout his career, Barr recorded 495 combined tackles, 44 quarterback hits,  31 defended passes, 17.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and five interceptions through 98 games.

Even with the injury history, Barr is a big name that teams should take a chance on this late in the offseason. For the Cowboys, they are in the NFC, which will not be as much of a battle to make the Super Bowl as the AFC. Yet, the Philadelphia Eagles are on the rise after making a ton of moves to improve their team this offseason, and could potentially fight for first in the NFC East.

Dallas should sign Barr, because that will make Quinn’s defense even better.

The second overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft is still without a home for 2022. Could Ndamukong Suh wind up in the Big Easy this fall?

This past year, the New Orleans Saints got off to a 5-2 start with quarterback Jameis Winston at the helm. Coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense was up to the task. The team appeared to be clicking on all cylinders and that fifth victory was a conquest of the then-defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Winston would be lost for the season in that game.

There would be a midseason slide and by the conclusion of 2021, the club owned a 9-8 record and would not be NFC South champions for the first time since 2016. The Bucs would claim the division via Tom Brady and one of the better defenses in the league.

Veteran interior presence Ndamukong Suh was part of that imposing unit. The 12-year veteran spent the last three seasons in Tampa and 2020 resulted in an NFL championship. But the five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro remains an unrestricted free agent.

There had been some recent noise (via Brandon Little of SI.com) that Suh could be headed to Cleveland. However, he remains on the open market. And it might benefit Allen and the Saints to add the reliable pro sooner than later.

While he had his issues early in his career, there’s only been one thing that has kept him off the field and that was himself. He received a two-game suspension in 2011 for stomping on Green Bay’s Evan Dietrich-Smith.

It adds up to 191 regular-season games and starts for Suh. He’s a solid presence up the middle and had amassed 70.5 sacks along the way. He’s reached the playoffs with four different franchises (Lions, Dolphins, Rams and Buccaneers) and has a combined 7.0 sacks in 12 postseason outings.

Of course, Allen is now the head coach, with Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard co-defensive coordinators. But just imagine a Saints’ defensive front with Suh joining David Onyemata up the middle and Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport as bookends? And that group chasing division-rival Tom Brady around the field at least two times a season?

NFL insider Ian Rapoport went on the Pat McAfee Show to dish on where Odell Beckham Jr will likely play in 2022 and what the hold up on a deal is. 

The absolute frenzy of the NFL offseason has seemingly died down, but that doesn’t mean top-tier talent remains available on the open market.

Odell Beckham Jr., once lauded as the best receiver in football early in his career, is still a free agent despite the name recognition and talent he possesses. After a rocky stint with the Cleveland Browns, OBJ’s narrative completely reversed course once he was freed from Baker Mayfield and linked up with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles.

The result was the Rams first Super Bowl victory since 1999 and the first the franchise has ever won in Los Angeles. But that was four months ago and it’s been 78 days since NFL free agency opened, yet Beckham remains without a deal.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport went on The Pat McAfee Show and shed some light on why that is and when it could change.

NFL Rumors: Will Odell Beckham Jr return to the Rams in 2022?

“I do think [Odell Beckham Jr] being with the Rams is still a possibility. They liked everything they saw from him last year and he liked them too,” Rapoport told The Pat McAfee Show.

This isn’t really anything new. Odell and the Rams have been linked all offseason and the lack of movement with other teams swooping in to steal him away seems to suggest it’s only a matter of time before a deal gets done that sees him return to Los Angeles.

So the question everyone has is what’s the hold up?

As Rapoport puts it, this isn’t about money or other contracts getting in the way — namely a new deal for Aaron Donald. Rather, the ACL injury that OBJ suffered in the Super Bowl is what has both slowed the timeline down and also seemingly eliminated the sense of urgency to get something done.

Something else that Rapoport mentions, which illuminates why teams like the Packers, Bears, or Chiefs have likely held off on signing Beckham in favor of other free agent options, is the timing of the ACL injury. That it happened in the Super Bowl — the absolute deepest into the NFL schedule it could happen — means that he won’t be playing a full season in 2022.

“He’s such an interesting case because he’s probably not going to play the first several games, might be half of the season. The timing of the injury was so bad for someone who was playing as well as he probably has since his first or second year with the Giants.”

“It’s not like Odell is going to be getting $15 million in Year 1 because he’s probably not going to play the first little bit [of the season].”

This doesn’t take teams around the league out of the running for OBJ once he gets healthy enough for a deal to become a reality. Aaron Rodgers would likely love to have him in Green Bay and the Packers were reportedly close to acquiring him from the Browns last season before getting beat out by the Rams.