NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Five QBs who could still be traded before start of 2024 NFL season: Cowboys, Falcons might be sellers

    Five QBs who could still be traded before start of 2024 NFL season: Cowboys, Falcons might be sellers

    With the 2024 NFL Draft in the rear view, most NFL teams have a solid idea of what their roster will look like come September. But with organized team activities and training camps still around the corner, there’s plenty of time for lineups to be tweaked. That’s especially the case if/when injuries arise, prompting last-minute adjustments, even at premium positions like quarterback.

    Odds are there won’t be anymore blockbuster deals under center, but let’s say a key veteran goes down, even if just for the short term. The trade winds could very well pick up, especially with so many teams currently overseeing crowded depth charts. A year after journeyman Joshua Dobbs got dealt not once but twice as an emergency starter, which reserve signal-caller could be next on the trade block, provided a vacancy opens up in the coming months?

    Here are five names to watch:

    The former Washington Commanders starter already took a pay cut to stick around as Kirk Cousins’ backup. And that was before the Falcons spent this year’s No. 8 overall draft pick on Michael Penix Jr. Only due $4.5 million in…

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  • College football media outlets think LSU is a lot better than USC

    College football media outlets think LSU is a lot better than USC

    The USC Trojans are being widely doubted before their 2024 college football season. Doubting USC is not unreasonable, given how badly the Trojans stumbled in 2023. USC does have a lot of questions to answer, and until those questions are answered in a satisfactory way, skepticism of Lincoln Riley is warranted. However, LSU is not in an appreciably better position than USC.

    The Tigers, like USC, failed to maximize a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback the past two seasons. They didn’t win a New Year’s Six bowl or capture a conference championship. They had a terrible defense, particularly in the secondary, in 2023. They made a lot of staff changes on the defensive side of the ball. Neither LSU nor USC are in an especially strong position, something we noted earlier this week.

    Yet, while USC and LSU are — on a number of levels — in the same boat as college football teams, the media outlets which cover college football are giving LSU a lot more benefit of the doubt in a two-team comparison.

    Preseason top-25 college football rankings from The Athletic, CBS Sports, ESPN, and USA TODAY Sports, fused into a composite post-spring set of rankings collected by College Sports Wire, have LSU at No. 12 while USC is completely out of the top 25. If LSU was

    Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

    Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

    Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire

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  • Mickey Loomis on Derek Carr: I think the arrow is up and we’re excited

    Mickey Loomis on Derek Carr: I think the arrow is up and we’re excited

    After nine years with the Raiders, Derek Carr went through his first season on a different team with the Saints in 2023.

    The club finished 9-8, winning four of its last five games to challenge for a postseason berth.

    Carr started all 17 games, completing 68 percent of his passes for 3,878 yards with 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions. But while Carr was available for every game, it wasn’t necessarily easy for him to get through those contests, as G.M. Mickey Loomis noted in a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.

    “Look, one thing that’s been understated — it’s on purpose — is Derek had a pretty tough year last year, physically,” Loomis said. “He got rocked pretty good in the Green Bay game and it took a number of games for him to get feeling like himself. And, look, he played through it. He’s as tough as they come. But it affected him, particularly in the middle part of our season.

    “I thought he played really well toward the end. He got comfortable with the receivers and the skill position guys we have. And we’ve got to do a better job of protecting him as well.”

    Loomis added that like anyone would be, Carr appears more comfortable as he enters his second year in the building. Though the Saints brought in a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak, the Saints have plenty of continuity for Carr to fall back on.

    “[T]he surroundings are more familiar, the coaches are more familiar, the environment that we have in our building is familiar,” Loomis said. “So, I think the arrow is up and we’re excited about what Derek brings to the table. And I know he’s excited.

    “Look, it’s hard to take that leadership role when you first come into a building — no matter how good you are, no matter what position you have. So now a year in, he’s going to feel more comfortable about the leadership that you need from the quarterback and we’re expecting great things.”

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  • Big Ten post-spring power rankings: Ohio State over Oregon for No. 1, USC lands in top five

    Big Ten post-spring power rankings: Ohio State over Oregon for No. 1, USC lands in top five

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    While we’ve seen plenty of teams win the title of “offseason champions” only to fall flat on their face during the season, it isn’t likely Ohio State will suffer such a fate. It’s very much Big Ten title or bust in Columbus. Hell, it’s probably more national title or bust. Ohio State retained most of its key pieces from last season and added to the roster by landing big names in the portal such as Alabama’s Caleb Downs and Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins. Will Howard transferred in at QB but has not officially won the starting job because Ohio State has enviable depth at the QB spot. The only questions are on the offensive line.2

    Speaking of programs that have had a great offseason, Oregon enters its first season in the Big Ten as a legitimate contender to win the league. Bo Nix has been replaced by left-handed Bo Nix (more commonly known as Dillon Gabriel), and he’s just one of the impressive transfers Dan Lanning has landed. There’s a strong argument that the Ducks are the second-most talented team in…..

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  • 2024 NFL QB Power Rankings: Brock Purdy, Jordan Love crack top 10 in first post-draft pecking order

    2024 NFL QB Power Rankings: Brock Purdy, Jordan Love crack top 10 in first post-draft pecking order

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    No reason to get cute here. Like that other figurehead of a recent dynasty, Mahomes has adapted according to circumstance, going from big-play striker to methodical sharpshooter in a Tom Brady-esque domination of the game. He is the current and indefinite standard at the position.2

    Let’s give the kid the respect he deserves. Two seasons, two NFC title games, one valiant Super Bowl effort. Does he have a sterling setup in San Francisco? Yep. Does he operate like a 10-year vet, managing the pocket as both an efficient and mobile gunslinger? Also yep.3

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  • Gators offer 4-star 2026 safety currently committed to ACC school

    Gators offer 4-star 2026 safety currently committed to ACC school

    Florida football’s recruiting efforts have been in high gear of late — particularly in the 2025 cycle. Last week, coaches hit the road to visit the schools of some of the program’s coveted prep prospects and even handed out a scholarship offer to one unsuspecting recruit.

    Four-star safety Izayia Williams out of Leesburg (Florida) Tavares is currently committed to the Syracuse Orange but has still entertained interest from elsewhere. The 6-foot-1-inch, 205-pound defensive back welcomed inside linebackers coach Ron Roberts to his school last Thursday and came away with a pleasant surprise: an offer from the Orange and Blue.

    “I didn’t think they were interested at first,” Williams told Gators Online. “We went to a spring practice and they had somebody down there who committed or was on an official visit, so all the attention was on him and I didn’t talk to them like yet. I never kept in contact after, but then today they came by.”

    While Williams is primarily a safety at the high school level, he is projected as a linebacker at the next level by many.

    Recruiting Summary

    Williams is ranked No. 20 overall and No. 2 at linebacker nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at No. 144 overall and No. 15 at safety.

    Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

    Story originally appeared on Gators Wire

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  • Patriots GM search: Tracking news, rumors about open position

    Patriots GM search: Tracking news, rumors about open position

    Patriots GM search: Tracking news, rumors about open position originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

    The New England Patriots have begun their search for the next leader of their football operations department.

    Director of scouting Eliot Wolf has operated as New England’s de facto general manager since Bill Belichick’s departure in January. Wolf was the primary decision-maker during NFL free agency as well as the draft, which saw the Patriots select the potential next face of the franchise in quarterback Drake Maye third overall.

    Unsurprisingly, our Phil Perry reports that Wolf is the “overwhelming favorite” to be officially named the Patriots’ next primary football executive. However, the Patriots must abide by the Rooney Rule, which states that all NFL teams must interview at least two minority candidates for head coach, general manager, and executive positions.

    Until the Patriots announce their next front-office leader, you can stay up to date on all of the rumored candidates with our tracker below:

    🔊 Patriots Talk: Patriots have opened their head-scratching GM search | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

    May 7: The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports the Patriots are interviewing Philadelphia Eagles director of scouting Brandon Hunt for the position.

    The Patriots are interviewing Eagles director of scouting Brandon Hunt for their primary football executive position tomorrow in Foxboro, per sources. It’s the first known external interview New England has conducted for the job.

    — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 7, 2024

    May 7: Buffalo Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray turned down the Patriots’ offer to interview for the primary football executive position, per The MMQB’s Albert Breer.

    The Patriots reached out to interview Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray for their primary football executive position, per sources, and Gray politely turned them down.

    Eliot Wolf’s the expected hire, but New England still has to satisfy NFL rules on…

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  • Meet Monte Harrison, the former MLB player who will join Arkansas as a 28-year-old walk-on wide receiver

    Meet Monte Harrison, the former MLB player who will join Arkansas as a 28-year-old walk-on wide receiver

    Arkansas is adding 28-year old former MLB player Monte Harrison to its football roster. Harrison, who was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2014, will join the Razorbacks as a walk-on wide receiver ahead of the 2024 season, according to 247Sports. 

    Harrison, who now measures in at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, took an unofficial visit to Fayetteville, Arkansas, in April. 247Sports notes that Harrison also had opportunities to play football at Nebraska and Tennessee prior to choosing Arkansas. 

    Ironic, given that Harrison initially signed with the Huskers (to play football) out of Lee’s Summit (Missouri) West High School in 2014. He was the No. 52 wide receiver and No. 7 prospect in the state of Missouri in his class. 

    “Best pure athlete I’ve ever seen,” says 247Sports’ Michael Bruntz, who covered Harrison as a recruit when he signed with Nebraska in 2014.

    But he never suited up for Nebraska. He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of that summer’s 2014 MLB Draft and signed a rookie contract with a $1.8 million bonus out of high school. He’d spend the next decade bouncing around various minor league farm systems, with brief stints in the majors in between. 

    Here’s five things to know about Arkansas’ newest (and oldest) wide receiver. 

    Major League contracts paying off

    247Sports reports that Harrison will use his professional earnings to pay tuition at Arkansas, allowing him to comfortably play football without the need for a scholarship. That $1.8 million signing bonus he accrued accounts for a vast majority of the money he made playing baseball. 

    According to Spotrac, Harrison boasts a career earnings figure of $2,592,449. That number is purely based on contract information and doesn’t take into account any…

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