Category: NFL News

Deebo claps back at Gardner-Johnson for 49ers-Browns fight critique originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 49ers-Cleveland Browns pregame scuffle carried over into social media on Sunday night.

Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who currently is sidelined with a pectoral injury, weighed in on the brouhaha on X, formerly Twitter, and took a shot at 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the process.

Samuel wasted no time clapping back at Gardner-Johnson, posting a video of former Bears wide receiver Javon Wims swinging at Gardner-Johnson during an on-field altercation in November 2020.

There could be an extra layer to the feud between Samuel and Gardner-Johnson, as the Lions safety was a member of the Eagles team that defeated the 49ers in last year’s NFC Championship Game.

In an offseason interview, Samuel stated the Eagles are his “most hated” team while also making it clear the rematch between Philadelphia and San Francisco in Week 13 remains at the forefront of his mind.

Samuel exited the game during the first quarter of the 49ers’ loss to the Browns with a shoulder injury and did not return.

Gardner-Johnson is on injured reserve after suffering the pectoral injury in Detroit’s Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

The 49ers are not scheduled to face the Lions during the regular season, but with both teams sitting at 5-1 a matchup in the postseason could be in the cards.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Getty Images

Miami Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill has reportedly racked up a significant amount of fines this season due to multiple uniform policy violations, and he can expect another fine in the mail this week. However, this fine doesn’t have to do with uniform violations, but instead, a touchdown celebration.

After a 41-yard touchdown reception against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Hill pulled a bit of a Joe Horn. He found a media member’s phone, and recorded himself doing a backflip to celebrate. 

Check it out: 

If you want to see the video from the phone’s perspective, here it is: 

Hill entered this week as the NFL’s leader in receiving yards (651) and receiving touchdowns (5), and he’s in the process of recording yet another monster performance. Using a cellphone as a prop in a celebration will likely draw the ire of the league office, but who knows? Maybe Hill is trying to set an NFL record with all these fines. He can certainly afford them as the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. 

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Why Juszczyk finds McCaffrey’s relentless work ethic ‘contagious’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Christian McCaffrey has established himself as an essential piece to a 49ers team that immediately saw its ceiling elevate upon his arrival.

However, McCaffrey’s contributions exceed the gaudy numbers he is racking up on the field.

During an appearance on the “Richard Sherman Podcast,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk explained how McCaffrey’s relentless work ethic has galvanized the other players on the team.

“Christian’s impact goes far beyond the 200 yards from scrimmage he gets every game,” Juszczyk said. “The scoring a touchdown in each of the last like 14 straight games. I mean, that’s massive because, at the end of the day, it’s about winning, and it’s about putting points on the board, and he’s been a massive, major part of that. His stat lines speak for themselves.

“But truly, the person we brought in here, the guy works harder than anybody I know, is harder on himself than anybody I know. Christian McCaffrey is Christian McCaffrey’s biggest critic, and he’s always going to push himself no matter what the game looks like, even if he had 150 yards. He always feels like there is something left out there that he can get better at, and I think just guys just seeing that when you see how hard he practices and how hard he is running in practice. Man, it just pushes you like, ‘If Christian is doing that, I need to do that,’ as we like to say, it’s contagious. That type of thing is contagious, and it gets spread around the whole locker room. Really can’t say enough about what Christian has done for this team, and what an addition it’s been.”

McCaffrey has scored a touchdown in 14 consecutive games, tying Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith’s mark for the most by any player since 1990.

The dynamic back has scored a touchdown in 16 of the 19 games he has suited up for with the 49ers while recording over 100 scrimmage yards in 15 games over that span.

McCaffrey…

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Getty Images

Joe Burrow is healing. He’s been dealing with a lingering calf injury throughout the early portion of the season, and it has thus far had a dramatic impact on his performance. But that may not be the case for much longer. 

According to NFL on CBS’ Evan Washburn, Burrow feels he is very close to being where he was pre-injury. 

“After hanging 34 points on the Cardinals last Sunday, Burrow said this week he feels as close to 100% as he has since prior to the injury, and that was in late July,” Washburn said. “Burrow added to us that he now feels he can make the movements in and out of the pocket to extend plays, which leads to a lot of the big plays this Bengals group has been known for over the last few years.”

Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.

Thanks for signing up!

Keep an eye on your inbox.

Sorry!

There was an error processing your subscription.

Last week against Arizona, Burrow completed 36 of 46 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns (each to Ja’Marr Chase), along with one interception. The 6.9 yards per attempt average was his highest of the season by more than a…

..

[ad_2]

Read More

How did the Colts and running back Jonathan Taylor mend fences? It required a major change of heart by the team.

Things went sideways in July because the Colts had not made Taylor a single offer on a multi-year contract. By all appearances, owner Jim Irsay had hoped to take it year to year, from the final season of Taylor’s rookie contract to one franchise tag to, perhaps, a second tag.

Taylor, who was looking at $4.3 million for 2023 with no security beyond that, pushed back. Aggressively. Irsay pushed, too. Ego got involved. Irsay foolishly tweeted brash and broad statements and accusations. Taylor demanded a trade. The Colts let him look for one.

When a trade didn’t happen, Taylor spent the first four weeks of the regular season on the physically unable to perform list. During that month apart, the Colts apparently had an epiphany. Taylor had wanted out mainly because the Colts refused to give him the financial security he had earned. The Colts decided to do for Taylor what they had not done for franchise running backs before him, like Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James.

Stephen Holder of ESPN.com reports that the Colts reached out to Taylor’s camp in the days preceding the Week 4 game against the Rams. By the following weekend, the deal was done — a three-year, $42 million extension.

The investment lands in the early years of quarterback Anthony Richardson’s contract, which are capped by the CBA. Then, by the time Richardson has fully developed, the Colts can retreat to the draft and find a new tailback there.

Given the structure of the Taylor contract, that likely won’t happen until 2026, at the earliest. That’s the same year in which Richardson will be eligible for a second contract.

So it’s a win-win, one that came after both sides seemed to be headed for a loss-loss. Irsay deserves credit for dropping the tough-guy facade. G.M. Chris Ballard likely deserves credit for nudging Irsay in that direction.

..

[ad_2]

Read More

USATSI

David Njoku had a specific goal in mind when he decided to publicly share photos after he suffered severe burns to his face and arms when he lit a fire pit late last month. 

The Cleveland Browns tight end wanted to offer support for fellow burn victims. Along with sharing photos of his burns, Njoku is now selling shirts of him wearing a mask upon arriving for work two days after the incident with the proceeds going to help the American Burns Association. 

“I’ve been getting a lot of messages from other burn victims and nurses that have burn victims, and they were telling me how everybody feels embarrassed to show whatever,” Njoku said, via Cleveland.com. “So I wanted just to come out forth and show myself so everyone feels a little bit better about themselves. End of the day, things heal.”

Despite the painful incident, Njoku played in Cleveland’s Week 4 game against the Tennessee Titans. He caught two of three targets and played in 70 percent of the Browns’ offensive snaps. 

“There are a lot of players who definitely would not have played with that happening to them less than 48 hours before the game and for good reason,” Browns wideout Amari Cooper said afterword. “But I was actually surprised when he played as well. But it says a lot about his toughness.”

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Breer: Why Patriots’ current locker room situation is ‘tenuous’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It’s one thing to finish just below .500 and barely miss the playoffs. It’s quite another to be one of the worst teams in the NFL.

That’s the reality currently facing the New England Patriots, who have tumbled to 1-4 after being outscored 72-3 over their last two games. They rank dead last in Pro Football Talk’s latest NFL Power Rankings, and if they can’t beat the Raiders in Las Vegas this weekend as 3-point underdogs, their hopes for turning their season around might be lost for good with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins looming in Weeks 7 and 8.

Our Patriots insider Phil Perry recently reported that Patriots players and coaches aren’t throwing in the towel just yet, and that the team is holding onto some hope that it can right the ship this Sunday. But as Albert Breer detailed Thursday on NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition, this team is nearing a tipping point.

“The belief in what they’re doing right now is tenuous,” Breer said when asked about the current morale in New England’s locker room, as seen in the video above. “This has to become a proof-of-concept thing where you’ve done things a certain way for so long, and (head coach) Bill (Belichick) has been able to point at the trophy case and say, ‘This is why you’re doing it.’ Now, what they’re doing is not working, and I think there’s sort of a ‘show me’ feel to everything right now.”

If the Patriots can’t deliver Sunday and fall to 1-5 ahead of matchups with the Bills and Dolphins, they risk losing collective buy-in among their players, says Breer.

“I think they’re going to have to get results to prevent from happening here what happens with bad teams,” Breer said. “What happens with bad teams is, guys become independent contractors. And because you haven’t been around a bad team here in a long, long time, people here don’t understand that.

“When a team is going down the tubes in November and…

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Getty Images

There aren’t many NFL analysts out there with a better resume to give pointers on how to be a better wide receiver than Steve Smith Sr. The 44-year-old ended up with the eighth-most receiving yards in NFL history (14,731) after 16 NFL seasons seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2001-2013) and the Baltimore Ravens (2014-2016). He is one of only four players since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to lead the NFL in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in the same season, which he did in 2005 with 103 receptions, 1,563 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. The others in the receiving triple crown club since 1970 are Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992) and Cooper Kupp (2021). 

Like many analysts today, Smith has a podcast. On his podcast, “Cut To It,” he recently called current Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy a JAG, or just another guy. On air for NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football” pregame show ahead of Jeudy and the Broncos playing the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Smith attempted to apologize for that comment. 

…..

[ad_2]

Read More