Sports

[gardenman]

The Patriots will be an interesting team to watch this year. Dont'a Hightower and Patrick Chung are pretty important defenders who are opting out. Is it because they don't have fun playing for Belichick? Is it part of a plan to tank the year and get Trevor Lawrence? Given the Patriot's history, it's not hard to imagine the Patriot's encouraging certain upper tier guys to sit out a year to let the team tank for Lawrence. It's kind of a shrewd tactical move if that's what they're doing.

I sometimes think Belichick is playing 3D chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers. Get eight of your guys to sit out a year, still collect some money, stay under contract, get a star college QB, and be strong for the next decade. It would be a pretty impressive move if that's what's happening.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

In one of those good news/bad news scenarios, Doug Pederson has tested positive for Covid-19. That's the bad news. The good news is he's asymptomatic, feels great, and should be back in ten days or so, then he should be immune for the regular season, so he won't miss time when it really matters. Getting infected and being asymptomatic at this point isn't that bad of a thing. He should emerge with antibodies and be immune for the regular season.

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@gardenman 

😮

[Spurt]

WFT is signing WR Dontrelle Inman. 

The 31-year-old Inman spent time last year with the Patriots, Chargers and Colts but rarely got on the field, catching a total of just 12 passes in 2019. In his best season, in 2016, Inman caught 58 passes for 810 yards.

The WFT had been looking to add some veteran help at wide receiver, with Harmon on the non-football injury list and Cody Lattimer on the commissioner’s exempt list. Inman joins a young WR group that includes 

McLaurin, Quinn, Sims, and rookie Gandy-GTolden 

[gardenman]

The opt-out deadline is now Thursday at 4:00 PM ET. Any player who wishes to opt-out this year must do so by then. Teams with a tight cap situation this year might be encouraging guys to do just that as the bonus money and salary of the player then gets pushed back to next year.

The modified CBA now allows teams to activate practice squad guys up to ninety minutes before a game. That kind of forces teams to take all 16 practice squad guys on the road with them in case they need one come the game. Interesting. Most teams leave the practice squad guys behind when they hit the road. 

The practice squads this year could be kind of interesting as even guys who have been in the league a long time are now eligible to end up on the practice squad. Quite a few GMs are likely looking at that and trying to figure out how they can use that to their advantage. 

[teganslaw]

Colts left tackle, Anthony Castonzo, thought about opting out, but changed his mind. He figured that the NFL has done well taking safety precautions, so decided to play. None of the other Colts have opted out.

The Seahawks are monitoring Antonio Brown and would consider signing him. Brown has been suspended 8 games, so I don't know how that could help Seattle. They are also interested in taking back Josh Gordon.  Nothing is official with either players. It seems that Seattle's gm thinks  Brown and Gordon's talent offsets the problems they could bring. 

Dontrelle Inman has had some good games, and should help Washington. He's not a pro bowler, but is a solid signing. The Colts released him mostly because of salary cap issues. 

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@teganslaw wrote:

Colts left tackle, Anthony Castonzo, thought about opting out, but changed his mind. He figured that the NFL has done well taking safety precautions, so decided to play. None of the other Colts have opted out.

The Seahawks are monitoring Antonio Brown and would consider signing him. Brown has been suspended 8 games, so I don't know how that could help Seattle. They are also interested in taking back Josh Gordon.  Nothing is official with either players. It seems that Seattle's gm thinks  Brown and Gordon's talent offsets the problems they could bring. 

Dontrelle Inman has had some good games, and should help Washington. He's not a pro bowler, but is a solid signing. The Colts released him mostly because of salary cap issues. 

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@teganslaw 

Thanks for the info on Inman--- sounds like a good pickup by my WFT.......

Gee, Antonio Brown AND Josh Gordon....Does Pete Carroll realize what he would be getting himself into LOL!!!!

[teganslaw]

The 49ers signed TE Jordan Reed to a year contract with many incentives. The details of the contract haven't been listed. 

They are working on a long term deal with their other TE, George Kittle, and are optimistic something will be worked out. If (that's a big "if"), Reed can stay healthy, it will turn out to be good as SF utilizes TEs in games. Wish SF luck that Reed will at least get to play. As of yet, he's not guaranteed to make the roster. 

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@teganslaw wrote:

The 49ers signed TE Jordan Reed to a year contract with many incentives. The details of the contract haven't been listed. 

They are working on a long term deal with their other TE, George Kittle, and are optimistic something will be worked out. If (that's a big "if"), Reed can stay healthy, it will turn out to be good as SF utilizes TEs in games. Wish SF luck that Reed will at least get to play. As of yet, he's not guaranteed to make the roster. 

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@teganslaw 

Well 49ers....good luck with Jordan Reed.....I hope he can stay healthy for at least more than one game.... (He has tremendous talent, but he cant stay on the field, always hurt---)

[gardenman]

Jordan Reed's a top ten TE when healthy. Getting a guy like that could be a big win, if you can keep him healthy. The good news is he's never had serious ligament or tendon injuries. The bad news is he's had seven (that's a lot) of concussions. His toe injuries should be healed. Proper footwear can help prevent recurrences of them. The concussions though, that's the big issue. You can't fix that issue too easily. A better helmet, insist on more personal awareness by Reed (keep your head up), and try to create routes where he's not as exposed to contact, might help, but you never know.

[Spurt]

@redwingsgal @gardenman  @teganslaw 

GOOD NEWS! 

The Lions activated Matthews Stafford from the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, declaring his inclusion on the list a false-positive.

Stafford was placed on the list Saturday, but the Lions say subsequent tests indicate he had not contracted the virus.

“As a result of a False-Positive test result, he was forced due to NFL/NFLPA protocols to sit out until he received two negative tests,” the team said in a statement. “His testing sequence for the Pre-Entry period was: negative, negative, False-Positive. The next three tests were all negative. To be clear, Matthew does NOT have COVID-19 and never has had COVID-19 and the test in question was a False-Positive. Also, all of Matthew’s family have been tested and everyone is negative.”