We have so many questions about the mysterious Colin Kaepernick workout

The timing, the format, the lack of coverage … none of this makes any sense.

Tuesday’s news that the NFL would be holding a private workout for Colin Kaepernick should have been good news. It was the first sign of progress in this whole ordeal, which has become an ever-growing PR nightmare for the league and led to the prolonged unemployment for a player who clearly belongs in the NFL.

But as more details were revealed, it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain any level of optimism that this will lead to the 32-year-old landing with a team.

A quick summary of how things will go, via reports from Adam Schefter and Mike Silver:

  • Having been offered the opportunity on Tuesday, Kaepernick will have only a few days to prepare for the workout. His people asked the NFL to move the workout to Tuesday — when workouts are typically held — but the league wouldn’t budge. It would have to be on Saturday.
  • As a result — with coaches and team execs traveling to games — the workout will mostly be watched by scouts who don’t carry any decision-making power.
  • Silver reports that Kaepernick will be made available for interviews with teams but, for whatever reason, the league did not ask Kaepenrick’s permission and his people were not made aware of it when the offer was made.
  • It’s also unclear who will run the workout and which receivers Kaepernick will be throwing to.

The odds are greatly stacked against Kaepernick, but, at the very least, he’s getting a shot to prove to NFL talent evaluators that he still has it, which is nice and can be seen as progress. Just one problem: There will be no media access to the event. So that means any reviews will be coming from anonymous employees who work for a league that has already paid to get out of a lawsuit that alleged it had colluded to blackball Kaepernick.

From a public relations standpoint, the best-case for the NFL would be Kaepernick bombing the workout. That is undeniable, as it would allow the league to point at the failed workout whenever it is accused of keeping Kaepernick out of the league not based on merit but because his politics make some people uncomfortable.

The NFL not allowing media to attend the workout makes little sense. This is a league that never turns down an opportunity to bring in viewers, and a broadcast of Kaepernick essentially playing for an NFL job would bring in millions of viewers. This isn’t just a football story. It’s a news story that would capture the attention of the country. There is so much money to be made and the league is just turning it down. You HAVE TO wonder why that is. Sure, teams would NEVER allow media to cover individual player tryouts, but this clearly isn’t that. It appears to be an unprecedented, pop-up NFL Combine meant for one former player — and the combine gets plenty of coverage. As do pro day workouts for NFL prospects.

With no media in attendance, NFL employees will have total control over the narrative, so if you are looking for a potential benefit for the league, there it is.

The media thing isn’t the only curious aspect of this workout. You have to wonder why now? Why would the NFL wait years after Kaepernick played his last game to do this (and then do it in November)? You also have to wonder what it’s going to take for him to impress scouts. If he’s the same guy we saw in 2016, will that be good enough? And if that’s the case, and NFL teams are interested in that version of Kaepernick, why did it take this long for him to get a workout? In 2013, Jamarcus Russell had no problem getting a private workout with the Bears. This was FOUR YEARS after his last NFL appearance and Russell was one of the worst quarterbacks of all-time. Teams also showed interest in J.P. Losman years after he flamed out of the NFL. The dude was drafted in 2004 and last played in 2011, yet teams were asking if he’d consider a comeback in 2019! Meanwhile, Kaepernick hasn’t worked out for a single NFL team since his last game with the 49ers on Jan. 1, 2017.

So, again, I ask, why now? Could it be that the league tried to show everyone that it was looking to mend bridges with the announcement of the partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation and after that failed, this Potemkin workout is what they came up with? That makes a lot more sense than the league changing its mind after years of claiming that this was an issue of merit.

I could very well be on the wrong side of this. Maybe this interest is genuine and Kaepernick will land a job with an NFL team. But this skepticism is well-earned and if the league is getting undue criticism, it has nobody to blame but itself.

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Kyle Kuzma can be third star for Lakers with improved shot selection

For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.

For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.

The former Utah Utes star is the only first-round pick originally drafted by the Lakers who’s still on their roster. Their other recent selections are now on other teams, which helped them land LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As the only young member of their core still around, there were very high expectations for him heading into the season.

Change, of course, was inevitable as Los Angeles pivoted at head coach from Luke Walton to Frank Vogel. The addition of a bonafide superstar in Davis was certain to alter his role as well. Unfortunately, however, Kuzma was unable to play in the preseason to help his adjustment period, as he was recovering from an injury sustained while playing for Team USA.

Before his 2019-20 debut, he said what the Lakers needed is “exactly” what he worked on in the offseason. Considering how much they gave up to land Davis, they are counting on him to be their third option on offense.

But upon his return, he was shooting below the league average mark of 45.3 percent from the field in his first five games back. Kuzma, himself, has spoken to the necessity for many players to get into a rhythm by literally watching the basketball going into the hoop (via Los Angeles Times):

“A lot of scorers, they always say just seeing the ball go in a couple of times, easy ones getting to the rim is definitely going to open a lot of things.”

Part of the blame for this was his shot selection, per Cleaning the Glass, as Kuzma had taken just 17 percent of his attempts within four feet of the rim. Compare that with his frequency in this zone as a rookie (34 percent) and last year (37 percent) and the difference is especially noteworthy.

Vogel recently noted Kuzma was still “finding his way” for where his shots would come from within their new-look style.

Kuzma had looked more like his normal self without Davis, averaging 25.7 points per 36 minutes without his new teammate. The bad news: he struggled to score alongside Davis, averaging just 11.6 points per 36 in his first five appearances this season alongside the big.

(via ESPN)

Then against the Phoenix Suns, he scored 21 points during the 16.5 minutes he was on the court with Davis. His shot chart shows far more reliance on looks closer to the basket to help supplement his three-pointers, which helped secure their victory over Phoenix. It was the scoring punch that Los Angeles needs when James and Davis are not able to provide it.

However, perhaps because he is recovering from injury, he still seems to be playing without as much aggression so far this season. The 24-year-old is averaging just 3.2 drives per game, significantly lower than his marks in 2017-18 (4.8) and in 2018-19 (6.0) as well. This will be another necessary addition for him as the season progresses.

Most surprising is that the 6-foot-9 forward still has not attempted his first dunk of the season. This was the most apparent during a possession against the Toronto Raptors in which he could have avoided a block if he had gone for a slam instead of a layup.

Even those have been few and far between, as Kuzma has 16 layups compared to 36 looks from beyond the arc. He has generally not even been near the basket, averaging just 1.3 paint touches per game. That is much lower than his marks both last season (2.5) and the year before (2.4).

Instead, the forward has been used more as a catch-and-shoot option for Los Angeles. He is averaging 0.91 dribbles and 1.88 seconds per touch, both a lot lower than what he recorded in his first two professional seasons.

Kuzma has focused on improving his jumper, working with coach Lethal Shooter to make him a more polished threat from beyond the arc. While the Lakers will need help spreading the floor for James and Davis and hope he can be of service in this regard, that cannot be the only facet of his game if he’s going to be their most-trusted third option.

If he can cut to the basket more often rather than just firing from downtown, he will be a more consistent and reliable option for Los Angeles.

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Devin Haney ordered to defend title against Javier Fortuna

Devin Haney, who has called out Vasiliy Lomachenko, has been ordered to make a mandatory defense of his title against Javier Fortuna.

Devin Haney’s controversial lightweight title is generating a lot of debate and forcing him to take care of some mandatory business before he can really challenge Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Haney, who talked about Lomachenko before his so-so performance in a decision over Alfredo Santiago on Saturday, has been ordered to make a mandatory defense of his title against Javier Fortuna.

The 20-year-old Haney (24-0, 15 knockouts), boxing’s youngest champion, was given the WBC 135-pound belt when the sanctioning body named Lomachenko its “franchise champion” last month. As an interim champion, Haney had been in line for a possible bout with Lomachenko, the leading pound-for-pound contender.

Fortuna (35-2-1, 24 KOs), a Dominican living in Massachusetts, is a former champion who became a mandatory challenger with a second-round stoppage of Jesus Cuellar on Nov. 2 at Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Devin Haney,who beat Alfredo Santiago on Saturday, has called out Vasiliy Lomachenko but might have to settle for Javier Fortuna for now. Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing USA

If an agreement can’t be reached, a purse bid for Haney-Fortuna is scheduled for Dec. 13.

Before his victory over Santiago in a sloppy fight in Los Angeles, Haney talked about Lomachenko.

“I do see flaws in him,’’ Haney told Sky Sports. “One deciding factor – my jab. I feel like I’ve got the best jab in the game and my jab separates me from everyone. Being honest, I haven’t played the fight out in my head because the fight hasn’t been set in stone. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be made next.”

Panthers Week 11 injury report: Greg Little returns to practice

Here’s the team’s Week 11 injury report.

The Panthers finally got second-round pick Greg Little back on the practice field on Wednesday. He has spent most of the 2019 season in the concussion protocol. However, rookie OT Dennis Daley did not practice and two cornerbacks also sat out.

Here’s the team’s Week 11 injury report.

Player Injury Wed Thu Fri Status
CB James Bradberry Groin Limited Full Full –
CB Donte Jackson Hip DNP DNP Limited Questionable
CB Ross Cockrell Quad DNP DNP DNP Out
DT Kyle Love Shoulder DNP Full Full –
DT Gerald McCoy Knee DNP Full Full –
OT Dennis Daley Groin DNP DNP DNP Doubtful
RB Christian McCaffrey Foot DNP Full Full –
OT Greg Little Concussion Limited Full Full –
OLB Brian Burns Wrist Full Full Full –
LB Shaq Thompson Ankle – – DNP –
OLB Mario Addison Rest – – DNP –
OLB Bruce Irvin Rest – – DNP –

What jumps out here is the three cornerbacks listed at the top. Even if they all play, it’s likely they’re not going to be 100%. That could explain why the team brought back Corn Elder off the Giants’ practice squad yesterday.

Look for more updates later in the week.

Update:

Bradberry sounds like he’s going to play, but Cockrell and Jackson missing the first two days of practice is not a good sign. The Panthers are most likely going to be short-handed at cornerback going into a game against Julio Jones. Not ideal.

Update:

Cockrell has been ruled out and Jackson is questionable. Daley is doubtful, but Little will be returning to the lineup.

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How Brendon Todd overcame the yips and won in Bermuda

Having endured a prolonged slump, Todd’s victory at the Bermuda Championship completed an epic comeback.

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Leave it to Brendon Todd to solve the mystery of his missing game in Bermuda of all places.

Planes and ships that famously vanished in the Bermuda Triangle were less lost than Todd, a 34-year-old PGA Tour journeyman, who suffered through a stretch of missing 37 cuts in 41 starts between 2016 and 2018 and plummeted to No. 2006 in the world at the start of the year. But on Nov. 3, Todd capped off a remarkable comeback by playing 9 under in his first 11 holes en route to shooting a final-round 62 to win the Tour’s inaugural Bermuda Championship by four strokes over Henry Higgs.

“I went and found the wrecked ship and put it back together,” Todd said ahead of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he makes his first start Thursday since returning to the winner’s circle.

When asked to recall how his game went south, Todd can identify the exact moment it began to spin out of control. He was playing in the final pairing in the third round of the 2015 BMW Championship after shooting 66-63 and on the fourth hole he blocked a 4-iron 50 yards right that landed one hole over in a bush. He took a drop for an unplayable lie, made a triple bogey and shot 76, but that was just the beginning of his travails.

“I started seeing this right shot in my head and I couldn’t shake it,” he said. “The damage to my mind was done.”

Todd developed the nasty affliction known as the yips, an involuntary loss of control that typically affects a player’s nerves on short putts. Todd suffered from the full-swing yips.

“It’s really not using your mind the right way,” Todd explained. “Your fear takes over and blocks your instincts from doing what comes naturally. Once you see the bad result you have a fear of the same outcome until you fix it.”

This wasn’t the first time Todd had endured the loss of his game. In 2010, he missed the cut in all 13 of his starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and didn’t earn a check. But by 2014, Todd won the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Championship and climbed into the top 50 in the world. This slump, however, proved to be a longer journey into darkness.

“All of us as pros who knew him felt so bad for the struggles he went through,” said Matt Kuchar, the defending champion of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. “He went down to the bottom. He wasn’t just missing cuts. He was struggling to break 80.”

Todd sought answers from multiple teachers, but nothing seemed to help. That is until David Denham, a teammate from Todd’s 2005 National Championship squad at Georgia, suggested he consider working with Bradley Hughes, an Australian who won seven tournaments around the world as a pro before becoming an instructor. Todd bought Hughes’s $9 instructional e-book “The Victors,” and read it at the beach on family vacation and called him for a lesson.

“He didn’t want a paint-by-numbers (swing,) as he called it,” Hughes said. “He wanted to trust that the club was going to do what it should do.”

Around the same time, caddie Ward Jarvis suggested Todd read another book to help the mental side of his game, “The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life,” by former pitcher Rick Ankiel.

Brendon Todd finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel after a prolonged slump. Tracy Wilcox/Golfweek

Still, as 2018 neared its end, Todd met with his financial adviser and discussed pursuing other careers. He looked into opening a pizza franchise. In November, he shot 61 to qualify for the RSM Classic and posted four rounds in the 60s. He put the pizza plans on hold. By April, the fog had lifted and Todd’s confidence in his swing reemerged. Regaining his playing privileges through Korn Ferry Tour Finals was big, but Todd had grander ambitions. Hughes recalls Todd looking him in the eye and declaring he was going to win again.

“Mate, I have no doubts,” Hughes said. “There were a lot of doubters but neither of them were us.”

Todd’s victory earned him the security of a two-year exemption, berths in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and Players Championship, but not an upgrade on his flight home.

“I either had a beer or a phone in my hand texting from the minute I won, so all of a sudden I was walking on the airplane and I was like, ‘I wonder what seat I’m in?’ And I looked up and there I was 16E, middle seat. You know what? That stuff matters so little to me. I’ve been flying to and from Monday qualifiers for the past three years. Do you really think I care about sitting in the middle seat on the way home from my second victory?”

Not when his game is flying high again.

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Look: Chargers and Rams’ new stadium continues to take shape

The Chargers and Rams’ new stadium in Inglewood, California is really starting to come to life.

No, the Chargers will not be moving to London.

Owner Dean Spanos said Los Angeles is the team’s home, and they’re planning to be there for a long time.

It’s been almost three years since the Chargers moved to the L.A. area. The team has been playing in Dignity Health Sports Park, a 27,000-seat soccer stadium in Carson, as a temporary spot. But in 2020, they and the Rams will have their permanent home: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The $5 billion stadium complex is expected to be 3.5 times larger than Disneyland, and the stadium itself will seat 70,000 people. Spanos is hoping those seats will be filled with Chargers fans after failing to draw them to their current stadium, which has been overtaken by supporters of the visiting teams.

The crew that’s been hard at work to ensure that the Chargers and Rams have one of the best-looking stadiums in the league continues to make it all come to life before the grand opening in 2020.

Take a look at some of the most recent photos, courtesy of USA TODAY’s Harrison Hill:

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Can the Texans count on CB Lonnie Johnson to play against the Ravens?

The Houston Texans have not had CB Lonnie Johnson since Week 8. Will he be ready to go against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11?

The Houston Texans have been thin at cornerback, so thin that the unit took a big hit when rookie Lonnie Johnson left the Week 8 encounter with a concussion.

Normally, when a rookie is injured, it doesn’t have an impact on the unit. But given how banged up the cornerback group was at that point, Johnson leaving the game had a big effect. He was also unavailable the next week as the Texans took on the Jacksonville Jaguars in London at Wembley Stadium.

Houston may get their rookie back for their Week 11 showdown with the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

At a minimum, Johnson is making progress to get out of the concussion protocol and help the Texans secondary.

The Texans played cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph, Gareon Conley, and Keion Crossen against the Jaguars. If the Texans are able to get back the 6-2, 213-pound second-round pick from Kentucky, it will help in their ability to lock down the Ravens’ passing game.

Broncos will send a scout to Colin Kaepernick’s workout

The Broncos will send a scout to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s workout in Atlanta.

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The NFL announced Tuesday that the league is hosting a workout and interview session for free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Saturday. The workout and interview will take place in Atlanta.

All of the league’s 32 teams have been invited to the event and the Denver Broncos will be represented by a scout, general manager John Elway told KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis on Wednesday. Klis’ report was confirmed by The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala.

The news is a little surprising given Elway’s tone on Kaepernick when he was asked about the QB last year.

“I said this a while ago: Colin had his chance to be here,” Elway said during a training camp press conference in August 2018. “We offered him a contract [and] he didn’t take it.”

Elway was referencing the 2016 offseason when Denver tried to trade for Kaepernick when he was still a member of the San Francisco 49ers. As part of the deal, the Broncos wanted the QB to take a significant pay cut. Kaepernick opted not to take a reduced salary.

“He had his chance to be here,” Elway said last August. “He passed [on] it.”

After missing out on Kaepernick, Denver selected Paxton Lynch in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. Lynch, Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum, Joe Flaco and Brandon Allen have all started games for the Broncos since then and Drew Lock might be added to the list later this year.

Kaepernick tried to prove that NFL owners colluded not to sign him in part because of his national anthem protests during the 2016 season and Elway was among league executives who were deposed in the lawsuit. The NFL reached a settlement with Kaepernick earlier this year.

Denver has been unable to find a good QB in the post-Peyton Manning era so taking a look at Kaepernick makes sense. The 32-year-old QB threw 16 touchdown passes and four interceptions in 12 games in 2016, the last year he played in the NFL. He has remained a free agent since 2017.

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No rest for Aidan Kramer, a scholar, golfer and philanthropist

Georgia Tech men’s golf signee Aidan Kramer scored a 35 on the ACT and is a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship.

The amount of time college athletes spend on perfecting their craft throughout the year is comparable to that of a full-time job. That’s especially true in golf, which has a year-long season.

What’s constantly forgotten is the fact that they aren’t just athletes, they’re student athletes, and a rigorous academic schedule awaits when they leave the course.

Figuring out the school/sport balance can be tough for most, but don’t expect Georgia Tech 2020 signee Aidan Kramer to struggle when he arrives on campus next fall.

On the course, Kramer ranks No. 79 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Boys Junior Rankings, and No. 26 in the Class of 2020. Where he separates himself from the rest of the future stars of college golf who put pen to paper during Wednesday’s National Signing Day is off the course, specifically in the classroom.

The Hagerty High School (Oviedo, Florida) senior is top 10 in his class with a 4.59 weighted GPA, scored a 35 on the ACT and is a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, with the finalist announcement coming in February. Not bad for 17 years old.

National Signing Day: Women’s signees | Men’s signees
Photos: The best of Signing Day

“One of the main draws for Georgia Tech was the balance it has academically and with golf,” said Kramer, who plans to major in industrial engineering. “The value of a degree from Georgia Tech was something I couldn’t pass up. I’ve spent a lot of time on my academics and in school, and I think it has helped me prepare for a place like Georgia Tech, where you need to do both and can’t get by with just golf.”

Kramer, who has his sights on the PGA Tour, called Georgia Tech the “perfect place” to achieve his goals, citing the legacy of great players who have come through the golf program and made it on Tour.

Despite his professional aspirations, Kramer isn’t getting ahead of himself. He’s focused on taking the process one day at a time, and while he may have school figured out, he knows he has plenty to improve on before his freshman season.

“Golf-wise, you have to have a mindset of getting better every day,” Kramer said of his game. “Nothing is as good as it can be and I need to be better in every area.”

In the little downtime Kramer has from hitting the books or golf balls, he enjoys watching football and movies or playing ping pong, like most teenagers. That said, he’s unlike most his age, especially when asked about his dream golf foursome. His answers? Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer (upon realizing he forgot himself, he would later bench Hogan).

For the last two years, his free time has also been spent working with Orlando’s local Fairways for Warriors organization, which is dedicated to decreasing the number of veterans who commit suicide and helping them readjust to civilian life when they return from combat.

“They use the game of golf to bring people together and form camaraderie between veterans,” explained Kramer. “It’s really been amazing to see the impact (Fairways for Warriors) has had on veterans in the area.”

Kramer not only volunteers. He also started an equipment drive for the veterans in need through donations from local golfers, equipment manufacturers and clubs in the area.

“The response has been really positive,” he said. “People really seem to want to help out and I’ve been overwhelmed with the support I’ve gotten.”

This year’s runner-up at the Florida High School 3A State Championship, Kramer committed to Bruce Heppler and the Yellow Jackets in the fall of 2018, picking Georgia Tech over the likes of Wisconsin, Virginia and Northwestern. The current 11-man roster will look different next year when senior leaders Luke Schniederjans, Tyler Strafaci and U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree graduate, opening the door for Kramer to earn a spot in the lineup.

“The fields in junior golf are so deep and guys are coming into college with the belief they’re competing with the same guys they always have been,” Kramer said. “It’s encouraging to see the success the guys before us had at a young age and I’m looking forward to continuing that and stepping in.”

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Michael Bennett says the Patriots defense was exceptionally challenging to learn

Michael Bennett explained just how challenging the Patriots defense was to learn.

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The Dallas Cowboys’ defense has been a breeze for defensive end Michael Bennett, who has been an immediate impact player for Dallas with five tackles, two for a loss and a sack in two games.

His acclimation to the Cowboys defense has been natural. The same was not true of his time in New England, where he seemed to be a misfit in their amoeba defense on two-man and three-man defensive lines.

“The scheme is very familiar to something I’m used to,” Bennett said of Dallas on Monday, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I just came from the place (New England) with the most defenses in the league, so any other defense is pretty much easy to learn.”

Bennett’s time in New England seemed somewhat dysfunctional, with his playing time decreasing over his tenure until he received a one-week suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. He returned from the suspension, though he didn’t seem to carry a particularly positive attitude. Ultimately, the team parted ways with Bennett in trade for a conditional Cowboys’ sixth-round pick in 2021. Despite apparent differences, Bill Belichick spoke positively about Bennett after his departure.

“Mike’s a good player,” Belichick said on Oct. 25. “We brought him here; he helped our team. I think he would help us, but we’ve only get a certain number of – certain things we’ve got to work with and work around, and that’s what we have to do.”

While Bennett seemed likely to have a large role in New England after the departure of defensive end Trey Flowers, Bennett proved a schematic misfit, which led to philosophical problems with the Patriots.

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