Touchdown Wire ranks future QB situations for all 32 teams

Are the Steelers set at quarterback for the future?

Our friends over at Touchdown Wire ranked the future quarterback situations of all 32 NFL teams. Looking ahead at the Pittsburgh Steelers we recognize there will be a changing of the guard at the quarterback position soon. Ben Roethlisberger is scheduled to return next season but it’s hard to imagine the franchise isn’t wondering if his replacement is on the roster.

Touchdown Wire put Pittsburgh’s future quarterback situation at No. 16 in the NFL. Here’s what they had to say about it.

Things will change in Pittsburgh soon. In some ways they already have. Veteran Ben Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls, is out for the season with an elbow injury. Roethlisberger, 37, has said he wants to play again in 2020. But, prior to that, he has talked of retirement several times. Either way, it’s difficult to imagine Roethlisberger playing more than two more years. His contract runs through 2021, but there is an out clause after 2020. Second-year pro Mason Rudolph has gone 4-3 as a starter this season. He has completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,551 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. “He’s shown he’s efficient. They need to put some more on his plate to see what they’ve really got,” one panelist said.

With six games left to play, Pittsburgh is going to get a good look at Rudolph. Even at his best this season, he’s not been great but last week his performance raised serious doubts about his decision making. Pittsburgh should know exactly what they have in terms of the future well ahead of free agency and the draft so even if Roethlisberger comes back the future is more secure.

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What could a Jamal Adams extension look like?

Jamal Adams will want to be the highest-paid safety in NFL history, and the Jets can’t afford to wait to sign him if they want to keep him.

If Christopher Johnson really wants Jamal Adams to be a Jet for life, he’s going to have to pony up a lot of cash to keep Adams in New York.

Though the Jets control Adams through the 2021 season if they pick up his fifth-year option, they’d be apt to offer him an extension sooner rather than later, both as a show of good faith after a chaotic year and because of the potential price tag he could command in two years.

Adams is currently the 18th highest-paid safety with the $22.2 million rookie deal he signed in 2017 after the Jets took him sixth overall, but he will soon earn a much bigger salary. The Jets have three options with Adams: They can sign him to a contract extension at any point after this season, pick up his fifth-year option by May 3, 2020, or do nothing and let him play out the final year of his contract and let him hit free agency at the end of the 2020 season.

The Jets should take the first option if they truly believe Adams is the face of their franchise and the future of their defense. 

What would it take to sign Adams to a long-term deal? Well, you’d have to look at the two record-setting contracts signed by safeties Landon Collins and Kevin Byard last offseason. Collins signed a six-year, $84 million contract with the Redskins in March that included $44.5 million in guaranteed money. With an average annual salary of $14 million, he became the highest-paid safety in the NFL until Byard signed a five-year, $70.5 million extension with the Titans in July that included $31 million guaranteed and will pay him an average of $14.1 million annually.

Byard’s yearly salary is the starting point for Adams’ contract extension. In all likelihood, Adams would want somewhere close a $15 million annual salary, which isn’t completely unthinkable given Adams’ play of late.

The Jets also can’t afford to wait longer than this offseason to extend Adams because of the other safeties in line for massive deals.

If the Jets exercised Adams’ fifth-year option today, it would cost around $11.81 for the 2021 season. Since Adams was a top-10 pick, his option is calculated by taking the average of the top 10 safety salaries. That $11.81 million number could increase if another safety signs a deal that vaults him into the top 10.

That’s below anything Adams would ask for in a contract extension this winter, but by pushing the Jets’ deadline to sign Adams long-term by another season it could potentially raise the floor well for Adams if other safeties sign bigger deals.

The three names Joe Douglas will have to watch if he plays the waiting game are the Vikings’ Harrison Smith, the Bears’ Eddie Jackson and the Chargers’ Derwin James. Smith is up for an extension after the 2021 season when he’ll turn 32, so the odds of him setting the market price are low. James is already one of the best safeties in the league but also isn’t eligible for a new deal until after the 2021 season unless the Chargers exercise his fifth-year option where he’ll have to wait until after 2022. 

The price could go up for Adams if the Jets wait for Jackson’s impending deal.

Jackson is two years older than Adams and much more of a ballhawk, but he’s also one of the best safeties in the league and could easily sign a bigger deal than Byard and Collins as early as this offseason. If the Bears choose to extend Jackson before the Jets extend Adams, it could massively affect Adams’ asking price down the road.

The Jets shouldn’t wait for any of these dominos to fall. Getting Adams locked up before the market resets will be crucial to Joe Douglas’ ability to remake the roster and keep Adams at the same time. He’ll have at minimum $46.4 million to spend in 2020, and that’s before he inevitably cuts other contracts for overpaid players like Trumaine Johnson.

Yes, spending upward of $15 million per year on a safety is a massive risk for the Jets given the holes in various other positions on the roster. But for someone like Adams, it’s worth it given his performance this year. The Jets won’t just be paying for an incredible defensive back, but they’ll be paying for a top-flight pass rusher as well.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been able to unlock Adams’ versatility both in coverage and as a pass rusher. He’s blitzed Adams at multiple positions on the field – edge, safety, cornerback – which helped Adams notch five sacks the past two weeks (six on the season) and put him on pace to break the NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back (eight).

According to Next Gen Stats, Adams blitzed an average of 5.2 times per game over the first eight games of the season. Adams lined up as an edge rusher 14 times against the Redskins, rushed 13 times and finished with a 26.4 pass-rush win percentage, per Pro Football Focus. On the season, he ranks first among defensive backs in blitzes (55) and quarterback pressures (12). Though he only has one interception on the season, Adams has broken up six passes and allowed a completion percentage of 53.8 percent and a passer rating of 78.7 when targeted.

Retaining Adams will come at a hefty price, but it will be worth it to preserve the closest thing the Jets have to a superstar. Generational defensive talents don’t come around often and the Jets would be wise to lock theirs up for the foreseeable future.

Meet Darnell Rogers, the 5-foot-2 UMBC guard who will inspire you

Meet your new favorite player.

Hoops stars like Muggsy Bogues (5-foot-3) and Earl Boykins (5-foot-5) have proven in the past that height is just a number.

And now, Darnell Rogers, the 5-foot-2 guard for the UMBC Retrievers (that’s the same UMBC that became the first No. 16 seed to take down a No. 1 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when it defeated Virginia) is here to do the same.

He’s averaging 14.0 ppg and more than two 3-pointers a game. And he’s turning heads all over social media in the process and making fans out of everyone.

Here are some highlights from his season, including Tuesday’s loss to LSU:

And then he tweets stuff like this:

If you weren’t already a fan, you probably are now.

[jwplayer 0woC8Y2r-q2aasYxh]

Justin Fields’ mother, high school coach come clean on decommitment from Penn State

When Justin Fields first exploded on to the scene, he committed to Penn State. Six months later, he changed his mind. What happened? His mother and coach weighed in.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has come a very long way in two calendar years. In his second collegiate season at his second school, Fields is an outside Heisman Trophy candidate. Two years ago he was wrapping up his career as a high school phenom at Harrison High School (Kennesaw, Ga.).

Fields first committed to Penn State. The Nittany Lions were one of the first prominent Power 5 programs to chase Fields following a breakout 10th grade campaign, and he felt a bond with then-Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Despite the geographic distance from Georgia to Happy Valley, Penn State felt like a fit.

So what happened to convince Fields to head instead to Athens, Ga.? The Cleveland Plain Dealer connected with Fields’ mother and his high school coach, Matt Dickmann, to get to the bottom of his decision.

The first major driver of his decision? Concern about Moorhead’s longterm future.

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“His offensive mind for me was like, OK, you can excel under this coaching” Fields’ mother Gina Tovey told the Plain Dealer. “But we knew how good he was, and we read that he was a target for a head coaching job. As much as he said, ‘No, no, I’m not going to do it, we were like, I think it’s coming sooner rather than later, and then we don’t know what what we have.

“So that was one of the deciding factors as far as decommitting goes.”

The other major factor? A sudden tsunami of interest from the nation’s other major programs. In the end he picked Georgia, the SEC power next door, though his inability (or Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s unwillingness) to unseat Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm precipitated Fields’ offseason transfer to Ohio State.

That has in turn brought him full circle, to an Ohio State-Penn State where he’s suddenly lining up on an opposite sideline than he expected.

“I think coach Franklin’s a good coach, and I had a great relationship with coach Moorhead,” Fields told the media after a 56-21 victory at Rutgers. “I know a good amount of the (players), so just have having those relationships. I still talked to a few of them. They’re all great guys over there.”

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Giants players donate turkeys, coats to families in need

New York Giants players spent the early part of their week donating turkeys and winter coats to families in need.

Thanksgiving is just over a week away and New York Giants players are actively working to help families in need prepare for the upcoming holiday season.

On Tuesday, eight Giants players helped unload an 18-wheeler packed to the roof with 1,500 turkeys for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, which is a part of the Stop & Shop Turkey Express program that will donate over 18,000 birds to various hunger relief programs.

“It’s awesome, it’s bigger than football, we just want to come out here and give some of our time to help give back to this community that is also who supports us, so we want to support them any way we can,” Giants defensive lineman B.J. Hill told ABC7.

In addition to Giants players helping to distribute turkeys for Thanksgiving, defensive backs Antonio Hamilton and Sean Chandler spent their Monday in Newark handing out more than 100 winter coats at the YMCA center.

“I come from very humble beginnings,” Hamilton told the families in attendance, via the TAPInto Newark. “Growing up, I went from house to house, shelter to shelter, actually. I just know how special it is to have a coat during the wintertime.”

“I, too, grew up in a real small town, which is very poor,” Hamilton later added. “I was blessed with the opportunity, with good parenting and my grandparents, to push me to keep going forward so I could get the opportunity to do something.”

Chandler also recognized the significance of giving out coats to those in need.

“This is something big even though it’s something small,” Chandler said.

It’s nice to see the Giants remaining giants in the community and pitching in to help those less fortunate as the holiday season arrives.

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Baker Mayfield thriving by being asked to do less in Browns offense

Since the Browns bye week, Baker Mayfield has thrived by getting the ball out quicker and into the hands of his playmakers more often

One of the big reasons the Cleveland Browns struggled early in the season was the erratic play from Baker Mayfield. The accuracy, the poise, the magic that predominated Mayfield’s rookie campaign in 2018 was nowhere to be found.

But since the bye week, Baker is back, baby!

Mayfield has played very well since the Browns break in Week 7. He’s not been perfect and still makes some mistakes, but the ability to avoid the catastrophic misfires and giveaways has been a significant improvement from the first six games.

The statistics show where he’s improved:

90-of-143 (63%), 898 yards, 8 TDs, 1 INT

Before the break, Mayfield was 112-of-198 (56.6%), 1496 yards, 5 TDs, 11 INTs.

The panicked rolling back and to the right, frantically trying to extend plays and force things down the field is all but gone. Mayfield’s hesitation to pull the trigger in the early season has been replaced by the confident and efficient distributor we saw in his record-setting rookie campaign.

Mayfield is getting the ball out quicker and allowing his talented receivers to do more work after the catch. Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt have all broken off impressive runs after the catch. The Browns offense has shifted to letting the playmakers make the plays instead of trying to have Mayfield do everything.

It’s been a smart change that has helped both Mayfield and the overall offense.

Spinning Back Clique: Thoughts on Ben Askren retirement, potential Nick Diaz return, and more

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 3 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze touch on the biggest storylines around the world of MMA and take a quick look back at a lackluster UFC on ESPN+ 22 show.

Show rundown:

  • [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag] announced his retirement from MMA on Monday after an eventful UFC stint in which he went 1-2 with the promotion. What does this mean for the former undefeated Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion’s legacy? Is there more to judge than just his win-loss record inside the octagon?
  • [autotag]Nick Diaz [/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]: Buying or selling? And should Diaz even return to the cage after such a long absence?
  • MMA vs. Boxing: We’ve got Masvidal not backing off his callout of Canelo Alvarez. We’ve got Tyson Fury training MMA with Darren Till and apparently wanting to fight UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. And there’s continued talk of Olympic boxing champion Claressa Shields fighting UFC champ-champ Amanda Nunes. What the heck is this all about?
  • UFC Sao Paulo was, well … it was not the most memorable evening in MMA history. [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] won. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] fought to a split draw. It’s no surprise there wasn’t a “Fight of the Night” bonus handed out. But, hey, at least there was [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] scoring another finish. What was the biggest takeaway from the card?
  • Bellator star [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] returns this week to headline Bellator Europe 6 in London, and he’s facing … a newcomer. What is Bellator doing here? Will it let “Venom” face real competition or not?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 3 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above.

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Lions coaches refuse to criticize Jesse James’ poor production

James has 8 receptions on 15 targets for just 64 yards in the Lions’ first 10 games after signing a 4-year, $28.5 million contract

The Detroit Lions signed free agent tight end Jesse James with considerable promise and widespread fan support this past offseason. James was arguably the top tight end on the market, and the Lions desperately needed help at the position; none of the wildly unproductive and underwhelming TE cast from 2018 was returning, and that was a good thing.

Thus far, the Lions are getting precious little return on their 4-year, $28.5 million contract. James has eight receptions on 15 targets, netting 64 yards in the Lions’ first 10 games. He has not shown to be more than an adequate blocker in the run game, either.

Despite the disappointing early results, the Lions coaches refuse to criticize James. Even though he has just one catch for three yards on three targets in the last four weeks, head coach Matt Patricia remains supportive of his tight end.

Patricia very diplomatically waffled away the question about why James has not been more involved.

“Well, you know, I think the tight end room in general – we have some good players in that room,” Patricia said Tuesday. “All of those guys really have certain roles in every game that we’ve needed them to (do) in different facets and jobs that they bring to us.”

The second-year coach was then asked a follow-up more directly about James and if the tight end is being used differently than they envisioned when the Lions signed him.

“I can’t say that, nope,” Patricia responded. “I can’t really say that that would be a factual statement. I think for us, guys in there that really have different skill sets and some skill sets that are not the same, and we try to make sure that we mix those in different ways. Certainly, that they don’t show up in tendencies for our opponents to be able to scout. So we try to keep that moving from that standpoint.”

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell echoed the same comments. Bevell, in his first year in Detroit, was asked a very similar line of questioning in his Tuesday press conference.

“Well, I think we have a great tight end room,” Bevell stated. “We went and got him, we went and got Logan (Thomas), and then of course we drafted T.J. (Hockenson). I think really, it was one of the best upgraded rooms that we had this offseason, and I think all three of those guys, we’re using them and we’re moving them around. There are a lot of things that tight ends do that really don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet. We love all three of those guys, we love what they’re doing.”

James does continue to start, sometimes ahead of Hockenson and sometimes with him in a two-TE set. His playing time has diminished since the bye week. James has not played more than 36 percent of the offensive snaps in the last five weeks, including a season-low 15 (23 percent) against the Cowboys.

Bills playoff picture: Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill scheduled for MRI

Buffalo Bills playoff picture news: Injury update on Kansas City WR Tyreek Hill.

An MRI will revealed how long the Kansas City Chiefs could be without wide receiver Tyreek Hill down the stretch run.

In their 24-17 win over the Chargers on Monday Night Football, Hill left the game with a right hamstring injury. Chiefs Wire reported on the MRI on Monday.

Hill is quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top-target in the Chiefs’ dynamic offense. At 7-4 overall, KC is currently the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Buffalo is at No. 5, the first wild card spot.

With their close records in mind, the Chiefs could be a team Buffalo faces if the Bills reach the postseason. Had the playoffs started last week, that would have been the case.

But we might need to wait a bit to hear a status update on Hill. The Chiefs are entering their bye in Week 12, so media availability will be at a minimum in Kansas City. Hamstring injuries are known to linger, and missing your best playmaker is never a good thing, even with a QB like Mahomes in the fold.

The 25-year-old wide receiver has been held to seven games played this season already due to injury. He’s made 33 catches for 543 yards with five scores. Hill also ranks as Pro Football Focus’ best receiver in the entire NFL with an overall grade of 90.4.

The Bills and Chiefs are not slated to faceoff in a head-to-head meeting during the remainder of the regular season.

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WATCH: Rams CB Jalen Ramsey was trash talking Bears receivers all game

As if the Bears’ 17-7 loss to the Rams didn’t hurt enough, Rams CB Jalen Ramsey was talking smack to Bears receivers throughout the game.

Need another reason to be angry about the Bears’ 17-7 loss to the Rams on Sunday night? If not, then you might want to look away.

Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey was mic’d up for Week 11’s pivotal NFC matchup against the Bears, and he was trash talking the Bears receivers, notably Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, all game.

Ramsey and Robinson are former teammates during their days with the Jaguars, which only seemed to encourage Ramsey going up against Chicago’s best offensive player.

“Big stop, A-Rob,” Ramsey said to Robinson after an incomplete pass. “Just like we used to do in practice, boy.”

The trash talking continued when Ramsey returned to the sideline.

“We’re not playing with nobody’s children today,” Ramsey said.

While Rams fans certainly got a kick out of Ramsey’s mic’d up performance, it’s a different story for Bears fans, who are reminded that the loss essentially ended any slim playoff hopes.

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