Tag: Ian Rapoport

Vikings remain among favorites to land free agent QB Daniel Jones

With Daniel Jones officially clearing waivers and free to sign with any team, the Minnesota Vikings are among the favorites to sign the QB.

Last week, the New York Giants made the somewhat surprising decision on Sunday to waive former starting quarterback Daniel Jones. The team had previously demoted him to third-string quarterback, and the two sides came to an agreement to part ways.

Now, a couple of days later, Jones has cleared waivers, and speculation about his next team has kicked into high gear.

In an appearance on NFL Gameday Monday morning, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport mentioned four teams as “front-runners” in the Daniel Jones sweepstakes, and the Minnesota Vikings were among those four teams.

In speaking on the Jones situation, Rapoport explained that no team was going to claim Jones of waivers due to the money Jones would be owed on his contract if any team were to claim him. Now that he’s cleared waivers, though, he’s free to sign with any team he chooses — likely for a veteran minimum contract ,according to Rapoport.

Rapoport then mentioned the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, and Baltimore Ravens as teams that could be in play for Jones’ services. The 49ers may be the most likely choice, depending on how starting quarterback Brock Purdy continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

Rapoport also mentioned the Las Vegas Raiders as a potential suitor for Jones. Las Vegas recently had their starting quarterback, Gardner Minshew, go down for the season, which could potential mean a starting spot for Jones. However, Jones is reportedly seeking a team in the playoff hunt, which would seemingly eliminate the Raiders from contention.

If Jones were to sign with the Vikings, or with any other team for that matter, Rapoport mentions he would not be surprised if Jones does so on a practice squad to start, which would keep his options open should another starting quarterback go down with an injury elsewhere.

Steelers QB avoided major hamstring injury

Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that Justin Fields avoided a major hamstring injury and looks to be a game-time decision on MNF.

Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers can finally breathe a collective sigh of relief.  Justin Fields’ hamstring injury caught many by surprise, as not only was it a last minute addition to Week 8’s injury report, but the precarious proximity to the trade deadline caused speculation to run rampant.

However, in regards to both Fields’ short-term and long-term health, it appears the Steelers dodged a major bullet.  While it was reported yesterday that Fields would need to undergo an MRI to understand the true extent of the injury, Insider Ian Rapoport confirmed on Monday that Fields participation in Week 8 would be a game time decision.

If Fields’ injury isn’t severe and he could potentially play tonight, is his hamstring situation similar to Davante Adams’ ‘injury’—an issue that miraculously resolved after being traded to the New York Jets?

Speculation aside, it is comforting that the Steelers avoided a disastrous injury to one of their great young players.  The situation is worth keeping an eye on as we inch closer to the start of the Steelers’ Week 8  Monday Night Football matchup at 8:15 PM EST.

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WATCH: NFL insider Ian Rapoport breaks down Von Miller suspension

WATCH: NFL insider Ian Rapoport breaks down Von Miller suspension

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave the official breakdown of the suspension handed down to Von Miller.

Miller, 35, was suspended four game by the NFL this week. The pass rusher was docked relating to a domestic violence case in 2023 near Dallas. The incident reportedly involved his girlfriend.

While Miller was not charged off the field, the league decided to take matters into their own hands.

The NFL insider broke down the suspension which can be found in the clip below:

Chiefs to extend Creed Humphrey, make him NFL’s highest-paid center

According to a report, the #Chiefs are set to extend Creed Humphrey on a contract that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid center.

According to a report from NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport, the Kansas City Chiefs are set to extend the contract of star offensive lineman Creed Humphrey in a deal that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid center.

News of Humphrey’s extension broke just before the Chiefs’ preseason finale against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Though the former Oklahoma Sooner isn’t expected to see action in the exhibition matchup, his new agreement with Kansas City dominated headlines as the game kicked off.

Humphrey joined the Chiefs as a second-round pick in 2021 and has become a key part of Kansas City’s offensive line while playing on his rookie contract.

While the numbers on Humphrey’s new deal weren’t part of Rapoport’s report on Thursday night, the fine details of his agreement with the Chiefs will almost certainly shake up the market for other centers around the NFL.

Expect to see Humphrey back in action when Kansas City faces the Baltimore Ravens on September 5.

Rapoport: Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell in for big payday

Rapoport: Jacksonville Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell in for big payday

Jacksonville handed out several contract extensions this offseason, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence and edge rusher Josh Allen‘s mega-deals headlining the Jaguars’ in-house spending and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun and guard Ezra Cleveland‘s new agreements not to be forgotten.

Who might be next? NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport believes Jacksonville cornerback Tyson Campbell is on the shortlist to get paid, either by the Jaguars or another team. 2024 marks the final season of Campbell’s rookie contract.

Asked on “The Insiders” which Jaguars player is well-positioned to leap forward this season, Rapoport pointed to Campbell and utilized the exercise to provide the intel.

“Campbell quickly comes to mind,” Rapoport wrote on X. “A player to build around.”

Rapoport noted Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s June comments regarding the team’s history of spending big in free agency and how Lawrence and Allen’s extensions mark a “sea change” for how the franchise approaches roster building, by drafting and developing talent.

Under that premise, Campbell has proven himself worthy of following that trend, at least in Rapoport’s opinion.

“The Jaguars obviously have spent in free agency but what they’ve wanted to do, and owner Shad Khan came out and said a couple days ago, ‘We can’t be addicted to free agents.’ Well, okay, well they have a couple really good players on their roster who eventually will get some big-time paydays,” Rapoport suggested.

“I’m going to call attention to Tyson Campbell, the young corner who I think very quietly has emerged as one of the better young corners in the NFL. At some point, whether [it is] this year, in free agency, whenever, [he is] gonna end up being one of the higher-paid corners in the NFL. Stats aren’t great, coverage is great. This is the kind of guy that the Jaguars are going to want to pay and want to build around.”

‘Locked in’: Tyson Campbell encouraging new Jaguars DB coaches

The stats were there for Campbell in 2022, a breakout season in which he posted three interceptions, 15 defended passes, one forced fumble and a 54.2% completion percentage allowed. The latter stat ranked No. 32 among 270 qualifying coverage defenders in the NFL, per Pro Football Reference.

But multiple soft tissue injuries limited Campbell to 11 appearances last year, several of which he played hurt.

Campbell allowed 69.4% of his targets in coverage to be caught (ranking No. 174 out of 268 qualifying defenders) and recorded one interception, five defended passes and one forced fumble in 2023.

If the Jaguars view Campbell’s most recent campaign as an outlier — for what it’s worth, they made Lawrence one of the highest-paid players in NFL history despite his multiple injuries and 0-5 record over his final five games in 2023 — perhaps Jacksonville will prove Rapoport’s theory correct and make him one of the NFL’s higher-paid cornerbacks.

“After spending the last couple of years in free agency, it’s time to focus on their own guys,” Rapoport said. “They did it with Trevor Lawrence and we will see who ends up being next.”

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels says his elbow is ‘perfectly fine’

Jayden Daniels says relax. There is nothing wrong with his elbow.

During LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels’ pro day this week in Baton Rouge, a disturbing image emerged concerning his throwing elbow. It all began with a post from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

Remember, this is not an image from his pro day, but sometime last season. He happened to pass for 40 touchdowns and ran for 10 more last season when he won the Heisman Trophy.

So, what is going on with Daniels’ elbow? The image shows some type of growth on his elbow.

A doctor responded to the viral photo and said it appeared that Daniels was dealing with olecranon bursitis in his elbow. He said it is very common and more annoying than concerning.

Here’s the full tweet from the doctor:

Daniels, who is set to be a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft, perhaps as high as No. 2 to the Washington Commanders, apparently had enough of the photo and responded that it was essentially much ado about nothing.

There we have it. The man has spoken, and his elbow is fine. NFL teams have not shown any concerns regarding Daniels’ health.

Kevin O’Connell expresses belief in new QB Sam Darnold

Is Sam Darnold’s best football ahead of him? Kevin O’Connell believes it is

Earlier this month, the Minnesota Vikings moved to fill the void left by Kirk Cousins in part by signing quarterback Sam Darnold to a one-year deal. While it’s been made pretty clear — through various Vikings’ brass’ comments along with the contract structure itself — that Darnold is seen as a bridge quarterback, at least one person within the Vikings organization believes Darnold can give the team some quality play in that time.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell stated in an interview with NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport, and Mike Garafolo that be believes that Darnold’s “best football is ahead of him”, specifically pointing to how he went 4-2 down the stretch with the Carolina Panthers in 2021.

O’Connell also pointed to Darnold’s work with the San Francisco 49ers and how it’s clear to him that Darnold has put in a lot of work to make progressions as a quarterback. O’Connell believes that the staff with the Vikings can “pick up” where Darnold left of in San Francisco and continue to develop him.

Darnold was a top-5 pick of the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft and spent four years as the starter in New York before landing with the Panthers and then 49ers, in mostly back-up roles. Now Darnold finds himself in Minnesota and is likely going to be the starter heading into the early part of the season while a rookie gets acclimated to the system and league.

Whether or not Darnold starts the entire season remains to be seen, but it’s clear he has at least one person in his corner to start his tenure.

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Ian Rapoport hints Broncos will stick with Jarrett Stidham instead of trading up for QB

Ian Rapoport thinks the Broncos are more likely to stick with Jarrett Stidham than to trade up for a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft.

During an appearance on NFL+ last week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was asked by Daniel Jeremiah if the Denver Broncos (No. 12) or Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) are more likely to trade up for a quarterback during the 2024 NFL draft.

Rapoport indicated the Raiders are more likely to move up the board, and he hyped up Jarrett Stidham as a possible starter for the Broncos this season.

“Sean Payton has won with a lot of quarterbacks who are not as good as Jarrett Stidham,” Rapoport said. “You know, I do think they’ll add a quarterback, but I don’t know that the urgency is there. Because he’s so good that I think they say, ‘You know what, we can take some raw materials and he [Payton] will get that person to perform.”

Stidham went 1-1 as a starter last season, completing 60.6% of his passes for 496 yards with two touchdowns against one interception. He was sacked seven times in those two contests and Denver averaged 15 points per game.

While it’s possible this notion of sticking with Stidham is accurate, it’s worth noting that Rapoport works for NFL Network, the league’s in-house media network. He works for the NFL and its 32 teams, including the Broncos.

Denver has seemingly used NFL Network (and Rapoport) in the past to put out information the team wanted known. In 2017, as a potential example, Rapoport reported that the Broncos had “received calls” about safety T.J. Ward. In reality, the team wanted to trade Ward but ended up cutting him when no team was interested in making a deal.

So Rapoport’s reporting — and informed takes presented as guesswork — should be taken with a grain of salt. There’s always the possibility that NFL Network is saying what Denver’s front office wants the network to say.

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Aaron Jones stiffs Packers, gets more money with Vikings

Aaron Jones signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a 1-year, $7 million deal that includes a $6 million base salary and $1 million incentives.

The Minnesota Vikings struggled mightily in the ground game all throughout the 2023 season, but help is on the way. A day after being released by the Green Bay Packers, running back Aaron Jones has agreed to terms with the Vikings on a one-year deal, the terms of which are now being reported.

According to Matt Schneidman, Packers beat reporter for The Athletic, the deal includes a $6 million base salary, with additional incentives totaling $1 million, to bring the potential total up to $7 million, as was initially reported by NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Schneidman goes on to illuminate on why Jones ultimately chose the Vikings over re-signing with the Packers, showing that the Packers’ offer to Jones was for base salary just under $4 million, but had a bump in incentives to $2 million.

Ultimately, Jones chose the higher base salary and will be running for the purple and gold next season, joining Brett Favre, Greg Jennings and a handful of other Packers who went on to don the Vikings colors.

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NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport breaks down long week for Bills (video)

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport breaks down long week for #Bills (video):

The Buffalo Bills had a crazy week. All-Pros are no longer with the teams after being released because of salary cap restraints.

Fan favorites got the axe, too.

Cuts weren’t just apart of the operation, either. Pass rusher Von Miller took a pay cut and other players restructured their deals.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport did his best to breakdown all that happened at One Bills Drive this week.

Rap Sheets analysis can be found below:

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