Tag: Mike Florio

What are the Commanders biggest needs entering the 2023 NFL draft?

There’s no doubt, offensive line still tops the list.

Pro Football Talk Tuesday had a segment asking, “What are the biggest needs for the Washington Commanders entering the 2023 NFL Draft?

Chris Simms: “O-Line is pretty glaring. It’s not the worst, but it certainly needs some help. There’s nobody on their O-Line you can look at and go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a pretty big-time marquee offensive lineman.’ ”

Simms continued, “I gotta think that has got to be in the running at what, their 16th pick, right?  Corner, you look at that position, and you know, you want more on their roster and tight end.”

“That would be the three that really jump out to me more than any, right? And that’s the decision that could be interesting for them, Mike when I just throw it out there or think about the draft. I’m starting to have to think about my mock draft and all that.”

“Washington could be that team where pick 16. Do they take one of the good tackles on the board? Or does that tight end from Utah, Dalton Kincaid, who I think is very special, if he is there on the board, what would they do?”

“Could be interesting, but I think O-Line for sure has to be addressed somewhere in that top half of the draft.”

Mike Florio, who usually leads the conversation, sat silently for the most part, permitting Simms to almost entirely handle the Commanders’ question of their biggest need in the draft.

When speaking very briefly at the end of the segment, Florio offered, “Absolutely, O-Line. If they are all-in with the Sam Howell experiment, get the most out of the young quarterback and put other help around him.”

“Make the offensive line better any way you can, so Howell can reach his ceiling, whatever it may be.”

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Seahawks share clips of bad media predictions for their 2022 season

The team has brought receipts.

The Seahawks finished their 2022 season with a 9-8 record and have snuck into the last playoff spot in the NFC. That’s a hell of a lot better than most people believes they would be heading into this season.

The team has brought receipts, releasing a video compilation on Twitter of media predictions that went bad, from Colin Cowherd to Mike Florio and a bunch of other analysts who thought Seattle would be awful this year. Watch.

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Bears QB Justin Fields reportedly didn’t dislocate his shoulder after all

Justin Fields’ injury status seems to change by the hour but new reports indicate he may have avoided a dislocated shoulder.

The diagnosis of Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ non-throwing shoulder is under further review. The second-year quarterback injured his non-throwing shoulder during Sunday’s 27-24 loss against the Atlanta Falcons and his status seems to change by the hour.

On Monday afternoon, head coach Matt Eberflus first stated he was day-to-day, though he wouldn’t rule anything out as they were going to wait until Wednesday’s injury report to provide clarification. In the evening, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Fields had suffered a dislocated shoulder, but a few hours later, that report was refuted by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Florio is reporting the injury is not a shoulder dislocation, though there is still an injury that has yet to be publicly diagnosed. Schefter followed the report up on ESPN’s Monday Night Football halftime show by confirming it was not a dislocation.

It’s clear Fields is hurting after the tough loss, but to what extent is still unknown. Fields completed 14-of-21 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also carried the ball 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown, all while taking a beating from the Falcons defense that resulted in his injury.

A dislocated shoulder would have likely sidelined Fields for multiple weeks and perhaps his injury isn’t as severe. Eberflus wouldn’t offer any hints and is instead waiting until Wednesday to shed some light on the situation. For now, Fields’ shoulder injury is under further review but he may have avoided missing extended time if it isn’t dislocated after all.

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PFT’s Mike Florio ranks the Minnesota Vikings as NFL’s top team

The Vikings’ success has finally convinced Mike Florio

The Minnesota Vikings are finally getting the respect that they deserve and they are getting it from the most unlikely of sources in Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. He ranked the Vikings as the NFL’s best team after an impressive 33-30 victory on the road against his then number five team in the Buffalo Bills.

His explanation on ranking the Vikings at number one is short and concise while it also reflects his hesitation to go all the way with this team.

“Team of Destiny, even if destiny means finding yet another spectacular way to lose in the postseason.”

It’s well known that Florio is a lifelong Vikings fan and is as jaded by their history of futility like the rest of us. Getting his endorsement right now is a big deal, as it takes a lot to get him to look past their history of futility.

Enjoy this, Vikings fans. It’s a glorious Tuesday.

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Commanders really surprised PFT’s Mike Florio

An impressive win for the Commanders in Week 8. Next up is Irsay vs. Snyder.

“As dysfunctional a week as you could imagine.”

That’s how Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio launched a segment of Pro Football Talk, Monday regarding Sunday’s Washington Commanders’ victory over the Green Bay Packers at FedEx Field. Here is most of the segment.

“Go all the way back to (last) Thursday night; they get the win somehow over the Chicago Bears. Ron Rivera does the Denny Green-style profanity-laced walk-off press conference. Then we find out Carson Wentz has a broken ring finger on his throwing hand and he’s going to be out for a while.”

“Enter Taylor Heinicke. I was saying ‘Just go see what the John Belushi look-alike Sam Howell can do because he’s the future, not Taylor Heinicke.’ But hey, good thing they don’t listen to me, as dysfunctional as they are. They have yet to become so dysfunctional that they would actually listen to me.”

Then you’ve got the Jim Irsay repeated body slams and pile drivers publicly of Daniel Snyder all week long. The dominant story is about how Snyder is getting pushed out. Players talking about it being a distraction, being asked about it being a distraction. Terry McLaurin saying it is a distraction, Ron Rivera saying well, we hope they just don’t think about it and focus on what they need to do.”

“Before the game, the dysfunction reared its ugly head again with the ‘Hail to the racist slur name’ that was abandoned for that reason, not because they thought it would be marketable to have a different name. It is the same type of defiance from Tanya Snyder that we used to see from Daniel Snyder. Maybe there is some clumsy effort here to curry favor with the fans. And then, (raising his voice) they win the game!”

“It is impressive they pulled that off; it really is. They went, and they took it with a backup quarterback and that was impressive.”

Do you think Florio might be licking his chops for this week’s schedule, where owners Daniel Snyder (Commanders) and Jim Irsay (Colts) face off in a week 8 contest?

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Richard Sherman gets into war of words with PFT over Thursday night games

Sherman responded with the obvious answer that his employment has no impact whatsoever on the league playing Thursday games or not.

Richard Sherman has never hidden his disdain for the NFL playing games on Thursday nights, just four days removed from their last action. He’s consistently called out the league for claiming to be concerned about player safety when they put two teams at a higher risk for injury every week.

Right now player safety is the hot topic following Tua Tagovailoa’s scary concussion in Thursday night’s contest between the Dolphins and the Bengals. Sherman is now doing commentary for Amazon on their TNF broadcasts, which some folks have taken as a sign of hypocrisy. Some of the more outspoken voices come from Pro Football Talk.

PFT’s Michael David Smith started the action with this tweet:

Sherman responded with the obvious answer that his employment has no impact whatsoever on the league playing Thursday games or not.

Then Mike Florio jumped in, calling out Sherman for not carrying over his anti-Thursday energy into his new job.

Sherman didn’t back down, replying with a few more tweets:

Sherman finished his thread by inviting Florio to continue watching.

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Mike Florio ‘I’m not going to be surprised if (Watson’s) not suspended at all’

One reporter’s sources have painted a picture that could lead to little or no suspension for Watson:

At this point, with the hearing completed, the only two things that matter for Deshaun Watson is what Judge Sue Robinson decides and, if it comes to it, what happens if either side appeals her ruling. Other than that, we are likely to hear conjecture, purposeful leaks and two sides trying to get ahead of what is decided.

We’ve already heard that the NFL doesn’t want to go through the appeal process on Robinson’s first ruling in here role. Following the completion of the hearing, we shared all the information that became available quickly including a significant amount from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Of the many things Florio tweeted out Thursday night, that the NFL didn’t present evidence of any ‘violence, threat, force or coercion’ by Watson seemed to be the biggest. That could have the most significant impact on Watson playing for the Cleveland Browns this year.

Florio, one of the faces of NBC’s Football Night in America, is a former lawyer and used that history to try to unpack some of the legal details in a video for NBC Sports (the full video can be seen below). You can watch the video for yourself but here are a few, not all, of the key points:

  • He expects a decision around July 25th
  • Robinson’s decision will be detailed with Florio expecting ‘north of 20 pages’
  • Her ‘findings of fact’ are binding on any appeal, NFL/Roger Goodell cannot make decisions based on anything outside of those facts
  • Reiterates Robinson can only rule based on five cases
  • Discusses the baseline of 6 games if evidence of assault or violence not being appropriate
  • Mentions the Robert Kraft issue and how it may be used in comparison to this case
  • Breaks down what Watson’s camp could have done from a PR perspective

In a written piece, in which the video is also included, Florio defended his sourcing of the story:

(1) I take all possible agendas and biases into account before reporting anything; (2) I strive for accuracy, regardless of whether the source may coincidentally have an interest in the information being reported; and (3) no narrative or agenda means a damn thing, because Judge Sue L. Robinson eventually will determine the facts and then apply the Personal Conduct Policy to them.

He also notes that people close to the situation are “VERY” concerned about the public’s reaction if there is little or no discipline handed down, and that seems more likely than ever to him.

Florio is just one reporter with however many sources close to the situation as he has. He has been the most vocal about what his sources are telling him, at least based on this writer’s knowledge, of anyone. His reporting, especially his tweet about no ‘violence, threat, force or coercion’ evidence, has shaped the narrative since Thursday night.

As he notes in his written piece, all that matters is what Robinson decides and, if used, what happens in the appeal. Until then, Florio’s sources are painting a picture that seems to point toward Watson playing most, if not all, of the 2022 season in Cleveland.

NFL Insider weighs in on Renfrow’s new deal

An NFL Insider believes Hunter Renfrow is “betting on himself” and thinks the former Clemson star wide receiver was “really smart” to sign a two-year, $32 million contract extension, including $21 million guaranteed, with the Las Vegas Raiders last …

An NFL Insider believes Hunter Renfrow is “betting on himself” and thinks the former Clemson star wide receiver was “really smart” to sign a two-year, $32 million contract extension, including $21 million guaranteed, with the Las Vegas Raiders last week.

Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk expressed those sentiments while weighing in this week on Renfrow’s new deal, which will keep the Raiders’ 2019 fifth-round draft pick under contract with the team through the 2024 season.

“Hunter Renfrow drafted by the former regime in Las Vegas at the time they were in Oakland, when the mindset was hey, just take guys from Clemson, Clemson’s really good, let’s just take guys from Clemson and we’ll be fine. (Former Clemson defensive end) Clelin Ferrell, no, Hunter Renfrow, yes,” Florio said.

“And he signed a two-year extension. I thought this was really smart. The money’s not gigantic as the receiver market goes. It’s a two-year, $32 million extension, $21 million of it is guaranteed. So, it’s $16 million a year at a time when the market is $25, $26, $27, up toward $30 kind of. This is a short-term band-aid where Hunter Renfrow is kind of betting on himself, betting on the fact that when he gets through the next couple of seasons, he’ll be in position to make even more.”

Renfrow is coming off a breakout season in 2021, when he recorded career highs with 103 catches, 1,038 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.

Florio sees the potential for Renfrow, 26, to make even bigger bucks on his next contract, whether it be with the Raiders or another team, after the new deal that he inked last week expires.

“As (Raiders wide receiver) Davante Adams is cycling through the early big-money years of his deal, and he’ll be 10, 11 years into his career, maybe Renfrow is valued differently than he is now and he makes a lot more on his next deal, or he goes somewhere else, because again, he’s under contract for just three more seasons,” Florio said.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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Mike Florio throws in another name for potential Dolphins QB in 2023

He’s still not buying in on Tua Tagovailoa as the long-term starter.

It’s not a normal day in the media landscape if the world isn’t talking about Tua Tagovailoa’s job security.

The Miami Dolphins quarterback brought his team to a winning record in his 12 starts in 2021, but a lot of the credit was given to the defense, and deservedly so.

However, essentially everyone has agreed that Tagovailoa dealt with a number of factors that impacted his performance including rumors of other quarterbacks coming in to take his job.

Last week on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Eisen answered if it was more likely that Tagovailoa combined for 30 touchdowns or that Tom Brady would be the Dolphins quarterback in 2023.

Eisen asked the same question to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio on Monday.

“He’s got 33 total [touchdown] in his career and we need 30 combined,” Florio said. “I think there’s a chance his numbers will go up with Mike McDaniel but there will still be flaws in his game that McDaniel will do a great job concealing. I still say that between those two, it’s more likely that he struggles and it’s Brady in 2023.”

That’s the same answer Eisen had given to the question. However, Florio added a name that hasn’t been talked about much to this point.

“Or…Lamar Jackson in 2023,” Florio said. “If the Ravens don’t get this deal done with him – and he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to negotiate this season – there’s going to be a window of opportunity for them to finally do this after the season, assuming he engages. There’s going to be a point where I think the Ravens get exasperated.

“I think that at some point the Ravens are going to throw their hands in the air and say, ‘We’ve got to move on. If this guy’s not going to take our money, we just have to move on.’ You tag him and you trade him and you maybe trade him to the Miami Dolphins if they’re looking for an upgrade over Tua after this season.”

The Dolphins have two first-round picks next year as well as a second and two thirds. It’s unclear what the trade price would be for Jackson, but expect it to be high. Plus, the team would then have to pay him, much like Miami just did with Tyreek Hill.

If Tagovailoa struggles in 2022, and they think Jackson can put them over, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chris Grier, or whoever is making the decisions next year, make some calls.

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What history tells us about Bears QB Justin Fields’ ability to succeed with a new regime

Justin Fields is the latest QB selected by a GM that was fired after drafting him. Here’s how other QBs have fared in similar situations.

As the 2022 NFL draft inches closer and closer, the Chicago Bears can check “quarterback” off their needs list as it has become abundantly clear from both new general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus that Justin Fields is their guy heading into the fall.

Fields of course was selected by former GM Ryan Pace when the Bears traded up to nab him in the 2021 NFL draft. But after just one season with him, Pace was fired, along with head coach Matt Nagy, for failing to show adequate growth and win enough games.

Fields is looking to build off an uneven rookie season that saw him throw for 1,870 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also coughed up the ball 12 times in 2021 and was beaten up in the pocket. But with a new offensive coordinator and different philosophy, the hope is that Fields develops into the dynamic franchise quarterback fans have been dreaming of for a lifetime.

Poles and Eberflus have publicly backed Fields as their guy heading into the 2022 season. But even with those assurances, some insiders aren’t convinced the new regime will stick with him for the long term.

One of them is Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who shared with 670 The Score’s Dan Bernstein Show earlier in the week that he thinks the Bears could look to distance themselves from Fields after this season.

“It feels like the Bears are deliberately taking a step back,” Florio said. “And the problem is usually teams do that when they don’t have a QB they believe in…Maybe that’s the hidden message here, that the new regime doesn’t believe in Justin Fields.”

Florio’s take was universally panned across social media, with fans and other media members having strong opinions. After all, Fields has been front and center since Poles and Eberflus were introduced in January. He spoke at the introductory press conference and both men have raved about how the Bears are “his team” as they prepare for the upcoming season. But if recent history is any indicator, Fields may not last too long with the new regime in place.

When the Bears decided to fire Pace at the end of the 2021 season, they chose to do so knowing that he had just mortgaged the future for a rookie quarterback. Now that same quarterback is under a new GM who, while still supporting him, didn’t choose him. Firing a GM after a season in which they selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft isn’t exactly common, but it’s happened a few times in recent years.

Since 2010, five GMs were fired less than a year after they had selected a quarterback with a first-round draft pick, including the Bears and Pace. Of the previous four, none of the quarterbacks selected went on to earn a second contract with their original team.

Two other general managers, Rick Smith with the Houston Texans and Buddy Nix with the Buffalo Bills, stepped down due to other circumstances after selecting a quarterback in the first round, but were not included in this list.