Tag: offseason

WATCH: Chiefs legend Tamba Hali working out with Felix Anudike-Uzomah

#Chiefs legend Tamba Hali was seen working out with Felix Anudike-Uzomah in a video posted to Twitter before the 2024 NFL Draft.

The future of the Kansas City Chiefs defense is filled with plenty of hope following the changes from this offseason. Felix Anudike-Uzomah was Kansas City’s first-round draft pick last year and is expected to take a significant jump in production after linking up with a franchise legend.

Since his retirement, Former Chiefs star Tamba Hali has garnered a reputation for training young talent in the offseason. He notably worked out with George Karlaftis and saw considerable improvement in production.

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Karlaftis finished his second season with 47 tackles, 10.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and three passes defended, sparking high hopes for Hali’s latest project, Anudike-Uzomah.

Hali posted a video featuring the former Kansas State star working on several techniques in the trenches. The Chiefs re-signed several players from the defensive line during the offseason, hoping to build on a successful 2023 campaign. Anudike-Uzomah had 14 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 14 games as a rookie.

Chiefs sign HC Andy Reid, GM Brett Veach, President Mark Donovan to extensions

The #Chiefs extended the contracts of Head Coach Andy Reid, General Manager Brett Veach, and team President Mark Donovan on Monday night.

Just days before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs signed head coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach, and team president Mark Donovan to contract extensions.

The move comes after Kansas City secured its second-consecutive championship in Super Bowl LVIII with a win over the San Francisco 49ers back in February.

In a statement sent to the press, the Chiefs emphasized the importance of Reid, Veach, and Donovan in their front office, pointing to the accomplishments that the trio have been able to achieve:

“Together since 2017, Donovan, Veach, and Reid have overseen a Chiefs team which has gone 100-34 (.746) (reg. & postseason combined), claiming seven consecutive AFC West Division Championships, four AFC Championships, and three Super Bowl Championships,” the team wrote. “The club has been in six-consecutive AFC Championship Games including hosting an NFL record five-straight (2018-2022).”

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Clark Hunt’s decision to keep these three key figures in Kansas City for the foreseeable future should prove to help the Chiefs sustain their dynasty as the team looks to continue winning Super Bowls for years to come.

B/R: Saints’ inactivity hurts their offseason grade heading into the draft

The rubric: free agency, cap management, draft preparation and team direction. How does Bleacher Report grade the Saints’ offseason?

Bleacher Report scouting department has graded the offseason for each NFL team. Kris Knox evaluated the NFC teams while his constituent Alex Ballentine evaluated the AFC. Free agency obviously plays a big part, but salary cap management, preparation for the 2024 draft and general team direction all play a part in forming the team’s grade.

The New Orleans Saints haven’t been overly active in free agency. The biggest move they made was bringing in Chase Young on a prove it contract. That likely brings down their grade, but they have managed the cap well this offseason. The rest of the rubric is subjective. Cumulatively, Knox gave the Saints a C. Here’s why:

There really isn’t much to discuss regarding New Orleans’ offseason. The Saints entered the offseason facing a massive cap deficit, and general manager Mickey Loomis had to work just to get the franchise in compliance.

Everything will hinge on how New Orleans fares in the draft because the Saints’ penchant for kicking contracts down the road is catching up to them. Give Loomis credit for not selling off the entire roster just to manage the salary cap, but New Orleans largely looks like the same squad it was a year ago.

The first line sums up why a low grade was expected. “There really isn’t much to discuss regarding New Orleans’ offseason.” That’d be acceptable if the Saints were at least coming off a playoff berth. Finances played a part, but it does feel like they played it safer than required.

Knox lays out offensive line and wide receiver as positions of need heading into next week’s draft. Wide receiver still needs more bodies despite the addition of Cedrick Wilson Jr., Stanley Morgan, and Equanimeous St. Brown. They also need an impactful player whether in the form of a draft pick or A.T. Perry. The offensive line needed help coming into the offseason and the outlook, like Ryan Ramczyk’s health, got worse as the offseason has progressed.

You can’t return essentially the same team that didn’t make the playoffs and feel good about it. That places a lot of pressure on Klint Kubiak as the biggest new piece to tilt the Saints’ trajectory upward. He can’t afford for Derek Carr and Chris Olave to have as many quiet spells as we saw last season. Even with their flashes last year, New Orleans needed some juice heading into the upcoming season. The NFL draft will be vital to the success of this team moving forward.

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Minnesota Vikings announce offseason workout, OTA & minicamp dates

The Minnesota Vikings announced their offseason workout, OTA & minicamp dates

The Minnesota Vikings have officially announced the dates for their offseason workout program, organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp.

Per the release, the offseason workout program begins on April 15th at Twin Cities Orthopedic Performance Center.

OTAs begin Monday, May 20th and are as follows:

  • Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21
  • Thursday, May 23
  • Tuesday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29
  • Friday, May 31
  • Monday, June 10 – Thursday, June 13

Mandatory minicamp will be from Tuesday, June 4th through Thursday, June 6th.

These practices will not be open to the public.

With so many new faces like running back Aaron Jones, quarterback Sam Darnold and edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, it will be interesting to see how they utilize this offseason program leading up to the first year of Vikings football post-Kirk Cousins.

Fans also get a chance to get a first look at the next phase of Brian Flores’ defense, and a Sam Darnold-led offense will look like in Minnesota.

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What does the L’Jarius Sneed trade mean for the Chiefs?

Our @LazarczykLogan breaks down what the L’Jarius Sneed trade means for the #Chiefs.

Over the weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs dealt star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 third-round pick, while swapping 2024 seventh-round picks.

Sneed was rumored to be a trade candidate from the start of the offseason when the Chiefs placed their franchise tag on him.

After Kansas City signed Chris Jones to a massive contract extension, the Chiefs didn’t have enough salary cap room to ink Sneed to a new deal without mortgaging future financial security.

The Titans signed the star cornerback to a four-year, $76 million deal with $55 million guaranteed after acquiring him from Kansas City.

The minimal compensation that the Chiefs received for sending Sneed to Tennessee may be an indication that Kansas City wasn’t interested in signing him to an extension.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has shown a knack for identifying and drafting defensive back in the late rounds of the draft.

The rise of Trent McDuffie as lockdown corner gave Kansas City’s front office some flexibility with Sneed, and may have led Veach to believe that the team’s secondary could maintain its success without adding more burden to the Chiefs’ defensive payroll.

Veach’s decision to trade Sneed freed up almost $20 million in cap space that Kansas City can now spend on free agents who are still on the market after the initial waves of signings this month.

In the end, the Sneed trade was a win-win-win for all sides involved. The Chiefs accumulated more draft capital, Sneed got paid, and the Titans bolstered their defense with a star cornerback.

TD Wire’s post-free agency power rankings unimpressed by Saints offseason

Touchdown Wire’s post-free agency power rankings are unimpressed by the New Orleans Saints offseason so far:

There aren’t many exercises more useless than NFL power rankings, which are the ultimate subjective expression of someone’s takes. Still, they are a quick way to summarize every team’s status and outlook relative to their peers, and it’s interesting to see where the New Orleans Saints clock in.

And they didn’t earn positive marks from Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey, who ranked the Saints all the way down at No. 24 among the league’s 32 teams. Here’s why Bailey is so down on the Saints:

The Saints win the award for the team I care the least about in 2024. We know what they are. They’re the same team they’ve been for the last three years. They’ll keep kicking this can down the road, thinking they’re just one or two moves away from being contenders, only to go 7-10 and repeat the cycle (see the Chase Young and Willie Gay signings). The Panthers may win fewer games in the division, but at least they’re interesting and have a young quarterback that went No. 1 overall last year. What is interesting about watching Derek Carr overthrow Chris Olave five times a game while Taysom Hill poaches touchdowns from inside the five? Nothing. They’re a team with a lame duck head coach and a lame duck quarterback awaiting another boring, mediocre season.

The Saints are the lowest-ranked team to finish the 2023 season with a winning record, but as Bailey said this was more of a vibe check than any really substantial analysis. And it’s tough to argue with the suggestion that Derek Carr and Dennis Allen are an uninspiring duo. Neither of them have won a single playoff game in a decade as a starting quarterback or five years as a head coach (or in two seasons together, between the Saints and Raiders).

Buying what the other teams in the NFC South are selling, though: that’s indefensible. For all his interest in the Panthers, Bailey ranks them behind the Saints at No. 29 while coming off a two-win season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are further ahead at No. 21 after winning a home playoff game but having lost their offensive coordinator.

And the most baffling decision is to rank the Atlanta Falcons all the way up at No. 7, calling them Super Bowl contenders for having signed Kirk Cousins. The same quarterback who famously did not lead a much more talented Minnesota Vikings team to the Super Bowl during his six years with the team, and who is now coming off season-ending Achilles surgery while joining a team built to lean on its defense without the defensive coordinator who led them to success a year ago. Good luck with that.

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B/R says hiring Klint Kubiak the Saints’ smartest move this offseason

The Saints tried to jumpstart their offense by hiring Klint Kubiak, and Bleacher Report labels that the smartest move of their offseason:

It’s been a busy offseaseon for the New Orleans Saints, but Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton labels the hiring of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as their smartest move so far. Free agency is on the front of many minds, specifically the Saints’ Chase Young signing, but Kubiak is unquestionably the biggest move of the offseason.

Here’s why Moton agrees with that sentiment:

“New Orleans hired Klint Kubiak to replace Pete Carmichael Jr., whose offense moderately improved between 2022 and 2023 but sputtered for stretches last year. The Saints’ offense finished 15th and 18th on third-down conversions and in red-zone scoring, respectively.

After a year as the San Francisco 49ers’ passing-game coordinator, Kubiak may be able to carry over some principles from the Niners’ fourth-ranked passing offense that can help elevate Derek Carr’s production.”

New Orleans’ inconsistent offense was the biggest issue on the team, so it was naturally the paramount question heading into the offseason. The Saints answered that question in the form of a new offensive coordinator. Kubiak must, at the worst, establish consistency on the offensive side of the ball. That alone elevates ceiling of the Saints in 2024.

Improvements on the offense may be more important than last season. The defense is talented and has been carrying the team since Drew Brees retired. The recipe hasn’t resulted in playoff teams. The defense is getting older at pivotal positions, and there’s questions about the younger players. A dropoff could occur at any moment.

The offense remaining stagnant limits the Saints’ ceiling as an above-average team. Chemistry between players should be an issue left in 2023. Now it’s about mastering the offense and Kubiak maximizing the talent.

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Chiefs wish head coach Andy Reid a happy 66th birthday

The #Chiefs wished head coach Andy Reid a happy 66th birthday on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs made one of the most consequential moves in the franchise’s history by hiring veteran head coach Andy Reid in 2013.

Under his watch, Kansas City has grown into a perennial contender, and secured three Super Bowl victories over the last five years.

On Tuesday, Reid celebrated his 66th birthday, and the Chiefs took to Twitter to wish him well on his big day:

While Reid is among the oldest head coaches currently in the NFL ranks, his youthful demeanor and excitement on the sideline captivate audiences around the country every time he is shown on television broadcasts.

One of the most accomplished coaches in football, Reid has cemented his place in league history with the impressive run of success that Kansas City has accomplished in recent seasons.

Expect fans and commentators around the country to join the Chiefs in wishing the long-tenured skipper a happy birthday on Tuesday.

Chris Jones addresses fans after extension: ‘I will be retiring a Chief’

Chris Jones took to Twitter after signing his blockbuster extension, telling fans he will “Retire a Chief”

Chris Jones earned a massive contract extension from the Kansas City Chiefs over the weekend and had plenty to say to fans on social media after the deal was officially finalized.

Never one to shy away from the camera, Jones was seen in a video on the Chiefs’ official Twitter page sharing his excitement about the extension.

Check out his message to the Kansas City’s fans shortly after putting ink to his new contract:

Jones is among the league’s most accomplished defensive linemen and has been one of Kansas City’s most impactful players during the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl runs in the Patrick Mahomes era.

One of the NFL’s preeminent sack-masters, Jones has made a name for himself as a tenacious pass-rusher with the ability to wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines with ease.

His return to Kansas City should prove to be a key factor in the Chiefs’ ability to compete for an ever-elusive Super Bowl three-peat next season.

Chiefs re-sign long snapper James Winchester

The #Chiefs re-signed long snapper James Winchester on Monday just after the legal tampering period of free agency opened.

The Kansas City Chiefs have reportedly agreed to terms on a new contract for long snapper James Winchester.

News of the move came just after the NFL’s legal tampering period of free agency opened on Monday morning and was first reported by Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com.

While the details of Winchester’s new deal haven’t yet been released, Chiefs fans can rest easy knowing that a key piece of Kansas City’s special teams unit is officially under contract for at least one more season.

Winchester has played for the Chiefs since 2015 after initially joining the NFL as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

He played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma and has made a name for himself as one of the league’s most consistent long snappers.

This move might not be the flashiest, but it will prove to help Kansas City maintain continuity on its special teams unit, which is expected to lose All-Pro punter Tommy Townsend.