Tag: Raiders

If Saints are serious about getting more firepower, trade for Davante Adams

Trade rumors are swirling around Davante Adams. He wouldn’t be easy to acquire, but if the Saints are serious, they should make a run at reuniting him with Derek Carr:

Dennis Allen has already publicly challenged his backups to do more to fire up the New Orleans Saints offense. But if he’s serious about wanting more firepower, it would be worth looking into all of these trade rumors surrounding Las Vegas Raiders star wideout Davante Adams. His history with Derek Carr on the Raiders and in college at Fresno state speaks for itself.

On Tuesday, Vinny Bonsignore reported for the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Raiders “are growing open to the idea of trading Davante Adams. The source said the club has begun reaching out to teams to gauge interest in the veteran wide receiver.”

This followed comments from Adams himself, speaking with Kay Adams’ “Up and Adams” show, where his response to trade speculation was that he was focusing on the things within his control. He added that he hadn’t heard a word about his future with the Raiders from head coach Antonio Pierce, who had fueled speculation about a potential trade on social media.

But what could it cost? Before we even look at the trade compensation we’ve got to tackle the salary cap perspective. Any team trading for Adams right now would have to come up with $13.5 million for his remaining salary in 2024. If they wait until the Nov. 5 trade deadline, the acquiring team only pays $8.6 million. That’s after the Saints would play their next five games. Could they wait that long?

They might not have a choice. New Orleans is under the salary cap by just $2.7 million right now, so unless a player is going back their options are really limited. Trading more-valuable draft picks to Las Vegas could get the Raiders to pay part of Adams’ salary would be an option. Their easiest lever to pull would be restructuring Alvin Kamara’s contract, saving up to $8.1 million, but he’s tabled contract extension talks until the spring, so you have to wonder how willing the Saints would be to go that route.

Let’s say they get that done. As for the trade compensation? It would probably have to be at least a future first-round pick, and the Saints have gotten burned by trading those recently (just look at the disastrous Trevor Penning trade in 2022). Adams ranks third in career touchdowns scored (96) among active players. He’s built a career that’s given him a shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.

Getting him won’t be easy, but it might save the Saints’ season. Adams would give them a physical presence at wide receiver they currently lack. Neither Chris Olave nor Rashid Shaheed, talented as they are, play above the rim and fight for contested catches as effectively as Adams does. He’s a rare tone-setter at the position, and the Saints know him well. Beyond Carr he’s got his former college receivers coach Keith Williams on staff in New Orleans. There could be both interest from the Saints and appeal to Adams here. Stay tuned.

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Justin Fields was almost traded to the Ravens, Chargers, and Raiders in 2024 offseason

Justin Fields broke major news on Cam Heywards Not Just Football Podcast, naming the other teams making a move at acquiring him.

Justin Fields has earned the love and admiration of the Pittsburgh Steelers with his impressive 3-0 start to the season, but it has now been reported by Fields himself that three other teams actually made attempts to trade for him first.  The Steelers acquired Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears, sending only a conditional sixth-round pick their way.  Fields would need to play over 51% of snaps for the pick to become a fourth-round selection.  However, it’s clear to Steelers fans and the organization that Fields is far more valuable than any Day-3 selection.

The Ravens, Raiders, and Chargers apparently thought so too, as Justin Fields responded to a question asked on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. Fields stated one particular reason for choosing the Steelers was that those teams, with the exception of the Raiders, was “already have solidified quarterbacks there.”

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Steelers fans can thank Omar Khan for making the Fields trade a reality, and Justin Fields for choosing Pittsburgh as his home.

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Dolphins add former Raiders, Chiefs DT Neil Farrell to practice squad

The Dolphins added a 325-pound former fourth-round draft pick to their practice squad Thursday.

The Miami Dolphins signed third-year defensive tackle Neil Farrell to their practice squad, the team announced Thursday.

Farrell, 26, was picked in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders and was later traded to the Kansas City Chiefs before the start of the 2023 season. Earlier this year, he was waived by the Chiefs and then later released from the team’s practice squad.

In his two seasons with Las Vegas and Kansas City, Farrell appeared in 12 games and recorded two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.

The 6’4, 325-pound lineman joins a roster that has allowed the third most rushing touchdowns in the NFL. Through three games, starting defensive lineman Benito Jones has a 38.3 grade on Pro Football Focus, worst of any player on the team.

According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, the Dolphins brought in former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Tyler Manoa along with Farrell for workouts before signing the latter.

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Dennis Allen got back to .500 as head coach of the Saints

Dennis Allen got back to .500 as head coach of the New Orleans Saints. One more victory and he’ll have his best-ever win streak:

Dennis Allen’s team improved to 2-0 on Sunday, which means his record as head coach of the New Orleans Saints climbed up to 18-18. He’s back to .500 after a rough start to his tenure left him at 7-10 in his first year on the job. One more victory and Allen will be 3-0 this season, with the longest win streak of his coaching career.

If you want to be technical (and who doesn’t?), Allen is already there. His Saints beat the brakes off the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in  the final two weeks of the 2023 regular season, so you could argue he’s actually won four in a row. And for the sake of argument we’ll fight back against that.

Winning three games in three weeks would be much more impressive than stretching that streak across two different seasons, especially when you consider that it’s another playoff team lining up across from the Saints next Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles just had a laugh at their division rivals’ expense, and you can bet they don’t want to get clowned on SportsCenter like the Dallas Cowboys are right now. They’ll give the Saints their best shot.

Knowing that, it would have to be even more satisfying for Allen to see his team pluck those Eagles out of the sky. A 3-0 start would be the best of his career. He’s been over .500 before with the Saints (they started 2-0 last season, too, and got ahead by a single win on three different occasions). But he’s never been three games ahead. If he can keep this positive momentum going, it would do a lot to push back against the narratives that have trailed him since his ugly 8-28 run with the Raiders all those years ago.

The challenge is clear. So are the stakes. And so is the opponent. It’s a new week. Let’s see if Allen’s team can get the job done.

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Drew Brees previews Saints-Cowboys with Jon Gruden

Drew Brees previewed this week’s Saints-Cowboys game with ex-NFL coach Jon Gruden. He doesn’t envy Derek Carr having to prepare for Mike Zimmer’s defense:

Jon Gruden has been out of the NFL for a few years now after being fired by the Las Vegas Raiders in the wake of a scandal centering on his extensive use of hateful language, and he’s keeping busy these days by talking shop with current and former players when the New Orleans Saints aren’t inviting him to observe practice and sitting down with him for team meals in Tampa.

Gruden still has a lot of connections and fans around the league. His old quarterback Derek Carr is one of them. Another Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, is another. Brees joined Gruden on his YouTube channel to discuss a wide range of topics including youth football, fatherhood, and this week’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

Brees visited the Saints at their training camp in Southern California, and he’s eager to see more of their offense with Klint Kubiak calling plays into Carr’s headset: “I love what that offense brings, both in the run game and I think the mentality, the way it shapes up the play action the passing game as well. I think there’s a renewed enthusiasm there. I think Derek’s about to have some of his best years. He’s got some explosive weapons around him.”

Interestingly, Brees pointed to what the Saints are doing now in comparison to what he and Sean Payton did back in 2006. Just like Payton learned much from Gruden as a coaching mentor in adapting the West Coast offense for his own designs, Kubiak is making Kyle Shanahan’s system his own in New Orleans. “It came from the same source, right?” Brees added.

As to this matchup in Dallas? Brees is hoping Carr can build on his strong performance: “That’ll be a heck of a matchup. I’ll be glued to the TV for that one.”

One wrinkle to this year’s game Gruden pointed out? Mike Zimmer’s return to Dallas. He’s once again the Cowboys defensive coordinator after a couple of seasons out of the league, running the defense where he first rose to prominence as Payton’s coworker so many years ago. And Brees doesn’t envy Carr and Kubiak having to outwit a defensive coach he has a ton of respect for.

“I’ll say this, we played against Zim a bunch. And there was never a week I expended more mental energy preparing for a defense than a Zimmer defense,” Brees said. “Because just like you said, the minute they walk those two linebackers up in the A gaps, even if they’re just bluffing them, it gets you thinking so much about, ‘Where can I get the ball out? What coverage are they potentially rolling to?'”

That sounds exhausting just from the description. What’s really intriguing about the Kubiak-Zimmer chess match is that Kubiak last worked as an offensive coordinator calling plays under Zimmer on the Minnesota Vikings. But the offense he’s running now is more heavily derived from Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers system than what Kubiak used in Minnesota, so it’s not like either coach has an inside track on what the other is planning. It’s all going to come to a head on Sunday. Like Brees (and Gruden), we’ll be watching.

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Chargers film room: Poona Ford anchors strong Week 1 defense

Poona Ford was one of the bright spots for the Chargers defense that held the Raiders to 71 yards rushing in a Week 1 victory.

The Chargers looked like a completely different run defense in the first game of the Jim Harbaugh era, holding the Raiders to just 71 yards on the ground as a team.

Instrumental in that effort was defensive tackle Poona Ford, who signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles in the offseason after playing a depth role for the Bills in 2023. Penciled in as a starter nearly by default because of the Chargers’ struggles on the defensive interior, Ford broke through with one of the best games by any defensive tackle in the NFL in Week 1 to aid Los Angeles’ defensive effort.

Let’s turn to the film to see how Ford made his impact.

Ford started strong on the opening drive of the season, pushing Raiders center Andre James into the backfield and forcing running back Zamir White to funnel his carry back inside on 3rd and 1. White’s cut brings him back into the path of Joey Bosa pursuing on the back side of the play. Bosa makes the play, forcing a Raiders punt.

On the next Raiders drive, Las Vegas lines up to go for a 4th and 1 from their own 41, bringing tight end Michael Mayer into the backfield in a pistol look. Ford beats James instantly off the snap and runs through Mayer, causing a pileup in the backfield that absorbs White and stuffs the Raiders. The field position set up the Chargers for the opening field goal of the game.

Ford initially gets driven off the ball by Raiders guard Cody Whitehair on this toss play in the second quarter as James pulls to support the block, but Ford gets past the double team and helps close the hole alongside cornerback Kristian Fulton to limit White to a gain of 2 on first down. Fulton slips a block from Mayer to help Ford make the tackle.

Coming out of the two-minute warning, the Raiders try to set up a screen to running back Alexander Mattison, but Ford reads the play after getting through the A gap without much resistance from James or Whitehair. Instead of chasing after Gardner Minshew, Ford runs with Mattison and tips the ball. As Mattison tries to corral it, Ford continues to play through his hands, eventually knocking the ball away and forcing the Raiders into a third down.

On a 3rd and 7 in the third quarter with the Chargers leading 9-7, Jesse Minter dials up a sim pressure with Junior Colson, Daiyan Henley, and Derwin James all walked up to the line of scrimmage. All three of them come on the blitz while Ford briefly engages with Andre James before dropping into a zone over the middle. The design prevents the Raiders from sliding the protection to either side. Henley jumps to get in the throwing lane of Minshew and Colson breaks into the pocket for a pressure, forcing a throwaway. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 49-yard field goal on the next play, leading to a Chargers touchdown drive.

Zooming out to the field view for this 3rd and 10 from the Chargers 23, the seventh play of a pivotal Raiders drive early in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas runs a screen to wide receiver DJ Turner on the outside and has three blockers, including two offensive linemen, for three Chargers defenders in front of Turner. As he approaches the first down marker, however, Turner is chased down by Ford, stopping him short of the sticks and forcing the Raiders into a field goal attempt to make the game 16-10 rather than setting up a red zone first down to cut the lead to two.

Ford caps off his performance – and the game – with this tip drill interception just after the two-minute warning. Khalil Mack drives right tackle Thayer Munford Jr. back as Minshew tries to swing the ball to Mattison. Mack gets his hands up and bats the ball into the air right as Ford disengages from his blocker. Unlike most defensive tackles who let the ball fall into their chests, Ford extends outside his frame slightly to make the catch and gets to the ground to secure the victory.

Ford continuing his strong play will be instrumental in the Chargers fielding a top defense this season, as his Week 1 tape was some of the best Los Angeles has gotten from a defensive tackle in the last couple of seasons. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack both looked impressive as well, setting up a potentially dominant Chargers front if all three can sustain their levels of production.

Chargers rookie Joe Alt shuts down Maxx Crosby in big time debut

Joe Alt was as good as advertised in his first NFL start.

There were some concerns from fans and the media when Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers opted to take former Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt over one of the many top-tier receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft. After Alt’s debut against the Las Vegas Raiders, however, it’s clear Harbaugh and the Bolts had the right idea in mind taking one of the cleanest players in the entire draft class.

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You couldn’t have drawn a much tougher opening matchup for a rookie than the one he faced on Sunday when teeing off against both Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins, two of the best defensive lineman in the entire league. Alt was trusted to give it a go and passed his test with flying colors as he gave up zero sacks and one pressure on the afternoon.

While Alt did have some moments where he was beat in the running game by Wilkins, it was mostly Alt who took away the wins on the day. This was a fantastic performance by a rookie who looked every bit like the elite prospect he was touted as. With Rashawn Slater on the other side of the offensive line, the Chargers may end up with the best tackle duo in the entire league.

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Chargers rookie OT Joe Alt aces first test

Joe Alt was a wall against the Raiders.

Joe Alt couldn’t have asked for a more challenging test in his NFL regular season debut, as he was tasked with going up against Maxx Crosby. But the rookie offensive tackle aced it.

According to Next Gen Stats, Alt allowed zero quarterback pressures in 11 pass-block snaps against Crosby. If that stat wasn’t already eyebrow-raising, Crosby had not been held to zero pressures against an offensive lineman since Week 9 of the 2022 season.

On the day, Alt allowed three pressures across his 28 total pass-block snaps.

Alt was a wall in pass protection with active feet, athletic posture, strong anchor and nice balance throughout each repetition.

Coaches and players heaped high praise on Alt after the game.

“Joe Alt, he played really good,” Jim Harbaugh said. “Super happy for Joe.”

Justin Herbert added: “He’s a true ball player out there.”

Alt’s performance was even more impressive because he has only been playing right tackle for five months. The former Notre Dame product was a left tackle in college but was drafted to play opposite Rashawn Slater.

“Super proud of him. I’ve always known from the very beginning he was going to be dominant,” Slater said about Alt. “I have no doubt he dominated today. I haven’t even looked at the film, but I just know he did. Sky is the limit.”

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 1 win over Raiders

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ highest and lowest-graded Chargers players from the win over the Raiders.

In Week 1, the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 22-10.

En route to victory, there were some standout performers and others who did not contribute as much.

That said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

OT Rashawn Slater — 74.8

RB J.K. Dobbins — 74.3

WR Ladd McConkey — 72.9

WR Quentin Johnston — 65.4

OT Joe Alt — 60.8

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Joey Bosa — 91.4

DT Poona Ford — 89.2

EDGE Khalil Mack — 87.2

S Elijah Molden — 82.9

CB Ja’Sir Taylor — 72.1

Bottom 5 Offense

TE/FB Scott Matlock — 27.4

TE Will Dissly — 39.8

WR Joshua Palmer — 46.7

OL Bradley Bozeman — 48.7

OL Zion Johnson — 52.4

Bottom 5 Defense

EDGE Bud Dupree — 29.7

LB Junior Colson — 44.8

DL Morgan Fox — 50.4

DL Scott Matlock — 53.5

DL Otito Ogbonnia — 56.6

Chargers WR Joshua Palmer sounds off on fight that led to ejection

Joshua Palmer said that he thought Raiders defenders were getting frustrated by the physicality of the receivers’ blocking.

Joshua Palmer and Jack Jones were ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ win over the Raiders on Sunday.

Multiple players got into a fight following a two-point conversion attempt with 3:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, Palmer and Jones being the notable players involved.

Ladd McConkey was blocking Epps, and Palmer went to help. The two got into a fight in the back of the end zone. While attempting to break them up, other fights ensued, including between Quentin Johnston and Maxx Crosby.

After the game, Palmer told ESPN’s Kris Rhim and other reporters that he “got punched a lot,” including once by Jones earlier in the contest.

“They came and started throwing punches, but we’re not going to be punching bags,” Palmer said. “So we had to defend ourselves.”

Palmer said that he thought Raiders defenders were getting frustrated by the physicality of the receivers’ blocking.

“It’s not personal. There’s no bad blood,” Palmer added. “UFC guys beat up each other for a living, then they go back and shake hands. Especially in football, it’s nothing like that. But it’s not personal at all. We just do our job as hard as we can. We’re not trying to hurt anybody”

Jim Harbaugh said the team didn’t talk about the fight after the game.

“Just trying to get our guys back, get ’em separated, keep the rest of the guys coming,” Harbaugh said. “I just tried to break it up.”