Tag: reaction

Cameron Jordan throws shade at Bucs after Tristan Wirfs trade

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan took aim at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after their 2020 NFL Draft trade for Tristan Wirfs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t waste any time in getting some help for Tom Brady, trading up one spot in the 2020 NFL Draft to select Iowa Hawkeyes left tackle Tristan Wirfs.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan wasn’t impressed, asking for someone to clarify something for him — whether or not the Buccaneers paid their offensive tackles last season or not. They did pay out a three-year extension for Donovan Smith, the incumbent left tackle, and picked up the 2019 contract option on right tackle Demar Dotson (who has not re-signed for 2020).

Of course, he knew that answer. What Jordan really wanted to know was what happened after those contracts were handed out. That answer would be two losses by Tampa Bay to the Saints, in which Jordan’s defense racked up a combined eight sacks. Jordan accounted for 2.5 of those.

It’s going to be a challenge for Wirfs to do much better. Jordan is an annual Pro Bowler, one of the game’s All-Pro caliber talents, and he’s beaten linemen who are more experienced and more athletic than the rookie. He’s certainly looking forward to testing his new division rival.

This sort of draft-day trash talk isn’t new to Jordan. He also took aim at the Atlanta Falcons last year, laughing off their reinforcements along the offensive line. On Thanksgiving, he backed up those barbs with four sacks in prime time, a new career-high. He’s not afraid to chirp at his competition. But unlike many tall-talkers, Jordan is ready to back it up.

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Michael Thomas congratulates Joe Burrow on being picked first overall

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas is a big fan of LSU QB Joe Burrow, picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft

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LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow was picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has a big fan in New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas congratulated Burrow on his accomplishment and his arrival to the NFL, acknowledging the struggles Burrow experienced at the college level before his breakout 2019 season. Burrow once played for Thomas’s alma mater with the Ohio State Buckeyes, but transferred to LSU after losing the starting quarterback battle with Dwayne Haskins.

It’s a great gesture by Thomas, who has dealt with his own adversity before a meteoric rise into NFL history. Maybe Burrow will experience a similar surge in Cincinnati, a town that’s been hurting for someone to rally around.

However, Burrow already played a part in making NFL history — immediately after he was selected first overall, the subsequent picks were Buckeyes teammates Chase Young (to the Washington Redskins) and Jeff Okudah (to the Detroit Lions). It’s the first time in the draft’s history that three teammates made up the first three picks. And that’s something Thomas, a proud Buckeye himself, took note of:

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How would Alvin Kamara feel about re-signing with the Saints?

Saints RB Alvin Kamara has found a new home in New Orleans, and hopes to find a contract extension much like Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

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The NFL world was rocked on Monday by the news of a huge four-year, $64 million contract extension between running back Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers. Beyond the deal’s immediate impact on the Panthers as a franchise, it shook up the landscape of running back contracts around the league.

For New Orleans Saints fans tuned into Alvin Kamara’s Twitch stream with Bleacher Report, they earned a live reaction from one of the game’s most popular players — whose own contract is set to expire after the 2020 season. Kamara was thoughtful when asked how he’d feel about signing his own multiyear extension with the Saints.

“Man, that’s,” Kamara started, pausing to gather his thoughts. “New Orleans was a place I hadn’t been to. I’d never been to New Orleans until I got drafted to New Orleans. Just to be able to get to New Orleans, and have that city embrace me, just take me in, basically adopt me, man it’s amazing. There’s so much love there. It’s a dope city even outside of the football. It’s beautiful people, it’s lit, it’s a vibe.”

Kamara has spoken often about his appreciation for the city’s culture and the support of its fanbase; he often walks to and from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on game days from his downtown apartment, pausing for photographs along the way. But the sense of brotherhood he’s felt in the Saints locker room is just as important.

“If we’re talking about the football,” Kamara said, “I’ve never been around a group of guys like in New Orleans who just want to win, who just want to be there for each other, and be around each other.”

The Saints are headed for uncharted territory, with franchise quarterback Drew Brees drawing up his retirement plans and a host of big-money contract extensions on the horizon. Kamara is one of several young stars whose cheap rookie deals will run out soon, along with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and free safety Marcus Williams. That’s not to mention decorated veterans like linebacker Demario Davis and tight end Jared Cook.

Even if the Saints are able to transition from Brees to a younger, low-cost quarterback (whether it’s Taysom Hill or someone else) it’s not realistic to expect the Saints to keep everyone. Recent losses including safety Vonn Bell and running back Mark Ingram speak to that. Everyone is rightfully going to want their money, and the Saints won’t be able to compromise with all of them. Hopefully they can hammer out an agreement with Kamara before it’s too late; it’s obvious his heart is in it.

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Watch: Alvin Kamara reacts to Christian McCaffrey’s new contract extension

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara reacted live on camera to Christian McCaffrey’s contract extension with the Carolina Panthers.

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New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara was kicked back and shirtless, enjoying a casual afternoon of “Call of Duty” with some friends and writers from Bleacher Report when a notification flashed across his vision.

“Ooh wait pause, pause, pause” Kamara said, reading from his phone live on Twitch, the popular video game streaming platform. “Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey signed a four-year extension, $16 million a year.”

The report came from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, detailing a blockbuster contract extension between the Panthers and the new face of their franchise. The Panthers showed former first-overall draft pick Cam Newton the door earlier this offseason, prompting Kamara’s teammate Cameron Jordan to try and talk his longtime rival into jumping on board.

When asked to share his thoughts on what McCaffrey’s big payday meant for him, all Kamara had to offer were smiles.

“Hey man, look, I don’t even,” Kamara grinned, “I just play football. I’m just a football guy. I don’t worry with all these contracts and all these things, all this money.”

Still, Kamara took time to offer a shoutout to McCaffrey, thanking his peer for raising the bar and appreciating his talents. The two talented running backs have drawn plenty of comparisons over the years, having entered the NFL in the same 2017 draft class and going on to make mincemeat out of the same NFC South defenses every other week. They also both each excel at making plays on the ground as easily as through the air.

But McCaffrey has proven able to shoulder a heavier workload than Kamara, who has done his best work when paired with a complimentary weapon like Mark Ingram or Latavius Murray. The exact ramifications from this deal on Kamara’s future are hard to pin down, but there will be some sort of aftershock. And while he’s playing coy publicly, that’s certainly going to weigh on Kamara’s mind if the Saints make him an offer ahead of the 2020 season, the final year on his rookie deal.

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Sean Payton gets in a crafty dig at the Falcons on Twitter

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton had some spare time, so he got on Twitter and joked about the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl collapse:

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The rivalry between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons is one of the NFL’s most underrated competitions, representing the closest thing the pro level has to the generations-long bouts you’ll see in college football. And not even Saints coach Sean Payton is above indulging in the fun every now and then.

Approached by a Falcons fan on Twitter who joked that Payton should, “Get back in your bag and provide us some show reviews,” during the lengthy stay-at-home orders many Americans are respecting in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Payton obliged — but was careful to take a jab at the Falcons’ expense.

We’ve embedded the exchange below; read it once for some legitimate recommendations from a few prominent streaming services, then look a little deeper.

The first letter in each line of Payton’s response spells out, “28 to 3, Houston we have a problem,” referencing the Falcons’ historic collapse in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots (at the Houston Texans’ NRG Stadium, no less. Good on Coach for doing his homework).

That game of course saw the Falcons surrender a 25-point lead late in the third quarter, setting the franchise back years and denying Falcons faithful the Super Bowl win they’ve spent so many years chasing. Honestly, you love to see it.

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Ex-Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks is the NFL’s hot potato

Brandin Cooks has been traded again, joining the Houston Texans after the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, and Los Angeles Rams.

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Former New Orleans Saints first-round draft pick Brandin Cooks found himself on the move again, when the Los Angeles Rams agreed to trade him to the Houston Texans. The Rams themselves acquired Cooks in a trade with the New England Patriots a few years back, meaning the talented wideout will have played with four different NFL teams before his 27th birthday.

Reactions to the news featured mixed reviews, to put it charitably. The Texans swapped a second-round pick (No. 57 in this year’s draft) for Cooks and a fourth-round pick in 2022, effectively negating the draft capital they gained by shipping out a much better wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins just weeks ago. Texans coach and de facto general manager Bill O’Brien essentially traded Hopkins for Cooks, injury-prone running back David Johnson, and a mid-round pick two years from now.

But let’s not lose sight of the Saints’ role in this. They were the first team to trade Cooks, exchanging him for a first-round pick in the 2017 draft (that eventually became all-world right tackle Ryan Ramczyk), following an offseason in which he bellyached to the media about his sometimes-limited role in the offense.

If Cooks had been more of a team player, it’s possible he and Michael Thomas would have grown into the NFL’s most devastating one-two punch at wide receiver. Instead, he’ll be jostling for targets with Randall Cobb, Kenny Stills (another ex-Saints draft pick), and a handful of other wideouts. Maybe he’ll stick better with the Texans after washing out from other programs.

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Full list of 58 NFL prospects who will ‘attend’ the 2020 virtual draft

The New Orleans Saints first-round pick has a good shot of sharing an instant reaction considering the number of prospects available in 2020

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We’re just two weeks away from the 2020 NFL Draft, and final preparations for this year’s event are underway. With the novel coronavirus pandemic limiting travel and group gatherings nationwide, the NFL won’t get to enjoy the fanfare — and rowdy fan presence — that always accompanies its prime-time spectacle. So they’re getting creative and inviting top prospects to share instant reactions to broadcast networks or social media on draft day.

The full list is much larger than the 30-or-so prospects that usually attend the draft and wait to be selected in the “green room.” Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, 58 draft prospects will be on hand when the Cincinnati Bengals go on the clock to start this year’s selections.

There’s a good chance that the player the New Orleans Saints will pick at No. 24 will be included on this list, and it’s possible that their next choice will be, too. While the Saints won’t make their next selection until No. 88, a trade up the board can’t the ruled out. And that player could be available late anyway given such an expansive list.

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Falcons take the baton from the Bucs for the NFC South’s worst uniforms

The Saints and Panthers are on top of the NFC South uniform power rankings, with new Buccaneers and Falcons jerseys buried in the basement.

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There must be some sort of agreement between the teams in the NFC South that one team must wear a terrible numbers font on their jerseys at all times. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ushered in the Tom Brady era with a flourish by ditching their maligned, digital alarm clock-styled uniforms, opting instead for the most generic red-on-white jerseys you could imagine.

Not to be outdone, the Atlanta Falcons introduced their own new uniforms: and boy, are they ugly. Featuring an ill-advised color gradient from red to black — looking more like an old Texas Tech alternate than an NFL kit — the jerseys are offset by a two-tone font for the numbers that tries to create a three-dimensional illusion. Instead, it looks like nothing so much as a child’s unfinished coloring book.

Funnily enough, the Falcons’ new black-on-black look is a near-match for the uniform worn by Adam Sandler in his 2005 film “The Longest Yard,” which the Carolina Panthers official Twitter account was helpful enough to highlight:

Bless their hearts. Maybe the New Orleans Saints can make up for the NFC South’s weak uniform game by upgrading their “Color Rush” variants to full-time status. We can dream, right?

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Cameron Jordan embraces the challenge of Tom Brady-Buccaneers matchup

The New Orleans Saints expect to play Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice in 2020, and Cameron Jordan isn’t taking it lightly.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is expected to sign a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, adding a new challenge for the New Orleans Saints. But team captain Cameron Jordan isn’t sweating it — he’s embracing the opportunity to compete against the best.

Jordan spoke with The Athletic’s Larry Holder, saying in a text message, “Our division just became even tougher. I can’t wait!!!”

But that wasn’t Jordan’s only public statement on the looming Brady-Buccaneers pairing. When the NFL’s official Twitter account shared a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport breaking the expected deal between Brady and the Buccaneers, Jordan responded with plenty of respect for what the legendary quarterback has accomplished:

It’s clear that Jordan doesn’t intend to let his team take the 42-year-old passer lightly. Seeing Brady conduct an offense loaded with weapons against Jordan and his battle-tested Saints defense twice a year will make for must-see TV.

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