Saints to release Jameis Winston, Michael Thomas in procedural moves Wednesday

As was expected, the Saints will release Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas in procedural moves on Wednesday. Here’s what it means for the salary cap:

We knew this was coming, but now it’s confirmed, and there’s no going back. The New Orleans Saints will be releasing quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Michael Thomas on Wednesday with post-June 1 designations, per Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald, making both of them unrestricted free agents. A number of other players around the league are being let go with the same designation, including Odell Beckham Jr.

It’s unclear whether Thomas was given permission to begin speaking with other teams prior to being released, like Winston, but that’s a reasonable assumption. In Winston’s case, he already knows where he’ll be playing football in 2024: the Cleveland Browns. Winston has agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $8.7 million. He’ll be backing up Deshaun Watson who is still recovering from season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder in 2023.

Teams are only allowed to designate two releases as post-June 1 cuts each offseason, which is done for accounting purposes to help manage the salary cap. Here are the remaining salary cap hits the Saints will carry in 2024 and 2025 after moving on from both players:

  • 2024: $15.69 million in total. $11.1 million (for Thomas) and $4.59 million (for Winston). This is about 6.1% of the salary cap
  • 2025: $16.54 million in total. $9.18 million (for Thomas) and $7.36 million (for Winston). This is about 5.9% of an estimated $280 million salary cap

It’s frustrating to lose so much salary cap space for players no longer on the roster, but that’s the cost of doing business sometimes. And things will get a little easier for the Saints on June 2, at which point they will get some cap relief. They’ll receive a $2.42 million cap credit for both players’ base salaries coming off the books, which can go towards signing their rookie draft class.

We’ll see what’s next for both of them, and for the Saints. Players come and go but the NFL’s calendar keeps moving on.

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Social media reacts to Denver Broncos’ unprecedented release of Wisconsin legend Russell Wilson

What was your reaction to Wilson’s release?

The Denver Broncos released former Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson Monday afternoon.

The move is unprecedented after the franchise traded a king’s ransom for Wilson before the 2022 season, and now must absorb a cap hit of more than $80 million.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

The former Badger went 11-19 in two years in Denver, throwing for a combined 6594 yards and 42 touchdowns, while adding 618 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

He now hits the open market after playing on a near-Hall-of-Fame trajectory with the Seattle Seahawks, appearing in two Super Bowls and winning one. The years in Denver saw a regression in play, but there’s a chance his MVP candidate form could return in the right location.

NFL pundits and Broncos fans alike were amazed by the news, and especially by his gigantic cap hit. Here is how social media reacted to Wilson’s release:

Courtland Sutton’s Instagram post sounds like a goodbye to Broncos fans

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton wrote on Instagram that he trusts God’s plans for “whatever is next for me.”

Denver Broncos wide receiver shared a message on his Instagram page on Friday evening that has fans wondering if it was a goodbye post.

This is what the receiver wrote, with bolded emphasis added by us:

Broncos country I’m very grateful to be able to have finished off another season here in Denver. Unfortunately we weren’t able to accomplish our main goal. I’m still grateful for all my teammates and support staff that have been riding with me all season. I know all things happen for a reason and I trust my Gods plans over everything including whatever is next for me. Just know I gave everything to this team and organization every time I stepped on that field! All Love 14 🤟🏾

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Just speculating, it’s possible that the Broncos might have asked Sutton to take a pay cut. The team is going to be over the salary cap in 2024 and Sutton is set to have a cap hit north of $17 million. Denver might also be considering trading the receiver after he caught a career-high 10 touchdowns in 2023.

All of this, of course, is just speculation. We’re not even sure if Sutton’s post actually was a goodbye to Broncos Country, but it certainly sounded like one. This isn’t the first time Sutton has turned heads with a post on social media. Last year, Sutton wrote “I just want to be where I’m wanted and appreciated” on his Twitter/X page in March (perhaps in response to trade rumors).

Here’s how social media reacted to Sutton’s latest post.

Feisty young bobcat has choice ‘words’ for handlers upon release

The growls and actions of the spirited wildcat, Mr. Murder Britches, are amusingly translated in the video text.

An environmental activist on Sunday recalled translating a young bobcat’s actions for an amusing video showing the spirited critter’s release into the wild.

“One of the highlights of my life was naming this chicken-poaching bobcat kitten Mr. Murderbritches and ‘translating’ his growls on video,” Russ McSpadden stated on X. “This cat’s wild spirit then went viral and inspired millions to be feisty as hell.”

The accompanying footage, first published by the Center for Biological Diversity in 2018, contains McFadden’s sometimes salty translations as the kitten, being relocated after dining on ranch chickens, sparred with his well-meaning handlers.

After viewing the footage, many might share the sentiment expressed by the Center for Biological Diversity in the original video description:

“Long live Mr. Murderbritches!”

Patriots release long-shot hopeful WR Ed Lee on Wednesday

The Patriots have released undrafted rookie receiver Ed Lee.

Ed Lee’s time with the New England Patriots has officially come to an end.

The team announced they had released the undrafted rookie wide receiver on Wednesday.

Lee was always considered a long-shot hopeful to make the Patriots’ roster, but he was especially going to have a tough time of sticking around with the emergence of rookie sixth-round draft picks Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte.

The Patriots might not have a true No. 1 receiver, but they are loaded at the position with a plethora of good options, if not elite ones. Lee will still be a fun prospect to keep an eye on for the future.

Who knows? The road for him could lead back to the Patriots’ practice squad at some point. Anyone that’s been paying attention long enough knows to never say never when it comes to coach Bill Belichick and the business of roster building.

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Chiefs free to pursue WR DeAndre Hopkins after Cardinals release

After months of speculation, the #Cardinals have released WR DeAndre Hopkins. The #Chiefs can now pursue him in free agency if they so choose.

The Arizona Cardinals announced on Friday that they had released standout wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, making him free to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team.

This comes after months of trade speculation, with Hopkins rumored to be available in trade leading up to and during the 2023 NFL draft. Ultimately, his contract appears to have been prohibitive in Arizona finding an adequate trade partner. If Hopkins is released outright, the Cardinals will eat $22 million in cap space in 2023. If he’s a post-June 1 cut, they can spread that dead money out. Keep in mind, the release will not become official until 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, so Arizona still has a chance to find a trade partner in the eleventh hour.

Speaking on the “I Am Athlete” podcast last week, Hopkins detailed what he’s looking for in his next team.

“What I want is stable management upstairs,” Hopkins said. “I think that’s something I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona. I’ve been through three or four GMs in my career, so stable management. A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself but everybody around him. . .  And a great defense, a great defense wins championships. Gotta have a great D-Line.”

Kansas City certainly should be high on his list should he truly values all of those things. Whether the team can afford to sign Hopkins at this current juncture remains to be seen. According to the NFLPA, the Chiefs have just over $2.8 million in salary cap space and they still need to sign rookie second-round draft pick Rashee Rice. This, however, is much easier to navigate than figuring out a way to fit Hopkins’ contract in a trade situation with the Cardinals.

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Packers release safety James Wiggins from offseason 90-man roster

The Packers released safety James Wiggins on Monday.

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Only days after signing former Houston Texans starter Jonathan Owens, the Green Bay Packers released safety James Wiggins.

Wiggins is a 2021 seventh-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals who signed with the Packers in January. He was part of a group of 13 players to sign futures deals.

Owens, a 17-game starter for Houston last season, signed with the Packers on Friday.

The result of the swap — Owens for Wiggins — leaves the Packers with eight safeties on the roster (or nine if hybrid linebacker-safety Tariq Carpenter is included).

The Packers briefly changed Wiggins’ number to No. 31, or the same uniform number of Adrian Amos, who remains unsigned.

Releasing Wiggins opens up a spot on the team’s 90-man roster.

Saints’ Alontae Taylor turns the Falcons’ schedule release joke back on them

The Falcons thought they got a good jab in on the Saints in their 2023 schedule announcement, but Alontae Taylor turned it back around on them:

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The Atlanta Falcons thought they got a good jab in on the New Orleans Saints in their 2023 schedule announcement, but second-year cornerback Alontae Taylor turned it back around on them. The Falcons shared a video from their official Twitter account in which every opposing team on their schedule was represented by a sneaker — and their pick for the Saints was a pair of black G-Nikes, better known outside New Orleans as Air Force Ones.

Why that choice? In some online communities, Know Your Meme says, “the shoes are associated with shady characters and criminals.” Complex’s Angel Diaz explored the topic thoroughly, and the thought is backed up at Urban Dictionary, where one description reads the shoes are typical of, “A person that is likely untrustworthy, careless or to cause harm; a threat or danger.”

So, yeah, it’s meant to be dismissive and even derogatory of the Saints. Only it didn’t quite land that way. Many Saints fans embraced the gritty reputation that comes with such a reference — and it’s one that Taylor is eager to claim, tweeting that “Black forces, they know how we comin,” with an emoji representing a black-clad ninja assassin.

There’s good reason that the Saints-Falcons rivalry is considered the best feud in the NFL. This small chapter is just another part of the ongoing story between these two teams.

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Patriots 2023 schedule leaks tracker: What we know so far

Here’s what we know so far about the Patriots’ 2023 schedule.

One of the most exciting days of the year is finally upon us with the NFL schedule slated to be released on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

For the New England Patriots, it means it’ll be an opportunity to see the actual roadmap for their 2023 season. The team has missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, and the hope is that they can finally get back on track with all of the changes they’ve made over the last several months.

One of the biggest changes was bringing Bill O’Brien back as offensive coordinator, along with offensive line coach Adrian Klemm. The team also made several key additions through free agency, including signing wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end Mike Gesicki and running back James Robinson.

That doesn’t even include the 12 rookies they selected at the 2023 NFL draft in late April. Only time will tell if it’s enough to actually win games on the football field.

Here’s what we know about the Patriots’ 2023 schedule so far:

Jordan Love, Packers to open 2023 season in Chicago vs. Bears

Jordan Love and the Packers will open the 2023 regular season against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sept. 10.

The Jordan Love era will begin in Chicago against a team his predecessor owned.

According to the schedule release reported by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic and Bill Huber of SI.com, the Green Bay Packers will open the 2023 regular season on the road against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The Week 1 game is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 10 at 3:25 p.m.

The visit to Chicago will mark the second consecutive season in which the Packers have opened on the road against a divisional opponent. Last year, Green Bay went to Minnesota to play the Vikings in Week 1.

The Packers have won eight straight games against the Bears and 23 of the last 26 in the rivalry overall.

Instead of Aaron Rodgers leading the Packers, it will be Love vs. Justin Fields in a battle of young guns in the NFC North.

In 29 games started by Rodgers against the Bears, the Packers were 24-5. Rodgers threw 64 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. The Packers also beat the Bears in the NFC title game at Soldier Field, securing a trip to Super Bowl XLV.

Rodgers will make his New York Jets debut on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.

Love’s Lambeau Field debut in the regular season won’t arrive until Week 3 vs. the New Orleans Saints.