Tag: Sammy Watkins

5 free agent WR options for the desperate Chiefs to help Patrick Mahomes

These five WR free agents might be able to help Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs a bit.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a wide receiver problem.

After wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a game-winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, it underscored how the best quarterback in the game doesn’t really have the help he deserves from his wide receiver group.

However, there are some legitimate options out in free agency right now if the team wanted to bring in a veteran and see if they could help, at least just a little bit. Right now, any positive momentum for Kansas City would be good.

The available names might not be superstars, but they could all possibly help Mahomes in some way. Let’s see who they are and how they’d factor in.

Colts worked out WR Sammy Watkins

The Colts worked out Sammy Watkins on Monday.

The Indianapolis Colts worked out free-agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Monday.

Needing some depth at the position likely due to the knee injury rookie Josh Downs suffered, Watkins was most recently with the Baltimore Ravens in 2022 where he appeared in three games.

Watkins, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, spent three seasons with the Buffalo Bills (2014-2016) before he was traded to the then St. Louis Rams just before the 2017 season. He signed a three-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-2020), earning a Super Bowl ring during the 2019 season.

He signed one-year deals with the Baltimore Ravens (2021) and Green Bay Packers (2022) but was waived by the latter before the end of the season. He re-joined the Ravens as a waiver claim at the end of the 2022 season.

If Downs’ knee injury isn’t long-term, Watkins would likely serve as the WR4 in the rotation, and his lack of special teams contribution would lead an even smaller role.

Regardless, this will be something to keep an eye on as the Colts prepare for their trip to Germany in Week 10.

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Could any of these free agent WRs get Chiefs out of offensive rut?

Could any of these veteran free agents help get the #Chiefs out of their recent offensive rut?

The Kansas City Chiefs offense is in a rut. Patrick Mahomes looks more like a middling starter than the NFL’s reigning MVP, and the media is already questioning whether Andy Reid’s system has been figured out by defensive coordinators around the league.

After the trade deadline passed without a new addition to the Chiefs’ receiving corps, Kansas City’s options to rectify the void of talent at the position are severely limited.

While none of the players currently available have been standouts in recent seasons, there are some who have put together sneaky successful careers in the NFL despite their free-agent status.

Take a look at these six veteran options to see if the Chiefs should grease the wheels on its offense or be content to stand pat heading into the toughest part of their 2023 schedule:

Free-agent WRs who might make sense for the Panthers to sign

Are there any free-agent WRs worth signing? Let’s examine three possible options for the Panthers.

Dating back to the beginning of the month, there’s been a bit of buzz surrounding the Carolina Panthers’ search for a fresh wideout. But given their 0-6 record and a disposition to relinquish any more high-end draft capital, don’t count on a big splash before the trade deadline.

They could, instead, go through the bargain bin of free agency—a possibility recently mentioned by both Josina Anderson of CBS Sports and Joe Person of The Athletic. So, who’s still sitting out on the open market?

As long as you promise to temper your expectations throughout this post, we’ll present three free-agent receivers who may make some sense for the Panthers.

11 free agents the Seahawks should consider for added WR depth

While Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf remain untouched and Jake Bobo is blossoming into a real threat, the Seahawks could use some help while these guys are out.

The Seattle Seahawks might have the best and deepest wide receiver room in the entire league this year. However, a rash of injuries can bring down even the greatest units and right now this group is a little bit thin.

To recap the slew of injuries at the wide receiver position, first-round draft pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba fractured his wrist in Saturday night’s win over the Cowboys and could miss the next 3-4 weeks according to head coach Pete Carroll. Super-athletic second-year wideout Dareke Young is also out with a hip injury that may require surgery and to top it off Dee Eskridge will be suspended for the first six games of the regular season.

While stars Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf remain untouched and undrafted rookie Jake Bobo is blossoming into a real threat, the Seahawks could still use some help while these guys are out. Here are 11 free agents who would at least add some more depth.

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice welcomes comparisons to DeAndre Hopkins

Kansas City #Chiefs WR Rashee Rice welcomes comparisons to DeAndre Hopkins after many viewed him as similar to Sammy Watkins. | from: @EdEastonJr

Saturday’s victory over the Arizona Cardinals for the Kansas City Chiefs showcased impressive performances from the wide receivers’ room. A standout from the win was rookie Rashee Rice who was a primary target for multiple Chiefs quarterbacks, causing problems for the defense.

Rice led all receivers on Saturday with eight catches for 96 yards appearing to be very comfortable in the heavily targeted role. He spoke about the player he compared his style to growing up during Monday’s press conference.

“I used to try to compare my game at DeAndre Hopkins, that was my favorite wide receiver for a long time,” said Rice, “And then I’ve got to the same level as him. So I just got to work on myself and see what I become.”

Rice has been constantly compared to former Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins with the most recent from Patrick Mahomes. He doubled down on his Hopkins comparison focusing on the way he approached the position.

“I feel like I [am like him] a little bit,” Rice explained. “I can compare myself to him as far as being aggressive to the ball and being a playmaker (who)wants the balls in my hands and as far as comparing myself to him right now, as I said, I’m just going to keep working on myself to be you know, a guy that is, you know, more YAC (Yards after catch) after the catch.”

Hopkins recently signed with the Tennessee Titans after rumors were swirling about interest from the Chiefs.

Brandon Beane shocked the Bills with this trade six years ago

That was some day:

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane sure took western New York by storm six years ago today.

Beane joined the Bills from the Carolina Panthers following the 2017 NFL draft. Head coach Sean McDermott, also previously in Carolina, took the helm before the draft process.

Shortly after, previous Bills general manager Doug Whaley and his scouting staff was let go by the team. Beane replaced him..

As the 2017 offseason wore on, the real massive domino fell on August 11 of that year.

Looking back, Buffalo clearly made some huge moves prior to that date: Free agents Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were signed. Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano were drafted.

But trading Sammy Watkins? That was a groundbreaking headline.

The Bills acquired cornerback EJ Gaines and a second-round pick for Watkins, a player Buffalo originally traded up for in Round 1 of the 2015 draft.

Eventually more deals came. Another big name, first-round talent in Marcell Dareus was shipped out to the Jacksonville Jaguars in October 2017.

The whole idea at the time was hitting the reset button. Beane and McDermott wanted their own guys in the locker room and to the credit of team ownership, they were allowed to do just that.

In addition, the moves gave the Bills a lot of dead cap hits and less room to work with in 2017.

The idea was that most of that would come off the books the following year and Beane had the ability to spend.

Then the shocker: The Bills ended their near two-decade playoff drought in 2017 anyway.

What a time to be Buffalo.

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10 free agent wide receivers Broncos should consider signing

Going forward without Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler, the Broncos will need more depth at WR. Here’s a quick list of 10 free agents to monitor.

Following the losses of wide receivers Tim Patrick (Achilles) and KJ Hamler (pericarditis) on Monday, the Denver Broncos will likely sign at least one receiver in the coming days.

Hamler might be able to return to the team later this year, but Patrick is set to miss the entire 2023 season.

The biggest name free agent available is Julio Jones, but he is 34 years old and coming off a quiet season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other big-game players available are Jarvis Landry (30) and T.Y. Hilton (33), who have both seen their production drop in recent seasons.

One unflashy name to watch is Nick Williams, who has had two different stints with the Broncos this spring. Williams is a local prospect who played high school football at Cherry Creek and started his college career at CSU-Pueblo before later transferring to UNLV ahead of the 2022 college football season.

With those names in mind, here’s a quick look at the full list of 10 free agent wide receivers the Broncos should consider signing.

The NFL’s best available free agents as training camps begin

As training camps begin, and the preseason is nearly upon us, here are the best free agent players left in the NFL.

Rookies and veterans are reporting to training camps around the NFL, which means that our long national nightmare of life without professional football is nearly over. Yay, but for a lot of veterans in the league, there’s still an element of waiting by the phone to hear from their agents regarding interests from NFL teams.

Not every veteran — even veterans who are still playing at a high level — have homes when training camps start. A lot of the players listed below will find those homes before preseason games begin in early August, and some will have to wait longer. (Yes, there are veterans who would prefer to eschew training camp entirely, and that has something to do with it).

So, as we head into the pre-preseason, here are the best players who, at this point, are still looking for their new NFL destinations.

5 free agent receivers to help Patriots fill DeAndre Hopkins void

Here are five free agent receivers that could still help the Patriots

The DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes is over, and as usual, the New England Patriots are left with the option of going bargain bin shopping for whoever is left on the free agent market.

To no one’s surprise, it’s slim pickings when it comes to upgrading the way the Patriots’ wide receiver room needs upgrading. However, there are a few veteran wideouts out there that might have a few big plays left in the tank.

Of course, there’s no replacing a player like Hopkins, a five-time All-Pro that’s still clearly one of the best in the game. But if the Patriots are looking for receiver depth, they can still find it on the open market.

Here are five receivers that could still help New England: