Tag: SiriusXM NFL Radio

Texans QB C.J. Stroud says it was ‘like a cheat code’ to meet Tom Brady

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud says it was “like a cheat code” to meet Tom Brady ahead of his rookie year.

C.J. Stroud knew he was getting a unique opportunity, and the Houston Texans quarterback capitalized.

The No. 2 overall pick had the chance to spend time with former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady during the lead-up to Stroud’s rookie campaign.

Stroud spent time with Brady on “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray” on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss how meeting the seven-time Super Bowl champion helped his understanding of the NFL.

“Personally, it was like a cheat code to not only be an NFL quarterback, but to be a professional person and a real man in this game of football,” Stroud said. “Right after I went and I took notes from it, I had the guys who did the whole video for us, and I re-watched the whole thing and wrote notes and just really tried to just make it my own, try to really adapt it into a routine for me. That was one thing that I know that Tom was preaching was routine and being a great teammate and things like that. So for me, that was what I wanted to do.”

Stroud was also appreciative of Brady allowing transparency during the meeting as it gave the former Ohio State signal caller the confidence to carry out functions as a competitive franchise quarterback.

“That meeting really instilled a lot of confidence in me and told me, man, like, I can do this,” said Stroud. “Seeing Tom, and him being so personable and so relatable, and you would think like he’s a seven-time NFL champion, a MVP, this G.O.A.T. status quarterback, but he was really vulnerable in that moment [and] he really made it easy for us to understand what he was talking about.”

Stroud has led the Texans to a 5-4 start and leads the NFL with a 15-2 touchdown to interception ratio — a stellar imitation of Brady, who had a 649-212 ratio during his career.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1365]

Sean Payton said potential Commanders’ buyers approached him about coaching Washington

“Some potential ownership groups” were interested in Payton if they were awarded the team. And it sounds like Payton was intrigued by the possibility before deciding to coach the Denver Broncos.

Sean Payton to the Washington Commanders? Well, that’s what at least one prospective Washington buyer envisioned before Payton eventually recently agreed to coach the Denver Broncos.

In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Adam Schein at the Super Bowl, Payton was asked if he considered returning to New Orleans during his year away from coaching in 2022.

And things got interesting.

“Yeah, and look, it’s a trickier one because it involves someone that I’ve hired, [Saints head coach] Dennis Allen,” Payton said. “And we’ve worked together on two different stints. But I think in the end, for me, it was looking really closely at these teams [Broncos, Cardinals, Texans & others].”

Here comes the good part:

“Everyone’s waiting to see what happens in Washington,” Payton said. “And there was some interest from some potential ownership groups that are gonna be bidding on, that currently had bid on that team, that were getting ahead of the game saying, ‘Hey, if we get awarded this team, would you?’ And so there were a lot of different things at play.”

Schein responded, “That’s interesting.”

“That’s a place that’s had great tradition,” Payton said. “Like, when I came into the league, Adam, my first two years were Philly. My next four years were New York Giants. And then my next three were the Cowboys. My whole entire NFL career prior to New Orleans was the NFC, the NFC East. And what happened to that program?”

“Listen, that place, my uncle loved the Washington franchise,” Payton said. “Last year, we go there to play, and pregame, I’m looking up in the crowd. A third of the fans are Saints fans. And I’m like, ‘what happened to this place?’ That was one of the six pillars.”

Payton concluded, “that was a special place…….. it’ll come back.”

What Payton didn’t say was which potential bidder or bidders contacted him. That would be something. And it sounds like he was very interested but didn’t want to sit out for another year. Could you imagine a new owner in 2024 with Payton as head coach?

Wonder what Washington’s current head coach Ron Rivera, Payton’s old NFC South rival, thinks about this?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

K.J. Wright on possibility of returning to Seattle: ‘There is a chance’

Former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright joined SiriusXM NFL Radio and said that he has not ruled out a return to Seattle for the 2021 season.

K.J. Wright has been without a team since his contract with the Seattle Seahawks expired in March earlier this year. After months of silence, the free-agent linebacker finally spoke up on the possibility of returning to Seattle for his 11th season in the NFL.

Wright told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he anticipated re-signing with the Seahawks right away, but they did not offer a deal to his liking early on. However, he has not ruled out a return to the Emerald City for 2021.

“Yes, there is a chance,” Wright said. “There is a chance, and I’m not closing the door on Seattle. Going into free agency, I thought it’d be a no-brainer, but they’re going to wait until training camp, so we’ll see.”

Earlier in the offseason, Wright scoffed at the prospect of taking a discount to stay in Seattle. However, it seems that no team has offered him the kind of contract he wants, so he may have to settle for something less. He also previously expressed his desire for a multi-year contract from the Seahawks.

However, the veteran linebacker stated that no matter where he ends up this year, he remembers his decade in Seattle fondly and hopes he will be remembered by the organization the same way.

“No matter what happens, my career in Seattle was just unforgettable,” he said. “Ten years… had a lot of fun, got a Super Bowl, got a Pro Bowl, Seahawks Man of The Year. I did a lot of good stuff in that jersey. And so hopefully, one day, they put me up in the Ring of Honor. We’ll see.”

Despite being one of the less visible members of the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom era, Wright certainly contributed and accomplished a lot in the blue and green and was particularly excellent in the past two seasons, playing and starting in every game and racking up 218 combined tackles (127 solo), four interceptions, and 21 passes defended in that time span.

“But yeah, no matter what happens, just playing with Bobby and the Legion of Boom, those guys, that’s going to be historical,” Wright said. “And I’m just thankful that I could be part of it. So we’ll see if I go back to Seattle, that’d be nice. If not, you know, I’m forever thankful.”

[lawrence-related id=73667]

Mike Hilton says he would ‘love to be back’ in Pittsburgh in 2021

Time will soon tell if the Steelers can work out a new contract with the cornerback.

The legal tampering window has opened, and free agency kicks off on Wednesday. One of the Steelers’ top pending free agents is cornerback Mike Hilton.

Hilton’s versatile talents are likely to outprice him in Pittsburgh, but you never know what general manager Kevin Colbert has up his sleeve. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier on Monday that the Steelers intend to re-sign him.

The Steelers struggled for many seasons to find the right secondary combo, but Hilton was a big reason why the unit finally found success.

Hilton joined “Movin’ the Chains” Pat Kirwan and former Steelers quarterback Jim Miller on a recent episode and shared his thoughts on the Steeler Way.

“It’s a special place,” Hilton said about Pittsburgh. “From top to bottom. Starting with the Rooneys, they’re a family of tradition,” said Hilton. “How much they put into the organization to get it to where it is to this point. It starts with them and trickles down from there.”

“Everybody knows when you become a Pittsburgh Steeler, it means much more. It’s all about winning and trying to get that Lombardi Trophy. Their culture is second-to-none, and I enjoyed my last four years here. If possible, I would love to be back.”

In 2016, Hilton signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars but was cut before the season started. He was then part of the New England Patriots practice squad until he was cut that December.

Pittsburgh snapped Hilton up in January 2017, and he’s been one of the franchise’s best street free agent signings in recent history.

This is Hilton’s first go-round with free agency. He was tendered as a restricted free agent last June.

Time will soon tell if the Steelers can work out a new contract with the cornerback. Hilton’s coming off a one-year, $3.259 million contract, and his market value is estimated at three-years, $23.533 million ($7.8 million salary).

Unless Colbert has something really creative up his sleeve, Hilton, unfortunately, will be wearing another team’s uniform in 2021.

[vertical-gallery id=487748]

[listicle id=487717]

Once upon a time undrafted, Mike Hilton is ‘excited’ about getting to pick his next team

Free-agent Mike Hilton discussed being a first-time unrestricted free agent with Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Monday’s “Movin’ the Chains.”

Free-agent cornerback Mike Hilton discussed being a first-time unrestricted free agent with Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Monday’s “Movin’ the Chains.”

“I’m excited. I know how hard I’ve been working for this opportunity,” shared Hilton. “Being in this situation — from being an undrafted guy — I’m blessed to be in this position.”

Jacksonville and New England’s loss was Pittsburgh’s gain. In 2016, he was cut by both teams in a span of two weeks, and the Steelers snapped him up as a late-season add to their practice squad. He was signed to a reserve/futures contract in January 2017 and received contracts in one-year increments for three seasons.

[lawrence-related id=408844]

Hilton thrived in the nickel position and said it’s a perfect spot for him because of his physicality. “It’s something I take pride in,” he said. “Teams probably realize that if you have a guy that can play that slot position, you can do a lot defensively. Me being a physical guy, it plays to my strengths.”

With his versatility and ability to disrupt an offense, whichever team scores Hilton will immediately improve their defense. From running backs to tight ends and quarterbacks, Hilton set the edge, he can cover, he can blitz.

Per Pro Football Focus, Hilton played 323 of his 510 snaps in the slot last season. He also lined up at free safety, cornerback and several other positions in the box.

The do-it-all defensive back was the star of the secondary in 2020. Hilton racked up a career-high three interceptions in 12 games (he missed four games due to a shoulder injury). One of them was a game-sealing pick of Indianapolis Colts’ Philip Rivers, which helped earn him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in December.

It’s doubtful the Steelers will have cap space to re-sign Hilton to a contract worthy of his talents. While he’ll be sorely missed in Pittsburgh, he deserves a big payday.

[vertical-gallery id=487529]

[listicle id=487269]

Arthur Blank: Falcons ‘didn’t clearly understand’ onside kick rules

Despite head coach Dan Quinn’s insistence on Monday that his players were fully aware of the league’s onside kick rules during Atlanta’s late-game blunder, team owner Arthur Blank doesn’t appear to be buying it.

The Cowboys’ 40-39 win over the Falcons was another reminder that if you don’t play until the clock expires, it doesn’t matter how much of a lead you have in the NFL — a message Atlanta should know better than any other team.

Despite head coach Dan Quinn‘s insistence on Monday that his players were fully aware of the league’s onside kick rules during Atlanta’s late-game blunder, team owner Arthur Blank doesn’t appear to be buying it.

While making a guest appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio Monday, Blank said it didn’t look like his players understood the rules when Dallas recovered an onside kick and ultimately stole the game. Read Blank’s full statement below on Sunday’s outcome.

There’s 14 more games to play in the season. We have a lot of games left to play and there are certain aspects of our performance in the first two games which have been really good. Some other parts have not been good. Clearly our defense is not playing at the level we want to see it play at. And clearly on the last play of the game yesterday our players, you know, didn’t do what they, you know, either what they were instructed to do and they didn’t understand it, or, it’s clear though they didn’t, in my view, they didn’t clearly understand what the rules were and exactly what they had to do. I think that’s demonstrated when you watch the video of it.

Blank was fairly candid in this interview and it was the first time in a while that he, Thomas Dimitroff and Quinn weren’t in lock step amid the chaos. This comes after two seasons of football that felt like a roller coaster slowly making its way up a hill, but the Falcons haven’t shifted that momentum and taken off the way so many have anticipated.

If the team doesn’t come together over the the final 14 games, it will be Quinn’s last ride. He knows that as well as anyone, so let’s see how the team responds in Week 3.

[lawrence-related id=58254,58246,58240,58232,58171]

[vertical-gallery id=58102]