Tag: Sooners In NFL

Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown going back to Sooner No. 5

Former Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown is switching his jersey number back to his college No. 5.

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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown announced Wednesday afternoon that he is switching jersey numbers from No. 15 to No. 5. He noted via twitter that the number is a “symbol of God’s grace.” Brown will now don the single digit he wore at Oklahoma. NFL owners eased restrictions on jersey numbers beginning in 2021 and Brown took advantage.

He will be the first Baltimore player to sport the number five since quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw for 38,345 yards and 212 touchdowns during his 11-year career with the Ravens leading them to their second Super Bowl championship and forever cementing his legacy with the franchise. Brown will now wear the prestigious number.

In 2020, Brown led the Ravens with 58 receptions for 769 yards.

During his OU tenure wearing No. 5, Brown accumulated 132 receptions for 2,413 receiving yards, an 18.3 average after the catch and 17 touchdowns. In 2018, Brown ranked 14th nationally with 94.1 receiving yards-per-game and his 1,318 yards rank fourth-most in school history. He formed a dynamic tandem with CeeDee Lamb, becoming the first duo in OU history to each record 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Regardless of the number, the production between the hash marks will be the same for the talented receiver.

Former Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard returning to college jersey number with New York Giants

Former Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard is returning to his college No. 3 for the upcoming NFL season.

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This offseason, the NFL changed some of it’s rules regarding jersey numbers lifting some of the restrictions on what positions were allowed to wear. Many players have taken advantage of this rule change as an opportunity to return to their old college number, which is exactly what former Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard has planned for the upcoming season with the New York Giants.

Shepard announced on Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday that he will be returning to the No. 3 that he wore in his time with the Sooners, the same number that his father, Derrick, wore when he was a player at Oklahoma in the mid-1980s.

The photoshopped photo he posted on Instagram gave fans a glimpse of what his new look will be come the beginning of the 2021 season. The official Giants Twitter account seems to approve of the move.

Due to Shepard changing his number, he will be responsible for paying for and buying out the remaining No. 87 jerseys still available for retail purchase from the league. But, obviously, he has deemed the money to be worth it to return to the number he and his father shared in their careers at Oklahoma.

Shepard will begin his sixth NFL season, and the first with No. 3, later this year. The league’s 2021 schedule release is slated for Wednesday night.

Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray believes he has ‘influence’ over what Arizona Cardinals do in NFL draft

Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray believes he has “influence” over who the Arizona Cardinals will select in this week’s NFL draft.

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Just a little over two years since he was taken No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL draft, former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray has quickly become one of the most dynamic young players in the league and the face of the Arizona Cardinals franchise.

As such, Murray believes he should and does have influence over what Arizona will be doing in this weeks draft as they look to continue to add to a team that is trending toward becoming a contender in the third year with Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote about Murray’s comments on the matter on the NFL Network on Tuesday morning:

Joining NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Tuesday, Murray was asked whether he has any input on selections and whether GM Steve Keim considers the QB’s opinion when making choices.

“I do believe I think I have an influence in it,” Murray responded. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t. If you’ve got a guy at quarterback, you trust him and you want him to be the face of the franchise for a lot of years, I think he should have an influence. Everything is technically built around the quarterback. I think I have that relationship with Steve and Kliff (Kingsbury). I’m excited to see what we do on Thursday.”

Murray noted he’s just as likely to voice his opinion about drafting a defensive player as he is a wide receiver. Arizona selects at No. 16 in the draft. With needs at corner and along the defensive line, the Cards have been projected to upgrade their defense on Thursday night.

Also smartly noted by Patra, this all comes on the heels of the Seattle Seahawks having a bit of a spat with their star quarterback in Russell Wilson after he felt he didn’t have enough pull in that franchise. This is the era of player empowerment in all sports, so the Cardinals may be wise to give Murray at least some level of input to avoid future issues down the road like what Seattle dealt with this offseason.

Now we’ll see what happens in this week’s draft and if Murray is pleased with whatever route Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim elect to go with their high selections. The draft begins Thursday night in Cleveland.

Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown traded to Kansas City Chiefs

Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr. has been dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs in a blockbuster trade on Friday.

A former Sooner doing great things in the NFL is on the move as offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr. was dealt from the Baltimore Ravens to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Brown was a star with Oklahoma being named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year in both 2016 and 2017 as well as an unanimous All-American in 2017. He was then selected in the 2018 NFL draft by the Ravens with the 83rd overall pick in the third round and immediately flourished.

After a solid rookie season where he made ten starts, he quickly became one of the best offensive tackles in the entire league going to the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons. But, this offseason, it became clear both Brown and Baltimore were likely going to part ways after he demanded a trade due to wanting to be used as a left tackle only.

Now, his wish has been granted and he will head to a phenomenal situation in Kansas City with the two-time defending AFC champions and one of the very best quarterbacks in the league in Patrick Mahomes.

Former Oklahoma OT Daryl Williams signs three-year contract with Buffalo Bills

Former Oklahoma offensive tackle Daryl Williams signed a fresh three-year deal to remain with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

One of the more underrated former Oklahoma players in the NFL inked a new deal on Friday as former Sooners offensive tackle Daryl Williams signed a three-year deal to remain with the Buffalo Bills.

Williams played his first five professional seasons with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He then signed a one-year deal with the Bills last April and started all 16 games to help Buffalo win the AFC East and reach the postseason. He now signs a three-year contract to stay in Buffalo and help protect rising star quarterback Josh Allen.

At still just 28 years old, this deal allows Williams to be on a contender through the prime of his career while still allowing him to hit the market again at a good age in just a few years. The Bills’ offensive line ranked as the tenth best in the league at year’s end by Pro Football Focus a year ago, so keeping one of their best pieces of that unit intact was surely a priority for the front office.

Buffalo doesn’t pick until the No. 30 slot in the upcoming NFL Draft, so that added some extra incentive as well to ensure they have a strong player like Williams for the years ahead to give them the flexibility to use their pick on other areas as opposed to offensive line if they so choose.

Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey finds new home in latest DraftWire mock

The latest USA TODAY Sports DraftWire NFL Mock Draft is out and it has former Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey going early on day two.

With Super Bowl LV now in the rearview mirror, all attention turns toward the upcoming NFL draft set for late April. Mocks are flying everywhere as fans try to figure out who their team might take, and where their college’s players might land.

For Oklahoma, it is an uncommon position for them recently as they are not expected to have a first-round pick this year. The Sooners have had at least one player taken in the first round each of the last three seasons, including two No. 1 overall picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, but it looks like this year that may not happen.

In the USA TODAY Sports DraftWire’s latest mock draft, they don’t have an Oklahoma player going in the first 32 picks, but do have someone just on the outside looking in with former center Creed Humphrey. He is slotted at No. 38 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals’ offensive line was rated as the third-worst in the league in 2020 by Pro Football Focus, so it stands to reason they will be looking for help there to protect quarterback Joe Burrow. The mock draft also has them going upfront for their first-round pick, No. 5 overall, with the highly-touted Penei Sewell out of Oregon.

Sewell and Humphrey together would instantly improve Cincinnati’s offensive line substantially, and help them try to catch up to the rest of the teams in the very competitive AFC North. As it stands today, Humphrey is the only former Sooner projected to go in the first two rounds.

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Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb: “That’s our guy. We’ll live and die with Baker (Mayfield)”

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb supports Baker Mayfield’s criticism of Browns fans on Twitter who want a Deshaun Watson trade.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield had a very good third NFL season in 2020, taking the Cleveland Browns to the postseason for the first time since 2002. On the year, he threw for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns completing 62.8 percent of his passes while throwing only eight interceptions.

Despite the big season which saw the Browns win 11 regular season games and a playoff game, fans in Cleveland couldn’t help but express interest on social media in potentially acquiring Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has expressed a desire to go somewhere else this offseason if he can get the front office to deal him away.

Of course, because he sees everything, Mayfield caught wind of this and expressed his displeasure toward Browns fans on Twitter.

Sports Illustrated sat down with Cleveland running back Nick Chubb last week to ask him about all of this, to which he stood firm with Mayfield.

“I agree with Baker, I always agree with Baker,” Chubb said. “He was right to call those guys out. He’s our guy, he’s our quarterback. He’s played tremendous for us, he’s a great teammate and a great friend of mine. That’s our guy, we’ll live and die with Baker.”

A trade for Watson seems highly unlikely for the Browns and there has been no indication that they are looking into doing one, but it will still probably make Mayfield rest a little easier knowing he has the support of one of his star teammates.

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Former Oklahoma TE Mark Andrews receives Ed Block Courage Award

Former Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews received the Ed Block Courage Award on Thursday.

Former Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews has had a stellar start to his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens on the field. He has picked up 156 receptions for 2,105 yards and 20 touchdowns through his first three professional seasons, quickly becoming among the elite at his position in the entire league.

Where has also excelled with the Ravens has been off the field. On Thursday Andrews was named the Ravens’ recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. The award is given to a player who is deemed to showcase a commitment to sportsmanship and courage.

The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, Inc.’s mission statement is to dedicate themselves to “supporting the well-being of abused, neglected and at-risk children throughout our Courage House National Support Network for Kids.”

Andrews played for Oklahoma from 2015-17 before making the jump to the NFL after his junior season. Andrews was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft with the 86th overall pick. Andrews was named to the Pro Bowl in 2019.

Andrew’s College Stats

Season Rec Yards Yards/Rec TDs
2015 19 318 16.7 7
2016 31 489 15.8 7
2017 62 958 15.5 8

As a junior, the former Sooner won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end for his performance in 2017. He can now add the Ed Block Courage Award to his trophy case. Andrews will be going into his final season on his rookie contract when the NFL kicks off in 2021.

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Former Oklahoma WR Kenny Stills elevated to Buffalo Bills active roster

Former Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills was elevated to the Buffalo Bills active roster ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Former Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills looks to be making his return to action on Sunday as the veteran was elevated to the Buffalo Bills active roster off of the practice squad.

Stills began the year with the Houston Texans before being waived by the team at the end of November. He was then added to the Bills’ practice squad at the beginning of January just after they finished their regular season.

With 310 career receptions for 4,843 yards and 37 touchdowns, Stills will certainly be a quality veteran addition to Buffalo’s offense as they try to knock off the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

The AFC Championship Game is set to kickoff at 5:40 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on CBS.

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Former Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield’s season ends with Cleveland Browns in AFC Divisional Round

Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield’s season came to end on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns fell to the Kansas City Cheifs.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns went toe-to-toe with the defending champs in their house, but they came up just short.

The Browns fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 on Sunday in the AFC Divisional Round, thus ending their historic season. It was a game that looked like it may become a laugher early, with the Chiefs taking a 19-3 lead into the halftime locker room.

But, Cleveland responded.

Mayfield found top wide receiver Jarvis Landry on a touchdown early in the third quarter to narrow the gap to 19-10. Then, after Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a concussion, running back Kareem Hunt punched in another score to trim the lead to 22-17.

The Browns would then intercept backup quarterback Chad Henne to give them the ball back with loads of time and a shot at the lead midway through the fourth quarter. But, the drive ended up stalling out.

Rather than push their luck on fourth down, head coach Kevin Stefanski elected to punt the ball away and trust his defense. That ended up being the wrong decision, as the Chiefs picked up two first downs to bleed the clock out and end the game.

Mayfield finished his second-career playoff game going 23 for 37 passing for 204 yards and one touchdown. He and his team proved they belonged on that stage with the defending Super Bowl winners, but are just not quite to that level just yet.

All in all, it is close to impossible to consider the 2020 season anything other than a success for Cleveland and Mayfield. It was a huge bounce-back campaign that almost landed them in the AFC Championship Game.

Now they turn to the offseason ahead as they prepare to try and make the necessary adjustments to take the next step in 2021.

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