Tag: Space

8 mesmerizing space and galaxy photos from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

These are mind-blowing!

Space is incredibly awesome, beyond terrifying or a little of both — depending on your perspective.

But some things about it are undeniably cool, like the first images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which President Joe Biden released Monday during a White House briefing, as USA TODAY noted. More images were released Tuesday, and wow, they’re incredible.

The images, according to NASA, “represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations.”

The powers of the Webb Telescope — “the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope” that’s decades in the making thanks to international partnerships — offer those of us on Earth the deepest views of the cosmos that have ever been seen. It’s able to show us thousands of galaxies and stars that have a psychedelic feeling to them, probably because it’s challenging to comprehend what exactly we’re looking at.

Nevertheless, the images are remarkable, so here’s a glimpse at some of the coolest ones.

Report: Marshon Lattimore pushing for extension before Week 1

Report: Saints CB Marshon Lattimore pushing for extension before Week 1

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Well that’s interesting. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler listed New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore as a contract extension candidate ahead of the NFL’s regular season, with the Saints scheduled to open up at home in the Caesars Superdome with the Green Bay Packers.

And he sees reason to believe Lattimore and New Orleans can cut a deal before that Sept. 12 kickoff. Fowler wrote:

“Lattimore wants a new deal, preferably before Week 1, so the clock is ticking. A 2022 free agent, he has been practicing and playing the good teammate role. But the Saints know he wants the extension, and they aren’t afraid to pay stars despite being perpetually tight against the cap. They also are light on cornerbacks this season, so keeping a pillar on the back end isn’t a bad idea. Lattimore, 25, ranked seventh among corners in an ESPN+ poll of league evaluators.”

Crossing Lattimore off the Saints’ to-do list would make sense. Right now, his asking price would probably settle around $18.5 million per year — slotting in right between Buffalo Bills standout Tre’Davious White ($17.25 million) and Baltimore Ravens star Marlon Humphrey ($19.5 million). If he plays really well in 2021 and tests free agency in 2022, his market price could challenge the $20 million that the Los Angeles Rams are paying Jalen Ramsey annually as the league’s top-paid corner.

It’s a little complicated, though, given Lattimore’s up-and-down history of play. But considering his age (he turned 25 in May) and lacking depth at the position in New Orleans, there’s an argument for extending his contract now before he heats his peak. That gets ahead of a potential rise in the market and helps to build some confidence in the unit overall. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any movement here after the Saints restructured Lattimore’s contract earlier this summer, which created short-term cap space while piling up $7 million in dead money should he leave in 2022.

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NASA’s Mars Perseverance photo has everyone making the same Matt Damon joke

The first photo from the Mars Perseverance rover is already a meme.

After years in development, six months in space and a nail-bitting “seven minutes of terror” descent, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover successfully landed on in Jezero Crater on Wednesday afternoon at 3:55pm ET, where it will search for past or present signs on life.

It was yet another massive achievement for the collective brain power at NASA and an incredible and much needed reminder of what human ingenuity, intellect and teamwork can do.

Not only did Perseverance safely land, but it was quick to beam back photos showing a desolate and uninhabitable landscape. The historic images offered us another chance to contemplate the frailty of human existence among the cosmos, or take a breath and reflect on what we, as a species, can accomplish if we put aside petty squabbles.

But, we decided to do none of that.

Instead, we made memes and Ted Cruz and Matt Damon jokes. Enjoy!

Saints report $4.1 million in unspent salary cap space for 2021 rollover

The New Orleans Saints reported $4.1 million in unspent salary cap space to roll over into the 2021 offseason, though the NFL must audit it.

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It’s not much, but it’s something. The New Orleans Saints have initially reported just over $4.1 million in unused salary cap space to roll over into the 2021 fiscal year, per ESPN’s Field Yates. That number will be vetted by the NFL and adjusted for a variety of minor transactions and cap credits before being factored into each team’s final tally, as is the case every year.

And the Saints will need every penny. Depending on which estimate you’re using, they’re well over the projected salary cap by as much as $100 million. The NFL and NFL Players Association negotiated an agreement that will keep the cap from dropping beneath $175 million in 2021, and there’s optimism that it could rise to as high as $195 million once all is said and done. But there won’t be the annual rise New Orleans has planned for due to revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So every bit helps, including this $4.1 million (and some change). The Saints’ salary cap team has done such an effective job working with always-limited resources that they should be able to clear this hurdle, too. But there are still plenty of tough decisions ahead, which we’ll be sure to cover.

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Saints-Demario Davis contract includes affordable cap hits

The New Orleans Saints signed All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis to a long-term contract extension which fits well beneath the salary cap.

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All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis signed a three-year contract extension with the New Orleans Saints that might be the textbook definition of a team-friendly deal. Davis is averaging just $9 million per year on his new deal, well beneath the top tier of linebacker contracts around the league, but it’s still a step up from the $8 million he was earning on his initial arrangement with the Saints. But he wanted to stay in New Orleans long-term, and it resulted in a deal that made everyone happy.

The Saints were able to lower Davis’s 2020 salary cap hit from $9.9 million (second-highest on the team) to just $5.8 million (seventh-highest, behind backup guard Nick Easton’s $5.84 million) in this extension, which also functioned as a restructure for the existing deal. His current salary cap hits, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill:

  • 2020: $5.8 million
  • 2021: $8.1 million
  • 2022: $9.7 million
  • 2023: $10.7 million

Underhill also reported that Davis received an $11 million signing bonus which is prorated over the course of his deal, and that he has a voidable “ghost year” written in for 2024 for salary cap purposes. Davis is a candidate for another restructure in 2021, converting his $3.6 million roster bonus to a signing bonus so that the Saints can recoup some much-needed salary cap space.

The Saints signing Davis and Alvin Kamara to long-term contract extensions over the same weekend might be the best one-two punch they’ve pulled off in recent memory. It sets the team up for success on the field and gives them some real flexibility in working around the salary cap in future years. It’ll be fascinating to see how the front office tackles those new challenges as they come up, but having Davis and Kamara secure on the roster has to be good for their confidence.

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Saints free up $4M in cap space through Sheldon Rankins contract restructure

The New Orleans Saints created $4 million in salary cap space by restructuring their contract with DT Sheldon Rankins, a 2021 free agent.

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We’ve got a live one: the New Orleans Saints shuffled some salary cap resources early Saturday morning, with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reporting that they modified their contract with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Rankins was set to earn almost $7.69 million while playing on his fifth-year option in 2020, and that’s still the case. But the Saints got creative to clear $4 million this season.

They added two voidable years onto Rankins’ contract, which was set to expire at the end of the fiscal year next March. New Orleans also converted $6 million of Rankins’ guaranteed salary into a signing bonus, which he’ll receive immediately rather than in incremental game checks over the next few months.

The end result: Rankins has a 2020 salary cap figure of just $3.69 million in 2020, and a dead money hit of $4 million in 2021 should he leave in free agency. If the Saints are able to re-sign him to a long-term contract, he’ll be due at least $2 million in both 2021 and 2022.

So how much salary cap space do the Saints now have to work with? The analysts at Over The Cap estimate $6.08 million in available funds, while the team at Spotrac puts them at $5.1 million. Our in-house spreadsheet has the Saints at $5.4 million below the salary cap.

The Saints could simply be looking to add more resources as they move into the season; they’ll need this cap space to sign free agents after tryouts and maybe make a move at the NFL trade deadline in October. On the other hand, this could be a prelude to a contract extension with Alvin Kamara, which has been expected for several days now per the latest reports.

As for Rankins: this doesn’t change his standing with the team in any way. He already had a reputation as a team-first player, and he’s performed like one of their best playmakers on defense — when healthy. His name did reportedly come up in trade talks at the roster cuts deadline, but nothing came of it. If he can string together 16 productive games in 2020, he could end up back at the negotiating table before free agency next year.

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Details on Saints-Emmanuel Sanders contract, salary cap space update

Pro Bowl wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is due to cost just $4 million against the New Orleans Saints salary cap for the 2020 season.

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The contract between the New Orleans Saints and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was processed earlier this week, with details on the agreement coming to light on Wednesday. Those included reports for what Sanders will count against the Saints salary cap not just in 2020, but in the following year — and the year after that.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Sanders received a fully-guaranteed $8 million for 2020, while he is due a non-guaranteed $8 million in 2021. An automatically-voided year for 2022 is also on the books, which is simply for salary cap accounting purposes. Sanders also agreed to $1.5 million incentives for receptions totals in 2020 and 2021.

Naturally, it’s a little more complicated than that. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported that Sanders received a $6 million signing bonus (prorated across the next three years) as well as a guaranteed $2 million base salary in 2020. That means his first-year salary cap hit is just $4 million.

In 2021, however, his base salary jumps to $6 million. But it is not guaranteed — Sanders is due just $2 million in guarantees next year, from a roster bonus that was retroactively guaranteed shortly after the deal was signed. The long and short of it is that Sanders will count $10 million against the Saints salary cap in 2021, but the team can get out of that contract and save up to $6 million if things don’t work out. It’s early, but so far it sure looks like things will work out in everyone’s favor.

So, here’s what really matters. The Saints cap hits for Sanders in each of the next three seasons. Remember, the 2022 year in Sanders’ contract will automatically void, allowing him to test free agency again.

  • 2020: $4 million
  • 2021: $10 million
  • 2022: $2 million

That’s a very good deal, all things considered. Sanders figures to contribute heavily in the Saints passing game as a compliment to Michael Thomas out wide, but his versatile route tree should allow the Saints to deploy the veteran from the slot, too. With running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook also in the lineup, Drew Brees shouldn’t lack for options on passing downs. And we haven’t even gotten into a very talented draft class at wide receiver yet.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. This update puts the Saints at roughly $6.09 million in cap space for 2020, but a few other deals need to be processed. That includes a one-year, $2 million agreement with cornerback P.J. Williams, which on its surface should be a simple $2 million cap scharge in 2020. But as we’ve seen often before, the Saints are open to creatively navigating the salary cap, so Williams could very well be due less this season. We’ll stick with our $6.09 million estimate for now, but it’s important to remember that’s not final.

Additionally, the Saints will have to pay their rookie class once their picks are filed. The good news is that they already know how much those additions will cost, and can factor it into the existing salary cap space figure. Right now, the Saints draft class will only cost about $5.2 million, but any new contracts will bump less-valuable deals off of the books (thanks to the league’s top 51 rule).

If you’re still with us: signing the Saints draft class will only add about $1.87 million onto their salary cap numbers, unless they trade any of their picks. Good thing they don’t have an extensive history of doing that, right?

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