Former Bears WR Taylor Gabriel has called it a career, and Twitter had nothing but well wishes for the man they called “Turbo.”
Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Taylor Gabriel has called it a career. Gabriel announced his retirement from the NFL after a six-year career where he played with the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Bears.
Gabriel spent two seasons in Chicago, where he totaled 96 catches for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns. His most productive season came in his first year with the Bears, where he caught 67 passes for 688 yards and two touchdowns in 2018.
Twitter had nothing but well wishes for Gabriel in retirement. Bears fans, Falcons fans and Browns fans all came together to share their thoughts on what Gabriel meant to them, including his hard work ethic that took him from undrafted free agent to electrifying speedster in the NFL.
The man they called Turbo is hanging up his cleats. Former Bears WR Taylor Gabriel is retiring from the NFL after six seasons.
The man they called Turbo is hanging up his cleats. Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Taylor Gabriel is retiring from the NFL after six seasons.
Gabriel entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent rookie with the Cleveland Browns in 2014, where he spent two seasons. Gabriel would spend the following two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, where he played in Super Bowl LI, where the Falcons lost to the New England Patriots 34-28 in overtime.
Two years later, Gabriel signed a two-year deal with the Bears, where his electrifying speed was on display. His most productive season came in his first year in Chicago, where he caught 67 passes for 688 yards and two touchdowns in 2018.
In two seasons with the Bears, Gabriel had 96 catches for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns. He became a free agent in 2020.
Gabriel announced his retirement on his Instagram and Twitter accounts complete with a photo of him chilling by the pool.
Gabriel had expressed his desire to continue playing in the NFL, but he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. Now, Turbo is stepping away from the gridiron after first joining the league as an undrafted free agent.
Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor “Turbo” Gabriel has finally called it a career.
Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor “Turbo” Gabriel has finally called it a career. After entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014, the 5-foot-7 speedster would join the Falcons in 2016 following a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns.
During his time in Atlanta, Gabriel racked up 68 catches, 957 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He was a key contributor during the team’s Super Bowl run in 2016, catching nine balls for 171 yards (19.0 yards per reception) in those three playoff games. In 2018, Gabriel left for the Chicago Bears in free agency.
“Turbo” confirmed his retirement from the NFL via a post on his personal Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNeCfMEMH5L/
Gabriel ends his NFL career with 2,860 yards on 228 receptions and 14 touchdowns. However, his retirement came after expressing a desire to come back to the Falcons.
Jets Wire takes a look at four wide receivers the Jets can add to address their lack of depth at the position.
To say the Jets are thin at wide receiver would be an understatement.
Entering this week, New York’s depth at the position comprised of Vyncint Smith, Braxton Berrios, Josh Doctson and a handful of undrafted free agents — a relatively underwhelming group, to say the least. On Thursday, Doctson opted out of the 2020 season, compounding the issue further.
Fortunately for the Jets, there are still some decent free agent wide receivers available for the taking. There is not any star power left on the market, but a few wideouts who offer value. Unless general manager Joe Douglas wants to roll the dice on unproven players, that should be enough for him to strongly consider making a move.
If Douglas opts to add another wide receiver before Week 1, here are four potential targets that could address New York’s lack of depth.
Demaryius Thomas
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bringing back Demaryius Thomas might be the Jets’ best option at this point in the offseason.
Thomas knows Adam Gase’s offense like the back of his hand and is familiar with the dynamic of New York’s locker room. Not only is Thomas a big-bodied receiver that has a rapport with Sam Darnold, but he was also a captain at one point last season. That is a testament to what he can bring as a mentor to the younger players in the wide receiver room.
It’s tough to learn an entirely new offense in a month’s time. Thomas would not have to endure the ups and downs that come along with adapting to a new scheme this late in the offseason. Joe Douglas might want to add some fresh blood, but with all things considered, re-signing Thomas would be the logical move.
Chicago isn’t where receivers go to die anymore. PFF believes they’re very much alive, even if they’re only average.
Former Chicago Bears receiver Muhsin Muhammad famously once said “Chicago is where wide receivers go to die.” Well, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), they’re very much alive, but may only be average.
The analytics site ranked all 32 NFL teams and their wide receiver position groups heading into the 2020 season. The rankings not only looked at star receivers but depth and how their top three or four options can attack opposing defenses. When it came to the Bears, PFF’s Steve Palazzolo slotted them in at No. 20, citing a number of unknowns outside of Pro-Bowl caliber receiver Allen Robinson. Below is his summary of the Bears’ pass catchers and why they’re ranked in the twenties.
The receiving corps was one-dimensional last season, as Allen Robinson posted the 12th-best receiving grade in the league at 81.1, but no other receiver graded higher than 67.9.
Robinson finished with 393 yards on deep (20-plus yard) passes, and his drop rate of 3.0% was 11th-best out of 101 qualifiers. At his best, Robinson is a complete receiver who can win at all levels of the field and at the catch point. Anthony Miller had the second-highest receiving grade on the team at 67.9, and he may be ready to take the next step to be a true No. 2 option behind Robinson.
The No. 3 role is wide open after Taylor Gabriel was released this offseason after a disappointing 62.0 overall grade last season. Riley Ridley a 2019 fourth-rounder, is a smooth route-runner who could fit as more of a possession receiver after catching six passes in his debut last season. He’ll compete with Javon Wims, a big-bodied target who ranked fifth on the team with 186 yards a year ago. Cordarrelle Patterson is more of a gimmick player at this point, and his 6.4 yards after the catch have a place as long as he’s not relied upon too much on the outside.
The Bears also added speed this offseason with Ted Ginn Jr. and fifth-rounder Darnell Mooney out of Tulane, so the goal is to have at least one of them to emerge as a much-needed deep option to complement the other pieces in place. There are plenty of question marks beyond Robinson, and the fate of this receiving corps depends on Miller’s development and the emergence of a downfield threat.
PFF sometimes has a reputation for disrespecting the Bears in their rankings or analysis, but this ranking appears to be spot on. Robinson is truly a stud for this team and was the only consistent player for the Bears offense in 2019. He finished with 98 catches for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns. His 1,147 yards accounted for nearly a third of the entire team’s passing yards.
Miller is the key to this unit succeeding or becoming too reliant on Robinson. A popular breakout candidate in 2020, Miller has had some injury concerns and inconsistencies on the field. He was largely invisible during the first half of the 2019 season, but he came alive to finish strong and give the Bears that 1-2 punch they envisioned back in August. Still, he’s spending his second consecutive offseason rehabbing from shoulder surgery and may not get the necessary practice reps in due to the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the preseason.
Palazzalo’s concerns at the WR3 spot are also valid, considering neither former Georgia Bulldogs Riley Ridley nor Javon Wims did enough to instill confidence they can be a legitimate weapon last season. But things could open up if newcomers Ted Ginn Jr. or Darnell Mooney end up becoming the sorely missed deep threat for the Bears.
The Bears receivers ranking isn’t anything to write home about. But the good news? They’re still the second-best in the division, behind Detroit (No. 7) and ahead of Minnesota (No. 21) and Green Bay (No. 24).
How do you feel about PFF’s ranking of the Bears wide receivers?
Jadeveon Clowney has his eye on Dallas. Ezekiel Elliott being sued. Blake Jarwin’s value is rising. Dak Prescott’s contract value high.
The topic of conversation over the last few days for the Dallas Cowboys has been All-Pro safety Jamal Adams and who media members and fans would give up in a trade to acquire him. That all shifted today when reports of top free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was said to have had his eye on just a few teams to finally sign with, one of them being the Cowboys.
Adding a top-tier edge rusher would definitely benefit this year’s team, but once again, money seems to always be the overriding issue. Could Dallas afford him? The Cowboys will be making more moves as the summer grows long. One thing to keep an eye on, however, is the long-term extension of the recently franchise tagged Dak Prescott, who has been mentioned as one of the more valuable contracts waiting to get done. The team’s star running back is also back in the news for all the wrong reasons, but it likely won’t be labeled as detrimental as issues of the past. And Blake Jarwin finds himself in fantasy football talks? All this and much more in today’s Cowboys news.
PFN’s Tony Pauline reports that the former Texans and Seahawks pass rusher has mentioned Dallas and New Orleans at the top of his wish list when forecasting his 2020 roster spot. RJ Ochoa digs into whether the Cowboys can afford him… and perhaps more important, whether they even need him.
The star Cowboys running back is in the news today, and it has nothing to do with COVID-19. Ezekiel Elliott is being sued after his dogs allegedly attacked a worker at Elliott’s home.
Echoing what most Cowboys fans have been screaming for, the network’s analytics expert Cynthia Frelund uses “win-share model results and forward-looking projections to estimate future win impact” and says Dak Prescott, who she calls “crucial to the Cowboys’ success,” is the third-most urgent deal waiting to get done leaguewide.
John Owning goes shopping to stock the shelves in Dallas. He comes away with wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, who he calls “basically a more productive version of Tavon Austin,” edge rusher Cam Wake to perhaps platoon with Aldon Smith and Bradlee Anae opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, and Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison, the aforementioned immovable object “who can absorb double-teams to keep his linebackers clean, defeat single blocks and make plays around or behind the line of scrimmage.”
In this interesting hypothetical bang-for-the-buck exercise, media researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno crunches both stats and salaries. La’el Collins makes his squad’s starting lineup at right tackle, while Joe Looney, Gerald McCoy, Anthony Brown, and Xavier Woods are all on the 53-man roster as backups.
With the NFL season set to start in just a few months, it’s also time to dive deep into fantasy football. Blake Jarwin could be a late-round player to benefit greatly from a stacked 2020 Dallas Cowboys offense.
One of the best offensive tackles in football is showcased this ongoing countdown to the start of the season. Take a look back at Smith’s early years, his rise to the top rankings at his position, his setbacks, and his outlook as the man responsible for protecting Dak Prescott’s blind side.
The franchise tag has been a pivotal tool for the Cowboys over the years. The team website ranks the top 8 franchise tags of all time. You’ll find the obvious and most recent ones towards the front of the list: Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Dez Bryant. But a few forgotten names mentioned go to show how this tag has evolved over time (and how much better the Cowboys are now as a team).
The 12-year veteran and NFLPA executive committee member told CNN this week that the risk surrounding COVID-19 “has to really be eliminated” before he would be comfortable returning to play. There are no doubt plenty of other players who feel the same, even as the league tells teams to open their 2020 training camps on time.
Exploring the idea of the Detroit Lions signing wide receiver Taylor Gabriel as a speed slot/deep threat for the 2020 season.
This is the latest piece in a new series of articles at Lions Wire exploring the remaining 2020 free agent pool, looking for potential upgrades to the Detroit Lions’ roster.
In this edition, we examine the question: should the Lions sign WR Taylor Gabriel?
Let’s take a closer look at the biggest questions surrounding a Lions-Gabriel marriage and if it is in the best interest of both parties to get a deal done.
Why is Taylor Gabriel still a free agent?
Undrafted out of Abilene Christian, Gabriel jumped on the scene as a rookie in Cleveland but took a step back his sophomore year. He was released by the Browns and claimed by the Falcons where he parlayed his productivity into a big contract with the Chicago Bears in 2018.
After a career year in his debut season with the Bears, two major concussions (the third and fourth of his career) cost him almost half the 2019 season. Couple that with a career-low in production when he was on the field and it’s not overly surprising the Bears felt he wasn’t living up to his sizable contract, eventually releasing him in a cost-cutting move.
As with many NFL players with starting experience who are still free agents at this time, the COVID pandemic, and team’s inability to give extensive medical checks, likely played a factor in why he remains unsigned. In total, over his six-year NFL career, he has missed 11 games as a result of concussions, which has likely raised red flags.
How would Gabriel fit on the Lions roster?
Gabriel is an explosive receiver capable of lining up in the slot as a gadget player as well as a deep threat who can take it to the house on any given play.
The Lions offense relies on a vertical threat to stretch the field and last season Marvin Hall filled that role to perfection, averaging an insane 37.3-yards per reception in 2019. He will be the front-runner for this role in 2020 and will likely be challenged by recently converted wide receiver/All-Pro return man Jamal Agnew.
While the Lions have two terrific speedsters in Hall and Agnew competing, both have concerns. Hall’s season was cut short in Week 12 after suffering a season-ending foot injury, while Agnew has only minimal (32 career snaps) experience on offense.
Photo credit to Kent Platte @Mathbomb on Twitter
If the Lions were to go after the 29-year-old Gabriel, he would likely be competing as a role-playing WR4 working against Hall and Agnew, but not slotted to be a heavy contributing role.
What’s the anticipated price tag?
Gabriel’s contract with the Bears averaged $6.5 million a season, almost double the total amount he made his first four years in the league. But at this point in the offseason, Gabriel’s price has likely come down significantly, how much though is not clear.
As far as the Lions are concerned, there is little chance they would be willing to pay anything close to the contract Gabriel got with the Bears, especially when they have two in-house options making significantly less: Hall’s cap hit in 2020 is $825,000 and Agnew’s is $889,594.
The real unknown here is, would Gabriel be willing to sign a vet minimum deal that would put him in the same price range as Hall and Agnew, or is he planning on holding out for a bigger payday?
Should the Lions pursue Gabriel?
Stylistically yes, as Gabriel would fit into the Lions scheme very well and could potentially fill an important role in 2020.
The two big factors that would keep the Lions from inking him to a deal would be concerns surrounding his concussion history and what type of payday he is asking for.
Erik’s Conclusion
The Lions currently have a dozen wide receivers on the roster and while starters Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola, as well as rookie Quintez Cephus, seem like roster locks at this time, there is room for another impact skill player or two at the position.
If Gabriel can pass a medical exam and is willing to sign a deal close to the vet minimum, the Lions should absolutely bring him in as competition for Hall, Agnew, and others on offense.
The Bears have made some changes this offseason, which will affect how Chicago’s roster pans out this season.
Following a disappointing 2019 season, the Chicago Bears will be looking to rebound heading into the 2020 season. But they’ll be doing it without some familiar faces on their roster.
The Bears have made some changes this offseason, which will affect how Chicago’s roster pans out this season. There were some expected departures, including outside linebacker Leonard Floyd and tight end Trey Burton. But not all of those losses serve to benefit the Bears.
Here are the Bears’ six biggest losses this offseason:
1) ILB Nick Kwiatkoski
AP Photo/Sarah Stier
2020 team: Las Vegas Raiders
Nick Kwiatkoski was a big reason why the Bears defense remained a dominant force following a season-ending injury to Danny Trevathan in Week 10. Kwiatkoski shined in relief of an injured Trevathan, where he tallied 76 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four pass deflections. Ultimately, the Bears chose to re-sign Trevathan over Kwiatkoski, and Chicago lost valuable depth at inside linebacker. Kwiatkoski’s impressive performance earned him a three-year, $21 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, which includes $13.75 million guaranteed.
Here are nine free agent options the Patriots can explore before the 2020 season.
The 2020 season will bring in a new era for the New England Patriots.
Without Tom Brady suiting up in Foxborough, a new identity will have to be formed. It all begins with Bill Belichick and how he decides to construct the team. He’s appearing to build a run-heavy offensive team that relies on solid defense and special teams. Unfortunately for Belichick, he lost some key defensive players who anchored the unit in 2019.
The Patriots had a quiet free agency and went to the NFL draft to fill the necessary holes. They managed to plug some of these holes with talented rookies — but that’s what they still are, rookies. Another issue the Patriots ran into this offseason is the lack of cap space — currently carrying less than $1 million to pay out. There are numerous solutions and ways to create cap space, but Belichick will have to get creative.
Given the idea New England can free up some finances — here are 9 available free agents the team could look into to solidify the 53-man roster.
Cam Newton, QB
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Cam Newton is one of the most controversial free agents on the market right now. The former MVP is 31-years-old and coming off shoulder and foot injuries that sidelined him for 16 games over the past two seasons. He’s by far the most talented free agent in the group, but injury concerns have kept him on the market.
The Patriots are going forward with Jarrett Stidham right now and he would be the cheaper option. But, Newton would be more equipped for the magnitude of replacing Brady and New England is the betting favorite to land him. Anything can happen before the NFL season begins, and Newton to the Patriots isn’t the most unrealistic possibility.
Mike Daniels, DL
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The biggest weakness on New England’s historically good defense last season was the defensive line. Opposing teams began exposing the weakness and realized the best opportunities came on the ground. Danny Shelton took off in free agency, leaving Lawrence Guy and Adam Butler to pick up the slack. The Patriots also have Byron Cowart and added Beau Allen in free agency, but they could use some help still.
Mike Daniels, 31, only played nine games last year with the Detroit Lions because of an arm injury. He’s been extremely reliable his entire career and is in a scenario where the Patriots could have contract leverage — due to his age and recent injury. Daniels is a run-stuffing starter who could provide some much-needed value in the trenches.
The Vikings could use wideout Taylor Gabriel, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Gabriel is now a free agent after playing for the Bears in 2019. Want Minnesota to sign him?
Minnesota traded Stefon Diggs to the Bills this offseason, and while the team has attempted to fix the wide receiver position through the draft and free agency, ESPN thinks it could use more help.
Taylor Gabriel, a former Bears wide receiver who is currently a free agent, seems like a good fit, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Fowler said this about Taylor and the Vikings:
“Minnesota could use an infusion of speed, and Taylor could bolster Minnesota’s reverse and screen games. I like Green Bay here, but the Packers have been allergic to the receiver position this offseason.”
The free agent wide receiver had 353 receiving yards and four touchdowns in nine games played for Chicago in 2019. Gabriel also earned a player grade of 62 out of 100 for 2019 on Pro Football Focus.
Overall, I think Gabriel would be a fine depth player for Minnesota if the team can get him for cheap, but not someone who the team should make priority No. 1 in free agency.
