Tag: The Athletic

The Athletic picks pair of X-factor players for Florida football this fall

Mertz and Wilson are the Florida Gators’ cornerstone players on offense this coming season.

The Florida football program has a challenging season ahead of it, facing one of the toughest schedules in the sport this fall. The Gators will require some outstanding play from its cornerstone pieces if they want to earn a bowl game bid this coming winter.

The Athletic’s college football staff put together a list of X-factor players for all 16 Southeastern Conference teams, with two names coming up for the Orange and Blue.

“There are more questions about Florida on defense than offense, so for the Gators to be successful this year, they may need to win some shootouts,” Seth Emerson begins.

“Quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] can do that if he has help, and wideout [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] could emerge as a potent weapon. As a freshman, he had 61 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns. He was a four-star recruit who has speed and dynamic ability, and he can make the Gators offense a tough out.”

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Conference realignment may actually benefit Florida football

Believe it or not, the 16-team SEC just might benefit the Florida Gators, as will the 12-team playoffs.

The Southeastern Conference officially expanded to 16 schools at the start of the month, adding the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns to the mix ahead of the 2024 college football campaign. The storied programs will inevitably make an already tough SEC even more competitive in years to come.

So what does this mean for league members as far as the cost versus benefit of adding the new programs — including the newcomers? The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel attempted to tackle that topic for all of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, including the Florida Gators along with the rest of the SEC.

Surprisingly, Mandel expects the Orange and Blue to benefit overall — but not specifically from the expansion of the conference. Rather, the impending 12-team playoff model is what appears to benefit Florida the most moving forward, grading the Gators with a plus-2 in Mandel’s “new world status”.

Methodology

“To assess, I’ve given all 67 power-conference schools a score between minus-5 and plus-5,” Mandel begins.

“The score is solely about a team’s ability to win, and does not take into account the team’s current coaching staff or roster. Scoring a 0 means the school is neither better nor worse off. A score from 1 to 5 ranges from mildly better to far better, and minus-1 to minus-5 ranges from mildly worse to… uh oh.”

Why Florida benefits

“Florida must play Georgia every year while mixing in Texas and Oklahoma,” Mandel notes. “But a 12-team playoff could prove a godsend; the Gators would have made the postseason three consecutive times under Dan Mullen and 10 times since 2000.”

Which SEC team benefits the most, least?

The Alabama Crimson Tide (4), Georgia Bulldogs (4), LSU Tigers (3), Texas Longhorns (3), Ole Miss Rebels (2) and Florida (2) are the six schools with positive values in Mandel’s assessment, while the Tennessee Volunteers grade out at an even zero.

The Auburn Tigers and Missouri Tigers both graded at minus-1, followed by the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies at minus-2; the Kentucky Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, Mississippi State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks at minus-3.

The Vanderbilt Commodores have the least to gain, coming in at minus-4 on the scale.

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Spencer Brown’s contract named one ‘worth watching’ this season

#Bills’ Spencer Brown’s contract named candidate ‘worth watching’ this season:

The Buffalo Bills had a busy offseason with adjusting their roster to fit under the salary cap for this year. After a series of signings, contract restructures and releases, Buffalo currently sits at about $7.5 million under the cap, according to Spotrac.

However, it’s not too early to look toward Buffalo’s financial situation for next season. The Bills have several important pieces whose contracts expire after this year.

The Athletic highlights one contract per team worth tracking as the 2024 season starts into high gear.

For the Bills, The Athletic focuses on the contract of Spencer Brown. Brown will complete his rookie deal, a four-year, $4.8 million contract, this season.

Buffalo’s offensive line is projected to have a different look this season. Connor McGovern will take over at center for Mitch Morse, and David Edwards has the inside track at replacing McGovern at left guard.

After going through some adjustments to the NFL level, Brown put together a solid campaign in 2023.

Per The Athletic:

One of the few question marks heading into last season was whether the 2021 third-round pick could fulfill his promise after a rocky sophomore campaign. Brown answered with authority, playing every single one of Buffalo’s 1,305 snaps. Pro Football Focus charted him for only two more pressures than Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins.

What does this mean for the Bills? If Brown can put together another solid season, he may be in line for a big payday. General manager Brandon Beane has to decide if he’s willing to let Brown get close to the open market, or whether an extension would be the best financial option for Buffalo.

Buffalo has the second-highest dead-cap total this season, per Spotrac. However, once this money clears — in particular, Stefon Diggs’ dead cap hit — the Bills will have enough room to sign Brown to a long-term extension.

It’s a calculated gamble for Buffalo as well. If the Bills decide to move on from Brown, who started a combined 24 games in his first two seasons, the free agency market has inflated price tags. Acquiring a player through the NFL draft is an option as well, but there’s no guarantee the ideal player will be available to replace Brown.

The Bills’ depth chart at tackle reveals some possible options. La’el Collins, Travis Clayton, Ryan Van Demark, Tylan Grable, Richard Gouraige and Tommy Doyle will have a season to show that they could be an option in place of Brown. Even so, there seems to be quite a gap between Brown and the depth options available for the Bills.

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Report: OKC Thunder signs Isaiah Joe to four-year, $48 million deal

Report: OKC Thunder signs Isaiah Joe to four-year, $48 million deal.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Isaiah Joe to a four-year, $48 million deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. This comes two days after OKC declined his cheap team option for next season.

The Thunder have locked down a key rotation piece for the foreseeable future. After being a late training camp addition in 2022, Joe has turned into a sharpshooter for OKC off the bench.

The 24-year-old has had a pair of productive seasons for the Thunder that have turned his career around. He’s now getting a nice raise and will be a key rotation piece for the foreseeable future.

In 78 games last season, Joe averaged 8.2 points on 45.8% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He shot 41.6% from 3 on 4.5 attempts.

OKC also re-signed Aaron Wiggins to a similar deal after it declined his team option for next season.

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Report: OKC Thunder signs Aaron Wiggins to five-year, $47 million deal

Report: OKC Thunder signs Aaron Wiggins to five-year, $47 million deal.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Aaron Wiggins to a five-year, $47 million deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. This comes two days after OKC declined his cheap team option for next season.

The Thunder have locked down one of their key rotation pieces over the last three seasons. The 25-year-old has worked up to being a backup wing for OKC after being drafted with the No. 55 pick of the 2021 NBA draft.

This is a great value extension for the Thunder as Wiggins is one of the better backup forwards in the league. To get him at a bargain rate means OKC keeps a key bench piece.

In 78 games last season, Wiggins averaged 6.9 points on 56.2% shooting, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He shot 49.2% from 3 on 1.6 attempts.

OKC also re-signed Isaiah Joe to a similar deal after it declined his cheap team option for next season.

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Report: OKC Thunder to meet with free agent Isaiah Hartenstein

Report: OKC Thunder to have meeting with free agent Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will fly out to Oregon to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein in a free-agent meeting, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

He described it as an aggressive pitch by OKC. Hartenstein is a perfect fit in OKC at the backup center spot. He could shore up its size and rebounding woes.

Hartenstein had a breakout year last season with the New York Knicks. He took over the starting center spot for them once Mitchell Robinson went down and was a starter for 49 out of 75 games.

The 26-year-old averaged 7.8 points on 64.4% shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. He was a starter in their playoff run.

The Thunder have $30 million in cap space to spend this offseason. They will likely sign Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to extensions. OKC declined the duo’s cheap options for next season.

If the Thunder adds Hartenstein, it will likely be a short-term deal. The Thunder must clear up cap space in two years once the impending extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kick in.

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T.J. Hockenson labeled a fantasy sleeper at his position by The Athletic

In spite of the possibility of missing the team’s first six weeks, The Athletic thinks there’s value for fantasy players in T.J. Hockenson.

As we head into July and get closer to the start of the NFL’s preseason, a good portion of you reading are probably starting to think about the next season of fantasy football. If you haven’t had your fantasy drafts already, you’ll likely have them in the next few weeks. Finding sleepers is key to having success, and The Athletic thinks one of those sleepers could be on the Minnesota Vikings.

It may seem strange to think of Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson as a “sleeper” at the position, as he’s been one of the top-performing tight ends for years, but there are many reasons to think he could be, according to The Athletic in their preview of the Vikings and the NFC North:

I know social media docs believe he could miss half of the season. But hear me out. Despite missing two and a half games last year, he finished fourth among fantasy TEs. Even half a season of Hockenson (plus a mediocre backup) is better than Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson, who is currently being drafted earlier. Until Hock’s back, grab an upside backup like New England’s Hunter Henry.

The possibility that Hockenson misses the team’s first six games will surely scare off some fantasy shareholders. But Hockenson has a history of performing and may be able to put up good enough numbers in little more than half a season to make the pick worth it. He may not be right for every owner in every fantasy format, but there’s certainly a world where, even despite injury, Hockenson finishes in the top five at the position.

Vikings could be big players in 2025 defensive free agent market

Minnesota Vikings beat reporter Alec Lewis reports the team could look to add a number of defensive free agents next year, like Kenny Clark.

Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings defense were much improved last season over their 2022 counterparts. The schemes that Flores drew up for the defense last season gave teams fits all season. We’ll have to see how this year’s version matches up to last year’s team, but there’s already talk about the team being heavy players in next year’s crop of free agents.

The Vikings should have a lot of cap space to work with next season, and there are several holes on this year’s squad that have yet to be filled. While it seems unlikely Minnesota fills those holes in any meaningful way this season, next year could be the year. But who could they be targeting on the free agent market?

According to The Athletic’s Minnesota Vikings beat reporter Alec Lewis, there are several enticing names the team could be players for:

Two names: Kenny Clark and D.J. Reed. The Vikings will likely peruse the market for DTs and CBs next year, and these two might be the best available at their positions. But there are other possibilities, too. How about 49ers CB Charvarius Ward, Patriots DT Davon Godchaux or Eagles EDGE Josh Sweat? These aren’t A-level names and they’re all nearing 30, but this is the aisle you’re shopping in on the open market.

There’s a strong ‘veteran leadership’ theme running through all of those names, as each either has extensive playoff and championship experience or has played for legendary head coaches. It seems clear the Vikings are looking to bolster the leadership aspect of their team for the years to come.

It seems Sam Darnold will decide when J.J. McCarthy will play

It’s inevitable that J.J. McCarthy will eventually be the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback. But when that happens will be up to Sam Darnold.

The biggest question swirling around the Minnesota Vikings as they head into training camp is, by far, the situation at quarterback. While it’s been made clear by the coaches that Sam Darnold is the QB1 heading into camp, the question of how long it will take for rookie J.J. McCarthy to overtake him will persist until the change comes. But when will that be?

The answer to that is up to Darnold. As The Athletic’s Minnesota Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis reports, it will be a matter of how Darnold plays determining when McCarthy eventually takes the reins. If Darnold plays well throughout the season, he’ll continue to be the starter. As Lewis puts it:

Definitely [will not see J.J. McCarthy] in Week 1. Probably not in the first quarter of the season. Potentially not even in the first half of the season. There is even a scenario in which he shouldn’t be expected to start at all this year… If Darnold is dominating, dishing the ball easily and limiting turnovers, and the Vikings are winning, why mess with the chemistry or team trajectory? Similarly, if Darnold is struggling, and the Vikings are not competitive, it’ll be difficult for O’Connell to quiet the noise for McCarthy.

So the question then becomes, “How well is Darnold likely to perform, and for how long?” Darnold’s detractors will point to his tenure with the Jets and Panthers to prove that, despite being the second quarterback taken—and third pick overall—in the 2018 NFL Draft, he simply does not have the stuff.

Supporters of Darnold will contend that Darnold was thrown into a bad situation with the Jets and Panthers, which were not set up for his growth and development. Now, with a few years under his belt and in a much more quarterback-friendly situation, he’ll finally have a chance to unlock his potential.

Supporters will also add in the fact that Darnold has never had a supporting cast like the one he’ll experience with the Vikings. He had a great supporting cast in San Francisco, yes, but he was never given a real opportunity at that job. He was always a backup and saw very limited action backing up Brock Purdy.

In truth, the answer probably lies somewhere in between. Darnold’s situation will likely mitigate some of the disasters we saw during his time in New York and Carolina, but the fact that the light bulb hasn’t turned on yet likely means that he’s not going to suddenly turn into a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback even with the supporting cast.

We’ll have to wait and see what that means for McCarthy and his inevitable rise to the top of the quarterback depth chart.

Report: Thunder decline options for Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins; hope to extend both

Report: Thunder declines options for Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins; hope to extend both.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have declined the team options for Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins ahead of their June 29 deadline, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Joe had a $2.1 million team option and Wiggins had a $2 million team option for the 2024-25 season. The Thunder foregoes the cheap salaries in exchange to begin negotiations on long-term deals for the bench duo.

There’s a bit of a risk involved with these moves as they allow other teams to offer contracts to Joe and Wiggins — who will be restricted free agents. With that said though, it’s easy to assume the Thunder have already had discussions about a new deal for both and none of this caught anybody by surprise.

Joe and Wiggins have been staples of OKC’s depth. They were valuable finds by the Thunder as Joe was a training camp cut by the Philadelphia 76ers and Wiggins was the 55th pick in 2021.

The Thunder can keep both on what will likely be team-friendly deals. They have over $30 million in cap space this offseason to spend, so expect those two to command most of that.

In 78 games last season, Joe averaged 8.2 points on 45.8% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He shot 41.6% from 3 on 4.5 attempts.

In 78 games last season, Wiggins averaged 6.9 points on 56.2% shooting, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He shot 49.2% from 3 on 1.6 attempts.

The Thunder will get their first crack at handing them extensions at the start of free agency. If they’ve already shook on a deal, expect an announcement to happen soon.

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