Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Georgia Bulldogs like Sony Michel and A.J. Green remain NFL free agents
The 2022 NFL offseason is well underway. Several Georgia Bulldogs have already found homes in the NFL via free agency.
Quite a few more Dawgs will be added to the league via the NFL draft, but what about the Georgia Bulldogs that remain NFL free agents such as Sony Michel and A.J. Green?
Here’s a look at five notable Georgia Bulldogs who are still NFL free agents after the first few weeks of free agency in 2022:
Todd Gurley congratulated his former college teammate Sony Michel on being acquired by the Rams
When Cam Akers went down with a torn Achilles, there was a contingent of Rams fans that pitched the idea of the team signing Todd Gurley. It was never likely to happen, but they did acquire his college teammate, Sony Michel.
The two former Georgia Bulldogs stay in touch to date after playing together at Georgia, and after the Rams traded for Michel, Gurley texted him. Gurley congratulated Michel on the move, which the new Rams running back found cool.
That was in addition to a tweet Gurley shared after the trade was announced.
Yessirr bro LFG @Flyguy2stackz https://t.co/Dgs79Q4BjN
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) August 25, 2021
“That’s my guy. Me and Todd, we talk,” Michel said Thursday. “He sent me a text similar to that tweet. He kept it simple, congratulated me on the move. I’m sure he knows what kind of system I’m coming into, so thought that was pretty cool.”
Michel joins a backfield that also features Darrell Henderson Jr., who the Rams drafted in 2018 while Gurley was still in Los Angeles. The balance of touches between Henderson and Michel hasn’t been worked out yet, but that will become clearer as the season progresses.
[vertical-gallery id=651505]
FanDuel named three teams that should sign former Georgia football RB Todd Gurley.
Todd Gurley, once considered the best running back in the NFL, is on the lookout for a new team and a chance at reviving his once incredible career.
It did not work out in Atlanta, which signed Mike Davis as his replacement. So the question remains: Can Todd Gurley still be a primary NFL running back?
Gurley put together a decent season with the Falcons, but it was clear the one-time superstar has lost a step. He carried the ball 195 times, had 678 yards and found the end zone nine times. He may not put up another 1,000 yard season, but Gurley can still play and be a great mentor to a younger back.
FanDuel recently listed three teams that should make a run for the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
1. New York Jets
If the team uses a rotational strategy, bringing Gurley wouldn’t be a bad idea. The veteran ball carrier owns a 72.3% catch percentage and could be a great dump-off option for quarterback Zach Wilson. Simply put, Gurley’s talent soars over anything Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson or La’Michal Perine bring to the table.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon is the clear starting running back for the Cincinnati Bengals, but there is almost zero depth behind him. Mixon missed 10 games due to injury last season and the Bengals struggled to run the football in his absence. Having Gurley waiting in the wings if something like that were to happen again acts as a cheap insurance option.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
Second-year quarterback Justin Herbert needs reliable players working alongside him and Gurley has a 2,000-yard season under his belt. It’s worth a shot for the Chargers to see what the former All-Pro RB has to offer.
Todd Gurley is still a free agent, and Eric Dickerson thinks the Rams should sign him after losing Cam Akers.
If it were up to Eric Dickerson, he would have the Rams sign a familiar face to help replace the injured Cam Akers. With Todd Gurley still sitting on the free-agent market and the Rams needing running back depth, he thinks signing the veteran would be a no-brainer.
Dickerson told TMZ Sports that Gurley knows the offense, he knows Sean McVay and it would be an easy acclimation from the running back.
“That’s a no-brainer,” Dickerson said of signing Gurley. “I mean, he knows the offense, he knows this offense. He doesn’t have to come in and try and learn it. He knows McVay, he knows the guys on the team. That would be an easy fit.”
Gurley’s split with the Rams wasn’t exactly an amicable one. The Rams cut him and took a while to pay him the money he was owed, which frustrated the running back.
So even if Los Angeles was to reach out and show interest in signing him, Gurley might not want to run it back with his old team.
[vertical-gallery id=650012]
Could a Todd Gurley reunion be in the works?
Promising second-year running back Cam Akers will miss the 2021 season after tearing an Achilles tendon while training. The Los Angeles Rams have a massive hole to fill in the backfield, so where does the franchise turn to replace the fallen rusher?
Running back Darrell Henderson is the most likely option as a direct replacement, especially after veteran Malcolm Brown defected to Miami via free agency this spring. Henderson is efficient and can contribute as a receiver, but it is prudent to be skeptical about whether he can hold up over a full slate of games after he suffered ankle, hamstring and thigh injuries on his way to closing the season on Injured Reserve.
Given the nature of how NFL teams deploy their running backs in 2021, and the importance of the rushing game for Sean McVay‘s play-action passing design, expect LA to find multiple backs to incorporate in Akers’ stead.
Looking at the depth chart, no one clearly fits the bill behind Henderson. A quick look at the RB stable shows second-year man Xavier Jones (5-foot-11, 208 pounds), seventh-round rookie Jake Funk (5-foot-10, 205 pounds), and Raymond Calais (5-foot-8, 188 pounds), a 2020 seventh-round selection by Tampa Bay.
Three backs, zero offensive touches. Zero.
There is a familiar face still available in free agency, however. Running back Todd Gurley remains without a team, and his experience in LA’s system makes this a perfect opportunity for McVay and crew to extend the olive branch a little more than a year after parting ways with their once-prized rusher.
Gurley has struggled to produce yardage in the past two years after being diagnosed with an arthritic knee, so there will be a limitation on his workload. In 2019, he thrived via rushing touchdown prowess before a lackluster ’20 season in Atlanta. This reunion would make so much sense for both parties, provided there are no hard feelings on Gurley’s part. He knows the offense, the Rams clearly have a need for a veteran presence, and Henderson can help keep the former fantasy stud as fresh as one can expect.
[lawrence-related id=458784]
Turning 27 prior to Week 1, Gurley has only 474 touches over his past 30 appearance (15.8/game). He averaged 21.7 per contest in the three years before 2019, even seeing 19.2 touches, on average, in his 2015 rookie year on the heels of a knee reconstruction. The 2021 offensive line in LA is far better than what he endured in 2019 and last year while with the Falcons.
Aside from Gurley, the free-agent market offers the following running backs of note: Duke Johnson, LeSean McCoy, Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Le’Veon Bell, Bryce Love, and T.J. Yeldon.
McCoy looked toast the past two years, and Gore is a billion in running back years. Peterson is not far behind, though he appeared rather spry in 2020. Yeldon has been little more than just another guy when given chances. Johnson is primarily a pass-catcher, while Love has no experience at the pro level after a severe injury prematurely ended his productive collegiate career.
That leaves us with Bell. He’ll be in his age-29 season and has performed anything like the star fantasy weapon drafters coveted during his Pittsburgh days. He also has a certain disposition the franchise may not want on the roster.
Other names available that are really inconsequential: Dion Lewis, Alfred Morris, DeAndre Washington, Ito Smith, and D’Onta Foreman. Sure, the Rams could add any of these backs, but none of them would move the needle in fantasy.
With training camps an arm’s reach away, look for LA to move fast. There is no time to waste in getting someone up to speed if they haven’t previously been on the roster.
Gurley would be a wise addition, regardless of his balky knee, because he doesn’t have to be added as the primary back. Henderson can be given every chance to shine as the lead with Gurley being sprinkled in as a short-yardage and change-up back. And if he he were to look refreshed in camp, reversing the roles is a win-win.
Bell is the next most intriguing option, simply because it is difficult to hold his time in New York against him. The offensive personnel around him was a mess, the defense struggled to allow the offense to find a rhythm, and Bell had sat out an entire year prior to signing there. Then, after being added by Kansas City, he never was given an earnest chance to succeed. That could be for reasons including his off-putting attitude and diminished skills, but he has limited touches in the past few years and offers the right amount of risk-reward balance to make for a worthwhile fantasy gamble, if signed.
We’ll follow up with analysis once the Rams make a move. Until then, for those in speculative situations — likely reserved to best-ball formats — take a flier on Gurley over Bell, but the latter is an acceptable consolation as a late-round selection in 20-player formats.
Two former Georgia football players are projected to sign with the same NFL team.
The Score’s Jack Browne recently predicted where some of the NFL’s top free agents would sign prior to the start of the 2021 season.
He mentioned two former Georgia Bulldogs in his predictions and projects them to sign with the same team.
That team would be the Baltimore Ravens.
And the players would be Todd Gurley and Justin Houston.
On Gurley, Browne said:
The veteran back has reportedly met with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens recently, and the latter is a far more preferable landing spot. Baltimore’s depth at the position would allow Gurley to take on a less taxing role, and while his receiving skills have waned, he would still be the best pass-catcher in the AFC North club’s backfield.
Gurley, the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year with the Los Angeles Rams, was at one time the league’s best running back, but he has rapidly declined since his knee started giving him issues. But there’s no doubt that the former Georgia Bulldog can still provide value to a team and remains very productive in the red zone.
If Gurley joins the Ravens, he would pair with superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and second-year running back and Ohio State great JK Dobbins.
On Houston, Browne wrote:
Once one of the most feared pass-rushers in the NFL, Houston is now in the twilight of his career. But the 32-year-old, who has at least eight sacks in each of the last four seasons, should still be capable of making a significant impact as a secondary option for a contender.
Houston’s other likely options are joining the Ravens or returning to the Chiefs. Both AFC teams have plenty of defensive ends but should be intent on fielding the strongest defense possible to help their star quarterbacks.
Houston appeared in 16 games and recorded 8.0 sacks last season, good enough to rank No. 21 among sack leaders.
Houston was an absolute problem for SEC offenses while at Georgia. As a junior in 2010, Houston led all linebackers in sacks with 10 and was named First-Team All-American and First Team All-SEC.
The 2021 Detroit Lions need to emphasize young player development over trying to compete with low-end veterans
One of the takeaways that didn’t make the top four as I drove home from Detroit Lions minicamp was the rather startling lack of proven NFL depth at a number of positions across the Lions roster.
The reality hit me when I was mentally sorting the running backs. D’Andre Swift is in his second season, and he looks very impressive in the receiving drills in the early portions of the offseason. Newcomer Jamaal Williams is also looking special as a receiver (they’re not allowed to tackle or play behind an OL yet, so actually running the ball is still just theoretical).
After that? Seventh-rounder Jermar Jefferson, first-year newcomer Michael Warren and undrafted rookie Dedrick Mills round out the RB room. Warren played exactly two reps on special teams for the Washington Football Team in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from Cincinnati. That represents the entire NFL experience behind Swift and Williams.
It’s incredibly frustrating when factoring in the significant amount of draft capital the past regime spent on running backs, but that’s for a different story. It has led to an intensely tepid public courtship of veteran Todd Gurley and his arthritic knees, which have since marched onto Baltimore after nothing materialized in Detroit in 10 days.
Nothing against Gurley, who was the best all-around RB in football in 2017-2018, but it’s a good thing the Lions haven’t broken character and signed him. And the reason why is in that last sentence: it’s not 2017-2018 anymore. It’s 2021. These Lions are at the beginning of a major overhaul with a new regime from ownership at the top down to the interns in the media relations department.
Is Todd Gurley a better running back in 2021 than Dedrick Mills or Jermar Jefferson? Probably. But upgrading the No. 3 RB spot with a past-his-prime veteran isn’t what this Lions team needs. One of the reasons we’re here is because the last regime decided it was a good idea to cut 2020 fifth-round rookie Jason Huntley before he ever played. Just for good measure they also dumped 2019 sixth-rounder Ty Johnson–the team’s most effective RB as a rookie–too. They did that to bring in Adrian Peterson.
Was Peterson more effective for the 2020 Lions than Johnson or Huntley would have been? For sure; Peterson proved he still had some gas in the old tank. But it certainly didn’t help drive the Lions to success. And because of the decision to chase past glory instead of developing young talent, the roster is that much more barren now because of it.
It’s time for the new Lions under GM Brad Holmes to stop that maddening carousel of clout-chasing, of eschewing the tougher task of player development in the name of spackling veteran putty over cracked walls with rotten studs. It’s time to rebuild the studs, and maybe find some through actual coaching and attention to a longer-term vision.
It’s even truer at wide receiver. If the season started today, the Lions would trot out an 11 (1 RB 3WR) package of Swift in the backfield and new QB Jared Goff throwing to Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman and Kalif Raymond.
Here’s what those receivers produced in 2020, none of them in Detroit:
Williams (now age 29): Missed the season with injury.
Perriman (27): 30 catches on 60 targets, 505 yards, 3 TDs, 3 drops. One game (vs. NE) produced 5 catches, 101 yards and 2 of the TDs.
Raymond (27 in August): 9 catches on 16 targets, 187 yards, no TDs, 3 drops.
Williams’ playing history, his Chargers experience with new Lions OC Anthony Lynn and early performance with the Lions dictate that he’s a big part of the mix. Based on the last two weeks it’s very clear Williams is the most talented wide receiver in Detroit.
As for Perriman and Raymond? Rather than repeat the RB mistakes of the past regime, learn from them. The Lions of 2022 and beyond are better if fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown and last year’s sixth-rounder, Quintez Cephus, are playing instead of them. Even if Perriman and Raymond are better in the offense right now, the Lions need to learn if St. Brown and Cephus can rise above that and be a part of the future.
(Raymond looks like the clear front-runner for the return specialist job, by the way, and his value to Detroit this year is in that capacity)
Then there is the trio of UDFA rookies: Jonathan Brown, Javon McKinley and Sage Surratt. All three were players projected to be drafted as high as the fourth round just a month out from the 2021 NFL draft. All have shown at least some spark in the last three weeks in Allen Park.
There is no purpose in playing Perriman or Geronimo Allison or Damion Ratley over any of those guys. Any short-term benefit they might offer the new-look offense is outweighed by the need to develop some actual depth in Detroit. Cephus had a great day in camp on Tuesday. Build on that. Surratt destroyed smaller coverage in reps all week. That’s something to work with.
Unless there is a radically clear difference in skill level between the older veteran and the young up-and-comer, there’s absolutely no reason to choose the veteran. Now at tight end, 35-year-old Darren Fells makes an exception.
Fells clearly better at all facets of his position than youngsters Charlie Taumoepeau or Jake Hausmann, and he’s also quickly proven to be a worthy mentor for budding star T.J. Hockenson. A year ago with Jesse James as the No. 2 TE, none of that would have been true. Fells is different, and that’s the kind of case-by-case exception that Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions need to value. The likes of Taumoepeau and Hausmann are vying with Alize Mack for the No. 3 spot. Based on the early observations they’re not close to winning that role from the promising young Mack.
By giving the youngsters the keys to the car, the Lions can drive forward with some viable young depth that gains valuable experience. Sure, they might crash here and there. But this season’s Lions are the NFL’s version of a student-driver car: a no-frills learning experience designed to help build for something bigger and better–in due time–for everyone involved.
By teaching the rules of the NFL road to budding young developmental players like Surratt, Jefferson, OT Matt Nelson and LB Tavante Beckett, the Lions just might find something worth keeping. Doing that helps end the cycle of bringing in has-been veterans past their primes, and their primes often weren’t great to begin with. This Detroit coaching staff is loaded with former players who have quickly shown a hands-on approach and enthusiasm for working with players. Utilize that to see what the revamped scouting department and front office can find instead of scouring the scrapyard for what other teams didn’t want anymore.
That’s the culture change I want from Holmes and the 2021 Lions.
[lawrence-related id=62559]
The Baltimore Ravens brought in running back Todd Gurley for a visit on Thursday. Josina Anderson reported that he left town without a deal
The Baltimore Ravens made headlines on Thursday as it was reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that the team was bringing in former first-round pick Todd Gurley for a visit. If added, the running back would be a great addition to an already strong group of runners. However Josina Anderson reported that although Gurley had a good meeting with Baltimore, he left town without a deal.
I'm told free agent RB Todd Gurley had a good meeting with the #Ravens and left without a deal, at this time, per source. Gurley visited recently with the #Lions as well. One source said today, "I'm assuming he's looking for best offer."
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) June 10, 2021
If Anderson’s source is right about Gurley looking for the best offer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the running back sign elsewhere. The Ravens have just under $11 million in cap space, and with the team already having three good running backs on their roster, entering a bidding war for another when they have other needs might not be something that they want to do.
Gurley would most likely battle with Justice Hill for the third running back spot on Baltimore’s roster if signed. It remains to be seen where the six-year veteran will end up, but it seems like the two parties have each other on their radars.
The Baltimore Ravens have a lot of talent at running back. However, they’re reportedly bringing in a former first-rounder for a visit
The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of talent at the running back position between Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Justice Hill. However, a team can never have enough depth, and Baltimore is reportedly bringing in a former top pick for a visit.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Ravens are hosting running back Todd Gurley on Thursday.
Former Pro Bowl RB Todd Gurley is visiting the #Ravens today, source said. The former #Rams and #Falcons weapon also recently visited the #Lions. Now it’s Baltimore, which could build on an already stacked backfield.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 10, 2021
Baltimore already has a ton of depth at running back, so adding another player at the position isn’t a pressing need. However, there’s no denying Gurley’s talent. The former first-round pick has carried the football 1,460 times for 6,082 yards and 67 touchdowns while also being a receiving threat out of the backfield, catching 243 passes for 2,254 yards and 12 touchdowns.
If Gurley were to be signed by the Ravens, the six-year veteran would most likely be competing with Hill for the third running back spot on the roster. The team could keep four players at the position like they did last year, but with how deep Baltimore’s roster is this offseason, it could be difficult to keep a plethora of running backs without sacrificing talent at another position.
Gurley will turn 27 in August. He’s spent time with both the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams as well as the Atlanta Falcons.
Gurley remains unsigned two weeks after visiting with the Lions
The Lions courtship of free agent running back Todd Gurley has taken a new twist. For the first time this offseason, another team has shown some interest in the veteran RB.
Gurley will visit with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
Gurley was recently in Detroit visiting with the Lions, and head coach Dan Campbell reaffirmed the team’s interest in the former Rams All-Pro in a subsequent press conference. But Gurley remains unsigned and the buzz surrounding a union with the Lions has cooled of late.
As is the case in Detroit, where the Lions have a solid top two RBs in D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, the Ravens appear set at the position with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Gurley’s long-running knee problems appear to be severely impacting his market.
