Tag: veteran

Chiefs DT Chris Jones on excitement level for his ninth season: ‘Still get butterflies’

Kansas City #Chiefs DT Chris Jones on excitement level for his ninth season: ‘Still get butterflies’ | @EdEastonJr

The battle to sustain success is a significant part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ mindset as a team and individually, with veteran players continuing to strive for greatness.

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones addressed his thoughts with reporters on Monday about entering another season and expectations for the defense this season.

“Absolutely. I think it’s always a butterfly feeling when you(are) getting closer to the game and actually the first play of the game, (I) still get butterflies,” said Jones. “I think when that feeling goes away then – my time here is coming up, but as long as I’m getting that feeling, I’m still here. I’m still excited to play, I’m still excited to see the potential of this team (that) we have and finally be able to hit somebody else other than my teammates.”

Jones secured ten sacks last season and a well-documented contract incentive on the way to another All-Pro year in 2023. The defense played at an elite level, but Jones believes they can take things further in 2024.

“The potential we have. We have a lot of potential in the room. It’s all about coming together, building chemistry throughout the year, and building off of adversity. Adversity builds character.” said Jones. “If we’re able to continue to face adversity and build off of that, I think this team can be really special.”

Jones is a leader on the team who still aspires to become defensive player of the year, adding to his long list of career accomplishments.

Chiefs WR Justin Watson says he always wanted to stay in Kansas City

Justin Watson told reporters about his desire to stay with the #Chiefs and his disinterest in signing anywhere else as a free agent. | from: @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive depth chart features many wide receivers that have yet to play many, if any, games in the NFL. The limited experience concerns some critics, but the Chiefs are confident in their game plan and the veterans on their roster to help educate the younger crowd that is still learning Andy Reid’s offensive system.

One such veteran is Justin Watson, who told reporters on Sunday that he had no interest in exploring free agency during the off-season. Watson, who re-signed for a second season in Kansas City back in April, spoke to the media Sunday’s practice, sharing his reasoning for not wanting to leave the Chiefs after buying into their culture.

“You know, secretly, I always knew that I was coming back here,” Watson explained. “You know, we [were] going back and forth on the numbers. But that’s why when you get into year six, and you’ve played in big-time football games and, once you experience Arrowhead and Chiefs Kingdom, you want to be a part of it.”

Watson finished last season with 15 catches for 315 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. He played a significant role on special teams and built solid chemistry with Patrick Mahomes on deep pass plays. He made it clear later in his comments that other franchises were interested in procuring his services for the upcoming year, but he had no intention of leaving.

“There [were] probably six or seven teams that were making real offers,” Watson said, “[I was] telling my agent, it was always ‘Well, let’s go back to the Chiefs. Let’s go back to the Chiefs.’ Because this is where I really wanted to be the whole time.”

Watson is a veteran alongside Marquez Valdes-Scantling and injured pass-catcher Kadarius Toney in the Chiefs’ receiving corps, a group that has been praised by head coach Andy Reid for their mentorship of younger players in training camp.

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Chiefs LB Nick Bolton embracing leadership role on Kansas City’s young defense

Bolton, who is just 23 years old, is embracing his new role as a salty veteran on the Chiefs’ defense. | from: @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs defense hasn’t received the same praise as the team’s offense over the past few seasons. Most casual observers usually view them as the lesser of two units without those realizing the defensive improvement that has taken place over the last few seasons.

The Chiefs’ top playmakers on defense include All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones and rising linebacker Nick Bolton, the latter of whom has been vocal about a perceived lack of respect for the unit, and has vowed to play with a chip on his shoulder.

Bolton is entering his third season, and despite his youth has emerged as a key leader in the middle of Kansas City’s defense. He spoke to reporters after practice on Sunday about his place in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system and the odd feeling of being viewed as a salty veteran at such a young age.

“I definitely want to be the best person I can be to help our team win. From a leadership role, man, [I’ll do] whatever the guys need me to do.” Bolton explained. “That’s kind of what I’m here for. I [will] be helping them learn, [the] young guys coming in, just to give them the opportunity to learn the scheme, how fast they can learn it kind of helps us out helps us be better man. So that’s just kind of my role here. Again, I’m just trying to make myself the best person I can be and especially helping the guys around me.”

Bolton finished amongst the NFL leaders on tackles last season but was shockingly left off the Pro Bowl roster. He has experienced so much in such a short time that rookies view him as an elder statesman in the team’s linebacking corps.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy; a lot of young guys don’t believe I’m 23 years old, man. I tell them I’m 23, and they look at me like I’m crazy. Well, I found out one of the young DBs may call and say, ‘Yes, sir’ My man, I’m 23 years old. Man, you’re probably older than me,” Bolton joked. “But again, those guys have bought in and invested. You can tell I watched the rookie training camp they had before we got here, and you can see those guys. They’ve been learning. They picked up where we left off at OTAs, and I’m proud of them for that.”

Bolton’s maturity in understanding he’s an essential voice in the locker room should help solidify things in camp while the Chris Jones situation unfolds.

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Chiefs veterans report to training camp today

The rest of the gang is heading to St. Joe with 58 veteran players set to report to #Chiefs training camp Friday afternoon and evening.

A total of 32 Kansas City Chiefs rookies, quarterbacks and injured players reported to training camp earlier this week.

On Friday, the remaining veterans on the 90-man offseason roster will join the team at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri for training camp. The veteran report date was originally slated for Saturday, July 22, but the team pushed it up and players will begin arriving Friday afternoon and evening.

Veterans aren’t scheduled to begin practicing until Sunday when open practices at training camp officially kick off. However, they’ll all arrive and get situated in the dorms ahead of their conditioning test on Saturday.

With the veteran report date, there are always a few things to keep an eye on. Typically, there aren’t any holdouts because of the steep fines attached to missing out on training camp. This year, everyone has their eyes on veteran DT Chris Jones, who was a holdout during mandatory minicamp. He’s seeking a long-term contract extension, and while the two sides have been talking, they’ve yet to reach an agreement on a deal as of Thursday evening.

If Jones decides to not report to training camp and miss practices, he’ll face a mandatory fine of $50K per missed practice. It’s a drop in the bucket for a player who could receive upwards of $25 million per year on a new contract extension. It’s possible that this drags on into training camp, even with looming fines.

You can find a full list of practice dates, times and activities here.

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Browns trade with Vikings for veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith

The #Browns traded with the #Vikings to acquire veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith on Friday evening, shoring up their defensive line

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The Cleveland Browns upgraded their defensive line in a big way by adding veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith via a trade with the Minnesota Vikings on Friday. The move comes just weeks after the 2023 NFL draft, wherein Cleveland invested heavily in the unit with their first two picks.

Smith had lobbied Minnesota to be released earlier in the offseason and had to wait a few months before being dealt to the Browns, who are set to pay him upwards of $11 million next season. This trade benefits both parties and should prove to help each team moving forward as they look to become serious playoff contenders in 2023.
The Browns’ defensive line gains valuable experience with this move, and the Vikings get some much-needed salary cap relief that could free up space to extend wide receiver, Justin Jefferson.
Time will tell who ultimately “wins” this trade, but at this juncture in the 2023 offseason, it seems that both teams got what they wanted.

Packers to take wait-and-see approach in deciding to add veteran QB

The Packers want to see what they have in Sean Clifford and Danny Etling as backups before pursuing a veteran QB.

Earlier this offseason, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst mentioned that adding a veteran backup quarterback to the mix could be on the team’s radar. ollowing thFe 2023 NFL draft, however, the Packers will hold off on doing so for the time being.

With Aaron Rodgers now on the New York Jets, adding at least one quarterback was a must for Green Bay, with only Jordan Love and Danny Etling on the roster before the draft. Even if they only plan to carry two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, competition is still important at that backup spot, and teams simply need three or four quarterbacks just to get through OTAs and training camp when rosters are at max capacity with 90 players.

The value that a veteran could add to the Packers is with his experience, whether that be on the practice field, in the film room, or on the sidelines during games as Love navigates his first season as a starting quarterback. Although Love has been in the Packers organization for three years, he has just 91 career dropbacks. Etling, meanwhile, has bounced around since 2018 but has no career NFL snaps.

However, at least for now, the Packers plan to roll with their current trio of Love, Etling, and rookie Sean Clifford.

“We will see how that goes (on signing a veteran QB), but we really like what he (Clifford) begins to the table,” said Gutekunst after the draft. “He’s started a lot of games in the Big 10, has a lot of experience. Really good athlete, liked his arm talent and brought him in for a pre-draft visit and really liked the makeup of the person. I like the room right now, and all those guys need reps, so we will see how those guys do before we decide to explore other options.”

Without question, there is a jump that comes with going from the college to NFL game — we all know this — but what was made clear over the weekend is that Green Bay did value Clifford’s experience at Penn State in a Packers’ quarterback room that is short on it. During his collegiate career, Clifford had nearly 1,600 dropbacks, and 2,723 total snaps, while appearing in 51 games.

Also mentioned on a few occasions when discussing Clifford was his athleticism. He recorded a Relative Athletic Score of over 9.0 at his Pro Day and rushed for more than 500 yards during the 2020 season. Clifford’s fit in the Green Bay locker room was also emphasized as well by those who spoke about him. As Director of Football Operations Milt Hendrickson said on Saturday, this environment won’t be too big for him.

“Sean is a guy that is really intelligent, he’s played a lot of games, he’s got some athleticism, he’s a natural thrower, all the things you look for in a quarterback he possesses,” said Matt LaFleur. “We had him up here on a 30 visit and went through the meetings with him and were impressed by his football acumen and overall intelligence. Looking forward to getting the chance to work with him in rookie minicamp.”

As one would expect this time of the year, there aren’t exactly many free agent options at the position that are still available either. A few of the notable names include Teddy Bridgewater, Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz, and Trevor Seimian. That aspect, coupled with the Packers’ still tight salary cap situation that has them with just over $12 million in available cap space, not including incoming expenses such as signing the new draft class, along with the backup role not being guaranteed as there will be an open competition this summer for that roster spot, Green Bay shouldn’t be allocating much cap space towards the backup quarterback position as it is.

For the time being, it sounds like the Packers are going to take a wait-and-see approach at quarterback. They will first get into OTAs and perhaps even training camp to see how Clifford and Etling perform before making a decision on whether or not they need to add a veteran. Regardless of whether it is Love, Etling, or Clifford, all of them need reps right now, and the Packers are going to give them that opportunity.

“We will be fluid with it and see what these guys can do,” said LaFleur. “Those will be ongoing conversations with myself and Gutey and his staff. If the opportunity presents itself, we are always going to try to do what’s best for the football team in that regard.”

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Matt LaFleur would like to add veteran to complement Packers’ young WR room

Packers coach Matt LaFleur on his WR room: “I think some veteran leadership would be nice.”

There are a few positions where the Green Bay Packers could benefit from a veteran free-agent addition, but perhaps nowhere more than at wide receiver.

As of now, the Packers have only five receivers on the roster, and Romeo Doubs is the most experienced of the bunch, with 529 career snaps. Doubs, Christian Watson, Samori Toure, and Bo Melton were all rookies in 2022. Jeff Cotton, meanwhile, was a 2020 undrafted rookie with one offensive snap in his NFL career.

When meeting with reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meetings, coach Matt LaFleur discussed the need for not only more bodies in the receiver room but specifically adding a veteran presence.

“I think some veteran leadership would be nice,” said LaFleur. “Although I think guys like Allen (Lazard) and Randall (Cobb) did such a great job last year taking those guys (Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs) under their wing and showing them the ropes, and expectations, the practice habits that you need to have to go out there to play at a high level.

“But yeah, we’re going to have to add some bodies to that room certainly,” LaFleur added.

Watson looks like a true No. 1 target in the making, while Doubs had a promising first season. However, neither is immune to the ups and downs that second-year players can still have. The hope with signing a veteran is that they would provide some added reliability at the position for Jordan Love in his first season as a starter. There is something to be said for having that experience on the practice field and in the film and locker rooms as well.

Unfortunately, for the Packers, there are limitations in free agency because of their salary cap situation, as Brian Gutekunst said on Monday. Although the Packers have cap space on paper – over $22 million – they lack spending power, with that figure set to be cut almost in half due to the dead cap from trading Aaron Rodgers, not to mention needing space for other expenses, such as the draft class and final two roster spots, hitting the 2023 books.

Gutekunst has shown that he will continue to churn the roster well into the summer. So even though a veteran addition in free agency may be on the to-do list, that doesn’t mean a signing is imminent, either.

With the Packers being limited in what they can spend, expectations shouldn’t be that they are going to bring in a game-changer at the position. Rather, this will be a veteran who can complement Watson and Doubs as a third option and likely on a one-year deal with a minimal cap hit. There are only five receivers who remain unsigned from PFF’s top 200 free agents list that are projected to earn less than $5 million in 2023. Those players are Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones, Olamide Zaccheaus, Marvin Jones, and Randall Cobb.

Another option could be acquiring a receiver from the New York Jets in the Rodgers trade. Corey Davis is a popular name, but he comes with an inherited cap hit of $10.5 million. Green Bay would either have to extend him or Davis would have to be willing to take a pay cut for his contract to fit. Denzel Mims is another alternative, and he comes with a reasonable cap hit of $1.35 million since he’s in the last year of his rookie deal. Mims has been targeted just 43 times combined over the last two seasons.

Whether the Packers add a veteran or not at wide receiver really should have zero impact on how they go about the draft at this position. For one, this is a position group that could still use more playmaking, and the veteran addition would add some stability. Also, any free agent signing is likely going to be in Green Bay on a short-term deal, leaving long-term depth at the position still a big need to fill.

A few receivers in this year’s draft class who meet the Packers’ typical height, weight, and athleticism thresholds include Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State), Bryce Ford-Wheaton (West Virginia), Andrei Iosivas (Princeton), Matt Landers (Arkansas), Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss), Rashee Rice (SMU), Cedric Tillman (Tennessee), and Michael Wilson (Stanford).

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Chargers’ 2022 season in review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ wide receivers

Justin Herbert may have some fresh faces to throw to in 2023 despite the great work put in by the Chargers’ receivers this season

Quarterback Justin Herbert has turned heads around the league with his exceptional play under center for the Los Angeles Chargers. His group of wide receivers headlined by veterans Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have served him well since he entered the league in 2020, and have contributed a great deal to the early success he has found in his career.

In 2022, Herbert relied heavily on his receivers for passing production, particularly Allen, who racked up more than 700 yards and four touchdowns in just 10 games. Williams was heavily involved in the Chargers’ game plans too and led Los Angeles in receiving with 895 yards and four touchdowns on the season. The two were productive despite dealing with their respective injuries.

Perhaps the most surprising high-end contributor on the team was second-year receiver Joshua Palmer, who came out of nowhere to lead his position in receptions with 72. His 769 receiving yards were good for second on the Chargers’ offense and should bode well for his future in Los Angeles ahead of the 2023 season as he enters his third season.

Similarly, veteran DeAndre Carter quietly put up the best numbers of his career, tallying 538 yards on 46 receptions, which was good for nearly 12 yards per touch on passing plays

Outside of their top four wide receivers, though, the Chargers struggled to find consistent production. Michael Bandy, Jalen Guyton, and Jason Moore combined for just 158 total yards and were each held scoreless on the season. Guyton tore his ACL in Week 3, ending his 2022 season after a promising start.

Los Angeles needs to add a speedy receiver in the offseason, likely through the draft. Additionally, Keenan Allen’s future with the team is uncertain given his massive salary, so the Chargers’ front office will need to get creative when finding another player to come close to matching his production if they choose to trade him, release him, or restructure him.

Grading the Packers’ 10 veteran additions during 2022 season

The Packers added 10 veterans during the offseason or regular season in 2022. How did Brian Gutekunst do?

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made a number of veteran additions during the offseason and regular season in an effort to build out his roster in 2022.

We counted 10 players added that eventually played meaningful snaps during the Packers’ 8-9 season.

Here’s a quick grading of the work Gutekunst and the Packers did in terms of adding veterans during the 2022 season:

Seahawks TE Greg Olsen reminded once again he’s no ‘spring chicken’

Seattle Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen, 14-year-veteran of the NFL, will have played with DK Metcalf and his father, Terrence Metcalf.

Seattle Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen is busy adjusting to life on a new team, working through first a virtual offseason and then padded practices during training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

And all the while, the 14-year-veteran is constantly reminded (in the nicest of ways) that he’s no longer a youngster in the league.

“Every time someone brings it up, it just reminds me that I’m not a spring chicken anymore,” Olsen said during his appearance on Inside Training Camp Live. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Olsen was referring to the fact that he played with DK Metcalf’s father, Terrence, in Chicago the two seasons they were together on the Bears’ roster in 2007 and 2008. He is now catching passes alongside the younger Metcalf in Seattle.

“I got to catch up with DK’s dad Terrence just a couple weeks ago,” Olsen explained. “DK and I ran some routes before we started back up and his dad was in town and we got to visit and spend some time . . . It’s a pretty cool thing. I take some pride in it, knowing that it’s not easy to stick around in this league a long time but it’s definitely a reminder that sometimes it’s hard keeping up with these young guys.”

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