HoosierCat

Eagles DT Hargrave to the 9ers. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35851419/sources-49ers-bolster-d-line-dt-javon-hargrave

Saw that. Yeah, would be worth a call.

First “legal tampering” rumor: Eagles LB TJ Edwards headed to Chicago. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35850894/sources-eagles-lb-tj-edwards-plans-join-bears Would fill a possible landing spot for Pratt.

Of course they do. They would be included in the “rich & powerful.” I’m sure they’re doing their own lobbying for all the stuff they want. Well, I’m not on Twitter any more, but when I was it pretty common for news organizations to tweet out news. It’s also pretty common for organizations like labor unions to put out press releases and alerts to members about legislative proposals they oppose.

Well, y’know, this is America and the rich & powerful do sort of have seats in the governing body of your choice. They don’t contribute to all those politicians for nothing. As for this the NFLPA was clear in its alert letter that Bengals ownership was lobbying legislators for the change (see https://www.wcpo.com/sports/football/bengals/nflpa-bengals-ownership-is-attempting-to-strip-workers-compensation-benefits-from-ohio-athletes for example). Whether they are successful, we will see.

Mike Thomas re-signed. https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-roster-moves-michael-j-thomas-re-sign

Today’s PFF mock is for TJ. Three rounds: 28 Calijah Kancey, DL, Pitt 60 AdetomIowa Adebawore, ED, Northwestern 92 Karl Brooks, ED, Bowling Green

Yeah, this largely agrees with what Hobs wrote on da site a few days back. https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-brace-for-different-free-agency-with-same-approach Of course, it wouldn’t be a .com pre-FA story without a bit of Hobsonization: Rookie pool is back!

Panthers move up to No. 1. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35830753/bears-trading-no-1-overall-pick-panthers-haul-includes-wr-dj-moore-sources-say

Also 3. it's a very deep draft at TE this year. Just as an example, TDN's 6th-ranked TE is Sam LaPorta. He's at 74 on their big board and his player comp is...Hurst. Who was a first round pick in 2018. https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/sam-laporta-0cceb5ff-8e5c-4f33-8f4a-9952da224c58/

the police report has been released: Eleven shots? Lucky only one kid was hit in the foot. Note: the people in car were not named but neither is Mixon. Speaking of, Joe is lawyering up: No charges or arrests yet.

No, I didn't. I made the point of this being an investment in the players' availability to play. That's what the team is addressing here, which, again, if you'd bothered to read the story, you'd understand.

A family room and daycare seemed to score well with players. That it would be fairly easy to do. They would almost certainly outsource it, and could probably get a good deal (or even get it for free) by making whoever it is the official daycare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals in lieu of cash. And the whole organization could use it, not just the players.

Bucs release starting LT Donovan Smith. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35805637/source-buccaneers-releasing-left-tackle-donovan-smith I don’t expect the Bengals to have any interest directly but the eventual domino effect could shake someone good for depth loose somewhere.

IIRC they made those kind of shenanigans illegal some years ago.

I love it when people argue about something without even reading the material. Hint: this has nothing to do with working out. In fact the players rated the weight room above average. Which is kind of odd, I know, since this is a 'bitchfest" and one generally doesn't answer statements like, "hey, you're doing a great job" with "stop bitching." But there it is anyhow. Really? They buy... Well, if you say so.

Old habits die hard and one of them, apparently, is the organization’s penchant for stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. Their biggest expense by far is the players themselves, so a (relatively speaking) tiny investment like state-of-the-art training and rehab equipment will pay for itself very quickly. This is business 101 level stuff but it’s only been in the last few years that it seems to have begun to sink in.

They have four DEs and five DTs on the roster, none of whom (imo) are in any danger of getting cut or demoted. There is simply no room. Unless something completely unexpected happens, I just don't see it. I don't have a problem bringing Apple back. He's boom or bust, but I think overall he's an above average player.

Giants give Daniel Jones 4 years, $160 million ($82 million guaranteed in the first 2 years), franchise Sarquon Barkley. https://sports.yahoo.com/giants-reportedly-reach-160m-deal-with-daniel-jones-use-franchise-tag-on-saquon-barkley-205920656.html Note the deal comes after the Giants didn't pick up Jones' fifth year option last year. So factor $40 million/year into your Burrow calculations.

TE or DB would be my preferences as well. I don't particularly have anything against Harrison but "backup swing tackle who might be a starter someday" doesn't exactly rev up my engines. Probably a safe pick tho. Sorry, TJ, you aren't getting pass rush at 28, TJ. Honestly looking at the DL room I'd be surprised if you got anything there before round 4.

I would expect the Ravens to match unless it's the kind of 100% guaranteed deal that Watson got and rumor says Lamar wants. And I don't see any of the other 30 teams doing that given how widely hated Watson's deal is. So if you are another team, why do the Ravens' front office's work for them? Either he will cave and sign a more team-friendly deal (that still makes him like a half-billionaire, poor fellow) or he plays on the tag. I think he's just dumb enough to play on the tag. Maybe, just maybe, he learned something from "betting on himself" last season, but I will believe that when I see it.

Yeah, Cleveland letting Johnson go only to sign Bates seems like just rearranging the deck chairs, but the Clowns front office has made much, much dumber moves, so who knows. I don't think the market is going to be what he thinks it will be.

Yes, of course. The state of the training room and the team's health and rehab equipment is exactly as important as the weekly lunch menu and putting the trainers in the best possible position to help players prevent, treat and recover as quickly as possible from injuries is utterly irrelevant to winning a Super Bowl.

Brugler goes Harrison as well. https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/bengals-select-offensive-tackle-anton-harrison-in-the-athletics-latest-mock-draft

In news that surprised absolutely no one, Tyler Dragon has reported that the Bengals are not expected to franchise Bates. Bates, meanwhile, is out there blabbering about how he would love to play with Cleveland’s serial abuser QB. All about the Benjamins, indeed. And in Lamar news, the Ravens say they will franchise him today before the deadline.