NFL

Vikings’ Cousins: ‘I like our chemistry, our locker room, I think we have a great group of men’

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To whom much is given, from him much is expected. Such is the case with Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, who joined the team after signing a three-year, $84 million deal last offseason. And while Cousins put up decent numbers(4298 yards, 30 touchdowns) in 2018, the team did not have as much success as expected. Last season, Minnesota fell short of making the playoffs, which made 2018 a massive disappointment for the club.

Now, this is year two for Cousins, and a new opportunity to prove that he is the guy that can lead Minnesota to a Super Bowl this season.

The Vikings closed training camp on Friday, and according to Cousins, he likes where the team stands at this point.

“I think we have a really good defense. I go along the roster, and I just feel like every player is a guy who can play and has been battle-tested in the league as well,” Cousins said on Friday. “I like our chemistry, our locker room, I think we have a great group of men, that’s got to count for something. I love our system; I love what we’re doing offensively, I think even our defense, and our defensive coaches going against us every day, would say that the system is a good system and is putting them in a bind and is challenging them, so that’s a positive.

“I just like the continued rapport that I and we are building with one another with more time together, and you got to go play the games to see where that leads, but those are some positives.”

Minnesota has a talented football team. They have weapons on offense, and they still have an outstanding defense. The key for this football team is the play of Cousins, and fortunately for him, most of the talent on the offensive side of the ball was there in Minnesota last season, so he should have a lot of familiarity with those players, which should help the team in 2019.

In reality, with the money that the Vikings gave Cousins, anything short of a championship would be a huge failure, so the pressure is on Cousins to get this team over the top.

Marrone on Minshew: ‘I think that he showed he got better from the week before’

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Last week, Jaguars rookie QB Gardner Minshew, who started in place of Nick Foles against the Ravens, had a lot of struggles, as he completed only 7 of 14 passes for 46 yards in a 29-0 loss to Baltimore.

What a difference a week makes. Against the Eagles on Thursday night, Minshew, who was selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round out of Washington State in this year’s draft, again got the start, and this time, he looked like a different guy.

In three quarters of action, he completed 19 of 29 passes for 202 yards, and while the Jaguars would lose to the visiting Eagles 24-10 at TIAA Stadium, Minshew was a bright spot for the team.

“With Gardner [Minshew] tonight I was happy,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said after the game. “He got us out of four things that a lot of young quarterbacks are not going to be able to do. He’s a bright kid, a smart kid. I think that he showed he got better from the week before.

According to Minshew, he felt much more comfortable this week against the Eagles.

“Going back and watching the film, seeing that we weren’t that far off and we’re even closer still,” Minshew said. “We still got a lot of things we can do better. Definitely getting a lot more confident…

“The more reps you get, the more comfortable it is. The less foreign it is to you and hopefully continues to get easier from here.”

Although Minshew only led the Jaguars on one scoring drive, which was a field goal, the team has to be happy with what they saw out of Minshew, especially considering how he looks against the Ravens the week before.

Photo/courtesy: Jacksonville Jaguars

Golden Tate on suspension: ‘I’m not trying to cheat’

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On Tuesday, the NFL announced that Giants WR Golden Tate would be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Tate, 31, who had appealed the suspension, which was denied by the league, will be able to return Week 5 against the Vikings. The 10-year veteran signed with the Giants this offseason after spending time with the Lions and Eagles last season.

Today, Tate addressed the suspension with the media.

Here is what he had to say:

Q: You seem surprised by the ruling, why is that?

Tate: I just thought after we looked at the facts and the situation that the NFL would be understanding. It’s kind of a non-tolerance policy. They upheld the suspension.

Q: What was the substance?

Tate: Clomiphene

Q: How did you find out that wasn’t allowed?

Tate: A few weeks after my test, I went back and spoke to the doctor. Initially, the doctor said it was not a banned substance. In fact, he had given it to other NFL players, which is why I trusted it and kept living my life. I was out to dinner one night with a guy who worked for me and he started talking about another player who was getting suspended for something completely different. A light went off in my head and I said let me call the doctor to make sure, to make myself feel better. I asked him what the active ingredient was and he looked it up right then and there and sure enough it was a banned substance.

Q: How frustrating is it, this decision that was rendered here?

Tate: It’s very frustrating. I have no problem with accepting the punishment. I’m responsible for what’s put into my body, ultimately. The tough thing I am dealing with is I’m letting down a lot of people. My family, the guys in the locker room, the people in the organization that brought me here. That’s kind of what’s been crushing me with this whole situation. I’m taking it day by day, the Giants have been overly supportive of this situation and worked with me throughout. I’m just ready to move on and get back to playing football. I guess my wife put it into perspective for me, although these times are very, very hard on me because I love this game and I take it very, very seriously. I think I’ve had a clean slate for the majority of my career. She put it into perspective yesterday. She said I played 182 games in my career, four games is a small part of that. Although right now it’s very hard to swallow and hard to deal with, she kind of put it into perspective.

Q: Why didn’t you go to the league or the team doctor before taking it?

Tate: I think ultimately because the doctor had said no, it’s not a banned substance and I have prescribed it to other NFL guys. If the doctor says I’m not sure, I would have 100 percent looked into it.  If the doctor never said he had never given it to other NFL players, I 1,000 percent would have looked into it. I’ve gone through the TUE process for a couple medicines and I completely understand it.

Q: Are you going to take any action against the doctor?

Tate: We are definitely looking into it, we are kind of examining all of our options. This all came out a few days ago, so I’m still trying to get through camp, trying my best to focus and continue to be a leader for this organization, and practice hard.

Q: How do you think the league should adjust how they view these things?

Tate: I don’t have all the answers. It’s a slippery slope. If you let my situation slide, then you have other guys that would probably try to say the same thing and it can open up a can of worms, that’s what I’m assuming. I have some ideas that I’m going to present to the NFL when the time comes. I think there are some ways to work with the players. (Inaudible).

Q: Is this one of those drugs that could have been a therapeutic use exemption had you gone to them before you took it?

Tate: I believe so.

Q: And you didn’t go to the league because the doctor told you it wasn’t banned?
Tate: Yes.

Q: You said that he told you he gave the same treatment to a couple other players. Did you find out who they were? Did you try to get them to testify on your behalf? Did you find out whether those guys had been suspended before?

Tate: Because of HIPAA, he wasn’t able to reveal those people.

Q: What is your plan, since you can’t be around the team those four games because of the rules with the suspension. What is your plan for those first four weeks? Where are you going to work out? Are you going to stay here?

Tate: I have to figure out what’s allowed as far as communication with the coaches and people inside the building.

Q: I don’t think you can be here.

Tate: Yeah, I know that. I’m not sure about the communication part. I’m going to get with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach Wellman and get an intense workout plan or something that allows me to stay in tip-top shape so once I get back in Week 5 I can hit the ground running. Like every year, you kind of use camp to get in shape for the season. I have to come in that Monday after the fourth game ready to rock and roll and ready to be rolling. Again, this is all new to me and I was expecting not to have this suspension, but I am going to deal with it. I’m going to deal with it the best I possibly can, stay positive and continue to try to lead this team and just work through it.

Q: Do you think this will fuel your fire even more once you get back on the football field?

Tate: No doubt.

Q: How do you mentally move forward from this for the rest of the year once you come back?

Tate: I think you just take it day-by-day. I honestly think the hardest part is just about over. I’ve been thinking about this since April or May. This has been on my mind. I’ve lost a lot of sleep. It has kind of hurt me to my core having to explain to the organization what’s going on. I’m just ready to move forward. I just want to play football. Look at me, I’m not trying to cheat. I think I have represented the NFL shield pretty well in my career. I have achieved a lot of things, and I hope this doesn’t smear that reputation that I have worked very hard for.

Q: I don’t mean to pry, but a lot of people have written stuff saying your wife had a baby earlier this year, why does he need a fertility drug – can you answer that?

Tate: That’s pretty personal. Very, very personal, so I don’t want to get into it.

Q: You have said in the past, I think 2013, that it was selfish that two other guys on your team at the time had gotten suspended. Do you know what they got suspended for? I think it was for drugs like marijuana or something?

Tate: I think that’s a completely different situation than me taking a substance to try to have another kid.

Q: I was just going to say, if the players in the locker room felt the same here what would you say to them?

Tate: It hasn’t been asked of me, so I haven’t had to address it. I’ll think about that one though.

Jay-Z on Roc Nation, NFL: ‘This partnership is an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of communities across America’

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Roc Nation announced it has entered into a long-term partnership with the National Football League as the league’s official Live Music Entertainment Strategists. The partnership will begin as the NFL’s 100th season kicks off and will serve as a commitment from Roc Nation and the NFL to nurture and strengthen community through music and the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.

Roc Nation will spearhead and advise on the selection of artists for NFL tentpole performances, including the Super Bowl, and will assist in the production and promotion of new music as well as culture- and cause-focused initiatives.

A core component of the partnership will be to amplify the Inspire Change platform priority areas identified by NFL Players, including Education and Economic Advancement, Improving Police-Community Relations, and Criminal Justice Reform.

“With its global reach, the National Football League has the platform and opportunity to inspire change across the country,” said Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter. “Roc Nation has shown that entertainment and enacting change are not mutually exclusive ideas – instead, we unify them. This partnership is an opportunity to strengthen the fabric of communities across America.”

Roc Nation and the NFL will work together to create and distribute music content across multiple music streaming services for a variety of initiatives. Roc Nation will work alongside the league with artists to curate the richness of football culture nationwide. Content initiatives may include a Live Visual Album, “Songs of the Season” original music, archived and current content from live NFL music events and artist podcasts.

“Roc Nation is one of the most globally influential and impactful organizations in entertainment,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The NFL and Roc Nation share a vision of inspiring meaningful social change across our country. We are thrilled to partner with Roc Nation and look forward to making a difference in our communities together.”

Roc Nation will also consult and collaborate on various aspects of production, promotion, marketing, and communications for live music events and related activations, which include new endeavors such as Songs of the Season and a Pro Bowl Community Concert.

Eagles’ Groh on Jackson: ‘I think he’s still one of the fastest guys in the league’

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There is a lot of excitement in Philadelphia about the return of WR DeSean Jackson. The 32-year-old Jackson, who was traded to the Eagles this offseason after spending two years with the Buccaneers, is back where it all started, as he played his first six seasons in Philadelphia.

Jackson joins an offense that is expected to do the big things this season, and with Jackson in the fold, the Eagles have a guy that is one best deep threats in football. The three-time Pro Bowler has 24 touchdown receptions of 60 yards or more, which is the most in NFL history. However, according to Eagles OC Mike Groh, Jackson can do more than just catch the deep ball.

“DeSean [Jackson] is a complete player,” Groh said on Monday. “He can do anything that he wants. As a coach, it’s really exciting because you can just say, ‘Hey, can you run this route or can you do it like this,’ and you can just tell him and he can do it. So from a coaching standpoint that makes it really easy, and we’re just trying to move him around and have him do a bunch of different things because he is such a weapon.”

2019 will be Jackson’s 12th year in the league, and you would think at this point of his career that he would have lost some speed. But according to Groh, that is not the case with Jackson.

“I think he’s still one of the fastest guys in the league,” Groh said. “So, he’s still playing at an elite-speed level. He’s one of the fastest guys out there every day on the field and still has absolute confidence in his speed and ability to win.”

Philadelphia has one of the better tight ends in football in Zach Ertz and another emerging talent at the tight end position in Dallas Goedert to go along with what they have at the wide receiver position in Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.

Now, you add Jackson to the mix, which should give QB Carson Wentz and this offense all it needs to put up big numbers this season.

Foles on Eagles Fans: ‘They travel everywhere’

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When you win a Super Bowl, your name is talked about forever, and when you win a Super Bowl in the city of Philadelphia, you’re loved forever, which is the case with former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who helped the Eagles win Super Bowl 52, before signing with the Jaguars this offseason.

Recently, Foles and the Jaguars traveled to Baltimore to play the Ravens in their preseason opener, and while he did not play, there was a lot Foles jerseys in the stands, but it was not Foles number 7 jersey that he wears for Jacksonville, it was Foles number 9 jersey that he wore with the Eagles.

“That’s just sort of how it is. They travel everywhere, they’re all over the place, and when we were in Baltimore, there was a lot of my old Eagles jerseys in the stands and a lot of signs,” Foles said about Eagles fans. “‘It’s very humbling. ‘I’ve said ‘that’s an emotional place to me, but it was cool to see that we were able when I was there to impact a community, and ‘that’s why ultimately being here our goal is to grow together as a team and then continue to energize the community. And ultimately ‘that’s how we handle ourselves on and off the field and how we handle ourselves on game day, so ‘that’s what ‘we’re working towards here in Jacksonville.”

On Thursday, Foles will play his former team as the Eagles travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars, which will allow Foles to catch up with his former teammates— something that Foles is looking forward to doing.

“‘It’ll mean a lot to see those guys pregame and catch up with a lot of those guys,” Foles said. “They’re family to me, always will be. So, it’ll be good to see a lot of their faces and talk to them, see how ‘they’re doing. I know ‘they’re grinding through camp as well, so ‘it’ll be good to catch up with a lot of them.”

Foles is unsure how much he will play against the Eagles or any team this preseason, but he is okay with whatever the club decides.

“‘I’m going to leave all of those things up to coach,” he said. “All ‘I’m going to do is handle what I can control and ‘that’s coming out here and competing with my teammates, working hard, studying the film, working in meetings and walkthroughs and whatever he decides ‘I’ll go with.”

No matter what happens with Foles in Jacksonville, he should be happy to know that he will always be able to get some love from the Philly faithful.

Jags’ Marrone talks the return of Cam Robinson

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Jaguars LT Cam Robinson is off the PUP list and will practice with the team, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone announced today.  Last week, Marrone seemed less optimistic about the return of Robinson, who tore his ACL in Week 2 of the 2018 season. If all goes well, Robinson could be ready for the start of the season.

On Saturday, here is what Marrone had to say about Robinson and WR Marqise Lee(currently on PUP list).

“I don’t know if they’re going to be ready for the season, so they’re working hard, the trainers are working hard, everybody’s working hard, but we just can’t get them over the hump, so we’ve got to go and start preparing to play without them, unfortunately. And it could change, but it’ll be tough.”

Today, Marrone addressed the media about the return of Robinson

Marrone: “Cam Robinson is going to be off of PUP [Physically Unable to Perform List], so he’ll be out there on the practice field, he’ll be going through walkthroughs and individual. And it’s like before, I think the other day when we were talking about it, if I seem frustrated or down, I think it’s natural. I mean, I’m not going to sit here and bullshit you guys. I’m not going to be someone different. We all want those guys out there, but everybody’s working hard and the one thing about it, and again I never want to be that guy that stands up here and tries to spin things, I’m not that type of person, but, we got an opportunity to look at some other guys, and some other guys have had an opportunity to put themselves in position to make this team and now we’ll just see the consistency of it. But pretty much the people that we’re relying on are practicing very well. You’re talking about, they’re almost playing a game per day. I think when you look at yesterday’s practice, and you look at our ones, you’re talking about 48-50 plays, normally in a game you’re going to get about 62 plays a game, so you’re talking about are guys are definitely putting in the work.”

(On the surprise of Cam Robinson being taken off of the PUP list)

Marrone: “You’ll have to ask him. I don’t disagree with that. I don’t. I can’t answer that question. I really can’t.”

(On if it was the player or trainer coming to him with the decision to take Robinson off of the PUP list)

Marrone: “Listen, when they tell me someone’s going to be on the field and ready, I am not going to ask a lot of questions to that. I’m going to take that, take what I can, but that’s something that you can easily ask him [Cam Robinson]. And you can request from [Jaguars Director of Public Relations] Tad [Dickman] to talk to the trainers or the doctors.”

(On what the doctors told him)

Marrone: “They just said, ‘Hey, [we’re] thinking about taking him off of PUP and putting him through walkthrough and individual, and seeing where it goes.’ I said, ‘Awesome.’ I keep my mouth shut and that’s it. I don’t want to say anything and then they say, ‘Yeah, you know what, maybe you’re right, maybe we should keep him on PUP.’ I’m not that stupid.”

(On if the doctors told him something different today than previously earlier this week)

Marrone: “Hey listen, I think you need to go do one of those investigative things. I don’t know. I can’t answer a question I don’t know. I just know that he was at a point that they couldn’t get him over a point, and that he was going to stay on PUP, and that’s what I was told and then this morning I was told something different in a good way. Now I’m happy.  Now you write I’m happy. Before when guys get hurt and I’m down, I know, but hey, you take it. It’s like when you’re walking down the street, you see 20 dollars, you pick it up, right? No one’s around, you pick it up and you put it in your pocket. You’re happy about it. You move on.”

(On if he’s talked to Robinson since he’s been informed to take him off of the PUP list)

Marrone: “I just found out before I walked in here.”

(On if Robinson took the same evaluation test he talked about on Saturday)

Marrone: “I have no idea. I really don’t.”

(On how slowly he will integrate Robinson back in to practice)

Marrone: “I’m just saying, they said individual and walkthrough, so I think that’s what you’ll see, and we’ll see what he can so. And like I told the coach, ‘Hey, be careful, just watch him. We don’t want any setbacks.’ And we’ll see where he’s at, and bring him along and that’s it. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m just telling you that that’s how it works.”

(On how Robinson’s spirits are)

Marrone: “I haven’t talked to him, I really haven’t. He was working, I’d see him, ‘Hey, how are you doing. How’s your work?’, ‘Going well.’ ‘Keep working, we need you back, let’s go,’ yada yada.  Next thing you know, boom, he’s here. He’s going to be on the field.”

(On what Robinson returning changes in regard to the offensive lines rotation)

Marrone: “He’s on the field. I don’t know where he’s at as far as being able to play or anything like that. Obviously, I’m going to keep Cedric [Ogbuehi] over there.  We have Josh [Wells] over there. I was thinking about Will [Richardson Jr.] because Will’s played a bunch of right. Now Jawaan Taylor, obviously he’s out, so I’ll probably keep Will over there at right because I really think he’s one of the better storylines for the team. I don’t know if a lot of people have written about it, but he’s really done a hell of a job from where he was last year to this year and that’s a credit to him. [Leonard] Wester played well in the game.  We’ve got some things, and we’ll just prepare ourselves for the worst. I have to say it like that, but I think you have to make sure you’re prepared for that, if those guys aren’t ready to go and have people in place.”

Bills’ McDermott discusses the signing of Captain Munnerlyn

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On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills announced that they signed CB Captain Munnerlyn. The 10-year veteran spent last season with the Carolina Panthers, and in 16 games, Munnerlyn had one interception, and nine passes defended.

McDermott and Munnerlyn have a little history as they were together in Carolina when McDermott was the DC for the Panthers.

One of the reasons the Bills signed Munnerlyn, was due to the groin injury suffered by E.J. Gaines, who the team put on injured reserve today.

Here is what McDermott had to say about the signing of Munnerlyn:

Q: What does Captain Munnerlyn bring to the defensive end?

Sean McDermott: It’s been a few years now since the last time we worked together but what I remember is the competitiveness, the toughness, he’s obviously played in the system before so he has some familiarity with our system both inside the slot and out at corner. We will see how he does and how he progresses here, he’s been out of it for a little bit so he has to be put back in shape.

Q: Do you think he is going to be your nickelback in the outside corner?

Sean McDermott: We’ll see, that’s where he played probably more so in the course of the past four of five years. Again, we just want to get him acclimated to what we do and his new surroundings, new teammates and we will take it one day at a time.

Q: What do you see when you see film of Captain and how similar is your defense here as to what he has been accustomed to in Carolina?

Sean McDermott: With defense, I like to believe it evolves every year and stays current with the trends and what not. That said, there’s a core that is probably about the same as to what he knew back when we worked together in Carolina. Like I said before, in respect to Captain, the things that jump out even when we watched him play on TV last year maybe was the competitiveness and all that hasn’t changed. I think that’s in his DNA.

Q: Captain posted a picture of you two together saying “let’s get it coach.” Are you excited about your relationship going back to how it was in Carolina?

Sean McDermott: Hopefully that was a good picture. We’ve stayed in touch and in this job players come and go, coaches come and go and that’s the hard part of the job. The satisfying parts of the job are moments like that where you can stay in touch with players. It’s gratifying as a coach. In this case where I moved on to here from some of the players that I coached at Carolina and Philadelphia, my two previous stops and that’s the neat part about it, the relationships that you are able to form over the year. It’s neat that now we are with Kurt [Coleman] and some of the other players. It doesn’t always happen for it to come back full circle to where we can work together again but it’s satisfying.

Jaguars sign tight end, two offensive linemen; release RB Benny Cunningham, two others

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed rookie OL Ka’John Armstrong, ninth-year OL Ben Ijalana and first-year TE Ethan Wolf. To make room on the roster, the Jaguars waived OL Jordan Agasiva and OL Andrew Lauderdale, and released RB Benny Cunningham(hamstring) via injury settlement. The Jaguars currently have 90 players on their active roster.

Cunningham, who signed with the Jaguars this past offseason, spent the past seven seasons with the Rams and Bears.

Armstrong, 6-5, 300, played in 39 games at Eastern Michigan, including 13 games as a redshirt senior in 2018.

Ijalana, 6-4, 322, has appeared in 34 games in his NFL career in stints with the New York Jets (2013-18) and the Indianapolis Colts (2011-12). He played in a career-high 16 games in 2016, making eight starts at left tackle and five starts at right tackle.

Wolf, 6-5, 255, spent time on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad in 2018 and the beginning of the 2019 training camp with the Carolina Panthers.

 

Jaguars sign TE Carson Meier, waive RB Roc Thomas

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 The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed rookie TE Carson Meier, the club announced today. To make room on the roster, the Jaguars waived/injured second-year RB Roc Thomas. Thomas will revert to the team’s reserve/injured list if he clears waivers.

Thomas, who is suspended for the first three games of the 2019 season (violation of the league’s substance abuse policy), was signed by the Jaguars last week after he was released by the Vikings.

Meier, 6-5, 254, played in 54 games in his college career and earned second-team All-Big 12 Conference as a senior after catching 19 passes for 327 yards and four TDs. Meier, who primarily served as a blocking tight end and fullback his first three seasons at Oklahoma, signed with the Jaguars as a rookie free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft and participated in Jacksonville’s rookie minicamp.

The Jaguars have 90 players on their active roster.