The New England Patriots seem to have no idea who their starting quarterback will be in 2021, but that has not stopped oddsmakers from speculating. Interestingly enough, some of them feel the most likely option to start for the Patriots in Week 1 is currently on another team’s roster.
SportsBetting.com released some odds on Wednesday for who will take the first snap of the 2021 season for the Patriots. Marcus Mariota is listed as the favorite at 5:2. Jacoby Brissett is a close second at 7:2 followed by Jarrett Stidham at 4:1 and Cam Newton at 5:1.
Here’s the full list:
Mariota has been mentioned in trade talks for a few weeks now. He has a salary cap hit of more than $10 million for next season, and all indications are that the Las Vegas Raiders are committed to Derek Carr. That is a lot of money to pay a backup quarterback, so the Raiders may be willing to trade Mariota.
The Patriots will almost certainly draft a quarterback, but they currently have the 15th overall pick. It’s unlikely that any QB they would select at that spot would be ready to start in Week 1.
Bill Belichick seems determined to not overpay for a quarterback, and some believe he is waiting for the market to regulate itself a bit before pulling off a trade. Mariota could be a potential target, or they may decide to go with something more familiar.
DeVonta Smith had ample experience playing with a pair of future NFL quarterbacks at Alabama, and he appears to have weighed in on which of them he prefers.
According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Smith was asked by one team at the Senior Bowl which quarterback he preferred: Mac Jones or Tua Tagovailoa. Smith said he preferred Jones, and was “bold and definitive about it.”
Considering all the hype Tagovailoa came to the NFL with, this answer might count as a bit of a surprise. That’s especially true when you remember that Jones has flown under the radar for most of his college career, as well as throughout the draft process.
Teams appear to be buying into Jones ahead of the draft. Smith’s opinion may end up being shared by some NFL teams by April at this rate.
Authorities have said there was no evidence of Tiger Woods being impaired at the time he crashed his car, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva reiterated that on Wednesday.
In a video conference call with reporters, Villanueva said he does not anticipate Woods facing any charges from the crash. He bluntly said “no” when asked if Tiger could be charged with reckless driving, calling the incident “purely an accident.”
“We did not contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash,” Villanueva said, according to TMZ. “This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime.”
As TMZ notes, there is a chance Woods could be cited if investigators determine he was using a cell phone at the time or was acting irresponsibly in some other way. Judging by Villanueva’s remarks, that seems highly unlikely to happen.
The LA County police chief and fire chiefs said Tuesday that Woods was traveling at a fast speed and there was no evidence of impairment. Tiger was extracted from the vehicle using the “jaws of life” after it rolled over. You can read more details about the crash here.
Woods suffered multiple serious leg injuries that required surgery. His family provided an update on his health following the procedures.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon took serious issue with an ESPN reporter’s information on Wednesday, and things quickly took a bizarre turn.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reported on Tuesday that the Ravens had offered Judon a long-term deal worth an average of $16.5 million, but were turned down. This was strongly disputed by Judon, who challenged Hensley on Twitter and received multiple responses.
Judon actually does have some reason to dispute the source. According to league rules, the Ravens had until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal with Judon, who had been franchise tagged. After failing to reach a deal, negotiations were not allowed until the end of the regular season. In other words, the offer over the summer would have had to come before July 15.
Judon pointed this out on Instagram, and added a threat of leaked pictures against Hensley.
Hensley had not responded to the latest post as of Wednesday afternoon.
Judon has taken issue with some of Hensley’s reporting before, so this isn’t completely out of nowhere. That said, this whole public spat is probably not something the Ravens will want to see.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did not feel like he was in good enough shape at the start of last season, so the Toronto Blue Jays star has worked hard to change that over the past several months. If his goal was to lose a ton of weight, he appears to have accomplished it.
Guerrero told reporters on Wednesday that he has lost more than 40 pounds this offseason. He said shedding the weight “wasn’t difficult” and that he believes it will help improve all aspects of his game.
Guerrero entered last season at 280 pounds. He’s been listed at 250 for a while, but basic math would tell you he is somewhere around the 230-240 mark now.
While he played primarily at first base and DH last year, Guerrero said he is open to playing third again this year after slimming down.
Guerrero played in all 60 games in the shortened 2020 season and batted .262 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs. The 21-year-old is already well known for his jaw-dropping power, and shedding some weight should only help him continue to improve.
There is a relative lack of enthusiasm about All-Star festivities among many NBA players this year, but one star might be ready to give fans some excitement at the event.
Zion Williamson teased the possibility of taking part in the dunk contest on Wednesday, saying he “might” participate and refusing to rule out the possibility.
If Williamson wasn’t going to do it, he wouldn’t have to tease it and would just say so. This is a good sign for those who might want to see him do this.
The NBA would probably love it if Williamson participated. He’d be a marquee name that could be advertised. Plus, it would probably be a positive to be talking about something like that instead of snubs and controversy like we have been.
Russell Wilson has fueled trade speculation this offseason by publicly expressing frustration with the Seattle Seahawks, but at least one of his teammates is not concerned about the quarterback going anywhere.
Seahawks defensive end L.J. Collier discussed the Wilson rumors during a Wednesday appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” He said he puts zero stock into any talk of Wilson being traded.
“Not buying it at all. He’s a winner man. Russ is going to be our quarterback for years to come,” Collier said. “That’s my take on it.”
Other Seahawks players are likely just as confident. Wilson’s been sending messages this offseason that he is fed up with being sacked so much, but he has not demanded a trade. The situation is nothing like the one with Deshaun Watson in Houston. Rather, Wilson probably wants the Seahawks to make some changes, and this is his way of having his voice heard.
The Seahawks are said to be listening to offers for Wilson, but their asking price is astronomically high. They’d also have to absorb a dead money hit of nearly $40 million if they traded him. Collier is right not to be overly concerned.
Tom Brady is entering the second year of a two-year contract he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason, and we know he is planning to play at least one more season. It would not shock anyone if Brady played beyond his current deal, which is why the Bucs may be working toward extending it.
During an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was asked if the team has discussed a potential contract extension with Brady. He said he prefers to “keep that under wraps for right now” but admitted it is a possibility.
Brady is set to count more than $28 million against the salary cap in 2021. An extension would allow the Bucs to spread some of that money out and make it easier to re-sign core players like Chris Godwin and LaVonte David. But if Tampa Bay does extend Brady, it sounds like it would have more to do with his desire to keep playing than lowering his cap number.
“I know it appears he certainly had a good time this year winning the Super Bowl and likes our organization, likes our coaches, our head coach, ownership,” Licht said. “And we certainly love him, so usually when you have those two things going for each other it’s a match made in heaven. We’d like to keep this going.”
Even at age 43, Brady threw for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this past season. His skills could decline in the next year or two and he would still be better than most quarterbacks in the NFL, especially with his otherworldly postseason experience and success.
Brady proved with an awesome video he shared on social media recently that he is still motivated to win. The New England Patriots may not have wanted to keep him in the twilight years of his Hall of Fame career, but he can probably remain in Tampa Bay as long as he’d like.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have done it! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and his wife Ingrid quietly made a lot of diners in Baltimore very happy on Tuesday night, and the restaurant has since thanked them for their generosity.
Harbaugh and his wife were at the famous Jimmy’s Seafood Restaurant for a charity event to help local small businesses that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Before they left, they picked up the tabs for everyone that was dining at the restaurant. Harbaugh told ESPN’s Jamison Hensley that the kind gesture was “100 percent Ingrid’s idea.”
It is believed that the total bill was around $2,000, though Harbaugh did not confirm the amount. Jimmy’s Seafood Restaurant thanked the Harbaughs with a tweet on Wednesday morning.
Jimmy’s Seafood is well known in the sports world, especially for their outstanding troll game. They have raised more than $430,000 for bars and restaurants in the Baltimore area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kudos to Harbaugh and his wife for contributing to a great cause in such a big way.
There has been a lot of speculation recently that the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to move on from Ben Roethlisberger, but it sounds like the quarterback will play at least one more season for the team.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II issued a statement on Wednesday morning addressing Roethlisberger’s future with the team. Rooney says he had a “productive” meeting with Big Ben on Tuesday in which he assured the QB the team wants him back next year. The two sides will now focus on reworking Roethlisberger’s contract.
Roethlisberger’s agent said this week that Ben is “happy to creatively adjust his contract” to help Pittsburgh build a better team around him. Those remarks came not long after a report claimed some with the Steelers want to part ways with Roethlisberger.
As it currently stands, Roethlisberger has a salary cap hit of $41 million for 2021. The Steelers aren’t going to pay that much for a 38-year-old quarterback whose skills have declined, and Roethlisberger is obviously fine with that.
Roethlisberger was still productive last season. He passed for 3,803 yards and 33 touchdowns while leading Pittsburgh to a 12-3 record. Some have made the argument that he should retire, but it appears that is at least a year away.
