Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool has been in the headlines frequently since his team’s playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, mostly because he can’t stop talking about it.
Claypool has been critical of the Browns since they beat Pittsburgh 48-37 in the AFC Wild Card game, and he’s not backing down on that now. Responding to criticism from Browns players, Claypool told DAZN Canada on Wednesday that his remarks were motivated by what he saw as Cleveland players being disrespectful to teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster during and after Sunday’s game.
“If the Browns had won with more class, then I wouldn’t have been so salty about it, but them mocking JuJu during the game and after the game just didn’t sit right with me,” Claypool said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “They were just super classless, you know against JuJu, towards JuJu what they were saying on the field towards the end of the game, so I’m not going to have respect for a team that doesn’t have respect for us.
“They can enjoy the win and another week of football but they’ll be on the couch right next to me, so it’s all good.”
Whether it justifies anything or not, it’s important to note that there was definitely a reason the Browns were singling out Smith-Schuster. Their players would likely respond that they were only acting the way they did because Smith-Schuster disrespected them first.
The Browns have not let Claypool have the last word, but the more the Steelers receiver talks, the more it sounds like sour grapes. The Browns would be best served by staying focused on Kansas City at this point.
Jared Goff ended up leading the Los Angeles Rams to a win over the Seattle Seahawks last week even when it appeared he would not be healthy enough to play, and he is apparently good to go for the Divisional Round as well.
Rams head coach Sean McVay announced on Thursday that Goff will start against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. John Wolford, who suffered a neck injury against Seattle, will not be available.
Wolford started versus the Seahawks because Goff was still recovering from thumb surgery. The backup then suffered a frightening neck injury early in the game, which forced Goff into action. Goff went 9/19 for 155 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in the 30-20 victory.
While Wolford will not be available on Saturday, it sounds like he is going to be fine.
Urban Meyer has been assembling a staff in anticipation of finalizing an agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Charlie Strong is likely to be a part of it.
Strong is likely to be hired by Meyer as a defensive assistant, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. It’s unclear exactly what role Strong might serve in, but he and Meyer have a history together.
When Meyer was hired as the head coach at Florida in 2004, Strong was the only member of the previous regime that Meyer kept. Strong had served as interim head coach for a game when Meyer’s predecessor, Ron Zook, was fired by Florida. Strong remained at Florida until he landed the Louisville head coaching job in 2009.
Strong was fired as the head coach at South Florida about a year ago after the team lost 14 of his final 18 games there. He has been working as a defensive analyst on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama since.
Meyer was in Jacksonville on Thursday and is reportedly close to finalizing a deal with the Jaguars.
Theo Epstein resigned as head of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs back in November, and it was originally believed that he would be taking the 2021 season off. That is not the case, but he won’t be joining another team’s front office.
Epstein has taken a job with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s office, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The 47-year-old will serve as a consultant regarding on-field matters.
The job will likely be far less demanding than any baseball operations position. Epstein said recently he is looking forward to not punching a clock at an MLB stadium next season for the first time in 30 years.
Many view Epstein as a potential candidate to become MLB commissioner one day. Taking a job with the commissioner’s office could be a stepping stone that eventually leads to that.
Epstein famously helped build the team that broke an 86-year World Series drought with the Boston Red Sox. He helped Boston win two World Series titles before leaving to take a job with the Cubs following the 2011 season. Epstein enjoyed similar success in Chicago, helping the team win its first World Series title in over a century back in 2016.
Epstein turned down at least one team before taking his new job with MLB.
Aaron Rodgers had arguably the best season of his career in 2020, and it came after many wondered if the Green Bay Packers were in the early stages of giving up on him. In order to play as well as he did, Rodgers says he had to free himself of that narrative.
The Packers decided to use their first-round pick in last year’s draft on former Utah State quarterback Jordan Love. In an interview with Michael Silver of NFL.com this week, Rodgers said one of his most important tasks last offseason was pushing away negative thoughts after the draft.
“You know, especially after the draft, it was important for me mentally to get to a place of freedom with that — freedom from bitterness, freedom from expectations, freedom from future thinking — and I feel like I did,” Rodgers told Silver. “It gave me a really good peace and calm about the season and to be able to focus.”
Rodgers said he had to remind himself that certain things are out of his control. He added that he holds no ill will toward anyone in the Packers organization over the Love pick.
“I’m not fighting against it, and I haven’t harbored any angst or frustration with anybody in the organization,” he said. “I’m really content with where I’m at, and I feel like it’s helped me to be very clear-minded all year.”
This is not the first time Rodgers has admitted he was bothered by the Love pick. That is hardly a surprise, as any quarterback still playing at a high level would prefer that his team use a first-round pick on a player other than his potential replacement.
Rodgers threw for 4,299 yards, 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season. His 121.5 passer rating is the second-highest mark in NFL history behind his own 122.5 in 2011. He’s almost certainly going to win his third MVP Award.
If the Love pick motivates Rodgers to win another Super Bowl and keep playing at a high level, it will have been worth it for Green Bay. Tom Brady was clearly irritated after the New England Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014, and Brady went on to lead New England to three more Super Bowls after that. The 37-year-old Rodgers may be headed down a similar path.
The Philadelphia Eagles made a surprising move when they fired head coach Doug Pederson just three years after he led the team to a Super Bowl title. While the Eagles had a disappointing four-win season in 2020, the decision to fire Pederson may have had more to do with his vision for Carson Wentz than the team’s on-field performance.
Pederson benched Wentz in Week 13 after a horrendous stretch of play from the former first-round pick. Jalen Hurts took over at that point, but he didn’t do much to prove he is ready to be a full-time NFL starter. Despite that, Pederson apparently still envisioned Hurts as the team’s starter next season.
FOX analyst Troy Aikman discussed Pederson’s firing during an appearance on “The Michael Irvin Podcast” this week. The Hall of Famer said he spoke with Pederson and gathered that “a difference of opinion in how they were going to move forward with the quarterback position” played a role in the divorce.
“Jeffrey Lurie has paid a lot of money to Carson Wentz, and they’re on the hook with him, and can’t get out of that contract right away,” Aikman said, via Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s my belief that Doug Pederson felt that Jalen Hurts probably (should be) the quarterback going forward. But how does that mesh (with Wentz’s contract situation)? I believe it all came down to how they’re going to handle Carson Wentz.”
There have been reports that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was the only one in the organization who wanted to fire Pederson. That would make sense considering he is the one who is on the hook for the $107 million in guaranteed money the team gave Wentz prior to the 2019 season.
It looked like Wentz wanted out of Philly fairly recently, but Pederson’s firing may have changed that. The chances of Wentz remaining with the Eagles look a lot higher now.
The Pittsburgh Steelers completely fell apart after beginning the year 11-0, and it appears they will be making some major changes heading into next season.
Randy Fichtner will not return as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator in 2021, the team announced on Thursday. His contract is set to expire and the Steelers are not re-signing him.
Offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett and defensive backs coach Tom Bradley also will not have their expiring contracts renewed.
Fichtner has been with the Steelers since 2007. He was an offensive assistant when Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl in 2009 and worked his way up the ranks. Fichtner was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018 after Ben Roethlisberger appeared to have some issues with Todd Haley.
The Steelers scored 26.0 points per game during the regular season, which ranked near the middle of the NFL. They got worse as the year went on and obviously feel a new offensive coordinator can help fix some of those issues.
Adrian Peterson has been involved in a number of financial disputes over the years, and one of the most recent has resulted in him being ordered to pay a lender millions of dollars.
A New York state judge ruled on Wednesday that Peterson must pay a Pennsylvania lender $8.3 million because of a loan he defaulted on, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic.
The judgment stems from a lawsuit that was filed against Peterson by Pennsylvania-based lender DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (DVS). Peterson is said to have borrowed $5.2 million from the lender in 2016 and defaulted on his loan. The $8.3 million figure includes interest and late fees.
Peterson reached two settlements with DVS but defaulted both times, according to DVS’s legal team.
Peterson allegedly used some of the $5.2 million he borrowed from DVS to pay back Minneapolis-based Crown Bank, which filed a lawsuit against him in 2017 claiming he defaulted on a $2.4 million loan.
Kaplan also notes that Peterson did not send counsel to Wednesday’s hearing, which seemed to puzzle Judge Paul Wojtaszek of Erie County Supreme Court. DVS attorney Jeffrey Reina told Judge Wojtaszek that no one from the DVS legal team has heard from anyone representing Peterson.
Peterson has earned nearly $103 million during his NFL career, and that figure does not include endorsements. His lawyer addressed the financial issues over a year ago in a statement, which you can read here.
Kellen Moore turned down the Boise State head coaching job to remain with the Dallas Cowboys as offensive coordinator, but could he suddenly have an opportunity to become a head coach in the NFL?
The Philadelphia Eagles have requested permission to interview Moore for their head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports.
Moore had reportedly accepted the Boise State job before changing his mind and signing an extension with the Cowboys. The former Boise State quarterback openly said he was interested in the job, but the belief is that he met with Jerry Jones and was convinced to remain in Dallas. Some have even wondered if Jones told Moore he will be the head-coach-in-waiting, which is what happened with Jason Garrett before he became the head coach of the Cowboys.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie may have been the only one who wanted Doug Pederson gone, which appears to have left the organization scrambling for a replacement.
Moore, 32, had not been part of the NFL head coaching conversation prior to the Eagles expressing interest. It still seems unlikely that he would take the job after signing an extension with Dallas, but he’d be crazy to not consider it.
Urban Meyer appears to be on the verge of becoming the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that Meyer and the Jaguars are in “advanced talks” about finalizing a head coaching contract after they met again on Wednesday. Meyer is said to be very interested in the job and is not considering any other offers. The two sides are optimistic about finalizing a deal this week.
Meyer has reportedly also received interest from the Los Angeles Chargers, but apparently he is not considering any potential offer from them.
The Jaguars have the top overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, which means Trevor Lawrence is almost certainly going to be their next quarterback. That may be one of the reasons the Jacksonville job appeals to Meyer, as he has reportedly been enamored with Lawrence for quite some time.
There were indications that Meyer was having some doubts about taking the Jaguars job, but that may have been more about contract negotiations than anything. The three-time national champion is said to be seeking a massive salary, though it would not be a surprise if Jaguars owner Shad Khan lets him name his price.
Meyer is considered to be one of the greatest college coaches of all time, but he has no NFL coaching experience. It will be interesting to see how he transitions to the pro game.
