Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has proven himself to be one of the toughest players in the NFL, and many have wondered why he continues to play through pain even when his team is out of contention. Following Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans, the veteran provided a great explanation.
Stafford played through torn rib cartilage and a broken thumb on his throwing hand against Tennessee. He was benched late in the game likely due to the lopsided score and his injuries. When asked if he considering sitting, Stafford says he owes it to his teammates to suit up as long as he’s physically capable.
The Lions have never won a playoff game with Stafford as their quarterback, but that mentality helps explain why he has stuck around so long. The 32-year-old has played through a number of ailments that would have been enough to send most of his peers to the bench.
Stafford will almost certainly be the subject of trade rumors this season, both because of his health and $35 million salary cap hit for 2021. There has even been speculation that he could ask Detroit to move him, and his toughness is one of the reasons plenty of teams would be interested.
Photo: A Healthier Michigan/Flickr via cc-by-sa 2.0
Kawhi Leonard was one of the most highly recruited free agents of the modern NBA era before he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers last year. Is it possible he could do it all over again next summer?
Leonard signed a two-plus-one contract with the Clippers, which means he has a player option for the 2021-22 season. When asked on Monday about potentially becoming a free agent again, Leonard was noncommittal on remaining with L.A.
“Not saying I’m going anywhere else or staying here but I’m just focused on the season.,” Leonard said, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Obviously, if I’m healthy, the best decision is to decline the player option but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving or staying … We’ll talk about that when time is right.”
Paul George’s contract was initially scheduled to expire at the same time as Leonard’s, but George recently signed a massive extension with the Clippers. Leonard is obviously not planning to do the same.
Given the way things ended for the Clippers last season, it would not be a surprise if Leonard wants to see how things play out before making a decision. He’ll be playing for a new head coach in Tyronn Lue, and there was some troubling talk about chemistry issues with the Clippers recently. If that situation doesn’t improve, Leonard may want to explore other options.
James Harden’s trade request has become the big story around the Houston Rockets, whether he intended it or not. Now the guard is trying to shut down the questions about his future.
Harden pushed aside all questions about his future and his current mindset. When asked if he felt better about the team since arriving at training camp, according to Ben DuBose of The Rockets Wire, Harden simply responded with “next question.”
DuBose clarified that this was essentially Harden’s stock answer to any chatter about his future or his happiness.
If Harden thinks this is going to quiet the speculation, he’s wrong. If anything, not addressing it will only allow some of the chatter and rumors to grow even further out of control. Then again, if it inspires the Rockets to trade him more quickly, perhaps that’s precisely what he wants.
Photo: All-Pro Reels/Flickr via cc by-sa 2.0
The New England Patriots have stuck with Cam Newton as their starting quarterback this season despite his consistently erratic play, but it sounds unlikely that he will have another chance to prove himself in 2021.
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports was asked in his weekly mailbag if he has any idea who the Patriots’ quarterback will be next season. He confidently said it is “not going to be Cam Newton.”
“I don’t know if their quarterback of the future is on their roster,” Glazer said. “Jarrett Stidham, I really did think they liked him a lot going into this offseason. Until they got Cam Newton, I thought they really thought they could have had a future with Stidham. If that was the case, they’d probably have him in there right now.”
You can hear Glazer’s full comments at about the 3:46 mark below:
Newton signed a veteran minimum deal with the Patriots last offseason that included some incentives. His goal was to prove he is still capable of being a quality NFL starter, and he has not done that. New England didn’t give him many offensive weapons to work with, but Newton has thrown just five touchdown passes all season compared to 10 interceptions. The Patriots were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.
There is one line of thinking that the Patriots could bring Newton back on another cheap deal next season, but he hasn’t even played well enough to justify that. They’re better off starting from scratch. Like Glazer said, Stidham would already be playing if Bill Belichick felt he was the answer.
Newton has held himself accountable all season, but that only takes a player so far. He was also recently thrown under the bus by one of his teammate’s trainers. It seems like a virtual certainty that the 2020 season will be his only in New England.
Tony La Russa was arrested for driving while under the influence for the second time back in February, but the Hall of Famer has once again gotten off with a very mild punishment.
La Russa submitted a plea agreement on Monday that was accepted by an Arizona judge. His charge was reduced from driving under the influence to reckless driving as part of the deal. The Chicago White Sox manager must pay a $1,300 fine, complete 20 hours of community service and spend one day in home detention.
La Russa’s attorney, Larry Kazan, issued a statement explaining that La Russa’s charge was reduced because his blood alcohol level was “over the legal threshold by a small amount.” Kazan also sent the court proof that La Russa has sought treatment for alcohol counseling and is “taking this seriously.”
The DUI arrest was La Russa’s second, but he was not considered a repeat offender under Arizona state law because the first arrest was in 2007. That contributed to the penalty not being as harsh as some might have expected.
La Russa was fined less than $1,000 and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service in addition to attending treatment programs as part of his plea agreement back in 2007.
The White Sox say they were aware of La Russa’s Feb. 24 arrest before they hired him. The 76-year-old was charged on Oct. 28, which was the day before the team announced his hiring.
Even if he was just slightly over the legal limit, some of the details we shared with you from La Russa’s arrest were embarrassing, to say the least. He’s fortunate to have gotten off with such a minor punishment.
Those who follow Patrick Mahomes on Twitter may have noticed a significant change to the Kansas City Chiefs star’s profile on Monday, and we can’t wait to see what Andy Reid has to say about it.
Mahomes has changed his Twitter avatar to an awesome photo of Reid from when the coach played offensive tackle at BYU. And just to be sure the change didn’t fly under the radar, Mahomes sent a tweet about it.
Reid was an offensive lineman at BYU from 1978-1980. He played with the legendary Jim MacMahon.
Mahomes had another huge game in Kansas City’s win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The Chiefs are now 13-1 on the season and well on their way to earning the top overall seed in the AFC. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate a victory Monday than with a 40-year-old photo of Reid.
If you want to know how highly Reid thinks of his quarterback, look no further than the comment he made about Mahomes after a recent comeback. This time, however, he’ll probably have a few choice words for the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Chiefs fans, you’ll love this Andy Reid cheeseburger shirt. Reid loves his cheeseburgers, and you can wear it. This makes a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Photo: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Michael Crane
Dabo Swinney made it clear last week that he does not feel Ohio State deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff, and the Clemson coach hammered that point home when he submitted his final USA Today Coaches Poll of the season.
According to his ballot, Swinney doesn’t even think Ohio State is a top-10 team. He ranked the Buckeyes 11th and teams like Iowa State and Coastal Carolina ahead of them.
Swinney also ranked Indiana low at No. 14, so he can argue that ranking Ohio State No. 11 is nothing personal. He said earlier this month that he would not consider including Ohio State or any other team with a six-game schedule in the College Football Playoff. You can read Swinney’s full remarks here.
The interesting thing, of course, is that Clemson is facing Ohio State in the College Football Playoff. Swinney has now given the Buckeyes the ultimate bulletin-board material, and you can bet they are going to use it.
Texas A&M is probably the only team with a real gripe about not making the playoff over Ohio State. Their quarterback sounded off about that on social media.
Ranking Ohio State No. 5 or even No. 6 behind undefeated Cincinnati would have been reasonable. Swinney will almost certainly motivate the Buckeyes with his No. 11 ranking for them.
The Carolina Panthers have fired general manager Marty Hurney in the wake of their loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, and team owner David Tepper is not sugarcoating his reason for making the move.
Tepper told Darin Gantt of the Panthers’ official website that he recently had conversations with Hurney about the team’s football operations department and realized there were some conflicting ideas. He indicated that he regretted not changing GMs when he fired Ron Rivera and hired Matt Rhule last year.
It seems obvious there was a disconnect between Hurney and Rhule, and Tepper says the head coach will be a part of the search for a new GM.
“You look at successful organizations, and there’s a certain alignment between the head coach and the GM,” Tepper said. “To think that you can do that without some sort of alignment is nuts. So to not have a head coach with some input into that is stupid. I don’t want to be stupid, OK?”
Hurney had been with the Panthers since 1998. He joined the team as director of football administration and worked his way up to GM. He originally held the GM job from 2002-2012 before being removed from his position. Hurney then returned to his GM role on an interim basis in 2017 and was once again named the full-time GM after that season.
The Panthers have made some significant changes since Tepper bought the team, and some of them have focused on changing the culture. The latest was made in hopes of improving the on-field product, as Carolina is now a disappointing 4-10 on the year.
Ben Roethlisberger has been impressive this season after returning from an elbow injury, and the 2020 campaign is not going to be the last for the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.
Roethlisberger intends to return to the Steelers next season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. While he has once again battled some injuries, Roethlisberger is still enjoying himself and intends to fulfill his current contract, which runs through 2021.
Schefter left open the possibility that Roethlisberger could have a change of heart during the offseason, but that is not expected to happen.
The 2021 season would be Roethlisberger’s 18th in the NFL. He missed almost all of last year with an elbow injury that required surgery, and many were wondering if he would retire rather than rehabbing. Big Ben quickly put that talk to rest. He has thrown for 3,292 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season for the 11-2 Steelers.
Roethlisberger openly contemplated retirement in the past, but that likely had more to do with him being frustrated about his play. With the Steelers looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, it’s not a huge surprise that the 38-year-old wants to keep playing.
Clay Matthews III sent a funny tweet on Sunday night to try and attract interest from the Tennessee Titans.
Titans reporter John Glennon tweeted during the team’s game against the Lions Sunday about how long Tennessee had gone without a sack. The team’s streak was at 11 quarters by that point.
The Titans finished the 46-25 win without any sacks.
Matthews, who is a free agent, responded to the tweet with a funny GIF of John Belushi from “Animal House.”
Matthews received some interest before the season but didn’t end up signing. He reportedly turned down one AFC team.
The 34-year-old had eight sacks in 13 games with the Rams last season.
