Pat McAfee shares funny Adrian Peterson handshake story

Pat McAfee has been entertaining fans with great stories shared on his show, and he told a funny one recently about a pregame handshake with Adrian Peterson.

Peterson is famous for having incredible strength — especially when it comes to handshakes. McAfee was armed with this knowledge when he met Peterson as opposing team captains during a game between the ex-punter’s Indianapolis Colts and Peterson’s Minnesota Vikings. He approached his pregame handshake with Peterson armed with a plan — one that worked perfectly. Things didn’t sit well with Peterson, so the running back requested a second shot that McAfee couldn’t handle.

That’s some great advice by McAfee too: the key to dealing with a tough handshaker is to beat the grip!

If you enjoyed that story, you’ll love McAfee’s story about Peyton Manning and Austin Collie.

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Cam Newton expected to return to practice after bye; foot has ‘healed well’

The Carolina Panthers have not committed to Cam Newton taking back his starting job when he is fully recovered from his foot injury, but they may have to make that decision before their next game.

Newton has “healed well” from the foot ailment and is expected to return to practice following Carolina’s Week 7 bye, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Panthers’ QB Cam Newton’s foot injury has healed well and he is expected to be ready to practice after the team’s bye this week, per league source. Panthers have said they will make a QB determination when Newton is healthy; that looks to be coming soon.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 14, 2019

Returning to practice and being considered game-ready are two different things, so it’s still possible that the Panthers could take things slow with Newton. They have won four straight games with Kyle Allen as their starting quarterback, so it seems highly unlikely that they will send the former undrafted free agent to the bench given how well he has played.

Allen has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions during Carolina’s four-game win streak. One opposing coach said preparing to face him was more difficult than preparing to face Newton, and at this point it would not be a surprise if Panthers players want the team to stick with Allen. Head coach Ron Rivera has refused to directly address the elephant in the room, but he is going to have to as soon as Newton returns to practice.

Jason Garrett not eager to use Doug Pederson comments as motivational tactic

Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson’s comments on Monday looked like bulletin board material for the Dallas Cowboys, but Jason Garrett doesn’t seem like he’s rushing to post them there.

Pederson all but guaranteed that the Eagles would win in Dallas in Week 7, projecting confidence ahead of a matchup with the reeling Cowboys. Garrett wouldn’t go into much detail regarding what he’d say to his team when asked about Pederson’s comments, but he didn’t seem urgent to notify them of what Pederson said.

Jason Garrett was asked if he will show these comments to Cowboys players: “We probably don’t want to share what we share with our players too much, but we do our best when we just focus on ourselves and what we need to do to prepare to play our best football.” https://t.co/reDXoDQ85N

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 14, 2019

Cowboys players will hear about those remarks whether or not Garrett points them out, so it’s not really necessary. If they want to derive motivation from it, so be it. Garrett, who seems to be under increasing pressure despite what the front office says, is more focused on getting the 3-3 Cowboys right in football terms.

Report: Cam Newton would have ‘robust’ market if Panthers try to trade him

There has been a lot of talk about Cam Newton potentially riding the bench behind Kyle Allen even when the former MVP’s foot is fully healed. If that happens, it might be the first step toward Newton’s time with the Carolina Panthers coming to an end.

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report reported over the weekend that there are “more than a few people in the league” who believe Allen will remain the Panthers’ starting quarterback and Newton will be playing elsewhere in 2020.

Willie McGinnest said this is Kyle Allen’s team and Cam Newton will be on another team next year.
I know that sounds crazy but I don’t think it is.
Also, more than a few people in the league believe this.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 13, 2019

Newton has just one year remaining on his contract after this season. If the Panthers chose to release him after the year is over, they would save roughly $19 million against the salary cap. They could also trade the 30-year-old, which would mean the team that acquired him would inherit his $21.1 million cap number for 2020.

Believe it or not, trading Newton sounds like a viable option if Allen continues to succeed. One AFC general manager told Freeman that the market for Newton would be “robust” if the Panthers made him available, with as many as 10 teams interested. Though, there are other teams that do not believe Newton has much left. Executives that work for teams in the latter group are under the impression that the Panthers wonder if Newton will never be the same again.

Winning is really all that matters for NFL quarterbacks. There’s obviously a case to be made that Newton is far more talented than the undrafted Allen, but at least one opposing coach seems to think Allen is a better fit for Carolina at the moment. Injuries have obviously been a major issue for Newton in recent years, but it’s fair to wonder if that will always be the case. The Panthers have a better understanding of that than any other team, and what they chose to do after Newton is “healthy” will be quite telling.

Titans’ Delanie Walker calls out team Twitter for fueling QB controversy

The Tennessee Titans have a decision to make on their Week 7 starting quarterback, and their Twitter account is embracing it more than it perhaps should.

On Monday, echoing coach Mike Vrabel, the team’s official account posted a link to a news story on how the Titans would decide between Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota within the next 24 hours. This did not sit well with Walker, who didn’t think much of the tweet at all.

Lmao why would you post that and you wonder why the fan act the way they do

— Delanie Walker (@delaniewalker82) October 14, 2019

The Titans’ original tweet came off almost like it was advertising for a reality show, and it’s probably not a very exciting talking point for fans, either. There’s Tannehill, a veteran game manager who isn’t a long-term solution, and Mariota, a former top draft pick who hasn’t produced and got benched Sunday. It’s not exactly going to get anyone off their seat. Moreover, it doesn’t even tell us anything new until a decision has been made.

Josh Rosen not guaranteed starting job for remainder of season

The Miami Dolphins aren’t doing much to clear up their quarterback situation, but there will be no changes — for now.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores announced Monday that, despite Ryan Fitzpatrick coming off the bench to rally the team against Washington, Josh Rosen will remain the starter for Week 7 against Buffalo. He added, however, that the situation would remain fluid as the season goes on.

Brian Flores said he feels the Dolphins already have a pretty good evaluation of Josh Rosen based on the amount of time he’s been with the team. He says Rosen is the starter Sunday at Buffalo because of continuity, but that conversation will be ongoing throughout the season.

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 14, 2019

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of Rosen when the best Flores can say of him is “continuity.” He was dreadful on Sunday and Fitzpatrick outperformed him, but with the Dolphins not terribly interested in winning football games right now, continuing their “evaluation” of Rosen may be best for the franchise to achieve its long-term goals.

Rosen admitted that he feels like he’s undertaking a season-long tryout in Miami. It does not sound like he’s nailing it, having thrown five interceptions to one touchdown while reaching the 200-yard mark just once.

Jarvis Landry hints team chemistry is an issue for Browns

The Cleveland Browns have been one of the big disappointments of the NFL season so far, and they fell to 2-4 with Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry is trying to motivate the team to do better, but by his comments, he indicated that the team may be having some internal issues that are causing the talent to fail to come together as it should.

#Browns Landry on saying last week 'we're not as good as we think we are": "Talent wins game, teams win championships"

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 14, 2019

#Browns WR Jarvis Landry: "We have to find ways to play together."

— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) October 14, 2019

Despite a lot of offseason moves that generated significant buzz, the Browns have not done anywhere near as well as expected. Some of those acquisitions haven’t fit in and are already frustrated with their role. Returning players like Baker Mayfield who were expected to progress have not done so as expected.

Bringing in that much talent is exciting on paper, but it’s sometimes harder to get it to fit together in practice while bedding in all the new personalities. The Browns seem to be finding that out, and having a rookie head coach in Freddie Kitchens might not be very helpful, either.