The NFL has become a 365-days a year, 24/7, sports league. Every day, something happens in the NFL that makes us take notice. This week was no different. Check out the biggest news in the league heading into the weekend. And before getting into this week’s news, be sure to be checking out the latest NFL odds for the 2019 season.
NFL Updates of the Week – February 22nd Edition
If you were the GM…
Three offseason moves for each NFC North team: https://t.co/EejGtbPlJT (via @MJD) pic.twitter.com/CBpGqCyrjs — NFL (@NFL) 22 de febrero de 2019
Competition Committee’s Goal? Make Sure the Non-PI Call in the NFC Championship Never Happens Again
Now that we’ve had time to reflect on the non-call against Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman that sent the L.A. Rams to the Super Bowl and the New Orleans Saints to the offseason, we can say that the Competition Committee’s main goal on Monday will be to make sure that a no-call like that never, ever, happens again.
The Rams looked terrible in one of the worst Super Bowls in history. How bad was it? The Patriots 13-3 win over Los Angeles acquired the lowest television ratings in at least a decade. Money speaks to NFL owners. Nobody disagrees that if the Saints had won the NFC Championship, a Brady versus Brees battle would have lit up the Nielsen ratings.
That’s money that flew out of owner’s pockets. So, yes, they’re going to make sure to change the pass interference rules.
Drama reigns in Pittsburgh these days
Arguably the most solid franchise in the NFL, drama reigns supreme in Steel Town. Future hall of fame wide receiver Antonio Brown met with owner Art Rooney II. Both agreed that it’s time for Brown to move on. But, there’s a major hiccup.
Brown’s under contract until 2021 and any way Pittsburgh moves him, via a trade or release, they take a major cap hit. The lowest cap hit they figure to take right now is over $21 million.
Even though Pittsburgh’s ready to move on from AB, they’ve said they won’t unless the deal is right for them. That doesn’t look possible at this point. Moving a contract like Brown’s takes a lot and many teams in the NFL have been burned before by taking on superstar wide receivers that don’t click with their current quarterbacks. Tough situation for both AB and the Steelers.
Le’Veon Bell’s situation is easier to understand. The Steelers said they won’t use the franchise tag on Bell. That makes him a free agent. Bell might think suitors will immediately lineup as soon as they can, but that probably won’t be the case.
Running backs are much easier to find than wide receivers like Antonio Brown. Not only that, but Le’Veon spent an entire season on the bench. Add in his history of injuries and the situation could turn out much worse for Le’Veon than he believed it would be when he failed to sign his franchise tag tender for $14.54 million last season.
It’s doubtful Le’Veon gets that much this season from any NFL team. Right now, the top favorite teams in the NFL odds to sign Bell are the Indianapolis Colts & Oakland Raiders at +400 and the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers at +500. Any of those teams look very likely to take him, but anything can happen in this sport.Colin Kaepernick Settle with NFL, But…
The NFL has settled with both Colin Kaepernick and Panthers’ safety Eric Reid in the pair’s collusion lawsuit against the league. Awesome, right? Maybe not that awesome. The NFL decided it was easier to settle than fight the lawsuit. So, for the NFL it’s most definitely a win.
It might not be a win for Kaepernick. It’s definitely a win for Reid, who signed a 3-year deal with Carolina after spending most of last season with them, but for Kap, the end of the lawsuit could be the end of his relevance in the NFL.
So far, no team’s stepping up to sign Colin Kaepernick. Rumor has it, Miami or Washington might be interested, but neither signed Kaepernick last season when things went south with their current quarterbacks. Miami didn’t even sign Kap after Tannehill got hurt in 2017. As of right now, his cuirrent NFL odds to ever step back in the game are at +350 for Yes and –700 for No. So, as you can see, it probably won’t happen by the time the next season starts.
Forget about collusion. Although that might have had something to do with it, the real reason teams aren’t sold on Colin Kaepernick is because his lifetime completion percentage is 59.8%. That’s a tough stat to swallow on a quarterback that hasn’t played competitively in two years.
NFL teams aren’t likely to take a shot on a 31-year-old quarterback who hasn’t played in a couple of seasons and who was never all that accurate. Kaeipernick may have settled with the NFL, but his hopes of starting in the league again face much longer odds.
