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Getty ImagesThe draft ended a week ago, without Colin Kaepernick, Sam Bradford, or Ryan Fitzpatrick changing teams. So what happens with each of them in 2016?Glad you asked. Even if you didn’t.Bradford wants out of Philly. The Eagles don’t want to trade him.
Some think he may retire. Which would likely be a Carson Palmer-style retirement, with Bradford waiting until some other team decides to trade for him.Fitzpatrick wants more from the Jets than the Jets are willing to pay. No one else has offered him anything close to what he wants.
At some point, the Jets have to put their best offer on the table (maybe they already have), and Fitzpatrick will have to decide whether he’ll take $0.00 to not play or whatever the Jets are offering.Of the three situations, the most ambiguous is unfolding (or not) in San Francisco. Nearly three months ago, Kaepernick asked for permission to seek a trade. He met twice with the Broncos; the fact that the 49ers allowed this to happen perhaps says all anyone needs to know about whether the 49ers truly want him back.But Kaepernick wasn’t traded to Denver, the Broncos drafted Paxton Lynch in round one, and there’s apparently no one else interested in Kaepernick.If any of these quarterbacks will be changing teams with meaningful preparation for the coming season, it needs to happen sooner than later. With Phase Three of the offseason program coming, any quarterback who’ll be learning a new offense needs to get started.The one to watch is Kaepernick.
As he moves toward receiving clearance to fully participate in football activities, the 49ers have to decide whether to embrace him or to move on. Once he sets foot on the practice field, Kaepernick is a fluke accident away from landing on injured reserve and costing the 49ers the full $11.9 million for 2016. Trading him would erase all (or at least part) of that responsibility.Assuming there’s no trade partner for Kaepernick (at the point, the Jets or Bills are really the only ones to even remotely consider), the real question is whether the 49ers would simply cut Kaepernick. They’d still owe him the difference between whatever he’d earn elsewhere and the $11.9 million guaranteed salary, but that amount would be less than $11.9 million.The smart move for each of these three guys at this point would be to make the most of their current situations. Getty ImagesNow that running back Marshawn Lynch is retired (unless he isn’t), the next question (apart from whether he’ll unretire) is whether he’s a Hall of Famer.Many will say, “Absolutely.” But at best it’ll be a close call, and eventually it could require an extended wait.Lynch currently sits at No. 36 on the all-time rushing list, with 9,112 yards.
Those with more yards (and without a bronze bust) include Fred Taylor (11,695), Corey Dillon (11,241), Warrick Dunn (10,967), Ricky Watters (10,643), Jamal Lewis (10,607), Thomas Jones (10,591), Tiki Barber (10,449), Eddie George (10,441), Ottis Anderson (10,273), Ricky Williams (10,009), Clinton Portis (9,923), and Shaun Alexander (9,453).Most of those guys don’t have a Super Bowl ring. But Ottis Anderson has one — and a Super Bowl MVP trophy. So if he’s not in, Lynch doesn’t get in, either. (Terrell Davis, the name that always comes up on the topic of overlooked running backs, is 55th on the all-time list, with 7,607 yards.)Lynch’s best argument for getting in is that Earl Campbell made it with only 9,407 yards. Campbell burned bright for six years, with five 1,000-yard seasons and a career high of 1,934 in 1980. Lynch started with a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in Buffalo and he then had two down years (although the second down year, 2010, was capped with the original Beastquake run in a playoff win over the Saints). Next, Lynch rattled off four straight seasons of at least 1,200 yards, maxing out at 1,590 in 2012.The thing that could help Lynch the most is the passage of time.
With NFL offenses skewed toward the pass, great running backs are fewer and farther between. Over the next 20 or 30 years, fewer and fewer running backs will put together Canton-worthy careers. At some point, the Selection Committee could decide to make up for that by picking some overlooked running backs. Of the great running backs who haven’t gotten in, Lynch arguably will be second in line behind Ottis Anderson.Ultimately, it could be a task for the Seniors Committee.
Or it simply may never happen, for Anderson or Lynch.One way for Lynch to strengthen his case would be to increase his credentials. Which could be one of the factors that ultimately prompts the always unpredictable Marshawn Lynch to return.Until then, cast a ballot below on the subject and exercise your First Amendment rights (which technically don’t apply in this context but it sounds good) below. APAfter the first day of rookie minicamp, Moritz Boehringer knows just how much he doesn’t know.Boehringer, a sixth-round draft pick of the Vikings whose only football experience is in a German league, acknowledged after the first rookie practice that while every rookie has to learn the offense, he also has to learn a lot about football that his new teammates who played college football already understand.“The offense is new to everyone, so that’s kind of good for me,” Boehringer said, via ESPN. “But in general,.”Boehringer struggled at his first practice playing wide receiver in the Vikings’ offense, and if he’s going to make the roster he’s going to have to show he can contribute on special teams. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer thinks there’s been too much focus on a young man who’s just fighting for a roster spot.“I want to kind of end the story, to be honest with you,” Zimmer said.
“I want him to be here playing football, not being a celebrity. I’ve given him a hard time already about being on TV shows and stuff like that. It’s football now and it’s time to work. The feel-good story is over.”Boehringer becoming an NFL contributor would be a great story, but that story is a long way off. APThree decades ago, Earnest Byner had the most heartbreaking play in Cleveland sports history when he committed The Fumble, dropping the ball on the 1-yard line with 1:12 left in the AFC Championship Game.
Cleveland hasn’t gotten over it, and neither has Byner.The upcoming documentary Believeland, which debuts next Saturday night on ESPN, focuses on the failures of Cleveland sports teams and includes a recent interview with Byner, who chokes up as he recalls his own feelings and the response he got from Cleveland fans to The Fumble.“I messed it up. I messed it up for everybody,” Byner says in the documentary. “I got letters. Some hate mail. I can remember reading a letter from a guy, an old guy, ‘You tore out my heart. You messed up my dream.’ It was like I intended to hurt him. But know that you’re not the only one that’s bothered.
I love the game. I loved playing for you all.
And I’m sorry for letting you down.”The moment before The Fumble remains the closest the Browns have ever been to a Super Bowl. Although Byner would later win a Super Bowl ring and make two Pro Bowls with Washington, he’s still best remembered for his time in Cleveland, for the one play he wishes he could have back. Terron Beckham, known as a fitness model and Odell Beckham’s cousin, got a tryout with the Jets at their rookie minicamp this weekend. But he also got some questions about just how he acquired that fitness model physique.Beckham has been asked if he used steroids to build the body that drew so much attention on Instagram, but he says the question doesn’t bother him because he’s been used to getting it, “all the time,” for years.“It’s tough because. I worked that hard all my life. And you can’t just change people’s minds,” Beckham said, via NJ.com.
“If they feel like, ‘What you look like or what you do, you can’t do that without having whatever substances.’ It’s crazy. All I have to say is that I’m here, and they’ve done their tests or whatever.
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I’ve never had to do anything, and I’m fine. I have great genetics. And that’s all I have to say about that. I just kind of leave those questions alone now.
I used to try to explain everything, but I’m like, ‘I’m just blessed and I work hard.' ”Beckham, who hasn’t played football since high school, is an extreme long shot to even make the Jets’ 90-man roster in training camp, let alone play in the regular season. But he says he’s putting in the work and thinks he has the athletic ability to make it as an NFL running back. And he also promises he can pass an NFL PED test.Photo via Terron Beckham on Instagram. Getty ImagesCowboys owner Jerry Jones has made no secret of his affection for Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch (so much for the tampering rules) or of the owner/G.M.’s regret over failing to finagle a trade back into round one to get Lynch.The quarterback the Cowboys eventually drafted last weekend says he’s not bothered by it.“It that they wanted Lynch,” Prescott said Friday, via Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m sure I wasn’t the first one on Mississippi State’s recruiting board when I committed to them.”Though Prescott has vowed to “prove myself everyday on the field,” he knows his spot on the depth chart.“I think all of us rookies need to develop to be better NFL players at this point,” Prescott said.
“If that means developing for a year or two years, sitting behind Tony Romo, I’m ready to learn everything I can from him and follow him on and off the field, just the way he carries himself as a pro.”Still, with Romo getting older and sporting various hot spots for future injury, Prescott may have to be ready sooner than expected. Unless the Cowboys are serious about making Kellen Moore the primary backup to Romo.And if they are serious about getting back to the postseason, they’d better not be serious about Moore as the No.
Getty ImagesThe Bears signed eight undrafted free agents on Friday.The eight are tight end Joe Sommers (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), tight end Ben Braunecker (Harvard), center Dan Bucholz (Duquesne), cornerback Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State), linebacker Don Cherry (Villanova), wide receiver Derek Keaton (Georgia Southern), offensive tackle John Kling (Buffalo) and linebacker Roy Robertson-Harris (UTEP).The Bears will have those players and a group of tryout players in for a rookie minicamp May 13-15. APFree agent wide receiver Jace Davis has been suspended for four games and free agent running back Bernard Pierce has been suspended for two games, a league source told PFT.Davis signed a futures contract with the Broncos early in the offseason but was waived after he was charged with DUI.
Pierce’s contract with the Jaguars expired at the end of the 2015 season.Pierce resumed his career last season with the Jaguars but played sparingly. The Ravens Pierce after he was arrested for DUI in March 2015; he cut a plea deal to avoid a DUI conviction.Pierce has five career rushing touchdowns. He played in 45 games for the Ravens from 2012-14.Davis has never played in an NFL game. Getty ImagesThe fact that draft-pick deals are being done faster than ever suggests that there’s nothing to negotiate. In comparison to the system before the 2011 CBA and its far more precise rookie wage scale (especially at the top of the draft), that’s accurate.However, there are still some grounds for haggling — and some of the contracts negotiated to date in 2016 have entailed fairly contentious discussions.One area where agents still earn their money at the bargaining table relates to when the player will see money go into his account.
It’s one thing to have a fully-guaranteed bonus payment; it’s another thing to actually have the payment.Some agents try to get the money paid out as soon as possible. Some teams try to hold onto the money for as long as possible. While it’s not keeping these deals from getting done, it’s definitely something that some teams and agents are squabbling about before getting deals done.
Getty ImagesThe Titans and Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker have agreed to a two-year contract extension, per multiple reports.Walker was previously signed through 2016. Both ESPN and NFL Network reported that the extension is worth $14.7 million, $8.2 million guaranteed.A first-time Pro Bowler in 2015, Walker is coming off his best statistical season with 94 catches for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns. He’s scored 16 of his 24 career touchdowns since joining the Titans in 2013.Walker will be 32 in August. He was drafted by the 49ers in the sixth round in 2006 and played seven seasons with the 49ers before signing a four-year deal with the Titans in 2013.
Getty ImagesCount the Chiefs among the teams who are getting plenty of their rookie draft picks under contract.The Chiefs have announced deals with second-round defensive lineman Chris Jones, fourth-round offensive lineman Parker Ehinger, fourth-round receiver Demarcus Robinson, fifth-round quarterback Kevin Hogan, sixth-round defensive back D.J. White, and sixth-round linebacker Dadi Nicholas.The Chiefs also have added seven undrafted free agents: Vanderbilt guard Jake Bernstein, Hawaii center Ben Clarke, Dartmouth cornerback Vernon Harris, Mount Union cornerback Tre Jones, BYU receiver Mitch Mathews, SMU cornerback Shak Randolph, and Florida State linebacker Terrance Smith.The Chiefs have three remaining unsigned draft picks: third-round cornerback KeiVarae Russel, fourth-round cornerback Eric Murray, and fifth-round kick returner Tyreek Hill. APAs rookie minicamps commence throughout most of the league, two teams in Florida specifically have dialed back on the amount of on-field work in which players who haven’t played football in several months will perform. And it’s clear that last year’s season-ending ACL tear suffered by Jaguars linebacker Dante Fowler Jr., the third overall pick in the draft, served as a catalyst for change.“It was something we’ve been discussing since probably around the Combine,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase told reporters on Friday regarding his decision to have rookies do less at minicamp. “Between G.M. Chris Grier, executive V.P. Of football operations Mike Tannenbaum and myself, we’ve talked a lot with our coaching staff, especially some of the older guys.
We talked about their thought process of kind of trying something a little different. I’d reached out to Rams coach Jeff Fisher at the owners meeting because I had heard that he had always done it a little different. I think he’s been doing it different than everybody else for a long time going back to Tennessee. So it was just kind of how we wanted to build it and see how we could kind of take that injury out of what goes on in this camp. A lot of our guys haven’t practiced in four to five months, so we just wanted to make sure that they learned our program. We got them ready to go so when we get to OTAs, those guys are in the right kind of shape.
I think last year probably scared a few guys. When you lose a first round draft pick like Jacksonville did, it just kind of gets you thinking ‘What’s the right thing to do at this point?’”Appearing earlier this week on PFT Live, Jaguars G.M. Dave Caldwell did one of the rare things that anyone in football ever does — he expressed regret for not changing Jacksonville’s approach to the rookie minicamp before Fowler was injured.“Players go through workouts all the way up to the draft and these players go through 10 to 15 visits,” Caldwell said. “Then all of a sudden they’ve had the combine and all this traveling and then we’re going to bring them in and the first weekend that they’re NFL players we’re going to throw them on the field for three practices. We don’t do it with our veterans. Our veterans are here for four or five weeks and conditioning and training.
We get fitness assessments of them before we put them on the field.“So I think you know the Dante Fowler thing, it was always something in the back of my mind and usually it was hamstring pulls or groin strains or calf strains. Something that the rookies would have and instead of getting better they’d be rehabbing all summer. To be honest with you I’m still pissed at myself that I allowed it to happen. I think with talking with Coach Bradley and our coaching staff we just said, ‘Hey lets bring these rookies in, lets see where they are from a fitness standpoint and then lets decide who’s gonna engage in some football activity on Friday and Saturday.' ”Caldwell pointed out that the league looked into Fowler’s injury and determined that there was no violation of the offseason rules. But Caldwell acknowledged that putting first-round picks, undrafted free agents, and players participating on a tryout basis on the field at the same time creates “a lot of organized chaos.”“I think we just peeled back a little bit and said, ‘Let’s focus on the things that can help these guys a couple years down the road.’ In terms of nutrition, stretching, how to prepare, how to hydrate especially here in Jacksonville and give them a little bit of time in the playbook and then bring them along smoothly.”It’s surprising more teams haven’t followed suit.
If the 2016 rookie class in Miami and Jacksonville end up doing well right out of the gates, maybe it will happen in the future. Getty ImagesThe Patriots knocked out most of their draft pick contracts Friday, signing eight of their nine choices.The team announced they had signed all but third-round quarterback Jacoby Brissett,. Getty ImagesEvery player chosen in the top five picks of an NFL draft comes into the league with high expectations and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is no exception.The Cowboys made Elliott the fourth overall pick of this year’s draft instead of addressing a defense that flopped last season in hopes of recapturing the offensive production they had while winning the NFC East in 2014. DeMarco Murray led the league in rushing that year with 1,845 yards and it’s probably safe to say that a lot of people expect the same from Elliott in order to live up to his draft position.Elliott isn’t shying away from that. He said Friday that he understands “what’s expected of me” from the start of his career in Dallas.“There’s pressure, but we’re athletes,” Elliott said, via the team’s website. “That’s what we play for. That’s why we play the game.
Pressure is what we want and I feel like I thrive in those situations when there is a lot of pressure on me. Yeah, there’s pressure. I’m just ready to prove myself.”If Elliott is what the Cowboys hope he’ll be, Tony Romo is back to pre-injury form and the other key offensive players stay healthy, scoring points shouldn’t be a problem. That’s only half the game, of course, but owner Jerry Jones believes that would make it to be better as well. In other words, the expectations attached to Elliott won’t be stopping when he goes to the sideline.
Through intelligent and pioneering design, Elekta Unity (MR-linac) combines the best of both worlds to create a new paradigm for cancer care and provide extraordinary potential for ‘hard to treat’ cancersVIENNA, May 6, 2017 – Today at the 36th ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology) meeting, Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) introduced Elekta Unity, the only magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT) system that integrates a premium diagnostic quality (1.5 Tesla) MRI scanner with an advanced linear accelerator and intelligent software. Elekta Unity is expected to deliver precisely-targeted radiation doses while simultaneously capturing the highest-quality MR images, which will allow clinicians to visualize tumors at any time and adapt the treatment accordingly. Members of the Elekta MR-linac Consortium will be at ESTRO 36 to discuss expected clinical applications for the system.In addition to enabling greater precision in radiation therapy dosing, Elekta Unity will feature several new patient-centric attributes designed to enhance patient comfort during treatment.