Around the League: Murray Picks Football, Brown’s New Demands, Expanded Combine Coverage, More

Has everyone picked an AAF team to root for this season? While many Bears fans will find it easy to pull for Mike Singletary (hey, we want him to win, too!), I’m leaning toward Orlando’s team that is coached by Steve Spurrier. It’s hard to root against the Ol’ Ball Coach.

  • Antonio Brown expressed his desire to be moved out of Pittsburgh with a public declaration on Twitter:
  • https://twitter.com/AB84/status/1095375211749355520

  • Brown can make all the public pleas he wants, but he should know that it doesn’t change that he is still under contract for the next three seasons. And if the Steelers execute a trade before June 1, it would lead to a cap charge of $21 million. That would be a spicy meatball for Pittsburgh’s management to swallow. So unless something knocks their socks off (and does so in a cap-friendly manner), it’s difficult to envision a trade happening right away.
  • Jason La Canfora reports Brown would prefer to be dealt to an NFC team. That’s fine and dandy, so long as it’s not to anyone in the NFC North or any of the Bears’ 2019 (or even 2020) opponents. As for a Bears fit (because they’re in the NFC) it’s a tough squeeze to get under the cap and make that deal work. But it’s fun to dream about Allen Robinson on one side and Antonio Brown on the other.
  • This is worth keeping in mind when discussing Brown’s situation:
  • Elsewhere in Brown’s world, he skipped a Tuesday court date that found him guilty for a reckless driving charge. Back in November, it was reported Brown was stopped by police after being clocked going more than 100 miles per hour on McKnight Road in Ross Township. Come on, man. That’s ridiculous.
  • If you’re a Bears fan dreaming on the addition of a proven talent at a need position, maybe a kicker is more reasonable. However, I’m not sure if Matt Bryant – the best kicker currently on the market – is going to be that guy. Bryant told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure he believes the Buccaneers are a “real option” for him in 2019, while also making it clear he wants to play beyond the  next season.
  • Kyler Murray’s long-awaited decision is here:
  • It’s a bad look that he didn’t tell the Athletics before making a decision, but I imagine he is pleased with the choice he made to go with football over baseball. By entering the NFL Draft, Murray stands to get a nice four-year pay-day (with a possible fifth-year option if selected in Round 1) to give it a go as some team’s franchise quarterback. The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner was one of college football’s must-see players last year, and some team surely believes that talent will translate into the pros.
  • Let the quarterback prospect evaluation begin:
  • Well, what a funky coincidence …
  • Annnnnd here’s Kliff Kingsbury putting out that fire before it could really get started:
  • The Cardinals might be committed to Josh Rosen now, but after seeing how the organization pulled the rug out from underneath Steve Wilks, I wouldn’t trust that organization if it told me sand in the desert was coarse, rough, and irritating.
  • Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs is preaching patience after a disappointing year in Minnesota. “New system, new quarterback, new receivers. Everybody’s new,” Diggs said, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “Still got to adjust, and you know there’s a lot of room for improvement.” Wow. If the Vikings are going to be that much better after one year of learning the system, imagine how good the Bears will be next year. After all, they were dealing with a new system, new receivers, a new head coach, and a brand new offensive coaching staff.
  • The Lions are one of the handful of teams that can be forced into doing HBO’s Hard Knocks, but Head Coach Matt Patricia has a better idea. “I think Jon Gruden is an excellent choice for that show,” Patricia told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. “I think the Oakland Raiders and everything they’ve got going on right now would be fantastic viewing for everyone to watch.” Patricia technically isn’t wrong, but I – for one – would like to yuk it up watching the Lions goof around ahead of another 7-9 season.
  • I’m a bit annoyed that the NFL is going to make the Bears travel to London and play on a short week in another Thanksgiving game. Speaking of playing in London, the Packers are the only NFL team that hasn’t played (or isn’t scheduled to play) across the pond. However, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants to change that:
  • Green Bay doesn’t want to cough up a home game, so it will have to be a road game against a team that might not want to give up a home game of its own. Good luck making that match, NFL schedule makers.
  • Apparently, there’s no such thing as too much exposure in the eyes of the NFL. In addition to the NFL Network’s eyes on the Combine, Bryan Curtis of The Ringer reports the ESPN will join in on the fun by having ABC host some coverage. Remember, ABC will also have draft coverage this spring.
  • The Houston Texans reportedly plan on releasing receiver Demaryius Thomas, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in December. The last time Thomas suffered an Achilles injury (to his other leg), he was back in action six months later. So it’s possible this big-play target could be ready for the start of the 2019 season, though it won’t be at the base salary of $14 million.
  • MACtion’s best pass-rusher could be a late-round steal for some progressive NFL team:
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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