Around the League: Frank Clark’s New Deal, Gordon Returns to Pats, NFL Draft Props, More

The days leading up to the NFL Draft are full of wonder and silliness. Let’s check out what’s happening around the league.

  • Just for kicks:
  • In case you missed it, Robbie Gould reportedly requested a trade out of San Francisco with the hope of landing closer to his family in Chicago. I hear Chicago has a football team with a vacancy at kicker. Let’s keep an eye on this one.
  • The Kansas City Chiefs made a curious trade. The Seattle Seahawks appear to have come away with a steal. It’s the same trade. Say what!? Let’s discuss:
  • The Seahawks traded defensive end Frank Clark (who was designated as their Franchise player earlier in the offseason) to the Chiefs for a 2019 first-round pick, 2020 second-round selection, and a swap of third-round picks. The Seahawks, they get a second first-round pick. That’s going to come in handy for a team that entered this week with the fewest picks. As for the Chiefs, they get Clark, a pass-rusher they needed to bolster their defense. But … why?
  • If you’ll recall, the Chiefs parted ways with their starting pass-rush duo earlier this offseason by cutting Justin Houston and trading Dee Ford to the 49ers. So to pay a hefty price to acquire Clark seems a bit excessive. But at least the contract isn’t going to be prohibitive, right?
  • https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1120770137941008384

  • Back in February, OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald shared his contract projection for Clark at PFF. That five-year pact worth $87.5 million (with $53 million guaranteed) fell well short of what Clark ended up getting. Yikes.
  • Worth noting: The Bears will see Clark and the Chiefs in Week 16 on Sunday Night Football. It would behoove Chicago’s offensive linemen to block that guy. Just a thought.
  • Among the many reasons I’m curious about this trade, this draft is reportedly loaded with pass-rushing depth:
  • Since the Bears don’t have a first-round pick, perhaps NFL Draft props will tickle your fancy:
  • LOL:
  • NFL Network insider Daniel Jeremiah is one of our favorite draft follows this time of year, so this was a good read from The Athletic:
  • If you’re a Bears fan who is still irked that your favorite team didn’t draft Patrick Mahomes, then you might want to avoid this Adam Teicher (ESPN) piece titled: “Drafting Patrick Mahomes: How the Chiefs outmaneuvered the NFL.”
  • Elsewhere in the world of quarterbacking, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger are working toward an extension. Roethlisberger, 37, is the last remaining member of the “Killer B’s” who ran wild on the AFC North. With Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown elsewhere, it’s going to be Ben’s team until he hangs ’em up.
  • This was bound to happen:
  • Fifth-year option activation season is around the corner and the Bears seem destined to pick up Leonard Floyd’s option before the May 3. deadline. Once it officially happens, he’ll be the first pick of the Ryan Pace era to get it. Pace could have extended the option for Kyle Fuller, but didn’t. Thankfully, the Bears were able to come to a long-term deal for Fuller and the rest is history.
  • Check out a chart of how other teams have handled it:
  • The Texans are putting their logo somewhere it has ever been before:
  • Teaming with the Wilpons is a curious decision:
  • https://twitter.com/packers/status/1120770503323602944

  • I’m not a Saints fan or a golf guy, but I know good kicks when I see them:
  • People will root for Josh Gordon the football player. Others won’t. But I’m cheering for a guy to get his life together because I understand how difficult battling the demons of addiction can be:
  • 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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