Around the League: Brady’s History vs. Future Opponents, Busy Lions, COVID-19 Research Donations, More

What’s the weirdest snack you find yourself craving? For me — chocolate-covered gummy bears.

Bon appétit.

I don’t want to see the Bears on the list of teams that haven’t beaten Tom Brady after the conclusion of the 2020 season:

Tom Brady's career record vs. Bucs' 2020 opponents:
Falcons 5-0
Bears 5-0
Vikings 5-0
Saints 4-1
Raiders 4-1
Giants 4-1
Rams 3-1
Chargers 6-2
Lions 4-2
Packers 3-2
Chiefs 5-4
Broncos 7-6
Panthers 2-3
Combined 57-23 (.713)

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 20, 2020

FWIW: The company that provides Rivers Sports book betting odds has the Buccaneers projected win total set at 9 wins. Are you willing to take the over? Or are you of the belief that the under is a better wager? There’s plenty of time to make this decision, but it’s one I feel as if football fans will want action on.

Adding Brady to their bunch has certainly helped the Buccaneers’ odds. The team is now has 18/1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Brady has Tampa in a spot where it could conceivably play the championship game in its home stadium, which has never been done before. If I was a natural, I would root for the football oddity. But I am not, as I would prefer to see the Bears playing in the big game.

The Colts made their signing of Philip Rivers official today. And Rivers shared a message:

A message from the man himself: pic.twitter.com/2clX1UcAAL

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) March 21, 2020

Indy has since released backup QB Brian Hoyer. Meanwhile, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweets the decision to cut ties with Hoyer is a sign the Colts are keeping Jacoby Brissett (despite the cash that is coming his way as part of the extension he signed last year).

One last Colts nugget: The team cut cornerback Pierre Desir, who I thought might be a potential Bears fit because of his past with Chicago defensive coaches Chuck Pagano and Ted Monachino. Desir made 29 starts (played in 37 games) over three years for the Colts, who are moving on from the Lindenwood College product.

Maybe this is the year the Falcons turn it around? There’s no excuse not to with all this talent:

No team has started 10 offensive players who were selected in the first round during the Common Draft Era since 1967, per @eliassports. pic.twitter.com/wi9qro4GNq

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 21, 2020

Good luck to the Bears defense, which will take on Atlanta at some point during the 2020 regular season.

Considering the Bears’ needs at the position, part of me is disappointed they couldn’t do this type of deal for a proven WR2:

More on former 49ers’ WR Emmanuel Sanders reaching agreement with the Saints on a two-year deal worth up to $19 million.https://t.co/6FGKtRoyzK

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 21, 2020

Tough break, cheesebrains:

Sanders joins Sammy Watkins and Allen Robinson in the Almost A Packers WR club. https://t.co/2fS3jRra6p

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) March 21, 2020

The Lions have been busy this offseason:

#Lions announce the signing of: LB Jamie Collins, DT Danny Shelton, CB Desmond Trufant, QB Chase Daniel, Safety Jayron Kearse, OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai and DT Nick Williams.

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 20, 2020

I can’t believe some of those signings are players who *DIDN’T* previously play for the Patriots!

Some Vikings nuggets:

View this post on Instagram

When I came to Minnesota as a fourth-round pick out of USC, I had no idea how much my life would change over the next 10 years. I realized my dream of playing in the NFL, went to four Pro Bowls and came within one game of playing in the Super Bowl in front of the best fans in the country. More importantly, I became a husband, a dad, and met teammates who became brothers for life. I also stumbled a few times on my journey and could not be more grateful for the unconditional support and love I received from SKOL Nation. While it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye, I leave Minnesota in the best physical and mental shape I have ever been and have many Pro Bowl seasons to come! Wherever my next stop is, I will always be grateful to and cheering for the Vikings. Thank you all for the love, support and memories.

A post shared by Everson Griffen (@eversongriffen) on Mar 20, 2020 at 10:55am PDT

The Vikings converted $8M of DE Danielle Hunter’s base salary into a signing bonus, creating $6M of 2020 salary cap, per source. Some flexibility for Minnesota to accommodate their free agent signings.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 21, 2020

Sources says North Philly’s Will Parks turned down more $$ from Vikings and Lions to come home and play for Eagles and possibly more playing time with Eagles playing a lot of 3 safety sets#Eagles pic.twitter.com/o0XVruUWoz

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 21, 2020

Good luck finding a perfect fit for Jameis Winston, who said his goodbyes to Tampa on Saturday morning:

It's been a great 5 seasons as a Buccaneer. All love and respect, I love Tampa and I look forward to seeing y'all again in February. #SBLV #2020Vision #Dreamforever pic.twitter.com/MIPiCfreXW

— Jameis Winston (@Jaboowins) March 21, 2020

Chris Godwin, who balled out catching passes from Winston last year, is willing to hand his No. 12 to Tom Brady. Frankly, I’d make Brady wear the No. 10 he wore at Michigan unless some sort of compensation was met. I’d hold out for some cash, autographs, an agreement to be invited to all the cool things future Hall of Fame quarterbacks do, and an arrangement to guarantee X number of targets per season. Business is business, after all.

The player-fan relationship in Philadelphia isn’t always pretty. But when you perform well in that town, you’re always going to be showered with love:

Philly,
I will miss you.#FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/mKeuENBjKn

— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) March 21, 2020

Excuse me, Ben, but it appears you have something growing on your face:

A stay-at-home message from @_BigBen7: pic.twitter.com/UTot0ECjjK

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) March 20, 2020

Gotta love conflicting reports between national and local reporters:

Just to be clear, Mike, Bills didn’t make any offers to Gordon. https://t.co/2NmiZpzmyL

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 21, 2020

Agent reached out to Bills; Bills never made offer. https://t.co/kJMYXFLBca

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 21, 2020

Cha-ching:

With the CBA approved, the NFLPA informed players they’ll finally get their “Madden checks” that had been held in a work stoppage fund. The 2017 active player payment is $17,662 and 2018 payment is $16,966, to be paid out ASAP. $1K for p-squad guys. 2019 payments paid this fall.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 21, 2020

COVID-19 update from the league:

NFLPA provides update to players on COVID-19 from NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills https://t.co/zMkAnK3NXp

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 21, 2020

Good on you, Mr. Tepper:

David A. Tepper Foundation donates more than $2.6 million to help with COVID-19 responsehttps://t.co/PoJu1W3f1r

— Bank of America Stadium (@BofAstadium) March 20, 2020