It’s been a rough go of it lately for football fans around Chicago. The Bears are, uh, a mess (and that’s probably putting it kindly). But hey, I finally won a game in fantasy football this week! So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice. Regardless, it’s probably a good time to look for other exciting football things to occupy our time this week, so let’s do that.
• Tom Brady is heading back to Foxboro!
Hello from the other side. @TomBrady returns to New England this Sunday night.
🎵: @Adele https://t.co/EmISjoZwrh
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 28, 2021
• Sunday Night Football will be must-see television this week as Tom Brady heads back to Gillette Stadium for the first time since the unceremonious split between Brady and the New England Patriots after the 2019 season. Oh, and Gronk too. I always forget about Gronk when talking about this whole Brady-Belichick divorce thing in New England, and I’m not sure why outside of the obvious importance of position on the field.
• I’m not saying that Richard Sherman is going to save my fantasy football season. Still, I’m certainly hoping that his addition to the banged-up Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense will help them (more importantly, me) avoid a third negative point output in ESPN’s standard PPR scoring. Sherman played just five games with the 49ers in 2020 due to injury, and he didn’t have the smoothest offseason, but he’s back and looking forward to contributing to Tampa’s defensive struggles.
Link to podcast here: https://t.co/VihBHK1tgs
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 29, 2021
The #Bucs are giving CB Richard Sherman a 1-year deal worth $2.25M, source said. A really solid deal at this point in the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 29, 2021
• The Bears will see Richard Sherman in action this season when they visit Tampa Bay on October 24, which is in how many more weeks, Tom?
• The Deshaun Watson drama continues in Houston as FOX’s Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that while the Texans aren’t considering playing Watson, they are softening their stance regarding what they’re looking for in a potential trade. Miami has been seen as a possible landing spot for Watson throughout all of the Texans-Watson fallout. Since he’s not on the commissioner’s list, Watson would be eligible to play for the Dolphins or any team that trades for him.
ICYMI! On Sunday I shared that the Texans stance on trading Deshaun Watson has softened where they weren’t even returning calls from teams in camp. That has changed. As for teams, to me Miami makes the most sense and probably has the best chance to pull it off IF a deal gets done pic.twitter.com/QTljSUpNRi
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 29, 2021
• Kenny Golladay got paid like a number one receiver by the Giants, but he’s got just 11 catches for 166 yards and zero touchdowns through his first three games with New York, and he doesn’t sound happy with the way Joe Judge and his staff are using him.
Kenny Golladay on lack of deep routes: "I don't really have an answer to that." https://t.co/JKrZMs6lAZ
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 29, 2021
• Golladay was asked about his lack of downfield opportunities and had this to say:
“I don’t really have an answer to that. At the end of the day, I’m going to run what the guys want me to run. I just look at it as, whenever my number is called I just want to go out there and make a play. Short or long, I’ve just got to make that play. That’s my mindset.”
• ESPN’s ManningCast will be taking a few (regularly scheduled) weeks off but still saw week-over-week gains in the ratings for their latest installment during Monday night’s Cowboys-Eagles contest which drew 1.89 million viewers. However, the improvements were much less notable than the week prior, and Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing does a great job explaining the ratings in great detail in his story on Tuesday.
ESPN’s ManningCast ratings inch upward but total audience percentage dipped https://t.co/JRmL2q56zP pic.twitter.com/j8dBAEDJSo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 29, 2021
• Pro Football Focus will be expanding after receiving a $50 million investment from Silver Lake, which acquires a minority stake in PFF.
Silver Lake invested $50 million to acquire a minority stake in Cris Collinsworth’s @PFF at a nine-figure valuation, per sources.
PFF is now using the money/capital to expand into soccer and other sports.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 29, 2021
