Happy Friday! We’ve got a holiday weekend with a beautiful forecast accompanying it. I want to share something with you before we get into the Xs and Os this morning. While scrolling Twitter last night, I came across a call to action for a great cause.
I checked out the CaringBridge page in the GoFundMe, and Charlotte Frank is a fighter. She was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer that primarily affects children. Since November, Charlotte has been fighting, and she recently began a new chemo protocol, according to a May 25 update on her CaringBridge page. I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I couldn’t imagine the pain that Charlotte and her family have been dealing with since November. I figured that donating and using my platform was the least I could do to help. If you have some extra cash this weekend, I can’t think of a better way to use it than to help this little girl make it to the Taylor Swift concert next weekend.
- Alright, football. We checked in on OTAs in Henderson on Thursday and learned that Jimmy Garoppolo will miss some time. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels says Garoppolo will miss this week’s OTAs after having surgery on that foot in March after signing with the team. Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.5 million deal with the Raiders in March. OTAs are what they are, but having your new quarterback at every practice possible is the optimal strategy. This also calls Garoppolo’s durability into question, whether McDaniels likes it.
- While Garoppolo was out, veteran wide receiver Davante Adams was in. Adams spoke to reporters after Thursday’s practice and took the time to clear some things up. When Adams spoke to The Ringer, there was an outside perception of discontent in the Raiders locker room. This led some to wonder how long Davante Adams would be there. However, as Tashan Reed (shoutout to Tashan for his recent PFWA Terez A. Paylor Award honor) put it on Thursday:
“In reality, there was no cataclysmic divide among Adams, general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels. The Raiders have given zero consideration to moving on from Adams and he hasnโt asked out at any point, according to a league source.”
- Adams said Thursday afternoon that he’s been able to speak his ming and share his feelings with Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels. โIโve never been encouraged to speak up and share my feelings with the organization the way I have with these two guys.” Adams basically cleared all of the misconceptions up with this quote:
โThe thing is with me โ and Iโm unapologetically me โ at the end of the day, I truly do not care what people have to say. So, when Iโm clearing things up and talking about this stuff, a lot of times itโs just me protecting other people that were involved. Like, I donโt ever want Jimmy (Garoppolo) to feel a way or think that I didnโt want him here or I donโt like him. Or I post a picture with Zieg and theyโre like, โOh, is it Josh? That must be the real problem.โ So, yโall can do that. If youโre that bored, go play Monopoly or some sโ.โ
- So, all is well in Vegas? Perhaps between Adams and Co. However, former Raiders tight end Darren Waller said something contrary to Adams belief that Ziegler and McDaniels have created an open and welcoming environment for players to sound off. Waller
โYeah, they value our opinions here,โ Waller said Thursday. โAs a player, I feel like a lot of places Iโve gone, youโre told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here itโs like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what youโre thinking, what you want to do more. โSo to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. Weโre all together and shouldnโt be clashing with each other. Weโre all going in the same direction.โ
- Alrighty, then. Anyway, here’s Tashan’s write-up of Davante Adams post-practice availability on Thursday:
- Man, Baker is gonna Baker …
- When the New York Jets drafted Will McDonald with their first-rounder, I figured Pittsburgh had swooped in and taken Broderick Jones from them. But New York had Will McDonald at the top of their list all along.
- “McDonald, Mayer, Broderick.” Not only did Jets GM Joe Douglas get his guy at No. 15, he called the trade-up with New England in which Broderick Jones would be taken. So, perhaps Bill Belichick didn’t stick it to Joe Douglas and the Jets after all.
- Remember when I wrote that Patrick Mahomes would likely get a new (or reworked) deal this offseason? That was because Chiefs GM Brett Veach made comments that pointed to that outcome. That may not be the case. In a column by Nate Tice, Tice says, “Mahomes understands that his contract with the Chiefs will not be renegotiated or restructured before the start of this upcoming season.” Additionally, “the understanding and expectation from both parties is that the status quo will continue through even next offseason.”
- On Wednesday, Mahomes made it clear that he’s just fine with that: โIโve always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money,โ he said, smiling. โIโll never do anything thatโs going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me.โ
- So, in the offseason of the quarterback extension, we now have Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow on record, putting their teammates and winning on the same pedestal as the cash.
- Before I get out of here, a quick housekeeping items at BN NFL. I’ve been playing with the idea of having a BN fantasy football league this season. I’m not sure of the details yet, but I would imagine it would be a single-season, standard ESPN PPR scoring league. Right now I’m just gauging interest, so feel free to raise your hand in the Discus section or shoot me an email ([email protected]).
- ICYMI:
- Alright, pal …