Sports Al Dente

The New York Jets have traded for Davante Adams in a move that many saw coming, but the details suggest they are acting out of desperation. Adding Adams will definitely boost the Jets’ offense, and as fans of the Green Bay Packers, it will be entertaining to watch him team up with Aaron Rodgers again.

However, the Jets don’t come off well after this trade. With a 2-4 record, they’ve already fired their head coach and now seem to be panicking by acquiring Adams.

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, the Jets are taking on all of Adams’ remaining salary and are sending a third-round pick to the Raiders that could become a second-round pick.

After losing to the Minnesota Vikings, they fired their coach. After another loss, they traded for Adams and his full contract.

The Jets seem to be in full panic mode, trying to salvage their season. They are making a kind of desperate move that the Packers typically avoid before the trade deadline.

The Packers had a great deal when they traded Rodgers last year, and now the Jets had to give the Raiders what they wanted.

Las Vegas must be thrilled, as they are potentially getting a second-round pick (or at least a third) while unloading Adams’ contract onto the Jets.

Can Adams turn around New York’s season? With a 2-4 record and a fired coach, the Jets have deeper issues that go beyond what Adams can fix. Plus, taking on his contract could hurt them in the long run.

Is it a bad thing to trade for Rodgers’ top receiver? Not really, but the Jets should have made this deal earlier when they were 2-2.

For Packers fans, this is a win. We get to see Rodgers throw to Adams again. We can enjoy that without worrying about our team giving up a valuable pick to the Raiders and taking on a big contract while struggling at 2-4 with an interim coach and slipping out of playoff contention.

The Green Bay Packers are moving closer to possibly finding a replacement for kicker Brayden Narveson.

Since joining the team at the start of the season, Narveson has had a tough time, missing a league-high five field goals in the first six games. Head coach Matt LaFleur mentioned, “We’ll see,” when asked about Narveson’s future, and said they would take things “day by day.”

The Packers are exploring their options. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, they have brought in free agent Brandon McManus for a workout.

The NFL recently finished an investigation into McManus after he was accused of sexually assaulting two women during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ trip to London last season.

Brian McCarthy, a league spokesperson, said, “There was insufficient evidence to support a finding that a violation of the personal conduct policy occurred. As always, if new evidence is presented it would be taken into consideration,” according to ESPN.

McManus has not played in the NFL since the allegations. In June, the Washington Commanders let him go less than three months after signing him to a one-year contract.

Brandon McManus is one of the few experienced kickers available for the Packers in free agency. Unlike Narveson, McManus brings a lot of NFL experience, having played for 10 years—nine with the Denver Broncos and one with the Jaguars.

He has a career field goal percentage of 81.4 and a strong 97.2 percent on extra-point attempts.

Last season with the Jaguars, he made 30 out of 37 field goals (81.1 percent) and successfully completed all 35 extra-point tries. While McManus’ field goal percentage was slightly lower than Anders Carlson’s for the Packers (81.8 percent), he was much more reliable in the 40-49-yard range, where Carlson had difficulties. McManus made 11 out of 13 attempts from that distance, whereas Carlson only made four out of eight.

Interestingly, the San Francisco 49ers signed Carlson to their practice squad on Tuesday.

The Packers are looking at their options for a kicker, indicating they might be ready to move on from Narveson after another missed kick in Week 6.

The Vikings will be missing starting linebacker Blake Cashman for their NFC North game against the Lions in Week 6 and possibly longer, as reported by Andrew Krammer of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Cashman is dealing with turf toe, which might also keep him out for the Vikings’ Week 7 game against the Rams.

He has started all five games this season and leads the team with 40 tackles, playing a key role in Brian Flores’ aggressive defense. His ability in coverage has been vital for stopping big plays and limiting yards after the catch.

Second-year linebacker Ivan Pace missed Weeks 3 and 4 due to injury, but he has started the other three games alongside Cashman. In Week 5, he played only 36% of the defensive snaps, but the Week 6 bye likely helped him recover and prepare to take on a bigger role while Cashman is out.

Safety Josh Metellus, who started in Pace’s absence, is expected to step up with Cashman out, which will allow Flores to keep using a lot of dime personnel. Veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill will likely see action on early downs against the run, and Brian Asamoah might have more opportunities after playing just 13 defensive snaps this season.

Cashman has had injury issues throughout his career, averaging a little over eight games played in his six NFL seasons. He played only 14 games in his first three years but managed to play in 30 games over the last two seasons.

The Vikings signed Cashman to a three-year contract during the offseason, hoping he has overcome his injury troubles and can stay healthy while in Minnesota. This might lead them to be cautious with his current injury, allowing him several weeks to recover before returning to his starting position.

The Falcons are currently leading the NFC South after a strong win over the Panthers on Sunday, making fans in Atlanta excited about the team again. However, there’s a troubling scenario involving Deshaun Watson that could have been disastrous.

I have mentioned this before, and I will keep saying it. Arthur Blank and everyone involved in Atlanta’s interest in Watson should be held accountable.

First, the serious allegations against him are concerning and would have turned away some fans. Second, he has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.

Watson dropped back 28 times against the Eagles, who have one of the weaker defenses, and he only gained 144 yards. The Browns didn’t score a touchdown and only made it to the red zone once during the whole game.

Currently, Deshaun Watson has the lowest total QBR in the league at 21.5, with Will Levis being the next closest at 28.3. According to ESPN, since 2007, among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts in their first six games, Watson’s performance ranks 558th out of 566.

Another interesting fact from The Ringer is that through the first six weeks of this season, Watson has a shocking -66.2 EPA on dropbacks, which is the lowest in this millennium, even worse than Russell Wilson’s -62.8 EPA in 2009.

While we can’t be sure Watson would perform this poorly with the Falcons, he wouldn’t be the same standout player he was with the Texans. The Browns share some blame for their struggling offense, but Watson is a key factor in their problems.

The Falcons, especially Arthur Blank, should feel fortunate that the Browns gave Watson a fully guaranteed contract a while back; otherwise, they might be in a similar situation as Cleveland.

I’m relieved that the Falcons didn’t acquire Deshaun Watson, but Arthur Blank deserves criticism, and the entire Falcons organization should regret pushing out Matt Ryan to go after him.

As the first overall pick in 2021, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence understands what it’s like to be a young, highly drafted quarterback from the ACC.

This Sunday, he will go up against another young talent, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who will be starting his second game when New England plays Jacksonville in London.

During his Wednesday press conference, Lawrence mentioned that he has met Maye before and has a positive view of him.

“I think he’s got a lot of talent, he’s got a bright future,” Lawrence said. “I know what it’s like to be a young quarterback in this league not too long ago, and I wish him the best. It’s a challenge, and every week is a chance to learn.

You just have to use those experiences to improve. I’m still doing that in my fourth year. You learn something new each week, and it’s tough, but I think he has all the skills to succeed. So, I’ll definitely reach out to him after the game and wish him good luck.

“Of course, as I said last week, not on Sunday, but I do wish him the best, and I’ve heard great things about him.”

In his last game against Houston, Maye completed 20 out of 33 passes for 243 yards, along with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed five times for 38 yards.

Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich mentioned on Tuesday that he was optimistic about wide receiver Davante Adams playing in Sunday’s game against the Steelers, but he also said it was too soon to confirm.

However, Ulbrich quickly assessed Adams’s condition. During a Wednesday press conference, he stated that he expects Adams to be part of the team this weekend.

Adams was traded from the Raiders on Tuesday and had missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury. His absence also lined up with his request to be traded. On The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Adams said he is healthy and ready to play.

Although the Jets’ offense is new to him, Adams has a background with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which the Jets hope will make it easier for him to adjust.

After trading Stefon Diggs, the Bills decided they didn’t need a top receiver. However, when the chance arose to get a No. 1 receiver, they changed their minds.

After watching Davante Adams, the Bills traded for Amari Cooper, acquiring him for a reduced salary of $806,667 and a third-round pick along with a later pick swap.

This move was a smart response to the Jets’ acquisition of Adams. With a two-game lead and a tiebreaker advantage, the Bills added Cooper to their roster.

Unlike Adams, Cooper made the Pro Bowl in 2023, finishing with 1,250 receiving yards. Though he has only 250 yards this season, that’s partly due to playing with a struggling quarterback.

The Bills may not have needed a top receiver, but having one will certainly be beneficial, especially with the playoffs approaching.

This kind of trade could help the Bills advance further than before. A few years back, they could have pursued players like Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr., but the Rams did, and they ended up winning the Super Bowl.

Making the right trades at the right time can have a big impact. The Bills have often avoided this, but this year they are taking a chance. Sometimes, taking risks is necessary to reach the highest levels of success.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers is getting closer to returning to the Giants’ lineup.

Nabers has missed the last two games due to a concussion, but Giants head coach Brian Daboll mentioned in his Wednesday press conference, through several reporters, that the first-round pick is doing “much better” this week.

Daboll stated that Nabers is still in concussion protocol, but he has made enough progress to participate in practice on Wednesday.

He will be wearing a non-contact jersey during his first practice since his injury in Week Four.

If Nabers handles the increased activity well without any issues, he should be ready to play against the Eagles this week. This would be a positive update for an offense that only scored seven points against the Bengals in Week Six and will be without left tackle Andrew Thomas in Week Seven.

Amari Cooper has been one of the best players for the Browns over the past two seasons. He made history by being the first Cleveland wide receiver to have back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and set a franchise record with 265 receiving yards in a single game last December against the Texans.

However, with Cleveland’s season almost finished at 1-5, the team traded him to Buffalo, which is about 190 miles away, on Tuesday.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski mentioned in a press conference on Wednesday that losing any player, whether due to injury or a trade, is disappointing. “I wish Amari luck. Obviously, I talked to him yesterday,” he said. He also noted that while losing a player is tough, it opens up chances for other players on the team.

Cooper was the team leader with 24 catches from 53 targets. The next player, Jerry Jeudy, had 20 catches from 36 targets, which means there are now many chances for others to step up.

When asked about who might help replace Cooper’s contributions, Stefanski said, “I think it’s a bunch of guys.” He explained that since Cooper had a lot of targets, those will now go to other players in the wide receiver group, tight ends, and running backs. “We do have a lot of confidence in our guys,” he added.

One of Stefanski’s biggest challenges will be to convince the locker room that the team is still in competition, especially after Cooper’s trade and with Deshaun Watson still starting at quarterback.

However, he believes the team understands their goals. “I think our guys get that the No. 1 thing here is to win,” he said. “The truth is, you do lose guys throughout the season. Sometimes it’s due to injury, sometimes it’s due to trade — whatever it may be. And our guys have to step up when that time comes.”

Whether fans like it or not, Sunday morning football is becoming a regular thing, and it’s likely to grow even more.

This is mainly because the NFL can boost its earnings by embracing this trend.

Michael McCarthy from FrontOfficeSports.com points out that the league’s plan to host 16 international games each year could lead to a new rights deal, where one network or streaming service would pay a large sum to broadcast these games.

While it’s possible to say “could,” it’s more accurate to say “will.”

The league is expected to sell this package. Although it needs to keep a certain number of games to justify the income from NFL Network, selling the rights could bring in much more money, especially as the NFL considers the future of NFL Network.

NFL media executive Brian Rolapp played down this possibility during a quarterly meeting in Atlanta.

“That’s really all to be determined,” Rolapp told Eric Fisher from FrontOfficeSports.com. “But there’s clearly been a focus on international, how we grow the game there, grow our commercial operations, grow the fan base. That certainly has a lot to do with how we do our game packages, both here and abroad. But we haven’t made any decisions yet.”

They haven’t made decisions yet, but they will. They will definitely plan, market, and profit from a new series of games.

In fact, the NFL could earn even more profit by shutting down NFL Network, sharing its content through other platforms (like NFL+), and selling a 16-game international package.