Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow is on the verge of finalizing his first NFL deal.
The recent No. 1 overall draft pick agreed to terms on Tuesday for a four-year contract worth $36.1 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The contract is pending a physical that will occur later this week.
Burrow is expected to receive the entirety of his $23.9 million signing bonus within 15 days of an executed contract. Burrow and second-round pick Tee Higgins are the lone Bengals who did not have deals signed as Cincinnati’s veterans reported to the team facility on Tuesday.
The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that head trainer Eric Sugarman and members of his family have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sugarman also is the Vikings’ infection control officer.
He said in a statement that he and his family immediately quarantined and “are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms.”
The Vikings said they are sanitizing their facility and contacted anyone who was in close contact with Sugarman. The team said those team personnel have been tested “and are returning under the established guidelines.”
“Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings’ front office have been identified at this time,” the team said.
Under the circumstances, the New York Jets made a terrific trade.
Not only did they unload a me-first player whose poisonous attitude threatened locker room chemistry, but they parlayed Jamal Adams into one of the richest NFL hauls in recent years — a package from the Seattle Seahawks that includes first-round picks in 2021 and 2022.
For a safety.
For a safety who doesn’t intercept the football.
For a safety who wants to be paid like a pass-rusher.
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Somehow, Jets general manager Joe Douglas managed to extract a quarterback-type return from the Seahawks, also acquiring a third-round pick (2021) and a middle-of-the-road safety, Bradley McDougald. The Jets never wanted to trade Adams, their best player, but sources said they would consider it if they were blown away by an offer.
This qualifies as blown away. That the Jets got this much is surprising, considering Adams jeopardized the Jets’ leverage with his incessant public whining.
Consider: This marked only the eighth time since 2000 that a player was traded for two first-round picks, according to ESPN Stats & Information data. It has happened three times in recent years, with cornerback Jalen Ramsey (2019), tackle Laremy Tunsil (2019) and defensive end Khalil Mack (2018).
Notice a trend? All three play premium positions.
Adams is a strong safety — a very good one, but not worth north of $17 million per year, which is what he wants on a contract extension. The Jets wanted to wait until 2021 to extend his contract; Adams wanted one now. When he realized it wasn’t going to happen, he behaved like a spoiled teenager, taking to social media to rip the Jets organization.
Wonderful talent, bad leader.
Privately, the Jets fumed, especially when Adams ripped team owner Woody Johnson on Twitter for allegedly making racist and sexist remarks recently in his role as a United States ambassador. Then Adams went after coach Adam Gase, an easy target, questioning his leadership in an interview with the New York Daily News. Isn’t is funny that Adams seemed OK with Gase in late January, when he tweeted how much he wanted to remain in New York? The tantrums started when Adams realized that contract extension wasn’t coming.
Washington’s NFL franchise announced on Thursday that, effective immediately, it will call itself the “Washington Football Team” pending the adoption of a new name, league sources told ESPN. There was plenty of reaction on social media.
The temporary name change comes after completing a thorough review that began on July 3.
Several players weighed in on the name via Twitter, including Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins, former NFL receiver Dez Bryant and Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.