The countdown to the 2017 NFL draft is on, and the Browns are on the clock. Pass-rusher? Quarterback? It’s time for Mel Kiper’s first crack at predicting the first round.
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“I’m staying at home,” Garrett told the Houston Chronicle.
Garrett told the newspaper he wants to experience the moment of being drafted with his family and friends in Arlington, Texas.
Garrett is projected to go No. 1 overall in the latest mock drafts by ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr.
The draft will be held April 27-29. The Cleveland Browns will select first.
Garrett compiled 32.5 sacks and 48.5 tackles for loss over the past three seasons for Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound prospect had 8.5 sacks in 2016, playing more than half the season with an ankle injury.
Tom Brady isn’t the only Super Bowl-winning quarterback who’s missing his game jersey.
Brett Favre said he doesn’t know what happened to the jersey he wore when he led the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI.
Favre, in an appearance on Fox Business Network on Friday, explained what he thinks might have happened to the No. 4 jersey from that day.
Brett Favre doesn’t know what happened to the jersey he wore in Super Bowl XXXI 20 years ago. Andy Hayt/Getty Images
“What happens is there’s a massive celebration,” Favre said. “Of course, you go into the locker room, [and] it’s mass confusion. Unless you actually take your jersey off and your pants and stuff and you put them in a bag that is secure, you don’t know because there’s people grabbing stuff. There’s laundry, guys are going in the shower, they’re hugging, there’s champagne, so it could easily get taken.
“I didn’t even know what memorabilia meant in 1996. It’s a little more common now, so had I known then what I know [now], I would’ve placed it in a bag, because that would’ve been a nice memento to keep.”
“Whoever has it has got to be sweating,” Favre said. “Because how do you sell it?”
When asked if he’s ever seen his Super Bowl jersey on the market, he said: “The jersey would be so old, and honestly, forgers today are better. Sometimes I see my name, and I’m asked if this is actually my signature, and I have a hard time telling the difference.”
INDIANAPOLIS — They’re departing, in some fashion, one by one.
Robert Mathis (retired). D’Qwell Jackson (released).
And the list of those leaving the Indianapolis Colts this offseason could continue to grow with free agency beckoning for both veteran safety Mike Adams and linebacker Erik Walden.
The Colts have to get younger and better on defense. There’s no denying that. But they’re also in a transition period in the leadership department. The departure of some of those players will leave a void in the Colts’ locker room. You can add finding a vocal leader to a long offseason list that already features improvements on the defensive line, linebacker and in the secondary for Indianapolis.
Quarterback Andrew Luck has been and will continue to be the Colts’ best player. But ask anybody inside the locker room and they’ll tell you Mathis was the backbone and emotional leader of the team. He was the motivator.
Jackson, despite his four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, was looked up to by so many of the Colts’ young players because, while he didn’t possess the same burst he had several years ago, his knowledge of the game was something many turned to him for. Coach Chuck Pagano often looked at Adams as another coach on the field. Adams also brought the ability to relate with so many of his teammates because he was undrafted but went on to play in the Super Bowl and make back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances.
Andrew Luck has been mostly a leader by example through his first five seasons, but the Colts are in indeed of a more vocal type. Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
Running back Frank Gore, who will be 34 in May, will likely be one of the elder statesmen next season. But like Luck, Gore is one who lets his practice habits, his workouts and how he performs in games do the talking. Gore takes losing very personally — which is what many of teammates should do, too — but he’s never been an outspoken leader.
Receiver T.Y. Hilton?
Hard to look at Hilton as a strong voice when he has a history of celebrating after scoring a touchdown when the Colts are getting blown out.
He has the capability to be a leader, but it’s difficult to lead if you can’t remain healthy.
General manager Chris Ballard has already said the Colts plan to be selective when it comes to signing outside free agents. Whoever they do sign, don’t expect any of the players to be over age 30 and on the decline. Ballard’s preference is to improve the roster through the draft.
So just as they plan to develop their own players, the Colts might end up having to develop a new leader.
Washington Redskins center Kory Lichtensteiger, a starter for most of the past seven seasons, announced his retirement Friday after two years of dealing with various injuries.
Lichtensteiger was scheduled to count $4.05 million against the salary cap. His retirement will free $3.5 million in cap space; the Redskins entered the day with approximately $60 million in cap space.
Lichtensteiger, 31, joined the Redskins in 2010 under then-coach Mike Shanahan, who had drafted him in Denver two years earlier. Lichtensteiger was an undersized player who ended up starting 75 games for the Redskins at guard and then center. He started 37 games at left guard from 2011-13 before converting to center.
Injuries ruined his last two seasons, as he missed a combined 24 regular-season games because of nerve damage in his shoulder (2015) and a calf injury (2016). He was replaced as a starter by third-year Spencer Long, whom the Redskins viewed as their center of the future.
The Redskins liked Lichtensteiger, despite his weighing approximately 295 pounds, because of his smarts at center and his mindset.
“Kory defied the odds of being undersized because of his competitive spirit, accountability and attention to detail,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said in a statement. “It also helps to be tough as hell. We want to thank Kory for his relentless effort and leadership and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Lichtensteiger said in a statement he told team president Bruce Allen and general manager Scot McCloughan of his plans shortly after the season ended.
“When I came to them after the season and shared my thoughts, they were extremely gracious and agreed to let me to ‘retire a Redskin,'” Lichtensteiger said in a statement. “This is a great business, but it is indeed a business. And for that reason, I am thankful to be treated as family in the final hour of my playing career.”
