The camp opens for most teams a month after yesterday. Or at least it’s supposed to. This is what we have for you this afternoon. …
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports; George Walker IV / Tennessean.com through Imagn Content Services, LLC; Bob Leverone-AP
• Someone who has worked in New England made a rather interesting comment to me about Cam Newton’s signature, as it relates to Bill Belichick’s logic. He told me that in 2011 Belichick told everyone that the only thing that would kill the team from the start, after the lockout, was to be out of shape and give up big plays as a result. This guy then said, regarding Newton, “So what better way to put pressure on a tired defense than to have Cam there?” And then there’s this: If the Patriots feel they need to be a little bit simpler to play fast on offense, Newton can make that easier by allowing New England to build more of their career game. Now I think the main reason to sign here is to take multiple shots to get the right quarterback position, after Tom Brady, and the firm absolutely fits Belichick’s pattern of buying prodigious low talents (Randy Moss, Corey Dillon (Chad Ochocinco, Albert Haynesworth, etc., etc.) But the specific things for 2011 are sure to be a good added benefit.
• I also believe that the terms of the contract that Newton agreed to say more about this offseason than anything else. Spending is always crazier in the first wave of free agency. After that, there were quite a high number of high-profile quarterbacks available, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston among them, who were expecting a market that would never heat them up. Boys like Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Foles and even Chase Daniel benefited from leaving the market from the start, while the market was hot. After that, the reality became apparent, and that is that for the first time in the quarterback supply forever overwhelmed the demand for quarterback.
• An addition to my MMQB take on the Patriots ‘penalties for their media team videotaping the Bengals’ sideline: That lost third-round pick is significant, and for more than just draft capital. New England was cooperative and apologized for the violation, but hoped it would be evaluated as a non-soccer misstep. The inclusion of the draft selection penalty is that the NFL implicitly holds the Patriots football operations accountable.
• With NFL football operations tweeting July 28 as the start date for training camp, it’s worth noting that the Chiefs and Texans open earlier: The rule under the new CBA is that teams can start 47 days before their first game. Since Houston and Kansas City are playing in the opening game, they will both start camp on July 25. Texans are welcome to their rookies on July 18 and the quarterbacks will arrive on July 20. QB Chiefs and rookies report on the 22nd.
• I would love Colin Kaepernick more in 2015-17 in his new Netflix doc, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to be a part of that. You have executive producer credit on the ad, which means if you want to keep those things out of there, those things will stay out of there.
• Johnny Manziel told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that for him he sees football as “in the past”. And that is very bad. He was lost in the mess his life became, but Manziel was electric as a player and competitor, and he’s still only 27 years old. Since he was such a unique player, I always thought Doug Flutie was a good compilation for him. It’s a shame we’ve never seen what it would have become over time.
• Bucs LB Shaq Barrett told SiriusXM radio on Monday that he plans to sign his franchise offer if he doesn’t get a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline, and that generated an interesting X factor for the other tagged but still unsigned. Bengals WR AJ Green, Chiefs DT Chris Jones, Jaguars DE Yannick Ngaukoe and Broncos S Justin Simmons. Considering all the problems related to COVID, would it make sense for those guys to stay away until Week 1 to avoid becoming infected or close to those who come in with the virus? I think it’s kind of an interesting question, given the probability that some teams will have a significant number of cases through training.
• While we were there, I thought Eagles OT Lane Johnson explained what the players will face next month: “Ultimately, it is a risk that we are all willing to run to get out of your house or whatever you are doing, going purchases. I have been doing a very good job staying at home, doing my social distancing protocols. Yes, with everyone it is going to be a risk that we have to run and see what happens. “Actually, it is no different than what many in the United States face (without the risk of having to physically meet their coworkers one and again, of course).
• Just to update something we’ve been monitoring, five of the 32 NFL first-round picks have signed. Last year at this time, 26 had signed. And there are veterans who haven’t signed their agreements yet either, because they still can’t take physicals. Which, as you can imagine, has led some to be very careful how they are working before camp.
• All the best to Agent Paul Sheehy and his family. For a long time, the Broncos beat man Mike Klis, Sheehy is fighting COVID-19 and has been on a respirator on Friday, which is another reminder of the severity of the virus and the fact that we are not nearly out of the woods. still as a country.
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