By Brandon Simmons
Davante Adams Trade Talks
The Las Vegas Raiders and wide receiver Davante Adams are exploring trade talks…again. This comes in the wake of a lot of supposed tension surrounding Adams and Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce. Heading into Week 4 matchup, Pierce was caught liking a post on Instagram which promoted the idea of Adams getting traded. Adams commented on the matter on the Up and Adams Show – Hosted by Kay Adams – and said he hasn’t spoken with Pierce since the matter. Fast forward to the conclusion of Week 4 and trade talks have been brought back to the table.
It’s probably a shocker that this point has been reached officially. Last season Adams was brought up in trade rumors as the Raiders were spiraling and evsntually firing head coach Josh McDaniels. It was then, and going forward, that Adams denied wanting to leave. It seems things have taken a drastic turn considering the recent events. Some may say it explains his recent hamstring injury.
Now that we’re back to the trade talks, he doesn’t have a shortage of teams lined up for him. The early favorites to trade for him are reportedly the the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints with the latter being the more aggressive. More teams will probably come forward as the Adam Schefter reports that trade talks should heat up this week. However, seeing as Adams has a previous working relationship with both the Jets QB Aaron Rodgers and the Saints QB Derek Carr, these could be the only 2 available for him. It would make sense for the Jets to try and complete this trade in order to salvage whatever the 41-year-old Rodgers has left in his career. NY already has a dynamic wide receiver group with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, go ahead and Adams to make it a triple threat.
Benching Deshaun Watson
Clevland Browns QB Deshaun Watson has been having the wrost season of his career, something you don’t want to hear when it comes to a $200 million dollar QB. Watson’ latest outing resulted in a 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders, in which he threw 15 of 28 for 125 yards and a touchdown. It was his 2nd blowout loss of the season, the first coming in the season opener, and both games he posted a 8 for his QBR. It doesn’t seem ideal for a former first round pick, who racked the highest guaranteed contract in NFL history, and is now considered to be sent to the bench.
The Cleveland Browns having an issue at the QB position, but the bigger story is Watson himself inevitably getting sat down. Since arriving in Cleveland, Watson has not looked like the high dollar QB they traded for from the Houston Texans, the team who drafted him and the place where he was once the league leader in passing yards. However, the things that have gotten him the contract has not been able to justify him receiving it. Most of Watson’s Browns tenure has been marred by injury and the aftermath of criticisms from his infamous massage parlor allegations; not to mention a pending case. The only options that the Browns have for a replacement are QB’s Jameis Winston – who’s had previous starting experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints – as well as Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started a few games last season in place of an injured Watson. While Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski say he’s sticking with Watson as the starter, but that probably means very little. Cleveland has a stout defense and a couple of good receivers in Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy; they’re not going to waste all that talent on a QB who is trending towards washed.
Are the Ravens a Lock for the AFC North?
The Baltimore Ravens had a rough start to the season, but after 3 games, they look like one of the elite teams in the league again. Sunday, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime 41-38, a game in which they were down by double digits in the 4th quarter. On that same day, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns suffered their own beatdown, as previously mentioned.
It probably doesn’t say much about the division, but the Baltimore Ravens seem to be locking down the AFC North early. Clearly, they are the only ones playing good football in that division. The tandem of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and Ravens running back Derrick Henry – who signed with the team in the offseason – has proven to be bountiful, especially in the past 3 weeks. Henry has certainly been impactful, scoring a touchdown in every game this season in addition to averaging at least 6 yards per carry in their current 3 game winning streak. The Bengals might prove to be a challenge late in the year, but who knows what gear that the Ravens will kick in to by that time. As of right now, they are starting to hit full throttle at the right time.
Jets Fire Saleh
New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start. This comes in the wake of a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday. Saleh is the first coach that Jets owner Woody Johnson has fired in the middle of the season and the latest to leave the team n with a losing record (20-63).
Saleh’s main indictments against him is that he could not get an offense going. He had Zach Wilson as a quarterback when he first arrived – also Wilson’s rookie year – but the QB never materialized into what people thought he could be, which resulted in his benching and a carousel of quarterbacks. This led the team to to go sign Aaron Rodgers when he left the Green Bay Packers. However, Rodgers injured his achilles and was out for the season last year, which prompted Wilson and the carousel to get back in the lineup. They brought in Nathaniel Hackett this year to be the offensive coordinator but obviously that didn’t pan out well. Saleh did do his part of putting together a solid defense but he never got the offensive part down.
This was a mistake but it’s a move so typical of the Jets for the past 20 something years that nobody will notice the egregiouness of it. At 2-3, with Aaron Rodgers as your QB, your season isn’t lost, in theory. Some things have to be given time to really push through but obviously the ownership didn’t feel there was any time left. If anything, how will the Jets job look at the end of the year with an aging QB on his way out, an offense that can’t produce and an owner with a short time leash? Saleh deserves blame for some of the struggles that led to his dismissal but he should be glad he is out of an organization that is consistently running into coaching problems.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Baltimore Raven QB Lamar Jackson for being himself. Sunday against the Bengals, down 38-28 in the 4th quarter, Jackson takes the snap at the Cincy 6 yard line and fumbles it. He quickly recovers then stiff arm a defensive player twice then throws a strike to Ravens tight end Isiah Likely for the touchdown. It was such an amazing play even a member of the chains crew dapped him up.
Shut out to Deshaun Watson and his QBR. Earlier I mentioned that Watson had a single digit QBR of 8.5 Sunday in the loss to the Washington Commanders. It was the 2nd time this season he generated a single digit QBR, with the first one coming in the season opener.
Week 6 is here with some crucial matchups for a few teams. The Dallas Cowboys host the Detroit Lions in a game between 2 NFC teams expected to be in the postseason. This is also a rematch of last season’s game in which Detroit was about to win on a 2 point conversion but was called for an illegal touching penalty after offensive lineman Taylor Decker caught the ball but didn’t report as a receiver. The game of the weekend might belong to the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Washington Commanders. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson will be competing against Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels, both of whom have been impressive to start the season off. Daniels has drawn some comparisons to Jackson with his dual threat ability. It should be an exciting watch to see these 2 take on the opposing defense this weekend. But until then…I’ll holla.
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