NFL Latest News, Notes & Rumors

The sports world continues to be shut down for the most part, but the news of the sports world continues to roll on. I know we give the news with much bigger stories here at Winners & Whiners or StatSalt, but I will be doing something different every week. I will be giving out some of the latest news, notes, and rumors for the 4 major sports in separate articles. Also, If any of my quick hits were done by one of our writers, then I will give a link to the longer story if you want to check it out.

Here is my schedule for each week for these articles:

Mondays - NFL

Wednesdays - MLB

Thursdays - NBA

Saturdays - NHL

The NFL Schedule Gets Released On May 7th

Let’s start off with the NFL Schedule. Not a whole lot to chat about here with it but the league did announce that there will be a full 17 weeks worth of the schedule. Opening week is supposed to take place on Thursday, September 10th while the Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday, February 7th. Having said that, the league is closely monitoring the situation with the pandemic and they do have some contingency plans should the season not be able to start in September. Games could be played without fans in the stadiums… The season could start in October… The league could have an abbreviated season. These are just some of the plans that have been floating around. One thing you will NOT see as a part of the 2020 season are games being played overseason. That’s right, no games in London this year.

I will keep you abreast of all the changes each week if there are any.

Andy Dalton Is Headed To Dallas

Andy Dalton had been with the Bengals for nine years and while he did take them to the postseason in each of his first five years, they did not win a postseason game over that stretch. He threw for 31,594 yards with 204 TDs and 118 INTs in his nine years with the team and went to the Pro Bowl three times. He has good numbers overall in his career, but he is 0-4 in the postseason and the Bengals have not made the playoffs in each of their last four years. Cincy drafted Joe Burrow with the 1st pick of the draft and Dalton was released soon after.

A few teams had an interest in him, including the Jets, Patriots, and Jaguars but on Saturday night, it was the Dallas Cowboys that emerged with the nine-year quarterback. Dallas signed him for one year and the deal is worth up to seven million dollars. Dalton will get a guaranteed three million from the deal.

I have more on this story Right Here. You can also get different perspectives on this story by Ben Hayes or Will Moorman.

Looks Like The Bears Have Given Up On Trubisky?

The Chicago Bears were hyping up Mitchell Trubisky at the beginning of last year but the hype is now all gone as it looks like they are giving up on the 25-year-old QB. The Bears traded up to get him as the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft but now they are not going to pick up the option for his 5th year. Back in 2018, he threw for 3223 yards and 24 TDs while also posting 12 INTs. Trubisky did not have a good season last year at all as he threw for 3138 yards with 17 TDs and 10 INTs. He finished 32nd in yards per attempt (6.1), 28th in QBR (39.4), 27th in touchdown passes, and 28th in quarterback rating (83.0). In the offseason, the Bears brought in Nick Foles to compete for the starter’s spot as it looks as if Chicago has lost complete confidence in Trubisky.

You can get more info on 5th-year options that have been declined by reading Chris Kubala’s take on the situation.

Cam Newton Does Not Want To Be A Backup

Andy Dalton was recently signed by the Dallas Cowboys and many did feel that he would go before Cam Netwon did. Cam is 30-years-Old and spent the first nine years of his career with the Carolina Panthers, before being released this offseason. Last year, he played in just two games because of a foot injury but he did take them to the playoffs in four of his years and all the way to the Super Bowl in 2015. Kyle Allen showed some promise last year and the Panthers Brought in Teddy Bridgewater, so the time has come to say goodbye to Newton. Cam is still waiting to be picked up by a team but he has made it harder on himself as he stated that he will not sign as a backup. The veteran QB wants to be a starter and he will wait until a stater goes down for a team before signing with anyone. Stay tuned as I will keep you posted on the Cam Newton saga.

Saints And Panthers Could Be In Hot Water

The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers could be headed for some disciplinary action by the league. One of the more intriguing stories in the draft was New Orleans trading for a 7th round draft pick just so they could steal QB Tommy Stevens from the Panthers. The Saints wanted to sign Stevens as an unrestricted FA but they couldn’t get him to de-commit from a verbal agreement he had with Carolina. That prompted the Saints to trade into the 7th round just to take Stevens away from Carolina. Teams are allowed to talk to players that may not be drafted, but they are not allowed to speak about financial terms. Both teams did that, even though the Panthers denied it. That could lead to the league handing down punishments for both teams. Stay tuned.

I have a bit more on this story in My Article on PickPapa.

Will Aaron Rodgers Finish His Career In Green Bay?

Aaron Rodgers was taken by the Green Bay Packers with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft and he has been with the team ever since. The question is, “will he start and end his career in Green Bay?” That question has now come to the forefront after the Packers traded up to draft quarterback Jordan Love (Utah State) with the 26th overall pick. Is the writing on the wall that Rodgers’ days in Green Bay could be numbered? Did the Packers set him up to fail this year by not drafting a wide receiver at all, which is an area of desperation for them? If he fails this year, it would be easier to let him go or even trade him. Stay tuned as this could be a very fluid story this year and into the next offseason. I will keep you posted.

Where might he land, if let go? Check out Bosun’s article on the situation.

Chiefs Sign Shea Patterson

The Kansas City Chiefs are all set at QB as they have Patrick Mahomes, who is the best in the league at the moment. Still, they do need a backup QB and Jordan Ta'amu, along with Chad Henne may not be the answer. On Sunday, the Chiefs went out and signed undrafted FA Shae Patterson from Michigan. Patterson was the last of 337 players to be invited to the NFL Combine this year and that is a bit shocking as he was once a five-star recruit at the University of Mississippi. It will be an interesting QB battle for the backup spot this year.

Bryan Ehrlich (Patterson’s Agent) first broke the news on his Twitter account.

Be sure and check out Bosun’s article on Offseason NFL Trades