Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has added what he says is a major improvement to his offseason workouts: Training for grip strength.
“That’s another thing that I’m religious about,” Crosby told TheAthletic.com. “My grip strength . I do it after every single workout. I got a whole crew doing it with me now, too. That’s a big part of it, like there’s a few sacks this year where you just see me getting a piece of the jersey and pulling them in — that’s just the little details and training.”
Crosby said he’s constantly looking for new ways to work in the offseason to make himself better.
“For me, I just got better and better and better because I’m just paying more and more attention to the details. And it’s not just on the field, it’s off the field as well — like my nutrition, my grip strength after every single workout. Like this morning, I did a grip workout and my arms are literally about to fall off my body, but things like that matter in the run game,” Crosby said.
Opposing quarterbacks will want to make sure their jerseys are tight and tucked in with Crosby coming for them.
The NFL’s gambling policy contains a specific term regarding the acceptance of hospitality or gifts by “NFL personnel” from “Gambling Entities.” The language of the provision, like the rest of the policy, reads as if it was written by a lawyer, for a lawyer.
It’s not clear where the line is. Which, obviously, becomes useful information for those players and other non-lawyers employed by the league and its teams who are expected to stay on the right side of it.
For Tuesday’s swanky, extravagant, and exclusive party held by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin , the league won’t officially say which side of the line the party falls on. The league declined our request for comment on the matter.
Unofficially, a source with knowledge of the league’s position on the matter said there is no violation for NFL personnel who attended. Per the source, it was a private party that Rubin has hosted for several years with no promotion of Fanatics or any of its businesses.
That’s fine, but that’s not what the policy says. “NFL Personnel may not accept a complimentary room, service, or other gift from a Gambling Entity if its value exceeds Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250),” the policy states. “Any items accepted (other than de minimis food & beverages generally offered to all patrons) must be appropriately documented and verifiable upon request. Soliciting gifts of any value is never permissible.”
The loophole apparently comes from the term “Gambling Entity.” The policy defines “Gambling Entity” as a “casino, sportsbook, or other establishment or business that offers commercial gambling.”
Assuming that Rubin paid for the party himself and not with Fanatics money, any other sports book CEO or executive could do the same thing, without the policy ever being relevant. Expensive food. Expensive drinks. Expensive entertainment. Maybe a nice little swag bag with far more than $250 worth of stuff in it.
As long as it’s all hosted by the person who runs the sports book and not the sports book, it’s apparently fine.
Obviously, the spirit of the provision could be easily violated, if this loophole is something other than a make-it-up-as-they-go reaction to something that looks and feels like a violation of the policy. As long as the gambling entity isn’t mentioned or promoted, the owner or operator of the gambling entity can give NFL personnel anything and everything. Surely, that’s not the outcome the league intends.
The situation becomes thornier when considering the very real possibility that Fanatics footed the bill for the party, with the whole thing being a write-off. How would the NFL ever prove that? Would the NFL even be inclined to try?
If only players were present at the party, maybe the league would consider it. The fact that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was among the attendees makes it far less likely that the league would ever do anything about it.
And that’s quite possibly the bottom line here. Rubin’s party wasn’t a potential problem until his company launched a sports book. Someone at 345 Park Avenue might had an “oh shit” moment when considering the application of the relevant portion of the policy to the party. If only players were there, maybe they would hammer them. With an owner there, maybe they came up with a way to quietly look the other way.
Meanwhile, the policy is on the books as written, and no one is in any better position to understand how to avoid violating it.
That’s ultimately what we were trying to do. It’s how we explained it to the league. Lots of people in the league read PFT regularly, if not religiously. This would be a great way to help them understand what the policy means regarding hospitality and gifts.
Instead, you’re on your own, players. Proceed at your own risk.
Ever year, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin hosts an exclusive July 4 party at his $50 million house in the Hamptons. This year, the party comes as he’s trying to grow the company into a major sports book operation — and as unprecedented attention is being paid to the NFL’s gambling policy.
Present at the event, based on the video Rubin posted on his Twitter page , were (to name a few) Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Ravens receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Raiders receiver Davante Adams posted a photo of himself and Burrow on Instagram. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was there.
Given Rubin’s sports-betting aspirations, and in light of the rash of suspensions imposed recently by the league on players for violating the gambling policy, there’s at least a question to be asked about whether and to what extent accepting extravagant hospitality from the CEO of a sports book company crosses the line.
Section 5 of the NFL’s gambling policy seems to apply generally to situations like this. “NFL Personnel may not accept a complimentary room, service, or other gift from a Gambling Entity if its value exceeds Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250),” the policy states. “Any items accepted (other than de minimis food & beverages generally offered to all patrons) must be appropriately documented and verifiable upon request. Soliciting gifts of any value is never permissible.”
Nothing about that party appeared to be de minimis. It was big, it was exclusive, and it was lavish. And it was paid for by the CEO of a sports book company.
One argument could be that it wasn’t a Fanatics event, that it was Rubin’s private affair. That could be a distinction without a difference. Fanatics is Rubin, and Rubin is Fanatics. Also, if Fanatics footed the bill (and I’d be surprised if it didn’t), that argument collapses.
These are important distinctions that players will need to keep in mind, if they even know where the line resides. At what point does accepting an invitation from the CEO of a sports book become a violation of the gambling policy? And how thoroughly and completely is the league explaining to players and other NFL personnel what they can and can’t accept?
With so much about the gambling policy unclear and untested, it’s important for everyone to know where the potential traps are lurking. Just ask the guys who have been suspended for legally and properly betting on other sports in the wrong place.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson is among the many special teams players and coaches across the NFL who are uneasy about the new rule that will encourage fair catches on kickoffs.
“You want to be able to perform at the highest level and not be limited by rules ,” Carlson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And so, we’re trying to figure out how to do that now and roll with the punches.”
The new rule puts the ball on the 25-yard line after fair catches on kickoffs. That means it will be very rare for a kicker to get good hang time and pin the opponent deep in opposing territory, and Carlson will miss that element of the game.
“Not only for field position, but also for kind of the momentum after a score to go pin someone down inside the 20,” Carlson said. “I think that’s a huge play for a team to set their defense up and to get guys fired up.”
Still, Carlson recognizes that there’s no value in arguing about it now: “We’ll just have to adjust along with all the other teams in the league and try and figure out ways to take advantage of the new rules, just like offense and defense do when rule changes happen with them.”
Colin Kaepernick last played in the NFL on January 1, 2017. Whether the product of collusion or coincidentally individual business decisions resulting from the potential impact of giving Kaepernick a roster spot on a team’s bottom line, he was shunned by the NFL for his role in sparking protests during the national anthem.
Even now, he still wants to play.
“I’m going to keep pushing ,” Kaepernick told Gilberto Manzano of SI.com earlier this month, in an item posted on Thursday. “I’m going to keep fighting for it because I know I can step on the field and play. Every workout, every opportunity I’ve had to show that, the feedback has always been positive. Everything from, ‘He’s still an elite player,’ to ‘The workout was great; it was better than expected.’”
He has had only one official workout with a team since becoming a free agent in March 2017. Last May, the Raiders brought him in. They did not offer him a contract, and no team has shown any interest in him in the 13 months since the workout occurred.
“When I had my workout with the Raiders last year, even training with guys, there’s a decent amount of people who may have forgotten what I was capable of doing on the field, so any chance to be able to remind people of what I can do out there, I look forward to and embrace, and I look forward to the day that I get to step on the field and show people what I can do,” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick was asked why his workout with the Raiders didn’t result in a roster spot.
“I’ve heard a lot of excuses over the years, but most of the time it ends up, ‘Oh, we’re going to see how the guys that we have do,’” Kaepernick said. “With the Raiders’ situation last year, that was [Jarrett] Stidham and Nick Mullens [as the backups to Derek Carr], which to me, you just compare resumes and capabilities, on top of the workout and the feedback, it’s like, ‘OK, cool.’”
Kaepernick continues to believe that he’s being overlooked for reasons other than his skills and abilities.
“Obviously, there’s something else within this decision,” Kaepernick said of the Raiders’ decision not to offer him a contract. “To me, that’s typically what it ends up being, or has been for the last seven years. So, I just want the opportunity to come in, show what I can do on the field. Judge me based upon that, not the political bias that you have.”
The biggest problem that Kaepernick now faces is that six-plus years of “something else” has resulted in something tangible. It’s been too long since he has played.
That’s the easiest reason for teams to avoid him now. It’s been too long. The league successfully kept him out for so long that the duration of the absence at some point became the easiest justification for continuing to keep him out.
Kaepernick said he’s still training five or six days per week. It’s admirable. But it’s also irrelevant. He hasn’t played in more than six years. Even now, with rosters at 90, he’s not on a team.
It’s no longer a matter of right or wrong or up or down or woke or whatever. He hasn’t played in more than six years. It’s over. It’s done. Last year’s workout with the Raiders was a surprise. A roster spot at this point would be more than a stunner.