Last month, receiver DeAndre Hopkins visited the Titans and Patriots. Since then, he has played the waiting game.
Via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Hopkins is waiting for another team to enter the mix . If that happens, his value could increase.
Obviously, this implies that neither the Titans nor the Patriots have made him an offer he can’t/won’t refuse. Per Reiss, both teams have indeed made offers — and the Titans have been “more aggressive to this point.”
It’s unclear whether another team will emerge before camp opens. Hopkins could choose to wait until a veteran currently on a team gets injured or displays ineffectiveness, creating on-the-fly interest in his services. If, as many believe, Hopkins isn’t a fan of practice, waiting until the season approaches to sign could be enticing to him.
Still, at some point, he needs to get ready to make an impact right away, especially since his eventual contract will include incentives based on playing time and/or production.
Reiss also notes that, if it ultimately comes down to the Patriots or the Titans, Hopkins could ask himself which one gives him a better chance to reach his incentives and max out his earnings. His experience with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien could be a plus in that regard.
Pat Shurmur did not coach last season, but he’s back in the game.
He is joining Deion Sanders’ staff as an offensive analyst at the University of Colorado, Carl Reed Jr. of 247Sports reports.
Shurmur, 58, most recently was offensive coordinator with the Broncos in 2020-21. He has not coached in the college ranks since 1998 when he was offensive line coach at Stanford.
He coached in the NFL for 23 seasons with the Eagles, Rams, Browns, Vikings, Giants and Broncos. Shurmer served as head coach of the Browns in 2011-12 and for the Giants in 2018-19.
Shurmur has a 19-46 record as a head coach, including two games as interim head coach of the Eagles in 2015.
Former NFL linebacker Johnie Cooks died Thursday, Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed on social media. Cooks was 64.
Cooks became a star at Mississippi State, manning the middle of the defense and earning a spot in the Davis Wade Stadium Ring of Honor. Cooks and D.D. Lewis are considered the best Bulldog linebackers ever.
The Baltimore Colts made Cooks the second overall pick in 1982, and he earned all-rookie honors his first season.
He played 83 games with 74 starts over seven seasons with the Colts, moving to outside linebacker in 1984 and making 11.5 sacks that season.
The Colts released him during the 1988 season, and the Giants signed him. Cooks earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants.
Cooks ended his career in Cleveland, retiring after the 1991 season.
He is a member of both the Mississippi State and State of Mississippi sports halls of fame, and one of Mississippi State’s SEC Legends.
The Browns have made a pair of roster moves on Thursday.
Cleveland announced the team has signed cornerback Thakarius Keyes.
The Chiefs drafted Keyes in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. He appeared in eight games for the club as a rookie, playing 79 defensive snaps and 58 special teams snaps.
He then played one game for Chicago and four games for Indianapolis in 2021.
The cornerback bounced around last season, spending time in two separate stints with Houston along with Atlanta and Baltimore. But he didn’t appear in a regular-season game.
The Ravens waived Keyes in May.
As a corresponding move, the Browns waived 2022 seventh-round pick Dawson Deaton with an injury designation. A center out of Texas Tech, Deaton did not appear in a game for the Browns last year.
Among the questions for the Browns heading into this season is what impact quarterback Deshaun Watson will have on the offense in his first full season as the team’s starter
Watson only played six games after an 11-game suspension last season and he’d sat out the entire 2021 season, so there was a lot of adjusting for other players to do on the fly. Running back Nick Chubb was on that list and Watson’s arrival in the lineup coincided with a drop in production for the back.
Chubb tied a career-high with 12 rushing touchdowns in the first 11 games of the year, but did not score again once Watson was the starter. Chubb said earlier this month that he’s not concerned about that carrying over into this season, however.
“You can’t really look at the numbers ,” Chubb said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Twelve is the most I’ve ever had since I’ve been here. I don’t think it had much to do with it. I think we did have to figure some things out, get the kinks out on offense and I don’t think I’m hindered by Deshaun at all. . . . No, I’m not worried at all. I can’t control what I can’t control. When the ball is in my hand, I have full control, so I’m not worried about anything.”
Running backs coach Stump Mitchell said that he doesn’t expect Chubb’s role to change outside of the back potentially getting more opportunities as a receiver in the passing game, but the proof will come once the Browns take the field in September.