Archives for July 2017

'"I can't go over that," Ragland said of the weight limit during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio last week. "The $600 a pound will kill me. That's a lot (for) a kid that didn't grow up with much, so I'm trying to keep every penny that I can."'

'A fourth-round pick out of Ohio State who rose to fame by leading the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2014, Jones now will work to establish in Los Angeles as a backup. Rivers has not missed a game since he rose to the starting role in 2006, and veteran Kellen Clemens returns for his fourth season with the team.'

'Jones was a project for the Bills, where Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn spent last season as running backs coach before his promotion to offensive coordinator. Jones was inactive for 15 games in Buffalo before throwing 11 passes in the fourth quarter of the season finale.'

'Anderson missed the start of last season and then appeared in only two games before being placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list because of an arm injury. The seventh-year player is noted mostly for his special teams contributions, and entering his second season in Buffalo.'

'The Chargers have been looking for a reliable back up to veteran Philip Rivers. They worked out Robert Griffin III earlier this week, but Jones' chief competition for the backup role seems to be Kellen Clemens, who has been the Chargers' No. 2 quarterback the past two seasons.'

'Watkins' health will also have a major impact on whether quarterback Tyrod Taylor will be around after the season. Taylor restructured his bloated contract to return as the starter, rather than face likely being released.'

'The Bills' trading Jones does not come as a surprise, after he was given limited reps with the offense during organized team activities and minicamp this spring.'

'With Jones now in Los Angeles, that means the Bills will only have to split reps three ways among their quarterbacks when training camp starts.'

'Jones now will report to the Chargers and try to earn a job backing up Philip Rivers under former Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn.'

'Anderson is in his eighth year in the NFL, playing mostly a special teams role during stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.'

'It's not necessarily all bad news for Jones. He'll reunited with Anthony Lynn, who served as the Bills interim head coach during that Week 17 game after firing of Rex Ryan.'

'The most glaring, yet obvious fact about Cardale Jones and this move, was that the current regime — head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane — simply had no ties to Jones whatsoever. They gave him a chance during the spring to compete, they liked the players that they signed off on better than Jones, and now Jones is with another organization.'

'Now, this isn’t to rule out Tyrod Taylor from the equation just yet. Beane highlighted Taylor’s work ethic and showed a willingness to see how Taylor performs in camp and during the 2017 season. However, as we have grown accustomed to with the quarterback and this regime, there were no promises given to anything past this year — and that isn’t likely to change unless Taylor shows a heap of progress this season. And he’ll certainly need to do so in one area in particular…'

'"I feel the Bills will surprise a ton of people," said Ryan. "They are kind of trying to float this under the radar stuff, which I get. That's probably the way to go, that's the way everybody goes. Undersell and overproduce. I get it. I believe they will have a lot better year than the experts. Could they be a playoff team? They might very well be."'

'Head Coach Anthony Lynn has strong ties to Jones as he coached him in Buffalo. In fact, the quarterback’s lone NFL appearance came in the Bills’ season finale when Lynn served as interim head coach. Jones completed 6-of-11 passes for 96 yards.'