I was elated to learn Monday that former UTSA cornerback Corey Mayfield and three former UIW Cardinals have signed NFL undrafted free agent contracts. Incarnate Word WR Taylor Grimes and ILB Kalechi Anyalebechi will be in the Broncos camp, while versatile RB Marcus Cooper is Seattle bound. I think all three of those guys have a legit shot. Anyalebechi is a tackling machine with a ‘tude (that’s good!), and Grimes is a slot receiver out of the mold of Welker/Amendola/Edelman. That’s a very good thing. Cooper is a dynamic ballcarrier who also runs the whole route tree like a WR. That’s rare.
Deion Sanders is nothing if not interesting and provocative. But sometimes “interesting and provocative” produces stupid statements. Sanders, who has moved on to Colorado after coaching at Jackson State, says he’s “ashamed” of the NFL for selecting only one HBCU player in last week’s draft. Why? What does the NFL have to be ashamed of, and why does Sanders feel the need to feel ashamed for the league? What’s your point, Prime, and what are you alleging?
When last we saw Bengals DE Joseph Ossai, he was lighting up Patrick Mahomes three yards out of bounds in the AFC Championship Game, setting up the Chiefs’ winning score. Ossai is, by all accounts, a good guy and has taken public responsibility for his mistake. I wish him nothing but the best as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery and hope he’ll be ready for training camp.
I was surprised—make that shocked—that the Bills did not draft a running back. And I also raised an eyebrow Monday when Buffalo signed 33-year-old RB Latavius Murray, a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Raiders, Vikings, Ravens, Saints and, most recently, the Broncos.
I’m wondering if the Bills’ Super Bowl Fever is burning as hot as it was at this time last year. Buffalo could still win the AFC East. Sure. But the Bills could also finish third and miss the playoffs. That defense is not championship caliber.
The Broncos picked up the fifth-year-option on WR Jerry Jeudy. That was a no-brainer.
But if you still need proof that the NFL is a cold business, consider this. The Seahawks declined the option on starting ILB Jordyn Brooks, who was Denver’s 2020 first-round pick out of Texas Tech and holds the ‘Hawks’ single-season record for tackles with 183 in 2021. Brooks was tearing it up again last season until he tore up a knee in Week 17 and had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Had the Broncos picked up his option, he’d be guaranteed to make $12.7 million in 2024. Instead, his base salary for that season is slated to be $2.28 mill.
NFL Analytics predicted there was a 92 percent chance that former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis would be drafted in the first ten picks. Instead, Levis had to sweat it out until Friday night when he was finally taken by the Titans with the 33rd overall pick. My only reaction? NFL Analytics? Really?
No Imbiid? No problem. The Beard took over with 45 and a key late three as the Sixers got the jump on the Celts in Boston.
It always seems the Celtics first have to dig themselves a hole.
But that’s just a little divot compared to the not-so-grand canyon the Suns find themselves in. They’re down Love-Two to a very solid Nuggets team. And Chris Paul has a gimpy groin. Of course he does. It’s May.
The NBA MVP will be announced tonight. Nikola or Joel? Remember that it is a regular season award. Imbiid, indeed, IMO.
Mo bettah, Astros. Now beat the Giants again tonight. Rookie Hunter Brown gets the ball for Houston.
This is suspicious at least. Ohio gambling regulators have halted betting on University of Alabama baseball games after detecting some possible funny business in public wagering on last Friday’s Tide vs. LSU game. There is no national regulator, so decisions to suspend gambling are made at the state level. Slippery slope?
Congrats to Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian, who have announced they are expecting their second child!
