Tweets – 3/11 free agency and stuff

John E. Hoover: Sooners fans don’t have to cheer for Rams anymore

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Columnist | Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:00 am
NFL trades, retirements, and Revis Island back to NJ

FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2103, file photo, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford looks to pass against the Carolina Panthers in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C. Two people familiar with the trade say the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams have agreed to swap quarterbacks Nick Foles and Sam Bradford. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday, March 10, 2015, because the teams are still working on the draft picks involved in the deal. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone, File)

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There’s a lot Sooner Nation can get behind with Sam Bradford’s trade to Philadelphia.

First, they don’t have to root for a moribund franchise anymore just to pull for one of their school’s most popular players.

Clearly, St. Louis is going nowhere. The Rams haven’t even been to the playoffs since 2004, going on 11 years now. Bradford was a high school junior.

Since the Rams’ last playoff game, Bradford committed to the Sooners, signed with the Sooners, redshirted for the Sooners, started for the Sooners, won the Heisman Trophy for the Sooners, lost the national championship with the Sooners, injured his shoulder with the Sooners, became the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Rams, had a statue erected in OU’s Heisman Park for the Sooners, played in 49 games with the Rams and had two knee surgeries.

Second, Bradford has landed with a coach, Chip Kelly, who’s clearly on his way up in the profession, innovative, creative, nouveau competitive.

The Eagles finished 10-6 and out of the NFC playoff bracket last season, and that was with their quarterback situation in disarray. Nick Foles — he’s the one the Rams got in return for Bradford — started the season and the team began the year 6-2. But Foles was injured and Jets castoff Mark Sanchez couldn’t get the Eagles into the playoffs.

Kelly is banking on a healthy Bradford to get the franchise to the next level.

For Bradford, maybe being in a new environment will be good.

“I think he’s fine,” Sam’s dad, Kent Bradford, told the Tulsa World on Tuesday evening. “He just has to be upright. Healthy, you know?”

Kent Bradford said he was sitting in his office Tuesday and “helping Sam with some transportation issues” after news of the trade broke.

He said his son doesn’t have much in the way of trade details yet, but said Sam would be glad to be reunited with Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, with whom he worked in his rookie season back in 2010.

“They were close then,” Kent Bradford said. “That’s a plus, I think.”

Bradford worked with four offensive coordinators in his first four years before back-to-back knee injuries wrecked his 2013 and 2014 seasons.

After winning the Heisman in 2008 and helping OU set numerous NCAA records (99 touchdowns, 716 points) by passing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns, Bradford was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft.

He signed a six-year, $78 million contract with the Rams, with $50 million guaranteed and incentives upward of $86 million. It was the largest rookie contract in NFL history, and, as part of the final year of the previous collective bargaining agreement that didn’t restrict rookie earnings, will be the largest for the foreseeable future.

Bradford was NFL offensive rookie of the year in 2010, setting NFL rookie records for completions and attempts and becoming just the third NFL quarterback (Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan were the others) to start all 16 games and throw for more than 3,000 yards.

Bradford’s best season was 2012, when the Rams finished 7-8-1. He completed 59.5 percent of his passes and threw for 3,702 yards, 21 TDs and 13 interceptions, an 82.6 passer rating.

But in 2013 and 2014, he played just seven games because of the knee injuries.

In Philadelphia, Bradford will get to work with a better offensive line than he had during his stay in St. Louis. That includes right tackle Lane Johnson, the former Sooner and No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Rams brass has talked up Bradford this offseason, describing how much they liked his progress from the second knee injury and how he seems ready to lead the team.

But that praise, apparently, was merely trade bait.

“I kind of knew of some talks that were occurring,” Kent Bradford said. “I didn’t really know if it would occur or not. So no, I was not shocked by it.”

Kent and Martha Bradford have faithfully attended almost every one of Sam’s games over the last five years. Home games are easy: Sam has a stadium suite and it’s only a 90-minute flight from Oklahoma City to St. Louis.

Now, home games are on the East Coast.

“It’ll be longer flights is all,” Kent Bradford said. “It didn’t really matter where he ended up, I’m gonna go anyway. Just depends on where the game is that week.”
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/johnehoover/john-e-hoover-sooners-fans-don-t-have-to-cheer/article_ca40e03e-0d74-54c6-8f7d-edd572f7330b.html

NFL Rumors – March 11 Updates:

The Browns have talked to the Rams about Austin Davis. – Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

http://walterfootball.com/nflrumors.php

Invader is the hands expert.

Lions look ready to move on from Nick Fairley
By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press 12:12 p.m. EDT March 11, 2015
Nick Fairley

(Photo: Bob Leverone, Associated Press)
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The Detroit Lions are moving on from Nick Fairley.

The Lions have told multiple people that they are no longer interested in re-signing Fairley, whose injury and weight issues have been a concern for years.

Fairley is visiting the Cincinnati Bengals today and had interest from about six teams before NFL free agency opened at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Lions had dialogue with Fairley’s agent in recent days, but were lukewarm about bringing him back for a fifth season.

Last year, the team declined the fifth-year option on Fairley’s rookie contract over worries about his health and motivation, then watched as he missed half of the season with two sprained ligaments in his knee.

The 13th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Fairley has 13.5 career sacks and has missed 18 career games.
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/03/11/nick-fairley-rumors-detroit-lions/70138760/
He played at as much as 320 pounds during the 2013 season before shedding weight after undergoing sleep apnea surgery last spring and finishing the year around 290 pounds.

With Fairley headed elsewhere, the Lions could lose their top four defensive tackles from a season ago. Ndamukong Suh is expected to sign the richest contract for a defensive player ever today with a the Miami Dolphins, a six-year, $114-million pact that includes $60 million guaranteed, and C.J. Mosley and Andre Fluellen are low-priority free agents.

The Lions traded two draft picks to the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday for two-time all-pro Haloti Ngata to fill one of the holes on their defensive line, are still in the market for another free agent defensive tackle and likely will take to bolster the position in this spring’s draft.

With Fairley and Suh gone, the Lions now have no players left from their 2010-11 drafts.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nick+fairley

After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, it seems clear that Fairley is an idiot. That probably won’t stop Fischer. 😉

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by Agamemnon.

Continues to be strangely quiet on Rams OT Joe Barksdale. Am told he has yet to take any visits.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 12, 2015

Maybe he is going to retire?