Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
I’d give it a B+. $10M feels kinda expensive, but he’s a good run defender, familiar with Staley and has pass-rush upside with his length and athleticism

Austin Wilson@AUS10SPORTS
He’s also oddly really good at coverage for a OLB.

Ian Rapoport@RapSheet
The #Rams are giving LT Andrew Whitworth a 3-year deal worth $30M, source said. He can get up to $37.5M — $12.5M fully guaranteed. It’s the highest paying contract signed by 35+ year old non-QB in NFL history.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2011/profiles/leonard-floyd?id=2555285

“Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was in San Francisco when it drafted Aldon Smith. Floyd is very similar. He is one of the most polarizing conversations in the entire draft. He has a ‘wow’ get-off and he bends like Gumby. I don’t know if he can convert speed to power in that pass rush. He has the best burst and get-off in this entire draft. He’s a sub-package, designated pass rusher on Day 1, just like Aldon Smith was in San Francisco.” — Mike Mayock

Rams re-sign left tackle Andrew Whitworth to multiyear deal

GARY KLEIN

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2020-03-18/rams-re-sign-left-tackle-andrew-whitworth-to-multiyear-deal

The Rams on Wednesday kept intact one of the key pieces of the offensive line, agreeing to terms on a multiyear deal with veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Whitworth, 38, is a 14-year veteran, so the deal is no doubt front-loaded. Last season, he had a salary-cap number of $16.7 million in the final year of the three-year, $33.8-million contract he signed with the Rams after 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Whitworth agreed to terms a few hours after the Rams announced they had re-signed offensive lineman Austin Blythe to a one-year contract, and that they had agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Leonard Floyd.

The Rams had to that point only suffered free agent losses — all on defense.

On Monday, lineman Michael Brockers agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens. On Tuesday, linebacker Cory Littleton agreed to terms with the Oakland Raiders, and the Rams declined to exercise an option on slot cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, making him a free agent. On Wednesday, edge rusher Dante Fowler agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons.

Whitworth helped the Rams reach the playoffs in 2017 and the Super Bowl in 2018 as part of a line that enjoyed remarkable continuity.

But after Rodger Saffold left to sign a free-agent contract with the Tennessee Titans and the Rams declined to exercise an option on veteran center John Sullivan before last season, coach Sean McVay turned to younger players.

Problems ensued, however, when guard Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen both suffered season-ending knee injuries early in the season. Austin Blythe moved to center, Austin Barnes played left guard, rookie David Edwards played right guard and rookie Bobby Evans supplanted injured Rob Havenstein at right tackle.

After the season, Whitworth said he aimed to remain with the Rams.

“Hopefully, the opportunity will be here,” he said. “Obviously, any time you’re a free agent, you’ve got to listen to everything and figure out what’s best for you.

“But of course, for me and my family, being a Ram would be No. 1, without question.”

Los Angeles Rams UK@LARams_UK
Free Agency so far:

Added
– Leonard Floyd

Returning
– Whitworth
– Blythe

Gone
– Brockers
– Fowler
– Littleton

Released
– Robey-Coleman

WHO and CDC never discussed providing international test kits to the US, global health agency says

Wed March 18, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/health/who-coronavirus-tests-cdc/index.html

(CNN)As the United States struggled to launch testing for the novel coronavirus using kits developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization shipped hundreds of thousands of tests to countries around the world.

No discussions occurred between WHO and the CDC about providing tests to the United States, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told CNN on Tuesday, and WHO did not offer coronavirus tests to the CDC.

The United States, Jasarevic confirmed, doesn’t ordinarily rely on WHO for tests because the US typically has the capacity to manufacture its own diagnostics.

US chose to design its own coronavirus test

On January 17, WHO published a protocol from German researchers with the instructions necessary for any country to manufacture coronavirus tests.

That same day, a top US health official said that the CDC had developed an early version of its own test — not relying on any protocols published by the WHO.

“We actually do have laboratory diagnostics here at CDC that are stood up,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Testing began at the CDC, and on February 5, the agency announced it would begin shipping test kits to public health labs around the country. Just a day later, the World Health Organization said it had already shipped 250,000 tests to more than 70 laboratories around the world.

As WHO shipped hundreds of thousands of tests, broader US testing struggled to begin. Days after CDC’s tests shipped, some labs reported that the test kits were not working as expected, which eventually required tests be re-manufactured.

On March 1, an official at US Health and Human Services said the agency had launched an investigation into a manufacturing defect in the CDC tests.

Officials, though, have yet to offer a detailed account of what went wrong with the CDC’s tests. It’s unclear whether using a different country’s protocol — like the German protocol used in tests shipped by WHO — would have prevented the issue, which delayed widespread testing in the United States.

As of March 9, public health labs in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are able to test for the novel coronavirus. New commercial tests authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration have also increased US testing capacity.

During CNN’s coronavirus town hall last week, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta asked the United States’ top infectious disease doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, if the US should have used the WHO coronavirus tests.
“If you look back and Monday morning quarterback it would have been nice to have had a backup,” said Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. “But what the CDC has done over many, many years when we have things like this is to develop their own test, which is always really a good test, and to roll it out in a way … where they give it to departments of public health.”

On Tuesday, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, also discussed why the United States had not adopted a test distributed by WHO as the CDC-developed test struggled.
“Because quality testing for our American people is paramount to us,” Birx said before suggesting that other tests have been inaccurate. “It doesn’t help to put out a test where 50% or 47% are false positives.

“Imagine what that would mean to the American people,” she added. “Imagine their level of concern now in telling people that they’re false positive.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Birx later clarified her comments, saying that, while she was responding to a question about the WHO test, she was referring to a study of an early coronavirus test used in China.

The study found that, in China, nearly half of asymptomatic people could test positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, without being actually infected.

Regarding the test distributed by the World Health Organization, Birx said “I assume it is functional,” according to the Times.

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Structure of the contract isn’t out yet, but I’m sure there’s an out after next season and 2021, too

…

The Rams are re-signing Andrew Whitworth to a 3-year (!!!) deal https://t.co/XuLDT8qIGV

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) March 18, 2020

Bears Season in Review: Leonard Floyd

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/bears-season-review-leonard-floyd

This was supposed to be the season that Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd finally lived up to his 2016 NFL Draft expectations. Remember those? Floyd was supposed to be Chicago’s version of Von Miller in then-coach John Fox’s defense. He was supposed to bring elite pass-rushing upside to a defense that was desperate to get after the quarterback.

Instead, Floyd has settled in as a well-rounded starting linebacker who’s better in coverage and against the run than he is at creating fear in opposing quarterbacks.

An argument can be made that Floyd’s failure to develop into a double-digit sack guy is what led GM Ryan Pace to pull the trigger on the Khalil Mack trade prior to the 2018 season. In a weird way, it’s the best thing Floyd’s done as a Bear.

But as is often the case when a premier player like Mack is added to a roster, expectations for his teammates are elevated. How can they not be? With all the attention opposing offensive lines pay to Mack, a player with as much alleged talent as Floyd should be able to capitalize on the favorable one-on-one situations he’d see.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened for Floyd in the two seasons playing opposite Mack. In fact, 2019 was his worst as a pass-rusher; he managed just three sacks despite playing all 16 games.

Floyd hasn’t been a complete bust for the Bears, however. He was the ninth-highest graded defender on the team this season, per Pro Football Focus, with a 69.8 season mark. It was the best PFF grade of his career even though his impact wasn’t all that noticeable on gamedays.

Is Floyd a serviceable starter? The answer is an obvious yes. But serviceable starters don’t get paid more than $13 million per year, and that’s what Floyd’s due in 2020 if the Bears keep their word and pick up his fifth-year option. Since Floyd remained healthy in 2019, Pace can rescind the fifth-year option if he so chooses. And with the Bears already facing salary-cap challenges, keeping that $13 million off the books makes a lot of sense.

The Bears could’ve done a lot worse than Floyd in 2019, but it became painfully obvious by midseason that Mack needed someone to step up as the Robin to his Batman. It was Floyd’s responsibility to be that guy, and he failed.

It would come as no surprise if we’ve seen the last of Floyd as a starter on the Bears’ defense.

Ian Rapoport@RapSheet
A high-end pass-rusher lands in Atlanta. Coach Dan Quinn actually coached Fowler while at Florida.

From @nflnetwork: The #Falcons are signing standout pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr to a 3-year deal worth up to $48M, some huge help on the edge for coach Dan Quinn. pic.twitter.com/Tx7OtJ5Lte

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2020

Howard Balzer@HBalzer721
Is it a stretch to call Dante Fowler a “high-end” pass rusher and give him the money Atlanta did? He did have 11.5 sacks last season, but his total is 27.5 in four NFL seasons. This will be his third team.

Bears signing Robert Quinn to 5-year, $70M deal

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001106631/article/bears-signing-robert-quinn-to-5year-70m-deal

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Wade Phillips deserves credit helping Cory Littleton go from undrafted special teams ace to Pro Bowl caliber LB. But going back to his Washington days, when he wanted to draft Cory, and then as
@Rams LB coach, Joe Barry was always huge believer/asset in Littleton’s development

Mark Whicker@MWhicker03LANG
Cory Littleton was so far down the totem pole as a rookie, he was dressing in a Coliseum anteroom for exhibition games. Made it as a special teamer. Now he’s a Pro Bowler and a rich new Raider. Good for him. Big assist to Wade Phillips.