DANTE LASTING
Assistant Sports Editor
With the NFL’s 100th season kicking off tomorrow, fans everywhere are getting ready to have football back in their lives. Teams are finalizing their rosters and making sure that they have the best men out there come game time.
Below is an update on all the current NFL news that happened over the weekend.
- #HoldoutWatch
At the beginning of the summer there were six players holding out of training camp for contractual reasons. Currently there are three players still not back with their respective teams.
LA Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, Dallas Cowboys running back Zeke Elliott and Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams all have stayed away from their teams. Elliot and Gordon both want to reset the market for running back and be the highest paid at the position. The Chargers running back and the team are not at all close to an agreement and just gave him the green light for his team to find a trade partner. Zeke, on the other hand, is closer with the Cowboys on an agreement for a new contract, and one should be done before week one.
Williams has one more year left on his contract, but he has come out saying that he will not play for the team again. This is because the Redskins medical staff was to blame for multiple unresolved issues involving Williams.
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Micheal Thomas held out for the beginning of training camp until he got his big pay day. On July 31, Thomas signed a five-year extension that could be worth up to $96 million. He will be getting $61 million of that is guaranteed by the team.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue held out to get a contract extension, but ultimately returned Aug. 4.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was the latest player to end his holdout when he was traded from the Houston Texans to the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 31. Clowney would not sign his franchise tag and explains why he was holding out. The Texans tried to find a trade partner before this, but failed because the defenseman was not on board with it. The Seahawks gave up a 2020 third-round pick, and two lesser known defensive players for Clowney which has many people think that the Texans got fleeced.
- Familiar faces in new places
Every NFL team had to cut their roster down from 90 to 53 over the weekend. Because of cutdown day, major trades happened and some players were cut that surprised people around the league.
The Miami Dolphins “sold the farm” over the weekend. The team traded offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills for two first-round picks and a second-round pick. Their trade partner is none other than the Houston Texans, who have been busy this past weekend. This trade comes hours after they shipped their pass rusher to Seattle. Houston gets their missing pieces on that offense, and Miami is thinking past this season, and wants as many draft picks they can get to get their quarterback of the future.
Both teams were not done with trading though. The Dolphins also traded away linebacker Kiko Alonso to the New Orleans Saints. The Texans received running back Carlos Hyde in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. With Hyde out of KC, it opened the door for recently released running back Lesean McCoy to sign with them. The Buffalo Bills let McCoy go on Saturday after being the odd man out on the roster. He will reunite with his old head coach Andy Reid, who he was with in Philadelphia.
The NFL’s 100th season will kick off tomorrow with the Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears. The game starts at 8:20, and it is on NBC.