Relocation talk heats up again. Both the Raiders’ and Chargers’ future playing sites populated the NFL news cycle this week, with the Raiders-to-Las Vegas prospective venture clearing a key hurdle. The Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee approved $750MM in public funds for a potential Raiders $1.9 billion stadium in Vegas. Before a league vote can commence, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and the state legislature must approve it. Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf continued to declare the city was working to keep the Raiders, however. As for the Chargers, former GM A.J. Smith said they’d stay in San Diego, but a later report from CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora pointed to the Bolts leaving their home of 55 years.
Bills turmoil continues. After a second straight loss, the Bills moved to fire OC Greg Roman after just 18 games working under Rex Ryan. While Roman’s rushing offense led the league in 2015 and his unit as a whole outproduced Ryan’s defense, Bills sources pointed to a dissatisfaction between Bills ownership and Roman’s offense, and while Doug Whaley‘s job may be in jeopardy despite his offseason extension, Ryan’s is reportedly safe — for now.
More Browns quarterback drama. The Browns were forced to pivot back to Josh McCown after an MRI revealed Robert Griffin III’s shoulder injury to be far more severe than anticipated after the free agent signing finished Cleveland’s Week 1 game. Browns sources may not view this as a crushing blow, however. The embattled team stayed in the news regarding a quarterback its new regime didn’t select. Since-replaced scouts were said to have preferred Carson Wentz to Jared Goff, the favorite of the Browns’ new power structure, before Cleveland traded out of the No. 2 pick.
Linemen receive extensions. After the Packers cut Josh Sitton, they opted to extend tackle David Bakhtiari via four-year, $51.67MM deal. The Rams moved to continue the fortification of their dominant defensive line, inking defensive tackle Michael Brockers to a long-term deal worth $33MM over three years. Brockers joins Robert Quinn as Los Angeles front-line stalwarts extended long-term. Aaron Donald is extension-eligible after this season.
Extensions in question for Rams’ decision-makers. Both Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead have been long rumored to be upcoming recipients of extensions despite the team’s middling play under their leadership. This week, we initially heard Fisher’s extension would be tabled after a 28-0 season-opening loss, before another report kept the timeline for Fisher and Snead extensions on course. On Saturday, however, a report had the Rams and their fifth-year coach already agreeing on an extension but waiting to announce at a more appropriate time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I’ll switch NFL teams if the Raiders go to Vegas!