Poll: Will The Titans Reach .500 In 2019?
For three straight seasons, the Titans have finished with a 9-7 record. Naturally, Las Vegas has set their over/under around the eight-win mark, and they might be one of the trickiest plays for gamblers in 2019. 
This wasn’t a flashy offseason for the Titans, but they did make some quietly savvy moves. With injury questions surrounding starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, they added former Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill as a backstop. If Mariota stays healthy, he’ll have Adam Humphries and rookie A.J. Brown as new targets and distractors for defenses who may key in on incumbent Corey Davis. Meanwhile, they beefed up the interior offensive line by signing Rodger Saffold, who graded out as Pro Football Focus’ ninth-best guard in the NFL last year, and drafted Nate Davis in the third-round, who could be primed to unseat Kevin Pamphile for a starting role.
On the other side of the ball, the Titans picked up Cameron Wake and first-round pick Jeffery Simmons to bolster their lackluster pass rush, and they should easily offset the retirement of Brian Orakpo and the potential departure of Derrick Morgan, who remains in free agent limbo. The common thread to the Titans offseason across every position group is this – they didn’t grab headlines, but they made some smart under-the-radar moves without losing a whole lot in the process.
How do you see things playing out for the Titans? Will they, at minimum, reach the .500 mark?
Cast your vote below (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comments section:
No Suspension For Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott
The NFL has decided against discipline for Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in connection with his May incident. Here is the league’s statement, in full: 
Immediately following reports of an incident in Las Vegas in May involving Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL conducted a comprehensive investigation that included interviews with multiple witnesses, including security personnel and others with direct involvement, as well as a review of documentary and other information.
On Tuesday, as part of the review, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Mr. Elliott to reinforce the standards of conduct expected of him and the consequences for failing to meet those standards.
Mr. Elliott acknowledged that he demonstrated poor judgment and committed to make better choices in the future. He volunteered to take advantage of the resources available to help him continue to grow personally.
Commissioner Goodell determined there was no violation of the personal conduct policy and no further action is warranted.
A suspension was viewed as unlikely for Elliott, but not out of the realm of possibility given his history with the league. Elliott was banned for six games in 2017 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, despite no criminal charges being filed in connection with past allegations of domestic abuse.
In May, Elliott was briefly detained by police at a Las Vegas concert after bumping a security guard. The event gained national headlines after TMZ procured video, putting the onus on the NFL to act. Ultimately, after a lengthy investigation, the league opted against suspending the soon-to-be 24-year-old.
Elliott avoided a ban this time around, but it sounds like he’ll be on even thinner ice going forward.
Shaq Thompson Wants To Stay With Panthers
Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson is scheduled to reach free agency after the 2019 season. But, if he has his way, he’ll stay in Carolina for years to come. 
“Yeah, this is a place I’ve been for five years,” Thompson said (via Brendan Marks of The Observer). “I don’t want to know any other place.”
Thompson, 25, set new statistical career-highs this year with 3.5 sacks and 79 total tackles. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury ended his season in December, preventing him from turning in the first full 16-game slate of his career.
So far, Thompson has appeared in 14 games in each of his four NFL seasons, with 2018 marking his best showing yet. At the time of his injury, he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 28 ranked linebacker in the NFL.
It’s not clear if an extension is on the horizon for Thompson, though coach Ron Rivera has expressed a desire to keep him in the fold.
“Those are young guys that you do most certainly want to have around because they are going to impact your team for years to come,” Rivera said of Thompson and cornerback James Bradberry. “They’re both, I think, at the point where they’re ready to take the next step, which is very important in our development as a football team.”
This year, with Thomas Davis out of the picture, Thompson has an opportunity to cement his value.
This Date In Transactions History: NFL Suspends Reuben Foster
With the draft and the first waves of NFL free agency in the rear view mirror, the days leading up to the 4th of July aren’t necessarily a hotbed of activity. However, the league office has been known to use these slow days as an ideal time to release word of suspensions for noteworthy players. 
That’s what the suits at 345 Park Ave. did on this date in 2018 when they banned 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster for the first two games of the regular season. The move, to put it mildly, was controversial – just a few weeks prior, Foster was facing jail time for accusations of domestic abuse against his former girlfriend. Had he been convicted, the club said that he would have been cut. But, after Foster avoided felony convictions, he kept his spot on the roster and the league determined that he would only miss contests against the Vikings and Lions before returning to the active roster on Sept. 17.
This was, admittedly, a tricky situation for the NFL. Initially, his on-and-off girlfriend testified that Foster had beaten her and thrown her down stairs. But, later, she claimed that she fabricated allegations against Foster and actually suffered her visible injuries during a fight with another woman.
Critics of the two-game ban were quick to compare Foster’s situation to the league’s handling of Ezekiel Elliott in 2017. Elliott was accused of multiple instances of domestic violence by a former partner, but was never criminally charged in connection to those events. After conducting their own investigation, the league moved to ban Elliott for six games.
Elliott fought his suspension, but Foster did not.
“I accept the League’s decision and am sorry that my mistakes have hurt my team,” Foster said in a statement released by the Niners. “I have a responsibility to the 49ers, our fans and our community, and I am committed to learning from this situation and making better choices in the future. The support I have received over the last five months has been humbling, and I do not take it for granted.”
When Foster was accused of abusing Ennis yet again in November of 2018, the 49ers followed through on their promise to release him. The Redskins pounced, claiming him off waivers days later and expressing confidence that he would not receive another suspension. They were right – the league docked Foster two game checks for the 2019 season but declined to sideline him for any games.
On the same day as Foster’s ban, the league also rejected Julian Edelman‘s appeal and handed Packers running back Aaron Jones a two-game suspension for a substance abuse policy violation. With the statuses of Elliott (again) and Tyreek Hill up in the air, we could see a similar torrent of news today.
Release Candidate: 49ers G Joshua Garnett
Few were surprised when the 49ers declined guard Joshua Garnett‘s fifth-year option for the 2020 season. The former first-round pick still has one year to go on his original four-year rookie deal, but it’s not a given that he’ll be with the club in 2019. 
[RELATED: 49ers Attend Workout For Supplemental Draft Prospect]
The Niners used the No. 28 pick to select Garnett in 2016, but they’ve yet to see much from him at the pro level. The Stanford product started in eleven of his 15 games as a rookie, but even then, his performance was underwhelming – Garnett racked up penalties and didn’t excel in run blocking or pass blocking. He then missed all of 2017 after undergoing knee surgery and only saw action as a reserve in seven games last year. At a rate of $10.35MM, it made little sense to keep Garnett for 2020, especially since the option would have been guaranteed for injury.
This year, Garnett is said to be healthy, but that ensures little in terms of performance. If he stumbles in training camp this year, the Niners could conceivably cut him to save $1.7MM against $1.2MM in dead money.
For now, Garnett will push to beat out Mike Person for a starting job on the interior line. Ultimately, however, he could be pushed off of the 53-man roster altogether.
Extension Candidate: Cowboys WR Amari Cooper
Amari Cooper says he wants to be a member of the Cowboys for a “long time.” Meanwhile, the Cowboys are pretty keen on him after he gave new life to their offense in the second half of the 2018 season. An extension, logically, should be right around the corner as Cooper enters his contract year, but that’s not quite the case. 
“Not now,” Cooper said when asked if he should be the league’s highest-paid receiver, which is his camp’s presumed goal in talks. “Definitely looking forward to earning that respect and definitely looking forward to coming into this year and just putting up those numbers for my team and really showing what I can do in a full season as a Dallas Cowboy. I know that I have the skillset to be one of the highest-paid receivers. I’m just all about going out there and proving it.”
Cooper, a former first-round pick of the Raiders, had an up-and-down tenure in Oakland. Cooper opened his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard+ seasons, but he sagged in 2017 as the Raiders limped to a 6-10 finish. He appeared to be on the same course – and perhaps lacking motivation – through the first six games of the ’18 campaign. Cooper caught 22 balls for 280 yards and one score before he was shipped to Dallas, where things finally clicked, for one reason or another.
In nine games with Dallas, Cooper exploded for 53 catches, 725 receiving yards, and six scores. Extrapolated for a 16 game season (while rounding up a bit), that’s a 96/1296/10 stat line over the course of a full 16-game season, which would represent all new career highs for Cooper.
The Cowboys could be taking a risk by giving Cooper a top-of-the-market deal now, but waiting would also be a gamble. The Cowboys are expected to lean a bit more on their passing game this year than in years past –particularly if Ezekiel Elliott gets hit with another suspension – and Cooper says he’s aiming for 2,000 yards receiving.
If the Cowboys allow Cooper to play out the 2019 season and franchise tag him in 2020, they’ll be paying him upwards of $31MM guaranteed over the course of the next two years. That’s a reasonable starting point for both sides in talks, though Cooper shouldn’t necessarily be in a rush to sign. With Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, and A.J. Green all vying for new deals, it may behoove Cooper to stay patient, wait out the market, and try to top all of them to become the highest-paid receiver in the league.
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Poll: Will The Giants Reach .500 In 2019?
After the Giants shocked the world with their No. 6 overall selection, could they be poised to shock everyone all over again in the regular season? 
It has been a trying few years for the G-Men – a rash of injuries spoiled their 2017 season, and 2018 wasn’t much better. The Giants turned on the jets in the middle part of the season, but it was too little too late after a dreadful 1-7 start.
This offseason, the Giants moved on from multiple stars, though they stopped short of a complete rebuild. They shipped out Odell Beckham Jr. after his off-field distractions started to outweigh his on-field contributions. They moved defensive end Olivier Vernon to the Browns as well, recouping guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabrill Peppers, a first-round pick, and a third-round pick. Those trades weren’t especially popular with Giants fans, but their most controversial move might have been allowing star safety Landon Collins to walk without the franchise tag.
This much is clear: GM Dave Gettleman isn’t afraid to go against the grain to get what he wants. The replacements for OBJ and Vernon offer decidedly less in name value, but team brass is hoping that the character of Golden Tate and upside of Markus Golden will offset their departures.
A skeptic might say that the rival Jets have more upside and star power in their favor, but the Giants believe that Eli Manning can turn back the clock and allow them to bring along Daniel Jones at a slower pace. Meanwhile, they have an improved interior offensive line to block for Saquon Barkley.
One Vegas oddsmaker has pegged the Giants for a 4-11 record, splitting their difference between their last two seasons. Do you have more faith in the G-Men than the bookies? Or do you feel the Giants are on course for another top 10 pick?
Cast your vote below (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comments section:
Josh Doctson Expects To Leave Redskins?
After the Redskins declined Josh Doctson‘s option, the wide receiver is on course for free agency following the ’19 campaign. From the sound of it, he expects to be elsewhere in 2020. 
“I think I’m hitting free agency next year. I won’t be the first, won’t be the last,” Doctson said (via ESPN.com’s John Keim). “It’s nothing to be sad about, be mad about. Someone wants you there, so it’s all love.”
Had the Redskins picked up his option, Docston would have been due $10.162MM for the 2020 campaign, an untenable figure given his lack of NFL production. Doctson appeared in only two games in his rookie season due to injury, and he averaged just 40 receptions, 517 yards, and four touchdowns in each of the past two years. Efficiency was a problem for the 26-year-old in 2018, as he ranked 96th out of 107 qualifying receivers in yards per route run, per Pro Football Focus.
The Redskins’ offense features a heavy focus on tight ends, including Jordan Reed, so a change of scenery (and a clean bill of health) could lead to big things for Doctson elsewhere. For what it’s worth, teammates like cornerback Josh Norman still believe in his ability.
“He goes after the ball like no other. I’m talking about a jump ball,” Norman said. “He has his strengths and abilities to where he can be one of the top guys in this league if he wants it. … We have had a couple quarterback changes since he’s been here. You have to take that into consideration.”
The 26-year-old will have to fight for opportunities alongside rookies Terry McLaurin (third round) and Kelvin Harmon (sixth). Meanwhile, Paul Richardson will aim to erase his injury-shortened 2018 and Trey Quinn will return to man the slot.
NFL, NFLPA Hope To Sign New CBA Soon
We might not be headed towards a labor stoppage after all. Talks between the NFL and the NFLPA are set to pick up this month with an eye towards hammering out a new collective bargaining agreement before the 2019 season gets underway, a source tells ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano.
[RELATED: Could Players Have Say In Team Relocations?]
The two sides have scheduled negotiating sessions for July 17-19, marking the first time the two parties will engage in talks for three straight days. As it stands, the current CBA expires after the 2020 season, but everyone involved is taking a proactive approach to get something done well in advance.
It’s all rather promising – owners locked out players in 2011, which led to a last-minute agreement and shortened training camps. There’s optimism on both sides of the table, Graziano hears, though nothing is certain.
It would behoove both sides to get something done before March 2020. Without a new deal in place, next offseason will include new contract and salary-cap rules specific to the final year of the CBA, which means no June 1 release designations and the ability of teams to use both the franchise and transition tags to keep players off the free agent market.
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