Jameis Winston

King’s Latest: Stanton, Ravens, Bowles

September 22nd, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

As usual, Peter King of TheMMQB.com tackles a number of topics in his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column, and we’ll round up several of the highlights from his latest piece below. Let’s dive in….

In the wake of Drew Stanton‘s second straight victory for the Cardinals, King takes a look at how Stanton ultimately ended up in Arizona. The signal-caller signed with the Jets in 2012 expecting to be Mark Sanchez‘s backup, but when the team signed Tim Tebow, Stanton was sent to the Colts, where he began working with offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. As King writes, “Stanton loved the guy, and Arians loved him back,” which led to the Cardinals head coach bringing the quarterback with him to Arizona.
Asked by King if he pushed to have the Ravens release Ray Rice back in February, head coach John Harbaugh didn’t answer yes or no. “That is such an unfair characterization,” Harbaugh said. “It is not fair to the organization. We said all along that the facts would determine the consequences, and that was my stance from the start of this.”
Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has emerged as a head-coaching candidate based on the job he’s doing with the team’s defense, which is missing several key pieces, says King.
King expects commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith to meet early this week – likely Tuesday – to discuss the new personal conduct committee Goodell vowed on Friday to create. In King’s view, it will likely be made up of former players, current players, an owner or two, and others from the business world who have past experience constructing similarly complicated personal conduct policies.
The fact that Goodell was willing to give up decision-making power in the drug appeals process in the league’s new policy bodes well for the future relationship between the NFL and the NFLPA, according to King, who breaks down how that new policy was a win for both the league and the players.
In light of Jameis Winston‘s off-field issues at Florida State, there’s a possibility he won’t be a first-round pick when he enters the draft, writes King.

Teams To Better Evaluate Player Conduct

September 20th, 2014 at 4:29pm CST by Rob DiRe

The player conduct policy getting some exercise these past few weeks, with the domestic violence cases dominating the news. The cases of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Dwyer, and Greg Hardy all resulted in the players making headlines and missing games.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attempted to address this in his press conference on Friday, but was undermined when the report by Don Van Natta Jr. and Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN was published.

Still, the best way for teams to avoid the embarrassment that the Ravens, Vikings, Cardinals, and Panthers are now deservingly subject to is to do a better job in selecting and guiding players in the organization, writes Albert Breer of NFL.com. Of course, if it was easy to pick out the future criminals and troublemakers, teams would be doing so already.

“I don’t think you’ll find an NFL team that has not put an emphasis on character, and gathering the background to understand the full picture of a player,” one AFC personnel executive told Breer. “You may have risk guys. You’re gonna measure risk to a degree. But you’re also gonna have values and principles that, in some cases, will be unwavering. … I just don’t think there’s a blanket response (in how this will change things).”

Breer writes that we will not see whether this peak in incidents will influence how teams will change their approach until the calendar draws closer to the draft and free agency. It isn’t simply a question of when teams will start becoming more cautious, but if their decisions will be effected altogether.

“I’ll be honest, it will not change anything we do,” a veteran general manager said. “I hate to say it, but it’s not like we’re saying, ‘OK, from now on, we can’t have domestic violence.’ I think the players come into the league, they’re younger, and we have to develop them from boys to men. And so we spend a lot of energy here doing that.”

The process of bringing players into the organization will be equally important as the guidance they are able to provide for those players. With young men anywhere, the NFL included, a system of developing them into mature members of society needs to continue after college.

Even still, no matter how hard the teams try to bring in high character players, it is impossible to be perfect while building a team.

“You really don’t know,” an NFC executive said. “You really, really don’t know. You gotta do your homework, but there’s no telling exactly what you’re getting.”

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is not playing this Saturday because of an off the field transgression that resulted in his suspension for the game against Clemson. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report uses the Winston case as an example of the the effect the last two weeks in the NFL will have on player evaluations.

Winston won the Heisman Trophy last year for the national champion winning Seminoles, and as the reigning best player in college football, Winston and Florida State entered this weekend as the top ranked team in the country. Despite that, the most recent incident has caused many to drop Winston on their draft boards.

Freeman notes that draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN dropped Winston from third on his board down to the 25th best player available. His colleague Bill Polian, who formerly was the general manager of the Bills teams that made it to four consecutive Super Bowls and the Peyton Manning era Colts, was asked whether he would take Winston and replied “I don’t know.”

Freeman believes players like Winston will be used as a test case for the changing demeanor amongst NFL decision makers. It is unknown if the best player in college football will be drafted in the first round. There is a chance both Hardy and Rice are free agents this offseason, assuming they are not suspended. Peterson and Dwyer both could also be looking for new teams, depending on what the Vikings and Cardinals ultimately decide to do with them once their situations play out.

In time, it will be more clear whether player conduct becomes a more vital part of the evaluation process during the draft and free agency, and if that changes the climate of the NFL.

College Quarterbacks Discuss 2015 NFL Draft

July 11th, 2014 at 5:51pm CST by Rob DiRe

Although Blake Bortles was drafted third overall by the Jaguars, the 2014 quarterback class failed to capture the imagination of NFL general managers this past May. Johnny Manziel’s hype got him drafted 26th overall, and Teddy Bridgewater was once thought to be the first pick of the first round, and ended up being the last pick of round one.

Derek Carr, Tom Savage, A.J. McCarron, Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray, Logan Thomas and Tahj Boyd all had dreams of being first-round picks at some point during their college careers. Whether those dreams were realistic or not at any point are questionable, but they seemed possible while they were still tearing through their respective conferences.

Even still, two quarterbacks that will be lining up representing their universities come late August would have had a chance to jump all of those drafted. Chase Goodbread of NFL.com caught up with both of these players, who spoke about their NFL futures.

Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion Jameis Winston was only a freshman last year and ineligible for a draft in which he outperformed every single player at his position in college. He led Florida State University all the way to the promise land, and produced one of the greatest seasons by a freshman in the history of college football.

The third-year sophomore could have been the first quarterback taken if he was eligible for the draft, but although he will be able to enter the league next year, it is no certainty that he will. “It’s very important to me. I was always raised as a student first and an athlete second,” Winston said. “I think that’s the main purpose in college. Some athletes lose that perspective. It’s about being a student-athlete, and not just getting that easy money and going to the league. Even if kids leave early, I would want them to come back and get that degree.”

Marcus Mariota of Oregon was eligible for the draft, but elected to return to school. Mariota possesses the combination of size and speed to go along with the traditional quarterback skills that make him one of the most sought after prospects in football. The versatility he will bring to an offense is unlimited, and there was speculation that he could have been the first quarterback taken had he decided to leave school.

The fourth-year junior has two years of eligibility remaining, and has yet to make a decision about entering the 2015 NFL Draft. “We’ll see, I’m not too sure,” said Mariota. “The opportunity to leave obviously is there, but at the same time, college is fun and I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.”

Although both players seem ambivalent about their hurry to get to the professional level, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk expects both players to be with an NFL team this time next year. Both would be expected to be selected very high in the first round. Of course, the same could be said for a number of quarterbacks this past draft, from Manziel to Boyd. A lot can happen in a football season.

Extra Points: Winston, Buccaneers, Eagles

July 1st, 2014 at 10:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has taken out an insurance policy that would pay $8-10MM in the event of disability or loss of value, reports Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports. The policy is predicated on the expectation that Winston will be picked in the top-10 of the 2015 draft; if he is not selected in the first round due to injury or illness, the policy will presumably pay out. Though Winston has designs on spending two more years at FSU, Getlin writes that this policy makes that scenario unlikely. Premiums on coverage plans such as Winston’s are often in excess of $50K annually, meaning the Heisman winner will probably need to earn an NFL salary to pay off the fee.

Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap zeroes in on the Buccaneers’ secondary while dissecting the team’s best and worst contract, labeling Alterraun Verner‘s deal as the most team-friendly, and Dashon Goldson‘s pact as the most perilous to Tampa Bay’s cap situation.
The Eagles have several intriguing candidates for the return jobs on special teams, writes Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com. During minicamp, Darren Sproles was used as the main punt returner, while rookie Josh Huff was the primary option on kick returns.
Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton, and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell top Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com’s list of assistants who are likely to get a head job soon.

Extra Points: Winston, Flowers, CJ2K, 49ers

June 19th, 2014 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Jameis Winston‘s father, Antonor Winston, believes his son plans to play two more seasons at Florida State, writes Jeff Sentell of The Birmingham News. The quarterback is slated to graduate in December of 2015 but if he jumps early, he’ll likely find himself as a top 10 pick in next year’s draft. Winston is also a promising baseball prospect and has been projected by some to be a first round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. Tonight’s glance around the NFL..

Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune (via Twitter) heard this morning from a league source that free agent cornerback Brandon Flowers is not expected to visit the Vikings. Flowers, who was cut loose by the Chiefs last week, is visiting with the Chargers before potentially taking visits elsewhere, but it sounds like Minnesota is not on the docket.
Jets tailback Chris Johnson is upset with the Titans for cutting him so late in the offseason and former NFLPA president Kevin Mawae is on his side. “I’ve got to give some credit to Chris,” Mawae said on 102.5 The Game, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. “There are some times when the business side of it is done wrong and if the team knew they were gonna cut him or whatever, then I’m in agreement with Chris that they should have done it earlier. There’s no sour grapes about it. You just don’t do business that way, is what I think Chris is trying to say and I would agree with that.”
Tight end Vernon Davis and guard Alex Boone want new contracts from the 49ers and are holding out from practice until they get them. Unfortunately for them, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com explains, the club has a history of not caving into such holdouts. San Francisco set an important precedent in 2011 with running back Frank Gore and it’s hard to see them going against that now with Davis and Boone.
Although some have hammered Colin Kaepernick for signing a team-friendly deal with the 49ers, he says the contract is an all-around win, writes Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports. “You can skew things anyway you want,” Kaepernick said. “At the end of the day, a lot of the way the contract is set up is the way every other quarterback’s contract is set up. The things that aren’t set up like those contracts are because we wanted them that way, so we could sign other players.“
Brandon Pettigrew has been a scapegoat for the Lions‘ struggles during his five years in Detroit, but he says he didn’t let that cloud his judgement before deciding to re-sign with the club, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. This season, Pettigrew will share playing time with first-round pick Eric Ebron and second-year pro Joseph Fauria.

Winston Plans To Play Two More Years At FSU

February 7th, 2014 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

Coming off a season in which he led the Florida State Seminoles to a BCS National Championship victory and became the youngest player to win the Heisman, quarterback Jameis Winston is one of the top young prospects in college football. However, backing up comments made by FSU coach Jimbo Fisher this week, Winston says he intends to play college ball for two more years rather than entering the NFL draft when he’s eligible in 2015, according to Kareem Copeland of The Associated Press.

“Everybody says, well he’s going to stay one (more) year and leave,” Fisher said this week. “I think it’ll be two.”

Asked about his his coach’s declaration, Winston confirmed that “whatever he says most likely is true,” adding: “Obviously I’m a big baseball person, so that’s an accurate statement because I plan on playing baseball [at FSU] next season anyway.”

Plenty could change between now and next year’s draft, so there’s no guarantee that Winston sticks to his plan and waits until 2016 to head to the NFL. Still, even if he doesn’t declare his intent for the 2015 draft, it shouldn’t have a significant effect on NFL teams’ approaches for the coming offseason. Perhaps clubs in need of a young quarterback will be slightly more inclined to draft one this year, but considering how quickly Winston figures to come off the board when he’s draft-eligible, it would have been misguided for any one team to bank on landing him anyway.