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Mark Barron Jersey

 

When Los Angeles released veteran linebacker Mark Barron earlier this month, the team had interest in bringing him back at a lower contract number.

That, however, did not work out for the Rams, as Barron signed a two-year deal with the Steelers.

 

Barron had been a significant piece of the Rams’ defense going back to 2014, when the team acquired him from the Buccaneers via trade. The former first-round pick was a wildcard of sorts on the Rams’ defense for the rest of that season and in the early stages of 2015, before transitioning to weakside linebacker in the club’s former 4-3 scheme. Then once coordinator Wade Phillips arrived in 2017, Barron became the team’s second starting inside linebacker in the 3-4.

But Barron’s last couple of years saw him significantly impacted by injury — keeping him out of two games in 2017 and then four in 2018. Nevertheless, Barron’s presence was certainly felt when he was on the field.

That’s part of why head coach Sean McVay told reporters this week at the league meetings in Phoenix that the Rams are going to miss Barron going forward.

“You know, I think Mark Barron — what a stud he is. You know, what he’s meant to this team long before our coaching staff got there — we were hopeful to try to get Mark back, but to his credit, he had a lot of teams that were interested,” McVay said. “Pittsburgh got a great one — a great competitor, kind of a silent leader in his own way. I always had so much respect of the way that Mark handled some of the adversity, specific to the injuries. And he just went out and competed. And you could see the way that the players and his coaches respected him. He’s going to be a guy we’re going to miss a lot.”

t this point, rising second-year linebacker Micah Kiser would slot in as the starter at the Rams’ second inside LB spot alongside defensive signal-caller Cory Littleton. McVay mentioned Kiser on Tuesday, saying that part of the reason why L.A. drafted Kiser was for him to play that position eventually.

A 2018 fifth-round pick out of Virginia, Kiser played 63 percent of special teams snaps last year — only three players had more — but the linebacker did not get any time on defense after the preseason.

But whether or not Kiser ends up starting the season at ILB, Los Angeles will likely need to beef up that position. Aside from Barron, linebackers Ramik Wilson and Bryce Hager are also unrestricted free agents. Earlier this month, general manager Les Snead said, “There’s probably a little more work to do at that position through this process.”

As the offseason continues, inside linebacker is certainly a position to monitor for the Rams both in free agency and the draft.

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Alec Ogletree Jersey

 

There are no games off in the NFL, but some are hyped more than others.

From facing the defending Super Bowl champion to a grudge match with a division winner after last year’s overtime thriller, the Giants’ 2019 schedule has it all. Here are five intriguing games to circle this season:

Last meeting: Dec. 30, 2018 (Giants lost, 36-35); Series record: 45-66-2 (1-0 postseason)
The Giants are looking to get back to their winning ways in AT&T Stadium, where they won in the first four seasons of the venue (2009-12). Since then, they are just 1-5 with the lone victory coming in the season opener of their last playoff year in 2016. That means they are split 5-5 all-time at the site, making this year the tiebreaker. Eight of the 10 meetings there have been decided by seven points or fewer, including

 

And so they meet again. Eli Manning and the Giants had a good thing going against the AFC East, as they won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011 over the Patriots after seeing them and the other three teams in the division in the regular season. But the four-year cycle came to an end in 2015 when the Giants lost to the Patriots by one point at home on a 54-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski with a second remaining. This will be just the second regular-season game at Gillette Stadium for Manning, who threw a game-winning touchdown to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left in his first trip. Meanwhile, the New England dynasty is in its second act, winning two of the past three Super Bowls and three of the last five to bring its total to six with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the former Giants defensive coordinator.

 

Last meeting: Dec. 6, 2015 (Giants lost, 23-20, in OT); Series record: 8-5

Saquon Barkley and Sam Darnold will be forever linked in the metro area. The Giants chose the former Penn State running back in the face of what many deemed a strong quarterback class. And they did so one pick before the Jets took the quarterback out of USC third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. It was a win-win for both sides. Barkley was named the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Darnold finished last season on a high note as he threw six touchdowns to one interception in the final four games. The Giants went 2-2 against the AFC East the last time they faced the division in 2015, losing to the Patriots and Jets by a combined four points. Randy Bullock clinched the victory for the Jets with a 31-yard field goal in overtime.

postseason)

The signature win in the Giants’ second-half surge last season came against the eventual NFC North champion Bears. Facing one of the best defenses in the league, Barkley ran for 125 yards, including a sensational 22-yard run on third-and-23 late in the first half. It helped set up an Aldrick Rosas 57-yard field goal, the longest in franchise history, before heading into the locker room. Rosas, who made the Pro Bowl, went on to kick a 44-yard field goal in overtime for the win. The Giants forced three turnovers in the game, including a pick-six by linebackertwo by a single point.

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Maurice Alexander Jersey

Oddly enough, the Buffalo Bills have been after Seattle Seahawks secondary players for quite some time now. Aside from stealing their kicker, Stephen Hauschka in the 2017 offseason, the Bills also met with then-free agent cornerback DeShawn Shead who had just torn his ACL in the Seahawks 2016 divisional playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Ultimately, Shead re-signed with the Seahawks despite meeting with the Bills and departed a year later to the Detroit Lions, another team champing at the bit for former Seahawks.

Now in the 2019 offseason, the Bills are back at again with the Seahawks defensive back love. Over a two-day period last week, they met with free agents, cornerback Neiko Thorpe and strong safety Maurice Alexander. While Thorpe eventually went back to Seattle to re-sign with the Seahawks; Alexander remained in Buffalo and signed with the Bills over the weekend.

According to ESPN’s Bills scribe Mike Rodak, the Bills signed Alexander to a one-year deal worth $1.375 million.
The contract isn’t much more than the veteran minimum, which shows either the Seahawks didn’t want Alexander back or he wanted an opportunity at a bigger role or a bit of both.

While the veteran safety who was drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Rams in 2014 was originally signed by the Seahawks last offseason to compete for their vacant starting safety position; injuries eventually sunk his ship and caused him to be released during roster cuts. Eventually, Alexander returned following injuries to the Seahawks’ safety and weakside linebacker positions and although he was never able to earn any starters reps; he became a key cog in the team’s special teams machinery.

With the Bills, he joins an incomplete safety unit where starting time may be obtainable. Outside of the stellar Micah Hyde, nothing is set in stone at safety in Buffalo. Alexander may see an opportunity to reclaim his starters’ status that he enjoyed with the Rams during his early career.

(The Seahawks retooling hits the free agency period now Stay informed right along with us — take five seconds to Sign up for our Free Seahawks newsletter now! R.I.P. Paul Allen)

Throughout his first four years with the Rams, he started 23 games including 14 of 16 games in the 2016 season. Unfortunately, a season-ending injury in the 2017 season caused him to lose his job and then be released after playing in just four games. Because of his youth, starting experience and hard-hitting style as a strong safety, the Seahawks thought he’d be a perfect fit in their system.

Now, Bills head coach Sean McDermott may have similar designs for Alexander’s future, as the safety enters just his sixth season in the NFL out of Utah State. At the very least, the Bills get sturdy special teams play for relatively cheap and can likely cut Alexander easily if they don’t have room on their roster for him following training camp/preseason.

Appearing in 50 games out 80 possible appearances, Alexander has 123 tackles (94 solo), five pass deflections, three sacks, and two interceptions. He won’t light the world on fire in coverage but knows how to play down in the box.

Obviously, the key for Alexander will be health. He hasn’t been able to stay on the field and perform. He’ll get a third chance in Buffalo to fix that issue and rebalance his career.

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Lamarcus Joyner Jersey

Despite using the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner last offseason, the Los Angeles Rams seemed set on moving on from the safety in free agency, which was exactly the case after he ended up signing with the Oakland Raiders.

With all due respect to Joyner, some Rams fans were frustrated with the safety towards the end of the 2018 season since his production didn’t seem to match the hefty money he was making under the franchise tag.

A few years ago, the decision by Los Angles to move Joyner from cornerback to safety worked wonders on the defensive side of the football. But with the Rams recently signing Eric Weddle while Joyner earned a hefty four-year, $42 million deal from the Raiders, both parties seemed to benefit for the best this offseason.
From the perspective of Oakland, the team has every reason in the world to be thrilled over the addition of Joyner, as the new contract will hopefully provide some extra motivation to elevate his game to a whole new level starting in 2019.

However, when it comes to Jon Gruden already throwing out comparisons to Ronde Barber, well that’s where the Raiders head coach needs to take a step back.

Here’s what Gruden had to say about his new defender in Joyner, courtesy of NB
“When I was in Tampa, I coached a guy named Ronde Barber,” Gruden said. “He may have been, perhaps, my favorite player I ever coached. He wasn’t the biggest guy and he wasn’t the fastest guy, but when he put the helmet on, something happened to him.

“Joyner is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to Ronde as a slot corner. I think he’s the best. I think he has a chance to be dynamic in there.”

First off, Joyner should be thrilled over Gruden even considering the thought of putting him in the same category as Barber because that’s one of the best honors he could ask for as a defensive player.

Unfortunately, Joyner is nowhere near the same level of playing as Barber was during his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that consisted of a Super Bowl title along with five trips to the Pro Bowl.
Maybe in good time, Joyner will find a way to play well enough to draw consideration for being near the same level of Barber.

For now, Joyner has a lot of work to do heading into his first year with the Raiders, especially if Gruden is going to view a player with no Pro Bowl appearances to being on the same level as Barber from his days with the Buccaneers.

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Michael Brockers Jersey

For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Rams entered the offseason needing outside pass-rushing help. They remained relatively idle last year after trading away Robert Quinn, but this year, they took a more active approach.

They re-signed Dante Fowler Jr. to a one-year deal and landed veteran Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers. Fowler is going to be the team’s top pass rusher outside, while Matthews will probably split time between inside and outside linebacker.
Regardless of how Wade Phillips deploys Fowler and Matthews, Michael Brockers is thrilled to have both of them in Los Angeles. He discussed what it means to have those two guys rushing off the edge, adding that Aaron Donald is excited about it too.

“I was kind of licking my chops. You get two edge guys who can rush on the edge and are great at it. It opens up those one-on-ones for you on the inside,” Brockers said. “I know ‘AD’ was looking at it too like, ‘Oh my gosh, you can get those tackles off me’ and stuff like that. Having these two guys, great edge rushers, I think that’s going to open a lot more one-on-ones for us inside.”

The Rams hoped adding Ndamukong Suh last offseason would take some pressure off of Donald and Brockers and their unproven edge rushers, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Suh had some solid performances, but Donald was still getting double teamed more than any other player in the NFL.

Suh is still a free agent and is highly unlikely to return to the Rams, but Donald and Brockers aren’t fretting. They’re going to continue doing what they’ve done for the past several years together.
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“We are just going to keep doing our job. We’ve got some great players that can come in and help us,” Donald said. “Suh was a good player for us and whatever the situation is, is his business, but no matter what happens, we are just going to do our job and do what we’ve been doing.”

Donald led the NFL with 20.5 sacks last season, setting the single-season record for a defensive tackle. Brockers, on the other hand, struggled a bit with just one sack and four tackles for loss. Hopefully Fowler will become the true threat the Rams hope he’ll be, and Matthews can add a spark as a versatile weapon at linebacker.

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John Sullivan Jersey

ohn Arthur Sullivan Jr. was born on Jan. 11, 1945, in Greenville, to the late John Sr. and Evelyn Payden Sullivan.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John Sr. and Evelyn Sullivan; sister, Barbara Allen; and sister-in-law, Charlie Mae Bright.

John departed this life on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Sumter.

John leaves to cherish his memory: his wife, Andrea Sullivan of Sumter; sons, John “Rabbit” Sullivan III and Jarmal Jones; stepsons, Chauncey Thompson and Jarmal Jones; stepsons, Chauncey Thompson and Jamaro Thompson; stepdaughter, Eleathia Lewis; two children he raised, Cantrice Barker and Joe Sullivan; 19 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sister, Shelia Sullivan; three sisters-in-law, Anna Sanchez, Theresa James and Deborah Sanchez; special friend, Charles Hollaway; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, 155 Wall St., Sumter, with the Rev. Larry C. Weston, pastor. Interment will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday at Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina.

A public viewing will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. today at the mortuary.

Services are entrusted to Whites Mortuary LLC of Sumter.

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Tyrunn Walker Jersey

There’s no word on the deal yet, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport put out a tweet this afternoon, Apr. 13, that sources are indicating the Atlanta Falcons will be signing veteran Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison.

Davison has been an unrestricted free agent since the beginning of the 2019 free agency period in mid-March and he has taken visits with the Falcons and 49ers over the past week. Sean Payton indicated in a recent radio interview with WWL-Radio’s Bobby Hebert that the team had some interest in potentially bringing Davison back, but obviously, that hadn’t gotten much momentum.

With the signing of veteran Patriots nose tackle Malcom Brown in the early days of free agency, it was clear the Saints meant to move on from Davison in the long term. But with an injury to Sheldon Rankins and with David Onyemata facing possible suspension, Davison has stayed on the radar of fans asking if he couldn’t provide help and depth for at least another year.

That’s officially off the table now as the Falcons are bringing Davison in to help with their own issues of depth on the interior of their defensive line.

The #Falcons are signing veteran DT Tyeler Davison, formerly a 3-year starter with the #Saints, source said. It’s a 1-year deal and fills a void before the draft.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 13, 2019

 

Davison was never a flashy player for the Saints. Coming to the team in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Fresno State, his play has been average. The Saints felt an upgrade was needed there and that was the reason for the signing of Malcom Brown.
The Saints still have issues on their defensive interior and those will need to be met through the 2019 NFL Draft or by bringing in late free agents like Jay Bromley or Tyrunn Walker ahead of training camp. Davison can’t be considered a loss for the Saints though as it was obvious they weren’t working to get him back on the roster.

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Ethan Westbrooks Jersey

The full 2019 NFL schedule was released to the public on Wednesday night and some teams aren’t thrilled with the hand they’ve been dealt for the upcoming season.

Most notably, the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles have the most difficult schedules, according to NFL Network analysts.

The most difficult part of the Saints’ season, says Maurice Jones-Drew, will be the first four weeks, putting pressure on the team to start strong – otherwise, their hopes of making the playoffs could be crushed from the get-go.

Related: Look back at the Saints’ controversial NFC Championship loss:
The difficulty for the Raiders begins when they’re scheduled to play five straight games outside of Oakland, though their matchup against the Chicago Bears in London during Week 5 is technically a “home” game.

Similarly, the Eagles schedule has been deemed a challenging one due to three straight road games from Week 6 to Week 8. The Eagles also play host to the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in Week 11 for a rematch of Super Bowl LII, which Philadelphia won.

One NFL executive quickly admitted that mistakes were made with this season’s schedule and that the Raiders, as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were given schedules that the league would like to do over.

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Kayvon Webster Jersey

Free agent cornerback Kayvon Webster caused a stir in Broncos Country on Tuesday when he posted a message (presumably from his agent) on Snapchat. The message said Denver is the team “most interested” and he’s trying to get the team to make an offer.
Webster also tweeted (and retweeted) several tweets seemingly related to the possibility of him returning to the team.

Would be awesome whatever Gods plans is for me I’m accepting n going hard in em

— kwebb (@kayvonwebster) March 26, 2019

Webster, 28, was selected by the Broncos in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft out of South Florida. He never emerged as a top cornerback for Denver but was a special teams ace during his four years with the team.

The Broncos let Webster walk in free agency in 2017 and he signed a two-year deal with the Rams. His time in Los Angeles was cut short by a ruptured Achilles and he landed with the Texans last season. He was plagued by quadriceps and thigh injuries in Houston.

Webster has recorded 122 tackles and two interceptions in his career. He has also broken up 21 passes and forced one fumble.

Given his injury history and Denver’s relatively strong depth at cornerback, Webster probably isn’t a lock to return. If the Broncos do sign him, they may wait until after the draft in April.

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John Kelly Jersey

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley doesn’t need much help behind him. Still, John Kelly has proven he can have an impactful role as a backup.

Todd Gurley was in the MVP running last season, and is expected to once again be right in the middle of the race this season as well. With that in mind, the Los Angeles Rams running back position is kind of set — not much else is needed.

However, John Kelly put together a fantastic camp and preseason. The rookie led the Rams in rushing yards in all three games he registered a carry in this preseason. He also picked up three touchdowns and caught six passes. This has helped him secure a spot on the roster, and on the depth chart as the backup to Gurley.

Kelly’s role may seem small as the backup to a superstar. In reality, how many carries is someone behind Gurley really going to get. Well last season, the Rams had 138 non-Gurley/quarterback runs. That’s actually a solid chunk of runs right there.

Let’s look at this rationally for a minute. The Rams won’t want to exhaust Gurley. He’s still only 24 and has a history of injuries. He’s also much too important to the team’s success. At the same time though, Gurley’s that good. The Rams are going to use him as much as they need because he can win games.

Therefore, Kelly should expect scheduled sporadic running. He’ll be given the change-of-tempo and give-Gurley-a-rest runs. Don’t expect those to come often though. The real time for Kelly will be when the game is out of reach. There will be no need to run Gurley, but it’s still important to have someone in there that can help move the offense.

This preseason, Kelly proved he can do that. He also proved he can give Los Angeles good snaps when Gurley does get those rare mid-game rests.

John Kelly won’t be a superstar in the Los Angeles Rams offense. It’s hard to do that when you’re backing up for Todd Gurley. However, he has a role — and could be an important part of the success in Los Angeles.