Thoughts on the Shield

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By Jon Nelson

OSG Sports & BarnBurner.ca

 

ATLANTA. - With the NFL season officially underway (since there actually has been a game played- albeit the Hall of Fame game), this is what we’re looking at right now…

 

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott says he’s not going to play this season without a new deal. Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, anticipates a deal being done before the regular season starts as does Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones also wants to make sure that QB Dak Prescott and WR Amari Cooper are “all under the same roof” for the foreseeable future…

 

Bank on that happening- not soon, just “happening…”

 

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady has a new deal that is adding voidable years after this one. But his new 2019 salary is $23-million US. It’s a win-win, apparently, for the team and the QB since $5 million is saved in their full cap number. Now, it’s up to the other QB’s in camp to see who will be backing up Captain America- Brian Hoyer, Danny Etling, or Jarrett Stidham. The team was high on the Auburn alum when they picked him up in the draft, but his decision-making was questioned at times and he’s going to have to not lock in to receivers as much as he did in the SEC for him to advance in front of the LSU alum Etling on the depth chart.

 

Houston Texans rookie DB Lonnie Johnson, Junior got an early shower the other day when he decided to light up Green bay receivers in a non-contact drill. Head coach Bill O’Brien said, in the grand scheme of things, that it wasn’t that big a deal. But don’t be surprised if continual drills with the Packers (or game situations) will have him targeted more often than not…

 

Lesson learned: Don’t flex over another player in a drill when you’re not supposed to do things in the first place that can earn you the scoff of future teammates.

 

The world is a very small place in your line of work…

 

And, also remember having your heart in the right place works wonders…

 

With the Texans in Wisconsin for these work outs, JJ Watt felt compelled to run the tradition that the homeowners do of riding a bicycle to practice. At 290-pounds, however, that can be difficult. He broke the bike of the young Packers fan he became acquainted with but, true to JJ, he bought the kid a replacement.

 

One last thing before we go:

 

The journalism community lost a good one when new Las Vegas Review-Journal NFL beat writer Don Banks passed in his sleep earlier this week. His “Snap Judgments” column at SI was a part of the must-reads on a weekly basis. He had bounced around after being let go by them and was set to be the Vegas beat writer for the league as the Raiders were set to kick off in the city in a few years.