Daily Briefing

AROUND THE NFL Don’t wipe your nose after you score a TD.  Jack Baer of YahooSports.com: CeeDee Lamb is going to be part of the NFL rulebook. The league made a rule change this week directly targeting the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and his signature nose wipe celebration. Making the gesture will now result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike…

AROUND THE NFL Rather than play games with the new-fangled kickoff return, many teams continued to take the touchback last year, willing to trade five yards from the old spot of the 25-yard line.  That calculation may get harder next year per Mark Maske of the Washington Post: The NFL’s Competition Committee is likely to propose moving…

AROUND THE NFL Last year, Judy Bautista of NFL.com correctly tabbed the Eagles and Commanders for breakouts.  This year, she has five teams: I want to start with a rare victory lap. Around this time last March, following a frenzy of player movement, this space absolutely nailed the top candidate for a turnaround in the 2024 NFL season.…

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST WASHINGTONWR DEEBO SAMUEL on why he wanted to be a Commander.  Ben Standig of The Athletic: Deebo Samuel walked into San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s office in early February with purpose and a measure of sadness.The two connected even before the NFC West power selected the wide receiver in the…

AROUND THE NFL Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com collects the rules change proposals to be considered next week: The Detroit Lions have proposed a significant change to NFL playoff seeding that would largely use regular-season records as the guiding principle, rather than division championships, according to a list of potential rule changes the league released Wednesday.Under the proposal, the…

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST  DALLASFrank Schwab of YahooSports.com on another minimalist Cowboys offseason: The Dallas Cowboys clearly trust their pre-draft evaluations. The theme of this offseason for Dallas has been acquiring former first-round draft picks who failed elsewhere. That’s not new — it’s a team that wasted selections by trading them for quarterback Trey Lance two years ago…

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST  DALLASThe Cowboys are acquiring CB KAIIR ELAM, once a first round pick of the Bills.  They are also getting another off-the-radar first rounder in LB KENNETH MURRAY.  Nick Shook of NFL.com: The Dallas Cowboys are adding some first-round talent to bolster their defense. Dallas is acquiring cornerback Kaiir Elam in a trade with…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH MINNESOTABen Solak of ESPN.com thinks the Vikings are so good they don’t need an elite QB: The QB-Proof Award: The VikingsI think the Vikings are the winners of the free agent period. They double-dipped at defensive tackle with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, and they need just one of the two aging interior…

AROUND THE NFL Thru Monday – the remaining available quarterbacks would be RUSSELL WILSON, AARON RODGERS, rookies CAM WARD and SHADEUR SANDERS and maybe KIRK COUSINS.  The teams that seem not to have dealt with the QB issue are the Titans, Giants and Steelers – and maybe the Browns who did trade for QB KENNY PICKETT. Mike…

AROUND THE NFL NFC SOUTH  ATLANTAAn extension for T JAKE MATTHEWS means more money in the short term for the Falcons.  Josh Kendall and Dianna Russini of The Athletic: The Atlanta Falcons gave left tackle Jake Matthews a two-year contract extension on Sunday, according to a league source, in what is expected to be the first of…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH  MINNESOTAJordan Schultz of FOXSports.com says the Vikings and QB SAM DARNOLD are discussing a “short term” extension: The Minnesota Vikings chose not to use the franchise tag on Sam Darnold before Tuesday’s deadline, but sources say both sides remain in contact regarding a potential short-term extension. According to sources close to the situation, the…

AROUND THE NFL NFC EAST  PHILADELPHIAVictory in SB59 came at the cost of a torn triceps for DE BRANDON GRAHAM.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham worked hard to rehab a torn triceps in time to play in Super Bowl LIX — where he tore the triceps again.Graham re-tore the triceps and has…