DALLAS

Todd Archer of ESPN.com looks at RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT and his diminished role upon returning to Dallas.

The Dallas Cowboys’ past is littered with some of the best running backs in NFL history, or at least runners with historical seasons.

Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and a Hall of Famer. Tony Dorsett is also a Hall of Famer. In 2014, DeMarco Murray set the franchise single-season record with 1,845 yards and was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Ezekiel Elliott won two NFL rushing titles (2016, 2018) in his first three seasons. Herschel Walker, after starting his career in the USFL, was the Cowboys’ best running back in 1988 before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings in a deal that helped deliver Dallas three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s. Four other backs, including Tony Pollard in 2022 and 2023, have had 1,000-yard seasons. They even had a running back make the Pro Bowl without a 1,000-yard season or starting a game (Marion Barber, 2007).

With a running-back-by-committee approach this season, the Cowboys’ ground game projects to look different than nearly any other since the 16-game season was introduced in 1978.

The Cowboys do not anticipate featuring one back in 2024, like they did with Smith, who had more than 300 carries in a season seven times during his tenure in Dallas, and Elliott, who had more than 300 carries in three of his first four seasons (and probably would have had a fourth if not for a suspension).

It might not even look like the Elliott-Pollard 1-2 combo in 2021 and 2022.

The last time the Cowboys had three running backs with more than 80 carries in a season was 1980 with Dorsett (278), Robert Newhouse (118) and Ron Springs (89). In 1978, three running backs had more than 70 carries: Dorsett (290), Newhouse (140) and Scott Laidlaw (75). Four times since 1978 they had three running backs with more than 60 carries in a season, with the most recent coming in 2010, with Felix Jones (185), Barber (113) and Tashard Choice (66).

This offseason they re-signed Elliott and added Royce Freeman to a group that included Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke, Malik Davis and Snoop Conner before the draft. They did not draft a running back, adding Nathaniel Peat as an undrafted free agent.

“Two or three [backs], whatever it takes,” coach Mike McCarthy said.

McCarthy referenced the toll a 17-game regular season can take on a runner.

“I think you have to pay attention,” he said. “Whether it’s two or whether it’s three, frankly, to be honest with you, the players will determine that.”

Elliott has the best credentials with 8,904 career rushing yards, but he will not be asked to do what he did in his first stint with the Cowboys, when he averaged 268.7 carries per season. In his lone campaign with the New England Patriots (2023), he split the work with Rhamondre Stevenson, taking over as the starter in the final five games. He finished with 642 yards and three touchdowns on 184 carries, all career lows.

“I think I still am a dominant guy,” Elliott said. “I’ve got to go out there and prove that. That’s a motivation. I think we all know how I feel about competing and leaving it all out there for my teammates.”

With Pollard gone, Dowdle is the leading rusher from last season who’s still with the Cowboys. After posting a career rushing total of 24 yards over three injury-plagued seasons, he eclipsed that total in five games in 2023, finishing the campaign with 89 carries for 361 yards and two touchdowns. His issue has been staying healthy, though he missed only a single game in 2023.

“Me and Zeke [Elliott], he’s obviously a bigger back than me, but we’re similar style runners, downhill,” Dowdle said. “I’m more of a downhill compared to guys like Deuce [Vaughn]. I mean, that’s just not his game, but Deuce, he’s a guy you get in space and can make anybody miss in the world. We all got our own attributes, but me, I just think I’m all-around.”

Freeman has not topped 500 yards since his 2018 rookie season with the Denver Broncos. He had 319 yards on 77 carries last season for the Los Angeles Rams behind the league’s third-leading rusher, Kyren Williams. McCarthy said he was surprised a little by Freeman’s size and has liked what he has seen so far in the offseason.

“A lot of people look at body size nowadays and depict what you can or won’t be able to do,” Freeman said. “But I know there’s a lot of people that excel in certain things and a lot of people are able to do more than you think. There’s some guys that have been in this offense and some guys that have experience elsewhere. It’s definitely a versatile group and we’re definitely able to push each other every day.”

Vaughn, a sixth-round pick last year, is something of a wild card. At 5-foot-5, 180 pounds, he is the smallest back. He had 23 carries for 40 yards last season. He said he added some weight this offseason and has spent time working at wide receiver as well, studying former Cowboys slot receiver Cole Beasley.

“You see teams and a lot of guys that have different skill sets, different ways of playing this game — and you put all of them together and make almost a three-headed monster,” Vaughn said. “The running back by committee, I feel like, is going to play to the strengths of the guys in the room and give us the chance to do a lot of things on offense.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said the key with a committee approach is to make sure all of the backs can do all of the chores required. Without that, defenses can get a bead on what will come.

“It’s not cookie-cutter,” Schottenheimer said. “We have guys that can do different things that’s harder on the defense. We have to be better with that because we’ll have to offset tendencies.”

Schottenheimer ran three-headed committees with the New York Jets in 2006 and 2009 and with the Seattle Seahawks in 2018. McCarthy went with committee approaches with the Green Bay Packers at times because of injuries at the position, and in 2017, Jamaal Williams, Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery II each had more than 70 carries.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge,” Schottenheimer said. “I think it’s exciting. Part of our process now is figuring out what all these guys do well. It’s nothing that’s new to the league. We’ve got some new pieces, so the biggest thing is getting those guys the reps, getting those guys the work. … It’s such a physical grind. I mean, 17 games before the playoffs start. We’re very, very comfortable and confident that it’s going to work out very well for us.”

NEW YORK GIANTS

TE DARREN WALLER seems to be signaling a retirement.  Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com:

New York Giants tight end Darren Waller is likely to make a decision by next week’s mandatory minicamp about his playing future, and people in and around the team expect that he’s going to retire, multiple sources told ESPN. Those close to him believe he’s leaning in that direction.

Waller, 31, said during an Instagram Live on Friday that a decision was coming very soon. He has been contemplating retirement since the end of last season and hasn’t attended any of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts this spring.

The Giants have been operating throughout the offseason, partly out of necessity, as if Waller will retire. New York added at tight end in free agency and the draft, which included the selection of Penn State’s Theo Johnson in the fourth round. Johnson, who has elite pass-catching traits, has even taken some first-team snaps this spring with Waller skipping the voluntary workouts.

The Giants also signed veteran tight ends Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz to add to their tight end room of Daniel Bellinger, Lawrence Cager and Tyree Jackson.

It would be a pleasant surprise to the Giants at this point if Waller decides to return for a 10th season. He has been busy working on his music — a new song was released last week — and he said in an interview with The Athletic he was questioning his “commitment level” to football.

Waller has also spoken recently about the importance of prioritizing mental health. He has been a mental health advocate in recent years after dealing with substance abuse early in his career. Waller and Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum filed for divorce last month after being married for a year.

Waller’s struggles in recent seasons have included staying physically healthy. He has dealt with hamstring injuries in each of the past two years. He played in 12 games after getting traded to the Giants for a third-round pick and had 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown in 2023.

Waller is owed $10.525 million for this season with another $1.275 million available in per-game roster bonuses. None of it is guaranteed. He already bypassed a $200,000 workout bonus by skipping the spring workouts and is currently signed through the 2025 season.

The Giants would save $11.9 million on the cap this year is he were a post-June 1 cut.

New York currently has just $1.6 million available in cap space, according to NFL Players Association records. That is the lowest of any team. They will likely need more to get through the 2024 season, but have factored in that Waller retiring could be their solution.

While the Giants’ actions throughout this offseason seem to suggest they’re bracing to move forward without the dangerous pass-catcher, coach Brian Daboll said last week at organized team activities there was no update on the situation. A source said over the weekend nothing has changed since. The Giants continue to wait for a final decision.

Waller has proved over the years that he can be a dynamic receiver. But his career has been filled with ups and downs; he has played in 12 games or fewer in seven of nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Giants.

Waller topped 1,000 yards in each of the two seasons he appeared in more than 12 games and made the Pro Bowl in 2020. He was the Giants’ leading receiver before getting injured last season.

In 83 career games, Waller has amassed 350 catches for 4,124 yards and 20 touchdowns.

ARIZONA

Coach Jonathan Gannon actually calls for his prize rookie, WR MARVIN HARRISON, Jr. to slow down.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Coaches don’t often complain that their players are working too hard, but Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon says that’s the biggest concern about first-round receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

“He does a lot extra, probably too much, I’m going to be fighting him about that,” Gannon said.

Gannon explained that in addition to the carefully planned offseason schedule that the Cardinals have for their players, Harrison will come in early, stay late, and work on his own on the players’ days off. Gannon wants to make sure Harrison isn’t overdoing it to the point that he’s worn out from offseason work and not at 100 percent when the regular season starts.

“If we’re spaced out how many reps and the amount of workload he gets, and then he goes and runs 100 routes on the weekend, he might be dragging today. Now, he doesn’t drag, but I’m just talking about, I love extra work, but you’ve got to be smart about it. You’ve got to have a routine about what you’re doing,” Gannon said.

It’s a good problem to have, that the top rookie is working so hard his head coach wants him to tone it down.

SAN FRANCISCO

The 49ers have bolstered their tight end position by signing veteran TE LOGAN THOMAS:

The San Francisco 49ers have gotten some much-needed depth at tight behind behind George Kittle. The team is signing longtime Commanders tight end Logan Thomas, according to NFL Media. Thomas has been available since Washington released him in March.

Thomas, 32, is coming off his best season since 2020. He caught 55 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Thomas played an integral role in the Commanders’ surprising NFC East title run back in 2020. He has 219 receptions for 2,002 yards and 16 touchdowns while playing for the Cardinals, Bills and Commanders.

As noted above, Thomas provides valuable depth behind Kittle, who last year was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fifth time over the past six years. Brayden Willis, a 2023 seventh-round pick who is currently just behind Kittle on the projected depth chart, did not catch a pass during his rookie season. The same can be said of fellow second-year tight end Cameron Latu, who was a third-round pick in last year’s draft.

Thomas will also bring some, albeit little, playoff experience with him to San Francisco. He’s made two starts while appearing in three playoff games. Against the Buccaneers in the 2020 wild-card round, Thomas caught five passes for 74 yards as the Commanders remained in striking distance of the eventual Super Bowl champs.

SEATTLE

It’s the honeymoon phase for new OC Ryan Grubb and QB GENO SMITH, but so far they are in sync.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Ryan Grubb is in his first year as an NFL offensive coordinator and his success in his Seahawks debut will have a lot to do with quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith will be under center and running the offense that Grubb has been installing over the last couple of months. Grubb said on Monday that the team is “right on schedule” in terms of that installation and that he has found Smith to be an ideal fit for what the team wants to do with the ball.

Smith shared similar views last month when he said “a drop-back passer” like himself is a natural to run Grubb’s offense, but the coordinator thinks things run even deeper than that.

“I think that there is a really good marriage there where some of the skill set that Geno has. I think that we ask our quarterbacks to do a lot,” Grubb said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “Luckily for us Geno is really athletic, as well. I think for us we don’t have to limit it to just drop back. I think he is really good in the play-action game as well, which will be a big part of our offense. I think for us it’s not just five-step all the time. But I do think Geno is really good at getting the ball out on time and very efficient with the football, which he obviously showed in ’22 when he led the league in completion percentage.”

Smith wasn’t quite as sharp last season, which contributed to the Seahawks falling short of the playoffs in a finish that helped spur the offseason coaching changes. A quick transition to the new offense will be vital to hopes of a better finish in 2024.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

We thought the NFL now regulated how hard teams could work in the offseason, but it sounds like Jim Harbaugh thinks he’s found a way to outwork the opposition.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh doesn’t think anyone is out-working his team this offseason.

Harbaugh told Chris Hayre of KCAL that he believes the Chargers have an advantage because of how hard they’ve been working in the voluntary offseason program, which virtually every Chargers player is choosing to attend daily.

“So far it’s just been great with the team. We’ve been working, chipping away, really every day about nine straight weeks with the fellas, practically perfect attendance. I think that’s an incredible edge that we have, the way our guys are working in the offseason, and if we keep that going that edge is going to continue to grow,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh is known for pushing his players hard, and he thinks we’ll see in September just how much that hard work paid off.

CINCINNATI

With the contract for Vikings WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON setting the market, Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Athletic looks at its impact on the discussions between the Bengals and their WR Ja’MARR CHASE:

With Justin Jefferson’s $35 million per year and $110 million in total guarantees, the wide receiver market didn’t just reset Monday morning, it was redefined.

Nobody benefited more from the new definition than Ja’Marr Chase.

“Hell yeah!” the Bengals receiver said with a laugh back in January when asked if he wanted to wait for Jefferson to sign a contract before doing his own.

He likely woke up spouting the same exclamation Monday.

With a giant contract keeping Jefferson in Minnesota through 2028, all eyes turn toward the Bengals’ approach to keeping their elite receiver with quarterback Joe Burrow.

The original thought was Chase would wait for the Jefferson deal and then, perhaps, top it.

“BREAK THE BANK,” Chase directed to Jefferson on Instagram, more invested than any of his former teammates’ millions of followers.

Did he ever? These deals are often jazzed up to look stronger than they are with fake money, early outs and soft guarantees. Not this. It was clear as day. The previous high mark for money fully guaranteed at signing for a receiver was $52 million for Tyreek Hill in Miami. Jefferson landed $89 million.

League sources said the $35 million average value didn’t come as a shock, but those guarantees were eye-opening.

The conversation can now start for Chase, but questions start being asked as well. Is he worth as much as Jefferson? When does it happen? Is there another move to wait on? Is this structure even possible in Cincinnati?

Money and expectations have changed over the last few months.

The summer of wide receiver deals hit like a waterpark wave pool. Seven extensions averaging at least $23 million per season for the position were signed one after the other. Only five such contracts existed before this year.

WR extensions this year (min $23M AAV)

                                                       Per Year      Total G          G at Sign

Justin Jefferson Vikings                 $35M           $110M          $89M      

Jaylen Waddle Dolphins                $28M             $76M          $36M

Nico Collins Texans                      $24M             $52M          $32M

A.J. Brown Eagles                        $32M             $84M          $51M

Amon-Ra St. Brown Lions            $30M             $77M          $35M

DeVonta Smith Eagles                 $25M             $51M          $34M

Michael Pittman Colts                   $23M            $46M          $41M

The rash of extensions felt like a race. The timing of many was outside of historical norms as was the cash.

All this changed the game. The deadline for WR deals wasn’t the start of the season, training camp or even the franchise tag extension deadline of mid-July. The deadline for teams was to jump into the financial water before the Vikings and Jefferson made the big splash.

Four of the seven highest-paid (AAV) non-quarterbacks are now wide receivers extended this offseason.

In the NFL, as in life, always follow the money. In doing so, the league sent a clear message: quarterbacks and elite receivers are the two most valuable assets on any team. Once you have those two pieces, you can always find a way to make the rest work well enough to contend for a championship. Nobody knows this better than the Bengals.

It’s easy to say the Bengals should have found a way to get an expected Chase extension done sooner and avoid this hefty market adjustment, but Chase wasn’t going to so much as look in their direction until Jefferson’s last pen stroke dried in Minnesota.

There was no reason. Let his buddy reset the market and assist his success, once more, just like at LSU.

This all fit into the Bengals’ approach with Tee Higgins and general unwillingness at this point to reach the levels he desires and deserves. That decision was complicated and came with Chase in mind.

Chase’s situation didn’t seem nearly as challenging to decipher. He wants to stay with Burrow (he’s stated as much this year), the Bengals want to keep him with their franchise QB and value him as the second-best player on their team. The price tag would be hefty, but so is the value in building around an elite QB-WR connection.

The contract would likely get done sometime in the summer of 2025 because that was when nearly all of these types of contracts had been done – until now.

The extensions for 2021 top-10 draft picks Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith came before their fourth seasons. Since the 2011 CBA instituted a rookie wage scale, only one first-round receiver had signed an extension before his fourth season (Tavon Austin). Only 19 of 288 non-quarterback first-round picks had done the same.

Yet, throw in Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell and you have three of the seven non-QBs in the top 10 from 2021 inking deals before Year 4. Adios, precedent. Welcome to the new age of the constantly spiking salary cap creating bargains for early extenders.

Could Chase join the precedent-breaking trio? Incidentally, while the Jefferson contract may have officially started the conversations it also shifted the leverage of patience back to the Bengals.

Nobody will touch that Jefferson number anytime soon, with the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb the only other major receiver left without a deal. The Bengals have Chase signed through the 2025 season with the fifth-year option next year at $21.9 million. The advantage to Chase signing now would be to lock in his guarantees before risking injury this year.

The Bengals can now sit back and play the long game to next summer.

Remember, Cincinnati did this with A.J. Green. He signed his extension on the day the team flew to Oakland for the season opener of his fifth-year option season in 2015.

Last offseason, they worked on a Burrow extension and didn’t finish it until the Chiefs and Lions kicked off for the opener.

Playing out the timeline fits the Bengals’ DNA as much as setting a value and refusing to move from it.

League sources indicated Chase signing before this season would likely mean his camp giving up more than a little in the negotiation.

Such isn’t to say the future of Burrow and Chase together is suddenly jeopardized. Hardly. They are the heartbeat of the Bengals’ championship dreams. Everyone knows this. Eventually, the deal should get done.

The concern won’t be in the cost reaching near (or exceeding) $35 million per year, but what to make of those guarantees. The Bengals have notoriously never given high guarantees before Burrow. He was the exception. You can get away with that with a franchise-altering QB.

Going back and breaking their rules on guarantees with Chase would be the real problem. It could open Pandora’s Box for every great Bengals player to claim they deserve the big guaranteed money as well. Perhaps an argument could be made in viewing Burrow-Chase as a packaged exception to the rule from Day 1.

Yet, nobody would be surprised to see Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn and the family take a hard line on the guaranteed money with Chase and create the largest obstacle.

It’s probably the one thing they can’t do with the Chase contract if they plan to continue doing business as they have for generations. Certainly, as it relates to the outlier of the Jefferson template.

There are creative ways around it, the Bengals have a lifetime of contracts to point at as examples. This will require the same.

The question to answer inside of the guarantees conversation is whether Chase deserves to equal Jefferson’s record-breaking deal.

Jefferson’s deal reached new heights because his production dictated it — and Minnesota had nobody else to pay upon ditching Kurt Cousins for rookie J.J. McCarthy.

Jefferson posted the most receiving yards through four seasons in NFL history (5,899), clearing second-place Michael Thomas by 377 yards.

Chase has 3,712 yards through his first three seasons and is unlikely to catch him.

If looking at receiving yards per game through the first four seasons by players with at least 3,500 yards, you end up with this list.

                                              Y/G               TD/G

Justin Jefferson                     98.3              0.52

Odell Beckham Jr.                 94.1              0.81

Julio Jones                            88.4               0.53

Mike Thomas                       87.5               0.51

Randy Moss                        84.3                0.83

Ja’Marr Chase                     82.6               0.64

Of course, there could be one more season of data points to reference should this negotiation stretch into 2025. The Bengals brought in Justin Rascati from Minnesota as passing game coordinator under new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. There will be designs to find new methods of utilizing Chase in the same ways the Vikings featured Jefferson.

There’s still room for Chase — and his value — to grow in Cincinnati.

After Monday, the cost of doing elite receiver business in the NFL grew substantially. The next phase of Negotiating with the Stars can officially begin in Cincinnati.

PITTSBURGH

Former players usually don’t complain about the Ravens culture, but LB PATRICK QUEEN is an exception.  And his criticism of Baltimore culture includes the city’s food scene.  Mark Kaboly of The Athletic:

Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen was in the middle of a matter-of-fact list of everything he likes about Pittsburgh more than Baltimore when he was interrupted and reminded that his words might not be received well in the city where he played and excelled over the past four years.

“I don’t care … it’s the truth,” Queen said. “I am not saying anything bad about them. I am just speaking the truth.”

Queen has a reputation as one of the better trash-talkers in the league, but more for what he says on the field rather than off it.

“He can trash-talk,” Steelers cornerback and former Raven Anthony Averett said. “But he’s chill off the field.”

Still, that didn’t stop Queen from speaking his mind on this day.

Maybe it was because the Steelers made Queen the highest-paid free-agent signing in team history in March when they inked him to a three-year, $41 million deal ($13.6 million per year). The deal slotted him fifth in the NFL among off-ball linebackers, behind former teammate Roquan Smith ($20 million), San Francisco’s Fred Warner ($19 million), Chicago’s Tremaine Edmunds ($18 million) and Buffalo’s Matt Milano ($14.2 million).

Or maybe it was because the Ravens chose to sign Smith over Queen 17 months ago. Maybe he’s just playing to his new audience. Maybe it’s a combination of everything.

Or, just maybe, he simply likes Pittsburgh more than Baltimore.

“It is everything that you want,” Queen said. “You have a great head coach, a defense that can ball and puts you into a situation to succeed. I am at a point where I want to win. I know Pittsburgh hasn’t won anything in a while, but they were in the playoffs, so they have a chance. To me, the team got better at every position. It’s just now at the point where we have to go do it.”

Queen said he took less money than he could have gotten elsewhere to sign with the Steelers because he wanted to win. In Queen’s four years with the Ravens, Baltimore averaged 10.5 wins per year, won one division title and made the playoffs three times. Last year, the Ravens went 13-4 and were the AFC’s top seed but lost at home in the conference championship to the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10.

“It was a no-brainer,” Queen said of joining the Steelers. “At the end of the day, money makes you happy, but you also have to win to be happy. I’d rather win and be happy than be miserable with a lot of money. It’s a better atmosphere here for me. Everybody is cool, the people are cool, the players are cool and the food spots are better. I am a big food guy. I love food. I am more of a true food guy rather than a seafood guy. I like meat and stuff like that. It’s just a better atmosphere for me here.”

Queen said he has already hit some great food spots in town in the two-plus months he’s been with the team. Former Ravens teammate and current Steelers safety DeShon Elliott, who also signed with Pittsburgh in March, planned to take Queen to a barbecue joint over the weekend.

HOUSTON

WR TANK DELL went to a pool party back home in Sanford, Florida – and a gunfight broke out.  Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Texans receiver Tank Dell was an unfortunate bystander when he was shot April 27 in Sanford, Florida. Nine others also were shot in an exchange of gunfire by people not associated with Dell.

It left Dell with only a minor wound and with him giving thanks it wasn’t worse.

Dell spoke publicly for the first time about the incident on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast.

“To me, it was just wrong place, wrong time,” Dell said on the podcast, via Joey Aliberti of Lone Star Live. “I went back to see my mom, I wasn’t even planning to go to the little pool party or whatever, but my boys saw that I was home, so they hit me up and was like ‘pull up to the party.’ They told me there was going to be security, people getting checked at the door, stuff like that. So, I’m like, ‘All right, cool.’ It’s a good vibe, and there was a lot of people that I know in there, so it was cool.

“And then that shit just popped off out of nowhere. It just went south out of nowhere. And I thought I removed myself from the situation. When you see on the video, when I ran across I thought I removed myself from the little situation of the altercation when they was fighting, but I put myself in the middle of two people, and it just went crazy.”

Dell has made a full recovery and is working with teammates in the offseason program.

He had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg in December of his rookie season. This year, he joins Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs to form one of the NFL’s best trios of receivers.

It was all caught on video here. Dell is near where a fistfight breaks out on the right of the screen, dances away to the left, holds up his phone, then shots start to fly in his direction and he dashes offscreen to the left, presumably while hit.

This on the reaction of Dell’s QB C.J. STROUD who is wise beyond his years fromESPN.com:

Stroud said he was attending a playoff game between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers when he received word from the Texans that Dell had been shot and called the situation an “eye opener.”

“All I read was ‘Tank got shot’ and I just dropped my phone, I start tearing up man. You know, when you hear that, you start thinking the worse,” he said on the podcast.

He said it “was a good moment for me to realize that I can’t go home and do the same things that I was doing too.”

“Cause sometime I go home, that’s where I’m comfortable at, going to the pool parties, going to the bowling alleys, like the skating rinks to the house parties, like, these the people I grew up with, I ain’t change cause I got a little bit of money,” he said. “But for that moment to happen that quick, it was like an eye opener experience, not only for Tank but really for rest of the world and athletes all around.”

THIS AND THAT

VETERAN FREE AGENTS

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com has a list of veterans who remain unsigned as June dawns:

The big waves of 2024 NFL free agency are in the rear view, but even as many teams kick off minicamps in the lead-up to the new season, there are plenty of notable veterans still available. And now that many teams have gained additional salary cap space due to post-June 1 cuts, some of which were designated earlier in the offseason, it’s possible a few of the remaining unsigned players could garner fresh interest on the open market.

Which free agents, in particular, could resurface as potential targets? Here are some of the most notable:

QB Ryan Tannehill

The former Tennessee Titans starter is best-suited for a No. 2 role, which may or may not be something he’s ready to fully accept, but with 150-plus career starts, he offers loads of experience as pocket-passing insurance.

WR Hunter Renfrow

Injuries dinged him late in his Las Vegas Raiders run, but when active and involved as a slot receiver, Renfrow has proven fairly reliable, posting a 74.1% catch rate for his career. He could still excel as a depth piece.

WR Michael Thomas

Once heralded as one of the top route-running starters at his position, Thomas has played just 20 games the last four seasons. But he was fairly effective when healthy in 2023 and still boasts solid size as a perimeter target.

WR Jamal Agnew

He’s not necessarily a traditional wideout, but entering a season in which the NFL is set to roll out a completely overhauled kickoff play incentivizing returns, his extensive experience as a return man could be valuable.

TE Logan Thomas (who actually just signed with San Francisco)

A cap casualty approaching his mid-30s, Thomas may not be a long-term solution at tight end, but he approached 500 yards for a mercurial Washington Commanders offense in 2023 and has been a decent pass catcher.

CB Xavien Howard

Cornerback is a volatile position, especially as players reach their 30s, but Howard still has a ball-hawking resume (29 career interceptions) that could intrigue. He’s had at least 12 pass breakups in four straight seasons.

CB Stephon Gilmore

He’s no spring chicken at 33 and missed extensive time from 2020-2021, but the former New England Patriots star flashed his vintage shutdown qualities for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s got 150-plus career starts under his belt.

CB Adoree’ Jackson

Injuries have prevented Jackson from playing a full season since 2018, but the former New York Giants starter was solid as a cover man when in the lineup. He also has return experience from earlier in his career.

S Justin Simmons

One of the game’s steadiest secondary roamers during his Denver Broncos run, Simmons has 30 career picks and 60-plus pass deflections. The biggest question is whether he can stay at top speed going on 31.

S Quandre Diggs

Jamal Adams is the bigger name to be exiled from the Seattle Seahawks’ porous secondary, but Diggs was more durable and reliable on the back end, missing not a single game as a converted corner from 2020-2023.

RIP LARRY ALLEN

The former Cowboys great was only 52.  He passed away on a family vacation in Mexico.  Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame offensive lineman Larry Allen died suddenly Sunday while on vacation with his family in Mexico, the team announced Monday.

He was 52.

“Larry, known for his great athleticism and incredible strength, was one of the most respected, accomplished offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL,” the team said in a statement. “His versatility and dependability were also signature parts of his career. Through that, he continued to serve as inspiration for many other players, defining what it meant to be a great teammate, competitor and winner.

“He was deeply loved and cared for by his wife, Janelle — whom he referred to as his heart and soul — his daughters Jayla and Loriana and son, Larry III. The Jones family and the Cowboys extend their deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Allen family and grieve along with the many other friends and Cowboys teammates that also loved Larry.”

The Cowboys said memorial service arrangements will be announced in the near future.

Allen was a second-round pick out of Sonoma State in 1994 and quickly became one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the NFL.

He was named to the Pro Bowl 11 times and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. He played for the Cowboys from 1994 to 2005, winning a Super Bowl in 1995. He spent his final two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the Allen family,” the 49ers said in a statement posted to X.

Allen overcame a challenging upbringing in Compton, California. He was once stabbed 12 times while protecting one of his brothers. He attended four different high schools before going to Butte College. He later starred at Sonoma State, where the Cowboys found the raw but talented Allen and drafted him with the 46th pick.

He protected Cowboys quarterbacks from Troy Aikman to Tony Romo and once shifted from guard to tackle in games. He played right tackle, right guard and left tackle but mostly starred at left guard and was a first-team All-Pro six times.

“Just received the heartbreaking news of the passing of our beloved teammate Larry Allen,” Aikman posted to X on Monday. “He was a HOF offensive lineman that dominated opponents regardless of the position played. Off the field, he was a gentle giant that loved his family. Rest in Peace LA.”

Former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith said in a video posted to Instagram that the news of Allen’s death “just breaks my heart.”

“I’m at a loss of words right now. Such a good dude, great player, super person,” Smith said.

He added: “The one thing about Larry Allen, I know. He had a big heart and he lived life to the fullest. A man of very few words but on the football field was a beast. And [he] will be sorely missed.”

Allen was named in 2019 to the NFL’s top-100 list in 2019, which ranked the best players in league history. He also was chosen for the All-Decade teams for both the 1990s and 2000s and is one of just three players to be named to both teams, joining Willie Roaf and Warren Sapp, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

His feats of strength in the Cowboys’ weight room were legendary, including once bench-pressing 700 pounds. He astounded many with his speed for his frame, as when he chased down New Orleans Saints linebacker Darion Conner on an interception return in 1994.

2024 DRAFT

The NFL, which prides itself on its outward expressions of solidarity with DEI, has not been able to squelch the lawsuit of former NFL.com employee Jim Trotter.  He has won discovery, something the NFL usually successfully avoids:

When former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter sued the NFL for wrongful termination of his employment, one of the most potent weapons in the NFL’s arsenal wasn’t available. With no arbitration clause in Trotter’s contract, the NFL couldn’t force the case into a secret, rigged kangaroo court.

The NFL instead attempted to knock out the entire case, with a motion to dismiss. On Wednesday, the presiding judge allowed the action to proceed.

In a two-page order, Judge Jed S. Radkoff ruled that the motion to dismiss Trotter’s retaliation claim is denied, and that the motion to dismiss his hostile work environment claim and his claims under New York State and City law are granted. A longer written opinion will be produced at a later date.

Attorney David Gottlieb issued this statement: “The NFL’s playbook is to use its endless assets and immense power to avoid accountability through arbitration agreements or bogus attempts to get cases dismissed. With the NFL having failed to get this case dismissed, and with no arbitration agreement to save them, we look forward to finally holding the NFL responsible for its conduct in a forum fully open to the public.”

The NFL will undoubtedly file a motion for summary judgment, after the discovery process concludes. That will happen after, however, key figures like Commissioner Roger Goodell are questioned under oath. And after Trotter otherwise has a chance to prove his claim that his contract wasn’t renewed because he stirred things up regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the NFL Network courtroom.