John Harbaugh was not happy with defensive tackle Michael Pierce’s conditioning during minicamp last week. Pierce showed up overweight and out of shape, so the Baltimore Ravens head coach sent him home early. To his credit, Pierce has apologized for showing up overweight, and he has vowed that he will slim down before the start of training camp. Pierce was expected to be part of the defensive tackle rotation, but if he doesn’t get his weight down, he might not make the final 53-man roster.
Defensive lineman Michael Pierce speaks out on reports the Baltimore Ravens sent him home for lack of conditioning. https://t.co/CsT2A5Ridr pic.twitter.com/Fx2l7DqabA
— AL.com (@aldotcom) June 14, 2019
There are always going to be growing pains when an established quarterback and a new head coach link up. Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers seem to be going through some of those issues now. Rodgers is one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, and he has always had the ability to check out of plays and audible to something else at the line of scrimmage. LaFleur’s system doesn’t call for that, but the two will have to find a middle ground. That middle ground is likely to give Rodgers much of the freedom he has enjoyed for the past decade.
This LaFleur quote from @MikeSilver's piece is probably the most important pull. https://t.co/2MmxsPerw6 pic.twitter.com/bPp7gz4JlY
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) June 17, 2019
Telvin Smith was a no-show at the team’s mandatory minicamp last week, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are taking a hard-line stance toward the disgruntled linebacker. Smith indicated that he wants to sit out the 2019 season last month, but the Jaguars seem ready to fine him for every unexcused absence. This is going to be messy.
#Jaguars fined LB Telvin Smith $88,650 for missing their 3-day minicamp.
Smith announced on May 9 that he will not play in the 2019 season, this was his reasoning: "I must give this time back to myself, my family and my health."
Smith posted the following on his Instagram. pic.twitter.com/AUGkL2eKGb
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 16, 2019
It’s not quite the Super Bowl Shuffle, but at least one Chicago Bears star thinks the team is ready to win it all this season. After a surprising 2018 campaign, Eddie Jackson thinks the Bears can have a breakthrough season and win the franchise its second Super Bowl title. It would be fitting for the Bears to win this season, as the NFL and the Bears are both celebrating their 100th year in 2019.
Eddie Jackson: Bears 'plan on taking this whole thing' https://t.co/vKdoO1X3vI
— BearsWire (@TheBearsWire) June 16, 2019
