It’s been a long time, and we shouldn’t have left you without a dope beat to step to, but we’re back! This is generally the calm before the storm for the NFL, right before training camp, so the stories come to a slight lull. With that said, there is still information out there if you dig like Stefon for it. Let’s deliver the goods for y’all this fine Saturday morning.
- The disciplinary hearing for Deshaun Watson has concluded, with an expected ruling coming in July. Judge Robinson will submit the recommended consequence to the Commissioner, who has the final say on the matter. Once this happens, it will surely kick off an appeals process by Watson and his camp to get whatever the original number reduced is, because if there’s one thing Watson likes as much as struggling to see the entire field, it’s for his actions to not have any consequences.
- Speaking of QBs, a new report from Sports Illustrated’s John Shipley talked up second-year QB Trevor Lawrence’s progression. Changing plays at the line of scrimmage and getting the ball out quicker are things the highly-touted rookie didn’t do his first year because Urban Meyer had no idea how to coach, but with Super Bowl-winning Head Coach Doug Pederson in charge and former Chargers Head Coach Mike McCoy running the offense, it stood to reason that the Jags were going to trust their young QB a lot more. With the additions on the offensive line and at WR, this could be a big second year for the best QB prospect since Andrew Luck.
- From an Andrew Luck mention to his former team, the Indianapolis Colts are entering year one of the Matt Ryan era-an era that is off to a very good start, if you ask rookie WR Alec Pierce. Pierce joined the Pat McAfee Podcast and talked up Matty Ice’s leadership and preparation and how that’s trickled down to the rest of the team already. With Pierce hoping to carve out a starting role opposite Michael Pittman, Jr. in this Colts offense, him cozying up to Ryan is a no-brainer, but for a team that’s been let down by QBs post-luck, a locked-in Matt Ryan is their best chance at getting back to the playoffs.
- Sticking with the AFC South and rookies, the defending division champion Tennessee Titans went through a little transition this off-season as they jettisoned their talented WR AJ Brown, replaced him with stud WR Treylon Burks and brought in some competition for incumbent QB Ryan Tannehill in the form of talented developmental prospect QB Malik Willis. It’s actually another rookie that’s impressing Titans coaches though, as RB Hasaan Haskins from the University of Michigan has drawn rave reviews from his running backs coach and the best running back in the league. Jim Wyatt of the Titans reported that Derrick Henry spoke glowingly of the rookie, and advised him to not let the moment get too big for him, as the Titans experimented with formations where they were both on the field. Henry has bucked all conventional RB logic, but if the superlatives are all true, then Willis, Haskins, and Burks could be the next generation of Titans football.
