It\u2019s been quite a day for the NFL. If I\u2019d known it was going to be so busy, I probably would have stayed behind when my friends suggested the strip club last night.<\/p>\n
To ease everyone\u2019s brains, I thought I\u2019d play the hero and write up a wrap sheet, to sum up the events of today in our favorite professional sports league.<\/p>\n
As reported by LWOS\u2019s Juwan Holmes<\/strong><\/a>, the New York Giants<\/a> finally made a roster move that alludes, somehow, to the idea that they actually DO have a plan this offseason. Linebacker Olivier Vernon<\/a><\/strong> will report to the Cleveland Browns<\/a> in exchange for right guard Kevin Zeitler<\/a><\/strong>, who was announced as a casualty after his former team wished him a happy birthday just hours before. Is this a gift for Zeitler? Only time will tell. The Giants, however, are safe from the $19.5 million that it would have cost their salary cap by ridding themselves of the faithful Vernon, which will give them significantly more options once free agency opens up on March 13th<\/sup>, the date that this trade will become official.<\/p>\n Cleveland will acquire a weapon who will contribute to their already-valuable defense. The Giants will walk with more much-needed assistance on their offensive line, which proved not strong enough for inconsistent veteran quarterback Eli Manning<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in the recent season. According to ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter<\/a>, The Giants will also send a fourth round (132nd<\/sup> overall) pick to the Browns, in exchange for a fifth-rounder (155th<\/sup> overall). The Giants further solidified their o-line today by re-signing their center Jon Halapio<\/a><\/strong>, who was placed on IR after starting two games for the team last season.<\/p>\n Who won this trade? <\/em>It\u2019s too soon to tell, considering the number of holes that need to be filled on both rosters, but for now, it\u2019s looking pretty even. The Giants could use that cash on their young talent and in free agency, and the Browns have acquired a former Pro-Bowler, who led the Giants in sacks and quarterback hits last year significantly.<\/p>\n In the words of Last Word on Pro Football\u2019s David Latham<\/strong><\/a>, the New England Patriots<\/a> have \u201coutsmart(ted) everyone\u201d once again. Rival Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> will trade<\/a>\u00a0Michael Bennett<\/a><\/strong>, as well as a 2020 seventh-round draft pick, in exchange for a 2020 fifth-rounder.<\/p>\n With Trey Flowers<\/a><\/strong> set to test out free agency, the replacing of him with Michael Bennett is wise and fiscally responsible. It also opens up the opportunity for a family reunion. Martellus Bennett<\/a><\/strong>, his tight-end brother, spent ten seasons in the league before he was released by the Patriots last March. Martellus has already expressed interest in coming out of retirement and returning to the Patriots, fulfilling a long-time dream of playing with his brother. If this were to happen, they would be the second set of brothers on the Patriots roster, joining the squad which already includes twins Jason<\/a><\/strong> and Devin McCourty<\/a><\/strong>, provided Jason is resigned before entering unrestricted free agency.<\/p>\n Bennett is still facing felony charges of assault to the elderly after he shoved a 66-year-old paraplegic woman when pushing his way onto the field to celebrate his brother\u2019s Super Bowl win in 2018.<\/p>\n Who won this trade?<\/em> The Patriots, without a doubt, though the Eagles will avoid issues with snap distribution after they re-signed Brandon Graham<\/a><\/strong> last week, who will likely start opposite Derek Barnett<\/a><\/strong>, provided he<\/em> is cleared to play after being placed on IR in October.<\/p>\n After a brutal season this past year, the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> have released four of their starters, and none of them are named Blake Bortles<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Defensive tackle Malik Jackson<\/a><\/strong> will be free, saving the team about $11 million in cap space. His career year in 2017 did not prove continued fortuity in 2018. Still, Jackson shouldn\u2019t have a hard time finding a new team (or perhaps he’ll head back to the Denver Broncos<\/a>?).<\/p>\n Tashaun Gipson<\/a><\/strong> will also enter free agency, as the Jaguars attempt to rebuild the fierce secondary they had in 2017. Starting right tackle Jermey Parnell<\/a><\/strong> and running back Carlos Hyde<\/a><\/strong> were also released. Hyde had been acquired from the Browns mid-season of this past year, but failed to impress after failing to score a touchdown in Florida.<\/p>\n What should we take from this?<\/em> If I\u2019m going to be frank, all of these players are better off testing free agency waters. With the announcement of Nick Foles<\/a><\/strong> joining the troupes, it\u2019s clear that the Jags are attempting to change up their game significantly, and these guys will get better looks from other teams than they will from the Jaguars in their clean-house rebuild. There are still many questions to be answered for this team, particularly regarding the future of quarterback Bortles, who was benched midway through the season for Cody Kessler<\/a><\/strong>, but I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we see news on Bortles in the next week. For more on these recently released players, check out this news bite from LWOS\u2019s Matt Harris<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n After being suspended indefinitely on March 1st for his third failed substance abuse test, David Irving<\/a><\/strong> took to Instagram Live, a favorite platform of NFL Divas, to announce his retirement last night. And he did so while smoking a joint.<\/p>\n As rounded up by LWOS\u2019s David Latham<\/a>, the defensive tackle criticized the league in his video, suggesting that we, the audience, don\u2019t see the whole picture. He slammed the NFL\u2019s policy on marijuana, a policy that, while antiquated, is unlikely to change in the immediate future. \u201cI love football. However, I don\u2019t love the NFL. The NFL is not football\u2026What you see us do, the game and [stuff], that\u2019s, what, 20 percent of all the real [stuff] we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s the takeaway?<\/em> Well, David Irving has a few options. He can stay off the weed and test out the free agency market. He can stay in shape and try his talents at another league sometime soon, say, the CFL or the AAF. Or (and I\u2019d like to see this one play out, just for the record), he can use his platform while this news is still relevant to spearhead a movement in favor of legalizing marijuana use in the NFL as a form of medicine for the players, in accordance with state laws. Certainly, America has come far as of late in recognizing the \u201cdrug\u201d as a means of medicinal support. The league would be smart to update their codes on weed as well.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the big one. On Thursday night, we were teased by reports from NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport<\/strong> that the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> were \u201cclosing in on a deal\u201d with the Buffalo Bills<\/a> for Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong>. Brown hopped on the Instagram machine shortly after, and called the report \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where it gets catty, albeit interesting. Had this deal gone through, AB would not have been able to do anything about it, other than hold out. But as Brown likely would have done so, it would have been a tip-off to the Bills not to complete the trade. Brown has said that he wants to go to a team with a strong quarterback, and with Josh Allen<\/a><\/strong> leading that squad, that’s far from guaranteed in Buffalo. While the Bills definitely need a receiver, Brown would undoubtedly bring the team more problems than profit.<\/p>\n Bills\u2019 general manager Branson Beane<\/strong> clarified early today that the team had \u201cinquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers. We had positive discussions, but ultimately it didn\u2019t make sense for either side. As great a player as Antonio Brown is, we have moved on and our focus is on free agency.\u201d The story was allegedly dead on Wednesday, which means we all in the NFL media must be really bored, and really anxious, to have made such an ordeal of all of this in the wee hours of Friday morning.<\/p>\n Where are we now?<\/em> Antonio\u2019s doing his typical social media thing, and has alleged that he\u2019ll likely be on a new team within the next 24-hours. His Instagram Live video also features a friend of his, who comments on his silver and black attire, alluding to what seems to be the expected ending to this saga \u2013 Antonio Brown will likely become an Oakland Raider<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is a sensible outcome. The Raiders aren\u2019t at a loss for cap space. Brown will have a strong veteran quarterback in Derek Carr<\/a><\/strong> to toss him the ball. The Raiders have a need for a star receiver like him. But what will this trade cost them?<\/p>\n The Miami Dolphins<\/a> released veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola<\/a><\/strong> (freeing him to potentially join back up with the Patriots [insert bar chants of \u201cSE-XY DAN-NY *clap, clap, clap clap clap*])<\/p>\n Denzel Perryman<\/a><\/strong> re-signs with the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> (and propels the four remaining Chargers fans in America into the chapels, where they pray for his health).<\/p>\n Case Keenum<\/a><\/strong> will be traded to the Washington Redskins<\/a> in wake of Alex Smith<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s horrific injury (which rounds out a shuffle of trades, in which Joe Flacco<\/a><\/strong> replaces Keenum, and all three of the aforementioned players have near identical stats from 2018 in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and touchdown percentage, rendering a series of question marks).<\/p>\n Main photo:The Patriots Trade the Eagles for Michael Bennett<\/h2>\n
The Jaguars Do Some Spring Cleaning<\/h2>\n
David Irving Quits the NFL<\/h2>\n
Antonio Brown Was Traded, and Then He Wasn\u2019t<\/h2>\n
Other News of the Past 24-Hours:<\/h2>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>