New Bucs OC Josh Grizzard is 'fired up' for new role with the team
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have become well-versed in replacing offensive coordinators over the last three years. This offseason marked the third time they have had to do so in as many years.
On Thursday, the Bucs new offensive coordinator, Josh Grizzard, met with the press when he was introduced, and fans should be excited.
Grizzard spoke with the media after Todd Bowles named him his new offensive coordinator. The Yale graduate made it clear to everyone that he has the same energy as his quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
'I'm fired up. You guys know the foundation that's in place… We're trying to take it to the next level [and] try to bring a championship back to Tampa. I'm fired up to be here and to try to lead this unit down the road.'
You can tell, even just by reading the words, that his energy is going to be great for this offense. It explains why players like Mayfield, Mike Evans, and Tristan Wirfs were excited when talking about him at the Pro Bowl.
Luckily for Grizzard, he will have most, if not all, of the offense back in 2025. The lone question surrounds Chris Godwin and his looming free agency.
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sam Darnold gives as much as he gets trash talkin', Seahawks defense challenges the new QB
So what it's only spring. When the Seahawks began their offseason practices in late May, ringleader Devin Witherspoon and his teammates on defense made sure to talk smack across the line to their new quarterback. A LOT of smack. From snap one of day one. 'The first OTA (organized team activity) the defense just picked up where we left off in terms of, Pro Bowl safety Julian Love said Tuesday. Chatter? 'Just, guys are just talking s*** every play,' Love said. The intent was clear: The defense led by Witherspoon, the Pro Bowl cornerback who talks as good a game as he plays, wanted to tell new starting quarterback Sam Darnold in from Minnesota on a $100.5 million contract right away where the strength of Seattle's team is. And it's not on Darnold's offense. But Darnold wasn't having any of that. The 27-year-old quarterback from San Clemente, California, and USC with sandy blonde hair in waves and a 10 handicap in golf (who says his recent best round shooting a 78 on his course back home wasn't all that good) woofed back. 'What you love about Sam is he's just a dude, man,' Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Tuesday after the first practice of mandatory minicamp. 'He's, like, one of the guys. There's a sense of he's one of the guys. So he's right there with them. 'But there's some there's some s*** to him. Like, don't mess with him. 'You know, he's he's got that edge to him, that competitiveness. And the guys respect that.' Darnold's competitiveness is not a surprise to the Seahawks. Macdonald and general manager John Schneider knew it in March. That's when the Seahawks quickly pivoted in March away from two-time Pro Bowl passer Geno Smith wanting more money to remain Seattle's QB beyond 2025. They traded Smith, to Las Vegas, and within days signed Darnold. He is coming off a 14-3 season for the Vikings throwing for 4,300 yards. One of those wins was over the Seahawks at Lumen Field. Darnold completed 22 of 35 passes that December night in Seattle, for 246 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers. The Vikings beat the Seahawks 27-24 in the third-to-last game of their season. Seattle missed the playoffs by one win. 'We went against him,' Maconald said of Darnold's competitiveness. 'We felt it.' What does Darnold's trash talk sound like on the field? 'Like, dad jokes,' Love said. The safety, himself a father of a toddler, smiled. 'It's, like, those type of kind of jabs,' Love said. 'But you can tell: 'OK, he has some fire, to him.' He's used to being one of the guys, one of the boys. 'He's not a square type of guy. He's cool. He's cool with dishing back a bit.' That doesn't mean his teammates think the dishes, the food, Darnold likes is all that refined. Darnold said he is excited to try the many good restaurants around his new Seattle area. New Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the Super Bowl MVP and NFL offensive player of the year in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams described Darnold asking him out to dinner recently. 'He kind of has a childish taste. Like, palate,' Kupp said. It's not a $100 million one. 'He said he wanted to go to dinner. I was like, 'Perfect. What sounds good?' Kupp said. 'Just the recommendations, the way he came off was, like, 'You want to go get some fries and chicken strips?' 'And I was like, 'Look, I I have a six year old. I can bring you his food. I can bring that — and I'll go eat something good.' Kupp said of Darnold: 'I don't, I don't trust him yet with the food recommendations, things like that. 'Again, quarterbacks, I would have expected a little bit differently. But, you know, everyone has their own thing.' On the field, Darnold was shaking his head and kicking at the grass at one point last week during OTAs. That was after he threw four interceptions in the first two offseason practices open to the media last week. Love and cornerback Josh Jobe picked off Darnold twice in three red-zone plays one day. Darnold has also gotten the defense with sharp, quick throws, particularly to Kupp. Another one came in minicamp Tuesday. During 11-on-11 scrimmaging, a route so exquisite off the line by Kupp had the Yakima native and former Eastern Washington star 5 yards wide of cornerback Riq Woolen's coverage. Woolen didn't realize the ball was arriving from Darnold for the completion and first down. But the defense has generally won more than its lost against Darnold and the starting offense. The starting offense again didn't score a touchdown in 11-on-11 scrimmaging Tuesday. Darnold often held the ball a long time because the defensive secondary was tightly covering Kupp, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the receivers. They are reminders the Seahawks defense that rebounded so well late last season remains not only a strength of the team but is 'on a mission' for 2025, as Macdonald put it Tuesday. In red-zone scrimmaging to begin minicamp, Darnold tried to loft a throw to the back left corner of the end zone to 6-foot-4 wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling over Woolen. But Woolen broke it with a jump. The next play the pass rush and coverage — including 220-pound rookie safety Nick Emmanwori in his view — forced Darnold to lawn dart a throw inside well short of the goal line. That series ended in a field goal by Jason Myers instead of a touchdown. Another win for the defense. 'They're flying around. It's super fun to compete against,' Darnold said. 'I think all of the variations of coverages, too, the way that the guys in the back end disguise coverages, and even the nickels. You've got 'Spoon' disguising certain leverages, so I don't know whether he's going to be a hook defender or if he's going to be in the flat. 'I think those guys on the back end are doing a really good job. I know they're going to continue to do that and push us as we're going to continue to push them.' That's the thing the Seahawks defenders are noticing, through the smack talk at Darnold. Their new quarterback is pushing them, too. 'Sam kind of has some of that little swag to him,' Love said. 'And he has ability. And so he's making us better.' Yet even away from the field, well after the smack talk has subsided, Witherspoon doesn't exactly shower his quarterback with praise. 'He's got his strengths. He's got his weaknesses. Like every quarterback,' Witherspoon said. 'Now (that) he's on our team he's going to go out there and make a lot of plays for us. So, we put a lot of trust in him and I believe he's going to deliver.'
Fox Sports
6 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Jets' Jermaine Johnson expects to return Week 1 against Aaron Rodgers, Steelers
Jermaine Johnson's long-awaited comeback from a torn Achilles tendon is on track to happen the same day a former New York Jets teammate makes what's sure to be a much-hyped return. Week 1 at MetLife Stadium — against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We actually were just texting last night," a smiling Johnson said of Rodgers on Tuesday after the first practice of the Jets' three-day mandatory minicamp. "It's funny. But obviously, I'm excited. He's excited." Johnson, a promising edge rusher who was coming off his first Pro Bowl selection, tore his right Achilles tendon in Week 2 last year and missed the rest of the season. Coach Aaron Glenn said the 2022 first-round draft pick should be "close" to being ready for training camp in July and could start on the physically unable to perform list, "but he'll be ready for the season." During the early days of his recovery, Johnson was comforted by Rodgers, who made a comeback of his own last season after tearing his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets in 2023. Rodgers was released by New York in the offseason, signed last week with Pittsburgh and made his practice debut with the Steelers on Tuesday. "It was a pleasure having Aaron around and stuff like that, and I wish him the best," Johnson said. "But when I get between those lines, there's no friends. And I think he knows that, and he feels the same, so I'm excited. "It's just another game, but for me, it's going to be my first game back, and there's a lot of emotions. And when my emotions run high, I tend to play pretty well." Johnson declined to say what he and Rodgers texted about Monday night, but acknowledged the quarterback was instrumental in helping get his mind right as he prepared for the tough recovery and rehabilitation. "First thing he said, he's like, 'You'll be good. You've got a 10-year-plus career here. You're all right. Chalk it up,'" Johnson recalled. "It just kind of let me calm down a little bit and be able to gather myself and just take it on the chin and handle it and do a good job at it. So that's how I've attacked it. Aaron's been a tremendous help in so many ways." Despite the uncertainty over the injury, Glenn and the Jets showed their belief in Johnson as part of their defense moving forward when they picked up his fifth-year contract option, along with those of fellow 2022 first-rounders Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson. "It was a big investment," Johnson said. "They've seen enough of me and heard enough about me that they're willing to dive into that for at least one more year. So it means a lot to me. I'm always a man of my word and a man of honor, so to me, that's them lifting their end of the couch, and now it's my turn to lift my end of the couch." Johnson had 2.5 sacks in 14 games as a rookie after being drafted 26th overall out of Florida State before breaking out with 7.5 sacks in 2023 while starting all 17 games for New York. He also had 16 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for loss and returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown. Then came the setback last season, just as he was blossoming into a force on the Jets' defense. "I cried a little bit like right after I got hurt," Johnson said. "But I'm just a man a faith, so God wanted me to walk through this, and I took it like that and, you know, embodied this rehab. And I have full confidence I'm gonna come back without missing a beat." The Jets are banking on that, envisioning Johnson as a key part of their pass rush. Glenn was a member of the Detroit Lions staff that coached at the Senior Bowl in 2022, and Johnson left a lasting impression on him. "He's a hard-nosed, physical, violent player that's very athletic that has the ability to win off the edge and make plays on the quarterback," Glenn said. "Listen, you don't get a lot of guys that have the athleticism as he does but still be strong and powerful to be able to hold against the run. So I'm excited to see that player get out there in training camp and going into the first game. "So he's going to be a huge part of what we're doing. He knows that. But again, he understands what he's got to get better at, too." Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
Patriots star Stefon Diggs dodges 'personal' questions related to viral boat video
Stefon Diggs, who landed a three-year contract with the New England Patriots this offseason, showed little interest in providing any more details pertaining to the social media video showing him on a yacht. Videos recently surfaced on social media showing Diggs passing what appeared to be a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat. When reporters brought up the video in question at Patriots mandatory minicamp, Diggs said he wanted to avoid delving into his personal life in a public setting. "I want to be as candid with you as possible, but I kind of have a thing where I don't talk about my personal life with people I don't know personally," Diggs said Tuesday as he publicly broke his silence on the viral moment. "I had a conversation with [head coach Mike] Vrabel, obviously, and I'm going to echo everything that he said. He told me he's hoping everybody is making good decisions." The four-time Pro Bowler then said the matter was addressed internally. "And I had a conversation with people in the building as well. So everything else is everything else. The particulars are all internal." Diggs also decided against shedding any light on the contents of what was in the bag he flashed when he was surrounded by three women on a boat. He again cited the internal nature of the matter. "Obviously, it's a conversation that's happening internal, which I can't have too much of a conversation with [you] about it," he said. "I've been in this league 10 years. You can format your question many different ways. I'm going to obviously answer it the same way." It remains unclear whether Diggs was aware he was being recorded when he was on the boat. As it relates to football, Diggs did an offseason workout with his new team last week. He admitted he "hasn't been around much" for the bulk of New England's voluntary offseason program. The 31-year-old continues to work his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 8 last season. Nevertheless, the star receiver said he's been "grinding" and "eager" to be fully medically cleared as he gears up for the regular season. "We'll see how it goes," Diggs responded when asked if he believed he would be able to take the field when the Patriots open the season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 7. "Obviously, I'm grinding each and every day. I'm eager to get out there, so whenever they do push the button, I'm going to be ready. ... Where I am right now, I wouldn't really put a percentage on it, but I got some work to do." Vrabel, in his first season leading the Patriots, seemed pleased by Diggs' rehab so far and his level of engagement. "He's trying to figure out where everything is and what his role is and making sure that as we add those situations – the third down, the no-huddle and red zone – that he's staying up on it, working hard in his rehab," he said. "Certain drills he can be out there, and there's certain drills that he won't be, but I think he's engaged, and I like his energy." Diggs recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in six consecutive seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills. He appeared in eight games during his lone season with the Houston Texans and finished the 2024 campaign with 496 yards in eight games. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
