Rams ‘are not to be taken lightly' in 2025
Mike Florio and Chris Simms shed light on how Jared Verse elevates the Rams and map out why the Rams are in their Super Bowl window, as well as why the 49ers could be a pain point for them.
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Colts ownership passes to all three of Jim Irsay's daughters, with Carlie Irsay-Gordon taking over as CEO
The Indianapolis Colts announced their new organization structure Monday following the death of former owner Jim Irsay. All three of Irsay's daughters — Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson — will serve as owners with the franchise. While Irsay-Gordon, Foyt and Jackson will have ownership status with the club, Irsay-Gordon will assume the role of CEO. She will serve as the team's "principal owner," per a team statement. The team added these new roles were "longstanding plans set forth by Jim Irsay." Advertisement Jim Irsay died in May. He was 65. The Colts have been owned by the Irsay family since 1972. Jim's father, Robert, initially purchased the Baltimore Colts that year. After 12 years in Baltimore, Robert Irsay moved the team to Indianapolis. Jim assumed team ownership after Robert died in 1997. Under Jim Irsay's ownership, the Colts reached the postseason in 16 of 28 seasons. The club made it to the Super Bowl twice, winning one championship. Much of the success during Irsay's tenure can be attributed to quarterback Peyton Manning, who was taken No. 1 overall by the team in the 1998 NFL Draft. Manning spent 13 years with the Colts, leading the team to the playoffs 11 times. Following Manning's departure, Irsay drafted Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Luck led the team to the playoffs in four out of six seasons before his shocking retirement in 2019. Advertisement Since Luck's retirement, the franchise has been desperate to find its quarterback of the future. While Philip Rivers did lead the Colts to a playoff appearance in 2020, the team hasn't found its way to the postseason since. Irsay selected Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but the quarterback hasn't progressed as expected and is already dealing with shoulder issues this offseason. Irsay-Gordon could be tasked with finding the Colts' quarterback of the future if Richardson struggles again in 2025. Irsay-Gordon, Foyt and Jackson have all held roles with the team since the 2012 season. With Monday's changes, Foyt will serve as the owner and executive vice president with the club. Jackson will be the owner and chief brand officer and serve as the president of the Indianapolis Colts foundation.
Fox Sports
18 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
49ers embrace urgency after disappointing 2024 season
Associated Press SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The vibes were off from the start of last season for the San Francisco 49ers. Contract disputes provided a cloud over the team throughout the spring and summer, the Super Bowl hangover and a third straight short offseason sapped some energy and a lack of roster turnover led to some staleness around the Niners. Those factors and a bevy of injuries turned a Super Bowl contender into a 6-11 also-ran, leading coach Kyle Shanahan to deliver a blunt message at the end of the season about what needed to change in 2025. 'I felt guys weren't ready to come back,' Shanahan said about the 2024 season. 'I understood that. But I told them how I won't really understand it this year. Not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn't comprehend it. We're off five weeks earlier. We all know how disappointed we are and a lot of us have played a lot of football here. But we're going to have a team that doesn't know what we've done in the past or how you guys have earned a lot of stuff, we need to show them.' As the 49ers begin their final week of the offseason program on Monday, the change has been palpable. The team was able to resolve its major contract questions early in the offseason by reaching extensions with quarterback Brock Purdy, linebacker Fred Warner and tight end George Kittle without any drama or acrimony. The attendance for the voluntary offseason program was high with most of the key players on hand to help teach the rookies and other newcomers the standard for how the 49ers operate. Star left tackle Trent Williams was one of the few notable players not on hand for the first week of on-field practices but was back in town last week. Shanahan stressed the importance of showing up in April and the players listened, leading to the successful spring. Shanahan said he didn't have to make any requests after the season-ending meeting and the players said there was no need for a group discussion about making sure everyone was bought in for this season. 'I didn't think we had to do all that,' Warner said. 'Kyle made a point of that at the end of last season when he said how important it was to be back for this phase because of how last season went, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into with a whole new group, a lot of young players. We all made the decision on our own to be back here." The urgency that may have been lacking at times in 2024 is back this offseason as the Niners want to avoid any sort of repeat of last year's disappointment. San Francisco had lost in the NFC title games following the 2021 and 2022 seasons and then fell just short in the Super Bowl in the 2023 season, losing the title game in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs. Those deep runs led to reduced time off with some players choosing rest over rushing back to be on hand for the entire offseason program. That was not the case this spring as the team plans to incorporate several new starters on both sides of the ball following a roster purge in March. 'When your season ends and you're not making the playoffs, your desire to be back in the building and to get that taste out of your mouth, I think is expedited,' Kittle said. 'Guys want to be back for it. When you're playing in the middle of February, you kind of need an extra month. That's why a lot of guys don't show up to phase two or stuff like that. But there is an importance of phase one, the team building stuff. Kyle wanted us to be back. I think guys were going to be here regardless just because they were ready to go back and play football.' ___ AP NFL: recommended
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Should the Rams have drafted this edge rusher instead in 2011?
Should the Rams have drafted this edge rusher instead in 2011? The Los Angeles Rams drafted edge rusher Robert Quinn with the No. 14 overall pick in 2011. And while he enjoyed a solid seven years with the team before playing his final five years elsewhere, Quinn wasn't the best player the Rams could have taken at that point in the draft. Pro Football Focus recently re-drafted the 2011 draft to determine which players should have gone where. For the Rams, they picked edge rusher Justin Houston with the No. 14. Houston ended up going 56 picks later to the Kansas City Chiefs., "Quinn was certainly a worthy selection here and will hear his name called very soon in this redraft, but Houston enjoyed a slightly better career," PFF wrote. "The four-time Pro Bowler boasted a career 91.0 PFF overall grade, and his 22 sacks in 2014 are tied for the fourth most in NFL history." Quinn went with the next pick to the Miami Dolphins. So while the decision to add Quinn wasn't a bad one, Houston objectively had a better career than him. Quinn finished his NFL career with 102 sacks, 62.5 of which were with the Rams. He also made three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro. Houston, meanwhile, tallied 112 sacks and made four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro. Sadly, Quinn was the only good player from that class for the Rams. The only other picks who lasted more than a season were tight ends Lance Kendricks and receivers Austin Pettis and Greg Salas. While Kendricks had a OK career with the team, none of them really panned out.
