Latest news with #RobertMays
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bengals slammed as ‘dumb' for Shemar Stewart contract mistake
The Cincinnati Bengals continue to take heat for the Shemar Stewart contract standoff. While some heat gets directed at Stewart himself for not putting ink to paper and practicing with his teammates, the Bengals' long history of contractual issues (never mind the current issue with Trey Hendrickson) continues to put them under fire. Advertisement The latest comes from Robert Mays during an appearance on the Mina Kimes Show. 'No matter who it was, doing this with a guy that you drafted in the first round is dumb on its own,' Mays said. 'The guy, who is the rawest player that you could have drafted in the first round, not getting every single rep in practice in a season where, again, you justifiably want to win your division and want to win playoff games, is very frustrating.' RELATED: Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster projection following 2025 offseason That's certainly one way to look at it. For whatever reason, the Bengals decided right now was the time to reset contract precedent when it comes to the voiding of guarantees. That, again, despite the Hendrickson contract standoff. Advertisement And that, despite how important it is to improve the defense around the youth movement directed by Al Golden, never mind Mays' commentary about Stewart being a raw prospect. Were this not the Bengals and the above not sticking out, perhaps Stewart's saga doesn't get as much national coverage. But the fact he wasn't even practicing was unusual, which has thrown the Bengals under the microscope. RELATED: Joe Burrow feelings on Trey Hendrickson contract standoff revealed This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals slammed as 'dumb' for Shemar Stewart contract mistake
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Titans facing unavoidable recent history they must overcome to keep Cam Ward from having Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young rookie year
Titans facing unavoidable recent history they must overcome to keep Cam Ward from having Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young rookie year originally appeared on A to Z Sports. Let's talk about a little cognitive dissonance with the Tennessee Titans. Advertisement Everybody is excited about what 2025 will bring for this franchise, at least to some extent. Some are looking forward to it marking the end of a three-year slide out of relevancy. Some are looking forward to a frisky Year 1 with a new QB earning his stripes. And some think this team has 2024 Washington Commanders potential, to be the latest worst-to-first explosion onto the national stage. Well, Washington didn't actually get all the way to first… but you know what I mean. And just about all of that optimism is built around rookie 1st overall pick Cam Ward. Of course it is! He's a very exciting prospect who has given us nothing but green flags so far. Even if you want to be patient and skeptical, he's made it increasingly difficult to maintain that sobriety. I know I've certainly felt that pull. But when we look back on recent history, a sobering reality can make you think twice about coming back down to earth for the time being. On the Athletic Football Show last week, hosts Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen talked through the duality of NFL expectations, hunting down common threads in the kinds of teams that over or under-perform our preseason expectations. It was a fun topic, I recommend giving the episode a listen. Advertisement Now what you need to know going into this is that both Derrick and Robert have previously expressed their cautious optimism for the Titans and Cam Ward this year. But during a conversation about teams who have failed to meet expectations, which had nothing to do with the Titans, they stumbled into an uncomfortable realization. Mays begins by describing the type of team here that tends to underperform: 'The quarterback teams that I think we overrate, where there's a little bit too much excitement on it, are teams with young, highly drafted quarterbacks… but everything else around them is really dangerously fragile. And I think the two most recent examples of two teams that underperformed their over/under total pretty significantly the last two years: the 2024 Bears had an 8.5 over/under, they won 5 games. The 2022 Panthers had a 7.5 over/under, won 2 games. Both of those teams had the number one pick at quarterback. Both of those offensive play callers were fired before that first season was over. So just because you have a shiny new quarterback, if you haven't gotten some of the other stuff right, there is a decent chance you will not be as good as the market expects you to be.' Klassen agreed: 'That's a good one. The young quarterbacks play into so many of the overrated and underrated ones, honestly. But that's one of those things where regardless of how you feel about the player, right, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, whoever it is, Trevor Lawrence, even if your team is picking first overall, you're probably not a very good team. That's kind of what makes the whole Jayden Daniels/Washington thing pretty spectacular. everyone was so excited about Trevor Lawrence and they were not even close. They were the worst team in the league, like far and away. That was basically what happened with the Panthers. Again, the Bears weren't quite the worst team in the league, but they were close! So it's like… maybe it's specifically picking first overall, that you should not get too excited about it. You should really take stock. Like, man, I love this new quarterback. This is a great, shiny new toy. But let's chill out for just a little bit.' That's when the current situation with the Titans hit them. Robert shot back: 'OK, how do you square that with like the tepid Titans optimism that we've both shown over the last month?' Derrik paused, and replied with a simple expletive. Advertisement They both laughed at that dissonance, because what are you supposed to say? Recent history looks bleak for a team like the Titans. But that doesn't change how they feel about this specific team. As Klassen jokingly quipped, 'this time is going to be different, you know?' Now, this isn't some death sentence for Tennessee. It's just a gentle reminder that when all of your hope is predicated on the rookie QB, it can blind you to some unsavory realities elsewhere on the roster. And the general classification of 'team with a rookie QB and dangerously fragile things around him' applies only somewhat to the Titans in my estimation. On offense, I don't see this infrastructure as particularly fragile. I have a lot of faith in what this upgraded OL is going to do for the general success of that side of the ball, Ward especially. And while the receiver situation could prove subpar all year, I think they have enough to work with in the passing game in totality to get by. Ridley, Lockett, Okonkwo, Spears, and Pollard are all proven quantities that can keep that ship afloat enough at a bare minimum. The rest is unproven upside. On defense is where the words 'dangerously fragile' ring truest to me. I've written at length about how I think that side of the ball might be a house of cards held up by L'Jarius Sneed and all of his uncertainty. Read all about that right here. Advertisement If the defense crumbles, it could set up the offense to have to produce at untenable levels early in Ward's career just to keep up with each opponent. Look at how the Bengals had to operate in 2024 with significantly better offensive pieces at their disposal? That's the nightmare scenario that could certainly lead to an outcome like Derrik and Robert talked about on the podcast. Here's to hoping the Titans aren't the next team added to that sad lineage. Related: Titans trade saved them from being under a national spotlight for uncomfortable reasons, is the reason why one rookie won't sign Related: Titans 53-Man Roster 2025: Exciting WR youth movement, how much should you expect from rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike View the original article to see embedded media. This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Regression or progression for Commanders QB Jayden Daniels in 2025?
This week, there was more talk about Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels potentially experiencing an NFL sophomore slump. But in this case, the two hosts weren't buying the talk of Daniels falling into the dreaded sophomore slump. Nope, Robert Mays and Derrick Klassen on their "The Athletic Football Show" podcast actually held firmly that they don't see Daniels falling off drastically. Advertisement For example, they discussed how NFL teams will adjust their strategies this year and employ different blitzes against Daniels. Thus, yes, a quarterback's performance against the blitz can vary from year to year. When suggesting that Daniels could fall back slightly against the blitz, a reference came to how, when being blitzed late in a game, he threw a deep touchdown. That no doubt was referring to the MNF win, when Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin down the right sideline, in the end zone, ensuring the Commanders' road win in Cincinnati over the Bengals. It was admitted that though Daniels might not maintain the rate to make a large gain against the blitz, the two ended up agreeing that they actually can easily see Daniels making enough of the plays he needs to make against blitzes in 2025. Comical is not the accurate description when listening, however, it was evident that both hosts agreed that when watching the film of the 2024 games, Daniels showed more than a few times that under duress, he already had an understanding of where to go with the football against certain blitzes. No, Daniels was not in the top ten quarterbacks in yards passing, but that's okay; he wasn't in the top ten in passing attempts either. Advertisement Maintaining a level of objectivity, Daniels did have a weakness last season of taking sacks. Being sacked 47 times, he was sacked the sixth most by an NFL quarterback in 2024. How much of that was the line? How much of that was Daniels? It's not a simplistic answer, as there were times last year when the line was inadequate; there were also instances where Daniels is clearly holding the ball and ends up being sacked. One side note, I recall numerous times when Daniels didn't throw the ball away and instead ran, only to get sacked for a loss of only a yard or two. Look for Daniels to be more consciously aware in this second NFL to taking sacks vs throwing away the ball. Who knows, having the same offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury), might the learned familiarity with the same offense, result in Daniels not experiencing a slump at all? This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Will Jayden Daniels experience a 'sophomore slump' in 2025?
New York Times
03-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Who besides CeeDee Lamb is going to catch passes for the Cowboys?
With the 2025 NFL Draft now behind us, all 32 teams have made most of their personnel moves ahead of the new season — but that doesn't mean every roster need has been filled. For instance, take a look at the Cowboys' roster: Beyond CeeDee Lamb, Dallas doesn't have another reliable wide receiver on the roster. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show,' Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discussed which pass catchers could step up for the Cowboys in 2025. Watch the full discussion below. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: We thought the Dallas Cowboys might draft a receiver 12th overall if one was on the board, but they didn't draft a receiver at all, and didn't address it in free agency either. Who is catching passes for the Cowboys? Derrik: I was certain they would draft a receiver at some point, and I think they really wanted Tetairoa McMillan. There was a lot of reporting and talk about it, so that's clearly who they wanted to get at 12. But when he wasn't there, they did the Cowboys thing of, 'All right, we don't necessarily know what we want, so let's just throw another pick at the offensive line and that will probably be fine.' They did lose Zack Martin this offseason, so I don't think reloading there was a bad strategy. But they didn't really attack pass catchers at all, it just wasn't something they cared about. They did take a running back in Jaydon Blue, who is probably going to help them out a little bit in the backfield. But they didn't take any starters at either tight end or receiver who are going to help them. They're still going into this season with CeeDee Lamb, which is fantastic because obviously he's one of the most explosive players in the league. But they're still waiting for the Jalen Tolbert breakout, and it's the final year of his contract, so at this point it's probably not going to happen. If it was going to happen, we would have seen it by now. Last year, midway through the season, they traded for Jonathan Mingo. But when you think about it, a Carolina Panthers team, which didn't have that much going forward at the pass-catcher room, was willing to trade away Mingo even though it was a different coaching staff that drafted him. Behind that, they've got Ryan Flournoy who they drafted in the sixth round last year. As a wide receiver four, that's a cool idea. But when you don't have a good wide receiver two or three, that's not as fun of an idea. We knew outside of CeeDee Lamb they didn't have many options, both in terms of having good floor options and good ceiling options. And they didn't take anyone in the draft to make me feel better about it, so it's still a spooky pass-catching group to me. Advertisement Robert: We thought they might take a receiver at 12, and I think everyone assumed they would try to draft a running back on Day 2 because the only moves they'd made at running back were one-year contracts for Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. It sounds like Williams, based on the way that things have unraveled here, will be the starting running back unless it's Jaydon Blue. But I'm not sure how good you feel about that. Derrik: I don't think Blue can be at his size, that's also the issue too. Robert: Yeah, that's just not what he is. I don't know how that room comes together, so a little bit surprising based on what we thought they might have done. Then with the receiver group, they didn't do anything, they didn't draft a receiver at all. My assumption is they're looking at this with the mindset of, 'Jonathan Mingo is the offseason addition we made at receiver.' All right, we'll see how it goes… Derrik: I don't love that… Robert: I don't know how I feel about that either (laughs). My concern here is that we're going to get to Week 6 again, and my response to all of this is going to be, 'I think KaVontae Turpin should be getting more snaps.' Which is the exact same thing we were saying last year. Just playing it out, doesn't that seem to be the place we're going to land again with the lack of juice the rest of this group is bringing to the table? Derrik: It's either that, or does Parris Campbell have anything left? Which, again, you're asking a similar type of bad question in terms of trying to find the explosiveness. The only thing I can assume is that once Tetairoa McMillan was gone, maybe they just didn't love Matthew Golden or any of the other receivers there, and that's fine. You take Tyler Booker, and the idea is, 'Maybe Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe take another step. And even though Booker is not going to be as good as Zack Martin, if he can at least be a good rookie, then maybe the offensive line will be better, and we can run the ball and leverage that into better offense.' But it feels like you're asking a lot from Guyton, who was really up and down last year. You're also asking a lot of Booker, who is replacing one of the best guards of the last decade. Again, Booker might be good, but that's asking a lot. Then I still don't love what they have at running back. So even if your idea is, 'The offensive line and run game will allow the passing game to be better,' you still need around four things to go right for that to even be true. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic Football Show for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Photo of Jonathan Mingo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
New York Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Ravens have four draft directions — which will they take?
Just two more sleeps remain until the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay and, soon enough, all the speculation about who goes where will finally be put to rest. The Baltimore Ravens, coming off a 12-5 season and their second consecutive AFC North title, head into the draft with 11 picks, starting at No. 27 overall in the first round. Advertisement Will they use that pick on a pass rusher, bolster the offensive or defensive line, or perhaps add another cornerback after selecting Nate Wiggins at No. 30 last year? On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show,' the final installment of our 'On the Clock' series, Robert Mays was joined by CBS Sports' Mike Renner to discuss which direction the Ravens should go with the 27th pick. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: Let's get to the Ravens at 27. You have four options for Baltimore. With the guys on the board, I didn't want to tighten it up because I think you could make a justifiable argument for any of these four directions. Option one is to draft any of the pass rushers who are top-10 talents, according to some people. You can take Shemar Stewart or Mykel Williams here, who are still on board, or you can take James Pearce Jr. I'm not sure what your current board looks like, but I think you had him ahead of both of those guys on your initial big board. Mike: I did way back going into the season, but I do worry about the off-the-field stuff, and I worry that he's just a little bit stiffer. How I have them ranked right now on my final board is Mykel, Pearce and then Stewart. I'm right there with you that I could see any team buying into either of them as top-10 talents, because they are truly all physically gifted in some way, shape, or form. I just lean toward Williams because he shows the closest thing to an NFL skillset right now. And it's not as if he doesn't have tools that could reach a high end at the NFL level. My comp for him is Carlos Dunlap, He's just a real good power end. For Baltimore, the interior flexibility is nice for that defense as well, so that's where I'm going. Advertisement Robert: That was just option one by the way… which was one of those three pass rushers, so let's keep going. Option two: You draft Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, and they step in as your left guard from day one. Obviously, Andrew Vorhees started the season there last year but got hurt. Then Patrick Mekari stepped in, but now he's gone, so they don't really have the interior depth that they've typically had on their roster. Option three is a cornerback of your choosing. Once again, they bring in Chidobe Awuzie, but how good do you feel about that if that's a day-one outside corner for you? Option four is you draft Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant because it's a similar thought process to the interior of the offensive line. If you look at it right now, they don't really have a lot of bodies behind those starters with Travis Jones and Madubuike. So you could draft a guy to be a rotational piece now, who could step into a bigger role next year, because Travis Jones is in the final year of his contract, so that's available to you. Again, a pass rusher of your choosing, being Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, a cornerback of your choosing, or Derek Harman or Kenneth Grant. What are you doing if you are Baltimore? Mike: This one's tough. I think corner is my least favorite of those because they drafted one in the first round last year. Back-to-back years using a first-rounder on a corner — and even a few years ago using one on a safety — is just a lot of resources on a position where ROI is generally not as much as an edge in the first round. You can find corners later, but it's hard to find high-end edges later. As I'm thinking of this, the highest guy on my board is Derrick Harmon. Obviously, I've heard that he might fall due to medical concerns. But I think the fact that Harmon would be third fiddle right out of the gate, versus Mykel Williams being able to conceivably be a starter from day one, at least an early down starter, probably pushes that for me a little bit towards him — and the fact that Madubuike is not going anywhere anytime soon. With Harmon, as much as I think he could play a little nose and play some of that, he's not replacing Travis Jones' skill set on the nose full time. So I'll go with Mykel Williams, that's the pick. Robert: That makes total sense, and this would just be a classic Ravens thing where a guy who is 12th on everybody's boards is sitting there at 27. You and I were talking about this a little bit yesterday. You weren't necessarily surprised that these guys who are pumped up as maybe top 12 prospects have fallen in an exercise like this because no one's had the stomach to be the one to swing on them. Mike: Yes, it's a unique class because there are such high-end athletes with such little production. You usually get one or two of these guys, like your Tyree Wilsons, your Travon Walkers. But this year, it's four or five, it's a handful. There are so few guys who have both in this draft class. It's Abdul Carter, and then that's it in terms of who has the traits and the production. Advertisement Robert: Maybe you can make an argument for Mike Green, but there are a ton of concerns there and the competition level. So there's a question mark with everybody on some front. Mike: That's why I have Mike Green and Jalon Walker as my next two edges after, just because you want both at the end of the day. And again, when I'm stacking up Mykel versus the other two, he's just closer in my opinion to an impact player at the NFL level, and I could see it with him very easily. Whereas with the other two, you're really squinting for reps, where you're like, 'That'll work against NFL tackles consistently.' You can listen to full episodes of 'The Athletic Football Show' for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)
