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Buying or Selling NFL’s Latest 2023 Training Camp Buzz Entering Preseason | Bleacher Report
Chiefs Have No Intention of Trading Chris Jones
The biggest storylines of training camp are oftentimes about the players who aren’t there. In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs, that player happens to be Chris Jones, who is in the midst of an ongoing holdout.
Jones is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract. After posting 15.5 sacks and once again proving he’s one of the league’s top interior pass-rushers, Spotrac projects his market value to be $32.2 million in average annual value.
Holdouts tend to a get a little more tense with each passing day, but general manager Brett Veach assured fans that a trade is not something they are looking to do right now.
“We have no intentions of trading Chris,” Veach told media. “Since the start of the offseason, Chris has been right at the top of our priorities. Every year, it’s a different scenario and a different dynamic. One of the dynamics this year was the fact that some of the players in that position group didn’t get done until late, so there was a natural holding pattern.”
It would make sense for trade speculation to ramp up. This is the franchise that traded Tyreek Hill last offseason and Jones is going to be an expensive player.
But the defense doesn’t have Patrick Mahomes. He’s the factor that made parting ways with Hill doable. The defense relies on Jones to be a wrecking ball on the inside. It’s how KC was fifth in pressure rate while only being 14th in blitz percentage.
The Chiefs aren’t paying a ton of players on defense. Jones makes $28.3 million this season, Justin Reid makes $12.7 million, and the next highest-paid defender is Charles Omenihu at $4.5 million.
The Chiefs aren’t letting Jones walk or trading him away.
Verdict: Buy
Five Observations from Friday’s Practice | Chiefs Training Camp 8/11 | The Mothership
3. Rookie defensive back Chamarri Conner hauled in an interception during a “defensive” segment.
On the other side of the ball, Conner made an impressive play when he hauled in a leaping interception during a “defensive” period of Friday’s practice. Conner, who the Chiefs selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, was essentially playing deep center field on the play before grabbing the interception.
Rookie at work ⚠️@chamarriconner9 | #ChiefsCamp pic.twitter.com/uNa9zzssYI
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 11, 2023
Raiders sign RB Damien Williams | Rairders.com
Williams joins the Raiders after playing last season for the Atlanta Falcons. He spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins (2014-17) and has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-19) and Chicago Bears (2021).
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound running back has appeared in 98 career games with 16 starts and totaled 336 carries for 1,397 yards with 14 touchdowns and 154 receptions for 1,209 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2019, Williams appeared in 11 games with six starts for the Chiefs and rushed for a career-high 498 yards with five touchdowns, while adding 30 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns. His 11 rushing touchdowns in the postseason rank as the second-most among all active NFL players.
3 reasons why the Denver Broncos can sweep the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023 | Predominantly Orange
3. Maybe the Chiefs are ready to endure a Super Bowl hangover?
Listen, I know this might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s not impossible. There are so many examples of teams across the NFL who fell on their face in the following season after winning the Super Bowl. Well, after their first Super Bowl title under Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in 2019, the team did make it back the following year.
They have also hosted the AFC Championship Game in five straight seasons. They are 3-2 in those games. However, I do think there is a distinct possibility that the Chiefs are not back in the AFCCG in 2023. Them getting bounced out in the divisional round would be a Super Bowl hangover based on their standards, honestly.
The Jacksonville Jaguars played the Chiefs well in last year’s divisional round, and I’d expect them to take a leap. Perhaps the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals are ready to dethrone the Chiefs? Maybe the Baltimore Ravens or Miami Dolphins are lurking in the shadows? You never know. With as competitive as the AFC looks to be in 2023, the Chiefs not having as good of a season as we’d expect is a possibility.
Around the NFL
Sills called the new kickoff rule, which was adopted in May after its initial proposal by the competition committee in March, a “stopgap” and did not commit to it being in the league’s long-term vision.
“I think it’s a stopgap,” the NFL CMO told McAfee. “I think it’s an interim measure, while hopefully we can figure out a better solution.”
The rule stipulates that a fair catch called for on a kickoff inside the 25-yard-line results in a touchback and the ensuing possession beginning at the team’s own 25-yard line. The change is for one year only and is expected to decrease the kickoff return rate by 7 percent and drop the concussion rate on kickoffs — which has been on the rise, according to Sills — by 15 percent, per league data.
Packers’ Jordan Love likely to see more preseason action, LaFleur says | ESPN
The Green Bay Packers liked most of what Jordan Love did in his preseason debut as their new starting quarterback Friday night, but it was a couple of things he couldn’t quite pull off that made them likely to play him at least once more before the regular season.
Love was efficient in his two series in the exhibition opener against the Bengals, completing 7-of-10 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ 36-19 win at Paycor Stadium.
He spread the ball around to five receivers, including a pair to potential new No. 1 Romeo Doubs: one on a contested 9-yard fade for the touchdown and his longest completion in the form of a 12-yard crosser.
Love wasn’t pressured even with All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari getting the night off. And he completed four of his five play-action throws.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin ‘scheduled to play’ in Saturday’s preseason game against Colts | NFL.com
After initially saying Thursday that he’s taking the decision of when to play Hamlin a “day at a time,” head coach Sean McDermott later confirmed the third-year defender’s status to The Associated Press, telling the publication Hamlin is “scheduled to play” Saturday versus the Colts.
“This is to some extent uncharted territory for me as well, and all of us,” McDermott said, per The AP. “So we’re just trying to do the best we can to be there for him. I try to keep a close eye on where he is and where he’s showing up and how he’s responding. And he’s done a great job.”
Pickett, Steelers starting offense as good as advertised
Pittsburgh’s offense has been the buzz of training camp, and for good reason. Pickett has taken significant strides following a rookie season that saw him engineer four game-winning drives. The Steelers’ offense was fluid on its only drive Friday night, moving 83 yards on 10 plays and taking just over five minutes off the clock.
Pickett completed all but one of his seven attempts for 70 yards on the drive. His favorite target on the drive was Diontae Johnson, who caught three passes for 32 yards. Pickett was not only accurate, but he was also decisive while completing passes on the run as well as in the pocket.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs News: Patrick Mahomes says Eric Bieniemy made him better player
Players expressed concern about Bieniemy’s style to head coach Ron Rivera, who shared that with reporters. Specifically, Rivera said some were concerned the new coach was riding them too hard.
It’s simple: Bieniemy represents a culture shock that was much needed in Washington. The franchise hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2016. His fierceness is the first step in turning around the offense, which ranked 24th in scoring last season.
That’s why Bieniemy is coming in hot, coaching his players the best way he knows how. And as far as Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes is concerned, Bieniemy’s way was always OK in his book.
“EB is going to be harsh on you,” said Mahomes after Friday’s training camp practice at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. “He’s going to really try and get the best out of you every single day. He’s going to hold you accountable when you don’t want to hold yourself accountable.
“[His coaching] made me a better player.”
A tweet to make you think
The #49ers signed DL Breeland Speaks, the XFL sack leader, to a one-year deal and placed CB Anthony Averett on the Injured Reserve List.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 11, 2023
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