Camps have opened, and we couldn’t be happier.
Your team has had a few practices by now. The odds are you’ve been reading coverage of them, and they’re disturbingly filled with injuries and no-shows. This seems to be the case in every training camp as veterans and rookies alike begin to expand their workouts and ratchet up the intensity level. This naturally takes its toll, primarily on the legs, as an epidemic of hamstring and quad pulls, calf strains and tendinitis settles over every camp. Most of these tend to be of the not-too-serious variety, although it’s worth tracking in veterans whose recovery time may not be ideal. One would surmise it’s a byproduct of offseason laziness or a lack of discipline. Speaking of which…
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson remains sidelined with a COVID-19 diagnosis, his second in the last eight months. Perhaps the only positive is that Jackson tested positive for the disease before taking any training camp snaps, so it’s a relative certainty he won’t miss any regular season games for COVID-19. Of major concern is Jackson’ seeming lack of understanding how his actions impact the team, which is trying to implement an oft-discussed new passing scheme, and which is obviously suffering without the team’s top signal caller behind center. For all of Jackson’ rhetoric about capturing a Super Bowl title this year, this would be a marked indication he’s not taking it seriously. Speaking of which…
Browns rookie LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has been among the players on the COVID-19 list since July 25, and the team is understandably anxious to see what their prized draft pick can deliver for them as soon as possible. Per his return timetable, head coach Kevin Stefanski epitomized the team’s apparent confusion: “I don’t know exactly. I know it’s getting closer.” Close, of course, means little in NFL circles, as the team has struggled at interior LB for some time and considered upgrading the position a top offseason priority. As long as Koramoah (have to get used to typing that) isn’t suffering lingering effects (I have no idea what his vaccination status is), I would expect to see him on the field this week. Speaking of which…
The Steelers officially open the NFL season this Thursday night in the annual Hall of Fame Game, which is generally a well-decorated, anonymously-played scrimmage to honor that year’s Hall of Fame inductees. It’s doubtful we’ll see many familiar names on the field, although most publications are indicating former first-round QB Dwayne Haskins is expected to start and play significant minutes in his bid to supplant incumbent QB Mason Rudolph as the primary backup to starter Ben Roethlisberger. Rudolph has, by most reports, struggled thus far, leaving a substantial opportunity for Haskins to prove his legions of doubters wrong. Survivors of the bizarre football experiment going on in the nation’s capital have to be given a second chance to prove they can play in the NFL, in my opinion, and Haskins certainly qualifies, having been a victim of his own lack of discipline, coupled with front-office dysfunction and a lack of coherent decision-making. Speaking of which…
The Bengals have quietly put together a solid offseason by most accounts, but as I’ve often mentioned in this space, protection for second-year QB and IR returnee Joe Burrow needs to be a premium for his continued quarterback education and health. The Bengals drafted G/T Jackson Carman in the second round after bypassing consensus top LT Penei Sewell in the first, and while Carman is expected to have a fine career, his struggles in camp so far have relegated him to third-team reps, and the general thinking is he will need significantly more time to acclimate to the pro game than originally thought. The Bengals aren’t without other options at T this year in holdover Jonah Williams and free agent signee Reilly Reiff, but Carman was being counted on to provide quality depth at the very least. Best of luck to him as he progresses.
Enjoy the week!
