They should just give him the Browns. Two birds, one stone and all.

So now that the collusion case is over-where does Kaep end up? Not on a team still but this time because he's not really a good QB? Does he decide not to play anyway for his health? What team needs a QB right now that would sign him?

I think something like Baltimore might be the best fit. That assumes that RGIII doesn't re-sign and that they don't go after Tyrod Taylor in free agency, or that they want to carry 3 QB's. Dude was 25-14 with Jim Harbaugh as a coach and 3-16 without.

If the settlement amount is true I imagine he's on a beach somewhere. When the AAF talked to him Kap demanded $20. If that's his asking price then I doubt he's serious about playing football again unless some team over pays him. Playing the victim card is more profitable to him than playing football right now.

I'd take Kaepernick in Cincinnati for sure. I think the guy could be in a better position to be successful now than he was, because the league has trended even more toward his style of play. He'd be a good bridge QB if the team doesn't want to extend Dalton in a year.

In a vacuum I think Kap could fit in a lot of places, but I think he's practically committed himself to not playing. Outside of that vacuum you'd have to pay top tier money to a guy who has a grudge against the entire league, hasn't played for years, and who immediately puts your entire organization under intense media & fan scrutiny. Seems obvious nobody is going to volunteer for that.

But would you take Kap for 20 mil?

Heh!!!!

For crying out loud....

I mean, I'm not THAT surprised, but at least hire an independent high-class escort. The prostitutes in the Florida massage parlors were mostly trafficked there.

This could get really big depending on the what this sting uncovered and where these women came from.

No judgement on the solicitation charge but some of the responses in that thread are hilarious.

Fellate-gate.:lol:

WHOLE LOT of deflated balls jokes out there.

I'm seeing a lot of attempts to tie prostitution ring in with the Super Bowl rings but no hits yet.

And Kraft isn't even the oldest guy on that list of Johns, though I guess that shouldn't be surprising in Florida. 85-year-old Daniel R. Young is still getting after it.

That's the part of this that could get nasty in a hurry. If this were just your typical "rich famous guy gets caught with an escort" story then we'd all have a laugh and move on.

But preliminary reports are that this was human sex trafficking. Whether or not Kraft of the other participants knew that this was going on, it's a major factor in the story.

I think that this will go from "ha ha deflated balls" to "oh, shit" in pretty short order.

And if the Jupiter police did manage to rescue a bunch of sex slaves and are going to throw the guys who ran the place into jail for the rest of their lives, then great on the police.

The Colts do drugs and the Pats get cheap hookers.

That would be great, but I think it's just as likely that ICE just wants to deport a bunch of women.

I hear Eugene Robinson wants to come out of retirement to play for the Pats.

I'm surprised there isn't more spygate jokes considering Kraft was allegedly filmed.

Jim Irsay got suspended 6 games and fined $500,000.

I wonder what the NFL punishment for prostitution and human trafficking is.

Man if I was worth billions, I wouldn't be spending $60 on a handjob from someone in a massage parlor. I'm sure I could send a few grand and have a lot more fun.

How do you think they become billionaires?

(Frugality.)

+1

You don't become a billionaire by being cheap... but it's how you stay a billionaire!
Ejacugate?
Maybe they should have known, but I doubt anyone going to a rub n tug is looking into the background of the girls.

Assuming he's found guilty of the misdemeanors and gets or pleas to a fine with the state of Florida, I assume the NFL will fine him the $500k maximum amount, and maybe suspend him a few games like they did Jim Irsay. Maybe they even ask him to step back and hand more official control to Jonathan Kraft, which wouldn't be the worst thing. I love RKK for being a great owner, but it's been obvious for the few years since his wife passed he has his good days and his bad days.

I also haven't seen any sourcing, but I've heard the rumor that Jupiter PD is saying Kraft isn't the biggest sports figure tied in to this scandal. Hmm, who else lives there? Tiger Woods' House on Jupiter Island, Florida

DA released the Probable Cause affidavits on the 25 men involved today. I'm not sure whether more or coming, but the rumor of there being a bigger name tied to the scandal might have been false. Schefter, among others, reported it, so it must have had semi-legitimate sourcing.

I would assume that source had a Massachusetts area code.

An ex-Citigroup President was also tagged, but yes the sports angle seems completely made up. Unless like they got other names off files, but only charged the ones they caught on video. (Tiger Woods would've been the juiciest name, but iirc Jupiter and that area has a ton of golfers and a few other pro or ex-pro athletes.)

Looks like Kraft's defense will be the old hey, I was just paying for a massage, if she wanted to give me something extra who was I to say no?

The CFL says that no team can sign Manziel to a contract. So he's now done in Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/c...ract-1.5035959

After last year would any CFL team want to sign him to a contract? I imagine he may pop up in the AAF or XFL at some point?

Mike McCarthy's new lot in life after football is being an obnoxious sports parent.

We're not going to have any referees in 10 years, a least at the youth level, unless courts start imposing referee service as a term of criminal probation.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm a Booger fan. I'd put him in the booth and let that weird "third guy on a cart" experiment die.

dola

And the crafty old man tight end (Watson, Olson, Witten) is my favorite genre of NFL player, so I am ALL ABOUT Witten coming back and catching 85 balls while running a 5.7 40 yard dash.

Robot refs!

How Patriots owner Robert Kraft could get off in prostitution case

Not even trying on the headline but some good info.

I thought the default was that he is not going to be found guilty.

I thought he was presumed to be innocent.

Surely you jest.

I was inferring that he was trying to leave the CFL to play in the AAF already, and the CFL beat him to the punch. I mean, he's better than Christain Hackenburg and Zach Mettenberger.

Does sound like Kraft will be found not guilty. I always assumed he'd at least be able to no contest it and pay a small fine, but the illegal traffic stop adds another big hurdle for the prosecution to the point idk why a prosecutor would even bother wasting time against him and high priced lawyers.

Who knows how Goodell (a.k.a. the other owners) will try to rule. I think the Irsay situation gave a good baseline compromise (6 game suspension, 500k fine) for giving the league a black eye (even though driving while high and endangering people should be a lot worse than getting a consensual BJ), and the Jones boys infamously didn't get anything for inviting Dean Blandino on a party bus full of "strippers", but that Pats 2020 1st is certainly on the table based on the fact its New England.

People playing off the Kraft thing as a victimless crime really piss me off. Lets not act like these girls are willing participants. I can't even imagine how horrific their lives are.

Considering Kraft solicited the senior members of the store I'm willing to believe they were willing.

Like NH said, the specific women with Kraft were the owner and manager of the store, who are both legal residents of Florida. Just like drugs, the money likely all ties back to bad people, but it's equally ridiculous to think ground level users were aware of the larger picture. (I've also seen people who know more than me about the issue question just how much human trafficking was actually involved, or whether it's over reach by a local department, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until it goes to court.)

I also am not a fan of people blowing this off like it's a big joke. But it also should be pointed that police found zero evidence of involuntary trafficking with respect to this location

But, it's still shitty. The massage parlor prostitution industry is where these trafficked women end up. When a man goes to one of these places, he is aware, or should be aware, of the reality that the women may be underage, or were trafficked there against their will. Johns are contributing to that economy whether or not the particular prostitute that jacked them off was there involuntarily or not.

Legalization and regulation would fix a lot of this. But as long as its illegal, officers should crack down and expose and prosecute the dirtbags that frequent these places. I'm seeing a lot of anti-law enforcement sentiment with this stuff, but it's not their call what's legal. As long as it's' illegal, trafficking will thrive and law enforcement should be involved.

Giants letting Landon Collins walk. I’m not sure I can do it anymore.

Dave Gettelman needs the $$$ for this very weak OL class...

In today's NFL is a box safety worth $11+ mil per?

3 time pro bowler, all pro, 25 years old. I would say yes. But by all means, lets pay Eli 25 Mil next year.

And it was still a terrible defense last year. Safety is the least important position on that side of the ball at the moment. There's no doubt Collins is very good at what he does, but the position he plays is more of a luxury for good defenses than someone you build around.

That doesn't mean you let a guy who is the best at his position walk in his prime without trying to make a long term deal, while over paying your QB who should have been gone 2 years ago.

Drafting a guy in the first round, who then turns into an all pro, and letting him walk without even offering a contract doesn't strike me as a solid long term strategy.

Maybe the Lions will end up grabbing him. The Whole Snack Harrison trade worked out really well. G-Men West!

Case Keenum to the Redskins makes me laugh. I'm not sure he's that much better than Colt McCoy.

I was hoping the Colts would grab him on draft day. I thought he was a no brainer. But nope, Ryan Grigson thought Philip Dorsett was the best choice.

Today Ballard probably won't offer him he's worth. We have some decent safeties but they're oft-injured.

But I do think he's better than Joe Flacco.

Mr Big Chest probably going to the Bills. Good luck with that inaccurate trash QB.

I would like have loved to have seen that happen. Grass isnt always greener. Kinda worried that he is talking his way out of going anywhere that the steelers think that they can get decent compensation for him, and he ends up being back.

I guess Mr Big Chest isn't going to the Bills after all.

I wannaleave! Get out! Go!


{AB to Buffalo}


NOT THAT BAD! NOPE!

Giants trading DE/OLB Oliver Vernon to the Browns for G Kevin Zeitler, and swapping mid round draft picks in the Browns favor (Browns get pick #132 and Giants get pick #155)

Guess that shuts down the Browns getting Trey Flowers, which I thought might be interesting. Their pass rush ought to be pretty good, though.

The Browns are building a team.

Dolphins cut Danny Amendola, save $6 million

Because of course they did, and of course they would, and of course we all saw it playing out exactly this way when they absurdly signed him last season. Now, maybe he re-signs with the Pats for peanuts, right? Dammit.

FOF rant here...

So, this stuff happens all the time in the NFL. Not just the occasional swing-and-a-miss deal gone bad. All the time. Guys are getting cut after one season, or maybe two seasons, of a recently signed lucrative deal. The team walks away eating dead cap space, getting only a small share of the intended contract.

But when I play FOF, I almost never get to this point. Why is that? I don't tank. I really don't want my team to go 5-11. It's not like I don't give a damn, and am willing to just throw away a season.

One theory is it's time. A real year is a long time to sit and watch a team flail around badly. So, that adds real pressure to put something on the field... like Miami feeling they needed to sign clowns like Amendola and Albert Wilson... their WR group looked putrid without them (after dealing away Landry).

I guess the related thing is scouting. In-game in FOF I can see that the 9th year WR is only rated 34/34, he's really not much better than that 2nd year guy sitting around unsigned for minsal. In real life, scouting is tougher, right? A guy comes off an 850-yard season for another team and there's no such thing as "34/34" it's more like "complementary receiver with starting experience and decent route running." Perhaps the value of experience is more present in the NFL than it is in a computer game, too.

I don't know that a football sim would be more fun if I were constantly pushed to make moves like the ones that many/most front offices make. But it does seem like a meaningful disconnect.

There's also the churn of one year deals in FOF that maybe isn't such a real life thing. I mean, I don't know if I sign Amendola for 2 yr in FOF, I just wait until he's willing to do one year or I take the next closest thing to him on a one year. In real life, those seem to often be 2 yr/cut after 1 deals instead.

Two parts of this...maybe we just give up that a computer AI will be a strong opponent in a complex game like this.

But, in the most cutthroat multi player leagues, I almost never see serious bonus-heavy multi-year contracts turn into one-and-out or two-and-out.

Maybe we just don't have enough guys who semi-randomly lose their luster quickly? And that happens in real football/sports, but would be too disheartening in a sim game?

Quik, I think part of it is also that fit for scheme is something that a lot of games can't model right. I mean, look at Amendola. FOF would have had his ratings translate well everywhere, but the feel he's made with the Pats offense (the little things, like shading in a bit in certain routes or what have you) don't translate well.)

Pats trade a fifth for Philadelphia's Bennett and a seventh rounder. When you consider the contract that Flowers is going to get roughly in one year what Bennett is due over the next two, AND the Pats are likely going to get a comp pick (a third rounder?), this is a trade with good upside, and very little downside.

edit: And that's why the Pats are the Pats.

I want fof to get away from coach modeling. But this seems like an area where assistant coaching and scheme matter a lot in real life.

Interesting. Having played some FOF recently (the latest one afaik) after my kid decided he wanted to give it a try (gotta love Steam library sharing), I feel like the fall off the table guys occur at a really high clip.

Maybe that isn't quite "random" though. Apparently what has to happen for guys to go from stud to dud is for me to sign them.

Mr Big Chest only worth a 3rd round and 5th round pick

Yep Buffalo or Oakland-guess none of the good teams wanted him?

It's a sad day, no question, for Steeler fans. This is a very disappointing offseason, and we really don't have anything to complain about. It's been a very good, long run, but unless we can find some better management than we've had (and I'm talking GM) in the past 7-8 years, and better cap management we're heading down the slope.

Raiders looking good this off-season.

For that crappy return, I might have just taken the comedy “trade him to the worst team in the league” option.

We should have all known this would end with the Raiders.

This ended up as poorly for the Steelers as it possibly could have. A 3rd and a 5th plus you take a $21 mil cap hit? I'm sure they did the best they could under the circumstances, but that's a kick to the balls.

Between the Cooper and AB trades the Raiders basically traded Cooper for AB + a 2nd. Not bad. They're still Jon Gruden figuring out how the game is played in 2019 away from being good though.

Barnwell had a nice piece about the Steelers contract structure. Basically they are the only team in the league still working with "FOF Style" deals and most modern teams have adjusted. And the front office still loves the "Cap Out" button because the majority of the veteran guys always carry huge cap numbers due to previous cap outs and general overpayment.

We typically get so little value from our rookie deals that we have to go over-sign a Joe Haden(who I really like) to calm down a dumpster fire in our secondary

Name another team in the league who would pay Bud Dupree 9.3 million dollars?

They didn't?

Dan Snyder goes 6 years and $84 mil for Landon Collins.

I really think the Giants made the right call here.

Packers throwing money at players I've never heard of like it's going out of style. Either they have some analytics that the rest of the league doesn't, or they are going to be terrible for a couple years and Rodgers is going to have a complete meltdown.

Not sure what the Dolphins plan is - Amendola & Gore who are lauded for leadership qualities and setting the example are gone, Jawuan James is gone, looks like Cam Wake is gone, but they keep DeVante Parker???

If they bring in Fitzpatrick for double Fitzmagic, or Tyrod Taylor as rumoured, we know its full on tank mode.

This feels so much like a replay of the Shula years for the Bengals. It wouldn't surprise me to see a replay of the David Klingler draft.

Is there a German word for when your team signs a perfectly good player to a perfectly fine contract, but you are just sad because it means a well-loved player will be moving on?

Probably no words but I'm sure they've made a beer for it.

This will go well I'm sure:


Browns agree to trade for Giants WR Odell Beckham - NFL.com


for a 1st, 3rd, and S Peppers

Browns will be the Browns

Love the move for the Giants. Don't want that cancer around Barkley.

Am I in the minority? I'm hyped as hell if I am a Browns fan....

Dude, this is a fantastic move for the Browns IMO. I think most people are on your side, Scoobz.

Yeah, I'm with Imran on this one.

I dunno, I refuse to believe that the Browns could make a good decision ever.

And the Giants are about to pay Manning a $6M roster bonus. A 23M cap hit, but they did just surrender for the year. So I guess they are all in on a 1st round QB.

Great trade for the Browns. Top 3 WR for a mid first round pick? The Giants will suck as long as they have this brain trust in place.

It's becoming equally as unlikely that the Giants make one, IMO

FINALLY!!! It's been a long ass time since I have been excited for this sorry ass franchise... amazing what a solid QB and a competent GM can do for a team

Just the Sergeant or the whole Lonely Hearts Club?

:D

Just shows how fucking stupid the Steelers’ brain trust is for the Big Chest trade

No more for you Sir!


:::takes drink away::: :)

I don't have a fucking clue what the Giants are doing.

The Browns offense could be top 5 next year.

Browns win the division!

They're trying to get Manning to retire because they're not allowed to move on from him for some reason.