NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, Haason Reddick, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles says that pass rusher Haason Reddick‘s most recent season was a wash and added that Reddick will likely be back to his old self this season for Tampa Bay.

“I knew him as a player,” Bowles said, via Pro Football Talk. “Foote had a lot to do with him, and we talked about it quite a bit. I knew he was a heck of a pass rusher. We needed a pass rusher, and we knew he started halfway through the season, so I would consider last season a wash for him, and we expect him to be his old self with us.”

“He can rush the passer,” Bowles added. “So if we got guys that can rush the passer, we let them rush the passer. Like I said last year, we need to rush better with four. I think he brings a great addition to help us rush with four so we can cover more and do those type of things. We’ll still pressure some, but hopefully it won’t be as much as last year because we had to instead of how we want to. So I think he brings that to the table for us.”

Falcons

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the team will do right by QB Kirk Cousins as best as it can, but admitted they’ll put their own priorities first.

“I told him we’d be as thoughtful to him as we can be, but we have responsibilities to the franchise,” Blank said, via NY Times. “He understood that, but he’s made himself clear as far as his own situation, and I understand that.”

Falcons HC Raheem Morris said that he hasn’t approached Cousins about his no-trade clause and didn’t want to speak about hypotheticals.

“There’s no need to talk about whether he would waive a trade clause if you don’t even know who you’d be waiving it for,” Morris said. “We do know he would like to be a starter. That has been clearly communicated with me and whoever else he had the opportunity to talk to. It’s not anything we’re holding him back if the opportunity presents itself, and it’s something that’s good for both of us.”

Blank said he doesn’t regret signing Cousins and said that the plan they had was solid even if it didn’t work out the way they originally envisioned.

“We’ve already paid him,” the owner said. “I’ve never been a risk-averse type of person. I think the plan (to sign Cousins and draft Penix) was an excellent plan from our standpoint, and from Kirk’s standpoint, he made a wise financial investment.”

Both Blank and Morris downplayed any kind of adversity that Cousins would potentially bring to QB Michael Penix‘s development.

“I think Michael is an unfazed kind of a human, and I just know how good a person Kirk is,” Morris said. “Kirk has too much respect for the game, for Michael, for that quarterback room, his coaches, and he’s just not that type of guy (to cause a problem), but I definitely understand what is going to be said.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales appeared on Up & Adams and spoke about what direction the team could go with the eighth overall selection in the draft.

“To be in this position, in my mind, when you have an opportunity to pick in the top 10 of the draft, we’re doing all the work on making sure we identify the best available player,” Canales said. “We’ve had some great conversations about some offensive playmakers in this class, some defensive playmakers—and we’ve come away with saying, ‘Ok, look, we are going to get a great player. Let’s make sure we have the right guy, the right fit. Somebody that we want to be a Panther for a long time.’ So that’s really where our conversations are.”

“We have to address the needs on defense first,” Canales continued. “We’re 32nd in the NFL in defense, and that’s something where our focus has gone to—to make sure that we can play good, balanced, complementary football.”

Adams told Canales that she’ll be having Georgia LB Jalon Walker on the show and asked him what she should ask Walker during his appearance. 

“Just ask him about how he impacts his teammates,” Canales replied. “Every single Georgia Bulldog we talk to, they talk about Jalon Walker. They talk about the accountability, the way that he pulls the whole group together, the way that he plays with his hair on fire, and communicates and all those things. And so, I think there’s just intangibles about the guy that are really special.”

• Panthers WR Adam Thielen‘s one-year contract is worth $8.75 million and includes a $5,001,000 signing bonus, a non-guaranteed $6,250,000 base salary, a regular roster bonus of $1,500,000, up to $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and a workout bonus of $250,000, per OverTheCap. 
• Louisville DE Ashton Gillotte has a 30 visit scheduled with the Panthers. (Dave Heilman)