Falcons
- Per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, Falcons RB Todd Gurley‘s one-year deal includes a $2 million signing bonus, a $3.5 million fully guaranteed base salary and $500,000 in incentives for reaching either 13 touchdowns or 1,000 rushing yards.
- Pelissero says the Rams still owe Gurley another $5.05 million in a guaranteed roster bonus that’s not offset by Atlanta’s deal.
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said they were comfortable with Gurley’s knee and his health prognosis: “He’s a hard-charging runner and we’re counting on him being an excellent player for us.” (Kelsey Conway)
- However, Atlanta has not ruled out adding another back with some speed in the draft. (Vaughn McClure)
- There’s still no set date for Gurley to have his physical. The team will wait until its doctors can give all new players physicals rather than go to an independent source. (McClure)
- Dimitroff mentioned the team evaluated TE Hayden Hurst in 2018 but went a different direction since they had Austin Hooper at the time. They really liked his speed and athleticism. (McClure)
- Dimitroff highlighted how the team is happy with the growth it’s seen from LB Foye Oluokun. (Conway)
Panthers
On a conference call with local media, Panthers GM Marty Hurney wouldn’t get into specifics about replacing longtime QB Cam Newton with another veteran in the form of QB Teddy Bridgewater. However, Hurney did say that the decision wasn’t easy.
“In fairness, I’m not getting into the details of our decision-making process,” Hurney said, via Bill Voth of Panthers.com. “You have to make difficult decisions every year, and this was probably one of the most difficult. I mean, I drafted Cam,” Hurney said. “We all know everything he’s brought to the organization, both on and off the field. So it was extremely difficult.”
Some wondered why the Panthers waited so long to tell Newton they were moving on. According to Hurney, mid-March is when the decision was ultimately made.
“We put a lot of time, thought (and) communication into every decision we make, and as soon as we make those decisions, we act on them,” he said. “So as soon as we did, I called Cam’s representatives and told them that we were going to start calling teams about seeing if there was trade interest in Cam. I think it came out publicly the next day. When we got to a point where we thought that it didn’t seem like we were going to make a trade in the near future, we thought it was in the best interest for everybody to release him.”
A day after Newton’s release, the Panthers officially signed Bridgewater, who is expected to be the starter next season. Hurney offered high praise for his new quarterback, who performed well in the division for New Orleans last season.
“He’s a very talented quarterback. I’ve always liked him,” Hurney said of Bridgewater. “He’s got great feet in the pocket. I think he’s got good vision, a quick release. He’s got good accuracy. I think everybody you talk to, they talked about his leadership skills, and he’s got familiarity with (offensive coordinator) Joe Brady’s system since Joe was down there in New Orleans with him. He’s certainly a guy who’s overcome adversity and has, really if you look at it, he’s won everywhere he’s been, so we thought he’d be a good fit for us.”
Saints
New Saints WR Emmanuel Sanders pulled the trigger pretty quickly when New Orleans expressed interest in signing him. Sanders highlighted the chance to join a passing-focused offense like what the Saints run as one of the many motivating factors for him.
“I’m excited to be there in a pass-happy offense,” Sanders said via NFL Media’s James Palmer. “That means everything. These are the types of offenses where you really can showcase your talent. I’ve waited almost four years, ever since 2014 with Peyton (Manning), to be back in a pass-happy offense.”
Though Sanders won’t have the benefit of an offseason program to get on the same page as Saints QB Drew Brees, he doesn’t expect that to be much of a hindrance once the season starts.
“Truthfully, I think people put way too much emphasis on chemistry,” Sanders said. “I think the ultimate thing that me and Drew have in common is that we both love the game of football. If you take guys that love the grind of football and who are passionate about football, it should click regardless if they have the proper talent. I know Drew loves football and I know I love football. I just feel like that chemistry is going to be there from the jump because we are both down to work our butts off because we both know what we’re trying to accomplish and that’s [winning a] Super Bowl ring.”
- Texas A&M WR Quartney Davis had a video meeting with the Saints. (Aaron Wilson)
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