Brady yet to confirm he’s playing in 2018
‘Barkley no intention to avoid Browns’
WASHINGTON, April 19, (Agencies): Tom Brady is not yet officially committed to playing in 2018, but the New England Patriots and others close to him expect the 40-year-old quarterback to return for his 20th season.
ESPN reported that Brady did not give “official word” that he’s planning to be with the Patriots, putting him in the same proverbial boat as tight end Rob Gronkowski. Brady, who turns 41 in August, was not present at the start of the offseason program on Monday. He is not expected to participate in the team’s offseason program for the third time in his career. “My money would be on him playing football for the foreseeable future, but what goes on away from the football field, I don’t know,” one source told ESPN, per the report Wednesday.
Brady, who is signed through 2019 and is due $14 million each of the next two seasons, could be angling for a contract extension, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. Brady would rank around the middle of the pack for NFL starting quarterbacks at his current pay rate.
Brady
Saquon Barkley’s agent says the Penn State running back has no intention of avoiding the Cleveland Browns at all costs in the NFL draft, contrary to a Sports Illustrated report.
“I can say on behalf of our entire team that we would be thrilled for Saquon to go to whichever team drafts him,” Kim Miale, Barkley’s agent, said in a statement to Cleveland.com. “We know he will be a resounding success for any team fortunate enough to select him.”
Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that Roc Nation, the agency representing Barkley, was pushing for Barkley to dodge the Browns if he is selected with one of Cleveland’s first-round picks.
Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson said on Nashville radio station “The Midday 180” that the club will pick up the fifth-year option on quarterback Marcus Mariota’s contract.
The move will give Mariota a $20,922,000 salary in 2019. He is slated to make $3.73 million this season. Picking up the option also gives both sides more time to negotiate a long-term contract for the 24-year-old QB.
Gronkowski purchased a minority stake in a racehorse named Gronk, a 3-year-old colt that will run in next month’s Kentucky Derby. There was no immediate word on the purchase price.
“I’ve never dealt with horses,” Gronkowski told the Wall Street Journal. “Hopefully I can get a ride on the horse.”
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said he plans to play several more seasons despite a recent audition for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
Olsen is one of several individuals given a formal audition for ESPN’s coveted spot in the Monday night booth vacated by Jon Gruden, who is back in the NFL as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Olsen attempted to short-circuit talk of his impending retirement and tried to dispel the notion he was only angling for a contract extension with the Panthers.
With ESPN yet to announce a replacement for Gruden, NFL Network’s Kurt Warner is getting “serious consideration” for the job, according to USA Today.
Per the report, Warner has had multiple conversations with ESPN about the position and is on a narrowing list of top candidates.
A member of the 2017 Hall of Fame class, Warner has appeared on NFL Network since 2010, shortly after he retired from the Arizona Cardinals. He has served primarily as a studio analyst, though he called select games during the 2010 season and a pair of contests with NBC’s Mike Tirico on “Thursday Night Football” in 2017.