Players get shots vs. ex- teams SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS, WEEK 1
Coaches also have chances to beat former employers
After the NFL released the 2017 schedules Thursday, it was time to look ahead to some of the notable reunions we’ll see on the field this season.
Although they might downplay the significance of facing their former teams, most players and coaches will be looking to make a statement when they go head- to- head.
A look at some of the top reunions on the schedule: Seattle running back Eddie Lacy spent four seasons in Green Bay, rushing for 3,435 yards and 23 touchdowns. Lacy signed as a free agent with Seattle because he wanted to be in an offense that runs the ball more than the Packers. It looks like he might have found it with the Seahawks, who run the ball 41% of the time, compared with Green Bay’s 35%.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, WEEK 2 Doug Pederson was an assistant coach for Andy Reid in Philadelphia from 2009- 13, starting as quality control coordinator and moving up to quarterbacks coach. Then he followed Reid to Kansas City as his offensive coordinator in 2013 and held that job until he became the Eagles’ coach in 2016. This is the first time the two have faced each other.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS AT LOS ANGELES. RAMS, WEEK 2 Sean McVay was with the Redskins from 2010- 16, working his way up from assistant tight ends coach under Mike Shanahan to offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden. In 2015, the Redskins ranked 10th in scoring, and last season they were 12th. McVay takes over a Rams team that in 2016 ranked last in scoring, so if he can do half as well in L. A. as he did in Washington, the Rams might win over a few fans.
CHICAGO BEARS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, WEEK 2 Quarterback Mike Glennon signed a three- year contract with Chicago in the offseason even though he had played in eight games combined the past two seasons in Tampa. He was the Buccaneers starter in 2013, throwing for 2,608 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions but lost his starting job the next season to rookie Jameis Winston. He was the most sought- after free agent quarterback this offseason. He gets a chance to show up the guy who replaced him and show that the Bears made the right decision.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS, WEEK 2 Brandin Cooks had more than 1,100 yards receiving in 2015 and ’ 16, leading the Saints both years. But the Saints were desperate for help on defense ( they ranked last in 2015 and 27th last season). So they traded Cooks to the Patriots for this year’s first- round pick ( the Saints also got the Patriots’ third- round pick for their fourth). Will it help, or will Cooks add to the Saints’ defensive misery?
BUFFALO BILLS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, WEEK 2 Sean McDermott waited a long time to be a head coach. He has been an NFL assistant since 1999 and was with the Carolina Panthers since 2011. As defensive coordinator, the Panthers had the secondranked defense in 2013 and were fifth in 2015, their Super Bowl season. He takes over a Bills team that was middleof- the- pack in defense last season and will get a big test against a highpowered Panthers offense right out of the gates.
BEARS AT PACKERS, WEEK 4 ( AND WEEK 10 IN CHICAGO) With Green Bay, Martellus Bennett is on his fifth NFL team. But his best season was with the Bears in 2014, when he caught 90 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns. In the two games against the Packers that season, he had 11 catches for 179 yards — one of the few bright spots in two Bears losses. Bennett could be a favorite target of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
CLEVELAND BROWNS AT HOUSTON TEXANS, WEEK 6 We might be getting ahead of ourselves here. Brock Osweiler will be given a chance to win the quarterback job in Cleveland. He had 2,957 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in Houston and was moved to dump his salary.
RAMS AT VIKINGS, WEEK 11 Sam Bradford spent the first four seasons of his career in St. Louis, and while his numbers weren’t awful — 11,065 yards with 59 touchdowns — the team results weren’t good. The Rams were 1830- 1 with him as a starter. With Minnesota last season, filling in for injured starter Teddy Bridgewater, Bradford led the NFL with a 71.6% completion rate and had a career- low five interceptions. Still, the Vikings, projected Super Bowl contenders, were 8- 8. Maybe he gets his chance to show up his old team if Bridgewater hasn’t returned.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS, WEEK 11 In a surprise move, defensive end Calais Campbell left a good team in Arizona and turned down an opportunity to play on a good Broncos team in Denver, to sign with the Jaguars, who haven’t had a winning record since 2007. Campbell had 561⁄ sacks with the Cardinals, eight 2 of them last season. He said he signed with Jacksonville because it’s an up- andcoming team, and by the time we get to this game, we will know if he was right.
BEARS AT EAGLES, WEEK 12 If Alshon Jeffery can stay on the field, he could easily be the Eagles’ best receiver. He’s a 15- yards- per- catch guy but has battled knee and hamstring injuries and was suspended four games in 2016 for testing positive for performance- enhancing drugs. His best seasons in Chicago were 2013 and ’ 14 when he caught a combined 174 passes for 2,554 yards and 17 touchdowns. Philadelphia was 24th in the league in passing yards last season, so they’re hoping Jeffery can help in that department and give Carson Wentz someone he can count on.