Baringers got a kick out of draft
A few leftover nuggets on Patriots rookie punter Bryce Baringer, whose journey is profiled in Sunday’s Globe:
Baringer’s 49.0-yard punt average last year at Michigan State was the best in the nation, the second best in Big Ten history, and sixth best in FBS history, but NFL scouts still questioned his leg strength. Baringer ranked just 77 th out of 142 punters in average hangtime (3.76 seconds) in 2022, per Pro Football Focus.
“That was one of the biggest questions that the scouts had for him, was can he get the 5.0 hangtime?” Michigan State special teams coach Ross Els said. “In college, you can release as many guys as you want immediately, so we were able to just bang the ball as far as you can and get the ball outside the hash. In the NFL, you can only release two guys on the punt team, so his hangtime’s got to go up.”
Baringer trained with Lions punter Jack Fox and private coach Jamie Kohl during the pre-draft process, and aced his tests. On the first day of Senior Bowl practices, Zebra Technologies said Baringer had the top average hangtime (4.6 seconds), distance (59.2 yards), and height (89.7 feet) of any punter since at least 2018. At the NFL Combine, Baringer was the top performer, averaging 4.92 seconds on open-field and pooch punts, and 5.2 seconds on directional punts, per Kicker Update on Twitter.
Baringer’s parents, Bruce and Kim, said their son had a feeling the draft would come down to the Cardinals, Bengals, Rams, and Patriots.
“The way the picks fell, I thought he was going to LA, or maybe Cincinnati,” Bruce Baringer said. “The Cardinals called him once or twice on draft day. The coach told him he put his name in twice, but [someone] wouldn’t let him take a specialist.”
The Patriots finally made Baringer the first punter drafted with the 15th pick of the sixth round (No. 192).
“New England was a very simple, quiet, way-under-the-radar kind of a thing,” Kim Baringer said.
The Bengals then took Brad Robbins at 6-217, the Rams drafted Ethan Evans at 7-223, and the Cardinals signed veteran Matt Haack on May 15.
Baringer and his family held a draft party back home in Michigan, but of course didn’t know the exact timing of when he would get drafted. Baringer was in his car, driving to the party, when he got the phone call from a Massachusetts area code.
“Nobody saw it on TV,” said family friend Karen Sadler. “We all got there and found out at the same time, but nobody got to see it because we were all driving to his party.”
NFL is taking a gamble
Players and agents have complained that the NFL hasn’t done a great job of explaining the intricacies of the gambling policy. But one entity that deserves at least some of the blame for the confusion is the NFLPA.
One of the more head-scratching policies is that NFL players are allowed to bet on other sports, even though they are banned from betting on the NFL. No one else employed by the NFL is allowed to bet on another sport — not coaches, executives, staffers, officials, doctors, and so on.
Why the discrepancy? The players have a union, everyone else does not. While it is not collectively bargained, Sabrina Perel, vice president and chief compliance officer, said the NFL works closely with the players and allows them to bet on other sports because it is “on par with what [the other leagues] allow their athletes to do.” Basically, it’s a fight the NFL doesn’t want to pick with its players.
But it would be a lot less confusing if players were simply banned from betting on all sports, just like all other NFL employees.
Extra points
It’s officially “Everyone is 0-0” season in the NFL. Saints defensive end
Cameron Jordan told SiriusXM this past week that “I expect to take [New Orleans quarterback] Derek Carr, DC4, back to Vegas where he just left and have a return run at the Super Bowl.” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said recently, “I think once everybody gets rolling, gets comfortable with the offense and being where they need to be every play, the sky’s the limit for us.” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said, “I think we’re in for something special. We want all the smoke, honestly.
There’s a lot of payback that we have out there.” Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada said of quarterback
Kenny Pickett, “He’s seeing things. Playing fast. Getting some time in with the guys. He does what he needs to do to become the starter.” And a leaner Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson posted a workout video to Twitter captioned, “All my life. #RestorationSzn.”
. . . Patriots cornerback Jack Jones isn’t the only AFC East player in trouble. Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill finds himself being investigated by police again, this time for allegedly slapping a charter boat employee who had asked a group of unauthorized women to get off his boat. MiamiDade police said the alleged victim wants to press charges, which means the NFL is now going to monitor the situation, though it’s unlikely Hill will get pulled off the field until the legal process runs its course . . . The NFL held its third annual Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum and sixth annual Quarterback Coaching Summit Wednesday-Friday at the league’s Los Angeles offices. They are part of the league’s efforts to create more networking opportunities for minority candidates to get into the pipeline for GM and QB coach jobs . . . Punter Matt Araiza, who was released by the Bills last year after being accused of participating in a gang rape at San Diego
State, said on HBO’s “Real Sports” that he intends to sue the attorney of the victim now that Araiza has been exonerated by authorities. “I’ve already hired an attorney for it, and things have already been drafted,” Araiza said. “I will never waive my right to sue him. That’s coming.” While Araiza understandably has revenge on his mind, if his goal is to get an NFL job again, he’d probably be better off keeping quiet and letting it go rather than keeping the incident in the public sphere.