Jimmy G restructured his contract so he’ll be a 49er for at least one more year.
Most folks expected today to be the day he was cut before his expensive contract kicked in. They were going to owe him over $24M if he wasn’t cut, now it’s just over $6M (with some incentives that could potentially add another $10M).
Jon Gruden spoke out for the first time publicly about his email controversy.
“I’m ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I’ll make no excuses for it,” he said. “It’s shameful. But I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church. I’ve been married for 31 years. I’ve got three great boys. I still love football. I’ve made some mistakes. But I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. And I just ask for forgiveness, and hopefully, I get another shot.”
Gruden’s emails, which contained racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language, first came to light in a Wall Street Journal article Oct. 8.
Going to church does not make you a good person, Jon!
Yup. History has shown that anyone who takes pains to tell you what a good person they are (in spite of not-good things that they have said and done) probably is not, in fact, a particularly good person.
That is fantastic … for the Niners. They get to keep a good QB in case Trey Lance gets injured or is not ready for the NFL. It will be interesting to see just how long a leash Lance will have, because the Niners are looking to win now.
Not sure why Jimmy did it. It seems to me he either doesn’t trust himself to sucker another team into overpay for his services or he desperately wants to stay on a competitive team but not have to start. Either way, good for the Niners.
A few roster notes:
It’s late August, so Jimmy G tested the waters and realized there aren’t any teams who want to pick him (or rather his massive $24M cap number) up. And he was likely to simply be cut than collect on the current value of his contract. The reporting was that the 49ers didn’t entirely rule out the possibility they’d pay him $26M to be a back up, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
He’ll be a free agent after the season and won’t come with the salary cap consequences. There’ll be a team who signs him at that point but probably not for $26M or whatever he would have cost this year. Might even be the 49ers at that point.
Yeah, if he had just said, “Look, I’m an asshole. Sorry. I’m sincerely working on not being an asshole, but it’s going to take a while for it to show.” I could respect that. It’s contrition without any caveats. But the continued attempts at mitigation demonstrate he’s basically learned nothing.
Russell Wilson has agreed to a five-year, $245 million contract extension with the Denver Broncos. $165 million of it is guaranteed.
So the Bears really are trying to do the entertainment district thing.
Titans OLB Harold Landry III tore an ACL during practice yesterday. He led the Titans last year with a career-high 12 sacks, and made the Pro Bowl team.
More news on the Chicago Bears’ proposed new stadium complex.
Northern teams building domes is shameful. Don’t do it.
As mentioned in that article, and as I’ve hypothesized in prior discussions, the Bears very much are shooting for hosting a Super Bowl; having a roof on the stadium is effectively a prerequisite for a northern city to get a Super Bowl.
Unless you happen to be the New York area. I was really pulling for a huge blizzard for Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. New York and the NFL caught a big break. The temperature at kickoff was 49°F, which is 10°F above average for that date. A large snow storm hit the area the next day.
That’s why I said “effectively.” SB XLVIII was, I believe, a one-off as an outdoor, northern Super Bowl, and if it hadn’t been New York, and hadn’t originally been conceived in the years immediately after the 9/11 attack, it would not have happened.
They also got extremely lucky with the weather on the day of the game. Like a bullet whizzing past your ear.
Yeah, I can’t see the NFL playing footsie with the possibility of cold and snow messing with the Super Bowl. In fact, I’m fairly certain every Super Bowl will end up indoors eventually.
It is kinda funny, was with a friend visiting and enjoying a cocktail outside last weekend. It was a gorgeous day in Chicago. I then showed him the same view in February 2015, the year a snowstorm dumped tons on snow on Chicago on Super Bowl Sunday. Walking a couple blocks was a pain, could not imagine trying to host a Super Bowl during it.
Why would a Los Angeles Super Bowl never happen again?
Fine, then, another Super Bowl played in an “uncovered” stadium.
LA can technically have lightning delays due to the exposed sides but if it ever has a game delayed or canceled due to snow in the area, that would really be interesting.
OK, I forgot that one isn’t a full enclosed stadium, it will be interesting to see if Miami and Tampa eventually go to the retractable roof to stay in the Super Bowl rotation in years to come.