News and views from around the NFL, with Week 5 under way:
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Will the Vikings trade receiver Stefon Diggs?
NEWS: Diggs has been unable to hide his apparent frustrations with Minnesota’s rush-predominant offence, and scattershot quarterback Kirk Cousins. When Diggs was a non-injury no-show at Wednesday’s practice, speculation instantly swirled that he was about to be traded. Later Wednesday NBCSportsBoston.com reported the Vikings had no plans to deal him.
On Thursday morning Diggs showed up and held a news conference. Asked about reports he wants to be traded, Diggs said, “I feel there’s truth to all rumours, no matter how you dress it up. I won’t be speaking on it at all. But there is truth to all rumours, I guess.”
VIEW: It would not be uncommon for an NFL team in 2019 to trade away its star franchise wide receiver, just one year after signing him to a monster long-term contract. In March the New York Giants did that very thing, sending Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland, only a year after signing him to a five-year, $90-million extension.
The Vikings similarly re-signed Diggs to a five-year, $72-million deal a year ago. But will they trade him?
Look, it has to be incredibly frustrating for a receiver of Diggs’ talents, and in the prime of his career (Year 5, age 25), to be targeted only 19 times by Cousins through the first quarter of the season — which extrapolates to just 76 by year’s end. Last year, Cousins targeted Diggs 149 times, and connected 102 times for 1,021 yards and nine touchdowns.
Through Week 4 this season, Diggs has just 13 grabs for 209 yards and one score. What a waste of talent. The Vikings also are wasting last year’s most prolific NFL pass catcher, Adam Thielen: 22 targets for 13 catches, 179 yards and two TDs. That extrapolates to 52 receptions on the season, when last year Thielen finished tied for fourth in the NFL with 113.
On first glance, you’d think the Vikings would not want to part with Diggs, the heroic recipient of Case Keenum’s last-play TD pass two seasons ago, to beat New Orleans in an NFC divisional playoff game.
But if head coach Mike Zimmer and his offensive coordinator, Kevin Stefanski, are so determined to mostly just run it, why not get something now for Diggs, with the trade deadline less than four weeks away? It’s clear the NFC North will be a dogfight this season between all four teams, so Minnesota might as well max out its chances as early as possible.
And they’d still have Thielen.
What might a receiver-needy team such as, ohhhhhhhhh, the New England Patriots offer up for a receiver of Diggs’ impact? Last October it cost the Dallas Cowboys a first-round draft pick to acquire Amari Cooper. Surely several other teams would be interested in Diggs.
Don’t be surprised if a deal goes down.
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Will Patrick Mahomes shatter NFL’s season pass yards record?
NEWS: The third-year pro and second-year Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback is on fire through one-fourth of the 2019 season. Mahomes leads the league in passing yards, with 1,510. That’s on pace for 6,040, which would destroy Peyton Manning’s NFL season record of 5,477 (with Denver, 2013).
VIEW: Mahomes on Thursday was named the AFC’s offensive player of the month for September. He threw for 10 touchdowns without an interception, for a scorching league-leading passer rating of 120.4.
Right. He’s even better this year.
Last year, en route to being named NFL MVP, Mahomes earned the same AFC player-of-the-month honour in September. He became only the eighth player, and second youngest, to crack the 5,000-yard plateau, with 5,097.
Often when a quarterback throws for a gazillion yards in a season, it’s because his team is often behind in games, and thus must throw more frequently in an attempt to catch up. Which pads the ol’ passing-yards stat.
In other cases it’s because not only is the passer at the top of his game, but his receiving weapons are elite, and the schemes he’s running are transcendent. In other words, the team is CHOOSING to to pass it that much because defences rarely can stop them.
That’s what happened in Manning’s and Tom Brady’s best passing seasons. And it’s happening now with Mahomes, under head coach Andy Reid with the Chiefs.
At this point it would be a surprise if the 24-year-old Mahomes did not pass for 5,000 again. Just as it shouldn’t surprise anybody if he breaks Manning’s season yards record.
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Percy Harvin claims he got high before every NFL game.
NEWS: The former NFL receiver/returner (Minnesota 2009-12, Seattle 2013-14, New York Jets 2014, Buffalo Bills 2015-16) in an interview with Yahoo Sports said, “Yeah I smoked weed before every NFL game to deal with anxiety. It was a better option and worked better for me than the medications the doctors had me on. I was high during every game of my career and it helped me.”
VIEW: Harvin was an infamous, cancerous locker-room presence, at least in Minnesota and Seattle. He complained constantly about the migraines he battled. Even got into a fight during Super Bowl week with a fellow Seahawks wide receiver, Golden Tate.
Now Harvin is attributing his odd and discordant behaviours to frequent, extreme anxiety attacks.
“Those was probably the worst years of my life, just cuz it came with so much,” Harvin said of his time after being dealt to the Seahawks. “My anxiety is at its worst when I go into unfamiliar situations.”
Harvin said he “didn’t acknowledge it” when he was diagnosed with an anxiety problem. Team doctors prescribed a bunch of meds.
“I had at least seven prescriptions that I was to take, from Zoloft and all the other ones I was taking,” Harvin said. “And the only thing that really seemed to work is when I would smoke marijuana.”
Harvin suggested heavy pot use ought not be derided. Nor punished.
“It’s not a stigma and, you know, people doin’ it and getting’ in a whole bunch of trouble. It’s people that’s just livin’ regular life that just got deficiencies, or just maybe wanna enjoy themselves. It’s a natural way to do so.”
@JohnKryk
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
