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If the Atlanta Falcons are serious about the idea of potentially moving on from tight end Kyle Pitts in a contract year, they just got some bad news that could possibly impact the quality of the offers they'll receive this summer. There's a new veteran tight end on the free agent market and it may serve as a distraction or pivot for any team that was entertaining making a major offer for Pitts. This new direction would come without the need for losing a draft pick in the process. The Seattle Seahawks have waived veteran tight end Noah Fant — another tight end with a first round pedigree who boasts a dynamic athletic profile for teams to consider. Seahawks cut Fant in a cost-cutting measure Fant leaves Seattle after three seasons of play as the Seahawks lean into their younger group of tight ends. He's a sufficient level blocker but offers top-tier speed and athleticism for an NFL tight end, even if it hasn't translated to top-flight production throughout the bulk of his NFL career. Any team that may have been eyeing a tempting offer to send to Atlanta for Pitts can now find many of the same physical traits in Fant. Fant did enter the NFL two years earlier in 2019 versus Pitts' arrival in 2021. But he ran within 0.06 seconds in the 40 yard dash, jumped six inches higher than Pitts in the vertical, ran three-tenths of a second faster in the three-cone drill, and ran more than a tenth of a second faster in the short shuttle. Pitts has a more unique skill set thanks to his ability to play isolated as an 'X-receiver' and offers the higher ceiling as a result. Yet teams would almost assuredly gravitate towards another high-ceiling athlete at the position that wouldn't require a top-100 draft choice being sent away and will almost certainly play on a lower salary than Pitts' $10.8 million fifth-year option figure. This isn't necessarily bad news for the Falcons' 2025 outlook and it may not slam the door shut on any potential offers. But if Fant ends up lingering on the market for a while, it could string things out to the point where the window for a trade closes and the Falcons roll full-steam ahead for Pitts' contract year.
The Boston Celtics' priorities were already apparent before making the trades they did. Because they wanted to get under the NBA's second tax apron, the Celtics were willing to downgrade some of their players to get under it. That's why the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons and Kristaps Porzingis for Georges Niang. It is a talent downgrade, but it helped Boston achieve their goals of getting under the second apron, even if those players aren't as good as Holiday or Porzingis. However, those trades only helped Boston get closer to being under the NBA's second tax apron, but it didn't get them under completely. Boston signed a few more players this offseason, including Luka Garza, Josh Minott, and Hugo Gonzalez. While these players are on inexpensive contracts, combined, they are enough to keep the Celtics above the NBA's second tax apron. That's why Boston isn't done making moves. Spotrac's Keith Smith revealed in an interview with a Boston Celtics executive that more trades will follow because they are still above the NBA's second tax apron. “Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron. We won’t finish there," the Celtics exec told Smith. As far as how the Celtics will do that is anyone's guess. They may trade Anfernee Simons for someone who makes less than him. They may trade Niang's contract to a team that can absorb it via trade exception. They may even trade Sam Hauser or Payton Pritchard to do it. Regardless, more moves are coming for the Celtics.
Caitlin Clark might be the most popular figure in women's basketball right now, but she continues to draw shots left and right, both on and off the court. The Iowa product has stayed even keeled and mostly unrattled, but that doesn't mean she won't fight back. That's why, in the light of Kelsey Plum's recent comments, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped back at her with a simple, six-word message. Plum shared a picture of her during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, which showed half of a Nike logo in the background. Clark was quick to spot it and just wrote "Thank u for the Nike ad." This happened just hours after Plum seemingly took a shot at Clark and her Team Clark teammates for reportedly not getting involved in their pre-game protest. “The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum revealed. “That really needed to be mentioned,” Sabrina Ionescu added while both laughed. WNBA All-Stars warmed up with a T-Shirt that read 'Pay us what you owe us,' ahead of their new CBA agreement, which is expected to be signed in the offseason. WNBA players get around 9 percent of the league's revenue, and they're asking for a bigger share since most of them also have to play overseas during the offseason because of the salary disparity. Plum is the vice president of the WNBPA, so it's not surprising to see her so involved in the protest and the demands. Then again, it's hard to understand the reasoning behind the tattle telling, as not only does it show that there might not be a united front ahead of these negotiations, but it also drives attention away from where it should be.
Life is great when you know you have a franchise quarterback in the NFL, and it helps when he can recruit players to your team because of how good he is. The Washington Commanders have a new norm of being a top destination in the league as Von Miller headlines the list of players who wanted to join the team for the main attraction, Jayden Daniels himself. Miller signing with Washington at the end of his career proved his belief in the team's chances to reach the Super Bowl and just how good Daniels really is. Von Miller's choice came down to one key factor: the QB Miller signed a one-year deal with Washington this week, and he didn't take the decision lightly. He had many options when it came down to where he wanted to play, but he chose to chase a ring in Washington because of the belief he has in Daniels. The future Hall of Famer told Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post that signing with a team that has a good quarterback was how he made his decision. Enters the Commanders. “It was the best team with the best quarterback. That’s usually the math for me to be able to go and do what I do.” - Von Miller to Nicki Jhabvala, The Washington Post Miller played for the Bills last season and saw firsthand what having a top quarterback in the league can do for a team. He also said that he saw similar qualities in Daniels that Josh Allen possesses, and that he can become one of the best in the league. “You can’t leave Josh Allen and just go anywhere. . . Like, Josh Allen was MVP of the league last year. I feel like Jayden Daniels has MVP potential as well.” - Von Miller to Nicki Jhabvala, The Washington Post Those are massive words coming from one of the all-time greats who has played against and sacked some of the best QBs the league will ever see. A shift in the NFL favors the Commanders Even though this is just a one-year deal for Miller joining the Commanders, the impact can be felt for years to come, with more top players in the league wanting to come chase a ring in Washington with Daniels at the helm. Having a franchise QB on a rookie contract is the biggest luxury in the NFL, and Washington has the best one in the league. Another season with Daniels leading the way gives Washington all the potential in the world to reach the Super Bowl. But then, just looking forward, how dominant can this roster become in the next two years? It'll look like an Avengers version of an NFL roster at this rate. Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil, and Von Miller were the first wave of players wanting to join the Commanders. Washington isn't going anywhere, and they can continue to improve the roster with Daniels being the attraction for players to follow the new trend.
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