Questioning Consistency Between Recent NFL Suspensions, Edelman’s Injury Not a Big Deal

Seattle’s figuring out its next steps after Jarran Reed's six-game suspension, the connection between Dan Quinn and DJ Durkin, a possible explanation for Julio Jones’s contract and more NFL news.

Training camps are underway this week …

• I’m told the Seahawks will look outside the organization for depth, in the wake of the six-game suspension to DT Jarran Reed. Seattle has experienced vets Al Woods and Jamie Meder at the position, with hopes that younger guys like Quinton Jefferson and Poona Ford come along.

• It’s certainly fair to question the consistency in the decisions on Reed, Tyreek Hill and Ezekiel Elliott, all of whom were investigated by the NFL for incidents in which they weren’t convicted of a crime. Like Reed, Elliott was suspended for six games. Hill, as you know, wasn’t suspended. I’ll be transparent here in saying that I’m still digging on the reasoning.

• There’s a natural connection between Falcons coach Dan Quinn and his new guest coach, ex-Maryland coach DJ Durkin, beyond just their time together at Florida—and that’s through Nick Saban. Durkin was with Alabama as a consultant last December, a few months after he was fired as Maryland’s head coach following the death of 19-year-old tackle Jordan McNair. So not only did Quinn have his own experience with Durkin, he had Saban’s experience to lean on as well. Saban’s Alabama has been become a place where plenty of coaches have gone to restore their reputations, but obviously Durkin’s case is a little different than most.

• I wouldn’t make a big deal of Julian Edelman’s thumb injury. If anything, it’ll save some miles on the legs of the Patriots’ 33-year-old slot receiver.

• My understanding is that Trent Williams isn’t misleading anyone on his reasons for staying away from the Redskins. He’s not happy with the team’s handling of his injuries—and he’s actually explored his legal options there, as well.

• Pro Football Talk presented an idea on Monday that Julio Jones’s deal could be done, with the sides just waiting until July 26 (for rules reasons, relating to the one-year anniversary of last year’s contract adjustment) to push it over the goal-line—which makes a lot of sense. It would also likely work to define the market for Saints WR Michael Thomas and Cowboys WR Amari Cooper, both of whom are entering contract years.

• Here’s Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. in GQ on the Giants trading him: “I felt disrespected. Like, after everything I’ve done for them. This team has not been good for the last six years. … I felt like I was a main reason at keeping that brand alive. They were getting primetime games, still, as a 5-11 team. Why? Because people want to see the show. You want to see me play.”

I witnessed the effort that Pat Shurmur put into building a relationship with Beckham over their year-plus together, and I think the Giants were generally good to him. Right up to the end, when they traded him to a team that’s way more ready to contend than the one he’s on now.

• It’s worth mentioning there that the receiver market hasn’t moved much of late. In 2015, A.J. Green signed a deal averaging $15 million per in Cincinnati. Beckham’s currently the highest paid receiver at $18 million per. That means in those four years, the number has moved just 20%, while the cap has risen over 30% in that time. The quarterback market, by comparison, has moved 25% over the last 16 months.

• Good on the Dolphins for putting Kendrick Norton, who lost his arm in a car accident earlier in the month, on the reserve/non-football injury list, which keeps him on the team’s roster and gives the team the option to pay him (they’ll give him his full salary of $495,000, plus he keeps his medical insurance). Norton actually attended a team-sponsored blood drive this weekend, something that hits home for him in a different way now than it would’ve before. Coach Brian Flores was there to show his support, too.

• And good for Sashi Brown, who was named the Washington Wizards’ chief planning and operations officer on Monday. He did a lot of good, innovative things from an asset-management standpoint in setting the table for his successor in Cleveland, John Dorsey, as part of what wound up being a failed experiment by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

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