NFL Update 7-20-23

>>Saquon Barkley Considers Sitting Out Season

 

(East Rutherford, NJ)  — The Giants are in jeopardy of losing their superstar running back for the season.  Saquon Barkley says he has considered not playing for the New York Giants this season amid his stalemate with the team over a long-term contract. Barkley and the Giants did not come to an agreement on a deal before the deadline for franchise tagged players, meaning he will have to play the upcoming season on the 10-million-dollar tender.  According to ESPN, the 26-year-old is not expected to report for the start of training camp.

 

>>Report: Jets Trading Mims To Lions

 

(Undated)  — The Jets are finalizing a trade with the Lions.  New York is sending wide receiver Denzel Mims to Detroit for a conditional sixth-round pick.  The Lions are also receiving a seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft from the Jets.  Gang Green had reportedly excused Mims from reporting to training camp.  The 25-year-old requested a trade last year, but the Jets did not grant his wish at the time.  Mims finishes his Jets career with 42 catches for 676 yards in 30 games.

 

>>Report: Cowboys’ Zack Martin Mulling Holdout

 

(Frisco, TX)  — One of the NFL’s best interior offensive lineman might not show up to training camp.  ESPN reports Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin believes that he is “woefully underpaid relative to the market” and is considering not reporting to camp next week.  The eight-time Pro Bowler is entering the sixth year of a seven-year, 93.41-million-dollar deal that he signed in 2018.  The 32-year-old is set to make around seven-million-dollars less than the league’s top-paid guards.

 

>>Packers Sign USFL Quarterback

 

(Green Bay, WI)  — The Packers are adding to their quarterback room.  KPRC-2’s Aaron Wilson reports Alex McGough is signing a one-year deal with Green Bay.  The former Seahawks gunslinger won the USFL MVP last season with the Birmingham Stallions.  He threw for 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while also scoring five times on the ground.  He joins Jordan Love, Sean Clifford and Danny Etling in Green Bay.

 

>>Steelers Extend Alex Highsmith

 

(Pittsburgh, PA)  — The Steelers are giving a big extension to one of their key players on defense.  Alex Highsmith signed a four-year extension worth 68-million-dollars on Wednesday.  ESPN reports 27.7-million is guaranteed and 38-million-dollars will be paid out over the first two years.  The edge rusher was entering the last year of his rookie deal after he was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2020 draft out of Charlotte.  The 25-year-old recorded a career-high 14-and-a-half sacks and forced a league-high five fumbles.

 

>>Titans Host Free Agent Tackle

 

(Nashville, TN)  — The Titans are sitting down with a free agent offensive lineman.  NFL Insider Jordan Shultz reports George Fant will meet with the team on Saturday.  The tackle started seven games for the Jets last season, but landed on IR twice.  Schultz believes there’s a “good chance” he signs with the Titans due to the six-game suspension of starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere for violating the league’s gambling policy.

 

>>Browns Release Perrion Winfrey After Robbery Incident

 

(Cleveland, OH)  — The Browns are releasing a key defensive player after he became a suspect in a robbery case.  Police say Perrion Winfrey confronted two women on Tuesday after one of them shouted an obscenity at him.  Authorities say the defensive tackle followed the women, stole their phones, struck one in the neck and lifted his shirt to show a handgun before leaving the scene.  Winfrey was released on Wednesday after police formally listed him as a suspect in a police report.  The defensive tackle played in 13 games for Cleveland last season and had 22 tackles.  The former Oklahoma and Iowa Western lineman was selected by the Browns in the fourth round of the 2022 draft.