Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 2-21-20

Sports
Bruce Arians:
Mike Tomlin Indicates He Thinks Mason Rudolph Should Sue Myles Garrett
Panthers Expect Cam Newton To Pass Physical In March
Jameis Winston
Cam Newton’s future with the Carolina Panthers is likely to remain murky for a while longer, but some clar- ity may be coming next month.
According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, the Panthers believe New- ton will be able to pass a physical and be cleared for some football activity in March. That aligns with the time when the Panthers will have to make a decision on Newton’s future.
The Panthers will take it slow with Newton, knowing that his Lisfranc injury was a serious one. The team may keep him limited through
Decision Unlikely
Before Mid-March
CAM NEWTON
spring workouts in April and May.
Ownership has main- tained that Newton’s health will have a big say in whether he’s brought back or not, making the physical and these upcoming workouts hugely important to New- ton’s chances of remaining with the organization.
Will Jameis Winston be the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season? We still don’t know, and it may be several more weeks before we do.
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said there is still no decision on Winston’s fu- ture with the organization and there probably will not be until the legal tampering period of March 16-18.
“Really nothing has changed,” Arians said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “What’s Door No. 2? You know? Can we make the one we have better? All those things you go through right now.”
Arians admitted part of the issue in determining Winston’s fate is that the team still isn’t sure which quarterbacks will be available in free agency, thus making it tough to determine whether an upgrade on Winston will be available.
“You’re just sitting there waiting to see is there some- one available? ... Is he a bet- ter option?” Arians said. “And then, that’s the prob- lem, you get about three days
JAMEIS WINSTON
to decide. The legal tamper- ing period. Is somebody going to get let go? What’s the trade values? It’s really monotonous right now be- cause you don’t have any an- swers.”
We do know of one big- name quarterback who will definitely be available, and it has been indicated that the Buccaneers are seriously in- terested. Winston, mean- while, has made some changes ahead of his free agency that could really help him on the field. Whether that’s with the Buccaneers or someone else is very much an open question.
MIKE TOMLIN
Mike Tomlin has pub-
licly defended Mason Rudolph against Myles Garrett’s allegation that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarter- back called Garrett a racial slur, and Tomlin feels Rudolph should do whatever he feels is necessary to protect his reputation.
Tomlin was asked about the ongoing feud between Rudolph and Garrett on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday morning, and the Steelers coach said he “took offense” to Garrett claiming Rudolph used a racial slur when the two players got into a physical altercation last sea- son. Tomlin then hinted that he believes Rudolph should consider suing Garrett.
In an interview with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that aired on Saturday, Gar- rett stood by his claim that he heard Rudolph use a racial slur and said the quarterback called him a “stupid N-word.” As he did the first time the al- legation surfaced, Rudolph vehemently denied using the term and said Garrett is try- ing to assassinate his charac- ter. Rudolph’s lawyer then published a statement on Twitter that strongly hinted legal action will be taken.
Tomlin seemed upset with not only Garrett but also with how “Outside the Lines” covered the story. Gar- rett did not say Rudolph used a racial slur until he ap- pealed his suspension in front of the NFL, which was a week after the incident. He claims he didn’t bring it up sooner because he didn’t want it to seem like he was trying to jus- tify his actions, which in- cluded dangerously bashing Rudolph in the head with a helmet.
Teddy Bridgewater Could Reportedly Get $30M Per
Year On Open Market
The New Orleans Saints are hoping to bring Teddy Bridgewater back in 2020, but it is starting to look like the quarterback could price his way out of town.
Bridgewater is expected to generate plenty of interest on the free agent market as a starting quarterback. Some teams may even be willing to pay Bridgewater $30 mil- lion per year, which would place him among the highest- paid players at the position.
All that really matters with
con-
TEDDY more than BRIDGEWATER it actually
is. Still, that is a good indicator that there are clearly teams who con- sider Bridgewater a starter,
which was not unexpected.
NFL
tracts is guaranteed money, so a $30 million salary could end up sounding like a lot
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