Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 5-8-18

Sports
Hue Jackson: Tyrod Taylor Is Week 1 Starter And ‘That Won’t Change’
TYROD TAYLOR
Baker Mayfield could have the best training camp of any rookie in NFL history, and it sounds like it still wouldn’t be enough for him to win a starting job in his first season as a pro.
After Mayfield and other Cleveland Browns rookies went through their first minicamp on Friday, Hue Jackson praised the No. 1 pick but continued to temper expectations.
“He has a lot of characteris- tics that we love. That’s why he’s here. (But) let’s make sure we pump our brakes a little bit, be- cause he’s got a ways to go and a lot to learn,” Jackson said.
Jackson then once again assured reporters Tyrod Tay- lor is going to be under center in Week 1.
$30M Man: Matt Ryan's Deal No Surprise; Now He Must Deliver
MATT RYAN
Atlanta Falcons star quarter- back Matt Ryan becoming the highest-paid player in the league -- at least for now -- shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
When Ryan put together his MVP season in 2016, owner Arthur Blank made it clear Ryan would be rewarded for putting the Falcons in position to win a Super Bowl. The Fal- cons ultimately fell short, losing to the New England Patriots.
As of today, Ryan is the league's highest-paid player thanks to a five-year contract extension ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported is worth $30 million per year and $100 million guaranteed. He tops other quarterbacks such as Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) and Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings), who don't have as many post- season wins combined as Ryan.
Ravens' John Harbaugh Defends QB Lamar
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Jackson's Accuracy
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh defended quarterback Lamar Jack- son's accuracy on the second day of rookie minicamp.
Leading up to the NFL draft, the biggest criticism of Jackson was how precisely he delivered the ball. Jack- son never completed more than 60 percent of his throws in his three seasons at Louisville.
"The thing I was really im- pressed with is I thought he was accurate," Harbaugh said Saturday. "You read the reports ... but he's a naturally talented thrower. He has nat- ural arm talent. That's some- thing that I think people were questioning. To see him out here throwing the ball natu- rally and very accurately, I thought it was a big plus."
Jackson, the No. 32 overall pick of this year's draft, is focused on adjusting to a new playbook and funda- mentals, which includes tak- ing the snap under center instead of shotgun.
"I'm just trying to learn as fast as I could," Jackson
LAMAR JACKSON
said. "Just learn the ins and outs of certain techniques and the name calling of the plays."
Jackson hasn't heard from quarterback Joe Flacco since being drafted in the first round nine days ago. Asked what he would want to know from Flacco and Robert Griffin, III, Jack- son said, "How they see things on the field and what made them learn the system even faster."
The Ravens insist Flacco remains the starter this year, but Harbaugh acknowl- edged the team is working "in the laboratory" to figure out creative ways to get Jackson involved.
NFL Could Reportedly Let Each Team Decide If They Will Allow Anthem Protests
It seems highly unlikely that the NFL will implement a ban on national anthem protests in 2018, but that does not mean the league will stop individual teams from telling their players not to take part in the demonstrations.
Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that the NFL is considering a “com- promise” with the polarizing topic of national anthem protests that would allow each team to decide whether or not they want to force their players to stand. No final determina- tion has been made, however, and owners are expected to discuss the topic again at meetings later this month.
Another option, according to Maske’s sources, would be a league-wide policy that re- quired players to stand for the
anthem if they were on the sideline but gave them the op- tion to remain in the locker room during “The Star-Span- gled Banner.” The NFL could also go back to the way things were before 2009, when all players remained in the locker room during the anthem any- way.
The current policy requires players to be on the sideline for the anthem but only en- courages standing. Some own- ers, like Bob McNair with the Houston Texans, have made it clear that they would prefer if players stood, and that is a stance that McNair reiterated recently. We have also seen situations where it seems like certain teams are steering away from signing players because of their feel- ings on anthem protests.
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