Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 11-3-17

Sports
Are The Bucs Thinking Of Shutting Down Jameis Winston?
Bucs Rookies Surprise Moffitt Patients
Jameis Winston has not missed a start in his two- plus NFL seasons, but it sounds as if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are thinking about putting a halt to that streak.
Winston sprained the AC joint in his right throwing shoulder against the Cardi- nals on Oct. 15. He’s played in Tampa Bay’s two games since then but hasn’t prac- ticed on Wednesdays or Thursdays, when most of the game-planning is installed. The Bucs got away with such
Miami Dolphins Reportedly Trade Jay Ajayi To Eagles For Fourth-Round Pick
JAY AJAYI
The Miami Dolphins have been horrible on offense this season, and they are attempt- ing to shake things up by dealing one of their most tal- ented skill players.
According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Her- ald, the Dolphins have agreed to trade running back Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Ea- gles for a fourth-round pick.
The deal is somewhat of a shock, as Ajayi rushed for more than 1,200 yards and scored eight touchdowns in 2016. He has managed just 3.4 yards per carry this year, but it seemed like the Dol- phins had bigger problems on offense than that. However, head coach Adam Gase has publicly blasted his team’s of- fense, so he was obviously looking to make a statement.
Considering they gave up only a mid-round pick, it’s tough to see the deal as any- thing but a win for Philadel- phia. The Eagles have the best record in football at 7-1, but running back is a position of need for them. Ajayi should be an immediate up- grade over LeGarrette Blount.
Sunday against the Panthers in blustery conditions, Win- ston completed only 21 of 38 passes for 210 yards, zero touchdowns and two inter- ceptions, losing a fumble to boot, and Coach Dirk Koet- ter said after the game that he considered pulling Win- ston after he took another hit to his shoulder.
And now Koetter will have to decide whether to sit Winston for this Sunday’s game against the Saints if he isn’t able to practice this week.
It was no or-
dinary day at
Moffitt Cancer
Center, and that
was exactly the
plan as the Buc-
caneers Rookie
class visited with
patients and
their families on
Tuesday morn-
ing. Rookies O.
J. Howard,
Chris Godwin,
Kendall Beckwith, Justin Evans, Bobo Wilson, Ste- vie Tu’ikolovatu, David Rivers, Eric Nzeocha, Patrick O‘Connor and Riley Bullough stopped by the treatment center and lifted the spirits of everybody in their path; including staff members.
As they toured from room to room, along with Captain Fear and Cheerleaders, play- ers connected with patients on life, football, and family; bringing a change of scenery during an otherwise anxious experience. “This is impor- tant for our patients and their families,” says Commu- nity Relations Manager for Moffitt Cancer Center, Lizette Robles. “People that are here are undergoing
JAMEIS WINSTON
a setup once, as Winston
passed for 384 yards and three touchdowns against the Bills in his first game after suffering the injury. But on
O. J. Howard greets a patient as Justin Evans looks on.
treatment and were not ex- pecting to see the Bucca- neers. Today, the story they tell when they go home will be different.”
After visiting with pa- tients, the team participated in the Moffit Healthy KIDZ Program with students from Lee Elementary and Bucca- neers Academy Lockhart Ele- mentary for interactive play. Moffitt Healthy KIDZ is a community outreach pro- gram offered by Moffitt Can- cer Center with a focus on cancer prevention, healthy living and positive life choices. The players and stu- dents reinforced the message with PLAY 60 drills, the NFL’s campaign encouraging youth to be active at least 60 minutes a day.
Panthers Trade Kelvin Benjamin To Bills
Well, the Carolina Pan- thers just traded their best re- ceiver to the Buffalo Bills. Say bye to Kelvin Benjamin, Panthers fans—which will make the rest of the NFC South a little happier.
Benjamin hasn’t been as dominant as Carolina hoped he’d be when they drafted him three years ago, but he’s still been their best wide receiver. Devin Funchess is having a pretty good season, but Ben- jamin was still their number one receiver and on track to rack up nearly 1,000 receiving yards.
The Panthers are trading
KELVIN BENJAMIN
Benjamin away while their defense is struggling, too. This may be Cam Newton’s worst season as a pro so far, and losing his top receiver—a big target who can snatch some errant throws out of the air—won’t help him get back on track.
Steelers Reportedly Turned Down Martavis Bryant Trade Inquiries
Martavis Bryant has publicly stated that he wants the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade him, and the team has maintained that it is not hap- pening. That stance did not change at the NFL trade dead- line on Tuesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Steelers received calls from teams who were interested in Bryant, but they informed them they were not dealing the 25-year-old receiver.
Reportedly, Mike Tom- lin told Bryant he will be part of the game plan when the Steelers take on the Indi- anapolis Colts in Week 10 after the bye.
Bryant was benched for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions after he criti- cized rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in an Instagram comment. He also openly admitted that he
MARTAVIUS BRYANT
wants out of Pittsburgh if he isn’t going to get the ball more going forward.
Smith-Schuster caught seven passes for 193 yards — both career highs — and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Lions. He has earned a bigger role in the offense, and the Steelers aren’t going to just ignore him going for- ward. However, they must feel that Bryant is valuable enough to the team that they are not going to trade him when his value is at rock bot- tom.
PAGE 14-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017