March 2019 - Football Wiretap

Josh Shaw Suspended Indefinitely For Gambling On NFL

Nov 30, 2019 11:58 AM

Josh Shaw has been suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games on multiple occasions during the 2019 season.

Shaw has not played a down this season for the Arizona Cardinals. He was put on injured reserve on Aug. 25 with a shoulder injury.

The NFL's investigation did not uncover any evidence that Shaw used inside information or that any game was compromised. 

Josh Weinfuss/ESPN

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Suspension

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Ravens, 49ers Now Have Best Conference Odds Of Reaching Super Bowl

Nov 30, 2019 11:46 AM

The Baltimore Ravens have ended the season-long run of the New England Patriots as the Super Bowl favorite. 
 
The Patriots were the preseason favorites, and that continued through Weeks 1-12, but Baltimore's dominating victory at the Rams prompted SportsBetting.ag to make an adjustment.
 
The Ravens are +275 for the Super Bowl and the Pats are +300.
 
The San Francisco 49ers have usurped the New Orleans Saints as the NFC favorite for the first time all year.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers

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Bruce Allen's Job Running Washington Being Evaluated By Daniel Snyder

Nov 30, 2019 11:36 AM

For the first time in his tenure, Bruce Allen is being truly evaluated by Daniel Snyder.

Allen has previously been thought of as untouchable running the front office of Washington.

Allen was hired by Washington in 2010. Allen was previously an executive with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mike Garafolo/NFL.com

Tags: Washington Football Team, Misc Rumor

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Lane Johnson, Eagles Agree To Four-Year, $72M Extension

Nov 29, 2019 4:53 PM

Lane Johnson and the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract extension that runs through 2025.

The deal contains $54 million in guarantees and makes Johnson the NFL's highest paid tackle.

Johnson has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons.

Tim McManus/ESPN

Tags: Philadelphia Eagles, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Signing

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Cowboys Not Ready To Fire Jason Garrett

Nov 29, 2019 3:14 PM

Following their 26-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving, Jerry Jones said the Dallas Cowboys will stick with Jason Garrett as head coach.

Jones previously gave Garrett a Super Bowl or bust mandate and he's sticking with that.

"This is not the time for me [to make a coaching change]," Jones said outside the locker room with tears in his eyes. "I'm looking ahead at another ballgame. I'm looking ahead at winning four or five straight and helping write a story they will talk about, how it looks like you're down and out. And I mean that. That's the way that I'm operating. Every decision that I make over the next month will be with an eye in mind to get us in the Super Bowl now."

The Cowboys has lost six out of nine games.

"You just have to get back to work," Garrett said. "That's the nature of the National Football League. It's hard every week. You are going to deal with adversities over the course of the year. You're going to have to deal with the successes over the course of the year. You have to learn from them and move on and get ready for the next challenge."

Todd Archer/ESPN

Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Misc Rumor

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Carson Wentz Understands Frustrations Of Eagles' Fans

Nov 27, 2019 5:33 PM

Carson Wentz has become the primary focus of fan frustration for the first time in his career and he understands the reasons for the angst.

"They have a right to be frustrated," Wentz said. "They pay money to sit in those seats. They pay money to cheer us on, and they're so passionate about it. And I'm the same way. So when they're frustrated, I'm frustrated, too."

The offense has scored a total of 19 points in consecutive losses to the Seahawks and Patriots.

"I have so much confidence in my ability to turn this around and do my best and get these things fixed," Wentz said, "that I don't get too high or too low going through these things."

Tim McManus/ESPN

Tags: Philadelphia Eagles

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Jerry Jones Gives Jason Garrett Super Bowl Or Bust Mandate

Nov 27, 2019 11:12 AM

Jerry Jones explicated his expectations for Jason Garrett to keep his job as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Garrett is in the final season of his current contract with the Cowboys.

"Let me tell you, no one in this country has earned the right to say 'I'm a Jason Garrett man' more than me. I am his man," Jones said. "And we want the very same thing. And that's for our players to play at their very best and we want his staff to coach at their very best. The bottom line is we get graded. I'm in business. I don't have to win the Super Bowl in business every year. I can come in sixth and have a hell of a year. But in this case, you've got to come in first. You've got to come in first. So fundamentally, you've asked for something that's a very narrow window to begin with. I want Jason to get it done."

Jones said everyone is responsible for the current situation the Cowboys are in, including himself.

"Well, I think that I speak for everyone on our team. No team has felt like it's played at its very best," Jones said. "No team feels that way. We're always looking for improvement. I'm the general manager. So, I'm the one who puts those coaches out there. I'm the one who put those players out there. They're out there on my decision. So, when they don't have a good day, I don't have a good day either."

Kevin Patra/NFL.com

Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Misc Rumor

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NFL Betrayed Colin Kaepernick's Trust By Reneging On Confidentiality

Nov 26, 2019 2:39 PM

The NFL and Colin Kaepernick had agreed that the workout would remain confidential.

"We as the NFL are not going public with this," a Kaepernick team member recalls being told on the call. "But we cannot control the 32 teams."

NFL writers began receiving a text message from the league almost immediately after the call to be on the lookout for an important email, which led many to believe it would pertain to Antonio Brown. 

 

"They didn't give the 32 NFL teams a heads-up, but they gave the media one?" a Kaepernick source says. "Once they betrayed us on the confidentiality agreement, we knew what this was."

Howard Bryant/ESPN

Tags: Free Agent Rumor, Legal, Misc Rumor

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Two Teams Were Expressing Interest In Colin Kaepernick Before Workout

Nov 26, 2019 2:32 PM

The NFL's football operations department had alerted Roger Goodell in October that two teams were legitimately interested in Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick's representatives had released a statement reiterating his readiness to return to the NFL.

In the weeks following the statement, the NFL's football operations team discussed with Goodell the feasibility of reaching out to Kaepernick. Goodell ultimately approved it. "Inside and outside," an NFL source says, "the thought was, 'Let's provide him the opportunity.'"

The NFL believed holding individual workouts for the two teams interested in Kaepernick would have resulted in media attention that might have made those teams reluctant to proceed. The NFL instead decided to hold an unprecedented league-hosted workout.

"It was the commissioner's idea, no doubt about it," a league source says. "This was a way to deal with it without the torrent of media information, the level of distraction. Bringing him in to a single team would have them bear the brunt of all of that media attention."

Kaepernick's camp believed the misery teams were the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, but it didn't find the information credible. The Falcons had never expressed interest in Kaepernick while the Lions were starting Jeff Driskel in place of Matthew Stafford.

Howard Bryant/ESPN

Tags: Free Agent Rumor, Legal, Misc Rumor

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Steelers To Start Devlin Hodges, Bench Mason Rudolph

Nov 26, 2019 12:26 PM

The Pittsburgh Steelers will start Devlin Hodges at quarterback for their Week 13 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph at quarterback in Week 12.

Hodges was signed by the Steelers after going underrated out of Samford.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers

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Cowboys-Patriots Draws NFL's Highest Rating Since 2007

Paulsen/Sports Media Watch

Lamar Jackson Already Top 50 All-Time In QB Rushing Yards

Michael David Smith/Pro Football Talk

NFL Tells Cowboys Tripping Penalties Shouldn't Have Been Called

Todd Archer/ESPN

Urban Meyer, Josh McDaniels Given Best Odds To Coach Cowboys

SportsBetting.ag

Bengals Bench Ryan Finley, Will Start Andy Dalton Again

Ben Baby/ESPN

Fox Completely Sold Out Of Super Bowl LIV Ads

Jason Lynch/AdWeek

Bill Belichick Was Most Talkative NFL All-Time Team Voter

Peter King/NBC Sports

Kyle Shanahan: Everyone Here Really Just Believed In Each Other

Peter King/NBC Sports

Michael Thomas On Pace To Set Record For Catches

Michael David Smith/Pro Football Talk

Brandon Brooks Forced Off Field With Anxiety Setback

Michael David Smith/Pro Football Talk

Mason Rudolph Benched By Steelers For Poor Play

Brooke Pryor/ESPN

Dwayne Haskins Takes Selfie With Fan, Misses Final Snap

John Keim/ESPN

Jerry Jones Calls Loss 'A Significant Setback' For Cowboys

Todd Archer/ESPN

Colin Kaepernick Hasn't Received Any Interest Since Workout

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Myles Garrett Not Expected To Be Suspended For Start Of 2020 Season

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Patriots Not Interested In Re-Signing Antonio Brown

Tom Curran/NBC Sports

Patriots Thought Transition From Brady To Lamar Would Be Too Dramatic

Michael Lombardi/The Athletic

Christian McCaffrey Becomes Youngest To Join Madden 99 Club

David Newton/ESPN

Brandin Cooks Never Considered Retirement

Lindsey Thiry/ESPN

T.Y. Hilton: Loss To Texans 'Totally On Me'

Mike Wells/ESPN