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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2021)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 | 3B NFL NOTEBOOK Jets give rookie QB Zach Wilson 4-year, $35.15 million deal FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Breathe easy, Jets fans. Zach Wilson is officially signed and ready to throw. After missing the first two practices of training camp, the rookie quarterback arrived at the team’s facility Thursday afternoon and inked his fully guaran- teed four-year, $35.15 million rookie contract. The deal for Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft in April, includes a signing bonus of $22.9 million, and has a fifth-year team option. New York posted a picture on Twitter of a smiling Wilson signing his deal, with the words “Let the fun begin” ac- companying it. Wilson also sent a video message to fans – who’ll be in atten- dance at practice Saturday – through the Jets’ Twitter page. “What’s up, guys?” Wilson said. “I’m excited to get to work. I’m excited to see you guys out on Saturday. We’re going to have a good time. We’re going to get af- ter it and we’re just going to keep getting better every single day.” Offset language in the contract was among the issues that caused a hang- up. That practice, shared by most NFL teams, provides clubs with financial protection if they release the player be- fore the end of a contract. The payout timing of Wilson’s signing bonus was another sticking point. NFL Network and ESPN reported the sides compromised with Wilson receiv- ing his entire signing bonus within 15 days – instead of after this season – and the team keeping its offset language in the contract. Wilson was the last of this year’s first-rounders to get his deal after San Francisco signed quarterback Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick, on Wednesday. New York coach Robert Saleh didn’t seem overly concerned about Wilson’s deal still not being done two practices into training camp. “You’re not going to see me panic,” he said after practice Thursday. “Like I’ve said, there are 89 guys that are counting on us to prepare them the best way we know how. And right now, they’ve got our full attention. “Zach’s going to sign. And when it happens is when it happens. I don’t try to worry about things I have no control over. So when it gets done, it’ll be awe- some to get him back.” About 30 minutes later, the agree- ment was hammered out. So Wilson should be on the field for New York’s next practice Friday. Fans who were starting to fret about the quarterback not yet signing took to social media to express relief. Even of- fensive lineman Greg Van Roten tweet- ed a gif of WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan doing his familiar “Yes! Yes! Yes!” chant. Wilson is expected to start the sea- son opener at Carolina on Sept. 12 for the Jets, who moved on from Sam Darnold in the offseason by trading him to Caro- lina a few weeks before the draft. Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas ze- roed in on Wilson after being thoroughly impressed by the former BYU star at his pro day. Wilson became the Jets’ highest- drafted quarterback since Joe Namath went No. 1 overall in the 1965 AFL draft. New York has been looking for a consis- tently successful franchise quarterback since Namath’s last game for the Jets in 1976, and the team is hoping Wilson can be that player. Wilson made some terrific plays dur- ing offseason workouts, organized team Jets first round draft pick Zach Wilson, center, works out during rookie camp May 7 in Florham Park, N.J. The Jets and Wilson have agreed to terms on his four-year rookie contract Friday. Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft in April, missed the first two days of training camp practices while the two sides hammered out details. BILL KOSTROUN/AP activities and minicamp, but was also shaky at times – as expected for a quar- terback getting a crash course in life as an NFL rookie. He also quickly gained a reputation for wanting to fully under- stand offensive coordinator Mike La- Fleur’s playbook, often putting in extra work at the facility during the offseason and watching lots of film. “I look back in college, you’re running the same offense for three years, so you know it like the back of your hand,” Wil- son said last month. “Out here, you’re always just a step slow at first. It’s just how fast can I get through my progres- sions to where I don’t even have to think about it? If something’s covered, I in- stantly know how to move on. I think that’s the key and that’s what I’ve gotten better with.” Saleh said he last spoke to Wilson earlier this week, but added that La- Fleur has regularly been texting with the quarterback about the playbook and in- stallation of plays. “We’ll be excited when he gets here,” Saleh said before smiling. “And it’ll be good to not have to answer questions about it.” WFT president says list of names substantially narrowed down RICHMOND, Va. – Washington Foot- ball President Jason Wright said Thurs- day the organization has significantly trimmed the list of potential team names, with the unveiling expected be- fore the 2022 NFL draft. In an interview with The Associated Press at a community event coinciding with training camp in Virginia’s capital, Wright said Washington is trying to be transparent with the rebranding proc- ess. He declined to reveal how many names were still under consideration. “We have them narrowed down sub- stantially,” Wright told The AP. “So, there’s a small set of names that have been crafted into full visuals and logos and all that stuff that we’re going back and forth on.” The Washington Football Team is the official name for a second consecutive season after the club abandoned its old moniker in July 2020. Wright, who was hired in August, has said the new name will not have any Native American con- notations or imagery. Wright has blogged about choosing a name that honors the franchise’s histo- ry, which includes three Super Bowl ti- tles. Asked directly if a name had al- ready been selected, he said, “I don’t want to scoop our team.” “It’s like a family heirloom and stew- arding the movement of family heirloom is a weighty thing,” he told Washington radio station WTOP on Thursday. “It’s incredibly important we do the best we can to steward this right.” Long before Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians abruptly announced on Twitter last week that they are be- coming the Guardians, Washington has been focused on transparency as part of the process so that fans can understand how the final decision was reached. More than 25,000 names were submit- ted, with alumni, season-ticket holders, women, military members and children among the digital focus groups the team canvassed for opinions. “We want it to be as open as it can possibly be,” Wright said. “We got a ton of input from fans over all the different stages of this process and continue to. We want people to be able to see where their input and where their fingerprints are on the entire process.” Washington is working with creative agency Code & Theory to rebrand an or- ganization that recently underwent an independent investigation into work- place conduct and is in the midst of a culture change from the top down. Ta- nya Snyder has taken over day-to-day operation of the organization for the next several months, with husband Dan focusing on a new stadium deal and oth- er business ventures. NFLPA President criticizes league on vaccine wristbands CLEVELAND – Browns center and NFLPA President JC Tretter feels the NFL is trying to shame players by urging teams to require vaccinated and unvac- cinated players to wear different colored wristbands. He called the idea “nonsensical.” Tretter, who took office last year as the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early stages, said Thursday he’s thankful the Browns didn’t adopt the wristband pol- icy and he blasted the league for some other measures. Tretter said it’s easy to identify who isn’t vaccinated because those choosing not to get the shots are required masks and follow other protocols. “They say they need a differentiator between unvaccinated and vaccinated players, we already have a differentia- tor,” Tretter said. “The unvaccinated players need to wear masks. No other sports leagues use any sort of scarlet marking or helmet decal or wristband because they know it’s not necessary and the teams know who’s vaccinated and not vaccinated.” Tretter feels the league wanted to guilt players into getting the vaccine. “So what it really comes down to is the NFL wanted to put a policy in place to try to shame unvaccinated players publicly about their status and make that known to everybody on the field, and that shouldn’t be the case because it’s unnecessary,” he said. “We all know who’s vaccinated, who’s not and it doesn’t need to be a scarlet marking on peoples’ helmets or wrists.” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said the team decided against the wrist- bands, which are being worn at some other training camps. “We’re not dividing the team over this issue,” Stefanski said. Tretter was previously critical about the league recently issuing a memo tell- ing teams that if there is a virus out- break among unvaccinated players, games will be forfeited and players will not be paid. The NFLPA said when that policy was announced that “the same basic rules applied last year.” “The only difference this year is the NFL’s decision to impose additional penalties on clubs which are responsi- ble for the outbreak and the availability of proven vaccines,” the NFLPA told its members in an email. “The protocols we jointly agreed to helped get us through a full season last year without missing game checks and are effective, when followed.” Tretter said with cases increasing in some areas around the country due to the Delta variant, it’s essential for the league and union to cooperate. “Last year it wasn’t perfect, but we worked well together because we need- ed to and because we needed everybody to buy in and do the right things in order to get through a season,” Tretter said. “This year, this is not going to be easy again. We’re going to need to really rely on a lot of things we did last year and that continues with meeting the proto- cols but also the way we worked togeth- er. “We don’t want to lose checks, we want to keep people healthy, they don’t want to lose revenue and they want to keep people healthy. So we have the same goals, it’s about executing that.” Falcons place Fowler on reserve/COVID-19 list FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The At- lanta Falcons have placed defensive end-outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Coach Arthur Smith would not say whether Fowler tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The team previously this week placed tight end Lee Smith, offensive lineman Willie Wright, defensive tackle John Atkins and defensive end Kobe Jones on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Fowler is in his second year with the Falcons after signing a three-year con- tract with $29 million guaranteed. He had just three sacks with 23 tackles and one forced fumble in 14 games last sea- son. The Falcons restructured Fowler’s contract during the offseason, and he will be paid by the sack. — Wire services MLB NOTEBOOK Marlins trade OF Marte to A’s and RHP García to Astros MIAMI – Buried in last place in the NL East, the Miami Marlins made an impact on the AL West race with two trades Wednesday. Miami sent right-handed reliever Yimi García to the Houston Astros, and traded outfielder Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics. The Astros sent outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and right-hander Austin Pruitt to Mi- ami. First-place Houston began the day with a six-game lead over Oakland in the AL West. Oakland gave up left-hander Jesús Lu- zardo for Marte. The Marlins will cover nearly all of Marte’s remaining contract for 2021, and he becomes a free agent after this season. “We felt like Starling was frankly the best position player that was out there on the market,” A’s general manager David Forst said before his team’s game in San Diego. “We’ve always said when the team performs and puts itself in a playoff posi- tion, it’s on us to do whatever we can to try and help them.” The A’s also acquired left-handed re- liever Andrew Chafin this week from the Chicago Cubs. “We’ve added two really solid pieces to help this team over the next two months,” Forst said. Marte, 32, is batting .306 with an .859 OPS and 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts. It’s the third time in 18 months that Marte has been traded, and he joins an outfield that also includes Ramón Laureano and Mark Canha. The Marlins made the deal after they were unable to reach an agreement with Marte on a contract extension. “New horizons open, and I will con- tinue to give my best wherever I go,” Marte tweeted. García became a closer this season and is 3-7 with a 3.47 ERA and 15 saves in 18 chances. Luzardo is 2-4 with a 6.87 ERA in 13 games, including six starts. He was side- lined for four weeks in May after he broke the pinkie on his pitching hand when he thumped a table while playing a video game. Luzardo and A.J. Puk were prized left- handed prospects in Oakland’s organiza- tion. “We’ve been an organization that’s built around pitching,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said before his team’s game in Baltimore. “To get a guy like that back at a trade deadline with huge poten- tial is obviously a nice deal for us.” De La Cruz is hitting .324 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 66 games for Triple-A Sugar Land, Pruitt is 12-9 with a 4.89 ERA in 69 games with the Astros and Tampa Bay Rays since 2017. Reds acquire reliever Givens from Rockies for prospects CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds added more help for their struggling bull- pen by acquiring right-hander Mychal Givens from the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in exchange for two pitching prospects. The Rockies got right-hander Case Wil- liams and right-hander Noah Davis, the Reds’ 26th-rated prospect. On Tuesday night, the Reds acquired relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson from the New York Yankees for a player to be named. The 31-year-old Givens, who is due to be a free agent after the season, has a 2.73 ERA and 27.4% strikeout rate in 29 2/3 in- nings for Colorado. The 19-year-old Williams heads back to the team that picked him in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He was traded to the Reds last November in the deal that also brought right-hander Jeff Hoffman to Cincinnati. Williams has pitched for the low-A Daytona Tortugas this season, posting a 5.55 ERA. The 24-year-old Davis is 3-6 with a 3.60 ERA in 13 starts with the high-A Dayton Dragons. Rangers sign No. 2 overall pick Leiter with $7.9M bonus Second overall pick Jack Leiter signed Wednesday with the Texas Rangers, get- ting a $7,922,000 signing bonus that is the largest for a drafted pitcher in 10 years. The deal for the right-hander out of Vanderbilt, and the son of former big league lefty Al Leiter, was for just above the recommended $7,789,900 slot for the second player taken in baseball’s amateur draft on July 11. That was the largest signing bonus for a pitcher since Gerrit Cole got $8 million after the Pittsburgh Pirates took him first overall in 2011. That was the last draft be- fore Major League Baseball guidelines for signing bonuses of drafted players went into effect. “Even before the selection was made, (the Rangers) made it clear to me and my family that this was kind of what they wanted to happen. And through the whole process, it just felt like I was the right fit for them. And it kind of felt the other way around, it felt like they were the right fit for me,” Leiter said. “It was kind of just a per- fect match.” The 21-year-old Leiter, who will return to Vanderbilt to continue his education this fall while preparing there for his pro- fessional debut in the Rangers organiza- tion next year, was 11-4 with a 2.13 ERA while throwing 110 innings over 18 starts this season for the College World Series runner-up Commodores. Rangers general manager Chris Young, the former big league pitcher who was a two-sport athlete at Princeton, said the team would devise a program with Van- derbilt trainers and staff for Leiter’s base- ball work. “We’ll work together to coordinate ev- ery aspect of it, with the idea being that in 2022 we’re ready to go,” Young said. Young said it didn’t make sense for Lei- ter to pitch this summer or fall in the Rangers organization because of the workload he had during his college sea- son. Leiter’s 179 strikeouts tied teammate Kumar Rocker for the NCAA Division I lead, and he averaged 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Rocker was drafted 10th overall by the New York Mets. — Wire services
