2014 NFC Offseason Round-up Part 1 Football ERA Formula Podcast

Frederick Breedon, Getty Images

Jerry Rice, Jr. signs with Washington

Nearly 30 years after the 49ers made receiver Jerry Rice a first-round pick, a wideout who bears his name and DNA will get his NFL career started on the other side of the country.
Via Rich Tandler of CSN Washington, Jerry Rice Jr. has announced on his Instagram account that he has signed a contract with Washington, sharing a photo of the document.  The team has not yet announced the move.
The younger Rice participated in 49ers rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, by his father’s team didn’t sign him.  Previously, the Ravens also invited Rice Jr. to participate in rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.  Coach John Harbaugh was impressed, but not sufficiently impressed to sign him.
As Tandler points out, Washington currently has 90 players on the roster.  Adding Rice Jr. will require the team to make a move.
It’ll be interesting to see if Rice wears his dad’s number; 80 currently is available in Washington.  During his tryout with the 49ers, Rice Jr. opted not to wear his Jerry’s retired jersey, opting instead to pay homage to, um, Renaldo Nehemiah?

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo from CBSLocal.com

Richard Sherman has boycotted Seattle media, unless he hasn’t

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman recently purchased a new home in Seattle, a $2.31 million estate previously owned by NBA star Jamal Crawford.  The local media — specifically the Seattle Times and seattlepi.com — published information about the transaction, including the address of the home.
Now, CBS Seattle reports that Sherman is refusing to speak to the local media.  He’s not happy that fans are showing up at his house seeking autographs.
Curtis Crabtree of KJR Radio, who moonlights weeknights for PFT, says that the CBS Seattle story is premature at best, inaccurate at worst.  According to Crabtree, no blanket refusal to speak to the local press has been issued.
But Sherman indeed is upset that his address was published by two publications in Seattle.  For now, there’s no indication that Sherman will hold that decision against the full local media.
It would be unfair if he held the decisions of seattlepi.com, which listed the address in its story, and the Seattle Times, which linked in an online version of the story to the real estate website containing the address, against all local media.  It’s arguably unfair for him to even boycott seattlepi.com and the Times, since they were merely sharing publicly available information.
No league rule forces Sherman to give access to any specific publication.  The situation could get interesting if Sherman refuses during mandatory media availability to not answer questions posed by accredited representatives of seattlepi.com, the Seattle Times, or any other media outlet.
For now, it’s simply too early to know what Sherman specifically will or won’t be doing in the aftermath of the editorial decision to share with the citizens of Seattle information that any of them could have found by taking a trip to the proper office of the King County courthouse.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Getty Images

Virginia legislators throw support behind Washington team name

At a time when neither the CEO of the company that put its name on the Washington franchise’s stadium nor the man who serves as the current face of the franchise will publicly support the team’s name, a Virginia legislator predictably is willing to go all in.
A group of Virginia legislators have founded the “Redskins Pride Caucus,” which will openly support the name of the franchise that conducts its training camp in Richmond.
“Wherever I go, it has been a constant topic that comes up,” Delegate David Ramadan told the Washington Post. “People ask me, ‘What can be done?’ This is our team, and as representatives of the people of Virginia, we are standing up for our citizens.”
Ramadan added that members of Congress inclined to challenge the team’s name should “go work on other issues and leave our Virginia businesses alone.”
The position isn’t surprising.  While FedEx’s Fred Smith and Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III realize that taking a position could alienate those who disagree with it, the Virginia legislators advance their careers with a simple majority only.  Then again, supporting the team is less about gaining the majority than it is about preserving it.
Fans of the team are far more likely than non-fans of the team to believe the name is fine, and those fans of the team who share owner Daniel Snyder’s all-caps-never-over-my-dead-body zeal regarding the name will be far more likely to show up at the polls to vote in favor of those politicians who agree — and to vote against those who don’t.
In Virginia and Maryland, opposing the team’s name will be the quickest way for a politician to no longer be a politician.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo via CBSnews.com