Shutdown Corner
  • The ciiiiiircle of liiiife....

    Hemingway once wrote that Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is also known as "Ngaje Ngai," or "House of God." Ray Lewis has spent enough time thanking God for all of his success over his career, so it makes perfect sense he'd head up to the Big Guy's house to say hello in person.

    Lewis announced on Twitter that he'll be ascending the 19,000+-foot summit this summer:

    Lewis' "TackleKili" journey is intended to help raise awareness, and funds, to bring water to children in East Africa. It's a noble aim, and you can take part in TackleKili by clicking here.

    Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, and the largest freestanding mountain on the planet, so congrats to Lewis on attempting such a feat. We demand video of the Squirrel Dance at the summit.

    -Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

    Read More »from Ray Lewis will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as part of a clean-water charity effort
  • Justin Veltung can go horizontal, but that's not his best thing. (AP)

    The news release from the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, announcing the signing of undrafted free agent receiver Justin Veltung, was about as vanilla as you're going to get:

    The Seattle Seahawks have signed wide receiver Justin Veltung, the team announced today.

    Veltung, from nearby Puyallup, played 43 career games at the University of Idaho and collected 62 receptions for 901 yards with eight touchdowns and returned 80 kickoffs for 1,743 yards with two touchdowns in his career. He left Idaho as its all-time kickoff return leader (78) and kickoff return yardage leader (1,743), and 11th on its all-time all-purpose yardage list with 2,972 yards.

    Veltung attended Seattle's rookie minicamp on a tryout basis from May 10-12.

    So ... yeah. That's not why Veltung made Shutdown Corner today. He made Shutdown Corner today because he can rock a 56-inch (4-foot-8) standing box jump at 5-foot-11. To put that in perspective, NBA draft prospect DJ Stephens recently got a lot of attention for a 46-inch vertical leap while working out for the Brooklyn Nets. Box jumps and verticals are different, but still ... wow.

    You can view Veltung's super-jump below:

    Read More »from In Justin Veltung, the Seahawks sign a guy who jumps really, really high
  • Cardinals take cautious approach to Tyrann Mathieu’s contract

    The Honey Badger has signed his first NFL contract (Getty Images)

    Arizona Cardinals third-round safety Tyrann Mathieu has signed his first NFL contract, the team announced on Thursday.

    Because Mathieu had failed multiple drug tests at LSU, who booted "Honey Badger" off the team before the 2012 season, the terms of Mathieu's contract were the subject of a mini-controversy following his selection in the 2013 NFL draft. Peter King of Sports Illustrated reported that the Cardinals could receive permission to test Mathieu for drugs on a weekly basis and that the deal might not contain any guaranteed money.

    Mathieu's agent, Patrick Lawlor, quickly denied that his client would accept a deal that contained any guaranteed money. As "Shutdown Corner" noted at the time, since the 2006 season, no rookie had signed a contract that contained zero guaranteed money. In that post, we suggested that the Cardinals and Lawlor could model Mathieu's contract after the rookie deal of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who had some failed drug tests while at Florida and fell to the Patriots in the fourth-round of the 2010 draft.

    Hernandez was scheduled to receive a four-year, $2.29 million contract that included a guaranteed signing bonus of around $500,000. Instead, he received a $200,000 signing bonus, but his deal had a maximum value of $2.69 million as Hernandez could earn an additional $388,000 in weekly roster bonuses (for being on the 53-man roster, injured reserve or physically unable to perform list, i.e., not suspended for violating the substance abuse or personal conduct policies) during all four seasons of the contract, essentially exceeding the guaranteed amount dedicated to his draft slot.

    According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, it appears as though the Cardinals and Mathieu took the same approach New England took with Hernandez in 2010.

    Read More »from Cardinals take cautious approach to Tyrann Mathieu’s contract
  • Robert Griffin III plants and throws during Redskins OTAs

    Robert Griffin threw during the Redskins' OTAs on Thursday (USA Today Sports Images)

    Four and a half months after undergoing surgery on his right knee, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin was throwing to Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis while working alongside other players who are rehabilitating injuries during the team's OTA practices. (Garcon is recovering from chest surgery, Davis is coming off a torn Achilles.)

    According to multiple reports out of Redskins Park, Griffin, who had surgery to repair tears of his anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in January, was not moving at full-speed, but was able to plant his right leg and made "crisp" throws to his targets.

    “The knee feels great," Griffin said. "I’m able to do all the stuff out there without any hesitation, so that’s the best part about it. I’m excited about that. It’s all about having that confidence, and if you put the work in you’ll have that confidence when you get back out there on the field. It’s about playing like you were never injured."

    Whether or not Griffin will be available for the start of training camp has yet to be determined. Though Griffin is ahead of schedule in his rehab, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year acknowledged that he needs to work on "explosive sprinting" and "cutting" before he will be ready to play. Griffin hopes to be ready for training camp, but has the proper perspective in that he knows he's entering Year 2 of what it is expected to be a very long and productive NFL career.

    "Yes, I'm all-in for Week 1 but I'm also all-in the rest of my career," Griffin added.

    Griffin also said that he has been taking "mental reps" and doesn't feel as though he needs offseason or preseason snaps to play against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2013 regular season-opener. Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan would not be as comfortable with that scenario.

    Read More »from Robert Griffin III plants and throws during Redskins OTAs
  • (Instagram)San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree had surgery on Wednesday to fix the Achilles tendon he tore during one of the team's OTAs. But while 49ers fans may be depressed over the news, Crabtree sent out the above message using his Instagram account to put them in a more optimistic mood .

    Like the Terminator, Crabtree says he will be back.

    Read More »from Michael Crabtree uses Terminator picture to promise, ‘I’ll be back’

Pagination

(10,253 Stories)