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While it’s early, and they are not playing tackle football yet, undrafted rookie free-agent QB Andrew Peasley isn’t bad.
He got a lot of work this week with Aaron Rodgers not at the mandatory minicamp, and fifth-round pick Jordan Travis still rehabbing a leg injury. So the last couple of days veteran Tyrod Taylor and Peasley got all the reps.
And Peasley took advantage of the opportunity.
He actually took more chances than Taylor, who tends to be very conservative and checks down a lot. And to Taylor’s credit, the fact that he rarely turns the ball over has probably kept him in the league since 2011. Teams don’t like backup quarterbacks who turn the ball over a lot.
Peasley threw a pick today to Quantez Stiggers.
Maybe it wasn’t the best throw, but he was trying to give a receiver a chance to make a play over the deep middle, and Stiggers jumped the route.
This was a very important minicamp play.
The issue with Taylor checking down or running a lot in minicamp or OTA, and Zach Wilson used to do the same things, is it takes away from reps from teammates.
This time of year you should be experimenting some, taking some chances, and this was a great chance for Stiggers to get a valuable rep.
A few plays later, Peasley threw an anticipatory throw to tight end Kenny Yeboah down the deep middle, and it went off the hand of the tight end. It would have been a tough catch, but the QB gave his target a chance to make a play, and it almost worked out.
Peasley best throw of the day might have been to tight end Jeremy Ruckert down down the left seam, placed perfectly over a defender.
Look, I’m not putting Peasley in Canton. He still has a lot of work to do, but you have to give him credit, he took advantage of the added reps with Rodgers and Travis not practicing, and is willing to throw guys open, throw with anticipation.
He also gave receivers, tight ends and defenders more chances to get valuable reps on passes downfield.
And that is important in the spring and summer . . .
There was a fight in practice today, after former Duke cornerback Miles Jones had a big hit on wide receiver Irv Charles.
This is always a quandary for long shots in these spring practices. If you are Jones, a undrafted rookie free agent, you want to grab the attention of the coaches, but these practices are supposed to be non-contact.
Jones makes a legitimate play, on his feet, on Charles, but the receiver thought the rookie was a little too aggressive, and this led to a fight.
On Tuesday, Tulane safety Jarius Monroe, had a big hit on a running back, and was pulled out for a few plays by safety coach Marquand Manuel.
If you are Jones and Monroe, and you aren’t getting a lot of reps, don’t you want to try and make a splash play when you get a chance?
Of course you do, but teams don’t want the union rep filing a complaint about a big hit.
Tough situation for guys like Jones and Monroe . . .
Another example of a tough spot for a longshot: Undrafted free agent tight end Lincoln Sefcik from South Alabama, clearly has some kind of leg injury. He tried to participate in tight end drills, but he could hardly walk, let along run, and he had to be pulled out.
As they say, “You can’t make the club in the tub,” but Sefcik tried to go, but his leg just wouldn’t allow it.
You are always afraid of getting a pink slip with an injury settlement if you are guys like Sefcik . . .
Jets receiver Mike Williams (above) addressing the media today. He hasn’t practiced this off-season coming off a season-ending knee injury with the Chargers last year.
June 12, 2024
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