Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 4/22/20
22 April 2020 Sports
The virtual NFL draft begins tomorrow night and runs through Saturday. The Packers currently have the 30th pick in the first round. General Manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to reporters Monday afternoon via a teleconference call and addressed a number of topics. He was asked if the wide receiver class is deep enough for the Packers to wait until the 30th pick. Gutekunst said there are a lot of good receivers but it depends on who’s still available when the Packers have their first pick. The Packers GM said as far as trading up, he felt teams would still be making deals but that also depends on the success of technology, given the fact that it’s a virtual draft.
The Packers currently have 10 picks in this years’ draft, but seven of those are day three selections and five are slated for the final two rounds.
Gutekunst was also asked about the chances that cornerback Tramon Williams will be back with the team in 2020. Williams returned to the Packers in 2018 and played 73 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season. He had 39 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Gutekunst said, “If that fits once we get through the draft then we’ll certainly make it happen if we can.”
The Packers have Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, Josh Jackson, Chandon Sullivan and Ka’dar Hollman at corner. Should that group grow early in this week’s draft, it seems likely Williams will have to look elsewhere to continue his career.
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The New England Patriots have agreed to trade Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers in a deal that reunites the retired tight end with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Tuesday on SportsCenter that the five-time Pro Bowler has been “really invigorated” physically since he retired from football nearly 13 months ago. Gronkowski, who turns 31 next month, has one year and $9 million remaining on his current deal with the Patriots. The Buccaneers announced the details of the trade in a news release Tuesday. New England will receive a fourth-round pick (No. 139 overall) in the NFL draft, and the Buccaneers will receive a seventh-round pick (No. 241 overall) in the trade.
The NFL ran the numbers again and Dak Prescott vaulted into the top 10 franchise tag leaders.
Prescott’s exclusive franchise tag was recalculated according to the league’s top-five salaries at the quarterback position, and the Cowboys signal-caller’s tag number in 2020 jumped by more than $4.5 million to $31.409 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the updated total.
Fanchise tags are based on 2020 restricted free-agent numbers and are finalized after the restricted free-agent period ends, Rapoport added. The original number — which for Prescott was $26.824 million — is a placeholder.
Prescott’s updated tag number puts his single-season pay into the top seven in the entire NFL in annual average salary, right between Atlanta’s Matt Ryan ($30 million per year) and Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz ($32 million per year). Prescott moved up from No. 13 on the same list to No. 7 as a result of the recalculation.
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The WIAA canceled all of the scheduled spring sports seasons and state tournaments Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic — while still keeping the door open for delayed seasons to be held in summer. In a video conference call, the Board of Control decided there is no way to hold the seasons while complying with the “Safer at Home order” — and with no specific information available for when games and matches could be held, it’s not feasible to plan for them right now. But members hold out hope something can be held in summer.
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