Latest news with #NFLSpotlight
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vikings S Josh Metellus says he's 'easily' the most versatile defender in the NFL
After signing a three-year, $36 million contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, Josh Metellus made it known that he believes he is the most versatile defender in the NFL. The sixth-year safety appeared on 'NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov' on Tuesday, and was asked about his versatility as a defender. 'When you play different spots, you don't really get comfortable at a spot, but two years at multiple spots, I finally got comfortable at every single spot,' Metellus said. 'Whatever spot I'm at this year, I think I'll be able to excel a lot better than the past two years.' Ever since the Vikings brought defensive coordinator Brian Flores into the building back in 2023, Metellus' role has consistently grown. Flores' first year in Minnesota saw Metellus jump from 258 defensive snaps (22.22 percent) in 2022, to 1,065 (94.16 percent) in 2023. With his role expanding and becoming more familiar with the defense, Metellus was voted to be a captain by his teammates for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The former sixth-round pick uses his size and athleticism to help Minnesota out in many different facets throughout each game. Listed as a safety, the 5-foot-11, 207-pound defender lines up all over the field, with the ability to cover wide receivers, running backs and tight ends while holding his own in the trenches against the run and in pass rushing situations. Along with his success on the defensive side of the ball, Metellus still has a large impact on special teams, playing above 44 percent of the Vikings' snaps in that facet ever since his rookie season in 2020. Flores is one of the brightest and most creative defensive minds in the NFL, and with Metellus willing and able to affect the game in many different ways, the duo has consistently kept offenses guessing over the past two years.
USA Today
22-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jaguars' OC Grant Udinski on what it's like working with Travis Hunter
Jaguars' OC Grant Udinski recently weighed in on what it's like working with Travis Hunter. #Jaguars OC Grant Udinski on working with Travis Hunter: "He's been an injection of energy into not just the offense, but I think the team. What you see on TV — him dancing around and bringing the juice and energy — that is genuine."📺 Full episode: On the latest episode of 'NFL Spotlight' with Ari Meirov, Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator discussed what it was like working with Travis Hunter, who is playing both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. "He's been an injection of energy into not just the offense, but I think the team," Udinski said. "What you see on TV of him dancing around or bringing the juice and all of that energy to practice, that is genuine. That's the real deal right there. "He's a lot of fun to be around, not only because he brings that energy but because he is a football guy in the sense that he loves football, wants to be great, willing to work, wants to talk about things, wants to go over things." Since arriving in Jacksonville, Hunter has been in both the offensive and defensive meeting rooms, learning both playbooks and the terminology of each scheme. But on the practice field, most of Hunter's playing time up to this point has come at wide receiver. That was the plan from the start, and GM James Gladstone added recently that the team views cornerback as Hunter's more natural position. I would also add that the team likely wanted Hunter to get a jump start on what is a robust playbook under Liam Coen. The next step for Hunter in his progression will be practicing on both offense and defense regularly during the same practice. For most of OTAs and minicamp, Hunter was either on offense or defense on a given day. Now, how exactly Coen and the Jaguars plan to divvy up those practice reps for Hunter remains to be seen. "Like Liam said," added Udinski, "I know he's mentioned it multiple times, he can run all day. So he's out there excited about practice, and he's practicing hard for the entire time he's practicing. That's exciting for me as a coach to be a part of that to let alone have a guy like that to get to work with. "I'm excited about the challenges of splitting time between offense and defense and the many different roles that he'll play on our team and if there's a guy that can do it, I'm excited about seeing him approach that challenge."
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New York Giants' Darius Slayton continues to defend Daniel Jones
The Daniel Jones era in New York may be over, but there's one Giants teammate who will surely miss him: Wide receiver Darius Slayton. The two came into the NFL together as Giants via the 2019 NFL draft, Jones as a top-10 pick and Slayton as a fifth-round pick. The pair hit it off immediately, with Slayton becoming Jones' favorite target. In the duo's first five seasons together, Slayton led the club in receiving in four of them, and he hasn't forgotten the synergy and chemistry he had here with Jones. The Giants, however, had just one winning season with Jones under center and made the decision ot part ways with him last November. Slayton is not about to lay all of the blame for the Giants' woes at Jones' feet. There's plenty of blame to go around. "It was definitely not an ideal situation," Slayton said on the NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov podcast, via Big Blue View. "At the end of the day, he knows what the business is. I know what this business is. It's result-based. We weren't good enough the previous few years on offense. Typically, the tip of that spear is the quarterback." Jones is now in Indianapolis and is in a battle for the starting job there with Anthony Richardson. Slayton believes Jones still has a chance to be a top player. "I think that he will be a successful quarterback in the league," Slayton told Meirov. "This league is largely about being in the right place at the right time." Jones not only had perforance issues to deal with as a Giant, he had to overcome muliple injuries. He missed a total of 22 games over his six seasons with the Giants with various injuries and ailments. The most serious of those were the season-ending ACL tear in 2023 and the two seperate neck injuries in whcih he pinched a nerve.
USA Today
14-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
If Trey Hendrickson, Bengals trade market collapses, what happens next?
If Trey Hendrickson, Bengals trade market collapses, what happens next? The Cincinnati Bengals trading Trey Hendrickon was never going to be easy. Those Bengals like winning trades for star players in lopsided fashion and the team acquiring Hendrickson would need to not only match that price, but then pay the All-Pro defender what he wants on a contract extension. No easy ask, hence Ari Meirov's latest appearance on "NFL Spotlight" suggesting that the list of possible trade partners for the Bengals continues to nosedive. "The teams that would be interested in Trey Hendrickson is kind of dwindling, Meirov said. "There's three pieces to tango here. There's getting a team that wants Trey, a team that's willing to pay Trey the money he wants, and a team willing to pay the Bengals what they want, which is believed to be a first-round pick, and more." Meirov mentioned the Buffalo Bills as a possible spot but that never seemed realistic given the rivalry there in the AFC. Those Bills just signed Joey Bosa. A team in the NFC might make more sense, but as Meirov notes, a suitor like the Washington Commanders has already sacrificed draft picks in other deals. Unless someone in the NFC near the end of the first round like the Detroit Lions emerges, it's hard to see a deal happening. As expected, now that Hendrickson's agent has found proof that teams will at least pay Hendrickson the contract but won't meet the Bengals' asking price, it's hard to say what happens next. The Bengals granted permission to seek the trade and now have to either pay up on the price the market agrees on, or dig in for more summer drama. Given that Meirov notes that the two sides weren't close, which prompted the trade request in the first place, this could drag out for quite a while again.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Xavier McKinney believes Bears will have a really good team with Ben Johnson
Xavier McKinney believes Bears will have a really good team with Ben Johnson Ben Johnson's arrival to the Chicago Bears has not only raised expectations for the team itself going into next season, it's also brought high expectations around the league. High expectations are nothing new for the Bears as they came into the 2024 season, featured on HBO's "Hard Knocks" series, and yet came up miserably short. But now, their potential is being noticed by other teams in the NFC North. Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who had a great season headlined by eight interceptions and 11 passes defended, sees a lot of competition in his division. In two games against the Bears this season, McKinney totaled 13 tackles, one interception, and one pass defended, and he believes the NFC North division has serious contenders in it. Appearing on the "NFL Spotlight" podcast with Ari Meirov, McKinney saying early wins through this season made him realize how tough the NFC North was, even comparing it to his time in the NFC East. "I thought when I was with the [New York] Giants, that division was good but this one [NFC North] is way better," McKinney said. "There's a lot of good teams and now that you have Ben Johnson to the Bears, you got four teams that are playoff contending teams, and Super Bowl contending teams." Although the rivalry between the Packers and Bears is still as strong and bitter as ever, McKinney believes Chicago will have much better success moving forward in 2025 now that Johnson is the coach. "I think the Bears are going to have a really good team, especially having him [Johnson] now," McKinney said. "But we accept the challenge and we can't wait to compete with these teams every year." Having three teams from the NFC North make the playoffs will put expectations at a very high level in 2025. That includes the Bears, who were beyond a disappointment this past season.
