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Analyst names surprising NFC team as landing spot for Alabama QB Jalen Milroe
Imagine what Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay could do with a quarterback who may be similar to Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.
In a story published Monday, The Athletic's Derrik Klassen named the Rams as the best fit for Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (6-foot-2, 217 pounds).
On an April 9 episode of The Athletic's "Scoop City" podcast, former NFL QB Chase Daniel said Milroe's running ability is similar to that of Jackson, a two-time MVP. The 22-year-old's mobility may intrigue McVay.
"McVay has long flirted with the idea of a mobile quarterback," wrote Klassen. "He was eager to give John Wolford a chance at the end of the Jared Goff saga, then held onto him as the team's backup through the 2022 season. McVay also gave Bryce Perkins a start in 2022, a game in which Perkins carried the ball 19 times for 90 yards."
Milroe ran an unofficial 4.37 40-yard dash at his pro day in March but must improve as a passer. In 13 starts in 2024, he tossed a career-high 11 interceptions. Citing TruMedia, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported 10 of those interceptions came on throws of 15 air yards or less.
In Los Angeles, Milroe would have time to develop. The Rams roster still features quarterback Matthew Stafford, a Super Bowl champion.
"As a passer [Milroe will] need at least a year to fix his footwork and adapt to the speed of coverage at the NFL level, but that's okay," wrote Klassen. "There will be no pressure on Milroe to compete with Stafford for the starting job."
The Rams could win another championship with Stafford, but they still need a succession plan for the 37-year-old QB. Backup QB Stetson Bennett, a fourth-round pick in 2023, doesn't seem like the answer. He has yet to throw a pass in a regular-season game.
If Milroe is still available on Day 2 of the draft, the Rams should consider targeting him. He may have a high ceiling, and he could help McVay expand his playbook.
More must-reads:
- It appears Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter won't be together during NFL Draft
- Report: Shedeur Sanders to host final private workout with notable team
- The 'NFL receiving yard leaders since 2022' quiz
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Browns insider addresses if Shedeur Sanders 'beat out' Dillon Gabriel at rookie minicamp
It didn't take long for the so-called "silly season" portion of evaluating Cleveland Browns quarterbacks to get underway. Observers couldn't even agree on whether or not fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders or third-round choice Dillon Gabriel produced the better performances during the club's rookie minicamp last weekend. Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer addressed the matter for a piece published on Friday. "[Sanders] didn’t beat out Gabriel hands-down like some have reported — it was much closer to a tie — but he looked very good and more than held his own," Cabot wrote. "It was a great start for both, and a nice base on which to build their case in the QB derby..." Former NFL running back/current analyst LeSean McCoy and The Athletic’s Zac Jackson previously said that Sanders looked "like the best player" at the Browns' rookie minicamp and that it was "not close." However, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand later made it known he felt Gabriel looked like the better signal-caller. While the Browns are allegedly holding an open four-way competition for their starting quarterback job that will run through a portion of August, most expect that head coach Kevin Stefanski will name either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett Cleveland's Week 1 QB1. The Browns could trade or cut the loser of the Flacco-Pickett battle so they can have both Gabriel and Sanders on their active roster come September. "Both players put surprisingly few passes on the ground considering they were throwing to mostly tryout players whom they had met the day before," Cabot added about how Sanders and Gabriel performed during rookie minicamp. "...Both quarterbacks made good decisions and were accurate most of the time. Their footwork on dropbacks looked smooth, and they looked comfortable working under center as well as out of the shotgun. Sanders had to recover from one errant snap, but quickly scooped the ball and made the play." Of the two rookies, Sanders undeniably has more star power and the bigger presence as it pertains to generating headlines. Many outsiders believed Sanders was a first-round talent, but it's now known that his handling of the predraft process impacted how he was viewed by teams around the league. Meanwhile, analysts predicted ahead of the draft that Gabriel would be a third-day selection. If nothing else, both Sanders and Gabriel should already have a better idea about what it means to take part in a quarterback competition as members of a franchise that has been searching for a long-term answer at the sport's most important position since it returned to the NFL in 1999.
Three-time All-Star announces retirement from baseball
Veteran infielder Matt Carpenter announced his retirement on Sports Spectrum’s "Get In The Game" podcast (h/t to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Wednesday. He hangs up his spikes after 14 years in the majors. “I wanted to take this opportunity on this podcast, here with you, and officially announce my retirement from baseball. I was very fortunate enough to play for some great organizations, and had quite a thrill being able to don the St. Louis Cardinals logo for many years, a brief stint with the New York Yankees, and also the San Diego Padres," Carpenter told former MLB pitcher Scott Linebrink. Carpenter went on to thank his family, before adding that he’s “excited for what’s next. A veteran of 14 MLB seasons, Carpenter was open to continuing his career in 2025 as recently as this past September. That was following a season with the Cardinals where he battled injuries and struck out at a 32.5 percent clip but still produced a roughly average 95 wRC+ across 157 plate appearances in a part-time role. That sort of production was enough to make Carpenter a solid bench piece, though with the Cardinals’ pivot toward providing young players more opportunities this year, a reunion between the 39-year-old and his longtime club wasn’t in the cards. As Carpenter mentioned, he was wearing Cardinal red for most of his career. The Cards selected him in the 13th round of the 2009 draft. He made it to the big leagues in 2011, the year of the club’s most recent World Series win, but he was a footnote in that season. He was selected to the roster in June and optioned back to the minors after a seven-game cup of coffee. His major league career began in earnest in 2012. As a 26-year-old rookie that year, Carpenter took to hitting in the majors almost right away. He hit an impressive .294/.365/.463 in 114 games while splitting time between first base, second base, third base, and both outfield corners. That show of versatility was enough to earn Carpenter a sixth-place finish in Rookie of the Year voting despite the fact that he had yet to generate the type of power he would later in his career, clubbing just six homers in 340 trips to the plate. He also hit .286/.412/.571 in playoff games, though the Cards were felled by the Giants in the NLCS. He took a step forward in 2013 and had arguably his best season. He almost doubled his power output, getting to 11 home runs. He walked at a 10 percent clip and only struck out 13.7 percent of the time. That led to a .318/.392/.481 slash and 146 wRC+. He was selected to the All-Star team for the first time. FanGraphs credits him with 7.2 wins above replacement for that season, his personal best by a good margin. He finished fourth in National League Most Valuable Player voting. Carpenter didn’t perform especially well in the postseason that year, hitting .217/.263/.290, but the Cards made it as far as the World Series, losing to the Red Sox in six games. The Cards then locked him up on an extension which would pay him $52M over the 2014 to 2019 seasons and keep him in St. Louis into his mid-30s. Over the rest of the decade, his production shifted slightly, with a bit more power but a bit less on-base ability. The aggregate was roughly similar though, making him a very useful player as he bounced around the infield. From 2015-18, he hit between 21 and 36 home runs in each season, totaling 108 long balls in that four-year stretch. He slashed a combined .260/.376/.497 for that span, leading to a 135 wRC+. In April of 2019, as Carpenter was entering the final guaranteed year of his deal, he and the Cards agreed to another extension. This one would pay him $39M over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. However, that ultimately proved to be a misstep for the club, as Carpenter’s production declined over those next few years. His wRC+ finished at 96 in 2019, then 85 in the shortened 2020 campaign, before going all the way down to 68 in 2021. The Cards could have retained Carpenter for 2022 via an $18.5M club option, but with his declining results, the $2M buyout was the easy call. That sent him to free agency for the first time in his career, ahead of his age-36 season. Though many had written him off at that point, Carpenter was able to engineer a brief but brilliant renaissance. Thanks to some help from Joey Votto, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Carpenter worked to revamp his swing. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and clubbed six home runs in 21 games for their Triple-A club. Despite the strong results, the Rangers released him. The Yankees gave Carpenter a major league deal, which paid off immediately. He hit 15 home runs in just 47 games for the Yanks, while also walking at a 12.3 percent pace. Unfortunately, that amazing run was cut short when Carpenter fouled a ball off his foot in August. He suffered a fracture and missed the rest of the regular season. He was activated for the playoffs but struck out in nine of his 12 plate appearances. His regular season line for that year finished at .305/.412/.727, translating to a 216 wRC+. Though it was cut short by injury, the Padres bought into Carpenter’s return to form. They signed him to a two-year, $12M deal going into 2023, but that bet didn’t pay off. Carpenter slashed .176/.322/.319 for the Friars that year. He was traded to Atlanta ahead of the 2024 season in what was clearly a salary dump deal, as Atlanta released him shortly thereafter. He returned to the Cardinals and, as mentioned, had a serviceable season as a role player. That will now go down as his final big league season. All told, Carpenter got into 1,511 games and stepped to the plate 5,773 times. He had 1,257 hits, including 179 home runs. He scored 813 runs and drove in 659. He walked in 13.4 percent of his plate appearances, helping him slash .259/.366/.449 for a 125 wRC+. He produced 31.5 fWAR and 28.7bWAR, making three All-Star teams along the way. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings at just over the $100M mark.
Kristaps Porzingis has surprising admission about losing to Knicks
Kristaps Porzingis had mixed emotions after his Boston Celtics' season ended at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Porzingis has been dealing with a mysterious illness that sapped his effectiveness throughout the Celtics-Knicks second-round series. On Friday, the Latvian came off the bench and played just 11 minutes in Boston’s 119-81 loss in Game 6. With New York coasting to an easy series-clinching win, the rabid Knicks fan base chanted to support its players all game. Not too long ago, Porzingis was among the players Knicks fans were showering with similar cheers. Porzingis was asked about the Knicks fan base after the game. “Honestly, the support from the Knicks fans was through the roof tonight and all throughout the playoffs,” Kristaps told reporters. “Unbelievable fans, unbelievable city, and there’s a side of me that’s very, very happy for them. I wish them nothing but the best.” Porzingis emerged as a potential franchise player for the Knicks during the mid-2010s. The sweet-shooting shot-blocker dubbed “The Unicorn” had fans believing anything was possible then. But injuries and internal squabbles eventually pushed Porzingis to push for a trade away from New York. Porzingis later ended up in a terrific situation in Boston, becoming an integral piece to their championship puzzle during the Celtics’ 2024 title run. But in an alternate universe, perhaps Porzingis could have been the man to lead the New York hoops renaissance instead of Jalen Brunson.
Dodgers’ dynamic rookie is quickly upending NL Rookie of the Year race
In Thursday’s blowout Dodgers’ win against the Athletics, LA’s two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani took the headlines yet again. Ohtani went 2-or-5 with two home runs on his bobblehead giveaway night, leading the Dodgers on their 19-2 romp over the A’s. But somewhat lost in Ohtani’s shadow is another name that could one day dominate the headlines and one that now has a legitimate shot at bringing home the NL Rookie of the Year award. That would be KBO star Hyeseong Kim. Batting ninth in Thursday’s game, Kim went 3-3 with a double and two walks, making it aboard in all five of his plate appearances and allowing him to score on both Ohtani’s home runs. Entering Friday, Kim is now hitting .429/.467/.571 with one home run and three stolen bases in 28 at-bats. Kim was a premier talent with the South Korean Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO before signing with the Dodgers this offseason. In the past four years with the Heroes, Kim posted batting averages ranging from .304 to .335, stole 135 bases and won KBO Golden Gloves each season (three at second base, one at shortstop). Wary of how his bat would play in majors, the Dodgers started him out at Triple-A where he hit .252/.328/.470 with five home runs and 13 stolen bases in 115 at-bats. Kim, who has never hit more than 11 home runs in a single season during his eight-year career in South Korea, is not known for his power. So, his five home runs in this large, minor-league sample size are a rather new development, possibly hinting that the Dodgers organization helped him figure something out. Kim was called up after Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman fell on the injured list, making his debut on May 3, though he didn’t collect his first plate appearance until the 5th. Now off to an amazing start, Kim has quickly thrust himself into the NL ROY conversation. His top two competitors are two high-flying catchers: Drake Baldwin of the Braves and Agustin Ramirez of the Marlins, each of whom have a solid head start on Kim, totaling over 70 at-bats a piece. Here’s a comparison of their stat lines (all stats as of writing on Friday): Table We also can’t discount a third catcher, Kim’s teammate, Dalton Rushing, who made his debut during Thursday’s slugfest. However, it is too early to speculate on Rushing’s chances. Only time will tell if Kim can keep up his torrid pace and claim the title of NL ROY. But, with his elite bat-to-ball skills, impressive speed, top-notch defense and perhaps a bit of newfound thump in his bat, Kim is looking like a solid contender.
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