NFL News and Notes: Jackson will be the Madden 21 cover

Whether or not there is a “Madden Curse” or not, it is hard to argue that the athletes that have graced the cover of the greatest franchise in sports video games have had the best luck. When Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson found out he was the choice for Madden 21, he said he would welcome the curse since Patrick Mahomes was the cover last season and won the Super Bowl.

The curse itself may be a bit overblown, but when you think of Michael Vick (broken leg), Donovan McNabb (hernia), Shaun Alexander (foot), and Troy Polamalu (knee), it is difficult to not at least take notice. Even players that made it through the entire (or most of the) season had rough luck.

Vince Young threw 17 interceptions and only nine touchdowns. Drew Brees threw a career-high 22 picks when he was on the cover. Ray Lewis played 15 games but still broke his wrist.

If anything, it is always something that’s in the back of your mind as a player when you’re on the cover because the legend has grown so wildly.

Jaguars shopping Fournette

It has been reported in recent days that the Jacksonville Jaguars have been shopping running back Leonard Fournette. According to Josina Anderson, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not interested.

Fournette was in the news recently for being in favor of the Jaguars bringing former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton into the fold. Now he finds himself on the block.

The two-time 1,000-yard rusher is coming off of his best season as a pro, logging 1,600+ yards from the line of scrimmage. The Jags have until May 4 to pick up his 2021 option.

Jacksonville appears to be in the midst of a full rebuild after trading Jalen Ramsey last season and allowing Nick Foles to walk just a year after signing him. Trading their most prized asset for multiple draft picks in return would seem to make a whole lot of sense, but it doesn’t appear that there is a market for the once disruptive runner.

Hopkins claims he had “no relationship with O’Brien”

The story about the trade that just won’t go away. Arizona Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins said recently in a Sports Illustrated interview that he had no relationship with head coach Bill O’Brien and was not surprised that he was traded.

Now, if you are the head coach of a franchise and you have a likely future Hall of Fame receiver for six seasons, you have a relationship. It just may not necessarily be a good one.

In an article recently on ESPN, it references a claim by former Cowboy Michael Irvin claiming that O’Brien compared the situation he had with Aaron Hernandez while O’Brien was in New England. Yeah, I don’t know any player in the NFL or anyone in general who is aware of the Hernandez situation that would be happy with that particular statement, if it is indeed true.

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