Browns defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t the only AFC North pass rusher looking for his first career sack of Aaron Rodgers this season.
Ravens edge rusher Kyle Van Noy has spent time with five different teams while picking up 55 career sacks, but has never dropped the new Steelers signal caller for a loss. During an appearance on NFL Network, Van Noy recalled a game against the Packers from when he was with the Lions early in his career that he will be using as fuel in Baltimore’s two meetings with Pittsburgh this season.
It came when current Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was running the defense in Detroit.
“For whatever reason, the D-coordinator, who’s actually the D-coordinator of the Steelers, wanted to go Cover-0 all game against Aaron Rodgers,” Van Noy said. “He caught us. We’re like, ‘Oh, we gotta run it.’ Ended up scoring a touchdown to Jordy Nelson. He ended up walking by and kind of tapped me on my butt, like, ‘Nice try.’ So I gotta get him back for that. That’s been there for 10 years.”
Rodgers was sacked 40 times while playing for the Jets last season, but Van Noy doesn’t think that’s a sign that he will be easy pickings again this year.
“I still feel like he’s slinging the ball around,” Van Noy said. “He has the confidence of anybody, and especially being a four-time MVP of the league. He’s coming into the Steelers, who are ready and primed to have a guy at the helm, at the quarterback position, to take them to where they want to go. I feel like they have a good offensive coordinator with Arthur Smith, who’s gonna get back to that ground and pound. I’m excited to see Aaron Rodgers under center to see if he likes it or not.”
Van Noy and Garrett will have plenty of company when it comes to wanting to plant Rodgers in the ground during the 2025 season and the quarterback’s ability to avoid those rushers in a Steelers uniform will be a major storyline once the regular season is underway.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander has a new team, but he’s keeping the same number.
The Ravens announced on Monday that Alexander will wear No. 23 for the team in 2025. Alexander signed a one-year contract with the Ravens last week.
Alexander wore No. 23 in all 85 games he played for the Packers over the last seven seasons. He wore No. 10 at Louisville when he was a college teammate of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Linebacker Trenton Simpson was wearing No. 23 before Alexander’s arrival in Baltimore. The Ravens announced he will be wearing No. 32 this season while cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has switched to No. 3 and safety Beau Brade will be No. 25.
Receiver DeAndre Hopkins showed that he still has some juice with the Chiefs in 2024 as a midseason addition.
Now with the Ravens on a one-year deal, Hopkins made a positive impression with his new teammates on offense and defense during the offseason program.
“I like D-Hop,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said at his minicamp press conference last week. “I’ve gotten to have some conversations with him. He is ‘Mr. Contested Catch.’ That is for sure. Just having a conversation with him, I thought it was really humbling.
“We asked him — me and one of the strength coaches — ‘What do you think about the team from the outside looking in since you’ve been on other teams?’ And he said, ‘It seems like there’s been a piece that’s been missing. I could be that addition. I could not be that addition.’ To hear a veteran guy, All-Pro guy and Pro Bowl guy say he could be, or he could not be [the piece that’s missing], to me, that was extremely humbling. I feel that he fits the Ravens mold, and I think he’ll fit right in.”
Hopkins, who turned 33 this month, caught 41 passes for 437 yards with four touchdowns in 10 games for the Chiefs last season. He then added three receptions for 29 yards with a TD in three postseason games. Despite having spotty quarterback play in 2023 with the Titans, Hopkins still caught 75 passes for 1,057 yard with seven TDs.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton is thrilled that Baltimore signed cornerback Jaire Alexander last week.
“Great addition,” Hamilton said, via BaltimoreRavens.com. “He’s been one of the best in this league since he got in it. To have anybody like that, no matter what position, especially as a DB, it’s super valuable.”
Alexander arrives in Baltimore after seven years in Green Bay, where he was the Packers’ first-round pick in 2018. The Ravens will play with a very talented secondary featuring five first-round picks on the field at the same time this season: Alexander and Ravens 2024 first-round pick Nate Wiggins at cornerback, 2021 first-round pick Hamilton at strong safety, 2025 first-round pick Malaki Starks at free safety and 2017 first-round pick Marlon Humphrey at cornerback.
With that kind of talent, the Ravens have invested as heavily in their secondary as any team in the league, and they expect the results to speak for themselves.
Longhorns legend Ricky Williams is bringing a little Texas Fight to the effort to ban THC.
As explained by WFAA.com, the Texas House and Senate have passed a bill that would ban all consumable hemp-derived products containing THC. Governor Greg Abbott has the measure on his desk, awaiting signature.
Williams wants Abbott to veto the bill.
“This plant helped me stay balanced and healthy through the grind of professional football,” Williams said in a press release from Project Champion. “Now it’s helping veterans manage PTSD and families manage pain. These changes in the law don’t protect Texans — it punishes them. The people of Texas deserve freedom of choice and don’t need the government to tell them what they can and can’t put in their body. If we have learned anything from the past decade it has been that.”
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick led the effort to push the bill through the Texas legislature. Now, only Abbott stands in the way of the bill becoming the law of the Lone Star State.
“I’m calling on my friend, Greg Abbott, to please veto this bill and stand with the veterans, farmers and families who know there is a better way forward,” Williams said in a video posted on social media.
Nationally, views on marijuana and THC have dramatically shifted over the last twenty years. Many states have relaxed their laws in this regard; if Abbott signs the bill, Texas will be taking a big step backward.
