Derrius Guice heard the rumors and wondered why he kept slipping in the NFL draft.
Projected to be a first-round pick
Buccaneers Ronald Jones II Jersey , Guice talked to his agents, watched six other running backs get drafted and came away with no more answers. The end of
his freefall came Friday night when the Washington Redskins selected the LSU
running back late in the second round with the 59th overall pick.
Guice was finally picked minutes after NFL Network reported some of his visits didn't go well and there were incidents in college NFL teams found out
about.
"It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren't true, and I just didn't understand why me out of all people because I'm
great to everybody. I have a great personality and I just didn't understand why
everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody," Guice said on a
conference call. "I'm just thankful to know that this whole process is over
with, that an organization believed in me and trusted in me and I'm just ready
to get to work."
Guice denied reports he got into an argument with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and assistant head coach Duce Staley during his pre-draft visit to
the defending Super Bowl champions. Guice said he had no idea about NFL Network
suggesting there was another story possibly coming that could be embarrassing to
him and the organization.
"My trip to the Eagles was great," Guice said. "There wasn't an altercation when I went. It was great. They were also like family. Me and Duce have a great
relationship."
FM-97.5 in Philadelphia reported the argument. Former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said Friday: "I think he got into a little bit of an argument
with Howie, and quite possibly Deuce as well. I don't know that they all saw
eye-to-eye."
Coach Jay Gruden described Guice as a "character" with a lot of energy but came out of those meetings satisfied there weren't off-field character issues
with the physical, 5-foot-11, 244-pound back. Eager to upgrade the fifth-worst
rushing attack in the league, the Redskins met with Guice multiple times, took
him after trading down and drafted Louisville offensive tackle Geron Christian
with the 74th pick they acquired from San Francisco for No. 44.
"We looked at the reports and talked to Derrius' agent and got a pretty good indication that we felt good about taking Derrius at that position," Gruden
said. "Lucky to get him. This is a hard-nosed runner, plays hard, he can catch
the football, he can pass protect
Taven Bryan Jersey Jaguars , he's got good vision and a guy we really liked in early rounds."
Senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams promised recently acquired quarterback Alex Smith he'd solve the team's running back problem.
Guice joins a crowded backfield that also includes 2017 fourth-round pick Samaje
Perine, third-down back Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley, who earned the starting
job out of training camp last year.
Detroit traded up to the 43rd pick, one ahead of the Redskins, and took another running back in Auburn's Kerryon Johnson.
"I think there's some things that some teams are worried about in terms of some things in his history," Lions general manager Bob Quinn said, refusing to
go into specifics. "There were some things. We met with Derrius. He's a good
kid. There's some things that we were just a little concerned about."
Guice said falling in the draft will only increase his motivation.
"It's just a feeling that I have inside of me that I've already ran with since being little, and I just feel like it's gotten 10 times worse now," Gucie
said. "I can't wait to be unleashed on the field."
On the field, Guice led all SEC running backs with 1,387 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns despite starting just six games and set the conference record with
three career 250-yard games. He does have durability concerns, which combined
with the reports of off-field problems likely contributed to him not being
drafted higher.
"I've been talking to (my agents) the whole time either and this is all news to them as well," Guice said. "It's all hitting them and me off guard and out of
nowhere and we just don't know where it's coming from our how it happened. It
just kind of happened."
It was a tumultuous offseason for Guice, who changed agents and told SiriusXM Satellite Radio that at the combine one team asked him if he was gay and another
asked if his mother "sells herself." The NFL conducted an investigation and
found no evidence that any team asked Guice inappropriate questions.
This is the highest pick the Redskins have used on a running back since Ledell Betts in 2002. They recouped the third-round pick traded to Kansas City
for Smith when they acquired the 59th and 74th picks from San Francisco.
"We felt the trade was needed," Gruden said. "We thought we could add a third-round pick
Tre'Davious White Jersey Youth , which was very critical for us."
Gruden expects to keep Christian at tackle, opening up the possibility that Ty Nsekhe moves to left guard, where Washington has an opening.
AP Sports Writer Noah Trister in Allen Park, Michigan, contributed.
Brett Favre says he might have had "thousands" of concussions during his Hall of Fame career.
The three-time NFL MVP who played from 1992-2010 and was known for his aggressive approach to football said Thursday on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" that
he is experiencing short-term memory issues.
Favre, 48, has become an advocate for concussion research and said he had three or four known concussions during his lengthy career, which spanned 302
regular-season games and 24 in the postseason.
"But as we're learning about concussions," he told Kelly, "there's a term we use in football and maybe other sports, that I got 'dinged.' When you have
ringing of the ears, seeing stars, that is a concussion.
"If that's a concussion, then I've had hundreds, probably thousands
Braden Smith Color Rush Jersey , throughout my career, which is frightening."
Favre added that he worries about developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as he ages.
"My football career has meant a great deal to me and has provided a lot of things, a lot of joy not only for me, but for my family," Favre said. "Now, my
family doesn't have to face the physical problems that could potentially arise,
or the mental problems that could, but they are directly associated with me in
that regard. It's kind of a blessing and a curse.
"I grew up playing football. My dad was the coach, he was tough on me, he was a hard-nosed, just in-your-face-type of guy, and he didn't know what concussions
were about. We knew basically what a concussion was, but the thought process in
those days was you would never come out of a game or practice because you had a
little head ding. You would be considered, for lack of a better term, a
sissy.
"My point in this is 30 years ago
Connor Williams Jersey Elite , there wasn't a problem in anyone's mind from playing football. It was just a matter of being tough, and the ones who
stuck it out and made the most of it. Now, what we know, is it has nothing to do
with toughness and that's a lot scarier. So I look at my career as something
wonderful. I didn't know; had I known in Year 5, I would have looked at my
future a bit closer as my career unfolded."
Favre appeared on Kelly's program with three other retired star athletes: soccer's Abby Wambach, baseball's David Ross and Favre's fellow Pro Football
Hall of Famer and former teammate Kurt Warner. All four have invested in a
company developing a concussion-treatment drug that is not yet approved by the
Food and Drug Administration.
Favre said he would not encourage youngsters to play football.
"The brain and just the skull itself, for (8- to 15-year-olds), and maybe even older, is not developed enough and they should not be playing tackle
football," Favre said. "We should protect them, especially when there is no
treatment solution out there."
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