The New York Jets have claimed tight end Clive Walford off waivers from the Oakland Raiders.
The Jets announced the move Monday. It provides New York depth at tight end after Austin Seferian-Jenkins recently signed with Jacksonville as a free
agent.
Tight ends Eric Tomlinson
Graham Glasgow Jersey , Jordan Leggett and Neal Sterling are also on the roster.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Walford had 70 catches for 768 yards and six touchdowns in three seasons with the Raiders after being a third-round draft
pick out of Miami in 2015.
He was waived by Oakland last Friday.
After catching 61 passes in his first two NFL seasons, Walford saw limited action in new coordinator Todd Downing's offense last season. Walford missed the
last three games with a concussion that landed him on injured reserve. He had
just nine catches for 80 yards and no TDs.
Raw emotion came from Alex Ovechkin as he wore an ”Eastern Conference champions” hat for the first time.
”Oh my God,” he said. ”It’s unbelievable. I can’t explain my emotions. I’m just happy for my boys, for organizations, for fans. Finally.”
Finally.
Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will play for the Stanley Cup. It’s a journey 14 years in the making from Ovechkin being the first overall draft pick
to the greatest goal scorer of this generation – and a player who until this
year hasn’t made it out of the second round of the playoffs through little fault
of his own. Yet he’s gotten an uneven proportion of the blame.
Ovechkin essentially willed the Capitals to the Cup Final with 12 goals, 10 assists and the best postseason of his career. In one spring, the 32-year-old
Russian superstar has ended Washington’s 20-year final drought, slayed demons
and destroyed the old narrative that he can’t get the job done when it matters
most.
”The special thing is because we’re winning,” Ovechkin said before the Capitals left for Las Vegas. ”That’s the whole thing. That’s all I can say. We
win and we move forward. We’ve never been in this position before. All my
career
Dede Westbrook Jersey , I played for this team, and we never get the success like that.”
Ovechkin bore the brunt of nine playoff appearances ending after the first or second round despite being a point-a-game player. With time running out on
chasing the trophy he knew all about as a kid, this season has featured a
different-looking player.
General manager Brian MacLellan sees a new level of maturity on and off the ice that he believes comes from Ovechkin getting married. A different offseason
training regimen allowed Ovechkin to produce more at even strength, and the
result was an NHL-leading 49 goals.
”I think the way he plays this year is more within the team structure,” MacLellan said. ”This is the most systematic he’s played throughout his career,
in my mind.”
In the playoffs, Ovechkin has raised his game even further. His vintage physicality and his willingness to get his body in front of shots and hustle
down ice on the backcheck have been noticeable.
”When you see him blocking shots, you see him coming back hard, you see him playing physical, he’s getting more and more excited
Levine Toilolo Jersey ,” linemate Tom Wilson said. ”It seems like every round you win, he’s playing even harder. And that’s what you need out of your
top guys. When he’s going, you’re aware he’s on the ice. Everyone in the
building knows he’s on the ice.”
During the third round, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said Ovechkin has ”taken 14 years of frustration out in one playoffs.” Ovechkin is reluctant to talk
about previous playoff disappointments, but they’ve been tied to him.
Even though this is a team sport, someone has to be the greatest player to never win the Cup. Until now, arguably that’s Ovechkin, a label he has the
chance to shed beginning in Game 1 of the final Monday at the expansion Vegas
Golden Knights.
”He’s an elite player that shoulders the responsibility of how our team performs, whether that is fair or unfair, and I think that happens to all those
elite players in the league
Julius Peppers Jersey ,” MacLellan said. ”They get built up when they win and they get torn down a little bit when they lose. It is not always fair,
because it is a team game. And for him, he has shouldered a lot of the burden
that has gone on here for the last 11 years or whatever the time period has
been, and hopefully this is a time when he gets payback and enjoys it this
year.”
Ovechkin is enjoying hockey seemingly like never before. Coach Barry Trotz wondered if being the face of the franchise and carrying the burden weighed on
Ovechkin all those years.
Getting past the Pittsburgh Penguins and the second round made Ovechkin look ”freer” in Trotz’s eyes.
”You want your top guys to be on a mission, and I think that has freed him to carry on the mission rather than have to explain why he didn’t go farther and
have to do it every spring,” Trotz said. ”He’s having fun. He’s producing. He’s
all in. If you’re going to have success, you have to have all-in contribution,
and he has. I think he’s enjoying the run, the playoffs, maybe for the first
time in a long time.”
Since returning home to Washington after advancing to the Final
Maliek Collins Jersey , Ovechkin said fans have come up to him to say thank you, good job, and to express pride. But he doesn’t want to celebrate too
much because he knows how difficult every step of the playoffs is to
conquer.
”It’s hard. It’s not easy,” Ovechkin said. ”This organization, it’s been too long to be in this position, and I’ve never been in this position. Only Brooks
Orpik has won the Stanley Cup and been in the final. Now this group is excited
and we’re ready to go.”
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