THE MMQB's Albert Breer notes the Falcons' announcement on Thursday that Scott Pioli was leaving the organization "might have seemed to have come out of nowhere, but it really was the outgrowth of a meeting" he and GM Thomas Dimitroff had a year ago. The Falcons have "no plans to replace Pioli with another assistant GM -- that title was one Dimitroff gave to Pioli out of respect." Over time, the team will "probably go back to a more traditional structure" (SI.com, 5/20).
THE CATCH: In Minneapolis, Sid Hartman wrote when Vikings ownership decided to extend the contracts of both coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman this offseason, there was "no question those contract extensions came with a caveat that this team had to make some big changes" heading into '19. The Wilf family invested $477M into U.S. Bank Stadium and at least $90M into the TCO Performance Center in Eagan. On top of that, the Vikings had the third-highest payroll in football in '18, and they are currently carrying the fifth-highest payroll in the league for '19 at $190.6M (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/19).
IN WITH THE OLD: In Ft. Lauderdale, Safid Deen noted the Dolphins will "wear vintage, white uniforms for their Week 2 game" against the Patriots. The jerseys will be available for sale next month (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 5/18).
