The NFL season has been over for a couple months now, but this time of year is when fans get intrigued about what changes their teams will make. The draft is a few weeks away, and the first big wave of free agents have signed. Their are still a few big names out there (Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry, Ziggy Ansah, Jamie Collins), but most teams have already made big decisions about their futures. I never though we would see an offseason where the Browns and Jets are arguably the biggest needle movers. Every year sees a ton of excitement, but this year was particularly intriguing.
Like every year, a handful of guys missed out on free agency due to the franchise tag. Defensive ends Frank Clark of Seattle and Jadeveon Clowney of Houston both received $17.1 million in franchise tags. Dallas DE DeMarcus Lawrence was franchised for $20.5 million. KC franchised DE Dee Ford, then traded him to the 49ers.
Nick Foles to Jacksonville: Whether or not Nick Foles is actually good may be debated forever. But the Jaguars’ opinion is the only one that matters, and they view him as the QB of the future. Foles was never able to beat out Carson Wentz in an open competition, but he was an unbelievable backup. In stints where he had to fill in the last two years, Foles won a Super Bowl and then had a nice run in year two. Philly could not keep him, considering you cannot pay two quarterbacks starter salaries. Jacksonville inherited him, but was it a good idea? First off, his contract will pay an average of $22 million, before it incentives. That’s more than the likes of Cam Newton, Philip Rivers, and Russell Wilson, all better players. But when you consider that relatively unproven Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo are making roughly $28 mil, Foles’ contract does not seem so bad. Timing is everything, as QB salaries are constantly rising. So the contract is actually a bargain by current standards. Desperation was also a factor here. Jacksonville found a way to be a contender despite bad QB play by Blake Bortles a couple years ago. This past season, however, his play went from bad to hideous. Tom Couglin is running this team, and he is insanely competitive. So the desire to not become a laughingstock is a good justification for an arguably rash decision. This is a risky decision, but it is actually very sensible. The team is unlikely to gain a high enough draft pick to get their quarterback of the future, so Foles is the perfect stopgap. The four year contract should likely take him through the remainder of his prime. Even if he stinks, he cannot be worse than Bortles. So the Jags did what they had to do, now they’re crossing their fingers.
Kansas City Decline?:
What on earth is going on in Kansas City? Their already porous defense lost everyone of note, and the Tyreek Hill off-the-field situation now has the entire future of the team in question. Obviously they lost Kareem Hunt in the middle of last season, but the effect are still being felt. They signed Carlos Hyde, but he will only be effective in a two-back backfield if Damian Williams steps up. Most of their losses were on defense, which one could argue is a good thing. Their defense was abysmal last year despite having a good pass rush. They lost pass rushers Dee Ford and Justin Houston, and did almost nothing to replace him. Despite being a good run stopper, newly signed DE Alex Okafor adds very little around the edge. With that said, they looked to have improved the secondary. Adding S Tyrann Mathieu should be a huge upgrade. He is a star who can make highlight plays. He had injury issues earlier in his career, but since he played all sixteen games the last two seasons that is no longer a concern. Despite his physical ability, it is unlikely he will replace the leadership of Eric Berry. Berry was the heart and soul of the team, but his age was creeping up. Cornerback Bashaud Breeland joined on a one year, $5 million dollar deal. He is still a good player, and this is a low risk signing. Despite this, it feels like too much change in one offseason. It will be hard for all these new pieces to mesh.
OBJ TRADE:
The football world was stunned when Odell Beckham Jr was traded from the Giants to the Browns for the 17th and 95th picks in the upcoming draft, as well as safety Jabrill Peppers. The Giants were ridiculed for this trade, but I think the return was actually pretty good. Peppers made huge strides in his second season last year. Despite being true strong safety, he was switched to free safety his rookie year and looked lost. In year two he went back to his natural position and looked much better. He was a superstar and Heisman Finalist at Michigan, so I believe he will be a solid replacement for Landon Collins (who signed with the Redskins). The 17th pick may seem too low, but Giants GM Dave Gettleman’s affinity for linemen will make it work. This is a draft chock full of linemen, so he will likely be able to get one of good value with that pick. If not, he can use it on a QB like Daniel Jones or Drew Lock if he does not like Dwayne Haskins.
Personal relationships often dictate the decisions that GMs make, not unlike most other workplaces. It appears that is what happened with Odell Beckham Jr. with the Giants. His countless cryptic tweets, his ESPN tell-all interview, and seemiing to not try to play through a minor injury made him expendable to GM Dave Gettkeman. He cannot stand divas, and new face-of-franchise Saquom Barkley is the furthest thing from that. Odell had become more trouble than he was worth. The trade was odd because the contract extension he got last year meant the Giants had to swallow a cap hit. That hot is only for this season however, so it will not be a hinderance long term. Plus, having a superstar receiver guarantees nothing. Randy Moss and Julio Jones came close, but it is rare that a Super Bowl champion has a receiver of that caliber. Quarterbacks, pass rushers, and defensive backs tend to have more of an individual impact. Had the giants won more than five games each of the last two years, maybe my take would be different. I cannot, however, kill the team for moving on when the have to make big changes to change their fortunes. Finally drafting a quarterback needs to be the next step, for the love of God. For Beckham, hopefully reuniting with his BFF Jarvis Landry helps him get his mind right. But considering he’s still acting weird all over social media, this team in Cleveland could implode quickly.
Antonio Brown trade:
OBJ was not the only high profile receiver to get traded recently. Antonio Brown got his wish of getting traded from Pittsburgh, and getting a new contract on arrival. His new team, the Raiders, have been a mess lately, so I do not expect this to work at all. QB Derek Carr was being called a busy by some a year ago, I’m not sure if the have a home stadium for next year, and Jon Gruden is a nutcase. Whether or not Ben Roethlisberger is a good leader, AB violates every piece of locker room code imaginable when he didn’t play in a must win game at the end of last year. His off-putting acts off the field are a red flag too. The Raiders may have brought him in for publicity, or simply because they have no talent at the position. But it makes trading Amari Cooper look dumb because he was a model citizen. And it makes trading Khalil Mack look mindless, although I softly defended the trade last year. The bottom line is that Mack is a gameplan-wrecker who can impact a game by himself. Remember what I said before about elite receivers? By the way, Brown is 30 years old. Beckham is only 26.
Le’veon Bell (and other moves by the Jets): The Steelers ridded themself of another headache by refraining from using the franchise tag on RB Le’veon Bell and letting him become a free agent. Bell held out all of last season due to the frustration of being overused and not being rewarded with a long term deal. It was a bold decision since he missed out on the franchise tag money, but the astronomical 406 touches he had the year before made his position understandable. The Jets got him for $52.5 million over four years, with $35 million guaranteed. Bell did not exactly reset the running back market like he had hoped, but the guarantee was significantly more than the five year deal he turn down from the Steelers. Bell’s contract is a bargain theoretically, since his initial demands were way more. With that said, he’s the second highest paid back in the league, and he has not played for a year. He is allegedly in great shape, but we will see.
Bell may not be a sure thing, but the Jets made plenty of noise this offseason. New coaching staff, new uniforms, new players. GM Mike Maccagnan is entering what could be his last year if things do not change, so he clearly swung for the fences. Outside of Bell, they made a few big splashes on defense. C.J. Mosley signed for five years, $85 million ($51 mil guaranteed). Mosley was a beast in Baltimore, racking up 388 tackles and four Pro Bowls in five years. Baltimore had the top defense in the league last season, so this is a huge upgrade at a position that made strides after signing Avery Williamson a year ago. Star inside linebackers are less bountiful than outside pass rushers, so that is likely the justification for the exorbitant contract.
Jamison Crowder is a nice addition at receiver, rounding out a position group which should have good depth. They also acquired former All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele from the Raiders via trade, a move that went under the radar. The Jets still have some needs, most likely to be addressed in the draft. They are very thin at cornerback and center. They still need a pass rusher as well, complicated by Anthony Barr agreeing to come there and then changing his mind. Although the team is not perfect, this should be an exciting year. Assuming Darnold improves and these changes work out, this could be the start of a legitimate rebuild.
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