NFL Offseason - Teams other than the Northeast Three

[Husky25]

Because the NFL is a coast-to-coast league, the calendar is year round, and folks are fans of teams outside their local region, it might be helpful to have a central repository instead of hijacking the Patriots, Giants, or Jets threads from time to time.

 

[Husky25]

I'll start with Washington.

They've traded for Deebo Samuel and only gave up a 5th. Then traded for Laremy Tunsil for a legit rock at Left Tackle. I thought they gave up too much (2 2025 picks and 2 2026 picks, including a 2nd rounder), but this one trade solidifies two positions along the OL, because it frees up 2024 3rd rounder DitR, Brandon Coleman, from playing out of position. I'm also feeling a little better after listening to Logan Paulsen, who feels that Adam Peters can compile draft capital through other means.

Besides their own (Bates, Wagner, Ertz so far), the first FA signed was Javon Kinlaw, DL. Big body who did not work out for the Jets. He will be a rotational piece along with Payne, Newton, Baptiste, and whoever they pick up in the Draft.

Washington lost Cornelius Lucas, swing tackle, to the Browns for $10M. Short money for a quality piece, but I think playing time was a significant factor in him leaving.

Safety Jeremey Chinn's name seemed to always be in the game recaps last year, and it wasn't for negative reasons. He went to Las Vegas for double the money/year he made last season, but half the money LV was paying the guy he is replacing. Tough to see him go, but Washington's defense, particularly against the run, was not good enough to run it back with the same personnel. Logan Paulsen seems to think Chinn is replaceable.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'll start with Washington.

They've traded for Deebo Samuel and only gave up a 5th. Then traded for Laremy Tunsil for a legit rock at Left Tackle. I thought they gave up too much (2 2025 picks and 2 2026 picks, including a 2nd rounder), but this one trade solidifies two positions along the OL, because it frees up 2024 3rd rounder DitR, Brandon Coleman, from playing out of position. I'm also feeling a little better after listening to Logan Paulsen, who feels that Adam Peters can compile draft capital through other means.

Besides their own (Bates, Wagner, Ertz so far), the first FA signed was Javon Kinlaw, DL. Big body who did not work out for the Jets. He will be a rotational piece along with Payne, Newton, Baptiste, and whoever they pick up in the Draft.

Washington lost Cornelius Lucas, swing tackle, to the Browns for $10M. Short money for a quality piece, but I think playing time was a significant factor in him leaving.

Safety Jeremey Chinn's name seemed to always be in the game recaps last year, and it wasn't for negative reasons. He went to Las Vegas for double the money/year he made last season, but half the money LV was paying the guy he is replacing. Tough to see him go, but Washington's defense, particularly against the run, was not good enough to run it back with the same personnel. Logan Paulsen seems to think Chinn is replaceable.

My sense with Washington is urgency. They need to catch the Eagles. They filled some holes and should be very good. But I think deals like the Tunsil trade will shorten their window. I understand they need to do it while they have Daniels on a rookie contract.

 

[Deepster]

2 teams that have been surprisingly quiet.

1) Kansas City. The only news of note has been backup type bench strength guys. Kelce's tank is just about empty and Worthy just made headlines for the wrong reasons. Hopkins signed in Baltimore. They've gotten away with piecemealing parts together and being very successful, but I feel like the league is catching up to them and they need to get some real talent.

2) Dallas. What are they doing? They dropped the bag of money on Dak and Ceedee and now for the 2nd straight year have been quiet in FA to surround them with anything. Oh and the Eagles and Redskins are now noticeably ahead of them in talent and future. And there's no way Jerry ever will do a rebuild at his age. It feels to me like now would have been the time to make a huge FA spending spree and focus hard for something in the next 2 years. Jerry is 82 right now.

 

[HuskyHawk]

2 teams that have been surprisingly quiet.

1) Kansas City. The only news of note has been backup type bench strength guys. Kelce's tank is just about empty and Worthy just made headlines for the wrong reasons. Hopkins signed in Baltimore. They've gotten away with piecemealing parts together and being very successful, but I feel like the league is catching up to them and they need to get some real talent.

2) Dallas. What are they doing? They dropped the bag of money on Dak and Ceedee and now for the 2nd straight year have been quiet in FA to surround them with anything. Oh and the Eagles and Redskins are now noticeably ahead of them in talent and future. And there's no way Jerry ever will do a rebuild at his age. It feels to me like now would have been the time to make a huge FA spending spree and focus hard for something in the next 2 years. Jerry is 82 right now.

Dallas is a disaster. Every instinct they have is wrong. They are messing it up with Parsons.

Chiefs landed the best guard on the market, even if it was their own guy. They got a new starting left tackle after having to use LG Thuney there last year. I suspect that last year's rookie LT will shift to LG and take Thuney's old spot. Fulton brought in a CB opposite McDuffie. Mahomes just restructured so they now have some space to do more. But teams like this are supposed to lose talent.

Bengals are the Cowboys of the AFC. Could have extended Chase and waited, now it will cost them. Same with Tee. Same with Hendrickson. They may now lose two of them and not get much back. Higgins should have been traded. Teams trying to carry two high $ WRs are doomed. Keep one, fill with rookie contract guys and cheap vets.

 

[Deepster]

Dallas is a disaster. Every instinct they have is wrong. They are messing it up with Parsons.

Chiefs landed the best guard on the market, even if it was their own guy. They got a new starting left tackle after having to use LG Thuney there last year. I suspect that last year's rookie LT will shift to LG and take Thuney's old spot. Fulton brought in a CB opposite McDuffie. Mahomes just restructured so they now have some space to do more. But teams like this are supposed to lose talent.

Bengals are the Cowboys of the AFC. Could have extended Chase and waited, now it will cost them. Same with Tee. Same with Hendrickson. They may now lose two of them and not get much back. Higgins should have been traded. Teams trying to carry two high $ WRs are doomed. Keep one, fill with rookie contract guys and cheap vets.

The Metcalf contract really screwed the Bengals. I’d take both Higgins and Chase over Metcalf right now.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Metcalf contract really screwed the Bengals. I’d take both Higgins and Chase over Metcalf right now.

The Bengals screwed the Bengals. They could have extended Chase a year ago for much less. The whole attempt to keep Higgins was misguided. Should have traded him for picks, drafted a WR last year in an epic WR draft and they'd be in good shape now. Should have extended Hendrickson too, but now Crosby's new deal inflated that cost as well. Just a badly run organization. They thought they were on the cusp of a Super Bowl and kicked the can down the road.

In the smart team category, the 49ers are trending up. If they can move Aiyuk for a 2nd they will be in a really good position to quickly revamp the team. Sometimes you just have to admit that the window is closed for a year or so.

 

[Husky25]

My sense with Washington is urgency. They need to catch the Eagles. They filled some holes and should be very good. But I think deals like the Tunsil trade will shorten their window. I understand they need to do it while they have Daniels on a rookie contract.

I don't think that is the case just yet. Albeit being among the teams with the least number of 2025 players signed, Washington had the 3rd highest amount of cap room entering free agency, a position that affords them a mistake or two.

Needs entering Free Agency were OL, DL (incl. Edge), LB, CB, WR. They've addressed OL (steep price pick-wise, but trading for Tunsil addresses two front five positions). and DL (Detrick Wise and Kinlaw), CB (Jonathan Jones), and WR to an extent. Samuels was a good pick-up for the cost, but is also not a traditional #2. Dyami Brown earned a larger contract with his late season play, but at $10M not with Washington. They could bring back Noah Brown and have Luke McCaffrey waiting in the wings, but WR2 is still up in the air.

Losing Chinn created a need at safety, so they brought in Will Harris pretty quick after Chinn walked. Washington also has young safeties ready to fill the rotation.

FA is not over by any extent, Washington only has 5 picks (of which are in the top 100, and still have needs at Edge, WR, LB (Neither Wagner, nor Luvu are getting younger), and OL (can never have too many), They make moves to get more late round picks, in which case a RB flyer could be in the works. They re-signed 3rdD Rodriguez, and McNichol, but 4th year Robinson is rumored to be on the chopping block and an aging, injury-prone Eckler is no longer an every down back.).

 

[Deepster]

Well. Looks like Cincy is going to try and win their way 48-45 every week. Not sure they can win their division with the Ravens there but I will sure be betting lots of Overs for the Bengals this season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well. Looks like Cincy is going to try and win their way 48-45 every week. Not sure they can win their division with the Ravens there but I will sure be betting lots of Overs for the Bengals this season.

Good luck with that model. They don't even have a good offensive line. Or RBs or Tight Ends. Teams need to know when to turn an asset into picks and Tee last year was that time.

 

[Husky25]

 

[Deepster]

I don't want to look back and see posts where I gushed over Rodgers......but I will say, I'm loving the fact that.....

a) I don't have to follow every tweet or bit of info guessing what he's going to do.....
b) The Jets made him fly cross country to basically fire him in person in a 15 minute meeting.

 

[Husky25]

Washington is in the unusual position (for them) of being at the back end of the draft, yet with multiple needs. They can take BPA and feel fairly comfortable it will fill one of them. OTOH, they only have 5 picks going into Thursday. A late 1st may only be worth a 2nd and 4th. On the other hand, the value in this draft is in the Friday and early Saturday selections. Trading back may be the way to go.

If they can't find a trade partner, they have the luxury of watch teams reach for need in the middle of the 1st round and under-draft BPA to start for years to come.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Bears are reportedly very interested in moving up to pick Jeanty. Seems the Jags also want him at #5. So that should be pretty interesting. Ben Johnson clearly had a very strong RB room in Detroit and wants to replicate that. Could really shift a lot if that happens.

 

[Husky25]

The Jags gave up way too much for Hunter and Cleveland landed Mason Graham. For a team that was at the bottom of the cap tracker at the end of the 2024 league year, this is how it's done. The Browns now have 4 picks in the middle rounds, where the value is this year. If I wasn't so down on their management, coaching staff and, QB situation, they'd be a nice follow this season.

I've already given my thoughts on the Giants. I think they did well, which means they probably gave John Mara a different address.

I've also given my thoughts on Campbell recently.

The Washington pick was not expected, but both the local beat and national writers writers like it. The lowest early reaction is by Pete Prisco at B-. I thought they would go Edge or trade out. They are apparently really high on Josh Conerly. He will evidently enter training camp in the mix at right tackle, even with limited exposure on that side. He'll be the 2nd string swing tackle at the very least to start and is a replacement for Laremy Tunsil a little down the road.

 

[Deepster]

I'm not sure if you thought of this, but the haul the Browns got from the Jags? I'm pretty sure that would have been what the Pats could have gotten if they didn't win that meaningless game against the Buffalo second string. Thanks, Mayo!

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm not sure if you thought of this, but the haul the Browns got from the Jags? I'm pretty sure that would have been what the Pats could have gotten if they didn't win that meaningless game against the Buffalo second string. Thanks, Mayo!

Everyone thought of it immediately. Would have been even better for Ward most likely. Nobody is happy with Mayo for winning that game.

I like the Browns trade. There are QBs next year that will be better than any in this draft. They get a bedrock DT, plus more picks, plus an extra 1st in what will be a stronger draft next year. Basically they have to sacrifice 2025 for the mistake of the Watson deal, but once they do they should be in pretty good shape.

 

[Husky25]

Now this is a front office in sync with its field management.

 

[Husky25]

New England and NYG up top. NYJ at 13. Washington t19 because they only had 5 picks. Pay no attention that the late round picks were traded for quality NFL veterans, who are automatically better than 3rd day lottery tickets.

 

[Husky25]

Not the same player he was with Denver. Heck, he won't be the same player he was in Buffalo, but this helps both of the teams that I follow. Miller has a ton of experience and he will be an immediate leader wherever he plays in the front 7.

 

[Husky25]

I don't think he is a $30M a year level WR. He's never been that level of player. Certainly not for more than say 2 years. I'd say 4 years at about $26 seems right. He has a distorted view of where he is compared to others.

His Receiving yards ranks by year
2024 - 15
2023 - 28
2022 - 10
2021 - 20

Not in a vacuum, but neither the sport, nor business exists in a vacuum. Ordinarily I'd agree with you and my thanks to Cinci was in Jest. Tee Higgins just got $29M AAV as a WR2 (No argument can be made that Higgins is better than Ja'Marr.).

McLaurin has been Washington's WR1 since his second season and all due respect to Sam Howell, but last season was his first with a bonafide QB1 all season with the talent to back it up. Lo and behold, McLaurin was an All-Pro (AP 2nd Team). Speaking of Higgins, McLaurin had more receptions, yards, targets, TDs, Rec of 20+ yards, and was more durable. All without a bonafide #2. Zach Ertz probably came closest.

Washington does not have a go-to receiver without McLaurin. Luckily for them, McLaurin is a team guy. Otherwise he would not have signed two years ago. So while his fantasy stats indicate WR2, Washington needs McLaurin more than he needs them.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not in a vacuum, but neither the sport, nor business exists in a vacuum. Ordinarily I'd agree with you and my thanks to Cinci was in Jest. Tee Higgins just got $29M AAV as a WR2 (No argument can be made that Higgins is better than Ja'Marr.).

McLaurin has been Washington's WR1 since his second season and all due respect to Sam Howell, but last season was his first with a bonafide QB1 all season with the talent to back it up. Lo and behold, McLaurin was an All-Pro (AP 2nd Team). Speaking of Higgins, McLaurin had more receptions, yards, targets, TDs, Rec of 20+ yards, and was more durable. All without a bonafide #2. Zach Ertz probably came closest.

Washington does not have a go-to receiver without McLaurin. Luckily for them, McLaurin is a team guy. Otherwise he would not have signed two years ago. So while his fantasy stats indicate WR2, Washington needs McLaurin more than he needs them.

I think every team in the league would take Higgins over Terry. Higgins receptions, yards etc. are lower because of Chase. He's much younger and WR tend to decline quickly after 30. I can totally see Terry wanting a raise from $22.5 to say $25-26/year. I think Washington would give that to him. Paying him $30 /Yr means paying him like a top 5 WR and he isn't that, never has been and certainly wouldn't be that now at age 30.

 

[Husky25]

I think every team in the league would take Higgins over Terry. Higgins receptions, yards etc. are lower because of Chase. He's much younger and WR tend to decline quickly after 30. I can totally see Terry wanting a raise from $22.5 to say $25-26/year. I think Washington would give that to him. Paying him $30 /Yr means paying him like a top 5 WR and he isn't that, never has been and certainly wouldn't be that now at age 30.

Doesn't matter. Cinci reset the market with Higgins, just like the Giants stupidly reset the market with Daniel Jones' ridiculous contract.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Doesn't matter. Cinci reset the market with Higgins, just like the Giants stupidly reset the market with Daniel Jones' ridiculous contract.

Yes, but how does that affect Terry? Higgins is due a bigger contract than Terry would be and is below $30 overall. So even the new market for Terry is maybe $28/year at max.

 

[Husky25]

Yes, but how does that affect Terry? Higgins is due a bigger contract than Terry would be and is below $30 overall. So even the new market for Terry is maybe $28/year at max.

It affects McLaurin in the same manner Daniel Jones' ridiculous contract affected the percieved value of every QB who signed after. Jones was the 3rd highest paid QB at the time of his deal, and in a, "who-didn't-expect-that (other than the Giants and their fans)?" kinda way, the Giants proved that giving a mediocre (at best) player $40M does not a superstar make.

Higgins might be worth $28.5M to other teams, but as a WR1. Re-signing with Cinci knowing he is a (fragile) WR2, sets the market that much higher for everyone else. Any agent worth their salt would take advantage of that (as McLaurin's are).

Anyhow, my guess is they are not far apart on money, per se. Besides, Washington's looking pretty decent cap-wise. I heard recently that length and guaranteed money might be the sticking points, but my guess they will settle somewhere in the DK Metcalf neighborhood ($31-32M AAV, incl. signing bonus/4 years, with an out after 2. 2/3-3/4 guaranteed.).