Only 51 weeks until next year's Super Bowl!
On Tuesday teams can start to apply franchise tags on guys they don't want to lose. I'm not sure we'll see any tags used this year. Maybe Tee Higgins? Tagging him twice in a row gets kind of pricey though. It would be better to work out a new deal with him than tag him. He's expected to get somewhere between $32 million and $35 million per year in free agency, so that's kind of the floor and ceiling for a new deal. If you're not willing to pay him at least $32 million, you're probably better off letting him go. His tag price is reportedly $26+ million, but he won't be happy being tagged two years in a row. Unhappy guys tend not to play as well as happy guys. Tag and trade is always an option too. Maybe their best option if they don't want to pay him.
A week from tomorrow the Combine kicks off. Expect lots of trade talk to take place since every team and team executive will be there. Cleveland will get lots of visits from other teams inquiring into Myles Garrett. They still insist he's not for sale, but that may be more for their fans' consumption than other teams. I suspect they'll work with Garrett to find him a new team that works for both the Browns and Garrett. The Browns will want draft picks/maybe players while also getting Garrett someplace he's happy.
Possible landing spots for Garrett are Philly, LA Rams, Cowboys, Commanders, Bills, Lions, Vikings, etc. There's some speculation that the Browns may try to package DeShaun Watson and Myles Garrett to get Watson's contract off their hands. "If you're taking our best player, we're going to make you take our worst one too!" That could be a deal breaker for a lot of teams.
March tenth (three weeks from tomorrow) the "legal tampering" period for free agents kicks off. Lots of semi-legal tampering has already taken place though. Agents use players already on teams to chat with their GM to see if that GM has any interest in a pending free agent. "Yo! Howie! What do you think about Higgins? I hear he might want to come here." I can't talk about a player who's not on the team. He's a special talent though. "So, what could a guy like that get in a deal?" Hypothetically, he could get a three-year $100 million deal without much trouble.
Agents will have more direct contact with teams at the Combine as they represent the kids at the Combine and more semi-legal tampering will take place.
It looks like Jerry Jones largely lost the war over the size of the Cowboys coaching staff. They still have eleven offensive coaches (same as last year.) Nine defensive coaches (same as last year). But just two special teams coaches, shedding one from last year. And they've also shed one strength and conditioning coach. I'm pretty sure JJ wanted to cut the staff by a lot more than just two guys.
Things are very quiet on the Eagles coaching changes. I suspect a lot's going on behind the scenes, but nothing has leaked out just yet. The easy option is to promote Kevin Patullo to the OC role. Doug Pederson, Frank Reich, and many others are also options. I would expect that to be filled by the coming weekend. They may have already filled it. We didn't learn the whole coaching staff last year until the OTAs started. The Eagles like to keep coaching stuff quiet. They may already have a new OC hard at work and we just don't know it.
Lots of players are getting cut loose as they don't fit into a team's plans going forward. The Dolphins led the way cutting three former starters. Other teams will be joining them soon. Roster bonuses typically kick in around the start of the new league year, so if you don't have plans for a guy, cut him before he gets his bonus. You'll see more cuts before too long.
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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