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NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

I forgot it was March already! Yikes! Lots of veteran players on the move as teams are cutting loose high-salary guys to create cap space.

 

Word is Chicago might look to bring in Alex Smith and reunite him with Nagy after their time together in KC. They could keep Foles as their backup should Alex Smith implode, but it would be an interesting move. Alex Smith is kind of like a statue in the pocket these days, His mobility is less than ideal so the Bears would need to solidify the line around him. Still, given the way things look, he might be a passable option for them. He is a good team leader and can still throw the ball. Foles was his backup in KC for a year so they have that going also.

 

This will be a busy month with free agency and the buildup to the draft. The Saints are an interesting team to watch with their QB situation. They seem to want to sign Jameis Winston to a deal, but if they let him hit free agency he could get lured away by a better deal. They can't really use the franchise tag on him as he's not a top-five caliber QB. They don't really have the cap space to get into a bidding war for him. I'd figured they'd find a way to work out a deal with him before now, but not yet. Given the number of teams still looking for a QB, they're likely to have to overpay him to keep him. 

 

More mock drafts are circulating than ever before and some still insist the Eagles will move up in the draft to get a good young QB. I think that's a smokescreen to try and get QB needy teams to trade up ahead of them and snatch a QB so a player they prefer falls into their lap. It's not unreasonable to see three or four QBs go in the first five picks. I think OL Penei Sewell will go to the Bengals (or maybe the Dolphins if they don't take a QB) and the Eagles will have their pick of quality receivers or cornerbacks. The more teams ahead of the Eagles that draft a QB means more good players slip down.

 

One of the guys on the Eagles' BGN fan posts has concocted a scenario where the Eagles trade out of this year's draft completely trading every pick for multiple picks and then trading some of those picks for still more picks and he ended up with the Eagles having something like 100 picks in the 2022 draft. It's an interesting approach, but not overly realistic. Most of the picks end up being in the fifth and sixth round where talent is a tad harder to find. Granted, we're not doing so well in the early rounds anyway but this is a bit extreme. Still, it makes as much sense as some mock drafts you'll see.

 

The Cowboys seem intent on just letting the Dak Prescott circus continue on. If they don't work out a deal, this time next year will be quite interesting for them. Another year on the tag would give Prescott $54+ million in 2022 then something like $77+ million in 2023. They really need to make a decision as to what the heck they're doing with him. They pretty much have to just roll over and give him what he wants, or seriously think about the old tag and trade angle. If they let him pay this year on the tag and the Cowboys patch together enough of a defense to get to the playoffs and Dak performs well all season, what's his asking price going to be then? His floor then jumps to $54+ million a year.

 

I think they've reached a point where they have to move on. Their defense will need three to four years to be playoff-caliber. Assuming everything goes right. In the right tag and trade scenario, they could get players or picks to speed up that timeline. If they made a move with the Jets or Dolphins they could get up high enough to snag a top-two or three QB in the draft and get a bit more right away. The Jets have around $70 million in cap space so they could sign Dak to a big deal with little trouble. The Cowboys could grab a Justin Fields as their new QB and he'd be affordable for five years. They'd likely also keep their own pick at ten and have maybe an extra pick or two later in the draft. They'd save $30+ million in cap space, get a good young QB at an affordable price, and have picks to help rebuild the defense.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

The latest news is that the Bears might have a massive deal available to get DeShaun Watson. No details on what the deal involves or if it is actually happening rather than just speculation. The article said that Allen Robinson would have to stay with Chicago in order for this to be finalized. Trubisky will be a free agent, and it looks like he will be moving on.

 

The Raiders say that they're happy with Derek Carr, so he will most likely stay in Vegas. 

"The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog."

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

Lots of players are being cut so teams can get under the cap. The Giants cut loose Golden Tate and David Mayo. The Saints flushed two-thirds of their tight ends. League experts expect an unprecedented bloodletting this year between veterans being cut and trades.

 

The Eagles are reworking contracts all over the place. They're currently working on something with Brandon Graham so they can keep him around but save $7+ million in the process.

 

If you've got cap space and were a good shopper, you could pretty much build a solid team from some of the guys being cut loose this year.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!


@gardenman wrote:

Lots of players are being cut so teams can get under the cap. The Giants cut loose Golden Tate and David Mayo. The Saints flushed two-thirds of their tight ends. League experts expect an unprecedented bloodletting this year between veterans being cut and trades.

 

The Eagles are reworking contracts all over the place. They're currently working on something with Brandon Graham so they can keep him around but save $7+ million in the process.

 

If you've got cap space and were a good shopper, you could pretty much build a solid team from some of the guys being cut loose this year.


@gardenman 

 

I heard the Raiders are happy with your former Eagle, Agholor, and would like to re-sign him when he becomes a FA in a couple of weeks......

 

GM Mike Mayock said---“Nelly’s one of my favorite people in the whole world. When I lived in Philadelphia, I did the Eagles preseason games and Nelly was an Eagle. I was familiar with his work ethic and appreciated him back then. What he brought to the Raiders last year was off the charts. He brought a work ethic, a toughness, he brought the young guys along with him, and he brought productivity and trust with our quarterback. So all of those things he brought, we don’t want to lose. We’d love to have Nelly back. That’s a guy that I can’t tell you how much appreciation I have for.”

 

 

And now for the "bad" in the locker room...😄....Agholor did reportedly tell his teammates they sucked after the club suffered a stunning loss to the Dolphins in Week 16, so it’s yet to be determined how much Agholor would like to return to Las Vegas. Still, he was undoubtedly productive for the Raiders. 

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

In some lighter news: Baker Mayfield said that he saw a UFO near Lake Travis, Texas. He and his wife, Emily, were leaving a restaurant  when they claimed to see some object in the sky. There could be any explanation for the sighting, but thought I that was interesting. 

 

@Spurt , it's not your area, but have you seen anything like that in Texas?

"The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog."

Mark Twain
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

[ Edited ]

@teganslaw wrote:

In some lighter news: Baker Mayfield said that he saw a UFO near Lake Travis, Texas. He and his wife, Emily, were leaving a restaurant  when they claimed to see some object in the sky. There could be any explanation for the sighting, but thought I that was interesting. 

 

@Spurt , it's not your area, but have you seen anything like that in Texas?


@teganslaw 

 

Oh oh..... well Lake Travis is 13 miles from Austin and weird things do happen in Austin .....🤣🤣🤣  Or maybe it's Jerry Jones traveling around Texas in one of his newest "toys"....LOL

 

The only weird sightings we've ever seen is in Marfa which is in West Texas.....and they do have these mysterious colorful lights that no one can explain.....

  •  

    The Marfa Lights!----
    Where else in the world can you regularly see UFOs dancing across the horizon?! This is THE place to take in some extraterrestrial activity. Nobody has ever been able to explain how or why these magical lights flicker on and off, change colors, move around and divide and re-emerge. 


    These lights have been spotted since the 1800's, before the invention of car headlights, or incandescent lights were still a marvel. They used to think they were Cherokee Indians riding around, or gods descending from the heavens. Nobody knows what these lights are. Some say it's aliens, some say it's swamp gas,  how many swamps are around Marfa?!

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,629
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

[ Edited ]

@teganslaw @gardenman 

 

It looks like the NFL could be revisiting the overtime rules....some say they may bring back sudden death. A horrible idea....a lot of fans are saying that leaving the game in a tie would be better.

 

Also, it's rumored that the next wave of TV deals will make more liberal use of doubleheaders on Monday nights, creating another stand-alone game, Tuesdays and Wednesdays have worked during the pandemic....Although anti-trust exemptions prevent the NFL from playing on Fridays and Saturdays from Labor Day through Mid-December this could be challenged too....there could be a five-day gap or two to go along with the four-day short week that most teams currently endure once per year. Six-day gaps would become much more common, too, if a team plays on (for example) a Wednesday and then a Tuesday (and then a Monday and then a Sunday).

 

O/T--- due to the artic storm the pipe in my laundry room is leaking and there's a shortage of parts and plumbers right now so I had to do my wash at my sister's house.....She cut the cord and went with YouTube TV--Spectrum offered her a deal to keep her, but then removed it--- (She was satisified with You Tube TV but then they promptly pulled the Fox Sports Southwest Channel so she can no longer watch the Spurs games---they are working on a solution where she can buy the channel back at a hefty fee of course, but that wont be until next year)....Anyway, her live TV channels were very limited....she also has Hulu, she has a vast library of recorded shows....But I was not impressed, she's missing a lot of my favorite channels...$64.99 with buffering I might add, but she had to make some changes in her budget due to a job change....(her old job got to be unbearable, more work, and less co-workers to help).....Anyway, I think I'll stick with cable....

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

@teganslaw

I found out something the guy behind the mission to Mars, Musk, lives in Travis County maybe it was one of his vehicles
Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

@sunshine45

 

On the game show Master Minds one of the contestants played trumpet for the Ravens Marching Band.   She didn't get to the money round.  She mentioned only one of two teams that had a marching band.    LOL I know who the other team is 😉

 

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2021!!!

Apparently, the Seahawks have decided to move on from Russell Wilson and are taking calls on him. At least according to media reports. The Bears now seem to have jumped to the head of the line of the four teams he'd go to. (Largely because the other three teams have stepped back due to salary and compensation issues.)  I still think the Cowboys make the most sense. A QB swap could help both teams, but the Cowboys seem convinced they can eventually talk Dak into taking their contract offer. I'm not sure what Seattle plans to do for a QB if Wilson leaves. Geno Smith is the only guy on their active roster and Danny Etling and Alex McGough are the QBs on their reserve list. I'm not sure any of them are NFL caliber. 

 

The Eagles aren't tendering an offer to punter Cam Johnston, so he may be gone. He's been a lower-tier punter the last few years with an occasional thump of a kick but more often than not a middling kick. We have Australian Aaryn Siposs on the roster to replace him. If no one shows interest in Johnston he could come back at a lower price and compete with Siposs, but we'll have to see.

 

The Steelers have reworked Ben Roethlisberger's contract to reduce the $41+ million cap hit this year. That pretty much takes them out of the QB carousel unless a talented kid should fall far enough in the draft to catch their attention. With Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins in reserve, they're pretty much set for 2021 at QB. They can see if they can resurrect Haskins and he may take over in 2022.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!