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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

The Zack Martin restructure gets the Cowboys under the cap, but doesn't give them much wriggle room to sign guys. They seem willing to let Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz walk. Losing two starting offensive linemen and not shopping for replacements is interesting. They've got a lot of free agents also and there's no real money at this moment to re-sign them. 

 

The Cowboys are going to be an interesting team to watch as they try to assemble a roster this year. They can shuffle more money around to create some opportunities, but if they wait until August to address Dak's contract, as currently believed, the money they gain then won't help a lot as the better players around the league will all be under contract and in camps.

 

I guess the plan is to grab discarded veterans who got beaten out by kids in camp. That fits with JJ's preference for "name" players, but there's typically a reason a guy gets beaten out of a job in camp, and as a playoff team, the Cowboys will be pretty far down on the waiver claims list. Guys they want may get claimed by others before them. It's going to be an interesting year in Dallas.

 

The Eagles are in pretty good shape heading into free agency. They're talking with Brandon Graham about a new deal that should get settled pretty quickly. He wants to stay in Philly and the Eagles want him to stay. Avonte Maddox got cut, but he and the Eagles are still talking and he might be back on a prove-it type of deal. He's a good player, just always injured. Boston Scott could be back on a one-year deal again. Sua Opeta and Jack Driscoll, two backup o-linemen might come back. Both have played okay when given the chance, but teams are figuring out that guys on the o-line who play well here, flop when they leave. Andre Dillard being the latest guy to leave and flop with the Titans.

 

I would expect linebacker Shaun Bradley to be back. He's coming off a torn Achilles but had won a starting job in camp before tearing the Achilles. I doubt that many other teams will overwhelm him with an offer given his health status. 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

[ Edited ]

@gardenman 

 

GM Jerry Jones has placed his Cowboys in a quandary for sure, much to the delight of non-Cowboy fans..A dismantled oline and with Pollard as a FA,  no running game either, not good for Dak and that offense...Jerry has to find ways to get Parsons and Lamb signed, and with the mess their cap is in WR Gallup could be cut as a casualty which means one less weapon for Dak..... The Cowboys could designate him as a post-June 1st cut, which splits and pushes a significant amount of dead money until 2025. Instead of eating $13.05M in cap space now, the Cowboys would just deal with $4.35M. Most importantly, they'd open up $9.5M in cap space for the 2024 season.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

@Spurt 

 

The Cowboys aren't in the worst situation of any NFL team in terms of the cap, but they've got issues. The Cowboys and Bills are in a similar spot. Both expect to contend, but neither one can afford their current roster, let alone add to the roster, and both need help at multiple positions. The Bills have opted to cut a lot of players to create cap space and hope they can fill in with whatever they add in the draft. 

 

With both teams drafting in the latter half of the first round, it's trickier finding "sure thing" starters. You're largely hoping for the best. 

 

The Cowboys may have camp issues also if they don't extend their guys early. If they don't have extensions with guarantees in place for Dak, CeeDee, and Micah, would any of them report to camp and take the risk of getting injured? They won't want to go out in practice and tear an Achilles or ACL. The agents for all three guys should hold them out of OTAs and camp until they have a deal in place. 

 

JJ's apparent desire to wait until August to work out a deal for Dak means he expects Dak to show up for camp and put in a  week or two's work before getting a new deal. I wouldn't do that if I were Dak. 

 

You don't want to be Mike McCarthy and have Dak, CeeDee, and Parsons all sitting out camp due to contract issues that could have been, should have been solved earlier. You'd prefer to solve contract issues before they become issues.

 

I'm not sure I wouldn't try a Herschel Walker type of deal using Micah Parsons as Herschel Walker. Would Washington part with that second overall pick and more for Parsons? Maybe. Would the Bears give up pick nine and a boatload more picks for Parsons? At nine, JJ could draft one of the best edge rushers in the draft to replace Parsons at a much lower cost and save about $35 million in cap space going forward.

 

If JJ pays Dak, CeeDee, and Parsons, top of the league money ($60 million for Dak, $30 million for CeeDee, and $40 million for Parsons) that's $130 million or about half the current $255 million cap. On three players. You then have to divide the other half of the cap among fifty players. It's not an especially sustainable way to run an organization.

 

You can't trade Dak due to the stupid contract you gave him, so you're stuck with him. At least for this year. CeeDee is not the hottest tradeable commodity. You could get a mid-first-round pick for him, but you'd then need to use that pick to replace him. And of the big three, most expensive guys, that leaves Parsons. Dan Quinn knows him well and would drool at the prospect of him being a Commander. And God knows the Commanders could use an edge rusher since they traded their guys away last year.

 

That second-overall pick would have significant value for Dallas. They could hold it and draft Dak's lower-cost replacement for next year. They could trade down and pick up more draft picks, and maybe a player or two from a team desperate for a QB. It would give them lots of options and solve some of their problems. At least in terms of the salary cap. 

 

It's hard to see a way the Cowboys can sustain success if they pay all three guys at their fair market value. Having the league's highest-paid guys at three positions is a salary cap nightmare. Something has to give. The players won't take less than they're worth, so you either have to pay them or move on. Parsons is a highly valuable guy as a trade asset. Put him on the market and watch the offers roll in. You save about $40 million in cap space and gain a bunch of cheaper, younger players.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

CBS Sports lists the Colts as a potential landing spot for Tre'Davious White. That would be a huge deal if the Colts could manage it. A couple other teams are in the running, so White will probably find a new home soon. 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

The list of available free agents keeps shrinking as guys work out deals with their old teams. Chris Jones and Brandon Graham being two of the more recent signings. Jones got a big deal ($95 million guaranteed) while Brandon Graham settled for a four-million dollar deal to wind down his fifteen years with the Eagles.

 

Jerry Jeudy has moved on to the Browns who gave up a fifth and sixth-round pick for him. The Broncos are cleaning house. We'll probably see more signings and trades in the coming hours before free agency kicks off for real.

 

The Cowboys have given Michael Gallup permission to seek a trade. I'd be surprised if they got much for him, but losing the cap hit would help the Cowboys. He's got a $13+ million cap hit this year and then two years at $15+ million. If they can find a trade partner, it'll likely be one of those deals where the team getting Gallup will give the Cowboys a seventh-round pick and get back Gallup and a fifth-round pick. If they just cut him loose, they take a $13+ million dead cap hit, so finding someone to take him off their hands, even if they have to pay them to take him, would work out well for them. 

 

We'll start to hear all kinds of rumors starting around noon-ish tomorrow when the legal tampering period starts. Agents will be on the phone with teams finalizing deals they've laid the groundwork for up until now. Lots and I mean lots of stuff got worked out during the Combine. The agents there representing the kids also represent many of the free agents and "casual" conversations between the agents and GMs set the stage for what will start tomorrow.

 

There are lots of indicators of where guys will land. Kirk Cousins and his wife are reportedly house-shopping in Atlanta. That would imply he's going to end up a Falcon. Derrick Henry has reportedly bought a house near Dallas indicating he'll be a Cowboy or Texan. JJ would love to land Henry. He's as big a "name" back as there is these days. Given Mike McCarthy's desire to run the ball more, Henry would be a good fit. A tight squeeze with the cap, but doable. JJ's "all-in" statement could indicate a deal there.

 

Despite there being no official tampering up to this point, a lot of players seem to know where they're going. A whole lot of unofficial tampering takes place well in advance of the official tampering period. Players on one team will talk with free agents on another team and relay what they hear back to their agent and their GM. Their GM may relay word back via that player to the free agent of their possible interest and a ballpark contract figure. By the time the official tampering period starts, lots of stuff is all but done.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

[ Edited ]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

 

The Cowboys and Gallup's departure was foretold. I don't know how the Cowboys could squeeze in RB Derrick Henry without having to sacrifice other roster spots with subpar talent .....without a line who is going to block for Henry and protect Dak??? And Micah Parsons is starting to get a little bit irritated about his contract and has started to grumble and made a couple of negative comments..(he cited how much money is on some team's books for coaches, including fired coaches, but players can't get guaranteed contracts, its a scam,he said---but in Micah's case it has more to do with his lousy GM/OWNER, Jerry Jones overpaying some, but skimping on others)....There have even been rumors Parsons could thumb his nose at Jerry and follow his old coach to Washington......Now I doubt that will happen, more like his agent putting stuff out there in hopes of Jerry getting off his rearend and signing Parsons.....

 

Some are predicting Cousins will be the first QB dominio to fall..Top spots seem to be the Vikings or Falcons....One of the teams looking for a QB are the Giants who seem ready to move on from Daniel Jones sitting there at #6 they could make a move, but it looks like Barkley will be with a new team....they have 38 mill cap space...and he will want at least 10 mill. They have 7 draft picks to play with....

 

A player in the QB race, the Pats, their QB Mac Jones is going to the Jags....Pats pick 3rd and their replacement will more than likely come from the draft.....they also get a 6th round draft pick

 

Of course GM Howie has put the Eagles in a good spot....But will need to find replacements for Jason Kelce and now Fletcher Cox who just announced his retirement...

 

As far as Washington it's an exciting time to see what our new GM and staff will do....91 mill in Cap space will help, but the key dominoes will be oline and QB..then TE, DE, LB, S.....Fans that were polled said the only 2 players worth keeping were--WR Terry McLaurin, Punter Tress Way, maybe three---ST Jeremy Reaves (fan favorite and has a real heart for the game).......Now the cupboard isn't all bear as that---Brian Robinson, Dotson, Cosmi, Allen, Payne, Forrest, Fuller, are good players, but some need to be re-signed or age could be a factor in their release.....and 2nd yr players Rodriguez, Martin, Stromberg show promise....And I think it would be a mistake if they let Kam Curl go....

 

INTERESTING DAYS AHEAD!

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

Kevin Byard signed a two year deal with the Bears for 15 million.

 

Baker Mayfield is staying in Tampa. He has a three year deal with the Bucs for 100 million, 95 million guaranteed. I had a feeling that Baker would stay with the team; he had his best season with them. 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!


@teganslaw wrote:

Kevin Byard signed a two year deal with the Bears for 15 million.

 

Baker Mayfield is staying in Tampa. He has a three year deal with the Bucs for 100 million, 95 million guaranteed. I had a feeling that Baker would stay with the team; he had his best season with them. 


@teganslaw 

 

I'm so happy for Baker ---he found a team and offense that fits his style and so happy that both he and his favorite WR stayed in Tampa.  The Bakers are expecting a baby girl in April too. 

 

 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

A busy weekend before the chaos of free agency kicks off at noon today. Mayfield signed the three-year deal worth $115 million. Mac Jones is traded to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. Russell Wilson will be a Steeler. Fletcher Cox retired. And much, much more. This week will be a tad crazy with signings, trades, and whatnots.

 

Mac Jones to the Jags was unexpected. Doug Pederson apparently hopes to rebuild the kid. Jones is a Jacksonville native so maybe going back home will help him? He'll be a backup in Jacksonville and under less immediate pressure, but the kid has talent. He just needs to translate that to the field.

 

Mike Tomlin taking on Russell Wison is an interesting pairing. Wilson's new deal costs the Steelers $1.2 million with Denver paying $39 million so a win for the Steelers there. Wilson wasn't horrible for the Broncos last year and he should be better than Mason Rudolph. What this all means for Kenny Pickett will be interesting to see.

 

Three of the guys who could have been solutions for teams at QB are now off the market in Mayfield, Jones, and Wilson. That makes Kirk Cousins even more valuable with the consolation prizes at QB all largely gone.

 

We'll have to see if the Giants try to move Daniel Jones or if they opt to live with him and his contract one more year. Is Kenny Pickett now available? The Jets seem to want to move Zach Wilson. Is he now more valuable? (The Eagles reportedly loved Zach Wilson coming out in the draft, so he could be the new backup in Philly if the price is right.) 

 

Rosters are being shuffled like mad over the next few weeks as teams add and subtract players and their contracts.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2024!!!

The Colts signed LB Zaire Franklin to a three year 31.26 million contract extension. I'm glad that he is staying, and this contract doesn't cut into the cap salary. Good move. 

 

It looks like Kirk Cousins will test the market. I could be wrong, we'll see in a few days.

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