It’s Super Bowl Sunday! All the trades, signings, draft selections, coaching hires, front office additions, game-planning, and practice sessions have led to this: Super Bowl LII between the Eagles and Patriots. New England will have tight end Rob Gronkowski available after he suffered a concussion in the AFC Championship Game, but the club is expected to lose coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia to head coaching jobs once the contest concludes. Philadelphia, meanwhile, will go into today’s game with backup quarterback Nick Foles, and they too could lose a respected staffer — quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo — following the Super Bowl. And by the way: Brandin Cooks was nearly an Eagle!
Redskins trade for a new quarterback. Kirk Cousins always seemed unlikely to return to the nation’s capital in 2018, so Washington found itself a new QB by trading for the Chiefs’ Alex Smith. The Redskins gave up a 2018 third-round pick and promising young cornerback Kendall Fuller (and inked Smith to a four-year, $94MM extension), but they now have a quarterback in place for the foreseeable future. Reports today have indicated Washington could still franchise tag Cousins again despite having acquired Smith, but that’s likely an empty threat.
…but the Jaguars will stick with their signal-caller. Jacksonville is planning to retain Blake Bortles and his $19MM+ salary in 2018, but the team likely doesn’t have much of a choice. Bortles recently underwent wrist surgery, meaning he may not be able to pass a physical by the time the new league year rolls around in March. If that’s the case, his injury guarantees will kick in, meaning Bortles will collect his base salary (which is courtesy of his exercised fifth-year option) whether he’s on the Jaguars’ roster or not.
Ravens plan front office transition. Ozzie Newsome has been leading Baltimore’s front office since the Ravens’ inception in 1996 (although he didn’t officially become the NFL’s first African-American general manager until 2002), and has led the club to continued success and two Super Bowl titles during that time. While Newsome will remain with the organization as an adviser, longtime assistant GM Eric DeCosta — who has consistently turned down interviews with other teams around the NFL — will take charge of personnel after the 2018 campaign.
Cardinals expected to cut Adrian Peterson. While Peterson has claimed he’d like to play four-to-five more years in the NFL, it likely won’t be in Arizona, as the Cardinals are likely to release the future Hall of Famer this offseason. Arizona acquired the 33-year-old Peterson from the Saints at midseason, but he managed only 3.5 yards per carry on 129 rushes and scored twice in the desert. With superstar David Johnson returning from injury, the Cards don’t have a pressing need for a back like Peterson.