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Offseason In Review: San Francisco 49ers

September 9th, 2024 at 9:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

As we reach the end of this year’s Offseason In Review journey, the defending NFC champions — who played the lead role in churning out summer content — close the show. After coming closer to winning a championship without actually doing so than anyone in the Super Bowl era, the 49ers completed a busy offseason.

Extensions and reworkings, one after an endless rumor spree that involved a handful of other teams, dominated a San Francisco offseason that also featured a key coaching change. Here is how the 2023 runners-up went about assembling their latest Super Bowl contender.

Extensions and restructures:

Amid the 49ers’ months-long Aiyuk odyssey, they rewarded the game’s most dynamic running back. As RB salaries stagnated ahead of a 2023 crisis point at the position, this year brought some relief for the market. Saquon Barkley secured $26MM fully guaranteed to top all backs. No player had approached McCaffrey’s $16MM-per-year AAV, however; that number topped position since the Panthers signed off on it in April 2020. But McCaffrey’s deal had paid out its guarantees ahead of the All-Pro’s age-28 season. The 49ers soon took care of the 2022 trade acquisition, raising the RB ceiling with a number unlikely to be approached in the near future.

McCaffrey now holds the RB AAV lead by $4MM, and his $24MM at signing trails only Barkley. Of course, CMC already played four seasons on the deal he inked with the Panthers to set himself up well despite playing a position with a notoriously short career span.

The second-generation NFLer proved a perfect fit in Kyle Shanahan‘s offense, giving Brock Purdy an unmatched backfield weapon as he began his QB1 run. The 49ers beat out the Rams by sending second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks for McCaffrey and saw tremendous return on investment last year, when the former top-10 draftee soared to Offensive Player of the Year acclaim.

McCaffrey’s rushing title (1,459 yards) was the franchise’s first since Hall of Famer Joe Perry in 1954, and the OPOY’s 21 total touchdowns led the league despite the 49ers resting him in Week 18. McCaffrey’s workload (1,806 career touches) and Carolina injury history certainly bring concerns entering Year 8, but he has shown the value a top-tier RB can provide a team and did well to secure money through 2025.

Although the deal runs through the 2027 season, it becomes a pay-as-you-go pact beyond 2025. It would cost the 49ers $12.8MM to move on from McCaffrey in 2026, but even if that happens, this will still be considered a successful partnership. The 49ers had kept RB costs low since their 2018 Jerick McKinnon deal did not pan out, but they will hope to again lean on the game’s most expensive ball-carrier as they attempt to win their first Super Bowl in 30 years.

This payment may well have provided a push for Williams to act regarding his contract, as he is by far the top player blocking for McCaffrey. The 49ers have constructed an offensive line that features only Williams tied to a deal worth more than $6MM per year, leaving the door open to this holdout due to the value the perennial All-Pro left tackle provides. A rumor about a potential Williams contract squabble surfaced in June, and the decorated blocker indeed followed through on an attempt to seek an update midway through his six-year deal.

Williams, 36, signed a six-year, $138MM contract in 2021, as the 49ers beat out the Chiefs to re-sign a player who would secure Hall of Fame entry on this contract. The former Washington top-five pick, a first-team All-Pro each year from 2021-23, had played out the guarantees on his contract. Despite the 49ers controlling Williams through 2026, they were dealing with a player who had already displayed conviction via his 2019 Washington standoff — one that ultimately keyed a 2020 trade to San Francisco. The 49ers’ O-line construction also brings Williams dependance, a blueprint reflected in the team’s 0-2 record without its stalwart LT last season.

Between missed practices and preseason games, this holdout cost Williams $5.39MM to wage. Although the CBA prevented the 49ers from waiving Williams’ fines like they did for Nick Bosa (due to the former being on a veteran contract), the holdout probably proved worthwhile for the 15th-year veteran. Williams’ updated deal added no new years but made him the NFL’s highest-paid tackle once again ($27.55MM per year) and made it nearly impossible for the 49ers to move on until at least 2026. Even then, the penalty would now be steep ($35.7MM).

With Williams confirming late last season he was not planning to retire, the 49ers will show faith he can deliver multiple additional seasons. With one more Pro Bowl nod, Williams — an 11-time Pro Bowler — can set the NFL tackle record.

Jennings’ agreement pointed to the 49ers splitting up their Aiyuk-Deebo Samuel pair in 2025, and with Aiyuk finally signed, Samuel trade rumors probably are not far away. A former seventh-round pick, Jennings has delivered strong value. The team attempted to replace Jennings with third-rounder Danny Gray, but Jennings has proven important in more ways than one. The ex-quarterback caught and threw a TD pass in Super Bowl LVIII, coming after a 361-snap season, and PFF rated him as the NFL’s third-best run-blocking receiver in 2023.

Previously given a second-round RFA tender, the 27-year-old role player is signed through 2025. He rounds out a deep receiving corps, should first-rounder Ricky Pearsall eventually factor into this season’s equation. Of course, this was a footnote compared to the next notable WR transaction the 49ers completed.

John Lynch said in February an Aiyuk extension would present challenges; this proved a good synopsis for the action-packed negotiations ahead. Discussions began in late March, but no movement between the parties occurred for months. This produced countless rumors about Aiyuk’s price points — in terms of AAV and guarantees — and invited other teams to inquire. Trade talks did not become serious until training camp, though the 49ers — as they did with Samuel during his 2022 impasse — discussed Aiyuk with teams during the draft. San Francisco wanted a mid-first-round pick for the second-team All-Pro; no team made such an offer, and by summer’s end, no team ultimately would.

During the sides’ negotiations, the wideout market shifted. When the parties began talking, one receiver was tied to a deal north of $30MM per year (Tyreek Hill). Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown joined that club in April, and Justin Jefferson reset the market in late May. CeeDee Lamb used the Jefferson deal to secure monster terms from the Cowboys following a holdout. The top two contracts on the market did not affect Aiyuk too closely, but the position’s ceiling rising as it did inflated asking prices for players not quite on that level. The Dolphins and Eagles respectively paying Jaylen Waddle ($28.25MM per year, $76MM guaranteed) and DeVonta Smith ($25MM AAV, $69.99MM guaranteed) shaped the Aiyuk talks as well.

These deals did not convince the 49ers to change their Aiyuk view for months; the team stood at a price between $26-$27MM per year until training camp. Aiyuk had aimed to land St. Brown-level money and targeted guarantees in the Brown range ($84MM). An ascending player, the 26-year-old talent still exited the 2023 season 17th in receiving yards in the 2020s. Aiyuk’s surface-level stats brought scrutiny regarding his demands.

The 2020 first-round pick, however, displayed high-end efficiency last season. His 1,342-yard year came on just 105 targets in the 49ers’ well-balanced offense. Aiyuk’s 3.01 yards per route run ranked third in the NFL last year, and his camp undoubtedly parlayed this efficiency — along with Aiyuk’s importance to a championship contender — into the late-August windfall.

Before reaching the finish line, the 49ers let Aiyuk shop around. Had he wanted to merely take the best deal, the Patriots (at $32MM per year, with Kendrick Bourne potentially coming back to San Francisco) may have been the trade partner. But Aiyuk did not want to be dealt to New England or Cleveland, the latter offering $30MM per and submitting an interesting package involving contract-year WR Amari Cooper along with second- and fifth-round picks. Although Aiyuk would have welcomed being dealt to the Commanders and reuniting with college teammate Jayden Daniels, they were not especially interested.

The Steelers — an Aiyuk draw largely due to Mike Tomlin‘s presence — became the “what if?” team, but their trade and extension offers underwhelmed both the 49ers and Aiyuk. Trade framework ultimately emerged, but the underwhelming proposals ended up bringing Aiyuk back to the table with the 49ers, who again turned a WR trade request into a summer extension. Of course, it took San Francisco upping its offer to $30MM per.

Pittsburgh not having a comparable receiver to trade for Aiyuk hurt its cause, leading San Francisco to contact other teams about what would have essentially been a three-team trade. Most notably, they offered the Broncos a third-rounder for Courtland Sutton. The Steelers offered second- and third-round picks for Aiyuk, but the 49ers being unable to flip the third they would have obtained for Sutton helped keep Aiyuk in the fold. Sitting on the same extension offer for two-plus weeks, Aiyuk accepted and is now the NFL’s sixth $30MM-per-year receiver.

Considering how difficult it would have been for the 49ers to replace their top outside receiver at this juncture, a late-summer trade never made much sense. Had the 49ers been rebuilding and determined to obtain the most value, Aiyuk is probably in the AFC now. For one more season at least, the 49ers’ four-All-Pro skill-position setup — which includes Samuel and George Kittle on through-2025 contracts — is intact. A likely Purdy 2025 extension threatens to split up the quartet after this season.

Free agency additions:

These signings seem like they occurred years ago, as the 49ers’ holdover contracts overshadowed their outside additions. But Floyd represents a key piece for a team that carried far less proven edge rushers opposite Bosa for a multiyear stretch. After washing out with the Bears, Floyd revitalized his career alongside Aaron Donald. Floyd’s Bills work, however, showed he was not merely a Donald creation.

The former top-10 Chicago pick matched his career high with 10.5 sacks last season, becoming a vital defender for a Bills team that did not see Von Miller display his 2022 form after a second ACL tear. Given a one-year, $7MM Buffalo deal, Floyd anchored the AFC East champs’ pass rush. He is in San Francisco due to an assist from offseason hire Brandon Staley, the ex-Rams DC who pushed for a reunion.

Floyd, who turned 32 on Sunday, has been one of the 2020s’ most consistent rushers. He has totaled between nine and 10.5 sacks in each of the past four seasons and tallied between 18 and 22 QB hits each year this decade. Teaming with Bosa and highly regarded D-line coach Kris Kocurek should allow Floyd to continue producing at this level.

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Offseason In Review: Dallas Cowboys

September 8th, 2024 at 8:30am CST by Sam Robinson

Perhaps the worst letdown in a string of Cowboys playoff misfortunes caused Jerry Jones to make Mike McCarthy a rare lame-duck HC and stall on a Dak Prescott extension. The longtime owner received steady criticism for letting the Prescott and CeeDee Lamb situations fester throughout the offseason, one that otherwise featured few veteran augmentations.

Rookies became needed to fill holes along Dallas’ offensive line, and constant questions about how the team plans to assemble a backfield came out. As usual, however, the Cowboys kept it interesting as they remain on the job of trying to end a near-30-year NFC championship game drought.

Extensions and restructures:

With Micah Parsons under contract through 2025 via the fifth-year option, the Cowboys’ three-headed contract quagmire became a Lamb-Prescott matter as this offseason progressed. In Cowboys fashion, negotiations with each generated numerous headlines. One holdout ensued. But the team did reach a resolution with one of the two standouts, moving first to pay Lamb after his first-team All-Pro season.

Shifting to the Cowboys’ go-to performer after the 2022 Amari Cooper trade, Lamb led the NFL in receptions last season and broke Michael Irvin‘s single-season records for catches and yards by tallying 135 grabs and 1,749 yards. Serious extension talks did not pick up until training camp. Lamb surfaced as an extension candidate in 2023, and it would have been cheaper to extend him then. Per COO Stephen Jones, Lamb was not interested in an extension in 2023. Whatever the case may be, the 25-year-old wideout enhanced his value by both dominating in 2023 and waiting for other receivers to move the market well past $30MM per year.

Exiting the 2023 offseason, only Tyreek Hill had secured a $30MM-per-year deal at wide receiver. Hill’s pact also deceived, as a phony final-year salary propped up the AAV. Lamb and Justin Jefferson sought legit structures, and by the time Dallas’ WR1 came to the table, three other wideouts — Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown — had moved past $30MM per annum. Jefferson’s $35MM-per-year deal that included $110MM guaranteed and $88.7MM guaranteed at signing played the biggest role in Lamb negotiations, just as it has in Ja’Marr Chase‘s Bengals talks.

Stephen Jones initially said Lamb was seeking to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, topping Jefferson, but quickly retracted it. Jerry Jones then said the team was not operating urgently with Lamb before backtracking, after Lamb took issue with the owner’s situational assessment. The Cowboys submitted a few offers to Lamb, initially coming in below $33MM per year and then moving between $33-$34MM on average before finally reaching $34MM per.

The Vikings’ landmark deal reset the WR guarantee market, and this booming market did not feature the kind of deals the Cowboys typically work out. Dallas has long preferred lengthier contracts — spanning at least five years — but receivers in recent offseasons had opted for three- and four-year extensions. Dallas both bent on term length, guarantees and eventually AAV.

After previously never giving a wideout more than $60MM guaranteed, the Cowboys rewarded Lamb — after a weeks-long holdout — with $100MM locked in and $67MM at signing. Those numbers placed the 2020 first-rounder comfortably in second at the position.

As many big-ticket extensions now feature, a rolling guarantee structure offers Lamb year-out protection. His 2026 base salary ($25MM) shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2025. Another $7MM for 2027 will shift from an injury guarantee to locked-in cash in 2026. The Cowboys used four void years packed with option bonuses to spread out Lamb’s cap hits; the extension saved the team more than $10MM in 2024 cap space.

[RELATED: Prescott Agreed To Four-Year, $240MM Extension On Sunday]

The Lamb holdout merely stood as a high-end undercard to Prescott’s main event. Dallas took this process to the wire — ahead of a soft Week 1 deadline — and is heading into rocky terrain with their ninth-year starter. After a rumor circulated indicating the Cowboys would be OK letting Prescott hit free agency next year, the team pushed back on it by insisting it wants to extend the former fourth-round find. Both team and player initially said a contract did not have to be done by Week 1, but Prescott later added that “it says a lot if it is or it isn’t.” This situation ran late into Saturday night, but Dak remains on the four-year, $160MM contract he signed in March 2021. As it stands, he is months from being one of the most coveted targets in free agency history.

The Cowboys are battling uphill against their quarterback, having given him extraordinary leverage thanks to a three-offseason negotiation that afforded the QB no-trade and no-franchise tag clauses. Dallas later completed multiple restructures, ballooning Prescott’s 2024 cap hit to $55.13MM and creating a $40.13MM dead money hit — thanks to void years — if he is not extended by the start of the 2025 league year.

Unless the 30-year-old passer receives a monster offer — the $60MM-per-year number has come up often — there is no reason for him to pass on approaching free agency. He did not shut down that path this summer.

Maligned due to his place as the centerpiece player on a team known for late-season shortcomings, Prescott is nevertheless coming off a second-team All-Pro season. The MVP runner-up bounced back from a down 2022 season, and if Kirk Cousins fetched $100MM in practical guarantees ahead of an age-36 season following Achilles surgery, Prescott would be in position to reset a quarterback market that has incrementally climbed to the $55MM-per-year place. As should be expected, Dak is targeting a deal north of that $55MM-AAV number.

Unless the Cowboys are keen on starting over at QB with a veteran team — this worked out well for the post-Super Bowl 50 Broncos — after Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday, they will need to again give in. A contract flooded with guarantees and early vesting dates will almost definitely be required to keep Dak from testing the market, as a $60MM-plus-AAV accord would certainly await in 2025 if he plays out his contract year.

Jones has received steady criticism for letting his top players’ values increase by waiting on extensions, but this is a unique contract to complete. The sides are believed to be in agreement on term length, at least, and the Cowboys do have exclusive negotiating rights until mid-March. Though, the closer we get to free agency, the more challenging the mission becomes for the team.

The Cowboys’ longest-tenured player now that Tyron Smith is gone, Martin still earned All-Pro acclaim despite admitting he was not at his best following a holdout last year. Martin is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who secured guarantees over his six-year contract’s final two seasons, but this restructure will inflate the dead money total the Cowboys would absorb if the soon-to-be 34-year-old blocker is not re-signed in 2025. The 11th-year veteran is considering retirement after this season. If Martin retires, the Cowboys would be tasked with replacing an all-time guard great and face a $26.5MM dead cap hit next year.

Free agency additions:

Elliott now counts more than $8MM on Dallas’ payroll; the other $6MM comes from dead money associated with the Cowboys ditching his previous contract. Once given a six-year, $90MM deal to anchor Dallas’ offense, Elliott is now 29 and enters the season with by far the most touches (2,421) among active backs. The Cowboys did miss two-time rushing champion’s nose for the end zone last season, but his presence atop the depth chart creates concern.

Even as Elliott closed the Bill Belichick era as the Patriots’ starting running back, his New England one-off produced a bottom-10 rushing yards over expected mark (minus-71). The Cowboys pursued Zack Moss in free agency but saw him join the Bengals on a two-year, $8MM deal. Dallas did not chase Derrick Henry this offseason, and rumblings about an Elliott reunion — a topic that came up last year even after Dallas made him a post-June 1 cut — emerged before March’s end.

It remains odd the Cowboys did not at least add a late-round RB flier of sorts, instead re-signing Rico Dowdle and bringing in Cook, who enters the season with the fifth-most touches (1,585) among active RBs. Following four straight 1,100-yard rushing seasons in Minnesota, Cook saw his play nosedive in New York. The would-be Jets bridge back to Breece Hall ended up being released. The Cowboys can elevate Cook to their active roster, but an Elliott-Dowdle-Cook committee — in 2024, at least — may well be the NFL’s least formidable backfield.

The reunion theme continued on defense. While Kendricks and Joseph have no previous Cowboys ties, they both played several seasons under new DC Mike Zimmer. Each served as part of the Vikings’ defense-powered core in the 2010s, helping the team to three playoff berths during Zimmer’s tenure.

Joseph, 35, will be charged with helping out a Dallas run defense that ranked 16th last season — but one that allowed Aaron Jones to run wild in the seminal wild-card loss. The recent Chargers and Bills D-tackle, Joseph has made 170 career starts. He will most likely work as a situational player tasked with aiding Dallas ground deterrence.

Kendricks, 32, comes over after becoming a cap casualty (by the Vikings and Chargers) in each of the past two seasons. The former Zimmer mainstay had a deal in place to be the 49ers’ bridge to Dre Greenlaw, but Kendricks backtracked on that commitment and joined a Cowboys team promising more opportunities. With the Cowboys moving undersized LB Markquese Bell back to safety, cutting Leighton Vander Esch and seeing 2023 third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown coming back from an ACL tear, Kendricks is suddenly needed again.

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Offseason In Review: Atlanta Falcons

September 7th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

It is difficult to come up with an offseason that featured this much Falcons discussion. Perhaps 2007. But this one brought three storylines that helped shape the NFL over the past several months. Three straight 7-10 seasons, which followed three previous non-playoff efforts, had made the Falcons into one of the league’s least interesting teams. Atlanta’s coaching search, free agency period and the draft — and even some post-draft activity to build on what the team had already done in 2024 — made this a captivating club to follow.

Coaching/front office:

Joining Ron Rivera in entrusting his job to a quarterback plan most doubted, Smith saw two season-ending blowouts seal his fate. The former Titans OC could not turn Desmond Ridder into a reliable starter, benching him on multiple occasions. Considering Ridder’s 2024 trajectory, Smith faced too daunting a task. Ownership still canned the three-year HC and set its sights on a more experienced option. Being the only team to target the most experienced coach on the market turned out to backfire, as the process received endless scrutiny and fallout.

Targeting experience after hiring first-timers in his searches throughout his ownership tenure, Arthur Blank is believed to have initially wanted Belichick as his next head coach. After the two interviews the Patriots legend conducted, he was in the lead. The Falcons were moving closer to going with the most accomplished HC in the Super Bowl era, and on the morning of the Morris hire, Belichick still believed he would land the job. Changes during one of the most captivating searches in PFR’s history will be associated with Morris, through no fault of his own, as Falcons higher-ups took heat for not hiring Belichick.

A rumor about many in the NFL suspecting Belichick was interested in bringing ex-Patriot assistants Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge with him came about as the candidate’s slide out of the lead chair for this job began. More significantly, turf protecting may well have taken place in Atlanta’s front office. Even though a report came out about Belichick being willing to cede personnel control — which he held throughout his New England tenure — CEO Rich McKay and GM Terry Fontenot would have naturally seen their power threatened had the longtime Patriots czar come aboard. Dot connecting certainly points to this duo steering Blank in another direction.

McKay, who has been with the Falcons since 2003, moved from the GM chair to the CEO role in 2008. He still wields considerable power within the organization, and a February report indicated the ex-Falcons and Buccaneers GM had a good relationship with Morris and conversely was not on the greatest terms with Belichick. Blank and McKay co-ran the search, with Fontenot providing input in his fourth year as GM, and an April examination revealed the Falcons did not end up ranking the 72-year-old leader in the top three for the job. With Morris the unanimous first choice, the McKay-Fontenot-Blank trio is believed to have respectively ranked Mike Macdonald and Bobby Slowik second and third.

Although a report that surfaced immediately after the Morris hire indicated McKay would step back from his role in football operations, he will certainly be tied to this decision. Football fans may have him to thank (perhaps blame) for Belichick’s upcoming media blitz this season.

As it stands, Fontenot remains in place as the team’s football ops boss. Belichick, who would have been the oldest HC hire in NFL history by six years, was seen as a short-term play by the Falcons and would have threatened Fontenot’s place in the power structure due to sheer experience. The six-time Super Bowl-winning HC figures to run into age-related hurdles as he tries to return to the league in 2025 as well. While Belichick-NFC East connections have subsequently emerged, Morris has a second chance.

Atlanta also interviewed Jim Harbaugh but saw the Michigan leader cancel a second interview, as he zeroed in on Los Angeles. Morris, 48, will make a historically quick return to a team that had employed him as its interim HC for most of the 2020 season.

Morris broke into the NFL as an assistant under McKay in Tampa and remained well liked among Falcons players still left from his interim stay. The former Bucs HC worked as a Falcons assistant (on both the defensive and offensive sides) from 2015-20 and bolstered his credentials for a second chance after winning a Super Bowl ring as Rams DC.

The Sean McVay tree has also produced promotions for several defensive coaches, with Morris following Brandon Staley as a Rams DC to receive a top job. Benefiting considerably from Aaron Donald‘s presence, Morris did not produce a top-12 defensive ranking in points or yardage in L.A. Being 24 years younger than Belichick obviously helped Morris’ cause, as did his past with McKay and the Falcons. Morris enters this season 21-38 as a head coach, but this Falcons roster may be the best he has helmed. Morris’ Bucs stay overlapped almost entirely with Josh Freeman‘s QB1 stint.

A few teams targeted Zac Robinson as OC, but once Morris took over in Atlanta, he quickly brought the ex-Rams QBs coach with him. The former Oklahoma State quarterback has been on McVay’s staff since 2019. Robinson, 38, has only worked for the Rams, moving up to pass-game coordinator in 2022. With teams continuing to gravitate toward McVay staffers, Robinson probably would have had multiple options — particularly after Puka Nacua‘s rookie-year dominance — to begin an OC career.

Lake’s resume is more complicated. Although he coached with Morris in Tampa and L.A., Lake is still best known for his quick dismissal as Washington’s HC. An incident in which Lake appeared to strike a player on the sidelines preceded another complaint emerging against the Huskies’ then-HC, and the school fired him in November 2021. Lake, who spent part of Morris’ Bucs stint coaching DBs, resurfaced as a Rams assistant HC in 2023. No other team sought a Lake DC interview this offseason, and he will begin this season as the Falcons’ defensive play-caller.

Free agency additions:

The Vikings were not willing to offer Cousins a deal comparable to the offer the Falcons submitted. Cousins-Atlanta connections came out in early March, and although both the QB and Vikings brass had said they wanted to huddle up for a fourth contract, hitting the open market once again — despite coming off an Achilles tear and entering an age-36 season — opened the door to lucrative outside bids. Being a proven above-average quarterback still brings big opportunities.

Cousins and the Vikings engaged in negotiations last year, but the sides disagreed on Year 3 guarantees. This led to a restructure, one the Vikings are paying for now. Even as $28.5MM was set to accelerate onto Minnesota’s 2024 cap, the Vikings stood down. They had a farfetched scenario in which Cousins could be their bridge QB before a rookie eventually took over (the irony), but Cousins wanted more than being a year-to-year option. One of the shrewdest financial operators in NFL history maximized his value once again by hitting the open market, and the Falcons — a year after Blank expressed excitement in building a roster around Ridder’s rookie contract — returned to the franchise-QB payment business.

Atlanta was linked to Justin Fields and Baker Mayfield, but Cousins rumors took over — as the ex-Rams staffers were not interested in Fields — in the days leading up to the legal tampering period. Other than the 2007 Joey Harrington signing in an emergency circumstance, this is the first Falcons free agency play for a starting quarterback since they signed Bobby Hebert from the Saints in 1993 — full-fledged free agency’s debut. In the years since, they had used the trade market (Jeff George, Chris Chandler) and the draft (Michael Vick, Matt Ryan, Ridder) to staff the position. Cousins brings risk, due to age and the October 2023 Achilles tear, but he has also been a dependably productive passer since usurping Robert Griffin III in Washington.

Cousins had thrown an NFL-most 18 touchdown passes when he went down, finishing off a three-TD day in Green Bay, and carries no previous injury baggage to Atlanta. Aaron Rodgers is also recovering from the same injury; he is nearly five years older.

Cousins could not elevate the Vikings to the Super Bowl precipice; the team missed the playoffs in three of his five healthy seasons. But the QB, who was blessed with Justin Jefferson and the Stefon Diggs–Adam Thielen pair before that, regularly put up stats. Cousins finished with three 30-plus-TD seasons in Minnesota. Though, he never finished in the top 12 in QBR as a Viking. The former fourth-round pick did rank seventh in the metric in his eight-game 2023 season. He received full clearance early in training camp.

The Falcons lost a fifth-round pick for tampering regarding their pursuits of Cousins and Mooney, whom the QB told his new team he would help recruit. This came before players could agree to deals, leading to a light punishment. Mooney will come over after two mediocre Bears years, but the former fifth-round find’s 2021 1,000-yard season clearly still resided in execs’ minds, as it took the Falcons matching the Jaguars’ three-year, $39MM Gabe Davis deal to land Mooney. The Chiefs and Titans were linked to Mooney as well.

Mooney, 26, ranked 39th in yards per route run in 2021 — Allen Robinson‘s franchise tag season that ended up revealing the veteran’s decline — and totaled 1,055 yards that year. He combined for 907 yards under OC Luke Getsy. Mooney’s fortunes should improve under Cousins, who consistently fed Thielen, Diggs and Jefferson while keeping K.J. Osborn regularly involved as well. The Falcons have not seen a productive receiving duo in a while, with the Julio Jones–Calvin Ridley pair last seeing substantial time together in 2019.

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Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Rams

September 7th, 2024 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

Relative to many of the contenders in the NFL, the Rams went through a fairly quiet offseason. Departing coaches and veterans, returning and incoming veterans, the Rams return a similar offense in 2024 — one accompanied by a few new faces on defense and among the coaching staff. The goal of another Super Bowl remains, though, as Los Angeles attempts to challenge San Francisco for the division and, ultimately, the conference.

Free agency additions:

While much of the offense will look the same as it did in 2023, free agency provided almost a completely different group of starters in the secondary on defense. Williams is a familiar face back in Los Angeles, returning to the Rams after two years away. The veteran cornerback first found his way to L.A. after his initial signing with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2018. A midseason cut led to Williams being claimed by the Rams, with whom he would become a full-time starter over four years.

Williams left for Jacksonville under a three-year, $30MM deal but was released a year early, allowing him to return on his new three-year contract. The 31-year-old CB’s deal, however, becomes a pay-as-you-go pact after the first year. That gives the Rams some protection in case Williams cannot recapture his form from his first L.A. stint.

Williams is joined in a new-look secondary by Curl and White. A former seventh-round pick with Washington, Curl became a full-time starter shortly into his rookie season. Curl hasn’t intercepted any passes since his three-pick year in 2020, but his 53 starts in 60 games in Washington should make him perfectly capable of joining John Johnson as a starter in the defensive backfield. With a torn ACL sidelining starter Derion Kendrick for the season, White (34 missed games since his Thanksgiving 2021 ACL tear) will be tapped as the next man up, starting across from Williams.

One new offensive starter did arrive as a free agent. After spending his entire rookie contract as a starting left guard in Detroit, Jackson will return to a role that he last played in his redshirt sophomore season at Rutgers. Jackson played guard in his final season with the Scarlet Knights and his transfer year at Ohio State, but Los Angeles will ask him to find his way back to the center of the offensive line. This recent switch will kick 2023 second-rounder Steve Avila, a guard as a rookie but a center throughout Los Angeles’ offseason program, back to guard.

Garoppolo joins as a potential upgrade to Stetson Bennett as a backup quarterback. It’s been a bit of a fall from grace for Garoppolo over the past few years after losing his starting jobs in San Francisco and Las Vegas, but perhaps coming into a situation in which he knows he’s a backup will prove useful for the veteran passer. This continues a trend of Sean McVay bringing in a downward-trending starter and installing him as Matthew Stafford‘s backup.

Re-signings:

The Rams acquired Dotson in a trade last year from Pittsburgh and reaped the rewards for it. For some mid- to late-round draft swaps, Los Angeles acquired a middling guard heading into the final year of his rookie deal and saw him put forth his best season of NFL football so far. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dotson ranked as the second-best guard in the NFL last season. Previously, the advanced metrics site had not ranked Dotson any higher than 28th. The Rams joined the Panthers in shelling out big cash for two guards on this year’s guard-rich market.

In the receiving corps, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua will receive all the attention, but Robinson returns as a quality contributor off the bench. After quickly shipping Van Jefferson to Atlanta last season, the Rams depended on Tutu Atwell and Robinson to step up behind their star receivers as contributors. Robinson finished fourth in the receivers room in yards last year and will push Atwell for targets after behind Kupp and Nacua again in 2024.

On defense, as we mentioned above, Johnson returns to keep the secondary from looking completely strange from last year’s group. Rozeboom and Reeder were both re-signed after starting five and six games last year, respectively. This duo was originally set to provide supporting work on the Rams’ defensive second level, but the departure of Ernest Jones (see the Trades section below) will require the two to take on bigger responsibilities in 2024.

Notable losses:

The biggest loss here is an obvious one, as the Rams watch a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, 10-time Pro Bowler, and eight-time first-team All-Pro hang up his cleats. Donald is irreplaceable. Period. The Rams will certainly have a difficult time picking up the pieces after of the greatest defenders in NFL history retired with one year left on his contract.

Donald, who threatened to retire in 2022 in an effort to strengthen his leverage for a redone contract (and succeeding), remained near the top of his game last season (eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 23 QB hits) and earned the last of his first-team All-Pro nods. Assessing the Rams’ defense becomes tougher due to the impact Donald made.

Dante Fowler, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller collected big paydays shortly after thriving alongside the Rams’ unmatched inside pass rusher, with Donald’s presence undoubtedly lessening the burden on the team’s secondary as well. He drove the defensive effort in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win, doing so three years after his second DPOY season powered McVay’s team to Super Bowl LIII.

Donald’s retirement — at 33 — will tag the Rams with substantial dead money. He will count $23.8MM against Los Angeles’ 2024 cap and $9.7MM on the team’s 2025 payroll. The Rams made the playoffs with more than $70MM in dead money on last year’s cap; the loss of Donald on the field will matter far more compared to the cap ramifications of his retirement.

How the Rams’ defense functions after Donald’s 10-year career wraps will be a central NFC storyline. Regardless, the Rams will attempt to use some combination of Kobie Turner, Bobby Brown, and second-round rookie Braden Fiske to try and make up for Donald’s lost production.

The cause for the abovementioned new-look secondary can be seen here. Fuller was a four-year starter (missing most of one year with injury) as a sixth-round pick for the Rams. In those three healthy years, Fuller yielded seven interceptions and a 100-tackle season. He leveraged those performances into a one-year deal with the Panthers, reuniting with ex-Rams safeties coach Ejiro Evero. Witherspoon played in every game of the season last year for the first time in his career, reeling in three interceptions in the process. The 29-year-old remains a free agent.

On offense, the loss of names like Wentz and Freeman seems bigger than they may be. Far removed from being a 2017 MVP candidate and three years after his last full season as a starting passer, Wentz’s impact in Los Angeles was minimal. Still, the drop in quality from Wentz to Garoppolo or Bennett at QB2 may be significant. Freeman’s name may not seem like a big loss, but his 319 rushing yards in 2023 were the most behind Kyren Williams by a decent margin. The team drafted Michigan’s Blake Corum in the third round this year in hopes that he’ll provide an improvement at RB2.

Of the losses on the offensive line, Shelton’s is the biggest. Shelton took the reins from Allen at center last year, starting every Rams game. Seeing his playing time dissolve, Allen ended up a cap casualty. Shelton has since found his way into a Week 1 starting role in Chicago on a one-year contract.

Extensions and restructures:

One of this offseason’s biggest moves saw the Rams reward Stafford for a healthy and productive season in 2023. The cannon-armed QB’s 2022 injuries played the lead role in the Rams submitting the worst Super Bowl title defense ever, and rumblings about a trade surfaced early during the 2023 offseason. Though, Stafford’s contract and health at the time never made a move realistic.

After a bounce-back 2023, Stafford — upon seeing nearly all the guarantees from his contract exhausted — expressed desires for more locked-in money in his future. Los Angeles took care of its own, moving $5MM of future funds so that Stafford would receive $36MM in 2024. The team also added a guaranteed $4MM roster bonus for the 2025 season to Stafford’s contract.

The modified deal does not extend Stafford’s obligation past its original end following the 2026 season, but the Rams made their quarterback happy in hopes he can do the same for them. While the team has expressed optimism Stafford can play beyond 2024, the team still views this — the summer reworking aside — as a year-to-year partnership.

Noteboom’s path as the heir apparent to Andrew Whitworth did not quite pan out as Los Angeles had hoped. While Noteboom is not the full-time starter they expected, he still holds a consistent role as a swingman; the former third-round pick started 14 games over the last two years at guard and tackle. An agreement to restructure with a pay cut allowed Noteboom to continue in that role moving forward. His decreased income was supplemented in the short term with nearly $7MM in guarantees. As a result, Noteboom’s cap hit decreased from $20MM to $11.6MM.

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Offseason In Review: Miami Dolphins

September 6th, 2024 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Making back-to-back playoff berths for the first time in more than 20 years, the Dolphins have elevated their operation under Mike McDaniel. The drivers of that effort became more expensive this offseason, and the team again replaced its defensive coordinator. The Dolphins ranked first in total offense for the first time since Dan Marino‘s age-33 season (1994), but another late-season letdown — albeit with significant injury problems — became the lead story for this team.

As they attempt to shake off a no-show for a frigid Kansas City wild-card game, the Dolphins also lost some key pieces in assembling their 2024 puzzle. But they sure took care of their cornerstones as well.

Extensions and restructures:

Even though a partial hold-in took place to open training camp, the Dolphins’ negotiations with Tagovailoa were not especially rocky. But the value debates here did become interesting during the months-long talks.

While most teams with first-round quarterbacks they plan to extend complete extensions after the player’s third year, the Dolphins were understandably hesitant about this deal. Tua submitted inconsistent work during Brian Flores‘ tenure and sustained at least two (but most likely three) concussions in 2022. Early retirement consideration transpired in 2023, but the NFL’s lone active southpaw QB1 stayed healthy last season and set himself up for a payday on a soaring market.

The NFL’s passer rating and yards per attempt leader in 2022 (105.5, 8.9), Tagovailoa showed his breakthrough (when healthy) was not a fluke by pacing the 2023 field in yardage (4,624) during a season in which both Hill and Waddle — not to mention most of Miami’s O-line — missed time. The sides began negotiations in April, but by midsummer, the fifth-year passer had rejected one offer. A subsequent report indicated the Dolphins were aiming to avoid extending their QB at a top-market rate.

Guarantees became a sticking point for the team as well, but the Dolphins were not the team to buck this growing trend of giving promising but unspectacular (to date, at least) passers $50MM-plus per year. Tagovailoa joined Goff, Lawrence and Jordan Love in expanding the $50MM-AAV club to eight this offseason. The Dolphins, who had last authorized a franchise-level QB payment upon extending Ryan Tannehill (at $19.25MM per year) in 2015, needed to adjust the per-year salary near the end of the negotiations to complete the deal.

Tagovailoa’s “the market is the market” assessment reminded of the reality the Dolphins faced. Even second-tier QBs carry tremendous leverage, and the Dolphins waiting until Year 5 to pay theirs further equipped the player. The team navigated a difficult cap situation this offseason, and a Tua 2025 franchise tag would have placed a cap hold beyond $40MM on the payroll. Another productive year with the historically explosive Hill-Waddle tandem also would have upped Tagovailoa’s price, with Dak Prescott likely set to raise the market’s ceiling once again.

The Dolphins did avoid paying Tua $55MM per year, but they both settled on the Goff $53MM-AAV level and agreed to a rolling guarantee structure that protects the QB long term. The 26-year-old passer’s 2026 base salary ($54MM) will become fully guaranteed in March 2025. This deal also gives the Dolphins two fewer years of control compared to what Lawrence gave the Jaguars or Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow provided their teams (by agreeing to five-year deals before their fourth seasons). Miami waiting until Tagovailoa’s contract year and then agreeing to a four-year deal bolstered his negotiating position, and the Alabama product will be on track to cash in again — provided he stays on this trajectory — by his age-30 offseason.

Hill might not be in a Dolphin by that point, but he has transformed the team’s early-Tua-years offenses and may well have secured first-ballot Hall of Fame entry during his Miami tenure. Although Hill’s ugly off-field incident in college and his 2019 issue in Kansas City will always be tied to his legacy, the elite speed merchant has climbed up the WR ranks historically in Miami despite separating from Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

Hill, 30, was on pace for the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiving season before suffering an injury in early December. Shortly after his second Dolphins slate wrapped, the eight-year veteran began angling for an updated contract despite three years remaining on his 2022 extension.

The Dolphins had Hill on a four-year, $120MM, but that contract featured what amounted to a phony final year to inflate the AAV to $30MM. Still, the Dolphins had the All-Pro target under contract through 2026. Teams do not make a habit of redoing deals with players signed for three more seasons, but GM Chris Grier had shown a precedent by reworking Xavien Howard‘s through-2024 contract back in 2022. That gave Hill’s camp ammo; the deep threat’s impact on Tagovailoa’s performance certainly did as well. While Hill indicating he would not seek a trade to force the issue hurt his leverage, the Dolphins took care of him anyway.

The revised contract turned Hill’s 2024 and ’25 salaries from nonguaranteed to fully guaranteed. Hill remaining on the Dolphins’ roster in 2026 — his age-32 season — would bump the guarantees to $65MM. The Dolphins probably knew they would have to complete a reworking with Hill after they paid Waddle, who has shown tremendous promise but has resided as the team’s clear-cut No. 2 wideout since the Hill trade.

Grier quickly took Waddle out of consideration during the Jonathan Taylor trade talks last summer, and the 2021 first-round pick is 3-for-3 in 1,000-yard seasons. Although Hill is the more dangerous weapon, Waddle also brings elite speed for a speed-obsessed team. The former No. 6 overall pick, who cost the Dolphins a future first-rounder to acquire in 2021, led the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch in 2022. That came after a far less explosive 2021 attack used Waddle as a short-area target (9.8 YPC). McDaniel quickly revamped Waddle’s role, and the Dolphins agreed to a deal that should keep their current WR2 rostered longer than their WR1.

Waddle’s $28.25MM-per-year deal checks in seventh among wide receivers. In terms of total guarantees, Waddle’s $76MM surpasses both the contracts Hill has agreed to with Miami. The 25-year-old pass catcher’s 2026 base salary will lock in by March 2025. On Day 3 of the 2026 league year, $15.2MM of Waddle’s 2027 base salary ($23.39MM) will become fully guaranteed.

At this rate, Waddle profiles as the Dolphins’ long-term top receiver. With this three-year extension giving Waddle a chance to cash in again before age 30, he will have some time to grow back into that WR1 role during Hill’s remaining seasons.

Friday marked Ramsey’s second Dolphins agreement in two years. The team reworked Ramsey’s deal to add guarantees upon acquiring him and has now — two days after Patrick Surtain‘s landmark Broncos accord — made him the NFL’s highest-paid corner. (Miami had also restructured Ramsey’s previous deal earlier this offseason to save nearly $20MM.) This move will push out Ramsey’s contract through 2028.

Playing lead roles for the Jaguars and Rams, Ramsey secured another megadeal despite going into his age-30 season. The full guarantee is not yet known, but Ramsey will see $55.3MM in total guarantees. The NFL now having two $24MM-per-year corners — after the position’s ceiling had been $21MM for more than two years — represents good news for Sauce Gardner in 2025.

Grier has again paid a player with at least two years left on his previous deal; Ramsey’s ran through 2025 but did not include any guarantees for next year. The only active corner with three first-team All-Pro nods, Ramsey has now secured two extensions (the first with the Rams in 2020) and a key reworking. He only played in only 10 Dolphins games last season, undergoing meniscus surgery. Pro Football Focus graded Ramsey’s first Dolphins season modestly, assessing him as the NFL’s 57th-best CB in 2023. But last year’s trade, which sent a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Rams, keeps the veteran in place as Miami’s top cover man. The team will hope Ramsey can continue to play well into his 30s, which is far from a given at this position.

Armstead has navigated numerous injuries with the Dolphins but still submitted upper-echelon work. The team parted ways with starters Robert Hunt and Connor Williams, doing so after receiving assurances its veteran left tackle was planning to play at least one more season. Armstead, 33, has missed 11 games since signing a five-year, $75MM Dolphins deal. This continued a trend of injury-limited seasons for the Pro Bowl blocker. The Dolphins would take on $18.5MM in dead money if Armstead retires next year.

The fantasy universe expects De’Von Achane to usurp Mostert this season, but the veteran back parlayed a monster 2023 season into some more guaranteed money. Despite going into his age-32 season, Mostert — a journeyman special-teamer until becoming a 49ers RB regular in 2019 — has only 766 career touches. This career arc has allowed the 2015 UDFA to play this long, and McDaniel extracted plenty from his ex-San Francisco charge last season.

Mostert joined Achane among the top 10 in rushing yards over expected and led the NFL with 21 touchdowns. Injury-prone in San Francisco, Mostert has missed just three games since 2022. Injuries significantly limited the backfield speedster in the two years prior, but the Dolphins’ deep backfield supplies insurance.

Free agency additions:

For a UDFA who did not play too much over his first two seasons, Brewer has done well for himself. He started 17 games in each of the past two years — no small feat on injury-battered Tennessee O-lines — and drew a second-round RFA tender salary in 2023. Shifting from guard to center last year, Brewer did not distinguish himself among the position’s best. But he still commanded an eight-figure guarantee from a team in need. PFF viewed Brewer as a better center, where he played in spurts during each of his first three years at Division I-FCS Texas State, ranking him 11th at the position in 2023.

McDaniel’s offense has not highlighted the tight end position much. Mike Gesicki‘s franchise tag went to waste in 2022, and the team rolled out a top-heavy passing attack last season. No one came between Jaylen Waddle (1,014 yards) and Durham Smythe (366) among Tagovailoa targets. Smith will be poised to change that, depending on how much McDaniel will be keen on utilizing this position. Arthur Smith sure did, infuriating Kyle Pitts fantasy GMs by regularly incorporating Jonnu (582 yards) into the offense. Topping 400 yards twice as a Titan, Smith no-showed as a Patriot. But the Dolphins could certainly use more from this position, especially with Beckham on the PUP list.

Seeing their Xavien Howard–Byron Jones tandem last just two years, the Dolphins did not opt to extend their Howard-Ramsey partnership past one. Fuller will be asked to team with Ramsey. Defecting from a rebuilding Commanders team, Fuller is coming off a year in which he was charged with a whopping nine touchdown passes allowed as the closest defender. Illustrating how the NFL coverage metrics are not exactly on par with MLB-level advanced stats, PFF ranked Fuller seventh among corners last season. Fuller, 29, has 93 career starts on his resume and has extensive experience inside and outside. For now, the Dolphins are using Fuller outside and Kader Kohou at nickel.

Poyer (33) opted to re-sign with the Bills last year, but their 2024 cost-cutting mission included the veteran safety. Poyer intercepted 22 passes in seven Bills seasons, starting 107 games as part of one of this century’s premier safety duos (alongside Micah Hyde). Maye provides an interesting third safety option, coming off a suspension- and injury-marred Saints season. The former Jets franchise player is now 31. This will be a transition for Maye, a starter throughout his seven-year career. The Ravens used three-safety looks often; Maye would give Anthony Weaver this option in Jevon Holland‘s contract year.

Brooks steps in for longtime starter Jerome Baker, though this switch came from two free agent signings rather than a Dolphins-Seahawks trade. The 2020 first-rounder made it back from a January 2023 ACL tear to start 16 games last season, putting together his third 100-plus-tackle campaign. A starter alongside Bobby Wagner in two of the past three years — as the ILB legend left Seattle and then returned — Brooks added 4.5 sacks in his contract year. Brooks, 27, comes slightly cheaper than Baker, who was tied to a three-year, $37.5MM deal.

Miami waited on the two biggest names in its 2024 FA class. Campbell is the league’s oldest defender, turning 38 earlier this week, but has remained durable and productive. A college teammate of Devin Hester and Frank Gore, the 2008 Cardinals draftee has started the fourth-most games (225) by a D-lineman in NFL history. Only Bruce Smith, Jim Marshall and Reggie White have that beat. Campbell crossed the 100-sack barrier last season, adding a Falcons-most 6.5 to his career total. Among active players, only Von Miller and Cameron Jordan have Campbell beat for sacks.

The former Miami Hurricane is near the end of a remarkable career, but he should help the Dolphins’ post-Christian Wilkins solution up front. This signing reunites Campbell and Weaver, with the ex-Ravens assistant in place on John Harbaugh‘s staff during the accomplished D-lineman’s final two Baltimore seasons.

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Offseason In Review: Washington Commanders

September 5th, 2024 at 9:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ron Rivera became one of the more obvious lame ducks in recent NFL history last year. A new owner taking over, along with the Commanders’ eight-game losing streak to close last season, made it easy to predict wholesale changes. Josh Harris made them, tapping into the 49ers’ success by hiring John Lynch‘s right-hand man to lead his football operation. How Washington filled its HC and OC chairs generated more intrigue, and the Adam Peters–Dan Quinn duo did not leave too many pieces in place from Rivera’s final Commanders lineup.

Coaching/front office:

Although Harris brought in Rick Spielman and former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers to help the Commanders find a new football ops leader, the team made a down-the-middle hire. Peters joined the 49ers shortly after the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan regime started, and the recent San Francisco assistant GM certainly comes from a franchise that has sustained success in rather unique ways. That success certainly helped Peters’ cause in beating out Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham for the job.

The 49ers have managed to assemble a steady Super Bowl contender despite one of the worst draft decisions in NFL history. Trading two future first-round picks and a third-rounder to climb up for Trey Lance could have ruined the Lynch-Shanahan regime; the 49ers withstanding Lance’s failure may say more about Shanahan’s abilities than the front office’s, but Lynch, Peters and ex-staffer-turned-Titans GM Ran Carthon played key roles as well. Peters declined Titans and Cardinals interviews last year, and after Chargers and Raiders requests, zeroed in on the Commanders gig.

Harris offered Peters full control of football ops; not every GM position features that power. Washington’s last setup featured a head coach carrying final say, but Peters will report directly to Harris. The 45-year-old exec has three Super Bowl rings from his tenures as a Patriots scout and Broncos scouting director. Peters’ scouting history became relevant quickly, with Washington’s No. 2 overall pick — along with the selections obtained in the Montez Sweat and Chase Young trades — made the job appealing. Rivera did not enjoy these luxuries upon being hired by Dan Snyder, and the team could not make a jump after its 2020 NFC East title season.

That season came with multiple asterisks, as Washington won the division with a 7-9 record thanks in part to Dak Prescott‘s ankle injury and Doug Pederson‘s curious decision to yank Jalen Hurts from a winnable season finale. Rivera’s team completed seven- and eight-win seasons in 2021 and ’22, but the quarterback issue that has plagued Washington since Kirk Cousins‘ free agency defection was too much to overcome.

Dwayne Haskins arriving in Bruce Allen‘s final draft as honcho hamstrung Rivera, whose team passed on Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa in 2020 due to Haskins’ presence. Acquisitions Ryan Fitzpatrick, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell did not move the needle for the franchise, with the Howell confidence being rather interesting — given Rivera’s tenuous grip on the job last year — after the team made aggressive QB pursuits in 2022.

The former Super Bowl HC will give way to Quinn, who brought in a host of his former players to help on defense and offense. Quinn, however, may have been the Commanders’ third choice. The team pushed back on this notion, but it is widely known the club chased Lions OC Ben Johnson. Once Johnson hopped off the HC carousel early for a second straight year, the Commanders are believed to have offered the job to Mike Macdonald. A six-year Seahawks offer swayed the Ravens’ DC out of the Mid-Atlantic region, leaving Quinn — an HC carousel veteran who rebuilt his stock in Dallas.

Quinn, 54 next week, left Dallas after a dreadful defensive performance in the Cowboys’ wild-card loss, but he had immediately elevated a unit that surrendered the most points in franchise history in 2020. Quinn’s defense ranked in the top five in points allowed in each of his three seasons in Dallas, as he completed a rebound — after his Falcons tenure featured a steady decline post-Super Bowl LI — that gave him some options in recent years. The Broncos did pass on Quinn to hire Nathaniel Hackett in a regrettable 2022 move, but the Cowboys’ DC left the 2023 hiring derby early. Quinn’s defense sustaining its success without Trevon Diggs helped the play-caller’s case, as DaRon Bland set an NFL record with five pick-sixes.

Whitt loomed as a Cowboys DC frontrunner as well, but after following Quinn from Atlanta to Dallas, Whitt accepted an offer to head to Washington. The Cowboys’ defensive play-caller for three seasons, Quinn handed Whitt that responsibility. This will be Whitt’s first crack at this role at any level. The Cowboys blocked Quinn from taking staffers Al Harris and Lunda Wells with him. Unlike Whitt, Kingsbury has no history with Quinn. It also took some maneuvering to convince the former Cardinals HC to head east.

Kingsbury, who spent last season as USC’s quarterbacks coach, backtracked on a commitment to be the Raiders’ OC. He quickly emerged as the frontrunner for the Commanders. Minority owner Magic Johnson is believed to have played a key role in convincing Kingsbury to bail on Las Vegas. Between that and the Commanders ending up with the quarterback Antonio Pierce wanted in the draft, an interconference rivalry that peaked in the early 1980s may reignite.

Drawing more interest than he did following his Cardinals ouster, Kingsbury comes to Washington after an inconsistent Arizona stint. Although the former Texas Tech HC received criticism throughout his Cardinals tenure, Kyler Murray received two original-ballot Pro Bowl nods — beating out Tom Brady in 2020 — during his first three seasons. Kingsbury, 45, coached top-eight offenses in those seasons and helmed the Cards to their first playoff berth since 2015, doing so largely without the services of DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt. That regime’s 2022 unraveling injects some concern into Kingsbury’s status, but it certainly was not all bad in Arizona.

While Rivera is out, the two ex-GMs he brought with him — Mayhew and Hurney — remain on staff. Mayhew, a former Washington cornerback-turned-GM, is in place as an advisor to Peters; Hurney, a two-time Panthers GM, is a Maryland native who began his front office career under Super Bowl-winning Washington GM Bobby Beathard in San Diego. He holds an advisory position as well. Williams had previously spent time in Washington’s front office under Allen. After being moved to the side early in Rivera’s tenure, the former Super Bowl MVP is back in the mix. Newmark spent 25 years with the Lions but will make the jump for a second-in-command post.

Peters spoke with Bill Belichick, his former boss, about the job; however, this fell short of a formal interview. Harris is not believed to have coveted a workflow setup in which a coach resides atop the personnel pyramid. Harris also spoke with Robert Kraft about the legendary HC in December; Kraft is not believed to have given glowing references. While Belichick may well be in the NFC East next year, Washington is the only team to which he has not been closely tied following this offseason’s hiring outcomes.

Free agency additions:

Six of these free agency additions played for Quinn previously. Wagner dates back to the HC’s Seattle days, while Fowler played with Quinn in Atlanta and Dallas. Among the ex-Quinn charges, two former Cowboys are in place as the best bets to be multiyear starters from this group.

Biadasz became the NFL’s sixth active center with an eight-figure AAV, joining Lloyd Cushenberry as 2024 free agents who entered this club. Quinn observed Biadasz become a quick study, rising from fourth-round pick to three-year starter. Ranking eighth in run block win rate in 2022 (Tony Pollard‘s Pro Bowl season), Biadasz started 53 games with Dallas. He joins Allegretti, Andrew Wylie and Sam Cosmi as O-line starters on veteran contracts.

One of the Cowboys’ answers after their Randy Gregory negotiation combusted in 2022, Armstrong fared well as a rotational edge rusher over the past two years. PFR’s No. 21 free agent, Armstrong amassed 16 sacks over the past two seasons and got there despite starting just three games. Armstrong undoubtedly benefited from the attention paid to other Cowboy rushers, and while he did not ran inside the top 60 in pressures in either season, the Commanders bet on a Quinn cog who is going into his age-27 season.

It will be interesting to see how Armstrong holds up as a full-time starter, as this will be a big jump for the former Cowboys fourth-rounder. Fowler, 30, combined for 10 sacks in two Cowboys seasons and was more effective as a rotational piece than a high-priced Falcons DE.

Tracing Ekeler’s value drop is interesting. The NFL values three-down running backs, and Ekeler led the league in touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. Outplaying predecessor Melvin Gordon with the Chargers, the former UDFA did not generate much trade interest on a team-friendly contract when given permission to shop in 2023. This came before Ekeler’s high ankle sprain, which limited him in a season with 1,064 scrimmage yards (in 14 games) and six TDs.

One of this period’s most versatile backs settled for a guarantee south of where the Giants went for Devin Singletary. Joe Mixon, who has logged nearly 600 more carries than Ekeler’s 990, tripled the ex-Charger in guarantees.

This could be a good value play by Washington, as Ekeler stands to complement Brian Robinson and give Jayden Daniels a high-end outlet option. Eighth-year RBs certainly bring risk, but the 29-year-old weapon’s carry count is low enough he should have bounce-back potential. Given the Commanders’ uncertain pass-catching corps behind Terry McLaurin, Ekeler could be important.

Wagner finds himself in an unusual situation. Part of a perennial contender — or, at least a team off the rebuilding tier — in Seattle, the future Hall of Famer agreed to rejoin Quinn as a mentor-type presence. Working with Quinn during the latter’s two-year Seattle DC stay (2013-14), Wagner has become one of the league’s all-time great off-ball ‘backers in the years since. He is riding a 10-season streak with either a first- or second-team All-Pro honor. Washington’s current situation appears incongruent with Wagner’s trajectory, but the 34-year-old ILB does offer scheme familiarity to help an overhauled defense. Wagner, who had been linked to reuniting with Quinn in Dallas previously, led the NFL with 183 tackles last season.

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Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Steelers

September 4th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

For the first time since 1957, the Steelers have spent an offseason completely reshaping their quarterback depth chart. All three signal-callers who were in place for 2023 have departed, and the position’s new faces offer intrigue but also carry plenty of question marks. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are at different parts of their respective careers, though the coming season offers both of them the opportunity to rebuild their value and land an extended stay in Pittsburgh or interest from outside suitors.

The Mike Tomlin era is set to continue through Pittsburgh’s latest efforts to find a true Ben Roethlisberger successor. It remains to be seen if Wilson or Fields will prove capable of earning that title, but Tomlin’s ongoing presence on the sidelines points to the Steelers again having a high floor. Postseason success has proven to be elusive in recent years; whether or not a new arrangement under center ends that drought will be the defining storyline for a team which once again faces a long list of divisional and conference challengers.

Free agency additions:

From the time of head coach Sean Payton’s arrival in Denver, questions were raised about how he and Wilson would mesh. The Saints Super Bowl winner helped Wilson bounce back to an extent from his calamitous debut in the Mile High City, but the team’s passing attack was still insufficient to qualify for the postseason. By the end of the campaign, Jarrett Stidham was atop the depth chart with Wilson seeming to be destined for a fresh start.

Denver asked the nine-time Pro Bowler to waive the future guarantees in his contract; his refusal to do so eventually led to Stidham taking over. In spite of the way 2023 played out, Wilson made it clear on multiple occasions his preference was to remain in Denver. It ultimately came as no surprise when the Broncos formally decided to move on, though.

The team will take on a record-breaking $85MM in dead cap charges by cutting Wilson as a result of the guaranteed money left on his pact – a factor which led to the expectation he would join his next team on a veteran-minimum deal. That would up being the case once the 35-year-old’s Pittsburgh agreement was in place. Mutual interest quickly emerged between team and player, although Wilson also took a visit with the Giants during the period between Denver allowing him to negotiate with suitors and officially releasing him.

The Steelers had a number of other options to choose from this offseason, one of which was Ryan Tannehill. The longtime Titans starter would have been a familiar face for new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, but he remains on the market after receiving early consideration from Pittsburgh. Instead, Wilson will be counted on to provide a veteran presence in the team’s new-look quarterback room. The 10-year Seattle starter entered his first offseason with his new team in pole position for the starting gig, although a calf injury limited his training camp participation to an extent.

Once the preseason had concluded, though, Tomlin tapped Wilson as the passer who will top the depth chart to begin the campaign. A return to his form during the Seahawks’ back-to-back Super Bowl appearances should not be expected, but a consistent presence under center could still give the Steelers better production from the QB spot than the past two years. If Wilson can clear that bar, he will position himself for another Pittsburgh contract or a relatively healthy free agent market next spring.

The Steelers are traditionally not big spenders in free agency, and that generally remained true in 2024. Indeed, Queen was the only member of PFR’s top 50 list to take a deal with Pittsburgh. After the Ravens declined his fifth-year option last offseason (a move which followed Baltimore’s market-topping Roquan Smith extension), signs pointed to the second-team All-Pro finding a new team in free agency. Queen was not among Baltimore’s financial priorities for 2024, confirming he would depart after playing out his rookie contract.

The Pro Bowler’s pact raised eyebrows considering how limited it is in terms of guarantees. Queen, 25, only received one year of fully locked-in compensation, and the team has the option to proceed on a year-to-year basis beyond 2024. The LSU alum received more lucrative offers, but he chose to join the Steelers instead. Given his past as a Raven, that fact will add a new layer to the teams’ ongoing rivalry. Nonetheless, Queen will face high expectations in Pittsburgh.

Attached to the fifth-highest AAV for linebackers, Queen will step into a full-time starting role in Pittsburgh. Queen saw his production improve after Smith was acquired via trade, and in 2023 he set career highs in multiple categories (133 tackles, 3.5 sacks, six pass deflections). Having yet to miss a game so far, durability should not be a concern as well. The Steelers’ veteran-laden defense will receive a youthful infusion of production if Queen’s deal pays off.

Interest in Patterson quickly emerged once the NFL’s new kickoff rules were approved. The four-time All-Pro returner has eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards only once in his career, but he has led the league in kick return average three times. Patterson, 33, had his best offensive season while serving in a running back/receiver hybrid role with the Falcons under Smith, although a repeat of that production would be a surprise. He will provide depth in the backfield while handling return duties in his debut Pittsburgh campaign, at a minimum.

Sutton spent his first six years with the Steelers before taking a three-year Lions pact in free agency. His time in Detroit came to an end not long after it was learned a domestic violence arrest warrant had been issued for him. The 29-year-old had his case resolved by entering a pre-trial diversion program, paving the way for a Pittsburgh reunion. Sutton will begin the season by serving an eight-game suspension, but once available he could handle multiple roles in the secondary. A veteran of 56 starts, the former third-rounder represents an experienced option in both the slot and on the perimeter.

The Steelers were linked to a homecoming deal for Tyler Boyd, and at one point a deal seemed likely. The team was unwilling to make a commitment beyond one season, though, and with other suitors emerging, the chances of a Boyd-to-Pittsburgh agreement steadily dwindled. Notably, the longtime Bengal would up signing a one-year Titans deal featuring just $1.2MM in guarantees.

In the absence of a more proven commodity like Boyd, the Steelers’ receiver depth will be worth watching. George Pickens will serve as the team’s top pass catcher, while the likes of Jefferson and Miller (along with the Skowronek-Watkins duo) will vie for playing time. Any member of that group filling a complementary role would of course be a welcomed development on offense.

Trades:

In very short order, the Wilson signing kicked off a chain of events which saw Pickett traded away with Fields being brought in. Keeping in mind Pittsburgh’s aforementioned initial intention of simply adding competition for Pickett, his reaction to Wilson being added was understandable. The 2022 first-rounder asked to be moved once he learned Wilson was coming to Pittsburgh.

Touted as the most pro-ready prospect from his draft class, Pickett was unable to deliver on expectations during his Steelers stint. The 26-year-old threw as many touchdowns as he did interceptions (13) and did not progress as hoped in Year 2 after a rookie campaign which included concussion issues. After finishing the 2023 campaign on the bench despite being healthy, a change of scenery could be best for all parties involved.

Steelers GM Omar Khan offered public praise for Pickett’s NFL outlook when reflecting on the trade. A starting gig does not await the Pitt alum given the presence of Jalen Hurts, but he could do enough over the two years left on his rookie contract – one which will surely not have the fifth-year option picked up – to earn an extended stay in Philadelphia. Regardless of how the Steelers’ 2024 QB experiment shakes out, though, Pickett will be out of the picture altogether.

Like three of the other four non-Trevor Lawrence quarterbacks taken on Day 1 of the 2021 draft, Fields’ time with his original team represented a disappointment and ended in a trade including capital nowhere near as valuable as that which was used to select him. The Ohio State alum showed flashes during his Bears tenure, but his lack of development as a passer helped inform the team’s commitment to retaining the No. 1 pick in April’s draft and using it on Caleb Williams. General manager Ryan Poles repeatedly expressed a willingness to “do right by” Fields once it became increasingly clear a commitment to Williams was forthcoming.

To that end, the Bears took a less valuable offer from the Steelers than ones made by other teams. Pittsburgh represented a more viable path to a starting role for Fields, even with Wilson in place as competition. The Steelers were a team Fields had interest in anyway, so the deal (which will see the pick become a fourth-rounder if he plays 51% or more of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps) suits team and player alike. That will obviously become especially true if the 25-year-old overtakes Wilson atop the depth chart.

While Wilson earned the nod to start the campaign, Fields made progress during the summer amid his bid to win the QB1 job. The latter has increased his accuracy with each passing season (albeit to a height of only 61.4% in 2023) and his 2,220 rushing yards illustrate his ability with his legs. His age gap to Wilson could point to untapped upside, and Fields generated support within the organization in the days leading up to learning he would serve as the backup. From a contract status, though, both passers have plenty on the line this year.

Just as Wilson is a pending free agent, Fields is as well since the Steelers made the expected move of declining his $25.7MM 2025 fifth-year option. That figure would not have been feasible after a year spent on the sidelines, and an evaluation period will be needed if Fields is to earn himself a stay in Pittsburgh after the coming campaign. How each passer fares in the coming months will dictate the way in which Khan proceeds at the position.

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2024 Offseason In Review Series

September 4th, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are PFR’s examinations of the 32 NFL teams’ 2024 offseasons:

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West

Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Eagles

September 3rd, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Reaching their second Super Bowl in five seasons, the Eagles were a much-debated defensive holding call from having a shot to topple the Chiefs. Nick Sirianni‘s team then beat the defending champions in Kansas City last season. Philadelphia then saw its momentum stall, leading to one of the stranger collapses in recent NFL history. The Eagles went from an NFL-best 10-1 to ending the season in a wild-card blowout against a 9-8 team, leading to changes at many areas — including the offensive and defensive coordinator posts.

Sirianni was spared, as it would have been an interesting look for the Eagles to fire another Super Bowl coach not long after that appearance. But the fourth-year leader has moved to a hot seat. Sirianni’s relationship with Jalen Hurts is under the microscope, and Bill Belichick may be lurking. The Eagles, however, still boast a strong roster that could help their coach rebound from a disastrous finish. Despite the unraveling, the team got to work on fortifying both sides of the ball early.

Extensions and restructures:

Playing 17-game seasons and coming along in a pass-friendly era, Brown now holds the top two spots on the franchise’s single-season receiving yardage list. Brown broke Mike Quick‘s 39-year-old record in 2022 and eclipsed it again last season. The Eagles did well to pry Brown from a Titans team that erred in assessing the changing WR market two years ago, and Philly’s latest agreement contributed to another positional boom this year.

Shortly before the draft’s first night, the Eagles gave Brown a new deal that topped Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s record-setting AAV. After back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons, Brown landed a $32MM-per-year extension that moved guaranteed money up and gave the Eagles three more years of control. Given the changing market, that might be an issue down the road. The deal includes $84MM guaranteed in total. Brown, 27, also put to rest any rumored concerns he had with the Eagles by recommitting.

Brown’s contract, which runs through 2029, includes void years through 2034. Prorated option bonuses run through 2034, as the Eagles showed consistently this offseason — in rather innovative fashion — they will prioritize short-term cap position over down-the-road concerns.

Just before the Brown extension, the Eagles made a bit of transaction history by locking down Smith. Since the 2011 CBA introduced the fifth-year option, teams have made those decisions annually since the first draft class eligible brought those decisions in 2014. No team in that span had paid a first-round receiver with two years of rookie-deal control remaining. The Eagles became the first, locking down Smith on an extension that became rather team-friendly as the offseason progressed. Smith’s deal both gives the Eagles five years of control and sets up the former Heisman winner as the NFL’s 11th-highest-paid receiver going into the season.

Bailing out the Eagles for their JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor missteps, Smith has delivered as Brown’s wingman. He has joined the trade acquisition in elevating Hurts, who was tied to a run-heavy offense in Smith’s rookie year. Smith has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, scoring seven TDs in each campaign.

The Eagles having their 25-year-old WR2 as the NFL’s 11th-highest-paid wideout now should age very well, as the market figures to keep spiking or at least gradually increasing while the Alabama alum is tied to this pact. Smith still secured the chance, via a three-year deal, to cash in again in his 20s as well.

Known for taking early action along their offensive front, the Eagles made two steps in that direction this year as well. The first of the Eagles’ would-be Jason Kelce heir apparents — before staying at guard and becoming one of the NFL’s best — Dickerson enters this season as the NFL’s highest-paid guard. The Eagles gave Dickerson $21MM per year, topping Chris Lindstrom‘s previous position record. The former second-round pick became a quick study at left guard, quickly taking over for Brandon Brooks and later helping the Eagles feel comfortable letting Isaac Seumalo walk in free agency.

Developing under acclaimed O-line coach Jeff Stoutland, Dickerson ranked second in pass block win rate and first in run block win rate in 2022. Dickerson also led all interior O-linemen in run block win rate last season, while also ranking as a top-10 player in pass protection. Going into his age-26 season, Dickerson will be counted on as the Eagles aim to replace future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce.

Stoutland completed a more impressive accomplishment with Mailata, leading the effort in the Eagles turning him from a rugby performer to long-term project to standout left tackle. Philly had drafted Andre Dillard to eventually succeed Jason Peters, but a seventh-round pick became the better option. Philly now has three $20MM-per-year O-linemen on an offense with a $50MM-per-year quarterback, an eight-figure running back and two highly compensated receivers.

Two seasons remained on Mailata’s initial Eagles extension (four years, $64MM), but the team operated proactively once again — with cap savings at the root of the move. Mailata’s $22MM-per-year deal tops Lane Johnson‘s AAV while ranking fifth among left tackles. The Australian has yet to draw a Pro Bowl invite, but Pro Football Focus has viewed him as a top-10 tackle in each of the past three years. Run block win rate slotted Johnson and Mailata at Nos. 1 and 2 last season. The Eagles now have their ascending LT signed through 2028, with the team’s usual batch of option bonuses and void years included to defray the cap hits.

As the Eagles rearranged their edge-rushing setup, they prioritized Sweat over Haason Reddick. Though, they took trade calls on both players during an uncertain period ahead of free agency. A 2018 fourth-round pick, Sweat is nearly three years younger (at 27). Sweat was tied to a three-year, $40MM extension that expired after the 2024 season. He agreed to a compromise, accepting a one-year, $10MM redo that came nearly fully guaranteed. With Reddick gone, Sweat is positioned to remain a key piece.

By agreeing to a reworking rather than an extension, Sweat has a platform year ahead and could become one of the 2025 free agent class’ top players with a standout season under the new DC. Sweat slowed late last season along with Reddick, as Philly’s defense crumbled, but he has been a three-year starter and notched 11 sacks as the team pushed for the 1984 Bears’ single-season record in 2022.

The Eagles have Nolan Smith waiting in the wings, and while they will need to see more from the pass-rushing specialist, their 2025 starting OLBs may well be Smith and Bryce Huff.

Free agency additions:

Since trading LeSean McCoy in 2015 (on Chip Kelly‘s watch), the Eagles have kept costs low at running back. They did not re-sign Jay Ajayi, Jordan Howard or Miles Sanders and let D’Andre Swift walk this offseason. Swift’s price point became an issue for the Eagles, but Barkley’s subsequent contract revealed how wide of a gap Philly placed between Swift and its new starter. Plenty came out about Barkley’s free agency this offseason, thanks to Hard Knocks’ inaugural offseason effort, but Howie Roseman zagged after the RB market reached a crisis point in 2023.

Barkley joined Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard in being tagged and not extended. This came after the Vikings and Cowboys cut stalwart RBs Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott, and the offseason ended with Joe Mixon following Aaron Jones in taking pay cuts. Entering last season, no RB had been given an eight-figure-per-year contract since July 2021. After the cap’s record-setting $30.6MM spike, the RB market — following Jonathan Taylor‘s October extension — course corrected a bit. A host of starters landed decent deals in 2024, but the Eagles came in with an outlier pact that rewarded the top talent on the market. Barkley’s $26MM guarantee at signing leads the RB pack, and the Eagles pounced after the Giants passed on a second franchise tag.

The Eagles won a bidding war that featured a lucrative Texans offer, along with Bears and Chargers interest, for a player who has dealt with a number of injuries but one that has shown difference-making ability when healthy. Barkley spent much of his prime trapped behind poor Giants O-lines. The Eagles are betting the two-time Pro Bowler has some of his prime remaining, and they will place him behind a top-tier offensive front. Barkley still finished in the top 10 in rushing yards over expected last season, and he powered the Giants to the 2022 divisional round despite that team being largely bereft of talent at the skill spots.

GM Joe Schoen citing the RB’s age (27) as a key factor behind the Giants moving on. Though, FA replacement Devin Singletary turns 27 today. The Giants will see the former Offensive Rookie of the Year again soon. Unlike the Falcons and Kirk Cousins, no tampering penalty ultimately emerged for the Eagles.

As the Jets’ standoff with Haason Reddick persists, the Eagles poached a player New York had deemed ill-equipped for full-time duty. The Eagles appear prepared to unleash Huff, who led the NFL in pressure rate (21.8%) during his 10-sack breakout season. The Jets passed on franchise-tagging Huff, and as they aim for Reddick to be an every-down player, the Eagles clearly viewed Robert Saleh‘s designated pass rusher as an underused asset.

The Jets gave Huff, a 2020 UDFA, just 480 defensive snaps last season. He flashed brightly for another imposing defense, albeit in a part-time capacity. Vic Fangio has a history of coaxing high-end production from edge players, with DPR-type Aldon Smith‘s early-career 49ers work coming to mind. The Eagles could come out of this Reddick-for-Huff switch looking good, though they will bet on a player PFF deemed a poor run defender being able to handle an increased workload.

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Offseason In Review: Seattle Seahawks

September 2nd, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks had been able to keep their operation afloat following the Legion of Boom’s gradual splintering, with Russell Wilson making his best statistical Hall of Fame case between Seattle’s mid-2010s Super Bowl seasons and the 2021 campaign that brought an injury and early decline signs. While Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider did well to cash in on their star quarterback in 2022, the team has not turned those assets into a true contender yet. This ended up costing Carroll his job.

Carroll’s right-hand man for 14 years, Schneider now has the final say. He landed on Mike Macdonald, whose Ravens defense took a leap last season. The Seahawks have gone from the NFL’s oldest HC to its youngest. They will hope Macdonald and his staff can better maximize the resources poured into the team following the Wilson trade.

Coaching/front office:

Carroll piloted the Seahawks to their highest peak — by far — in franchise history. It is difficult to make a strong case against the 2013 Seahawks being that decade’s best team and one of this century’s best squads. The Seahawks became the first team since the 1950s Browns — who obviously played in a much smaller NFL — to lead the league in scoring defense in four straight years. Carroll followed up his successful USC stay by guiding the Hawks to 10 playoff berths in 14 seasons, completing an NFL bounce-back effort after being a Jets one-and-done (1994) and being fired after three Patriots seasons.

Another case can be made the Seahawks were not the same team once they gave Wilson the first of his three extensions. The Seahawks made the playoffs five times from 2015-20. They won three wild-card games in that span, but they partially benefited from Blair Walsh‘s 27-yard missed field goal (2015) and Carson Wentz sustaining an early concussion (2019). The Lions team they topped in 2016 also ranked 27th in DVOA. This is not to say those Seahawk editions were not worthy playoff squads, but the franchise’s post-Super Bowl XLIX period saw regular check-ins as a second-tier contender. No conference championship appearances have followed since the infamous Marshawn Lynch “what if?”

Carroll also had to battle age (73 in September) and a new owner (Jody Allen) being in place from when he was hired. While Schneider stayed on and will control Seattle’s 53-man roster, the 15th-year GM will be on the clock if the Seahawks cannot mount a true charge in the near future. They again went in a defensive direction. After initial rumors connected ex-Carroll assistant Dan Quinn to the job, the three-year Cowboys DC was deemed to have been too close to the Carroll setup for team brass’ comfort. Macdonald, 36, became the pick — after a bidding war against the Commanders.

Washington ended up hiring Quinn, but he may well have been the organization’s third choice. The Commanders appeared to covet Lions OC Ben Johnson, and they then pivoted to Macdonald. After Johnson turned them down, the Commanders offered the job to Macdonald. The two-year Ravens DC also was viewed by some as Washington’s top choice. In competing with Washington, Seattle came in with the winning offer. The Commanders’ Macdonald pursuit led to the Seahawks offering a six-year contract. HC contracts are guaranteed, and while Dan Campbell and Dave Canales were two first-timers who received six-year deals during the 2020s (with Matt Rhule landing a seven-year accord), four- or five-year deals are standard NFL practice. Intent on landing their top choice, the Seahawks paid up.

Carroll had tried to keep the job, but a report also suggested he had made midseason comments about retirement. Carroll’s specialty, Seattle’s defense proved a letdown during the team’s second straight 9-8 season. Struggling in particular against the run, Carroll and Clint Hurtt‘s unit ranked 25th in scoring and 28th in DVOA. Enter Macdonald, who coaxed the Ravens to a No. 1 defensive ranking despite late-summer (Jadeveon Clowney) or in-season (Kyle Van Noy) additions in place as the team’s top edge rushers. Baltimore led the league in defensive DVOA, and the ex-Jim Harbaugh Michigan DC received an early chance at a top NFL job.

The Seahawks did not block contracted assistants from pursuing other gigs during the period between Carroll and Macdonald, and OC Shane Waldron joined the Bears. Waldron perhaps has not received sufficient credit for Geno Smith‘s stunning 2022 turnaround, with Canales — Seattle’s QBs coach in 2022 — seeing more praise. While Hurtt was not on the DC radar — he is back with Vic Fangio coaching the Eagles’ D-line — Waldron interviewed with multiple teams.

Seattle’s offense plummeted from ninth to 17th in scoring from 2022-23, with Smith taking a slight step back. Macdonald, whom the Giants blocked from interviewing Mike Kafka (also a Seahawks HC candidate), went off the board in an effort to shape his first offense.

No other teams were connected to Grubb, a career-long college assistant who only brings two years of Power 5 experience. Formerly Fresno State’s OC from 2019-21, Grubb played a central role in powering Washington to the 2023 CFP national title game. Michael Penix Jr. owes some of his elevated draft stock — after an injury-plagued Indiana tenure — to Grubb, whose offense produced Division I-FBS’ passing and receiving leaders (Penix, Rome Odunze). This combo boosted the Huskies to the brink of a national title, after the then-Pac-12 program had not played for one since 1991. Grubb, 48, had agreed to follow Kalen DeBoer to Alabama but ended up viewing this Seahawks offer as a better opportunity.

Schematic changes will be evident immediately in Seattle, and it will be interesting to see how Smith looks in Grubb’s offense. Macdonald kept the Ravens’ long-running 3-4 scheme in place but hired Durde, who had served as the Cowboys’ D-line coach under Quinn. Durde joined Macdonald as an in-demand candidate. The Falcons, Rams and Packers requested meetings, and the Cowboys interviewed him for their DC post — one that ended up going to Mike Zimmer — after the Commanders poached Joe Whitt. Macdonald also considered ex-Ravens coworker Zach Orr, but he received a Baltimore promotion.

Durde, who is English, coached the sport in London for nearly a decade before landing on Quinn’s Falcons staff. As Micah Parsons has shifted to a full-time pass rusher, Durde coached the star talent in a scheme that kept the All-Pro roving around formations. A former Macdonald Ravens mentor, Frazier is back after a 2023 sabbatical. The Bills employed the former Vikings HC as their defensive coordinator for six seasons, but Sean McDermott separated from his previous play-caller in 2023. Frazier’s presence figures to be important on a staff with a first-time HC and rookie DC.

Re-signings:

The Seahawks sent the Giants second- and fifth-round picks for Williams at the 2023 deadline. Hours after the Giants then sent second- and fifth-rounders for Brian Burns, the Seahawks did not let the asset they had acquired leave. Williams is back in the fold, representing a shift for a Seahawks team that continues to invest along the D-line after previously not devoting substantial resources — at least, not until the 2023 Dre’Mont Jones signing — to interior defensive linemen. Jones has since been working on the edge, even after spending five seasons as an interior rusher. Through that lens, the Seahawks have an inside-outside rush combo each on contracts north of $17MM per year.

After not quite living up to his No. 6 overall draft slot as a Jet, Williams has made a habit of timing his resurgences well. On the franchise tag in 2020, the USC product produced 11.5 sacks — far and away a career high — and commanded one of this era’s most player-friendly deals for a defender shortly after the March 2021 franchise tag application deadline (three years, $63MM, $45MM fully guaranteed). Williams did not come close to those 2020 numbers in 2021 or ’22, but upon being dealt to the Seahawks, he posted four sacks and 11 QB hits in 10 games.

Williams, 30, did not help a Seattle run defense that ranked 30th, but Macdonald will plug him into his defense. This could be a good sign for the 10th-year player, as Macdonald just coaxed a dominant season from Ravens DT Justin Madubuike. Williams has an extensive track record as a quality run defender, though his best work on that front came back in his Jets days.

Fant joined Williams in hitting the market. Early deals for Dalton Schultz and Hunter Henry helped the 2019 first-round pick, but his Seahawks usage did not create an extensive bidding war. Fant drew 93- and 90-target seasons during his final two Broncos years; after seeing 63 looks in his Seahawks debut, the Iowa product commanded a paltry 43 last season. After 670- and 673-yard showings in offenses with sub-average QB play in Denver, Fant has stalled out in Seattle. This contract, however, would appear to show the team agrees a production uptick should be expected.

The former No. 20 overall pick is the only player in Seahawks history to see his fifth-year option exercised, which is interesting due to his status as a Broncos draft choice. While Fant is unlikely to flirt with numbers ex-Iowa teammate T.J. Hockenson has put up as a pro, Grubb unlocking him could prove a gateway to a higher tier for Seattle’s offense.

Free agency additions:

AFC East fans will recognize several players in this year’s Seahawks starting lineup. Most of the main additions come from that division.

Last year’s Seahawks O-line underwhelmed in terms of performance and health, and the team’s 2024 offering is not off to a great start. Abraham Lucas is again set for an injury-driven absence. Offseason knee surgery, after the right tackle starter missed 11 games last season, led to a reserve/PUP list designation. The Seahawks will become the latest team to call on George Fant, who has begun to make a career of RT fill-in duty.

Fant, 32, never worked as a full-time Seahawks starter during his first stint. He still parlayed that tenure into a three-year, $27.3MM Jets deal. After being a three-year Jets starter, Fant subbed for the Texans by playing 874 RT snaps last year. Lucas’ injury history has become a concern, and the Seahawks did well to bring back their one-time basketball convert for key spot duty.

Seattle landed Williams at a discount, finishing a lengthy recruiting process after the seventh-year vet made a Ravens visit. If he plays to his Dolphins form, the team will need to prepare a big raise in order to keep the former second-rounder beyond 2024.

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