NFL 2021: The offseason and draft thread

MilkmanDanimal wrote:
*Legion* wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Can we not sign the perpetually injured old guy who will demand too much money?

Nope. Welcome to being a competitive team. You're now in the market for higher risk assets that can provide immediate impact. Patient, long-view team building is over for you! You've only got 2 more years of Baker below market value. Time to buy, buy, buy!

Particularly after a season when signing old guys with a history of injury, being disurptive, or being walking buckets of garbage paid off in terms of a Super Bowl title; Brady, Gronk, Fournette, and *heavy sigh* Antonio Brown clearly paid huge dividends, and that kind of immediate impact is going to make GMs drool. It's a copycat league, so this is going to be a year old guys might get themselves a bit of a bump while everybody tries to win the Offseason Super Bowl. I mean, last year was the first time the team that won the Offseason Super Bowl actually won the real one, but that doesn't mean loads of other teams will try.

That's because Tom Brady is (ick) the GOAT.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Particularly after a season when signing old guys with a history of injury, being disurptive, or being walking buckets of garbage paid off in terms of a Super Bowl title; Brady, Gronk, Fournette, and *heavy sigh* Antonio Brown drafting players from the University of Minnesota clearly paid huge dividends, and that kind of immediate impact is going to make GMs drool. It's a copycat league, so this is going to be a year old guys Gophers might get themselves a bit of a bump while everybody tries to win the Offseason Super Bowl.

Jacksonville finally does one thing right: Teal is their primary home jersey color once again. The black uniforms have been relegated to alternate status, where they belong.

After more than 20 years as a franchise, the Jaguars have finally accomplished getting dressed. Solid first step, guys.

It'd be a shame if someone here sigged that.

Rat Boy wrote:

It'd be a shame if someone here sigged that.

Nobody wants to soil all their posts with a Jaguars reference though.

*Legion* wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

It'd be a shame if someone here sigged that.

Nobody wants to soil all their posts with a Jaguars reference though.

The Jags are worse than a golden shower.

garion333 wrote:
*Legion* wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

It'd be a shame if someone here sigged that.

Nobody wants to soil all their posts with a Jaguars reference though.

The Jags are worse than a golden shower.

More of a teal shower. However, if they finish the full antibiotics cycle, it should eventually clear up.

QB news: Eagles are sending Certis to the Colts and getting a box of rocks in return.

Lots of folks predicted this because Wentz looked like a real NFL QB when Frank Reich was the Eagles' OC.

Surprised the Colts really had to give up anything tbh.

Makes sense for both sides? Colts had tons of cap space and needed a QB to play now.

Obvious * is can Wentz stay healthy and or play QB. TBD.

Enix wrote:

QB news: Eagles are sending Certis to the Colts and getting a box of rocks in return.

Lots of folks predicted this because Wentz looked like a real NFL QB when Frank Reich was the Eagles' OC.

Not entirely accurate.

Eagles are getting a box of rocks and a second conditional box of rocks.

OL in front of him in Indy is just a bit of a step up.

I'd say it's a good deal for them both, assuming Certis isn't completely dead as a player.

The Bears supposedly had an offer of two 2nds on the table, but it sounds like the issue there was that Wentz didn't really want to go to Chicago, and Chicago wasn't willing to pull the trigger if he wasn't "all-in".

In the end, it sounds like that killed the Chicago option, which made Indy's offer the best available.

I think Philly made out just fine here. A 3rd round pick this year, and the conditional 2nd which could elevate to a 1st (requirement: Wentz plays 70% of snaps and Colts make the playoffs in 2021, not impossible for a team that went 11-5 and won the AFC South last year - though having Carson Wentz at QB certainly could hurt)

jowner wrote:

Surprised the Colts really had to give up anything tbh.

Makes sense for both sides? Colts had tons of cap space and needed a QB to play now.

Obvious * is can Wentz stay healthy and or play QB. TBD.

Nothing portends future success as a professional athlete like the obvious question being "hey, can this guy actually play his sport." Absolutely accurate, and hilarious.

Big improvement to offensive line and team quality in general, so, if Wentz is going to turn it around, this is as good a shot as any he was going to find. He's not exactly stepping into the kind of situation Tom Brady stepped into with a loaded Bucs offense, but there are enough quality pieces in Indy to where it does feel like a bit of a step up.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Nothing portends future success as a professional athlete like the obvious question being "hey, can this guy actually play his sport." Absolutely accurate, and hilarious.

There's another recent QB who had questions like this, even after having made a deep playoff run and nearly making the Super Bowl. I can't quite remember his name...

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Nothing portends future success as a professional athlete like the obvious question being "hey, can this guy actually play his sport." Absolutely accurate, and hilarious.

There's another recent QB who had questions like this, even after having made a deep playoff run and nearly making the Super Bowl. I can't quite remember his name...

No, no, Blaine Gabbert actually did win the Super Bowl.

The fact the Eagles got anything for Wentz is a miracle. Let alone a potential 2022 First round pick. He had one good year. Lots of talk here that he was very much a me first guy and only had a few friends on the team. Looked down at a lot of the other players and generally was perceived to lack effort and attention to details.
I hope he does well so The Eagles get a late first round pick but I’m guessing he won’t. Likewise until the Eagles fix their GM and Drafting issue extra first round picks won’t help when the team misses on 80% of their picks.

At least I'll be near Gencon if that ever comes back.

Trading Wentz two years after inking him to an extension will leave the Eagles with $33.82 million in dead money on their 2021 salary cap, the largest dead cap hit in NFL history (surpassing Jared Goff's $22.2 million in L.A.). The willingness to take on that dead money underscores Philly's desire to cut bait with the QB regardless of the costs or return.

Wow, I gotta say, a team not wanting you to the tune of $33 million is a hell of a divorce.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

No, no, Blaine Gabbert actually did win the Super Bowl.

Steve Beuerlein, Mark Brunell, Byron Leftwich, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, and Nick Foles all have rings. Basically every Jaguars starting QB besides Garrard, Bortles, and Minshew.

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

No, no, Blaine Gabbert actually did win the Super Bowl.

Steve Beuerlein, Mark Brunell, Byron Leftwich, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, and Nick Foles all have rings. Basically every Jaguars starting QB besides Garrard, Bortles, and Minshew.

Factory of QB greatness, that Jacksonville team.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/Swldvq5.jpg)

Look at that sad bastard.

What about the other QBs that played behind those same O-lines while he was out? It is always hard to separate QB and line performance I think.

Huh. Looks like Carolina is cleaning house again. Panthers cut DT Kawann Short, DB Tre Boston, the punter and a starting (for a while) DE.

Either Carolina is cleaning out cap space for Eshawn-day Atson-way (!!!!!!!!) or they're planning to draft nothing but defensive players again (plus a punter bc karma). Either is likely to be true.

Unexpectedly low cap is what it is. Plus Short hasn't been relevant since ... Barack Obama was President?

I guess you could say his time in Carolina was . . . cut short.

sunglasses.gif

Also, you should draft a punter, as, thanks to far much more kicker-based research than I ever wanted to do, historically a drafted punter is a better-quality player. I mean, maybe not in the third-round, but drafting a punter is a perfectly fine use of a late-round pick.

I don't think DeShaun Watson will be traded, mainly because the Texans are so astoundingly incompetent they're going to find the worst possible way to handle this situation. He'll hold out, it'll be a toxic circus, and he'll eventually be forced to play.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

He'll hold out, it'll be a toxic circus, and he'll eventually be forced to play.

I'm going to predict the opposite. I expect he never takes a snap for Houston again, even if it means a Trent Williams style sitting out.

He has the leverage. He'll be just as valuable a year from now. But the new coach and GM can't afford to get nothing out of that asset. If he doesn't play, they have to get his value back in trade.

LeapingGnome wrote:

What about the other QBs that played behind those same O-lines while he was out? It is always hard to separate QB and line performance I think.

PFF says he was still the lowest ranked QB in the league with a clean pocket. Watching him he would also amazingly turn a clean pocket into a sack time and time again. His pocket awareness is basically nil.

Wentz and Pederson reportedly
didn't speak to each other for much of the 2020 season.

It's interesting to wonder how much of the fault lies where. The Eagles saw fit to dump both of them pretty much simultaneously, Wentz just took longer from trade negotiating.