2024 NFL General Season News and Notes

Oil Can Dan

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No, after their playoff loss it was reported that some of his OL teammates said he told them he was retiring but he himself said he needed to take some time to make his decision.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Probably, but I do think Evans might have an inkling that Mayfield is returning, tagged or not.
Yeah, I think that’s likely. A few weeks back Baker was even caught on a hot mic indicating that he was returning to Tampa, so there’s a lotta smoke there - Evans re-signing before FA only adds to it.
 

BaseballJones

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On blue check NFL page on my Instagram feed it says that the Broncos have released Russell Wilson. Or “are releasing” him.
 

Cellar-Door

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Assuming he's designated post June 1 (he will be) Dead cap will be:

2024: $35.4M
2025: $49.6M
 

Cellar-Door

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I hear that and want NE to draft a QB at 3. But Wilson and MHJ would instantly make the Patriots a hell of a lot better. He’s still a good QB.
Wilson, and whatever you get trading down would make you a lot better for longer than that.

Of course to be a real contender you probably are best off just taking a QB at 3
 

NortheasternPJ

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I hear that and want NE to draft a QB at 3. But Wilson and MHJ would instantly make the Patriots a hell of a lot better. He’s still a good QB.
I'm really not looking for instantly better, this is how we got to the 2021 pats. If it happens, great but I want to be a real contender as @Cellar-Door mentioned for the long term. Being a perennial 5th seed is not what I would like. I know this isn't a realistic expectation to be in the AFCCG every year, but I want to be in the mix as discussed as one of the top team in the AFC.

Plus I really despise Wilson, his off the field shit in SEA, his entire Denver stint, why would anyone want him to lead a locker room? Even if he's the perfect guy a 36 year old RW isn't going anywhere in the next 2-3 years and that's his window if there is one.
 

Bowhemian

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The fact the Denver is taking huge cap hits each of the next 2 years has to tell you something about the guy.
Therefore, this Pats fan says no fucking thanks.
 
Oct 12, 2023
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My guy Foley Fatukasi (UConn DT) cut today by Jacksonville. On his birthday. Ugh.

BUT.... I really would like for the Pats to get him. Not very expensive most likely, and still a really solid player.
A useful run stuffer, might be redundant with Godchaux but perhaps he could fill the role Guy had served the last few years. He’s probably better on the nose than at 5-technique though (although that’s assuming Mayo is sticking with the same type of defense Belichick ran)
 
Oct 12, 2023
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leftfieldlegacy

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I hear that and want NE to draft a QB at 3. But Wilson and MHJ would instantly make the Patriots a hell of a lot better. He’s still a good QB.
Based on what? PFF has him ranked as the 34/62 ranked QB in their power rankings with this comment
34) Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
At this point in Russell Wilson’s career, he’s best suited as a highly volatile backup option. But in the right situation, he might be able to find a bit of success still.
Beyond his diminishing skills I don't imagine he would be the "team first" QB that a rookie HC and a first time play caller would want. There is a reason Denver is releasing him and dealing with a huge cap hit. Pass
Give me Daniels/Maye and let Mayo create the culture without a veteran QB diva.
 

Ferm Sheller

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If the Pats signed Wilson and he led him to a SB victory, I'd shut the tv off as they were getting ready to hand him the MVP trophy.
 
Oct 12, 2023
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Wilson makes a lot of sense for the Vikings if Cousins leaves. Pittsburgh maybe (though Tannehill reuniting with Arthur Smith makes sense too).
 

BaseballJones

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Based on what? PFF has him ranked as the 34/62 ranked QB in their power rankings with this comment
Based on:

#10 in accuracy (66.4%) - note: these stats are based on minimum of 10 games played
#19 in passing yards (3,070)
#9 in passing TD (26) - versus just 8 INT
#6 in passer rating (98.0)

And he still ran for 343 yards and 3 TD, so he can still do damage with his legs.

He's no longer a pro-bowl player, but he's still good.

I agree that I want the QB at #3, but it is a viable strategy to rapid improvement if they signed Wilson and added talent elsewhere in the draft.
 

E5 Yaz

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Based on:

#10 in accuracy (66.4%) - note: these stats are based on minimum of 10 games played
#19 in passing yards (3,070)
#9 in passing TD (26) - versus just 8 INT
#6 in passer rating (98.0)

And he still ran for 343 yards and 3 TD, so he can still do damage with his legs.

He's no longer a pro-bowl player, but he's still good.

I agree that I want the QB at #3, but it is a viable strategy to rapid improvement if they signed Wilson and added talent elsewhere in the draft.
And despite his decent statistical season, he ran afoul of a veteran coach, was given his own private lockerroom/office and was cut despite the huge cap hit to the team. Is this really the sort of teammate/presence that the Patriots should want in Mayo's first season?
 

BaseballJones

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And despite his decent statistical season, he ran afoul of a veteran coach, was given his own private lockerroom/office and was cut despite the huge cap hit to the team. Is this really the sort of teammate/presence that the Patriots should want in Mayo's first season?
Great question.

He's still a good QB, which is all I was saying.
 

Cellar-Door

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And despite his decent statistical season, he ran afoul of a veteran coach, was given his own private lockerroom/office and was cut despite the huge cap hit to the team. Is this really the sort of teammate/presence that the Patriots should want in Mayo's first season?
In fairness to him, running afoul of one of the most notorious assholes in league history is not necessarily a negative. As to eating the cap hit, it was partially to avoid paying out even more money (he had $37M more that guaranteed in a few weeks)
Wilson seems like a weirdo, but many QBs are, the question is mostly whether he can still play. I don't think he can beyond middle to low end starter, but for the minimum that could be very attractive to many teams short term, it's way better performance to $ ratio than most teams get.
For the Patriots... probably doesn't make sense, though a 1-2 year deal if he'd take it to keep the seat warm for a highly drafted QB might not be crazy, he's a lot better than Zappe.

I think whoever thinks they're getting McCarthy in the draft should sign Russ, McCarthy is not NFL ready and Russ is a big enough name and probably has enough in the tank to reasonably start a year without the fanbase going nuts about it.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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The last thing I would do is sign Russ to play ahead of someone that needed mentoring. Unless you want to show them how not to act as a team leader.
 

Justthetippett

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In fairness to him, running afoul of one of the most notorious assholes in league history is not necessarily a negative. As to eating the cap hit, it was partially to avoid paying out even more money (he had $37M more that guaranteed in a few weeks)
Wilson seems like a weirdo, but many QBs are, the question is mostly whether he can still play. I don't think he can beyond middle to low end starter, but for the minimum that could be very attractive to many teams short term, it's way better performance to $ ratio than most teams get.
For the Patriots... probably doesn't make sense, though a 1-2 year deal if he'd take it to keep the seat warm for a highly drafted QB might not be crazy, he's a lot better than Zappe.

I think whoever thinks they're getting McCarthy in the draft should sign Russ, McCarthy is not NFL ready and Russ is a big enough name and probably has enough in the tank to reasonably start a year without the fanbase going nuts about it.
Russ doesn't strike me as the kind of personality that wants a highly touted rookie around, or that would benefit such a rookie. He's aloof and cloying. Maybe that's unfair. I don't really know, obviously, but it's definitely something I'd keep in mind. Purely on paper a 2-year stop gap makes sense but not if he comes in and ruins your prospect's development.
 

Cellar-Door

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Russ doesn't strike me as the kind of personality that wants a highly touted rookie around, or that would benefit such a rookie. He's aloof and cloying. Maybe that's unfair. I don't really know, obviously, but it's definitely something I'd keep in mind. Purely on paper a 2-year stop gap makes sense but not if he comes in and ruins your prospect's development.
Yeah, though to me.... you don't need your starter to develop his replacement, plenty of guys don't and the replacement is fine, plenty try hard and the replacement stinks. The development of QBs is mostly on the QB himself and the coaches (and his offseason trainers). Like Favre hated Rodgers, Rodgers was not out there mentoring Love... worked fine. Some might even argue a more "competitive" relationship could help more.

Overall though.... yeah I think Russ probably wants to go somewhere with not much in the way of other options
 
Apr 7, 2006
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A lot of his teammates and coaches seem to hate him and the fact that Denver released him despite fairly decent stats suggests to me that he's not nearly as productive as those numbers indicate. He's also old enough that his age doesn't really line up with how much the Patriots need to rebuild. I honestly wouldn't want him for FREE. I can't believe so many people here would be open to signing him.
 

Hoya81

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Great question.

He's still a good QB, which is all I was saying.
There’s usually a QB or two a year that has a solid stat line that is largely detached from how that season played out narratively.

Carson Wentz threw for 3500 yds/27 TD/7 INT for Indy in 2021 and got shipped out of town almost immediately.
 
Oct 12, 2023
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A lot of his teammates and coaches seem to hate him and the fact that Denver released him despite fairly decent stats suggests to me that he's not nearly as productive as those numbers indicate. He's also old enough that his age doesn't really line up with how much the Patriots need to rebuild. I honestly wouldn't want him for FREE. I can't believe so many people here would be open to signing him.
He looked adequate last year. Not advocating for him, but people here are open to Brissett and any number of other bottom tier starters, Wilson at least could possibly be around average and he’d be dirt cheap with the offsets

Wilson for 1M against the cap or Brissett at 14M or whatever he will command?

Pretty sure the reason he’s on the outs in Denver is he lost the power struggle to Payton and he was due a massive chunk of additional and unwarranted fully guaranteed money if they didn’t cut him

As much as the dead cap sucks, guaranteeing him even more (almost 50M more) would have sucked even more for a guy whose best days are behind him.

The advantage a guy like Brissett has is he can be a mentor (perhaps) whereas Wilson would be unlikely to accept a backup role if the Pats go QB at 3. But if they’re punting on a franchise QB prospect, Wilson is a lot better of an option for the next couple years than Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco, Mason Rudolph, Des Ridder, Snoop Huntley or Bailey Zappe
 
Oct 12, 2023
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I think whoever of Atlanta and Minnesota doesn't get Cousins ends up with Russ.

I think Denver is going to pop up and trade for Fields.
Don’t think Denver has the draft capital to sacrifice for a guy who might be a one and done. They don’t have a 2nd round pick and their first rounder would be way too rich.
 

mcpickl

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Don’t think Denver has the draft capital to sacrifice for a guy who might be a one and done. They don’t have a 2nd round pick and their first rounder would be way too rich.
They have a 3rd rounder this year and a 2nd rounder next year. I think that's in the ballpark for Fields.

He wouldn't be one and done for them. They'd pick up that fifth year option if they were trading for him.

I can't imagine Payton going into this year with Stidham as his starter, and they don't have the money to sign a QB.

But Fields at 3.2M...now you're talking.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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The last thing I would do is sign Russ to play ahead of someone that needed mentoring. Unless you want to show them how not to act as a team leader.
This is a perfect idea. Sign Russ. Take MHJ. Keep Mac as the starter with Russ as mentor.

Draft QB with next year's #1 overall pick.
 

BaseballJones

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Seattle, 2018-2020

2018: 10-6 with the #16 defense; Wilson: 65.6%, 3,448 yds, 35 td, 7 int, 110.9 rating
2019: 11-5 with the #26 defense; Wilson: 66.1%, 4,110 yds, 31 td, 5 int, 106.3 rating
2020: 12-4 with the #22 defense; Wilson: 68.8%, 4,212 yds, 40 td, 13 int, 105.1 rating

He seemed to lead just fine even without a good defense or much help on offense. Chris Carson was the RB and his receivers were ok, nothing great (Lockett and 30-year old Baldwin).

Obviously his stats - and his teams' performance - dipped in 2021-23, but he also battled injuries, and was on pretty terrible teams.

I fully get that he certainly appears to be a prima donna and a PITA in the club house, but I don't know WHY he is that. He's a good player who led his team to really nice success, obviously yes when they had the Legion of Boom, but also without them, when their team had a LOT less talent.

He's a conundrum for me, that's for sure.
 

Justthetippett

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I think whoever of Atlanta and Minnesota doesn't get Cousins ends up with Russ.

I think Denver is going to pop up and trade for Fields.
Too much smoke of Fields to ATL. I think they'll get one of McCarthy, Nix or Pratt. Peyton will try to coach them up and, probably, fail on his way getting fired. Or at least one can dream.
 

Old Fart Tree

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Seattle, 2018-2020

2018: 10-6 with the #16 defense; Wilson: 65.6%, 3,448 yds, 35 td, 7 int, 110.9 rating
2019: 11-5 with the #26 defense; Wilson: 66.1%, 4,110 yds, 31 td, 5 int, 106.3 rating
2020: 12-4 with the #22 defense; Wilson: 68.8%, 4,212 yds, 40 td, 13 int, 105.1 rating

He seemed to lead just fine even without a good defense or much help on offense. Chris Carson was the RB and his receivers were ok, nothing great (Lockett and 30-year old Baldwin).

Obviously his stats - and his teams' performance - dipped in 2021-23, but he also battled injuries, and was on pretty terrible teams.

I fully get that he certainly appears to be a prima donna and a PITA in the club house, but I don't know WHY he is that. He's a good player who led his team to really nice success, obviously yes when they had the Legion of Boom, but also without them, when their team had a LOT less talent.

He's a conundrum for me, that's for sure.
You are aware it’s 2024 right?
 

Old Fart Tree

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Yes. Now what was the point I was making, do you think? Think of the context of the conversation.
Honestly I’m pretty lost but one minute you were saying he’s still a good QB - he’s not! - and the next you were posting stats that are 4-6 years old, which in NFL time might as well be his Pop Waner highlight reels. So you tell me! What point were you attempting to make?
 
Oct 12, 2023
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Honestly I’m pretty lost but one minute you were saying he’s still a good QB - he’s not! - and the next you were posting stats that are 4-6 years old, which in NFL time might as well be his Pop Waner highlight reels. So you tell me! What point were you attempting to make?
4th in TD%
10th in INT%
8th in passer rating
17th in ANY/A
12th in completion%
4 4th quarter comebacks

He might not be peak Seattle Russ but he was at worst average last year. He’s a lot better than almost any other external option out there other than Cousins

There’s plenty of reasons to not want Wilson on the Pats but he’d be dirt cheap against the cap and is still a top 20 QB
 

67YAZ

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The Bears address their need for a center by getting Ryan Bates from the Bills for a 5th round pick.

The value of late-round picks should be really low this year with a very small number of underclassman declaring - the fewest in over a decade, 100 fewer than in 2019. This is a ripple of the NIL movement, and it probably means a lot of teams will have much shorter than usual boards going into the draft. So trading day 3 picks for current players, to move up the board, or to bail out into next year will be popular. Or at least trying to swing those deals will be common.
 
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BaseballJones

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Honestly I’m pretty lost but one minute you were saying he’s still a good QB - he’s not! - and the next you were posting stats that are 4-6 years old, which in NFL time might as well be his Pop Waner highlight reels. So you tell me! What point were you attempting to make?
People were saying that he isn’t a good leader and I’m pointing out that he took some pretty weak Seattle teams to some pretty damned good records, and he played great in getting them there. That’s hard to do if you’re a lousy leader.

So I recognize that he seems to have giant red flags but I can’t really figure out what they are. He’s clearly shown the ability to lead not so great teams to some really good records.

He’s older now so his skill level isn’t what it was but my point was more about his leadership. How do you lead teams with mediocre talent poorly and yet put up double digit wins constantly?
 

Cellar-Door

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A lot of his teammates and coaches seem to hate him and the fact that Denver released him despite fairly decent stats suggests to me that he's not nearly as productive as those numbers indicate. He's also old enough that his age doesn't really line up with how much the Patriots need to rebuild. I honestly wouldn't want him for FREE. I can't believe so many people here would be open to signing him.
Denver released him because of factors that have no bearing on his next team, which is he had an insane contract with a bunch of guarantee triggers they wanted to dodge. If he'd been willing to renegotiate to eliminate injury guarantees and maybe shift some money around.... he might well still be there.

It is of no value to compare what a team thought of having him take up a huge amount of cap space for years decided about his value when talking about teams trying to sign him for basically nothing with no risk or need to keep him.

Think of all the players who got cut from big contracts then went somewhere else for cheap and contributed.... Patriots history is littered with them (Collins, Van Noy, Trent Brown). I think everyone will kick the tires on him at vet minimum.... he's far better than any other QB making anywhere near that little. I don't think any team is looking to have him play for them for more than 1-2 years (if he's really good maybe you extend him), but.... look at TB last year... lot of value in getting mediocre QB play for cheap, and Russ will be even cheaper than Mayfield and they are a similar level of QB.
I'd certainly consider him as the vet competition/bridge for the rookie QB along with guys like Brissett, and he's going to be so cheap that if he turns out to be a PITA in the lockerroom.... you just cut him.
 

Justthetippett

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Denver released him because of factors that have no bearing on his next team, which is he had an insane contract with a bunch of guarantee triggers they wanted to dodge. If he'd been willing to renegotiate to eliminate injury guarantees and maybe shift some money around.... he might well still be there.

It is of no value to compare what a team thought of having him take up a huge amount of cap space for years decided about his value when talking about teams trying to sign him for basically nothing with no risk or need to keep him.

Think of all the players who got cut from big contracts then went somewhere else for cheap and contributed.... Patriots history is littered with them (Collins, Van Noy, Trent Brown). I think everyone will kick the tires on him at vet minimum.... he's far better than any other QB making anywhere near that little. I don't think any team is looking to have him play for them for more than 1-2 years (if he's really good maybe you extend him), but.... look at TB last year... lot of value in getting mediocre QB play for cheap, and Russ will be even cheaper than Mayfield and they are a similar level of QB.
I'd certainly consider him as the vet competition/bridge for the rookie QB along with guys like Brissett, and he's going to be so cheap that if he turns out to be a PITA in the lockerroom.... you just cut him.
I'd consider him in that bridge role and I take your point earlier that that the constituent parts of the QB room don't have to love each other for a rookie QB to ultimately have success. Hell, you could bring in both him and Brissett at low cost and balance out the room for a rookie. But I still think you're discounting the negatives. He's been a PITA and a diva recently, and offered very little in terms of performance or team success. Yeah, you can just cut him, but that's disruptive for a new QB room and coaching staff looking to get things going in the right direction. I think they'll do their due diligence but ultimately pass (or get passed) and we'll be better off.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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Wilson was throwing the ball to the flawed but still dangerous grouping of Jeudy, Sutton, and promising rookie Mims and he completed 128 (43%!!!) passes to his RBs. Put him on a team without the weapons (cough Foxboro) and it would be ugly. Really ugly. Russ cooked so much he cooked himself.
 

johnmd20

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I hear that and want NE to draft a QB at 3. But Wilson and MHJ would instantly make the Patriots a hell of a lot better. He’s still a good QB.
No he's not. He is better than Mac Jones and that's about it. The stats are bad. The tape is bad. He's 36 and his super power, creating out of structure with moon balls, is done.

The Pats won't be doing themselves any favors by picking up the corpse of Wilson. Plus he comes with too much drama. Russell Wilson hasn't won in the playoffs since the 2019 season. He's made one playoff game in the last 4 years.(0 in the last 3) He's done.

edit - and in the last playoff game he was 11-27, threw a pick 6, and was sacked 5 times.
 

j44thor

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The Bears address their need for a center by getting Ryan Bates from the Bills for a 5th round pick.

The value of late-round picks should be really low this year with a very small number of underclassman declaring - the fewest in over a decade, 100 fewer than in 2019. This is a ripple of the NIL movement, and it probably means a lot of teams will have much shorter than usual boards going into the draft. So trading day 3 picks for current players, to move up the board, or to bail out into next year will be popular. Or at least trying to swing those deals will be common.
Fewer UC declaring but still a larger Sr pool due to the Covid exemption rules that expire in the 2026 draft. No greater an example of a player taking advantage of that than Jayden Daniels who almost certainly would have been a day 3 pick had he come out in his traditional senior year in 2023.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the value of draft picks starting in 27 when you don't have any Covid exemptions.
 

DJnVa

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Wilson was sacked 50% more often per pass attempt than Mac Jones.

His passing success rate was 24 out of 32.

He had some superficially good stats, but between his deeper numbers and his, shall we say, general disdain, for teammates, he isn't what we want. Especially if there's a young QB in the building.