NFL Weekly Update - 3/12/22
BIG BIG BIG week in the NFL as the legal tampering period began and blockbuster trades started off what promises to be an exciting roller coaster of an offseason. In this little recap, we’re going to talk legal implications, big time free agent signings (including who got franchise tagged) and trades that change the landscape of the league.
LEGAL
I’m sure by now we have all heard of what happened to Calvin Ridley (WR for the Falcons). If you haven’t, he was suspended for the entire 2022 season for betting on games. Having a player bet on games is concerning but this is a little different because Ridley actually stepped away from the team (for personal reasons) following Halloween actually did not have any contact with the team from that point forward. He is being suspended for betting what he claims to be no more than $1,500 in a multilegged parlay involving three, five and eight games that included the Falcons to win in the month of November. To me, the craziest part about this is the amount of games the NFL suspended Ridley for. An entire season seems a little harsh when the NFL has suspended domestic violence abusers for so much less (see Ray Rice suspended for 2 games in 2014). It really seems like the NFL should switch that around but I’m not Rodger Goodell so I don’t make the rules.
This whole situation however lights a bigger fire under Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross. When Brian Flores was fired from the Dolphins a couple weeks ago, he claimed that Ross would pay him to lose games in order to get better draft position. Funny thing about this is, Ross wanted to Dolphins to tank so they could draft Tua but even though Flores refused and won 5 games, they still wound up with Tua at the 5th overall pick. Going back to the Ross/Flores scenario and relating it to Ridley’s scenario – Ridley bet on a couple games in which he picked the Falcons to win (the Falcons were atrocious last year so props to Ridley for thinking they could actually win) while Ross potentially compromised the entire season. Flores’ claim against Ross poses a more serious infraction than Ridley’s. If Ross can get away with this, it gives precedent for what NFL owners can get away with and shows how much power they have.
The last big legal topic came a couple days ago. On March 11, 2022 the Deshaun Watson legal saga came to an end. Prior to the season, 22 women came forward and filed lawsuits against Watson citing sexual harassment and sexual assault. A grand jury declined to indict Watson on any of his criminal charges. Although the criminal lawsuit is over, Tony Buzbee (attorney for the 22 women) said that he will continue to sue Watson in a civil lawsuit. What does this mean for the rest of the NFL? Watson is now free to be traded and play in the league once again. Before last season and the lawsuit, Watson demanded a trade from the Houston Texans and refused to play for them. The Texans and Watson’s team are now looking for possible suitors for the franchise QB. At the time of this writing, the best possible landing spots are the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints or the Indianapolis Colts (the Steelers have already said they would not be pursuing Watson).
SIGNINGS (Franchise Tags)
Aaron Rodgers might have just reset the QB market yet again. After a season where Rodgers went back and forth about leaving the team this offseason, he will reportedly ultimately sign an estimated 4 year, 200 million dollar deal which will take him through age 42. Although the specifics are not clear, one thing is for sure - its for a lot of money. This leads me to Rodgers’ go to guy – Davante Adams. Reports have the Packers signing Adams to the franchise tag until a long term deal gets done next year. Rodgers and Adams are back at it again which means at least 4 more years of no Super Bowl or losing to the 49ers in playoffs.
With Davante Adams off the board, the next biggest name in the WR market is Mike Williams. That’s what I would have said but Williams actually just re-signed with the Los Angeles Chargers for 3 years, 60 million dollars. Williams is coming off a career year which saw him have 76 catches for 1,146 yards and 9 touchdowns. This new contract makes Williams the 5th highest paid WR in the league. With these 2 big names off the board, the drop off to the next tier of free agent WR is rather steep. Still available are names like Allen Robinson and Christian Kirk. Robinson was once regarded as an elite talent but after a year where he was pretty much invisible, no one knows what to expect.
Franchise Tagged Players
Kansas City Chief – OT Orlando Brown Jr - $16.662 million
Miami Dolphin – TE Mike Gesicki - $10.931 million
Cleveland Browns – TE David Njoku - $10.931 million
Cincinnati Bengals – S Jessie Bates - $12.911 million
Dallas Cowboys – TE Dalton Schultz - $10.931 million
Green Bay Packers – WR Davante Adams - $18.419 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – WR Chris Godwin - $18.419 million
Jacksonville Jaguars – OT Cam Robinson – $16.662 million
TRADES
Now to talk about what you’re all here for. Let’s talk trades. Some big trades happened this week but one of the biggest in NFL history is Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.
Denver Broncos receive:
-QB Russell Wilson
-2022 4th Round pick
Seattle Seahawks receive:
-QB Drew Lock
-TE Noah Fant
-DL Shelby Harris
-2022, 2023 1st Round pick
-2022, 2023 2nd Round pick
-2022 5th Round pick
Russ is finally out of Seattle. There was a lot of talk in recent years about how Russ was unhappy in Seattle and how they were not letting “Russ Cook.” With this trade, Mr. Unlimited will finally be able to “cook” with an incredible WR core (Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick) and also have some help in the running game with Javonte Williams and (probably) Melvin Gordon. In terms of fantasy, Jeudy and Sutton get an immediate boost in production while you should probably fade Seattle’s Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Fantasy aside, it looks like the Seahawks are going full rebuild as they stockpile picks and cut the last remaining Legion of Boom member and captain, LB Bobby Wagner this week. The whole vibe around Seattle will definitely change if they manage to pull off a trade for Deshaun Watson but unless that happens, the Seahawks probably won’t win more than 4 games while the Broncos are position to make their first playoff appearance since Peyton Manning was at QB.
Before we talk more offense, let’s look at a big trade on the defensive side of the ball. After years of defensive dominance and a NFL defensive player of the year award, Khalil Mack is being traded from the Chicago Bears back to the AFC West with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers receive:
-OLB Khalil Mack
Chicago Bears receive:
-2022 2nd Round pick
-2023 5th Round pick
Honestly I am a little surprised that Mack was available for a 2nd and 5th but I guess that’s what happens when he is in his early 30s and coming off a season where he only played in 7 games. The 3x First Team All Pro now gets to team up with 4x First Team All Pro OLB Joey Bosa. A defense that features Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and a healthy Derwin James is a scary sight for QBs. After the Chargers narrowly missed the playoffs last season, they seem to be going all in this year.
The last big trade I’m going to cover is back on the offensive side of the ball and it literally just happened a couple of hours before this article was published! WR Amari Cooper is getting traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns receive:
-WR Amari Cooper
Dallas Cowboys receive:
-2022 5th and 6th Round Pick
The Dallas Cowboys needed Cooper to take a pay cut this season after they resigned both QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliot last offseason. Cooper refused. In addition to that, there seems to be the narrative of a growing rift between Cooper and Prescott after Cooper referred to Prescott to the “Black Kirk Cousins” after the Cowboy’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs. It is surprising to me how one of the league’s best route runners in his prime (27) is only worth 2 late round picks. Of course, the Browns would take on Cooper’s massive contract (5 year, $100 million signed in 2020) so maybe that is the one downside. In terms of fantasy, Amari Cooper’s value immediately drops. Baker Mayfield struggles with passing and the Browns have a run first offensive scheme. Additionally, the Browns may go through more changes on the offensive side because as soon as this trade was reported, WR Jarvis Landry was put on the trading block.
Crazy to think that all of this has happened in the last week. Like I said in the intro, this is definitely shaping up to being one of the craziest off-season’s of all time. Oh and Jimmy G is still available for trade. I personally think the 49ers should trade him to the Colts for Quenton Nelson, DeForest Buckner and a 2022 3rd Round pick. Who says no?