The new NFL League Year officially started this week, and the floodgates have opened up for trades, extensions, free agency signings, and all types of transactions. Honestly, so much was happening so quickly earlier this week that it was almost hard to even keep up with. I was feeling excited yet overwhelmed as an NFL fan even. I guess I’ll start like I always do and talk about my teams first because surprisingly as hell, the Cowboys have made some moves this week and a lot of them are actually exciting/instill some hope that the GMs and front office woke up this week and realized they need to do something differently than what they’ve been doing, especially with that damn defense.
Firstly, we fired the DC Matt Eberflus shortly after the season ended (thank God). I don’t wish ill on anyone and hate to see someone lose their job, but my goodness man, this guy stood at the helm of a TERRIBLE defense all season long last year and did nothing about it. We signed Christian Parker from the Eagles defensive coaching staff as the new defensive coordinator (love it any time we can take something from the Eagles) so I’m hoping they can do something more under him. He said the cornerstones to his defense are stopping the run and getting after the quarterback. Hopefully we’re going to stick true to his word, Quinnen Williams and DeMarion Overshown are 2 monsters playing the line and we traded a pick to the Packers for Rashan Gary to add some beef to the defensive front as well. We also signed ANOTHER defensive tackle, Otito Ogbonnia from the Chargers, so it really feels like we’re trying to become a wall up front and cause some chaos for offenses. At least one can hope. We also cleaned out the safety room and added 2 new safeties to the mix, P.J. Locke from the Broncos and Jalen Thompson from the Cardinals. All that really excites me though as a fan, it feels like they’re cleaning shop and making some serious changes to a defense that desperately needed it. Probably the most significant amount of change for the Cowboys during an offseason in a long while. We also picked up Sam Howell to backup for Dak, and he’s shown to be a pretty dynamic QB at times as well. At the least a sustainable 2nd stringer so that’s not a bad pickup either.
Now let’s talk about my good ole Browns, this one shouldn’t take as long I wouldn’t think. They added a lot of depth to bolster up their offensive line which was necessary considering young Shedeur is going to need the time and protection to develop the way he needs to. Tytus Howard from the Texans at guard, Zion Johnson another guard from the Chargers, and Elgton Jenkins from the Packers at center (that’s a big deal). We also signed Quincy Williams from the Jets at linebacker and that dude is a force to be reckoned with, so he’ll add some help to a stout and overall young Browns defense. Around the rest of the league though some big-time moves have been made for some big-time players within this last week so let’s take a minute and talk about some of the biggest moves around the league so far. Starting off, this year’s Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III signed with the Chiefs a couple days ago in a bit of a shocker. I knew he’d maybe end up on another team next year since his contract was up and he felt less favored than Zach Charbonnet was on the Seahawks offense throughout most of the season this past year. Which is just crazy to me because he’s always seemed like the more explosive and dynamic running back anyways and I thought the Hawks might feel the same after his playoff and Super Bowl performance this past season. Alas though, he’ll be with Mahomes, Kelce, Reid, and company over at Arrowhead. That’s scary. The chiefs had a highly disappointing year last year so they’re hoping to bounce back in a big way and become their winning dynasty selves again.
Since KW9 went to the Chiefs though, that meant their lion’s share RB Isaiah Pacheco bounced out of KC as well, joining Jahmyr Gibbs and Dan Campbell and company on the Detroit Lions. So, the Gibbs/Montgomery dynamic duo has officially been split up, and the Gibbs/Pacheco dynamic duo will make their debut next season. David Montgomery went to the Texans. Other notable running backs in the league getting traded or getting extensions were Javonte Williams signing a 3-year deal with the Cowboys after a great last season, Travis Etienne signed a 4-year deal with the Saints, JK Dobbins signed a 2-year deal with the Broncos, and Rico Dowdle signed a 2-year deal with the Steelers after really coming on strong last year for the Panthers offense. This is what I’m talking about though, so much has happened this past week with so many position players that it’s fun and exciting as a fan, but honestly a bit hard to keep up with and overwhelming as well because so much has happened so quickly. The wide receivers weren’t much easier to follow, but just a couple really shocked me and felt like big splashes, but since I love talking some football we will go over a few of the big WR moves and extensions as well.
Firstly, my Cowboys franchise tagged George Pickens for this next season as well so the Pickens/Lamb combination will not be split up yet! Alec Pierce signed a massive 4-year extension with the Colts. The Colts are throwing money at their offense in hopes of making another attempt at a run next year and they’re letting it be known. Daniel Jones signed a huge 2-year contract extension with them this week as well, a questionable move for a kind of unproven QB who’s coming off a big injury but one that still could pay off for them, nonetheless. After what we saw Darnold and the Seahawks do this past season, football fans should know not to count anyone out, especially before the season begins and these people get out on the field. Someone who won’t be on the field with the Colts next season however is Michael Pittman Jr. who signed a 3-year deal with the Steelers this week as well. The shockingly explosive fantasy football player Wan’Dale Robinson is leaving the Giants also, as he signed a 4-year deal with the Titans. Romeo Doubs was also let go by the Packers (feels like they let go of everyone this week) and signed a 4-year deal with the Patriots, and D.J. Moore was traded to the Bills from the Bears for some draft picks, adding some WR depth for Josh Allen’s pass-heavy offense. Perhaps the biggest and most shocking WR signing so far though was veteran receiver Mike Evans to the 49ers from the Bucs. I just always expected him to retire a Buc at this point, he just seemed to be in love with the city and the team so much that I couldn’t picture him anywhere else, I still can’t. Alas, he signed a 3-year deal with the 49ers so that should really make that already dangerous offense even more explosive next year. If they can stay healthy that is after last season, my goodness.
Some of the more shocking news with the WRs though is perhaps who hasn’t been signed or picked up after being let go this year. Both Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs were released from their respective teams, and no one has tried to make a move on them yet. Those are 2 highly effective and dynamic football players who even 3 years ago teams would’ve been jumping at the opportunity to sign to their team. One thing is they’re aging sure, more injury prone after all the wear and tear probably, but also their behavior. Both these players have been disciplined on and off the field plenty of times up to this point in their careers and I think a lot of teams are at the point where they’d rather sign a younger player to develop and not deal with the headache and honestly, I cannot blame them. I have nothing against either of those players personally either and I actually think Hill is one of the best overall receivers in the league still, but you don’t want issues like that in the locker room. Especially when they cost millions of dollars to have around in the first place. Speaking on Daniel Jones big contract though, there were some other QB moves around the league this week as well. Tua was let go by the Dolphins and signed with the Falcons, and in turn the Fins signed Malik Willis (the very capable backup from the Packers) to a 3-year deal. The Raiders are going to go for Mendoza in the draft so they let go of Geno Smith and sent him back to his old stomping grounds…the New York Jets. So, basically, he’s in career purgatory right now. The Cardinals also let go of Kyler Murray and he was just picked up by the Vikings today, so I guess the JJ McCarthy experiment is done after one season? The thing is though the Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew this week, so I’m guessing it’ll be him or Jacoby at QB for them next year? We’ll see how that goes.
Anyways, if anyone is still reading, I think I’ve been rambling too long at this point, so I need to stop now. I could do a whole other paragraph on how the Ravens traded for Maxx Crosby only to back out at the very last moment because of some shady “failed physical” reason and then turn around and sign Trey Hendrickson to a huge 4-year deal a day later. Whatever though, Maxx has always felt like he belongs on the Raiders and he loves that team, so I was kind of sad to see him go if it was going to happen anyways, but it was kind of exciting to think about him on a contending team like that as well. Anyways, that’s going to do it for this one I think guys. Make sure to like the page on social media or bookmark my website and check back here for new content over WWE wrestling, NFL football, horror films (both new & classic alike), new films in the theaters now, and more! Until next time, stay safe and be good to one another!
