2023-2024 NFL Season (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Christian Wilkens signs with Raiders. Josh Jacobs to Packers.

 

[Malcolm R]

Cousins signing with Falcons!

Reportedly a 4-year deal. No money yet disclosed but it's likely to be far more than he's worth.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Reportedly a 4-year deal. No money yet disclosed but it's likely to be far more than he's worth.

4 year deal is absurd. Bad franchises are bad for numerous reasons.

Saquon Barkley to the Eagles.

I read that Cousins is getting $180 million over 4 years, $100 million guaranteed. Ridiculous.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yep, $45 million per year for 4 years. Cousins has one hell of an agent.

Arthur Blank is losing it.

 

[Malcolm R]

Minshew Mania goes to Las Vegas

Raiders land Gardner Minshew

Now that he's going to be a Raider, it's felt as if quarterback Gardner Minshew was always destined to be a Raider.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Jeffrey D]

Minshew Mania goes to Las Vegas

Raiders land Gardner Minshew

Now that he's going to be a Raider, it's felt as if quarterback Gardner Minshew was always destined to be a Raider.

www.nbcsports.com

He’s not a starting QB, so the Raiders still have to figure out that position.

 

[Robert Crawford]

He’s not a starting QB, so the Raiders still have to figure out that position.

You got that right!

 

[Jeffrey D]

NFL.com is reporting that the Saquon Barkley deal is for 3 years, $37.75 million. Seems a bit high, but I would think the Eagles have a built in escape clause- he gets hurt, he gets cut, with minimal damage against the cap.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Cousins signing with Falcons!

Always his first choice and the Falcons really wanted him the most:

Falcons agreed on a $180 million, four-year deal with $100 million guaranteed and a $50 million signing bonus, according to a person with knowledge of the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal can’t be signed until the new league year begins on Wednesday.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yep, $45 million per year for 4 years. Cousins has one hell of an agent.

Arthur Blank is losing it.

Signing a 36 year old QB that is coming off a season ended by injury to a $180 million 4 year deal is questionable. I can only assume there is a major out in the contract after 2 years because the money is not all guaranteed. This could make the Falcons the Broncos of 2024 if Cousins does not perform well. Blank seems to be letting others make the decisions there, so not sure if this was his choice or theirs. Passed on Belichick, signed Cousins to a big contract. If these decisions do not get them into the playoffs, they believe they have a playoff team that just needed a QB, some heads could roll.

Timing always seems perfect for Cousins so, while I think his agent has done a good job, there is some luck involved as in each time he has come free, there is not a great batch of veteran QBs on the market and there are some desperate teams.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Signing a 36 year old QB that is coming off a season ended by injury to a $180 million 4 year deal is questionable. I can only assume there is a major out in the contract after 2 years because the money is not all guaranteed. This could make the Falcons the Broncos of 2024 if Cousins does not perform well. Blank seems to be letting others make the decisions there, so not sure if this was his choice or theirs. Passed on Belichick, signed Cousins to a big contract. If these decisions do not get them into the playoffs, they believe they have a playoff team that just needed a QB, some heads could roll.

My take is the $100 million guaranteed is for 2 seasons of playing. If he gets hurt again, or, like much of his career, comes up small in the big moments, he can get cut after 2025. I hate this move because the Falcons are just delaying their growth process by bringing this guy in. He’s not a winner.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Two massively bad QB contracts did impact and drive up QB values in the NFL. The horrible Deshaun Watson deal in Cleveland and the Daniel Jones deal with the Giants. Every agent making a deal for a QB uses these two contracts as comparisons for what their guy should be paid. I've heard most teams do not even want to hear an agent mention the Watson deal, they throw that out as out of hand and nuts. However, the Jones deal with the Giants is on the table every time a QB deal is signed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Two massively bad QB contracts did impact and drive up QB values in the NFL. The horrible Deshaun Watson deal in Cleveland and the Daniel Jones deal with the Giants. Every agent making a deal for a QB uses these two contracts as comparisons for what their guy should be paid. I've heard most teams do not even want to hear an agent mention the Watson deal, they throw that out as out of hand and nuts. However, the Jones deal with the Giants is on the table every time a QB deal is signed.

The Jones contract is not good, but the Giants can get out of it after the 2024 season without much impact on their salary cap.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I should say, in reality, Jones got his deal because the Watson deal massively threw the QB market out of whack. Jones managed to piggyback off of that deal to sign a deal worth well more than he was worth because he has one decent season that was better than anything Watson had done with the Browns. Jones is no more than a good NFL back-up QB but was paid as a franchise starting QB. That drove every genuine starting quarterback's price way up, and was a massive lift for every other QB.

The third bad QB contract was the Broncos massive deal to Wilson, which at the time Wilson was seen as a franchise QB, but that had been suffering injury issues and declining play. However, I have to think, the Watson deal helped Wilson get all that guaranteed money because it set a standard for "franchise" QB pay.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The real damage that the Watson deal did to the NFL was it set a standard that a starting franchise QB's second contract was going to be massive and most likely coming with a whopping sum of money guaranteed. This created the concept that you want to draft a QB and hope he gets you deep into the playoffs and hopefully to a Super Bowl while he is on his rookie deal...because the next contract he signs will be massive and change how you look at signing players to fill out his supporting cast.

In this way, the Browns really screwed the league, which was why so many were furious with what they gave Watson. It also set the standard that even if a player like that has massive flaws, he still should get paid huge money and have all or most of it guaranteed.

The scale was thrown off by Watson and Cleveland, it was set in stone with deals given to guys like Jones and Wilson. Every owner and GM would say they would not go by the Watson deal, that it was an outlier, but Jones and Wilson were not guys with personal problems and each could show they had done more than Watson...so their agents got them deals that really would not have happened without the Watson deal.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

He’s not a starting QB, so the Raiders still have to figure out that position.

If they draft a rookie, Minshew may start while the rookie watches for a period. So, I would not be surprised if Minshew is the QB for the first half of the season. He's another solid back-up that has shown he can step in and start for a while when needed. I think he is a good addition while they look for a guy to be their starter.

Same with Sam Darnold going to the Vikings. A solid back-up that can start for a while.

Trey Lance may also end up being traded to be some teams interim starter as well. Several teams are supposedly interested in him. Back-up QBs are really important.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Someone at nfl.com made a very good point about Justin Fields, and his situation. Seems that potential openings for him are becoming scarce. That story will be interesting to watch.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Someone at nfl.com made a very good point about Justin Fields, and his situation. Seems that potential openings for him are becoming scarce. That story will be interesting to watch.

I heard them discussing this on NFL radio yesterday and this was what they were saying. They seemed to think there was no market for Fields and other NFL teams just see him as a back-up. That because teams have signed some QBs that it means nobody is in the market for Fields.

However, I don't think this is the case at all. I think the problem is the Bears believe they can get the most for him closer to or during the draft. Initially they appeared willing to take a third round pick for him, then they were saying they wanted a second round pick, then that went up to they wanted a second and a third round pick and lately there have been rumblings they are telling people they want a first round pick, which I believe nobody will give them for him.

So, I think the problem is the Bears GM is playing some games here thinking he can maximize the value in a trade. What this has done is cause the teams that had an interest in trading for him to start countering this by talking about how Fields stats are not impressive to reduce his trade value.

The Bears may get a second round pick from a team that is very interested but I think the compensation level for him is basically a third rounder. That will only push upward if you have more than one team bidding on him and they both really want him.

I still think there is potential that a team like the Patriots, Raiders, Broncos, or Redskins could trade for Fields. There is a good argument that the Patriots could take Marvin Harrison Jr. with the third pick in the draft and trade for Fields. That would give them a big weapon at WR and a QB that is already moving along in his development. I think the Vikings would trade for Fields but the Bears won't trade him to a division rival.

Other than the Steelers and Falcons, I don't think any of these teams have signed a starter or solution at QB.

 

[Malcolm R]

Reports are that Raiders will release Garoppolo today, so he's another starting-ish QB name in the mix.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Reports are that Raiders will release Garoppolo today, so he's another starting-ish QB name in the mix.

He starts the 2024 season with a 2 game suspension and his value plummeted because he looked awful with the Raiders and so he may be one of the last QBs signed. My guess is he is going to start some games for a team in 2024 but I think he's now mostly seen as a back-up. If Belichick was coaching a team, I think he would have grabbed him. He's a nice option for a team like the Vikings as a guy that can start while they figure things out.