Tuesday is the first milestone in the off-season of the NFL. Let’s jump in …
Nick Cammett / Diamond Images / Getty Images (Caserio); Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports (Newton); Joe Nicholson / USA TODAY Sports (Prescott)
• That’s right, starting on Tuesday, teams can apply the franchise brand to players. We don’t have the official numbers yet, because they are based on where the limit ends. But here are the projections for a $ 180 million limit, a $ 183 million limit (this has been the work number for some teams) and a $ 185 million limit.
Position by position for 180/183/185, all amounts in millions:
QB: $ 24.76 / $ 25.17 / $ 25.45
WR: $ 15.76 / $ 16.03 / $ 16.02
RB: $ 8.54 / $ 8.68 / $ 8.78
TE: $ 9.47 / $ 9.63 / $ 9.73
OL: $ 13.57 / $ 13.79 / $ 13.94
FROM: $ 15.85 / $ 16,113 / $ 16.29
DT: $ 13.70 / $ 13.93 / $ 14.08
LB: $ 14.59 / $ 14.83 / $ 14.99
CB: $ 14.85 / $ 15.10 / $ 15.27
S: $ 10.47 / $ 10.64 / $ 10.76
As the limit will be lower, and even with inflation accounted for, all of these numbers have dropped (and some significantly) since 2020. Which puts candidate tags for the first time in situations other than those that can be marked a second time (such as Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, Broncos S Justin Simmons and Washington G Brandon Scherff), as these guys, as a rule, would be marked with 120% of their 2020 tag number.
• Of the seconds, Prescott is more likely to get a repeat mark. Both Denver and Washington want to keep their players scored in 2020 for the long term and are confident they can do that. The question is whether another tag is the mechanism they will use to do this (I assume it would be if these deals were not made by the March 9 deadline). Prescott’s 2021 number is $ 37.691 million, Scherff’s is $ 15.981 million and Simmons is $ 13.72 million. Of the rookie candidates, I think Bucs WR Chris Godwin and Panthers OT Taylor Moton are likely to be scored, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lions WR Kenny Golladay meet the same fate. I’m a little more in the air with Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin, Packers RB Aaron Jones and Jets S Marcus Maye.
• And while we’re here, I wouldn’t expect a ton of news before the March 9 deadline (Tuesday is just when the window opens) to tag the guys. The reason why the teams wait? It allows some to keep the mark on two guys (Tampa would be an example, with Godwin and Shaq Barrett defined as free agents) and keeps the chance to score a second guy open if the guy who was marked for the brand initially gets a deal. The caveat this year is that, with the limit likely to fall, it will be much more difficult for teams with no limit (such as Pittsburgh with Bud Dupree) to swallow the one-year fixed number that comes with a player’s franchise.
• Curiosity I received from former Chargers coach Mike McCoy last week, which I’m not sure I heard before: the famous Wildcat package was named after former Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez. At the time McCoy was with the Panthers, a decade and a half ago, Carolina revealed the look with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart leading the zone reading. But initially, the idea was born of building contingencies if Basanez, an optional quarterback in college, and the third striker behind Jake Delhomme and Chris Weinke, were forced into action. Basanez’s alma mater? Northwestern. Consequently, the Wildcat. From there, Carolina OC Dan Henning went to Miami with him, and Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams put it on the front page in 2009 and made the term (which is for a staff package, more than a schematic appearance) a permanent part. of our lexicon. And, of course, the Panthers coach responsible for this was John Fox, who ended up being the Broncos coach during the 2011 Tebowmania season, which is what McCoy and I talked on the phone in the wake of Tim Tebow’s baseball retirement. “Yes, we just took advantage of what Tim did best, and that is what it is about,” said McCoy. “Coaches, players, everyone adjusted to what we did best, and Foxy got everyone to agree. Everyone adhered to this style, it wasn’t just Tim. And it was exciting, because it was always different, every week. “
• Amid the confusion of the Texans’ situation, a certain perception of GM Nick Caserio has emerged among some NFL people that he is just “Bill Belichick, Scouting Edition”. And I don’t know if it’s a fair picture to paint. For me, an example that he doesn’t lie about who he chose to be his coach – former Ravens assistant David Culley. Caserio told people that he believes that you need a different type of coach, more unifying, to reach the players and build the right culture, than in previous generations. That’s what Culley is, for sure. So I think that, at least in an initial example in his management, and with the biggest decision he made up to this point, he showed that he can deviate from the path that was laid out for him in his early NFL decades.
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• And while we’re there, here’s another point: Caserio has shown that he will be more inclusive with his scouts and coaches than New England was in the recruitment and free agent process. Caserio oversaw a department in Foxboro that handled an exodus of rising stars who didn’t feel sufficiently involved in working for the Patriots. And while he was there, those around Caserio saw him evolve from a guy who was tense and hyper-concerned with behaving like a Patriot, so to speak, at the beginning of his time as Scoutmaster (2009-11) to someone who he was much more comfortable in his own skin and a little less bellicose in the end. I have always said that Caserio, for everything else that went wrong, was a great signing. And, of course, given the situation that is forming around Deshaun Watson, he will have to prove that he is.
• My friend Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported on Monday that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was diagnosed with COVID-19, which was the impetus for the team to close its facility as a precaution last week. As I understand it, it also delayed the team’s process a bit to resolve Ben Roethlisberger’s situation. The sides, of course, have time to make some adjustments to the $ 19 million he is expected to receive in 2021. But the longer it drags on, the more time Pittsburgh has to sniff out other options as well.
• Cam Newton gave a very interesting interview in the I AM ATHLETE podcast with Brandon Marshall, Chad Ochocinco and Fred Taylor. And in it, Newton left the door broad open for a return to New England. Asked if he would return on a one-year contract, Newton replied, “Of course he does.” And while explaining their struggles, he spoke of Belichick and Josh McDaniels in very reverent terms. I would also say this: The Patriots have a complete understanding of how a reduced skill position group and Tom Brady’s schema adjustment handcuffed Newton in Year 1. So, I will say again: don’t exclude Newton by going back to a second round in Foxboro. I don’t think he’ll be back without competition. But I think based on the way he worked and how he fit into the culture, he bought enough capital in the building where, if a clear update was not available, the Patriots would consider bringing it back.
• I love it from new Lions coach Dan Campbell, via MLive.com: “I said this to Chris [Spielman] the other day, I said, ‘I love the fact that we’re just known as idiots. I’m an idiot? Do I have limited brain capacity? I like [that people think] what. I’m fine with that, you know what I mean? I have no problem with that. That whole press conference was literally for our team and our fans, community and people who want Lions to be successful. … I want to be in Detroit. I want this job, because I identify with that job. Do you talk about fitting like a glove? This thing fits me like no other, because I just feel like I can relate to it. I understand man. I think I’m a bit of a brave guy, you know? Without trying to make my own horn, I just know who I am. “This is very, very similar to what Campbell told me last month after his press conference, and fits perfectly with the principle that one of Campbell’s mentors, Bill Parcells, had: Don’t talk to the media, talk Through the the media. The idea was to have another audience in mind. And in his players and in his new city, Campbell certainly knew.
• And to finish where we started, here are the projections for the 2021 transition tags, if the limit reaches the projected value of $ 183 million:
QB: $ 23.08 million
WR: $ 14.38 million
RB: $ 7.24 million
TE: $ 8.20 million
OL: $ 12.69 million
FROM: $ 13.97 million
DT: $ 11.78 million
LB: $ 12.75 million
CB: $ 13.33 million
S: $ 9.08 million