Key Offseason Moves Facing NFL Teams
So we’re now less than a week away from the Super Bowl. But for some teams the offseason has already begun. Aside from big changes to front offices, the usual head coach carousel, and franchises moving around like musical chairs, some teams are facing big decisions heading into the offseason; we’ll examine a few of those teams. So without further ado, let’s have a look at some of the key questions going forward.
Let’s start with the New England Patriots. While their focus remains on the Lombardi trophy, somewhere in the back of Bill Belichick’s mind questions are lingering. The Pats have a number of key unrestricted free agents that they’ll have to figure out. These guys are TE Martellus Bennett, OT Sebastian Vollmer, DE Jabaal Sheard, DE Chris Long, LB Dont’a Hightower, RB LeGarrette Blount, and CB Logan Ryan. New England faces an interesting conundrum. Typically the year after a Super Bowl (no jinxes), that team’s players run for higher money in the free agency. Belichick has done a great job in his career of putting together a core of young guys. They’re not all necessarily big names, but put them all together and you’ve got a great team.
Hightower and Ryan are still question marks. It’s likely that Ryan will field other offers in the free agency this year. Whether they’ll be able to afford Hightower is unclear. With their DE situation shaken up, the team will have some big holes to fill. Their current guys are getting old and their contracts are soon to expire. This might mean the end of Bennett’s stint with New England. Chances are they won’t be able to afford him beyond the 5.1 mill he received this year. They’ll likely look for a better, cheaper tight end option. It’s not like Tom Brady will have trouble throwing to them–he’s known for making unknown receivers household names.
In short: look for shakeups on the Pat’s young defensive squad. Look for them to retain Gronk, shop Jimmy Garoppolo, and start looking for someone affordable to replace Mr. Wonderbread (Tom Brady).
Now on to Kansas City. The Chiefs have two key unrestricted FA’s this year: DT Dontari Poe, and S Eric Berry. The best they can hope for in this situation is that they reach an extension with one and franchise tag the other. I doubt Eric Berry will appreciate the franchise tag, though; and this one might go on for the whole offseason. It’s difficult to imagine the Chiefs parting with either of these players. They’ve been pillars of the defensive core–Berry especially. And one has to believe the Chiefs front office will do everything in their power to keep these guys in place. Still it’s very likely one of them will be wearing a different jersey come the 2017 season. However, releasing backup QB Nick Foles would free up $11 mill in cap space. And the big issue obviously is Jamaal Charles: if they retain him, they will need to resign him to a more appropriate contract; if they release him, they’ll free up $7 mill. Another question might be Jeremy Maclin who wasn’t exactly spectacular this past year.
In short: look for KC to make a big push for Poe and Berry, make some tough choices for release to accommodate them, and also for God’s sake they need to look for another QB. Sure, Alex Smith made the Pro Bowl this year. But the Chiefs need a younger, fresher option. There is also talk that they’ll go after Tony Romo–who may just be the fit this team needs to make another run next season.
The Steelers are also facing an interesting conundrum. After their loss to the Pats, Big Ben hinted that he may retire this year at the age of 34. If that happens, they’re looking at a whole different offseason picture. Here are their key unrestricteds: RB Le’Veon Bell, LB Lawrence Timmons, LB James Harrison, LB Jarvis Jones, RB DeAngelo Williams. It’s unclear whether the Steelers will bring back Timmons. They’ll likely resign Harrison. Bell will most likely get the franchise tag, giving them more time to lock down a bigger contract going forward.
In short: They’ll franchise Bell, resign Harrison to a smaller deal, likely release two players to make room for Timmons, a backup QB (or a starter depending on Big Ben), and it’s still uncertain what they’ll do with Williams.
And that’s just a few teams with big questions to consider. Stay tuned for more coverage of the NFL offseason. We’ve got a long time before next September.
