The NFL opened up its tampering window on Monday morning, even with the coronavirus pandemic looming over … well, everything.
After the players’ union narrowly voted to agree to the new collective bargaining agreement on Sunday, teams ramped up trades along with the normal tampering activity. But when free agency opened, the trades stole the headlines from the signings.
Most notably, receiver DeAndre Hopkins is headed to the Arizona Cardinals, who sent David Johnson and a second-round pick to the Houston Texans. Later in the day, the Indianapolis Colts sent the 13th overall pick to San Francisco 49ers for Deforest Buckner, who immediately received a new contract. Those deals outshined a franchise tag for Dak Prescott and significant hauls for the Cleveland Browns (TE Austin Hooper, RT Jack Conklin) and the Miami Dolphins (CB Byron Jones, LB Kyle Van Noy, Ereck Flowers, Shaq Lawson). That isn’t to say this day wasn’t exciting. It absolutely was.
Here are a few remaining burning questions for the coming days of free agency.
1. What’s with the lack of movement on the QB market?
It seems Tom Brady’s indecisiveness has held up the entire market.
The Bears are targeting Andy Dalton or Nick Foles, per ESPN’s Ed Werder. Philip Rivers has discussed a deal with the Colts, who have made Rivers their top target, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. There was little word on Teddy Bridgewater, except that he is interested in returning to New Orleans and that Chicago is apparently not interested. There was also no word on the market developing for Jameis Winston, but the Bucs don’t seem to want him. No one but Case Keenum made a move. He’s headed to Cleveland to serve as Baker Mayfield’s backup.
2. What *is* the latest with Tom Brady?
Brady has interest from the Patriots, the Buccaneers and the Chargers, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Considering the Patriots’ cap space will shrink to $5 million when guard Joe Thuney signs his franchise tag, Bill Belichick will have to make cap magic in order to make a respectable offer. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have already put together an aggressive bid for Brady, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss and NFL Network’s Mike Giardi.
Meanwhile….
Talking to team sources who have interest in Tom Brady and the feeling right now is “nobody knows what Brady is going to do”
— Dianna (@diannaESPN) March 16, 2020
3. Just how good will DeAndre Hopkins look in Arizona?
The Cardinals’ offense seemed to be hitting its stride with a balance of running the ball with Kenyan Drake and passing the ball with rookie Kyler Murray. And the Cardinals looked stocked with young talent at the receiver position: Christian Kirk, Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler. And of course, they have old reliable, Larry Fitzgerald.
With Hopkins, the Cardinals offense looks like a video-game roster — even if a video game (Madden) declined the seemingly-lopsided Hopkins trade. If Murray can take a step forward in his development, then Hopkins production in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense should go through the roof.
4. How early should I draft Kyler Murray in fantasy football?
No. 1 overall? (I’m kidding.)
Murray’s value in free agency is going to be through the roof. He may end up among the top five quarterbacks drafted. He’ll be one of the hottest names in fantasy after joining forces with a receiver who seems likely to put up 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns.
5. What is wrong with Bill O’Brien?
He had Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, Will Fuller and Kenny Stills in the same passing offense. And O’Brien blew it all up. For David Johnson?
What are we doing? O’Brien will need a special brand of magic to make his boldest trade (among a long history of bold trades) look good.
6. What will the 49ers do with the 13th overall pick, which came in the Deforest Buckner trade?
San Francisco is slammed for cap space, and so rather than lose Buckner in 2021, the 49ers have flipped him for the 13th overall pick. So what will they do with the pick? Well, they might just flip it for more picks, as they do not have draft capital in the second-, third- or fourth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft. But if they hold onto the pick, there could be no shortage of talented receivers on the board: Ceedee Lamb, Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy and Justin Jefferson.
After today’s trade for the No. 13 overall pick, the 49ers now have two first-round picks.
Without second-, third-, and fourth-round picks, the 49ers are likely to shop one of their first-round picks to pick up more draft compensation.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
7. What will come of the Cowboys’ contract logjam?
The Cowboys kicked off the tampering period by placing the franchise tag on Dak Prescott, who will likely get a contract extension in the coming year. In the meantime, Dallas, which had plenty of cap space ($72 million before tagging Prescott), allowed cornerback Byron Jones and receiver Amari Cooper to hit free agency.
The Cowboys probably wanted to get new deals for those three players and Ezekiel Ellott. To this point, only Elliott (a running back!) has a long-term deal. Meanwhile, stars at the most valuable positions in the NFL (QB, WR, CB) face an uncertain future in Dallas — or, in the case of Jones, are already gone. What are the Cowboys doing? And how will this shake out?
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