And off we go to training camp (in a month)…
• There’s a lot of noise (mostly uninformed) about the San Francisco 49ers’ stance on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the possibility of things developing to the point where the second-team All-Pro could be traded.
I wouldn’t listen to that. Not yet, at least.
Last week, my friend Mike Silver reported that the Niners were offering about $26 million per year, which, of course, isn’t quite enough, but reflects how badly San Francisco wants to lock him up as as the team’s long-term number 1. 1 receiver. That’s nowhere near where Jaylen Waddle and Amon-Ra St. Brown (around $28 million APY) are and, of course, far from Justin Jefferson Territory.
But he’s close enough to the top two to think there’s a deal to be made. One of the key things, from a metrics standpoint, is that Waddle and St. Brown had about $60 million in new money in the first two years, meaning they added that amount to what existed to give the team that contract length. . In Aiyuk’s case, with $14.124 million locked in for this year, that would mean $75 million over the first three years of a new contract, including that fifth-year option.
The question from there would be what kind of tax Aiyuk is looking to land for waiting until the Jefferson Accord was concluded. And that can get tricky, especially if he considers himself, after two Pro Bowl-level seasons and 75/1,342/7 last year, to be in that category. Waddle Composite over the past two years is close to Aiyuk’s, for what that’s worth, and neither is in Jefferson’s statistical district.
Of course, if he wants what Jefferson got ($35 million APY, $110 million guaranteed), we’re talking about something else entirely.
• Quarterbacks are different, of course, and there’s a measure in Trevor Lawrence’s contract that reflects that.
It needs $170 million over the next three years. He was owed $31.3 million on his old contract over the next two years. This means that for the first additional year of his term, Lawrence will receive almost $139 million. This reflects above all the commitment of the team, but also the impact of one transaction on the next.
One difference in the situations involving Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love and Dak Prescott (the three big looming quarterback contract negotiations coming this summer) is that each of these guys only has one year left on their contract. Which makes it more difficult to manage a team’s roster, and can also make a player more determined in his position, since he waited an extra year to come to the table.
• A remainder of our story on the Jets Monday which I found interesting – Robert Saleh found real value in the team’s non-stakes (don’t call it meaningless!) season finale at Foxborough.
It was snowing sideways that day. Both teams could actually benefit from a loss (winning could have cost the Patriots Drake Maye as the Arizona Cardinals would have had a real market for the third pick). And every team had gone through a messy season, making it the proverbial golf-club-in-the-lockers-and-watch-out-of-out kind of last week. If anything, the Patriots would have had a motivating advantage in being Bill Belichick’s farewell.
Instead, the Jets intimidated New England, with Breece Hall dancing in the snow to 178 rushing yards on 37 carries in a 17-3 New York victory. For Saleh, at least, it showed the mental toughness of a group that has endured a lot.
“It’s the truth,” Saleh said. “I forget what New England’s winning streak was (against the Jets) at the time. I think it was like 17 games or whatever. (It was 15.) New England had this big winning streak against us, and we kind of had the idea that this was going to be their last game as a regime. Our guys attacked him. Playing in a blizzard to rack up the amount of rushing yards we did against a very, very good run defense and playing the type of game we played on defense and on special teams, it was a great way to end.
And set the stage for a truly productive offseason.
• Underrated offseason meeting: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jordan Whitehead.
The 27-year-old returned to the Bucs on a two-year deal, and the entire team was excited to have one of the locker room cornerstones of all of these contending teams back, and it showed during the season. spring. And that especially goes for newly paid All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who is very close with Whitehead and shares terrific on-field chemistry with the guy he started alongside his first two years in the pros .
• My biggest takeaway from the NBA Finals is the role Brad Stevens played in bringing the Boston Celtics back to basketball’s biggest stages over the past few years. He served as head coach from 2013 to 2021, then, saying the team needed a new voice, he moved to the front office with the departure of Danny Ainge, where he worked the last three years.
During that time, he led the charge on major acquisitions such as the deals for Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White.
Interestingly enough, former Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was being considered for a hybrid front office coaching role had Belichick landed with the Atlanta Falcons, and much of the Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio’s background, before leading New England’s personnel department, was in coaching. Belichick and McDaniels have a close relationship with Stevens, so it’s fair to guess that these kinds of moves, from coaching to personnel, have been topics of discussion between this particular group of guys.
And I wonder if there are others who could do this kind of thing.
• If you want to know the value of the offseason program to a quarterback, Kyler Murray would be a good person to ask. He usually skipped much of the Arizona Cardinals’ spring season when he was younger, choosing instead to train in Dallas. But over the past two years — after recovering from a torn ACL last year and entering coach Jonathan Gannon’s second year this time around — he’s been out there and locked in.
“I want to say it’s one of the best offseasons I’ve had in a long time,” Murray told reporters. “Just being able to, number one, be healthy, and then, number two, be able to connect with the guys and actually be a part of it.
“Obviously, last year, being on the sideline, working with (senior reconditioning coordinator) Buddy (Morris) every day, having to watch, having to go to meetings and not really being able to feel anything, it’s been just a difference. It makes a difference when I’m on the field and we’re all improving together, so not just on the field but off the field. It’s a good offseason.
Another thing that doesn’t hurt is collecting the seven-figure offseason workout bonus he had built into the contract he signed two years ago (smart move, Cardinals).
• Good luck to David Bakhtiari. A good boy. Great player. I hope he returns to the field. He told Adam Schefter he wanted to play for a few more years. Due to a litany of knee issues, the five-time All-Pro has only played in 13 games over the past three years and last managed a full season in 2019.
• As someone who hates a lot of new uniform looks, I will say that the Baltimore Ravens’ new look with the purple helmet is pretty cool.
• Have a nice summer everyone !