MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Next question...

What other situation would be better for Wilson to get that prove it year and a chance at one last 2-3 year contract? Personally, I don't think there is a situation where he gets that contract next year. But, I'm sure he is delusional enough to think there is. Regardless, name a better one year solution for him.

 

There’s now another known team interested in Russell Wilson.

Before his scheduled meeting with the Steelers, Wilson met with the Giants in New Jersey, PFT has confirmed.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport noted earlier on Friday morning that Wilson was spotted in the Newark airport. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report on what was termed “an exploratory meeting” between the Giants and Wilson.

New York signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year contract last year and he’s set to make $36 million guaranteed in 2024. But Jones’ performance last season was not up to par in the six games he was able to play in 2023. He completed 68 percent of his throws for 909 yards with just two touchdowns and six interceptions, which works out to a 70.5 passer rating. He took 30 sacks, getting taken down on 15.8 percent of his dropbacks.

So, Wilson could provide the Giants with some competition in the quarterbacks room.

Last season, Wilson completed 66.4 percent of his throws for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 15 games. He could potentially take a veteran minimum salary, as Denver is still set to pay him in 2024.

In addition to the Giants and Steelers, Schefter notes that the Raiders may also have interest in meeting with Wilson.

 

Report: Raiders release Brian Hoyer

The Raiders have released backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Hoyer’s departure will create only $92,000 in cap space as the Raiders will have to take a $2.6 million dead money hit.

The move is not a surprise given Hoyer followed Josh McDaniels, signing a two-year, $4.5 million deal that guaranteed $4.205 million.

Hoyer, 38, played three games with one start in his lone year in Las Vegas. He threw for 231 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

He has played games for eight teams since 2009.

PFT
________
_______________

More fuel for the Wilson to the Raiders rumors.

 

Report: Patriots appear open to trading Mac Jones

The Patriots are expected to begin the 2024 season with a new quarterback to go with new head coach Jerod Mayo and their former starter could be on the move via a trade.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Patriots have been taking calls from teams about a possible trade involving Mac Jones and that those teams are “doing work” on the 2021 first-round pick. Rapoport also reports that the Patriots appear to be open to making a deal involving Jones.

Jones took over the starting role as a rookie and helped the Patriots make the playoffs, but their offense regressed over the last two seasons. Jones was pulled from multiple games in favor of Bailey Zappe last season and he was ultimately benched for good with six games left in the season.

It seems unlikely that his recent performance convinced other teams that he’s a sure thing as a starter, but teams that liked him coming out of college may think a clean slate can help jumpstart his career.

PFT
________
_________________

I gotta wonder what wrong with those teams considering him or whats wrong with Mac Jones?

 

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers 'hopeful' he can play 'two or three or four more years' in NFL

"I got back on the practice field late in the season and couldn't get to a top speed sprinting, but really been in a good place rehab-wise, from the start, and feeling really good," Rodgers said, via CBS Sports. "I'm hopeful I can play two or three or four more years, but you need to have some good fortune in there too."

NFL.com
__________
________________

I bet the Jets are hoping he can play two or three or four more snaps next year. He got 4 last year.

 

Buccaneers prepare to let Baker Mayfield officially test the market

The Buccaneers want Baker Mayfield back. Baker wants to remain a Buc.

And while it’s still the likely outcome, it apparently won’t happen until Mayfield gets a chance to see what else is, or isn’t, officially available to him.

Tampa Bay G.M. Jason Licht acknowledged that reality on Friday, the day the team formally announced the new contract signed by receiver Mike Evans.

“A lot of [the team’s pending free agents] know what the market is at this point,” Licht said Friday, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I think the start of the negotiation period is really almost the same as the start of free agency, because they’re already talking and negotiating.

“So, as we get to Monday, any of our players that aren’t signed, it doesn’t mean they’re not coming back. It just means that maybe we’ve got an agreement that, hey, they’ll see what [their] worth [is]. We have a disagreement right now, and then let’s just try to work it out. We don’t want the player to be unhappy, either.”

In other words, the Bucs have an offer on the table, Mayfield believes it should be higher, and he’s going to see if something else is out there. As he should.

The one team to watch most closely is the Vikings. If Kirk Cousins leaves, Mayfield becomes a viable alternative. Minnesota witnessed his abilities in Week 1, when he led the Bucs into U.S. Bank Stadium for an upset win capped by a gritty, shoulder-lowering first-down run and a key third-down throw to Chris Godwin.

The question becomes for the Bucs (as it currently is for the Vikings and Kirk Cousins) whether the player will give his current team a chance to match the best offer another team makes. At some point, the player might be tempted to go to the place where he feels more wanted.

The Bucs, like the Vikings, know that they might need to move on to another quarterback.

“You always have to have — as [former Bucs head coach] Bruce [Arians] would say — to look behind Door 2 and 3 and 4 and 5,” Licht said. “So, yeah, we always feel like we need options. Yeah, we always have to have plans. We also like Door No. 2 that’s right here.”

He means Kyle Trask, who’ll enter the final year of his rookie deal. Which means that, if he’s the starter and he plays well, the Bucs will be in the same boat next year, with their starting quarterback having a one-way ticket to free agency.

While money is a big factor, as it should be, Mayfield could see another attraction or two in Minnesota. One, Justin Jefferson. Two, Mayfield won’t have to worry about losing his offensive coordinator (again) if things go well in 2024. Head coach Kevin O’Connell runs the offense, and he’s going nowhere if things go well.

We’ll see how it plays out. As of noon ET on Monday, the dominos start to fall. For now, it’s possible that Cousins goes to Atlanta and that the Vikings backfill with Baker.

PFT/Florio

 

This confounds me and is perplexing. If the Bucco's want Mayfield and Mayfield want the Bucco's, by waiting it seems to me you are just creating a bidding war. If Licht thinks he may sign Mayfield, by waiting isnt he just raising the price to sign him? If Mayfield thinks the offer from the Buccaneers is too low, he might be just shooting his own foot off. He had a decent season last year... does he think or deserve top qb pay based on a season?

Monday will be interesting for a lot of teams at QB.

 

Florio way off sometimes. Wilson would be Day 1 starter if he signed with Pittsburgh.

 

Not sure I agree on Maye. I could see him sliding to back part of Top 10.

Will they bring someone in? IDK. They should.

The new humbled Baker could do well in Arthur's system. Heavy run, play action, utilize the TEs.

 

Baltimore has done this pretty successfully over the years. They were confident in their assessment of the market for the player and they let him test it.

The Bucs have a 9% advantage over most teams because 10 of their 17 games take place in a state with no income tax. So if they are offering 25M a year it takes probably 28, 29M to actually best their offer.

 

Josh Allen’s cap number skyrockets in 2024

The Bills had to engage in major cap surgery this week, trimming $37 million of 2024 dollars in one day. There are plenty of reasons for it.

Here’s a big one. The cap bill for quarterback Josh Allen’s contract is starting to come due.

His six-year, $258 million extension was structured to keep the cap charges low in 2021 through 2023: $10.2 million, $16.3 million, $18.6 million.

This year, it skyrockets to $47 million. Next year, the cap number moves to $56.5 million.

The Bills can always restructure the deal, kicking the cap can even deeper into the future. At some point, however, they’ll also need to re-do the contract.

He’s averaging $43 million per year, well below the top of the market. And he’s due to receive only $30 million in cash this year.

It’s not bad, but it’s far short of his status as one of the top two or three players in the league.

in part/PFT

 

Lawrence has a new clipboard holder. Trades cannot become official until the league year begins on Wednesday.

 

Well, the best kept secret is out of the bag.. The Patriots must be taking a QB at #3. {sarcasm font at full strength}

 

Mayfield won’t be talking to any other teams on Monday.

Mayfield confirmed multiple reports that he and the Buccaneers are close to finalizing a new contract. The quarterback’s deal will be for three years and will reportedly be worth $100 million with $50 million in guaranteed money and another $15 million available in incentives.

“I wanted a chance to come back,” Mayfied said, via Adam Schefter of ESPN. “I love coach [Todd] Bowles and the staff. I’m happy to be here and I want to win more in the postseason.”

Mayfield joined the Bucs last year after splitting 2022 between the Panthers and Rams and he had his best season since 2020 while leading the Bucs to a division title and a playoff win. He’ll get a chance to build on that along with wide receiver Mike Evans, who signed a new two-year deal with the team earlier this week, and the Bucs used the franchise tag on safety Antoine Winfield Jr., so all three of the team’s top impending free agents will remain in the fold.

PFT
__________
______________________

Ridiculous.

 

Russell Wilson will be signing with the Steelers. He has announced it on X, posting a clip of the team’s iconic Renegade video.

He’s still a member of the Broncos. They’ll release him on Wednesday. Then, he’ll sign in Pittsburgh. (Multiple reports have basically confirmed the obvious import of Wilson’s post.)

Presumably, he’ll sign a one-year deal for the league minimum of $1.21 million. The Broncos will owe the balance of his fully-guaranteed pay of $39 million.

It’s a surprising turn for the Steelers, who had been committed to a Kenny Pickett vs. Mason Rudolph competition. At $1.21 million, however, Wilson is a massive bargain. Also, coach Mike Tomlin has a strong affinity for players with ties to Eastern Virginia, as Wilson does.

The question becomes whether he’ll beat out Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick in whom the Steelers have plenty of pride invested. If it’s close, will the edge go to Pickett?

Wilson presumably believes it won’t be close. Pickett has been OK; there’s nothing he does that’s spectacular. Wilson is still capable of making big plays. Coupled with the team’s defense, things could get very interesting at the confluence of the Ohio, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers.

PFT
_________
__________________

Per; NFL.com

The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback plans to sign with the Steelers when the new league year begins on March 13 on a deal that will cost Pittsburgh $1.2 million in 2024, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday night.

 

I might just laugh my ass off when Rudolph out-plays both Wilson and Pickett.

It could happen, right?

 

Report: Falcons' Arthur Blank Prefers Bears' Justin Fields vs. Vikings' Kirk Cousins?
A new report has revealed Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank's thoughts on Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

With less than 24 hours to go until the start of the NFL free agency, which will kick off on Monday with the legal tampering period, the Atlanta Falcons still look set to add a quarterback in the coming weeks.

Whether that comes via free agency or a trade is yet to be known. However, despite the recent increasing buzz about the Falcons being a leading candidate to sign current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, a new report has kept the rumors of a trade for Justin Fields alive.

According to a report from the Washington Post reporter Jason La Canfora, Falcons owner Arthur Blank thinks highly of the current Chicago Bears quarterback.

"Multiple rival executives suggested to me that Falcons owner Arthur Blank is higher on Fields, a former first-round pick, than many of his football staffers, and Atlanta is doing a lot of work on free agents Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson, as well," La Canfora writes. "I expect one of those three will land in Atlanta."

With Baker Mayfield agreeing to a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, one of the top available quarterbacks in free agency has already been taken off the board. This seemingly confirms La Canfora's report that the Falcons may be down to Cousins, Wilson, and Fields.

While Blank may like Fields, it isn't clear how much he'll insert himself into the decision about who will be the Falcons' next quarterback. As the team's owner, he can overrule everyone else, but if that liking dates back to the 2021 NFL Draft, then who's to say Fields isn't already in Atlanta?

And after three seasons in Chicago, it is hard to argue that Fields has done anything to make the Falcons or Blank feel any stronger about him. While that lack of development certainly cannot all be placed on the shoulders of the former Ohio State Buckeye, Fields hasn't exactly played to the potential many saw in him coming out of college.

This begs the question of what the Falcons will prioritize. Will it be a younger and cheaper quarterback like Fields? Or a more veteran and successful option like Cousins, who may cost more?

Per; SI

 

You think they still sign Rudolph?

 

With the Wilson signing its unlikely, but not impossible.

Per the Athletic...



Mason would obviously want to go to a team where he could at least compete for a starting gig, I doubt that happens in Pittsburgh and if the Steelers want depth to cover a possible injury, I doubt Rudolph would go that route.

Funny how he led the Steelers last season down the stretch, now he's going to be looking for a job.

Here's a kicker - flip Picket for a day 3 draft pick and make Rudoph the #2? lol