NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

Lori Lightfoot should be gone as mayor by the time it happens, but it is becoming obvious that the Bears are planning to get out of the City of Chicago.  Jason Leiser of the Chicago Sun-Times:

The possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field for a new stadium in Arlington Heights took a significantly more realistic turn once the franchise put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.

The potential relocation had been little more than speculation until team president Ted Phillips announced the bid Thursday. Phillips couched it as the Bears exploring “every possible option” and allows them to “further evaluate the property and its potential” if their bid is accepted, and that means relocating is legitimately under consideration.

But there have been numerous relocation ploys over the years by the Bears to gain leverage with the City of Chicago in negotiations over Soldier Field. Arlington Heights was a possibility in the 1970s, when former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley threatened to prevent the team from using Chicago in its name and mused about the lack of interest there would be in “the Arlington Heights Bears.”

Chairman George McCaskey, whose family has owned the team since its inception in 1920, declined comment through a spokesman.

Overall, the Bears want more control over their home stadium, which isn’t actually theirs. The Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, so the team is limited in what it can do as far as expanding the capacity beyond its current 62,000, modernizing aspects of a 97-year-old building, selling sponsorships for certain areas of the stadium and building a year-round museum and gift shop.

There would be nothing holding them back in Arlington Heights, where Mayor Thomas Hayes has been openly campaigning to lure them. He called a potential Bears move a “best-case scenario” for his village Thursday.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity, but it’s certainly not a done deal,” Hayes said. “There’s a long way to go.”

Hayes said he had met with fewer than 10 potential bidders for the site. Churchill Downs, Inc. owns the property and said it plans to give an update on the sale “in the coming weeks.” A spokesperson declined comment on the Bears’ bid.

On the other end of this tug-of-war, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sharpened her tone from last month, when she said that she wanted to help the Bears maximize what they’re getting out of Soldier Field, and came out with a blistering statement Thursday, saying the Bears “are locked into a lease” and pointing out that “many organizations are doubling down on their commitment to Chicago,” while the Bears flirt with the suburbs.

“This is clearly a negotiation tactic that the Bears have used before,” Lightfoot said. “As a season-ticket holder and longtime Bears fan, I am committed to keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.”

Then she took the cruelest swipe of all.

“Like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October,” she said. “Everything else is noise.”

That noise probably won’t quiet anytime soon.

The racetrack property covers 326 acres about six miles north of the Northwest Tollway.

That’s far more space than the Bears have at Soldier Field, it’s an advantageous location based on internal research that shows the majority of their fan base is in the north and northwest suburbs and it’s about half the trek from Halas Hall in Lake Forest.

The Arlington Heights property would be exclusively for a stadium. The team poured more than $100 million into renovating Halas Hall in 2019 and will hold training camp there for the foreseeable future.

The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971 and have a lease running through 2033. The organization doesn’t consider that lease to be a barrier, a source said, because it could negotiate a buyout, and construction on a new facility would take years anyway.

Recently built NFL stadiums have been extravagant in design and enormous in price. The newly opened stadiums in Los Angeles and Las Vegas cost $5 billion-$6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. The others in the last seven years were for the Falcons ($1.6 billion), Vikings ($1.1 billion) and 49ers ($1.3 billion).

In terms of price and aesthetics, the Bears are likely to give U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis a long look as they imagine their new home. It has a 73,000-person capacity, a glass roof and glass on much of the stadium walls to allow as much daylight as possible.

That stadium opened in 2016 and has already hosted a Super Bowl, a Final Four and various other major concerts and events. Building that kind of venue would give the Bears similar opportunities that simply wouldn’t work at Soldier Field.

QB JUSTIN FIELDS says he is fine with being stashed on the bench behind QB ANDY DALTON.  Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com:

Justin Fields has bought into the Chicago Bears’ plan.

Fields, drafted 11th overall by the Bears this year, said on Thursday that he embraces the developmental timeline set for him by the organization. Head coach Matt Nagy said earlier in the week that — barring an injury or something else unforeseen — veteran Andy Dalton would open the regular season as Chicago’s starting quarterback.

“If I don’t believe in it, it’s not going to work out,” Fields said on Thursday. “My job is strictly [to] get better and be the best quarterback I can be and hope my team wins. That’s what I’m going to do whether it’s starting, whether it’s sitting, I’m going to do whatever is going to help us win.”

Nagy announced at the beginning of the offseason program that Dalton is No. 1 on the Bears’ quarterback depth chart followed by Fields and veteran Nick Foles. The coach has not wavered on that despite enormous public pressure to play Fields immediately.

“Promises can get pretty crazy, but what we told Andy is that he’s our starter, and he knows that and that’s what Justin knows, that’s what Nick knows … so, that’s where we’re at,” Nagy said Tuesday.

“Our coaches understand that we all get excited about Justin Fields. We’d all be lying if we said something different. With that said, we’re excited about Andy Dalton too. And we know that if we stick to this plan that we have, that everything is going to be just fine.”

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

The fans of Tampa Bay, who had become indifferent to the product on the field in terms of buying tickets, are now all in on the Brady Bunch Bandwagon.  Michael David Smith ofProFootballTalk.com:

Winning the Super Bowl was good business for the Buccaneers.

The Bucs will play at full capacity this season and have already sold out all eight regular-season games, plus both preseason games, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

The arrival of Tom Brady created high demand for tickets last offseason, but the Buccaneers didn’t play in front of a full stadium because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as they won the Super Bowl on their home field, the Bucs played in front of only 24,835 fans, or about 38 percent of the 65,890 capacity at Raymond James Stadium.

This is believed to be the earliest in franchise history that the Buccaneers have sold out all their games.

NFC WEST

ARIZONA

Jess Root of CardinalsWire.com says the Cardinals should go after unhappy Patriots CB STEPHON GILMORE:

Dating back to last season, the Arizona Cardinals have been connected to New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore as a potential trade target. There have never been any concrete reports that the Cardinals were interested or that the Patriots were shopping him, but he is currently holding out of minicamp as he enters the final year of his contract.

The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro will be 31 years old this season. He is due $7 million in salary this coming season and another up to $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

He is likely seeking a deal that would be comparable to what cornerback Darius Slay received after getting traded from the Detroit Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles. He got a three-year, $50.05 million contract extension.

The Cardinals have shored up a lot of areas on their defense, including at cornerback, but it is the position where they have the biggest questions.

Byron Murphy enters his third season. They signed Malcolm Butler, who is also 31 years old like Gilmore. He is on the downside of his career. Robert Alford is back but hasn’t played a single down in two seasons. They also signed Darqueze Dennard, but he is more or less a serviceable player.

They can get by with that group, especially if Murphy improves.

They had the 10th-best pass defense in the league in 2020 and that was with okay play at cornerback.

Acquiring Gilmore could put this year’s defense over the top.

The Cardinals have an improved defensive line with J.J. Watt and players who are healthy, as all but one defensive lineman in 2020 landed on injured reserve.

They get Chandler Jones back and re-signed Markus Golden, so the pass rush should be better.

They have young, athletic linebackers in Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons.

Budda Baker is an All-Pro at safety and Jalen Thompson is healthy.

They don’t have a lockdown cornerback on their roster. Adding Gilmore gives them that.

SAN FRANCISCO

The NFL has mandated that DE JORDAN WILLIS spend the first six games on the sidelines.  Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com:

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Jordan Willis has been suspended for the first six games of the 2021 season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

According to a statement from an NFL spokesperson, Willis will be able to participate in all offseason and preseason practices as well as the 49ers’ three exhibition games. Willis is eligible to return to the 49ers’ active roster on Monday, Oct. 25, after the team’s Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The suspension comes after Willis re-signed with the 49ers on March 25. That deal was for one year with a base salary of $990,000. San Francisco initially acquired Willis in a trade with the New York Jets on Oct. 27 of last year, sending a sixth-round choice to New York in exchange for Willis and a seventh-round pick.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

WR DeSEAN JACKSON sings the praises of the McVay-Stafford version of a Rams offense.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Rams wide receiver DeSean Jackson says other teams should be scared of what the Rams’ offense is going to do this season.

Jackson said that with himself joining holdovers Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson, and the Rams drafting Tutu Atwell in the second round, the Rams have more receivers than opposing defenses will know what to do with.

“With a quarterback like Matthew Stafford, it’s really mind-boggling for other defenses or defensive coordinators to really be sitting back, like, ‘Man, how are we going to stop these dudes?’ For me, I’ve been on some pretty good receiving corps, but Robert and Coop, in addition to Van and Tutu, it’s going to be scary,” Jackson said on NFL Network.

Jackson signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Rams this offseason and indicated that the team’s recruiting pitch to him was less about the money than about the way he’d be used in their offense.

“I have an offensive-minded coach in Sean McVay who’s attuned and knows how to put his players in a position to win,” Jackson said.

If Jackson is right, McVay should have his best offense yet in 2021.

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

Well-traveled S TYRANN MATHIEU wants to finish his career in KC.  Adam Teicher ofESPN.com:

Tyrann Mathieu removed all doubt about what he wants his football future to be when he said Thursday that it’s at the top of his priority list to finish his career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It’s been everything I’ve asked for,” said Mathieu, who joined the Chiefs as a free agent in 2019 and helped the franchise win its first Super Bowl championship in 50 years that season. “I feel I can play football anywhere, but when you develop relationships with certain people, these people become a part of your life.”

Mathieu mentioned his relationships with head coach Andy Reid and three assistants: defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, secondary coach David Merritt, and strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin.

“All of these men are important to me,” Mathieu said. “I can’t see me ever walking away from that relationship. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and so for me, I think, holding on to certain relationships, I think that kind of outweighs any monetary thing, any feeling of emotion I may be dealing with in the moment.

“For me, football comes fairly easy. When you have certain men in your life that are trying to coach the person just as much as they’re coaching the player… The mental part of the game is so big for an athlete. If any athlete can find the right mental space, I think all of our games could really go to a new level. Obviously I love football, but I think having certain guys around me, I think it clears my head to focus on just the things that are in front of me.

“Kudos to my coaches for taking the time out to coach the person just as much as the player.”

Mathieu had been pessimistic on social media about getting a contract extension from the Chiefs. He tweeted last month in response to a question about whether he would get the extension, “Probably not. Been here before. All good.”

He deleted the tweet shortly afterward.

On Thursday he said he was optimistic about getting a new deal.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to be a Chief, continuing to help the younger guys around me and help the receivers, help anybody I can to continue to get better,” he said.

“That’s my focus. It should be my focus. Just being here the last couple of years, I can’t see me wearing any other uniform. The fans here are amazing. My teammates are amazing. I spoke about the relationships I have with my coaches. Some of these things you can’t buy other places. I’m a guy that’s had to start over quite often. I would like to stay here, for sure.”

AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND

OC Alex Van Pelt thinks the return of WR ODELL BECKHAM, Jr. will be good for the Browns despite some media theories to the contrary.  Adam Maya of NFL.com:

With OBJ appearing close to a full return after lightly participating in minicamp this week, it’s natural to wonder again how he fits into his team’s offensive equation. Specifically, will he make the Browns better?

“Yeah, I certainly hope so,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said, via team transcript. “Anytime you can add a dominant athlete back on the field in your offense, it is only going to help us. He is an elite player. Not having him out there, we had to fight and claw to continue to have offensive success. I know it is a lot easier when you have great players.”

Interestingly, it hasn’t always been easier for Baker Mayfield. The fourth-year quarterback has had the Beckham at his disposal for 23 of his 45 career starts. He’s thrown 32 touchdowns to 28 interceptions with the three-time Pro Bowler in tow, 43 and 15 without. Of course, it’s not possible to pin all of that down to one party or the other. But their chemistry, or lack thereof, will remain perplexing until those trends change.

Van Pelt, who arrived in Cleveland just last year, understandably dismissed the idea that Mayfield was better in the back half of 2020 because Beckham wasn’t available.

“I think Baker was better as the season went on, whether there had been Odell or not still out there,” Van Pelt said. “He started to understand the offense more and understand what we were asking him, got his footwork right. He got better, regardless of who was on the field. As I said earlier, you are always better with great players. Anytime you take a great player off of the field, you are going to have to find ways to generate more offense. We will be better with Odell, no doubt.”

The sample sizes for all of this data is still relatively thin, especially when considering Beckham has played less than two full seasons in Cleveland and Mayfield has already worked with three different coordinators. Time and continuity are of the essence for them, as individuals and as a tandem. At the very least, having Beckham on the field draws the attention of opposing defenses.

“Anytime you have a great athlete, you see a lot of coverage roll to that player,” Van Pelt said. “That kind of went away when Odell was injured. That opens it up for other players to be successful. It is not always great to be double teamed all of the time, but sometimes, that is going to happen when you are great. I would expect teams to have to honor Odell, and potentially at times, put two guys on him.”

That would lead to coverages benefitting everyone else on the Browns — Mayfield included.

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

There seems to be a bit of resistance in Buffalo to the NFL’s coercion to make NFL players take the experimental vaccines.  Caio Mairi of The Score on WR COLE BEASLEY:

Beasley shared a series of tweets Thursday, in which he heavily criticized the alterations.

He wrote:

The players association is a joke. Call it something different. It’s not for the players. Everyone gives me the 98 percent of people who are vaccinated don’t get covid again. The odds of me getting in the NFL and playing for 10 years are lower than that and I’m here.

So what are we really talking about? I understand completely why the NFL is doing this. It gives them back the freedom to make the most money as possible again if everyone is vaccinated. But will anyone fight for the players or nah?

That’s all…I don’t know who I need to talk to but someone has to get it right. That’s why I’m on here. Hopefully the right people will see it and at least think about how all this NFLPA stuff works. It needs to be changed.

This is crazy. Did we vote on this? I stay in the hotel. We still have meetings. We will all be together. Vaccinated players can go out the hotel and bring covid back in to where I am. So what does it matter if I stay in the hotel now? 100 percent immune with vaccination? No.

The most significant updates include fully vaccinated players not needing to undergo daily testing or quarantine following exposure to the virus. Additionally, there’s no required physical distancing between fully vaccinated players in team facilities.

NEW ENGLAND

Chris Cwik of YahooSports.com tries to parse Bill Belichick’s answer to the question of whether or not he has congratulated QB TOM BRADY:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady likely received a number of calls and texts after leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl win during his first season with the team. Did one of those calls come from Bill Belichick? For now, he’s not saying.

Belichick was asked Wednesday whether he congratulated Brady following his Super Bowl win. Instead of offering a simple “yes” or “no,” Belichick sidestepped the question, saying he would opt to keep those types of conversations private.

The question and answer occurs around the 9:05 mark:

NEW YORK JETS

The Jets are happy with what they’ve seen so far from QB ZACH WILSON.  Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:

Rookie Zach Wilson is the front-runner in the New York Jets’ quarterback competition. He has a slim lead over former BYU star Zach Wilson.

Yeah, it’s a one-man show.

Everybody knew that when the Jets drafted him No. 2 overall and nothing has changed. New York cleared a wide path to the starting job — no veteran additions to the quarterback room — and now it’s all about getting Wilson ready for Sept. 12 against the Carolina Panthers.

Experts can debate the pros and cons of throwing a rookie into the fire. The Jets, who did it with Sam Darnold (2018), Geno Smith (2013) and Mark Sanchez (2009), are committed to being a Zach Pack in Week 1. They spent the past four weeks (a dozen practices) feeding his brain with information, testing his recall and his mettle.

He passed.

“It’s been a learning curve for him,” Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “We’ve thrown a ton at him. I thought these last two weeks have been awesome for him. We’ve done so many call-it periods where he doesn’t have the script. He just has to hear me through the walkie-talkie and make sure he calls it correctly and gets everybody aligned.”

An unscripted period is when the offensive coaches don’t know the defensive call — and vice versa — thus creating game-like spontaneity. Naturally, it’s more challenging for the quarterback, especially a rookie. Wilson experienced a few hiccups, but there were no total meltdowns, at least not in the practices that were open to the media.

That’s an encouraging sign.

On Tuesday and Wednesday in minicamp, Wilson showed an aggressive side, throwing downfield more than usual. That wasn’t by design; it happened organically. He noticed the defense was sitting on short routes, so he countered by going deep.

Wilson also made a subtle adjustment in red zone periods. In earlier practices, his five-step drop was too slow. Things happen fast in the red zone, and the timing between the quarterback and the wide receivers has to be in sync or else the play will be out of whack. Without prodding from the coaches, Wilson quickened the tempo on his five-step drop, demonstrating an innate feel for the game.

“Pretty cool to watch,” LaFleur said.

Wilson will be throwing to WR JAMISON CROWDER, after the receiver takes a pay cut. More from Cimini:

New York Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder, the team’s leading receiver the past two seasons, avoided the possibility of being released by agreeing to a pay cut, a source confirmed Monday.

Crowder was due to make a non-guaranteed $10 million in base pay for 2021, the final year of a three-year, $28.5 million contract. Details of the renegotiated contract weren’t immediately available, but the new deal is expected to significantly lower his $11.4 million salary-cap charge.

The Jets are among the league leaders in cap space (about $27 million), but they approached Crowder recently about a reduction. Crowder, who turns 28 on Thursday, skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason as the two sides haggled over the contract. NFL Network first reported the agreement.

The Jets’ mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday, and Crowder is expected to attend.

Coach Robert Saleh was optimistic that a deal would get done, saying 10 days ago that “Jamison’s definitely got a role here and we’re excited to have him.”

After signing receivers Corey Davis and Keelan Cole in free agency, and drafting Elijah Moore in the second round, the Jets had the leverage in talks with Crowder. He led the team with 59 catches and 699 yards in 2020, but his production was down because he missed four games due to leg injuries. The Jets also finished 32nd in total offense for the second straight year.

Even though Crowder is back, it will be interesting to see if his role diminishes in the regular season. Moore, selected 34th overall, has impressed the coaches in offseason practices. Like Crowder, he’s a slot receiver.

THIS AND THAT

QUIET TIME NEWS POSSIBILITIES

The NFL isn’t quite 24/7/365 as the next month or so doesn’t have any planned media events of a league-wide nature.  But Judy Battista of NFL.com has her eye on four issues:

With the conclusion of minicamps this week, the NFL is on the cusp of starting its summer vacation. This has been a far more routine offseason than last year’s, so the football interruptions to your cookouts — there are always interruptions — are more likely to be the garden variety kind about contracts signed than the cataclysmic pandemic-fueled updates we got on a seemingly daily basis last summer.

Still, there are a lot of loose ends dangling as players and coaches scatter, none bigger than the fates of two of the best quarterbacks in the game. With only about six weeks until training camps open, it’s easy to envision a whole lot of executives hoping to strike the work-life balance of Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson, who negotiated the trade for receiver Julio Jones in part while on a pontoon boat with his family in the middle of a Tennessee lake.

There is a lot to look forward to after the NFL’s summer break: fans at training camps, full houses at games and a bonus 17th regular-season contest. But right now, there are big stories that need conclusions, even if they are crafted from a spot in the shade.

1) Vaccines. This is the one that will preoccupy a lot of coaches and executives for the duration of the summer. One thing that became apparent during minicamps is that NFL players are, as NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith pointed out, just a microcosm of society. And there is some vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. As of earlier this week, only 16 of the 32 teams have at least 51 players who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with teams allowed to have 90 players on the roster.

That is especially important at this moment, because for a player receiving a two-dose vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated by the time teams report in late July — two weeks after the second dose of vaccine is administered — he would have to start his vaccine series right about now. Why does it matter? Because players who are vaccinated can mostly go back to normal at work, according to COVID protocols agreed to by the NFL and the NFLPA: no daily testing, mask wearing or social distancing in the weight room and other team facilities and no travel restrictions during downtime like the bye week, for instance. Unvaccinated players would have to adhere to the same stringent protocols they lived under in 2020, meaning daily testing even on off days and during the bye week, and if they have close contact with an infected person, they will have to quarantine. That, of course, presents a significant competitive disadvantage to the team once practices and games begin.

Team owners, coaches and general managers are watching the numbers closely, and believe there is a real competitive advantage to be had if teams can function normally again. And owners are also keeping one eye on Major League Baseball, which is in the same predicament and is nowhere near having every ballclub at the 85 percent vaccinated threshold that allows teams to roll back protocols. It’s hard to overstate how important this is to franchises. For a clue about how executives view the decision, consider that while Bills general manager Brandon Beane was admonished for suggesting he would be more likely to cut an unvaccinated player if it meant that his team could function normally, nobody would argue that he wasn’t telling the truth.

2) It’s rare that a top quarterback would still be in limbo this late in the offseason. But two??Buckle up. The offseason program came and went without either Deshaun Watson or Aaron Rodgers joining their respective teams — no surprise there — and their futures appear to be very much up in the air. Watson’s trade request from the Texans is complicated by his serious legal issues following a series of sexual assault accusations. The NFL began its own investigation in March and it is unclear when it will be completed. The Commissioner’s Exempt List, which was originally intended to remove affected players from games so their teams could add another man to the roster, has been used rarely to keep players off the field during training camp. But that is a potential option if Watson’s case is not resolved before then. Texans general manager Nick Caserio, who has been mostly tight-lipped about Watson’s situation, said during an appearance on Sports Radio 610 this week that as training camps approach and the team gets more information, “We’ll try to make the best decision for the Houston Texans, whatever that entails.” Right now, it is difficult to imagine Watson joining any team when camps open without a very sudden reversal of his legal fortunes.

Things may be even murkier for Rodgers and Green Bay, where an offseason staredown has devolved into a nation of fans trying to parse what Packers president Mark Murphy meant when he described Rodgers as a “complicated fella.” If anybody tells you they are sure about how this one ends, they are lying. Significant fines will start accruing for Rodgers if he doesn’t report to training camp, but that is really beside the point. The bigger issue is if there is anything the Packers can do — or would do — in the next few weeks that would make Rodgers happy about how the franchise is being run. This is a miserable situation for the Packers, who have so far insisted they will not trade Rodgers and who, Murphy has volunteered, now have a fan base that is divided over the situation. But if Rodgers does not budge, the Packers will have to start figuring out how to make the best of things and how to contain the absolute mayhem that will engulf their camp as this plays out with Jordan Love being prepared to start. Summer of Favre redux, here we come.

3) There are always injuries to account for heading into camp. The big one, a knee injury suffered by Kansas City guard Kyle Long last week, threatens to keep him out of training camp entirely. Coach Andy Reid said there is a chance Long will need surgery, but even if he doesn’t, his absence from camp is a blow to the offensive line the Chiefs rebuilt this offseason to provide better protection for Patrick Mahomes. And Giants running back Saquon Barkley, recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the second game of the 2020 season, would not say during a meeting with reporters last week when he would be ready to return to the field. For the Cowboys, the good news is that quarterback Dak Prescott could already play a game. The bad news is that receiver Amari Cooper may not be ready for the start of camp following an ankle injury that will likely keep him from running for a few weeks, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Steelers star linebacker Devin Bush, who suffered an ACL tear in Week 6 last season, said last week he is about 80 to 90 percent recovered but expects to be 100 percent when camp begins.

4) There have been visits and rumors, but plenty of big-name free agents remain unsigned. Would you like to see Richard Sherman, Mitchell Schwartz, Justin Houston, Todd Gurley or Melvin Ingram on your team? There’s still a chance. Not surprisingly, Sherman — who had a career renaissance in 2019, but then suffered a calf injury that shortened his 2020 season — says he is waiting for an opportunity to join a contender. The cream of this group would be Schwartz if there were no injury questions surrounding him.

BROADCAST NEWS

Before they’ve coached a game, Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com ranks the NFL’s new coaches (although it seems to be more about the opportunity presented by the roster than the coaches actual ability):

It takes a village to raise a quarterback. But what about a head coach?

Increasingly, the league is favoring younger and less-experienced head coaches, and the failure rate and turnover at head coach seems similar to quarterbacks. It isn’t always all on the individual himself (and, hopefully, eventually, herself), and surely there are other factors involved from the obvious to less-often considered.

Of course, the roster and its development is vital. But working for the right owner at the right time and having a truly committed and forthright and stable leadership at the top is paramount. What is the level of immediate expectations? What is the market like in terms of fans and the media? Is there any history of at least a modicum of recent success?

Are other parts of the franchise still in transition – the front office or business operations? Is the team in any jeopardy of being sold and falling under new management in the near future? Any coaches or general managers get second contracts around there? Recent history of infighting and backstabbing? Is the owner easily influenced by outside voices and the media?

When it comes to ability to win in the near term, and sustain it, and have a bit of job security, all of that matters. We’ve reached the point in the offseason when the rookie head coaches have had a chance to spend months in their new organizations and go through that first draft. We pretty much know the assortment of talent available to them, and, for what it’s worth, a spring’s worth of faux practices are behind them.

Which seems like as good a time as any to re-examine this class, look at the big picture, and see which are in the best position to succeed. There really is a vast gulf in how many of these situations are stacked, and a big divide in the resources and assets available to them at the start of their head coaching career. History will tell us most of these men will wash out, but keep in mind what they are walking into, and how many of their predecessors failed as well in these very same places.

From best to worst:

1. Brandon Staley, Chargers

This is the spot. Stud second-year QB, front office that has assembled abundant talent, under the shadow of the Rams so the heat doesn’t get too hot. Owners who might not spend to the max, but tend to be loyal. Have been to the playoffs not long ago at all. Staley is an expert on the defensive side of the ball, with a bevy of interesting chess pieces available. Having Drew Brees be available to Justin Herbert? Love it. Coaching had been holding them back, but game management is about to improve.

2. Urban Meyer, Jaguars

I suspect this ends up being a brief experiment – two years or so – but that would most likely be because Meyer walks (let’s just say there’s a history). But Shad Khan didn’t spend weeks trying to woo him to discard him quickly. He hopes Meyer – a god of sorts in that part of the country – can help him get that practice facility built and raise the profile of the franchise nationally (and internationally). And he gets Trevor Lawrence. Sure, a lot of Meyer’s college ways seem destined to go sideways at the NFL level (a la Chip Kelly, among others), but he is getting all the power and a ton of money and might be able to stick around as a team president of consultant or something once he’s over being on the sidelines again.

3. Nick Sirianni, Eagles

When Jeff Lurie fired Doug Pederson he made it clear this team was not on the cusp and needed a reset to get back, eventually, to the Super Bowl. Yes, he meddles and can make life difficult for those around him, but they did recently win a Super Bowl. The owner will spend like crazy and the bar did get very low there after the debacle 2020 season. And they have a ton of draft capital. And they play in the NFC Least. And after whacking Pederson faster than anyone would have thought at the Super Bowl parade, you tend to think Sirianni gets a decent run here.

4. Dan Campbell, Lions

He and the rookie GM got a long-term deal, and another member of the Ford family is now in charge which probably buys them three years unless things go off a cliff. Ownership seems to understand that it is actually in a rebuild, which to me makes it a notch up from a few of these other gigs, where teams are pretending to be something they are not. It’s going to be a long climb out of the mess of the former regime – there were constant issues between the staff and the locker room, and the roster is bleak. Oh, and the nebulous roles of guys like Rod Wood would make me very nervous, and Chris Spielman has no real experience as a team president. Yeah, most of these franchises have been a horror show for good reason, and we’re grading on a curve here, but I guess I’ll slot this here.

5. Arthur Smith, Falcons

Heavy is the head of those labelled a QB-guru or offensive wunderkind. People expect immediate results. And this owner resisted a full rebuild and kept Matt Ryan around (despite giving away Julio Jones for cash/cap reasons), which sends an odd signal. They have no hope of immediate success with that defense, and the QB is in decline. But the objective seems to be to win ASAP, despite a horrible cap situation and with an aging core.

6. Robert Saleh, Jets

Oh man, Woody Johnson is back and the first press interaction was already a circus. Good luck with that. The stud left tackle hasn’t been able to do much of anything this offseason and the QB looks awful green, excuse the pun, and is already caught up in the vax/anti-vax and mask/anti-mask stuff (just look at Twitter). The Johnson family has rarely enjoyed any harmony between front office and coach, and this team always seems destined for the back page of the gossip papers. Hard to shake.

7. David Culley, Texans

Godspeed. Poor guy has to wait til his mid-60s to get his first shot and he does it with he Texans at the worst possible time. All kinds of palace intrigue, a coach-in-waiting (Josh McCown) hanging around, an awful roster and a rookie GM who comes from New England, where casting aside someone after just one year is never not an option. Oh, and they are at war with their franchise QB who may end up suspended for quite some time for the various allegations against him. Brutal.

THE BEST TEAM UNDER THE CAP

Here is a great little (or not so little) experiment from Anthony Holzman-Ezcarano ofNFL.com:

Using the salary cap and players’ cap numbers for the 2021 season, NFL Media Researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno attempts to produce the best team money can buy this fall. Have a comment or question about the squad he’s put together? @FrontOfficeNFL is the place to reach him.

The Rules

The team consists of 53 roster spots, observing the NFL’s in-season standard.

The salary cap is set at $182.5 million, this season’s non-adjusted maximum for NFL teams.

Roster spots for players on rookie contracts are capped at 24 (with no more than four players drafted from each of Rounds 1-3 and 12 total from Rounds 4-7), with some exceptions: I was allowed to “trade down” for a player (i.e. use a second-round slot on a third-round player). Plus, this limit does not apply to undrafted rookie contracts, and players on fifth-year options also do not count toward the rookie contract limit. I did not select any 2021 rookies.

I was allowed to select one player who received the franchise or transition tag in 2020. If I didn’t select such a player, I could use a spot to keep one more non-first-round pick on a rookie contract.

I was allowed to sign one free agent to a minimum salary contract using the veteran salary benefit.

Overview: By the Numbers

Total salary cap: $182,500,000

Salary cap used: $182,487,427

Salary cap space: $12,573

Offense: $71,112,120 (39.0%)

Defense: $108,752,454 (59.6%)

Special Teams: $2,622,853 (1.4%)

Most expensive player: Aaron Donald, DT, Rams ($14,392,000)

Least expensive player (excluding specialists): James Robinson, RB, Jaguars ($781,666)

Most expensive position group: Interior Defensive Line ($29,639,909)

Least expensive position group (excluding specialists): Running Back ($8,682,073)

The Starting Lineup

OFFENSE         PLAYER                         DEFENSE       PLAYER

QB       Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs           IDL       Aaron Donald, Rams

RB        Alvin Kamara, Saints                  IDL      Chris Jones, Chiefs

WR       Justin Jefferson, Vikings                         EDGE  Myles Garrett, Browns

WR       DK Metcalf, Seahawks                EDGE  Chase Young, Washington

TE        Travis Kelce, Chiefs                    LB       Darius Leonard, Colts

TE        George Kittle, 49ers                    LB       Fred Warner, 49ers

LT        Trent Williams, 49ers                  CB       Jalen Ramsey, Rams

LG        Joe Thuney, Chiefs                     CB       Tre’Davious White, Bills

C          Rodney Hudson, Cardinals          CB        Jaire Alexander, Packers

RG       Wyatt Teller, Browns                   S         Justin Simmons, Broncos

RT        Orlando Brown Jr., Chiefs           S          Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers

The Full Roster

R — Denotes a player on his rookie contract.

All cap figures are via Over The Cap.

QUARTERBACK (3 players): $10,831,285 total salary (5.9% of cap)

Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $7,433,381

Jameis Winston

New Orleans Saints · Cap number: $2,500,000

Gardner Minshew

Jacksonville Jaguars · Cap number: $897,904 (R – Round 6)

In last year’s edition of this exercise, I started this section with the following sentence: The best team money can buy has a quarterback on a rookie contract. This year? Patrick Mahomes remains QB1 despite his historic extension. It just so happens that the decline in the salary cap also forced many teams to restructure contracts to lower 2021 cap figures. Mahomes is cheaper than Ryan Fitzpatrick and Joe Burrow. And honestly, that’s just the icing on the cake; Mahomes would be this team’s QB1 no matter what. He’s that valuable, regardless of the price tag. Still just 25 years old, Mahomes has already won a Super Bowl and MVP award, while averaging the most passing yards and touchdowns per game in NFL history. The quarterback room from the 2020 version of this file actually hasn’t changed at all in 2021. Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards and ranked second with 33 passing touchdowns in his last season as a starter (2019), though he also threw a league-high 30 interceptions. This roster could do much worse at QB2 than Winston, who just got one year of tutelage under future Hall of Famer Drew Brees. Minshew got the QB3 nod for the second straight season. A quarterback with starting experience on a sixth-round rookie contract is a valuable commodity.

Toughest decision: Deciding whether to use one of my four first-round contracts to fill the QB2 spot with Jackson, the unanimous MVP in 2019. At the end of the day, I saved the first-rounder for another premium position (wide receiver), hoping Mahomes doesn’t miss significant time.

RUNNING BACK (4): $8,682,073 (4.8%)

Alvin Kamara

New Orleans Saints · Cap number: $5,000,000

Jonathan Taylor

Indianapolis Colts · Cap number: $1,779,353 (R – Round 2)

Antonio Gibson

Washington Football Team · Cap number: $1,121,054 (R – Round 3)

James Robinson

Jacksonville Jaguars · Cap number: $781,666 (R – Undrafted)

Points decide winners and losers in football; the NFL’s touchdown leader in 2020, Kamara, scores them. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Terrell Davis (61) and LaDainian Tomlinson (60) scored more total touchdowns in their first four seasons than Kamara’s 59. He’s also the only player with 500-plus rushing and receiving yards in each of those first four campaigns. Furthermore, Kamara is fresh off tying the single-game record with six rushing touchdowns against the Vikings last Christmas. Taylor trailed just Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook in rushing yards during his NFL debut in 2020, averaging 123.5 ground yards per game and scoring eight touchdowns over his final six contests. Gibson is a former college wide receiver who excelled in his transition to running back in 2020; he finished with 1,042 scrimmage yards and 11 scrimmage touchdowns during his rookie campaign with Washington. Robinson, an undrafted rookie last season, recorded 1,414 scrimmage yards in Year 1, which ranked seventh among running backs. Taylor, Gibson and Robinson each had at least 35 receptions a year ago, so there is confidence that any of the three would fare just fine if pressed into duty due to injuries.

Toughest decision: Going lighter on RB1 options. Nick Chubb would have added more power to this roster, but the decision to go very light on running back was made early and with conviction.

WIDE RECEIVER (6): $10,125,557 (5.5%)

Justin Jefferson

Minnesota Vikings · Cap number: $2,982,456 (R – Round 1)

DK Metcalf

Seattle Seahawks · Cap number: $1,250,741 (R – Round 2)

A.J. Brown

Tennessee Titans · Cap number: $1,541,555 (R – Round 2)

Terry McLaurin

Washington Football Team · Cap number: $1,100,805 (R – Round 3)

JuJu Smith-Schuster

Pittsburgh Steelers · Cap number: $2,400,000

Allen Lazard

Green Bay Packers · Cap number: ($850,000; R – Undrafted)

I invested a lot of draft capital in the wide receiver position, starting with Jefferson, who just set the rookie record for receiving yards (1,400). Davante Adams was the only wide receiver to average more yards per route (3.1) than Jefferson (2.8) last season, according to Next Gen Stats. The Ole Miss throwback duo of Metcalf and Brown is a lethal one, especially at a total cost of $2.8 million and two second-round picks. Metcalf is one of the most physically imposing pass catchers in the NFL. Only he, Adams and Travis Kelce finished 2020 with at least 1,300 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. Brown is another force who is a problem with the ball in his hands. Of the 49 receivers who fielded 100-plus targets in 2020, Brown topped the board in yards after catch (6.2) and yards after contact per reception (2.8), according to Pro Football Focus. The speedy McLaurin has over 2,000 receiving yards in two seasons with a less-than-subpar list of quarterbacks in Washington. Smith-Schuster had a down year in 2020, but he still recorded 76 receptions from the slot, trailing only Cole Beasley in this category. It was the $2.4 million, non-rookie contract that sold me on JuJu. Lazard is a 6-foot-5 receiver who played 176 special teams snaps over the last two seasons. He had 254 receiving yards and two touchdowns over the first three games of the 2020 season before a core injury forced him to injured reserve for six games.

Toughest decision: Leaving off a true, elite WR1 like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill or DeAndre Hopkins.

TIGHT END (4): $16,950,000 (9.3%)

Travis Kelce

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $7,650,000

George Kittle

San Francisco 49ers · Cap number: $5,450,000

Rob Gronkowski

Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Cap number: $3,000,000

Garrett Griffin

New Orleans Saints · Cap number: $850,000

Stacking Kelce and Kittle makes this offense almost impossible to defend. In 2018, Kittle set an NFL record with 1,377 receiving yards at tight end. Last season, Kelce eclipsed that mark with 1,416 receiving yards in just 15 games. The Chiefs star outpaced every wide receiver outside of Stefon Diggs (1,535) in the category. Kittle missed eight games in 2020, but he still averaged 79.3 receiving yards per, good for second among tight ends behind Kelce (94.4). Kittle can provide elite receiving and run-after-catch ability, while also being a devastating run blocker. Gronkowski is a shell of his former self, but he can still contribute as a receiver (see: two touchdowns in Super Bowl LV) and as a blocker. Plus, a locker room with Kelce, Kittle and Gronk would be a happy one. Sometimes, the cap makes decisions for us. Griffin made it over teammate Adam Trautman because I needed a little extra cap space elsewhere on the roster. Trautman was PFF’s highest-graded run-blocking tight end by a wide margin (5.9 points) in 2020, while Griffin ranked ninth (in 58 run-blocking snaps).

Toughest decision: Doubling up on the superstar tight ends, rather than picking one and using the leftover dough at a different position. Having the Kelce-Kittle duo essentially makes up for the lack of an elite WR1.

OFFENSIVE LINE (8): $24,523,205 (13.4%)

LT

Trent Williams

San Francisco 49ers · Cap number: $8,187,647

LG

Joe Thuney

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $4,500,000

C

Rodney Hudson

Arizona Cardinals · Cap number: $2,860,000

RG

Wyatt Teller

Cleveland Browns · Cap number: $2,183,000 (R – Round 5)

RT

Orlando Brown

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $3,384,000 (R – Round 3)

OT

Morgan Moses

Free agent · Cap number: $850,000 (Veteran Salary Benefit)

OL

Mike Onwenu

New England Patriots · Cap number: $830,617 (Rookie – Round 6)

C

David Andrews

New England Patriots · Cap number: $1,727,941

Williams just became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, but he comes with a very manageable Year 1 cap hit. Since 2012, the only season he missed the Pro Bowl was 2019, the year he did not play. In his first campaign with the 49ers, Williams was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded offensive tackle. Now a Pro Bowler at both tackle positions, Brown goes back to his undesired RT position on this roster. Getting Thuney, the NFL’s highest-paid guard and another Chiefs offseason acquisition, for $4.5 million made filling the LG spot an easy proposition. Hudson has allowed just two sacks on 2,955 pass protections snaps since 2016 (per PFF), while Aaron Rodgers (94.5) and Travis Kelce (93.5) were the only offensive players with a higher PFF grade than Teller (92.9) in 2020. Washington releasing Moses allowed me to roster him with the veteran salary benefit, an incredible bargain for a starting-caliber guy to play swing tackle. Onwenu started games at right tackle, right guard and left guard as a rookie. Keeping only eight offensive linemen (rather than nine) made this kind of versatility even more valuable. Andrews is an alluring backup center for this team, with 69 career starts and a cap hit under $2 million.

Toughest decision: Which perennial Pro Bowler to roll with at left tackle: Terron Armstead (who turns 30 in July) or Trent Williams (who turns 33 in July). Ended up going with the elder statesman.

INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE (5): $29,639,909 (16.2%)

Aaron Donald

Los Angeles Rams · Cap number: $14,392,000

Chris Jones

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $8,541,666

Bilal Nichols

Chicago Bears · Cap number: $2,257,870 (R – Round 5)

Foley Fatukasi

New York Jets · Cap number: $2,226,564 (R – Round 6)

Sebastian Joseph-Day

Los Angeles Rams · Cap number: $2,221,809 (R – Round 6)

Donald had a $25 million cap hit last season. A thrift-store bargain at $14 million for 2021, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year is the most expensive player on this roster for the second straight season. He’s the best defensive player in the NFL today — and may end up as the best of all time. He leads the NFL in sacks (85.5), quarterback hits (201) and tackles for loss (131) since entering the NFL in 2014. Jones is another spectacular interior pass rusher, ranking behind only Donald at the position in sacks since 2018. Nichols had five sacks and 13 quarterback hits in 16 starts last season. Fatukasi is on the roster merely for his ability against the run, as Donald was the only interior defensive lineman with a higher PFF run grade than Fatukasi in 2020. Joseph-Day provides depth behind Fatukasi at run-stuffing defensive lineman.

Toughest decision: Leaving J.J. Watt off the roster. Despite the injury concerns, Watt’s versatility is highly coveted.

EDGE RUSHER (6): $27,187,743 (14.9%)

Myles Garrett

Cleveland Browns · Cap number: $9,351,520

Chase Young

Washington Football Team · Cap number: $7,855,363 (R – Round 1)

Shaquil Barrett

Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Cap number: $5,000,000

Markus Golden

Arizona Cardinals · Cap number: $1,985,294

Kerry Hyder

Seattle Seahawks · Cap number: $1,950,000

Maxx Crosby

Las Vegas Raiders · Cap number: $1,045,566 (R – Round 4)

Garrett has averaged more sacks per game than any player in NFL history not named Reggie White (minimum 50 games). On a veteran contract with a cap hit under $10 million, he provides elite talent at a bargain value. Young was far more disruptive than his rookie-leading 7.5 sacks would suggest. He and Garrett give this roster two of the most talented and physically gifted edge rushers in the NFL. Barrett leads the NFL with 31.5 sacks, including playoffs, since joining the Buccaneers in 2019. His eight pressures in Super Bowl LV were key to the Buccaneers victory. Golden is a plus pass rusher whose 47 quarterback hits since 2019 are the ninth-most in the NFL. Hyder had a career-high 8.5 sacks in 2020, while Crosby adds depth and has 17.0 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in two NFL campaigns.

Toughest decision: Leaving Watts off the roster became a distressing motif of this season’s exercise. The NFL’s sack leader in 2020, T.J. Watt had a spot on this roster for the better part of its construction. The thought of Watt and Garrett hunting quarterbacks together was quite enticing, but ultimately, I couldn’t fit in T.J.’s $10.0 million fifth-year option.

LINEBACKER (5): $14,368,416 (7.9%)

Darius Leonard

Indianapolis Colts · Cap number: $4,280,783 (R – Round 2)

Fred Warner

San Francisco 49ers · Cap number: $3,636,547 (R – Round 3)

Lavonte David

Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Cap number: $3,360,000

Foye Oluokun

Atlanta Falcons · Cap number: $2,219,657 (R – Round 6)

Dre Greenlaw

San Francisco 49ers · Cap number: $930,429 (R – Round 5)

Leonard’s speed and length are a problem against the pass and the run. He’s the only player in NFL history with 15-plus sacks and seven-plus interceptions in his first three NFL seasons. Two Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro nods in three seasons speak for themselves. Warner is an absolute steal for a third-round pick. An elite coverage linebacker, the Niners standout finally got his rightful due with Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods in 2020. He led all linebackers in overall and coverage grades by Pro Football Focus in 2020. David provides veteran leadership and top-notch playmaking ability. He’s the only player with 20-plus sacks and 20-plus takeaways since entering the NFL in 2012. Oluokun had a breakout 2020 campaign, setting career-highs in tackles (117), sacks (three), interceptions (two) and forced fumbles (four), though he’s a special teamer on this roster. Greenlaw is a depth player who has plus coverage skills and can also contribute on special teams.

Toughest decision: Leaving Jeremy Chinn off of the roster, which came down to not using two of my second-round contracts on standup linebackers. I know the Panthers plan on playing Chinn in more of a traditional safety role this season, but he showed just how dynamic he can be on the second level as a rookie standout.

CORNERBACK (5): $24,638,905 (13.5%)

Jalen Ramsey

Los Angeles Rams · Cap number: $9,700,000

Tre’Davious White

Buffalo Bills · Cap number: $6,782,000

Jaire Alexander

Green Bay Packers · Cap number: $3,834,325 (R – Round 1)

J.C. Jackson

New England Patriots · Cap number: $3,384,000

L’Jarius Sneed

Kansas City Chiefs · Cap number: $938,580 (R – Round 4)

Ramsey is the best cornerback in the NFL, in my humble opinion, and he is the type of cornerback who can play a jersey number rather than a scheme if needed. Ramsey allowed the fewest receiving yards (309) among 62 corners with 60-plus targets in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. This despite facing each team’s best receiver more often than not. White is one of the best players at the position despite seeing slight regression after a 2019 first-team All-Pro season in which he tied for the league lead in picks (six). Alexander is a lockdown man-coverage corner, and he’ll become a household name across the country very soon (if he isn’t one already); only Ramsey allowed fewer yards among 62 corners with 60-plus targets in 2020 (per PFF). Jackson had nice interceptions last season, behind only NFL leader Xavien Howard (10). Sneed had three picks and two sacks in just nine games in 2020. For under $1 million and a fourth-round pick, Sneed was a value add for the roster.

Toughest decision: Rostering five cornerbacks rather than six. Someone like Kenny Moore would have been a welcome addition.

SAFETY (4): $12,917,481 (7.1%)

Justin Simmons

Denver Broncos · Cap number: $5,750,000

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Pittsburgh Steelers · Cap number: $2,722,878 (R – Round 1)

Jessie Bates

Cincinnati Bengals · Cap number: $2,852,603 (R – Round 2)

Anthony Harris

Philadelphia Eagles · Cap number: $1,592,000

Simmons never comes off the field; he’s played every defensive snap (3,067) for the Broncos since the start of the 2018 season, which is the longest active streak in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s the only player who had 90-plus tackles and five-plus interceptions in 2020. His development forced the Broncos to make him the NFL’s highest-paid safety, though a manageable Year 1 cap hit made him a pick here. Fitzpatrick has 11 interceptions and 29 passes defensed in three pro seasons. He’s the best single-high safety in the NFL and has been a first-team All-Pro selection in each of the last two campaigns. Bates cost a second-round pick, but putting these three on the field in big-nickel situations would be a problem for opposing offenses. Bates was PFF’s highest-graded safety in 2020, and he’s the only NFL player with 100-plus tackles and three-plus interceptions in each of the last three seasons. Harris had a down 2020, but he was playing on the franchise tag for a reason.

Toughest decision: Dropping first and second-round contracts on the safety position. The second-rounder spent on Bates could have easily gone to Nick Chubb.

SPECIAL TEAMERS (3): $2,622,853 (1.4%)

K

Younghoe Koo

Atlanta Falcons · Cap number: $920,000

P

Jake Bailey

New England Patriots · Cap number: $922,520 (R – Round 5)

LS

Ross Matiscik

Jacksonville Jaguars · Cap number: $780,333 (R – Undrafted)

Last season, I largely ignored the special teamers, only choosing the Chargers’ Ty Long due to his handling punting and kicking duties for the team in 2019. With Long not kicking a field goal in 2020, we gave the specialists their traditional three spots on the roster, though I capped each at $1 million. Koo went 8-for-8 on field goals of 50-plus yards in 2020, the most such field goals made by any player in 2020. Bailey was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro last season. Matiscik … ummmm … Matiscik snaps footballs at the NFL level.