AROUND THE NFL

Daily Briefing

NFC EAST

DALLAS

The Cowboys leak to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News what they say are their great efforts to sign QB DAK PRESCOTT.

Cowboys officials have met with the agents of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper a second time since the end of the NFL scouting combine, a source said.

For the first time in the offseason, team officials met with the two high-profile free agents at the NFL scouting combine last week. The Cowboys talked with Prescott’s agent, Todd France, either in person or by phone twice since the end of the 2019 season.

A source said the Cowboys offered Prescott an average salary of $33 million with a guaranteed contract of $105 million.

Financial proposals for Cooper are not known, but he’s seeking one of the largest contracts for a wide receiver.

The Cowboys and the agents for both players, are almost in a holding pattern, waiting for a potential new collective bargaining agreement to be concluded. NFL players are now voting on a possible new CBA and have until Thursday at 10:59 p.m. to vote.

 “I don’t have a sense when they vote,” Jerry Jones said last week from the NFL scouting combine.

“I do have a keen sense that we’ve got some decisions with just the Cowboys. We have, for this year going forward without an agreement, we have decisions we’re contemplating making right now as though we don’t have an agreement.”

If the Cowboys can’t secure a new deal with Prescott or Cooper, they have until Thursday to place an exclusive franchise tag or a transition tag on either player.

If there’s a new CBA in place by March 12, the Cowboys will just have the ability to place an exclusive franchise tag on a player and it will be Prescott.

Jones said Prescott isn’t going anywhere based on the mechanisms at the team’s disposal.

Cooper, meanwhile, could hit the open market if there’s a new CBA and the Cowboys place a tag on Prescott. Of course, if the Cowboys can secure a long-term contract with Prescott or Cooper before the March 12 deadline, it would answer numerous questions.

“It’s what it is,” Jones said. “We just have to figure out a way to do it. That was one of the reasons I’ve said was why I could have conceived not doing it.

“There’s no question it’s going to prove a bigger angst, but we’re going to be better off for it, and I think we’ll be better off for it as a team. But there’s a little more challenge here on our part to not have both tags. To be trite.”

NFC WEST

SEATTLE

Brady Henderson of ESPN.com has some thoughts on Seattle’s prospective free agents:

With somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 million in 2020 salary-cap space — not including what will be gained via veteran releases — Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has more money to spend this offseason than in recent years.

The catch: Schneider also has a lot of roster spots to fill thanks to 19 pending unrestricted free agents, five more than the Seahawks had at the beginning of last offseason and three more than the year before.

Here’s a closer look at some of Seattle’s top UFAs and predictions on whether they’ll be back.

DE Jadeveon Clowney

The Seahawks want to re-sign Clowney, but there’s a limit to how high they’ll go for a player who gets a lot of pressure (fifth in pass rush win rate last season at 24.8%) but not a lot of sacks (three in 13 regular-season games). ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler wrote it’s unlikely Seattle goes to $18 million to $20 million per year for Clowney, based on what they heard at the combine.

There’s an argument that the Seahawks should go that high given how badly they’d lack pass-rushing firepower without Clowney. Here’s one reason they won’t: Seattle declined to pay the $20.8 million average it would have taken to keep Frank Clark, who is a comparable player and more productive by some measures, including sacks.

The Seahawks need more than Clowney. That was clear last season, as their pass rush struggled without another legitimate threat. But having to pay $20 million-plus to re-sign Clowney (they can’t tag him) makes it harder to afford that second guy.

The way Clowney and the Seahawks speak about each other reflects how good of a match they are from a personality and culture standpoint. That will count for something.

“He loved the culture, he loves the coaching staff, loves the chefs, loves our equipment guys,” GM Schneider said in Indianapolis. “He’s a really fun guy. He was a blast to be around and I hope we can continue that.”

Prediction: Clowney’s price tag exceeds $20 million and the Seahawks let him walk.

DT Jarran Reed

Any team interested in the 27-year-old Reed knows it would be getting a tremendous run defender, but his pass-rushing production is less predictable. Is he closer to the guy who had 10.5 sacks in 2018 or the guy who combined for five sacks in his other three NFL seasons? That includes two last season after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

That suspension could hurt him in free agency, though the incident it stems from was three years ago and he has had no known issues since. The Seahawks swear by Reed.

“We definitely want him back, yeah,” Schneider said at the combine. “Absolutely. Great guy. Great locker room guy.”

Reed’s best option might be to take a one-year deal to rebuild his value and position himself for a better payday in 2021.

Prediction: Reed returns on a one-year deal worth less than the projected $12.32 million transition tag for defensive tackles.

LB Mychal Kendricks

Can you think of a player who has entered free agency amid more complicated circumstances than Kendricks? He’s scheduled to be sentenced in his insider trading case March 30 and is coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL from Week 17.

The 29-year-old Kendricks finished fourth on the Seahawks with 71 tackles and tied for third in sacks with three to go along with one interception in 14 starts. PFF lists him with 17 missed tackles, tied for sixth most among linebackers.

Seattle thought highly enough of Kendricks’ coverage ability to mostly play base defense last season, keeping him on the field in passing situations. Carroll volunteered that he’d like to have Kendricks back.

Kendricks’ sentencing already has been pushed back several times and could be postponed again. Either way, it seems unlikely that he signs anywhere early in free agency.

Prediction: Assuming he avoids prison time (or if his sentencing continues to be postponed), Kendricks returns on another one-year deal that protects the team in case he’s unavailable.

RT Germain Ifedi

While inconsistent, the 2016 first-round pick has been better than his harshest critics believe. Ifedi ranked 12th out of 64 qualifying tackles in pass block win rate in 2018 (91%) and 38th of 65 (87%) last season. He didn’t miss an offensive snap in 2019 and has missed only one game the past three seasons.

As for his penalty problem, Ifedi had 12 and 10 accepted penalties the past two seasons after leading the league with 16 in 2017.

Given the rising tackle market, it seemed Ifedi could benefit financially when Seattle declined his fifth-year option, which would have paid him $10.35 million in 2020. He might not top that average in free agency, but he’s in line to make more money than expected.

Prediction: Ifedi gets a nice deal from another team.

OT/TE George Fant

Fant is the toughest to predict.

On one hand, the 27-year-old has starting experience at a premium position and is younger than most free-agent left tackles.

On the other hand, he hasn’t been a permanent starter there since 2016, when he took over at midseason and had the struggles you’d expect from an undrafted rookie who played one year of college football at tight end. Fant was in line to start at left tackle in 2017 before tearing an ACL that summer. He has been a hybrid tight end/extra tackle since, making four fill-in starts for Duane Brown last season.

One scenario that makes sense is Fant replacing Ifedi at right tackle and eventually taking over for Brown on the left side.

One high-ranking NFL talent evaluator predicted Fant would command more money in free agency than Ifedi.

Prediction: Fant returns on a short-term deal.

RB Marshawn Lynch

Four touchdowns and 2.3 yards per carry in three games was the type of mixed bag you’d expect from a 33-year-old who hadn’t played in 14 months.

It’s hardly a given that Lynch will want to play in 2020. Now that his hometown Raiders have moved to Las Vegas, could any team other than the Seahawks convince him to give it another go? And would he want to put his body through the grind of another training camp only to be the third option behind Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny?

Consider this line from Lynch’s most recent postgame interview, the one in which he urged NFL players to take care of their chicken: “Now I’ve done been on the other side of retirement and it’s good when you get over there and you can do what the f— you want to …”

Prediction: Lynch goes back to enjoying his best life in retirement and returns only if disaster strikes the Seahawks’ backfield again.

Other unrestricted free agents: DE/DT Quinton Jefferson, DE Ziggy Ansah, DT Al Woods, LB Dekoda Watson, CB Akeem King, CB Neiko Thorpe, LG Mike Iupati, RB C.J. Prosise, RB Robert Turbin, TE Luke Willson, WR Jaron Brown, WR Josh Gordon, QB Geno Smith.

AFC WEST

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Peter King on RB AUSTIN EKELER and his new contract:

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler‘s agent, Cameron Weiss, had to beg scouts to watch the Pro Day of his client, from tiny Western State (Colo.), two years ago. The Chargers were going to sign one undrafted free-agent running back after the 2018 draft, and coach Anthony Lynn wanted Corey Clement. But the Eagles snagged Clement, and the totally unknown Ekeler was the consolation prize.

In training camp, the Chargers gave him the number “3.” A non-number, basically. The number of a player sure to be cut. He was used on special teams in training camp—not on the prime teams, but on the scout-team special teams. One day he asked Lynn what he had to do to make the team. Keep working, Lynn said. The coach didn’t know who he was. A scout told Weiss: “He runs like his hair’s on fire.” Then the sixth back at the start of camp kamikazed himself into a roster spot.

When Melvin Gordon held out to start last season, Ekeler got more and more chances, and then he had one of the most interesting games of 2019—101 rushing yards, 112 receiving yards at Jacksonville in December. He’s a McCaffrey type, having lined up as a receiver on 25 percent of his snaps last fall. So instead of signing Gordon long-term, the Chargers picked the versatile Ekeler to sign. On Friday, Ekeler inked a four-year, $24.5-million contract, per Adam Schefter, with $15 million guaranteed. “The phrase ‘feel-good story’ doesn’t do Austin’s story justice,” Weiss said.

Weiss is not a big-time agent. In 2019, as Ekeler got better and better, he got feelers from multiple agents to go big-time. But Weiss was his Jerry Maguire. “I look for talent in places other people in my business don’t,” Weiss said. “I have to. Western State, I didn’t even know what state that was in.” When Weiss finished the contract with the Chargers last week and phoned Ekeler to tell him the news, all Ekeler could do was giggle.

“Are you serious?” Ekeler said, and he couldn’t stop laughing.

Ekeler was in his car Friday afternoon when we spoke, on his way to Las Vegas to celebrate his contract. With Weiss. “One of the things that’s crazy about the NFL is when I got to camp, I’m sitting in a room with guys who make $10 million a year. I see what everyone’s making, and I said, ‘Dang! That’s a lot of money!’ That’s why I’m laughing when Cameron tells me about the deal—it just didn’t seem real that I’d be making that money.

“You know how people say, ‘More money, more problems.’ I think money exemplifies your true character. It’s going to bring out the person I truly am. I live in the moment. The best chance you have to succeed is living in the moment—nothing matters except what you do to be better now. That’s who I am. That’s who I’ll continue to be.”

Ekeler grew up in Eaton, Colorado which has a population of 5,000.  It’s on the Great Plains part of the state, north of Greeley.

Tyler Dunne of Bleacher Report put some time into Ekeler’s past last September:

Long before he became the lifeblood of an NFL offense, Ekeler was on a ranch.

In the middle of nowhere.

And absolutely miserable.

This is where you need to start, in Briggsdale, where Ekeler’s life was painfully simple. All summer, since he can remember, he’d wake up at 6 a.m. to work for this then-stepdad’s fencing company. There were no attaboys, let alone allowances. No, Ekeler installed fence…after fence…after fence…until dark, because that’s what he was told to do. And he knew that if he ever screwed anything up, he’d pay the price. Ekeler says his ex-stepdad—whom he never references by name here—had an abusive father himself growing up and, in turn, “brought that upon me.”

So he’s not shy about any of it. That he hated the work. The constant of pounding posts into the ground. And stringing wire. And clipping fence. And the fact that there was never an end in sight on these massive projects.

And that he hated his stepdad.

“I hated him. I hated him. I hated every minute about that,” Ekeler says. “But literally, looking back, that’s what taught me about working hard. It sucks. It sucked when I was going through all that stuff, but it literally taught me how to work hard. Because there was no complaining. It was: Get it done as fast as you could. If he ever asked you to do anything, you’d run. You’d literally run and go do it. Get it done.

“Because if you didn’t, you didn’t like the result. I just hated this guy.”

His biological father and mother split shortly after he was born. His dad is in prison for life and, no, as he sits in Chargers headquarters in his Space Jam shirt, with a 1½-inch scar on his right arm and a dime-sized scar on his left—routine battle wounds, nothing serious—Ekeler doesn’t want to get into all of that. His mother met this stepdad after they moved into town from Colorado Springs and stayed with him for 11 years.

At no point did Ekeler ever think this work was doing him any good. “I’m just thinking, ‘This is terrible,'” he says, closing his eyes at the memory of his body aching every night. The toughest part might’ve been tamping posts. That is, Ekeler would plant fence posts deep into the ground, one quarter-mile at a time, first with a metal bar and later with the help of tractor. And each quarter-mile, he then needed to install a massive H-brace.

For 20 miles. For 25 miles. For 30 miles.

However long a barbed-wire fence needed to be to, for example, keep a landowner’s cows off the railroad.

Ekeler was joined by his stepdad, stepdad’s son, stepdad’s son’s friend and his mom and brother, Wyett, though Wyett was too young to help back then. Seven years younger, he’d chill on the tractor nearby. While they did play some music, nothing ever gave them any joy through this all. The joy came in the occasional fishing trips. His face lights up thinking back to “slaying bass” at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska with his mother’s side of the family. He’d catch catfish everywhere, too.

Soon enough, however, winter arrived.

And his stepdad’s voice would wake him up in the middle of the night.

Pointing at different spots on the table here, Ekeler lays out the land in explaining how he tended to his stepdad’s farm animals year-round. How he’d need to carefully disconnect and drain four different hoses, downhill, after each usage and what would happen if he failed, if the hoses froze up or cracked. His stepdad went berserk. He’d drag a groggy Ekeler out of bed and into the snow in the middle of the night to make him thaw those hoses out via campfire or a wood-burning stove…then string ’em back out…then bring ’em back to the troughs.

Ekeler never considered quitting, at any point. That was not an option.

Yet he did have an escape: sports. And he quickly realized that all this work made him a different breed as a running back at nearby Eaton High. He was farm-strong. He never tired. He never complained. As a senior, Ekeler ran for 2,398 yards with 42 total touchdowns.

Not that anybody outside of Eaton seemed to notice or care.

He ponders why.

Maybe it was geography. It’s easy to overlook a school in Colorado with only 90 kids per graduating class, and his own head coach wasn’t much help. He liked Bill Mondt a lot. Mondt actually coached the New Mexico Lobos back in the ’70s, but, 76 years old by this point, he wasn’t exactly fighting for Ekeler. Instead, he’d pass off any letters he received to Ekeler, who tried (and failed) to sell himself. No Division I schools showed a blip of interest, and all the Division II schools in arm’s reach— CSU-Pueblo, Adams State University, etc.—wanted Ekeler to play defensive back.

Or maybe the film was too grainy. It certainly wasn’t HD—but you could still see his number, see a No. 30 racing away from the pack. He even had connections. His offensive coordinator’s twin brother coached at North Carolina. So Ekeler went to UNC’s camp, and he killed it…and he never heard a peep. His own damn cousin, Mike Ekeler, was a linebackers coach at Nebraska. He can still hear Mike telling him he needed to run a 10.8 in the 100-meter dash to have any shot at Nebraska. (“I’m like, ‘I run an 11.01. OK…all right.'”)

Ekeler even remembers finding a list online that showed he had the 22nd-most rushing yards in the entire nation.

“And I didn’t get any interest from anybody?” he says. “I was so confused.”

Even now, he’s dumbfounded.

His thick, dark eyebrows flare. His voice gets louder.

“Sure, I went to a small school, but I am DE-STROY-ING people!” he says. “What else could you have done? What else? I had 42 touchdowns! It was absurd! I would score four, five a game! I don’t know what else I could have done.”

It’s clear what everyone missed: that kid on the ranch.

“To me, you couldn’t evaluate my heart, my work ethic. You couldn’t evaluate all that,” he says. “You can’t put that in numbers. … You can’t measure someone’s demeanor and how they work.”

One program did offer the chance to play running back: D-II Western Colorado. The head coach there, Jas Bains, told Ekeler his senior running back was graduating so they had a spot.

And that’s all Ekeler needed to hear.

As his high school graduation neared, Ekeler lined everything up in Gunnison—a place to stay, a roommate, a summer job as a rafting guide to pay rent. He packed his bags the night before receiving his diploma.

“And I said, ‘See ya!'”

Ekeler wouldn’t need to install a fence ever again.

The apathy pained him. Like lingering sciatica. Ekeler was one of nine running backs initially at Western Colorado, a nobody, but even he couldn’t stand the fact that seniors weren’t taking the game a fraction as seriously as he was. He quickly earned the starting job, and each blowout loss stung more than the last—48-21, then 29-3, then 35-13.

Finally, he snapped.

During a team dinner, Ekeler saw teammates goofing around and fiddling with their phones. So when Bains asked if anybody had anything to say, Ekeler spoke up.

His voice trembled then and trembles now just reliving that moment.

“I was on the verge of tears because I was so nervous,” Ekeler says. “I was just so passionate in telling the team what I had to say.”

Ekeler told everyone that their attitudes were unacceptable. That nobody was locked in, nobody seemed to care—at all—about this team. This was foreign to him. Ekeler was used to his high school team winning nearly every game. From that point forward, Ekeler was a team captain. Western Colorado won two games, then four, then four again, then went 7-4 in Ekeler’s final season. His passion did, in fact, catch on.

The Mountaineers finished just a game out of first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Which, obviously, sounds about as memorable as a ribbon at the fair.

Laughable, even, compared to Gordon’s tour de force through the Big Ten. But that’s the point. That’s where you see how Ekeler is different than any back in the NFL. He played in front of 100 fans on Saturdays, not 100,000. He was never on national TV. Never surrounded by 5-star recruits forever destined for greatness. And he relished this. He loved building something, organically, all in the name of pride and pride only.

When Ekeler first saw those seniors with a foot out the door, part of him understood why. It’s hard to lift yourself out of bed for 6 a.m. workouts when no one—literally, no one—is considering football as a career. It wasn’t a dream, let alone a reality. But, to Ekeler, this sure beat the ranch. He told everyone who’d listen, “We can do something. We can put a ring on your finger.” He embraced the challenge of getting others to care like he cared, of pulling “as many people as I could along.”

Gunnison is a town of 6,000, give or take. Hardly Madison, Wisconsin. But Ekeler was in his element.

“I love that you had to be the one who made it work,” Ekeler says. “It wasn’t because we had this huge program and all these nutritionists. You yourself had to get the motivation in your head to say, ‘I’m going to get this done.’ It was just like working at the fence. There’s no one besides you and everyone around you. You have to get it done. Whatever it takes. You have to motivate yourself.

“We don’t have these extravagant weight rooms and all these hype things. We don’t have a big crowd we’re going to play for—Oh, we’ve gotta play for them. We didn’t even have each other when I got there. Everyone was all over the place.

“I don’t know why I put it upon myself. Probably because I cared. This was not how I wanted it to be here for my time here. I’m going to speak about that.”

A team of “individuals” became, truly, a team.

And this is where he also met his first love: the weight room. Ekeler quickly realized, in there, what a childhood of manual labor had done for him.

The first “max day” at school, he squatted more than everyone. Linemen. Linebackers. Nobody came close then. And now, in the pros, he’s still outlifting virtually everyone. Whenever Ekeler enters a weight room, it’s a spectacle—teammates gather to see Ekeler squat five 45-pound plates on each side of a barbell.

He and two other players at Western Colorado—Travis Haney and Ty Henry—made a habit of lifting extra, of ticking off their strength coach for doing too much. They’d walk into the weight room, ask, “What’s not sore?” and then destroy that muscle.

This is what Ekeler does for fun.

The result has been beautiful deception. Pads on, it’s difficult for anyone to tell a 5’9″ running back packs so much punch. Here, sitting in a chair, Ekeler sways back and forth, staring ahead at a pretend defense.

CARSON, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 08: Austin Ekeler #30 of the Los Angeles Chargers is pursued by Al-Quadin Muhammad #97 of the Indianapolis Colts in overtime at Dignity Health Sports Park on September 08, 2019 in Carson, California. The Chargers defeated th

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

From Western Colorado to the NFL, his raw strength became a (secret) superpower.

“People try to shoulder-tackle me. They think they can just blast me on the ground. But I have balance. My legs can stick,” says Ekeler, slamming his left foot into the ground. “My foot just sticks in the ground. So you hit me and, Bam! I bounce! You might move me, but it’s not going to slam me into the ground, like people think.”

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON

T LAREMY TUNSIL had offseason surgery.  Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Pro Bowler’s rehab is expected to get him back in time for training camp.

Tunsil, 25, started 14 games last season in his first season in Houston after a trade from Miami.

He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, on the books for a $10.35 million base salary for 2020. But Tunsil is seeking a long-term deal that will average somewhere north of $19 million, according to Wilson, which would give Tunsil the highest annual average at his position.

Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson currently is the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. His $72 million deal includes $55.8 million guaranteed and averages $18 million per season.

Tunsil recently parted ways with Creative Artists Agency and is seeking new representation. Among the options Tunsil is considering is representing himself.

AFC EAST

NEW ENGLAND

Talks with QB TOM BRADY – by the Patriots.  This from Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis always had a direct, blunt way of delivering a message, and that has continued in his role as a co-host on Sirius XM NFL Radio’s “Opening Drive” program. Weis has remained close with Brady, and in response to rampant speculation on Brady’s future, he relayed the following on Thursday’s show: “I do have one bit of scoop for us. I’ve been texting with Tommy. I don’t [usually] pass along these conversations, but one thing he told me — ‘Nobody knows anything. So anyone who is telling you they know, they don’t know.’ I’m not going through any other part of the conversation [but] I followed up and he said, ‘Clean it up.’ So I’m cleaning it up.”

Brady’s future in the red zone: When Brady tells Weis no one knows anything, this is my translation from Brady’s viewpoint: How can anyone know anything about my future team when I don’t know myself, as there is currently no indication of the type of financial/annual commitment coach Bill Belichick is willing to make? Once Brady gets that information definitively, and knows what he is agreeing to or walking away from, then the pieces should fall into place. That’s why news that the players’ vote on the collective bargaining agreement is to be completed by March 12 is significant; it will determine the financial rules under which all teams operate and should finally force Belichick to show his hand with four days on the calendar before other teams can legally negotiate with Brady’s agents.

THIS AND THAT

THE DEAL

Peter King talks to outgoing union president Eric Winston about the deal he negotiated:

I won’t take up the majority of this column with labor stuff, because I know you don’t read this column to learn about jousting between millionaires and billionaires. But I thought the final hours of the NFL Players Association president Eric Winston’s six-year run as president should be noted. Some immense pressure and criticism trail him as he walks out the door.

“What’s your gut feeling about this vote?” I asked Winston over the weekend, as he prepared for his last union meeting as president. “Pass or fail?”

“I’ve gotten that question a few times,” Winston said from a hotel lobby in Miami, site of the annual NFLPA meetings. “I would think it would pass. I would think it would pass by a lot. It’s important that we let the process play out, and important that all players understand the issues and vote their conscience.”

If the vote fails, Winston said, “We know we’ll be approaching some tense times.”

About 150 players are scheduled to attend the three-day meeting that began Sunday. Voting for a new president—Carolina tackle Russell Okung is the only announced candidate—is planned for Tuesday.

Winston sounded calm when we spoke, but I’ve heard about the toll this has taken on him, particularly from those who think he and union executive director De Smith rushed a bad deal. “There’s people,” Winston said, “I call ‘em Twitter lawyers, who think somehow this deal was put together quickly. These have been some pretty long and painstaking negotiations. One thing this has not been is rushed. De went to every team during the fall, let ‘em know exactly where we were. We spent 20 hours since the season ended with our player reps. There have been some misconceptions about the process. You’re not going to get everything you want in a negotiation, and we certainly didn’t.”

The biggest problem for the deal herded by Smith and Winston is the 17-game schedule. Packers player rep Aaron Rodgers told ESPN Radio in Wisconsin last week he wondered “how the hell that even got into the conversation because nobody wanted it.” Winston said he respected Rodgers, who he said had been “very thoughtful” during and after the negotiations. But, Winston said, “I have not heard that from a lot of other guys . . . We made a very aggressive offer early on. We wanted a lot, and the other side [owners] said, ‘You want a lot of this stuff, and this is what we want.’ ”

Seventeen games.

“It wasn’t our idea,” Winston said, “but the other side has a say too. And we got a lot out of it—a higher AR [all revenue, the figure both sides are using for the total increase in dollars in this deal], higher minimum [salaries], expanded rosters, four more practice squad players per team, better work conditions in training camp, better health care, better benefits, a major increase in pension for thousands of former players.”

Somehow, in the zillions of tweets and stories done on this CBA, there has been very little said about the biggest accomplishment of the deal for the union. (Some journalism school should do a study of whether Twitter and some high-profile anti-CBA tweets impacted the vote. As Smith told Mike Florio last week: “Only a fool would say it does not.”) Some 11,000 former players from bygone eras will have their pensions increased by about 53 percent (from $30,000 annually to $46,000), while approximately 700 players who played just three seasons will get pensions for the first time, and about 4,500 will get $50,000 health-savings-reimbursement accounts. “That is something I’m really proud of,” Winston said. “Our leadership said, ‘We can’t leave these guys behind.’ I don’t know why it has been covered the way it has—maybe it’s not high on the list for current players—but I know it was important for our leadership.”

If the proposed CBA is voted down, those pension and retirement improvements for nearly 12,000 ex-players go on hold. And if there’s a bitter fight next offseason, and if the economy and TV picture isn’t rosy, and if owners figure You guys had your chance at a great deal, a perk like sweetening the pot for the ex-player who’s been retired for 45 years could be the first thing to go. No one knows. But lockouts and strikes get ugly, and the union will have to be most concerned with today’s player, not yesterday’s.

Winston got a little nostalgic over the phone. “There’s some of that,” he said. “It’s bittersweet to be going, a little. But I pass the baton, and I’m proud to pass it.”

He saved his best line for last. He knows if this deal fails, there could be a job action sometime in 2021 by hard-line players. Players haven’t had the gumption to walk off the job since September 1987, and even then, solidarity lasted only two weeks before stars like Lawrence Taylor began trickling back to work, unwilling to sacrifice their big salaries. Imagine asking Jimmy Garoppolo to give up his $24.1-million salary in 2021. Or saying to Aaron Donald, “Sacrifice that $19.9 million for the cause.” They’re in their prime earning years, and one year of that prime might be spent not earning anything. Of course I doubt it comes to that, but NFL players collectively have never had the fortitude to risk a year of income for the greater good—in this case, say, for 51 percent of the gross instead of the likely 48.5 percent this deal will provide.

“It’s one thing to get into a work stoppage,” Winston said. “It’s another thing to win one.”

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com seems to have a message from the NFL.

A number of NFL owners hope the proposed collective bargaining agreement doesn’t pass with the players because they believe they can negotiate a better deal, with eyes on an 18-game season in the future, a league source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Saturday.

“They think they can get a better deal next year,” said the source, who quantified the dissatisfied ownership group as more than a handful. “They feel they gave up too much on the economics.”

The owners told commissioner Roger Goodell of their belief at an owners meeting in New York in February, the source said, citing frustration with the players’ monetary increases and the increase in the size of active rosters.

The owners approved the proposed CBA last month, although ESPN reported at the time that the vote was not unanimous. Three-fourths of the owners had to approve the CBA for it to be ratified.

Players have until 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday to cast their votes on the proposed CBA via DocuSign. The CBA will pass if it receives a simple majority (50% plus one vote) of all ballots submitted. It would be in effect for the 2020 league year, with a possible move to a 17-game regular season coming in 2021 at the earliest.

If the CBA is approved, the NFL regular season could not be expanded past 17 games through the life of the deal, which would run through the 2030 season.

But a handful of owners want an 18-game season eventually, the source said, and that could come up in future negotiations if the players don’t approve the CBA. A “no” vote from the players wouldn’t necessarily scrap the framework of the current proposal, but items would then be open for negotiation. A separate source told Fowler that if the owners pushed for an 18th game at that point, it might force the players off the negotiating table completely.

ESPN reported in February that owners would not be receptive to renegotiating the current proposal.

Players such as Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman and Maurkice Pouncey have staunchly opposed the deal, which offers a revenue-sharing increase from 47% to 48.5% once the 17-game schedule kicks in. Some owners felt that increase was too generous, the source told Fowler.

In July, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith acknowledged that the NFL had raised the idea of an 18-game schedule in early negotiations, but he said he didn’t see it happening.

“I don’t see an 18-game schedule — under any circumstance — being in the best interest of our players,” Smith said at the time. “If somebody wants to make an 18-game proposal, we’ll look at it. I haven’t seen anything that makes me think that it would be good for the players.”

Among other issues some NFL owners have with the deal, the source said, are the game-day roster increase from 46 to 48 players; the expansion of the practice squad to 14 players in 2022; and the lack of a proposed cap for the highest-paid players (essentially a quarterback salary cap).

Minimum salaried players make up much of the NFL’s working body, and since those players will see significant salary increases under the new deal — second-year players rising from $495,000 to $675,000 next year, for example — there is some feeling that the new deal will pass. But some NFL locker rooms are divided because those in opposition feel the concessions aren’t enough to offset the lack of a 50-50 share or more long-term health benefits.

More from Mike Florio:

It’s not really news but a new characterization of facts that have lingered for several weeks. The NFL’s vote on the CBA, as previously reported elsewhere, was not unanimous. At a time when many owners are willing to treat players as partners, some owners (fully aware of the failed strike of 1987 and the way the 2011 lockout ended) want to squeeze the players as hard as possible, knowing that the players won’t endure a lengthy work stoppage. And some owners, including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, want to expand the regular season to 18 games right now.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith explained during his recent visit to #PFTPM how things potentially would unfold if the CBA fails. The owners already have voted to table any talks until next year, as the CBA expires. At that point, the owners can either lock out the players or impose the last, best offer as the new work rules pending the finalization of a new labor deal. This would essentially dare the players to strike.

If the players strike, the owners would hire replacements, like they did in 1987. And then the owners would wait for players to start crossing the picket line. Once that starts — and with so many football players who want to play football it inevitably will — it won’t stop until the strike collapses and the players play under the work rules imposed after the CBA expires. Next, the players likely would decertify the union and file a lawsuit, challenging those work rules as a violation of the antitrust laws. Eventually, after multiple years of playing under those unilaterally imposed work rules as the litigation moves through a federal court system that is in the process of taking a hard turn to the right (which is good for the owners), the case would be resolved with (drum roll, please) a new CBA.

So when Richard Sherman bristles at doing a new deal now for “fear of what may happen,” that is exactly what may (and likely will) happen. CBA expires, rules less favorable than the current deal are imposed (possibly with 18 games), players strike, strike fails, players play under the rules imposed by the owners while litigation proceeds, and several years later the process ends with a new CBA. And maybe, just maybe, that CBA will be as good as the CBA on which the players currently are voting.

That’s exactly what happened in 1987, with work rules imposed by the league and a strike that failed and a lawsuit that was filed and a CBA that became effective six years later.

Most players weren’t born then. All owners were. All owners know what happened then and, yes, some of them indeed want to do it all over again, since they believe that they’d make more money over the next seven or eight years through chaos than they would through partnership.

While the new ESPN report may indeed be couched by its source as a not-so-subtle threat aimed at getting players to vote yes, the core of the story contains the vague but real promise of history repeating itself, more than 30 years later.

Harvard-educated QB RYAN FITZPATRICK (economics degree to boot) has looked at the deal and pronounces it good.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has announced that he will vote “yes” for the proposed collective bargaining agreement that was sent to players on Thursday morning. It makes him the most prominent player to publicly announce a yes vote for the CBA.

In a video sent to ESPN’s Trey Wingo, Fitzpatrick detailed why he’s confident in his vote. He cited increased minimum salaries, a marijuana drug policy change, increased roster spots, better work conditions/environment, better practice-squad pay, less hitting in training camp and increased benefits for current and former players.

Fitzpatrick cited in-season meetings that every team had with NFL Players Association leaders, during which they discussed the parameters of a new CBA and what players wanted the NFLPA to fight for in negotiations.

“There was a ton of different things that we said we wanted to be addressed,” said Fitzpatrick, a 15-year NFL veteran. “… The vast majority of those were hit and addressed in this CBA. I think the most important part of the CBA, though, comes down to revenue sharing. For us as players, revenue sharing, getting a larger percentage of the pie, is important, but also the overall growth of that pie is important. Those two things both happen if we sign this CBA.”

The reaction to the proposed CBA has been polarizing. There has been strong dissent about the new CBA on social media from many NFL stars, including quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, running backs Todd Gurley and Kenyan Drake, cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Chris Harris Jr., defensive linemen Aaron Donald and Cameron Jordan, receivers Stefon Diggs, Tyler Lockett, Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills, and offensive linemen Mike Pouncey and Maurkice Pouncey.

Fitzpatrick said he spent the past few weeks gathering information from both sides of the debate, NFLPA leadership, former general managers and agents to make an informed decision. He believes passing the CBA will show solidarity, strength and stability from both sides of the NFL with new TV deals upcoming.

“The possible gains we could make from a work stoppage don’t justify the risk we would undertake in voting this proposal down,” Fitzpatrick said.

2020 DRAFT

Josh Edwards at CBSSports.com offers a Mock Draft of three rounds:

The NFL should be announcing 2020 draft compensatory selections at any moment. In a special three-round mock draft, I addressed draft strategies for all 32 teams. The projected compensatory selections in italics at the end of the third round come courtesy of OverTheCap.com projections.

The idea of recent mock drafts has been to provide some scenarios that could potentially shake up the entire draft. They may not be likely, but they are not out of the realm of possibility. For example, check out a mock draft from last month where I had the Vikings trading Stefon Diggs to Baltimore right here. Last week’s scenario featured Washington selecting Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa No. 2 overall. This week, we’ve got other surprises ahead.

Position rankings are based on our composite prospect rankings. Let’s kick this thing off!

NFL MOCK DRAFT

ROUND 1

1 – CINCINNATI

Joe Burrow QB

LSU • SR • 6’4″ / 221 LBS

PROJECTED TEAM

Joe Burrow is talking about the Bengals retaining A.J. Green; he is going to Cincinnati.

2 – WASHINGTON

Chase Young EDGE

OHIO STATE • JR • 6’5″ / 264 LBS

The Redskins should absolutely consider Tua Tagovailoa, but odds are better that they do end up selecting Young.

3 – DETROIT

Jeff Okudah CB

OHIO STATE • JR • 6’1″ / 205 LBS

Isaiah Simmons has made this a difficult decision for Detroit. There really is no wrong choice between those two players.

4 – N.Y. GIANTS

Isaiah Simmons LB

CLEMSON • JR • 6’4″ / 238 LBS

It would not be a surprise if Dave Gettleman still addressed a need at offensive tackle with this selection, but Simmons is a special talent. There is a need at the position as well, so New York should swing back around to the offensive tackle position later.

5 – MIAMI

Tua Tagovailoa QB

ALABAMA • JR • 6’0″ / 217 LBS

Miami and Tagovailoa swiped right on each other a long time ago. The expectation is that they will come together in April.

6 – LA CHARGERS

Jordan Love QB

UTAH STATE • JR • 6’4″ / 224 LBS

Los Angeles could target offensive tackle help here after adding Trai Turner. Despite Anthony Lynn’s past with Tyrod Taylor, it is hard to envision the Chargers placing the entire fate of the organization in Taylor’s hands.

7 – CAROLINA

Derrick Brown DL

AUBURN • SR • 6’5″ / 326 LBS

Now that Carolina has added its apparent left tackle, the Panthers can turn their attention to supplementing the interior defensive line. Brown is a game-changer.

8 – ARIZONA

CeeDee Lamb WR

OKLAHOMA • JR • 6’2″ / 198 LBS

Kyler Murray and Lamb reunite in Arizona. Larry Fitzgerald can increase his legacy by grooming the next star wide receiver in Phoenix.

9 – JACKSONVILLE

Jedrick Wills Jr. OL

ALABAMA • JR • 6’4″ / 312 LBS

Jacksonville has taken some chances to improve its offensive tackle positions, but the Jags finally commit to a player who should be there for the long haul — Wills.

10 – CLEVELAND

Tristan Wirfs OL

IOWA • JR • 6’5″ / 320 LBS

Cleveland needs a left and right tackle. Wirfs primarily played right tackle for Iowa. The Browns need to address both sides, so it will be interesting to see whether or not they target Jason Peters, Trent Williams, Andrew Whitworth or another veteran for that left side, allowing Wirfs to remain on the right.

11 – NY JETS

Mekhi Becton OL

LOUISVILLE • JR • 6’7″ / 364 LBS

Becton is a monster of an offensive tackle prospect. He needs to improve his technique, but players his size are not expected to move the way in which he is capable.

12 – LAS VEGAS

Justin Herbert QB

OREGON • SR • 6’6″ / 236 LBS

Las Vegas has been non-committal with Derek Carr for a reason. Carr is a viable option to allow success, but there is a ceiling to his play. If Jon Gruden wants to open up the offense, he needs a quarterback with a stronger arm.

13 – INDIANAPOLIS

Jerry Jeudy WR

ALABAMA • JR • 6’1″ / 193 LBS

The marriage of Indianapolis and Philip Rivers is a poorly kept secret at this point. If he does end up there, their focus should be adding another dynamic wide receiver to pair with T.Y. Hilton. The offense was a one-trick pony last year when Hilton was absent.

14 – TAMPA BAY

Andrew Thomas OL

GEORGIA • JR • 6’5″ / 315 LBS

Tampa Bay may bring back Jameis Winston or add another veteran quarterback. It is unknown how long Bruce Arians intends to coach, so the Bucs must prioritize winning now. The focus should be adding an offensive tackle, running back and then best players available on defense. They are set in the pass-catching unit.

15 – DENVER

Henry Ruggs III WR

ALABAMA • JR • 5’11” / 188 LBS

Ruggs can blaze his path to Denver. Drew Lock throwing to Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant and Ruggs is an ideal situation as long as they upgrade the protection.

16 – ATLANTA

A.J. Epenesa EDGE

IOWA • JR • 6’5″ / 275 LBS

Epenesa’s stock is down for some people following the NFL combine, but his tape has not changed. He can impact the game in a lot of ways, similar to Cameron Jordan.

17 – DALLAS

CJ Henderson CB

FLORIDA • JR • 6’1″ / 204 LBS

Henderson has great size and looked clean in his on-field workouts at the NFL combine. He is CB2 for me, which is a priority for Dallas if (and when) Byron Jones walks in free agency.

18 – MIAMI (from Pittsburgh)

Josh Jones OL

HOUSTON • SR • 6’5″ / 319 LBS

When Miami selected Tua Tagovailoa, it meant that the Dolphins needed to invest heavily in their offensive line to protect him. Jones is the first piece to the puzzle as they build a formidable unit.

19 – LAS VEGAS (from Chicago)

Tee Higgins WR

CLEMSON • JR • 6’4″ / 216 LBS

Higgins may be a bit of a reach here honestly, but Las Vegas showed its love for Clemson last year when they added Trayvon Mullen, Clelin Ferrell and Hunter Renfrow. Why not bring Higgins in this year? It would provide them with a viable downfield threat for Justin Herbert.

20 – JACKSONVILLE (from LA Rams)

Trevon Diggs CB

ALABAMA • SR • 6’1″ / 205 LBS

Jacksonville has now traded away A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey. The cornerback position is a big need for them. Diggs has great genes and his brother, Stefon, has been able to provide him with some insight into stopping opposing wide receivers.

21 – PHILADELPHIA

Justin Jefferson WR

LSU • JR • 6’1″ / 202 LBS

Jefferson has been WR4 for me behind CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. Philadelphia and Buffalo need wide receiver help so it would make sense for there to be a mini-run on the position. Jefferson high points the football and possesses elite body control.

22 – BUFFALO

Laviska Shenault Jr. WR

COLORADO • JR • 6’1″ / 227 LBS

Shenault provides Buffalo with a unique skill set. He is an underneath threat with John Brown operating over the top. The Bills should take two wide receivers before the end of the weekend.

23 – NEW ENGLAND

Kenneth Murray LB

OKLAHOMA • JR • 6’3″ / 241 LBS

Murray has become a popular pick for New England. The Pats could undergo some changes along that level of their defense this offseason so they are in need of an infusion of talent. He mentioned that he met with the Patriots while at the NFL combine.

24 – NEW ORLEANS

Kristian Fulton CB

LSU • SR • 6’0″ / 197 LBS

Fulton has to travel from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. He can gas up the Hyundai and drive down I-10 to his new home.

25 – MINNESOTA

Javon Kinlaw DL

SOUTH CAROLINA • SR • 6’5″ / 324 LBS

Kinlaw sliding to No. 25 overall is unexpected, but it benefits Minnesota. The entire defense needs some attention this offseason in the event that safety Anthony Harris does not return.

26 – MIAMI (from Houston)

K’Lavon Chaisson EDGE

LSU • SOPH • 6’3″ / 254 LBS

Chaisson is a gifted player capable of dropping into coverage, rushing the passer and stopping the run. As long as he stays healthy, he should pay big dividends.

27 – SEATTLE

Yetur Gross-Matos EDGE

PENN STATE • JR • 6’5″ / 266 LBS

If Jadeveon Clowney walks in free agency, Seattle will need to replace him. Gross-Matos is not nearly as explosive, but he uses his hands well.

28 – BALTIMORE

D’Andre Swift RB

GEORGIA • JR • 5’8″ / 212 LBS

Mark Ingram exceeded expectations in his first season with Baltimore, but he will turn 31 years old during the 2020 regular season. Swift offers a similar skill set and be a long-term answer at the position. The wear on his tires is not extensive after backing up the likes of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel in recent years.

29 – TENNESSEE

Zack Baun LB

WISCONSIN • SR • 6’2″ / 238 LBS

Baun has the versatility to play on the edge or move inside. His high football IQ should be intriguing for Mike Vrabel, who played the position at a high level for 14 seasons.

30 – GREEN BAY

Tyler Biadasz OL

WISCONSIN • JR • 6’4″ / 314 LBS

I overheard a conversation between two Green Bay beat writers who mentioned two interesting names: Jonathan Taylor and Biadasz. Why would the Packers consider either when they have Corey Linsley and Aaron Jones? Both are entering the final years of their respective contracts. Instead of bending over backward to meet contract demands, they become proactive and draft a replacement. Philadelphia did the same thing last year when they selected Andre Dillard in the first round to replace Jason Peters, who, as we know now, is not returning to Philadelphia.

 31 – SAN FRANCISCO

Xavier McKinney S

ALABAMA • JR • 6’0″ / 201 LBS

McKinney is great value this late in the first round. He offers tremendous flexibility being able to play nickelback or either safety position. There will be a spot for him on the field regardless of what John Lynch does in free agency.

32 – KANSAS CITY

Bryce Hall CB

VIRGINIA • SR • 6’1″ / 202 LBS

Kansas City won the Super Bowl but they still have some big needs. The offensive line and cornerback units should be addressed. Hall is the best available in the latter category.

Round 2

33. Bengals – Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma

34. Colts – Jacob Eason, QB, Washington

35. Lions – Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin

36. Giants – Austin Jackson, OT, USC

37. Chargers – Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State

38. Panthers – A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson

39. Dolphins – Grant Delpit, S, LSU

40. Cardinals – Netane Muti, OG, Fresno State

41. Browns – Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU

42. Jaguars – Prince Tega Wanogho, OT, Auburn

43. Bears – Robert Hunt, OG, Louisiana

44. Colts – Jordan Elliott, DT, Missouri

45. Buccaneers – Cam Akers, RB, Florida State

46. Broncos – Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia

47. Falcons – Terrell Lewis, EDGE, Alabama

48. Jets – Josh Uche, EDGE, Michigan

49. Steelers – Adam Trautman, TE, Dayton

50. Bears – Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame

51. Cowboys – James Lynch, DT, Baylor

52. Rams – Cesar Ruiz, OG, Michigan

53. Eagles – Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Auburn

54. Bills – Curtis Weaver, EDGE, Boise State

55. Falcons – J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

56. Dolphins – Matt Peart, OT, UCONN

57. Texans – Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State

58. Vikings – Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU

59. Seahawks – Lucas Niang, OT, TCU

60. Ravens – Julian Okwara, EDGE, Notre Dame

61. Titans – Jack Driscoll, OT, Auburn

62. Packers – Zack Moss, RB, Utah

63. Chiefs – Jordyn Brooks, LB, Texas Tech

64. Seahawks – Davon Hamilton, DT, Ohio State

Round 3

65. Bengals – Ashtyn Davis, S, California

66. Redskins – Brycen Hopkins, TE, Purdue

67. Lions – Jon Greenard, EDGE, Florida

68. Jets – Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor

69. Panthers – Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming

70. Dolphins – Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota

71. Chargers – John Simpson, OG, Clemson

72. Cardinals – Logan Stenberg, OG, Kentucky

73. Jaguars – Julian Blackmon, S, Utah

74. Browns – Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian State

75. Colts – Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

76. Buccaneers – Jabari Zuniga, EDGE, Florida

77. Broncos – Troy Pride Jr., CB, Notre Dame

78. Falcons – Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State

79. Jets – K.J. Hamler, WR, Penn State

80. Raiders – Terrell Burgess, S, Utah

81. Raiders – Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah

82. Cowboys – Harrison Bryant, TE, Florida Atlantic

83. Broncos – Solomon Kindley, OG, Georgia

84. Rams – Trey Adams, OT, Washington

85. Eagles – Kyle Dugger, LB, Lenoir-Rhyne

86. Bills – Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR, Michigan

87. Patriots – Justin Madubuike, DE, Texas A&M

88. Saints – Lynn Bowden Jr., WR, Kentucky

89. Vikings – Hakeem Adeniji, OG, Kansas

90. Browns – Kevin Dotson, OG, Louisiana

91. Raiders – Marlon Davidson, DT, Auburn

92. Ravens – Jeremy Chinn, LB, Southern Illinois

93. Titans – Bradlee Anae, EDGE, Utah

94. Packers – Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR, Liberty

95. Broncos – Nick Harris, C, Washington

96. Chiefs – Jonah Jackson, OG, Ohio State

97. Patriots – Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU

98. Giants – Michael Pittman Jr., WR, USC

99. Patriots – Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma

100. Seahawks – Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame

101. Texans – Lloyd Cushenberry, OG, LSU

102. Steelers – Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina