Roger Goodell put his desires ahead of the NFL’s coaches and players – and Albert Breer of SI.com explains how the loathed kickoff rule came to be.

The change in the kickoff rule happened in a way it shouldn’t have. The standard for any rules change in the NFL is a 24–8 vote, and there’s a reason why it’s not a simple majority—it isn’t, and shouldn’t be, easy to rewrite the rule book. And, yet, here we are, and over a two-month period through which a grand total of zero games were played, the league moved from being split on the NFL’s proposed kickoff modification to strongly supporting it.

At the March owners meeting, commissioner Roger Goodell could barely get the room to 16–16 and the competition committee’s idea to allow for fair catches inside the 25-yard line to be counted as touchbacks, with the ball coming out to the 25. At the spring meetings May 22–23 in Eagan, Minn., after Goodell politicked for those two months—by show of hands—there were around 13 no votes on the floor, leaving the NFL, counting the Raiders’ abstention, well short of the 24 needed to pass the change.

“We’ll pick this up in the privileged session,” Goodell told the room, after it became clear he didn’t have the votes on the first day of the league’s spring meeting.

And in that owners-only privileged session, like magic, the proposal was voted through.

The final count was 26-5-1—the Ravens, Patriots, Bengals, Bears and Lions voted against it—which means that, in less than 24 hours, Goodell was able to flip eight teams. That’s a quarter of the league swayed by the commissioner and his team of lieutenants (Rich McKay, Dawn Aponte, Jeff Miller and Dr. John York were among those selling) overnight.

Again, the idea here is that it’s supposed to be difficult to change rules.

We can go over why the NFL’s 32 special teams coaches and 34 special teams players, representing all 32 teams, got on calls two weeks ago and unanimously agreed that the new kickoff rule wouldn’t fix anything—and might in fact make the play more dangerous. We can show you why John Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Dan Campbell backed those coaches and players, and why the threat of litigation, used by Goodell and his team to wrangle votes for the proposal, shouldn’t be enough to swing the pendulum.

But we’ve explained all that already. To me, the overriding issue here is how it happened. How the NFL ignored the people who know the play that’s changing best, and understand the reaction that’ll come to the action (with squibs, knucklers, directional kicks, etc.). How this became about getting owners away from their coaches and players, and having the last word with them. How an NFL that’s planning for its stars to play more games this year on Thursday and on turf than ever before is using this to try to occupy the high ground on safety.

And, truthfully, the whole thing sucks.

Here’s what Patriots special teams captain MATTHEW SLATER thinks of the new rule. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:

New England Patriots captain Matthew Slater, whose 10 Pro Bowl berths is an NFL record for a special teams player, sharply criticized the league for last week’s rule change that allows fair catches on kickoffs for the 2023 season.

The NFL has cited player safety as a primary reason for the change, which Slater questioned after the Patriots’ practice Wednesday.

“I just don’t believe this is truly in the name of player health and safety. What I do believe is, ‘We [the NFL] want to portray ourselves a certain way to the public that says we care about the players,'” said Slater, the 37-year-old son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jackie Slater.

“But I can give you a long list of examples where the league and powers that be do not act in the best interest of the players.”

Slater referenced adding Thursday night football, choosing synthetic turf over natural grass fields, retirees fighting for health care beyond five years after retirement, and players “having to jump through hoops” for disability benefits among his examples.

“I understand we want to reduce head injuries and things of that nature, but we don’t always act as if player health and safety is paramount,” Slater said. “If we’re really concerned with player safety and health, let’s talk about some of the real issues. Let’s not talk about a play, when [a high percentage of the time] the ball is kicked off, it’s injury-free.”

Slater also acknowledged his personal stake, saying he knows “that people will look at this and say, ‘What’s the big deal?'”

“For a player like myself, I wouldn’t have had a career most likely [without] this play,” he said. “I [also] understand the players that came before me — the [Steve] Taskers, the [Bill] Bateses … — who were able to establish themselves and have careers in this league because of the kicking game.”

For 2023, a fair catch will be placed at the 25-yard line regardless of where it is fielded, a change designed to counteract a recent increase in “pop-up” kickoffs that some teams use to pin the returning team deep in its own territory.

At the NFL’s spring meeting last week, commissioner Roger Goodell addressed detractors of the rule change. The Patriots were one of the teams to vote against the change.

“We have different viewpoints in the league. This is not the first time,” Goodell said. “The data is very clear about the higher rate of injury on that play. We’ve been talking about it for several years. We have not made a lot of progress on this play. There will be more work to be done about how we continue to evolve going forward: Can we continue to keep this play in an exciting way, but more importantly, a safe way?”

Slater questioned the NFL’s interpretation.

“We all know data can be skewed and projected in any way you want to slice it up,” he said. “It’s clear to me that they’re making an effort to eradicate this play.”

NFC NORTH

MINNESOTA

Now that we are in June, Tyler Forness of USA TODAY’s Vikings Wire thinks a trade could happen involving RB DALVIN COOK.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has held steadfast on running back Dalvin Cook, keeping him on the roster despite the rumors that he won’t be on the roster this year.

The reason Adofo-Mensah has played the waiting game is likely the same reason why he held onto Za’Darius Smith for so long: finding a trade partner. With June 1st looming, teams around the league will be gaining salary cap space due to their post-June 1st cuts. Two of the top three team on that list are prime trade candidates for Cook: Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys.

@FieldYates

Six teams are picking up cap space this Friday as a result of prior Post-June 1 designated releases:

▫️Dolphins: $13.6M

▫️Browns: $10.915M

▫️Cowboys: $10.9M

▫️Commanders: $4M

▫️Broncos: $3.75M

▫️Cardinals: $3.215M

Some extra spending power soon available.

Does that mean that a trade is imminent? Absolutely not, but SKOR North’s Thor Nystrom reported on an episode of Purple Daily on Draft that there were trade parameters made with an AFC team on a Cook trade after June 1st. If that report holds true nearly six weeks later, Cook will be on the move and the Vikings will save $11 million on the salary cap this season.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON

Albert Breer of SI.com on the state of the sale of the Commanders:

There’s really no reason to panic—if you’re a Washington fan. No, the Commanders sale didn’t happen this month. Yes, the terms are still at issue, and there’s plenty for the league and its finance committee to work through with Josh Harris’s group.

But everyone wants this sale to happen. Other owners want Harris in their club. They also want Daniel Snyder out of it. And going back to square one isn’t an option here.

The larger question, to me, would be whether the NFL uses this situation to take a broader look at its ownership requirements, which call for the primary owner in any purchasing group to have 30% of the total price paid in cash. That rule was more practical a few years ago, when David Tepper bought the Panthers for $2.275 billion (or last year, when the Waltons purchased the Broncos). Going forward, with a price point past $6 billion for the Commanders, it’s going to be harder and harder to find prospective buyers capable of meeting that requirement.

That said, both the owners who spoke on the record, and those I talked to off the record, last week seemed to have no appetite for changing the rule. And when I asked Dallas’s Jerry Jones flat-out if he’s confident Harris will wind up getting there, he bluntly said, “I am.”

So I think that discussion gets tabled until the next time around. Or, if Seattle’s the next team sold, the time after that (if Steve Ballmer or Jeff Bezos wind up buying the Seahawks, they might not have to change the rules). And I’d bet Harris, as Jones predicts, does wind up coming up with the cash, with his group approved at a special league meeting at some airport hotel in Chicago or Dallas in late July or early August.

And this from Mike Florio:

The Brian Davis lawsuit arising from his failed effort to buy the Commanders is over. There was one?

There actually was. If you blinked, you missed it. Earlier this month, Davis’s company — Urban Echo Energy — filed a lawsuit against Bank of America for failing to present his $7.1 billion offer to Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. The lawsuit originally sought $500 billion. The demand was then dropped to $990,000.

The lawsuit also demanded the return of $5.1 billion in bank drafts that allegedly had been given to Bank of America but not returned. Last week, lawyers for Bank of America suggested that the bank drafts were fictitious.

Via sports and betting attorney Daniel Wallach, the lawsuit has now been withdrawn.

On Wednesday, counsel for Urban Echo Energy filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. The move occurred without prejudice, allowing the case to be re-filed at a later date.

For now, it’s over. It’s done. It’s kaput. We’ll see whether it finally ends Brian Davis’s involvement in the broader drama that has become the effort to sell the team to a new owner.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

The Buccaneers were not happy with the TD total for WR MIKE EVANS last year. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

Mike Evans‘ six touchdowns last season were the third-fewest in his nine-year career and his fewest since 2017. It’s a big reason the Buccaneers ranked only 25th in scoring.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles wants that number back to Evans’ career average of nine touchdowns per season.

“We’ve got to make that a priority, obviously,” Bowles said Tuesday. “I think we made it a priority last year. Sometimes it was shut down; sometimes we just misread it here and there, whether it was on the receiver, the [quarterback] or offensive linemen. We’ve got to get better in that area in getting him the football.”

Despite having Tom Brady, the Buccaneers had trouble scoring. They scored 30 or more points twice and 10 times were held to fewer than 20.

Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask are competing for the job to replace Brady, but whoever the quarterback is will be blessed with a pair of Pro Bowl wideouts in Evans and Chris Godwin.

Evans caught 77 passes for 1,124 yards, his ninth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season in nine seasons. Godwin caught 104 passes for 1,023 yards and three touchdowns, his fewest touchdowns since 2017.

“We know [Evans is] a threat, and we know he’s a great player,” Bowles said, “so we’ve got to constantly find ways — not just him, but Chris as well — we’ve got to find ways to get those guys the ball.”

NFC WEST

ARIZONA

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com on Arizona’s willingness to hurt their 2023 salary cap by cutting WR DeANDRE HOPKINS before today.

When the Cardinals surprisingly cut receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Friday, many assumed they did so with the post-June 1 designation. Per multiple reports, they didn’t. (Apparently, they couldn’t; J.J. Watt and Rodney Hudson already received the post-June 1 designation, and teams are limited to two per year.)

But the Cardinals could have simply waited until next week, cutting Hopkins after June 1 and splitting the cap hit evenly between 2023 and 2024, $11 million each year. Instead, the Cardinals removed the Band-Aid now, taking the full $22 million cap charge.

Despite what folks directly or indirectly on the team’s payroll are saying, there’s no reason to take their lumps now, unless they’re tanking. They could have saved $11 million in 2023 cap space by waiting one more week. And they could have rolled all of it over until 2024, if they had decided not to spend it this year.

Cutting him or trading him makes no difference. A pre-June 1 trade would have cost $22 million against the cap this year. Post-June 1 would have caused $11 million to hit the cap this year, and $11 million next year. They ultimately didn’t trade him because no one wanted to absorb his contract.

By cutting Hopkins now, the Cardinals removed the ability to spend the $11 million this year. It’s a pre-emptive exercise in parsimony. Cover for cheapness. No one will expect them to spend the $11 million if they don’t have it to spend, and they don’t have it to spend because they cut Hopkins this Friday instead of next Friday.

That’s the only explanation for it. They’re deliberately tightening the belt. They’re trimming $11 million off the top of their current-year cap allocation. They know they’re not going to be competitive this year, and they’re accepting it.

It’s no different than 2018, when they knew they were going to be bad and they accepted it — sinking to the bottom of the standings and rising to the top of the draft order. If they do it again, the 2024 offseason will become very interesting, with Kyler Murray potentially traded and Caleb Williams potentially drafted to be the latest would-be savior of the team.

Regardless of where it goes from here, there was no reason to tie their hands with the full Hopkins cap hit. No one knows who else might become available between now and Week One. The Cardinals aren’t interested. They don’t want to be interested. Otherwise, they would have waited a week and kept $11 million available, just in case.

Bottom line? They’re willing to be very bad in 2023, in the hopes of getting very good draft position in 2024, when they finally try to turn it around — again.

But, hey, at least they have new uniforms this year.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Today’s hero is Raheem Morris, DC of the LA Rams who was a key participant in saving a life.  Paolo Uggetti of ESPN.com:

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris happened to be in the right place at the right time this past weekend, as he helped save a child who was drowning in a Las Vegas pool.

Morris was at the Encore Las Vegas with his family when he saw a young boy drowning in the hotel pool. According to Morris’ wife, Nicole, who posted about the situation on her Instagram page Wednesday, the 3-year-old boy had no pulse when he was taken out of the pool by his father and brought over to a lifeguard.

As the lifeguard began performing CPR compressions, Morris said he rushed over to see how he could help.

“I saw people calling 911 so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told ESPN on Wednesday, referring to an automatic external defibrillator, which Morris then ran to retrieve. “When I got back, we had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK.”

Morris credited the Rams’ recent CPR, AED and first aid training facilitated by Reggie Scott, the team’s vice president of sports medicine and performance, for helping him be aware of proper protocols and knowing the importance of an AED.

When an individual is experiencing cardiac arrest, an AED analyzes the heart’s rhythm and delivers an appropriate electrical shock to restore the heart to its applicable rhythm. AEDs have become more prevalent after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game in January. Hamlin himself spoke at a recent event on Capitol Hill in support of the Access to AEDs Act.

Morris mentioned how Hamlin’s situation, as well as the recent tragic drowning of Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett’s 2-year-old daughter, has helped increase awareness and preparedness among coaches and players for those unforeseen moments, such as the one Morris was witness to in Las Vegas.

According to Nicole Morris’ post, the boy her husband helped save was discharged from the hospital 24 hours later.

“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Raheem Morris said. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”

AFC WEST

LAS VEGAS

Could Tom Brady be a part-owner of the Raiders – and play for the team?  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com says that reports that one curmudgeon owner could stop Brady are wrong.

In the aftermath of Tom Brady striking a deal to buy a piece of the Raiders, multiple reports indicated that, after at least 24 owners vote to approve the purchase, a 32-0 vote would be required to allow him to play.

As reported earlier today by http://TMZ.com, and as the league has confirmed to PFT, Brady needs 24 owners to approve his purchase of the Raiders and then, if he would want to play for the Raiders, only 24 votes to do so — not 32.

That’s a huge difference. Instead of only one team being able to keep Brady from playing while owning, at least nine teams would have to oppose the move.

Said a league spokesman via email to PFT: “Any ownership transaction, such as an individual purchasing a limited partnership, would need an affirmative vote of 3/4ths of the teams (24 of 32). The 32 clubs would have to consider a limited partner playing in the league and take a vote that would need 3/4th approval for him or her to be permitted to play.”

So Brady will need 24 votes to be an owner, and he then would need 24 votes to be a player.

Here’s the real question: will some owners vote against Brady becoming an owner absent a clear, public, unequivocal commitment from him that he won’t try to then play for the Raiders?

We’ve heard from at least one person familiar with Brady that he truly is done playing, but that he likes the ongoing uncertainty as to whether he’ll play. If he wants to truly own a piece of the Raiders, he should say in no uncertain terms that he won’t be playing. And if he wants to keep the door open on playing, he should wait to become an owner.

We’re not smart enough to figure it out, but we do wonder if being an “owner” could be a way for people who think they are clever to figure out a way to circumvent the salary cap.

Will Brady actually be putting his cold hard cash into a purchase?  Hypothetically, if the Raiders are worth $5 billion – a contribution of say, $10 million, would be worth .2% of the team.  Not 2% of the team, that would be $100 million.  But let’s say Marc Davis uses a lower valuation of the team to award Brady a higher percentage of the franchise. Then, Brady does good things on the field, and sells his shares at the true market value?

He gets a lot of money, and it didn’t count against the salary cap.  We are reminded vaguely of what the Broncos did with John Elway in the late 90s when he and Terrell Davis were compensated outside the typical compensation for playing.

AFC NORTH

CINCINNATI

Jeff Howe of The Athletic wonders if a QB, such as JOE BURROW, will soon get a percentage of the cap.

With the way quarterback contracts have evolved in recent years, there’s been a question floating around NFL circles:

Will this evolution ever spark something of a revolution?

The price of these deals has skyrocketed over the past half decade, with each franchise cornerstone finding a new way to reshape the market. Along the way — and with no success to date — some quarterbacks have even broached the idea of a contract that would be tied to a percentage of the salary cap.

High-ranking executives and agents of starting quarterbacks polled by The Athletic over the past couple of months believe it’s a long shot to ever happen.

“I almost have to laugh,” said an agent, who was granted anonymity for this story so he could speak openly. “I have no confidence. It’s going to take a quarterback on the open market with no restrictions and a desperate team, and how often does that happen?”

So you’re saying there’s a chance?

There is certainly a compelling case to be made for the execution of such a contract, but it will require a perfect confluence of factors for the first deal to ever happen. Even with those factors in place, though, the idea of a cap-percentage contract sounds unlikely because teams are reluctant to upset the apple cart.

“No team, no owner, no GM wants to set the precedent,” an executive said. “There’s peer pressure.”

The salary cap has dramatically risen in recent years due to media contracts, and it’ll continue to soar with gambling revenue. Quarterbacks, who are often marketed as the face of their franchises, have benefited more than any other position.

Consider, Matt Ryan became the first player in league history to average $30 million annually when he signed a new deal with the Falcons in 2018. Now, there are 14 quarterbacks with such a deal, including three who have eclipsed the $50 million benchmark and eight more north of $40 million per year.

Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert will almost certainly sign record-setting deals now that they’re eligible, and their outcomes figure to set the stage for Trevor Lawrence to trump them as early as 2024.

And on and on it’ll go — unless the pattern breaks. Teams generally believe a quarterback’s contract should consume about 13-15 percent of their salary cap, but the new wave of deals could tip that scale.

That wasn’t an issue last season for Patrick Mahomes, who led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl title while taking up 17.2 percent of their cap, and it might not be a problem for the Bengals (Burrow), Chargers (Herbert) or Jaguars (Lawrence). But how much will be too much for a lesser quarterback who needs a better supporting cast?

“I think there are a lot of mediocre quarterbacks who are getting paid a lot of money,” a second executive said. “Obviously, the salary cap is going to continue to grow, and league revenue is going to continue to increase. But I think you’re actually going to see (front offices) realize it’s the ultimate team sport.”

That’s why the idea of a cap-percentage contract could benefit the team while also protecting the player from signing a deal that becomes outdated when the league generates extra revenue in future years.

It just doesn’t seem likely.

“I think what it comes down to is owners want cost certainty,” the first executive said. “And if you allow a contract to be a percentage of the cap, that doesn’t happen, because the cap is going to go up. Even though you can kind of predict it, it’s not black and white. I don’t think any owner would think that would be a good deal. There could be a quarterback who is coming up here in the next year or two, and maybe that is a good deal. But I think it’s a leap of faith for owners to go down that road.

“Obviously, the quarterback has the most important and highest contract on the team if you have a good one. Now, how do you plan cap-wise, cash-wise as a team, as a GM, as a cap guy to build the rest of your team around that number, which is a moving target? So it’s just a blurry gray line on your spreadsheet that isn’t a hard number.”

The agent agreed.

“The first thing you’ve got to understand from a team perspective is they really like fixed costs,” the agent said. “As they plan and budget out their future, when their top earner has fixed costs, it allows them to plan accordingly. It’s the unknown that is the hardest on clubs. Because how do you prepare when you don’t know what your best player and most expensive player is going to make?”

It could be more of an unwelcome inconvenience than anything truly obstructive. The Bengals, for example, have to budget Burrow’s extension while also considering the likelihood Ja’Marr Chase resets the wide receiver market in a year or two. A cap-percentage contract for Burrow wouldn’t prohibit a future deal with Chase, but it could create a hurdle.

Another scenario: What’s to stop Chase from wanting his own cap-percentage contract? The slope can get slippery in a hurry.

“The GM is going to have a line out the door if you have a good team,” the executive said. “The agents will say, ‘Well, you gave it to the quarterback. Why won’t you give it to my guy?’ (As the GM), you can always say, ‘I’m doing it at quarterback, and that’s the only position I’ll ever do it for.’ That’s the one position where you can kind of push back with the agent and be like, ‘Quarterbacks are different.’ But what if you’re the Rams and you’ve got Aaron Donald in his prime? Or now you draft this guy No. 10 overall, and then in three years you’ve got Lawrence Taylor on your hands, and you’re trying to make him happy. Sometimes, you put your foot in your mouth with things like that.”

There are other complications, too. For example, when a player signs a guaranteed contract, the owner is required to put the future guaranteed money into an escrow account. How much would ownership place in escrow when the future cap figures are just projected numbers? Or when a team needs to restructure the contract for cap relief, will that become a trickier endeavor with a cap-percentage deal? How would the injury protection work?

Again, these are examples that are more of a nuisance than a roadblock. The lawyers could handle the contractual language if the teams really wanted to execute such a deal.

“We’ve seen some really complicated contracts in our day, so I don’t think that’s prohibitive at all,” the agent said.

The precedent, or lack thereof, is still the primary factor.

Last year, Deshaun Watson corralled a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract as part of his trade agreement with the Browns, but it didn’t rewrite the position’s economic landscape. Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts have all since signed huge deals, but their guaranteed money was between 66-81 percent of their contracts.

“Clubs don’t like setting precedents,” the agent said. “They don’t want to do something unique and out of the box. Some do, but most don’t. I think it’s a very tough sell to go there, even though I think it gives them the best of all worlds. You’re not going to cut your quarterback, so it allows you to keep him under contract without him complaining, honestly. But it also is fixed cost in a sense. If 15 percent of your cap is going to your quarterback every year, you really can budget it and not worry.

“Honestly, it’s a way for a quarterback to maybe take a little less but have the security that he’s going to make top dollar for X-amount of years. It’s the best of both worlds. The quarterback can take a few dollars less if he knows the next six years, his salary is going to rise commensurate with the cap. I can convince the hardest-nosed guy at the negotiating table, if you’re getting 15 percent every year, yeah, you might be a little low this year in context with the other guys, but you’re going to be caught up with the market every single year. And by the way, if we do have gambling money really effect the cap and we’re at $300 million in another three years, you’re at 15 percent of that.”

Still, such an outcome would require a perfect chain of events. It’d take a quarterback at the top of his game who would be willing to play through two franchise tags in order to hit free agency with the ability to call his shots in negotiations. It’d also require, by the executives’ opinions, a cash-rich owner in dire need of an upgrade at quarterback.

But it’s fair to wonder whether someone in Burrow’s or Herbert’s position would be willing to push it that far. They’re eligible for extensions right now, so they’re potentially on the verge of contracts that could include upward of $200 million guaranteed, including signing bonuses likely north of $50 million, based on the structures of recent quarterback contracts.

go-deeper

It’s a lot to ask of anyone in the midst of a rookie contract to turn down that much money in the interest of essentially going year to year. It appeared to be heading in that direction with Jackson — until he accepted the Ravens’ five-year, $260 million offer.

Then again, if Jackson did play it out all the way into free agency, who’s to say he (or anyone) could have talked a team into a cap-percentage contract? Or even if he did, what if another team simply offered more money under the traditional structure?

“Any precedent in any contract, owners and GMs generally want to stay away from it,” the first executive said.

Even though there are a host of factors why a cap-percentage deal hasn’t happened or why it may not even be the best way for a quarterback to maximize his earning power, there’s a reason why the idea continues to come up. The cap keeps rising disproportionately, and that’s expected to keep happening.

And the further these quarterbacks get from signing their deals, the more outdated they know they become. Five years ago, the thought of a $40 million contract was almost immediately dismissed, and they’re now the norm for players in their prime. It’s why, even though Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020, his peers have since signed much shorter deals in order to keep pace with the market.

The financial landscape has changed so rapidly of late that it might behoove a team to think outside the box with a cap-percentage contract. It may only take one such deal for the market to evolve, but a series of complicated factors has made that much easier said than done.

CLEVELAND

Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt is gushing about QB DESHAUN WATSON and how he has taken to Cleveland’s brand of coaching.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said this week that quarterback Deshaun Watson is where he needs to be in the offense at this point in the offseason, but offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt went a bit further when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

Watson was learning the team’s offense at this point last year while also facing a suspension — he would eventually serve an 11-game ban — that forced the team to split reps with Jacoby Brissett to make sure they were prepared for the regular season. Watson now has a year under his belt and nothing impeding his availability, which Van Pelt says has pushed him way ahead of where he was in 2022.

“It’s just his confidence in the system itself, understanding of what we’re asking of him and how to communicate at the line of scrimmage, everything from protections to calling plays in the huddle,” Van Pelt said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “He’s improved tenfold since this time last year. . . . So, I mean, you see it all start to come together playing with a little swagger out there and having some fun.”

Van Pelt said he “literally got goosebumps” after one Watson throw to wide receiver Elijah Moore and the Browns will be hoping that the offseason optimism translates to the fall for their quarterback.

AFC EAST

NEW ENGLAND

It seems that the culprit for New England’s errant schedule that cost them two OTAs might have been much-maligned Joe Judge – but Bill Belichick is taking the blame.  Nick O’Malley of MassLive.com:

In a move that will not shock many, Bill Belichick didn’t have a whole lot to say about the New England Patriots being stripped of two OTA sessions due to rules violations.

The Patriots coach faced the media for the first time since the incident Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, the first question was about what happened.

Belichick declined to elaborate.

“That’s in the past. We’ve moved on. Looking forward to getting out on the field today,” Belichick said.

So what about special teams coach Joe Judge’s role in the violations? Was the head coach on board with everything he did? Belichick brushed off the question.

“We’re looking forward to getting out on the field today,” Belichick said.

Later, Belichick was asked whether he thought Judge was responsible for the violations — or if it was an issue where multiple people were at fault. Belichick says it wasn’t on Judge, it was on him.

“I’m responsible for it. So that’s it,” Belichick said.

Belichick was the one who ended up taking the financial brunt of the punishment as he was reportedly fined $50,000 for the violations, which stemmed from “workshops” organized by Judge. The special teams coach reportedly told players to participate beyond the maximum four hours allowed during OTA sessions.

Belichick did joke that the Patriots got a good long weekend ahead of Memorial Day as a result of the OTA sessions being canceled. However, he declined to get much into the details of what the NFL found to be a violation of OTA rules that led to the punishment.

“The whole situation’s in the past. It’s resolved and we moved on. Like I said, it was three Phase 2 meetings.”

NEW YORK JETS

The Jets are very hopeful that RB BREECE HALL will return in good form by Week 1. Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

The New York Jets remain hopeful dynamic running back Breece Hall will be ready to kick off the 2023 regular season after last year’s ACL tear.

“I’m very optimistic on that one,” head coach Robert Saleh said on Wednesday. “I don’t want to jinx it. (Knocks on wood) I mean, the kid’s already hitting over 22 (mph) on the GPS, so he looks frickin’ good.”

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Hall said later he doesn’t know when he’ll return from the injury.

“I’ll be ready when I’ll be ready,” Hall told reporters on Wednesday. “Honestly, I hope I’m ready [by Week 1], but you never know. I’m just taking it a week at a time and letting my knee do what it does

“Everybody — myself, the coaches, my teammates — everybody wants me to be ready for Week 1, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to come back when you feel like you’re ready., So until I feel like I’m ready, then I’ll just know.”

The 2022 second-round pick shot out of the gate last season, providing Gang Green with a home-run threat out of the backfield. Hall rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns on 80 carries and added 218 receiving yards on 19 catches with a TD in seven games before suffering the knee injury in October.

THIS AND THAT

BREAKOUT CANDIDATES

ProFootballFocus.com identifies “breakout candidates” for all 32 teams.

The AFC

Baltimore Ravens: EDGE David Ojabo

Ojabo missed most of the 2022 season due to a torn Achilles and thus played only 21 snaps on defense throughout his rookie campaign. However, he did flash potential in Week 18 against the Bengals, logging 20 of those snaps. His 83.2 overall grade for the game ranked 13th among individual game performances by rookie edge defenders in 2022. Furthermore, the Ravens have lost Calais Campbell, Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Houston since last season, so Ojabo should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in 2023.

Buffalo Bills: CB Kaiir Elam

Despite being a first-round pick in 2022, Elam failed to become a starting cornerback by the start of the season and had an inconsistent rookie year. However, as a former first-round pick, he should have plenty of opportunities to win that position battle. He also finished the season strong, flipping his 56.7 PFF grade in the regular season to 87.1 in two playoff games, a mark that would have ranked second among cornerbacks in the regular season.

Cincinnati Bengals: CB Cam Taylor-Britt

Taylor-Britt was thrust into action following Chidobe Awuzie’s injury in 2022, and he did not disappoint. He ranked 59th among cornerbacks in PFF grade as a rookie but improved as the season progressed. From Week 12 on — including the postseason — he earned a 74.8 PFF grade, which tied for 19th best among 96 cornerbacks with at least 100 snaps over that span.

Cleveland Browns: CB Martin Emerson

Another rookie cornerback, Emerson played a significant role for the Browns all season, as he finished the year with the seventh-most snaps among first-year cornerbacks. And he also quietly put together an impressive season. He earned a 72.5 PFF grade, which ranked 23rd among cornerbacks, and he forced an incompletion on 20% of the passes into his coverage, the ninth-best rate at the position.

Denver Broncos: TE Greg Dulcich

Dulcich got off to a slow start in his rookie campaign, one that ended early due to injuries. But in between those injuries, he was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise struggling Broncos offense. While his 60.4 overall grade was good for only 41st among tight ends, it was heavily influenced by his blocking struggles. When looking at only his receiving grade, he ranked 24th among tight ends. Furthermore, between Week 7 and Week 13 — when he was playing at his best — he ranked sixth among tight ends in receiving yards and PFF receiving grade.

Houston Texans: WR Nico Collins

Collins might have already had a breakout season in 2022 if not for a couple of injuries and below-par quarterback play. His 72.4 PFF grade ranked only 35th among wide receivers last season; however, passes going his way were completed only 56.9% of the time, the 10th-lowest rate in the NFL despite Collins not dropping a single target all season. In fact, he was just one of nine receivers not to drop a pass among players with at least 50 targets last season.

Indianapolis Colts: OT Bernhard Raimann

Raimann experienced some growing pains in the first weeks of his NFL career, but as the season progressed, and the Colts started to fall apart, he played better and better. In the second half of the season, he earned a 77.1 overall grade that ranked 17th among offensive tackles. He was also one of only 10 offensive tackles to earn 74.0-plus grades in both run blocking and pass protection.

Jacksonville Jaguars: CB Tyson Campbell

Campbell already had a very impressive season in 2022, but most of the attention on the Jaguars’ defense went to the pass rush. The second-year player ranked seventh among cornerbacks in PFF grade and played the most snaps at his position when including the postseason. In addition, he allowed only 0.69 receiving yards per coverage snap, the fourth-lowest mark out of 84 cornerbacks.

Kansas City Chiefs: WR Kadarius Toney

Why will Toney have a breakout season in 2023? Just turn on the tape of last year’s Super Bowl to find the answer. Toney was on the field for only seven snaps and still scored a touchdown and had a decisive punt return. Add in JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s departure and a whole offseason for Toney in Kansas City, and it is understandable why Chiefs fans are excited about the potential of the former Giants wide receiver.

Las Vegas Raiders: CB Tyler Hall

It is yet to be seen how big of a role Hall can have on the Raiders’ defense, as he is projected to be a backup cornerback in 2023. However, based on his play in 2022, he could very well earn some additional playing time and be expected to take advantage of that. He only played in the second half of the 2022 season and was on the field for just 218 snaps. Nevertheless, he earned the third-highest coverage grade among cornerbacks over the last eight weeks of the season. In addition, he allowed just 0.28 receiving yards per coverage snap, which was the lowest mark in the entire league.

Los Angeles Chargers: G Zion Johnson

Johnson is another second-year player who struggled a bit early in his rookie season, but he showed plenty of promising signs as the season went on to make Chargers fans excited about a potential leap in Year 2. Even though he ranked just 39th in PFF grade among guards on the season, his 70.8 grade over the last seven weeks of the regular season was good for 12th best at his position. Also, his 73.5 run-blocking grade over that span ranked fifth among guards.

Miami Dolphins: CB Kader Kohou

Despite being an undrafted free agent, Kohou played the fourth-most snaps among rookie cornerbacks during the 2022 season. While Jalen Ramsey‘s arrival might limit Kohou’s workload, he may see a more defined role in 2023. Even though he was the most targeted cornerback in 2022, with 116 passes going his way, he allowed only one receiving touchdown and kept opposing quarterbacks to a 76.3 passer rating, which was the 36th-lowest mark out of 150 cornerbacks.

New England Patriots: DI Christian Barmore

Many expected Barmore to have a breakout season in 2022, but his sophomore season got off to a slow start before he missed time due to injury. However, he finished strong, which is a good sign for 2023. Prior to Week 17 of 2022, Barmore had failed to record a PFF grade over 82.0 in any games, but he followed that up with two elite performances. He earned PFF grades of 90.8 and 88.4 in Week 17 and Week 18, respectively. Consequently, he was PFF’s highest-graded player at his position over the last two weeks of the season, sporting a grade that would have been good for third place among interior defenders throughout the entire season.

New York Jets: G Alijah Vera-Tucker

After playing left guard in his rookie season, Vera-Tucker started games at left tackle, right guard and right tackle in 2022 and is expected to be the starting right guard for the Jets in 2023. The former USC Trojan was off to a promising start before getting injured in Week 7 and missing the rest of the season. His 71.8 overall grade was a considerable improvement from his rookie season and ranked 16th among guards in the NFL, while his 76.5 run-blocking grade was good for sixth at his position.

Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Kenny Pickett

Pickett was the first quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, and while he got off to a slow start last season, he had a very promising finish to his rookie campaign. His 75.5 overall grade ranked 18th among quarterbacks, and he was among the best at the position during the last seven weeks of the season. In fact, he earned the second-highest PFF passing grade in that time span, behind only Joe Burrow, and ranked second in big-time throw percentage — ahead of the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Burrow. He also posted the lowest turnover-worthy play percentage in the league in that span.

Tennessee Titans: LB Azeez Al-Shaair

Signing Al-Shaair to a one-year deal might have been one of this offseason’s best free-agent additions when it comes to value and price. Al-Shaair managed to improve his PFF grade every year he was with the 49ers and ended up being the 18th-highest-graded linebacker in the league in 2022. Although he didn’t get on the field much behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, Al-Shaair impressed during his limited playing time, as he finished with the eighth-highest run-defense grade among linebackers.

The NFC

Arizona Cardinals: EDGE Cameron Thomas

The Cardinals are looking for help at the edge defender position after J.J. Watt‘s retirement, highlighted by their decision to draft BJ Ojulari in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

However, one key player might already have been on the roster, as 2022 third-round pick Cameron Thomas flashed potential when he got on the field last season. Thomas earned a PFF overall grade of 69.9 in his rookie campaign and ranked 42nd out of 133 qualifying edge defenders in pass-rush grade.

Atlanta Falcons: LB Kaden Elliss

Last season, Elliss played a significant number of snaps for the first time in his career. He took hold of the Saints’ starting job in the second half of the season, which led to the Falcons signing him this offseason.

The former seventh-round pick can draw attention if he keeps up his 2022 play for a new team over a whole season, as he finished last year with an 81.5 PFF grade, seventh among all linebackers in the NFL.

Carolina Panthers: LB Frankie Luvu

Similarly to Elliss, 2022 was the first season Luvu played more than 500 snaps, and he managed to turn some heads with his play. His 74.8 overall grade ranked 16th among linebackers, while his 90.1 run-defense grade was good for third at his position. If Luvu manages to take a step forward in coverage in 2023, he can be among the best linebackers in the league.

Chicago Bears: LT Braxton Jones

The fifth-round rookie started for the Bears and was the only player on the offense to play every single snap in 2022. Jones didn’t just handle a big workload, but he also played well, earning a 75.4 PFF grade that ranked 19th among players at the position. His 78.8 overall grade from Week 10 ranked ninth among left tackles.

Dallas Cowboys: TE Jake Ferguson

With the departure of Dalton Schultz, second-year tight end Jake Ferguson is projected to start for the Cowboys and should have plenty of opportunities to impress while rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker gets used to the speed of the NFL.

Ferguson saw limited playing time in 2022, but he did earn a receiving grade of 75.2, 11th among tight ends. He was also targeted on 21.8% of his routes, seventh among 58 qualifying players at the position.

Detroit Lions: EDGE James Houston IV

Rookie edge defender Aidan Hutchinson got most of the attention in 2022, but classmate James Houston IV had a very impressive season, too. The sixth-round pick had to wait until Week 12 to get on to the field, but he finished the season strong, ultimately posting a pass-rush grade of 88.2 that would have ranked seventh among edge defenders had he played more snaps.

Over the last seven weeks of the season, he produced pressure on 18.5% of his pass-rushing snaps, eighth among 121 qualifying edge defenders.

Green Bay Packers: RT Zach Tom

Tom showcased his versatility as a rookie in 2022, as he recorded snaps at every position along the offensive line except center. He did play better when he played outside at either left tackle or right tackle — a promising sign, considering that he is projected to start at right tackle for the Packers in 2023.

He recorded a pass-blocking grade of 82.4 in games where he played primarily at tackle, tied for eighth among offensive tackles last season.

Los Angeles Rams: CB Cobie Durant

Durant didn’t play much until late in his rookie season, but he will be thrust into a starting position with the departure of Jalen Ramsey.

The former fourth-round pick did flash potential when he got onto the field, and he ended the season with a 75.2 PFF grade that ranked 18th among cornerbacks. He was especially good in a nationally televised Christmas Day game against the Broncos, where he picked off two passes and returned one for a touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings: DI Khyiris Tonga

The Vikings brought the third-year defensive lineman back on a team-friendly one-year deal, but he is expected to play a big role on the Minnesota defense as a starting interior defender.

While he only played 300 snaps for the Vikings in 2022, he carved out a role as their top interior run defender. His 73.3 run-defense grade ranked 16th among interior defenders, and the former seventh-round pick can take another leap in his first full season as a starter in 2023.

New Orleans Saints: WR Rashid Shaheed

Injuries at the receiver position allowed Shaheed to get on the field for the Saints — and he did not disappoint. The undrafted free agent started to play a bigger role from Week 11, and over the last eight weeks of the season, he averaged 2.40 yards per route run to rank eighth out of 105 qualifying receivers.

New York Giants: WR Wan’Dale Robinson

Robinson’s rookie season was cut short by an injury, and 220 of his 229 offensive snaps came in a five-game stretch between Week 6 and Week 11. However, over that span, he was targeted on 22.8% of his snaps to lead Giants receivers and rank 18th among receivers in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles: S Reed Blankenship

The Eagles lost both starting safeties in Marcus Epps and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in free agency, so former undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship should play a major role on the Philadelphia defense in 2022.

Blankenship made an impact last year when he got more playing time during Gardner-Johnson’s injury, as his 76.2 PFF grade ranked 21st at the position over the last seven weeks of the season.

San Francisco 49ers: EDGE Drake Jackson

Jackson’s rookie season did not go the way he or the 49ers envisioned, as he ended up being a healthy scratch on most gamedays toward the end of the campaign.

However, the departures of Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu will give him an opportunity to prove himself again. Jackson did pick up three sacks in his first six games in the NFL, showing what he can be capable of.

Seattle Seahawks: RT Abraham Lucas

Seattle’s rookie offensive tackle duo received a lot of praise during last season. However, while left tackle Charles Cross’s performance tailed off a bit, Lucas finished the season strong with an overall PFF grade of 68.4, 39th among offensive tackles.

He allowed pressure on 5.1% of his pass-blocking snaps, 28th out of 96 offensive tackles.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: S Ryan Neal

Neal started the 2022 season as a backup for the Seahawks but became a starter due to Jamal Adams’s injury and poor performances from Josh Jones. He was PFF’s highest-graded safety (91.1) between Week 7 and 15, and he finished as the seventh highest-graded safety in the league over the whole campaign.

Projected to start from Week 1 in the Bucs’ defense, Neal has a chance to be among the league’s top safeties by the end of the season.

Washington Commanders: S Kamren Curl

Similarly to Neal, Curl’s breakout would be him being able to play an entire season at the level he’s shown before. Curl was PFF’s second-highest-graded safety in 2022 (82.9), but he has yet to play more than 900 snaps in a season and ranked 58th among safeties in snaps played in 2022 (727).

BROADCAST NEWS

FOX is letting Shannon Sharpe out of his contract and of the set of “Undisputed.”  Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post:

Shannon Sharpe’s partnership with Skip Bayless soon will be coming to a conclusion.

Sharpe and Fox Sports, the parent company of Fox Sports 1, which airs “Undisputed,” have reached a buyout agreement, sources have told The Post.

Sharpe’s final show is expected to be aired after the 2023 NBA Finals conclude in June.

Sharpe’s popular “Club Shay Shay” podcast, which draws a big audience on social media and YouTube, will also be leaving Fox Sports, a source said.

There was public friction between Sharpe and Bayless on the show after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a Week 17 game against the Bengals this past NFL season.

Bayless, in a stream-of-consciousness tweet sent after Hamlin had collapsed, but before the rest of the game had been canceled, wrote: “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game — but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”

Sharpe stayed home from “Undisputed” the following morning.

When he returned a day later, he said that he had wished Bayless would take the tweet down, while Bayless said that he stood by it.

The two then had disagreement on whether the FS1 bosses wanted Bayless to offer an explanation for the tweet.

At that time, there were a number of armchair observers, including former FS1 host Marcellus Wiley, who predicted the duo were headed for a breakup.

“I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me,” Sharpe said.

“This is primal. This is two alphas fighting for territory,” Wiley said on Instagram. “This is about power. Because that dynamic of power on that show has shifted, whether it’s real or imagined. Right now, we’re all seeing that battle for it. Let’s see who comes out undisputed.”

People close to Sharpe said privately he did not seek to be the unquestioned leader on the show, but wanted to be an equal with Bayless in the program’s topic selection.

Another element that seemed to bleed over between the two was that Sharpe is close with LeBron James, while Bayless has been a hard grader of James’ performance over the years.

Sharpe, 54, was the unquestioned choice to join as Bayless’ cohost on “Undisputed” after Bayless left his ESPN “First Take” partnership with Stephen A. Smith and joined FS1 in 2016.

Sharpe had filled in for Smith in debating Bayless on the program, and the two had dynamic chemistry. Plus, in a rarity, the “First Take” viewership numbers did not fall off with one of the hosts off the set.

Sharpe is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a four-time All-Pro and enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Sharpe and Bayless did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did a Fox Sports spokesperson.

It is unclear at this time what FS1 will do to replace Sharpe on the show.