Cities big and small count on the economic stimulus brought by fans attending large-scale football games.  But there are those who might command empty stadiums for football this year.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

The NFL remains highly optimistic that the 2020 season will be played. The NFL has become less optimistic that fans will be present for the games. That would have a major economic impact on the NFL; the NFLPA has pegged it at $3 billion. It also could have a major economic impact on NFL cities.

While no numbers have been widely circulated yet regarding the loss of 10 regular-season crowds, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama recently said that his city will lose $2 billion if the Crimson Tide don’t play their home games in 2020.

“It would be economically catastrophic for Tuscaloosa if there is no football season,” Walt Maddox told CBS42.com. “Even a mitigated football season with restricted attendance and number of ball games would have dire economic consequences.”

The school itself would lose $25.1 million per game — a total of $175.7 million for seven home games that would be lost (or played with fewer or no fans) in 2020. The broader loss for Tuscaloosa dwarfs that number. Beyond the fact that these ridiculously large dollars further make the case for college football players getting something more than tuition, books, room, board, and snacks, it suggests that 256 regular-season NFL games played without fans would result in staggering losses for the 30 cities that host NFL teams.

Whatever the financial losses, the public-health realities of the coronavirus likely will prevail. As the season approaches, the NFL seems to be coming to grips with the fact that, given the current state of the pandemic, it will be too difficult and too risky to allow fans to attend the games.

NFC NORTH

DETROIT

Martha Firestone Ford, the 94-year-old widow of William Clay Ford, is passing team “ownership” to her daughter.  Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com introduces us to Sheila Ford Hamp:

The Detroit Lions are getting a new owner — and ownership is staying in the family.

The Lions announced Tuesday that Sheila Ford Hamp will take over as the team’s principal owner and chairwoman in place of her mother, 94-year-old Martha Firestone Ford.

Ford Hamp is expected to address the media later Tuesday afternoon.

“My mother has inspired all of us since taking on leadership of the Lions over six years ago,” Ford Hamp said in a statement released by the club. “She has been a tireless leader to our family, our team and our community. Her smart decisions have given me a solid foundation to take the team forward.

“On behalf of the family and the team, I want to thank her for her countless contributions. I look forward to leading the Lions to excellence on and off the field.”

While the Lions never officially announced a succession plan, the common belief was that Ford Hamp would eventually take over for her mother. Ford Hamp had become more of a physical presence around the club the past half-decade, often accompanying her mother to road games and offseason events. She was also with her mother and team president Rod Wood in a December meeting with the media, when the club decided to retain general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia.

It was Ford Hamp, in that meeting, who ended up doing much of the speaking and answering a lot of the questions.

Martha Ford had been attached to the Lions since her husband, the late William Clay Ford Sr., bought the club in 1963. Ford took over ownership of the franchise following her husband’s death in 2014.

“It has been a great honor for our family to be associated with the Lions and with the National Football League,” Firestone Ford said in a statement. “I am gratified that this family tradition, which my husband and I began almost six decades ago, will continue under Sheila’s guiding hand.

“It is clear to me that Sheila will provide superb leadership and is fully committed to competitive excellence and community involvement.”

On the team’s website, Ford Hamp’s three siblings remain listed as vice chairs while Firestone Ford is now a chairman emeritus.

“Martha Ford has led the Lions with skill and grace for the past six seasons,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “I have appreciated her business insights, her love of the game, her deep commitment to the NFL, and her personal kindness. We are pleased that the Ford family will continue to own and operate this historic franchise. Sheila Hamp has become increasingly involved in team and league affairs over the past several years and we look forward to working with her and the rest of the club’s executive team.”

A resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ford Hamp was among the first class of women to graduate from Yale, where she was a varsity tennis player.

She also has been a youth soccer coach for her kids in their hometown of Ann Arbor.  Although her husband, Steve Hamp, does not appear in any part of the release, he also has been a presence at Lions events such as the draft.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

QB DAK PRESCOTT has signed his tender offer and is guaranteed a minimum of $31.4 million this season.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

It’s official. Officially.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has signed his exclusive franchise tender, according to David Helman of the team’s official website. He will make $31.4 million in 2020, fully guaranteed.

The Cowboys and Prescott have until July 15 to convert the one-year contract to a long-term deal. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL, the two sides “aren’t close.”

Prescott is now under contract, which means he’ll be obligated to report for training camp. Given the position he plays and given that the team has a new head coach, Prescott knows that he need to be there for all of the preseason preparations.

Ultimately, the question becomes whether the Cowboys will offer Prescott a long-term contract considered to be enough to get Prescott to trade in the $31.4 million he’s due to make this year and, if tagged again, $37.68 million in 2021 and, potentially, free agency in 2022. Only Prescott knows what he’ll take to surrender his rights under a year-to-year approach, but he bet on himself in 2019 when he earned only $2 million. It will be much easier to bet on himself in 2020, when he’s already hit the jackpot.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

QB TOM BRADY defies the NFLPA as it recommends workouts be stopped.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

Even a recommendation from the NFLPA won’t stop Tom Brady from getting teammates together for a workout session.

Brady and around a dozen other Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates worked out at a field at a local prep school for about two hours Tuesday, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

News of the Bucs player workouts comes after NFLPA medical director Dr. Thom Mayer recommended over the weekend that players stop practicing together until the start of training camp after several NFL players and employees were reported to have contracted COVID-19 recently.

Among the positive tests were individuals at the Buccaneers team facility, the club announced Saturday.

Brady was seen Tuesday leading several teammates, including Rob Gronkowski and Chris Godwin, going through passing drills at the Berkeley Preparatory School, which has become routine for Bucs players during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

NFC WEST

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Kevin O’Connell, the new OC of the Rams, is challenging QB JARED GOFF.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

Jared Goff enters his fifth season with the Los Angeles Rams coming off a disappointing 2019 campaign.

After an offseason which saw Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks, staples of the offense, depart, offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is looking for Goff to level up.

“There’s a layer going into his fifth year, his fourth year in the offense, of ownership, where you feel strongly about presenting him with a plan where he could truly have some ownership, while also understanding at the end of the day, it’s just about being great with the details of doing his job,” O’Connell said, via the team’s official website.

Goff struggled last season behind a faulty offensive line on an offense that never found an identity last season with Gurley being held back. Even as the parts around him weren’t as overpowering as they’d been during his two Pro Bowl seasons, Goff has owned his own struggles last season, which saw him far too skittish in the pocket at times and make many ill-advised throws, leading to a career-high 16 INTs.

The Rams signed Goff to a massive contract extension before last season, which puts his salary cap number in the $30 million range for the next five years. It was a deal that tied L.A. to the former first-round pick for the next several seasons without an out. The Rams are all-in on Goff, whether they like it or not.

Coach Sean McVay reworked the coaching staff this offseason, including hiring O’Connell as a full-time OC, in an effort to help get more out the QB the Rams are married to for the foreseeable future.

Playing in the toughest division in the NFL, the Rams need Goff not only to take ownership of the offense but to become a playmaker for a unit that struggled with consistency last season.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

OC Greg Roman doesn’t seem to be worried about having too many running backs.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

The Baltimore Ravens stacked strength on strength with the selection of running back J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 draft.

The addition of the multifaceted back to a backfield that already boasts Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill gives Baltimore seemingly too many mouths to feed — especially when you consider the frequency with which Lamar Jackson keeps the pigskin.

Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman isn’t worried about finding a way to utilize all the backfield weapons at his disposal.

“I love good problems,” he said Tuesday, via the team’s official Twitter feed. “I think I’ve learned over the years, if you got good problems, bring ’em this way. And I say that unabashedly. Talented, hardworking players that love football, bring ’em on. And the fact that we’ve got a lot of guys in our running back stable, if you will, just makes me excited to no end. I don’t think you can have enough really good running backs, and we’ve certainly got a plethora of them. I’m really excited to see J.K. (Dobbins) and I love the guys we already have, Mark (Ingram), Gus (Edwards) and Justice (Hill). We’ll find ways to make it work, for sure. To have that kind of backfield is a blessing.

“We definitely want to get into training camp and work through it and kind of evolve as we go, as far as how we’re actually going to deploy them and who we are going to emphasize, (and) how. I think that’s going to happen on the fly every day in training camp. We’ll get a better feel for that, but I love problems like that. So, I mean that sincerely.”

CINCINNATI

The Bengals, either out of Brown family conviction or out of respect for the beliefs of the vast majority of their customers, discouraged their players from kneeling three years ago.  Elise Jesse of WLWT goes over the history from that time from the enlightened view of 2020:

On Sept. 22, 2017, President Donald Trump launched an unforgettable response to NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem.

He called on league owners to release anyone who got involved in the movement. The next day, the Cincinnati Bengals got on a flight to Green Bay to face the Packers. As the idea of kneeling that Sunday picked up steam across the NFL, some Bengals players were also thinking of kneeling during the anthem.

The original plan did not come to fruition. In fact, not a single Cincinnati player took a knee that Sunday, but many wanted to, according to multiple sources.

More than 10 players spoke with me about that weekend, many choosing to speak on the condition of anonymity. Others felt more comfortable speaking with me off the record. Former Bengals safety George Iloka expressed that he felt compelled to join the movement and take a knee in week three of the 2017 NFL Season.

That passion led to an informal, player-run meeting.

“I always said I was not going to talk about that until I was done playing officially, but I really don’t care,” Iloka said with resolve. “A lot of people, myself in particular, wanted to kneel. It was a big issue and that was weighing heavily on my heart, it was weighing heavy on my mind, and obviously it was weighing heavy on a lot of people’s hearts and minds across the NFL, and across the nation particularly with African Americans. It wasn’t just me that felt some kind away about that.”

Multiple players, including Iloka, tell me the player meeting did not involve the entire team, and as they discussed their viewpoints with each other, it became clear that not all players were seeing eye-to-eye on the controversial issue at hand.

“It was about 50% African Americans and 50% of my Caucasian brothers and it was only about 30 people. The meeting left pretty much just like, the African American players feeling like we want to kneel, and then it was the white players telling us, ‘you guys don’t need to do that.’”

Iloka says the split left him feeling like his viewpoint had not been understood by some of his teammates.

“It’s almost like saying ‘Go be oppressed somewhere else and keep it out of my sight.’ That sort of thing. So, you know it was like, I understand that you don’t get how we feel and we are not asking you to join us, but just stop telling us not to.”

Four more players told me the player meeting led to an emergency team meeting which was not on the schedule. One player who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity said the meeting was unusual from the start.

“It was the first meeting on a Saturday night that Mr. Brown had ever spoken or been a part of,” that player said.

Another player, who spoke with me off the record, echoed Iloka’s account of the emergency team meeting when Cincinnati Bengals owner, Mike Brown, made a blunt request.

“He pretty much says, ‘I don’t want you guys kneeling.’ He said our fans will crush us.”

Other players noticed that Mike Brown’s words carried the weight of an emotional tone.

“He just begged, like really begged. That was my first time seeing or hearing anything like that — very emotional. That was my only time seeing that it was different. The bottom line is that he was begging us, please do not kneel. He didn’t want the backfire that was going to come from it.”

According to every player I spoke with, the message delivered by Brown was clear and direct. Iloka says the message was also very brief.

“He said what he said and tried to walk out all under probably three minutes,” Iloka said.

It was at that moment when Iloka realized that he needed to make the difficult choice of standing up and speaking his truth to Mike Brown.

“My heart was beating because he’s the owner, and you already saw what happened to Kaepernick,” said Iloka.

Other players, who asked not to be named, backed up Iloka about the massive risk he and two other leaders on the team took that day. Players who were present in the meeting remember Iloka’s courage during an uncomfortable moment as he made his voice heard and began to explain the reasons why he felt it necessary to join the movement and take a knee during the national anthem before his team faced Green Bay.

“I said, ‘but Mike…’ and he had to turn back around and I just started telling him how I felt and why this is important to us and what it means to us and why we feel like we want to kneel, and he wasn’t trying to hear it.”

When asked about the decision not to kneel, another player tells WLWT that if he knelt, he would not expect to get a good contract offer the following year and others had the same sentiment. The Bengals dispute that Brown pressured players not to kneel. In a written statement to WLWT, a spokeswoman says, “Mr. Brown met with all players while the team was in Green Bay. A positive and open discussion ensued. Mr. Brown shared with players his preference, but said he was not directing them what to do.”

The players decided to link arms in solidarity during the national anthem that day to show unity with each other and opposition to Trump’s comments. The Bengals say the decision was supported by all sides, writing, “The coaching staff and players at that time were supportive of the direction chosen, and efforts today seeking to recast what happened then are not accurate.”

At least five players told me they believe the purpose of the meeting was to drive a specific message, to make sure players did not kneel during the national anthem. They say this meeting is an example of the culture within the wall of Paul Brown Stadium, some adding they feel the need to play a certain role to maintain their status on the team.

The Bengals paint a different picture pointing to the team’s community work, including a recent pledge of $250,000 to community initiatives which shows their commitment in ways that a public statement never could. Some players, on the other hand, feel the pledge was made with shallow intent. “You can’t throw money at a problem, especially a problem so serious,” said one player who has more than five years of experience in the league.

Former Bengals player Preston Brown says the culture in Cincinnati was evident to him early on. Before taking a snap with the Bengals, Preston Brown was suiting up for the Buffalo Bills. That same year in 2017, he chose not to take a knee and says he regrets his decision not to protest.

“That’s the biggest regret I have is not taking a knee that day because I was just so scared to do it. I know what could happen afterwards,” Preston Brown said. “You have to play this role as an athlete and toe the line to make sure they still like you. I can’t be all the way black.”

The next year, Preston Brown signed with Cincinnati. He believes the opportunity would not have happened if he had taken a knee while playing for the Bills the previous year.

“If I were to take a knee that day, I definitely wouldn’t have played for the Bengals,” he said. “It was in OTAs or something like that, we had a meeting of like 20 guys, and they asked me and Cordy (Glenn) because we came from Buffalo where guys had taken a knee, and they said ‘We are not going to do that here. We don’t need that attention. We don’t need that type of display of protest,’ and that was something that was weird to me.”

Every player I spoke with voiced their hope for nationwide understanding, acknowledgment and change.

“First we have to admit that we have a race problem in America,” Iloka said. “That doesn’t change that this is one of the greatest countries in the world, but we still have to admit that we have a problem.”

Admittance seems to be gaining traction. There has been a swing in acceptance towards the movement after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pivoted from his 2018 stance when kneeling in the NFL was banned. Earlier this month Goodell said the league was “wrong” not to listen to players about their experiences with racism.

As the league looks ahead to a socially-distant, coronavirus-safe 2020 season, players, coaches and even some owners across the league are supporting more changes on the sidelines.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien have pledged their support, vowing to take a knee in the fall.

Will the Cincinnati Bengals do the same? They’re still figuring that out. In a statement released to WLWT a spokeswoman for the team says, “We would like to allow time for our players and coaches to discuss before commenting.”

AFC SOUTH

JACKSONVILLE

Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com is fascinated how the Jaguars fell from such a promising spot so far so fast.  It’s his site’s first team preview, so he has the Jags #32 in 2020 and #1 in the TREVOR LAWRENCE sweepstakes:

Fortunes change fast in the NFL. Young, surging teams can look like long-term contenders, then vanish immediately.

Even with that in mind, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ sudden fall is shocking.

At the end of the 2017 season, the Jaguars were on the verge of beating the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game. They blew it in the fourth quarter. Jaguars fans will rightfully complain about a quick whistle that ruined what might have been a long fumble return by Myles Jack. No matter. The Jaguars lost. Still, they were young, talented and seemingly on the rise.

Two losing seasons later, they look like the worst team in football.

How did this happen? The missteps are numerous and astonishing. A lot of it can be blamed on poor management, particularly by since-fired executive vice president Tom Coughlin. The start of the destruction actually seemed like an innocuous decision: Picking up Blake Bortles’ fifth-year option.

• Bortles was the third pick of the 2014 NFL draft but clearly had faults. The Jaguars talked themselves into why it was wise to pick up Bortles’ fifth-year option. They did so despite knowing the fifth-year option was guaranteed due to injury, and Bortles had a wrist injury that might eventually require surgery. (The team decided to try cortisone and PRP shots first.)

When they picked up Bortles’ option, the Jaguars passed on quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft to take running back Leonard Fournette, a big back who fit Coughlin’s old-school ideals but not the modern NFL. Fournette has been just an average back at best.

Instead of admitting a mistake on Bortles and grabbing Watson or Mahomes, the Jaguars drafted a running back long after the rest of the NFL had figured out that was a bad idea. Then they doubled down on Bortles.

After the playoff run, Bortles had the wrist surgery. Since they were coming off the playoff run and his option was likely to be guaranteed anyway, the Jaguars gave Bortles a three-year, $54 million extension. A year later he was cut.

Imagine if the Jaguars had been more decisive on Bortles when it came time to figure out his fifth-year option. History might have been a lot different.

• The Jaguars’ gamble on Bortles didn’t work, so last year they signed Nick Foles to a four-year, $88 million deal. There were no other serious bidders, but reports said the Jaguars overpaid Foles because they wanted the locker room to respect him. Really, that happened.

Foles got hurt, struggled upon his return and was traded to the Chicago Bears this offseason. The Jaguars have $37.1 million in dead cap money, second-most in the NFL. Foles, at $18.75 million, accounts for the largest part of it.

• Coughlin completely turned off players, most notably star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey requested a trade after an early-season disagreement with someone in the Jaguars front office, presumed to be Coughlin. The NFLPA said more than 25 percent of grievances filed by players since 2017 were against the Jaguars. Ramsey, one of the best players in the NFL, was traded. Nobody else who was left seemed happy.

• There were other missteps. Guard Andrew Norwell was signed to a huge deal, and he hasn’t played like the All-Pro he was with the Carolina Panthers. The Jaguars couldn’t get edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue signed to a long-term deal, and he requested a trade when he got the franchise tag. That trade never happened, leaving Jacksonville with an unhappy star.

Fournette was on the trade block but the Jaguars apparently couldn’t find a suitor. Cap issues were part of the reason the team traded edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. in 2018 and cut defensive tackle Malik Jackson last year. And Bortles’ extension, which might not happen without the fifth-year option decision, was a big part of the cap problems. Linebacker Telvin Smith suddenly retired in 2019. The Jaguars were suddenly stuck in a rebuild and traded Foles, cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Calais Campbell this offseason.

The Jaguars’ once-exciting defense is a shell of what it was just three years ago. The offense could have looked a lot different, but now plods along with Fournette carrying the load. GM Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone still have jobs somehow, but at least Coughlin was fired. It’s a roster that has practically no depth and few blue-chip players.

Picking up Bortles’ option led to the drafting of Fournette and then to Bortles’ extension, which contributed to major salary-cap problems compounded by the signing of Foles to replace Bortles, which led to the start of a talent drain including some white-flag trades this offseason. That’s how the Jaguars went from a small step away from the Super Bowl to a total rebuild in the blink of an eye. 

It will be a long season in Jacksonville. The only good news is fortunes can change quickly in the NFL, something the Jaguars know too well.

The Jaguars, bursting with young talent just a few years ago, somehow have very few blue-chip players. At least they got a breakout from receiver D.J. Chark last season. Chark was a raw size/speed receiver out of LSU and didn’t do much as a rookie second-round pick in 2018, but posted 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He’s clearly the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver and their best offensive player. His future looks bright.

The Jaguars’ over/under win total at BetMGM is just 5, with under the heavy favorite at -195 (bet $195 to win $100). Obviously with Jacksonville being No. 32 on the list, the under is the only way I’d go there. But what might be worth a look is taking the Jaguars at +400 to finish with the most regular-season losses, also known as the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. If you think they’ll be under 5 wins, they’ll be a contender for the worst record in the NFL.

Trevor Lawrence is one of the best prospects at quarterback in many years. Would Jaguars fans trade a horrible year for a decade or more of Lawrence? Probably. Because the truth is, even the Jaguars’ ceiling this year isn’t very good. It’s impossible to see Jacksonville being a playoff team, even if everything went right. At this point it’s best to just hit rock bottom and grab Lawrence.

It’s hard to say a team’s best-case scenario is 2-14 and the nightmare is 6-10, but that is where the Jaguars are. What if Gardner Minshew is just good enough to help knock the Jaguars out of the top-five picks, but not good enough to get excited about? What if the Jaguars win just enough games to keep owner Shad Khan from firing Doug Marrone again? It’s never fun to be the worst team in football, but being the sixth- or seventh-worst team would be a lot worse.

The Jaguars have posted double-digit losses eight of the last nine seasons, and it seems like they’re headed there again. This is a talent-poor roster in a suddenly tough division. They’ll be the worst team in the NFL, get the No. 1 pick and Trevor Lawrence, and at least there will be some hope of permanently digging out of this never-ending hole.

AFC EAST

NEW ENGLAND

Another loss for the Patriots this season is longtime OL coach Dante Scarnecchia.

He has some insight into mystery QB JARRETT STIDHAM, reported here by Tyler Stevenson of CBSSports.com:

You’d have to go back prior to 1993 to find the New England Patriots really heading down a bumpy road at the quarterback position. It was in ’93 when New England was able to select Drew Bledsoe with the top overall pick, and he then led the organization for nine seasons before giving way to Tom Brady. Once Brady took over, there was essentially a two-decade run of smooth sailing under center. For the first time since both of them arrived in Foxborough, the waters may start to get a little choppy.

This offseason saw the end to Brady’s tenure in New England after he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which will now open the door for a new starting quarterback for the Patriots. As things stand, it appears it will be a competition between Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, with the second-year quarterback out of Auburn owning the inside track at the gig.

If Stidham does ultimately win the job, there’s obviously going to be a noticeable drop in experience from the type of quarterback play New Englanders are used to. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who retired this offseason after 34 years with the organization, noted that there will certainly be some growing pains with Stidham under center, but does recognize his potential.

“He’s a different guy in a couple of ways,” Scarnecchia said. “No. 1, he doesn’t have the wealth of experience that Tom has. There’s no doubt about that, and you have to concede that. Yes, there’s going to be some things where he’s going to hold the ball longer than you want it to be held, but that’s all about growing up in this league, and you know that as well as I do. You know, those young guys, they take some time. But I would say this for Jarrett, too — he’s a bright kid, and he’s a guy who, when he doesn’t know, he’ll take off. He showed in the preseason last year that he’s got some skills and he knows when to get out of there and where the escape points may be and when he gets out of there, he also knows he better get down because he knows better than to try to run through guys as well. You’re not running through many guys in this league.

“So there’s going to be some growing pains. There’s no doubt about it. But the guy does have skills. He’s got a great mind. He cares. He shows up early. He goes home late. I wish him nothing but the best. If [I was] still there, I would just say, ‘Hey, listen fellas, we’ve got to do everything we can to make this guy as comfortable as we can,’ and I’m sure the guys that are going to coach those guys this year are saying exactly that. ‘We’ve got to be as good as we can be every down and give this guy all the support we possibly can and let him get comfortable and build confidence and be the kind of player that we want him to be and that he wants to be more importantly.’ “

Stidham didn’t see much action during the regular season. When he did, that time in the sun was short lived after throwing a pick-six to Jamal Adams against the New York Jets. However, what the Patriots saw in the preseason over a stretch of four games was far more encouraging. He completed nearly 68% of his passes for 731 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed for 88 yards.

To Scarnecchia’s point, the Patriots will probably have to work with Stidham about getting rid of the ball quickly. Younger quarterbacks tend to hang onto the football a bit longer as they are slow to process the information that is unfolding in front of them. We saw that from Stidham in the preseason as well as he went down with nine sacks. 

Those are the types of things that New England has had the luxury of avoiding for over 20 years, but are now faced with in 2020 with Stidham. While it may not always look pretty over the course of this season, the young quarterback does show the potential of being a legit starter in the league if he’s able to come out on the other side of those growing pains. 

NEW YORK JETS

S JAMAL ADAMS continues to be consumed with getting away from the Jets.  Gil Brandt has five teams that might be good landing spots:

Who will blink first: Jamal Adams or the New York Jets?

Personally, I don’t think Adams will actually leave New York despite formally asking for a trade last week as he attempts to leverage his status as one of the NFL’s best safeties into a market-setting extension. The Jets are aware that he is a special do-it-all force who makes their defense significantly better, and they have plenty of time to at least reach a truce with Adams, or potentially hammer out a new deal before the preseason begins. Even if a new deal isn’t reached, the 24-year-old Adams is under contract for two more seasons, with the franchise tag looming as an option to keep him around for three.

That said, I could also see a situation in which the relationship between the team and player becomes so toxic, the Jets have to bite the bullet and move Adams. We know about the reported list of teams Adams would like to go to, with Adams himself seeming to confirm interest in the Cowboys. But if we flipped that equation, which teams should consider making an offer for Adams? Who should go after the two-time Pro Bowler?

Before we get to my ranking of the top five potential fits for Adams, let’s explore the possible compensation for the Jets in a deal. Trade value can be tough to pin down, as the variability in recent deals shows, but I’ll say Adams should fetch a first-round choice and a starter-level player, with perhaps a second-round pick also getting thrown in if the trade partner is pegged to pick outside of the top 10 in 2021.

And now, in order according to best match, here are the top five potential fits for Jamal Adams:

1 Philadelphia Eagles

Current safeties: Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills

General manager Howie Roseman — who employed Jets GM Joe Douglas as his vice president of player personnel for three seasons — isn’t afraid to make bold moves, and the Eagles could use safety help. Malcolm Jenkins left in free agency, leaving converted corner Jalen Mills, veteran free agent Will Parks and fourth-round pick K’Von Wallace to attempt to fill his shoes. Adding Adams to a secondary that upgraded at corner via the trade for Darius Slay would take Philadelphia to another level. The only caveat is that salary cap considerations could make this one tough to pull off.

2 Dallas Cowboys

Current safeties: Xavier Woods, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Trading for Adams would go against 18 years of the Cowboys more or less deprioritizing the safety position — Jerry Jones hasn’t selected a safety in the first two rounds of the draft since making Roy Williams the No. 8 overall pick in 2002, nor has he paid record-setting money for any player at the position. Simply put, the Cowboys appear to believe other roster spots are more worthy of investment. However, if that approach changes and the team sees fit to grant Adams his apparent wish to come to Dallas, Adams would answer the prayers of a fan base frustrated by the lack of difference-making play at this spot on the field. That said, it is legitimate to question the ultimate impact of even the best safety relative to, say, quarterbacks, receivers, running backs or pass rushers. As for Adams, I’m sure he would love to head to a Super Bowl contender that also just happens to play in his hometown.

3 Jacksonville Jaguars

Current safeties: Ronnie Harrison, Jarrod Wilson

As I wrote above, the Jets should expect at least a first-round pick in return for Adams, which might make this potential deal too rich for a Jaguars team that, on paper, looks ticketed for a top-10 draft choice in 2021. And that’s setting aside the fact that Jacksonville is the one team here that does not appear on Adams’ reported wish list. But you could argue that Adams would be worth the investment for a group looking to grow, instantly lifting a secondary that will otherwise be relying on rookie C.J. Henderson to shoulder a significant amount of the load. The Jaguars haven’t fielded a true impact safety since Rashean Mathis’ heyday.

4 Seattle Seahawks

Current safeties: Bradley McDougald, Quandre Diggs

The days of the Legion of Boom are long gone, and the secondary is a shell of what it was back when Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor were roaming the field. Over the past four drafts, the Seahawks have selected six safeties (Marquise Blair and Ugo Amadi in 2019, Tre Flowers in 2018 and Delano Hill, Tedric Thompson and Michael Tyson in 2017), but none are projected to start at the position entering 2020 (Thompson and Hill are no longer with the team). Currently, Seattle will be leaning on Quandre Diggs, acquired to prop up a secondary in disarray last season, and the solid but unspectacular Bradley McDougald. Adams would recharge the DBs group, while his blitz skills would also come in handy for a defense desperate for pass-rush help.

5 San Francisco 49ers

Current safeties: Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward

The Niners built their defense with a focus on the front seven, so addressing the back end at this point might not be a bad idea, especially considering how the Chiefs exposed the secondary in Super Bowl LIV. Current starting safety Jaquiski Tartt has generated just seven turnovers over the past five years while missing 21 of 80 potential games. He’s also set to become a free agent next season, along with defensive backs Richard Sherman, K’Waun Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon. For a team as close to winning it all as San Francisco is, Adams could be the piece that pushes the Niners over the top.

THIS AND THAT

THE TOP LINEMAN

Tyler Sullivan of CBSSports.com tells us who the top NFL linemen are at the moment.

Right off the bat, let’s give a quick tip of the cap to some honorable mentions, who just missed the list:

OT: Taylor Lewan, Anthony Castonzo, Jack Conklin, Jake Matthews, and Mike McGlinchey.

IOL: Maurkice Pouncey, Shaq Mason, Brandon Brooks (injury)

With all that out of the way, let’s get to it, starting at tackle. 

Offensive tackle rankings

10. La’el Collins, Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are lucky enough to have two tackles land inside this top 10 list as La’el Collins has taken the leap after a career year in 2019. He was solid in pass protection, allowing just two sacks and 26 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics. He also received the third-best run-blocking grade by PFF among all tackles. As a unit, Collins helped Dallas en route to ranking No. 2 in the NFL in Football Outsiders’ adjusted sack rate and paved the way for a top-five rushing attack. The 26-year-old just signed a five-year extension with Dallas last September and is seemingly just now scratching the surface of his potential.

9. Laremy Tunsil, Texans

Houston gave up a king’s ransom to acquire Tunsil last summer and he did reward them with solid play on Deshaun Watson’s blindside and earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career. The Texans’ offensive line as a unit didn’t do Watson any favors in 2019, but Tunsil should be looked at as part of the solution more than the problem. No offensive tackle other than Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley earned a higher pass-blocking grade on straight drop backs than Tunsil, which is encouraging. Penalties were the biggest issue for the 25-year-old during his first season with the Texans. Those 17 infractions were the highest in the league at the offensive tackle spot, but I’m curious to see how much of that was due to inexperience in the system. I’m banking on him fixing those errors in 2020 after being more familiar within the offense to solidify his spot here in the top 10. 

8. Lane Johnson, Eagles

You can really make the case for any player on this list to be higher or lower because we’re honestly splitting hairs when it comes to this level of talent along and there’s probably no greater example of that here than with Lane Johnson. When he’s cooking, you could talk about the Eagles right tackle as the very best offensive lineman in the entire league. Pro Football Focus awarded him with the highest run-blocking grade of any tackle last season and he only allowed one sack during pass-blocking snaps. He’s elite. That said, Johnson was limited to 12 games last season and is now entering his 30s, which is what gives me pause from vaulting him up much higher. 

7. Terron Armstead, Saints

I wouldn’t fight you too hard if you were making the case that Terron Armstead is too low here too. At the peak of his powers, he’s a top five offensive lineman, a key piece in making New Orleans’ high-powered offense hum and creates a heck of a one-two punch with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk. During his Pro Bowl season in 2019, he continued to show that he’s one of the league’s best pass-blockers, allowing just one sack and 24 pressures, per PFF. What keeps Armstead from going much higher in these rankings, however, is durability. Despite his immense talent, he has yet to play a full 16-game season for the Saints. The closest he came was last year, when he suited up in 15 contests and played in 88% of the offensive snaps. 

6. Trent Williams, 49ers

I wanted to put Trent Williams higher on this list because I believe in his talent, but this is as far as I could go. That said, when the 2020 season is in the books it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see Williams atop these rankings. Prior to missing all of last season due to a medical dispute with the Redskins brass, Willams was looked at as arguably the top left tackle in the league, being named to seven straight Pro Bowls. While there isn’t much reason to doubt that Williams can return to elite form in 2020 now that he’s with the 49ers, he does need to show us something before we blindly elevate him inside the top five. We truly don’t know what he’ll look like next season, despite his elite play when last seen, and he will begin the 2020 campaign at age 32.

5. Mitchell Schwartz, Chiefs

This past season was really just a great year for right tackle play in general and Mitchell Schwartz is firmly in the conversation as one of the best in the league. Even before his fantastic playoff run, Schwartz was great in 2019, earning second-team All-Pro honors. Kansas City’s offensive line was a top five unit in pass protection, ranking as the fourth-best group in adjusted sack rate, which is even more impressive when you factor in Patrick Mahomes’ fast paced offense. While Schwartz was strong during the regular season, it was the Chiefs’ run to their Super Bowl LIV title where he really shined as an elite figure along the O-line. Over that three-game stretch and 142 pass-blocking snaps, Pro Football Focus calculates that Schwartz allowed just one hurry. That’s it. Similar to Ryan Ramczyk, he may get overlooked because he plays on the right side, but that would be foolish.   

4. Ryan Ramczyk, Saints

Ramczyk and Armstead arguably make up the best right-left tackle duo in the NFL, as New Orleans ranked No. 3 in the league in 2019 in adjusted sack rate, which is especially vital with 41-year-old Drew Brees under center. When healthy, you can make the case for both of these players to be even higher on this list. As things stand specifically with Ramczyk, he was named first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career last season after allowing no sacks and 20 pressures. He was also celebrated for his run blocking ability by Pro Football Focus, who gave him the best run-blocking grade among tackles who didn’t miss substantial time last year. He may be a little underrated because he plays on the right side, but Ramczyk is as elite as they come.

3. Tyron Smith, Cowboys

Injuries are starting to catch up to him a little bit, but when healthy, Dallas’ Tyron Smith should still be looked at as one of the premier tackles in the NFL. He’s been named to seven-straight Pro Bowls and has allowed only four sacks since 2017, including just one in 2019 over 13 games played. Smith was a key piece to Dallas ranking No. 2 in the NFL in adjusted sack rate, only to be outdone by New Orleans. Of course, what stands in the way for Smith to be considered the top tackle in the league is durability. He hasn’t played in a full 16-game season since 2015, which does hamper his value some. 

2. Ronnie Stanley, Ravens

Stanley’s 2019 season was sensational. He led the left side of Baltimore’s offensive line during a historic rushing season where they broke the NFL record for most total team yards on the ground. He was also stellar in pass protection too, earning Pro Football Focus’ top pass-blocking grade after allowing just six pressures during the regular season and zero sacks. Given all that, it’s no wonder he was named First-team All-Pro and given a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his career in 2019. We’ll discuss why he couldn’t reach the top spot below, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Stanely rival for the label as the league’s best pass protector going into 2020 and beyond.

1. David Bakhtiari, Packers

Even as he enters his eighth year in the NFL, Bakhtiari still sets the standard at blindside tackle, despite a number of worthy players nipping at his heels for the top spot. He’s helped lead the way on a Packers offensive line that ranks inside the top five in the league last year according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards and was a top 10 unit in adjusted sack rate. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2019 (only losing out to Ronnie Stanley) after playing in 100% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps and had the second-best pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. The reason why he gets the edge over Stanley this year is because his job is a bit more difficult when factoring in the quarterbacks they block for. Aaron Rodgers holds the ball longer than most quarterbacks and isn’t as elusive as reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, making life a bit more difficult for Bakhtiari than Stanley. That said, you can’t go wrong with either and really should be looked at as 1A and 1B.

Alright, now let’s move to the interior of the offensive line and rank guards and centers.

Guard and center rankings

10. Rodney Hudson, Raiders

Hudson is another lineman that I wouldn’t fight you too hard on if you were making a case for him to be higher on this list. He was second-team All-Pro in 2019 and earned the third Pro Bowl nod of his career last season. He was the top pass-blocking center in the league last year, a title that he’s held for the past handful of seasons. He helped the Raiders have a top-flight O-line in 2019 that ranked No. 6 in the NFL in adjusted sack rate. He’s an absolute stud at the center of Vegas’ offense.

9. Joel Bitonio, Browns

Cleveland’s offensive line as a whole was not great in 2019, but Joel Bitonio was a lone bright spot. He was named second-team All-Pro for the second year in a row and earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection after ranking fourth among guards last season in pass blocking, per PFF. After hiring first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski and addressing the tackle spots by drafting Jedrick Wills and signing Jack Conklin, the Browns O-line should be much improved from last year, which will only shine an even brighter light on how solid of a player Bitonio is. 

8. Ali Marpet, Buccaneers

Because of all the turnovers on offense in 2019, the Buccaneers offensive line was a bit overlooked. As a unit, however, they were among the very best in the league, ranking seventh in Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings for the 2019 season. A large part of that is thanks to the interior and the contributions of Marpet. He’s been the highest-graded offensive guard over the past five seasons since entering the league in 2015 and was a top five player at his position in terms of pass blocking last year. Now that there is an upgrade at the quarterback position behind him in 2020, Marpet should only improve next year. 

7. Ryan Jensen, Buccaneers

We have back-to-back Buccaneers in this top 10 list, which will undoubtedly make Tom Brady happy as he continues to prepare for his first season in Tampa Bay. As things stand specifically with Jensen, he is arguably coming off his best season in the NFL. He allowed just one sack and 15 pressures last season in Bruce Arians’ high-flying offense, which had suspect quarterback play throughout. Jensen also recorded the best run-blocking season of his career in 2019, forming one of the top interior lines alongside Marpet. He may be a bit underrated simply because no one was paying much attention to Tampa Bay last season, but if he is able to carry over his strong play into 2020 with Brady under center, he’ll start opening eyes across the league.

6. David DeCastro, Steelers

Even as he enters his ninth season in the league, David Decastro is still a force on the right side of Pittsburgh’s offensive line. The guard suited up in all 16 of the Steelers’ regular-season games in 2019 and had perfect attendance, playing in all 995 of the offensive snaps. He earned his fifth-straight trip to the Pro Bowl last year after putting together another season of elite play in both pass protection and in the running game. According to PFF’s grading system, DeCastro is only one of four guards (Zack Martin, Brandon Brooks, and Marshal Yanda) who have top 10 grades in both pass-blocking and run-blocking since 2016. As a unit, Pittsburgh ranked just outside the top 10 in adjusted sack rate, but the entire offense should be much more efficient in 2020 with Ben Roethlisberger back under center.

5. Brandon Scherff, Redskins

When healthy, you can make the case that Brandon Scherff can be even higher on this list. He’s arguably a top five force on the interior in the running game and can hold his own in pass protection. Injuries, however, have been a big part of Scherff’s NFL story over the past few years. He’s landed on injured reserve the past two seasons and has missed a total of 15 games over the past three years. His talent is what gets him into the top five, but durability keeps him from going much higher.

4. Joe Thuney, Patriots

Some may say that Joe Thuney is a bit too high on this list, but I’d argue that is simply due to the overall poor play along New England’s offensive line in 2019. In a vacuum, the Patriots’ left guard is as elite as they come. He allowed just one sack last season, which is even more impressive when you factor in his 2018 season where he allowed zero. That’s one sack in the last two years combined, per PFF. Thuney was also playing in less-than-ideal conditions after New England lost starting center David Andrews for the entire year and 2018 first-round pick Isaiah Wynn was limited to just eight games at left tackle. For a large chunk of the year, Thuney was playing alongside backups and was still producing at an elite level.

3. Jason Kelce, Eagles

Jason Kelce is still the best center in the NFL. He’s as durable as they come, playing (and starting) in all 16 of Philadelphia’s regular-season games dating back to 2015. He’s also played in no less than 95% of the offensive snaps in each of those seasons, which includes perfect attendance in 2019. The 32-year-old dictates how the Eagles run the football, a unit that ranked just outside the top 10 in the league without a clear-cut feature back in its backfield. Last year, Kelce was PFF’s top-graded center in the league and should continue to be a force along Philly’s O-line in 2020.

2. Zack Martin, Cowboys

Martin continued to be a mainstay along Dallas’ elite offensive line, not allowing a single sack in 2019. After playing in 99% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps last year, Martin earned the highest pass-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus and was also strong in the running game as well as Dallas rushed for the fifth-most yards in the entire league. He was named to his sixth-straight Pro Bowl this past season and is fresh off back-to-back first-team All-Pro honors, which are very well deserved.

1. Quenton Nelson, Colts

You can make a pretty easy case that Quenton Nelson is not only the best interior lineman in the NFL but the best offensive linemen period. His game is near perfect, allowing zero sacks. That’s especially noteworthy when you factor in the choppy quarterback play for the Colts in 2019. Nelson also earned PFF’s second-best run-blocking grade for guards. Indianapolis was also inside the top 10 in the league in adjusted sack rate, protecting Jacoby Brissett extremely well in 2019. That will surely carry over into 2020 with Philip Rivers under center.