Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com ranks the teams that had the best offseason from 1 to 16 (we had the bottom half last week).  Have to admit we didn’t see number one coming as it is one of three NFC East teams in the top 4.

We have the full recap for the teams in bold in their team box below, for the others, a synopsis:

1. Washington Commanders (see WASHINGTON below)

2. Miami Dolphins (see MIAMI below)

3. Dallas Cowboys (see DALLAS below)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (see PHILADELPHIA below)

5. Green Bay Packers (see GREEN BAY below)

6. Cincinnati Bengals

What went right: The Bengals continued to execute a coherent plan for dealing with their changing roster. When they shocked the world and made it to the Super Bowl a year ago, they had a very clear plan… Things are about to change…Director of player personnel Duke Tobin & Co. are ready. Last year, knowing that Bates, Bell and Eli Apple were approaching free agency and with Waynes off the roster, the Bengals used a first-round pick on safety Dax Hill and a second-rounder on corner Cam Taylor-Britt. Hendrickson, Reader and Awuzie will be free agents in 2024, so Tobin used his 2023 first-round pick on end Myles Murphy and a second-rounder on corner DJ Turner.

7. Kansas City Chiefs

What went right: Kansas City upgraded the tackles in front of Patrick Mahomes.

What went wrong: Are they one pass-rusher short?

8. Buffalo Bills

What went right: The Bills developed a counterpunch on offense  They went out and got their power back, letting Devin Singletary leave in free agency and replacing him with former Patriots starter Damien Harris. When the draft rolled around, the Bills used their first-round pick on tight end Dalton Kincaid, who can move around the formation and create mismatches on the interior.

What went wrong: They didn’t land a direct replacement for Tremaine Edmunds

9. Carolina Panthers

What went right: Carolina got a quarterback and a coaching staff. Trading up to the No. 1 overall pick didn’t come cheap. But an organization that desperately tried to acquire Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson, drafted Matt Corral and dealt for Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield finally landed its quarterback of the future.

What went wrong: I’m not so sure about the playmakers around Young in 2023

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

What went right: The offensive line got better.

What went wrong: The inside linebacker cycle churned on.

11. San Francisco 49ers

What went right: The 49ers landed the interior disruptor they’ve lacked since trading away DeForest Buckner (in free agent Javon Hargrave).

What went wrong: Did they do enough to supplement the offensive line?

12. Arizona Cardinals

What went right: The Cardinals committed to a much-needed rebuild with a draft-day trade. I’m not sure any team entered the offseason in a worse situation than this one. The biggest move, however, came on the draft’s first night, when Ossenfort landed a spectacular haul from the Texans for the No. 3 overall pick. Without a quarterback in the conversation, the Cardinals were able to make a reasonable swap of Nos. 3 and 105 for Nos. 12 and 33 while also landing first- and third-round picks in 2024 from a rebuilding franchise. There’s a strong chance the pick it acquired lands in the top five and a reasonable possibility it will be the first overall pick in a draft with a potential superstar quarterback prospect in USC’s Caleb Williams.

What went wrong: The Cardinals didn’t get any return for Hopkins.

What’s left to do: Resolve Budda Baker’s situation.

13. Chicago Bears

What went right: Chicago picked up a good haul for the No. 1 overall pick. The most important decision general manager Ryan Poles had to make this offseason involved that top selection. History will tell us whether he would have been better off holding onto the pick and trading away Justin Fields or vice versa, so I don’t think I’m at a point where I can really evaluate that choice.

What went wrong: Poles’ highly anticipated offseason didn’t hit many other premium positions.

14. Denver Broncos

What went right: They hired Sean Payton to be their coach. In light of last year’s disastrous Nathaniel Hackett hire, going after the most qualified candidate available was a logical choice. Payton cost a team without much draft capital its first-round pick, but great coaches are bargains.

What went wrong: They paid star prices for solid players and solid prices for less

15. Los Angeles Chargers

What went right: The Chargers upgraded at offensive coordinator. It seems telling when a head coach wants to move on because its offense was too successful. Mike McCarthy thinks the Cowboys played too fast and tired out his defense, but it’s hard to argue with the results, at least in the regular season. Kellen Moore took over an offense that ranked 24th in DVOA in 2018 and helped Dallas finish second, sixth and 15th in Dak Prescott’s three healthy seasons at quarterback.

What went wrong: The Chargers didn’t really address a lack of depth at most spots on the roster. The story is familiar by now: This would be a championship-caliber team if everyone could just stay healthy, which hasn’t happened.

16. New England Patriots

What went right: They hired an offensive coach to be their offensive coordinator. Bill O’Brien’s tenure as Houston’s personnel czar colored the rest of his NFL tenure, but the former Patriots assistant has generally been effective as an offensive playcaller and head coach at the college and professional levels.

What went wrong: Offensive tackle is going to be a problem.

NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com liked the way the Packers got rid of QB AARON RODGERS and puts them at #5 in terms of offseason success:

5. Green Bay Packers

What went right: They landed a haul for Aaron Rodgers. If we take the position the Packers had a strong suspicion they were going to be moving on from Rodgers on the day of the Super Bowl, it’s tough to argue with what general manager Brian Gutekunst was able to get in return for his legendary quarterback. Rodgers netted Green Bay a second-round pick in 2023, a jump of two spots in the first round and a pick that will likely become a first-rounder in 2024.

If we play it neutrally and assume the Jets send the No. 16 overall pick to the Packers for Rodgers next year, Gutekunst landed the equivalent of the No. 6 overall pick in a typical draft by the Jimmy Johnson chart or the third pick on the Chase Stuart chart.

Is that fair value for Rodgers? Consider the circumstances. Rodgers is 39 years old and coming off a season in which he was average to below average in most statistical categories. He was considering retirement during the offseason, was due $108.7 million over the next two years and publicly announced he wanted to play for the Jets. The Packers could only negotiate with one team, and they didn’t have the financial flexibility to bring him back if the Jets weren’t interested. To walk that tightrope and still land a top-six pick in terms of trade value is incredible negotiating.

Yes, Rodgers might be a superstar for the Jets and help them compete for a Super Bowl over the next two seasons. Even if that happens, Gutekunst won a blinking contest with the Jets and got a great price.

Gutekunst also managed to find a team-friendly solution for his second-biggest conundrum of the offseason when he convinced Jordan Love’s camp to take a $13.5 million guarantee for the 2024 season in lieu of the Packers picking up a fifth-year option, which would have paid him $20.3 million. In all, the Packers saved about $10 million between 2023 and 2024 with the tactic.

Love has incentives that can take the deal up to $22.5 million, but the idea of the Packers trading Rodgers to free up a spot for Love before immediately declining Love’s fifth-year option for 2024 seemed bizarre and unlikely. To convince Love’s representation otherwise was a bold negotiating ploy from Gutekunst and one that will likely save the team a few million dollars and increase their flexibility while making Love’s contract more cap-friendly.

What went wrong: Green Bay didn’t add a backup quarterback to tutor Love. Its depth chart at quarterback now consists of Love, Danny Etling and rookie fifth-round pick Sean Clifford. With 83 career pass attempts heading into the season between the three quarterbacks, the last time a team had this inexperienced of a quarterback room in training camp was … 2008, when the Packers backed up Rodgers with rookie second-round pick Brian Brohm and seventh-rounder Matt Flynn. All of their combined 59 pass attempts heading into the season had been by Rodgers. Well, it worked last time!

What’s left to do: Work on a new deal for Rashan Gary. The 2019 first-rounder was quietly one of the league’s best pass-rushers in 2021, as his 9.5 sacks were underlined by 28 quarterback knockdowns and eight tackles for loss. He was off to another good start in 2022 — racking up six sacks and 11 knockdowns across the first eight games of the season — only to tear his right ACL in Week 9 and miss the remainder of the season.

Gary already has a raise up to $10.9 million on the books as he plays out his fifth-year option, but Gutekunst should be working on a deal to keep the 25-year-old in Green Bay for years to come. The knee injury might make these negotiations trickier, but at least you know Gary’s agents will be making it a priority: The edge rusher is repped by Rashan Gary Sports. This deal should end up north of $22 million per season.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com has the Cowboys offseason at #3, but he spends a lot of time grousing about the departure of OC Kellen Moore:

3. Dallas Cowboys

What went right: The Cowboys used a closing financial window to add two veteran standouts. It has become common to talk about teams deriving value from quarterbacks while they play on rookie deals. For years, Dallas had Dak Prescott making midround-pick money while he was producing as an above-average-to-Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, which made him one of the most valuable players in all of football.

Prescott famously got paid in 2021, but just as he got expensive, the Cowboys drafted another bargain. Linebacker Micah Parsons is in Year 3 of a four-year, $17.1 million contract with a fifth-year option. He has been taking home an average of just over $4 million per season while producing back-to-back All-Pro seasons and finishing second in consecutive Defensive Player of the Year races.

The player at the top of the edge rusher market is T.J. Watt, whose deal averages just over $28 million per season. Nick Bosa, who pipped Parsons to that DPOY award last season, is likely to become the first defensive player to average $30 million per season on a new deal when he signs an extension this offseason. Parsons is eligible for his own extension next year, and barring catastrophic injury, it should come in somewhere around $32 million per season.

This is the last season in which the Cowboys project to have a player worth $30 million making $4 million, and after releasing running back Ezekiel Elliott, they acted with the appropriate level of aggressiveness. They filled two key holes in their lineup by trading for veterans Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. The new acquisitions will be paid a combined $22 million in 2023. I’m not sure they’ll be around Dallas for years to come, but given that it cost only two fifth-round picks and a sixth-round selection to add players in their prime to a championship contender, this certainly feels like a pair of well-timed additions.

What went wrong: The Cowboys blamed their problems on coordinator Kellen Moore and replaced him with Brian Schottenheimer. They have a habit of getting in their own way. When Tony Pollard breaks out and looks like a franchise back, the coaching staff insists he can’t play for more than 30 snaps per game, even though Pollard had a track record of producing well after that point. Team executive Stephen Jones argued during the Prescott negotiations that analytics justified not paying a quarterback too much money, but apparently Jones did not catch what analytics say about shelling out for running backs. You’ve seen how Dallas’ past two playoff games against the 49ers have ended. It’s easy to understand the frustration and the desire for the franchise to finally make a deep playoff run, both inside and outside of the facility.

The solution, apparently, is to ax one of the league’s best young offensive coordinators. Mike McCarthy inherited Moore when he arrived in Dallas and let him run things on offense, but after three seasons together, the former Packers coach decided to part ways with Moore and has taken over playcalling duties on offense. Schottenheimer, formerly of the Jets, Rams and Seahawks, will move from a consulting role into the offensive coordinator position.

Moore wasn’t perfect, but McCarthy’s explanation for why the Cowboys needed to make a change doesn’t exactly sound inspired: “Kellen wants to light the scoreboard up,” he said, “but I want him to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense.” McCarthy framed this as a big-picture understanding of football that he possesses as a head coach and Moore lacked as a coordinator.

Is McCarthy right about any of this? I’m not sure. To start, the Cowboys weren’t a particularly pass-happy team relative to the rest of the league. In neutral game scripts on early downs, when teams aren’t in situations where they are forced to throw or run by what’s going on in the game, they threw at the 16th-highest rate over the past two seasons. (I’m leaving out 2020 because Prescott was sidelined for most of the season.) The nine most pass-heavy teams by that measure include both Super Bowl winners (the Chiefs and Rams), the two runners-up (the Bengals and Eagles) and two teams that won consecutive divisional titles (the Bills and Buccaneers).

Throwing the ball doesn’t seem to be a problem in terms of game management for those teams. I’d argue the clock management gap between teams that throw the ball at high rates and their run-first counterparts means less than ever before because of how the game has changed. When teams were completing 55% of their passes in the 1980s, throwing the ball led to more stoppages of play.

Now, as teams complete more than 64% of their passes, pass-heavy teams have the ability to control the clock to their liking. Over the past two seasons, guess which team has averaged the most plays per drive? It’s the Chiefs, who throw at the highest neutral rate. The Chargers, Eagles and Bills — all pass-happy teams — join them in the top five. Patrick Mahomes & Co. have the second-longest average drive length behind the Packers over that stretch. McCarthy is right about the Cowboys having quick drives — they rank 26th in time of possession per drive over that stretch — but the solution is to manage the clock more effectively after successful passes as opposed to simply running the ball more.

Have the Cowboys been struggling to close out games because the defense has gotten tired and declined? It’s true they have played fast, and as a result, the defense has faced a league-high 400 drives over the past two seasons. If you split how the Dallas defense performs by 15-snap buckets by expected points added (EPA) per play, though, Dan Quinn’s unit has actually been remarkably consistent as games have gone along. It actually is best late in games:

Dallas’ Defensive Numbers Over The Past Two Seasons

Play Number     Expected Points Added  Rank

1-15                                      -0.02           6

16-30                                    -0.01           7

31-45                                    -0.04           4

46-60                                  -0.06            11

61+                                      -0.26            2

It’s entirely possible McCarthy’s public explanation doesn’t align with his private motivations for making a move or that the call to move on from Moore might have been a decision by ownership. I don’t think the Cowboys are about to turn into the Falcons when they’re paying Prescott north of $40 million per season, but I also don’t think they are as pass-happy as they believe.

At the same time, this is the same guy who lost a playoff game with the Packers against the Seahawks with a huge lead because he was trying to hit an arbitrary number of carries in the second half then recited a similar concept to a commentary team in November 2022 with the Cowboys. There’s a habit in the NFL, even now, of using the idea of running the ball as a solution to any of a number of problems. The reality of the league’s most pass-happy team winning this year’s Super Bowl (and last year’s winners being terrible at running the ball throughout their postseason run) need not enter the equation. The Dallas defense will be better rested in 2023, but its offense will be unnecessarily worse for that privilege.

What’s left to do: Extend wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs. Having two superstars coming due for extensions is a good problem to have! The Cowboys nailed their top two picks in 2020 with Lamb and Diggs, and both are eligible for new deals this offseason. Dallas typically rewards its best young players with new extensions as early as possible to help keep their cap hits as low as possible.

Lamb should be looking at an extension worth at least $26 million per season, while Diggs’ new deal should reset the top of the market at $22 million per campaign. If the Cowboys can manage to sign both while keeping their combined average annual value at or below $50 million per season, it would be good work.

PHILADELPHIA

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com has the Eagles offseason at #4, not bad for a team that almost won the Super Bowl:

4. Philadelphia Eagles

What went right: The Eagles did well to face their new economic reality on defense. In 2022, QB Jalen Hurts was in Year 3 of a deal that paid him an average of $1.5 million per season. After an incredible campaign, he deserved a massive raise. His new deal averages $51 million per year. That $49.5 million difference has to come from somewhere, and while general manager Howie Roseman and his front office can get creative with the salary cap, there was no way around it: They were going to have to cut back somewhere else.

Naturally, that started at positions the Eagles don’t typically value as premium spots. Starting running back Miles Sanders left in free agency for the Panthers, replaced by a low-cost deal for Rashaad Penny and a trade for D’Andre Swift. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White were allowed to leave, as were safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps. Gardner-Johnson might have stayed if circumstances had played out differently, but Roseman was able to parlay some uncertainty into security at a more valuable position.

For a moment, it looked like the Eagles might be in position to lose both of their excellent veteran cornerbacks in free agent James Bradberry and Darius Slay, who was nearly released by the organization before eventually agreeing to terms on a new deal. Bradberry then re-signed, keeping together what was the league’s best duo a year ago.

Everything with Philadelphia revolves around what happens up front, though, and it’s there where Roseman & Co. thrived. It was going to be difficult to hold on to star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who left for a massive deal with the 49ers. Little-used trade acquisition Robert Quinn also left, and he remains on the open market, but the Eagles were able to bring back stalwarts Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham on reasonable deals for one more campaign.

On draft night, the Eagles used their picks to land replacements in a pair of Georgia Bulldogs. New defensive coordinator Sean Desai added defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith. Both will enter the Philly rotation immediately on rookie deals, which should help keep the defense playing at a high level at a much lower cost.

As always, there’s no guarantees here. Carter and Smith could fail to pan out. Roseman isn’t foolproof, and many Eagles fans wanted to fire him two years ago for picking Jalen Reagor ahead of Justin Jefferson. The important thing is having a plan and executing, though, and it’s easy to see the logic in how Philly approached its first season after paying Hurts his money.

What went wrong: They weren’t able to find many bargain replacements in free agency. I liked the decision to target Penny, who has looked like a top-tier back when healthy, but it’s fair to wonder if this defense will be strong up the middle. Second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean will step into the lineup after playing just 34 defensive snaps last season, and the favorite to start next to him is former Bears and Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow, who allowed a passer rating north of 100 in coverage last season.

Safety will be stretched. Reed Blankenship filled in for Gardner-Johnson when the latter was injured last season, and the Eagles typically suffered in the process; they allowed a 28.2 QBR with Gardner-Johnson on the field, but that mark rose all the way to 52.7 when Blankenship took his place. (Christian Watson’s long touchdown catch is an example of how Blankenship can be a liability taking angles and closing down in the open field.) Free agent signing Terrell Edmunds typically played at or near the line of scrimmage in Pittsburgh. Can Desai rely on those two in split-safety looks to each cover half the field?

What’s left to do: Add a veteran or two on defense. Roseman is as aggressive as any GM when it comes to pursuing trades, as we saw when the Eagles acquired Gardner-Johnson in a low-cost deal just before last season began. Linebacker and safety still look like problem areas for this team; these are positions the organization could try to address by going after training camp cuts or trade options between now and September.

WASHINGTON

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com ranks the best 2023 offseasons – and he has the Commanders at #1 almost exclusively because of the upcoming ownership change:

1. Washington Commanders

What went right: Team owner Daniel Snyder entered an agreement to sell the franchise. What, you thought this was going to be about signing offensive lineman Andrew Wylie? You can make a reasonable case that no team made a more significant move to aid their chances of becoming a Super Bowl contender this offseason than the Commanders did by beginning to extricate themselves from their disastrous ownership group.

Snyder has overseen things for 24 years. Here’s how the Commanders have fared under his ownership versus what things looked like over the prior 24 seasons:

How the Washington Franchise Has Fared

Stat                              1999-2023(Snyder Era)   1974-1998 (pre-Snyder)

Winning Percentage       43%                                             58%

Playoff Wins                     2                                               16

Super Bowl Wins             0                                                  3

MVPs                               0                                                 2

MVP Votes                      0                                               98

The difference is staggering. Washington went from being one of the league’s best teams to one of its worst. The pre-Snyder Commanders had more actual MVPs than the Snyder-era Commanders had of players who received a single MVP vote. They won more Super Bowls before Snyder than they did playoff games after he took over the team. One of those two victories came in 1999, the year he took over the franchise. The one playoff game the Commanders won after Snyder started to reinvent the franchise to his liking came in 2005, in a game in which quarterback Mark Brunell threw for 41 yards. Even in the most successful moment in the Snyder era, things weren’t pretty.

All of this is about what happened on the field. It doesn’t even begin to consider how the organization’s reputation was dragged through the mud by scandals involving inappropriate behavior toward the team’s cheerleaders. How the team’s stadium spewed fluids onto fans and its playing surface led to injuries. How the organization was forced to settle a lawsuit for allegedly defrauding its own season-ticket holders. How Snyder sneered at the idea of changing the team’s nickname until there was a real threat from sponsors. How the team used its PR department to attack the city it is supposed to represent.

The legacy of the Snyder era is just how great it is to be an NFL team owner. Snyder took over one of the most popular franchises and enjoyed virtually no success during his time in charge, and he will make billions of dollars for agreeing to move on.

The team’s new ownership group is led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and a group of partners. They will have their ups and downs and make mistakes, as every ownership group does. It would be foolish to assume that they will immediately restore the Commanders and football in Washington to its prior heights as one of the crown jewels of the NFL. It would be even more naive to pretend Harris or virtually any other competent executive would not represent a major upgrade on the outgoing owner. No move this offseason has been more significant.

What went wrong: The deal isn’t done yet. Colts team owner Jim Irsay recently suggested he hopes to see the sale completed by the start of the regular season. While that time frame would turn 2023 into either a lame-duck campaign or an audition for the future for the Ron Rivera regime, sooner is better than later.

What’s left to do: Figure out what to do with Chase Young. The Commanders declined his fifth-year option this spring. In part, their decision came because he suffered a serious knee injury in 2021 and didn’t make it back until December 2022. In part, it’s because he hadn’t lived up to expectations even before the injury. A late burst in 2020 led to him being named Defensive Rookie of the Year, but the No. 2 overall pick had just nine sacks in his first 24 pro games before tearing his right ACL. That wasn’t enough on a D-line with three other first-round picks occupying blockers.

The Commanders have a few options. They could let Young play out his option and see if he turns around things in a make-or-break campaign. They could always use the franchise tag to keep him after the season if he breaks out, although this organization already knows what can happen if it doesn’t get a player signed to a long-term deal and play the franchise-tag game. They could try to work out a deal in which Young signs a reduced deal for 2024, as Jordan Love did with the Packers. Young could also be a trade candidate, although it would hurt to trade away a player who was once seen as a franchise edge rusher.

We have to admit befuddlement about this.  We really don’t know if Josh Harris will be a great owner, a mediocre owner or another bad owner.

Washington’s football team hasn’t been horrific under Snyder, usually not the worst.  In the last five seasons they have won 32 games, tied for 23^rd in the NFL that span.

They have won three NFC East titles in the last 11 seasons, under three different coaches.

We’re not saying the sale isn’t important for the franchise’s growth.  Just that it, by itself, is not as significant as Barnwell feels.

Not a word in his analysis about going with untested QB SAM HOWELL instead of pursuing AARON RODGERS or DERRICK CARR or trading up for one of the rookies.

NFC WEST

ARIZONA

On Friday, the Cardinals decided to cast WR DeANDRE HOPKINS adrift, giving up hope of receiving anything of value in return.  Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com:

The Arizona Cardinals released wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Friday, the team announced.

Hopkins’ future with the Cardinals had been in question since the end of the 2022 season because of his team-high $30.75 million cap hit, which ranked tops among wide receivers in the NFL and seventh highest overall.

By releasing Hopkins now, the Cardinals will save $8.15 million in cap space in 2023, but are set to take a dead cap hit of $22.6 million. Hopkins had been under contract through the 2024 season.

Hopkins, 30, had been at the center of trade speculation for months, but the Cardinals didn’t deal the wide receiver during April’s NFL draft. General manager Monti Ossenfort said at the time: “DeAndre’s a Cardinal, and we’re moving forward.”

The Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots had been among the teams reportedly interested in pursuing Hopkins.

Hopkins skipped the Cardinals’ voluntary organized team activities this month, saying on the “I Am Athlete” podcast with Brandon Marshall that he was instead in Toronto to work out.

In his three seasons in Arizona, Hopkins had 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns on 221 receptions, including 64 catches for a team-leading 717 yards and three TDs last year. Hopkins missed the first six games of the 2022 season after being suspended for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Without Hopkins, the Cardinals’ wide receiver corps will be led by Marquise Brown (67 catches for 709 yards in 2022), Greg Dortch (52 catches, 467 yards) and Rondale Moore (41 catches, 414 yards).

Hopkins was traded to the Cardinals in March 2020 from the Houston Texans along with a fourth-round pick for running back David Johnson, a second-round pick that year and a fourth-round pick in 2021.

Hopkins does not have an agent, at least a registered one – so teams are being cautious in how they communicate with him.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains:

As more players who technically represent themselves apparently use burner email accounts that their non-certified agents use to communicate directly with teams while posing as the player, some teams are deciding not to communicate with self-represented players via email.

Per a league source, multiple teams have been shying away from sending emails to and from receiver DeAndre Hopkins, given the possibility that they’ll be communicating not with Hopkins but with a non-certified agent who is pretending to be Hopkins. Instead, those teams insist on talking directly to Hopkins — and only Hopkins.

That doesn’t stop him from having someone else listen in, but the repeated warnings by the NFL to teams about talking to non-certified agents have resonated, at least with some teams.

The drill is well known. A self-represented (ostensibly) player sets up an email account that he turns over to his non-certified agent, who sends and receives offers, while pretending to be the player.

One team became aware of this practice because it received an email from the player — while the player was literally on the practice field.

So, yes, every team is aware of the game. More and more of them are refusing to play it.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com identifies nine teams that could be in the market for Hopkins:

The Arizona Cardinals released DeAndre Hopkins on Friday, ending a tenure in the desert that lasted three seasons and a total of 35 games for the three-time All-Pro.

Though among the most productive wideouts — he was the fifth-most-heavily-used wide receiver in the league (34.8% of the Cardinals’ receiving yards) for the weeks that he played in 2022 — Hopkins was scheduled to have a cap hit of $30.8 million this season, which would’ve been the highest for any wide receiver in the NFL. His $19.45 million salary — though not guaranteed — was prohibitive for interested teams that wanted to rework his contract or requested that Arizona pay part of the salary. Odell Beckham Jr. signing for $15 million guaranteed with Baltimore made taking less even tougher for Hopkins, who is healthier and more productive.

Hopkins, who turns 31 on June 6, is a six-time 1,100-yard-plus receiver with 71 career touchdowns who figures to be highly sought-after on the open market — and pricey. Will a contending team look to add Hopkins as a potential final missing piece for a Super Bowl title? How much will the teams’ quarterbacks factor into Hopkins’ decision? What about the head coaches? Will the time Hopkins missed because of injury in 2021 and a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs in 2022 enter into the equation for any suitors?

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler sized up the complete state of Hopkins’ free agency and identified which teams might stand as the best and most intriguing fits:

Buffalo Bills

The feeling among some in the league is that the Bills have been lurking here. Hopkins could be a missing piece for an offense that’s firmly in a championship window, and he is intrigued by the idea of playing with Josh Allen. A Hopkins-Stefon Diggs combination on the outside would keep starting cornerbacks dizzy. But if he wants money close to the $19.45 million he was due in Arizona, that could be a nonstarter for the Bills, who have $2.4 million in cap space. Buffalo would need to get creative to fit Hopkins on the books.

Kansas City Chiefs

This is a similar outlook to Buffalo, a contending team with a high-level young passer and, on paper, a receiver need, and a team that has been linked to Hopkins in recent months. To mild surprise, I haven’t gotten the sense Kansas City is desperate for receiver help. The Chiefs believe Kadarius Toney can be the No. 1. The sliding scale on which Kansas City is willing to pay hinges partly on the faith in second-round picks Skyy Moore (2022) and Rashee Rice (2023). And like with Buffalo, cap space is a problem for the Chiefs, who enter the weekend with $1.6 million.

New York Jets

New York was very close to signing Odell Beckham Jr. before the Ravens came with a compelling offer. The Jets appear open to adding another target for Aaron Rodgers. New York has $6.9 million in cap space but can create more by reworking the salaries of C.J. Mosley ($17 million) and Corey Davis ($10.5 million). A receiver nucleus of Garrett Wilson, Hopkins, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman and Davis would be dangerous.

Dallas Cowboys

Urgency is heightened in Dallas entering Mike McCarthy’s fourth season. The Cowboys should have an elite defense and will need to ensure production on the other side. Dallas has several receivers already, so this doesn’t feel like a slam dunk to get involved, but at the right price I could see the Cowboys having interest. With CeeDee Lamb as the No. 1 and Brandin Cooks as the vertical threat, Hopkins can be the isolation matchup receiver with elite ball skills for Dak Prescott. He can play in the slot or on the outside in that offense. The Cowboys have around $9 million in cap space, which is middle-of-the-pack in the league. There is not a ton of space, but it’s enough to make something happen here.

New Orleans Saints

Chris Olave is the primary receiver, but the Saints could use a running mate in light of Michael Thomas’ durability concerns. The Saints don’t really do the tear-down rebuild thing, and with a weak NFC South, New Orleans could see an opportunity to pounce. The Saints have a healthy cap outlook at $13.6 million (not that the opposite would have stopped them), and Derek Carr is good enough to potentially entice Hopkins, who can continue playing in a dome and a warm-weather climate.

Wild-card teams

Cleveland Browns

Hopkins has preexisting chemistry with Deshaun Watson — they played together in Houston from 2017 to 2019 — and pairing him with Amari Cooper would deepen the intrigue in the AFC North. Cleveland GM Andrew Berry has been very aggressive this offseason in bolstering the defense, and signing Hopkins would be a nod to maximizing Watson’s window.

New York Giants

New York has many supporting players at wide receiver but no alpha. Is it time to give Daniel Jones an elite guy once and for all? Perhaps Darren Waller assumes that role, but he’s a tight end. The NFC East is only getting better, and the Giants might need to win some shootouts. The problem is that the Giants have $4.5 million in cap space and still need to extend Saquon Barkley.

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta has been unafraid to spend this offseason while enjoying the fruits of a quarterback on a rookie contract. Its pass-catching core is young, but the presence of Hopkins could spice up Arthur Smith’s offense. Like Cleveland, Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot has aggressively pursued signings and trades over the past three months.

New England Patriots

Do I sense DeAndre Hopkins is eager to reunite with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien — the two reportedly had a rocky relationship in Houston — in an unsettled quarterback situation for the right to practice in the snow? No. But money often drives these conversations, and it’s no secret the Patriots have been on the market for pass-catching help for Mac Jones.

Someone calling itself CP of TotalProSports is touting the Cowboys as Hopkins destination.

Last week the worse kept secret in the NFL came to fruition as the Arizona Cardinals finally released star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins after weeks of speculation. The Cardinals are now in full rebuild mode and releasing Hopkins will save the team nearly $9 million in cap space.

At just 30 years old, Hopkins should still have plenty of gas left in the tank and be able to contribute to a winning team. The two front-runners to land Nuk are the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Buffalo Bills as Hopkins had recently stated that Josh Allen would be one of the quarterbacks he would love to play with.

However, a new team has emerged as a potential landing spot, and to nobody’s surprise it is the Dallas Cowboys. Whenever a big name, skill position player is available, the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones are never shy to throw their hat into the ring.

Dallas already has CeeDee Lamb on the roster, acquired Brandin Cooks in the off season and should have Michael Gallup returning healthy, so adding Hopkins would give them among the best receiving corps in the league. The only question remains is does Hopkins think the Cowboys are legitimate Super Bowl contenders as he has stated at this point in his career he is chasing a Championship.

Although the NFC seems like the much easier path to get to the Super Bowl compared to the AFC, Hopkins best bet to capture that elusive ring would likely be with one of the AFC powerhouse teams in either Kansas City or Buffalo. It will be very interesting to see where he lands in the nearby future. Stay Tuned.

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS

James Boyd of The Athletic on QB GARDNER MINSHEW, now a Colt competing with the 4^th overall pick:

Gardner Minshew’s face curled up in disgust as if he’d been disrespected. The Colts quarterback, through a wry smile, had to clear things up. He wasn’t a draft guru by any means.

“I haven’t watched a draft since the year before my draft,” Minshew said, laughing. “I didn’t even watch mine.”

Unlike new teammate Kwity Paye, who said he followed the 2023 NFL Draft hype as much as he could, theorizing which young signal caller would soon become the face of the franchise, Minshew found that endeavor about as fun as reading a dictionary.

“No, no thanks,” he said.

The veteran quarterback, who signed with Indianapolis in large part because of his relationship with his former offensive coordinator and new Colts coach Shane Steichen, understood what the team needed. It had been floundering at the most important position in the sport ever since Andrew Luck retired in 2019, but Minshew still couldn’t bring himself to turn on the TV and watch Indianapolis pick the quarterback he’d soon be mentoring.

As it turns out, though, he didn’t really need to. When the Colts chose Anthony Richardson — the extremely-athletic-but-extremely-raw prospect out of Florida — Minshew had already envisioned that possibility more than any other.

They share the same quarterback coach, Denny Thompson, and had crossed paths in Florida months before each player would join the Colts. Minshew and Richardson didn’t train together, but they did train “next to each other a lot,” as Minshew put it.

“You just start looking ahead and you’re like, ‘Man, I would like to play for Shane. That would be pretty cool,’” Minshew said. “’Man, they’re picking at four, they might pick a quarterback. This guy I’m working out with, he might be picked at four. Who knows?’”

Now he does.

The mock drafts Minshew made sure to avoid are long gone, but what remains is a quarterback competition between him and the prized rookie. The two split first-string reps during voluntary OTAs, and that approach will continue throughout the offseason, according to Steichen, as he and the rest of the franchise evaluate Richardson.

“I think as a quarterback, obviously learning the system is a big part of (your development), you know what I mean?” Steichen said. “But it’s knowing where to throw it, when to throw it and how to throw it. I think (Richardson has) taken the coaching really well and understanding the rhythm and the timing of the passing game and what we’re trying to get accomplished, and he’s done a nice job.”

It’s no secret that the Colts want Richardson to take the reins as soon as possible, especially since the 21-year-old started just 13 college games with a record of 6-7. Steichen, owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard have raved about Richardson’s otherworldly athletic ability, character and work ethic, all of which should help him take the next step in his career.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that Richardson faces an extremely tall task. He’s tied with Mitchell Trubisky for the fewest college starts of any QB taken in the first round. Trubisky had just one strong season in Chicago, the Bears did not pick up his fifth-year option and the 2017 No. 2 pick is now a backup in Pittsburgh.

The last first-round quarterback with a career college completion percentage as low as Richardson’s (54.7) was Jake Locker (54.0), who was the Titans’ No. 8 pick in 2011 out of Washington. Locker never threw more than 10 touchdowns in an NFL season, was repeatedly injured and retired after just four years.

Obviously, Richardson is his own player, but that’s the history he’s up against, and even Irsay needed some convincing from Steichen to bet on him. Unlike Peyton Manning and Luck, the last two quarterbacks the Colts drafted in the top five (both went No. 1), Richardson — despite perhaps being the most athletic QB prospect ever — was never considered a top player in college. Manning and Luck were first-team All-Americans.

“This guy is viewed as a superhero. No quarterback has brought those skills to the table, that athletic testing,” Irsay said. “Anthony and I have talked a long time about that, but we really talked more about being a great quarterback and what that really means in this league because we’re not drafting Olympic athletes. We’re drafting football players.”

Minshew is far from the most athletic guy on the field, but he is a football player and a pretty good one for a former sixth-round pick. The 27-year-old has carved out an improbable five-year career in the NFL that began in Jacksonville before overlapping with Steichen in Philadelphia and again in Indianapolis. Minshew became a fan favorite with the Jaguars because of his personality, playing style and underdog story, but “Minshew Mania” isn’t just a gimmick.

Minshew went 6-6 as a rookie starter for the Jaguars in 2019 with 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. (David Rosenblum / Getty Images)

He’s started 24 of the 32 games he’s appeared in, and his 44 touchdowns against 15 interceptions speak for themselves.

“I’m so excited to have him here for that reason,” Colts quarterback coach Cam Turner said. “He’s done a lot of good things in this league. He’s proven that he can be successful in this league. … He can play football. Anyone that watches the tape and turns it on (can see it). He knows what he’s doing, he can make plays and guys play hard for him.”

This isn’t to say that Minshew, on a one-year deal, is the perfect safety valve if Richardson doesn’t pan out. He’s 8-16 as an NFL starter, and his ceiling is nowhere near Richardson’s. But Minshew won’t concede the Colts’ starting job, and that should bring the best out of the quarterback room.

Minshew was thrust into the spotlight after Nick Foles was injured in 2019 and he started 12 of 14 games with 21 touchdowns against six interceptions during his first season with the Jaguars. So, in other words, if anyone understands what it’s like to have the weight of a franchise on their rookie shoulders and what it takes to survive, it’s Minshew. He went 6-6 as the starter and those six victories were Jacksonville’s only wins of the season.

“I don’t think you can just dive in — assume that or expect it,” said Minshew, asked how he commanded the locker room as a rookie starter. “It’s something you’ve got to earn. You earn it by, ‘Man, this guy knows what he’s doing. He’s doing the right things.’”

So far, so good.

Richardson has been praised by his teammates for his humility and focus, and linebacker Zaire Franklin told CBS Sports’ Jim Rome that Richardson was “making some plays” during OTAs. As the season creeps closer, Richardson’s development will remain under a microscope and one of the hurdles he’ll need to clear — or rather a gap he’ll need to close — is with Minshew.

The rookie said on draft night he’d “try and be ready as fast as I can,” but it wouldn’t be a failure if Week 1 came around and he wasn’t. Minshew is arguably the best backup/bridge QB in the NFL, allowing the Colts to be urgent with Richardson’s timeline yet not reckless. Richardson needs a lot of reps and as he works toward receiving more of them, he’ll also need competition. Minshew will surely make it interesting as he quickly dismissed the idea of diminishing his competitive fire since he knows — like everyone else knows — that the keys will eventually be handed to Richardson.

“No, I’m trying to get better and have fun every day,“ Minshew said. “… I think for the team, to be the best that we can be, every player has to be the best that they can be.”

JACKSONVILLE

The Jaguars seemed set at PK with a strong 2022 season from RILEY PATTERSON, but they have signed PK BRANDON McMANUS.  The Jaguars were able to ship Patterson to the Lions in a trade (Patterson was previously cut by Detroit).  Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:

Last week, the Jaguars swapped kickers when they signed former Bronco Brandon McManus and dropped Riley Patterson.

Patterson connected on 30 of his 35 field goals last season and 36-of-37 extra points. But the Jaguars still elected to go in a different direction.

“First of all, I can’t say enough about Riley and what he did for us last year,” head coach Doug Pederson said in a Tuesday press conference. “Obviously, it was a huge kick in the Chargers game at the end of the year to get us to the divisional round. Obviously, wish him the best.

“You guys know how Trent [Baalke] and I feel — anytime you can add a player like Brandon who’s going into his 10th year with the experience he has, [plus] an opportunity to get something for Riley too, it’s not like it was just a total wash out there. But at least be able to get a pick for Riley and actually keep him in the NFL and keep him kicking back in Detroit where he came from and stared. It was just an opportunity to get better as a football team and we’re always going to look to do that. It’s just unfortunate that when you’re at 90 guys, you have to make these types of decisions to move on.”

While McManus has been aided by the high altitude playing in Denver, he’s still got the leg strength to kick long field goals. Patterson has only attempted four FGs from at least 50 yards, with three coming last year. That’s a factor in why McManus became Jacksonville’s choice.

“That’s something we’ve got to see with Brandon, with his pedigree and his experience. But I think that’s yet to be seen. There is a comfort level, obviously, as a decision-maker to put a kicker out there. When we look at some of the top kickers around the league, you cross the 50, 45, 40, you’re into field goal range. So, obviously we’re going to take a look at that this spring and training camp and see how that plays out.”

McManus was 28-of-36 on field goals last year with Denver. He’s connected on 81.4 percent of his attempts in his nine-year career.

Patterson’s longest attempt last year was 53 – and he made it.  He also made a 52-yarder and missed from 51.  Overall, he was 7-of-8 from 45 yards or longer.  He as 9-of-13 between 36 and 44 yards.

His touchback percentage was 50%.

McManus was 28 of 36 last year, so eight misses to Patterson’s five.

In the last three seasons, McManus has attempted 22 FGs of 50+ yards ON THE ROAD.  He made 15, including a 61-yarder at SoFi Stadium in LA.   He was 2 of 8 from 55+, 13 of 14 from 50 to 54.

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

Sean McDermott is now doing double duty, but luckily he has two brains. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Bills head coach Sean McDermott has eight years of experience as an NFL defensive coordinator in Philadelphia and Carolina, but in Buffalo, he always delegated the defensive play caller role to someone else. This year is different.

After the departure of former Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier this offseason, McDermott decided to handle the traditional coordinator role himself. McDermott said that he just has to divide up the responsibilities of head coach and coordinator and handle them each in their own way.

“You kind of have to have two different brains – the head coach brain and the defensive coordinator brain,” McDermott said, via the Buffalo News.

McDermott said he’ll be relying heavily on his coaching staff, but ultimately he’s in charge, and his brainpower will handle both the head coach and defensive coordinator jobs.

MIAMI

The additions of CB JALEN RAMSEY, DC Vic Fangio and others have Bill Barnwell ranking Miami’s offseason at #2 in the NFL:

2. Miami Dolphins

What went right: The Dolphins added game-changing players on defense. You could argue the two most significant defensive additions of the offseason were both made by Miami.

On the field, it made a move that would have seemed stunning a year ago by landing Jalen Ramsey. The 28-year-old cornerback on what could be a Hall of Fame track cost the Dolphins only a third-round pick and backup tight end Hunter Long. It felt like one of those deals in which you needed to triple-check to make sure it wasn’t being reported by a fake Twitter account.

The Dolphins didn’t get one over on the rest of the league. There are reasons why no other team offered significantly more for Ramsey. He wasn’t as good in 2022 as he was in 2020 or 2021, with his passer rating in coverage allowed jumping to 84.5. Teams are reticent to make significant guarantees to players exiting their prime at cornerback, and the Dolphins guaranteed him $35.5 million over his age-29 and age-30 seasons as part of the deal. There are teams that remember him literally pulling up to Jaguars camp in a Brinks truck and sitting out with a mysterious back injury when he was angling for a new deal and a trade; it’s fair to wonder if the Rams wanted to avoid that kind of spectacle by trading Ramsey, regardless of cost.

At the same time, we saw the Eagles add James Bradberry when there wasn’t a trade market for him a year ago, and that helped propel them to a Super Bowl. Even a diminished version of Ramsey was still a very good cornerback last season, and the Dolphins should have a much better pass rush than what an injury-hit Rams team rolled out. Outside of that “back injury” campaign, Ramsey has missed only two games across six seasons. This feels like a risk well worth the potential reward, given that Miami now fields the league’s top trio of cornerbacks in Ramsey, Xavien Howard and Kader Kohou.

The organization also made a dramatic addition to its coaching staff by replacing Josh Boyer with legendary coordinator Vic Fangio. The 64-year-old has become the most influential defensive coach in football over the past few seasons, with more and more teams running defenses influenced by Fangio’s concepts and hiring his former assistants. Fangio might have been overmatched as a head coach in Denver, but he helped produce four top-five defenses in eight years during his time as a coordinator with the 49ers and Bears. He’ll have a deep, talented roster to work with in 2023.

Some of the quieter additions look promising too. Linebacker David Long played at a Pro Bowl level with Tennessee last season, but the organization grew tired of his hamstring issues and let him leave in free agency. Braxton Berrios was a very solid slot receiver when given the chance to play with the Jets, producing yards-per-route-run marks in line with those of Tyler Boyd and Kendrick Bourne. Berrios also should help as a return man. Moving Mike Gesicki out of the lineup for a more traditional tight end in Tyler Kroft or Eric Saubert might be an upgrade for its blocking impact, even if it doesn’t yield more receiving production.

What went wrong: Miami didn’t do more to address its offensive line. I was hoping to see it add at least one starter to a line that still looks questionable on paper. It brought in depth players in tackle Isaiah Wynn and guard Dan Feeney, which should help, but this team still feels stuck waiting on its top picks to develop.

Last year, injuries limited former first-round pick Austin Jackson and second-round pick Liam Eichenberg to a combined 12 games. Left tackle Terron Armstead, the team’s big free agent addition last offseason, missed four games, and he hasn’t played a full season even once in the NFL. Adding players to compete and back up those would-be starters makes sense, but I was hoping to see the Dolphins pursue a starting tackle and push Jackson into the swing role now occupied by Wynn.

They could have done a little bit more to protect Tua Tagovailoa. Their running backs were terrible by metrics such as rushing yards over expectation (RYOE), but they brought back Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson. In the scenario of Tagovailoa getting injured, new backup quarterback Mike White is a downgrade on Teddy Bridgewater, who remains on the open market. The Dolphins can obviously be explosive when everything’s right, but they could have been No. 1 on this list with just a little more on offense.

What’s left to do: Explore the trade market for Noah Igbinoghene. The Dolphins thought Igbinoghene would turn into a starter after using a first-round pick on him in 2020, but they soured on the cornerback after an uneven rookie season and gave him just 17 defensive snaps in 2021. Igbinoghene looked in line to see snaps with Byron Jones injured a year ago, but Kohou beat him out for that role and excelled.

Igbinoghene was eventually forced into the lineup by more injuries and came away with a game-saving interception against the Steelers. But the addition of Ramsey buried Igbinoghene on the depth chart, and the team declined his fifth-year option. Miami wouldn’t recoup a significant return for the 23-year-old, but it’s worth seeing if a team would be willing to deal a Day 3 pick to take a flier on him.