The Saudis have bought a stake in the PGA TOUR, the NBA has cleared the way for their money to hit the Association and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com says that they could be coming for an NFL team.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

NFL rules prohibit foreign investment in franchises. But rules were made to be disregarded, when sufficiently profitable to do so.

Tuesday’s stunning news that the PGA Tour and LIV golf have settled their differences with a merger that is more akin to a LIV buyout shows that everything and everyone has a price. At a certain price, everything and everyone is for sale.

So, yes, the Public Investment Fund (the formal name of the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia) can get into the NFL if it wants. And if it has to set up a competing league to light the fuse, so be it.

It worked in golf. Why wouldn’t it work in football?

Again, they have to want it. If they truly do, they can pull it off.

The NFL, after decades of rule changes aimed at making the game safer, has risked the arrival of a competitor with players and fans that embrace “old-school football.” The Public Investment Fund could start there, if blocked in the effort to buy a team. If they want one.

Everything and everyone has a price. At a certain figure, the NFL’s owners will look the other way. Money changes everything, including positions that presumably would never change.

Look at the things the PGA Tour said about LIV golf, leaning far into Saudi Arabia’s connections to 9/11. Now, consider the things NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said about the potential legalization of betting on pro football, when Delaware tried to challenge the federal law preventing states from embracing it in 2009: “Normal incidents of the game such as bad snaps, dropped passes, turnovers, penalty flags and play calling inevitably will fuel speculation, distrust and accusations of point-shaving and game-fixing.”

Eight years later, the Supreme Court upheld New Jersey’s challenge to that same federal law, opening the floodgates of legalized gambling — and causing the NFL to dramatically change its position, once it realized there was much money to be made from this new reality.

The LIV golf cash grab represents another new reality that can be parlayed into a ton of money. And if the Saudis keep putting more and more and more money on the table, eventually the league would change “no” to “yes.”

It all starts with whether the Saudis want in. If they do, and if they’re willing to invest unlimited cash into the effort, there will eventually be a number that causes those who own the NFL’s teams to tell Goodell to earn some more of his own annual compensation package by being the pin cushion for any and all criticism that would flow from the many millions, if not billions, to be earned by simply doing business with folks who have a ton of money and are willing to spend it on football. If they want to.

No one knows at this point whether they want to. It’s now obvious that, if they do, there’s an easy way to make it happen.

Make them an offer they happily won’t refuse.

We note that the PIF (and LIV frontman Assir Al-Rumayyan) has made its mark in the English Premier League, the world’s top soccer entity.  In October of 2021, PIF completed the purchase of Newcastle, a middling team with a number of recent relegations.  In less than two seasons, the Magpies are headed to the Champions League as one of the top four teams.

2021–present: PIF era

On 7 October 2021, after 14 years as owner, Ashley sold the club to a new consortium for a reported £305 million.[74] The consortium was made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners.[75] On 20 October 2021, Bruce left his position by mutual consent, after receiving a reported £8 million payout.[76][77] Eddie Howe was appointed as Bruce’s replacement a few weeks later on 8 November 2021.[78] Howe guided the club to an 11th-place finish after a run of 12 wins in their final 18 games, and Newcastle became the first team in Premier League history to avoid relegation after failing to win any of their first 14 games.[79]

On 30 May 2022, the club announced they had reached an agreement of a compensation fee with Brighton & Hove Albion to appoint Dan Ashworth as the new Sporting Director; the appointment was confirmed on 6 June 2022.[80] On 15 July 2022, the club brought in Darren Eales, from Major League Soccer team Atlanta United FC, as the club’s new chief executive officer – acting as a “key member of the club’s leadership structure”.[81]

On 21 August 2022, Newcastle United Women moved to the club’s ownership for the first time, after a formal restructuring.[82]

On 22 May 2023, the club officially sealed qualification for the Champions League after 20 years; this coming after a 0–0 draw with Leicester City at St James’ Park.[83]

– – –

Albert Breer of SI.com has this take on the state of Tom Brady:

I believe Tom Brady means it when he says he is staying retired. The former Patriots and Bucs quarterback has been doing work to prepare for his job at Fox (I’ve heard he’s studied front-line golf commentator Johnny Miller), he’s working on buying a minority share of the Raiders, and I think he’s genuinely looking to spend more time with his kids as they get older. (And I’ve said in this space from the start that his divorce was going to make it very difficult to play football anywhere outside of Florida.)

But there is a wild card here, and that’s the fact that no one, not even Brady himself, knows how he’s going to feel when camp starts in six or seven weeks, or when we get to Week 1 over the second weekend in September.

One thing those who know Brady best have always wondered was how he’d fill the competitive void that football would leave. And it’s clear he’s doing it by doing his best to stay busy, whether it’s as a father, an aspiring sports owner or broadcaster or a pitchman. Still, until it’s actually football season, and that alarm goes off in Brady’s head signifying that it’s time to buckle the chinstrap, it’s hard to definitively say it’s 100% not happening.

It should be noted that recently retired quarterbacks less accomplished than Brady (Philip Rivers is one; Jay Cutler’s another) have gotten calls in recent years on coming back. So it’s fair to reason, when injuries start to hit teams, Brady will get those, too. And the ask, at that point, won’t be for a 12-month commitment.

So I’d say I’m pretty sure Brady’s staying retired. But … yeah, I do think he’ll stay retired.

Johnny Miller, eh?

NFC NORTH

DETROIT

Coach Dan Campbell is talking up his QB, JARED GOFF.

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell delivered a bold claim during Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp session, calling Jared Goff “a better quarterback” in Detroit “than he was there” in Los Angeles — despite Goff’s having led the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance in 2018.

Campbell said he has witnessed maturity in Goff as he enters Year 3 with the Lions.

Goff, 28, landed in Detroit after being traded in January 2021, along with a slew of draft picks, for Matthew Stafford.

“He hung in there, and I think what you’re seeing is a guy who just put his head down and worked on what he could, tried to improve on what he could, and now his confidence is really, it has grown, and along the way, he’s matured as a quarterback,” Campbell said. “I mean, he’s a better quarterback than he was there, in my opinion, because he can do more things. He’s mentally on it.

“We’ve come light-years ahead of where he was two years ago. He’s got a real good grasp of what we’re doing, where the issues are, where the problems are, and that’s something that we really wanted him to get good at and he wanted to get good at, and he’s worked at it, and he’s improved.”

Campbell also described Goff’s mindset as “comfortable” after settling in the past two seasons, and while the first overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft agreed with his coach, he says he’s not satisfied.

After going 3-13-1 in 2021, Goff led the Lions to their first winning season since 2017 as the team finished 9-8, winning eight of its final 10 games, but says he has a “hell of a lot to prove this year,” despite the off-season hype surrounding the organization.

“I think we all understand that we’re not gonna just show up and win because we were good for the last 10 games last year. There is no reason for that,” Goff said. “If anything, it’s gonna be harder, teams are gonna give us a better shot this year and we have to be prepared and have to approach it that way.

“If we try to walk out there, like we won eight out of 10 last year and it’s just gonna keep on rolling, it won’t happen,” he said. “We need to show up and continue to get better.”

Goff is coming off a season in which he set the franchise record for the highest touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.14-to-1) after passing for 4,438 yards with 29 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. At one point, Goff completed 324 consecutive passes without a pick, which is the fifth-longest streak in league history.

As he was in the midst of last year’s hot streak, Goff stated a handful of times that he felt as though he was playing the best football of his career.

“We ask him to do a lot more in my opinion than what [the Rams] were actually doing out there,” Campbell said. “They had a lot of pretty good pieces out there as well, as we know. Damn good defense. All those things, but I just feel like, I know from speaking with him and watching him really over the last two years, I just feel like … we put a lot of things on him where I’m not so sure that was ultimately what they were doing.”

The media ran the quotes back to Sean McVay.  Mike Florio has thoughts on McVay’s measured response:

The Rams loved quarterback Jared Goff until they didn’t, giving him an ill-advised market-level contract in 2019 before tucking a first-round pick into the Matthew Stafford trade to get Goff off the books after only two seasons of the new deal.

Now, after two years of Goff in Detroit, the Lions have decided they like the first overall pick in the 2016 draft a lot more than the Rams did. Most recently, Lions coach Dan Campbell said he believes Goff is better now than he was with the Rams.

Rams coach Sean McVay was asked by a reporter on Tuesday to try to tiptoe through the minefield of responding to that assessment, balancing the risk of admitting a mistake with the possibility of being accidentally candid about why he decided to treat Goff like a hot ptomaine potato.

“I think Jared’s played at a really high level,” McVay said, via the transcript distributed by the team. “I’ll tell you what though, when you watch what he did last year, he played great. And I think because he’s so conscientious, repetition is the mother of learning. The more you play, the more you learn. You can really see he’s able to get through progressions quickly. They were asking a lot of him. He got a lot of different guys involved, took great care of the football, and so I think he’s only gotten better. He played really good football here for us, really grateful for those things. But I was really impressed with just the way that he led and the way that he ended up demonstrating a lot of the things that we want to embody, that mental toughness. I think he was like 29-7 in terms of touchdowns, interceptions, one of the better ratios, and threw for a bunch of yards and they were one of the top offenses. I was really happy to see how well he did. I think that’s probably a fair assessment because he’s only getting better.”

Then why didn’t you keep him, Sean? That’s the obvious question. The truth is they became exasperated with Goff’s lack of development, believing he had taken the Rams as far as he could.

They were right, insofar as Stafford took the Rams even farther. But look at where the Rams are now, a shell of a Super Bowl contender with a fading franchise quarterback who is an old 35 — while the Lions benefit from the presence of Goff, who is still only 28.

That doesn’t mean Goff is free from pressure. The expectations are high for the Lions this year, for the first time in a very long time. And the Lions could eventually come to the same conclusion the Rams did, that there’s a ceiling that falls short of Goff getting his small hands on a big silver trophy.

MINNESOTA

Alec Lewis of The Athletic on the pluses and minuses of the Vikings moving on from RB DALVIN COOK:

Not too long ago, the Minnesota Vikings handed the football off to Dalvin Cook.

He surveyed the left side of the line of scrimmage. Stopping, almost as if he’d realized a road was blocked, he reversed course. He straightened up and inched forward behind his blockers. And then, in a flash, he squeaked through a hole, shrugged off a defender and blasted into the open field.

He accelerated, leaving three Dolphins defenders in his dust, trotted into the end zone and launched the football into the stands. The home-run hitter had returned home to Miami and offered up the sauciest of bat flips.

But that sort of play might soon be gone from the Vikings’ offensive arsenal. For months, Cook’s divorce from the Vikings has seemed inevitable. Not as a byproduct of any hard feelings, but rather as a simple expression of a team’s decision-makers thinking holistically.

Inserting some grand statement here about analytics would be easy, especially considering an analytically inclined general manager is making the moves. But even Kwesi Adofo-Mensah explained recently that this is less a visionary application of analytics and more a team navigating its salary cap constraints.

“For us, we just segment (every position) into what happens on the field, what the player can do and how can they contribute,” he said.

So, what can Cook do on the field? The aforementioned 53-yard house call against the Dolphins is a prime example.

Cook probes. He analyzes. He is the restaurant customer who asks questions before his orders, as opposed to the person who cannot wait to eat. Sometimes, the result is a great meal. Other times, he gets passed in line.

In 2022, Cook ran for 1,173 yards — the second-highest total of his six-year career — and eight touchdowns. He ranked 40th among 42 qualified running backs in the percentage of runs for zero or negative yards (24.3 percent). But he was also one of six running backs who exploded for multiple 50-yard gains. Pair those two features — the busts and the booms — and you’ll have a generalized snapshot of what Cook can do. And what the Vikings would be losing.

Meanwhile, Alexander Mattison is the order-immediately type of runner. He knows what he wants and he doesn’t take any chances. He holds tightly onto the ball and slices up the field. The product is rarely eye-popping, but it does the job.

Blitz through the statistics, and you’ll notice that in 2022, Mattison ranked second among 59 running backs in success rate. (Cook was 51st.) Furthermore, if you segment the metrics the way NFL teams’ analytics departments do to compare players, here is how Cook and Mattison stack up in different categories:

Non-explosive runs (20 yards or fewer)

Dalvin Cook                     259             2.70                 33.2%

Alexander Mattison           74             2.76                 45.9%

By eliminating Cook’s five runs of 20 yards or more, you’ll notice that Mattison’s average yards after contact actually eclipses Cook’s.

Chunk gains (runs of 8-to-12 yards)

Dalvin Cook                   27               5.19                   10.22%

Alexander Mattison        11              4.82                    14.86%

Here, you’ll see that Mattison actually averaged more chunk gains on a percentage basis than Cook.

Selecting one style of back over another is an exercise in preferences. If your offense has a developed aerial attack, maybe you would rather have a runner who consistently gets you in third-and-short. If your passing game doesn’t have big-play potential, maybe you would favor the home-run hitter.

go-deeper

Of course, other factors matter, too. Cook has six years of starting experience, while Mattison has only started six career games. Cook has been gritting his way through a dislocated shoulder, whereas Mattison has been fresher.

And then there is the money. When Adofo-Mensah used the phrase “how can they contribute,” we should note that “contribution” can extend beyond the field. If a player has a low cap number, it can allow the team to allocate funds elsewhere. If the cap number is higher, it can result in less flexibility to sign other players.

Cook’s cap number is about $14.1 million in 2023, currently the third-largest number among NFL running backs behind Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb. Mattison’s cap number is about $2.4 million for 2023, the 29th-biggest number among running backs.

A $10 million difference matters. Essentially, what may be lost in the form of big-play potential at running back could be a gain in cap space to fit extensions for Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson or Danielle Hunter into the longer-term puzzle.

That’s what led Minnesota to this juncture — the reality that paying for Cook’s production at his current cost does not serve Minnesota’s long-term vision as much as paying for Mattison’s production at his current cost.

The Vikings have pursued trade opportunities to add draft capital as well as money to spend on its franchise cornerstones. Teams like the Dolphins have reportedly expressed interest.

Complicating any deal, though, is Cook’s contract, which will likely need to be restructured by the acquiring team. It could also force the Vikings to take on a chunk of money, as it did in the Za’Darius Smith trade.

Potentially getting rid of Cook presents the Vikings with both gains and losses, many of which transcend a player’s ability to blur into the open field with a football.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

The Cowboys are done with WR ANTONIO CALLAWAY.  Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

Wide receiver Antonio Callaway was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Monday after being arrested last weekend in Miami for driving with a suspended license.

Callaway was signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad last November but did not dress for a regular-season game. He was competing for one of the final wide receiver spots but had not practiced during the last two organized team activities open to the media.

A former fourth-round pick in 2018 by the Cleveland Browns, Callaway has not caught a pass in a regular-season game since 2020.

WASHINGTON

EDGE CHASE YOUNG is feeling good – at last.  John Keim of ESPN.com:

Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young said there’s a “night and day” difference in how he feels compared to the end of last season — and that’s partly why he’s not worried that the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. He said he wasn’t surprised by that move, either.

“Not disappointing at all,” Young said Tuesday. “I’m ready to go.”

Young participated in the first day of Washington’s mandatory three-day minicamp after missing more than a month of the voluntary workout sessions, including the last two weeks of OTA practices. He and fellow end Montez Sweat worked out in Colorado, where Young did his rehabilitation work the previous offseason.

Young was limited to three games last season after tearing the ACL and patellar tendon on his right knee on Nov. 14, 2021.

Young, who will be a free agent after the season, said he feels much better than he did at the end of last season.

“Night and day,” said Young, who wore a brace on his right knee. “Night and day. … My confidence, my strength. Everything.”

And, he said, he felt like his old self. Young earned 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after recording 7.5 sacks, forcing four fumbles and recovering three — and returning one for a touchdown. But he managed only 1.5 sacks in nine games before hurting his knee the following season.

When Young was asked how he knew he felt like he did pre-injury, he said to “watch the film from today’s practice.”

“I felt pretty explosive out there,” Young said.

Last season, he did not record a sack but the coaches wanted him on the field in part to get him ready for next season and to gain confidence in his knee.

“We just want to see him pick up where he left off,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said. “He was starting to play faster and faster and just love to see him get out there and really run around and kind of cut a loose and not be tentative. And that’s probably the biggest thing for him.”

Young participated during the team drills Tuesday, showing an explosive first step. During individual drills, he was his usual energetic self: swaying and singing to music while waiting his turn in a drill.

“He’s just an energy type of dude,” linebacker Jamin Davis said. “He always brings a little soul to him as well. You always hear him singing in the locker room. It’s good to have him back.”

AFC WEST

LAS VEGAS

QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO is expected to be ready for Raiders camp.  Nick Shook of NFL.com:

Rest easy, Raider Nation: Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be just fine.

Garoppolo, who underwent foot surgery this offseason, is expected to be ready long before the start of training camp, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday on Inside Minicamps on NFL+.

Garoppolo’s mid-March signing with the Raiders encountered a delay when he failed his physical, leading to an adjusted contract before the time came for smiles and photos. The news of his physical didn’t become public until recently, well after Garoppolo put pen to paper, and struck fear in the hearts of Raiders fans who believed they’d be OK with a new quarterback who is familiar with head coach Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels was forced to confront the information last week, but assured the public Garoppolo’s status did not come as a surprise to the Raiders, and his foot issue would not alter their plans in any fashion.

Instead of entering the summer without worry, Raiders fans had to wonder whether they might be faced with a first month featuring veteran backup Brian Hoyer, not Garoppolo, under center.

Tuesday’s news puts those fears to rest. It’s a positive development for a quarterback in Garoppolo who has encountered plenty of health issues in the last half-decade, including last season, which was cut short by the same foot injury that caused him to fail his physical with Las Vegas.

AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND

Two Browns players were ambushed on the mean streets of Cleveland.  Jake Trotter of ESPN.com:

Two Cleveland Browns players were robbed at gunpoint by six masked men, according to a police report.

Police redacted the names of the victims in the incident in the report, but a team source confirmed that the two players were cornerback Greg Newsome II and defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey.

Neither was harmed during the incident, police said.

According to police, the two players left a Cleveland nightclub early Monday morning. When they got to Newsome’s truck in a nearby parking lot, six masked men jumped out of an unknown car and robbed them at gunpoint at 3:30 a.m. ET Monday. In addition to stealing jewelry, the suspects fled in Newsome’s truck.

Police are attempting to locate the stolen vehicle. Newsome referenced the incident on Twitter on Monday night, writing: “It’s a cruel world we live in.”

Newsome wasn’t the only Browns player to have his car stolen over the weekend. Another source confirmed that Browns backup running back Demetric Felton had his vehicle stolen out of his apartment garage.

The Browns begin mandatory minicamp Tuesday.

AFC EAST

MIAMI

Albert Breer of SI.com on how the Dolphins nearly landed RB DALVIN COOK from the Vikings before the draft.

Minnesota and Miami came very close to a trade that would’ve made Cook a Dolphin back in March, and what’s interesting about the deal that fell apart then is how the vision the team trading for him dovetails with how the team trading him away sees him.

The idea, for Miami, was to add another big-play threat to an arsenal that already has two of the game’s most explosive receivers, in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, in the holster. And after that one came undone, and as Minnesota contemplated a price it’d be comfortable bringing Cook back at (which would be less than the $11 million he’s due), the Vikings discussed using him more sparingly, as an explosive complement to Alexander Mattison.

Minnesota also drafted DeWayne McBride in the seventh round, and the Vikings like him as another depth piece, alongside Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu, to give more flexibility in their decision-making on Cook.

Would Miami still be interested? Maybe, though that desire for a big-play back was, at least to some degree, addressed in the third round of the draft, with ultra-explosive Texas A&M back Devon Achane coming in.

THIS AND THAT

THE MARKET FOR D-HOP

Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.com on who is in and who is out in terms of signing WR DeANDRE HOPKINS.

DeAndre Hopkins has been a free agent for more than a week, yet the teams pursuing the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver are limited to this point. The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills were reportedly active in acquiring Hopkins prior to his release and are believed to still have interest in signing him. The Bills confirmed their desire in adding the All-Pro receiver who is big fan of their quarterback, Josh Allen.

“We are all about people who want to come to Buffalo,” Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday. “We love it, especially if they fit. Obviously DeAndre’s a heck of a talent, he caught a Hail Mary on us in the COVID season [2020] . . . Nothing but respect for him. It would definitely have to fit with how we would structure the salary and all that. Never ruling it out, but we know he’s a good player and he’ll probably command a decent contract.” 

The teams that aren’t pursuing Hopkins have also publicized their lack of interest in him. Hours after New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel all but said their teams won’t be signing Hopkins, the three-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver put out this cryptic tweet.

(It consisted of emoji of the three monkeys – hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil)

Hopkins also signed with Klutch Sports last week after previously representing himself. Kelton Crenshaw will be Hopkins’ agent going forward as he seeks out a new team. Crenshaw represents DeVonta Smith, Chase Young, and Kayvon Thibodeaux — all of whom are in the NFC East.

As for the first two teams that passed on Hopkins? Saleh said “we love our current group” when referring to the Jets, who revamped their wide receiver room this offseason. The Titans didn’t revamp the position like the Jets did, but Vrabel said the team is “focused on the players they have here.” Tennessee didn’t rule out Hopkins, but he doesn’t appear to be an option.

One of the NFC East’s top teams, the Dallas Cowboys, kicked off the month by June by discussing their satisfaction with their current wide receiver room.

“I really like the look of our group,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on June 1 per the Dallas Morning News, when asked about the team’s interest in Hopkins. “There’s nothing good that comes out of those answers. Hop is a hell of a talent.”

McCarthy’s boss, Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones, agreed with McCarthy’s vote of confidence in their wide receiver room on Monday.

“He’s [Hopkins] not on this team right now,” Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones said Monday, per The Athletic. “We went down the road with [Brandin] Cooks. We’re very comfortable with Cooks. We’re really pleased with our receiving group.”   

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell had a similar reaction to McCarthy’s on June 1.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna comment on that one,” head coach Dan Campbell said when asked about adding Hopkins. “But I like our receivers room. I think we’ve got a good mix of different types of guys. I think it’s important, really, in your skill positions between tight ends, backs, and receivers that you have a mix of different types of skillsets — and I feel like we have that. We’ve got possession, explosive, we’ve got speed. We’ve got consistency, quickness. So, I just think we have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. So, the more versatility you have, that opens up your packages personnel-wise, matchup-wise.”

Another up-and-coming team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, also saw their head coach double-down on his current group of receivers over the prospect of adding Hopkins.

“I mean, it’s hard to speak on guys because we got a really good room right now,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said at the team’s minicamp on Monday. “It’s hard to add someone of his caliber, his talent, to a room that’s already talented. You consider everything, but at this time it’s not a reality for us to bring someone like that in.”

Hopkins has the eighth-most receiving yards through a player’s first 10 seasons in NFL history (11.298) and the fourth-most receptions after a player’s first 10 seasons (853). Hopkins averaged 7.1 catches per game (fourth in NFL) and 79.7 receiving yards per game (10th in NFL) despite only playing nine games last season. He’s been a first team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his 10 NFL seasons.

There’s still excellent value in signing Hopkins, which he’s eager to prove in 2023 for a contending team.

PASSING GAME IMPROVEMENTS

Judy Bautista of NFL.com looks at nine teams and asks whether they improved their QB roster or improved what their QB has to work with:

Every year, we wait for someone other than a quarterback to dominate the NFL’s offseason, and every year, we find ourselves waiting for every quarterbacking free agency decision/contract extension/trade to reshape the competitive landscape of the NFL.

So it went again this year, where some Jets fans are currently eschewing summer vacations to save their off days to follow their team to the Super Bowl. That’s the power of just one quarterback move. But even the top quarterbacks need help, and the most successful teams do everything they can to surround the signal-caller with weapons and protection. We saw this when Tampa Bay signed Tom Brady in 2020, and then put pieces — TE Rob Gronkowski, RT Tristan Wirfs and even WR Antonio Brown — around him. Result: Lombardi Trophy.

We’re not saying the teams lauded below for having done right by their respective quarterbacks are certain Super Bowl contenders. We are saying the teams criticized below are probably making the job harder for the signal-caller than it has to be.

The applause goes to …

1  New York Jets

Ironically, the Jets were in this exact same spot in the rankings a year ago, because they got so many pieces (receiver Garrett Wilson, running back Breece Hall, guard Laken Tomlinson) to help support Zach Wilson. Alas, please see our disclaimer about this not assuring a Super Bowl run. The Jets pulled off the blockbuster move of this offseason, trading for Aaron Rodgers, and then did everything they could to speed his transition. They had already hired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, with whom Rodgers is close after they worked together in Green Bay, so the Jets are running a Rodgers-friendly attack, the most critical element of this plan. The Jets also signed former Packers receivers — and Rodgers’ favorites — Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, plus offensive tackle Billy Turner to bolster a line that was beset by injuries last season. Furthermore, New York spent its second-round pick on a potential plug-and-play starter at center in Joe Tippmann. If this doesn’t work — if the Jets don’t at least make a deep playoff push this season — it won’t be for lack of trying.

2  Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals were rampaging through the AFC late last season before a series of injuries to three starters on the offensive line, including both tackles. They managed this difficult situation until the AFC Championship Game, when the Chiefs sacked Joe Burrow five times. The Bengals, with the rest of their offensive firepower almost entirely intact, did the one thing they could do to give Burrow more support: signing the best available offensive tackle. Welcome, Orlando Brown Jr. The bonus is that Brown’s presence at left tackle pushes Jonah Williams to the right side. Williams wasn’t happy about that initially — he asked for a trade — but things seem to have settled down, and Williams, Cody Ford and La’el Collins, whose timetable for return from knee surgery is unclear, will compete for the right tackle spot. The line was improved but still not great last season. It should be better this year.

3  Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens’ ultimate support for Lamar Jackson obviously came in making him, deservedly, the highest-paid player in the league. But beyond that, they also hired an offensive coordinator in Todd Monken who not only wants to throw the ball, but also knows how to use running quarterbacks (SEE: Georgia product Stetson Bennett — nobody’s going to confuse him for Lamar, but he can move). Then they overhauled the wide receiver room, giving Jackson the best cast of pass catchers — including veteran additions Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor, as well as first-round pick Zay Flowers — he has ever had in Baltimore. The Ravens fielded one of the worst passing offenses in the league last season, but the days of Jackson having to be a one-man band may finally be over.

4  Green Bay Packers

Shipping out one of the greatest to ever play the position and handing the keys to the franchise to Jordan Love is about as great a show of support as there is from a team to a quarterback. Then Green Bay drafted three wide receivers and two tight ends to add to second-year wideouts Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. That’s a nice young group that Love can grow with. If the Packers were to add a veteran to be the young quarterback’s security blanket, they will have given themselves and Love the best possible chance to start this new era on a winning note.

Withholding judgment

New England Patriots

Another irony is that the Patriots were also in this exact spot going into last season, when there were already serious questions about how Matt Patricia as offensive coordinator would play out. It played out poorly, and New England brought back Bill O’Brien as the offensive coordinator to get Mac Jones back on track. That’s the good news. What keeps the Pats out of the applause category is that they haven’t done much else to help Jones. They signed WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and TE Mike Gesicki, but there hasn’t been a serious upgrade to the weaponry or to an offensive line that needed help at tackle. That suggests the Patriots believe O’Brien’s presence is enough to right Jones. Just like last season: We’ll see.

Dallas Cowboys

Adding Brandin Cooks injects some speed into the offense, but the biggest change to this offense is that Mike McCarthy is going to call the plays while Brian Schottenheimer acts as coordinator. As always, the Cowboys will be judged on how they do in the postseason, raising this question: Do they have enough weapons to keep up with, say, Philadelphia or San Francisco in a playoff game?

Is this it?

Tennessee Titans

The Titans used all six draft picks this year on offense. But, in addition to selecting Ryan Tannehill’s potential replacement in Will Levis in the second round, Tennessee didn’t spruce up the wide receiver position to help whomever the starting quarterback turns out to be. The Titans have overhauled the offensive line (good), but after they used only a seventh-round pick on a wide receiver (Tennessee-Martin’s Colton Dowell), it’s hard to imagine how any Tennessee QB can keep up with the explosive offenses in the AFC.

Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud can’t do this alone, and with Brandin Cooks gone, it currently looks like the No. 2 overall draft pick might have to. Nico Collins is promising, but after that, the Texans have little to count on in the way of reliable targets that would help a rookie quarterback gain his footing.

Buffalo Bills

Their Super Bowl window is wide open, but the offseason has come and gone so far without adding a top receiver to pair with Stefon Diggs. This isn’t about the Bills winning the AFC East — as long as Josh Allen is upright, Buffalo will contend for the division title. This is about keeping pace with the Chiefs and Bengals, and to do that, the Bills could use some additional firepower beyond rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid.

MOST UNDERRATED PLAYERS

William Moy of ProFootballFocus.com has a list of each team’s “Most Underrated” Player.  There is only one quarterback, and we tend to agree with that choice.  The player being investigated for his gambling also makes the list:

ARIZONA CARDINALS: OT JOSH JONES

2022 PFF Grade: 75.8

Jones became a regular starter for Arizona starting in Week 10 last season, and he finished the season as the second-highest graded player on the Cardinals offense. After a couple of rough seasons to start his career, the former third-round pick took a big step forward in his third season. Jones was one of just 12 tackles last season to finish the year with a 75.0-plus pass-blocking grade and a 70.0-plus run-blocking grade.

ATLANTA FALCONS: OT KALEB MCGARY

2022 PFF Grade: 86.6

McGary was another offensive lineman who took a big step forward in 2022, besting his previous career-high 64.3 overall grade from 2020 with an 86.6 overall grade last season, the fourth-best among all tackles. With a 91.6 run-blocking grade, McGary trailed only Trent Williams in run-blocking grade from a tackle position last season, and Atlanta rewarded him with a new three-year contract this offseason.

BALTIMORE RAVENS: FB PATRICK RICARD

2022 PFF Grade: 71.2

There were only 13 fullbacks to see the field for at least 100 snaps last season. Ricard led the position with 747 snaps, 137 more than Kyle Juszczyk — who was second among the position in snaps — saw a season ago. Among that group of 13 fullbacks, outside of Ricard, there were just two players to eclipse a 60.0 run-blocking grade — and both did so playing a limited sample of snaps. Ricard towered over his peers with an 88.6 run-blocking grade on 450 run-block snaps.

BUFFALO BILLS: DI DAQUAN JONES

2022 PFF Grade: 73.4

Jones ranked fifth among the Bills defense in terms of overall grade in 2022 and 17th league-wide among interior defenders. With 66 interior defenders seeing at least 500 defensive snaps last season, Jones was one of just 18 who posted a 70.0-plus pass rush grade while maintaining a 65.0-plus run defense grade.

CAROLINA PANTHERS: FB FRANKIE LUVU

2022 PFF Grade: 74.8

Out of 54 linebackers who played at least 600 snaps last season, Luvu ranked 15th with a 74.8 overall grade. Luvu had his struggles in coverage, but he was elite as a run defender, earning a 90.1 run defense grade that ranked third among LBs, trailing just Bobby Wagner and his teammate, Shaq Thompson. Luvu ranked first among LBs with a 19.5% positive grade rate in run defense, and his average depth of tackle at 2.04 yards past the line of scrimmage ranked second best.

CHICAGO BEARS: OT BRAXTON JONES

2022 PFF Grade: 75.4

Jones was the second-highest-graded player on Chicago’s offense last season, as he started every single game at left tackle. The fifth-round rookie finished 2022 as the 18th highest-graded tackle in terms of overall grade and was especially good as a run blocker, where his 79.4 grade ranked 10th.

CINCINNATI BENGALS: LB GERMAINE PRATT

2022 PFF Grade: 78.4

Out of 54 linebackers who saw at least 600 snaps last season, Pratt ranked 11th in terms of overall grade. Pratt especially excelled in coverage, where his 87.3 grade ranked third among linebackers and the 71.7 percent completion percentage he allowed into his coverage ranked sixth-best.

CLEVELAND BROWNS: CB MARTIN EMERSON

2022 PFF Grade: 72.5

Out of 90 cornerbacks who logged at least 300 coverage snaps last season, Emerson ranked 17th with a 75.1 coverage grade. Emerson ranked seventh among cornerbacks in 2022 by being directly responsible for forcing an incompletion on 20.0 percent of the targets thrown into his coverage.

DALLAS COWBOYS: S MALIK HOOKER

2022 PFF Grade: 76.2

Hooker was one of 29 safeties last season to log at least 1,000 defensive snaps and among that group, he ranked fourth in overall grade and was just one of two safeties within that group to have both a coverage grade (74.8) and run defense grade (76.0) north of 70.0. Hooker ranked first among safeties last season by allowing just 0.19 yards per coverage snap.

DENVER BRONCOS: OT CAMERON FLEMING

2022 PFF Grade: 72.6

Fleming ranked 27th last season (out of 58 tackles who logged at least 600 offensive snaps) in overall grade. Seven of the pressures that Flemming surrendered were converted into sacks, but he ranked 18th among tackles by allowing any sort of pressure on just 5.0 percent of his pass block attempts.

DETROIT LIONS: QB JARED GOFF

2022 PFF Grade: 72.4

While Goff might never reach the elite level of play we saw early in his career, the former first-overall pick was plenty serviceable for the Lions last season. Goff ranked 17th out of 30 QBs who had at least 300 pass attempts with a 71.2 passing grade, he was fifth among the group with a 76.2 adjusted completion percentage and he led the Lions offense to 253 first downs picked up through the air, the ninth most among QBs.

GREEN BAY PACKERS: CB RASUL DOUGLAS

2022 PFF Grade: 71.1

Jaire Alexander grabs all the headlines, but Douglas was rock solid on the other side of the field in 2022. Douglas ranked 24th among CBs in overall grade and was one of just 11 cornerbacks who played at least 600 defensive snaps while maintaining both coverage and run defense grades north of 70.0. Douglas ranked 19th among corners with a 13.2 forced incompletion percentage and the 80.8 passer rating opposing QBs had while targeting Douglas in coverage was tied for the 18th lowest among CBs.

HOUSTON TEXANS: WR NICO COLLINS

2022 PFF Grade: 72.4

No wide receiver recorded a higher catch rate on contested targets in 2022 than Collins (minimum 10 contested targets), who did miss some time due to injury. His raw stat line is underwhelming, but with C.J. Stroud throwing him passes in 2023, a breakout could be on the horizon.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: CB ISAIAH RODGERS

2022 PFF Grade: 82.1

When on the field, Rodgers has provided the Colts with consistently solid play since they drafted him out of Massachusetts in the sixth round back in 2020. Over 434 snaps last season, the third-year pro posted his third straight season with an overall grade north of 70.0 and set a new career best with an 81.5 coverage grade. Out of 106 cornerbacks who saw at least 250 coverage snaps in 2022, Rodgers ranked fifth in terms of coverage grade and third by allowing just 4.9 yards per time he was targeted in coverage.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: CB TYSON CAMPBELL

2022 PFF Grade: 80.8

Campbell led all cornerbacks last season with 1,275 defensive snaps and out of the 41 corners who logged at least 500 coverage snaps in 2022, he ranked fourth with an 80.7 coverage grade. Among that group, the second-year ranked third with an average of 0.66 yards per coverage snap, trailing just Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: G TREY SMITH

2022 PFF Grade: 72.3

Tough to find an “underrated” player on the most prolific offense in football, but Smith fits the mold. The second-year player out of Tennessee followed up 1,404 snaps with a 72.7 overall grade as a rookie with a 72.3 overall grade across 1,230 snaps in Year 2. Smith ranked 11th out of 60 guards who saw at least 600 snaps last season in overall grade and was one of just eight guards to have at least a 65.0 pass-blocking grade (68.4) and at least a 70.0 run-blocking grade (70.8).

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: OT JERMAINE ELUEMUNOR

2022 PFF Grade: 75.3

After his 2021 season was cut short, Eluemunor bounced back in a big way in 2022. Eluemunor finished last season ranked 20th out of 58 tackles who logged at least 600 snaps in terms of overall grade and was one of 10 tackles to eclipse the 75.0 mark both in pass protection (76.1) and run blocking (75.7).

LOS ANGELES RAMS: RB CAM AKERS

2022 PFF Grade: 80.7

It took a while for Akers to win over the featured back role within the Rams offense, but he ended 2022 as Los Angeles’ second-highest graded offensive player and one of 18 running backs with at least 190 rushing attempts and an 80.0-plus rushing grade. From Weeks 13-18, Akers saw at least 12 rush attempts in each game after failing to get to 12 attempts in seven games prior. During that stretch, he ranked third among HBs with an 83.6 rushing grade.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: OT JAMAREE SALYER

2022 PFF Grade: 69.8

Drafted in the sixth round prior to last season, Salyer was thrust into the starting LT job in Week 4 in 2022 and maintained that job through the end of the year. Salyer finished the season ranked 31st out of 58 tackles who saw at least 600 offensive snaps in terms of overall grade, but he ranked 20th with his 76.4 pass-blocking grade while tallying up the 12th most pass-blocking snaps among all tackles.

MIAMI DOLPHINS: G ROBERT HUNT

2022 PFF Grade: 72.3

Hunt has played a big role in bringing stability to a Dolphins offensive line that was at the bottom of the league not too long ago. Hunt ranked 11th last season out of 60 guards who played at least 600 snaps in terms of overall grade and was one of three guards last season north of 70.0 in both run-(74.5) and pass-blocking (74.6) grades.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: DI HARRISON PHILLIPS

2022 PFF Grade: 72.0

Phillips struggled as a pass-rusher last season, but he was stout against the run. He was one of 28 interior defenders last season to log at least 300 snaps defending the run and among that group, he ranked seventh with a 73.8 run defense grade. Phillips was 10th in positive grade rate when stopping the run while also posting the seventh-best negative grade rate.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: S KYLE DUGGER

2022 PFF Grade: 78.4

Dugger took a big step forward in 2022 after a promising first couple of seasons as a second-round pick out of Lenoir. Out of 63 safeties who logged at least 700 defensive snaps last season, Dugger ranked eighth in terms of overall grade and was one of four safeties to post 75.0-plus grades defending the run (76.7) and in coverage (78.3). Dugger was especially good at making plays defending the run near the line of scrimmage. Out of 65 safeties who played against the run on at least 250 plays last year, Dugger ranked first with an average depth of tackle of 3.87 yards.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: WR RASHID SHAHEED

2022 PFF Grade: 80.8

Shaheed was an undrafted rookie out of Weber State who was able to elevate himself from the practice squad and establish a real role within the Saints offense by the end of the season. Starting in Week 12, Shaheed saw at least three targets in every game to close out the season and during that stretch, he posted an 80.5 receiving grade that ranked 15th best among 100 receivers who saw at least 100 passing snaps. He ranked second among receivers over that spane with an average of 2.71 yards per route run.

NEW YORK GIANTS: WR ISAIAH HODGINS

2022 PFF Grade: 76.1

With the exception of Week 18 when the Giants sat him, Hodgins saw at least 25 receiving snaps in every game from Week 11 through the end of the season. Over that stretch, he ranked 29th out of 87 receivers who saw at least 150 snaps on passing plays with a 74.2 receiving grade. Hodgins ranked 12th over that stretch by catching 62.5 percent of his contested targets and the 124.2 passer rating that his QB had when targeting him ranked sixth-best.

NEW YORK JETS: EDGE JOHN FRANKLIN-MYERS

2022 PFF Grade: 82.6

Franklin-Myers was one of 49 edge defenders to see at least 600 defensive snaps last season and among that group, he ranked 13th in terms of overall grade and was one of just six edge defenders in that group to have at least a 75.0 grade in both run defense (76.8) and as a pass-rusher (76.0).

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: EDGE BRANDON GRAHAM

2022 PFF Grade: 89.8

He might not be underrated in Philadelphia, but I’m not sure the rest of the world realizes just how good Graham still is at this stage of his career. Out of the 72 edge defenders who logged at least 500 defensive snaps last season, Graham ranked fifth in overall grade, and his 89.8 pass-rushing grade ranked sixth. As a pass-rusher, his 23.1 percent win rate ranked fourth best among edge defenders, and his 11.5 pass-rushing productivity rating ranked first.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS: RB JAYLEN WARREN

2022 PFF Grade: 73.8

Warren was one of the most efficient pass catchers out of the backfield in 2022. The undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma State was one of 45 RBs last season to see at least 30 targets in the passing game and among that group, he ranked fourth with a 79.8 receiving grade. Additionally, he ranked second by converting 43.8 percent of his catchable targets into either a first down or touchdown.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: S TALANOA HUFANGA

2022 PFF Grade: 72.1

The second-year safety out of USC ranked 20th last season out of 75 safeties who logged at least 500 defensive snaps in 2022, earning that grade while playing 1,214 snaps — over 800 more than he logged as a rookie. Out of 51 safeties who saw at least 500 snaps in coverage last year, Hufanga ranked 10th with a 74.6 coverage grade, and his seven forced incompletions were tied for fifth most.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: G DAMIEN LEWIS

2022 PFF Grade: 72.5

Lewis had shown himself capable as a run blocker during his first two seasons in Seattle after it drafted him in the third round back in 2020, but this past season, he took a big step forward in pass protection, finishing the season ranked 11th out of 65 guards who played at least 500 snaps. Lewis ranked 13th this past season among guards with a 98.2 pass-blocking efficiency rating, a significant jump from the 96.9 ratings he posted in each of his first two seasons.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: CB JAMEL DEAN

2022 PFF Grade: 77.9

Out of 74 cornerbacks who logged at least 600 defensive snaps last season, Dean ranked eighth in terms of overall grade and was one of just three corners to have a coverage grade of at least 75.0 (75.6) to go with a run defense grade of at least 80.0 (82.5). The 73.3 passer rating that Dean allowed into his coverage was the 10th lowest among corners, and he was the only cornerback to record at least five defensive stops without missing a single tackle last year in run defense.

TENNESSEE TITANS: EDGE DENICO AUTRY

2022 PFF Grade: 82.8

Autry was a productive pass-rusher during his first season with Tennessee in 2021, but last season, he took a step forward as a run defender as well, finishing the season ranked 14th out of 72 edge defenders who saw at least 500 snaps last season in terms of overall grade. Autry ranked 15th last season among edge defenders with a 14.9 percent pressure rate, and his 20.8 percent positive grade rate in run defense ranked seventh.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: S KAMREN CURL

2022 PFF Grade: 82.9

Out of 63 safeties who saw at least 700 snaps last season, nobody had a higher overall grade than Curl, who was one of two safeties to finish the year with both a run defense (80.5) and coverage grade (80.8) north of 80.0. Curl was a seventh-round pick back in 2020 and has now finished each of his first three seasons with at least 700 defensive snaps played with an overall grade of at least 68.0.