| | | | Thursday, March 16, 2023 | | Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! | | I have some good news and some bad news to start the day. The good news is that we won't have to hear any more this year about whether Aaron Rodgers is going to retire, because as we all found out yesterday, not only does he want to play in 2023, but he wants to play for the Jets. | | The bad news is that although the Aaron Rodgers drama is now over, it's not actually over, because he still doesn't play for the Jets. The Packers and Jets still have yet to work out a trade for Rodgers, and today, we're going to take a look at why the two sides haven't been able to reach a deal yet. We'll also have some winners and losers from free agency and we'll take a look at the 10 best names remaining on the market. | | As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the Pick Six newsletter. To get your friends to sign up, all you have to do is click here and then share this link with them. All right, let's get to the rundown. | | 1. Today's show: Reacting to the latest free agency moves | | | | With NFL free agency officially kicking off at 4 p.m. ET yesterday, I'm guessing you can figure out what we talked about for today's episode of the Pick Six Podcast, yup, free agency. Will Brinson got together with Katie Mox and Tyler Sullivan and they spent 60 STRAIGHT minutes talking about the opening day of free agency. | | Their original plan was to talk about every free agent signing possible, but they quickly realized that would take roughly 27 hours and no one has 27 hours to listen to a podcast, so they ended up focusing on the biggest moves of the day. | | One of those moves was JuJu Smith-Schuster signing with the Patriots. Sullivan lives in the Boston area and has his fingers on the pulse of the Patriots, and let's just say that he hasn't been very impressed with what New England has done so far in free agency. According to Sullivan, signing JuJu isn't enough to fix all the offensive problems that the Patriots have. | | "I'm a little nervous that this is it for New England, and if this is it, I don't feel like they've really done anything to vastly improve this offense," Sullivan said. | | Another big signing was the Buccaneers' addition of Baker Mayfield. He'll have to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting QB spot, but if he wins it, Brinson thinks the Buccaneers might be better than most people think. | | "You look around the division with Andy Dalton in Carolina, Derek Carr in New Orleans and Desmond Ridder in Atlanta, it's possible that Baker could compete in the division," Brinson said. | | If you want to listen to the full hour of free agency talk, you can do that by clicking here. You can also watch today's show on YouTube by clicking here. | | | | 2. Why the Aaron Rodgers trade hasn't happened yet | | With Aaron Rodgers confirming on Wednesday that he wants to play for the Jets in 2023, you might be wondering why a trade hasn't happened yet, and apparently, you can blame Green Bay for that. | | During his interview with Pat McAfee, Rodgers shed some light on why the trade hasn't happened, so let's take a look at what's causing the delay. | | Rodgers blames the Packers. For most of the past week, the assumption around the NFL was that Rodgers was holding up the trade process, but as it turns out, it's actually Green Bay. Apparently, the Packers have a sky-high asking price that the Jets aren't willing to pay. "I haven't been holding anything up at this point," Rodgers said. "It's been the compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me and kind of digging their heels in."Packers aren't going to give Rodgers away for free. During a Wednesday morning appearance on ESPN's "Get Up," Adam Schefter had this to say about what the Packers might be looking for in a potential trade: "My understanding is that within the Packers organization, they feel that he is worth a package that is similar to the one that the Rams once got for Matthew Stafford, which is multiple [first-round picks]," Schefter said. Although the Packers "feel" Rodgers is worth two first-round picks, they're likely not going to get that, but that could be where they started off negotiations with the Jets. What the Packers asking price seems to be. According to NFL.com, the Packers aren't looking for multiple first-round picks, but it does sound like they're hoping to get at least one first-rounder in return. Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi said last week that Green Bay's asking price was two draft picks with at least one of them being a first-rounder and at this point, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that that's the asking price. Why the Jets might not be willing to give up a first-rounder. If you're the Jets, the problem with giving up that much compensation is that they have no idea how much longer Rodgers will be playing. If he goes to New York and retires after one season, then the Jets will feel fleeced if they give up a first-rounder. Why the Packers have all the leverage. The Packers know that the Jets need Rodgers, so they can basically tell New York, "Pay our asking price or we're not going to trade him." Yes, the Packers will eventually trade Rodgers no matter what, but they could milk this thing out past the draft if they wanted. The Packers are in no hurry to trade Rodgers and from a salary cap standpoint, it would actually be beneficial to Green Bay to trade Rodgers AFTER June 1. When the Packers trade Rodgers, they're going to take a $40.3 million dead cap hit, but if the trade comes after June 1, then that hit will be split over two seasons with $15.8 million coming in 2023 and $24.5 million in 2024 (Numbers via OvertheCap). Essentially, this means the Packers have almost all the leverage here. Doing a trade now doesn't benefit them financially, so they'd want to make up for that with draft compensation. | | Basically, it's hard to put a timeline on when this trade will actually happen because the Packers and Jets clearly still have some serious negotiating to do. | | 3. Winners and losers after Day 3 of free agency | | | | As everyone knows, the entire point of free agency for each NFL team is to try and impress Jordan Dajani, who is one of the writers in charge of deciding winners and losers each day. | | Here are three of Jordan's winners and three of his losers after Day 3 of free agency: | | Winners | | Jets: "For the first time in a long time, the Jets appear to have some consistency at the quarterback position. Rodgers, one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, made it clear on Wednesday that he wants to play for the Jets in 2023."Packers: "How could the Packers be winners for losing a franchise legend? Well, it's because that's what they wanted to happen. They get to move on from Aaron Rodgers and turn the team over to Jordan Love."Bengals: "The Bengals upgraded on the offensive line by getting Orlando Brown. Not only did the Chiefs not want to pay their perennial Pro Bowl left tackle, but they insulted him by paying a RIGHT tackle to take his place. That clearly upset Brown, who agreed to a four-year, $64.09 million deal with the Chiefs' biggest postseason rival in the Bengals." | | Losers | | Sam Howell: "When the Commanders were interviewing candidates for their open offensive coordinator position earlier this offseason, they were saying Sam Howell was QB1, but now, he's going to have some competition after Washington signed Jacoby Brissett."Ezekiel Elliott: "It's the end of an era. Ezekiel Elliott has been released. This was actually a bit of a surprising move. I know that sounds crazy, but Elliott was reportedly open to taking a pay cut, and Jerry Jones said less than TWO WEEKS ago he wants Zeke on the roster, and believed the team could find a way financially to keep both Elliott and Tony Pollard in 2023. That did not happen."Ravens: "According to ESPN.com, Baltimore was looking into Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissset before both signal-callers were scooped up in free agency. Why is Baltimore looking into borderline starting quarterbacks? That doesn't feel like a due diligence thing. Is this them preparing not to match a potential Jackson offer sheet? Additionally, with Wednesday came Jackson officially being able to speak with other teams. Let's see what happens." | | For a more in-depth explanation on each of those choices, be sure to check out Jordan's full story by clicking here. | | | | 4. NFL free agency: Here are the biggest moves over the past 24 hours | | During free agency, it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happens, but the good news for you is that you don't have to because CBS pays me to do it for you. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the biggest moves that have gone down around the league over the past 24 hours. | | Eagles KEEP Darius Slay and Fletcher Cox. At this time yesterday, it looked like Slay was going to be released -- he even tweeted about it -- but apparently, the Eagles had a change of heart. CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson reported on Wednesday night that the Eagles were having a hard time "letting go of Slay," so they decided to keep him. With the re-signing of Slay AND James Bradberry, this means the Eagles will be bringing back both of their starting corners from 2022. The Eagles also reached a one-year, $10 million deal with Cox, who took a hometown discount. According to ESPN.com, Cox turned down bigger contract offers to take the Eagles' deal. Bengals land Orlando Brown. The Bengals did nothing through the first two days of free agency, but then they came out on Wednesday night and hit a home run by signing Orlando Brown to a four-year, $64 million deal. The former Chiefs offensive lineman can play on both sides of the line, but he'll be a left tackle in Cincinnati.Panthers add Miles Sanders. The former Eagles running back, who finished with the fifth-highest rushing total in the NFL last season, is now headed to Carolina after agreeing to a four-year, $25 million deal with the Panthers. Jamaal Williams headed to New Orleans. The Saints have already added a big name at quarterback, and now, they've done the same thing at running back with the addition of Williams, who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season. The former Lions star has agreed to a three-year, $12 million deal with the Saints. Williams is a solid addition, especially when you consider there's chance that Alvin Kamara could be suspended due to his incident in Las Vegas. Patriots pick up JuJu Smith-Schuster. Heading into free agency, one of New England's biggest needs was at wide receiver and they added some depth at the position Wednesday by signing JuJu Smith-Schuster. The former Chiefs receiver has agreed to terms on a three-year, $33 million deal with the Patriots. The Patriots also added an experienced offensive lineman in Riley Reiff, who has played both right tackle and left tackle over the course of his 11-year career. Commanders sign Jacoby Brissett. Sam Howell currently sits at the top of the QB depth chart in Washington, but he only has one career start, so the Commanders obviously felt the need to bring in a veteran, and that's exactly what they did this week with the addition of Brissett. The 30-year-old QB has agreed to a one-year deal that could be worth up to $10 million, according to ESPN.com. Cowboys cut Ezekiel Elliott. We mentioned this in yesterday's newsletter, but we're tossing it in again because of how the Cowboys handled it. They made Elliott a post-June 1 release, which will saved them even more money under the salary cap. Thanks to that designation, the Cowboys will see $10.9 million of cap relief come June 1. We also came up with a few potential landing spots for Elliott, and you can check those out here. | | If you're looking for more signings, we're keeping tabs of every deal that's going down in free agency and you can check that out by clicking here. | | 5. Top 10 free agents left on the market | | | | We're less than 24 hours into the "official" start of free agency, and we've already seen 19 of the top 20 available players get signed. If you're sad because your team seems to have forgotten that free agency is happening and hasn't signed anyone yet, I have some good news for you: There are plenty of good players still available. | | The biggest prize left on the market is definitely Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who will be an instant upgrade in the secondary for pretty much any team in the NFL. With that in mind, let's check out the 10 highest-ranked players from Prisco's top 100 list who are still available (they're listed with the team they played for last season): | 1. S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (Eagles)
2. OG Isaac Seumalo (Eagles)
3. DE Jadeveon Clowney (Browns)
4. TE Dalton Schultz (Cowboys)
5. CB Rock Ya-Sin (Raiders)
6. DE Yannick Ngakoue (Colts)
7. OG Dalton Risner (Broncos)
8. WR D.J. Chark (Lions)
9. DL Chris Wormley (Steelers)
10. WR Odell Beckham Jr. (N/A) | | Note: We did not include tagged players on this list even though they are free to speak with other teams. | | Day 2 of the new league year will be rolling along today and since it won't be easy to keep track of every signing, here's another reminder that we've put together a free agent tracker so that you can stay up to date on what has happened so far. If you'd like to check out the tracker, just click here. We also have a live blog that will cover signings AND trades as they happen and you can check that out by clicking here. | | | | 6. Rapid-fire roundup: Chiefs restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract | | It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. | | Chiefs free up nearly $10 million in cap space. When Patrick Mahomes signed his 10-year, $477 million in July 2020, it was almost a given that it would eventually be restructured, and one of those restructurings came Wednesday. According to ESPN.com , the Chiefs have freed up $9.6 million in cap space by converting some of Mahomes' roster bonus into a signing bonus. Teams will convert money into a signing bonus because it allows them to pro-rate the cap hit over the life of the contract. Broncos want first-round pick for Jerry Jeudy. According to ESPN.com , multiple teams believe the Broncos are trying to unload one of their receivers this week with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and K.J. Hamler all potentially on the trading block. Obviously, a trade hasn't happened yet and one reason might be the asking price. According to the Athletic, the Broncos are hoping to get a first-round pick for Jeudy. Darren Waller was upset with Josh McDaniels and didn't see trade coming. It seems that Waller's time in Las Vegas didn't end on a high note. For one, Waller was apparently upset with Josh McDaniels for revealing the tight end's wedding date (Waller married WNBA star Kelsey Plum on March 4 and had been trying to keep the wedding date a secret, but McDaniels accidentally revealed it at the NFL Combine). As if that's not enough, it seems that Waller was blindsided by the Raiders trading him to the Giants, "I did not see this coming ... it caught me off guard," Waller told reporters Wednesday, via NFL.com. For more on Waller's comments, be sure to head here. Michael Irvin hotel video released. The security footage from the Michael Irvin's alleged hotel incident has finally been released. Irvin's camp says the video proves his innocence, but that's not how the Marriott feels. The hotel chains says that it proves their version of events is the correct one. You can see the video and read more details about the case by clicking here. | | | | | | | | Bracket Week | | Golazo Network | CBS Sports HQ is on all-day, everyday with in-depth analysis, expert picks and non-stop previews of every single game from every region of the 2023 Men’s NCAA Tournament.
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