Quarterbacks will dominate offseason
BASEBALL: OF Daniel Nava finalized a minor league contract with the Pirates and will report to major-league spring training. Nava batted .301 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 80 games for the Phillies last season. ... RHP Mike Foltynewicz went to salary arbitration with the Braves over a difference of $100,000, the smallest gap in a hearing since 1994.
COLLEGES: New Mexico football coach Bob Davie said he will appeal a 30-day suspension in connection with multiple investigations involving misconduct. In a statement released by the school, Davie said none of the three investigations conducted over a nine-month period found he violated any school policy . ... Iowa State QB Kyle Kempt was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. The NCAA granted Kempt an extension of eligibility after considering the totality of the circumstances surrounding his transfer from Oregon State and Hutchinson Community College in Kansas . ... Michigan State said it plans to fire Dr. William Strampel, the former dean of its osteopathic medicine college, in the wake of Larry Nassar’s sentencing for molesting young female athletes.
NFL: The Vikings hired Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo as their offensive coordinator. DeFilippo replaces Pat Shurmur, who became the Giants coach . ... The Lions extended GM Bob Quinn’s contract to match the length of the deal they gave new coach Matt Patricia. The Lions have not provided details on the length of Quinn or Patricia’s contracts.
SWIMMING: An Olympic swimmer who accused her former coach of sexually abusing her as a minor described “an extensive, abusive and incredibly manipulative relationship” that spanned a decade in an emotional essay. Ariana Kukors wrote online that Sean Hutchison meticulously controlled and manipulated her from a young age and that the abuse at times overshadowed her successes, including at the 2012 Olympic games in London.
TENNIS: Serena Williams won’t play in either of Saturday’s Fed Cup singles matches against Netherlands. She is scheduled to team up with Lauren Davis to face Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs in Sunday’s doubles match . ... Top-seeded David Goffin did not face a break point as he beat qualifier Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, France . ... Topseeded Stan Wawrinka defeated No. 6 seed Viktor Troicki 6-1, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals of the Sofia (Bulgaria) Open.
Quarterbacks will the NFL’s offseason.
Beginning with Alex Smith going to Washington when the league’s new year starts next month and Jimmy Garoppolo agreeing to a record-breaking deal with San Francisco on Thursday , several quarterbacks will find new riches and many teams will land new QBs in 2018.
Tom Brady may have been denied another championship but not his coordinator, and some believe Josh McDaniels’ sudden change of heart this week in spurning the Indianapolis Colts was related to doubts about Andrew Luck’s health.
Either way, McDaniels is staying in New England to help the Patriots bounce back from their 41-33 loss to Philadelphia in Super Bowl 52.
The Eagles aren’t just celebrating their first championship since 1960, but also an abundance of talent at the position in franchise QB Carson Wentz and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
Should Wentz’s recovery from knee surgery go well, the Eagles will have a huge bargaining chip to help restock their roster.
Wentz’s injury rehab will be closely watched this offseason, just like Aaron Rodgers’ repaired collarbone in Green Bay and DeShaun Watson’s torn ACL in Houston.
Those teams figure to be contenders for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta if their quarterbacks are healthy. A dozen other teams will either jockey for their next star or dole out big bucks to keep the one they have.
Kirk Cousins and Drew Brees lead an exceptionally large group of veteran quarterbacks lined up for big paydays and possibly new opportunities that includes the Minnesota Vikings’ trio of Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum and Sam Bradford.
Garoppolo, Brady’s longtime backup, got a five-year contract from the 49ers that will pay him a reported rule $137.5 million to keep him off the free-agent market without forcing the team to use the one-year franchise tag.
NFL Network first reported the terms of the contract, which is worth $27.5 million per season to top the previous record set by Detroit’s Matthew Stafford last year by $500,000 per year — but presumably will soon be surpassed by Brees or Cousins.
San Francisco acquired Garoppolo from New England before the trade deadline for a 2018 second-round pick. He led the 49ers to five straight wins to end the season, pushing his record as a starter to 7-0.
Teams that miss out on one of the prized free agents can look to the draft, which features Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph.
The quarterback carousel began in the days before the Super Bowl when Kansas City agreed to trade Smith to the Redskins.
The deal, which cannot be finalized until March 14, spells the end of Cousins’ time in Washington and hands the Chiefs’ job to Patrick Mahomes III, the 10th pick in last year’s draft out of Texas Tech.
So, Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, moves on to his third team just as he’s coming off the best season of his 13-year career.
“I think Washington is getting a phenomenal player, a great leader,” Rodgers said last week while discussing the league’s current quarterback commotion.
“Now you’ve got Kirk Cousins, what’s going to happen with him? You’ve got probably five guys that are going to get drafted in the first round, Jimmy Garoppolo and his situation.
“There’s pieces.”
Among the teams looking for an upgrade are the Denver Broncos, who haven’t been back to the playoffs since Peyton Manning retired a champion two years ago. lot of moving