Brady, Dak lead offseason intrigue
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Even as a terrific Super Bowl matchup played out on the field Sunday evening, with the Kansas City Chiefs pulling off a comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL offseason managed to loom over the game.
On the screen was Tom Brady, standing in a stadium tunnel in the dark, his future uncertain.
It was a Super Bowl commercial for Hulu, of course, which explains the cryptic photo he tweeted earlier in the week as a preview for the ad, but the fact remains that as the 2020 NFL offseason kicks off, Brady’s future is the biggest topic of conversation.
That’s where we’ll start for the biggest NFL offseason story lines, with free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft just around the corner.
1. Will Brady return to the Patriots?
As rumors flew around Miami over the weekend, the chances of Brady returning to New England seemed to improve.
In recent weeks, owner Robert Kraft has said he wants Brady to remain with the Patriots or retire. On Sunday, reports surfaced that the Patriots would be willing to pay Brady $30 million next season. While that’s $4 million per year less than what the Pittsburgh Steelers pay Ben Roethlisberger, it’s a good sign that there could be enough money coming from New England to persuade Brady to stay.
It’s clear by the way that Brady is handling things that he’s testing the Patriots. Since 2013, Brady has been taking about 70 cents on the dollar to stay in New England and give Bill Belichick extra money to build the roster around him. But after winning his sixth Super Bowl last year, Brady didn’t have enough talent around him this season to get past the first round of the playoffs.
Two teams at the forefront of the discussions are the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. On Tuesday, the Raiders guaranteed $2.9 million of Derek Carr’s $16.9 million salary. But that small amount wouldn’t prevent them from going after Brady.
2. What’s next for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys?
It’s looking more and more likely that Dallas will use the franchise tag on Prescott, keeping him under contract for another year while the two sides negotiate a longterm contract. The franchise tag number is going to be roughly $27 million, which could cause Prescott to hold out, as it’s considerably less than what he could make annually under a long-term deal.
But the Cowboys have other areas to address. They need to re-sign wide receiver Amari Cooper, which could cost $18 million to $20 million per year. Defensive end Robert Quinn could cost $10 million to $12 million a year, and the team will have tough decisions with whether to keep him and cornerback Byron Jones.
3. The Saints have some big decisions to make.
New Orleans had one of the best draft hauls of the decade in 2017, when it landed cornerback Marshon Lattimore, right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, safety Marcus Williams and running back Alvin Kamara. Those are four Pro Bowl-caliber players.
The problem for the Saints is that those players are now all entering their fourth seasons and are in position to get paid. That’ll make it difficult to keep this impressive core together, but the team could look to make another run at a Super Bowl with this group and quarterback Drew Brees.
The Saints are hopeful Brees will return, but they won’t know for certain until after he takes a month to ponder his future.
4. The Seahawks could be in the market for superstars.
Quarterback Russell Wilson has said that he would like for the Seahawks to add superstars to the team’s roster. While the Seahawks aren’t big on spending high prices in free agency, management is likely going to listen to Wilson’s request.
For starters, they could re-sign Jadeveon Clowney, who is one of the league’s top edge rushers and played well after his trade from Houston despite dealing with a core injury.
This situation is similar to 2013, Wilson’s second season, when the Seahawks were coming off a wild-card appearance and needed to improve their pass rush. They added Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett that offseason and ended up winning the Super Bowl. Pass rush is the biggest need for this team this offseason.
5. After a year of big trades, one name to watch is Darius Slay.
Last year had plenty of blockbuster NFL trades, including deals for Odell Beckham Jr. (Giants to Browns), Frank Clark (Seahawks to Chiefs), Laremy Tunsil (Dolphins to Texans), Clowney (Texans to Seahawks) and Jalen Ramsey (Jaguars to Rams).
While it’s too soon to know what star players might be on the move next, the Detroit Lions could decide to trade Slay, the team’s top-notch cornerback. With the third pick in the draft, they are in a great spot to get the top cornerback in this year’s class. Or, if they can entice a team to trade up, they can still move down and draft a top, young cornerback a few spots later.
Slay is a Pro Bowl player and one of the best cornerbacks in the league, but he is entering the last year of his contract and could end up being the NFL’s highest-paid corner in his next deal. He’s a name to watch as the offseason kicks off.