With the adoption of a 17 game regular season this year, teams should see an expansion of their active rosters and practice squads. It's the only way to keep players healthy and safe.
It will also mean more jobs for fringe players. At the same time, it might encourage teams to go with younger ones at the expense of higher priced veterans.
Bill Belichick showed up at the University of Miami for their Pro Day. It created a lot of buzz because personnel staff have been doing most of the visits.
Many fans want the Pats to pick a quarterback in the first round. It doesn't appear that a QB was on his list for the visit.
It wouldn't surprise me if he went for a defensive player in the first round.
With all the free agent signings, is Julian Edelman facing a challenge to make the roster? Will he become a salary cap hit?
Given his age and season ending knee surgery, he could be a victim with his $6.8 cap figure, although he is a bargain at $2.1 million.
I'm sure Tom Brady would welcome him in Tampa Bay.
Online sports betting offers all sorts of action for the NFL draft. One interesting bet is the over and under for quarterbacks in the first round at 5.5.
You need either five or less to go under or six or more in order to win the over. That's an interesting number on either side. Teams are very unpredictable as we have seen annually.
Coach Belichick has all the reasons in the world to win now. Although he won't admit, he has a chance to break Don Shula's record of 347 regular season and playoff wins. He enters the season with 311 with George Halas at number two with 324.
The regular season win record by Shula is 328. Belichick has 280 and is within striking distance of Halas in second place with 318.
So many things need to go in the coach's favor, including his health and winning games. He doesn't have time to waste on rebuilding.
Have the Pats given up on former 2019 first round draft pick WR N'Keal Harry? It has not worked out during his time with the team.
Not every draft selection is a success. It's a roll of the dice in many cases. It sounds like the team wants at least a fourth round pick. That might be overly optimistic.
The Washington Football Team seems to want him. It's better to get something now rather than cutting him late in training camp,
The NFL has a new television contract that will pay them $110 billion over 11 years through 2033.
It's a huge cash infusion for all teams who will benefit to the tune of $280 million annually before a ticket is even sold. Players will see the salary cap rise along with their compensation.
So much will change in the world and technology by 2033.
The Pats have signed a huge amount of free agents to fill their various needs. They also have nine draft picks. What will Coach Belichick do with them?
There are many options like trading to move up or to get someone they targeted. They can also move them to next year.
It has already been a great start to the new season.
Massachusetts high school football players are excited to finally play even if it's a shortened spring season with no playoffs or state championship games.
One local star who already committed to the University of Arizona, suffered what was termed a severe ankle injury in his team's one-sided win.
Injuries can happen to anyone, but I wonder how much it will effect his fall football season.
Some of the media still believe that the Pats will end up with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback for 2021.
Will 49er's GM John Lynch be willing to part with him? He goes back a long ways with Coach Belichick.
The financial impact for both teams and compensation in a trade will determine if this ever happens.
Former Pats QB Jacoby Brissett continues to wait for a starting job, but there is always a market for a talented backup.
He signed a one year deal for $7.5 million to play second fiddle to Tua Tagovailoa with the Dolphins.
Anything can happen when it comes to being a backup. He is one play away from being the guy.
Coach Belichick has a lifetime of contacts who help him in so many ways. His recall of players is amazing.
He first met recently signed free agent TE Hunter Henry while he was being coached by friend Kevin Kelley at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Belichick followed the progress of Henry while he attended the University of Arkansas. After he was drafted by the Chargers, he raved about his skills and ability to get yards after the catch.
He now has his man.
After the Pats spent a ton of money on free agents, some are saying that the winners in the free agent market don't always win in September. That could be true, but it's just another example of media people and fans who will never be happy no matter what the team does.
Some have an axe to grind with Coach Belichick and the franchise.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is the ultimate example of a journeyman quarterback. The Redskins signed him to a one year deal with incentives that could go up to $12 million.
It will be he ninth stop for the Harvard guy who will turn 39 in November during his 17th season.
His prior stops include the Rams in 2005 who drafted him in the 7th round. From there it was on to the Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Bucs and Dolphins.
He will compete against backups Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinike. His leadership will be a positive influence in the locker room.
The massive amount of free agent signings by the Pats have drawn positive and negative comments from sports talk show callers.
One angry person said the Pats should have taken all of the money and used it to sign Tom Brady.
Some fans will never be happy no matter what the team does.
Joe Thuney has been a consistent performer on the Pats offensive line since he was drafted in 2016. He never missed a game and was a second team All-Pro selection in 2019.
The Pats used the franchise tag on him in 2020, but decided it was best to part ways for 2021 because of the cost to sign him.
He was offered a 5 year/ $80 million deal with the Chiefs. He will never see all this money, but stands to get at least $30 million over the next two seasons.
The Pats traded OL Marcus Cannon to the Texans in a move that appeared to flip each other's picks in the 4th, 5th and 6th round in this year's draft.
His $6.2 million salary cap hit, along with some promising young talent on the line made him expendable.
Texans GM Nick Casserio was very familiar with him during his time with the Pats.
The signing of QB Cam Newton has not been without controversy. Many fans and talk show people were upset over the team's latest move.
They need to take a deep breath. Coach Belichick and his personnel people were not willing to sign one of the veteran free agent quarterbacks out there or trade for one.
I think everyone expects the team to do something in the draft.
Some fans are overreacting to the Pats signing QB Cam Newton to a one year contract with a potential worth of $14 million.
The deal has about $8 million in guaranteed money, with the rest being incentives. The team must have looked at the free agents available and their potential cost.
They have the option of using a high pick to draft a quarterback.
Will Cam be the starter on opening day?
Some fans blame Coach Belichick for every bad draft pick the team has made under his tenure as coach and GM.
They must not realize that he has a scouting and personnel evaluation department who do most of the work. He shows up at some Pro Days at colleges, but his staff starts on the draft as soon as the current one ends
He makes the final call, based on their input. Some think he must do it all.
The Pats have taken much criticism over their inability to hit it big with their first round draft picks in recent years.
It looks like they might be ready to give up on WR N'Keal Harry who was the #32 overall pick in the 2019 draft. Teams have made inquiries about his availability.
RB Sony Michel and OL Isiah Wynn have shined at times, but both have been injury prone. The team may have fanned on their two first round picks in 2018.
With their fifth year option coming up at the end of the season, it might be time to move on now.
Every team around the league is making plans to release players because of the decrease in the salary cap.
The exact number has not been determined, but the amount won't be close to the $198 million of last year. Most predict somewhere between $180-185 million.
A number of teams are way over, especially the Saints who must shed $62 million.
Any player with a big cap number is a potential target.
Coach Belichick upgraded the Pats offensive line when he traded a 2022 draft pick to the Raiders for OL Trent Brown who was previously with them.
Brown spent two seasons here before signing a free agent contract with the Raiders in 2019. He became a salary cap casualty with them like so many other players around the league.
He will earn around $14 million with the Pats and have the option of becoming a free agent after the 2021 season.
This probably spells the end for Joe Thuney here. He will get big money as a free agent.
The Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott agreed to a four year/$164 million contract, which included a $66 million bonus. It's a lot of money and will have a big impact on the team's salary cap.
By the time he turns 30, he can do it all over again. Will it work out for both sides?
He has his money, but needs to keep playing at a high level. Time will tell.
Sam Darnold will always be known as one of the quarterbacks of the great draft class of 2018, along with Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.
The Jets traded up to get him. Things started well, but spiraled downward last season with a 2-14 record. His 72.7 quarterback rating was the worst among the 35 who qualified.
He was considered untradeable, but GM Joe Douglas is taking calls as the team decides what they want to do. They have the #2 overall pick and a lot of options.
Douglas knows he must turn the team around or he won't be there in the future.
Coach Deion Sanders of Jackson State is now 2-0 after a thrilling 33-28 win over Grambling.
It took a great play by the defense to cause a fumble on the two yard line with 1:06 left to secure the win.
Although it's a short season, Sanders is filled with enthusiasm all the way around.
Nobody really knows his long range plans, but he is having fun.
Last summer, a number of colleges on all levels decided to opt out of their season and kick the can down the road to this moment.
Games are now being played this weekend with a pretty full schedule of mostly Division 1AA teams.
It's an opportunity for seniors to have their final time on the field and others to get exposure to NFL scouts.
Josh McCown will always be known as a quarterback who set the standard for having a long career as a backup.
The Texans released the 41 year old today, but is this really the end? He spent the 2020 season with the Eagles after two previous seasons with the Jets.
The Cardinals drafted him in the third round in 2002. He played four seasons with them before spending time with the Lions, Raiders, Panthers, Bears, Buccaneers and Browns.
In 19 seasons, he played 102 games where he threw for 17,731 yards and 98 touchdowns.
NFL teams pay quarterbacks too much money and end up with contracts that strangle them with their salary cap.
A number of them are seeking trades to other teams, but the cap implications are too much to handle without long term effects on team building.
Unless teams do things differently with their contracts, this will happen every year.
Players around the league know that they might become a salary cap casualty, especially if they carry a big number.
Pats OL Marcus Cannon sat out the season because of the pandemic. The team did a great job in the draft and signing undrafted ones. They were cheaper and younger, while outplaying their contract.
Cannon might be on the bubble with a $7 million cap hit.
JJ Watt decided to sign a 2 year/$31 million contract with the Cardinals. He makes the team better, but is it enough to get them deep into the playoffs?
He is closer to the end of his career and might be one of the greats who never played in a championship game.
