Making sense of the off-season so far

The NFL off-season is better than that of most other sports. For many teams, a season of 17 miserable weeks is replaced by anticipation, excitement and speculation of new horizons. The allure of draft prospects and free-agent signings puts the disappointment of a 3 and 14 season firmly in the rear-view mirror and the fun can finally begin again. Let’s take the team who benefits from picking first this year as an example. The options are endless. I assure you that Chicago Bears’ Twitter spaces and YouTube channels will be inundated with every potential mock draft pick, trade idea and dream free-agent signing you can imagine. At this moment in time, every team’s fanbase can convince themselves that they are a playoff hopeful for next year. And that is why the off-season is so fun.

Here’s a quick run through what the off-season has brought us so far.

Lamar Jackson

We may as well start with the biggest name floating around this off-season, Baltimore Ravens Quarterback, Lamar Jackson. It’s not often you get ex-MVPs on the table for teams to make a move for, but by placing the unrestricted franchise tag on him, the Baltimore Ravens have signalled to other teams that the door is open. Such a signal, you would think, would trigger a wave of teams enquiring to make the most of a rare chance at securing the services of a young, very talented quarterback who has already been recognised as an MVP of the league.

Well, not quite. The only action we have seen on this front so far is a list of quarterback-needy teams quickly making it clear that they have no intention of signing the star QB. It is difficult to know exactly why this might be as, on the surface, it looks a rare and amazing opportunity. Perhaps this is the first sign of a hangover from the controversial (and frankly ridiculous) fully guaranteed contract given to Deshaun Watson. It was discussed at the time how this set an unfortunate precedent that the rest of the league would have to follow, and here we are, one year later and a quarterback demanding (rightfully) a fully (or almost fully) guaranteed contract. Perhaps this fast announcement from the teams is a quick attempt to nip this situation in the bud and an attempt to make it clear to players that they should not expect the same treatment that the Browns were so willing to award to Deshaun Watson.

Daniel Jones

A quarterback that has not struggled to lock in some money is Giants QB, Daniel Jones. Just one year after the Giants declined Jones’ 5th-year option, he finds himself the recipient of a juicy 4-year contract that slots him in as the 9th highest-paid quarterback in the league. I think it is fair to say that, when his 5th-year option was declined, many may have expected his second NFL contract to reflect that of a backup, not a top-10 quarterback. Either way, it is a testament to the success he has had in his first year under new head Coach, Brian Daboll, and a showing of trust from the team that the Giants are moving in the right direction in the NFC. For me, despite his improvements, he is just lacking in what you would want from your starting quarterback. As I said, it was just one year ago that the team didn’t feel confident to lock themselves into the 5th year option. Just one year isn’t enough to convince me that he is now worthy of a top-10 contract, but it certainly isn’t a bad thing to have a competent player locked into the most important position. Just ask the Colts how their quarterback situation has been treating them…

Derek Carr

The Raiders made it very clear towards the end of last year that they would not be lining up with Derek Carr under centre. Carr has landed himself with the Saints, a team who suffered similar stories of underwhelming performances in 2022. However, there is no doubt that there is talent on the roster, and Saints fans will be hoping that Carr can tie it all together in a division that is now there for the taking. With Tom Brady now retired, the NFC South is lacking any star quarterbacks. In fact, question marks at the quarterback positions for the Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers begs the question as to whether there is any talent in that division at all, let alone star talent.

Carr instantly makes that team division favourites and gives them a great chance at making it into the playoffs. Regardless of what you think of Carr, many in the league will see him as a starting quarterback. According to the QB Index written by Gregg Rosenthal in 2021 and 2020, he was ranked 10th and 12th respectively. If you have been having quarterback issues, like the Saints have, you would be delighted to add Carr to an offense that boasts one of the leading contenders for offensive rookie of the year, Chris Olave, and Alvin Kamara. Having not had to give up any draft picks to secure his services, there is still draft capital on hand to add to the offense and really stamp their dominance in that division.

I didn’t plan to go so quarterback centric this week, but 900 words later and I have done just that. I suppose that elite movement at the position is rare and it is understandable that such stories dominate at this time. Join me next week as I will hopefully discuss some other storylines from the off-season so far.