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With the launch of the free NFL agency on March 13, this means that the crazy season is about to officially open.
Over the next four weeks, it is highly likely that the unpredictable happens, as it seems to happen every NFL off season.
Will Veon Bell get the contract he was hoping for? (Spoiler alert: probably not). Where will Antonio Brown finish? Will Odell Beckham be traded? I will try to answer these questions for you, and more, with these nine bold predictions for the NFL offseason.
The drama of the wide receiver is coming to an end
Forecast 1: Antonio Brown ends up in the west of the NFC
If anything has become clear during the off season, it is that Brown will almost certainly be traded over the next few weeks, raising an obvious question: where will Mr. Big Chest play in 2019?
(Note: we call him Mr. Big Chest because that's what he asked).
According to Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports insider in the NFL, the man who originally broke the news that Brown wanted a return exchange in January – the Steelers hope to trade Brown for an NFC teamThis is the path we will follow with this prediction. It is assumed here that Brown finds himself in the NFC West with the Cardinals or the 49ers.
The 49ers make sense because it is there that Brown seems to want to go. Since the start of the off-season in January, Brown has not really tried to hide his interest in playing for the 49ers. In recent weeks, Brown has responded favorably to his hunt in San Francisco by 49er's half-square, George Kittle. We also saw Brown follow the 49ers on social media and he even shared a painting on Instagram that featured him and Jerry Rice. Oh, and he also told Rice that he wanted to play San Francisco.
Of course, this is not because Mr. Big Chest wants to play for the 49ers that will happen. On the one hand, the 49ers are going to have to make a generous offer because the Steelers have made it clear that they would not give Brown for free. The other part of this situation is that the Steelers could try to upset Brown in this business by sending him into a team for which he does not want to play. Brown said he wanted to play for a winner and that would be a perfect end to this situation if the Steelers sent Brown to Arizona, the team that ended the 2018 season with the worst record in the NFL.
For an overview of the eight most likely landing places for Brown – and the four teams for which he will certainly not play – be sure to click here.
Prediction 2: Odell Beckham is exchanged
I am not the first person to make this prediction and I will probably not be the last one, mainly because the giants are starting to feel like they do not want to handle the whole drama Beckham brings to the team. On the one hand, it was only four months ago Beckham basically threw Eli Manning under the bus during an interview with ESPN, which also featured Lil Wayne. The receiver of the Giants would not say for sure whether he wanted to be in New York or not. The giants were so angry at the interview that they decided to fine him.
Oh, and it was not the first time the Giants were mad at Beckham. The was the video of the last dead season it showed Beckham holding a brown cigarette in his left hand. In September 2017, Beckham also celebrated a touchdown by peeing like a dog. After this incident, he was forced to meet privately with Giants owner John Mara, who was not happy with the situation. The Giants were not thrilled either Beckham and other receivers went by boat to South Beach before the team's playoff game in 2016. The Giants ended up losing this match against the Packers 38-13, and after the defeat, Beckham broke a hole. in a wall at the Lambeau field.
I could go on, but I will not, because I think you understand. Basically, there is a long list of reasons why giants might be open to an exchange. If a team is ready to launch a first-round pick against the Giants, it's not surprising to see Beckham being treated between now and the NFL draft. The 49ers could be a landing place, which could lead to Big Chest coming out of San Francisco. Another intriguing landing place would be in Cleveland, and the Browns could afford Beckham because they have close to $ 80 million in capitalization, according to Over The Cape.
So what does Odell think of all this?
I hope he's right because nothing makes sense right now.
Prediction 3: A New Receiving Weapon for Tom Brady
Unless you're an unconditional fan of the Patriots, it's likely you can not name any wide-ranging Patriots currently under contract other than Julian Edelman.
Josh Gordon? Nope. He is going to be a restricted free agent.
Chris Hogan? Nope. He is going to be a free agent.
Cordarrelle Patterson? Nope. He is going to be a free agent.
Phillip Dorsett? Nope. He is going to be a free agent.
I think what I'm trying to say here is that if the Patriots do not sign a free placement receiver, they risk going from offensive to wing only next season. Although I'm sure Bill Belichick would like to play with an old-school offense like the one-wing one, the most likely scenario is that the Patriots sign a receiver and the predictor is that the receiver they sign is Golden Tate. This is justified for several reasons: the Patriots actually had some interest in Tate just before the 2018 trading deadline in October. In addition, the Patriots could theoretically end up landing Tate at a relatively affordable price, which is not usually what we can say when we talk about the best receiver available in free agency in a given year. In addition, Tate has just won $ 31 million over the past five years and at this point he might be ready to sign a slight discount if that means a chance to win the Super Bowl.
Quarterback dominoes set up
Prediction 4: Nick Foles goes to Florida
The Eagles have spent the entire off season playing games in the spirit with the rest of the NFL. That's why no one really seems to know what's going to happen with Foles. In the current state of affairs, Foles should be a free-standing free agent on March 13, but that could change if the Eagles decide to hit him with the franchise tag, a decision the team will have to make by March 5 . The prediction here is that Foles ends up in Jacksonville or Miami, depending on how his situation gets worse.
If Foles is tagged, it will be difficult for the Jaguars to place it in a trade. The tag number for a quarterback is should be about 25.1 million dollars for a yearThis is a price that Jaguars will find hard to afford, given that they currently have a negative cap. If the tag occurs, dolphins become a logical trading partner. If Foles ends up being a standalone player, that's where the Jaguars come in. If this happens, the Jags could be creative so that the new Foles contract will meet their salary cap for 2019.
Although the Giants and Redskins also seem logical landing points, the Eagles will probably do everything possible to prevent Foles from visiting an NFC East team.
Prediction 5: Case Keenum Follows Foles In Florida, But Not With The Same Team
When the Broncos decided to exchange their titles for Joe Flacco, they apparently forgot to tell the Keenum case that an agreement was about to pass because it was shocked when the trade arrived.
One thing that should not shock Keenum is the idea that the Broncos cut him off. With Flacco now in Denver, writing is for Keenum: it's either will be traded or cut by the Broncos. The Jaguars and Dolphins will likely be alert to this situation as they both need a quarter. According to forecasts, one of these teams will land at Foles and the other team will return home with the consolation prize of Keenum.
Forecast 6: Mr. Tannehill travels to Washington
Alex Smith having little chance of playing in 2019, the Redskins are in serious need of a quarterback and it seems like all the options are on the table. One thing we know for sure is that the Redskins are definitely open to trading for a quarter and we know it because they were the main competition Broncos for Joe Flacco. With Flacco now in Denver, the prediction is that the Redskins will turn to Miami to try to conclude an exchange with the Dolphins. For Washington, the addition of Tannehill has many benefits. On the one hand, it should come cheap. The Dolphins do not seem really interested in keeping it, which means that Washington will probably not have to waste a lot of money to land it. The other advantage of the Redskins is that Tannehilll has an affordable contract that Washington could easily absorb. The Dolphins quarterback is expected to earn only $ 18.725 million in 2019, but nothing of that money is guaranteed. Tannehill's $ 19.5 million 2020 salary is also not guaranteed, which means it could be released after the 2019 season with little impact on the cap.
It is also possible that the Redskins are not even obliged to conclude an exchange against Tannehill. If dolphins can not find a trading partner, there is a good luck that they will eventually cut Tannehill, which would allow the Redskins to develop an even more user-friendly contract.
Prediction 7: Colin Kaepernick gets a signature
Of all the predictions on this list, this one is perhaps the craziest, and this mainly because Kaepernick has been out of football for two years due to the fact that there is no team that be willing to sign it. Although there were probably several teams who left him because of his policy, it is also possible that a few teams only passed him because he was in the middle of a lawsuit for collusion against the NFL. With that settled case nowthis could allow Kaepernick to return to the league. A person who really thinks that Kaepernick is going to have another shot is his lawyer, Mark Geragos. In an interview after the announcement of the settlement, Geragos was appointed two teams that could go after Kaepernick: The patriots and the panthers.
The Patriots make sense, if only because signing Kaepernick could be the perfect way to make headlines in the off season. that does not involve their owner.
It would not be surprising to see the Dolphins or Seahawks play for Kaepernick. Although the Redskins and Jaguars both need a quarterback, it is highly unlikely that any one or the other of the two teams claims Kaepernick for political reasons (the owner of the Redskins, Daniel Snyder, would apparently not be happy that the player is kneeling and Tom Coughlin from Jacksonville said that his team had no interest in Kaepernick).
The Veon Bell returns to football
Forecast 8: Bell joins Jon Gruden in Oakland
If I've learned anything about Raiders in the past two years, it's because they've perfected the art of making brilliant moves whenever they need positive public relations. After the 32 owners of the NFL approved the move of the team to Las Vegas back In March 2017, the Raiders satisfied their Oakland fans by attracting their city hero, Marshawn Lynch, to convince them to retire. the Seahawks to exchange. In November 2017, after the team inaugurated their new stadium in Vegas, the Raiders satisfied their supporters in Oakland by signing Jon Gruden to a 10-year contract just two months later.
This year, the Raiders have spent most of the off-season as the only homeless team in the NFL and what better way to make fans forget that adding Bell. With Lynch and Doug Martin both over 30, it's not that bad to think that Gruden will be looking to recruit a young running back. The advantage of having Bell, is that he can catch passes out of the backfield, which is exactly the kind of half offensively that Derek Carr needs at the same time. actual hour. Since her leg injury in December 2016, Carr seems to have a minor case of nervousness and it would probably help a lot to have a back to drop the ball.
Oh, and let's not forget the fact that Damian Lillard, a Trail Blazers keeper, originally from Oakland, really wants to see this move come true.
Although it has been reported that Bell ballooned up to 260 pounds during his year away from football, his coach has severely refuted these accusations, which means that the information will probably not run away from the Raiders.
An NFL prediction project
Prediction 9: Kyler Murray is one of the top five picks
Although Murray will almost certainly be selected in the first round, most recruiting experts do not think that he will be ranked among the top five. In our five draft simulations here on CBSSports.com, only one author has Murray among the top five and this is Will Brinson, who is the former quarterback of Oklahoma with the first overall pick among the Cardinals. Brinson's model may seem crazy, but do not forget that the Cardinals are driven by the guy who said that he would take Murray first in the overall standings if he had any opportunity. .
Of course, most other people do not expect Murray to figure in the top five, that is, it's not the size of a prototype quarterback. Murray is listed at 5 feet 10 and 195 pounds, although recent reports suggest that it is now at 206. There will be many teams who do not like Murray because of his size, but the good news for him, it's only one team that likes to make it one of the top five, and depending on the number of teams requiring a quarterback in the repechage this year, it will only be not at all surprising to see Murray get caught with one of the top five picks.
If the Cardinals do not take Murray with the first choice, it will open the door for a team like Jaguars, Dolphins or Giants to exchange and grab it.
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