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We're inching closer to the 2020 NFL campaign.
This offseason has been like no other in the league's history. Just as it has with every other facet of American life, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the NFL. Rookie minicamps and OTAs were wiped out. The league's latest proposal to the NFLPA would do the same to preseason games.
But Monday, rookies in Houston and Kansas City reported for training camp. In a summer that's been woefully short on good news, it was a sliver of just that: progress toward playing games.
The agreement to test players daily for at least the first two weeks of camp appears to move us that much closer to a pact that would pave the way for veteran players to report and team activities to begin in earnest. The pandemic will continue to dominate the news cycle once that occurs. But it's not the only news in the NFL.
Whether it's young players who could break out, overhauls of position groups or stars who are looking to come back from an injury-marred 2019, there's something going on with all 32 NFL teams.
And as we move toward the opening of camps leaguewide, here's a team-by-team look at what's going on.
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The Arizona Cardinals have been one of the buzziest teams of the 2020 offseason. The transaction that really got the buzz-ball rolling was the trade that brought star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to town.
That swap was met with disbelief in more than a few circles—including by the young quarterback who will throw to Hopkins this fall.
Kyler Murray told ESPN's First Take last week (h/t Dana Scott of the Arizona Republic):
"I didn't believe it. As soon as I was told, I went to YouTube and watched his highlights. Obviously, I know a lot about DeAndre, watching him for years. I didn't believe it.
"I knew it two weeks before and I still didn't believe it until they tweeted it and it got announced. I had a smile from ear to ear. Obviously, getting to work with him a couple weeks ago, great dude, loves to play football and I'm excited to have him."
That trade (and the rest of Arizona's offseason) has ratcheted up expectations for the Redbirds in 2020.
If Hopkins and Murray develop a quick rapport, that would be a major step toward meeting them.
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The Baltimore Ravens ran the ball better than any team in the NFL last year. In fact, the Ravens ran it better than any team in NFL history last year.
But if they are going to make the Super Bowl in 2020, their passing game needs to improve.
That's where second-year wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown comes in.
Brown showed flashes as a rookie, reeling in seven touchdowns. However, his 46 catches for 584 yards were modest totals.
With Brown's second training camp about to get underway, the Ravens' expectations for Hollywood in 2020 are quite a bit more…robust.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, the Ravens believe the 5'9", 170-pound Brown is on the verge of becoming a "feared front-line receiver."
Brown has the speed and explosiveness to be a difference-maker. And if he does grow as a player in 2020, the Baltimore offense will be that much harder to stop.
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The Buffalo Bills were one of the NFL's most run-heavy teams last year—they ranked eighth in rushing yards and sixth in attempts.
They will most likely once again lean heavily on the ground game in 2020, so the split in the backfield between second-year pro Devin Singletary and rookie Zack Moss is one of Buffalo's biggest questions.
Singletary played well as a rookie, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and topping 900 total yards. But the team's selection of Moss on the second day of the 2020 draft appears to indicate the Bills aren't prepared to solely ride with Singletary.
As Justin DiLoro wrote for Bills Wire, "It won't be shocking to see a heavy diet of Singletary early in the game, while Moss will likely be the back to help close out games."
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The Carolina Panthers have big shoes to fill on both sides of the ball in 2020. On offense, Teddy Bridgewater will attempt to replace a former NFL MVP in quarterback Cam Newton.
Defensively, veteran free agent Tahir Whitehead faces a tall task of his own: taking over at middle linebacker for a former Defensive Player of the Year in Luke Kuechly.
Per Myles Simmons of the team's website, Whitehead is well aware he has his work cut out for him:
"For me, it's just a matter of I'm my biggest critic. At the end of the day, Luke is Luke and I'm me. He plays the game differently than I do and vice versa. So I just have to go out there and make sure that I can execute my ability and my job within the scheme. So making sure that I'm a good presence in the locker room, a good presence in the linebacker room, and making sure that I'm leading by example and not doing all of the rah-rah stuff. That's just it."
From a talent perspective, there's no comparing the two players. But the Panthers will need Whitehead's experience and professionalism in 2020.
This defense could be on the field a lot.
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If there's one team that probably wishes for a regular-length preseason, it's the Chicago Bears. They need all the game reps they can get to decide whether Mitchell Trubisky or Nick Foles should start the season under center.
However, it's looking like even if there is a preseason, it will be all of one game. One might think that lack of prep time would benefit the incumbent Trubisky. But JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago believes the opposite is true:
"Fewer (or no) games benefits Foles, who, again, has less to prove. Fewer practices probably benefit Foles, too, even though he needs time to develop relationships with his offensive line and the guys he'll be throwing to. Trubisky needs as many practices and games as possible to prove he's not the quarterback he was from 2017-2019."
The battle under center in Chicago is the biggest question mark facing the team as camp opens. It's far from certain who will win.
What is certain is that neither signal-caller has much margin for error.
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There's no question who will be the focus of the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp.
It's Joe Burrow's world. The rest of us just live in it.
The hype surrounding 2020's first overall pick has seemingly grown with each day. And as Jelani Scott reported for NFL.com, Burrow has already made a favorable impression on at least one teammate.
He's a good guy to impress too.
"A lot of people don't want quarterbacks to be that fired up, but I feel like he's going to bring to us the same energy he brought to LSU," veteran wide receiver A.J. Green said. "I know the type of player he is. I know he's a dog, for a fact. I'm excited to play with him, and I can't wait to get back out there."
Green is equally excited about his team's prospects this season.
"I feel like when you have the No. 1 pick, and what we did in free agency and me coming back, (Tyler Boyd) is coming back, John (Ross), Tee (Higgins) and all these pieces that we added on defense, I feel like the talent level that we have now is way different than what we had in 2011."
For what it's worth, those 2011 Bengals went 9-7—and made the playoffs.
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After setting a new NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie quarterback with 27, Baker Mayfield entered the 2019 season riding a wave of hype. That wave crashed into the rocks during a mistake-filled campaign that included 21 interceptions.
That down year turned this into a make-or-break season for Mayfield. Play well, and all is forgiven. Fall flat again, and Mayfield could find himself in the same position next year Trubisky is in now.
While appearing on a Cleveland radio station, Greg Cosell of NFL Films said he thinks redemption is coming for Mayfield—and the offense of new head coach and former Vikings coordinator Kevin Stefanski could be the driving force.
"Baker Mayfield is a far more talented passer than Kirk Cousins, and Kirk Cousins did exceptionally well in this offense," Cosell said. "It's so well schemed, and I think that, that's a critical, critical piece."
The receiving talent is there for the Cleveland Browns. The team upgraded both tackle spots in the offseason too. If Mayfield does take to the new scheme, maybe that hype will turn out to have been less misplaced and more premature.
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The 2019 season was a disappointing one for Dallas Cowboys edge-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. After tallying 10.5 sacks in 2018 and earning a fat contract extension, he saw his production go way down a year ago.
Now, Lawrence's 2020 season could be off to a similarly rocky start.
As ESPN's Todd Archer reported, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging across America and Lawrence's wife, Sasha, due to give birth in October, the 28-year-old is considering not reporting for training camp:
"I'm taking it one day at a time, talking with my team and trying to figure out as many details as possible before I make a decision and have it set in stone. Shoot, I love to ride with my brothers and play the game of football. When I have to take that away from myself, it's hard and I don't want to make a decision like that. But I also have to make sure I'm taking care of my family. Family is No. 1. After the game of football is done, that's the only thing I have to depend on, so I've got to take care of them."
Dallas already lost its most productive pass-rusher from last season when Robert Quinn left for Chicago in free agency. Losing Lawrence as well would leave the Cowboys precariously thin on the edge.
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After then-rookie Drew Lock went 4-1 down the stretch in 2019, there's optimism surrounding both the Denver Broncos and the 23-year-old quarterback.
As Yahoo's Frank Schwab wrote, the Broncos have put Lock in good position to take a step forward in his second season:
"They committed fully to giving him the best supporting cast possible. They took receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler with their top two draft picks. They added guard Graham Glasgow and running back Melvin Gordon III in free agency. They already had a good offensive foundation with receiver Courtland Sutton, tight end Noah Fant, running back Phillip Lindsay and an improved line. They hired Pat Shurmur to run the offense, and while he has failed as a head coach he has a strong history as a coordinator."
However, while the Broncos won four of five to close the season, Lock's numbers over that span were far from eye-popping—just over 200 passing yards per game and seven scores in five starts.
Lock needs to mesh quickly with his new teammates and coordinator.
Or optimism could turn to impatience pretty quickly.
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The 2019 season was a three-win nightmare for the Detroit Lions—largely because quarterback Matthew Stafford missed half the campaign with a back injury.
It was an ignominious end to a year that started with more than a little promise—at the time of his injury, Stafford was on pace to throw for almost 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Still, as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported, there remain some NFL executives who believe Stafford is a high-end quarterback who has been saddled with a low-end team.
"It's the Stafford syndrome—he plays in Detroit, so he's not in a position to maximize his ability," one NFC exec said. "He's a major talent who'd probably be a top-five quarterback with an established franchise. He can score from anywhere on the field."
By all indications, Stafford is healthy in 2020, and the 32-year-old has already been working out with teammates on the side.
If the Lions have any chance of making noise this season, that chance depends on Stafford's ability to stay on the field.
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There's been plenty written this offseason about the Green Bay Packers' decision to use a first-round draft pick on Utah State quarterback Jordan Love. And the team's issues at wide receiver behind Davante Adams.
But for once, we won't focus on the Packers' potential weaknesses. Instead, we'll look at what Zach Kruse of Packers Wire believes could be one of the team's biggest strengths: the left side of the offensive line.
"ESPN's pass-blocking win rate metric—which measures how often a player blocked successfully for 2.5 seconds or more—had [David] Bakhtiari as the best offensive tackle and [Elgton] Jenkins as the eighth-best offensive guard in 2019," Kruse wrote. "There's reason to believe the two could be even better in 2020."
If last year's 13-3 squad was any indication, the 2020 Packers will be a team Vince Lombardi would be proud of—a team focused on running the ball.
That's a lot easier when the left side of the line is so stout.
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For the newest members of the Houston Texans, there's no more waiting—as Mark Lane noted for Texans Wire, rookies reported to NRG Stadium on Monday to begin camp.
Per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the first day at camp was a quick one—and the second will follow suit.
"The first day is literally just a COVID-19 test. They take the test, they go home," Pelissero said on Good Morning Football (via NFL.com's Kevin Patra). "They come back to the building on Tuesday, take another COVID-19 test. If they get two negatives in a row, only then can they move on to other things, be in the building, take their physical and move into team activities."
The importance of this goes well beyond defensive tackle Ross Blacklock and the rest of Houston's rookie class. These first tentative steps will ripple across the NFL and determine whether other camps get going or grind to a halt.
Only then can Houston get down to the business of trying to defend its AFC South title.
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The Indianapolis Colts will have quite a changed offense in 2020. There's a new quarterback in Philip Rivers and a talented new tailback in second-round rookie Jonathan Taylor.
The issue with that second part is the Colts already have a 1,000-yard tailback in fourth-year pro Marlon Mack. And an excellent receiving back in Nyheim Hines.
Per Jaylon Thompson of 247 Sports, Colts play-by-play man Matt Taylor told the NFL Network he believes there are enough touches to go around in the Colts backfield:
"They call it a one-one punch, not a one-two punch. It's a one-one punch between Mack and Jonathan Taylor … We know Mack was maybe the most underrated bell-cow back in the NFL a year ago, over 1,000 yards. He's a patient, explosive type runner. Jonathan Taylor is kind of the entire package, which you would want for a running back, over 6,000 yards in three seasons playing in the Big Ten kind of speaks for itself.
"Then you add in Nyheim Hines who is the Colts version of what Phillip Rivers has worked with in the past, Darren Sproles, Danny Woodhead, Austin Ekeler. … In the running game, the Colts are well-suited to have success behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL."
The talent is there. But how the workload is split early in the season will depend largely on how Taylor fares with picking up the offense in this abbreviated camp.
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It's been a rough patch for the Jacksonville Jaguars' linebackers of late. First, outside linebacker Telvin Smith abruptly walked away from the game. Then Myles Jack followed his lucrative extension by having one of the worst seasons of his career.
The Jaguars are hopeful that the arrival of free agent Joe Schobert will be the genesis for a turnaround. But with Schobert locked in at "Mike" linebacker, that means Jack will be switching positions—again.
However, Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash is confident Jack can transition to the weak side after playing first on the strong side and then in the middle.
"I've talked to Myles, and he feels comfortable over there [weak-side linebacker]," Wash said, per John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. "I look forward to him being at the [weak-side] spot where that's a great playmaking position. Telvin [Smith] did a great job of that in the past and now we obviously think Myles can be a great Will linebacker also."
Taking to the practice field and getting some live reps can only help with the transition.
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Along with the Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs were the other NFL team that had rookies report Monday. And just like the Texans, the first couple of camp days will involve little more than receiving a COVID-19 test.
From there, conditioning and weight training will begin, and as Charles Goldman reported for Chiefs Wire, head coach Andy Reid offered a glimpse into how the team hopes to pull off this most problematic of practice seasons:
"When you guys see the setup — if you have an opportunity to do that — it's phenomenal. We're going to do everything out of the stadium. The way they've set it up, we could have a ton of people social distance, more than we have with our football team. They've got it all set up with monitors and everything else. They've got each media room set up. They've split the Arrowhead Stadium in half, so one half, the defense is on one side, the offense is on the other side. It's really something."
There's still much to be decided regarding the NFL's protocols in 2020. But the defending Super Bowl champions have offered a preview of sorts as to what we can expect when rookies around the rest of the NFL begin to report.
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It's a time of great change for the Las Vegas Raiders. There are new faces galore on both sides of the ball. And a new stadium. And a new city to play in.
As Vic Tafur reported for The Athletic, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock indicated that when the Raiders' first camp in Sin City gets underway, he's most interested in seeing how the new-look defensive backfield shakes out.
"I am most anxious to see the secondary. ... We've got some good young talent, and I am anxious to see who competes," Mayock said. "It's awesome to have (Prince) Amukamara because he brings a veteran presence, but we have a bunch of really young corners and safeties that we think have some talent."
Amukamara wasn't the only veteran defensive back the team brought in—Las Vegas also signed safeties Damarious Randall and Jeff Heath. Add youngsters, such as safety Johnathan Abram and cornerback Isaiah Johnson, who didn't play much last year because of injuries, and the Raiders pass defense could be vastly different than last year's 25th-ranked unit.
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"It's going to be different."
That's what Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said, per Gavino Borquez of Chargers Wire, when asked about the team's offense in 2020—a unit that won't feature Rivers under center regularly for the first time since 2005.
Apparently, Lynn is a fan of understatement.
However, as Borquez pointed out, change isn't necessarily a bad thing: "With the new system in place, there will be more pistol formation, more play action and more run-pass option. The offense is going to look a lot more like the Ravens offense last season. Coach Anthony Lynn and Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman coached together in Buffalo in 2015 and 2016."
It's a scheme that should play to the strengths of veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor and rookie Justin Herbert, who offer significantly more mobility than Rivers had.
The question then becomes whether Taylor and/or Herbert can make the throws necessary to keep from falling off the pace in the AFC West.
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Salary-cap realities hit the Los Angeles Rams hard in 2020—especially at linebacker.
After posting a career year in 2019, edge-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. left in the offseason. So did Clay Matthews III, who was a cap casualty. The Rams replaced them with 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd, who defensive coordinator Brandon Staley talked up while speaking to ESPN's Lindsey Thiry.
"This guy has a unique skill set, he's a unique athlete for the position," Staley said. "He's a very, very high-football-IQ guy."
The inside linebackers may be even worse off. With Cory Littleton now in Las Vegas, the Rams ILB corps is equal parts untested and unproven—a fact that general manager Les Snead admitted.
"[It's] a very inexperienced group," Snead said. "Internally we have, let's call it, a solid to good to high hopes for this group and we got to do our best to develop them."
The Rams still have Aaron Donald up front. And a loaded secondary. But the players between them need to come together quickly in camp for the Rams to hang in the NFL's toughest division.
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There's no question who the biggest training-camp story is in 2020.
It's Tua time for the Miami Dolphins.
Except it's not. Not yet. Until the moment Tua Tagovailoa sees his first game action in the NFL, the $64 question will be: "When will Tua take over at quarterback?"
It's a loaded question. Even if this were a normal offseason, there would be the matter of Tagovailoa's recovery from a dislocated hip. As physical therapist Kevin Wilk told Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, that recovery (and Tagovailoa's conditioning) could be sizable hurdles.
"He's in shape now, but he's not in South Florida football shape," Wilk said. "Just that aspect of it, from a cardio standpoint and a recovery standpoint, you don't want to put him out there when he's fatigued to not just jeopardize his hip, but his arm or something like that."
This, of course, is no normal offseason. And the Dolphins have to be leery of jeopardizing the franchise's future for the sake of improving the present. Given all the uncertainty around the NFL, many pundits (including Deen) are advising patience with the fifth overall pick.
But from day one, every time Tagovailoa throws a perfect spiral on the practice field, the clamoring for him to start sooner will be amplified exponentially.
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The biggest Minnesota Vikings training-camp story involves the player who isn't expected to be there. Running back Dalvin Cook was unquestionably the team's offensive MVP in 2019, but the 24-year-old has made it clear he doesn't plan to report until he gets a contract extension.
There hasn't been much movement in that regard, and as Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon wrote, the reason isn't hard to pinpoint:
"The Vikes might be apprehensive about guaranteeing Cook a lot of scratch since he has yet to make it through a 16-game season healthy. The 24-year-old did come close during his breakout 2019 campaign, but he injured his shoulder in December, missed the final two games of the regular season and averaged only 3.0 yards per carry in the playoffs."
In light of Derrick Henry's four-year, $50 million extension in Tennessee, Gagnon posited that a three-year, $38 million deal for Cook would be a reasonable compromise. But given the changes to how service years are accrued in the new CBA, there's little motivation for the Vikings to get a deal done.
If Cook wants to get a year closer to hitting free agency, he has little recourse but to bite the bullet and show up.
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The New England Patriots (and the team's post-Tom Brady era) have long been one of the dominant storylines of the 2020 offseason. And the intrigue level was ratcheted up a few notches recently when the Pats signed veteran quarterback Cam Newton.
Per Mike Reiss of ESPN, the drama surrounding Brady's replacement is far from over. Not with Newton, second-year pro Jarrett Stidham and veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer set to split reps as training camp gets underway.
"It's hard to top Newton when it comes to career resume," Reiss wrote, "but he has notable ground to make up compared to Stidham and Hoyer with relationship-building among the majority of teammates and knowledge of coordinator Josh McDaniels' system."
In the eyes of many, Newton is the favorite to be the team's Week 1 starter—after all, he was the league's MVP in 2015 and led the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl.
But Newton's last two seasons in Charlotte were injury-riddled, and if there's one head coach in the NFL most likely to turn conventional wisdom on its head, it's Bill Belichick.
This matter is far from settled—and may not be for quite some time.
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Make no mistake: The New Orleans Saints hope Jameis Winston doesn't take a single snap in the regular season or playoffs. But as we saw last year with Teddy Bridgewater, having a capable backup plan at quarterback can make all the difference in the world.
Per John DeShazier of the team's website, that's just what Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi thinks they have with Winston, who came over as Bridgewater's replacement behind superstar Drew Brees:
"He threw for over 5,000 yards last year. So he is a guy that makes big plays and that is always exciting to see someone who's got that ability to get the ball downfield. I think he is probably a little more athletic than people give him credit for. So it's just fun when you see someone with those kinds of tools who puts them into play like he does, he moves the ball and scores points. He was a first round draft pick for a reason and we're real excited to have him on board."
The Saints are fortunate in 2020—the team didn't have a lot of turnover on either side of the ball, so the shortened offseason shouldn't have as adverse an impact as it will on some teams.
But getting Winston up to speed in the Saints offense is one of Lombardi's top priorities in 2020.
You know, just in case.
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For years, linebacker has been a weak spot for the New York Giants. However, new head coach Joe Judge told Dan Salomone of the team's website that he feels the Giants have improved that linebacker corps substantially this offseason.
"I think it says a lot more about how our defensive scheme fits together, that we are going to play with a lot of linebackers throughout the game. You build your defense to build two-thirds of your team, that's really your defense and your kicking game for covering kicks. These guys have a lot of impact across the board right there."
The Giants put their money where their mouth was. Edge-rusher Kyler Fackrell and tackling machine Blake Martinez came over in free agency. The team used four Day 3 draft picks on the position, headlined by Penn State's Cam Brown.
Add in the return of Ryan Connelly, who impressed as a rookie before tearing his ACL last year, and what was a weakness for the New York defense could be a strength in 2020.
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Sam Darnold had a season to forget in 2019. The first half was a nightmare of missed games and awful performances. But the second half was significantly better, and as Eric Allen reported for the team's website, Darnold wants to show he can carry that improved performance into a pivotal third season:
"My goal personally is just to be as consistent as possible. [Last year] I think I missed some throws I don't usually miss, and I think that just comes with repetition and making sure that I don't miss those throws in-game. I think it's just about getting those reps over and over again and putting myself in uncomfortable positions in the pocket and continuing to work on throws on the run, running and setting up throwing."
The team has done its part. New York spent considerable money and draft capital on improving one of the NFL's worst offensive lines from 2019. The team added passing-game talent in both free agency (Breshad Perriman) and the 2020 draft (Denzel Mims).
Now, much like fellow third-year pro Baker Mayfield, the pressure is on Darnold to show he's the franchise quarterback the Jets have lacked since, well, nearly forever.
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For many years, Jason Peters has been a left tackle fixture for the Philadelphia Eagles. After recently signing a one-year deal to return for a 17th NFL season, Peters will be back in Philly in 2020.
It just won't be on the left side of the line. Or at tackle.
After losing Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks to a season-ending torn Achilles, the Eagles flipped Peters into that spot this season. The move comes with risk, but as Dave Spadaro wrote for the team's website, the reward could be significant:
"Peters knows the offense, knows what Jeff Stoutland teaches, and knows the rhythm of his fellow linemen. The plan is for him to be the starting right guard, but he also gives the Eagles a two-for-one player, in that he can fill the role of swing tackle as well if needed, with Matt Pryor – who played well late last season when Brooks was out – able to step in at right guard. Last year, the Eagles started eight different offensive linemen, so having depth and flexibility within that group is always important to the Eagles."
The 38-year-old Peters is getting up there (and then some). Injuries have been an issue in recent years as well. But it's hard to find even serviceable linemen in mid-July.
Landing one with Peters' resume and familiarity with the team is a big get.
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The 2019 season was disappointing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But with a talented roster on both sides of the ball and a healthy Ben Roethlisberger ready to move back under center after he missed most of last season with an elbow injury, many are pegging the Steelers as a potential playoff team in 2020.
However, while Pittsburgh's rookie class was scheduled to report for camp July 21, there's a problem.
The team's rookie class has been participating in Zoom meetings over the summer, but according to Curt Popejoy of Steelers Wire, not a single 2020 draft pick has a contract yet—whether it's wide receiver Chase Claypool, linebacker Alex Highsmith or running back Anthony McFarland Jr. and beyond.
Rookies were already going to face an uphill climb in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out minicamps and OTAs. Every day of camp that those players miss on top of that because they aren't yet under contract potentially puts them that much farther behind.
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No NFC team had more success running the ball in 2019 than the San Francisco 49ers. But the backfield situation in the Bay Area muddied recently when Raheem Mostert's agent indicated the team's leading rusher from last year had requested a trade.
"After months of unproductive talks with the 49ers about fairly adjusting Raheem Mostert's contract (which paid him for special teams) we have requested a trade," agent Brett Tessler tweeted July 8. "Disappointing that it would come to this for a guy who led all NFL RBs in YPC & helped lead them to the Super Bowl."
Mostert, who reupped with the Niners before the 2019 season, had a career year, averaging a robust 5.6 yards per carry. Set to make just $2.6 million in 2020, Mostert understandably might want a bump in pay. Given that he just received a new contract, it's also understandable that the 49ers don't want to just tear that deal up.
Apparently, a compromise might be on the horizon. Per Kevin Patra of NFL.com, Mostert spoke to a high-ranking 49ers official Monday in an effort to "clear the air and get on the same page moving forward, according to sources informed of the conversation."
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For much of the offseason, the Seattle Seahawks have reportedly had interest in adding a veteran wide receiver. Both Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown had been speculated upon as potential targets.
In fact, as recently as Monday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler tweeted the Seahawks had done a "deep dive into Antonio Brown to understand player and person."
However, later than same day, the 32-year-old Brown seemingly put an end to speculation that he'll play in Seattle in 2020—or anywhere else.
"At this point the risk is greater than the reward," Brown tweeted. "Thank you everyone who been part of this journey I sincerely thank you for everything! Life goes on 84!"
Now, a somewhat cryptic tweet does not constitute official retirement. Brown has already also "retired" before. But for now at least, it looks like he's done with football.
Gordon, on the other hand, is working out and living in Seattle after playing briefly for the Seahawks late last year. If he's reinstated by the NFL, a reunion remains a real possibility.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have been waiting for this. There aren't any more anticipated camp debuts in 2020 than those of quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski.
It will be a little while longer before we see the former Patriots greats in pewter helmets, but while speaking with WEEI Radio, Gronkowski offered a glimpse into why he came out of retirement to join his former teammate in Florida.
"This is an opportunity to go see what it's like somewhere else, to go see what it's like in the NFL on another squad," Gronkowski said (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). There's so many players that bounce around on so many different teams. I loved my time in New England, no doubt about it. But it was another opportunity that presented."
It was more fun to think that there was a grand conspiracy between quarterback and tight end. But sadly, no dice.
Now it's a matter of turning the grand expectations for the Buccaneers to actual success on the field.
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It's a good time to be Derrick Henry.
As the Tennessee Titans report to training camp, Henry will do so with a much fatter wallet. Henry recently inked a four-year contract extension worth $50 million. Just over half the deal ($25.5 million) is guaranteed, per Spotrac.
Henry, who paced the NFL with 1,540 yards on the ground in 2019, told Jim Wyatt of the team's website his new deal won't change anything once the pads go on:
"I am very excited, and happy the process if over with … and now the focus is getting back to football and hopefully getting together (for training camp) at the end of this month. I didn't have any doubt at all. It was just a matter of time before we could come (to an agreement) where we'd both be happy and I'm glad we were able to do that. We came to a common ground where both of us could be happy."
With both Henry and quarterback Ryan Tannehill locked up long term, the core of the Titans offense is set.
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There isn't a team in the NFL more in need of a fresh start in 2020 than Washington.
Soon enough, the franchise's players will report to begin preparing for the season. However, they are preparing to play for a nameless team.
That should change in relatively short order, and as Matt Weyrich reported for NBC Sports Washington, a betting favorite has emerged to become the team's new moniker.
The Washington Red Wolves.
It's actually not a bad idea. Washington could keep its team colors of burgundy and gold. There's no other NFL franchise with a wolf mascot. And players such as quarterback Dwayne Haskins and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen have come out in support of the choice.
Fans have even taken the initiative of designing new uniforms, and given the success (or lack thereof) NFL teams have had in that regard in recent years, maybe franchise owner Dan Snyder should just use one of them.
Of course, this is Washington, so there has to be a problem. The trademark for Red Wolves is owned by Arkansas State University.
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