Friday recap 3/5
This week the NFL changed quite significantly. The Cardinals signed JJ Watt, Ben Roethlisberger got an extension, and Alex Smith was released. All this was big news, but what else happened this week?
We’ll begin with some big name releases that happened this week. The Dolphins released Kyle Van Noy after just one year into his four year deal with the team, definitely a cap casualty. The reigning comeback player of the year wont be coming back to the Washington Football Team after they released him officially this morning, saving them nearly $15 million in cap space, ultimately a good move. The Saints released Thomas Morstead as well as Jared Cook. The Giants released Golden Tate, and the Lions informed Desmond Trufant of his release after the new league year begins later this month. After all of these releases, and even more, there are rumors from league executives that next week there will be an absolute purge of talent, which can be really scary for any player who had a down year in 2020.
The biggest breaking news this week was the JJ Watt decision. JJ chose Arizona over teams like the Browns, Steelers, Titans, Bills and Packers. Fans of these teams are rightfully upset, especially considering the Cardinals aren’t exactly the championship contenders that JJ said he was looking for, meaning media and opposing fans will say he was just looking for a payday, but who cares anyways? Additionally, the Cardinals owner, Michael Bidwill went on the record after the huge signing saying that fans and people around the league will be surprised by the teams moves later this offseason and that they’re not done yet. Interesting.
The Broncos have come out and said that they plan to have Von Miller back next season. In case youre out of the loop, Von had missed all of last season with a training campo injury, and has been under investigation for the past few months, bringing questions about whether he’ll be in Denver next season, let alone the league. While writing this, the Denver star has been cleared of all charges against him, great news for the Broncos as well as Miller.
This week Big Ben got a new contract, helping the Steelers quite a bit. The extension reduces Ben’s cap hit by about $5 million and guarantees his future in Pittsburgh for at least the next couple of years. The Broncos also franchise tagged their safety, Justin Simmons, keeping him in Denver for at least another year, however the team is likely going to work on a long term deal. The Eagles restructured Jason Kelce’s contract today, and the Lions restructured Jamie Collins’ contract. And the last contract we will touch on, is Micah Hyde’s. He and the Bills agreed to a 2 year deal worth $19.25 million.
In summary, this week was even more eventful than last, but get ready for next week. As we said before, there is an expectation for there to be an absolute purge of talented players considering the low cap space for 2021. Some teams to look out for is the Saints, Eagles and Chiefs. These are listed for their high cap projection. And with that.. happy weekend, and go team KD!