Author: nfltalk

USATSI

The New Orleans Saints restructured Derek Carr’s contract this offseason, all but ensuring the quarterback will remain with the team through the 2025 season. That doesn’t mean all is well between the two sides. Carr sought a trade before reworking his deal, according to NewOrleans.Football, and his relationship with the Saints remains “tenuous at best” as the club scouts potential quarterbacks of the future.

This comes weeks after previous reports indicated Carr had interest in exploring his value on the open market, though the Saints apparently had no desire to release or trade the veteran. In turn, Carr publicly admitted he would be unwilling to take a pay cut, and the two sides ultimately agreed to redo his four-year, $150 million deal, pushing tens of millions into future seasons.

Regardless, the Saints are “very much in the quarterback business,” per Nick Underhill, especially as it pertains to the draft….

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Edge rusher Abdul Carter didn’t do any on-field work during Penn State’s Pro Day workout on Friday, but he still tried to make his case to be the first overall pick in this year’s draft.

While quarterback Cam Ward is seen as the likeliest choice to go first overall whether the Titans hold onto the pick or if they deal it to another club, Carter was asked why he thought his name should the first one called from the stage in Green Bay next month. Carter cited his versatility, his knack for making big plays in the biggest moments, and his ability to “make people around me better” as reasons why he can provide teams with the same kind of impact as a quarterback.

“Those great defensive players, you look in the history, they can impact the game just as much as a quarterback,” Carter said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “There’s been defensive players who’ve taken over a game right at the end of Super Bowl in those playoffs scenes where you really need that great defensive player and he also makes people around him better. So I feel like just saying that, seeing how defensive players can take over a game, we’re just like a quarterback.”

Carter’s argument may not change anyone’s plans at the top of the first round, but he probably isn’t going to have to wait long to hear his name.

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USATSI

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh isn’t going anywhere, at least for the next few years. The Ravens announced on Friday that they’ve reached a three-year contract extension with Harbaugh. Terms were not yet disclosed.

The 62-year-old has been the Ravens’ head coach since 2008. He won Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season (over his brother Jim, who was then the 49ers head coach) and was named NFL Coach of the Year for the 2019 season. He has a record of 172-104 in the regular season and 13-11 in the postseason.

Baltimore has been a great regular season team the last two years under Harbaugh with two-time MVP Lamar Jackson under center. However, it lost in the divisional round to the Buffalo Bills last year and the AFC Championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2023 season. The Ravens are hoping stability at the head coaching position can get then over the hump in the tough AFC. It won’t be easy, but with Jackson at quarterback they are always contenders.

Harbaugh is one of just five coaches in NFL history to lead his team to the postseason at least 12 times over his first 17 seasons, joining Pete Carroll, Bud Grant, Mike Holmgren, and Mike McCarthy, who all also did it 12 times.

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The Eagles have made it through the early flurry of free agency and the draft is just around the corner. It won’t be long before they’re back at the NovaCare Complex for OTAs and then eventually training camp.

There’s still plenty of time to add players and change the team but now is a good chance to see where they are right now.

Here’s a look at every position on the roster and whether or not the guy in that position is a lock to be a starter in 2025:

Offense: On offense, 8 of 11 starters are locks

QB (lock): Jalen Hurts

The Eagles’ quarterback is coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance and is under contract through the 2028 season, although it’s already time to start thinking about an extension. So much of the discourse around Hurts is tiring: Is he elite? Is he not? … Who cares? Hurts is a good quarterback and is a good fit for the Eagles and what they do. That doesn’t mean he’s impervious to criticism either and at times he has been a little uneven. But the argument that the Eagles can’t win a Super Bowl win him dissolved pretty quickly in Super Bowl LIX. Hurts will be 27 when the 2025 season starts and he can continue to improve as he keeps building his impressive resume.

RB (lock): Saquon Barkley

In 2025, Barkley put together one of the most impressive seasons of any Eagles player ever. He rushed for over 2,000 yards and was named the Offensive Player of the Year. He was good enough to change the entire Eagles’ offense in 2024 and was good enough to get everyone to buy into that wholesale change. Barkley is 28 and coming off a season with 482 touches in the regular and postseason combined — the most for any NFL player since DeMarco Murray’s 2014 season before coming to Philly. There’s probably some fear about the wear and tear but Barkley takes care of his body and the Eagles don’t seem too concerned. With two years left on his contract, they already gave him an extension this offseason. He’s now…

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USATSI

Ask just about anybody in and around the NFL, and they’ll tell you that a team is generally only going to go as far as the quarterback takes it. You can include Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett among that group. 

“Any team that’s going to go far needs a quarterback and one that’s young, can learn, and is willing to be patient with the process,” Garrett said in a radio interview. “There’s going to be some bumps in the road. It’s going to be some learning pains. But us as a team has to be able to be a landing pad for him, and know being on the defensive side, help him out whenever things go wrong.”

It’s interesting to hear Garrett specifically talk about a young quarterback, and one who is willing to learn and deal with some bumps in the road. The Browns have only Kenny Pickett under contract at the moment. Pickett is still somewhat young, and he has dealt with plenty of bumps in the road during his four-year career. But he’s probably not the kind of guy to whom Garrett is referring. 

Instead, it sounds a lot like Garrett is referring to a potential draft pick at the quarterback position. The Browns own the No. 2 overall pick in next month’s draft and have been heavily rumored to be interested in a quarterback — perhaps as early as the first round. Someone like Shedeur Sanders, or maybe Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe or Tyler Shough later in the draft, could be in for some growing pains if they land with the Browns as well. 

2025 NFL three-round mock draft: Shedeur Sanders taken in top three, Steelers address future at QB

Josh Edwards

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