Category: NFL News

NFL legend Dan Marino recently offered his own list of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Marino, a regular on any list that includes the best to ever play at his position, didn’t include himself though added a name that might come as a surprise.   

Marino was specifically asked to name his Quarterback Mount Rushmore, but the former Miami Dolphins signal-caller offered five names instead of the customary four. 

“To me, [Joe] Montana and [John] Elway, Jim Kelly — those guys, all those guys,” Marino told Sports Illustrated before Super Bowl LVIII. “Patrick Mahomes, he’s going to be considered one of the best ever, too. You got Tom Brady, you got a lot of guys. So, there’s a lot to pick from there.”

Brady and Montana being part of Marino’s list shouldn’t surprise anyone. The two are largely considered to be among the best quarterbacks in NFL history, largely because of their success in Super Bowls. Brady has three more Super Bowl wins (seven) and twice as many Super Bowl starts (10) than any other quarterback. Montana was 4-0 in Super Bowls and was the first player to win Super Bowl MVP three times. 

Elway and Mahomes also shouldn’t be surprises. Elway’s five Super Bowl starts is second only to Brady. He lost his first three Super Bowls with inferior teams before ending his career with back-to-back titles with the Broncos. Elway was a versatile quarterback who made plays with his arm as well as with his legs. He also had a knack for engineering game-winning drives. 

Marino called Mahomes “a really special player” during a one-on-one interview with CBS Sports prior to the Super Bowl. Mahomes showed that again against the 49ers while joining Montana and Brady as the only players to win three Super Bowl MVP trophies. Mahomes also became one of just five starting quarterbacks with at least three Super Bowl wins. 

“He’s an amazing athlete, first of all,” Marino said when asked to…

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Mike Tannenbaum suggests Bears trade Tyrique Stevenson for Stefon Diggs originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

A significant faction of the Bears’ offseason to-do list is finding a solid second option to catch footballs opposite of DJ Moore.

On ESPN’s “Get Up!” former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum suggested the Bears trade one of their top rookies, Tyrique Stevenson, for Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs.

Stevenson, 23, played 16 games his rookie season, recording four interceptions, 16 passes defended, two forced fumbles and 86 combined tackles. He was one of the Bears’ most reliable cornerbacks to pair with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon.

His eye for coverage and his ferocity for tackling stood out, the latter sometimes to a fault with penalties. Still, he has a bright future on the Bears’ defense.

Diggs, 30, just completed his sixth-straight 1,000-yard season with the Bills. Need I sell you Diggs? He’s one of the league’s best receivers and route-runners. With Moore, the duo would inarguably be one of the best in the league.

But between Tre’Davious White and Rasul Douglas, how badly do the Bills need a cornerback? And would they really be willing to part with Diggs? The Bills traded a 2020 first-round pick (No. 22 overall), a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick to the Vikings to acquire him.

It would be a difficult trade to turn down for the Bears. But it’s extremely unlikely at this juncture, and likely far away on the Bears’ laundry list of to-do items this offseason.

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The Chicago Bears haven’t necessarily begun soliciting offers for quarterback Justin Fields, but other NFL teams began inquiring about a potential trade for the former first-round draft pick at this year’s Senior Bowl, according to Sports Illustrated.

Pre-draft events, including the scouting combine, have often served as an unofficial catalyst for trade talks, and “those conversations” with other NFL teams allowed Chicago staffers to “start to gauge” Fields’ value this offseason, per Albert Breer.

The Bears still “really like” Fields as a QB prospect three years after drafting him No. 11 overall, according to Breer, but they are “meeting over the next couple weeks to finalize plans” at the position. Many expect the team to use this year’s No. 1 overall selection on a consensus top QB prospect like USC’s Caleb Williams, effectively resetting the position (and its contract situation).

If the Bears intend to replace Fields at the top of the draft, it stands to reason they’ll look to trade their current starter sooner rather than later, in order to capitalize on the pre-draft QB market. While trades cannot be finalized until March 13, the official start of the 2024 league year, terms of an agreement can be negotiated and preliminarily accepted at any point between now and then.

Fields has drawn strong reviews from Bears teammates after three promising but injury- and turnover-riddled seasons in Chicago. But Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are all expected to come off the board early in the draft at QB.

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Tom Brady is currently having it both ways. That won’t last much longer.

Last year, Brady struck a deal to become a minority owner of the Raiders. The NFL has not yet approved the transaction, due in large part to concerns about the sweetheart deal Brady was getting.

In the interim, Brady is able to do things he can’t do if/when the transaction is approved.

For example, he can gamble and promote gambling. As he is doing for BetMGM. Per the NFL, the moment Brady’s acquisition of a portion of the Raiders is approved, he’ll have to cut ties with BetMGM.

“NFL personnel are prohibited from engaging in, using or permitting the use of one’s name or images in connection with activities or materials that depict, advertise, market or promote any form of gambling, including sports betting,” the league said in an email to PFT.

Of course, Brady will be allowed to own up to five percent of BetMGM or any other company that operates a sports book once he officially becomes an owner of the Raiders. Every owner can do that. And the league won’t disclose the equity interests that NFL owners have in sports book companies.

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USATSI

The Minnesota Vikings are facing a quarterback question this offseason, and their starter in Kirk Cousins may be the most attractive quarterback looking for a new deal — even at 35 years old and coming off of a torn Achilles. Cousins has been with the Vikings for six seasons now, but if he’ll be back in 2024 is a legitimate question.

According to Sports Illustrated, the Vikings really like Cousins, but they won’t hand the veteran signal-caller a fully-guaranteed deal like the contracts he’s signed in Minnesota previously. In 2022, Cousins signed a one-year, $35 million fully-guaranteed extension that carried him through 2023. Now, he has the ability to test the free agency waters.

Cousins can’t be franchise-tagged this offseason, so Minnesota will have to compete with other potential suitors. Spotrac estimates Cousins could be worth a three-year deal that carries an average annual value of $39.3 million. That…

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The NFL has created plenty of confusion by balancing a stream of “thou shalt nots” regarding gambling against “oh yes we shalt” when it comes to profiting from it. The confusion extends to ownership.

Consider this Super Bowl-week sound bite from Falcons owner Arthur Blank to Daniel Kaplan of FrontOfficeSports.com: “Once the Supreme Court made its decision, gambling is here. The league’s position on it has been: Protect the game at all costs, which obviously is absolutely critical. And all the ramifications of that in terms of club personnel, players, betting—I haven’t even walked into a casino [in Las Vegas this week]. I don’t want to be seen there. Theoretically, if I wanted to go to the slots I could—I’m not even sure. . . . But it is what it is. The league will be a participant, and they are a participant in all the economics that have come out of it. Hopefully, the league is being sensitive and promoting responsible betting, because we all know that some of these things can become addictions.”

Did you catch that line in the middle? If I wanted to go to the slots I could—I’m not even sure.

If the owners of the teams aren’t sure about what they can and can’t do, how can the players or other employees be expected to chart a path through an unforgiving minefield that puts livelihoods on the line?

Again, the NFL didn’t have to jump in bed with sports betting. It could have said, “Yes, it’s legal now, but we will continue to shun it.” It would have been much easier to make and to enforce the rules applicable to everyone, if the NFL had opted to continue its strong opposition to sports wagering.

No gambling, ever, while you work for the NFL or any of its teams, in any capacity.

The league has instead opted to profit from gambling and to allow owners to own up to five percent of any company that has sports betting operations while also having a convoluted list of do’s and don’ts aimed at protecting the integrity of the game.

It’s not just the actual…

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With the Super Bowl now in the rearview mirror, we are officially out of the 2023 season and gearing up for 2024. Over the next several months, 31 teams are going to do their best to catch up to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

That process begins in earnest with free agency, which opens next month. With that in mind, we’re taking space this week to highlight some of the best available options. In the space below, you’ll find the top 25 offensive free agents available this offseason. On Friday, we’ll do the same thing for defense.

(To check out the top 25 defensive free agents, click here).

Without further ado…

Jackson didn’t have his best season in 2023 and he missed a few games due to injury along the way, but he has shown the ability to reach a Pro Bowl level of play at guard, and has consistently been an important part of what has been a very good Detroit offensive line. He probably benefits to at least some extent from playing between Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, and he’s a better run-blocker than pass-protector, but he’s a quality starter on the…

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It’s no surprise that NFL officials look the other way on holding all too often. Former NFL defensive lineman J.J. Watt has an idea for getting more yellow flags to fly.

Appearing recently on Pat McAfee’s show, Watt suggested reducing the penalty from 10 yards to five.

“I think the refs understand that a 10-yard penalty is a massive penalty in the NFL,” Watt said, via SteelersDepot.com. “So I think if you made [it] a 5-yard penalty, I think it’s going to be called much more fairly and much more realistically. Because it’s not as crippling to the offense.”

It’s an intriguing idea, but it potentially overlooks the reason for the failure to call holding. The officials aren’t trying to avoid taking away 10 yards of field position; they’re trying to let offenses operate effectively by giving offensive linemen an edge when it comes to defensive linemen who keep getting better and better — and who can inflict significant damage onto a quarterback if they hit him.

Illegal procedure is only a five-yard penalty, but the officials don’t call it like they should when a tackle takes off a split-second early. That head start helps him keep the edge rusher from hitting the quarterback. Ditto for the habit of tackles who line up too deep into the backfield.

If the rule were to change from 10 yards to five, there’s actually a chance it would be called even less frequently.

Regardless of whether it’s five or 10 or 15 yards, the NFL wants offenses to gain yards and score points. Currently, defensive linemen are collectively better than offensive linemen. Not calling holding or illegal procedure help balance out the disparity.

I’m not defending the practice, especially since it results in holding being called inconsistently. It’s frustrating for fans and teams and defensive players. All too often, officials fail to call holding. It can’t just be incompetence; the officials don’t want to bog the game down by calling holding whenever it happens. And it’s very possible they don’t call it by…

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