NFL 2021 Off-Season

[CSTowle]

Please not NE. Hope he does well, and speaking of hope Ryan Tannehill has surely given a lot of these guys who were probably considered washed-up that there's hope in a new location so never say never. Still, not a fan of the running type of QB. As a trick to pull out and help sure, but not as a go-to. Also not a fan of short bursts of greatness. There was that kid who backed up Rodgers a while back, Finley? I remember the Seahawks paid a good bit for him based off of a few games. But then Russell Wilson came along and they quickly forgot about him.

[BeastieRunner]

Speaking of Wilson, now there are trade rumors about him!

Are we really going to see a NBA-type player carousal?

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I could see Mariota doing better in a place like NE or NO. NO is happy with their back-up, though.

Yeah New Orleans has Hill and Winston right now. I see Payton doing an open QB deal. This will be Sean Payton's biggest challenge in New Orleans in 13+ seasons. He's gotta replace a Hall of Fame QB and the 2 guys are really unproven. (Winston has to prove he's better than the QB who threw 30 Ints in a season.

Please not NE. Hope he does well, and speaking of hope Ryan Tannehill has surely given a lot of these guys who were probably considered washed-up that there's hope in a new location so never say never. Still, not a fan of the running type of QB. As a trick to pull out and help sure, but not as a go-to. Also not a fan of short bursts of greatness. There was that kid who backed up Rodgers a while back, Finley? I remember the Seahawks paid a good bit for him based off of a few games. But then Russell Wilson came along and they quickly forgot about him.

It was Matt Flynn. And in reading its amazing how Flynn really managed to have a longer career in NFL as a backup QB and journey man than the guy the Packers thought would stick around they drafted Brian Brohm in the 2nd rd of the same draft. The Packers thought Brohm had the stronger arm and size than Flynn. Instead ...Flynn beat him out for the backup job and started a couple games.

His last start in 2012 as Packers rested starters made Flynn a hot free agent then. He signed a 3 year $20 million contract with Seattle. That same season they drafted Russell Wilson.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Whenever I see Russell Wilson I think of how Kansas City had the chance to draft him in 2012 and didn't. In fact for a number of years before Pat Mahomes became the young star we see now , KC seemed destined to miss chances at young QB's. In fact some stories that have came out ...KC was damn lucky on a few of these.


- It was the year 2007 and Carl Peterson was the GM. Peterson had after a number of years decided to take KC into full on REBUILD mode. That meant KC was gonna have to go with a number of young players. Peterson would spend his final drafts from 2005-2009 loading KC with some solid players. One of them a future Hall of Fame player (Jared Allen) . Anyhow the drafts Peterson did added Derrick Johnson , Tamba Hali , and Brandon Flowers.

Anyhow in the 2007 draft a QB named Brady Quinn was the HOT name being thrown around after JaMarcus Russell (who went #1 overall). Quinn had been a solid 1st rd prospect but teams didn't need a QB at the time and he fell ...and fell...and fell. Finally it was coming close to Kansas City. Dallas had the 22nd pick and Peterson detailed later that while the Chiefs needed WR help ; if Brady Quinn was at #23 ...he was gonna be drafted. Then the Cleveland Browns made a trade back into 1st rd and snatched Quinn. KC drafted Dwayne Bowe there. Now Bowe was no huge star but was the best pick as he'd go onto a 7 season career in KC with 530+ career receptions and 7.100+ career receiving yards and 44 TDs. Quinn never had that. KC dodged that bullet.


- The 2008 NFL Draft had Matt Ryan as the top QB in the draft. Now this one showed KC's weird cosmic luck. Had Michael Vick not had his infamous scandal which cost him his career in Atlanta ...they wouldn't need a QB to draft in 2008. The other teams (Oakland , St.Louis and Miami) had other needs and 2 of them didn't need QB's. Ryan would have fallen to Kansas City. A fact Peterson admitted later had Atlanta by some weird way decided they didn't want Ryan he would have drafted him here. But KC had no real way to get Matt Ryan. Chiefs rarely traded up and when they do its been to take a Hall of Fame player in Tony Gonzalez in 1997 and then what likely will be a future Hall of Fame player in Pat Mahomes in 2017. (They did trade up for a bust in 2003 or 2004...so 2 outta 3 ain't bad). Plus Peterson was trying to rebuild the Chiefs defense at the time so they took Glenn Dorsey (DE) who was let go after 4 really sub par seasons. Matty Ice is likely destined for a Hall of Fame at some stage (I mean if Rivers can make it in eventually , Ryan will go in at some stage)


- 2010 : After Peterson had decided to retire and resigned as Chiefs GM after 20 seasons ; Scott Pioli was named GM. He had hired Todd Haley and Charlie Weis. Which really wasn't good decisions as we know. Weis was fresh off a stint as Notre Dame head coach and was back as offensive coordinator. A brilliant coordinator Weis was only destined for 1 season in KC. While there in war room its been rumored (again RUMORS) Weis tried to convince Pioli and the team to draft his Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen in the 2nd rd. Pioli however had just made a trade for Matt Cassel and was gonna ship Tyler Thigpen away in a stupid trade (Thigpen would have excelled in today's wide open Air Raid system teams run in KC or Arizona...then he was a decade too early).

KC drafted Dexter McCluster (RB/WR) instead in that 2nd rd. McCluster was a 3rd down RB/WR in KC and while not a huge superstar he'd make a Pro Bowl in his time. He would leave after 4 seasons and injuries would end his NFL career in 2016. Clausen would be rushed out before he was ready in Carolina and end up playing 6 seasons where he threw for only 2,500+ career yards and 7 TD's and 14 Ints in 6 seasons.



- 2012 : In this draft and last of Pioli era which would end his time in KC , the team was still stubbornly believing in Matt Cassel. The team was in the 3rd rd where a young , shorter QB named Russell Wilson was there. Instead Pioli decided to draft Donald Stephenson (Tackle/Guard) where he'd play those positions the next 4 seasons. Stephenson would get a big free agent deal from Denver and be gone in 2016. His career would end in 2018 after he was cut by Cleveland. But the next pick went Russell Wilson. This would haunt KC for the next few seasons. That they had this future Hall of Fame QB in front of them and they passed....for Matt Cassel.

This was the same draft Andrew Luck was taken #1 overall. KC had went 2-14 and still couldn't get high enough to get him as the Colts and a few others had worse records. But they had a chance at Wilson and Pioli dropped the ball.


- 2013 : Weeks before the season started and Andy Reid had came in to save the Chiefs franchise after years of terrible seasons and things were bleak (Belcher situation in 2012) the pundits felt Reid would draft a young QB to groom in his system. Reid had a reputation as a QB whisperer in Philly. It was like he was so good with QB's that he made Donovan McNabb , Kevin Kolb , Michael Vick and others look like all-pros. The big belief early was the Chiefs would draft Geno Smith. That he was pretty agile and had a solid arm. Geno was considered a late 1st/2nd rd pick.

Sadly for Geno Smith he was not drafted by Kansas City. Instead Reid before the draft worked a trade for Alex Smith sending their 2nd rd pick for him. The move paid off so well that Smith's steady play at QB and with Reid working his system ...the 2 men were able to rebound the offense. Geno would be a 2nd rd bust for the NY Jets , being pushed out before he was ready and he's become a well regarded backup QB in Seattle now behind Russell Wilson.



- 2016 : This one nearly happened and its scary. Andy Reid had brought Paxton Lynch in for a look before the draft. Reid had wanted to groom a future franchise QB and Lynch was mobile and had a cannon for an arm. KC was picking #28 and they were waiting on him to fall there. But as a habit John Elway as Broncos GM had a habit of trying to sabotage KC at times and he was successful at times (luring a player away before he would sign a free agent contract that morning). But here ...KARMA caught the Broncos and Elway good.

He had traded up for Lynch and took him ahead of Kansas City. Much like the Brady Quinn deal 9 seasons earlier Lynch was a colossal bust for Elway. KC would wait a year and finally land Pat Mahomes.


The scary close calls here is wild...and how KC avoided taking 3 QB busts by some wild luck (Brady Quinn , Jimmy Clausen and Paxton Lynch)

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Speaking of Wilson, now there are trade rumors about him!

Are we really going to see a NBA-type player carousal?

Not sure, but could it be Wilson is envious of a certain seven time Super Bowl champion? Damon Amendolara on the CBS Sports Radio Network has an opinion about that:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1359673099596267521

[BeastieRunner]

There is now talk of Godwin leaving the Bucs, OBJ going to the Bucs, & Edelman going to the Bucs.

Who's ready for the Champa Bay Bucs being the center of every NFL rumor!?

[Scott Taylor]

Wonder who gets to answer the phones over in Tampa right now. Whoever it is, they aren't getting paid enough for this!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Good Lord! I just heard on ESPN Radio that the Texans released J.J. Watt! How long before he joins brother T.J. in Pittsburgh? That's only going to make Desaun Watson even more determined to get the hell out of Houston on the first thing smoking.

[Kirby101]

Good Lord! I just heard on ESPN Radio that the Texans released J.J. Watt! How long before he joins brother T.J. in Pittsburgh? That's only going to make Desaun Watson even more determined to get the hell out of Houston on the first thing smoking.

He wasn't Christian enough for the them.

[Gray Lensman]

Good Lord! I just heard on ESPN Radio that the Texans released J.J. Watt! How long before he joins brother T.J. in Pittsburgh? That's only going to make Desaun Watson even more determined to get the hell out of Houston on the first thing smoking.

I think we have been given our free space for who will have the worst record in the AFC South.

[Kirby101]

It seems Jack Easterby is doing his best to run the Texans using "Christian principles".
The down side of Football sharing royalties across the League is teams with terrible ownership and management are protected.

[MRP]

Good Lord! I just heard on ESPN Radio that the Texans released J.J. Watt! How long before he joins brother T.J. in Pittsburgh? That's only going to make Desaun Watson even more determined to get the hell out of Houston on the first thing smoking.

Unfortunately for Watson, they have doubled down on telling teams they are not trading him and will not reconsider their position on that. He is going to have to do a Leveon Bell and sit out a season or a Megatron and retire to get out of Texas.

-M

[MRP]

In other news, it looks like both Maurkice and Mike Pouncey are retiring from the NFL.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...hargers-retire

-M

[Scott Taylor]

Hmm. Could this be the thing that causes Big Ben to finally hang up his cleats?

[SUPERECWFAN1]

There is now talk of Godwin leaving the Bucs, OBJ going to the Bucs, & Edelman going to the Bucs.

Who's ready for the Champa Bay Bucs being the center of every NFL rumor!?

Before anyone jumps on the whole "Tampa Bay dynasty" deal , Shaq Barrett has came out saying he wants a BIG DEAL from Tampa Bay now. That he wants a big contract and deserves one as a free agent.

Good Lord! I just heard on ESPN Radio that the Texans released J.J. Watt! How long before he joins brother T.J. in Pittsburgh? That's only going to make Desaun Watson even more determined to get the hell out of Houston on the first thing smoking.

Watt demanded his release and was unhappy since last season. He's been wanting out awhile.