NFL Offseason/Free Agency Thread

[Joemailman]

Jimmy Garoppolo suspended 2 games for PED use.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo is being suspended two games for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Substances Policy, league sources told ESPN.

The policy violation is related to him using a prescribed medication without having a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption, per sources.

This could be a big break for the Raiders who were probably going to cut him anyway.

Joel Corry
@corryjoel

Jimmy Garoppolo's suspension may be a gift to the Raiders. The default language in his contract specifically mentions a Performance Enhancing Substances policy violation as grounds for contract guarantees voiding. His fully GTD $11.25M 2024 base salary could become unsecured.

[Joemailman]

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

Bears are releasing former Pro Bowl guard Cody Whitehair, per sources. After Whitehair spent the past eight seasons in Chicago, the Bears are giving him the chance to sign with another team before free agency begins in mid March.

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

Bears also released veteran safety Eddie Jackson.

Bears reportedly have cleared 21.5 million in cap space with these moves.

[Frozen Tundra]

Jimmy Garoppolo suspended 2 games for PED use.

I guess he figured he needed every break he could get.

Must have been a random, it's hard to think of anything he did on the field that would have made anyone scratch their head and say, "hey, waaiiitaminute here... "

[bobblehead]

Bears reportedly have cleared 21.5 million in cap space with these moves.

gotta clear space for that big Fields extension.

[Fritz]

gotta clear space for that big Fields extension.

With all the picks they have now - that was a smart trade with Carolina last year - you'd think they should really be, well, loaded for bear. I personally don't think Fields is The Guy, so I am hoping they extend him with a big contract and do what the Bears do.

[texaspackerbacker]

Getting rid of a couple of probably still decent not too old players seems like a very Bear-like move, I wonder if the Packers would have any interest in Eddie Jackson. He's been a good player and is just 30 years old.

Fields doesn't have near as high a ceiling as Jordan Love, but I see him as a very decent QB, definitely in the top third of NFL QBs. The Bears are stupid if they use one of their high draft choices to replace him.

Bottom line, though, is that the Bears will continue to suck.

[bobblehead]

Getting rid of a couple of probably still decent not too old players seems like a very Bear-like move, I wonder if the Packers would have any interest in Eddie Jackson. He's been a good player and is just 30 years old.

Fields doesn't have near as high a ceiling as Jordan Love, but I see him as a very decent QB, definitely in the top third of NFL QBs. The Bears are stupid if they use one of their high draft choices to replace him.

Bottom line, though, is that the Bears will continue to suck.

Eddie Jackson is washed up to be honest. Someone will overpay him.

Fields ceiling is probably higher than Love, but his opportunity to reach it has passed him by. I guess if you factor brains in (and you have to) then Love always had a higher ceiling, but Fields is a physical freak with a monster arm.

I haven't seen anything to make me dispute your last point. They need new leadership.

[Teamcheez1]

Fields a top 1/3 QB? Don’t see it.

[texaspackerbacker]

Eddie Jackson still looked pretty decent the few times I saw the Bears this season. We might be better off at Safety with a proven veteran than with a hot shot college Safety who inexperienced.

Obviously, Fields is a great running QB with a strong arm, but his accuracy and as you said, his brain aren't close to what Love has shown. And Love isn't that far behind in mobility either.

[run pMc]

Eddie Jackson is close to washed up and not worth the money he'll be looking for to sign. GB is better off signing a 25-26 year old who still has a few years ahead of them and maybe a bit of upside. Jackson's best years are far behind him, and some scouts think he doesn't like to tackle anymore.

Justin Fields is top third in physical TALENT, but not in performance or 'quarterbacking'. It's actually not even worth debating -- in most metrics (advanced or otherwise) he's a bottom quartile starting QB. Watch how little they trust him with plays and what he does with them. He'll go 15/21 120 yards 1 TD and 2 INT. He takes a LOT of sacks, fumbles about every 8 times he runs, and makes very few 'wow' throws. If CHI keeps him it would be surprising. I'd be concerned about them trading the #1 pick to someone for a huge haul of picks and really building their roster quickly. They have a solid defense, but that offense is bad, starting with Fields and their OL.

I actually think a team like last year's Falcons could have done some damage with a guy like Fields because of their OL and running game, along with having Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Arthur Smith is a weirdo who would run some Ravens-lite (or Titans-ish) offense that might work for Fields to beat bad teams, but that's about the extent of it. He's mistake prone and smart teams will rattle him. I don't think he's capable of getting past the wild card round, much less winning a Super Bowl.

[Frozen Tundra]

He's mistake prone and smart teams will rattle him. I don't think he's capable of getting past the wild card round, much less winning a Super Bowl.

That's why for me, he's the absolute dream quarterback for the Chicagos. He can win enough games in the regular season to make the fans think he's a legitimate franchise quarterback (because jesus, how the the hell can they ever know the difference???), because he can maybe go 9-8 and make the wild card, but as soon as he runs into a legitimate playoff-level defense it's like washing mashed potatoes through the garbage disposal. He makes a slight, momentary "spplt" noise, and a half second later he doesn't even exist in this universe.

And because the vast majority of Bears fans are just Bears fans, with no firsthand experience with legitimate franchise quarterbacks, he can drag it out for 10 years or more before the fans ever start to understand that he's going to fail in the posteason every. Single. Year.

And they'll never. Ever. Comprehend how a guy who often looked pretty decent against the Jets or the Panthers in the regular season wasn't able to outgun top quarterbacks in the playoffs. Why it is that the "any given Sunday" thing just never seems to work in January.

[Fritz]

Eddie Jackson is close to washed up and not worth the money he'll be looking for to sign. GB is better off signing a 25-26 year old who still has a few years ahead of them and maybe a bit of upside. Jackson's best years are far behind him, and some scouts think he doesn't like to tackle anymore.

Justin Fields is top third in physical TALENT, but not in performance or 'quarterbacking'. It's actually not even worth debating -- in most metrics (advanced or otherwise) he's a bottom quartile starting QB. Watch how little they trust him with plays and what he does with them. He'll go 15/21 120 yards 1 TD and 2 INT. He takes a LOT of sacks, fumbles about every 8 times he runs, and makes very few 'wow' throws. If CHI keeps him it would be surprising. I'd be concerned about them trading the #1 pick to someone for a huge haul of picks and really building their roster quickly. They have a solid defense, but that offense is bad, starting with Fields and their OL.

I actually think a team like last year's Falcons could have done some damage with a guy like Fields because of their OL and running game, along with having Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Arthur Smith is a weirdo who would run some Ravens-lite (or Titans-ish) offense that might work for Fields to beat bad teams, but that's about the extent of it. He's mistake prone and smart teams will rattle him. I don't think he's capable of getting past the wild card round, much less winning a Super Bowl.

He sure looked like a weirdo to me, but what causes you to say he's a weirdo? What do you know that I don't know - or is it just that he sure doesn't look like an NFL coach?

[sharpe1027]

Fields a top 1/3 QB? Don’t see it.

You just need the right context. Top 1/3 of Bears all time QBs.

[run pMc]

He sure looked like a weirdo to me, but what causes you to say he's a weirdo? What do you know that I don't know - or is it just that he sure doesn't look like an NFL coach?

He's a smart offensive mind that might have leaned a little too far into the run game. He has guys like London and Pitts and acts like he doesn't know how to use them. He was handcuffed a bit by the QBs he had, but they would also do some weird things on game day.
I think he's a case of being a very good OC who wasn't quite good enough at a new role of HC to stick.

Jordan Love cracked 4000 yards. No CHI QB has ever done that. Justin Fields hasn't ever cracked 3000 yards (or 20 passing TDs) in 3 seasons, during which he's won 10 out of 38 games. I think he's got talent but I'd be worried if he was your starter. He's had a chance to show something, he's NOT Michael Vick. How long before the hits and sacks start affecting his health?

[texaspackerbacker]

I'm not gonna waste too much effort discussing or defending the Bears QB, but I have a high opinion of Fields, and I think the Bears would be stupid to move on from him - but then stupid is often what the Bears are. I also thought Trubisky was better than a lot of others thought. Both he and Fields and Cutler before that maybe were just victims of the rampant suckage that characterizes the Bears in general, has for decades, and probably still will even with a plethora of high draft picks.

[run pMc]

I think they are in a bad situation: if the keep Fields, they will have to sign him to a sizable extension, and they'll still have a subpar QB at the helm of a team with growing talent. That likely gets Eberflus canned.
If they dump Fields and draft say, Caleb Williams, they get a first year QB out there who will likely make a lot of mistakes and probably get Eberflus canned, meaning they bring in a new coach and system for a young QB.

Either way it's a bit of a mess. Ideally you want to line up a new young QB with a coach who has some job stability.

[texaspackerbacker]

hahahahaha Maybe Eberflus deserves to get canned. Is Fields really "subpar"? If "-par" means being the best or say top 2 or 3 QBs in the league, yeah, I guess he is "subpar". On the other hand, if "subpar" means less than as somebody mentioned, top 1/3, hell no. There certainly aren't 10 or 11 better QBs than Fields, at least not IMO.

And Caleb Williams is a bust on the way to happening - also IMO. That would be even more likely with the Bears. Drafting him with one of those high first round picks would be a very Bear-like move.

[Joemailman]

hahahahaha Maybe Eberflus deserves to get canned. Is Fields really "subpar"? If "-par" means being the best or say top 2 or 3 QBs in the league, yeah, I guess he is "subpar". On the other hand, if "subpar" means less than as somebody mentioned, top 1/3, hell no. There certainly aren't 10 or 11 better QBs than Fields, at least not IMO.

And Caleb Williams is a bust on the way to happening - also IMO. That would be even more likely with the Bears. Drafting him with one of those high first round picks would be a very Bear-like move.

Justin Fields was:

22nd in passing yards
20th in TD passes
23rd in INT%
22nd in passer rating
24th in QBR
29th in completion pct.
21st in yards per attempt

At least he was pretty consistent.

[run pMc]

Justin Fields was:

22nd in passing yards
20th in TD passes
23rd in INT%
22nd in passer rating
24th in QBR
29th in completion pct.
21st in yards per attempt

At least he was pretty consistent.

LOL so you're saying he's closer to Sam Howell and Gardner Minshew in terms of being a QB than Lamar Jackson? SHOCKING. I'm sure Tex will come up with some objective proof that Fields is a top 12 QB. (Like fumbles)

[Frozen Tundra]

Justin Fields was:

22nd in passing yards
20th in TD passes
23rd in INT%
22nd in passer rating
24th in QBR
29th in completion pct.
21st in yards per attempt

Pfft. People can twist statistics around to mean aything they want. Ask any Bears fan, and he'll explain that every single one of those numbers is just an outlier, an abberation.