NFL Offseason/Free Agency Thread

[red]

unreal stuff

don't even know what to say about it all, other then it makes sense

and we all knew the defensive staff was a complete fucking joke. its nice to see some players finally coming out and confirming it. too bad it has to be from "former players"

sucks that it seems like some of the guys who might have had a problem with the shit scheme were punished or removed from the team (douglas, campbell, alexander)

shame on lefleur for letting that crap go on so long, but good on him for FINALLY stepping in and doing something about the mess

[NewsBruin]

I don't understand the Steelers on this one, other than getting another limp piece of spaghetti to throw at a wall. They need a good draft pick to develop and not a failed Bears QB.

It's like when I buy too many groceries that will go bad before I can cook them BUT THEY WERE ON SALE!

Pittsbugh needs an above-replacement-level quarterback. Russ is One Year Veteran Cheap. Justin is One Year Rookie Cheap. But Pittsburgh has to decide if they want to exercise Fields' $25M extension two weeks after offseason workouts start, one week after the draft, and two months before training camp. Their yay-or-nay decision is going to determine which one of them is a lame-duck quarterback.

Or they could use a Day 1-2 pick on a QB and make both feel like lame ducks.

[Frozen Tundra]

sucks that it seems like some of the guys who might have had a problem with the shit scheme were punished or removed from the team (douglas, campbell, alexander)

shame on lefleur for letting that crap go on so long, but good on him for FINALLY stepping in and doing something about the mess

I remember a lot of us were starting to suspect that there was maybe some ugly business going on behind those closed doors the last month and a half or so, but I'm wondering now if it may have been worse than we imagined. Campbell clearly has a hell of a lot he wants to get off his chest; pretty good bet he's not the only one.

I wonder if we'll hear more. Players who are staying are certainly not going to open up as much as that on the record, and it doesn't look like we're going to lose many more in free agency. Maybe Savage will have something to say down the road (although he doesn't seem like the type), and of course in a few months there will be camp cuts. I think our best chance at getting bits of gossip and juicy hints will be as the season unfolds, we'll hear players say things like, "yeah, we really balled out, everybody knew what their assignment was and how we were supposed to do it. Been a while since things felt like that around here."

If it really was this bad, I'm all the more impressed with how much the team as a whole accomplished tis season.

And I agree with you - shame on Lafleur for letting this turn into what it really now appears to have turned into. One thing I've seen about Lafleur that I respect and admire is that he does seem to learn from his mistakes, even if it sometimes take a while. Hopefully he learned a big, big lesson from this one. Being a head coach is pretty damned complicated, and one of the true measures of whether someone is going to be good at it is how they learn from their mistakes and move on. Because one way or the other, they're going to make a hell of a lot of them, and if they have to keep making the same ones over and over again because they don't learn, their job is going to be a lot harder than it needs to be.

Especially ones like this, because this one appears to have been a big one.

[Frozen Tundra]

I don't understand the Steelers on this one, other than getting another limp piece of spaghetti to throw at a wall. They need a good draft pick to develop and not a failed Bears QB.
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It probably depends on their strategy for building a team over the next several years. Wilson's obviously not a longterm option, and they don't draft early enough to snag a top QB prospect. So the obvious question becomes, what longterm solution do they have in mind?

They may feel they don't have many other options, or any quick solutions. They're consistently good enough that there's no "Top 10" draft pick in the foreseeable future, so it may be that they've decided the only way they can fill that position is through free agency or draft and develop a Day 2 or late 1st Round project. Maybe they're thinking that Fields is at the very least a guy who can keep the team competitive (and the fan base content) if Wilson goes "worst case scenario" on them, and at best a guy who can keep the team above .500 while they work on solving the overal QB problem. Which may be the best they can realistically hope for.

It's not as though Fields doesn't have at least some value and usefullness. He sucks, but it's not because he has no skills - he actually has a lot of NFL-level tools. It's just that he's been a Bear his entire career, and never learned how to reliably play the position at a consistent level. Maybe they think they have a chance to get something out of him that the Bears were never able to do, at least keep them competitive for their fans while they pray for rain.

But yeah, you're right - their future is bleak. Going to be very hard for them to reload; a complete rebuild may be their only way forward. Not an easy path for any GM to accept and commit to.

[sharpe1027]

Maybe the Steelers are just going to trade Fields for more than the gave up? I suspect Fields would have more value once the draft finishes and someone doesn't get their guy, or after a QB1 goes down with a injury

That would be pretty cold.

[texaspackerbacker]

The Bears reached a new level of stupid even for them by trading Fields, and trading him so cheap just compounds it. Yes, I sort of agree that the Steelers could and maybe would retrade him kinda like house-flipping. The more likely scenario, though, is that they let Wilson and Fields compete, and Fields wins as their QB1. Meanwhile, the Bears go with Caleb Williams or one of the other busts waiting to happen.

[run pMc]

The Bears reached a new level of stupid even for them by trading Fields, and trading him so cheap just compounds it. Yes, I sort of agree that the Steelers could and maybe would retrade him kinda like house-flipping. The more likely scenario, though, is that they let Wilson and Fields compete, and Fields wins as their QB1. Meanwhile, the Bears go with Caleb Williams or one of the other busts waiting to happen.

Why do you think Justin Fields is better than Russell Wilson?

CHI has a GM/HC who are on borrowed time and a culture for not developing QBs. I think anything they did would be problematic. If they had any capacity to develop a QB - and maybe they discover it - they draft a QB, let him sit for at least 8-10 games (if not more) and shove Fields out there to play QB in the meantime. Then you either trade Fields at the deadline or let his contract expire and pray for a comp pick if you don't trade him. They aren't considered contenders for the SB, might as well figure out what you have and try to develop your young talent.

As it is, they are definitely taking a QB and will start them right away. I'm not sure if they have the support structure to succeed. I hope not since it's the Bears but I also hate to see a young player's career get smashed by a garbage organization. (The consolation is at least they'll be very rich)

[Joemailman]

Maybe the Steelers are just going to trade Fields for more than the gave up? I suspect Fields would have more value once the draft finishes and someone doesn't get their guy, or after a QB1 goes down with a injury

That would be pretty cold.

Wilson has a 1year contract. Fields in the last year of his contract, unless Steelers pick up 5th year option, which they won't. I think Steelers will use this year to decide which one they want to keep, and which one they want to discard at the end of the year.

[sharpe1027]

Wilson has a 1year contract. Fields in the last year of his contract, unless Steelers pick up 5th year option, which they won't. I think Steelers will use this year to decide which one they want to keep, and which one they want to discard at the end of the year.

Yeah, that's likely the case. I mostly thought it was an intriguing thought exercise. Trade for him at below market value. Talk him up, hope he does well in preseason and then trade him once his value goes back up for more. It's like flipping a house with only a few low cost cosmetic changes.

[Fritz]

Yeah, that's likely the case. I mostly thought it was an intriguing thought exercise. Trade for him at below market value. Talk him up, hope he does well in preseason and then trade him once his value goes back up for more. It's like flipping a house with only a few low cost cosmetic changes.

Or . . . . .

[bobblehead]

So, already the Bears will be on their third starting QB during the Jordan Love Era in GB.
Some things never change.

Hey Rocky...watch me pull a Rabbit out of my hat.....

[bobblehead]

My first guess is that Aurther Smith thinks he may be able salvage Fields if he can work with him for a year with no pressure in games. The physical talent is undeniable.

My second guess is that Campbell is about 30% sour grapes over being cut and being hung out to dry covering a really good WR one on one. He is about 70% right that Barry fucking sucked and was the sole reason for anything bad happening on the planet.

[Fritz]

Now I want to know which Packerrat was actuallly DeVondre Campbell.

Gotta be someone who doesn't know grammar very well. That eliminates about two-thirds of the Packerrats. UNLESS Devondre's tweets - or whatever they're called now - are deliberately poorly written so he can cover up his Packerrats identity.

Okay, so which one of you is Devondre Campbell?

[texaspackerbacker]

Why do you think Justin Fields is better than Russell Wilson?

CHI has a GM/HC who are on borrowed time and a culture for not developing QBs. I think anything they did would be problematic. If they had any capacity to develop a QB - and maybe they discover it - they draft a QB, let him sit for at least 8-10 games (if not more) and shove Fields out there to play QB in the meantime. Then you either trade Fields at the deadline or let his contract expire and pray for a comp pick if you don't trade him. They aren't considered contenders for the SB, might as well figure out what you have and try to develop your young talent.

As it is, they are definitely taking a QB and will start them right away. I'm not sure if they have the support structure to succeed. I hope not since it's the Bears but I also hate to see a young player's career get smashed by a garbage organization. (The consolation is at least they'll be very rich)

His arm and his legs. Wilson had great mobility and a fairly strong arm 5 or 10 years ago but he sure didn't display much of that last year in Denver. Fields' intelligence level has been questioned, but he's probably second only to Lamar Jackson physically. And the brain thing could just as well have been either Bear coaching or media exaggeration.

I agree with you, they are almost certainly gonna take a QB at the top of the draft. I also agree about that "culture for not developing QBs". However, this current vaunted crop of QBs to me don't seem all that hot anyway.

The major fact you forgot to post is, of course, that THE BEARS STILL SUCK.

[Frozen Tundra]

His arm and his legs. Wilson had great mobility and a fairly strong arm 5 or 10 years ago but he sure didn't display much of that last year in Denver. Fields' intelligence level has been questioned, but he's probably second only to Lamar Jackson physically. And the brain thing could just as well have been either Bear coaching or media exaggeration.

It's not "media exaggeration"; just watch the man play with your own eyes. You don't need the evil media to tell you whether or not he can play football, he shows you himself, firsthand. All you need to do is watch.

It isn't even his intelligence, per se. He's reportedly a very, very bright guy. The problem appears to be that he simply can't make good decisions under pressure. That happens, sometimes. He reminds me a little of Daunte Culpepper - fantastic tool set, but when the ball is snapped, everything that happens the next 2-5 seconds happens faster than he's able to figure out. Unlike Fields, Culppepper was dumb as a brick to begin with, of course, so the comparison only goes so far, but the result is similar - the game just happens faster than they're capable of processing it.

There's no shame in it. Playing quarterback in the NFL is one of the most difficult jobs in sports, and only a tiny fraction of men ever truly master it. There are a lot of guys with enough raw athletic ability and basic intelligence that they can get by at quarterback all the way through college, but the NFL is a whole different world. I'm a really bright guy too in terms of IQ and various demonstrated abilities, and a really good athlete - football, hockey, and basketball, all sports where you need to be able to think very quickly. And they always came naturally to me. But playing quarterback?? Never in a million years could I have even dreamed of playing QB in the NFL, anymore than I could sprout wings and fly to the Moon.

I've sometimes wondered what might have happened if a guy like Fields had come up through Green Bay's system; if he'd gone a year earlier, and we'd drafted him instead of Love. Would 3 years of Tom Clements standing next to him on the sideline every Sunday watching Aaron Rodgers have made things any different? I dunno. We never will. But I think it might have been possible.

[texaspackerbacker]

I say again, Fields is a good QB, the second best running QB after Lamar Jackson, and a pretty decent passer too. Have YOU seen him play? Whoever the Bears end up with will be worse than Fields, and I don't just mean the first year.

You did stumble onto an acorn of truth, though. If Fields had ended up with the Packers, he just might have been comparable to Love. Part of it is intelligence, though, even if only football intelligence, and he might not be at the level of Love on that.

[run pMc]

With several years of bench sitting, Fields might have turned out. In college you could see Love going thru his progressions, Fields was a one or maybe two read guy most of the time - he had the better talent at OL and receiver than his opponents 90% of the time.

Fields is unquestionably talented. I think the mental processing part of it - which as FT pointed out is incredibly difficult to do as a pro - is where he struggles. He has made some very small improvement there since entering the league.

Even last year with DJ Moore a large percentage of his throws were within 5 yards of the LOS. That is not an elite QB. He fumbles a lot and is sacked a very high percentage, both of which you largely have to put on the QB, not the OL. None of the metrics indicate that he has been or will be better than league average.

Yeah he has an arm. So did Kyle Boller. Vince Young could throw and run too, and was super talented. Don't confuse physical talent with being able to play QB. Nobody confused Brady or Manning with great athletes; it was all between the ears with them.

Sure, maybe Smith can get something out of Fields with a year of tutoring. He's worth taking a flier on, but best case you get a QB guru who can teach and cook up a half-field read offense like they did with Mike Vick. I just don't see that happening, he's not that level of talent, and defenses are too good for that
.
Look, you can love the tools, but as someone who loves wins, I don't know how you can pretend that a 35% winning percentage (and a 60% completion rate) makes a good QB. This guy is a more athletic Zach Wilson.

[Fritz]

With several years of bench sitting, Fields might have turned out. In college you could see Love going thru his progressions, Fields was a one or maybe two read guy most of the time - he had the better talent at OL and receiver than his opponents 90% of the time.

Fields is unquestionably talented. I think the mental processing part of it - which as FT pointed out is incredibly difficult to do as a pro - is where he struggles. He has made some very small improvement there since entering the league.

Even last year with DJ Moore a large percentage of his throws were within 5 yards of the LOS. That is not an elite QB. He fumbles a lot and is sacked a very high percentage, both of which you largely have to put on the QB, not the OL. None of the metrics indicate that he has been or will be better than league average.

Yeah he has an arm. So did Kyle Boller. Vince Young could throw and run too, and was super talented. Don't confuse physical talent with being able to play QB. Nobody confused Brady or Manning with great athletes; it was all between the ears with them.

Sure, maybe Smith can get something out of Fields with a year of tutoring. He's worth taking a flier on, but best case you get a QB guru who can teach and cook up a half-field read offense like they did with Mike Vick. I just don't see that happening, he's not that level of talent, and defenses are too good for that
.
Look, you can love the tools, but as someone who loves wins, I don't know how you can pretend that a 35% winning percentage (and a 60% completion rate) makes a good QB. This guy is a more athletic Zach Wilson.

Poor Zach Wilson. Second overall pick just three years ago, and now he's the marker for comparisons about suckiness.

He and Sam Darnold (third player selected in 2018 by . . . the Jest!) are the poster boys for "How to Fuck Up Your Very High Draft Pick QB."

By golly, the Jest may best da Bears in that category. After all, Trubitchsky was the second overall pick, but Justin Fields was "only" the eleventh overall pick.

[texaspackerbacker]

I'm done defending Fields, and I do not wish him all the best. He's not Packer; He's not Badger; So fuck him. But I think ya'all detractors are totally wrong about his ability.

[Joemailman]

NFL owners considering eliminating hip drop tackle. NFLPA opposed.

NFLPA statement on proposal to ban the hip-drop tackle:

"The players oppose any attempt by the NFL to implement a rule prohibiting a 'swivel hip-drop' tackle. While the NFLPA remains committed to improvements to our game with health and safety in mind, we cannot support a rule change that causes confusion for us as players, for coaches, for officials and especially, for fans. We call on the NFL, again, to reconsider implementing this rule."