While most of the focus of the sport’s world is on the NCAA tournament, the new NFL league year officially starts on Wednesday, meaning free agents will be able to determine where their new home will be.
Much of this work has been done for some of the biggest names during the legal tampering period, but there are still several players that are making decisions.
With so much movement set to happen in the NFL, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories.
Tom Brady Is Back
One way to steal headlines from the NCAA and “Selection Sunday” is to have a future Hall-of-Famer come out of retirement. That is exactly what happened as Tom Brady announced that he would be returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one more season.
Brady spent less days in retirement than years of age as the 44-year-old was only retired for 40 days. Still, his return has propelled the Buccaneers up to having the second-best odds of winning the Super Bowl next season at +750.
Last year, Brady fell short of reaching the Super Bowl, but he still had a phenomenal year. During the regular season, he threw for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions.
The Buccaneers have also started to put more weapons around him. Not only did they sign wide receiver Russell Gage (three years, $30 million) to a group that includes Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (franchise tag), but they also traded for offensive lineman Shaq Mason from the Patriots to help protect him.
In the deal, the Buccaneers sent just a fifth-round pick for him.
Rodgers Signs Massive Deal
Brady isn’t the only future Hall-of-Famer returning to his team. After a year of speculation that Aaron Rodgers could leave the Packers, he is returning after signing a three-year, $150.82 million deal.
The contract is huge as Tom Pelissero reports he will be paid $42 million in 2022, $59.515 million in 2023, and $49.3 million in 2024. The first two years of that deal are guaranteed.
Last season, Rodgers threw for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns, and four interceptions. His performance earned him the MVP award for the second straight season.
While Rodgers is back, the Packers are still trying to get under the cap while also retaining star wide receiver Davante Adams.
Technically, the Packers have franchise-tagged Adams; however, he has indicated that he will not play under the tag.
Especially after seeing the payday that Rodgers got, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Adams push to be the highest-paid wide receiver in the league. In fact, in previous negotiations, Adams wanted to top DeAndre Hopkins’ deal of $27 million per year.
Last season, Adams had 123 receptions for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Packers currently have the third-best odds of winning the Super Bowl at +850.
Trade Likely Coming For Deshaun Watson
With his criminal case being dismissed, interest has definitely shot up for Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson. In fact, having no-trade rights, Watson has requested to meet with potential teams, and those meetings have been lining up.
Thus far, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers have made offers, and it appears a couple more surprising teams are interested.
Despite having Baker Mayfield under contract for another year, the Cleveland Browns have shown interest in the embattled quarterback. Furthermore, the Atlanta Falcons are set to meet with Watson on Wednesday.
Houston has told teams that they need to approve a potential offer before they will allow a meeting with Watson. As a result, it appears that these teams are willing to meet the massive price of at least three first-round picks.
Interestingly, the Texans denied a request from Indianapolis to meet with Watson, and Watson himself denied a request from the Seattle Seahawks (who recently traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos).
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