The news cycle for the NFL has become year-round. To get an edge on your fantasy football leaguemates, let's take a look at the biggest NFL news stories from the past week.
News from AFC Teams
Baltimore Ravens News
"Some personnel people inside the league believe the Ravens will target a running back with a pedigree in free agency," per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Why It Matters: You don't need to be an NFL insider to believe this. Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins are hitting free agency, and Keaton Mitchell is coming back from an ACL tear. So the Ravens need to make some moves in their backfield. Most speculation revolves around Derrick Henry, but Josh Jacobs is also a good fit if he makes it to free agency. It's hard to calculate exactly what the ceiling would be for Henry or Jacobs in this offense, but it would be better to err on the high side than the low side when putting together draft rankings. We'll be watching this closely next month and eager to add whoever the Ravens pick to bolster their backfield with a weak draft class unlikely to have the answer.
Cleveland Browns News
QB Deshaun Watson is "on track" in his rehab from November shoulder surgery, per May Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, and should begin throwing again in March.
Why It Matters: Watson's second season in Cleveland was marred by multiple shoulder injuries and mediocre play. The hope is that he fully recovers from his injuries after the fracture in his shoulder socket was surgically repaired, although his strained rotator cuff in the throwing shoulder was not surgically addressed. The Browns and Watson are also optimistic about what he can do with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who has experience in multiple schemes and will be focused on helping Watson return to the quarterback he was in Houston when he was considered elite in both NFL and fantasy circles. His fantasy performance last year was better than his NFL performance, but he is significantly cheaper in drafts (around QB20) than he was in 2023. If Dorsey and the surgery work out, he'll be a big value in fantasy drafts.
Houston Texans News
WR Tank Dell expects to be ready for OTAs
Why It Matters: Dell had a massive NFL and fantasy impact in his rookie year, but it was ended by an ankle injury that required surgery in December. This would be great news if you were worried about this issue affecting his long-term health. The Texans offense is set to take off, and early fantasy drafters are on board, with both Dell and Nico Collins going in the top 20 at wide receiver.
Las Vegas Raiders News
QB Jimmy Garoppolo was suspended two games for violating the NFL performance-enhancing drugs policy
Why It Matters: Whichever team signs Garoppolo after his soon-to-come release won't have him to open the season, which means their third-string quarterback will serve as the backup in Weeks 1 and 2. Garoppolo has floundered without Kyle Shanahan, but he could be seen as a quality backup option in a league that had many quarterbacks who didn't belong playing by the end of last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson said "a little birdie told me.. Russell Wilson is coming on over to the Steelers"
Why It Matters: While not as gripping or impactful as the fate of Justin Fields, Wilson is another wild card in the 2024 quarterback movement storylines. The Broncos probably can not trade him and will be on the hook for an $85 million dead cap when they release him. They can spread it out over two years if they designate him as a post-June 1 cut, but the pain from GM George Paton's own goal, extending Wilson when there was no need to, will be significant nonetheless. The Wilson trade and extension has put head coach Sean Payton in a hole, but it also has created an opportunity for the Steelers or another quarterback needy team to get an experienced starter at a discount. Other teams have been speculated as suitors for Wilson's services, but the Steelers have emerged as the favorite in betting markets, and it makes sense as a move to upgrade modestly from Kenny Pickett without giving up draft capital in a trade, as they would have to if they wanted to acquire Justin Fields.
News from NFC Teams
Atlanta Falcons News
Falcons tight end coach Kevin Koger said he sees TE Kyle Pitts as an asset in the running game.
Why It Matters: Fantasy players wanted Pitts on the field more under a new coaching staff, but not this way. Pitts ranked 109 out of 110 tight ends in PFF run blocking grade, so this is a curious statement. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson did say that Pitts has the ability to lined up all over the formation, so hopefully that will win out when the Falcons unveil Pitts role in their new offense. Pitts is falling to the 8th/9th round in early drafts, which will be hard to pass up despite these mixed signals.
Chicago Bears News
Justin Fields said he would stay in Chicago if it was up to him on the St. Brown brothers podcast.
Why It Matters: The fate of Fields is probably the biggest story we'll be watching at the combine. The trade with the Panthers that got Chicago the 2024 #1 pick came together after the combine last year, so we expect that trade talks involving Fields will heat up soon, with teams like Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver, New England, and Las Vegas possibly in on the action. The price for Fields will be at least a second pick plus another conditional pick, which is reasonable even though Fields is going to require his new team picking up a $22 million fifth-year option for 2025, and a bigger financial commitment after that if Fields plays well - a commitment these teams would be happy to make as none appear to have a long-term answer on the roster now. The Bears could also opt to draft USC QB Caleb Williams, the consensus #1 pick, and keep Fields, with a quarterback competition in camp and hope that one would emerge as a true franchise quarterback and the other would be a very valuable trade asset. The rest of the draft trade talk and offseason quarterback movement will be in a holding pattern until the Bears decide what they are going to do with Fields.
Los Angeles Rams News
The Rams hired former Atlanta offensive coordinator Dave Ragone to replace Zac Robinson as their quarterback coach.
Why It Matters: There's some symmetry here as Robinson will be the offensive coordinator for the Falcons, but unlike Ragone, Robinson will be under a defensive head coach in Raheem Morris, so he'll have control of the offense, while Ragone was under Arthur Smith, who was the architect of the Falcons offense (and his own demise) during Ragone's tenure. Before that, Ragone was the passing game coordinator for the Bears and part of the Mitchell Trubisky failure, so there isn't a lot of success in his coaching record. But his job should be easier overseeing Matthew Stafford in one of the NFL's best passing offense. Ragone and McVay were together on the 2015 Washington staff, when McVay was offensive coordinator and Ragone was a quality control assistant.
New Orleans Saints News
The Saints restructured the contract of C Erik McCoy, creating $7.18 million in cap space
Why It Matters: The Saints entered the offseason $83.6 million over the cap, so this is just the beginning of moves they'll need to make to get in compliance by March 13. If they restructure Derek Carr's deal, they will be effectively tying themselves to him beyond 2024. Free agency decisions on Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas, and the future of players past their prime like Cam Jordan and Alvin Kamara are also affected here. The Saints could try to restructure more contracts, but that would be effectively kicking this problem down the road and making it larger, which is how they ended up here.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News
The Buccaneers and Mike Evans "remain far apart" on a contract, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report
Why It Matters: Normally, we would say that it's not good business to pay top-of-market value to a receiver who is turning 31 before next season, but Evans was in top form in 2023 and doesn't appear to be close to an age cliff right now. Wide receiver is the premium non-quarterback position, and multiple teams will line up to give Evans one more big payday if he hits free agency. It appears that will happen as the Buccaneers are more likely to use their franchise tag on safety Antoine Winfield Jr than Evans (or Baker Mayfield). 2023 sixth-round pick Trey Palmer could get a shot to start if Evans walks.
See other articles from Sigmund here.
