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 the NFL
The salary cap will be $255.4 million for the 2024 season.
Why It Matters: By most estimates, teams went into the offseason planning on $242 or $243 million. The implications of faster-than-expected cap growth, fueled by complete repayment of money advanced and deferred by the league due to the COVID pandemic and new media deals, are countless. It should give teams more flexibility in free agency but also emphasize the importance of hitting on quarterback picks in the draft and positional value when teams create their draft boards. This could increase the gap between the haves and have-nots in the NFL when it comes to having forward-thinking personnel and cap management strategies.
News from AFC Teams
Baltimore Ravens News
Head coach John Harbaugh said WR Rashod Bateman will get "a lot more" targets and that he expects him to "take a big step" next season.
Why It Matters: The Ravens passing game under Todd Monken with reinforcements at wide receiver didn't take off as hoped, but the arrow was pointing up at the end of the season. Bateman seemed to get better as the season went on after he had to have a cortisone shot in June due to lingering pain and swelling from foot surgery. Odell Beckham Jr also probably won't be back, so there should be more opportunity coming for Bateman. The Ravens will have to decide whether to pick up a fifth-year option for 2025 that should be around $14 million after the draft, which should give insight into what the front office thinks of his future. He's free in early best ball drafts and worth considering in the late rounds. Bateman is a good buy-low candidate, with his best football still likely ahead of him and the potential to have a larger role in a more robust passing game in the future.
Cincinnati Bengals News
The Bengals will use the franchise tag on WR Tee Higgins.
Why It Matters: The rising cap didn't hurt here, although if the Bengals can sign Higgins to a long-term deal, they can lower his cap number for this year from the $21.8 million it will be if he plays on the one-year tag contract. Is it certain that Higgins will be a Bengal this season? Team Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin was cryptic, refusing to get into "hypotheticals" about Higgins future with the team and saying it was hard for him to predict "all the different scenarios", but also saying "we want to keep him and we have the resources to do that". Higgins is going in the fourth round in early best ball drafts, which is lower than last year, even though Joe Burrow was coming into the season injured. A trade to a team willing to pay him #1 wide receiver money won't hurt his value unless they have terrible quarterback play.
Denver Broncos News
GM George Paton said no teams had contacted the Broncos about trading for QB Russell Wilson.
Why It Matters: Paton's wording here is telling as the public relations battle between the Broncos and Wilson has flared up lately, with Wilson saying he still wants to be in Denver while it is obvious after what has happened that Denver is the one team we can be sure he won't play for this season. The Steelers seem to come up more than any other team when discussing where he would land after an inevitable release that is coming soon.
Kansas City Chiefs News
The Chiefs will use the franchise tag on DB L'Jarius Sneed.
Why It Matters: Sneed is one of the best man coverage corners in the league and will cost $19.8 million if he plays on the tag deal this season. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the team is open to a trade if a long-term deal isn't reached and that Sneed is agreeable to that approach, "giving him the chance to talk with other teams", so don't write his name in pen on the 2024 Chiefs roster. The team also has to work on getting impending free agent DT Chris Jones, who will get at least $30 million a year on his next deal, under contract before the "legal tampering" period opens on March 11, and the two decisions could be interdependent. Both could be Chiefs in 2024, but it's far from assured.
Las Vegas Raiders News
Raiders GM Tom Telesco said he doesn't anticipate using the franchise tag on RB Josh Jacobs.
Why It Matters: Don't assume this means Jacobs will hit the open market. Telesco also said he wants to establish that the Raiders are the kind of team that "likes to re-sign their own," and NFL Insider Tony Pauline wrote that Jacobs and the team were "inching" toward a deal although "nothing is imminent." Jacobs is falling out of the Top 50 in early best-ball drafts, which seems like a bargain for a player who will surely lead his backfield in touches wherever he plays in 2024.
News from NFC Teams
Atlanta Falcons News
The Falcons released TE Jonnu Smith.
Why It Matters: This is another signal that the Arthur Smith era is over in Atlanta, which could mean Kyle Pitts will finally be freed. As for Smith, don't rule out a reunion with Smith on a third team in Pittsburgh. Pitts' ADP is in the eighth round in early drafts, which is the lowest of his career. We'll see if it goes up on this news.
Chicago Bears News
GM Ryan Poles said the team would try to "do right" by Justin Fields and trade him before free agency opens on March 13 if they plan on using the #1 pick on a new quarterback.
Why It Matters: This gives us a soft deadline, but it's always possible the Bears don't live up to their word due to indecision or an unwise attempt to extract more in a trade market that should be thinned once free agency opens. Fields has been linked to the Falcons a lot recently, and Atlanta is obviously in the market for a new quarterback. But the Steelers have also been mentioned a lot in connection with Fields' future. The unscientific vibe check is trending towards the team selecting USC's Caleb Williams with the #1 pick and trading Fields, although all-time great Peter King guessed that the Bears would trade the pick in the column where he announced his retirement earlier in February. This is the decision the rest of the league is waiting on before the rest of the quarterback dominoes fall this offseason.
Detroit Lions News
Head coach Dan Campbell said WR Jameson Williams will "push to be a full-time starter" next season.
Why It Matters: Williams has been seen as a disappointment through the first two years of his career after the Lions traded up to #12 to get him, but he made a few clutch plays in the postseason and appears to be trending up heading into the 2024 season. The Lions make great use of their best skill players, so we shouldn't temper expectations for Williams in year three. He'll only cost a ninth-round pick in early best ball drafts, which is a format that magnifies the value of his big play skillset. Josh Reynolds is a free agent, so if the Lions don't bring him back, the runway is cleared for Williams.
Los Angeles Rams News
The Rams signed WR Demarcus Robinson to a one-year, $5 million deal.
Why It Matters: Robinson was a waiver-wire hero in the fantasy playoffs, and that was with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both playing and producing along with him. He passed Tutu Atwell on the depth chart after a strong start to the season by the 2021 second-round pick. Robinson is free in early best ball drafts, which seems like a major oversight by the fantasy community.
GM Les Snead said the timeline for TE Tyler Higbee's return is "still unclear" after he had surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL suffered in the Wild Card game.
Why It Matters: The Rams drafted Davis Allen in the fourth round last year for the balance in his game more than as a receiving tight end, but he already posted 4-50-1 and 4-25 lines when Higbee was out last year, and signs point to Higbee more likely to start the season on the PUP list than suit up for Week 1. Allen should be on your tight end premium league watch list.
New York Giants News
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Giants are unlikely to use the franchise tag on RB Saquon Barkley, but team GM Joe Schoen said the tag is "not off the table."
Why It Matters: Barkley would be the marquee free agent running back if the Giants allow him to get there. While he hasn't been nearly as impactful as hoped when the team took him second overall in the 2018 draft, he is still probably their best offensive weapon and worth retaining at market value. If Barkley makes it to free agency, Houston and Chicago are among the teams that make sense as suitors. The Giants would be going back to the drawing board at running back, with 2021 sixth-round Gary Brightwell and 2023 fifth-rounder Eric Gray the top returning backs.
Philadelphia Eagles News
The NFL Executive VP of Operations said, "everyone is on the same page that there's no reason to ban" the "tush push" play that is responsible for a large share of Jalen Hurts rushing touchdowns.
Why It Matters: You can safely leave Jalen Hurts in the top two of your fantasy quarterback rankings. The league probably isn't wrong to leave the play alone since the Eagles' offensive line's ability to get a push up front is more responsible for its continued success than the aid given by the players behind Hurts, as evidenced by other teams not being able to reproduce their layup-like consistency.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News
GM Jason Licht said, "We're going to do whatever we can to make sure (Mike Evans) is a Buc."
Why It Matters: There was a report that the two sides were far apart, and the team is more likely to use the franchise tag on S Antoine Winfield than Evans, but it seems at least as likely that Evans retires a Buc, as they say they want, as it is that he signs a deal elsewhere. He could still make it to free agency to potentially raise his price, but the best bet is on him coming back to Tampa. Evans is going in the third round of early best ball drafts as WR21 even though he finished as WR9 last year.
