NFL Offseason 2021 - Trades and Free Agency NFL

[Birdman]

Derek Carr reportedly on the trade block! I think Gruden would like Deshaun Watson at the Raiders.

Don't think the Raiders have the leverage to trade for Watson, even if they were to give up the draft picks which would be insane given where they are in their own rebuild. The Texans are looking for defensive starters in any trade and I don't think the Raiders defense has anyone they would want or that Gruden/Mayock can afford to give up.

Also, I cant say this enough - Carr is not the issue in Las Vegas - they have a terrible defense. Improving on that and getting better output from their WR corp should be the only priority this offseason.

 

[Steve]

Don't think the Raiders have the leverage to trade for Watson, even if they were to give up the draft picks which would be insane given where they are in their own rebuild. The Texans are looking for defensive starters in any trade and I don't think the Raiders defense has anyone they would want or that Gruden/Mayock can afford to give up.

Also, I cant say this enough - Carr is not the issue in Las Vegas - they have a terrible defense. Improving on that and getting better output from their WR corp should be the only priority this offseason.

I think you'd have to trade Carr for multiple picks first and then use that haul to trade for Watson along with some of the Raiders own picks. It's a complicated way to do it and probably unlikely to fall that way. Carr should have a good market though? New England, Carolina and others would all be interested I would think. I'd agree he is not the issue and they need to build that defence up.

I'm not sure about the Texans wanting multiple defensive starters, that seems to be a theory floated by a Texans beat writer who is guessing just like the rest of us, the team have said nothing of the sort and are still stating they want to keep Watson as far as I am aware. Given the cost of taking on veteran players the Texans may well prefer to get draft picks and draft their own defenders also.

 

[Birdman]

I think you'd have to trade Carr for multiple picks first and then use that haul to trade for Watson along with some of the Raiders own picks. It's a complicated way to do it and probably unlikely to fall that way. Carr should have a good market though? New England, Carolina and others would all be interested I would think. I'd agree he is not the issue and they need to build that defence up.

I'm not sure about the Texans wanting multiple defensive starters, that seems to be a theory floated by a Texans beat writer who is guessing just like the rest of us, the team have said nothing of the sort and are still stating they want to keep Watson as far as I am aware. Given the cost of taking on veteran players the Texans may well prefer to get draft picks and draft their own defenders also.

Yeah its hard to get a real idea of what the Texans would want as they don't want to trade him. He could very likely sit out next year and force a trade to someone and I am not convinced the Raiders would be a spot he wants to go (won't be a challenger in the immediate future even looking at it optimistically).

There are a lot of teams in need of a QB but they will have to put up a kings ransom to tempt Houston to the trading table.

But hey it's John Gruden and the Raiders so who knows what they will do!

 

[Tom]

Carson Wentz to the Colts is starting to gather some legs per Mike Garafolo.

 

[Steve]

Carson Wentz to the Colts is starting to gather some legs per Mike Garafolo.

I don't see how they possibly do this with the cap situation unless something crazy like Wentz giving back his signing bonus.

On a pre-June 1 trade, it is $33m in dead cap, $11m higher than the previous record.

That would be terrible for any team in a normal year, but next year with the reduced cap the Eagles are already $53m over. Add in that Wentz dead cap and they'd be $86m over the cap - pushing towards 50% over.

They could push the trade to post-June 1 but that leaves so many moving pieces and teams potentially backing out and the other screwed.

 

[Birdman]

I don't see how they possibly do this with the cap situation unless something crazy like Wentz giving back his signing bonus.

On a pre-June 1 trade, it is $33m in dead cap, $11m higher than the previous record.

That would be terrible for any team in a normal year, but next year with the reduced cap the Eagles are already $53m over. Add in that Wentz dead cap and they'd be $86m over the cap - pushing towards 50% over.

They could push the trade to post-June 1 but that leaves so many moving pieces and teams potentially backing out and the other screwed.

It wouldn't put them $86m over. It would be dead money of $33m but that is already factored into the $53m that they are over. It's not an additional $33m. They are paying it either way but if they trade him they actually reduce their overall cap hit by $800k.

Either way, it's a huge contract they are on the hook for.

 

[Tom]

Latest breakdown of what tools teams have to play with this offseason to improve. Some will need some serious magic to not regress.



X-axis = Draft Capital
Y-axis = Effective Cap Space

 

[Snoops]

Latest breakdown of what tools teams have to play with this offseason to improve. Some will need some serious magic to not regress.

The Rams really are in win-now mode. The Saints, win yesterday!

 

[Tom]

The Rams really are in win-now mode. The Saints, win yesterday!

Though the NFL's salary cap is not expected to be officially set until next month, league sources believe it will be roughly $180-$181 million. Throughout the past season, many expected it to be around $175 million, but it now is projected to come in slightly higher.

Some perspective on the teams that will have their work cut out for them this offseason with the current highest cap commitments for 2021:
1. Saints: ~$259M
2. Eagles: ~$252M
3. Steelers: $216M
4. Packers: ~$212M
5. Falcons: ~$206M

 

[Steve]

JJ Watt released by the Texans. 3 time defensive player of the year.

Had one year left on his contract and by releasing him now, the Texans don't suffer any cap hit but surely they could have found a trade partner.