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The latest
Here’s a Look at Some Important Upcoming Dates on the NFL Offseason Calendar | The Mothership
March 8: Teams who wish to place a “Franchise” or “Transition” tag on a player must do so prior to 3 p.m. CT.
March 14-16: Between 11 a.m. CT on March 14 and 2:59 p.m. CT on March 16, teams are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2021 player contacts at 3 p.m. CT on March 16.
During the above two-day negotiating period, a prospective unrestricted free agent who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor is permitted to communicate directly with a new club’s front office officials (excluding the head coach and other members of the club’s coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations.
No prospective unrestricted free agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 3 p.m. CT on March 16.
1. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
The easy but right answer. Mahomes may be more human now than he was during his MVP breakout, but we take for granted how easily he plays point guard in one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses. Someday, his off-script tendencies may really catch up to him, but he remains the total physical package with an uncanny ability to come alive in crunch time. Oh, and he’s already been to four AFC Championships in four years as a starter. At that pace, he actually has a chance of being in Brady’s ballpark.
Tom Brady’s most memorable moment against all 32 NFL teams | ESPN
Jan. 20, 2019: Brady threw for 348 yards in leading the Patriots to a 37-31 overtime win in the AFC Championship Game. He was at his best in the fourth quarter and overtime, when he completed all five of his passes on third down, with the Patriots converting each time. — Adam Teicher
Get Patrick Mahomes another wide receiver
The Chiefs wanted to help Mahomes out in the pass-catching department last season, but struck out on all their free agent targets. JuJu Smith-Schuster decided to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Josh Reynolds decided to sign with the Tennessee Titans. Kansas City wanted a No. 2 wide receiver, yet settled on homegrown players Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle.
Hardman and Pringle had their moments in 2021, combining for 101 catches and 1,261 yards and seven touchdowns. Hardman had three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game while Pringle had two catches for 13 yards. Hardman and Pringle combined for just two catches for 11 yards in the second half and failed to get open when Cincinnati dropped eight back in coverage to contain Mahomes.
Kansas City needs another playmaker to pair with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in order to prevent Mahomes from getting into these prolonged slumps. Pringle will be a free agent and Hardman will be in Kansas City for the final year of his rookie deal, an ideal situation for the Chiefs to upgrade at the position and find a true No. 2 option.
Not stopping there, Johnson then points to the rest of the AFC as likely reasons the Chiefs will not make the Super Bowl again. The Buffalo Bills, who the Chiefs just beat again, and the Bengals, are getting better every day apparently. (It should be noted the Bills lost their offensive coordinator last week.) Why is it more likely those teams will continue to have success than the Chiefs? That’s unclear, but they are good teams so maybe they will be able to sustain the success that elludes most franchises for long periods of time. At least this part seems plausible.
After that though... wooo boy.
“The Baltimore Ravens are not always going to be banged up and hurt.”
“The Tennessee Titans are surely going to figure out their quarterback situation before it gets too late.”
“The Cleveland Browns will probably figure out their situation.”
“The Rams are not going to go anwyhere for a couple years.”
Former Chiefs Wide Receiver Signs With The CFL | The Spun
A former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver and college football superstar is headed to the CFL.
De’Anthony Thomas is headed to the CFL. The electric slot receiver has signed with the BC Lions.
“The BC Lions have added American WR/KR De’Anthony Thomas to the roster,” the CFL announced.
“Thomas, 29, brings six years of NFL experience to the den. Selected in round four (124th overall) by Kansas City in the 2014 Draft, Thomas played a role on both offence and special teams with the Chiefs, suiting up in 61 games from 2014-2019.”
Round 1 - Pick 30
Cameron Thomas DL
Kansas City
Thomas, who can play anywhere along the defensive line, set career bests in tackles for loss (20.5) and sacks (10.5) this season for the Aztecs, and he appears to just be scratching the surface on his abilities. He’s as good against the run as he is getting after the quarterback.
Bettor Wins ‘Greatest Bet of All Time’ from Chiefs-Bengals Game | Heavy.com
A bettor took to FanDuel and placed a bet in a two-leg parlay regarding the outcome of the NFL Conference Championships. What was the bet? That the Bengals would beat the Chiefs 27-24, and the Los Angeles Rams would beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17. The FanDuel customer obviously won that bet, which had 29,000-1 odds.
Due to the $20 bet placed on the parlay — which was just a credit the customer had on their FanDuel account — the customer came out of the parlay winning $529,000, according to Darren Rovell of Action Network.
“The greatest bet of all time has been CONFIRMED,” he wrote on Twitter.
Around the NFL
Tom Brady announces retirement after 22-year NFL career | SB Nation
Brady had consistently said he planned to play through his age-45 season, but there were rumblings this could be his final playoff run before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the LA Rams. The Rams’ 30-27 victory is the last game Brady will play in his career.
Now Brady is heading into his post-playing career after 22 seasons in the NFL.
Brady exits the NFL as perhaps the greatest quarterback of all-time. He won six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, and then won another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in early 2021. Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings by himself are more than any NFL franchise.
Flores’ lawsuit alleges that the league has discriminated against Flores and other Black coaches for racial reasons, denying them positions as head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, as well as general managers.
“It was time to stop being quiet about the injustices that are happening,” Flores’ team said over the phone to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “This was long overdue. There’s plenty of racism that need to be exposed.”
Flores added in a release put out by the law firm representing him: “God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”
Packers moving on from special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton | NFL.com
Green Bay’s disastrous special teams performance in 2021 has resulted in a staff departure.
Special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton will not return to the Packers in 2022, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported.
Green Bay’s special teams struggled throughout 2021, but its worst showing directly contributed to the Packers’ upset loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
First, Green Bay had a chance to push its early lead to 10-0 just before the half, but failed to adequately protect on Mason Crosby’s 39-yard field goal attempt. San Francisco safety Jimmie Ward shot through a gap near the edge to get in front of Crosby’s kick, blocking it to keep the game at 7-0.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs went as far as Patrick Mahomes could take them
Mahomes’ Chiefs more closely resemble the New Orleans Saints with Drew Brees or the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning. This is his team, for better and for worse.
We watched the upside of such an identity last week when Bills fans realized 13 seconds was too much time to give Mahomes. “Mahomes Magic” is why the Chiefs have hosted four straight conference championships and why they’ll be the betting favorite next season to once again represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
The downside is what we saw on Sunday when we watched Mahomes come up short in a big moment for the first time in his playoff career. The Chiefs didn’t have a changeup, and it came back to bite them.
A tweet to make you think
The #Chiefs head into the offseason with some serious roster decisions to make on key players. #APEditorsShow@Arrowheadphones pic.twitter.com/sQxEMbDTDG
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) February 1, 2022
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