Can we all admit that having loads of cap space generally means your roster stinks? Oh sure, you could be the Commanders and have an incredible March and April a year ago, which allowed them to overshoot projections and then be in position 12 months later to acquire big contracts in Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel. But, more often than not, a team with bags of cash ready for free agency means they don't have anyone on their current roster to spend it on. Hello, New England Patriots (and that was after they extended the core of a bad team the year prior).
Bill Belichick's and Eliot Wolf's mismanagement put the Pats in a spot where their 2024-25 roster was one of the worst in football. The fallout was a second straight 4-13 season, a half-full stadium, and a first-year head coach who never saw year two. If I'm Jerod Mayo, I'll forever wonder what could have been had Wolf found better ways to spend the money the Pats had, and not thinking that turning two career right tackles (Okorafor and Wallace) into left tackles was a clever play (along with other missteps). But I digress. What's done is done.
But for the last seven or eight months, especially once the season went sideways, one of the rallying cries of fan base, media, and even those inside the building was, 'We've got money to burn (too soon?).' Indeed, the Pats did. And yet, after doling out a whopping contract for Milton Williams and above-market deals for Carlton Davis and Robert Spillane - I was in favor of all of this - the organization is still sitting on $80+ million of cap space with no sizable (and difference-making) targets remaining in free agency. Yes, that does give the organization the flexibility to acquire a bloated contract via trade, but considering the Pats' unwillingness to deal away high draft picks in this cycle - with good reason, in my opinion - Mike Vrabel and Company will be rolling over a large chunk of change for next year's free agency extravaganza, which will almost certainly be as devoid of high-end talent as this class has been. Yes, they can plan on extensions for Christian Gonzalez (he is eligible next off-season) and another year down the line for Drake Maye (should he warrant that), but by and large, the Pats are still stuck in no man's land.
The flip side of this salary cap coin is that having no space doesn't mean you're a power broker in the league. Look no further than the Browns and Saints. They're shopping at the dollar store year after year or doing cap gymnastics to make a larger salaried acquisition (think Derek Carr....yuck). That's gotten them what, exactly? A playoff appearance here or there, but no sustained success or a real shot at winning it all.
The bottom line is this once again comes down to the draft. The Patriots are desperate for a monster one. Think 2010 (McCourty/Gronk/Hernandez/Spikes), 2003 (Warren/Koppen/Samuel/Wilson/Banta-Cain), or 1995 (Law/Martin/Johnson/Wohlabaugh/Hitchcock). Four or five legit starters, including a couple high-end ones. Do that, add it to where the roster currently sits, and suddenly, you can make the case to be .500 (or better). Considering where the Pats have been of late, that would jump-start this program, fill the building, and make a case for Foxborough no longer being in players' no-fly zone.
RUN IT BACK
$161 million for Ja'Marr Chase.
$115 million for Tee Higgins.
You can quibble with the team-building philosophy and the percentage of the salary cap being spent at that position, but what you can't argue with is that Cincinnati finally showed the rest of the league that it would pay to keep its stars. That's a win for Bengals fans, for quarterback Joe Burrow, and by extension, for the front office and ownership, who would have come under great scrutiny had they ignored the pleas/demands of their franchise quarterback. Considering that he, Burrow, made them relevant again, this is the right side of the line for GM Duke Tobin and owner Mike Brown to be on.
Several seasons ago, the Bengals nearly won the Super Bowl. Had Aaron Donald not gone beast mode in the game's closing minutes, Burrow would have had Chase open for a potential touchdown. They weren't the best team in the league that year. Hell, they weren't the best team in the AFC. That was the Bills, who may always throw up their mouths a bit every time 13 seconds flashes on the scoreboard. But they were this close. Why can't they do that again?
A couple of bad defensive drafts have made Cincinnati too reliant on Burrow and his mates to put up 30-plus points every week, and even then, it doesn't always matter. The Bengals didn't punt during week three's game against the Commanders and scored touchdowns on all three of their second-half possessions. They still lost, 39-33,
Two weeks later, Burrow generated 38 points but lost 41-38 in overtime to Baltimore. There were also defeats with 34 (Ravens) and 38 points (Steelers). You could ask, 'Why not reallocate some of these funds to the defensive side?' To which I would say there are no guarantees that replacing Higgins with a draft pick or multiple players would create the same results. In fact, I'd almost guarantee they couldn't. The Bengals know what they have and how it works, and breaking that up could make a top 5 offense into something less than that. Why mess with that formula?
What needs to happen now is that Tobin and the small group of scouts at his fingertips (a place where Brown is still cheap) must find a couple of difference makers, or at least upgrades, for new defensive coordinator Al Golden. Do that, and who knows? Maybe the Bengals will have opened that championship window again.
ON THAT NOTE
Did you catch the joint press conference with Chase and Higgins? Pretty unique and cool. Chase is the no-doubt star, having won the Triple Crown as a wideout this past season. Apparently, his contract had been figured out weeks ago, but Chase worked with his agent, who also happens to be Higgins' agent, to do everything he could to ensure his running mate got what he deserved.
“I’m not a greedy person, and I’m not selfish,” Chase said. “I’m not gonna overdo nothing. And this whole situation, throughout my whole process, I was talking to Rocky (agent), actually making sure we get something on Tee’s done. Like, are we close to Tee’s before mine? I’m trying to make sure me and Tee are still … together.”
“It’s because we make each other better,” added Higgins. “Not just on the field, but off the field, as well, as men. He’s become one of my closest brothers, and we’ve been growing together as professional athletes and I feel like we’re going to do nothing but continue to grow.”
Having covered pro sports for two-plus decades, I'm cynical by nature. I've heard guys say one thing and know they don't mean it. This isn't one of those cases. No matter who I've talked to in the Bengals organization, they've all indicated a real brotherhood between the two receivers, and Tuesday's press conference solidified that premise.
FOLLOW THE RULES?
Several rule changes were submitted before the league meetings, which are set for March 30 to April 2 in West Palm Beach, Florida. For these rules to pass, at least 24 of the 32 votes are needed.
One of the proposals, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, would change playoff seeding. Detroit wants more weight given to regular-season records rather than divisional championships.
In the Lions proposal, the top division winner still gets the #1 overall playoff seed. But beyond that, the seedings would be arraigned by won/loss record, not who wins, say, the NFC South.
For instance, this year, the Minnesota Vikings went 14-3 but finished second in the NFC North and ended up as the 5 seed. That forced them into playing a road playoff game against the 10-7 Rams, which they lost.
Another NFC North team, the Packers, would have benefited from this potential change. They went 11-6 and were the 7th seed, but under this format, they would have vaulted to 5th.
File under: Not a fan.
I'll give you one more proposal. The Green Bay Packers may be accused of having sour grapes, but they want the 'Tush Push' banned. I have wavered on this over the years, but after that debacle in the NFC Championship game - remember, the refs threatened to reward the Eagles with a touchdown if the Commanders jumped the count one more time - I'm over and done with the play.
If you can't pull a ball carrier, why should you be able to push one? I didn't sign up to watch rugby (nor will I ever), and in my younger days, while I watched people throw themselves around in a mosh pit, I was smart enough to know I didn't want to participate. There's no question that Philly has mastered this play, and others have not, but just run a QB sneak with your quarterback who can squat a million pounds and be done with it.
NO ONE LOVES AROD QUITE LIKE AROD HIMSELF
I told myself I wouldn't write about Aaron Rodgers in this cycle unless he picked a team. True to form, he hasn't yet, drawing a majority of the headlines as free agency slows to a crawl. All this for a 41-year-old quarterback who didn't deliver for the Jets after they took a big swing on the former MVP.
If you believe in looking at the stats and only the stats to determine whether a player performed well, Rodgers is for you. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns (just 11 interceptions), and had a QB Rating of 90.5. Of course, that misses all the bullcrap behind the scenes - the McAfee interviews are beyond absurd - the reluctance to push the ball down the field and taking the play clock down to a second or two on nearly every snap just so he can check into a 4-yard throw on 3rd and 8. How very Kirk Cousins(y) of you, Aaron.
Yet, because the Giants and Steelers desperately need a quarterback, Rodgers has opportunities to start. That Rodgers doesn't want either and prefers the Vikings (to complete the Brett Favre career path) is so very on-brand. Earlier this week, Minnesota made it clear it is moving forward with J.J. McCarthy as the top guy but also didn't slam the door shut on Rodgers, making it very possible Rodgers a) takes an educated roll of the dice and hopes that call comes in June or July, knowing full well that he could end up with a seat at the table or b) stops screwing over the other two teams and takes one of 'em up on their offer before the NFL draft.
That leads me to the best soundbite of the week. It came courtesy of Pittsburgh defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. When asked about Rodgers, the veteran cut right to the chase:
"I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap," he said. "Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t. That’s simple. That’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch: Pittsburgh Steelers. If you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.
"I will never tell a man what to do or how to do it, but if you want to be part of the group, be part of the group."
Love the big fella's honesty and ability to cut through the bullcrap. Heyward is my early nominee for Man of the Year. That doesn't actually get you anything - maybe we could crowdsource for a trophy - but it sends a message to Rodgers that if you come to the Steel Cty, wear your workboots because this player-over-team thing won't fly.