Trades, retirements and the return of “Chucky” – it’s been a busy month since the Super Bowl, catch up with the latest here…
The excitement of Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl XLII victory over New England marked the end of the NFL year, but before a ball’s been thrown, the offseason has already burst into action.
Officially, the 2018 league year opens at 9pm GMT on March 14 but in the league that never sleeps, the confetti had barely been swept up from the US Bank Stadium turf when teams started making moves towards Super Bowl XLIII.
The end of the season saw seven franchises employ new coaches: Carolina defensive co-ordinator Steve Wilks replaced the retired Bruce Arians in Arizona; John Fox was fired in Chicago and succeeded by 39-year-old Matt Nagy from the Chiefs; Matt Patricia left the side of Bill Belichick to head up his own team in Detroit; Mike Vrabel was handed the headset in Tennessee; and the Giants tabbed Vikings offensive co-ordinator Pat Shurmur.
Most notable though was Jon Gruden’s return to Oakland after eight years in the TV booth. With a move to Las Vegas looming, the Raiders needed some star power and they got it in “Chucky”, their coach from 1998 to 2001. The colourful Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay in 2002 and promptly led the Bucs to a 48-21 demolition of his former Raiders side in Super Bowl XXXVII .
The most coaching intrigue took place in Indianapolis, where Colts GM Chris Ballard had scheduled a press conference to announce Patriots offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels as their new boss. McDaniels, however, pulled out at the last second and Indy were left scrambling. Five days later, instead of the Super Bowl-losing co-ordinator they hired the victorious playcaller – Frank Reich of the Eagles.
The NFL’s head men promptly joined Reich in Indianapolis for the annual NFL Combine, where college players expected to be drafted in April have the rule run over them in a series of drills and tests. Penn State running back Saquon Barkley dropped scout’s jaws league-wide and could have ensured he’ll be the first player off the board next month.
- Stronger than Joe Thomas
- Quicker than DeSean Jackson
- Faster than Devin Hester
- Jumps higher than Julio Jones
@PennStateFball
While the NFL prepared for new blood, some of its veteran players were calling it a day. Running back Matt Forte, who racked up almost 15,000 yards from scrimmage for the Bears and Jets, retired. Two other former Jets – David Harris and Antonio Cromartie also hung up their cleats, as did linemen Eric Wood of Buffalo and Zach Strief of the Saints. Cleveland Browns star tackle Joe Thomas was also contemplating calling it a career, according to reports.
Notable names were looking for new teams after they were released, among them: Miami’s Ndamukong Suh; Tampa rusher Doug Martin and defensive lineman Chris Baker; Muhammad Wilkerson, who is now an ex-Jet and Tamba Hali, who’s an ex-Chief.
The beating heart of the Legion Of Boom in Seattle, Richard Sherman, was also cut but wasted no time in signing with Seahawks’ divisional rival San Francisco. “I’m vengeful in that way,” he told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.
Amid rumours that Minnesota are trying to woo Saints legend Drew Brees, the free agent frenzy kicks off on Wednesday night with Minnesota success story Case Keenum expected to join John Elway’s Denver Broncos and Jacksonville pass-catcher Allen Robinson set to sign with Chicago, but trades were the story in the last month.
First, veteran QB Alex Smith went from Kansas City to Washington for promising cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick. That confirmed that free agent Redskins passer Kirk Cousins would not be staying in DC but would instead likely become the best paid player in NFL history with one of the QB-needy teams (NY Jets, Denver, Arizona, to name but three).
Cleveland were expected to be in that group of Cousins chasers but abruptly pulled off three trades in a day last week, bringing in Buffalo’s Pro Bowl QB Tyrod Taylor, record-setting Miami receiver Jarvis Landry and Packers corner Damarious Randall (sending last year’s rookie flop passer DeShone Kizer to Green Bay). They didn’t end there, shipping defensive lineman Danny Shelton to New England for a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft.
LA’s Rams were also active in the market, stealing star corner Marcus Peters from the Chiefs for a bargain price. They also nabbed fellow defensive back Aqib Talib from Denver and sent speedy linebacker to NY Giants and pass rusher Robert Quinn to Miami.
‘Winning the offseason’ is no guarantee of success when September comes around, but, for NFL fans, this is the best time of the season – everyone’s win-loss record is 0-0 and every signing is a potential star. The 2018 season starts here.
