A Paradigm Shift in The NFL

The NBA is usually the league making headlines during their free-agent period, with huge pieces moving and changing its dynamic. However, this year the NFL made its splash in the free agency frenzy.

Huge moves involving Tom Brady leaving New England, Gronk coming out of retirement, and even former MVP Cam Newton leaving the Panthers.

Blockbuster moves have been a theme the past two years for the NFL, the year before fans saw Odell, one of the most polarizing figures in football, get shipped to the Cleveland Browns.. Besides living in a world with covid, this was probably the most peculiar thing to happen in the past two years.

One thing is for sure; this free agency frenzy is not going to stop anytime soon. I expect the heat to get turned up even more during next season's offseason.

Here are some predictions for the 2021 NFL offseason:

 Aaron Rodgers gets shipped to the Colts:

It is no secret that there is tension between the Packers front office and star QB Aaron Rodgers after their infamous Jordan Love pick in the first round of this year's draft.

Rodgers, as he consistently does, looks to be playing off of that tension and proving why he is still one of the best QBs in the NFL. However, as a franchise, you do not draft a QB early in the first round and not expect him to take the reigns.

With Rodgers getting older and his offense getting younger (Aaron Jones 25, Devante Adams 27), and a young head coach in Matt LaFleur, it seems likely that they are moving towards the direction of retooling and skipping the rebuild process.

Aaron Rodgers has played his entire career with the Pack, and as I am sure everyone knows, Rodgers plays his best ball when he has something to prove. Could this all have been an elaborate plan for the Packers to get the most value out of Rodgers?

Enter Chris Ballard: The Colts have been rebuilding their team almost secretively. They have had the luxury of having Andrew Luck in those years to keep their head above water. But seemingly right as Ballard fit all the pieces together, Andrew Luck retired, leaving the entire organization in disarray.

Sneakily, Ballard has been able to put a tremendous young offense and defense together while still maintaining one of the highest caps in the NFL at $91 million. Ballard has been on record saying that he will not spend that cap unless he feels that a player puts them over the edge and fits the Colts culture.

There were rumors of the Colts being in on many QBs in this year's free agency, such as Newton, Brady, and Rivers. Ultimately, they went with Rivers on a one-year deal and gave up the option of drafting a QB in the first round when they traded their pick to the 49ers for All-Pro Deforest Buckner.

While Rivers is not playing terrible football, it is quite apparent that he is not the answer to take this team to a super bowl. Ballard has been building capital for many years, waiting for an opportunity like this.

 Ballard has already said that he is not afraid to spend the money and wealth for a guy that fits in and gives them a chance; here's his homerun opportunity.

Rodgers would be playing behind the top offensive line in football along with a young receiving core and a young and upcoming top 5 defense in the NFL. A scary sight for any NFL team facing the Colts. 

JJ Watt leaves the Texans for the Steelers:

Yes, you can start compiling all the childhood pics of the three Watt brothers now Fox.

The Texans are in an odd spot. After firing Bill O'Brien after an 0-4 start to the year, they find themselves in a half rebuild half not. With the talent of Deshaun Watson, this team won't be torn down to the studs, but they will look at options for ways they can gain more assets for Watson, especially after trading Deandre Hopkins.

 Even though it does not have the same weight, JJ Watt's name still holds significant value for any NFL organization. The Steelers have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL, but there is one problem, they are young.

I know what you are thinking, youth is the opposite of a problem, but it is when you have a bunch of guys playing on expiring rookie contracts, and the wealth starts to get thin.

The Steelers recently franchise-tagged linebacker Bud Dupree, and while they have him for this season, finding out where that money is coming from is going to be a challenging task. JJ Watt can solve some of those problems if he comes over at the right price.

Watt’s availability is already going to force him to take less than he wants, but the prospect of playing with both of his brothers might even cause him to take even less. The Steelers would be silly not to at least look into a deal for Watt.

Tj Watt has also been poking fun at JJ, saying that he is jealous of him and brother Derek, and even has caught JJ wearing a Steelers hat around the house.

Dak stays with the Cowboys:

Dak looks to be going into the Russ Wilson evolution, from game manager to superstar QB. Even though his team has struggled, he has posted insane numbers; he has even thrown for over 400 yards in back-to-back games, led the Cowboys from 24 back of the Falcons, and was one Odell Beckham house call from making it two straight ridiculous comeback victories.

 Even with his devastating leg injury, the Cowboys would be silly to let Dak walk in free agency. Dak is out,  yet he still leads the league in passing yards... That is a pretty impressive feat when guys like Patty Mahomes and Russ Wilson playing at MVP levels.

This guy is unique, and if it weren't for the Cowboys lack of defensive prowess, this team would have consistently been in the top five of power rankings each week that Dak was healthy, and Dak would be the front runner for MVP. It is hard to see a situation where Jerry Jones walks away from this type of production unless he has another plan in mind that he is keeping to himself.

AJ Green heads to Baltimore:

Green did not see the field in the 2019 season after being held out due to injury. Green was slated to make his return from an ankle injury right before the halfway point of the season, but the Bengals held him out, seemingly giving the impression that they were tanking for a high draft pick.

 Being the competitor he is, this did not sit well with Green and even led to him saying that he knows they would not have been 0-8 if he was on the field.

This unpleasantness led to rumors of him asking for a trade. Trade rumors made sense because it looked as if the Bengals were heading towards a rebuild and that Green wanted to win.

However, the Bengals punted the idea of trading Green and even put a franchise tag on him. The plan might have been to have him there as a safety blanket for rookie number one pick Joe Burrow, but as the weeks go by, it is becoming more apparent that Tyler Boyd and even Tee Higgins are Burrow's number one targets.

With Green's contract up and his frustration with the Bengals looming, it makes sense that he would want to stay inside that division and compete against the Bengals twice a year.

 Lamar Jackson has been feening for the Ravens to take a shot on Antonio Brown, but with him off the market Aj Green could be an ideal replacement.

The Raven's could use a legit WR1 with little to no headache. The odds are that they will be able to get Green at a great price, and it would provide a new element to an already stacked offense with Marquise Brown, Mark Andrews, J.K Dobbins, Mark Ingram, and Willie Snead.

Malik Hooker signs with Browns:


It is no secret that the Browns are desperate for help in their secondary, especially at safety after their 2nd round pick Grant Delpit was out for the 2020 season.

 Andrew Berry had a fantastic offseason for the Browns signing Austin Hooper to provide some stimulus for their red-zone woes and signing pro-bowl lineman Jack Conklin to a nice chunk of change.

 But Berry still has a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Berry and the rest of the Browns front office base their decisions on analytics, which may lead them to consider Malik Hooker in their secondary.

Hooker has been ailed by injuries that have left him off the field two of his first three years in the NFL. That being said, he has shown flashes of greatness when he is on the field, even drawing comparisons to former Colts star safety Bob Sanders.

Malik Hooker is someone that would not jeopardize the Browns payroll because of his health concerns, but the value you are getting back from him if he stays on the field is unprecedented and provides some depth at a position that needs it. 

 Trevor Lawrence to the Jets Sam Darnold to the Lions:

In short... The Jets are terrible. There is no visible future for the Jets, and it seems as if they are heading towards a number one pick in this year's draft in Cleveland.

The Jets would be almost forced to take Lawrence with that pick unless they genuinely believe that Darnold will turn out to be a better player than Lawrence.

Ultimately, I think the Jets will make the logical play and draft Lawrence number one and ship Darnold. But who would take Darnold?

The Lions are a middle of the road team with a lot of young talent. Matt Stafford has been excellent for the Lions, but as he gets older and more injury-prone, the Lions might need to find an insurance policy.

Darnold is very similar to Stafford with his gunslinging mentality, and his arm angle even compares closely to Stafford. At the very worst, you are keeping a young and talented Darnold to sit behind a veteran hall of fame QB in Stafford and grooming him for the future.

This is not a Josh Rosen Situation; Darnold still has a lot of talent and a lot left to prove.