NEWSLETTER
We’re almost there. The final week of the NFL preseason has started, and we’ll be talking about real football before you know it!
Friday 5
Thoughts on five of my favorite storylines from the week that was across the NFL.
I. What’s Next for Trey Lance?
San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch said on local radio station KNBR today that Trey Lance was devastated by the news that Kyle Shanahan had chosen Sam Darnold to be Brock Purdy’s backup this season. Barring injuries, it likely closes the chapter on the Trey Lance era in San Francisco. It was a forgettable one and an expensive one for the 49ers. But as I’ve said, it’s no fault of Trey Lance’s.
Trey Lance didn’t ask the 49ers to send a king’s ransom to Miami for the right to pick him. He didn’t ask to have his ankle foot snapped in his second game as the guy under center in San Francisco. And he certainly didn’t ask the 49ers to spend money on Sam Darnold this offseason. Still, that’s what happened, and now it’s all but over for Lance in San Francisco.
If I’m being frank here, the 49ers failed to do right by Trey Lance from day one. Kyle Shanahan wasn’t sold on Jimmy Garoppolo, even though he helped take the 49ers to the Super Bowl just one season before San Francisco was on the clock during the 2021 NFL Draft. Shanahan and John Lynch watched the Rams trade for Matthew Stafford, and they panicked. They drafted a talented quarterback with a premium pick, for which they paid a premium price. The Rams won the Super Bowl, the 49ers found Brock Purdy, and Trey Lance drew the short straw.
Now it’s time for a change of scenery for Lance, and the 49ers should do right by him and trade him before the season starts in two weeks.
But where?
Lance isn’t a starter in the NFL right now. Not if the team that trades for him wants to do what the 49ers couldn’t afford to do and give him a fair shake at trying to reach his once lofty potential. So, you begin to look at teams that could use a project quarterback, which is what Lance is today by no fault of his own. The Minnesota Vikings have Kirk Cousins under contract for this season and this season only. All parties have acknowledged that Cousins won’t be getting an extension until next spring, if at all.
So why not send him home? Lance is from Minnesota. Kirk Cousins is 35 years old, and unless he takes the Vikings deep into the playoffs this season, I’m not sure Minnesota will have much interest in bringing him back. If the 49ers and Vikings could work out a deal, Lance could learn from Kirk Cousins this season, back him up, and find himself in a position to succeed him in Minnesota.
Seattle also jumps out at me as a sensible landing spot for Lance, except the 49ers would have to cut him for that to happen because I can’t see them trading him to their division rival. But if San Francisco did cut Lance, Geno Smith and the Seahawks present Lance with the same situation as Cousins and the Vikings. Geno Smith might be just the mentor he needs. It took Smith a career for some to finally break out, become the guy, and land a big-money extension. He knows something about things not going according to plan in this league.
Tampa Bay, Washington, New England, and the Rams are also teams that could be looking for a quarterback after this season if things don’t go according to plan, giving Lance a runway to learn on the job and a potential opportunity.
However it shakes out, it’s time for the next chapter in Trey Lance’s NFL career, and that likely doesn’t include the 49ers.
II. Shortening the NFL Preseason
Cowboys linebacker Demarvion Overshown, Eagles cornerback Zach McPherson, and Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage were just a few of the names on the lengthy list of injuries suffered in training camp and preseason games last week. We also saw Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden taken from the field on a stretcher, leading to the suspension of the Patriots and Packers preseason game.
The second week of the NFL’s 2023 preseason schedule reminded us that the preseason is too long. Sure, injuries happen all the time in the NFL. Football is an inherently violent and dangerous sport. But these games don’t count. And if the personnel usage across most of the league was any indication, they’re unnecessary.
Preseason games per team were reduced in 2021 from four to three (the two teams in the Hall of Fame Game play a fourth preseason contest). The game’s most prominent stars already skip these games, and teams are turning to joint practices to simulate game-like scenarios for participating players. So, why are we taking these extra risks?
That’s easy: money.
NFL teams get to sell tickets, concessions, and parking for these meaningless exhibitions. They charge fans full price to come watch players who will watch fans’ favorite players play all season, for the most part. At some point, everyone needs to talk about risk vs. reward. The NFL is a money-printing machine these days, and one preseason contest per year is a price that owners should be willing to pay for the safety of their players and the enjoyment of their consumers.
The players threw the NFL a bone a couple of years ago, swapping an exhibition game (which many use as a night off anyway) for an additional regular season game. At some point, I hope the players cash in on that compromise and demand the NFL preseason is shortened. One game is really all anyone needs. An actual dress rehearsal at the end of camp, probably two weeks before the regular season opens. However, that’s not realistic. So, let’s meet in the middle and shrink this thing to two games.
Game, bye week, game, bye week, regular season kickoff. That’s the way it should be. It’s a win-win to reduce injuries, space the games out, incentivize teams to play their starters longer, etc.
III. Will Jonathan Taylor Ever Suit Up for the Colts Again?
The definitive answer here is, maybe. Taylor is under contract this season, so the Colts don’t have to trade him. Taylor could skip the season as Le’Veon Bell did in recent memory. Taylor is only 24 years old. If he was ever going to take a stand and skip a season, now would be the time.
As we know it, Taylor and his agent have until Tuesday to gather offers for Chris Ballard and Jim Irsay to review. The Colts reported asking price is sky-high, and no one will likely meet it. So that leaves the Colts — and Taylor — with a tough decision. Indianapolis can take a lesser offer. In my opinion, it will be a substantially lesser offer. I’m not sure Jim Irsay and Chris Ballard have that in them. The more likely scenario is they decline to take a lesser offer and remove Taylor from the PUP list. At this point, the ball is in Taylor’s court. It becomes show up to work or don’t and deal with the consequences.
If that’s how it plays out, Taylor has to decide whether $4.3 million is more important to him than the principal he’s been fighting for throughout this dispute. There’s also the pride factor to consider. Even if Taylor prefers to make the $4.3 million this year and hopes for a better market next season, Taylor has to walk back into the Colts building, suit up, and play 17 games for a club that made it clear what they think about him this summer.
Some think that Taylor will have a hard time doing so, especially since this has been such a nasty dispute in terms of public posturing, namely by owner Jim Irsay. Taylor needs a year of service time to reach free agency. So, if he skips this season in its entirety, he won’t be able to become a free agent. So, Taylor would have to report at some point this season if he wants to become a free agent after the season.
He could hold out as long as he can in an attempt to force the Colts to trade him ahead of the trade deadline this fall and — if that failed — return in time to be active long enough to accrue his season of service. With each passing day, it feels more and more likely that a scenario close to that is what we’re heading toward.
IV. Chris Jones’ Holdout Continues, Much to the Surprise of Patrick Mahomes
In other significant hold out happenings, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones remains absent from training camp. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that “there’s been no communication” with Jones, so even Reid isn’t sure what’s going to happen with his star defensive tackle.
According to Jones, it could be a while. Jones said this week that he’s willing to hold out until week eight and that his $1.1 million game checks that he would forfeit aren’t a concern for him. So, evidently, Jones is dug in deep.
That’s not the news the Chiefs wanted this late in the preseason. Kansas City’s schedule kicks off in 13 days against the Detroit Lions, and right now, much like Taylor, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be there.
Patrick Mahomes said that the Chiefs players didn’t see this going as long as it has, but that he supports his teammates decision to take a stand for himself. “I don’t think anyone expected him not to be here now, but that’s part of the contract negotiation stuff. I’m not looking down on him for anything like that. He has stuff that he’s tried to get done that he feels like he needs to, to get done right now. I respect his decision,” he said.
The four-year, $80 million contract Jones signed with the Chiefs in 2020 has one season remaining. When Jones didn’t report for the start of training camp, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the sides are “far apart” on reaching an agreement on a new contract. Jones has watched multiple defensive tackles get big paydays this offseason. The New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence and Washington Commanders’ Daron Payne each signed four-year, $90 million extensions. The Tennessee Titans signed Jeffery Simmons to a four-year, $94 million deal and the New York Jets signed Quinnen Williams to a four-year, $96 million contract. So, it’s only fair that the cornerstone of their defensive line gets his too.
V. Other Notable Contract Holdouts Still Lingering
Aside from Jonathan Taylor and Chris Jones, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs and 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa are holding out for new contracts. Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher last season, made it clear that he’s not coming back to Vegas without a new deal. The Raiders haven’t been as public about the holdout as the Colts have with Taylor. Still, Vegas is firm in its stance, evident by the fact that they reportedly declined a trade offer from the Miami Dolphins for Jacobs recently.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported this week that Vegas isn’t interested in trading Jacobs, and not going to rescind his franchise tag. Leaving Jacobs with two options: Play for the Raiders, or not play this season at all.
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said this week that there’s no change on Jacobs: “I have no update on J.J.,” coach Josh McDaniels said when asked about Jacobs on Wednesday. “Nothing’s changed there.”
In San Fran, Nick Bosa — arguably the best edge rusher in football — hasn’t reported to 49ers camp and doesn’t plan on doing so anytime soon. Although, it sounds like the 49ers and Bosa have a better shot to get something done before Week 1 than the rest of the names here. GM John Lynch said today that the length of this holdout has made him uncomfortable and that he’s looking to get this over with sooner rather than later.
“I don’t like the situation,” Lynch said. “Since our tenure here we haven’t had a holdout anywhere towards this magnitude. Not something I’m comfortable with. We’re working really hard to change that . . . eager to bring this thing to a close.
“He’s a special player, he’s gonna get a special contract I can tell you that. But yeah, we’re getting closer and eager to bring this to a close, but I think I’ll leave it at that.”
Quotable
My favorite quotes from around the NFL this week.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa on ESPN’s Ryan Clark’s comments regarding him: “We are tough-minded people but if we need to get scrappy, we can get scrappy.”
ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on the 2023 Bears winning the NFC North: “I am going with the Chicago Bears because I like what their new general manager has done in terms of the front seven,” Paolantonio said. “I like the way Justin Fields has developed into a dual-threat quarterback who can win from the pocket… I think he is in the MVP conversation.”
Fun with Numbers
Who doesn’t like some fun with numbers?
92.4: Will Anderson’s PFF grade last week. Anderson only played 12 snaps but there were 12 snaps that showed us all why Anderson was heavily considered to be a potential No. 1 pick in this spring’s NFL Draft.
91.5: Bears linebacker Terrell Lewis’ PFF grade last week. A strip sack was the highlight play for Lewis last weekend, but he was also responsible for two other sacks in Week 1 and has four pressures this preseason on 40 pass-rush snaps.
13: The number of days until the NFL’s regular season begins!
Stock Up, Stock Down
It was a great week for some, but not all.
Stock Up: Tyson Bagent — Tyson Bagent (Bay-gent) has gone from an undrafted rookie out of DII Shepard, who’s name few around the league even knew how to pronounce correctly, to a fixture of conversation among Bears fans. Bagent went 9-of-10 on the most impressive drive of the game for either the Bears or Colts in Week 2. He finished with an 86.3 PFF grade on the day, including an 81.4 passing grade. Bagent might not win the spot, but he’s made the Bears backup QB job a conversation.
Stock Down: Cade York — A fourth-round selection from 2022 has now missed a field goal in all three of the Browns’ preseason games. All of York’s misses have come between 40-49 yards. York also missed two game-winning looked against the Eagles last week. Yikes.
ICYMI
We do some excellent work here at BN, but sometimes stories fall through the cracks. This is where my favorite stories of the week get their curtain call.
As a Bears fan, it pained me to write this one up, but credit where credit is due:
Before the rest of the Week 3 action gets underway, borrow some inspiration on what to pay attention to this weekend by reading my observations from last week:
Let’s hope this gets sorted out sooner than later:
What I’m Keeping an Eye on This Weekend
We’ve got football this weekend and every weekend for a LONG time! Here’s what I’m keeping an eye on this weekend.
