OTAs are underway league-wide. You had questions, many of which did not relate to that. Let’s dive into to all of them …
From Big Nasty_00 (@BigNasty_00): Who are the favorites in the NFC West? Will Ramsey be a Ram again?
Nasty, I think the Los Angeles Rams are the favorite to repeat, but I do believe all four teams are in the mix to win the division. The San Francisco 49ers haven’t been as depleted as you’ve been led to believe—yes, a few foundational pieces are gone, but San Francisco survived these sorts of things before. The Seattle Seahawks are really interesting, coming off a 10-win season in Year 1 for Mike Macdonald. And, then, there’s a steadily rising team in Arizona ready to take another step.
That said, L.A. pulled off the impressive feat of flipping an aging roster into a promising young team. Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Andrew Whitworth and Jalen Ramsey are gone, and the Rams are now leaning on guys such as Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Braden Fiske and Kam Kinchens to be the new foundation.
All of those guys, on paper at least, should keep getting better. The Rams should, too, after pushing the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round last year.
From Pete’s Pythons (@Petes_Pythons): Do you think the NFL is pricing everyday fans out of the market with all the streaming services one would need to be able to watch their out of market games?
Pete, this is a good way for me to get off a take I’ve had on the state of sports in general. And I’ll start here by saying that the NFL is less susceptible to the risk I’m about to outline than other sports.
That said, it’s become expensive to attend a game, or ensure that you’ll get all of them on television. Now, in the case of baseball, basketball or hockey, that’s affecting a kid’s chance to see the local team on television—and the NFL hasn’t allowed for it to get that far with football yet. Still, the days of limited entertainment options and affordable pro sports are long gone.
So, if I were these leagues, I’d be leery of losing what I’d characterize as the “drive-by” fan. In other words, 20 years ago, you could just catch a game you might be interested in just flipping around on cable. Maybe five or 10 years before that, a dad might take his kid to a game on a whim on a random night. I see these experiences as valuable touchpoints for getting kids 18 and under into the tent, particularly if they’re not playing the sport they wind up watching, either in person or on television.
Now, the prices of tickets have risen to the point where a family has to be pretty well to do to go to a game in any sport (and that’s one area where football is probably worse than most), and the crowds when they get there are very corporate. To watch games on TV, meanwhile, you need proper training on how to get to the channel you need to watch, and have your credit card information ready.
As a result, I think there are far fewer “accidental” fans of the different sports. And I think it’s something that the NFL and other leagues need to think about.
From Matthew Lownes (@LownesMatthew): What team is the “surprise team” from the league that the media isn’t talking enough about for the 2025 season?
Matthew, I don’t think I’d call the Houston Texans a “surprise” team, but given how over-discussed these things wind up being between February and July, I think they’re a team that isn’t getting enough attention. Yes, they’ve won 10 games two consecutive years. And, yet, I don’t know that people see them as a real threat to break into the top tier of the AFC.
However, they could be a threat: They have a young, rising defense capable of being the NFL’s best and have aggressively changed things on offense, where they have C.J. Stroud to build around.
They also have the culture and talent where they want it on defense, and have a great foundation to match that on offense. Nick Caley’s coming in from the Rams. They have Nico Collins and Joe Mixon. They’ll be waiting, and maybe until 2026, on Tank Dell, but they signed Christian Kirk, and drafted both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in the top 80. The big question, of course, is replacing Laremy Tunsil, but they do have numbers at tackle (Tytus Howard, Cam Robinson, Trent Brown, Aireontae Ersery).
They also, for what it’s worth, with all their issues last year, took the Kansas City Chiefs into the fourth quarter at Arrowhead in the divisional round. That was without Dell and without Stefon Diggs, too. All of this tells me that if they can suitably replace Tunsil (and that’s a big if), then I don’t see much reason why they shouldn’t have the expectations they had in 2024.
From Birds By A Billion (@SeeUSoonBoyy): Is the league talking about changing the salary cap rules because the Eagles have broken the system? They have been successfully pushing payments into void years. The Eagles are paying Jason [Kelce] $14 million in 2025 and he retired before last season. Make it make sense.
From Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot): Recently, Roger Goodell talked about the need to look into the integrity of the salary cap, which is probably related to cash spending, void years and rolling option bonuses. Off the cuff, what, in your opinion, would be a good solution to restore that integrity?
Steelers and Birds, I do think some of this relates to cash spending.
So, for those who don’t know, the Eagles have effectively, legally circumvented the salary cap over the past couple of years by pushing cap charges way off into the future. That, to be clear, doesn’t eliminate those charges. It just leaves them to be accounted for some other day. And it’s through no nefarious method. You or I could scribble out a similar strategy on a page of notebook paper. It is simply buying something now that you’re paying for in cash that will be accounted for on the salary cap later.
How easy is this to explain? Let’s say I want to sign a free agent, and he will cost me $20 million per year, but I only have $10 million in cap space. I can give him a $30 million signing bonus and $2 million base for this year, then $8 million next year, and $20 million per year after that as a five-year, $100 million deal. To calculate the bonus charges you divide the total over the five years of the agreement. So the $6 million annual charge, plus the $2 million base, gives you a cap number of $8 million for this year.
After that, you’d have charges of $14 million next year and $26 million in each of the three years after that. And you can keep restructuring the higher back-end numbers if need be without adding new years to the contract (that’s where the phony years come in).
Anyway, the trouble with this would be an owner not wanting to pay the cash up front, and that’s where the cash-poor teams, and teams with an owner unwilling to spend cash over cap (for cashflow reasons) are at a disadvantage. Conversely, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and 49ers owner Jed York’s willingness to do it has put their teams at an advantage.
Now, these things do even out over time, and teams that spend cash over cap do eventually have their reset years (Rams in 2023, Bills last year, Niners to a lesser degree this year). But the practice allows coaches and front offices to do more to stock their rosters and attract free agents, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there are teams that want a harder cap to curb the practice of it.
I can’t imagine the union would sign off on that. We’ll see if it matters.
From Flanny (@FlannyForReal): So Schotty seems to be winning over Dallas media/fans, players and obviously the Jones family. What does the rest of the league outside of Dallas think of him and his prospects as a new head coach?
Flanny, Brian Schottenheimer is honestly one of the most well-liked coaches in the NFL. He’s affable, a connector, and 100% projects as a guy who could be a better head coach than he was a coordinator because of his natural leadership qualities. He’s also done good work with quarterbacks, even if his time as a play-calling coordinator mostly came years ago (2006 to ’11 with the New York Jets, ’12 to ’14 with the Rams and ’18 to ’20 with the Seahawks).
So there’s a better baseline than some folks realize for real success.
To me, his personality should also help him navigate the unique power structure in Dallas, which is a big factor in the success of any head coach with the Cowboys.
The rest, then, comes down to getting the most out of the talent. Can Dak Prescott get back to his preinjury form again? Can the staff get the most out of a contract year from George Pickens? Is Micah Parsons’s contract going to get done before the season? How does Tyler Guyton develop at left tackle? Who’s the running back? These are pretty important factors, too, in how Schotty’s first year at the helm goes.
From Jason Costa (@JasonCosta157): What’s a realistic return for the Dolphins for Ramsey, or anybody giving up a player to plug into the starting lineup?
Jason, I think it’s sort of a sliding scale on how much of the money Miami is willing to pick up. Right now, he’s set to make $24 million this year, with a $4 million roster bonus already paid. He’s under contract for another three years at $21 million, $21.7 million and $24 million, respectively. So while a team trading for him is getting a fair amount of control, it’s not exactly at the most affordable price.
Ramsey is still a good player, and many folks believe he can transition to becoming a top-notch safety when age catches up to him as a corner. And if that’s how you’re projecting him, maybe he’s worth $12 million or $15 million per year rather than $21 million per year. This is to say that if you take his contract as is, it’s at least in part a salary dump, $21.1 million this year, and then at least a consideration that he gets cut after this year because of his $21 million number for next year.
On those terms, maybe it’s a fourth- or fifth-round pick.
But if you can knock the number down a bit, and Miami eats, say, another $10 million, then you’re at $10.1 million for this year, and $30.1 million over the next two, with the potential to renegotiate the later years, perhaps in exchange for getting more of that $30.1 million in his pocket quicker. In that scenario, he might be worth a Day 2 pick.
Those are just ballpark ideas from me, not any sort of “report.” But I do think it illustrates how the return for Ramsey will be depend on the money he’s set to make.
From Pinot Brown (@ChanceBlvd): Has the situation between the Falcons and Kirk Cousins changed? Odds Kirk stays with the Falcons through October?
Pinot, it has not. As we’ve said before, there were really three checkpoints in this whole saga. The first was in March when his $10 million 2026 roster bonus vested as fully guaranteed. The second was over draft weekend, when other teams’ quarterback depth charts started to solidify. The third will be the start of training camp when he has to report and be there every day and it’s go time.
If anyone wasn’t taking the Falcons seriously a few months ago, based on their intention to keep Cousins as an incredibly-well-paid backup quarterback, they should now. And it sure does feel like there’d need to be some sort of material change to a quarterback situation elsewhere to make a trade happen. The other question: Would the veteran quarterback accept a trade anywhere after training camp gets going, with Cousins wielding a no-trade clause and his family rooted in Atlanta?
It’s a different situation, for sure.
From Ryan Jay (@ItsRyanJohnJay): Are the #49ers going to sign a veteran WR? Seems like the timetable for Aiyuk’s recovery is up in the air and most of the other WRs are young? Do they expect Pearsall to have a bigger role? #FTTB
Ryan, they’re well-prepared for the possibility that Brandon Aiyuk isn’t full-go when the season starts. Ricky Pearsall will certainly get a shot to have a bigger role in the offense, Jauan Jennings is a reliable complementary piece, and from there they have a promising young guy in Jacob Cowing, plus DeMarcus Robinson coming over from the Rams and some depth behind George Kittle for their two tight-end looks.
There’s plenty to work with there, especially if Christian McCaffrey can find his stride.
From Ryan (@RyanHeckmanNFL): Do you think Ben Johnson gives Roschon Johnson a legitimate role in the offense, or will it be Kyle Monangai or do the Bears go out and sign Nick Chubb?
Ryan, I think he gives Roschon Johnson a shot to win a legit role in the offense. I’m intrigued to see how that looks. Johnson was stuck behind Bijan Robinson at Texas, and has struggled to find footing over his first two years as a pro, but he’s got ability and, now a clean slate. He also complements D’Andre Swift nicely.
From Dynasty_Wanderer (@epswatman): Could Drake London break out and become a top five WR in 2025?
Dynasty, not impossible, but I think London is what he is at this point: a tough, reliable, smart possession target, who can win contested catches downfield. And one thing that will be interesting to see is whether Michael Penix Jr. becoming the quarterback opens up a little more of that downfield piece of his game. But, at this point, I think we have a pretty good feel for London as an NFL receiver.
He’ll play in the league a long time, but I don’t know that he’ll evolve into a star.
From Bleeding Burgundy in The Bunker (@Jessys24): What will the Commanders do at edge? Doesn’t seem like they have any pass rushers on the roster.
Bleeding, I think for right now, they are where they are at those positions, with Dorance Armstrong, Deatrich Wise and Clelin Ferrell forming a professional, workmanlike group. I’ve said it before—I think the job they’ve done reworking so many premium positions over Dan Quinn and Adam Peters’s first 16 months (receiver, left tackle, corner, quarterback) has been remarkable. But it’s tough to take care of all of it at once.
They could, of course, look for help at midseason like they did at corner last year with the deadline trade for Marshon Lattimore. But they only have five picks in next year’s draft and just two in the first four rounds, so a big in-season swing seems less likely this time around.
From erickleinphd (@DrEricKlein): Albert, when I was growing up in the NJ/NYC area, the Jets and Giants games were never on TV at the same time. That way, local fans could watch both games. Increasingly, I’ve noticed that the Jets and Giants games are playing more games at the same time (1p.m. ET). Why the change?
You’re right. I count eight conflicts, although in each case, they’re on different networks. I think this one is relatively simple. The worse a team is, the more 1 p.m. ET kickoffs it is going to get. And the Jets and Giants have been bad for a long time, hence the slew of competing early kickoffs between New York’s two teams.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Mailbag: Rams Are the Favorite in the NFC West.
