NFL Off-Season; Heading Into The 2020 Draft

I have a mental snapshot that I refer to often these days.

It’s Feb. 2, 2020 and the Super Bowl is just about to kick off. I’m sitting on my easy chair, I have a cold drink in one hand and a big smile on my face. I’m in my element. Despite not having a real rooting interest in the game, the next four hours or so are going to be fun. Life is undeniably good.

Let’s fast forward to the present day. The Chiefs are just two months removed from winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years. And during that time, Tom Brady has gone from New England to Tampa. Philip Rivers is now in Indianapolis. One of the league’s top five wide receivers (DeAndre Hopkins) was traded to the Cardinals for what’s left of David Johnson and a toaster.

Oh, did I forget to mention a pandemic started? We’re still living in the middle of the coronavirus era, which has decimated professional and amateur sports and left us with an uncertain future.

Remember, the Super Bowl was just a little over two months ago. Wow.

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SHOULD GAMES BE PLAYED?

There’s still reason to hope that the NFL can start its season on time. September is still a few months away and while there’s little to no chance a coronavirus vaccine can be ready by then, testing supplies could be ramped up during that time period. There could also be improvement in treatments.

And yet, how would you feel if you were a player? Broncos star Von Miller announced on Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, just one day after Rams center Brian Allen said that he too was dealing with the coronavirus.

“I am a little scared,” said Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. via the Baltimore Sun. “It’s a serious situation.”

Would you feel comfortable with sharing a locker room with 90 players in training camp? How about running drills where you’re colliding with each other and falling into piles? It would be tough to blame anyone for being hesitant.

And let’s say all goes well and the league is able to hold games. You can forget about fans being in the stands. The mayors of Los Angeles and New York are already considering delaying sporting events and concerts until 2021. It’s easy to imagine many other NFL markets will follow suit.

Football is important to all of us. Especially during a time when we’re being forced to watch people play the FIFA video game on ESPN 2. But the proper steps need to be taken first. It’s just not worth it.

WHAT ABOUT THE DRAFT?

This is a real bummer. I had once entertained thoughts of being in Las Vegas for the festivities, but that dream quickly ended. Once I started seeing crappy hotels on the strip charging $600 a night, I folded. Nonetheless, I was still looking forward to seeing what the league was going to come up with, especially once I heard rumors about boats being used on the Bellagio fountain.

We’re a week away from the draft starting, and I’m still excited. Roger Goodell said he will announce picks from his basement. Anyone else curious to see what his basement looks like? Guarantee he’ll have the NFL shield on the wall behind him. And nothing else.

The draft has always been a strange product for television in the first place. If you break it down, it’s just a giant room and every 10 minutes, a name gets announced. That’s it. And yet, it has evolved into a three-day event that draws huge ratings.

The new social distancing measures should make this even more awkward. But you can guarantee the ratings will be massive. Possible even record-setting. Bring it on!

TOMPA BAY

It’s impossible to write about this NFL offseason without bringing up its biggest piece of news. Tom Brady has left New England. After 20 years, six Super Bowl wins and nine appearances. Who would have thought?

Actually, if we were to go back and look at the 2019 season, all the signs were there. From Tom and his family putting up his Massachusetts home for sale, to his vague remarks about his future and the Patriots’ refusal to make any kind of future commitment, it should have been easy to predict this divorce was coming.

And like most splits in life, it has left me feeling … empty. And a tad sad. The Patriots were the NFL’s villain. The team everyone — myself especially — loved to hate. And it was because they were so good. Pure jealousy. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Sports are so much more interesting when there’s an object to direct your hate. And this team filled that role admirably for two decades.

Now, it’s not the same. Sure, Bill Belichick is still there, but without Tom Brady, the fun has been taken out of the equation. Tom deserved better as he’s entering the twilight years of his pro career.

And like many people in their twilight years, he headed to Florida. And he’ll more than make up for the lack of weapons he had in his final season wearing Patriots colors. Good for him. It’s going to feel strange rooting for him whenever games resume.

WHAT’S THE CHATTER?

Bill at the wheel: The Texans have had quite the offseason. First, they blew everyone away with the aforementioned DeAndre Hopkins trade. Then, head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien pulled the trigger and landed WR Brandin Cooks in a trade with the Rams. So, let’s review: Their main outside weapons are now Will Fuller, Cooks and Randall Cobb, all of whom have checkered injury histories. Here’s hoping all three can stay healthy in 2020. If not, O’Brien may not even get the chance to explain himself. He’ll be out of a job.

Rams in transition: I want to have faith that GM Les Snead knows what he’s doing. But this offseason has been tumultuous. Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks are gone, both of whom carried a significant cap hit. Pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. is also gone, as is linebacker Clay Matthews. The good news is that they still have a decent amount of talent on offense, but defensively, things could get rough.

Patriot games: Talk about a rough gig. There’s no way I would want to be the next quarterback in New England. But doesn’t it feel as though Bill Belichick has something up his sleeve? It’s hard to believe he’s going to roll into the season with Jarrett Stidham under center, although stranger things have happened (right?). But who knows, maybe we’ll see the birth of a new star. But chances are, we won’t.

He’s out there: The coronavirus has prevented teams from running medical tests on players. Which is a big reason why Cam Newton is still out there in the free-agent market. Meanwhile, the veteran quarterback and former MVP has been posting Instagram videos of his workouts, so we know he’s not just sitting around eating ice cream all day. Someone will sign him, there’s no way we get to the regular season without him on a roster.

OBJ in the news … just kidding: There’s nothing more fun than a fake news story. Just days after Twitter lit up with excitement for a few minutes when someone posted that Colin Kaepernick had signed with the Jets, a report came out saying the Browns were working on a deal that would send WR Odell Beckham Jr. to the Vikings. But alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case as Cleveland’s Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta said the story was “completely false.”

It was fun … while it lasted.

Alrighty, everyone stay safe! And enjoy the draft!