The Future of The Eagles Situation

Author: Nick Wiley

This offseason in the NFL has been about the movement, especially at the quarterback position. You saw QBs Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan be traded just to name a few. The Philadelphia Eagles currently have a very questionable QB situation.

Let's take a look at the current Eagles QB1 Jalen Hurts. Hurts is coming off a season where he had 3,144 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and a 61.3 completion percentage. He also had 784 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Hurts had a below-average season as a passer and a good season for a rushing QB. Hurts also brought the team to the playoffs after a terrible season last year.

Hurts is not the Eagles’ answer at QB. It is obvious to see why he is not a great passer in what is a passing league. Obviously, the Eagles do not believe in him as well due to the fact that they have been poking around at QBs according to reporters all offseason. Even at the owners’ meeting when Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was asked about Watson he did not immediately just say no they were not interested in Watson, he instead spoke about the Eagles doing their due diligence upon other things. When the owner is not denying looking for an upgrade you know he does not believe in that QB.

The Eagles in 2022 do not have that many options at QB besides Hurts. The only player that the Eagles might look at as an upgrade over Hurts is Liberty QB, Malik Willis. Willis is a QB who is still incredibly raw and has a high ceiling and a low floor. With Willis being such a high variance player it does not make sense for the Eagles to take him with one of their three first-round picks.

The Eagles are most likely to wait for next year's QB class. Jalen Hurts is perfectly serviceable for next and if he proves that he can be a franchise guy, you have your answer. But if he does not then the Eagles should be looking at Alabama QB Bryce Young or Ohio State QB C.J Stroud. To get one of these QBs the Eagles traded one of their 1sts this year then attempted to trade up in the draft next year. A very savvy move by Howie Roseman that will pay dividends next season.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

What has Led to the Craziest NFL Offseason Ever?

Author: Max Greenberg

Just when you think the NFL offseason has seen all it can handle, another development comes up. The actual season was bonkers enough, and it has gotten to the point where the offseason has been the craziest it has ever been.

It started with Russell Wilson getting traded, then Carson Wentz got traded, Tom Brady came out of retirement, and Deshaun Watson got traded. Several other key non-quarterbacks were dealt, most notably Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill.

The AFC has several teams that could be looked at as contenders, and the AFC West in particular might be one of the most stacked divisions of all time. Besides going rates, what has led to the utter madness we have seen within the past month?

Let’s start by refuting a common misconception among NFL fans – the salary cap is most certainly not a myth. Teams are shipping off big name players due to financial restraints, and in no way is this more obvious than looking at the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.

Both have two of the best quarterbacks in the league and both have contracts of over $50M per year. They did also have two of the best receivers in the game in Adams and Hill, but both wanted close to $30M per year, a price that neither team could come close to affording. Obviously, this led to the aforementioned trades of both players.

What this is showing us moving forward is that wide receivers, and really all big name skill position players are going to have a tough dilemma moving forward. Are these guys going to want to prioritize money, or are they going to want to prioritize winning?

We are seeing that once elite quarterbacks and elite skill position players are ready for second contracts, it is going to be tough if not impossible for them to coexist while maximizing their values. Of course, teams are going to prioritize their quarterbacks, so in most cases, it will be up to the skill position guys to decide which route they want to take. It is only a matter of time before we see how it affects Stefon Diggs when Josh Allen’s contract makes things messy.

But looking at the bigger picture, why are so many teams making all in moves like the ones that have been made this offseason? The truth is that in today’s NFL, we are living in an era of extreme desperation. And the Los Angeles Rams proved that by making the right moves, going all in can work.

The NFL, like all other leagues, is a copycat league, and other teams will follow the same guidelines as the Rams. They think they are one big piece or two away from making noise, and some of them might be correct, but for the others, there are going to be many regretted decisions a few years down the road.

The Browns giving up the package they did PLUS giving Deshaun Watson a contract that is five years, worth $230M fully guaranteed, is a HUGE risk, especially for someone with noted character issues. The Dolphins are taking a major risk by acquiring a $30M per year receiver before they are confident in their quarterback, and I personally struggle to believe that Hill is worth two fourth rounders, a sixth, and $3M more than Adams.

These moves make sense in theory, but remember that only two teams make the Super Bowl every year, and only one wins it. There are going to be many extremely talented rosters on the outside looking in, and it puts us at a serious crossroads moving forward.

Are we going to see teams fail at making these moves and see more caution from others moving forward, or are we going to see even more desperation in order to salvage whatever possible? If history is any indication, teams are going to continue to get greedy, especially in a league in which the cap goes up every year.

That being said, the cap is only so much, and prices add up when you have to pay so many players. It feels like these teams are going to be broken to the point of being unable to make big money moves like we have seen this offseason, and it may not be this offseason or the one after, but it cannot be far out.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Opening Day is Upon Us

Author: Spencer Reyes

THE MLB LOCKOUT IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

Sing your praises, thank your lucky stars, and pick up a ball and glove. The MLB 2022 season will not be canceled and will start very soon on April 7th. Spring Training started up on March 17th at the Florida and Arizona complexes, and there will be a full, 162 game schedule, with some other rules that have been put in place for 2022. The MLB and the Players Union have agreed to a 12-team postseason bracket including a 3-game series for the first round, which will change playoff baseball as we know it. This will replace the 10-team system that was originally in place with a one-game series for the first round.

There has also been an increase in the amount of money a team can spend, going from $210M to $230M and have promised to reach $244M by 2026. If a team spends a dollar over this threshold per year, they will be taxed by the league. The annual minimum salary has also increased from $563,000 to $700K and will continue to jump to $780K by 2026 as well.

As far as playing terms, both sides have agreed to a universal DH, meaning that no pitchers will be allowed to hit. They have also implemented a draft lottery for the six worst teams at the end of the year, creating a draft system like the NBA and NHL. Players also were happy once seeing that their player options increased by 2 per year. This is the number of times a player can be moved down from the MLB level to a minor league team each year.

The last two points agreed on have to do with player acquisitions. As soon as the newest CBA deal was reached on Thursday, the floodgates were open as trades and signings were now allowed to occur prior to the season starting. They also instituted a deadline on July 25th to reach a deal on the idea of a draft for the international baseball prospects. This idea is up in the air but was supposedly the last piece to this 3-month lockout saga, and both sides agreed to defer this side argument to start the 2022 season.

Mark your calendars for April 7th as the top baseball players in the world will finally have the chance to show their worth after an elongated stretch of inactivity.

PLAY BALL!

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE