Football is here! NFL training camps have started all across the country, creating storylines and new exciting things for fans to follow. But this week’s Four Verts column starts with an off-field issue — a baffling contract situation.
No one knows what Dallas is doing, but it’s provocative
The Cowboys are constantly mainstays in the NFL news cycle for a variety of reasons, but this time it’s for a reason that is driving their fan base absolutely mad. They have three crucial players up for contract extensions: Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb. They’re three players integral to the success of the Cowboys and their future endeavors. Right now, the club has gone 0-for-3, with not a single one of these contract situations resolved. Prescott is probably the most important contract they have to get done based on the nature of his position, but Lamb is actually the one that’s currently causing the most strife.
According to multiple media outlets, Lamb won’t be participating in Dallas’ training camp without a new deal. Lamb is subject to daily $40,000 fines which can be eventually waived by the team. There really isn’t any incentive for Lamb to show up without a contract offer in hand from the Cowboys that has a chance to make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the league. His play last season deserved that and the Cowboys can’t have a functional offense without him in the lineup. He’s a total and complete necessity.
It’s baffling that the Cowboys seem content with the crux of their roster playing on expiring or near-expiring deals. Assuming Prescott, Lamb and Parsons play up to the talent levels that they’ve shown to this point, those deals are going to get only more expensive over the next eight months. It doesn’t make sense to give the player all the leverage in this situation and make the team more desperate in its function.
The only reason this could make sense is if the Cowboys are truly ready to hit the “reset” button after this upcoming season. That would be bold. This is a franchise quarterback, wide receiver and pass rusher — three pillars that every team would love to have. Yet the Cowboys are treating this situation a bit flippantly. Proactiveness will save them a ton of grief and money if they can get out of their own way and do something. Playing the season, or really even entering training camp, with these issues unresolved doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
But it gets the people going. Seriously, just search “@DallasCowboys” on Twitter. It’s a gold mine.
The ‘hold-in’ is officially back!
Speaking of the collective bargaining agreement, one way that players have been getting around their contract disputes without racking up hefty daily fines is by holding in to camp. Players basically show up and do nothing at practice. For now, this is a way to have a similar effect to a holdout without actually losing money — we shall see what happens to this method when the NFL and the NFLPA eventually negotiate a new CBA.
This year, there are a handful of high-profile players who at the very least won’t be participating in practice during the early portion of training camp. Here are the names to keep an eye on over the next month or so.
Niners general manager John Lynch has his work cut out for him over the next few weeks trying to get two integral pieces to the 49ers’ success back under contracts that will keep them happy and ready to contribute for the upcoming season. That’s no small feat with the contract of Brock Purdy coming up, but it’s certainly doable at least for this year. What’s interesting is Williams is choosing to lose $50,000 per day to make this desire known. Braver man than most.
Jets defensive end Haason Reddick is also having a costly hold out for a new deal, which is interesting considering the Jets have had Reddick on the roster since early April, but he still doesn’t have the new deal he wants. Getting him on the roster and making him happy would mean everything for the team, especially considering they’re a smidge thin on the defensive line without him. It’s confusing as to how they got to this juncture in the first place without a happy Reddick putting pen to paper.
Love and Tagovailoa will get paid, with Love’s deal likely coming first and setting a new benchmark for quarterback pay in the league. By all accounts, Tagovailoa won’t be getting a market-rate extension as the Dolphins look to compensate him with something more team-friendly than what he’s been asking for.
This is all money talk, everyone’s favorite thing — but these guys are worth keeping an eye on as the ramp-up to the regular season starts.
What are the Saints going to do on the offensive line?
During Sean Payton’s reign as the head coach in New Orleans, the Saints always had raucous, nasty offensive lines that could pummel just about any defense into submission. It helped keep Drew Brees’ career thriving as he aged and really helped the Saints transition into the post-Brees era by allowing them to pound the rock as they figured out what combination of Taysom Hill and the gang worked best.
However, times seem to be changing and the Saints’ offensive line is looking spooky. They don’t have a whole lot of promise or hype behind this unit as they haven’t quite matched the talent acquisition of the players they had in the past. Stalwart right tackle Ryan Ramczyk is out for the season with a likely career-ending injury. Trevor Penning has been a complete bust as a former first-round tackle. First-round pick Taliese Fuaga, a right tackle whom many had pegged as a potential guard in the NFL, will slide over to left tackle for the Saints during his rookie year.
This spells disaster. Especially for a team that has a non-mobile quarterback who really struggles when the heat turns up and the hitting starts. Derek Carr has always needed a strong offensive line in front of him in order to be the best version of himself and this just doesn’t appear to be that. It begs the question: What is the ceiling on this Saints team?
Star running back Alvin Kamara is holding in as he tries to get a new contract or an adjustment to his current one. They have a star wide receiver in Chris Olave, but this situation isn’t necessarily set up for the Saints to get the most out of Olave’s explosive downfield ability. If they can’t block the way they want to, it’s hard to see how the Saints will create enough opportunities for their playmakers.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has his work cut out for him as he brings over everyone’s favorite tree of offensive play-calling: the Shanahan system. That scheme might be the cover that this personnel needs to be a productive unit, but right now it’s looking shaky.
To be fair to the Saints, they have a stud center in Erik McCoy and guard Cesar Ruiz still has untapped potential. The rest of the group is still a work in progress and it could lead to the year when the Saints finally bottom out — which is probably the best thing for this franchise at this point.
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NFC South is set up to be a real division this year
Enough about the Saints. The rest of the NFC South appears to have taken some steps forward. While the Saints still deal with their mountain of salary-cap hell that has prohibited them from really improving the team, the other teams have made, at least, marginal improvements to their rosters that should create watchable football for fans. That wasn’t always the case last year! I would know! I watched every single Atlanta Falcons game last year! I’m fine, I really am!
The Falcons at least have reason to hope for a successful, or more fun, 2024 season. Kirk Cousins is a big upgrade over what they had at quarterback last season, and head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson might be the fresh faces that this organization needed in order to get the most out of the talented playmakers they have assembled over the past few years. Cousins’ health is still a question mark, but even then, the Falcons should be able to make great improvements on offense with Cousins not quite at full strength.
Tampa Bay hasn’t changed all too much, but it should have a strong offensive line. Rookie center Graham Barton solidifying a line that already features All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs will be a big plus for what the Buccaneers hope to accomplish — getting back to the playoffs and potentially making a run to the NFC title game. They were somewhat close to that point last season, but continuity at quarterback with Baker Mayfield returning paired with offensive line improvements and a solid defense should have them in familiar territory with about nine or so wins.
Carolina is the enigma here. The Panthers started so far behind the 8-ball that it’s hard to see them making the playoffs, or even really close, but it’s fair to acknowledge the improvements they made. Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis are big upgrades at offensive guard, while Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette will help stabilize one of the worst receiver rooms from a year ago. The defense will likely be in rough shape again, but the offensive improvements matter. Five wins should be within the range of what this team is capable of.
All of this is a huge improvement over what this division was doing last year. It wasn’t football — but now the Panthers have a chance to join the rest of the NFL as a real deal division with a couple teams potentially capable of making the playoffs.