From kickoff rule changes to 18-game drama: Catch up on the entire NFL offseason

Stephen Holder
Close

Stephen Holder

ESPN
Brooke Pryor
Close

Brooke Pryor

ESPN Staff Writer
- Previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.

Jul 22, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

Most of the NFL’s 32 training camps will commence Tuesday, as a roughly 6½-month journey — culminating with Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9 — kicks into gear. The days, weeks and months since the Kansas City Chiefs broke the hearts of the San Francisco 49ers in 25-22 overtime fashion in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas have been mighty eventful. If the league exited your radar at the moment Travis Kelce was heard “singing” atop the Super Bowl champions’ podium, here’s everything you might have missed:

Who changed addresses?

Brooke Pryor: Because free agency and the months after the season are always chaotic, it’s easy to forget that some of the league’s most well-known players are in not-so-familiar places as training camp officially ushers in the 2024 season.

Of course, you’ve heard plenty about Justin Fields and Russell Wilson heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kirk Cousins getting $100 million guaranteed and a lifetime supply of Kohl’s Cash from the Atlanta Falcons, but those moves just barely scrape the surface of another wild offseason.

Three members of the dismal 2022 quarterback draft class — Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell and Kenny Pickett — were traded this offseason, with Ridder heading to the Cardinals, Howell to Seattle and Pickett to the Eagles. All three started games in 2023, and all three are widely expected to be backups with their new teams.

The wide receiver market was also active as the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Texans, the Bears landed Keenan Allen from the Chargers, and the Broncos swapped Jerry Jeudy for a pair of the Browns’ late-round picks.

There was also plenty of shuffling among running backs in the offseason. Not only did longtime Giant Saquon Barkley sign with the Eagles, but former Titan Derrick Henry signed with the Ravens and one-time rushing champ Josh Jacobs went to the Packers, while former Packer Aaron Jones went to the Vikings.

And let’s not forget the slew of blockbuster defensive moves across the league. The Panthers traded DE Brian Burns to the Giants, while the reigning Super Bowl champs shipped cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Titans. New York’s other NFL team landed DE Haason Reddick in a trade with the Eagles.

Miami fan favorite DT Christian Wilkins also has a new home, signing a free agent deal with the Raiders, and Danielle Hunter signed with the Texans.

Got all that? There won’t be a quiz, but there will be fantasy football drafts, and y’all might want to study up.

RG III: ‘Great year for Jets fans’ if Aaron Rodgers plays to his standard

Robert Griffin III joins “Get Up” and details how Aaron Rodgers’ health is a key priority for the New York Jets in quest to land a spot in the Super Bowl.

Aaron Rodgers and offseason drama (rinse, repeat)

Stephen Holder: No offseason would be complete without Aaron Rodgers making headlines.

Rodgers is back for the New York Jets in 2024, and it wasn’t just his ruptured Achilles tendon that threatened to keep him out. The four-time All-Pro quarterback has recovered from the injury he sustained on the first offensive series in Week 1 of last season, his first with the Jets. But his immediate future became less clear in recent months when it was revealed he was among those under serious consideration to be named the running mate of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Rodgers has not been shy about expressing controversial political and social opinions in recent years, so it was perhaps unsurprising that he was initially receptive to the idea of running for office.

“There were really two options: Retire and be his VP or keep playing,” Rodgers said in May.

Rodgers picked the latter and will be back with the Jets. Kennedy ultimately tapped lawyer and tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan for the role. But Rodgers drew additional attention in June when he missed the Jets’ mandatory minicamp, an absence that coach Robert Saleh described as “unexcused.”

Sticking with the topic of quarterback drama, there remains uncertainty in Dallas, where Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is entering the final year of his contract, as the stalemate between him and the organization continues. The Cowboys have been accused in some corners of mismanaging the situation, and the idea of Prescott playing elsewhere in 2025 cannot be ruled out.

Team owner Jerry Jones has a delicate situation on his hands, and how he manages it moving forward will be one of the NFL’s biggest stories in the coming months.

Jim Harbaugh puts onus on himself to succeed with Chargers

Jim Harbaugh tells Pat McAfee about his plan for Justin Herbert and the coaching staff in L.A.

Who has a new coach?

Pryor: Entering the 2024 season, a quarter of the league’s teams will have a new head coach, and for the first time since 1999, Bill Belichick won’t be among them.

After 24 seasons, New England mutually parted ways with its six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach in January and elevated linebackers coach and former player Jerod Mayo to the role. Belichick, meanwhile, had only tepid interest from organizations with head-coach openings, including the Atlanta Falcons, and he finished the hiring cycle on the outside looking in.

While Belichick failed to land another job, one decorated, familiar face is back in the head-coaching ranks: Jim Harbaugh.

The Michigan Man returned to the league fresh off a national championship with the Wolverines to coach quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

And although he never left the NFL, Raheem Morris is back in Atlanta after a stint as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. Morris was previously in Atlanta from 2015 to 2020, eventually serving as the interim head coach in 2020 after Dan Quinn’s early-season dismissal. Quinn, by the way, is a head coach again, this time as the man in charge of the Washington Commanders.

The other head-coach hires this cycle are: Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers), Antonio Pierce (elevated from his interim role with the Las Vegas Raiders), Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans) and Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks).

Kirk Cousins addresses Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr.

Marcus Spears asks Kirk Cousins how he plans to handle Michael Penix Jr. joining the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback room.

A draft unlike any we’ve seen

Holder: This year’s NFL draft had a distinct offensive flavor among early-first-round picks, and we’re not talking about just quarterbacks.

A record 14 consecutive offensive players were selected before a single defensive selection came off the board, with six quarterbacks among the top 12 picks — another record. All told, there were 23 offensive players selected in the first round, easily surpassing the previous record of 19.

But as the league doubled down on offense, quarterbacks — per usual — were the headliners.

No. 1 pick Caleb Williams heads to the Chicago Bears, joining a remarkably reshaped roster that, suddenly, has real expectations. But the Bears being the Bears — they haven’t seen a first-round quarterback become an All-Pro since Sid Luckman was selected in 1939 — can Williams buck their sordid quarterback history and find success? That figures to be one of the biggest storylines of this season as the Bears and coach Matt Eberflus try to find their way.

No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels takes over in Washington; Drake Maye went No. 3 to New England; Michael Penix Jr. stunningly was selected by Atlanta at No. 8 (despite the spring signing of Kirk Cousins); J.J. McCarthy was chosen 10th by the Vikings; and Bo Nix gets a chance to replace Russell Wilson in Denver after becoming the 12th pick.

Even the most ambitious predictions didn’t project such a long parade of quarterbacks being chosen so quickly. But the difficulty of landing a franchise quarterback for teams that lack one has compelled teams to be more audacious than ever in drafting the position. Meanwhile, wide receivers were also popular in Round 1, with a record-tying seven selected in the first 32 picks. Marvin Harrison Jr. (fourth overall, Arizona), Malik Nabers (sixth overall, Giants) and Rome Odunze (ninth overall, Bears) all went in the top 10 and could be among the most intriguing rookies on the field this season. Pass rusher Laiatu Latu went to the Indianapolis Colts at 15th overall, the first defensive player off the board.

McAfee breaks down strategy for new NFL kickoff rule

Pat McAfee discusses the new kickoff rule for the NFL and how that will affect strategy.

Know your rules

Pryor: Buckle up because NFL kickoffs are going to look a lot different this year. Like, a lot.

The league adopted a new, XFL-style kickoff format with the goal of reducing injuries and increasing the number of kickoff returns. Now, instead of running at full speed toward each other “Braveheart” style, no one — other than the kicker — can move until the ball either touches the ground or touches a player.

The rule is currently approved for one year, but it’s already affecting team strategy and personnel. The Steelers signed return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, while also floating the once-unthinkable possibility that quarterback Justin Fields, a physical, big-bodied dynamic runner, could be involved in the return game.

The rule change could also lead to the league’s kickers being more involved in bringing down the return man, something Ravens kicker Justin Tucker brought up during offseason workouts.

“I don’t think [tackling is] necessarily something that is encouraged [for kickers], but it’s not discouraged either,” Tucker said, adding that he’s hitting the weight room to put on a little more muscle. “It kind of just comes with a territory. It’s a football play. We’re all football players out there, and ultimately if a returner is beelining toward the end zone and I’m the last guy there to stop him, it is part of my job description.”

While the kickoff change is the most visible rule change for the 2024 season, the league also adopted other adjustments, including a ban on hip-drop tackles. Using the tackle, which occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier, rotates his hips and drops his weight onto the ball carrier’s legs, will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

The league also expanded the use of replay, now permitting reviews of plays where the quarterback was ruled down by contact or out of bounds before throwing a pass. There can also be replay when there is “clear and obvious visual evidence” that the game clock expired before the snap.

Teams can also earn a third challenge after winning their first. Previously, a team had to win both challenges to get a third.

Other rule changes include the trade deadline getting pushed back to after the Week 9 games, emergency quarterbacks being able to be on the practice squad rather than the 53-man roster, and allowing an unlimited number of players to be designated to return to a team in the postseason.

Pat McAfee applauds Trevor Lawrence’s contract extension with the Jaguars

Pat McAfee breaks down Trevor Lawrence’s journey to his new extension with the Jaguars and the implications moving forward.

Who got paid?

Holder: If this offseason proved anything, it established that the NFL’s escalating salaries aren’t slowing down.

More mind-blowing deals were signed, with two players joining the rare air of the $50 million club. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff signed extensions with their respective teams that will average more than $50 million per season. They became the fifth and sixth players to reach that threshold in league history.

The quarterback position keeps creating new salary frontiers. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback to surpass $50 million per season in April 2023, followed 10 days later by Lamar Jackson.

Look for the numbers to keep going up, with Dak Prescott’s new deal — with the Cowboys or someone else — still looming.

The backdrop here is important: The NFL’s salary cap increased by a record 13.6% for 2024 to $224.8 million per team. That’s a jump of $30.6 million per team from last season, in part because the NFL has resolved its revenue setbacks connected to the 2020 pandemic. Those revenue reductions had led to a temporary decline in the salary cap. The league is also benefiting from additional revenue generated from the lucrative 2021 deal with its broadcast partners.

And Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson isn’t complaining one bit. He signed a deal last month that made him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback, a deal that pays the All-Pro $35 million per season.

Elsewhere, Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown cemented his elite status with a new deal paying $30 million per season. And the Miami Dolphins will have a boatload of cash tied up in their top receivers, with Jaylen Waddle inking a contract that will average $28.25 million per season to keep him lining up across from Tyreek Hill ($30 million per year).

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, coming off a sensational performance in the Super Bowl, also cashed in. He signed a massive $158.75 million contract that included $95 million in total guarantees.

But not everyone who was seeking big money got it.

San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk‘s standoff with the team continued as he requested a trade last week. Aiyuk has been seeking a contract extension from the club, but the sides have been unable to reach a deal. Aiyuk has one season remaining on his rookie deal.

Relatedly, the Prescott situation in Dallas is compounded by the lack of a deal between Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb and the team. Lamb stayed away from the team all offseason — including mandatory practices — as he awaits a contract extension entering the final season of his rookie deal.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins will have to settle for playing on the franchise tag this season as the team decided against a multiyear extension. Higgins remains the only player to receive the franchise tag this year but not ultimately sign a multiyear contract.

How are the players reacting to a potential 18-game NFL regular season?

Brooke Pryor shares reaction from around the NFL to a potential 18-game regular season and explains what needs to happen to make it a reality.

Schedule expansion dreams … and a costly verdict

Pryor: Good news, football fans: If Roger Goodell has his way there could soon be even more regular-season football — and maybe even a holiday Monday the day after the Super Bowl. The NFL commissioner floated the idea of an 18-game regular season on “The Pat McAfee Show” during the NFL draft, suggesting the league could further reduce the number of preseason games in favor of another regular-season matchup.

Seems like a no-brainer, right? Not so fast.

To expand the regular season, the league and the players’ union, the NFLPA, would have to agree to renegotiate the CBA, which is set to expire following the 2030 season. And so far, the NFLPA and players around the league have expressed serious concerns about a longer regular season. In a preliminary survey by ESPN, many said they would be more amenable to the longer season with a greater share of the league’s revenue.

“Eighteen games sounds great when Roger’s on ‘The Pat McAfee [Show],'” said Colts center Ryan Kelly, who is on the NFLPA’s executive committee. “Until you’re the one that’s going out there and putting the helmet on for 18 of those games, then come talk to me.”

An expanded regular season isn’t the only potential schedule change on the horizon. The NFLPA is also working on a proposal that would revamp the offseason program as early as 2025.

That could mean eliminating organized team activities, while introducing an earlier report date to training camp to allow for a ramp-up period before traditional, physical camp practices. The changes would create a longer break for players following the end of their season, while eliminating the six-week summer break between an early June mandatory minicamp and late July training camp.

Meanwhile, Sunday Ticket subscribers who paid for the service from 2011 to 2022 could be getting a nice chunk of change. A federal jury ruled the NFL must pay $4.7 billion in damages after violating antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service. Not only was the residential class of the lawsuit awarded $4.7 billion, but the commercial class was awarded $97 million.

But don’t count on that money any time soon. The league plans to appeal the verdict.

“We obviously disagree with the jury verdict and we are committed, obviously, to following the legal process,” Goodell said in an interview with CNBC. “It’s a long process and we’re aware of that. But we feel very strongly about our position, our policies, particularly on media.

“We make our sport available to the broadest possible audience. Sunday Ticket is just a complementary product. We’re committed to following the litigation all the way and making sure that we get this right.”

Mad Dog furious over the Eagles’ season opener in Brazil

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo goes off on the decision to have the NFL season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Other news

Holder: That sound you heard back in March was quarterbacks around the NFL rejoicing after hearing the news that Aaron Donald had retired. One of the best defensive linemen of all time, Donald walked away after 10 seasons, accumulating eight first-team All-Pro selections, 111 sacks and 24 forced fumbles…

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson appears healthy again after missing 13 games as a rookie last year with a season-ending injury to his right (throwing) shoulder. Richardson experienced some soreness after a heavy workload and missed the final day of offseason practices in June. But the word from the team is the 2023 No. 4 overall draft pick will be ready to begin training camp as the undisputed starter…

Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice faces one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury after his involvement in a chain-reaction auto accident in Texas in April. What remains to be seen is if and when the still-unresolved legal matter results in an NFL suspension. An unrelated matter involving Rice, an altercation at a Dallas nightclub, did not result in charges…

The NFL is taking a major step forward in its internationalization of the sport, with a matchup featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers slated to kick off the season Sept. 6 in Sao Paulo — the first regular-season game to be played in Brazil. The NFL is also returning to London this season for three games, with another to be played in Munich. The league announced further plans to expand its international footprint in 2025 with a regular-season game scheduled for Madrid…

Tragedy struck the NFL on July 6 when Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson was one of three men killed in a car crash that occurred in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The accident also took the lives of Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton Jr., two former high school teammates of Jackson’s and ex-college football players. Police said Hazel was driving a Dodge Charger with Jackson in the passenger seat when their car was struck by an Infiniti Q50 attempting to change lanes at a high speed. The Charger left the road and struck multiple tree stumps. Jackson was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2024 draft and had been considered a contender to start.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton was suspended eight games without pay under the league’s personal conduct policy following his arrest in April in a domestic violence case. Sutton, while still a member of the Detroit Lions, was charged with misdemeanor battery after turning himself in to authorities in Florida in March. He subsequently entered a pretrial diversion program. Sutton was released by the Lions and later signed a one-year contract with the Steelers.

This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.