We’re heading apace towards March, and with it will come the opening of the period where NFL teams can speak to free agents – including their own players who may be tip-toeing a line between staying put on a new contract and testing the market. We’re also closer than it may seem to the 2023 draft, where the right or wrong decisions can breathe oxygen into a team ahead of the season, or deflate it entirely.
For many football fans, this part of the year is as intriguing as the part where games are actually played. As teams strategize for the next season, fans are already gearing up to witness these decisions play out on the field, ensuring they get the best seats by booking through TicketSmarter for major events like the Super Bowl. When people talk about football as being like chess, they mean in the way moves are made on the field. But there will be many general managers right now looking at a board and planning their next move.
For every club, there will be questions to answer. Some teams who were considered by bettors browsing casinoszonder.com to be genuine Super Bowl contenders ended up not making the playoffs. Others got to the postseason and saw it all end there sooner than they expected. There is a specific window in which a team can go from being good to great. And for the teams we look at below, the decisions they make this offseason will decide how long that window can stay open.
Miami: Do they take up the fifth year of Tua Tagovailoa’s contract?
The Dolphins and Tua are now in year four of their association, and have just seen what in many ways was the best and worst year of that spell. Good: the quarterback answered every question about his ability, showing game management skills and an ability to connect on the deep ball with receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Bad: He suffered two, maybe three concussions, and was in concussion protocol from Week 16 until after the Super Bowl. The Dolphins should choose not to take up the final year of the five-year contract at this point. If Tua comes back and is fine to play, he’ll have earned a new, more lucrative deal. If he doesn’t, it serves no-one for him to be around on his rookie deal.
Houston: What do they do with their two first-round picks?
Houston were a team with limited quality in 2022, yet they still won half of their divisional meetings and tied another. With some improvement they could be potential divisional winners, and two first-round picks could generate immediate improvement. One of them must be a quarterback, and as they are picking at #2 they should have their choice of the whole board (The Bears, picking #1, won’t go for a QB as they have much bigger needs and Justin Fields). Their second pick is also a high-ish one, at #12, and they should use it on a receiver to provide Bryce Young (the best QB in the class) with a real target.
Philadelphia: Keep Myles Sanders, or look to spend elsewhere?
Philadelphia has a reputation for not giving big money to their running backs, but if ever there was a time to reconsider that approach, it’s after they came within moments of taking the Super Bowl to overtime. Myles Sanders was vital to the Philly offense, but his contract is up and if the Eagles won’t pay him, someone will – possibly Miami, who could do with an every-down back. But if the Eagles feel like one more push will get them over the line to win another Super Bowl, letting Sanders walk might turn that into two more pushes.
