Free agency an antidote for offensive fireworks, mobile QBs Follow Us
Question of the Day By ARNIE STAPLETON - Associated Press - Friday, March 12, 2021
DENVER (AP) - Teams searching for an antidote to the high-octane offenses and mobile quarterbacks that dominate the modern NFL won’t have to wait around for the draft.
Free agency this year promises a deeper pool of possibilities than usual because the league’s lost revenues during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 resulted in the first decrease in the salary cap in a decade.
“You’re going to see more veteran guys released for cap purposes than you would otherwise,” ex-NFL GM and Hall of Famer Bill Polian said after the league announced a salary cap of $182.5 million in 2021, an 8% reduction from last year.
Mar 8, 2021
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Maybe the Green Bay Packers will have a good tandem at inside linebacker with Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin. But “maybe” isn’t “definitely.” And “good” isn’t “great,” or even “really good.”
Whether it was Ted Thompson or Brian Gutekunst, the Packers have not prioritized inside linebacker. Since Thompson drafted A.J. Hawk in the first round and Abdul Hodge in the third in 2006, the Packers have used only one top-125 pick on an off-the-ball linebacker. That was Oren Burks with No. 88 overall selection of the third round of Gutekunst’s first draft in 2018.
That could change this year. First and foremost, it’s a strong group of off-the-ball linebackers. Between the inside linebackers and the 4-3 outside linebackers who project to 3-4 inside linebackers, SI.com’s NFL Draft Bible has 14 prospects with starter grades, led by Penn State’s Micah Parsons, Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Missouri’s Nick Bolton and Tulsa