Ten Thoughts on the NFL

1) Last week some silly Tony Romo to the Washington Redskins rumor popped up. I say silly, because I don’t see any scenario where the Dallas Cowboys trade anyone to their bitter rival. There was a third team involved, the San Francisco 49ers, who would get Kirk Cousins from Washington, but come on man, this was about as made-up as made-up can be.

If Dallas owner Jerry Jones can work some sort of miracle and trade Romo and his giant cap hit, it sure as Hell won’t be to an NFC East team. Jones and Romo even have an “unspoken understanding“ that Romo won’t sign in Washington as a free agent.

2) According to a source close to Adrian Peterson, the Boston Herald reported that Peterson would be willing to give the New England Patriots a discount for his services.

Maybe Peterson has something left, but in three games last season he had 37 rushing attempts for 72 yards for a robust 1.9 yards per carry.

3) Another veteran linked to the Patriots, but this time a veteran that they may actually have interest in, is former New York Jets wide out Brandon Marshall.

If the Pats do sign Marshall, and they make a return to the postseason in 2017 (very likely), it will be the first time in Marshall’s career (currently at 9 years and 4 teams) that he appears in the playoffs.

4) Even with the NFL Combine taking place over the weekend, the best (craziest?) thing I heard came from Arian Foster. On Sunday, Foster went all in on a Man vs Wolf scenario on Twitter via NFL.com.

I’m serious, if you missed it, click the link and read his reasoning behind how he can beat a wolf one on one. It’s a must read.

5) Speaking of the Combine, this was a really smooth forty yard dash.

Washington’s John Ross (5’11”, 188) was already a likely 1st round prospect, but now he may sneak into the top 15 and he has an outside shot at being the #1 WR off the board.

6) One of the most talked about news items from the combine was the request by Mitch Trubisky to now be known as Mitchell Trubisky. Twitter blew up with people taking shots at the soon to be first round draft pick, but I was generally curious what prompted the name change.

From CBSSports;

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” he told NFL Network. “I mean, if you call me Mitch, that’s alright. I did it for my mom, because she calls me Mitchell. So she’s like, ‘I want people to start calling you Mitchell.’ So I said something yesterday and now people are blowing it out of proportion. But I’ll do that for my mom.”

When Mom speaks, you listen.

7) The Las Vegas Raiders thing is close to being a reality again.

With stadium financing secured, I have a feeling Oakland is about to lose their football team again.

8) The NFL has had a lot of high profile blown calls in the last few years, and now they may finally be open to hiring full time officials. It will be up to the Competition Committee, but the fact it’s being discussed is a good thing for the league.

9) The Bears have a huge need in their secondary and that need lines up with the strength of the 2017 NFL Draft. The NFL Network’s lead draft analyst, Mike Mayock, said this 2017 group, "maybe the best DB class in 10 years." This strength leads me to believe the Bears will pass on corner and safety when they go on the clock at #3 overall.

A starting corner and a starting safety would be a great start for the Bears in the draft, and they may be able to find them in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

10) NFL.com believes that the Bears will be the big spenders of the 2017 free agency period.

This is Year 3 of the Ryan Pace-John Fox marriage in Chicago, and they need to show quick progress after a 3-13 season. Their biggest needs (cornerback and wide receiver) match up well with the depth of this market, and they will have plenty of cap room to spend. The Bears have over $50 million in space, and that's before saving over $12 million when they inevitably release quarterback Jay Cutler.

A starting corner and a starting safety would be a great start for the Bears (Déjà vu?), but wide out, quarterback and offensive tackle all seem to be in play as well. Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com believes the Bears will try to emulate the New York Giants of a year ago, when they went all in on free agency.

The Giants went from 6 wins in 2015, to an 11-5 record and a wild card spot in 2016. Could the Bears buy their way to a similar improvement in 2017?