Extra Points: Comp Picks, Salary Cap, Titans

NFL agents aren’t happy with the league’s decision to allow teams to trade compensatory draft picks beginning in 2017, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). As Cole outlines, the move makes compensatory picks more valuable, meaning teams may be more inclined to try to collect those picks by not investing heavily on free agents, particularly their own. It’s not hard to see why agents wouldn’t be thrilled with that development.

Here are a few more Wednesday odds and ends from around the NFL:

  • The NFL’s salary cap figures to exceed $150MM in 2016, with one source telling Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that it could get up to $155MM+. As Florio notes, once you factor in player benefit costs, 2016 could be the first year when teams are spending more than $200MM each on players.
  • Nick Korte of Over the Cap previews the 2016 free agent market for offensive linemen, suggesting that there are several players that are candidates for five-year investments, including Seahawks tackle Russell Okung, Steelers tackle Kelvin Beachum, and Ravens guard Kelechi Osemele.
  • Ruston Webster‘s tenure as Titans general manager has been much-maligned, but as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com writes, Webster has started to turn things around in Tennessee, as evidenced by his offseason moves. Webster lead the charge to draft quarterback Marcus Mariota, brought in solid defensive free agents Brian Orakpo and Perrish Cox, and increased the club’s depth.
  • While cautioning that nearly $9MM per season is a bit extravagant for a No. 2 receiver, Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports lauds the Raiders‘ extension of Michael Crabtree, pointing to soft factors in his reasoning. It wasn’t long ago, writes Schwab, that Oakland’s team culture had become so toxic that players like Jared Veldheer and Lamarr Houston refused to even consider re-signing with the club.
  • Another recently extended Raider, fullback/running back Jamize Olawale, is highly valued by the Oakland staff due to his versatility, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Olawale, who would have been a restricted free agent after this season, signed a three-year extension yesterday. As head coach Jack Del Rio notes in the piece, the new Raiders regime tried to e open-minded when taking over earlier this year, which allowed unheralded players like Olawale to emerge.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

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