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Extra Points: Offseason Moves, 2019 Cap Space, Browns, Hyde, Cardinals, Leftwich, Wilks

October 19th, 2018 at 4:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

NFL free agency is always a wildcard. There’s plenty of risk in signing players to big contracts, as not all players can transition smoothly across teams as easily as NBA and MLB players can. There’s often a lack of fit in particular system, or other factors that turn big signings into big busts. Every year teams end up wrecking their cap space on pricey veterans who don’t work out, while others make moves that make them look like geniuses.

Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry took a look at some of the biggest hits and misses from teams’ offseason, with the Bears’ trade for Khalil Mack being his biggest hit and the Cardinals’ signing of Sam Bradford being his biggest miss. He highlights several more under-the-radar hits like the Colts’ signing of Eric Ebron and the Ravens bringing in John Brown, and talks about the finances involved. Some of the other misses include the mammoth contract the Titans gave to cornerback Malcolm Butler and the Cowboys’ signing of Allen Hurns. Butler has already been benched in Tennessee and Corry writes that he’s “doing his best to validate Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s mysterious benching of him in Super Bowl LII.” The whole article is definitely worth a read.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Speaking of the cap, salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com tweeted out his projections for which teams will have the most and least salary cap space in 2019. The Colts currently project to have the most space with $119MM while the Eagles project to have the least, coming in $15MM over the cap before they make necessary cuts.
  • With the Browns’ shocking trade of Carlos Hyde, Cleveland has added another draft pick to their arsenal. The “Browns now have their picks in rounds 1-6, plus a 3rd-round pick from New England (DL Danny Shelton), a 5th-round pick from Jacksonville (RB Carlos Hyde), a 5th-round pick from New England (WR Josh Gordon) and a conditional 7th-round pick from Jacksonville (QB Cody Kessler)”, Adam Schefter notes (Twitter link). Previous Browns GM Sashi Brown was aggressive in adding draft capital through trades, and his successor John Dorsey seems to be following in his footsteps.
  • The Cardinals made a move many had been anticipating for weeks today when they fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. Cardinals coach Steve Wilks was asked about Byron Leftwich, McCoy’s replacement, and whether Leftwich was an interim coach or permanent. Wilks responded “right now it’s hard to say anyone (on staff) is going to be permanent”, according to Darren Urban of the team’s official website (Twitter link). Wilks’ comments suggest he’s thinking what others in the media have been saying, that his job isn’t necessarily safe either. While it would still be surprising at this point, it certainly seems possible Wilks is a one-and-done in Arizona.
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