QB Joe Flacco Hopes To Play In 2023
For the first time in his career, Week 1 of an NFL season has kicked off without Joe Flacco being on a roster. The former Super Bowl MVP is not looking to hang up his cleats, however. 
Flacco is unsigned after his three-year stint with the Jets came to an end this offseason. The 38-year-old made nine starts in New York over that span, including four in 2022 as the team dealt with injuries and underwhelming play under center. That led to the decision on New York’s part to move on from Flacco and Mike White, as well as the blockbuster acquisition of Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
As a result, Flacco remains on the open market after 15 years in the league, much of which came as a starter. The longtime Ravens No. 1 is well aware any new deal would see him handle backup duties at this point, though, and that it would check in at a much lower rate than the six-year, $120MM pact he landed after leading Baltimore to victory in Super Bowl XLVII. He remains confident he can step into a vacancy created by an injury or other factor midseason, though.
“Listen, I can still play,” Flacco said, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “I’m hoping that there’s the silver lining that I’m not anywhere right now and that I can be available to anybody… When people are really pressed to win some games, if they have to call on somebody, then they’d be more willing to get somebody like me who can hopefully come in and learn an offense pretty quickly and at least give you a fighting chance.”
The former first-rounder has 180 starts to his name, and he is among the few signal-callers left on the open market who have a long track record in the NFL. Passers such as Carson Wentz and Nick Foles are also unsigned, so they too will watch how the early parts of the season unfolds before weighing any offers which come their way. Flacco admitted that he did not generate much of a market for his services during this offseason, and his nearly $175MM in career earnings certainly do not require him to continue his playing career. For at least the time being, though, that does remain his intention.
“I still believe that I have all of the athletic and physical tools to do it,” he added. “In terms of the quarterback and the mental part of it, I’ve only gotten better over the last 15 years… I mean, not to say that I’m not 27, 28 years old anymore. But I’m in great shape and I don’t see a real drop-off.”
49ers’ Trent Williams Aiming To Play Until Age 40
Trent Williams was connected to retirement speculation after the 2022 season, but he will remain as the 49ers’ left tackle for at least the coming campaign. If he is able to, he may remain in San Francisco for several years beyond that point. 
William, 35, is under contract through 2026. Retirement at the conclusion of his deal – or sometime before then – will likely be a talking point for the remainder of his decorated career, especially if injuries or a decline in play factor into his decision-making. For the time being, though, the 10-time Pro Bowler is attempting to play to the age of 40.
“If I’m 40 years old and I’m not at a Pro Bowl level, but I can help the team, and I can help the guys in the locker room, and [head] coach Kyle [Shanahan] wants me around, then I’m going to be around,” Williams said, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “As long as I’m working for the San Francisco 49ers and I feel up to doing it, I’m going to do it as long as I can and as hard as I can.”
Williams has lived up to expectations so far in his three years in San Francisco, earning a Pro Bowl nod each season and adding first-team All-Pro acclaim in each of the past two. His PFF evaluations have remained stellar, and he was charged with just one sack allowed in pass protection in 2021 and ’22. It thus came as little surprise that he committed to playing at least one more year as the 49ers look to get over the Super Bowl hump with what is widely considered one of the NFL’s best rosters.
The Oklahoma product is due over $77MM from 2024-26 on his deal, giving him plenty of motivation to remain in place for the foreseeable future. No guaranteed money exists on his pact over that span, however, so questions about his playing future could heat up if things do not go according to plan this season. For now, though, Williams is intent on remaining in the league for as long as he can play at a starting-caliber level.
“I don’t know how realistic it is,” he added. “We’ve seen people do it. It’s definitely a goal of mine. I want to see how long I can push this thing. How long can I stay at the top of my game? How long can I fight Father Time off? When he wins, he’ll win and I’ll hang them up. If it’s age 38, 39, 41, I’m not going to leave anything in the tank. As long as I feel like I can offer something to the game, I’m going to be suiting up.”
Offseason In Review: Seattle Seahawks
Life after Russell Wilson began for the Seahawks in 2022, a season in which very little was expected of the team. Rather than setting upon a long-term organizational reset, however, Seattle remained competitive in large part due to the surprising success Geno Smith found in his latest opportunity to serve as an NFL starter. The veteran steered the team to a playoff berth, and the young contributors added in each of the past two drafts offer considerable reasons for optimism moving forward.
Weaknesses on defense were exposed throughout the season, though, and much of the team’s efforts in recent months (including a reunion with an icon from Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning core) has been aimed at addressing them. If they prove to have been successful, Smith – the reigning Comeback Player of the Year who has a new, more lucrative Seahawks deal in place – will be well-positioned to prove 2022’s success was not a fluke.
Free agency additions:
- Dre’Mont Jones, DT: Three years, $51.53MM ($23MM guaranteed)
- Julian Love, S: Two years, $12MM ($5.98MM guaranteed)
- Bobby Wagner, LB: One year, $5.5MM ($4.48MM guaranteed)
- Jarran Reed, DT: Two years, $9MM (4.19MM guaranteed)
- Devin Bush, LB: One year, $3.5MM ($2.99MM guaranteed)
- Evan Brown, C: One year, $2.25MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- Mario Edwards, DE: One year, $1.32MM ($153K guaranteed)
- Austin Faoliu, DL: One year, $750K
Seattle ranked 30th against the run in 2022, and breakdowns in the front seven were common during the regular season. That factored into the team’s postseason exit as well, as the 49ers recorded over 500 yards of offense in their wild-card victory over the Seahawks. Long before free agency began, it was therefore obvious that much of the offseason would need to be devoted to reconfiguring the defensive line and linebacking corps. 
Jones will be at the heart of that effort, tasked with providing a much-needed boost with respect to interior pass-rushing production. The Seahawks finished tied for seventh in the league in sacks last year, but much of that came off the edge. If Jones can replicate his success from Denver, more balance will be attained. The 26-year-old totaled 22 sacks and 60 pressures across four years with the Broncos, making him one of the most attractive members of a deep D-line free agent class.
The Broncos were interested in retaining Jones, but for a time he seemed to be headed toward a deal with his hometown Browns. In the end, the former third-rounder landed a contract with a higher AAV than what both Denver and Cleveland gave to Zach Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson, respectively. The latter two are regarded as better run defenders than Jones, but if he remains productive on passing downs, he will be central to a rebound performance from Seattle’s defense.
Both Reed – who is returning to Seattle after spending his first five seasons there – and Edwards are in line for starting roles alongside Jones. That new trio will give the team a much different look in its second year with a 3-4 base scheme, although depth additions could be on the radar. In any event, the play of the revamped D-line will be a major storyline in 2023.
The Seahawks already had the league’s most expensive safety tandem in Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs before adding Love to the mix. The latter expressed a desire to remain with the Giants after his breakout season, though he was acutely aware of how his 2022 production helped his earning power. The 25-year-old will be able to hit the open market a second time rather quickly if he plays out this Seattle deal without an extension, though he could play his way into the team’s long-term plans if he picks up where he left off last season.
Love posted career-highs in a number of categories during the 2022 campaign, his first operating as a full-time starter. He remained a constant in a Giants secondary which faced injury absences for much of the year, seeing usage at a number of different spots on the field. The Notre Dame alum thus made himself one of several noteworthy safeties who were available in free agency, although a number of players with a longer track record at the position secured more lucrative deals.
Adams’ history of missed time – which will continue into the 2023 campaign – could make Love’s presence particularly important for Seattle. Plenty of playing time should be available when the Seahawks’ starting trio are all healthy, in any case, and Love will be a central figure in the team’s play on the backend.
Wagner’s fifth career contract is far smaller than all but his rookie pact, but it will be a valuable one on several fronts if he can maintain his level of play upon his return to the Emerald City. A central figure in the Legion of Boom-era defenses throughout a 10-year Seahawks run to begin his career, the eight-time Pro Bowler’s time with the team appeared to be over when he took a five-year, $50MM contract with the division rival Rams last offseason. 
The 33-year-old drew the No. 1 PFF grade amongst inside linebackers in his debut Los Angeles season. After a calamitous title defense, however, the Rams elected to part ways with several high-priced veterans. Part of that process including granting Wagner’s release request, clearing the way for his return to Seattle, one which could result in up to $7MM in earnings. The six-time first-team All-Pro will reprise the starting role at the Seattle LB spot he has held for most of his career, and a continuation of his past performances would go a long way in stabilizing the Seahawks’ reconfigured front seven.
Bush could play a role in that regard as well, and success in a new environment would do wonders for his career. The former Steelers first-rounder flamed out in the seasons following his 2020 ACL tear, seeing his playing time drop sharply in each of the past two years. Bush, 25, will likely work in a rotational capacity behind Wagner and incumbent starter Jordyn Brooks, neither of whom are on the books for 2024. He could thus play his way into an extended stay in Seattle, or at least help his prospects in free agency next spring.
Re-signings:
- Geno Smith, QB: Three years, $75MM ($27.3MM guaranteed)
- Jason Myers, K: Four years, $21.1MM ($8.67MM guaranteed)
- Phil Haynes, G: One year, $4MM ($3.49MM guaranteed)
- Nick Bellore, LB: Two years, $6.6MM ($2.3MM guaranteed)
- Drew Lock, QB: One year, $4MM ($1.75MM guaranteed)
- Michael Jackson, CB: One year, $940K
- Cody Thompson, WR: One year, $870K
- Myles Adams, DL: One year, $870K
After the blockbuster deal sending Wilson to Denver, a QB competition which received little fanfare took place last summer. Many expected Lock, part of the package sent by the Broncos, to beat out Smith for the starting role. It was instead the latter who earned the No. 1 job, and he held it for every snap of the regular and postseason.
Six years removed from his last campaign as a full-time starter, Smith authored an incredibly unlikely success story in 2022. The 32-year-old led the league in completion percentage (69.8%), shattered his career high in touchdown passes (30) and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting. A considerable raise from the $3.5MM he saw in 2022 and the smaller figures represented in his previous one-year Seahawks pacts was in order.
On the other hand, Seattle was frequently named as a team to watch with respect to drafting a passer in April. Both head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider admitted to doing more QB scouting than usual while in the rare position of having a top-five pick (owing to the Broncos’ struggles in their first season with Wilson at the helm). A long-term answer at the position will still likely be coming sooner than later. But for at least one more year the Seahawks will maintain the Smith-Lock tandem.
Should Smith’s 2022 turn out to be fluky, the Seahawks will be able to escape this contract fairly easily in 2024. The team could move on via a post-June 1 cut in either of the next two offseasons and see notable cap savings against only an $8.7MM dead cap charge. Despite his success last year, Smith will therefore face another round of considerable expectations as he looks to back up his production and lead the Seahawks to consecutive postseason berths.
Lock’s deal can reach up to $7.5MM via incentives, something which would come into play if Smith were to miss time or regress. Either scenario could put his Seattle future in jeopardy, given the fact his contract only includes full guarantees for this season.
Myers proved to be a solid investment in 2019 after his stints with the Jaguars and Jets. He has gone a combined 98-for-112 on field goals during his time in Seattle (including 13-for-17 on kicks beyond 50 yards). The 32-year-old earned a second career Pro Bowl nod in 2022 and made the decision to authorize a re-up an easy one from the team’s perspective. Meyers now sits third in the league for AAV amongst kickers ($5.28MM) behind only Justin Tucker and Matt Gay, setting himself up to continue his consistent play with the Seahawks.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/6/23
Today’s tax squad moves:
Houston Texans
- Signed: S Scott Nelson, RB Larry Rountree
- Placed on IR: S Brandon Hill
Washington Commanders
- Signed: S Keidron Smith
- Released: DE William Bradley-King, C Nolan Laufenberg
Texans Place RT Tytus Howard On IR
Tytus Howard appeared to be nearing a return to full health which would have allowed him to miss minimal game time. Instead, he will now be shut down for at least the first month of the season. 
The Texans announced on Wednesday that their right tackle starter has been placed on injured reserve, a move which guarantees a four-week absence. The news comes as a surprise considering the progress Howard had been making; he was expected to miss the regular season opener, but not much (if any) time beyond that while recovering from surgery on a broken hand.
Howard, 27, underwent the procedure on August 7, and was given a four-to-six week return timetable. That seemed to leave the door open to a potential Week 1 return (or one taking place shortly thereafter), but the team will proceed with caution. The Texans signed Howard to a three-year, $56MM extension not long before the injury, confirming that he will be mainstay on the team’s O-line for the foreseeable future.
That deal was one of many Houston worked out over the course of the offseason aimed at ensuring stability at the tackle spots and boosting the offensive front as a whole. The unit suffered a major blow with 2022 first-round guard Kenyon Green being shut down for the season with a shoulder injury, though. Howard’s absence through September will leave the Texans particularly shorthanded along the O-line.
The team will have an experienced fill-in option, however. George Fant, who was signed in late July, will operate as a starter at the RT spot. Fant signed a one-year deal worth up to $4MM, and he will now have the opportunity to prove his worth over an extended stretch. The 31-year-old has 60 starts to his name, including 36 from his three-year Jets stint which preceded his Texans signing. Fant will join trade acquisition Josh Jones as a backup thrust into first-team duties when Houston begins the campaign in Baltimore on Sunday.
Josh Dobbs Expected To Start For Cardinals In Week 1
The Cardinals’ quarterback situation to start the season appears to be in place. Trade acquisition Josh Dobbs is expected to start in Week 1, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 
Arizona appeared to name Dobbs the starter in its information packets sent to the NFL ahead of the team’s season opener against the Commanders. As Howard Balzer of PHNX.com notes, the 28-year-old is listed as being set to make his debut in the desert, whereas such a scenario is listed as a hypothetical for rookie Clayton Tune. Today’s report thus comes as no surprise.
Arizona made the noteworthy move of acquiring Dobbs from the Browns not long before roster cutdowns and mere hours after Cleveland named him Deshaun Watson‘s backup. The Browns moved quickly in sending Dobbs to Arizona, and in doing so putting him position to take on first-team duties right away. The Cardinals then released Colt McCoy, who had been the presumed Week 1 starter to fill in for the injured Kyler Murray.
The latter is on the PUP list, meaning he will miss at least the first four weeks of the campaign. The role of starter will thus be handed on a game-by-game basis, Rapoport notes. Dobbs has spent considerably more time in the NFL compared to Tune, having been drafted in 2017. He has only made eight appearances during that time, though, including two late-season starts in 2022 for the Titans. As was the case in Tennessee, Dobbs will now quickly acclimate himself to a new offensive system before seeing immediate playing time.
Helping him in that regard is the fact that Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing previously served as quarterbacks coach in Cleveland, giving him a working relationship with Dobbs. The latter will look to make a good first impression with his new team, one of which very little is expected (with or without Murray available) in 2023. Keeping Dobbs in the starter’s role would nevertheless allow Tune, a fifth-rounder who threw a combined 70 touchdown passes during his final two years at Houston, to develop from the sidelines.
Strong play from Dobbs would also, of course, give him an opportunity to find a long-term opportunity either in Arizona or elsewhere in the future. He has bounced around the NFL during his career, but the latest chance to find stability will begin on Sunday with the Cardinals.
DE Carl Nassib Retires
After seven years in the NFL, Carl Nassib is hanging up his cleats. The 30-year-old defensive end announced on Wednesday that he has retired. 
Nassib spent his first two seasons in Cleveland, having entered the league as a Browns third-rounder. After being one of the team’s final roster cuts ahead of the 2018 season, though, he was signed by the Buccaneers to begin the first of his two stints with the team. The Penn State alum had his most productive time during that stretch, collecting 12.5 sacks and 25 QB hits.
His numbers in Tampa Bay earned Nassib a three-year, $25MM deal with the Raiders in free agency. He operated in a rotational capacity during his time there, and his performance led to a cost-cutting release after two years. It was during Nassib’s time with the Raiders that he became the NFL’s first openly gay player, and the support he received from the league upon doing so was acknowledged in his retirement announcement.
Nassib headed back to Tampa Bay last year, and he played in 13 games for the Bucs while seeing rotational snaps on both defense and special teams. He is content with his time on the field over the course of his pro career, though, and is now prepared to move forward (although he acknowledged, via ESPN, that he will maintain a relationship with the NFL in some capacity).
“It really feels like just yesterday starting out as a walk-on at Penn State,” Nassib wrote in his retirement announcement. “Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had.”
Nassib will leave the game with 25.5 sacks and just under $23MM in career earnings. He noted his plans to devote attention to business interests with his company, Rayze, though he will also have a relationship with the league if the aforementioned plans come to fruition.
Dolphins Name Mike White Backup QB; DeShon Elliott To Start At S
When Mike White was signed to a two-year deal including $4.5MM in guaranteed money, it seemed inevitable he would start the season as the Dolphins’ backup quarterback. After a noteworthy training camp competition, the veteran has indeed landed the QB2 gig. 
Head coach Mike McDaniel indicated (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) that White won out the backup spot over 2022 seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson. The latter had impressed during training camp to the point where he was believed to have a lead on White at one point. In the end, though, Miami has elected to go with the more experienced option, one who acquired with a larger financial investment than the team expected to make with respect to Tua Tagovailoa insurance policies.
The former No. 5 pick’s injury history has made the backup and third-string QB spots ones worth plenty of attention as his long-term future with the team remains uncertain. White, who took over from Zach Wilson as the Jets’ starter last season and dealt with a rib injury through much of the campaign, did enough to convince the Dolphins to let Teddy Bridgewater depart in free agency. Thompson started Miami’s playoff loss to the Bills in his rookie season, though, and he did enough in the summer to maintain a roster spot.
“This was a difficult one,” McDaniel said of the decision, via Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network. “We learned the hard way that you need available players on a roster just in general, and I thought Mike White and Skylar competed all the way until the last rep. And when it really came down to it, I thought they both made just cases.”
McDaniel added that White’s experience helped him edge out the gig over Thompson, who will be eligible to dress as the team’s emergency third QB this season without counting toward the gameday roster. Both passers put up less-than-stellar numbers in the preseason, though, so changes to the pecking order could take place as the campaign progresses.
In other Dolphins lineup news, safety DeShon Elliott will begin the campaign as a starter, Jackson notes. The 26-year-old has started 35 of his 42 career games, split between the Ravens and Lions. Elliott has battled numerous injuries in his career, something which limited his market in free agency. Attached to a one-year, $1.77MM Dolphins pact, the former sixth-rounder will see time alongside Jevon Holland on the backend of a Miami defense expected to take a step forward in 2023. Play in the secondary will go a long way in determining the unit’s success, and Elliott could earn himself a more lucrative deal next offseason with a healthy and productive season.
Ravens LB Patrick Queen Addresses Extension Talks
As was the case with each of the other middle linebackers selected in the first round of the 2020 draft, Patrick Queen did not have his fifth-year option picked up this spring. As a result, his future with the Ravens beyond this season is in doubt. 
Baltimore has expressed a desire to retain Queen past the 2023 campaign, and the 24-year-old has reciprocated that sentiment. However, the Ravens have trade deadline acquisition Roquan Smith on the books with a five-year, $100MM contract signed not long after his arrival, giving the team one major financial commitment at the position. A potential Queen replacement was also added via the draft in the form of third-rounder Trenton Simpson.
Those moves have led to the belief that Queen will price himself out of Baltimore if he delivers a strong season in his walk year. The record-setting Smith extension and the Simpson addition could have been a contributing factor to Queen’s offseason decision to scrub the Ravens from his social media accounts (a common sign of frustration with contract situations), but it was instead a lack of progress on extension talks which caused that course of action, as he recently revealed.
“There were talks and then some stuff fell through,” the LSU alum said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required). “Obviously, you get upset. I’m probably going to be gone. That’s, at least, what I was thinking in my head. I’m thinking that I’m gone. Everybody reacts out of emotion to certain things.”
As Zrebiec notes, Queen’s mindset has shifted in a more positive direction since talks broke down, and he was a full participant in training camp. Still, it is difficult to imagine the Ravens making a second eight-figure-per-year commitment at the LB spot, something which will be required if Queen builds off his improved play late last year following Smith’s arrival. As a result, the former represents a logical trade candidate, but no consideration has been given to moving on before a potential free agent departure.
“I got to the point where I was like, ‘Look at who is on your team. Look at how they’re treating you. They’re not about to trade you.’ There were never trade talks or anything,” Queen confirmed. “It was always, ‘We believe in you, you’re our guy.’ It just fuels you and it makes you want to play well. Looking at everybody on the team, you have the chance to do something special here. Why not?”
Expectations will be high for Queen and the Ravens this season, and his individual performance will go a long way in determining his free agent value. They will also no doubt have an effect on the team’s willingness and ability to re-engage in negotiations for what could be a very lucrative second contract.
Texans Waive DT Roy Lopez
After two seasons as a regular along the Texans’ defensive interior, Roy Lopez is now eligible to find a new home. Houston waived the former sixth-rounder from injured reserve, as noted by KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. 
Lopez, who has been dealing with a strained hamstring, negotiated a four-week injury settlement as part of the move which will see him hit the waiver wire on Monday. If he goes unclaimed, he will be free to sign anywhere as a free agent. Wilson adds that the 26-year-old is drawing interest from multiple teams, so he will likely not need to wait long to find a new home.
The Arizona product has logged 29 starts across his 33 appearances in Houston. With snap shares of 46% and 48% during that time, his absence will certainly be noticeable this season on a new-look Texans defense. DeMeco Ryans‘ squad has seen a number of changes take place along the defensive interior, including the arrivals of Sheldon Rankins and Hassan Ridgeway in free agency. Their presence will go a long way in making up for Lopez’s lost playing time.
The latter has recorded similar production in each of his two campaigns to date, totaling 67 tackles (including 11 for loss), two sacks and nine QB pressures. Those numbers has not resulted in high PFF evaluations so far, however, with tackling issues representing a cause for poor overall grades. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how many teams are prepared to put in a waiver claim on Lopez or show interest in adding him via free agency.
Of course, a reunion with the Texans could still be possible, but that would require Lopez remaining on the open market for the course of the four-week period. Houston also moved on from offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland via an injury settlement, after the latter suffered an adductor strain.