Patriots OT Marcus Cannon Is Not Retiring
In an unexpected turn of events this Sunday afternoon, rumors began swirling on social media that Patriots starting right tackle Marcus Cannon decided to retire. However, it turned out to be just another internet myth. 
Doug Kyed of NESN reports that the Twitter rumors are indeed false and Cannon is not retiring.
The Patriots selected Cannon in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Since, he has emerged as one of the biggest steals from that draft. He served as the team’s swing tackle until 2015 and then became a permanent starter along the team’s offensive line. Given the uncertainty surrounding the New England organization this offseason as Tom Brady enters free agency, the Pats are surely taking a sigh of relief that they will not need to be looking to fill a hole along the offensive line.
It’s also worth noting that New England’s current starting guard Joe Thuney is set for unrestricted free agency, so they were already trying to fill one spot up front. Brady, the franchise cornerstone, has been clear that if he returns to New England this offseason, he wants to see clear upgrades throughout their roster and losing Cannon, would have made that much more difficult.
While the reports were proven false, the incident reiterated one strange new phenomenon in the league. Cannon is only 31-years old, but that no longer seems too old for a player to call it quits. The NFL has seen a number of players retire at younger and younger ages over the past decade as they react to recent research on the long-term health risks of playing football. At least for now though, Cannon-who is set to make roughly $7MM over the next two seasons, will continue his playing career.
No Movement For Pats, Brady
No surprise here, but the Patriots and Tom Brady have still yet to discuss a potential new deal, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. This echoes the non-update updates that we’ve heard over the past few weeks – Brady is still on course for free agency with the intent of exploring all options before considering a New England reunion.
At this point, the Patriots can only hope for a heads up on Brady’s intentions before the “legal tampering” period gets underway. At this point, they’ll have to account for every possible scenario in their offseason puzzle while their biggest piece remains up in the air.
Patriots Extend Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio
After months of speculation surrounding Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, it appears the well-regarded executive will be staying in New England for some time. Per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, the Patriots and Caserio agreed to a multi-year extension earlier today.
Caserio has been the center of rumors for some time. As head coach Bill Belichick‘s right-hand man, many teams have at least made overtures at poaching Caserio to run their player operations. Prior to the hiring of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan with the 49ers, San Francisco reportedly was targetting Caserio to work alongside longtime Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. This past offseason, a different former New England assistant, Bill O’Brien, tried to bring Caserio to Houston to help him run the Texans player operations.
Instead, the Patriots filed a tampering charge against the Texans. It appeared to just pause Caserio’s shift. With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, it seemed logical that he would move to Houston as soon as this season ended. However, things have changed. Houston plans to move forward with O’Brien in charge of both player personnel and coaching and Caserio will be staying in New England.
With some major franchise decisions looming for the Pats, Caserio’s familiarity with the organization will surely be appreciated by a group that has to decide whether or not they want to continue with Tom Brady at quarterback and, if they retain him, must decide who his successor will be.
Poll: Who Is The Best Unrestricted Free Agent QB This Offseason?
As teams gear up for an offseason of roster maneuvering, teams are beginning to the arduous process of lining up their salary caps to retain key players on expiring contracts, sign free agents, and their draft picks. Teams are forced to make especially difficult salary-cap decisions when they have a chance at an elite player through free agency.
While many of the top players currently set for free agency will surely sign an extension with their current team or receive either the franchise or transition tag, it is always a fun exercise to examine who is currently the best player set to be available through unrestricted free agency.
It’s no secret that this year’s offseason will be dominated by quarterback storylines. Philip Rivers, Jameis Winston, and Teddy Bridgewater are all set to be unrestricted free agents and had success as starters last season. Yet, none of them have the pedigree of future Hall of Famers Drew Brees and Tom Brady, the 
combination of youth and sustained success like Dak Prescott, or match the recent performance of Ryan Tannehill.
Brady has obviously asserted himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time over his Patriots career, but he will be 43 before the start of next season and looked abnormally average at the close of this season. New England finished the season with back-to-back losses to finish out the regular season (against the 5-11 Dolphins) and in the first round of the playoffs (at home against the Titans).
Brady played a role in both losses, completing just 36 of his 66 attempts (good for a 54.5% completion percentage) for 430 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. At the same time, Brady amassed over 4,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season and produced his best touchdown-to-interception ratio (24 to 8) since 2017.
Brees is in a similar boat. He’ll be 41 next season, but just led the league in completion percentage for the third consecutive season and posted the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of his career. With that said, the Saints did not look much different in the 5 games Brees missed early in the season with backup Teddy Bridgewater in his place.
Prescott has been surrounded by the hoopla of quarterbacking America’s Team, but the Cowboys signal-caller has taken consistent strides under the bright lights. At just 26 last season, Prescott fell just 98 yards shy of reaching the 5000-yard mark. He set a career-high with 30 touchdown throws and even while throwing a career-high 596 attempts, was sacked a career-low 23 times.
Of course, unlike Brees and Brady, Prescott has yet to reach the historic status they both already have. In fact, Prescott has yet to play in a conference championship game. Furthermore, his career year this season came while Dallas struggled to an 8-8 record in a wide-open NFC East. Does he deserve credit for performing despite a difficult surrounding, or was he responsible for the team’s struggles?
Finally, one of the most interesting stories of the season surrounded the quarterback position in Tennessee. Many around the league scoffed when the Titans benched Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill. It seemed like they were just replacing one disappointing quarterback with another. However, the once highly regarded prospect led the Titans to a 7-3 surge to close the regular season, upset the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs, and almost upset the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Tannehill threw for 2742 yards in just 10 regular season starts, throwing 22 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. He led the league in yards per attempt (9.6) and quarterback rating (117.5) while helping young wideout A.J. Brown emerge as one of the best receivers in football. However, it’s fair to wonder how much of Tannehill’s success was a side-effect of a fantastic run game (led by Derrick Henry) and his receivers (like Brown). With the shortest resume of the group, Tannehill surely represents the largest risk but may have one of the highest rewards.
With all that said, what do you think? Who is the best unrestricted free agent quarterback this offseason? Submit your answer in the poll below and voice in your opinion in the comments.
Who is the best unrestricted free agent quarterback in this year's class?
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Drew Brees 39% (959)
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Dak Prescott 27% (662)
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Tom Brady 26% (649)
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Ryan Tannehill 6% (143)
Total votes: 2,466
Latest On Patriots, Tom Brady
With roughly one month before the start of the new league year, Tom Brady still seems on course for free agency. As of late last week, the Patriots and Brady have yet to engage in contract talks, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss reports. 
[POLL: Who Will Tom Brady Play For In 2020?]
That shouldn’t necessarily be cause for panic among Patriots fans. Brady has been upfront and clear about his intentions for months – he plans to test the waters and chat with interested teams in March before signing his next deal.
Brady, at this point, has all of the power for obvious and contractual reasons. If Brady is not on the Patriots’ roster on March 18th, the Patriots will be hit with a $13.5MM cap charge thanks to the structure of his deal. Ideally, the Patriots would like to extend Brady before that point to solidify their plans and smooth out the fiscal impact. Right now, the Pats are projected to have $29MM in cap space.
For what it’s worth, Brady’s buddy and former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis believes that the QB will prioritize winning over money.
“I texted him when they picked the top 100 … and said ‘Congrats.’ He said ‘For what?’ I said for being part of the top 100 and then on top of it, [some in the media] picked you to be the starter. He goes, ‘You know the only thing I’m worrying about is a ring,’” Weis told SiriusXM recently. “That kind of sums it up. He wants to win another championship. That’s why he’s still playing. He wouldn’t play for money at this point.”
The Chargers and Raiders have been heavily connected to Brady, but the future Hall of Famer figures to have a long list of suitors in March. The Titans, for example, could throw their hat in the ring if they are unable to find middle ground with free agent Ryan Tannehill.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/11/20
Here are today’s minor moves:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: WR Gehrig Dieter
New England Patriots
- Signed: DB Lenzy Pipkins
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DL Alex Barrett, OL Jake Brendel, OL Jaryd Jones-Smith
East Notes: Rivers, Jets, Ogletree
The Patriots drafted edge rusher Derek Rivers in the third round of the 2017 draft, but the Youngstown State product has played in just six regular season games over his first three years in the pros. His entire rookie campaign was wiped out due to a torn ACL, he had a limited workload in 2018, and he sustained a knee injury during a preseason game in August that landed him on IR for all of 2019.
But as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, Rivers still features heavily in New England’s plans. Reiss says Rivers remains a constant presence at the team’s facility, and if the team cannot retain free agent Kyle Van Noy — which is quite possible, given the amount of cap space that will need to be devoted to the offensive side of the ball, including the quarterback position — Rivers will need to step up.
Now for more from the league’s east divisions:
- Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv takes a look at a few Jets who could be cap casualties this offseason. Most of them — like CB Trumaine Johnson, whom we recently discussed as a release candidate — are obvious choices, but players like Jonotthan Harrison and Avery Williamson are more difficult calls. Vacchiano believes the club would be wise to retain Harrison at least as a depth option, and he suggests Williamson could be back on a reworked contract.
- In a separate piece, Vacchiano names a few players the Jets should target in free agency, assuming their current teams don’t retain them. Unsurprisingly, he believes Gang Green should target the top of the O-line (Brandon Scherff, Jack Conklin) and WR (Amari Cooper, Emmanuel Sanders) markets.
- Vacchiano undergoes the same exercises for the Giants that he did for the Jets. For Big Blue, he names LB Alec Ogletree as the most likely player to be cut on his list of seven names, and he also believes Conklin would be a perfect fit for the G-Men.
- Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic summarizes the changes to the coaching staff that the Eagles recently made official. We had previously passed along most of those names, though Kapadia’s list also includes Andrew Breiner (hired as pass game analyst) and Dino Vasso (promoted to assistant defensive coordinator). He also offers his take on the changes, including his observation that the offensive staff now includes coaches who have very different schematic backgrounds, which suggests that Philadelphia will try to incorporate a wide variety of looks in 2020.
Poll: Who Will Tom Brady Play For In 2020?
As expected, Tom Brady‘s name has become a mainstay in NFL headlines as we creep closer to the opening of free agency in March. Even as the 2019 season was in progress, his future in the league was often discussed, and several teams were rumored as potential landing spots if he should continue his playing career and elect to leave the Patriots.
And while Brady put an end to any retirement drama immediately after New England’s ouster from the playoffs by saying he would return to the field in 2020, the question of where he will play is still very much unsettled.
The Chargers, long rumored as a possible fit, were definitively linked to Brady just last week, when Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirmed that the Bolts would make a push for the six-time Super Bowl champ. Given the talent that LA boasts at the skill positions and the fact that the club could incorporate Brady’s TB12 workout facility into its brand new stadium — not to mention Brady’s connections to SoCal — a Chargers-Brady partnership is a logical one.
But LA’s division rival, the Raiders, are also planning to pursue the future Hall of Famer. Adding Brady at this point in his career would not necessarily represent a slam-dunk upgrade over Derek Carr, but it would make a ton of sense from a marketing perspective for the Las Vegas-bound outfit and for Brady, and if the Raiders improve their receiving corps — which they are fully expected to do — they could compete for a wildcard berth in 2020.
The Colts and Titans have been more speculative fits than anything else, but the Colts hung around the playoff picture for much of the 2019 season, the AFC South looks like it will be up for grabs again in 2020, and Brady could be the boost that gets Indianapolis back to the postseason. The Colts are also flush with cap space, so they could afford to sign Brady while also providing him with a couple of additional weapons, though they already have a few talented pieces at the skill positions.
Of course, the Titans were the team that ended the Patriots’ 2019 playoff run, and they advanced to the AFC Championship game behind a dominant running game and good defense. Ryan Tannehill was more of a game manager in the playoffs than he was in his regular season renaissance, and recent reports have suggested that Tennessee may not be as committed to him as was once believed. If Brady is interested, the Titans may be, too.
And then there’s the Patriots, who became one of the all-time great dynasties in sports with Brady under center. Owner Robert Kraft has made it clear that he wants Brady back, but some around the league believe the 42-year-old will leave Foxborough, leaving the Pats without a definitive answer at QB for the first time in 20 years.
So what do you think? Will Brady remain with the only team he has ever known, or will he play out the remainder of his career trying to bring glory to another franchise? Vote in the poll below and show your work in the comments.
Who will Tom Brady play for in 2020?
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Patriots 58% (2,147)
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Raiders 13% (480)
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Chargers 12% (448)
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Another team 9% (327)
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Colts 4% (137)
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Titans 4% (135)
Total votes: 3,674
Latest On Tom Brady, Patriots
Tom Brady‘s free agency decision is set to overshadow the rest of this year’s market. And with the Chargers and Raiders already linked to pursuing the future Hall of Fame passer, the Patriots’ offseason will be quite complicated.
A report surfaced recently indicating the Pats are prepared to give Brady a contract that pays him at least $30MM per season, which would put the 42-year-old quarterback near his top peers after several years of accepting team-friendly discounts. That report proved to be an annoyance to the Patriots, per NBC Sports Tom Curran, who adds the team has not delved into financial specifics just yet.
While it would still be somewhat surprising to see Brady part ways with Bill Belichick after the partnership produced six Super Bowl titles, some NFL insiders expect that to happen. Some around the league believe Brady departing is “all but a done deal,” Mike Jones of USA Today reports. Others within league circles expect the Pats to retain him, due to their lack of a successor in place and Robert Kraft‘s desire to see Brady stay.
Kraft has made his intentions clear; Belichick has not. The 21st-year Patriots coach, however, will not be forced to keep Brady, Curran adds. Although Kraft denied he pushed Belichick to trade Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017, a report indicated that happened. So the Kraft-Belichick dynamic will naturally be interesting as Brady prepares to be a first-time free agent.
Brady is expected to gauge the market, which will place the Pats in a bind. If they cannot extend Brady by March 17 — the final day of the 2019 league year — they will be tagged with $13.5MM in dead-money charges in 2020. If Brady re-signs, the Pats can spread that cap hit — created by the Patriots’ usage of void years to redo Brady’s deal last summer — across two seasons. Brady sought a multiyear commitment from the Patriots last year but did not receive it. The Patriots’ level of commitment may be more important to Brady than money, per Curran.
The Pats going into free agency with that dead-money hit and without an answer from Brady, however, will make improving their team more difficult. In an offseason that could feature more quarterback movement than usual, the Patriots would surely be in the market for a veteran passer to replace Brady. But not knowing if they’ll need to do so would tie the Pats’ hands.
2020 Draft Order
Super Bowl LIV is in the books, which means the order for the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is set. By virtue of their 31-20 win Sunday night, the Chiefs will have the final pick in the first round. The 49ers dropping to 5-2 in Super Bowls will result in the NFC champions approaching the podium at No. 31.
Here is the full first-round order:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
29. Titans (9-7)
30. Packers (13-3)
31. 49ers (13-3)
32. Chiefs (12-4)