Three days in at the NFL combine in Indianapolis and workouts start tomorrow. Here what’s happening ….
• With news of the New York Giants meeting with Matthew Stafford’s camp, and more smoke on the Las Vegas Raiders’ interest in the Los Angeles Rams quarterback, it outwardly looks like this saga is starting to gain momentum toward closure. And maybe it happens this week, whether the Rams up their offer and lock Stafford in, or another team swings a trade for him.
But if things drag out, there is a soft deadline coming—$4 million of the $27 million in cash Stafford is due in 2025 will come in the form of a roster bonus on March 14.
My guess is this gets done before then, because the legal tampering period kicks off on March 10, and the league year starts on March 12, so the best thing for the Rams and other teams involved, and Stafford himself, is to have finality by then. Once the sides here reach that point, then I think we start to hear more on the other dominoes (Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, etc.) on this year’s market.
• The NFLPA’s annual survey was released on Wednesday and, as usual, it was a tough day for a few teams—the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were ranked bottom four overall, and Woody Johnson and Robert Kraft were the two bosses that ranked bottom five in the three owner categories put in of players (investment in facilities, impact on culture, commitment to winning).
On the flip side, new Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris can take a bow. After the team finished dead last in 2022 and 2023, Washington rose all the way to 11th for 2024. He hired Dan Quinn, who was ranked as the No. 1 head coach by the players, improved food service, added a family room and daycare, and made big improvements to travel, all of which were reflected in the survey, as was the work of the strength staff.
Two other big risers—the Los Angeles Chargers (who opened a new facility) jumped from 30th to fifth, and the Atlanta Falcons (who changed out coaching and strength staffs) went from 25th to third.
• The New Orleans Saints’ decision to stick with Derek Carr for 2025 makes all the sense in the world. Before he got hurt, he played well last year. And it makes sense for Kellen Moore to have stability at quarterback in his first year, as he and OC Doug Nussmeier look to install a new offense (it’ll be the third offense in as many years for the players there).
• Will the San Francisco 49ers get a deal done with Brock Purdy? GM John Lynch said Wednesday there are “no guarantees,” but that San Francisco wants Purdy to be its quarterback for a long time to come, and will keep working on getting him signed. Remember, the Niners have had high-profile contract disputes drag into August in three consecutive years (Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa, Brandon Aiyuk), so there could be some ups and downs ahead.
• The Rams put Jonah Jackson on the trade block, and while he was a pretty serious bust (with the injuries factored in) as a free-agent signing, he might actually be tradeable—he’s due just $9 million in cash in 2025, which is a really good rate for a guard who was a Pro Bowler in Detroit. Still just 28, he’s under contract for ’26 as well, and that his $17 million in cash for that season is not guaranteed could be a nice plus for another team (if he plays well enough to justify it, that’s not a bad price; if he doesn’t, you can cut him).
• Another intriguing 28-year-old on the trade market: Green Bay Packers CB Jaire Alexander. Green Bay still really likes him as a player, and DC Jeff Hafley was able to run his defense in different ways when Alexander was out there. The problem? He wasn’t out there enough, and hasn’t been. So how much teams see him as a health risk will dictate his value.
• Combine drills start Thursday, and there are a lot of guys opting out. One reason why: the calendar. Ohio State and Notre Dame players didn’t finish their seasons until Jan. 20, and Penn State and Texas guys weren’t done until a week before that. Which puts those guys roughly a month-and-a-half behind guys who started training at the end of the college season, at the November/December turn. The aforementioned four schools had 42 guys invited.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Matthew Stafford Saga Likely to Reach a Conclusion Soon.