Welcome to the 10th edition of Pombo’s Weekly Football Rewind. This weekly series will go in depth about the latest news, rumors, signings, and trades of the past week.
The Chiefs Acquire Orlando Brown
The Kansas City Chiefs proved to have one true weak point during the 2020 campaign. There offensive line fell apart down the stretch, and it resulted in their demise in the Super Bowl.
But, the Chiefs didn’t waste much time addressing this pressing need. After adding Joe Thuney, Kyle Long, and Austin Blythe in free agency, the Chiefs continued to push the envelope on reinforcements on the offensive life.
The Chiefs reached a deal with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire pro bowl tackle, Orlando Brown. The soon to be 25 year old Brown is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. With Brown going to Kansas City, the Ravens received a first-rounder, a third-rounder, and a forth-rounder in this draft, and a fifth-rounder in the 2022 draft.
A steep price, but if the Chiefs believe that Brown is the missing piece on the offensive line, it’s a no brainer. It seems like the Chiefs built up their offensive line overnight.
Protecting Patrick Mahomes is a priority.
Julio Jones on the Move?
With the draft nearing closer, it looks more and more likely that the Falcons with go with tight end, Kyle Pitts.
Now, the addition of Pitts will help the Falcons offensive immensely, but there could be some more changes for their offense on the horizon.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and Peter King of NBC Sports reported that Julio Jones could be on the move.
Jones is 32 years old, and hasn’t played in a full 16 game season since 2015. He has a cap hit of $23 million in 2021, which is quite expensive for the cap-stricken Falcons.
But, despite the report of a potential trade, don’t expect a trade on draft day. Any trade for Jones would likely not be completed before June 1 due to salary cap reasons.
So, who could be a potential suitor for Julio Jones once he becomes available, and what would it cost?
Due to Jones’ age and contract situation, I feel like he would likely cost a second-round pick.
Some teams to keep an eye on could be the New York Jets, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Eagles Won’t Name Jalen Hurts the Starter
After Carson Wentz was dealt to the Indianapolis Colts, most people took that as a vote of confidence for Jalen Hurts.
But, to this point, nothing has been said to back that up.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Jalen Hurts, and did not commit to him being the starter come week 1:
“To name a starter at this particular time… we’ve been working with these guys for two days.”
Now, despite this comment from Sirianni, I do think Hurts will get the starter in week 1. But, I don’t believe that the Eagles are married to Hurts, and it wouldn’t shock me the slightest if they drafted another quarterback in the middle rounds of this year’s draft.
If Hurts struggles in 2021, I can’t see the Eagles giving him an extra year to develop.
Will the Patriots Trade Up?
The Patriots are one of the most interesting team to watch during the draft on Thursday. With a massive hole at the quarterback position, it’s logical to assume that the Patriots could look to trade up if a quarterback begins to fall.
Many people believed that Fields would be the second quarterback off the board. But, after the Jets have seemingly fallen in love with Zach Wilson, and the 49ers don’t appear to be interested in Fields, he could slip.
Now, if he falls to seventh or eighth, could Belichick look to move up the draft board?
Personally, I don’t see, this to me seems like a lot of smoke.
But, wherever there is smoke there is fire, so what’s the motive? Why are these reports connecting Fields to New England?
There’s always a motive, but what could it be? Are the Patriots targeting another quarterback? Does this report add pressure to San Francisco in terms of a Jimmy Garoppolo trade? Or, are the Patriots trying to push another team to trade up, so a positional player falls in their lap?
Whatever the outcome is, you can’t rule the Patriots out of anything.
The Steelers Commit to Mike Tomlin
The Pittsburgh Steelers reached a three-year extension with head coach Mike Tomlin, linking him to the team through the 2024 season.
The Steelers ultimately make the decision that they want Tomlin to be at the helm once their rebuild begins. With Ben Roethlisberger likely entering his final season, Tomlin will be tasked with growing and developing the next quarterback in Pittsburgh.
Whether it’s Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, or someone else, it’ll be Tomlin’s biggest challenge oh his coaching career.
I’m a little surprised that Tomlin was willing to commit to this contract, without seeing the landscape of the team next offseason.