It has been only three weeks since Super Bowl XLVIII and within those three weeks, there has been plenty of news for us NFL fans to follow. Some of it is surprising, some annoying, and some are downright dumb. It is a long way to next season and at this rate we may see the most offseason action and storylines in years. From fires to hires to arrests, we have it all covered and there will be more as the weeks ensue.
Exit Kubiak, Enter O’Brien
This event took place before the Super Bowl but it is still a big story. It has been a tough road for O’Brien but he has accepted every challenge thrown his way and he excelled at overcoming the issues. At Penn State he was able to bring the school out of darkness after the Jerry Sandusky scandal by leading the Nittany Lions to two winning record in two years and landing the top quarterback prospect in Christian Hackenberg.
The Texans recognized his success and decided to sign O’Brien after the Texans parted ways with long time head coach Gary Kubiak and also firing Wade Phillips after a very disappointing effort in 2013 with a 2-14 record. The Texans have the first pick in the draft and O’Brien will likely look for his franchise quarterback at that selection.
Jimmy Graham vs. the New Orleans Saints
This situation gets more interesting as the days go by. Free agency is quickly approaching and the Saints and Graham have yet to come to a deal. The dispute is the fact whether Graham should be franchise tagged as a wide receiver or a tight end. The reason this is a big deal is because if he is tagged as a wide receiver, Graham will get paid like a top wide receiver which is a lot more money than a top tight end.
Free agency is March 11th and it is highly doubtful that the Saints will let Graham walk but if the money isn’t right, Graham will test free agency and probably get a much bigger paycheck from another NFL team. In my opinion the man deserves to get paid.
Why the Saints are holding back from giving him a big deal is beyond me. Graham is among the leaders in the NFL in touchdowns and receiving yards. A guy like this deserves to get a big deal with the way he is performing. All I know is that just about every NFL team is hoping that Saints cannot reach a deal with Graham so that they can throw down a big deal to sign him.
Ray Rice Arrested
Ravens running back Ray Rice knocked his fiancée, Janay Palmer, unconscious during an altercation in Atlantic City early Saturday morning, according to the complaint filed by the Atlantic City Police Department. The complaint states that Rice committed assault, "by attempting to cause bodily injury to J. Palmer, specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious."
A complaint against Palmer was also made, stating that she attempted to cause bodily injury to Rice by striking him with her hand. Rice and Palmer were both charged with simple assault-domestic violence charges.
What makes the incident even more troubling for Rice and the Ravens was that there was a video from a security camera that showed Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée off of an elevator at Revel Casino. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said after the arrest that Rice remains in the team's plans for 2014. Rice is scheduled to make $4 million in base salary in 2014 with a cap number of $8.75 million. If the Ravens cut him, they'd have $14.25 million in dead money over the next year or two, depending on the terms of his release.
Michael Sam Comes Out
This is more of an NCAA story but now that Sam is entering the NFL Draft it is officially an NFL story. Michael Sam has officially announced that he is gay. If he is drafted by an NFL team, this will make him the first openly gay athlete to play professional football.
Some look at this a huge deal like players, reporters, and coaches. He just wants to be treated and respected like a normal football athlete and looked at like a normal football athlete. The way I see it, this news is not that big of a deal. Maybe it is because growing up in this generation, I am used to the whole “gay” subject and have been exposed to it more unlike the players and coaches of the older generation who do not accept it as much.
Either way it is still big news in that it can possibly open the door and give courage to other athletes to come out who may be afraid to do it thinking that they will be looked down upon or treated differently. This was a big story when it was released and will likely be a big story moving forward into the draft and training camp.
Browns Attempted Hijack of Jim Harbaugh
The Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers nearly pulled off a blockbuster trade recently that would have sent Jim Harbaugh to Cleveland in exchange for draft picks according to reports. His current contract situation is hovering over the 49ers’ offseason a bit. He’s currently through three seasons of the five-year, $25 million deal he signed prior to 2011, but the two sides reportedly have discussed an extension. Harbaugh said in December that he “absolutely” wants to remain in San Francisco.
This brings even more tension to the 49ers due to the issues already at hand between Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke. Both are what you would call “alpha dogs” and want to run things their own way. So it would not be as much of a surprise as you think that the front office of the 49ers would try to ship their head coach off to another team even though he led them to three consecutive NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. So much for the notion that winning cures all in the NFL.