Football is here! NFL training camps have begun all over the country, creating storylines and new excitement for fans to follow. But this week’s Four Verts column begins with an off-field issue — a baffling contract situation.
No one knows what Dallas is doing, but it’s provocative
The Cowboys are a constant fixture in NFL news for a variety of reasons, but this time it’s for a reason that’s driving their fans absolutely nuts. They have three key players up for contract extensions: Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and CeeDee Lamb. These are three players who are essential to the Cowboys’ success and their future endeavors. At this point, the club is 0-for-3 without resolving any of these contract situations. Prescott is probably the most important contract they need to make based on the nature of his position, but Lamb is actually the one causing the most commotion right now.
According to multiple media outlets, Lamb will not attend Dallas’ training camp without a new deal. Lamb is subject to $40,000 in daily fines that could eventually be waived by the team. There is really no reason for Lamb to show up without a contract offer in the hands of the Cowboys that has a chance to earn him the highest paid wide receiver in the league. His play last season deserved it and the Cowboys can’t have a functional offense without him in the lineup. He’s an absolute necessity.
It’s baffling that the Cowboys seem content to have the core of their roster playing on expiring or near-expiring deals. Assuming Prescott, Lamb and Parsons play at the talent levels they’ve shown so far, those deals are only going to get more expensive over the next eight months. It doesn’t make sense to give the player all the power in this situation and make the team more desperate for him to play.
The only reason this would make sense is if the Cowboys are truly ready to hit the “reset” button after this upcoming season. That would be bold. This is a franchise quarterback, wide receiver and pass rusher — three pillars every team would love to have. Still, the Cowboys are treating this situation a little flippantly. Proactivity will save them a lot of heartache and money if they can get out of their own way and somethingPlaying the season, or even going into training camp, without these issues resolved doesn’t make much sense.
But it gets people moving. Seriously, just search Twitter for “@DallasCowboys.” It’s a goldmine.
The ‘hold-in’ is officially back!
When it comes to the collective bargaining agreement, one way players can get around their contract disputes without incurring hefty daily fines is to keep in to camp. Players basically show up and do nothing during practice. For now, this is a way to have a similar effect to a holdout without actually losing any money — we’ll see what happens with this method if the NFL and NFLPA eventually negotiate a new CBA.
This year, there are a handful of notable players who will not be participating in training during at least the first half of training camp. These are the names to watch over the next month or so.
Niners general manager John Lynch has his hands full in the coming weeks trying to get two key components of the 49ers’ success back under contract so they’re happy and ready to contribute next season. That’s no small feat with Brock Purdy’s contract looming, but it’s certainly doable, at least for this year. What’s interesting is that Williams is choosing to lose $50,000 a day to make that wish known. A braver man than most.
Jets defensive end Haason Reddick is also sitting on a costly waiting list for a new deal, which is interesting considering the Jets have had Reddick on the roster since early April and he still doesn’t have the new deal he wants. Getting him on the roster and making him happy would mean everything to the team, especially considering they’re a bit thin on the defensive line without him. It’s confusing how they got to this point in the first place without a happy Reddick putting pen to paper.
Love and Tagovailoa will get paid, with Love’s deal likely to come first and set a new benchmark for quarterback pay in the league. Tagovailoa will reportedly not get a market-rate extension, as the Dolphins want to compensate him with something better for the team than he asked for.
This is all money talk, which is what everyone is talking about the most, but these guys are worth keeping an eye on as the regular season preparations begin.
What will the Saints do on the offensive line?
During Sean Payton’s reign as head coach in New Orleans, the Saints always had noisy, nasty offensive lines that could beat just about any defense into submission. It helped keep Drew Brees’ career thriving as he got older and really helped the Saints transition into the post-Brees era by allowing them to pound the rock while they figured out what combination of Taysom Hill and company worked best.
Times seem to be changing though, and the Saints’ offensive line is looking scary. There’s not a lot of promise or hype behind this unit, as they haven’t quite matched the talent acquisitions they’ve had in the past. Stalwart right tackle Ryan Ramczyk is out for the season with a likely career-ending injury. Trevor Penning has been a complete failure as a former first-round tackle. First-round pick Taliese Fuaga, a right tackle who was seen by many as a potential guard in the NFL, will switch to left tackle for the Saints in his rookie year.
This is a disaster. Especially for a team with an immobile quarterback who really struggles when the heat hits and the hitting starts. Derek Carr has always needed a strong offensive line in front of him to be the best version of himself and this just doesn’t seem to be that. It begs the question: what is the ceiling of this Saints team?
Star running back Alvin Kamara is holding back as he tries to get a new contract or an adjustment to his current one. They do have a star wide receiver in Chris Olave, but this situation isn’t necessarily set up to allow the Saints to get the most out of Olave’s explosive downfield ability. If they can’t block like they want to, it’s hard to see how the Saints will create enough opportunities for their playmakers.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has his hands full trying to take over everyone’s favorite offensive play-calling tree: the Shanahan system. That scheme might be the cover this staff needs to be a productive unit, but it’s looking shaky right now.
To be fair to the Saints, they have a stud center in Erik McCoy and guard Cesar Ruiz still has untapped potential. The rest of the group is still a work in progress and it could be lead to the year the Saints finally hit rock bottom – which is probably the best thing for this franchise right now.
NFC South is set up to become a true division this year
Enough about the Saints. The rest of the NFC South seems to have taken some steps forward. While the Saints are still struggling with their mountain of salary cap hell that is preventing them from truly improving the team, the other teams have made, at the very least, marginal improvements to their rosters that should result in watchable football for fans. That wasn’t always the case last year! I should know! I watched every Atlanta Falcons game last year! I’m doing great, honestly!
The Falcons at least have reason to hope for a successful, if not more enjoyable, 2024 season. Kirk Cousins is a major upgrade over what they had at quarterback last season, and head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson might be the fresh faces this organization needs to get the most out of the talented playmakers it’s assembled over the past few years. Cousins’ health is still a question mark, but even then, the Falcons should be able to make major improvements on offense considering Cousins isn’t quite at full strength yet.
Tampa Bay hasn’t changed all that much, but it should have a strong offensive line. Rookie center Graham Barton bolstering a line that already features All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs will be a big plus for what the Buccaneers hope to accomplish: get back to the playoffs and possibly make a run to the NFC title game. They came somewhat close to that point last season, but continuity at quarterback with Baker Mayfield returning, coupled with improvements to the offensive line and a solid defense, should put them in familiar territory with a nine-win or so.
Carolina is the mystery here. The Panthers started So The team is far behind the 8-ball, making it tough to see them making the playoffs, or even getting close, but it’s fair to acknowledge the improvements they’ve made. Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis are big upgrades at offensive guard, while Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette will help stabilize one of the worst receiver rooms from a year ago. The defense will likely be in poor shape again, but the offensive improvements matter. Five wins should be within reach of what this team is capable of.
All of this is a vast improvement over what this division was like last year. It wasn’t football — but now the Panthers have a chance to join the rest of the NFL as a real division with a few teams that have the potential to make the playoffs.
