Mr. Scot

From the article... The sudden notion that Lamar Jackson doesn’t want a fully-guaranteed contract directly disputes the content of an important interview that NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith recently had with The Pivot podcast. The entire premise of the conversation regarding guaranteed contracts was that the NFLPA is helping Lamar Jackson get a fully-guaranteed contract that will “bookend” (as Smith said it) the Watson deal, and in turn lay the foundation for other quarterbacks to secure fully-guaranteed deals, too. There are three possible explanations for the recent report. One, the information provided to Smith is incorrect. Two, Jackson wants a fully-guaranteed contract, but is claiming otherwise for P.R. reasons. Three, Jackson has changed his mind about wanting a fully-guaranteed contract. If the last point is the truth, then maybe he and the Ravens will work out a long-term deal before March 7, the deadline for applying the franchise tag. If not, and if the Ravens choose to use the non-exclusive tag, maybe another team will sign him to an offer sheet that isn’t fully guaranteed — and maybe the Ravens will match it. Regardless, it’s important to note that this claim Jackson never wanted a fully-guaranteed contract cuts against everything that everyone was led to believe for months, up to and including the things that the head of the union publicly said, just last month. ... Pretty sure it's option two. Stephen A is serving as a willing mouthpiece for Jackson's people to basically try and negotiate through the press.

Yeah...not happening. The Packers aren't trading him in the NFC.

This is largely wrapped up except for the final staff announcement. My guess is if there are any additional assistants added, we may not hear till then. (last time I said something like that, we hired two coaches the next day, soooo...)

Possible, but salary cap space can be created if needed. Can't create draft picks, of course. Those just have to be used wisely.

Oddly enough, our previously resident fan of The Appaloosa Way was cheering for Bezos to buy the Panthers before Tepper did.

A fan of Lamar Jackson probably shouldn't be using the playoffs as a criteria for judging quarterbacks Also, teams win, teams lose. Acting like QBs can be judged by a win-loss record is a clear sign you don't have a clue what you're talking about.

From earlier... 7 billion?

From Ben Standig in The Athletic From the article... Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is not allowed to bid for the Washington Commanders, the team’s banker, Bank of America, has told the billionaire, a person briefed on the sale process confirmed to The Athletic. The person added that Bezos being barred from bidding has been a reality for months. Bezos owns the Washington Post, which published a series of stories documenting a culture of sexual harassment at the team that ultimately helped build the pressure to sell. But beyond that, team owner Daniel Snyder has long felt, those close to him have said over the years, that the newspaper has endeavored to oust him from the NFL. "It’s a free country, he can sell to whomever he wants,” the person briefed on the sale process said. Bezos, because he is barred from bidding, has not had access to the team’s finances. Florio reported earlier today there are hints the team might not be sold at all, but if it is, it won't be to Bezos.

I did. Fitterer ran the search along with Morgan and Samir Suleiman. Tepper and his wife sat in and later added Kristi Coleman. After the interviews were all done, they asked everyone to vote. Tepper abstained so as not to influence anyone's choice. The expectation was that they'd discuss and perhaps debate the final options. When everybody voted for Reich, that became moot.

Oh, there's still plenty to discuss. That's my honest opinion though. And frankly, after fifteen years of Hurney and three years of Rhule, I'm extremely happy to even be able to say that.

Valid, but I have a hard time buying that he'd give as much leeway as he did in the coaching search to a guy he doesn't fully trust.

Okay now it's weird

Yeah, I don't know whether to believe that or not. What I do know is that this story is likely to generate a load of talk. (also a pretty good chance that some of it won't be especially productive)

Someone told me that just trusting in who the coaches pick is a "lazy answer" It's not. Honestly, I'd call it the best answer right now.

I get the feeling this might at least partially be in response to Ben Albright.

Same. I wouldn't scream either way.

Wild story hitting the news today... Remember when it came out that our former longtime trainer was into some shady dealings? I haven't looked to see if there's been any medical staff turnover since Tepper arrived, but I'd like to hope the guy who says his team should have "the best of everything" is looking to make that true in what's arguably the most important area. Given that the same guy who said this wants a turf field so he can host rock concerts though...

Back on topic...

Pretty much. It's not necessarily the method that's the mistake. It's who you pick. It's been reported that our front office is interested but they're not going to impose on Reich and his staff, so until it's all fleshed out we won't know whether the Panthers plan to try for him or not.

The same one where Mitch Trubisky goes before Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson? You never know with the draft.

There are some things we know from behind the scenes reporting... Fitterer made the call on the fifth year option, but pretty much everything else quarterback related was Rhule. It's also been told that if somebody didn't buy in on a particular decision, Rhule would "work to gain their agreement"... which basically translated to badgering them about it until they finally gave in. That way he could say "See, they agreed with me" and, if necessary, pass the buck. (his post firing interviews have been pretty clear examples of how he operates in terms of taking responsibility) In a standard NFL front office, the head coach tells the GM what he needs and the GM does his best to go out and get it. The coaches in such cases generally don't set compensation or trade terms, so it makes for a good check and balance system. In ours, The head coach had final say. That meant if he wanted a player to stay or be gone, that's what was gonna happen. And while he didn't necessarily set salaries or anything like that, dictating that you had to pay a guy no matter what limits your negotiating options. So yeah, it's true that we don't know everything that happened, but these are the things we do know. We also know that the guy who does know everything that went on fired Matt Rhule and handed the responsibility for hiring his replacement over to Scott Fitterer. You can at least infer something from that. Even now though, you're not looking at a situation where Fitterer just tells Reich "these are the players I'm giving you, deal with it". Both men are known for being very collaborative in their approach (and genuinely so, not Matt Rhule style collaborative) so this time I'd expect it to work like a real NFL front office. I'd add that a couple of different analysts have mentioned that Tepper really likes Fitterer. When people questioned how safe his position was this past offseason, Josh Klein replied "very" so I don't know how seriously to take the idea that he needs to prove himself. If the team is a total disaster this year I could understand, but outside of that change doesn't seem likely. You never know though. Crazier things have happened.

I agree but for different reasons. You know conversations between Aaron Rodgers and Jim Irsay would be comedy gold

Oy No more "smitten" with Fitterer than I "hated" Hurney. I just have an understanding of front office dynamics that you clearly don't. But keep trying, dude

Latest speculation has been the Packers have no intention of trading him.

This is one of the reasons I hate player comps.