Mr. Scot

"A man's got to know his limitations." - Harry Callahan

That'd be the major outcome. And to be clear, the NFLPA certifies those agents. They don't have the resources to basically hold every single player's hand through contract negotiations. Helping filter the agents is their best form of assistance.

Not for those of us old enough to remember who Evel Knievel was anyway (I'm probably not the only one here who did some damage to their bicycle trying to imitate some of his feats)

Yep. He's only hurting himself by not having an agent.

Actually it'd lead to a lot of guys getting screwed over because the average NFL player isn't going to be well versed enough in contract language to negotiate their own deal.

Actually it's being debunked... The Ravens basically said "if you really think this is what you're worth, see if you can find somebody who'll pay it". So far, that's not going so well for him. Schefter is right. It's a brilliant move on their part.

My take as well...

Front offices don't give a sh-t what "they" think... ...nor should they.

I'll say this: When I saw the news about the non-exclusive tag, my first thought was this was gonna be a replay of the Watson saga, AKA Panther fans spending an inordinate amount of time pining for something that ultimately wasn't gonna happen. Instead it looks like the whole story played out in no time at all. So it seems Step Next will be to talk about drafting our QB of the future...after free agency, of course. Hell of a day...

Suleiman's full interview...

Good analysis... The second option is Fitterer's preferred MO

Not unique to Rhule... Coaches tell personnel departments what's important to them based on systems, general preferences, etc. Rhule valued athleticism. And honestly, given his college coaching experience, that probably makes sense.

Different staff

Might be thinking of Walter Jones (Seahawks)

Regarding Levis, this from Albert Breer... So when I was asking around on combine winners the last few days, I had one veteran executive put Kentucky QB Will Levis on his list. And another I talked with Monday wondered out loud to me why more people aren’t talking about his combine performance. Part of it might just be that C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were that good. Still, Levis acquitted himself well enough to make the second exec theorize that teams might be intentionally quiet on him, in hopes he’ll slip a little. “I would just say, of all the quarterbacks, he was just as impressive there [at the workout],” he said, adding Levis did well with his team in the interview room. “He showed up in great shape, he’s a really good athlete, he threw it well, he’s got a big arm. I don’t think there’s a lot to nitpick, other than tape from this year. He was really good.” The first exec, who initially raised his name to me, did say that the combine is the type of environment Levis should thrive in. “In pregame, you look at him, watch him drop back, see the ball come out of his hand, it’s like he’s a pro,” he said, recalling a live exposure he had going to one of Levis’s games in the fall. “When the lights come on, and the bullets are flying, he just doesn’t look the same,” he continued. “Relative to his physical traits, it just doesn’t come together—there are moments where he makes a great throw, or there’s a drive where he makes a great play, but on the whole there’s just something missing. … He’s super talented, in the end, I see him be a Jay Cutler-ish type.” Which is to say, just like Stroud and Richardson are, Levis is pretty interesting.

Said elsewhere Watson's contract likely had an impact on Jackson's, maybe a big one. It's highly possible that if the Watson contract hadn't happened yet, things might be different. But since it did, and it left a lot of people with bad feelings, here we are.

Samir Suleiman comments... I get the feeling this is probably a common sentiment inside the Panthers building.

Conor Orr presents an interesting idea... Orr's hypothesis is that the Ravens could have used discussion around the Combine to gauge how much of a market there really was for Jackson. Peter King said he did the same thing and found there wasn't much, or...any. If the Ravens got the same impression, it would have left them feeling confident that allowing Jackson to negotiate with other teams might educate him into having more... realistic expectations of his contract. Hell of a theory, to be honest.

I don't imagine it is.

I get it, but NFL teams tend to employ security people and expensive lawyers to help guard against stuff like this. Nice business to be in, I suppose.

Lemme think about it... No

Our resident UNC homers might want to have a talk with you

Florio...

Sounds like Sam Howell