The best and worst recent moves in the NFL
There hasn't been a ton of activity around the league lately, but major changes have still transpired.
The “big” news is the NFL this week seemed to be centered on which quarterbacks threw well in organized team activities, which didn’t, and which have been worryingly absent. So yeah, it’s definitely June. In fact, it’s June 2, an important date for teams’ salary cap situations.
As such, we could see an uptick in veteran signings or trades in the near future. But I don’t want to discuss future transactions right now. Instead, I’d like to focus on moves of the recent past, as in the last couple of weeks.
In that time, the NFL passed a few new rules and two Pro Bowl-caliber players parted ways with their team. Which developments made sense and which didn’t? Let’s review each one below.
The Cardinals cut DeAndre Hopkins, before June 1
The basics: After months of trade rumors, DeAndre Hopkins is no longer with the Cardinals. Not because they dealt him, but because they released him. By making the transaction before June 1, Arizona has to absorb $22 million in dead money this season rather than spread it out across two years.
The good: The Cardinals and Hopkins were both clearly ready to move on from each other. As a free agent, Nuk has the benefit of choosing his next team, whether that’s a contender, a reunion with his one-time quarterback, or back with the franchise that drafted him.
When healthy, Hopkins is still a sure-handed dynamic receiver, but in the past two years, he missed 15 games (including a PED suspension) for the Cardinals, who paid him around $28 million in that span. Now that Arizona is entering a rebuilding phase, it was time for the Cards to cut ties with the pricey veteran. And by eating all his dead money this year, they can turn their attention to 2024.
The bad: On the cusp of his 31st birthday, Hopkins is reportedly seeking an Odell Beckham-type contract (he signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Ravens). That in itself shouldn’t be an issue, since Nuk has been more consistent as a WR1 in his career than OBJ and, despite a couple injuries the past two years, has been the healthier one too. The problem is that most of the teams he’s interested in don’t have the current cap space to sign him.
As for the Cardinals, they’re in tank mode and, as we already knew, won’t be particularly watchable in 2023. But the NFL’s version of tanking doesn’t always work out as expected. Just four years ago, the Dolphins entered a no-doubt tanking season and still won five games, dropping them from the No. 1 overall pick to the No. 5.
Verdict: Mostly fine, with a side of TBD. Though this seems like a win for both parties after a trade never materialized, we’ll have to wait to see what kind of deal Hopkins receives, how he performs with his new team, and whether the Cardinals’ tank job is successful or not.
The Browns traded for pass rusher Za’Darius Smith
The basics: A few weeks ago, the Browns boosted their pass rush by pulling off a deal with the Vikings. In exchange for 30-year-old Za’Darius Smith and two late 2025 draft picks, Minnesota received both a 2024 fifth-rounder and a 2025 fifth-rounder. In his lone season with the Vikings, Smith tallied a team-high 24 QB hits along with 10 sacks, second-most behind Danielle Hunter’s 10.5 sacks.
The good: The Browns get a versatile veteran who can be a useful chess piece for new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Their pass rush is a promising group, but outside of Myles Garrett, it doesn’t have a ton of experience, so Smith’s leadership should be welcome on and off the field. His addition — at the mere cost of two fifth-round picks — also vaults Cleveland’s edge rusher corps into the top tier of the unit rankings.
From the Vikings’ side of things, they freed up some much-needed cap space by trading away Smith, who asked for his release in March. Smith dealt with injuries and a lack of production in the second half of the season. Although he appeared in every game except a meaningless Week 18 contest, Smith totaled just 1.5 sacks and 9 QB hits after Week 8.
Minnesota is reworking its defense under Brian Flores after it ranked near the bottom in every major category under former DC Ed Donatell. However, the pass rush should be pretty decent this season with Hunter as well as free agent signee Marcus Davenport. Following the trade, the Vikings fell from the top spot but still come in at No. 12 in those edge rusher rankings.
The bad: Smith is essentially a one-year rental for the Browns, one that doesn’t come risk-free based on Smith’s age and injury history. In 2021, he played in just one game, then underwent back surgery and missed the rest of the season.
The Vikings are also taking the chance that Davenport can replace Smith. In three of the last four seasons, Smith has recorded double-digit sacks — every year except his one-game 2021. On the other hand, Davenport has yet to put up double-digit sacks or play an entire season. Last year, he appeared in a career-high 15 games … and managed just 0.5 sack.
Verdict: The Browns won the trade, at least as of right now. On paper, they’re better and didn’t have to part with a lot of draft capital, while the Vikings are worse and didn’t get much in return for a three-time Pro Bowler.
The third QB rule is back
The basics: For almost 20 years — from 1991 to 2010 — the NFL allowed teams to carry an inactive third quarterback on their gameday rosters who could play if both quarterbacks ahead of him got injured. The owners agreed to bring that rule back, with a couple of tweaks.
First, if a previously injured quarterback is cleared to return, then the emergency third-stringer goes back to the bench. Second, the third QB has to be a member of the 53-man roster, not a practice squad player.
The good: This rule should prevent what happened to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, when injured starter Brock Purdy had to come back in the game and (attempted to) play after backup Josh Johnson was ruled out with a concussion.
However, the Ravens, not the 49ers, proposed the bylaw: John Harbaugh said they were concerned about their quarterbacks’ statuses heading into the playoffs. With this change, teams will have a bigger safety net at the game’s most important position, especially when quarterbacks can more often be sidelined under the NFL’s stricter (but still imperfect) concussion protocol.
The bad: Because the emergency QB has to be on the 53-man roster, that could take away a spot from a more talented player at a different position. It might be good news for the Will Griers of the league, but it’s not for non-QBs who find themselves on the roster bubble.
Verdict: A thumbs up. Most teams carry three quarterbacks anyway, so it shouldn’t change roster makeups that much. More importantly, it’s an extra layer of protection against quarterbacks trying to play when they’ve already sustained an injury.
The NFL has a new kickoff rule (on a trial basis)
The basics: At the Spring League Meeting, the owners decided to take a page from the college football playbook and adopt the NCAA’s kickoff rule. In 2023, if a kick returner signals for a fair catch inside the 25-yard line, the ball will then be placed at the 25-yard line. Players can still return ball like normal, if like KaVontae Turpin, they choose to do so
As of right now, the rule will only be in place this coming season. After that, the NFL will evaluate the results and decide if it should be implemented beyond 2023.
The good: In theory, this should cut down on violent collisions, without completely eliminating kickoff returns — which can be one of the most exciting but also most dangerous plays in football — from the game. According to the NFL, the concussion rate on kickoffs should drop by 15 percent.
The bad: Special teams coaches and players objected to the proposal even before the owners passed it because they felt like the new rule would actually increase injuries (though it hasn’t in college football). In addition, a majority of the concussions that occurred during kickoffs last season happened when a returner brought the ball out of the end zone, something that this new rule doesn’t fix.
Recently, Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater sounded off on the change and expressed his doubts that the NFL was truly doing this in the name of “player safety.”
Verdict: A mixed bag. Slater raised valid points, especially with all the ways the league fails current and former players, though I think any attempt to reduce concussions should be explored. And because this is only a trial run, it might not be worth adding it to the rulebook on a permanent basis.
But I wish the NFL would embrace a kickoff rule that resembled what the XFL and USFL are doing, both of which encourage returns but also don’t have players getting a long head start and running at each other at full speed. In the XFL, for example, everyone except the kicker and returner has to stand still until the ball is touched, and those other members of the special teams unit are lined up just 5 yards from each other.
Such a format might take some getting used to, but it’s also much less brutal — and still football.
Thursday Night Football games can now be flexed (this season)
The basics: In previous years, the NFL sectioned off certain weeks for flex scheduling on Sunday Night Football. It could decide to switch a more compelling matchup into the SNF slot and move the game that had been scheduled for primetime to earlier in the day. The league had already announced it would expand the practice for Monday Night Football this season. At the Spring League Meeting, the owners also approved Thursday Night Football flex scheduling on a one-year basis.
The good: The NFL can showcase more meaningful and competitive games on Thursday nights during the homestretch (Weeks 13-17) of the regular season. The league is limited in how often it can use flex scheduling on TNF, too: just twice, and it has to inform the teams 28 days in advance.
The bad: Besides the challenges for the players themselves anytime they have to suit up in a shortened week, there’s the burden this places on the fans. It’s expensive and time-consuming to attend an NFL game, and it’s unfair to the fans who have planned a trip on a certain date, only for that contest to get moved to days later. Even with about a month’s notice, fans could lose money trying to change their travel plans, or not be able to go at all.
Verdict: A thumbs down. I think most of us appreciate whenever we can avoid uninspiring primetime slapfests between two below-.500 opponents, but c’mon. This is clearly all about what’s best for the NFL’s pockets, not the fans or the players.