The NFL offseason storylines to care, and not care, about
Plus, I tried a version of Mama Kelce's chocolate chip cookie recipe.
So far this week, the final two head coaching vacancies were filled, the winning QB had a little too much to drink at his Super Bowl parade, and Derek Carr officially became a free agent.
Welcome to the offseason.
The NFL news cycle will continue to churn at an abnormally high rate, but we all just freed up a good chunk of time each week without games to watch.
Maybe you’ll fill the void by watching the XFL now and the USFL later. No judgment here!
Maybe you’ll turn your sports focus to basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, or baseball spring training. You do you.
Maybe you’ll use this time to catch up on shows and movies you haven’t gotten around to just yet. The Oscars are less than a month away, after all.
Or maybe you’ll put more time in with family, friends, a favorite hobby, or a new challenge.
Personally, I’ll probably do a little bit of each one. In fact, I’ve already started on a few.
As I told you in my last newsletter, I’m a Veronica Mars fan, so of course I had to check out another show centered on a whip-smart woman who solves mysteries and has some good zingers along the way: Poker Face. It’s darker than I was expecting, but I’ve been enjoying it.
The Last of Us is about as dark as I expected, which means I have to be in a certain mood to watch it. And guess what, I’m rarely in the mood to commit to 60 minutes of super-depressing apocalyptic times entertainment. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a great show, from what I’ve seen. I’m just a handful of episodes behind now.
In anticipation of the Daisy Jones & the Six limited series, I’m currently reading Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest book, Carrie Soto is Back, about a fictional 90s tennis star. It takes place in the same universe as Daisy Jones (as well as Reid’s Malibu Rising), though there’s no real crossover.
And finally, this week I decided to try a version of Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookie recipe after they were such a hit in the lead up to the Super Bowl. I do not consider myself much of an expert in the kitchen, and I don’t particularly like to cook or bake, though I do like the end result. (In that way, it’s similar to writing: “I hate to write, but I love having written.”)
But if you’re interested in the recipe I used and you’re wondering how they turned out, I’ve included all that information in the last section of this newsletter.
Before we get to that, let’s talk a little bit more about football. Specifically, I’d like to highlight a few offseason storylines I’ll be following, along with a couple others that I will try my best to ignore.
Storylines we should care about
1. The quarterback carousel
This year more than any other in recent memory feels like we’re in for an extensive quarterback reshuffling around the NFL. A number of prominent names could all be on the move, and about half of the league has a major question to answer at the position this offseason.
Two dominoes have already fallen in the QB free agency market following Tom Brady’s (latest, probably permanent) retirement and Derek Carr’s release. That puts the Raiders and Bucs officially in the running for a new starting quarterback. Well, unless you’re really high on Jarrett Stidham or Kyle Trask, for some reason.
Tampa has emerged as an early favorite to land Carr, who has already visited with the Saints. The Jets and the Titans, if they decide to part with Ryan Tannehill, are other possibilities.
The Raiders could also go after a veteran quarterback, like Aaron Rodgers (if he agrees to a trade and if the Jets don’t already have dibs on him) or a free agent such as Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield. Unlike the Bucs, who almost assuredly will go the FA route, the Raiders own a top-10 draft pick. They could either trade up for Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, or stay at No. 7 and hope that Will Levis or Anthony Richardson is 1) still available and 2) turns out to be a much better pro than college player.
Other free agents include QBs who probably won’t go anywhere (Lamar Jackson, Geno Smith, Daniel Jones), useful backups (Jacoby Brissett, Teddy Bridgewater, Andy Dalton), and whatever category you want to put Sam Darnold in.
A couple of those guys won’t actually hit free agency because …
2. Franchise tags and contract extensions are coming
The Ravens and Giants have the biggest franchise tag decisions to make when the window opens next week. If Baltimore still can’t reach an agreement with Lamar Jackson, then it will most likely apply the franchise tag to him before the March 7 deadline.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Jackson will remain with the Ravens, even if they kinda sorta used his input when hiring Todd Monken as their new OC. Baltimore could tag-and-trade him, especially if the front office is pessimistic about its chances of signing Jackson to a new long-term deal. Teams like the Falcons and Commanders would be willing trade partners in that case — as long as they offered the Ravens a good deal in return.
The Giants would like to extend both Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, but their price has gone up after each had a productive season. And the Giants can only use one franchise tag:
It’s more probable they’d let Barkley walk than Jones, and if that happens, then Brian Daboll will be looking for a new running back for his offense (maybe another Penn State product?).
Besides Jones, a few other star QBs are due for a big-money extension this offseason. Jalen Hurts proved his worth in a valiant Super Bowl effort, just as Joe Burrow did the year before. Justin Herbert has never even sniffed the Super Bowl because he plays for a cursed franchise, but the Chargers are still expected to work out a new contract with him this offseason. Whichever quarterback gets his deal done first will likely set the market for the others.
The same could be said at wide receiver. Justin Jefferson, fresh off an Offensive Player of the Year season, will be the highest-paid receiver in the league before it’s all said and done, but CeeDee Lamb should also earn a nice raise after solidifying himself as WR1 in Dallas. The Cowboys have numerous roster choices to make; extending Lamb should be one of their easiest.
3. Will any team trade up for the No. 1 pick?
In the last week of the regular season, the Bears sneaked in and stole the top pick in the draft away from the Texans, who beat the Colts on a last-minute two-point conversion (Lovie Smith’s parting gift to Houston before he was fired). Now, the Colts could jump the Texans in the draft and get their pick of rookie quarterbacks — if they’re willing to make the Bears an offer they can’t refuse.
Chicago doesn’t need a quarterback, despite what the perpetually wrong Jason La Canfora would have you believe. Any QB-needy team in the top half of the draft — the Colts, Texans, Raiders, Panthers, and maybe even the Titans — could try to entice the Bears to drop down a few spots, where they could still draft an elite defensive player or (dare we dream?) a top offensive lineman for Justin Fields.
Then again, it’s rare for anyone to trade up to No. 1. It’s happened just two times since 2000: 2016 (the Rams jumped up to get Jared Goff) and 2001 (the Falcons went big for Michael Vick). But maybe we’re due.
Storylines we definitely shouldn’t care about
1. Any draft rumors about Will Levis going No. 1
I don’t care what his measurables are. I have seen Levis play college football at two different decent-ish schools — Penn State, Kentucky — and I refuse to entertain the idea that he has a higher ceiling than Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud.
And yet, I’ve seen several mock drafts that involve the Colts trading up to draft Levis. Never mind the fact that I don’t think the Colts would need to trade up to make that happen (if they want Young, like Jim Irsay hinted, then yeah, they’ll probably have to pull off a deal with the Bears).
I’m just so tired of anonymous scouts and draftniks overhyping one average college quarterback (usually a white guy) at the expense of talented quarterbacks (usually Black) we’ve seen, with our own eyes, be proficient passers. Please remember that Josh Allen is the exception, not the rule.
So for my own sanity, I will pretend that this is the usual draft nonsense where teams leak false rumors to try to help their own cause.
2. Whatever Aaron Rodgers is doing in the dark
After last offseason’s adventure with psychedelics, Rodgers is trying another woo-woo spiritual experiment this year that sounds like, at best, self-torture and at worst, cosplaying as a prisoner in solitary confinement:
Who knows how real it even is, but I do know that, just like most of his opinions, it sounds like a bunch of BS.
Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookie review
While Mama Kelce never offered a full recipe, she shared a few tips that make her cookies stand out: She microwaves the butter, uses 1 cup of cake flour and 1 cup of regular flour, includes both white chocolate and milk chocolate chips, throws in a bit of cinnamon, and refrigerates the dough overnight.
First, I started with a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have a couple different chocolate chip recipes I alternate between, but I wanted to try something new, so I followed a link from this Insider article to Ina Garten’s cookie recipe and tweaked it slightly to incorporate Donna’s suggestions.
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly melted
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 egg, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 dashes of cinnamon
½ cup of white chocolate chips
½ cup of milk chocolate chips
Directions:
1. I let the butter soften for a bit on the counter, then I microwaved it in a bowl for 15 seconds. After that, I used a hand mixer to beat it until it was creamy, which took about 1 minute.
2. I added both the white and brown sugar, then used the hand mixer to beat the mixture for about 2 minutes.
3. I added the egg, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of warm water to the mixture and beat it until it was just combined.
4. In a separate bowl, I combined the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stirred it together.
5. I slowly added the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture while beating it on a low setting.
6. I added the chocolate chips (about ½ cup of each, but I didn’t measure properly — just vibes) and stirred them in until just combined.
6. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.
7. The next day, I preheated the oven to 350 and rounded the dough in tablespoon-sized balls.
8. I baked each batch for about 12 minutes (oven times might vary — I checked after 10 minutes but the edges didn’t start to brown until the 12-minute mark).
Verdict: These turned out thinner than other cookies I usually make (I’ll chalk that up to the Garten recipe I was using), but they were still creamy. And more importantly, they were yummy. I could taste the cinnamon right away, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and I think both that and the white chocolate enhanced the flavor.
Next time, I would probably try a different base chocolate chip recipe, just to see if the cookies turned out thicker. But overall, Mama Kelce has a winner here.