NFL

Every NFL Team’s Riskiest Moves Of The 2020 Offseason

Darren - July 17, 2020
NFL

Every NFL Team’s Riskiest Moves Of The 2020 Offseason

Darren - July 17, 2020

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

5. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers traded DT DeForest Buckner for financial reasons. They’ll keep his replacement from South Carolina, Javon Kinlaw, on a rookie contract for four years. Kinlaw also has a lot of potential but he’s not Buckner just yet.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Buckner averaged 66 tackles per season and 28.5 sacks 0ver his first four seasons. Those are great numbers and why the Indianapolis Colts will pay him $21 million per season. If you want to win the Super Bowl you need to keep your best players. The 49ers didn’t do that.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

4. Seattle Seahawks

The whole Jadeveon Clowney situation is a mess for the Seahawks. They need to address the pass rush after a shoddy 28 sacks as a team last season. Clowney only produced three and now has drifted into free agency.

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However, in Clowney’s defense, he did suffer from a hernia last year. The Seahawks might be wise to give him another year if he’s still available at the right price. They need to up those numbers somehow but have less than $14 million left in cap space. Could this be their downfall?

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3. Tampa Bay Buccanneers

The Buccanneers’ swoop for Tom Brady was one of the most exciting moves of the offseason. From a commercial standpoint, it makes perfect sense. But on the playing field, it could be a different story. First of all, Brady is almost 43 and coming off a poor year by his standards.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

That just won’t stand up in Florida now. Their fans expect them to compete with the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South and push to become the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium. Meanwhile, Brady has to adapt to Bruce Arians’ preferred style of play. The goodwill could vanish quickly.

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2. Tennessee Titans

Ryan Tannehill just had the best year of his career so far. That’s why the Titans chose to reward him with a lucrative four-year, $118 million extension. However, that may prove to have been misguided. First of all, Tannehill’s excellent season was the exception to the rule.

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His passer rating was 30 points higher than his career average. Can the 31-year-old produce those same numbers this year? The Titans extended Derrick Henry’s contract because he is such a key player for them. It’s a fair question if Tannehill would have earned his contract without the bruising runner.

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1. Washington

Last but not least, the decision to change their name is one that could come back to bite Washington in the short-term. While the reasons make total sense from the perspective of racial equality and commercial growth, the truth is that many fans are going to resist this.

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With their problems on the field, the last thing the former Redskins need is a divided fanbase too. Add that to a growing sexual harassment scandal, and Washington, who has been one of the worst teams in the NFL on the field, is arguably the worst off the field as well. It seems every move thy make gong forward is a risk no matter what.

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