Colts
- NJ.com’s Mike Kaye notes the Eagles don’t really have to trade QB Carson Wentz until his roster bonus the third day of the league year, which serves as a pseudo-deadline.
- However, both the Colts and the Bears, the top trade contenders for Wentz, have other, cheaper backup plans on deck, and if either team moves forward with those, the Eagles’ leverage in a Wentz trade will bottom out.
- Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says if the Colts had the best offer on the table for Wentz, a deal would likely be done as it’s the quarterback’s preferred destination. However, if Indianapolis is lukewarm on a deal, Wentz doesn’t have many recourses to block a trade to the Bears.
- N.C. State DL Alim McNeill has met with the Colts virtually. (Justin Melo)
Jaguars
The Jaguars announced the addition of senior personnel executive Tom Gamble and director of player assessment Ryan Stamper to their front office.
“Tom and Ryan are key additions to the personnel department,” Jaguars GM Trent Baalke said in a statement. “Tom brings 30 years of NFL experience in player personnel, and, given our extensive history together, his counsel, expertise, and wealth of relationships in the business will help us in every aspect of player acquisition and retention.
“As a native of Jacksonville, Ryan knows this area, and his track record of working with young men and preparing them for life on and off the field is impressive and well documented. He will play an important role in helping us bridge the gap between player acquisition, player development and player retention. The energy and expertise that both Tom and Ryan bring to the organization will serve us well as we strive to build a winner, both on and off the field, in Jacksonville.”
- N.C. State DL Alim McNeill has met with the Jaguars virtually. (Justin Melo)
Texans
The truth is that Texans DL J.J. Watt wouldn’t necessarily have gotten a huge return in a trade given his age, injury history and $17.5 million salary. But Houston would have been able to get something for Watt instead of releasing him for nothing. Team owner Cal McNair explained their rationale.
“There are several reasons [for not trading him],” McNair said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “But suffice it to say, we evaluated those, and we’re confident that this is the right one for J.J. and for us. And it’s one we mutually came to and agreed on. And we felt that it was really the right one for J.J. Not every decision is easy or easy to understand. But we always want to do right by our players and our fans. And we want to focus on bringing a championship to Houston. But this gives him time to kind of pick his next destination, and we felt like it was the right thing to do for J.J.”
- Breer mentions he was told Texans EVP Jack Easterby found the group of candidates assembled by the search firm Korn Ferry to be lacking, which is why he pushed for the hire of GM Nick Caserio behind the back of former team president Jamey Rootes.
- As for what Watt might have fetched in a trade, NBC Sports’ Peter King said based on his informal polling of front office members that a third-round pick would have been too rich and the more likely offer on the table would have been a fourth or fifth-rounder.
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