Buccaneers
- ESPN’s Jenna Laine expects the Buccaneers to try and re-sign WR Chris Godwin to an extension, though it will cost them more than $16 million per year.
- Laine adds there’s a chance Godwin takes a slight discount to be able to stay with QB Tom Brady.
- Laine believes the Buccaneers might need to franchise-tag OLB Shaq Barrett for the second straight offseason, which would be 120 percent of his current $15.828 million figure.
- The Athletic’s Greg Auman notes Patriots RB James White is slated to be a free agent this offseason and Brady and Tampa Bay still need a reliable passing down back.
- Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said the team was aware of WR Antonio Brown‘s incident with his HOA before signing him and downplayed the incident: “We were totally aware of it. I think we’re beating a dead horse right now…I think we’ve had enough conversations about that. Thank you.” (Rick Stroud)
- Buccaneers G Ali Marpet returned to practice but he remains in the concussion protocol and still is experiencing some symptoms. (Stroud)
Cardinals
It’s rare to see NFL general managers admit to a mistake. Mistakes are what get GM’s fired, and Cardinals GM Steve Keim tacitly admitted to two huge errors when he moved on from both HC Steve Wilks and QB Josh Rosen after just one season. But Keim appears to have found redemption with his new duo of HC Kliff Kingsbury and QB Kyler Murray, who have the Cardinals in the thick of the race for the NFC West.
“These positions, they’re tough, it’s stressful, you take a lot of criticism,” Keim said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “And there are times where rightfully so, you take criticism. You make mistakes. And to me, I’ve just always been this way, you have to be a big enough person to admit your mistakes and to grow from them. A lot of times we don’t want to admit our mistakes. It’s natural to protect yourself and make excuses. To me, the only way we can grow in our careers is to truly admit mistakes and move on if, in your heart, you can trust your instincts to move on.”
- Per Darren Urban of the team website, Keim said he knew for weeks before news of the trade broke that Arizona was trading for WR DeAndre Hopkins: “There were times, and (owner) Michael Bidwill and I were the only ones who knew, there were times he would come in my office and I would look at him and be like, ‘Did we really just trade for DeAndre Hopkins?'”
- Keim defended CB Patrick Peterson, saying there are times where he’s been the closest person in coverage but the breakdown hasn’t been his fault: “I’m not saying there aren’t plays all of us would like to have back, but there are other factors that play into it.”
- After turning it around in the final year of his deal, former first-round Cardinals LB Haason Reddick could be back with the team next year, per Keim: “He has hung in there and kept his attitude in the right place.”
- ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss expects the Cardinals to try and work something out to keep Peterson, who’s in the final year of his deal this year.
Panthers
- ESPN’s David Newton expects re-signing RT Taylor Moton to be one of the Panthers’ top priorities this offseason.
- He also thinks the Panthers will try to re-sign WR Curtis Samuel as long as he’s not too expensive, and Samuel likely hasn’t been consistent enough in 2020 to demand a big contract in free agency.
- Panthers HC Matt Rhule said QB Teddy Bridgewater has been “extremely limited” in practice this week and hasn’t been able to open it up yet running: “I’m not gonna put him out there if he’s gonna hurt himself, but if he can play, we’re gonna play him.” (Person)
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