Buccaneers
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht was asked about the roster “taking a step back” this offseason with QB Tom Brady retiring and their cap situation moving forward.
“I don’t want to say taking a step back. We’re still trying to restock and eventually build another championship team and it’s just going to look a little different and be done a little bit differently. We were in a position in 2020 after we won the Super Bowl to be able to re-sign all of our players, which hadn’t been done or hadn’t been done in a very long time. The goal is eventually to get back into a position like that, but in the short term, we still want to win and compete for this division – and we think we can. We just want to do it without sacrificing our long-term plans, and our long-term goals, as well. I think we can find a way to do both at the same time,” Licht said.
Falcons
- Georgia DT Jalen Carter was scheduled to formally meet with the Falcons on Wednesday, but pulled out of the meeting due to ongoing criminal investigations. (Zach Klein)
- The Falcons met with edge rushers Keion White (Georgia Tech) and Tyree Wilson (Texas Tech) at the combine. (Josh Kendall)
- Florida State S Jammie Robinson had formal meetings with several teams at the NFL Combine, including the Bills, Falcons, Broncos, 49ers and Lions. (Justin Melo)
- Louisiana Tech CB Myles Brooks said he also had a formal interview with the Atlanta, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Alabama S Brian Branch had a meeting with Atlanta on Thursday night and said he’d “love” to play for his hometown team, per Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Panthers
Panthers HC Frank Reich declined to say whether the team would pursue a veteran quarterback option like QB Derek Carr, or if the team would try to solve the position through the draft.
“I don’t think you can make that decision based on the status of the division right now,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “Whatever decision we make is what is best not just for this year, but you’re looking on the horizon. Obviously if you draft a guy, you’re looking on a very long-term horizon. If you go free agent like we go Derek Carr, the nice thing with Derek is he’s gonna be 32 years old. So, it’s kinda prime quarterback years. So, there’s still a good five-year window there. Sure, we’re like every team — we wanna win the division next year. But we really have to look beyond that as well.”
Reich added that all options are on the table regarding the quarterback position this offseason.
“I think all options would be on the table,” he responded. “We’re gonna do what we think is best for our team—both in the near-term and the long-term.”
- Reich said their meeting with Carr in Indianapolis went well and considers him to be a “good option” for their quarterback job: “[We have to] make a big decision on who’s gonna be our quarterback,” via George Bremer.
- ESPN’s David Newton doesn’t feel LB Shaq Thompson will be a part of the Panthers’ plans in 2023 due to his high cap number.
- Tulane LB Dorian Williams said he had an informal meeting with the Panthers at the NFL Combine and also spoke with the organization while at the 2023 Senior Bowl, per Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer.
- Panthers GM Scott Fitterer mentioned Alabama QB Bryce Young and said “nothing’s too big for him.” (Newton)
- Reich said “all options are on the table” for them at quarterback, including selecting one in the 2023 NFL Draft. (Newton)
- The Panthers have met with QB Max Duggan, QB Hendon Hooker, QB CJ Stroud, QB Anthony Richardson, QB Bryce Young and QB Will Levis. (Kaye)
- Reich said new OC Thomas Brown “blew us away” in the interview process and impressed them quickly. (Greg Auman)
- Fitterer said he told impending free agent RB D’Onta Foreman during his exit meeting in January that he’s considered a “priority” to be re-signed this offseason. (Joseph Person)
- Fitterer mentioned the team had a formal interview with Georgia DT Jalen Carter before the news about his arrest came out. (Mark Grote)
- Carolina rejected the Rams’ offering of two first-round picks and one second-round pick in exchange for DE Brian Burns last season. Fitterer said there’s a reason why they refused to trade away Burns: “The sky’s in front of him. He’s a huge impact player.” (Auman)
Saints
Saints GM Mickey Loomis said the team and QB Derek Carr had a good visit and they’re letting the process play itself out.
“We had a good visit,” Loomis said, via the team’s website. “He’s going through his process and we’re going through our process, and we’ll see what happens.”
Saints HC Dennis Allen is very fond of Carr and what he brings to the table.
“I think he’s highly competitive, I think he’s highly intelligent, I think he’s got great work ethic, I think he’s an outstanding leader,” Allen said. “Those are all the qualities that I like about him, and those are qualities that we like in the quarterback position. We like the player.”
Loomis added that because of where they’re drafting, they’re having to widen their scope of available quarterbacks due to the fact that they’re likely not in the running for the top prospects at that position.
“I think unless you’re at the top of the draft, you’re just looking at everyone,” Loomis said. “(But) when you’re late in the draft, or even later rounds, there’s nothing that prevents you from signing a free agent quarterback and drafting one.
“We’re in the business of collecting good players and collecting quarterbacks. For years, I think it was (former Green Bay general manager) Ron Wolf that wanted to draft a quarterback every year and put them in the stable. They either become good players for you or they became assets that you could trade. We’ve always spent a good amount of time evaluating the quarterbacks, even in the prime of Drew’s career we did that. We just didn’t end up having a lot of opportunities to draft guys that we liked at the point where we had the pick available.”
Loomis is confident that the team can find a high-impact player at the back end of the first round, where they have pick 29 after trading former HC Sean Payton to the Broncos.
“I wouldn’t say it was important for us to have the first-round pick this year,” he said. “The important thing was to get a first-round pick and then, something. But it’s nice to have a first-round pick. We’re going to get a good player that can compete for playing time. We got (RT) Ryan Ramczyk at 32 (in 2017), right? So we can get a good player there. And he stepped in right away and played at a really high level. They’re available, and our scouting staff has done a great job of finding those guys and our coaches have done a great job of developing them.”
- 8News Now writes Saints RB Alvin Kamara, along with Bengals CB Chris Lammons and two others, appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom on Thursday and plead not guilty to battery charges stemming from a February 2022 incident outside of a nightclub. A jury trial is now set for July 31.
- Pittsburgh RB Israel Abanikanda had a formal Combine interview with the Saints, among other teams. (Ryan Fowler)
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