Front Office NFL Chat
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Sam Robinson
1:03
Hey everyone, Week 2 coming fast. Let's get going!
TD-Machine
1:18
Will the Bucs get buyer's remorse with Mayfield if he keeps having issues with turnovers?
Sam Robinson
1:18
Hey TD-Machine, yes would be the clear answer there, but we shouldn't overreact to Week 1 just yet. The Bucs did not have good options at QB, giving Mayfield leverage.

Tampa Bay, in all likelihood, will not have a high draft pick in 2027 -- thanks in large part to Mayfield's presence -- and the FA market is not going to (per usual) bring a long-term option. Mayfield is better than what the Bucs could have gotten on the market next year, and his play -- when healthy and with his offense healthy -- warranted a deal.

The Bucs have probably signed up for at least two more years here. Mayfield's 2027 salary is fully guaranteed, and a $20MM 2028 roster bonus is due on Day 5 of the '27 league year.

A $22MM-per-year raise is significant, but I'm not going to panic just yet. Mayfield remains in his prime and will have a much better chance at success compared to 2025 due to his own health and his offense's.
Roger
1:27
Hi Sam. I'm surprised the Colts haven't extended Q. Nelson. What do you think will happen with him? Thanks.
Sam Robinson
1:27
Hi Roger, I am a bit surprised as well. I view him as a more important piece than Taylor long term, especially as the Colts now rely on an injury-prone QB and have three rookie-deal salaries elsewhere on their O-line.

The deals for Jones and Pierce (and the Gardner contract brought in) offer complications, but I also think the Tyler Linderbaum deal changed things for Indy here.

There is now a $27MM-per-year center contract, and even after the Titans' Peter Skoronski extension, it is the top IOL deal. Nelson is far more proven than Skoronski, and his accomplishments outpace Linderbaum's. Nelson is justified in asking to top Linderbaum's AAV.

I think team and player work something out without a tag being necessary; Nelson is all that's left from Ballard's big 2018 draft. Because all O-linemen are grouped together on the tag, it would be a $30MM-plus hit. That gives Nelson leverage, even though tags for both 30-somethings and interior O-linemen are both rare.
Bengals defense
1:35
If the Bengals can stay strong (or at least average) on defense, do you see them as legitimate contenders?
Sam Robinson
1:35
Absolutely. Cincy's mid-2020s defensive decline has been one of the NFL's top storylines, though it only really affected the team's contender status in 2024 (as the Burrow injuries in '23 and '25 sank them anyway).

Burrow's health is obviously the most important component to Bengals success, but they rightfully threw just about all their offseason resources at defense.

They overpaid in terms of trade cost for Lawrence, but I like the player and his team-friendly extension. They are suddenly deep, with Jonathan Allen here too, at DT; the Mafe and Cashius Howell adds provide more depth -- even compared to the Hendrickson-led group entering 2025 -- than they had. It's a bit odd career special-teamer Jalen Davis (at 30 and on a $100K guarantee) is the slot CB, and they have seen injury issues come up at their perimeter CB spots too.

While I'm not totally sold yet, Week 1 was encouraging. An average defense makes the Bengals a surefire contender, so long as Burrow is available.
Packers losing streak
1:44
The Packers have now lost six games in a row. Are injuries and the Jacobs situation enough of an excuse, or would big changes be in order soon?
Sam Robinson
1:44
It is getting a bit weird in Green Bay. I liked how the passing attack looked for three-ish quarters Sunday -- well-defined WR roles, at long last -- but I am pretty surprised they showed this much confidence in MarShawn Lloyd (who is now 2-for-35 in NFL games played) as Jacobs' backup.

I do think the Parsons injury is a good excuse, but why didn't they bring in more help to accompany Van Ness (who appeared on the fifth-year option bubble thanks to a rocky three-year start)?

The Pack extended Gutekunst and LaFleur in January, so no changes are coming soon. The Packers have also given HCs plenty of time in modern NFL history (before Mike McCarthy, Mike Sherman got six years).

This is trending downward to start LaFleur's eighth year, but the organization still clearly believes in the HC/play-caller and his 6-for-7 playoff rate. I'm just a bit iffy on how they proceeded this offseason to address the EDGE and RB situations.
Nitschke
1:53
What running backs are available for trade?
Sam Robinson
1:53
Based on the identity here, going to assume this is Packer-related...

The Cardinals would assuredly move James Conner at this point, but he is on short-term IR and will have missed more than a year by the time he's return-eligible. The Giants would listen on Tyrone Tracy based on his shaky preseason and pre-Harbaugh arrival. Singletary is clearly ahead of the former starter now.

When Charbonnet returns, the Seahawks COULD be open to giving the Packers Emanuel Wilson back. AJ Dillon is Carolina's RB3, though he is pretty far removed from his productive years.

If/when the Titans are non-contenders, Tony Pollard is a name to watch. He is in the final season of a three-year deal. Backup Tyjae Spears is in a contract year as well. Both were acquired by Ran Carthon. Both Dolphins backups (Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordon) arrived before the new regime got there as well.

The Packers already made a trade, though, so I'm not sure they do anything else soon at RB via trade. They will see how Kaleb Johnson looks first
Jordan
2:01
Both LA teams will miss the playoffs. Hot take based on one week or plausible?
Sam Robinson
2:01
Hi Jordan, pretty hot. The Rams' infrastructure is too good to be too worried about. The 49ers have also won more than they've lost in this rivalry in the Shanahan-McVay years. I'm not too concerned about L.A. in the long term, even with Garrett running into real injury trouble for the first time since his rookie year.

There is just too much talent -- both on the roster and the sideline -- to worry about the Rams just yet. The Chargers certainly were handed the more concerning loss, but their infrastructure is solid as well. We should, however, monitor the Bolts' defensive form; Jesse Minter did a lot with mostly minimal investments there.

The Bolts' interior O-line (again) is concerning, as a veteran backup (Awosika), a rookie (Jake Slaughter) and a still-unproven first-rounder (Cole Strange) are in place for a team that played most of last year without starting tackles. They also installed a new offense. I'm giving it time, but they are much more vulnerable than the Rams re: playoffs.
Sam Robinson
2:01
We'll wrap there for today. Thanks for the questions, everyone. Enjoy Lions-Bills and the rest of Week 2!
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