INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 My first full day at the combine\u2019s winding down. Here\u2019s what we got \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Browns\u2019 willingness to give Deshaun Watson a go is logical, even with how poorly the 2022 trade to get him has gone. And the reasons are largely a matter of simple economics.<\/p>\n
Cleveland owes Watson $46 million this year. The quarterback\u2019s getting that $46 million one way or the other\u2014and if the Browns were to cut him neither he nor his new team would be compelled to do a deal with him at more than the league minimum, and stick Cleveland with the remainder. So with that in mind, and with a new staff getting a fresh set of eyes on Watson, and Watson potentially fighting for his career, it makes sense to give a healthy 30-year-old three-time Pro Bowl quarterback a good long look this offseason.<\/p>\n
It\u2019d be different, by the way, if the Browns were drafting a quarterback with the sixth overall pick, which would create a scenario where you\u2019d want to clear the decks for the young guy. Based on the makeup of this year\u2019s quarterback class, that isn\u2019t happening. So instead, Todd Monken will try to do with Watson what Kevin Stefanski couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
And if it doesn\u2019t work out, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ve lost much that wasn\u2019t already gone. Which, I think, is why both Monken and GM Andrew Berry have left that door open this week.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Colts are in a fascinating spot with quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Alec Pierce\u2014and it\u2019s not dissimilar to the place the Giants were with Jones three years ago.<\/p>\n
Like Indy this year, New York went into the 2023 offseason with its quarterback and a high-profile skill guy, Saquon Barkley, both up. Jones\u2019s camp deftly used the leverage at hand, knowing that the Giants had to tag one or the other, to push a four-year, $160 million deal for for the quarterback across the finish line that March. You know the rest. Jones didn\u2019t wind up being the long-term answer. Barkley played on the tag and left.<\/p>\n
So what can the Colts take from that? Perhaps the lesson is that they\u2019d be better off letting Jones test the market and work off that then leverage the franchise tag number into a new contract. The quarterback number, by the way, will likely land around $48 million, and working off that, if Indy didn\u2019t tag Jones, you\u2019d be looking at a deal over $50 million per year.<\/p>\n
Personally, I think that would be an overpay, all things considered. What I\u2019d rather do, and this is just me, is try to get Jones done at around what Sam Darnold got in Seattle, and then tag Pierce at around $28 million and work with him on a new deal (which, for what it\u2019s worth, would probably me saying goodbye to reliable slot receiver Josh Downs next year).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Patriots coach Mike Vrabel\u2019s comments on A.J. Brown as a person on Wednesday more or less confirmed what we already know\u2014that the coach loves his former Titans receiver.<\/p>\n
Would New England trade for him? There are a few things to consider. Brown turns 29 in June, has a lot of tread on the tires, saw his numbers dip in 202, and has an existing knee condition that is what led Vrabel\u2019s Titans to deal him away in the first place, four years ago (though that one wasn\u2019t really Vrabel\u2019s call). Which is to say, yes, Brown is a really, really good player, but Vrabel knows the good and bad.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s where Stefon Diggs comes in. It\u2019s hard to imagine the Patriots having two aging, expensive star receivers with that level of injury history on the roster together. So then, the question is this: Would you rather give up draft picks and pay Brown $29 million? Or stand pat and give Diggs $22.5 million? And beyond that, how long will either guy last as a top-level receiver beyond 2026? It\u2019ll be interesting to see how that plays out.<\/p>\n
\u2022 While we\u2019re on the trade market, one thing that should be noted is that Raiders star Maxx Crosby\u2019s contract is very, very tradeable. He\u2019s due, in cash, $30.8 million this year, $29.8 next year, $27.3 million in 2028 and $28.2 million in \u201829. In an environment where Micah Parsons just got $46 million per, that\u2019d be an excellent price for some teams, presuming Crosby wouldn\u2019t immediately demand contract correction upon a trade\u2019s execution.<\/p>\n
Crosby turns 29 in August, and is the type of worker and competitor that would fit into any program and defensive scheme, which is why I\u2019d expect the market for him to be robust.<\/p>\n
And that leads us to the other key here: The Raiders don\u2019t even have to shop him, the calls should come in organically. It\u2019d also be wise for them to be transparent with him on all that, after the way things blew up at the end of December over his knee injury.<\/p>\n
\u2022 One of the more relevant developments of the combine to this point is what Ohio State star Arvell Reese said Wednesday\u2014and more specifically how he sees himself going forward.<\/p>\n
“Teams have pretty much been asking me what I want to do to see where my mind was at. I’ve been telling them I think I’m an outside linebacker\/edge,” Reese said. “I haven’t even scratched the surface with really what I can do pass rushing.”<\/p>\n
He\u2019s right, by the way. It\u2019s probably where his greatest potential is, both in the impact he can make and earning power he\u2019ll have as a pro, and he\u2019s still very green at that spot\u2014having filled a bigger need in the Buckeye defense the last couple years off the ball, first as a rotational player for the national champions in 2024, and then as a star this past fall.<\/p>\n