Jerry Jones said it best—and apparently said it for many—when he summed up the Dallas Cowboys’ disappointment in the playoffs in January with a warning: “We all know how it goes in the NFL. Everything is arranged in such a way as to take away the best and add to what needs to be improved.”
We can dispute anything “best” in this analysis, but it is clear that Jones was making a broader point. Good lineups end up losing good players and in some cases great players. And it seems to happen a lot this offseason with three rosters locked in the highest quarterback salaries. Specifically, the Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers.
All three of these teams are less talented today than when they were each knocked out of the playoffs last season. All three also have quarterbacks who rank in the top five in terms of average annual cost and a percentage of the salary cap earmarked for QBs. This week, Aaron Rodgers’ AAV is number one in the league with 26.1% of Green Bay’s total, while Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is third with 23.3% and Cowboys quarterback Duck Prescott is fifth. from 20.7%.
This leaves teams with choices to make with their lineups, and this results in a sliding scale of talent drain on the depth chart. Some of this will directly affect the trio of quarterbacks. Consider exhaustion among them.
Let’s start with Mahomes, who lost the most dynamic and capable player he ever played with when the Chiefs traded Tyreke Hill to the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday. It was ultimately a cash scam for Kansas City as the Chiefs refused to pay Hill a market deal similar to the one the Las Vegas Raiders had without Davante Adams. (We will approach him in a moment.)
Aside from swapping one quarterback (Charvarius Ward) for another (Justin Reed), the Chiefs have been largely inactive in free roam thanks to multiple contracts that have forced the franchise to look for bargains rather than bargains. With Hill now off the list, a cap spot will allow Kanas City to maneuver a little more freely and have some draft capital to fill in the holes. But that comes at the cost of a high price for Hill, whose exit would rob Mahomes and the offensive scheme of a hugely talented player.
The story goes on
Patrick Mahomes lost to Tyreke Hill on Wednesday, and he’s not the only high-paid quarterback around whom talent has dwindled this offseason. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This probably sounds familiar to fans in Green Bay who saw Adams essentially force a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders after he got the franchise and then went through some frustratingly slow contract negotiations. While the Packers were ostensibly willing to match Adams’ massive contract offer from the Raiders (which is, frankly, unknown even if the Packers claim it), the bottom line is that money and constraint considerations have created a space for exchange.
Like Mahomes, this leaves Rodgers without a multiple All-Pro wide receiver on the first team. Like the Chiefs, the Packers have been largely inactive, having lost pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and potentially seeing young broad-shouldered Marques Valdez-Scantling go. On Tuesday, the Packers managed to add Jarran Reed to the center of the defensive line. Not coincidentally, their flexibility in pursuing him was helped by the pay hole left by Adams.
Finally, you have Prescott, who witnessed the departure of Amari Cooper (who turned down a pay cut and was traded) and forward Lael Collins (who also turned down a pay cut and was released), along with the loss of free agent wide-open Cedric Wilson and winger rusher Randy Gregory. Security guard Connor Williams could technically be added to this mix, although Dallas planned to let him go.
However, it’s a lot of parts and very few can be replaced. The talented Dallas roster now needs a highly influential draft class, as well as a few free agents to help.
Mind you, none of this is to blame a trio of quarterbacks for lineup losses. Particularly in the case of Adams and Hill, who are unlikely to appear in camp for the Packers and Chiefs without making new top-level deals. Or Prescott, for that matter, given the few less-than-perfect contracts the Cowboys had signed in previous offseasons (see: Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott) that were problematic when compared to scoring. Not to mention, Gregory actually left Dallas with a bad taste in his mouth because of the wording of the contract and some of the things that happened during the negotiations.
All three quarterbacks had extenuating circumstances related to talents they had no control over. But it also highlights the greater importance for franchises as we approach the deeper waters of the wage cap. Teams with the highest paid quarterbacks will struggle when other elite-level players on their roster become free agents and, like their quarterbacks, don’t tend to discount heavily. That’s how you reach the tipping point with Adams and Hill – both of them would have stayed at home this offseason if their respective franchises were in talks for record pay at wide receiver positions.
When Adams did not receive such an offer, a rift formed between him and the organization, which eventually led to a deal. A cascading impact followed as Hill’s negotiations with the Chiefs were derailed by a deal Adams made after his trade. So a money problem with one guy led to a trade and a new colossal contract that eventually led to a money problem for another player elsewhere.
This is just the beginning. Eventually, Cleveland will have its own salary cap issues brought on by a five-year, $230 million deal with Deshawn Watson. Same for the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen. Even the Los Angeles Rams, who have gone from salary cap hell to seemingly not believing in the existence of a salary cap, will be busy with Aaron Donald’s adjusted contract along with cornerback Jalen Ramsey (get ready for this next offseason). and then sign a contract. expansion talks with Cooper Krupp, the starting point of which is already launched into the stratosphere.
It is expected that the limit will increase significantly in the future, and many players will strive to make maximum transactions in almost every position on the field. And that will create some interesting offseasons for franchises with a $40 million quarterback pay scale (which, by the way, will hit $50 million a season in the blink of an eye).
This will lead to more offseasons like this, where the best and richest teams turn into frustrated and confused teams. Tough decisions will be made. Register losses will be incurred. And some of the best quarterbacks in the game will see talent being cut around them to make room for more economical choices. During the off-season, it was the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Packers. In the coming years it will be Rams, Bills and others.
Since we seem to be re-learning every off-season, you can only give what the best players need before you start taking away from the team around them.