This league is never short of thrill. Regular season, postseason, offseason. All bring surprises. The NFL is consistently turned on its head with stunning developments.
What’s next?
Let’s look at four stories that may seem far-fetched but could rock professional football in the months to come.
‘I’m Not Opposed to It’
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That’s what Tom Brady had to say when asked about a potential comeback on Shadow Lion’s DeepCut podcast last week.
“I don’t know if they’re gonna let me,” he added, “if I become an owner of an NFL team, but I don’t know if—I don’t know, I’m always gonna be in good shape, (I’ll) always be able to throw the ball. So to come in for a little bit, like M.J. coming back? I don’t know if they’d let me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
The 46-year-old had a smirk on his face, but can we really rule anything out with him?
Yeah, he alluded to the fact that could become complicated by his bid to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. But that ain’t official yet, and nothing says he couldn’t potentially suit up for the Raiders themselves at some point in 2024!
Brady tossed 25 touchdowns to just nine interceptions in a serviceable final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022. He isn’t likely to carry a team to the Super Bowl at this point, but he’s made a life out of defying the odds and anything’s possible in the right spot during a short stretch.
At the very least, a Brady return would generate borderline T-Swift-level buzz for a stretch in 2024.
Chicago Bears Pass on Caleb Williams
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At this point, this seems extremely unlikely. At the very least, the Bears appear set to keep the top pick this time around. And you won’t find many mock drafts that have them taking somebody not named Caleb Williams.
But that’s not set in stone yet.
Williams may seem like too good of a prospect to be passed on, but he isn’t the top quarterback prospect on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department’s big board (it’s Drake Maye), and there has been a lot of love lately for LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
It’s also still possible somebody will fall in love with Williams (or whoever else) so much that they’ll make the Bears an offer they can’t refuse. Keep in mind that Chicago can still navigate the first-round draft board for another elite quarterback and that the draft has typically been a quarterback crapshoot anyway.
If by chance Ryan Poles and the Bears front office decide to shock the world by going in a non-Williams direction in a week, the team will spend the next few years trying to prove to the football world that it didn’t overthink and pass on a generational player, all while said player will do his best to make the team regret its decision.
A Dak Prescott Trade
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Dak Prescott has a no-trade clause and is due more than $55 million in 2024, making a trade unlikely at this stage. But the team does not appear motivated to sign him to a long-term deal, the roster has gotten worse this offseason, and it’s entirely possible both sides will decide enough is enough this year.
Players with seemingly unmovable contracts are moved all the time. Just look at Russell Wilson this offseason and Aaron Rodgers last offseason.
And if a team with strong 2024 draft capital believes it can get the best out of the league’s 2023 MVP runner-up and is better off going that expensive route than the mysterious draft route, it could make the Cowboys an offer that causes Jerry Jones and Co. to decide to abandon 2024 in favor of the long-term future.
Who makes sense in that regard? We’re looking squarely at the always-unpredictable Raiders, along with the potentially desperate Vikings ahead of a walk year for superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals Swap Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray
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This is one of those deals that feels like it could make sense because neither team has much to lose, and both might hope that a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered for a highly drafted, highly paid young quarterback.
Both the Cardinals and Giants have had just one winning season since Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones came on board in the first round of the 2019 draft,
Murray is more expensive (his contract averages $46.1 million per year compared to $40.0 million for Jones), but the former No. 1 pick is also a two-time Pro Bowler (Jones was drafted sixth and has never been a Pro Bowler). You get what you pay for.
It would be interesting to see what offensive coordinator Mike Kafka could get out of Murray in the Giants offense, and what a fresh setting could do for both quarterbacks at age 26. Plus, Murray would be a show in the Big Apple and the league’s most high-profile division.