There has been a lot of action in the off-season. Tom Brady would retire, only to come out of retirement 40 days later by telling people he had unfinished business on the field. Tampa Bay would then see their head coach suddenly retire and go to the front office for the team shortly after Brady’s return.
News stories coming from Tampa Bay would make you think you were playing a game in an online casino, where you never know what will happen next. However, Tampa isn’t getting all the headlines from the off-season in the NFL for 2022. There are plenty of trades, signings, and drama all over the NFL during this off-season.
Drama in Green Bay Forces a Trade of Epic Proportions
The Green Bay Packers would have been over the NFL cap going into the 2022 league season. In trying to get under the cap, the team released several key players from offense and defense. They also put a franchise tag on the NFL’s top receiver, Davante Adams, to keep him in Green Bay while they attempted to figure out their cap issues.
The move would prove to be a bad one, as Adams would threaten to not play for the Packers until he got a long-term deal. That long-term deal would come from the Las Vegas Raiders, not the Packers. There would be a trade between the Packers and Raiders, sending Adams to Vegas and two draft picks to Green Bay.
The move reunites Adams with his former quarterback from his college years at Fresno State. It also weakens the Packers offense who lost two offensive linemen and two additional receivers to free agency. To top it all off, Aaron Rodgers knew the team was trading his top receiver, yet he signed a three-year contract extension that pays him over $150 million.
Green Bay fans would be furious with Rodgers for taking the money and not stopping Adams from leaving. The fans think Rodgers played a role in the Packers losing Adams. However, Adams ultimately wanted to play with Derek Carr over Rodgers when it was all said and done.
Cleveland Browns Win the Deshaun Watson Sweepstakes
Last season saw the Houston Texans attempting to trade their star quarterback after he had criminal sexual assault allegations and charges on him. Those charges have been dismissed, which helped the Texans deal Watson to the Browns for draft capital. However, Watson isn’t out of the woods, meaning that winning the sweepstakes for Watson could end badly for the Browns.
Roger Goodell has announced that the NFL is investigating Watson over the allegations he had against him. That is due in part to the civil cases that Watson still faces. Goodell would say that the decision is out of his hands and offered nothing of what kind of punishment Watson could face in 2022.
If the investigation shows Watson violated NFL league policy, the Browns might be without a quarterback in 2022. So even though Watson is free from criminal charges, he could still face punishment by the NFL’s independent investigator into the allegations against him. The move that the Browns made with Watson also complicated things with their current starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield Wanted Out of Cleveland the Second He Heard They Met with Watson
Word travels fast in the NFL, and when Mayfield heard about his team meeting with Watson, he took to the internet to air out his feelings. He would also request a trade from the team, which they initially declined to do before they gained Watson from the Texans. The team seems more likely to make the trade now that he is with the Browns.
However, doing so could hurt the Browns in 2022 if Watson gets suspended for any amount of time. The Browns need to weigh their options carefully before making any trade of Mayfield this season. While they have Jacoby Brissett as backup, he doesn’t give the team the chance of winning like Mayfield would. All these things put the Browns 2022 season in jeopardy, as they don’t know what will happen with Watson as of now.
