NFL Watch: Post Super Bowl Headlines
Whats Happened Since The Patriots Won LIII?
Its been almost two weeks since New England won a surprisingly defensive sixth championship against L.A. Rams. The game ended in a 13-3 victory with Julian Edleman being named MVP after catching 10 balls for over 140 yards. Rookie Sony Michel scored the lone touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter after Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski marched down the field.
The biggest game of the year boiled down to a chess match between Bill Belichick and Wade Phillips on defense, and perhaps the greatest coach of all time prevailed.
Top Storylines
Antonio Brown: Brown didn’t waste any time letting the Pittsburgh Steelers know where he stood with the team after the season. On Tuesday Brown took to Twitter to announce he was officially moving on from the franchise after the team drafted him nine years ago.
Brown will undoubtedly be one of the most sought after players this offseason. The veteran has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in seven of his nine seasons and is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. It’s too early to pinpoint which team the star will sign with, because the Steelers need to decide if they are trading or releasing Brown. The only thing for certain is that his contract will be a hefty one.
Kareem Hunt: The former Chiefs running back had an explosive rookie season and continued that success into his second year. But an off the field investigation where Hunt was on video assaulting a women led to his release from Kansas City. This week Hunt signed with the Cleveland Browns.
The move doesn’t guarantee anything for the young rusher, as he is still on the NFL commissioners exempt list. That means he is suspended indefinitely until the NFL gathers all the facts and conducts their own investigation. For now, Hunt joins a backfield that is already crowded with Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson Jr. The move is a good one for the Browns given there is tremendous upside to the deal with little backlash if it falls through.
Kyler Murray: The Heisman Trophy winner out of Oklahoma has been in the middle of a tug of war between the MLB and NFL for the last few months. This week Murray put the flattering decision to rest.
To the dismay of baseball fans, Murray followed in the footsteps of NFL greats like Tom Brady and Russell Wilson and picked the MLB over the NFL. Murray is expected to be a top 10 draft pick with the potential to be selected number one overall. The young star has a bright future ahead of him in the NFL regardless of where he goes in the draft.
The decision however did shed some bad light on the MLB. The league let yet another star two-way player head to the NFL because football simply pays players more money early in their career. NFL rookie contracts — especially for first rounders like Murray — earn five times more money than rookie MLB contracts. Baseball must reevaluate their draft model if they want to compete with the NFL financially.
Alliance of American Football: A new football league debuted this winter, with the hopes of bringing football back to the fans. The AAF plays its season during the offseason of the NFL and is made up of players who either had short stints in the NFL or came close.
The league has already managed to land some big names, with former Titans and Rams coach Jeff Fisher heading the league’s football strategy office and Steve Spurrier head coaching the Orlando Apollos. The new challenger to the NFL has began with the most success since Vince McMahon’s “No rules league,” the XFL.
The AAF is a long way from turning heads away from the NFL but has earned the right to air for three hours once a week… which is a pretty good start.
