Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
It is somehow already the final day of February, which means free agency is right around the corner, but before we can get there, we have to make it through the NFL Scouting Combine. If you love the combine, then I have some good news for you: It is going to be on television ALL WEEKEND. The NFL Network will be airing an absurd amount of combine coverage over the next few days with six hours scheduled for today (3-9 p.m. ET), eight hours scheduled for Saturday (1-9 p.m. ET) and four more hours scheduled for Sunday (1-5 p.m. ET).
We’ll also be covering the combine all weekend on CBS Sports HQ, and you can check out our live coverage by clicking here. We’ll also be talking about the combine in today’s newsletter. By the way, with so many players sitting out of the combine, we decided to start tracking every player who won’t be working out this week and you can see that full list here, which now includes Cam Ward, who won’t be throwing in Indianapolis.
As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
1. Chiefs have big day: Travis Kelce set to return; K.C. becomes first team to use franchise tag in 2025
The Chiefs had two big questions going into the offseason and they both got answered on Thursday. The first question was whether Travis Kelce would retire and the second question was whether Trey Smith would end up leaving in free agency. The Chiefs got good news on both ends.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Kelce returning for his 13th season. After mulling things over for nearly three weeks, Kelce finally decided that he’s going to keep playing. The Chiefs star tight end announced that he would be returning in a tweet that his podcast sent out. In a text to Pat McAfee, the 35-year-old Kelce said that losing the Super Bowl left “a real bad taste in my mouth.” Although Kelce had a down year by his standards in 2024, he was still incredibly productive: He caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. To put his receptions total in perspective, no one else on the team caught more than 60 passes last season. You can read more about Kelce’s return here.
- Chiefs use franchise tag on Trey Smith. It took nine days, but the first franchise tag of the 2025 offseason has finally been used and the Chiefs used it on Smith. The Chiefs’ starting right guard was set to hit free agency, but that won’t be happening now that he’s been tagged. Smith has started 67 games for the Chiefs since being drafted by Kansas City with a sixth-round pick in 2021.
- The tag is big money for Smith. The franchise tag means that Smith will now become the highest-paid guard in NFL history. The one-year tag means that Smith will make a fully guaranteed $23.4 million in 2025, which moves him ahead of Landon Dickerson for the title of highest-paid guard (The Eagles offensive lineman makes $21 million per year). The high price of the franchise tag is one reason why no one knew if the Chiefs were actually going to tag Smith, but in the end, they decided he was worth the money.
You can get the full details on the Chiefs’ franchise tag situation here.
2. Combine roundup: Handing out grades after the first day of drills
The first day of real action went down at the combine on Thursday with defensive linemen and linebackers taking center stage. Those two position groups were the first ones to hit the field this week and after watching them work out, CBSSports.com draft gurus Josh Edwards and Chris Trapasso decided to grade their performances.
Here are some of the grades that they handed out:
- EDGE James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee): A. “Everything about Pearce’s workout was fantastic — except his 31-inch vertical. Sure, he has a frame built to run fast — which he did with a 4.47-second 40-yard dash — yet at least he met the expectations at more than 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds. The 1.56-second 10-yard split is in the 93rd percentile at the position since 1999. It was an explosive workout for the Tennessee star, plus he looked ridiculously smooth in the on-field drills.” — Trapasso
- DL Derrick Harmon (Oregon): A. “Thursday was an opportunity for Harmon to assert himself as one of the top interior defenders in this draft class considering multiple peers opted not to participate. Harmon was consistently a top performer through the drills and also measured as one of the bigger bodies at the position.” — Edwards
- EDGE Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M): A+. “Stewart should’ve taken a bow after his workout. He couldn’t have done anything more to go viral, raise his stock, etc. Running 4.59 with a 40-inch vertical and a 1.58 10-yard split at close to 270 pounds is downright flabbergasting. Do not be surprised to see Stewart in the top 20 or even top 15 in mock drafts from here on out.”
You can check out all of our grades for the defensive linemen here and we’ve got our grades for the the pass rushers and linebackers here.
3. Travis Hunter landing spots: Teams that would make sense for the two-way player
The most intriguing prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft is definitely Travis Hunter. The two-way star played receiver and cornerback at Colorado and as he gets ready to enter the draft, it sounds like he’s planning on playing both positions in the NFL.
“They say, ‘Nobody has ever done it, for real, the way I do it,’ but I tell them, ‘I’m just different,'” Hunter said Thursday (You can check out his full comments here).
NFL teams can’t even agree on which position he should play with some pegging him as a receiver while others think he’d make a better corner.
With that in mind, let’s check out the top three potential landing spots for Hunter (via Jordan Dajani):
1. Giants (Third overall pick): “With the Giants, I would envision Hunter playing more cornerback, but there will be opportunities for Brian Daboll to utilize him on offense as well. Hunter is the kind of playmaker who can affect the game in all three phases. If the Giants swing a trade for Matthew Stafford or sign someone like Justin Fields, Hunter becomes even more of an intriguing option in New York.”
2. Patriots (Fourth overall pick). “I am fascinated to see what the Patriots do this offseason. They hired a preseason Coach of the Year favorite in Mike Vrabel, found a prospective franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, have nearly $130 million in projected cap space — which leads the NFL by a wide margin — and hold the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Like virtually every other team on this list, the Patriots have legitimate needs at both wide receiver and cornerback, which Hunter fits. However, unlike with other teams on this list, I would like to see Hunter play more wide receiver with New England.”
3. Jaguars (Fifth overall pick). “If Hunter fell to No. 5 overall, the Jaguars would have to take him. Jacksonville has a major need at cornerback, which is a reason why this defense ranked worst against the pass (257.4 passing yards allowed per game), and second worst in total yards (389.9 yards allowed per game) last year.”
Jordan listed a total of five landing spots for Hunter and you can check out all of them here.
4. Matthew Stafford trade rumors: Here’s the latest on the Rams quarterback
We started the week by talking about Matthew Stafford, so we might as well close the week by talking about Matthew Stafford. It seems that we’re inching toward a conclusion in the Stafford drama and it won’t be surprising at all if we learn his fate at some point over the next 72 hours.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Raiders and Giants are both in on the quarterback. At this point, there seems to be a two-horse race for Stafford with the Raiders and Giants both trying to land the Rams quarterback. According to The Athletic, both teams have discussed a contract with Stafford that would potentially including $90 million to $100 million in guarantees over two years.
- Stafford set to meet with the Rams. The Rams gave Stafford permission to speak with other teams so that he could gauge his market value and now that he has a good idea of what that value is, the next step is for the Rams to figure out whether they’re willing to pay him his value. According to The Athletic, Stafford is set to meet with the Rams on Friday and in that meeting, it’s a good bet that the two sides will make a final decision about Stafford’s future in Los Angeles.
- Sean McVay wants Stafford back, but at the right price. Right now, the Rams don’t seem interested in paying Stafford $50 million per year, but they do want him back. “The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?” Rams coach Sean McVay said recently when speaking about the Stafford situation on the Fitz & Whit podcast. “We had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong. And then ultimately you’re saying there’s a ton of interest because this guy is an incredible player.”
- What will actually happen? At this point, it seems like there are three options: The Rams meet Stafford’s asking price, the Rams trade him or the Rams talk Stafford into staying at a lower price than he wants. Option three might seem a little crazy, but if you’re the Rams, your argument is this: You get to play for a playoff contender and you don’t have to move your family to another city to start over with a new team at age 37. The Raiders and Giants are both coming off ugly seasons while the Rams are coming off a 2024 season where they won the NFC West title.
As I noted, the Stafford drama could certainly come to an end over the next 72 hours, but even if it doesn’t, it will be ending soon. All teams involved will need to know what’s happening before the start of free agency, so we will definitely know Stafford’s fate by March 12.
You can read the latest on the Stafford drama here.
5. Biggest free agency need for every AFC team
After going over the free agency needs for every NFC team on Thursday, we are back today to go over the needs for every AFC team. Jordan Dajani took a deep dive into the needs for each AFC team and here’s what he came up with for three different teams:
CHIEFS
Biggest need: OT
Cap space: $7.9 million
Outlook: “If it weren’t a question before Super Bowl Sunday, it is now. The Chiefs need to upgrade at offensive tackle. It doesn’t look like Wanya Morris or Kingsley Suamataia are long-term answers on the left side, and Joe Thuney needs to kick back inside.”
JETS
Biggest need: QB
Cap space: $23.9 million
Outlook: “The Jets are probably the forgotten team that will be perusing the quarterback market. New York made the decision to move on from Aaron Rodgers, so will this new-look leadership find a quarterback in the draft, or sign a player like Justin Fields or Jameis Winston?”
BENGALS
Biggest need: DL
Cap space: $61.9 million
Outlook: “The biggest goal for the Bengals this offseason is keeping Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson in the fold, but what other needs does Cincinnati need to address? It’s fair to say the performance of the defense held the Bengals out of the playoffs last year, so the biggest need resides either in the secondary or on the defensive line. We’ll lean to the defensive line since Hendrickson’s future is up in the air. On the interior, Cincinnati already released defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, then B.J. Hill, Joseph Ossai, Jay Tufele and Cameron Sample are all free agents looking for new contracts.”
If you want to see the needs for EVERY AFC team, you’ll have to check out Jordan’s full story here.
6. Extra points: Myles Garrett seems done with Cleveland
It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Garrett not open to a new contract. Despite his trade demand, there was a thought that Garrett might still be willing to return to Cleveland if the Browns threw enough money at him, but apparently, that’s not the case. According to Cleveland.com, Garrett is NOT interested in signing any sort of contract extension with the Browns. The Browns have insisted that they’re not going to trade him, but at this point, they might not have a choice. You can read the latest on Garrett here.
- NFL set salary cap at record number. Last week, the NFL revealed that the salary cap would be set somewhere between $277.5 million and $281.5 million, and now, we know what the official number will be. The league revealed on Thursday that salary cap for 2025 will be $279.5 million. The first year of the salary cap’s existence was in 1994 and the cap that year was just $34.6 million. For more on this year’s cap, be sure to check out our full story here.
- Buccaneers to reinstate Jon Gruden in Ring of Honor. The former Buccaneers coach was removed from the Ring of Honor in 2021 after he was found to be using misogynistic and homophobic language in emails that were leaked out to the The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The Bucs announced Thursday that Gruden will now be welcomed back in. “Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the team said in a statement. “Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
- Eagles poach college head coach. The Eagles have hired Scot Loeffler as their new QB coach. Loeffler spent the past six years as the head coach at Bowling Green. The 50-year-old Loeffler had led BGSU to a bowl game in each of the past three seasons, but now, he’ll be headed to Philly. His only other NFL coaching experience came in 2008 when he was the QB coach for the 0-16 Lions.
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Author: John Breech
February 28, 2025 | 2:10 pm
