Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I think every front office in the NFL took Thursday off to watch the first day of the NCAA Tournament, because it was a slow day around the league. However, we never have any slow days here, which means we have a loaded newsletter coming your way.
Not only do we have some winners and losers from the second week of free agency, but we’re also going to take a look at some of the most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball, plus it seems that Nashville wants to host an upcoming Super Bowl and we’ll be covering the details of that.
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. NFL winners and losers after the second week of free agency
Now that we’re about to wrap up the second full week of free agency, it’s time to judge every team on how they did and to make that happen, we had Garrett Podell come up with some winners and losers from the first two weeks combined.
WINNERS
- The Bengals offense: “Joe Burrow put on his general manager hat this offseason and spoke to anyone who would listen about how the franchise needed to re-sign both of his top two wide receivers: Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He got his wish, and his boys got paid with Chase (four years, $161 million with $112 million guaranteed) and Higgins (four years, $115 million) each signing four-year deals. The offensive fireworks will continue in Cincinnati.”
- Jayden Daniels: “The Commanders acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers to give Daniels a capable No. 2 receiver opposite Terry McLaurin. They also acquired five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil in a trade from the Houston Texans to shore up Daniels’ blind side. And they also re-signed Daniels’ red zone security blanket in tight end Zach Ertz. Continuity is hard to possess in the NFL, but Daniels has it while other key parts of his offense improved.”
LOSERS
- Free agent running backs: “None of the running backs to actually hit the open market got paid this offseason, and Aaron Jones was the only pending free agent this offseason to receive a sizeable contract. A year after it appeared the running back market might be back thanks to Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, the free agency market was financially barren for the 2025 class at the position.”
- Cowboys: “The Dallas Cowboys are still scared to make big moves in free agency despite having the cap space to do so. They either re-signed most of their own guys, or they went bargain-bin hunting, mostly on ex-first-round picks who haven’t hit in their previous stops.”
We’ve also been tracking free agent grades all week and we’ve got more of those here.
2. NFL free agency: Most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball
In Thursday’s newsletter, we covered the most intriguing free agency signings on the defensive side of the ball, so today, we’re going to flip things around and look at the most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball.
Jared Dubin went over every signing that’s been made since the start of free agency and came up with eight intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball. We’re going to take a look at three of those below:
- Justin Fields to the Jets. “He also has some better weapons in New York (Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall) than he did in Chicago or Pittsburgh, so that could take his game to another level.”
- Davante Adams to the Rams. “Adams has played in this style of offense before during his time in Green Bay, and he can be both the prototypical X receiver and the guy who moves around the formation and forces defenses into uncomfortable situations. Pairing him with Puka Nacua and giving Matthew Stafford a different kind of weapon than he had with Cooper Kupp is going to be really cool to watch.”
- Jaylon Moore to the Chiefs. “The Chiefs going out and paying Moore — who has been a backup throughout his entire four-year career — to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side is, technically, really interesting. Maybe not in a good way. But it’s definitely something to which we need to devote a lot of attention. … Moore has given up 36 pressures on 446 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, an 8.1% pressure rate. That’s … not great. Kansas City is betting on some major improvement.”
If you want to see Dubin’s full list, you can check it out here.
3. Top 10 free agents left on the market: Five defensive players and five offensive players crack the list
With the second week of free agency now coming to a close, you might be wondering who’s still left on the market and as it turns out, there’s still quite a few good players out there.
With that in mind, let’s check out the top 10 players who are still available:
1. QB Aaron Rodgers
2. QB Russell Wilson
3. CB Rasul Douglas
4. WR Amari Cooper
5. DE Calais Campbell
6. CB Asante Samuel Jr.
7. WR Stefon Diggs
8. S Justin Simmons
9. RB J.K. Dobbins
10. LB Kyzir White
Last Friday, this list included Cam Robinson, Mekhi Becton, Teven Jenkins and Azeez Ojulari, but all four of those guys were signed this week, so we’ve got several new players in our top 10. If someone from this list signs over the weekend, you can get all the details here in our top 100 tracker.
4. Three-round mock draft: Browns take a QB at the top of the second round
As you get ready to head into the weekend, we have a mock draft that might take you all weekend to read: NFL Draft guru Chris Trapasso has unveiled his first THREE-ROUND mock of the year. For the past month, we’ve only been covering the first round in our mock drafts, but today, we’re taking a look at the first THREE rounds.
With that in mind, let’s check out the first 10 picks in the second round of Trapasso’s mock, which includes the Browns taking a QB with the first pick of the round:
33. Browns: QB Jaxson Dart Ole Miss
34. Giants: EDGE Mike Green (Marshall)
35. Ravens (via Rams via Titans): DT Tyleik Williams (Ohio State)
36. Broncos: RB Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)
37. Vikings: S Xavier Watts (Notre Dame)
38. Patriots: OT Cameron Williams (Texas)
39. Bears: RB Caleb Johnson (Iowa)
40. Chiefs: OT Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon)
41. Bears: WR Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)
42. Jets: DT Deone Walker (Kentucky)
There are a total of 102 picks in the first three rounds and if you want to see how they all pan out, you can check out the rest of Trapasso’s mock draft here.
For more draft coverage, you can hear Ryan Wilson every week on “With the First Pick,” our year-round NFL Draft podcast here at CBS Sports. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
5. Nashville aiming to host the Super Bowl in 2029
The Super Bowl has never been played in Nashville, but that could be changing before the end of the decade. The state of Tennessee is making a push to bring the NFL’s biggest game to Music City.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Tennessee governor sends letter to Roger Goodell. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee sent a “letter of interest” to the NFL to let the league know that he’d like to see the Super Bowl played in Nashville. “I am writing in support of efforts for Nashville to be the host city for the next available Super Bowl in 2029. As Tennessee’s capital and a dynamic global hub, the city of Nashville is uniquely positioned to welcome the NFL for a memorable and successful event,” Lee wrote in the letter.
- Why Tennessee is aiming for 2029. The next three Super Bowls are already spoken for with San Francisco (Super Bowl LX in February 2026), Los Angeles (Super Bowl LXI in February 2027) and Atlanta (Super Bowl LXII in February 2028) set to host. The next Super Bowl that will be up for grabs is Super Bowl LXIII in February 2029 and that’s the one Lee is aiming to get.
- Why Nashville will almost certainly be getting a Super Bowl at some point. The city is building a new $2.1 billion stadium that’s scheduled to open in February 2027. Over the past 20 years, any time a city has built a new stadium, that city has eventually gotten to host at least one Super Bowl. Nine stadiums have opened since 2005 and each of those nine have all hosted at least one, including MetLife Stadium in New York. A stadium has to have been open for at least one full season before it can host a Super Bowl, so hosting in 2029 would actually be the earliest Nashville’s new stadium could host the NFL’s biggest game.
Back in May, Roger Goodell was asked about the chances of Nashville eventually getting the NFL’s biggest game. “I think a Super Bowl here would be very successful,” Goodell said of the Tennessee capital. “But we’ll get to that once we get a little further down the line with the stadium.”
Nashville will be one of the favorites to land the Super Bowl in February 2029, along with Las Vegas. If the Music City doesn’t land Super Bowl LXIII, it will almost certainly be getting a game soon after that.
6. Extra points: 49ers GM says his team actually has a plan
It’s been a busy 24 hours 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.
- John Lynch opens up about 49ers offseason. The 49ers have blown up their roster this offseason with nine different starters leaving the team. Despite those losses, Lynch still says the 49ers have “some big things coming our way.” Apparently, there is a plan and that plan is to rebuild through the draft. “We’ve got this thing called the draft, and we’ve got a lot of picks,” Lynch said. “And I think the thing the fans should know is we have a plan. And we’re gonna execute that plan.” The problem with that plan is that all your picks have to be home runs and there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen. You can read more about Lynch’s comments here.
- Michael Gallup comes out of retirement to sign with Commanders. The former Cowboys receiver, who abruptly retired just before the start of training camp last year after signing a deal with the Raiders, is now back in the NFL after inking a one-year deal in Washington. Gallup spent his previous six seasons with the Cowboys (2018-23) before sitting out 2024. We’ve got more details on his situation here.
- Browns sign Teven Jenkins. The former Bears offensive lineman was one of the best guards left on the market and he’s now headed to Cleveland. In four seasons with the Bears, Jenkins started a total of 38 games on the offensive line, including 14 last season. Although he was drafted as a tackle, Jenkins has predominantly been a guard over the past three seasons. The Browns already have Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio at their guard spots, so it will be interesting to see where Cleveland puts him. The Seahawks and Bengals had also shown some interested in Jenkins.
- Chiefs hold on to Charles Omenihu. The Chiefs defensive end is returning to Kansas City for a third season after signing a one-year deal that’s worth up to $7 million, according to ESPN. Omenihu had a career-high seven sacks in 2023, but he missed the first 11 games of the 2024 season due to a torn ACL that he suffered in the 2023 AFC title game.
- Tee Higgins took a team-friendly deal. Higgins’ four-year deal only includes $30 million in true guarantees and he also has $8 million tied to staying healthy. For every game he’s on the active roster, he’ll get a bonus and he can earn up to $2 million per year. PFT has the full breakdown here and it’s definitely an interesting contract. Higgins grew up as a Bengals fan and that might have been why he was willing to leave a little bit of money on the table (He still got paid, but he probably could have made much more by playing on the franchise tag in 2025 and hitting free agency next year).
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Author: John Breech
March 21, 2025 | 1:35 pm
