Russell Wilson landing spots, plus details on players who could be franchise tagged on deadline day

With the NFL Combine officially in the books, we decided that today would be the perfect day to recap the entire event. For today’s episode of the Pick Six podcast, Will Brinson and I were joined by CBSSports.com NFL Draft guru Josh Edwards, who gave us the inside scoop on some of his favorite players from the combine. 

Here are three players who Edwards really liked: 

• QB Caleb Williams (USC). The quarterback didn’t throw and didn’t partake in drills, but Edwards still thinks he came away as a winner at the combine. “Most people thought he was kind of self-absorbed, a little emotional based on how he reacted postgame this year, I think he was a big winner because he was able to show his personality and answer the questions that were swirling about him this year.”
• WR Ricky Pearsall (Florida). “He did really well, looked really crisp in the drills. I thought he was going to run slower in the 40-yard dash, but he ended up running 4.41. Really consistent player who checked that box for me. I thought he did fantastic.”
• EDGE Jared Verse (Florida State). “I will say that Verse probably helped himself the most in my eyes. When you watch his tape, he’s a player who wins with power, started to show his best football down the stretch and then to come to Indianapolis and test the way he did, I thought was fantastic. He had a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical jump, he was testing very well. For me, knowing that he was a rusher built on power and then seeing those athletic numbers gave me a little more confidence when it comes to projecting him at the next level.”

If you want to hear Josh’s breakdown of all the players who impressed him, you can listen to our full show by clicking here. You can also watch today’s show on YouTube by clicking here.

In other combine news, Chris Trapasso made a list of all the prospects who might now be taken in the first round thanks to their performance at the combine. You can read Chris’ breakdown here. 

2. Franchise tag deadline is today: Here’s everything you need to know

The franchise tag window has been open for two weeks, but the deadline is finally here. Any team hoping to tag a player has to make the move by 4 p.m. ET today. 

If a team uses a tag on a player, the two sides will have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract. If a long-term deal can’t be hammered out, then the player will go into the 2024 season on a one-year deal that pays them at the franchise tag number for their position. 

Here’s a look at the players who have been tagged so far, along with their one-year franchise tag salary for 2024: 

Although that’s only three tags, that number could get bigger today. As we get closer to 4 p.m. ET, there should be a few more tags handed out. Here’s a look at players who are likely going to get tagged before the deadline: 

• Ravens: DT Justin Madubuike ($22.102 million). During the NFL Combine last week, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said the team would “probably” use the tag if it can’t reach a long-term deal with Madubuike. It’s hard to imagine the Ravens letting him walk, so look for the tag to get used if the deal doesn’t get done.  
• Colts: WR Michael Pittman Jr. ($21.816 million). Colts GM Chris Ballard said that the combine last week that Pittman would be staying in Indy one way or the other, which makes it sound like the team will definitely be tagging him if they don’t get a long-term deal done. 
• Jaguars: OLB Josh Allen ($24 million). Allen finished with 17.5 sacks last season, which was tied for the second-most in the NFL and it would be a total surprise if the Jags let him get away. 
• Bears: CB Jaylon Johnson ($19.8 million). Earlier this offseason, Bears GM Ryan Poles said that Johnson won’t be going “anywhere” in free agency, which makes it seems pretty clear that Poles will utilize the franchise tag if the two sides can’t hammer out a deal today. 
• Buccaneers: S Antoine Winfield, Jr ($17.123 million). The Tampa Bay Times reported in mid-February that Winfield would be tagged if a long-term deal didn’t get done and that still seems to be where we’re headed. 

One person who is NOT expected to be tagged is Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Although he was a candidate to get tagged, NFL.com has reported that the Dolphins have decided to let him test free agency. The Dolphins’ salary cap situation probably played a huge part in the decision. Miami is currently $31 million OVER the cap, according to Over the Cap, which means they have to slash that amount to get compliant by March 13. If they had tagged Wilkins, that’s $22 million more they would have had to slash on top of the $31 million. 

It’s also expected that we won’t see any running backs get tagged after seeing three of them get tagged last year. 

If you want to know who will end up getting tagged, then make sure to click here and bookmark our franchise tag tracker, which will list every player who gets tagged when the deadline hits at 4 p.m. ET. 

3. Ranking possible landing spots for Russell Wilson

After just two seasons, the Denver Broncos have decided to give up on Russell Wilson. The team announced on Monday that Wilson will be released once the new league year starts on March 13. 

The Broncos gave up five picks and two players to acquire Wilson in March 2022. They ended up paying him $124 million over the past two seasons and they got in return was an 11-19 record. 

Here are a few quick notes on Denver’s decision: 

• Broncos set to take largest dead cap hit in NFL history. By releasing Wilson, the Broncos will have to absorb a dead cap hit of $85 million. The only upside here is that the Broncos can make Wilson a post-June 1 cut, which will allow them to spread the hit out over two seasons. If they do that — and they’re expected to — the dead cap hit will be $35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025. Those will be two of the four largest dead cap hits in NFL history. 
• Wilson is allowed to seek a job now. The Broncos could have kept Wilson from talking to other teams until he was actually cut, but according to ESPN.com, he’s allowed to negotiate now, which means he’ll be getting a one-week jump on free agency. The Broncos owe Wilson $39 million in cash for 2024, but that will be offset with whatever amount he makes from a new team, so he might be motivated to sign for a low price just to stick it to the Broncos (If you’re wondering how offsets work: If Wilson signs a $2 million contract with another team, then the Broncos only owe him $37 million instead of $39 million, so whatever money the new team gives him, that’s less money the Broncos have to pay him). 

So where will Wilson end up? Let’s check out some possible landing spots from Jordan Dajani. 

• Falcons. “Raheem Morris made it clear at the combine that all avenues are open when it comes to Atlanta finding its new quarterback. It could come via trade, free agency or the draft. That makes Wilson an option, especially when you consider that the 35-year-old probably wants to continue starting.”
• Steelers. “Former Bengals star Chad Johnson has already put it out there that Wilson is on his way to Pittsburgh. ‘A little birdie told me — and I said this many shows ago — Russell Wilson’s coming on over there to the Steelers,’ he said on Shannon Sharpe’s “Nightcap” podcast. ‘Cleveland has Deshaun [Watson], but the AFC’s gonna be hell. The AFC’s gonna be hell.'”
• Titans. “If Wilson does not receive legitimate interest on the market to be a starter, and were to accept a role as backup, Tennessee could be a potential landing spot. The Titans are likely in the market for a veteran backup quarterback able to help develop second-year signal-caller Will Levis, who actually missed two starts at the end of last year due to injury.”

The Raiders or Patriots could also make some sense. You can see our full list of landing spots here. 

With Wilson leaving Denver, Broncos general manager George Paton now has to live with the fact that he made two of the worst decisions in NFL history. Not only did he make the trade for Wilson, but he also gave him a monstrous five-year, $245 million extension even though Wilson still had two years left on his old deal. 

At the time, the trade made sense, so it’s somewhat excusable: The Broncos thought they were a QB away from being a Super Bowl contender, so they decided to swing for the fences. However, there was no excuse for giving Wilson a $245 million extension before he had even played a single down with the team. The Broncos are now cutting Wilson before the extension kicks in, which is why they owe him so much money. Paton is also the guy who was responsible for hiring Nathaniel Hackett and based on his suddenly dubious track record, it’s worth wondering whether he’ll be around much longer in Denver. 

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