You might feel a little nervous about trusting Blue and Mafah as the depth, given their mutual inexperience. Both barely played as rookies, and Blue's long period in the coaches' doghouse is concerning. But his performance in the finale, and positive remarks from coaches in the aftermath about his journey, indicates he may have matured enough for greater trust.
While the team showed some flashes between the veteran play of Jadeveon Clowney and the quick development of rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku, the lack of a consistent squeeze on opposing quarterbacks became a glaring issue by season's end. Without a formidable pass rush, opposing quarterbacks attacked an already vulnerable secondary whose coverage clock dwindled faster than a McGruber explosive device after he cuts the wrong wire.
I want our George Pickens relationship to be all honey. I can't tell you how positive I feel about him, and I want our fans to look at it and say, 'That's a lot of money they're putting out there.' Jerry emphasized his commitment to maintaining a positive relationship with Pickens while justifying the financial investment to fans.
A third-round pick in 2023, he was getting a lot of positive buzz in training camp and flashed his potential in the early preseason games. But a torn ACL ended his rookie year before it could really begin, pushing his regular-season debut until Week 1 of the following season.
Eberflus, 55, was the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis from 2018-21. The Colts ranked in the top 10 in takeaways in each of his four years there and will likely be a primary focus of his job with the 49ers.
The Dallas Cowboys have gotten under the $301.2 million salary cap Wednesday by restructuring the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and left guard Tyler Smith, according to sources. The Cowboys were nearly $55 million over the cap before the moves, but the restructuring cleared around $66 million in space.
On February 21st, they signed Javonte Williams to a 3-year deal worth $24M in total. Williams, 25, gets $8M per year and a very solid $16M in guaranteed money with the extension. It will keep him in Dallas, at least contractually, through the 2028 season. He ran for over 1,200 yards a year ago, so it was important that they got a guy finally locked up, and they did it a bit early so that they did not have to overpay for him if other guys get more.
The Cowboys have been in the market for a superstar pass rusher since they traded Micah Parsons to the Packers last August. The Packers sent two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Cowboys for the 26-year-old Parsons.
Unlike a lot of the positions in this draft class, the safety group is loaded with talent. Ohio State's Caleb Downs headlines the group as a consensus top five player in the class, but due to the devaluation of the safety position across the league, where Downs will end up is somewhat of a mystery.
