Seemingly everyone is thinking about AI these days. For example, the German soccer team VfL Wolfsburg proudly used AI tools. The result? On Monday, Wolfsburg was relegated to a lower league for the first time in 29 years. And now the New York Jets are interested. We’ll be fine.
Inside: The best offseason moves for all 32 teams, plus cautious optimism in Houston and the latest on the Josh Jacobs incident. Let’s go.
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Mike Sando’s moves of the offseason
“Finally,” I remember thinking when Mike published his favorite offseason moves for all 32 teams.
That was not a reflection of Mike’s productivity, as he’s already published a lot of quality content this offseason (including post-draft thoughts from NFL execs on the AFC and NFC). My thought was because I, like most of you, require a constant supply of quality content, and it’s been a quiet few weeks since the draft.
Anyways, these are Mike’s favorite moves for each team:
Mike clearly tried to remain optimistic in his story, but it’s hard to be enthused when a team’s best move is trading a former No. 12 pick (Rashan Gary) for a fourth-rounder.
Packers’ quiet offseason
Sorry Green Bay, but “it’s tough to find moves that made the Packers better this offseason,” as Mike explains. That’s why I haven’t covered them much in this newsletter; Green Bay has been quiet outside of losing their backup quarterback (Malik Willis) and some receiver depth, and drafting Dane Brugler’s 26th-ranked class.
Yet the Packers are projected to win 10.5 games. They are one of the league’s best teams on paper and an obvious Super Bowl contender, thanks to a roster without holes. Perhaps unsexy, their sound free-agent additions and draft addressed any depth concerns. They also project to recoup two fourths, a fifth and a seventh-round 2027 compensatory pick for those lost free agents.
However, as our Packers beat reporter Matt Schneidman details, it all comes down to coach Matt LaFleur. Despite an extension this past January, LaFleur still leads Schneidman’s list of Packers under the most pressure to deliver in 2026.
💬 Schneidman: “Who knows what stipulations are in LaFleur’s new contract regarding what happens if he doesn’t win enough in the near future?
“There may or may not be pressure on the head coach in that regard, but the intangible pressure from both inside and outside the building should be palpable.
“The Packers haven’t made the Super Bowl since the 2010 season and have earned just the No. 7 playoff seed in each of the last three seasons.”
And now their star running back made headlines for all the wrong reasons, as I’ll explain next.
Jacobs arrest: Details on what happened
Yes, it’s a quiet period in the league. A time when it unfortunately feels like headlines are dominated by off-field issues involving players.
Earlier this week, Packers running back Josh Jacobs was arrested on domestic abuse charges. He “vehemently denies” the allegations and was released from jail yesterday. No criminal charges were filed.
As a lawyer, I quickly learned the importance of “innocent until proven guilty.” That said, it’s been reported that first responders were dispatched after both a woman and a neighbor called for help.
We’ll keep you updated when we have more information, or you can follow this page for real-time updates. But any allegation of domestic abuse is much bigger than football. (If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, you are not alone. For help, you can visit this website or call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233).)
This subject matter is much heavier than the typical football coverage you get in your favorite NFL newsletter. It’s not political, thankfully, but I think it’s important to note these things.
We’ll end with a brief note from something I heard on my favorite football podcast, “The Athletic Football Show,” about the Texans offensive line.
Safer for Stroud?
If you’re a football fan in Houston, you’re familiar with the feeling of entering a season worried about the offensive line.
Since C.J. Stroud was drafted by the Texans in 2023, the 24-year-old has been sacked 130 times across the regular and postseason. None of the other quarterbacks (with at least 130 sacks) have seen more pressure than Stroud …
… which is why Derrik Klassen’s point on today’s podcast (free for you to watch on YouTube here) caught my attention. Here’s Derrik:
“I am really excited about where the Texans offensive line is going and what they are trying to do. Obviously, I don’t expect them to be a top-six offensive line.
“But I think a lot of the moves they made are easy to buy on paper. Braden Smith to me is a really good right tackle when he’s healthy. I think Aireontae Ersery played better than people realize at left tackle. I really like Keylan Rutledge, the player that they drafted. And then I think signing Wyatt Teller from the Browns, that’s another one where we look at how poorly Cleveland played as a whole last year. They retooled their entire offensive line. It’s like, ‘Surely scraps from that unit that was good four years ago can’t be that good,’ but I still think he’s got a little bit of something to him.
“So I think they’re all like good individual players and pieces.”
I’ll believe it when I see it. Plenty more unconventional takes in the full episode, which you can watch here.
Extra Points
👀 All 32 best moves. Linking again because I know I’d click it twice. Mike Sando’s favorite offseason moves for every NFL team.
🚑 Christian McCaffrey wants to stay healthy. Vic Tafur explains how CMC prepares his body for battle. Worth a read.
💸 Derwin James extension. The Chargers do-it-all safety is now the league’s highest-paid safety, with a $25.5 million average topping Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton.
💬 Lamar Jackson is happy. “A breath of fresh air” is how he referred to his first offseason without John Harbaugh as coach. Jeff Zrebiec has the details here.
▶️ Monday’s most-clicked: Jeff explains what new Ravens coach Jesse Minter is doing differently.
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