NFL offseason kicks off

Ben Mandell, Co-Sports Editor

Fans of the National Football League took a break from watching the Alliance of American Football last week as the NFL offseason picked up a lot of steam.

Many stars from around the league have found a new home including two of the league’s best wide receivers. 

Antonio Brown forced the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade him following a lot of drama with future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and long-time head coach Mike Tomlin. Brown was sent to the Oakland Raiders for third and fifth round draft picks.

The bigger surprise was the New York Giants shipping, Beckham, their dynamic receiver to the Cleveland Browns who have been very busy this offseason. The Giants received a third round pick, a first round pick and Jabrill Peppers, the No. 25 pick from the 2017 draft.

The move comes as a surprise because it comes less than a year after the Giants made him the highest paid receiver in league history, and a month after general manager Dave Gettleman stated “we did not sign Odell to trade him.”

Other big moves around the league came from free agency. Landon Collins, one of the league’s top safeties signed a huge six year $84M contract with the Redskins after the Giants refused to franchise tag him. 

CJ Mosely and Nick Foles were other players who took advantage of their teams not placing the franchise tag on them. Both players scored big in free agency as Mosely signed a five year $85M contract with the Jest and Foles signed a four year $88M with the Jaguars.

The other huge name to sign was Leveon Bell as he signed a four year $52.5M contract with the Jets.

Many other players found new homes in the last week. Golden Tate signed with the Giants, the Raiders made Trent Brown the the highest paid offensive lineman per year in league history thanks to a four year $66M deal. The Eagles brought in Malik Jackson and Desean Jackson as well as resigning Ronald Darby.

The NFL offseason has just begun, and more moves will be made leading up to the entry draft next month. Many questions will be answered once the Cardinals make the first selection of this year’s draft.