We are BACK for the 106th season of the NFL, which starts tonight with a banner raise in Philadelphia and Cooper DeJean getting a Super Bowl ring. Remember when he scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl? That was cool. Let’s see where everyone landed after a busy offseason.
First off – this is Scott Dochterman’s work. It’s certainly not mine. I linked to it and wish to give him full credit for this. Others in the Hawkeye Universe – or I should say, one person in the Hawkeye Universe – doesn’t like to give Iowa beat writers credit for things like this and weirdly tries to claim it as their own. It’s weird and stupid and we’re not going to do that. So thank you, Scott, for doing this every year. He even did it for Iowa State!
Let’s take a look at player movement. There is a name missing here. Oh – Brandon Scherff. He…retired?
The five-time Pro Bowler did in fact retire. Congrats to Scherff! Nice little career he carved out, winning an Outland Trophy, unanimous All-American honors, five Pro Bowl selections, and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2020. Oh and $111 million in career earnings per Spotrac.
On to the players in the league. We’ll start with Chauncey Golston, who moved from Dallas to NFC East rival New York on a three-year, $18 million contract, with $12 million of that guaranteed. He also picked up a nice $4.5 million signing bonus. Not bad for Golston, who spent the first four years of his career with the Cowboys.
Also on the move was Noah Fant. It’s been a tough go in the NFL for Fant so far. A former first-round pick in Denver, he was part of the massively forgettable Russell Wilson trade. He resigned with Seattle in March of 2024, but was released by the Seahawks on July 20 after scoring a single touchdown in 2024. He was largely forgotten in Seattle’s scheme. He was quickly signed by Cincinnati on a 1-year, $2.75 million contract at the end of July. He’s currently second on the depth chart behind Mike Gesicki. There’s a chance for time here and he’s got by far the best quarterback of his career there in Joe Burrow.
James Daniels went into the offseason as a free agent after three years in Pittsburgh and landed himself a second three-year deal, this time with the Miami Dolphins. Daniels signed a three-year, $24 million deal on March 10. He is currently listed as Miami’s starting right guard.
Coolest story of the offseason? Jay Higgins. Is it dusty in here? I think it’s dusty in here…
Higgins had a great preseason, logging six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a pick on his way to making the 53-man as an undrafted rookie.
One of the surprises was Nick Jackson not making the Bucs roster, but he was quickly scooped up and added to the practice squad. You can do worse than land on a practice squad in the NFL.
SEASON STARTS TONIGHT! LFG!
