Chaos Rules the Offseason

Every NFL offseason is filled with the anticipation of a fresh start. Beginning with the NFL draft, every team holds on to the excitement of what could be. Training camp begins with over 100 players on each team that general managers and coaches work tirelessly to evaluate and develop with the goal of identifying the final 53 men that best fit the culture, scheme, and needs of the organization. Players are traded, signed, released, and in some cases re-signed. It is chaotic in the best of times, yet this offseason seems to have set the bar higher. We saw the Cowboys' Zeke Elliott hold out long enough to successfully miss training camp (I applaud the veteran move), irritate his owner Jerry Jones, and ultimately sign a deal making him the highest paid running back in league history. Melvin Gordon of the Chargers attempted to do the same, but without the leverage or pedigree of Elliott, Gordon finds himself still at home on the couch with the real possibility that the Chargers may not want him back for the steep price he is demanding. Melvin may even miss the entire season. Which would not be unprecedented. Le'Veon Bell is set to make his return to the NFL with the Jets, after sitting out all of last season because he and the Steelers could not come to a collaborative contract agreement. All of these scenarios pale in comparison to the five-alarm dumpster fire that surrounds Antonio Brown. The Steelers traded arguably the best wide receiver in the league to the Raiders, which at the time had us wondering if Pittsburgh was asleep at the wheel, but in retrospect looks like the most enlightened move of the offseason. Since arriving in Oakland, Antonio Brown has suffered frostbite on his feet from a cryotherapy chamber which forced him to miss most of training camp, filed two unsuccessful grievances against the NFL and threatened to retire over his helmet, challenged his general manager to a physical altercation, posted to the internet a secretly recorded phone call between himself and his coach, ultimately forfeited $29 million in guaranteed money, and was released before playing a single down for the Raiders. However, you play to win the game. Nobody understands this more than the Patriot's Bill Belichick, who scooped up the troubled receiver within hours. It will be exciting to see how this all plays out and who ultimately raises the Lombardi trophy in Miami. One thing is for certain, we are all ready to cap off a chaotic offseason and start playing games that matter. Welcome back fanatics!