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NFL sets 2021 salary cap at $182.5 million, down 8% from previous year

The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed Wednesday to a salary cap of $182.5 million per team for 2021, a long-anticipated 8% decrease from last season.

The league informed teams of the official cap number Wednesday morning in a memo, which was obtained by ESPN. The drop-off will force teams to make difficult roster decisions in the coming days and weeks.

Cap limits had risen in every year since 2011 in conjunction with rising league revenues, but a 92% drop in attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced revenues in 2020. The NFL and the NFLPA agreed last summer that the cap would be no lower than $175 million; last month they informed teams that it would be at least $180 million. It was $198.2 million in 2020.

Daniel Jeremiah on the 49ers QB situation: I’d be tempted to go in the Sam Darnold direction

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has served as the resident draft guru in recent years and held a conference call that lasted for more than two hours on Tuesday afternoon. If there was a draft prospect, Jeremiah likely covered the player.

The San Francisco 49ers questions were related to the three positions we’ve discussed all offseason: quarterback, cornerback, and left tackle. Jeremiah believes the drop-off at cornerback is steep after the second round. He said, “you better get on that ride early in the first or second round” when talking about the cornerback position.

Jeremiah mentioned Kellen Mond of Texas A&M and Davis Mills from Stanford as potential Day 2 options at quarterback for the 49ers. Mond played under Jimbo Fisher, who runs plenty of NFL concepts where the QB has to go through different progressions. Mond has been a popular name in the NFL Draft community over the past week.

Trump calls on former NFL player Herschel Walker to run for Senate in Georgia

Former President Trump called on former NFL player Herschel Walker to run for Senate in Georgia, where he would face Sen. Raphael Warnock, D, who won his seat in a special election this year and will have to defend it in 2022.

"Wouldn’t it be great if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?" Trump wrote in an official statement. "He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run, Herschel, Run!"

Former Sen. David Perdue, R, has ruled out a run in 2022, but Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins, who lost a primary to Loeffler, are both mulling another run. A run for her old seat is "certainly on the table," Loeffler told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. "Am I open to considering a run for the Senate or governor? Yes," Collins told the Journal-Constitution.

49ers awarded two compensatory picks for this year’s draft; now hold 10 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft

The NFL announced which teams were awarded compensatory draft picks for the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. San Francisco was awarded two comp picks in total. The 49ers will now select at No. 102, thanks to the Jets hiring Robert Saleh as their head coach.

The Niners own ten picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, thanks to receiving No. 181 for Emmanuel Sanders

Kiper talks Bears draft options in first round

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. thinks that the Bears will go in one of two directions with the 20th pick in the first round.

In his latest mock draft, Kiper predicts that the Bears will select Florida receiver Kadarius Toney but concedes they may instead choose an offensive tackle.

Toney is coming off a breakout senior season. After catching 50 passes for 606 yards and two touchdowns over his first three years at Florida, he more than doubled that output in 2020, registering 70 receptions for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Bears awarded two compensatory draft picks

The Bears have received two compensatory picks in the April 29-May 1 NFL Draft, the league announced Wednesday. The selections are both in the sixth round, Nos. 220 and 227 overall.

The NFL awarded 36 compensatory picks to 17 teams in Rounds 3-7 based on a net loss of free agents last year. Under the system, clubs that suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents during the prior free-agent signing period are eligible to receive a corresponding number of compensatory selections in the following year's draft, up to a maximum of four.

The level of compensation that teams receive for free agents lost is based on a weighted combination of the player's yearly compensation, postseason honors and playing time.

The Bears are in a perfect position to end Russell Wilson’s Seahawks career

Russell Wilson is the latest franchise star to put himself forward for this offseason’s game of quarterback musical chairs.

Wilson, his agent has been at pains to point out, has not officially demanded a trade from Seattle, but he has – in a delightfully passive-aggressive, Wilson-esque way – made it clear to the team’s decision-makers that he is unhappy with the direction of the franchise and that he would prefer to leave.

According to a detailed report in The Athletic, Wilson is unhappy with the team’s roster construction, the style of head coach/chief decision-maker Pete Carroll, and the Seahawks’ offensive system.

At the center of the rift are two practical elements. First, Wilson’s desire to play in a modern, pace-and-space system similar to that which the Kansas City Chiefs have built around Patrick Mahomes, with everything flowing through the quarterback. Second, Seattle’s awful offensive line, one that has ranked dead stinking last in pressure rate in three out of the past five seasons.

Thursday, March 11, 2021