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    Leeds takeover fight with Middle East consortium keen to rival NFL side San Francisco 49ers for control of Prem club

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    LEEDS’ expected takeover by the San Francisco 49ers faces last minute opposition from a consortium in the Middle East, according to reports. An agreement is in place for the NFL Franchise to take full control of the club in January 2024.
    Paraag Marathe of the San Francisco 49ers now faces a late fight to take full control of LeedsCredit: Getty
    However, this is now under threat after it emerged an unnamed third-party was now interested in the club.
    According to the Daily Mail, a group based in the Middle East are weighing up a bid for the Whites.
    Their interest is understood to be in the “very early” stages, and any tangible interest is yet to determined.
    In 2021, the 49ers, led by Leeds vice-chairman Paraag Marathe, agreed a deal worth £475million to gradually increase their stake in Leeds before taking complete control of the club at the start of 2024.
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    This deal would also include ownership of Elland Road.
    It is dependant on Leeds retaining their status as a Premier League outfit, though if this caveat is fulfilled then the takeover should be a formality.
    Marathe first shook hands with Leeds chairman and current majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani for investment back in 2018 when he took a 10 per cent stake.
    Radrizzani himself bought the club for £45m in 2017.
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    But after promotion to the top flight under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020, the value of the club has understandably skyrocketed.
    However, Leeds have not always had a smooth run of things since their return to the top flight, and are once again embroiled in a relegation battle. More

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      Richard Sherman Joins the Buccaneers After a Call From Tom Brady

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      Sherman is facing criminal charges for five misdemeanors, including two for domestic violence, from an arrest this summer. The free agent cornerback was recruited to Tampa Bay by his former rival.Richard Sherman, who is mired in legal trouble stemming from an arrest this summer and five misdemeanor charges, including two for domestic violence, has agreed to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the latest high-profile free agent to join quarterback Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions.One of the best known cornerbacks in the league, Sherman, 33, announced his arrival in Tampa on his podcast Wednesday morning. The team confirmed the news by posting to Twitter a photo of Sherman signing his contract, reported by the NFL Network to be worth $2.25 million, only $500,000 of it guaranteed. Coach Bruce Arians said Sherman would not play this weekend against the Patriots unless there were injuries to other cornerbacks.“I finally had enough conversations and came to a decision that I’m going to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Sherman said, adding a shout. “All the craziness and then all the hate and all the tweets, and then everybody’s mad because I didn’t go to their team. I’m sorry.”Whatever his contributions on the field may be, Sherman’s arrival in Tampa raises fresh questions about the N.F.L.’s handling of players accused of domestic abuse and other violent crimes and about Brady’s role in lobbying the Buccaneers to sign two free agents, Sherman and receiver Antonio Brown, while they were in the midst of criminal and league investigations.In 2020, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Brown for eight games while the league investigated his role in a reported assault on a moving company employee, an allegation that emerged after Brown was accused of sending threatening texts to a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct. At the time of the suspension, Brown was an unrestricted free agent.Brady, who played with Brown briefly in New England in 2019, courted the All-Pro receiver to Tampa before he finished his suspension at the end of Week 8 last season. Brady invited Brown to live in his home in Tampa before Brown signed with the Buccaneers at the end of October 2020.Concurrently, Brown also faced a lawsuit that claimed he sexually assaulted his former trainer in 2017 and 2018. Brown and his accuser reached a settlement in April this year. He pleaded no contest to battery in the moving company dispute and his probation in the case was terminated in June ahead of schedule.Sherman was arrested this summer after police said he tried to break down the door to his in-laws’ house, several hours after a dispute between him and his wife, Ashley, who eventually tried to remove their children from the couple’s home, according to audio recordings of 9-1-1 calls. He was accused of “burglary domestic violence,” the police said, because he knows the people at the home, and there was no indication that he physically harmed any of its occupants. Sherman has pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanors, including two counts of domestic violence and one of driving under the influence. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.Sherman said on his podcast that Brady had reached out in hopes of bringing him to Tampa.“He reached out initially and just checked to see if I was in shape,” Sherman said. “He and I have had a relationship over the years. He’s a great guy. Very encouraging.”Sherman’s arrival comes just days before the Buccaneers travel to Foxborough, Mass., to play the Patriots on Sunday in the widely anticipated face-off between Brady and the Patriots, their first meeting since Brady left New England as a free agent in the spring of 2020. He and Patriots Coach Bill Belichick won six Super Bowls in 20 years together, but their relationship deteriorated as they sought to determine Brady’s future with the team.Brady and Sherman’s pairing comes in contrast to their past rivalry. Sherman, a three-time All-Pro, spent his first seven seasons in Seattle as a key to the defensive backfield known as the Legion of Boom for its hard-hitting style. After the Seahawks upset the Patriots in a 2012 regular season matchup where Sherman intercepted Brady, Sherman antagonized Brady after the game.The pair faced off in Super Bowl XLIX after the 2014 season, when the Patriots beat the Seahawks, 28-24.Sherman spent three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in just five games during the 2020 season because of injuries.The Buccaneers, whose defense propelled them to a Super Bowl title last season, lost cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting to injury. Cornerback Jamel Dean’s status is also questionable. After three games this season, Tampa Bay’s pass defense ranks last in the N.F.L.Brady left New England after two decades reportedly because he wanted more input into the composition of the Patriots. Since joining Tampa Bay in March last year, Brady helped lure tight end and former teammate Rob Gronkowski out of retirement, and persuaded the team that Brown was worth the gamble. Now the Buccaneers and the rest of the N.F.L. will get to see if Sherman was worth the effort as well.Kevin Draper contributed reporting. More

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      Will the 49ers Contend if They Just Get Healthy?

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      After an improbably injury-riddled 2020, 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan’s disaster-proof offense is back on track.There’s nothing quite as gripping as a post-apocalyptic adventure like “The Walking Dead,” “The Road,” “Y: The Last Man” or the 2021 San Francisco 49ers.The 49ers reached the Super Bowl in the 2019 season but lived through an extinction-level injury cataclysm in 2020. They lost Pro Bowl pass rushers Dee Ford (neck, back) for 15 games and Nick Bosa (knee) for 14. The All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) for 11, the All-Pro tight end George Kittle (knee, foot) for eight, their top wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, (foot, hamstring, Covid-19) for nine, plus various other starters on both sides of the ball for large chunks of the year.Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) also missed 10 games; the fact that he does not receive top billing on their injury roll call is telling on a variety of levels.According to Football Outsiders, the 49ers lost the equivalent of 166.6 games by starters to injuries, the second-highest total for an N.F.L. team over the past 20 years. That’s like losing 10 starters — nearly half of a 22-man offensive and defensive lineup — for an entire season. Covid-related absences increased “injury” rates across the league last year, but the 49ers still led the N.F.L. in players unavailable for health reasons by over 30 games. The team’s few survivors staggered to a 6-10 finish.One year later, nearly all of the 49ers’ irreplaceable stars are healthy and back on the field, as is Garoppolo. The 49ers have started the 2021 season with narrow-but-still-convincing victories over the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles. Samuel leads the N.F.L. with 282 receiving yards. Bosa has recorded three sacks. Kittle and Ford are once again playing at a high level. And Garoppolo has resumed his role as the person who sits behind the wheel of the self-driving car and makes sure that nothing malfunctions.The 49ers are designed to be more disaster-proof than most teams, which made their 2020 collapse all the more frustrating. Shanahan’s offense emphasizes short passes to receivers who specialize in racing or rumbling for big gains after the catch; hence Garoppolo’s reputation as more of a desk clerk than a game manager. Running backs are also replaceable cogs in Shanahan’s machine. The 49ers could have operated effectively last season without some combination of Garoppolo, Kittle, Samuel, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was a 2020 first-round pick, and the top running backs Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert. In several games last season, including their 34-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers (this week’s opponent), they were without all of those players.Similarly, the 49ers defensive line for 2020 was slated to feature five past first-round picks, including Bosa and Ford: Four starters and a spare tire in case of a flat. But Arik Armstead was the only 49ers lineman to start all 16 games. As a result, the team’s sack total dropped from 48 in 2019 to 30 last year. Under the circumstances, six wins were a remarkable feat for Shanahan and his staff.Not all of the important figures from the 2019 Super Bowl campaign returned this year. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s experience desperately assembling a semi-functional roster out of rookies and leftovers made him overwhelmingly qualified for the Jets’ head coaching job. Sherman was not re-signed after last season; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly interested in adding him for their Super Bowl victory lap.The rookie running back Elijah Mitchell rushed for over 100 yards in the season opener, when he replaced Raheem Mostert, who is out for the season.Leon Halip/Getty ImagesThe 49ers have also not completely avoided injuries so far in 2021, though it’s naïve to think that any football team could. Cornerback Jason Verrett, who missed nearly all of the 2016 through 2019 seasons with a battery of injuries, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Week 1. Verrett, oddly enough, was one of the team’s healthiest players last year. Mostert is also lost for the season, but San Francisco stocked up on reinforcements like the rookie Elijah Mitchell, who rushed for over 100 yards in the season opener.Speaking of reinforcements, the 49ers traded up in the draft this spring to select North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick. Lance’s arrival suggested that Shanahan was seeking more than push-button management at the position, but also signaled the organization’s confidence that the team would get better simply by getting healthier. That has proved true so far.A few changes aside, the 49ers are playing well with a starting lineup that looks a lot like their 2019 Super Bowl lineup/2020 injured reserve list, while Lance has been limited to gadget-play duties.Football Outsiders’ research suggests that there’s a meaningful year-to-year correlation in a team’s injury rate. That’s bad news for the 49ers, who have finished in the top half of the league in games lost to injuries for eight straight seasons. The good news is that last season’s injury rate was so catastrophically high that some regression toward the N.F.L. average is nearly inevitable, according to the tenets of central tendency. Things simply must get better. If they don’t, at least the immensely talented Lance is equipped to survive a “Mad Max” scenario while the 49ers sift through the rubble and try to rebuild.Despite their early-season wins, the 49ers appear to be a notch below contenders like the Buccaneers. The Packers game on Sunday will provide their only true test against a playoff-caliber opponent, before the team embarks on divisional matchups in the N.F.C. West, an unforgiving environment for a team with glaring weaknesses. Another 49ers Super Bowl run may have to wait until Lance is ready to replace Garoppolo and switch Shanahan’s offense out of autopilot.But post-apocalyptic fiction is more about survival than success, perseverance than triumph. The 49ers have done a fine job so far of putting 2020 behind them and returning to as close to normal as possible. That doesn’t make them champions. But it certainly makes them relatable. More

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      What to Watch for in the N.F.L.’s Week 1 Games

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      Aaron Rodgers could achieve a career milestone and marquee players like Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey will all return from injury in the first weekend of the season.Whether a product of the pandemic, collateral damage from an eliminated preseason or just the way things go in football, the 2020 N.F.L. season was marred by significant injuries and postponements.As different as the league may look this season, football fans will find a more familiar N.F.L. this season, replete with fans in the stands. Here are some story lines to pay attention to during Week 1’s matchups.All times Eastern.Aaron Rodgers and Travis Kelce could reach career milestones.Cleveland Browns at Kansas City, 4:25 p.m., CBSGreen Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints, 4:25 p.m., FoxReaching Week 1 is a milestone in and of itself, considering the Covid protocols and vaccination push it took to get here. But Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is on milestone watch already, heading into Sunday’s regular-season opener against Cleveland. Coming off a season in which he ranked second among all N.F.L. pass catchers with 1,416 yards receiving (a record for a tight end), Kelce, who has 7,881 career receiving yards, can become the fastest tight end in league history to reach 8,000. He needs 119 yards against the Browns to claim the record, currently held by Tampa Bay’s Rob Gronkowski.Aaron Rodgers’s potential final season as a Packer begins against the Jameis Winston-led Saints. Rodgers, the reigning league most valuable player, needs to gain 231 yards passing against a Saints defense that was top-five against the pass last season to surpass Hall of Famer John Elway for the 10th-most passing yards in N.F.L. history.Throwing to one of the league’s top receiving threats in Davante Adams is as much a safety net as Rodgers could ask for, but Rodgers will also have one of his favorite targets in Randall Cobb, the veteran receiver the Packers brought back to the team this off-season at Rodgers’s request.Whose A.C.L. healed the best?San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m., FoxJets at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., CBSDenver Broncos at Giants, 4:25 p.m., FoxWe didn’t see much of Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on the field last year (he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last October), so Cleveland’s offense leaned instead on the punch that Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt gave their rushing attack. It helped, too, that quarterback Baker Mayfield had the most efficient of his first three seasons, posting a career-best 95.9 passer rating.Sunday’s rematch of January’s divisional-round playoff game, a 22-17 Kansas City win, gives Beckham the perfect stage to show he’s still the same electric receiver he once was and — if he and Mayfield can re-establish their chemistry — that the Browns’ 2020 breakthrough wasn’t an anomaly.In San Francisco, losing defensive end Nick Bosa to an A.C.L. injury in Week 2 plunged the 49ers out of serious contention almost immediately. He’s back and ready to pounce on the Lions.The Panthers’ do-everything running back Christian McCaffrey and Giants running back Saquon Barkley also return this weekend, but how much they’ll contribute in their debuts remains to be seen. Barkley appeared in two games last season before tearing his right A.C.L. and skipped the preseason, but is fully ready, Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. The Giants will likely not ask too much of him Sunday against the Broncos because he’s pacing to be a focal point in an offense that was plagued by receivers’ dropped passes and turnovers by quarterback Daniel Jones, who’ll be chased by Denver’s Von Miller, returning from a season-ending ankle injury.McCaffrey was sidelined for all but three full games in 2020 with several injuries, but plays a huge role in the Panthers’ passing game, which may not need much of a lift against the Jets. Sam Darnold already has a more solid receiving duo in Carolina, in Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore, than he may be used to.Rookie standouts will try to make a second-year leap.Los Angeles Chargers at Washington Football Team, 1 p.m., CBSIf Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert plans to make a leap in Year 2, facing the Washington Football Team’s dominant defensive end Chase Young is probably one of the most difficult ways to start. Young, the 2020 defensive rookie of the year, will meet Herbert’s Chargers Sunday afternoon. It will be the second straight season where the reigning offensive and defensive rookies of the year will meet in their season opener: Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray faced Bosa’s 49ers in Week 1 last season.In 2020, Young anchored one of the league’s best defenses, which allowed just over 300 yards per game, second fewest in the N.F.L. Herbert finished the season with the most passing touchdowns (31) and completions (396) of any rookie in league history. More

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      Can Anyone in the N.F.C. Stop Tom Brady and the Bucs From Repeating?

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      Tampa Bay returns much of its Super Bowl-winning roster, but Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams have Jordan-and-Pippen-style title dreams for Green Bay.Amid the chaos and reshuffling of an N.F.L. season played during a pandemic, the 2020 season concluded with an all-too-familiar scene: Tom Brady hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.Even at the ripe age of 44, Brady could continue his title-winning ways at the helm of a Tampa Bay team that returns much of its roster. But the Buccaneers’ path to repeat as champion should be tougher, beginning with their Week 1 opponent. The Dallas Cowboys return Dak Prescott, who led all quarterbacks in passing yards through the first five games of last season before suffering a gruesome right ankle injury.Aaron Rodgers, the reigning league most valuable player, and the Packers renewed their vows after having narrowly missed taking down Brady and company in last season’s N.F.C. championship game, thanks to a, umm, notable play call. And the Los Angeles Rams traded with Detroit for the veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford in the off-season, adding fresh blood to the gauntlet that is the N.F.C. West.Will all the retooling around the conference stop another rerun?N.F.C. EastDallas Cowboys (6-10)Key additions: S Keanu Neal, DE Tarell Basham and DE Brent UrbanKey departures: DB Chidobe Awuzie, QB Andy DaltonAfter a disappointing 2020 season, the Cowboys completed their biggest off-season task by signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a four-year, $160 million contract extension. Though it’s risky to guarantee such hefty money, at $126 million, to a quarterback coming off a season-ending broken ankle, Prescott’s absence showed how mightily the Cowboys’ offense depends on him. Running back Ezekiel Elliott is back to his college weight, and Prescott will throw to one of the N.F.L.’s best receiver trifectas in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. But that won’t mean much if Dallas’s aging offensive line can’t buy Prescott time to find them. Dak Prescott, left, and Ezekiel Elliott have to like the Cowboys’ shot at winning the wide open N.F.C. East. Tom Pennington/Getty ImagesNew York Giants (6-10)Key additions: WR Kenny Golladay, WR Kadarius Toney, TE Kyle Rudolph, CB Adoree’ JacksonKey departures: DL Dalvin Tomlinson, RB Wayne Gallman, OT Cameron FlemingQuarterback Daniel Jones slid backward in his second year in the league, but, no pressure, team owner John Mara thinks his quarterback can win a Super Bowl. To back up that assertion, the Giants brought in a true No. 1 receiver in Golladay and took Toney with the 20th pick of this year’s draft, a move that stood out for its sagacity. Those additions, with the return of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, and the signing of the veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph should all aid Jones’s campaign — if not for a Super Bowl, at least for a contract extension — though they won’t help much if the offensive line continues to struggle. Leonard Williams, who the team signed a three-year, $63 million contract after he posted a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2020, should help generate a pass rush.Philadelphia Eagles (4-11-1)Key additions: WR DeVonta Smith, S Anthony HarrisKey departures: QB Carson Wentz, WR DeSean JacksonThe Eagles are reworking their roster on the run after overhauling the core personnel that had led the team to three straight playoff berths and a Super Bowl victory. Coach Nick Sirianni replaces Doug Pederson, and the team named the second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was 1-3 in four starts last season, their starter. They added the former Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew in late August but the essential question for this young team is whether Sirianni — who spent the last three seasons as the Colts’ offensive coordinator — can develop Hurts.Washington Football Team (7-9)Key additions: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Curtis Samuel, CB William Jackson III, LB Jamin DavisKey departures: OT Morgan Moses, DE Ryan Kerrigan, QB Alex Smith, TE Jordan ReedCoach Ron Rivera has continued his revamp in Washington by adding the speedster Samuel on a three-year, $34.5 million deal (Rivera coached Samuel with the Carolina Panthers) and bolstering the defensive backfield, while parting ways with stalwarts on the offensive and defensive line. In signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, 38, to replace Alex Smith, Rivera also signaled that Washington is closer to finding a new team name than a franchise quarterback.Washington won the N.F.C. East with a losing record last season (and then gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers a scare in the playoffs) but a second consecutive division title should be tough with an improved Dallas in the running.— Ken BelsonN.F.C. NorthChicago Bears (8-8)Key additions: QB Justin Fields, QB Andy Dalton, RB Damien Williams, TE Jesse JamesKey departures: WR Cordarrelle Patterson, CB Kyle Fuller, QB Mitchell Trubisky, DT Roy Robertson-Harris, OT Charles LenoBears fans grew so loud in their anticipation of rookie Justin Fields, right, taking the starting quarterback spot that Fields asked fans not to boo its current occupant, Andy Dalton.Nam Y. Huh/Associated PressC’mon, Chicago. Let Fields throw a regular-season pass before you name a museum after him, OK? Bears fans are acclimating themselves to an alien phenomenon, hope at quarterback, after the team traded up to draft Fields, the former Ohio State star, with the No. 11 pick. Every decision now revolves around his development, but the people making those decisions are largely the same ones who dealt away draft picks, compromising the Bears’ depth at places like, for instance, offensive line.They should have a solid defense and an elite receiver in Allen Robinson, who will be catching passes from Dalton to begin the season — but, probably, for not much longer than that.Detroit Lions (5-11)Key additions: QB Jared Goff, RB Jamaal Williams, WR Tyrell Williams, DE Charles Harris, DT Michael Brockers, OT Penei SewellKey departures: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Kenny Golladay, WR Marvin Jones, DT Danny SheltonFirst-year coach Dan Campbell has said he begins each day by ordering at Starbucks two venti coffees, each with two espresso shots. All that caffeine might not be good for his heart, but then again, neither is watching the Lions. Brad Holmes, the first-year general manager, traded Stafford, the franchise’s career passing leader, to the Rams for Goff, and gutted the roster.But the Lions are building from the offensive and defensive lines out — a sound strategy — and though that might not help them much in 2021, it could a few years from now, when they have a new quarterback.Green Bay Packers (13-3)Key additions: WR Randall Cobb, WR Amari Rodgers, OT Dennis Kelly, LB De’Vondre CampbellKey departures: RB Jamaal Williams, C Corey Linsley, LB Christian KirkseyThe next 18 weeks (and beyond) are going to be captivating theater in Wisconsin, where Aaron Rodgers may or may not be playing his final games with teammates he loves, but for a front office he doesn’t. There’s no reason to doubt this could be, as Rodgers and Davante Adams suggested in dual Instagram posts before training camp started, a fruitful “Last Dance”-y kind of season for the Packers, who have more talent than any team in the conference that doesn’t have “Bay” in its name. Where Rodgers plays next season will be fascinating, clearly. But not as much as how he and his team handle this one.Minnesota Vikings (7-9)Key additions: DT Sheldon Richardson, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, CB Bashaud Breeland, S Xavier WoodsKey departures: RB Mike Boone, TE Kyle Rudolph, OT Riley Reiff, LB Eric WilsonEntering quarterback Kirk Cousins’s fourth season in Minnesota, the Vikings have yet to win the N.F.C. North. Unless the Packers’ team buses get detoured to Idaho every game day, that streak isn’t likely to end. Still, the Vikings have a raft of elite players — running back Dalvin Cook, receiver Justin Jefferson and defensive end Danielle Hunter — and their off-season additions improved a defense that Coach Mike Zimmer last season called the “worst one I’ve ever had.”At the least, Minnesota figures to be average. At best, it could win double-digit games, good enough to snag a wild-card berth.— Ben ShpigelN.F.C. SouthAtlanta Falcons (4-12)Key additions: WR Cordarrelle Patterson, TE Kyle Pitts, RB Mike Davis, S Duron HarmonKey departures: C Alex Mack, WR Julio Jones, S Ricardo Allen, S Keanu Neal, DE Charles Harris, CB Darqueze Dennard.No team imploded as spectacularly — or as often — as the Falcons, who lost nine (!) games that they led last season. In theory, that won’t happen again. Any expectations beyond that? ¯_(ツ)_/¯The Falcons, under new leadership at coach (Arthur Smith) and general manager (Terry Fontenot), are in transition. After trading Jones and bypassing a potential Matt Ryan successor in order to draft Pitts at No. 4 overall, Atlanta seems to be walking up a down escalator. The onus will be on the defensive coordinator, Dean Pees, who was lured out of retirement, to generate loads of pressure — and on Ryan to generate loads of points. With Ryan working in a play-action heavy offense that resembles the one from his 2016 M.V.P. season, it might be possible. In theory.Carolina Panthers (5-11)Key additions: QB Sam Darnold, LB Haason Reddick, OT Cameron Erving, CB Jaycee HornKey departures: WR Curtis Samuel, RB Mike Davis, QB Teddy Bridgewater, LG Chris ReedThe Panthers acquired Darnold from the Jets this spring in the hopes that extricating him from the Jets’ juju — and surrounding him with, you know, better players — might unlock his promise. Bold strategy. In season 2 under Coach Matt Rhule, Carolina’s prospect of contending is rooted in too many hypotheticals (if Darnold can rebound, if running back Christian McCaffrey can stay healthy, if its young defense can coalesce) to take seriously.New Orleans Saints (12-4)Jameis Winston will step into the quarterback spot owned for 15 seasons by Drew Brees when the New Orleans Saints open the season with a “home” game against the Packers in Jacksonville.Derick Hingle/Associated PressKey additions: TE Nick Vannett, DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE Payton TurnerKey departures: QB Drew Brees, DE Trey Hendrickson, DT Malcom Brown, CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Patrick RobinsonSweet mercy, the Saints lost a lot of talent in addition to Brees. The team’s viability hinges on whether Coach Sean Payton can coax efficient quarterback play — and respectable ball security — from Jameis Winston over a full season. Either way, Winston is their best internal option, and he should benefit from playing behind a talented offensive line. Payton relishes the chance to put Winston and Taysom Hill on the field together. Good thing, too.The defense powered the Saints last year, and with their overall playmaking cast diminished — the star receiver Michael Thomas is out indefinitely as he recovers from ankle surgery — that unit might need to offset their offensive volatility.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)Key additions: RB Giovani Bernard, DE Joe Tryon, OT Robert HainseyKey departures: C A.Q. Shipley, LB Deone BucannonMoving some beads around the ol’ abacus, Tampa Bay’s front office performed a modern miracle in this salary-cap era: The Buccaneers managed to retain all 22 starters from the team that dusted Kansas City in the Super Bowl. Their roster, the best in the N.F.L., is loaded with absurd amounts of star power — from receiver Chris Godwin to linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Lavonte David — but also depth at every position except, perhaps, quarterback.That isn’t necessarily a problem, since Tom Brady is fated to start there until the sun collapses. Brady quarterbacked the last team to repeat as champions — the 2004 New England Patriots — and anything less than another title for Tampa Bay, which would be his eighth, would be a disappointment.— Ben ShpigelN.F.C. WestArizona Cardinals (8-8)Key additions: DE J.J. Watt, WR A.J. Green, RB James Conner, LB Zaven CollinsKey departures: CB Patrick Peterson, RB Kenyan DrakeIn two seasons, Coach Kliff Kingsbury has yet to lead the Arizona Cardinals to the playoffs. Should his team fail to reach the postseason in 2021, Kingsbury may be seeking employment elsewhere. The Cardinals return a talented roster led by quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins. They added veteran contributors on both sides of the ball by signing Watt and Green. Despite strong opposition in the division, any finish less than playing a game on Wild-Card weekend will be a disappointment.For the second season in a row, the Texans’ loss has been the Cardinals’ gain as J.J. Watt joined his former teammate DeAndre Hopkins in Arizona.Rick Scuteri/Associated PressLos Angeles Rams (10-6)Key additions: QB Matthew Stafford, WR DeSean Jackson, RB Sony Michel, WR Tutu AtwellKey Departures: S John Johnson III, CB Troy Hill, TE Gerald Everett, QB Jared GoffStafford’s arrival in Los Angeles dramatically elevates the Rams’ expectations as the team welcomes fans to its $5.5 billion stadium, which will host this season’s Super Bowl. The team returns a stout defense led by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, but any hope of a championship run depends on Stafford, whose 45,109 career yards rank fifth among active passers, but who, at 33, has not won a playoff game in three tries.Coach Sean McVay will look to unleash the offense behind Stafford and with Sony Michel, whom the team traded for to shore up a running back rotation that lost starter Cam Akers to a torn Achilles’ tendon before training camp.San Francisco 49ers (6-10)Key additions: QB Trey Lance, C Alex Mack, LB Samson EbukamKey departures: WR Kendrick Bourne, RB Tevin Coleman, DE Kerry Hyder Jr., CB Ahkello WitherspoonThe 49ers traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins to draft Lance third overall this spring. He’ll eventually replace Jimmy Garoppolo, but how soon that transition occurs depends on Garoppolo’s health and Lance’s learning curve. Since Garoppolo has played a 16-game season only once with San Francisco, and Lance showed steady improvement in the preseason, figure on his time coming sooner than later.The team returns key starters to a defense that was decimated by injuries and boasts a potent rushing attack based on motion before the snap and passes behind the line of scrimmage.Seattle Seahawks (12-4)Key additions: TE Gerald Everett, OG Gabe Jackson, DT Robert NkemdicheKey departures: CB Shaquill Griffin, RB Carlos Hyde, DT Jarran ReedRussell Wilson, tired of continually being sacked by Aaron Donald and other pass rushers in the N.F.C. West, caused a stir this off-season by asking for more of a say in roster decisions. Despite the fracas, and that the team did not dramatically improve its offensive line, Wilson is back and trying to make it work in Seattle, where his chemistry with DK Metcalf resulted in 1,303 yards receiving, good for sixth among wideouts last season.In August, Seattle made Jamal Adams the highest-paid safety in the league with a four-year extension reportedly worth $70 million, in an effort to improve the defense, which allowed the 11th-most yards in the league.— Emmanuel Morgan More

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      Some Dramatic Quarterback Successions Start at the N.F.L. Draft

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      If the draft last week revealed anything, it was that there’s no tactful way to replace a healthy starting quarterback.Replacing a franchise quarterback is not as simple as drafting his successor. It’s more like selecting the heir to the throne of some ancient empire: full of drama, intrigue, careful diplomacy and the constant threat of open rebellion.The teams that chose possible successors to established quarterbacks in the 2021 N.F.L. draft must all proceed with some degree of caution, knowing that one false move might plunge their kingdoms into a dark age.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a potential heir to 43-year-old Tom Brady in Kyle Trask of the University of Florida with the final pick of the second round. Brady does not like to be surrounded by reminders of his mortality, but Trask’s credentials are unassuming enough that the Buccaneers can pass him off as a lowly intern for the next few months, sparing him from banishment to the labyrinth beneath the TB12 compound.The New England Patriots wisely waited until Brady was gone for a year before drafting his likely successor: the 15th overall pick, Mac Jones, who led Alabama to the national championship last season. Cam Newton has helmed the Patriots in the interim like a distant noble cousin (the 11th Earl of Ascots) retrieved from the hinterlands to keep the throne warm.The Minnesota Vikings drafted Kellen Mond of Texas A&M as a possible replacement for Kirk Cousins with the second pick of the third round. Cousins hasn’t faced a challenger for his starting job for many years. Instead of trying to replace Cousins, employers typically cope with his brand of ordinary but overpriced play by paying him more and lowering their expectations.General Manager Rick Spielman played down Mond’s role as a challenger to Cousins after the selection. Quarterback succession ceremonies often begin with this type of ritualized, ego-soothing denial of the obvious.The Houston Texans used a third-round pick (their highest selection in the draft) on Stanford’s Davis Mills, a possible replacement for Deshaun Watson, who faces 22 civil suits alleging lewd and coercive sexual behavior, two of which also accuse him of sexual assault. He has denied the claims. Before those suits were filed, Watson was seeking a trade from the mismanaged, scuffling Texans, who signed Tyrod Taylor in case Watson held out.Under those tumultuous circumstances, Mills faces more of a potential starting crisis than a starting opportunity.Terrible teams usually don’t have to worry about delicate transfers of power. The top two picks in the draft, Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Zach Wilson of Brigham Young are now the unquestioned starting quarterbacks of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Jets. Trey Lance (North Dakota State) must only supplant Jimmy Garoppolo, who likely updated his LinkedIn profile in March when the San Francisco 49ers traded two future first-round picks for the third overall pick. The Chicago Bears selected Justin Fields of Ohio State with the 11th pick, leaving the journeymen Andy Dalton and Nick Foles to arm wrestle for the role of overpaid mentor.For a successful franchise, however, a bungled succession plan can result in disaster. The Green Bay Packers prematurely drafted Utah State’s Jordan Love as an eventual heir to Aaron Rodgers last year, when Rodgers expected that they would add a much-needed wide receiver. The rift between Rodgers, who is likely to be a future Hall of Famer, and the organization now appears irreconcilable. The Packers appear unwilling to trade Rodgers, though they did draft Clemson receiver Amari Rodgers in the third round, which seems like a belated apology: “See, we got you what you wanted, and we even had it engraved!”Aaron Rodgers’s situation illustrates why so many teams procrastinate instead of seeking an heir apparent for a distinguished veteran. The New Orleans Saints are in deep denial about Drew Brees’s recent retirement; the team’s fourth-round pick, Ian Book of Notre Dame, is less of a successor than a nonthreatening option who’ll make the dueling underqualified claimants Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston look good by comparison.Instead of a challenger to Matt Ryan, 35, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Florida tight end Kyle Pitts in their latest effort to resuscitate a Super Bowl opportunity that died on Feb. 5, 2017. The Pittsburgh Steelers are waiting for Ben Roethlisberger to crash before having the talk about surrendering his driver’s license.Even the most successful succession plans are rarely smooth: Joe Montana and Steve Young clashed for six years in San Francisco, and Rodgers learned the art of epic melodrama at the feet of Brett Favre. Most quarterback successions are more like Cousins-to-Mond than Montana-to-Young: not worth the hassle until necessary.The Giants were lucky when the Eli Manning-to-Daniel Jones transition was relatively smooth — at least in public — in 2019. With the rites of succession behind them, the Giants concentrated on adding potential impact players like wide receiver Kadarius Toney, defensive end Azeez Ojulari and cornerback Aaron Robinson instead in this year’s draft.And if those newcomers cannot help the Giants return to the playoffs, the team will start searching for Jones’s replacement next year. More

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      Here Are The Needs for the Biggest Movers in the NFL Draft

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      San Francisco traded for the No. 3 pick to select a quarterback, and Baltimore traded into the first round, sending Orlando Brown to Kansas City, to reload for the future.The top of the N.F.L. draft quaked late last month when the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles swung what amounted to a three-team trade. The bottom of it shuddered on Friday when the Baltimore Ravens acquired another first-round pick.In March, the Dolphins sent the No. 3 pick in the draft to San Francisco for the No. 12 pick this year, first- and third-round picks in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023. Then they shipped the No. 12 pick and a fourth-rounder this year and a first-rounder in 2022 to the Eagles, who gave Miami the No. 6 pick and a fifth-round selection.Those teams have not tipped off their draft targets — though 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan faces questions nearly every day about his team’s quarterback position — but here are their needs ahead of Thursday night’s first round:No. 3 Pick: San Francisco 49ers (From Miami)Both Justin Fields and Mac Jones have been speculated as targets for the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 N.F.L. draft.Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesMichael Reaves/Getty ImagesWith Jacksonville set to pick Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 and the Jets most likely taking Zach Wilson at No. 2, this is where the draft begins and where all the speculation finally, mercifully, ceases. After trading with the Dolphins to move up nine spots last month, the 49ers are taking a quarterback to sit behind, or supplant, Jimmy Garoppolo this year. Their choice will reveal much about Kyle Shanahan’s vision.Does he value an accurate, mechanically sound pocket passer who can execute a scheme designed to yield completions and yards after receptions? If so, come on down, Mac Jones of Alabama.But after watching Patrick Mahomes toast the 49ers in the Super Bowl to cap the 2019 season and seeing Josh Allen shred them in Week 13 last season, Shanahan could be craving a mobile quarterback. He has Justin Fields of Ohio State and Trey Lance of North Dakota State to choose between. That decision will fling the rest of the top 10 into chaos.No. 6 Pick: Miami Dolphins (From Philadelphia)L.S.U. receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who opted out of the 2020 college football season, could be available when the Dolphins select sixth.David J. Phillip/Associated PressThe Dolphins want to put quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in a better position for success in his second N.F.L. season. Their trades with Philadelphia and San Francisco guarantee that they can do so with the sixth overall pick, where at least one receiver among Ja’Marr Chase of Louisiana State and Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith of Alabama, or the unicorn tight end Kyle Pitts of Florida, will be available. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell of Oregon could also be available.Miami is picking here because a video surfaced minutes before the 2016 draft of the offensive tackle prospect Laremy Tunsil wearing a gas mask and appearing to smoke marijuana through a bong. To explain: Because of the video, Tunsil was selected at No. 13, lower than expected, by Miami. After developing him into one of the league’s best tackles, the Dolphins, as they stripped their roster for a rebuild, were able to trade a package that included him to the Houston Texans in 2019 for a package that included three draft picks, including the third pick in this year’s draft.No. 12 Pick: Philadelphia Eagles (From Miami, via San Francisco)Either the Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, left, or Jaylen Waddle, right, of Alabama, would be a welcome addition to the Eagles, who are looking to upgrade the receiver position.Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesBy trading back from the sixth pick and obtaining a 2022 first-round pick in the process, the Eagles signaled that they would replenish their aging roster under their new coach, Nick Sirianni. The move collects a raft of picks for 2022, when, hopefully, the college football schedule returns to normal and teams can better evaluate prospects.Maybe most important to Eagles fans, it confirmed that Philadelphia was not interested in selecting a quarterback high or displacing Jalen Hurts — at least not this year. With two first-round picks in 2022, and possibly a third if Carson Wentz reaches playing time benchmarks in Indianapolis, the Eagles are positioned to acquire a quarterback next off-season if Hurts flops.As for this year, the Eagles need receivers and upgrades at a lot of other positions. If Jaylen Waddle or DeVonta Smith from Alabama is available, General Manager Howie Roseman may be tempted. If neither is, and if he doesn’t like the talent at another need position (like, say, cornerback), he might just trade out again.No. 31 Pick: Baltimore Ravens (From Kansas City)Baltimore traded away the Pro Bowl offensive lineman Orlando Brown to gain a first-round pick in this year’s draft and stockpiled future selections.Brett Carlsen/Associated PressThe Ravens on Friday traded a player at a premium position, the Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown, to Kansas City for this pick and others. It might have seemed peculiar, helping the best team in the conference get better at protecting Patrick Mahomes’s blind side, but Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta values draft choices. For unloading Brown, he got three others spread across the next two years.Baltimore, which also picks at No. 27, now has options, either to trade up, to bolster its receiving corps or to improve a pass rush that lost the free-agent defensive end Matt Judon to New England in the off-season.Full 2021 N.F.L. Draft Order1. Jacksonville Jaguars2. New York Jets3. San Francisco 49ers4. Atlanta Falcons5. Cincinnati Bengals6. Miami Dolphins7. Detroit Lions8. Carolina Panthers9. Denver Broncos10. Dallas Cowboys11. New York Giants12. Philadelphia Eagles13. Los Angeles Chargers14. Minnesota Vikings15. New England Patriots16. Arizona Cardinals17. Las Vegas Raiders18. Miami Dolphins19. Washington Football Team20. Chicago Bears21. Indianapolis Colts22. Tennessee Titans23. New York Jets24. Pittsburgh Steelers25. Jacksonville Jaguars26. Cleveland Browns27. Baltimore Ravens28. New Orleans Saints29. Green Bay Packers30. Buffalo Bills31. Baltimore Ravens32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers More

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      What Led Phillip Adams, Former N.F.L. Player, to a Shooting Spree?

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      A small city that bills itself as Football City U.S.A. is grappling with the shooting deaths of members of a prominent local family by Phillip Adams who, many say, had been adrift after his N.F.L. career ended.He struggled to find work. His last-ditch chance to make an N.F.L. team fizzled. He had a child to support and little apparent direction in a life freighted with high expectations. His behavior was increasingly erratic. Then on Wednesday, for reasons no one yet knows for sure, Phillip Adams, a former N.F.L. cornerback, went to the Rock Hill, S.C., home of a prominent doctor and shot everybody he saw before fatally turning the gun on himself.Now, the football-loving community of 65,000 that bills itself as Football City U.S.A. is struggling to contend with Adams’s suddenly violent turn and its aftermath.Before he killed five people, including two children, and critically wounded a sixth person, Adams, 32, who shot and killed himself several hours after his rampage, had seemed adrift since he last played N.F.L. football almost six years ago, friends and associates said. He remained close to home, caring for his mother, Phyllis, a former high school teacher who became a paraplegic after a car accident a decade ago.But for all the pressures on Adams — and family members are openly questioning whether football damaged his brain — the many people who rooted for him throughout his career are grappling with the loss of Dr. Robert Lesslie and his family at the hands of a local son.“He was the role model that all coaches hoped they could coach,” said Jim Montgomery, who coached Adams in football at Rock Hill High School, the alma mater of numerous N.F.L. players. Montgomery said he spent most of Thursday answering phone calls through tears.The authorities said that Adams fatally shot Dr. Lesslie; his wife, Barbara; and two of their grandchildren, Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5. James Lewis, 38, had been working on their home when he was killed, and a sixth victim, Robert Shook, is in critical condition.The police have yet to explain why Adams, who was described by friends as “chill” and almost reclusive, singled out the doctor, or whether the two men had any relationship.But Representative Ralph Norman, Republican of South Carolina, told Charlotte’s WBTV Thursday that he had learned from law enforcement officials that Dr. Lesslie had seen Adams as a patient. Sheriff officials would not confirm the relationship.“He was treating him and stopped giving him medicine and that’s what triggered the killings from what I understand,” said Norman, whose district encompasses Rock Hill.Members of the Adams family have their own theories. They wonder whether football may have damaged his brain in the same way that has led other players to turn violent and, in a few cases, take their own lives.On Thursday, Alonzo Adams, Phillip’s father, told WCNC, a Charlotte television station, “I think the football messed him up.” His sister, Lauren Adams, told USA Today that he had recently become uncharacteristically aggressive.“His mental health degraded fast and terribly bad,” she said. “There was unusual behavior.”Adams’s brain will be studied to determine whether he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated hits to the head, according to Sabrina Gast, the coroner in York County. It can take months to receive a diagnosis for the disease, which has been linked to mood disorders, memory problems, impulsive behavior and other issues, and has been found in hundreds of former football players.Former coaches, colleagues, neighbors and associates who knew Adams described him in interviews as a hard-working athlete who never advanced beyond journeyman status in the N.F.L., but who remained a quiet, helpful presence in town.“In 43 years, if you would’ve told me that this would have happened with Phillip Adams, I would’ve put him in the last five of the thousands of kids I coached,” Montgomery said on Thursday. “It’s just a sad day.”Duane Belue, a longtime friend and neighbor of the Adams family, said Phillip was close to his mother. Though Phillip had bought a new truck, he did not appear to overspend, and he stayed with his parents for extended periods. Within the last year, the Belues said they noticed that Phillip’s behavior had changed. He was less approachable and would pace outside aimlessly.“We noticed in the yard, he was out walking, kind of sad,” Anne Belue said. “You can’t judge somebody that far away, but he was always real friendly before then.”A star player in high school and in college at South Carolina State, Adams was picked by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2010 N.F.L. draft. He sustained a severe ankle injury his rookie season that may have derailed his career.“The bone went through the skin,” said Scott Casterline, Adams’s former agent. “Luckily, he had a good surgeon who helped him. But when a team sees a devastating injury like that, they move on.”After the 49ers released him, Adams bounced around the league with stops in New England, Seattle, Oakland (where he sustained two concussions), the Jets and Atlanta.He had one more shot at landing a roster spot, according to Casterline. During training camp in 2016, the Colts called and asked Adams to get to Indianapolis to participate in practice the following day. Casterline urged his client to jump on the next flight, but Adams — who was always gung ho for football — was suddenly hesitant.“He made it to the Charlotte airport, but the flight had left already,” Casterline said. “I could tell his head was not in it. He’d given up on it.”Casterline described Adams as a loner, not one to go to clubs or drink alcohol. He also hinted at financial troubles. Adams earned $3.6 million during his career and, at one point, wanted to invest in a smoothie shop. Casterline, who said he thought of Adams as a son, told his client it was a mistake because many retail businesses fail.Last fall, Adams called his former agent and asked for help finding employment. Casterline said he tried to persuade him to relocate to Dallas and work at one of his companies.“I said to just come out here to Texas,” Casterline said. “He just wouldn’t do it. He had a son. He was a good father and it was difficult with the baby’s mother.”On Wednesday, the day of the shootings, Adams’s father, Alonzo, called Casterline and said he wanted to talk about his son. Casterline did not find the message unusual. Occasionally, Adams’s parents called if they were unable to find Phillip.“I called Alonzo back and left a message, not realizing it had already happened,” Casterline said.In a news conference on Thursday, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said evidence recovered from the home of the Lesslies led them to suspect Adams of the killings. The authorities said they evacuated the Adamses’ home and tried to persuade Phillip to surrender. They found him inside, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.A mourner adjusted items at a memorial outside of Riverview Family Medicine and Urgent Care, where Dr. Robert Lesslie practiced medicine.Sean Rayford/Getty ImagesIt is often difficult to assign motive to cases where a gunman has not left a note or spoken specifically of his or her intent, even more so in cases that end with the gunman’s death.But some of Adams’s friends said he never got over how his N.F.L. career ended. Rather than catching on with one team and landing a big contract worth tens of millions of dollars, he bounced from team to team, often playing for the league minimum salary. The calls for his services stopped coming, a common fate in the N.F.L., because colleges produce dozens of cheaper, healthier replacement players every year.The disappointment of washing out was particularly acute for Adams, friends said, because he came from Rock Hill, which has given rise to so many N.F.L. players that it is known as Football City U.S.A.To Adams, even a six-year career — twice as long as the average — may have been a letdown when compared to those of other local players like Jadeveon Clowney, who was picked first over all in the 2014 draft and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection; tight end Benjamin Watson, who played 13 seasons with the Patriots, Saints and other teams; and Stephon Gilmore, a defensive leader on the Patriots.“We have a saying around here: You could pay $6 on Friday night or you can wait a few years and pay $600 to see the kids around here play,” said Gene Knight, a broadcaster who has covered the city’s sports for decades.Charcandrick West, who played with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2014 to 2018 and shared an agent with Adams, said he and Adams worked out together during a couple of off-seasons. West said Adams was reserved and proud of his Rock Hill roots.“I never saw him get mad at anyone,” West said. “He was all about his business, washing and folding his clothes, real neat.”West added: “I feel like every athlete tries to keep high expectations. When you’re from Rock Hill, such a great football town, he didn’t want to be known as the guy who bounced around.”Neighbors noticed that Adams’s behavior had changed in the past year. He was less friendly and would pace outside his Rock Hill, S.C., home. “We noticed in the yard, he was out walking, kind of sad,” Anne Belue, a neighbor, said.Sam Wolfe/ReutersCasterline, who has worked as an N.F.L. agent for decades, also said Adams had trouble grasping why he didn’t catch on with a team.“Sometimes, these decisions are political,” Casterline said of teams’ cutting players. “Someone who’s drafted in the first round is going to get the most opportunities. That weighed on him a lot. The Patriots cut him three times in one season. They needed him, they didn’t, they’d cut him and re-sign him. It’s good for the paycheck, but not for the psyche.”Knight, the local sports broadcaster, remembered Adams as “a fierce competitor on the field, but he was a gentleman off the field all the times I encountered him.”Knight had also been treated once by Dr. Lesslie, a popular and well-known physician in Rock Hill, when he struggled with food poisoning. He said Dr. Lesslie worked on him at 2 a.m., easing his symptoms with intravenous therapy.“It’s not two people whose paths I thought would cross in this manner,” he said. “And I think that’s what a lot of people are wrestling with in the whole craziness of this situation.”John Jeter More

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      Patriots, 49ers Among N.F.L. Free Agency’s Biggest Spenders

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      The 2021 N.F.L. salary cap has crunched some teams looking to shore up their rosters. Others have opened up their wallets.In an off-season characterized by a $182.5 million salary cap, down 8 percent from 2020, N.F.L. general managers are maneuvering the landscape carefully. With the official start of free agency underway, executives are looking at players to add — or keep — on their rosters, but only at the right price.Of course, some teams are already spending more aggressively than others, mostly on big contracts for proven defensive talent and one-year deals for a handful of high-profile names. In the coming days, teams with leftover cap room are expected to fill in the gaps with a loaded pool of free agent receivers who have taken a back seat with the crunched cap limit.So far, these are the teams that have set the market in free agency, investing millions of dollars in free agency for a better chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next February (or throwing it to a teammate on another boat during the celebratory parade).New England PatriotsAfter missing the playoffs and finishing 7-9 in 2020, general manager/coach Bill Belichick strengthened his team by spending more than $268 million in contracts, the biggest free agent spree in the league so far, according to Spotrac. New England doled a sizable portion of that sum to the offense, which struggled in its first season without quarterback Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl after leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year ago in free agency.Belichick went all in on tight ends, signing Jonnu Smith to a four-year, $50 million contract and Hunter Henry to a three-year, $37.5 million deal. By prying Smith away from the Tennessee Titans and Henry away from the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots are poised to use two-tight end formations, as they did from 2010-12 with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The offense ranked in the top three in scoring each of those seasons. Smith caught 41 passes for 448 yard and eight touchdowns last season and Henry was the Chargers’ second-leading receiver with 60 catches for 613 yards and four touchdowns.While the Patriots re-signed quarterback Cam Newton to another one-year deal, it is still possible that New England adds another quarterback this off-season. Whoever’s under center should have at least two dependable targets.San Francisco 49ersOffensive tackle Trent Williams was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2020 season, his first with the San Francisco 49ers.Rick Scuteri/Associated PressDecimated by injuries last season, the 49ers inked two major additions to its offensive front in an effort to quickly rebound as an N.F.C. contender.The team locked in eight-time Pro Bowl selection Trent Williams to a six-year, $138 million contract, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in N.F.L. history. Williams had been traded to San Francisco last year after he held out the 2019 season over a claim that Washington Football Team doctors mishandled treating a cancerous tumor on his head. He joins center Alex Mack, a six-time Pro Bowler who the 49ers signed to a three-year, $14.85 million deal.A good chunk of the $164.9 million the 49ers spent in free agency went to adding two of the best blockers in football to protect quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo against the N.F.C. West’s aggressive pass rushers, Rams Aaron Donald and Arizona Cardinals’ J.J. Watt. An upright quarterback tends to have a positive effect on a team’s offense.Jacksonville JaguarsBy trading expensive players such as Jalen Ramey and Yannick Ngakoue in recent seasons, the Jacksonville Jaguars entered free agency with a bevy of available cap space. They have offered $144 million in total value for contracts. They focused primarily on defense, after finishing 1-15 with the league’s second-worst defense, signing cornerback Shaquill Griffin to a three-year, $40-millon contract, safety Rayshawn Jenkins to a four-year, $35-million deal and defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris to three years and $23.4 million.Offensively, the Jaguars’ rebuild starts with the draft, where the team will mostly likely use the No. 1 overall pick to select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. First-time N.F.L. head coach Urban Meyer, who team owner Shahid Khan said will have roster control, is using free agency to plug holes before the new face of the franchise arrives. But Meyer has already voiced his displeasure with some aspects of running an N.F.L. team, calling the league’s legal tampering period “awful.”Cincinnati BengalsA strong free agency market for defensive talent led the woeful Bengals (4-11 in the 2020 season) to prioritize that side of the ball with $122.75 million in free agent contracts. The team also signed Vikings tackle Riley Reiff to a one year, $7.5-million deal, the first step in fixing a weak offensive line charged with protecting Joe Burrow, who tied for ninth-most sacked quarterback in the league last season.Tennessee TitansDerrick Henry’s legs can only carry the Titans so far. Despite a season where the running back again led the league in rushing yards, Tennessee was bounced from the playoffs in the wild-card round. This off-season, general manager Jon Robinson bolstered the pass rush by adding former Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree on a five-year, $82.5-million contract. Dupree had eight sacks for the Steelers in the 2020 season. The Titans are paying him to help contain opposing quarterbacks with the potential to burn them on the ground as the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson did in key moments of that playoff loss to Baltimore.JetsFirst-year head coach Robert Saleh’s defensive background showed in free agency when the Jets signed defensive end Carl Lawson to a three-year, $45-million deal. It’s the largest the Jets finalized in free agency thus far, contributing to the $110.25 million in total contracts.Pairing Lawson, whose speed helped him to 5.5 sacks last season with the Bengals, on the edge should complement the power of third-year defensive lineman Quinnen Williams. The Jets hold the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, and are a rumored landing spot for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Their roster could still see major additions.Tampa Bay BuccaneersShaquil Barrett, right, is a critical part of the Buccaneers’ pass rush and was a key contributor to Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run. Ashley Landis/Associated PressThe 2020 Super Bowl champions faced serious questions on if they could keep the core group of key contributors — linebacker Shaquil Barrett, receiver Chris Godwin, and tight end Rob Gronkowski and others needed new contracts — with little available cap space entering free agency.With some slick accounting, Tampa Bay looks like it will keep most of the band together.General manager Jason Licht cleared cap space by placing the franchise tag on Godwin and Tom Brady contributed too, by reworking his contract and signing a four-year extension to lessen the team’s cap hit.The Buccaneers have spent $93 million so far in free agency, highlighted by a four-year, $68-million contact for Barrett, who shined at the end of the playoffs as part of the team’s phenomenal pass rush. Barrett sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers three times in the N.F.C. championship game and hounded Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.Still finessing the available cap space, the Buccaneers also retained tight end Rob Gronkowski on a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $10 million and can now turn their attention to receiver Antonio Brown, running back Leonard Fournette and defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh in the hope of making another championship run.Los Angeles ChargersRookie quarterback Justin Herbert came into the league without a traditional training camp, was thrust into the starting spot after a freak injury to the starter, and still completed a record-breaking rookie year.He did all that with a rotating cast of offensive lineman, who the Chargers have looked to upgrade in free agency by signing former Packers All-Pro center Corey Linsley to a five-year, $62.5-million deal and adding Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Matt Feiler on a three-year, $21-million deal.Under new head coach Brandon Staley, the Chargers have spent $89.5 million so far in free agency to make Herbert’s second N.F.L. season a bit more stable.Washington Football TeamThe most impactful of Washington’s signings was inking journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, $10-million contract to challenge Taylor Heinicke (who got a two-year, $4.75-million deal) at the position. It will be Fitzpatrick’s ninth team in his 17-year career.Fitzpatrick, who initially started last season for the Miami Dolphins last season before coach Brian Flores inserted rookie Tua Tagovailoa, should allow Washington to compete for a playoff berth in the wide-open N.F.C. East. He also buys the team time to find a long-term quarterback solution if Heinicke isn’t it.Kansas City ChiefsMahomes absorbed three sacks and nine hits in the Super Bowl, largely because starting tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz were out with injuries.The team released both long-tenured tackles and added Patriots lineman Joe Thuney on a five-year, $80-million contract. Kansas City re-signed tackle Mike Remmers to a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $7 million. More