THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
For keen followers of College football, the past weekend would've been your happy place with all the prospects that have been touted over the past year finally finding their feet in the big league and having to relocate to their new cities.
It was a wild NFL Draft in Kansas City, with a lot of trades making it more dramatic than usual, and the overall number one pick wasn't even sacred. The Chicago Bears had "earned" the valuable top slot but when Carolina Panthers came with an over of wide receiver DJ Moore, as well as a first and second round pick, a first rounder next season and a further second round selection in 2025, the Bears took the trade. The end result was that quarterback Bryce Young, from Alabama is now a Panther. "I'm going to give everything to the franchise, to the organization, to the coaches. They believed in me, they drafted me, and I'm forever indebted for that. I will bring everything I have. Preparation, not just on Sundays but through the entire week, I'm going to give it my all," Young commented after.
The number two pick was another quarterback, CJ Stroud. Houston Texans need a shot in the arm in that position and see the Ohio State playmaker as their man, and he is not shying away from the task in hand. "I am viewing this opportunity as one of a kind. This is something God put in my life, and I know this is special. I am going to treat this like my baby. The city of Houston has not seen a franchise quarterback in a long time, and that is something I hope I become."
Away from the Draft there were two more QBs making headlines, ending months of speculation about their futures. One is coming to the end of his career, while the other is coming into his prime.
The saga of Aaron Rodgers at Green Bay was one of missed opportunities, and led the Packers into a situation last year where they drafted his potential replacement, Jordan Love. With his place now under threat the spotlight on Rodgers intensified even more. He was now living on borrowed time, and the second championship that he wanted so much, personally and for the fans in Titletown, did not materialize. For many weeks rumors circulated linking the New York Jets with the four time league MVP, then on April 26 the worst guarded secret for many a year was made official. The Jets know they have a championship caliber man now, after years of searching, and although this may be a short lived affair, New York loves a winner. Parallels have already been drawn to when Tom Brady left huge success behind in New England and led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl. Can history repeat itself, or will there be closer ties to when Brett Favre, who Rodgers replaced in Green Bay, left Lambeau for the Big Apple in similar fashion only for that to fail after one season.
The other big QB news is that Baltimore Ravens finally secured the talents of Lamar Jackson. The record-breaking deal put an end to a drama that at one stage, on March 2, led to Jackson handing in a trade request, with many teams keeping a close eye on the situation and calculating how the cost could fit into their salary cap structure. This was a man in high demand, and the Ravens would have been foolish to let him go, so in the end they backed down and paid their star man. Not just paid but handed him the biggest contract in NFL history. A five year deal worth a whopping $260m, with $185m of that as guaranteed money. Jackson's annual salary is now $52m, surpassing the deal that Super Bowl runner up Jalen Hurts had signed to stay with the Philadelphia Eagles just ten days previously.
Jackson passed comment on the Ravens social media after completing the deal: "You know for the last few months there's been a lot of he-say, she-say. A lot of nail-biting and head-scratching going on. But for the next five years, there's a lot of flock going on. Let's go, let's go baby. I can't wait to get there, be there and light up M&T for the next five years man. Let's get it."
The trades, moves and signings keep the sport firmly in our thoughts as we get closer to an announcement of the schedule which will of course include the multiple International Series games, and we'll bring news of those to you, to add further excitement as the off season continues.
