Free Agency Follies!:

• The Niners & defensive lineman Arik Armstead avoided the franchise tag by agreeing to a five-year deal worth up to $85 million.  
  • He was last seen absolutely wrecking Aaron Rodgers’ shit in the NFC Championship game.
  • With Nick Bosa having three years left on his rookie deal, this makes sure the Niners have a rock-solid defensive line through 2022.
• After the signing was announced, the Niners next move was to ship DeForest Buckner to the Colts for their #13 First-round pick in the 2020 draft.
  • Upon that notice, the Colts then announced they had extended Buckner for $21 million per season.
    • Given they had $68 million in cap space, the Colts could afford it and still have room for more signings.
      • FYI – Andrew Luck is still a 2.5% cap hit in 202 given his pro-rated signing bonus from 2018.

• The Browns have been busy:
  • They edged out the Packers & agreed to terms with soon-to-be-former Falcon TE Austin Hooper.
    • Nothing’s been disclosed yet – and won’t be until Wednesday at 4:00 – but estimates are it’ll be between $10-11 million per year.
  • They agreed to terms with now-former Titans OT Jack Conklin.
    • Three years at $42 million, including $20 million the first season & $30 million guaranteed.

• The Cowboys avoided losing DAK! to free agency by slapping him with the exclusive franchise tag.  
  • It prevents other teams from talking to him about deals.
    • They now have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal or he plays under the tag for 2020.
  • It guarantees he’ll be paid the average of the top-five highest paid QBs in 2020, so roughly $33 million.

• The Vikings have extended Kirk Cousins for two more years.
  • At a total of $66 million, it’s an average raise of $5 million from his current three year, $84 million deal.

• The Saints have first-round tendered QB Taysom Hill, at a cost of $4.7 million.
  • It means that other teams can negotiate, but if they sign him the Saints get that team’s first-round draft pick.

Assorted NFL Nuggets:

• The Falcons, for salary cap reasons, released Devonta Freeman.  
  • He had three years left on his contract, worth $21 million.
    • He will count as $6 million in dead-cap money for 2020 due to bonuses.
  • They also released offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo on Monday, saving $3.7 million against the cap.
  • According to Spotrac’s salary cap predictions, the Falcons were expected to be over the cap by at least $1.0 million without making any moves.

• The Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals.
  • Along with a 2020 fourth-rounder, the Texans get back running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-rounder.
  • Kyler Murray now has a lot of targets beyond Fitty.

• At present, the Draft is still going to be in Vegas, but there will be none of the public events that usually accompany the travelling carnival.
  • They are looking for “innovative options” for the draft’s presentation, since there won’t be the usual cheering supporters & booing Jets fans.

First COVID-19 came for Italian soccer, and I thought, “Good – let them play without fans”, as punishment for all the racism in Serie-A.

Next it came for basketball, and I didn’t care.

Then it came for the NHL, and while I cared I understood. The Canucks are in a delicate playoff position.

It got the Prime Minister’s wife, and I shrugged my shoulders.

But now it’s coming for our sexiest people, and I cannot have that!

This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 16, 2020

Tonight’s sports:

• WWE:  
  • Monday Night Raw – 8:00PM | USA / Sportsnet360
    • “Raw 3:16” with special guest Steve Austin.
    • Live from the WWE Performance Center in Florida.
      • Expect a “crowd” filled with employees who are allowed to be there because they work there & thus it gets around the 50-person limit.

Or, there’s this I found on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/davdchristmas/status/1239196410857340933

Either way, thank God free agency can still go ahead. Something to talk about!