Latest news with #Walder
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Orleans Saints Receive Worst NFL Offseason Grade from ESPN
New Orleans Saints Receive Worst NFL Offseason Grade from ESPN originally appeared on Athlon Sports. ESPN is not a fan of the New Orleans Saints' offseason moves. ESPN's Seth Walder posted his offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams. Walder graded the Saints' offseason a D, ranking them with the worst in the league. Advertisement Jun 10, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) looks on during minicamp at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. The ESPN insider admits most of his criticism of the team comes from how they handled the Derek Carr situation. New Orleans had the opportunity to cut Carr early in the offseason and save $30 million, but the Saints opted to restructure the veteran quarterback's contract, making it fully guaranteed. New Orleans has been manipulating the cap for years, but guaranteeing Carr's deal was questioned by all fans when it happened. Despite announcing their intentions to compete in the NFC South in 2025, the Saints are going through a rebuild. Walder buffs this by saying, "Even if the $10 million was a sunk cost (it wasn't quite), was Carr worth $30 million to the Saints in 2025? He shouldn't have been." Resigning their veteran quarterback was counterproductive and would have cost the team more money in the future. Luckily for the Saints, Carr announced his retirement a month before the draft and gracefully declined to take the guaranteed money from New Orleans. Advertisement Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after tight end Taysom Hill (not pictured) scores a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the second half at Caesars Lew-Imagn Images ESPN also noted its displeasure with the Saints' re-signing of defensive end Chase Young. Walder mentions himself as a fan of Young, but feels New Orleans only made the move to avoid dead cap hits if the former first overall pick were to leave. Walder's criticism of the Young signing feels contradictory, however. The young pass rusher is only 26 years old, and despite the lack of sacks in 2024, was top-10 in quarterback hurries. The Saints believe the former Washington Commander and San Francisco 49ers pass rusher can be a meaningful piece of their young core going forward and secured him on a deal. The consensus is that the team overpaid for Young, but the 26-year-old edge rusher's contract barely ranks in the top 20 per year, ranking 18th among all pass rushers. Among other offseason moves mentioned by ESPN were Juwan Johnson's three-year $30 million extension and the signing of Justin Reid. Similarly to the Young signing, Walder likes the moves, just not the fact that the Saints made them. Advertisement New Orleans is going through a rebuild. With a first-year head coach and the realistic expectation that the team would be starting a rookie quarterback, it was always going to be hard for the team to put out an impressive offseason with the limited resources they had. Despite the limits, the Saints have added plenty of promising and proven coaches to their staff and went out to get players that will make life easier for their young signal caller. Related: Saints' Rival to Miss Key Player to Start the 2025 Season Related: The NFL World Reacts to the Saints' New Alternate Helmet This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Latest offseason grade deeply questions Patriots' free agency moves
Not everyone has been impressed with the New England Patriots' moves throughout the offseason. That was clearly reflected in the latest ESPN offseason grades, where ESPN's Seth Walder gave the Patriots a C-plus for their efforts. To be fair, Walder did like the hiring of coach Mike Vrabel. He labeled it as the biggest move made by the team so far this year. However, the move he mostly disliked was the Patriots signing Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Milton Williams to a four-year, $104 million deal. It was a historic deal richer than any other contract in franchise history. Walder views the move as an overpay on the Patriots' end. He also wasn't a big fan of the signings of Stefon Diggs, Harold Landry III and Carlton Davis. Walder wrote: "Diggs gives quarterback Drake Maye a badly needed playmaker, but he is 31 and coming off a torn ACL. Landry has a history of consistent sack production but is 29 and received $26 million fully guaranteed. I believe Davis is a worse player than the man who replaced him in Detroit (D.J. Reed), yet he still cost $18 million per year." The thinking on the New England side of things was likely to use the offseason as a chance to bring up the floor of the talent level on both sides of the ball. It was desperately needed for a team that has finished with a 4-13 record in consecutive seasons. Time will tell how things ultimately turn out on the football field, but there is no denying that the Patriots aimed to field a more competitive team in 2025. Whether they get there or not remains to be seen. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What grade did ESPN give the Minnesota Vikings 2025 offseason?
There is nothing better to do in the offseason than put on your teaching glasses, pick up the red pen, and look over each team's offseason. Especially right before training camp, the dust has settled on everything, and it allows for a clear image to be seen of every team. That philosophy is what ESPN's Seth Walder worked with when he released his latest offseason grades for every team. Within the grades, Walder also included his favorite and least favorite moves of each team from the past couple of months. For the Vikings, Walder gave the Vikings offseason a disappointing C+ grade. He did highlight the best move they made was sticking with J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback, while their worst was signing Jonathan Allen. He explains, writing, "What to do at quarterback was the biggest, most important decision the Vikings had to make. There were essentially three options -- retain Sam Darnold, sign Aaron Rodgers or start McCarthy, their 2024 first-round pick. . .Allen is 30 and declining; he had a below-average 8% pass rush win rate as a defensive tackle last season after being a top-10 player in the category a few seasons ago. Yet Minnesota paid him $17 million per year on a three-year deal (albeit with only $23.3 million fully guaranteed, per That is pricier than the deal the Commanders cut Allen on and makes me think the Vikings should have traded a conditional seventh-round pick to Washington and taken Allen's old contract." We have talked about McCarthy to the point of exhaustion but hearing push back on Allen is something new to us here at Vikings Wire. Having him sign for such a big amount of money, after the Commanders cut him for something similar, isn't ideal, but it is a gamble we have seen Kwesi Adofo-Mensah make and win on in the past. Eventually, the house always wins. Is this the bet that finally does it for the Vikings? Time will tell, but at least they have J.J. McCarthy to lean on.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
49ers receiving surprising grade from ESPN in offseason recap
It wasn't an easy offseason for the San Francisco 49ers. After a five-year window where Super Bowl contention was the goal each offseason, the 49ers spent the 2025 offseason starting a retooling of its roster that saw a mass exodus of veteran talent. Fan favorites like Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward and Dre Greenlaw all left the building. So did three of the team's four starting defensive linemen from last season. On the other hand, the 49ers made 11 picks in the 2025 NFL draft and made strides toward rebuilding their defensive line. They also handed out contract extensions to quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner. That reset and recommitment to their core was enough to earn the 49ers a strong A- grade from ESPN's Seth Walder. Walder listed the addition of Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator as the move he liked the best, but Purdy's extension was their biggest move of the offseason. Via ESPN: But San Francisco's biggest move came when Purdy's long-awaited extension finally happened, as the 49ers gave their quarterback a deal worth $53 million per year, with $100 million fully guaranteed. There are mixed opinions about Purdy's exact level of responsibility for the 49ers' passing success, but he's a perfect fit for what they want to do. San Francisco reached elite levels of passing efficiency with Purdy in 2023, performing at a higher level than it managed with Jimmy Garoppolo. The deal was also cheaper than I expected. If it had been $60 million per year, it would have been in line with Trevor Lawrence's and Jordan Love's 2024 deals when adjusting for salary cap inflation, and I wouldn't have blinked. Perhaps the biggest key in the 49ers' grade is that there wasn't a move Walder disliked. He even credited the team with letting players like Greenlaw, Hufanga and Ward walk. It was clear the 49ers had a plan this offseason. General manager John Lynch has laid out that the team executed the offseason the way it wanted to. A good offseason grade in mid-July is fine. Now they need to win once the regular season begins. If they do that, the A- will be quickly justified. More 49ers: San Francisco 49ers announce 2025 training camp open practice schedule
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL offseason grades: Arizona Cardinals get one of highest grades in league
Only one team got a higher offseason grade than the Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals had a strong offseason. They added veteran and young talent, especially defensively. They locked up their most productive offensive player. According to ESPN's Seth Walder, it was a great offseason. In fact, it was one of the highest-graded offseasons in the NFL. Walder gave the Cardinals an A-minus. He liked the four-year deal for outside linebacker Josh Sweat. He liked the addition of defensive lineman Calais Campbell. He liked the contract for backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. He wasn't thrilled that the Cardinals did not re-sign guard Will Hernandez. However, it is important to note that nobody has signed Hernandez, suggesting that he might not be healthy after he tore his ACL in Week 5. And a return to Arizona is certainly not out of the question, as the Cardinals did not add any sure starter to replace him and did not reassign No. 76, which he has worn throughout his career, despite the fact rookie guard Hayden Conner, their sixth-round draft pick, wore No. 76 all through college. With the Cardinals' grade, it is important to note that only one team received a higher grade — the Los Angeles Rams, who were the only team to receive an 'A' grade. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
