All 32 NFL teams wrapped up their offseason programs this past week, ending nine weeks of workouts and practices and beginning five weeks of summer vacation. The NFL enters the only true lull in its schedule, between now and the end of July when training camps begin.
The NFL offseason may not mean much. Tom Brady skipped most of it. Bill Belichick basically canceled the final week of practices. One team let all of its veterans skip minicamp.
But there were still plenty of developments across the league this spring. Let’s take a look at some of the top story lines:
■ The progress of the first-round rookie quarterbacks was the most interesting to track.
No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield has been going full-bore at the Browns’ facility, and has already earned reps with the second team, ahead of Drew Stanton. But Mayfield still has a long way to go to unseat Tyrod Taylor as the starter.
“I made a commitment to [Taylor], and he has held up his end of the bargain with not just the way he works but the way he plays and the way he leads,’’ Browns coach Hue Jackson said Wednesday.
The Jets’ Sam Darnold hasn’t overtaken Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater yet, but the two veterans have been inconsistent in spring practices, while Darnold has impressed the coaching staff. Darnold will start camp as the third quarterback but has a decent shot of winning the starting job for Week 1.
“Ever since rookie minicamp, he hasn’t flinched. Everything we’ve thrown at him, he’s been able to handle,’’ Jets offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said. “If he can handle it, if he can prove that he’s the starter, then that will take place when the time comes.’’
The Bills’ Josh Allen has mesmerized fans with his big arm in practice. He’ll start the preseason third on the depth chart behind A.J. McCarron and Nate Peterman, but Allen also has a real chance to be the Week 1 starter.
“Very intelligent,’’ Bills running back LeSean McCoy said. “He’s too smart. Sometimes, we have conversations, and I’m like, ‘Easy, this is not like an exam. Just talk to me. You can say, ‘Yo, what’s up.’ ’’
In Arizona, Josh Rosen has benefited from extra reps this spring due to Sam Bradford coming back slowly from last year’s knee injury. Rosen split reps with veteran Mike Glennon all spring, and Rosen has a good chance to be the No. 2 right away. But the Cardinals wouldn’t mind if Rosen sat behind Bradford for a bit.
“When you draft a guy with the 10th overall pick you’d love for him to have success early on,’’ general manager Steve Keim said this past week. “But at the same time I think there is a way of doing it to protect the young man moving forward. If you think he’s your long-term future, you make sure it’s done from a healthy standpoint, meaning not just his physical part but the mental part as well.’’
And in Baltimore, Lamar Jackson’s presence has put Joe Flacco on notice. Jackson won’t challenge Flacco for the Week 1 job, but Jackson ran the entire minicamp practice on Thursday.
“He’s obviously been challenged,’’ safety Eric Weddle said of Flacco. “Drafting Lamar and bringing [Robert] Griffin in, it’s lit a fire under him. You can tell. It has shown.’’
■ The second-most important news of the spring has to do not with the game, but with the business side of the NFL. Several star players skipped mandatory minicamps last week as part of their contract squabbles, giving their teams the option of fining each player a total of $84,435 (teams often waive the fines if and when they agree to a contract extension with the player).
After skipping minicamp, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, Cardinals running back David Johnson, Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Falcons receiver Julio Jones, and Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan are now threats to hold out for the start of training camp, as well. Jones has three years left on his current deal; everyone else is entering his final year.
And then there is Donald Stephenson, the most curious holdout. Stephenson, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Browns this offseason to compete for the left tackle job, has been strangely absent from offseason workouts and skipped minicamp. The Browns didn’t give any explanation for Stephenson’s absence, then on Friday the NFL suspended him for two games for violating the league’s policy on substances of abuse.
■ The return of Andrew Luck continues to be the most fascinating story of the offseason that no one outside of Indianapolis is talking much about.
On one hand, Luck said this past week that he will “absolutely’’ be ready for Week 1 after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury.
“No knock on wood,’’ Luck told reporters. “I’ll be playing. I believe it in my bones.’’
On the other hand, Luck is only now starting to throw again, for the first time since last October. And in Tuesday’s minicamp practice, Luck was using a high school football, not a regulation NFL football. Luck said he likes using the smaller ball as he starts his throwing program again, and has a “little mental block’’ about throwing the full-size ball.
No matter how much optimism Luck and the Colts are expressing, they can’t be sure about his return until he throws a real football, and does it day after day.
■ Injuries are always an unfortunate part of offseason football, and this spring 15 players have been put on season-ending injured reserve — and that doesn’t include Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, who has yet to go on IR after tearing his ACL. Among the players on IR are running backs Fozzy Whittaker and Akeem Hunt, and linebacker Paul Worrilow.
■ Three quarterbacks are reestablishing themselves as they return from injuries.
Ryan Tannehill is back running the Dolphins’ offense as he enters a make-or-break year. Tannehill, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, was doing team drills without a brace this past week, and putting in a lot of work with new receivers Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson.
Deshaun Watson has impressed everyone in the Texans organization with his dedication and progress through his ACL recovery. Watson, who tore his ACL in practice last Nov. 8, is progressing so well that NFL Network says he isn’t expected to start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. I won’t be shocked if Watson is ready for the Week 1 game at New England.
In Philadelphia, the Eagles are progressing with Nick Foles as their starting quarterback while Carson Wentz recovers from his ACL tear. Wentz had his repaired on Dec. 13, and hasn’t been cleared for contact, but looked sharp in 7-on-7 drills this past week.
■ And Belichick wasn’t the only coach to give his players this past week off. The Packers’ Mike McCarthy excused 16 veterans from the entire three-day minicamp, including Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy smartly used the time to get more reps for his youngsters instead.
FOXBOROUGH FOLLOWING
McCourty hasn’t cornered a spot
■ After watching the Patriots go through two OTAs and three minicamp practices, one interesting takeaway is that veteran cornerback Jason McCourty didn’t participate in the competitive portions of practice, watching from the sideline as he dealt with an unspecified injury. Most injured players worked with trainers on the side field, but McCourty watched every practice from the sideline, ostensibly so he knows what to do when training camp begins in late July.
McCourty is the favorite to replace Malcolm Butler as a starting outside cornerback, but I wouldn’t consider him a roster lock, either.
The Patriots have some intriguing (and cheap) youngsters on the bottom of the roster, and can save $2.625 million by releasing McCourty. Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe, Jonathan Jones, and rookie Duke Dawson are locks at cornerback, leaving McCourty to battle with J.C. Jackson, Ryan Lewis, Keion Crossen, and others for a roster spot.
■ The Patriots also look like they’re going to give Trent Brown first crack at the left tackle job, with first-round pick Isaiah Wynn starting for now at left guard. With David Andrews established at center and Shaq Mason one of the best right guards in the NFL, third-year veteran Joe Thuney may feel the squeeze.
Thuney, who missed the offseason program following foot surgery, could go from a guy who started all 38 games and missed just nine snaps over the last two seasons to a backup. But having Thuney as a backup would give the Patriots enviable depth at offensive line, as he is more than capable at all three interior spots, and can also fill in at right tackle.
■ Thuney might not be a backup for long. Mason, entering the last year of his contract, is licking his chops after Cowboys guard Zack Martin signed a six-year, $84 million deal this past week. Mason is set to cash in next offseason, and the Patriots may choose to let him walk, with Thuney and Wynn both under contract for 2020.
■ Considering Julian Edelman’s four-game suspension will cost him about one-third of his $3 million salary this year, it will be interesting to see if the Patriots do anything with Edelman’s contract.
When Rob Ninkovich was suspended for four games in 2016, the Patriots helped ease the sting by giving him a contract extension before the start of the season that lowered his base salary (and thus lowered some of the financial impact of the suspension) and included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
■ Neither the Eagles nor Redskins will be coming to Foxborough for joint practices this year, meaning the Patriots won’t have any joint practices in training camp for the first time since 2011, when the league was coming off the lockout.
The Redskins’ agreement with the city of Richmond requires them to hold a certain number of practices there each year, precluding them from coming to Foxborough before their preseason game with the Patriots.
And while it is supremely disappointing that we won’t get a Patriots-Eagles rematch for three days in August, it is probably for the best. Considering the trash talk coming from several Eagles players all offseason toward the Patriots (most notably Lane Johnson), and the raw feelings that would inevitably bubble from the Patriots’ players when they see the Eagles up close for three days, those practices would have a chance to get nasty in a hurry.
ETC.
Titans’ change wasn’t a cop-out
NFL teams took a few disparate approaches to the end of minicamp and the offseason program.
The Patriots, Chiefs, Dolphins, and Saints were among the teams that canceled their final day of practice. The Titans canceled practice and did a team bonding trip to the Metro Nashville Police Training Academy.
“These guys have worked hard throughout the entire offseason, and to engage our local law enforcement to educate our players on what they go through, the situations they deal with on a daily basis, it gives us a further appreciation for what they do for our community,’’ Titans GM Jon Robinson said.
Coach Mike Vrabel also said the trip was a “good opportunity for us to be taught gun safety from professionals that are trained in that field.’’
And in Phoenix, new coach Steve Wilks had his team practice outside late in the morning on a day that the high temperature reached 110 degrees. The Cardinals usually practice indoors in their bubble.
“It was hot today,’’ Wilks said. “But it’s part of us building that mental toughness. There are going to be certain times down in Glendale [for training camp] that we’re going to get outside as well.’’
Scare for Solder
The Giants almost had a nightmare finish to their offseason program. Defensive tackle Damon Harrison got in a helmet-swinging fight with rookie guard Will Hernandez, and prized new left tackle Nate Solder was an unexpected casualty.
Solder tweaked his knee after someone rolled up into the back of his leg, and he was down on the field for several moments and got checked out by team trainers. New coach Pat Shurmur said afterward that Solder, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract this offseason and became the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league, is OK.
Extra points
Good for Reggie Bush, the former running back who won a nearly $12.5 million judgment against the Rams this past week for a knee injury he suffered in 2015 when the team was in St. Louis. Bush tore his ACL after slipping on a slab of concrete that surrounded the field at the Edward Jones Dome, and though Bush did play again in 2016, he argued successfully that he would have earned far more money if not for the injury. The St. Louis jury awarded Bush $4.95 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages, though 50 percent of the punitive damages will go to a Tort Victims’ Compensation Fund, per Missouri law. NFL teams need to be punished heavily when they have dangerous playing surfaces . . . Every Patriots fan’s favorite executive just landed a new gig. Ryan Grigson, a.k.a. Mr. Deflategate, has landed a role as a consultant with the Seahawks, per his agent. Grigson was fired as Colts GM in January 2017, and spent last year with the Browns . . . And former pass rusher extraordinaire DeMarcus Ware picked up some work. The Broncos have hired him as a part-time pass rushing consultant, ostensibly to work with No. 5 overall pick Bradley Chubb . . . Only 26 of the 256 draft picks remain unsigned, but that includes both of the Patriots’ first-rounders, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel. Both players have the same agents . . . On his Comeback SZN podcast, Johnny Manziel revealed quite the story about his pre-draft visit with the Patriots in 2014. Manziel said that he 1) ordered a $69 bottle of red wine to his hotel room at Patriot Place (on the team’s tab), 2) ruined the hotel room by spraying the red wine everywhere when he tried to open the bottle without a bottle opener, and 3) then drank beers with Rob Gronkowski. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I just got out of practice. Want to hang out?’ ’’ Manziel recalled. “That escalated a little bit more than just having a bottle of wine in the hotel room. But for as big as he is, that guy can actually play some Ping-Pong. I was really surprised. And maybe drank a couple beers.’’
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
