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Hi Darin! After listening to Brandt Tilis talking with Field Yates (the interview is on YouTube at Field Talk Podcast), in which he discussed the process behind Mahomes' extension when Brandt was still with the Chiefs, I wondered if there's something similar happening already on the front office regarding a future Bryce Young extension. Sure, for now, he needs to keep playing the way he finished the season — although I find it hard to believe that someone with his skills and demeanor won't keep improving even more after he found his game translating to the NFL. But in KC, they already started planning after they drafted Mahomes, before he played a down.
If I can add another one, although Jonathon Brooks won't play this season; he'll still be only 22 next season and is under contract for two more years with the team. Saw a lot of opinions after the draft that the Trevor Etienne selection is a sign of 'whatever' on JB. Rico Dowdle is under contract for this season only, and if the season and the run game go well, as everyone is hoping, he will certainly get a better contract elsewhere next season. And RB is a tough position physically, so we'll never know who's intact for next season. Anyway, I still think JB will play a big role in '26 and '27 if he fully recovers (which is the more probable scenario). Am I crazy in thinking that? — Fernando, São Paulo, Brazil
Yep, that was a good listen. And as has been made clear, if you're paying attention to our Inside the Draft Room stories or Blueprint, it's that they have a plan for all of this and are meticulous in their commitment to making sure they're making decisions the right way. That doesn't mean they all work out, but it gives you a better chance of making the correct call when you're thorough.
Fernando nailed it. The first step is for Bryce to continue to play the way he did in the second half of last year. But if he does, eventually, the contract stuff will come into play and take care of itself.
In short, the Panthers have been intentional about the way they give out contracts so they have future flexibility. Hence, all those one-year contracts last year and the shorter deals they've handed out since. The point is not being locked into too many guys forever and using the draft to increase the supply of price-controlled rookies.
I'll let other people freak out about the size of the contract when the time comes. I'm old enough to remember the outrage over Sean Gilbert's seven-year, $46.5 million deal ($7 million doesn't buy you what it used to), and I understand that the salary cap continues to rise. At a certain point, the numbers are less important than what they represent.
And to bring that to the Brooks example, Dowdle is here on a one-year deal. Come March, they'll have Chuba, Brooks, and Etienne under contract, two of them on affordable rookie deals with different end points. Layering in those contracts so guys don't come up all at once adds to the flexibility.
It almost feels like it was on purpose.