Jaguars signing Trevor Lawrence to record-breaking contract extension, plus Chiefs receive Super Bowl rings

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Guess what? You made it to Friday! Before we all kick back for the weekend, allow me, Tyler Sullivan, to provide everything you need to know surrounding the NFL. Cody Benjamin and I will be tag-teaming the newsletter while our buddy John Breech enjoys some time off and we'll do our best to meet Breech's quota of 47 Bengals and/or Joe Burrow references.

Of course, this is the Pick Six newsletter and be sure to subscribe right here, so you never miss a second of NFL updates. Alrighty, let's get to it.

1. Jaguars inking Trevor Lawrence to record-breaking extension

The quarterback market was turned on its head on Thursday as Trevor Lawrence became the latest to receive a monster extension. As CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones confirmed, Lawrence and the Jaguars agreed to a five-year, $275 million contract extension. The deal has the former No. 1 overall pick tied with Joe Burrow as the NFL's highest-paid quarterback in history with an average annual salary of $55 million per season.

Lawrence is also the fourth quarterback to make $200 million fully guaranteed within a contract, joining Burrow, Deshaun Watson and Justin Herbert. The Jaguars gave pass rusher Josh Allen a $150 million extension in April, which made him the first $100 million player in franchise history. Now, Lawrence exceeds that number and becomes the club's first $200 million player. The QB had two years remaining on his rookie contract after the Jaguars picked up his fifth-year option for 2025 before inking this extension.

To see where the rest of the quarterbacks in the league stack up against Lawrence, click here.

2. Best move by each AFC team this offseason

With most teams wrapping up mandatory minicamps this week, the NFL is about to enter its quiet period. While teams could add more talent over the next few months before opening up training camp, the major roster-building markers of the offseason have come and gone.

So, with that in mind, we're looking at some of the very best moves each team has made this offseason. This go around, Garrett Podell took a look at the AFC and came up with his top moves for each club. Here's a look at a handful of moves that Podell believes were much-needed:

Baltimore Ravens: Signing Derrick Henry. In an offense with Jackson, Henry can remove the weight of powering the Ravens run game from the quarterback, which should allow Jackson to remain fresh deeper into the season -- thus improving their playoff performance on offense. Jackson did lead the league in yards per carry last season (5.5), but with Henry in the backfield, he can save his legs for the postseason, which could allow his regular-season yards-per-carry rate to increase with his rushing usage decreasing.
Kansas City Chiefs: Rebuilding WR room. Patrick Mahomes' deep ball disappeared the moment All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins. Mahomes threw 41 touchdowns of 20 or more air years when Hill was around from 2018 to 2021, but since his departure he has only tossed such scoring strikes in the last two seasons. That's why the Chiefs made the two moves they did to acquire receivers with the ability to stretch defenses downfield. They selected Texas receiver Xavier Worthy, who ran a record 4.21 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, 28th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and signing Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, a 2019 first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens whose 10 career receiving touchdowns of 20 or more air yards since entering the league are tied for the 12th-most in the NFL in that span. Allowing the best quarterback in football to reliably throw deep again is a big deal.
Los Angeles Chargers: Hiring Jim Harbaugh. Poaching Jim Harbaugh from Michigan, his alma mater, fresh off winning the national championship is a massive victory and the best move the Chargers have made this offseason. As the coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014, he went 44-19-1 en route to becoming the only coach in NFL history to reach the conference championship round in each of his first three seasons. He also reached the Super Bowl in his second season in the Bay Area, finishing just a few yards short of winning it all in the 2012 season.
His .695 winning percentage is the sixth-best in NFL history and the second best in the league since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden (.759). Harbaugh's San Francisco thrived in two areas in which Los Angeles has sorely lacked in the Justin Herbert era: running the ball and defense. The Chargers are 28th in the league in rushing yards per game (101.3) since drafting Herbert sixth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and their defense has allowed 24.8 points per game (28th in the NFL since 2020).

To see every AFC team's top offseason move, click here.

3. Chiefs receive Super Bowl LVIII championship rings

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Ring — Kansas City Chiefs (Ryan Hill)

The Kansas City Chiefs were able to bask in the glory of their Super Bowl LVIII one more time on Thursday night. The club received their Super Bowl championship rings in a ceremony that was headlined by the newest piece of jewelry.

Overall, it's a remarkably impressive ring. It includes 529 diamonds and 38 rubies which are wrapped around 10-karat white and yellow gold. All four of the franchise's Lombardi trophies are featured on the face and inside showing the game-winning play of Patrick Mahomes completing a touchdown to Mecole Hardman drawn out in Andy Reid's handwriting. One side features the final score of the overtime thriller vs. the San Francisco 49ers and the words "back-to-back," commemorating their consecutive titles.

This is the third Super Bowl ring that the Chiefs have collected in the Mahomes-Reid era.

4. Saquon Barkley among top NFL comeback candidates

Just because a player has established themselves as a star in the NFL, it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be gangbusters every given season. Naturally, there are ebbs and flows to a career and, for these players that our own Chris Trapasso is highlighting here, they are looking for a bounce-back campaign in 2024. Trapasso combed over all the rosters in the NFL and identified a handful of veterans who could have a resurgence this coming season. Key among them is Saquon Barkley, who just inked a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

Trapasso on Barkey: Barkley nearly reached 1,000 yards last season -- which has become a real milestone in today's NFL -- but it came without much efficiency. His 3.9 yards-per-carry average was the second-lowest for a full season the uber-talented runner has accomplished. Heck, in 2021, Barkley averaged a mere 3.7 yards per. And today, that low of a YPC average will absolutely deter any club from running the football.

But, fortunately for Barkley, bouncing from New York to Philadelphia inside the NFC East means he goes from one of the worst, more porous offensive lines with essentially no continuity to one of the finest blocking collectives in football. Sure, no Jason Kelce will probably lead to some growing pains inside to begin the season, but the Eagles prudently prepared for the post-Kelce era -- Cam Jurgens should be able to do many of the same things Kelce did on the move from the center position.

Last year, D'Andre Swift averaged 4.6 yards per and all of the Eagles reserve runners were over 4.2 yards per. And, vitally, Barkley isn't technically "old" by NFL running back standards in that he still hasn't hit the dreaded age-28 season yet. Philadelphia is going to want to run it with Barkley and Jalen Hurts. Often. I expect well over 1,000 yards for Saquon at well north of 4.0 yards per tote in 2024.

To see Trapasso's other comeback candidates, click here.

5. Aaron Rodgers returns: Numbers to know as Jets QB prepares for comeback

Speaking of comebacks, Aaron Rodgers is trying to get his Jets tenure off the ground after a torn Achilles erased his first season in New York just four snaps into the year. Our Doug Clawson dived into 10 key numbers surrounding the four-time NFL MVP as he attempts his comeback.

12-22-1: If Rodgers gets hurt again we've come to expect a lot of losing. Rodgers' backups have a 12-22-1 record since his first start in 2008. The collective includes Brett Hundley, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien, Seneca Wallace, Jordan Love, Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian. New York at least upgraded its backup QB spot with Tyrod Taylor in 2024.
1: You can look to one QB for the Jets' ceiling in 2024. Tom Brady is the one and only QB with 30-plus touchdown passes in a season at age 40 or older. He is also the only QB to win a Super Bowl after turning 40, and he did it twice.
1967: I'm sure the Jets would love to see him hit 500, or how about 4,000? The last Jets QB to throw for 4,000 yards in a season was infamously Joe Namath in 1967. Only the Bears have waited longer for a 4,000-yard passer. They've never had one in their 104 seasons.