Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. If you haven't already, go fill out a men's bracket. Then fill out a women's one. Need help? Read on.
Let's get right to it.
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Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AND THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
The NFL's legal tampering period opened yesterday, and teams wasted no time agreeing to deals with pending free agents. Two teams that earned high marks on the first day were the Chargers and the Jaguars.
We'll start with the Chargers, who are having the one of the best offseasons in the NFL, writes NFL expert Jordan Dajani:
Dajani: "The Chargers are having just as impressive of an offseason as anyone, finding a way to retain wide receiver Mike Williams and trading for pass rusher Khalil Mack. We are only one day in, but it's safe to say that success carried into free agency. The Chargers landed the best cornerback in the class in J.C. Jackson, who reportedly agreed to a five-year, $82.5 million deal with $40 million guaranteed."Los Angeles also added defensive linemen Austin Johnson and Sebastian Joseph-Day to help a porous run defense. With Justin Herbert still on his rookie deal, I love that the Chargers continue to go all-in.
On the other side of the country, Trevor Lawrence is also on his rookie deal, and the Jaguars are doing all they can to help their young quarterback. Jacksonville's moves yesterday to boost Lawrence's supporting cast included:
You can keep track of every move with our...
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for...
Getty ImagesFERNANDO TATIS JR. AND THE SAN DIEGO PADRES
After a 99-day lockout, everyone was excited to get to Spring Training and hit the ground running. As it turns out, it's all going to get underway without the best player on the Padres and one of the league's biggest superstars, shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. He will be out up to three months with a fractured wrist that may require surgery.
The issue may date back to a December motorcycle accident, but during the lockout players were not able to communicate with teams or medical staffs. It's a brutal development for the Padres, writes our MLB expert Mike Axisa:
Axisa: "The injury is devastating news for a Padres team looking to rebound from a tremendously disappointing 2021. San Diego went into last season as a World Series contender and instead went 79-83. They lost 34 of their final 46 games. Manager Jayce Tingler was let go after the season and the Padres hired Bob Melvin away from the Athletics to replace him."Sportsline's projections agree with Axisa's assessment: Should Tatis Jr. miss roughly half of the season, San Diego's playoff probability drops from 66% to 54%. It also adds to Tatis Jr.'s already-considerable injury history. Since 2019, he has played in just 273 of 384 possible regular season games (71%).
Tatis Jr. is entering the second year of a 14-year, $340-million contract. He's an electric talent on the field -- he finished third in MVP voting last season and fourth in 2020 -- but keeping him there has been difficult.
