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The Bills will draft a quarterback in the first two rounds.
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They’re still sweeping up the confetti at the Super Bowl, but the 2016 NFL season is over. Kaput. That means it’s time to look ahead with 10 rock-solid, ironclad predictions for 2017.
I’ve already predicted the Bills will cut ties with Tyrod Taylor, but even if new coach Sean McDermott decides to guarantee Taylor about $30 million by keeping him on the roster, the Bills should still take more shots at finding their quarterback of the future. Last year’s fourth-round pick Cardale Jones is one option, but the Bills have the No. 10 overall pick and a chance to snag one of the draft’s best quarterbacks to develop into a long-term starter. It’s hard to win in the NFL without one. — Mike Rodak
The Dolphins will cut ties with Mario Williams.
The former four-time Pro Bowler signed a two-year, $17 million contract in 2016 but was a bust in his first season in Miami, registering a career-low 1.5 sacks. The Dolphins can save $8.5 million in cap room by cutting the defensive end and likely will use that money to help other areas on both sides of the ball. — James Walker
The Patriots will sign Malcolm Butler to a contract extension.
This is pure guesswork, and not based on any inside information, but Butler is too valuable to simply assign the first-round tender as a restricted free agent and think another team wouldn’t pursue signing him to an offer sheet (particularly a team that drafts low in the round). Butler has become New England’s clear-cut No. 1 cornerback, and the Patriots need to protect one of their best assets by making an extension a priority. — Mike Reiss
The Jets won’t draft a quarterback with the No. 6 pick (sorry, no Deshaun Watson), but they will sign a veteran in free agency.
Instead of splurging for an aging quarterback with durability issues (see: Tony Romo, Jay Cutler), they will opt for a younger player with some upside — Mike Glennon, the former Bucs backup. The Jets need somebody because Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg aren’t ready to take over in 2017. The concern: They can’t overpay Glennon and get stuck in a Brock Osweiler situation. — Rich Cimini
The Ravens will draft a cornerback in the first round.
This position has gone ignored long enough for Baltimore, which hasn’t selected a corner in the first three rounds since 2011. The Ravens’ top three corners under contract are Jimmy Smith, who has repeatedly been injured; Tavon Young, who lacks ideal size to be an outside corner; and Shareece Wright, who likely will get cut after struggling most of the 2016 season. Baltimore could land an immediate starter with the No. 16 overall pick if one of the draft’s top corners, possibly Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey or Florida’s Teez Tabor or Quincy Wilson, are available. — Jamison Hensley
The Bengals will lose one of their “big three” free agents this offseason.
Between cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and offensive linemen Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler, the Bengals are unlikely to pay them all to be on the roster next season. The expected casualty? Zeitler. Guards are getting higher contracts than ever in free agency lately, and the Bengals place a higher value at the tackle position. Another team will likely pay Zeitler more than Cincinnati would, and that means the Bengals could be looking for a new guard in April’s draft. — Katherine Terrell
The Browns will not trade the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
The Browns have twice traded down from the chance to take impact players; as a result they watched Julio Jones and Carson Wentz, among others, go elsewhere. This year, they will keep the pick, select the best player in the draft and hope he grows into a game-changer like Jones. — Pat McManamon
The Steelers will sign Le’Veon Bell to a contract extension.
This negotiation will be calculated, however. First, the Steelers will place the franchise tag on their star running back. Then, they will wait for the Adrian Peterson situation to shake out in Minnesota. Peterson’s exorbitant contract of $14 million per year on average is nearly $6 million higher than any other tailback. But that contract will void if the Vikings don’t pick up his expensive 2017 option. This sets the stage for the Steelers to make Bell the highest-paid running back at a more reasonable price. Bell will re-sign with the team that stuck with him through two drug-related suspensions. — Jeremy Fowler
The Texans will draft a quarterback.
When coach Bill O’Brien was asked in his season-ending news conference whether Houston was going to take a quarterback in the 2017 draft, he said it was too early to know because he hadn’t evaluated the team yet. But all three quarterbacks on the Texans’ roster — Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden — could be gone after the 2017 season, and Houston needs to draft a quarterback who can compete for the starting job next season and at the very least be ready to take over in 2018. — Sarah Barshop
The Colts will cut Art Jones.
Indianapolis signed him to a five-year, $33 million contract in the spring of 2014, but all Jones, who took a pay cut last offseason, has done is be injured during his three seasons with the team. He has only appeared in 17 out of 48 regular- season games during his three seasons with the Colts. The combination of Jones being 31 years old in June, his inability to stay healthy and the need for the Colts to get younger on defense makes him a prime candidate to be released. — Mike Wells
The Jaguars will make offensive line their No. 1 priority in free agency.
The team mostly needs an upgrade along the interior of the line. That could mean signing a guard or two and keeping Brandon Linder at center or signing a center and a guard and moving Linder back to guard. The Jaguars neglected the offensive line last year — other than signing left tackle Kelvin Beachum — and while the group was solid in pass protection (34 sacks allowed) the run blocking dropped off. A better ground game will certainly help struggling quarterback Blake Bortles. — Mike DiRocco
The Titans will trade out of the No. 5 overall pick.
They got it from the Rams last year when they dealt away the No. 1 pick, but when they traded back up for offensive tackle Jack Conklin, they left themselves without a second-round pick in 2017. General manager Jon Robinson will continue to work the system to turn the fruits of that Rams’ trade into more and more, betting that he’ll find what the Titans need at other points in the draft a bit later, combining quantity and quality. He also starts out with No. 18 in the first round. — Paul Kuharsky
The Broncos’ quarterback pick will come down to … Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch.
A lot of the drive-time discussion in recent weeks has been about Tony Romo, but the Broncos have said they’re committed to their two young quarterbacks. Former coach Gary Kubiak said in Houston this week he believed one of the two would be the starter in 2017 and that it’s “the way John [Elway] wants to go with that. I never say never, but those two young guys are great prospects who I think will both be starters in this league.” — Jeff Legwold
The Chiefs will find a way to bring back free agents Eric Berry and Dontari Poe.
This will be an expensive undertaking and require the Chiefs to make some sacrifices elsewhere, but they could sign one to a long-term deal and franchise the other. They’ve found a way to retain most of the free agents they sincerely wanted to keep in recent years, and Berry and Poe are their top top priorities. — Adam Teicher
The Chargers will select an offensive lineman in the first three rounds of the draft.
Three linemen from the Chargers’ 2016 group will be 30 years of age or older by the end of the 2017 season, so they need an infusion of young talent up front. The team has not drafted an offensive lineman in the first round since selecting Alabama product D.J. Fluker No. 11 overall in 2013. — Eric D. Williams
The Raiders will sign Derek Carr to a big extension.
Carr’s value to the team was proven many times over with how bad Oakland looked in a season-finale loss at Denver and again in the playoff defeat in Houston. Carr was already reportedly in line for an Andrew Luck-type deal — $140 million for six years — even before suffering a broken right leg in Week 15. General manager Reggie McKenzie has said re-upping Carr, as well as All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack, is an offseason priority. Making the numbers fit without crippling the rest of the salary cap is the trick. — Paul Gutierrez
The Cowboys will sign Zack Martin to a lucrative extension.
The Cowboys did it with Tyron Smith in 2014 and with Travis Frederick in 2016, making Smith the highest-paid tackle and Frederick among the highest-paid centers. Zack Martin will become the highest-paid guard this offseason. He deserves it too. He has never missed a game. He has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. He has been named first-team All Pro in two of his first three seasons. An argument can be made that he is the Cowboys’ best lineman. — Todd Archer
The Giants will land a veteran left tackle.
Whether it’s through free agency or via trade, there will be an upgrade. The Giants know they can’t go into next season with Ereck Flowers penciled in as the starter to protect Eli Manning’s blindside. Flowers allowed 59 pressures this season, according to Pro Football Focus, which was second-most in the NFL. A proven left tackle would change the dynamic of a porous offensive line and allow the Giants to try Flowers at another position as they attempt to better protect Manning in the twilight of his career. Expect some sort of big move on the offensive line this offseason. — Jordan Raanan
The Eagles will sign a pair of free-agent wide receivers.
In desperate need of speed on the outside, going after a burner like Miami’s Kenny Stills makes plenty of sense. Whether it’s Stills, Terrelle Pryor Sr., Alshon Jeffery or DeSean Jackson, the Eagles will likely pursue one of the top-tier available receivers, then target a complementary player following the first wave. — Tim McManus
The Redskins will sign a defensive line starter on the first day of free agency.
Yes, this is a non-Kirk Cousins prediction, but it’s vital: The Redskins are seeking defensive line help and have been for a couple years, and there should be some good ones available in free agency (Philadelphia’s Bennie Logan, perhaps). They’ll also add another starting defensive lineman, or key rotation player, in the first couple rounds of April’s draft. — John Keim
The Bears will draft a quarterback.
Chicago’s roster is full of holes, but the most pressing need is at quarterback, where veteran Jay Cutler’s time may be up. If, as many expect, the Bears trade or release Cutler to open up $13 million of cap space, the Bears have to find a new starting quarterback. Drafting a quarterback makes sense — even a developmental passer in the second or third round. Chicago has neglected the quarterback position for far too long. A change is long overdue. — Jeff Dickerson
The Lions again will avoid sexy picks in the draft, continuing to build their team with linemen and versatile linebackers.
Instead of focusing on the offensive line, like general manager Bob Quinn did in his first draft, he will pinpoint the front seven this time around and take four front-seven players in the draft (two linebackers, two defensive linemen) to help find a more sustained pass rush and fortify the run defense for fourth-year defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. — Michael Rothstein
The Packers won’t be more active in free agency.
Every offseason, someone reports that the Packers will be more active in free agency, and it never, ever happens. Sure, they’ll make the occasional signing (see tight end Jared Cook last year and pass-rusher Julius Peppers in 2014), but as long as Ted Thompson is in charge, that’s all the Packers will do. So don’t be fooled by the annual suggestion that the long-time general manager will change his ways, and don’t think there will be an influx of veteran free agents in Green Bay. — Rob Demovsky
The Vikings will sign a veteran tackle.
It could be someone like Andrew Whitworth, who spent time with Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati, or it could be someone like Baltimore’s Ricky Wagner. But after the Vikings spent 2016 with little certainty at either tackle spot, they’ll head into the open market to at least give themselves a proven player while they look at rebuilding the foundation of their offensive line in the draft. Left tackle Matt Kalil, who is hoping to return from a hip injury, will be a free agent but could get a chance to stay on a new contract. — Ben Goessling
The Falcons will draft a pass-rusher with their first-round pick.
Maybe interior offensive line help will be a bigger priority, but the Falcons would be wise to go ahead and find another rusher up front to go along with NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr. Seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney could retire, and Adrian Clayborn’s health is a concern after he suffered a season-ending biceps tear. In his initial mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had the Falcons taking Tennessee pass-rusher Derek Barnett with the 31st-overall pick. — Vaughn McClure
The Panthers will sign a left tackle in free agency.
With the future of Michael Oher (concussion) in doubt and the draft weak at tackle, general manager Dave Gettleman will find an option to protect Cam Newton’s blind side in free agency. — David Newton
New Orleans will add pass-rushers in free agency and the draft.
The Saints’ No. 1 need is glaring — a dynamic edge rusher to flank Cameron Jordan. The good news is that this year’s draft class is loaded with defensive ends and pass-rushers (perhaps Solomon Thomas, Taco Charlton or Tim Williams in Round 1?) But I don’t expect the Saints to wait that long to fill their need at defensive end — especially since they will have about $25 million to spend in free agency. They could target a blockbuster free agent like the Giants’ Jason Pierre-Paul or aim for the next tier with someone like the Patriots’ Jabaal Sheard. — Mike Triplett
The Bucs will upgrade at safety.
Chris Conte and Bradley McDougald are both set to become unrestricted free agents, and Ryan Smith, whom the Bucs drafted last year with the vision of becoming a safety, failed to play a regular-season down at that spot and will move back to cornerback, so Keith Tandy is the only safety from last year’s 53-man roster currently under contract for 2017. While the position saw growth toward the latter part of the season, it was a liability as a whole. — Jenna Laine
The Cardinals will lay the foundation for the future.
There are two noteworthy positions that Arizona needs to address for the long-term: quarterback and wide receiver. This is the offseason they figure out both, whether it’s through the draft or in free agency. With Carson Palmer already 37 and Larry Fitzgerald approaching 34 just before next season begins, the Cardinals need to find their replacements in order to continue their recent run of success (with the exception of this past season), as well as build for the long term. With the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, the Cardinals could address one of the two positions quickly with a top-tier prospect. — Josh Weinfuss
The Rams will acquire a No. 1 receiver in free agency.
The Rams are on track to have around $40 million in salary-cap space, and their two main vertical threats, Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, are heading into the free-agent market, which boasts several intriguing alternatives. The prize, of course, is Alshon Jeffery. But DeSean Jackson, who loved having Sean McVay as his offensive coordinator with the Redskins, is also slated for free agency. So are Pierre Garcon, Terrelle Pryor, Kenny Stills and Robert Woods, among others. McVay, the Rams’ new head coach, loved to stretch the field vertically in Washington and needs the weapons to do it in Los Angeles. Jared Goff’s career won’t take off until the Rams get that big-play receiver. — Alden Gonzalez
Colin Kaepernick will opt out of his contract, and the Niners draft a quarterback.
At this point, it would be a major surprise if Kaepernick didn’t opt out. Even if he elected not to, chances are the Niners will release him, so it makes sense for him to get ahead of it and begin gauging his market. That doesn’t mean a return at a reduced rate can be ruled out, however, but with or without Kaepernick, it’s safe to assume San Francisco will prioritize taking a quarterback relatively early in the draft. — Nick Wagoner
Kam Chancellor will finally get a new contract.
Chancellor held out in the summer of 2015 and missed the first two games of the season — both Seahawks losses. But he played at a high level last year, and Seattle needs his leadership now more than ever. Chancellor has missed seven games the past two seasons and turns 29 in April, so this could end up being a tricky negotiation. But Pete Carroll harped on continuity last month when discussing this offseason, and part of that means keeping the core of the roster intact. Chancellor is entering the final year of his current deal, and it makes sense for both parties to continue their relationship together. — Sheil Kapadia
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