Dom Cosentino
theScore
Contact Dom
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Dom:
What the Baker Mayfield trade means for the Panthers and Browns
The big holdup on Baker Mayfield's NFL future was always about his contract. With just three weeks to go until training camp, Mayfield, the Cleveland Browns, and the Carolina Panthers reached a financial compromise that resulted in a trade agreement: The Panthers acquired Mayfield, while the Browns received a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft. Some quick thoughts:1. Mayfield was… → Read More
Lamar Jackson's contract is still up in the air. What are the risks?
With the calendar now flipped to July and the start of training camp less than a month away, Lamar Jackson remains without a contract beyond the 2022 season. The situation isn't as dire or as urgent as it might seem - both for Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. But the longer Jackson goes without a new deal, the greater the potential risks become for both sides.Jackson is entering his fifth year… → Read More
Can Congress actually do anything to Dan Snyder?
The main takeaway from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform last week is that the committee's main target - Washington Commanders owner/general embarrassment Daniel Snyder - would be subpoenaed to testify at some point, too.But what will come of it? Can Congress force Snyder to sell the franchise? Can it compel the NFL into booting Snyder… → Read More
How the Terry McLaurin and DK Metcalf holdouts might play out
Six NFL players skipped their team's mandatory minicamps this month - for a variety of reasons.Baker Mayfield, relegated to a backup role and on the trading block despite his $18.9-million fully guaranteed salary, was excused from attending the Cleveland Browns' get-together. Robert Quinn, fresh off an 18.5-sack season, steered clear of the rebuilding Chicago Bears because he's trying to force a… → Read More
What to make of the Patriots' curious offseason
As the New England Patriots enter a pivotal second season for quarterback Mac Jones, Bill Belichick is still coaching and building a roster in his idiosyncratic style. Belichick's method is to chase perfection in a way rooted more in the pursuit than in the results. But what if the results are now too elusive?Belichick's organizational philosophy has always been about adaptability. More deeply,… → Read More
What's going on with Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo?
The draft is over. Free agency has slowed. Organized team activities are underway. In a few weeks, the NFL will hit the snooze button for a month or so before training camps ramp up again.Yet Baker Mayfield remains with the Cleveland Browns, and Jimmy Garoppolo is still with the San Francisco 49ers. This is true even though both teams have landed quarterbacks who will replace them.How did this… → Read More
How top QBs can lead the way on fully guaranteed deals across the NFL
The NFL is famously the only major sports league in North America that does not customarily guarantee the full amount of player contracts. But contrary to popular belief, the players' unions in the NBA, MLB, and NHL did not establish a pattern of guaranteed deals through the collective bargaining process. Instead, individual players used their negotiating positions to secure guarantees across… → Read More
What the 2022 NFL Draft says about the importance of wide receivers
The NFL just can't get enough of wide receivers these days, and it's dang good to be a veteran right now.Ten receivers currently have contracts worth at least $20 million or more in average annual value, and eight of those deals were signed this offseason. The Raiders and Dolphins made blockbuster trades for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill before signing them to deals worth $28 million and $30… → Read More
40 years ago, a draft mishap triggered the worst era of Buccaneers football
The biggest mistake in the history of the NFL draft resulted in the selection of a damn fine professional football player. What made the error so noticeably ruinous is everything that happened afterward.It was 1982. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were coming off their second division championship in three years - an auspicious turnaround for a franchise that began play in 1976 and lost its first 26… → Read More
Why there's more urgency for NFL teams to acquire a great QB
Tom Brady to the Buccaneers. Matthew Stafford to the Rams. Jared Goff to the Lions. Carson Wentz to the Colts. Sam Darnold to the Panthers. Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Wentz to the Commanders. Deshaun Watson to the Browns. Matt Ryan to the Colts. Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo to who knows where.And let's not get started on all the ways the Rams, Eagles, Bears, Chiefs, Texans, Bills,… → Read More
What to make of the AFC's offseason shopping spree
NFL free agency is typically chock-full of player movement. That's especially true this year because the salary cap rose 14% after an 8% drop in 2021. Teams are wheeling and dealing - and not just by opening their bank vaults to acquire free agents.The trade market has been especially active, too - particularly for quarterbacks, a position that traditionally doesn't see much movement. Most of… → Read More
Deciphering the spin on the Browns' statements about Watson
Since trading for quarterback Deshaun Watson by shipping six draft picks to the Houston Texans and handing Watson a precedent-shattering, fully guaranteed long-term contract, the Cleveland Browns have not held a press conference.To date, the Browns' only public comments on the trade have come in the form of prepared statements posted to the team website and shared on social media. The remarks… → Read More
The Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson news changes everything
After a month of uncertainty, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers agreed to remain together. Rodgers was always going to be the first big domino of the NFL offseason, and it didn't take long for the next one to fall: Less than three hours later, the Denver Broncos finally found their replacement for Peyton Manning (who retired six years ago) by trading for Russell Wilson. Let's sum up what… → Read More
With or without Aaron Rodgers, the Packers' future is complicated
Part II of "The Indecision" starring Aaron Rodgers is in full swing, with nothing less than the fate of the NFL offseason hinging on whatever it is the reigning two-time league MVP chooses to do next. Unlike last year's premiere, however, it appears that the sequel to "The Indecision" is in for a much shorter run.Rodgers is expected to pick a lane "soon," according to ESPN's Dianna Russini, who… → Read More
Here's how the Rams can sustain their success
By winning the Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams fulfilled the ambition of their aggressive team-building approach. They went all-in by trading valuable draft assets for stars at premium positions. The plan worked, so it was worth it. But someday, the bill will come due. Someday, the franchise will pay a hefty price.That's the narrative, anyway. It's one that I, too, bought into as the team set… → Read More
4 takeaways from the Rams' Super Bowl victory over the Bengals
The Los Angeles Rams scored a late touchdown to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, 23-20. Let's take a closer look at what went down.Rams stars shine in the end Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / GettyLos Angeles constructed a championship-caliber roster by acquiring and leaning on pricey veterans. That strategy showed some cracks when Odell Beckham Jr. left the game after hurting… → Read More
One key matchup: Can the Bengals' O-line counter the Rams' fearsome rush?
The most obvious potential mismatch in Super Bowl LVI is the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line against the Los Angeles Rams' defensive front - and it's not close. The basic metrics look pretty grim.Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow took a league-high 51 sacks during the regular season behind a line that ranked 30th in ESPN's pass block win rate. He was sacked a staggering nine times in a… → Read More
What Brian Flores is really fighting for
The NFL has a genuine diversity problem in its senior coaching and team executive ranks, according to the NFL."Any criticism we get for lack of representation at the GM and head coach positions, we deserve," Jonathan Beane, the league's senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told the Associated Press in January. "We see that we're not where we want to be. We have to do… → Read More
How the NFL can fix its overtime rules
The ending of that bonkers Bills-Chiefs game last week put a spotlight back on the NFL's overtime rules, particularly on whether it's fair to have a sudden-death outcome hinge on the randomness of a coin toss.Both quarterbacks - Josh Allen of the Bills and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs - went full tilt in the final two minutes of regulation. The thrilling result still seems impossible: four… → Read More
The Chiefs and Bills broke football on Sunday
Bills-Chiefs was supposed to be a clash of the league's most assertive young quarterbacks, with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes representing the best of the sport's present and future. It lived up to that billing - even before both teams combined for three lead changes and a tie and scored 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation - only to have the outcome essentially determined by a coin… → Read More