It's NFL Scouting Combine Week

Good morning. This is the Opening Drive, the weekly newsletter that brings you the best of the NFL so you’re always the smartest one at the water cooler.

The Bengals tagged WR Tee Higgins, Sean McVay has hired a 'game manager', and we've got all the details on the scouting combine this week, plus a break down the NFL's salary cap increase.

Let’s dive in.

QUICK HITS

• Top prospects Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels won’t throw at the NFL Scouting Combine (NFL.com)

• Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy will not attend NFL scouting combine (Sports Illustrated)

• Caleb Williams will enter the NFL draft without an agent (Yahoo Sports)

• Bengals place franchise tag on start WR Tee Higgins (Sports Illustrated)

• Chiefs sign punter Matt Araiza (ESPN)

• Bears could trade QB Justin Fields as early as next week (Yahoo Sports)

• Legendary Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater is retiring (ESPN)

• The Steelers are the current favorite to land Russell Wilson (Pro Football Talk)

• The Giants are unlikely to use the franchise tag on RB Saquon Barkley (NY Post)

• FuboTV has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the streaming partnership announced by ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery (CNBC)

• Eagles’ HC Nick Sirianni lost control on sidelines after ‘Big Dom’ suspension (Daily Snark)

• Keep track of key offseason dates for the draft and free agency here (Yahoo Sports)

WHO’S UP? WHO’S DOWN?

Who’s up?
Peter King. After nearly 50 years covering the NFL, the legendary Peter King has decided to hang up his pen and notebook. King's illustrious career began in 1980 at the Cincinnati Enquirer before he moved to Sports Illustrated in 1989. For 29 years, football fans eagerly awaited his iconic "Monday Morning Quarterback" column, filled with insider info and analysis. With an uncanny knack for storytelling and interviews, King revolutionized NFL reporting. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. King has attended a whopping 40 Super Bowls and counting. And at age 69, he finally feels it's time to retire. The NFL world will sorely miss his witty writing and bold predictions. But we wish him the best in retirement after a truly remarkable run chronicling America's favorite sport. As King says goodbye to journalism, his legacy is firmly cemented as one of the all-time great NFL reporters..

Who’s down?
Sean McVay. The Los Angeles Rams' wonderboy head coach Sean McVay is making big brain moves this offseason. After blowing multiple timeouts due to questionable clock management in the Rams' Week 7 loss to the Detroit Lions last season, McVay is adding a "game management coordinator" to his staff. This new role will be focused solely on helping McVay avoid wasting timeouts and improve his overall game management. "I'm not too proud to know that there's things I've got to learn," said McVay about the new hire. The young coaching prodigy is hoping this extra help will prevent a repeat of the timeout fiascos that likely cost his team a win against the Lions. McVay joked that his new game management coordinator will be "almost like a little bit of a handler" to keep him in check on game days. We'll see if this unconventional move pays off, or if it's just another example of McVay overthinking things.

NFL SCOUTING COMBINE PREVIEW

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is set to kick off this week in Indianapolis, where hundreds of the nation's top college football prospects will converge to showcase their skills in front of scouts, coaches, and general managers from all 32 NFL teams. This intense job interview features no pads or helmets - just pure athletic ability on display. Players will be poked, prodded, and put through a grueling gauntlet of tests to measure their speed, strength, agility, and explosiveness. All eyes will be on the quarterbacks, as this draft class has several tantalizing talents vying to be the first name called in April. Which QB will ace the interviews and wow during throwing drills? Can the top pass rushers prove they have the burst to disrupt NFL offenses? We'll find out this week at the 2024 Combine, where dreams either take flight or come crashing down inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

How can I follow the NFL combine on ESPN?

ESPN has a variety of shows and content dedicated to the NFL scouting combine. Here's a list of programs you can watch starting Thursday to stay up to date on participants, teams and mock drafts.

All times are in Eastern, airing on ESPN unless otherwise noted.

Thursday
SportsCenter: 7 a.m.
Get Up: 8 a.m.
First Take: 10 a.m.
SportsCenter: noon
NFL Live on-site from Lucas Oil Stadium: 4 p.m.
SportsCenter: 6 p.m.
SportsCenter: 11 p.m.

Friday
SportsCenter: 7 a.m.
Get Up: 8 a.m.
First Take: 10 a.m.
SportsCenter: noon
NFL Live on-site from Lucas Oil Stadium: 3 p.m.
SportsCenter 6 p.m.
SportsCenter 11 p.m.

Saturday
SportsCenter 7 a.m.
SportsCenter 12 a.m.

Sunday
SportsCenter 7 a.m.
SportsCenter 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
SportsCenter 11 p.m. (ESPN2)

NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
A deep dive into the NFL salary cap

The NFL just dropped a money bomb on teams’ laps. On Friday, the league announced the 2024 salary cap will be a record $255.4 million per club, a massive $30.6 million increase from 2023. This windfall is the largest year-to-year jump ever. Front offices are giddy as this influx empowers them to retain more talent and be more aggressive in free agency. The cap explosion results from surging media revenues and the league finally repaying clubs for amounts deferred by players during the 2020 COVID crunch when league revenues were down. Two years of cap stagnation seem like distant memories now. Since it’s inception in 1994, the cap has climbed steadily, minus blips for labor unrest and the pandemic. But this year’s double-digit, 13.6% spike is eye-popping. For context, it took seven years for the cap to grow from $120 million in 2009 to $177 million in 2016.

Did you know?

🏈 The salary cap was introduced in 1994 and was set at $34.6 million per team. This was part of the collective bargaining agreement that ended a player's strike the previous season.
🏈 The cap has steadily risen most years, with the largest increase happening from 2005 to 2006 when it jumped from $85.5 million to $102 million per team, an increase of 19.3%.
🏈 The cap reached $100 million per team for the first time in 2006. It took 12 years to go from $34.6 million to $100 million.
🏈 In 2020, due to revenue losses from COVID-19, the cap decreased for the first time ever, going down from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021.
🏈 The cap increased by $30.6 million from 2023 to 2024, setting a new record high of $255.4 million per team. This 13.6% increase is the largest single-year jump since 2006.

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