FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 20th, 2023

PETER KING RECAPS OPENING WEEK OF NFL FREE AGENCY IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF “FMIA”

“Unless Rodgers flat-out guarantees the Jets he’s there for two years, minimum, I’m not considering paying the 2023 one for him.” – King on the potential draft capital in an Aaron Rodgers trade

“If (Georgia DT) Jalen Carter is there when (Ryan) Poles picks, he has the kind of decision to make that could define his term as Chicago GM.” – King on the Bears’ first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

“If no one out there is giving him more fully guaranteed for three years, obviously feeling that his injuries must factor in, he could take a three-year deal and be a free agent again at age 29.” – King’s advice for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 20, 2023 – Peter King shares his thoughts on each NFL team in the opening week of the league year in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King breaks down NFL free agency signings, trades, and more.

For more NFL coverage, Peacock offers daily programming on the NBC Sports channel, including Pro Football Talk at 7 a.m. ET, The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, Brother from Another at 3 p.m. ET, plus Chris Simms Unbuttoned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the weekly Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry and The Peter King Podcast. This week on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, Simms begins his annual position-by-position draft prospect rankings. On today’s episode, Simms unveils his 2023 NFL Draft quarterback rankings. To learn more about the NBC Sports on Peacock channel and how to sign up, click here.

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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

Bears GM Ryan Poles to King on his decision to trade the first overall pick in the NFL Draft: “My gut told me to trigger on it now. At the combine, I thought those quarterbacks did an outstanding job in their interview process. A lot of teams felt really good about some of those guys, but as you get further away from the combine, maybe there’s a bad pro day or something that turns teams off.”

King on the Bears’ draft position: “The biggest X factor in this draft will be Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who possibly will fall to nine now after being the best overall prospect two months ago, then having a disastrous off-season. Poles has to figure out if Carter’s a legit hard-trying football guy or an irresponsible problem person…If Carter is there when Poles picks, he has the kind of decision to make that could define his term as Chicago GM.”

King on the Broncos signing QB Jarrett Stidham: “So now (Sean) Payton buys him to be Russell Wilson’s backup, and nothing needs to be said to Wilson about it. If Wilson by midseason 2023 is having a similarly disastrous season to his first one in Denver, Payton won’t have to punt on the season. He’ll have an intriguing backup waiting in the wings.”

King on Stidham leaving Las Vegas for Denver: “I hear Stidham figured with (Jimmy) Garoppolo coming and the chance the Raiders could take a quarterback with their early first-round pick, he’d have a better chance at playing time under Sean Payton in Denver…To me, the opportunity with the Raiders likely not trading into the Bryce Young/C.J. Stroud stratosphere and with Garoppolo’s injury history would have been golden in Vegas.”

King on the potential draft capital the Packers want from the Jets in an Aaron Rodgers trade: “Unless Rodgers flat-out guarantees the Jets he’s there for two years, minimum, I’m not considering paying the 2023 one for him.”

King on the Commanders not meeting with QB Lamar Jackson: “I’m not suggesting the Commanders absolutely should sign a 26-year-old franchise quarterback with injury question marks, but to not even go down the road with (Lamar) Jackson? How do you say you’re doing everything you can to win when you don’t sit with him and see what Lamar Jackson is all about? What does that cost, exactly?”

King on the Ravens/Lamar Jackson contract situation: “If he has gotten a three-year guarantee in the neighborhood of $44 million a year, I think he’d be smart to take it, even if it won’t be as much as he wants. Simple reason: If no one out there is giving him more fully guaranteed for three years, obviously feeling that his injuries must factor in, he could take a three-year deal and be a free agent again at age 29.”

King on the Cowboys-Texans trade that sent WR Brandin Cooks to Dallas: “I think it’s a smart trade for both teams. Houston clears out a big salary and deals a player who wasn’t happy being there. The Texans now have a league-high 13 picks in the April draft.”

King on the Rams: “The L.A. Rams are in a gap year, trying to get their team and future and cap right in 2023 with a recharged Sean McVay. It’s smart, and don’t expect them to apologize for winning a Super Bowl while robbing from the future in 2021.”

King on WR Adam Thielen signing with the Panthers: “I think if I were the Bills, I’d have been more aggressive in trying to sign Adam Thielen…I don’t get a building team signing a player in his age-33 year. Thielen belonged with a contender.”

Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

    • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
    • NBC Sports EDGE’s Rotoworld Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
    • The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—