4 Takeaways From the NFL Owners Meeting in Phoenix

PHOENIX — Rule changes were at the forefront of the NFL owners meeting this week, with the most notable approved proposal being a one-year rule that allows officials “to correct clear and obvious mistakes” as the league’s referees face a potential lockout. It’s clear the NFL anticipates having to use replacement referees — and because it was a largely damaging decision last time, with the replacement refs struggling enormously in 2012 (see: the Fail Mary), the league is doing what it can to help preserve the product in the event of a work stoppage. But there were other newsworthy items that came from coaches, execs and owners about their respective teams during the week. What potential moves might come next in the NFL this offseason? Who should we keep an eye on as we’re five months away from the start of the regular season? Let’s dive into those items as we share our four takeaways from our time in Arizona. 1. Teams only created more burning questions around some of the league’s top wide receivers Henry McKenna: At any given time of year, the quarterbacks are typically the most polarizing players, a lightning rod for discussion. But it was the receivers who — for better and for worse — generated the most buzz at the NFL owners meeting. Puka Nacua: If you look at the NFL’s receiving yards leaders, you’ll see Nacua up there at No. 2 behind Seattle Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who received an extension for four years worth $168.6 million. Nacua is eligible for a new contract, and could demand as much as Smith-Njigba. But that ignores the ways their careers have diverged off the field, with Smith-Njigba acting as a leader in the locker room and a no-nonsense professional. Nacua, meanwhile, has struggled to conduct himself with the same professionalism. This offseason, after several incidents, the Rams receiver has checked himself into rehab, his attorney confirmed. Prior to the news that Nacua was in rehab, Rams general manager Les Snead was asked how Nacua’s off-field issues could impact a future contract. “The impact is continuing to evolve,” Snead said at the owners meeting. “Not only as a person but as a football player. And you need to be on your P’s and Q’s in both categories to earn that type of contract. Right now we’re focused on the human being, and then we’ll get to that stuff.” George Pickens: Pickens proved he is capable of being a WR1 in the times when CeeDee Lamb was hurt — and so that probably makes Pickens the best WR2 in the NFL. That should increase the Dallas Cowboys’ urgency to get a deal done, rather than force him to play on the franchise tag. And yet Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on Tuesday that he has not been in touch recently with Pickens’ agent, who — by the way — has a history of encouraging his franchise-tagged players to hold out. “The franchise tag is an integral part of all teams and certainly an integral part of our strategy over the next two or three years as we look at how to keep the best players,” Jones said. To Jones’ credit, the Cowboys are getting Pickens on a discount on the tag (one-year, $28 million). So you can see why he’d like to have the wide receiver play on those terms. It’s just unrealistic to expect that to go smoothly — and without Pickens putting up a fight. Given the way everything fell apart with Micah Parsons and Jones last offseason, you’d think the Cowboys wouldn’t want to make the same mistake twice — overcomplicating their relationship with one of their best players. But maybe that contract dispute won’t inform this one. A.J. Brown: The Philadelphia Eagles appeared to spend the meetings working to create leverage in the trade, which now seems extremely likely. Both general manager Howie Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni told reporters that “A.J. is an Eagle.” And while that’s factually accurate, it still left us without an answer about whether he’ll be an Eagle in September for Week 1. But if you listen to what New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel had to say about Brown, you’ll hear a coach who is deeply interested in taking on Brown, for all his pros (outstanding play) and cons (outspokenly critical, at times). Do I think Brown will be a Patriot? Yes. But we likely won’t know for sure until after June 1, when the receiver’s contract becomes easier to trade from a salary cap standpoint. 2. Rams’ GM Les Snead offers remedy to avoid another Maxx Crosby trade debacle Eric D. Williams: Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby’s rescinded trade by the Baltimore Ravens due to a failed physical over his surgically repaired left knee serves as a cautionary tale for the rest of the league. The Ravens traded two first-round picks for Crosby, including the 14th overall selection in the upcoming draft. It marked the first time Baltimore relinquished a first-round pick for a player via trade in franchise history, so the Ravens were certainly excited to acquire Crosby. However, less than 24 hours before the trade could become official at the start of the new league year, the Ravens informed the Raiders they were backing out after Crosby failed his physical in Baltimore. A long-time NFL medical staff member familiar with the process of team physicals told me the issue could have been avoided had the two sides agreed to have Crosby evaluated by a Ravens team doctor before the announcement of the trade. Count Rams general manager Les Snead as someone who believes a more uniform, collaborative process needs to be installed by the NFL. “There’s a conundrum there, where a lot of times these things get announced, or maybe even reported before the league year,” Snead told reporters at the NFL annual meeting this week. “And then people can go and do physicals. But here’s what I would say: I think we as clubs need to be more proactive. “We can wait on the governing body, per se. But I think you should get into really sharing the information before you bring someone in, if you can, or you’re going to have that issue. The trade gets announced or reported. A week later, he shows up for a physical [and he fails]. … You should be able to put your medical people on with their medical people and make that a sensible thing.” While Crosby says he’s staying with the Raiders for this season, that doesn’t mean other teams are not interested. Dallas was one of the teams interested in Crosby before the trade, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated he hasn’t shut the door on the possibility of seeking the talented pass rusher’s services. “I don’t anticipate — standing here right now — revisiting that situation,” Jones told reporters at the NFL owners meeting. “I don’t anticipate it. Is it possible? Yes.” 3. Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer has a plan to upgrade Dallas’ miserable defense Williams: With Dak Prescott leading the offense, the Cowboys averaged 28 points a game, good for seventh in the NFL this past season. However, the defense let the Cowboys down all season, giving up a league-high 30 points per game. Specifically, Dallas struggled in the back end defensively, allowing a league-high 252 passing yards per contest, the second-most passing touchdowns in the league (35) and totaling just six interceptions on the year. But Schottenheimer believes he’s created an opportunity to improve the defense by moving on from Matt Eberflus and replacing him with former Philadelphia Eagles defensive passing game coordinator Christian Parker as his new defensive coordinator. Schottenheimer said he would like to see more pre-snap disguise and multiplicity from his defense, like Parker’s protégé Vic Fangio. That could also mean the Cowboys using more defensive groupings with six defensive backs. The Cowboys signed former Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson, former Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke and ex-Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant in free agency, adding versatility and playmaking ability to the secondary. The Rams used six defensive backs on a league-high 347 defensive plays last season, while the Cardinals used six defensive backs in 176 defensive plays. The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks used six defensive backs on 167 defensive snaps in 2025. The Cowboys? They used six defensive backs on just four plays last year. “The disguise element to me is exciting,” Schottenheimer said when I asked for a couple of characteristics he wants to see from his defense. “It’s one of the things I fell in love with – maybe not fell in love with because it sucks going against Vic Fangio’s style of schemes – but just the confusion that they give you at the start of the snap, because they’re all sitting back there at the quarter shell. “When I listen to these guys talk, because it’s still a little bit of a foreign language when I listen to Christian Parker, [passing game coordinator] Derrick Ansley and [inside linebackers coach] Scott Symons talk about some of the coverage variations we can get to, what I love about it is the ability to take away the side of the field, a player and different ways to take away the leverage of a slot receiver. Christian is a great coach at every level, but I think he’s a Superstar when it comes to the secondary.” 4. There is no more compelling experiment than Kyler Murray and Kevin O’Connell McKenna: Every offseason, there’s a rearranging of personnel — a change of scenery — that has the potential to be special. Or to fail fabulously. The Vikings’ signing of Murray might be the transaction with the greatest boom-bust potential. Murray has enjoyed legitimately elite quarterback play, but he has never sustained it. And O’Connell has a track record of doing just that, with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold putting together seasons that completely rearranged what we thought we knew about them. In this sense, Murray should be the next guy in line. It would be oversimplistic to call Murray a reclamation project. But it’s fair to say he has yet to realize his full potential. The problem with this narrative is that O’Connell hit his first snag in QB development with J.J. McCarthy, a former first-round pick who was probably the league’s worst starter in 2025. Even after two seasons in the NFL, we have no idea what McCarthy can offer. O’Connell’s reputation is on the line with Murray. Murray’s career is on the line with O’Connell. And to make it even more compelling, Murray’s outstanding mobility makes him unlike the pocket passers who have preceded him in O’Connell’s system. “I don’t think he’s gotten enough credit for, you know, playing in-rhythm,” O’Connell told reporters at the owners meeting in Phoenix. “We all recognize some of the highlight reel ability that he has, and Kyler Murray has always had that level of talent. But I think sometimes what we don’t recognize is … him play with really, really good technique and fundamentals either in the dropback game.” Let’s see it.