{"id":156835,"date":"2024-01-01T12:30:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T17:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=156835"},"modified":"2024-01-01T15:12:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T20:12:09","slug":"nfl-expansion-team-idea-cities-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/01\/01\/nfl-expansion-team-idea-cities-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What an NFL Expansion Team Might Look Like Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re about halfway through making an NFL expansion team, and the coach, city, and AFC players selected are all in the rearview mirror. Be sure to check out part one<\/a> before part two, otherwise, what would the team look like?<\/p>\n

What an NFL Expansion Team Might Look Like Part 2<\/h2>\n

NFC North<\/h3>\n

Chicago Bears<\/h4>\n

Protected players: D.J. Moore<\/a>, Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat<\/p>\n

There are already rumors swirling about a Justin Fields trade<\/a>. Instead of waiting to see who calls, he simply becomes the exciting young quarterback on an NFL expansion team. Plus his new roster might already be better than the one he’s leaving.<\/p>\n

Justin Fields, Quarterback, $6 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detroit Lions<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Aidan Hutchinson, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown<\/p>\n

Sam LaPorta is already a top-five tight end in the league (and the dynasty fantasy football tight end one<\/a>) and is on a rookie deal. The offensive line and defenders are juicy, but LaPorta is a slam dunk.<\/p>\n

Sam LaPorta, Tight End, $2.15 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Jordan Love, Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander<\/p>\n

Can’t steal a quarterback or a difference-making defender here. Instead, they have a young right tackle performing in the top half of the league according to PFF<\/a> on a rookie contract. Zach Tom, the man with two first names, is a Toronto Pterodactyl.<\/p>\n

Zach Tom, Right Tackle, $1.11 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Christian Darrisaw<\/p>\n

No chance the Vikings were going to let Justin Jefferson walk. Instead, the NFL expansion team can grab the Robin to his Batman, and Jordan Addison is gone.<\/p>\n

Jordan Addison, Wide Receiver, $3.12 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap hit – $83.689 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap space remaining – $158.811<\/strong><\/p>\n

NFC East<\/h3>\n

Dallas Cowboys<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Dak Prescott, Ceedee Lamb, Micah Parsons<\/p>\n

The Cowboys offensive line is borderline legendary at this point, but that’s because they’ve all been so good for so long. With their age and contract situations, they’re not building blocks for an NFL expansion team. Does the team already have three corners? Yes. Anyway, Trevon Diggs will be in Toronto after recovering from injury.<\/p>\n

Trevon Diggs, Cornerback, $14.25 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

New York Giants<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Evan Neal, John Michael Schmitz<\/p>\n

Dexter Lawrence has a huge contract kicking in. But he’s also the kind of player worth paying. An interior disruptor that’s only 26 years old and signed through 2027<\/a>, Lawrence is the pick.<\/p>\n

Dexter Lawrence, Defensive Lineman, $21.63 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch – Fantasy Football Podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Philadelphia Eagles<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Jalen Carter<\/p>\n

The Eagles have studs all over their roster. They choose to protect their franchise quarterback, cornerstone wide receiver, and the number three prospect<\/a> in the entire 2023 NFL Draft. Luckily Jordan Mailata is on a comically cheap contract, so he’s on the move.<\/p>\n

Jordan Mailata, Left Tackle, $10.76 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington Commanders<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Terry McLaurin, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne<\/p>\n

Kamren Curl would be the easy answer here, but he’s a free agent in 2024. Sam Cosmi<\/a> is the fourth highest-rated Guard on PFF and carries a tiny cap hit. Easy choice to bolster the line.<\/p>\n

Sam Cosmi, Guard, $2.1 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap hit – $132.429 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap space remaining – $110.071 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

NFC South<\/h3>\n

Carolina Panthers<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Bryce Young, Brian Burns, Ikem Ekwonu<\/p>\n

The rest of this roster is in rough shape. After this draft, fans might confuse the Panthers for the expansion team instead. They traded the barn for Bryce Young, so they couldn’t protect Jaycee Horn. The corners on this team will\u00a0never\u00a0<\/strong>get tired.<\/p>\n

Jaycee Horn, Cornerback, $6.17 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atlanta Falcons<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Drake London, A.J. Terrell, Bijan Robinson<\/p>\n

After taking Bijan in the top ten picks, he has to be protected. Not a great team-building move for Atlanta, but Arthur Smith loves his running backs. Now Toronto gets a move tight end who can fill in as a wide receiver, Kyle Pitts welcome to the team.<\/p>\n

Kyle Pitts, Tightend, $10.47 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Orleans Saints<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Chris Olave, Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu<\/p>\n

The Saints are probably hoping that someone takes on their massive contracts for veterans on the team. Isaiah Foskey was one of the best defensive lineman prospects this season and if he wasn’t stuck behind Cameron Jordan he might be balling out a little more.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Foskey, Defensive Lineman, $1.14 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Tristan Wirfs, Mike Evans, Devin White<\/p>\n

Chris Godwin jumps off the page here, but his $27.5 million cap hit is a big chunk of change. Vita Vea is also expensive, but putting him next to Dexter Lawrence is too enticing to leave on the table.<\/p>\n

Vita Vea, Defensive Lineman, $21.02 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap hit – $171.229 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap space remaining – $71.271 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

NFC West<\/h3>\n

Arizona Cardinals<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Kyler Murray, Trey McBride, Paris Johnson Jr.<\/p>\n

Remember when people wondered if Kyler Murray was a franchise QB? Anyway, he’s not up for grabs, but Kyzir White is on a palatable contract<\/a> and is a defensive captain on the team.<\/p>\n

Kyzir White, Linebacker, $6.75 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Puka Nacua, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp<\/p>\n

Matt Stafford carries over a $50 million cap hit in 2024. Hard pass. Kyren Williams does all of the pass blocking and little things well to be a complement to our starting running back, if not just overtake the 1a role entirely.<\/p>\n

Kyren Williams, Running Back, $1.06 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers<\/h4>\n

Protected players: Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, George Kittle<\/p>\n

For those waiting to see who the WR1 for this team would be, wait no further. Brandon Aiyuk is perpetually underrated and carries a lower cap hit than Deebo Samuel.<\/p>\n

Brandon Aiyuk, Wide Receiver, $14.124 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seattle Seahawks<\/h4>\n

Protected players: D.K. Metcalf, Devon Witherspoon, Jordyn Brooks<\/p>\n

They couldn’t protect everyone, and there are options all over the roster. One last receiver on a rookie contract to fill out the roster, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a price-controlled slot monster for years to come.<\/p>\n

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Wide Receiver, $3.276 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap hit – $196.439 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total cap space remaining – $46.061 million<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last Word on an NFL Expansion Team<\/h3>\n

The team would still have 21 roster spots remaining that they would need to fill with veteran minimum-type players. That would take the cap space down to approximately $25 million, and that would leave flexibility for signing draft picks or trading for players. All in all, the team is ready to compete now and in the future so the Toronto Pterodactyls are in good hands.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part Two: If the NFL made an expansion team, what would the roster look like? Each team can protect three players in the expansion draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4345,"featured_media":156849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,33,27,10,3,30,23,7,8,19,15,24,59,25,14,12,13,16,17,18,34,4,26,5,28,20,6,21,9,31,32,29,11,8896],"tags":[7642,7811,40,7661,7638,7659],"class_list":["post-156835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-cardinals","category-falcons","category-ravens","category-bills","category-panthers","category-bears","category-bengals","category-browns","category-cowboys","category-broncos","category-lions","category-fantasy","category-packers","category-texans","category-colts","category-jaguars","category-chiefs","category-raiders","category-chargers","category-rams","category-dolphins","category-vikings","category-patriots","category-saints","category-giants","category-jets","category-eagles","category-steelers","category-49ers","category-seahawks","category-buccaneers","category-titans","category-washington-commanders","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-nfl","tag-panthers-featured","tag-ravens-featured","tag-saints-featured"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}