The first day of the NFL's official negotiating period included a lot of medium-sized moves, speculation about bigger moves and precious little red meat for NFL fans to chew on with less than 48 hours before the new league year starts.
If Tuesday was a league-wide cautious dipping of the toe into free agency, the most fascinating story came from who didn't participate. Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan was not present at the team facility a week after not traveling with the team to the NFL Scouting Combine.
"We're busy with free agency," Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie told NFL.com, when asked about McCloughan's whereabouts.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said Tuesday that McCloughan's future with the team is very much in doubt, just two years after McCloughan arrived with outstanding bona fides to bring some stability to the front office. The news highlights what promises to be a frenetic offseason of change in Washington. DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are expected to leave via free agency. Kirk Cousins may well still be traded to San Francisco. The Redskins have as much at stake as any team in football over the next few weeks and it appears McCloughan won't be involved.
While we wait for the big dominoes to fall in free agency, let's take a look at what else we learned:
Tuesday's sauciest whispers
1) Jacksonville is the team to watch in the Calais Campbell sweepstakes, according to Rapoport. One year after the Jaguars paid the most guaranteed money to any free agent (Malik Jackson), general manager Dave Caldwell could do again with Campbell. The Broncos also have been reported as contenders for Campbell, our No. 2 overall free agent, but they don't have the cap space Jacksonville can offer.
2) It looks like the Los Angeles Ramsmight not pay cornerback Trumaine Johnson $16.7 million this season after all. Rapoport reported that the team is listening to trade offers for Johnson, which usually translates to: "Please send us offers." Former Rams coordinator Gregg Williams is now with the Browns, which makes Cleveland a logical landing spot.
3) NFL Network's Mike Silver made waves by guessing that it's "more likely than not" that Kirk Cousins ultimately will land with the San Francisco 49ers. Silver admitted it was a guess, but the key part of his statement was a belief that Cousins wants to join Kyle Shanahan across the country. If the Redskins have a quarterback who wants out and they can obtain a boatload of picks for him, this deal actually could happen.
4) Are the Bears negotiating against themselves for Mike Glennon? Silver reported that the Jets and 49ers do not have legitimate interest in paying the Bucs' backup quarterback. I'm curious to see if Glennon will truly get the $15 million per season that has been reported if no other teams are seriously pursuing him.
5) At this stage, it would be a surprise if DeSean Jackson didn't land with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rapoport reported that the Bucs are expected to make a "strong push" for Jackson, confirming what has been an open secret in the NFL over the last week.
6) A source close to Adrian Peterson told NFL Network's Stacey Dales that the Raiders and Seahawks are atop Peterson's wish list for landing spots. It sounds like there is mutual interest and Peterson is valuing joining a title contender over maxing out money. Both fits make a lot of sense. The Raiders need a between-the-tackles runner to replace Latavius Murray, while Peterson enjoyed some great years in Minnesota under Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
Transactions you should care about
1) The tight end market is evaporating before free agency starts. The Colts kept promising young tight end Jack Doyle off the market with a three-year contract. The No. 67 free agent on our Top 101 list, Doyle's breakout season with Andrew Luck showed off impressive plays after the catch. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that Doyle will earn $19 million over three seasons, a deal that looks fair for both sides. (And quite an achievement for a player who had 35 career catches before 2016.)
Meanwhile, the Cardinals signed Jermaine Gresham to a four-year contract after two under-the-radar seasons with the team. Gresham made a surprising amount of tough catches in traffic for Arizona. Martellus Bennett and Jared Cook should be smiling because teams in need of a tight end don't have many options.
2) The Chargers made three moves Tuesday to free up $19 million in cap space for a crucial offseason where they try to win over some Los Angeles fans. Former first-round pick D.J. Fluker will find a home as a starter at right tackle or right guard in a market deprived of quality offensive line options. Cornerback Brandon Flowers' career is in doubt because of concussions, while wide receiver Stevie Johnson is coming off a knee injury.
3) Don't sleep on Carolina bringing back Charles Johnson yet again on a free-agent contract. There are so few pass rushers available and the Panthers have already taken two off the market in Johnson and Mario Addison. Johnson's one-year deal last season proved to be one of the best bargains in free agency and his entire run in Carolina qualifies as one of the biggest free-agent successes of the last decade.
We'll be back with daily wrap-up columns all week. Look for Wednesday's edition to be meatier.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
