Believe it or not, it’s been two weeks since NFL free agency (officially) started – the league’s landscape reshaped by player movement as trades and new contracts began being processed on March 11.

And while a few notable names currently remain unclaimed – Aaron Rodgers, Jauan Jennings, Stefon Diggs, Kirk Cousins and Joey Bosa among them – the NFL is largely transitioning back toward next month’s draft as the calendar currently churns through pro day season.

But the interlude provides a logical point to grade all 32 teams’ − almost all − approach to this year’s (not especially) robust free agent market.

Without further ado, the report cards (teams listed alphabetically; salary cap figures courtesy of Over The Cap):

Arizona Cardinals: C+

Don’t confuse activity with achievement. They decided to part, probably wisely, with QB Kyler Murray and several starters from a defense that ranked 27th in 2025 – maybe not all that big a deal for a team that tied for the league’s worst record (3-14) last season. A fleet of newcomers that includes G Isaac Seumalo, RB Tyler Allgeier and WR Kendrick Bourne has nice players, but it’s not going to change the trajectory of a franchise that still needs to replace Murray and has such a massive gulf between it and the rest of the NFC West. But a hard reset was the way to go here.

Atlanta Falcons: B-

The price (the veteran minimum) was right on new QB Tua Tagovailoa, particularly for a rebooting team without much cap space – or a first-round draft pick in 2026. (And its absence might hurt more given OLB James Pearce Jr., whom the selection was spent on, is facing three felonies stemming from a scary February incident in Florida involving his ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson.) RB Brian Robinson nicely backfills for Allgeier behind Bijan Robinson, S Sydney Brown arrived in a pick swap, Atlanta’s new brain trust can kick its decision on franchised TE Kyle Pitts down the road for a year, and it’s just as well not having Cousins’ specter lingering over the quarterback room. But expect another passer to be inbound in a year if neither Tagovailoa nor 2024 first-rounder Michael Penix Jr., who’s unlikely to be ready for Week 1 following knee surgery, stabilizes the position after Cousins engineered a four-game winning streak to end the 2025 campaign – as much good as it did him and the club’s former regime.

Baltimore Ravens: B

From a PR standpoint, pretty bad after they pulled out of the Maxx Crosby trade – the pass rusher’s detailing of his treatment maybe more damning than his failed physical. From a personnel loss standpoint, not great given the departures of C Tyler Linderbaum from an already challenged O-line along with TEs Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, DE Dre’Mont Jones and even All-Pro P Jordan Stout. But subbing DE Trey Hendrickson in for Crosby while keeping both of their first-round picks over the next two drafts was also a pretty soft landing for the Ravens, all things considered – and the return of G John Simpson and arrival of S Jaylinn Hawkins, who blossomed in New England last season, certainly helps. The Ravens may not be a trendy Super Bowl pick in 2026, but they’re arguably back to being the best team in the AFC North.

Buffalo Bills: B+

DBs C. J. Gardner-Johnson and Dee Alford and OLB Bradley Chubb add juice to what was already the league’s No. 1 pass defense in 2025. But the trade for DJ Moore could be the pivotal move for a team that’s been in search of a field-stretching No. 1 receiver since Diggs was offloaded two years ago. Keeping C Connor McGovern should also provide stability to a squad in some level of flux following longtime coach Sean McDermott’s firing yet looking to take the next step while QB Josh Allen’s Super Bowl window remains wide open.

Carolina Panthers: A

Hats off to GM Dan Morgan. Reeling in OLB Jaelan Phillips, who got the biggest deal of the offseason (4 years, $120 million, $80 million guaranteed) and LB Devin Lloyd could vault this defense from average to great – and that could allow what seems to be an ascending team to create breathing room between itself and the Bucs and Falcons as it mounts its NFC South title defense. Rasheed Walker was a heckuva pickup by Morgan given incumbent LT Ickey Ekwonu ruptured a patellar tendon during the playoffs and faces a long road back. Kenny Pickett could be an upgrade as QB Bryce Young’s backup, though RB Chuba Hubbard could be back to being the bellcow with Rico Dowdle moving on.

Chicago Bears: C+

Given their defections in recent weeks, particularly on defense, they probably needed the second-round pick Moore fetched more than they needed him given the way this offense evolved last season. Yet his departure does leave a void, joining another at safety – the depth of the secondary in general could be an issue – while issues also cropped up along an offensive line that was so crucial to Da Bears’ rise under rookie coach Ben Johnson in 2025. S Coby Bryant and LB Devin Bush were the big signings, and the trade for C Garrett Bradbury will offset Drew Dalman’s retirement to a degree. But the bigger picture will come into view once GM Ryan Poles spends the three draft picks he owns among this year’s top 60.

Cincinnati Bengals: B+

Not that Hendrickson wanted to return for more here, but the team is almost certainly on a better defensive path by replacing the All-Pro pass rusher with quality quantity after it disintegrated last year with Hendrickson missing more than half the season. DE Boye Mafe (formerly of the Seahawks) and S Bryan Cook (Chiefs) both bring Super Bowl experience and should be the D’s new cornerstones – Mafe will have to get acclimated to a higher snap count, though – while DT Jonathan Allen should fortify the front and the locker room. If the Bengals can just get to average on that side of the ball – eminently attainable – then this should be a playoff team given its offensive firepower.

Cleveland Browns: B

First-year coach Todd Monken’s top priority was rebuilding an aged-out offensive line, and GM Andrew Berry delivered OT Tytus Howard, G Zion Johnson and C Elgton Jenkins at great cost – and it stands to reason that a left tackle will be coming via one of the team’s two first-round draft picks. Keep an eye on newly arrived DE A.J. Epenesa, who should thrive while operating with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. The Browns aren’t necessarily ready to contend – much will depend on QB Shedeur Sanders’ progress with Monken and his new teammates – but much of the next foundation seems to be in place.

Dallas Cowboys: B-

The results didn’t exactly live up to owner Jerry Jones’ rhetoric – and haven’t in decades – but, to the degree the Cowboys can do anything quietly, they got some nice pieces aside from the trade for OLB Rashan Gary. DBs Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant and P.J. Locke all joined at more than reasonable salaries, and new coordinator Christian Parker should have more than enough manpower to transform a defense that gave up the most points in the league in 2025 into at least something middling – and it will transform with a new 3-4 front – even if neither Crosby nor Micah Parsons are walking through that door. This could be a Bengals West situation – provided financial dealings with franchise-tagged WR George Pickens don’t go horribly awry. But that couldn’t possibly happen here …

Denver Broncos: B+

Last season’s AFC runners-up initially seemed content to run it back – especially after re-signing LBs Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad, RB J.K. Dobbins and TE Adam Trautman. Of course, last week’s trade for WR Jaylen Waddle upped the ante for a squad that ran away with the AFC West last year. DL John Franklin-Myers will be missed.

Detroit Lions: D+

They appear weakened at corner, off the edge and certainly on the offensive line following the departure of longtime LT Taylor Decker – though Cade Mays should provide an answer at center. DB Brian Branch and RB Jahmyr Gibbs still need extensions, and Gibbs must (further) earn his raise following the trade of backfield mate David Montgomery. Tough to believe this team is any closer to a Super Bowl breakthrough.

Green Bay Packers: C-

They’re banking on CB Benjamin St-Juste being an upgrade from Nate Hobbs (maybe), and that 2024 first-rounder Jordan Morgan can replace steady Walker at left tackle (maybe). WR Matthew Golden, last year’s Round 1 pick, should (probably) be ready to assume Romeo Doubs’ production – at least. The Pack went bigger on the D-line, DT Javon Hargrave’s arrival offsetting Gary’s departure, and got older and cheaper at linebacker, trading for Zaire Franklin with Quay Walker heading for Las Vegas.

Houston Texans: B+

Nothing especially splashy here, but they seemingly got tougher and deeper. RT Braden Smith and LG Wyatt Teller should improve what’s been a problematic O-line, which also retained RG Ed Ingram. Even though he’s about to turn 29, Montgomery should bring more to the running game than Joe Mixon or Nick Chubb would have. DL Logan Hall and S Reed Blankenship add to a defense that ranked first overall in 2025.

Indianapolis Colts: C-

If they couldn’t afford to lose QB Daniel Jones and WR Alec Pierce, they also couldn’t afford to do much else after being forced to pay hefty premiums for a pair of players with zero collective Pro Bowl nods. Armed with a four-year, $114 million deal, Pierce will also need to expand his role given the team couldn’t afford to keep WR Michael Pittman Jr., either. DE Arden Key likely won’t make up for the loss of Kwity Paye, but the team couldn’t keep the latter, nor did GM Chris Ballard have enough cap cash left over to make a run at an edge player like Hendrickson.

Jacksonville Jaguars: D

The capped-out Jags will have to defend their 2025 AFC South throne without Lloyd or RB Travis Etienne Jr., key components of last year’s turnaround. GM James Gladstone did manage to keep CB Montaric Brown but might need to pull some rabbits out of his hat at draft time in order to address his glaring shortfalls.

Kansas City Chiefs: B

Offensively, they played their right cards by re-upping TE Travis Kelce and WR Tyquan Thornton and signing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III – all moves that should help alleviate pressure on QB Patrick Mahomes as he comes back from a torn ACL. The bold trade of CB Trent McDuffie could be another that ultimately helps Mahomes, especially if it solves K.C.’s seemingly perennial right tackle issue via the draft. But while S Alohi Gilman and NT Khyiris Tonga are nice defensive additions, GM Brett Veach has work to do at corner after letting McDuffie and Jaylen Watson go.

Las Vegas Raiders: B

They paid – probably overpaid – for players like Linderbaum, Paye, Walker, LB Nakobe Dean and WR Jalen Nailor, not to mention re-signing CB Eric Stokes. The gross financial commitment to those players alone was in excess of a quarter billion dollars. But the expenditure was probably necessary in order to upgrade the roster ahead of presumed No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza’s arrival atop the draft. Of course, the real question is whether the Silver and Black would rather have Crosby as part of its rebuild or the two first-round picks it seemed he would fetch from Baltimore … and it’s worth wondering if there might be another attempt to move him in the near future.

Los Angeles Chargers: C-

Kolar, a blocking tight end, C Tyler Biadasz and DT Dalvin Tomlinson were the primary additions – along with the retention of OLB Khalil. But they let emergent pass rusher Odafe Oweh move on to Washington. Kinda hard to decipher the strategy for a team that should clearly be in a win-now posture yet still has nearly $50 million in cap space – though the Bolts should cash in with comp picks when the apparently loaded 2027 draft rolls around.

Los Angeles Rams: A

You know what to do with them picks, GM Les Snead burning LA’s organic first-rounder to obtain (and ultimately extend, at great cost) McDuffie while also plucking Watson out of K.C. A secondary-focused approach also saw S Kam Curl re-sign for three years and $36 million. And Snead still has Atlanta’s first-rounder as the Rams try to load up for another Super Bowl run after falling just short to Seattle last season.

Miami Dolphins: A-

Are they better? Nah. Are they saddled with a record dead cap hit of nearly $180 million as they cut their losses on players like Tagovailoa, Chubb and Waddle while clearing the decks for brighter days ahead? Yup. Could Malik Willis be the new answer behind center? Maybe – but his three-year deal is more than worth the moderate risk to find out. The Band-Aid ripped off, the Fins will need a full season for the wound to heal. But this was probably the most prudent course of action.

Minnesota Vikings: A-

Their new quarterback, Murray, is essentially being funded by the Cardinals – which should be a major plus on a few levels. Otherwise, the Vikes aren’t exactly running it back after the cap forced them to shed Allen and Hargrave while letting Nailor and Harrison Smith (for now anyway) go. Still, Murray alone could be the rising tide that lifts these longships.

New England Patriots: A-

Last year’s offseason (and AFC) champs were highly active yet again – strengthening their ranks with All-Pro S Kevin Byard, OL Alijah Vera-Tucker and edge setter Dre’Mont Jones – all serious upgrades at their respective posts. Doubs probably isn’t as good a player as jettisoned Diggs but is younger and – who knows? – might not be the Pats’ final addition to the receiver room.

New Orleans Saints: A-

LB Kaden Elliss returned – helping the Saints and hurting the division rival Falcons with his departure. Second-year QB Tyler Shough should also get a boost in front of him (G David Edwards) and in the backfield (Etienne). The departure of LB Demario Davis and, possibly, DL Cam Jordan could mark a starkly new era in the Big Easy. But a team that’s finally operating out of the black cap-wise – now and in the future – and was the NFC South’s best team down the stretch last season could be an outfit to watch in 2026.

New York Giants: B

Feels like the Ravens have migrated north to the Big Apple – and several literally have, including Likely, Stout, FB Patrick Ricard and S Ar’Darius Washington. Even RT Jermaine Eluemunor, an ex-Raven who beat new coach John Harbaugh to the Meadowlands by a few years, decided to stick around as part of a haul that should very much help second-year QB Jaxson Dart. WRs Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin might not replicate the production Wan’Dale Robinson took with him to Tennessee, but they also don’t cost nearly as much. LB Tremaine Edmunds and CB Greg Newsome will also be expected to lift a defense that disappointed in 2025.

New York Jets: B-

Going back to the Cardinals here, but – again – don’t mistake activity for achievement. The NYJ franchised RB Breece Hall, swapped out QB Justin Fields for Geno Smith in a pair of trades, obtained S Minkah Fitzpatrick and NT T’Vondre Sweat in other deals and signed Davis, DE Joseph Ossai, LB Kingsley Enagbare and DL David Onyemata … yet didn’t retain starting guards Simpson and Vera-Tucker. Pro Bowl CB Nahshon Wright might have the most upside of the free agent arrivals. Yet despite all the turnover, a team that also went 3-14 – and lost each of its final five games by at least 23 points apiece – doesn’t appear to have done a whole lot more than reaching its minimum spending threshold for players who may or may not be here two years from now, when it appears like the Jets might actually be in position to take off given the way GM Darren Mougey continues to accrue draft picks and cap space for the future. Trust the process.

Philadelphia Eagles: I (incomplete)

Losing Phillips hurt, but EVP/GM Howie Roseman couldn’t match Carolina’s largesse. But the acclaimed exec did make some typical Roseman moves – extending DT Jordan Davis while signing good players (CB Riq Woolen, WR Hollywood Brown, OLB Arnold Ebiketie) at something of a discount. Keeping TE Dallas Goedert was also a win. But hard to judge the plan here holistically until/unless the A.J. Brown situation is finally resolved, which may not be before June 1 due to cap ramifications … if at all.

Pittsburgh Steelers: I (incomplete)

So many lingering questions in the Keystone State – like whether or not Rodgers is returning to the Steel City to reunite with new coach Mike McCarthy? The four-time MVP’s decision and its ramifications will surely inform the wisdom of the AFC North champions’ decisions to trade for Pittman and while bringing in Dowdle, CB Jamel Dean, DL Sebastian Joseph-Day and S Jaquan Brisker.

San Francisco 49ers: A-

Father Time healing the Niners’ walking wounded could be the most welcome development of 2026. Wouldn’t hurt, either, if Father Time takes it easy on new WRs Mike Evans and Christian Kirk. Getting LB Dre Greenlaw and K Eddy Piñeiro back also helps, and the trade for DT Osa Odighizuwa could be a steal. WR Brandon Aiyuk’s situation technically remains on the roster – for now – but likely not for much longer.

Seattle Seahawks: B+

They certainly lost some key players: Bryant, Mafe and Walker leading that list. Yet GM John Schneider managed to get WR/KR Rashid Shaheed and CB Josh Jobe back while inking Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a record extension. If CB Devon Witherspoon can rake in one of his own, you’d have to say it’s been a pretty good offseason for the champs – especially if they get a worthy replacement for Walker in the draft

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: C

Quite a changing of the guard – and other positions – here as former mainstays Evans and Dean moved on and LB Lavonte David retired. But maybe an infusion from the outside will serve a franchise that’s (successfully) languished around .500 for years in the NFC South. OLB Al-Quadin Muhammad, DT A’Shawn Robinson, LB Alex Anzalone and RB Kenny Gainwell are among the notable newcomers, while TE Cade Otton remained (for 3 years and $30 million).

Tennessee Titans: B

They busily spent their nearly nine-figure salary cap bounty on the likes of Franklin-Myers, Wan’Dale Robinson, CBs Cor’Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor and TE Daniel Bellinger. A deal with the Jets also brought former Pro Bowl DE Jermaine Johnson II. It is remarkable how many ex-Jets and Giants followed their former coaches, Robert Saleh (HC) and Brian Daboll (OC) to Nashville, suggesting the cultural change should quickly take root. But it remains to be seen how many significant difference-makers this massive cash outlay actually netted.

Washington Commanders: B-

They wrote a lot of checks to get younger and – potentially – better, OLBs Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson, LB Leo Chenal, TE Chig Okonkwo, DL Tim Settle, S Nick Cross, CB Amik Robertson and RB Rachaad White all inbound. How it all coalesces in the absence of established leaders like Bobby Wagner and Zach Ertz remains to be seen.

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• Texas coach Vic Schaefer is chasing his first national championship after leading two different programs to the Final Four.
• Schaefer’s defensive adjustments, prompted by a past loss to Oregon, helped Texas dominate the Ducks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Schaefer has guided Texas to its fifth Sweet 16 appearance in his sixth season with the program.

AUSTIN, TX —  Vic Schaefer was worried. So two hours before his Texas team was set to tip off its second-round NCAA Tournament game against Oregon on March 22, he pulled the Longhorns into the practice gym and ran through a new defensive strategy.

“My Bible study today was run toward things that you’re worried about or you’re concerned about. And I was concerned about pick-and-roll defense today,” Schaefer said. “But I thought we ran to it today.”

Texas crushed Oregon, 100-58. The Longhorns snatched 13 steals and scored 23 points off turnovers. After the Ducks shot 9-of-11 from the field in the first quarter, the Longhorns held them to a combined 12 field goals on 30% shooting over the next three quarters.  

The reason Schaefer was so concerned about pick-and-roll defense, he later told USA TODAY, was because of a 2019 game against the Ducks when he was the head coach at Mississippi State.

Schaefer’s Bulldogs were coming off consecutive national runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018 and seemed primed to return to the championship game in 2019 when they earned a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament. But Mississippi State lost by four points in an Elite Eight game, played in Portland, to second-seeded Oregon and point guard Sabrina Ionescu.

“That was my best team,” Schaefer said. “That team was better than the two previous teams that played in the national championship game. If we’d have beat them, we’d have won the national championship, no question. But we got unlucky, we got sent to Oregon, we had to play in front of 13,000 Ducks and we got beat 88-84 because we couldn’t guard the pick-and-roll. Ionescu crushed me with pick-and-roll.”

Schaefer chasing elusive national title with fifth Sweet 16 with Longhorns

Schaefer frequently talks about coaching against “ghosts,” referring to hypothetical situations that could incapacitate his teams. But the past is also a stubborn poltergeist with disturbances that can be harder to shake.

In his sixth season at Texas, Schaefer is a semifinalist for Naismith Coach of the Year after he guided the Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship title in their debut season in the conference and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. Texas went to the Final Four in 2025 and on Sunday booked its ticket to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time under Schaefer.

At Texas and Mississippi State, Schaefer has a combined career record of 398-101. He is one of two active coaches to take two different programs to the Final Four, the other being Kim Mulkey (LSU and Baylor).

Through Schaefer’s illustrious 21-season career as a head coach, which also includes seven seasons at Sam Houston State, one accomplishment has eluded him: Winning a national championship.  

“You get evaluated more on this time of year as a coach than any other time during the season,” Schaefer said. “You can win the championship, the conference championship, the tournament championship, but this is the time of year when you got to earn your keep. With this team, how special they are, they’re good enough. I keep telling ’em, they’re good enough.”

Schaefer has the requisite experience to say that. He was an assistant on legendary coach Gary Blair’s Texas A&M staff when the Aggies won the national title in 2011. That’s where Schaefer learned many tricks of the trade that he still employs and are part of what makes him, him.

Consistency, evolution and ‘generational talent’ spur Texas basketball

Schaefer is a fan of consistency. When he finds something that works, he sticks with it. His teams all deploy the same suffocating style of pressure defense. His season-long practice plans rarely deviate year to year; practices in February 2026 look very similar to practices in February 2025 and February 2024, and so on.  

That doesn’t mean it’s all cut-and-paste, said Texas associate head coach Elena Lovato, who spent four seasons on Schaefer’s staff at Mississippi State.

“I think he’s evolved a lot as an offensive coach,” Lovato said. “At Mississippi State, we were primarily dribble drive. We’d have a few sets here and there to get us into some high-low stuff. I think here, we’ve really evolved and grown our playbook. And we have better players, you know, like we have five stars, so we’re utilizing their skill sets and I think (Schaefer) has done a really good job of making it really hard for people to guard us.”

Schaefer is also a fan of backup plans and being overprepared. He’ll install a secondary defense hours before a game, just in case. During games he keeps two play cards in his pocket; the smaller of the two has 50 different plays on it.

Many of the plays are for Texas junior sensation Madison Booker, whom Schaefer called a “generational talent” after she dropped 40 points on Oregon in the Longhorns’ second-round victory.

“I think Coach Schaefer has really just pushed me into taking just a bigger role, just being aggressive on the offensive end, finding my shot, hunting my shot,” Booker said after the game. “That’s all he says in practice is hunting my shot. I think my coach did a great job just drawing up plays and putting me in the right position just to score the ball easily.”

In her five seasons at Texas, senior point guard Rori Harmon has become increasingly convinced that she and Schaefer are cut from the same cloth. They’re so connected on the court that Lovato calls Harmon “a mini Vic.”

“I think when it comes to the game of basketball, it’s one of those things where you hate losing more than you love winning, and I think that’s what we share a lot,” Harmon said. “A lot of some phrases or words he would say while he recruited me or throughout my whole career here, it matches what I think when it comes to being competitive, being passionate, honoring the game, being disciplined, all that stuff. It truly does match me, and I think that’s why it works so well.”

Not just generational talent: generations of Schaefers fixed on a title

Harmon, Booker and their Longhorns teammates are well-versed in Schaefer’s history. Blair Schaefer, Vic’s daughter and former point guard on his 2014-2018 Mississippi State teams, is now a Texas assistant coach. Another Texas assistant coach, Sydney Carter, was a standout player for Schaefer at Texas A&M.

The Longhorns are used to watching clips of plays that Schaefer ran at his previous stops and hearing tales about his former teams – whatever he thinks can help them improve.

“I just feel like the lesson that we kind of got from his stories and his words were just basically like it’s one game at a time, that preparation is key right now,” Booker said. “That’s why our practices right now are very crucial to how we play in this tournament and how we play throughout really the whole season, and how crucial it is just for this moment because it’s basically like a win-or-go-home game. Just kind of be present where your feet are, don’t get too far ahead.”

Staying in the present is sometimes easier said than done.

Every team is different, Schaefer contends. And winning a national title takes luck, not just talent. But standing outside the Longhorns’ locker room after his team throttled Oregon and with another Sweet 16 on the horizon, Schaefer couldn’t help but think that this year could be the year.

With Sunday’s win, Texas improved its record to 33-3 in a season that began by inserting three new players into the starting lineup, two of them sophomores. Three players – Booker, sophomore guard Jordan Lee and senior center Kyla Oldacre – average double-figure scoring. The Longhorns’ center duo of Breya Cunningham and Oldacre dominate the interior, Booker is virtually unstoppable from anywhere on the court, and Harmon sets the tone on defense.

“This team, offensively, when they go out there and make shots, when you’ve got a difference-maker player like Madison Booker and they create their own shot, and then we’ve got the two-headed monster inside – they may not score a lot, but man they take up a lot of room down there,” Schaefer said. “It just makes for a really special team.”

Lovato has that same feeling.

“I won’t be surprised if it happens because I know how much work goes in behind the scenes from a player perspective, from a staff perspective, from Coach Schaefer losing sleep, sleeping in the office,” she said. “I think all of those things, we’d just kind of finally be rewarded for all the fruits of our labor.”

Texas’ lone women’s basketball national championship was in 1986. Forty years later, Schaefer is attempting to deliver a second. The Longhorns know how much a championship would mean for the program and for their head coach.

“I think he wants it, too,” Harmon said. “To get one while we’re both here would mean a lot, because I have been here for a really long time and I’ve witnessed the growth of every team, every year that he’s been here from the start. So I think doing it for him is another reason why we go so hard.”

Super Bowl champion Reggie Bush is ready to ace ownership.

On Thursday, League One Volleyball (LOVB) announced that Synergy Sports Capital, a $150 million private equity fund led by former NFL players Terrence C. Murphy Sr. and Reggie Bush, has acquired the rights of LOVB Salt Lake.

“When we look for owners, we look for leaders who see what this league can become, not just what it is today,” Sandra Idehen, Commissioner of LOVB Pro, said in a statement shared with USA TODAY Sports. “Terrence, Reggie and the Synergy team understand the journey of elite athletes, the cultural power of sports, and how to build businesses that last. Their investment in LOVB and leadership of the Salt Lake team strengthens our foundation as we build the next great professional league in America.”

LOVB Salt Lake is in its second season in the professional women’s volleyball league and its roster includes two-time Olympic medalists Jordyn Poulter, Haleigh Washington and former Texas A&M middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who helped the Aggies women’s volleyball’s win its first national title in program history in December.

Terrence C. Murphy Sr, who played collegiate football for Texas A&M before being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2005, said “Salt Lake has everything you want in a winning organization.”

“A talented team with great chemistry, a passionate and growing sports market, and a culture that values grit and competitiveness,” Murphy, founder and managing partner of Synergy Sports Capital, said in a sentence. “As a volleyball dad, this sport means a lot to me personally, and the opportunity to help build something special here made this the right fit. Our goal is to create one of the toughest home-court environments in the league.”

LOVB Salt Lake is currently tied for second place with a 9-8 record.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

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It may feel like a lifetime ago when Yoshinobu Yamamoto fired a splitter to Alejandro Kirk, who rolled a ground ball to Mookie Betts with the bases loaded, Betts simply stepping on second and tossing to first and ending a World Series, just like that.

Yet here we are, Opening Day upon us and real baseball, coast-to-coast and nearly around the clock a daily reality. Does the world seem any different since Nov. 1, when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays played one of the greatest Game 7s of all time, to end one of the greatest World Series of all time?

A lot can happen in 145 days. Especially in the baseball industry. With that, USA TODAY Sports gets you back up to speed on what you missed since the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series championship:

The Blue Jays reinvented themselves – for the most part

We’ll start on that Rogers Centre turf, where the disconsolate Blue Jays filed back to a clubhouse where the tears flowed as easily as the champagne in the opposing room a few hundred yards away.

It’s really hard to repeat as champions in baseball, as the Dodgers learned. So wouldn’t it seem equally hard to get back to the Fall Classic after losing Game 7?

(Remember, 145 days can fly by, too).

With that, the Blue Jays took a wise hybrid approach to their offseason – not replicating the roster that fell just short but augmenting and future-proofing it.

Say hello to new starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, the former a supreme bat-misser and the latter whose spring performance justified his $30 million commitment to arrive from Japan. Kazuma Okamoto is the new third baseman. Bo Bichette is gone.

Yet the guts of the club still remain, even 41-year-old Max Scherzer, looking incredibly spry this spring and probably much healthier than last year. And let’s not forget that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. begins the first of his 14 years of contractual bliss, over which time Toronto will pay him $500 million. He’s already worth it – even moreso if the Jays can win one more game than they did last year.

The Dodgers are only further reviled

Don’t weep for the boys in blue: More than 4 million people flocked through the gates to see them play last year. They get plenty of California love.

Yet they just can’t help themselves when it comes to seismic signings that rock the industry.

Here’s where $60 million man Kyle Tucker comes in (or, $57 million man Kyle Tucker when taking deferrals into account). This wasn’t an epic free agent class this past winter but the vacuum of trade rumors and signings must be filled and Tucker became the Hope Diamond.

Great player. Not quite a franchise player. Yet after he chose the Dodgers’ front-loaded and opt-out friendly deal, manager Dave Roberts will have a hard act to follow.

After all, he relished that the Dodgers “ruined baseball” in the postgame celebration following their NLCS vanquishing of the Brewers. A third straight World Series appearance and the club might be taking the rap for climate change and mayonnaise, too.

ABS system: ‘Robots’ have arrived

Sometimes a colloquialism gets out of control. So it is with “robot umpires.”

The phrase gained steam as pitch-tracking technology got better and more widespread and the average modern fan posited that we’d be better off with robots calling balls and strikes.

And here we are. Kind of.

The ABS Challenge System enables batters, pitchers and catchers to tap their head should they immediately determine they’ve possibly been wronged. They can do it twice a game and then, if they fail, they must live with human error.

It’s a bit of a half-measure to keep the so-called human element fairly alive and well while providing a fairly sturdy guardrail against egregious crimes against the strike zone.

Thank goodness it only takes 30 seconds or so to render a verdict, keeping the game watchable. And perhaps more enjoyable if your team is the one benefiting.

Just don’t call them robot umps. It’s not like they can deliver pizzas or enforce the law.

Bryce Harper donned a ‘Not Elite’ shirt

Just a weird little off-season kerfuffle.

It actually began before the World Series when Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski opined in the club’s postseason postmortem that Harper wasn’t an “elite” player anymore.

 And so began a Flaccoian winter saga.

It picked up steam when Harper, now a prolific TikToker, donned a shirt he said someone gave him bearing Dombrowski’s damning phrase. Just workout gear, he said.

Silly? Hey, the Narrative Factory never closes, and this is fodder either way, whether Harper falls into a 2-for-30 hole or claims his third MVP award at 33.

Atlanta’s rotation became ‘Spinal Tap drummer’ dangerous

They still have 2024 Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, and Reynaldo Lopez is kinda nice, and maybe Bryce Elder can recapture his 2023 first half magic that sent him to the All-Star Game.

Other than that? The Atlanta Braves have an entire pitching rotation on the injured list.

It’s no way for a recent power to erase the sting of a fourth-place finish. They lost Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep to bone chip surgery in late February. Joey Wentz to a torn ACL once Grapefruit League play began.

And they couldn’t break camp without Spencer Strider tweaking an oblique. Throw in AJ Smith-Shawver’s Tommy John surgery from last June, and that’s a quintet’s worth of innings lost.

Those that remain hopefully won’t step on any banana peels.

‘Nuclear winter’ drew a little closer

Looking forward to Opening Day, eh? Shame if something happened to it.

Kind of an apt marketing slogan for Major League Baseball, eh? Lest we forget, Opening Day 2027 is far from a given with labor storm clouds forming and commissioner Rob Manfred telegraphing a lockout that will end all baseball business Dec. 1 until a new collective bargaining agreement is struck.

In the meantime, the union is down a man, with executive director Tony Clark’s startling resignation in February coming with just enough time to regroup before negotiations begin. (Yes, talks could have commenced any time in the last year, but that’s just not how they do it).

So enjoy the sunshine and displays of talent and hopefully a nice W for your team of choice. Next year this time could be a lot different.

Then again, plenty can happen from the final pitch of one season to the first one of the next.