Contrary to popular cliche, pressure does much more than burst pipes.
In the NFL, pressure leads to firings, benchings, trades, and most of all, regrets.
With less than 10 weeks until the start of the 2024 season, The Post is taking a look at the 10 players (or duos) in the league who will be most stressed when the score is counted. And the list starts right here in town…
1. Jets GM Joe Douglas/Director Robert Saleh
More rare than a manager taking over for his fourth season with an 18-33 record is a general manager taking over for his sixth season with a 27-56 record.
The Jets have missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons.
Saleh is the favorite to be the NFL’s first fired head coach on one of our hypothetical offseason betting lists.
There’s no excuse for a slow start, as the Jets are favored in 11 of their first 12 games, according to DraftKings’ projections.
Aaron Rodgers is also under a lot of pressure as he works his way back from a torn Achilles tendon, but if he stays true to his word that he wants to play beyond 2024, it seems difficult for the Jets to let him go under any circumstances.
2. Cowboys Manager Mike McCarthy
Frankly, it was a surprise McCarthy wasn’t fired from the team after last season ended in a playoff crushing loss at home to the Packers.
His best performance can be said to be his record of 12 wins and 5 losses for three consecutive seasons in the regular season and 1 win and 3 losses in the postseason.
McCarthy, the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni and the Bills’ Sean McDermott will all have to deal with the looming threat of an unemployed Bill Belichick if their teams underperform, taking over a team that’s already built and just waiting to break the NFL regular-season win record (needs 27 more wins).
Will President Jerry Jones ever fulfill his “all-in” promise?
3. Steelers QB Russell Wilson
There is little room for blame for Wilson’s precipitous decline.
First up was the Seahawks’ offensive line.
After that, directors Pete Carroll, Nathaniel Hackett, and Sean Payton were appointed in succession.
It’s now or never for Wilson to reinvigorate the career that has developed into a Hall of Fame-caliber player over the past 10 seasons.
If he’s holding onto the ball too long and avoiding the middle of the field, no one can blame coach Mike Tomlin for turning to Justin Fields to see if a younger player is the long-term answer.
4. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa is unhappy with the numbers discussed during negotiations for his $23.1 million option for 2024.
The Dolphins appear reluctant to pay Tagovailoa his current asking price of more than $50 million per season, even after he led the NFL in passing yards (4,624) last season. He had an MVP-caliber performance in the first half of 2022, but injuries derailed his plans.
This has fueled criticism that Tagovailoa is more of a quick weapon than a difference-maker.
Tagovailoa needs to play well again to earn money.
If not, he could consider the franchise tag or take the path of proving himself in free agency for a year.
5. Bears coach Matt Eberflus
Everplus kept his job with a stellar defensive performance over the final five weeks of last season, going 3-2.
Eberflus’ biggest decision of the offseason was to bring in former Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to partner with No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in developing him into an effective rookie quarterback who can utilize one of the NFL’s best receiver trios (DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Romeo Odunje), running back DeAndre Swift and an above-average offensive line.
6. Falcons CEO Rich McKay/GM Terry Fontenot
The two executives reportedly helped persuade owner Arthur Blank to bring in his favorite coach, Raheem Morris, instead of Billychick, despite legitimate concerns about a power struggle.
Then Fontenot created a quarterback controversy that was not at all controversial. He signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million free-agent contract ($100 million guaranteed), which Cousins immediately got angry about, and wasted resources that could have helped build a playoff-caliber defense. That resource was the eighth pick, drafting a ready-to-play Michael Penix Jr. as Cousins’ backup.
Blank needs to ask himself whether things are being done for the good of the team or for self-protection.
7. Eagles RB Sakuon Barkley
Barkley bet on himself during a two-year contract dispute by refusing to give in to the Giants’ below-market offer and concerns about the devaluation of the running back market.
As a result, he signed a three-year, $37.75 million free agent contract with the rival team, the Eagles.
Now it’s Barkley’s job to make Eagles general manager Howie Roseman look like a smart guy by bucking the trend, showing he was the missing piece in last year’s offensive collapse, bolstering the market for another back and making the Giants regret throwing away their best playmaker because of a positional dispute.
8. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
Even if Prescott doesn’t repeat his NFL touchdown pass record of 36 last season, he will likely become the first NFL player to make $60 million when he becomes a free agent in 2025.
His contract has a clause that says he can’t be franchise-tagged.
But does Prescott really want to leave the Cowboys brand?
Is he overextending his influence in stalled extension negotiations?
Can he learn the lesson that ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ from Cousins’ departure from the Vikings?
Prescott needs to shake off his reputation as the “Unbeatable Big One” (2-5 overall in the playoffs), and the Cowboys’ talented supporting cast gives him a chance to be his best.
9. Texas WR Stefon Diggs
Many receivers would be happy to catch a pass from Cousins or Josh Allen.
The ever-disgruntled Diggs has weathered both situations over the past five years and is reaping the rewards of working with rising star CJ Stroud.
The trade from the Bills to the Texans included removing the final three years of Diggs’ contract, making him a free agent after 2024.
But he’ll have to perform well to break the $26 million average annual salary of his last contract.
10. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo
The Staten Island native, who has been a fixture in coaching recruiting circles for years and was a runner-up with the Cardinals in 2023, was passed over for an interview in 2024.
why?
The Bengals ranked 31st in total defense.
Quarterback Joe Burrow is coming back from injury and looking for one last chance to throw to the soon-to-be-paid duo of Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins, so the Bengals will look to add three key players to their defense this offseason in an effort to turn the Bengals into a Super Bowl contender.
