2023 NFL Scouting Combine Recap: Day 2

Photo: USA Today Sports

We know when we're officially into NFL Draft season when the Scouting Combine officially comes around each year in Indianapolis.

NFL executives and coaches from all 32 teams descend into Indy to find the potential next face of their franchise, and it all starts here.

In this series of articles, we'll be breaking down the notable news from each day of the heralded event, some impressive performances, and the latest rumors you need to know.

2023 NFL Combine Recap: Day 2

Notable News Of the Day

The Washington Commanders placed the franchise tag on Da'Ron Payne.

Payne would've been the prize of this 2023 NFL Free Agency, but he's going to stick around in Washington for at least the next year as the team hopes to work out a contract to keep him around longer.

Derek Carr will meet with three teams at the NFL Combine.

Carr has already spent time with the Jets and Saints this offseason, but he and his team will now also meet with representatives from the Panthers. Carolina currently sits with the No. 9 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, which could potentially put them out of range of securing one of the incoming rookie quarterbacks. Carr being paired with Frank Reich could mean really good things for the Panthers receiving weapons, particularly D.J. Moore.

Cleveland will release John Johnson III at the start of the new league year.

Johnson was a high-profile signing for Cleveland a couple of years ago, and he should still have a market at just 27 years old.

Leslie Frazier is set to take a year off of coaching.

The Bills' defensive coordinator since 2017 won't be coaching this defensive unit in 2023 as he's set to take a year off from the game. We'll have to wait and see who Sean McDermott brings in as the new defensive coordinator before analyzing the potential fantasy football implications.

The Atlanta Falcons move on from Marcus Mariota.

Mariota was benched for Desmond Ridder towards the end of the season, so it seemed highly unlikely that Atlanta was going to keep him on the roster at his current price tag. Releasing the veteran quarterback saves Atlanta $12,000,000 against the cap for 2023, and they're reportedly going to be looking to bring in competition for Ridder this offseason.

Chicago is reportedly planning on Justin Fields being their starting QB in 2023.

This was the expectation all along, but GM Ryan Poles did say that they would do work on the incoming quarterback class as part of their due diligence. However, all indications coming out of Indianapolis so far are that Chicago will trade out of the No. 1 overall pick and move forward with rebuilding this team around Fields.

JUSTIN FIELDS 💨

(via @nfl)pic.twitter.com/pV1zFS8pbH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 4, 2022

The Kenny Golladay era is over in New York.

The Giants are reportedly set to release Golladay at the beginning of the new league year and will put an end to one of the worst NFL Free Agency contracts of all time.

Calvin Ridley has yet to be reinstated by the league.

Ridley was suspended for an entire season for wagering on an NFL game, and he's currently awaiting word on whether or not he'll be allowed back into the league this year. It's odd that it's even taking this long.

The Cardinals are open to trading the No. 3 overall pick.

This could shake mock drafts up a bit if Arizona is truly willing to move down. As they head towards a reset under their new regime, it makes sense. However, passing on a talent like Jalen Carter or Will Anderson, who could be a cornerstone of your rebuild, would be difficult.

The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley don't appear to be close on a contract extension.

Joe Schoen - the Giants GM - spoke about Barkley and Daniel Jones' contract situations on Tuesday. According to Schoen, there's no doubt that Jones will be in town for 2023. However, there's apparently still a bit of a gap between Barkley's camp and the team when it comes to contract terms. If Jones is hit with the franchise tag, Barkley's set to walk in free agency and play elsewhere next season.