NFL Rumors: Rounding Up Buzz on Sam Bradford, Top Free Agents and More

NFL fans will take a break from the league at a serious risk of falling out of the loop.

The rumor mill is downright on fire, and the landscape of the league can change in the blink of an eye.

Sure, that sounds like hyperbole. But ponder this—major names such as Ndamukong Suh, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, Justin Houston and more are on the way to free agency. Marcus Mariota vs. Jameis Winston headlines the draft. Contract extensions for Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and more are very much up in the air.

So the NFL is on break, but not really. Now perhaps the most interesting time of the year can begin in earnest. Some of the top fresh rumblings rest below.

Pittsburgh's Jason Worilds Situation

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

Jason Worilds is one of those players who flies under the radar during free agency and then absolutely explodes the next season—especially if he lands with a new team.

The No. 52 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft out of Virginia Tech may very well hit the open market. As Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hears, the team may believe it will have too much cash tied up in him if it applies a tag:

"

The Steelers would like to re-sign Worilds because, if nothing else, the alternative is not very promising. But, they are not going to overpay to do so. And they will not, in all likelihood, use a transition or franchise tag on him again because that would mean they will have spent more than $20 million on him in two seasons.

"

Worilds is one of the brighter young rushers in the NFL. He ranked as the No. 11 overall 3-4 outside linebacker last season at Pro Football Focus and tallied eight sacks, 16 hits and 28 hurries.

It's an interesting scenario all around. The Steelers have little in the way of additional help in terms of rushers at the moment, and spending a first-round pick to replace Worilds would be akin to treading water. Then again, whispers indicate that the team cannot afford to tie up so much cash in one player.

No matter how it plays out, the Worilds saga is one of the more underrated storylines to monitor.

Ryan Tannehill, the Next $100 Million Man?

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Tannehill may be the next quarterback to score a major contract.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Dave Hyde reports that the feelers are certainly out for an extension:

"

Well, one source said it's being discussed with a framework being a seven-year contract worth about $105 million (depending on incentives). The numbers and details remain in flux, depending on what structure for the deal is decided on by the team. But the general idea is a contract of about $15 million annually that guarantees the first two years (these years are typically higher than the average of the contract), gives a team option in the third year and a player option in the final two years.

"

If true, talk about a bargain.

Quarterbacks are expensive these days, not to mention how hard it is to find one who can consistently put his team in a position to win. Miami's ability to wrap up Tannehill in a long-term deal based around incentives is nothing short of a great thing.

After all, Tannehill has improved in the most important ways over the course of his three seasons:

SEASON	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	TD	INT
2012	282	484	58.3	3,294	12	13
2013	355	588	60.4	3,913	24	17
2014	392	590	66.4	4,045	27	12

As Ian Wharton of Optimum Scouting points out, the discussed numbers are just right:

The thing is, Tannehill still offers plenty of upside.

Unlike Andy Dalton, the Texas A&M product does not appear to have hit a ceiling yet. If he continues on this current trajectory, which is far from out of the question, the current numbers will be a major steal in hindsight.

Miami cannot control the silly quarterback market. It can, however, wrap up what it believes to be a franchise player in a smart, team-friendly manner. Keep an eye on the situation.

Sam Bradford vs. Marcus Mariota vs. Jameis Winston 

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

How's that for a crazy triple-threat match? 

Sam Bradford is an established NFL starter who can find success if in the right situation, which seems to be the belief of some NFL executives, according to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole:

To be fair to Bradford, his injury and simple location luck are all out of whack. He is now a veteran of two ACL surgeries, and when healthy, it is not as if the St. Louis Rams have done an amazing job of surrounding him with talent.

Despite this, Bradford completed a career-high 60.7 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns to four interceptions in just seven appearances in 2013.

While it may not be a popular move for one of the quarterback-needy teams in the top 10 to pass on Mariota or Winston in favor of Bradford, there is something to say for his experience and likely low cap number on a "prove-it" deal.

One of the more obvious moves of the offseason is St. Louis wanting to restructure Bradford's contract in an effort to save cap space. If this somehow turns into his outright departure, well, everyone from the collegiate to pro landscape may wind up impacted in a major way.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. ET. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.