NFL winners and losers: Franchise QBs (Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson), franchise tags make ne

The NFL’s 2022 league year – and free agency – commences March 16, a date which once loomed as the meaningful kickoff to the offseason.

Then March 8 happened … and everything changed.

First, diplomacy worked for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers – here’s hoping the rest of the world can learn from this, albeit comparatively trivial, example – the parties reaching a long-awaited, long-term accord.

Shortly thereafter, unable to pry Rodgers out of Wisconsin, the Denver Broncos pulled off what’s likely to stand as the blockbuster trade of the year, acquiring Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in a package that sends a slew of high draft picks and several players to the Pacific Northwest.