TUPATALK: NFL reflections

With the Super Bowl now in the books, the NFL faces several game-changing questions during the next few days, weeks and months.

Tom Brady’s merciful retirement announcement — merciful in its timing because the time wasted in speculation has been cut short — shouldn’t affect much. It was going to be difficult to find the perfect fit for Brady.

I really believe last year’s premature announcement about Brady’s not-to-be retirement might have fired him up to come back and try to follow the little piece of Juan Ponce De Leon that lurks inside all of us. But, regardless of the breakdown of problems that plagued Tampa Bay, I believe Brady might have decided to put the hassle behind.

The offseason fate of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers could have repercussions for what several teams end up doing.

The easy answer is if Rodgers and Green Bay reach common ground in him returning this next season.

If it doesn’t work out that way, Rodgers could be like the big skipping stone that causes ripples to shake up the NFL quarterback shuffle.

Speaking of that, San Francisco faces an unenviable decision about perhaps having too many quarterbacks to choose from. Which one will they name No., 1 in the offseason? Which one(s) will they keep?

The answers to those queries again might impact the offensive lineups for any one of several teams.

Another unknown is the status of Tua Tagovailoa as the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback.

He’s a good one — even a great one when he gets a chance. But, how much might injury concerns about Tua dictate how Miami approaches its quarterback rotation? Does Miami stand pat and see if Tua gets through the entire campaign healthy enough and with strong results?

The Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys will be focused on surgical upgrades to teams that competed strong but faltered in the playoffs?

What will Denver do in consideration of last year’s major disappointing season?

How hard will the Ravens work to bring back Lamar Jackson?

What is the future of Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones with the New York Giants?

Do the Rams make any drastic changes or just chalk up last year’s disappointment mainly to Matthew Stafford’s absence and other key injuries?

How might contract extension negotiations for Joe Burrow, Tua, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts unfold.

These questions just scratch the surface. There are running back controversies about whether teams should look at different mixes, defensive backs seemed especially vulnerable this past season to injury and that impact has to be assessed, what will be the “Kansas City” effect in terms of copy catting, and so on.

This past season turned out to be a much more traditional model —with a couple of notable exceptions (L..A. Rams and Green Bay Packers), the elite teams established themselves early and ended up basically where they were supposed to.

Here’s hoping teams make the best decisions the next six months to make themselves better and foster an even stronger NFL campaign next fall.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TupaTalk column