10 NFL stories that will dominate headlines in 2016

With the dawn of a new year upon us, let's gaze ahead and try to predict the NFL stories that will dominate 2016.

Tom Brady's farewell tour

After watching the sad end to friend and rival Peyton Manning's career, Tom Brady decides to announce that 2016 will be his final season in the NFL. Much to Roger Goodell's chagrin, Brady enjoys a Derek Jeter-like farewell tour and exits the game still playing at a high level.

Brees, Payton leave Saints

The Saints decide to blow it up and undergo a complete rebuild. Sean Payton doesn't want to stick around for it, so he negotiates an out and bolts for Indianapolis, where he replaces Chuck Pagano and leads the Colts on a deep playoff run. Drew Brees reworks his contract to be more cap-friendly, facilitating a trade to the Jets, where he represents a sizable upgrade on Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Calvin Johnson cut, signs with Falcons

The cap-strapped Lions ask Calvin Johnson to take a paycut and he refuses, leading to his release. Johnson is a hot commodity on the free-agent market and eventually signs with his home-state Falcons, forming the NFL's most imposing wideout duo with Julio Jones.

Marshawn Lynch traded to Raiders

With a cheap, young tailback in Thomas Rawls ready for a featured role and Marshawn Lynch clearly on the decline, the Seahawks make the difficult decision to move on from their star tailback. A trade to Oakland, where Lynch is deeply beloved, is easy to work out. There, Lynch splits carries with Latavius Murray and helps boost the Raiders to their first playoff appearance in more than a decade.

Odell Beckham Jr. benched by Giants

With Tom Coughlin enjoying retirement, the Giants struggle to find their way under a new coaching staff and things come to a boil when Odell Beckham Jr. refuses to come out of the locker room for the second half of a key game. In a move reminiscent of how the Eagles handled Terrell Owens' temper tantrums in 2005, the Giants give Beckham a one-week timeout to think about his actions. The mercurial star returns with a vengeance and goes on a historic tear, shattering receiving records in the process.

Johnny Manziel clinches NFC East title for Cowboys

Not wanting any distractions around their first-round rookie quarterback, the Browns shop Manziel on the trade market, asking only for a conditional late-round pick in return. Jerry Jones can't help himself. Jones pays full-time babysitters to help Manziel stay out of trouble and it works. Manziel develops behind Tony Romo and, when Romo goes down to an injury late in the season, Manziel steps up and leads the Cowboys to a division title-clinching win.

RG3 fails to earn Texans' starting job

After meeting only tepid interest on the free-agent market following his release from the Redskins, Robert Griffin III signs with the Texans on an incentive-laden one-year deal. Griffin loses a training camp battle with a rookie quarterback and plays only a few snaps for the team in a relief role.

Chip Kelly leads Titans to playoffs

Chip Kelly becomes the latest in a long line of head coaches who flamed out in their first opportunity to run a team, then found success after learning some hard lessons. The Titans limit Kelly's power over personnel decisions, focusing his attention on how to get the most from Marcus Mariota. It proves to be a big success and the Titans improve from the NFL's worst team in 2015 to a postseason berth.

3 quarterbacks drafted in top 5

For the first time since 1999, three quarterbacks are chosen in the top five selections of the draft. Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch, and Connor Cook all hear their names called in short order, but none get the coveted first overall slot. That belongs to the Titans, who desperately try to trade down before settling on drafting the best defensive player available.

Rams, Chargers finally relocate to L.A.

After years of tiny steps toward relocation, the NFL finally takes the giant leap of returning to the Los Angeles market. The Rams and Chargers are winners of the three-team race with the Raiders, with the NFL preferring Rams owner Stan Kroenke's plan to build a stadium complex in Inglewood (and preferring not to cede the L.A. market to Mark Davis). The Raiders are left with the somewhat hopeless task of finding a long-term home base in the Bay Area and eventually begin talks with the 49ers to share Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.