Top 10 NFL stories of 2019

The NFL contained plenty of wild, wacky, and wonderful stuff in 2019. Here's a look back at the top 10 stories from the past year:

10. Kyler picks football over baseball

It appeared all but certain Kyler Murray was destined for a baseball career after being drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 MLB amateur draft.

Even when the diminutive quarterback was allowed to return to Oklahoma for one more season of football, no one envisioned Murray would produce the kind of season that would establish himself as the clear No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

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Moreover, in an unprecedented move, the Cardinals believed the Heisman winner's talent couldn't be passed on despite Arizona using the 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen a season prior.

Even 15 years ago, it was unthinkable that a 5-foot-10 quarterback would be drafted in the first three rounds, let alone going No. 1. But on a trail blazed by the likes of Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, Murray continued to destroy the conventional notion of what a quarterback has to look like.

9. Marshawn Lynch returns to Seahawks

Just when it seemed like 2019 was out of stories, Lynch burst back onto the scene last week to save the Seattle Seahawks, after their entire backfield was decimated by injury.

At 33 years old, the running back isn't the unstoppable force he once was. But first and foremost, football is about entertainment. And no one brings more fun to the game than Beast Mode.

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Lynch's return went from pipe dream to reality so quickly that he was able to suit up for the Seahawks' final game of the regular season. He even added another classic press conference to his collection, wishing the media a "merry new year" before walking off after only 12 seconds.

While the veteran struggled in Sunday's close defeat to the 49ers, finishing the game with 34 yards on 12 carries, Lynch ignited the crowd with a leaping fourth-quarter touchdown.

8. Ramsey forces way out of Jacksonville

A divorce between Jalen Ramsey and the Jacksonville Jaguars had been brewing for a while. Since his breakout 2017 campaign, Ramsey had drawn the ire of now-former senior executive Tom Coughlin several times for his perceived lack of maturity.

As the 2019 season approached, Ramsey made it clear he wanted a contract extension. The Jaguars made it clear he wasn't getting one. As a result, Ramsey vowed not to give Jacksonville a discount whenever negotiations did start, adding he would ask for an "ungodly" amount of money. To hammer home his point, the Pro Bowl cornerback reported to training camp in the back of an armored bank truck.

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It didn't take long to see where this was headed. Two games into the regular season, Ramsey officially requested a trade. Initially, the Jaguars refused to comply, so the former fifth overall pick began sitting out practices and games, using a variety of questionable excuses to justify his absences. One month after the request - which Ramsey accused the Jaguars of leaking to the media - Jacksonville relented, shipping him to the Los Angeles Rams for a pair of first-round picks. Two months after that, Coughlin was relieved of his duties.

7. Pass interference controversy

Nobody ever accused NFL referees of being too good at their jobs, but the officials hit rock bottom in the defining moment of the NFC Championship Game. With less than two minutes remaining in a tied affair, Nickell Robey-Coleman of the Rams mauled New Orleans Saints receiver TommyLee Lewis on third down, right in front of an official.

A pass interference penalty would have allowed the Saints to run the clock down and kick a chip-shot field goal to clinch a spot in Super Bowl LIII. Somehow, though, Bill Vinovich and his crew missed the entire thing. The gaffe helped the Rams extend the contest to overtime, where they won it.

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Uproar from the Saints, owner Gayle Benson, and fans across the country overwhelmed the NFL for weeks after the game. In the offseason, owners voted to let coaches challenge pass interference, straying from their steadfast desire not to make judgment calls reviewable.

What sounded like a reasonable solution only resulted in more frustration. Rather than correcting the wrong calls of his subordinates, senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron denied one challenge after another early in the ensuing season, prompting more outrage. And that's where we stand heading into 2020.

6. Steelers-Browns TNF brawl

The fallout from one of the wildest on-field scenes in recent memory included an indefinite suspension for Myles Garrett, a total of 33 players disciplined, and $732,000 in fines dolled out to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, which jumped to an eye-popping $2 million when factoring in lost salaries.

In the final moments of Cleveland's victory over its bitter rivals on Thursday Night Football, all hell broke loose after Garrett clashed with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. The two tangled on the ground before the star defensive end ripped off Rudolph's helmet and crashed it down onto the quarterback's head.

If the #NFL watches what #Browns' Myles Garrett did in slow motion, see ya in a few weeks. At least. pic.twitter.com/Q9pKpOYrK5

- Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) November 15, 2019

The dangerous act sparked a brawl that was a highly embarrassing look for the NFL. The benches of both teams emptied onto the field, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey kicked a downed Garrett in the head, and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi shoved Rudolph to the ground.

The drama wasn't contained to just that night, though. Garrett accused Rudolph of using a racial slur in his unsuccessful suspension appeal (which the quarterback vehemently denied and the league found no evidence of), and Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens donned a "Pittsburgh started it" shirt ahead of the rematch several weeks later, which the Steelers won.

5. Patriots' videotaping scandal

For years, rival teams and their fans have been suspicious of the New England Patriots. Peyton Manning used to hold meetings outside the locker room at Gillette Stadium out of fear the Patriots had bugged the walls. Mike Tomlin had questioned why the Steelers' headsets cut out so frequently in Foxborough. The Colts once had the air pressure of a football measured in a playoff game they lost to the Patriots by 38 points.

Much of the cheating speculation involving the Patriots stems from Spygate, the videotaping scandal that rocked the Patriots in 2007. That year, the team was stripped of a first-round pick and fined $750,000 between owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick after concluding the team had been illegally filming opponents' signals since 2000.

Theories of unfair play resurfaced in December when a Cincinnati Bengals security member saw a Patriots employee filming their sideline from the press box, one week before New England faced them.

The Patriots insisted a three-person video crew was in Cincinnati to get footage for their "Do Your Job" documentary series. They were adamant that the video operations and football operations departments don't interact with one another. The NFL launched an investigation into the potential Spygate sequel, and at some point in 2020, it will decide whether the Patriots were telling the truth.

4. Browns trade for OBJ, fall far short of expectations

Cleveland's season opened with an epic bang but it will end with a whimper.

The New York Giants stunned the NFL world by trading star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns in March. In the wake of Baker Mayfield's stellar rookie campaign, the blockbuster move sent the already sky-high expectations in Cleveland into the stratosphere.

Under first-year Freddie Kitchens' watch, the Browns entered the season tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers as favorites to claim the AFC North crown. It was supposed to be the year Cleveland finally, after a decade of flailing in the NFL's basement, recaptured its glory days and made a triumphant return to the playoffs.

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But a 2-6 start quickly evaporated the long-suffering fanbase's hopes of a redemptive season. The offense sputtered as Mayfield struggled to pick up where he left off in his first season; Beckham, for the most part, looked a shell of his former self; Kitchens routinely seemed overwhelmed by his new responsibilities.

If the aforementioned melee was the most embarrassing and lowest point of the year for Cleveland, a close second was the reports that Beckham was so unhappy with his new team he encouraged opposing players and coaches throughout the season to pry him loose.

While Beckham tried to ease concerns by publically committing himself to the Browns for 2020, he's not the only one who could want to force an exit. Jarvis Landry echoed Beckham's message during a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, yelling "come get me" toward the opposing sideline.

Meanwhile, Cleveland became the only team this decade unable to produce a single winning season.

3. Luck, Gronkowski retire

In 2019, we bid farewell to one all-time great and one player whose greatness lacked time. The less surprising departure came from Rob Gronkowski, who had mulled retirement for over a year before deciding to hang up his spikes. The goofy behemoth won three Super Bowls over nine seasons with the Patriots and built a case to be called the greatest tight end ever along the way. Injuries, though, had taken a toll on Gronk physically and mentally. He went out on the heels of his least productive season since his rookie year, although he was still a major contributor in the playoffs.

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The other retirement came as an absolute stunner. Andrew Luck was 29, in his prime, and coming off a Comeback Player of the Year award when he called it quits. Luck chalked up his abrupt retirement to fatigue from pain. In May, he sat out the beginning of organized team activities because of a "little tweak" in his calf. The injury persisted and eventually spread to his ankle. As the preseason neared, Indianapolis assured its fans that Luck would be ready to go for the regular season. As the regular season neared, the Colts expressed cautious optimism he would be cleared for Week 1. But in the middle of the Colts' third preseason game, ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed he wouldn't be ready, ever:

Filed to ESPN: Andrew Luck has informed the Colts he is retiring from the NFL, per source. There will be a press conference Sunday to make it official, but Luck is mentally worn down, and now checking out.

- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2019

Luck was on the Colts' sideline when the news broke. He was booed off the field as fans struggled to digest his reported decision. When the Colts drafted him No. 1 overall in 2012, Luck was hailed as the greatest quarterback prospect since John Elway. While his career, in general terms, was deemed successful, injuries and poor offensive lines kept him from realizing his ultimate potential. The Stanford product only played five full seasons, making the Pro Bowl and playoffs in four of them.

2. Antonio Brown drama

It's hard to say when this truly all began, but we'll start on Monday, Sept. 17, the day Brown was a mysterious no-show at practice. His absence came on the heels of a pedestrian couple of games, by his lofty standards, to start the season. That same day, he responded on Twitter to a former Steelers employee suggesting he wouldn't be as successful on another team by writing, "Trade me let's find out."

The wideout returned two days later and denied that his trade encouragement on social media was genuine. Tensions smoothed, but not for long. In Week 17, Brown once again went M.I.A, this time while his teammates were preparing for a game they needed to win to have a shot at making the playoffs. Rather than brushing it off this time, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin benched the superstar.

Not long after that, Brown asked out of Pittsburgh - and this time he meant it. In between the request and his actual trade, he feuded with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and others. He was ultimately sent to the Oakland Raiders for a pair of draft picks, but the drama didn't stop there.

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In Oakland, Brown suffered severe frostbite on his feet following a cryogenic therapy chamber mishap, was in and out of training camp while fighting the NFL about its helmet safety regulations, and got into a heated argument with general manager Mike Mayock. He was released from his new three-year, $50-million contract without ever playing a game in Silver and Black.

Hours after the Raiders cut him, Brown agreed to a one-year, $15-million deal with the New England Patriots. He didn't last long there, either. Public backlash following his response to sexual misconduct allegations all but forced the Patriots to release him after his debut. The 31-year-old spent the rest of the year going on Twitter tirades, recording a musical album called "No More White Woman 2020," and campaigning for teams to sign him, to no avail.

1. Lamar Jackson morphs into superstar

For the second straight season, the NFL has been dominated by a transcendent young quarterback in just their sophomore campaign. The year of Patrick Mahomes has been followed by the year of Lamar Jackson, who could become just the second player in league history to unanimously win the MVP award.

Jackson entered Year 2 with significant questions about his viability as a passer despite helping to rescue the Baltimore Ravens' 2018 season after replacing Joe Flacco midway through the year. To say the quarterback has silenced his critics would be an understatement.

His 36 passing touchdowns easily lead the league, and he's had three games with five scores. As Jackson himself quipped early in the season, his performances through the air have been "not bad for a running back."

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While he's finally getting the respect he deserves for his skills as a passer, it's what he's able to do with his legs that's put the entire league on notice. Once thought to be an unbeatable mark, Jackson sailed past Michael Vick's single-season QB rushing record of 1,039 yards in just 14 games.

In the same way Mahomes brought new excitement to football with his ultra-aggressive downfield style and penchant for unconventional plays, Jackson's transformation into a weapon unseen on a football field ever before has been a joyous experience for all lucky enough to witness it.

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