Extra Points: Beckham, Stafford, Garrett
Last week, the NFL trade marketplace exploded. Thirty deals occurred since August 1, more than twice the average of the previous five years. Several anonymous execs attempted to explain (via Mike Sando of ESPN.com) theories behind the uptick. Tanking made its way into the conversation, with an executive citing the Jets, Bills and Browns’ recent moves as examples.
“Every owner wants to win,” the exec said, via Sando, “but the real question is: Would you rather go 8-8 or 5-11 plus $30 million? If you are the Jets and you traded Sheldon (Richardson) and got rid of (Eric) Decker, isn’t the owner saying he’d rather go 2-14 and save $40 million than go 6-10? If you are the Bills with Watkins or the Browns with Joe Haden, is it the same thing?”
A separate exec said teams are more willing to part with draft picks due to the current CBA’s practice-time limitations making it more difficult to develop players. The elimination of the 75-man cut date, age of certain GMs and GMs authorizing better, easier to trade contracts came up in Sando’s piece.
As the second half of opening night gets underway, here’s the latest from around the league as 28 other teams prepare for their openers.
- Odell Beckham Jr. faces an uphill battle to play Sunday night, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link) the Giants superstar wideout suiting up against the Cowboys will leave him at far less than 100 percent. Rapoport added “a lot of things have to align perfectly” for the fourth-year player to play in Week 1. Beckham suffered a high ankle sprain in Cleveland just more than two weeks ago. Beckham caught a career-high 100 passes last season and played in all 16 New York games for the first time.
- Matthew Stafford‘s NFL-record contract does not contain offset language, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes. While Stafford’s five-year Lions extension profiles as a three- or four-year pact due to the structure of the guarantees, the quarterback who is not exactly regarded as a top-tier passer stands to play on this deal into his mid-30s. The Lions would not see another team — in the event Stafford is cut — offset any of the guaranteed money owed to Stafford in the event the sides part ways over the course of this deal. Stafford’s deal will come with cap hits of $16.5MM this season, $26.5MM (2018), $29.5MM (’19), $31.5MM (’20), $30MM (’21) and $23MM (’22).
- Over the past year, Browns No. 1 pick Myles Garrett has dealt with two ankle injuries and a foot problem. Hue Jackson, though, will not label his top defensive end as injury-prone just yet. “No concern (of Garrett’s injury issues) because I know exactly how it happened,” said Jackson, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “If you get somebody thrown into your leg, it could happen to any one of our guys. If you guys would have seen it, it could happen to anybody on our football team. It is just unfortunate it happened to a guy who we wish was out there all of the time. That goes with it.” Cabot added Garrett is expected to be out multiple weeks as a result of the high ankle sprain — Garrett’s second in a year — sustained at practice Wednesday.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Braedon Bowman
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Justin Hardee
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Damore’ea Stringfellow
- Cut: LB Frank Beltre
Broncos Outbid Three Teams To Sign Jonathan Williams
The Broncos will pay Jonathan Williams a massive practice squad salary, but they had to outbid at least three teams for the right to add the running back to that unit.
Williams joined the Broncos on a $510K salary — $30K weekly, well north of the practice squad minimum — but Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter) the Chiefs, Jets and Vikings also pursued Williams for their respective practice squads.
The Bills cut Williams after the preseason and will supplement LeSean McCoy with a new cadre of backs after also allowing Mike Gillislee to depart as an RFA. No team claimed Williams, a 2016 fifth-round pick, on waivers.
The Chiefs made for an understandable fit after the loss of Spencer Ware, an event that caused the team to explore trades, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Instead Kansas City entered its season opener with just two running backs — Kareem Hunt and Charcandrick West — after cutting C.J. Spiller. Kansas City added rookie back Devine Redding to its taxi squad.
Minnesota employs Jerick McKinnon as its third-stringer and re-signed Bronson Hill to its practice squad. Behind Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, the Jets have sixth-round rookie Elijah McGuire. Running back/return man Marcus Murphy now resides on Gang Green’s practice squad.
Williams will sit as the Broncos’ fifth running back — behind C.J. Anderson, Jamaal Charles, Devontae Booker and rookie De’Angelo Henderson — but do so on a team that’s seen each of its top three backs suffer major injuries within the past year. Booker is currently recovering from a wrist injury.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/7/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Buffalo Bills
- Released from IR: OL Michael Ola
Carolina Panthers
- Released from IR: CB Zack Sanchez
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Tyrone Holmes
- Cut: OL Zach Sterup, QB Josh Woodrum
Houston Texans
- Released from IR: TE RaShaun Allen, CB Malik Smith
New England Patriots
- Signed: C/G Ted Karras
Pro Football Rumors’ 2017 NFL Predictions
The 2017 NFL season gets underway tonight, and the writers at Pro Football Rumors have weighed in with projections for the upcoming year. We’ve predicted which teams will earn playoff berths, which clubs will win their respective conferences, the Super Bowl champion, and the winners of the league’s major awards.
Will the Patriots repeat as defending champions? They’re a popular pick, but not everyone on the staff played it safe. There’s also a wide range of predictions when it comes to the Offensive and Defensive Rookie Of The Year awards.
Click on the table below for predictions from Zach Links, Connor Byrne, Ben Levine, Dallas Robinson, and Sam Robinson. And please head to the comments section to chime in with your own prognostications for the 2017 NFL season!
Patriots To Work Out WR Marquess Wilson
The Patriots are much thinner at wide receiver than they were going into the preseason, having placed both Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell on IR, and they will look at another wideout shortly after their Week 1 tilt against the Chiefs concludes.
Marquess Wilson will make a trip to New England and work out for the defending Super Bowl champions on Friday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
The Jets released Wilson last week in slashing their roster to 53. The former Bears auxiliary aerial cog was expected to play a key role for the rebuilding Jets, but Gang Green acquired two other veterans (Jermaine Kearse and Jeremy Kerley) instead of retaining Wilson.
Without Edelman for the season and Mitchell for at least eight weeks, the Pats are now down to four wideouts — Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Phillip Dorsett. While Matthew Slater is still on the team, he’s primarily a special-teamer.
A Washington State product whom the Bears took in the seventh round four years ago, the 6-foot-3 Wilson has struggled with injuries. His most productive year came in 2015 — in 11 games — when he averaged 16.6 yards per catch and recorded 464 yards for the Bears.
West Notes: Raiders, Mahomes, Donald, Bolts
The Raiders decided to place second-round pick Obi Melifonwu on IR earlier this week, but the team is not counting on the safety missing his entire rookie season. Melifonwu is expected to return after eight weeks and be one of Oakland’s two IR-DTR players, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The UConn product is recovering from knee surgery and will use the season’s first two months to rehab. The Raiders have seen their top two draft picks struggle to see the field due to injuries thus far; Gareon Conley missed most of Oakland’s preseason work due to a shin malady. Both are eyed as contributors in a secondary that struggled throughout 2016.
Here’s the latest coming out of the West divisions before the defending AFC West champion Chiefs debut against the Super Bowl champion Patriots.
- For now, new Cardinals guard Alex Boone will serve as a backup. “He’s just learning,” coach Bruce Arians told reporters (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). “We’ll see. Right now, it’d probably have to be an injury or someone really fail badly. … We’ll see. Right now, it’d probably have to be an injury or someone really fail badly.” Boone started for five straight seasons, lining up as a first-teamer for the 49ers and Vikings.
- Despite Patrick Mahomes‘ impressive preseason, the Chiefs‘ plan remains to shelve the rookie quarterback throughout the 2017 season, Rapoport notes (video link). Rapoport also said the possibility of Mahomes sitting to start next season remains in play, adding the team drafted the Texas Tech product knowing he’d be a one- or two-year project. Rapoport adds the Chiefs believed Mahomes was the draft’s best quarterback and they thought four teams would pull the trigger to select him had they not made the trade up to No. 10. Alex Smith‘s contract may also dictate the franchise’s decision. The Chiefs can save $17MM by moving on from their longtime starter after this season, but it’s clear they see a firm line between Smith and Mahomes’ present readiness levels.
- Chargers rookie Mike Williams is now off the PUP list but has yet to resume running routes full speed, Anthony Lynn said (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). Recovering from a back injury, Williams has resumed catching passes. Rapoport reported the first-round pick’s likely return date will be in October.
- If the Rams are going to sign Aaron Donald to an extension, the deal will have to make the defensive lineman the NFL’s highest-paid defender. Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes the team understands this. Von Miller‘s six-year, $114.6MM contract represents that standard presently, and Ndamukong Suh‘s six-year, $114MM Dolphins deal is the high-water mark for interior defenders. Los Angeles is not expected to have Donald this week as his holdout stretches into Month 3.
- Sebastian Janikowski‘s small pay cut — from $4MM to $3MM this season — induced Rapoport to suggest this adjustment would free up space for a potential Donald Penn payment (Twitter link). The Raiders left tackle recently returned to the team and is entering the final year of his contract, but it’s clear the 34-year-old blocker is not exactly a content employee.
Bengals Sign Vontaze Burfict To Extension
This developed fast. The Bengals and Vontaze Burfict agreed to a three-year extension worth $38.68MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Word of an extension for the polarizing linebacker surfaced this afternoon, and it looks like the longtime Bengals second-level standout will be staying in Cincinnati for a while.
This deal will make Burfict the highest-paid 4-3 outside linebacker in the game on a per-year basis. It tops Jamie Collins‘ Browns pact, which is worth $12.5MM per year. The 26-year-old Burfict’s deal will be for $12.89MM AAV.
And despite Burfict set to serve a three-game suspension to start another season, he will see an additional $7MM in 2017, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). A $3.3MM signing bonus will come Burfict’s way as well, per Rapoport.
A starter since coming into the league in 2012 as a UDFA, Burfict has been a key part of Cincinnati’s defense and run of playoff appearances. Burfict, who rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 linebacker last season, has started 58 games — of a possible 80 — in his career. But he will be under Bengals control for the remainder of the decade. Burfict was set to be a UFA after this season, so this re-up will tie him to Cincinnati through the 2020 campaign.
The former Arizona State linebacker has obviously brought a swarm of negative attention to the franchise, and he won’t begin his sixth NFL season until October after being suspended for a preseason hit, but it’s clear now the Bengals continue to view him as a cornerstone talent.
Only three 4-3 outside ‘backers even earn eight figures annually, so the Bengals are paying a premium for a player who continually tests the NFL’s boundaries on in-game violence. Burfict will miss the first three games of a season for the second straight year. Nevertheless, he becomes only the sixth non-rush linebacker to enter the $10MM-per-year club. A one-time Pro Bowler, Burfict will also earn more than three-time first-team All-Pro Luke Kuechly annually.
Patriots To Place WR Malcolm Mitchell On IR
The Patriots are placing wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell on Injured Reserve, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Mitchell, selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft, had a strong rookie campaign for New England, catching 32 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, he was slowed by a knee injury in Week 16 last season and was sidelined until midway through the postseason. The injury bug has gotten him once again, this time just hours before the 2017 season kickoff.
Mitchell has a strong rapport with Tom Brady, so the Pats would like to bring him back off of IR, if possible. If he can recover from his injury during the year, the Patriots can use one of their two IR-DTR spots to return him to the roster after eight weeks.
New England’s trade for 2015 Colts first-rounder Phillip Dorsett makes more sense now. While Dorsett has proven little as a wide receiver, he could be in line for some work soon now that Mitchell’s out. And despite his lack of a reputation for pass-catching competency, Dorsett still caught 33 passes for 528 yards last season. He and Danny Amendola are likely to join more prominent performers Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan as auxiliary targets.
Bengals, Vontaze Burfict Discussing Extension
The Bengals and linebacker Vontaze Burfict are discussing an extension, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson hears (on Twitter). Burfict is currently scheduled to reach free agency after the 2017 season. 
Burfict’s talent is undeniable but his playing style has long been a source of controversy. His latest questionable tackle on Anthony Sherman in the preseason will have him shelved for the first three games of the 2017 season, down from an initial five-game ban. Burfict has only played in 58 of a possible 80 regular-season contests in his five-year career due to suspension and injury.
Burfict was Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 ranked linebacker in 2017, putting him behind only Jerrell Freeman, Luke Kuechly, Bobby Wagner, Paul Posluszny, and Sean Lee. In his suspension-shortened season, Burfict’s had 101 tackles and two sacks across eleven games.
The linebacker will celebrate his 27th birthday on Sept. 24, so the Bengals could be looking to control him for at least four extra years. Burfict would be sacrificing prime seasons in such an extension, but he also wouldn’t have to worry about what could be a tepid market for his services. One has to imagine that at least a few teams will shy away from Burfict given his track record.
The Bengals will be without Burfict when they take on the Ravens, Texans, and Packers in the first few weeks of the season.