2018 March - Pro Football Rumors

Buccaneers Extend Cameron Brate

March 12th, 2018 at 1:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Cameron Brate is set to be a member of the Buccaneers for a long time. The tight end has agreed to a six-year extension, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

Brate, 27 in July, was slated to be a restricted free agent this offseason. It’s a six-year, $41MM agreement for Brate, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports, adding that $18MM will be guaranteed.

The Bucs have decided to devote plenty of resources to stocking their tight end position, considering they used their first-round pick on O.J. Howard last year. But Brate continued to be a key weapon on Tampa Bay’s offense last season despite Howard’s arrival. The former undrafted free agent out of Harvard finished the 2017 campaign with 48 receptions for 591 yards and six scores.

Brate has now caught 14 touchdown passes over the past two years and has amassed more than 1,300 receiving yards in that span. He and Howard combined for 12 touchdown grabs, and the Bucs are keen on making tight end targeting a key component of future offenses. Pair this duo with quarterback Jameis Winston and wideouts Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and Chris Godwin, and the Buccaneers should have another top-10 passing attack in 2018.

With a $6.8MM-per-year salary, Brate will fall into the middle tier of tight end contracts (right behind Coby Fleener, C.J. Fiedorowicz, and Jermaine Gresham). This will provide a major raise, however, after the former UDFA out of Harvard made just $690K last year.

Bucs Interested In Re-Signing Robert McClain

March 12th, 2018 at 1:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers are interested in extending Robert McClain‘s time in Tampa to beyond one season.

Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports the Bucs are considering re-signing the cornerback. McClain started nine games for the team last season, working both on the outside and in the slot.

A key rotational cog for the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, McClain has played for three of the four NFC South teams — with his three-year Falcons run from 2012-14 being his longest NFL stay — and is entering his age-30 season.

Tampa Bay has Brent Grimes as a UFA as well, so the franchise has a need at cornerback despite using a first-round pick on Vernon Hargreaves two years ago.

Texans Pursuing LT Nate Solder

March 12th, 2018 at 1:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans are making a strong run at left tackle Nate Solder, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Texans started five different left tackles in 2017, so they are anxious to plug the hole with a capable player like Solder.

If the Texans are intent on landing Solder, they’ll have to pony up some serious bucks. The veteran ranks fifth on our list of this year’s Top 50 NFL Free Agents.

Solder didn’t have his best season in 2017, but much of that can be attributed to injuries. The incumbent Patriots would like to re-sign him, but the belief is that he’ll garner offers of $12MM/year, which could be too rich for New England’s blood.

The Texans created an opening at left tackle after trading four-time Pro Bowler Duane Brown to the Seahawks last season. That need is compounded by the fact that Chris Clark, who played in 10 games at left tackle last year, starting eight, is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo is also due to become a free agent.

Solder, 29, has consistently rated as an above-average tackle since the Patriots selected him 17th overall in 2011. Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 32 tackle last season and he was in the top 20 the year prior. Solder has appeared in at least 15 games in six of his first seven seasons in the league and would certainly provide protection to the blindside of Deshaun Watson, who’ll be coming off his ACL injury.

Chargers To Use 2nd-Round Tender On Tyrell Williams

March 12th, 2018 at 1:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Having risen from UDFA to key Philip Rivers target over the past two years, Tyrell Williams could be in position to command a lucrative contract a year from now.

But for now, the Chargers will protect him from the market. Los Angeles will place a second-round tender on Williams, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter), but it doesn’t sound like the Bolts are averse to dealing him.

The Chargers have Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin and 2017 first-round pick Mike Williams in the fold. As Williams enters a contract year, that could make him an odd man out as Dontrelle Inman was a year ago. Schefter reports Williams has drawn trade interest. Were he to play 2018 on the tender, Williams would earn $2.914MM.

Williams, 26, caught 69 passes for 1,059 yards in a breakout 2016 campaign. That led the Bolts. With Allen back in the fold as Rivers’ top target last season, Williams hauled in 43 passes for 728 yards. He’s scored 11 touchdowns the past two years.

Texans Interested In Malcolm Butler

March 12th, 2018 at 1:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans are among several NFL teams with interest in cornerback Malcolm Butler, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). As reported earlier today, the Saints are also among the teams looking into the Patriots free agent.

Butler was conspicuously absent from the Super Bowl and did not look like his usual self in 2017. Still, he stands as one of the very best cornerbacks available in this year’s crop. Last week, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Butler as the No. 2 CB available, ahead of Bashaud Breeland, E.J. Gaines, Morris Claiborne, Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Prince Amukamara. He trailed only Trumaine Johnson on the list.

Cornerback is high on the Texans’ agenda after Kevin Johnson disappointed and Kareem Jackson turned in an up-and-down season. In hindsight, the Texans probably wish that they made a stronger effort to retain A.J. Bouye last offseason.

Cowboys’ Orlando Scandrick Requests Release

March 12th, 2018 at 1:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick has requested his release from the team, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). The Cowboys are reportedly planning to trade or release Scandrick, but the veteran would prefer to choose his own destination.

Scandrick is scheduled to carry a $5.28MM cap hit in 2018. By moving on from him, the Cowboys will save $1.4MM while carrying $3.88MM in dead money.

The Cowboys won’t realize any great savings by dumping Scandrick, but his performance last year necessitated the move. In 2017, Scandrick totaled 38 tackles and graded out as one of the ten worst qualified cornerbacks in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. With that in mind, it’s hard to see a trade for him materializing.

The Cowboys nearly traded Scandrick to the Saints during the 2017 draft, but ultimately did not come to terms on a deal that would have brought safety Kenny Vaccaro to Dallas.

Steelers To Release CB Will Gay

March 12th, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers plan to release cornerback Will Gay on Wednesday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). Gay has also confirmed the news via his own Instagram account.

By releasing Gay, the Steelers will save $1.75MM in cap space. The 33-year-old has never missed a game during his eleven years in the league, but the Steelers are opting to spend that money elsewhere rather than retaining the durable veteran. Gay was set to enter the final year of a three-year, $7.5MM deal.

The Steelers don’t have too many key contributors due to become free agents this offseason. But they still need to figure out if they’re going to extend running back Le’Veon Bell, who they placed their franchise tag on for the second straight season. The Steelers return Joe Haden and Artie Burns as their starting cornerbacks, with Keion Adams, Brian Allen, Cameron Sutton and Antonio Crawford on the roster as well.

Gay,33, is set to enter a cornerback free-agent class led by the likes of Trumaine Johnson, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Prince Amukamara, Brent Grimes and Johnathan Joseph, among others. Richard Sherman became the first cornerback to agree to terms this offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $27.15MM deal with the 49ers, with $7MM guaranteed.

Gay was picked in the fifth round by the Steelers back in 2007. Outside of a year with the Cardinals in 2012, he’s spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, including their Super Bowl title run in 2008.

Falcons Place 2nd-Round Tender On Ricardo Allen

March 12th, 2018 at 12:53pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Falcons have placed a second-round tender on restricted free-agent safety Ricardo Allen worth $2.91MM, according to Vaughan McLure of ESPN. McLure notes that the tender doesn’t eliminate the chance of the Falcons still locking up Allen with a multi-year deal.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in February that he believed the team could create the space to strike a multi-year deal with Allen. The 26-year-old made just $615K last year in base salary as an exclusive-rights free agent. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as the No. 31 safety in the league, tied with Tre Boston, Tashaun Gipson and Eric Reid. Allen will have until April 20 to sign an offer sheet with another team. The Falcons also have until June 15 to withdraw the tender.

Allen started 15 games at strong safety last season alongside Keanu Neal. Allen has started at least 14 games the last three seasons after the Falcons took him in the fifth round in 2014. Leon McFadden and Blidi Wreh-Wilson are the only members of the Falcons secondary due to become unrestricted free agents in the offseason. They have Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford locked in as the team’s top cornerbacks after they each signed multi-year extensions last year. The team will also be looking to extend quarterback Matt Ryan, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

The Falcons have some precedent in signing a player to a restricted free agent tender and eventually signing them to an extension. They signed right tackle Ryan Schraeder to a second-round tender last March, which was worth $2.55MM. The Falcons ended up signing Schraeder to a five-year, $31.5MM extension in November, with $12.5MM guaranteed.

Chiefs To Release Tamba Hali

March 12th, 2018 at 12:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs are going to follow through with a move expected for a while. They will release Tamba Hali, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

This comes after a season in which Hali did not play much and began it on the PUP list. Hali played in just five games, starting none, and did not record a sack. Kansas City re-signed both Hali and Derrick Johnson in 2016 to three-year, $21MM deals. Both will be gone by the time the franchise reconvenes for OTAs.

A release of the longtime franchise cornerstone will save the Chiefs more than $7MM. It will come with a dead-money hit of $1.7MM, but that is far less than it would have cost the team a year ago.

If Hali is indeed finished with the Chiefs, he will exit as the team’s No. 2 all-time sacker — behind only Derrick Thomas. The former 2006 first-round pick re-signed twice with the Chiefs and earned five straight Pro Bowl invites, from 2011-15, recording 89.5 sacks after his 11th season. Hali finished with three double-digit sack seasons — the last of which coming in 2013. Hali, though, has dealt with injuries for a number of years now and has not been in top form for a while.

The Chiefs still have Justin Houston under contract, and Dee Ford‘s injury guarantee will trigger is fifth-year option.

Dolphins Release Lawrence Timmons

March 12th, 2018 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have released Lawrence Timmons, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It was first reported back in February that Miami would be moving on from the veteran linebacker.

By cutting Timmons, the Dolphins will save $5.5MM against the cap. Thomas joined the team on a two-year, $12MM deal last offseason, but leaves after appearing in 14 games (13 starts) and recording 58 tackles. His 58 tackles were his lowest total in any season since 2009.

This move became much easier to make after the Dolphins suspended Timmons in September of last year. That voided some of the linebacker’s future guarantees. Had that not occurred, Timmons probably wouldn’t be an easy cap casualty.

The longtime Steelers starter defected to the Dolphins last March on a two-year, $12MM deal with $11MM guaranteed. He finished 2017 with a middling Pro Football Focus grade, mostly due to porous run defense, and will head back to the market.

The Steelers have announced Ryan Shazier will not play in 2018, so they now have a vacancy at inside linebacker and could possibly be amendable to a Timmons deal at a cheaper rate. But with Timmons going into his age-32 season, it’s also possible (if not likely) the AFC North champions go after a younger player to fill in for Shazier.