Packers Notes: Lewis, Bell, McCarthy
Not every late offseason signing makes the cut, but it sounds like Marcedes Lewis will probably be a keeper for Green Bay. The veteran tight end’s one-year, $2.1MM deal includes a $500K signing bonus, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. Lewis will also earn another $500K bonus if he’s on the team’s opening day roster.
Lewis, a powerful run blocker, figures to do the dirty work while Jimmy Graham racks up yards in Aaron Rodgers‘ offense. The 34-year-old wasn’t expecting to be released by the Jaguars this year, but he did manage to find a landing spot with another contender.
Here’s more from Green Bay:
- Offensive tackle Byron Bell also seems fairly likely to make the final cut given the terms of his contract. Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets that Bell will earn a $500K signing bonus on his one-year deal. He’ll see $850K in base salary with an overall cap charge of $1.712MM. The Packers signed Bell earlier this week, which could signal that right tackle Bryan Bulaga is behind schedule in his recovery.
- Historically, the Packers have been shy in free agency. Under the watch of GM Brian Gutekunst, the team appears to be more willing to make outside additions. Head coach Mike McCarthy is in favor of the change in philosophy. “I think it goes back to Brian’s comments and just the conversations we had,” McCarthy said (via Ryan Wood of USA Today). “Player acquisition is a 12-month process, and there’s definitely a pool of players that come available at this time of year.”
- Rodgers may seek a player option in his next contract with the Packers.
Chargers Sign Derwin James
The Chargers have wrapped up their entire draft class. On Friday, the Chargers inked first-round safetyDerwin James (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 
Per the terms of his slot as the 17th overall pick, James will earn $12.39MM over the course of his four-year deal. The pact includes a $7.1MM signing bonus as well a fifth-year team option, since James was a first-round choice.
James made a name for himself immediately at Florida State when he tallied 91 total tackles and 4.5 sacks as a true freshman. A knee injury cost him the bulk of his sophomore year, but he returned last year and put up 84 tackles, two interceptions, eleven passes defended, and a sack. Early on in the draft process, some anticipated that James would go in the top ten. At No. 17, the Chargers may have gotten a steal.
James projects to start at free safety for the Chargers, joining Jahleel Addae in the middle of the secondary. They’ll be flanked by cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Casey Heyward.
Using PFR’s draft pick signing tracker, here’s the full rundown of the Chargers’ 2018 draft class:
- 1-17: Derwin James, S (Florida State): Signed
- 2-48: Uchenna Nwosu, LB (USC): Signed
- 3-84: Justin Jones, DT (North Carolina State): Signed
- 4-119: Kyzir White, S (West Virginia): Signed
- 5-155: Scott Quessenberry, CB (UCLA): Signed
- 6-191: Dylan Cantrell, WR (Texas Tech): Signed
- 7-251: Justin Jackson, RB (Northwestern): Signed
Dolphins Sign Minkah Fitzpatrick
The Dolphins have signed first rounder Minkah Fitzpatrick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In accordance with his slot, the defensive back will receive a four-year, $16.4MM deal with a $10MM signing bonus. 
Heading into Friday, the Dolphins were one of two teams who had yet to sign any of their draft picks. However, things changed when the calendar flipped to June. Miami had just $312K in cap room on Thursday, but gained an additional $17MM in cap space on Friday when Ndamukong Suh’s post-June 1 release became official. With that room, they carved out the necessary space to get to work on their draft class.
Fitzpatrick, the No. 11 overall pick, projects to start at free safety with Reshad Jones alongside him at strong safety. T.J. McDonald, who started every game in his suspension-shortened season, will head to the bench as the first backup behind both players.
In addition to Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins have also inked sixth-round cornerback Cornell Armstrong, seventh-round linebacker Quentin Poling, and seventh-round punter Jason Sanders, the club announced.
The Best Remaining NFL Free Agents
The biggest names in this year’s free agent class such as Kirk Cousins, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, and Trumaine Johnson have long been spoken for, but plenty of notable players remain on the board here in June. With a hat tip to James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter), here’s a look at some high-profile veterans who are still seeking work this summer: 
- QB Colin Kaepernick
- RB DeMarco Murray
- RB Adrian Peterson
- WR Dez Bryant
- WR Jeremy Maclin
- WR Eric Decker
- DE Connor Barwin
- LB NaVorro Bowman
- CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
- CB Bashaud Breeland
- S Tre Boston
- S Eric Reid
- S Kenny Vaccaro
Of course, Kaepernick’s situation is more complicated than the rest. Lately, the only updates we’ve heard regarding Kaepernick have been tied to his pending collusion case against the NFL. Former teammate Reid is certainly closer to the NFL radar after an April meeting with the Bengals, but he also believes teams are shying away from him due to his participation in anthem protests. Reid filed a grievance of his own against the NFL in May and has been spotted working out with Kaepernick.
Unfortunately for Murray and Peterson, filing a grievance for age bias against running backs is not an option. The Titans kicked Murray to the curb in March and he has not found a new NFL home despite meeting with the Lions, Seahawks, and Dolphins since his release. Peterson has lobbied the Texans, Saints, Packers, Panthers, Dolphins, and Rams to sign him, but we have yet to hear of any reciprocated interest from those clubs. Given Peterson’s reluctance to be on the lower end of a timeshare in New Orleans last year, one has to imagine that Peterson will not be a real consideration for teams unless a starter gets injured in camp. Murray could be a more attractive option for teams. Although he averaged just 3.6 yards per tote with the Titans last year, he contributed in the passing game with 39 receptions.
Bryant says he has no regrets about turning down a three-year, $21MM offer from the Ravens, but right now it looks like he blew his opportunity at a solid free agent deal. Reportedly, many teams are unwilling to consider him for even the league minimum, so it seems unlikely that he’ll find the lucrative one-year contract he’s seeking. On the plus side, his former employer says multiple teams have checked in on him.
Things have been eerily quiet for Maclin after he was displaced by the Ravens, though the Eagles and Cowboys considered him internally in the spring. We also haven’t heard a peep about Decker since his spring meetings with the Raiders and Ravens. Both players are roughly in the same boat – they were 1,000-yard receivers in 2015, but they are on the wrong side of 30 and haven’t done much on the field in the last two years. Still, both profile as low-risk/high-reward signings.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Enunwa, Patriots
A neck injury sidelined Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa for the entire 2017 season, but it’s an issue that he’s been dealing with for years, as Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Enunwa says the pain dates all the way back to 2015 when the Jets beat the Titans in Week 14.
Interestingly, the 26-year-old says that he has not done any post-surgical rehab over the last eight months.
“I had the surgery. I had a brace for a little bit. I didn’t have the brace for long,” Enunwa said. “I had to sleep a certain way for a few days. After that, it was nothing. I wasn’t allowed to run (in the beginning). Otherwise, there was no rehab. Everything I did was for my legs, so when I got back I could run.”
This year, Enunwa says that his goal is to be a “difference maker” for Gang Green. A big year could also make a difference in his wallet. Enunwa is slated to earn $2.91MM on his restricted free agent deal and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2019.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Patriots guard Shaq Mason could be one year away from becoming one of the league’s highest-paid guards, Jeff Howe of The Athletic writes. Mason probaly won’t approach Andrew Norwell‘s five-year, $66.5MM deal ($30MM guaranteed), but Howe estimates that he should see no less than $9MM/year with about 40% of his deal fully guaranteed. Right now, there are eleven guards who make at least $9MM per season, so it’s fair to assume that Mason – who will turn 26 just before the ’19 season – will hit that mark if he performs in 2018. Last year, Mason graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 10 ranked guard in the NFL.
- With seven running backs on the Patriots‘ roster, something has to give. Doug Kyed of NESN can envision a scenario in which Mike Gillislee is cut in favor of former Bengal Jeremy Hill. First-round pick Sony Michel is obviously safe and the same goes for pass-catching specialist James White. After that, Hill, Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, and Brandon Bolden are competing for no more than three spots. Burkhead had a productive first year with the Pats and Bolden has been tremendous on special teams, so Hill and Gillislee are probably squaring off for one final place on the roster. The seventh running back under contract, undrafted free agent Ralph Webb, seems unlikely to make the cut.
- On Thursday, the Bills reached an injury settlement with retired center Eric Wood.
- The Dolphins were one of five teams to utilize the post-June 1 release designation this year.
Five Teams Use Post-June 1 Designation
Lingering guarantees can be a rough pill to swallow for NFL teams as they move on from players, but the league’s post-June 1 designation allows clubs to spread out the dead money hit over two seasons while reaping greater benefits in the current year. This offseason, five teams took advantage of the rule to carve out some cap space. As Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes, the following clubs now have some extra breathing room to sign draft picks and add veterans in the late stages of free agency: 
- Dolphins: $17MM (Ndamukong Suh release)
- Eagles: $6MM (Mychal Kendricks release)
- Falcons: $3.5MM (Levine Toilolo release)
- Cowboys: $3MM (Orlando Scandrick release)
- Saints: $3MM (Coby Fleener release)
The additional cap space will be particularly useful for the Dolphins and Eagles, who have about $400K in cap room combined. The Falcons ($3.7MM),Saints ($4.2MM), and Cowboys ($8.5MM) are also looking forward to the extra fiscal flexibility. The extra cap room may help to jumpstart the free agent market for players such as Dez Bryant, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, Eric Reid, and others without a home at this stage of the offseason.
The Dolphins have yet to sign any of their 2018 draft picks, including top choice Minkah Fitzpatrick, but you can expect to see some movement on that front once they receive their $17MM reprieve. The Cowboys, Saints, and Eagles have already wrapped their respective draft classes and the Falcons have signed every pick except for first rounder Calvin Ridley, so those four clubs can concentrate on using their extra room for veteran additions, or new deals/contract sweeteners for current players.