Gronk Won’t Hold Out From Patriots
Patriots training camp will get underway soon and Gronk will be in the building. When the Pats convene on July 25, Rob Gronkowski will report on time, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
We could see some notable training camp holdouts elsewhere – including Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell – but we won’t see any theatrics from Gronkowski. The tight end has been pushing for a revised contract, but he’ll show up for work with the hope that the team will do right by him.
Gronk, who is signed through the 2019 campaign, is scheduled to earn a base salary of $8MM in 2018. New England has reportedly been working on “tweaking” his deal, but nothing has been agreed upon just yet.
It is is expected that the Pats and Gronk will reach an accord similar to the one from 2017. Last year, Gronk’s deal was revised to give him a base salary of $5.25MM with opportunities to earn incentives at three different levels. With a First-Team All-Pro selection, Gronk maxed out his bonus package at $10.75MM.
Gronk stands to carry the highest cap number of any tight end in the league this year, but you can expect the two sides to boost that number even further in the coming weeks. And, while that all plays out, Gronkowski will be in Foxborough and ready to work.
Jaguars Sign Rookie Taven Bryan
The Jaguars agreed to terms with first round defensive tackle Taven Bryan on a four-year deal worth $10.2MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. His deal includes a $5.5MM signing bonus. 
Bryan, the No. 29 overall pick in the draft, was one of a handful of stragglers in the backend of the first round. Reportedly, the contract of Seahawks rookie running back Rashaad Penny held up negotiations for Bryan and others.
While the three players selected at pick Nos. 23-25 (Patriots offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn, Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore, and Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst) each garnered significant fourth season base salary guarantees, Penny — who was chosen with the 27th overall pick — actually saw his fourth season salary guarantee percentage decrease when compared to 2017’s No. 27 selection, Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White.
Interestingly, Bryan actually did better on his fourth-year guarantee than some of the other players around him, according to Rapoport. It appears that Bryan’s hard line on negotiations paid off and talks still managed to wrap before rookies were set to report in Jacksonville.
Bryan, a 6’5″, 293-pound defensive lineman, had career highs in tackles (37), tackles for loss (6), and sacks (4) in his final year at Florida. He’s slated to serve as the Jags’ first defensive tackle off of the bench behind Marcell Dareus and Malik Jackson this year.
This Date In Transactions History: Tony Boselli Retires
On this date in 2003, one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the history of the game called it a career. Tackle Tony Boselli, the first ever draft pick of the Jaguars, retired at the age of 31. 
Soon after being drafted with the No. 2 pick in the 1995 draft, Boselli established himself as one of the best players in Jacksonville. He earned five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 1996-2000 with three First-Team All-Pro selections coming in 97-99. The Jaguars reached the postseason in four of their first five seasons in existence, and Boselli played a huge role in their success.
Unfortunately, injuries started to chip away at Boselli in 2001 and he appeared in only three games that season. In February 2002, the Jaguars made Boselli one of their five exposed players for the Texans’ expansion draft. With the very first pick, Houston took on Boselli’s $6.883MM cap figure, but they did not get the All-Pro they were expecting.
”I am retiring because of medical reasons, specifically my left shoulder, which did not continue to improve to the point where I could play,” said Boselli as he announced his retirement.
Boselli’s career was relatively short, but highly impactful. In seven seasons with the Jaguars, Boselli allowed only 15.5 sacks and cemented his legacy as one of the Jaguars’ most important players of all-time.
Boselli signed a one-day deal to retire with the Jaguars in 2006 and became the first inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame. Still, the football Hall of Fame eludes him. In 2018, Boselli was denied entry in his 12th year of eligibility and his second year as a finalist.
Tag Fallout: Bell, Lawrence, Johnson
Monday’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions came and went without a deal. For the Steelers, this could well mean the beginning of an era’s end. For the Cowboys, Lions and Rams, prices for their tagged performers went up for future purposes. Here’s the latest fallout from the tag deadline.
- Despite reports the Cowboys and DeMarcus Lawrence were going to engage in discussions about an extension prior to Monday, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports no substantive talks had occurred in months. The parties last participated in a real debate about Lawrence’s value in March, per Archer. That doesn’t make these talks much different from the Lions and Ziggy Ansah, with Bob Quinn effectively admitting they were planning to use the tag to evaluate their injury-prone defensive end this season. Lawrence has struggled with multiple maladies as well, and it seems the Cowboys are willing to have a $17.1MM cap hit on the books to see if he can deliver another strong season.
- Lawrence did not express concern about playing this season for that amount, but he does not want to play on what’s essentially a rental agreement in 2019. The defensive end, though, would make $20.5MM if the Cowboys tagged him again. And Archer expects that’s exactly what will end up happening (Twitter link). A $20.5MM hit may be not be as damaging as it once was, but it will likely represent a slightly greater percentage of Dallas’ 2019 cap than Lawrence’s 2018 hit does for this year’s $177MM ceiling. If the cap goes up by its usual $10MM or close approximation, a $20.5MM hit would take up nearly 11 percent of the Cowboys’ ’19 cap. This season, the 26-year-old defender will occupy 9.66 percent of the Cowboys’ cap.
- Le’Veon Bell also appears to concede 2018 will be his Steelers finale. In a tweet, the sixth-year running back apologizes to fans for he and the Steelers’ inability to finalize a deal that satisfied both parties. “My desire always has been to retire a Steeler,” Bell said. “Both sides worked extremely hard today to make that happen, but the NFL is a hard business at times…to the fans that had hope, I’m sorry we let youu (sic) down but trust me, 2018 will be my best season to date.” The Steelers are believed to have offered Bell a five-year deal worth $70MM, but it’s unknown what the guarantees came out to in that proposal.
- Bell is betting that a better offer will be there in March, but Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network points out (video link) the Steelers no longer have a reason to preserve their starting back for the future. This is a unique wrinkle to the two-tag process that didn’t affect Kirk Cousins or Trumaine Johnson. The team already uses Bell like an old-school workhorse, albeit with a modern spin thanks to Bell’s abilities through the air, and Kinkhabwala expects the 26-year-old’s workload to meet and possibly eclipse his 406-touch 2017 regular season. That would put him well over 1,500 carries, which would be unique for a free agent running back seeking a major contract.
- One player who had a vested outside interest in Bell reaching an agreement with the Steelers is now on his own. But Joel Corry of CBS Sports tweets David Johnson‘s agent should now use the Steelers’ leaked five-year, $70MM offer as the new running back ceiling rather than Devonta Freeman‘s five-year, $41.25MM contract when negotiating with the Cardinals. Considering how big of a gap there is between these numbers (nearly $6MM AAV) and the lack of known guarantees, that might be a tough sell for the Cardinals. Corry adds that a Johnson 2019 tag would come out to approximately $11.3MM. That figure is now more relevant now that Bell is set to play on his $14.5MM tag rather than a market-resetting long-term deal.
Bears Rumors: Long, Lynch, Floyd, Burton
While franchise tag situations understandably dominated the day, here’s a look at one of the teams that didn’t take part in a summer standoff. Latest out of the Windy City:
- Kyle Long‘s dealt with a string of injury problems in recent years. He underwent three more surgeries this offseason, but the Bears expect their top offensive lineman to be cleared in time for training camp, J.J. Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago notes. Long missed all of camp last season and the first two Bears games before suffering a season-ending injury that shelved him for most of Chicago’s December schedule. Shoulder, elbow and neck procedures followed, but they don’t look to be the kind of impediments Long dealt with in 2017 as he attempted to recover in time for the regular season. Long hasn’t played more than 10 games in a season since 2015. Veterans report to Bears camp July 19.
- The Bears hope Aaron Lynch‘s history with Vic Fangio can translate to the kind of consistency that would make the former 49ers edge defender a reliable part of Chicago’s outside linebacker corps, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune notes. Hamstring and ankle injuries limited Lynch with his new team this offseason, and Kane considers him on the bubble to make the Bears. Lynch is attached to a one-year, $4MM contract. He played in just 14 games the past two seasons, restricted by injuries and a suspension, and recorded just 2.5 sacks in that span. He registered 12.5 during his first two seasons in the league, the first of which as a part of Fangio’s final 49ers defense.
- After undergoing surgery to repair damaged the MCL and PCL in his right knee, Leonard Floyd also expects to be full-go by Bears camp, per Kane. With Pernell McPhee, Willie Young and Lamarr Houston off the roster, the Bears will need more from Floyd. Sam Acho, Jonathan Anderson and Kasim Edebali represent the non-Lynch veterans who could start opposite Floyd.
- Trey Burton, though, may have a more important role on the 2018 Bears, with Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times ranking the former Eagles backup atop the list for players most vital to the team’s prospects this season. Despite Chicago investing more in Allen Robinson, and Mitch Trubisky obviously playing a more critical position, Jahns lists Burton in this slot because of his importance to Matt Nagy‘s offense. The Chiefs have run their attack through Travis Kelce for years, and Burton will be playing that role in Chicago. The Bears added Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller to their passing game, but Jahns writes Burton will do the most to elevate Trubisky’s comfort level. Burton has career-high marks of 37 receptions and 327 air yards — both in 2016.
- Roquan Smith will be staying away from the Bears, whose rookies reported Monday, while his agent finalizes his rookie contract.
Earl Thomas Wants Extension Or Trade
A minicamp holdout and a player the Seahawks shopped in trades earlier this year, Earl Thomas has no interest in going into this season on his current contract.
The three-time All-Pro safety said Monday (via Instagram) he wants an extension or will call upon the Seahawks to trade him — presumably to a team that will authorize such a contract.
The Cowboys have served as the top Thomas suitor thus far, with the teams talking extensively during draft weekend. Dallas balked at trading a second-rounder for Thomas but doesn’t have a solidified safety situation, and reports have circulated this Thomas trade avenue may not be closed.
Thomas has one season and $10.4MM remaining on his contract, a deal no safety matched when it was signed in 2014. However, several do now. But Thomas has proven more than most of the players who’ve since surpassed him, and the Seahawks’ defense having lost so many key cogs now gives off a rebuilding vibe. The 29-year-old safety’s timeline may not add up with what the Seahawks are doing.
Seattle traded Michael Bennett, released Richard Sherman and Cliff Avril. Kam Chancellor will remain on the payroll, but Thomas’ longtime running mate indicated earlier this month his playing days are over due to injury.
Latest On Steelers’ Final Le’Veon Bell Offer
With Le’Veon Bell attached to the franchise tag for another season, the fallout’s begun — from the running back’s agent saying this will likely be his client’s final year in Pittsburgh, to the Steelers expressing hope they can sign Bell after this season.
More clarity’s emerging on the Steelers’ final offer. Pittsburgh offered Bell a five-year, $70MM deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter), doing so a year after proposing a five-year, $60MM contract to the All-Pro running back. During an appearance on NFL Total Access, Rapoport said the Steelers and Bell did not come as close to a deal as they did last July.
Rapoport notes this proposal, like last summer’s, included more than $30MM in its first two years. The average salary of this deal is $14MM — $500K shy of the amount of Bell’s current franchise tag and the figure that Bell said was his price floor.
It’s not certain what guarantees the Steelers were willing to include, and that element could be why Bell looks bound for 2019 free agency.
The Steelers’ 2017 offer was worth $13.3MM over five years. ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reported the team increased the proposal in the spring, with Bell’s rejection stalling talks for months. It’s unclear if this final offer was more than the one the Steelers made to Bell in the spring.
This five-year, $70MM pact, interestingly, is the same amount both Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas signed for at the 2015 tag deadline. This illustrates the obvious gap between the present values of the wide receiver and running back positions, with Antonio Brown now earning a wideout-high $17MM per year, but it also shows how much Bell stuck to his guns. This offer was $6MM north of any other running back’s AAV.
The 26-year-old running back sought more from the Steelers in the spring because of the 406-touch season — his second first-team All-Pro slate — he put together last year and his status as arguably the NFL’s best running back. Bell’s gambling this kind of money will be there for him in free agency after what would probably be another high-volume workload this season. This worked for Kirk Cousins. The two-tag process netted him free agency and a fully guaranteed deal, but he plays a much less violent position. And Bell has some injuries in his past.
It’s a bold move on Bell’s part given what’s happened to the running back market during his career and how the Steelers use him.
He enters 2018 with 1,229 career carries. Should Bell stay healthy, he’ll almost certainly surpass 1,500 this season. The only active players ahead of Bell currently: Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Jonathan Stewart and LeGarrette Blount. All of whom have at least three more years’ experience than the Steelers’ versatile workhorse. And Bell has 312 career receptions as well, adding to the risk of turning down a long-term pact for a second straight year.
DeMarcus Lawrence Against Playing On Tag After This Season
Four players are set to play on a franchise tender this season. DeMarcus Lawrence‘s 14.5-sack showing in 2017 prompted the Cowboys to place a $17.1MM tag on him this year, and he did not object to that arrangement.
However, he does not want this situation to repeat itself. Lawrence’s goal is to secure a long-term extension with the Cowboys after this season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding that the fifth-year defensive end will not play on the tag in 2019.
While a 2019 tag would exceed $20MM, a historic one-season windfall for a non-quarterback, Lawrence wants a commitment after this 2018 rental setup concludes. The Cowboys are now intent to see if Lawrence’s breakout was a fluke. Those 14.5 sacks eclipsed his previous three-season total by 5.5, and 10 of those sacks came in the season’s first seven weeks.
A report earlier this month indicated the Cowboys were OK with Lawrence playing this year on the tag. Lawrence said he would be. The $17MM-plus cap hit doesn’t damage Dallas’ ledger like it would have in previous years. And next season, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant‘s dead-money figures are off the Cowboys’ books. They are projected to possess more than $50MM in cap space, and if Lawrence can deliver another strong season, the franchise would be in better position to hammer out a long-term agreement.
Ravens Place Marshal Yanda On PUP List
The Ravens have placed guard Marshal Yanda on the PUP list, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). It’s an unfortunate setback for the former All-Pro after he missed the majority of 2017 with an ankle injury.
Yanda’s outlook from this point forward isn’t immediately clear. The good news is that he has triumphed in the face of adversity before. In 2016, he missed three games and was held back by a nagging shoulder injury. Despite that, Yanda still graded out as the NFL’s best guard, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus.
The Ravens are already looking to keep it together on the offensive line following the departure of center Ryan Jensen in free agency. Losing Yanda for any period of time would hurt, and the additions of rookie offensive linemen Orlando Brown, Greg Senat, and Bradley Bozeman likely won’t be enough to bridge the gap.
Baltimore has counted on Yanda up front throughout this decade, prioritizing his next deal over Kelechi Osemele despite Yanda being much older. His most recent two 16-game seasons ended in first-team All-Pro honors. At 33, Yanda remains the Ravens’ most important blocker.
Players can be taken off the PUP list during training camp, but if Yanda were to be placed on the reserve/PUP list at the regular season’s outset, he would have to miss six weeks.
Matt Skura moved into the starting lineup for Yanda last season, but Baltimore is planning to try him at center come camp. The Ravens also have Jermaine Eluemunor, a 2017 all-rookie pick despite making two 2017 starts, in the mix, along with guard/tackle James Hurst and Alex Lewis. The latter missed all of last season due to injury.
Steelers Hope To Keep Bell Beyond ’18
Le’Veon Bell‘s agent says the running back is unlikely to be in Pittsburgh after the 2018 season. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, meanwhile, is still hoping to keep Bell in place for years to come. 
[RELATED: Bell’s Agent Says He’ll Likely Leave In 2019]
“Even though we could not reach a long-term contract agreement with Le’Veon Bell, we are excited he will be with the team in 2018,” Colbert said in a statement. “We worked very hard to find common ground, but we were unable to accomplish that prior to today’s deadline. Le’Veon will play this season under the exclusive franchise tag designation. After the 2018 season is completed, we again will attempt to work out a long-term contract with Le’Veon in the hope that he will continue his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Bell will indeed be with the team for 2018, but until he formally signs his tag, it’s anyone’s guess as to when Bell’s 2018 season will start. The good news for Steelers fans is that Bell vowed on Twitter to make 2018 his “best season to date.” If taken literally, Bell would have to play in all 16 games in order to turn in a career year, so that could be an indication that Bell will be in uniform for Week 1.
Although Bell may be disappointed with today’s outcome, he’s still set to earn $14.5MM for the 2018 season. The running back would miss out on more than $900K for every game that he misses, so it would behoove him to sign his tender in advance of September.