Brandon Boykin Retires?
Brandon Boykin‘s NFL career appears to be over. The former Eagles and Steelers cornerback is suiting up for the American Flag Football League this summer, according to Geoff Mosher of The Score. 
Boykin, 28 next week, was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles in 2012. In 2013, he turned in a career year with 47 tackles, six interceptions, and 16 passes defended. In 2015, he landed with the Steelers and had his least productive year with just 21 total stops. He has not seen live action since, though he signed deals with the Panthers and Bears in 2016 and the Ravens in 2017.
Boykin has not formally announced his retirement, but it sounds like he has moved on from the NFL.
“It’s fun, man. You talk about playing flag football, that’s what you grew up doing,” said Boykin of the upstart summer league. “You can play the game in its truest form and have fun and compete with people all over the world, not have a helmet on and just enjoy the game. That’s what players want. That’s what’s so enticing about it. You can still make money playing a game that’s truly a game.”
The flag football league is made up of four teams, composed of former professional athletes. The team that wins the title will face the amateur champs July 19 in Houston in “the Ultimate Final.” Boykin is a member of Ocho, a team captained by Chad Johnson. They’ll face Michael Vick‘s Roadrunners on Saturday night in the professional semifinals.
Offset Language Holding Up Top 10 Picks
There are 15 unsigned rookies left, and seven of them are in the top 10. The holdup for this year’s highest selections is offset language, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
Players with offset language who are cut before the end of their rookie contract have the remaining guaranteed money reduced by whatever they earns elsewhere. Without offset language, players get to double dip. Top 10 picks expect to complete their rookie contracts, but it’s an important issue for agents nonetheless.
The following top 10 players are without deals and there’s a common thread in the representation for most of them:
- Browns, 1-1: Baker Mayfield, QB (Jack Mills and Tom Mills)
- Giants, 1-2: Saquon Barkley, RB (Roc Nation Sports)
- Jets, 1-3: Sam Darnold, QB (CAA)
- Browns, 1-4: Denzel Ward, CB (CAA)
- Bills, 1-7: Josh Allen, QB (CAA)
- Bears, 1-8: Roquan Smith, LB (CAA)
- 49ers, 1-9: Mike McGlinchey, T (CAA)
As Florio notes, CAA also represents No. 6 overall pick Quenton Nelson. The new Colts guard agreed to terms back in May on a deal that contains offset language, but also includes large guaranteed training-camp roster bonuses in 2019 through 2021. The presence of those bonuses effectively offsets the presence of offsets and could be a good middle ground solution for the agency’s remaining unsigned top 10 picks.
There’s no sign of real acrimony between any of these players and the teams that drafted them, but Joey Bosa‘s situation in 2016 serves as a reminder that offset language can become a real issue that can lead to a training camp holdout.
This Date In Transactions History: Lions Release Stephen Tulloch
On this date in 2016, the Lions bid farewell to one-time defensive cog Stephen Tulloch. 
Tulloch entered the league in 2006 as a fourth-round pick of the Titans. The linebacker played sparingly in his first two seasons but, eventually, he cracked the starting lineup. Between 2008 and 2010, Tulloch was first-string for 41 games with Tennessee.
When he hit free agency, old friend Jim Schwartz brought him to Detroit with a one-year deal. After he tallied three sacks from the inside linebacker position and 111 overall tackles, the Lions re-signed him to a lucrative five-year deal. Tulloch continued to hold down the fort at MLB, compiling 100+ tackles in 2012 and 135 total tackles in 2013, including a career-high 3.5 sacks.
Unfortunately, his career took a weird turn in 2014. In Week 3, Tulloch took down Aaron Rodgers with a thunderous sack. He then busted out a sack celebration which went horribly wrong. Tulloch tore his ACL, ending his season in September.
Afterwards, Tulloch was asked if he had any regrets about the doomed dance.
“Hell, no,” Tulloch said. “I’d do it again, brother. You do it every time. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Just a matter of time. I’ve played a long time in this league and I understand you’re susceptible to this kind of injury when you go out there and play. Nine years without missing a game is kind of crazy, but like I said I’m positive because I believe in my hard work, I believe in my training and what I do in the offseason and how I approach things, so I know I’ll be back even better than before.”
Unfortunately, that was not the case. On paper, Tulloch had an alright 2015 as he started all 16 games, registered 108 total tackles, and came up with two fumble recoveries. However, he wasn’t quite an every-down player, as he saw time on less than 70% of the Lions’ defensive plays. Tulloch also graded out relatively poorly in Pro Football Focus’ rankings, placing as the No. 54 inside linebacker among 97 qualifiers.
Late in the summer of 2016, Schwartz re-connected with him yet again as the Eagles inked him to a one-year, $3MM deal. Tulloch wound up as a reserve for the first time in years and had only seven tackles on the year. That proved to be Tulloch’s last season, as he announced his retirement in April of 2017.
If not for that fateful game against the rival Packers, the Lions might not have released Tulloch two years ago today.
Extension Candidate Series
Throughout the summer, we’ve been running down some of the league’s most intriguing extension candidates. In cased you missed it, here are the players we’ve covered thus far:
East Rumors: Patriots, Lawrence, Giants
Despite an offseason that included retirement rumors, contract frustration and trade talks, Rob Gronkowski appears to be sufficiently ready to put some of this behind him. The Patriots‘ future Hall of Fame tight end attributed his time away from the team to determining whether he could handle the rigors of a ninth season.
“I am refreshed,” Gronkowski told NFL.com’s Willie McGinest (via NBC Sports Boston). “You know after the season, long seasons, how your body can feel and everything. I just wanted to see where I was at, and see how I can get my body feeling, see if I can handle it, endure it again, and I feel like I’m super ready, man.”
Gronkowski remains without an adjusted contract, despite the sides being rumored to be close to finalizing one. Gronk has not been connected to a training camp holdout just yet, though given his injury history and actions this offseason, one can’t necessarily be ruled out. But the 29-year-old tight end is set to return for the Patriots, which will be even more important than it usually is considering Julian Edelman will miss a second straight September.
Here’s the latest from New England and some other cities whose teams play in Eastern divisions.
- After Danielle Hunter‘s extension, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston identifies Trey Flowers as a prime candidate to cash in. However, Flowers’ Patriots employment may delay a big deal. The Patriots have traded away defenders with higher profiles in recent years, dealing Jamie Collins and future All-Pro Chandler Jones, so Curran warns this situation could be slow-played — particularly because of the Hunter deal — past Flowers’ 2018 contract year. Although, Hunter’s $12MM-AAV extension can be considered a team-friendly pact given his age and potential. Flowers led the AFC champions with 6.5 sacks last season and looks to again be the team’s best edge-rushing presence.
- With less than two weeks left until the deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players to extensions, might the Cowboys consider letting DeMarcus Lawrence play on the tag? The Cowboys may be somewhat skittish about the defensive end’s injury history, per Jori Epstein of the Dallas Morning News, and would like to see if Lawrence can duplicate his breakout 2017 season. While Lawrence is set to count $17MM-plus toward Dallas’ 2018 cap, the team already finalized an extension with Zack Martin and still has $14.8MM worth of cap space. And the Cowboys did not replace Dez Bryant or Jason Witten with big-money pass-catchers, so they may now be in position to take a wait-and-see approach with Lawrence.
- The Giants added backup safety/special-teamer Michael Thomas in late March, before it became clear something was amiss with the safety market. Thomas signed for two years and $4MM, which gave the expected backup a better deal than longtime Chiefs starter Ron Parker received from the Falcons last week. Needless to say, Thomas believes something is up and connects it to Eric Reid‘s status as a free agent. “I was never worried, but collusion is real,” Thomas said about his free agency, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I understand that, but it was a blessing in disguise. The Giants organization was the right situation for me.” Thomas isn’t the first outside of Reid to connect the former 49er’s offseason to the slowed safety market. Reid remains embroiled in a grievance with the NFL over his unemployment, which he connects to his involvement in the racial inequality-themed protests of the past two years.
Details On Danielle Hunter’s Extension
Continuing their recent run of defensive fortification, the Vikings agreed to a five-year, $72MM deal with Danielle Hunter. He’s now the second-highest-paid player on Minnesota’s defense, coming in behind only Xavier Rhodes.
Locked up through 2023, Hunter will earn $37.9MM across the first three years of this contract, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. That’s down from a previously reported $48MM figure. This season won’t feature a substantial hit to the Vikings’ payroll, with Krammer noting Hunter’s 2018 cap number will come in at just $5MM. After this season, the eight-figure hits start coming.
The 23-year-old defensive end will count $13MM toward Minnesota’s 2019 cap and $14MM in 2020. In 2021 and ’22, Hunter’s deal will represent $15MM of the Vikes’ payroll. Of course, the cap can be expected to reside north of $200MM by then, so these numbers — on a deal that can be classified as Vikings-friendly — may not look especially imposing once the next decade begins.
Incentives also appear in this contract but don’t comprise too much of it. Krammer adds that Hunter’s re-up contains $6MM in incentives across its five-year span. There are also $2.5MM in total per-game roster bonuses and $500K in workout bonuses housed in this agreement, per Krammer.
The Vikings now have Hunter, Rhodes, Everson Griffen, Eric Kendricks, Linval Joseph and Harrison Smith signed long-term. This sextet is all locked in through at least the 2021 season. While an extension for Anthony Barr is being discussed, the Vikings already have a substantial portion of their defensive core under team control for the foreseeable future.
NFC Notes: Peterson, Eagles, Thomas, Lions
Long regarded as one of this era’s best cornerbacks, Patrick Peterson has not been challenged to the degree of some of his peers in recent years. The Cardinals‘ top defender has just six interceptions over the past three seasons, and this has likely had some impact on his All-Pro status. Despite being viewed as a top-tier corner and having never missed a game, Peterson has made just one of the past three All-Pro first teams. The soon-to-be 28-year-old defender, though, sounds encouraged to be in the defensive system Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb have installed.
“Very excited, ’cause I’m gonna be doing a lot of new things that I haven’t done in my career – in my NFL career,” Peterson said, via Katherine Fitzgerald of the Arizona Republic. “I’m just looking forward to getting back to my play-making ways because I believe over the last two and a half, three years, I’ve been kind of handcuffed in doing that, because obviously teams try to stay away from me. But now, coach Holcomb and coach Wilks are going do a great job of finding ways to install me into the game.”
Peterson still expects to follow receivers in the new scheme, but the Cardinals continue to feature a sizable talent gap between their No. 1 corner and his sidekicks. They traded for Jamar Taylor, who is now the favorite to start opposite Peterson, and employ third-year man Brandon Williams and former Panthers cog Bene Benwikere. But this cast might not be enough to deter quarterbacks from continuing to largely avoid Peterson.
Here’s the latest from the NFC:
- Apparently, Earl Thomas‘ Cowboys fandom did not stop once he joined the Seahawks. The east Texas native has been connected to the Cowboys via trade throughout the offseason, and he seemed to light that fuse after the Seahawks’ Week 16 win in Dallas last season. Cliff Avril observed Thomas discuss watching Cowboys games as a fan while with the Seahawks, but it’s not like the since-released defensive end saw that affect the three-time All-Pro’s game. “Everyone in (the Seahawks’) locker room knows Earl loves the Cowboys,” Avril said during a Sirius XM Radio interview (Twitter link). “He’d leave immediately after work just to catch them play Monday Night Football. We didn’t take it too serious. Whatever team he dresses up for he’s gonna do his thing.” Thomas and the Seahawks remain at an impasse as the last remaining Legion of Boom bastion continues his holdout.
- The Eagles will almost certainly waive seventh-round pick/rugby convert Jordan Mailata, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com notes, before attempting to develop him on their practice squad. This figures to be a lengthy process attempting to convert the mammoth prospect into someone worthy of seeing time on Sundays.
- Two of Mailata’s rookie peers have less certainty. Although Josh Sweat has looked the part of a future contributor, Shorr-Parks wonders if the Eagles’ depth at defensive end will induce a wink-wink IR stay that will allow the fourth-round pick to develop while off the 53-man roster. UDFA running back Josh Adams received one of the largest signing bonuses of any undrafted player this year at $25K, but he missed all of OTAs and minicamp with a foot injury and looks like a long shot to make the roster. Shorr-Parks expects an IR stay for Adams.
- The additions of LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson will force either Zach Zenner or Dwayne Washington off the Lions‘ roster, barring an injury to a higher-regarded back, but Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com expects neither to be on the team come Week 1. Rothstein, though, views Ameer Abdullah as possible trade bait that would give either Zenner or Washington a way back onto the roster.
July 16 Marks NFL’s Franchise Tag Extension Deadline
This year, the deadline for teams to reach extensions with franchise tagged players falls on July 16. If the following four players do not agree to new contracts in the coming days, they will be ticketed for free agency in 2019:
- Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell
- Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah
- Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence
- Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner
For Bell, the absence of a deal all but guarantees that he will be allowed to explore the open market next season. That’s because this is the second year in a row that Bell has been hit with the tag. He’ll make $14.544MM this season if no extension deal is reached, but a third tag would cost Pittsburgh more than $20MM. For the rest, the possibility of a second franchise tag remains, though the requisite 20% increase could prevent teams from applying the tender.
The rules of the franchise tag dictate that teams have until mid-July to hammer out an extension with players. If not, the two sides are barred from engaging in contract talks until after the season has concluded.
From 2013-2017, 16 of the league’s 33 franchise tagged players agreed to extensions before the summer deadline. This year, it’s hard to say whether deals will be reached for any of the players in question. Bell is looking for a deal that will reflect his production as a top running back and a No. 2 wide receiver. The defensive ends, Ansah and Lawrence, know that teams are willing to overpay for quality edge rushers in free agency. Joyner, meanwhile, may be content to let the Rams control his fate since he’ll either make $11MM+ this year and hit free agency, or earn $25MM through two franchise tags and reach the open market in 2020.
Then again, a serious injury could derail any member of this quartet, so there’s something to be said for financial security over monetary upside. Joyner, in particular, could be quietly eager to sign a multi-year deal after watching a dismal free agent safety market play out this offseason.
What we do know for sure is that the next 12 days will be worth monitoring.
Follow @HoopsRumors For The Latest NBA News
If you haven’t noticed, we are in the midst of one of the craziest offseasons in NBA history. LeBron James left the Cavs to sign with the Lakers, DeMarcus Cousins shocked the world by joining up with the talent-stacked Warriors, and there’s still plenty of drama on the horizon. To keep up with all of the twists and turns, visit our sister site HoopsRumors.com and follow them on Twitter, @HoopsRumors.
The Lakers are angling to trade for Kawhi Leonard, but the Spurs are asking for a boatload in order to part with their star small forward. Meanwhile, plenty of impactful free agents remain, including Clint Capela, Zach LaVine, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, and Isaiah Thomas. Only three teams have significant cap room to work with at this stage of the offseason, but other clubs have the flexibility needed to carve out additional space.
Whether you’re a hardcore NBA fan, or just a casual one, you’ll want to keep tabs on all the action by following Hoops Rumors today.
Falcons Sign First-Round Pick Calvin Ridley
Who says nothing happens in the NFL on the Fourth of July? On Wednesday morning, Calvin Ridley‘s agents took to Twitter to announce that the wide receiver has signed his rookie deal with the Falcons. Ridley, selected with the No. 26 overall pick, has received a four-year, $10.9MM deal, as dictated by his slot. 
First-round picks have been slower to sign that the rest of this year’s selections, including those taken near the end of the first round. That’s because Seahawks rookie running back Rashaad Penny agreed to a lower fourth season salary guarantee than last year’s No. 27 overall pick, Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White. Those selected near the end of the first round often don’t get the entirety of their fourth season base salary guaranteed, but agents can push for a decent chunk of it to be guaranteed. Penny’s reps apparently settled for less, which may have emboldened teams near the back of the order.
Apparently, the Falcons and Ridley’s camp were able to meet somewhere in the middle. Both sides are hoping that minutia like Ridley’s guarantee in 2021 and the offset language contained in the deal will be a non-factor.
Ridley joins a loaded Falcons offense as he slots behind Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. After racking up 224 passes for 2,781 yards and 19 touchdowns at Alabama, the Falcons believe that Ridley will be able to hit the ground running in 2018.
“What I’ve seen is excellent transition in and out of breaks, it’s as good as anybody I’ve been around,” quarterback Matt Ryan said recently. “He’s got very good hands. He’s smart, we put a lot on these guys early in OTAs as far as knowing different positions, knowing where to line up, different route combinations, adjustments that we have versus certain coverages. He’s picked up all that stuff really well. You can tell he’s been well coached prior to coming into the NFL.”