HEADLINES

Month: March 2020

49ers Balked At DeForest Buckner’s Price

March 26th, 2020 at 10:34am CST by Sam Robinson

After months of rumors indicating the 49ers’ priority hierarchy placed George Kittle and DeForest Buckner extensions atop the franchise’s agenda, Buckner is now a Colt and Arik Armstead has a long-term 49ers contract. Buckner’s 11th-hour negotiations with the 49ers appear to have been a fork-in-the-road moment for the franchise.

The 49ers began talking an extension with their standout defensive tackle last year, only to table a Buckner deal until 2020. However, after those discussions produced a price the 49ers deemed too high, the team began holding trade talks at the Combine, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Buckner’s agent and the 49ers engaged in discussions at the Combine as well, per Barrows. That may have been a last-ditch effort, based on what happened next. The sides were far apart on extension value as far back as May 2019. Two weeks after the 49ers searched for trade partners, the Combine’s host team came in with a successful offer.

The Colts valued Buckner immensely, authorizing a $21MM-per-year deal. That price is just $1.5MM off Aaron Donald‘s AAV and worth more than any edge rusher not named Khalil Mack. The 49ers then signed Armstead to a five-year, $85MM deal. While saving $4MM per year by pivoting to an Armstead re-up over a Buckner deal, the 49ers will also gamble on the former’s contract year compared to the latter’s superior body of work. Of course, San Francisco also holds the No. 13 overall pick now and still employs four former first-round picks along its defensive line.

Browns Rework RT Chris Hubbard’s Deal

March 26th, 2020 at 10:05am CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Hubbard looks like he will be staying in the fold for the Browns next season. Rumored as a departure candidate, the right tackle agreed to a new deal with the team.

The Browns and Hubbard agreed to a reworked contract, with Field Yates of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) the sides now have a two-year deal in place. Hubbard was previously signed through the 2022 season; this revised contract has him signed only through 2021.

Hubbard’s 2020 base salary will drop to $2.15MM, and Yates adds only $1MM of that is guaranteed. A $1MM signing bonus is included in this new deal, though. Hubbard previously did not have any guaranteed money coming his way in 2020, but his base salary was to be $6.15MM. Hubbard still has a chance to hit $5MM in 2020 base salary, but Yates notes that is now a max-value figure rather than a base salary.

While this will create some cap space for the Browns, that was not previously an issue. Cleveland’s $46MM-plus in cap room entering Thursday led the NFL by a wide margin.

If Hubbard plays 90% of the Browns’ snaps, Yates adds that the 2021 year of his contract would void. This would put him on track for free agency in a year. It looked like Hubbard would be a 2020 cut candidate, having not lived up to the five-year, $36.5MM deal he agreed to during John Dorsey‘s first offseason as Browns GM. The Andrew Berry regime, however, will keep the right tackle around for the time being.

This will be Hubbard’s age-29 season; the ex-Steeler has started 29 games for the Browns since coming to Cleveland in 2018. Hubbard graded as a bottom-10 tackle last season, per Pro Football Focus. The Browns have yet to replace either of their starting tackles, having indicated they are moving on from Greg Robinson. They have been linked to Trent Williams but also loom as a candidate to draft a tackle in the first round.

Latest On Trent Williams Market

March 26th, 2020 at 9:12am CST by Sam Robinson

Thursday marks three weeks since the new Redskins regime gave Trent Williams permission to seek a trade, but he remains on Washington’s roster. The Redskins’ search continues, however.

Some teams around the league appear to believe the Redskins will end up cutting their longtime left tackle, but John Keim of ESPN.com notes the team will not do that. Washington remains intent on prying a second-round pick from a team in exchange for its disgruntled blocker. Williams’ contract demands have likely interfered.

Mentioned from the jump as a Williams suitor, the Jets remain uninterested in surrendering their second-round pick (No. 48 overall), and Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes Williams’ hopes for a raise have hindered Jets-Redskins trade talks as much as compensation has. Just as contract demands played a role in lessening the compensation the Steelers received for Antonio Brown and, apparently, what the Texans got for DeAndre Hopkins, Williams’ aims have impacted the Redskins’ trade talks.

He may want a deal in the $20MM-per-year ballpark, Mehta adds. No offensive lineman currently earns that, though Laremy Tunsil‘s Texans extension may make him the first. Williams is set to earn $12.5MM in base salary under his current contract, which expires after the 2020 season. Although Williams is a seven-time Pro Bowler, he will be 32 next season and has experienced steady health issues over the past few years.

A new suitor may also be in the mix. The Vikings have expressed Williams interest, Keim adds. Williams blocked for Kirk Cousins for the better part of his three-plus-season run as Washington’s starter, and the Redskins have pegged the Vikings as a team in a win-now window and, thus, one that would be a logical Williams destination, per Keim. Minnesota still has Riley Reiff penciled in at left tackle, though he has been mentioned as a cut candidate.

The Browns continue to show interest, but Keim cautions that the Andrew Berry regime does not look to be as interested as the John Dorsey-led front office was. Cleveland offered Washington a second-rounder for Williams last year, but then-Redskins president Bruce Allen turned that down.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/20

March 25th, 2020 at 9:17pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

 

Austin Seferian-Jenkins Arrested For DUI

March 25th, 2020 at 8:31pm CST by Rory Parks

TMZ reports that free agent tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was recently arrested and charged with DUI, driving on a suspended license, and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device (a requirement imposed by the court following a prior DUI).

Per the report, ASJ was traveling nearly 20 MPH over the speed limit in the early morning hours of March 9, and he nearly turned onto a wrong way off-ramp before cutting across multiple lanes of traffic. The arresting officer noted that Seferian-Jenkins smelled of alcohol and marijuana and had bloodshot eyes.

This is a sad development for ASJ, 27, who was charged with DUI while in college in 2013 and while in the pros in 2016. He has been candid about his alcohol issues, and he indicated after his release from the Patriots last summer that he was going to step away from football for a time to tend to his personal affairs, but he has not been able to conquer his demons.

The Buccaneers selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft, but he failed to live up to his potential in Tampa and was waived after his 2016 DUI. The Jets took a chance on him by claiming him off waivers, and they were rewarded in 2017, as Seferian-Jenkins posted 50 grabs for 357 yards and three scores in 13 games.

He parlayed that performance into a two-year, $10MM contract with with the Jaguars, but he was placed on IR in October 2018 and Jacksonville declined to pick up his option for 2019, making him a free agent. He was signed by the Patriots last April and had a prime opportunity to help fill the massive hole left by Rob Gronkowski, but he was unable to take advantage of it.

If he ever planned to return to the league, this latest incident will not help matters, but irrespective of his playing career, hopefully he can start to put his substance abuse issues behind him.

Redskins To Sign WR Cody Latimer

March 25th, 2020 at 8:08pm CST by Rory Parks

The Redskins have agreed to sign wide receiver Cody Latimer, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). Latimer spent the last two years with the division-rival Giants.

Latimer was selected by the Broncos in the second round of the 2014 draft, and to say that he failed to live up to Denver’s expectations would be an understatement. Though he finally started to show some signs of life as a receiver in 2017, his last year in Denver — a year in which he averaged a healthy 15.1 yards per catch — he mostly stuck around because of his excellent work on special teams.

He hooked on with the Giants in 2018, but he missed 10 games that year due to injury. Still, he managed 17.3 yards per catch in limited action and had impressed Big Blue’s coaching staff during his first training camp with the team, so New York brought him back for another look in 2019.

Thanks to a thin and injury-ravaged WR corps, Latimer set career highs in starts (10), receptions (24), and yards (300). He may find similar opportunities with the Redskins, who have second-year pros Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon at the top of their depth chart. McLaurin enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign, and Harmon showed some promise down the stretch, but Latimer could carve out a role for himself.

Philip Rivers On Colts, Future Plans

March 25th, 2020 at 7:43pm CST by Rory Parks

Philip Rivers‘ one-year deal with the Colts is, as previously reported, a $25MM pact. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets, that is a fully-guaranteed sum, with $12MM coming in the form of a signing bonus and $13MM coming in guaranteed salary.

We heard this offseason that Rivers was contemplating retirement, and he confirmed that was indeed the case, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic writes. The 38-year-old indicated that this offseason was the first time he considered hanging up the cleats, but his love for the game and his belief in his abilities to bounce back after a difficult 2019 campaign compelled him to come back.

“Certainly, (I’m) not coming off my best year, but a year where I still know I can play at a high level,” Rivers said. “I did it in spurts, just not consistent enough. And I love (football). It was one of those deals where we said, ‘If there’s nothing out there, then that’ll be our answer.’” 

But the Colts came calling, and as Holder writes, the team has no concerns about Rivers’ arm strength (though plenty around the league are understandably less certain about what the eight-time Pro Bowler has left). Head coach Frank Reich and OC Nick Sirianni, both of whom worked with Rivers as member of the Chargers’ staff, championed the signing and believe he will represent a significant upgrade over 2019 starter Jacoby Brissett.

For his part, Rivers was hoping that the Colts would reach out to him, as Mike Chappell of CBS 4 writes. “Truthfully was hoping it was going to be the Indianapolis Colts,” Rivers said. “From the standpoint of the locker room, the team and shoot, I failed to mention that offensive line. That’s a heckuva group.”

Indeed, Rivers will be protected by one of the best O-lines in the league, and he said the offensive scheme is essentially the same one he has played in since 2013. While the Colts do not have much proven pass-catching talent behind T.Y. Hilton — and there are no true difference-makers on the FA market at this point — Indy could find an immediate contributor or two in a draft that is deep at WR.

As for his future plans, Rivers, who previously indicated he wanted to play a maximum of two more years, confirmed that he wants to continue his playing career into 2021. Beyond that, though, it’s hard to say. “I’m not going to get carried away. I don’t think you’ll see me in the Tom Brady range,” Rivers said.

NFC South Notes: Hill, Brate, Walker

March 25th, 2020 at 6:48pm CST by Rory Parks

The Saints expect Taysom Hill to take over for Drew Brees when Brees calls it a career, and to that end, they placed a first-round RFA tender on the BYU product earlier this month. Teddy Bridgewater had served as the backup to Brees over the past couple of seasons while Hill’s role as a gadget player grew, but head coach Sean Payton confirmed that Hill will be the QB2 in 2020. “He’s earned that opportunity,” Payton said (Twitter link via Jeff Duncan of The Athletic).

However, the team still expects to use Hill as a rusher and receiver next season, so Payton said New Orleans will add another QB that will be active on game days (Twitter link via Duncan). The Saints are expected to explore a long-term contract for Hill in the near future.

Now for more from the NFC South:

  • Cameron Brate‘s recent restructure with the Buccaneers is better classified as a pay cut. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brate accepted a decrease in his 2020 salary from $6MM to $4.25MM (Twitter link). The move will keep Brate, a quality red zone target, in the fold for Tom Brady while buying the team a little more cap space.
  • Several days ago, the Panthers beat out several clubs for the services of XFL signal-caller P.J. Walker. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle says Walker’s pact with Carolina is a two-year deal worth $1.565MM, a pretty nice haul for an XFLer who has yet to crack an active roster in the NFL (Twitter link).
  • CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson‘s new one-year deal with the Falcons includes a base salary of $1.05MM and a singing bonus of $137.5K, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.

Cowboys, Dak Prescott Resume Contract Talks

March 25th, 2020 at 6:17pm CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys and Dak Prescott have resumed contract talks for the first time since Dallas hit their signal-caller with the franchise tag, Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).

There has never been any doubt that Prescott would be under center for the Cowboys for the foreseeable future, but negotiations between player and team have moved at a snail’s pace. There was talk just before the 2019 regular season that a deal was imminent, but Prescott’s hot start to the season reportedly made him more inclined to play out the year in the hopes of landing a fatter contract. Around the time of this year’s scouting combine, Dallas put forth an offer with an average annual value of roughly $33.5MM, but that proposal didn’t gain much traction.

One of the holdups has been the Cowboys’ desire to have Prescott sign a longer-term pact, while the QB is shooting for a shorter deal that will allow him to hit free agency sooner. Per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, Dallas is still pushing for a five-year contract (Twitter link), but Yahoo’s Liz Loza hears that a four-year deal worth $35MM per year is in the offing (Twitter link).

That would be a huge win for Prescott, as it would give him the term and the dollars that he has been seeking. The two-time Pro Bowler has his detractors, but he has clearly established himself as a quality QB who may not have hit his ceiling just yet.

The Cowboys have brought back Prescott’s top target, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and though the team lost center Travis Frederick to retirement, the O-line should still be a strength.

Colts To Sign DT Sheldon Day

March 25th, 2020 at 5:56pm CST by Rory Parks

The Colts have agreed to sign free agent DT Sheldon Day, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). The team subsequently announced the move.

Day was claimed by the 49ers in November 2017 after being waived by the Jaguars. He ultimately settled in as a rotational lineman in the interior of San Francisco’s defensive front, and he played about a third of the club’s defensive snaps last year. He recorded 15 tackles and a sack in the regular season and started all three of the Niners’ playoff games, including the Super Bowl.

It’s a homecoming for Day, an Indianapolis native who played his collegiate ball at Notre Dame. The Jaguars selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, but he struggled to find a niche in Jacksonville. After he was put on waivers, a number of teams submitted claims, but the 49ers had top priority at the time.

Day will follow former 49ers teammate DeForest Buckner to the Colts, and he will likely share time with fourth-year pro Grover Stewart.

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