Jaguars To Sign Tyler Eifert
Tight end Tyler Eifert and the Jaguars have agreed to a two-year contract, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Twitter). He’s set to earn $15.5MM over the course of the deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Eifert has one of the most extensive injury histories among active players, but he has also proven to be a productive receiver when healthy. He played in 16 games for the first time as a pro last season.
The seven-year veteran quietly posted 436 receiving yards and three touchdowns for the 2-14 Bengals in 2019. Eifert re-signed with Cincinnati on one-year deals in 2018 and ’19 but now leaves the team after seven seasons.
Eifert signed for $5.5MM in 2018 and $4MM last year. The 29-year-old tight end was a trade candidate at the October deadline, but the Bengals opted not to make any in-season sell-off moves.
Injuries have limited Eifert throughout his career. He missed 15 games in 2014, eight in 2016, 14 in 2017 and 12 in 2018. The one season when the former first-round pick managed to put it together — 2015 — has helped keep him on the radar. The Notre Dame product caught 13 touchdown passes that season, one that doubled as the Bengals’ most successful campaign in a generation.
The Jaguars have struggled to fill their TE post for years. After their Julius Thomas signing did not work out, they have generated next to nothing from this position. James O’Shaughnessy led Jags tight ends with 214 and 153 receiving yards over the past two seasons, respectively. Jacksonville selected Josh Oliver in the third round last year, but an injury limited him to four games as a rookie.
Vikings Sign WR Tajae Sharpe
Yesterday was an active day for free agent wideouts, and that theme is continuing today. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that receiver Tajae Sharpe is signing with the Vikings. It’ll be a one-year deal for the 25-year-old.
The 2016 fifth-rounder out of UMass had spent his entire four-year career with the Titans, including a rookie campaign where he hauled in 41 receptions for 522 yards. A foot injury knocked Sharpe out for the entirety of the 2017 campaign, and he’s combined for 51 receptions, 645 receiving yards, and six touchdowns since that time.
The Vikings have been hunting around for a wideout after trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills. Sharpe will be competing with the likes of Chad Beebe, Olabisi Johnson, and Alexander Hollins to be the number-two receiver behind Adam Thielen.
We saw a number of free agent wideouts can taken off the board yesterday, with Robby Anderson, Devin Funchess, and Breshad Perriman joining new teams.
Cowboys Sign TE Blake Bell
Blake Bell is heading to Dallas. The Cowboys have reached an agreement with the tight end, reports ESPN’s Todd Archer.
The 2015 fourth-rounder has bounced around the NFL a bit throughout his career, and he spent the 2019 campaign with the Chiefs. Known mostly as a blocking tight end, Bell has still managed to contribute in the receiving game. In 15 games (seven starts) last year, the 28-year-old hauled in eight catches 67 yards.
He also added three receptions for 24 yards and one touchdown during the playoffs, including a nine-yard catch during the Super Bowl.
Bell will be joining a revamped tight ends depth chart in Dallas. After Jason Witten left for the Raiders, the Cowboys inked Blake Jarwin to a four-year extension. The organization is also rostering Dalton Schultz and Cole Hikutini.
Latest On NFL Draft
If the NFL has their way, the draft will continue as scheduled. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini report that the league “plans to stick” with their April 23rd-25th dates. While there’s still time to make a change, the consensus is that the draft won’t be rescheduled.
However, the league’s general managers are pushing back, as the NFL’s GM subcommittee recommended to commissioner Roger Goodell that the draft be rescheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, teams are concerned that there won’t be enough time for “player physicals, gathering psychological testing, [and] getting further verified information about the players.”
Further, there’s concern that there’d be a “competitive disadvantage to have some teams in their training facilities during the draft while teams in California, New Jersey and other hard-hit areas would be in lockdown and unable to be in their teams’ buildings.” We learned yesterday that the NFL had ordered teams to close their facilities by 6pm today.
“I think a lot of owners aren’t sold on keeping it on schedule,” one source told the reporters. “Of course the power owners are calling the shots. Plus, add to the fact that April is going to be the toughest month with this virus. It’s really a poor look.”
Saints Extend CB Janoris Jenkins
Janoris Jenkins‘ renegotiated contract is actually an extension. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Saints have signed the cornerback to a two-year, $16.75MM extension.
Effectively, this turns the veteran’s deal into a three-year, $27MM pact, with the entirety of the $10.2MM in guaranteed money coming in 2020. As Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweets, Jenkins basically has a pair of option years. The organization can keep him for a $10MM base salary and $1.2MM roster bonus in 2021, and they can keep him for a $5.25MM base salary and $500K roster bonus in 2022.
This isn’t a very surprising move, although there was some thought that the Saints may look to push their financial commitment to future years. Instead, the two sides apparently reached a compromise; Jenkins would get his money in 2020, and the Saints would have the flexibility to keep him in 2021 and 2022.
The 31-year-old was claimed off waived by the Saints from the Giants back in December. He ended up being productive during his New Orleans cameo; he had seven tackles, two passes defended, and one interception in two regular season games, and he added eight tackles and one forced fumble in the Saints’ playoff loss to the Vikings.
Next season, Jenkins is projected to start for the Saints opposite Marshon Lattimore.
Falcons Sign DL Allen Bailey To Extension
Allen Bailey is sticking in Atlanta through at least the 2021 season. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the defensive lineman has signed a one-year, $4.5MM extension. The deal includes a $3.25MM signing bonus.
There were reports yesterday that Bailey (along with Matt Ryan and Jake Matthews) had restructured his contract. While this transaction did save the Falcons some money for 2020, it ended up being an extension instead of a pure restructuring.
The former third-round spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Chiefs, but he ended up sitting in free agency for much of last offseason. He eventually caught on with Atlanta, and he proceeded to play an important rotational role for his new squad. In 15 games (five starts), Bailey compiled 26 tackles and one sack.
In total, the 31-year-old has appeared in 117 regular season games, collecting 20.5 sacks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/20
Here are today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: WR Chris Moore
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Mike Thomas
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB DeMarquis Gates (XFL)
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Dravon Askew-Henry (XFL)
New York Jets
- Re-signed: DB Bennett Jackson
Chiefs Re-Sign DL Mike Pennel, FB Anthony Sherman
The defending Super Bowl champs have re-signed defensive lineman Mike Pennel to a one-year pact, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). Pennel said last month that he wanted to return to the Chiefs, and he got his wish.
Besides winning a Super Bowl with KC — and his interception-causing hit on 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo was a big reason for that win — the organization also helped to revitalize Pennel’s career. Following two underwhelming seasons with the Jets, the lineman signed a two-year deal with the Patriots last offseason. However, he didn’t make it to the regular season with New England, and Pennel still found himself out of work in mid-October.
He eventually caught on with the Chiefs, and he proceeded to compile 24 tackles and one sack in eight games for the team. He also appeared in each of Kansas City’s three playoff games, starting two of them, and he earned high praise for his work against the run. Pelissero reports that Pennel had other offers — the Cowboys were said to be in on him — but he will try to recapture the magic with the Chiefs.
Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reports that KC is also re-signing FB Anthony Sherman to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Sherman has appeared in every game for the Chiefs since he joined the club in 2013, and he earned a Pro Bowl bid in 2018. His offensive snaps have decreased dramatically since Patrick Mahomes became the starting QB, but he remains a critical part of the special teams unit.
Jarrett Stidham To Start For Patriots?
We heard earlier today that the Patriots may be gearing up for a starting quarterback competition between Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, but Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston says that as of now, the job is Stidham’s to lose.
There is plenty of logic to that. The Patriots selected Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 draft and are said to be high on him, and most believe that New England will spend 2020 cleaning up its salary cap situation and preparing for a return to contention in 2021. That means that the club will not pursue a potentially pricey QB like the recently-released Cam Newton, and it means that Stidham will have a chance to prove that he can be the rightful heir to Tom Brady.
Curran does say that if the COVID-19 pandemic puts a damper on Stidham’s development — which it seems almost certain to do — then Hoyer could get the nod to open the 2020 season. Stidham, though, would probably step in at some point thereafter. The Auburn product threw just four passes in his rookie campaign but put together a strong two years against SEC defenses in 2017-18.
While we’re on the subject of the Patriots, let’s round up a few more notes out of Foxborough:
- The release of longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski did not create $3.5MM of cap space, as originally reported. Because $2MM of Gostkowski’s 2020 salary was fully-guaranteed, the move actually frees up less than $1MM of space. So as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets, Gostkowski’s release wasn’t financially motivated; the team just wanted a new kicker.
- Hoyer’s contract calls for a $1.05MM salary with $2MM in playing time incentives, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Because his deal with the Colts contained offsets, Hoyer will earn at least $2MM in 2020.
- The Patriots agreed to sign veteran defensive back Cody Davis yesterday, and ESPN’s Field Yates reports that Davis will take home a $1.1MM base salary and landed a $100K signing bonus (Twitter link). He will carry a cap charge of $1.5MM.
- Fullback Dan Vitale‘s new contract is a one-year pact worth $1.3MM, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. He received a $100K signing bonus and can earn another $200K in playing time incentives.
NFL Orders Teams To Close Facilities
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo to all 32 teams tonight mandating that they close their facilities by 6pm tomorrow, March 25, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). The full memo can be found here.
Of course, many teams had already closed up shop, and others had limited personnel at their facilities. We heard earlier tonight that the league was going to look into the matter to determine if the teams that remained “open” were gaining a competitive advantage, and Goodell ultimately decided that closing headquarters was for the best.
Importantly, teams remain free to conduct all normal business operations, including signing free agents. The league will reevaluate the situation on April 8.
As we know, the decision to move forward with free agency upset some execs, and the league’s plans to hold the draft from April 23-25 as normal is also being met with resistance. Per Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, the general manager subcommittee unanimously recommended to Goodell that the draft be moved back, but Goodell has not made any changes as of yet.
The desire to reschedule the draft makes plenty of sense. After all, with teams unable to visit with prospects, give them physicals, etc., they will be unable to make fully-informed decisions when the draft rolls around. And clubs in states that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus may still be on lockdown on April 23 and therefore could not be at their facilities for the draft.
The situation remains fluid, and it would not be a surprise to see Goodell reverse course at some point. As one league source told Schefter and Russini, “I think a lot of owners aren’t sold on keeping it on schedule. Of course the power owners are calling the shots. Plus, add to the fact that April is going to be the toughest month with this virus. It’s really a poor look.”