2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Panthers To Trade QB Kyle Allen To Redskins

March 23rd, 2020 at 1:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hours after agreeing to terms with XFL standout P.J. Walker, the Panthers are unloading a quarterback they just extended. The Panthers have agreed to trade Kyle Allen to the Redskins, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

A 2018 UDFA, Allen was the Panthers’ primary starter last season under Ron Rivera. He signed an extension March 10. Washington will send a fifth-round pick to Carolina for Allen, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

This will not only reunite Allen with Rivera, but the Redskins have former Panthers QBs coach Scott Turner on board as offensive coordinator. Turner was on Carolina’s staff for each of Allen’s two seasons with the team.

Allen, 24, will clear a path for Walker to make the Panthers’ roster and fill a Redskins need. With Alex Smith‘s status still uncertain, Washington now has a healthy quarterback set to join Dwayne Haskins. While the Redskins have been linked to Tua Tagovailoa, they are still the frontrunners to draft Chase Young. Washington has also been connected to trade-down maneuvers, with Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert drawing interest from other teams. Allen would stand to be Washington’s QB2 of the moment, and in an offseason that is unlikely to feature any OTAs, the Texas A&M product’s familiarity in Turner’s system will be critical.

Taking over after Cam Newton‘s September re-injury, Allen started strong but faded down the stretch. He ended his season with a 17-16 TD-INT ratio, 3,322 passing yards in 13 games and a 62% completion rate. Walker and Will Grier now stand to be Teddy Bridgewater‘s backups.

Patriots To Sign DB Cody Davis

March 23rd, 2020 at 1:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Veteran defensive back Cody Davis will sign with the Patriots, according to his agent (Twitter link). He will land with a franchise that has frequently displayed a commitment to rostering high-end special-teamers.

Davis spent the past two seasons with the Jaguars, playing at least 85% of their special teams snaps in those years. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Rams. While Davis made five starts with Los Angeles, the former UDFA has primarily operated as a special-teamer in the NFL.

The 30-year-old specialist will join recently re-signed Matthew Slater, a perennial special teams Pro Bowler, and three-time Pro Bowl special-teamer Justin Bethel — whom the Patriots added last year. Davis does not have a Pro Bowl on his resume, but he will add to New England’s array of talent at these spots while helping the Pats fill the void Nate Ebner created when he signed with the Giants.

Cardinals Re-Sign DL Jonathan Bullard

March 23rd, 2020 at 12:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Cardinals waiver claim last year, Jonathan Bullard agreed to remain with the team after a short stay in free agency. The Cardinals announced they re-signed the defensive lineman on a one-year deal.

Bullard started six games for the Cards last season, registering 22 tackles (four for loss) and 1.5 sacks. He ended the season on IR due to a hamstring injury.

The Bears cut the former third-round pick before the 2019 regular season began; the Florida product worked as a rotational player in Chicago before ascending into Arizona’s starting lineup.

The Cardinals lost Rodney Gunter to the Jaguars in free agency but signed former Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. But be it in a starting or rotational role, Bullard is set to be back as a contributor for the Cardinals up front in his fifth NFL season.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Gordon, Lawson

March 23rd, 2020 at 12:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Devoting significant resources to retooling their offensive line, the Jets have not address their edge defender situation. Jordan Jenkins remains a free agent, but the team has not made a strong effort to re-sign their sack leader of the past two years, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY notes. As far as the bigger names out there, the Jets are still not prepared to pay up for Jadeveon Clowney and do not have Yannick Ngakoue on the front burner, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. The Jets have explored an Ngakoue tag-and-trade move but are not planning to pursue the disgruntled Jaguars defensive end, Cimini adds. Gang Green will need to make multiple moves outside, however. Tarell Basham resides as the top edge rusher on the Jets roster; he registered two sacks last season.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

The Bills may or may not have expressed interest in Melvin Gordon. While 9News’ Mike Klis tweets that the Bills submitted an offer better than the Broncos’ two-year, $16MM proposal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicated Buffalo did not do so (Twitter link). Regardless of whether an offer emerged, Schefter adds (via Twitter) Gordon’s agent did contact the Bills about a deal. The Bills are all set to go with Devin Singletary again; Frank Gore is a free agent.
George Fant‘s three-year, $27.3MM Jets deal essentially doubles as a one-year, $9.25MM investment, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes. If the veteran tackle is still on the Jets’ roster by Day 5 of the 2021 league year, $4.45MM of his $8MM 2021 base salary becomes guaranteed, per OverTheCap. This still represents a nice deal for Fant, whom Mehta adds was only targeting $6MM per year before the Jets swooped in with their offer.
Shaq Lawson signed a three-year, $30MM Dolphins deal. While many teams prefer to backload free agency contracts, the Dolphins set Lawson’s up so he has a $10.3MM 2020 cap number, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. Miami did this in order to lessen Lawson’s 2021 and ’22 cap hits, which OverTheCap lists as $9.3MM (’21) and $10.3MM (’22) figures.

Cowboys, Dontari Poe Discussing Deal

March 23rd, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Sam Robinson

Dontari Poe may have a landing spot soon. The veteran defensive tackle is in discussions with the Cowboys on a deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding that a contract could be finalized by the end of the day.

In their hunt for defensive tackle help, the Cowboys are also examining the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Damon Harrison and Mike Pennel, NFL.com’s Jane Slater adds (on Twitter). The Cowboys lost Maliek Collins in free agency last week but already made a deal to sign Gerald McCoy. A Poe addition would make this a high-profile interior line and make for an interesting reunion for players who spent last season on Carolina’s defensive front.

The Panthers did not pick up Poe’s 2020 option, sending him to free agency. This Cowboys are the first team to surface as interested in the former first-round pick. A Pro Bowler with the Chiefs back in the 2013-14 seasons, Poe played the past two seasons with the Panthers.

The mammoth nose tackle registered four sacks last season — his most since 2014 — but only played in 11 games. He is recovering from quadriceps surgery. Before 2019, however, Poe had never missed more than one game in a season. He’s been one of the league’s most durable defenders since coming into the league.

It appears the Cowboys are serious about upgrading inside. The McCoy deal and the Poe talks come a year after Dallas drafted Trysten Hill in the second round. Poe played five seasons with the Chiefs before catching on with the Falcons in 2017, and his Atlanta season resulted in a three-year Carolina deal worth nearly $30MM. It will not cost the Cowboys that much to bring in Poe.

Redskins Not Expected To Pursue Cam Newton, Jameis Winston

March 23rd, 2020 at 10:33am CST by Sam Robinson

While Dwayne Haskins‘ status is murkier than it would have been had the Redskins retained Bruce Allen, the Ron Rivera regime’s plan does not include giving Cam Newton a chance to reignite his career.

The Redskins have been linked to Tua Tagovailoa at No. 2 overall, but they will not add a high-profile veteran quarterback. Even if the Panthers cut Newton, the Redskins are not expected to be interested, John Keim of ESPN.com notes. The same goes for Jameis Winston, who is now in search of a new team after the Buccaneers landed Tom Brady.

Washington does not want to put Haskins in a position where he would be the clear backup, Keim adds. That would be the case if Newton and Rivera reunited. Each of Newton’s 124 starts came when Rivera was Carolina’s coach.

The Panthers are having trouble finding a trade partner for Newton, which makes sense given the COVID-19 pandemic preventing teams from having their medical personnel examine players with injury concerns. The Panthers are likely to release the former MVP soon. Winston has not been linked to any teams since the Bucs signed Brady.

Haskins finished with by far the worst QBR figure among qualified passers last season. Daniel Snyder, however, pushed for the Ohio State prospect going into the draft. Although Rivera mentioned Alex Smith as a candidate to start in 2020, the odds may still be against the former No. 1 overall pick playing again. Unless the Redskins draft Tagovailoa over Chase Young, Haskins remains the best bet to take the snaps in Week 1.

Panthers, QB P.J. Walker Agree To Deal

March 23rd, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Sam Robinson

After an abbreviated run in the XFL, P.J. Walker drew interest from several NFL teams. But he will reunite with his former coach.

Walker will sign with the Panthers, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The recent Houston Roughnecks standout played for Matt Rhule at Temple. This will mark another NFL opportunity for the former UDFA quarterback, who will receive a $150K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Monday marks the first day NFL teams can sign XFL players. While it is unclear how many will have markets, Walker did well for himself in the rebooted league. He generated interest from the Broncos, Cardinals and Seahawks and will have a chance to become the Panthers’ backup quarterback behind Teddy Bridgewater. Though, this crowds the Panthers’ quarterback group.

Walker, 25, guided the Roughnecks to a 5-0 start. He threw 15 touchdown passes and four interceptions, completing 66% of his passes. The XFL ended its season early because of the COVID-19 pandemic and freed up its players to sign NFL deals. Previously, XFLers could not sign until after the league’s season ended.

Walker was Temple’s starter for four seasons, from 2013-16. Rhule was the Owls’ coach throughout that span. Despite Walker being unable to catch on with an NFL team’s active roster previously, his history with Rhule points to a good shot at sticking around in the league this time. The Panthers, however, still have primary 2019 starter Kyle Allen under contract. They also used a third-round pick on Will Grier last year. The team recently extended Allen and has Grier signed through 2022. Rhule not drafting Grier, however, could play into the team’s plans.

While he was on track to be the XFL’s second MVP, Walker has enjoyed NFL opportunities previously. He bounced on and off the Colts’ practice squad in 2018-19. The Colts cut Walker from their P-squad in September of last year. No other team signed him, but he remade himself into an intriguing commodity during XFL 2.0’s shortened season.

Panthers To Sign LB Tahir Whitehead

March 23rd, 2020 at 10:03am CST by Sam Robinson

Released by the Raiders earlier this month, Tahir Whitehead will have another opportunity to be a starter. The Panthers are signing the free agent linebacker, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

It’s a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Whitehead will receive a $1.45MM signing bonus.

Whitehead played in all 32 games during his two-season Raider tenure and was the team’s runaway tackles leader during its final two Oakland seasons. The Panthers saw Luke Kuechly retire earlier this offseason; Whitehead will be in line to move into the starting lineup alongside Shaq Thompson.

Carolina has lost Kuechly and all-time tackles leader Thomas Davis in consecutive offseasons. The team extended Thompson late last season but has a need for another three-down linebacker. Whitehead saw by far the most snaps among Raiders ‘backers from 2018-19 and was a Lions starter in the years prior.

Whitehead, who will turn 30 next week, has only missed three games in an eight-year career. He has produced four straight 100-plus-tackle seasons, leading the Lions in that department during his final two years in Detroit.

Patriots Showed Interest In Stefon Diggs

March 23rd, 2020 at 9:15am CST by Sam Robinson

During the legal tampering period’s first day, the Patriots were one of the teams to express interest in Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs. The Pats discussed Diggs with the Vikings last Monday, Albert Breer of SI.com notes.

Diggs’ tweet about a change of scenery being on the horizon indeed sparked discussions between the Vikings and Bills, per Breer, but the Pats were involved as well. Their interest, however, cooled because of their decision to use their franchise tag on Joe Thuney, Breer adds, noting that Tom Brady‘s increasingly likely departure made the need for a veteran wideout of Diggs’ caliber make less sense.

New England was doing work on potential wide receiver or tight end trades in the days between the Combine and free agency, but nothing materialized. They have since seen Brady depart for Tampa and Brian Hoyer re-sign. Thuney has signed his tender, dropping the Pats’ cap space below $5MM. The Seahawks were on the Diggs radar as well, but the Vikings opted for the Bills’ offer of first-, fifth- and sixth-round 2020 picks and a 2021 fourth.

The Patriots went through some high-profile receivers in 2019, but both Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown barely contributed to the cause last season. New England has Julian Edelman, going into his age-34 season, and N’Keal Harry as its top 2020 wideouts. Mohamed Sanu and former Panther and Cardinal Damiere Byrd factor in as well.

Bears To Sign LB Barkevious Mingo

March 23rd, 2020 at 8:24am CST by Sam Robinson

Barkevious Mingo is set to suit up for a sixth NFL team. The Bears are adding the well-traveled former first-round pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

The Bears and the veteran edge defender agreed on a one-year, $1.2MM deal, Rapoport tweets. Mingo will receive $900K guaranteed. This will be the former No. 6 overall pick’s fifth team in five seasons.

After acquiring him in the Jadeveon Clowney trade last season, the Texans deployed Mingo on just 7% of their defensive snaps. He saw action on 74% of Houston’s special teams snaps, however. While Mingo’s defensive usage has fluctuated since the Browns traded him to the Patriots in 2016, he has been a key special-teamer for most of his career.

The LSU product did not pan out as a pass rusher, topping out at two sacks in a season since a five-sack rookie slate with the 2013 Browns. But he’s consistently found work. Mingo has been twice traded; this marks his third free agency agreement.

He signed with the Colts in 2017 and the Seahawks in 2018. The Bears are adding him at a cheaper rate than the Seahawks did, however. That 2018 Seattle pact was a two-year, $6.8MM deal. Mingo will reunite with Bears DC Chuck Pagano and provides some depth behind Khalil Mack and the recently acquired Robert Quinn.