2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Colts Release CB Pierre Desir

March 21st, 2020 at 11:11am CST by Ben Levine

The Colts have let go of one of their starting cornerbacks. The team is releasing Pierre Desir, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).

The defensive back was set to make $7MM in 2020, but the Colts released him with zero dead money (per Rapoport).

The 2014 fourth-rounder bounced around the NFL a bit during his first few years in the NFL. He eventually found a home in Indy, where he’s spent the past three seasons. After establishing a number of career-highs in 2018 (including 12 starts), the Colt signed Desir to a three-year, $22.5MM extension ($12MM guaranteed) last year.

The 29-year-old proceeded to appear in 12 games (11 starts) during the 2019 campaign. He finished the season with 50 tackles, 11 passes defended, and a career-high three interceptions.

Ravens Resume Talks With LB Patrick Onwuasor

March 21st, 2020 at 10:55am CST by Ben Levine

If the Ravens have their way, Patrick Onwuasor will be back in Baltimore next season. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets that the organization has resumed talks with the linebacker.

As the reporter notes, it appeared that Onwuasor was “was ready for change of scenery last year.” The linebacker saw reduced playing time as the season went on, culminating in a “heated conversation” with head coach John Harbaugh during a December practice (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com).

Still, it’s not surprising that the organization values Onwuasor’s familiarity with the defense. The 27-year-old has spent his entire four-year career with the Ravens, and he combined for 25 starts between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Onwuasor was slapped with a second-round restricted free agent tender last offseason, but he was limited to only six starts in 14 games. He ultimately finished the season having compiled 64 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble.

Vikings DE Danielle Hunter Reworks Contract

March 21st, 2020 at 10:37am CST by Ben Levine

10:38am: The Vikings converted $8MM of Hunter’s $10.9MM salary into a signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin (via Twitter). The pass-rushers $14.5MM cap hit has been reduced to $9MM.

8:33am: Danielle Hunter has reworked his contract. The NFL’s transactions page listed the defensive end as having “signed, renegotiated contract,” per Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com.

It’s unclear how Hunter’s contract has changed. Tomasson notes that $10.4MM of Hunter’s $10.9MM 2020 base salary was set to become fully-guaranteed on Friday. The Vikings have been scrambling around for some extra cap space, and restructuring contracts is one natural solution.

The 2015 third-round pick has emerged into one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods during his five years with Minnesota. That includes a 2019 campaign where Hunter compiled 70 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and 14.5 sacks – the second-straight season that he’s finished with that many sacks.

The Vikings’ cap problems may have played a role in their breakup with Everson Griffen. Yesterday, the player’s agent said they’ve “broken off talks with Minnesota because they have to spend their money elsewhere.”

Contract Details: Mayo, Patriots, Bailey

March 21st, 2020 at 9:21am CST by Ben Levine

A handful of contract details to pass along:

LB David Mayo, Giants: three-year extension. $8.4MM deal, including $3.5MM guaranteed. Salaries: $1.5MM guaranteed (2020), $2.25MM (2021), $2.5MM (2022). Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
WR Damiere Byrd, Patriots: one year, $2.5MM. $1MM base salary, $350K signing bonus, $900K in receptions incentives. Via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter.
S Adrian Phillips, Patriots: two years. Deal worth up to $7.5MM, $3MM guaranteed, $1.5MM signing bonus. Can earn up to $4MM in 2020. Via Yates on Twitter.
K Dan Bailey, Vikings: re-signed. Three-year deal worth up to $12MM. $5MM guaranteed, $3.15MM signing bonus. Via Yates on Twitter.
OL Joe Looney, Cowboys: signed. One-year, $2.4375MM deal. As Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets, one of the new CBA’s veteran benefits is that the deal will count $1.25MM less on the cap than it would have last season.
OT Shon Coleman, 49ers: one-year extension. Worth $962.5K, including $825K base salary and $137.5K signing bonus. Via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner on Twitter.
DB Jaylen Watkins, Texans: signed. Two-year deal worth $3MM, per Wilson.
OT Roderick Johnson, Texans: re-signed. One-year deal worth $1.75MM, per Wilson.

Saints To Sign Emmanuel Sanders

March 20th, 2020 at 9:16pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are making a big move. New Orleans has agreed to sign free agent Emmanuel Sanders to a two-year deal, the receiver told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal has a base value of $16MM and can be worth up to $19MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The receiver market has been slow to develop outside of a couple of signings, and this could help get the ball rolling. We heard last week that the 49ers were hoping Sanders would have a poor market so they could re-sign him cheaply, but obviously that didn’t happen. Even after they re-signed Amari Cooper, we heard that Dallas was interested in adding Sanders.

The Jets were also interested in reuniting Sanders with Adam Gase, a source told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link), so it sounds like his market ended up being relatively strong. Schefter also tweeted that he spoke with the Packers as well. It’s a nice pickup for the Saints, who struggled for consistent options behind Michael Thomas last season. Thomas was obviously setting records, but Drew Brees was often throwing to a rotating cast of formerly undrafted guys beyond him.

They now have a consistent number two option, even though Sanders is getting up there in age. The SMU product turned 33 earlier this week, but he remained productive last year. Playing in 17 regular season games because of a mid-season trade from the Broncos to San Francisco, Sanders had 66 receptions for 869 yards and five touchdowns.

He had a couple of huge blowup games with the 49ers, but overall didn’t seem to have the best connection with Jimmy Garoppolo. Sanders put up some gaudy numbers with Peyton Manning, and won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos. He tore his Achilles late in the 2018 season which many thought would slow him down physically, but he bounced back admirably well.

The Saints are going all in on one last championship run with Brees, so this move makes a lot of sense and shores up one of their few weaknesses. With Sanders off the market, Robby Anderson is probably the top receiver still available. Guys like Breshad Perriman, Phillip Dorsett, Devin Funchess, and Nelson Agholor are also left.

Seahawks, Cardinals, Broncos Interested In XFL QB P.J. Walker

March 20th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The second incarnation of the XFL didn’t make it a full season due to COVID-19, but before that things had been going surprisingly well. Things were much smoother than in the ill-fated AAF, and some players are already starting to reap the benefits.

The Seahawks, Cardinals, and Broncos have all reached out to the Houston Roughnecks to express interest in their quarterback P.J. Walker, a source told Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). XFL players are allowed to sign with the NFL starting Monday morning, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com tweets, and it sounds like Walker could get scooped up pretty quickly.

The Temple product signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and spent most the next three years on their practice squad. Walker became one of the first stars of Vince McMahon’s upstart league, as he led the Roughnecks to a perfect 5-0 start before the rest of the season was cancelled.

In those five games Walker had 1,338 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories. Now we see why Indianapolis kept bringing him back each offseason. All three of the interested teams won’t be looking at Walker as anything more than a backup, but he could make for a good reserve option as all three have similarly athletic and mobile starters.

Vikings To Re-Sign Rashod Hill

March 20th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Swing tackles are flying off the board left and right. Just moments after Brent Qvale was swooped up by the Texans, we’ve got word that Rashod Hill will be returning to the Vikings, via his agent Brett Tessler on Twitter. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available.

In his tweet, Tessler notes that Hill had other offers but opted to return to Minnesota. Hill originally signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and was signed by the Vikes off Jacksonville’s practice squad later that year. He then started seven games in 2017, and entered 2018 as Minnesota’s starting right tackle. He briefly shifted to left tackle for an injured Riley Reiff, and promptly got his job at right tackle taken by a rookie Brian O’Neill.

After getting demoted Hill then spent last year as the team’s swing tackle. The Southern Miss product turned 28 in January. There’s been some speculation that the Vikings could move on from Reiff this offseason, in which case O’Neill would likely switch to left tackle and Hill could possibly regain a starting job. It’s also likely Minnesota would draft a new tackle in that scenario.

Texans To Sign Brent Qvale

March 20th, 2020 at 7:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Another offensive lineman is off the board. The Texans are signing offensive tackle Brent Qvale, a source told Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). It’s a one-year pact Berman added in a follow-up tweet, although the finances weren’t immediately available.

The Texans don’t have a ton of cap space, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle had tweeted yesterday that they were taking a look at swing tackles they could get on a budget. It appears they’ve now found their man. Qvale signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, and spent the past six seasons in New York. He was placed on injured reserve at the start of last season but was activated late in the year, appearing in three games and starting one.

He operated as the Jets’ swing tackle for a while, and started 11 games between 2016 and 2017. Houston will enter 2020 with Laremy Tunsil as their left tackle and Tytus Howard as their right tackle.

Latest On Yannick Ngakoue

March 20th, 2020 at 6:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve already seen a few splash trades go down since the new league year began, and the next one many people have been talking about is the Jaguars’ Yannick Ngakoue. The defensive end has stated publicly that he doesn’t want to be in Jacksonville, so when the Jags franchise-tagged him anyway, many assumed it was the precursor to a tag-and-trade.

But while there’s been a ton of speculation, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that there’s nothing brewing on the trade front right now, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com (Twitter link). The fact that there’s no traction could have something to do with what Jacksonville is looking for. People around the league believe the Jaguars are looking for a compensation that “began with a first-round pick,” sources told Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The Jags’ demands make sense given Ngakoue’s consistent production and the fact that he’s only 24, but it also makes sense why teams would be reluctant to part with a first-round pick considering he isn’t quite considered to be among the league’s true top-tier outside rushers. The Eagles are one team that’s been linked to some pass-rushers, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that they have “a lot of interest” in Ngakoue.

Any team that trades for Ngakoue will likely immediately try to sign him to an extension, so it sounds like they’ll have to give up an early pick and dish out a big payday. The Maryland product was drafted 69th overall back in 2016. He’s had at least eight sacks in each of his four pro seasons, and made the Pro Bowl in 2017 when he had 12.5.

He’s also had at least four forced fumbles in three of those seasons, and led the league with six in 2017. Right now he’s in a bit of a stalemate with the Jaguars, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more.

Panthers To Sign Seth DeValve

March 20th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers are adding another weapon for new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Carolina is signing tight end Seth DeValve, his agent Chris Cabott told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

DeValve was drafted by the Browns in the fourth-round back in 2016, and spent his first three years in Cleveland. He was a big part of the Browns’ offense in 2017, catching 33 passes for 395 yards while operating as their top tight end for much of the year. He fell out of favor the following season, and was cut before last year before getting claimed by the Jaguars.

He played the most snaps of any tight end in Jacksonville last year, but caught only 12 passes for 140 yards as they never emphasized the position. The Princeton product could help fill a void for Carolina, as longtime tight end Greg Olsen signed with the Seahawks earlier this offseason. As of right now DeValve will compete for playing time with 2018 fourth-round pick Ian Thomas.