2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Rams To Re-Sign Andrew Whitworth

March 18th, 2020 at 5:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams are set to re-sign Andrew Whitworth on a three-year deal, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. At the age of 38, the new contract should allow him to play out the rest of his career in L.A.

In the buildup to free agency, the Rams have been consistently confident about their odds of keeping the veteran.

“I think we’re pretty confident. I think you feel pretty good about it,” head coach Sean McVay said recently. “He still played a really high level last year. His impact isn’t exclusive to just playing the left tackle position. He does a lot of really good things in terms of the mentorship that he provides. … He’s a part of the plan and definitely want to try to get him back.”

Whitworth’s deal is believed to be for more than $10MM per year, Pelissero reports (on Twitter). In fact, it’s the most lucrative deal for a non-quarterback over 35 in NFL history, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting Whitworth agreed to a three-year, $30MM pact. This accord comes with $12.5MM fully guaranteed. This comes in slightly off his 2017 Rams contract — three years, $36MM — but it’s nonetheless impressive for a 38-year-old non-QB.

Whitworth played for the first eleven seasons of his career with the Bengals. Over his time in Cincinnati, Whitworth earned a reputation as one of the best-left tackles in football. Furthermore, he rarely missed a game. From 2009-2016, Whitworth started all but 2 games for the Bengals.

After joining Los Angeles three seasons ago, Whitworth has maintained his good health (missing just 1 game), but his play has begun to tail off. While he still graded out as an above-average tackle, per Pro Football Focus, and received the 28th highest grade of 81 qualified players, Whitworth received the lowest grade since his rookie season.

Saints To Sign Malcolm Jenkins

March 18th, 2020 at 5:06pm CST by Zachary Links

It didn’t take long for Malcolm Jenkins to find work. The former Eagles safety is on the cusp of a deal with the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. Jenkins agreed to terms, and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets it’s a four-year, $32MM deal with $16.5MM fully guaranteed.

It’s a homecoming for Jenkins, who entered the league as a first-round pick of the Saints back in 2009. Now 32, Jenkins could finish his career with Sean Payton & Co. Last year, Payton expressed regret about letting Jenkins get away in the first place.

“Probably one of the bigger mistakes that we’ve made, and you have to ask yourself how did that happen? Letting him out of the building certainly wasn’t a smart decision,” said Payton (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).

They replaced Jenkins with Jairus Byrd in 2014, handing him a six-year, $56MM deal with $28MM in guarantees. In 2016, Byrd lost his footing in the starting lineup. In 2017, they released him outright.

Between his first five years in New Orleans and his last six in Philly, Jenkins offers eleven years of high-caliber play on his resume. Along the way, he’s collected three Pro Bowl nods and two Super Bowl rings, one with each team.

This likely means the end of the line for Vonn Bell in New Orleans. The free agent safety who the Saints drafted 61st overall back in 2016 is likely to walk now, and we’ve heard that NFC South rival Carolina is interested in his services. Considering the Panthers just cut loose Eric Reid, that would make a lot of sense.

Jenkins has been a leader of the Eagles’ defense and in the locker room, and he will be a nice veteran presence as the Saints gear up for one more Super Bowl run with Drew Brees. He’s remained reliable even at his somewhat advanced age, starting all 16 games in each of his six seasons with Philly.

Patriots Sign DT Beau Allen

March 18th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Ben Levine

The Buccaneers famously poached Tom Brady from New England, and now the Patriots are striking back… kind of. SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that the Patriots are signing defensive tackle Beau Allen. It’s a two-year deal worth $8MM.

The 2014 seventh-rounder spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles, and he compiled a pair of tackles in Philly’s Super Bowl victory over (you guessed it) the Patriots.

He joined Tampa Bay prior to the 2018 campaign, and he started eight of his 14 games that season, finishing with 20 tackles. After reworking his contract last offseason to remove the third year from his deal, Allen took on a lesser role. He finished the season with 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks in 13 games.

Cowboys Re-Sign CB Anthony Brown

March 18th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Anthony Brown is returning to Dallas. The Cowboys are re-signing the cornerback, reports ESPN’s Todd Archer. It’s a three-year, $15.5MM deal for the 26-year-old, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The 2016 sixth-round pick has spent his entire career with the Cowboys, and he started 29 total games for the organization between the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Brown was limited to only nine games in 2019 thanks to a triceps injury. He finished the campaign having compiled 17 tackles and five passes defended.

As Archer notes, Brown’s versatility means he could take on a bigger role with the Cowboys next season, especially with Byron Jones out of the picture. On the flip side, the reporter cautions that this transaction won’t stop the organization from pursuing a cornerback in the draft.

Dallas Adds CB Maurice Canady

March 18th, 2020 at 4:30pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports that the Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with cornerback Maurice Canady. A four-year veteran, Canady has spent the majority of his career in Baltimore but finished last season with the Jets.

Obviously the Cowboys lost their number one corner, Byron Jones, earlier this offseason and while no one will confuse Canady for a Pro Bowler, the 25-year old adds some young depth to a defensive backfield that will need to be deeper than in previous seasons.

Canady appeared in 13 games last season between the Ravens and Jets. He made 3 starts, accrued 46 tackles, grabbed 1 interception, and earned a 73.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Seahawks To Bring Back DE Bruce Irvin

March 18th, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

After four seasons away from Seattle, Bruce Irvin is set to return to the team that drafted him. The Seahawks and Irvin agreed to terms on Wednesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

A 2010 first-round Seahawks pick, the veteran defensive end has ventured to the Raiders, Falcons and Panthers in the years since. Now 32, he will come back to the Pacific Northwest.

The veteran linebacker joined the Panthers last offseason, and he proceeded to start 12 of his 13 games. Despite playing in his fewest number of regular season games since 2013, Irvin still finished the campaign with a career-high 8.5 sacks. He also added 36 tackles and one forced fumble.

This signing probably doesn’t take Seattle out of the running for Jadeveon Clowney. We learned earlier today that the pass rusher has been disappointed by his market. The Seahawks have made an effort to keep him and the feeling is that their offer could be the best he gets.

Cardinals To Sign LB Devon Kennard

March 18th, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have a deal in place with linebacker Devon Kennard, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Kennard, who was just let go by the Lions, will ink a three-year, $20MM deal with Arizona, which includes $12MM in guarantees, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (on Twitter).

The Lions flip-flopped on Kennard’s release briefly yesterday, pausing to scan the league for trade possibilities. Unable to find a deal, they released him outright, which opened the door for the Cardinals.

Kennard has been a solid producer over the last two seasons in Detroit. In 31 games (30 starts), Kennard recorded 104 tackles, 29 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. The Cardinals will hope he maintains that level of production in Phoenix.

One cause for concern, which likely played into why Detroit was unable to find a trading partner for the edge rusher, is more advanced analytical tools were not fond of Kennard’s abilities as a pass rusher. In fact, while he has graded as a solid defender against the run in every season since 2015, his pass rush grade has never been considered average during the same time.

Vikings Release Josh Kline

March 18th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have released right guard Josh Kline, according to a club announcement. The move will save the Vikes $1.57MM against the cap while leaving $4.46MM in dead money.

Kline joined the Vikings on a three-year, $15.5MM deal in 2019, with $7.25MM of that sum guaranteed. He went on to play 71.7% of the team’s regular season snaps across 13 games, missing the other three due to injuries. This season also marked the end of his consecutive starts streak – he tallied 51, up until he missed Week 4 against the Bears.

Kline, who has also spent time with the Titans and Patriots, will likely find work elsewhere at a lesser rate.

Cowboys To Re-Sign Kai Forbath

March 18th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cowboys are keeping things steady at kicker. The team is re-signing Kai Forbath, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

We heard on Monday that Dallas was interested in bringing back Forbath, but that they were also exploring reuniting free agent kicker Greg Zuerlein with their new special teams coordinator John Fassel. It’s unclear if that pursuit didn’t work out because Zuerlein will be headed back to the Rams or elsewhere, or if they simply decided to go with Forbath.

The journeyman kicker spent three games with the Cowboys down the stretch, making all ten of his field goal attempts and all ten of his extra points. Dallas got rid of their longtime kicker Dan Bailey two seasons ago to go with Brett Maher, but Maher struggled mightily last year. Eventually they cut Maher after a couple of meltdowns and went with Forbath, who also kicked for the Patriots in two games last year.

Steelers Release Roosevelt Nix

March 18th, 2020 at 3:45pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Steelers are getting rid of a stalwart of the past handful of years. Pittsburgh has released fullback Roosevelt Nix, they announced in a release.

Nix appeared in only three games this past season due to injury, but before that had operated as their fullback for the previous four seasons. In 2017 he played more than 16 percent of the offensive snaps, and made the Pro Bowl. His offensive snaps were reduced in 2018, but he continued to play a key role on special teams. Before the start of last year, he was voted a special teams captain by his teammates.

A Kent State product, he originally signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2014 but failed to stick. He then latched on with the Steelers and made the team. He eventually earned a four-year, $6.975MM extension after the 2017 season, although he’ll end up only having made it through half of that pact.