HEADLINES

Month: March 2020

Bengals Sign Xavier Su’a-Filo

March 18th, 2020 at 3:38pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Bengals have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $10MM with guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, according to Ben Baby of ESPN. Filo has spent the previous two seasons with the Cowboys. Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that he is expected to replace John Miller at right guard.

In 2014, the Texans selected Su’a-Filo with the first pick in the second round of the draft out of UCLA with the hope he would become a long-term option at guard. While he served as the team’s starter at left guard from 2015-2017, Su’a-Filo never seemed to reach the upper echelon of players at his position.

Following his tenure in Houston, Dallas signed him to a two-year contract where he served as a rotational guard, starting 12 of the 19 games he appeared in. The Bengals have been uncommonly aggressive this free-agency cycle and it appears they added another player they plan to slot into their starting lineup.

Dolphins To Sign Elandon Roberts

March 18th, 2020 at 3:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have agreed to sign former Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts, according to a source who spoke with Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Before this, Roberts spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Patriots. He’s appeared in 60 games for them and started in more than half of those contests. Last year, however, he was only called upon for three starts.

Playing mostly as an inside linebacker, Roberts has tallied 206 total stops since 2016. The former sixth-round pick is just the latest Patriots player to leave in free agency this week. The list, which figures to grow, already includes:

Saints Restructure Contracts Of Michael Thomas, Terron Armstead

March 18th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are clearing up some cap space. New Orleans has restructured the contracts of receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Terron Armstead, a source told Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link).

Underhill adds that they haven’t restructured Janoris Jenkins‘ deal yet, but that it’s a possibility moving forward. The Saints are clearly going all in on 2020 and one or two last rides with Drew Brees, and they’re trying to maximize this window. We just heard that almost all of the money going to Brees this year is a signing bonus in order to reduce his 2020 cap hit, and now they’re getting even more flexibility.

It’s unclear exactly what financial tweaks were made to Thomas and Armstead’s deals, although it’s likely they just had 2020 salary converted to signing bonus money to spread out the cap hits over the duration of their respective contracts. Thomas signed a massive five-year, $100MM extension last July that made him the highest-paid receiver of all time.

The record-breaking wideout is under contract through the 2024 season, and will be in New Orleans long after Brees finally hangs up his cleats. Armstead signed a five-year, $65MM extension back in 2016, and is signed through the 2021 campaign. He had $10.2MM in salary converted to a signing bonus in November of 2018 to create the cap space to sign Dez Bryant.

The Saints added another veteran player earlier today in safety Malcolm Jenkins, giving them more ammo for their 2020 run. With Tom Brady now in the division, the NFC South is about to get a lot tougher.

Chris Harris To Sign With Chargers

March 18th, 2020 at 3:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another key domino will fall, and the Chargers now have another key commitment from a veteran. Chris Harris will sign with the Bolts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. 

The Harris sweepstakes included numerous teams. The Eagles and Saints joined the fray later in the process, but Harris will defect from his nine-year post as one of the Broncos’ best players to join another AFC West team. Harris follows the likes of Trai Turner, Bryan Bulaga and Linval Joseph as experienced cogs headed to Los Angeles.

The path for Harris to join the Chargers was cleared earlier today when the team decided to roll with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback and put their cash elsewhere. Harris is set to earn $20MM over two years, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.

Harris, 31 in June, has spent all nine of his NFL seasons to date with the Broncos. In the past, the Broncos have made an effort to keep him, though their offer of a $12MM/year deal before the 2019 trade deadline fell short. Reportedly, that offer included only one guaranteed season. Even though he didn’t play up to his usual standards in 2019, Harris set out to find something better.

“I didn’t really do what I’ve done in the past,” Harris said recently. “I (previously) played everywhere on the field on the defensive side, getting everybody lined up, telling them what’s about to happen and things like that. But when really, when you just have me at corner, I’m just playing corner. I’m not doing everything that I’m doing on the football field.”

The Chargers weren’t the AFC West rival to chase Harris. The Raiders also made a play for him, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears (via Twitter), but he did not want to play for them.

Redskins To Sign Sean Davis

March 18th, 2020 at 2:53pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Redskins continue to add to their defense. Washington has agreed to terms with linebackers Thomas Davis and Kevin Pierre-Louis as well as cornerback Kendall Fuller over the past couple of days, and now they’re adding a safety.

The ‘Skins will sign Sean Davis to a one-year deal worth $5MM, his agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Washington coach Ron Rivera is a defensive-minded coach, so it’s not a surprise that he’s making revamping that side of the ball a priority.

The Steelers drafted Davis 58th overall in 2016, and he became a solid starter for the team. He started 31 games from 2017-18, racking up 172 tackles, 15 passes defended, and four interceptions in those two years. Unfortunately his 2019 campaign was ended after just one game due to a serious shoulder injury.

Davis played closer to the line of scrimmage his first couple of years in the league, but moved to free safety in 2018. The Redskins have had a lot of talent on paper on defense the past couple of years, but it never really materialized. They’re hoping that with Rivera and new DC Jack Del Rio’s presence, as well as these additions, the unit can finally take a big step forward.

Jets Interested In Vinny Curry

March 18th, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have “significant interest” in signing Vinny Curry, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). The Eagles free agent defensive end has history with GM Joe Douglas, who knows how effective Curry can be. 

[RELATED: Latest On Jets, Trent Williams]

Curry spent his entire career with the Eagles, up until 2018 when he signed a three-year deal with the Bucs. That pact turned into a one-year arrangement when Tampa dropped him before the 2019 season. The Eagles brought him back in the fold last March, when Douglas was still with the organization. While on the market last year, Curry picked up interest from a number of teams, including the Giants. Now, he might join New Jersey’s other football club.

Last year, Curry did well as a situational pass rusher for the Eagles. Playing in all 16 regular season games, Curry notched five sacks and 27 total tackles. Four of those sacks came after Week 12, helping him to finish with one of the highest pressure rates in the league among edge rushers.

Curry might not be a game changer, but the Jets will take their Ws where they can. Thus far in free agency, they’ve missed on several of their top targets.

Latest On Chris Harris Market

March 18th, 2020 at 2:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

A recent report indicated as many as 10 teams were interested in longtime Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, but not much has emerged on this front since the legal tampering period began. But this market may soon accelerate.

Despite having been mentioned as a Harris suitor before last year’s trade deadline and early this offseason, the Eagles were not included among the teams with reported interest entering free agency. That appears to have changed, with Troy Renck of Denver7 reporting (via Twitter) the Eagles are indeed pursuing the four-time Pro Bowler.

So are the Chargers, Renck adds, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets the Jets are in the mix as well. Both were mentioned in the previous group of Harris suitors. The Saints, however, were not. But they are now interested, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

The Eagles were mentioned as a Byron Jones suitor, but they watched him choose the Dolphins and a cornerback-record contract. It almost certainly will not take a $17MM-per-year deal to land Harris, who is entering his age-31 season. But given the elite slot work he has delivered for most of his career and his ability to be a high-end boundary corner as well, Harris will not come cheap.

Philadelphia re-signed Jalen Mills but plans to move him to safety. Ronald Darby is a free agent. The Eagles have struggled to find reliable cornerback play for years. Harris has been one of this era’s most reliable cover men, and with Jones and James Bradberry now off the market, this will be a key domino to fall.

The Bolts and Jets each reside in the top 10 in current cap space, each holding nearly $40MM as the official start of free agency looms in minutes. While the Chargers still have Casey Hayward and Desmond King under contract, the Jets possess a greater need after having also been linked to Jones and Bradberry. Gang Green did, however, re-signed Brian Poole. With Harris’ best work coming in the slot, the Jets’ Poole retention may impede them in a Harris pursuit.

New Orleans has well-paid veteran Janoris Jenkins on its payroll, with Marshon Lattimore now extension-eligible, and is up against the cap. The Saints would seemingly have to pitch their roster talent to Harris, who has voiced a desire to return to a winning situation but also to be paid what he’s worth after he took a Broncos-friendly deal late in 2014.

DeAndre Hopkins Requested $18MM-$20MM/Year Extension From Texans

March 18th, 2020 at 2:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Unsurprisingly, it sounds like financials were the motivation for the DeAndre Hopkins trade.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweets that Hopkins’ camp approached the Texans and requested an extension that would have paid the receiver around $18MM to $20MM per season. Hopkins’ reps also indicated that the wideout would hold out if he wasn’t given a new deal.

We heard similar rumblings earlier this week, with the Texans recognizing that they would have had to renegotiate Hopkins’ contract at some point. Meanwhile, the front office was more focused on securing new deals for Deshaun Watson and offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil,

Ultimately, the Texans traded Hopkins and a fourth-round pick to Arizona for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-rounder and a 2021 fourth-rounder.

Hopkins signed a five-year, $81MM extension in 2017, and he’s set to make just $12.5MM in 2020. The Cardinals were presumably aware of these financial concerns when making the trade, so it wouldn’t be shocking if Hopkins has a new deal before the start of the regular season.

Raiders Agree To Terms With CB Eli Apple

March 18th, 2020 at 2:29pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Raiders continue to spend money revamping their defense. Las Vegas has agreed to terms with free agent cornerback Eli Apple, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets.

Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have been handing out big contracts left and right to defenders, already signing defensive end Carl Nassib, linebacker Cory Littleton, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and safety Jeff Heath. We also heard that the Raiders offered more money for corner Byron Jones than the Dolphins did before Miami signed him to his record-breaking contract, so they’ve certainly been bold.

The Raiders have been low on talent on that side of the ball during Gruden’s first two years back coaching the team, but this flurry of activity is still wild. They’ve now essentially added a player at every defensive position, and Paul Guenther’s unit is going to look entirely different when they take the field at their new stadium for the first time.

Apple was drafted tenth overall by the Giants back in 2016, and things didn’t go smoothly in New York. Although he flashed talent his tenure there was strained from the start, and he frequently clashed with teammates and coaches over a perceived lack of effort on his end. Eventually he was traded to the Saints for fourth and seventh-round picks midway through the 2018 campaign.

The change of scenery seemed to do him some good, and he developed into a somewhat consistent starter opposite Marshon Lattimore in New Orleans. Apple was only 20 when he was drafted and is still only 24, so he should have more room to grow. He’ll now be a key piece of a very young and intriguing Raiders secondary that includes last year’s early picks Trayvon Mullen and Johnathan Abram.

Rams To Re-Sign Austin Blythe

March 18th, 2020 at 2:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Rams have seen a mass exodus of players on defense in recent days, but they’re keeping a crucial offensive piece around. The team has agreed to terms on a new one-year deal with interior lineman Austin Blythe, they announced in a release.

Blythe provides some nice versatility for the Rams, as he has started at both guard and center over the last couple of seasons. Originally a seventh-round pick of the Colts in 2016, Blythe got the axe after just one year in Indianapolis. The Rams quickly scooped him off waivers, and he’s turned into a nice find for general manager Les Snead. After serving as a reserve in 2017, Blythe started all 16 games the following year.

Jamon Brown was suspended for the first two games of 2018 so Blythe took over his starting spot at right guard, and played well enough to keep the gig even after Brown returned. He missed one game this past season with an ankle injury, but started the other 15. He started last year at guard but moved to center when Brian Allen went down with an injury. Terms of his new deal weren’t immediately available.

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