2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys To Decline Cameron Fleming’s Option

March 17th, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The offensive tackle market is getting a new name. The Cowboys are not picking up Cameron Fleming‘s option so he’ll be hitting free agency, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Fleming signed a two-year deal worth up to $8.5MM last offseason. He operated as the team’s swing tackle behind Tyron Smith and La’el Collins last year. He started three games this past season as Smith was sidelined briefly by injury. A fourth-round pick of the Patriots back in 2014, he seemingly always started a few games per year. From 2014-17 with New England, he started 15 times.

He won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, and started in their Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles. He’s still only 27 and has plenty of big-game starting experience, so he should draw some interest on the open market. The top tackles like Jack Conklin, Ricky Wagner, and Bryan Bulaga are all off the market, so the secondary options should start going soon.

Cowboys Re-Sign Darian Thompson

March 17th, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Cowboys have retained safety Darian Thompson, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. After losing safety Jeff Heath to the Raiders earlier today, the team has maintained some continuity at the position.

A third-round pick in the 2016 draft by the Giants, Thompson started all 16 games of his second professional season in New York, but mediocre play and an injury led to his release in just his third season. The Cowboys soon picked him up and he appeared in 10 games at the close of 2018, but failed to record any statistics.

In his first full season in Dallas, Thompson made 4 starts but appeared in the Cowboys defensive backfield in 15 games throughout the season. Thompson recorded 45 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1.5 sacks, and received the 61st highest grade for a safety of the 86 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus.

Giants Re-Sign WR/ST Cody Core

March 17th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants continue to make moves. New York is re-signing receiver Cody Core, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

As Pelissero points out he’s primarily a special teams player, and is regarded as a key coverage unit guy. New Giants coach Joe Judge is a Bill Belichick disciple, so it’s not surprising that he values his unheralded special teamers. Core was drafted by the Bengals in the sixth-round back in 2016, and spent his first three years in Cincy. Let go at final cuts last year, he was promptly claimed off waivers by the Giants.

He caught only three passes for 28 yards this past year, but appeared in all 16 games and played 62 percent of the special teams snaps. In his last year in Cincinnati in 2018 he caught 13 passes for 160 yards and as a rookie he had 200 yards in only eight games, so the Ole Miss product has shown at least something as a receiver.

Steelers To Sign FB Derek Watt

March 17th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the three Watt brothers will now play for the Steelers. Fullback Derek Watt agreed to terms with Pittsburgh, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

A four-year Chargers contributor, the middle Watt brother will join T.J. Watt on the Steelers. This deal will pay Derek Watt $3.25MM per year, per Rapoport (on Twitter). T.J. is currently set to make $1.7MM this season. With the Steelers a lock to pick up T.J. Watt’s fifth-year option, it is certainly possible the two-time Pro Bowler will make less than the least accomplished of the NFL Watts this season.

Derek, 27, was a sixth-round Bolts pick in 2016 and has played special teams as well in his NFL career. Derek Watt, 27, played 123 snaps at fullback for the Bolts last season. While he only has 29 career touches, the Wisconsin product will likely be asked to play a key role on Pittsburgh’s special teams units.

The Watts will join another two-thirds brother tandem on the Steelers. The Edmundses — Terrell and Trey — are under contract with Pittsburgh for the 2020 season.

Raiders To Sign Jeff Heath

March 17th, 2020 at 4:28pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Cowboys safety Jeff Heath becomes the third member of America’s team to depart for the Raiders organization today. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that Heath agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $8MM to join the Raiders in their inaugural season in Las Vegas.

Heath has spent his entire seven-year career in Dallas since joining the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Saginaw Valley State. Primarily a special teamer for much of his tenure, Heath became a starting defensive back over the previous three seasons. In his career, Heath has appeared in 106 games (54 starts) and made 346 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 8 interceptions, and 5 forced fumbles.

Raiders starting strong safety Karl Joseph remains a free agent and so Heath appears well-positioned to at least have a chance to compete for a starting spot in Sin City.

Giants To Sign LB Kyler Fackrell

March 17th, 2020 at 4:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants’ revamping of their defense continues. New York is signing former Packers linebacker Kyler Fackrell to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

He’ll get $4.6MM for the 2020 season. The Giants have been so active that this is actually the second former Green Bay linebacker that they’ve signed, after they recently gave Blake Martinez three years and $30MM. They also signed cornerback James Bradberry to a huge three-year, $45MM pact. Fackrell is obviously a lesser name, but it’s still a notable signing. New York’s aggressiveness on this side of the ball isn’t a surprise given how disappointing their defense was last year.

They’re entering a new era of football with Joe Judge, and the team is going to look a lot different in 2020. Fackrell was drafted in the third-round by the Packers back in 2016. He didn’t play a ton as a rookie but his role grew slowly, and he busted onto the scene in 2018. That year he came out of nowhere to rack up 10.5 sacks while starting seven games.

He took a big step back this past season with only one sack while playing about 40 percent of the defensive snaps, but his flashes of potential were enough for the Giants to take a low-risk flyer.

Broncos Interested In Kevin Johnson

March 17th, 2020 at 4:20pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Broncos are targetting free agent slot cornerbacks in free agency with a particular focus on Kevin Johnson, according to Mike Klis of 9News. Denver has remained quiet on the defensive side of the ball thus far in free agency.

Johnson was a key part of the Bills strong defense this past season. Serving as the team’s slot corner, Johnson graded as the 23rd best corner (out of 113 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus, last season. Johnson previously played with the Texans from 2015-18.

Denver’s top cornerback, Chris Harris, remains a free agent himself. It will be worth watching whether Johnson is viewed as a fallback to failing to retain Harris or if the organization views Johnson (or another corner) as an upgrade.

Bengals To Sign CB Trae Waynes

March 17th, 2020 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Minutes after losing Darqueze Dennard, the Bengals will add another former first-round cornerback. They have agreed to a deal with longtime Vikings defender Trae Waynes, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (via Twitter).

The Bengals will pay big money to land him as well, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reporting (via Twitter) this is a three-year, $42MM deal. The $14MM-AAV contract will pay out $20MM in Year 1 and net Waynes $31MM after the 2021 season, per Pelissero. This puts Waynes among the top-10 highest-paid cornerbacks.

Waynes was a regular starter with Minnesota over the past three seasons and joins Xavier Rhodes among Vikings corners set to play elsewhere in 2020. Waynes will join another team that has valued corners extensively. The Bengals, despite losing Dennard, still roster ex-first-rounders Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson.

While Waynes has topped out at an above-average level, never grading above 70.0 on Pro Football Focus’ scale in five seasons (but never grading below 63.0), this still represents significant deviation for the Bengals. They just signed D.J. Reader to an eight-figure-per-year deal. He and Waynes double as the conservative franchise’s most notable outside free agent investments in many years.

The Vikings selected Waynes in the 2015 first round and used him as a starter in 53 games. Over the past few days, the Vikings have moved on from several members of the core they spent years assembling. Rhodes, Linval Joseph and Stefon Diggs are gone. Everson Griffen is a free agent. Minnesota has done some retooling this week and will need to add reinforcements at corner with two of their primary cover men out of the picture.

Thomas Davis, Redskins Agree To Terms

March 17th, 2020 at 4:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thomas Davis once announced he would retire after the 2018 season. But the Panthers’ all-time leading tackler will reunite with his longtime coach in Washington.

The 15-year veteran linebacker revealed (Twitter link) he has agreed to a deal with the now-Ron Rivera-led Redskins. Davis was cut by the Chargers late last week. Davis will turn 37 on Sunday, but he still impressively managed to start all 16 games for Los Angeles last year. A first-round pick out of Georgia all the way back in 2005, Davis spent his first 14 seasons with the Panthers. There was a stretch where it looked like his career was derailed, when he played in only nine games across three seasons from 2009-11 after tearing an ACL three times in less than two years.

Incredibly he bounced back from the poor injury luck, and started playing better than ever later in his career. He made the Pro Bowl three straight times from 2015-17, and was a large part of the reason that Carolina made the Super Bowl during the 2015 season.

Davis understandably didn’t look particularly spry during his brief time with the Chargers, and it’s highly possible that Washington doesn’t view him as a starter and wants him more for a leadership/mentorship type of role. It’ll be very interesting to see what the terms are here when they’re eventually released. The Redskins re-signed fellow linebacker Jon Bostic yesterday.

Bills, S Jordan Poyer Agree To Extension

March 17th, 2020 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jordan Poyer delivered for the Bills on a lower-middle-class (for the NFL) contract over the past three years, and the team will reward him. The Bills and the veteran safety agreed on an extension Tuesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

The new deal will pay him $20.5MM over two years, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter) hears. That’ll take him through the 2022 season, meaning that both he and safety mate Micah Hyde are each signed beyond this coming season.

Poyer, 29 in April, turned in a career-high 107 tackles last year. His stop totals have been trending up ever since he joined the Bills in 2017. All in all, he’s made 302 tackles for the Bills across the last three seasons, serving mostly as a part-timer.

In bigger news out of Buffalo, the Bills swung a blockbuster deal to acquire Stefon Diggs from the Vikings earlier this week. On the other side of the ball, they landed former Panthers defensive end Mario Addison on a three-year deal.