2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Jets Talking With Kyle Van Noy

March 16th, 2020 at 6:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets have whiffed on a bunch of big free agents they were supposedly interested in, most recently cornerback James Bradberry and Byron Jones. New York is remaining active though, and they’re “in discussions” with outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, sources told Connor Hughes of The Athletic (Twitter link).

We heard a couple of weeks ago that the Jets were going to target top pass-rushers, and Van Noy would certainly help them get after the quarterback. The Jets haven’t had many consistent outside rushers in recent years, and they’ll likely have to pay up if they want to land the Patriots free agent. The Lions drafted Van Noy 40th overall in 2014, and the BYU product was initially a big disappointment.

He played sparingly his first two years in the league, then finally began to get some consistent playing time in 2016. Detroit flipped him to New England for a late-round pick in October of that year, and he began to thrive with the Patriots. He started 12 games in 2017, and at least 15 in each of the last two.

This past season, he had 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles while being a very large part of a Patriots defense that was putting up historic numbers for much of the year. We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything more between these two division rivals.

Panthers Sign S Juston Burris

March 16th, 2020 at 6:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Juston Burris is heading to Carolina. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the free agent safety is signing a two-year, $8MM deal with the Panthers.

The former fourth-rounder has bounced around the league a bit after spending the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Jets. He was waived by the Browns at the end of the 2019 preseason, and after briefly catching on with the Raiders, he was cut again.

He re-signed with Cleveland in late September, and he proceeded to have the best season of his career in 2019. He finished the campaign having compiled 32 tackles, one sack, seven passes defended, two picks, and one forced fumble. In total, the 26-year-old has seen time in 52 career games.

Cardinals Place Second-Round Tender On K Zane Gonzalez

March 16th, 2020 at 6:35pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals are placing a second-round tender on kicker Zane Gonzalez, per SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).

After appearing in five games for Arizona during the 2018 season, Gonzalez got into all 16 games during the 2019 campaign. He ended up having the best season of his professional career, connecting on 88.6-percent of his field goal tries and 97.1-percent of his extra point attempts.

The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Arizona State spent the first year-plus of his career with the Browns.

Seahawks Place Second-Round Tender On TE Jacob Hollister

March 16th, 2020 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite having one of the deepest tight end corps in the NFL, the Seahawks won’t let Jacob Hollister walk for nothing. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Seattle is placing a second-round tender on the tight end.

If any team signs Hollister to an offer sheet and the Seahawks decline to match, they’d get that team’s second-round pick in return. That could actually be an option in Seattle, where the team has already added veteran Greg Olsen this offseason. They’re also rostering Will Dissly, who hauled in four touchdowns last season before succumbing to injury.

As for Hollister, the 26-year-old joined the Seahawks last offseason after spending two years with the Patriots. He ended up having a breakout season, hauling in 41 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns.

Ravens To Sign Michael Brockers

March 16th, 2020 at 6:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Ravens are bolstering their defensive front. Baltimore is signing free agent defensive lineman Michael Brockers, his agent told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

It’s a big deal for Brockers, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that he’ll be getting $30MM over three years. $21MM of it is fully guaranteed, Garafolo noted in a follow-up tweet. The Ravens will now have one of the most imposing defensive lines in the league, as they just landed Calais Campbell in a trade with the Jaguars on Sunday. They’ve already got Brandon Williams on the interior, so this is a unit that’s going to be hard to block in 2020.

The Rams drafted Brockers in the first-round all the way back in 2012, and he’s been with them his entire career until now. He’s been very sturdy and reliable, starting all 16 games in six of his eight seasons. In the other two, he appeared in at least 13 games. He’s never quite been an elite player, but he’s always been solid.

This past season playing next to Aaron Donald he had 63 tackles and three sacks. The Rams are stretched pretty thin financially, so it would’ve been very hard for them to match an offer like this. The Ravens were one of the league’s breakout teams last season, and they’ve been very bold this offseason after their disappointing divisional round exit in the playoffs. They also added a second-round pick by shipping out tight end Hayden Hurst earlier today.

Clayton Fejedelem Joins Miami

March 16th, 2020 at 6:15pm CST by Marc Delucchi

While it’s far from the biggest news in the Dolphins secondary, Miami agreed to terms with safety and core special-teams player Clayton Fejedelem on a three-year deal worth up to $8.55MM ($3MM guarantees), according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

The Bengals selected Fejedelem in the seventh round of the 2016 Draft and has appeared in every game for Cincinnati in the four seasons since. While he started five games at safety in 2017 and nabbed an interception and a pair of passes defended, the bulk of his work has come on special teams.

Over his career, Fejedelem has made 77 solo tackles, forced one fumble, recovered two fumbles, and scored one touchdown. The Dolphins amidst a major rebuild are flush with cap space and are clearly targetting specific players. Fejedelem’s addition will not transform the franchise, but it will add a solid contributor to a team flush with young talent, assets, and a long-term plan.

DE Stephen Weatherly Signs With Panthers

March 16th, 2020 at 6:13pm CST by Ben Levine

Defensive end Stephen Weatherly has signed a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Panthers, agent Blake Baratz announced on Twitter.

Weatherly had spent his entire career with the Vikings after being selected in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. The 25-year-old appeared in all 32 regular season games for Minnesota over the past two years, collecting three sacks each season. Weatherly also had a sack during the Vikings Divisional Round loss to the 49ers this past year.

It’s been a relatively quiet day in Carolina. The Panthers only other move came when they released special teams captain Colin Jones earlier this afternoon.

G Wes Schweitzer Heading To Washington

March 16th, 2020 at 6:05pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Free-agent offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer has agreed to a three-year deal with Washington worth up to $13.5MM, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. Schweitzer played with the Falcons for the first four years of his career before entering free agency.

With experience at all three spots along the interior offensive line in Atlanta, Schweitzer at the very least can serve as a useful swiss-army knife. After not appearing in a game as a rookie, Schweitzer started every game of the 2017 season at right guard for the Falcons, in 2018, he served as the teams primary starter at left guard, and last season, while primarily playing left guard, he still played over 20 percent of his snaps at right guard.

Washington placed the franchise tag on guard Brandon Scherff, but the size of Schweitzer’s role may very well be determined by the fallout of Scherff’s future in the nation’s capital.

Dolphins To Sign CB Byron Jones

March 16th, 2020 at 5:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Just moments after James Bradberry agreed to sign with the Giants, another top cornerback has been taken off the market. Byron Jones has inked a deal with the Dolphins, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It’s a five-year, $82.5 million deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The deal includes $57MM guaranteed and $40MM through the first two seasons.

The contract will make Jones the highest-paid player at his position, with the deal paying him $16.5MM annually. We heard last week that the market for the cornerback was expected to “start” at $16-17MM per year. Jones new teammate, Xavien Howard, previously led all cornerbacks with a $15.05MM annual salary.

ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweets that the Dolphins were willing to give Jones more guaranteed money than rival suitors, while Rapoport notes that the Raiders made a competitive offer to the defensive back (via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area). Further, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that both Miami and Vegas offered “huge money in tax-free states,” but Miami’s structure of up-front money appealed to Jones.

A number of teams, including the Raiders, Broncos, Lions, Eagles, Giants, and Jets, had been connected to Jones at some point during the offseason. The Cowboys had expressed some optimism in retaining the Pro Bowler. However, the Cowboys had some bigger fish to fry with both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, and it’s uncertain if they could afford Jones’ new pact, anyway.

Jones, 27, played safety during his first three years in Dallas but switched to corner in 2018, promptly earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. In 2019, Jones started 14 games for the Cowboys, and ranked 14th in both Pro Football Focus‘ CB grades and Football Outsiders‘ success rate metric.

Raiders Still In On Tom Brady, Not The Favorite

March 16th, 2020 at 5:53pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Over the past couple of days, the options available to free-agent quarterback Tom Brady have become clearer. After reports emerged that the 49ers are not pursuing Brady and the Titans resigned Ryan Tannehill, two of the most speculated destinations are no longer on the table. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the Raiders are not totally out of the Brady sweepstakes but are behind the Buccaneers in their pursuit.

Of course, it remains unknown how Brady feels about a reunion with the only organization he has ever played for. Brady has already etched himself into football’s Mt. Rushmore over his 20-year career with the Patriots. If the Patriots, Bucs, and Raiders are the only suitors for Brady, the Patriots are the only team that made the playoffs last season and would seem to clearly be the best option for Brady if he is prioritizing winning.

Still, Brady’s priorities (and sentiments towards the Patriots organization) remain a mystery. While the Buccaneers quarterback last season, Jameis Winston, like Brady, is a free-agent, the move would be a bit more complicated for the Raiders who have Derek Carr under contract through 2022 with a $21.5MM cap hit. However, Carr’s deal has plenty of cap flexibility and could easily be moved for assets if Brady did choose the Raiders.