HEADLINES

Month: March 2020

James Bradberry To Sign With Giants

March 16th, 2020 at 5:45pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Another one of the top free agents is off the board. Cornerback James Bradberry will be going to the Giants on a three-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Bradberry’s pact will be worth $45MM, with $32MM of it being guaranteed. We heard a couple of weeks ago that the Panthers were unlikely to re-sign Bradberry, with Carolina being reluctant to dole out this kind of cash as they enter somewhat of a rebuild. The Jets were interested in Bradberry as were many other teams, meaning the Jets have been interested in but unable to land seemingly every big free agent so far.

Bradberry was one of the top corners available and he likely helped set the market for Byron Jones, who agreed to sign with the Dolphins moments later. Bradberry was drafted by the Panthers in the second-round back in 2016, and spent his first four years in Carolina. He’s started at least 15 games in each of the past three years, and has had at least ten passes defended in each of his four pro seasons.

The Giants’ secondary struggled mightily last year, so this was very much a position of need for them. They cut long-time starter Janoris Jenkins towards the end of last year after multiple clashes with the coaching staff, and were left with a bunch of inexperienced young guys at corner. First-round pick Deandre Baker was a disappointment as a rookie, and New York is hoping Bradberry can provide some stability to the unit. It’s the first major move of the Joe Judge era.

Titans Re-Sign Dennis Kelly To Three-Year Deal

March 16th, 2020 at 5:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Titans lost Jack Conklin when he agreed to sign a big contract with the Browns, and they weren’t about to let a second offensive tackle walk out the door. Tennessee is re-signing Dennis Kelly with a three-year deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The pact is worth $21MM with Kelly getting $8.75M guaranteed, Yates reports. Conklin had been the team’s starting right tackle, and it seems like Kelly will likely slide into that role. Kelly would provide a steady if unspectacular transition, as he has been with the team for a while. He has served as their swing tackle behind Conklin and Taylor Lewan recently, starting at least four games in three of the past four years.

Titans beat-writer Paul Kuharsky cautioned in a tweet that it’s not guaranteed Kelly starts however, and he could remain their third tackle depending on what else they do. It’s possible Tennessee will add competition for him in the draft. A Purdue product, Kelly was originally drafted in the fifth-round by the Eagles back in 2012.

He started ten games as a rookie but missed his entire sophomore season. Just before the start of the 2016 campaign he was traded to the Titans in exchange for Dorial Green-Beckham.

Broncos Sign Graham Glasgow

March 16th, 2020 at 5:12pm CST by Marc Delucchi

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos have signed offensive lineman Graham Glasgow to a four-year, $44MM contract, which includes $26MM in guarantees. Glasgow has been a valuable starter on the interior of the Lions offensive line since he was drafted in 2016. Detroit will now have to replace one of their most consistent contributors.

Glasgow has played both guard spots and at center during his tenure in Motown, but primarily lined up at right guard last season (in 788 of his 872 snaps, per Pro Football Focus). The $11MM annual value of Glasgow’s contract would rank just outside the top-five for the right guard position, just behind Trai Turner and tied with Gabe Jackson. According to PFF’s player grades, Glasgow ranked as the 12th best guard out of the 80 players who qualified last season.

Following the news, Mike Klis of 9News added that Glasgow was team president John Elway‘s top offensive line target. Glasgow had been heavily tied to the Jets prior to the start of free agency, but Gang Green will have to look for another option to reinforce their line.

Case Keenum Joins Browns

March 16th, 2020 at 4:34pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Browns have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $18MM ($10MM guaranteed) with quarterback Case Keenum, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. While Cleveland is still heavily invested in quarterback Baker Mayfield, the team is making a heavy investment in ensuring they have a strong option behind him.

Keenum appeared set as a career backup after difficult stints as a starter with the Texans and Rams. In 2017 however, Keenum led the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game and seemed to be a resurgent prospect. After struggling with the Broncos and Washington over the past two seasons though, Keenum’s market seems to no longer offer an opportunity to start.

Previous reports tied Keenum to the Browns and it is worth keeping in mind that the Browns new head coach and general manager were not with the organization when Cleveland selected Mayfield with the first overall pick in 2018. Mayfield looked like a franchise quarterback as a rookie, but after a difficult sophomore season, the Browns do have reasonable cause for concern.

Rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski was the quarterbacks’ coach with the Vikings when Keenum excelled in 2017. Keenum immediately becomes one of the league’s highest-paid backups and has a chance to reunite with a coach who helped him reach the peak of his career.

Lions Sign Halapoulivaati Vaitai

March 16th, 2020 at 4:29pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A slightly more under the radar name is getting a huge payday. Former Eagles offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai is signing a massive five-year, $50MM contract with the Lions, a source told Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio (Twitter link).

It’s a pretty remarkable sum considering Vaitai has only started four games over the past two years. It wasn’t totally unexpected though, as we heard a couple of weeks ago that he would likely command between $8-12MM annually. Vaitai has clearly always had talent, but he was buried on the depth chart due to the Eagles’ abundance of tackles. Philly has announced that Jason Peters will be allowed to hit free agency, and they’ll move forward with Andre Dillard and Lane Johnson as their tackles.

Vaitai was drafted in the fifth-round in 2016, and he ended up starting six games as a rookie. The following year he started ten games, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. As the Eagles got healthy at tackle he took a bit of a backseat, starting only once in 2018 and three times this past season.

The Lions released starting right tackle Ricky Wagner a few days ago, perhaps foreshadowing this move. The Lions are also letting starting right guard Graham Glasgow, who has received very strong marks from Pro Football Focus, walk in free agency, so their offensive line is going to look a lot different next year.

Matthew Stafford missed half of last season due to injury, so obviously protecting him will be a priority in 2020. The unit is getting an overhaul, and they’ll have to build chemistry in a hurry as a result. Vaitai is 26, and together with 26-year-old former first-rounder left tackle Taylor Decker, Detroit is surely hoping they’ve established a long-term tackle pairing.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/20

March 16th, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Monday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.

RFAs

Tendered at original-round level:

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

  • Chiefs: TE David Wells

Bucs Have Communicated With Winston

March 16th, 2020 at 4:15pm CST by Marc Delucchi

While rumors continue to swirl tying the Buccaneers to quarterback Tom Brady, Tampa Bay is continuing to keep their fallback options open. The team has had communications with Jameis Winston, according to Mike Garafolo.

Winston has had a tumultuous career on and off the field since he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. While he has had plenty of flashes of excellence, Winston’s inconsistencies have been well documented. In his first season under head coach Bruce Arians, Winston excelled in some respects surpassing 30 passing touchdowns and 5,000 passing yards, but his limitations were also very much on display throwing 30 interceptions.

It still remains to be seen whether Brady is willing to leave New England in search of greener pastures elsewhere. The 49ers were reportedly Brady’s top choice and the Titans were rumored to be another possible suitor, but both appear uninterested in making a change at quarterback, leaving Brady with no suitors (aside from the Patriots) that made the playoffs last season. Obviously, Tampa Bay is pursuing other options, but by still keeping contact with Winston, it appears the Bucs still consider him a reasonable option.

Saints To Re-Sign DT David Onyemata

March 16th, 2020 at 4:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints reached an agreement to keep one of their top free agents off the market. They will retain defensive tackle David Onyemata, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year, $27MM deal for Onyematta, Garafolo reported in a separate tweet.

Onyemata has recorded 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits over the past two seasons. He moved into the Saints’ starting lineup on a full-time basis last season.

Added in the fourth round in 2016, Onyemata graded well in the opinion of Pro Football Focus in 2017 and ’18. However, PFF viewed him as a lower-level performer upon moving into the starting lineup last season. That said, the 27-year-old defender was viewed as a player who could draw interest on the market. The Saints now have him locked down hours into the tampering period.

New Orleans entered Monday with less than $5MM in cap space. The team has still yet to re-sign Drew Brees, so some maneuvering must still commence to facilitate that. But the team moved forward with Onyemata nonetheless, which appears to be a clear sign the Saints view him as a key player going forward.

Browns Sign Jack Conklin

March 16th, 2020 at 4:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns have made their second huge splash of the day. Hours after signing Austin Hooper and making him the highest-paid tight end in league history, they’ve doled out another big contract. Cleveland has agreed to terms with offensive tackle Jack Conklin on a three-year deal, agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Conklin is getting $42MM over the three years, with $30MM of it being guaranteed. He’ll bring in $20MM just in the first year of the contract. Conklin likely could’ve landed a longer-term deal, but Rosenhaus told Schefter they wanted to keep it short due to projected increases in the salary cap so he can hit free agency again soon. Conklin is very young for a top-flight free agent, and will still only be 28 when this new deal ends.

Just minutes ago we heard the Browns were the favorites with the Jets still in the mix, and things came together quickly. Conklin was the eighth overall pick out of Michigan State in 2016, and he’s been the Titans’ right tackle for the past few seasons. Tennessee declined his fifth-year option following a torn ACL and injury-plagued 2018 campaign, a move which blew up in their face when Conklin returned to playing at a very high level last year.

Conklin was one of the top offensive linemen available, and fills a huge need for Cleveland. The Browns already announced they won’t be re-signing Greg Robinson and there has been speculation they’ll move on from Chris Hubbard, both of their starting tackles from last year.

They now have Conklin locked in at one of those spots, and it’s possible they’ll still pursue veterans Trent Williams or Jason Peters like they’ve reportedly been considering. Baker Mayfield was frequently under duress last season, and his play suffered significantly as a result. He got skittish in the pocket at times, and upgrading his protection was always going to be a priority this offseason. With the additions of Hooper and Conklin today, his job has gotten a whole lot easier.

Browns Favorites For OT Jack Conklin?

March 16th, 2020 at 3:57pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns have already made one big splash in free agency by making Austin Hooper the highest-paid tight end in NFL history, and it sounds like they could make another soon. Cleveland is the favorite to land free agent offensive tackle Jack Conklin, Connor Hughes of The Athletic hears (Twitter link). 

Hughes reports that the Jets are still in the mix, but that “there’s a price many believe they will not exceed.” There was a report a few weeks ago that Conklin would likely sign with New York, but that was quickly shot down by Adam Schefter. Conklin has been the Titans’ starter at right tackle for the past four seasons, and is one of the top offensive linemen available. Tennessee declined Conklin’s fifth-year option after an injury-plagued 2018 campaign, a move they likely came to regret as the Michigan State product returned to playing at a high level this past season.

The eighth overall pick of the 2016 draft, Conklin is still only 25. The Browns won’t be re-signing the recently arrested Greg Robinson and there’s been speculation they could move on from Chris Hubbard as well, which would leave them without both of their starting tackles from last season. Obviously, they’ll be doing something to address the position.

We’ve heard that they’ve been considering veteran tackles Trent Williams and Jason Peters, although Conklin is a lot younger than both of those guys and as such is the more appealing long-term option. We heard last month that the Browns were planning to make a big investment in their offensive line this offseason, and it sounds like they’re following through. Whoever Conklin signs with, he should be in for a huge payday.

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