2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Buccaneers To Re-Sign Jason Pierre-Paul

March 16th, 2020 at 2:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jason Pierre-Paul will be back for another tour of duty in Tampa. The Buccaneers and the veteran pass rusher agreed to terms on a two-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

While JPP’s status in Tampa became murky after his scary car accident, and the subsequent restructure of his deal that made him a 2020 free agent, the sides agreed on a two-year, $27MM pact. This comes hours after the Bucs made the expected move to keep Shaquil Barrett around via the franchise tag.

The Bucs traded for Pierre-Paul during the 2018 offseason and saw him deliver 12.5 sacks — his most since his dominant 2011 campaign — that season. Even after sustaining a severe neck injury in the 2019 car accident, JPP returned and registered 8.5 sacks in 10 games.

Although Pierre-Paul will be going into his 11th season, he just turned 31. Bruce Arians indicated earlier this offseason he wanted to retain Barrett, JPP and Ndamukong Suh. The Bucs are two-thirds of the way there. And they remain in the Tom Brady sweepstakes. Big day in Tampa.

Bears Interested In Nick Foles?

March 16th, 2020 at 2:10pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Michael Lombardi of The Athletic reports that a source informed him that the Bears are attempting to make a deal to acquire quarterback Nick Foles from the Jaguars. Jacksonville inked Foles last offseason to a massive four-year, $88MM deal following Foles’ tenure with the Eagles. Following Lombardi’s report, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports added that there was a lot of buzz at the combine tying Foles to Chicago as well.

Unfortunately for Foles, in his first game with his new team, he broke his left clavicle and while he was out recovering from the injury, rookie Gardner Minshew showed flashes of competence under center. Since Minshew remains on a long-term, rookie-scale, contract, the rebuilding Jaguars may very well prefer the added cap flexibility and youth that moving forward with Minshew would provide.

The Bears have well-documented concerns at quarterback surrounding Mitchell Trubisky. The second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft showed promise early in his career in Chicago, but as the talent surrounding him has dissipated, he has not improved enough to help the team make up for the shortcomings. While it remains to be seen whether the Bears are fully ready to move on from Trubisky, it’s clear they need to at least bring in some competition.

Latest On Buccaneers, Tom Brady

March 16th, 2020 at 1:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers are not bowing out in the Tom Brady sweepstakes. Competing against the Patriots and Chargers for the superstar quarterback, the Bucs have made an “aggressive” pitch, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link via the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud).

While this does not indicate a firm offer is on the table, the Bucs do possess more cap space than both the Pats or Bolts. And they have Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard under contract for 2020.

Bruce Arians said earlier this offseason he would be interested in discussing a deal with Brady. The two have not worked together, but Arians has been either a head coach or offensive assistant for most of the 20-year veteran’s career.

The Bucs have also been linked to Philip Rivers and Teddy Bridgewater. On what’s becoming a complicated quarterback day, the Bears have emerged as a Bridgewater suitor and the long-rumored Rivers-Colts partnership is being discussed. Brady, though, obviously hovers above all of this. And the Bucs are still in the mix for the three-time MVP.

Steelers’ Ramon Foster Retires

March 16th, 2020 at 1:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

On a day with a seemingly endless stream of players finding new homes, one player has elected to step away from the game on his own. Steelers guard Ramon Foster is retiring from the NFL, he announced in a release on the team’s website.

“When the time comes, you just know and now is the time for me to take a bow,” Foster in a statement. “I’ve made some friends for a lifetime, had some moments that I’ll never forget, and seen some things I never thought I would because of this game. First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife and sons. I also want to thank the Steelers organization – Coach (Mike) Tomlin, Mr. Art Rooney II, the late Ambassador (Dan) Rooney, and Kevin Colbert for making Pittsburgh feel like a family. There are so many more people I need to thank, including everyone on staff with the Steelers. I would also like to thank my teammates who made this journey something very special to me and my family – you guys were amazing.”

“Last but definitely not least, thank you to the best fans in all of sports. I’m glad to say I was a Steeler for life, and there is no other organization I would have rather played for in my career,” he finished. Foster signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent all the way back in 2009, and never left. He made the team as a rookie, and it wasn’t long before he became a full-time starter.

He was an incredibly reliable presence on the interior of Pittsburgh’s offensive line, starting at least 14 games in each of the past nine seasons. Foster signed a two-year extension worth $8.25MM last offseason, but elected to hang up his cleats a year early. The Tennessee product turned 34 in January. It’s yet another reminder that the old era of Steelers football we’ve been accustomed to is slowly coming to an end. Ben Roethlisberger is insistent he’s going to come back from his elbow injury and play at least a couple of more years, but things are starting to change around him.

Seahawks, Vikings Interested In Stefon Diggs Trade?

March 16th, 2020 at 1:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rumored off-and-on as a trade candidate, Stefon Diggs has emerged on this front again. The Seahawks are interested, with Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweeting interest has emerged on both sides in a potential Diggs deal. Diggs himself added a lot of fuel to the fire shortly after this report emerged, cryptically tweeting “it’s time for a new beginning.”

Diggs dissatisfaction with his role on Minnesota’s offense led to 2019 trade rumors, but the Vikings squashed that and depended on their well-paid wideout the rest of the season. Adam Thielen‘s injury thrust Diggs to the top of the Vikings’ aerial pecking order. But the Vikings have two receivers making $14MM-plus annually, with Diggs at $14.4MM per year and Thielen now north of $16MM on average.

Reports of drama with Diggs percolated throughout 2019. The wide receiver wasn’t happy with his role early on in the season and even after he eased up on some of his comments, many still believed that he wanted out. The Vikings, meanwhile, said they’d smooth things out. Right now, it looks like he could be on his way to another NFC contender.

Diggs, on the verge of his age-27 season, is signed through 2023 thanks to his five-year, $72MM extension. Last year, he caught 63 passes for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. He was targeted just 94 times – down from his 149 targets in 2018 – but he was more efficient than ever as he averaged 17.9 yards per catch.

Vikings Extend FB C.J. Ham

March 16th, 2020 at 1:35pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Vikings have signed their fullback C.J. Ham to a three-year extension, per his agent’s Twitter account. No details have emerged on the specific dollar value of the extension, although no deal would be expected to break the bank.

Ham has been one of the few fullbacks left in a league that has relied less and less on the blocking focused fullback. Of the 12 fullbacks who qualified for grading by Pro Football Focus last season, Ham solidly ranked in the middle of the pack at 7th.

Over his three years in Minnesota, Ham has appeared in 47 games (10 starts), caught 35 passes for 302 yards, received 20 carries for 38 yards, and recorded two touchdowns.

Ravens Trade TE Hayden Hurst To Falcons

March 16th, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Falcons’ tight ends room might be the busiest place in the NFL on an already wild day. After letting Austin Hooper walk and releasing Luke Stocker, the team is now making a splash trade. The Ravens have shipped tight end Hayden Hurst to Atlanta, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Baltimore is getting back an impressive haul, as they’re receiving second and fifth round picks in the 2020 draft while sending back a fourth-round selection to Atlanta. The Ravens drafted Hurst in the first-round in 2018, but he immediately took a backseat behind Mark Andrews, who Baltimore took in the third round of that same draft. Hurst missed the first handful of weeks of his rookie season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, and he said the injury nagged him the whole year.

He ended up catching only 13 passes for 163 yards that year. While he took a step forward this past season with 30 receptions for 349 yards and two touchdowns, he was still expendable as Andrews emerged into one of the top tight ends in the league. There was a report a couple of weeks ago that while teams were calling the Ravens weren’t necessarily inclined to trade the South Carolina product, so clearly they were blown away by the offer.

As for the Falcons, they’ve now got their guy to replace Hooper. A second-round pick is a hefty price to give up for a player who hasn’t topped 350 yards in two years, but Hurst has shown plenty of flashes and had the misfortune of getting stuck behind Andrews. Hurst is already 26 though thanks to a couple of years spent playing minor league baseball after high school, and he’s actually more than a year older than Hooper is.

Atlanta will definitely be questioned for the decision to let Hooper walk and then give up this pick for a less-proven and older player, but Hooper landed a massive deal they weren’t willing to match and they had to do something to address the position.

Dolphins To Sign Shaq Lawson

March 16th, 2020 at 1:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins’ interest in Shaq Lawson looks like it will lead to a deal early on Day 1 of the tampering period. The former first-round edge defender is expected to sign with the Dolphins, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

A Bills 2016 draft choice, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks last season. He will become the fourth first-round pick currently on the Dolphins’ defensive line. It’s a three-year deal worth $30MM, Rapoport adds (via Twitter). The deal also includes $21MM fully guaranteed at signing and, through incentives, can reach as much as $36MM, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.

Miami entered Monday with $80MM-plus in cap space — most in the league — and a roster needy at most areas. The Dolphins surprised the NFL-following world by winning five games last season but are still deficient in many areas, one being in the pass-rushing department. Miami featured one player — waiver claim Taco Charlton — record more than four sacks in 2019.

Lawson loomed as a Bills trade candidate for a while, but Buffalo held onto the Clemson product. He will join Christian Wilkins, also an ex-Clemson defensive lineman, Charlton and Charles Harris as first-round picks on Miami’s D-line.

Falcons Release TE Luke Stocker

March 16th, 2020 at 1:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Falcons’ tight ends room is getting a major overhaul Monday. First Atlanta let Austin Hooper walk in free agency as he signed with the Browns, and now they’re letting go of another one.

The team is releasing veteran tight end Luke Stocker according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stocker signed with the team around this time last year, and ended up only lasting one season in Atlanta. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2011, he spent the first seven years of his career in Tampa. During that time he played under Dirk Koetter, the former Bucs head coach who is now the Falcons’ offensive coordinator, which is probably what brought him to Atlanta.

Stocker has always been more of a blocker than a receiver, and he has also spent time at fullback. The 31-year-old Tennessee product had only eight catches for 53 yards last year. He played a bigger role in the passing game the year before with the Titans, racking up 165 yards and two touchdowns. Overall he played about 37 percent of the offensive snaps for the Falcons last year in addition to contributing on special teams.

Colts, Philip Rivers Discussing Deal

March 16th, 2020 at 1:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts have resided as a Philip Rivers suitor for weeks, and in the first three hours of the tampering period, the sides are communicating.

Rivers and the Colts have begun discussions about a deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. While Rapoport cautions no deal is done, he adds that the 38-year-old quarterback is a “clear target” for the Colts.

Rivers has remained close to Colts HC Frank Reich and OC Nick Sirianni — both ex-Chargers assistants — and a report surfaced earlier this offseason about the quarterback and the team possessing mutual interest. Rivers has also been linked to the Buccaneers and Redskins.

Jim Irsay indicated in February that all quarterback options were in play for the Colts, who are in the market for a veteran starter for the first time since the mid-1990s. Rivers is interested in a two-year setup with a contending team, and with the Colts having voyaged to the 2018 divisional round with Andrew Luck, they qualify as a team he could assist.