2020 March - Pro Football Rumors

Cardinals Use Transition Tag On Kenyan Drake

March 16th, 2020 at 10:20am CST by Sam Robinson

With less than an hour before the franchise-transition tag deadline, we have our first transition tag of this year’s cycle. The Cardinals will use the transition tag on Kenyan Drake, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The NFL released its tag numbers, and the Cardinals will make by far the lowest payment of the teams that used them this year. The Drake transition tag will cost just $8.5MM. Arizona still has David Johnson on its roster on a $13MM-AAV deal. While Drake loomed as a possible tag candidate, the Cards are set to devote extensive funds to their running back spot.

While the Cardinals are the first team to deploy a transition tag this year, 12 others used their franchise tags. This will keep the former Dolphins starter off the market, but Drake can sign offer sheets with other teams. The Cardinals would not any compensation if they fail to match an offer another team submits to Drake.

Steve Keim said the Cards will not release Johnson, with a release not doing anything to help the team in the way of cap savings. It would tag Arizona with $16MM-plus in dead money. Drake supplanted Johnson as the Cards’ starter last season and was the more effective back down the stretch.

More than two years younger than Johnson, Drake, 26, averaged 5.2 yards per carry with the Cardinals after the team traded for him last season. The Dolphins used him as a part-time starter in 2018, with Frank Gore playing a major role in Miami’s backfield that season. Drake, though, profiles as a potentially strong backfield investment. He has only logged 456 carries in his career and and has totaled 822 receiving yards in the past two years.

Packers To Sign T Ricky Wagner

March 16th, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Sam Robinson

Ricky Wagner will jump from one NFC North offensive line to another. The Packers are signing the recently released Lions lineman, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

A former Ravens starter, Wagner served as the Lions’ right tackle for three seasons. He will be in line to succeed Bryan Bulaga in Green Bay. Bulaga is a free agent expected to have a strong market.

The Lions cut Wagner over the weekend, and the Packers emerged as a suitor Monday morning. Minutes after Green Bay was linked to the seven-year veteran, the sides had a deal. This marks the Packers’ second notable street free agent agreement of the morning, with the team adding linebacker Christian Kirksey as well. It looks like Brian Gutekunst plugged two holes in the team’s starting lineup before the tampering period begins.

Wagner graded as a substandard blocker, per Pro Football Focus, in 2019 but was solid in his initial two Lions seasons. The Lions cut bait on a five-year deal. Wagner came into the league three years after Bulaga did, but the former is only seven months younger than the longtime Green Bay right tackle. Both are 30. Since becoming a Ravens starter in 2014, Wagner has started 87 games.

Browns Tender Kareem Hunt, Release Morgan Burnett

March 16th, 2020 at 10:05am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns placed a second-round tender on restricted free agent Kareem Hunt and released safety Morgan Burnett, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Both moves were expected, though the tender level for Hunt was in question.

The second-round tender will cost roughly $3.3MM for 2020. If Hunt is signed to an offer sheet and the Browns decline to match, they would receive a second-round pick from the team signing him.

Hunt, of course, has been the subject of serious controversy in recent years. In 2018, the Chiefs cut Hunt after a surveillance video showed him striking a woman at a hotel in Cleveland. In that same year, he also got into a physical altercation with a man in Ohio. The Browns picked him up and Hunt vowed to make wholesale changes to his life. In January, police say Hunt was in possession of marijuana when they pulled him over for a traffic stop.

Since then, new Browns GM Andrew Berry has indicated that Hunt would be retained. On the field, he averaged nearly 60 yards from scrimmage per game and posted a 4.2 yards per carry mark.

Burnett, meanwhile, has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons. The Browns released him with a failed-physical designation, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. An Achilles tear brought his 2019 season to an early end and the Browns, in turn, have terminated the second half of his two-year, $7.5MM deal. By shedding his deal, the Browns will save $3.375MM while carrying a dead money hit of $1.325MM.

Colts To Release DL Margus Hunt

March 16th, 2020 at 10:03am CST by Sam Robinson

Margus Hunt‘s 2019 extension will only end up lasting one season. The Colts are releasing the veteran defensive lineman, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Hunt has worked as a starter with Indianapolis over the past three seasons. He signed a two-year deal last March. The Colts helped the former first-round pick revive his career, after the Estonian talent sputtered with the Bengals.

This move will save the Colts $4MM, though it’s not like the team is in need of cap space. Indianapolis will again enter free agency loaded with offseason funds. The team is set to hold nearly $70MM in space. That figure is a tad down from the $100MM-plus mark of 2019, but the Colts have not been known as big spenders under current GM Chris Ballard.

Despite Hunt being a 2013 draftee, he is already 32 years old. After two productive seasons, he struggled in 2019. Pro Football Focus graded him outside the top 100 interior defenders last season.

Ravens Tender C Matt Skura

March 16th, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are using the low tender on center Matt Skura, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. This will lock Skura in at a reasonable salary for the 2020 season, though they’ll receive no compensation if another team signs him as a restricted free agent and the Ravens do not match the offer.

Skura is working his way back from a major knee injury, one that capped the starter at eleven games last year. After suffering ACL, MCL and PCL tears, Skura is still a few weeks away from running, though he hopes to be a participant in training camp this summer.

Before the injury, the 27-year-old had not missed a game since taking over for Ryan Jensen when he left for the Bucs in 2018. In fact, he never missed a snap. Skura played 1,889 snaps in that ’18 season and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 12 overall center. If teams feel confident in his health, he seems likely to garner lots of interest and could even find a decent chunk of guaranteed money in an offer sheet.

Giants Tender K Aldrick Rosas

March 16th, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will give their kicker a raise. They are placing a second-round RFA tender on Aldrick Rosas, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets.

This will bump Rosas’ 2020 salary to $3.3MM. He made $645K in 2019. Rosas joined the Giants as a UDFA out of Southern Oregon and has been Big Blue’s kicker in each of the team’s past 48 games.

Rosas received Pro Bowl recognition in 2018, making 32 of 33 field goals that season. He was less effective in 2019, making just 12 of 17 tries and missing four extra points. But the Giants will show faith in their 25-year-old specialist and can check this mid-level business item off their extensive offseason to-do list.

Cowboys Place Franchise Tag On Dak Prescott

March 16th, 2020 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have placed exclusive franchise tag on Dak Prescott, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). This move means that no other team will be allowed to negotiate with him, which has pros and cons for the QB.

Under the traditional non-exclusive tag, Prescott would have been able to talk with other clubs that would potentially be willing to cough up a pair of first-round picks for the right to sign him. On the flipside, the exclusive tag would pay Prescott at the average of the league’s top-five salaries for the 2020 season. With the non-exclusive tag, it would have been the top-five average of last year.

The non-exclusive tag would have come at $26.8MM. With the exclusive version, the number should be somewhere around $31.6MM.

The Cowboys’ long-term negotiations with Prescott have been going on for some time and there was talk just before the season that the two sides were nearing a deal. Since then, the Cowboys haven’t made much progress in bridging the gap, though Jerry Jones & Co. have said repeatedly that they would keep him, one way or another.

With Prescott cuffed for the 2020 season, the Cowboys will turn their attention to finalizing a long-term deal with star receiver Amari Cooper. A new deal for Cooper won’t come cheap, though the depth of this year’s WR class in the draft may work to the Cowboys’ favor. Teams, in theory, could keep a lid on their offers with an eye on finding cheaper and younger receiving talent in April. Cooper’s camp is acutely aware of this scenario – even if they won’t admit it publicly.

In 2019, Cooper registered 79 receptions for 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 10 receiver in the NFL. Meanwhile, Prescott threw for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns and turned in an electric first half to the season.

Falcons To Cut Ty Sambrailo

March 16th, 2020 at 9:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons will cut offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo, according to a source who spoke with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). It’s just the latest Monday morning move by the Falcons to free up cap space this offseason and more releases could be on the way.

Sambrailo, who just celebrated his 28th birthday, played in 13 games as a reserve last season. He also got to leave the Falcons with a memorable moment – a 35-yard touchdown reception against the Buccaneers to close out the season and his Atlanta tenure.

By releasing the veteran, the Falcons will save roughly $3.7MM against the 2020 cap. That’s money that can be used to shore up their defense and, potentially, help bring another running back into the fold. Moments ago, the Falcons released one-time star Devonta Freeman, leaving them perilously thin in that area. Then again, many anticipate that they’ll target their next running back in the (likely to be teleconferenced) draft.

Before the official start of business today, the Falcons also informed cornerback Desmond Trufant that he’ll be released sometime this week.

Titans To Tag RB Derrick Henry

March 16th, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after the Ryan Tannehill extension news surfaced, the Titans will move to the next phase in their offseason plan. The team will use its franchise tag on Derrick Henry, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Twelve players have now been tagged — most since 21 were in 2012.

The Titans will now have their centerpiece players locked up for 2020. Tannehill and Henry spearheaded the franchise’s first trip to the AFC championship game in 17 years, and the latter authored a historic playoff run. The move to tag Henry will cost $10.3MM.

While this decision will likely send Jack Conklin into free agency, the Titans have gone from potentially losing both Conklin and Henry to keeping a core player — at least for the 2020 season. Henry turned 26 midway through his playoff rampage and would have been an interesting free agent, factoring in his bruising dominance with a lack of impact in the passing game.

Henry led the NFL with 1,540 rushing yards and totaled 18 touchdowns last season. Splitting time with DeMarco Murray during his first two seasons, Henry started slowly in 2018 before finishing strong and closing a 1,000-yard season. He turned in one of the most dominant stretches by a running back in years during the 2019 stretch run to help the Titans go from being shut out in Denver to notching upset playoff wins in New England and Baltimore.

This tag also places Henry in rare territory. In the past eight tag periods, Henry and Le’Veon Bell are the only running backs to receive the tag. The latter played on the tag in 2017 but skipped the 2018 season in protest of it, forfeiting $14.5MM. Henry has not said how he will proceed on the tag, but he and the Titans have until July 15 to agree on an extension. Considering how most of the high-end running back contracts have played out in recent years — including Bell’s Jets pact — Henry’s negotiations will be interesting.

Bengals Plan To Franchise Tag A.J. Green

March 16th, 2020 at 9:22am CST by Rory Parks

MARCH 16: Less than two hours before the tag-applying deadline, the Bengals informed Green he will be tagged, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The 31-year-old standout voiced opposition to this move months ago and is coming off a season-long absence.

But after Burrow indicated he would like to have Green in the fold, should he become Cincinnati’s top pick, the Bengals followed through on their expected course of action. A Green tag will cost the Bengals $17.9MM.

MARCH 1: The Bengals plan to put the franchise tag on wide receiver A.J. Green, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The club wants him back in 2020, either on the tag or under a new multi-year pact.

The move will not make Green too happy, as he has previously indicated that he is opposed to the franchise tag. He conceded he would not engage in a season-long holdout if he and Cincinnati cannot work out a new contract, but he is open to holding out throughout the offseason program and training camp. Given that the Bengals will presumably have rookie QB Joe Burrow under center in 2020, Green’s presence during the spring and summer months will be especially crucial, so look for the team to ramp up negotiations in short order.

Of course, determining fair market value for Green won’t be easy. He will doubtlessly be shooting for the top of the wide receiver market, and his abilities and track record make that a fair ask. But he missed the entire 2019 campaign due to an ankle injury, and he hasn’t suited up for a game since Week 13 of the 2018 season. Plus, he will be 32 before the 2020 regular season gets underway, so player and team may have a hard time finding a middle ground.

The Bengals would not have been a playoff team in 2019 even with a healthy Green, but his presence was sorely missed. Cincinnati’s offense was one of the least efficient units in the league last year, and the club finished near the bottom of the pack in terms of yards per game and points per game.

Green, who made the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven years in the league, has topped 1,000 yards every year in which he has appeared in at least 13 games. He has averaged nearly 15 yards per catch in his career, and he has reach double-digit touchdowns three times. He was, without question, one of the best receivers in the league. The Bengals need to figure out if he still is.