HEADLINES

Month: March 2020

Chargers To Franchise Hunter Henry

March 13th, 2020 at 12:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the first time in six years, a tight end will receive the franchise tag. The Chargers are following through with their rumored plan to tag Hunter Henry. The Bolts will cuff their fifth-year tight end, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

No tight end has been franchise-tagged since the Saints locked down Jimmy Graham in 2014. Henry’s price will come in a bit higher. It will cost the Chargers approximately $11.1MM to tag Henry, making him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end for the time being. This ensures the promising but injury-prone target will not hit the market and thus potentially help another team that is courting Tom Brady.

The Patriots have needed a tight end for over a year now, having not replaced Rob Gronkowski. They naturally would have been a Henry fit, but the Bolts — also in the hunt for Brady — now have Henry’s retention as a selling point. The Chargers have Henry, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams under contract for 2020. They just extended RFA Austin Ekeler as well, giving Philip Rivers‘ to-be-determined successor a nice complement of weapons.

Henry, however, is not yet a surefire bet to be a long-term Pro Bowl candidate. He has flashed promise and posted career-high catch (55) and yardage (652) numbers last season, those coming in just 12 games. But Henry tore his ACL in 2018, missing the regular season, and missed four games due to a knee injury last season as well.

The Bolts will have roughly $46MM in cap space after tagging Henry. Unlike the Raiders, they have not yet shown an indication they are backing out of the Brady sweepstakes. At just 25, however, Henry profiles as a player who would stand to help the next long-term Chargers quarterback. He, Williams and Ekeler are each 25 or younger.

Titans To Release K Ryan Succop

March 13th, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Sam Robinson

Ryan Succop‘s six-season Titans run will wrap up with a release. The Titans will move on from their longtime specialist, according to TitansOnline.com’s Terry McCormick (on Twitter).

This move will produce more dead money than cap savings ($2.1MM/$2MM), but Succop struggled last season for a Titans team that largely made its late-season push without the assistance of the field goal component.

Succop, 33, made just 1 of 6 field goal tries after coming off IR midway through last season. He did not kick in the playoffs for the Titans, who were set to pay him $3.4MM in 2020. The Titans placed Succop on IR for a second time in 2019, ending his season in December.

Tennessee signed ex-Cleveland kicker Greg Joseph to a three-year extension and used him in the playoffs, so some large writing was on the wall for Succop with the Titans. A knee injury initially sent Succop to IR in August, and he never re-established his usual form prior to IR trip No. 2.

The former Chief, however, made at least 86% of his field goal tries in four of his six Titans seasons and has 10 years’ experience. This will be Succop’s second stay in free agency. The Chiefs cut him 2014, pivoting to Cairo Santos. Succop quickly landed with the Titans, with whom he signed two contracts.

Christian Kirksey To Visit Bills

March 13th, 2020 at 11:38am CST by Sam Robinson

The third team on Christian Kirksey‘s post-Browns-release itinerary has emerged. Kirksey is visiting the Bills on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

This summit follows Kirksey meetings with the Raiders and Packers. It was reported shortly after the Browns cut Kirksey that the linebacker had scheduled three visits. Two of those are 2019 playoff teams, so it will be interesting to see where the formerly well-paid linebacker goes.

Free agency is still set for its soft opening Monday. That will open the market to linebackers coming off better seasons than Kirksey. The six-year veteran would like to make his decision “fairly soon,” Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.

Buffalo houses extension candidate Matt Milano and the fast-emerging Tremaine Edmunds at off-ball linebacker; finding a Kirksey fit here is more difficult than it is for Las Vegas or Green Bay. Kirksey was a part of a once-formidable Cleveland linebacking corps, which housed Jamie Collins, Joe Schobert and, for a short time, Mychal Kendricks. With the Bills, he would help form one of the league’s top linebacker cadres.

The Bills, however, easily outflank the Packers and Raiders in cap space. Buffalo holds nearly $82MM — third-most in the league — and would certainly not have to pay Kirksey what the pre-John Dorsey Cleveland regime did. The Browns gave Kirksey a $9.5MM-AAV extension in 2017 but saw injuries limit him. But he is still just 27 and profiles as a player looking to revive his value after two lost seasons. Prior to the injury-marred 2018 and ’19 slates, Kirksey combined for 281 tackles between the 2016-17 campaigns.

Ravens Use Franchise Tag On Matt Judon

March 13th, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Sam Robinson

Long mentioned as a candidate for the Ravens’ franchise tag, Matt Judon will not have the opportunity to test free agency. The Ravens will use their top tag on their top edge rusher, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The Ravens made the designation official.

The interesting chapter will follow. The Ravens were linked to a Judon tag-and-trade scenario early in the offseason, and the team has a fairly extensive history of letting outside rushers leave. If Baltimore dangles Judon in trades, widespread interest will likely follow.

Judon will be tagged as an outside linebacker, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). While he is essentially a defensive end, 3-4 teams have used the linebacker tag in the recent past to save money. This could prompt a challenge from Judon, who will be on an approximately $15.8MM tender instead of a defensive end price ($17.8MM). Multiple pass rushers are prepared to dispute linebacker tags this year, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

“I’d rather have a long-term deal for stability. It is what it is,” Judon said, via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). “I feel like this is what many of us go through that are facing free agency. At the end of the day, I know I’m playing football next season.”

The all-time compensatory pick kings, the Ravens have let Paul Kruger, Pernell McPhee and Za’Darius Smith sign their second contracts elsewhere. Judon, however, has been a key weapon for the Ravens for years. And the team no longer has Terrell Suggs anchoring one side of its edge rush, complicating the prospect of Judon being the latest Baltimore edge to leave. A Judon exit, though, would net Baltimore far more than a comp pick.

A Division II product out of Grand Valley State (Mich.), Judon became vital for the Ravens’ Super Bowl push last season. After Suggs and Smith exited in free agency, Judon posted a team-record (since the stat surfaced in 2006) 33 quarterback hits in a 9.5-sack season. Judon, 27, now has 24.5 sacks over the past three seasons.

Three teams used the tag-and-trade route to recoup value for their pass rushers last year, with Dee Ford, Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney being dealt. The Jets are interested in Judon, who doubles as one of a few tag-and-trade pass rushers this year. Yannick Ngakoue and Bud Dupree join him. It will be costly for a team to acquire Judon, but we will surely hear more about this market soon.

Dolphins Hosting RB J.K. Dobbins On Visit

March 13th, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Sam Robinson

While the COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc across the American sports world, some NFL teams are still conducting visits. The Dolphins are one of them, and they did some rescheduling to make sure they could meet with Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins.

Dobbins is at the Dolphins’ facility on Friday for a pre-draft visit, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The former Buckeyes standout was not supposed to visit the Dolphins until mid-April, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes (via Twitter) the team is high enough on Dobbins they moved up his meeting by around a month in the event the NFL cancels pre-draft visits because of coronavirus.

Although Rapoport notes Miami is proceeding with “extreme caution,” it would not be a surprise to see the league nix pre-draft summits considering the actions taken by the sports leagues currently in-season. Dobbins also did not fly to this workout, with Rapoport adding the running back has been training in south Florida (Twitter link).

Miami will enter free agency with a bevy of needs; one of them is clearly at running back. The Dolphins traded Kenyan Drake last season and subsequently released Mark Walton after yet another arrest. No obvious starter resides on Miami’s roster, so the Dolphins should be expected to acquire at least one starting-caliber back this offseason.

Dobbins would profile as such. He posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State. In 2019, he eclipsed 2,000 yards and totaled 23 touchdowns. Dobbins ranks as the No. 40 overall prospect, per NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who tabs him as this draft class’ No. 4-ranked running back.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Stafford, Bears

March 13th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Bryan Bulaga did not quite make it to free agency in 2015; the Packers extended their starting right tackle at the 11th hour. This time, he could be on the move. The 10-year veteran is expected to generate immense interest, with Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com tweeting the Bulaga market should come in around $12MM per year. Bulaga signed for five years and $33.75MM five years ago, so this would mark a substantial raise for the veteran. Despite going into his 11th year, Bulaga will only be 31 come Week 1. After more injury trouble surfaced in 2017, he has played in 30 of a possible 32 regular-season games since.

Here is the latest from the NFC North:

  • The Lions appear likely to have their quarterback back in time for OTAs. Matthew Stafford has healed up from the back injury that ended his 2019 season, according to his wife (Instagram link). Kelly Stafford indicated her husband has been healed for several weeks now. Kelly recently refuted a report the Staffords wanted out of Detroit, and GM Bob Quinn said the Lions are not shopping him. While this still figures to be a key year for the longest-tenured starting quarterback in Lions history, Stafford should be able to throw come April.
  • If the Raiders make Derek Carr available, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune expects the Bears to show interest. The Bears are interested in bringing in competition for Mitchell Trubisky; Carr might be overqualified for such a role. The third-place MVP finisher in 2016 posted the NFL’s 10th-best QBR last season — well north of Trubisky, whose 39.5 figure ranked third-to-last. Carr carries a non-guaranteed contract; he is set to earn $18.9MM in 2020 base salary. That price comes in $1.4MM higher than Dalton’s.
  • Do not expect a reunion between the Vikings and Mike Remmers. Even if the team makes left tackle Riley Reiff a cap casualty and moves right tackle Brian O’Neill to that spot, Chris Tomasson notes the Vikings are not expected to be interested in a low-cost Remmers deal (Twitter link). Remmers was Minnesota’s right tackle starter from 2017-18 and will not return to the Giants next season.
  • The Packers recently added to their coaching staff, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweeting the team hired Butch Barry as a senior assistant. A Wisconsin native, Barry was the Buccaneers’ assistant offensive line coach from 2015-18. He spent the 2019 season as the Miami Hurricanes’ offensive line coach.
  • Additionally, the Packers promoted second-year staffer Jason Vrable from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach, the team announced. Vrable has not coached a position since serving as the Bills’ assistant QBs coach for part of the 2016 season. Otherwise, he’s spent his career as an offensive assistant or a quality control staffer.

Byron Jones Likely To Become NFL’s Highest-Paid CB

March 12th, 2020 at 9:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The market for Cowboys free agent cornerback Byron Jones is expected to “start” at $16-17MM per year, which would make Jones the NFL’s highest-paid corner, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Jones is widely expected to leave Dallas, where the Cowboys simply have too many other stars — namely Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper — to re-sign before they can turn their attention to Jones. Thus far, a number of clubs have been tied to the Jones market, including the Raiders, Broncos, Lions, Eagles, Giants, and Jets.

The Dolphins’ Xavien Howard currently leads all cornerbacks with a $15.05MM annual salary. Recently-released Jet Trumaine Johnson had been second at $14.5MM, while the Vikings’ Xavier Rhodes, who could be cut himself in a matter of days, is third at $14.02MM. Jones should easily top all those figures, especially if interested parties drive up his price.

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.

Bears, Danny Trevathan Agree To Three-Year Deal

March 12th, 2020 at 9:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears have signed linebacker Danny Trevathan to a new three-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Trevathan had been scheduled to become a free agent when the market opens.

Trevathan turns 30 years old later this month and missed time in 2019 due to an elbow injury, so there was no guarantee Chicago would re-sign the veteran ‘backer. Indeed, Trevathan has missed 19 of 64 games since inking a four-year, $28MM deal prior with the Bears to the 2016 campaign. But he’s shown enough when on the field — and as a locker room presence — to warrant a new deal from general manager Ryan Pace.

There’s no word as of yet on Trevathan’s new annual salary or guaranteed money. His $7MM yearly average now pales in comparison to the top of the off-ball linebacker market, where Bobby Wagner and C.J. Mosley currently top the list at $18MM and $17MM, respectively. Trevathan clearly won’t come close to those figures, but it’s possible he sees a bump on his previous per-year commitment.

A former sixth-round pick, Trevathan spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos before Denver allowed him to leave for Chicago. In 2018, Trevathan played all 16 games for just the second time in his career before missing seven contests in 2019. Last year, he posted 70 tackles and one sack while grading as Pro Football Focus‘ No. 39 linebacker among 89 qualifiers.

With Trevathan back in the fold, the Bears are almost assuredly prepared to let fellow linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski walk in free agency. Kwiatkoski, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, played the most defensive snaps (512) of his career last season, and could be a candidate for a surprisingly large free agent contract from another club.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/20

March 12th, 2020 at 8:12pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below:

RFAs

Tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

XFL Players Can Immediately Sign With NFL Teams

March 12th, 2020 at 7:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Now that the XFL has canceled the remainder of its 2020 season, XFL players are now allowed to sign with the NFL or any other league as soon as their exit physicals are completed on Friday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link).

The XFL had only completed half of its 10-game season, and was scheduled to hold a title game in late April. XFL players previously wouldn’t have been allowed to sign NFL contracts until the completion of the 2020 XFL campaign. But now, those players have an immediate shot at the NFL, and Pelissero mentions XFL stars such as quarterbacks Josh Johnson, P.J. Walker, Jordan Ta’amu could find deals quickly.

Walker, specifically, has already drawn interest from the Seahawks after putting together an excellent half-season for the Houston Roughnecks. He was leading the XFL in both passing yards and touchdowns while guiding Houston to an undefeated record, so the former undrafted free agent and Colts practice-squadder could be of interest to Seattle and other teams.

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