Here are today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
The Harvard product has spent the past two seasons with the Cowboys, including a 2018 campaign when he appeared in a career-high 10 games. After not seeing the field through the first two-plus months of the 2019 season, Redmond landed on the injured reserve. The lineman was set to be an exclusive rights free agent.
DeForest Buckner is set to hit free agency following the 2020 season, and the 49ers are apparently motivated to sign him to a long-term deal. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes that the organization is “pushing to try to make” an extension a “reality.”
The 2016 first-round pick has emerged as one of the 49ers top players, as he’s collected 19.5 sacks over the past two seasons. He got a Pro Bowl nod following his breakout 2018 campaign, and he earned first-team All-Pro recognition following the 2019 season.
Last April, the organization exercised the fifth-year option on the defensive tackle. He’ll earn a $14.36MM base salary in 2020 before hitting free agency next spring.
While the 49ers may be working on an extension for Buckner, the front office will also have to switch focus to their current free agents. Earlier today, wideout Emmanuel Sanders revealed that his camp hasn’t had any discussions with the 49ers regarding a new contract (Twitter link).
The Patriots saw their offense decline considerably last season. The team cycled through wideouts and did not come especially close to replacing Rob Gronkowski. With Tom Brady on the doorstep of free agency, this certainly marks an unusual time for the 11-time reigning AFC East champions.
New England is looking into potential trades for wide receivers and/or tight ends, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, perhaps to help entice Brady to return. A trade-happy franchise during more stable offseasons, the Pats exploring deals should not necessarily surprise. But it could pertain to their quarterback situation.
Brady worked with either Randy Moss or Gronkowski from 2007-2018 and had high-end Gronk replacement Martellus Bennett in the fold in 2016. But the Pats struggled for much of last season, failing to bring in a viable Gronk successor and seeing both Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon in uniform for a short time. Julian Edelman remains under contract, going into his age-34 season, and N’Keal Harry will ideally be available for the first half of the 2020 slate. But Brady has expressed a desire to be surrounded with more talent, per Breer, and the Patriots are now competing with other teams for their 19-year starting quarterback.
The Patriots — who acquired Bennett, Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and Brandin Cooks via trades in recent years — have just one week before the legal tampering period. It is also possible the Pats will use the trade market to upgrade around a Brady replacement. But for now, they are still interested in re-signing the future Hall of Famer.
The Titans and Chargers remain in the mix for Brady, with a few other teams likely looming with some degree of interest. The 49ers rumors that emerged last week were driven more by the Brady camp than the 49ers, Breer adds. While the Raiders may be pivoting to a cheaper quarterback option, Breer notes the Bolts are still in this chase. They have Keenan Allen and Mike Williams under contract and are expected to use their franchise tag on Hunter Henry, thus taking away a potential free agent option for the Patriots.
Tahir Whitehead‘s Raiders run will end after two seasons. The team released the veteran linebacker on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Raiders have since announced the move.
One season remained on Whitehead’s three-year, $19MM deal. The Raiders cutting Whitehead will save them $6.25MM, bumping their cap-space figure up north of $56MM.
Set to turn 30 in two weeks, Whitehead provided durability in Oakland. Part of Jon Gruden‘s initial free agency class upon coming back to the NFL, Whitehead started all 32 Raiders games during his tenure. He has not missed a start since the 2016 season and has only missed three games in his eight-year career. The former Lions starter also extended his streak of 100-tackle seasons to four during the Raiders’ Oakland swansong, posting 108 stops.
Whitehead was by far Oakland’s tackles leader in each of his two seasons there, registering 126 in 2018. But he is no longer in line to be part of the franchise’s Las Vegas run.
This will leave the Raiders in need at multiple linebacker spots. They relied on Whitehead last year after signings of Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall did not work out. Although Burfict has since been reinstated from his suspension, the perpetual suspension risk is certainly no lock to come back. No Gruden-era draftee resides on Las Vegas’ roster at linebacker, pointing the Raiders toward addressing this area in both free agency and the draft.
In the final days of a one-year Falcons contract, Steven Means landed another. The Falcons will bring back the veteran defensive end for the 2020 season, the team announced Monday.
It’s a one-year deal for the 29-year-old defender. The Falcons gave Means a one-year, $805K deal in February 2019.
With Means coming off a lost season due to an ACL tear during OTAs, this pact also figures to be a league-minimum agreement. The CBA proposal passing would stand to increase Means’ salary by more than $100K.
Means, 29, originally caught on with the Falcons in September 2018, agreeing to terms after being part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII-winning roster. He has registered one sack in each of the last three seasons and made four starts for the 2018 Falcons. The former Buccaneers fifth-round pick will be in line to vie for a Falcons backup job again this summer.
The Falcons also waived tackle Lukayus McNeil on Monday.
Although linked to tackles at No. 11 overall, the Jets plan to first use free agency to begin their offensive line remodeling. And they have big goals come March.
Gang Green will aim to sign two top-end offensive linemen in free agency, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes. The Jets face the extraordinarily rare prospect of having zero starters return from their 2019 Week 1 lineup, though right guard Brian Winters is not completely out of the picture to return.
After the release of Trumaine Johnson, the Jets are expected to hold more than $52MM in cap space. That is a middle-of-the-pack figure, but the team has been connected to high-priced guards Joe Thuney and Graham Glasgow. They also plan to be in the mix for along with right tackle Jack Conklin, who may exit free agency as the NFL’s highest-paid O-lineman.
The goal, though, looks to be exiting free agency with two of the market’s top blockers rather than supplementing one big-ticket blocker with other low-cost linemen or adding one and waiting for the draft to fill out the unit. Trent Williams may factor into this equation; the Jets are exploring a possible trade for the Redskins left tackle.
The Jets still want to retain left guard Alex Lewis, per Mehta, who adds that the addition of a starting-caliber lineman in the draft is also a priority. Lewis would qualify as a returning starter; he took Kelechi Osemele‘s job after the 2019 trade acquisition suffered an injury. GM Joe Douglas may be planning to use Lewis, two free agent additions and a first-round pick as four of his five starters. This puzzle will be difficult to complete, especially with the Jets still negotiating with Robby Anderson on what would likely be a deal worth more than $10MM per year.
Gang Green is also planning to pursue edge rushers and cornerbacks in free agency. Their cap space may not be enough to accomplish all of this, and it would seem Douglas and Co. would need to prioritize. The Jets of recent years have not been shy about throwing money around in free agency, but Douglas will obviously hope his expenses turn out better than predecessor Mike Maccagnan‘s.
Three players will join Russell Okung in vying for the role of NFLPA president. Browns center J.C. Tretter, Giants safety Michael Thomas and Buccaneers linebacker Sam Acho have received nominations for union president, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Okung, who unveiled his candidacy earlier this year, was also nominated Monday. Okung, Thomas and Acho are current members of the NFLPA’s executive committee. Tretter serves as the Browns’ third co-alternate union representative.
The NFLPA will elect its next president on Tuesday; the union’s board members are meeting in south Florida this week to discuss key matters. One item obviously overshadows the rest this week. Players now have until 10:59pm CT Saturday to vote on the CBA. The NFLPA voted Monday to delay the deadline for two days.
Eric Winston has served in the role since 2014, but he will cycle out of it after ending his playing career after the 2018 season. The next president may or may not be thrust into a high-stakes situation. If more than 50% of players vote against CBA ratification, the 2020 season will be played under the 2011 CBA. That CBA expires in March 2021. Players voting against the proposal will increase the prospects of a strike or lockout next year.
Of the new members, Okung and Thomas submitted “no” votes on the CBA; Acho voted “yes” on the proposal, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Tretter did not indicate which way he has voted on the owners’ offer, Pelissero adds (via Twitter). Okung has been a hard-liner against the 17-game schedule, so much so he filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the staff of the NFLPA, Ken Belson of the New York Times reports.
Okung’s filing accuses union executive director DeMaurice Smith of forcing a union-wide CBA vote despite objections from the executive committee, Belson adds. The executive committee voted 6-5 in February not to recommend the owners’ CBA proposal, and after the Combine meeting, the executive committee was at 7-4 against recommending the CBA, Belson reports. However, the union’s 32-player board voted to send the proposal for a union-wide vote.
Should the recent Panthers trade acquisition receive the keys after the players vote down a proposal Smith and Winston championed, the league could be set for period of uncertainty over the next several months.
The Colts have been the team most closely connected to Philip Rivers this offseason. While others are linked to the eight-time Pro Bowler, the mutual interest between the Colts and Rivers has affected teams’ perception of this particular market.
Many with rival teams are expecting Rivers to sign with the Colts, according to Albert Breer of SI.com. Jim Irsay said recently all options were on the table for his team, which turned to Jacoby Brissett after Andrew Luck‘s retirement.
The Buccaneers and Redskins are also interested, likely the former more so than the latter, and a league source told CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora he expects Bruce Arians to persuade Rivers to sign with Tampa Bay. The 16-year veteran moved his family to north Florida this offseason.
While the Bucs boast the superior wide receiver tandem, the Colts have the better offensive line. And Rivers’ connections to Frank Reich and OC Nick Sirianni, both ex-Chargers assistants, will almost certainly impact the chase for the true free agent market’s second-highest-profile quarterback. Rivers remains close with both Colts staffers.
Rivers is targeting a two-year window to extend his career and wants to do so with a team in position to contend. Retirement, however, is not off the table. ESPN has entered the Rivers sweepstakes, showing interest in the 38-year-old quarterback as an analyst. Though, the network’s plans involve several moving parts.
12:15pm: The NFL is now considering moving the deadline for teams to apply franchise and/or transition tags to players, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The new league year beginning March 18, however, will not move, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
12:00pm: The NFLPA will give its full union body more time to vote on this CBA proposal. The union’s board voted to delay the deadline two days. Players will now have until 10:59pm CT Saturday to vote on the proposal. Votes were previously due at 10:59pm Thursday.
This comes as the union is set to elect its next president. Russell Okung, a vocal opponent of the 17-game schedule included in this CBA, is the only confirmed candidate. But others could be nominated Monday. The union will elect its next leader Tuesday.
A number of players wanted the union to produce a side-by-side comparison of this CBA proposal compared to 2011’s, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, helping to explain the delay. If more than 50% of players vote to ratify, the CBA will pass and be in place for 10 years.
This will also cloud NFL business. Teams have until 3pm CT Thursday to place franchise or transition tags on players. The league moved the tag deadline back from March 10 to March 12 but opted against pushing the tag window back again. But with the CBA vote now pushed to a date after the franchise-transition window’s closing, it is fair to wonder if the NFL will adjust its calendar again as well. Teams could use both tags but would have to rescind one if the players ratify the CBA.
Both NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and outgoing president Eric Winston (via Peter King of NBC Sports) expect it to pass. But this delay, and the prospect of Okung succeeding Winston, could cloud such optimism. Because of the enormous reach CBA opponents Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt, Russell Wilson and other stars have, Breer notes the large sect of league-minimum players are not automatically expected to vote to ratify the CBA — even if it’s in that group’s best interest. The vote is expected to be close, Breer adds.
Shortly after news emerged that Rhett Ellison was considering retirement, the Giants tight end will follow through. Ellison announced his retirement Monday. He played eight NFL seasons.
The 31-year-old blocking tight end saw his 2019 season end because of a concussion, and that setback led to this announcement. Ellison was under contract for the 2020 season, at a career-high $4.9MM base salary, but will step away from the game instead.
Ellison signed a four-year, $18MM deal with the Giants in 2017 and played in 40 games with the team. He spent his first four seasons with the Vikings, arriving in Minnesota as a 2012 fourth-round pick. Ellison caught 118 passes for 1,189 yards and seven touchdowns in his 113-game career, working alongside Kyle Rudolph and then Evan Engram.
A USC alum, Ellison posted a career-high 272 receiving yards in 2018. Ellison helped the Giants during Engram’s latest injury-marred season, but the concussion he sustained resulted in the Giants finishing the season without their top two tight ends.
The Giants have Engram under contract through 2020 but can control him through 2021 via the fifth-year option. They have been linked to Jason Witten, whom new OC Jason Garrett coached for nine seasons in Dallas, but nothing on that front has emerged in weeks.