HEADLINES

Month: June 2021

Patriots’ Dont’a Hightower On Retirement Rumors

June 16th, 2021 at 8:59am CST by Zachary Links

Despite speculation to the contrary, Patriots veteran Dont’a Hightower says he never considered retiring this offseason (via Chris Mason of Mass Live). After opting out of the 2020 season, the linebacker says it’s all systems go for 2021.

“I don’t know what y’all want for me to say, man. I’m here. I’m working. I’m in minicamp, bruh. I’m not here to write a story for you, dawg,” Hightower said. “I’m here to work, man. I’m here. I don’t know what else y’all want me to say. If I wasn’t here, then I think that would be something to talk about. But I’m here. Hopefully that knocks all those questions out.”

Hightower was one of several Patriots players to opt out last year. But, as he reminded reporters, he did so to protect his 2-week-old son.

Hightower was slated to make $8MM in base salary, his would-be walk year. March. Now, his contract has tolled, putting him on course for free agency next spring.

The 31-year-old has been a staple in the Patriots’ starting lineup since entering the league in 2012. Injuries aside – including a mostly lost 2017 – he’s served as the club’s locker room leader and the point guard of the defense. In 2019, the off-ball ‘backer earned his second Pro Bowl trip and even managed 5.5 sacks from the middle.

Needless to say, the Pats are happy to have him back in the fold this year. He’ll return to his place in the starting lineup alongside Kyle Van Noy and Ja’Whaun Bentley.

This Date In Transactions History: Giants Cut Phil Simms

June 16th, 2021 at 8:49am CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants saw Eli Manning retire last year, ending a 16-year run. The other Giants passer to be named Super Bowl MVP did not receive the same sendoff. Phil Simms‘ 15-season stay in New York ended 27 years ago today when the Giants released him.

Although Simms had reclaimed his starting job and led the Giants to the 1993 playoffs — en route to his second Pro Bowl — the team cut him due to salary cap concerns on June 16, 1994. The ’94 offseason was the first time NFL teams had to navigate a salary cap, which debuted at $34.6MM. Simms — 38 and fresh off of offseason shoulder surgery — was set to earn $2.32MM in the coming season.

Simms and Jeff Hostetler had split time in 1991 and ’92, with Hostetler winning New York’s QB1 job in 1991 after replacing an injured Simms late in the Giants’ 1990 Super Bowl-winning season. Simms started four games in ’92 but suffered a season-ending injury. However, the Giants let Hostetler sign with the Raiders in 1993 and reinstalled Simms as their starter. He started all 16 games, and the Giants came within an iconic Week 18 Emmitt Smith performance of earning home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. The Giants ended up beating the Vikings in the wild-card round before losing to the 49ers — in what would turn out to be the final NFL game for Simms and Lawrence Taylor — a week later.

“When the decision was made I said, ‘Oh my God.’ Afterward when I was driving home I was still kind of shocked and it was like I didn’t know what had happened,” Simms said. “I can honestly say I was not prepared for it.”

Current Giants co-owner John Mara said his father, Hall of Famer Wellington Mara, was against Hall of Fame GM George Young‘s decision to cut Simms. But the team made the move and handed the reins to 1992 first-round supplemental draft pick Dave Brown. He started the next three seasons for the Giants — who missed the playoffs in each of those slates — with Kent Graham and Danny Kanell then bridging the gap to 1999 free agency addition Kerry Collins.

Simms later said three teams submitted offers for him to continue his career. While he ultimately retired, Simms visited the Browns — then coached by former Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick — in 1995. He stayed retired and continued in the broadcast booth instead. The Super Bowl XXI MVP, Simms ranks behind only Manning in passing yards (33,462) and touchdown passes (199) in Giants history.

Seahawks Confident On Jamal Adams Deal

June 15th, 2021 at 9:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Angling for a new contract for the second straight offseason, Jamal Adams is staying away from Seahawks minicamp. But the team has excused Adams’ absence, stopping any fines from piling up.

Pete Carroll confirmed Adams contract talks have begun, but ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson reports these negotiations have not produced much movement yet. The team nevertheless remains confident a deal will be finalized.

“It’s been ongoing and it’s been amicable throughout,” Carroll said of the Adams extension talks. “We recognize that he’s a fantastic football player and we’re in the midst of, it’s a big contract process. But I know he knows he’s been treated with a lot of respect and he’s been very respectful towards the club as well. They’ve been good talks. It just hasn’t been able to get settled at this point, but it’s coming.”

Carroll stopped short of saying he expects an extension to be completed by the start of training camp, but after the Seahawks traded two first-round picks for Adams, it is fairly clear they view him as a part of their future. Carroll expects Adams to show for training camp. The 2020 CBA made holdouts more difficult to wage, so Adams will face significant financial penalties were he to remain away from the team during training camp.

The Seahawks informed Adams they did not intend to complete an extension last year, with Henderson adding the uncertainty regarding the 2021 salary cap factored into the former top-10 pick playing out the fourth year of his rookie deal (at $3.59MM) last season. Now tied to the fifth-year option, Adams is set to earn $9.86MM this season.

Broncos star Justin Simmons stands as the league’s highest-paid safety at $15.25MM per year, setting that new high-water mark earlier this year. Meanwhile, Landon Collins leads all safeties in full guarantees at $44.5MM. Despite Adams doing his best work in the box, he is a three-time Pro Bowler who is one of the best at his position. It will likely take a new safety-record deal for the Seahawks to lock in the 25-year-old standout long-term, given his lengthy quest for a second contract. Should the Seahawks fail to hammer out an agreement with Adams this year, they will have the franchise tag at their disposal come March.

Vikings Waive P Zach Von Rosenberg

June 15th, 2021 at 8:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Zach Von Rosenberg‘s hopes of going from minor league baseball to the NFL hit a snag Tuesday. The Vikings’ Sheldon Richardson signing led to the departure of the aspiring punter.

Minnesota waived Von Rosenberg on Tuesday, leaving Britton Colquitt as the only punter on the team’s 90-man roster. Colquitt has held the Vikes’ punting job for the past two seasons.

Von Rosenberg spent six years in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system, going from rookie league to the High-A level. The former sixth-round MLB pick spent time as a starter and a reliever in this span but left baseball after the 2014 season.

The Vikings signed the pitcher-turned-punter as a UDFA in May. Von Rosenberg, now 30, spent the past four seasons as LSU’s punter. He ended his Baton Rouge run with two second-team All-SEC honors. The rest of the NFL will have a chance to claim the developmental specialist on waivers.

Nick Chubb Aiming For Browns Extension

June 15th, 2021 at 8:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The running back salary landscape has shifted somewhat over the past year and change. Several members of the 2017 running back class secured long-term extensions, creating a host of new eight-figure-per-year contracts. One of 2018’s top draftees is now up for a new deal.

Nick Chubb has become one of the NFL’s top backs but has no intention of testing the market. The fourth-year back said Tuesday, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he believes his agent has begun extension talks with the Browns. Chubb would prefer that scenario reaching a lucrative conclusion. He has not set a deadline regarding an extension, Cabot adds.

“I don’t like uncertainty, and I know here in Cleveland what I have with the players and coaches,’’ Chubb said. “This is the city of Cleveland, and I don’t know how things will be anywhere else. So Cleveland is where I want to be and that is my main focus – to be here in Cleveland.”

This plan will probably work for the Browns, even though they have a couple of other high-profile extension candidates — Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward — on which to focus at some point in the near future. Chubb has become the centerpiece player on Cleveland’s offense. After finishing second in the 2019 rushing race (1,494 yards), Chubb rushed for a career-high 12 touchdowns last season. The Georgia product did that in just 12 games, averaging 5.6 yards per carry in an injury-shortened slate.

Although the Browns gave Kareem Hunt an extension, the former rushing champion/overqualified backup is signed through 2022 at just $6MM per year. Chubb will undoubtedly be eyeing a top-tier running back contract. Christian McCaffrey‘s $16MM-AAV extension now tops the market, with six backs drafted from 2016-17 also signed for at least $12MM annually. While Chubb does not contribute much in the passing game, he has proven to be one of the league’s best ball carriers. The 25-year-old back will be able to comfortably ask for a deal north of that $12MM-per-year threshold.

The Browns have Chubb under contract through the end of this season but retain exclusive negotiating rights through next March’s legal tampering period. Should no deal be reached by then, the franchise tag will be an option. This did not end up being necessary for six of the seven eight-figure-per-year backs. McCaffrey signed with two years of rookie-contract control left; so did Ezekiel Elliott. Alvin Kamara, Joe Mixon and Dalvin Cook signed their deals going into their contract years — Chubb’s present window — while the Packers extended Aaron Jones just ahead of his free agency. Derrick Henry‘s 2020 tag led to a $12.5MM-AAV extension.

Rashaad Penny Underwent Offseason Knee Surgery

June 15th, 2021 at 7:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks’ Rashaad Penny draft choice surprised most at the time, and the first-round pick has not lived up to the team’s expectations. A 2019 injury did the most to sidetrack the running back’s career.

The ACL tear Penny sustained in December 2019 continues to impact his status. Penny underwent surgery on the same knee this offseason, Pete Carroll said Tuesday. Although Carroll called the operation a cleanup procedure, per ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson (on Twitter), the 12th-year Seahawks HC generally veers toward the overly optimistic side when assessing injuries.

Penny is not participating fully at the Seahawks’ minicamp, though Carroll said the fourth-year back is getting some work in. The 2019 knee injury and subsequent surgery sidelined Penny for most of the 2020 season, but he is expected to be ready for training camp this year. The Seahawks did not activate Penny until mid-December of last season — more than a year after the tear — and he logged just 11 touches in the three games he played last season. Seattle did not pick up his fifth-year option in May, turning the 2021 season into a contract year.

Penny’s knee injury halted a season in which he was averaging 5.7 yards per carry; the San Diego State product had amassed 203 rushing yards in his previous two games. The Seahawks brought in Carlos Hyde as a Penny substitute in 2020 but let him defect to the Jaguars this year, thinning out the depth chart behind Chris Carson.

The recently re-signed Carson remains Seattle’s starter, but the team does not have much in the way of experience behind Penny. Recent Day 3 picks Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas and second-stint Seahawk Alex Collins represent the other notable names on the depth chart. Considering Carson missed four games last season, the competition for the Seahawks’ third-string back stands to be more relevant than such battles usually are.

QB Derek Carr Discusses Future With Raiders

June 15th, 2021 at 6:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Derek Carr has been the subject of trade rumors over the past few years, but the Raiders quarterback doesn’t intend to play anywhere but Las Vegas. In fact, Carr said today that he’d rather retire than be traded to a new squad.

“I’d probably quit football if I had to play for somebody else,” Carr said (via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez). “I am a Raider for my entire life. I’m going to root for one team for the rest of my life — it’s the Raiders. So, I just feel that so strong in my heart I don’t need a perfect situation … to make things right.

“I’d rather go down with the ship, you know what I’m saying, if I have to.”

While the front office has continually supported the three-time Pro Bowler, that hasn’t stopped the trade rumors; it was only February that we last heard that Carr could be on the move. While the 30-year-old has managed to put up some solid individual numbers (including a handful of franchise records), the Raiders have only made the playoffs once since he entered the NFL in 2014.

Until the Raiders return to the postseason, there will continue to be question marks surrounding Carr’s future in Las Vegas, but the quarterback made it clear that he wouldn’t consider reversing his fortunes elsewhere.

“I’m that old-school mentality — I’m playing for one team and that’s it,” Carr said. “Whether we’ve won enough or not, I literally give every bit of energy and effort that I can to this organization and when I sign a contract, I completely, in my mind, have to fulfill that. I committed to that. I put my name on paper.”

Carr inked a five-year, $125MM contract in 2017. The deal expires at the end of the 2022 campaign.

Falcons Sign Five Draft Picks

June 15th, 2021 at 5:49pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons recently carved out some cap space via the Julio Jones trade, and they’re now starting to ink rookies to contracts. The team announced today that they’ve signed five draft picks to rookie deals: third-round offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield, fifth-round defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham, fifth-round linebacker Adetokunbo Ogundeji, fifth-round cornerback Avery Williams, and sixth-round wideout Frank Darby.

Mayfield, who was taken with the No. 68 pick, is naturally the most notable signing. The lineman appeared in 18 games through three seasons at Michigan, allowing only a pair of sacks. Mayfield put himself on the NFL map after helping guide the 2019 Michigan running game to more than 2,000 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns.

Ogundeji is an intriguing prospect following a productive career at Notre Dame. The defensive lineman saw time in 43 games for the Irish, compiling 13 sacks, six forced fumbles, and 17 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, while Williams had a solid stint at Boise State as a defensive back, he was prolific on special teams, and he could immediately find himself as one of the Falcons’ key returners next season.

Following the five signings, the Falcons have four draft picks who remain unsigned:

NT Eddie Goldman No-Shows Bears Mandatory Minicamp

June 15th, 2021 at 5:08pm CST by Ben Levine

Nose tackle Eddie Goldman was a no-show at Bears mandatory minicamp today. Matt Nagy told reporters that he’s talked with the veteran defensive lineman, but the head coach also noted that the absence was unexcused (per Adam Jahns of The Athletic on Twitter). Nagy said he expects Goldman to be present during July’s training camp.

[RELATED: Allen Robinson To Show For Bears’ Minicamp]

Goldman signed a four-year, $42MM extension ($25MM guaranteed) with the Bears back in 2018. That deal was set to expire following the 2022 campaign, but the deal was extended to 2023 after the veteran sat out the 2020 campaign. As part of that move, Goldman agreed to a $350K stipend during the 2020 season, and his original 2020 salary of $4.75MM was pushed to 2021. It’s unknown if Goldman’s current absence is contract related, but this wrinkle could be a potential explanation.

The 2015 second-round pick has spent his entire career with the Bears, appearing in 67 games. Prior to sitting out the 2020 season, the veteran had only missed a pair of games between the 2017 and 2019 seasons, collecting 4.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and eight QB hits over that span.

Vikings Sign Third-Round QB Kellen Mond

June 15th, 2021 at 3:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kellen Mond signed his rookie contract Tuesday, locking him in through the 2024 season. The third-rounder’s status as Kirk Cousins‘ heir apparent is not yet known, but the Vikings will have time to find out.

Minnesota selected Mond with the second pick in the third round (66th overall), doing so one spot ahead of the Texans. Houston is believed to have sought Mond at No. 67, but the Texas A&M alum will end up leaving the Lone Star State to serve as Cousins’ backup/potential successor.

Mond marks the first QB the Vikings have brought in who could double as a Cousins competitor. The team has previously stationed true QB2s — Trevor Siemian, Sean Mannion — behind its well-paid starter; Mond represents a deviation from that strategy. Cousins is just 32 and has put up nice stats with the Vikings, but the franchise entered the draft with a goal of acquiring a younger passer. After the Vikes’ Justin Fields pursuit proved unsatisfactory, they set their sights on Mond a day later.

A three-year Aggies starter, Mond finished his career with a 71-27 TD-INT ratio despite facing perennially tough schedules in the SEC. Third-round QBs’ success rate commandeering starting jobs is low, giving Cousins a bit of security for the time being. Minnesota’s incumbent passer is signed through 2022 and has a whopping $45MM cap number next season. Mond’s development may well determine if Cousins receives a third contract offer from the Vikings.

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