2022 March - Pro Football Rumors

Texans To Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin

March 17th, 2022 at 12:34pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Texans have re-signed several of their own pending free agents, but they are adding to their defense with an outside signing. According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the team is bringing in linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (Twitter link). The contract is for two years and $7.5MM.

Wilson adds that the deal includes $5MM in guaranteed money, and can reach a maximum value of $9MM. The 27-year-old had a breakout season in 2021, both in terms of playing time and production. Reeves-Maybin played 62% of the team’s defensive snaps after primarily being a special teamer up to that point.

With the increased opportunity, he started 11 of the 15 games he appeared in. The former fourth round pick totalled 82 tackles and two forced fumbles. That performance gave the Lions incentive to keep him for the future. “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays”, head coach Dan Campbell said when asked about him. “He’s a football player. And that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Instead, Reeves-Maybin will head to Houston on a deal roughly three times as lucrative as the one-year extension he signed in Detroit last year. The Lions’ LB corps now consists of Alex Anzalone, Josh Woods and Derrick Barnes at the top of the depth chart.

Buccaneers Restructure Mike Evans’ Deal

March 17th, 2022 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

Mike Evans has agreed to restructure his contract with the Buccaneers (Twitter link via Greg Auman of The Athletic). The wide receiver has done this several times before, enabling the Bucs to have more cap flexibility.

Evans’ last recent restructure came in September of 2021, bailing out the Bucs at a time when they had just $200K in breathing room. This time around, he was scheduled to count for $20.62MM against the cap. Now, Tampa will have an extra $10.3MM to work with.

This is likely a simple restructure, one that converts much of Evans’ base salary into a bonus. Assuming that’s the case, the crux of his deal will remain unchanged. As it stands, Evans is signed through the 2023 season, plus some void years for extra salary cap magic.

Evans, 28, notched 74 receptions for 1,035 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. He’ll look to top those totals this year alongside Chris Godwin (who has a shiny new deal), Breshad Perriman, and newcomer Russell Gage.

Falcons To Sign Casey Hayward

March 17th, 2022 at 11:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have agreed to sign Casey Hayward (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The veteran cornerback will receive a two-year, $11MM deal, keeping him under club control through the 2023 season.

Hayward spent the past five seasons with the Chargers, up until he was released in 2021. At the time, the move came as a surprise. Hayward’s first deal with the Bolts — three years, $15.3MM — produced two Pro Bowls and a second-team All-Pro nod. Ultimately, they bailed on the rest of his three-year, $34.25MM re-up, leading him to the rival Raiders.

Hayward, 33 in September, led the NFL with seven INTs in 2016. He’s slowed down a bit in recent years, though he did start in all 17 of his Raiders games last year, notching 46 tackles, one interception, three tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, and a safety.

The move will help to fortify the Falcons’ secondary, though Heyward is likely ticketed for a supporting role. The Falcons are still expected to target CB help in the draft next month, where they could use the No. 8 overall pick to take a top-ranked cover man like Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner.

Bills Release Cole Beasley

March 17th, 2022 at 11:26am CST by Adam La Rose

In an expected move, the Bills are moving on from one of the most experienced pieces of their offense. The team announced they have released receiver Cole Beasley.

Beasley, 32, started his career in Dallas in 2012; he joined the team as a UDFA. In seven seasons there, he established himself as a productive secondary option in the team’s passing attack. His best season there came in 2016, where he posted 75 catches for 833 yards and five touchdowns.

Having built a reputation as one of the league’s best slot receivers, he signed a four-year, $29MM deal with the Bills in 2019. He received no less than 106 targets in each of his three campaigns in Buffalo, setting new career highs in receptions (82), yards (967) and yards per catch (11.8) in 2020.

However, he was due to make $6.1MM in 2022, with a cap hit of just over $7.5MM. That led the team to allow him to seek a trade earlier this week. Obviously, a partner couldn’t be found, so the SMU product will now hit the open market. The Bills still have Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie at the top of the WR depth chart. They also have Dawson Knox and the recently-acquired O.J. Howard at the tight end spot.

The move saves the Bills just over $6MM. Given the money invested in their new additions – most notably Von Miller – they could certainly use the cap relief. For Beasley, meanwhile, he will join a free agent WR class still featuring Allen Robinson, but also another veteran slot option in Jarvis Landry.

Browns Out Of Contention For Deshaun Watson

March 17th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns are no longer in the running to land Deshaun Watson. The team has been informed Watson will not waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a move there, leaving Baker Mayfield as the team’s projected starting quarterback (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).

Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal notes that the team’s owners, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, “authorized a massive trade offer” for Watson. While that won’t take place now, since he isn’t interested in coming to Cleveland, it further demonstrates the team’s willingness to pursue an upgrade over Mayfield.

It came out earlier this week that the former No. 1 overall pick wouldn’t be part of the trade package the Texans would be receiving for Watson, if the Browns had won the bidding war to acquire him. Mayfield made it clear his preference would not be to end up Houston, but this whole process has led many to expect he will be playing somewhere other than Cleveland next season.

Mayfield, who will be 27 by the start of next year, has publicly acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding his future with the Browns. However, as Garafolo notes, the team informed him they would only search for “top-tier” signal callers to take his place. With Watson no longer available, keeping the former Heisman winner at a cost of $18.8MM is “still very much an option“.

As for Watson, the list of potential landing spots has been narrowed to three: New Orleans, Atlanta and Carolina. It was reported earlier today that the Saints have met with the three-time Pro Bowler for a second time, and have made the necessary salary cap moves to absorb his contract. At a minimum, this news makes it all-but certain Watson will be headed to the NFC South.

Steelers Cut Joe Schobert

March 17th, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have released Joe Schobert, per an official team press release. With free agency underway, the inside linebacker is now free to sign with any club in the NFL.

[RELATED: Steelers To Sign M. Jack]

Schobert — a.k.a. Joe-bert or Joe The Show — worked as a Browns starter for three seasons. He led the NFL with 144 tackles in 2017, earning him a Pro Bowl nod, and he led the Browns in stops in 2018 and ’19 as well. Then, he signed with the Jaguars in 2020 on a five-year, $53.75MM deal. The veteran ‘backer paced the Jags in tackles in 2020 (141 stops), but the effort came for a historically dreadful team. So, in August of 2021, the Jags shipped him to the Steelers for a 2022 sixth-rounder.

Schobert saw time in 16 games last year for the Steelers, including 15 starts. He notched 112 tackles, one interception, and six passes defensed, but the Steelers didn’t think he was worth his contract. They’ll save $7.8MM by releasing him with a modest $1.88MM in dead money left over.

There wasn’t much room for the 28-year-old (29 in November) following the addition of Myles Jack. Jack also comes at a cheaper rate with a two-year, $16MM deal.

Latest On Giants’ James Bradberry

March 17th, 2022 at 10:22am CST by Adam La Rose

New Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear at the start of the offseason that he intended to shed a significant amount of salary. While he has been able to do just that through a number of moves which were expected to be made, one of the biggest questions on the team centers on cornerback James Bradberry.

Many felt that the team would trade or release the 28-year-old before the new league year started Wednesday afternoon. Instead, as SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reports, New York may now hold onto him until after the Draft at the end of April.

The team has been fielding trade calls on the former second rounder, which still means he could be moved at any point. As Vacchiano notes, however, his market hasn’t been strong up to this point, since teams are aware of the cap savings the Giants would generate (just over $10.1MM) if they released him. Bradberry is due $13.4MM in salary this season – $2MM of which became guaranteed when the new league year began – but carries a cap hit of over $21.8MM on his current contract.

Vacchiano notes that keeping Bradberry is still an option for the Giants. The 2020 Pro Bowler has only missed a pair games during his two-year tenure in the Big Apple, in which he has totalled seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups. As the most important piece to the teams’ secondary, he would therefore play a large role if new defensive coordinator Don Martindale‘s scheme is to be successfully implemented.

Nothing currently appears imminent on the Bradberry front, then, which may remain the case for at least another month or so.

Commanders Expected To Sign Andrew Norwell

March 17th, 2022 at 9:28am CST by Adam La Rose

The Commanders look to be adding a significant piece to their offensive line. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, they are “close” to signing guard Andrew Norwell (Twitter link). An update from ESPN’s John Keim (on Twitter) adds that Norwell “has agreed to the deal”, the terms of which are not yet know.

Norwell, 30, began his career in Carolina in 2014. He was a full-time starter during that period, which overlapped with current Commanders head coach Ron Rivera‘s time in charge of the Panthers. He saved his best year for last in Charlotte, earning Pro Bowl and All Pro honors.

That earned him a lucrative second contract. The former Buckeye signed a five-year, $66.5MM deal with the Jaguars in 2018. While his play has been consistent in Jacksonville, it hasn’t reached the level of that 2017 campaign, at least from an analytical perspective. Norwell earned a solid 70.5 PFF grade in his first year in Duval County, but has been rated in the mid-60s ever since.

That makes it unsurprising that the Jaguars would allow the former UDFA to head elsewhere in free agency. After making $9MM in salary and carrying a cap charge of $15MM in 2021, Norwell became less of a priority on the interior of their o-line after the addition of Washington standout Brandon Scherff. It now appears that the Commanders have reciprocated that move by adding Norwell.

Saints, Deshaun Watson Meet Again

March 17th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints met with Deshaun Watson for a second time on Wednesday night, according to Nick Underhill (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link) hears that the decision is ultimately expected to come down to the Saints and Falcons.

Watson holds a no-trade clause and, therefore, effectively holds the cards. Wilson hears that the Saints have been working hard to get the Texans quarterback on board and they may be on the verge of getting the go-ahead.

Last night, we heard that Watson was “incredibly torn” about his decision after meeting with all four clubs. In addition to the Falcons and Saints, the Panthers and Browns have also been in trade talks with Texans GM Nick Caserio.

It’s also worth noting that the Saints have restructured the contracts of quarterback Taysom Hill, cornerback Bradley Roby, linebacker DeMario Davis and safety Malcolm Jenkins, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes. Between those moves and other restructures, the Saints now have roughly $30MM in cap room, which would be enough to absorb Watson’s contract.

Texans To Re-Sign Royce Freeman

March 17th, 2022 at 8:10am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans are re-signing Royce Freeman (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It’ll be a one-year deal for the veteran running back, who returns for his fifth pro season.

Freeman got into seven games for Houston last year, notching 92 yards off of 35 totes. He also added seven grabs for 62 yards, showing a little bit of the pass-catching skills he exhibited in 2019.

Freeman totaled 297 career carries for 1,187 yards and eight touchdowns with the Broncos. On the whole, the Oregon product has struggled with consistency, but he’s still only 26 and can offer solid support for the Texans’ RB group.

As of this writing, the Texans have four RBs under contract in Freeman, Rex Burkhead, Darius Anderson, Scottie Phillips, and Dare Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale, formerly of the Jaguars, agreed to join Houston last night on a two-year, $3.3MM deal.