HEADLINES

Month: April 2024

Latest On 2024 First-Round Quarterbacks

April 3rd, 2024 at 10:15pm CST by Ely Allen

In a recent article for The Washington Post, NFL insider and analyst Jason La Canfora provided his projection for how the first-round quarterbacks may play out in this year’s draft. After the seemingly obvious prediction of USC quarterback Caleb Williams to Chicago, La Canfora declared a somewhat more surprising projection: national championship-winning Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy going second overall to the Commanders.

The first reasoning that La Canfora points to is the betting markets. Though betting odds are fickle and often change at the slightest whims, they can quite often predict the likeliest outcome, and right now, McCarthy’s odds of getting picked right after Williams are skyrocketing. Secondarily, La Canfora points to an evaluator who compared McCarthy to “another (Brock) Purdy.”

New Commanders general manager Adam Peters comes from the 49ers front office that selected Purdy as the last pick of the draft two years ago. If McCarthy is demonstrating the attributes that drew Peters and company to Purdy, that also helps the Michigan passer’s chances of heading to Washington. Unfortunately, that same brain trust in San Francisco was responsible for the trade to move up for Trey Lance, so Peters’ history with picking quarterbacks may be hit or miss.

La Canfora also claims that the Giants are highest on McCarthy over the other remaining quarterbacks after Williams is drafted, but if he goes to the Commanders, as La Canfora predicts, New York will have to settle for another option: LSU Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels.

La Canfora doesn’t take it as fact that Daniels is headed to New York, though. He reports that the Raiders, who currently hold the 13th overall pick of the first round, “badly want to move up” to land Daniels. This rumor makes a ton of sense when you consider that Las Vegas’ head coach Antonio Pierce got an up-close look at Daniels when the two were together at Arizona State for several years. The team isn’t very well-positioned to make the move, but according to two general managers in the league, the Raiders are making the effort, nonetheless.

Aside from those two bigger predictions, La Canfora’s projection is fairly in-line with what we’ve been seeing. He predicts that the first four picks will be quarterbacks (Williams to Chicago, McCarthy to Washington, Daniels to New York, and North Carolina passer Drake Maye to Minnesota [via trade]), he sees the Raiders settling for Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. if they can’t trade up, and he sees Oregon quarterback Bo Nix becoming the fifth first-round quarterback of the draft thanks to the Ravens trading down so that the Broncos can select him 30th overall.

This all continues a wild runup to what is certainly shaping up to be an unpredictable 2024 NFL Draft. A top-heavy quarterback draft class has provided pundits and analysts alike with myriad predictions for how everything will play out. With a little over three weeks until the all-important date, the sequence of events following the No. 1 overall pick is unclear as ever.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/24

April 3rd, 2024 at 8:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: DT Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi

Dortch was tendered as an exclusive rights free agent a month ago, essentially ensuring that the diminutive receiver would be back in 2024. He made it official today, though, signing his one-year exclusive rights tender.

Ndubuisi entered the league as a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program in 2022 as an offensive lineman. After failing to make a roster, he returned to the IPPP as a defensive tackle. He spent all of 2023 on the Broncos’ practice squad and most recently spent a week and a half with the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL. Ndubuisi will look to make his NFL debut with Washington in 2024.

AFC Restructures: Howard, Mason, Wilson

April 3rd, 2024 at 7:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans front office did some work recently to help with their cap situation. The bigger of their two recent moves saw them address the contract of veteran offensive tackle Tytus Howard, per Field Yates of ESPN.

Howard agreed to a restructured contract in which Houston converted $12.88MM of his 2024 base salary (originally worth $14MM) into a signing bonus. The Texans also added two void years onto the end of his existing deal. The adjustments to his contract resulted in the clearance of $10.3MM of cap space for Houston.

Here are a few other restructured deals seen recently around the AFC:

  • Houston also adjusted the contract of fellow offensive lineman Shaq Mason, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The new deal saw the Texans convert $8.04MM of Mason’s 2024 base salary (originally worth $9.25MM) into a signing bonus while, once again, adding two voidable years to the end of the contract. The resulting changes added an additional $6.4MM to Houston’s salary cap space.
  • Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald informed us that a restructured deal was also underway for Patriots cornerback Marco Wilson. The new contract is a one-year, $1.2MM deal with $600K of guaranteed money, including a $300K signing bonus. The restructure results in approximately $750K of additional cap space for New England. Wilson’s new deal also contains a $200K workout bonus, $500K in potential per game active roster bonuses, $416K in incentives that are likely to be earned, and $750K in incentives classified as not likely to be earned.

49ers Sign RB Patrick Taylor

April 3rd, 2024 at 6:54pm CST by Ely Allen

The 49ers added some running back depth in the form of former Packers backup Patrick Taylor, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Taylor joins an already crowded room as a likely camp body who will attempt to break into a bigger role over the offseason.

Taylor was an undrafted signee for the Packers out of Memphis in 2020. After two stellar years with the Tigers in which he rushed for a combined 1,988 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, Taylor would lose the back half of his senior year to a foot injury. Green Bay took a flyer on him as an undrafted free agent, and he spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list before making his way to the practice squad in 2021.

In his sophomore season, Taylor would be promoted to the active roster in November to make his NFL debut, appearing in nine games that season while rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown. In the two years since, he has played in 15 games, rushing for 172 yards.

He didn’t spend all of the 2023 season in Green Bay, though. The Packers actually waived Taylor after signing him to their active roster in October. As a free agent, the Patriots signed Taylor to their own practice squad. Green Bay made the move to bring him back, signing him off New England’s practice squad to their active roster, where he would spend the remainder of the season.

In San Francisco, Taylor arrives to a room that already contains the highest-paid running back in the NFL, Christian McCaffrey. Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason both shared backup duties pretty equally in 2023, though Mitchell missed quite a few games with injury, and both are set to return. Taylor brings a bit more receiving experience to the room, but McCaffrey is pretty good at that, too.

So, in Taylor comes with a bit of competition ahead of him. He’ll try to earn his way onto the roster and, perhaps, could be stashed to use in the case of further missed time by Mitchell or others.

NFC Contract Details: Bucs, Mayfield, Eagles, Sweat, Parker, Rams, Garoppolo, Saints

April 3rd, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the details from some of the recently agreed-upon contracts around the NFC:

  • Baker Mayfield, QB (Buccaneers). Three years, $100MM. Of the $50MM in Mayfield guarantees, $40MM is fully guaranteed. The other $10MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2025 league year. Mayfield can also earn $5MM per year via incentives, Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes. Half of those are stat-based incentives. If Mayfield finishes in the top 10 in the NFL (or top five in the NFC) in passer rating, TD passes, yards, yards per attempt or completion percentage in any of the three years, he would earn $500K per category, Auman adds. The other $2.5MM per year comes through playoff incentives. Mayfield would earn $500K for a Bucs wild-card win, $750K for a divisional-round conquest and $500K for an NFC championship game win. If the Bucs are to win a Super Bowl with Mayfield at the helm, he would collect another $750K.
  • Darious Williams, CB (Rams). Three years, $22.5MM. Only $7MM of Williams’ $15MM guarantee is locked in at signing, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. This contract’s key date will come on Day 5 of the 2025 league year, when the remaining $8MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee. Barring injury, this effectively makes 2024 a “prove it” year for the now-two-time Rams CB.
  • Josh Sweat, DE (Eagles). One year, $10MM. The Eagles’ Sweat rework will bring $9.5MM guaranteed for the veteran defensive end, per OverTheCap. Philly used four void years to spread out the cap hit, which sits at $8.1MM for 2024. If Sweat signs elsewhere before this contract’s March 2025 expiration, the Eagles will be tagged with $16.4MM in dead money.
  • Cedrick Wilson, WR (Saints). Two years, $5.75MM. The Saints are guaranteeing Wilson $2.85MM, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell notes. The second-generation NFL wideout will be due a $200K roster bonus in 2025; none of Wilson’s ’25 salary ($2.7MM) is guaranteed.
  • Jimmy Garoppolo, QB (Rams). One year, $3.18MM. Previously reported as including $4.5MM in base value, the Rams’ Garoppolo contract (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) contains $3.18MM in base pay.
  • Ben Bredeson, G (Buccaneers). One year, $3MM. Bredeson’s Bucs pact includes $1.75MM guaranteed, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets.
  • DeVante Parker, WR (Eagles). One year, $1.21MM. The Patriots are paying most of Parker’s deal, with $3.19MM guaranteed remaining on his 2023 extension. The Eagles are not guaranteeing the former first-rounder anything, Volin tweets. The Pats will receive a $1.98MM cap credit if Parker plays the whole 2024 season.

Texans’ Offer Changed Bills’ Stefon Diggs Plan

April 3rd, 2024 at 2:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Cutting the cord on a productive but stressful Stefon Diggs period, the Bills are eating the most dead money ever brought on by a wide receiver. They accepted a Texans offer centered around a 2025 second-round pick, effectively resetting at wide receiver during an offseason that had already seen the AFC power part with a few veteran pieces.

The Bills, however, were believed to be planning to keep Diggs for the 2024 season. Despite the headaches the talented wideout had been known to cause, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia and Dianna Russini indicate GM Brandon Beane had Diggs in his plans — as he had said previously this offseason (subscription required). While decision-makers often backtrack on such statements via subsequent trades, the Bills were still aiming to retain Diggs as his extension years started.

Given the $31.1MM in dead money hitting Buffalo’s 2024 cap sheet, it makes sense the team was moving forward with the perennial Pro Bowler. But the Texans called about the nine-year veteran Tuesday, per The Athletic, and the Bills discussed the deal to the point ownership was brought in on the matter. Buffalo agreed to the terms this morning, sending Diggs to Houston to team with Nico Collins and Tank Dell around C.J. Stroud‘s rookie contract. As the Texans load up around a rookie contract, the Bills are retooling around their veteran QB accord.

While the structure of Diggs’ 2022 extension will put the Bills in a tough spot this year, the team looks to have viewed a future second-rounder — initially a Vikings pick obtained by the Texans last month — as sufficient value for a player who would have been less likely to fetch such an asset as he aged. Diggs will turn 31 this season. Considering Keenan Allen commanded only a fourth-rounder last month, Diggs bringing back a second-round choice — one tied to a Minnesota team that just lost Kirk Cousins — brought decent value for a player who struggled down the stretch of his age-30 season.

Beane said (via the Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran) the Bills are “by no means” taking a step back, but the four-time reigning division champs have moved on from several longtime starters this offseason. They released seven-year safety starter Jordan Poyer, five-year center bastion Mitch Morse and injury-prone All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White. Buffalo also has Micah Hyde, who joined Poyer in being part of Sean McDermott‘s first free agency class, unsigned. The team has a new safety plan, and David Edwards is poised to take over at center. But wide receiver has gone from a top need to a glaring deficiency.

Other Diggs inquiries have come in, Beane said (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg), but the Bills — who parted with a package fronted by a 2020 first-round pick — viewed this one as enough to move on. The calls on Diggs date back to last year, with Beane declining to confirm (via the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi) if the wide receiver requested a trade. The eighth-year GM informed Josh Allen about the prospect of a trade before it was finalized, Getzenberg adds.

This move guts Allen’s receiving corps. Although the Bills saw promising early returns from 2023 first-round tight end Dalton Kincaid, Diggs and Gabe Davis operated as Allen’s Nos. 1 and 2 wideouts for the past two seasons. That came after Davis’ four-TD game in the 2021 divisional round. Diggs delivered two 1,400-plus-yard seasons as a Bill, leading the NFL in receiving yards upon being acquired in 2020. A notable slump took place to close last season.

Diggs did not score a touchdown over the Bills’ final seven regular-season games and averaged just 41.0 yards per game in that span. He closed the year with a three-catch, 21-yard showing against the Chiefs — a game Davis missed — and dropped a well-placed Allen pass on a potential game-winning drive. This may well have convinced Bills management their top wide receiver was no longer worth the trouble.

Diggs’ antics in the past wore on the Bills, per The Athletic’s Tim Graham, who adds the team’s power brokers were ready to move on. Diggs’ various social media posts were an issue in Minnesota as well; hours before the trade, he also fired off a tweet questioning Allen’s value compared to his own. The mercurial receiver has been seen griping on the sideline, and after he stormed out of the team’s locker room following the Bills’ upset loss to the Bengals in last year’s divisional round, a still-unsolved minicamp controversy surfaced after Diggs left the team’s facility last June. That required some careful management from McDermott, Beane and Allen.

Still, the Bills lost a No. 1 target and cap space. Before the savings from the White post-June 1 cut hit, the Bills are down below $4MM in cap space. The team holds the No. 28 overall pick in this year’s draft. After using its top draft asset to acquire Diggs four years ago, the team will almost definitely dive into another WR-heavy draft to address the position with a cheap contract to align with Allen’s $43MM-AAV deal.

Vikings, Commanders Schedule Michael Penix Meetings; Seahawks In Play For QB?

April 3rd, 2024 at 2:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not mentioned among the quarterbacks projected to land in the top five, Michael Penix Jr. still profiles as a player who could certainly go off the draft board in Round 1. A number of teams are doing their homework on the recent national championship game starter.

Penix scheduled visits with the Giants, Falcons, Broncos, Raiders and Steelers recently. The Vikings and Commanders can now be added to the Washington alum’s list. Penix worked out for the Vikings recently, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, who adds the Commanders will also host the southpaw QB on a “30” visit. Penix has begun his run of “30” meetings, stopping through Denver on Tuesday and Las Vegas today.

[RELATED: Assessing Michael Penix Jr’s Draft Stock]

The Commanders should not be expected to entertain taking Penix at No. 2 overall, but Dan Quinn did not commit to the team staying in that slot. The new Washington HC only said the Commanders are likely to leave the draft with a quarterback. Still, it would be fairly surprising to see a team that just hired a new GM and HC — and one with an owner who took over less than a year ago — pass on adding an impact QB prospect without needing to trade up.

The Vikings acquiring the Texans’ No. 27 overall pick has brought consistent rumors about the team trading up. Penix, however, could be available with Minnesota’s first pick (No. 11 overall). The Vikings have never chosen a quarterback in the top 10, but since acquiring that second first-rounder, they have been consistently predicted to break that streak. It would not seem Penix would require such a move, but Minnesota is doing due diligence on a passer with an extensive injury history and a strong finish to his college career.

Transferring from Indiana, Penix dominated at Washington and piloted the Huskies to the CFP title game. Working with top-flight WR Rome Odunze, Penix posted back-to-back 4,600-yard passing seasons. Last year, he closed with 36 TD passes and averaged 8.8 yards per attempt. Two torn ACLs and two shoulder injuries have brought understandable concerns, despite Penix’s strong finish. One GM mentioned to the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora it cleared Penix medically.

While the Penix-Odunze connection proved to be one of the college game’s most dangerous in many years, the QB’s past with Ryan Grubb should also warrant close inspection. The Seahawks, who hired the former Washington OC to call plays, are again being linked to Grubb’s former pupil. Some around the league believe the NFC West team, with Penix having played in Seattle and under Grubb, could in play to land the ex-Pac-12 star at No. 16, La Canfora adds.

Closely tied to Anthony Richardson last year, the Seahawks saw the Colts select the Florida talent one spot before them. Pete Carroll said the Seahawks would have considered drafting Richardson, whom they met with last year, at No. 5. They instead kept Geno Smith as the unquestioned QB1. Thus far in Mike Macdonald‘s first weeks on the job, Smith remains unchallenged for the gig. The 33-year-old QB saw a $12.7MM chunk of his 2024 base salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in February, and Macdonald recently named the veteran his starter. But Smith’s three-year, $75MM deal is fairly Seahawks-friendly; the team could escape it easily in 2025. The Grubb-Penix connection should certainly be monitored ahead of the draft. Smith will turn 34 in October.

With J.J. McCarthy looking likely to be drafted closer to the Caleb Williams–Jayden Daniels–Drake Maye tier, Penix joins Bo Nix as the passers who could become mid- or late-first-round selections. Both Pac-12 transfers will require significant pre-draft examination, but one team will roll the dice on the Washington product with plans to become a future starter.

Texans Re-Sign DE Derek Barnett

April 3rd, 2024 at 1:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

APRIL 3: The Texans’ Barnett deal will come in at $2MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. This will represent a step down for Barnett, who will see $1MM guaranteed at signing.

MARCH 20: Finding more playing time after becoming a Texans waiver claim last year, Derek Barnett will stick around. Houston is keeping the veteran defensive end, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.

The parties agreed to keep this partnership going on a one-year deal. After not seeing much playing time with the Eagles to start last season, Barnett logged four starts in Houston. He finished his Texans portion of the season with 3.5 sacks, counting a playoff drop of Joe Flacco in the team’s wild-card win.

Houston has swapped out Jonathan Greenard for Danielle Hunter opposite Will Anderson Jr.; Barnett will be back in the fold to operate as a rotational rusher. The 2017 first-round pick had spent his entire career in Philadelphia, but after the Eagles made him available, they waived him when nothing materialized by last year’s deadline. In Houston, Barnett received the playing time he sought after being buried on Philly’s depth chart.

Despite going into his eighth season, Barnett will not turn 28 until this summer. The Texans will also bet on better form in 2024, as Barnett entered last season coming off an ACL tear. Barnett started the final four Texans regular-season games last season, recording 2.5 sacks in their Titans series in that span. Playing 66% of the Texans’ defensive snaps in their wild-card win, Barnett dropped Flacco once and registered two QB hits in what became a blowout.

The Tennessee alum also notched 11 QB hits despite playing in only six Houston games; while never a high-volume sack artist, Barnett has proven disruptive often. Save for his one-game 2022 season, Barnett has reached 11 QB hits in every year of his NFL career. Notching at least 16 QB hits on three occasions, Barnett topped out with 22 in 2019.

Only tallying two sacks in 15 starts in 2021, Barnett still managed a two-year, $14MM Eagles deal in 2022. Best known for his fourth-quarter fumble recovery that set up the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win, Barnett has 24 career sacks. Lost in the shuffle in Philly due to the presences of Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and Josh Sweat (and then Haason Reddick), Barnett has three five-plus-sack seasons on his resume. He will attempt to add a fourth in Houston.

The Texans have been busy rearranging parts along their D-line this offseason. Anderson remains in place as the group’s anchor, but Hunter will bring a far more extensive track record compared to Greenard. The team has also swapped out Maliek Collins and Sheldon Rankins for Denico Autry, Mario Edwards and Tim Settle inside, with Folorunso Fatukasi set to play a run-stopping role.

Lions Re-Sign CB Kindle Vildor

April 3rd, 2024 at 1:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kindle Vildor spent 2023 with four teams. The last of those will see if he can maintain a role. The Lions re-signed the veteran cornerback on Wednesday, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.

Adding Vildor on a practice squad agreement late last season, the Lions will now reunite him with one of his former position coaches. It is a one-year deal. The team hired Deshea Townsend as DBs coach this offseason; the former NFL corner coached Vildor in Chicago.

The Lions are likely still looking for more help at corner, following the release of Cameron Sutton. The former $11MM-per-year defender turned himself in on a domestic battery charge Sunday night. Detroit acquired Carlton Davis from Tampa Bay and re-signed Emmanuel Moseley, but the Sutton development leaves the defending NFC North champions — who already experienced issues at corner last year — vulnerable at the position.

These issues led to the Lions turning to Vildor as a starter opposite Sutton during last season’s final five games. Despite three teams — the Bears, Eagles and Titans — cutting Vildor earlier in 2023, the former fifth-round pick found himself starting and staying on the field for nearly every Lions defensive snap during their most successful playoff run since the 1950s. This did include a memorable play in which a Brock Purdy pass ricocheted off Vildor’s hands and into Brandon Aiyuk‘s arms, setting up a second-half 49ers touchdown during the hosts’ comeback win in the NFC championship game. But the Lions will give the fifth-year vet another opportunity.

Vildor, 26, played under Townsend from 2020-21 with the Bears. The latter year featured a promotion into Chicago’s starting lineup. The Georgia Southern alum was unable to stick as a starter throughout that season, and the Bears’ Ryan Poles-led regime added second-round cornerbacks (Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson) in each of the previous two offseasons. This led to the Bears waiving Vildor on roster-cutdown day last year. Townsend was no longer with Chicago at that point; he spent the past two years in Jacksonville.

The Lions did not tender Jerry Jacobs, whom Vildor ended up replacing as a boundary starter, as an RFA. but they did add ex-Raider Amik Robertson last month. Robertson offers a background as a slot defender and outside corner, giving a Lions team that also lost safety/slot cog C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency. Another move is likely coming, but Vildor will have a chance to compete for a Detroit depth role soon.

Seahawks To Meet With G Greg Van Roten

April 3rd, 2024 at 12:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Losing Damien Lewis to the Panthers, the Seahawks have placed guard as a priority. A few veteran starters remain available. One of them is heading to Seattle for a visit.

The Seahawks are meeting with Greg Van Roten today, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets. While the team has been connected to potential interest in Laken Tomlinson and Cody Whitehair, Van Roten joins this duo in having extensive starting experience. Despite joining the Raiders in late May last year, he worked as a 17-game starter last year in Las Vegas.

Representing the only notable Raiders O-line addition last year, Van Roten commandeered the starting right guard job and played there throughout the season. The veteran offered Las Vegas some stability, logging 1,024 snaps at the position in 2023. Lauding Van Roten’s pass-blocking work, Pro Football Focus rated the journeyman guard seventh at the position last season. That certainly brought good value for the Raiders, who had him on a one-year, $1.6MM deal.

Last year’s Raiders work ran Van Roten’s start count to 71. Prior to his Nevada stay, the former UDFA spent time with the Packers, Panthers, Jets and Bills. Not all of these seasons brought regular starter work, but a few of them did. The Panthers and Jets used Van Roten as a frequent starter from 2018-21. The Bills deployed the veteran primarily as a backup in 2022, but the Raiders demoted Alex Bars ahead of last season and stuck with Van Roten throughout.

Turning 34 earlier this offseason, Van Roten is on the older side and certainly would profile as a rental for the Seahawks. But the team passed on paying Lewis, who signed a four-year Panthers deal worth $52MM, and have not re-signed right guard starter Phil Haynes. The team may need to turn to a stopgap blocker in Ryan Grubb‘s first year as OC, and Van Roten profiles as one of the top names available on this year’s market.

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