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NFC Contract Details: Cousins, Bradford, Poe

March 19th, 2018 at 6:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are figures on some of the recent contracts signed around the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless noted otherwise.

Cardinals Finished Third For Kirk Cousins

March 19th, 2018 at 3:43pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • While King reports the Broncos indeed did not submit an offer to Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, the Cardinals did. They pitched their Patrick Peterson– and David Johnson-fronted core of young players, but McCartney told King Arizona finished third in this derby. Steve Keim was the first GM to call McCartney on Monday morning when the tampering period began, but McCartney told King he called Keim back that night and could not confirm Cousins would visit Arizona. The Cards then pivoted to Sam Bradford.
  • While King reports the Broncos indeed did not submit an offer to Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, the Cardinals did. They pitched their Patrick Peterson– and David Johnson-fronted core of young players, but McCartney told King Arizona finished third in this derby. Steve Keim was the first GM to call McCartney on Monday morning when the tampering period began, but McCartney told King he called Keim back that night and could not confirm Cousins would visit Arizona. The Cards then pivoted to Sam Bradford.
  • The seven-team research list McCartney’s office compiled earlier this offseason included the final four teams, but also featured the Bills, Browns and Dolphins. Going into the final week, King notes McCartney and Cousins felt the Jets and Vikings had the edge but acknowledged the Broncos and Cardinals were still in the mix. McCartney told teams a fully guaranteed contract was important during this process. It’s unclear if the Cardinals offered that, but the other two proposals were for fully guaranteed deals. The agent confirmed only the Vikings, Cardinals and Jets made offers, and Minnesota’s included the pitch of possibly being in position to win multiple titles with Cousins as the missing piece. King notes Minnesota’s new stadium and new facility also surfaced during the team’s over-the-phone proposal.

Cardinals Interested In CB Robert McClain

March 19th, 2018 at 11:53am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals are among the teams interested in free agent cornerback Robert McClain, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the incumbent Buccaneers are also hoping to re-sign him. 

[RELATED: Cardinals’ Depth Chart]

McClain, 30 in July, saw time both on the outside and in the slot for Tampa Bay in 2017. He amassed 46 tackles, five passes defensed, three interceptions, and one touchdown – a 47-yard pick six against Mike Glennon during his short stint as the Bears’ starting quarterback.

McClain’s best year came with the Falcons in 2012, though he also had a respectable year with Carolina in 2013 and looked solid last year with the Bucs. He could help to fortify the Cardinals depth chart as cornerbacks Tyvon Branch, Tramon Williams, and Justin Bethel remain in free agency limbo. Of course, the Cardinals are also without Tyrann Mathieu, who signed with the Texans after being released in a cap-driven move.

Jets Made Multiple Offers To Kirk Cousins

March 18th, 2018 at 6:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kirk Cousins‘ agent had his staff do research on seven teams leading up to his client’s historic opportunity, and the quarterback had narrowed his list down to four finalists entering the week.

The Vikings, Jets, Broncos and Cardinals were the official final four, Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com reports. But by Monday, the Broncos pivoted to Case Keenum, and Vrentas adds the Cardinals were out by Monday night. However, the Jets — as the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta reported — were in the mix until Tuesday.

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports the Jets finished second in this race and indeed also offered Cousins a fully guaranteed deal — three years and $90MM — and were ready to go punch for punch with the Vikings if they had to. Gang Green even sweetened its initial offer for the 29-year-old passer, but he ended up choosing a Minnesota path instead.

“The Jets were terrific,” Mike McCartney, Cousins’ agent, told Cimini. “I have a lot of respect for Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles and their staffs. Jeremy Bates was very attractive to me, personally, for Kirk to fit into his offense. At the end of the day, it was close.

“I think Kirk decided to visit Minnesota first. Some of it is gut feel, some of it probably the fact that they were in the NFC championship game. But it was not an easy decision.”

Each of the four finalists had a chance to present cases to McCartney, Cimini reports, but Cousins’ camp — per Vrentas — called the Jets on Tuesday morning and informed them the seventh-year quarterback was planning to visit the Vikings first. That apparently was enough to convince the AFC East franchise it wasn’t going to win this race.

The Jets then moved on to their Josh McCown/Teddy Bridgewater backup plan, and Maccagnan has now made a trade to vault from No. 6 to No. 3. The Jets leapfrog the Broncos, who may now be less inclined to take a quarterback at No. 5, and are in position to outflank the Bills. Buffalo is targeting a top-five pick for a quarterback.

Chiefs Host Cardinals RFA Xavier Williams

March 18th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chiefs hosted Cardinals restricted free agent defensive lineman Xavier Williams over the weekend, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

If the Chiefs sign Williams to an offer sheet, the Cardinals will have the opportunity to match the contract and keep Williams in Arizona. If the Cards opt not to match, however, they won’t receive any draft pick compensation in exchange for losing Williams. Arizona tendered Williams at the original-round level, but because Williams was an undrafted free agent, Kansas City wouldn’t be forced to fork over any draft capital.

Williams, 26, garnered the highest playtime of his career in 2017, although he was still a rotational lineman with a snap percentage of roughly 24%. In his 11 appearances, Williams posted 16 tackles and a half-sack while grading as the No. 42 interior defender among 122 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

The Chiefs could see some movement at the defensive tackle position heading into 2018, as Bennie Logan and Stefan Charles are both unrestricted free agent. Kansas City has re-signed veteran Jarvis Jenkins and tendered RFA Rakeem Nunez-Roches at the original-round level, but it’s not out of the question that Williams could compete to start at nose tackle if he’s signed by the Chiefs.

If Williams doesn’t ink an offer sheet, he’ll stick on the Cardinals’ roster at a one-year cost of $1.907MM.

Contract Details/Restructures: 3/18/18

March 18th, 2018 at 10:22am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:

New Contracts

Restructures

  • Rams: Converted Tavon Austin‘s 2018 pay ($3MM base salary, $5MM roster bonus) to $1MM base salary, $4MM roster bonus, and $3MM in incentives ($2MM for game-day active incentives and $1MM in combined rushing/receiving yards) (Twitter links via Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports). Austin can still make $8MM this year if he hits all incentives.

Cardinals Offered Tyrann Mathieu $7MM

March 17th, 2018 at 10:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • Former All Pro defensive back Tyrann Mathieu had an offer to return to the Cardinals at an $8MM salary, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. The 25-year-old Mathieu declined the overture, and instead signed with the Texans for one year and $7MM. the Mathieu was a Pro Bowler and one of the NFL’s best defensive backs as recently as 2015, but he’s struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness over the past two seasons. Last year, Mathieu managed to start all 16 games, but only graded as the league’s No. 61 cornerback among 121 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Contract Details/Restructures: 3/17/18

March 17th, 2018 at 9:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:

New Contracts

  • Allen Robinson, WR (Bears): Three years, $42MM. $25.2MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
  • Teddy Bridgewater, QB (Jets): One year, $6MM. $1MM guaranteed. $9MM available via playtime incentives (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
  • Chad Henne, QB (Chiefs): Two years, $6.7MM. $3.1MM signing bonus. Performance incentives and escalators available (Twitter link via Jason Wolf of the Tennessean).

Restructures

  • Cardinals: Created $500K in 2018 cap space by converting S Antoine Bethea‘s roster bouns into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Pelissero).
  • Vikings: Created $1.15MM in 2018 cap space by reducing RB Latavius Murray‘s base salary from $5.15MM to $3.65M; his roster bonus from $500K to $250K; and his incentives from $2.3MM to $1MM (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).

E.J. Gaines To Visit Cardinals

March 17th, 2018 at 9:19am CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals are eyeing a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports (via Twitter) that Arizona will meet with E.J. Gaines today. The Texans had previously shown interest in the free agent cornerback.

Gaines, 26, appeared in 11 games for the Bills a season ago after being traded as part of the Sammy Watkins deal. During that time, Gaines ranked 12th in Pro Football Focus‘ cornerback grades and ninth in FO’s success rate. For that effort, PFR ranked Gaines as the fourth-best corner on the market and the No. 18 free agent overall. His final numbers included 48 tackles, nine passes defended, and one interception.

Arizona could surely use some reinforcement opposite Peterson. The team’s other cornerback options include Brandon Williams, C.J. Goodwin, Ronald Zamort, Jonathan Moxey, Jarell Carter, and Louis Young.

Cardinals Sign OL Justin Pugh

March 16th, 2018 at 10:12pm CST by Micah Powell

The Cardinals bolstered their offensive line on Friday night by signing former Giants left guard Justin Pugh, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. 

The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets the contract is five-year deal worth just over $45MM.

The Cardinals were in search of interior line help and Pugh represented one of the best remaining options.The team was attempting to land former Panthers guard Andrew Norwell, but the All-Pro guard signed with the Jaguars earlier in the week. He missed half of 2017 with injuries, but he is a former first-round pick who started in all of his 63 games with the Giants. Recently, he was cleared to resume football activities.

A big selling point with Pugh is his versatility. He has played every position along the line except for center. The majority of his time in the NFL has been split between right tackle and left guard.

The move was the second addition to the Cardinals offensive line on Friday. Earlier in the day, the team signed offensive tackle Andre Smith to a two-year deal.

[RELATED: Cardinals Depth Chart]

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