Patriots To Sign DT Davon Godchaux
The Patriots stormed out of the gates by signing Jonnu Smith to a massive deal, and they didn’t stop there. Bill Belichick continue his aggressive start to free agency by agreeing to terms with defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Rosenhaus also reps Smith, for what it’s worth. Godchaux didn’t get quite as much money to sign, but he’s still getting a sizable two-year, $16MM deal that has $9MM in guaranteed money. It’s a great payday for a player drafted 178th overall by the Dolphins back in 2017. He spent each of his first four seasons in Miami, and quickly blossomed into a full-time starter in his sophomore season.
Interior defensive line, like tight end, was a weakness for the Patriots last season. Godchaux only played in five games last year due to biceps surgery, but it was the first major injury of his career and he had played in at least 15 games in each of the three prior seasons.
In his last full campaign in 2019, Godchaux had 75 tackles, four for a loss, two sacks, and one pass defended. He should immediately upgrade the run defense in New England.
Patriots Sign TE Jonnu Smith
One of the top tight ends on the market is off the board. The Patriots have agreed to terms on a deal with free agent Jonnu Smith, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s a big one, as Smith is getting a whopping $50MM over four years with $31.25MM guaranteed. What a way for New England to kick off free agency, and it’s one of the biggest investments Bill Belichick has made in a skill position player in years. Tight end was a clear need for the Pats this offseason, as the team got virtually nothing from the position in 2020. Ryan Izzo led the team’s tight ends with 13 catches for 199 yards and no touchdowns. They haven’t really gotten anything out of it since Rob Gronkowski walked away.
A third-round pick of the Titans in 2017, Smith never truly broke out but flashed a lot of potential during his four years in Tennessee. Stuck behind Delanie Walker for his first couple pro seasons, Smith had his best year yet in 2020.
In 15 games and 14 starts, he had 41 catches for 448 yards and an impressive eight touchdowns. He’ll now be catching passes from Cam Newton, or whoever else Belichick brings in under center. If your team is still looking for a tight end don’t worry, solid options like Hunter Henry, Kyle Rudolph, and Jared Cook are still all on the market.
As Doug Kyed of NESN.com was quick to tweet, Belichick lavished Smith in praise a little over a year ago, calling him the best tight end in the league after the catch.
Kyle Long To Visit Raiders, Chiefs
We heard recently that Kyle Long was planning on playing in 2021, and now we know he’s serious about it. The recently un-retired offensive lineman will visit the Raiders and then Chiefs this week, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Schefter reports that Long will be in Las Vegas on Monday before heading to Kansas City. As he points out Long’s father, Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long, played his entire 13-year career with the Raiders, so this would be a cool continuation of a family legacy. Long retired in January of 2020, but one season away from the game was enough to satisfy his body.
Drafted 20th overall by the Bears in 2013, Long made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons before injuries quickly derailed his career. Over the past four seasons he never appeared in more than 10 games for Chicago, and played only four most recently in 2019.
Now apparently fully healthy, he’s ready to get back on the gridiron, and both of these teams make sense as potential suitors. The Raiders just traded tackle Trent Brown, and cut guards Richie Incognito and Gabe Jackson in the past couple weeks, although Incognito may return on a cheaper deal. The Chiefs have made revamping Patrick Mahomes‘ offensive line a priority this offseason, and they’ve already cut both of their starting tackles and are expected to let their starting center walk.
Long has mostly played guard in the NFL, but did make the Pro Bowl while filling in as the Bears’ right tackle in 2015. It sounds like he could have numerous options to choose from during his first taste of free agency.
Jets To Make ‘Waves’ In Free Agency?
Free agency is right around the corner, and tonight is like Christmas Eve for NFL fans. The real action will start in the morning, but we’re already starting to get reports about what’s to come. The more we hear, the more it sounds like the Jets are going to be big players in what will be a very interesting market due to the lowering of the salary cap.
We already heard the Jets will pursue Patriots guard Joe Thuney, and that apparently isn’t the only big target they’re interested in. The expectation from sources around the league is that the Jets will “make waves” in free agency, Connor Hughes of The Athletic tweets. GM Joe Douglas is apparently ready to be a big spender, and “there is absolutely no financial restriction on Douglas this offseason,” Hughes writes.
Hughes goes on to say Douglas “has means & green light to build team however he wants. That means pursuing top-tier FAs and giving them top-tier $, if he wants.” In a separate tweet, Hughes says one source told him the Jets “want the big guys.” When asked whether that meant size or money, he replied “both.”
Thuney would certainly fit both of those criteria. Finally, Hughes tweets that while Douglas will be “aggressive,” he won’t be reckless, and that he’ll have “his walk-away numbers.” One source told Hughes that “Joe doesn’t do desperate.”
Vikings LB Anthony Barr To Take Pay-Cut, Become FA After 2021
It looks like the Vikings are close to making a major adjustment to Anthony Barr‘s contract. Minnesota and the veteran linebacker are working on a restructured deal that would see Barr reduce his $12.3MM salary for 2021, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Vikings will get some immediate cap relief, and in return Barr will enter free agency after this season. Previously Barr’s contract ran through 2023, so he’s about to get the last two years knocked off his pact. There had been some speculation that the team could move on this offseason due to his hefty cap hit, but this move will ensure he’s on the Vikings’ roster come Week 1 while also potentially setting things up for a divorce next offseason.
The ninth overall pick of the 2014 draft has been with Minnesota for all seven of his pro seasons. There’s been plenty of drama along the way, like when Barr agreed to sign with the Jets in March of 2019 before pulling out at the last second and returning to the Vikings. A separation has appeared likely several times, but they always have found a way to make things work.
Barr got a five-year, $67.5MM deal to stay last time. The UCLA product made the Pro Bowl four straight times from 2015-18, but only played in two games this past year due to a torn pec. He’ll turn 29 later this week.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/21
Teams have until March 17 to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-Tendered:
- Chiefs: TE Deon Yelder
- Dolphins: WR Isaiah Ford
Both of these guys will now be hitting unrestricted free agency. Yelder signed with the Saints as an UDFA in 2018, and was added to the Chiefs’ practice squad later that year. He got meaningful playing time in 2020, mostly as a blocker, playing around 18 percent of the offensive snaps for Kansas City last season. He had only seven catches for 36 yards.
Ford was drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh-round back in 2017, then was traded to the Patriots this past November but quickly re-signed by Miami after New England cut him a month later. This one is mildly surprising since Ford played a real role on offense for the Dolphins the past two years, catching 51 passes for 520 yards in 18 games between 2019-20.
Jets To Pursue OL Joe Thuney
It sounds like the Jets could be preparing to make a big splash in free agency. When the negotiating period opens tomorrow, one of New York GM Joe Douglas’ “first calls” will be to Joe Thuney‘s reps, sources told Connor Hughes of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Thuney is one of the highlights of what has turned out to be a really solid free agent offensive line class. After franchise tagging him last season, the Patriots recently opted not to hit him with a second consecutive tag that would’ve paid him almost $18MM in 2021. Hughes writes that the Jets “love his versatility, reliability & the fact he’s spent entire career in winning culture.” As he also points out, they’ll face competition for his services.
Offensive line has been a weak spot for the Jets for years, and after drafting Mekhi Becton 11th overall last year, signing one of the priority free agents like Thuney would show Douglas is serious about solving the issue once and for all. A relatively unheralded third-round pick back in 2016, Thuney blossomed into one of the league’s best guards in New England.
He was a second-team All-Pro in 2019 and has been remarkably consistent and durable, starting all 80 possible games since getting drafted. The NC State product was a major part of the Patriots’ last two Super Bowl wins.
As Hughes alluded to, Thuney is quite versatile, as he filled in at center for a couple of games this past year and also played tackle in college. If he does opt to stay in the AFC East and sign with the Jets, who he’ll be blocking for will still very much be an open question.
Bills Re-Sign OL Jon Feliciano
Ahead of the start of free agency, the Bills are locking up another one of their own guys. After extending Daryl Williams and Matt Milano this past week, Buffalo is now handing out a new contract to guard Jon Feliciano as well.
The Bills have signed Feliciano to a new three-year pact, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirmed on Twitter. The news was first tweeted by Matt Parrino of NewYorkUpstate.com. Schefter writes that the new pact is worth “up to” $17MM, so you’ll have to stay tuned for the details on that.
As Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, the Bills now have 19 of their 22 starters from last year’s AFC Championship Game under contract for 2021, and two others are restricted free agents. A fourth-round pick of the Raiders in 2015, Feliciano spent the first four years of his career in Oakland.
The Miami product signed a two-year, $8MM pact with the Bills in March of 2019. He never started more than four games in a season for the Raiders, but started all 16 in his first year in Buffalo. Injuries limited him to nine games this past season, but he started all of them.
He’s not a Pro Bowler, but he’s been a solid enough starter the past couple of years. No matter what, Josh Allen will have a lot of continuity around him on offense heading into his fourth season.
Saints Restructure QB Taysom Hill’s Contract
Just moments after Drew Brees officially announced his retirement, the Saints took their cap gymnastics to a new level with one of their other quarterbacks.
New Orleans has restructured Taysom Hill‘s deal to create cap space by giving him a four-year, $140MM extension that entirely voids, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. A source told Schefter that “all years are voidable and it’s a mechanism to free up cap space this year,” with the 2021 cap savings being north of $7.5MM. Before you freak out, Hill isn’t getting a $140MM extension.
The consensus of Saints beat writers online seems to be that the numbers are purely theoretical, and might as well just be random numbers written down on a piece of paper. Cap maneuvering has gotten more and more complicated in recent years, and Saints GM Mickey Loomis has fashioned himself as a wizard.
Virtually every Saints veteran making more than a minimum salary has had their contract tweaked to varying degrees. In a follow-up tweet, Schefter explained that Hill’s actual contract for this year will “include a $9.686 million signing bonus, a $1.439 million guaranteed roster bonus and a $1.034 million guaranteed base salary, plus incentives.”
Thus it appears Hill’s real compensation for 2021 will be somewhere in the $12+MM range, and not the $35MM annually that four-years, $140MM would suggest. We’ll keep you posted if we get a full explanation on the new figures.
Drew Brees Retires From NFL
Well, it’s officially official. One of the best quarterbacks of this century is hanging up his cleats, as Drew Brees announced his retirement (with help from his kids) in an Instagram video post on Sunday.
“After 20 years as a player in the NFL and 15 years as a Saint, it is time I retire from the game of football. Each day, I poured my heart & soul into being your Quarterback. Til the very end, I exhausted myself to give everything I had to the Saints organization, my team, and the great city of New Orleans. We shared some amazing moments together, many of which are emblazoned in our hearts and minds and will forever be a part of us,” Brees wrote in the caption.
“You have molded me, strengthened me, inspired me, and given me a lifetime of memories. My goal for the last 15 years was striving to give to you everything you had given to me and more. I am only retiring from playing football, I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not goodbye, rather a new beginning. Now my real life‘s work begins!”
This had been the expectation all along, but there was some doubt injected recently as many wondered what was taking Brees so long to make it official. A workout video posted by his trainer sparked some speculation that Brees could be planning on playing in 2021 after all. As it turns out it looks like Brees was waiting for a sentimental date, as many were quick to point out that today marks 15 years to the day since Brees first signed with the Saints back in 2006.
Brees signed with NBC last April to line up his post-playing career, and will now presumably transition to the broadcast booth like Tony Romo and many others before him. He’ll reportedly be commentating Notre Dame football games to start.
A second-round pick out of Purdue all the way back in 2001, Brees had an incredible career that ended up spanning two full decades. He spent his first five pro seasons with the Chargers, and after a devastating shoulder injury that many feared at the time would have long-term effects, signed with New Orleans in 2006. He helped turn a franchise in a pitiful state into a consistent winner, and will now be headed to Canton soon enough.
The peak of his career on the gridiron came during the 2009 season, when he led the Saints to a Super Bowl XLIV title. His name is all over the record books, as he currently has the most passing yards in NFL history among plenty of other similar accomplishments.
The 13-time Pro Bowler’s retirement now sends New Orleans into their most uncertain offseason in some time. Sean Payton has his work cut out for him, and must now choose between Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston, or bringing in an outside the box option. Payton issued a statement reflecting on Brees’ career, which you can read via this tweet from Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.
All of us here at PFR wish Brees the best in retirement, and thank him for his many contributions to the game.