Chiefs C Austin Reiter Expected To Walk
The Chiefs really weren’t playing around about overhauling their offensive line. Hours after releasing both of their starting tackles, it looks like another starter on the O-line will be on the move shortly.
Center Austin Reiter will hit the open market and is expected to sign somewhere other than Kansas City, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). Patrick Mahomes was running for his life in the Super Bowl, and the Chiefs are clearly making upgrading his protection their priority this offseason.
Reiter started 12 games this past year (and played every snap in the Super Bowl), and all 16 the season before. A seventh-round pick of Washington back in 2015, he quickly ended up on the Browns and only had one career start under his belt when he landed in Kansas City via a waiver claim in 2018.
He turned into a nice diamond in the rough find for the Chiefs as a serviceable player, but they’re now apparently looking for a player with more upside to man the pivot. Reiter turned 29 in November.
Giants Optimistic About Nate Solder Return
The Giants cut Kevin Zeitler this week, and many people have been expecting another big name offensive lineman to follow him out the door. However, it sounds like veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder might be spared amidst the cap casualty onslaught.
There is now optimism within the organization that Solder will play for the Giants in 2021, a source told Dan Duggan of The Athletic (Twitter link). Duggan notes that the sides are “still working out the terms,” so it sounds like Solder’s contract is going to be restructured. In all likelihood, that means Solder will be taking a pay-cut.
He had been scheduled to carry a $16.5MM cap hit for this season. New York has been needing to clear space in order to bring back guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson, and many pointed to a Solder cut as an obvious way to save money.
The Giants are indeed talking “restructured numbers” with Solder, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post confirmed in a tweet. A source told Dunleavy that it never reached that point with Zeitler, meaning Zeitler was a goner from the beginning despite some speculation that he could restructure as well.
New York signed Solder to a massive four-year, $62MM deal in 2018, and he’s been a pretty big disappointment for that hefty contract. They almost traded him in 2019, but nothing got done. He opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, so he still has two more years left on that deal. He confirmed in February that he’s planning on returning for the 2021 season.
Bills Re-Sign Matt Milano
As free agency draws nearer, the Bills are locking up one of their own with a big commitment. Buffalo has agreed to terms to re-sign linebacker Matt Milano, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The deal is for four years and a whopping $44MM, with $24MM of that being guaranteed. We had heard just a few weeks ago that the Bills were planning on letting Milano hit the open market, and many were expecting both sides to move on, so this one is a bit surprising.
The conventional wisdom was that the Bills might get priced out on Milano with the emergence of A.J. Klein and the upcoming potential extension for fellow linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. This is a pretty solid deal for the Bills considering many expected him to be even more expensive. In fact, a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN that the Bills were “pleasantly surprised” that Milano opted not to test the open market (Twitter link). Milano reportedly stressed how important the culture in Buffalo is to him, and his belief that the team is close to getting to a championship level.
Injuries limited Milano to only ten games this past season but he was still effective, racking up 45 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three passes defended, and an interception in those games. The year before he had 101 tackles in 15 games. A fifth-round pick back in 2017, Milano far exceeded all expectations from his draft status.
He started five games as a rookie and then became a full-time starter in 2018. One of the top free agent linebackers is now off the market. With Tre’Davious White and Dion Dawkins, Milano is part of an extremely successful 2017 Buffalo draft class.
Texans To Sign Mark Ingram
New Texans head coach David Culley made some puzzling comments on Deshaun Watson just now, but the Watson saga isn’t the only order of business the team has going on.
Houston has agreed to sign running back Mark Ingram to a one-year deal, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Per Schefter, the deal is worth “up to” $3MM, presumably indicating he’ll need to hit some incentives to get that full number. Ingram was cut by the Ravens back in January. Ingram will get a $500K signing bonus, and has $250K incentives for hitting both 750 and 1,000 yards rushing, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
The Texans recently cut Duke Johnson while coming to a new agreement with David Johnson, who Ingram will now presumably split carries with. Houston really values their running backs, pulling off several trades for runners in recent years. With a duo of Johnson (29) and now Ingram (31), it won’t exactly be the most youthful backfield in 2021. The 28th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Ingram spent the first eight years of his career with the Saints.
He then spent the past two seasons in Baltimore, and will now head off to Houston for his 11th pro campaign. The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner wasn’t very productive last year, but in 2019 he was a Pro Bowler and rushed for 1,018 yards and ten touchdowns while averaging five yards per attempt.
With the Ravens drafting J.K. Dobbins early last year he fell out of favor in the rotation, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing left to contribute. It’ll be interesting to see what his usage is like next to Johnson.
New Texans HC David Culley Speaks On Deshaun Watson
New Texans head coach David Culley has finally spoken on the Deshaun Watson saga, and he didn’t exactly clear things up. In a press conference with the general media, Culley was insistent that the team was all in on Watson.
“We are very committed to Deshaun [Watson] as our quarterback. He is our quarterback,” Culley said, via this tweet from Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Culley also deferred questions about Watson asking for a trade to GM Nick Caserio, who wasn’t there. “It’s not a matter of me trying to change anyone’s mind. We’re committed to him. He’s a Houston Texan and we’re going to move forward with that,” Culley said when asked if Watson could be talked out of his trade request, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Culley added that “there is no contingency plan” for if Watson decides not to report. He also said “yes, he is,” when asked if Watson is committed to the Texans, which would seem to be demonstrably false. What makes these comments interesting, is that they’re in sharp contrast to what Culley told Jim Trotter of NFL Network just hours earlier.
Trotter tweeted that he walked away from his conversation with Culley “firmly” believing that Watson will be traded. Culley told Trotter that “he is our starting quarterback right now. He is our starting quarterback. Things happen between now and then. We’ll see what happens.” When he spoke on that more free-wheeling podcast, Culley gave the quarterback kiss of death of ‘right now.’
Culley also told Trotter that “we want guys who are all in.” Reading the tea leaves there it certainly sounds like Culley knows there’s a very good chance Watson is dealt before the 2021 season. It also sounds like somebody spoke with him between that podcast interview and his press conference and asked him to change his tone.
Anytime ‘right nows’ start getting thrown around, it’s seemingly the beginning of the end. This drama could still take many more twists and turns, but as Trotter himself noted, it now sounds like the writing is on the wall.
Lions To Release CB Justin Coleman
The free agent market is about to get another big name corner. The Lions are planning on releasing cornerback Justin Coleman in the coming days, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Detroit signed Coleman to a four-year, $36MM pact back in March of 2019, but he only ended up making it halfway through that deal. As Pelissero points out, he had been one of the highest paid slot cornerbacks in the league. The Lions will save between $5MM and $9MM in cap space depending on whether the move is given a post-June 1 designation or not, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
He struggled with a hamstring injury this past season that limited him to only 11 games. In those games he had 30 tackles and only one pass defended. The year before though in 16 games he had 54 tackles, three forced fumbles, 13 passes defended, and an interception.
He came into the league as an UDFA out of Tennessee in 2015 with the Vikings and then Patriots, and didn’t breakout until the 2017-18 seasons with the Seahawks. Coleman won’t get the $8.9MM he had been slated to make on the open market, but he should draw significant interest. He’s proven to be a solid slot corner in the past, and will only turn 28 later this month.
Ravens Talking Orlando Brown Trade With 6 Teams
The Orlando Brown situation might be heating up. The Ravens’ stud young tackle has requested a trade due to his desire to play left tackle (which he can’t do in Baltimore long-term thanks to the presence of Ronnie Stanley).
The Ravens have been listening on offers, and sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com they’ve had “ongoing conversations” with six teams. Garafolo spoke to Brown for the story, and the Oklahoma product indicated his desire to man the left side stemmed from his late father’s wishes.
“He always told me, ‘Don’t settle for playing right tackle. Make sure that when it comes time and you get to every level, you’re playing left,” the younger Brown said. In his first public comments since the trade request, Brown also said that a new contract will be part of the trade process wherever he lands.
The 2018 third-round pick is currently set to enter the final year of his rookie deal. Brown filled in for Stanley on the left side last year and played well, cementing his belief that that’s where he belongs. John Harbaugh has made it sound publicly like he isn’t expecting Brown to get traded, but Garafolo’s latest report indicates the team is getting serious about trade talks. We should know a lot more soon.
Contract Restructures: Panthers, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Eagles, Steelers
It’s that time of year when teams are frantically maneuvering ahead of free agency. Due to the cap falling because of COVID-19, things are even more hectic than ever. We’ve seen a whole bunch of contract restructures come in, and there will be a whole lot more. Let’s catch you up on the latest batch and their financial implications:
- The Panthers restructured Christian McCaffrey‘s contract recently, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. They converted $7MM of his $8MM base salary into a signing bonus, which freed up about $5.6MM in cap space for 2021. Almost a year ago McCaffrey signed his record-breaking extension that has him locked up through the 2025 season.
- The Cowboys have had a busy week with Dak Prescott‘s massive extension now in the books, and they made a trio of moves to help clear some space. Dallas restructured the deals of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, a source told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reworking of the three offensive linemen’s contracts cleared up about $17MM in cap space for Jerry Jones. As Archer notes, these moves have now gotten Dallas under the cap for 2021.
- The Giants just cut top offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler as they look to clear cap space to keep guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. The Zeitler release isn’t the only shuffling they’re doing, as they also restructured the contract of tight end Levine Toilolo, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweeted the details. Rather than a procedural restructure like you see with star players, Toilolo actually took a pay-cut to stay with the team. He had been scheduled to make $2.95MM this year but agreed to reduce that to $1.6MM, saving the Giants north of $1MM against the cap.
- We’ve got four other restructures to pass along, courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Saints restructured the deals of safety Malcolm Jenkins to save $3.4MM and offensive lineman Andrus Peat to save $6MM. New Orleans has the worst cap situation in the league, and they desperately needed moves like this to do things like franchise tag safety Marcus Williams.
- The Eagles saved $2.4MM by reworking the deal of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. Philly is right up there with New Orleans in terms of bad cap situations, so GM Howie Roseman is likely far from done here.
- The Steelers saved $880K by adjusting fullback Derek Watt‘s contract. Not exactly front page news here, but it should shore up Watt’s spot on the 2021 roster. T.J. and J.J.’s brother signed a three-year, $9.75MM pact last offseason.
Cardinals Release CB Robert Alford
Robert Alford‘s Cardinals tenure has come to an unceremonious end. Arizona has released the veteran cornerback, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Alford signed a three-year, $22.5MM deal with the Cardinals in 2019, but will end his stint in the desert never having played in a game for them. He fractured a tibia in August of 2019 that cost him all of that season, and then tore a pec this past August which knocked him out for all of 2020. A second-round pick of Atlanta back in 2013, Alford spent the first six years of his career with the Falcons.
He was pretty durable during those years, playing at least 15 games in all but one season (10 in 2014). Unfortunately the injury bug has bit him hard, and he hasn’t suited up since the 2018 season when he started 15 games for the Falcons. A quality starter for a while, it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll look like now.
Alford turned 32 in November, and will likely struggle to find guaranteed money in a tough market coming off back to back season-ending injuries.
The release saves the Cardinals about $7.5MM in cap space for this season. As Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com points out in a tweet, this leaves the Cards with only one non-reserve/futures cornerback under contract for next season, 2019 second-rounder Byron Murphy.
Cardinals Re-Sign LB Tanner Vallejo
Ahead of the start of free agency, the Cardinals are taking care of one of their own. Arizona is re-signing linebacker Tanner Vallejo, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
It’s a two-year deal worth $4.1MM, Rapsheet reports. Vallejo had been set to hit unrestricted free agency before getting locked up. It’s a nice payday for the 2017 sixth-round pick who spent his first few years in the NFL bouncing around the league. Originally drafted by Buffalo, he spent his rookie season with the Bills, the following year with the Browns, and spent time with both the Cardinals and Washington in 2019.
He appears to have finally found a home in Arizona, playing in all 16 games in 2020. A core special teamer who played around 65 percent of the special teams snaps, Vallejo also managed to crack the field on defense a handful of times. He played almost the whole game in the Cardinals’ crucial Week 17 game against the Rams, and Rapoport writes that he’ll have a real role in Vance Joseph’s defense next year.