Broncos Release A.J. Bouye
We’ve got one of our first big cuts of the young offseason. The Broncos are releasing cornerback A.J. Bouye, a source told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link).
It ends an unceremonious run in Denver for Bouye, after the Broncos traded a fourth-round pick for him last March. Injuries limited him to only seven games this past season, all of which were starts. The move means the team will save the non-guaranteed $11.7MM he was owed for this upcoming season, and new GM George Paton clearly wasn’t about to pay his excessive salary. An UDFA back in 2013, Bouye had a couple of really solid years with the Texans which he parlayed into a five-year, $67.5MM deal from the Jaguars in March of 2017.
Things went well initially, as he was a second-team All-Pro and had six interceptions in his first year in Jacksonville. Things went south quickly after that (as they did for that entire Jags defense), and he had only one interception in each of the next two seasons.
In addition to the injuries, Bouye was also hit with a six-game PED suspension back in December. He’ll still be sidelined for the first two games of the 2021 season, which could complicate things when looking for his next contract this spring. That being said he’s still only 29, and there should be significant interest in the established starter.
Russell Wilson Had Input On OC Hire, Wasn’t Happy With Earlier Candidates
Russell Wilson raised a lot of eyebrows with his comments on The Dan Patrick Show earlier where he said he didn’t like getting hit as often as he has been, and that he’d like to be more involved in personnel decisions. There was also a sourced report that Wilson has grown frustrated with the Seahawks’ inability to build an offensive line around him.
While Wilson certainly didn’t do anything to tamp down the recent speculation on Patrick’s show, it does sound like he had the input he’s seeking on at least one big recent decision. Wilson was “involved in the hire” of Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter video link). Interestingly, it sounds like Wilson may not have initially been happy with the search, which was known to be wide-ranging.
Rapoport says there were “some choices kind of midway through he wasn’t pleased with,” which will be fun to speculate about. It’s impossible to say for sure who Wilson was concerned about, but there were some controversial big names thrown out in the initial search after the firing of Brian Schottenheimer.
Polarizing figures like Adam Gase reportedly spoke with Seattle brass about the OC opening. In the end though, it sounds like Wilson got his guy in the former Sean McVay protege. That would seem to indicate the Seahawks are intent on keeping Wilson content, and have no intention of going the Texans/Deshaun Watson route of freezing out.
Of course, Rapsheet points out that all this comes against the backdrop of the recent report that teams had inquired about trading for Wilson. While he emphasizes those trade advances were rebuffed by Seattle, Rapoport also adds that it’s “noteworthy” that teams “thought there might be something there, that maybe they could get him.” We’ll continue to monitor the situation.
Vikings Sign K Greg Joseph
The kicking game was an issue for the Vikings this season, and they’re getting out ahead of the matter by bringing in a veteran early. Minnesota is signing kicker Greg Joseph, his agent Brent Tessler announced on Twitter.
Since Joseph finished the season on the Buccaneers’ practice squad and not active roster, he doesn’t have to wait until March to sign like everybody else. Undrafted out of Florida Atlantic in 2018, he originally signed with the Dolphins. After getting cut by Miami he signed with the Browns, and spent the last 14 weeks of the 2018 season as Cleveland’s kicker. In those 14 games he went 17 of 20 on field goal attempts and 25 of 29 on extra points.
He lost the job the following training camp, spent some time on the Panthers’ practice squad, and then was signed by the Titans late in the year. He was their kicker for the final couple of regular season games as well as their playoff run to the AFC Championship Game.
He didn’t appear in a game for Tampa this year, but earned a Super Bowl ring nonetheless. The Vikings had Dan Bailey as their kicker this past season, and he was a disaster at times. He had a few meltdown games, including one against none other than the Bucs where he missed four kicks. Minnesota opted not to cut him during the season, but it was a foregone conclusion that he’d face some competition in 2021.
The Vikings guaranteed a portion of Joseph’s salary, while Bailey has $1.8MM that becomes fully guaranteed on March 19th, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising if Bailey doesn’t even make it to camp and gets cut loose in the next couple of weeks here.
Extra Points: Murray, Njoku, Contracts
Before he was the first overall pick of the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray was the ninth overall pick of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s. Then he went on to win the Heisman Trophy, causing him to rocket up NFL draft boards. Even after winning the Heisman Murray initially was reported to be pursuing baseball over football, but obviously that changed when it became clear just how high he’d be drafted. We haven’t heard a ton about his baseball passions since, but he made it clear he isn’t over the game in interviews this past week. “I would love to” play baseball again one day Murray said on The Pat McAfee Show, via Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic. “I think it’s still there because I’ve been doing it my whole life. It wasn’t like I have to turn this off to be elite at football.”
When asked if he could see himself playing football and baseball at the same time one day soon, Murray said “I hope so. I hope so. I mean, I would love to. I think that would be good for everybody … I think it is tough because I play quarterback.” He also added that walking away from Oakland was “definitely the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.” The Cardinals likely aren’t as enthused about the possibility, and it’s specifically in his contract that he’s not allowed to play baseball. Maybe when it comes time for Murray to get a contract extension from Arizona, he’ll look to negotiate a clause that allows him to try his hand at baseball? It’s certainly fun to think about, and I think every fan would be hoping he can become the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders.
Here’s more from around the league as we officially turn our attention toward the offseason:
- David Njoku had a rocky season with the Browns, even as the team had their most success in decades. The drafting of Harrison Bryant and signing of Austin Hooper reduced his role on offense, and Njoku demanded to be traded this past summer, then changed his mind on that demand, then apparently changed his mind once again and wanted to be traded in October. Obviously Cleveland didn’t want to deal him, and it looked like everything had more or less been worked out, but Njoku fanned the flames again this past week. “That’s a good question,” Njoku said recently on the Jim Rome Show when asked if he’s in the right spot, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I’m not going to answer that right now. I have no comment towards that at this moment,” Njoku said cryptically. The 29th overall pick of the 2017 draft added that everything would work itself out in the “near future.” Thanks to his fifth-year option the tight end is under contract for 2021 at a hair over $6MM, although that’s not guaranteed. If they choose to keep him at that number, it sounds like another trade request could be in the cards.
- Reserve/futures deals are non-guaranteed pacts to keep unheralded players a part of a team’s offseason 90-man roster, so they usually don’t come with any bonuses or guaranteed money. When they do, that makes them a lot more notable, and Field Yates of ESPN.com recently tweeted out this cycle’s biggest. Cornerback Grant Haley got $35.7K from the Saints, safety Marqui Christian and cornerback Xavier Crawford got $35K and $31.3K respectively from the Bears, long snapper Dan Godsil got $27.4K from the Bengals, and tight end Tyree Jackson got $25.2K from the Eagles while punter Arryn Siposs got $25K from Philly. All these guys would seem to have a better than normal chance of cracking next year’s 53. Haley saw a lot of run his first two years in the league with the Giants, and was up and down from New Orleans’ practice squad in 2020. If Cincy is giving a reserve/futures long snapper $25K, you’ve gotta figure they think there’s a good chance he’s their guy next year. Jackson is a notable name since he’s the former University of Buffalo star quarterback who has since transitioned to tight end.
- Speaking of relatively minor contracts, Yates also tweeted the details for the recent extensions for Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman and 49ers long snapper Taybor Pepper. Peterman got a guaranteed $1MM base salary on his one-year deal, a $25K workout bonus, and a max value of $2.775MM with incentives. Pepper got two-years, $2.08MM with an $80K signing bonus and $220K of his $920K salary for 2021 guaranteed. It’s pretty eyebrow-raising to see Peterman get his $1MM guaranteed considering he’s thrown all of five passes the past two seasons, but Jon Gruden clearly loves the guy. This would suggest he’s got a good shot to hold the clipboard for Derek Carr, or whoever is the Raiders’ starter next year.
Coaching Notes: Bears, DeFilippo, Harris, Browns, Chiefs
The Bears made a staff move Monday that will surely have a lot of people in the NFL universe connecting dots. Chicago has promoted John DeFilippo to be passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the team announced. He had previously just been QBs coach, and replaces Dave Ragone after he left to be Atlanta’s new OC. Thee promotion is eyebrow-raising because the Bears are reported to be pursuing Carson Wentz, and DeFilippo has an extensive history with the embattled Eagles quarterback.
DeFilippo, of course, was Wentz’s quarterbacks coach for his breakout 2017 season when the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl. He also coached Wentz during his rookie season before the Super Bowl earned him the job of Vikings offensive coordinator. He immediately clashed with Mike Zimmer, and was fired by Minnesota midway through the 2018 season. He was then hired as Jacksonville’s OC for 2019, and was fired after the season when he couldn’t recapture the magic he had previously with Nick Foles. The Bears making this move will do nothing to decrease the chatter about them acquiring Wentz, and now we wait.
Here’s more from the coaching ranks:
- Washington DBs coach Chris Harris was the runner up for the Packers’ DC job that went to Joe Barry and is a name to watch moving forward for other openings, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. As Breer points out, he’s still only 38. Harris spent eight years in the league as a safety from 2005-12, and got his first coaching gig as a defensive quality control coach with the Bears in 2013.
- DeFilippo isn’t the only coach who got a promotion on Monday, as the Browns announced they were promoting Ben Bloom to be their new defensive run game coordinator. Bloom spent the 2020 season as a general defensive assistant with the team, and clearly impressed. He was previously the linebackers coach of the Cowboys from 2018-19.
- The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl yesterday, and they’re also losing a staff member. Kansas City running backs coach Deland McCullough is leaving to become an associate head coach at Indiana University, sources told FootballScoop (Twitter link). The news was confirmed in a subsequent tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who notes that McCullough’s ultimate goal is to become a college head coach.
- The Bears made another recent shuffling of Matt Nagy’s staff, hiring Michael Pitre to be the new running backs coach, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN tweets. Pitre had been the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Oregon State. He’ll replace Charles London, who left Chicago along with Ragone to be the new quarterbacks coach with the Falcons.
Seahawks Cut OL Chance Warmack
As the season wraps up the Seahawks are doing some housecleaning, and one veteran whose name will ring some bells is getting the boot from the offseason roster. Seattle has released offensive lineman Chance Warmack, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Warmack is a notable name as the tenth overall pick of the 2013 draft. He was a full-time starter his first few years in the league at right guard with the Titans, but never lived up to his draft status and flamed out quickly in Tennessee. His fifth-year option was declined, and he missed most of the 2016 season with an injury. He was with the Eagles from 2017-18 mostly as a reserve, but started a few games.
He spent 2019 out of football before signing with the Seahawks in a comeback bid back in March. Then he became one of the first players in the league to opt-out due to COVID-19 back in July, and now he’s been cut before his contract had a chance to toll to 2021. Still only 29, he won’t generate a ton of interest on the open market.
That being said he isn’t necessarily done in Seattle, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com is told Warmack does want to play next season and a source told him the Seahawks want to bring him in for a workout to see how he looks physically after all the time away (Twitter link).
Antonio Brown Wants To Return To Bucs
We’ve got one more for you in a slew of Bucs posts following their Super Bowl win. We had already heard a few weeks ago that Tampa was interested in bringing Antonio Brown back next year, and it sounds like that interest is mutual.
Speaking after the Buccaneers’ dominant win over the Chiefs, Brown said he wants to do another round with Tom Brady. “Man I’d love to, I look forward to going through the process, this is a great spot for me and I would love to come back and give it another shot at a two-peat,” Brown said after the game, via Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. “I would love to be back here next year. It would mean everything to be back. I’m just excited and super grateful.”
Brown is set to be a free agent, and it’ll be very interesting to see what kind of contract he lands this offseason. On the one hand he’s an incredibly accomplished and talented receiver who just helped his team win a Super Bowl. On the other hand, he’s got a long list of off-field issues hanging over his head, he’ll turn 33 this summer, and he put up solid but certainly not spectacular numbers this past season.
In eight games with the Bucs in 2020 after sitting out the first half of the season due to a suspension, he finished with 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns. That would put him on pace for a 90/966/8 line if he had played a full 16 games. Again, respectable, but not the kind of All-Pro numbers he was routinely putting up with the Steelers prior to his trade to the Raiders and subsequent implosion. He had five catches for 22 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Obviously a large part of that was due to playing in an offense with a lot of mouths to feed with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans among others also present. Either way, he’s not likely to command the kind of hefty contract he would’ve gotten had he hit the open market after the 2018 season. Bruce Arians seems to think they won’t have too much trouble fitting everyone in financially, and Evans is apparently willing to take a pay cut.
Bruce Arians Returning To Buccaneers In 2021, Confident Team Can Keep FAs
It really sounds like the Buccaneers will be getting the full band back together in 2021. Rob Gronkowski has already said he isn’t retiring, and he’s previously indicated he only wants to play in Tampa. Tom Brady is expected back for at least one more ride, and quite possibly more.
And now we’ve got confirmation that the coach isn’t planning on riding off into the sunset either. “I ain’t going anywhere. I’m trying to get two, and then we’ll see,” Bruce Arians said after the Bucs’ Super Bowl win, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). There had been some speculation that the 68-year-old Arians could be headed for retirement, but one championship clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
Arians’ priority will now turn toward keeping all his guys, and he seems to think he’s got a good shot. “I’m very, very confident,” the team will keep its core, Arians said in a Monday press conference, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I have all the trust in the world in (GM) Jason (Licht) and what he would do.”
“These guys, they have a bond. There will be dollars involved. But I think that this group is so, so close that sometimes dollars don’t matter. But we’re going to do everything we can to get the dollars right too because they earned it.” Arians’ sentiment about the money not being a deal-breaker was echoed by Mike Evans, who has apparently said he’d be willing to knock off some of his $12.5MM salary for next year to help keep other players.
Stud pass-rusher Shaq Barrett and long-time linebacker Lavonte David are both set to be free agents, as is star receiver Chris Godwin. There will be a lot of guys looking to cash in, and despite Arians’ optimism it’s a simple fact of the NFL that it’ll be hard to retain *everybody*.
Arians retired as Cardinals coach after the 2017 campaign, but his time away from the game ended up only lasting one season. Having Tom Brady and making a deep playoff run appears to have rejuvenated him, and he could very well coach into his 70s at this point.
Alex Mack Interested In Joining 49ers
Falcons center Alex Mack is 35 now, but it doesn’t sound like retirement is anywhere near his mind. In fact, the impending free agent appears to already be thinking about destinations, and has an interesting one in mind.
Mack called playing for the 49ers “very enticing” when speaking with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports this past week. Mack specifically singled out Kyle Shanahan, who he played under in 2014 with the Browns and 2016 with the Falcons. “Kyle is an incredible coach,” Mack said. “He’s an incredible coach, great person, strong motivator and runs an offense that is something that I’d know really well and that I performed very well in.”
The interest is clearly there on Mack’s side, and since the 49ers have a lot of uncertainty at center right now, it could be a perfect match. Weston Richburg, San Francisco’s normal starter, missed this entire past season after suffering a devastating knee injury late in the 2019 campaign. He has two years left on his deal but it’s unlikely he’s back at his hefty $8MM+ salaries, and as Maiocco points out the team can save nearly $5MM by cutting him this offseason.
Ben Garland became the 49ers’ starter, but he’s a journeyman who got himself injured as well after just a handful of games. A first-round pick out of Cal back in 2009, Mack is a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro who made the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s at center.
Despite his somewhat advanced age he’s been durable, starting 14 games this past year and all 16 in 10 of the previous 11. Mack got five years and $45MM from Atlanta last time he hit free agency and while his next contract won’t be quite as lucrative, he should still command a decent amount of money from the 49ers or any other team.
Eagles Didn’t Request Eric Bieniemy Interview
Before they ultimately hired Nick Sirianni, we heard the Eagles had requested an interview with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for their head coaching vacancy. That apparently wasn’t the case.
Speaking at one of his Super Bowl week media availabilities, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Philly never submitted an interview request for Bieniemy, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com (Twitter link). There has been some buzz that the Eagles didn’t want to pull from the Reid coaching tree again (like they did with Doug Pederson), but Reid said he hasn’t heard anything to suggest that.
This would mean the Eagles were on an island on this one. All six other teams that had head coaching openings submitted a request to interview Bieniemy, who has been a hot name the past couple of cycles but hasn’t been able to secure a top job. It’s especially surprising considering the Eagles seemed determined to cast a wide net in their search, interviewing a slew of candidates who weren’t known to be on the radar elsewhere.
Guys like Josh McDaniels, Jerod Mayo, and Dennis Allen, who didn’t draw much known interest from other teams, all interviewed with the Eagles for the gig. Reid has long lobbied for Bieniemy to get a head coaching job, so he was probably annoyed that his former team never actually put in the effort to submit an interview request.