Washington, Jonathan Allen Agree To $72MM Extension
Washington shockingly won the NFC East last season thanks to the strength of their young defense, and now they’re locking up a key member of that defense. The team reached agreement on a four-year extension worth a whopping $72MM with defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, his agency Team IFA announced on Twitter.
Per his agents, the deal comes with a massive $30MM signing bonus. We heard in early June that the two sides had commenced extension talks, and things came together relatively quickly. The 2017 first-round pick was previously set to enter the final year of his rookie deal under the fifth-year option.
Allen became a starter immediately after getting drafted 17th overall, but was limited to five games as a rookie due to a Lisfranc injury. He bounced back in a big way in his sophomore season, starting all 16 games and racking up eight sacks. Since his rookie campaign, he’s missed only one game.
An interior lineman who can be a wrecking ball in the run game, Allen has also shown a good amount of pass-rushing upside. After notching eight sacks in 2018, he had another six the following year. He only had two this past season as he didn’t play quite as prominent a pass-rushing role, but he still had 14 quarterback hits.
The $18MM average annual salary for his new pact ranks him fifth in the league among interior defensive linemen, as Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.
Allen only turned 26 earlier this year, and is now signed through the 2025 season. With fellow youngsters Chase Young, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat all still on their rookie deals, Washington’s defensive front has a very bright future.
Eagles Sign Second-Round OL Landon Dickerson
Just in time for training camp, the Eagles have inked the last holdout in their draft class. Philly agreed to terms with second-round offensive lineman Landon Dickerson on Monday, the team announced.
With Dickerson signing his four-year rookie deal, all nine players that the Eagles just drafted are now locked up. Dickerson, the 37th overall pick out of Alabama, was an interesting draft prospect. He was a highly decorated college player who was a unanimous All-American this past year, but unfortunately he tore an ACL in the SEC Championship Game.
The recipient of the Rimington Trophy for the nation’s top center, Dickerson likely would’ve been a first-rounder without the injury but fell to the top of the second instead. A center for Alabama, the Eagles initially “had eyes on Dickerson being a guard,” Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets.
However, since the draft the team has “reopened the possibility of him playing center once he’s fully healthy.” It seems the Eagles believe he could be a potential successor to Jason Kelce at the pivot one day after all. Fortunately, his recovery has been going smoothly by all accounts.
Aaron Rodgers Plans To Play For Packers In 2021?
The Aaron Rodgers saga may be nearing a (temporary) conclusion, and he isn’t retiring. Green Bay’s star quarterback has “indicated to people close to him that he does plan to play” for the Packers this season, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Rapsheet adds that it’s “the expectation.” It’s not quite definitive, but it certainly sounds like Rodgers has made up his mind that he’ll be running it back with the Pack for at least one more year. With Green Bay’s steadfast refusal to trade him, Rodgers only had two real options. Show up soon, or retire. There were reports that he would seriously consider retirement, but they never rang true.
Rodgers is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, and since he’ll turn 38 in December he can’t afford to waste too many years as he chases an elusive second Super Bowl ring. Shortly before Rapoport’s report, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media and said the team was still “hopeful for a positive outcome” with respect to Rodgers, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.
Gutekunst likely knew what was about to hit the news wire. While Packers fans (and head coach Matt LaFleur) will now be able to breathe a bit easier, the drama is far from over.
Rodgers’ status will loom large all season, and things could go south in a hurry if the Packers don’t play as well as they did last year. Either way, this will once again become a big issue next offseason at the very least. This feels like a band-aid solution, and Rodgers very well may demand another trade next year when he’ll only have two seasons left on his contract.
For what it’s worth, Packers president Mark Murphy spoke right after this report broke, and said he still didn’t know whether Rodgers would be at training camp on Wednesday. But for now, don’t expect to see 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love take the field anytime soon. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we have any more clarity on Rodgers’ plans.
Details On Fred Warner’s ‘Unique’ 49ers Extension
Fred Warner agreed to a record-breaking extension with the 49ers on Wednesday. We heard at the time it was for five years and a whopping $95MM, and now we have the full details.
For starters, the contract comes with $40.5MM guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. But beyond that, Rapoport writes that the pact has a “unique structure that essentially makes it two deals in one.” Warner’s contract is for five years, but voids after the first three. He’ll get $54.9MM in new money over those three years, an average of $18.3MM per year.
That’s slightly less than the $19MM per year implied by the 5/95, but it still beats Bobby Wagner‘s 2019 extension ($18MM AAV) to make him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. Where it gets a bit complicated is that the 49ers can then “buy back” the final two years of the deal after they’ve voided if they choose to, by paying Warner $21.85MM in 2025.
That would mean Warner would get $76.75MM over the first four years, an average of around $19.2MM annually. The way Rapsheet describes it, it’s a “record-breaking short-term extension that’s nearly 70 percent guaranteed” for Warner, that “also gives the 49ers a choice to make a few years down the road.”
Warner was a first-team All-Pro last season and has been an extremely reliable asset for Kyle Shanahan’s defense, playing 95 percent of the snaps the past three years.
Titans Sign Third-Round LB Monty Rice, Wrap Up Draft Class
The Titans became the latest team to finalize their 2021 draft class on Saturday. Tennessee agreed to terms with third-round linebacker Monty Rice, their last remaining unsigned draft pick, the team announced.
Rice was the 92nd pick of this past draft coming out of Georgia. He earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2020 after making second-team the year before. He became a starter in his sophomore season and was a finalist for the Butkus Award this past season.
In nine 2020 games for the Bulldogs he finished with 49 tackles, four for a loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles. The Titans have Jayon Brown, Rashaan Evans, and David Long ahead of him at inside linebacker right now, so they likely won’t be counting on him to play a ton as a rookie. They did recently decline Evans’ fifth-year option, and Brown is entering a contract year as well, so Rice could be looked at as the future.
With Rice under contract, all eight of the Titans’ picks are now wrapped up:
Round 1: No. 22 Caleb Farley, CB (Virginia Tech)
Round 2: No. 53 Dillon Radunz, OT (North Dakota State)
Round 3: No. 92 (from Packers) Monty Rice, LB (Georgia)
Round 3: No. 100 Elijah Molden, CB (Washington)
Round 4: No. 109 (from Texans via Panthers) Dez Fitzpatrick, WR (Louisville)
Round 4: No. 135 (from Packers) Rashad Weaver, DE (Pittsburgh)
Round 6: No. 205 Racey McMath, WR (LSU)
Round 6: No. 215 (from Chiefs) Brady Breeze, S (Oregon)
Bears Trade Anthony Miller To Texans
The NFL dead period is officially over, and things are heating up as training camps open. The Bears have agreed to trade receiver Anthony Miller to the Texans, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Here are the details of the deal, via ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter):
Texans Receive
- Anthony Miller
- 2022 seventh-round pick
Bears Receive
- 2022 fifth-round pick
A divorce between Miller and Chicago has seemed likely most of this year, and now it’s official. Back in March we heard the team was shopping him, and about a month later it was reported the Bears had held trade talks with a number of teams. The 51st overall pick of the 2018 draft, Miller has flashed lots of potential at times but was a big disappointment in 2020.
The emergence of rookie Darnell Mooney last year made Miller expendable in Chicago. It never really kept him off the field, but Miller dealt with significant shoulder issues in both 2018 and 2019. His rookie season he caught seven touchdowns, and he had 656 yards as a sophomore. But he took a step back last season, only finishing with 49 catches for 485 yards despite playing all 16 games.
From the Texans’ perspective, it makes a lot of sense. They’re almost certainly entering a rebuilding year in 2021, so it can’t hurt to take a look at a young player entering the final season of his rookie deal. Miller has shown some promise in the past, and Houston has a pretty uninspiring receiving group outside of Brandin Cooks after letting Will Fuller walk in free agency.
Buccaneers WR Justin Watson Out 4 Months
The Buccaneers’ group of pass-catchers just got a bit thinner as they look to defend their Super Bowl title. Receiver Justin Watson had surgery on his knee and is expected to miss about four months, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
That would explain why Tampa placed him on the PUP list earlier today. Watson played a real role on last year’s Super Bowl team, playing about 15 percent of the offensive snaps while also contributing on special teams. He only finished with seven catches for 94 yards though. The knee surgery was for a patella tendon injury, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM radio was told (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Watson was “likely on the bubble already” for a roster spot, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. Now, however, “he could return in second half of the season for depth and special teams help.” If Schefter’s four-month timetable is accurate, that would put him on track to return sometime around Week 11.
The Bucs drafted Watson in the fifth-round out of Penn back in 2018. He’s currently set to enter the final year of his rookie deal. His most productive season was in 2019, when he had 15 catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Vikings To Sign Dede Westbrook
We heard yesterday that free agent receiver Dede Westbrook would be visiting the Seahawks on Sunday. It sounds like that visit has been scrapped. Westbrook will instead be signing a one-year deal with the Vikings on Sunday, a source told veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson (Twitter link).
Westbrook worked out for Minnesota earlier today, and apparently that workout went well. It was reported yesterday that Seattle, the 49ers, and the Bengals were all still on his radar, but the Vikings edged them all out. There’s a connection here, as Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell was Westbrook’s position coach in Jacksonville.
A fourth-round pick in 2017, Westbrook spent the first four years of his pro career with the Jaguars. In 2018 and 2019, he had at least 63 catches, 660 yards, and three touchdowns both season. Last year he only played in two games before tearing an ACL in October, finishing with just one catch for four yards.
We don’t have the financial terms yet, but coming off that injury he likely had to settle for something pretty cheap. It certainly took a while for his market to heat up.
The Oklahoma product has also shown plenty of potential as a returner. The Vikings of course have Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, but not a ton else at receiver beyond them, so this is a decent depth signing. Westbrook says he’s fully recovered from the ACL tear, responding “most definitely” when Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press asked if he’d be ready to roll for the start of training camp on Wednesday (Twitter link).
Latest On NFL, COVID-19 Vaccine
As training camps rapidly approach, issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine continue to be omnipresent in the NFL landscape. Ever since the league and NFLPA agreed to protocols for the 2021 season that will make life much easier for vaccinated players, the vaccination rate has steadily been ticking up.
That continues to be the case. 13 teams now have at least 85 percent of their players vaccinated, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. Things are clearly moving at a brisk pace, since just a couple of days before a source had told Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that it was nine teams (Twitter link). As of Pelissero’s tweet, 73.8 percent of players league-wide had gotten at least one shot.
Two teams remained below 50 percent. Players who aren’t vaccinated will face heavy restrictions for this season, including having to travel separately to road games and not being allowed to do virtually anything while out of town. As Pelissero put it at the time, road games will essentially boil down to “fly by yourself and sit in your room until kickoff” for unvaccinated players.
Meanwhile, while many players have declined to share their status, they might not be able to keep their decisions to themselves much longer. That’s because a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that the league and union are “working out the details” for a system of “identifying vaccinated players during practices and games.”
The source told Florio that it’s a “core concern.” As Florio notes, if that system includes visible identification during games, it won’t be hard for the media and fans to figure out. This one could certainly spark some drama, and we’ll let you know once we hear more.
Poll: Which Rookie Wide Receiver Will Finish With Most Receiving Yards?
This past week we asked you which rookie running back would finish with the most yards in 2021, and now we’re turning our attention to the wide receivers. This year’s wideout class was a great one, with three going in the top ten picks.
Two more then went later in the first round, and then five were off the board in the second. The crop included reigning Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and LSU star Ja’Marr Chase who was reunited in Cincinnati with college teammate Joe Burrow.
Chase became the first receiver off the board when the Bengals nabbed him with the fifth overall pick. He should already have great chemistry with Burrow, so he’s got that working in his favor. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are still there, but the team moving on from A.J. Green this offseason means Chase should see plenty of opportunity right away. Will his rapport with Burrow and a potentially improved Cincy O-line be enough for him to seize the rookie receiving title?
The following pick, the Dolphins took Jaylen Waddle from Alabama at number six. Waddle is also reconnecting with an old college quarterback as he’ll re-team with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. His blazing fast speed gives him plenty of upside, although working against him is the fact that he missed a good chunk of the 2020 season due to injury. Will Fuller will have to sit out the first game of the 2021 season with a suspension, but DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki will also be competing for targets.
Smith *also* is getting paired back up with a familiar face under center. The Heisman winner played with Eagles second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts at Alabama. Despite winning the award for best college football player in the country, Smith was the third wideout taken. Will he use that as added motivation and come out with a chip on his shoulder? He certainly shouldn’t struggle for playing time with Philly’s receiving depth chart being thin as ever. Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, and Greg Ward Jr. are all he has to compete with.
The other two first-rounders were Kadarius Toney from Florida to the Giants at 20 and Rashod Bateman from Minnesota to the Ravens at 27. Toney surprised New York by skipping OTAs and apparently might begin the year in a gadget role as he’s buried behind Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, and Evan Engram in the pecking order, so he’s got his work cut out for him. Bateman has a path to a breakout with Baltimore in desperate need of receiving help, but the Ravens’ passing game is going to be a wild card.
Elijah Moore was the next big name, with the Ole Miss product going to the Jets at 34. He’s also got upside, but has a few guys ahead of him and will have a rookie quarterback throwing to him. Rondale Moore (Purdue) to the Cardinals at 49, D’Wayne Eskridge (Western Michigan) to the Seahawks at 56, Tutu Atwell (Louisville) to the Rams at 57, and Terrace Marshall Jr. (LSU) to the Panthers at 59 round out the rest of the round two receivers.
So, what do you think? Which receiver will rack up the most yards in 2021? Who are the later-round candidates or UDFAs who can join these players as early contributors? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.