Saints Create $26MM+ In Cap Space Via Restructures
The Saints entered the offseason significantly over the cap, but they’re already starting to create some breathing room. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the Saints created $26.217MM in cap space by reworking the contracts of wideout Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
Specifically, they converted $14.56MM of Thomas’ 2022 compensation and $18.20MM of Ramczyk‘s upcoming compensation into signing bonuses. The Saints entered the offseason a projected $74MM over the cap, but they have the ability to open a significant chunk of money (with some estimates saying they could save $100M via restructures). In other words, this is surely just the beginning for New Orleans’ front office.
Thomas led the league in receptions in 2018 and ’19, but following a disappointing 2020 campaign, the veteran receiver missed the entire 2021 season. Despite Thomas upsetting Saints brass by delaying an offseason ankle surgery last year, he remains in the team’s 2022 plans. While this does not necessarily guarantee the veteran pass catcher will be with the Saints next season, the team could certainly use him following an underwhelming season from the team’s other non-Alvin Kamara pass catchers.
Ramczyk was a first-round pick by the Saints in 2017, and he’s started all 73 of his games through his first five years in the NFL. The Saints inked the lineman to a five-year, $96MM deal (including $60MM in guaranteed money) last offseason.
Packers Rework OL David Bakhtiari’s Contract
The Packers continue to open up some cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the team has reworked left tackle David Bakhtiari‘s contract.
[RELATED: Packers Restructure Aaron Jones’ Contract]
Specifically, the organization converted $11.58MM of Bakhtiari‘s 2022 compensation into a signing bonus. This move created “significant cap space” for the summer. In 2020, the Packers inked Bakhtiari to a four-year, $105.5MM extension that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
It didn’t take long for the 2013 fourth-round pick to emerge into a starter, as the rookie lineman started 16 games at left tackle that season. The lineman has continually improved, culminating in him earning five-straight All-Pro nods (including a pair of first-team honors) between 2016 and 2020.
The veteran tore his ACL toward the end of the 2020 campaign, and he only managed to see the field for one contest during the 2021 season. Still, today’s transaction is consistent with GM Brian Gutekunst‘s recent remarks regarding his expectations for a clean bill of health for Bakhtiari in 2022 (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
In a January interview with CheeseheadTV.com, which is well-worth a read for Packers fans, Bakhtiari himself detailed his struggles to return to the field in 2021, including the second surgery he underwent in November and the troubling fluid buildups in his knee. Like Gutekunst, though, Bakhtiari does not anticipate any health issues going forward, and he says his knee is structurally sound.
The Packers front office has been busy this week. The team also reworked the contracts of running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Coaching Notes: Ravens, Colts, Bills, Browns
Ken Norton Jr. is heading to the NCAA. The long-time coach is expected to join UCLA as their new linebackers coach, reports Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Norton Jr. started his coaching career with USC, but he’s been in the NFL since 2010. After winning three Super Bowl rings as a player, Norton Jr. added another championship to his resume as the Seahawks linebackers coach. After five seasons in Seattle, Norton Jr. was defensive coordinator for three years with the Raiders and four years with the Seahawks (second stint).
Norton Jr. was let go by Seattle following the 2021 campaign. Now, he’ll be joining Chip Kelly’s staff in Los Angeles.
More coaching notes:
- The Ravens announced that they’ve officially promoted Anthony Weaver to be their assistant head coach/defensive line coach. Weaver had a long coaching stint with the Texans, culminating in him serving as their defensive coordinator in 2020. The 41-year-old joined the Ravens last year as their defensive line coach/run game coordinator.
- Former NFL safety Mike Mitchell is joining the Colts staff as an assistant secondary coach, according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic (on Twitter). Mitchell had a 10-year playing career, including a one-year stint with Indianapolis. The Colts are also hiring Nate Ollie as their defensive line coach, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter). Following two seasons with the Eagles, Ollie spent last season as the Jets assistant defensive line coach.
- Bills secondary coach John Butler got a promotion, adding the role of defensive passing game coordinator to his title, according to Wilson. The veteran has spent the past four seasons as the secondary coach in Buffalo. The Bills also confirmed a number of additional hires, including Kyle Shurmur (defensive quality control coach), Nick Lacy (strength and conditioning assistant coach), Marcus West (assistant defensive line coach), Jaylon Finner (defensive quality control coach), Cory Harkey (assistant special teams coach), and Austin Gund (fellowship coach).
- The Browns are expected to promote offensive assistant T.C. McCartney to tight ends coach, according to Wilson (on Twitter). The 32-year-old has bounced around the NFL a bit during his coaching journey. After spending the 2019 campaign as the Broncos quarterbacks coach, McCartney spent the 2020 season as an offensive assistant on the Browns.
Latest On Trade Market For Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo
Carson Wentz and Jimmy Garoppolo will be popular names on this website throughout the offseason, but their respective teams may have difficulties finding trade partners suitors. According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, interest in Wentz and Garoppolo has been “lukewarm as best.”
Wentz got the majority of the blame for the Colts ugly Week 18 loss to the Jaguars, and the quarterback’s decision to go through the season unvaccinated (which caused him to miss a week of practice leading up to the Colts’ Week 17 loss to the Raiders) drew the ire of some Colts decision makers, including owner Jim Irsay. Chris Ballard‘s noncommitment to Wentz exiting the season provided a fairly clear indication the team is not sold on its starter.
So, despite giving up a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 first to acquire the former Eagles QB, the Colts now have Wentz on the block. The Colts could save $13MM by cutting Wentz before March 19. Should Wentz stay a Colt, he will be attached to a $28MM cap number.
The writing was on the wall for Garoppolo in San Francisco when the organization gave up a haul to draft Trey Lance with the third-overall pick. Despite an uncertain future, the veteran still went 9-6 in his 15 starts this past season (plus a pair of postseason victories). We heard recently that the 49ers were seeking a Day 2 choice for the 30-year-old. Garoppolo’s contract includes a $24.2MM salary in 2022.
Commanders Want To Extend Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne
A pair of notable Commanders are up for extensions, and it sounds like coach Ron Rivera wants to keep them around. In a conversation with Ben Standig of The Athletic, Rivera said he’s very interested in locking in wideout Terry McLaurin and defensive tackle Daron Payne for the foreseeable future.
“We have a tremendous amount of interest in making sure these guys are with us going forward,” Rivera said.
Despite being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft, it didn’t take McLaurin very long to make a name for himself. He finished that campaign with PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after compiling 919 receiving yards. The receiver kept it up during his sophomore and junior campaigns, combining for 164 receptions, 2,171 yards, and nine touchdowns between the 2020 and 2021 seasons (despite some inconsistent play from the quarterback position).
Payne had a bit more fanfare heading into the NFL after being selected with the 13th-overall pick in 2018. The 6-foor-3, 320-pound defensive lineman has started 58 of his 64 career games, including all 33 over the past two seasons. Payne finished the 2021 campaign with career-highs in tackles (61) and QB hits (15) to go along with 4.5 sacks.
Payne had his fifth-year option picked up last April, locking him in to a $8.529MM salary for 2022. McLaurin, meanwhile, is heading into the final year of his rookie contract and has a cap number of $3.04MM in 2022.
Rams OL Andrew Whitworth “Leaning Towards” Retirement
Prior to his Super Bowl victory, Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth hinted that he was considering retirement. Now armed with a championship ring, the veteran admitted today that he’s leaning toward hanging up his cleats.
“There’s a lot that goes into that,” Whitworth said during an appearance on NFL Total Access (via NFL.com’s Nick Shook). “Obviously, the family’s involved. Me making sure that my commitment level to being the kind of player that I expect myself to be each and every Sunday is a part of that. So, that’s something I’m just gonna give it another couple of weeks and make sure I’m pretty confident what I want to do.
“I definitely think, I’m definitely leaning towards probably being done. I think that that’s probably best for me at this time in my career. There’s obviously days I’m waking up right now that I don’t know if I want to do that. It’s battling that a little bit. I’ll come to a conclusion here soon to give the Rams a chance to make the moves they need to one way or another. But man, what an awesome ride it’s been if this is the end.”
Whitworth had previously stated that he wants to keep playing for as long as possible, but he cautioned before the Super Bowl that a championship win would be “an unreal way to walk off.” Whitworth is under contract through the 2022 season, when his cap hit rises from its current figure of $5.67MM to $14.67MM.
A Bengals second-round pick in 2006, Whitworth played in Cincinnati for the first 11 years of his career. The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All Pro has been with the Rams since 2017 and has consistently been one of the league’s pass protectors.
Latest On Saints’ Coaching Staff
WEDNESDAY: Both will indeed become co-DCs for the Saints. Nielsen agreed to a two-year contract as New Orleans’ co-DC, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman tweets, while NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes Richard is ticketed to stay on as Saints secondary coach with the co-DC title added (Twitter link). Nielsen will remain the Saints’ D-line coach, and Pelissero adds special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi is now an assistant head coach with the team.
The Saints also announced quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry is now the team’s passing-game coordinator. Curry has been with the Saints for seven years. Doug Marrone is on track to be the Saints’ offensive line coach, a role he held from 2006-08, when he was also New Orleans’ OC.
MONDAY: Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard are getting promotions in New Orleans. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the pair of Saints defensive assistants are taking on new roles. The duo could be promoted to co-defensive coordinators, although the reporter cautions that nothing has been set.
[RELATED: Saints To Keep Pete Carmichael As OC]
Richard made a name for himself with the Seahawks, working his way up from an assistant to defensive coordinator. The coach ended up spending three years in that role before getting canned following the 2017 campaign. Since that time, the 42-year-old has worked as the Cowboys defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, and he joined the Saints as their defensive backs coach in 2021. Richard met with both the Ravens and Steelers about their DC vacancies last month
Nielsen has been with the Saints organization since 2017, and he earned a promotion to assistant head coach in 2021. Prior to his stint in New Orleans, the coach was in the collegiate ranks, including a stint as defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois. We heard recently that Nielsen was a candidate for the DC gig.
The Saints have met with multiple outside candidates, including Michael Wilhoite and Aubrey Pleasant. Meanwhile, Pete Carmichael will be sticking around as offensive coordinator on Dennis Allen’s staff.
This Date In Transactions History: Giants Extend Tom Coughlin
On this date in 2014, the Giants were coming off their first losing season in almost 10 years and head coach Tom Coughlin was about to enter lame-duck status. So, to avoid any controversy regarding their coaching staff, the organization decided to give their head coach an extension.
On February 21, 2014, the Giants signed Coughlin to a one-year extension. The deal kept the long-time head coach on the sideline through the 2015 campaign, with the new deal paying Coughlin around $7MM.
“The Giants have always done that,” Coughlin said of his one-year deal (via Conor Orr of NJ.com). “That’s the way it has been indicated to me. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it to be honest with you. We’ve got a lot of work going on in our business, as you know. I had great confidence that it would happen. And it did.”
Following a relatively successful stint as the Jaguars head coach, Coughlin joined the Giants in 2004. During his first five season at the helm, the Giants won 47 regular season games, made four postseason appearances, and won a Super Bowl. After dropping to 8-8 in 2009, they rebounded with 10 wins in 2010 before going 9-7 and earning another ring in 2011. After that second championship, the Giants inked Coughlin to a three-year, $20MM deal.
Following their Super Bowl XLVI victory, the Giants had another 9-7 record in 2012, but this time the team failed to reach the playoffs. The team fell to 7-9 in 2013, but there was still some reason for optimism. The team had an awful start to the season, going 0-6 through the first month-plus. However, they managed to rebound, going 7-3 for the rest of the season. Plus, the head coach had shown an ability to rebound from underwhelming seasons with championship-winning squads. So, when the Giants committed to Coughlin beyond the upcoming 2014 campaign, it raised few eyebrows.
However, things wouldn’t get better for the organization. The team fell to 6-10, but Coughlin still got another one-year extension to once again avoid lame-duck status. The team had another 6-10 season in 2015, and the writing was on the wall. There were whispers that the Giants were prepared to move on from Coughlin, but naturally, the organization allowed their successful coach to save face. So, Coughlin announced that he was stepping down from his position after the two sides decided to part ways.
The Giants took it year-by-year with Coughlin during his final seasons with the organization, but the team has been willing to commit to their recent hires. The team inked Ben McAdoo to a four-year deal, and they signed Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge to five-year deals. We haven’t heard anything about the length of Brian Daboll‘s contract, but the new HC is surely hoping he’ll last longer than his predecessors.
NFL Combine Changes Bubble Rules, Boycott Avoided
Crisis averted. The NFL Combine announced that they have changed their bubble policies and will allow prospects outside of restricted areas, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). Per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (on Twitter), the boycott has been avoided.
[RELATED: Latest On The NFL Combine]
“As has been the case throughout the pandemic, we continue to evolve our Combine policies and procedures in consultation with medical experts,” the National Invitational Combine said in a statement (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). “While masks continue to be required for air travel and during medical exams at the Combine (players and medical personnel), wearing a mask at other times while on site is recommended, but not required. We encourage all players to remain within the secure Combine areas at all times for your safety. However, if you would like to leave the secure areas during free time in your schedule, you are now permitted to do so at your own risk.”
This is a sudden change in philosophy, but it’s not particularly surprising following the news from earlier today. Due to the former restrictions, agents who represent more than 150 draft prospects were organizing a boycott of all testing, on-field workouts, and interviews at the Combine. Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that some compromise was likely reached, allowing the event to proceed.
Schefter tweeted a remark from a source earlier today who indicated that agents were not planning a boycott but were simply “advising the players en masse to hold off on workouts until Pro Day.” Either way, it sounds like the threat worked.
Texans Complete Coaching Staff
The revamped Texans coaching staff is complete. The organization announced their coaches for the 2022 season, and we’ve compiled some of the previously unreported hirings/promotions/etc. below:
- Jacques Cesaire, defensive line coach
- Robbie Picazo, offensive assistant
- Ben Bolling, defensive assistant
- Ilir Emini, defensive assistant/nickels
Cesaire is the most notable name on the list. Following a 10-year playing career with the Chargers, the defensive end transitioned to coaching, getting his first gig with the University of San Diego. He joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2020 when he was hired as the Bills assistant defensive line coach, a role he held for the past two seasons. Now, he’ll have a chance to prove himself with the full-time gig in Houston.
As expected, the Texans announcement didn’t include a defensive coordinator. After serving as the Texans DC in 2021, new head coach Lovie Smith is expected to retain defensive play-calling duties in 2022. Pep Hamilton was promoted to offensive coordinator while Frank Ross will continue running special teams.