HEADLINES

Author: Dallas Robinson

Latest On Yannick Ngakoue

April 2nd, 2020 at 7:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars are asking for a “first-round pick and more” in trade talks involving franchise-tagged edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Ngakoue has requested a trade and indicated he is not interested in signing a long-term with Jacksonville, and the Jaguars have reportedly received some level of interest in the 25-year-old.

Ngakoue will collect $17.788MM under the terms of his franchise tender, but he’s apparently looking for more than $20MM annually on a new deal, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Currently, only three edge rushers exceed the $20MM threshold: Khalil Mack, Demarcus Lawrence, and Frank Clark.

It remains to be seen if any club is willing to deal a first-round pick and give Ngakoue a massive extension. The Chiefs performed such a maneuver in acquiring Clark from the Seahawks last offseason, but many teams might shy away from sacrificing such draft capital simply for the right to extend Ngakoue. That could be especially true when another edge rusher — Jadeveon Clowney — is still available on the open market and has reportedly lowered his asking price.

Ngakoue, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, has posted at least eight sacks in four of his NFL campaigns, but other metrics were down on him in 2019. Among edge defenders with at least 50% playtime, Ngakoue finished just 25th in pressures (51), per Pro Football Focus. And data points like ESPN’s pass rush win rate and double-team rate largely painted Ngakoue as an average rusher, as The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin recently noted on Twitter.

Raiders’ Deal With Eli Apple Falls Through

April 2nd, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with cornerback Eli Apple during the first wave of the free agent period, but that agreement has since fallen through, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

While Schefter doesn’t indicate exactly why Apple’s deal with Las Vegas is being nixed, Apple does have a recent injury history that theoretically could have played a role. An ankle injury forced the 24-year-old to miss the Saints’ final regular season game and Divisional Round contest against the Vikings. Given the COVID-19 crisis, players aren’t able to conduct normal physicals with team medical staffs, so it’s possible Apple’s ankle issue was a factor in the undoing of his pact.

Apple, a first-round pick in the 2016 draft, spent the first two years and change of his career with the Giants before being dealt to New Orleans ahead of the 2018 trade deadline. He went on to start 20 total games with the Saints, and his performance was something close to average, as Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s No. 61 corner among 112 qualifiers in 2019.

Apple immediately becomes one of the best cornerbacks available on the open market, while the Raiders are now once again hunting for a new defensive back to play alongside fellow corners Trayvon Mullen and Nevin Lawson. Aside from Apple, other free agent options include Darqueze Dennard (who, like Apple, had an agreed-to deal canceled), Dre Kirkpatrick, Aqib Talib, Johnathan Joseph, and Ross Cockrell.

Details On Aldon Smith’s Cowboys Contract

April 2nd, 2020 at 4:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys shocked the NFL world on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year deal with edge rusher Aldon Smith, who hasn’t played in the league since November 2015. As expected, Smith’s pact doesn’t contain any guaranteed money, but Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter links) has outlined the parameters of Smith’s contract, which could potentially net the 30-year-old $4MM.

In order to earn any money whatsoever, Smith must obviously be reinstated by the NFL. The former first-round pick applied for reinstatement last month, and if/when the league allows him to play, Smith will collect $90K from Dallas, per Archer. He’ll then collect a series of bonuses as follows:

  • 30 days after reinstatement: $50K
  • Start of training camp: $100K
  • After two preseason games: $100K
  • End of preseason: $100K

Clearly, the NFL’s training camp and preseason schedule could possibly altered due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But if the league’s scheduled goes according to plan, Smith will have earned $440K by the conclusion of the preseason. If the Cowboys released him at that point, they’d be on the hook for that total.

Once the regular season begins, Smith’s contract will follow a slightly more typical structure, accordibng to Archer:

  • Base salary: $910K
  • $40,625K in per-game roster bonuses, totaling $650K for the season
  • Sack incentives up to $2MM
    • Eight sacks: $500K
    • 10 sacks: $1MM
    • 12 sacks: $1.5MM
    • 14 sacks: $2MM

Because Smith didn’t play in the NFL in 2019, those incentives are considered “not likely to be earned” and thus do not count against the Cowboys’ salary cap. Smith would likely have to play at something close to an All-Pro level in order to reach every incentive, but he did meet or exceed 14 sacks in each of his first two NFL campaigns.

South Notes: Colts, Hoyer, Texans, Bucs

March 26th, 2020 at 9:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Before the Colts released Brian Hoyer last week, they discussed trading the veteran quarterback to the Patriots, the club that ultimately signed Hoyer once he was cut, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic writes. The conversations seemed to be at least somewhat serious in nature, as Holder reports trade compensation was discussed, but a deal never came together. Had New England acquired Hoyer, it would have been responsible for the rest of the three-year, $12MM contract Hoyer signed with Indianapolis in 2019. Instead, the Patriots inked Hoyer to a one-year, $1.05MM pact that includes up to $2MM in available incentives.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two South divisions:

  • The Texans have been widely panned for the trade which sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona and running back David Johnson to Houston, and the terms of Johnson’s contract aren’t going to make matters improve. Johnson, whose 2020 base salary of $10.2MM is already guaranteed, saw $2.1MM of his 2021 salary become fully guaranteed last Friday, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. The veteran back is scheduled to count for more than $11MM on the Texans’ salary cap in 2020 before that figure drops to $9MM in 2021.
  • In other Texans contract news, linebacker Benardrick McKinney‘s $6MM base salary for 2020 is now fully guaranteed, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). McKinney, who inked a five-year, $50MM extension with Houston in 2018, previously had this year’s base salary guaranteed for injury only. The inside linebacker market has exploded since McKinney signed that pact, as his $10MM annual salary now ranks just 12th at the position.
  • After making the biggest move in franchise history by signing Tom Brady to a free agent deal, the Buccaneers still have work to do in the upcoming draft. Tampa Bay still wants to find a pass-catching running back to work alongside Ronald Jones, while right tackle is also an an area that could be addressed, as Greg Auman of The Athletic writes. The Bucs did sign former Colts offensive lineman Joe Haeg as an option on the right side, but the 27-year-old has only started six total games in the past two seasons.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/26/20

March 26th, 2020 at 8:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: LS Nick Moore

Cleveland Browns

Detroit News

Jacksonville Jaguars

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: LB Christian Kuntz

Contract Details: Davis, Roberts, Haeg

March 26th, 2020 at 8:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a closer look at the details of a few recently-signed free agent contracts:

AFC

NFC

  • Sean Davis, S (Redskins): One year, $4MM. $2MM guaranteed (Twitter link via John Keim of ESPN.com).
  • Seth Roberts, WR (Panthers): One year, $3.75MM (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of ESPN.com).
  • Zach Kerr, DT (Panthers): Two years, $3MM. Unknown incentives available (Twitter link via Garafolo).
  • B.J. Goodson, LB (Browns): One year, $2.4MM. $2.25MM guaraneed. $1.25MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
  • Joe Haeg, T (Buccaneers): One year, $2.3MM. $1.5MM guaranteed. Up to $1MM available via playtime incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Cedric Ogbuehi, T (Seahawks): One year, $2.3MM. $500K guaranteed. $500K signing bonus (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
  • Will Parks, S (Eagles): One year, $1.5MM. $1.375MM guaranteed. $375K signing bonus. Up to $125K in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Tajae Sharpe, WR (Vikings): One year, $1MM. $675K guaranteed. $175K signing bonus. Max value of $1.5MM (Twitter link via Pelissero).
  • Sharrod Neasman, S (Falcons): One year, $950K. $40K signing bonus. Veteran salary benefit (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Joe Walker, LB (49ers): One year, $900K. Max of $75K in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Wilson).

Vikings To Re-Sign OL Brett Jones

March 26th, 2020 at 7:21pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings have agreed to re-sign interior offensive lineman Brett Jones to a one-year, $910K deal, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link).

Minnesota acquired Jones from the Giants in 2018 after he’d started 13 games for New York the previous season. With the Vikings, Jones has been almost exclusively a reserve, as he’s made only three starts (all in 2018). He was actually released last September to make room for wide receiver Josh Docston, but was re-signed shortly thereafter. Jones, 28, ultimately appeared in only two games in 2019 before being placed on injured reserve.

Jones reportedly wanted to test the free agent market in search of a starting role. Per Tomasson, the Cowboys — who recently lost center Travis Frederick to retirement — also expressed interest in Jones before he re-upped with the Vikings. Dallas has Joe Looney and Connor McGovern on hand as options to replace Frederick, but Jones could have had a shot as the Cowboys’ pivot, as well.

2020 NFL Draft Will Occur As Scheduled

March 26th, 2020 at 6:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 2020 NFL draft will not be rescheduled due to COVID-19 concerns, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). The league’s Management Council Executive Committee discussed the issue earlier today, and commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently sent a memo to teams indicating the committee “was unanimous and unequivocal that the Draft should go forward as scheduled on April 23-25, 2020.” Goodell’s full memo is available here.

At a time when most other professional sports leagues have hit pause on their respective seasons, the NFL has gone in a different direction. Of course, the NFL doesn’t have to worry about canceling an ongoing season of actual play. Instead, the NFL weighed whether to postpone last week’s free agent period before ultimately deciding to proceed, and have made a similar decision on the draft.

That’s not to say the NFL hasn’t made any changes due to the threat of COVID-19. The league canceled all pre-draft visits and has ordered all NFL teams to close down their facilities. And the draft itself won’t occur in a normal fashion. Selections will be broadcast from a studio setting with cut-ins from the headquarters of the teams on the clock, and all draft-related events scheduled to be held in Las Vegas have been canceled.

While Goodell announced the decision to proceed with the draft as a “unanimous” accord, reports have suggested some level of pushback on the part of NFL front offices. Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini of ESPN.com indicated earlier this week that NFL general managers had concerns there won’t be enough time for “player physicals, gathering psychological testing, [and] getting further verified information about the players.”

Arians: Bucs Will Not Consider Antonio Brown

March 26th, 2020 at 6:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

A reunion between Tom Brady and Antonio Brown already appeared unlikely, and Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has now removed any doubt. Appearing on CBS Sports’ “Tiki and Tierney” show (Twitter link), Arians dispelled any notion that Brown would surface in Tampa Bay.

“Yeah, it’s not going to happen,” Arians said. “It’s just not going to happen. There’s no room and probably not enough money. But it’s just not going to happen. It’s not a fit here.”

When pressed on whether he’d consider Brown on a minimum salary deal, Arians again demurred. “No. I just know him and it’s not a fit in our locker room.”

Brown, of course, hasn’t played football since Week 2 of the 2019 regular season, but he’s been linked to Brady on multiple occasions. The former Patriots signal-caller reportedly objected when New England released Brown last season following recurring off-field issues, leaving the club devoid of on-field weapons.

Arians previously worked with Brown as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator from 2010-11. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, don’t necessarily need any help at wide receiver; the club already boasts arguably the NFL’s best pass-catching duo in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

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