Browns Will Trade Or Cut Brock Osweiler
The Browns are attempting to trade recently-acquired quarterback Brock Osweiler and a fifth-round pick in exchange for a third-round selection, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. If they can’t unload Osweiler via trade, the Browns will simply release him.
Cleveland’s move to acquire Osweiler from the Texans was solely about absorbing his cap charge in order to pick up a second-round pick, so it’s not a surprise that he isn’t in the club’s long-term plans. As previous reports have indicated, the Browns are willing to pay as much as half of Osweiler’s $16MM base salary in order to facilitate a trade. To do so, Cleveland would convert a portion of Osweiler’s salary into a signing bonus, and pay that figure before dealing him elsewhere.
Given the Browns’ ample cap space, they could probably negotiate Osweiler’s salary all the way down to $1MM, making the 26-year-old quarterback a much more valuable asset. Either way, other executives are skeptical Cleveland’s plan to flip Osweiler will be successful, as one personnel man told Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com “no one will do their new trade.”
Cowboys OT Doug Free To Retire
Right tackle Doug Free has informed the Cowboys he plans to retire, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Chatter had arisen in recent weeks regarding Free’s status, and although multiple reports denied Free would hang up his cleats, the veteran lineman ultimately decided to call it a career.
For Dallas, the loss of Free is a blow to its league-best offensive line, a group that had already seen the defection of top backup Ronald Leary earlier this week. While Free was probably the link weak link along the Cowboys’ front five, he was still a starting-caliber player (No. 40 offensive tackle in 2016 per Pro Football Focus), and the club will now have to assess its options as it seeks to replace him.
Internally, the Cowboys’ top option is Chaz Green, a 2015 third-round pick who played 151 snaps last season. If Dallas isn’t ready to hand over right tackle to Green, it could venture into the free agent market, where options such as Austin Pasztor, Sebastian Vollmer, and Andre Smith still reside. Adding a tackle through the 2017 draft is another possibility, with Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk, Alabama’s Cam Robinson, and Utah’s Garett Bolles in the mix as first-round picks.
Alternatively, the Cowboys could consider moving incumbent left guard La’el Collins to right tackle and bringing in another guard. Collins played left tackle in college so he could probably handle the right side, and his versatility will likely play a role in Dallas’ decision. The Cowboys knew Free was retiring before the beginning of free agency, tweets Archer, so the decision not push harder for a Leary return was unrelated.
Originally a left tackle, Free shifted to the right side after Dallas drafted Tyron Smith in 2011. The Northern Illinois alum had undergone foot surgery in each of the past two offseasons. The Cowboys will pick up $5MM in cap space thanks to Free’s retirement, and while they could conceivably recoup $2.5MM in signing bonus money, the club probably won’t ask Free to give that total back.
AFC Notes: Pats, Bengals, Mixon, Fins, Aiken
Defensive lineman Lawrence Guy has completed his visit with the Patriots and will continue taking meetings with other clubs, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The Ravens, meanwhile, would still like to re-sign Guy, but their overall level of interest is unclear. PFR ranked Guy as the No. 12 interior defender heading into the free agent period.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- The Bengals will host controversial Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon on a private visit, reports Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. Cincinnati was one of four clubs — including Cleveland, Detroit, and New Orleans — that met with Dixon last week. Because Mixon was not invited to the combine, the Bengals want the opportunity to speak “extensively” with Mixon about his character, per Terrell.
- Although the Dolphins made a “late attempt” to retain tight end Dion Sims, they offered roughly $2MM less per season than the Bears, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Chicago ultimately signed Sims to a three-year, $18MM deal that features $6MM in guarantees. Miami has since signed veteran Anthony Fasano to fill the void at tight end.
- Three teams are interested in free agent wide receiver Kamar Aiken, tweets La Canfora (although he doesn’t identify the clubs). Aiken, 27, managed only 29 receptions for the Ravens in 2016 after putting up 75 catches the year prior.
Bears Re-Sign Christian Jones
The Bears announced that they’ve re-signed linebacker Christian Jones to a one-year deal. Jones was a restricted free agent, so Chicago presumably inked him for something less than the $1.797MM original round RFA tender.
Jones, 26, was a full-time starter for the Bears as recently as 2015, when he started 15 games for the club. That year, he played over 70% of Chicago’s defensive plays and picked up 59 tackles. But when the Bears signed veteran ‘backers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman last offseason, Jones lost his starting gig.
The Bears shopped Jones before last season, but after not finding any takers, they placed Jones in a special teams role. Although he appeared in all 16 games in 2016, Jones only started two contests, instead picking up most of his playing time through 323 special teams snaps. He posted five tackles in that space, and will likely continue on as a special teamer in 2017.
Bills To Re-Sign Lorenzo Alexander
The Bills have agreed to re-sign linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, as Alexander himself posted on Twitter. He’ll sign a two-year, $9MM deal that includes $4.1MM guaranteed, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Alexander settled for a minimum salary benefit deal with the Bills in free agency last spring, when he was a special teams-first journeyman who had racked up only 9.5 sacks in his first nine NFL seasons. But Alexander broke out last season in Buffalo, where he accumulated 76 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception across 16 starts en route to second-team All-Pro honors and the only Pro Bowl berth of his career.
The first real defensive success of Alexander’s career came under the Bills’ previous head coach, Rex Ryan, whom they fired with a week left in the season. Buffalo has since replaced Ryan with another defensive-minded coach, Sean McDermott, but the team clearly regards Alexander as a player capable of thriving in its new system.
Heading into the free agent period, PFR ranked Alexander as the fifth-best pass rusher available.
Buccaneers To Re-Sign DT Sealver Siliga
The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, according to
Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, tweets 
Siliga’s agency.
Tampa Bay claimed Siliga off waivers last November after he was waived by the Seahawks. In six games with the Bucs, the 27-year-old compiled five tackles and one sack. Between 2014 and 2015, Siliga started nine games (in 20 appearances) for the Patriots, collecting 60 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Last offseason, the defensive tackle earned a one-year, $1.4MM ($250K guaranteed) contract from Seattle.
Siliga will presumably compete with Clinton McDonald to be the primary substitute for starting defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Chris Baker.
Jaguars To Sign Stefan Charles
The Jaguars are expected to sign free agent defensive lineman Stefan Charles, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Charles, 28, spent the 2016 campaign with the Lions after starting his career with the Bills, with whom he played from 2013-15. Last year, Charles acted as a rotational option on Detroit’s front four, managing to get in 235 defensive snaps in 12 games. He posted 12 tackles in that span, and also played on 17 special teams snaps. His best season came in 2014 when he compiled 23 tackles and three sacks in 16 games.
In Jacksonville, Charles will reunite with Doug Marrone, who coached Charles during the 2013-14 seasons in Buffalo. The Jaguars have already landed one elite option — Calais Campbell — to add to an impressive defensive line that also includes Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue.
Latest On Patriots’ Forfeited Fourth-Rounder
Under the terms of their Deflategate punishment, the Patriots are required to forfeit their earliest fourth-round draft choice, leading us at PFR to wonder (Twitter link) if New England would be forced to give up the pick (No. 118) it just acquired as part of the Brandin Cooks trade. A NFL spokesman has confirmed that is indeed the case, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), meaning the Patriots will now get pick No. 132 (acquired from the Seahawks) back.
The Patriots, at one point or another, have owned three separate fourth-round picks: their own No. 137 which was dealt to the Colts in the Dwayne Allen trade; the Seahawks’ No. 132 which was acquired in a 2016 draft-day swap; and No. 118, picked up in the Cooks deal. New England will have to sacrifice that No. 118 pick but will be returned No. 132, so the New Orleans trade essentially boils to Cooks and No. 132 in exchange for No. 32 and No. 103.
To account for this bookkeeping change, we’ve altered our Complete 2017 NFL Draft Order page. As it currently stands, the Patriots won’t make a selection until Round 3 (pick no. 72).
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Jaguars To Sign Earl Watford
The Jaguars have agreed to a two-year, $6MM deal with offensive lineman Earl Watford, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Watford, 26, has the ability to play all along the offensive line, as he saw time at both right guard and right tackle for the Cardinals in 2016. That quality alone makes him valuable to the Jaguars, who sorely needed to added front five depth this offseason. In Jacksonville, Watford will likely act as a reserve to tackles Branden Albert and Jermey Parnell and guards Patrick Omameh and A.J. Cann, although he could conceivably compete with Omameh to start at left guard.
A former fourth-round pick, Watford picked up 11 of his 13 career starts during the 2016 campaign. Pro Football Focus wasn’t very fond of his play, however, ranking him as the fourth-worst offensive tackle in the league last year.
Falcons, Ryan Schraeder Rework Contract
The Falcons have created $4.8MM in cap space by converting offensive tackle Ryan Schraeder‘s $6MM roster bonus into a signing bonus, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
Schraeder, 28, agreed to a five-year, $30MM extension with Atlanta in November (a deal that, given the free agent tackle market, he may now regret). Originally scheduled to count $7.1MM against the Falcons’ 2017 salary cap, Schraeder will now only take up $2.3MM. He won’t be losing any money, and in fact will likely now be paid earlier. Schraeder’s cap charge will increase by $1.2MM from 2018-2021.
In 2016, Schraeder started 16 games for the second consecutive season, bringing his career total to 46 starts in 58 games. The former undrafted free agent graded as the league’s No. 13 offensive tackle last season, according to Pro Football Focus.