Vikings Re-Sign RFA Anthony Harris
The Vikings announced that safety Anthony Harris has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender. Offensive tackle Rashod Hill, meanwhile, has inked his original round RFA tender.
Harris, 27, had primarily been a special teams player throughout his Vikings career until midway through last season, when starting safety Andrew Sendejo went down with a groin injury. Harris stepped in opposite Harrison Smith and went on to post a breakout campaign, posting 46 tackles, three interceptions, and six passes defensed. Pro Football Focus was incredibly impressed with Harris’ play, ranking him as the NFL’s third-best safety.
Harris will earn a $3.095MM base salary in 2019 before hitting unrestricted free agency. While the Vikings could pursue an extension for Harris, they’re already projected to be among the most cap-strapped clubs in the NFL, and have several other players — including cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander and tight end Kyle Rudolph — scheduled to hit the open market next year. If Harris isn’t extended, he’d join a free agent safety class that will also include Kevin Byard, Devin McCourty, Damarious Randall, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Patriots CB Jonathan Jones Signs RFA Tender
Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jones will now be paid $3.095MM for the 2019 season.
Jones becomes one of several second-round RFAs to ink his tender today, joining Ravens linebacker Patrick Onwuasor, Colts receiver Chester Rogers, and Eagles quarterback Nate Sudfeld. Rival clubs could have signed Jones to an offer sheet and sacrificed a second-round pick in order to land him, but Jones will instead sign his tender on the day New England begins its offseason workout program.
A former undrafted free agent, Jones hasn’t missed a single game during his three-year run with the Patriots. Over the past two seasons, he’s contributed on defense, playing between 40% and 50% of New England’s defensive plays in each year. Pro Football Focus graded Jones as the No. 73 cornerback among 112 qualifiers, while Football Outsiders charted him as below average in both yards per pass and success rate.
Colts WR Chester Rogers Signs RFA Tender
Colts wide receiver Chester Rogers has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, the club announced today. Safety Matthias Farley inked his original round RFA tender, while wide receiver Marcus Johnson signed his exclusive rights free agent tender.
Rogers earned only $695K in 2018, but he’ll now see a pay bump to $3.095MM for the upcoming season. An undrafted free agent in 2016, Rogers’ playing time has hovered between 45% and 65% during his three years in the NFL, but his production has increased year-over-year. In 2018, Rogers set career-highs with 53 receptions for 485 yards and two scores; his catch and yardage totals ranked second among Colts wideouts.
Any other club could have signed Rogers to an offer sheet, but they would have been forced to hand over a second-round pick to the Colts in order to land him. While Rogers is a solid complementary offensive piece, he’s probably not worth a second-round selection.
Julio Jones Not At Falcons Workouts
Wide receiver Julio Jones is not in attendance for the beginning of the Falcons’ offseason workouts, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
Workouts at this stage of the offseason are not mandatory, so Jones isn’t at risk of being fined for not being present. The star pass-catcher is pushing for a new contract, so it’s possible he’s sending a message to Atlanta by sitting out. Per McClure, Jones doesn’t have a “set time” when he plans to report.
Jones, 30, didn’t attend workouts last offseason, either, but didn’t get a new contract as a result. Instead, the Falcons converted $2MM of Jones’ 2019 base salary into a signing bonus, affording him more money up front but not changing the overall terms of his deal. Reports last month suggested Jones was nearing an extension with the Falcons, but there’s no been no more news on that front since.
When Jones signed a five-year extension in 2015, his $14.25MM annual salary made him the NFL’s second-highest-paid wide receiver behind Calvin Johnson. Four years later, Jones is only the 11th-highest-paid wideout, as fellow pass-catchers such as Odell Beckam Jr., Mike Evans, and DeAndre Hopkins have increased the positional market.
Panthers Re-Sign DT Kyle Love
The Panthers have re-signed defensive tackle Kyle Love to a one-year deal, Carolina announced Monday.
Love was part of a four-man defensive tackle rotation for the Panthers in 2018, playing 468 snaps while appearing in all 16 games. Kawann Short, Dontari Poe, Vernon Butler, and Love all played between 33% and 59% of Carolina’s defensive snaps a season ago, and all four are set to return next year.
Love, 32, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games, before he was waived with a non-football illness designation after being diagnosed with diabetes. Love played in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he’s since reestablished his career with the Carolina, totaling 57 games since 2015.
Last offseason, Love re-signed with the Panthers on a two-year, $2.2MM deal that contained $200K in guaranteed money.
Ravens LB Patrick Onwuasor Signs RFA Tender
Ravens linebacker Patrick Onwuasor has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, the club announced today. Running backs Gus Edwards and De’Lance Turner, center Matt Skura, and offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor all signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders, per Baltimore.
Onwuasor, 26, has started 25 games for the Ravens over the past two seasons, but didn’t top 60% playing time in either of those campaigns. That’s likely to change in 2019, as Onwuasor is expected to become Baltimore’s top linebacker following the departure of free agent C.J. Mosley. Last year, Onwuasor posted 59 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, and one interception while grading as the NFL’s No. 40 linebacker among 92 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, which assigned Onwuasor a top-15 coverage grade among LBs.
Following a solid 2018 season, a rival team could have theoretically expressed interest in signing Onwuasor to an offer sheet. However, that would have forced said club to sacrifice a second-round pick and give Onwuasor a large enough contract to dissuade the Ravens from matching. Instead, the former undrafted free agent is now scheduled to earn $3.095MM for the upcoming campaign.
Cardinals Not Set On Kyler Murray At No. 1?
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray has long been penciled in as the Cardinals’ obvious choice with the No. 1 overall pick, but that selection may not be set in stone. Per Peter King of NBC Sports, there is not “unanimity” within Arizona’s front office about whether to take Murray. Meanwhile, after pegging the odds Murray would be picked first overall at 90% on April 1, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (Twitter link) has since reduced that figure to just 60%.
Murray would still likely be chosen within the first five picks of the draft, and could potentially still come off the board at No. 1 overall if the Cardinals trade out. Arizona has plenty of other roster holes, with needs at nearly every level of the club. Trading the first overall selection could give general manager Steve Keim a bevy of draft picks in order to supplement the Cardinals’ roster, and if they don’t move down too far, they’d still be in range to target a blue-chip player in the first round.
If the Cards pass on Murray, they’d be going forward with 2018 first-rounder Josh Rosen as their long-term quarterback under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury. While it’s possible Rosen’s relationship with Arizona could have been damaged over the past several months (especially with Murray having been viewed as a lock for the No. 1 pick), the former UCLA signal-caller did show up for workouts earlier this month, and also seems to have the support of his teammates.
Eagles QB Nate Sudfeld Signs RFA Tender
Eagles quarterback Nate Sudfeld has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). He’ll collect $3.095MM for the 2019 campaign.
Sudfeld is one of many restricted free agents who will likely sign his tender this week. RFAs have until April 19 to sign an offer sheet with a rival club, but it always seemed incredibly unlikely that another team would not only sacrifice a second-round pick in order to land Sudfeld, but also hand him a large contract that Philadelphia would decline to match.
With Nick Foles now in Jacksonville, Sudfeld is the favorite to become Carson Wentz‘s top backup. A 2016 sixth-round pick of the Redskins, Sudfeld joined the Eagles via waiver claim in 2017. In two seasons with Philadelphia, the 25-year-old has appeared in four games (including playoffs). Sudfeld got an extended look during the 2017 regular season finale, completing 19 of his 23 pass attempts for 134 passing yards. Last season, however, he managed only two pass attempts.
Latest On Russell Wilson Contract Deadline
Russell Wilson‘s self-imposed deadline for a new contract with the Seahawks has arrived, and Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers has been in Seattle for three days working on a deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). However, if Wilson and the Seahawks don’t negotiate a new pact by today, the star quarterback doesn’t plan to sign a long-term deal with Seattle at all, reports Peter King of NBC Sports.
As King reiterates, Wilson isn’t planning to hold off talks until 2020 if an extension isn’t agreed to on Monday. Instead, he doesn’t intend to ink any sort of new deal with Seattle if a long-term accord isn’t reached today. While it’s fair to wonder if Wilson’s April 15 deadline — and his reported declaration that he won’t negotiate after today — is all a tactic, it’s also possible that Wilson isn’t bluffing.
If a deal does get hammered out, it’s likely to include parameters that could increase Wilson’s salary based on outside factors, per King. Wilson’s earnings could potentially be tied to a rise in the NFL’s salary cap, or an increase in new league revenue sources such as gambling or television contracts. Aaron Rodgers reportedly asked for out clauses and/or other triggers during his negotiations with the Packers last summer, but neither he nor any other signal-caller has yet secured any sort of non-conventional deal.
The Seahawks weren’t blindsided by Wilson’s contract deadline, as he originally alerted Seattle to his schedule in January. As of last week, however, the two sides had still made very little progress in negotiations, and subsequent reports have indicated the Seahawks actually believe Wilson wants to play elsewhere, and will drive a harder bargain in Seattle than he would elsewhere. The Seahawks still control his rights through 2019, and can realistically retain him through 2021 via a series of franchise tags.
Wilson will be in attendance for the beginning of Seattle’s offseason program on Monday, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, so he could potentially take an active role in negotiating his new deal.
NFC Notes: Panthers, Bucs, Lions, Giants
Could the Panthers be in the market for a backup quarterback? They’re meeting with Auburn signal-caller Jarrett Stidham today, while Carolina has spent “considerable time” with West Virginia’s Will Grier, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter links). Cam Newton missed two starts last season, and the Panthers were subsequently forced to rely on unproven options like Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen under center. Head coach Ron Rivera indicated earlier this year that Carolina would likely eschew a veteran quarterback addition in favor of utilizing the draft, but as Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer tweets, it’s unclear how high of a pick the Panther are willing to use in order to land Newton’s new backup. Stidham, meanwhile, has also visited the Giants, per Pelissero.
Here’s more from the NFC South:
- Florida State edge rusher Brian Burns‘ next visit will be with the Buccaneers, as he noted on Chris Simms Unbuttoned (link via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). After sitting down with Tampa Bay, Burns is expected to meet with the Lions, Giants, and Colts, the latter of whom has shown the most interest in Burns thus far. The ex-Seminole could come off the board within the top-10 selections of the draft, and he’s viewed as one of the best pass rushers in the 2019 class. After posting 23 sacks and 38.5 tackles for loss during his collegiate career, Burns tested like an elite athlete at the scouting combine.
- Giants head coach Pat Shurmur prefers a veteran backup behind starting quarterback Eli Manning, as Ryan Dunleacy of NJ.com writes. New York re-signed Alex Tanney last month, and if he’s set to serve as the club’s No. 2 signal-caller, 2018 fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta‘s roster spot could be in danger, especially if the Giants select a quarterback early in the upcoming draft. Big Blue spoke repeatedly about inserting Lauletta into game action last season, but he ultimately attempted only five passes (all of which were incomplete and one of which was intercepted) in Week 13. He was subsequently deactivated for the next two contests. Lauletta’s late October arrest probably doesn’t help his roster chances, either.
- More Alliance of American Football veterans could be heading to the NFL. The Vikings worked out linebacker Davis Tull on Wednesday, tweets Pelissero, and will audition linebacker Greer Martini on Thursday, per Rob Demovsky of NFL.com (Twitter link). More than 40 AAF alums have landed NFL contracts since the fledgling league folded, and Tull and/or Martini could force that number to rise. Tull, notably, was a fifth-round pick of the Saints in 2015 but has yet to appear in an NFL game.