Landon Collins May Hold Out If Franchised
Giants safety Landon Collins may or may not have cleaned out his locker earlier today, but the 25-year-old defensive back has already made it clear he doesn’t want to be franchise-tagged this offseason. Indeed, Collins may sit out spring and summer practice sessions if he is franchised, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (link via Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com).
The impact of Collins holding out for a long-term deal isn’t exactly clear. For one, many franchise players refuse participate in spring/summer workouts and practices as a way of expressing their frustration with the franchise tender, but few (Le’Veon Bell aside) actually sit out the season. Second, Collins is facing a four-to-six month recovery period after undergoing December surgery for a torn labrum, so he probably won’t be allowed to be on the field until the summer anyway.
The Giants seemingly have expressed no interest in working out a long-term agreement with Collins (reports as far back as November and as recently as this afternoon suggest as much). Therefore, New York has until March 5 to decide whether it wants to deploy the franchise tag — at a cost of around $11.2MM — on Collins.
Collins, a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, has been a full-time starter for the Giants since entering the league. A two-time Pro Bowler, Collins posted 96 tackles, four passes defensed, and a forced fumble in 2018 while grading as the NFL’s 39th-best safety, per Pro Football Focus.
If he does reach the open market, Collins will be among the most-coveted safeties in a crowded positional field. Among the other safeties scheduled to hit free agency are Earl Thomas, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Lamarcus Joyner, Adrian Amos, Tyrann Mathieu, and Tre Boston.
5 Key NFL Stories: 2/10/19 – 2/17/19
NFL settles with Kaepernick, Reid. Both Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid had accused the NFL of colluding to keep them off the field, and the league succumbed last week, agreeing to a settlement with both players. While official financial details of the deal weren’t (and won’t be) announced, figures ranging from $40-80MM have been tossed out, at least for Kaepernick. Reid, for his part, had already re-signed with the Panthers before the settlement was disclosed. Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s lawyer believes the veteran quarterback with land with a club in the near future.
Broncos to acquire Joe Flacco. The Case Keenum era is over in Denver after the Broncos shipped a fourth-round pick to Baltimore in exchange for Flacco. The Ravens had already handed over the reins to 2018 first-rounder Lamar Jackson, so they had no use for Flacco, who still has three years left on his contract. The Broncos will assume Flacco’s remaining base salaries and install him under center, meaning Keenum will either accept a pay cut, be traded, or be released.
Kareem Hunt returns to the NFL. The Browns opted to give Hunt a chance despite the optics of such a move, signing the veteran back to a one-year, $1MM deal with no guarantees. Hunt, of course, is under investigation for three separate 2018 incidents, with the most notable being an assault of a woman that was caught on video. Now that he’s been signed, Hunt is back on the commissioner’s exempt list until further notice. He’ll be suspended for a unknown amount of time during the 2019 campaign, but will presumably be given a chance to compete with incumbent Cleveland running back Nick Chubb.
Kyler Murray commits to football. The Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner formally declared his intentions to become a NFL quarterback, spurning the Oakland Athletics and his No. 9 overall draft status in Major League Baseball. Murray will return most of the $4.66MM signing bonus he received from Oakland, but given that he’s expected to become a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, he’ll be quickly able to recoup that money. He’s already hired a football agent, and will attend the scouting combine later this month.
Antonio Brown formally submits trade request. Although he’s asked to be dealt away from the Steelers, Brown will now meet with team owner Art Rooney II. Brown was initially hesitant to sit down with Rooney, but the meeting is expected to occur next week. The veteran wideout took to Twitter on Saturday, discussing Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, and other Steelers issues.
NFC Notes: Lions, 49ers, Seahawks, Saints
While the Lions are in need of a slot receiver, a reunion with Golden Tate isn’t a likely outcome for the club, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Detroit shipped Tate to the Eagles at midseason in exchange for a third-round pick, and now the veteran pass-catcher is scheduled to hit the open market next month. After moving Tate, the Lions deployed T.J. Jones as their slot receiver, but they’re expected to pursue an upgrade either through free agency or the draft. Other free agent options who spend most of their time in the slot include Adam Humphries, Jamison Crowder, and Cole Beasley, but those receivers could be just as expensive as Tate.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- If the 49ers add another running back this offseason, they’ll suddenly be staring at a crowded backfield, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. San Francisco thought it had found its No. 1 back last spring, when it signed Jerick McKinnon to a four-year, $30MM pact that contained nearly $12MM in guaranteed money. McKinnon tore his ACL before the 2018 campaign began, but Matt Breida performed well in his absence. Meanwhile, backup RB and special teams ace Raheem Mostert will be tendered as a restricted free agent and could even earn an extension. For what it’s worth, the 49ers could conceivably release McKinnon, and designating him as a post-June 1 cut would make the move financially palatable.
- The Seahawks are expected to place the franchise tag on defensive end Frank Clark, but they’ll probably have to target cost-effective veterans rather than other star players as they rebuild their defensive line, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Although Seattle did pursue Ndamukong Suh last year, it’s unlikely the club will go after him again. Instead, cheaper options such as Bennie Logan or Earl Mitchell could make sense for the Seahawks, per Condotta.
- The Saints have hired former Penn State staffer Phil Galiano as an assistant special teams coach, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Galiano has spent most of his career in the collegiate ranks, but work for the Buccaneers from 2010-12. He’ll now assist Darren Rizzi, who was hired as New Orleans’ special teams coordinator last week.
PFR Originals: 2/10/19 – 2/17/19
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- Rory Parks examined the Steelers’ options with pending free agent running Le’Veon Bell, which include the use of the franchise or transition tag, allowing him to walk without compensation, a trade, or — in the unlikeliest of scenarios — Pittsburgh agreeing to a new deal with Bell.
- In our latest This Date In Transactions History entry, Ben Levine looked back to 2017 when the Dolphins released a pair of failed free agent signees, defensive end Mario Williams and running back Arian Foster.
- Following the Broncos’ acquisition of Joe Flacco, I asked PFR readers if fellow Denver quarterback Case Keenum (who’s now likely to be traded or released) will be a starter in 2019, and if so, where? Most respondents don’t think a club will trust Keenum with a No. 1 role next season, but more than half of voters think the Redskins make sense as a destination.
- With the market scheduled to open in less than a month, make sure to bookmark PFR’s master list of 2019 NFL Free Agents.
Broncos Won’t Re-Work Joe Flacco’s Contract
The Broncos do not intend to re-work Joe Flacco‘s contract after agreeing to acquire him from the Ravens earlier today, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).
Flacco, 34, is under contract in each of the next three seasons at base salaries of $18.5MM, $20.25MM, and $24.25MM. None of those salaries are guaranteed, and Denver isn’t responsible for any of Flacco’s prorated signing bonus money. That total — $16MM — will now result in dead money on Baltimore’s salary cap.
The Broncos are now heavily invested at the quarterback position: as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap tweets, Denver will rank second in cash spent on signal-callers and sixth in cap charges, assuming the club cuts 2018 starter Case Keenum and thus incurs $7MM in dead money. However, the Broncos should get a cap credit when/if Keenum signs elsewhere thanks to the offset language in his contract.
Rams Promote Shane Waldron, Jedd Fisch
After losing former quarterbacks Zac Taylor (who was formally announced as the Bengals’ new head coach last week), the Rams are re-shuffling their offensive staff. Shane Waldron will be promoted from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach while retaining his title as Los Angeles’ passing game coordinator, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter links). Meanwhile, senior offensive assistant Jedd Fisch will be named assistant coordinator/offense.
How much these changes will actually affect the day-to-day — and game-to-game — operations for the Rams’ offense is unclear. Head coach Sean McVay will continue to call offensive plays, and Los Angeles still hasn’t formally replaced former offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur since he left for Tennessee following the 2017 season.
But the moves are considered steps-up. As Breer notes in indicating Waldron will keep his passing game coordinator title, Waldron is merely shifting his position of focus — he’ll be as involved in the Rams’ offense as he ever was, if not more so. Waldron, who has also spent NFL time with the Patriots and Redskins, interviewed for Cincinnati’s head coaching vacancy earlier this year but lost out to his ex-coworker Taylor.
Fisch, meanwhile, now has a title that sounds the closest to “offensive coordinator” of anyone on the Rams’ staff. The Jaguars’ OC from 2013-14, Fisch joined Los Angeles in 2018 and serves as the club’s clock management specialist. He interviewed for the head coaching job at Temple University earlier this year.
Poll: Will Case Keenum Be A Starter In 2019?
Case Keenum inked a two-year, $36MM deal with the Broncos just this past offseason, but he’s already been made redundant in Denver after general manager John Elway & Co. sent a fourth-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for quarterback Joe Flacco. Denver will now attempt to trade Keenum, but if the club can’t find a willing partner, it will either ask Keenum to accept a hefty pay cut or release him outright.
The Broncos will likely struggle to find a rival team willing to trade for Keenum, not only because of his lackluster 2018 campaign, but because of his contract. Keenum is due an $18MM base salary in 2019, and $7MM of that total is fully guaranteed. It seems incredibly unlikely that another club would be willing to lock itself into those figures, so unless Denver first restructures Keenum’s contact (potentially by converting some of his base salary guarantees into a bonus that the Broncos would pay), he’s likely to hit the free agent market.
If he does end up leaving the Broncos, would Keenum offer appeal as a starter? He’s only one season removed from leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game during a 2017 season in which he ranked second in Total QBR, seventh in adjusted net yards per attempt (the passing metric most correlated with winning), fifth in interception percentage, and seventh in sack percentage.
But Keenum’s 2018 ranks in those same statistics tell a different story. Among 33 qualifying quarterbacks, Keenum finished 30th in Total QBR, 28th in ANY/A, 21st in interception percentage, and 11th in sack percentage. A year after ranking first in Football Outsiders‘ DVOA (meaning he was extremely effective on a per-play basis), Keenum fell all the way to 29th in 2018.
So, do you think Keenum will open the season as a starter next season? Vote below (link for app users), and then keep reading — and voting — as we examine a few potential destinations for the 30-year-old signal-caller:
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Keenum will be a starting quarterback in 2019 — nearly every club would be interested in signing Keeum as a backup passer, so let’s only look at landing spots where Keenum could become a starter. Where are his most likely havens?
Jacksonville Jaguars: Although the Jaguars have Blake Bortles under contract for the next two seasons and will incur a massive dead money hit if they release him, it’s almost unfathomable to imagine Jacksonville entering the 2019 campaign with Bortles still on its roster (let alone as the team’s starting quarterback). Nick Foles could be the Jags’ preferred choice under center, especially now that they’ve hired former Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo as offensive coordinator, but Keenum would present a cheaper option.
Miami Dolphins: Miami isn’t expected to retain Ryan Tannehill, and — like Denver with Keenum — will explore a trade of Tannehill before cutting him. Under new head coach Brian Flores, the Dolphins aren’t expecting to be competitive any time soon, and are loosely embracing a “tanking” strategy, at least in 2019. Still, Miami needs to put someone under center, and Keenum could offer the club competency at a reasonable rate.
New York Giants: Giants general manager Dave Gettleman earlier this year refused to commit to Eli Manning as his team’s 2019 starter, so there’s no guarantee the franchise icon will return next season. New York is expected to draft a signal-caller within the first two rounds of the upcoming draft, and Keenum could represent a reasonable solution as a bridge quarterback. And perhaps most notably, Keenum experienced his 2017 success under then-Vikings OC Pat Shurmur, who has since taken over the Giants’ head coach.
Washington Redskins: If, as recent reports have indicated, Alex Smith is going to miss the entire 2019 season while recovering from a gruesome leg injury, Washington will need a new quarterback. The only problem? Smith will count for $20.4MM on the Redskins’ salary cap next year, and there’s no way for the club to reduce that figure save for a restructure that would only tie Smith to Washington’s roster for a longer period. Therefore, Keenum might be enticing given that he is only likely to command a modest salary on a short-term contract.
What do you think? Does one of these destinations make sense? Or could an unlisted team have interest in Keenum? Vote below (link for app users), and your thoughts in the comment section:
Broncos Considered Nick Foles Before Flacco Trade
The Broncos “kicked the tires” on acquiring Nick Foles from the Eagles before sending a fourth-round pick to the Ravens for quarterback Joe Flacco on Wednesday, tweets Mike Klis of 9News.
Per Klis, Denver opted for Flacco over Foles for a variety of reasons. First, Flacco has played under center (as opposed to out of a shotgun formation) with regularity: in 2017, Baltimore ranked eighth in the NFL in total snap percentage under center (52%) and sixth in pass rate under center (37%), according to Warren Sharp. That’s critical given that new Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, a product of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, figures to put Flacco under center quite frequently. (For reference, Shanahan’s 49ers in 2018 finished second in total snap percentage under center and third in pass rate under center.)
Second, the Broncos consider Flacco the better financial value, reports Klis. Flacco will collect an $18.5MM base salary in 2019, but neither that figure, nor any of his future base salaries, are guaranteed. Foles, meanwhile, is expected to be traded while on a franchise tag that will entitle him to a fully guaranteed, ~$25MM 2019 salary. A Foles extension, as Justis Mosqueda of Optimum Scouting recently detailed, will likely cost an acquiring team north of $40MM in total guarantees.
Additionally, the Eagles are reportedly seeking at least a third-round pick in exchange for Foles, while the Broncos were able to acquire Flacco for only a fourth-round choice.
Charges Decline DT Corey Liuget’s Option
The Chargers have declined their 2019 option on defensive tackle Corey Liuget, the club announced tonight. However, Los Angeles also indicated it would be open to re-signing Liuget at a reduced rate.
Liuget, 28, agreed to a reworked contract in advance of the 2018 campaign that changed his 2019 season to an option year. Under the terms of that deal, Liuget was scheduled to collect a $4MM roster bonus on March 15. Instead, Liuget will now hit the free agent market two days earlier on March 13. Because the Chargers opted not to exercise his option (and didn’t outright release him), Liuget will still factor into the NFL’s compensatory pick calculations.
Had the Chargers picked up Liuget’s option, he would’ve been under contract in 2019 with a base salary of $4MM. That total, plus his $4MM roster bonus and $1.5MM of prorated bonus money would’ve given him a cap charge of $9.5MM. Los Angeles likely viewed that as an untenable figure given that Liguet played in only six games a year ago.
Liguet missed the first four games of the 2018 season after being handed a four-game performance enhancing-drug suspension. That ban essentially forced Liuget to accept his aforementioned pay cut, and ensured he didn’t appear in a game until Week 5. After coming back, Liuget five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while earning a 66.9 grade from Pro Football Focus, a mark that would have ranked him as a middling defensive tackle if he had enough snaps to qualify.
The Chargers will now have now have a vacancy along the interior of their defensive line, especially given that fellow defensive tackles Brandon Mebane, Darius Philon, and Damion Square are all free agents. Liuget, meanwhile, will join a free agent class that includes not only those fellow 2018 Chargers, but options such as Grady Jarrett, Sheldon Richardson, and Ndamukong Suh.
NFL Rescinds Jaylon Ferguson’s Combine Invite
Louisiana Tech edge rusher Jaylon Ferguson broke the NCAA’s all-time sack record last December and is draft-eligible, but he won’t be attending the NFL’s scouting combine later this month. The league rescinded Ferguson’s combine invitation after a background check revealed he was convicted of simple battery during his freshman year, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Ferguson becomes the third 2019 prospect to be barred from the combine, joining Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and Colorado State wide receiver Preston Williams. The NFL previously announced that any player found to have been convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor that involved violence, wouldn’t be admitted to the combine. Unlike Simmons and Williams, Ferguson’s case had not been made public.
While NFL teams won’t be able to observe Ferguson at the combine, they’ll still line up pre-draft visits with the pass rusher. In fact, Rapoport and Pelissero report Ferguson will likely take more club meetings now that he’s been banned from the combine, as teams surely want to have a face-to-face sit-down with Ferguson prior to the draft. Teams had been aware of the incident involving Ferguson and don’t seem to view it as “disqualifying,” tweets Rapoport.
Ferguson, a potential first-round pick, put up 45 sacks and 67.5 tackles for loss during his four-year run with Louisiana Tech. 17.5 of those sacks came in 2018, when Ferguson was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.