Seahawks Asked S Jamal Adams To Play LB
Jamal Adams has been one of the leaders of the safety/linebacker-hybrid movement since being drafted No. 6 overall back in 2017. Still, Adams has been adamant throughout his career that he is a safety. Thanks to an interview clip from ESPN’s Turron Davenport, we received a clue that a request to move to linebacker may have been a factor in Adams’ departure from Seattle. 
Early in his career with the Jets, Adams’ numbers reflected those of a strong safety. While consistently being atop the team’s leaders in tackles, he still was very active in coverage, recording two interceptions and 25 passes defensed in his three years with New York. His efforts with the Jets earned him first- and second-team All-Pro honors and two Pro Bowl appearances.
After being traded to Seattle, Adams’ situation changed a bit. While the biggest change saw Adams struggle to stay on the field as he began dealing with annual injury issues, he also saw his role on the defense be tested in different ways. While in New York, Adams did see his time split between the box as a linebacker and as a safety or slot defensive back. In his first season with the Seahawks, though, Adams’ time at safety significantly decreased as he spent most of his time closer to the line in the slot or, mostly, in the box.
The following season, Adams pushed for more time at safety, and for the first time in his career, he played more snaps at safety than in the box or the slot. Unfortunately, that season also returned his worst defensive grade, per Pro Football Focus, up to that point of his career as well as the worst coverage grade of his career. 2022 saw his season lost to a torn quad tendon, then last year, with the arrival of Julian Love, Adams played the lowest snap share at safety in his career, playing almost exclusively close to the line at linebacker or nickel.
Davenport asked the new Titans defender about his departure from Seattle, inquiring whether they officially asked him to change positions. In response, Adams told the media, “Yeah, they did. They definitely did. Obviously, it wasn’t, you know, what I wanted to do, but I wish those guys nothing but the best.”
In Tennessee, Adams projects to serve as the third safety behind Elijah Molden and Amani Hooker, meaning he will likely continue to be used across the defense in a variety of ways. Agreeing to sign with the Titans, though, likely means that the team agreed to keep using him in some capacity at safety. Time will tell if the decision allows him to keep playing the role in which he wishes to play.
Packers, QB Jordan Love Agree On Extension
The next domino has fallen in regard to quarterback contracts. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Packers have reached an agreement extending quarterback Jordan Love on a four-year, $220MM deal. The contract makes Love tied for the highest annual average salary in NFL history.
The Packers quarterback is set to receive an NFL-record $75MM signing bonus. Jared Goff‘s signing bonus this year of $73MM is the next-closest such figure. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Love’s new contract includes $155MM in new guarantees. Love will collect $79MM in the deal’s first year, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who adds he will see $175MM over the contract’s first three years. That betters Goff’s three-year total by $10MM.
This wraps a pivotal day for NFL contracts, with Love’s extension coming hours after the Dolphins gave Tua Tagovailoa a four-year, $212.4MM deal. Unlike Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence over the past year, Tagovailoa and Love agreed to four-year contracts. This will put the 2020 draftees in position to potentially cash in on third NFL deals earlier than the Chargers, Bengals and Jaguars passers, who agreed to five-year deals. After a report Friday afternoon indicated contract structure was holding up this agreement, the parties hammered out a deal that will tie Love to Green Bay through the 2028 season.
Love’s path to his big payday is one not often seen in the NFL. After being the fourth quarterback taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Love was the only one of the four passers to not start at least half the season as a rookie. In fact, Love was the only first-round pick in that year to not even appear in a game his rookie season. He fell victim that year to the Packers’ notorious strategy of drafting and stashing a quarterback talent while their long-time veteran finishes out his time in Green Bay.
After redshirting his rookie year, Love made his first career start in 2021, replacing a COVID-19-positive Aaron Rodgers. He delivered a middling performance in a loss to the Chiefs and appeared in mostly garbage-time situations for nine other games in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, after Rodgers forced a trade to the Jets, Love finally was given an opportunity to prepare for the season as a starter. With ten game appearances and only one start under his belt, Love took over the offense, starting all 17 games last year. In his first season as the starter under center, Love went 9-8 in the regular season, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Green Bay’s 9-8 record under Love was good enough to earn them a playoff spot as the No. 7 seed, setting them up for a trip to the No. 2-seeded Cowboys in Super Wild Card weekend. Love played lights out, knocking out Dallas before going toe-to-toe and losing a three-point contest to the top-seeded 49ers.
That is the story of Love’s career: the lone season as a starter in the NFL. That was apparently enough for Green Bay to tie him with Burrow and Lawrence as the highest-paid players in NFL history. Burrow and Lawrence both are making $55MM per year on five-year contracts, so technically they are in line to receive more money than Love, but the Packers passer’s $220MM in four years matches them in annual value.
While this level of commitment may seem excessive for an 18-game starting sample (plus two postseason starts), with a contract year on the horizon, it would have been risky to allow Love to test free agency or potentially improve his bargaining position. The team is confident enough in Love’s potential and happy enough with Love’s production, that they deemed him worth what Lawrence was making, at least.
Both sides wanted this deal done by training camp, though it took a few extra days. As negotiations with the Packers had been failing, Love was staging a hold-in, attending training camp to avoid fines but participating minimally, if at all. After finally putting pen to paper, Love should be suited up for the team’s next training camp session.
The most important remaining ongoing contract negotiation is that of Cowboys passer Dak Prescott. Currently ranking 14th in average annual salary, Prescott’s regular-season success should set him up for a big payday, once he comes to terms with Dallas. The Tagovailoa and Love accords being completed will help set the table for Prescott, who possesses unique leverage in his latest Cowboys negotiations.
The Packers, though, have checked that item off the to-do list. Since trading for Brett Favre in 1992, watching him reign until 2007, letting 2005 first-round pick Rodgers take over in 2008 and reign until 2022, the Packers have enjoyed longevity at the quarterback position for 32 years. The question facing Love was whether or not he would allow Green Bay to continue that trend. Love will be 30 years old the next time he gets a chance to test free agency; that is, if the Packers don’t decide to push their longevity trend even further.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/24
Today’s minor moves to wrap up the week:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Devin Carter, TE Feleipe Franks, CB Kiondre Thomas
- Placed on reserve/PUP list: WR Cam Sims
- Reverted to IR: DT Popo Aumavae
- Waived: T Christian Duffie, S Clayton Isbell, WR Sam Pinckney
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Nate Brooks, WR Hakeem Butler, P Ryan Rehkow
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/NFI list: CB Corey Ballentine, T Caleb Jones
- Activated from active/PUP list: OL Donovan Jennings
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OLB Owen Carney
- Waived: LB Luquay Washington
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on IR: CB Derion Kendrick (story)
- Placed on reserve/retired list: DT Aaron Donald (story)
New England Patriots
- Waived: CB Kaleb Ford-Dement
Philadelphia Eagles
- Activated from active/NFI list: WR Shaquan Davis
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S Marquise Blair
- Waived: S Jonathan Sutherland
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Salvatore Cannella
Blair reunites with the Seahawks after two years away. A former second-round pick for Seattle, Blair spent parts of 2022 with the Panthers and Eagles before spending last year out with an Achilles tear.
Cannella, who formerly went by Sal, played for the Arlington Renegades of the UFL earlier this year, leading the league with six receiving touchdowns and finishing first among tight ends with 53 catches and 497 yards. He’s been in an out of the NFL with stints in the USFL and XFL before; the Bucs are hoping this time will stick.
Seahawks, S Julian Love Reach Agreement On Extension
After making his first Pro Bowl with the Seahawks last year, safety Julian Love was set to enter the 2024 season on the final year of his contract. It appears that Seattle valued his contribution in 2023 enough to sign Love to a new three-year extension worth up to $36MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 
Love left Notre Dame after his junior season as a consensus All-American, getting drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in 2019. Over his first three seasons, Love wasn’t viewed as a starter in New York, often sitting behind the likes of Antoine Bethea, Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan, and Xavier McKinney. Still, he got a decent amount of playing time with at least five starts in each of those first three years and nabbing one interception in each of those years, as well.
In the final year of his rookie contract, Love finally earned a role as a full-time starter on the Giants defense. Love led the team with a career-high 124 tackles, earning other career highs in interceptions (two), tackles for loss (six), and sacks (one). His efforts earned him a spot in Seattle with a two-year, $12MM contract, despite beliefs in New York that Love would re-sign with the Giants.
Despite seeming to be a superfluous addition to a secondary that already rostered Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, Love found new life in Seattle. In his first season with the Seahawks, Love started 12 games, filling in as an injury replacement for Adams at first, before becoming too crucial to the defense to keep off the field. Love was all over the field on defense, finishing second on the team with 123 tackles, while tallying career highs in interceptions (4) and passes defensed (10). With the releases of both Adams and Diggs, Love will take over alongside newly signed Rayshawn Jenkins as the top safety duo in Seattle this coming season.
Before his new deal, Love was expected to head into the final year of his two-year contract with a cap hit of $8.09MM. Love’s extension will likely lower that figure while rewarding the safety with a new signing bonus. Instead of dealing with free agency next offseason, the two parties will now be tied together through the 2027 NFL season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/24
Wednesday’s minor transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Reverted to IR: OL Carter O’Donnell
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Zack Bailey
- Waived: G Ryan Coll, P Ryan Sanborn
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Jeremiah Martin, T Chim Okorafor
- Waived: LB Caleb Johnson
Detroit Lions
- Activated from active/NFI list: CB Carlton Davis, T Giovanni Manu, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, CB Amik Robertson, WR Tre’Quan Smith
- Activated from active/PUP list: S Brian Branch, DE Marcus Davenport
- Waived (with failed physical designation): G Matt Farniok
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/NFI list: WR Jayden Reed
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Laquon Treadwell
- Placed on active/NFI list: DT Raekwon Davis
- Placed on active/PUP list: CB Chris Lammons
- Waived: WR Xavier White
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Keelan Doss, OL Corey Luciano
- Waived (with injury designation): G Jake Johanning
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from active/NFI list: WR DeWayne McBride
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from active/NFI list: WR Chris Olave
- Activated from active/PUP list: DE Chase Young
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on active/NFI list: T Gottlieb Ayedze, WR Shaquan Davis
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Sydney Brown
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on active/NFI list: RB Cordarrelle Patterson
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Cole Holcomb, DE Dean Lowry
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on active/PUP list: DE Drake Jackson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: G Ilm Manning
- Activated from active/NFI list: CB DJ James, CB Nehemiah Pritchett
- Released: G Tremayne Anchrum
Washington Commanders
- Activated from active/NFI list: DT Johnny Newton
- Placed on active/PUP list: DE Efe Obada
In New Orleans, Young has officially made the comeback from offseason neck surgery, passing his physical today alongside Olave, who is no stranger to offseason injuries.
Treadwell will join his eighth team in nine years after only making one catch in five games with the Ravens last season.
Brown is working his way back from an ACL tear that he suffered in the final game of his rookie season last year, so it’s no surprise that he will start the offseason on PUP.
Vikings CB Mekhi Blackmon Tears ACL
The Vikings’ secondary suffered another blow today when second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon suffered a torn ACL, according to Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Blackmon is likely lost for the year after only the first day of training camp for his sophomore campaign.
Kevin O’Connell later confirmed the tear and indicated the Vikings are discussing possible cornerback additions, though the third-year Minnesota HC noted the team still wants to see some of its in-house options attempt to fill the void, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert tweets. Blackmon is now on IR.
Blackmon surpassed draft expectations last year going in the third round out of USC after being projected as a Day 3 pick. After starting cornerbacks Byron Murphy and Akayleb Evans, Blackmon was the third-most utilized cornerback on the Vikings defense last year, even earning three starts as a rookie as an injury replacement for Murphy and Evans. The USC-product was third on the team with eight passes defensed while tallying 41 total tackles and an interception, as well.
The Vikings’ cornerbacks group was set to enter 2024 with an impressive depth after the signing of free agent Shaquill Griffin. Griffin is set to lineup across from Murphy as the starting pair next year with Josh Metellus starting in the slot. Evans is available off the bench after starting all last year and was likely to be pushed by Blackmon for those first snaps coming off the bench.
The tragic loss of rookie fourth-round pick Khyree Jackson adds further to the loss in the room. Despite spending little time at slot in his rookie season, Blackmon and Jackson were both considered candidates to compete with Metellus for the starting nickelback job. With both players now unavailable, the Vikings signed veteran free agent Duke Shelley yesterday to add to the depleting depth at the position. Shelley reunites with the Vikings after spending last year in Los Angeles with the Rams. Back in 2022, Shelley started five games for Minnesota.
The team will also look to former second-round pick Andrew Booth, who has been a major disappointment so far over his first two seasons. The Clemson-product was facing questions of whether or not he would make the roster in 2024, but with the diminishing numbers in the room, Booth’s experience around the team may be too valuable to part with.
Blackmon’s year may be over before it began, as is Jackson’s NFL career, sadly, but the season doesn’t come to a stop just for Minnesota. The Vikings have addressed the position and may need to continue addressing the position. For now, they’ll try to squeeze every contribution out of their rostered players as possible to cover their losses.
Packers, DT Kenny Clark Agree On Extension
It’s been discussed as a possibility this offseason as both the Packers and defensive tackle Kenny Clark have been involved in “ongoing” talks towards a new agreement. Well, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the agreement was reached today with Clark signing a three-year, $64MM extension to remain in Green Bay. 
Clark has been a longtime Packer, a staple on the team’s defensive front since being drafted out of UCLA in the first round in 2016. After a rotational role in his rookie season, Clark became a full-time starter in Year 2 and has held down the role for the remainder of his eight years in the NFL. With those eight seasons, Clark ranks in the top-10 in Packers history for tackles for loss (47) and quarterback hits (71) and top-20 for the franchise in sacks (34.0) and forced fumbles (7).
Back in 2020, Clark inked a four-year, $70MM extension, making 2024 a contract year for the 28-year-old. The contract made Clark the 12th-highest paid defensive player in the NFL at the time. This new deal puts Clark just outside the top-20 for highest paid defensive players but makes him the 10th-highest paid interior defender in average annual contract value.
Despite his advancing age, Clark more than deserves his new payday. While Pro Football Focus tends to be higher on the earlier years of Clark’s career, his play has aged like a fine wine. His most recent 2023 season saw him gain career highs in sacks (7.5), tackles for loss (9), and quarterback hits (16). Those peaks and three Pro Bowls in the last five years show that Clark isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, especially with his consistent health. Clark’s no ironman, but he’s only missed eight of 131 games in his career.
While not all the details are available on the new contract, Schefter tells us that Clark is set to receive $29MM, while Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the signing bonus on the new deal will be $17.5MM. With OvertheCap.com currently projecting the DT franchise tag value next offseason to be $22.1MM, the Packers avoid having to absorb that cap hit in 2025.
PFR Originals: Colts, Bengals, Toney, Cap
Here is a rundown of PFR’s latest original content:
- On Wednesday, Sam Robinson continued our Offseason in Review series with a deep dive on the offseason activities of the Colts. With last year’s rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor both expected to be back and healthy in 2024, the losses of Gardner Minshew and Zack Moss should be minimized, especially with the addition of last year’s Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco, who will now serve as Richardson’s QB2.
- Last night, Adam La Rose produced the next edition of the series with an Offseason in Review focusing on the Bengals. The new home of Moss, Cincinnati became a haven for backups craving a bit of the limelight. Moss is expected to be the starter after backing up Taylor in Indianapolis, and safety Geno Stone will finally get an opportunity to be a full-time starter after nabbing seven interceptions as the third safety in Baltimore last year. The Bengals did have a bit of trouble with contract negotiations in the receivers rooms as Tee Higgins is set to play on the franchise tag, and Ja’Marr Chase remains without a new contract despite several new deals for wideouts this offseason.
- Ben Levine took some time to examine the roster situation in Kansas City and just how wide receiver Kadarius Toney fits into it. While Toney does have a pair of Super Bowl rings thanks to his time with the Chiefs, it’s hard to say that he’s made enough contributions to justify a roster spot in 2024.
- For the fans of NFL finances, Sam put out two originals focused on notable salary cap situations this week. First, he took a look at the 25 defensive players with the largest cap hits in 2024, highlighted by a number of elite pass rushers who may be looking into extensions in the near future to lessen their cap impact in the final years of their current deals. The next day, Sam shifted focus to dead money, showing the 24 players who represent dead money hits of $10MM or more. New Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson led the way by leaps and bounds with a $53MM dead money hit being attributed to his former team in Denver for next season.
- Lastly, Rory Parks hosted a Community Tailgate this morning, inviting discussion in the comments about where veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill could end up in free agency. One intriguing possibility saw Tannehill returning to South Beach, his home for the first seven years of his NFL career, as a backup to Tua Tagovailoa. It seems likely that his time as a starter in the NFL has come to an end as most of the options discussed entail a position battle for a backup position.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/24
Today’s minor transactions to wrap up this final weekend before training camps begin:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: S Jordan Toles
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Javin White
- Activated from active/NFI list: TE Gerald Everett
Denver Broncos
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Drew Sanders, S Caden Sterns, S Delarrin Turner-Yell
Detroit Lions
- Placed on active/NFI list: T Giovanni Manu
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Brian Branch, DE Marcus Davenport, DT D.J. Reader
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on active/NFI list: CB Corey Ballentine, T Caleb Jones, WR Jayden Reed
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Izaiah Gathings
- Activated from active/NFI list: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- Waived (with injury designation): TE Gerrit Prince
Vikings Ink First-Round OLB Dallas Turner, Finish Draft Class Signings
The Vikings have finally finished up the signings of their rookie draft class, inking first-round pick Dallas Turner to his entry-level four-year deal. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the contract is worth $15.76MM with an $8.28MM signing bonus. The deal comes just in time as Turner would not have been able to participate in the team’s upcoming training camp until he put pen to paper. 
Turner spent most of the draft process being billed as the 2024 NFL Draft’s top pass rushing prospect. The Fort Lauderdale-native wasn’t a starter in his true freshman season at Alabama, but that didn’t stop him from racking up 8.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss in a rotational role, earning him freshman All-American honors. Turner experienced a bit of a sophomore slump in Tuscaloosa, only tallying four sacks and eight tackles for loss in 10 starts, but he rebounded strongly last year. Starting all 14 games for the Crimson Tide in 2023, Turner led the SEC in sacks (11.0) and led his team in tackles for loss (15.5) en route to becoming a consensus All-American.
As the No. 17 overall pick in the draft, Turner suffered a bit of a slide from his projected draft slot. The two noted reasons for this slide were the unprecedented run of offensive picks to open the night and some medical red flags that had not been widely reported in pre-draft conversations. Still, he was the second pass rusher off the board, taken two picks after UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, and the third defensive player off the board, following Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy, as well.
With Turner’s contract done, now Bengals’ rookie first-round offensive tackle Amarius Mims is the lone draft pick without a signed contract. Cincinnati’s rookies reported to camp yesterday, and camp is set to begin on Wednesday. Mims will not be able to participate in training camp until he signs his rookie deal.
Here’s one last look at the Vikings’ 2024 rookie draft class before training camp starts:
- Round 1, No 10 (via Jets): J.J. McCarthy (QB, Michigan) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 17 (via Jaguars): Dallas Turner (EDGE, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 108: Khyree Jackson (CB, Oregon) (signed)(deceased)
- Round 6, No. 177 (from Panthers through Jaguars): Walter Rouse (T, Oklahoma) (signed)
- Round 6: No. 203 (from Texans through Browns, Broncos and Jets): Will Reichard (K, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 230 (from Falcons through Browns and Cardinals): Michael Jurgens (C, Wake Forest) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 232 (from Broncos through 49ers and Texans): Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT, Texas A&M Commerce) (signed)