Saints Approaching Deadline On Extension For WR Michael Thomas
The Saints are facing down the clock as they attempt to negotiate an extension with veteran wide receiver Michael Thomas, resulting in some productive talks but not quite sealing the deal, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The progress is crucial as the team approaches the self-imposed deadline set up in Thomas’s restructured contract. 
When New Orleans restructured the former All-Pro’s five-year, $96.25MM deal earlier this year, it set up a timebomb due to detonate on the third day of the new league year, which falls on March 17. When the team moved almost $14.5MM from his 2023 base salary to his 2024 roster bonus, it put immediate pressure on the Saints’ brass to get a new deal done.
Thomas’s new 2024 roster bonus, again, due in six days, currently measures $31.755MM. If the Saints and Thomas are unable to reach an agreement for an extension by March 17, the roster bonus becomes guaranteed and immediately hamstrings the team with a massive amount of dead money implications.
If the team were to release Thomas as a pre-June 1 cut, an almost unthinkable possibility, the team would be shouldered with almost $50MM in dead cap over the next four years. Designating him as a post-June 1 cut would lessen the dead money to just over $26MM and provide the Saints with cap savings of $1.37MM in 2023 and $6.19MM in 2024.
Thomas is long removed from the 2019 season that saw him lead the NFL in receptions (149) and receiving yards (1,725), playing in only ten games since receiving all of his accolades for that year. He did display a spark of that talent in the three games he played this season, but the emergence of rookies Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed in his absence has made Thomas’s presence more icing than cake.
The restructuring initially had many under the impression that New Orleans intended to part ways with the former Offensive Player of the Year, but with Underhill’s most recent report, it appears that the two parties are attempting to prolong their partnership. Regardless of their decision, Thomas’s current contact is untenable, and the deadline to make a decision that the team set up for itself is fast approaching.
Panthers Release LB Damien Wilson
One year into a two-year contract, linebacker Damien Wilson has been released by the Panthers, according to Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt. Wilson had been brought in to supplement a linebacking corps consisting of Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, and Cory Littleton, but with Carolina transitioning to a 3-4 defense under a new coaching staff, Wilson doesn’t necessarily fit in the team’s plans going forward. 
Wilson had made headlines soon after signing with the team last spring, getting arrested on an assault charge. Wilson’s ex-girlfriend, Ryan Sokolosky, had told the newspaper that Wilson showed up at her apartment drunk and threatened to kill her while holding a tire iron. Wilson then choked a friend of Sokolosky’s who was with her that night, according to Sokolosky. Wilson followed the two women into Sokolosky’s apartment, where the alleged choking occurred, before getting back into his car and attempting to run Sokolosky over with the vehicle.
While the incident likely didn’t help Wilson’s case, the Panthers are painting it as a cut-and-dry cap clearing move. Wilson had earned his two-year, $6.9MM contract after a career year in Jacksonville. After he failed to contribute at the same level in 2022, and Carolina made their plans to shift defensive schemes, the Panthers made the relatively simple decision to move on from Wilson, clearing approximately $3.6MM in cap space and leaving about $1.08MM in dead money. While getting released on its own is an unfortunate circumstance for Wilson, what hurts more is that he was due a $1MM roster bonus next week.
In a four-linebacker defense, pass rusher Brian Burns will likely move from defensive end to outside linebacker. Luvu can probably function as the opposite side’s outside linebacker after playing a third of his defensive snaps last season on the line. Thompson will man one inside linebacker position. Littleton, headed towards unrestricted free agency, would get the first chance at the other inside position if re-signed. Wilson would’ve been in line to start at that second inside position without Littleton, but even in last year’s 4-3 defense, Wilson had been losing snaps to rookie linebacker Brandon Smith, before first-year defender out of Penn State suffered a season-ending injury late in the year.
Wilson will head back to free agency, this time much less lauded than last year. Following the second arrest of his NFL career and a down year of play in Carolina, Wilson’s market value will be a bit depressed from what it was previously. He’s still the player who was second on the team in tackles for the Jaguars two seasons ago and should be able to find a franchise to take a chance on him this offseason.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/23
Today’s tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Chiefs: P Tommy Townsend
Not tendered:
- Bengals: TE Mitchell Wilcox
- Jets: RB James Robinson
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bears: CB Josh Blackwell, DT Andrew Brown
Not tendered:
- Chargers: WR Michael Bandy
Texans To Sign WR Robert Woods
The Texans have jumped on a recently released free agent, signing former Titans wide receiver Robert Woods to strengthen the receivers room prior to the opening of free agency, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Woods will provide a veteran presence for an offense that seems intent on moving Brandin Cooks. 
Woods was traded to the Titans from the Rams around a year ago in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. Woods had been in the best stretch of his career with Los Angeles, providing the Rams with season receiving yard totals of 1,219, 1,134, and 936 from 2018-20, respectively. He was delivering his fourth strong season in a row when he suffered an ACL tear in practice, ending his year.
Despite coming off a serious injury, Woods led the Titans in receiving last year with 53 receptions for 527 yards, partly thanks to an injury to rookie wideout Treylon Burks. It wasn’t his strongest season, but it was an encouraging showing for a player coming so recently off of knee surgery.
Unfortunately for Woods, potential cap savings of over $12MM made it a no brainer for Tennessee to execute his release. Woods has solidly bounced back, trekking across the division to sign a two-year deal reportedly worth $15.25MM. Rapoport’s tweet reports that the deal includes $10MM fully guaranteed and can reach a maximum value of $17MM.
Woods joins a Houston receiving corps that’s expected to lose Cooks, Chris Moore, and Phillip Dorsett, the latter two to free agency. Woods should be the centerpiece of the group, supplemented by third-year receiver Nico Collins and second-year wideout John Metchie, who will be playing his first season of NFL ball after sitting out his rookie year while treating leukemia.
Woods will be hoping to have a similar impact with his fourth-career team as he did in Los Angeles. Whether the Texans move forward with Davis Mills or seek help at quarterback, Woods, now a year removed from his knee injury, should be the perfect complement to a young or new passer.
Colts Announce Finalized 2023 Coaching Staff
New Colts head coach Shane Steichen has officially put the finishing touches on his first NFL coaching staff, according to Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz. We’ve covered a number of staff announcements like the hiring of offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and the retaining of defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, but below are any moves from the announcement that we haven’t already reported on. 
On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve covered most moves already. One piece of new information is that offensive quality control coach Brian Bratton has been retained in the same position for 2023. Bratton works primarily with wide receivers, assisting wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, who was also retained. Joining them and the rest of the offensive staff will be former Notre Dame graduate assistant Chris Watt. Watt was previously the offensive line coach at Tulane in 2021 and will serve as assistant offensive line coach for the Colts under new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.
We also received information that most of the defensive staff will be retained alongside Bradley. Linebackers coach and run game coordinator Richard Smith and defensive backs coach Ron Milus were both blocked by Indianapolis from interviewing for lateral moves and will stay in place in 2023. Their second-in-commands will both remain in place, as well, as assistant linebackers coach Cato June and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell were also retained. Similarly, defensive line coach Nate Ollie and assistant defensive line coach Matt Raich were kept on staff for next season. Lastly, Brent Jackson, who served last year as the team’s 2022 Tony Dungy Defensive Coaching Fellow, was promoted to defensive quality control assistant.
On special teams, it was confirmed that newly hired former Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason will serve as the Colts’ own special teams coordinator next year, despite this being his first NFL coaching position. Last year’s assistant special teams coach Joe Hastings will help Mason after being retained for 2023. Lastly, Indianapolis plans on hiring two Tony Dungy Diversity Fellows for next season, which it will announce at a later date.
And, with that, we have the first NFL coaching staff under Steichen. He retains much of what was put together in former head coach Frank Reich‘s last year but with a few of his own touches. Now Steichen can focus on roster-building as free agency and the draft loom on the horizon.
Texans Plan To Release LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
The rollercoaster that is the career of linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin continues as Houston reportedly plans to release the 28-year-old defender, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Reeves-Maybin was brought in to compete for the Texans at linebacker but mainly found himself on special teams in 2022. 
The rollercoaster started for Reeves-Maybin in college when, after phenomenal performances in his sophomore and junior years, injuries decimated his senior season at Tennessee. He was still drafted in the fourth round by Detroit back in 2017. He showed promise in a rookie season that saw him rotate in at linebacker and record 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and a half sack. During his second year with the Lions, Reeves-Maybin began to earn more playing time before injuries started nagging at him again, eventually landing him on injured reserve.
His third year was a confusing mix. He started out with strong snap counts in the first two weeks of 2019 before finding himself relegated to special teams for several games. He did earn three starts to end the season, finishing off a tough year in strong fashion. He would see another letdown year, though, in 2020, spending the entire season on special teams and recording a career-low in total tackles.
Despite his diminished impact on defense, the Lions re-signed Reeves-Maybin to a one-year contract for 2021. After two games in his special teams role, Reeves-Maybin carved out a bit more playing time, eventually earning a starting spot that he kept for the rest of the season. The one-year tryout was a career year for Reeves-Maybin as he totaled career highs in total tackles (82), tackles for loss (4), forced fumbles (2), and passes defensed (4).
The strong year resulted in the Texans signing him to a two-year, $7.5MM contract. Unfortunately for Reeves-Maybin, the rollercoaster that is his career continued. Aside from one game that saw him play 67-percent of the team’s snaps on defense, Reeves-Maybin was largely relegated back to special teams play. He was passed over in favor of Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jake Hansen, Blake Cashman, and Garret Wallow for playing time alongside Christian Kirksey and rookie third-round pick Christian Harris.
The move to release him doesn’t come as much of a surprise. With Reeves-Maybin due to hold a 2023 cap hit of $4.25MM, the Texans are more than willing to eat the $2MM in dead money to release him. The $2.25MM in cap savings is simply too enticing a return for releasing a special teamer.
As for Reeves-Maybin’s future, if his previous rollercoaster years are any indication, the pending free agent is due for a strong performance in his sixth year of NFL play. Some team will likely take a chance on him for a reasonably low price.
Texans Re-Signing C Scott Quessenberry
As part of efforts to address the interior of the offensive line this offseason, the Texans have re-signed center Scott Quessenberry who was set to hit free agency this spring, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Quessenberry stepped up this past season and started every game for the Texans after initial starting center Justin Britt‘s departure following Week 1.
A former fifth-round pick for the Chargers, Quessenberry signed with the Texans a year ago, making him the third of his brothers to play in Houston, after offensive tackle David Quessenberry and tight end Paul Quessenberry. He was almost immediately put into action when Britt was placed on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list after the first game of the season.
Quessenberry stepped in and started the remaining 16 games of the season at center. While the move does address the interior offensive line, it may not be the only move Houston makes at center. Quessenberry gets a lot of deserved credit from the Texans’ staff for stepping up when needed, but during his time filling in, Quessenberry graded out as the worst center in the league, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
It wasn’t necessarily close, either. The top two centers in the league, Super Bowl LVII participants Creed Humphrey and Jason Kelce, had offensive grades of 89.9 and 89.5, respectively. Beneath them, the grades gradually decrease from third-graded Browns center Ethan Pocic (79.0) to 35th-graded Cardinals center Billy Price (51.3). The only center graded below Price: Quessenberry, at a distant 36th with an offensive grade of 36.6. Quessenberry had the worst pass blocking grade (25.8) and run blocking grade (43.7) of any center in the NFL.
Still, with Britt expected to retire and the only other lineman on the roster with experience at center being Jimmy Morrissey, who began last season on the Texans’ practice squad, it was important for the Texans to make sure that, at the very least, they had a center with starting experience on the roster.
With further moves to address the interior linemen positions expected on the horizon, it will be interesting to see what Quessenberry’s role next year will be. Regardless of what other help is brought in, he’ll at least have an opportunity to retain his starting job this summer.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/23
Here is a look at today’s only tender decision from around the league:
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Lions: LB Anthony Pittman
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/23
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: FB Khari Blasingame (two-year deal)
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: G Ross Pierschbacher
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers (from Jaguars): QB E.J. Perry
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Jarrad Davis
A veteran linebacker formerly with the Lions, Davis joined the Giants very late in the season last year, only starting one regular season game for New York. Davis did go on to start both postseason games for the Giants, doing impressive work for a player with such little time to learn a team’s defense. The 28-year-old had been starting less and less as his career progressed in Detroit, so a renewed opportunity to win a starting position should help to former first-round pick to get back on track.
Seahawks, QB Geno Smith Agree To Deal
MARCH 7: As is often the case, a later update pegged this contract at a slightly lower value. The deal’s base value sits at three years and $75MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Smith will collect $40MM fully guaranteed, per Garafolo, and incentives comprise the rest of the $105MM max value. Smith going from a $3.5MM agreement in 2022 to this represents a staggering leap for the 11th-year veteran, even though the $25MM-per-year base pay is not quite what came out Monday night.
MARCH 6: The Seahawks have subscribed for more of quarterback Geno Smith, signing the veteran to a new multi-year contract, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. After leading the Seahawks to the postseason in his first year as a full-time starter for the team, the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year is coming back to Seattle.
Smith agreed to a three-year deal worth $105MM, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While many details are as of yet unknown, Smith is expected to make $52MM in his first year under the deal. After making $17.55MM over the first 10 years of his career, Smith is now set to double that in his contract’s $35MM average annual value (AAV) and nearly triple it in his first year of the deal. The new contract ranks 13th for NFL quarterbacks in total value and 10th for AAV. 
After serving as a full-time starting quarterback in his rookie and sophomore seasons, Smith, a second-round pick for the Jets in 2013, was seemingly relegated to backup duties. After backing up Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers for the Jets, Giants, and Chargers, respectively, Smith finally wound up in Seattle to battle Paxton Lynch for the backup quarterback position behind Russell Wilson.
Smith spent the next three years as one of the more capable backups in the NFL, proving as much in 2021 during a four-game stretch that saw Smith throw for 702 yards, five touchdowns, and only one interception while replacing Wilson in surprisingly competitive contests. When Wilson was traded to the Broncos, Smith was given an opportunity to compete for the starting job with newly acquired Drew Lock, who came over in the Wilson trade.
Smith ended up winning Seattle’s starting job and rewarded the Seahawks with the best season of his career. In his first season as a starting quarterback in eight years, Smith led his team to the playoffs, earned a Pro Bowl bid, led the league in completion percentage, and won Comeback Player of the Year. Smith posted career-high numbers in passing yards (4,282) and passing touchdowns (30), and his interception total (11) was the lowest in any of his three seasons as a starter. Smith’s yardage total set a Seahawks record.
The well-traveled passer will now be under contract in Seattle through the 2025 season, during which he will turn 35. It’s good to see Smith make so much out of his second opportunity to start in the NFL. It will be exciting to see how much more he can make of it in the next three years.