Extension Candidate: Jordan Poyer
Heading into a contract year, Bills safety Jordan Poyer is set to represent a cap hit of $10.78MM on Buffalo’s books for the 2022 NFL season. This provides a rare situation in the NFL where it becomes beneficial for both parties to negotiate towards an extension. At 31-years-old, Poyer can likely find more money and a better fit in Buffalo than he could in free agency and a new contract would give the Bills an opportunity to soften Poyer’s cap hit. 
Poyer entered the league as a seventh-round pick for the Eagles in 2013. After being a healthy-scratch in Weeks 5 & 6 for Philadelphia, Poyer was waived, getting claimed off waivers by the Browns two days later. Poyer spent the next three seasons in Cleveland as a backup safety and backup punt returner. He earned four starts in 2015 when starting free safety Tashaun Gipson suffered an ankle injury. When Gipson left in free agency the next offseason, Poyer was named the Browns’ starting free safety going into the 2016 NFL season. After six starts, Poyer was hit by Antonio Andrews with an illegal blindside block while Poyer was covering a punt. Poyer was rushed to the hospital with a lacerated kidney and a possible concussion. He would miss the remainder of the season on injured reserve.
After his recovery, Poyer signed a four-year, $13MM deal with the Bills as a free agent. Bills head coach Sean McDermott named Poyer the starting strong safety alongside fellow-newcomer to Buffalo Micah Hyde, who had just signed as a free agent after four years in Green Bay. This would mark the beginning of a five-year, ongoing stretch as one of the league’s most consistent and effective safety duos.
Poyer and Hyde immediately made their presence known in Buffalo as both recorded five interceptions each in their first year as Bills. Over the last five seasons, Poyer has missed only two games while tallying 18 interceptions and 36 passes defensed. Despite outpacing Hyde for interceptions during their time in Buffalo, Poyer has also played with more versatility with time as a box safety. Poyer has forced six fumbles, recovering six, as well. He’s also added 10.0 sacks and 29.0 tackles for loss in his past five seasons, proving to be a true Swiss army knife in the Bills’ secondary.
Before his initial contract expired, Poyer signed his current two-year, $19.5MM extension, keeping him on the roster through 2022. Before the 2021 season, though, Buffalo and Poyer agreed to rework his contract, converting $5.2MM of his base salary into a signing bonus. The moved saved the Bills $2.6MM in cap space for 2021, but elevated Poyer’s 2022 cap hit from $7.7MM to his current $10.78MM number.
Being one of the older safeties in the NFL, Poyer is likely looking at a two- or three-year extension. Three years would be a very generous offer from the Bills based on knowing Poyer fits in their locker room and crediting him for having one of his best statistical seasons at 30-years-old. A two-year deal is much more likely.
Looking into value, the better safeties in the league are making anywhere from $13MM per year to $16MM per year. Taking his age and past deals into account, I imagine the Bills might offer Poyer something in the range of $12MM-$13.5MM in average annual value. My best guess would have Poyer signing a two-year, $25MM deal that gives him a good amount of guaranteed money.
The Bills have a good thing going with Poyer and Hyde manning centerfield. They haven’t been drafting to replace the duo and have no reason to until their play begins to decline. Vic Carucci of WGRZ in Buffalo thinks that training camp is the perfect time to extend their safety, saying Poyer is “far too valuable to leave him with any feelings of uncertainty about his future in Buffalo.”
NFC North Rumors: Vikings, Mundt, Melifonwu, Okwara
Over the past six years, the Vikings have seen plenty of defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, playing him twice per year while he was with their division-rivals in Chicago. According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minnesota, when he hit the free agent market this offseason, the Vikings showed early interest in keeping Hicks in the division. The interest failed to materialize into deal, though, as Hicks signed with the Buccaneers this week.
The 32-year-old Hicks has enjoyed success in the NFC North, recording 31.0 of his 40.5 career sacks with the Bears, as well as 51.0 of his 73.0 career tackles for loss and 88 of his 111 career quarterback hits. The Vikings would’ve loved to pair Hicks next to Dalvin Tomlinson and Armon Watts, as he would serve as a bit of an upgrade over projected-starter Harrison Phillips on the defensive line. Unfortunately, though, Hicks will head back down to the NFC South as Tampa Bay looks to replace the production of free agent departures Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul.
Here are a few other rumors from around the NFC North, starting with another rumor from the Twin Cities:
- After five seasons with the Rams specializing as a blocking tight end, newly acquired Viking Johnny Mundt is eager to redefine his career in Minnesota, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. During his time in Los Angeles, Mundt only ever caught 10 passes for 93 yards and is still looking for his first career receiving touchdown. Mundt will compete with Ben Ellefson and the rookie out of South Carolina, Nick Muse, for the No. 2 tight end spot behind Irv Smith Jr. Mundt followed former Rams head coach Kevin O’Connell and former Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Wes Phillips in their move to Minnesota. Phillips believes in Mundt’s ability and experience and will likely call on Mundt to expand his career into a more complete tight end.
- As a rookie, Lions defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu got his playing time covering the slot and outside as a cornerback. Detroit drafted him with the versatility he showed in college in mind, though, and plan on seeing him at safety for some snaps this season, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. A quad injury limited his development last year, as he spent 10 weeks on injured reserve and had a limited return to the field when he was activated. Second-year defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn says he always envisioned Melifonwu being a Swiss army knife in the Lions’ secondary. As he enters the 2022 NFL season healthy, Melifonwu should get his opportunity to audition for that role.
- Third-year Lions defender Julian Okwara has been spending time in two position rooms this year, according to Lions staff writer Tim Twentyman, as he works with both defensive line coach Todd Wash and linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. Twentyman reports that the Lions are “cross-training him as both an on-the-ball defensive end and an off-the-ball linebacker.” Okwara has spent most of his time in the NFL as a defensive end, the position he primarily played at Notre Dame, as well. Head coach Dan Campbell explained, “We consider him in base as a linebacker, more of a SAM linebacker or on the edge. In sub or in nickel, he becomes more of that defensive end.”
Eagles Not Holding Minicamp This Summer
Second-year Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is continuing a trend he started in his first year at the helm in Philadelphia. According to Zach Berman of The Athletic, out of the three allowable mandatory practices each team is permitted for annual minicamps, the Eagles will use zero. 
Last year, Philadelphia also had an abbreviated in-person offseason program, as COVID-19 led the team to move most of their activities to a virtual space. Sirianni modified the in-person activities they did end up having, as well, managing the practice load on many of the athletes. This trend continued late in the year. In the back-half of the season, the Eagles moved to walk-throughs on Wednesdays to manage player workloads. This led to a healthier team that, after a 3-6 start to the season, would peak late, going on a 6-2 run to end the year and make the playoffs.
So far this year, Philadelphia has taken it easy in voluntary organized team activities (OTAs). The NFL permits 10 practice sessions for OTAs. The Eagles will hold six total practice sessions; three were held last week and three will happen this upcoming week.
The sessions in the OTAs won’t even utilize 11-on-11 play, which the league allows during the period. Sirianni explained, “We’re definitely doing seven-on-sevens. We’re transitioning away from 11-on-11s. We’re not going to do those this year.”
There are a couple of reasons for Philadelphia to function this way. The obvious reason is health. Sirianni claimed that they modified their offseason program “with the players’ health and safety in mind.” While health is important, the Eagles also use it as a chance to cultivate competition and connection, holding basketball shooting competitions and bowling outings with all of the players and coaches last week.
While it remains to be seen how this method of offseason preparation can affect a team’s in-season performance consistently over time, the results in Philadelphia last year are promising. If the Eagles prove that success can be obtained while emphasizing player health and safety, it could forever change how teams, especially teams who have seen entire seasons lost due to a litany of injures, approach the offseason.
Free Agent Stock Watch: DT Larry Ogunjobi
We were very close to not having to write this Stock Watch. In mid-March, free agent defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi signed a deal to join new head coach Matt Eberflus and new general manager Ryan Poles in Chicago. A failed physical led the Bears to call off the agreement, returning Ogunjobi to free agency. 
“As I said before, Larry Ogunjobi embodies everything we are looking for in a Bear,” Poles said in a statement. “He is a special person and player. During the league’s negotiating window earlier this week, we agreed to terms with him, subject to him passing a physical here. After a standard and thorough physical and medical review with Larry yesterday afternoon, our medical team deemed him to have failed his physical and, therefore, unfortunately, we are not signing him today. This is difficult and it is emotional for everyone involved, but ultimately is what is in the best interest of protecting the Chicago Bears.”
Ogunjobi’s second free agent deal was set to earn $40.5MM over three years. He would have been entitled to a guaranteed $26.35MM at signing. Compared to his one-year, $6.2MM deal with Cincinnati last year, Ogunjobi was set for a substantial raise. Now, the 28-year-old is back on the market, searching for his next home.
Ogunjobi was a third-round pick out of Charlotte in 2017, getting drafted by the Browns. As a rookie, Ogunjobi was a rotational player. He played in 14 games, earning one start. Ogunjobi recorded 32 tackles, 1.0 sack, and 4.0 tackles for loss as a rookie.
He was named a starter on the line in his sophomore season and held down the job for the rest of his rookie deal, only missing two regular season games over his three years as a Browns’ starter. His second and third seasons were nearly identical. In each year, he recorded 5.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss. His stats dropped a little bit during his last year in Cleveland, but over his last three seasons with the Browns, he totaled 148 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 25.0 tackles for loss.
Ogunjobi signed with the Bengals last offseason on the one-year deal mentioned above. Ogunjobi got back to his normal ways with his best season to date. He recorded 49 tackles, but added 7.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss. Ogunjobi set himself up to be a premier, young pass-rushing defensive tackle.
Unfortunately, Ogunjobi was injured during the Bengals’ Wildcard victory over the Raiders. The foot injury would require surgery, ending Ogunjobi’s season with the Bengals. It was reported shortly after his contract with the Bears was cancelled that the failed physical stemmed from that injured foot. Poles offered that the failed deal would have prevented them from adding other free agents during the legal tampering period, as well, so the failed physical became a non-starter.
Regardless, the Bears set a clear market for the defensive tackle heading into his sixth NFL season. A three-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $13.5MM is a nod to the accomplishments of Ogunjobi’s young career, but maybe includes a knock for injury. The deal would have given him the tenth-highest AAV in the league. Besides outliers like three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, who is on a six-year deal, and expert run-stopper Brandon Williams, who just finished a five-year deal with the Ravens, most of the top defensive tackles in the league are signing three- to four-year deals.
Who lands Ogunjobi, then? Atlanta could certainly use a playmaker in the middle of the defensive line. Many thought they would make a move for UConn’s Travis Jones, who ended up going to Baltimore in the 2022 NFL Draft. Giving Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees Ogunjobi to pair with Grady Jarrett could do wonders for that defense. Similarly, the Saints would be more than happy to put Ogunjobi alongside David Onyemata. Shy Tuttle is currently set to start next to Onyemata, and Ogunjobi would be a big upgrade in production.
Ogunjobi visited the Jets in early May, but no deal was reached. You probably can’t rule out the Bears, though. Despite the unfortunate outcome, there was enough of a connection that the two reached a deal initially. The Bears did sign Justin Jones to fill their tackle role, but if Ogunjobi is able to pass a physical with the team, he would represent a substantial upgrade over Jones.
Whoever does decide to reach a deal with Ogunjobi, a similar contract to the Bears’ offer should be expected. Ogunjobi should expect a three- or four-year contract from $12MM-$15MM per year. The once-failed physical may take a chunk out of his guaranteed money, but Ogunjobi should still be looking forward to a big payday once he signs the dotted line.
NFL Staff Notes: Eagles, Warren, Bears, Chiefs
This weekend, the Eagles announced several title changes and new hires in their personnel and operations departments. Philadelphia lost six staffers this offseason.
Some of the Eagles’ corresponding moves we haven’t yet covered are as follows. Former-senior director of football transactions Bryce Johnston was promoted to vice president of football transactions and strategic planning. Former-assistant of analytics James Gilman was promoted to director of football analytics. Former-senior pro scout Jeff Scott was promoted to director of football operations. Former-football analytics coordinator Jon Liu was promoted to assistant director of football analytics. Former assistant strength and conditioning coach Patrick McDowell moved departments to become the player development assistant/scout. Pro scout Ameena Soliman was promoted to director of personnel operations/pro scout. Former-college scout (Northeast area) Matt Holland was promoted to senior college/pro scout.
The following are new hires announced by the Eagles that we haven’t covered. In operations, Zach Drapkin was hired as a quantitative analyst. In scouting, Jarrod Kilburn was hired as a college/pro scout.
Here are a few other staff notes from around the NFL, starting with the freshly-named Commanders:
- According to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, legendary tight end and current-senior pro scout Don Warren will retire this week. Warren won three Super Bowls during his 14 seasons as a player in Washington. 13 years after his retirement from playing, Warren returned to Washington as a scout. After five years in that role, Warren joined the Panthers as a scout, where he stayed for ten years. Warren returned to Washington for the final two years of his career in 2020.
- The Bears have hired the Chiefs’ senior data scientist, Krithi Chandrakasan, away from Kansas City to assume the role of director of football analytics in Chicago. To fill Chandrakasan’s now-vacant role, the Chiefs hired Marc Richards in the role of football research analyst, all according to ESPN’s Seth Walder. Walder adds that Richards was a part of the winning team in the 2021 Big Data Bowl. The Big Data Bowl is an annual analytics competition for college students and professionals in the league. The contest challenges participants to spur innovations in the ever-evolving world of NFL advanced analytics.
Latest On Texans’ Running Backs Room
The Texans finished the 2021 NFL season ranked dead-last in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and rushing yards per carry. Houston has made some moves to address the position and the room will look fairly different at camp this summer. 
Last year saw four Texans’ running backs start games. Three of those running backs are no longer on the roster. Mark Ingram returned to New Orleans midway through last season, Phillip Lindsay signed this offseason with the Colts, and David Johnson hit the free agent market and has yet to sign with a new team. While losing three players who started games may sound significant, the three backs combined last year to rush for only 652 yards and 2 touchdowns while averaging only 3.12 yards per carry.
Houston returns their leading rusher last year, Rex Burkhead. Burkhead, who turns 32 next month, racked up the highest rushing total of his career last year in his ninth season, totaling 427 yards on the ground. Burkhead has been a third-down type of running back throughout his career, recording more receiving yards than rushing in tw0 of his nine years. The Texans also return Royce Freeman, who was claimed off waivers in early-November last year.
To address the struggling run-game, Houston made two big moves. The first move they made was to sign free agent running back Marlon Mack in the weeks leading up to the Draft. Mack spent five seasons in Indianapolis, starting as a backup to Frank Gore. Once Gore left in free agency, Mack took the starting job and, despite missing six games in the next two years, was 92 yards away from two-consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In 2020, a torn Achilles in Week 1 ended Mack’s season and opened the door for then-rookie Jonathan Taylor to take the reins. Taylor quickly took over, finishing second in Offensive Player of the Year voting last year. In his final year with the Colts, Mack took a backseat to Taylor and Nyheim Hines as he was only active in six games.
The second move Houston made was drafting Florida running back Dameon Pierce in the fourth-round of the Draft. Pierce had the best year of his career in his senior season while splitting carries with Malik Davis and Nay’quan Wright. Pierce only rushed for 574 yards in his final season as a Gator, but his physical playing-style led to him leading the team with 16 touchdowns from scrimmage, 13 of those being on the ground.
So who is taking the lead for Houston next season? According to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, the Texans will have a committee-approach at running back this year. They have built a room that holds quite a few skill sets necessary for a successful position group. Mack is expected to take the lead back role, as he’s the only one with experience and success in that role. Although Mack runs with the same physical, attacking style as Pierce, Pierce’s presence should allow Mack a bit of a reprieve in those short-yardage and goal-line situations. Burkhead should be able to return to his role as a receiving, third-down back. Freeman has experience spelling starters as a reliable backup, and can continue to do so in any role asked of him. Houston also brought in former-Jaguar Dare Ogunbowale who has plenty of experience as a backup, as well. They also roster Darius Anderson, who will likely serve as a camp body this summer.
With Mack, Pierce, and Burkhead, Houston has specialists for three different situations. If they need or want more bodies on the 53-man roster, Freeman, Ogunbowale, and the young Anderson can compete for that fourth slot. The improvements needed for the run-game need to come from several areas: offensive line make-up, success in the passing-game to take pressure off, down-field blocking from receivers and tight ends, etc. The first-step, though, is to have players who can run, and Houston has drastically renovated their running backs room in an attempt to get out of the basement of rushing offenses.
Latest On 49ers’ Offensive Line Situation
Last year saw the 49ers advance to their second NFC Championship game in the last three years, but the offensive line that took them there is set to look a bit different as San Francisco readies for the 2022 NFL season. The 49ers’ left guard for the last five seasons, Laken Tomlinson, is now a Jet, Tom Compton, who started seven regular season games and all three playoff games at right tackle for the team when Mike McGlinchey went down with an injury last year, is now in Denver, and last year’s starting center, Alex Mack, officially announced his retirement this week. 
San Francisco should be set at left tackle and right guard with 12-year veteran Trent Williams manning the blindside and Daniel Brunskill starting just right of center for the past two seasons. Though Compton, who played well in his time as an injury-replacement last year, is gone, the 49ers do return McGlinchey from injury to fill the right tackle spot. McGlinchey is heading into a contract year and will try to earn himself a solid second deal with his production this season. He’s been strong while run-blocking in his career, but started off with some struggles in pass-protection. McGlinchey was showing some improvement in his pass-pro before his injury last season, and the 49ers will likely give him a chance to show he can be the whole package.
With those three spots manned, the conversation now turns to left guard and center. The favorite to fill in at left guard is 2021 second-round draft pick Aaron Banks. Banks was slowed in his rookie-season by a preseason shoulder injury, leading to him appearing in nine games but only seeing five offensive snaps last season, getting most of his playing time on special teams. McGlinchey’s former-teammate at Notre Dame made tremendous progress throughout the season, though. Head coach Kyle Shanahan even said that Banks could have replaced Brunskill in the lineup late last season, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. The team held off on making that switch as they surged into the postseason with plenty of success, but with an opening at guard this year, it’s hard to imagine Banks not getting his opportunity.
At center, the options are much less clear-cut. With Mack gone, the only player on the roster with an NFL start at center is former undrafted free agent Jake Brendel, who started three games for the Dolphins in 2018. Brendel has been taking first-team snaps at center in practices, according to another article from Branch. General manager John Lynch claims that the team has “a lot of confidence in (Brendel’s) ability,” despite Brendel not being “a household name.” The 49ers also brought in their own undrafted rookie this year in Dohnovan West, who was Arizona State’s starting center all three years of his collegiate career.
Unless San Francisco plans to try some other rostered offensive line reserves at center this year, they may need to go to the free agent market. This would continue a trend that Lynch and the Niners have followed over the past few years of signing an impact free agent interior lineman in the weeks after the Draft. 2017 saw the addition of eventual starting right guard Brandon Fusco in early May, 2018 saw the addition of eventual starting right guard Michael Person in early May, and 2019 saw the addition of part-time starting center Ben Garland in late April.
Available free agent centers include NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, former Broncos and Panthers center Matt Paradis, former Bengals starting center Trey Hopkins, and former Texans lineman Nick Martin. Lynch may mean what he says and Brendel may be their man in the middle, but it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 49ers act on some of the available experience out there on the market.
With three spots filled with experienced starters and two very real options to fill the other two spots, San Francisco is on their way to building their offensive line for next season. Whether the five lineman running with the first team now will be the Week 1 starters is yet to be seen, but Lynch and Shanahan are aware of their options and may not be done addressing the position group just yet.
Steelers Rumors: Fitzpatrick, Tuitt, Loudermilk
As Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick enters the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, the 25-year-old is looking for an extension from the team that acquired him via trade three years ago. According to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, Fitzpatrick is a likely candidate to perform a “hold-in” if he doesn’t have a new contract by training camp.
As opposed to the traditional contract hold-out, a “hold-in” would see Fitzpatrick attend training camp while not participating in any serious manner. Due to rules in the new CBA, a player has to be fined $50,000 per day for skipping training camp. Fitzpatrick’s teammate, defensive end T.J. Watt, performed the same inactive action last year.
Here are a few other rumors from the Steel City:
- Defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt‘s retirement this past week has some effect on the Steelers’ cap spending in the next few years, according to a separate article from Kaboly. As a post-June 1 designation, the Steelers will save just over $9MM against the cap this year. Because they put voidable years into Tuitt’s contract last year to spread out his cap hit, though, they will still accrue dead money of $4.9MM this year and $4.8MM next season. They do have the option to recoup a portion of Tuitt’s signing bonus from the contract’s initiation, but Pittsburgh has never pursued this course of action with any other players who took early retirements, so it’s unlikely they will do so with the grieving Tuitt.
- One of the places Pittsburgh will look to replace Tuitt is internally. According to a third Kaboly-article, the Steelers have some hope that last year’s fifth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, Isaiahh Loudermilk, will be able to replace some of the retired defensive lineman’s production. Other internal options are Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, and 2022 third-round pick DeMarvin Leal. Alualu is coming off a broken ankle, Wormley struggles against the run, and Leal is unproven and a tad undersized. Loudermilk saw plenty of action last year and proved himself as a sure run-defender, while struggling to create any pass-rush. Since the Steelers have pass-rushers aplenty in Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Cameron Heyward, being a stout run-defender might make Loudermilk the perfect option to take Tuitt’s snaps.
Former RB Ajayi Receives Loss-Of-Value Insurance Settlement
Former Dolphins and Eagles running back Jay Ajayi received the settlement for his $5MM loss-of-value insurance policy this week, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It was a much-deserved payoff that was undeservedly delayed due to years of resistance from the insurance company. 
Ajayi’s career was an incredible flash in the pan. The Boise State-legend was drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft to Miami. The Dolphins had little use for rookie-Ajayi as he sat behind bell-cow back Lamar Miller. He entered his sophomore season as a backup, as well, as Miller and former Texans running back Arian Foster traded places in free agency and Foster was named the starter to begin the season.
The first four weeks of the year saw Foster suffer an injury and retire mid-season, leaving Ajayi to take the reins running the ball. In his second, third, and fourth starts, Ajayi racked up 204, 214, and 111 yards, respectively, becoming only the fourth player in NFL history, along with O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, and Ricky Williams, to rush for over 200 yards in two consecutive games. Ajayi would go on to be named a Pro Bowler at the end of his second season, despite starting the year as a backup.
The next year, Ajayi was traded mid-season to Philadelphia, where he would go on to win a Super Bowl ring. Ajayi would finish out his rookie contract with the Eagles, but would only see four games of action before tearing his ACL and missing the remainder of the last season of his contract. Suffering a season-ending, long-term injury in a contract year is a nightmare scenario for any young player. Fortunately for Ajayi, he was prepared.
According to Rapoport, Ajayi’s business manager, Josh Sanchez, disclosed that the then-25-year-old running back had purchased a loss-of-value insurance policy that covered the year to protect him against loss of free agent value due to injury. He had purchased a similar policy the prior year, a policy that tends to run in the range from $80,000-$100,000. The policy covered a maximum loss-of-value of $5MM, meaning that if it could be proven that an injury negatively affected the value of Ajayi’s next contract, Ajayi would be entitled to the difference in value up to $5MM.
Despite a bit of a down year following his Pro Bowl season, Ajayi likely would’ve been one of the premier, young running backs to hit free agency. Instead, after his injury, Ajayi re-signed with the Eagles on a one-year deal. His second contract was only worth $805,000. Clearly, Ajayi had a case to cash-in on his insurance policy.
Unfortunately, in the world of insurance, successful insurance companies make money by finding loopholes and delaying payment for as long as possible. The insurance companies handling NFL loss-of-value policies are no different. Thus ensued a multi-year battle for Ajayi to get what he deserved.
Again, unfortunately, the battle doesn’t appear to have been a victory, but rather a draw, a compromise. The fact that Ajayi received a “settlement” insinuates that Ajayi did not receive the full $5MM maximum award, despite only appearing in three games after his injury, the ACL tear effectively ending his career. Regardless, it should still be seen as a small win that Ajayi will receive something for his foresight and proper preparation.
AFC Staff Notes: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers
The Ravens saw David Blackburn get promoted into their director of college scouting position recently. According to Ravens staff writer Ryan Mink, Blackburn was not alone in his promotion. This week, Baltimore announced promotions for Mark Azevedo, Houegnon Attenoukon, Patrick McDonough, and Derrick Yam, as well.
Azevedo was promoted to assistant director of player personnel in his 18th year with the team, assisting the Ravens’ two directors of player personnel, Joe Hortiz and George Kokinis. Attenoukon, known in the clubhouse as “Q,” is entering his sixth year with the team and was promoted to a full-time role as an area scout. The area he will cover has not yet been determined. McDonough is becoming the team’s northeast area scout. Yam was promoted from his role of quantitative analyst into the position of manager of data and decision science. Yam conducts data-based player evaluations for both college and professional players. He builds statistical models from a variety of data sources designed to assess player value, performance, and development.
Here are a few other notes concerning staff moves in the AFC North, starting with the reigning division champions:
- ESPN’s Ben Baby reports that Bengals scout Trey Brown has been promoted to senior personnel executive. Brown drew lots of hiring interest in the most recent job cycle, including an interview for the Raiders’ open general manager position, so the promotion is likely a preventative maneuver to keep him in-house.
- The Steelers recently lost pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt to the Eagles, and, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, the team will also be without college scouting coordinator Rick Reiprish in the upcoming season. Ed Bouchette, also of The Athletic, added that long-time scout Bruce McNorton will no longer be with the Steelers either. McNorton had been a part of the Pittsburgh franchise for 22 years. The mass exodus is not a huge surprise as Omar Khan replaces Kevin Colbert as general manager. Khan recently hired Sheldon White to replace Hunt, so he’ll likely be looking for candidates to fill in the vacancies left by Reiprish and McNorton, as well.