Joe Looney To Rejoin Cowboys
Interior offensive lineman Joe Looney has agreed to a deal to stay with the Cowboys for at least one more season, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. With a new coaching staff in Dallas and Looney’s former head coach now with the Giants it was unclear whether Looney would remain with the team, but it appears, at least for now, that the team is happy with a reunion.
An eight-year veteran, Looney has been a solid rotational lineman with the flexibility to play anywhere on a line’s interior. In 2018, Looney started every Cowboys game at center, but otherwise, he has never started more than 6 games in a season.
Looney spent the first three years of his pro career in San Francisco before the 49ers waived him prior to the 2015 season. After a one year stint with the Titans, Looney joined America’s Team in 2016 and has appeared in every Cowboys game since.
Panthers To Sign John Miller
The Bengals released right guard John Miller and replaced him with Xavier Su’a-Filo earlier today. Miller did not remain jobless for long though. The Panthers have agreed to terms with Miller on a one-year, $4MM contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. While the Bengals moved on from Miller, the Panthers have already traded guard Trai Turner and fellow interior offensive lineman Greg Van Roten remains a free agent.
Miller spent the first four years of his career as the primary right guard with the Bills. Last offseason the Bengals signed Miller to a three-year, $16.5MM deal. In 2019, Miller performed in line with his career history, starting 13 games and grading out as the 52nd highest-graded guard of 80 qualified players at Pro Football Focus, but the Bengals still decided to move on.
Browns To Sign LB B.J. Goodson
The Browns have come to an agreement with linebacker B.J. Goodson, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. Cleveland has already lost linebackers Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert in free agency so Goodson should immediately slot into the starting lineup.
Still just 26 years old, Goodson has accumulated 160 tackles in 53 games (29 starts) since entering the league in 2016. A fourth-round pick by the Giants, Goodson spent his first three seasons in New York before a trade last September sent him to Green Bay where he immediately entered the team’s rotation.
Last season, Goodson graded similarly to both Schobert and Kirksey, ranking as the 54th highest graded linebacker out of 89 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus.
Seahawks Reach Agreement With Brandon Shell
The Seahawks have come to terms on a contract with free-agent offensive tackle Brandon Shell, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the deal spans two-years and is worth up to $11MM. Following Schefter’s report, ESPN’s Rich Cimini added that Seattle had been narrowing its focus on Shell for the past few days.
Seattle needed to find a replacement for Germain Ifedi, who signed with the Jets earlier in the day. It seems that the Seahawks and Jets will essentially be swapping tackles.
The Jets selected Shell in the 5th round of the 2016 draft (127 picks after the Seahawks selected Ifedi). In his four years with Gang Green, Shell started 40 games, appearing at both tackle spots and at right guard. Shell graded as the 51st best tackle last season out of 81 qualified players (Ifedi ranked 64th), per Pro Football Focus.
Giants Interested In Matt Moore?
The Giants appear to be eyeing quarterback Matt Moore to serve as Daniel Jones‘ backup next season, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Obviously, Eli Manning served as Jones’ backup last season but has since retired.
Moore has been one of the league’s most popular backup quarterbacks since entering the league in 2007. Aside from the 2011 season, when Moore started 12 games for the Dolphins, he has never started more than 5 games in any one year. With that said, the Panthers, Dolphins, and Chiefs have all been comfortable using Moore as a primary backup.
Backing up Patrick Mahomes last season, Moore appeared in 6 games (2 starts), completed roughly 65 percent of his passes for 659 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.
Dallas Adds CB Maurice Canady
Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports that the Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with cornerback Maurice Canady. A four-year veteran, Canady has spent the majority of his career in Baltimore but finished last season with the Jets.
Obviously the Cowboys lost their number one corner, Byron Jones, earlier this offseason and while no one will confuse Canady for a Pro Bowler, the 25-year old adds some young depth to a defensive backfield that will need to be deeper than in previous seasons.
Canady appeared in 13 games last season between the Ravens and Jets. He made 3 starts, accrued 46 tackles, grabbed 1 interception, and earned a 73.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Bengals Sign Xavier Su’a-Filo
The Bengals have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $10MM with guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, according to Ben Baby of ESPN. Filo has spent the previous two seasons with the Cowboys. Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that he is expected to replace John Miller at right guard.
In 2014, the Texans selected Su’a-Filo with the first pick in the second round of the draft out of UCLA with the hope he would become a long-term option at guard. While he served as the team’s starter at left guard from 2015-2017, Su’a-Filo never seemed to reach the upper echelon of players at his position.
Following his tenure in Houston, Dallas signed him to a two-year contract where he served as a rotational guard, starting 12 of the 19 games he appeared in. The Bengals have been uncommonly aggressive this free-agency cycle and it appears they added another player they plan to slot into their starting lineup.
Saints, Kiko Alonso Restructure Contract
The Saints have agreed to terms on a new deal to bring linebacker Kiko Alonso back into the fold, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. New Orleans acquired Alonso in September in a trade from the Dolphins and had been set to count $8.7MM next season (assuming he was not released). Rapoport added that Alonso’s new deal will fall below that number. The Saints are currently over the salary cap, according to Over The Cap, so other cap saving measures are to be expected.
In 2019, Alonso ranked as the 19th highest graded linebacker by Pro Football Focus out of the 89 qualified players. For the first time since 2015, Alonso was not a primary linebacker, instead, New Orleans deployed him in more specialized sets to take advantage of the veteran’s skillset. In 13 games (4 starts), Alonso recorded 31 tackles (3 for loss), 2 quarterback hits, and 1 pass defended.
The 29-year old was solidly productive before he tore his ACL in the Saints Wild-Card game, but a far cry from the peak of his numbers. From 2016-18, Alonso averaged over 115 tackles per season and started 46 of 48 possible games with the Dolphins.
Panthers Notes: Newton, GM, Rebuild
While the Panthers and Cam Newton are clearly parting ways, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports the team may have been open to a reunion. A source tells Fowler that Carolina was open to bringing Newton back for the 2020 season, but was unwilling to extend his contract, something they expected him to want. Instead, the team signed free-agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year, $60MM contract that gives them a proven starter with long-term flexibility.
Here are some more notes from around the Panthers organization:
- The assistant general manager hire in Carolina may have higher stakes than usual. Per Joseph Person of The Athletic, whoever is hired will be the successor to current general manager Marty Hurney (who extends back to the Ron Rivera regime). The Panthers, of course, moved on from Rivera this offseason and hired Baylor head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule will obviously have a lot of input on who becomes the assistant general manager as that will soon be his primary partner in player personnel decisions.
- There does seem to be some uncertainty surrounding the short-term plan in Carolina. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports the front office has changed its tune away from a full rebuild towards a “mixed reboot.” Robinson notes that around the scouting combine the team had seemed to suggest that all players were available in trades, but that tone has, at least on the surface, shifted. Granted, Rhule could want to wait until they hire an assistant general manager.
Contract Details: Cooper, Hargrave, Littleton
Jonathan Bostic, (Washington): two-years, $5MM, $1.75MM guaranteed; $1.25MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $960k ($500k guaranteed), 2021: $1.69MM; $500k roster bonus in 2020, $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $400k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, an additional $800k in annual incentives available as well, according to John Keim of ESPN.
Amari Cooper, (Cowboys): five-years, $100MM deal, $60MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $10MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $20MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $20MM (guaranteed for injury until March 2022), 2023: $20MM, 2024: $20MM, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Tyeler Davison, (Falcons): three-years, $12MM, $4.55MM guaranteed; $3.64MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $910k (fully guaranteed), 2021: $3.2MM, 2022: $3.45MM; $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $250k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, $350k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2022, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.
George Fant, (Jets): three-years, $27.3MM, $8.85MM guaranteed; $3MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $4.6MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $8MM, 2022: $9.25MM; $1.25MM guaranteed roster bonus in 2020, $400k non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses from 2020-2022, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.
Javon Hargrave, (Eagles): three-years, $39MM, $26MM guaranteed; $11.75MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $12.75MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $12.75MM; $250k workout bonus in 2022, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Cory Littleton, (Raiders): three-years, $35.25MM, $22MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $11MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $5.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $11MM; guaranteed $5.5MM 2021 roster bonus, non-guaranteed $500k weekly roster bonuses in 2020-2022, $250k workout bonus in 2020-2022, $250k annual Pro Bowl incentive, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Levine Toilolo, (Giants): two-years, $6.2MM, $3.25MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $1.225MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $2.925MM; guaranteed $2MM 2020 roster bonus, $25k annual workout bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.