Blake Jarwin Agrees To Extension With Cowboys
Sources tell Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com that tight end Blake Jarwin has agreed to a three-year deal to remain with the Cowboys for up to $24.25MM with $9.25MM in guarantees.
Jarwin was an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State in 2017 who earned his way onto the Cowboys practice squad, before a mid-season promotion brought him to the 53-man roster. While he only appeared in one game (and recorded no statistics) as a rookie, over the past two seasons, Jarwin has made 58 receptions for 678 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.
The return of Jason Witten last season likely cut into what would have been an even larger role for Jarwin last season in Dallas. Still just 26, the Cowboys clearly have high hopes for him to develop in a frontline contributor as his new deal pays him in line with a mid-tier starter.
Texans Re-Sign Bradley Roby
The Texans have come to terms on a new deal with impending free-agent cornerback Bradley Roby, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26. Roby was set to be one of the better cornerbacks available on the free-agent market. Instead, Houston will bring him back on a deal that Mike Garafolo reports spans for three years and is worth up to $36MM. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle added that sources tell him the deal includes roughly $17MM in guaranteed money.
Wilson had Tweeted earlier today that sides were expected to get a deal done but had nothing set at that point. Now the Texans can go into free agency, which appears set to start on schedule, with one less position of uncertainty. Houston traded most of their draft capital before the season began to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills from the Dolphins and would have been left scrambling to fill another hole through free agency.
Roby has never been considered an elite player but has remained a consistent contributor since entering the league in 2014. Cornerback was set to be one of the deeper positions entering free agency with Roby alongside the Panthers’ James Bradberry and elite Cowboys corner Byron Jones, but one fewer option will now be available to teams in search of cornerback depth. That’s a blow to teams like the Eagles, who are reportedly set to target corners in free agency.
Falcons Give Tyeler Davison Three-Year Extension
UPDATE, 5:53pm: We’ve now got the terms for the deal. Davison is getting a three-year, $12MM pact with $4.5MM guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. Considering he made only $895K last year, this is a pretty nice pay-raise for the 27-year-old Fresno State product.
4:57pm: A source tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, the Falcons are close a three-year contract extension with defensive tackle Tyeler Davison. Davison signed a one-year contract with Atlanta last offseason and proved to be a productive member of their defense.
Originally a fifth-round pick by the Saints in 2015, Davison quickly earned playing time as a rotational interior lineman capable of manning the nose tackle position. Over the first four years of his career in New Orleans, Davison became a starting interior lineman for the Saints, starting 43 games from 2016-2018. Like most nose tackles, Davison is most effective against the run game, only contributing 3.5 sacks over his time with the Saints.
In his lone season with the Falcons, Davison continued his trend of being a healthy contributor along the Falcons front, recording a career-high 55 tackles, tying his career-best mark of 4 tackles for loss, and adding a sack as well.
49ers Out On Tom Brady?
Sources have told NBC Sports’ Chris Simms that the 49ers are not going to sign quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots legend, obviously, is entering free agency for the first time in his career and has been tied to San Francisco for some time. Brady grew up in the Bay Area and following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s struggles in the Super Bowl, many people were connecting the two.
While Simms noted he was unclear if anything had changed over the past few days, he stated that the 49ers were Brady’s preferred destination, but the organization plans to stick with Garoppolo. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports added in the aftermath of Simms’ report that the Titans and 49ers interest was “always more smoke than fire.”
Simms is a longtime friend of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and this may be the most public way San Francisco chooses to rebuke the rumors that have tied Brady to the Niners. Reading between the lines, if the 49ers were indeed Brady’s favorite destination, the rumors could have been entirely driven by his camp, while San Francisco never necessarily considered a change at quarterback.
Assuming Simms’ report is accurate after the Titans extended Ryan Tannehill earlier this afternoon, two of Brady’s most appealing options seem to be off the table. At this point, a return to New England seems like the only avenue available to Brady if he wants to be a contender, otherwise, teams like the Chargers, Buccaneers, or Raiders pose the largest threat to sign him away.
Ravens Finalize New Deal With Calais Campbell
The Ravens have a new two-year deal worth up to $27MM, including $20MM guaranteed, with recently acquired defensive lineman Calais Campbell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Baltimore acquired Campbell for a fifth-round pick from the Jaguars earlier Sunday. Unloading the $15MM cap hit on Campbell’s contract seemed to be the only plausible motive for Jacksonville to move a player of Campbell’s caliber for such a minuscule return. However, the Ravens appear to be lowering that cap number in exchange for some longer-term guarantees.
Campbell has consistently ranked among the best defensive lineman in football over his 12-year career. While Campbell will turn 34 in September, he has yet to show his age much on the field. In fact, Campbell ranked as the second-highest graded edge defender by Pro Football Focus out of the 107 qualified players. Per more traditional metrics, Campbell recorded 56 combined tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.
Not only has Baltimore acquired a difference-maker for their defensive front without sacrificing much draft capital, they now have secured his services for an additional season.
Ryan Tannehill Agrees To Extension With Titans
The Titans have agreed to terms on a contract extension with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. A source informed Jeff Darlington of ESPN that the contract extension spans four years and worth a maximum of $118MM. The deal reportedly includes $62MM in fully guaranteed money and $91MM in partial guarantees.
This extension not only frees up Tennessee to use the Titans on another free agent (like running back Derrick Henry), it also takes them out of the running for impending free agent Tom Brady. Obviously, Brady’s free 
agency has been the largest storyline of the offseason and the many ties between the Titans regime and the Patriots only furthered those rumors.
Per Darlington’s report, Tannehill’s new contract makes for the sixth-highest full guarantee of any quarterback and would rank as the seventh most valuable contract for a quarterback by average per year value (slotting behind Matt Ryan and ahead of Kirk Cousins). Darlington added in a later tweet that Tannehill’s contract includes $17.5MM in full guarantees in 2020, $24.5MM in full guarantees in 2021, $29MM guaranteed for injury (that converts to full guarantees on the fifth day of the previous league year), and a $27.5MM base salary in 2022.
Tannehill followed a unique path to his nine-figure contract. After stalling out in Miami the Dolphins traded him to the Titans last offseason alongside a 2019 sixth-round pick for a 2019 seventh-round pick and 2020 fourth-round pick in a relatively underreported move. Tannehill entered the season as the team’s backup to Marcus Mariota, but as Mariota failed to take another step forward, Tannehill stepped in and led Tennessee on a late-season charge into the postseason where they upset the Patriots and nearly upset the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
In just 12 regular-season games (10 starts), Tannehill completed 70.3 percent of his passes and led the league in quarterback rating and nearly every yards per attempt statistic. Most valuably for Tennessee, his strong play out of play-action paired perfectly with their bruising running game (led by Henry). While Henry is still set for free agency, the Titans have gained new leverage now that their franchise tag is no longer necesarry for their quarterback.
Sean Payton Expects Delayed Start To Offseason
In an interview with Britney Eurton at Oaklawn Park (a horseracing track), Saints head coach Sean Payton expressed skepticism that the new league year would begin as scheduled given the current status of COVID-19. “Most immediately the start of our league year… that’s going to be, I think, pushed back.” Payton currently serves on the NFL’s competition committee and is one of the most highly respected coaches in the league.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini asked Payton to clarify his comments and reported that Payton reiterated “‘he is not sure, but thinks it will be delayed.'” While that is obviously far from any official word from the league, the fact that one of the top decision makers in one of the league’s most successful organizations is publically expecting a delay does not bode well for the calendar to continue following business as usual.
Payton’s comments do conflict with some earlier reports that suggested the league still planned to start free agency as planned while delaying other offseason events that involved more travel and in-person interaction (like the draft).
A delay would move everyone into unprecedented territory and it’s unclear how any delays would impact free agents, players currently under contract, and draft prospects, but the league is clearly bracing (much like the rest of the world) for circumstances we have never seen before.
NFC North Notes: Harris, Kwiatkoski, Kearse, Kilgo
The Vikings secondary was one of the most inconsistent parts of their defense last season, but safety Anthony Harris remained a star amidst an inconsistent supporting cast. While Harris is set to become a free agent, Minnesota fans should be happy to know that he has a positive view of the Vikings. In an interview on Sirius XM, Harris stated, “I love the organization.”
Here are a few more notes from the NFC North:
- The Bears organization has seen linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski progress into a legitimate contributor since he was selected in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. However, Dan Pompei of The Athletic, reports that after signing fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, Chicago appears prepared to let Kwiatkoski leave the organization via free agency.
- Vikings impending free-agent defensive back Jayron Kearse took to Twitter on Friday and said he does not want to return to the team. A pair of Vikings fans were engaging in common social media speculation about the various ways Minnesota could approach the offseason. When one argued that they thought Jayron wanted to stay in the twin cities, Kearse jumped in and said, “No jayron doesn’t want to come back.”
- Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports Lions nose tackle Darius Kilgo will soon be cleared to return to action from the quadriceps injury that cost him all of last season. Pelissero further notes that Detroit has no intention of resigning Kilgo, but it’s obviously ideal for Kilgo to be back to health before entering the open market. Of course, teams would likely want to see Kilgo workout in person, but the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could make teams more tentative to give Kilgo any guarantee if they are unable to see him in person.
NFC East Notes: Cooper, Williams, Bryant, Jenkins
In good news for Cowboys fans and management, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports speculates that there may not be as robust a free-agent market for wide receiver Amari Cooper as expected. Cooper would be the biggest name free-agent receiver to hit the open market without a franchise tag in some time, but Robinson notes that the incredible depth of this year’s NFL Draft class at wide receiver might make teams more skittish about resetting the market to sign Cooper. Granted, Robinson also adds, “it only takes one suitor.”
Here are some more notes from around the NFC East:
- Washington’s negotiations with star left tackle Trent Williams have been well documented since last offseason. The ultimate fallout led Williams to sit out all of last season. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that negotiations disintegrated when Williams asked for quarterback money. Of course, it’s hard to know what that specifically means. Some lower-tier quarterbacks (like Mike Glennon and Case Keenum) have received deals with average values only slightly above the highest-paid tackles around the league.
- Cowboys wide receiver Ventell Bryant was arrested on a DUI charge in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. In Bryant’s arrest report, the arresting officer notes that Bryant admitted to having a number of drinks before getting behind the wheel and tested at a blood-alcohol level of .102 and .099 on a breathalyzer (well above the legal limit of .08). Bryant made Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Temple and emerged as a key contributor on special teams in his rookie season.
- The Eagles face a difficult decision surrounding the contract of veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins, according to ESPN staff writer Tim McManus. Philadelphia must decide whether to enact a club option in Jenkins’ contract before the start of the new league year on March 18th for $7.6MM. However, Jenkins has made clear that he will not play under those terms. He had wanted a new contract prior to last season but was willing to play under his contract in 2020. While Jenkins has remained an elite defensive back, the Eagles have been tentative to give the 32-year old a new contract that could pay him into his mid-30s.
One Agent Claims 28 Of 30 Clients Voted For CBA
The deadline for players to vote on the NFL’s proposed extension to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is tonight at midnight. While it is far from a scientific exit poll, one agent tells Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that 28 of his 30 clients voted in favor of the proposal. La Canfora adds that “a good portion of his clients are rank-and-file guys and not superstars.”
As has been well covered since the league surprisingly approved this proposal at the start of the month, many of the league’s stars and most prominent players strongly oppose the deal. However, the league keenly pandered to more rank-and-file players and if La Canfora’s report proves to be somewhat representative of the final tally, they appear poised to carry the vote to an approval.
It would be a shockingly early resolution to labor negotiations that were expected to be one of the nastiest disputes in league history. Both the league and player leaders have been advising their members for some time to brace themselves for a work stoppage after the coming NFL season. Instead, the current deal seems poised to never actually expire.