Giants Sign Kelvin Benjamin
Apparently, the Giants liked what they saw from Kelvin Benjamin. After bringing Benjamin in for a tryout this weekend, New York has agreed to terms with the former first-rounder, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).
Benjamin, of course, entered the league as a wide receiver, and that’s where he has played since Giants GM Dave Gettleman — then the general manager of the Panthers — drafted him in 2014. But Benjamin primarily worked out as a tight end during this weekend’s visit, so it appears he is undergoing a position change.
Now 30, Benjamin’s size (6-5, 245 pounds) makes him something of a natural fit at TE. And given that his career fell off a cliff after he was traded from Carolina to the Bills midway through the 2017 season, he almost had to try something different. Indeed, after spending the final few games of the 2018 campaign with the Chiefs following his release from Buffalo, there were no public reports of interest in his services until he got a call from the Giants.
With Evan Engram and free agent acquisition Kyle Rudolph ahead of him on the depth chart, Benjamin will battle for a a TE3 job alongside the likes of Levine Toilolo and Kaden Smith. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv believes Benjamin is facing an uphill battle in his quest for a regular season roster spot (Twitter link), but his background as a receiver and his physical stature make him an intriguing low-risk flier just the same.
Benjamin is the second of the five veterans Big Blue recently invited to the facility to get a contract. RB Corey Clement has also put pen to paper, and as Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets, the Giants waived RB Jordan Chunn and TE Nate Wieting to make room for Clement and Benjamin on the 90-man roster.
NFC North Notes: Bears, Sewell, Bateman
In a comprehensive piece, Adam Jahns of The Athletic details how Bears GM Ryan Pace, head coach Matt Nagy, and the rest of Chicago’s brain trust approached their quarterback situation this offseason. These types of behind-the-scenes stories are always worth a read, especially for fans of the team in question, and particularly notable here is that the club identified the No. 8 through No. 12 overall selections as the “sweet spot” to target a collegiate QB. Pace’s predraft research indicated that trying to acquire the Falcons’ No. 4 overall pick would require too much draft capital, but he didn’t want to start calling teams holding picks eight through 12 too early for fear of tipping his hand.
So he waited until the day of the draft to start making those calls, and while the early run on QBs pushed down quality players at other positions, Pace identified Ohio State QB Justin Fields as his top target. 11 Bears staffers filed reports on Fields, and all of them had very similar grades on him. Pace and Giants GM Dave Gettleman had worked out the parameters of a trade earlier in the day, and when Fields was still on the board after the Eagles leapfrogged the Giants — Pace feared Philadelphia might have been targeting Fields — Chicago and New York were able to swing a trade that brought the former Buckeye to the Windy City. Now, Pace and Nagy will hope that the bold maneuver will help them keep their jobs.
Here’s more from the NFC North:
- Even though the Bears just signed Andy Dalton this offseason, they extended him a courtesy that the Packers did not extend to Aaron Rodgers when they drafted Jordan Love last year: they told Dalton that they might pick a QB. “I talked to [Dalton] earlier in the day on [the day of the draft], and we were just catching up,” Nagy said (via Albert Breer of SI.com). “And at the same time I said, ‘Hey, listen man, I have no idea which way this thing may go, you never know, but all positions are open and we can do a lot of different things, including at quarterback. So I just want you to understand that and be aware for that.'” Of course, the news couldn’t have come as a surprise to Dalton, who was signed to a one-year contract and who presumably has no delusions that the Bears acquired him as their quarterback of the future, but it’s the type of gesture that might have helped ease the strain on the Packers’ relationship with Rodgers.
- The Lions‘ first-round pick, No. 7 overall selection Penei Sewell, has tested positive for COVID-19, as Sewell himself tweeted several days ago. He will therefore miss this weekend’s rookie minicamp, but at this point it sounds like he is either asymptomatic or else has mild symptoms, so there shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
- The Packers selected Georgia CB Eric Stokes with the No. 29 overall pick of the draft, but if Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman had still been around, execs around the league believe he would have been the choice, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes (subscription required). Of course, taking a first-round receiver this year after selecting Love in the first round in 2020 might not have been enough to placate Rodgers. The Ravens took Bateman off the board with the No. 27 overall selection.
- The Vikings have been busy over the past couple of days, trading cornerback Mike Hughes to the Chiefs and signing first-round pick Christian Darrisaw.
Aaron Rodgers Believes Packers Promised To Trade Him?
A number of factors have contributed to Aaron Rodgers‘ frustration with the Packers: the selection of Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, the team’s overall approach to the wide receiver position, and Rodgers’ own contract situation are just a few of those factors. And, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Rodgers apparently believes Green Bay promised him he would be traded, only to renege on that pledge.
Hours before this year’s draft, veteran NFL broadcaster Trey Wingo reported (via Twitter) on the Packers’ alleged reversal, and now Florio is also hearing that Rodgers is under the impression the team has gone back on its word. If that really happened, his anger would be understandable, but as Florio observes, no one from Rodgers’ camp has communicated Rodgers’ belief to the Packers.
For their part, the Packers are adamant that they made no such promise to their star signal-caller, and they say that any reports to the contrary are “unequivocally false.” And in a press conference today, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said nothing has changed with respect to the team’s view of the matter. “We still obviously feel the same way,” LaFleur said (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network). “We want him back in the worst way. I know he knows that. And we’ll continue to work at it each and every day.”
We recently heard that the team is “deflated” about where things stand at the moment, which makes it sound as if the Packers are bracing themselves for a Rodgers departure. But Green Bay still has plenty of leverage here. If the club refuses to deal Rodgers, the 37-year-old passer would miss out on his $14.7MM salary for 2021 and the $6.8MM roster bonus that was earned earlier this offseason — but that hasn’t been paid out yet — and he would also have to pay back $23MM of unearned signing bonus money. Rodgers has earned $240MM from his Packers contracts alone, to say nothing of his endorsement deals, so it’s unclear if the financial ramifications of a holdout would be enough to make him change his mind.
In the meantime, the club has added Blake Bortles to the quarterback room. Bortles could theoretically open the season as Green Bay’s starting QB if Rodgers is traded or refuses to play and if the team does not believe Love is ready to take the reins.
Vikings Sign First-Round Pick Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings have their first-round pick under contract. According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Minnesota has signed No. 23 overall selection Christian Darrisaw.
Darrisaw, a Virginia Tech product, is likely to become the Vikes’ starting left tackle right away. The team had a major need there after parting ways with Riley Reiff this offseason, and Darrisaw has a high floor thanks to his natural athleticism and the proficiency he has already displayed as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker. Some scouting reports suggest he will need to do a better job of finishing his blocks at the professional level, but there is no reason to believe he won’t develop that ability with time.
The Vikings originally held the No. 14 overall pick, and they discussed trading up from that spot in an effort to land quarterback Justin Fields. Ultimately, the Bears beat them to the punch by jumping up from the No. 20 selection to No. 11 — a move that required the forfeiture of a 2022 first-rounder — and with Fields and Northwestern LT Rashawn Slater off the board, Minnesota GM Rick Spielman dropped from No. 14 to No. 23.
However, as we later learned, Spielman was prepared to trade back up from No. 23 to make sure he landed Darrisaw (as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes, Minnesota may have made an offer to the Raiders, who were holding the No. 17 pick). Ultimately, Spielman was able to keep the draft capital he acquired as part of his trade down while still getting the former Hokie to protect Kirk Cousins‘ blind side.
In addition to Darrisaw, the Vikings have signed fourth-round selection Camryn Bynum. Bynum, a cornerback out of California-Berkeley, was one of three fourth-rounders for the Vikings this year. Minnesota just traded fellow corner Mike Hughes to the Chiefs, thereby giving Bynum a bit of a better shot at immediate playing time. Over 42 collegiate games, he tallied 184 total tackles (eight TFL) and six interceptions.
Jonathan Allen Wants To Stay With WFT
Washington DT Jonathan Allen has been a part of the team’s dysfunctional Bruce Allen regime and a part of the new Ron Rivera era. Apparently, he likes what he has seen from Rivera and is excited about the direction the team is heading.
“[W]e’re moving in the right direction, from the front office to the players, and I love everything that we’re building here,” Allen said (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). In speaking about his long-term goals, he added, “[i]t’s always been my dream to play my career in one spot. … This is my home. This is where I want to stay.”
WFT presumably shares those sentiments. Allen, the No. 17 overall pick of the 2017 draft, has largely lived up to his billing. Although a Lisfranc injury limited him to five games in his rookie campaign, he missed only one contest over the subsequent three seasons. He notched just two sacks in 2020 after recording 14 sacks across the 2018-19 seasons, but his 14 QB hits last year actually represented an increase from the 10 he posted in 2019. Pro Football Focus also gave him a terrific 83.7 pass-rushing grade, and PFF considered him the 18th-best interior defender in the league out of 125 qualifiers.
Washington has invested significant draft capital in its defensive front over the past few years, and that strategy is paying off. The team yielded the second-fewest yards per game and the fourth-fewest points per game last year, and Allen was a key component of that success. He is scheduled to play out the 2021 campaign under the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which will pay him a little more than $10MM.
At this point, we haven’t heard anything to suggest that negotiations on a long-term extension have taken place, though it’s likely that the club has at least discussed parameters with Allen’s camp. However, those talks could be tricky. The top of the 4-3 interior defender market includes AAVs of $20MM and above, and Allen may shoot for a deal in that range. But unlike those $20MM players, Allen has not yet earned a Pro Bowl bid, nor has he put together a double-digit sack campaign, so Washington would likely be looking for something closer to a $15MM/year deal.
Latest On Jets’ Kicking Situation
The Jets recently signed kicker Chris Naggar as part of a 12-man UDFA class, and head coach Robert Saleh said Naggar has a real chance to win the team’s kicking competition (Twitter link via Connor Hughes of The Athletic). Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer is said to be particularly excited about Naggar’s potential.
New York used three kickers last season: Sam Ficken, Sergio Castillo, and Chase McLaughlin. Ficken opened the 2020 season with the kicking job, but he missed six games due to injury. Castillo, Ficken’s first replacement, ended up converting just eight of 13 FG attempts, and the Jets turned to McLaughlin for the final game of the year. But, as a result of the Naggar addition, the club recently waived McLaughlin.
Ficken was retained for the 2021 campaign via a reserve/futures contract, but it sounds like he will need to beat out a rookie to keep his job. The Penn State product was not very good for Gang Green in 2019, connecting on 70.4% of his FG tries, but he was much better in his nine contests last year. He sank 13 of 15 tries (86.4%), though he did miss three PATs in 15 attempts.
Naggar, who started his collegiate career at Texas before transferring to SMU, hit 17 of 21 field goal attempts (81%) and 43 of 46 PATs (93.5%) in 2020.
Raiders Want John Simpson To Start At RG
The Raiders bid adieu to three high-profile offensive linemen this offseason — center Rodney Hudson, right guard Gabe Jackson, and right tackle Trent Brown — and they didn’t do much to replace them outside of selecting RT Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 overall pick in the draft, which was probably the most curious of this year’s first-round choices. But Vegas feels good about its young O-line talent, including 2020 fourth-rounder John Simpson.
As Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes, the team would like Simpson to replace Jackson as the starter at right guard (the article was written before the draft, but given that the team’s only high-level OL pick was used on Leatherwood, the club’s expectations with respect to Simpson presumably haven’t changed). The Raiders did re-sign Denzelle Good as a fallback plan if Simpson isn’t ready, and Good also provides some insurance at RT in case Leatherwood should struggle.
Like many 2020 rookies, Simpson was hurt by the lack of offseason workouts last year. He ended up appearing in seven games (two starts), for a total of 252 snaps. The Clemson product did not fare well by Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, finishing with below-average grades in both run-blocking and pass-blocking. Good, though, wasn’t much better, and it’s easy to envision a downturn in the team’s overall O-line performance in 2021.
In the same article, Tafur notes that Richie Incognito — who played in only two games in 2020 due to an ankle injury — is back to full strength. The soon-to-be 38-year-old blocker is the team’s projected starter at left guard, and his experience should be beneficial to presumptive center Andre James, a 2019 UDFA who didn’t play a single offensive snap last year. 2021 seventh-rounder Jimmy Morrissey will also compete for playing time at the pivot.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach On Orlando Brown Contract Situation
Shortly after the Chiefs acquired left tackle Orlando Brown from the Ravens, we heard that the team was not planning an immediate extension. And in an interview with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk today, Kansas City GM Brett Veach said that contract negotiations will not commence until 2022 (video link).
When Baltimore granted Veach permission to speak with Brown’s camp, the two sides did discuss Brown’s contract situation. “We had lengthy conversations,” Veach said, and part of those conversations was the reality of the uncertain salary cap. Veach, like most people in the NFL world, expects the cap to improve in short order, but he does have Brown under contract for this season at a bargain $3.384MM salary, and he acknowledged that the club has other business to conduct. Presently, KC has roughly $10MM of cap space, but it still needs to sign its six-man draft class, and it will want to keep some flexibility throughout the summer and into the regular season.
It doesn’t sound as if much progress was made towards a new deal, and Brown and the Chiefs ultimately agreed to table the talks until next year. At that point, Veach and Brown will have not only a better idea of what the 2022 cap will be, but they will also get a sense of whether the cap spikes that are expected to come to fruition in subsequent seasons are realistic.
However, Veach said that “we’re certainly going to be committed to making this work long-term.” And perhaps the waiting game is in the team’s best interests. Although Brown played well when pressed into action at left tackle in 2020, he spent the first 2.5 years of his pro career at right tackle, and there is some question as to whether he possesses the quickness to consistently lock down the blind side in an offense that is much more reliant on the pass than the Ravens’ run-heavy attack.
Of course, if contract talks prove to be problematic next year, Veach would have the option of deploying the franchise tag. Right now, Spotrac estimates Brown’s market value to be roughly $19MM per season, and given that the five LTs at the top of the market presently have AAVs between $18MM-$23MM, that seems like a reasonable starting point in negotiations.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Fell To Second Round Due To Heart Issue?
One of the bigger surprises of last week’s draft was that Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah fell to the second round. Owusu-Koramoah, the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American, and winner of the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker, was widely considered a first-round talent, but he had to wait until the Browns traded up to the No. 52 overall selection to hear his name called.
And now we have some clarity on that front. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Owusu-Koramoah had a heart issue that came to light late in the predraft process, which was a concern for most teams (Twitter link). Though the 6-1, 221-lb ‘backer was medically cleared, the issue contributed to his draft-day slide.
But a league source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that there is nothing wrong with Owusu-Koramoah’s heart, and a source close to the player himself said he has never heard of any heart issue. During an interview on The Jim Rome Show today, Owusu-Koramoah said, “I never really had any heart issues or anything going on there. You know, you hear a lot of things, but you’ve got to get it from the source.”
One would think that there would be a little smoke to this fire, since plenty of teams passed on a player of Owusu-Koramoah’s upside, but color Cleveland GM Andrew Berry unconcerned. “[T]here’s no issue that would prevent him from being productive short- or long-term,” Berry said.
Indeed, Berry even considered taking Owusu-Koramoah with the No. 26 overall pick. Berry has worked hard to upgrade the Browns’ defense this offseason, and Owusu-Koramoah is a big part of that. The Golden Domer is something of a classic ‘tweener, but that’s becoming less relevant in today’s NFL. His speed and instincts should serve him well in a traditional LB role, and he could also get some looks at safety. He lined up at safety and even as a slot corner in college.
Latest On Eagles’ TE Zach Ertz
The Eagles did not select a tight end in last week’s draft, and even though they gave TE Zach Ertz permission to seek a trade in March, no one has been willing to meet their asking price as of yet. So Ertz and Dallas Goedert remain atop Philadelphia’s tight end depth chart.
Does that mean that Ertz will play out the last season of his current contract with the team that made him a second-round pick in 2013? Not necessarily, but as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk suggests, it looks like a much stronger possibility than it did two months ago.
In speaking about the situation during a press conference last weekend, GM Howie Roseman called Ertz a “guy still in his prime.” He added, “we think Zach’s a good player, a good person and he’s under contract.”
Although Ertz, 30, is coming off his worst season in the NFL — a season in which he missed five games due to an ankle injury — he earned Pro Bowl nods in each of the previous three years. At his best, he is one of the top tight ends in the game, and his $8.5MM salary for 2021 is not prohibitive for a player of his talents. Given that, and given that the Eagles were seeking just a third- or fourth-round pick in a trade, it’s a little surprising that Roseman hasn’t been able to find any takers.
Perhaps that will change as teams reevaluate their rosters after the draft, or perhaps Roseman will hang onto Ertz. After all, the team is set to start second-year pro Jalen Hurts at quarterback — the alleged “open competition” notwithstanding — and it would make sense to surround him with as much skill position talent as possible.
Roseman’s comments, though, hardly preclude a trade. If a deal comes together after June 1, the Eagles will save about $4MM of cap space when factoring in the dead money they would also absorb. They would also carry $1.74MM in dead money in each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, which are void years tacked onto the end of Ertz’s deal.