Bears, RB Tarik Cohen Agree To Extension
The Bears and running back Tarik Cohen have hammered out an extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com was first to report (via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com). We heard yesterday that the two sides were working on a new contract and hoped to have one completed before today’s game, and they managed to do just that.
According to Schefter, it will be a three-year extension worth $17.25MM in new money, for an average annual value of $5.75MM. Cohen can bump that number up to $18.25MM with incentives, and $9.5MM is fully guaranteed at signing.
The 2017 fourth-round selection was in the final year of his rookie contract, so his new deal will keep him tethered to the club through the 2023 season. And while Cohen does get a nice influx of cash, the contract looks pretty reasonable for a player of his capabilities. He has never topped 100 carries in a season, but he does boast a solid 4.2 YPC average in his career, and he has averaged nearly 70 receptions per season over his first three professional campaigns.
Cohen has also served as Chicago’s primary punt returner during that time, and he earned a 2018 Pro Bowl nod for his special teams acumen. The Bears need all the play-makers they can get, and they will be happy to keep the diminutive speedster in the fold for the next few seasons.
The club may now focus its full attention on a new contract for wide receiver Allen Robinson.
Bengals Place G Xavier Su’a-Filo On IR
The Bengals have placed starting right guard Xavier Su’a-Filo on IR, the team announced. The 29-year-old suffered an ankle injury during Sunday’s loss to the Chargers.
As you probably know by now, Su’a-Filo will only be required to miss three weeks before becoming eligible to return to action under this year’s modified IR rules. He was replaced by Billy Price following his injury, and Price will remain at RG until Su’a-Filo is ready to return.
Cincinnati signed the UCLA product to a three-year, $10MM contract this offseason. He was drafted by the Texans in the second round of the 2014 draft and finished out his four-year rookie contract in Houston before hooking on with the Cowboys for two seasons. He has started 54 of the 76 games in which he has appeared, and though he is not one of the league’s better guards, clubs value O-lineman with significant starting experience.
Big Ten To Begin Season On October 24
There will be Big Ten football in 2020. A little over a month after the Power 5 conference announced it would postpone its fall slate to the spring, that decision has been reversed.
Per Adam Rittenberg and Heather Dinich of ESPN.com, Big Ten presidents and chancellors unanimously voted to begin play on October 24. Each team will play eight games in eight weeks in advance of the conference championship game on December 19 (the teams not participating in the championship game will play a cross-division game on the same day). Selection Day for the College Football Playoff is scheduled for December 20.
Although we are only one week into the NFL season, the pros have shown that, with daily testing and attention to detail, there is hope that sports can proceed more or less as normal. Indeed, from September 6-12, the league administered 40,479 COVID-19 tests, and there were only two confirmed positive tests among players and five positives among other personnel (Twitter link via Mark Maske of the Washington Post). Given that success, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL is likely to continue daily testing all year.
The daily testing capabilities and stronger confidence in the latest medical information were among the reasons given for the Big Ten’s decision to start play next month. A few notable Big Ten players, like Ohio State CB Shaun Wade and Purdue WR Rondale Moore, had already elected to opt out of the season and begin preparations for the 2021 draft, but today’s announcement will generally be a major boon to players with professional aspirations who will now be able to put together more tape for NFL decision-makers well in advance of the draft.
With that, the Pac-12 is now the only Power 5 conference that won’t be playing this year. However, the Pac-12 is undertaking steps to change that, as conference commissioner Larry Scott explained in a statement. If the Pac-12 does end up playing in 2020, the NFL may be able to move forward with its offseason schedule without any major adjustments.
AFC North Notes: Bullock, Hunt, Browns
The Bengals claimed K Austin Seibert off waivers from the Browns, and when that happened, most assumed that incumbent Randy Bullock would be placed on IR, or perhaps even released. However, head coach Zac Taylor said he expects Bullock to stay right where he is. “Randy’s our kicker,” Taylor said. (Twitter link via Ben Baby of ESPN.com).
Cincinnati suffered a difficult Week 1 loss against the Chargers, and Bullock shanked a 31-yard field goal try that would have sent the game to overtime. He also appeared to injure his left calf on the kick — though some are skeptical — but Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that the injury isn’t serious (Twitter link). In fairness to Bullock, he did make a 50-yarder and a 43-yarder earlier in the game, and he converted his only PAT.
The Bengals take on Seibert’s former employer in a divisional battle tomorrow night.
Now for more from the AFC North:
- The Browns recently handed running back Kareem Hunt a two-year extension, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com has a few details. As previously reported, the new money can max out at $13.25MM, and Hunt will take home base salaries of $4MM, $1.3MM, and $1.35MM over the next three seasons. The remaining money will come via roster bonuses designed to make sure that Hunt keeps himself out of trouble. One is tied to his making it to training camp without incident, one is tied to his making it to Week 1 without incident, and one is tied to his making it to the end of the season without incident. He will also receive weekly 53-man roster bonuses.
- In the same piece linked above, Cabot reports that the Browns were indeed the team that would have been involved in a Jadeveon Clowney sign-and-trade with the Saints. In the proposed deal, which the NFL nixed, Cleveland would have signed Clowney to a one-year, $15MM contract, including a $5MM signing bonus. The team would have then shipped Clowney to New Orleans in exchange for a second-round pick and a player.
- Cabot further notes that the Browns should be getting CB Greedy Williams back soon. Williams missed the team’s Week 1 loss to the Ravens with a shoulder injury but is not expected to land on IR.
- The Steelers placed right tackle Zach Banner on IR yesterday.
Broncos Place CB A.J. Bouye On IR
The Broncos have placed starting CB A.J. Bouye on injured reserve, per the league’s transaction wire. As such, he will miss at least the next three weeks of action.
Bouye suffered a dislocated shoulder during Monday night’s loss to the Titans. As Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweeted yesterday, the team was hopeful that the one-time Pro Bowler would not miss much time, but the damage was too extensive to avoid a trip to IR. Luckily, under the modified rules for 2020, he will be eligible to return much sooner than he would have been in any other year.
Denver acquired Bouye via trade with the Jaguars in March, sending a 2020 fourth-round selection to Jacksonville in exchange. He ended up playing in just 28 snaps in his Broncos debut, but he made the most of that limited action, recording a pass defensed and generally looking like the player the team hoped it was getting.
In Bouye’s absence, third-round rookie Michael Ojemudia stepped up and performed well. And the Broncos also got a full game out of Bryce Callahan, who missed all of last season — his first in Denver — with a broken foot. Ojemudia and Callahan will continue to man the outside cornerback spots while Bouye is on the sidelines, as head coach Vic Fangio told the team’s official website.
The Broncos take on two potentially potent aerial attacks in their next two games against the Steelers and Buccaneers, though they will get something of a reprieve against the Jets in Week 4.
Lions Restructure Matthew Stafford’s Contract
The Lions have reworked QB Matthew Stafford‘s contract. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Lions will convert $7.8MM of Stafford’s 2020 base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link).
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press observes, Stafford’s renegotiation in 2019 gave the Lions the ability to exercise a $7.2MM option bonus by yesterday (Twitter link). That would have resulted in a $15MM total salary, so the club instead elected to make $7.8MM of that amount a signing bonus in order to spread out the cap charge a bit.
Stafford, 32, was the subject of trade speculation earlier this year, though Lions GM Bob Quinn was quick to shoot down those rumors. There was also some thought that Detroit could use its No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft to select a future heir to Stafford, but that didn’t happen either. As of right now, it seems as if Stafford will remain in Detroit at least through the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2022 season (with a voidable year in 2023 for cap purposes).
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft was in the midst of a very strong season in 2019 before a serious back injury suffered in November put an end to his streak of 136 consecutive starts and ultimately landed him on IR. Prior to that, he had compiled nearly 2,500 passing yards and 19 TDs against just five interceptions, good for a career-best 106.0 QB rating.
Stafford is now fully healthy and is ready to lead his team against the division-rival Bears in this afternoon’s season opener.
Patriots Considered Trading Stephon Gilmore
The Patriots and Stephon Gilmore recently agreed to a sizable pay raise for 2020, but the club considered trading the star cornerback before this year’s draft and during training camp, as Albert Breer of SI.com reports (via Twitter). It’s unclear who the interested teams were and what the compensation might have been, but trading Gilmore obviously would have had a significant detrimental impact on New England’s 2020 prospects.
Breer suggests that the trade discussions may have been financially motivated, as he says the Patriots’ high number of opt-outs and the corresponding salary cap room those opt-outs created “changed the equation.” New England is carrying a significant amount of dead money on its books this season, but the club still has the second-most cap room in the league right now, at roughly $31.5MM. The opt-outs certainly help that number, but the opt-outs were finalized in early August. So if trade discussions were indeed happening during training camp, perhaps there were other factors at play (like the desire to trade Gilmore while his value is at its peak).
In any event, the extra cap space did make it a little easier for the team to give Gilmore the above-referenced pay bump and bring his 2020 salary more in line with the top of the CB market. He still has two years left on the five-year contract he signed prior to the 2017 season, and the two sides could explore extension talks following the 2020 campaign.
New England certainly would have had plenty of suitors for Gilmore, who will turn 30 this week and who pulled down Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019. The Pats still have enough juice to be competitive this season, but some believe that the team could be in for a difficult rebuild in the post-Tom Brady era, so extra draft capital would have helped that cause.
On the other hand, a rejuvenated Cam Newton could help New England return to the playoffs, and with Bill Belichick at the helm, a rebuild for the Pats might look different than it would for other teams.
Vikings, Eric Kendricks Agree To Reworked Deal
The Vikings just agreed to a five-year extension for running back Dalvin Cook, and in order to create sufficient cap room for that deal, the club restructured the contract of LB Eric Kendricks. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Minnesota converted $6MM of Kendricks’ base salary into a signing bonus to spread out his cap charge (Twitter link).
This is the second year in a row that the Vikings and Kendricks have come together on a reworked deal. Last May, the club and Kendricks agreed to a similar restructure that may have allowed TE Kyle Rudolph to remain in Minnesota.
Of course, these types of kicking-the-can-down-the-road maneuvers always carry some risks, especially considering that the 2021 cap is expected to decrease. But Kendricks, who signed a five-year extension in 2018 that runs through the 2023 campaign, continues to play at a high level. As of right now, it looks like he will see the end of his contract — or sign another extension before then — so the dead cap charges that increase in a restructure like this one may never come into play.
Kendricks, 28, posted his fourth consecutive 100+ tackle campaign in 2019. He tallied 110 tackles in 15 games (all starts), and he graded out as the second-best LB in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. That effort led to a Pro Bowl nod and First Team All-Pro selection in 2019, the first such honors of his career.
49ers To Host Ziggy Ansah For Second Time
It would seem that the 49ers are interested in former Lions and Seahawks defensive end Ziggy Ansah. The club met with Ansah last month, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, Ansah will be back in San Francisco today to undergo COVID-19 testing in advance of a workout on Tuesday (Twitter link).
Though Ansah’s salary is unlikely to be particularly large, it would not be surprising to see interest in his services pick up after Week 1 in order to prevent that salary from becoming fully guaranteed. The 49ers are trying to prevent other clubs — like the Ravens and Bills, who are reportedly interested in Ansah — from swooping in to sign the 31-year-old.
Though the 49ers have several high-profile talents that can wreak havoc off the edge, like Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle says the club is “starving” for pass rush depth (Twitter link). Ansah certainly fits the description of a high-reward, low-risk pickup that could provide a jolt to the Niners’ DE rotation.
The No. 5 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Ansah posted a double-digit sack campaign as recently as 2017. A shoulder injury marred his 2018 season and delayed his 2019 debut, but he is now another year removed from that injury, so while he may not be the sack leader in anyone’s locker room at this point, he may still be able to provide starter-caliber play.
The 49ers kick off their season against the Cardinals this afternoon and will hope that their current group of edge defenders can make life difficult for Arizona QB Kyler Murray.
Bears Were “In The Running” For Tom Brady
It seems like just yesterday that the Tom Brady free agency rumors were dominating the NFL news cycle. And while Brady will be making his much-anticipated debut for the Buccaneers this afternoon, perhaps he instead could have been suiting up for the Bears in their Week 1 matchup against the Lions.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Bears — who took a look at every QB available on the market before swinging a trade for Nick Foles — made an offer to Brady. It’s unclear what that offer looked like, but Rapoport says Chicago was indeed in the running, though Brady was not particularly keen on signing with a cold-weather club.
Ultimately, the Florida sunshine and Tampa’s loaded receiving corps helped lure Brady to the Bucs. The Bears, despite the trade for Foles and the reworked contract they gave him, have elected to kick off the regular season with embattled signal-caller Mitch Trubisky under center.
Rapoport — along with Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com — adds that there was mutual interest between Brady and the Saints when it was unclear if Drew Brees was going to retire or not. We already wrote about the New Orleans-Brady connection back in June, so this is not exactly news.
Interestingly, though, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic says that the Saints were Brady’s preferred landing spot if Brees had elected to head to the broadcasting booth in 2020 (Twitter link). Duncan adds that Brees was closer to retirement than many realize, so instead of seeing the two 40-something QBs battle each other today, we might have seen Brady in black-and-gold taking on Brees’ new backup and former Tampa starter Jameis Winston.