Fallout From Negotiations Between Broncos, Justin Simmons
Talented Broncos safety Justin Simmons will play out the 2020 season under the franchise tag, as player and team were unable to come to terms on an extension prior to Wednesday’s deadline. Simmons was not alone in that regard, as only two of the league’s franchised players this year ended up signing long-term deals.
As Mike Klis of 9News.com writes, Denver put forth what it believed to be a competitive offer, a proposal that would have made Simmons one of the top five or six highest-paid safeties in the game. Currently, the Ravens’ Earl Thomas is the fifth-highest-paid safety in terms of AAV ($13.75MM), but the sixth-highest, the Patriots’ Devin McCourty, has an AAV of $11.5MM. Simmons’ franchise tender will pay him just shy of $11.5MM this year, so it could be that a long-term pact featuring a similar yearly average was not appealing to him.
Of course, it’s unclear how much the Broncos were offering in terms of guaranteed money, but Simmons was shooting for a top-of-the-market deal that would have paid him an average of roughly $15MM per year with around $30MM in guarantees. It does not sound like Denver was prepared to go that high, particularly in light of the current financial uncertainty.
Interestingly, negotiations between the two sides were always described as tension-free. Simmons said earlier this year that he was content to play on the tag, and when a deal was not reached by the deadline, Klis noted that Simmons and the Broncos “amicably agreed to disagree.”
But Simmons certainly seems annoyed that the did not get the deal he was hoping for. “If the Broncos wanted to get a deal done, they would’ve,” he said on today’s episode of Good Morning Football (link via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). “And so the reality is another year on the franchise tag is like a contract year all over again.”
The 26-year-old defender said he should be even better in his second year in head coach Vic Fangio‘s defensive scheme, and if he is, he will surely bring home a top-dollar deal in 2021. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall safety last season and led all safeties with 15 passes defensed. He also intercepted a career-high four passes.
No Extension Talks Between Bears, Allen Robinson
Add Bears receiver Allen Robinson to the list of extension candidates who seem unlikely to get a new deal in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a recent interview on ESPN 1000’s Carmen and Jurko show (h/t Cam Ellis of NBC Sports Chicago), Robinson said that the Bears have not discussed a new contract with his agent. 
“We haven’t heard nothing,” Robinson said. “I think just as far as me and my agent, from [the] conversations that we’ve had, we’re not necessarily anticipating hearing anything at this point.”
Robinson indicated towards the end of last season that he would be interested in an extension with the Bears, but in May, we learned that the two sides were not close to an accord. Now, although Ellis indicates the team did have some internal discussions about a Robinson re-up in February, it’s unclear whether negotiations with Robinson’s camp were ever initiated.
Robinson, 27 in August, has one year to go on his three-year, $42MM deal. When Robinson inked his contract, it was near the top of the pecking order for the position. Since then, WR salaries have advanced past the $20MM/year mark. Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks, Adam Thielen, Jarvis Landry, and Stefon Diggs went on to leapfrog Robinson. He won’t top the likes of Jones or Thomas, of course, but he has a strong case to make for a decent pay bump.
The Bears are projected to hold more than $40MM in cap room next year, but that’s predicated on the cap projection staying as-is. Right now, that seems pretty unlikely.
League To Create COVID-19 Classification
After much discussion on the topic, the league and union have agreed to a modification of IR rules. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, players who test positive for COVID-19 will be placed on a new COVID-19 list.
Once a player has been placed on the list, his roster spot may be taken by a player who has tested negative. Players on the COVID-19 list will be eligible to practice after three weeks, though he must be returned to the active roster within three weeks after that. If he is not able to return to the active roster, he will be placed on season-ending injured reserve or released with an injury settlement.
Critically, players who find themselves on the COVID-19 list will receive their normal salaries. That seems like an obvious point, but given the history of negotiations between the union and the league, one can never take anything for granted.
Team owners are expected to hold a virtual meeting tomorrow to discuss, among other things, whether training camp can start on time. Player opt-outs and testing protocols are also likely to be on the agenda, but it’s encouraging that this important step has already been taken.
Redskins Hire Attorney To Review Organizational Culture
Much has been made of the Redskins’ impending name change over the past several weeks, but it sounds as if the organization has bigger fish to fry at the moment. Twitter has been buzzing with rumors of a potentially explosive report that the Washington Post is preparing to publish, and while we are still awaiting that story, we felt we should pass along some context.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that the Post is drafting a story that will feature (presumably negative) aspects of the Redskins’ organizational culture (Twitter link). In response, the club has hired DC-based attorney Beth Wilkinson to conduct a thorough review of its protocols (Twitter link). Schefter’s tweet says that Wilkinson will be reviewing “past” culture, which suggests that the team has since addressed any problems that may have existed.
But there are troubling signs. For instance, Schefter also reports that minority shareholders have hired an investment bank to facilitate a sale of their stake in the team (Twitter link), and this all comes on the heels of the departures of two front office execs. In addition to those firings, radio play-by-play announcer Larry Michael has left the organization.
Per Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), at least two minority owners have been trying to sell their interest in the team for months, so that may not be at all related to any organization issues that the Post will be covering. And the team is said to be frustrated by the rampant speculation that stories about the story have engendered. Nonetheless, the report will certainly be worth a read, as will the ensuing damage control from the team’s side of things.
Jaguars Sign C.J. Henderson
The Jaguars have signed first-round draft choice C.J. Henderson, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Per the terms of his slot, the former Florida corner will take home a four-year, $20.5MM contract (fully-guaranteed), and Rapoport notes that the deal does not include offsets.
While Ohio State’s Jeffrey Okudah was the most-heralded member of this year’s CB class, Henderson had plenty of fans in NFL front offices. One GM said back in April that he believed a dozen or more of the league’s 32 teams had Henderson ranked higher than Okudah, and the Falcons were trying to trade up from their No. 16 slot to land Henderson.
But the Jags snapped him up with the No. 9 overall pick (Okudah went to the Lions at No. 3). Cornerback was a major need for Jacksonville, as the team traded A.J. Bouye in March after dealing Jalen Ramsey to the Rams in advance of last year’s deadline. The Jags did add several more corners in the draft and signed veteran Rashaan Melvin, but Henderson will open his professional career as a CB1.
He certainly appears ready for the challenge. The 6-1 defender led the Gators with 11 pass breakups in 2019, doing so despite missing three early-season games due to a sprained ankle. He also picked off six passes between his freshman and sophomore seasons, returning two of them for TDs. His length and technique suggest he can be a strong cover corner in the NFL, though he will need to clean up the occasional mental lapse and improve his tackling abilities.
The Jags now have over half of their 12-man rookie class under contract. Here’s the full list, courtesy of PFR’s tracker:
1-9: C.J. Henderson, CB (Florida): Signed
1-20: K’Lavon Chaisson, DE (LSU)
2-42: Laviska Shenault, WR (Colorado): Signed
3-73: Davon Hamilton, DT (Ohio State): Signed
4-116: Ben Bartch, OT (St. John’s (MN)): Signed
4-137: Josiah Scott, CB (Michigan State)
4-140: Shaquille Quarterman, ILB (Miami): Signed
5-157: Daniel Thomas, S (Auburn)
5-165: Collin Johnson, WR (Texas): Signed
6-189: Jake Luton, QB (Oregon State)
6-206: Tyler Davis, TE (Georgia Tech): Signed
7-223: Chris Claybrooks, CB (Memphis)
Dak Prescott Wanted To Take Cowboys’ Final Offer?
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will play out the 2020 season on his franchise tender, and reports from yesterday suggested that, despite some some 11th-hour communicating, player and team did not make much progress towards an extension. This was after weeks had gone by without any contract talks at all.
But Jane Slater of the NFL Network says Dallas’ final offer was very much to Prescott’s liking (Twitter link). That offer included an average annual value of $33MM-$35MM, though that is a pretty sizable gap in the context of these negotiations, given that the Cowboys’ best-known prior offer featured an AAV just north of $33MM while Prescott’s camp was pushing for a $35MM+ AAV. However, Dallas’ latest proposal reportedly featured $110MM in guarantees, with a $50MM signing bonus and $70MM over the first two years.
According to Slater, Prescott wanted to get that deal done, but it was simply too close to the 3pm CT deadline to make it happen. And that’s notable, because as Joel Corry of CBS Sports writes, the contract would have been for five years, and the team’s preferred five-year term versus Prescott’s hope for a four-year pact has long been a sticking point between the two sides.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, though, isn’t buying it. Robinson says Prescott and the Cowboys have never been closer to an extension than they were late last summer, and that multiple sources confirmed as much. There was never a middle ground on years, average salary, or guarantees, which means that the two sides will largely be starting from square one when they reconvene next offseason.
And assuming Prescott plays well in 2020, he will almost certainly be tagged again, as it would be surprising for his camp and Dallas to come to terms prior to the franchise tag deadline in March. That tag is projected to have a value just shy of $38MM, which would be a tough pill for Dallas to swallow.
72 Players Have Tested Positive For COVID-19
According to the NFLPA’s website, 72 NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19 as of July 10. If all teams were currently maintaining a full roster of 90 players, that would represent about 2.5% of the league’s workforce. But not every club has a full roster, so the percentage is actually slightly higher.
It’s a given that a significant number of players will test positive, but it does underscore the need for the union and the league to quickly come to terms on establishing certain safety protocols that have not yet been agreed to, like the frequency of tests. And as testing is not yet mandatory, it stands to reason that the current number of positive cases is not necessarily indicative of the prevalence of the virus.
As Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network writes, the NFLPA and player agents had a conference call yesterday to discuss preparations and procedures, but another important conversation will take place tomorrow. Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reports that team owners will have a virtual meeting on Friday, and one high-level source believes the question of whether training camp really can start on time will be raised. Indeed, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the union is wondering whether camps in areas that have been hit hardest by the virus should open — the NFLPA’s website includes a map showing the number of cases in cities that are home to NFL clubs — and players are also expressing more and more concern as the scheduled start of camp draws near.
In addition to the training camp issue, owners will presumably talk about player pay and protocols. The league is hoping the union will offer some sort of relief due to decreased revenues, but the owners’ proposal of holding 35% of player’s salaries in escrow was a non-starter. The two sides also remain divided on the issue of preseason games. The league wants to play two exhibition contests, but the union is holding firm on its stance that the preseason should be canceled entirely.
Quinton Dunbar’s Attorney Criminally Investigated
The alleged cover-up attempt surrounding a incident in May that resulted in felony charges for Giants CB Deandre Baker and Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar created a major plot twist in the evolving saga. The latest reports suggest that a witness to the incident, Dominic “Coach” Johnson, worked with Baker and Dunbar’s attorney, Michael Grieco, to pay other witnesses to recant their earlier testimony implicating the NFL players.
And according to Nicholas Nehamas, David Ovalle, and David Smiley of the Miami Herald, Grieco was under criminal investigation for his involvement at least as of last month. A spokeswoman for Miramar (Fla.) police said she could not comment on whether Grieco was still being investigated.
Grieco issued a statement saying that the witnesses are “seasoned career criminals” who have been attempting to extort Baker and Dunbar from the jump. Video footage, however, suggests that the alleged payoff took place at Grieco’s office, and Grieco presented to police affidavits from those very same witnesses immediately after the meeting. All five affidavits, according to police, are identical.
It’s not a good look for Grieco, Dunbar — who has retained additional counsel — or Baker. But Baker’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, says his client paid no one, has passed a lie detector test, and is the victim of a smear tactic (Twitter link).
Patrick Patel, an attorney who represents Baker in NFL-related matters — but who appears to be involved in strategizing his criminal defense just the same — tells Paul Schwartz of the New York Post that he and Cohen knew about the payoff attempt, and that they encouraged Baker to participate in the farce in order to expose it for what it really was. If that’s true, of course, then that means Grieco and Dunbar may indeed have paid for what they got.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, Dunbar and Baker may well have committed the crimes as alleged, but the victims may have seen an opportunity to cash in just the same. Both things can be true. But at this point, it looks as though Dunbar’s and Baker’s respective approaches must diverge, so this matter just became even more fascinating to follow.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says the Seahawks have not yet considered cutting Dunbar, though Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News — who broke the original payoff story — cites unnamed Giants sources who said they don’t expect Baker to be on the club much longer.
Terrelle Pryor Attempting Comeback
Things have not gone well for Terrelle Pryor lately. Following a terrific 2016 campaign with the Browns — his first full season as a wide receiver after converting from the quarterback position — Pryor badly misjudged the free agent market for his services. He was hoping for a long-term deal worth about $15MM per season, but when that didn’t materialize, he eschewed the multi-year offers he did have to take a one-year, $8MM contract with the Redskins.
He hoped that, if he built on his breakout effort in Cleveland and proved that it wasn’t a fluke, he would land a $15MM/year deal the following offseason. But his one year in Washington didn’t go as planned, as he played in just nine games (two starts) and caught 20 passes for 240 yards and a TD. He was hampered by an ankle injury for most of the season and ultimately landed on IR.
So instead of getting the massive payday he was seeking in the 2018 offseason, he settled for a one-year, $4.5MM pact with the Jets. He lasted just six games with Gang Green, catching 14 passes for 235 yards and two TDs. A groin injury slowed him a bit, and he was released in October 2018. The division-rival Bills scooped him up shortly thereafter, but he played just two games for Buffalo before being cut again.
Pryor signed with the Jaguars in May 2019, but he never played a regular season game for them. He was put on IR during final cutdowns and released several days later.
In November, Pryor was stabbed in the shoulder and chest by a woman in an incident that saw both parties criminally charged. Pryor, though, tells TMZ Sports that he is fully healthy and is ready for a chance to resume his NFL career.
He says he has been in contact with five teams, including the Patriots, about a potential contract. We don’t know who the other four teams are, but Pryor indicated he would also like to play for his hometown Steelers.
New England, though, seems like a better fit. Pryor’s abilities as a deep threat — assuming he still has them — would complement the rest of the Pats’ pass catchers nicely, and on paper it looks like New England needs more receiving help than Pittsburgh.
Regardless, it will take only a minimum commitment for any team to bring Pryor into the fold. Given his recent history, though, the 31-year-old may need to wait until COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted so he can prove to interested clubs that he’s ready to go.
Latest On Chiefs’ Chris Jones, Bengals’ A.J. Green
And then there were three. With Broncos safety Justin Simmons and Buccaneers edge rusher Shaquil Barrett agreeing to sign their franchise tenders, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, and Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue are the only franchised players whose statuses remain uncertain.
As Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports, there may be some progress on the Jones front (video link). We recently heard that talks between Jones and the Chiefs had stalled, and that Jones is prepared to hold out until he gets the contract he wants. But Fowler says player and team have finally resumed negotiations, which is a big deal in and of itself considering that there had been radio silence for months.
However, there is still plenty of work to be done. Though Jones has been reportedly aiming for a deal with an average annual value of about $20MM, Fowler reports that KC will have to pony up “well over” the $20MM figure if it wants to get an extension completed. As good as Jones is, it’s unclear if the two sides will be able to bridge the gap in advance of the July 15 deadline.
Unlike Jones and the Chiefs, Green and the Bengals have discussed an extension recently. It doesn’t sound as if those discussions have been particularly fruitful, however, as Fowler notes there is not much optimism regarding a multi-year contract
Green has indicated previously that he will not hold out if he does not get a long-term deal of his liking, and given the new CBA’s rules for players holding out after having signed a contract as a veteran, that makes sense. A Jones holdout would be much more likely, as Jones just finished his rookie contract and has not yet signed a pact as a veteran player.