Browns Announce Front Office Moves
New Browns GM Andrew Berry announced a series of additions, promotions, and title changes on his player personnel staff today.
The entire list can be found here, courtesy of the team’s official website. Some of the moves, like the hiring of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as vice president of football operations and the addition of former Colts GM Ryan Grigson, have been reported previously.
Grigson, though, finally has a formal title: senior football advisor. He and Berry have a long-standing professional relationship, but Berry said his familiarity with Grigson is not the reason he was brought on board. “[Grigson] is here because I think he is very good,” Berry said. “He has a very established track record as a personnel evaluator from his time in St. Louis at the time, Philly and then obviously, Indianapolis. General Manager experience, rebuilt the Colts into a winner very quickly, Executive of the Year. And that is something that is valuable to me.”
Adofo-Mensah, who spent seven years with the 49ers, will be a part of all roster and strategy decisions and will also assist Berry with day-to-day operations (he is essentially the assistant GM). “I think [Adofo-Mensah] brings a nice blend of both an insider and an outsider perspective to football,” Berry said. “He is humble, high integrity, a continuous learner, true growth mindset and he has fantastic interpersonal and people skills … I think he is really a perfect fit to add to the mix.”
Meanwhile, former assistant director of scouting Glenn Cook, who has been with the Browns since 2016, has been promoted to vice president of player personnel. He will lead the day-to-day operations of the player personnel department, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Cook will also be in charge of college and pro scouting. He will be assisted by Dan Saganey, the new director of player personnel.
Of course, there are also a number of new-age, analtyics positions. Nate Sterken will serve as the new lead data scientist, Andrew Jackson is the data architect, and Ken Kovash is the vice president of player personnel process and development. Berry has been lauded for the work he has done in his first few months on the job, and his roster looks like one that could compete for a playoff spot in 2020. Today’s moves are another step towards his putting his stamp on the organization.
Falcons To Gain ~$11MM Of Cap Room
The Falcons released longtime CB Desmond Trufant in March, and as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Trufant was designated as a post-June 1 cut. As such, Atlanta will be able to spread out his dead money charge over the course of the 2020 and 2021 seasons and will gain $10.75MM of cap room when the calendar flips to June on Monday.
The club presently has just $252K of cap space, so the relief is much-needed. As Ledbetter observes, the Falcons will use a good chunk of their newfound space to bring their six-man draft class under contract (at the moment, the team has not signed any of its 2020 draftees). That will leave Atlanta with roughly $7MM of room thanks to the Rule of 51, and GM Thomas Dimitroff likes to keep about $2MM on hand throughout the course of the season in case of emergency.
So Dimitroff will have $5MM to play with should any of the remaining crop of veteran free agents appeal to him. There are a few potentially viable corners on the market, and Atlanta could stand to add an experienced player to complement the youth at that position. The Falcons selected CB A.J. Terrell in the first round of this year’s draft, and he is currently slated to line up opposite third-year pro Isaiah Oliver. Rising sophomore Kendall Sheffield had a solid rookie campaign in the slot and will likely reprise that role in 2020.
Players like Logan Ryan — if his price tag comes down — Trumaine Johnson, and Dre Kirkpatrick could be targets for Atlanta. A situational pass rusher like Clay Matthews may also be in the mix.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/27/20
Here are today’s mid- to late-round draft pick signings:
- The Titans have signed seventh-round DB Chris Jackson, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com (Wyatt also reported the signing of fifth-round DL Larrell Murchison, but that contract had already been announced). Jackson, a Marshall product, will fight for a spot in Tennessee’s outside corner rotation, but he could also play in the slot and at safety. He ranks No. 1 in Thundering Herd history with 45 pass breakups and No. 2 in program history with 52 passes defensed.
Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley On Contract Talks
The Ravens have started discussing an extension for left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but Stanley himself does not seem overly concerned about the process. “I’m in no rush. I’m not really worried about it,” he said (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic).
Baltimore was surely unhappy to see Texans head coach/GM Bill O’Brien hand LT Laremy Tunsil the key to the city and a three-year, $66MM extension last month. As Joel Corry of CBS Sports observes, the Ravens generally aren’t fans of short-term deals for premium players — unless that player cedes some money in exchange for the shorter term — so the fact that Tunsil got a three-year pact while also resetting the left tackle market in terms of AAV ($22MM) and full guarantees ($40MM) could make things tough for the Ravens.
That is especially true when considering that Stanley is probably the better player. Though both Stanley and Tunsil received their first Pro Bowl nods in 2019, Stanley took home First Team All-Pro honors, and he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ top pass blocker last season. The Notre Dame product is also a force in run-blocking, and his performance was instrumental in the Ravens’ offensive explosion during Lamar Jackson‘s first full year at the helm.
However, perhaps Stanley will not try to top Tunsil’s pact. While the 26-year-old of course wants to be paid what he is worth, he also said, “at the end of the day, I don’t think money is the most important thing to me” (Twitter link via Zrebiec). One way or another, Stanley will be incredibly rich in fairly short order, and perhaps resetting the market is not as meaningful as protecting Jackson’s blindside for the foreseeable future and remaining with a well-respected organization that appears to have a championship-caliber foundation.
According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, though, the expectation is that Stanley’s next contract will exceed Tunsil’s. Stanley is presently slated to earn $12.8MM in 2020 under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal.
Aaron Jones: “I Would Love To Be A Lifelong Packer”
Following a tremendous 2019 season, Packers RB Aaron Jones is in line for a lucrative extension that would catapult him up the list of the league’s highest-paid running backs. Green Bay met with Jones’ camp at the combine, but it’s currently unclear where the two sides stand in their contract talks.
For his part, Jones would like to stay with the Packers for the long haul. “I would love to be a lifelong Packer,” he said. “I trust my agents, and I trust the Packers. I trust them to get a deal done. If I can control what I can control, I feel like it will be taken care of” (Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
Jones’ agent, Chris Cabott, confirmed Wednesday discussions with the Packers have taken place, Demovsky adds. But the parties have more work to do.
Green Bay selected Boston College RB A.J. Dillon in the second round of this year’s draft, which could suggest that the club is less keen on a long-term deal. On the other hand, Dillon does not presently profile as the type of receiving threat that Jones is, so there may be room for both players over the next couple of years.
But Dillon could end up poaching Jones’ goal-line carries, and head coach Matt LaFleur has repeatedly expressed his preference for a RB-by-committee approach. With Dillon and holdover Jamaal Williams in the picture, Jones may be hard-pressed to replicate his 2019 production.
Jones said he is not disappointed or surprised that the club invested a high draft choice in a running back, but he surely hopes to cash in while his value could be at its peak. As a dual-threat RB, it would not be terribly surprising to seem him command $10MM or so on a yearly basis, but a 2020 decline — along with the league’s general reluctance to give large second contracts to running backs — could depress his market.
The former fifth-round pick ran for 1,084 yards with a league-leading 16 touchdowns and averaged 4.6 yards per carry last year. He also hauled in 49 receptions – one of several new career watermarks – for 474 yards and three scores.
J.J. Watt Not Seeking Extension, Not Contemplating Retirement
Texans star edge rusher J.J. Watt is fresh out of guaranteed cash. Per the terms of the then-record-setting extension Watt signed in 2014, he is owed a base salary of $15.5MM in 2020 and $17.5MM in 2021, but those sums are completely non-guaranteed.
However, the 31-year-old is not looking for an extension. “No, I don’t think [an extension is] necessary,” Watt said (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle). “I’m not going to sit here and demand anything. If I asked for an extension or money right now, I think that would be the wrong move.”
And he’s probably right about that. After all, despite his hefty salary, he is in zero danger of being cut, and if he turns in a strong 2020 campaign, he will be well-positioned to renegotiate his contract next offseason. Even if he struggles through injury again, it’s still possible that the Texans would keep him on for the final year of his deal given his track record of excellence and his status with the team and community.
Watt, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2011 draft, quickly established himself as one of the premier defenders in the game, racking up four consecutive First Team All-Pro nods from 2012-15. He compiled a staggering 69 sacks over that four-year span, and he twice led the league in that category. But after he enjoyed perfect attendance throughout his first five years in the league, he was limited to just eight games over the 2016-17 seasons. Though he returned to his All-Pro form in 2018 — recording 16 sacks and a league-best seven forced fumbles in the process — a torn pectoral muscle limited him to eight regular season games in 2019.
Watt says he is healthy now, and he is not contemplating retirement anytime soon. For the time being, he is moving forward with his usual day-to-day mentality, and he believes the unique offseason will not impact him too much. “As long as you get yourself in the physical shape necessary, you’ll be able to hit the ground running,” he said.
A vintage season from Watt would go a long way towards a return to the postseason for the Texans.
DeMaurice Smith On Likelihood Of 2020 Season
As a result of gradual reopening measures being instituted across the country, green lights for teams in some states to resume play, and a recent statement from the NFL indicating that the league is planning on a full season in front of full stadiums, football fans have been getting their hopes up over the past few days. But in order to continue moving forward, the league obviously needs cooperation from its players, and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith is still uncertain as to whether there will be a 2020 season.
In a recent episode of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (via Mike Florio of PFT), Smith was asked if he believes games will be played in 2020. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being “absolutely certain,” Smith said, “I’m gonna go with a, you know, probably a six, seven.”
“But, you know, look, a lot depends on what happens with the other sports,” Smith continued. “And to say that we aren’t looking at what’s going to be happening in basketball and baseball — and we’re not looking at how they work through these things, we would — I’d be lying to you if we’re not. So how about if I go with six, seven on a curve?”
Smith, just like union president J.C. Tretter, is perhaps pushing back a bit to remind everyone that the union needs to be involved in the decision-making, particularly if there are going to be major logistical or financial adjustments to the standard operating procedures. Obviously, we are still nearly two months away from the start of training camp and over three months away from the start of the regular season, so there is plenty of time for the league and the NFLPA to come up with an agreed-upon course of action.
There was a report yesterday suggesting that the league could hold minicamps at the end of June, which Tretter subsequently refuted. And indeed, coaches from multiple teams tell Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that their staffs aren’t returning to team facilities until training camp (Twitter link). Even if the league and union were to authorize in-person work earlier than that, some teams would not take advantage of that opportunity and would continue to conduct matters virtually.
But if teams are able to hold training camp more or less as normal, then Week 1 can get underway just as it otherwise would. And to that end, Albert Breer of SI.com says the NFL and NFLPA joint committee on health safety are continuing to discuss various solutions (Twitter links). One proposal would see some players back in team facilities by the end of June to test protocols, followed by two to three weeks of strength and conditioning. Then, when training camp begins, helmeted practices can get underway.
Meanwhile, NFL engineers and sports equipment company Oakley are testing prototypes of facemasks that contain surgical or N95 material, per a recent report from ESPN. NFLPA medical director Thom Mayer said the new designs could feasibly cover a player’s entire facemask, and while such a design would not be a complete safeguard against the transmission of the coronavirus, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Jets Do Not Plan To Trade Jamal Adams
We heard yesterday that the Jets and star safety Jamal Adams have reached an impasse. Adams, who is now eligible for a contract extension, wants a new deal immediately, but New York — which has at least two years of club control left, not including a potential franchise tag in 2022 — wants to wait. As such, the two sides discussed the possibility of a trade earlier this week, but as Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv writes, the Jets have no intention of trading Adams.
According to Vacchiano’s source, the team has not engaged in trade talks with any club since last year’s deadline, though that has not stopped teams from calling. In yesterday’s report, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com noted that more than half of the teams in the league have reached out to the Jets to discuss Adams’ availability.
Per Vacchiano, GM Joe Douglas did contact Adams’ agents after the draft, just as he promised. But Douglas is fully aware that the team has all the leverage right now. It’s unclear whether Adams will stage a training camp holdout, but even if he does, he will have to report eventually if he wants to get paid, and even if he formally requests a trade, it’s unlikely the Jets will grant that request. Plus, with COVID-19 creating a potential financial crisis for all 32 teams in the league, it would be hard for the Jets to authorize a record-setting contract when they don’t have to.
The Jets do, however, have every intention of making Adams the highest-paid safety in league history at some point. As Connor Hughes of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), the current stalemate is only about timing. The two sides have not even discussed dollar amounts yet, but the Jets know they will have to cough up a deal paying at least $15MM per year with at least $40MM or so in guarantees. The only question is when that will happen.
AFC East Notes: O’Shea, Warford, Ryan
The Dolphins fired former OC Chad O’Shea after just one season in his post, and the move surprised many at the time. After all, Miami’s offense wasn’t exactly brimming with talent, but O’Shea’s unit actually ranked in the top-10 in passing offense and top-15 in scoring offense after QB Ryan Fitzpatrick reentered the starting lineup in Week 7.
We had previously heard that O’Shea’s offense was overly complex for the young Dolphins talent, but as Barry Jackson, Adam H. Beasley, and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald write, the term “overly complex” may not be strong enough.
O’Shea, who brought in elements of the Patriots’ notoriously difficult offensive system after spending 10 years as New England’s WRs coach, tried to install especially advanced and complicated portions of the Pats’ scheme, which went over the heads of his new charges in Miami. And though he can’t be faulted for trying to replicate an offense that has thrived for years, players complained that he was a terrible teacher to boot, with one player calling his instruction during film study a “disaster.”
Head coach Brian Flores had O’Shea pulled out of his exit meeting with Fitzpatrick to advise him of his dismissal. O’Shea was reportedly blindsided by the news, and Fitzpatrick was apparently taken aback as well. It’s unknown if Flores asked Fitzpatrick about Chan Gailey — who was immediately hired as O’Shea’s replacement — prior to O’Shea’s firing. Fitzpatrick has played under Gailey for five seasons.
Let’s round up several more items from the AFC East:
- In his most recent mailbag, Connor Hughes of The Athletic says the Jets should pursue former Saints guard Larry Warford, who was released by New Orleans earlier this month. Hughes believes Warford would represent an upgrade over incumbent RG Brian Winters — whose release would create a cap savings of $7MM — but he does not get the sense the Jets are interested. Warford does not fit the mold of the athletic, quick O-linemen that head coach Adam Gase wants in his system.
- Hughes also notes that while the Jets are definitely interested in free agent corner Logan Ryan, Ryan will have to come off his current $10MM/year ask in order to reach an accord with Gang Green. We recently heard that New York believes it will sign Ryan, and it seems as if no team is willing to touch the $10MM sticker price at this point.
- The Patriots have a talented crop of undrafted free agents, and their UDFA wideouts are particularly intriguing. Doug Kyed of NESN.com believes Miami product Jeff Thomas has the best chance to make the team, though Will Hastings — who received a salary guarantee of $57.5K and who served as Jarrett Stidham‘s slot receiver at Auburn — also has a good shot.
Packers DT Montravius Adams Arrested
Packers defensive tackle Montravius Adams was arrested in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, per Tom Green of AL.com. Unlike the NFL players that have been booked over the past week or so, however, Adams is facing fairly minor charges.
According to the Associated Press, Adams was pulled over on suspicion of driving with a suspended registration and no insurance. Upon approaching the car, the officer smelled marijuana, and Adams was ultimately charged with three misdemeanors: possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, driving with a suspended registration, and driving without insurance.
The new collective bargaining agreement says players cannot be suspended for marijuana-related offenses, so Adams will presumably avoid league discipline and is unlikely to face any notable legal consequences. He was released on less than $3K bond.
However, the Auburn product is entering a contract year and may not see a second deal with Green Bay (or any other team, for that matter). A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, Adams has started just three of the 37 games in which he has appeared, and he has yet to play more than 20% of the Packers’ defensive snaps in a season. Advanced metrics have not been particularly fond of his play either. In 2019, Pro Football Focus gave him below-average marks for his work against both the pass and the run.
Adams has 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his career.