Saints To Re-Sign CB P.J. Williams
The Saints have agreed to re-sign cornerback P.J. Williams, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. It will be a one-year deal for the Florida State product, as Underhill tweets. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that Williams will earn a fully-guaranteed $2MM (Twitter link).
Though he was once considered a first-round talent, Williams slipped to the third round of the 2015 draft, perhaps due to a DUI arrest shortly before that draft. He was arrested for DUI again in January 2019, which led to a two-game suspension last season. But on the field, Williams has finally found his niche as a slot corner.
He has never been a darling of the advanced metrics, but he has continued to play a critical role in the Saints’ secondary. His work as a nickel back certainly passes the eye test, even if sites like Pro Football Focus don’t love him, and he also brings valuable positional versatility.
As Underhill points out, the Saints have very little boundary CB depth behind Janoris Jenkins and Marshon Lattimore, and while Williams won’t win any awards for his work outside the numbers, he represents a marked improvement over players like Patrick Robinson in that regard. And even though New Orleans certainly hopes Williams won’t need to play a ton of snaps at safety in 2020, he performed very well at that position last year as an injury replacement.
Williams, who is particularly effective as a tackler and against the run, has four interceptions and 24 passes defensed in his career.
Lions To Sign CB Darryl Roberts
The Lions and veteran cornerback Darryl Roberts are in agreement on a one-year contract, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Roberts was released by the Jets last week.
After trading Darius Slay to the Eagles, Detroit was in need of an experienced boundary corner. Although the club did sign Desmond Trufant, the second option on the depth chart before the Roberts signing was slot man Justin Coleman.
The Lions have been linked to Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah, one of the most talented defenders in this year’s draft, and adding Roberts will certainly not preclude Detroit from selecting Okudah, who is said to be very high on the team’s draft board. On the other hand, the Lions do have a number of holes to fill and they already own four of the first 85 picks in the draft, so they may now be more amenable to trading down from the No. 3 pick to further stock up on draft capital while still giving themselves the opportunity to draft a player like Derrick Brown.
Roberts, 29, is not one of the league’s best corners, but he does have 56 appearances and 26 career starts to his credit, including back-to-back 10-start seasons in 2018-19. The former seventh-round pick inked a three-year, $18MM deal with the Jets in March 2019, but he graded out as an average-at-best player, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. So the Jets’ new regime dropped him in order to save $6MM against the books.
In his four years of regular season action, Roberts has accumulated 172 tackles to go along with three interceptions and 27 passes defensed.
Derrick Henry Signs Franchise Tender
Titans running back Derrick Henry has signed his franchise tender, as Dianna Russini of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). If he plays out the 2020 season under the tender, he would earn $10.2MM while counting for an equivalent charge against Tennessee’s salary cap.
However, we heard yesterday that the Titans want to complete a long-term extension with the 2019 rushing champion in advance of the July 15 deadline, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that is still the case (Twitter link). Henry, understandably, is just as committed to getting a deal done as Tennessee is.
Of course, running back negotiations have been rife with complications in recent years, and the performances that players like Todd Gurley, David Johnson, and Le’Veon Bell turned in after signing their own big-money deals could make a team like the Titans hesitant to commit to a lucrative multi-year pact for an RB. On the other hand, Gurley and Johnson have dealt with serious injury issues, and Bell saw a ton of touches with Pittsburgh before holding out an entire season. Ezekiel Elliott, despite having a lot of miles on his odometer, performed at a Pro Bowl level in 2019 after signing his new contract, which currently leads all RB deals with a $15MM AAV.
Henry, on the other hand, was used relatively sparingly in his first three years in the league before being unleashed on opposing teams in 2019. The Titans rode the bruising Alabama product to a berth in the AFC Championship Game last season, and if the club makes another deep postseason run in 2020, Henry will almost certainly be a big reason why. He piled up 1,540 rushing yards and 16 TDs on the ground in 2019, to go along with another 206 yards and two TDs through the air. Though the Chiefs managed to contain him for the most part in the AFCCG, he made a mockery of the Patriots’ and Ravens’ highly-touted defenses in the prior two playoff contests.
He will likely top Elliott’s $15MM annual payout and Elliott’s $28MM in full guarantees. But luckily for Tennessee, Henry cannot now stage a training camp holdout.
NFC North Notes: Lions, Okudah, Foles
The Lions will have a major impact on how the quarterback dominoes fall in this year’s draft. Although they are unlikely to select a rookie signal-caller themselves with the No. 3 overall pick, they have long been rumored as a team that could trade down with another club that has a bigger QB need. And if standout Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young is off the board by the time Detroit is on the clock, Albert Breer of SI.com says the Lions will indeed be open for business, as they could move down to the No. 5 or No. 6 pick and still pick up an elite defender like Jeff Okudah, Isaiah Simmons, or Derrick Brown.
However, both Breer and Justin Rogers of the Detroit News believe the Lions’ preference among the non-Young defenders is Okudah, who may be gone if Detroit trades back, and Rogers does not see an immediate fit for Simmons in the club’s defense. So unless the Lions are blown away by an offer, they could stand pat and select one of Young or Okudah.
Now for more from the NFC North:
- New Bears quarterback Nick Foles restructured his contract after being traded to Chicago from Jacksonville, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com passes along a few more details on the restructure (Twitter link). Foles will earn $8MM in base salary over each of the three remaining years on his contract for a total of $24MM in salary, $21MM of which is guaranteed. Each of those three seasons also comes with an additional $6MM in available incentives, and for every dollar of incentives that Foles earns, his base salary for the following year increases (so if he earns $3MM of incentives in 2020, his salary in 2021 will increase from $8MM to $11MM).
- As we heard previously, Foles will have the opportunity to void the 2021 or 2022 seasons if he meets certain performance thresholds, so as Rapoport notes in a separate tweet, the former Super Bowl MVP has landed jelly-side up despite a disappointing 2019 season with the Jags. He was paid $30MM for his one year in Jacksonville, keeps the guaranteed money from his Jaguars contract, and has the opportunity to hit free agency as soon as next year if he performs well with the Bears.
- The Vikings have managed to carve out some salary cap space for themselves this offseason, and after setting aside the funds necessary to sign their 2020 draft class, they have about $8.4MM of space still available, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Tomasson says that the team is continuing to look at veteran cornerbacks, which makes sense given the mass CB exodus that Minnesota witnessed last month. Dre Kirkpatrick and Logan Ryan are among the top corners still available.
- Tomasson adds that the Vikings are still looking into a Dalvin Cook extension, which echoes his report from several weeks ago.
Latest On Chargers’ Mike Pouncey, QB Situation
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn spoke at length with reporters yesterday, and two of the most significant topics he covered were the team’s quarterback situation and center Mike Pouncey‘s status.
Pouncey, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Dolphins, was released by Miami in March 2018 and quickly caught on with the Chargers. The pickup proved to be a savvy one for the Bolts, as Pouncey rewarded the team with a Pro Bowl performance and agreed to a one-year extension prior to the 2019 campaign that kept him under club control through 2020.
Unfortunately, the 2019 season did not go as planned for Pouncey or the Chargers. Pouncey landed on IR with a neck injury that required surgery, and as Lynn observed, the 30-year-old pivot has not yet been cleared for football activities (Twitter link via Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times). However, Lynn does expect Pouncey to be cleared by the time players reconvene — whenever that is — and he suggested that he is comfortable with the club’s other options in the event Pouncey is not ready to go. Dan Feeney, currently penciled in at left guard, and 2018 fifth-rounder Scott Quessenberry combined to fill the void left by Pouncey, but neither player performed particularly well in that role.
As for the team’s QB situation, Lynn confirmed that Tyrod Taylor is the team’s starter for now, as Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com writes. That is not at all surprising given that the only other signal-caller currently on the roster is 2019 fifth-rounder Easton Stick, but Lynn did create a little intrigue. Per Thiry, Lynn was asked specifically about the Chargers’ interest in Cam Newton, and after initially avoiding a similar question, Lynn said, “[w]e’re looking at everybody. I want to turn over every single rock, so yeah, we’re looking at everybody.”
More likely than not, that statement is basic coach-speak. After all, we heard just a couple of weeks ago that the Chargers have no intention of acquiring another veteran QB to compete with Taylor, and it seems more plausible that the club will select a QB with the No. 6 overall pick and roll into the 2020 season with Taylor and the rookie passer at the top of the depth chart. On the other hand, Los Angeles is built to win now, and its offseason moves were clearly made with an eye towards competing in 2020. If healthy, Newton is a dramatic upgrade over Taylor — whose release would free up $5MM of cap space — so it stands to reason that Lynn would at least consider that option.
Titans Re-Sign Kamalei Correa
The Titans are bringing back linebacker Kamalei Correa, as Correa’s agency, DEC Management, announced via Twitter. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says it will be a one-year deal worth up to $3.5MM (Twitter link).
The Ravens selected Correa in the second round of the 2016 draft with the hopes that he could become a fearsome edge rusher. Although he showed some flashes of that ability here and there, he was never able to put it together in Baltimore, and he was traded to the Titans before the 2018 season in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
In Tennessee, Correa continued to work with Dean Pees, who had served as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for the prior six seasons and who agreed to join the Titans’ staff in the same capacity in 2018. Pees announced his retirement in January, so Correa has lost one obvious supporter, but the team clearly saw enough from him to re-sign him.
The Boise State product saw the most action of his career in 2019, appearing in all 16 games and starting five of them. He played in about 40% of the Titans’ defensive snaps and continued to be a major special teams contributor. Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him an average pass rusher, he did pick up a career-high five sacks. He has also been lauded for his coverage abilities.
Per Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Correa has had an offer from the Titans for a couple of weeks (Twitter link). Clearly, he did not get a more attractive proposal on the open market.
Latest On QB Jordan Love
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Utah State QB Jordan Love will land in this month’s draft, and as such, he is generating interest from plenty of teams. Kevin Patra of NFL.com says that the Saints, Packers, Chargers, Raiders, Dolphins, and Colts have all been in contact with Love via FaceTime and other virtual means.
Despite an uneven 2019 season, Love possesses all the physical tools that a team could want in a signal-caller and showed enough of his ability at the scouting combine to create some buzz. So while teams like the Chargers and Dolphins have more immediate needs at quarterback, it’s not surprising that clubs like the Colts and the Packers would be taking a look as well, as they could have Love learn from their current starters while he continues to refine his game. Indeed, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Green Bay had planned to host Love and most of this year’s top QB prospects at its facility before pre-draft visits were cancelled (Twitter link). Of course, the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers when Brett Favre was still playing at a high level, so if Love falls to them, perhaps they could make a similar move.
The Saints’ involvement is somewhat surprising since we heard last month that New Orleans was not interested in Love. But while the team holds Taysom Hill in high regard and views him as the heir to Drew Brees, the fact remains that Hill will be 30 in August and has thrown 13 passes in his professional career, so a little due diligence couldn’t hurt.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, are reportedly very high on Love. While Miami’s dream scenario remains one in which it acquires the No. 1 overall pick from Cincinnati to select Joe Burrow, the ‘Fins will definitely walk away from the draft with a high-end signal-caller in tow.
Love looked like such a player in 2018 by throwing 32 touchdowns against six interceptions. Unfortunately, his arm strength and stature didn’t yield the same results last year, as he had 20 TDs against 17 INTs while playing with a lesser supporting cast. But plenty of QBs have had disappointing final seasons in college and have gone on to do big things in the pros, and apparently a number of teams believe Love can do just that.
East Notes: Williams, Mills, Flowers
Trent Williams has been one of the most-discussed players in the NFL for about a year now, and it presently does not sound like the Redskins are close to trading their disgruntled left tackle. One of the more overlooked talking points, however, is what happens if a trade is not completed?
We recently heard that the team does not plan to release Williams, which means he would remain under contract with the Redskins through 2020. And holding out wouldn’t earn him any leverage with the Redskins or with a team interested in trading for him, so as Albert Breer of SI.com writes, Williams would have no choice but to play for Washington next season. He clearly does not want that to happen, but at this point, his clearest path to a lucrative new deal may be to stick it out for one more season with the ‘Skins and prove he is still a top-tier LT.
Let’s round up a few more items from the league’s east divisions:
- CB Kendall Fuller is back with the Redskins on a four-year deal, and he tells John Keim of ESPN.com that a number of factors brought him back to D.C. The Baltimore native played his collegiate ball at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Redskins in 2016, so Washington is home for him. He also cited new head coach Ron Rivera and Rivera’s reputation for developing CBs as a draw, along with the defensive staff as a whole. Fuller indicated that he does not know if he will play primarily in the slot or outside the numbers (Twitter links).
- The Eagles brought back Jalen Mills on a one-year, $4MM pact, and the club plans on transitioning him from cornerback to safety in the wake of Malcolm Jenkins‘ departure. Mills says that Philadelphia was the only team that wanted to move him to safety (Twitter link via Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94 WIP), but obviously that switch was agreeable to the 2016 seventh-rounder. It’s fair to wonder, however, exactly how much interest Mills was generating as a CB on the open market.
- Ereck Flowers couldn’t hack it as an offensive tackle in the NFL, but he has reinvented himself as a guard and parlayed a strong showing at LG with Washington in 2019 into a surprising three-year, $30MM contract with the Dolphins last month. This will not come as much of a surprise, but Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald says Miami intends to have Flowers line up at guard, though his experience at tackle made him attractive to head coach Brian Flores, who clearly targeted FAs with positional versatility.
- The Bills opted against giving WR/KR Isaiah McKenzie an RFA tender, but they did re-sign him to a one-year pact just the same. McKenzie told Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News that he did have other free agent offers, but despite the fact that he is unlikely to see more playing time with the Bills in 2020 than he did in 2019, his preference was to return to Buffalo (Twitter link).
49ers’ D.J. Jones Switches Agencies
49ers defensive tackle D.J. Jones has switched agencies and is now represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. The move is significant because Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is eligible for an extension for the first time.
In 2019, Jones was a fairly unheralded member of San Francisco’s excellent defensive front, but he was clearly starting to come into his own. He started all 11 of the team’s games before succumbing to a season-ending ankle injury, and he established himself as a useful run-stuffer.
In 2020, he could have the opportunity to be more. The Niners traded DeForest Buckner to the Colts, and the team is not expected to make Arik Armstead a full-time defensive tackle. Additionally, Sheldon Day departed via free agency, and Jullian Taylor suffered a torn ACL late in the 2019 campaign. So while San Francisco could certainly add an interior defender or two in the coming months, Jones looks to be in line for a larger role. Maiocco suggests that Jones may end up taking some of Buckner’s pass-rushing snaps, which could obviously help him earn a larger payday.
The 2017 sixth-rounder out of Ole Miss did post two sacks last season — the first two of his career — despite being a predominantly two-down player. He is scheduled to earn $825K in 2020, unless he and the 49ers work out an extension ahead of time.
Sheldon Rankins Expected To Be Ready By Training Camp
Assuming that there is a training camp this year, Sheldon Rankins should be ready for it. The Saints’ defensive tackle is recovering from an operation that prevented a potential Achilles rupture, and while he would not be ready to play if the season started today, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (subscription required) writes that Rankins is expected to be at full strength by July.
It’s been a tough road for the 2016 first-rounder. His rookie season was delayed by a broken fibula, and while he played a full regular season in 2017 and 2018, he suffered a torn Achilles in the divisional round of the 2018 playoffs that kept him off the field for the first three weeks of the 2019 campaign. Then, he landed on IR last December with his present injury, which was apparently close to being a torn Achilles in his other leg.
When on the field, Rankins has generally been quite productive. The Saints picked up his fifth-year option last April, so he is under contract through 2020 and is scheduled to earn roughly $7.7MM this season. If he stays injury-free and performs well, he could be in line for a nice payday next offseason, but that’s a big “if” at the moment.
The Saints’ defensive front is a strong one, and it has the potential to be dominant with a healthy Rankins in the mix. In 2018, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him one of the best interior D-linemen in the game, and he racked up 40 tackles and eight sacks that season. He appeared to be returning to that same form last year before being shelved again.