Broncos To Pursue Amari Cooper?
The Broncos’ need for receiving help is no secret. After Emmanuel Sanders was sent to the 49ers in a trade deadline deal last season, the club got very little production behind Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton. And with the promising but unproven Noah Fant at the top of the tight end depth cart, Denver is looking to add to young QB Drew Lock‘s aerial options.
To that end, Troy Renck of Denver7 expects the Broncos to pursue wide receiver Amari Cooper, assuming he hits the open market. Cooper would undoubtedly be the top wideout up for grabs, and as such, he can be expected to pull down around $20MM per year. That’s a hefty investment for a player who has not always looked like a true WR1, but his presence would be a major lift for Lock and the Denver offense.
In 2019, Cooper notched 79 catches for 1,189 yards and eight scores, and his peripherals backed up those raw stats. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the tenth-best receiver in the game last year, which culminated in the Alabama product’s fourth Pro Bowl nod.
However, it would be surprising if the Cowboys let Cooper get away. Recent reports have indicated that Dallas is ramping up talks with Cooper’s reps, and a franchise tag or transition tag remains a possibility, depending on what happens with the pending CBA vote and the Cowboys’ negotiations with Dak Prescott.
Denver has plenty of cap space to work with (about $75MM), but Renck does not expect the team to go after Jets receiver Robby Anderson if Cooper comes off the board. Anderson is widely viewed as the consolation prize for WR-needy teams who are unable to land Cooper, but Renck’s sources have said Denver has little interest in the big-play receiver. Instead, the team could turn its attention to the draft, which is historically deep at WR.
Alex Boone Wants To Resume Playing Career
Former 49ers, Vikings, and Cardinals guard Alex Boone wants to resume his NFL playing career, as the soon-to-be 33-year-old announced on Minnesota sports talk station SKOR North (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). Boone has been working with the station recently, but he hopes to get back on the field.
Boone carved out a nice career for himself, especially considering he entered the league as a UDFA in 2009. Though he spent all of 2009 on the 49ers’ practice squad and appeared in just one game in 2010, he became San Francisco’s full-time starter at left guard in 2012, which ended in a Super Bowl appearance.
The Ohio State product was generally regarded as an above-average starter during his 49ers’ tenure, and he parlayed that success into a four-year, $26.8MM deal ($10MM guaranteed) with the Vikings in March 2016. But after a so-so year first season with Minnesota, the Vikes asked Boone to take a paycut and released him when he refused. He reportedly showed up to training camp out of shape, which certainly didn’t help matters.
He subsequently hooked on with the Cardinals and started 13 games for Arizona, and that was the last NFL action he saw. It’s unclear if there was any interest in him after his one-year stint in the desert.
It’s also unclear if there will be any interest now that he is almost 33 and is even further removed from his best years in San Francisco. There is always a need for experienced O-line depth, so it’s not inconceivable he could get some looks from a team that suffers an injury or two in training camp, but it still seems like something of a long shot.
Boone, though, is working on getting back to his playing weight in the hopes of getting a call.
East Notes: Fins, Tua, Peters, Anderson
We heard back in January that the Dolphins may pursue some of the Patriots’ top FAs, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the ‘Fins are indeed expected to go after guard Joe Thuney. Miami also has interest in Devin McCourty, Ted Karras, and Kyle Van Noy, though the extent of that interest is unclear.
Per Jackson, the Dolphins are also high on former Patriots CB Logan Ryan, who spent the last three years with the Titans. And Ryan would seriously consider joining up with Miami if the club does make an effort to sign him.
Now for more from the league’s east divisions, starting with another item out of South Beach:
- Recent reports have suggested that the Dolphins are cooling on Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa and that the team is resigned to the fact that he will be off the board by the time they’re on the clock with the No. 5 overall pick. Jackson says Miami gave Tagovailoa the cold shoulder at the combine, but that was likely just a ploy to suggest that they’re not interested when they really are, and draft gurus Todd McShay and Daniel Jeremiah still expect the Fins to land Tagovailoa.
- Eagles head coach Doug Pederson may want LT Jason Peters back, but the team’s brass as a whole is split as to whether to re-sign Peters or move forward with 2019 first-rounder Andre Dillard, as Albert Breer of SI.com reports. The money they save on a new Peters contract could be re-invested in the rest of the O-line, so Philly could choose to move on from the 38-year-old free agent.
- Although Robby Anderson may find himself as the best receiver on the free agent market, the Jets are still expected to try to re-sign him. But according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv, New York will not pursue a re-up unless Anderson’s price goes no higher than $10MM per year.
- John Keim of ESPN.com takes a stab at how the Redskins will spend their money in free agency. Unsurprisingly, he believes Washington will target CB, TE, WR, and RB.
Latest On Giants’ FA, Draft Plans
The Giants are in dire need of a top-flight pass rusher, but we’ve been hearing for weeks that no such players — with the possible exception of Jadeveon Clowney — are likely to hit the open market. The Giants are reportedly interested in Clowney, and Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv believes the club will make a run at him, but they will be facing stiff competition for his services.
Though Big Blue has upwards of $70MM in cap space, Vacchiano says the team is not going to break the bank for a second-tier option like Kyle Van Noy or Dante Fowler. And with Ohio State standout Chase Young almost certain to be off the board by the time the Giants are on the clock with the No. 4 overall selection in this year’s draft, adding an immediate-impact edge rusher from the college ranks will also be difficult.
GM Dave Gettleman recently noted that improving a club’s secondary can have a trickle-down effect on its pass rush, and sources expect Gettleman to prioritize cornerbacks in free agency, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The Cowboys’ Byron Jones and the Broncos’ Chris Harris are the two top CBs on the market, and Dunleavy believes New York will at least make a pitch to Jones. We recently heard that the Panthers’ James Bradberry‘s price tag may be too rich for the Giants, though Bradberry is not as accomplished as Harris or Jones.
But even if the Giants land a coveted defender or two in free agency, they could still make defense a priority in the draft. They have been linked to Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah, and league sources are telling Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that the club is likely to take Clemson defender Isaiah Simmons. Simmons is listed as a linebacker, but his versatility — which includes plenty of pass rush ability — is perhaps his best asset.
If the Giants don’t love their options with the No. 4 pick, they could trade back and perhaps land one of this year’s top left tackle prospects. But Gettleman has never traded down in his seven drafts as GM, and Vacchiano writes in a separate piece that Gettleman will not drop down too far, if he drops down at all. The Giants could be a trade partner for a club looking for a QB, but those teams aren’t picking too far behind New York, so Gettleman will still be able to land an elite player if he chooses to sell the No. 4 selection.
AFC West Notes: C. Jones, Broncos, C. Harris
The Chiefs will hit star DT Chris Jones with the franchise tag, and Jones is none too happy about it. “It’s like a mix of emotions,” Jones said in a recent interview with Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “Because you figure, you know, after four years, you do everything the right way, within the team way, you try to stay under the line, out of trouble, and be a good citizen for a team and for the city, you expect to be rewarded….It’s like, ‘Man, what else you want me to do?'”
Jones isn’t exactly the first player to express frustration with the tag, and Cowherd, as is his custom, did his best to wrangle noteworthy soundbites out of the 2019 Pro Bowler. But Jones will almost surely get the contract he’s looking for, either with the Chiefs or another club after a tag-and-trade. For what it’s worth, Florio does not believe KC will let Jones get away.
Now for more from the AFC West:
- The Broncos made a splash today by acquiring CB A.J. Bouye from the Jaguars, which has furthered the belief that Chris Harris will leave in free agency. Indeed, Mike Klis of 9News believes that, unless Harris’ market falls dramatically, he will be suiting up elsewhere in 2020 (Twitter link). A team source acknowledged that Bouye’s presence makes it less likely Harris will be back, but the source did not close the door on the possibility (Twitter link via Klis).
- After all, the Broncos still need another veteran CB, though Troy Renck of Denver7 believes the club will target a mid-range FA and draft a corner (Twitter link).
- Another free agent the Broncos could have a tough time retaining is safety Will Parks. Renck reports in a full-length piece that Parks, lauded for his energy and versatility, has attracted significant interest from as many as 10 teams. However, the club has had positive dialogue with DE Derek Wolfe, per Renck. Wolfe has made it clear that he wants to remain in Denver.
- The Raiders are one of the teams interested in Harris, and they also have their eye on one of the market’s other top CBs, Byron Jones.
Latest On Ravens’ Hayden Hurst, Jimmy Smith
Given the relative dearth of quality tight ends expected to be available when free agency opens on March 18, plenty of pundits have connected the dots between TE-needy teams and the Ravens’ Hayden Hurst. After all, Hurst was a first-round pick in 2018, but he has been surpassed on the Baltimore depth chart by Mark Andrews, and the Ravens have another sturdy tight end in Nick Boyle who is lauded for his blocking abilities but who also has some skill as a receiver.
A report last week suggested that there is a “real chance” the Ravens will move Hurst, but Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic isn’t buying it. Zrebiec says the Ravens have indeed received periodic inquiries on Hurst since last year, but they are not looking to trade the former Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand. After all, although Hurst’s counting stats don’t jump off the page, he has displayed all of the abilities that made him a top draft choice in the first place: soft hands, good route-running, and surprising speed. He posted a 30/349/2 slash in 2019, but a good number of those 30 catches were difficult and were in critical situations.
Plus, the Ravens’ offense relies heavily on its TEs, so they need a lot of talent at the position. Zrebiec says GM Eric DeCosta is always willing to listen, but Hurst is not being shopped.
As for CB Jimmy Smith, the last we heard on him is that he is likely to hit free agency. Zrebiec says Baltimore values its 2011 first-rounder and would like to bring him back on a short-term contract paying him roughly $7MM per year, but Smith — who had an AAV of a little over $10MM on his last contract — would prefer a longer deal for a little more money. Given his injury history, he may not get the term he’s looking for on the open market, but he may be able to top $7MM per season from another club.
Vikings Expected To Explore Kirk Cousins Extension
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins receives his fair share of criticism, but regardless of how one feels about his job performance, there is no denying that he has been handsomely compensated for said performance. He is entering the final year of the three-year pact that he signed with Minnesota in March 2018, and he is due a $29.5MM salary in what would be his platform campaign.
But that salary now ranks as the seventh-highest in the league, and it could go down several more spots after QBs that are currently slated for free agency find new homes or sign extensions with their current clubs. And the Vikings have the lowest amount of cap space in the NFL at the moment, so it may make sense for both sides to work out a new deal.
According to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, that’s exactly what execs around the league expect to happen. Goessling says that there was a “widely held belief” at the scouting combine that the Vikings will pursue an extension for Cousins this offseason, though he cautions that such an extension will not necessarily give Minnesota a ton of financial breathing room. After all, the QB market remains player-friendly, and Cousins is coming off the best year of his career. Whether or not a new CBA is ratified by the league’s workforce could also impact the structure of the deal, as Goessling sets forth in more detail.
The Vikings fell short of capturing the NFC North in 2019, and though they upset the Saints in the wildcard round of the playoffs, they laid an egg in a divisional-round loss to the 49ers. Cousins was not the only culprit in that loss, but he has yet to shake the notion that he is incapable of winning big games.
However, in guiding a more run-oriented attack in 2019, he did post a career-high QB rating of 107.4 while throwing 26 TDs against six interceptions. He may have his flaws, but it’s not easy to find that type of production.
Latest On Broncos’ RB Phillip Lindsay
Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay is one of the best stories of the past several seasons. The Colorado native is the first undrafted free agent to begin his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, and although he is under contract through 2020, his UDFA status makes him eligible for an extension now.
We heard in December that Denver GM John Elway would explore a new contract for Lindsay this offseason, and Lindsay himself — who is due a considerably below-market $660K salary in 2020 — would obviously like that to happen sooner rather than later. However, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post says a new deal for the Broncos’ RB1 is on the back-burner for the time being.
The two sides may enter into negotiations at some point before the start of the regular season, but not until after free agency and the draft. Elway wants to see how much cap space he has after the bulk of his offseason business has been conducted.
“We would like to be able to do something,” Elway said. “Obviously, Phillip’s been great. If we can do something, we’ll try.”
It doesn’t sound like there’s a ton of urgency on Elway’s end, and that makes sense to a degree. Even if a new deal is not struck before the end of the 2020 season, Lindsay would only be eligible for restricted free agency, so he could be retained with a fairly modest RFA tender.
But the diminutive Lindsay has been terrific for Denver, averaging 4.9 yards per carry over his first two seasons in the league and racking up 17 total TDs. He battled a wrist injury throughout the 2019 campaign but underwent surgery on the wrist in January. He is expected to be fully recovered in time for spring workouts.
Jets To Sign RT Jack Conklin?
The Jets may be overhauling their entire offensive line this offseason, they have about $50MM in salary cap space, and RT Jack Conklin looks more likely to hit the open market than be retained by the Titans. We recently heard that New York has expressed “serious interest” in the 2016 first-rounder, and now there is more evidence that Conklin could be headed to Gang Green.
Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, one NFL team has been informed that Conklin plans to sign with the Jets when free agency officially opens on March 18. Florio is careful to put that leak into context, saying that it does not mean that New York has reached a wink-nod deal with Conklin’s camp, and it does not even mean that the two sides have talked (though they probably have).
Several days ago, we learned that the Titans would like to strike a deal with QB Ryan Tannehill quickly so that they can then use their franchise tag and transition tag on Derrick Henry and Jack Conklin. But if that doesn’t happen, or if the team is prohibited from using both tags as a result of the new CBA, Conklin would probably be the member of that trio to shake loose (plus, if the Titans put the transition tag on Conklin, it wouldn’t prevent the Jets or some other team from signing him to an offer sheet that Tennessee wouldn’t want to match).
Last May, the Titans declined the fifth-year option on Conklin, which would have kept him under contract through the 2020 season. Now, he is likely to leave the team without one of Tannehill’s top protectors and one of Henry’s road graders. Conklin graded out as the 15th-best tackle in the league in 2020, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and he could well land a deal that pays him $16-18MM per year (or more).
If the Jets do strike an accord with Conklin, look for GM Joe Douglas to address the rest of his O-line needs in the draft.
Latest On Vikings’ Riley Reiff, Pat Elflein
The Vikings are right up against the salary cap at the moment, but there are some moves they could make to open up some much-needed breathing room. For example, Minnesota is likely to release CB Xavier Rhodes, and Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune also names offensive linemen Riley Reiff and Pat Elflein as potential cap casualties.
Reiff remained at left tackle in 2019 despite some chatter that he could be moved inside to left guard. The Vikings instead elected to shift former center Elflein to LG after drafting Garrett Bradbury, and while Elflein did not perform poorly, he was not exactly a standout. But because of the league’s proven performance escalator, Elflein’s 2020 salary will increase from $960K to $2.147MM, so cutting the Ohio State product would save the Vikings about $2MM against the cap. Even if Minnesota hangs on to him, he could be relegated to a reserve role.
As for Reiff, the 31-year-old is due to earn a $10.9MM salary in 2020, but the Vikings would save nearly $9MM against the cap by releasing him, a huge amount for a club with Minnesota’s financial outlook. That would then allow the Vikings to select an offensive tackle in a draft that is deep at the position.
In addition to a potential O-line overhaul, the Vikings will also have a lot of work to do at cornerback. Rhodes will probably be cut and free agents Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander may not be re-signed, and head coach Mike Zimmer conceded that his team would need to address the position in the draft. Luckily for him, this year’s crop of collegiate CBs is also quite strong.