49ers Unlikely To Make More Major FA Signings
The 49ers still have about $33MM in spending money, per GM John Lynch, but as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the team is unlikely to use that cash to make any major free agent signings.
Lynch said, “We’re not all the way done yet, perhaps. We’ll use that wisely. We got the guys that we targeted that would help us best become a better football team.”
Branch has taken that statement to mean that San Francisco is going to stand pat with respect to notable free agents that are still available. As Lynch said at the scouting combine, the team is not one player away from being a true title contender, so while the addition of Richard Sherman may have suggested to some that the 49ers had hopes of a deep playoff run in 2018, San Francisco is still apparently committed to its youth movement (as Branch observes, the 49ers have just five offensive or defensive players who are 30 or older).
Lynch indicated that the 49ers will spend their available cash, but will use it to lock up young players who are already on the roster. As Branch writes, right tackle Trent Brown, 24, and safeties Jaquiski Tartt, 26, and Jimmie Ward, 26, are all recent draft picks in the final year of their contracts, and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, 24, will be eligible to receive what figures to be a hefty contract extension after the 2018 season. The team might also use some of its money to give a pay raise to LT Joe Staley.
So, outside of the potential reward for the 33-year-old Staley, the 49ers are using their money to continue building a youthful core that can form the foundation of a competitive team for the foreseeable future. The additions of Sherman, Weston Richburg, and Jerick McKinnon, then, appear to be the only major outside additions for Lynch & Co. this offseason.
Contract Details/Restructures: 3/18/18
Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:
New Contracts
- Justin Pugh, OL (Cardinals): Five years, $45MM. $20MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com).
Restructures
- Rams: Converted Tavon Austin‘s 2018 pay ($3MM base salary, $5MM roster bonus) to $1MM base salary, $4MM roster bonus, and $3MM in incentives ($2MM for game-day active incentives and $1MM in combined rushing/receiving yards) (Twitter links via Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports). Austin can still make $8MM this year if he hits all incentives.
Bills To Host Russell Bodine
The Bills are set to host free agent center Russell Bodine today and tomorrow, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Buffalo has a major need at center following Eric Wood‘s retirement.
Bodine, of course, is not an ideal replacement. Although he has started all 64 possible games since entering the league as a fourth-round pick of the Bengals in 2014, he has not been overly effective. In 2017, he graded as a bottom-10 center, per Pro Football Focus.
But he is young, durable, and has significant starting experience. Indeed, the Bengals previously expressed interest in retaining his services, and Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said several months ago, “Russell’s been, physically, mentally a tough football player for us. He was installed there as a rookie and he’s done nothing but continue to grow and get better and frankly grow into a guy you can count on to help lead the football team. I feel really good about him. So hopefully we’ll be able to get that done.”
Bodine did not crack PFR’s original list of top free agent interior lineman, but now that top centers like Ryan Jensen and Weston Richburg have signed with new clubs, Bodine will start to attract more interest. Buffalo also has Ryan Groy on the roster as a potential Wood replacement.
Latest On Ndamukong Suh
Free agent DT Ndamukong Suh left New Orleans without a contract and met with the Titans last night, per Jordan Schultz of Yahoo! Sports, who adds that his dinner with Tennessee brass went well past midnight (Twitter links). Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets that the door is not closed on a Suh-Saints marriage, as the visit with New Orleans was always intended to be a feeling-out session rather than an all-out recruiting mission. Indeed, as Schultz notes in a separate tweet, Suh has expressed his desire to take his time and evaluate his numerous options with his family. 
Nonetheless, the fact that the Titans have parted with Karl Klug and Sylvester Williams over the past several days could be a sign that they are optimistic about landing Suh when he comes to Nashville. Of course, if Suh really does plan to take his time and visit other, as-yet-unnamed clubs — which we heard when the Tennessee visit was reported earlier this week — then it could take awhile before we know where Suh will be suiting up in 2018.
Florida Football Insiders, in a purely speculative piece, also names the Patriots as a potential landing spot for the three-time All-Pro. The Pats have a little bit of money to spend, and if they can acquire Suh on a one-year pact — much like they did with Darrelle Revis in 2014 — they may jump on the opportunity. FFI suggests that a one-year, “prove-it” contract might be in Suh’s best interest, and if he goes that route, New England could certainly get involved.
The Seahawks and Cowboys have also expressed interest in Suh, and Schultz tweets that Suh and Seattle head coach Pete Carroll have had two positive telephone conversations this week. The two men share a great deal of mutual respect, and Suh wants to visit the Seahawks.
The 31-year-old Suh may be getting older, but he’s still plenty productive. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 interior defensive lineman in the NFL in 2017, and he finished the season with 48 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Steelers Sign LB Jon Bostic
The Steelers have signed LB Jon Bostic to a two-year deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Pittsburgh has been quiet since free agency officially opened earlier this week, and Bostic represents the club’s first free agent signing of the new league year.
And it’s a signing the team needed to make. As PFR observed last month, the Steelers’ top priority this offseason was to find a way to replace the production of Ryan Shazier, who will miss the entirety of the 2018 season (at least). Pittsburgh’s run defense collapsed after Shazier’s horrific injury last season, as five of the Steelers’ final six opponents surpassed 100 rushing yards, and the team yielded 164 yards on the ground to the Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round matchup, damaging the franchise’s hopes of parlaying its first bye in seven years into at least a return to the AFC title game.
Bostic, whom the Bears selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, was a solid, if unspectacular, performer for Chicago during his first two years in the league. He was traded to the Patriots prior to the 2015 campaign but was not as productive in New England as he had been in the Windy City. However, after spending all of 2016 on IR following a trade to Detroit, he turned in a strong 2017 season for the Colts, starting 14 games and posting a career-high 97 tackles along with one sack, one fumble recovery, and three passes defended. He also graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 40 linebacker in the NFL, a career best, and he was listed as PFR’s 14th-best FA linebacker in this year’s free agent class.
Unless the Steelers make another move either in free agency or the draft, Bostic will pair with Vince Williams to form the starting ILB tandem for Pittsburgh in 2018.
Lions Were Very Interested In Richard Sherman
Richard Sherman has dominated headlines over the past few days, and just yesterday, the former Seahawks star cut short what might have been a lengthy free agency tour by signing a three-year pact with the 49ers.
Earlier today, we learned that the Patriots did not reach out to Sherman before he agreed to sign with San Francisco, though New England was a team that Sherman indicated he would be interested in joining. The Lions were the only team other than the 49ers that Sherman had scheduled a visit with, and per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Detroit’s interest in the Stanford product was significant.
Citing a league source, Florio says the Lions were “strongly motivated” to pursue Sherman, and some believe that Sherman should have at least visited the Motor City if for no other reason than to leverage the 49ers into a better contract (as Florio pointed out in a separate piece, Sherman’s self-negotiated contract with the 49ers does not look especially player-friendly).
However, the 49ers may have told Sherman that if he left San Francisco without signing, then they would have pulled their offer entirely. As such, it seems that Sherman elected to take a sure thing rather than risk losing a contract that, in theory, could pay him $13MM per year. Of course, his joining the 49ers also includes the opportunity to torment his old team two times a year, and Florio suggests that could have played a role in his decision.
Florio also opines that Sherman could have landed a better deal by waiting until teams that hope to secure a starting-caliber cornerback in free agency failed to do so, or until after the draft had concluded, and that perhaps a one-year “prove it” contract might have been a better option. In any event, Florio believes the speed with which events unfolded suggests that Sherman did not do as well for himself as he could have.
Of course, it’s easy to second-guess a contract that a player negotiates without an agent, and only time will tell if Sherman acted too hastily. The Lions, meanwhile, will have to look elsewhere to upgrade their CB corps.
Aqib Talib Discusses Trade To Rams
Before the Broncos agreed to trade Aqib Talib to the Rams, they had a deal in place that would have sent him to the 49ers. However, Talib rejected that trade, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), and he ended up with Los Angeles (San Francisco, of course, found a pretty nice consolation prize in Richard Sherman). 
Talib recently spoke with James Palmer of the NFL Network (video link), which marked the first time he publicly commented on the trade. In the interview, Talib said he wanted to remain in Denver but is excited about the “fourth quarter” of his playing career and about the opportunity to reunite with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Given the amount of money that Denver had tied up at the cornerback position, Talib saw the writing on the wall and realized that his time as a Bronco was probably coming to an end, though he still hoped to stay with the club. He said, “I had established real friendships [in Denver]. Robe (Bradley Roby), Chris [Harris] — they’re my guys. Von [Miller], Stew (Darian Stewart). I established real friends there…It wasn’t an issue where I wanted to get out of there. There’s no reason to want to get out of there. That’s a great organization. But it’s a business. We had too much talent on the backend [of the defense].”
He did indicate that, if he had to be traded, he was happy to be traded to the Rams (previous reports indicated that if Denver wanted to move on from him, he would prefer to be released so he could become a free agent, and in that scenario, he would have been interested in rejoining the Patriots). He did not comment on his decision to nix the Broncos-49ers trade, though he did say that there was never any issue between him and embattled Broncos head coach Vance Joseph.
Talib will fly to Los Angeles tonight and take a physical tomorrow morning. If all goes well, the trade will be made official on Wednesday.
Credit to Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post for her recap of the Talib-Palmer interview.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Pats, Shelton
The Jets, armed with $90MM of salary cap space, are of course prepared to make a major push for this year’s Holy Grail of free agents, Kirk Cousins. But Gang Green has plenty of needs to fill outside of quarterback, and GM Mike Maccagnan is making no bones about his team’s anticipated activity level when free agency opens this week. Maccagnan said at the scouting combine, “Obviously we’ll be very active on the first day [of free agency] in terms of the higher profile guys. Everybody is well aware we have quite a bit of cap space to work with. There are quite a few players we’re interested in” (via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
Per Costello, the Jets are poised to re-sign Josh McCown if they fall short in their pursuit of Cousins. The team also needs upgrades at running back, center, and cornerback. Wide receiver and inside linebacker could also be positions that New York targets.
Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the AFC East:
- Dion Lewis‘ abilities as a runner and receiver allowed the Patriots to run all sorts of formations in 2017, but it is widely believed that he will not be back in New England in 2018. Fellow free agent Jerick McKinnon, who has thrived in a similar role in Minnesota, could be a logical replacement, per Phil Perry of NBCSports.com. However, even though McKinnon will not break the bank, Perry thinks it is more likely that the Pats re-sign Rex Burkhead and address their RB needs in the draft.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets that the newly-acquired Danny Shelton will count for $2.03MM against the Patriots‘ cap in 2018 (which matches his base salary). As we learned yesterday, New England will have to decide whether to exercise Shelton’s fifth-year option, which has a projected value of roughly $7MM, by early May. The Browns, meanwhile, will be saddled with about $1.7MM in dead money as a result of the trade, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the 2018 fifth-round pick the Patriots received in the Shelton swap is expected to be Cleveland’s lower pick in the round, No. 159 overall. Reiss adds that New England, which shipped a 2019 third-rounder to the Browns, could recoup a third-round pick in next year’s draft through the compensatory system.
- In the same piece linked above, Reiss says the Patriots will not stray from their usual financial discipline in their efforts to re-sign Danny Amendola, but given Amendola’s impressive 2017 campaign, he says other teams may view him as a pure No. 3 wideout instead of the No. 3/4 option with a limited workload that he has been with the Pats (and those teams could offer to pay him accordingly). As such, Amendola — who has taken pay cuts to remain with New England in the past — could have a harder-than-expected decision to make this month.
- Reiss also sees Titans LB Avery Williamson as a “sleeper” target for the Patriots when free agency opens in a couple of days. Williamson is in his prime and gives New England the type of off-the-line LB it is looking for.
- We learned earlier today that the Dolphins continue to contemplate moving on from Ndamukong Suh, though it makes more sense for the team to either retain him — perhaps with a restructured contract — or trade him than it does to simply cut him.
Giants Release Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Apparently, the Giants and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie could not come to terms on a pay cut, as the club announced that it has terminated DRC’s contract. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com first reported that DRC would be released (Twitter link).
Just yesterday, we learned that New York asked the 31-year-old corner (32 in April) — whom they had already planned to move to safety — to take a significant pay cut. He was owed $6.48MM in 2018 and was scheduled to take up $8.5MM of cap space, which the Giants considered to be too steep of a price. We also heard that the two sides were not close to reaching any sort of agreement on a pay reduction, which makes today’s release fairly unsurprising.
One of the reasons DRC likely balked at accepting a reduction in pay is that he believes he can get at least close to what he was scheduled to earn with Big Blue this year on the open market. Indeed, $6.5MM does not seem to be too steep of a price to pay for a starting corner if a team believes he can effectively line up on the outside, and while he is on the wrong side of 30, he should have a couple of quality years left. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, DRC does, in fact, want to play as an outside CB again (Twitter link).
The Giants were sitting on just $15MM of cap space before making the move, and that number now jumps to roughly $21MM. They are expected to make a push for top free agent guard Andrew Norwell, who could command up to $12MM per year, and they also need to make other reinforcements along the O-line. New York also needs to invest in its running back and outside linebacker positions this offseason, and they may consider replacing DRC with divisional foe Patrick Robinson. As Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com opines, DRC’s release also makes retaining Ross Cockrell, who performed capably last season and who will become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, more important.
Rodgers-Cromartie entered the league in 2008 as a first-round pick of the Cardinals and has since suited up for the Eagles, Broncos, and Giants. He has two Pro Bowls to his credit to go along with 30 career interceptions and six TDs.
Justin Pugh Cleared For Football Activities
Justin Pugh‘s free agency prospects just got a bit brighter. Per Austin Knoblauch of NFL.com, the Giants lineman and free-agent-to-be has been cleared to resume all football activities after an MRI revealed no structural damage in his back.
New York drafted Pugh in the first round of the 2013 draft, and this year will mark the Syracuse product’s first venture into the open market. He has lined up all along the offensive line for the Giants, and his versatility will certainly make him more attractive to potential bidders. However, he has not suited up for a full 16-game campaign since his rookie year, and advanced metrics have never been overly fond of his play. He graded out as the No. 52 guard in the league in 2017, per Pro Football Focus, and he ended the year on season-ending IR with a back injury (he ultimately missed half of last season due to injury).
Nonetheless, his medical clearance and the fact that this year’s crop of free agent lineman is pretty slim (only Andrew Norwell and Nate Solder rank above him per PFR’s most recent rankings) should result in a fairly robust market for Pugh’s services. PFR lists him as a tackle, though an acquiring team may sign him as a guard with the ability to kick out to tackle if necessary.
The Giants, who are reportedly preparing to make a major push for Norwell, have not ruled out a reunion with Pugh.