Falcons Clinch 2024 Fourth-Round Pick In Calvin Ridley Trade
Last November, in the midst of wide receiver Calvin Ridley‘s year-long gambling suspension, the Falcons traded Ridley to the Jaguars in exchange for a two-pick package comprised of one 2023 and one 2024 selection. As Ridley was reinstated prior to this year’s draft, Atlanta received Jacksonville’s 2023 fifth-round choice, which it subsequently flipped to the Lions in exchange for cornerback Jeff Okudah.
The 2024 selection was originally reported as a conditional fourth-rounder, and the Falcons have clinched at least that level of compensation given that Ridley was on the Jaguars’ 53-man roster after last month’s cutdown day and subsequently suited up for the team’s Week 1 contest against the Colts. However, the pot could continue to get sweeter for Atlanta.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, the fourth-round pick will become a third-rounder if Ridley plays at least 60% of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps or records either 75 receptions or 1,000 receiving yards. The Falcons will receive a second-round pick if Ridley — who is presently playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, which tolled to 2023 due to his suspension — signs an extension with Jacksonville.
Schefter notes that contract talks between Ridley and the Jags will not commence until the end of the season, so it will be a while before we know whether the Falcons will end up with a second-round choice. However, Ridley recorded eight catches (on 11 targets) for 101 yards and a score in his Jacksonville debut, so as long as he stays healthy, it seems he will have an excellent shot at securing at least a 2024 third-round pick for his former club.
The Jags are presumably content to pay that price as long as Ridley continues to perform at a high level. In his last full season in 2020, the former first-rounder set career-highs in catches (90) and receiving yards (1,374), and he makes an already-talented Jacksonville offense even more formidable.
A healthy and productive season will allow Ridley to take advantage of a booming wide receiver market in 2024, whether he re-signs with the Jags or finds a more lucrative deal elsewhere.
Colts Likely To Resume Jonathan Taylor Trade Talks; Packers No Longer Involved
The Colts had reportedly set August 29 — the day when teams were required to finalize their 53-man rosters — as the deadline to trade running back Jonathan Taylor. It was clear, however, that roster cutdown day was merely a “loose” deadline that was set in the hopes of expeditiously resolving a difficult situation for a maximum return.
Unsurprisingly, trade talks involving Taylor are likely to resume, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Taylor is presently on the PUP list and is therefore required to miss the first four games of the season, but sources tell Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Taylor is healthy and could pass a physical today if he were required to do so. As such, the contract-year back plans to be ready to play as soon as Week 5, when he is first eligible to take the field.
According to Rapoport, there remains a possibility that Taylor will again suit up for the Colts, but the odds of that happening are slim. After all, the rift between player and team formed when Indianapolis refused Taylor’s request for an extension this offseason, and there is nothing to indicate that the club’s stance in that regard will change.
Instead, it seems more plausible that Taylor will be traded. In order for that to happen, the Colts may need to reduce their asking price, which was reportedly either a first-round pick or a package similar to what the 49ers paid for Christian McCaffrey last year. During their trade talks with the Dolphins, Indy is believed to have asked about Miami wideout Jaylen Waddle, and Schefter notes that the team targeted promising second-year receiver Christian Watson in its conversations with the Packers (via ESPN’s Stephen Holder).
Rapoport writes that Green Bay offered two mid-round picks in exchange for Taylor — for whom it was willing to authorize a top-of-the-market contract — though he says the club is now out of the running. The Dolphins, who were also prepared to pay top dollar for Taylor, remain a viable landing spot. As the first few weeks of the season unfold, of course, it is also quite possible that other clubs will enter the mix.
The Bears and Broncos were rumored as potential suitors at the end of last month. This year’s trade deadline is October 31.
Free Agent CB Casey Hayward Medically Cleared
Veteran cornerback Casey Hayward signed a two-year contract with the Falcons during the 2022 offseason but played just six games for the club before suffering a shoulder injury that ended his first season in Atlanta prematurely. Shortly after the Falcons swung a trade for former No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah in April, the club released Hayward with a failed physical designation.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Hayward has received full medical clearance and is ready to take part in his 12th NFL season. As of the time of this writing, there has been no reported interest in his services, but once Week 1 is in the books, that could change.
As a vested veteran, Hayward’s full 2023 salary would have been guaranteed if he were on an active roster for Week 1. Since that will not be the case, an interested club could sign him for what would likely be a modest sum and, if necessary, release him with minimal financial ramifications.
Given Hayward’s track record and the league-wide need for cornerback help, it would be fair to expect Hayward to find a new employer soon. In his last full season in 2021, Hayward started all 17 of the Raiders’ regular season contests, recording 46 tackles and nine passes defensed. Pro Football Focus considered him a top-15 corner that year, and he parlayed that performance into the above-referenced deal with Atlanta.
The Packers draftee, who just turned 34 yesterday, is unlikely to return to the elite form he exhibited during his peak years with the Chargers. During his five-year tenure with the Bolts from 2016-2020, Hayward earned two Pro Bowl nods, and he led the league with seven interceptions in 2016.
Still, Hayward yielded a meager 80.7 QB rating on passes thrown in his direction during his brief time with the Falcons last year, making it clear that he has something left in the tank. Even if he were to be deployed on more of a rotational basis, he could certainly be an asset to any number of CB depth charts.
Jaguars OC Press Taylor To Serve As Primary Play-Caller
Jaguars OC Press Taylor will serve as the team’s primary offensive play-caller in 2023, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Taylor, who joined the team in 2022 as part of head coach Doug Pederson‘s first Jacksonville staff, called plays in the second halves of games last year and will now get the chance to run the show on a full-time basis.
“I totally trust Press,” Pederson said. “We think alike. We’ve been together for a long time, and he’s around [quarterback] Trevor [Lawrence] all the time and knows what Trevor likes.”
Taylor worked under Pederson on the latter’s Eagles staffs from 2016-20, operating as a quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Pederson reportedly wanted to promote Taylor to offensive coordinator in Philadelphia following the 2020 season, and his disagreements with the organization in that regard led to a mutual parting of the ways. Pederson spent the 2021 season away from the NFL while Taylor worked as a senior offensive assistant with the Colts. The two men reunited in Duval last year, with Taylor landing the OC post.
After a disappointing rookie season in 2021 under then-HC Urban Meyer, Lawrence thrived in the Pederson-Taylor offense in 2022, throwing 25 TDs against just eight inteceptions and leading the Jags to a stirring victory in the wildcard round of the playoffs. The Jags finished 10th in the league in both total offense and points per game, and there is reason to believe that they will perform even better this season.
While it would be fair to question whether this move is an attempt to fix a problem that doesn’t exist — as former Jaguars beat writer and current Bills reporter Ryan O’Halloran suggested — Pederson will obviously continue to have a significant role in the offensive design and gameday preparation. Plus, as Pederson himself noted, his own career trajectory unfolded in a similar fashion.
“It’s kind of like coach [Andy] Reid did with me in 2015 in Kansas City,” Pederson said. “Coach Reid would call the first half and he would let me call the second half with a very watchful eye.”
“Press is a smart coach who has been in the league a long time. He’s going to be a head coach one day,” Pederson added. “What better time than right now with the team we have to get that experience?”
The Jaguars’ new arrangement will get its first test against the division-rival Colts in the regular season opener today.
Jets Notes: Rodgers, Stafford, Hall, Cook
The Jets debut of quarterback Aaron Rodgers is one of the most-anticipated aspects of the Week 1 slate. As we wait for the future Hall-of-Famer to take the field for the first Monday Night Football game of the season, here are a few Gang Green-related items:
- Speaking of Rodgers, his voluntary $35MM pay cut has allowed the Jets to enter the 2023 season with over $20MM in cap space, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. GM Joe Douglas confirmed to reporters, including Cimini, that Rodgers agreed to the reduction in pay with the tacit understanding that the funds will be used to supplement the roster. “It’s almost like an unspoken thing,” Douglas said. “You know if you’re doing this, there’s a reason why he’s doing this. So it’s going to give us great flexibility moving forward.”
- Before it became clear that Rodgers would continue his playing career, the Jets inquired on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Los Angeles, however, insisted that it was not trading Stafford, so the conversations did not gain much traction. We recently heard that the Rams made a concerted effort to deal Stafford before they were required to pick up his 2023 option bonus and 2024 salary this offseason, but team brass subsquently said that while other clubs asked about the veteran passer, the Rams were not actively shopping him.
- Both of the Jets’ top RBs, Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook, will play against the Bills on Monday night, though the team will be “prudent with their usage” (Twitter link via Cimini). Hall, of course, saw his promising rookie campaign cut short by an ACL tear last October, and Cook was just acquired less than a month ago. As the season goes on, the club will rely heavily on both players to support its Rodgers-led passing attack.
- Some of the money freed up by Rodgers’ aforementioned largesse could go towards more receiving talent for the QB; Bucs’ WR Mike Evans has been floated as a possible trade target, and the Jets recently worked out free agent receiver Kenny Golladay.
Cardinals HC: As Long As I’m Here, Kyler Murray Can Be Here
Back in February, newly-hired Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said he would not have taken the job if not for the presence of quarterback Kyler Murray, and he discussed his plans to maximize Murray’s talents. Murray, who was one of the players consulted in Arizona’s HC search, has likewise spoken highly of Gannon.
Of course, the diminutive signal-caller will begin the season on the PUP list as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL and meniscus that he suffered towards the end of the 2022 season. And the Cardinals, who have one of the league’s weakest rosters and who are clearly in a rebuild, could end up with two top-10 (or even top-five) picks in the 2024 draft, putting them in prime position to land an elite collegiate quarterback like USC’s Caleb Williams.
That reality has led to considerable speculation that Arizona could seek to move on from Murray — who is slated to carry a $51.86MM cap figure in 2024 — next offseason. Indeed, as Zak Keefer of The Athletic (subscription required) notes, the club would be saddled with a relatively modest $13MM dead money charge if it were to trade Murray with a post-June 1 designation next year.
However, Gannon is, as expected, shooting down any such chatter. “I’m completely convicted,” the rookie HC said. “As long as I’m here, [Murray] can be here.”
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports hears that the Cardinals are pleased with Murray’s work ethic and study habits, as well as the strides he has made in his injury rehab. The two-time Pro Bowler could return to the field by the end of October, which would afford him roughly a half-season in new OC Drew Petzing‘s scheme.
“He loves ball, he loves ball,” Gannon said of Murray. “That was the other thing, the narrative on him — completely wrong. Completely wrong. Everything I’ve asked him to do, he’s done, more so. Have I challenged some of his actions that I didn’t love? Yes, and I’ve talked to him about it.”
It would obviously be ideal for Arizona if Murray can return to his pre-2022 form. A rebuilding team needs a franchise passer, and no matter how good of a propsect Williams or UNC’s Drake Maye might be, the Cards would much rather eschew spending a top-10 selection on a QB for the third time in seven years and to instead use their high-end draft capital — in addition to their own first-round pick, they also own the 2024 first-round choice of the Texans, another rebuilding outfit — to add premium talent to other areas of the roster.
Plus, rival executives tell Jeff Howe of The Athletic (subscription required) that Murray’s contract might not actually be tradeable. Even if Arizona’s own dead money burden would be manageable, an acquiring team would still be on the hook for the QB’s $37MM base salary in 2024 absent any pay-down on the part of the Cardinals.
Much can change between Week 1 and Week 18. But for now, the plan is to keep Murray in the desert for the forseeable future.
Cowboys, Terence Steele Agree To Extension
SEPTEMBER 4: Steele will collect a signing bonus of $15MM, per Schefter’s colleague Todd Archer. The new pact is guaranteed in full for the first two years, and his 2025 base salary ($13.25MM) will become guaranteed on the fifth day of that league year. The deal will not alter Steele’s cap hit for this season, so that figure will remain at $4.3MM before jumping in later years given the sizable raise from his previous earnings. $1.25MM in escalators are included for the years 2025-28, and he can earn roster bonuses of $750K annually beginning in 2024.
SEPTEMBER 3: The Cowboys and right tackle Terence Steele have agreed to a five-year, $86.8MM extension, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal includes $50MM in guarantees and can max out at $91.8MM.
This represents a major vote of confidence in a player whose 2022 season was cut short by ACL and MCL tears. But as head coach Mike McCarthy recently told reporters, including Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, he has never seen a player recover quite like Steele.
“He hasn’t missed a day, and it’s just Terence,” McCarthy said. “He’s in there the same time every day, doing the rehab. It feels like he never left. Terence is a stud.”
Steele, 26, signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Over his three seasons with the club, he has appeared in 45 games (40 starts), with most of his work coming at right tackle. His level of play at that spot allowed Dallas to move on from La’el Collins and commit to Steele on a full-time basis in 2022. Steele took a step forward in Pro Football Focus rating for the third straight year, generating an overall grade of 73.9.
Despite the ACL and MCL injuries, the Cowboys placed the second-round RFA tender, worth $4.3MM, on Steele this offseason. Reports on Dallas’ O-line plans in the spring suggested that the Texas Tech alum could operate as the swing tackle behind Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith, with Tyron Smith lining up at RT and Tyler Smith on the blindside. However, the club has consistently maintained that it wants to field its best five offensive lineman, and that group includes Steele. As such, Tyler Smith eventually kicked inside to left guard, Tyron Smith has assumed his familiar LT post, and Steele has been reinserted at right tackle.
Along with Tyler Biadasz at center and Zack Martin at right guard, the Cowboys boast a strong contingent of blockers in front of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Tony Pollard. With Tyron Smith set to become a free agent at season’s end, it is certainly possible that Tyler Smith could move back to left tackle in 2024, but the team has the RT position set for the foreseeable future.
Steele’s new money AAV of $17.36MM ranks as the eighth-highest figure among the league’s right tackles. His $50MM in guaranteed money, however, ranks as the fourth-highest number, so he did quite well for a former UDFA who has yet to make a Pro Bowl and who is coming off a major knee injury.
The Cowboys were eyeing extensions for players like CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Steele this year, and they have now struck accords with Diggs and Steele. They also gave Martin a raise that ended his holdout and will now presumably turn their attention to Lamb and Prescott, whose cap number balloons to over $59MM next year.
Lions Notes: LBs, Gibbs, Branch
The Lions had two picks in the first round of the 2023 draft, and they used both of them on non-premium positions. Detroit selected running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 overall pick and added inside linebacker Jack Campbell with the No. 18 selection.
As the first off-ball ‘backer taken in the draft, it was fair to expect that Campbell would immediately be inserted into the starting lineup alongside veteran Alex Anzalone, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM deal in March to remain with the Lions. However, it became clear that such an assumption was a bit premature. 2021 fourth-rounder Derrick Barnes impressed during OTAs, while Campbell acknowledged that he was perhaps trying to do too much in his first taste of the pros (via Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website).
“I came in and I felt like maybe I was pressing a little bit early on,” Campbell said yesterday. “But right now, I’m just trying to settle down. My personality type I like to make sure everything is perfect. I just need to understand that mistakes are going to happen and as long as I’m playing fast everything is going to work out.”
While Barnes has earned the starting job next to Anzalone, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn made it clear that the team’s top four LBs — a group that also includes 2022 sixth-rounder Malcolm Rodriguez — will see plenty of action. Campbell showed off his tackling ability in Detroit’s preseason slate, and given the club’s investment in him, it is certainly possible that his snap share will increase as the regular season unfolds.
Gibbs, meanwhile, split first-team training camp reps with free agent acquisition and former division rival David Montgomery and will start the year as the pass-catching complement to Montgomery (he will likely get his fair share of carries as well). Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told reporters, including Twentyman, that, “we might use Gibbs in some ways that people don’t quite think we might,” though it’s unclear exactly what that means. Most are already expecting Gibbs to line up as a receiver, but perhaps he could line up as a quarterback in the Wildcat formation (or maybe, with the season set to kick off on Thursday against the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, Johnson is simply engaging in a little misdirection).
Another rookie, Brian Branch, has secured the starting nickel corner job, per Twentyman. The second-round pick out of Alabama began taking first-team reps at the position after C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a knee injury early in training camp, and he immediately impressed. GM Brad Holmes, who engineered a trade-up to land Branch, said that the team had a first-round grade on the defensive back.
“He fits who we are, so you don’t know exactly how quick it’s going to turn on, but we’re not surprised that he’s making the plays because he’s doing, really a lot of the same things that he did at Alabama,” Holmes said.
Branch’s emergence will presumably allow the team to move Gardner-Johnson to safety, where he thrived with the Eagles in 2022.
Will Grier Will Compete For Bengals’ Backup QB Job
The Bengals recently signed quarterback Will Grier to their practice squad, and Jake Browning is the only signal-caller other than Joe Burrow on the 53-man roster. Nonetheless, Grier will have an opportunity to unseat Browning as Burrow’s backup, according to Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network.
Grier, a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2019, entered training camp as a member of the Cowboys and was vying for a spot on the club’s QB depth chart alongside Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. But when Dallas swung a trade for Trey Lance mere hours before its preseason finale against the Raiders, it was clear that Grier would soon be cut.
Knowing that he was now auditioning exclusively for other teams, Grier took every snap of that third and final preseason contest. He threw for 305 yards, rushed for 53 yards, and accounted for four total touchdowns (two throwing and two on the ground). Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called it the best preseason performance he had seen since 1999, and it caught the attention of the rest of the league.
As Morrison writes, Grier fielded mutliple phone calls after Dallas officially released him, but Grier ultimately felt Cincinnati represented the best fit.
“A big part for me was being on a good, competitive team, somebody that had talent and was a Super Bowl contender, which clearly this place is,” Grier said. “That was a big part of the decision.”
The fact that Grier has a real chance to become the QB2 doubtlessly influenced his decision to sign with the Bengals as well. Browning, who signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019, has never thrown a regular season pass, and while he has spent the past two years in Cincinnati, much of that time has come on the taxi squad. He did beat out Trevor Siemian for the backup quarterback gig this summer, but he did not necessarily dazzle the coaching staff with his performance, and we heard towards the end of last month that the Bengals could be looking to supplement their QB room.
They did just that with the Grier acquisition. It is true that Grier does not have substantially more regular season experience than Browning; the former West Virginia standout has played in just two regular season games, and they were the final two contests of the 2019 campaign, when a dismal Panthers squad was playing out the string. Grier started and lost both games, completing just 53.8% of his passes while throwing four interceptions and no touchdowns.
Still, the Bengals (among other teams) saw something they liked, and Grier, who believes he is playing the best football of his career, will get his shot to back up one of the league’s best QBs.
Steve Wilks Testifies That Cardinals Supplied Him With Burner Phone
Per ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was recently deposed as part of the arbitration claim that former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough filed against the Cardinals and owner Michael Bidwill. Wilks testified that, when he was Arizona’s head coach in 2018, the team — pursuant to orders from Bidwill and then-GM Steve Keim — gave him a burner phone in order to communicate with Keim during Keim’s suspension for extreme DUI.
“It was a directive from Keim as well as Bidwill,” Wilks said. “They both knew.”
Wilks went on to say that several top members of the club’s power structure were furnished with phones and instructions on how to use them. He testified that Keim had multiple phones, and that Bidwill and other execs communicated with Keim during the club’s contract negotiations with running back David Johnson. For his part, Wilks says that he used his burner phone only once, when Keim texted him to ask how things were going at practice.
Wilks’ testimony supports McDonough’s complaint, which alleges (among other things) that Bidwill sabotaged his former exec’s career in retaliation for McDonough’s objection to the plan to illegally communicate with Keim. As we detailed in April, the NFL would be forced to suspend Bidwill if it becomes clear that he engaged in the burner phone scheme. And, if some of McDonough’s other allegations are substantiated — for instance, he accuses Bidwill of treating a Black employee and two pregnant women poorly and creating “an environment of fear for minority employees” — Bidwill could face more significant repercussions. Indeed, McDonough argues that Bidwill’s conduct is “significantly worse” than that of Robert Sarver, the former owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns who was suspended by the NBA for a year and fined $10MM before ultimately selling the team.
Some addditional context is necessary here. As we also wrote in April, statements made by Cardinals PR consultant Jim McCarthy in response to McDonough’s claim may have created additional causes of action for McDonough that would allow him to take his fight to the public forum of a courthouse as opposed to the more sheltered arbitration setting, but it does not appear as if he has attempted to do so (at least not with respect to his claims against Bidwill and the Cardinals). His complaint remains in arbitration, which is conducted by an NFL-appointed arbitrator and generally weighted in the team’s favor.
Additionally, Wilks’ attorney did not permit cross-examination during his deposition, which was therefore not admitted into the record (though arbitrator Jeffrey Mishkin elected to keep the video and transcript of the deposition rather than destroy it, as Cardinals attorneys requested).
“As much as we would like to share the truth of what transpired, the confidentiality order in place prohibits us from doing so,” the Cardinals said in a statement to ESPN.
It is also worth noting that Wilks is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit alleging racial discrimination originally filed by former Dolphins head coach and current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. In that action, Wilks makes an allegation that could be a reference to the burner phone caper and further avers that he was wrongfully terminated after his one season as the Cardinals’ HC.
Wilks’ deposition testimony is, of course, consistent with the assertions he makes in his lawsuit. He said he did not want to communicate with Keim during the GM’s suspension, but as a first-year Black coach, he did not feel comfortable voicing his concerns to Bidwill directly. Instead, he asked McDonough to speak to Bidwill on his behalf, and he witnessed a “heated conversation” between McDonough and Bidwill shortly thereafter. From that point forward, Wilks says, the owner’s demeanor towards him changed.
Wilks also testified that, during his tenure as HC, Bidwill berated him multiple times. One such incident, he says, took place over speakerphone while Wilks was driving home with his nine-year-old son after a game. He added that Bidwill berated a scout who is Black for parking in the owner’s parking space.
The entire ESPN piece is well-worth a read for all NFL fans, and is naturally of particular interest to Cardinals supporters.