Giants Unlikely To Address Leonard Williams’ Contract?
Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams is attached to a $32.3MM cap figure for 2023, which is the third-highest mark in the league and which places Williams behind only Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Tannehill. Nonetheless, Big Blue seems prepared to carry that number on its ledger.
Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (subscription required), the Giants have shown “no interest” in extending Williams, who will be eligible for free agency after the season, or restructuring his contract. Either maneuver, of course, would push more money onto future caps, so it stands to reason that GM Joe Schoen would be hesitant to go down that road for a player whose sack totals have declined sharply over the past two years and who missed significant game action due to injury for the first time in his career in 2022.
Duggan himself reported back in March that Schoen planned to sit down with Williams to discuss a reduction of the player’s cap charge. Based on Duggan’s most recent report, however, it seems as if those talks may have been designed to gauge Williams’ interest in a pay cut and may not have included much conversation about an extension or restructure. Williams suggested in January that he may be amenable to a reduction in pay, but his current stance on the matter is unclear.
Despite Williams’ declining surface-level production — 11.5 sacks in 2020, 6.5 in 2021, and 2.5 in 2022 — he continues to perform well in the eyes of the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 74.2 overall grade last year, which placed him 19th out of 127 qualified interior linemen, and he was viewed as an above-average run defender and pass rusher. Plus, although Schoen did bolster his DL rotation with free agent acquisitions of A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, the playoff-hopeful Giants are clearly better with Williams than without him, so a release seems unlikely.
Indeed, the Robinson and Nunez-Roches signings may even enhance Williams’ performance by reducing the number of snaps he has to play, which was a priority for Schoen when the offseason began. As Duggan notes, Schoen could theoretically wait until closer to the start of the regular season to demand that Williams agree to a reduction of his $18MM salary, because at that point there will likely be no team that would be willing or able to absorb a contract worth anything close to that figure. Of course, that would represent a hardnosed negotiation tactic that would be sure to anger Williams and his teammates, so Schoen is unlikely to go that route.
For now, it appears that Williams will get his $18MM salary and that the Giants will have to live with his massive cap charge, secure in the knowledge that even if Williams falters in 2023, they will be free from his contract in 2024, when they will only be on the hook for a ~$6MM cap hit stemming from a September restructure.
Bills DE Greg Rousseau Changes Agents
Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau is entering the all-important third season of his NFL career, and he has made a change in representation. Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link), Rousseau, who was previously represented by Drew Rosenhaus, has hired Ness Mugrabi and David Canter of GSE Worldwide.
Once a player accrues three years of service time, he becomes extension-eligible. So while Rousseau obviously needs to complete the 2023 season before he and his new agents can enter into negotiations with Buffalo brass, Mugrabi and Canter will at least have plenty of time to get familiar with their client and prepare for those discussions.
Rousseau, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2021 draft, took a step forward in his second professional campaign in 2022, despite missing time with an ankle injury. The Miami (FL) product posted eight sacks last season after recording four sacks in his rookie year, and he earned a stellar 80.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which placed him 20th out of 119 qualified edge defenders. PFF thought especially highly of his pass rushing ability, which is the most critical trait for his future earning power.
That said, Rousseau accumulated four of his eight sacks in the first four games of the season, so the Bills will be looking for more consistent production if they are going to authorize a contract that will put him anywhere near the top tier of edge players, who are among the biggest earners in the NFL. Indeed, unless he forces the team’s hand with a Pro Bowl-worthy year, Buffalo may be content to play the waiting game, as Rousseau will still be on his rookie deal through 2024 and can be retained via the fifth-year option in 2025 (and via the franchise tag beyond that).
A review of GSE’s NFL clientele suggests that the agency does not represent many high-end pass rushers, with the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence a notable exception. No reason was given for Rousseau’s decision to part ways with Rosenhaus.
Giants Notes: Flott, McCloud, Cowden
Although they still have a need at wide receiver, we learned yesterday that the Giants are not presently expected to acquire free agent DeAndre Hopkins. With Hopkins eyeing a $15MM/year contract, and with New York boasting less than $4MM in cap room, much would have to change for the club’s interest in Hopkins to go beyond the exploratory stage.
Here are a few more Giants-related items:
- As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post (subscription required) writes, the Giants believe that second-year pro Cor’Dale Flott — who was drafted as a slot corner — is better-suited to man the boundaries. That could mean that Darnay Holmes will reprise his role as the club’s primary slot defender, but the team could also gain much-needed cap space (about $2.5MM) by cutting Holmes. If Flott shows improvement as an inside option, or if UDFA Leonard Johnson should impress, Holmes may become a release/pay cut candidate.
- The Giants lost safety Julian Love to the Seahawks in free agency this offseason, and as Dunleavy writes in a separate piece, Big Blue is shifting 2022 waiver claim Nick McCloud to safety on a full-time basis. Per Dunleavy, McCloud will compete with free agent signee Bobby McCain and incumbents Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton for the starting safety job alongside Xavier McKinney. McCloud, like Love, offers positional versatility and started eight games at corner in 2022, so even if he works primarily at safety, DC Wink Martindale may still use him elsewhere in the defensive backfield.
- According to Dunleavy, first-round rookie Deonte Banks is now lining up as a starting boundary corner opposite Adoree’ Jackson after working with the second-team defense during the first week of OTAs.
- The Giants recently added Ryan Cowden to their front office, and per the team’s official website, Cowden’s title will be executive advisor to the general manager. Cowden, who actually interviewed for New York’s GM job last year — a job that ultimately went to Joe Schoen — ended the 2022 campaign as the Titans’ interim GM, but Tennessee elected to hire Ran Carthon for the permanent gig. Cowden and Schoen worked together in the Panthers’ front office from 2000-07, so Schoen is adding a familiar and experienced sounding board to his personnel department.
- Last week, we heard that the Giants and franchise-tagged running back Saquon Barkley are no closer to coming to terms on a long-term contract than they have ever been. It appears that guaranteed money is the biggest sticking point, though it is unclear what the Giants have offered in that regard, nor the degree to which those offers fall short of what Barkley might be seeking.
Panthers’ Yetur Gross-Matos May Remain Starter
Panthers edge defender Yetur Gross-Matos is coming off a disappointing 2022 season, but he has a good chance to continue operating as a starter, per Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required). In new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero‘s 3-4 scheme, that would mean lining up across from two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns at outside linebacker.
In Person’s estimation, Gross-Matos is ill-suited to serve as a stand-up rusher at OLB. On the other hand, it’s not as though the Penn State product has excelled as a defensive end in a 4-3 look, so perhaps a position change will allow him to unlock some of the potential that made him the No. 38 pick of the 2020 draft.
Despite playing in 17 games (all starts) last season, and despite a significant 73% snap share that represented a sizeable playing time increase over his first two years in the league, Gross-Matos tallied just 2.5 sacks. That is the same number he posted in his rookie campaign, when he appeared in just 48% of Carolina’s defensive snaps, and one fewer than he recorded in 2021, when he had a 38% snap share.
The underlying metrics do not suggest that Gross-Matos in on the verge of a breakout. He is averaging under seven quarterback hits per year, and Pro Football Focus assigned him a subpar 49.5 pass rush grade in 2022. PFF has been similarly bearish on his run defense efforts, so he is not necessarily compensating for his pass rushing deficiencies in other areas.
However, as Person notes, the Panthers — who are eyeing a lucrative extension for Burns — are presently disinclined to spend for a free agent defender like Yannick Ngakoue or Leonard Floyd. As long as that remains the case, Gross-Matos will have ample opportunity to impress Evero and secure a meaningful role on Carolina’s defense in his platform year.
For what it’s worth, Evero says he is pleased with the progress Gross-Matos has made in spring practices.
“Just like most of our guys, from the first day we were on the field to now, you’ve really seen a lot of growth [from Gross-Matos],” Evero said. “He’ll continue to work through it, but we’re really happy with the progress he’s making.”
Person cautions that GM Scott Fitterer will continue to monitor the edge rusher market, and any price drops on current free agents or roster cuts from other clubs could compel him to make a move that would bump Gross-Matos — along with situational rusher Marquis Haynes and third-round rookie D.J. Johnson — down the depth chart.
Contract Details: Trubisky, K. Jackson, Texans
Here are a few details on recently-signed contracts/extensions:
- Mitchell Trubisky, QB (Steelers): Two-year extension. Signing bonus of $6.92MM. 2023-25 salaries (unguaranteed) of $1.08MM, $4.25MM, and $5MM. 90-man offseason roster bonuses of $1MM in 2024 and 2025. Up to $4.25MM of incentives in 2023. Up to $14.5MM in incentives from 2024-25. Via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Kareem Jackson, S (Broncos): One-year, $2.67MM. Despite a 13-year career as a full-time starter, only guarantee is $152.5K signing bonus. Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News.com.
- Byron Cowart, DT (Texans): One-year. $1.08MM salary (veteran minimum). Includes injury waiver for previous back and knee injuries. Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.
- Neville Hewitt, LB (Texans): One-year. $1.2MM salary. Signing bonus of $300K. Playing time incentives of up to $300K. Per game active roster bonus of up to $200K. Twitter link via Wilson.
- Greg Little, OT (Texans): One-year. $1.08MM salary (veteran minimum). Signing bonus of $100K. Twitter link via Wilson.
- Shaq Mason, G (Texans): Three-year, $36MM extension ($22MM guaranteed) on top of one remaining year of club control in 2023. Signing bonus of $10MM. 2023-26 salaries of $1.07MM (guaranteed) $9.25MM (guaranteed), $10MM ($1.05MM guaranteed), and $10.4MM (unguaranteed). Annual per game active roster bonus of up to $500K. Annual Pro Bowl incentive of $250K. $50K workout bonus from 2024-26. Twitter link via Wilson.
Trubisky was already under contract through 2023, and he was due an $8MM salary for the upcoming year. So, as Florio notes, the 28-year-old passer essentially gave the Steelers two more years of club control without any increase in 2023 pay and without securing any guaranteed money in the two tack-on years. It seems that after Pittsburgh unexpectedly re-signed fellow signal-caller Mason Rudolph, Trubisky was worried that he might be released, so in order to lock in the $8MM he was already planning to earn this season, he agreed to a team-friendly extension.
His contract is now due to expire when Kenny Pickett‘s rookie deal expires, so the Steelers will at least have a high-end backup on hand as Pickett seeks to establish himself as Pittsburgh’s franchise QB.
Vikings’ Contractual Preferences To Hinder Justin Jefferson Negotiations?
With three years of service time under his belt, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is now eligible for an extension. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, Jefferson has been staying away from the club during offseason workouts as part of his efforts to land what could be the richest WR contract in league history.
The Dolphins made Tyreek Hill the first (and currently only) $30MM/year wideout, though that number is inflated by an untenable $43.9MM salary in 2026, the final year of Hill’s contract. At that time, there will be no guaranteed money left on the deal, so player and team will either have to agree to an extension/restructure, or Hill will simply be released.
Given Jefferson’s age (he will turn 24 this month) and remarkable production over the first three seasons of his professional career, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year has grounds to demand a contract featuring a “legitimate” $30MM AAV. He also has a good chance to top the $75MM of practical guarantees that the Rams authorized for Cooper Kupp almost exactly one year ago.
The problem, according to Florio, is that Minnesota generally prefers to include in its contracts injury guarantees that do not become fully guaranteed until the year the money is due. In other words, as long as the player stays healthy, the Vikings can extricate themselves from the deal with relative ease.
Of course, given the importance of the quarterback position, Minnesota made an exception for Kirk Cousins. It stands to reason that the team would do the same for Jefferson, who not only plays a premium position, but who is arguably the best player at that position despite his youth. Florio asked a source involved in the Jefferson negotiations if the Vikings’ structural preferences would become an issue, and the source simply replied, “we’ll see.”
At this point, there is no reason to think that the two sides will ultimately fail to reach an accord. It just may take awhile to get there, which is often the case with highly-lucrative contracts, especially those that could set a new benchmark at a certain position.
Indeed, while a Jefferson extension is reportedly a top agenda item for the Vikings, head coach Kevin O’Connell recently suggested that there is still a great deal of work to be done.
“I don’t know if I’d put a timeline on it,” O’Connell said last month. “I just know that, you know, we very much are looking forward to having Justin play here for a really long time. … I look forward to when we get that done and we can move forward knowing that Justin’s going to be here for the long term and we will get that done. Justin knows, his representation knows exactly how we feel about him.”
In 2022, Jefferson led the league in receptions (128) and yards (1,809). He also tallied eight receiving touchdowns and threw in a rushing score for good measure. He finished fifth in MVP voting.
Bucs GM Jason Licht On Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke
MAY 10: Lending more to the notion Wirfs will be on the move, Bucs offensive line coach Joe Gilbert said (via Stroud) the left side of the team’s line looks fairly set with the All-Pro on the blind side and free agency pickup Matt Feiler at left guard. After three strong seasons at right tackle, Wirfs appears on the cusp of playing a more lucrative position as a big payday nears.
MAY 7: The Buccaneers have contemplated moving right tackle Tristan Wirfs, who has earned two Pro Bowls bids and one First Team All-Pro selection in his three years in the NFL, to the left side of the line. After the Bucs failed to acquire a left tackle in last month’s draft, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that Wirfs will officially be moving to LT.
GM Jason Licht, however, says that a final decision on Wirfs’ position has not been made just yet. On a recent appearance on 95.3 WDAE, Licht said, “Now we’re still going to remain fluid here in the offseason. We’re going to see how it goes. We certainly feel very comfortable with a person like Tristan, with his skillset and his athleticism and size and intelligence and all that, that [his transition to left tackle] is gonna be pretty seamless, but that hasn’t completely been etched in stone yet” (h/t JoeBucsFan.com).
Licht’s comments notwithstanding, it would seem that Wirfs, as Stroud indicated, is indeed ticketed for the blind side. At this stage of the offseason, the free agent left tackle options are generally uninspiring and include the likes of Eric Fisher (who did not play a snap in 2022), Jason Peters (who turned 41 in January), and Taylor Lewan (who has suffered two ACL tears in the past three years). Unless Wirfs sustains an injury or proves completely incapable of making the transition to LT, those players likely would not represent an upgrade.
Of course, assuming Wirfs does fill the void created when longtime left tackle Donovan Smith was released in March, someone will need to replace Wirfs at right tackle. Per Stroud, the first crack at that position will go to Luke Goedeke, a 2022 second-round choice. In his rookie season, Goedeke — who worked as a right tackle in college — spent the majority of his time at left guard and largely struggled.
The hope is that moving Goedeke back to RT will make him look more like a second-round draftee. He did line up at right tackle for last year’s regular season finale, and he looked much more comfortable there than he did as an interior blocker.
“We are excited about how Luke did for us at (right) tackle there at the end of the year — it’s his natural position,” Licht said.
It is unclear whether Licht made an effort to trade up from his No. 19 selection to land an OT. The Steelers moved up four spots from their No. 18 slot to nab Georgia LT Broderick Jones, and Licht passed on Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison when the Bucs were on the clock. While the Bucs did pick up North Dakota State tackle Cody Mauch on Day 2, Mauch will be converted to guard.
At present, Tampa Bay’s starting OL, from left to right, appears to be Wirfs, Nick Leverett, Ryan Jensen, Mauch, and Goedeke. That unit will be tasked with clearing more space for what was the league’s worst rushing attack in 2022 and affording presumptive QB1 Baker Mayfield sufficient time to throw.
Wirfs is already under club control through 2024 since Licht made the easy decision to exercise his fifth-year option. But if the Iowa product performs as well at left tackle as he has on the right side, his future earning power will get a significant boost.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/23
Here are today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DL D’Anthony Jones (Houston), OL Josh Lugg (Notre Dame), DB Bralen Trahan (Louisiana)
The Bears’ signees are all members of this year’s undrafted free agent class and will add to the 14-man UDFA group that Chicago announced several days ago. Jones, Lugg, and Trahan tried out for the club during this weekend’s rookie minicamp and impressed enough to earn a contract. TE Stephen Carlson, who played in 25 games for the Browns over the 2019-20 seasons, was also added to the roster following his minicamp audition.
Latest On Chargers CB J.C. Jackson, QB Justin Herbert
Saying that cornerback J.C. Jackson‘s first year with the Chargers could have gone better would be an understatement. Jackson, who signed a five-year, $82.5MM contract with the Bolts last March, underwent ankle surgery in August to repair an issue that cropped up during training camp, which forced him to miss the 2022 regular season opener. He also missed Los Angeles’ Week 3 contest, and while he suited up for the club’s next four games, he suffered a patellar tendon rupture in a Week 7 loss to the Seahawks and was sidelined for the rest of the campaign.
Even when he was on the field, Jackson did not come close to living up to his contract. In five games, he surrendered a 149.3 QB rating on passes thrown in his direction, according to Pro Football Reference. Pro Football Focus was even less friendly, charging him with a 152.4 rating and assigning him a dismal 28.1 coverage grade.
Nonetheless, it is clear that the Chargers are continuing to count on Jackson in a big way. The team neither drafted nor signed a cornerback, save for a handful of UDFA’s, so it will return Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, and Jackson as its top three boundary corners.
GM Tom Telesco‘s approach to the cornerback position not only suggests that he expects a rebound effort from Jackson, but also that he is confident in Jackson’s medical prognosis. While a torn patellar tendon can be one of the toughest injuries to overcome, Telesco says that Jackson is making good progress in his rehab (via Daniel Popper of The Athletic (subscription required)). Popper said that Jackson was working with a trainer on the first day of the Chargers’ offseason program, and that he had started running on a treadmill.
Telesco is optimistic that Jackson will be able to participate in training camp. That would obviously go a long way towards getting the 27-year-old back to the Pro Bowl form he displayed as a member of the Patriots, thus bolstering a defense that surrendered the seventh-fewest passing yards per game in 2022 despite what was essentially a lost season from last year’s biggest free agent investment.
Another high-profile Charger who is currently on the mend, quarterback Justin Herbert, provided a recent update on his recovery. Herbert, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, said he has not thrown a football since the procedure and estimates that he is 75% recovered (via ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry).
Herbert expects to begin throwing this month, and the five- to six-month recovery timeline he provided would allow him to be at full strength for training camp. Telesco, who picked up Herbert’s fifth-year option for 2024 and who has commenced negotiations on what will be a massive contract extension, clearly does not have any concerns about his quarterback’s health status.
When asked about those contract talks, Herbert did not provide much of an update.
“I’m kind of left out of those negotiations, and I think my job now, my focus is to be the best quarterback that I can be and to rehab my shoulder,” the 2021 Pro Bowler said. “I’ve got complete faith in the Chargers organization and the front office. They’ve done such a great job of taking care of us as players, and I’ve loved to be a part of this team, being a part of this organization, and it’s kind of beyond my control of as to what happens now. I’m just doing everything I can that I can control.”
Jets, DT Quinnen Williams Not Close On Extension
The Jets and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams are “not close” to an agreement on a contract extension, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. As he said he would, Williams is staying away from the team as part of his efforts to secure a new deal.
It would seem that the framework for such a deal is largely in place thanks to the recent accords struck by Williams’ DT draftmates, Jeffery Simmons and Dexter Lawrence. Last month, Simmons signed a four-year, $94MM extension with the Titans that features $66MM in guaranteed money, and Lawrence and the Giants agreed to a four-year, $90MM re-up that includes $60MM in guarantees. In March, Daron Payne — who entered the league in 2018, one year before the Williams/Simmons/Lawrence trio — signed a four-year, $90MM deal with the Commanders. Like Lawrence, Payne received $60MM in guarantees.
As the market for young, high-end defensive tackles includes so many recent comparables, it is somewhat surprising that Williams and Gang Green still have a large gap to bridge in their negotiations. That is especially true in light of the fact that ownership has given GM Joe Douglas plenty of wiggle room in contract talks, and considering Douglas’ comments at the end of February.
“We’ve had several good discussions with (Williams’s agent, Nicole Lynn) and Quinnen since the season,” Douglas said at the time. “We feel really good about where we’re at. We feel good that this process is going to play out in the right way.”
Perhaps Williams is pushing for more guarantees and/or a larger AAV since he, as opposed to his newly-extended peers, has a First Team All-Pro nod on his resume (although Simmons boasts two Pro Bowl bids to Williams’ one). It could also be that the team is attempting to maximize the leverage it has by virtue of the franchise tag, which it could deploy to keep Williams in the fold in 2024. Of course, the Titans and Giants also had the threat of the tag at their disposal, and Payne had already been tagged when he signed his deal. Plus, as Cimini writes, it does not do the Jets any good to risk jeopardizing their relationship with one of their foundational players.
To be clear, Cimini does not suggest that the relationship between player and team is in a bad place, only that there is still plenty of work to be done to reach an agreement. And although Williams had indicated that he wanted to have a deal completed by the start of voluntary workouts in April, it does not sound as if the passing of that self-imposed deadline has stalled negotiations in any way.
Williams, who will not turn 26 until December, set new career-highs in sacks (12) and quarterback hits (28) in 2022, and he also earned a strong 77.7 rush defense grade from Pro Football Focus. PFF considered Williams the fourth-best interior defender last season, two spots behind Lawrence but above Simmons (10th-best) and well ahead of Payne (60th-best).