Latest On Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward
We heard at the end of June that the Browns were “working on” an extension for cornerback Denzel Ward, and it sounds like that has become the top item on the team’s agenda. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Cleveland and Ward are actively discussing a new deal now that RB Nick Chubb has put pen to paper on an extension of his own.
Ward, a 2018 first-round choice, saw his fifth-year option for 2022 exercised earlier this year, so player and team do have some time to hash things out. Of course, the Browns have Ward’s draftmate, quarterback Baker Mayfield, looking for a new contract as well, and it sounds as if Cleveland is at least trying to get everything else off its plate before digging in on the inherently more complex QB negotiations.
Indeed, Fowler adds that talks with Mayfield have not yet heated up. As soon as Josh Allen signed his mega-deal with the Bills, the NFL world turned its attention to Mayfield and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, but Cleveland GM Andrew Berry downplayed the impact that Allen’s contract would have on Mayfield’s situation.
“I think for really any player or any positional market, we’re always aware of the deals that have been done over the past couple years and certainly any deals that come up over the next couple weeks because we realize that impacts the market to some degree,” Berry said (via Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of the Akron Beacon Journal). “But at the same time with any player that we’re considering extending, we really deal with it on a case-by-case and individual level. We really operate within the parameters that we think make sense for our organization and our team, and that’s what we’ll continue to do really across positions.”
That’s generally what one would expect a GM to say, but we also heard back in June that, if Allen and Jackson landed contracts paying them north of $40MM per year — and now that Allen is sitting at a $43MM AAV, Jackson will certainly get something in that neighborhood — Mayfield would not “settle” for a yearly rate of $35MM (his current market value per Spotrac). So once the Browns open Mayfield negotiations in earnest, it will be interesting to see how much of a gap there is between the two sides.
Ward, meanwhile, currently has a market value of $18.5MM per year, which would position him near the top of the league’s CBs. Despite being forced into more zone coverage than he probably would have liked in 2020, Ward finished as Pro Football Focus’ 23rd-best corner out of 121 qualifiers. Though he has missed at least three games due to injury in each of his first three professional seasons, his performance between the lines has been everything the Browns could have hoped for. He earned Pro Bowl honors in his rookie season, and he has tallied 40 passes defensed and seven interceptions — including one pick-six — in his young career.
Given the value of top-flight boundary corners, expect Berry to make a strong push to get a deal finalized. It’s presently unclear where things stand with guard Wyatt Teller, yet another extension candidate.
Dolphins, Xavien Howard Agree To Reworked Contract
Xavien Howard is staying in Miami. The Dolphins and their star cornerback have agreed to a restructured deal that gives Howard more earning power, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network was first to report (via Twitter).
This was the expected outcome after we learned yesterday that Howard had returned to practice. And while this transaction is believed to mark the first time in league history that a player with four years remaining on his contract has received new money and guarantees — without a full-blown extension, at least — it doesn’t seem like a particularly onerous commitment from Miami’s perspective.
The Dolphins fully guaranteed Howard’s 2021 salary of $12.785MM and added $3.5MM in incentives tied to playing time and a Pro Bowl or All-Pro appearance, as veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson details (Twitter link). Plus, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report, Howard will see $6.775MM of his $12.975MM 2022 pay fully-guaranteed right away. The remainder is guaranteed for injury for now and will become fully-guaranteed on the first day of the 2022 league year (Twitter links). Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network tweets that the club is also waiving the $93K of fines that Howard incurred for holding out of minicamp.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the Dolphins have assured Howard that they will return to the negotiating table in February or March of 2022 (Twitter link via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald). Of course, Howard will need to stay healthy and continue to perform at a high level, and one hopes that player and team are aligned on the potential outcomes of a renegotiation next year. For instance, if Howard believes the team is open to an extension but the team is thinking more along the lines of another restructure, the relationship could sour quickly.
When Howard signed his current deal in 2019, he was the highest-paid corner in the league. But his current $15MM/year average now ranks just sixth at the position, and as he led the NFL with 10 interceptions last year and graded out as the second-best CB in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, he was pushing for a pay bump and requested a trade to force the issue.
Ultimately, the fact that he was still under club control for four years limited what the Dolphins were willing to do, but the team is certainly happy to have its top defender back on the field and at peace with his contract status. The adjustments Miami made to Howard’s deal seem like a small price to pay for that.
Jordan Hicks On Reduced Role With Cardinals
It’s been a difficult offseason for Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks. He accepted a substantial pay cut in March, and then he watched his club select LB Zaven Collins with the No. 16 overall pick of the draft. Shortly thereafter, the team announced that Collins would take over Hicks’ starting ILB role, and Hicks was given permission to seek a trade.
Hicks appreciated the fact that the Cardinals were upfront with him about their plan, and that they agreed to work with him to find a trade partner, but he understandably hoped that he would have a legitimate opportunity to compete for a starting job.
“I respected the fact that [GM Steve Keim] told me straight up [that Collins would be starting],” Hicks said (via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com). “I respected the fact that he told me he was going to work with me to try to honor a trade. And, so, there’s a part of you that respects that, but then there’s a part that just wishes you had had an opportunity to compete, which is all I asked for.”
It is somewhat curious that Arizona has already given a rookie a starting job over an established veteran like Hicks. Since joining the Cardinals as a free agent in 2019, the 29-year-old has started all 32 games for the club, and while Pro Football Focus’ metrics have not been especially high on his work, he has been among the league leaders in tackles.
On the other hand, Collins certainly offers more upside, and the fact that there has been no reported interest in Hicks from rival clubs despite his eminently reasonable salary suggests that the Cardinals are making the right call. At the time of the trade request, we heard that a swap was not particularly likely, and that is how things have played out thus far. Still, underperformance or an injury elsewhere might lead to a new opportunity for Hicks.
In the meantime, he is mentoring Collins and second-year ‘backer Isaiah Simmons to the best of his ability. He says he has been impressed with Collins and is excited about the 2021 campaign, but he was clear about his preference to be a starter somewhere.
Giants Met With Austin Reiter
The Giants brought in a veteran O-lineman yesterday, signing 30-year-old blocker Joe Looney. Yesterday morning, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported that free agent center Austin Reiter was expected to visit with Big Blue “in the coming days” (Twitter link).
However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Reiter has already met with the Giants, and that the Looney acquisition has closed the door on a Reiter signing, at least for the time being. Looney could supplant Nick Gates at the pivot, thereby shifting Gates to guard, or he could serve as guard depth himself. With Reiter having worked almost exclusively at center in his career, it would certainly seem that there is no room for him with the Giants at this point.
A seventh-round pick of the Washington Football Team in 2016, Reiter eventually caught on with the Chiefs and settled into a role as Patrick Mahomes‘ snapper over the past two seasons. But Kansas City let him hit the open market this offseason and then added Austin Blythe in free agency and Creed Humphrey in the draft. Reiter has recently met with the Bengals and Texans, so he could be on the verge of finding a new home even without the Giants in the picture.
In other Giants OL news, left guard Shane Lemieux recently sustained a knee injury that will sideline him for a couple of weeks. Luckily, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, the second-year pro will not require surgery and should be on track for the start of the regular season. Given that Lemieux was carted off the field when he suffered the injury, that comes as a big relief for New York.
Browns Gave Paul DePodesta Five-Year Extension In 2020
The Browns’ young GM/HC combo of Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski, both of whom were hired in January 2020, appear to have the team headed in the right direction. Although much of the current roster was constructed by former GM John Dorsey, the Browns finally got back to the postseason with Berry and Stefanski at the helm, and they look poised for an extended run of competitiveness.
Berry and Stefanski are signed through 2024, and so is the man who is largely responsible for their hirings, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta. As Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes, DePodesta was given a five-year extension in 2020, which club owner Jimmy Haslam just revealed yesterday.
“It lines up with [Berry and Stefanski],” Haslam said of DePodesta’s contract. “That makes all the sense, and we’re super excited about that. Paul’s going to be with us for a significant amount of time. Paul’s not the type, you don’t need to announce something on Paul’s behalf, but he’s going to be with us for a significant amount of time.”
Haslam brought DePodesta on board in January 2016, and his hire was an unconventional one to say the least. He had no previous football experience, having made his name as a Major League Baseball executive with the Moneyball-era Athletics before becoming the GM of the Dodgers. He also worked in the front offices of the Padres and Mets.
His analytics-based approach to roster construction is what initially caught Haslam’s attention, and he has clearly earned the owner’s trust over his first few years in Cleveland. DePodesta has outlasted former executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown and Dorsey, and Berry and Stefanski were the GM and head coach candidates that DePodesta preferred. For the first time in a long time, the organization’s top power brokers appear to be completely in sync, and Haslam has acted to maintain that unified vision.
Texans Setting High Price On Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston, and the Texans are said to have moved on from their embattled quarterback. However, GM Nick Caserio has put a very high price on Watson. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Caserio is asking for a combination of five high draft picks and quality players in any Watson deal (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
Although no team will pony up that kind of offer while Watson’s status remains so uncertain, Caserio can afford to wait out the process. Watson’s $10.54MM salary for 2021 is not untenable, especially for a club that will not be competing for a playoff spot. If Watson ends up on the Commissioner’s Exempt list until his legal situation is resolved, Houston would be paying him that salary to sit on the sidelines, but even that wouldn’t be a big deal for Caserio. As Volin observes, the rookie GM would happily pay out that money this year in order to maximize his return in a Watson trade in 2022.
Volin also notes that the team is taking efforts to protect its biggest trade chip. Watson reported to training camp to avoid the $50K daily fines mandated by the CBA, but his participation in practices has been light. He has been held out of team drills, and he worked as a scout team safety at one point.
Meanwhile, Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing the 22 women who have filed sexual assault/sexual misconduct suit against Watson, issued a definitive denial of reports suggesting that the NFL has not been given access to speak to many of his clients.
“To suggest the NFL hasn’t got enough information or has not been provided access, that’s just demonstrably false. I think if you ask the NFL directly they would have to admit that,” Buzbee said (via Mark Berman of Fox 26). “I don’t know who the sources are or what they’re saying, but I do know my staff has spent many, many, many hours voluntarily, because the NFL asked us to, and these women have went out of their way to provide information.”
“No Momentum” In Contract Talks Between Bills, Josh Allen
The Bills and star QB Josh Allen are talking extension, but as of right now, there is no momentum towards an agreement, as Kim Jones of the NFL Network reports (Twitter link). However, Allen himself is not sweating it, calling his contract situation the “least of my worries.”
That is because Allen knows it’s a question of when, not if, he gets his mega-deal. Jones suggests that, if a new contract is not in place by the middle of August, the two sides could table negotiations until next offseason, but that scenario would hardly threaten Allen’s future in Buffalo. Because the Bills have exercised Allen’s fifth-year option, the big-armed passer is under contract through 2022, and the franchise tag is a theoretical option for 2023 if it comes to that (of course, the Cowboys’ protracted talks with Dak Prescott demonstrated the danger of that approach).
Allen has expressed a willingness to give the Bills a team-friendly structure on his second pro contract, but that doesn’t mean he will be willing to take a discount. He is in line to eclipse Prescott’s four-year, $160MM pact, which includes $126MM in guaranteed money. A deal of that magnitude certainly is a complex undertaking, though the Bills and Allen have plenty of time to continue discussing it.
As our Ben Levine detailed last month, Allen might prefer to get something done sooner rather than later. After all, it’s hard to imagine him improving on his incredible 2020 campaign, and while draftmate Lamar Jackson might drive Allen’s price a little higher if Jackson signs his extension first, it’s unlikely to make too much of an impact. And an earlier report noted that Allen is willing to operate independently of Jackson and Browns’ QB Baker Mayfield, suggesting that Allen is indeed prepared to put pen to paper before his fellow young signal-callers.
On the other hand, we don’t know the type of offer the Bills have on the table at this point — maybe they’re trying to keep the price down by pointing to Allen’s inconsistencies in 2018-19. And if they’re not willing to give up Prescott money just yet, Allen could continue to wait them out.
Joe Burrow Will Not Be Placed On PUP List
Joe Burrow‘s recovery from a torn ACL and MCL (and related damage) in Week 11 of the 2020 season continues to go well. The Bengals’ QB participated in OTAs this spring, and the team has announced that Burrow will not open training camp on the PUP list. 
That means, of course, that Burrow will be leading his troops when camp opens on Tuesday, and he will seek to build upon what was a promising rookie campaign. Despite dealing with a porous offensive line, Burrow completed 65.3% of his passes for 13 touchdowns against five interceptions in his ten games last season.
This offseason, Cincinnati reunited Burrow with former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, generally considered the top receiver in the Class of 2021. In Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd, Burrow has a loaded receiving corps to work with.
Hopefully, they’ve done enough to protect him up front as well. Free agent acquisition Riley Reiff should upgrade the right tackle slot, but while the Bengals drafted three rookie blockers — Jackson Carman, D’Ante Smith, and Trey Hill — they did not add much other proven talent. They did re-up Quinton Spain and recently claimed Lamont Gaillard off waivers from the Cardinals, so head coach Zac Taylor will at least have plenty of players to choose from in his search for a capable front five.
With quality protection for Burrow and running back Joe Mixon, the Bengals’ offense could be among the league’s best in 2021.
Browns Will Not Trade Kareem Hunt
The Browns are once again a popular pick to make a deep postseason run, and their talent at running back is one of many reasons why. The depth chart is topped by Nick Chubb, who has earned two Pro Bowl nods in three professional seasons and whose 5.2 YPC average underscores his excellence. Behind Chubb, of course, is Kareem Hunt, a similarly capable runner who is also a force in the passing game.
When the Rams lost Cam Akers to an Achilles tear last week, there was chatter that LA could look to the free agent or trade markets to replace him. While the Rams have indicated they are comfortable with their in-house options, Hunt would profile as an intriguing trade target for any RB-needy team given the Browns’ depth (Cleveland is also rostering third-year pro D’Ernest Johnson, who has played well in limited snaps, and sixth-round rookie Demetric Felton).
Hunt’s trade appeal is heightened by the fact that he is tied to eminently reasonable base salaries of $1.3MM and $1.35MM over the next two seasons. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (subscription required) writes that the Browns have no interest in trading Hunt.
As Cabot observes, the Browns did not suffer much of a drop-off at all when Hunt replaced an injured Chubb for a few games in 2020, and she expects the club to continue to expand Hunt’s role. Thanks to Hunt’s receiving prowess, he and Chubb could appear on the field together a great deal this season, which will only make a potentially explosive offense even more dynamic. So regardless of whatever injuries or underperformance rival clubs might experience this summer, Hunt will not be made available.
In other Browns news, Cabot reports that no players will open training camp on the PUP list. Players like Odell Beckham, Grant Delpit, and Greedy Williams are all coming off major injuries, but they will be ready to hit the field with their teammates right away (though the Browns will continue to be cautious, of course).
Aaron Rodgers Seeking $90MM Guaranteed Over Two Years
We heard earlier this week that the Packers offered Aaron Rodgers a two-year extension that would have made him the highest-paid player in NFL history. That report, from ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, was light on details, and as our Zachary Links suggested at the time, it’s difficult to know exactly what kind of money Rodgers was really turning down.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offers a little more context. While Florio does not know the details of the Packers’ reported offer, he does shed some light on what Rodgers is looking for. According to Florio’s sources, Rodgers wants $90MM in guaranteed money over a two-year period. The $45MM average annual value would put him on an even footing with the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, but more importantly, Green Bay would have to structure the deal in such a way that it would have no choice but to keep Rodgers through at least 2022 and perhaps through 2023.
As it currently stands, Rodgers is signed through 2023, but the Packers could theoretically cut him next offseason and save $22.7MM against the cap. They’d be left with $17.2MM in dead money, but that wouldn’t cripple them cap-wise, especially since the cap is set to increase next year. Jordan Love, with multiple years to go on his original rookie deal, would be significantly cheaper.
Although it has been said at various points throughout this saga that Rodgers is not necessarily motivated by money, the money that he’s reportedly seeking would be one way to achieve his goal of leaving Green Bay when he’s ready to leave, and not when the Packers deem Love to be ready to take the reins.
Between Rodgers and Davante Adams, the Packers are dealing with a lot of disgruntled star power. That is not a good place for any team to be in on the cusp of training camp, but especially a team that has a roster capable of contending for a title.