Brandon Aiyuk Showed Interest In Being Traded To Commanders
The runaway leader in generating rumors among this year’s pack of disgruntled wide receivers, Brandon Aiyuk is finally locked down. The 49ers have the 2023 second-team All-Pro tied to a four-year, $120MM agreement, ending trade rumors and tethering the ascending player to San Francisco through the 2028 season.
As fallout pieces surface, however, Aiyuk is now believed to have added a team to his list of acceptable trade destinations. In addition to Aiyuk’s long-rumored interest in being traded to the Steelers, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted during a recent NFL Live appearance the fifth-year veteran would have been willing to be dealt to the Commanders.
Washington rosters the starting quarterback Aiyuk played with to close out his college career — Jayden Daniels — and Aiyuk communication with his former teammate generated headlines earlier this summer. Aiyuk had told Daniels during a video call the 49ers did not “want him back, I swear.” It took the parties more than two months from that point to hammer out an extension, and trade rumors swirled late in the process. The Commanders came up as a fringe Aiyuk destination; it does not seem they truly entered the fray.
The NFC East team did not show notable interest in acquiring Aiyuk, Fowler adds. The Commanders not being involved in the Aiyuk sweepstakes led to a 49ers-or-Steelers decision for the fifth-year wideout, who had effectively shut down potential trades to the Patriots or Browns.
Pittsburgh still loomed as a possible destination late in the process, but San Francisco would have been shorthanded at receiver thanks to Denver rejecting a third-round offer for Courtland Sutton. The 49ers had viewed the longtime Broncos pass catcher as a potential replacement for Aiyuk, in the event talks reached the point of no return and the 2020 first-round pick was indeed traded to the Steelers.
Washington enters the season with questions at receiver beyond veteran No. 1 Terry McLaurin. The team traded 2022 first-rounder Jahan Dotson to the Eagles in a pick-swap package headlined by a 2025 third-rounder. Noah Brown became the latest ex-Cowboy to join Dan Quinn in Washington, doing so after the Texans cut him. The Commanders drafted Luke McCaffrey in Round 3, but the second-generation NFL wideout has yet to establish himself as a surefire starter. Washington also carries fourth-year player Dyami Brown and veterans Jamison Crowder, Olamide Zaccheaus and Byron Pringle on what is presently a seven-receiver depth chart.
San Francisco’s offer had been on the table for a while, with the sides ironing out minor details near the end. Successfully convincing the 49ers to up their price — from the $26-$27MM-per-year range — Aiyuk was pleased with the deal’s frontloaded structure. These four-year, $120MM numbers match where the Dolphins went for Tyreek Hill in 2022, but Miami had included an inflated final-year salary to inflate the AAV to $30MM. Aiyuk, conversely, signed a true $30MM-per-year contract that includes $47MM due by April 2025. The latter component helped drive this deal past the goal line, Fowler adds.
Although the 49ers gave Aiyuk what appeared an ultimatum earlier this week, the player also wanted this matter finally done in order to avoid missing regular-season games. Of course, it is debatable if Aiyuk would have followed through with turning his hold-in strategy into missed regular-season contests (and game checks exceeding $820K). Trent Williams appears ready to execute this strategy, but Aiyuk is not in the same earnings bracket as the former Washington top-five pick.
As Aiyuk ramps up toward another starring role in San Francisco’s offense, Washington looks to have a multi-offseason project ahead to better equip Daniels with pass-catching weaponry.
Commanders Trade DT John Ridgeway To Saints
TODAY, 12:05pm: The seventh-round pick that the Commanders attached to Ridgeway is a conditional selection, according to Howard Balzer of CardsWire. In a fun twist, the pick is technically New Orleans’ 2025 seventh-round pick. The selection was originally sent to Philly in the C. J. Gardner-Johnson trade, and it was recently sent to Washington in the Jahan Dotson deal.
WEDNESDAY, 2:45pm: The Commanders made an effort to trade John Ridgeway before roster-cutdown day. Unlike many of those pursuits, a deal will come to pass after the team had set its 53-man roster.
Ridgeway is heading to the Saints in a pick-swap deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report. This marks another 2022 or 2023 draftee the new regime is jettisoning. A 2022 Cowboys fifth-round pick, Ridgeway worked as rotational defensive tackle in Washington.
Washington cut five of its 2023 draftees Tuesday and has now traded two 2022 picks in the past week, with this following the Jahan Dotson deal. Even though Ridgeway came from the Cowboys, Dan Quinn‘s team is moving on from a player the Ron Rivera regime initially added. Ridgeway arrived in Dallas during Quinn’s second year as Cowboys DC; the veteran coach has since signed off on moving on twice in three years.
This will be a classic pick-swap agreement, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter adding the Saints are sending the Commanders a 2025 sixth-round pick for Ridgeway and a ’25 seventh. Two years remain on Ridgeway’s rookie contract, which Washington initially claimed in September 2022.
Ridgeway, 25, played a career-high 356 defensive snaps last season. While the Commanders had extra work to go around at D-end during the second half of last season (after trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat), they had less playing time to give out at DT. Ridgeway nevertheless earned a spot operating behind Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. Pro Football Focus was still not impressed, ranking the Illinois State alum as a bottom-10 D-tackle (among regulars) last season.
The Saints return 2023 free agency additions Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd at D-tackle, with 2023 first-round pick Bryan Bresee and rookie sixth-rounder Khristian Boyd rounding out the group. New Orleans also rookie UDFA DT Sincere Haynesworth on IR last week.
Dolphins, Mike McDaniel Agree On Extension
Back-to-back Dolphins playoff berths will produce the first extension for a 2022 HC hire. The team has agreed to a new deal with Mike McDaniel, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington.
The third-year HC agreed to a deal that will tie him to the Dolphins through the 2028 season. This comes after the Dolphins booked consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in more than 20 years. McDaniel, 41, has rejuvenated Miami’s offense. The team led the league in total offense for the first time since Dan Marino‘s age-33 season (1994), and Tua Tagovailoa has shown substantial growth since the Dolphins hired the Kyle Shanahan disciple.
This offseason brought a Tagovailoa megadeal and new agreements with Tyreek Hill — a reworking that brought more guarantees the future Hall of Famer’s way — and Jaylen Waddle. As other clubs who hired new HCs in 2022 still determine how to proceed regarding long-term plans, Dolphins ownership is evidently confident in the team’s direction under McDaniel.
Known perhaps as much for his eccentricities that have produced numerous interview soundbites, McDaniel displayed an immediate ability to coach up Miami’s offense. While the 2022 Hill trade made a significant impact on Tagovailoa’s trajectory, the league’s lone southpaw QB starter turned a corner once Stephen Ross hired McDaniel.
Amid a concerning concussion-marred 2022, Tua still finished third in QBR while leading the league in passer rating and yards per attempt. The 2020 first-rounder then paced the NFL in passing yards in 2023, staying healthy and guiding the team back to the postseason. The Dolphins had not previously secured consecutive playoff berths since they strung together five in a row during the Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt years (1997-2001).
Hired in the aftermath of a controversial Brian Flores firing — a move that prompted the former Dolphins HC to file a racial discrimination lawsuit — McDaniel has also gone through three defensive coordinators and seen his team limp to the regular-season finish line in both the 2022 and ’23 seasons. Miami went 9-8 in 2022, a season overshadowed by Tagovailoa’s injuries, and 11-6 last season. The Dolphins wrapped the ’23 campaign with a wild-card no-show on a frigid Kansas City night. This generated more questions about the Super Bowl viability of the nucleus McDaniel and GM Chris Grier have assembled.
That said, the Dolphins nearly upset the No. 2-seeded Bills despite third-string rookie Skylar Thompson starting in the 2022 wild-card round. Grier and McDaniel also have forged a strong relationship, per Darlington; that was certainly not the case with the veteran GM and Flores. Ahead of Grier’s sixth season with roster control, the Dolphins will continue to pair him with his 2022 HC hire. The rest of the 2022 HC additions — Kevin O’Connell, Matt Eberflus, Brian Daboll, Doug Pederson, Dennis Allen and Todd Bowles — are still on their initial deals. One other 2022 HC hire, Josh McDaniels, did not make it out of his second season.
Cowboys, Dak Prescott Not Close On Extension
Dak Prescott had previously said he would not set a deadline on a Cowboys extension. While Jerry Jones subsequently offered that the team expected to have Prescott on the 2025 roster, the owner’s timeline may have rankled his longtime quarterback.
Jones said the team was unlikely to have a Dak deal done by Week 1, going so far as to say the team does not need to complete one by that point. It is rather bold for Jones, given the leverage Prescott possesses, to remain confident Prescott will be the team’s 2025 starter when the Cowboys can only keep him off the market via an extension. The franchise tag, based on Prescott effectively winning the sides’ first negotiation, has long been off the table. 
When asked about Jones’ comments, Prescott said (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) he “stopped listening to things [Jones] says to the media a long time ago. It doesn’t really hold weight with me.” Though, Prescott did seem to take issue with part of Jones’ assessment. When asked if he would like a deal by Week 1, Prescott replied (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins), “I think it says a lot if it is or if it isn’t.”
To be clear, Prescott continued his refrain of staying out of negotiations and insisting he is indifferent on whether a deal comes to pass before next Sunday’s opener in Cleveland. But talks appear unlikely to produce any resolution at this point. Negotiations have continued throughout the summer, ESPN’s Todd Archer confirms. Those efforts do not have the parties on the verge of an agreement, he adds.
Interestingly, Prescott noted (via Archer) that the matter of whether or not talks continue into the regular season is up to Jones and agent Todd France to decide, not him. Earlier this month, the 2023 MVP runner-up noted he is on board with extension negotiations taking place during the fall, although his role in any talks which occur at that point will no doubt be limited with the season taking place. Waiting until the spring would add further pressure with a free agent departure becoming a distinct possibility.
“When you look at a situation, you’ve also got to weigh, ‘OK, what are the consequences of the other side of the coin?'” Jones said when addressing the Prescott case. “And so Dak’s situation right now for me, from my mirror, has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.”
Even with wideout CeeDee Lamb‘s deal now on the books, two key questions remain for Dallas from a financial standpoint. Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons are in contention to top their respective markets on their next contracts, and affording both (in addition to Lamb’s $34MM AAV) will be challenging. Since Parsons has two years left on his rookie deal, his situation is on track to remain unsettled until next offseason. For Prescott, meanwhile, plenty of progress will still need to be made — before or after Week 1 — for an agreement to emerge.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Browns Offered Brandon Aiyuk $30MM Per Year; Latest On 49ers’ Process
The Broncos may have overtaken the Browns in terms of Brandon Aiyuk relevance, as their decision to turn down a 49ers offer for Courtland Sutton may well have triggered a chain reaction that cost the Steelers their chance at the All-Pro wide receiver.
Weeks before Aiyuk finally accepted San Francisco’s $30MM-per-year offer, he is believed to have received the same AAV proposal from the Browns, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link). The Browns did not last too long as an Aiyuk suitor, but as the 49ers let the contract-seeking wideout speak with other teams to gauge his market, Cleveland’s offer outflanked Pittsburgh’s.
[RELATED: Browns Still Open To Amari Cooper Extension]
Not reported to have submitted Aiyuk an extension offer worth more than $28MM per year, the Steelers indeed checked in south of that point. They were at $27.7MM per annum, Rapoport adds. That would have placed Aiyuk behind Jaylen Waddle and ahead of D.J. Moore. When it all wrapped, Aiyuk surpassed both on a frontloaded agreement. He is now the NFL’s sixth $30MM-AAV receiver.
Browns-49ers talks occurred in early August, at the same point the player’s camp was negotiating with the Patriots and Steelers. Trade framework with both Cleveland and New England emerged. Aiyuk’s AFC negotiations still led him back to the table with the 49ers, but not before the Browns had made an interesting offer.
Cleveland is believed to have dangled Amari Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks, for Aiyuk. With Cooper in a contract year, the Browns were planning to have Aiyuk at $30MM per annum and Jerry Jeudy at $17.5MM a year. It will be interesting to see if Cooper’s camp, which could not secure an extension this offseason, uses this Aiyuk offer in future negotiations. With the Browns probably not eager to acquire a player who did not want to land in Cleveland, the trade ended up on the cutting-room floor; Aiyuk is believed to have shown little interest in the Browns or Patriots.
The Pats indeed offered $32MM per year, Rapoport confirms. That led the pack in terms of extension offers, and it marked a stark deviation from how the organization proceeded under Bill Belichick. But Eliot Wolf has signed off on a spree of extensions and re-signings for Belichick-era pieces this year. The team also made a strong effort to sign Calvin Ridley in free agency, only to see the Titans come out victorious. The Ridley and Aiyuk pursuits reflected where the Pats believe they are deficient, and they will go into Drake Maye‘s rookie year with an undermanned group — albeit one including second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk.
As for the Browns, they have made trades for Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy over the past two offseasons. Those two will join Cooper, whose contract issue eventually produced an incentive package. Cooper remains a 2025 free agent-to-be. The high-end route runner would have made for an interesting 49ers addition, and the sides could have worked out a contract. Though, Cooper is four years older than Aiyuk. Part of the reason the 49ers wanted to re-up the 2020 first-rounder stemmed from his prime being ahead of him. Cooper already has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, but he will naturally decline earlier.
Cooper also has a superior resume to Sutton, who would have made for a different type of Brock Purdy target compared to Aiyuk. More of a jump-ball threat and possession receiver, the 28-year-old Denver wideout is coming off a 10-touchdown year. The Broncos clearly want the seventh-year pass catcher, who remains on a team-friendly deal that runs through 2025, to help the team develop Bo Nix.
None of these teams would have been relevant in the Aiyuk negotiations had the 49ers hammered out a deal early this offseason. While it is not exactly fair to penalize the NFC West club for not completing a deal before the Lions extended Amon-Ra St. Brown in April, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio adds the team’s initial offer in the $27MM-per-year neighborhood would have gotten a deal done before the Lions wideout cashed in at $30.01MM per annum.
By July, the 49ers still stood at $27MM per year. We heard the team upped its offer in early August. By August 12, it is believed the $30MM-AAV proposal was on the table. Aiyuk managed to skip two more weeks’ worth of practice, but the sides finally reached an agreement. After the comments of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch this week, Rapoport adds the 49ers essentially gave Aiyuk an ultimatum: either agree to the team’s offer or take the Steelers trade.
San Francisco did not only contact Denver about an escape-hatch wide receiver; the team made calls to several other teams about pass catchers, Rapoport adds. It is not known if the 49ers offered a third-rounder to any other team, but the Broncos — perhaps a sign for Sutton’s potential pre-deadline availability — are the only known team to pass on being the third party in what would have essentially been a three-team trade.
The 49ers were always the favorites here, but Aiyuk having interest in Cleveland or New England would have made matters more interesting due to the extension offers both clubs made.
49ers, WR Brandon Aiyuk Agree To Deal
AUGUST 30: Full details on the Aiyuk pact are in, courtesy of Florio. The frontloaded compensation includes a $23MM signing bonus, $11MM of which will be paid out in the next two weeks. His 2025 earnings are made up of $20.88MM in base salary, roster and workout bonuses which are guaranteed at signing. Another $4MM will be locked in on April 1 of that year. Altogether, this deal consists of $45MM fully guaranteed, with the $76MM total guarantee figure set to emerge not long after the 2025 league year begins.
Aiyuk’s 2026 salary ($1.22MM) and per-game roster bonuses ($750K) are guaranteed for injury at signing and will fully vest one year early. Notably, his salaries for 2027 and ’28 – $27.27MM and $29.15MM – are not guaranteed, so the 49ers will be able to get out of the contract in either of those seasons (an unlikely development, given his age and production) barring adjustments being made down the road via restructures. Aiyuk’s 2024 cap number will drop to $5.73MM, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
AUGUST 29: Months of negotiating drama with Brandon Aiyuk, which featured trade talks with a few teams and an eventual trade agreement, defined the 49ers’ offseason. But the saga will end with a peaceful resolution. Aiyuk is not going anywhere, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reporting an extension is in place.
The 49ers have agreed to terms with Aiyuk on a four-year, $120MM deal, which Garafolo and Rapoport indicate includes $76MM guaranteed. This process will end closer to Aiyuk’s believed price point than San Francisco’s, but the defending NFC champs will have the second-team All-Pro back at work soon.
Aiyuk held in for 38 days, but as the 49ers did with Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, a late-summer extension will bring a close to this chapter. Though, this was a more memorable saga than those involving Bosa and Samuel. Aiyuk is now signed through 2028, and this agreement suddenly brings Samuel’s Bay Area future — post-2024, that is — into question.
It looks as though the sides are meeting in the middle. Rather than sign a three-year deal like Samuel did in 2022, Aiyuk will be under 49ers control for four seasons beyond 2024. Instead of the $26-$27MM-per-year price point San Francisco — and would-be trade partner Pittsburgh — initially landed on, Aiyuk will become the NFL’s sixth $30MM-per-year wideout. Long seeking a deal at $30MM per, Aiyuk joins Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyreek Hill in this club, one that expanded from one to six this offseason.
Lamb’s extension may not have driven the 49ers’ talks across the goal line, as he and Jefferson are on a higher plane in terms of AAV and guarantees. But the market is effectively set for 2024, unless the Bengals make an unexpected deal with Ja’Marr Chase before 2025. This 49ers agreement coming to fruition less than two weeks before the season will wrap one of more voluminous sagas in PFR history.
This is a frontloaded deal, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who reports the contract includes $90MM over the first three years. This helps cover for Aiyuk not reaching guarantees past $80MM — a long-rumored ask. Although Aiyuk is now contracted through his age-30 season, he should have another chance — should the 2020 first-rounder’s career remain on this trajectory — to cash in on a big-ticket deal in his prime. Aiyuk, 26, will receive $47MM between now and April 1, 2025, Rapoport adds.
Considering the fight Aiyuk put up, it does appear a bit strange his $76MM guarantee number checks in only in a tie for sixth (with Jaylen Waddle, who signed a three-year extension) at the position. But the contract’s full guarantees and full payout structure will reveal the detailed ending to this long-running tale.
San Francisco’s resolution does not appear to have involved an 11th-hour raise, as The Athletic’s Dianna Russini notes these numbers have been in place for weeks. Aiyuk, who has watched practices at points and been absent from practice fields at others, now must return to work ahead of the 49ers’ Monday Night Football debut against the Jets. Providing clarity, Schefter adds this offer has been on the table since August 12.
The 49ers have now dispensed with one half of their disgruntled-player contingent, with Trent Williams‘ holdout now moving toward center stage. Williams’ contract issue has a long way to go to catch Aiyuk in terms of updates, with this back-and-forth producing many twists and turns (featuring a few documented meetings) since the parties began negotiating months ago.
For the 49ers, this keeps an essential piece of the puzzle in place. A trade at this juncture would have made it difficult for the team, Kyle Shanahan‘s play-calling acumen notwithstanding, to produce an offense on the level of 2023’s machine. The 49ers have now extended Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey this year; Samuel and George Kittle are under contract through 2025.
Aiyuk is coming off his second straight 1,000-yard season; the Arizona State alum totaled 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns to help Brock Purdy deliver a historic 9.6 yards per attempt in 2023. Under the hood, Aiyuk’s numbers were even better. He ranked third in yards per route run (3.01) last season; this undoubtedly influenced his asking price, with Team Aiyuk effectively capitalizing on the 49ers needing him for another run in 2024. After falling short of 850 yards during each of his first two years, Aiyuk has put it together.
“We believe his best football is ahead of him,” a 49ers exec told veteran reporter Jordan Schultz. “He’s only 26, he’s still learning the intricacies of the position. This is an ascending player. … There’s no reason why he can’t have a similar career as a Davante Adams, for example.”
Aiyuk being offered $30MM per year on August 12 shows how well his camp did, considering the 49ers were at $26-$27MM per annum before that point. This all came after the 49ers let Aiyuk shop around. Despite a reported Patriots offer north of where this 49ers deal ended up, Aiyuk did not want to be dealt to New England. The Browns put Amari Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks, on the table; Aiyuk expressed disappointment in a Cleveland destination. Even the Commanders, who drafted ex-Aiyuk college QB Jayden Daniels, hovered on the Aiyuk periphery.
Playing for Mike Tomlin appealed to Aiyuk, but the Steelers’ offer did not exceed $28MM per year. This prompted the disgruntled receiver to return to the table with 49ers brass, and only minor details remained to be ironed out in recent days. Even though Pittsburgh’s contract offer was not quite what Aiyuk sought, the sides agreed on trade framework. This became a backup plan, though Aiyuk had long viewed San Francisco as his top choice. John Lynch had also continued to convey a desire for Aiyuk to be in the fold long term, and the 49ers’ top-level skill-position crew (now featuring first-round pick Ricky Pearsall) now has at least one more season to play together.
The Steelers falling short for Aiyuk spotlights a thin skill corps post-Diontae Johnson. George Pickens remains the top target for Tomlin’s team, and Pat Freiermuth looms as an extension candidate. Now-starter Russell Wilson, though, does not have much else of consequence to target. The team will need third-round rookie Roman Wilson, who missed training camp time due to injury, to step up early — barring a late-summer or in-season trade, that is.
Even though Pittsburgh’s receiver development has shined for many years, the team’s current setup — which also features ex-Rams and Falcons contributor Van Jefferson — appears thin. This is the ending the Steelers anticipated, however, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.
A champagne problem is approaching for the 49ers. With Aiyuk now signed and a Brock Purdy extension on the team’s 2025 radar, the prospect of Samuel’s future comes into focus. The 49ers may well be in trade talks again with a high-end wide receiver next year. Samuel will be 29 ahead of his 2025 contract year, and with Pearsall on a rookie deal for a while, he would be a more logical complement to his former Arizona State teammate — assuming Purdy is indeed extended — than Samuel, who joined Aiyuk in draft-weekend trade talks.
That is a down-the-road issue for the 49ers, who have managed to avoid what would have been an odd trade based on their trajectory. The team, which has continued to fall short in Super Bowls and NFC championship games, has retained the nucleus that pushed the Chiefs near double overtime in Super Bowl LVIII. Aiyuk will again be in place to help Purdy and Co. navigate that elusive hurdle this season.
Giants To Re-Sign CB Adoree’ Jackson
5:26pm: Jackson has indeed worked out a deal to remain with the Giants in 2024, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report. To no surprise, this will be a one-year agreement. Jackson will have the opportunity to once again serve in a notable role in New York before hitting the open market next spring.
9:25am: Steady updates of Giants concerns about their No. 2 cornerback spot may be leading them back to their previous plan. Although the team was not believed to be eyeing another deal with Adoree’ Jackson during the offseason, it looks like the situation has changed.
Jackson is meeting with the Giants today and is negotiating a deal to return, veteran NFL reporter Jordan Schultz tweets. The last of PFR’s top 50 free agents to remain unsigned, the veteran cornerback may soon have a second Giants contract in place. The former first-round pick started 36 games with the team on his previous deal. Mutual interest exists in a reunion, Schultz adds.
The Giants initially brought in Jackson on a three-year, $39MM deal during Dave Gettleman‘s final offseason in charge. They paired him with 2020 free agency pickup James Bradberry. Those two big-ticket contracts overlapped with Daniel Jones‘ rookie deal. With Jones now in Year 2 of a $40MM-AAV extension, the Giants had scaled back in the secondary. Two years after cutting Bradberry, the team let Xavier McKinney walk in free agency and was not intending to re-sign Jackson. But his replacement candidates have not seized the boundary job opposite 2023 first-rounder Deonte Banks.
Previously pinning their hopes on 2022 third-rounder Cor’Dale Flott — the team’s primary slot corner from 2022-23 — taking over for Jackson outside, the Giants saw the young defender struggle before suffering an injury earlier this month. Flott’s status moved Nick McCloud (11 career starts) into the mix to land the job, but a recent report suggested the Giants were looking into cornerback additions. They added veteran Duke Shelley to their practice squad Thursday; Jackson would qualify as a higher-profile pickup.
Jackson, 29 in September, missed time with an MCL sprain in 2022 but returned to help the Giants contain Justin Jefferson in the team’s wild-card upset. This came after Pro Football Focus had viewed the former Titans first-round pick as a top-20 corner in 2021. The Giants asked Jackson to shift to the slot to accommodate sixth-round rookie Tre Hawkins to open last season. Once Don Martindale benched the Day 3 rookie early in the season, Jackson was back in his old job — with Flott back in the slot — after weeks of inside training. PFF slotted Jackson outside the top 100 among CBs in 2023.
Although the Giants changed defensive systems this offseason, Jackson has experience with new DC Shane Bowen. Drafted during Mike Mularkey‘s HC run, the USC alum’s Tennessee tenure overlapped partially with Bowen’s. The current New York defensive honcho was in place as Titans outside linebackers coach during part of Jackson’s Tennessee tenure. Though, the Titans cut Jackson — who had missed extensive time due to injury in 2020 — ahead of Bowen’s first DC season. This came back when teams could pick up players’ fifth-year options and cut them free of charge. Jackson’s 2017 rookie class was the last to not have their Year 5 options fully guaranteed.
While Chidobe Awuzie and Kendall Fuller found homes quickly as third-contract-seeking CBs, Jackson’s market did not take off. The Giants look close to ending his lengthy free agency stay, however, and providing Bowen some veteran stability at CB2.
Chargers To Extend K Cameron Dicker
Eligible for an extension a year early due to his UDFA status, Cameron Dicker will capitalize. The Chargers have a deal in place to lock down their young specialist.
Dicker agreed to terms on a four-year, $22MM extension with the Bolts, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal will include $12.5MM guaranteed. While the deal is technically worth $22.004MM, Dicker effectively checks in — at $5.5MM per year — tied with Evan McPherson and Graham Gano at No. 5 among kicker salaries.
The former Texas kicker has only played one full season with the Chargers, who ended Dicker’s nomadic 2022 run with an in-season agreement. Originally a 2022 Rams UDFA, Dicker bounced to the Ravens and Eagles before catching on with the Bolts on a November 2022 practice squad pact. Dustin Hopkins‘ hamstring injury that year changed the Bolts’ plans at kicker.
Upon cutting their roster down to 53 last summer, the Chargers traded Hopkins to the Browns to clear the way for Dicker. Hopkins signed an extension with Cleveland this offseason, and Dicker now has security in Los Angeles. The Chargers will hope this can provide some kicker stability, as the team has gone through some hiccups at the position over the past several years.
Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the Bolts at this spot for a while. They have gone through multi-kicker seasons in five of the past seven years, seeing Week 1 kickers Younghoe Koo and Tristan Vizcaino not pan out in that span. Even mid-2010s option Josh Lambo only lasted two seasons in San Diego, with Nick Novak the last Charger to firmly establish himself here. This deal will give Dicker, 24, a runway to become the longest-tenured Bolts kicker since Nate Kaeding (2004-11).
Dicker impressed during his 2022 half-season audition, going 19-for-20 on field goals. In 2023, he showed that form could hold up over a full season, making 31 of 33 tries — including 9-for-9 from 40-49 yards and 7-for-9 from beyond 50 — in 17 games.
Despite the Chargers changing regimes this offseason, its Jim Harbaugh-led power structure will sign off on the Tom Telesco-era pickup for the long haul. Well, for the short term and then a wait-and-see period, as this is a kicker. But the $12.5MM guarantee — tied for the sixth-highest kicker figure — gives the longtime Longhorns option some stability after being unable to catch on to start his career.
Marquise Brown Expected To Miss Chiefs’ Week 1 Matchup
Kansas City’s receiving corps looks quite different from the group it trotted out to open last season. While the Chiefs ultimately won Super Bowl LVIII anyway, they made the expected call to revamp their pass-catching contingent this offseason.
One of the players brought in, as expected, will not be available to open the season. After suffering an injury during the Chiefs’ preseason opener, Marquise Brown is not expected to play in Week 1 against the Ravens, per Andy Reid.
The former Baltimore first-rounder sustained an SC joint injury comparable to Tyreek Hill‘s from 2019. The all-time great went down in Week 1 of the ’19 season and did not return until Week 6 that year. Brown suffered his injury August 10, potentially putting Kansas City’s Week 2 matchup — after the upcoming post-Thursday mini-bye — in play for the free agent signing’s debut.
Reid’s early assessment of Brown’s status comes after SI.com’s Albert Breer indicated the former Ravens and Cardinals starter would miss early-season time. The Chiefs open with the Ravens and Bengals, potentially needing to count on others against Cincinnati as well. Since signing Brown, however, the two-time reigning champions added Xavier Worthy in Round 1, re-signed Mecole Hardman and reunited with JuJu Smith-Schuster after the Patriots cut bait. With Travis Kelce available after missing last season’s opener, the Chiefs appear better equipped than they were against the Lions last year.
While Brett Veach compared the injury to Hill’s 2019 malady, the eighth-year GM is optimistic. Kansas City’s decision to leave Brown on the active roster, rather than use a cutdown-day IR-return designation, reflects the team’s belief the offseason pickup can come back soon. Brown would have been down for at least four games had Kansas City placed him on IR.
“I probably can confidently say it was similar to Tyreek, and I think given that timeline I think it falls within the timeline that Tyreek went through, but I know he’s here every day,” Veach said. “He’s to the point now where he can laugh without pain, so that’s a good thing. He’s certainly trending in the right direction, and look, there was a reason why we didn’t put him on the IR to start the season.”
Brown has gone through some injury bouts as a pro. A Lisfranc issue plagued him as a rookie, though the 2019 draftee played 14 games that year. The Cardinals rarely saw a fully healthy Brown. More foot trouble intervened last season, causing Brown to miss five games in 2022. The Oklahoma alum also played through a heel injury for much of the 2023 season, ultimately missing three games. The Chiefs will hope for a September return.
Seahawks GM: Team Not Discussing Geno Smith Extension
Hovering in largely unexplored territory on the quarterback salary spectrum, Geno Smith pursued a Seahawks extension this offseason. While the team adjusted the third-year starter’s deal, that came merely via a restructure. A more notable adjustment appears out of reach for the time being.
The Seahawks do not sound especially interested in extending a quarterback who has two years remaining on his current contract. GM John Schneider said (via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar) it would be inaccurate to indicate the team talked extension terms with its current QB1 this offseason.
Smith is believed to have sought an an extension this offseason, but the Seahawks have him tied to what is now an incredibly team-friendly deal. After the Russell Wilson successor played another season for backup money (one year, $3.5MM) during his Comeback Player of the Year season, the Seahawks rewarded him with a three-year, $75MM extension. Although the contract represented a substantial raise at the time, a number of deals involving comparable quarterbacks have dwarfed where the Seahawks went for a player they had carried as a backup.
For both AAV and guarantees, this came in well south of where the Saints went for Derek Carr and Giants ventured for Daniel Jones during the 2023 offseason. Baker Mayfield‘s three-year, $100MM deal also created distance between the Buccaneers QB and Smith, whose $25MM average salary is on its own tier among starters — between the franchise-level arms and the Gardner Minshew/Sam Darnold level. Smith is the NFL’s 20th-highest-paid passer, but no one else is between Minshew’s $12.5MM AAV and Mayfield’s $33.3MM number.
Schneider’s comment on this matter pushes back on the previous report that indicated Smith’s camp did discuss a new deal with the team. At no point, however, has it appeared a new deal was imminent. Smith’s $25MM-per-year pact runs through the 2025 season, and the Seahawks have flexibility via no guarantees remaining on the accord beyond this year. New HC Mike Macdonald proclaimed Smith his starter early this offseason, and by remaining on Seattle’s roster in mid-February, the 12th-year veteran locked in $12.7MM guaranteed.
The Seahawks also restructured Smith’s contract, creating cap space and making it slightly more difficult to move on in 2025. Though, with no guarantees in the mix for next year, the team would only need to navigate $13.5MM in dead money were it to move on next year. This gives the team a season to evaluate Smith in Ryan Grubb‘s offense.
From Smith’s perspective, he is running short on time to capitalize on his newfound starter status. The former Jets second-rounder-turned-journeyman will turn 34 in October. The Seahawks passed on adding an heir apparent in 2023 or 2024, but this new coaching staff certainly could have such a move on the radar. Extending a player Pete Carroll brought in when two years remain on the deal does not seem a priority.
For now, the Seahawks have only Smith and trade acquisition Sam Howell in their quarterback room. The team added P.J. Walker this offseason but released the veteran backup earlier this week. Schneider did not rule out bringing Walker back, via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, as it sounds like the team does plan on adding a de facto third-stringer at some point soon.