Vikings To Sign OLB Jonathan Greenard
The Vikings had attempted to re-sign Danielle Hunter, but the nine-year Minnesota pass rusher appeared intent on exploring the market. It looks like the Vikings sack ace will be headed elsewhere, as the team is making a big investment at the position.
Jonathan Greenard has a deal in place with the Vikings, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report. The four-year Texans contributor is coming off his best season — a 12.5-sack campaign — and played a key role in Houston making a surprise run to the divisional round. He will cash in as a result.
Minnesota will give Greenard a four-year, $76MM deal that includes $42MM guaranteed, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. The Texans were interested in keeping Greenard, but the team seemed a bit leery about where his market would end up. While it did not quite take a $20MM-AAV deal to land Greenard, the Texans will stand down.
PFR’s free agency rankings slotted Greenard one spot higher than Hunter, despite the latter being a more proven pass rusher. Greenard, however, is three years younger than Hunter. The former third-round pick is set to begin his age-27 season in Minnesota. Hunter will turn 30 later this year.
Greenard is coming off a strong contract year, but he had shown flashes — albeit for off-grid Texans teams in the wake of the Deshaun Watson mess — prior to that 2023 breakthrough. Greenard totaled eight sacks in 2021 but ran into injury trouble in 2022. Shifted to defensive end in DeMeco Ryans‘ system, Greenard led the Texans in sacks last season by a wide margin.
While Will Anderson won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, Greenard served as the team’s top sack artist in 2023. Ranking 20th with 33 quarterback pressures, Greenard smashed his career-high with 22 QB hits. He ranked sixth among edge rushers in ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric in 2023. A similar effort will be expected in Minneapolis.
With the Vikings in transition on the edge, they will look to him — in all likelihood — as their No. 1 option next season. The Vikings came into the tampering period with Hunter, Marcus Davenport and D.J. Wonnum unsigned. They exited last season with Davenport and Wonnum on the shelf as well. Brian Flores will soon get to work attempting to mold Greenard into a Pro Bowl-level edge presence.
The youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks, Hunter was a pivotal Vikings defender for much of the Mike Zimmer era and beyond. He used the past two seasons to bounce back, and while the Vikings held onto the former third-rounder at last year’s trade deadline, the sides’ August contract reworking prevented them from using the franchise tag. As it stands, Hunter appears set to depart the Twin Cities after one of the best runs by a pass rusher in the team’s modern history.
Saints To Extend LB Demario Davis
Demario Davis was already on the books for 2024, but the lack of guaranteed money on his deal led to uncertainty regarding his future. The All-Pro linebacker will remain with the Saints, however, having agreed to a new deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the sides have worked out an agreement on a two-year, $17.25MM contract.
In Saints fashion, this agreement will create cap space. Davis had been tied to an $18.2MM cap hit in his contract year; this pact will reduce that and help a perpetually cap-strapped New Orleans operation. Going into today’s legal tampering period, the Saints resided $10MM-plus over the cap.
This will also give Davis more security in the form of guarantees; the veteran linebacker had been tied to a nonguaranteed 2024 salary worth $10MM. Davis has been one of the Saints’ top players for many years, and the 35-year-old defender will be set for a seventh season in Louisiana.
Davis has continually showcased a versatile skillset, being one of the best blitzing ‘backers in this era. The former Jets and Browns starter, despite being an off-ball presence, is coming off back-to-back 6.5-sack seasons. As Cameron Jordan has moved into his mid-30s and Payton Turner having not delivered on a first-round investment, Davis’ sack production has been important for a Saints team still trying to find its footing post-Drew Brees.
A marvel in IDP fantasy leagues, Davis paired 121 tackles and six pass breakups with those 6.5 sacks last season. The durable defender has posted 100-tackle seasons in each of his six Saints slates, adding 29.5 sacks during his New Orleans run. While Davis is nearing the end of an impressive career, the Saints will keep him around for at least one more season. A reassessment after this age-35 season seems likely, even as Davis has continued to deliver upper-crust work into his mid-30s.
Bears To Sign RB D’Andre Swift
Coming off a Pro Bowl berth and his healthiest NFL season, D’Andre Swift has an advantage on this year’s market. Of the higher-profile starters, the four-year veteran is the youngest and freshest. The Bears showed immediate interest and are making a deal.
Expected to make an aggressive push to land Swift (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter), the Bears now have a new running back. Chicago is giving Swift a three-year, $24MM deal, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. Chicago is frontloading this deal, albeit slightly, with Garafolo indicating Swift will receive $16.5MM over the deal’s first two years.
Going into his age-25 season, Swift has logged 593 career carries. Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley‘s totals dwarf that. While those two are still the top backs on the market, Swift is drawing interest. Although the Texans showed interest, the Bears will make the first free agency splash this year.
The RB market took several hits last year, but the cap spike stands to help players at all positions. And Swift drew two early suitors, helping his first free agency foray. His early deal will help set the 2024 market. The numbers point to Barkley and Jacobs doing well, though the guarantees here will better illustrate the deal.
The Bears certainly enjoyed an extensive look at Swift during his Detroit years, though GM Ryan Poles was only in place in his role for the 2022 season — one that featured a Swift demotion of sorts as Jamaal Williams seized the Lions’ lead role. But Swift helped his cause in Philly, joining Miles Sanders in that regard. Despite Sanders struggling in Carolina, Chicago will dive in on the latest Eagles starter.
Acquired during the draft, Swift totaled 1,049 rushing yards after commandeering the lead role from Kenneth Gainwell in Week 2 of last season. While Swift benefited from running behind a top-tier Eagles O-line, he showcased plus pass-game ability with the Lions in the past. The former second-round pick produced 452 receiving yards for an undermanned 2021 Lions team, getting there in 13 games. Nagging injuries, of course, have been a Swift drawback. But it appears teams are ready to see how he will look in their offense.
The Bears were not exactly thin at running back, making this signing interesting. Khalil Herbert remains on his rookie deal, and the team drafted Roschon Johnson in the 2023 fourth round. Travis Homer is under contract as well, though D’Onta Foreman had played out another one-year deal. Swift’s contract does not leave much doubt about where he stands in Chicago’s backfield pecking order. The recent Pro Bowl selection will parlay that Eagles run into a starting role in the Windy City, as the Bears are heading toward a Swift-Caleb Williams backfield.
Raiders Unlikely To Keep RB Josh Jacobs Off Market; Team Has Made Offer
After three franchise tags diluted the 2023 running back market, it appears the free agent market will feature a flood of veteran starters this year. The Raiders are almost definitely going to need to outbid competition to keep Josh Jacobs.
The team had been trying to re-sign Jacobs, but with a new GM in place, some uncertainty entered the equation despite the former rushing champion stumping for Antonio Pierce earlier this offseason. The Raiders still want Jacobs back, but ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler indicates he is likely headed to the market.
Las Vegas has made an offer to Jacobs, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who adds the 2019 first-round pick could soon be tied to an eight-figure-per-year average salary. Coming off Jacobs’ 2022 rushing title, the Raiders made an offer to extend him just before the July deadline. Jacobs passed and was unable to replicate his strong form of 2022. While he showed more under Pierce in the season’s second half, the five-year Raiders starter only posted two 100-yard games in an 805-yard season that saw the Alabama alum rank in the bottom five in Next Gen Stats’ rushing yards over expected metric.
The legal tampering period begins in less than an hour, putting teams that want to keep certain UFAs in crunch time. Being this close to free agency for the first time, Jacobs will naturally want to see gauge his value when given the ability to speak with multiple teams for the first time. He and Saquon Barkley profile as the top backs available, and Fowler adds they may well be off the board early. Barkley’s market is expected to surpass Jacobs’, but this does give the 2022 rushing champ a shot to hit free agency before his age-26 season. Barkley did not have that chance last year, joining Jacobs and Tony Pollard in being tagged.
Barkley and Jacobs join Pollard, Austin Ekeler, Derrick Henry, D’Andre Swift, Devin Singletary and Gus Edwards as starters who will test free agency. Jacobs took a step back last year and finished the season on the shelf with multiple contusions. The Raiders also hired a new GM — Tom Telesco — who passed on renegotiating Ekeler’s deal last year with the Chargers, instead signing off on a small incentive package. With so many available backs, the Raiders may go shopping soon.
Eagles Extend G Landon Dickerson
Well known for long-term O-line planning during Howie Roseman‘s second run as the team’s top decision-maker, the Eagles will make another such reinvestment. They are extending Landon Dickerson.
The Eagles are giving their Pro Bowl left guard a four-year deal, according to a team announcement. Dickerson’s rookie contract runs through 2024, with this extension running through 2028. Showing the Eagles’ commitment here, Dickerson has only been extension-eligible since January.
This is new guard-record money. Dickerson signed an $84MM deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who adds the contract can max out at $87MM. The former Alabama and Florida State blocker will receive $50MM guaranteed. At $21MM per year, Dickerson is now tied to the top AAV in guard history. This surpasses Chris Lindstrom‘s $20.5MM-per-year pact, which the Falcons authorized just before last year’s legal tampering period began.
Jason Kelce‘s retirement will test the Eagles, who once had Dickerson in line as a potential center heir apparent. The team liked what it saw of Dickerson at guard as rookie, however, and he has remained there since. The Eagles drafted Jurgens in the 2022 second round and installed him as the Kelce successor. That will give the Eagles a decision to make at right guard; with Dickerson locked in, it appears LG is shored up for a while.
Dickerson, 25, has started 46 of the 47 games he has played since the Eagles drafted him 37th overall in 2021. The team had seen Isaac Seumalo struggle with injuries in 2020 and 2021, and Dickerson brought some stability as Nick Sirianni shifted to a run-heavy attack around Jalen Hurts three years ago. Dickerson has been central to the team’s run game since, with Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift posting 1,000-yard Pro Bowl seasons in back-to-back years. Various Brotherly Shove efforts have featured pivotal Dickerson work as well.
Dickerson has proven deserving of a big-ticket contract, booking two straight Pro Bowl nods. ESPN graded Dickerson as a dominant blocker in 2022, slotting him first in run block win rate and second in pass block success. He repeated as that metric’s run-blocking leader last year. Pro Football Focus has graded Dickerson as a top-20 guard in each of the past two seasons.
The Eagles now have three O-line starters signed to veteran deals, with Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata locked in beyond 2024. Jurgens’ rookie deal also runs through 2025.
Jets To Re-Sign K Greg Zuerlein
The Jets had wanted to bring back Greg Zuerlein; they now have an agreement in place to greenlight a third season with the strong-legged kicker.
Zuerlein is re-signing with the Jets, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. This time, the former Rams All-Pro will stay in New York on a two-year deal. The 13th-year kicker’s latest contract is worth $8.4MM, Pelissero adds.
This is upper-middle-class kicker territory, as several specialists are now tied to deals north of $5MM per year. Zuerlein turned 36 late last season, however, and has gone year to year since the Cowboys cut him in 2022. This brings some security for the Division II alum, who is now one of the NFL’s longest-tenured kickers.
After being a Cowboys cut in 2022, Zuerlein has settled in with the Jets. The former Rams specialist turned in his best season since an All-Pro 2017 campaign, making 35 of 38 field goal tries. That marked Zuerlein’s best season since that 2017 All-Pro campaign. While Jets and Cowboys work has not brought the high-stakes environments Zuerlein encountered in 2018 with the Rams, when he booked the team’s Super Bowl berth after a game-winning 57-yard field goal in New Orleans, he has remained a dependable specialist.
Zuerlein has brought the Jets some kicker stability as well. After passing on re-signing Jason Myers following his 2018 Pro Bowl season, the Jets had cycled through kickers. Even Myers was only in the Big Apple for one season. The Jets used multiple kickers during the 2019, ’20 and ’21 seasons. Zuerlein has kicked in all but one game since signing with New York in 2022. As the team attempts to regroup around Aaron Rodgers, it will keep its kicker. Another Thomas Morstead agreement may soon follow.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins Requests Trade
To no surprise, the Bengals used the franchise tag on wideout Tee Higgins and in doing so prevented him from reaching free agency. He could still be playing on a new team by the start of the 2024 season, though. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Higgins has requested a trade.
This is complicated territory for the Bengals, who may well be renting Higgins via the tag. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow extension and its plans for a Ja’Marr Chase payday — its top WR priority — may make a Higgins extension untenable. But the team carved out enough cap space for a Higgins tag this year. The team’s No. 2 wideout may not be on board with the team’s plan, one that would delay his long-term payday by a year.
The Bengals saw their hopes at breaking through for a Super Bowl title dashed when Burrow went down in November. A Higgins tag would offer a mulligan of sorts, keeping the Burrow-Chase-Higgins window open for one more year. Player personnel director Duke Tobin, who shot down Higgins trade rumors at the 2023 Combine, recently said a tag-and-trade scenario was unlikely.
“The message is we really like Tee and we’re a better team with Tee. In terms of our intentions and answering hypotheticals, I won’t get into that,” Tobin said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith. “We feel like we’re a better team with him. The reason we franchised him is we’d like to have him.”
Tag rentals have been going on since the NFL introduced the player-retention tool in 1993, and standout wide receivers regularly need to wait until Year 5 for a payday. CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson are in this boat, due to being first-round picks in 2020, and Chase will probably join them. The Bengals picking up Chase’s fifth-year option can allow them to table extension talks to 2025.
Cincinnati dealing Higgins would hurt its chances of winning a championship this year, though the receiver market not including Mike Evans (re-signed) or Michael Pittman Jr. (tagged) could make offers for the Clemson alum tempting. Higgins would certainly fetch a strong haul for the Bengals, and Cincy tagging Higgins so early could have been interpreted as a way for the team to see what a trade would bring back. But this is an old-school organization that typically does not give in on these fronts. It will be interesting to see if any traction develops here.
Latest On Chiefs’ Chris Jones Contract
Last year, the Chiefs were unwilling to go near the Aaron Donald salary range for Chris Jones, attempting to pay him in line with the younger crop of defensive tackles extended in 2023. With Jones on the cusp of free agency, the team relented. And some big numbers are coming out as a result.
Saturday night’s Chiefs-Jones agreement produced a new interior D-line AAV record and a new guarantee standard — the latter by a massive margin. Jones agreed to a five-year, $158.75MM deal, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. That comes out to $31.75MM per year, a significant number due to Donald’s $31.67MM accord leading the way at the position previously.
It does not appear that previous $95MM number represents a full guarantee, but it does double as a practical guarantee. The Chiefs will revisit the rolling guarantee structure they used for Patrick Mahomes with Jones. The team would have to cut Jones in 2025 to avoid the $95.3MM guarantee, Florio adds. Guaranteed at signing: a $30MM signing bonus, Jones’ 2024 and 2025 salaries ($1.25MM, $13.75MM) and a $15MM 2025 roster bonus. The rest of Jones’ guarantees are in place to vest in 2025.
Jones’ 2026 salary ($19MM) is guaranteed for injury at signing but becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2025 league year. The future Hall of Fame D-tackle will be due a $16MM roster bonus in 2025. This is classified as a 2026 roster bonus, but KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson indicates it is guaranteed for injury already and will be guaranteed fully if Jones is on the Chiefs’ roster on Day 3 of the 2025 league year. The Chiefs have turned to this year-out guarantee on multiple fronts with Jones, who should be set to pick up the second bonus as well.
The contract shifts to a more traditional structure after Year 3. If Jones is still on the Chiefs’ roster as of Day 3 of the 2027 league year, $3MM of his 2027 base salary ($28.25MM) will become guaranteed. Jones’ 2028 base salary ($35MM) is nonguaranteed. This deal almost definitely will not be an active contract by 2028.
Jones has a clear path to securing $95.3MM in guarantees by 2025. For reference, Donald received $46.5MM of his 2022 raise guaranteed at signing. Though, the Rams icon only agreed to a three-year deal. Jones signing a five-year contract helped on this front.
It is safe to assume the Chiefs would not have needed to go near this guarantee place had they agreed to pay Jones last year — before the historic cap spike occurred. But the threat of Jones’ departure looks to have changed the Chiefs’ thinking, and the longtime DT standout’s quality contract year — one that led the way in another Super Bowl win, as Kansas City’s offense regressed — set himself up for this monumental payday.
Panthers To Re-Sign CB Troy Hill
Troy Hill spent the 2023 season on his third team in as many years. His time in Carolina will provide short-term continuity, however. The veteran corner is re-signing on a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Serving as one of this period’s longest-running slot cornerbacks, Hill stepped into that role with the Panthers in 2023. The team signed the veteran inside cover man just before last season, reuniting the ex-Rams cog with former Los Angeles DBs coach Ejiro Evero. With Evero blocked from leaving Carolina this offseason, the Panthers are rolling with that plan once again.
Despite signing barely a week before last season, Hill played in 16 Panthers games and saw action on 50% of the 2-15 team’s defensive snaps. Hill’s age (33 in August) would not stand to line up with the Panthers’ timeline, given the significant step back that occurred last season. And teams do not exactly make a habit of signing corners nearing their mid-30s. But Hill’s familiarity with Evero’s scheme will help him stay in the game ahead of what would be a ninth NFL season.
Hill worked with Evero for four seasons in Los Angeles. While he missed the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl-winning season, the longtime slot cog was a regular as Sean McVay rebuilt the team. Hill played in Super Bowl LIII, but the Rams traded him to the Browns during the 2021 draft. He returned to L.A. in 2022, but Evero was in Denver by then.
Last season, Pro Football Focus rated Hill 77th overall among corners. He intercepted one pass and broke up six others, forcing a fumble as well. Hill is certainly not a long-term solution at this point in his career, but the Panthers will aim to use him as one of their Jaycee Horn complementary pieces in 2024. The team has more questions at corner, after cutting Donte Jackson, but Hill’s presence could answer one of those just before free agency opens.
Free Agency Notes: Queen, Seahawks, Packers, Panthers, Pats, Jackson, Bengals
The Ravens’ Roquan Smith payment always made it likely Patrick Queen would need to collect his money elsewhere. Now that Queen’s most recent defensive coordinator landed a coaching job, a logical fit has emerged. Indeed, many executives predicted (via the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora) Queen would wind up reunited with Mike Macdonald in Seattle. With the Seahawks likely to again part ways with Bobby Wagner, spots are open. Jordyn Brooks, who joined Queen as a 2020 first-round LB pick, is also on the cusp of free agency. Queen is coming off his best season — a Pro Bowl showing alongside Smith — and turned a corner once the Bears trade commenced last year.
Checking in eighth on PFR’s top 50 free agents list (before the Chris Jones and Baker Mayfield deals), Queen could be in line to rival what Tremaine Edmunds received ($18MM per year, $41.8MM fully guaranteed) last year and land a top-five ILB contract. Barely 12 hours from the legal tampering period, here is the latest from the free agent scene:
- Not known for splashy signings, the Packers do look like they are ready to upgrade at one position on the market. Green Bay appears likely to look at the top safeties available, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Although several veteran safeties became street free agents due to recent cuts (Justin Simmons, Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs and Jordan Poyer among them), this saturated market does include two young guns that should be paid well soon. It would not shock to see the Pack pursue Xavier McKinney and Kamren Curl, Fowler adds. Both safeties are going into their age-25 seasons, which could separate them on a crowded market.
- The Panthers released Bradley Bozeman today, and while they will look for a center, expect a guard pursuit as well. This year’s market is big on guards, and The Athletic’s Joe Person writes the Panthers want to upgrade at a guard spot this offseason. Carolina lost both its starting guards — Brady Christensen, Austin Corbett — to major injuries last season, representing one of the many issues on offense in Bryce Young‘s rookie year. The team does not consider Ikem Ekwonu an option. Despite the 2022 first-rounder playing guard at points in college, ESPN.com’s David Newton indicates the new coaching staff is keeping him at left tackle.
- The Patriots are open to bringing back J.C. Jackson, according to Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline. Jackson’s season ended early after the team placed the veteran cornerback on the reserve/NFI list. Should Jackson move past the mental health struggles that wrapped his first season back in New England, Pauline adds the team is open to another reunion despite last week’s release.
- Seeing a revolving door form at right tackle (Bobby Hart, Riley Reiff, La’el Collins, Jonah Williams) over the past four years, the Bengals want that to stop. They may be ready to take a two-pronged approach by adding a veteran and a potential rookie heir apparent. “We would like to have somebody man the right tackle spot for a number of years, yes,” player personnel director Duke Tobin said (via The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.). “We’d like it to be a young guy that can come in and do that or a veteran that might have the opportunity to rebuild his career, something. But yes, we would like that to be manned on multiple fronts. But we’re focused with having it manned well enough to provide us a chance to win next year. That’s the No. 1 thing.” Williams is a free agent, and given the market he might have — as a chance to move to left tackle may await — it is unlikely the 2019 first-round pick is back in Cincinnati.