49ers View Brandon Allen As QB2 Option For 2024
Previously Joe Burrow‘s backup in Cincinnati, Brandon Allen could soon see the cards fall in his favor in San Francisco. Not joining the 49ers until May, their current third-string quarterback looks to have an opportunity to move up the depth chart fairly soon.
Sam Darnold resides as Brock Purdy‘s unquestioned backup, but after injuries changed a slew of teams’ QB plans this season, it would not surprise to see the NFL collectively place a greater emphasis on the backup role in free agency. Darnold would stand to benefit, being one of the league’s top backups. While Darnold said he chose the 49ers in large part because of Kyle Shanahan and the team’s weaponry, the former No. 3 overall pick may well become too expensive for the team to retain.
Enter Allen, whom The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes the team views as a “strong candidate” to be Purdy’s backup next season (subscription required). The 49ers made it a priority to acquire Allen after the draft, despite employing Trey Lance at the time. Allen is tied to a veteran-minimum deal (one year, $1.23MM) for his experience level. The journeyman backup will carry a much lower price tag compared to Darnold, who will be in position to command more than the one-year, $4.5MM deal he signed in March.
Allen, 31, is a ninth-year veteran who has taken snaps in just four of those seasons. A 2015 Jaguars sixth-round pick, the Arkansas alum spent time with the Rams and Broncos prior to a three-year run as Burrow’s Bengals backup. Allen’s most notable work came during the 2019 and ’20 seasons, when he made eight combined starts in place of injured starters (Joe Flacco and Burrow). Allen does not bring an impressive statistical resume, holding a career 6.1-yard average per attempt and a 56.7% completion rate. He is 2-7 as a starter. But the 6-foot-2 passer, who stepped into the QB3 role in earnest after the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys, will have a year of experience in Shanahan’s offense.
Considering the issues the 49ers have experienced at quarterback under Shanahan, it would surprise if the team did not explore a higher-end backup in the event Darnold leaves for either a bridge-QB job or joins a team with a less solidified starter. San Francisco, however, has seen Purdy recover from his UCL tear and become a Pro Bowl invitee. The experience gap between Darnold and Allen is certainly notable, and even with Nick Bosa on a defender-record extension and Brandon Aiyuk an extension candidate, it would surprise if the 49ers did not explore the backup market again. But Allen looks to be a clear QB2 option for 2024.
Devin Singletary Aiming To Re-Sign With Texans
Devin Singletary operated as the primary Bills running back during most of Josh Allen‘s initial years as their quarterback, but the former third-round pick did not receive too much interest on the open market.
A crowded running back free agent class led to a host of low-cost deals, giving the Texans an opportunity to add a proven veteran on a one-year, $2.75MM contract. Singletary has outperformed that deal, though the running back position’s value remains in question despite Jonathan Taylor‘s extension. Taylor’s Saturday counterpart would prefer to avoid another relocation.
Singletary said Thursday he wants to run it back with the Texans, via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, indicating he would embrace a return if the organization expresses interest as well. DeMeco Ryans has viewed Singletary as a vital part in the team’s turnaround, and the 5-foot-7 running back is closing in on a career-high total for single-season rushing yards.
Once again displaying durability, the diminutive back has taken over as Houston’s lead ball carrier. Dameon Pierce led the way as a rookie and spent the first half of this season as the Texans’ starter, but the 2022 fourth-round pick has not offered up a quality follow-up effort. With 835 rushing yards, Singletary more than doubles Pierce’s total (416). Pierce is also averaging just 2.9 yards per carry (to Singletary’s 4.3). Houston’s current RB1 ranks 16th in Next Gen Stats’ rushing yards over expected metric, with 58. Pierce ranks in the bottom five near the end of a disappointing season in Bobby Slowik‘s offense.
While GM Nick Caserio drafted Pierce, the Florida alum was obtained to play in Pep Hamilton‘s offense. Singletary has proven a fit under Slowik, who will certainly be back if he does not land a head coaching job during this year’s cycle. Singletary logged two high-volume college seasons, totaling 714 carries across his career at Florida Atlantic, but has played in at least 16 games in each of the past three seasons.
Having never topped 300 receiving yards in a season, Singletary likely will not carry a substantial price tag for 2024. Another crowded free agent market will affect his next salary. This year’s three franchise-tagged backs — Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard — join the likes of D’Andre Swift, Austin Ekeler, Derrick Henry, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins and ex-Bills teammate Zack Moss as free agents-to-be. But the 26-year-old back has likely upped his market by a bit. Considering Singletary’s importance in the Texans’ new offense, it would be a bit surprising if the team was not interested in a second contract.
Cowboys, La’el Collins Agree To Deal
JANUARY 3, 6:50pm: The Cowboys and Collins have officially come to an agreement, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
JANUARY 3, 11:00am: The Cowboys have not officially brought back Collins, with NFL.com’s Jane Slater indicating an agreement is not complete. Slater adds both sides want this to come to pass, but Mike McCarthy confirmed Wednesday the contract is not done.
Being a practice squad agreement, this deal does not bring much in terms of complications. McCarthy added (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the sides are “working through some things.” A Collins return appears likely, but it appears the particulars will take some time.
JANUARY 2: La’el Collins‘ lengthy free agency stay will end Tuesday. The visit Collins made to his original NFL home earlier today will result in a reunion. The Cowboys are bringing the veteran offensive lineman back, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.
This will be a practice squad deal, but it will be Collins’ first agreement since the Bengals cut him from their reserve/PUP list in September. Collins had met with the Jets, Giants and Bills (last week) since that separation but did not find a new gig. The Cowboys, who employed him from 2015-21, will step in and greenlight a return.
Initially signing Collins — a first-round-caliber talent who fell out of the 2015 draft due to an off-field concern at the time — as a UDFA, the Cowboys moved him from guard to right tackle early in his career and gave him two extensions to reward him for work at his second NFL position. Collins has been a right tackle regular for many years, though speedbumps have emerged during his career. This year qualifies, after the Bengals reconfigured their O-line without him in their first-string plans.
Collins operated as Dallas’ full-time right tackle from 2017-19 and again in 2021, though a PED suspension marred the final season of his first Cowboys stint. The team will sign off on a second stay, and Collins will represent insurance for a Cowboys team that has dealt with some injuries up front. Left guard Tyler Smith came out of Dallas’ Week 17 game with a full plantar fascia tear, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer notes. Tyron Smith and Zack Martin have dealt with maladies this year as well, though the former has logged 12 starts and has made a bigger contribution to this year’s Cowboys effort than last season’s.
Given a big-ticket extension this summer, Terence Steele — who suffered a torn ACL late last season — has not recaptured his pre-injury form just yet. Pro Football Focus ranks Steele in the bottom 10 among tackle regulars this season (75th), well off his quality 2022 performance that garnered the five-year, $82.5MM extension. The Cowboys plugged in Steele, a former UDFA, to succeed Collins last year — after the team designated the latter as a post-June 1 cut. Collins, 30, is set to return as insurance to close out what may still end up a lost year for the veteran blocker.
Tyler Smith has not been ruled out for Week 18, though Collins has not played guard in many years. The Cowboys slid the LSU alum to right tackle in 2017, and the Bengals did not consider kicking him back inside to accommodate the Orlando Brown Jr.. addition. Jonah Williams replaced Collins at RT this season. Collins has 86 starts on his resume but has not yet bounced back from the ACL and MCL tears he suffered in Week 16 of the 2022 season. The Cowboys made decent use of P-squad addition Jason Peters last season; Collins now resides in the veteran insurance role.
Rams To Start Carson Wentz In Week 18
The Rams have clinched a playoff berth, doing so after a lower-key offseason pointed the team toward a retooling year. But Los Angeles is not locked into a seed just yet. Nevertheless, the team will rest its starting quarterback in Week 18.
Matthew Stafford will take a seat for the Rams’ regular-season finale, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, with Carson Wentz taking the reins for the first time since his November arrival. The Rams added Wentz after Brett Rypien struggled in relief of Stafford in Green Bay.
Los Angeles’ loss in Green Bay is suddenly relevant. If the Packers beat the Bears and the Rams lose to what will likely be a cast of 49ers second-stringers, Green Bay becomes the NFC’s No. 6 seed and Los Angeles drops to the No. 7 spot. The Cowboys and Lions, respectively, are the likely Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the NFC. This could conceivably derail a Stafford return to Detroit in Round 1, though the 49ers will not be at full strength after having clinched home-field advantage in the NFC bracket.
Wentz signed a one-year deal worth $733K with the Rams on Nov. 7 and immediately became Stafford’s backup. The Rams have seen their starter return to form this season, operating as one of the NFC’s best quarterbacks after multiple injuries nagged him in 2022. Wentz, 31, has now had nearly two months to learn Sean McVay‘s playbook. This represents an audition opportunity for the scrutinized passer, who was not closely linked to a team before the Rams agreement came to pass.
The Eagles, Colts and Commanders have respectively moved on from Wentz over the past three offseasons. After he produced a solid TD-INT ratio in Indianapolis (27 TDs, seven picks), Wentz finished poorly and saw Jim Irsay effectively order him to be dealt. The Commanders traded two third-round picks for the former No. 2 overall choice, but after a season in which Wentz did not get his job back for several weeks after returning from a hand injury, Washington released him to create considerable cap space. Last season, Wentz threw 11 touchdown passes and nine INTs — three of the picks coming in a Week 17 start against the Browns. The Commanders benched him for Sam Howell in Week 18 of last season.
Baker Mayfield‘s signs of life in McVay’s offense helped land him a starting job this season, but Wentz will obviously have a smaller window to showcase his form. But the former Eagles extension recipient will have a chance to play before likely returning to free agency in March.
Dolphins’ Jerome Baker Returns To Practice; Xavien Howard Unlikely For Week 18
The Dolphins are moving closer to making their final IR-return decision. With one activation remaining, Miami is preparing to use it on Jerome Baker. The veteran linebacker returned to practice Wednesday.
Baker moving from the IR-return window back to the 53-man roster would close the book on the Dolphins’ injury activations this season. Isaiah Wynn and Salvon Ahmed reside on Miami’s IR. While Mike McDaniel did not close the door on Wynn returning when he went down in November, the second-year Dolphins HC classified the left guard starter coming back as an unlikely scenario.
A sixth-year Dolphins linebacker, Baker has been out since suffering an MCL injury in early December. The Dolphins gave Baker a three-year, $37.5MM extension in 2021; the deal runs through the ’24 season. Baker has been a starter since his rookie season, making 82 starts for the team that drafted him in the 2018 third round.
McDaniel did not confirm Jaylen Waddle would miss Sunday’s pivotal Bills rematch, though that is the expectation. But the young HC did say (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) Xavien Howard is not expected to go in Week 18. Howard sustained a foot injury against the Ravens.
Baker, 27, has excelled as a hybrid performer during his career. Stationed as an off-ball linebacker, the Mike Tannenbaum-era draftee has 22.5 career sacks. Only 1.5 of those have come in Vic Fangio‘s defense this season, but Baker has extensive pass-rushing productivity in his past. That could be relevant for a Dolphins team that has seen Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb suffer season-ending injuries. The Dolphins have until Saturday afternoon to activate Baker from IR.
Defensive injuries hounded Fangio during his time in Denver, when Chubb and Von Miller rarely saw the field together during the current Dolphins DC’s three-season run as the Broncos’ head coach. The Chubb ACL tear coming a month after Phillips’ Achilles tear reminds of those Broncos health issues, though these maladies have hit a Dolphins team that clinched a playoff berth. Miami, which played half the season without Jalen Ramsey, can lock down the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a win over Buffalo. A loss would drop the Dolphins to a wild-card position.
The Dolphins lost Howard four plays into their blowout defeat against the Ravens. While the team played without Ramsey for a chunk of the season, it was unable to deter Lamar Jackson in a likely MVP-clinching performance. The Ravens superstar threw five touchdown passes against the depleted Dolphins, who lost Chubb late in the game.
Howard, 30, has missed three games this season already. While Pro Football Focus has not viewed Howard’s ninth NFL season as especially strong, ranking him 99th among cornerbacks, the veteran ballhawk is a key part of Miami’s defense. Howard has 29 career interceptions, though only one of those thefts has come this season. It would certainly sting the Dolphins if he and Waddle were unavailable, as Miami has seen a number of starters go down during the season’s second half.
Trent Brown Expected To Reach Free Agency; Michael Onwenu Addresses Extension Talks
Among the list of shortcomings in New England this season, the team’s tackle position — a concern during the offseason — has seen its expected starters run into health shortcomings. Riley Reiff played in just one game during the most injury-plagued season of his career, and Trent Brown has seen injuries intervene once again.
In Year 3 of his second Patriots stint, Brown has missed five games. Ankle and knee injuries have hampered the Pats’ starting left tackle, but some internal frustration with the big-bodied blocker has developed within the building, according to the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi.
Brown, 30, has not started a game since Dec. 3, though he has played in two since that contest while missing two more during this span. The Patriots removed Brown from their injury report last week but made him a healthy scratch. Indicating some believe he has prioritized — as this season has gone south — making it to free agency healthy, Giardi adds (via NESN.com) Brown has also caused issues with tardiness. It does not look like Brown will be re-signed before free agency, and the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed points to a likely separation taking place soon.
“We already had that opportunity. We have had plenty of opportunities to get that done,” Brown said of a Patriots extension, via Sophie Weller of A to Z Sports. “I mean, I’m not opposed to it, but we are at the end of the season. … It’d be kind of like, I feel like I’d be kind of doing myself a disservice to not see what other opportunities are out there, just at this point.”
After working as the Pats’ left tackle on their Super Bowl LIII-winning team, Brown did remarkably well as a free agent back in 2019. The Raiders gave him a then-tackle-record four-year, $66MM accord. Brown made the 2019 Pro Bowl, but a COVID-19-marred 2020 season — a campaign in which he played five games — led to the Raiders trading him back to the Patriots. Playing both left and right tackle since returning to Foxborough, Brown has started 33 games in his second Pats stint.
The Patriots have Brown on a two-year, $13MM deal that features weight bonuses and playing-time incentives. The team added the usage-based bumps this year, but Brown’s health issues have impeded him on that front. The former 49ers draftee also expected the Patriots to give him another contract after last season, when he played 17 games. Nothing transpired, and the ninth-year tackle is two months from free agency.
“It would have been done when they said it was going to get done. When I signed the last one,” Brown said, via Weller, of his contract. “The one I signed two years ago, I was told that I would, if I had a good year then I would; we should get it fixed. It never happened.”
Pro Football Focus grades Brown as this season’s No. 10 overall tackle. Even considering his unreliability with regards to health, the 370-pound lineman will be poised to generate interest once again on the market. As of now, Brown is positioned to join Jonah Williams, Tyron Smith, Mekhi Becton and Patriots teammate Michael Onwenu as notable tackles in free agency. Brown and Onwenu departing would give the Pats work to do up front, as both have been regulars for years.
Onwenu may generate interest at two positions, considering he has spent extensive time at both tackle and guard as a pro. The former sixth-round pick has been a regular Pats starter for most of his career, but he said (via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss) extension discussions have not picked up. Onwenu said discussions have taken place, but it does not sound like they have been substantive. While mentioned in trade rumors before the deadline, Onwenu joined contract-year cogs Kyle Dugger and Josh Uche in being retained. All are weeks away from free agency.
With Reiff unavailable, the Patriots kicked Onwenu back outside midway through this season. PFF rates the Michigan product in the top 30 among tackles. Although the Pats have paid for their offensive deficiencies in the form of a 4-12 season, they have seen productive tackle play — when Brown is available, that is. The team has until the March legal tampering period to keep Brown and/or Onwenu off the market. Not doing so will obviously create major needs up front. It remains to be seen if Bill Belichick will be making those decisions.
Cardinals LT D.J. Humphries Suffers ACL Tear
D.J. Humphries had bounced back from an injury-limited 2022 season, lining up at left tackle in 15 games this year. But his 2024 offseason will include extensive rehab after another injury.
Jonathan Gannon confirmed Wednesday (via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss) the ninth-year blocker suffered a torn left ACL. Humphries will head to IR and need surgery. The timing of this injury, as Kyler Murray‘s 2022 ACL tear did, creates questions about Humphries’ availability to start next season.
A back injury limited Humphries to eight games last season, one that saw an aging Cardinals O-line decimated by injuries. Humphries, 30, returned to practice this summer and has protected Murray’s blind side since the Pro Bowl quarterback returned at the midseason point. Humphries is under contract for the 2024 season, but a stay on the reserve/PUP list could come to pass by September.
Drafted in the 2015 first round, Humphries is one of the longest-tenured O-linemen in Cardinals history and one of the longest-tenured players in the franchise’s Arizona years. Since debuting in 2016, Humphries has started 98 games. That puts him 12 away from moving into the top 10 among O-line starts for the 100-plus-year old organization. Before he can move past 100 career Cards starts, Humphries will be on the shelf for a while.
The Cardinals have given Humphries three contracts. The most recent, agreed to during the summer of 2022, runs through the 2025 season. Humphries’ three-year, $51MM deal checked in a bit below expectations, given where the LT market was at the time, but it provided $32MM in total guarantees. All of Humphries’ fully guaranteed money has been paid out, however. While he would be entitled to a small amount by way of injury protection, the Cardinals could consider a 2024 cut and pick up more than $15MM in cap space (via a post-June 1 designation). Though, it is too early to make assumptions there.
Humphries signed all three of his Cardinals contracts during Steve Keim‘s GM run. Monti Ossenfort‘s first draft choice as a GM went to a tackle, Paris Johnson, whom the team placed on the right side opposite Humphries. Johnson closed his college career at left tackle. The team traded Humphries’ 2022 injury fill-in, Josh Jones, to the Texans in August. The team still has Kelvin Beachum as potential insurance, having re-signed the veteran to a two-year, $5.2MM deal in March.
The Florida alum had struggled with injuries during his early years but stabilized his career in 2019, beginning a three-season stretch of 16-game seasons. The 2021 campaign, which snapped a Cardinals playoff drought, produced a Pro Bowl berth. But injuries have again stalled Humphries. With ACL recoveries generally requiring at least nine months of rehab, Humphries’ availability for the ’24 campaign will need to be monitored over the offseason.
Lions To Cut OLB Bruce Irvin
Used as a rotational pass rusher in two Lions games, Bruce Irvin no longer looks to be in the NFC North champions’ plans. Thanking the Lions for his opportunity Wednesday morning, Irvin pointed to heading elsewhere.
The Lions have set in motion plans to use nearly all of their remaining IR activations soon. In addition to C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Alim McNeill moving close to coming off Detroit’s injured list, defensive end James Houston has been practicing since being designated for return last week.
The Lions initially added Irvin in mid-November; he has now been with six NFL teams. Although the 12th-year edge rusher has played in two games with Detroit, the Lions would be cutting him from their practice squad.
Irvin, 36, played in two games as a gameday elevation and was elevated on Dec. 16 — for a game he did not ultimately play in — as well. With teams limited to three elevations before they are forced to use the waiver system to move players on and off the roster, the Lions are cutting Irvin rather than signing him to their 53-man roster. This move will send Irvin directly to free agency, as P-squad players do not pass through waivers when cut.
Irvin played 42 defensive snaps during his two-game run in Detroit. One of those produced a sack against the Saints. The former first-round pick now has 56.5 career QB drops. The Lions designated Houston for return on Dec. 28. He suffered a broken ankle in Week 2. Like Gardner-Johnson, Houston has made it all the way back from an injury that often ends players’ seasons.
The Lions have four IR activations remaining. It certainly appears that number will be at one by the time the team’s playoff game comes around. The returns of Houston, McNeill and CJGJ will strengthen the Lions’ defense ahead of their postseason opener, assuming each defender is given the go-ahead to rejoin the 53-man roster.
Browns Add G Rodger Saffold
Rodger Saffold spent two months on the Jets’ practice squad but never made his way into a game uniform in his 14th NFL season. The Jets released Saffold from their P-squad Tuesday, opening the door for another opportunity.
The Browns will add the veteran guard, announcing Wednesday he is now part of their 16-man taxi squad. Saffold, 35, is a Cleveland-area native who has started 173 career games. He will now represent depth for the playoff-bound Browns.
Prior to this season, Saffold was viewed as a surefire starter. The Bills used him as such throughout last season. Saffold spent nine years with the Rams and the next three with the Titans, coming to Tennessee on a big-ticket free agency pact following Super Bowl LIII. Tennessee released Saffold last year, leading him to Buffalo.
Injuries have ransacked the Browns up front this season, though they somehow have not deterred Joe Flacco during his surprising renaissance in his age-38 slate. The Browns are without tackle starters Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin, with replacement first-stringer Dawand Jones out for the season as well. Cleveland has been healthier at guard, seeing Pro Bowlers Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller miss just one game combined. But the team now has Saffold in place as a veteran insurance piece.
A second-team All-Pro during Sean McVay‘s first season with the Rams (2017), Saffold received two Pro Bowl invites as an alternate over the past two seasons. In 2021, he helped D’Onta Foreman effectively replace an injured Derrick Henry as the Titans booked the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That came three years after Saffold started in Super Bowl LIII for the Rams. The Titans gave him a four-year, $44MM deal in 2019.
Saffold joins Flacco as well-paid veterans who accepted a Browns P-squad deal. It remains to be seen if the veteran blocker will also follow the quarterback onto Cleveland’s active roster.
Jaguars Designate Christian Kirk For Return
Christian Kirk‘s Week 13 injury has made a considerable impact on the Jaguars’ passing attack. The sixth-year wide receiver underwent core muscle surgery, a procedure that threatened his availability for the rest of the season. But the Jags still have a chance to see Kirk return to action.
Jacksonville designated Kirk for return from IR on Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Considering this is the first week Kirk could return to practice, the 2022 free agency addition being ready this soon represents a somewhat surprising development.
The former Cardinals second-rounder was believed to need more recovery time. With the Jags in danger of missing the playoffs, they will see how their slot target looks ahead of a win-and-in Week 18 showdown. The Jaguars will face the Titans on Sunday. A win would give them a second straight division title for the first time since the franchise’s back-to-back AFC Central crowns in 1998 and ’99. The team may need some injury timetables to break right to have a good shot at hanging onto this hope.
While the Jags were able to win without Kirk, Zay Jones and Trevor Lawrence, they faced the Panthers in Week 17. Although the Titans have not won a game in the AFC South this season, they represent a more formidable obstacle compared to Carolina. Lawrence did not practice last week, missing his first NFL game, and Jones has not played since Week 15.
Kirk went down in the first half of the Jags’ overtime loss to the Bengals. Illustrating Kirk’s impact, Jacksonville (9-7) entered that Monday-night game 8-3. While Lawrence’s run of setbacks has impacted the Jags during this span as well, the team has struggled offensively for most of the past month without its $18MM-per-year pass catcher. After his first 1,000-yard season, Kirk was on pace for a second prior to the injury. He compiled 787 yards on 57 receptions, scoring three touchdowns in his second Jaguars season.
The Jags defeating the Titans would ensure two AFC South teams qualify for the playoffs, with Saturday night’s Colts-Texans matchup a win-and-in game. If Tennessee upsets Jacksonville, the winner of the Houston-Indianapolis matchup would claim the division title. Lawrence’s availability will be paramount for the Jags, and the prospect of Kirk being back as well would obviously bolster their chances of salvaging their season with a playoff berth.