Dolphins’ Ryan Fitzpatrick To Play In 2021
Despite speculation to the contrary, Ryan Fitzpatrick intends to play in 2021 (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Fitzpatrick is days away from free agency and figures to draw a good amount of interest. 
Over the weekend, we heard that the 38-year-old could hang up the cleats. But, publicly, Fitzpatrick has been fairly consistent about his plans. In February, he told Pat McAfee that he still had plenty of gas in the tank.
“For me, personally, I have to take every offseason and reassess,” Fitzpatrick said. “These last two years have really re-lit that fire under me. I still want to play, and I enjoy being out there playing.”
Fitzpatrick opened the year as the Dolphins’ starter before ceding the role to Tua Tagovailoa. However, he was used in relief throughout the year, including his game against the Raiders to secure the win. At this stage of his career, Fitzpatrick might not be able to secure a starting role, but he profiles as one of the best available backup options. If Fitzpatrick is willing to mentor a young QB, he should be able to land a contract as one of the league’s highest-paid QB2s.
After turns with the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Bucs, and Dolphins, the Harvard alum could be on his way to the ninth team of his NFL career.
Lions Cut Christian Jones, Russell Bodine
The Lions have released center Russell Bodine and linebacker Christian Jones, per a club announcement. In a related move, the Lions have also re-signed defensive back Mike Ford. 
The Lions will save just over $3.5MM between the two moves. Jones, the more expensive of the two, was set to earn $3.17MM this year — instead, Detroit will gain $2.55MM in additional flexibility. Jones hooked on with the Lions before the 2018 season and wound up starting all 16 games in Matt Patricia’s first year as coach. Then, midway through the 2019 season, he was re-upped on a two-year extension. He now exits with 177 tackles and three sacks across three seasons as a Lion.
Bodine, 29, opted out of the 2020 season at a time when he could have competed for a reserve spot behind interior linemen Joe Dahl, Frank Ragnow, and Jonah Jackson. A 2014 fourth-round pick by the Bengals, Bodine started 64 consecutive games for Cincinnati . He went on to appear in ten games for the Bills in 2018, but didn’t play an NFL snap in 2019, so he’s two years removed from live action.
Raiders Host A.J. Bouye On Visit
A.J. Bouye‘s free agency tour is underway. On Monday, the veteran cornerback traveled to Las Vegas to meet with the Raiders, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. 
Between his shoulder injury and PED suspension, Bouye was limited to just seven games last year after coming over from the Jaguars. The cornerback has two games to go on his ban, so he won’t be able to suit up for his next team until Week 3.
Bouye went from a UDFA in 2013 to one of the league’s highest paid defensive backs. After some solid seasons with the Texans, he scored a five-year, $67.5MM deal from the Jaguars in 2017. Unfortunately, Bouye didn’t live up to expectations in the long run — to be fair, most of the Jaguars’ defensive players were lackluster during that stretch. The Broncos agreed to take him on last year, in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
Bouye did impress in his first Jacksonville season, earning second-team All-Pro honors with six interceptions. There’s reason to believe that Bouye could pan out on a low-cost deal, especially since he’s still only 29, but he won’t get that chance in Denver.
Titans Won’t Tender Kalif Raymond
Kalif Raymond will be a free agent in a matter of days. The Titans have opted against tendering an offer to the wide receiver/kick returner, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Titans’ Clowney Expects To Be Cleared In April]
Raymond, 27 in August, could have been cuffed as a restricted free agent. He’s one of the league’s stronger punt returners, so most expected him to be back for 2021. The Titans didn’t want to tie up any funds on the verge of free agency, however, so they’ll let Raymond test the open waters.
Raymond returned 23 punts for 208 yards last year, good for a 9.0 yard average per attempt. He also returned 15 kickoffs for 275 yards. After previous stints with the Broncos, Jets, and Giants (twice), he’ll look for employment elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Titans are looking to remodel their offensive line, starting with a potential trade of 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Wilson. On the other side of the ball, they’ll weigh a new contract for Jadeveon Clowney, who says he would be open to staying in Nashville. Clowney is on the verge of being cleared and expects to get the green light in April.
Seahawks To Release Carlos Dunlap
The Seahawks are cutting Carlos Dunlap, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The move will save the Seahawks roughly $14MM in cap room and put the edge rusher on the open market. 
Dunlap, 32, was due a $3MM bonus on the fifth day of the league year with a total cap hit of $14.1MM in 2021. Pressed for flexibility, the Seahawks opted against keeping the three-time Pro Bowler.
The Seahawks swung a deal for Dunlap at last year’s deadline, sending offensive lineman B.J. Finney and a draft pick to the Bengals in exchange. Oddly enough, the Bengals released Finney just a few days ago. Dunlap managed five sacks, 14 tackles, and six TFL in his half season, but the numbers crunch forced the Seahawks to go in another direction.
Dunlap, an 11-year vet, has 87.5 career sacks to his credit. He may have to take a pay cut with his next deal, but there should still be a decent market for his services.
Bears To Decline Bobby Massie’s Option?
The Bears are not likely to exercise the option on Bobby Massie’s contract, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). By letting the tackle walk, the Bears will save upwards of $5MM against the 2021 salary cap. 
[RELATED: Bears Plan To Pursue Wilson Trade]
Massie may not be a world-beater, but he is an experienced starter at a premium position. Unfortunately, a knee injury cut his 2020 season at the midway point, and his 2019 was limited by an ankle issue.
Massie’s been with the Bears since signing a three-year deal with them in 2016. Before the 2019 season, he agreed to a four-year extension worth $8MM+ per year. The Bears could keep him through 2022, but they’d prefer to go younger, cheaper, and healthier at right tackle.
The salary cap figure is still TBD, but the Bears need to do some spring cleaning regardless of where the number stands. Even after dropping Massie, there will be more moves to come. And, if they make a play for Russell Wilson, they’ll have some especially difficult decisions to make.
NFL To Delay Franchise Tag Deadline?
As of this writing, NFL teams have until Tuesday to assign the franchise tag to players. Now, there’s word that the deadline could be pushed up, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
The NFL and NFLPA are still working to set the salary cap number for 2021, which may complicate the decision for teams. The players’ union is hoping to wait until the league’s broadcast deals with TV partners are finalized — the larger the TV deals, the higher the salary cap can go. As a result, they’re pushing the NFL to pump the breaks on the deadline.
The league rearranged the calendar last year in the midst of the pandemic, so there is precedent for this type of last-minute shuffling. That included the franchise tag deadline, which went from 3/10 t0 3/12 to 3/16. The extra time allowed the two sides to hammer out the new collective bargaining agreement and set the salary cap beforehand.
Teams have been bracing for this possibility, though some clubs have made their calls already. The Broncos, for example, decided to franchise tag standout safety Justin Simmons late last week.
Eagles Discussing Brandon Brooks Trade
Zach Ertz isn’t the only Eagles player potentially on the move. The Birds have also been discussing potential trades involving Brandon Brooks as of late, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. 
[RELATED: Eagles To Trade Ertz Soon?]
Brooks lost the 2020 season to a torn Achilles, his latest in a string of injuries. Still, he was considered one of the league’s better interior lineman when healthy. Brooks made the Pro Bowl every year from 2017-2019, despite a previous Achilles tear and a shoulder shoulder injury. All in all, he lived up to the lofty expectations set by his initial five-year, $62.5MM deal. That prompted the Eagles to lock him up with a four-year, $54.2MM pact in late 2019.
At the time of signing, the deal made Brooks the second-highest-paid guard in the game, with his $13.6MM AAV only trailing Zack Martin‘s $14MM/year. Now, as the Eagles look to remake their roster and trim salary, they’re willing to listen on offers. Brooks, who was able to practice before the end of the season, can be controlled through 2023 for a total of ~$53MM. This year, he’s on the books for a reasonable $10.5MM.
PFR Poll: Will Saints’ Drew Brees Retire?
In the midst of the playoffs, it was widely reported that Drew Brees would retire after the season. Now, we’re in March, and Brees has yet to make any sort of announcement. 
Of course, Brees has nothing left to prove. The 42-year-old can walk away with one of the most illustrious careers in the history of the sport. He currently has the most yards in league history, and more touchdowns than anyone not named Tom Brady. He even has his post-retirement career lined up after signing a deal with NBC Sports last April.
Brees has missed significant time with health issues in each of the past two seasons and he’d be leaving the Saints in a pretty okay place, provided that they can re-sign Jameis Winston. The Saints also have Taysom Hill on the roster with hope that he can be the answer under center in the long run. So, what’s the hold up?
Over the past few weeks, many have speculated that Brees could be having second thoughts about retiring. The longer this goes on, the more chatter picks up about the Super Bowl XLIV champ actually playing in 2021 on the (effectively) final year of his contract.
At this point, do you expect Brees to retire? Cast your vote below (link for app users) and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
The NFL’s Post-June 1 Cuts, Explained
NFL teams will often use contract bonuses as a way to spread out a cap hit that might otherwise be exorbitant. For example, if a player’s four-year deal includes a $8MM signing bonus, that money can be paid immediately but spread out over four years for cap purposes. This way, the cap charge for the bonus amounts to $2MM per year for cap purposes, rather than $8MM in year one.
There’s an obvious benefit to kicking the can down the road, but it can also hurt teams if they want to terminate that deal. If the club in the above scenario wanted to release the player in the second year of his contract, it would still have to account for that remaining prorated bonus money. Rather than counting on the cap as $2MM per year for two seasons, that dead money “accelerates,” and applies to the cap for the league year in which the player is released. In other words, the remaining $4MM in prorated bonus money immediately counts against the cap.
Although these rules apply to many cuts, a different set of rules is in place for players released after June 1. In that case, a team can spread the cap hit across two seasons rather than one — for the current season, the prorated bonus figure stays at its original amount, with the remaining bonus balance accelerating onto the following season. Referring again to the above scenario, that means the player would count against the cap for $2MM in the league year in which he was cut, with the remaining $4MM applying to the following league year.
The guidelines for pre-June 1 and post-June 1 cuts are fairly straightforward, but things become a little more complicated when we take into account that teams are allowed to designate up to two players as post-June 1 cuts even if those players are released before June. Last offseason, we players like Trey Burton (Bears), Desmond Trufant (Falcons), Trumaine Johnson (Jets), and Todd Gurley (Rams) designated as post-June 1 cuts well before the actual date.
In the case of Johnson, the Jets were initially slated to pay him $11MM in base salary. Under typical circumstances, the release would have left Gang Green with a $12MM dead money obligation for 2020. However, through the post-June 1 designation, they unlocked $11MM in cap space with just $4MM in dead money. This year, they’ll wrangle with the remaining $8MM charge.
Of course, teams won’t always opt for the dead money deferral. For example, the Panthers just recently terminated Kawann Short’s contract, which left $11MM lingering on the cap. Rather than spreading it out, the Panthers chose to take it all on the current cap for a cleaner long-term slate. And, even if the team doesn’t use that cap space for summer free agents, it can come in handy for signing draft picks.