No Deal For Chargers, Hunter Henry
The Chargers and Hunter Henry won’t have an extension in place by the afternoon deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. There was strong mutual interest in a long term arrangement, but the current economic client scuttled any potential deal. 
Henry has already signed his one-year, $11MM tender, so he’s locked in for the upcoming season. Back in April, Henry said he was “close” to inking an extension at some point, but a deal never came together. Now, he’s playing on a prove-it deal, and he mostly needs to prove that he can stay healthy.
The former second-rounder missed all of 2018 with a ACL tear and also missed time last year with a knee injury. At the same time, 2019 was a career year for Henry – he tallied 55 catches for 652 yards and five touchdowns in just 12 games.
It’s not an ideal outcome for Henry, but he does have the honor of being the first tight end to receive the franchise tag since 2014, when the Saints used it to cuff Jimmy Graham. For now, Henry says he’s focused on the present.
“To me, I have so much to prove,” Henry said recently. “Honestly, everybody knows my history of injuries. Unfortunate injuries that have happened in my career and I feel like that has held me back a little bit sometimes. I’m just eager to kinda get through something that I haven’t been able to do for a full season…I feel the best I’ve felt in probably a couple years, for sure. I’m excited.”
Chiefs, Chris Jones Agree To Deal
Chris Jones is on the verge of a brand new contract. The Chiefs have agreed to a fresh four-year deal with their star defensive tackle, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jones is scheduled to earn up to $85MM over the life of the deal, including $60MM in guarantees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Jones will receive $37MM guaranteed at signing, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, noting that this is a four-year, $80MM deal that features another $5MM available via incentives. Among interior D-linemen, Jones now sits third in guaranteed money and fourth in fully guaranteed funds. 
This year’s franchise tag extension deadline is largely quiet due to fiscal uncertainty, but Jones proved to be an exception. Many doubted whether Jones would hit his desired $20MM+ average annual value demand, but his camp got it done. Jones’ deal ended up coming in just south of DeForest Buckner‘s recent $21MM-per-year Colts pact.
Earlier this month, Jones threatened a holdout via Twitter, referencing Le’Veon Bell‘s infamous standoff with the Steelers. In reality, a holdout would have been extremely risky for the 25-year-old. A season-long holdout could have delayed Jones’ entry into free agency and cost him roughly $1MM per game – his tender was valued at $16.1MM for the 2020 season.
Last year, Jones graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 ranked interior defensive lineman in the league and notched nine sacks. In 2018, when he saw more time on the edge, he registered 15.5 sacks. He’s one of the best IDLs in the game today, and he’s still approaching his prime seasons.
Currently, the defensive tackle market is led by Aaron Donald ($22.5MM/year). Meanwhile, Bears superstar Khalil Mack ($23MM AAV) leads all defensive players in average annual value.
Redskins’ Brandon Scherff Won’t Sign Before Deadline
No surprise here, but Brandon Scherff‘s extension talks will be tabled until next year, according to sources who spoke with John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, the franchise-tagged offensive lineman is set to play out 2020 on a $15.03MM deal. 
[RELATED: Kelvin Harmon Tears ACL]
Scherff, a three-time Pro Bowler, signed his tag almost immediately, quelling any possibility of a holdout. He’s the first guard to receive the franchise tag since 2011, and that’s largely due to the league’s arcane rules regarding offensive lineman. Per the collective bargaining agreement, guards and tackles are classified under the same “offensive lineman” banner. Those franchise tender salaries are calculated off of the average of the top five at any given position, and teams aren’t keen on paying tackle money to guards.
Since entering the league as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Scherff has started in all 65 of his games. Unfortunately, he’s also missed a good chunk of time. Between 2018 and 2019, he’s been sidelined for 13 games. Still, he’s one of the league’s very best interior protectors when he’s healthy, and the Redskins are glad to have him in the fold.
In the long run, Ron Rivera would love to keep Scherff for years to come. But, as we’ve heard with just about every other franchise-tagged player, the current economic climate has brought extension talks to a screeching halt.
“I want to sign a long-term deal with them,” Scherff said earlier this year. “I love it there, and I’ve always said I wanted to be a Redskin for the rest of my career. So, hopefully we can work towards that.”
Redskins WR Kelvin Harmon Tears ACL
Redskins wide receiver Kelvin Harmon suffered a torn ACL while working out, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Needless to say, he’ll be unavailable for the 2020 season.
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A sixth-round pick in 2019, Harmon showed serious promise as a rookie. He reeled in 30 catches for 365 yards, but he’ll have to wait until 2021 to build on that performance. His collegiate track record also indicates that there are bigger things to come. At N.C. State, Harmon finished out with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. In his final year on campus, he went off for 81 grabs, 1,186 yards, and seven touchdowns.
Harmon was set to feature as one of the Redskins’ top receivers, alongside Terry McLaurin and Trey Quinn. With Harmon no longer in the picture for 2020, Cam Sims, Steven Sims Jr., and fourth-round pick Antonio Gandy-Golden figure to move up the pecking order. Emanuel Hall, who was set to fight for a job while on the 90-man roster, is also out for the season. Meanwhile, the team is waiting to see what happens with Cody Latimer following his May arrest.
Jaguars’ Yannick Ngakoue Drawing Trade Interest
Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is still drawing trade interest around the league as the deadline draws near, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. There are also still many roadblocks to a potential deal, including the Jaguars’ lack of interest in actually parting ways with the young edge rusher. 
The Jags and Ngakoue are effectively playing a game of chicken at this point. Ngakoue wants out, and he’s reportedly prepared to sit out the entire 2020 season if he doesn’t get the trade he wants. Plenty of teams would like to add Ngakoue, but they’d have to cough up significant compensation and give him a payday to match, or at least approach, his free market value. That likely means a deal in excess of $100MM, with a large chunk paid up front, plus guarantees. That’s an especially tough sell in the current climate.
Teams may also be skittish about Ngakoue’s ability to reproduce his previous sack totals. The former third-round pick has posted at least eight sacks in four of his five pro seasons, but he finished just 25th in pressures last year (51), per Pro Football Focus. Other metrics like ESPN’s pass rush win rate and double-team rate also portrayed him as less-than-elite.
The Raiders gave the Jaguars a ring during the draft, but the talks didn’t get too far. The Eagles were eyeing Ngakoue earlier this year, but even before the pandemic, they were facing a 2021 cap crunch.
Titans’ Derrick Henry Unlikely To Sign Long-Term Deal
The Titans have until Wednesday afternoon to hammer out a long-term deal with Derrick Henry, but it’s not likely to happen, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Unless something changes quickly, Henry will play out the 2020 season with a salary of $10.27MM. After that, the two sides won’t be able to revisit talks until the season wraps, and he’ll be on course for free agency in March of next year. 
[RELATED: Titans Unsure About Jonnu Smith Extension]
Unlike Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, there’s no possibility of a holdout here. Henry has already signed the tender and the two sides are on good terms. When they do get down to brass tacks again, it’ll be a matter of money. Henry is believed to be seeking a deal worth at least $15MM per year and at least $30MM guaranteed – a big commitment for a running back, even one that’s as dominant as Henry.
Henry’s combo of gaudy stats and a low odometer should serve him well in negotiations. He didn’t see a ton of carries in his first three years and he’s coming off an unreal season. Last year, Henry led the NFL in rushing and bolstered the Titans to an AFC Championship Game appearance. All in all, he racked up 1,540 yards on the ground and 16 scores on 303 carries. He also tacked on another 206 yards and two TDs through the air for good measure.
In addition to cap concerns, the Titans’ short-term finances may also be a roadblock to a deal. Recently, Titans GM Jon Robinson said that the current climate has the team skittish about putting too much money on the books.
“I’m a big analogy guy,” Robinson said. “It’s no different than if I was if I was working for Pepsi or Coke, and I knew that we weren’t going to have as many sales. …You wouldn’t go out and buy a new house. I don’t know what that’s going to look like…What you don’t want to do is do something and then you’ve got to undo it or try to unpack it a year, two years from now, given the uncertainty of the salary cap.”
Eagles To Re-Sign Jason Peters
Jason Peters is back with the Eagles. The nine-time Pro Bowler has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $6MM, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Eagles Appeal To Jadeveon Clowney?]
Peters, one of the league’s most accomplished tackles, will be playing right guard this time around to replace Brandon Brooks. Peters may not have much experience there, but he’ll likely thrive on the interior. Even at the age of 38, Peters still has the agility and the bulk to make it work. He also has ample experience in all sorts of blocking schemes, so it shouldn’t take him long to get the hang of it.
Peters stood as the best offensive lineman on the open market and one of the best free agents left, period. While he’s lost a step, he still turned in a solid 2019 – Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s sixth-best tackle among 81 qualifiers in 2019. Peters is also planning to stick around for a while – he says that he wants to play until he’s 40, so he could fly with the Eagles through 2022. For now, it’s a one-year arrangement.
Brooks suffered a torn Achilles in June while working out at the team facility, and it was a devastating blow for the Eagles’ O-Line. It was also personally devastating for Brooks, who tore his other Achilles in January of 2019.
Brooks performed as one of the best interior linemen in the league since joining the Eagles in 2016 as a free agent. Peters, of course, has been one of the league’s premier outside blockers. Originally, head coach Doug Pederson indicated that he’d fill the void internally, but everyone knew that Peters was the most logical choice for the job.
Three Teams Interested In Jordan Reed
Jordan Reed has drawn interest from three teams as he looks to make his NFL return (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The identities of those clubs are not yet known, but it sounds like Reed could be on the cusp of landing his next deal. 
Reed has a troubling history with head trauma and he has only played in 13 games over the past three seasons. Since the start of his collegiate career, he’s suffered at least seven concussions. His latest one sidelined him for the entire 2019 campaign.
However, when he’s been healthy and on the field, he’s performed as one of the league’s most dangerous tight ends. Between 2013 and 2018, Reed tallied 329 receptions for 3,371 yards and 24 touchdowns for Washington. Reed has been available since February, when he was released from the two seasons left on his five-year, $47MM contract.
In March, we heard that the Seahawks had some interest in signing him, but they now seem pretty well set at tight end with Greg Olsen, Will Dissly, Luke Willson, and Jacob Hollister on the depth chart. They’ll also have rookie Colby Parkinson, whenever he’s ready to return from his Jones fracture.
A reminder of exactly how good Reed has been over the years: He’s in the Redskins’ all-time top-10 for touchdowns and receptions, despite all of the missed games.
Giants’ Leonard Williams To Play On Tag
Giants defensive end Leonard Williams will play out the 2020 season on his one-year franchise tender, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The two sides technically have until Wednesday to hammer out a deal, but they’re both comfortable with playing things by ear. 
The Giants tagged Williams earlier this year with a one-year franchise tender. Previously classified as a defensive tackle, Williams was set to file a grievance to be tagged as a defensive end. This year, the DT tag pays $16.1MM while the defensive end tag is priced at $17.9MM. It’s possible that Williams has found middle ground with the G-Men with a deal that pays him ~$17MM for the upcoming year.
Giants GM Dave Gettleman was widely criticized for the acquisition of Williams and equally panned for his decision to tag him. The one-time No. 6 overall pick of the Jets has not met expectations in terms of sacks, but it’s worth noting that his 101 quarterback hits since 2015 rank 12th in the NFL. Williams registered zero sacks in seven Giants games last year, but Gettleman believes that he can turn the corner.
The Giants are comfortable with waiting until next year to revisit talks and the same goes for Williams. If Williams can up his sack totals across a full and productive season with the Giants, he could be in for much greater riches next March.
Lions, Jeff Okudah Agree To Deal
No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah has agreed to terms with the Lions on his rookie deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Per the terms of his slot, the cornerback will earn just over $33.5MM over the course of his four-year deal with a $21.9MM signing bonus. 
The Lions’ affection for Okudah was hardly a secret in the build up to the draft. After all, the Ohio State product filled the team’s greatest need, after they shipped Darius Slay to the Eagles. There were other draft crushes on the board, like Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown and Clemson standout Isaiah Simmons, but they couldn’t let Okudah pass them by.
“I would put Okudah down as the safest [defensive player in this draft],” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said before the draft. “I know exactly what position he plays, I’ve seen him play that position against elite competition and I’ve seen him play at a very high, consistent level. To me, Okudah is the safest.”
There aren’t many knocks on Okudah, and the experts say that his ceiling is sky high. In the long run, he has the tools to become one of the league’s better cornerbacks. He also figures to shore up the Lions’ D right out of the gate, with support from Desmond Trufant, Justin Coleman, and Darryl Roberts.
Here’s the full rundown of the Lions’ draft, via PFR’s tracker:
1-3: Jeffrey Okudah, CB (Ohio State): Signed
2-35: D’Andre Swift, RB (Georgia): Signed
3-67: Julian Okwara, OLB (Notre Dame): Signed
3-75: Jonah Jackson, G (Ohio State): Signed
4-121: Logan Stenberg, OL (Kentucky): Signed
5-166: Quintez Cephus, WR (Wisconsin): Signed
5-172: Jason Huntley, RB (New Mexico State): Signed
6-197: John Penisini, DT (Utah): Signed
7-235: Jason Cornell, DE (Ohio State)