49ers, George Kittle Far Apart In Talks
The 49ers and George Kittle have begun extension talks, but they’ve got a ways to go. Kittle’s agent Jack Bechta says there’s a major gap to bridge and, perhaps, some fundamental disagreement over how Kittle should be viewed.
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“I don’t care about the tight end market, I’m being paid to do a George Kittle deal,” Bechta said.
Since 2017, Kittle has amassed 2,945 receiving yards, the most of any tight end in their first three seasons – and that’s not counting the playoffs. And, since 2018, Kittle’s had 1,464 yards after the catch, more than any other player in the league not named Christian McCaffrey.
Meanwhile, Kittle’s blocking has been a game-changer for the 49ers’ run game. In Kittle’s 14 games last year, SF averaged 4.83 yards per carry and tallied 23 rushing touchdowns. In the two games he missed, 49ers running backs averaged just 2.63 yards per try with no TDs.
With that in mind, Bechta is aiming higher than Austin Hooper‘s four-year, $42MM deal with the Browns. Instead, Kittle’s agent is using the wide receiver and left tackle markets as comps to reflect his client’s value. Kittle, 27 in October, doesn’t have to settle for “tight end money” in exchange for his prime seasons. Instead, he could land something in the neighborhood of $18MM per year with a larger guaranteed portion than Hooper, who has just over 50% of his deal truly locked in.
The 49ers appreciate Kittle’s value and they’ve made his extension a priority, so we still expect a deal to come together. However, it may take a bit longer than expected for them to meet in the middle.
Packers’ Lane Taylor Agrees To Pay Cut
The Packers and Lane Taylor have agreed to revise his contract, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Taylor was originally set to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.8MM for 2020, but it was completely non-guaranteed. Now, the veteran guard will make less than half of that – $1.5MM, with a $100K signing bonus. 
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Taylor was a likely release candidate for the Packers, who could have cut him without much in the way of cap consequences. Taylor, a former undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, started 45 games for the Packers between 2016 and 2018. He started the first two games of 2019 at left guard, but a biceps injury suffered in a September win over the Vikings wiped out his year.
With the reworked deal, Taylor will have a chance to stick on the roster and compete with Elgton Jenkins for the starting left guard spot, opposite of Billy Turner.
Dez Bryant Receiving NFL Interest
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Dez Bryant on the field, but he could be on the verge of making his return. The former Cowboys star has received calls from teams interested in potentially signing him, according to his coach Steven Sims (Twitter link via John Keim of ESPN.com). 
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Bryant has spent the last several months training and Sims says he’s lost about 15-20 pounds in his post-rehab regimen. We haven’t heard much from the outspoken wide receiver in a few months, but at last check, he was lobbying the Cowboys for a reunion. When asked, owner Jerry Jones didn’t dismiss the possibility, though that was before the start of free agency and the NFL Draft. Today, they have a dozen receivers on the roster, headlined by star Amari Cooper and promising first-round pick CeeDee Lamb.
Bryant, 32 in November, posted at least 1,200 yards in three seasons for Dallas (2012-2014) and earned three Pro Bowl trips (2013, 2014, 2016). His 2014 showing – 88 catches for 1,320 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns – earned him a five-year, $70MM extension. After that, injuries started to slow him down. In 2016, he bounced back with a career-high 15.9 yards per catch, but he couldn’t sustain that in 2017. Despite turning in his first fully healthy season in years, Bryant finished with just 838 receiving yards in his last time out.
Bryant famously rejected a three-year, $21MM offer from the Ravens, only to sign a short-term midseason deal with the Saints in 2018. He never took the field for New Orleans, thanks to a ruptured Achilles.
After spending last year away from the game, Bryant is itching to get back on the field. And, according to his coach, there are teams ready to help facilitate.
PFR’s NFL Glossary: Returning From Injured Reserve
Once upon a time, the injured reserve designation would automatically rule a player out for the entire season. But, thanks to an update in 2012 and many tweaks over the last eight years, that’s no longer the case.
In 2012, the NFL and the players’ union agreed that each team could bring back one player from IR, though that player had to be designated before Week 1 of the ’12 season. Gradually, that rule was revamped to allow every team to return two players from IR each year, with the flexibility to make that determination midway through the season as teams monitored each player’s recovery.
Still, the basic parameters applied – the players had to spend a minimum of six weeks on injured reserve without practicing. After that, they’re permitted to practice, but they’re required to wait at least another two weeks before seeing live action. That’s the minimum amount of time. If the player isn’t activated after ~21 days, they’re no longer eligible to play that season. It’s known as the “three week window” in the NFL, and teams cannot reuse that return spot if the player isn’t good to go. So, while the revamped rule gives teams some much-needed flexibility, there’s still a lot that goes into the decision.
In May, the NFL gave the rule yet another facelift. Going forward, teams will be allowed to bring three players back from IR each season to provide a little extra padding for clubs strained by injuries and the limitations of the 53-man roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/20
Trent Williams: I Was “Really” Ready To Play For Redskins Last Year
After years of bitter conflict with Redskins management, Trent Williams got his wish – a one-way ticket out of D.C. But, before the offseason trade that shipped him to the 49ers, Williams says he legitimately wanted to retake the field. 
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Williams held out for the the first two months of the 2019 season, but reported to the Redskins after the late October trade deadline. However, he cited immense pain when trying to put on his helmet and flunked his physical. Even after that, Williams said that he wanted to play and find a suitable post-surgery helmet, but the Redskins parked him on the NFI list instead, ending his season and stopping his paychecks.
“The competitive juices started to flow, so I was really prepared to make my return last year,” Williams said. “I know all of the things that had went on and just being in that facility, being around teammates, being around the guys you fought with and bled with for some many years. It was almost impossible for me to fight the urge not to just want to get back on the field.”
“I was literally waiting on my new helmet to come in. I was getting ready to kind of gear up and it was going to be somewhat of a surprise to some, but I think for the people who know me best they know how competitive I am…I was put on NFI right before I could even get the helmet to get back out there. It was a bummer but figured it was just how it was supposed to work out.”
Ultimately, things worked out alright for Williams. Towards the end of draft weekend, the Redskins shipped him out west to the 49ers, where he’ll take over for Joe Staley at left tackle. And, while he doesn’t have an extension just yet, the Niners did guarantee a portion of his 2020 salary.
Raiders TE Nick O’Leary Retires From NFL
About two months ago, Nick O’Leary signed on with the Raiders. Today, the team announced that the tight end has been placed on the reserve/retired list. 
O’Leary, 28 in August, split his 2019 season between the Jaguars and Dolphins. After entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2015, he enjoyed a five-year career as a reliable role player and a pass-blocker. Now, he’s moving on to something new.
To replace O’Leary on the roster, the Raiders re-signed free agent Paul Butler. The tight end spend time with the Raiders over the last two years and he’ll return in 2020 to join them in Las Vegas. He also spent time with the Lions as a reserve/future signing, but he has yet to see live regular season action in the NFL.
Butler will fight for his spot on the 53-man roster, competing in camp alongside tight ends Darren Waller, Jason Witten, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier, and UDFA Nick Bowers.
Texas To Allow Fans At Games
Earlier this month, Texas gave the greenlight for professional sports to return to the state, effective Monday. Today, Governor Greg Abbott updated his order to allow fans to attend games in outdoor stadiums, up to 25% capacity (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
While states like California have mostly kept restrictions in place, Texas has moved quickly in recent days to ease many of its rules and guidelines. The disparity has the Cowboys considering training camp in the Lone Star State, as opposed to their usual base in Oxnard, California.
As more states move to open up for business, optimism for the 2020 NFL season has increased. Still, there are major hurdles to clear and, perhaps, some negotiations needed between the NFLPA and the league office. Recently, union lead DeMaurice Smith pumped the breaks a bit, saying that he was less-than-certain about the season going on as planned.
Meanwhile, the NFL continues to eye minicamps in June with hopes of having regular season games at full fan capacity.
49ers, Trent Williams Rework Contract
The 49ers have yet to give Trent Williams an extension, but they did do a solid for their new starting left tackle. San Francisco revised the final year of the veteran’s contract to give him some upfront payment, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 
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For months, we heard that Willians would demand a brand new deal from any team that traded for him. However, after he was shipped from the Redskins to the 49ers, Williams said he was willing to put extension talks on the back burner. With that, Williams is set to play out the last season on his original D.C. deal, one that pays him $12.5MM in base salary. But, thanks to the recent adjustment, it’ll come with some guaranteed cash. Before, that sum was completely non-guaranteed.
Williams has been out of football for more than a year and he’s undoubtedly eager to prove himself all over again. The multiple-time Pro Bowler will take over for SF legend Joe Staley, who kept his retirement plans on the hush until the Niners were able to secure his replacement.
The Rams were in the mix to trade for Williams, even though they’ve got limited cap flexibility and a massive Jalen Ramsey extension on the docket. The Vikings were also a frontrunner for Williams, and they would have given him an extension, but the left tackle may have blocked that deal. Instead of money and security from Minnesota, Williams will reunite with Kyle Shanahan in the Bay Area.
NFL To Allow 3 Players To Return From IR
On Thursday, NFL owners voted to allow three players to return from injured reserve each season, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Previously, teams were capped at two IR-DTR spots each.
The rule change makes plenty of sense given the current climate. And, once things go back to normal, it would probably make sense for the league to keep it in place. With playoff expansion and regular season expansion on the horizon, the already staggering injury totals will jump even higher. The ability to bring an extra player back from IR should help to offset some of those losses.
The league’s IR-DTR rule has gone through a few transformations since its first introduction. At the outset, teams were only allowed to bring back one player per year and they had to make the designation in advance. Later, the designation was eliminated. Then, in 2017, teams were permitted to return two players from IR each season, rather than just one.
Per the last set of rules, a player must be on IR for a minimum of six weeks before practicing. After that, the player can return to live action two weeks later, making it a minimum eight-week IR stay. Those conditions, presumably, will remain.