Alex Boone Drawing Interest From NFL Teams
We haven’t seen Alex Boone on the field in a while, but he says he’s looking to play for the first time since 2017. His attempted comeback is not a publicity stunt, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter) hears, and the veteran already has interest from a “handful” of teams. 
Boone, 33 in May, played for the 49ers, Vikings, and Cardinals across eight pro seasons. He entered the league as a UDFA back in 2009 and battled until he found his way to the Niners’ starting lineup in 2012.
Later on, he landed a four-year, $26.2MM free agent deal with the Vikings. Unfortunately, he clashed with Minnesota brass and reportedly had conditioning issues. The Vikings asked him to take a pay cut, Boone said no, and they dropped him after just one year. His last action came in ’17 with the Cardinals, where he started 13 games.
Boone, Pelissero hears, is back up to 285 pounds. That’s important and also impressive – last year, Boone slimmed down in order to compete in an Ironman Triathlon.
Panthers Sign Kyle Allen To Extension
Kyle Allen, in all likelihood, wasn’t going anywhere. Now, it’s official. On Tuesday, the Panthers announced a one-year extension for the quarterback. 
Allen was slated to become an exclusive rights free agent, which is to say that he wasn’t truly on course for free agency. Instead of exercising their right to keep Allen for another low-cast year, the Panthers have given him a fresh contract, one that might include a small bump in compensation.
Allen, 24, started in 12 games in Cam Newton‘s stead last year. Early on, he looked sharp – the Panthers rattled off four wins in his first four starts. After that, things got bumpy, though the blame couldn’t be entirely placed on his shoulder pads. The Panthers went 1-7 in Allen’s next eight starts as they tumbled out of playoff contention. The youngster finished out the year with 17 touchdowns against 16 interceptions and seven lost fumbles, a stat reflective of their offensive line issues.
Allen, a former UDFA, is slated to hold the clipboard for Newton once again this year. The Panthers reportedly plan to stick with the former MVP as their starter, but nothing is certain at this stage of the offseason.
Browns Release Christian Kirksey
The Browns have released linebacker Christian Kirksey, per a club announcement. Kirksey was one of the team’s longest-tenured players, but the club’s revamped regime did not see him as a part of their plans in 2020. 
“Christian Kirksey has been a vital member of our organization for the last six seasons because of his contributions on and off the field,” said Browns GM Andrew Berry, who overlapped with Kirksey in his original stint from 2016-2018. “He has been a strong leader both in our locker room and in the Cleveland community. These are difficult decisions and, in Christian’s case, more challenging because of how well he has represented our team. We thank him for his dedication and wish him nothing but the best in the next phase of his career.”
Kirksey played in 73 games and started 54 times over the course of six years. After his first four years of perfect attendance, the injury bug derailed him a bit. In 2018, he was held back by a hamstring injury. Last year, a torn pectoral muscle shut him down after just two games. He leaves the Browns after notching 484 stops, 11.5 sacks, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles. More importantly, he’ll leave behind a legacy of charitable work in the Cleveland area.
Cowboys Exercise Jamize Olawale’s Option
The Cowboys have picked up the 2020 option for fullback Jamize Olawale, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Olawale joined the Cowboys two years ago via trade with the Raiders and has been a key special teams piece ever since. 
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In Oakland, Olawale was used to clear the way as a lead blocker. The Cowboys brought him in to take over for Keith Smith who, strangely enough, signed on with the Raiders in the same offseason.
Soon after the trade, the Cowboys gave Olawale a new three-year, $5.4MM deal with $2.8MM guaranteed, though the 2020 and 2021 seasons were left as option years. The Cowboys had to decide on those seasons before the end of the ’19 league year, and that’s what they did today.
Olawale, 31 in April, has 109 career appearances to his credit with 20 starts for the Raiders and Cowboys. He has not registered a carry since 2017 and did not catch a pass in 2019, though he was targeted twice on throws.
Ravens’ Marshal Yanda Retires From NFL
Marshal Yanda is calling it a career. On Wednesday, the Ravens’ guard will formally announce his retirement from the NFL, as ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley tweets. 
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Yanda, 35, spent his entire 13-season career with the Ravens. He also mulled retirement last year and there have been rumblings for the past few weeks about him hanging ’em up before the 2020 season. He’s following through on that, choosing to focus on family and his life outside of football.
Last year, Yanda helped the Ravens rack up 3,296 yards on the ground as he protected superstar Lamar Jackson & Co. That was an NFL all-time record, one that they couldn’t have achieved without stellar protection on the interior line from the eight-time Pro Bowler.
Along the way, Yanda also racked up two First-Team All-Pro nods and a Super Bowl ring. The veteran likely still has plenty of quality football left in the tank, but he also has nothing left to prove. He’s earned many millions of dollars since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2007 and reached the pinnacle of the sport – now, he’ll enjoy the fruits of his labor off of the field.
With Yanda out of the picture, the Ravens will be off the hook for his $7MM salary in 2020. They’re unlikely to find a better guard for that price.
Texans, Darren Fells Agree To Extension
The Texans have agreed to terms on a new two-year contract with tight end Darren Fells, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The new deal is worth $7MM and will pay Fells a little more up front with $4MM in 2020. 
Fells, who will celebrate his 34th birthday in April, set a career high with seven touchdowns last year. It was an unexpected jump in offensive production for the veteran, who was previously known best for his blocking prowess.
Last summer, many thought that Fells was on the chopping block soon after signing his one-year deal with Houston. Six weeks after putting pen to paper, the Texans used a third-round choice on San Diego State’s Kahale Warring, a 6’5″ athlete with lots of promise as a blocker. Meanwhile, there were also “the Jordans” – 2018 picks Jordan Akins and Jordan Thomas.
Still, Fells emerged from the pack and as he started in all 16 games and caught 34 passes for 341 yards (and the aforementioned seven TDs.) Now, he’ll stick with the Texans for 2020 and possibly beyond.
NFL Moves Franchise Tag Deadline
The NFL’s franchise tag deadline has been moved to Monday, according to NFL.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It’s a sensible move, designed to project the league against a logistical nightmare as the collective bargaining agreement talks drag. 
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In the final year of the CBA, teams were slated to have a loophole that would enable them to use the franchise and the transition tag. It’s been an oft-discussed scenario for the Cowboys, who could have theoretically used one tag on quarterback Dak Prescott and the other on Amari Cooper. If the CBA is ratified between now and Monday, that option will no longer be there. If the CBA doesn’t pass by Monday and there isn’t an additional extension, the loophole may still be available.
As it stands, the NFLPA’s voting window has until Saturday to put the proposed CBA into place. The new franchise tag deadline has been set for 11:59am ET/10:59am CT. After that, the “legal tampering” period gets underway on Monday at 12pm ET/11am CT. On Wednesday at 4pm ET/3pm CT, free agency officially begins.
Lions’ Tavon Wilson Would Be “Happy” To Return
Lions safety Tavon Wilson would be “happy coming back to Detroit” (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein). Still, he says he’s excited to going through the free agent process and survey his options. 
Wilson, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on March 19, is coming off of one of the best seasons of his NFL career, so he’ll want to hear what other clubs have to offer him. In 2019, Wilson started in 13 games and notched 98 stops, five passes defensed, two fumbled recoveries, and one sack. The advanced metrics were also fond of his work. He graded out as the No. 26 ranked qualified safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, with a 71.8 overall score. That figure was his best showing since 2016, his first campaign with the Lions.
As Rothstein notes, Wilson is a good fit for Matt Patricia‘s scheme, so the Lions would ideally like to hang on to him. Meanwhile, they’ve got other areas of need to address – with mystery surrounding Darius Slay‘s status, the Lions could embark on a cornerback search including players like longtime Broncos star Chris Harris or Cowboys CB Byron Jones.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions recently re-upped veteran receiver Danny Amendola.
This Date In Transactions History: Jaguars Sign Calais Campbell
Three years ago today, the Jaguars landed one of the top defensive free agents on the market. Defensive end Calais Campbell agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal with the club, bringing even more power to the Jaguars’ potent front seven. 
Campbell was thought to be on the radar for a number of clubs in this cycle, including the Titans, Broncos, Colts, Bears, and Redskins (the reported runners-up). The Cardinals, ideally, would have liked to keep him, but the numbers crunch of the offseason made that nearly impossible. Besides, they traded for Chandler Jones one year prior, making Campbell something of a luxury rather than a must-keep player.
Campbell may have been motivated by the Jones acquisition – in his walk year, the 6’8″, 300-pound force tallied eight sacks en route to his second career Pro Bowl appearance. He also entered the market with a proven record of getting to the quarterback: He registered 56.5 sacks over the course of nine seasons in Arizona, a total that’s even more impressive when you consider that he had zero sacks as a rookie in 2008.
This Jaguars front office was not shy about spending on the defensive front and they did it again with Campbell, even though he was entering his age-31 campaign. Presumably, they placed the high bid on the veteran, and it paid off. Campbell logged a career-high 14.5 sacks in his first season with the Jaguars and earned First-Team All-Pro honors for the first time. In the last two seasons, he’s been a Pro Bowler with a combined 17 sacks in that stretch.
Now, the Jaguars have some decisions to make. This year, he’s entering his age-34 season with a projected cap hit of $17.5MM. The Jaguars could save upwards of $15MM by cutting ties, though it would be in their best interest to hammer out an extension that would smooth out his cap hit. With a new deal, the Jaguars can free some some extra dollars to be spent later this month and potentially lock down Campbell for the rest of his career.
Jets Interested In Byron Jones
The Jets’ need for cornerback help could lead to big spending in that area. The Jets are showing interest in pending Cowboys free agent Byron Jones, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. 
Cimini cautions that GM Joe Douglas might not want to reset the cornerback market with Jones or fellow top FA CB James Bradberry, but it’s a major hole for the Jets and they might not be able to resist the chance to land a top-tier corner. Solid cornerbacks rarely become available, so they tend to get overpaid. Those deals have yielded mixed results – Cimini notes that the Patriots’ big spend on Stephon Gilmore panned out, though others have not.
Jones is only 27 and many expect him to land a deal worth at least $15MM/year. The Eagles, Giants, and Lions, are a few of the teams that could make a play for him, and the list goes on from there. The Broncos, once thought to be a suitor, will probably put their attention elsewhere after landing A.J. Bouye, who will take over for longtime standout Chris Harris.
The cornerback market hasn’t moved much as of late. When the Dolphins re-upped Xavien Howard and made him the highest paid CB in the NFL, his $15.1MM AAV barely edged Josh Norman‘s 2016 deal. Jones could change that: he’s the belle of the ball, and it might take $16MM, or $17MM, per annum to land him.