Latest On NFL’s CBA Talks
The CBA talks are progressing, but we’re not yet ready for the final vote. Attorneys for both sides will huddle up on Monday in a follow-up to their 9-hour meeting on Sunday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. They’ll review the proposed CBA before it’s finally sent to players for a union-wide election. Once the CBA is sent off for the NFLPA vote, the process will likely take two or two-and-a-half weeks to complete, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
The latest iteration of the deal would see the players’ share of revenue increase from 48% to 48.8%, provided that the league secures a 120% increase in TV broadcast deals, Mike Florio of PFT (Twitter link) hears. If the TV deals only see a 60% bump in TV revenue, the players’ share would go up to 48.5%. The 60% increase seems likely, Florio hears. A 120% bump, meanwhile, may be something of a stretch goal.
The proposed CBA would call for less in the way of player suspensions and fines in general, though the DUI policy would be expanded, Florio hears. Moving forward, a DUI would result in a three-game ban. That’s probably a trade-off that players are willing to make, but we won’t know for sure until everything is signed, sealed, and delivered.
Colts, Giants Won’t Pursue Tom Brady?
The Colts and Giants have been connected to Tom Brady in recent weeks, but Albert Breer of The MMQB has been told “pretty emphatically” that neither club will pursue the future Hall of Famer.
There was talk that the Colts (along with the Chargers and Raiders) huddled up with Brady at the combine, but we heard recently that those rumblings were not true (at least, when it comes to the Colts). Many have speculated that the Colts would make an aggressive push for Brady – they are less than committed to Jacoby Brissett under center and Brady would give them the star QB they’ve craved since Andrew Luck‘s surprise retirement. Based on what Breer is hearing, the Colts would rather go in a younger direction while spreading their ample cap space.
That’s not to say the Colts aren’t big-game hunting at QB. There’s mutual interest between Indy and longtime Chargers star Philip Rivers. Rivers, 38, has history with Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni and the Colts would offer the eight-time Pro Bowler an opportunity to win in his twilight years. The Redskins and Buccaneers may also make a play for Rivers, so the Colts will be evaluating all of their options in the coming weeks.
Back to Brady – no one is counting out a new deal with the Patriots, though there’s increasing chatter that he’s looking to move on from the only NFL team he’s ever known. If he parts ways with the Pats, the Chargers, Titans, and Raiders may be among his most likely destinations.
Panthers Expected To Decline Dontari Poe’s Option
The Panthers are expected to decline Dontari Poe’s $9.8MM option for 2020, sources tell Jourdan Rodrigue and Joseph Person of The Athletic. With that, the nose tackle is now on course for free agency later this month.
Poe managed four sacks from the interior last year and played well, but he’s also coming up on his 30th birthday in August and recovering from quadriceps surgery. The Panthers, who are in the midst of a rebuild, seem intent on overhauling their defensive line, and Poe is not part of their plan.
Seven defensive linemen are ticketed for the open market and, according to Rodrigue and Person, the only DL they want to retain is Mario Addison, assuming he’d be willing to sign a short-term and team-friendly deal. Gerald McCoy, Bruce Irvin, and Vernon Butler are among the other Panthers linemen that will be changing unis in 2020.
The unit will look drastically different in 2020, though Kawann Short will return after losing much of 2019 to rotator cuff surgery. With Poe out of the picture, they’re on the hunt for a starting nose tackle. That search that could draw them to Auburn’s Derrick Brown or South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw, as Person and Rodrigue write.
Jaguars’ Yannick Ngakoue Wants Out
The Jaguars will use their franchise tag on Yannick Ngakoue, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the pass rusher took to Twitter on Monday morning to announce that he is not interested in a long-term deal with the club. 
“The Jaguars are aware I no longer have interest in signing a long term contract in Jacksonville,” Ngakoue tweeted. “Duval, I love you and gave you guys everything I got. I’m thankful for the journey and look forward to continuing my career elsewhere.”
At this point, it seems like the Jaguars will wind up having to tag-and-trade the standout defensive end. They’ll find plenty of interest in him if that’s the case – over the last four years, Ngakoue has notched 37.5 sacks for the Jaguars and 14 forced fumbles (fourth in the NFL in that span, behind only Khalil Mack, Chandler Jones, and T.J. Watt. He’s been durable as well; he never missed a game until last year.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old had another standout campaign in 2019, finishing with 41 tackles, eight sacks, six passes defended, and four forced fumbles. The former third-rounder discussed an extension with the team last offseason, but those talks did not lead to a deal and it seems that he is not long for Jacksonville.
The franchise tag for defensive ends is expected to cost upwards of $19MM for 2020.
Dolphins High On QB Jordan Love
Feb. 28: The Dolphins’ infatuation with Love is only intensifying, as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. However, Love’s stock appears to be rising around the league and the belief is that Miami will not be able to wait until the No. 18 overall pick to grab him. The organization thinks that a QB-needy team like the Chargers or Panthers are gearing up to jump the Dolphins’ No. 5 selection in order to take Tagovailoa, which would likely leave the ‘Fins with their choice of Herbert or Love. If that’s the case, it’s looking more like a toss-up between those two passers, though Herbert was very impressive during his throwing drills at the combine while Love had more of a mixed performance.
The Dolphins, with a number of holes to fill, do not want to part with their own hard-earned draft capital in order to guarantee themselves a shot at Tagovailoa. If the Bengals’ No. 1 choice — and therefore Burrow — were up for grabs, it may be a different story, but the team seems content with either Herbert or Love at this point.
Feb. 26: The Dolphins have been heavily connected to Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert in recent weeks, but they’re taking all of this year’s top quarterbacks in this year’s draft. One player they’re particularly intrigued by is Utah State standout Jordan Love, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald hears. 
Love isn’t as high on the mock draft boards and he’s probably not a candidate for the No. 5 overall pick (though, we’ve been surprised before, particularly when it comes to QBs). The Dolphins, in theory, could target Love with one of their later picks – No. 18 or No. 26 overall – and strengthen up another area with their top choice.
At 6’4″ and 225 pounds, Love has great size for the position. He also looked the part of a top-end QB in 2018 by throwing 32 touchdowns against six interceptions. Unfortunately, his arm strength and stature didn’t yield the same results last year – he had 20 TDs against 17 INTs. That performance hurt his draft stock, but teams like the Dolphins may see this as a value opportunity.
Besides, LSU’s Joe Burrow probably won’t be there for the Dolphins at No. 5 overall and the other top signal callers in this year’s crop come with their own question marks. Tagovailoa, of course, is recovering from a major hip injury. And many are quick to point out Herbert’s accuracy issues, even when praising his cannon.
As Salguero notes, we’ve plenty of QBs struggle as seniors and succeed in the NFL, including Matt Ryan and Dan Marino. Love, too, could rebound from his rocky year, and he might get to do it in South Beach.
Vikings Plan To Keep Everson Griffen
Last week, Everson Griffen opted out of the remainder of his contract. He’s now set for free agency in March, but head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters on Wednesday that he still expects to keep him (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin).
Griffen earned the right to turn down the last three years of his pact by hitting a pair of statistical benchmarks. The rest of the deal would have paid him nicely, but there was no guarantee that the Vikings would have kept him at the same rate. By opting out, Griffen simply opened up his options – he says he’d like to stay in Minnesota, but he can also gauge the market for other offers.
The Vikings met with the veteran defensive end’s agent on Tuesday night, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team also stood by him after he spent time away because of a mental health issue during the 2018 season. Griffen missed more than a month of action that season but bounced back in 2019. The 10-year veteran registered eight sacks and 24 quarterback hits. He will enter the 2020 season as the franchise’s fourth all-time leading sacker (since 1982).
Griffen returning will also continue a pattern for the Vikings. They have opted to keep their defensive core together for years, doing so despite annually being up against the cap. Minnesota’s $1.3MM in cap space ranks last in the league. While it cannot be ruled out Griffen departs, the Vikings have established continuity on defense for years now and have managed to maintain it while paying out Kirk Cousins‘ three-year, fully guaranteed contract.
Texans’ Bill O’Brien Cedes Play Calling Duties
Bill O’Brien decided that he already wears enough hats for the Texans. This week, the team’s head coach and GM announced that offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will take over play calling in 2020. 
“[Kelly is] a really bright guy,” O’Brien said (via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells). “He’s a really good coach. Players really respect him. He just does a great job. Great knowledge of the whole offense from the passing game to the running game.”
O’Brien, who has served as the Texans’ HC since 2014, acted as the OC initially, then later gave those responsibilities to George Godsey. Early on in 2016, he took the headset back from Godsey and parted ways with him after the season.
Last year, the Texans finished 13th in yards per game and 14th in points per contest (23.6, on average). They’ll look to push further with Kelly at the helm.
Kelly and O’Brien go back a long ways, dating to their time together at Penn State. This will be Kelly’s second year as the OC, but his first with full control. O’Brien expressed complete confidence in the soon-to-be 34-year-old and also cited his relationship with Deshaun Watson as a major positive.
NFC East Rumors: Cooper, Cobb, Giants
Lots of changes are on the way for the Cowboys under new head coach Mike McCarthy, but the hope is to keep two of their big-name wide receivers in the fold. On Wednesday, McCarthy confirmed that the plan is to retain star Amari Cooper and former Packers star Randall Cobb on the roster (Twitter link via Jon Machota of The Athletic).
Cobb is coming off of a one-year, $5MM deal with $4MM guaranteed. McCarthy saw the slot receiver up-close in his prime, so it stands to reason that he could have a role in the offense.
Keeping Cooper, meanwhile, would be much more costly. Last year, the former first-round pick posted 79 catches with career-high marks in receiving yards (1,189) and touchdowns (8). He’s indicated that he won’t strictly seek dollars in his next deal, but any multi-year deal for Cooper will place him at or near the top of the WR market.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- The Giants are “open for business” when it comes to trading back in the draft, GM Dave Gettleman says (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). Still, the GM knows that there’s “risk” involved with giving up a prized selection, such as the Giants’ No. 4 overall pick. If the Giants stand pat, they could be in line for a prime Gettleman “hog mollie” in Alabama tackle Jedrick Wills. They also have ample cap room to fill their other needs, especially after cutting linebackers Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin.
- If the Giants use the franchise tag to keep defensive lineman Leonard Williams and classify him as a defensive tackle, they may have to prepare for a fight, Vacchiano hears. Tagging Williams as a defensive end would net him about $2MM more in 2020 comp, but he might not have much of a case. Last year, Williams saw 466 DT snaps versus just 255 DE snaps. His split wasn’t all that different with the Jets, either.
- No surprise here, but Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says the team will prioritize defense with many notables on course for free agency. “In general, defense is the priority for this offseason,” Jones said (via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas News). “Whether it’s getting some our own guys back or whether it’s free agency or whether it’s the draft, if you look at our roster obviously most of our offensive roster are either under contract or are going to have restrictions to where we’re going to have a great opportunity to keep them.” Secondary stalwart Byron Jones is getting a lot of attention, but several defensive line pieces including Robert Quinn and Maliek Collins are also out-of-contract.
Giants Release Alec Ogletree, Kareem Martin
The Giants have released linebackers Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin, per a club announcement. By cutting the two veterans, the Giants will save roughly $10MM against the 2020 salary cap. 
The Giants acquired Ogletree via trade with the Rams in 2018. Despite his experience and soft hands (he has a dozen interceptions to his credit), the savings were too good to pass up. Ogletree appeared in 26 games for the G-Men in his two seasons and led the team with 173 stops in that span. He also set the franchise record for INTs by an LB in 2018 with five picks – two of which were brought back for touchdowns.
Martin joined the Giants on the same week as Ogletree. In his first campaign, Martin had perfect attendance with seven starts at linebacker and notched a career-high 48 tackles with 1.5 sacks. Last year, a Week 1 knee injury pretty much wiped out his season. He played in just five contests and logged a grand total of six tackles. He had one more year to go on his deal, but few expected him to see that final season.
By dropping Ogletree and Martin, the Giants will head into March with approximately $70MM in breathing room.
Seahawks Open To Marshawn Lynch Return
The Seahawks aren’t ruling out another year of Beast Mode. Head coach Pete Carroll says he’d be open to having running back Marshawn Lynch back in the fold, even though it likely wouldn’t be for a full season. 
“We’ll see. Never say never,” Carroll said (via Gregg Bell of The News Tribune). “I’m not going to rush him back to offseason, that’s for sure. That’s never been one of his strengths.”
Lynch, 34 in April, joined the Seahawks for the club’s final regular season game and their pair of postseason games. Carroll said Lynch did an “extraordinary job” in the limited run, which included four rushing touchdowns.
“Marshawn made an exceptional impression coming back, starting with me,” Carroll said. “He worked very hard to get to the point to have the chance to be available, how he got to that spot that maybe he could play later in the season. He reported in good shape. He performed well…Did a great job for us just picking things up and showing how, what it takes to be available and all that. He was gracious and great to all the young guys. It didn’t matter how old you were, he was just great to everybody.”
Lynch’s yards-per-carry average didn’t jump off of the page, but he got the job done for them in the red zone. All things considered, it was a solid showing for a player who had spent more than a year away from the game. After the rash of injuries that sidelined Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, and C.J. Prosise, it only makes sense for Seattle to keep Lynch on speed-dial.