Jaguars To Decline Marcell Dareus’ Option
The Jaguars will decline Marcell Dareus‘ option, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The option would have locked in roughly $20MM in salary for the defensive tackle. Instead, the Jaguars will officially turn it down before the Tuesday deadline. 
[RELATED: Looking Back At Blake Bortles’ Extension]
Dareus missed the bulk of the 2019 season thanks to a core muscle injury. In six games, he notched 13 tackles and half of a sack.
The news doesn’t come as a real surprise – the multiple-time Pro Bowler is coming up on his 30th birthday and the Jaguars have a number of needs to address this offseason. By moving on, they’ll clear the bulk of his would-be ~$20MM in earnings; they’ll be left with just $2.5MM in dead money.
The Jaguars acquired Dareus from the Bills midway through the 2017 season, taking on the remainder of his six-year, $95.1MM contract. At that point, Dareus had worn out his welcome with Buffalo coaches and the trade was pretty much a cap dump for Buffalo. The Jags only gave up a late-round draft pick for him.
Unless he’s brought back on a cheaper deal, Dareus will leave the Jaguars after appearing in 30 games (22 starts). Dareus might not have been worth the sizable paycheck for 2020, but that’s not to say that he didn’t deliver at times. In 2018, Dareus’ only full season with the Jaguars that wasn’t compromised by injury, his advanced metrics were roughly in line with his best work in Buffalo. If he’s healthy, he can still be a difference-maker and a quality run-stuffer for some team out there, but he’ll have to sign for something less than ~$20MM per annum.
With Dareus’ salary off of the books, the Jaguars can turn their attention to higher priorities, including a new deal for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
This Date In Transactions History: Jaguars Extend Blake Bortles
Two years ago today, the Jaguars took themselves out of the quarterback market by committing to Blake Bortles for three more years. The move was widely panned and, ultimately, it did not work out for Jacksonville. 
The Jaguars were fresh off of an AFC Championship Game appearance and their first playoff appearance in nine years. Bortles, meanwhile, tossed a career-low 13 interceptions. Still, his overall body of work did not inspire a ton of confidence – his 60.2% completion percentage actually marked a new career best.
Despite the question marks, Bortles became the first 2014 first-round pick to receive an extension – stars like Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack were still negotiating for their new deals (They all, of course, secured long-term riches, though Mack has to get his elsewhere.)
Reported to be a three-year, $54MM pact, the deal included $26.5MM guaranteed with the potential to reach $66.5MM in total through bonuses. He did not earn those incentives, nor did he get to play out his deal – Bortles was cut loose in 2019, clearing the way for Nick Foles to take over.
Bortles went 3-9 in 12 starts for the Jaguars as head coach Doug Marrone flip-flopped him with Cody Kessler. During his five-year run with the Jaguars, Bortles led the league with 75 interceptions – more than one INT per start.
With his stock at an all-time low, the former No. 3 overall pick hooked on with the Rams last offseason. Playing behind Jared Goff, Bortles appeared in only three games and attempted two passes. Without a real opportunity to play in 2019, Bortles did not get a chance to silence his critics. Next month, he’ll be a free agent once again, and the Rams’ level of interest in bringing him back as their QB2 is unclear.
Johnny Manziel Has “Zero Desire” To Play
Over the weekend, Johnny Manziel took to social media to make his case to the XFL. Then, he deleted his Twitter account. Hours later, he returned to the platform to let the world know that he has “zero desire to play any football these days. [I] just love stirring up controversy” (Twitter link). 
Indeed, Manziel has been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career and post-career. During the early planning stages of the XFL 2.0, many were quick to connect the former first-round pick to Vince McMahon’s reboot. However, the league has shied away from Manziel.
“Johnny has his own history, and we have coaches from the CFL who have seen him close up,” XFL commissioner Oliver Luck said when asked about Johnny Football recently. “He was in the draft pool. Coaches and scouts looked at him and didn’t think he was going to help their team. I think the guys we have on our teams are the best 560 that aren’t playing in the National Football League.”
This, apparently, marks the end of Manziel’s professional football career. Manziel, who won’t turn 28 until December, has not played in the NFL the 2015 season. At one point in time, the Saints were rumored to have interest in him, but there has been no real chatter about Manziel in NFL circles this offseason.
After capturing the Heisman Trophy following the 2012, the Texas A&M star wasn’t able to do much as a pro. In two seasons, he appeared in 14 games (eight starts) and completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also tacked on another 259 rushing yards off of 46 totes.
Meanwhile, off the field, he’s been embroiled in a number of controversies, including a 2016 investigation into domestic violence allegations. Later, he was suspended for four games in the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Latest On Lions’ Darius Slay
Darius Slay‘s future in Detroit is still less-than-certain, but there’s cause for at least a little bit of hope. Lions GM Bob Quinn says he’s having “good conversations” with the cornerback’s agent (Twitter link via Tori Petry of the team website). 
“Nothing’s really past the finish line yet,” Quinn continued. “But we’re hoping to get a few things done here in the next week or so.”
Earlier this week, the Lions opened up the phone lines to discuss trades involving the Pro Bowler. Multiple teams have interest – it’s not clear which teams have been in talks with the Lions, though the Eagles and Broncos are both probable suitors. According to one source who spoke with Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post, it might take a second- or third-round pick (not to mention a whopping new deal) for the Broncos to pry him away. Slay, who has been at odds with the team in the past, reportedly wouldn’t mind a fresh start.
Slay has one year to go on his four-year, $48MM deal with Detroit.Thanks to Slay’s front-loading, he’s slated to earn just $10MM in 2020. On his next deal, he could command approximately $15MM per year; the Lions are concerned about concentrating too much of their capital with the 29-year-old, but plenty of other clubs would be willing to hit that mark.
NFLPA Executive Committee Rejects CBA
Friday afternoon brought an unexpected turn of events in the NFL’s CBA negotiations. After negotiating the current iteration with owners, the executive committee voted 6-5 against pushing it to a union-wide vote, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. 
The exec vote is only a recommendation and doesn’t scuttle the proposal entirely, but it does raise some serious question marks. The next official step towards ratification is a vote among the league’s 32 player representatives. If a simple majority says yes, it goes on to the entire NFLPA.
Earlier today, it seemed like the two sides were well on their way to ten more years of labor peace. Still, the league’s eleven higher-ups are skittish about the concessions being made. A number of players have found some sticking points in talks, including the addition of a 17th regular season game. Owners have pitched a number of trade-offs to get the deal done – a larger share of revenue, lighter training camp practices, less fussing over weed, and more – but that hasn’t totally mollified the upper ranks. On the other side of the table, some owners are also hesitant, as shown by their recent not-quite-unanimous vote.
There is no true deadline for a resolution, though both sides are gunning for a deal before the new league year begins in March. Otherwise, things will become impossibly messy and the possibility of a labor stoppage in 2021 will linger.
Chiefs’ Eric Bieniemy Turns Down Colorado
Eric Bieniemy won’t be leaving Kansas City. This week, the Chiefs offensive coordinator withdrew his name from consideration, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. 
Bieniemy did not formally interview for the job, but the Buffs pursued him hard nonetheless. Klis’ understanding is that Bieniemy was Colorado’s first choice for the job and they kept in contact with him throughout, even while he was on vacation.
Bieniemy has interviewed for a number of NFL head coaching jobs in recent cycles but has yet to come away with any. Colorado presented him with an opportunity to finally run his own show – and return to his alma mater – but he ultimately felt that the Chiefs job was too good to give up. Besides, with another year of electric offense in Kansas City, it feels inevitable that Bieniemy will finally get his big break. Had Bieniemy signed up at Colorado, he likely would have been tied to the school for multiple seasons with a significant buyout for any NFL team hiring him.
Bieniemy has been a Chiefs assistant for the last seven years. This offseason, he interviewed with the Browns, Giants, and Panthers about their head coaching vacancies. Last year, he chatted with the Bucs and Dolphins.
NFL To Players: New CBA Means $100MM More In 2020
The NFL and NFLPA have made significant progress on talks this week and a new collective bargaining agreement feels imminent. Meanwhile, owners say that the latest variation of the deal – which includes entails lots and lots of complex changes – would grant another $100MM in player costs for 2020.
The owners issued that statement on Friday morning in an effort to get the union’s sign-off as soon as possible and before the start of the league year in March. Even though the NFLPA is warming up to it, they could decide they’re better off waiting for something better.
The new CBA may include an additional game on the regular season schedule and an expanded playoff field that would see seven teams from each conference make the cut. Other expected changes include two extra active roster spots per team, two additional practice squad spots per team, changes to training camp practices, and a close cousin of the NBA’s mid-level exception which would give teams extra money to spend on veterans without impacting the cap.
And, per the union’s fact sheet, the new CBA will have a reduction in both on-field and team fines, as Michael David Smith of PFT notes.
Changes To NFL’s Comp Pick Formula
Earlier this week, the Eagles informed Nigel Bradham that they would not exercise his 2020 option. The next day, they released him outright.
[RELATED: Owners Vote To Approve New CBA]
The Eagles changed their plans due to a recent change in the compensatory pick formula, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Under the previous system, a player with a declined team option would count as a compensatory free agent for the club. This change, first reported by Over The Cap’s Brad Spielberger (via Twitter), was only just relayed to the Eagles this week.
The Broncos benefitted from the option trick in 2017, when they declined his team option and scored a third-round comp pick in 2018. It’s a seemingly minor revision to the rule, but it could nudge teams towards keeping players or, as was the case with the Eagles and Bradham, allowing those players to reach free agency before the start of the league year.
Chargers, Russell Okung To Part Ways?
It doesn’t sound like Russell Okung will return for another season with the Chargers. The left tackle is “skeptical” of the Chargers’ direction and his future with the team, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson tweets. 
Okung, who has never been one to pull punches, has one year to go on the four-year, $53MM deal he signed in 2017. He’s currently set to count for $16.7MM against the cap. Releasing him would save more than $13MM of that sum with just $3.5MM left.
Okung, 33 in October, made the Pro Bowl in his first year with L.A. Unfortunately, blood clots in his lungs landed him on the NFI list to start the 2019 season and a groin injury sidelined him near the end. In total, he was limited to just six games.
The Chargers’ offensive line struggled mightily on the whole, so Okung isn’t the only party questioning the partnership. Currently, the Chargers have just over $50MM in available cap room – dropping Okung would give them about $64MM to work with, allowing them to land a big-time tackle on the open market and, potentially, their next starting quarterback.
Internally, the Chargers don’t have a shoe-in candidate to take over for Okung, though Trey Pipkins and Sam Tevi could be part of the solution.
Latest On Redskins’ Quinton Dunbar
Quinton Dunbar and the Redskins are still at odds. Sources close to the cornerback tell ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter) that his camp has asked to “discuss a reasonable contract restructure,” but the team has refused to engage in talks. With that, Dunbar “remains resolute” in his demand to be cut or traded.
Of course, what constitutes a “reasonable” proposal comes down to a matter of perspective. It’s possible that Dunbar’s team is coming in strong after he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall ranked cornerback. For reference, Redskins cornerbacks Fabian Moreau and Josh Norman placed around No. 100 on the list.
Dunbar enjoyed a breakout year in 2019 and he has been looking to parlay that performance into a long-term deal. The Redskins, so far, have been unwilling to give him the security that he seeks.
Last year, Dunbar was in preliminary talks with the Bruce Allen-led front office, but that came to a halt after new head coach Ron Rivera came into the picture.
As it stands, Dunbar has one year left on his three-year, $10.5MM deal. At the time of signing, Dunbar was mostly a reserve. Now that he’s proven to be a quality starting cornerback, he’s vastly underpaid.
After parting ways with Josh Norman earlier this month, Rivera could be poised to completely overhaul his cornerback group.