Latest On NFL’s CBA Talks
The prospect of a 17-game season remains at the center of CBA talks between the NFL and the NFLPA. However, the expanded regular season might not include two bye weeks, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets.
[RELATED: Okung To Run For NFLPA President]
Nothing is finalized – or even close to it – but Breer hears that the 17-game season being discussed would include a three-game preseason, a lighter load in training camp, a revamped offseason calendar, and still only one bye week per team. It’s a departure from the last update we heard: the two sides were reportedly mulling an extra bye to offset the extra wear-and-tear on players.
With an odd number of games, the additional contest would likely occur on a neutral site. It remains to be seen how the league would organize the new schedule, or whether the extra game would be inter- or intra-conference. For what it’s worth, the owners seem confident that the 17th game will happen.
The expanded season is just one of many issues at stake in the new CBA. Players want at least 48% of the revenue and the owners’ latest offer pushed the split close to that threshold. In order to get a bigger piece of the pie, the players will likely have to agree to the extra game or play hardball. Some figures in the union, like NFLPA presidential candidate and veteran offensive lineman Russell Okung, are in favor of Option B.
“Are we in an equitable agreement with management?” Okung said. “Right now, the answer is no. This will take as long as it needs to…I expect more, and I’m not willing to be bashful about saying that. I’ve made it really clear we need to exhaust every single opportunity we have in order to put our players in a better situation to take care of themselves, their families and to protect the future of this game.”
Latest On Saints’ Drew Brees
Saints quarterback Drew Brees says he isn’t bothered by the prospect of ceding snaps to Taysom Hill (Twitter link via Chris Simms of PFT). Brees is still deciding whether he’ll return for another season, but a larger role for Hill won’t dissuade him from playing. 
[RELATED: Saints Planning Transition To Taysom Hill In 2021]
“If I’m back, and Taysom’s along side me, call the plays that puts us in the best position to win. If that means Taysom Hill is taking 30 snaps a game, 25 snaps a game, so be it. I’m all for that,” Brees said.
The Saints would like to have Brees back for a bridge year, allowing them to make a smooth handoff to Hill for 2021 and beyond. Brees, 41, is on board with that plan, if he decides to play.
Brees, of course, has nothing left to prove in the NFL and has already earned more money than he could ever hope to spend. Over the next month or so, he’ll weigh his options, which include a potential career in broadcasting.
Brees completed a league-high 74.3% of his passes in 2019, marking his third straight year at the top of the category. In his injury-shortened eleven-game campaign, he threw for 2,979 yards with 27 touchdowns against just four interceptions. In the regular season finale against the Colts, Brees connected on 29 of 30 passes and set the NFL’s new record for touchdown throws.
Patriots’ Jason McCourty To Continue Playing
Twins tend to think alike. On Friday, Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty confirmed that he’ll continue playing in 2020 (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Jason’s declaration comes just days after Devin McCourty told reporters that he will also suit up for another year. However, it’s worth noting that their contracts aren’t in sync. Jason is signed through 2020 and scheduled to count for a $5.7MM cap figure, though the Pats could save $4MM with just $1.75MM in dead money if they wanted to release him. Devin, meanwhile, will be a free agent in March.
Both McCourtys say they’ll be on the field in 2020 – even if its not with the Pats.
“I’m pretty wide open. When you play 10 years somewhere, it’s not always a definite to return,” Devin said.
Jason appeared in 12 games (ten starts) at cornerback last year, notching 39 tackles, one interception, and a solid 74.4 score from PFF that positioned him as the No. 17 ranked CB in the league. Meanwhile, Devin started all 16 games for the fourth consecutive year, logged five interceptions — his highest total since the 2012 campaign — and allowed a completion percentage of 54.3 as the nearest defender in coverage.
When the twins turn 33 in August, they’ll be in training camp. It’s just not certain that it’ll be in New England.
Ryan Fitzpatrick To Play In 2020
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick says he’ll play in 2020 (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). All signs have been pointing in this direction and it’s now confirmed, straight from the veteran himself. 
The Dolphins haven’t been shy about their desire to have Fitzpatrick back for another year, even as they plan to draft their QB of the future. FitzMagic, 37, would be the ideal mentor for whoever the Dolphins choose in April and it’s clear that he still has some tricks still up his short sleeve.
In 2019, Fitzpatrick was a bright spot for the Fins in an otherwise trying year. He racked up 3,529 passing yards with 20 touchdowns against 13 interceptions and helped cap off the year in style with wins over the Bengals and Patriots.
Fitzpatrick is under contract for 2020 at an $8MM salary for this upcoming year. Even though he could wind up as the QB2 by the midway point of the year, the Dolphins can afford it thanks to their ample cap room.
Next up for the Dolphins’ QB room – evaluating candidates for the No. 5 overall pick and, perhaps, mulling a trade up to get their man. They’ll also have to figure out how former first-round pick Josh Rosen fits into the picture.
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Eric Bieniemy Still Eyeing HC Job
This year, Eric Bieniemy was in demand on the head coaching circuit once again. And, once again, Bieniemy did not emerge with a head coaching job. Still, the Chiefs offensive coordinator remains determined to eventually run his own ship. 
“I mean, that’s everybody’s dream to be one of the 32 head coaches. That’s everybody’s dream,” Bieniemy said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher). “Someday, possibly, it may happen. But right now, the only thing that matters is making sure our guys, our players and our coaching staff is focused on the goal — and that’s making sure we play to the end of that final echo of the whistle come Sunday.”
Bieniemy drew interest from the Browns, Giants, and Panthers this offseason. Last year, he met with the Buccaneers, Bengals, and Dolphins (and turned down an interview with the Cardinals). The offensive guru has been in the running for at least six HC jobs in the last two cycles, but came away with none.
Given that Ron Rivera was the only minority candidate to land a head coaching job in this cycle, many have called for a revamp to the league’s Rooney Rule. For his part, Bieniemy says he’s keeping the focus on himself and his Super Bowl-bound squad.
“Every coach may have a different gripe about whatever comes up in their own organization,” Bieniemy said when asked whether minority assistant coaches were being treated unfairly on the whole. “But we all have an opportunity to do what we do…I love my job. I have no complaints in what I do and how I do it. I know one thing: When it’s all said and done with, we get to line up and play football. And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m a football coach.”
Chiefs’ Sammy Watkins Won’t Rule Out Pay Cut
Sammy Watkins has found a home with the Chiefs, and he doesn’t want to leave anytime soon. Staying on board for 2020 could require a pay cut – something that the wide receiver won’t rule out.
“I don’t want to say I will be (open to a pay cut). I don’t want to say I won’t,” he said. “I just think I’m a special player. I think I deserve all the things I deserve. If I’m at home and thinking about it, if I have to do it to pay [Patrick Mahomes], I maybe will. That’s a guy that we should pay, and he needs to get paid. But you never know, that’s a decision I’d have to go through.”
Watkins, of course, has bigger fish to fry this week. After the Super Bowl, both he and the Chiefs will have some decisions to make. The Chiefs have Watkins under contract for 2020 at a cap figure of $21MM with $13.75MM in base pay, but none of that money is guaranteed. It seems highly likely that the Chiefs will ask Watkins to take a pay cut, even as the timing of a Mahomes extension remains uncertain.
Watkins still poses a threat to opposing defenses, but his production doesn’t necessarily warrant that kind of money. In 2019, he had 52 catches for 673 yards – third on the team in both categories, behind Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill.
“I don’t think numbers prove anything,” Watkins said in response to his stat line. “Numbers are just numbers to me. Numbers may mean a lot to the world, but I don’t think that proves what I do for this team. Me bringing the great energy every day, me being the person that I am…if you can value me off that, I think my value would be very high. I don’t think my value is all off scoring touchdowns or getting 1,000 yards receiving. I don’t think I’m valued like that. I’m valued off being around the guy, being positive, coming into work every day, being a professional. I think if you would judge me off that, you would give me the world.”
He’s also delivered in key moments, including the AFC Championship Game where he had seven catches for 114 yards, including the TD to ice the game.
If asked to take a pay cut, Watkins may or may not say yes. He also offered up a third possibility:
“Or I might just take off a year after we win the Super Bowl, you never know.”
This Date In Transactions History: Chiefs Trade Alex Smith To Redskins
On this date in 2018, the Chiefs traded Alex Smith to the Redskins in blockbuster move that had wide-ranging implications across the entire NFL. The deal brought the Redskins a proven quarterback who was coming off of, arguably, the best season of his career. For the Chiefs, the trade gave them a 2018 third-round draft pick, a promising young cornerback in Kendall Fuller, and a clear path to elevate Patrick Mahomes to the starting lineup. 
Even as Smith led the league in passer rating (104.7) and finished third in adjusted net yards per attempt, the football world was buzzing about the potential of Mahomes. The Chiefs didn’t see much of the youngster in live action, outside of some time in the meaningless 2017 regular season finale, but they saw enough of him on the practice field to know that he was special and that he was ready. Smith, meanwhile, had one year remaining on his deal. The Chiefs opted to turn his salary into draft capital, support for the secondary, and extra cash that they could spend elsewhere.
After Smith set career-highs in completion percentage (67.5), yards (4,042), and touchdowns (26), the Redskins saw him as a fitting replacement for Kirk Cousins, who was on his way out after years of friction and botched extension talks. The acquisition of Smith ruled out any possibility of a reconciliation and officially set Cousins on course for free agency, where he found a fully-guaranteed multi-year deal with the Vikings.
The Chiefs’ side of the swap made total sense – they were parlaying their surplus into extra ammunition. For the Redskins, the deal raised some eyebrows. Even after Smith posted a career-low interception rate of 1%, many doubted that he would be an improvement over Cousins. Keeping Cousins would have been more costly in terms of guaranteed dollars (and would have required a whole lot of fence-mending), but there was plenty of cost that came with Smith – Fuller, valuable draft capital, and the four-year extension given to him the day after the trade. That deal, taking Smith through 2022, gave Smith $23.5MM per year, making him the sixth-highest paid QB in the NFL at the time of signing.
Two years later, it’s hard to get a true read on the Redskins’ end of this blockbuster deal. Smith led the club to a 6-3 start in his first season with the Redskins, but a gruesome leg injury in Week 11 changed everything. The compound and spiral fracture to his tibia and fibula required complicated surgery, and the post-surgery infection that he developed led to 17 more operations. Smith missed all of 2019 and no one knows when, or if, he’ll return to football. For his part, Smith says he still wants to play.
“I still have dreams of getting back to where I was and getting back out there,” Smith said in January. “This has been a crazy ride with a lot of unforeseen turns, but without a doubt, that’s still my goal.”
Smith, now 35, is set to count $21.4MM against the Redskins’ cap this year. No cap savings can be gained by releasing him until 2021.
In Kansas City, Mahomes lit the NFL on fire, leading the league with 50 passing touchdowns against just 12 interceptions. He was unstoppable again in 2019 – even a fairly serious knee injury could only limit him for a few weeks. This week, he’ll lead the Chiefs into the Super Bowl, where they’ll aim for their first championship since 1970.
Robby Anderson: Jets “Want Me Back”
Robby Anderson is scheduled to reach free agency this offseason, but the wide receiver isn’t so sure that the Jets will let him get there. 
[RELATED: Jets, Jamal Adams Begin Contract Talks]
“I know they’ve communicated that they do want me back,” Anderson said this week (via Bob Glauber of Newsday). “So, we’ve just got to see how it plays out.”
Anderson, 27 in May, indicated that talks are still preliminary and that numbers have yet to be exchanged. But, on his end, he expressed a desire to return to the only pro team he’s ever known.
In 2019, Anderson hauled in 52 receptions for 779 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers don’t jump off of the page, but Anderson believes that he would have had a much stronger year if not for Sam Darnold‘s extended absence.
Anderson, who made the Jets as a UDFA out of Temple in 2016, has already expressed a desire to see what else is out there. The Jets will have to make a strong offer to keep him from testing the waters, but, either way, he stands to see a nice bump over his $3.095MM salary in 2019.
The Jets should have enough flexibility to keep Anderson on a multi-year pact – they enter the offseason with a projected $51MM in cap room and they can clear out more by shedding some veteran deals. That list includes Darryl Roberts, whose salaries of $6MM and $7MM in 2020 and 2021 are completely non-guaranteed. Guard Brian Winters also seems likely to get the heave-ho – the final year of his deal can be scrubbed without penalty, saving the Jets $7.28MM.
Across four seasons, Anderson has averaged 14.8 yards per catch. His best year, statistically, came in 2017 when he posted a 63/941/7 line.
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott “Confident” In Talks
Will all the posturing between the Cowboys and Dak Prescott result in a long-term deal before the start of free agency? Dallas’ star quarterback seems to think so. 
[RELATED: Free Agent Stock Watch: Dak Prescott]
“I’ve got confidence something will get done,” Prescott told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. “We’ll just leave it there. Obviously being the Cowboys quarterback is second to none. There are very few positions in all of sports that are comparable to it. So when you put that in perspective, my mindset is to be in Dallas. And I’ve got the confidence in my team to get something done and the confidence in the Cowboys that we’ll be able to.”
The Cowboys are equally eager to iron out a deal. Publicly, Stephen Jones has acknowledged that a new deal for Prescott is his top priority this season, followed closely by hashing out a new deal with Amari Cooper.
The Cowboys have the franchise tag as a failsafe, so it’s hard to see Prescott reaching the open market this year under any circumstance. If, somehow, he does get to test the open waters, he could be joined by QBs Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Ryan Tannehill, and Jameis Winston.
Prescott went on to say that he’s “excited” to play under new head coach Mike McCarthy and made note of his Super Bowl pedigree. In four years as the Cowboys QB, Prescott has made just two playoff appearances and has only one postseason W.