NFL Projects ~$200MM Salary Cap For 2020
NFL revenue continues to rise and, in turn, the salary cap continues to climb. On Tuesday, the league office informed club officials that the salary cap is projected fall somewhere between $196.8MM and $201.2MM in 2020 (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). This year, the cap is at $188.2MM, so that marks a significant jump in potential pay for players league-wide.
The expected increase marks a ~40% jump from five years ago in the 2015 season, when the cap was set at $143.3MM. It’s the seventh straight year in which cap is projected to climb more than $10MM per team, year over year. Since 2011, the cap has increased roughly 65 percent and $76 million per club.
The final cap number will likely set by the NFL and NFLPA in late February or early March, just before free agency gets underway. What we know is this – projected player costs, including benefits, will total more than $7.7 billion in 2020.
The NFLPA is undoubtedly happy about the jump, but the players’ union is expected to seek a larger share of the pie in the next collective bargaining agreement. The 2020 season marks the final year of the current labor contract.
For many teams, the cap increase will provide a bit of extra breathing room for the offseason. However, six clubs will still have to trim payroll between now and the new league year, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Jaguars ($208MM), Falcons ($206MM), Bears ($205MM), Vikings ($203MM), Saints ($202MM), and Chiefs ($201MM) are all past the $200M mark for 2020, as of this writing.
Lions Place Marvin Jones On IR
The Lions placed wide receiver Marvin Jones on IR, head coach Matt Patricia announced. The ankle injury suffered by Jones late in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings proved to be fairly serious and he’ll be held out of action the rest of the way in order to heal up.
Jones had three receptions for 38 yards in the loss and played through the pain to finish the game. This brings an early end to a productive season for the veteran, who finishes out with 62 catches for 779 yards and nine touchdowns (four of those scores came in the Lions’ first game against the Vikings.)
Jones will turn 30 in March and is set to earn a base salary of $6.5MM in 2020. In theory, the Lions can cut him instead – saving $6.5MM against just $2.695MM in dead money. However, Jones has demonstrated clear value, so it stands to reason that he’ll be back next year.
Jones also finished the 2018 season on IR, thanks to a knee injury. It’s undoubtedly frustrating for Jones, but he did succeed in having a bounce back year – he easily topped his 2018 stat line of 35/508/5.
To fill Jones’ roster spot, the Lions signing defensive tackle Frank Herron off of the Dolphins’ practice squad.
Panthers Release Greg Dortch
For the second time in 2019, the Panthers have released kick returner Greg Dortch. The move comes two days after Dortch fumbled a return in the Panthers’ loss to the Falcons.
Dortch, listed as a wide receiver, has yet to catch a pass at the NFL level. With the Panthers, he’s served as the kick and punt return specialist on two separate occasions. His first opportunity came in Week 9, when he returned two kickoffs and two punts against the Titans.
Then, on Sunday, he coughed up the ball on a third quarter kickoff return. The Falcons turned that change of possession into a field goal, en route to a 40-20 win.
The 5-8 Panthers will have someone else fielding kickoffs and punts as they wrap up the year against the Seahawks, Colts, and Saints.
Bengals Place Auden Tate On IR
Auden Tate‘s season is officially over. On Tuesday, as expected, the Bengals placed the wide receiver on injured reserve.
Tate suffered an MCL sprain last week and the club had little reason to put him in harms way as the season winds down. The 2018 seventh-round pick, played sparingly during his rookie campaign, but he showed promise this year as the team’s No. 2 WR in A.J. Green‘s stead. In 12 games (ten starts) this season, the 22-year-old has hauled in 40 receptions for 575 yards and one touchdown.
Willis, meanwhile, has nine grabs in ten games this season. The undrafted rookie hopes to cement his place on the Bengals’ 2020 roster, which figures to look drastically different.
The Bengals own the league’s worst record with three games left in the regular season. Unless they pick up wins against the Patriots, Dolphins, and Browns, they’ll pick No. 1 overall in April.
Falcons To Sign CB Jamar Taylor
The Falcons are signing cornerback Jamar Taylor, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The veteran appeared in nine games with the Seahawks earlier this year before being released in late November.
Taylor had three passes defensed with the Seahawks, who dropped him twice in 2019 – once in August and again in November. All in all, he’s been a part-timer in his seventh pro season, notching 20 tackles in nine games as a backup.
The Falcons’ season is effectively over, but Taylor will get a chance to showcase himself before free agency begins in March. Still only 29, the former second-round pick could put himself in line for a deal with a cornerback-needy team.
With three games to go, the Falcons are 4-9 and in line for the No. 8 overall pick.
Eagles’ Alshon Jeffery Done For Year?
The Eagles topped the Giants in overtime on Monday night, but the win may prove to be costly. Offensive lineman Lane Johnson is “week to week” with a sore ankle and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered a foot injury that is more significant than Johnson’s, head coach Doug Pederson told reporters. 
With only three games left in the regular season, it sounds like Jeffery might be done for the season. That would be a bad blow for the Eagles as they fight for the NFC East crown and an opportunity to capture another Super Bowl ring.
Jeffery hauled in 65 catches for 843 yards and six touchdowns in 2018. Before Monday’s game, and his early exit to the medical tent, he had 43 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns for the 2019 season.
Johnson, 29, was on the field for every offensive snap in ten of his twelve games this year. The Eagles will hope to have him back this Sunday against the Redskins as he plays out his recently-inked four-year, $72MM extension, which includes a staggering guarantee of $54.595MM.
Colts To Sign Dontrelle Inman
The Colts are bringing back Dontrelle Inman. On Tuesday, the Colts agreed to re-sign the wide receiver, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
The Colts are banged up at the position – star T.Y. Hilton is week-to-week with a calf injury and, just this week, rookie Parris Campbell landed on injured reserve with a fractured foot. Inman, who spent some time with the Colts last year, could offer some badly needed veteran depth at wide receiver.
Inman entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2014 and emerged as a legitimate pass-catching option for the Bolts. In 2016, he enjoyed a breakout season with 58 catches for 810 yards and four touchdowns.
Ever since, he’s bounced around a bit. The Chargers traded Inman to the Bears midway through the 2017 season, where he was unable to recapture his old magic. Then, he inked a one-year deal with the Colts and went on to catch 28 passes for 304 yards and three scores in nine games.
This year, he had a brief dalliance with Patriots before circling back to the Chargers. The veteran shined in Week 4 when he caught five balls for 76 yards as Mike Williams‘ fill-in, but a quad injury landed him on IR and, eventually, put him on the curb.
Inman will make his return to the gridiron this week when the Colts face the Saints. At 6-7, a loss would mathematically eliminate them from playoff consideration. Even with win, of course, they’ll still be facing long odds.
Cowboys Owner: We Didn’t Meet With Urban Meyer
The Cowboys have not met with Urban Meyer to discuss their head coaching position. At least, that’s what owner Jerry Jones said in an interview on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer). 
Any talk of a recent meeting between Stephen Jones and the former Ohio State coach is “absolutely not correct,” said JJ, who added, “the facts are we just have not talked to any coach or potential coach in the NFL.”
Meyer is one of the most accomplished head coaches in college football history and boasts a 187-32 career record that includes a whopping 12-3 mark in Bowl Games. He also won three national championships, two with Florida and one with Ohio State.
His success with the Buckeyes led to some NFL interest, and he said in December 2015 that he had recently spurned an NFL team’s advances. He always seemed content with his collegiate job, but he announced last December that he would retire from coaching after the Buckeye’s Rose Bowl game on January 1, 2019 (which Ohio State won).
Meyer left the sidelines due to health concerns, which would seemingly rule out coaching in the NFL, but many believe that he would have interest in the Dallas job.
Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl around the job security of current head coach Jason Garrett. Last week, Jones seemed to indicate that Garrett might not return to the team in 2020, though he feels that he will be “coaching in the NFL next year.”
2020 NFL Draft Order As Of Week 15
With 14 full weeks of the NFL season in the books, the 2020 draft order is beginning to take shape. Here’s the rundown of where things would stand if the 2019 season ended today:
1. Bengals: 1-12
2. Giants: 2-11
3. Redskins: 3-10
4. Dolphins: 3-10
5. Lions: 3-9-1
6. Cardinals: 3-9-1
7. Jaguars: 4-9
8. Falcons: 4-9
9. Jets: 5-8
10. Chargers: 5-8
11. Broncos 5-8
12. Panthers 5-8
13. Eagles 6-7
14. Raiders 6-7
15. Colts 6-7
16. Buccaneers 6-7
17. Browns 6-7
18. Raiders (via Bears) 6-7
19. Titans 8-5
20. Jaguars (via Rams) 8-5
21. Cowboys 6-7
22. Dolphins (via Steelers) 8-5
23. Dolphins (via Texans) 8-5
24. Vikings 9-4
25. Bills 9-4
26. Chiefs 9-4
27. Packers 10-3
28. Seahawks 10-3
29. Patriots 10-3
30. Saints 10-3
31. Ravens 11-2
32. 49ers 11-2
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/9/19
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Devante Bond
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL Adam Pankey
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed off Patriots practice squad: Tyler Gauthier
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: DB Tevaughn Campbell
New York Jets
- Promoted: WR Jeff Smith
- Placed on IR: CB Kyron Brown