Browns To Tender Rashard Higgins
The Browns will tender restricted free agent Rashard Higgins, according to GM John Dorsey (via Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer). However, Dorsey did not indicate whether the Browns will employ the first- or second-round tender to cuff the wide receiver. 
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The first- or second-round tender will determine what pick a team would have to give the Browns if they were sign him. The first-round tender in 2019 is worth $4.407MM and the second-round tender is worth $3.095MM. It stands to reason that the second-round tender would be enough to scare away interested teams, even though this year’s wide receiver group in both free agency and the draft is underwhelming.
Higgins caught 39 passes for 572 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games. More importantly, he developed a nice rapport with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield in the second half of the season. With Jarvis Landry entrenched in the slot, Higgins should have an opportunity to start outside next year.
Jason La Canfora On Brown, Steelers, Eagles
The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in two years, but Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com gets the sense than an extension will be struck before its expiration, which would mean no strike or lockout. One high-ranking league source tells JLC that a deal could even be reached prior to the start of the 2020 season, though an NFLPA source cautioned that things are still in their infancy.
Here’s more from JLC:
- The Raiders and Eagles are the team’s to keep an eye on in the sweepstakes for Steelers star Antonio Brown, JLC hears. The Titans, he says, have nothing going on with the Steelers right now and the Redskins’ front office is divided on AB, even as owner Dan Snyder pushes for a deal. The Saints and Seahawks also discussed AB internally, but don’t appear to be moving forward with the pursuit.
- Talent evaluators tell JLC that they are iffy on the talent of this year’s wide receiver class. “You might as well trade for AB or OBJ, because this is a bad draft for receivers,” one exec said. “I don’t care who ran what, this is not a good group.” JLC asked that particular exec about extraordinary athlete D.K. Metcalf as well, but he was not impressed by his fluidity or natural catching ability.
Four Teams Interested In Dwayne Allen
A market is already starting to take shape for Dwayne Allen. The Ravens, Bills, Dolphins, and Lions all have interest in meeting with the tight end, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Over the weekend, the Patriots parted ways with the 29-year-old, making him immediately available. The Patriots are open to bringing him back at a cheaper rate, but they might not get that opportunity given the early interest he is receiving.
Allen was set to enter the final year of his contract in 2019 with a base salary of $6.4MM. By cutting him, the Pats saved about $7.3MM in cap room, boosting their total cap space to roughly $25MM.
Allen spent the first six seasons of his career with the Colts before being dealt to the Patriots in 2017. After having compiled at least 350 receiving yards in three of his five healthy seasons, the 2012 third-rounder didn’t play as much of a role in the offense in New England.
In 29 games (16 starts), Allen only hauled in 13 receptions for 113 yards and one score. Allen also appeared in each of the Patriots’ six playoff games during that span, but he didn’t record a reception in those contests. While Allen has earned some recent praise for his blocking prowess, Pro Football Focus ranked him just 65th among 70 eligible tight ends in 2018.
Texans Franchise Tag Jadeveon Clowney
The Texans have franchise tagged outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, according to a team announcement. If no long-term deal is reached between now and the July extension deadline for franchised players, Clowney will be cuffed by a one-year, $15.443MM tender. 
The Texans used the non-exclusive tag on Clowney, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. With this designation, Clowney can shop his offer sheet around, but an unmatched offer sheet would result in the new team sending two first-round picks to the Texans as compensation. The non-exclusive version used more commonly than the exclusive tag in the NFL and only occasionally results in a trade. Last year, however, the Dolphins and Browns swung a tag-and-trade involving Jarvis Landry, though the compensation was much lower than two first-round picks.
Teams have rankled players in the past by tagging them as outside linebackers rather than defensive ends, but it won’t make a huge difference for Clowney. Last year, the Texans gave Clowney an extra $1MM to settle a dispute over his fifth-year option, so the 120% rule on the tag would give him a $15.967MM salary for 2019. Therefore, the difference between Clowney’s tag and the tag he’d get as a defensive end ($17MM) is minimal.
Clowney likely would have preferred to test free agency before coming to the table with the Texans, but, like the other top edge rushers, Clowney will be held back by the tag. The 26-year-old would undoubtedly cash in as an unrestricted free agent, but the Texans are reportedly unwilling to go “anywhere near” the market-resetting deals signed by Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald last summer. For what it’s worth, GM Brian Gaine says the team’s “goal is to continue to work with his representation on a long-term contract.”
For his part, Clowney is expected to take his sweet time when it comes to signing the tender. Without a long-term deal or a signed tender, the defensive end will have the right to abstain from offseason activities, training camp, and even games. An in-season holdout would cost Clowney $900K+ for every missed game.
Giants To Keep Janoris Jenkins?
Janoris Jenkins‘ name has been brought up as a potential cap casualty, but the sense around the league is that the Giants have no plans to release the cornerback, according to NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. The Giants aren’t planning on asking Jenkins to restructure his contract or take a pay cut, either, according to those sources. 
The Giants figure to make significant changes to their defense this offseason, but Jenkins is still in their plans. The veteran is set to carry a $14.75MM cap hit this year, but releasing him would result in a $7MM cap hit with $7.75MM in savings. Losing Jenkins would also leave them with a thin secondary in the event that safety Landon Collins is tagged and refuses to show up for work.
Jenkins, 30, is entering the fourth year of his five-year, $62.5MM contract. Last year, he amassed 70 tackles and two interceptions in a full 16-game season but graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 53 ranked cornerback out of 112 qualified players. His $12.5MM average annual value, however, positions him as the ninth-highest paid CB in the NFL.
Titans Release Jonathan Cyprien
The Titans are expected to release safety Jonathan Cyprien sometime this week, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). However, the Titans would like him back at a cheaper rate.
Tennessee pulled the trigger on this transaction on Tuesday, doing so with a failed-physical designation, NFL reporter Howard Balzer tweets.
Cyprien, 29 in July, was set to resume his role as the Titans’ starting strong safety in 2018. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL in August that sidelined him for the entire year. Cyprien is talented, but injuries have held him back in recent years. In 2017, a hamstring ailment limited him to just ten games.
Cyprien joined the Titans in 2017 on a four-year, $25MM free agent deal. The pact had just $9MM guaranteed, however, and the Titans will save $5.25MM against just $1.5MM in dead money.
In his first year with the club, Cyprien had 57 total tackles and one sack in his ten games. He graded out as one of the ten worst qualified safeties in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, though PFF’s metrics have never been particularly high on him.
Latest On Kyler Murray, Cardinals
Over the weekend, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury told people that the selection of Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall is a “done deal,” according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com. Kingsbury doesn’t necessarily have final say on the matter, but it’s yet another sign that the Cardinals are serious about drafting the undersized, yet immensely talented, Oklahoma quarterback. 
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The Murray-to-Arizona talk seemed far fetch just a few weeks ago because drafting Murray with the first pick would mean walking away from Josh Rosen, just one year after the Cardinals traded up to the No. 10 pick to select him. If they trade the UCLA product, the Cardinals might not get much in return.
“Probably a three,” an NFL GM told Peter King of NBC Sports when asked to approximate Rosen’s trade value. “Not what the Cardinals would think his value is.”
If the Cardinals settle on Murray at No. 1 and put Rosen on the block, they could find a suitor in the Redskins. Or, they could stand pat with Rosen – who just celebrated his 22nd birthday – and dangle the top pick to a team intensely interested in Murray, such as the Raiders.
Bucs To Franchise Tag Donovan Smith
The Buccaneers will place the franchise tag on left tackle Donovan Smith between now and the March 5 deadline, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. At the same time, Stroud hears extension talks are going well, so a long-term deal could be hammered out between now and the extension deadline for franchised players on July 15. 
Smith, 26 in June, has started in every single game for the Bucs since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2015. He not exactly a star on the offensive line, but the Bucs do not want to lose him at a time when it is hard to find reliable tackles.
Smith graded out as just the No. 46 ranked tackle in the NFL last year, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His so-so 66.4 score was roughly in line with his scores from the previous three seasons.
Tagging Smith would cost the Bucs $14.077MM for the 2019 season. A long-term deal, presumably, would call for upwards of $10MM per year. That’s a big chunk of change for an average starter, but Dolphins free agent Ja’Wuan James is also expected to clear that hurdle if he reaches the open market in March.
NFL Sets Salary Cap At $188.2MM
The NFL salary cap for 2019 has been officially set at $188.2MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). That marks an increase of $11MM from last year’s figure of $177.2MM.
This is the sixth consecutive year in which the cap has gone up at least $10MM per club. It’s a sign of continued success and increased revenue for the league, though the final mark is a bit shy of some projections.
In December, the NFL told teams that the final cap would fall somewhere between $187-$191MM. The free spending of clubs has led some to speculate that the cap would fall no lower than $190MM, but ultimately, it doesn’t make a huge difference – revenue is up, the cap is up, and teams like the Colts and Jets have serious money to burn.
Free agency begins on March 13, but a good chunk of the league’s cap space will be absorbed by extensions between now and then.
Packers Rumors: Perry, Wilkerson, Campbell
The latest out of Green Bay:
- Outside linebacker Nick Perry wouldn’t be surprised if the Packers declined to pay his $4.8MM roster bonus due on March 15, a source close to Perry tells Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). However, Perry isn’t sure if the Packers would offer a restructure or just move on in that scenario. Perry landed on IR in November with a knee injury and finished out with a career-low 1.5 sacks. The Packers happily re-upped him on a five-year, $60MM extension in 2017, but he’s missed eleven games since then.
- There’s “mutual interest” between the Packers and defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson for next season, a source tells Demovsky (on Twitter). Wilkerson joined the Packers on a one-year, $5MM deal last year and he’s probably looking at another prove-it deal if he wants to stay in Green Bay. The ex-Jet appeared in just three games last year before an ankle injury wiped out his season.
- The Packers still have an interest in bringing back free agent safety Ibraheim Campbell, according to Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). However, Campbell suffered a torn ACL against the Cardinals in December, which the team didn’t disclose. The safety, who was effective in his three games for the Packers, could be ready by training camp and brought back.