Cowboys, Zack Martin Nearing Extension
[UPDATE – Martin and the Cowboys reached agreement on a record-breaking extension]
It appears a new deal for Cowboys guard Zack Martin is on the horizon. Speaking at the team’s rookie luncheon, Cowboys VP Stephen Jones insinuated that the club is on the one-yard line in talks. 
“It’s awfully close. I hope he’ll be out at (minicamp) tomorrow,” Jones said (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News).
A new deal for Martin should place him among the league’s highest paid guards, or possibly make him the highest-paid guard in the league. Martin, who has made the Pro Bowl in each of his four NFL seasons, may top new Jaguars guard Andrew Norwell‘s five-year, $66.5MM deal to make him the kingpin of interior linemen. Even if he falls short in total value, it’s hard to imagine that Martin’s average annual value will be much less than Norwell’s $13.3MM per year.
For now, the 27-year-old (28 in November) is on the books for $9.341MM, per the terms of his fifth-year option. If Martin does not sign an extension and turns in another outstanding season, he’ll be in line for a bidding war on the open market next year. That’s a risk the Cowboys are not interested in taking, particularly with DeMarcus Lawrence in a similar position.
Mystery Surrounding Edelman’s Positive Test
The NFL says Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has tested positive for a substance banned under its performance-enhancing drug policy. Meanwhile, no one is exactly sure what he tested positive for. Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that was not immediately recognizable, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears. 
Breer hears there are “scientists analyzing” the positive test. Presumably, those scientists are employed by Edelman’s camp as he mounts an appeal against a four-game suspension.
As Breer notes, it’s safe to assume that Edelman did not test positive for any sort of stimulant. The test in question was conducted in the offseason, following a year spent on injured reserve. Had Edelman tested positive for Adderall, he would have been suspended under the league’s substances of abuse policy – popping positive for Adderall merits a PED suspension during the season, but is classified as an abuse policy violation in the offseason.
Per league rules, Edelman’s case will be heard by a neutral arbitrator. If his ban stands, he’ll miss the first four games of the year against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions, and Dolphins.
Latest On Brady, Gronkowski
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski reported to the Patriots last week, but they won’t be around for the team’s remaining practices in the month of June. The two stars are not slated to take part in the final few OTAs this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. With that, Brady and Gronk are not expected to report to the club until July when training camp gets underway. 
The arrival of the two players last week was viewed as a positive sign for their relationships with the team and their contractual situations. To date, neither player has received a new deal, and it’s still not clear whether that is part of Brady’s agenda. A revised pact seems likely for the tight end, though nothing is imminent on that front.
For all of the rumors of discord in New England, there is every reason to believe that both players will be in uniform for the team in September. A new round of trade speculation circled around Gronkowski last week, but there’s no basis for such talk.
Brady, predictably, has said very little about reports of a rift between him and coach Bill Belichick.
Falcons’ Ricardo Allen Signs RFA Tender
Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen has officially inked his restricted free agent tender, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets. Allen was the last of this year’s tendered restricted free agents to sign his deal. 
“Coming from Pick [No.] 147 to being cut and spending a whole year on the practice squad, then next switching positions and playing something I’ve never played before to securing at least $3MM this year for my family,” Allen said. “I don’t think there is anyone around that doesn’t think I can/shouldn’t make more, but I’m grateful.”
Allen took a moderate gamble by waiting this long to sign his RFA tender, but the Falcons were unlikely to pull the $2.914MM deal given his past performance. In four seasons with the team, Allen has played in 46 games, including 45 starts. All in all, he has made six interceptions, ten deflected passes, one fumble recovery, and 158 tackles.
Allen played cornerback in college, but he has successfully transitioned to safety under head coach Dan Quinn. The two sides could hammer out a long-term deal between now and the start of the season, but it’s not immediately clear whether the team will engage him in talks.
Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said that left tackle Jake Matthews and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett are up next for new deals after the completion of Matt Ryan‘s mammoth extension. Wide receiver Julio Jones has also taken notice of Ryan’s new deal and is pushing for a new multi-year contract of his own.
Allen is eager to sign a multi-year deal with Atlanta, but he already has secured a nice pay bump by signing the one-year tender. Last season, he made just $615K in base pay as an exclusive rights free agent.
Khalil Mack To Skip Raiders’ Minicamp
The Raiders are not expecting star defensive end Khalil Mack for mandatory minicamp this week, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mack is staying away from the club as he pushes for a lucrative new contract. 
The absence of Mack, who has averaged 12 sacks per season over the last three years, is likely to be a thorn in the side of new head coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders were supposedly on good terms with the edge rusher, but he is turning up the heat as he pressures the club for an extension.
The Raiders finalized Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson‘s extensions in June of last year, but Mack’s may be more complicated. Aaron Donald and Jadeveon Clowney are the same boat and each could be waiting to see if one of the other 2014 first-rounders sets the market.
“We look at Khalil as his own situation,” GM Reggie McKenzie said recently. “We’re not looking at anybody else. We’re just focusing on our guy.”
As it stands, Mack is slated to reach unrestricted free agency following the 2018 season. He’s scheduled to earn $13.846MM, per the terms of his fifth-year option. His deal accounts for nearly 8% of the Raiders’ salary cap, and he is likely seeking a deal that will give him a similar piece of the pie over a six-year span, even as the cap continues to increase.
Barring a new deal, five 4-3 defensive ends will carry a higher cap number than Mack this year: Calais Campbell (Jaguars), Ezekiel Ansah (Lions), Demarcus Lawrence (Cowboys), Olivier Vernon (Giants), and Cameron Jordan (Saints). Last year, Mack graded out as the fifth best edge rusher in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
No Movement On Earl Thomas To Cowboys
Safety Earl Thomas announced that he will not be attending the Seahawks’ mandatory minicamp as he pressures the team for a new contract. Right now, it doesn’t sound like that situation will result in a trade to the Cowboys. There hasn’t been much discussion on a trade to send Thomas to Dallas since the draft, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. 
There were rumblings this offseason that the Seahawks could move Thomas, but coach Pete Carroll shot that down in April when he indicated the team was planning on keeping Thomas. GM John Schneider admitted that a trade was considered at one point, but also said that “nothing was remotely close to happening” in the spring.
Meanwhile, in May, it was said that there was no movement on a new deal for Thomas. At this point, something has to give. Thomas will either have to play out his final year at a salary of $8.5MM, or the Seahawks will have to give him an extension to put him at or near the top of his position group. Making him the highest-paid safety in the league would mean leapfrogging Eric Berry‘s mammoth six-year, $78MM deal.
When Thomas signed his four-year, $40MM extension with the Seahawks in 2014, he was the highest-paid safety in the NFL. Since then, he has been topped by five others: Berry, teammate Kam Chancellor, Reshad Jones (Dolphins), Lamarcus Joyner (Rams), and Harrison Smith (Vikings).
Latest On Patriots, Rob Gronkowski
A new contract for Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is “likely,” a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. However, “nothing is imminent” on that front. 
[RELATED: Gronk Addresses Trade Rumors]
It has been expected that the Pats and Gronk would reach an accord similar to the one from 2017. Last year, Gronk’s deal was revised to give him a base salary of $5.25MM with opportunities to earn incentives at three different levels. With a First-Team All-Pro selection, Gronk maxed out his bonus package at $10.75MM.
This time around, Gronkowski’s camp may push for a meld of incentives and a boost to his base compensation. After all, Gronk did return from his injury-shortened 2016 to rack up more than 1,000 yards receiving and eight touchdowns while also coming up big in two of the Patriots’ three postseason contests. Gronkowski has already vowed to put his dreams of acting and pro wrestling on the back burner, but a sweetened deal may help to keep his focus on the field in 2018.
Six years ago this week, the Patriots and Gronk agreed to a deal to make him the highest-paid tight end in league history. Gronk stands to carry the highest cap number of any tight end in the league this year, but you can expect the two sides to boost that number even further in the coming weeks.
OBJ Plans To Attend Giants Minicamp
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. plans to attend the team’s minicamp, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The mandatory minicamp gets underway on Tuesday. 
Beckham participated in a portion of the Giants’ voluntary OTAs earlier this year, but his plans for mandatory minicamp have been unclear. OBJ is pushing for a new contract extension, and some believed that he would skip minicamp and absorb a significant fine in order to send a message to the Giants. Of course, OBJ’s plans could always change and attendance doesn’t necessarily equal participation. The wide receiver still needs to gain medical clearance on the broken ankle he suffered in 2017.
For now, Beckham is slated to make $8.45MM this season. He’s pushing for a multi-year contract that would likely eclipse the deal signed by Bucs star Mike Evans, which would give him upwards of $82.5MM in total. OBJ’s camp will likely ask for a deal in excess of $90MM and could even try for something in the $100MM range, with 40% of the deal fully guaranteed.
In each of his first three seasons, Beckham had more than 90 catches, 1,300 yards, and ten touchdowns. Last year, Beckham’s injury shut him down after just four contests.
This Date In Transactions History: Dolphins Sign Chad Johnson
In the summer of 2012, the Dolphins found themselves less-than-enamored with their options at wide receiver. The Dolphins had just recently traded Brandon Marshall – fresh off of his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season – to the Bears for a pair of third-round picks. Then, in the draft, they did not select a wide receiver until the sixth round.
‘‘You would like to have some players make it easy and distinguish themselves, maybe make the picture a little bit clearer,’’ head coach Joe Philbin said (via The Boston Globe). ‘‘We have to catch the ball more consistently at every position on offense, because it is not quite where it needs to be.’’
After missing out on the first and second wave of free agent wide receivers, the Dolphins placed a call to Drew Rosenhaus to inquire on Chad Ochocinco (née Chad Johnson). On June 11, 2012, the Dolphins inked the eccentric veteran to a one-year deal.
Ochocinco’s career credentials were as impressive as his touchdown celebrations were inventive. To that point, he had 766 catches for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns, six Pro Bowl nods, and two First-Team All-Pro selections.
However, the receiver’s best days were spent with the Bengals and he looked like a shell of his former self with the Patriots in the 2011 season. In his lone campaign with New England, Johnson had just 15 catches for 276 yards and one touchdown and was targeted just 32 times in total. Johnson clearly didn’t mesh with the Patriots’ offense and he didn’t impress in his two intra-divisional games against the Dolphins either. Against Miami, he had just one catch in each of those two games.
Ochocinco – who changed his name back to Johnson shortly after signing with Miami – didn’t mesh with Philbin and the rest of the staff. The melding of personalities turned out to be the least of his issues. In August, Johnson was arrested on domestic battery charges. Johnson proclaimed his innocence, but the Dolphins released him the very next day. Thanks to “Hard Knocks,” we have video of Philbin’s final conversation with Johnson.
Johnson’s deal with the Dolphins up being his final NFL contract. Johnson went on to play for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 2014 and was suspended for the 2015 season when he skipped mandatory practices. He re-emerged in 2017 to play in a single game for the Monterrey Fundidores of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional de México, where he scored on a 41-yard touchdown reception in the Fundidores’ winning effort.
Andre Hal Diagnosed With Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
The Texans announced that safety Andre Hal has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Hal is now discussing treatment options with medical professionals. 
“My faith in God and the support from my family, friends, teammates and coaches will see me through this difficult time,” Hal said. “I will not let this diagnosis stop me from fulfilling my dreams and I do not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I know how to beat this and I will beat it.”
Hal, 26, has been with the Texans since entering the league as a seventh-round pick in 2014. Eventually, he cracked the starting lineup and was rewarded with a three-year, $15MM extension prior to the 2017 season. Last year, Hal started in all 16 games for Houston and set a new career high in total tackles (71) while notching three interceptions.
The Texans will miss having one of their best defensive playmakers in the lineup, but football is the furthest thing from everyone’s mind right now.
“The news of Andre Hal’s diagnosis weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone in the Houston Texans family,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “Andre epitomizes what it means to be a Houston Texan through his leadership, community involvement and team-first attitude. We are confident that Andre’s resiliency and infectious positivity, along with treatment and care from the best medical community in the world, will guide him through his recovery. The entire Texans organization is behind Andre and his family during this difficult time and we look forward to his eventual return to the team.”