Latest On Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins is eager to become the highest-paid player in NFL history, but he won’t rush things. The Redskins quarterback’s current plan is to not agree to terms during the NFL’s two-day “legal tampering” period, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter). Instead, he’ll take one or more visits beginning on March 14. 
Of course, it’s not a certainty that Cousins will be able to explore the open market freely. The Redskins have privately hinted at the possibility of placing the franchise tag on the quarterback, which would give them the ability to recoup something for Cousins via trade. That plan could easily backfire on Washington, but the team has until March 6 to weigh the pros and cons.
Assuming Cousins is not tagged, he’ll find a booming market for his services with interest from the Jets, Broncos, Browns, and other QB-needy teams. Because he is the top signal caller available, he’ll likely hold up the QB market for many teams and players until he signs. A free agent like Case Keenum likely won’t be able to ink a contract until Cousins has made his call and the Bills probably won’t find a trade partner for Tyrod Taylor until teams know that they are out of the Cousins chase.
The Jets figure to bid aggressively for Cousins, but initial reports of them offering $60MM in the first year have been shot down. In addition to the aforementioned teams, the Cardinals, Vikings, and Bills may also factor into the Cousins chase.
Eagles P Donnie Jones Retires
Donnie Jones is calling it a career. On Tuesday morning, the Eagles punter announced his retirement from the NFL. 
“After 14 seasons in the NFL, I have decided to retire so that I can spend more time with my family,” said Jones in a statement released by the team. “I am grateful for all those who have supported me throughout the years. Specifically, I would like to thank Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson, and the entire Eagles organization for allowing me to be a part of their family for the past five seasons. I will truly miss my teammates, coaches, friends, and the best fans in the NFL. Although I am retiring, I will always be an Eagle and will forever have a special place in my heart for the City of Philadelphia. It is a great honor to be a part of the first Super Bowl championship team in Eagles history and there is no better way to finish my career.”
Jones first entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Seahawks in 2014. After that, he spent two seasons with the Dolphins, five seasons with the Rams, and one year with the Texans before hooking on with the Eagles in 2013. He leaves the game not only as a world champion, but as a record holder in Philadelphia. He is the Eagles’ all-time leader in gross punting average (45.37 yards) and net average (40.5). He also owns franchise records for most career punts inside the 20 (138), most single-season punts inside the 20 (34, 2014), and best net punting average in a season (41.6, 2015).
Cameron Johnston, who signed a futures deal with the Eagles in January, may be a candidate to take over for Jones.
Bills Meet With RB Chris Ivory
Free agent running back Chris Ivory spent all of Monday meeting with the Bills, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This marks Ivory’s first free agent visit since being released by the Jaguars last week, but it won’t necessarily be his last. Rapoport hears that Ivory is drawing considerable interest and plans to take a few visits. 
[RELATED: Bills Sign Vontae Davis]
Ivory spent two seasons with Jacksonville before being handed his pink slip on Friday. The running back’s five-year, $32.5MM deal with $10MM guaranteed was a bust for the Jaguars, but teams are apparently still interested in him as a complementary veteran piece. If signed, the Bills would slot Ivory behind top rusher LeSean McCoy.
Before his big free agent pay day, Ivory ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2015 while averaging 4.3 yards per carry for the Jets. In two years with Jacksonville, Ivory amassed just 821 yards with 3.6 yards per tote.
Ivory will celebrate his 30th birthday on March 22. By then, he figures to be with the fourth team of his NFL career.
Latest On Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is expected to be a free agent in March, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Vikings are not planning to argue that Bridgewater’s contract tolls and the QB is acting as though he’ll be on the open market. 
Meanwhile, the NFLPA’s spokesman says the union has yet to receive word on whether the contract will toll (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune). The NFL’s spokesman also tells Mike Florio of PFT that no decision has been rendered. With free agency roughly two weeks away, one has to imagine that we’ll receive final word on Bridgewater’s status in the coming days.
The murkiness surrounding Bridgewater’s deal stems from his stay on the PUP list in 2017. If his contract were toll, he would return to the Vikings on his 2017 salary of $1.354MM. From a football perspective, that would be a clear win for the team. The Vikings probably don’t see Bridgewater as a reliable starting option for 2018, but he certainly be worth a roster spot at that bargain rate.
It sounds like the Vikings will do right by Bridgewater and won’t actively stop him from exploring other opportunities. But, the decision is ultimately in the hands of the league office, so both parties will have to wait for a decision to be rendered.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Amendola, Jets
Here’s a look at the AFC East:
- Danny Amendola is headed towards unrestricted free agency, but Mike Reiss of ESPN.com gets the sense that the Patriots will be the team that he wants to play for if he does decide to play another season. Amendola, 33 in November, has earned multiple Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and millions of dollars over the course of his nine-year career, so it stands to reason that he could consider retirement. He never saw the postseason until he joined up with New England in 2013, so it also stands to reason that he’d want to stay put. Last year, the veteran earned just $3.12MM and he would likely top that number if he explored free agency.
- More from Reiss, who opines that tight end Martellus Bennett is unlikely to return to the Patriots at his scheduled $6.2MM cap figure for the coming year. Last week, it was reported that the tight end wants to continue playing. I personally feel that the Patriots will balk at paying his $2MM roster bonus on March 14 in addition to his base salary, so the team may look to retain him at a cheaper rate.
- We have some updates on the Jets‘ police blotter, courtesy of NJ.com’s Darryl Slater (Twitter link). Linebacker Dylan Donahue is due in court on March 13 in Weehawken to address his recent DUI charges. Cornerback Rashard Robinson, who was charged with drug possession following a December arrest and missed a January court hearing, had his next court date moved to March 12. Wide receiver Robby Anderson is scheduled to appear in a South Florida court on March 26 to address last year’s incident at a music festival. This is not to be confused with his January arrest, which resulted in nine charges, including three felonies.
- On Monday, the Bills agreed to sign cornerback Vontae Davis to a one-year deal.
Bills To Sign Vontae Davis
Vontae Davis has found a home. The free agent cornerback is signing a one-year deal with the Bills, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Davis himself has seemingly confirmed the news on his own Twitter account as well. 
For most of the league’s players, free agency does not kick off until March 14. However, Davis was in a unique position since the Colts released him during the 2017 season. Typically, the available players in February are replacement level types. Davis, meanwhile, was able to shop himself as soon as he received medical clearance from doctors a couple of weeks ago.
No one can accuse Davis of being hasty about his free agent choice. In recent weeks, the veteran met with the 49ers, Browns, Bills, Raiders, and Dolphins before settling on Buffalo. His stated goal was to sign with a team before the start of free agency and he accomplished that with more than two weeks to spare.
The terms of the deal are not yet known and we also don’t know exactly what caliber of player the Bills are getting in the 29-year-old (30 in May). The former first-round pick looked the part of a high-end starter as he earned Pro Bowl nods in 2014 and 2015. However, his performance declined in 2016 and a core injury slowed him down tremendously last season, leading to his November release.
In 2014, Davis earned a stellar 95.1 overall score from Pro Football Focus. In the following year, he turned in a strong 81.9 mark, which still painted him as an above-average starter. However, he was one of the ten worst qualified corners in the league in 2016, per PFF, and wasn’t ranked much better at the time of his release in ’17.
If healthy, Davis could prove to be a valuable depth piece for Buffalo. He could be asked to provide even more if the team is unable to re-sign pending free agent E.J. Gaines.
Latest On Dolphins, Jarvis Landry
The Dolphins are slated to meet with the agent for wide receiver Jarvis Landry on Wednesday in Indianapolis to discuss the wide receiver’s future, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Multiple sources believe the Dolphins are interested in trading Landry, Schefter writes, which is consistent with what we’ve been hearing in recent days.
The Dolphins surprised many last week when they opted to franchise tag Landry at a cost of more than $16.2MM. Soon after, we learned that the Dolphins are looking to trade Landry and quickly utilized the tag so that they could commence talks. What it boils down to is this – the Dolphins have limited cap space this offseason and Landry’s rumored request for $30MM in guaranteed money and more than $14MM/year does not fit into the budget. That’s also a remarkably steep price tag for a slot receiver, albeit a very good one.
Per league rules, the teams have until July 16 to agree on a long-term contract with franchise tagged players. If no deal is agreed upon by that date, then the tagged player plays out the coming season on the one-year tender. The Dolphins also reserve the right to revoke the tag from Landry once the free agent period begins on March 14.
Right now, the Dolphins seem intent on forgoing options A, B, and C, and going with option D: Dealing Landry elsewhere.
Extra Points: Vander Esch, Cousins, Brees
During his teleconference on Monday, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock opined that Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch could shoot up the charts if he clocks in at under 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard-dash at the combine. Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (video link) hears that Vander Esch has been beating that number in practice, which means that we could see him climb the boards in the coming weeks.
Last year, Garafolo was hearing similar rumblings about Temple’s Haason Reddick and he catapulted from the second round to No. 13 overall where he was snagged by the Cardinals. Recently, a scouting director told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that LVE will go in the first round, though he is unlikely to crack the top 15.
Vander Esch, a high-end athlete for his position, broke out in 2017 with an eye-popping 141 tackles, the most by any Boise State player in an individual season since 1988. He also had 8.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, and two interceptions.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mike Florio of PFT wonders if this year’s free agent quarterbacks could fall victim to collusion. Already, we’ve heard talk that the Jets will not simply hand Kirk Cousins a blank check, despite their desperate need for a franchise QB. Florio anticipates similar talk to emerge about Drew Brees, who would likely garner $30MM/year from a contender in a fair market. Meanwhile, there’s talk that lesser options like Case Keenum and A.J. McCarron may get less than the value of Blake Bortles‘ now exercised $18MM option with the Jaguars. If QBs of that caliber are stifled, then injury-prone players like Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater will certainly feel it too. Ultimately, teams will be able to find leverage in this year’s draft, which has multiple QB candidates for the first round.
- This year, free agent blocking tight ends like Darren Fells (Lions), Lee Smith (Raiders), and Virgil Green (Broncos) figure to earn more than expected, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The reason, Rapoport says, is because of poor draft talent in that area and a lack of other options. Last offseason, tight end Rhett Ellison landed a four-year, $18MM free agent deal from the Giants despite averaging just ten catches per season over the course of his five-year career, so there is precedent for TEs to cash in even without gaudy stat lines.
- If you’re not doing so already, you can follow Pro Football Rumors on Twitter: @ProFootballRumors. It’s a must-follow for all NFL fans, particularly with free agency right on the horizon.
NFC South Notes: Falcons, Coleman, Bucs
Here’s a look at the NFC South:
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff says that he has no interest in trading running back Tevin Coleman this offseason (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com). Previously, Dimitroff indicated that he could see a scenario of extending Coleman even though the team has already paid Devonta Freeman. Last year, Coleman totaled 628 rushing yards and four touchdowns plus 27 catches for 299 yards. For what it’s worth, that’s 122 less receiving yards than he had in 2016 and his 4.0 yards-per-carry average was down from 4.4 over the previous two seasons.
- Pending Buccaneers free agent T.J. Ward is a player to watch in free agency, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Ward started only five of his 12 games for the Bucs last year and graded out as the No. 58 ranked safety in the NFL per Pro Football Focus. That’s a big dropoff from his three straight Pro Bowls from 2013-2015 and his January arrest doesn’t help matters either. Still, in a shallow safety pool, Rapoport expects Ward to draw interest. Whether that comes to fruition or not, it’s not expected that Ward will be back with the Bucs.
- The Falcons know that they’ll have some tough choices to make as they create room for quarterback Matt Ryan‘s next deal. “We all know that as we start nearing the signing of quarterbacks in this league, and especially quarterbacks of Matt Ryan’s status, you have to be very creative,” Dimitroff said on 680 The Fan (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “There are going to be some difficult moves for us to make probably early next week and into next week.” Ledbetter notes that left guard Andy Levitre ($7MM in savings) and defensive end Brooks Reed ($3.6MM in savings) are both cap casualty candidates. Other cap casualty candidates include quarterback Matt Schaub ($3.25MM), defensive tackle Derrick Shelby ($3.2MM), wide receiver Mohamed Sanu ($3.1MM,) and tight end Levine Toilolo ($2.5MM).
Browns, Colts Weren’t Serious About Peters
If the Chiefs’ return for Marcus Peters seemed underwhelming, that’s because there was not a booming market for the cornerback’s services. The Browns and Colts were never major players for Peters, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), despite both teams having execs that were involved in drafting him. 
Shortly after Peters was shipped to the Rams, there were conflicting reports regarding the Browns’ involvement. It seems that we have a better understanding of Cleveland’s participation now – the Browns explored a possible Peters deal, but they were never serious suitors.
The Colts, meanwhile, will be on the lookout for a cornerback, particularly if they do not re-sign Rashaan Melvin. However, they are armed with $74MM+ in cap space and are near the top of the draft order this year, so they have other ways to bolster the CB group. Peters would have given the Colts a top-end starter in the secondary, but he may come with headaches and the price to get him was apparently still too steep for GM Chris Ballard‘s liking.
On Monday afternoon, we learned that the Rams are sending a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 124 overall) and a 2019 second-rounder to the Chiefs in exchange for Peters and KC’s sixth-round choice (No. 196). That’s probably less than the Chiefs expected to receive, but they did not like the odds of getting Peters’ behavior under control and were uncomfortable with the prospect of giving him major dollars beyond his 2019 option.