NFC Rumors: Cousins, Kaepernick, Verner
There’s lots of talk about the Redskins and Kirk Cousins working out a deal in the mold of Derek Carr‘s record-breaking pact, but JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com wonders aloud if the two sides could instead do a shorter-term deal with full guarantees instead. The Redskins claim they are comfortable with going year-to-year with Cousins and controlling him for at least two more seasons via tags. However, that would mean paying out $24MM in 2017 and $34MM in 2018 with no certainty for 2019 and beyond. Instead, Finlay proposes a three-year deal worth $24MM per season with full guarantees. Given Cousins’ willingness to bet on himself, I have a hard time seeing the QB accepting such an offer, but it’s certainly a creative proposal.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- One 49ers employee tells Albert Breer of The MMQB that Colin Kaepernick wouldn’t stay late at the facility during the season like many quarterbacks routinely do, opting instead to take work home. That didn’t set well with coaches who felt that his mediocre prep work led to bad mistakes in games. When asked if he thinks Kaepernick wants to continue playing, another team employee said, “I do think he wants to play—to stay relevant.” It should be noted that Kaepernick tossed only four interceptions against 16 touchdowns last season, so his errors did not result in a ton of turnovers. However, a player’s TD/INT rate obviously does not take other play-reading errors into account, such as missing an open receiver.
- Free agent Alterraun Verner is still without a team as July approaches, but the former Buccaneers cornerback remains hopeful that he’ll find an NFL home for 2017. “I’ve worked out for a few teams including the Jaguars. I feel very confident something will happen come late summer,” Verner told SiriusXM (on Twitter). Verner was supposedly out of shape when he auditioned for Jacksonville and, as far as we know, the rumored mulligan on the workout never came to fruition.
- Panthers tight end Greg Olsen is not ruling out the possibility of a holdout.
Backloaded Deal For Raiders’ Derek Carr?
Derek Carr and the Raiders have a new deal which will keep the quarterback in place through the 2022 season. We know that the new money average on the deal – $25MM per year – is an all-time record, but there are other factors which will dictate the true value of the deal. Naturally, the cash flow and nature of the guarantees will tell us a lot about how Carr did in negotiations, but his reps may have also structured his deal with the Nevada state tax code in mind, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Raiders, Derek Carr Agree To Record-Breaking Deal]
California’s state tax rate is 13.3%. Meanwhile, there is no state tax in Nevada. A backloaded deal could make a lot of sense for Carr and allow him to hang on to millions more in income.
We know that the Raiders plan to play their home games in Oakland for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In 2019, the team could move to a temporary home in Nevada while waiting for it’s new home to be built, but it’s also possible that they’ll extend their stay in Oakland for one more year. It stands to reason that Carr’s team has opted for less money in the first two years of the new deal (’18, ’19) with a step up in 2020, when the new stadium is projected to open.
It’s not just Carr that will be thinking of the Battle Born State when negotiating a new contract with the Raiders. The same will go for any Raider in extension talks, including Khalil Mack, Gabe Jackson, and Amari Cooper, Schefter tweets.
Packers DL Letroy Guion Arrested For DUI
Letroy Guion can’t seem to stay on track. On Wednesday, the Packers defensive lineman was arrested for a DUI in Hawaii, as Sam Spangler of KHON writes. 
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Guion was already set to serve a four-game ban for violating the league’s PED policy. Now, Guion could be facing legal consequences and an even longer ban. Considering all of his missteps, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Packers cut ties with Guion this summer.
Guion, who turned 30 today, made 15 starts for the Packers last year and racked up 30 total tackles. After his PED ban, Guion agreed to a restructured deal which took his offseason roster bonuses and delayed them until Weeks 9 and 15 of the season. The bonuses were also reduced in value from $400K each to $300K. When factoring in his suspension, that slip-up cost him about $600K. This DUI is only going to compound the issue and could potentially cost him his job in Green Bay.
The veteran was also suspended three games in 2015 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
NFC Rumors: Falcons, Freeman, Seahawks
Here’s a look at the NFC:
- The Falcons are confident that a deal is close for Devonta Freeman, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) says that it will be a hard deal to do. For starters, Freeman is one of the league’s most explosive running backs and he is only 25 years old, so he can command a whooper of a contract. But, if Le’Veon Bell re-sets the market in July with the Steelers before Freeman signs, it may get even tougher for Atlanta to get a deal done.
- Austin Davis will receive a $30K bonus if he is on the Seahawks‘ roster for the first game of the regular season, a league source tells Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The quarterback’s one-year deal is worth $855K overall with $50K guaranteed in the form of a signing bonus. It’s a minimum salary benefit deal, meaning the cap charge for 2017 is just $695K. Davis was signed earlier this summer to duke it out with Trevone Boykin for the role of Russell Wilson‘s primary backup.
- The Giants historically have gotten big performances out of undrafted free agents like Victor Cruz, Mark Herzlich, Romeo Okwara, and Will Tye, so James Kratch of NJ.com surveyed the current roster to find the next diamonds in the rough. Cornerback DaShaun Amos, he opines, is the most likely UDFA to make the final cut this year. The Giants presently have two cornerbacks spots up in the air and Valentino Blake is the only one in the fringe group with real NFL experience, so Amos seems to have a good chance. Linebacker Calvin Munson, tackle Chad Wheeler, wide receiver Travis Rudolph, and cornerback Nigel Tribune round out Kratch’s top five Big Blue UDFAs.
AFC East Rumors: Patriots, Harris, Jets
The Patriots gave David Harris more money than the Jets were offering on a reduced deal, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Harris agreed to a two-year, $5MM deal with the Pats on Wednesday morning, giving the veteran linebacker a chance at winning his first ever Super Bowl.
Florio also hears that the terms of Harris’ deal were already agreed upon before he touched down in New England. The purpose of the Wednesday visit was to ensure that it was a good fit for both sides and it didn’t take long for everyone to feel comfortable about the union.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- There has been lots of speculation about the Jets tanking in 2017 to land a top quarterback in the 2018 draft, but don’t expect defensive end Sheldon Richardson to go along with that plan. “I mean, I don’t tank nothing,” Sheldon Richardson told Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “So that’s all opinions outside of this organization. We don’t come here — and we’re not going to go through training camp, and have 14-hour days — to go tank a season. I’ll be damned.” Richardson, 27 in November, is entering a contract year, so he has every reason to bust his behind this fall. He recently expressed interest in staying with Gang Green, but that feeling might not be mutual.
- When the Patriots were exploring the idea of signing Damien Williams this offseason, the running back kept in contact with the Dolphins throughout the process, ESPN.com’s James Walker writes. Ultimately, the Pats signed Mike Gillislee instead, another restricted free agent running back from an AFC East rival. When things didn’t pan out with New England, Williams signed his one-year, $1.8MM tender, a deal that marks a significant pay bump from his 2016 salary. Williams says he’s excited to continue playing in Miami.
- This year could mark a changing of the guard for the Jets at running back, USA Today’s Scott Pitoniak writes. Matt Forte, 32 in December, could wind up on the short end of a timeshare with Bilal Powell, a promising tailback entering his age-29 season. Beyond 2017, that could impact Forte’s future with the Jets. The veteran is under contract through 2018, but the Jets can cut him next offseason and save $3MM against just $1MM in dead money.
Latest On Ex-Ravens S Matt Elam
Some good news for former Ravens safety Matt Elam as the grand theft and domestic battery charges against him have been dropped (Twitter links via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun). The charges stemmed from an incident back in May. 
According to court documents, there was insufficient evidence exists to prove the charges against Elam. Apparently, the victim did not cooperate with the state’s investigation and there was a lack of independent evidence to verify the allegations.
Elam is not out of the legal woods yet, however, as he is still facing charges from his February arrest in Miami. Elam was cuffed while allegedly holding 126 grams of marijuana and three grams of oxycodone. He was charged with possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis, possession of cannabis with the intent to sell or deliver, and possession of a controlled substance.
Elam struggled as a starter in his first two NFL seasons and he missed the entire 2015 campaign thanks to a biceps tear in training camp. After losing much of last year to a knee injury, Elam showed very little in the nine games that he did appear in. The Ravens made no attempt to re-sign the safety for the 2017 season and everyone else in the league stayed away from him following the arrest for drug-related charges.
Even if Elam is found not guilty for the remaining charges against him, he is still not off the hook in the eyes of the league office. The free agent may receive a suspension from the NFL, which will further hurt any efforts to return to football.
Lions Rumors: Stafford, Kaaya, Asiata
Lions president Rod Wood isn’t balking at the idea of making Matthew Stafford the league’s highest-paid player, as ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein writes.
“I’m comfortable in getting a deal done with him, and we’ll see where that ends up,” Wood said. “It’s going to be whatever it takes, I think, to make it happen from both sides, and whether he becomes the highest-paid or not, it’ll be a short-lived designation because, as [general manager] Bob [Quinn] said, and I think it’s true, if you’re in the top whatever of quarterbacks, when your time comes up, your time comes up and then somebody else’s time comes up, and they become the highest-[paid player]. It’s a premium position, and you need to have a very, very good player at that position to be credible and be competitive, and I think we do have that, and we’re working on getting a deal done.”
Wood’s comments come on the heels of Quinn expressing confidence in an extension getting done before the quarterback hits free agency next year. While it’s true that the mantle of “highest-paid player” never lasts long, it’s somewhat surprising for Wood to show his hand in this fashion in the midst of major negotiations.
Here’s more from Detroit:
- In his early Lions roster projection, Rothstein writes that sixth-round quarterback Brad Kaaya is not likely to make the 53-man roster. He anticipates Stafford and Jake Rudock being the only two QBs making the cut, leaving the Lions to hope that they can sneak Kaaya through waivers and stash him on the practice squad. Interestingly, Rothstein also does not have Matt Asiata making the final cut. He sees the Lions carrying only four RBs in Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, and Dwayne Washington.
- The loss of Taylor Decker is not going to be an easy one to overcome for the Lions, even after the team added former No. 2 pick Greg Robinson and Cyrus Kouandjio, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press opines (video link). The left tackle’s shoulder injury will sideline him for 4-6 months, and that means that he’s likely to miss the first half of the 2017 season.
- On Tuesday, defensive tackle Khyri Thornton was hit with a six-game suspension.
Patriots To Sign Ex-Jets LB David Harris
The Patriots have agreed to sign former Jets linebacker David Harris, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. It will be a two-year, $5MM deal for the veteran with $1.25MM guaranteed, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. He can also earn up to $1.75MM in incentives. 
Harris, 33, was cut loose by the Jets this offseason as a part of their rebuilding effort. Until now, he spent his entire career with Gang Green dating back to 2007, meaning that he only got to be a part of two playoff runs. Now, Harris is joining a bonafide contender and could have a real chance at capturing a Super Bowl ring before his career is through.
The Patriots now have an even stronger linebacker group than before. Harris joins fellow veterans Shea McClellin, Dont’a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, Elandon Roberts, and Kyle Van Noy, not to mention third round pick Derek Rivers. Depending on how many linebackers the Patriots plan on taking into the season, the signing could put Rutgers product Jonathan Freeny on the bubble.
As Schefter notes (on Twitter), this is just the latest instance of the Patriots swooping in on an AFC East standout. Between this offseason and the last one, the Pats have added Harris, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, running back Mike Gillislee, and wide receiver Chris Hogan.
In his tenth season with the Jets, Harris appeared in 15 games and played on 86.8% of the club’s defensive snaps. In that time, Harris managed 94 tackles, two passes defensed, and a half-sack, while grading out as the league’s No. 35 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus.
Harris started 147 contests during his whole Jets tenure, placing him sixth all-time in franchise history.
NFC East Notes: Redskins, Cousins, Giants
Redskins safety DeAngelo Hall wants to be a coach or a GM when his playing days are done.
“I see myself in a suit doing something,” Hall said (via John Keim of ESPN.com). “I don’t see myself on the field coaching. I see myself in the front office….I feel I can see talent.” “I’m not saying I’m a mastermind or Bill Belichick…But when you play the game, or you’re asked to do other things, like Doug, you have a little more feel than the guy who has been in the office his whole life. I wish it was the NBA where you could stop and go be a head coach or GM like that. I understand it’s a process, but it’s definitely something I want to get involved in.”
Hall, 34 in November, recently took a pay cut for the 2017 season so that he could remain on the roster. The veteran obviously isn’t in a hurry to begin his post-playing career, but he has a pretty good handle on what he’d like to do when it’s all over. It wouldn’t be a surprise if 2017 was his final season on the field.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- Talk of an extension for the Redskins and Kirk Cousins doesn’t mean a whole lot in June, one source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “So much noise,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. When asked whether progress has been made, the source added, “Nothing to report. Will be interesting to see what happens mid-July.” Recently, the NFL pushed back the deadline for teams to sign franchise players to long term deals – from July 15 to July 17 – and it’s likely that talks won’t really progress until the hourglass is almost out of sand. Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, may be seeking upwards of $52MM guaranteed at signing, representing the total of this year’s salary ($23.94MM) and next year’s transition tender ($28.7MM). The Redskins, presumably, are hoping to chip away at that number.
- The Giants‘ deal for defensive end Devin Taylor is a minimum salary deal with just $40K guaranteed, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. The advanced metrics haven’t been crazy about Taylor’s play, but he did record 11.5 combined sacks over the last two seasons.
- Jason Peters could be playing guard for the Eagles down the road.
- Will the Cowboys regret losing Barry Church to free agency? One beat writer believes that will be the case.
Falcons Believe Devonta Freeman Deal Will Happen Soon
The Falcons are confident that they’ll have a deal done with Devonta Freeman by the first week of training camp, a source tells ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter). The Falcons will kick off training camp at the end of July, so this means a deal could be coming in the next month or so. 
Earlier today, Freeman said in a radio interview that he is willing to wait until next offseason to discuss his contract with the Falcons if the right deal does not materialize this summer. Both sides want to get a deal done, but the Falcons likely do not want to reset the running back market with a new contract for the 25-year-old.
The former fourth-round pick is slated to play out the 2017 season at a paltry $1.92MM cap number. After that, the Falcons could retain him through the costly franchise tag if they do not want to risk losing him to free agency. If Freeman continues to play at a high level and is allowed to test the open market, the bidding could quickly get crazy.
The Falcons have fellow running back Tevin Coleman under contract for two more years, but the ideal scenario would have Atlanta keeping both players in the fold. Last year, Freeman ran for 1,079 yards with 11 touchdowns. He also added 54 catches for 462 yards and two scores. Coleman, who ate into his workload, had 941 all-purpose yards and 11 total touchdowns.