Contract Details: Dunlap, Bills, Texans, Burns
Let’s catch up on some of the latest contract details from around the league:
- Seahawks DE Carlos Dunlap: Two-years, $13.6MM. This had previously been reported as $16.6MM, but it turns out Seattle got Dunlap back for a few million cheaper than that, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. It’s actually a five-year pact with three years that automatically void for cap spreading purposes. As previously reported, it has $8.5MM in guaranteed money. Dunlap was set to have a $14.1MM cap charge for 2021 before the Seahawks cut him and then re-signed him to this less expensive deal.
- Bills LB Tyler Matakevich: One-year extension. Buffalo gave their special teams ace a one-year extension through the 2022 season, which lowered his 2021 cap number to $2.95MM from $3.7MM, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweets. His base salary for 2021 is now fully guaranteed. He’ll count for $3.25MM against the 2022 cap, but there will only be $750K in dead money if he’s released.
- Texans CB Tavierre Thomas: Two-years, $4MM. We now have details on this contract, as Thomas will be getting $2MM in guaranteed money, Wilson tweets. Not bad for a player who prior to 2020 was mostly a special teams guy. He ended up playing almost 20 percent of the defensive snaps for the Browns last year as they dealt with injuries in their secondary. He got a $1MM signing bonus, a $1MM guaranteed salary for 2021, and a non-guaranteed $1.5MM salary for 2022 with $250K in per game active roster bonuses for each season.
- Bears CB Artie Burns: One-year, $990K. The financial terms on this one were previously not reported, and it turns out the former first-round pick only got the veteran’s minimum from Chicago, Wilson tweets. The 25th pick of the 2016 draft by the Steelers got over $1MM to sign with the Bears last offseason, but then tore his ACL in August before playing a down for the team.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/2/21
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Jamil Douglas
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: CB Will Redmond
Los Angeles Rams
- Suspended five games (PEDs): DB Tyrique McGhee
Bills To Meet With OL Le’Raven Clark
The Bills continue to hunt for roster depth. They are set to meet with veteran offensive lineman Le’Raven Clark, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Clark has spent his entire career with the Colts, arriving in Indianapolis as a third-round pick in 2016 and spending most of his time there as a swing backup. He signed a one-year deal to stay with the Colts last March but may now need to relocate to continue his career.
One of Patrick Mahomes‘ blockers at Texas Tech, Clark has started 15 games throughout his pro career. Although, the Colts did not turn to him as a full-timer. Clark maxed out at five starts in 2017. He did line up with Indianapolis’ first-stringers in three games last season but saw an Achilles tear end that campaign early.
Clark, 27, suffered the injury in early December and will not be ready to return to action for several months. But the Bills are monitoring the five-year veteran nonetheless. Buffalo has agreed to deals with multiple depth pieces this week, signing tackle Bobby Hart and linebackers Tyrell Adams and Marquel Lee.
Bills Sign LB Marquel Lee
After being out of football last season, Marquel Lee will receive another chance. The Bills agreed to terms with the veteran linebacker Wednesday.
A former Raiders fifth-round pick, Lee signed a one-year deal with the Bills. The Raiders waived Lee last August, and he did not catch on elsewhere for what would have been his fourth season. He will have a chance to play that fourth NFL season in Buffalo.
The Raiders used the Wake Forest alum as a starter in 19 games from 2017-19, deploying Lee as a primary first-stringer in 2018, but ankle issues landed him on injured reserve early in the 2019 season. Lee has played in two games since September 2019. In 2018, he made 68 tackles and broke up three passes.
Lee will join Tyrell Adams as offseason fliers at linebacker for a Bills team already fairly deep at the position. Adams, a Texans starter last year, also signed with the Bills on Wednesday. Buffalo re-signed Matt Milano and Tyler Matakevich this offseason and already rosters Tremaine Edmunds and A.J. Klein.
Bills To Sign LB Tyrell Adams
The Bills have agreed to sign linebacker Tyrell Adams, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Exact terms of the deal are not yet known.
Adams spent much of his Texans tenure bouncing between the practice squad and the varsity squad. Last year, however, he made 12 starts for Houston. Like many of last year’s first-string defenders, he wasn’t brought back by the Texans, leading him to Buffalo.
Technically, this marks the veteran’s second time with the Bills. The first stint in 2017 lasted just a couple of hours — GM Brandon Beane claimed him and quickly cut him loose again due to injury.
Adams, 28, performed admirably in Benardrick McKinney‘s stead. In 2020, he notched a new career high of 125 tackles with two sacks and two forced fumbles (both FFs came on Thanksgiving against the Lions). In the interest of equal time — the advanced metrics Pro Football Focus didn’t reflect well on his performance, placing him outside of the league’s top 60.
Adams joins a solid LB group in Buffalo that also features Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, and A.J. Klein.
Bills Meet With LB Tyrell Adams
One of several Texans 2020 starters no longer with the team, Tyrell Adams booked a Bills visit. The defending AFC East champions brought in the veteran linebacker for a meeting, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Although Adams bounced on and off Houston’s practice squad at previous points during his three-year tenure with the franchise, he started 12 games last season. Adams spent a few hours as a Bill in 2017, with the team claiming the defender off waivers from the Raiders during the Sean McDermott–Brandon Beane regime’s first year. But the Bills sent Adams back to the waiver wire due to an injury.
The Texans, who added Adams in 2018, re-signed him in 2020 to a one-year deal worth $970K. An injury to Benardrick McKinney prompted Adams’ rise to a starting role for the first time, and the former UDFA made 125 tackles — up from his previous career high of 18 — in his fifth pro season. While Pro Football Focus graded the 28-year-old defender outside its top 60 at linebacker, he filled up the stat sheet by adding two sacks and forcing two fumbles.
Like most spots on their roster, the Bills are well-fortified at linebacker. They have Tremaine Edmunds on his rookie contract and just signed Matt Milano to a four-year extension. Buffalo also has A.J. Klein on its roster and just re-signed special-teamer Tyler Matakevich.
Bills Sign T Bobby Hart
On a busy Tuesday for offensive line transactions, the Bills added some potential depth. They signed veteran tackle Bobby Hart.
The Bills signed Hart to a one-year contract. A former Giants seventh-round pick, Hart spent the past three seasons as the Bengals’ starting right tackle.
Despite Hart’s seventh-round arrival, he has spent extensive time in teams’ starting lineups. The Giants used him as a first-stringer in 21 games in three seasons but cut him on the first day of Dave Gettleman‘s GM tenure. The Bengals scooped Hart up and used the ex-Day 3 draftee as a 45-game starter — including all 16 games during the 2018 and ’19 seasons — and signed him to multiple contracts.
While Hart has been viewed as a low-end tackle option for much of his career, Pro Football Focus did give the Florida State alum his highest career mark last season and ranked him 49th among tackles. In Buffalo, however, Hart would be ticketed for a backup job.
The Bills recently re-signed right tackle Daryl Williams to a multiyear deal and have Dion Dawkins entrenched as their left tackle. The Bills did enter Tuesday light on swing tackle options. Hart, 26, would make sense for such a role.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/26/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Brandon Powell
Washington Football Team
- Signed: CB Darryl Roberts
NFL Contract Details: Fuller, Ford, Barr, Pats
As free agency’s second wave continues, here are the latest contract details from around the league:
- 49ers DE Dee Ford: Two years, $24MM. $11.6MM guaranteed, with $4.6MM of that sum due in 2022, David Lombardi and Matt Barrows of The Athletic note (subscription required). Ford’s 2021 guarantees ($7MM) include a $4MM base salary. Ford’s contract also includes a void year (2023).
- Dolphins WR Will Fuller: One year, $10.63MM. Contract maxes out at $13.63MM, with $3MM available in performance-based incentives, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Fuller will receive a $9.6MM signing bonus and is due a $990K base salary.
- Vikings LB Anthony Barr: One year, fully guaranteed $9.4MM. $8.4MM signing bonus, $1MM base salary. Barr’s cap number will drop to $6.1MM. Contract includes $3MM in sack-based incentives and features two void years, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling (all Twitter links).
- Patriots T Trent Brown: Fully guaranteed $6.5MM base salary, up to $2MM in per-game roster bonuses, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Contract can climb to $11MM based on the roster bonuses, $1MM for 90% playing time, $1MM for a Pro Bowl nod and $500K in weight incentives. Brown must stay under 380 pounds, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
- Bills DE Mario Addison: $4.1MM base salary in 2021, $3.25MM of that is guaranteed, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweets. Addison is also due a $1.9MM roster bonus. His contract will now void after 2021.
- Colts T Sam Tevi: One year, $2.51MM. $1MM guaranteed, $1.5MM base salary. The deal also includes $1MM in playing-time incentives, Wilson tweets.
Bills Host Sean Davis, Tyler Ervin On Visits
Two members of the 2016 draft class visited the Bills on Friday. The team brought in veteran safety Sean Davis and longtime return man Tyler Ervin.
Davis spent 2020 with two teams, signing with Washington but returning to Pittsburgh after his WFT free agency deal ended with a post-training camp release. The Steelers re-signed Davis and used him as a depth piece. A Texans fourth-round pick, Ervin spent the 2020 season with the Packers.
Davis is best known for his run as a Steelers starter, a role he held from 2016-18. The former second-round pick delivered inconsistent work as a first-stringer and saw injuries — ankle and shoulder maladies — cost him 15 games in 2019. Soon after Davis went down, the Steelers traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Davis played in 16 games behind starters Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds last season. The Bills have two entrenched starters at safety, with the Jordan Poyer–Micah Hyde tandem going into its fifth season.
Primarily a return man as a pro, Ervin has extensive experience returning kicks and punts. He served as a kick returner with the Texans, Jaguars and Packers. The San Jose State product would make sense as a replacement for Andre Roberts, who agreed to terms with the Texans shortly after the legal tampering period began. Roberts made the Pro Bowl in both of his Buffalo seasons.