Chris Harris To Sign With Chargers
Another key domino will fall, and the Chargers now have another key commitment from a veteran. Chris Harris will sign with the Bolts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. 
The Harris sweepstakes included numerous teams. The Eagles and Saints joined the fray later in the process, but Harris will defect from his nine-year post as one of the Broncos’ best players to join another AFC West team. Harris follows the likes of Trai Turner, Bryan Bulaga and Linval Joseph as experienced cogs headed to Los Angeles.
The path for Harris to join the Chargers was cleared earlier today when the team decided to roll with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback and put their cash elsewhere. Harris is set to earn $20MM over two years, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
Harris, 31 in June, has spent all nine of his NFL seasons to date with the Broncos. In the past, the Broncos have made an effort to keep him, though their offer of a $12MM/year deal before the 2019 trade deadline fell short. Reportedly, that offer included only one guaranteed season. Even though he didn’t play up to his usual standards in 2019, Harris set out to find something better.
“I didn’t really do what I’ve done in the past,” Harris said recently. “I (previously) played everywhere on the field on the defensive side, getting everybody lined up, telling them what’s about to happen and things like that. But when really, when you just have me at corner, I’m just playing corner. I’m not doing everything that I’m doing on the football field.”
The Chargers weren’t the AFC West rival to chase Harris. The Raiders also made a play for him, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears (via Twitter), but he did not want to play for them.
Raiders Agree To Terms With CB Eli Apple
The Raiders continue to spend money revamping their defense. Las Vegas has agreed to terms with free agent cornerback Eli Apple, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have been handing out big contracts left and right to defenders, already signing defensive end Carl Nassib, linebacker Cory Littleton, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and safety Jeff Heath. We also heard that the Raiders offered more money for corner Byron Jones than the Dolphins did before Miami signed him to his record-breaking contract, so they’ve certainly been bold.
The Raiders have been low on talent on that side of the ball during Gruden’s first two years back coaching the team, but this flurry of activity is still wild. They’ve now essentially added a player at every defensive position, and Paul Guenther’s unit is going to look entirely different when they take the field at their new stadium for the first time.
Apple was drafted tenth overall by the Giants back in 2016, and things didn’t go smoothly in New York. Although he flashed talent his tenure there was strained from the start, and he frequently clashed with teammates and coaches over a perceived lack of effort on his end. Eventually he was traded to the Saints for fourth and seventh-round picks midway through the 2018 campaign.
The change of scenery seemed to do him some good, and he developed into a somewhat consistent starter opposite Marshon Lattimore in New Orleans. Apple was only 20 when he was drafted and is still only 24, so he should have more room to grow. He’ll now be a key piece of a very young and intriguing Raiders secondary that includes last year’s early picks Trayvon Mullen and Johnathan Abram.
Contract Details: Nassib, Alonso, Jefferson
Some more contract details from around the league:
- DE Carl Nassib, Raiders: signed. Three-year, $25MM deal with $17MM guaranteed, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The deal has a max value of $28MM.
- LB Kiko Alonso, Saints: restructured contract. Base salary reduced from $6.4MM to $1.7MM, $4.7MM available in incentives. Already has $1.45MM roster bonus, meaning he can still hit his previous $7.85MM total via playing-time bonuses. All notes via ESPN’s Mike Triplett on Twitter.
- DE Quinton Jefferson, Bills: two-year deal. Contract worth $13.5MM total, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Twitter.
- FB Derek Watt, Steelers: signed. Three-year deal worth $9.75MM, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on Twitter.
- LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dolphins: one-year deal. Contract worth $3MM, including $2MM signing bonus, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Twitter. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that there’s up to $500K in playing time incentives.
Raiders Offered More Money For Byron Jones
Byron Jones just became the league’s highest-paid cornerback when the Dolphins agreed to pay him $82.5MM over five years, and he actually turned down even more money.
The Raiders offered more money annually than Miami did, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). However, the Dolphins bested them in one crucial aspect, the front-loaded nature of the contract. Garafolo reports that Vegas’ deal was more spread out, while Miami’s will give Jones $40MM just within the first two years.
As he points out, both teams will be playing in states with no state income tax, putting even more cash in Jones’ pocket. It’s often speculated that Raiders owner Mark Davis doesn’t have quite as much cash on hand as other NFL owners, and it’s worth wondering if that played a role in the team’s reluctance to front-load a deal.
The Raiders have been perhaps the moost aggressive team in free agency overall, signing a whole bunch of guys including Nick Kwiatkoski, Cory Littleton, Marcus Mariota, Jason Witten, Jeff Heath, Maliek Collins, and Carl Nassib. Jones had a very active market, and was the consensus top corner available.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/17/20
Tuesday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at second-round level:
- Chargers: DB Michael Davis
Tendered at original-round level:
- Falcons: RB Brian Hill
- Raiders: OT David Sharpe
- Seahawks: C Joey Hunt, DL Branden Jackson
- Steelers: OT Zach Banner
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: DL Isaac Rochell, T Trent Scott
- Jaguars: LB Austin Calitro
- Packers: WR Jake Kumerow, WR Allen Lazard
- Panthers: OL Jordan Roos
- Rams: TE Johnny Mundt, C Coleman Shelton
- Seahawks: DT Bryan Mone, DB Ryan Neal, WR Malik Turner
Non-tendered:
Contract Details: Cooper, Hargrave, Littleton
Jonathan Bostic, (Washington): two-years, $5MM, $1.75MM guaranteed; $1.25MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $960k ($500k guaranteed), 2021: $1.69MM; $500k roster bonus in 2020, $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $400k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, an additional $800k in annual incentives available as well, according to John Keim of ESPN.
Amari Cooper, (Cowboys): five-years, $100MM deal, $60MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $10MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $20MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $20MM (guaranteed for injury until March 2022), 2023: $20MM, 2024: $20MM, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Tyeler Davison, (Falcons): three-years, $12MM, $4.55MM guaranteed; $3.64MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $910k (fully guaranteed), 2021: $3.2MM, 2022: $3.45MM; $200k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2020, $250k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2021, $350k in non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses in 2022, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.
George Fant, (Jets): three-years, $27.3MM, $8.85MM guaranteed; $3MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $4.6MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $8MM, 2022: $9.25MM; $1.25MM guaranteed roster bonus in 2020, $400k non-guaranteed weekly roster bonuses from 2020-2022, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.
Javon Hargrave, (Eagles): three-years, $39MM, $26MM guaranteed; $11.75MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $12.75MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $12.75MM; $250k workout bonus in 2022, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Cory Littleton, (Raiders): three-years, $35.25MM, $22MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $11MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $5.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $11MM; guaranteed $5.5MM 2021 roster bonus, non-guaranteed $500k weekly roster bonuses in 2020-2022, $250k workout bonus in 2020-2022, $250k annual Pro Bowl incentive, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Levine Toilolo, (Giants): two-years, $6.2MM, $3.25MM guaranteed; salaries 2020: $1.225MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $2.925MM; guaranteed $2MM 2020 roster bonus, $25k annual workout bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Raiders Agree To Terms With Carl Nassib
The Raiders are staying busy, this time bolstering their pass-rush. Las Vegas has agreed to terms with free agent defensive end Carl Nassib, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets.
Nassib originally became widely known to football fans as a ‘Hardknocks’ star during training camp with the Browns in 2018 when they were featured on the hit HBO series. He was waived by Cleveland at final cuts, but was quickly claimed by Tampa Bay. He thrived with the Buccaneers, racking up 6.5 sacks that year. This past season he had six more in 14 games while playing around 55 percent of the defensive snaps.
It will be interesting to see what the terms are, but it’s likely that Vegas didn’t have to break the bank for him. Overall, it’s a nice under the radar signing. Nassib was originally a walk-on at Penn State, and played sparingly his first few years. He came out of nowhere to dominate in his senior season, racking up 15.5 sacks and winning the Hendricks Award for the nation’s top defensive end.
The Raiders have struggled to generate a consistent rush in recent years, and they had only 32 sacks as a team last season. They also agreed to terms with defensive tackle Maliek Collins Tuesday to further bolster the defensive front.
Raiders To Sign Jeff Heath
Cowboys safety Jeff Heath becomes the third member of America’s team to depart for the Raiders organization today. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that Heath agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $8MM to join the Raiders in their inaugural season in Las Vegas.
Heath has spent his entire seven-year career in Dallas since joining the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Saginaw Valley State. Primarily a special teamer for much of his tenure, Heath became a starting defensive back over the previous three seasons. In his career, Heath has appeared in 106 games (54 starts) and made 346 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 8 interceptions, and 5 forced fumbles.
Raiders starting strong safety Karl Joseph remains a free agent and so Heath appears well-positioned to at least have a chance to compete for a starting spot in Sin City.
Raiders To Sign Maliek Collins
Jason Witten is not the only Cowboy moving to Las Vegas, Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group reports that defensive tackle Maliek Collins is heading to the Raiders as well. Collins has been a starter on the interior of Dallas’ defensive line since his rookie year in 2016.
Still just 24 years old, Collins has already started 55 games in his four-year career, and while Collins has never put up big numbers, he has a rare combination of experience and youth valuable to any team. In 2019, Collins recorded 4 sacks, 20 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, and 6 tackles for loss.
The Cowboys will now need to look for another option along the front four, while the Raiders have a young, new addition to enter into the fold.
Raiders To Sign Jason Witten
Here’s one that not many people saw coming. Tight end Jason Witten will be signing with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link).
It’s a one-year deal that can be worth up to $4.75MM, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Although we heard last month that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wanted Witten back, the tight end himself had said he was open to playing with another team. Witten also said that he preferred to finish his career in Dallas, but obviously it didn’t work out. Witten is a Cowboys icon, who spent 16 years with the team before now finally moving on at the age of 37.
Witten, of course, retired after the 2017 season for a brief and ill-fated stint as the Monday Night Football color commentator for ESPN. He’ll now be playing for a coach, Jon Gruden, who used to hold that exact role. After sitting out 2018 he returned to the Cowboys last year, and played a relatively significant role.
He appeared in all 16 games, catching 63 passes for 529 yards and four touchdowns. Despite his advanced age Witten has been remarkably durable, appearing in all 16 games in each of his last 15 seasons. He’ll likely play a reduced role as a pass-catcher in Vegas, and will probably serve as more of a mentor for Darren Waller, the Raiders tight end who broke out last year.
Witten was one of the last remaining ties to the old era of Cowboys football, and Dallas will likely move forward with Blake Jarwin as their unquestioned starter at the position. They signaled as much by inking him to a three-year extension Monday. Witten will end his run in Dallas as the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receptions, yards, and games played. He’s also fourth on the NFL’s all-time receptions list.