RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/20
Today’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Cowboys: QB Cooper Rush (original round level)
- Texans: LB Dylan Cole (original round level)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bengals: CB Tony Brown
- Dolphins: WR Isaiah Ford, LB Trent Harris, DT Zach Sieler
- Eagles: P Cameron Johnston
Jeff Driskel Expected To Have Strong Market
Lions backup quarterback Jeff Driskel is expected to have a “plump” free-agent market for his services, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Birkett notes that as the NFL becomes more open to dual-threat quarterbacks, Driskel’s skill set has become more desirable to NFL teams.
The former Florida quarterback appears well-positioned to secure a backup job after vagabonding around the league since the 49ers selected him in the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. After failing to make the 49ers 53-man roster, the Bengals claimed him off waivers and he served as depth in Cincinnati behind Andy Dalton and A.J. McCarron.
Following the 2017 season, McCarron signed with the Bills and Dalton became the primary backup behind Dalton. In 2018, Driskel began contributing in sub-packages where the team utilized his athleticism. An injury to Dalton allowed Driskel to make five starts as well. He finished the season completing 105 of 176 passes for 1003 yards, 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, with 130 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Last season, with the Lions, Driskel was the first to step in for Matthew Stafford after his injury. He made three starts before a hamstring injury of his own ended his season. He completed 62 of 105 passes for 685 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions with 151 rushing yards on 22 attempts.
Chris Smith To Visit Bengals
Chris Smith is starting to generate a good amount of interest. The free agent defensive lineman is visiting the Bengals today after meeting with the Panthers yesterday, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). We heard last week that Smith was feeling better and was ready to resume his career after the tragic death of his girlfriend and mother of his child in a car accident, and things are starting to heat up for him.
As Schefter points out there is plenty of familiarity here, as the Arkansas product spent the 2017 season in Cincinnati. He was solid in a rotational role, racking up 26 tackles and three sacks. The strong play earned him a three-year deal with the Browns the following offseason. He returned to play for Cleveland briefly after his girlfriend’s death, but was waived shortly after and it’s unclear if he asked to be.
Since he didn’t finish the season on an NFL roster, Smith doesn’t have to wait for free agency to open and is eligible to sign right away. Originally drafted in the fifth-round by the Jaguars back in 2014, Smith just turned 28 last month. It sure seems like he will be scooped up by someone sooner rather than later.
Bengals Shopping Cordy Glenn
The Bengals are looking to move Cordy Glenn, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The asking price probably isn’t very high; she hears that Glenn would be released outright if they’re unable to find a suitable trade. 
The Bengals acquired Glenn via trade with the Bills in 2018. In the deal, they took on his five-year, $60MM contract which calls for a $9.5MM cap hit in 2020. However, it’s completely non-guaranteed, so the Bengals can wipe that sum from the books without any fiscal penalty.
In his first year with the Bengals, Glenn started in 13 games at left tackle. It was his worst year as a pro, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus that ranked him 60th among all tackles in the NFL. Last year, the Bengals planned to move him to left guard, a position he had never played before as a pro. Unfortunately, those plans were 86’d when rookie Jonah Williams was sidelined.
After that, things got contentious between Glenn and the team. Glenn missed time with a concussion and argued that the club was rushing him back too soon. When they clashed, Glenn instructed head coach Zac Taylor to cut him. Instead, the team hit him with a sizable fine and suspended him for one game.
They shopped him prior to the trade deadline but couldn’t find any takers, even though contenders like the Patriots were in need of offensive line help. They probably won’t find a robust market this time around either.
QB Rumors: Stafford, Dalton, Saints
A rumor surfaced recently indicating the Lions discussed a Matthew Stafford trade. GM Bob Quinn denied this, and multiple key parties were quick to state the 11-year veteran quarterback does not want to leave Detroit. Stafford’s agent, Tom Condon, informed NFL.com’s Michael Silver his client does not want a trade (Twitter link). The quarterback’s wife, Kelly Stafford, shared on her Instagram (Twitter links via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett) they are not angling for a new NFL city. Matthew Stafford, 32, is under contract for three more seasons.
Here is the latest from the quarterback realm, moving to a passer who very much is available for trade:
- Despite the Saints set to start a 41-year-old Drew Brees and apply a high tender to intriguing gadget player/backup Taysom Hill, they may not be prepared to draft a passer this year. Although some mock drafts have the Saints taking Utah State’s Jordan Love, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required) the Saints do not appear to be interested. The Saints hold the No. 24 pick in the draft, and it might now be a surprise to see Love still on the board at that point.
- Brees-Hill 2020 looks like the Saints’ plan. Combine buzz centered around Bridgewater’s next team, with Holder speaking to no NFL decision-maker who expected Brees’ backup of the past two years to return. Sean Payton said it would be unrealistic for the Saints to bring back all three, and Bridgewater is expected to receive interest as a starter in free agency. The Bears, Buccaneers, Chargers, Panthers and Patriots may possess some interest, Holder hears. Though, unlike Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, no team has been connected to Bridgewater yet.
- Like Brady and Rivers, Andy Dalton has also been connected to a team. The Bears discussed a trade with the Bengals but may have to battle other teams for the nine-year veteran starter. Dalton’s agent has been working with the Bengals on potential Dalton deals, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com names the Colts and Patriots — in addition to the Bears — as teams who could potentially have interest in the contract-year passer (video link). The Colts have been connected to Rivers at multiple junctures this week, while some around the league have indeed viewed New England as a landing spot for Dalton if Brady does decide to defect in free agency. Cincinnati and New England have made multiple trades involving high-profile Bengals, and the same two decision-makers — Mike Brown and Bill Belichick — remain in place from when Corey Dillon and Chad Johnson were dealt to New England in 2004 and 2011, respectively.
Bears, Bengals Discuss Andy Dalton Trade
Teams cannot technically contact free agent quarterbacks at the Combine, but discussions regarding passers on the trade market are fair game. The Bears appear to have begun investigating one of them.
The Bengals and Bears have been in contact about Andy Dalton, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Chicago is set to pursue a veteran passer to compete with Mitchell Trubisky; Dalton would certainly qualify as competition.
A nine-year Bengal, Dalton was demoted last season and is likely set to see his job go to Joe Burrow come April. The Bengals are willing to work with the contract-year quarterback on a trade. With the Bears having a quality defense that led their 2018 team to the playoffs, they may well qualify as a destination for a passer looking for a second chance.
Dalton is due a $17.5MM base salary in the final year of what has become a bargain-basement franchise-quarterback contract. The Bengals signed Dalton to a six-year, $96MM extension back in August 2014 and never extended it. One GM said the Bengals could fetch a second- or third-round pick for the 32-year-old quarterback, per The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones. The Bears hold two second-round picks but no first- or third-round selections, with 2018’s Khalil Mack trade reshaping Chicago’s 2020 draft.
The Patriots have also come up as a potential Dalton suitor, with some around the league envisioning that fit as a chess move for the Pats if Tom Brady departs. With that prospect looking likelier, the Dalton trade price could rise. The Bengals want to resolve this situation soon, but Dehner notes Brady’s decision will halt matters on the quarterback market.
Although Dalton struggled without A.J. Green and behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines last season, the three-time Pro Bowl alternate finished as QBR’s No. 17 passer in 2018. Dalton’s best years came in the mid-2010s, amid a five-season Bengals playoff streak. He threw 33 touchdown passes in 2014 and had a 25-7 TD-INT ratio in 2015 (fifth in QBR) before a season-ending injury. The Bengals, whose offensive line and pass-catcher situations worsened in the years that followed, have not produced a winning record since and seem set to move on from their nine-year starter.
AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Hurst
Were Joe Burrow to be drafted by the Bengals, he wants the team to keep A.J. Green. The Bengals are believed to be zeroing in on the Heisman winner, who told NFL.com’s Jim Trotter he would like Green to be back in Cincinnati — if, in fact, the Bengals follow through on drafting the LSU quarterback (video link). The franchise tag window opens Thursday, and the Bengals have been linked to tagging Green. The nine-year veteran has voiced opposition to this, going into his age-32 season, but said he would play on the tag. However, Green also indicated he would likely miss extensive offseason workouts. An injury last summer shelved Green for all of 2019.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens have seen 2018 third-round tight end Mark Andrews become Lamar Jackson‘s top target, leaving 2018 first-round tight end Hayden Hurst in a strange position. The former minor league baseball player-turned-South Carolina football prospect may be on the trade block, with Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweeting there is a “real chance” the Ravens trade Hurst. The former Pirates draftee played hurt as a rookie and caught 30 passes for 349 yards last season. Andrews caught 64 passes for a Ravens-most 852 yards in 2019. For what it’s worth, the tight end-needy Patriots have not contacted the Ravens about Hurst, Howe adds (on Twitter), but Hurst may be a name to monitor in Baltimore in the coming weeks.
- The Browns will meet with Joe Schobert‘s agent at the Combine, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes. After being so far apart on terms with ex-GM John Dorsey, Schobert is back in the picture to stay in Cleveland, Cabot adds. New GM Andrew Berry‘s hire has reopened the lines of communication with the Browns’ top tackler. Cleveland already has Christian Kirksey attached to a big contract, but the linebacker has struggled with injuries since signing that extension and may be a cap casualty.
- David Njoku stands as player who likely would have been gone had Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens stayed in power, Cabot adds. But with Kevin Stefanski planning more two-tight end sets, the 2017 first-round pick looks likelier to stay in Cleveland. Having Berry back doesn’t hurt here, either, with the Sashi Brown-Berry-Paul DePodesta regime being in power when Njoku was drafted.
- Although Dorsey upgraded the Browns’ talent level, his offensive line acquisitions did not pan out. The Browns will not re-sign Greg Robinson, and 2018 right tackle addition Chris Hubbard may be elsewhere next season as well. However, the Browns will likely spend big on at least one offensive lineman, Cabot adds. Jack Conklin, Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney profile as the top targets who are in line to reach free agency.
Joe Burrow: “I’ll Play For Whoever Drafts Me”
The Joe Burrow/Bengals controversy, it seems, has been put to rest. At the combine on Tuesday, the LSU quarterback told reporters that he’ll play for “whoever drafts” him.
“Yeah. I’m not going to not play. I’m a ball player,” Burrow said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). “Whoever picks me, I’m going to show up.”
Burrow has been the apple of the Bengals’ eye from the get-go. Still, questions have lingered about his desire to play for the Bengals, who have long been mired in a slump and held back by internal discord. Under new head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals completely flopped – they went 0-11 to start the year and finished out with 2-14. Of course, that’ll often be the case for any team with the top pick, but the Bengals didn’t have many bright spots and haven’t looked the part of a contender in a long time.
This offseason, Burrow has been working out with former Bengal Jordan Palmer, the younger brother of longtime franchise face Carson Palmer. The elder Palmer has been critical of the organization in the past and occasional quotes from Burrow led many to believe that he had been warded off of the Bengals.
“You want to go No. 1. But you also want to go to a great organization that is committed to winning. Committed to winning Super Bowls,” Burrow said earlier this winter.
Burrow may still have concerns about the direction of the franchise, but he doesn’t sound inclined to pull an Eli Manning, even though he has the same agent.
Ohio Notes: Hunt, Burrow, Staff
Despite another new regime coming to Cleveland and Kareem Hunt running into more off-field trouble, the Pro Bowl running back expects to stay with the Browns for the 2020 season. He expects to be back with the Browns via high-level RFA tender or an extension, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (video link), and wants to remain with his hometown team. Hunt signed a one-year deal with Cleveland in 2019, but because he has just three years of service time, the controversial ex-Chief is not yet eligible for unrestricted free agency. To keep Hunt, the Browns will likely have to apply a first- or second-round tender on him. Hunt became available after a video showed him shoving and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel in 2018, leading to the Chiefs waiving him. He was pulled over while driving with marijuana in his vehicle last month. New Browns GM Andrew Berry was not with the team when John Dorsey signed Hunt, but his offseason comments point to the team moving to keep its Hunt-Nick Chubb backfield together for next season.
Here is the latest from the Ohio teams:
- Joe Burrow‘s Bengals interest has come up at multiple points this offseason, with rumors circulating that the Ohio native may not be thrilled about going to the team that holds the No. 1 overall pick. But Burrow’s stance thus far likely points to nothing being decided until he meets with Bengals brass on the customary pre-draft tour — Combine visit, facility visit, workout — before he decides on his course of action, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link). Burrow’s “I do have leverage” comment was not an interjection but merely repeating a reporter’s question as part of a response. No player has maneuvered his way away from a team with the top pick since Eli Manning did so when the Chargers held the 2004 top pick.
- Longtime Cowboys assistant Ben Bloom will resurface in Cleveland. The Browns are hiring Bloom as a senior defensive assistant, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link). Bloom started his NFL coaching career with the Browns, working on Eric Mangini‘s two staffs from 2009-10. He spent nine seasons on Jason Garrett‘s Cowboys staffs, the past two coaching Dallas’ linebackers.
- Some around the league view the Patriots as a fit for nine-year Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals, who are expected to draft Burrow at No. 1, plan to help Dalton work out a trade.
Latest On Patriots’ QB Situation
Not much has transpired on the Patriots side of the Tom Brady free agency rumor cycle, but a negotiation timetable has surfaced. The Pats are not expected to discuss a new deal for Brady for multiple weeks, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston notes, adding that this likely corresponds with the Combine.
The annual scouting showcase/tampering bonanza will give the parties a better indication as to what the future Hall of Famer’s market looks like. The Raiders and Chargers have been the teams most linked to Brady, with the Titans perhaps in play as well. New England, however, is not especially concerned with other teams’ pitches to Brady, per Curran. Their primary objective will be attempting to assemble a better skill-position corps to entice Brady, it appears.
A key part of the Pats’ agenda will be upgrading at tight end after essentially punting on a Rob Gronkowski replacement last year. Acquiring pass-catching help will be a primary Pats goal, Curran notes, adding that Brady is less concerned with other teams’ financial pitches than he is with their roster talent. Austin Hooper, Eric Ebron and Hunter Henry are the top young tight ends available. Though, Henry looms as a possible Chargers tag candidate — which would also factor into the Bolts’ prospective Brady pitch.
As for the scenario where Brady does defect to another team: some around the league view New England as a fit for Andy Dalton, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). The Dalton speculation has surfaced at times this offseason, with NBC Sports’ Peter King viewing a post-Brady partnership between the 32-year-old quarterback and the Patriots as one that would potentially be mutually beneficial.
Dalton is entering his contract year (on a $17.5MM salary), and the Bengals are set to work with their nine-year starter on a trade. Should a Brady departure put this scenario into play, the Pats do not have a second-round pick but may hold three third-rounders because of Trey Flowers‘ and Trent Brown‘s departures in free agency. These late-Day 2 picks could also come in handy for potential trades for tight end or wideout upgrades.