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Contract Details: Tunsil, Ogunjobi, Thompson, Tomlinson, Bradbury

March 25th, 2023 at 2:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on contracts signed since the start of free agency:

  • Laremy Tunsil, T (Texans): Three years, $75MM. The extension, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, includes a guaranteed amount of $60MM, $50MM of which is guaranteed at signing. The $50MM amount in composed of a $30MM signing bonus, Tunsil’s 2023 base salary of $2MM, and his 2024 base salary of $18MM. The remaining $10MM, which comes out of his 2025 base salary (worth a total of $20.95MM), is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2024 league year. His 2026 base salary is worth $20.95MM. The contract also includes annual workout bonuses of $150,000 and annual per game active roster bonuses that can potentially total $250,000 each season.
  • Dalvin Tomlinson, DT (Browns): Four years, $57MM. The contract, according to Florio, includes a guaranteed amount of $26.29MM consisting of a $15.09MM signing bonus, Tomlinson’s first year base salary of $1.08MM, and his 2024 option bonus of $10.13MM. Of the 2024 option bonus, $8.84MM is guaranteed at signing with the rest fully guaranteeing on the third day of the 2024 league year. His 2024 base salary of $1.21MM is guaranteed for injury at signing and will fully guarantee along with the second part of the 2024 option bonus. His 2025 and 2026 base salaries are both worth $13MM, and both have roster bonuses of $750,000 due on the third day of their respective league years. In the first two years of the contract, Tomlinson will receive a per game active roster of bonus of $14,705 worth a potential season total of $250,000. The following two years see the per game active roster bonus rise to $44,117 for a potential season total of $750,000. The deal includes a potential out, allowing the Browns to cut Tomlinson after 2025 with $12.11MM in dead money but $14.5MM of cap savings over the next three years, including two voidable years.
  • Larry Ogunjobi, DT (Steelers): Three years, $28.75MM. The new deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, includes a guaranteed amount of $12MM at signing consisting of a $10.6MM signing bonus and Ogunjobi’s first year base salary of $1.4MM. His second year base salary of $5MM is guaranteed for injury and his 2025 base salary is worth $4MM. The contract includes roster bonuses of $4.75MM (guaranteed on the third league day of 2024) and $3MM (guaranteed on the third league day of 2025). Pittsburgh also put a potential out in the contract that would allow them to cut Ogunjobi after 2023 with $7.07MM of dead money but with $16.75MM in cap savings over the next two years.
  • Garrett Bradbury, C (Vikings): Three years, $15.75MM. The new contract, according to Wilson, includes a guaranteed amount of $9.8MM, $4.9MM of which is guaranteed at signing. The initial $4.9MM is composed of a $3.82MM signing bonus and Bradbury’s first year base salary of $1.08MM. The remaining $4.9MM consists of his second year base salary which fully guarantees on the third day of the 2024 league year. The deal includes an annual workout bonus of $100,000 and a per game active roster bonus of $14,705 for a potential season total of $250,000. The deal also includes a potential out that allows the Vikings to release Bradbury after 2023 with zero dead cap, resulting in $13.05MM in cap savings over the next two years.
  • Shaq Thompson, LB (Panthers): Two years, $12.6MM. The reworked deal, according to Joe Person of The Athletic, includes a guaranteed amount of $8.5MM consisting of a $5.3MM signing bonus, Thompson’s first year base salary of $1.2MM, and $2MM of his 2024 base salary (worth a total of $3.8MM). He’ll receive a $1MM roster bonus guaranteed in March of 2024 and a per game active roster bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000. There are also possible incentives concerning a Pro Bowl selection and playoff wins. The deal includes three void years to reduce his current cap hit. His cap number in 2023 was reduced from $24.5MM to $14.06MM.

Browns To Sign WR Marquise Goodwin

March 24th, 2023 at 1:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns are making another addition to their receiver room, this time via free agency. Veteran Marquise Goodwin is headed to Cleveland on a one-contract, per ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link).

The Browns had been interested in adding a vertical threat to their offense this offseason, and they targeted Goodwin as an option by hosting him on a visit earlier this week. He will add a speed element to the team’s revamped WR room, which lacked a true burner near the top of the depth chart.

Goodwin, 32, will likely have a rotational role behind starting wideouts Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones. The latter two have been joined by former Jets second-rounder Elijah Moore, who was dealt to the Browns amidst his trade request and New York’s efforts to reshape their own receiver stable. The latter will operate in the slot, with Goodwin in place as an experienced option behind him after stints with four different teams.

During the first of those, with the Bills, Goodwin worked as a starter for only one season. After his underwhelming time in Buffalo came to an end, the former third-rounder enjoyed by far the best campaign of his career. In 2017, the first of his three years in San Francisco, Goodwin recorded 962 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 56 receptions. That year marked the only time in which he received more than 100 targets, as he has been used in a less pronounced role since then.

Goodwin took on a complimentary role in the past two years with the Bears and Seahawks, respectively. His yardage totals and catch percentages have fluctuated over the course of his career, but his yards per catch average (16.2 overall) has remained relatively consistent. The 5-9, 180-pounder will look to give the Browns a boost in the downfield passing game in 2023 as the team aims to take a sizable step forward in their offensive efficiency.

Jets Trade WR Elijah Moore To Browns

March 22nd, 2023 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after agreeing to terms with Mecole Hardman, the Jets have a trade in place involving one of their holdovers. They are sending Elijah Moore to the Browns, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

A former second-round pick, Moore will head to Cleveland in a deal involving a Day 2 pick swap. The Browns will send their No. 42 overall pick for Moore and the Jets’ No. 74 overall choice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Two years remain on Moore’s contract; he is going into his age-23 season.

As the Jets’ wide receiver room became crowded, the Browns were connected to wideout interest. The team was looking into Jerry Jeudy, but the Broncos have continued to set a high price for teams regarding their top pass catcher. Instead, Cleveland will add Moore to its receiving corps as a slot piece to pair with Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.

This will be a nice vault up the draft board for the Jets as well. Moving up 32 spots, the Jets now hold the Nos. 42 and 43 overall picks. Although the Packers have been seeking a first-round pick and change for Aaron Rodgers, the Jets now having two mid-second-round choices figures to come up in the Joe Douglas–Brian Gutekunst trade talks involving the superstar quarterback.

Moore voiced frustration about his role last season and asked the Jets to trade him. The 2021 second-rounder, who was sent home after a heated argument with then-OC Mike LaFleur ahead of a midseason hiatus, did not match his rookie-year numbers in 2022. But Zach Wilson‘s presence hindered Jets receivers, hence the all-out Rodgers pursuit. In reaffirming the team’s desire to retain Moore, Douglas issued strong support for the disgruntled wideout in November. Four months later, Moore has a new team.

As a rookie, Moore showed immediate promise coming out of Ole Miss. The 5-foot-10 target caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns, reaching these numbers despite Wilson’s inconsistency and despite missing six games. The Browns will bet on Moore’s upside with Deshaun Watson targeting him, and the team will move out of another early draft slot to do so. The Watson trade cost the Browns their first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Cleveland’s first 2023 draft choice will now arrive at No. 74.

Moore, who clocked a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at his pro day two years ago, is due base salaries of just $1.5MM and $1.9MM this season and next. This bet on potential notwithstanding, it does invite some risk for the Browns. Cleveland has now traded out of the first and second rounds of the draft, and the Watson swap also will send the Browns’ 2023 third-rounder (No. 73) to the Texans. Cleveland does have a compensatory third-rounder — No. 98, acquired from the NFL for the Vikings hiring ex-Browns exec Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as GM — but sliding down from No. 42 to No. 74 will make for a long wait on draft night.

The Jets targeted Moore on just 13% of his routes run last season, per ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter, who adds that was a league-low number for players who ran at least 400 routes. Paired with Cooper and Peoples-Jones, Moore should have a clear-cut opportunity in Cleveland. His exit will also free up space in a Jets receiver room that has seen both Hardman and Allen Lazard added since free agency started.

Gang Green’s receiver cadre now includes Hardman, Lazard, Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Denzel Mims. While Mims is an obvious candidate not to be part of a Rodgers-led receiver room, it will be interesting to see if the Moore trade allows for Davis to avoid cap-casualty status — the Jets can save $10.5MM by cutting him — or enables the team to pursue Odell Beckham Jr. and/or Randall Cobb. Rodgers is believed to have encouraged the Jets to sign both players, and they have begun doing so. Hardman’s arrival throws a wrench in both OBJ and Cobb coming to the Big Apple, but the Jets still have some space to add another weapon soon.

Jaguars To Add RB D’Ernest Johnson

March 22nd, 2023 at 12:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns could well lose their second- and third-string running backs from the past two seasons. While Kareem Hunt remains unsigned, D’Ernest Johnson will change teams.

Johnson is signing a one-year deal with the Jaguars, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Browns were interested in retaining Johnson, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com adds (on Twitter), but the Florida native will move on after four seasons in Ohio.

Jacksonville has both re-signed its second-stringer from last season — JaMycal Hasty — and now added Johnson as a Travis Etienne backup option. Johnson, 27, did not see much action last season, but injuries to Hunt and Nick Chubb in the past allowed the former Alliance of American Football performer some run in Cleveland. Hunt missing time in 2021 opened the door to a 534-yard Johnson rushing season, leading the Browns to retain him via a one-year, $2.43MM contract in 2022.

With both Chubb and Hunt out for a Thursday-night game against the Broncos in 2021, Johnson displayed his ball-carrying chops to a national audience. The unlikely NFLer powered the Browns to a victory with a 146-yard rushing performance, adding 22 receiving yards during the victory. Johnson also produced a 99-yard game against the Patriots that season and zoomed for 123 against Bengals backups in a meaningless Week 18 contest.

Chubb is signed to a three-year, $36.6MM extension, which runs through the 2024 season. Hunt played out his second Browns contract last season. The team has 2022 fifth-round pick Jerome Ford, along with John Kelly and Nate McCreary on its offseason roster. Ford totaled eight carries last season, which topped Johnson’s four in the Chubb-Hunt attack. While Hunt has long been expected to leave, he is one of the last notable backs still unsigned. The market not producing an early deal for the Cleveland-area native could potentially lead to he and the Browns discussing another partnership.

The Jaguars gave Hasty a two-year, $2.9MM extension earlier this offseason. It should not be expected Johnson’s deal will surpass this by much — if at all. Etienne overtook James Robinson as Jacksonville’s starter early last season, leading the Jags to trade their two-time 1,000-yard rusher to the Jets. Robinson, who made little impact in New York, is now with New England. Two years remain on Etienne’s rookie deal, and the Jags can keep him through 2025 via the fifth-year option.

Browns To Re-Sign LB Anthony Walker

March 22nd, 2023 at 12:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Anthony Walker was among the Browns linebackers to suffer a major injury last season, the team will keep him around on another one-year deal.

Walker visited the Commanders earlier this week, but Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets the veteran off-ball defender will return to the Browns. This will be the third straight offseason in which Walker has signed a one-year deal with the Browns.

The Browns have now come to terms with two of their linebackers coming off significant injuries. They re-signed Sione Takitaki last week as well. Several weeks before Takitaki’s ACL tear, Walker suffered a torn quad tendon. Despite Walker’s previous two deals coming during Joe Woods‘ defensive coordinator tenure, the Browns will see what he looks like in Jim Schwartz‘s defense.

Walker left Indianapolis for Cleveland in 2021, when he signed a one-year deal worth $3MM. In 2022, it cost the Browns $4.25MM to bring Walker back on a one-year accord. A deal in this neighborhood should be expected this time around. Walker is entering his age-28 season. The team also showed interest in bringing back Mack Wilson, but the Patriots signed him last week. Instead, Takitaki and Walker will each attempt to rebound from their injuries in Cleveland.

Cleveland still has top linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on his rookie contract. The 2021 second-round pick cannot be extended until next year. Should the Browns extend Owusu-Koramoah, veteran linebacker money will be scarcer. With the Notre Dame product still in that rookie-deal window, Takitaki and Walker will complement him once again.

Walker suited up for 13 Browns games in 2021, tallying 100-plus tackles (113) for a third time. The ex-Shaquille Leonard sidekick has been a prolific tackler when on the field, but he has missed 18 games over the past two seasons. The injury trouble and a buyer’s market forming at inside linebacker this offseason will suppress Walker’s value.

Deion Jones, whom the Browns traded for last year, remains in free agency, but the team still sports a crowded linebacker room. Cleveland added ex-Indianapolis and Chicago contributor Matthew Adams this week, and Jacob Phillips — the third Browns ‘backer to suffer a season-ending injury in 2022 — remains on the roster as well. Walker saw more action than Takitaki and Phillips when healthy. In 2021, he played 80% of Cleveland’s defensive snaps. Should he prove recovered from the September quad injury, another regular role should await.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/23

March 21st, 2023 at 8:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Minnesota Vikings

Adams, a former seventh-round pick, collected 55 tackles across 58 games (nine starts) with the Colts to begin his career. He spent the 2022 campaign in Chicago, compiling 26 tackles in 10 games (three starts).

The Cowboys previously tried to trade for Edoga, so it’s not a surprise that he’s finally landed in Dallas. Per Nick Eatman of the team’s website, the lineman could be a candidate to start at left guard to replace Connor McGovern. The former third-round pick has only appeared in seven games over the past two seasons in stints with the Jets and Falcons.

Anderson hasn’t started a game since the 2020 season, but he can still be a reliable special teamer and situational defender for a rebooted Panthers squad. The veteran got into 11 games for the Colts last season, collecting 18 tackles.

WR Notes: Hopkins, Cardinals, Chiefs, Ridley, Browns, Slayton, Texans, Dolphins

March 21st, 2023 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Brandin Cooks trade domino dropped Sunday morning, leaving DeAndre Hopkins as the only clear-cut impact receiver trade chip available. The Cardinals continue to shop the 11th-year veteran, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes talks are ramping up (Twitter link). Hopkins is amenable to adjusting his contract to facilitate a deal, and Rapoport adds an adjusted contract is likely. As is, Hopkins’ through-2024 contract calls for a $19.45MM base salary this season. That will likely be untenable to interested teams.

As far as interested parties go, the Chiefs are viewed as a team angling to acquire a veteran. Whether it is Hopkins or Odell Beckham Jr., veteran NFL reporter Mike Jurecki adds (on Twitter) Kansas City is on the market for an addition. With JuJu Smith-Schuster signing with the Patriots, it is unsurprising the defending champions are interested in upgrading. Mecole Hardman remains a free agent, and while the Chiefs were expected to move on from the speedster, his price range may have dropped considering his extended stay in free agency. Patrick Mahomes‘ restructure created $9.6MM in cap space for the Chiefs, though they sit at just more than $9MM as of Tuesday.

Staying on the Hopkins front, here is the latest from the receiver scene:

  • The Browns are not believed to be interested in reuniting Hopkins with Deshaun Watson, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets. Cleveland has a big contract at receiver (Amari Cooper‘s) already, though the team could benefit from a veteran presence alongside its No. 1 target. The Browns did host Marquise Goodwin on a visit that has spanned from Monday to today, Anderson adds (on Twitter). Goodwin spent last season with the Seahawks, catching 27 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns. The former Olympic long jumper is going into his age-33 season.
  • Darius Slayton is back with the Giants, re-signing on a two-year deal worth $12MM. That contract includes $4.9MM guaranteed, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets. This can be treated more like a one-year deal; the Giants can save $6MM by cutting Slayton in 2024. That said, Slayton said (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he received other offers in free agency. The Giants, despite burying him on their initial 2022 depth chart and cutting his pay, reached out early and will have the former fifth-round pick back in the fold. The team’s improvement last season helped convince Slayton to stay.
  • A year after he signed for the exact terms Slayton reached (with the Jets), Braxton Berrios is now in Miami. The ex-Hurricanes receiver agreed to terms with the Dolphins on what KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes is a one-year, $3.5MM pact (Twitter link). Berrios will receive $3MM guaranteed, giving him a good chance of being part of the Dolphins’ 53-man roster. The Dolphins still have Cedrick Wilson and brought back River Cracraft and Freddie Swain last week.
  • Noah Brown‘s one-year Texans deal is worth $2.6MM, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The longtime Cowboys wideout received $2.25MM guaranteed and can add an additional $500K through incentives.
  • Addressing his season-long gambling suspension recently, Calvin Ridley said he deposited $1,500 into an unspecified betting app and, after making approximately $200 worth of NBA bets, he included the Falcons in a parlay. Denying he had inside information, Ridley said (via a piece on The Players’ Tribune) he had been away from the Falcons for a month, was not talking to anyone on the team and made the bet to root for his teammates. Regarding Ridley’s midseason Falcons exit in 2021, the former first-round pick said he was dealing with depression and anxiety. Ridley said he played most of the 2020 season (a career-high 1,374-yard slate) on a broken foot, but he was not informed of the break until June 2021. He underwent surgery, which was described as a minor procedure, but said he was not close to 100% by Week 1. This and Ridley’s house being robbed on that Week 1 Sunday intensified his anxiety. The NFL reinstated Ridley, now with the Jaguars, earlier this month.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/23

March 20th, 2023 at 10:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

The Giants are giving Leonard Johnson a three-year deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. The former Duke prospect suffered a torn ACL while training for the 2022 draft; the Giants worked him out Monday and saw enough to take a flier. While Ford made two starts for the Falcons last season, the ex-UDFA is best known for his special teams work. He saw action on 83% of Atlanta’s ST plays last season, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) the Bengals are giving him a one-year deal worth up to $2.25MM.

Both Scharping and Lonnie Johnson are former Texans second-round picks. The Texans waived Scharping on roster-cutdown day in August, but the Bengals claimed him. Although Scharping only played 30 snaps for Cincinnati last season, the team will keep him around for another run at a backup gig. Months before bailing on Scharping, the Texans traded Johnson to the Chiefs. But Kansas City did not see much from the acquisition in camp and waived him. The Titans picked up Johnson via waivers, using him as a backup. Johnson has experience at both cornerback and safety, and The Score’s Jordan Schultz adds he agreed to a one-year Saints deal (Twitter link).

Browns To Bring Back QB Josh Dobbs

March 20th, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

8:17pm: The deal will save the Browns some at their QB2 spot. Dobbs agreed to a one-year deal worth $2MM fully guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

6:26pm: Josh Dobbs spent much of last season in Cleveland, but he ended up in two other cities to close the campaign. Following Jacoby Brissett‘s Washington exit, the Browns are bringing his former understudy back.

The Browns are signing Dobbs to a one-year deal, according to his agent (on Twitter). This will be the second time in Dobbs’ career he will have reunited with a team. The ex-Steelers draftee enjoyed multiple stints in Pittsburgh as well, but he is now positioned to become Deshaun Watson‘s backup.

Originally added in April 2022 to back up Brissett while Watson served a suspension, the length of which being unknown at the time Dobbs signed. Dobbs ended up playing that role for 11 games. Brissett proved durable in Cleveland; Dobbs did not take a snap with the Browns last year. But he outplayed Malik Willis with the Titans, helping Tennessee provide Jacksonville a Week 18 scare despite being down many pieces on offense.

Between Cleveland and Nashville, Dobbs wound up in Detroit. But the Titans signed him off the Lions’ practice squad soon after the Lions picked him up. Ryan Tannehill ended up being lost for the season at that point, requiring more help in Tennessee. Despite being with the team barely a week, Dobbs overtook Willis as the Titans’ starter for the season’s final two games. In Week 18, he completed 20 of 29 passes for 179 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Jaguars.

The Browns have restructured Watson’s contract, adding a void year (2027) to it and spiking the starter’s cap numbers from 2024-26 into a new financial stratosphere. Watson is now tied to $63.9MM cap numbers in those seasons, and although the 2022 trade pickup’s 2023 cap figure dropped from $54.9MM to $19.1MM, it still makes sense for the Browns to add a low-cost backup. It should be expected Dobbs’ deal will check in south of Brissett’s 2022 money ($4.65MM).

Dobbs’ relevant NFL work almost all came in January. Despite arriving in the league as a 2017 fourth-round pick, Dobbs threw only 17 passes over his first five seasons. But the quarterback/rocket scientist worked in Kevin Stefanski‘s system for eight months last year and finished the season with some surprising contributions to the AFC South race. Although the Browns have former Vikings third-rounder Kellen Mond in their quarterback room, Dobbs’ role last year points to the elder passer having the leg up for the 2023 QB2 gig.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/23

March 19th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Washington Commanders

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