Darnell Wright Visits Saints, Bears, Packers, Bills; Several More Planned
One of the fastest risers in the 2023 NFL Draft, Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright is currently such an enigma that even NFL teams don’t seem to have an idea on when his name will be called. Normally, a tackle prospect who takes Top 30 visits is targeted by teams in similar areas of the draft who believe he will be available when they have their opportunity to select. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, nearly 20 teams believe Wright will be there when they are on the clock. 
We already reported that Wright was starting to climb boards back in February, noting that, after attending the Senior Bowl, the 21-year-old was not expected to slip past the first round of the draft. While many first-round linemen from Power 5 schools tend to find their way to the NFL as underclassmen, Wright is a rarity after playing four years with the Volunteers. The decision appears to have been the correct one as Wright was rewarded with a first-team All-SEC selection following his best year of collegiate play. Wright was a Lombardi award semifinalist after allowing zero sacks as a senior in one of the nation’s top offenses of 2022.
Wright began his reportedly lengthy tour with visits to New Orleans, Chicago, Green Bay, and Buffalo, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Following his visits with the Saints, Bears, Packers, and Bills, Wright is expected to visit the Buccaneers, Cowboys, Cardinals, Commanders, and Lions in the coming weeks leading up to the draft. That’s only nine teams. At least that many more are expected to spend time with Wright before the end of the month.
There’s a reason so many teams are under the assumption he’ll be available. He entered the Senior Bowl with many thinking he had plenty still to prove. Two months later and some consider him to be the top tackle prospect in this year’s draft. So far, he’s covered the full gamut from not a first rounder to top tackle on the board. Some teams may just be kicking the tires themselves to see what all the fuss is about, doing their own research, but teams in the later part of the first round shouldn’t entertain the thought of drafting Wright too much more if he continues to fly up draft boards.
Contract Notes: Jaguars, Singletary, Packers
The Jaguars reworked safety Rayshawn Jenkins‘ contract earlier this week, creating a chunk of cap space. Per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, the team converted more than $6.4MM of Jenkins’ salary into a signing bonus and added three void years to the contract. As a result, the team dropped the defensive back’s cap number from $10.5MM to $5.3MM, thus opening more than $5MM in cap space.
Jenkins’ 2024 cap number will rise by more than $1MM. In the event the Jaguars eventually move on from the player, they’ll be left with a dead cap hit of $5.1MM in 2024 or $3.85MM in 2025.
We’ve collected more contract notes below:
- Calais Campbell‘s one-year, $7MM deal with the Falcons includes a $4MM guaranteed salary and a $3MM signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter). He can earn another $2MM via incentives, including marks for sacks and playing time. According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein (on Twitter), $500K of Campbell’s incentives are likely to be earned.
- Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins inked a one-year, $1.16MM deal with the Cowboys that also includes an $152K signing bonus, per Wilson (on Twitter). After starting 116 of his 117 appearances between 2014 and 2021, Hankins only started four of his 10 appearances for the Raiders and Cowboys last season.
- Running back Devin Singletary‘s new deal with the Texans includes up to $1MM in incentives, per Wilson (on Twitter). Half of those bonuses come via playing time incentives, and he can earn another $500K for certain statistical milestones above 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
- Dallin Leavitt’s one-year contract with the Packers is worth $1.4MM, including a $1.08MM base salary, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky (on Twitter). He can earn up to $170K in roster bonuses, all via $10K per-game roster incentives. Demovsky also passes along that Justin Hollins got an $155K signing bonus and $45K workout bonuses from the Packers, while Eric Wilson got an $152K signing bonus.
- Defensive lineman Carlos Watkins got a one-year, $1.67MM deal from the Cardinals, according to Howard Balzer (on Twitter). This includes a $250K signing bonus, an $1.08MM signing bonus, and up to $340K in per-game roster bonuses. That all results in an $1.57MM cap hit.
- Jordan Phillips‘ contract with the Bills is for one year worth $3MM, per Ryan O’Halloran of The Buffalo News (on Twitter). He’ll earn $1.22MM in guaranteed money, and he can earn up to $4.6MM thanks to incentives.
Chiefs, Cowboys, Ravens Meet With WR Quentin Johnston
Although the Cowboys traded for Brandin Cooks last month, they continue to do extensive homework on this draft’s top wide receiver prospects. After meeting with Zay Flowers and Jalin Hyatt, Dallas hosted TCU pass catcher Quentin Johnston on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Johnston, who met with the Chiefs on Monday, is Baltimore-bound today for a Ravens meeting. Those two teams present needier wide receiver situations, but the Cowboys’ intel-gathering operation at receiver is a bit more interesting. The Giants have been connected to Johnston as well.
Dallas did not appear to capitalize fully on Amari Cooper‘s value last year, trading the Pro Bowler to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round picks. The team dealt the $20MM-per-year receiver just before the market boomed, and Cooper’s presence ended up being missed during a year that featured trade offers — one for Broncos wideout Jerry Jeudy — and a nonstop Odell Beckham Jr. free agency courtship. But the Cowboys now have Cooks, Lamb and Michael Gallup — more than a year out from his ACL tear — in the fold now. It would represent an interesting best-player-available move for Mike McCarthy‘s team to pull the trigger on a receiver early in this draft.
Then again, the Cowboys did let Dalton Schultz walk in free agency and have Cooks going into an age-30 season. Cooks’ contract runs through 2024, but the oft-traded speedster is only on the team’s books at $6MM and $10MM over the next two seasons. The veteran makes for an affordable Lamb complement. Gallup’s five-year, $57.5MM deal runs through 2026. Lamb is signed through 2023, but the team will undoubtedly exercise their WR1’s fifth-year option. Lamb is also on Dallas’ extension radar.
The Chiefs and Ravens have each been connected to both Beckham and DeAndre Hopkins. Baltimore has made Beckham an offer, though the ex-Giants Pro Bowler may well be waiting on a Jets-Aaron Rodgers trade to be finalized. But that process has stalled, potentially opening the door for other suitors. The Ravens have used first-round picks on receivers twice in the Lamar Jackson era, selecting Marquise Brown in 2019 and Rashod Bateman in 2021. The team also chose Breshad Perriman in the 2015 first round. Kansas City, conversely, has not taken a wideout in Round 1 during Andy Reid‘s tenure. The team’s last such investment — Jonathan Baldwin — came 12 years ago and did not provide much help.
ESPN’s Scouts Inc. grades Johnston as this draft’s top wide receiver, slotting him as the pool’s 12th-best prospect. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah is slightly less bullish on the ex-Horned Frog, placing him 30th overall as the fourth-best receiver talent available — in a draft that has not generated receiver hype on the level with the previous 2020s crops. Todd McShay’s most recent mock sends Johnston to the Ravens at No. 22. Johnston, who goes 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, was instrumental in the Big 12 program completing an unexpected journey to the national championship game; he hauled in 60 passes for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns as a junior.
Cowboys, Raiders Host WR Zay Flowers
Plenty of draft speculation pertains to how this year’s QB class will shake out, but intrigue also exists at the wide receiver position. One of the wideouts receiving attention in the build-up to the draft is Boston College product Zay Flowers. 
The Cowboys and Raiders met with Flowers this week, as noted by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter links). In both instances, the encounters counted towards the team’s top-30 allotments. Interest shown by Dallas and Vegas follows a sit-down Flowers had with the Giants, and it will surely be matched by other teams eyeing additions to their pass-catching corps.
Flowers spent the past four seasons with the Eagles, taking on a major role within the team’s offense starting in his second campaign. In each of the last three years, he led Boston College in receiving yards, making the most catches on the team in 2021 and 2022. In the latter campaign, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time, adding new career highs in catches (78) and touchdowns (12).
Size has been raised as a potential concern for the 5-10, 177-pounder. Even in the event he is able to add to his frame in advance of adapting to the pro game, he is likely to operate primarily in the slot at the NFL level. Flowers flashed potential as a punt returner this past season, though, and should be able to carve out a notable role for himself as a rookie given his elusiveness and vertical speed.
The Cowboys’ receiver group looked significantly different in 2022 after they traded away Amari Cooper, a move which has led to a reaction this offseason. Dallas traded for Brandin Cooks to give them a veteran presence on the outside, but further additions could easily come at the draft. Currently set to pick 26th, Flowers could fall within range for the Cowboys (who have also done their homework on Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt) toward the back of round one.
The situation is different on Day 1 for the Raiders, who own pick No. 7. A quarterback could be in play at that spot for Vegas, or if not, a host of more highly-touted prospects will likely be considered. The Raiders have added Jakobi Meyers with one of the most lucrative deals of free agency amongst receivers, but they also lost a dependable producer by trading away Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. Even though slot man Hunter Renfrow remains under contract for two more years, Vegas could thus be well-served to target an impact pass-catcher in the draft. Their second-round selection (38th overall) would represent solid value if Flowers waits that long to hear his name called.
Draft Rumors: Bears, Jets, Patriots, Titans, Cardinals, Carter, Cowboys, Saints, Browns, Bucs, Jaguars, Ravens
Teams on the radar for tackle help will be meeting with one of the top options available. Georgia tackle Broderick Jones has at least four meetings on his pre-draft itinerary. Jones met with the Titans on Tuesday, will visit the Jets today and has his Patriots meeting on tap for Thursday, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Each of these teams exited free agency’s early waves with a question mark at one of their two starting tackle positions. The Bears are meeting with Jones, and the Cardinals are also likely to huddle up with the tackle prospect, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.
Jones played only two full college seasons, redshirting in 2020 and declaring for the draft after his sophomore year with the Bulldogs. Of course, both those campaigns ended with Georgia winning national championships. Jones saw action behind Chargers 2022 draftee Jamaree Salyer in 2021 and took over as the Bulldogs’ full-time left tackle last season, starting all 15 Georgia games. He earned first-team All-SEC recognition for his work. The 6-foot-5 blocker grades as ESPN.com’s No. 24 overall prospect, while NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah slots the one-year college starter 19th on his big board.
Here is the latest regarding this year’s draft pool:
- Like last year, Georgia stands to be well represented in the first round. The top ex-Bulldog available will be Jalen Carter, who has generated increased scrutiny in recent weeks. After the arrest warrant interrupted Carter’s Combine, Albert Breer of SI.com notes teams outside the top 10 begun digging into the high-end defensive tackle prospect. Carter, who will not face jail time in connection with the misdemeanor warrants that arrived in February, does not plan to take visits with teams picking outside the top 10. The teams picking beyond No. 10 look to have expressed increased interest after the charges, which have affected Carter’s stock to a degree. A mediocre pro day did as well. Carter is open to meeting with teams who could trade into the top 10, and Breer adds a Laremy Tunsil-like tumble out of the top 10 should not be ruled out based on some teams’ views.
- Joining Carter and Jones as first-round-caliber talents, defensive end Nolan Smith is on a few teams’ radars. Jeremiah’s No. 16 overall prospect, Smith met with the Buccaneers on Tuesday and will visit the Ravens and Jaguars later this week, Wilson notes. A torn pectoral muscle limited Smith to eight games in 2022, and he did not top 4.5 sacks in a season with the Bulldogs. But the explosive edge — he of a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the Combine — is still viewed as a near-certainty to go off the board early. The Bucs and Ravens used first-round choices on an edge in 2021 (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Odafe Oweh), while the Jaguars took Georgia edge rusher Travon Walker first overall last year.
- Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt visited the Cowboys on Tuesday and is meeting with the Saints today, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and The Score’s Jordan Schultz report (Twitter links). The Browns also hosted Hyatt this week, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets. Teaming with QB Hendon Hooker, Hyatt won the Biletnikoff award — given to the Division I-FBS’ top wideout — last season after catching 15 touchdown passes. After not exceeding 300 receiving yards in his first two college seasons, Hyatt broke through for 1,267 in 2022. The slender receiver sits 36th on Jeremiah’s board; Scouts Inc. slots him 44th. The Saints have also met with Hooker.
- In addition to Hyatt, the Cowboys hosted Trenton Simpson, per Rapoport, who adds a Browns visit is also on tap for the former Clemson linebacker. Simpson started for two seasons at Clemson, pairing 65 tackles with 6.5 sacks as a junior. This is not viewed as a strong off-ball linebacker class. Both Jeremiah and Scouts Inc. rate Simpson as the top ILB available; he appears outside the top 40 on both big boards.
Contract Details: CJGJ, Hardman, Cowboys
Here are some of the details on a few deals reached around the league recently:
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S (Lions): One year, $6.5MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, is completely guaranteed with a signing bonus of $4MM and a fully guaranteed base salary of $2.5MM. The contract also includes a second, void year to spread out his cap hit. Gardner-Johnson can earn an additional $1.5MM based on incentives. There’s a potential for him to make $375,000 each for playing 70-percent of the team’s defensive snaps and/or intercepting three passes. He can make an additional $375,000 each for upping those numbers to 80% and five interceptions. Unfortunately, these potential bonuses are conditional. Even if he checks all those boxes, Gardner-Johnson will reportedly only receive his money if the Lions are in the top 16 in the league for yards allowed.
- Mecole Hardman, WR (Jets): One year, $4.5MM. We’ve already reported some details of Hardman’s new contract. Thanks to Wilson, we have a bit more information on the incentives of the deal. Depending on receptions, Hardman can earn $125,000 if he catches 50 passes or more, $250,000 for 60, and $500,000 for 70. For yards, Hardman can receive $125,000 for 650 receiving yards or more, $250,000 for 750, and $500,000 for 850. For touchdowns, Hardman can earn $125,000 for catching six touchdowns, $250,000 for eight, and $500,000 for 10. Lastly, Hardman can receive $250,000 for a wild card win or bye, $250,000 for a divisional round win, $250,000 for a conference championship, and $250,000 for a Super Bowl win. In total, that makes $2.5MM available through incentives. The Jets are expecting big things out of Hardman, as he would’ve only earned the bottom level of each incentive once over his four-year career with the Chiefs.
- Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB (Titans): One year, $3.5MM. The deal, according to Wilson, is fully guaranteed with a signing bonus of $2.42MM and a base salary of $1.08MM. The contract includes two void years to spread out his cap impact. Wilson reports $1.5MM-worth of incentives for Murphy-Bunting based on playing time and interceptions.
- Dante Fowler, DE (Cowboys): One year, $3MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $1MM consisting of his signing bonus. All of Fowler’s incentives are contingent on Dallas making the playoffs. If they do and Fowler tallies eight sacks, he can earn an additional $500,000. Ten sacks gives Fowler $1MM. If Fowler plays over 55-percent of the team’s defensive snaps (and they make the playoffs), he can make an additional $250,000.
Cowboys Didn’t Offer Pay Cut To Ezekiel Elliott; Team Still Open To New Deal
The Cowboys have made a number of high-profile additions so far in free agency, but the 2023 offseason has also included the team’s release of Ezekiel Elliott. The former rushing champion was long expected to be a cap casualty, but the chances of a re-worked contract keeping him in Dallas have fluctuated recently. 
Elliott admitted earlier this year that he was willing to accept a pay cut to continue his Cowboys career. That came as little surprise, given the $16.7MM he was scheduled to count against the cap in 2023, and the lack of guaranteed money remaining on his contract. Dallas already has one notable cap figure at the running back position with Tony Pollard having been franchise tagged.
Days after Elliott was released, it was reported that a Cowboys reunion was unlikely. As the former top-five pick faces the prospect of free agency for the first time, however, no new, more modest contract offer has emerged yet from Dallas. Executive vice president Stephen Jones recently elaborated on the reason why that is the case.
“When you’ve got players and we’ve had them over the years, whether it’s Emmitt Smith, whether it’s a DeMarcus Ware these type of players you’ve got such respect for everything that they’ve done for your organization,” he said, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Sometimes the best thing is to let them get a feel for what the market is. The last thing we want to do is do anything that would be insulting to a great player like Zeke.”
Elliott, 27, is a member of a deep free agent class at the position, one which has not landed much in the way of lucrative deals on the open market. Considering his decline in production, including career-worst numbers in 2022, it comes as little surprise that the Ohio State alum isn’t facing a plethora of suitors. Elliott reportedly has a three-team wish list of destinations (Eagles, Bengals and Jets), but it very much remains to be seen if his interest in those squads will be reciprocated.
While Dallas has yet to submit a new offer to Elliott, they still could down the road. At the league meetings earlier this week, head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that the door “definitely” remains open to Elliott being brought back at a reduced rate (h/t NFL.com’s Kevin Patra). The Cowboys currently sit at $13.3MM in cap space, so a reunion with Elliott could be feasible if the cost were to be low enough.
Changes in Elliott’s market could of course steer him more definitively towards, or away from, the Cowboys in the near future. For now, though, it remains clear that Dallas is content to let the rest of the league dictate the value on his next contract as he eyes a likely change in role for the next phase of his career.
Cowboys Re-Sign DT Johnathan Hankins
Dallas has checked another item off their offseason to-do list, signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to a new contract, according to Cowboys staff writer Patrik Walker. The team had previously let it be known that they had every intention of bringing Hankins back for another year. 
The veteran lineman joined the Cowboys as a part of a midseason trade last year that sent Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. Hankins played in five games for the Cowboys, starting three, before being placed on injured reserve for the rest of the regular season. He made it back to the active roster in time for the playoffs, though, and played a strong snap percentage in the team’s two postseason contests.
Hankins doesn’t light up a stat sheet, but he does the dirty work in the trenches that allows his teammates to steal the spotlight. He showed up last season for a Cowboys defense that was struggling mightily against the run. The impact he was able to make in his short time with the team was enough to convince Cowboys decision makers to bring him back.
The 30-year-old will be coming back on a one-year deal worth approximately $1.5MM. He’s set to receive a $1.17MM base salary with a bonus of $152,500. The deal is a veteran salary benefit contract, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, meaning Hankins should have a cap hit of just under $1MM.
Hankins’s re-signing continues a strong offseason for Dallas, which has made strong moves to bring in cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks while securing in-house free agents on defense like safety Donovan Wilson, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and defensive end Dante Fowler. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys also have interest in bringing back another defensive line depth piece in Carlos Watkins. Watkins and Hankins would team up once again with Neville Gallimore to provide some serious depth on the interior defensive line behind starters Quinton Bohanna and Osa Odighizuwa.
Latest On Cowboys’ Offensive Line
An avulsion fracture cost Tyron Smith most of last season, and the All-Decade tackle has missed at least three games each year dating back to 2016. The Cowboys are retaining their longest-tenured player on a restructured contract, however, and he is likely moving to right tackle on a full-time basis.
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys are planning to roll out a Tyron Smith-Tyler Smith setup at tackle. That will leave two-year right tackle starter Terence Steele, the team’s preferred La’el Collins successor last year, without a starting role. But the Cowboys prioritized Steele via a second-round restricted free agent tender, doing so despite his lack of a clear path to a first-string gig. He remains in the team’s plans, just not as a starter at present.
Steele is primarily set to become Dallas’ swing tackle, Jones added. This would be a significant downgrade for the quality starter in a contract year, but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill notes (via Twitter) Steele will be considered at guard. Steele graded as a top-25 option at tackle last season, per Pro Football Focus, who also viewed Tyler Smith as a top-25 tackle. This would be a good problem for the Cowboys, who have needed to make adjustments in recent years due to Collins and Tyron Smith running into injury trouble.
“He’s such a top tackle … as we have it right now, he should be the backup tackle on both sides as we would look at it right today,” Jones said of Steele. “That’s a lot of position flex right there. You say, ‘Why don’t you move Tyler in [to guard]?’ but we also know that Tyron and Tyler both would make quite a tandem out there. The smart play would be to have outstanding depth there and Steele gives you that.”
Jones also mentioned a possible rotation, which would seemingly involve Steele and Tyron Smith. Even as the organization has moved Tyron off his longtime spot (left tackle), Hill adds it views the Hall of Fame candidate as a superior pass-blocking option to Steele on the right side. Tyron finished last season as Dallas’ primary right tackle, replacing Steele after the younger blocker suffered a torn ACL. For now, the Cowboys will carry all three at tackle.
PFF slotted Steele as a top-10 run blocker at the position, which could open the door to a guard path. Steele was a four-year starter at Texas Tech but played either right or left tackle for the Big 12 program. Dallas did lose its starting left guard in free agency for a second straight year, with Connor McGovern (Bills) following Connor Williams (Dolphins) to the AFC East. Jones pointed to the draft or another in-house solution, mentioning Matt Waletzko or Matt Farniok, as routes the team could take to replace McGovern. The Cowboys chose Waletzko in the 2022 fifth round and added Farinok in the 2021 seventh. Farniok started two games at guard last season; Waletzko played just three games before a shoulder injury shut him down.
Cowboys Notes: Schultz, Barr, Draft
The Cowboys have made a number of moves so far this offseason, including the trade acquisition of wideout Brandin Cooks. While that gave the team a new, accomplished pass-catcher, the departure of tight end Dalton Schultz has created a vacancy at that position.
Conflicting reports have emerged on whether or not the Cowboys attempted to retain the 26-year-old, who played on the franchise tag in 2022. Confirming his earlier offering that Schultz turned down a multi-year offer from Dallas, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer notes that Schultz declined a three-year, $36MM deal. That far outpaces the one-year, $9MM pact he signed last week to join a Texans team facing far more uncertainty at the quarterback position than the situation he departed.
Schultz established himself as a highly dependable target for Dak Prescott during their time together in Dallas. The former recorded exactly 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past three seasons, production which he will look to replicate with the Texans and their new-look offense in 2023. A standout campaign would go a long way to earning him a new free agent deal similar to the one he chose not to take from the Cowboys.
Here are some other notes out of Dallas:
- The Cowboys have retained a number of in-house free agents on defense this year, but the team’s linebacking corps will still look different in 2023. ESPN’s Todd Archer notes that veteran Anthony Barr will not be back in Dallas next year. The 31-year-old joined the Cowboys last season after eight years with the Vikings; he saw a notable role with 10 starts and a 63% snap share. After making 58 tackles and putting up underwhelming numbers in coverage, though, he will be headed elsewhere this year. Dallas has the recently-retained Leighton Vander Esch, along with the likes of Damone Clark, Jabril Cox and Devin Harper in their middle linebacker room, one which only sparingly includes dynamic edge rusher Micah Parsons.
- With Schultz no longer in the fold, tight end is a position of need for the Cowboys heading into the draft. This year’s class is said to be extremely deep, and Jon Machota of The Athletic writes that Dallas is “intrigued” by it (subscription required). The door is open to the Cowboys using their first-round pick (No. 26) on a tight end, which would put them in play to add a prospect like Michael Mayer, Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington or Dalton Kincaid.
- Isaac Alarcon has spent the past three seasons on Dallas’ practice squad as an offensive lineman after joining the team through the International Player Pathway program. He will be making a position switch to defensive line this offseason, however (Twitter link via Archer). The 24-year-old will look to find a 53-man roster spot along the d-line as a depth option.