Minor NFL Transactions: 3/7/19
Today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: LB Justin March-Lillard, DB Darian Thompson
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: LS Casey Kreiter
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: LS Matt Overton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Harold Jones-Quartey
Broncos To Trade Case Keenum To Redskins
Case Keenum is be D.C.-bound. On Thursday, the Redskins and Broncos hammered out a trade to send the quarterback to Washington, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
The trade will send Keenum and a Broncos 2020 seventh-round pick to D.C. in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick, according to Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Keenum has agreed to rework his contract in order to facilitate the deal.
Keenum had the opportunity to earn $21MM in ’19 under the terms of his old contract, but the revised pact will give him $7.5MM in total. The Broncos will pay Keenum a $500K restructure bonus and contribute $3.5MM towards Keenum’s $7MM salary. Meanwhile, Washington will pay their $3.5MM half of the tab. Ultimately, the Broncos saved themselves a few million and the Redskins found an inexpensive veteran to compete with Colt McCoy for the starting gig.
Keenum, 31, joined the Broncos on a two-year, $36MM deal prior to the 2018 campaign. Unfortunately, his season with Denver did not go as planned as the Broncos slumped to a 6-10 mark. This offseason, he was squeezed out of his starting job when the Broncos acquired Joe Flacco from the Ravens.
With the Redskins, Keenum may have an opportunity to take over for Alex Smith, who is fighting his way back from a gruesome leg injury. He’s not long removed from leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game during a 2017 season in which he ranked second in Total QBR, seventh in adjusted net yards per attempt (the passing metric most correlated with winning), fifth in interception percentage, and seventh in sack percentage.
On the flipside, Keenum’s 2018 marks tell a different story. Among 33 qualifying quarterbacks, Keenum finished 30th in Total QBR, 28th in ANY/A, 21st in interception percentage, and 11th in sack percentage. A year after ranking first in Football Outsiders‘ DVOA (meaning he was extremely effective on a per-play basis), Keenum fell all the way to 29th in 2018.
With the No. 15 pick in the draft, the Redskins are unlikely to land either Kyler Murray or Dwayne Haskins, so a short-term solution such as Keenum might make the most sense for them. There’s also the free agent market to consider, but Smith’s $20.4MM cap hit could be prohibitive in the pursuit of someone like Nick Foles.
Broncos Release Darian Stewart
The Broncos released defensive back Darian Stewart, according to an announcement from Stewart himself. On Wednesday, the veteran took to Instagram to bid farewell to his fans in Denver. 
“Broncos country thank you all for the love you showed me and my family these past four years,” Stewart wrote. “But, it’s time for me to move on and I’m looking forward to the next chapter. I still got a whole lotta 🏈 left in me so I’ll see y’all real soon.”
Stewart was due roughly $5MM for 2019. By releasing him, the Broncos will save roughly $3.57MM against the cap with $2.8MM in dead money left over.
The Broncos signed Stewart to a two-year deal worth $4.25MM in 2015 and he quickly proved his worth. Stewart started in nearly all of his 58 games for the Broncos and recorded both a forced fumble and a sack in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory.
Stewart saw some time at cornerback and free safety in ’17, but he played mostly at strong safety last year. This figures to be a crowded safety market, which is a bit of a double-edged sword for Stewart. Plenty of teams are in need of safeties, but Stewart will be a lower priority than Earl Thomas, Adrian Amos, Lamarcus Joyner, Tyrann Mathieu, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and others.
Stewart graded out as just the No. 77 ranked safety in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus. His 59.6 overall score was a massive step back from his first two seasons in Denver, which included a Pro Bowl-worthy performance in 2016.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/5/19
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions:
ERFAs
Tendered:
RFAs
Tendered at original-round level:
- Steelers: TE Xavier Grimble (via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, TE Brian Parker (via 9News’ Mike Klis, on Twitter)
Broncos Interested In C.J. Mosley?
- The Broncos are expected to have interest in linebacker C.J. Mosley, according to Troy Renck of Denver7 (on Twitter). This week, we learned that the Ravens will not use the franchise tag on Mosley and the expectation is that he will be an unrestricted free agent later this month. Mosley, 27 in June, is a perennial Pro Bowler and anchored Baltimore’s linebacking corps for several years.
Broncos Not Interested In Antonio Brown
- The Broncos have been connected to Brown in the press, but the team isn’t interested in trading for him, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). A source close to Denver GM John Elway gave Klis an “emphatic no” when he asked about the possibility of adding Brown. Klis writes that Browns is not “worth the price.” The Broncos recently announced Emmanuel Sanders would be back in 2019, and given that Sanders and Brown have feuded publicly in recent months, it makes sense why they wouldn’t be involved in Brown discussions.
Broncos Not Out Of Matt Paradis Running
- Matt Paradis will still reach free agency, but Mike Klis of 9News tweets the Broncos are not out of the running for their four-year center starter. The Broncos and Paradis’ camp had a productive meeting in Indianapolis, per Klis, but not enough to keep the snapper off the market. Denver’s line would lose a major piece, the last part of its Super Bowl 50 blocking quintet, if Paradis walks. Despite coming off a broken leg and being set to turn 30 in 2019, the former sixth-round pick’s previous consistency may well put him on a path to challenge Jason Kelce‘s new $11MM-AAV deal as the top center contract.
- With the low-end RFA tender having climbed to $2.025MM, the Broncos may be leaning toward non-tendering Pro Bowl long snapper Casey Kreiter. With the highest-paid deep snapper (the Chargers’ Jake McQuaide) averaging a $1.175MM-per-year salary, Klis tweets it would appear the Broncos will not tender Kreiter and instead try to work out a deal at a lower price. Long snappers generally have a set pay scale, with 17 of them making between $1MM and $1.175MM, so a member of this club getting nearly double that in a season would be noteworthy.
Broncos, Chris Harris Discussing Deal
Although John Elway said during his Combine presser an extension for Chris Harris was not in the works, the Broncos are beginning to do homework on this situation.
The Broncos met with Harris’ camp in Indianapolis, and the talks were “very productive,” Troy Renck of Denver7 reports (Twitter links). Harris said recently he would be open to a re-up, and Renck adds the perennial Pro Bowl cornerback wants to retire as a Bronco.
Now 29, Harris would seemingly be in stronger negotiating position perhaps even than he was when he signed his team-friendly extension late in the 2014 season. Unlike at that time, the Broncos have no other surefire answers at cornerback. At the time of Harris’ previous extension, the Broncos were finishing their first year with what became a formidable cornerback trio. Denver’s 2014 acquisitions of Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby helped anchor the eventual Super Bowl champions’ defense, but the Harris-Talib-Roby era is ending. Shortly after free agency opens, it is likely Roby will be employed elsewhere, too.
Also expected to let Tramaine Brock walk, the Broncos are searching for a No. 2 cornerback. Vic Fangio is expected to install more zone looks, following up several seasons of man-based schemes in Denver, but the new coach praised Harris as a key component of his upcoming defense.
Harris is entering the final season of a five-year, $42.5MM deal. A Pro Bowler before that somewhat surprising contract was signed, Harris became one of this era’s top corners over the course of this deal, picking up three more Pro Bowl honors and an All-Pro cameo. Most recently, he graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 overall corner in 2018. Given Denver’s immense need at this spot, and Harris’ performance on a below-market deal, it would make sense he will want a significant raise — perhaps at least in the Casey Hayward neighborhood ($11.4MM AAV).
Denver is expected to pursue corners in free agency and the draft, per Renck. The Broncos hold $34.5MM in cap space. A Harris extension could inflate that figure, though the ninth-year corner’s has a manageable $8.8MM cap number in 2019.
Broncos Won't Tender Jordan Taylor
- The Broncos aren’t expected to tender wideout Jordan Taylor, according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). The former undrafted free agent out of Rice spent four seasons with the organization, and he hauled in 29 receptions, 351 yards, and two scores between 2016 and 2017. The 27-year-old sat out all of last season as he recovered from offseason hip surgery.
[SOURCE LINK]
Broncos Won’t Tender Matt LaCosse
Teams are starting to have make decisions on tendering their restricted free agents, and the Broncos made a big one late Saturday night. The team won’t be tendering tight end Matt LaCosse, a source told Mike Klis (Twitter link). 
LaCosse became the team’s starter down the stretch this past season, and showed some promise. The lowest tender option will be $2.025MM this year, which Denver apparently thinks is too expensive. Klis posted a followup tweet new Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s offense “needs tight ends who are plus blockers”, and that while LaCosse is “a nice receiving tight end and willing blocker”, he’s “just not built like other TEs.”
Klis expects the team to add a blocking tight end. Troy Renck of ABC Denver tweeted in response that the team is expected to draft a tight end. The Broncos haven’t had a reliable tight end option in recent years, and getting a consistent one would be a huge boost for new quarterback Joe Flacco.
LaCosse entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2015, and spent the next few years bouncing on and off of the Giants’ roster before landing in Denver in late 2017. Last season he had 24 catches for 250 yards and one touchdown.