AFC Contract Details: Gilmore, Kirkpatrick
The latest contract details from the AFC (all Twitter links):
- Cornerback Stephon Gilmore‘s five-year, $65MM accord with the Patriots includes an $18MM signing bonus, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The arrangement comes with a fully guaranteed $31MM through 2018 and $9MM guaranteed for injury only in 2019. It contains up to $500K in per-game roster bonuses each year, as well (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
- Fellow corner Dre Kirkpatrick‘s Bengals deal, worth $52.5MM over a five years, includes $15MM in 2017, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The contract features another $2.5MM in incentives. It’s essentially a pay-as-you agreement after 2018, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who adds that Kirkpatrick got $7MM to sign, $12MM in guarantees, and will make $23.2MM during the first two years of the contract.
- Guard Ronald Leary‘s pact with the Broncos is worth $36MM over four years and will receive $18.75MM guaranteed, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Leary will collect a $3.5MM signing bonus.
- Newly re-upped Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills landed a $7MM signing bonus, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
- Fullback Patrick DiMarco‘s four-year deal with the Bills features $4.8MM in guarantees, more than the originally reported $4MM, per Wilson. It also comes with a $2MM bonus and an annual workout bonus worth $59K.
- Safety Nate Allen‘s contract with the Dolphins is for one year and $3.4MM, relays Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
- The Titans gave linebacker Nate Palmer $2.3MM over two years, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. He also received a signing bonus worth $850K.
- Tight end David Johnson‘s agreement with the Steelers is worth $2.05MM over two years, per Wilson. It includes a $235K signing bonus and a $915K roster bonus.
Broncos To Sign RT Menelik Watson
The Broncos are signing right tackle Menelik Watson to a three-year deal, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. It’s a three-year deal worth $18.3MM, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Watson toured Denver’s facilities today and, apparently, liked what he saw.
The former second-round pick played 27 games for the Raiders after entering the league in 2013, including 17 starts. The 28-year-old ultimately played in 10 games (five starts) this past season. Pro Football Focus only ranked the lineman 56th among 78 tackle candidates, but he did rate positively for his run blocking.
Watson now joins a Broncos offensive line that features tackles Michael Schofield, Donald Stephenson, Ty Sambrailo, and Billy Turner.
PFR ranked Watson as the eleventh-best free agent offensive tackle this year.
Extra Points: Lang, Jones, Jeffery, Cyprien
Some assorted notes from around the NFL…
- Free agent guard T.J. Lang will not be visiting the Broncos following the team’s signing of lineman Ronald Leary, tweets Mike Kliss of 9News. The second-best free agent interior lineman still has plenty of suitors, as he’s set to meet with the Lions and Seahawks. The Packers, his former team, also have interest.
- Had the Cardinals not extended Chandler Jones, the pass rusher would have eaten up over $14MM of spending space as their franchise player in 2017. He’ll instead take up around $10MM of cap room in 2017, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.
- Alshon Jeffery‘s one-year, $14MM deal with the Eagles is the largest non-franchise tag one-year pact in NFL history, according to the NFL Media Research Group (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Jeffery’s pact eclipsed Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s one-year, $12MM deal with the Jets.
- The Jaguars didn’t make a contract offer to strong safety Jonathan Cyprien, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets. After spending four seasons in Jacksonville, the 26-year-old joined the Titans on a four-year, $25MM contract.
- The Rams‘ release of defensive end Eugene Sims came with a failed physical designation, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets. The 31-year-old was let go by the team early this morning.
- Akeem Spence said the Buccaneers expressed interest in bringing him back next season, but the defensive tackle needs a “fresh start,” tweets ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. Spence ultimately inked a three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Lions.
- Rudy Ford ran a 4.25 at today’s Auburn Pro Day, tweets agent Blake Baratz. The safety was told earlier this week that he wasn’t healthy enough to participate at the combine. Baratz declares Ford “the most underrated prospect in the draft.”
Broncos Interested In Menelik Watson
The Broncos are clearly looking for some help on the offensive line. Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets that the team has interest in free agent tackle Menelik Watson. In a subsequent tweet, Renck says the Broncos haven’t expressed interest in free agent tackle Ryan Clady.
The team does have plenty of depth at offensive tackle, but the team could be looking for slight upgrades. Michael Schofield and Donald Stephenson are slotted in as starters, while Billy Turner and Ty Sambrailo also figure to compete for snaps. The team is also rostering lineman Max Garcia, Matt Paradis, Ronald Leary, James Ferentz, and Connor McGovern.
Watson, a former second-round pick, has yet to play a full season in the NFL. The lineman was limited to only five games in 2013, and he sat out the entire 2015 campaign. 2016 was a relatively “healthy” year for the lineman, as he appeared in 10 games (five starts). Clady, a four-time Pro Bowler, appeared in nine games (eight starts) for the Jets last year.
PFR ranked Clady as the sixth-best free agent offensive tackle, while Watson ranked 11th.
Calais Campbell Picks Jaguars Over Broncos
After considering Denver, Calais Campbell is going to sign a four-year, $60MM deal with the Jaguars (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). The deal will include $30MM guaranteed.
The Jaguars’ offer was initially reported to be “upwards of $14MM per season.” It sounds like Campbell’s indecisiveness may have motivated the Jaguars to sweeten the pot even further. The Broncos were offering him $13MM/year on a new deal. It should also be mentioned that there is no state income tax in Florida, so Campbell stands to make a lot more with the Jags than he would have with the Broncos.
The Jaguars were armed with ample cap space this offseason and they used it to beef up their front seven with the addition of Campbell. The former University of Miami star will join up with Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue to form a fearsome front four.
Despite entering his age-31 season, Campbell was one of the prizes of this year’s free agent market — he ranked as PFR’s No. 9 overall free agent and No. 1 interior defender. Capable of playing tackle or end, Campbell placed as the No. 2 interior player in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus, earning strong marks against the run and pass. Last year, he managed eight sacks, two forced fumbles, and one interception while playing more than 800 snaps.
Cowboys Expect To Trade Tony Romo To Broncos Or Texans
1:31pm: The Broncos are not currently shopping Siemian, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
1:27pm: Some “backpedal talk” has emerged regarding a Siemian-to-New York trade, Mortensen tweets. But he adds that Romo remains a trade candidate a day after being expected to be released.
1:07pm: The Cowboys now expect to trade Tony Romo to the Broncos or Texans, sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Broncos are talking with the Jets about trading Trevor Siemian to New York.
A Broncos trade for Romo would be surprising, a source tells Denver7’s Troy Renck (Twitter link). The Broncos have long been connected to Romo but never via trade until today. For more than a month, reports out of Denver have pegged the Broncos as being willing to look at Romo as a UFA.
Wednesday, there was word that the Cowboys would be releasing Romo, allowing him to explore free agency. It turns out that the Broncos and Texans are now willing to acquire him via trade. If a deal goes down, it stands to reason that Romo could agree to restructure his deal in order to make things work for the acquiring club.
Romo, 37 in April, has not been healthy for two full seasons. However, he does have four Pro Bowl selections on his resume. In his last healthy season (2014), Romo completed a league-high 69.9% of his passes with 3,705 yards through the air and 34 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.
The Broncos have been telling everyone that they are willing to go into 2017 with Siemian and Paxton Lynch as their quarterbacks. However, the Romo talk has been strong for weeks now and it sounds like they are looking to bring another star QB to Denver. The Broncos brought in Peyton Manning at a time when the world was writing him off and they might be able to find the same success here with Romo. If they do acquire him, it will be interesting to see whether Romo will be put into an open competition with Lynch or given the starting job from the get-go.
Houston has not been as bullish on a Romo acquisition as Denver has been reported to be. Although neither side has exactly been aggressive, word out of Houston was the team was not going to pursue Romo. The two-time reigning AFC South champions, though, did not get close to what they hoped from Brock Osweiler this season. The Texans’ four-year $72MM contract — one that cannot be realistically removed from the payroll until 2018 — now looks like an albatross after the 6-foot-7 passer could not complete his first Houston season without being benched. He returned to the lineup once Tom Savage sustained a concussion and won a playoff game, but Osweiler did not provide many signs he is the future in Houston.
The Cowboys would take a ~$19MM cap hit this year if they were to trade Romo rather than release him. They could not spread it over two years as they could by designating him a post June 1 cut.
The Jets would like to deal for Siemian but they will look hard at Jay Cutler if they cannot pull off a trade with Denver, Mortensen tweets. Right now, Siemian is Plan A, Cutler is Plan B, and it’s not clear what their Plan C might be if both fall through. The Jets, with limited cap space and little chance of contending in 2017, have very few options to address their vacancy under center.
A seventh-round pick out of Northwestern, Siemian has two years and just $1.3MM left on his rookie contract. He completed 59 percent of his passes and led the Broncos to an 8-6 record. But two injuries sidelined him, providing possible durability queries going forward.
Photo via PFR on Instagram.
Free Agency Rumors: Titans, Hightower, Rams
Let’s round up some of the latest free agency rumors:
- The talk of the Titans pursuing linebacker Dont’a Hightower might not be at the levels some have reported, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. Hightower stands as one of the best free agents left on the board.
- Not a huge surprise, but the Rams are not expected to bring back safety T.J. McDonald, ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. I have McDonald ranked as the No. 40 free agent on my Top 50 list, in terms of earning power. He’s not my favorite safety in this year’s free agent crop, but he is young and his hard-hitting style should translate into dollars.
- Despite formally declining his option on Thursday, the Chiefs have expressed interest in retaining quarterback Nick Foles, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
- There are still plenty of teams sorting through the offensive tackle market, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. That list includes the Chargers, Jets, Vikings, Giants, and Broncos. It should be noted that JLC’s tweet came before Denver’s acquisition of Ronald Leary. It’s not immediately clear if they’re still looking for high-end linemen.
- Russell Okung probably goofed by not having an agent last offseason, but he has one now, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). Cole does not identify the rap by name, but says that he has talked with teams and is not NFLPA-certified.
- Packers free agent guard T.J. Lang is likely going to have to take some trips before signing, Cole tweets. He had hip surgery in January and teams want to check that out before signing him. This jibes with earlier word that Lang will have to wait a bit before signing elsewhere.
Broncos To Sign Ronald Leary
The Broncos will sign free agent guard Ronald Leary “assuming no last-minute snags,” tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Leary will ink a four-year deal worth $35MM, with $20MM in guarantees, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
The Cowboys were never expected to retain Leary, who was blocked at guard by La’el Collins and Zack Martin, so instead he’ll head to a club in dire need of offensive line reinforcements. Guard was thought to be top priority for Denver this offseason, and they’ve now landed one of the top three guards on the market. Thought to be targeting $8MM per season, Leary will instead blow past that figure and nearly reach the $9MM mark.
Leary, who entered the NFL in 2012 as an undrafted free agent from Memphis, has spent his entire career with the Cowboys. He started in 35 straight appearances over his first three seasons, but he dealt with a groin injury in 2015 and Collins usurped his No. 1 role. With Collins on the shelf for most of this season, Leary made 12 starts in 13 games and ranked an impressive 25th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 76 qualified guards.
While Denver now appears to be set on the interior offensive line with Leary, Matt Paradis, and Max Garcia, tackle is still a problem. The Broncos are still talking with Russell Okung after declining his option, and could need a new right tackle as well if they decide to release Donald Stephenson.
Hypothetically, Leary could be blocking for a familiar face in 2017, as the Broncos are viewed as a logical destination for free agent quarterback Tony Romo. Romo had been under center in Dallas for the entirety of Leary’s run with the club.
Calais Campbell Still Deciding Between Jaguars, Broncos
Despite reports to the contrary, it sounds like Calais Campbell‘s deal with the Jaguars is not set in stone. The defensive lineman could take less money to return to his birthplace of Denver rather than join up with Jacksonville, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com tweets. Right now, the Broncos are offering him $13MM per year on a new deal. The Jaguars are offering upwards of $14MM per season. Right now, Campbell and his wife are weighing the Jaguars against the Broncos (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS). 
The Jaguars are armed with ample cap space this offseason and they were hoping to beef up their front seven with the addition of Campbell. The former University of Miami star, they hope, will join up with Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue to form a fearsome front four.
Recently, we identified the Broncos as a logical contender for Campbell. Now, they’re making a real play for him. The Broncos arguably would offer Campbell a better chance to win right away, and that’s probably a big factor for him as he enters his age-31 season. Campbell has been in nine playoff games with Arizona but has never won a ring.
Campbell, who played his high school ball in Denver, finished as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 3-4 defensive end last season. The Broncos had persistent trouble filling Jackson’s spot, and the gulf between Campbell and the other defensive end options could be sizable. Chris Baker also appeared on the Broncos’ radar, but Campbell has been a better player during his career.
Denver’s three-pronged strategy of Vance Walker, Adam Gotsis and Jared Crick to replace Jackson backfired when Walker tore his ACL and Gotsis proved too raw. Crick is under contract for another season but would fit more in a depth role. The Broncos still finished with the league’s top DVOA defense but struggled to stop the run, plummeting from third in 2015 to 28th last season.
The 6-foot-8 Campbell forced two fumbles, recovered three and registered eight sacks in 2016. Campbell would add to a Broncos team already tilted toward defense, financially and productivity speaking, if he backtracked on his Jaguars agreement and ventured back home. Without a franchise quarterback, the Broncos have most of their capital tied up in defense, having extended the likes of Von Miller, Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe and Darian Stewart over the past two-plus years.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Latest On Tony Romo
Now set to be a UFA after months of conjecture about a trade that never materialized, Tony Romo might not be entering as an aggressive of a sweepstakes as many envisioned. The teams thought to be his top suitors, the Broncos and Texans, aren’t moving swiftly to discuss the soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports (on Twitter).
Robinson notes it’s a “more laid-back” pursuit of Romo. He describes the Broncos’ attitude as lukewarm to this prospect while labeling the Texans as potentially out of the running already. The Broncos have yet to have one meeting to discuss a Romo acquisition, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
Other teams could make a play for Romo, but Denver and Houston profile as the two most logical landing spots. Romo has eyed both, and the Broncos were reportedly ready to consider the longtime Cowboys passer once he became a free agent while the Texans led the figurative race in the minds of insiders at the Combine, but this could be a slower-developing process.
Denver did draft Paxton Lynch in the first round last year and received competent play from Trevor Siemian in 2016, and Houston still has Brock Osweiler signed to a now-onerous contract. Word out of Houston has been a less bullish stance on a Romo union than what’s come out of Denver. Nothing indicating an aggressive Texans push for Romo has emerged this offseason.