The Ravens sent Orlando Brown to the Chiefs on Friday, shuffling the first-round order of the NFL Draft once again. Now, the Ravens are one of four teams to hold multiple first-round picks, joining the Jaguars (Nos. 1 and 25), Jets (Nos. 2 and 23), and Dolphins (Nos. 6 and 18). In turn, Chiefs no longer have a top-32 choice, joining the Seahawks, Texans, and Rams.
As we look ahead to Thursday, here’s how the first round currently stands:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. San Francisco 49ers (from HOU via MIA)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Miami Dolphins (from PHI)
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. Philadelphia Eagles (from SF via MIA)
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (from SEA)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LAR)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Buffalo Bills
31. Baltimore Ravens (from KC)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- The Lions have made noise as a team interested in trading down, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Many around the league believe the Bengals and Dolphins will stay at their Nos. 5 and 6 positions, though the Dolphins have since surfaced as a team considering another move down the board. Should Cincy and Miami stay at their respective spots, Detroit would emerge as a team willing to auction off its pick to a quarterback-seeking team. One or two QBs figure to be on the board when the Lions go on the clock at No. 7, and while new GM Brad Holmes has said he studied this year’s QBs, Jared Goff has received internal support. And the Lions are in a full-on rebuild; trading down could net them a third 2022 first-round pick.
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: C Trystan Colon-Castillo (ERFA), LB Kristian Welch (ERFA)
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on reserve-retired list: LB Jordan Mack; Mack opted out of the 2020 season
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: OT Matt Nelson (ERFA)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: RB Dare Ogunbowale (ERFA)
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: DB Tyrique McGhee; McGhee received a five-game PED suspension earlier this month
New York Giants
- Re-signed: RB Sandro Platzgummer
New York Jets
- Re-signed: TE Daniel Brown, WR Jeff Smith (ERFA)
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: NT Bryan Mone
The subject of offseason workouts has generated considerable discord this offseason, but teams remain free to begin programs Monday. The NFL also released a schedule for this year’s OTAs, for the teams that intend to participate onsite.
From April 19 to May 14, players can lift in team weight rooms; all meetings during this span will be virtual. May 17 begins a more relevant section of the offseason calendar; teams are permitted to hold noncontact on-field drills over a five-day period, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The OTA portion of the offseason would begin May 24; teams can hold 10 OTA sessions and a mandatory minicamp from May 24-June 18.
Of course, the number of teams who will exercise these onsite opportunities continues to dwindle. After the Broncos, Seahawks and Buccaneers declared they will go through another virtual offseason, the Lions followed suit Wednesday (Twitter link). The Patriots did as well, though their release indicates “many” team members will not attend onsite workouts (Twitter link). Some Patriots may show up next week. New England led the NFL with eight opt-out players last year.
During the first phase of the offseason schedule, the NFL intends to focus on vaccine education, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. NFL staffers set to work with players must receive COVID-19 vaccinations; no mandate exists for players, however. Meetings during the third phase of the proposed program could remain virtual, but Graziano adds teams will be allowed to hold in-person meetings at this point — with COVID restrictions — as well.
The NFLPA has continued to push for a second fully virtual offseason program, citing coronavirus concerns, and players on a few teams have stood with the union thus far. More clubs may well follow suit.
Predictably, the union is displeased with the NFL’s proposed schedule. In a letter sent to players tonight, NFLPA executive director De Smith and president J.C. Tretter said that the league’s plan does not address any of the concerns that players have raised, and they continue to encourage players to stay away from team facilities. The full letter can be found here, courtesy of Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
The NFL, perhaps in response, issued another memo setting forth one of the benefits of working out at facilities: if a player gets hurt on-site, he will have injury protection. If he gets hurt while working out on his own, he will not. Pelissero has that memo as well.
As the battle of the paperwork rages on, it looks like the NFL may be set for a strange imbalance featuring some teams holding in-person workouts and others not.
Since 2002, the NFL’s performance-based pay system has rewarded low-salary players who exceed their expected playing time. This year, due to the pandemic, the league and the players’ union negotiated a gradual payout schedule, one that will meter out the money between now and 2024.
All in all, the league divested $8.5MM per club. This year’s top earner is Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa, a 2018 third-round pick who played every single snap for the eventual champs. Cappa will now receive an extra $622K on top of his $750K base salary for 2021. Per the union’s records, 25 other players also topped $500K, including Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum ($604K), Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ($579K), Rams guard Austin Corbett ($573K), Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye ($572K), Bears tackle Germain Ifedi ($571K), Steelers offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor ($568K), Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier ($561K), Ravens safety DeShon Elliott ($557K) and Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead ($555K).
The full list, going team-by-team, can be found here, courtesy of the NFLPA.
Dean Marlowe‘s Wednesday Lions visit will produce an agreement. The Lions signed the veteran safety Thursday, bringing him over from the Bills.
One of the numerous Panthers to trek to Buffalo during the current Bills regime’s time, Marlowe spent the past three seasons in western New York. He will now join a rebuilding Lions team.
Marlowe, 28, spent his first two NFL seasons in Carolina. But the James Madison product only played five games with the Panthers. He did not crack a game-day roster more than five times until the 2019 season. Last year, however, Marlowe suited up for 15 Bills regular-season games and made four starts. Despite limited experience on defense, Marlowe intercepted two passes — both in the Bills’ Week 17 rout of the Dolphins — and broke up three more last season.
The Lions hosted veteran backup safety Will Parks on a visit earlier this week but for now will go with Marlowe at the position. He will join a team in need at safety, with the Lions having traded Quandre Diggs in 2019 and having seen Duron Harmon‘s contract expire after last season. Detroit still rosters young safeties Will Harris and Tracy Walker; Pro Football Focus graded each near the bottom at the position in 2020.
Quinton Dunbar took his Lions visit Monday, and the meeting produced an agreement. Dunbar agreed to a one-year deal with the Lions, according to his agency (on Twitter). It is a veteran salary benefit deal with a $990K base salary and a $137.5K signing bonus, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This will be the veteran cornerback’s third team in three years. Washington traded Dunbar to Seattle last season. Injuries ended Dunbar’s lone Seahawks slate early, but he will attempt to bounce back with the Lions. The Cardinals had a Dunbar visit scheduled for this week, but the Lions will prevent that summit from taking place.
The Lions are adding Dunbar to their reconfigured cornerback mix. Under a new regime, the team released veterans Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman to break up a corner troika (Trufant-Coleman-Jeff Okudah) that barely saw any time together. Okudah will now pair with Dunbar, who will reunite with ex-Washington assistant Aubrey Pleasant — Detroit’s new secondary coach.
Dunbar broke through in 2019, rating as one of Pro Football Focus’ top corners after a season in which he intercepted four passes and held opposing quarterbacks to a collective 61.2 passer rating. During a 2020 offseason that saw Dunbar encounter a legal issue that ended with charges dropped, Washington traded him to Seattle for a fifth-round pick. The 28-year-old defender played in just six games, with a knee injury and a subsequent surgery ending his season early.
Despite coming into the NFL in 2015, Dunbar has made only 31 starts. But the ex-Florida Gator entered the league as a UDFA and did not become a full-timer until 2019. He figures to be a starter alongside Okudah in 2021.
A free agent for the second straight year, Will Parks has received interest from multiple NFC North teams. The Lions are hosting the veteran safety on a visit, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
The Vikings are believed to have submitted an offer to Parks recently, but he opted to keep looking for a fit. A former seventh-round pick, Parks has spent most of his career with the Broncos. Despite his draft status, the Arizona alum has received extensive playing time as a pro.
Denver used Parks as a regular rotational cog but let him defect to Philadelphia in free agency last year. A Philly native, Parks was unable to stick with the Eagles throughout last season. Injury issues intervened on his homecoming, and the Eagles waived him in December. The Broncos claimed Parks and reinstalled him as a rotational presence. The 26-year-old defender has displayed versatility, working also as a sub-package linebacker as a pro. Prior to last season, when he missed six games, the 2016 draftee had only missed two as a pro.
The Lions are in transition at a few positions. Safety may not be one of them, as the team has not addressed this position yet this offseason. Detroit dealt Quandre Diggs before the 2019 trade deadline and has used lower-profile players — whom the previous regime drafted — at the position. Duron Harmon‘s contract expired after the 2020 season, and Pro Football Focus assigned poor grades to Will Harris and Tracy Walker last season.
Let’s round up a few notes from the North divisions:
- For the second year in a row, Jadeveon Clowney is drawing interest from the Browns. Though Clowney’s recent visit to Cleveland did not result in a contract, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says the Browns still want to sign him if the price is right (and assuming the team is comfortable with his health). Clowney ultimately settled for a one-year, $13MM pact from the Titans last year after originally seeking a multi-year contract with an AAV of $20MM, and any deal he signs this year will likely be for much less than last year’s $13MM salary. But new Browns acquisition Malik Jackson believes Cleveland has what it takes to win the Super Bowl in 2021, and he suggested that Clowney should jump at the chance to sign up with the Browns. “If you want to hop on board, come hop on board,” Jackson said. “I understand the free agency market is not what he probably wants, but things are bigger than monetary value. You get a chance to be on a good team and set yourself up in the future.”
- When the Lions signed Halapoulivaati Vaitai to a five-year, $50MM contract last offseason, most expected he would suit up at right tackle. He missed six games in 2020 due to injury, but he played five games at guard, four games at tackle, and he split time between the two positions in one other game. New head coach Dan Campbell says he currently plans to slot the TCU product at guard (via Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website). “[W]e’re a little intrigued about moving him inside to guard.” Campbell said. “That does intrigue us. We may as a starting point work there and see where we’re at.” Campbell should have a solid group to protect QB Jared Goff, with Taylor Decker at LT, Jonah Jackson at LG, Frank Ragnow at C, Vaitai at RG, and a deep OL draft to add a quality rookie at RT.
- Before the Vikings signed former Cowboys safety Xavier Woods as part of their overhaul in the secondary, they tried to land Will Parks, as Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Parks spent the first four years of his career in Denver before signing a one-year pact with the Eagles last offseason. He didn’t make it through the 2020 season with Philadelphia, as he was waived late in the season and was claimed by the Broncos (though the Vikings put in a claim as well). But according to Wolfson, Minnesota wanted to bring in Parks on a veteran minimum pact — which the club also tried with Woods — and Parks turned them down.