Texans Notes: Johnson, McKinney
- The Texans have been widely panned for the trade which sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona and running back David Johnson to Houston, and the terms of Johnson’s contract aren’t going to make matters improve. Johnson, whose 2020 base salary of $10.2MM is already guaranteed, saw $2.1MM of his 2021 salary become fully guaranteed last Friday, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. The veteran back is scheduled to count for more than $11MM on the Texans’ salary cap in 2020 before that figure drops to $9MM in 2021.
- In other Texans contract news, linebacker Benardrick McKinney‘s $6MM base salary for 2020 is now fully guaranteed, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). McKinney, who inked a five-year, $50MM extension with Houston in 2018, previously had this year’s base salary guaranteed for injury only. The inside linebacker market has exploded since McKinney signed that pact, as his $10MM annual salary now ranks just 12th at the position.
Hopkins Was Issue In Texans' Locker Room?
Before the Texans dealt DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals, the Patriots pursued the All-Pro wideout. So did the Eagles, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com said during an interview with Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic (Twitter link). The Eagles passed on going deep into talks, however, which makes sense given their commitments to Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson. Hopkins also wants a new deal in the $20MM-per-year range, in which Amari Cooper (zero All-Pro honors). The Eagles’ view of the much-hyped 2020 wide receiver class affected a potential Hopkins pursuit, Tim McManus of ESPN.com adds.
This impacted the Texans’ trade, with Albert Breer of SI.com adding that Hopkins wanted a raise instead of an extension. He is under contract through 2022 — on a $16.2MM-per-year deal that has dropped from first to eighth among wide receivers. Hopkins had also become a bit of a locker room issue in Houston, per Breer, who adds that the Texans may have been reluctant to reward the 27-year-old star because of the message it would have sent. This process came as a bit of a surprise to the Cardinals, whom Breer notes did not engage in Hopkins discussions with the Texans at the Combine.
AFC Contract Details: Bulaga, Cobb, Collins
Here are the latest contract details as of Sunday night. We will focus on the AFC here.
- Bryan Bulaga, T (Chargers): Three years, $30MM. $19.25MM guaranteed; $10MM signing bonus. Bulaga’s salaries in 2020 ($1.5MM) and 2021 ($7.75MM) are guaranteed. A $2.5MM roster bonus is due on Day 3 of the 2022 league year, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
- Randall Cobb, WR (Texans): Three years, $27MM. $18MM guaranteed; $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries in 2020 ($3.75MM) and ’21 ($8.25MM) are guaranteed; non-guaranteed salary of $7.9MM in 2022. Wilson notes (on Twitter).
- Rodney Gunter, DL (Jaguars): Three years, $18MM. $11.15MM guaranteed; $4.25MM signing bonus. 2020 and ’21 base salaries of $2MM and $4.9MM are guaranteed. Non-guaranteed 2022 base of $5.4MM, per Wilson (on Twitter).
- Vic Beasley, OLB (Titans): One year, $9.5MM. The $9.5MM is guaranteed and includes a $6MM signing bonus. $2.5MM worth of sack-based incentives exist in the deal, Wilson adds (on Twitter).
- Maliek Collins, DT (Raiders): One year, $6MM. $5.75MM guaranteed. Deal includes a $1.5MM sack-based incentive, Wilson tweets.
- De’Vante Bausby, CB (Broncos): One year, $825K. The deal contains no guaranteed money, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
Contract Details: Lawson, Trufant, Shelton, Witten,
Kyler Fackrell (Giants), One year, $4.6MM, $3.5MM guaranteed, base salary 2020: $2.6MM, $2MM roster bonus, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.
Antonio Hamilton (Chiefs), One year, $1.047MM, $887.5k guaranteed, $137.5k signing bonus; salary 2020: $910k ($750k guaranteed), according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Shaq Lawson (Dolphins), Three years, $30MM, $21MM guaranteed, $4MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $6.4MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $7.9MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $8.9MM; $2.5MM fully guaranteed roster bonus in 2020, $100k workout bonus in 2020-2021, potential $2MM in annual incentives, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
John Miller (Panthers), One year, $4MM, $2MM guaranteed, $2MM signing bonus; salary 2020: $1.79MM; $160k in per-game roster bonuses, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Danny Shelton (Lions), Two years, $8MM, $4MM guaranteed, $2.5MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $4MM, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.
Desmond Trufant (Lions), Two years, $20MM, $14MM guaranteed, $5MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $4.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $9.5MM ($4.5MM guaranteed for injury at signing); $500k in annual per-game roster bonuses, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Jihad Ward (Ravens), One year, $1.047MM, $637.5k guaranteed, $137.5k signing bonus; salary 2020: $910,000 ($500,000 guaranteed), according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Jaylen Watkins (Texans), Two years, $3MM, $300k guaranteed, $300k guaranteed; salaries 2020: $1.1MM, 2021: $1.4MM; 200k first-game roster bonus in 2020, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Jason Witten (Raiders), One year, $4MM, $3.5MM guaranteed; salary 2020: $3.5MM (fully guaranteed); $500k in per-game roster bonuses, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Contract Details: Mayo, Patriots, Bailey
A handful of contract details to pass along:
- LB David Mayo, Giants: three-year extension. $8.4MM deal, including $3.5MM guaranteed. Salaries: $1.5MM guaranteed (2020), $2.25MM (2021), $2.5MM (2022). Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
- WR Damiere Byrd, Patriots: one year, $2.5MM. $1MM base salary, $350K signing bonus, $900K in receptions incentives. Via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter.
- S Adrian Phillips, Patriots: two years. Deal worth up to $7.5MM, $3MM guaranteed, $1.5MM signing bonus. Can earn up to $4MM in 2020. Via Yates on Twitter.
- K Dan Bailey, Vikings: re-signed. Three-year deal worth up to $12MM. $5MM guaranteed, $3.15MM signing bonus. Via Yates on Twitter.
- OL Joe Looney, Cowboys: signed. One-year, $2.4375MM deal. As Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets, one of the new CBA’s veteran benefits is that the deal will count $1.25MM less on the cap than it would have last season.
- OT Shon Coleman, 49ers: one-year extension. Worth $962.5K, including $825K base salary and $137.5K signing bonus. Via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner on Twitter.
- DB Jaylen Watkins, Texans: signed. Two-year deal worth $3MM, per Wilson.
- OT Roderick Johnson, Texans: re-signed. One-year deal worth $1.75MM, per Wilson.
Texans To Sign Brent Qvale
Another offensive lineman is off the board. The Texans are signing offensive tackle Brent Qvale, a source told Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). It’s a one-year pact Berman added in a follow-up tweet, although the finances weren’t immediately available. 
The Texans don’t have a ton of cap space, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle had tweeted yesterday that they were taking a look at swing tackles they could get on a budget. It appears they’ve now found their man. Qvale signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, and spent the past six seasons in New York. He was placed on injured reserve at the start of last season but was activated late in the year, appearing in three games and starting one.
He operated as the Jets’ swing tackle for a while, and started 11 games between 2016 and 2017. Houston will enter 2020 with Laremy Tunsil as their left tackle and Tytus Howard as their right tackle.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/20
Today’s running list of minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: P Ryan Allen (this is only a procedural move and Allen is expected to be re-signed shortly, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Pharoh Cooper
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: S Deon Bush
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: CB C.J. Goodwin
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: S Miles Killebrew
- Signed: CB Tony McRae
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: OT Roderick Johnson
- Signed: DB Jaylen Watkins
Indianapolis Colts
- Re-signed: OL Le’Raven Clark
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: LB Lerentee McCray
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: CB Justin Hardee
- Signed: FB Michael Burton
New York Jets
- Re-signed: CB Arthur Maulet
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: S Jordan Dangerfield
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: S Deon Bush
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: OT Roderick Johnson
New York Jets
- Re-signed: CB Arthur Maulet
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: S Jordan Dangerfield
Bengals Sign Xavier Su’a-Filo
The Bengals have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $10MM with guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, according to Ben Baby of ESPN. Filo has spent the previous two seasons with the Cowboys. Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that he is expected to replace John Miller at right guard.
In 2014, the Texans selected Su’a-Filo with the first pick in the second round of the draft out of UCLA with the hope he would become a long-term option at guard. While he served as the team’s starter at left guard from 2015-2017, Su’a-Filo never seemed to reach the upper echelon of players at his position.
Following his tenure in Houston, Dallas signed him to a two-year contract where he served as a rotational guard, starting 12 of the 19 games he appeared in. The Bengals have been uncommonly aggressive this free-agency cycle and it appears they added another player they plan to slot into their starting lineup.
DeAndre Hopkins Requested $18MM-$20MM/Year Extension From Texans
Unsurprisingly, it sounds like financials were the motivation for the DeAndre Hopkins trade.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweets that Hopkins’ camp approached the Texans and requested an extension that would have paid the receiver around $18MM to $20MM per season. Hopkins’ reps also indicated that the wideout would hold out if he wasn’t given a new deal.
We heard similar rumblings earlier this week, with the Texans recognizing that they would have had to renegotiate Hopkins’ contract at some point. Meanwhile, the front office was more focused on securing new deals for Deshaun Watson and offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil,
Ultimately, the Texans traded Hopkins and a fourth-round pick to Arizona for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-rounder and a 2021 fourth-rounder.
Hopkins signed a five-year, $81MM extension in 2017, and he’s set to make just $12.5MM in 2020. The Cardinals were presumably aware of these financial concerns when making the trade, so it wouldn’t be shocking if Hopkins has a new deal before the start of the regular season.
Texans To Re-Sign Vernon Hargreaves
The Texans have reached agreement on a new deal with Vernon Hargreaves III, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Fiscal terms are not yet known, but he’ll come back on a fresh one-year deal. 
The Texans claimed Hargreaves off waivers from the Bucs in a low-risk move to fortify their secondary. For the most part, it worked out for them. This offseason, they had the choice to trigger his fifth-year option, since he’s a former first-round pick, but the price tag didn’t make sense given what he’s done so far.
Instead, he’ll come back on a less costly deal. The Texans, meanwhile, seem optimistic about what he can do in 2020.
“Vernon came in here, he works very hard,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said earlier this year. “Very hard worker, guy that really showed up to practice every day, learned the system. I don’t think that’s easy to be able to come in, in the middle of a season, and really later than that, and play that nickel position is not easy.
So, I give a lot of credit to Vernon. There’s a lot of things that he’s going to work hard to improve upon. We’re going to help them with that, but I think Vernon stepped into a tough situation and really made the best of it.”