NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2020 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2020 draft.
These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2019 offseason. This year, the Patriots top the list (shared below) with a league-high four picks.
The comp pick formula assigns picks who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The Ravens collected two this year and remain in the all-time lead (from 1994-2020) with 52. No other franchise has accumulated more than 43 compensatory picks.
Here’s the full breakdown, by round and by team:
By Round:
Round 3: Texans (No. 97 overall), Patriots (98), Giants (99), Patriots (100), Seahawks (101), Steelers (102), Eagles (103), Rams (104), Vikings (105), Ravens (106)
Round 4: Buccaneers (No. 139), Bears (140), Dolphins (141), Redskins (142), Ravens (143), Seahawks (144), Eagles (145), Eagles (146)
Round 5: Broncos (No. 178), Cowboys (179)
Round 6: Patriots (No. 212), Patriots (213), Seahawks (214)
Round 7: Giants (No. 247), Texans (248), Vikings (249), Texans (250), Dolphins (251), Broncos (252), Vikings (253), Broncos (254), Giants (255)
By Team:
- New England Patriots (4)
- Denver Broncos (3)
- Houston Texans (3)
- Minnesota Vikings (3)
- New York Giants (3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (3)
- Baltimore Ravens (2)
- Miami Dolphins (2)
- Chicago Bears (1)
- Dallas Cowboys (1)
- Los Angeles Rams (1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
- Washington Redskins (1)
The compensatory free agents lost and gained in 2019 by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2020 draft:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Lost: John Brown, C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs
- Gained: Mark Ingram, Earl Thomas
- Chicago Bears
- Lost: Adrian Amos, Josh Bellamy, Bryce Callahan, Eric Kush
- Gained: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Cordarrelle Patterson, Buster Skrine
- Dallas Cowboys
- Lost: Cole Beasley, Geoff Swaim, Damien Wilson
- Gained: Randall Cobb, Christian Covington
- Denver Broncos
- Lost: Shaquil Barrett, Tramaine Brock, Max Garcia, Matt Paradis, Bradley Roby, Billy Turner
- Gained: Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Ja’Wuan James
- Houston Texans
- Lost: Christian Covington, Kareem Jackson, Kendall Lamm, Tyrann Mathieu
- Gained: Bradley Roby
- Los Angeles Rams
- Lost: Lamarcus Joyner, Rodger Saffold
- Gained: Clay Matthews
- Miami Dolphins
- Lost: Brandon Bolden, Frank Gore, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake
- Gained: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Rowe
- Minnesota Vikings
- Lost: Tom Compton, Nick Easton, Sheldon Richardson, Trevor Siemian
- Gained: Shamar Stephen
- New England Patriots
- Lost: Malcom Brown, Trent Brown, Trey Flowers, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Eric Rowe, LaAdrian Waddle
- Gained: Brandon Bolden
- New York Giants
- Lost: Jamon Brown, Landon Collins, Mario Edwards, Josh Mauro, B.W. Webb, Kerry Wynn
- Gained: Markus Golden, Golden Tate
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Lost: Nick Foles, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Lost: Le’Veon Bell, Jesse James
- Gained: Steven Nelson
- Seattle Seahawks
- Lost: Justin Coleman, Brett Hundley, Shamar Stephen, J.R. Sweezy, Earl Thomas
- Gained: Mike Iupati, Jason Myers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Redskins
Texans, Ka’imi Fairbairn Agree To Extension
The Texans have struck a new deal with kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. It’s a fresh four-year deal worth $17.65MM, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). The pact includes $9MM in guaranteed money and positions him as the third-highest paid kicker in the NFL in terms of average annual value.
[RELATED: Texans, TE Darren Fells Agree To Extension]
Before the deal, Fairbairn was slated to reach unrestricted free agency. The new deal will keep him under contract through the 2023 season.
Since coming to Houston in 2017, Fairbairn has connected on 77 of 92 field goal tries and 111 of his 121 extra point attempts. He’ll try to keep up the good special teams work along with punter Bryan Anger, who recently re-upped with the team on a a three-year, $8.25MM deal.
The new deal marks a nice pay bump for Fairbairn, who collected a $3.095MM salary last year.
Texans, Darren Fells Agree To Extension
The Texans have agreed to terms on a new two-year contract with tight end Darren Fells, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The new deal is worth $7MM and will pay Fells a little more up front with $4MM in 2020. 
Fells, who will celebrate his 34th birthday in April, set a career high with seven touchdowns last year. It was an unexpected jump in offensive production for the veteran, who was previously known best for his blocking prowess.
Last summer, many thought that Fells was on the chopping block soon after signing his one-year deal with Houston. Six weeks after putting pen to paper, the Texans used a third-round choice on San Diego State’s Kahale Warring, a 6’5″ athlete with lots of promise as a blocker. Meanwhile, there were also “the Jordans” – 2018 picks Jordan Akins and Jordan Thomas.
Still, Fells emerged from the pack and as he started in all 16 games and caught 34 passes for 341 yards (and the aforementioned seven TDs.) Now, he’ll stick with the Texans for 2020 and possibly beyond.
Texans’ Laremy Tunsil Undergoes Surgery, Fires Agent
Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil is looking for a new contract, and he’s also recovering from a significant injury. Tunsil recently underwent shoulder surgery for a torn labrum, sources told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
We heard last week that Tunsil and the Texans had begun preliminary talks on an extension at the combine, and that he was seeking around $20MM annually. Sources also told Wilson that Tunsil fired his agents at CAA, and is now weighing his options. He’s apparently considering operating as his own agent like fellow left tackle Russell Okung has, and also is considering signing with the NFL division of NBA super-agent Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports.
The meeting at the combine came with CAA people before Tunsil fired his agents Wilson reports, so it sounds like things are back to square one. If Tunsil gets what he’s seeking, he’ll become the league’s highest-paid offensive linemen. He made the Pro Bowl last year, and the Texans want him blocking Deshaun Watson‘s blind side for the foreseeable future. Wilson notes that he’s expected to be ready to return to action by training camp, although he’ll presumably miss a good chunk of the offseason program.
Houston gave up a huge bounty to land Tunsil in a trade with the Dolphins last year, so they are going to be under a ton of pressure to get a deal done. They gave up two first-round picks and a second-rounder for the Ole Miss product, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
Titans Were Interested In Texans DC Anthony Weaver
The Texans made a move at defensive coordinator this offseason, sidelining longtime veteran coach Romeo Crennel in favor of Anthony Weaver. Now we have more context on that decision, via Sarah Bishop of ESPN.com.
According to Bishop the move was made at least partially out of necessity, as the Titans were showing interest in Weaver for their defensive coordinator vacancy. Tennessee’s defensive coordinator Dean Pees retired after the season. Houston later announced that they’d keep Crennel on staff, but his title was given to Weaver to help prevent him from getting poached. This isn’t the first time the Texans have gone through this exact situation, and funnily enough it happened with current Titans coach Mike Vrabel just a few years ago.
Vrabel was an assistant in Houston under Bill O’Brien when the team had Crennel step down to make room for Vrabel to become defensive coordinator in 2017. After Vrabel was then hired away by Tennessee the following season, Crennel was given his old job back. Weaver spent a handful of years in the NFL in the early 2000’s after entering the league as a second-round pick in 2002. He’s spent the past four years as O’Brien’s defensive line coach.
Bills, Titans To Pursue D.J. Reader?
After a strong contract year, D.J. Reader appears set to have a strong market. In addition to the Broncos being interested in the four-year Texans defensive lineman, the Bills and Titans are expected to be in on this pursuit as well, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle notes.
Reader is expected to command a deal that pays at least $11MM annually, per Wilson, who adds that the Texans initially offered the former third-round pick a $6MM-per-year deal. That offer, however, came during the 2019 offseason — before Reader’s quality season thrust him onto the radar for a big second contract.
Reader graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 overall interior defender last season, operating as one of the league’s top run stoppers. He will turn 26 in July. The Texans have made multiple offers to their breakout interior defender, but Wilson adds that Reader is not expected to return to Houston next season. That will create an interesting marketplace for teams in need of inside help.
Buffalo may lose Jordan Phillips in free agency but used a first-round pick on Ed Oliver last year and has promising 2018 third-rounder Harrison Phillips coming back from ACL surgery. While both Oliver and the younger Phillips are on rookie contracts, run-stuffing defensive tackle Star Lotulelei is attached to a $10MM-AAV deal. The Bills, who will also likely be interested in edge rushers given Shaq Lawson‘s free agent status and Trent Murphy‘s underwhelming Buffalo run so far, are set to hold more than $82MM in cap space. That figure sits third in the league.
Tennessee used a first-rounder on Jeffery Simmons last year and has Jurrell Casey signed through 2022 on a $15MM-per-year pact. Reader would certainly make the Titans a well-invested team on the defensive front. They are also rumored to submit a big offer to Jadeveon Clowney. It is, however, difficult to project how the Titans will proceed. They hold just more than $50MM in cap space but have Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and Jack Conklin as UFAs-to-be. The Titans’ Tom Brady interest only further clouds their picture.
Texans To Re-Sign LS Jon Weeks
In a couple of weeks (get it?), the Texans will re-sign their longtime long snapper. The team has agreed to a new deal with Jon Weeks that will be formalized at the start of the league year, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Weeks holds the Texans’ consecutive game streak with 160 straight appearances – he hasn’t missed work since joining the club in 2010. The Baylor product was not selected when he declared for the 2008 NFL Draft, but he kept with it and, eventually, found his home.
The 34-year-old is coming off of a four-year, $3.9MM extension he signed back in 2015. Terms of the new deal are not yet known, but the new pact might be long enough to secure him through the rest of his playing days.
Mike Adams Retires From NFL
Mike Adams is calling it a career. On Wednesday morning, the former Pro Bowl safety announced his retirement on NFL Network (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero). 
Adams leaves the sport after 16 seasons and 228 games played. The 38-year-old suited up for the 49ers, Browns, Broncos, Colts, Panthers, and, most recently, the Texans, over the course of his career. In 2014 and 2015, his first two seasons in Indy, he stepped into the limelight with back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. Remarkably, he did it in his age 33 and 34 seasons.
Eventually, Father Time caught up with Adams. After spending two seasons as a Panthers starter with snaps at both safety spots, the Panthers allowed him to walk following the 2018 season.
Adams’ 228 games played ranks him third all-time among NFL safeties, slotting him ahead of John Lynch, Brian Dawkins, and other football legends. We here at PFR wish Adams the best in retirement.
FA Notes: Clowney, Harris, Hooper, Saints
Jadeveon Clowney has drawn interest from other teams — the Colts and Giants among them — but the Seahawks remain interested in bringing him back. However, they may not be ready to pay top dollar for the former No. 1 overall pick. The Seahawks are trying to extend Clowney before he hits free agency March 18, but Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report the franchise is unlikely to compete with a true top-market price (ESPN+ link). If the bidding goes into the $18-$20MM-per-year range, which it almost certainly will given other teams’ franchise tags keeping edge players off the market, the Seahawks are not expected to go there. This would mean the Seahawks will have lost two standout edge rushers in two years, after trading Frank Clark to the Chiefs. Seattle, which did not see much from first-round defensive end L.J. Collier last season, is set to carry more than $44MM in cap space.
Both the Colts and Titans are interested and are not afraid of Clowney’s asking price, per Fowler and Graziano. A new entry in the Clowney sweepstakes, Tennessee could use edge help but seemingly has key issues to sort out involving Ryan Tannehill (or a replacement) and Derrick Henry first.
Here is the latest from the free agency market, shifting to one of this era’s top cornerbacks:
- Chris Harris appears set to have a busy legal tampering period. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback has drawn interest from the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Raiders and Texans, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The final holdover from the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl-winning secondary, Harris both expressed a desire to finish his career in Denver and hit the market for the first time. While the Broncos have not ruled out another extension for the 30-year-old cornerback, Harris expects to be elsewhere in 2020. Harris met with at least 24 teams at the Combine, including the Cowboys, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). A Cowboys fit would be interesting, with the team set to lose Byron Jones. The Broncos are one of the teams targeting Jones.
- In Demario Davis, the Saints already have a 30-something entrenched as a starting linebacker. However, New Orleans is interested in Patriots free agent Jamie Collins, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Collins, 30, enjoyed a bounce-back season back in New England, after he did not justify his then-off-ball-‘backer-record deal in Cleveland. The Saints have A.J. Klein as a free agent-to-be and can save $8MM by releasing Kiko Alonso.
- While the Saints were willing to let Kenny Vaccaro walk two years ago, they want to retain Vonn Bell, Holder adds. It would be at a price, however. Considering the Saints added promising safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round last year and have Marcus Williams as an extension candidate, their Bell price point may be low.
- The tight end landscape could look strange by the time George Kittle‘s negotiations ramp up. Austin Hooper is expected to become the league’s highest-paid tight end — by a considerable margin — in free agency, Graziano and Fowler note. A 2016 third-round pick, Hooper has made the Pro Bowl twice but has only one 700-yard season on his resume. However, the Falcons tight end was on pace for nearly 1,000 yards before a midseason hamstring injury. The Falcons will let Hooper test the market, and with this draft not deep at tight end, the market will likely be robust. The Bears, Packers and Redskins are interested.
- Phillip Lindsay has exploded out of the blocks to start his career, becoming the first UDFA to start his NFL run with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. But backfield mate Royce Freeman, a Broncos 2018 third-round pick, has underwhelmed. The Broncos may be eyeing an upgrade, with Mike Klis of 9News tweeting the team is exploring veteran backs on the market. With teams potentially skittish about big deals for backs, after some recent ones backfired, some bigger-name backs may be available at reasonable rates.
Laremy Tunsil Shooting For $20MM AAV?
After sending the Dolphins two first-round picks and change in last summer’s Laremy Tunsil-centered swap, the Texans are prepared to negotiate with their prized left tackle. These talks will be interesting.
Tunsil and the Texans have engaged in preliminary talks and met with the fifth-year blocker’s agent at the Combine, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. While the sides are not deep in negotiations yet, the recent trade acquisition is expected to set an eye-opening price point.
Tunsil is expected to pursue a deal that pays him between $19-$20MM per year, Wilson adds. That would eclipse Lane Johnson‘s recent offensive line-record $18MM-AAV pact. Although Tunsil is not as accomplished as Philadelphia’s top tackle, the Texans sending two first-rounders for him — and the salary cap potentially set to vault into previously unforeseen territory in the near future –support Tunsil shooting for this price range.
Johnson represents the only offensive lineman earning more than $16.5MM per year presently. Tunsil joining him should be anticipated, however. The 25-year-old tackle is attached to a $10.3MM fifth-year option in 2020. The Texans would have the option of a franchise tag in 2021, but as more information about future salary caps comes out, Tunsil’s price may continue to rise.
The Texans received a Pro Bowl season from Tunsil in 2019; the ex-Ole Miss standout became the first Texans Pro Bowl offensive lineman since Duane Brown in 2014. Houston dealt Brown in 2017 and experienced considerable trouble replacing him over the next 1 1/2 seasons, with Deshaun Watson taking a 2010s-high 62 sacks in 2018. Pro Football Focus graded Tunsil as its No. 21 overall tackle but slotted him third overall in pass protection.
Houston enters the offseason with $61MM-plus in cap space and has some key needs on defense, but this will be a centerpiece priority for the team — one that will not have the luxury of upgrading too much in this year’s draft. The Texans traded four first-, second- or third-round 2020 picks last year, placing a premium on how they handle veteran contracts this year.