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Keanu Neal Drawing Significant Interest

March 16th, 2021 at 8:37pm CST by Rory Parks

Free agent safety Keanu Neal is attracting significant attention on the open market. Per veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Vikings, Colts, and Panthers have all expressed interest in the Falcons’ defender (Twitter link).

After seeing his 2018-19 campaigns almost completely wiped out by injury, Neal managed to suit up for 15 games (14 starts) in 2020. He wasn’t brilliant, but he did pick up 100 tackles while grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 33rd-best safety out of 94 qualifiers. The fact that he was able to stay healthy and will only be 26 when the regular season starts is certainly driving the interest in his services.

After all, prior to suffering a torn ACL in the 2018 opener — he also sustained a torn Achilles during the third game of the 2019 season — Neal was establishing himself as one of the better young safeties in the game. He was selected by Atlanta with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2016 draft, and he racked up 106 tackles in 14 starts in his rookie campaign.

He built on that performance in 2017, starting all 16 games and piling up 116 tackles en route to a Pro Bowl nod. He moved with fluidity and demonstrated a nose for the football, as evidenced by his high tackle totals and the eight fumbles that he forced over his first two seasons in the league. Though he did not force any fumbles in 2020, nor was he as strong in coverage as he was before the injury trouble, there is reason to believe that he can return to his previous levels of performance.

Dallas, of course, has long been looking for a long-term solution at safety, while the other clubs Anderson mentions also have clear openings on the back end of their secondaries. The Jets, who recently hit Marcus Maye with the franchise tag, are an interesting fit, as GM Joe Douglas has been said to be opposed to paying big money to safeties. A Maye-Neal tandem would be a talented but expensive pairing, though trading Maye would certainly be a possibility.

One way or another, it does not sound like Neal will be returning to the Falcons, who are also preparing to bid adieu to safety Damontae Kazee and who have already parted ways with DB Ricardo Allen.

Latest On Trent Williams’ Market

March 16th, 2021 at 7:28pm CST by Rory Parks

As expected, the market for free agent left tackle Trent Williams is very strong. Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Chiefs, Colts, Bears, and incumbent 49ers are all in the running (Twitter link). However, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is hearing that Williams will not be heading to the Windy City (Twitter link).

We heard several days ago that San Francisco has been pushing to retain Williams, but the 32-year-old blocker sounded as if he wanted to see what the open market had in store. And he is probably happy he made that decision, because according to La Canfora, some GMs believe Williams could earn a $23MM/year deal, which would be right at the top of the LT market in terms of average annual value.

Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Chicago all qualified for the postseason in 2020, and though KC came up just a bit short in the Super Bowl, they did sign the top guard on the market, Joe Thuney. Adding Williams to Patrick Mahomes‘ offensive front would make the Chiefs an even tougher matchup than they already are.

The prospect of playing for the Chiefs’ high-flying offense could be quite appealing for Williams, who wasted away in Washington for most of his career and failed to reach the playoffs with the 49ers in 2020. Of course, Kansas City also has the best QB situation of the interested teams, as the Colts will trot out Carson Wentz, the Bears might be rolling with Andy Dalton, and the 49ers may or may not trade Jimmy Garoppolo.

After sitting out the entire 2019 season, Williams graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 overall tackle last year.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/21

March 16th, 2021 at 6:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Tomorrow is the deadline for NFL teams to extend tender offers to their own restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:

RFAs

Tendered: 

Non-Tendered:

Colts To Tender WR Zach Pascal

March 16th, 2021 at 2:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts will be hanging onto Zach Pascal. The veteran wide receiver received a second-round RFA tender from the team, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

This will tether Pascal to a $3.4MM salary, should no extension be reached by mid-June, in 2021. Teams have until Wednesday afternoon to tender their restricted free agents.

A 2018 UDFA out of Old Dominion, Pascal has played a key role in Indianapolis’ passing attack. Injuries to T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell thrust Pascal into increased action, and he has become a nice auxiliary playmaker in Frank Reich‘s attack. Pascal has delivered back-to-back seasons of 600-plus yards. Despite the Colts shuffling quarterbacks over the course of Pascal’s career, he totaled five TD catches in each of the past two years and has 12 as a pro.

It is not certain if Hilton will rejoin Pascal. The UFA wide receiver market has moved slowly. While the Colts are open to bringing Hilton back, they intend to allow the market to determine whether that will happen.

Colts’ WR T.Y. Hilton, CB Xavier Rhodes Likely To Hit Open Market

March 14th, 2021 at 9:28am CST by Rory Parks

On the eve of the legal tampering period, it appears that two of the Colts’ top free agents will be permitted to speak with other clubs. As Stephen Holder of The Athletic writes, there has been little to no progress in Indianapolis’ contract talks with WR T.Y. Hilton and CB Xavier Rhodes.

With respect to Hilton, this report is not exactly surprising. The lifelong Colt might be third on the team’s all-time receiving yards list, but he is now 31 and has lost a step or two over the past several years. This offseason, owner Jim Irsay and GM Chris Ballard both spoke highly of Hilton while acknowledging that the market would dictate whether or not he would be back in Indy in 2021.

Still, Hilton’s 762 receiving yards in 2020 led the team, despite the fact that he did not get many touches early in the year and was not frequently targeted downfield by quarterback Philip Rivers. Even though there are a number of quality free agent wideouts who did not get the franchise tag, not many of them are clear upgrades over Hilton, and Ballard generally takes a cautious approach to outside FAs anyway. Plus, while the Colts will return promising youngsters Michael Pittman and Zach Pascal, they want to surround new QB Carson Wentz with as much skill position talent as possible.

All of that could point to a Hilton re-up, but it seems that Ballard will not be leading the charge in the bidding. If the decreased salary cap and the number of other FA receivers keep Hilton’s price down, he might be back in Indy. But if another team is willing to spend big, expect Ballard to look elsewhere.

Rhodes, meanwhile, washed out of Minnesota but experienced a rebirth in 2020 after signing a modest one-year, $3MM pact with the Colts last offseason. He yielded a completion percentage of just 51.2% and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ ninth-best CB, but according to Holder, there has been very little communication between Indianapolis and Rhodes’ camp. Ballard was burned the one time he made a major free agent investment at cornerback (Pierre Desir), so he could be on the lookout for another reclamation project like Rhodes.

The Colts are high on 2020 sixth-rounder Isaiah Rodgers and will return Kenny Moore, but it’s a little curious that they have made no real effort to retain Rhodes to this point.

Latest On FA RB Marlon Mack

March 13th, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Ben Levine

After tearing his Achilles back in September, Marlon Mack is getting healthy and is ready for his next opportunity. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the running back is “progressing well in his rehab” from the injury and is expected to be ready in time for training camp. The running back is also expected to test free agency.

The 25-year-old isn’t far removed from two impressive seasons with the Colts. Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Mack compiled 2,184 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns, and he added another 200 yards and one touchdown in a pair of playoff games. However, he was limited to only a single game and seven touches after tearing his Achilles in Week 1 of the 2020 campaign.

The Achilles injury was unfortunate timing for the impending free agent, who will probably have to settle for a prove-it deal during his comeback season. Either way, it doesn’t sound like he’ll immediately be re-signing with the Colts.

Even before Mack suffered his injury, there was uncertainty surrounding his future in Indy. The team drafted Jonathan Taylor in the second round of last year’s draft, and they used a pair of 2018 draft picks in Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins.

John Brown Eyeing Colts, Steelers

March 11th, 2021 at 10:19am CST by Zachary Links

John Brown has a couple of teams in mind. This week, the free agent wide receiver told SiriusXM (Twitter link) that he sees the Steelers and Colts as solid fits. 

“It depends who needs receivers,” Brown said. “You know, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Big Ben is definitely good with the deep ball, and the Indianapolis Colts, [I’ve noticed] the way they use T.Y. Hilton. When we played those guys in the playoffs last year I walked off and I’m like, this team, they’re up and coming, they’re going to be a problem in the next few years.”

“So, you know, I got options, I feel like I would fit in anywhere, but those are just the main two off the top [of my head]. Anywhere I can come in and help and be a small piece to the puzzle, or if they need me to be a big piece to come in and help younger guys out and move around and do what I have to do. Those are the main two teams, though.”

The Colts would make plenty of sense for Brown. As the former Bills standout eluded to, Hilton is out of contract, and Brown could take his place on the depth chart. The Steelers, meanwhile, will probably have bigger needs to address, even if JuJu Smith-Schuster goes elsewhere.

In 2019, Brown’s first season with the Bills, he managed new career highs of 72 catches for 1,060 receiving yards. Last year, he was limited just nine games and finished with a 33/458/3 stat line. It wasn’t the ideal platform year for Brown, though he didn’t know that it would be his walk year at the time. The Bills released Brown on Wednesday; the veteran says the move came without warning.

NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021

March 10th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL’s 2021 salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, marking the league’s first reduction in a decade. With that, the league has also ironed out the value of this year’s fifth-round option for 2018 first-round picks.

Here’s the full rundown, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter):

1. Baker Mayfield, Browns, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

2. Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB — $7.217MM (1x Pro Bowl)

3. Sam Darnold, Jets, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

4. Denzel Ward, Browns, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

5. Bradley Chubb, Broncos, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

6. Quenton Nelson, Colts, G — $13.754MM (2x Pro Bowl)

7. Josh Allen, Bills, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

8. Roquan Smith, Bears, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

9. Mike McGlinchey, 49ers, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

10. Josh Rosen, Cardinals, QB*

11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers, S (drafted by Dolphins) — $10.612MM (2x Pro Bowl)

12. Vita Vea, Buccaneers, DT — $7.638MM

13. Daron Payne, Washington, DT — $8.529MM (playing time)

14. Marcus Davenport, Saints, DE — $9.553MM

15. Kolton Miller, Raiders, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

16. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

17. Derwin James, Chargers, S — $9.052MM (1x Pro Bowl)

18. Jaire Alexander, Packers, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

19. Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys, LB — $9.145MM

20. Frank Ragnow, Lions, C — $12.657MM (1x Pro Bowl)

21. Billy Price, Bengals, C — $10.413MM

22. Rashaan Evans, Titans, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

23. Isaiah Wynn, Patriots, OT — $10.413MM

24. D.J. Moore, Panthers, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

25. Hayden Hurst, Falcons, TE (Drafted by Ravens) — $5.428MM

26. Calvin Ridley, Falcons, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

27. Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, RB — $4.523MM

28., Steelers, S Terrell Edmunds — $6.753MM (playing time)

29. Taven Bryan, Jaguars, DT — $7.638MM

30. Mike Hughes, Vikings, CB — $12.643MM

31. Sony Michel, Patriots, RB — $4.523MM

32. Lamar Jackson, Ravens, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

* Rosen was released from his original contract and, therefore, is not option-eligible 

As a refresher, the fifth-year option year is now fully guaranteed. In the past, it was guaranteed for injury only. The values are also dependent on certain performance metrics:

  • Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
  • One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
  • Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
    • 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
    • 75%+ average across all three seasons
    • 50%+ in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.

Browns, Colts Did Not Match Cardinals’ J.J. Watt Offer

March 2nd, 2021 at 3:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals came out of the J.J. Watt sweepstakes a surprise winner. It took a two-year, $31MM deal, with $23MM guaranteed, for Watt to head to the desert. This was not the only offer the former Texans great received.

A report indicated the three-time Defensive Player of the Year turned down more money from the Browns and Colts. However, that may not be the case. Both 2020 playoff teams did not top the Cardinals’ offer, according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot and The Athletic’s Stephen Holder (on Twitter).

The Browns were viewed as an early Watt finalist, and while the team may well have been in it until the end, Cabot notes Cleveland’s offer did not reach the $15MM-AAV place. The Browns’ proposal likely landed in the $12MM-per-year range, per Cabot. Under Chris Ballard, the Colts are known for their patience with free agency and trades — as was the case with the team’s Matthew Stafford talks — and Holder wonders if the team was even a high bidder for Watt.

Watt targeted a team with a sound quarterback situation. The Cardinals have that box checked in Kyler Murray, with Watt indicating Tuesday that his belief in the young dual-threat star helped lead him to Arizona (Twitter links via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss). Cardinals DC Vance Joseph, who was with the Texans during Watt’s early years in Houston, is believed to have led the Cards’ recruitment effort, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Watt confirmed Joseph was a key factor in his decision to head west.

Cleveland still intends on adding a major piece to team with Myles Garrett, while Indianapolis currently resides in the top five in cap space. The Browns and Colts, respectively, have Olivier Vernon and Justin Houston on track for free agency. The Colts have not ruled out re-signing Houston — whom they gave a two-year, $24MM contract in 2019 — but he will turn 32 this year.

Colts Had Doubts On Matthew Stafford

February 19th, 2021 at 8:51pm CST by Sam Robinson
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