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Broncos To Re-Sign K Wil Lutz

March 11th, 2024 at 1:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Wil Lutz had a three-year deal in place with the Jaguars earlier today, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Instead, the veteran kicker has elected to remain with the Broncos on a two-year agreement, Mike Klis of 9News reports in an update. Lutz will stay on a two-year deal worth just more than $8MM, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson.

This marks the second straight offseason the Broncos and Jaguars are intertwined at kicker. Denver’s release of Brandon McManus prompted a Jacksonville offer. The Jaguars only gave McManus a one-year contract, opening their kicker position for next season. Lutz has worked with Sean Payton on two occasions now, and the partnership will continue.

Denver acquired Lutz from New Orleans just before last season, scrapping Brett Maher plans. The Broncos struggled in the red zone at points in Wilson’s second season, and Lutz became a key part of the team’s five-game midseason win streak. Lutz memorably missed a game-winning field goal in Buffalo, only for a Bills offside infraction to give him another chance. Overall, Lutz made 88.2% of his FG tries; that marked Lutz’s best connect rate since his 2019 Pro Bowl campaign.

The Lutz pursuit is interesting due to Riley Patterson‘s presence back on the Jags’ offseason roster. Jacksonville’s primary kicker in 2022, Patterson bounced between Detroit and Cleveland last year. The Lions booted Patterson once again after giving the job back to Michael Badgley; the Jags gave Patterson a reserve/futures contract in January.

The Broncos have enjoyed kicker continuity on par with the Packers’ quarterback timeline. The team only employed three primary kickers (Jason Elam, Matt Prater, McManus) from 1993-2022. Lutz’s age (29) and relationship with Payton qualifies him as a potential long-term option, as the two worked together for six years in New Orleans.

Jaguars To Sign S Darnell Savage

March 11th, 2024 at 1:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jacksonville’s busy day continues. The Jaguars are set to add to their secondary by inking safety Darnell Savage to a three-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

While Savage enjoyed an inconsistent run in Green Bay, it stood to reason a team would bet on the former first-rounder’s talent. Jacksonville will do so. The Jaguars made multiple moves to help their offense Monday, adding Mitch Morse and Gabriel Davis. Savage will be added shortly after the team released Rayshawn Jenkins.

Biceps and groin injuries led to Savage missing seven games last season, but Pro Football Focus viewed it as a bounce-back offering from the talented but inconsistent defender. PFF slotted Savage as the NFL’s No. 15 overall safety last season. That represented a big improvement from 2022, when the Packers benched the 2019 first-round pick.

The Jags moved on from Jenkins after three seasons, but the team still has 2021 draftee Andre Cisco in place as a starter. Savage is poised to join the Syracuse alum as a first-stringer under new DC Ryan Nielsen. The team struggled last season on defense, having brought back most of a unit that underwhelmed in 2022.

Following a late-season collapse, the Jags fired DC Mike Caldwell and a host of other assistants. Savage will be part of the Jags’ solution in what could be a pivotal year for Doug Pederson‘s future. The Packers moved on in a big way from Savage, giving Xavier McKinney the third-most lucrative safety deal in NFL history.

Jaguars, WR Gabe Davis Agree To Deal

March 11th, 2024 at 12:22pm CST by Adam La Rose

One of the top vertical threats in the 2024 free agent WR class has quickly found a new home. Gabe Davis is headed to the Jaguars on a three-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

[RELATED: Jaguars To Sign Mitch Morse]

Davis took to social media last month in a farewell of sorts to Buffalo. Given that, and the lack of extension talks, it was widely expected he would be playing elsewhere in 2024. Davis will receive $39MM in base value on this Jacksonville agreement, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. However, the pact has a maximum value of $50MM.

Across four years in Buffalo, Davis proved himself as one of the league’s top deep-ball specialists. His all-around receiving game did not develop as hoped, though, and consistency was a challenge holding him back from becoming the genuine No. 2 option Buffalo has long been seeking. Still, the 24-year-old was well-positioned to cash in on the open market, and he will play a key role in Jacksonville’s offense.

The Jags have Christian Kirk as a top receiver, but the team remains interested to retaining former trade acquisition Calvin Ridley. The latter will not be re-signed until the new league year given the conditions of his acquisition, but Jacksonville has consistently been named a landing spot for Ridley on his next deal. It will be interesting to see if the team can keep Ridley in the fold having made a big-money investment in Davis.

In any event, the latter will aim to remain a vertical option in Jacksonville, having averaged at least 15.7 yards per catch every year of his career. Davis’ best campaign came in 2022 when he posted a 48-836-7 statline. A repeat of that performance could be in store with his new team, especially if Ridley is indeed headed elsewhere. The Jags had roughly $18MM in cap space entering Monday, so further lucrative additions would come as a surprise at this point.

Jaguars To Sign C Mitch Morse

March 11th, 2024 at 8:06am CST by Adam La Rose

Not long after being connected to a Jaguars deal, Mitch Morse is indeed headed to Duval County. The Pro Bowl center is joining Jacksonville on a two-year, $10.5MM deal, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The contract includes $7MM guaranteed.

The Steelers made an “aggressive push” to land Morse, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds. That comes as little surprise given the events since Morse was let go as part of the Bills’ cap purge. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville were the teams which hosted the 31-year-old on a free agent visit recently, and the latter squad has won out.

Morse will now once again play under head coach Doug Pederson, after he served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator during Morse’s time in Kansas City. The latter parlayed his four-year Chiefs run into a four-year, $44.45MM deal with Buffalo. Morse ultimately signed a two-year extension in 2022, but he was released with one year remaining on that deal during the Bills’ efforts to attain cap compliance.

To little surprise, the 126-game starter has not needed to wait long to find a new opportunity. Morse will replace Luke Fortner as Jacksonville’s starter in the middle. The latter had occupied that role over the past two seasons, starting every game while not missing any action. Fortner graded out as PFF’s second-worst center in 2023, however, leaving room for an upgrade. Especially on a short-term deal (and, of course, if he can remain healthy), Morse should be able to provide that.

Jacksonville has made a few notable moves along the interior of the O-line recently. Left guard Ezra Cleveland – acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Vikings – was retained on a three-year deal which prevented the possibility of a free agent departure. Right guard starter Brandon Scherff had his contract restructured yesterday, meanwhile, putting an end to speculation about his immediate future. That guard tandem will remain intact for 2024, with a new center in between them as Jacksonville aims to improve up front.

Jaguars To Acquire Mac Jones From Patriots

March 10th, 2024 at 10:33pm CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots have agreed to trade quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Although the deal cannot be finalized until the new league year opens on Wednesday and until Jones passes a physical, it appears that Jones — a Jacksonville native — will try to resurrect his career in his hometown.

Schefter reported that New England and Jacksonville were discussing a sixth-round pick as trade compensation, and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network confirms that a sixth-round choice (No. 192 overall) is the official return for Jones. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says four teams were in the mix for the Alabama product, though Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports says that, as of yesterday, the Jags were the only club to make an offer. Albert Breer of SI.com adds that New England was seeking a fifth-rounder before ultimately settling for the sixth.

A report from late last month suggested that the Patriots had a three-step plan in place for addressing their quarterback situation this offseason, and trading Mac Jones was one of those three steps. While there was some pushback on the notion that New England had developed some sort of QB flowchart that had been distributed throughout the organization, it has seemed clear for some time that the club would seek a Jones trade, which would represent a beneficial change of scenery for both player and team. Now, the Pats can focus on adding a veteran to their roster and/or acquiring a top collegiate prospect in the draft. The most recent rumors on the draft front have indicated that if Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels are off the board by the time New England is on the clock with the No. 3 pick, the club will trade back.

While Jones is obviously not a threat to unseat Trevor Lawrence as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback, he will have an opportunity to regain his footing while working with Lawrence — whom he has known for years, as the two frequently competed against each other in high school recruiting camps — and head coach Doug Pederson, a celebrated quarterback whisperer. Jones, the Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021, clearly has potential that may have been stunted by the Patriots’ coaching and schematic maneuvers in 2022, and as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, Pederson & Co. will try to unlock some of that potential and at least turn Jones into a viable backup.

Another factor in the trade is the health of current backup C.J. Beathard, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler details. Per Fowler, Beathard has been “banged up,” so the Jones acquisition gives the Jags a healthy QB2 option. The nature and extent of Beathard’s injury is unclear, and so is his future with the club at this point, though ESPN’s Mike Reiss says Jones and Beathard are expected to compete for the backup job.

The Jaguars will still have a sixth-round compensatory choice (No. 212 overall) in the 2024 draft.

Suitors Emerging For Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed

March 10th, 2024 at 9:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

MARCH 10: Add the Dolphins to the list of Sneed interested parties. Miami is not in good cap shape and may well lose both Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt in free agency. But with the team cutting Xavien Howard, cornerback help will be sought. The Dolphins are believed to have looked into the prospect of acquiring Sneed, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

MARCH 6: As expected, the Chiefs were among the teams which applied the franchise tag before Tuesday’s deadline, keeping L’Jarius Sneed off the free agent market in the process. The standout corner is far from certain to remain in Kansas City, though, as a tag-and-trade maneuver is on the table.

Sneed has served as a full-time starter for nearly his entire Chiefs tenure (70 regular and postseason games), developing into a key member of the team’s vaunted secondary. The tag will cost $19.8MM in 2024, though, using up significant cap space on a team already needing a new deal for Chris Jones. The latter is the defending champions’ priority, and a re-up will not come cheaply. A long-term Sneed pact could also approach or reach the $20MM-per-year-mark his one-year tender is valued at.

Knowing Sneed could very well be on the trade block, Tyler Dragon of USA Today Sports reports seven teams have emerged as interested suitors. That list consists of the Vikings, Colts, Titans, Patriots, Lions, Falcons and Jaguars. Many of those teams are among those set to have the most spending power ahead of free agency and therefore the ones most capable of absorbing Sneed’s cap hit as it stands while working out a lucrative long-term deal.

Of course, teams like Minnesota, Indianapolis and Jacksonville could see sizable changes to their cap situations in the near future. The Vikings have two of the top pending free agents in Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter, and meeting the stated objective of retaining both will use up much of their cap space. The Colts and Jags, meanwhile, used the franchise tag on wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and edge rusher Josh Allen yesterday; long-term deals with either could lower their 2024 cap figures and free up room for an aggressive Sneed pursuit.

The Falcons – presumed to be a strong Cousins suitor – will likely wait until their quarterback addition has been made before authorizing a costly move (in terms of draft capital and finances) like a Sneed acquisition. New England and Tennessee rank second and third in respective cap space as things stand, meaning those teams could outbid other suitors and immediately make a deal for the 27-year-old a priority. Detroit reportedly has cornerback at or near the top of the organization’s offseason to-do list, so a Sneed trade would come as little surprise.

With respect to compensation, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer predicts a second-round pick could be required to convince the Chiefs to green-light a trade. Losing an effective contributor will no doubt induce Kansas City to generate as many bidders as possible and land better draft capital than what a 2025 free agent departure would yield (a third-round compensatory pick the following year). With free agency one week away, it will be interesting to see how much of a market develops for Sneed if the Chiefs move forward with exploring a trade.

Steelers, Jags Interested In C Mitch Morse

March 10th, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers’ Mason Cole release made it fairly clear they will look for a new starting center. The Jaguars have not effectively replaced the retired Brandon Linder. Both AFC clubs are pursuing a recent cap casualty.

Mitch Morse made a trip to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Joe Rutter. The Jaguars have also scheduled a visit with the recent Bills cut, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Morse spent the past five seasons as the Bills’ starting center, but the team released him amid a roster purge.

Cole worked as the Steelers’ starting center for the past two seasons, playing in every game in that span. The Jaguars have received equal durability from 2022 third-round pick Luke Fortner, who has made every start since joining the team. Pro Football Focus has graded Fortner as one of the NFL’s worst centers, slotting him 34th and 35th at the position, respectively, in 2022 and ’23.

The Jags and Steelers each have two veteran contracts on the books at guard. Pittsburgh added two midrange contracts to its cap sheet over the past two Marches, signing James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo. Jacksonville splurged for Brandon Scherff two years ago and recently re-signed 2023 trade pickup Ezra Cleveland. Both teams have QBs on rookie contracts, though the Jags have more money at tackle, with Cam Robinson on a $17MM-per-year contract. The Jags restructured Scherff’s contract earlier today; they are set to keep the Pro Bowler for a third season.

A former second-round Chiefs pick, Morse has made 126 career starts. The Mizzou alum did not miss a game last season, but the Bills viewed him as expendable as they attempt to create cap space in another pivotal offseason. PFF ranked Morse as the NFL’s No. 20 overall center last season. Morse signed two Bills contracts and will be looking for a fourth NFL accord.

Jags Restructure G Brandon Scherff’s Contract; LB Caleb Johnson To Reach Free Agency

March 10th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars will have stability along the offensive line in 2024. Right guard Brandon Scherff‘s deal has been restructured, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. News of the sides working on an adjusted deal was first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

[RELATED: Jaguars Re-Sign Ezra Cleveland]

Scherff was set to count nearly $24MM against the cap this season, leaving some to label him a potential release candidate. Instead, this agreement will ensure he remains in Duval County for at least one more year. Schefter notes the five-time Pro Bowler will receive a fully-guaranteed salary of $15MM for 2024 with a $5MM lower cap hit than he previously had. Three void years already existed on the deal after next season, and that will remain the case.

The former Commanders All-Pro re-worked his deal last offseason, creating the likelihood of a repeat taking place in 2024. Scherff will play out the final campaign of his three-year Jags pact given today’s move, though, setting him up for an interesting walk year. The 32-year-old has not replicated his level of play from his Washington tenure so far in Jacksonville, with his PFF evaluations over the past two years (59, 67.3) marking the worst of his career.

While Scherff will remain in place moving forward, the same may not be true of linebacker and special teamer Caleb Johnson. Team and player could not reach agreement on a new deal in the latter’s case, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Johnson was on track to be a restricted free agent, meaning Jacksonville’s inability to work out a deal is also a sign no tender will be coming his way. The right of first refusal tender would have cost $2.99MM, more than Johnson’s career earnings to date.

The 25-year-old has bounced around to a number of teams, but he has spent the past two seasons in Jacksonville. He has not missed a game during that span, playing exclusively on special teams. Safety Daniel Thomas is also best known for his third phase work, and he has been re-upped on a two-year deal. With Thomas remaining in the fold, Johnson will be able to join a new team once the new league year begins on Wednesday.

S Johnathan Cyprien Retires

March 9th, 2024 at 12:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Johnathan Cyprien is calling it a career. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the veteran safety is signing a one-day deal with the Jaguars to retire with the organization. The team has made the move official, placing Cyprien on the reserve-retired list.

Despite only spending four seasons in Jacksonville, Cyprien made a big impact on the organization. The 2013 second-round immediately emerged as a starter for the Jaguars, and he proceeded to start all 60 of his appearances through his first four seasons in the NFL. He topped 100 tackles in each of those four campaigns, earning him a top-10 spot in the franchise’s all-time tackles leader board.

Following a 2016 campaign where Pro Football Focus ranked Cyprien as a top-10 safety, the Jaguars let him walk via free agency. The defensive back ended up earning a four-year, $25MM deal with the Titans, and he started all 10 of his appearances during his first season in Tennessee (plus both of the team’s playoff contests). However, he suffered a torn ACL during 2018 training camp, wiping out that season and ultimately leading to his release in 2019.

Cyprien spent the 2019 campaign bouncing around the NFL, spending time with the Eagles and Falcons. He caught on with the 49ers in 2020, appearing in four games. He hasn’t earned another gig since getting released from IR towards the end of that 2020 campaign.

The 33-year-old was honored by the Jaguars during a private event on Thursday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/24

March 8th, 2024 at 10:21pm CST by Ely Allen

Friday’s minor transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Collier returns for a second chance in Arizona. After signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals almost a year ago, a biceps injury ended the 28-year-old’s season after only one start. He had impressed in camp and the preseason and will get another chance to do so in 2024.

Johnson was an exclusive rights free agent set to hit the open market next week. The Bears avoid tendering him by signing him to a new deal to remain in Chicago.

Bailey was set to be a restricted free agent but will no longer seek outside offer sheets after signing a new deal with Denver. He reportedly didn’t sign at the tender amount, agreeing to make $1.06MM next year.

Mundt came to Minnesota in 2022 with high hopes of expanding his game as a more complete tight end. With the Vikings, he’s upped his game as a receiver with 36 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns. His head coach, Kevin O’Connell, calls him the NFL’s best TE3, and the team will pay him $2.5MM as a reward.

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