Minor NFL Transactions: 3/14/22
It’s been a busy day around the NFL. We’ve compiled today’s minor moves below:
Denver Broncos
- To be signed: G Ben Braden
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: LB Shaun Dion Hamilton
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: TE Antony Auclair
- Claimed (from Cowboys): CB Reggie Robinson
- Restructured: LB Kevin Pierre-Louis
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: FB Michael Burton
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed (two years): C/G Coleman Shelton
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: TE Geoff Swaim
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: DB Troy Apke
Chiefs, Saints Showing Most Interest In WR Jarvis Landry
Jarvis Landry earned his walking papers from the Browns earlier today, and the veteran wideout is already generating interest. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Chiefs and the Saints are the two teams that have shown the most interest in Landry.
[RELATED: Browns Release Jarvis Landry]
Despite a high-flying offense that’s led by receiving threats Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, the Chiefs have been mentioned as a suitor for wideouts this offseason. The team was previously connected to Mike Williams before he re-signed with the Chargers. Now, they’re eyeing a veteran slot receiver. Both Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson are free agents, so the Chiefs could easily slide Landry into their depth chart.
The Saints are currently in the mix for Deshaun Watson, but no matter who is under center, they’re looking to provide their future QB with another talented target outside of Michael Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara. Tre’Quan Smith and Ty Montgomery are both set to hit free agency for New Orleans.
Landry, 30 in November, agreed to a five-year, $75.5MM extension with the Browns after they traded for him in 2018. He delivered two Pro Bowl seasons in Cleveland and served as Baker Mayfield‘s most consistent target. However, the veteran averaged just 47.5 receiving yards per game last season and missed five weeks of action.
Darrel Williams To Test Free Agency
Darrel Williams had a breakout season with the Chiefs in 2021, but he may be headed elsewhere this week. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports (via Twitter) that the two sides haven’t been able to reach a new deal. 
Williams, who will be 27 by the start of next season, took a step forwards in terms of production in each of his first three years in Kansas City. His fourth with the team saw him receive 144 carries – by far a career-high – as he split duties with Clyde Edwards-Helaire. His performance likely earned him a fair-sized second contract.
Williams posted 558 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in 2021. He added 47 catches for 452 yards and another two scores in the passing game, showing his value in both aspects of the team’s offense. His 1,010 scrimmage yards had the Chiefs interested in keeping the former UDFA in the fold, but the team is already projected to be over the cap by roughly $6.25MM with other pending free agents, including Tyrann Mathieu, left to be re-signed.
On the open market, Williams will join a free agent RB class including the likes of Leonard Fournette, Melvin Gordon and Raheem Mostert. Given the timing of his breakout year, he should be able to comfortably eclipse the $3.3MM he’s made so far in his career. If he does depart, Kansas City would be left with Edwards-Helaire and Brenden Knox as the only tailbacks under contract through the 2021 season.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/11/22
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Browns: RB D’Ernest Johnson
- Chiefs: CB Deandre Baker
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: TE Donald Parham
- Jaguars: DE Jamir Jones, LB Chapelle Russell, RB Mekhi Sargent
Non-tendered:
- Bengals: OLB Wyatt Ray
Saints Interested In Tyrann Mathieu
The Saints are interested in signing Tyrann Mathieu, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Furthermore, the feeling is mutual for the former LSU star. 
Mathieu, 30 in May, is on course for free agency after his three-year, $42MM deal officially wraps. The nine-year vet has spend the last three seasons helping to bolster a once bottom-tier defense and, even though he’s a little older, he should be in line for another massive contract.
The Saints’ interest in Mathieu is understandable – they can use the help in their secondary and it’s not every day that a three-time first-team All-Pro becomes available. Meanwhile, the incumbent Chiefs seem ready to put their resources into other areas, especially given Juan Thornhill‘s emergence at safety.
Mathieu finished the regular season with 76 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions, and six pass deflections last season. He also notched a pick six against the Ravens for the third defensive touchdown of his career. The Ravens — Wilson notes — would also love to have Mathieu, though he doesn’t appear to be a high priority for them.
Tyrann Mathieu Set To Test Market
As expected, the Chiefs prioritized Orlando Brown Jr. as their top free agent. Kansas City tagged its left tackle, which will likely lead Tyrann Mathieu to free agency. It is not a lock Mathieu departs Missouri; the Chiefs met with his camp at the Combine. But the All-Pro safety is expected to test the market, Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Mathieu will turn 30 this offseason, but he had a transformative effect on a Chiefs defense that was one of the NFL’s worst before his 2019 signing. The nine-year veteran should do very well for himself on the market. Mathieu’s Chiefs tenure re-established his value, with it coming after the Cardinals cut bait on his extension in 2018. The Honey Badger, who came to Kansas City after playing on a one-year deal in Houston in 2018, made two All-Pro teams on his three-year, $42MM Chiefs contract. Mathieu joins Marcus Williams and Quandre Diggs as the top safeties available. The Bengals tagged Jessie Bates on Monday, keeping him off the market.
- Brown will not sign his franchise tender until he decides on representation, and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets the four-year veteran is considering acting as his own agent. This should not be too surprising, given Brown’s quest to move away from right tackle and establish himself as a high-end left tackle. Brown will earn $16.662MM on the tag this season, unless he and the Chiefs agree to an extension by July 15. A Brown re-up would help the Chiefs on the cap front. While moves can be made, including another adjustment to Patrick Mahomes‘ team-friendly contract, the Chiefs are $5MM over the cap after Brown’s tag.
Chiefs Place Franchise Tag On Orlando Brown Jr.
On the eve of the franchise tag deadline, the first confirmed usage of the tag has been announced. Not surprisingly, it’s Kansas City, using it to ensure left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. remains with the Chiefs for at least one more season (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 
[Related: Chiefs Expected To Tag Orlando Brown Jr.]
The move was expected, given the draft capital the team traded to Baltimore to acquire the Oklahoma product, as well as general manager Brett Veach‘s recent comments on the situation with Brown. 2021 marked not only his first year in Kansas City, but also the first time he spent a full NFL campaign as a left tackle – one of the key factors in driving the trade out of Baltimore.
As the new blindside blocker on a completely re-vamped offensive line, Brown (who will still be just 26 by the start of next season) provided mostly solid play. He suited up for 16 games, playing a career-high 1,128 snaps. PFF credited him with four sacks allowed, leading to a overall grade of 75.2. He was named a Pro Bowler for the third straight season, demonstrating his worth not only now but well into the future.
Schefter’s colleague Field Yates tweets that the unofficial cost of the tag for offensive linemen will be $16.5MM. That will likely be the minimum he earns this year, as Veach has made it clear the team is aiming for a long-term deal. If a new pact can be signed before mid-July, Brown would presumably rank amongst the top-paid left tackles in the league.
As Yates also notes, this news further points to safety Tyrann Mathieu hitting free agency. Again, that doesn’t come as a surprise given the team’s messaging in recent weeks, but his departure would leave a massive void in the Chiefs’ defense. Nevertheless, today’s move marks one significant piece of business taken care of – at least for now – in Kansas City.
Chargers Willing To Use Franchise Tag On Mike Williams
If he were to hit free agency, Mike Williams would be in line for a lucrative new contract, either with the Chargers of another club. It appears that won’t be the case, however. Tyler Dragon of USA Today reports that “the Chargers are prepared to franchise tag” him in the absence of a long-term deal (Twitter link). 
The former top-ten pick played out his fifth year option in 2021 without inking a new deal at any point. That didn’t come as a surprise, as it was reported before the beginning of the season that both sides seemed content to wait until this offseason. That decision likely earned the 27-year-old a notable payday.
Williams posted career highs in catches (76) and yards (1,146) this campaign, adding nine touchdowns, the second-most times he’s found the endzone in a season. It was the second time he eclipsed 1,000 yards, and the first since the Bolts drafted quarterback Justin Herbert. He helped the Chargers rank second in the league in passing yards, and fifth overall in scoring.
In 2022, the cost of a franchise tag is set to be $19.1MM for receivers. That would be a sizeable increase from the $15.7MM Williams earned playing out the option last season; perhaps more notably, it would also outpace the money due to No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen in each of the next two seasons. Still, a longer deal somewhere around that figure is a possibility, even if the team tags Williams next week to buy more time for negotiations.
Either on the tag, or as the beginning of a lengthier second contract, the Chargers can certainly afford to keep their dynamic receiver tandem intact. They are currently scheduled to have more than $56MM in cap space, with Allen under contract until 2025 and Herbert still on his rookie deal. Williams’ absence from the free agent market would be noteworthy, though it would still leave the likes of Davante Adams, Chris Godwin and Allen Robinson potentially in line for new homes.
If for some reason Williams should hit the open market, the division-rival Chiefs would be prepared to pounce. Per Adam H. Beasley of Pro Football Network, Kansas City is among the teams that have done their due diligence on Williams, and KC would love the chance to pair Williams’ size and big-play ability with Tyreek Hill, which would certainly keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night. That seems like an unlikely scenario, but it’s worth nothing nonetheless, as it suggests that the Chiefs could be in the market for other FA receivers as well.
Beasley adds that a long-term accord between Williams and the Chargers is not imminent at this point, so it looks like the franchise tag will be forthcoming.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Chiefs, Tyreek Hill Discussing Extension
Tyreek Hill‘s second round of off-field trouble led to the Chiefs signing him to a uniquely structured contract, one that protected the team in the event the star wideout encountered another issue. With the perennial Pro Bowler having avoided controversy in the years since, the sides are now discussing a new contract, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link).
The Chiefs went from being unsure the deep threat would be in their 2019 plans to reaching a three-year, $54MM agreement before that season. One season remains on that deal. Hill and the Chiefs’ negotiations on a third contract have transpired throughout this week, pointing to a new pact being in sight, and Rapoport adds this extension would be a more traditional contract. A new deal would reduce Hill’s 2022 cap number (currently $20.7MM) and arm the Chiefs with additional cap room.
Having fallen to the 2016 fifth round due to an ugly rap sheet, Hill became an integral part of the Chiefs’ first Patrick Mahomes-centered offense with an All-Pro season in 2018. Allegations of child abuse put Hill’s career in jeopardy in 2019. The NFL did not receive sufficient cooperation from a local district attorney’s office during its investigation and opted not to suspend Hill, and the all-time speed merchant continued his run as one of the league’s top receivers. It should now be expected Hill will become a $20MM-per-year player.
Hill, who turned 28 this week, has teamed with Travis Kelce to form a top-end receiving duo for Mahomes. The Chiefs have been unable to rely on their supporting cast during this period, but Mahomes’ top two targets have mostly made up for it. Teams moved to minimize Hill deep targets this past season, dropping his yards-per-catch figure to 11.2, but he still caught a career-high 111 passes and accumulated 1,239 yards.
Kansas City extended Kelce in 2020. Hill’s deal will likely settle in at the No. 3 spot among receivers, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com. DeAndre Hopkins‘ $27.25MM-AAV contract still an outlier, and Julio Jones‘ $22MM-per-year pact remains second among wideouts. Hill is looking at an extension worth around $21.25MM annually, Wilson notes, adding that more than $50MM in guarantees stand to come the Chiefs wideout’s way.
Latest On CB Mike Hughes
Mike Hughes found himself in a new home last offseason, and that may be the case again soon. After a career year with the Chiefs, he is now a pending free agent. As PFF’s Doug Kyed reports, the corner has generated a healthy market for himself. 
Specifically, Kyed writes that Hughes “is expected to be popular” in free agency later this month. The main reason for that, of course, is his play in Kansas City in 2021. After being traded there from Minnesota last May, he suited up for all 17 games – the first time in his four-year career he was available for a full campaign. He notched one interception, adding six pass breakups and four forced fumbles.
2021 was also Hughes’ best season with regards to coverage statistics. He allowed a completion percentage under 60% for the first time, and surrendered an average of seven yards per target. All of that added up to a PFF grade of 72.9, also a career mark. Given his age (25), and first-round pedigree, a productive season like the one he just had could earn him a number of suitors on the open market.
Of course, any team interested in Hughes will need to be aware of his injury history. A torn ACL, followed by multiple neck issues limited him to a total of 24 games played across three seasons with the Vikings. That lack of availability principally drove the team to decline his fifth year option, before they ultimately dealt him to Kansas City. Of note, Kyed adds that Hughes remining with the Chiefs is an option which is “still on the table”. While the team has more pressing offseason priorities, bringing Hughes back could prove to be a useful move in the secondary.