Chiefs To Sign DE Charles Omenihu
MARCH 19: Thanks to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, we now have some details on Omenihu’s new contract. The contract is a two-year, $16MM deal now confirmed to have that maximum value of $20MM. The deal has a guaranteed amount of $10.6MM partially consisting of a $7.5MM signing bonus and the first year’s base salary of $1.08MM. Omenihu’s deal includes annual incentives worth up to $2MM per year based on playing time and playoffs. Lastly, the deal includes a per-game active roster bonus of $30K that could add a season total of $510K in 2023.
MARCH 14: The Chiefs are adding a pass rusher. The team is signing defensive end Charles Omenihu, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It’s a two-year deal worth up to $20MM.
Omenihu spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Texans, collecting seven sacks through his first two seasons with the organization. He was traded to the 49ers during the 2021 for a sixth-round pick and played sparingly down the stretch.
He took on a larger role in 2022 and had a career season. Omenihu appeared in a career-high 54 percent of his team’s defensive snaps while finishing with career-highs in sacks (4.5) and QB hits (16). Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him 44th among 119 qualifying edge defenders, including a top-20 grade in pass rushing. He’ll provide the Chiefs with some extra depth on the edge (plus some insurance in case Carlos Dunlap signs elsewhere).
The 49ers, meanwhile, will watch as yet another key defender walks out the door. So far in free agency, the team has lost Samson Ebukam, Emmanuel Moseley, Azeez Al-Shaair, Jimmie Ward, and now Omenihu.
NFL Restructures: Smith, Mahomes, Fitzpatrick, Peat, Thomas, Hines, Waller
We had news recently that Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith had agreed to restructure his contract with the team, reducing his massive $17.6MM cap hit. Thanks to Todd Archer of ESPN, we now have some details on the deal. Smith was headed into the last year of an eight-year agreement, so his restructure essentially functions as a one-year contract.
The newly restructured contract will be a one-year, $6MM deal with a potential maximum value of $17MM. He received a $3MM signing bonus for the changes and has his $3MM base salary guaranteed. The deal rapidly escalates from there with several playing time incentives. Smith will receive an additional $1MM bonus for each of these snap share thresholds: 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, and 90%. This means that if he plays over 90% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps, he will receive $9MM, one for each of the nine levels.
He can also receive playoff incentives, 75% of which are paid off of wins alone. The remaining 25% is paid if he plays over half of the team’s offensive snaps in those wins. He would receive $500,000 for each playoff win in which he plays the majority of the snaps. With four possible playoff wins, that’s a total of $2MM in playoff bonuses. Those plus the $9MM from the playing time incentives and the $6MM guaranteed at signing push the contract to it’s maximum value of $17MM.
Here is some other news on restructures from around the league:
- The Chiefs created some financial breathing room by restructuring star quarterback Patrick Mahomes‘s massive contract, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. The team converted $12MM of his 2023 roster bonus into a signing bonus, creating $9.6MM in cap space for the season.
- Yates also reports that the Steelers found some cap space by restructuring the contract of a star. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick agreed to a restructured deal that would reward the Steelers with $10.07MM of additional cap space in 2023 by converting $13.42MM of his 2023 salary into a signing bonus.
- The Saints were able to gain some cap room by restructuring the deal of guard Andrus Peat, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The team converted $4MM of his 2023 salary into a signing bonus, reducing his salary from $11.83MM to $7.83MM. He then took an additional pay cut to reduce his 2023 base salary to $1.5MM as the team voided out his 2024 salary, adding three more voidable years to the deal. The moves resulted in an additional $9.53MM in cap space for New Orleans.
- Another NFC South player reportedly took a pay cut as Panthers tight end Ian Thomas agreed to a restructured deal, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. In his new deal, Thomas will earn $3MM in 2023 and $3.65MM in 2024. The deal creates an additional $2.88MM in cap space.
- Another report from Yates tells us that the Bills have agreed to a renegotiated contract with running back Nyheim Hines. While the details are not yet available, it entails a $1MM signing bonus and the opportunity to earn $4.79MM in bonuses, clearing out some cap space for Buffalo while providing some incentives for Hines next season.
- Lastly, following the tight end’s trade to the Giants, Darren Waller has agreed to a renegotiated deal with his new team, according to Yates. New York has converted $9.84MM of his 2023 base salary into a signing bonus. The move creates $7.87MM in additional cap space for the Giants.
Chiefs, S Mike Edwards Agree To Terms
Juan Thornhill departed for Cleveland earlier this week, but Kansas City will add another former Super Bowl contributor in his place. Mike Edwards will join the defending champions’ secondary, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Edwards played out his rookie contract with the Buccaneers this past season, starting 12 games. The Chiefs have added both he and Drue Tranquill as defensive role players Friday. Like Tranquill, the Chiefs will pick up Edwards at a low rate. The fifth-year safety will sign a one-year deal worth $3MM, Rapoport tweets, adding the contract can max out at $5MM.
Among a glut of Bucs second-day secondary draftees in recent years, Edwards has both worked as a starter and a regular off-the-bench contributor in Tampa. Joining the likes of Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Antoine Winfield Jr. as second- or third-round DBs to come through Tampa since 2018, Edwards — a 2019 third-rounder out of Kentucky — played often for the Bucs during their Tom Brady-era surge.
Edwards has three pick-sixes over the past two seasons, notching two of them in one game. Those end zone dashes helped the Bucs run away from the Falcons in a September 2021 matchup. Edwards, who is entering his age-27 season, tallied a career-high 82 tackles last season and totaled eight INTs over the past three years. While Pro Football Focus rated Edwards as a top-10 safety during his 2020 season as a rotational cog alongside Winfield and Jordan Whitehead, the advanced metrics site slotted him as a bottom-10 player at the position in 2022.
Thornhill had started four seasons with the Chiefs, but the Browns gave the former second-round pick a three-year, $21MM deal. Kansas City back-line starters for three seasons, Thornhill and Tyrann Mathieu have now departed. The Chiefs got by with 2022 pickup Justin Reid, however, and will likely increase second-round pick Bryan Cook‘s responsibilities next season. Cook played 32% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps as a rookie. He will likely be the favorite to start alongside Reid, but Edwards should supply some insurance and a quality backup if that scenario comes to pass.
At $10.5MM per year, Reid is the Chiefs’ highest-paid defensive back. Regularly passing on high- or even mid-tier cornerback payments, the Chiefs are also saving money in their secondary via the Cook pick and this Edwards accord.
LB Drue Tranquill To Join Chiefs
Drue Tranquill posted a career year in 2022, leading the Chargers’ linebacking corps while contributing heavily to the team’s largely Joey Bosa-less pass rush. But a strong market does not appear to have formed for the productive defender.
The Chiefs are picking up the fifth-year veteran on a one-year deal, Jordan Schultz of The Score tweets. One of many intriguing off-ball linebackers to hit free agency this year, Tranquill will stay in the AFC West and join a Chiefs team that returns both its top linebackers. Tranquill’s deal is worth up to $5MM, Schultz adds (on Twitter).
Nick Bolton and Willie Gay remain on their respective rookie contracts, but Tranquill will join the defending Super Bowl champions and bolster their already-strong defensive second level. Tranquill did not match Bolton in tackles last season, with the emerging star posting a stunning 180 stops, but Bolton’s new teammate shined during his contract year. Tranquill racked up 146 tackles and five sacks while adding four pass deflections, an interception and a forced fumble.
A part-time player in the past, Tranquill wore the green communication dot for the Bolts last season and started 16 games. The former fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame has bounced back from a season-ending broken ankle sustained in the Bolts’ 2020 opener, but unlike a few other ILBs, he could not cash in this offseason.
Tremaine Edmunds‘ $18MM-per-year deal lapped the linebacker field, as expected, but the Giants gave Bobby Okereke a four-year, $40MM pact. Germaine Pratt scored $6.75MM per year to stay with the Bengals, while Alex Anzalone, Alex Singleton and Cole Holcomb reached $6MM-per-year agreements. Eric Kendricks, David Long, T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White landed in that neighborhood as well. Tranquill may not have as many three-down opportunities as he did in Los Angeles, so this stands to be an interesting audition season. It will also be interesting to see if he pushes Gay for playing time; both will be in contract years in 2023.
Kansas City also made the move to re-sign guard Nick Allegretti on Friday. Kansas City has used the former seventh-round pick mostly as a backup in recent years. Allegretti did start Super Bowl LV for an offensive line missing both tackles and having seen guard starter Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opt out before the season, but he has started just three games since. He will opt to stick around as a swingman up front.
Patriots To Sign WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
MARCH 16: The $33MM number turned out to be the max value here. Instead, the Patriots signed the seventh-year wideout to a three-year, $25.5MM contract, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets. Like Meyers, he received $16MM guaranteed at signing, but he did not reach an eight-figure AAV. Smith-Schuster can get to that $33MM mark via performance, with Volin adding $7.5MM remains available through receiving yards-based incentives. Only $4.5MM of those incentives are achievable during the deal’s guaranteed years, with SI.com’s Albert Breer adding $3MM are part of Smith-Schuster’s 2025 potential earnings (Twitter link).
MARCH 15: While mutual interest existed between the Chiefs and JuJu Smith-Schuster, the veteran wide receiver looks set to change teams again. The Patriots are signing the seventh-year wideout, Taylor Bisciotti and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (on Twitter).
The Chiefs made efforts to bring back Smith-Schuster, their leading wide receiver in 2022, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. But the Pats will acquire a versatile performer to replace Jakobi Meyers, who committed to the Raiders on Tuesday.
This situation appeared to come down to how much of a hometown discount Smith-Schuster would accept; he said before Super Bowl LVII he wanted to stay in Kansas City. It is unclear how much the Chiefs offered, but Mike Giardi of NFL.com tweets the money did not reach the place the Pats went (Twitter link).
New England is giving Smith-Schuster a three-year, $33MM deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Guarantees are not yet known, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds JuJu will collect $22.5MM through 2024 (Twitter link). After settling for one-year deals in 2021 (with Pittsburgh) and ’22 (with Kansas City), Smith-Schuster finally scores a multiyear commitment.
Used mostly in the slot with the Steelers, Smith-Schuster shuffled across formations with the Chiefs and produced a rebound season upon teaming with Patrick Mahomes. The 26-year-old target caught 78 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns. The 933 yards marked Smith-Schuster’s most since his 2018 Pro Bowl season in Pittsburgh. He finished with the fifth-most YAC over expected (plus-141), per Next Gen Stats, in 2022.
Smith-Schuster’s AAV matches the money the Raiders and Jets gave to Meyers and Allen Lazard, respectively, and this represents another medium-term accord the Pats are giving out to bolster the position. They handed Nelson Agholor a two-year, $22MM contract in 2021. The former first-rounder did not live up to it, and he is unlikely to return in 2023. It is interesting the Pats passed on Meyers to pay an outside hire similar cash — something Meyers has since noticed (Twitter link) — but Smith-Schuster has shown a slightly higher ceiling. These two are also the same age, despite Meyers entering the league two years later. The Patriots did not offer Meyers the kind of guarantees the Raiders did, Giardi adds. Meyers signed for $22MM guaranteed in total and $16.5MM fully guaranteed.
Although Smith-Schuster’s 1,400-yard season during Antonio Brown‘s Steelers swansong still looks like an outlier, he showed plenty in Kansas City last season. The Chiefs signed Smith-Schuster, a free agent target for two years, to an incentive-laden deal — initially a $3.8MM pact — and the USC alum ended up adding millions to his 2022 earnings by hitting a few of those benchmarks. Kansas City obviously features a favorable setup, with Reid calling the shots in a Mahomes-piloted attack, but Smith-Schuster became the No. 1 receiver for a team that managed to win the Super Bowl after trading Tyreek Hill. It will be interesting to see who the Chiefs target to fill Smith-Schuster’s role. While the team is keen on expanding Kadarius Toney‘s responsibilities, the talented ex-Giant’s rampant injury trouble could interfere.
Mecole Hardman remains unsigned, and while the Chiefs were planning to let the speedster walk, perhaps the Smith-Schuster defection changes their thinking. Kansas City will be an attractive setup for wide receivers, and Odell Beckham Jr. remains available. OBJ would undoubtedly need to set a new price point, as his reported $20MM-per-year ask is out of step with his value. But the Chiefs were connected to OBJ in 2021 and ’22.
As for the Patriots, Smith-Schuster will join a team in transition at receiver. Kendrick Bourne enjoyed a solid season in 2021 but fell into the doghouse last season. The Pats used a second-round pick on Tyquan Thornton, but an injury halted his rookie-year development. DeVante Parker remains under contract, as does Bourne, but Smith-Schuster is now positioned to be the No. 1 receiver in Bill O’Brien‘s offense.
The team has also looked into Jerry Jeudy, per Denver7’s Troy Renck (on Twitter), and DeAndre Hopkins. It is unclear how serious it is to making more upgrades after landing JuJu. The Pats are not currently pursuing Hopkins, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.
Browns To Sign S Juan Thornhill
The Browns are adding a two-time champion to their secondary. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter), Cleveland is signing safety Juan Thornhill. The defensive back is signing a three-year deal worth $21MM, including $14MM in guaranteed money that will be paid out in the first two years of the contract.
The former second-round pick out of Virginia spent the first four seasons of his career in Kansas City, starting 52 of his 65 games. This included a rookie campaign where he earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after starting all 16 games for the Chiefs.
This past season, Thornhill started all 16 of his appearances, missing only one game and finishing the year with 71 tackles, nine passes defended, and three interceptions. The 27-year-old started another three playoff games en route to a Super Bowl championship, compiling another 13 tackles and three passes defended. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked Thornhill 20th among 88 qualifying safeties, including the 12th-best mark at the position in pass coverage.
Thornhill is headed to Cleveland to fill the starting safety spot vacated by John Johnson, who was released by the Browns at the end of February. The team had been linked to former Bengals safety Jessie Bates at the time but should be perfectly satisfied with nabbing Thornhill instead. Thornhill should slide in right next to starting safety Grant Delpit. The only other safeties currently on the roster are undrafted second-year safeties D’Anthony Bell and Bubba Bolden.
The official loss of Thornhill makes safety a priority for Kansas City. They return free safety Justin Reid, who is signed through the 2024 season, but the only other safety on the roster for the Chiefs is a backup from last year, Bryan Cook, whose only start last year came when Thornhill was inactive.
The Chiefs will likely have to turn to the draft or free agency to fill the hole left by Thornhill. The Browns, on the other hand, have found a reliable starter to place next to Delpit as he continues to develop. It’s a strong move for a team who finished fifth in the league last year in passing yards allowed to upgrade at a position they needed to fill.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/23
Today’s tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: CB Dane Jackson
- Patriots: DB Myles Bryant
- Seahawks: S Ryan Neal
- Vikings: DE Kenny Willekes
Non-tendered:
- Jets: WR Jeff Smith
- Panthers: DB Myles Hartsfield
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: K Cameron Dicker, OT Foster Sarell
- Chiefs: TE Jody Fortson
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/23
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: CB Cameron Lewis
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: S Michael Thomas
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: CB A.J. Green
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Chris Manhertz
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: RB Craig Reynolds
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: CB Keisean Nixon
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: DE Tershawn Wharton
New York Giants
- Re-signed: OL Wyatt Davis, LS Casey Kreiter
New York Jets
- Released: G Dru Samia
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OL Brett Toth
Nixon was a first-team All-Pro returner for the Packers this year. He’s signed to a new one-year deal with a maximum value of $6MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Wharton’s new one-year deal is reportedly worth $2.03MM, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The contract has a guaranteed amount of $850,000 consisting of a $500,000 signing bonus and $350,000 of the base salary (worth $1.01MM total).
Chiefs To Sign T Jawaan Taylor
9:17pm: As of now, the Chiefs are planning on shifting Taylor to left tackle, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. This will follow the team’s Brown blueprint, though Brown — primarily a right tackle in Baltimore — had taken some reps at left tackle after filling in for Ronnie Stanley in 2020. Brown also wanted to be traded due to the Ravens viewing him as a right tackle; no such mandate is known to have come from Taylor. The ascending pass protector also only started at left tackle twice while at Florida. While this plan is subject to change, Kansas City’s $20MM-AAV contract looks to be addressing Patrick Mahomes‘ blind side — rather than Taylor becoming the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle.
1:17pm: The Chiefs look to be shifting their financial balance to the right side of their offensive line. After not franchise-tagging Orlando Brown Jr. this year, Kansas City has agreed to terms with Jawaan Taylor.
The four-year Jaguars right tackle agreed to a four-year, $80MM deal with the Chiefs, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This marks yet another splash move from Kansas City GM Brett Veach up front, and Taylor will join one of the NFL’s best O-lines.
Taylor, 25, will receive an $18.9MM signing bonus and earn a base salary of just $1.1MM in 2023, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. His 2024-26 bases each check in at $19.5MM, Yates adds. The latter three salaries stand to open the door for future restructures. Taylor will lock in $60MM in guarantees by March 2024, Breer adds.
Andrew Wylie, who served as Kansas City’s starting right tackle last season, just agreed to a Commanders deal. The Chiefs were aiming much higher, it turns out. Taylor, who has never missed a game in his pro career, has been the Jags’ right-side starter throughout his career. A 2019 Jacksonville second-round pick, the ex-Florida Gator will be expected to provide a big upgrade on Wylie.
Perhaps the more notable fallout from this signing: Brown appears headed out of Missouri. The Chiefs used their tag on the mammoth left tackle in 2022 but decided not to keep him off the market this year. Brown turned down a deal that would have made him the league’s highest-paid left tackle ahead of last July’s tag extension deadline. The former Ravens right tackle will now take a chance he can collect a better deal — presumably one with more guaranteed money, as he viewed that as the prime impediment toward re-upping with the Chiefs — on the market this week.
Right tackle doubled as one of the prize positions in free agency this year. The oft-derided free agency class carried Taylor, Mike McGlinchey and Kaleb McGary, however. Two of those blockers are now headed to the AFC West. McGlinchey agreed to a Broncos deal earlier Monday.
At $20MM per year, Taylor is now the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle. He profiled as the top right-side pass protector available this year, and a Chiefs team that two years ago authorized a guard-record contract (Joe Thuney‘s) in free agency is resetting the market at another blocking position. Taylor’s pact tops Ryan Ramczyk‘s 2021 Saints extension. Considering the profile gap between Ramczyk and Taylor, this is a massive bet on the latter’s best years coming in Kansas City. But the Chiefs now have their right tackle spot locked down. With Taylor, Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith entrenched as starters up front, the team can shift its focus to determining its post-Brown solution on the blind side.
The Jaguars had attempted to keep Taylor, but given left tackle Cam Robinson‘s contract and the market that formed for Taylor, it is unsurprising the team was unable to keep him off the market. The Jags have Robinson coming back from a meniscus tear and could look to Walker Little to fill in on the right side.
Latest On Odell Beckham Jr.
9:05pm: In the aftermath of Beckham’s workout, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the three-time Pro Bowler is seeking a deal worth up to $20MM per season, as was the case at one point during the 2022 campaign. His injury absence makes that ask one which is highly unlikely to be met, though the attendance at yesterday’s showing points to a number of suitors still being keenly interested in signing him.
1:38pm: The rare free agent to skip a season and still be expected to generate extensive interest on the following year’s market, Odell Beckham Jr. is believed to be fully recovered from the ACL tear that altered his 2022 hopes.
Beckham is now 100%, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. He attempted to showcase that form in a workout attended by nearly half the league. OBJ did not work out for teams during his late-season push to land a multiyear deal — evidently contingent upon a playoff-only role with a contender last season — but he attracted a nice audience Friday.
Twelve to 14 teams attended the workout, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. Representatives from the 49ers, Bills, Browns, Cardinals, Chiefs, Giants, Jets, Panthers, Patriots, Rams, Ravens and Vikings were at the event, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes (Twitter links). Perhaps the most notable Beckham suitor, the Cowboys, were not believed to be one of the teams observing Beckham’s form.
The Cowboys certainly should not be described as out of the Beckham mix, and the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins notes the team remains comfortable signing the eight-year veteran if his health and price demands are right (Twitter link). They are widely expected to revisit the pursuit they scrapped in December. The Rams and Giants are also among the teams expected to go after OBJ again. Sean McVay confirmed, via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, the Rams are “absolutely” monitoring their former receiver. Before falling out of contention, the Rams were viewed as the favorites to land him last year. But Beckham’s knee ended up needing more time to heal.
Beckham, 30, missing last season means he can sign with a team at any point. Though, every unrestricted free agent wideout can begin talking to teams at 3pm CT Monday, when the legal tampering period starts. The former Giants, Browns and Rams pass catcher is now nearly 13 months removed from his second ACL tear. He returned to action 10 months after his first and ended up making an impact for the Rams, a stretch that concluded with a Super Bowl LVI touchdown.
This year’s iffy wide receiver market should help Beckham’s value, but because of his age and the injury-induced full-season absence, this stands to be one of the more unusual free agencies for a player in recent memory.