Maurice Smith

NFLPA Encourages Agent Collusion

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith urged agents for free agents at the same position to collude and increase leverage in a virtual meeting this week (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Smith anticipates that teams will try to cut players and dollars with the salary cap decreasing. With a bit of teamwork, Smith hopes to lessen the impact. 

The cap floor has been set at $180MM, once thought to be the potential cap ceiling. Still, the maximum is expected to be less than the $198.2MM limit from 2020. From this point forward, the cap will be largely dictated by the outcome of the league’s TV negotiations. Interestingly, Smith indicated that the cap for future seasons could still be impacted.

At the corporate level, collusion is an illegal practice. However, workers are free to collude, and use the term freely. Agents will occasionally work together to inform negotiations, but competition between player representatives sometimes gets in the way. In this unusual year, Smith wants players to be on the same page in order to get the largest deals possible.

The cap figure may fall somewhere between $182-$183MM, slightly above the agreed upon floor. It’s unlikely that the number will reach $185MM. No matter where it lands, the league will record its first salary cap decrease in over a decade.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/1/21

Today’s reserve/futures deals will be posted here:

Indianapolis Colts

Tennessee Titans

Nelson has a bit more NFL experience than your typical reserve/futures signee. A fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2015, Nelson made some real noise with Arizona for a while. A speedy deep-threat who has averaged a whopping 17.4 yards per reception on his 85 career catches, he had 568 yards and six touchdowns in 2016. He topped 500 yards again in 2017, but quickly fell out of favor and wasn’t re-signed after his rookie deal ran out.

He signed with the Raiders in 2019 but was released after catching only four passes, and then was in camp with the 49ers this past August before getting hurt and then cut. He signed to the Bills practice squad a month ago, but lasted only a few days in Buffalo. Still only 28, it wouldn’t be shocking if he manages to crack a roster again as a field-stretcher.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/20/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: CB Prince Smith

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: WR Kalija Lipscomb

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: LB Jonas Griffith

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/29/20

Here are the Tuesday practice squad decisions:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DL Joe Graziano

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/21/20

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/20

Today’s practice squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Bengals Get Roster To 53

The Bengals became the latest team to get down to 53 on Saturday, releasing one player and waiving 23 others. We’ll recap the most notable names at the bottom:

Allen was drafted in the sixth-round by the Jaguars back in 2016, but didn’t appear in a game until injuries forced him to start three games at quarterback for the Broncos last year. He was decent in his first game under center but quickly declined before relinquishing the job to Drew Lock. He couldn’t beat out 2019 fourth-rounder Ryan Finley for the right to hold Joe Burrow‘s clipboard this season.

McTyer is a 2017 UDFA who started a handful of games at corner for the Dolphins in 2018 and appeared in five with the Bengals last year. McKenzie was a sixth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2018 who is best known for being the son of former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/20

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: TE Dominique Dafney
  • Released: RB Bruce Anderson III

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadephia Eagles

  • Waived: LB Dante Olson
  • Placed on IR: TE Josh Perkins

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/20

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. For the running list of opt out decisions, check out PFR’s 2020 Opt Out Tracker.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: QB Jalen Morton, FB Elijah Wellman

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

  • Claimed off waivers (from Colts): CB Picasso Nelson

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/15/19

A look at the latest NFL practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: WR Davion Davis

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins