CB Rumors: Harris, Bills, Jones, Dolphins, Trufant, Jets
The latest on key cornerbacks from around the NFL:
- The Jets remain zeroed in on James Bradberry, but they’re also in the hunt for a second free agent cornerback. That search could lead them to Desmond Trufant, Connor Hughes of The Athletic tweets. Trufant will be cut loose by at Atlanta this week.
- The Dolphins are among the clubs that have discussed impending Dallas free agent Byron Jones, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. You can add Miami to the list of previously reported suitors for Jones, which includes the Jets, Raiders, and Eagles.
- More from Anderson (via Twitter), who notes that the Bills are now in on veteran Chris Harris. They join the Cowboys, Bills, Jets, Raiders, and other clubs in search of the experienced secondary help that Harris would provide.
NFL Cancels Pre-Draft Visits
After the other major American sports made historic changes to their schedules this week, the NFL will follow suit. The league canceled further pre-draft visits, per an announcement.
Teams are no longer permitted to host prospects at their facilities or on campus sites. This will halt teams from venturing to prospects’ pro days leading up to the 2020 draft. That process had barely begun, with few reported visits and workouts having taken place. But teams now must make major adjustments.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, NFL teams were steadily taking coaches and scouts off the road. More than 20 did so by Friday afternoon. The Dolphins, however, hosted Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins at their facility and brought in Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in for a last-minute visit well, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Just as the Dolphins moved up their Dobbins summit by a month, they moved up Love’s visit.
These will be the last meetings of this sort leading up to this draft, as the NFL becomes the latest major sports league to make coronavirus-related changes.
Teams will still be permitted to speak with prospects, but they must do so via phone calls and video conferences. These calls cannot last more than an hour, and no team can contact a prospect more than three times in one week. Violations of this rule change will be subject to league discipline.
This will obviously transform the pre-draft process. As of now, the draft remains scheduled to start April 23 in Las Vegas. But the league is considering changes. Given that hundreds of thousands of fans have flocked to this event since it was moved out of Radio City Music Hall and into other NFL markets, such an environment taking place this year may be a non-starter. But no firm announcement has been made regarding the draft or a delay to the free agency window. However, the league is considering adjusting that part of its calendar as well.
Dolphins Hosting RB J.K. Dobbins On Visit
While the COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc across the American sports world, some NFL teams are still conducting visits. The Dolphins are one of them, and they did some rescheduling to make sure they could meet with Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins.
Dobbins is at the Dolphins’ facility on Friday for a pre-draft visit, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The former Buckeyes standout was not supposed to visit the Dolphins until mid-April, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes (via Twitter) the team is high enough on Dobbins they moved up his meeting by around a month in the event the NFL cancels pre-draft visits because of coronavirus.
Although Rapoport notes Miami is proceeding with “extreme caution,” it would not be a surprise to see the league nix pre-draft summits considering the actions taken by the sports leagues currently in-season. Dobbins also did not fly to this workout, with Rapoport adding the running back has been training in south Florida (Twitter link).
Miami will enter free agency with a bevy of needs; one of them is clearly at running back. The Dolphins traded Kenyan Drake last season and subsequently released Mark Walton after yet another arrest. No obvious starter resides on Miami’s roster, so the Dolphins should be expected to acquire at least one starting-caliber back this offseason.
Dobbins would profile as such. He posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State. In 2019, he eclipsed 2,000 yards and totaled 23 touchdowns. Dobbins ranks as the No. 40 overall prospect, per NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who tabs him as this draft class’ No. 4-ranked running back.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/20
Today’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Cowboys: QB Cooper Rush (original round level)
- Texans: LB Dylan Cole (original round level)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bengals: CB Tony Brown
- Dolphins: WR Isaiah Ford, LB Trent Harris, DT Zach Sieler
- Eagles: P Cameron Johnston
Dolphins To Decline Daniel Kilgore’s Option
The Dolphins won’t pick up the option on center Daniel Kilgore, as Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. With that, the veteran will become a free agent when the league year begins on March 18. 
[RELATED: Dolphins To Release S Reshad Jones]
Kilgore has made 17 starts in the middle since joining the Dolphins in 2018. By turning down the option on the final year in his contract, the Dolphins will save $4MM against the 2020 cap.
The Dolphins have been exploring Kilgore alternatives throughout the offseason and their replacement could come in either free agency or the draft. They’re well-stocked with both cash and picks, so there will be plenty of avenues to explore.
After dropping Kilgore, the Dolphins have about $127.9MM in committments for the coming year. They could trim that number even further, too. If they stand pat, they’ll enter free agency with upwards of $91.5MM to burn.
Dolphins To Release S Reshad Jones
The Dolphins are releasing safety Reshad Jones, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link). The move will become official when the new league year opens on March 18.
Miami’s decision is not exactly surprising. Jones, 32, made the Pro Bowl in 2017, but he has dealt with a number of injuries over the past few seasons, and he suited up for just four games in 2019. The Dolphins plan to deploy Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe at the safety positions in 2020, and the three-year, $18MM extension that Rowe signed with the team in December made a Jones return a questionable proposition at best.
While a reworked contract for Jones was reportedly under consideration, and though the 2010 fifth-rounder expressed back in September that he would like to remain with Miami for the long haul, it always seemed more likely that the Dolphins would cut bait. The team was in trade talks with Pittsburgh at the start of the 2019 campaign, but after an injury-marred season, no one was going to trade for Jones and his $11.5MM salary this offseason.
Still, he should garner plenty of interest on the open market. The Cowboys have been in need of a high-caliber safety for a few years now, and the Browns and Raiders could also be fits. Jones is unlikely to make anywhere close to the $11.5MM he would have earned with Miami, though he may be able to land a fairly lucrative multi-year pact. The Dolphins, meanwhile, will incur a big dead money charge by releasing Jones but will still clear about $5.3MM from their books, leaving the team with close to $100MM of cap space (if a new CBA is agreed to, the team could designate Jones as a post-June 1 cut and spread the dead cap hit over the next two seasons).
Jones was the longest-tenured Dolphin, and he leaves the team with 776 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, 55 passes defensed, 21 interceptions, and six total touchdowns in 128 games (113 starts).
NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2020 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2020 draft.
These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2019 offseason. This year, the Patriots top the list (shared below) with a league-high four picks.
The comp pick formula assigns picks who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The Ravens collected two this year and remain in the all-time lead (from 1994-2020) with 52. No other franchise has accumulated more than 43 compensatory picks.
Here’s the full breakdown, by round and by team:
By Round:
Round 3: Texans (No. 97 overall), Patriots (98), Giants (99), Patriots (100), Seahawks (101), Steelers (102), Eagles (103), Rams (104), Vikings (105), Ravens (106)
Round 4: Buccaneers (No. 139), Bears (140), Dolphins (141), Redskins (142), Ravens (143), Seahawks (144), Eagles (145), Eagles (146)
Round 5: Broncos (No. 178), Cowboys (179)
Round 6: Patriots (No. 212), Patriots (213), Seahawks (214)
Round 7: Giants (No. 247), Texans (248), Vikings (249), Texans (250), Dolphins (251), Broncos (252), Vikings (253), Broncos (254), Giants (255)
By Team:
- New England Patriots (4)
- Denver Broncos (3)
- Houston Texans (3)
- Minnesota Vikings (3)
- New York Giants (3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (3)
- Baltimore Ravens (2)
- Miami Dolphins (2)
- Chicago Bears (1)
- Dallas Cowboys (1)
- Los Angeles Rams (1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
- Washington Redskins (1)
The compensatory free agents lost and gained in 2019 by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2020 draft:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Lost: John Brown, C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs
- Gained: Mark Ingram, Earl Thomas
- Chicago Bears
- Lost: Adrian Amos, Josh Bellamy, Bryce Callahan, Eric Kush
- Gained: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Cordarrelle Patterson, Buster Skrine
- Dallas Cowboys
- Lost: Cole Beasley, Geoff Swaim, Damien Wilson
- Gained: Randall Cobb, Christian Covington
- Denver Broncos
- Lost: Shaquil Barrett, Tramaine Brock, Max Garcia, Matt Paradis, Bradley Roby, Billy Turner
- Gained: Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Ja’Wuan James
- Houston Texans
- Lost: Christian Covington, Kareem Jackson, Kendall Lamm, Tyrann Mathieu
- Gained: Bradley Roby
- Los Angeles Rams
- Lost: Lamarcus Joyner, Rodger Saffold
- Gained: Clay Matthews
- Miami Dolphins
- Lost: Brandon Bolden, Frank Gore, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake
- Gained: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Rowe
- Minnesota Vikings
- Lost: Tom Compton, Nick Easton, Sheldon Richardson, Trevor Siemian
- Gained: Shamar Stephen
- New England Patriots
- Lost: Malcom Brown, Trent Brown, Trey Flowers, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Eric Rowe, LaAdrian Waddle
- Gained: Brandon Bolden
- New York Giants
- Lost: Jamon Brown, Landon Collins, Mario Edwards, Josh Mauro, B.W. Webb, Kerry Wynn
- Gained: Markus Golden, Golden Tate
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Lost: Nick Foles, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Lost: Le’Veon Bell, Jesse James
- Gained: Steven Nelson
- Seattle Seahawks
- Lost: Justin Coleman, Brett Hundley, Shamar Stephen, J.R. Sweezy, Earl Thomas
- Gained: Mike Iupati, Jason Myers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Redskins
East Notes: Fins, Tua, Peters, Anderson
We heard back in January that the Dolphins may pursue some of the Patriots’ top FAs, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the ‘Fins are indeed expected to go after guard Joe Thuney. Miami also has interest in Devin McCourty, Ted Karras, and Kyle Van Noy, though the extent of that interest is unclear.
Per Jackson, the Dolphins are also high on former Patriots CB Logan Ryan, who spent the last three years with the Titans. And Ryan would seriously consider joining up with Miami if the club does make an effort to sign him.
Now for more from the league’s east divisions, starting with another item out of South Beach:
- Recent reports have suggested that the Dolphins are cooling on Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa and that the team is resigned to the fact that he will be off the board by the time they’re on the clock with the No. 5 overall pick. Jackson says Miami gave Tagovailoa the cold shoulder at the combine, but that was likely just a ploy to suggest that they’re not interested when they really are, and draft gurus Todd McShay and Daniel Jeremiah still expect the Fins to land Tagovailoa.
- Eagles head coach Doug Pederson may want LT Jason Peters back, but the team’s brass as a whole is split as to whether to re-sign Peters or move forward with 2019 first-rounder Andre Dillard, as Albert Breer of SI.com reports. The money they save on a new Peters contract could be re-invested in the rest of the O-line, so Philly could choose to move on from the 38-year-old free agent.
- Although Robby Anderson may find himself as the best receiver on the free agent market, the Jets are still expected to try to re-sign him. But according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv, New York will not pursue a re-up unless Anderson’s price goes no higher than $10MM per year.
- John Keim of ESPN.com takes a stab at how the Redskins will spend their money in free agency. Unsurprisingly, he believes Washington will target CB, TE, WR, and RB.
Dolphins Seeking Center Upgrade
- Like the Jets, the Dolphins could have a retooled offensive front. They are looking around for centers to replace Daniel Kilgore, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Kilgore has started 17 games since signing with the Dolphins in 2018. Releasing him in the final year of his contract would save the Dolphins $4MM.
Dolphins High On QB Jordan Love
Feb. 28: The Dolphins’ infatuation with Love is only intensifying, as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. However, Love’s stock appears to be rising around the league and the belief is that Miami will not be able to wait until the No. 18 overall pick to grab him. The organization thinks that a QB-needy team like the Chargers or Panthers are gearing up to jump the Dolphins’ No. 5 selection in order to take Tagovailoa, which would likely leave the ‘Fins with their choice of Herbert or Love. If that’s the case, it’s looking more like a toss-up between those two passers, though Herbert was very impressive during his throwing drills at the combine while Love had more of a mixed performance.
The Dolphins, with a number of holes to fill, do not want to part with their own hard-earned draft capital in order to guarantee themselves a shot at Tagovailoa. If the Bengals’ No. 1 choice — and therefore Burrow — were up for grabs, it may be a different story, but the team seems content with either Herbert or Love at this point.
Feb. 26: The Dolphins have been heavily connected to Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert in recent weeks, but they’re taking all of this year’s top quarterbacks in this year’s draft. One player they’re particularly intrigued by is Utah State standout Jordan Love, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald hears.
Love isn’t as high on the mock draft boards and he’s probably not a candidate for the No. 5 overall pick (though, we’ve been surprised before, particularly when it comes to QBs). The Dolphins, in theory, could target Love with one of their later picks – No. 18 or No. 26 overall – and strengthen up another area with their top choice.
At 6’4″ and 225 pounds, Love has great size for the position. He also looked the part of a top-end QB in 2018 by throwing 32 touchdowns against six interceptions. Unfortunately, his arm strength and stature didn’t yield the same results last year – he had 20 TDs against 17 INTs. That performance hurt his draft stock, but teams like the Dolphins may see this as a value opportunity.
Besides, LSU’s Joe Burrow probably won’t be there for the Dolphins at No. 5 overall and the other top signal callers in this year’s crop come with their own question marks. Tagovailoa, of course, is recovering from a major hip injury. And many are quick to point out Herbert’s accuracy issues, even when praising his cannon.
As Salguero notes, we’ve plenty of QBs struggle as seniors and succeed in the NFL, including Matt Ryan and Dan Marino. Love, too, could rebound from his rocky year, and he might get to do it in South Beach.