RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at the second-round level ($2.914MM):
- Cowboys DE David Irving (story)
- Giants: C Brett Jones (story via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Jets: Quincy Enunwa (story)
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Browns: DT Jamie Meder
- Chiefs: DE Rakeem Nunez-Roches (via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
- Jets: OL Brent Qvale, TE Neal Sterling
- Lions: WR T.J. Jones (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Rams: OLB Matt Longacre (via Rapoport)
- Seahawks: DE Dion Jordan (story)
- Texans: C Greg Mancz
Non-tendered:
- Buccaneers: DE Ryan Russell (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Chargers: LB Josh Keyes
- Chiefs: LB Ramik Wilson (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Dolphins: OL Anthony Steen
- Falcons: RB Terron Ward (via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
- Jaguars: S Peyton Thompson, RB Tyler Gaffney
- Jets: DL Xavier Cooper
- Lions: RB Zach Zenner, DE Brandon Copeland, DL Zac Kerin
- Packers: LB Joe Thomas (via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Panthers: WR Kaelin Clay, CB Ladarius Gunter, TE Scott Simonson, OL David Yankey (via David Newton of ESPN.com)
- Rams: LB Cameron Lynch, T Darrell Williams
- Saints: WR Brandon Coleman, DT David Parry
- Seahawks: RB Thomas Rawls, RB Mike Davis (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Steelers: WR Eli Rogers (story via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
- Texans: LB Brian Peters, DE Angelo Blackson, LB Ben Heeney
- Titans: S Curtis Riley (via Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com), RB Bishop Sankey (via Chris Tomasson)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Browns: QB Kevin Hogan
- Colts: TE Erik Swoope, G Jeremy Vujnovich, CB Christopher Milton, LS Luke Rhodes
- Dolphins: C Jake Brendel, LB Mike Hull, CB Jordan Lucas
- Giants: DT Robert Thomas (via Vacchiano)
- Jets: S Doug Middleton FB Lawrence Thomas TE Eric Tomlinson
- Lions: QB Jake Rudock, DT Christian Ringo
- Packers: WR Geronimo Allison (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- Rams: K Sam Ficken (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
- Raiders: LB/DE James Cowser, S Erik Harris, G/T Denver Kirkland
- Ravens: LB Patrick Onwuasor, WR Quincy Adeboyejo, OL Matt Skura, OL Maurquice Shakir
- Seahawks: RB J.D. McKissic, DE Quinton Jefferson, DE Branden Jackson (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Non-tendered:
- Chiefs: DB Keith Baxter (via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Giants: TE Ryan O’Malley, LB Curtis Grant (via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com)
- Lions: DT Rodney Coe, P Kasey Redfern (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Packers: CB Herb Waters, LS Taybor Pepper (via Silverstein)
- Saints: C Jack Allen
Dolphins To Meet With Josh Sitton
Former Bears and Packers guard Josh Sitton will be visiting tonight with the Dolphins, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Sitton stands (no pun intended) as one of the best free agents remaining on the board.
Sitton has missed six games over the last two years, but he has four Pro Bowl appearances to his credit. With Andrew Norwell already spoken for, he’s the best interior lineman a team can sign at this point.
That’s not to say Sitton, 32 in June, is a bad consolation prize. Just last season, Sitton ranked as the the fifth-best guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and his marks have remained steady throughout his career.
Sitton had been scheduled to collect $8MM cash in 2018 between his $7.4MM base salary, $500K roster bonus, and $100K workout bonus. The Bears are moving on from him, but Chicago’s trash could be Miami’s treasure.
Dolphins Restructure Ryan Tannehill’s Deal
The Dolphins continue to create cap space on a busy day. After making the decision to cut Ndamukong Suh, the Dolphins have agreed on a restructure with its offensive centerpiece player.
Miami reworked Ryan Tannehill‘s contract, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, and will save $11.2MM in cap space because of this move. Coupled with the team’s restructuring of Reshad Jones‘ contract, the Dolphins created $17.8MM in additional cap space.
Tannehill’s cap number will be reduced from $19.8MM to $8.6MM this season. This will make it more difficult to cut the injury-besieged quarterback in the near future, but this won’t be too much of a deterrent. The Dolphins, who are obviously hoping their starting quarterback can shake his knee trouble this season, would now save just more than $15MM by cutting Tannehill in 2019 compared to the previous $18MM-plus amount.
The Dolphins used some their cap space already by agreeing to terms with future Tannehill targets Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola.
Dolphins Release Julius Thomas
Julius Thomas will be back on the market after the Dolphins followed through with their decision to cut the former Pro Bowl tight end. The Dolphins will save $6.6MM as a result.
Thomas ended his first season with the Dolphins on injured reserve. Although the injury-prone Thomas played in 14 games in 2017, his most since 2013, he finished last season with just 41 catches for 388 yards. That marked an uptick from his final Jaguars season but nowhere near what was expected of the tight end when he was last in free agency.
This continues a downward swoon for Thomas, who signed a massive five-year, $46MM contract with the Jaguars the last time he was an in-demand UFA three years ago.
The two seasons the pass-catcher played with Peyton Manning in Denver now look like the outlier; the seven-year player just hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
Dolphins Release Ndamukong Suh
The Dolphins are releasing five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh as a post-June 1 cut, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The move signals another attempt for the Dolphins to change their culture, which has now resulted in the departure of three of their top players within the last calendar year — Suh, Jarvis Landry and Jay Ajayi. Suh now ranks as the best free agent currently available.
Suh was due to make $16.9MM in base salary next season, with a cap hit of $26.1MM. It was reported last week that the Dolphins were considering shedding the sizable cap hit by cutting Suh. The 31-year-old was set to enter the fourth year of his six-year, $114MM deal with Miami, which was an NFL record at the time signing.
Miami still has the option to cut Suh with a post-June 1 designation. That would allow the team to space out the dead cap space resulting from Suh’s release over the next two seasons and would give them an immediate $17MM in available cap space.
The Dolphins signaled that a cut for Suh was possibly on the horizon by acquiring Robert Quinn from the Rams earlier this month in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the upcoming draft. It was also suggested the team would possibly approach Suh about restructuring his deal for 2018. The Dolphins are also expected to part ways with linebacker Lawrence Timmons and Julius Thomas in cap-saving measures prior to the new league year beginning on March 14.
Suh was graded out by Pro Football Focus as the league’s No. 4 interior defensive lineman last season, which should create a decent bidding war for the services of the three-time All-Pro and former No. 2 overall pick. He missed out on back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances, though. He was named to his first one with the Dolphins in 2016 after collecting five sacks and 47 tackles.
Suh has seen a decline in his sack totals in each of his three seasons with the Dolphins since racking up 8 1/2 in his final year with the Lions in 2014. With Suh reportedly out of the picture, the Dolphins still have Davon Godchaux, Jordan Phillips, Vincent Taylor, and Gabe Martin on the roster at defensive line, along with Quinn.
Dolphins, Reshad Jones Rework Contract
The Dolphins have restructured the contract of safety Reshad Jones in order to create extra cap space, tweets Field Yates of 
ESPN.com.
Jones had been scheduled to earn a base salary of $9.375MM in 2018, but that figure has now been slashed to $970K, per Yates, who adds Jones will take home a signing bonus of $4.05MM. As with most restructures, Jones will earn the same amount of money overall, but Miami will create roughly $6.6MM in cap room for the free agent period.
Even after missing the majority of the 2016 campaign, Jones inked a five-year, $60MM extension with the Dolphins at this time last year. In 2017, Jones stayed healthy for all 16 games and posted 94 tackles, two interceptions, and 1.5 sacks.
Dolphins Retain Ja’Wuan James
Ja’Wuan James is staying put. As the right tackle teased on his Instagram account, he’ll remain with the Dolphins. There won’t be any renegotiation of his deal, as he’ll remain under contract for $9.3MM in 2018, per Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter).
The Dolphins were shopping their longtime right tackle this week, presumably to see if a market developed prior to James’ fifth-year option becoming fully guaranteed on Wednesday. The sides were discussing a new deal on Monday, but James had enough leverage to hold his ground.
James’ new deal gives him an opportunity to stay in sunny Miami and build on what was arguably the best season of his career to date, even though it was shortened by injury.
For his eight games, James graded as the league’s 17th-ranked offensive tackle last season, per Pro Football Focus. However, the former first-round pick has seen injuries cut two of his seasons short. He has yet to prove he can be a consistent, healthy option in Miami, likely leading to the trade efforts.
Dolphins To Sign WR Danny Amendola
Danny Amendola is staying in the AFC East, but he’ll do so with a different team. The Patriots free agent has agreed to sign with the Dolphins, according to NFL Network’s Dan Hellie (on Twitter). Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter) has confirmed the news. It’s a two-year deal worth $12MM with $8.25MM guaranteed, according to Peter Schrager of NFL.com (on Twitter). Schrager notes that the deal includes incentives, but it’s not immediately clear if those incentives are factored into the $12MM figure.
Amendola was vocal about his desire to stay with the Patriots, but New England’s cap crunch has led him to sign elsewhere. He’ll now face his old friends twice per season and he might make the Pats regret the decision to let him leave.
Amendola accepted several pay cuts in order to stick on the Patriots’ roster in recent years, but the offers were too good this time around for the wide receiver to stay put. The veteran earned roughly $6MM over the last three years with the Patriots and he’ll earn more than that in guarantees alone with Miami.
After a down season in 2016, Amendola racked up 61 receptions, 659 yards, and two touchdowns during the 2017 regular season before stepping up with a 26/348/2 line in the postseason. Amendola has never topped 700 yards receiving in a single season, but he is a strong weapon in today’s quick passing game.
The Dolphins jumped at the chance to land Amendola after parting ways with Jarvis Landry this offseason. They used the franchise tag on Landry, an excellent slot receiver, to keep him with a one-year, ~$16MM placeholder before shipping him to the Browns. Amendola will step into Landry’s role and while he might not offer the same production, he comes at a much better value.
This has proven to be a seller’s market for this year’s top free agent wideouts. Already, Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins, and Paul Richardson have landed lucrative multi-year deals. Amendola joins that group with a solid pay day of his own.
[RELATED: Dolphins Depth Chart]
Dolphins To Keep Ja’Wuan James?
Ja’Wuan James was rumored to be on the block, but it sounds like the Dolphins are intent on keeping him. The Broncos called the Dolphins to inquire the right tackle but were informed that he will be staying put, a source tells Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). 
On Monday, we heard that the Dolphins were working with James on a new contract, which is consistent with the latest word on him. The former first-round pick has been mentioned as both a trade and release candidate given his bloated cap charge, but it seems more likely that he’ll remain with the team under a lesser deal.
Given the lack of quality tackles on the open market, James has some leverage in talks. Nate Solder and Justin Pugh are the only clear-cut starters available, though Austin Howard could be added to that group now that his option has been declined by the Ravens.
Several Teams Comprise Heated Lewis Market
On a player-friendly second tampering-window day, Dion Lewis has yet to make his decision. He’s going to be receiving a notable raise from his previous contract, however, when he does choose his next team.
The 27-year-old running back does not look like he will be returning to the Patriots, who were not believed to be a bidder if the price escalated to a certain point. Now that it apparently has, the Dolphins, Jets, Giants, Titans, Texans, Colts and 49ers are in on Lewis, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
The Jets, Colts and Titans were reported suitors earlier this week, but the remaining teams are now diving into the fray.
The Giants signed previous Pats passing-down back Shane Vereen in 2015 but haven’t found much in the way of backfield success in several years, and the 49ers may well lose Carlos Hyde in free agency. The Dolphins traded away Jay Ajayi and have versatile runner Kenyan Drake. Houston, interestingly, has a Lamar Miller–D’Onta Foreman setup but is evidently eyeing big-name help.
Lewis’ asking price was rumored to be around $6MM per year, and given the events of Tuesday and the number of interested teams here, it’s quite possible the sixth-year veteran could surpass that despite having just one 100-touch season on his resume. However, that also means Lewis could have a few productive seasons left despite being set to turn 28 later this year.