Minor NFL Transactions: 3/30/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Micah Simon
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: DL Tyler Lancaster
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Ryan Smith
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/retired list: TE Hale Hentges
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Cole Hikutini, DB Joshua Kalu, DB Christopher Milton
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Matthias Farley
Vikings Re-Sign OL Dakota Dozier
After being a backup during his first six seasons, Dakota Dozier broke through as a 16-game starter with the Vikings in 2020. The team has moved to extend the parties’ partnership.
Dozier agreed to terms on a one-year deal to stay with the Vikings, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. At worst, Dozier represents a depth piece for a Vikings line that moved on from Riley Reiff earlier this month. The Vikings announced the move, marking the sides’ third one-year contract agreement.
The Vikings signed Dozier in 2019 and used him as a spot starter that year. Last season, Dozier broke into Minnesota’s starting lineup in Week 1 and did not relinquish the left guard job all season. The Vikings waived Pat Elflein midway through the season, sticking with Dozier and then bringing Ezra Cleveland into the lineup at guard. Pro Football Focus did not view Dozier’s work in an especially positive light, slotting him 77th among qualified guards last season, but the Vikings now have four of their five O-line starters from 2020 under contract.
Reiff’s departure may mean Cleveland moves to left tackle, leaving a guard spot open. Dozier, 30 in April, would then have a clearer path to returning as a starter. Prior to joining the Vikings, the former fourth-round pick served as a Jets backup from 2014-18.
Contract Details: Rhodes, Johnson, Abdullah, Roberts, Moreau
Let’s catch up on the latest batch of financial terms from recent free agent deals:
- Colts CB Xavier Rhodes: One-year, $4.77MM. $3.75MM fully guaranteed salary, $1.02MM in per game active roster bonuses. $1.75MM in additional playing time, interception, and Pro Bowl incentives, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). This was originally reported as a one-year, $6.5MM pact, but it looks like that’ll only be the case if he hits those incentives.
- Titans CB Kevin Johnson: One-year, $2.25MM. $2MM guaranteed, with a $1MM salary and $1MM signing bonus. $250K in per game active roster bonuses, via Wilson on Twitter. We didn’t have any word on compensation initially, and it turns out Tennessee got the former first-rounder for a pretty reasonable price.
- Vikings RB Ameer Abdullah: One-year, $990K. Non-guaranteed. Via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Twitter. Terms of the deal weren’t previously reported, but the Vikings got the former second-rounder back for a non-guaranteed vet minimum contract.
- Dolphins LB Elandon Roberts: One-year, $1.995MM. $1.345MM salary, $650K signing bonus, plus $750K in incentives available, via Field Yates of ESPN on Twitter. We also didn’t have any terms for Roberts, and he ended up getting some decent money to return to Miami.
- Falcons CB Fabian Moreau: One-year, $1.127MM. $987.5K guaranteed. $137.5K signing bonus, $990K salary ($850K guaranteed), via Wilson on Twitter. Finishing things up with one more cornerback we were missing terms on. Moreau, a part-time starter for Washington the past few years, got just above the minimum, although it’s almost entirely guaranteed at least.
Vikings To Sign S Xavier Woods
The Vikings continue to add to their secondary. This time, they’ve added former Cowboys safety Xavier Woods, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It will be a one-year deal worth $2.25MM.
Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that the deal includes a $1.25MM base salary, a $500K signing bonus, and $500K in incentives, leading to a $1.75MM cap charge. Tomasson adds that the Vikings tried to get Woods on a minimum deal, but when the veteran rejected the offer, the organization made some moves to clear up money.
The 25-year-old had spent his entire career in Dallas, evolving from a little-known sixth-rounder into a consistent starter on defense. Woods started each of his 44 games for the Cowboys over the past three seasons,averaging more than 46 tackles, five passes defended, and more than one interception per season over that span. He also started a pair of playoff games for Dallas during the 2018 season.
Woods started each of his 15 games this past year, appearing in 89 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. However, the safety didn’t endear himself to Cowboys fans when he admitted that he didn’t play “full speed for 70 plays” following an October loss to the Browns, comments that proved to be the beginning of the end for Woods in Dallas.
The Vikings have been busy adding to their secondary this offseason, especially at cornerback. The team has added both Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander to pair with Mike Hughes and 2020 draftees Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler.
NFL Contract Details: Fuller, Ford, Barr, Pats
As free agency’s second wave continues, here are the latest contract details from around the league:
- 49ers DE Dee Ford: Two years, $24MM. $11.6MM guaranteed, with $4.6MM of that sum due in 2022, David Lombardi and Matt Barrows of The Athletic note (subscription required). Ford’s 2021 guarantees ($7MM) include a $4MM base salary. Ford’s contract also includes a void year (2023).
- Dolphins WR Will Fuller: One year, $10.63MM. Contract maxes out at $13.63MM, with $3MM available in performance-based incentives, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Fuller will receive a $9.6MM signing bonus and is due a $990K base salary.
- Vikings LB Anthony Barr: One year, fully guaranteed $9.4MM. $8.4MM signing bonus, $1MM base salary. Barr’s cap number will drop to $6.1MM. Contract includes $3MM in sack-based incentives and features two void years, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling (all Twitter links).
- Patriots T Trent Brown: Fully guaranteed $6.5MM base salary, up to $2MM in per-game roster bonuses, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Contract can climb to $11MM based on the roster bonuses, $1MM for 90% playing time, $1MM for a Pro Bowl nod and $500K in weight incentives. Brown must stay under 380 pounds, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
- Bills DE Mario Addison: $4.1MM base salary in 2021, $3.25MM of that is guaranteed, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweets. Addison is also due a $1.9MM roster bonus. His contract will now void after 2021.
- Colts T Sam Tevi: One year, $2.51MM. $1MM guaranteed, $1.5MM base salary. The deal also includes $1MM in playing-time incentives, Wilson tweets.
Vikings To Bring Back Mackensie Alexander
After a season in Cincinnati, Mackensie Alexander will return to the Twin Cities. The veteran cornerback agreed to terms with the Vikings on Friday night, according to his agent (Twitter link).
Alexander joined Trae Waynes in moving from the Vikings to the Bengals last year but will return to the team that drafted him in the 2016 second round. The Vikings made Alexander an offer during the legal tampering period; 10 days later, the slot corner committed to come back to Minnesota.
It’s a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com tweets, marking a considerable reduction from Alexander’s 2020 salary.
Although the Clemson product will wear a familiar uniform next season, he will mostly have new teammates in Minnesota’s secondary. Waynes is still under contract with the Bengals, who gave him a long-term deal while agreeing with Alexander on a one-year pact worth $4MM last March, and Xavier Rhodes will return to the Colts. The Vikings still have Mike Hughes, but their cornerback corps now features recent acquisition Patrick Peterson and 2020 draftees Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler.
Following the Vikings’ defense falling to a Mike Zimmer-era low point, their coverage corps will feature more experience in 2021. Alexander, 27, worked as a nickel cog under Zimmer during his first Minnesota stint. Last season, Alexander started a career-high 13 games with the Bengals; Pro Football Focus graded the five-year vet as a middle-of-the-pack cornerback. He will be back in a familiar scheme next season.
Cardinals Trade C Mason Cole To Vikings
The Cardinals have traded center Mason Cole to the Vikings, according to Mark Sanchez of ESPN (on Twitter). The news has also been confirmed by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter links), who adds that Cole may be shifted to one of the guard spots. 
In exchange for Cole, the Vikings will send a sixth-round pick to Arizona. It’ll be Minnesota’s compensatory pick at the end of the sixth round — the No. 223 overall choice.
Cole, a Michigan product, has appeared in 46 games with 32 starts for the Cardinals. The 2018 third-rounder was first-string 14 times last year, but the advanced metrics didn’t look fondly upon his work. Cole finished out with a 54.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade, ranking him 31st out of 36 qualified centers. After acquiring Rodney Hudson, the Cardinals were no longer in need of Cole’s services.
Cole is slated to make upwards of $2MM in 2021, the final season of his four-year rookie deal. That’s significantly cheaper than, say, Nick Easton, who doesn’t seem all that interested in a Vikings return.
Vikings To Re-Sign Ameer Abdullah
The Vikings have agreed to a new deal with Ameer Abdullah (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). Terms of the deal are not yet known,
Abdullah had lots of hype coming out of Nebraska in 2015. The Lions’ second-round pick was reasonably productive as a rookie, averaging 4.2 yards per carry plus added 25 catches for 183 yards. His follow-up season was mostly lost to injury and he was unable to reassert himself in 2017, as he averaged just 3.3 yards per tote. In 2018, he found his way to the rival Vikings as a backup RB.
Abdullah, 28 in June, has only seen 31 carries across two-years-and-change in Minnesota. Still, he’s suited up for every possible game across the last two years with much of his time spent on special teams. He also serves as the Vikes’ main kick returner with a career average of 26.4 yards per attempt. This year, he may see more time behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison now that Mike Boone is out of the picture.
Health Issue Holding Up Giants’ Kyle Rudolph Deal
The Giants’ contract agreement with longtime Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph is no longer a certainty. An injury issue emerged during Rudolph’s physical, and the sides are determining how to proceed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Following the physical, the Giants’ medical staff expressed concern about a foot issue, and Giants doctors believe Rudolph will require surgery, according to Garafolo. This could scuttle Rudolph’s two-year Giants accord. The sides previously agreed to terms, but Rudolph has not signed a contract.
This deal does not appear to be dead, however. Rudolph is still in New York and will meet with the Giants tonight, Garafolo tweets. Rather than send Rudolph back to free agency, the Giants may move forward despite the veteran needing to undergo surgery.
Rudolph agreed to a two-year, $12MM Giants pact that can max out at $14MM. However, after they agreed to terms with Rudolph, the Giants have been aggressive in free agency. The team has authorized high-end deals for Kenny Golladay and Adoree’ Jackson. The Giants also already have a No. 1 tight end, with Evan Engram going into a contract year.
A foot injury ended Rudolph’s 2020 season. The Vikings placed him on IR ahead of Week 17, doing so after their longtime tight end had missed the previous three games.
Draft Pick Updates: Vikings, Saints, Raiders, Patriots
The Vikings are down a draft pick. Per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (on Twitter), the Vikings have forfeited a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 242).
“A mistake was made, we take responsibility and we respect the league’s decision and will move forward,” general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement.
Per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com, the punishment is regarding an infraction from 2019. There was some kind of violation of a practice squad player’s contract, but it’s uncertain who the player was or what the violation was.
Three Vikings executives were also fined $10K each, per Smith.
Some more draft notes from around the NFL:
- Neither the Saints nor Raiders will lose a draft due to violations of the COVID-19 policies, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. “They are not forfeiting them,” McCarthy said. “Neither team will lose those picks.” According to the reporter, there were rumblings that New Orleans would lose a seventh-round pick following a “mask-less locker room celebration,” and the Raiders were expected to lose a sixth-rounder due to multiple violations. While the NFL didn’t provide any context on their decision, Florio assumes both organizations appealed their penalties and were successful.
- When the NFL announced the compensatory picks for the 2021 draft, the Patriots did not have a fifth-round pick. However, a source confirmed to PFT that New England had indeed received a fifth-rounder in the upcoming draft. According to Smith, the NFL “realized a mistake in its calculation of the complex formula for determining compensatory picks,” leading to the extra Patriots selection.
- Thanks to the aforementioned compensatory-pick audit by the NFL, the Falcons are also moving two slots in the fifth round, according to Smith. Further, while the NFL only allows the addition of 32 compensatory picks each year, they’ve made an exception this time around. Thanks to the additional Patriots draft pick, the Bears normally wouldn’t have received that final compensatory pick; the NFL and NFL Players Association allowed Chicago to ultimately keep that selection.