Travaris Cadet Has Three Offers In Hand
Free agent running back Travaris Cadet is deciding between offers from the Saints, Jets, and Bills, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Cadet, 28, has spent the majority of his career with the Saints, though he did have short stints with the 49ers and Patriots in 2015. Last year, Cadet settled back into his familiar passing down role, as he caught 41 balls from Drew Brees, managing 281 yards and four touchdowns in the process. Cadet wasn’t asked to carry the ball much, as he posted just four rushes for 19 yards.
Cadet has also spent a good deal of his career returning kicks, and that’s the role he’d likely play with the Bills and Jets, the latter of whom Cadet visited last week. Buffalo and New York both have established starting and backup running backs, Cadet wouldn’t seem to have much of a niche on offense in either city.
Saints Not Interested In Andrew Hawkins
- The Saints aren’t all that intrigued by free agent wide receiver Andrew Hawkins after “kicking the tires” on him, tweets Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Hawkins, 31, was released by the Browns last month after three seasons with the club. Though he’s struggled over the past two years, Hawkins posted 63 receptions as recently as 2014.
Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler
The Saints and Malcolm Butler have begun negotiations on a new contract and hope to strike a deal this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. From there, the Saints will discuss the parameters of a trade with the Patriots.
Butler won’t be meeting with New Orleans until later this week, but the two sides are already discussing a potential deal. From here, there are a number of different potential outcomes:
- The Saints sign Butler to an offer sheet and risk losing their No. 11 overall pick to New England. This scenario, I feel, is unlikely. Butler has previously pushed for top ten cornerback money and the Saints would be borderline crazy to give up such a valuable pick in addition to that type of contract. Butler could potentially agree to a lesser deal, but he’ll only bend so far and the Saints won’t end up with him if the deal is team-friendly enough for New England to match.
- The Saints hammer out contract terms with Butler, then work out a less-costly trade with the Patriots. The Patriots and Saints obviously have a good rapport as evidenced by the Brandin Cooks deal. The Patriots can afford to lose Butler after adding Stephon Gilmore and they could be inclined to negotiate if they believe New Orleans will not sacrifice the No. 11 pick. A good middle-ground option here might see the Patriots get back their own No. 32 overall pick. Then, in essence, the two sides will have swapped Cooks for Butler with the Saints moving up from No. 118 overall to No. 103. In this scenario, to circumvent the rules of restricted free agency, the Patriots would “sign-and-trade” Butler to New Orleans.
- The Patriots refuse to agree to a trade and the Saints refuse to part with the No. 11 overall pick. This would result in Butler continuing his (restricted) free agency tour. If he can’t find a team willing to cough up a first-round choice for the right to sign him and the Pats do not give him a multi-year extension, he’ll only have one option: play out 2017 with the Patriots on the one-year, $3.91MM first-round tender. Butler is reportedly not entertaining any sort of holdout, so his contractual drama would be put on pause until March 2018.
Saints To Meet With Patriots’ Malcolm Butler
Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler will be visiting the Saints on Thursday, coach Sean Payton tells Brett Martel of The Associated Press (on Twitter). This will be Butler’s first free agent visit. 
Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent and the Patriots reserve the right to match any signed offer sheet. If the Patriots decline to match an offer sheet, Butler will join that new team and the Patriots will receive that club’s 2017 first-round pick.
After signing Stephon Gilmore in free agency, that’s a concession the Patriots might be willing to make. The Pats are already down a pick thanks to the Brandin Cooks deal completed with New Orleans last week, so this could be their opportunity to get back into the first round. In the Cooks deal, the Pats received the No. 118 overall selection while pick Nos. 32 and 103 went to New Orleans.
RFA rules dictate that the Patriots would receive the No. 11 overall pick from New Orleans, not their own No. 32, if the Saints were to sign Butler away. It’s possible that this could be the starting point for a sign-and-trade type of deal. The Patriots could agree to a deal with Butler, then trade him to New Orleans for lesser compensation. Sign-and-trade deals are not often seen in the NFL, but neither are salary dump trades and that barrier was broken recently by the Browns and Texans in the Brock Osweiler deal.
The Patriots could also play hardball and refuse to take anything less than the No. 11 pick from the Saints. If that happens, Butler will probably continue to meet with interested clubs, some of whom may be willing to sacrifice a first founder. The worst case scenario for New England is that they retain the rights to one of the league’s better cornerbacks in Butler. Reportedly, Butler isn’t thrilled with New England right now, but he is not going to hold out under any circumstances.
Saints To Sign LB Alex Okafor
The Saints have agreed to terms with outside linebacker Alex Okafor, NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. It is a one-year deal worth up $3MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This means Okafor is leaving the Cardinals, the only NFL team he has ever known. 
Okafor, 26, played through a torn bicep last season and didn’t have a great season. Still, teams recognized his potential and he had multiple suitors upon reaching free agency this month. Before the Saints deal came about, the Dolphins also showed interest in signing Okafor.
Okafor was only on the field for 231 last year, but he did line up with Arizona’s first string defense 12 times in 2014 and posted a career-high eight sacks. In 2015, he made 13 starts and notched 2.0 sacks. Last year, as a reserve, he had 3.5 sacks and eleven total tackles. He didn’t see enough action to qualify to be ranked, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 72.5 overall score, buoyed mainly by his pass rush work. With enough snaps, he could have placed somewhere in the late 50s amongst PFF’s 100+ qualified edge defenders.
The Saints currently project to start Craig Robertson and Dannell Ellerbe at outside linebacker with new addition A.J. Klein in the middle, though you can expect the team to seek an upgrade over Ellerbe. Okafor wll join fellow outside linebackers Hau’oli Kikaha, Nathan Stupar, and Travis Feeney in support. Middle linebacker Stephone Anthony, an underachieving former first-round pick, also remains under contract.
Titans’ Cooks Offer Included No. 5 Pick
One of the more interesting trade sagas in recent memory ended with Brandin Cooks going from the Saints to the Patriots, but the Titans entered the frey and made a strong proposal as well. Tennessee’s offer for the 23-year-old wide receiver featured the Titans and Saints swapping first-round picks (No. 5 for No. 11), with the Titans adding a third-round pick in the deal as well, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
The proposal that ended up getting it done was the Patriots’ first- and third-round selections for Cooks. Philadelphia lasted long into these talks as well, but the Eagles were believed to have been out before the Patriots ultimately eclipsed the Titans’ offer.
Titans GM Jon Robinson said today he not include the No. 18 overall pick in an offer for Cooks, per ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter). The No. 18 pick being involved would have almost certainly meant the Titans would have given up a first-round pick in this year’s draft without getting one back, like they would have if the Saints had accepted their proposal. Tennessee still holds picks Nos. 5 and 18 due to their deal with the Rams for Jared Goff last year.
Tennessee’s aggressive Cooks push looks like a sign the team will be in the market for a wideout with one of its top two picks. The Titans lost Kendall Wright in free agency but diminished the former first-round pick’s role over the past two seasons. Tajae Sharpe and Harry Douglas remain on the roster, but neither is close to Cooks’ class. Retaining their two first-rounders, the Titans figure to be a team to watch for players like Mike Williams, John Ross or Corey Davis in Round 1.
NFC Notes: D-Jax, Eagles, Patterson, Saints
It hasn’t been an overly positive week for the Redskins, who became the first team in NFL history to lose two 1,000-yard receivers from the previous year in the same offseason. They lost Chris Baker and fired GM Scot McCloughan as well. Washington, though, did add Terrelle Pryor on a one-year deal, and before DeSean Jackson‘s Buccaneers agreement became finalized made a late push to keep him, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Reports continued to push Jackson out of Washington due to salary escalation, and the Bucs’ three-year, $33.5MM deal (with $20MM in guarantees) proved to be what the 30-year-old deep threat preferred.
Here’s more from the NFC.
- The Eagles attempted to trade Mychal Kendricks in yet another offseason but saw most of his 2017 salary become guaranteed on Friday. A Kendricks trade would create just $1.8MM in cap space, but a source tells Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com there’s still a chance he’s dealt. The 26-year-old played just 27 percent of Philly’s defensive snaps last season.
- Cordarrelle Patterson has visited three teams — the Redskins, Raiders and Bears — but may want to stay with the Vikings. The fifth-year wideout/return man said on Snapchat (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press), “All I am hearing is stay with the Vikings!! Trust me I want to… But we all know business is business … So what you (going to) do, Rick.” It’s safe assume “Rick” is Vikings GM Rick Spielman. The Vikings did not pick up Patterson’s fifth-year option in 2016, but given his productivity as a return man (five career kick-return touchdowns, two first-team All-Pro distinctions), it’s reasonable to suggest the Vikes would want him back at a price cheaper than the $7.915MM it would have cost them to pick up that option.
- Rex Burkhead visited the Falcons today, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This marks the first update on Burkhead since he became a free agent. He rated as PFR’s No. 7 UFA running back this year. Given a bigger role with the Bengals after Giovani Bernard went down, Burkhead averaged 4.6 yards per carry last season and gained 489 yards from scrimmage on 91 touches. The Falcons, of course, have one of the best backfields in football, so Burkhead wouldn’t stand to leapfrog Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman.
- Prior to Marcus Cooper signing with the Bears, the Saints expressed interest in the fifth-year cornerback, Herbie Teope of NOLA.com reports.
- The NFL will strip the Patriots of the fourth-round pick they acquired from the Saints (No. 118) in the Brandin Cooks deal. (This represents the last Deflategate penalty.) But Mike Florio of Pro Football talk argued the Saints should have worked the phones to attempt to trade down from that spot. However, the trade became official on Saturday afternoon. The pick will now essentially disappear, unless New England acquires a higher fourth-round pick. The Patriots must forfeit their highest fourth-round pick, which was No. 132 prior to the Cooks trade, as part of the Deflategate penalty. Florio argues the Saints should have called teams that picked in between Nos. 119-131 to trade down — thus sending that selection to the Patriots — while picking up a minor return from another team in doing so.
Eagles Included Jenkins In Cooks Trade Offer
Prior to the Patriots being the winner of the Brandin Cooks sweepstakes, the Eagles made an offer that included veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
However, the rest of the Eagles’ offer wasn’t quite sufficient enough for the Saints to send Cooks to Philadelphia. Philly offered a third- and a fourth-round pick to the Saints for Cooks, per Florio, who adds the Saints wanted Jenkins and a second-round selection. The Patriots landed Cooks for the No. 32 overall pick, along with a 2017 third-rounder.
Jenkins, of course, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints before signing with the Eagles in 2014. He made his first Pro Bowl for the Eagles a year later. Now entering his age-29 season, Jenkins is signed through the 2020 campaign after inking a second Eagles contract — for four years and $35MM — last year.
The Eagles attempted to trade for Cooks at the 2016 deadline and resurfaced with interest last week, joining the Titans and Patriots in pursuit of the coveted 23-year-old wide receiver. The team held Cooks in high regard dating back to the 2014 draft. Philly was reportedly eliminated from the running earlier than Tennessee, which made a standing offer for the fourth-year wideout that may have been better than the Eagles’ Jenkins-fronted package.
However, the Eagles revamped their 2017 receiving corps without making a trade. They signed both Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and while neither is as young or cheap as Cooks, both figure to make a big impact on what was a depleted Philly wideout corps prior to this week.
Contract Details: Bennett, Bouye, Branch
Let’s take a look at the details of some recently-signed free agent contracts:
- Martellus Bennett, TE (Packers): Three years, $20.25MM. $6.3MM guaranteed. Base salaries of $900K, $3.6MM, $5.65MM. $2MM roster bonus due on first day of 2018 league year. $600K in annual per-game roster bonuses. $$250K annual workout bonus (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
- A.J. Bouye, CB (Jaguars): Five years, $65MM. $26MM guaranteed. $10MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $3MM, $13MM, $13MM, $13MM, $13MM. $500K annual workout bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Alan Branch, DT (Patriots): Two years, $8.45MM. $3MM guaranteed. $2MM signing bonus. Annual $400K workout and weight bonus of $400K each. $3.55MM available via not-likely-to-be-earned incentives (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).
- Ted Ginn, WR (Saints): Three years, $11MM. $3MM guaranteed. $3MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $2MM, $3MM, $2.5MM. 2018 $500K roster bonus. $500,000 aviailve vie playtime, catches incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Tanner Purdum, LS (Jets): One year, $980K. $400K guaranteed (Twitter link via Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press).
- Brandon Williams, DT (Ravens): Five years, $52.5MM. $27.5MM guaranteed. $12.5MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun).
- Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB (Falcons): One year, $775K (minimum salary) (Twitter link via Wilson).
NFC Contract Details: Fairley, Peppers, Reiff
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFC contracts:
- Nick Fairley, DL (Saints): Four years, $28MM. $14MM guaranteed. $8MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $1MM, $4.25MM, $5.95MM, $5.95MM (Twitter link via Wilson). $500K available yearly in sack incentives (link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com).
- Captain Munnerlyn, CB (Panthers): Four years, $17MM. $8MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. $1MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
- Julius Peppers, DL (Panthers): One year, $3.5MM. $750K available via incentives (Twitter link via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com).
- Riley Reiff, T (Vikings): Five years, $58.75MM. $26.3MM guaranteed. $11MM signing bonus (Twitter links via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com). Annual $500K Pro Bowl escalator clause (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Mike Remmers, T (Vikings): Five years, $30MM. $10.5MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
- Dion Sims, TE (Bears): Three years, $18MM. $6MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com).
- Stefen Wisniewski, OL (Eagles): Three years, $9MM. $3.25MM guaranteed. $1.75MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer)