Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/21
Today’s “minor” moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: P Andy Lee
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: LB Tyler Matakevich
Carolina Panthers
- Released: DT Zach Kerr
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: WR Noah Brown
Houston Texans
- Signed: S Terrence Brooks, G Justin McCray, DT Vincent Taylor, CB Tremon Smith
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Rudy Ford
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: DT Carl Davis
New York Giants
- Re-signed: DT Austin Johnson
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: Rashod Hill
Giants, RB Devontae Booker Agree To Deal
The Giants will bring in a veteran backup to supplement Saquon Barkley. They agreed to terms with Devontae Booker on Monday night, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
A former Broncos draftee, Booker spent last season with the Raiders and enjoyed a productive season spelling Josh Jacobs. Booker agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $6MM, Fowler notes. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the deal includes $2MM guaranteed.
This marks an upgrade for Booker, who could only fetch a one-year deal worth barely league-minimum money last year. After receiving just two carries in 16 games with the 2019 Broncos, Booker took 93 handoffs and rushed for 423 yards and three touchdowns with the Raiders last season. While the former fourth-round pick worked as Denver’s primary back down the stretch in 2016, replacing an injured C.J. Anderson, he has mostly been a backup as a pro.
Barkley continues to work his way back from the ACL tear he suffered in Week 2. The star back is progressing on course and should be ready for Big Blue’s training camp. The Giants have used a few players as Barkley complementary help over his three-year career, and backfield depth became critical last season. Wayne Gallman, Alfred Morris and Devonta Freeman handled the ball-carrying duties after Barkley’s injury. None are under contract with the team for 2021, putting Booker in position to hold New York’s RB2 role.
Giants Pushing To Sign Leonard Floyd
5:34pm: This market moved fast. The Giants’ push for Floyd did not end in a deal. The Rams are bringing him back. Although other edge rushers remain available, the market is thinning. Floyd, Yannick Ngakoue and Matt Judon have chosen their teams.
5:31pm: Featuring an edge-rushing need for a couple of years now, the Giants are trying to poach the Rams’ top outside sack artist. They are making a push to sign Leonard Floyd, per Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Rams have not given up on re-signing Floyd; they remain in talks with the former first-round pick. The Giants are not in the finalizing stage yet here, Russini adds, so a bidding war may be taking place.
A Floyd agreement would be interesting for the Giants, who have used their franchise tag on Leonard Williams. A two-Leonard front seven would make re-signing Dalvin Tomlinson quite difficult. The Williams tag has left the Giants with less than $3MM in cap space, so the team still has moves to make ahead of the March 17 start to the 2021 league year.
Latest On Giants, Leonard Williams
There hasn’t been much progress between the Giants and Leonard Williams yet, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter). Ideally, the Giants would like to hammer out a deal before the start of the tampering period on Monday. 
A new deal for Williams could reduce his 2021 cap hit, giving the Giants some sorely needed flexibility with the reduced cap. As it stands, Williams is set to earn $19.35MM in 2021, a 20% pay raise over last year’s franchise tag.
[RELATED: Giants Want To Re-Sign Tomlinson]
Last year’s tag raised a lot of eyebrows; Williams responded by dropping jaws. In 2020, he posted a career-high 11.5 sacks, plus 14 total tackles for loss and 30 quarterback hits. Now, Williams is looking for a long-term deal to match his performance. That’ll likely cost around ~$20MM per annum.
The Giants have until mid-July to work out a long-term deal with Williams, but they have an increased sense of urgency with free agency on the horizon. The Giants want to go shopping for help at wide receiver, edge rusher, and other key positions, but they don’t want to do it on a shoestring budget. In turn, Williams’ camp has been happy to slow-play negotiations.
The extra room would also help the Giants to retain their own free agents, including fellow defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 25-ranked interior defender in 2020. Now, he’s in line for multi-year deal worth $8MM-$10MM per season.
Giants, Nate Solder Finalizing Reworked Deal
The Giants are on track to have Nate Solder back for the 2021 season. They are finalizing a reworked deal for the veteran left tackle, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
Solder opted out of last season but expressed a desire to play in 2021. The 6-foot-8 tackle is attached to a $16.5MM cap number, after his contract tolled from 2020. That number will be coming down.
This process has been in the works for a bit now. Despite the Giants’ big-ticket free agency deal with Solder not working out to their liking, the former first-round pick would have cost the team $10.5MM in dead money to release. (A post-June 1 cut would have been in play as well, given the circumstances.) The team just used its franchise tag on Leonard Williams for the second straight year, and Dalvin Tomlinson remains in the picture to be re-signed. Carrying a $16.5MM cap figure for a middling tackle would be an impediment to the Giants’ free agency plans.
It will now be interesting to see how the Giants configure their offensive line. They used 2020 No. 4 overall pick Andrew Thomas at Solder’s left tackle position last season. Prior to Solder’s opt-out decision, the tentative Big Blue plan was for Thomas to begin his career at right tackle during what was expected to be Solder’s final year as a Giant. Solder played right tackle as a rookie with the Patriots but has spent the bulk of his career on the left side.
New York worked in third-round pick Matt Peart at right tackle for stretches last season; the UConn product played 15% of the Giants’ offensive snaps in 2020. It is certainly possible Peart continues to be a contributor, but Solder returning would place the second-year blocker on track to be a backup again.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: TE Jaeden Graham
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: FB John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OL Tyler Shatley
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released: LB Malik Jefferson
New York Giants
- Re-signed: WR C.J. Board
Giants Optimistic About Nate Solder Return
The Giants cut Kevin Zeitler this week, and many people have been expecting another big name offensive lineman to follow him out the door. However, it sounds like veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder might be spared amidst the cap casualty onslaught.
There is now optimism within the organization that Solder will play for the Giants in 2021, a source told Dan Duggan of The Athletic (Twitter link). Duggan notes that the sides are “still working out the terms,” so it sounds like Solder’s contract is going to be restructured. In all likelihood, that means Solder will be taking a pay-cut.
He had been scheduled to carry a $16.5MM cap hit for this season. New York has been needing to clear space in order to bring back guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson, and many pointed to a Solder cut as an obvious way to save money.
The Giants are indeed talking “restructured numbers” with Solder, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post confirmed in a tweet. A source told Dunleavy that it never reached that point with Zeitler, meaning Zeitler was a goner from the beginning despite some speculation that he could restructure as well.
New York signed Solder to a massive four-year, $62MM deal in 2018, and he’s been a pretty big disappointment for that hefty contract. They almost traded him in 2019, but nothing got done. He opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, so he still has two more years left on that deal. He confirmed in February that he’s planning on returning for the 2021 season.
Contract Restructures: Panthers, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Eagles, Steelers
It’s that time of year when teams are frantically maneuvering ahead of free agency. Due to the cap falling because of COVID-19, things are even more hectic than ever. We’ve seen a whole bunch of contract restructures come in, and there will be a whole lot more. Let’s catch you up on the latest batch and their financial implications:
- The Panthers restructured Christian McCaffrey‘s contract recently, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. They converted $7MM of his $8MM base salary into a signing bonus, which freed up about $5.6MM in cap space for 2021. Almost a year ago McCaffrey signed his record-breaking extension that has him locked up through the 2025 season.
- The Cowboys have had a busy week with Dak Prescott‘s massive extension now in the books, and they made a trio of moves to help clear some space. Dallas restructured the deals of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, a source told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reworking of the three offensive linemen’s contracts cleared up about $17MM in cap space for Jerry Jones. As Archer notes, these moves have now gotten Dallas under the cap for 2021.
- The Giants just cut top offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler as they look to clear cap space to keep guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. The Zeitler release isn’t the only shuffling they’re doing, as they also restructured the contract of tight end Levine Toilolo, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweeted the details. Rather than a procedural restructure like you see with star players, Toilolo actually took a pay-cut to stay with the team. He had been scheduled to make $2.95MM this year but agreed to reduce that to $1.6MM, saving the Giants north of $1MM against the cap.
- We’ve got four other restructures to pass along, courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Saints restructured the deals of safety Malcolm Jenkins to save $3.4MM and offensive lineman Andrus Peat to save $6MM. New Orleans has the worst cap situation in the league, and they desperately needed moves like this to do things like franchise tag safety Marcus Williams.
- The Eagles saved $2.4MM by reworking the deal of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. Philly is right up there with New Orleans in terms of bad cap situations, so GM Howie Roseman is likely far from done here.
- The Steelers saved $880K by adjusting fullback Derek Watt‘s contract. Not exactly front page news here, but it should shore up Watt’s spot on the 2021 roster. T.J. and J.J.’s brother signed a three-year, $9.75MM pact last offseason.
Giants Release Kevin Zeitler
The Giants just made a big move. New York has released guard Kevin Zeitler, the team announced on Wednesday. Zeitler becomes the latest in a string of high profile cap casualties this past week.
The move will clear about $9.6MM in cap space the Giants needed if they wanted to retain guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. We heard last week that New York was shopping Zeitler, but teams were expecting him to get cut so no one was willing to offer anything. That being said, now that he doesn’t come with the hefty contract, there will be plenty of interest.
Zeitler certainly hasn’t played poorly, the Giants could just no longer justify the cap charge. Some people were skeptical the team would actually cut their best O-lineman with Daniel Jones heading into a make or break year, but these are the kinds of decisions necessitated by the league-wide cap crunch.
Zeitler had been set to make a salary of $12MM, and while he won’t get that, he’ll get some significant guaranteed money on the open market. The 27th overall pick of the 2012 draft spent his first five years with the Bengals before signing a five-year, $60MM pact with the Browns in 2017.
That deal made him the highest-paid guard in the league at the time. He was then traded to New York in March of 2019 as part of the blockbuster Odell Beckham Jr. trade. He’s never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but has nonetheless always been a solid starter.
He’s also been reliable, starting at least 15 games in each of the past six seasons, and he’s never played less than 12. With Zeitler off the roster, Shane Lemieux and Will Hernandez now project as the Giants’ two starting guards for 2021.
NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021
The NFL’s 2021 salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, marking the league’s first reduction in a decade. With that, the league has also ironed out the value of this year’s fifth-round option for 2018 first-round picks.
Here’s the full rundown, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter):
1. Baker Mayfield, Browns, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)
2. Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB — $7.217MM (1x Pro Bowl)
3. Sam Darnold, Jets, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)
4. Denzel Ward, Browns, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)
5. Bradley Chubb, Broncos, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)
6. Quenton Nelson, Colts, G — $13.754MM (2x Pro Bowl)
7. Josh Allen, Bills, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)
8. Roquan Smith, Bears, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)
9. Mike McGlinchey, 49ers, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)
10. Josh Rosen, Cardinals, QB*
11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers, S (drafted by Dolphins) — $10.612MM (2x Pro Bowl)
12. Vita Vea, Buccaneers, DT — $7.638MM
13. Daron Payne, Washington, DT — $8.529MM (playing time)
14. Marcus Davenport, Saints, DE — $9.553MM
15. Kolton Miller, Raiders, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)
16. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)
17. Derwin James, Chargers, S — $9.052MM (1x Pro Bowl)
18. Jaire Alexander, Packers, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)
19. Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys, LB — $9.145MM
20. Frank Ragnow, Lions, C — $12.657MM (1x Pro Bowl)
21. Billy Price, Bengals, C — $10.413MM
22. Rashaan Evans, Titans, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)
23. Isaiah Wynn, Patriots, OT — $10.413MM
24. D.J. Moore, Panthers, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)
25. Hayden Hurst, Falcons, TE (Drafted by Ravens) — $5.428MM
26. Calvin Ridley, Falcons, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)
27. Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, RB — $4.523MM
28., Steelers, S Terrell Edmunds — $6.753MM (playing time)
29. Taven Bryan, Jaguars, DT — $7.638MM
30. Mike Hughes, Vikings, CB — $12.643MM
31. Sony Michel, Patriots, RB — $4.523MM
32. Lamar Jackson, Ravens, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)
* Rosen was released from his original contract and, therefore, is not option-eligible
As a refresher, the fifth-year option year is now fully guaranteed. In the past, it was guaranteed for injury only. The values are also dependent on certain performance metrics:
- Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
- One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
- Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
- 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
- 75%+ average across all three seasons
- 50%+ in each of first three seasons
- Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.