Seahawks, Jamal Adams Agree To Deal
The Seahawks and Jamal Adams have agreed to terms on a four-year, $70MM deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The contract makes Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety on a per-year basis with $38MM in guarantees. 
The Seahawks traded for Adams last summer, sending two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and fellow safety Bradley McDougald to the Jets. The deal brought them a fourth-round pick in addition to one of the game’s most exciting young talents.
Adams – who won’t turn 26 until October – has been a certified star since his rookie season. Between 2018 and 2019, only Vikings standout Anthony Harris graded out higher than Adams at safety, according to Pro Football Focus. Eddie Jackson (Bears) was No. 3 during that stretch, and Adams has now leapfrogged him by a wide margin in earnings.
In 2019, Adams earned his first ever First-Team All-Pro nod while notching 75 tackles, seven passes defensed, 6.5 sacks, and a defensive touchdown. Last year, he missed four games with a groin injury, but still showed his mettle as a dangerous playmaker. He notched 9.5 sacks in just 12 games, the most any defensive back has ever posted in a single season. And, with 83 overall stops including eleven tackles for loss, Adams earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod.
Previously, Adams was set to enter his “walk year” and make less than $10MM. Of course, the Seahawks would have been able to franchise tag him next spring, which hurt his leverage somewhat. Ultimately, the two sides reached a logical compromise – Adams gets his mega-deal and a chance to cash in all over again during his prime. The Seahawks, meanwhile, managed to get him for slightly less than Bobby Wagner‘s $18MM-AAV deal.
Jaguars Cut Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow‘s time with the Jaguars has come to an end. On Tuesday morning, the Jaguars released the former UF superstar as they work their way down to an 85-man roster.
“Thankful for the highs and even the lows, the opportunities, and the setbacks,” said Tebow on Twitter. “I’ve never wanted to make decisions out of fear of failure and I’m grateful for the chance to have pursued a dream. Thank you to the Jaguars organization and everyone who has supported me in this journey.”
Head coach Urban Meyer previously said that Tebow did a “decent job” in practice . Over the summer, 46% of PFR readers said Tebow would make Jacksonville’s 53-man roster, while another 25% said the ex-Broncos QB1 and Mets farmhand would land on the practice squad. The practice squad remains a possibility, but Tebow won’t be on the Jaguars’ varsity squad to start the year.
Tebow bulked up to 255 pounds — up ~20 from his quarterback days — to move to TE. Washington tight end Logan Thomas proved that the transition could be done, but it took him several years to find his footing. Of course, the ex-Virginia Tech quarterback made the move in his mid-20s; Tebow was trying it at the age of 33.
Due to his NFL service time, Tebow will be a full-fledged free agent by the end of the business day. However, it’s not clear if Tebow will receive — or pursue — an opportunity elsewhere.
In addition to Tebow, the Jaguars have also made the following moves to reach the 85-man max:
- CB D.J. Daniel (waived)
- WR Josh Imatorbhebhe (waived/injured)
- WR Tim Jones (waived/injured)
- DT Daniel Ross (IR)
Steelers To Acquire Joe Schobert From Jags
Aug. 15: The Jags are paying $3.65MM of Schobert’s 2021 pay, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. That is exactly half of Schobert’s $7MM base salary plus $300K in per-game roster bonuses. Schobert is also converting $2.36MM of his remaining salary into a signing bonus in order to decrease his cap charge on Pittsburgh’s 2021 books.
Schobert’s non-guaranteed salaries of $8.75MM, $10.25MM, and $10.75MM from 2022-24 will remain unchanged.
Aug. 12: Joe Schobert is headed back to the AFC North. The Jaguars are trading the veteran linebacker to the Steelers, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The Steelers will send a 2022 sixth-round pick to the Jags to complete this deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Schobert will end up having spent just one season in Jacksonville, with the team’s new regime moving in a different direction. The Steelers will pick up the sixth-year vet’s five-year, $53.75MM contract. This addition comes a few weeks after longtime Pittsburgh inside linebacker Vince Williams announced his retirement.
The Steelers are plenty familiar with Schobert, who worked as a Browns starter for three seasons prior to his March 2020 departure for Jacksonville. Schobert led the NFL with 144 tackles in 2017, earning him a Pro Bowl nod, and he led the Browns in stops in 2018 and ’19 as well. Schobert, 27, paced the Jags in tackles in 2020, with 141, but the effort came for a team that capped a 15-game losing streak that produced the No. 1 overall pick. That led Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer to Jacksonville, where changes are taking place.
Pittsburgh has Devin Bush returning from a torn ACL; Schobert will provide the team with a proven starter alongside its 2019 first-round pick. A former fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, Schobert is set to earn $7MM in base salary this year. This move will hand the Jaguars a few million in dead-money charges, but the team leads the NFL in cap space as of Thursday.
Mike Tomlin has been high on Schobert’s coverage ability for a while, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter). Pro Football Focus did not view Schobert as a plus coverage ‘backer in 2020, but he graded in the top 15 overall at the position in 2018. Schobert will soon adjust to his fourth defensive system in four seasons. Of course, that was already the case with the Jaguars retooling their staff under Meyer.
Schobert and Myles Jack resided as the most productive players in the Jags’ lineup last season, with numerous backups joining them in the lineup as the season careened off course. The team has since signed Damien Wilson and used a fourth-round pick on Jordan Smith at linebacker. They also added ex-Alabama standout Dylan Moses as a UDFA, though he remains on the team’s NFI list.
Bold Take Pod’s Eric Dilla was the first to report a trade was in the works (Twitter link).
Bears, OT Jason Peters Agree To Deal
Jason Peters will have a chance to play an 18th NFL season. The longtime Eagles left tackle agreed to terms with the Bears, according to his agency (on Twitter). Peters will join the Bears on a one-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
The nine-time Pro Bowler will join a Bears team that is transitioning at tackle. Chicago parted ways with both Charles Leno and Bobby Massie, its starting tackle tandem of the past five years, and has much younger cogs in place at those posts. A 39-year-old blocker will now be in this mix, with Matt Nagy confirming Saturday (via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, on Twitter) that Peters will vie for the team’s left tackle job.
Peters said in January he planned to play in 2021, and he waited patiently as an opportunity came seven months later. The acclaimed tackle spent the past 12 seasons in Philadelphia, beginning his tenure blocking for Donovan McNabb and ending it with Carson Wentz. The Eagles have embarked on an interesting retooling effort, with a new coaching staff now in place.
While Peters re-signed with Philly last summer, he was not connected to another reunion with the team. This signing will, however, reunite Peters and Bears O-line coach Juan Castillo, who was Peters’ position coach in his first two seasons in Philly.
The Bears drafted Teven Jenkins in this year’s second round and signed former Broncos swing tackle/injury replacement Elijah Wilkinson this offseason. Jenkins is currently sidelined with a back injury. Peters obviously resides several tiers above each for accomplishments, though he certainly brings age- and injury-related questions. He suffered season-ending injuries midway through the 2017 and 2020 seasons, with a toe injury sidelining him last season. Peters last played 16 games in 2018.
That said, Pro Football Focus graded Peters as its No. 6 overall tackle in 2019. The former Bills UDFA has made 203 starts and made the Pro Bowl with both Buffalo and Philadelphia. The Bears, who now have a high-end quarterback investment to protect in Justin Fields, appear to be somewhat concerned about their tackle situation. They will see how much Peters has left in the tank.
Chicago’s Peters move carrying him into his 18th season will place the Hall of Fame candidate in rarefied air. Among non-quarterbacks and specialists, the Rams’ Andrew Whitworth is the NFL’s only other 39-year-old player on a roster. Only one player has started more than eight games at tackle at age 39 or older — Ray Brown, 2004 — so the two veterans will aim to further distinguish their careers this season.
Colts, Darius Leonard Agree To Extension
7:31pm: Guarantee-wise, it does not look like Leonard’s deal will be quite as lucrative as Mosley’s. The Colts linebacker will see $33MM fully guaranteed, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. That comes in $10MM below Mosley’s figure, which could be expected given that the Jets linebacker was a free agent when he inked that deal in 2019.
Factoring in the injury guarantees, Leonard’s extension does lead all off-ball linebackers; the Colts included $53MM guaranteed overall. Leonard’s full $20MM signing bonus will be paid by March 2022, JLC adds. Overall, Leonard’s extension checks in at $98.5MM base valeu, per OverTheCap, but it can max out at $99.3MM through weekly bonuses and Pro Bowl incentives.
8:07am: The Colts and star linebacker Darius Leonard have agreed to a five-year, $99.25MM extension, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Leonard is now the highest-paid off-ball LB in the league.
Leonard and 49ers ‘backer Fred Warner, both selected in the 2018 draft, became extension-eligible at the end of the 2020 campaign, and because they were not first-round choices, they were slated for free agency next spring. So it was imperative for their respective clubs to extend their defensive cornerstones sooner rather than later, and after Warner signed a five-year, $95MM pact last month, it felt like only a matter of time before the Colts and Leonard came together on a slightly more lucrative accord.
Indeed, we heard on July 21 that the two sides were close to a new deal, but as Rapoport adds in a separate tweet, negotiations came to a standstill over the past several weeks. It’s unclear exactly what the holdup was, but perhaps it had to do with guarantees and cash flow.
As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com reports, Leonard did not just set the off-ball LB market in terms of average annual value ($19.85MM). His $52.5MM in guaranteed money edges out the $51MM that C.J. Mosley pulled down from the Jets several years ago, and the $60MM that he will receive over the first three years of the deal tops Warner’s $58.7MM (Twitter link).
Leonard, 26, is certainly worthy of that type of commitment. He earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2018, and in his first three years as a pro, he has made three Pro Bowls and earned two First Team All-Pro nods. Although Pro Football Focus did not think as highly of his run defense or pass coverage in 2020 as it did in the prior two years, he consistently ranks among the best LBs in football in terms of both advanced metrics and raw stats. Since entering the league, Leonard leads all inside linebackers in tackles per game (9.9), TFL per game (one), sacks (15), forced fumbles (nine), and he is second in interceptions (seven) (h/t Field Yates of ESPN.com on Twitter).
In short, he is an elite defender and an indispensable piece of Indy’s front seven. He is now being paid like it.
Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio first reported that a deal was either done or close to being done (Twitter link).
Jags CB C.J. Henderson Available Via Trade?
The Jaguars used the No. 9 overall pick last year on cornerback C.J. Henderson. Although the young defender saw his rookie season cut short, he was viewed as a foundational piece for the franchise. Jacksonville’s new regime may not feel the same way.
Multiple NFL executives believe Henderson is now available via trade, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Buzz around the league has surfaced that the Jaguars are shopping the second-year corner, Fowler adds. This would certainly be a surprising development, but new decision-makers are running the show now in north Florida.
Henderson, the second corner off the board last year, just came back off the Jags’ reserve/COVID-19 list. While the ex-Florida Gator and the Jags are believed to have a good relationship, Fowler tweets, the prospect he will be traded after one season now appears to be in play.
The Jags’ Dave Caldwell–Doug Marrone regime drafted Henderson and plugged him into the starting lineup in Week 1 of last season. Henderson arrived as the centerpiece of the team’s new-look cornerback group, following the trades of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Henderson played in eight games in 2020 but landed on IR in November. Henderson subsequently underwent shoulder labrum surgery. Pro Football Focus graded him as a middle-of-the-pack corner in 2020.
Urban Meyer and GM Trent Baalke have added some notable cornerback pieces this offseason, signing Shaquill Griffin and drafting Tyson Campbell in the second round. Henderson would seemingly still have a starting job in Jacksonville, should the team stand pat, but he would also generate interest. After a rookie season in which Henderson played just half the Jags’ games, however, his trade value may not produce a first-round pick. But given that the Jags covered Henderson’s rookie-contract signing bonus, he will obviously fetch the franchise a notable trade haul. The 22-year-old cover man is signed through 2023, with a fifth-year option covering 2024, and a team that trades for him would only be responsible for his rookie-scale base salaries.
Dolphins, Xavien Howard Agree To Reworked Contract
Xavien Howard is staying in Miami. The Dolphins and their star cornerback have agreed to a restructured deal that gives Howard more earning power, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network was first to report (via Twitter).
This was the expected outcome after we learned yesterday that Howard had returned to practice. And while this transaction is believed to mark the first time in league history that a player with four years remaining on his contract has received new money and guarantees — without a full-blown extension, at least — it doesn’t seem like a particularly onerous commitment from Miami’s perspective.
The Dolphins fully guaranteed Howard’s 2021 salary of $12.785MM and added $3.5MM in incentives tied to playing time and a Pro Bowl or All-Pro appearance, as veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson details (Twitter link). Plus, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report, Howard will see $6.775MM of his $12.975MM 2022 pay fully-guaranteed right away. The remainder is guaranteed for injury for now and will become fully-guaranteed on the first day of the 2022 league year (Twitter links). Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network tweets that the club is also waiving the $93K of fines that Howard incurred for holding out of minicamp.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the Dolphins have assured Howard that they will return to the negotiating table in February or March of 2022 (Twitter link via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald). Of course, Howard will need to stay healthy and continue to perform at a high level, and one hopes that player and team are aligned on the potential outcomes of a renegotiation next year. For instance, if Howard believes the team is open to an extension but the team is thinking more along the lines of another restructure, the relationship could sour quickly.
When Howard signed his current deal in 2019, he was the highest-paid corner in the league. But his current $15MM/year average now ranks just sixth at the position, and as he led the NFL with 10 interceptions last year and graded out as the second-best CB in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, he was pushing for a pay bump and requested a trade to force the issue.
Ultimately, the fact that he was still under club control for four years limited what the Dolphins were willing to do, but the team is certainly happy to have its top defender back on the field and at peace with his contract status. The adjustments Miami made to Howard’s deal seem like a small price to pay for that.
Bills Sign Josh Allen To $258MM Extension
It’s a done deal. On Friday, the Bills signed Josh Allen to a six-year contract extension. The deal is worth $258MM in total with $150MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). That includes $100M fully guaranteed upon signing, the largest in the history of the sport (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
Allen is now signed through the 2028 season with a deal to reflect his performance. Last year, the 25-year-old set the Bills’ single-season franchise records for touchdown passes (37), completions (396), completion rate (69.2), passing yards (4,544), and total TDs (46). If not for Aaron Rodgers‘ even more impressive season, Allen would have been the NFL’s 2020 MVP.
The forthcoming details of the deal will reveal Allen’s true standing among the league’s highest-paid QBs. However, it’s expected that the deal will include a team-friendly structure to help the Bills’ cap situation in the short term. He seems to have leapfrogged Cowboys star Dak Prescott in both average annual value and guarantees — Prescott’s four-year, $160MM pact puts him at $40MM per year with $126MM in guaranteed cash.
The Bills did well to lock up Allen before other QBs got their deals. Of the three quarterbacks who have landed on the extension radar this offseason — Allen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield — Allen is coming off the best season. He didn’t start his pro career quite like Jackson or Mayfield, but he has steadily improved, leading up to last year’s dominant showing.
Allen, fresh off Second Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections, now ranks as one of the highest-paid players in NFL history.
QB Philip Rivers Would Consider Late-Season Return
We may not have seen the last of Philip Rivers. Sam Farmer of the LA Times reports (via Twitter) that the quarterback “isn’t closing the door” on returning to the NFL. While the 39-year-old is currently focused on his gig as a high school coach, he’d consider joining a QB-needy squad late in the season.
The 17-year veteran announced his retirement back in January, but that came after a month or so of mulling his decision. At the time, Rivers cited his “growing desire to coach high school football” as reasoning for hanging up his cleats. The 39-year-old still sounds committed to that cause, but Rivers could return to the NFL once the high school season concludes.
Of course, a potential return would be dependent on a job opening. Presumably, Rivers would only be interested in joining a contender, which means a top QB would have to succumb to injury. Plus, these teams might prefer to stick with their in-house options, so Rivers’ list of suitors will probably be limited. Still, these hypothetical suitors could do a whole lot worse; Rivers guided the Colts to an 11-5 record last season while completing 68-percent of his passes for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
That performance was a big reason why the Colts were interested in a reunion. Indy could use someone of Rivers’ caliber right now while Carson Wentz is sidelined. However, the current starter is expected to miss anywhere from five to 12 weeks; even if Wentz returns on the late side of that timeline, it would still only be late October. If Rivers is truly only focused on a late-season return, the Colts probably won’t be a fit.
Rivers spent 16 years with the Chargers before spending the 2020 campaign in Indianapolis. In total, the former fourth-overall pick threw for 63,440 yards and 421 touchdowns while earning nine Pro Bowl nods during his career.
Browns, Nick Chubb Agree On $36MM Extension
We’ve heard a lot about a potential Nick Chubb extension this offseason, and now it’s officially happening. The Browns and the running back have agreed to terms on an extension, a source told Mike Jones of USA Today (Twitter link).
Jones said four years, but it’s actually a three-year extension worth $36MM with $20MM guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson was first to tweet that a deal was close. It had always been up in the air whether something would get done before the season started, but they managed to get it done with plenty of time to spare.
As a second-round pick in 2018, Chubb was previously set to enter the final year of his rookie deal. He’s been one of the best running backs in the NFL since entering the league, and has made the Pro Bowl each of the last two seasons.
The Georgia product led the league in rushing in 2019 and led the league in rushing touchdowns last year with 12 despite playing only 12 games. Impressively, Chubb has averaged at least five yards per carry in each of his three pro seasons.
Chubb is now one of the league’s highest-paid running backs, and he should have at least another opportunity to break the bank. As a result of this relatively short-term deal, Chubb will get to re-enter free agency in the spring of 2025 when he’ll still only be 29.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski loves to run the ball, and he wasn’t about to let the engine of his offense go anywhere. The deal will keep Chubb tied to the Browns through the 2024 campaign. Cleveland also has Kareem Hunt in their backfield, but that didn’t appear to make them at all hesitant about paying Chubb.