Dolphins Trade Shaq Lawson To Texans For Benardrick McKinney
The Dolphins and Texans are in agreement on a trade that will send inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to Miami in exchange for outside linebacker Shaq Lawson, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com was first to report (via Twitter). Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports that the Dolphins will send their 2021 sixth-round pick to Houston and will get the Texans’ 2021 seventh-rounder in return (Twitter link).
Lawson is the second player from Miami’s 2020 front-seven spending spree to be jettisoned over the last few days. After the ‘Fins failed to find a trade partner for Kyle Van Noy, they cut him loose after just one season in South Beach. Now, Lawson will try to build on a solid, if unspectacular, 2020 season with his third pro team.
The Texans, who parted ways with franchise icon J.J. Watt this offseason, were in desperate need of pass rush help, and Lawson graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 28th-best edge defender out of 109 qualified players (incidentally, new teammate Whitney Mercilus was at the very bottom of that list). Lawson’s four sacks and 25 QB pressures won’t make headlines, but he will be a welcome addition to the club’s pass rushing corps just the same. He will likely shift back to defensive end in new DC Lovie Smith‘s scheme.
Miami, meanwhile, adds a starting-caliber ILB to line up next to Jerome Baker. McKinney played in just four games in 2020 due to a shoulder injury, but he had been pretty durable up to that point. A full-time starter since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2015, the Mississippi State product averaged 107.5 tackles per season from 2016-2019 and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2018. But the Texans recently brought in Christian Kirksey on a one-year pact, and they had given McKinney permission to seek a trade, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Per Wolfe, the Dolphins have been eyeing McKinney for awhile, and he gives them a worthy replacement for Van Noy. The team is now expected to pursue pass rush help in free agency to complement Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com).
From a salary cap standpoint, the trade is mostly a wash for both clubs. Lawson is due an $8.4MM salary in 2021 and $8.9MM in 2022, while McKinney is under club control through 2023 with salaries of $7MM, $8.75MM, and $9.5MM coming his way over the next three seasons. The Dolphins will have to absorb $2.7MM in dead money as a result of the deal, but all of McKinney’s guarantees have been paid out, so it will be easy for Miami to move on from him prior to the expiration of his current contract if he underperforms.
Now that these two teams have one notable trade in the books, one wonders if another deal involving a quarterback or two could be in the offing.
Chargers Release CB Casey Hayward
One of the better free agent signings in recent years, Casey Hayward will be forced to head back to the market. The Chargers are releasing the veteran cornerback, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The team announced the move.
A former Packer, Hayward spent the past five seasons with the Bolts. The Chargers will save $9.75MM by cutting Hayward in the final year of his contract. They attempted to trade Hayward first.
“I’ve known for a couple of days,” Hayward said (via veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, on Twitter) of the Bolts’ plans to move on. “I know they were seeing if they could trade me, wanting to keep my salary the same. I’m definitely open to new possibilities now. I want to play at least a couple more years.”
This marks a major change for the Bolts, who saw their initial Hayward contract — three years, $15.3MM — produce two Pro Bowls and a second-team All-Pro honor. Hayward agreed to a three-year, $34.25MM re-up ahead of the 2018 season.
Going into the 2020 slate, the Chargers had three All-Pro corners — Hayward, Desmond King and 2020 signing Chris Harris. Entering free agency, Harris is the only one left for a Bolts defense that will transition to Brandon Staley‘s scheme. While Staley was only with the Broncos for one season and helmed the outside linebackers during his Denver stint, Harris was with the team during Staley’s stay.
Hayward, 31, led the NFL with seven INTs in 2016. He picked off four passes in his second Chargers season, another Pro Bowl slate, and was a key presence for a Chargers defense that ranked third overall in the team’s 2018 playoff campaign. The nine-year veteran’s play tailed off last season, with Pro Football Focus slotting him outside the top 60 players at his position.
With the cuts of Hayward and Trai Turner, the Chargers have moved their cap-space figure north of $45MM. This will help the now-Justin Herbert-centered team in need areas. The offensive line certainly profiles as one. But with Hayward gone and Michael Davis a free agent-to-be, cornerback will be an area to address as well.
Buccaneers, Tom Brady Agree To Extension
The Buccaneers will sign Tom Brady to a one-year extension (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The new deal will keep Brady in place through 2022. 
Technically speaking, the new add-on is actually a four-year contract extension, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. However, those final years are voidable, making this a one-year extension that ties him to Tampa for just one additional year.
Exact terms of the contract are not yet known. But, the revised deal will provide the Bucs with approximately $19MM in cap room this year (Twitter link via Schefter). As of last week, the Bucs were said to have only $11MM available. Meanwhile, Brady’s presence should help the Super Bowl champs keep the band together. In the coming days, the Buccaneers will work to keep top free agents such as tight end Rob Gronkowski, edge rusher Shaquil Barrett, and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
The future Hall of Famer was initially on the books for $28.4MM in 2021. Coming off a rather successful age-43 season, Brady says he’s open to playing past age 45. Brady will turn 44 in August, so the two sides could be talking extension again in March of 2022.
The Bucs’ bid to keep the band together is already off to a solid start. In recent days, they’ve assigned the franchise tag to Chris Godwin and re-upped linebacker Lavonte David ahead of free agency.
Bills Re-Sign Matt Milano
As free agency draws nearer, the Bills are locking up one of their own with a big commitment. Buffalo has agreed to terms to re-sign linebacker Matt Milano, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The deal is for four years and a whopping $44MM, with $24MM of that being guaranteed. We had heard just a few weeks ago that the Bills were planning on letting Milano hit the open market, and many were expecting both sides to move on, so this one is a bit surprising.
The conventional wisdom was that the Bills might get priced out on Milano with the emergence of A.J. Klein and the upcoming potential extension for fellow linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. This is a pretty solid deal for the Bills considering many expected him to be even more expensive. In fact, a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN that the Bills were “pleasantly surprised” that Milano opted not to test the open market (Twitter link). Milano reportedly stressed how important the culture in Buffalo is to him, and his belief that the team is close to getting to a championship level.
Injuries limited Milano to only ten games this past season but he was still effective, racking up 45 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three passes defended, and an interception in those games. The year before he had 101 tackles in 15 games. A fifth-round pick back in 2017, Milano far exceeded all expectations from his draft status.
He started five games as a rookie and then became a full-time starter in 2018. One of the top free agent linebackers is now off the market. With Tre’Davious White and Dion Dawkins, Milano is part of an extremely successful 2017 Buffalo draft class.
Texans To Sign Mark Ingram
New Texans head coach David Culley made some puzzling comments on Deshaun Watson just now, but the Watson saga isn’t the only order of business the team has going on.
Houston has agreed to sign running back Mark Ingram to a one-year deal, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Per Schefter, the deal is worth “up to” $3MM, presumably indicating he’ll need to hit some incentives to get that full number. Ingram was cut by the Ravens back in January. Ingram will get a $500K signing bonus, and has $250K incentives for hitting both 750 and 1,000 yards rushing, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
The Texans recently cut Duke Johnson while coming to a new agreement with David Johnson, who Ingram will now presumably split carries with. Houston really values their running backs, pulling off several trades for runners in recent years. With a duo of Johnson (29) and now Ingram (31), it won’t exactly be the most youthful backfield in 2021. The 28th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Ingram spent the first eight years of his career with the Saints.
He then spent the past two seasons in Baltimore, and will now head off to Houston for his 11th pro campaign. The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner wasn’t very productive last year, but in 2019 he was a Pro Bowler and rushed for 1,018 yards and ten touchdowns while averaging five yards per attempt.
With the Ravens drafting J.K. Dobbins early last year he fell out of favor in the rotation, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing left to contribute. It’ll be interesting to see what his usage is like next to Johnson.
New Texans HC David Culley Speaks On Deshaun Watson
New Texans head coach David Culley has finally spoken on the Deshaun Watson saga, and he didn’t exactly clear things up. In a press conference with the general media, Culley was insistent that the team was all in on Watson.
“We are very committed to Deshaun [Watson] as our quarterback. He is our quarterback,” Culley said, via this tweet from Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Culley also deferred questions about Watson asking for a trade to GM Nick Caserio, who wasn’t there. “It’s not a matter of me trying to change anyone’s mind. We’re committed to him. He’s a Houston Texan and we’re going to move forward with that,” Culley said when asked if Watson could be talked out of his trade request, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Culley added that “there is no contingency plan” for if Watson decides not to report. He also said “yes, he is,” when asked if Watson is committed to the Texans, which would seem to be demonstrably false. What makes these comments interesting, is that they’re in sharp contrast to what Culley told Jim Trotter of NFL Network just hours earlier.
Trotter tweeted that he walked away from his conversation with Culley “firmly” believing that Watson will be traded. Culley told Trotter that “he is our starting quarterback right now. He is our starting quarterback. Things happen between now and then. We’ll see what happens.” When he spoke on that more free-wheeling podcast, Culley gave the quarterback kiss of death of ‘right now.’
Culley also told Trotter that “we want guys who are all in.” Reading the tea leaves there it certainly sounds like Culley knows there’s a very good chance Watson is dealt before the 2021 season. It also sounds like somebody spoke with him between that podcast interview and his press conference and asked him to change his tone.
Anytime ‘right nows’ start getting thrown around, it’s seemingly the beginning of the end. This drama could still take many more twists and turns, but as Trotter himself noted, it now sounds like the writing is on the wall.
Vikings Release Riley Reiff
Yet another big name player is getting the axe. The Vikings are releasing offensive tackle Riley Reiff, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
We heard over the weekend that Minnesota was looking for Reiff to take a pay-cut, and obviously the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. The release will now save the Vikings about $11MM in cap space for 2021. Reiff had been due a $5MM roster bonus on March 19th, so there was a tight timeline here. With the move the Vikings are now officially under the salary cap as they get ready for free agency.
The cap savings are nice, but they’ll now need a new starting left tackle. Prior to Week 17 when he was placed on the COVID-19 list, Reiff hadn’t missed a snap in 2020. In his nine seasons in the league, Reiff has never played in less than 13 games, which will certainly help his cause on the open market. The Vikings did right by him and gave him a $1MM bonus back in February to make up for the playing time incentive he missed because of that COVID game, which had led to some optimism they’d be able to work something out.
The 23rd overall pick of the 2012 draft, Reiff spent his first five years in Detroit. He then signed a five-year, $58.75MM contract with the Vikings in March of 2017 and has been their left tackle ever since. Minnesota will now either look for his replacement elsewhere, or move Bryan O’Neill from right tackle to left.
Reiff will be hitting free agency again now at the age of 32. Although he’s never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he’s capable of being a solid starter. Plenty of squads should be interested as he joins a strong offensive line market, and a team like the Chargers make a lot of sense on paper.
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.
Titans To Release CB Malcolm Butler
The Titans will opt out of the final two years of Malcolm Butler‘s contract. They are releasing the veteran cornerback, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Cutting Butler will save the Titans $10.2MM. Ahead of this transaction, Tennessee held barely $1MM in cap space. The former Super Bowl hero spent three seasons with the Titans, signing a lucrative contract in 2018.
Tennessee added Butler on a five-year, $61.25MM deal in 2018. Although Butler turned 31 last week, the former UDFA will again generate interest as a free agent. He finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ No. 15 overall corner, playing 16 games after an injury-shortened 2019 slate. Butler intercepted four passes in 2020 and finished with the lowest yards-per-completion and yards-per-target figures of his Tennessee run.
A cornerback overhaul may be in the cards for the defending AFC South champions, who let Logan Ryan walk in free agency last year. They have Adoree’ Jackson going into a non-guaranteed $10.2MM fifth-year option season. After Jackson played in just three games last season, he could well be on track to join Butler in free agency soon. The Titans can only cut Jackson if he passes a physical, with the options for players drafted in the 2017 first round guaranteed for injury only.
The Titans also have two offensive free agents who should expected to be coveted next week. Funds from the Butler release could go to retaining either Jonnu Smith or Corey Davis. The Titans did not use their franchise tag this year.
Buccaneers, Lavonte David Agree To Deal
Shortly after using their franchise tag on Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers are moving forward with the rest of their free agents-to-be. They agreed to terms with Lavonte David on an extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
David agreed to stay in Tampa on a two-year deal worth $25MM, Rapoport notes. The nine-year veteran linebacker would have been a coveted free agent, despite going into his age-31 season, but he will stay with the team he helped lead to a Super Bowl title. The Bucs are including $20MM in David guarantees, Rapoport tweets.
Bucs GM Jason Licht confirmed recently the team was interested in retaining David, but the reigning champions have a host of high-end free agents to re-sign. Prior to this David deal coming to pass, the Bucs were $4MM-plus over the projected $180MM cap floor. However, the official cap figure has not come in yet. The Bucs are still going to need to do some work in order to have room to sign the bulk of its free agent glut.
Shaquil Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette remain on track for free agency. Barrett has said he will seek to maximize his value, though Gronkowski and Brown have indicated they would prefer to stay with the Bucs. Despite the Bucs being the first team since 2009 to use a top-five pick on an off-ball linebacker (Devin White), they found room for a third David deal.
This contract does not match David’s 2015 accord in length (five years), but that deal averaged $10MM annually. This one includes a salary north of that mark. David and the Bucs negotiated for a bit last year but could not agree on terms, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) Demario Davis‘ late-season extension — worth $9MM annually — induced a delay. David wanted to top that, and after playing a pivotal role on Tampa Bay’s second Super Bowl team, the former second-round pick did so.
Pro Football Focus rated David as its No. 4 overall off-ball ‘backer last season. He finished off the season by helping the Bucs limit Travis Kelce in Super Bowl LV. The Browns were interested in signing David as well, but the Bucs are assured of bringing he and Godwin back. More work remains on Tampa’s core-retention project, however.