Yannick Ngakoue Lashes Out At Jaguars
Yannick Ngakoue is getting restless. On Monday, the defensive end took to Twitter to express his frustration with the Jaguars and their reported lack of momentum on trade talks. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Haven’t Received Offers For Ngakoue]
“Tired of the back and forth @Jaguars,” Ngakoue wrote. “Let’s get this s— done.”
The 25-year-old also tweeted at team co-owner Tony Khan, telling him to “stop hiding.”
“I’m not in hiding sir, I’m in isolation getting ready for the draft,” Khan replied. “I’ve been pretty active on social media in isolation, but you wouldn’t know that since you unfollowed me (again).”
After that, Ngakoue challenged Khan to “let the world in on the truth.” The truth, he says, is that the two men agreed that the December game against the Chargers would be Ngakoue’s last in a Jaguars uniform. After that, Ngakoue accused Khan of trying to “backdoor the situation” while avoiding calls from his camp.
Khan went on to say that tweeting insults at him wouldn’t get Ngakoue traded any faster, thereby implying that the team is indeed willing to deal its disgruntled star. And according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, that’s news to rival teams. Though other clubs have talked trade with the Jags, no offers have been made to date, perhaps because Jacksonville was making it clear that it was not really serious about moving Ngakoue. If that was the case, it now seems as if the Jags really are open for business.
If it wasn’t obvious before, the barbs make it crystal clear: Ngakoue absolutely wants out of Jacksonville and the relationship seems to be broken beyond repair.
The former third-round pick engaged in extension discussions last year, but a Jaguars short-term offer helped lead to Ngakoue skipping the team’s offseason program. Shortly before the Jags cuffed him with the franchise tag this offseason, Ngakoue announced he had no intentions of signing a long-term deal with the team. It’s been bumpy ever since.
Jacksonville has parted ways with most of the players that played key roles for its 2017 AFC championship game-qualifying team. The Jags traded Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and Calais Campbell since October. They released Malik Jackson last year and cut Marcell Dareus to save money in March. The team has shopped Leonard Fournette as well.
Jaguars Discussing Leonard Fournette Trade
The Jaguars have engaged in trade discussions involving Leonard Fournette, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.Fournette has one season remaining on his rookie contract, though that deal can run through 2021 via the fifth-year option. 
The Jaguars have already traded corners Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye over the last year, but they might not be done with their overhaul. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has also requested a trade, so the Jaguars’ roster to open the 2020 campaign could be drastically different from their ’19 version.
Fournette is coming off of his best season to date. The former No. 4 overall pick set new career highs with 1,152 rushing yards and an average of 4.3 yards per tote. It was a solid answer to critics who wondered if he’d ever realize his potential. In the previous year, Fournette limped his way a 3.3 yards per carry average in eight games.
The 25-year-old could fetch some nice draft capital in return, though the Jaguars already have an impressive stockpile. With 12 selections as of this writing, the Jaguars are tied with the Patriots and Vikings for the second-highest total of picks in the league. Only the Dolphins, with 14 picks, have more.
There’s talent in this year’s running back class – headlined Georgia product D’Andre Swift – but none of this year’s incoming RBs are slam dunks for the first round. Teams like the Buccaneers, Falcons, and Bills could theoretically consider Fournette, allowing them to focus on other areas of need in the early stages. The Chiefs are another team with RBs on the radar, but they’re already pressed for cap room and Fournette’s $4.17MM deal wouldn’t fit.
Broncos’ Von Miller Tests Positive For COVID-19
Broncos star Von Miller has tested positive for COVID-19, according to his agent (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). His agent says that the Super Bowl 50 MVP is in good spirits as he recuperates at home. 
[RELATED: Rams’ Allen Tests Positive For COVID-19]
Miller’s camp has kept the Broncos in the loop and the pass rusher plans to speak publicly on the matter tomorrow. Unfortunately, Miller is not the first player to test positive for the coronavirus. Earlier this week, we learned that Rams center Brian Allen has also been diagnosed with the illness. And, early on in the pandemic, Saints head coach Sean Payton tested positive. Allen is symptom-free, Payton has been cleared, and Miller appears to be in okay shape, but thousands have lost their lives to COVID-19. Miller’s diagnosis is yet another reminder to stay safe, practice good hygiene, and stay indoors whenever possible.
“You fatigue real easy,” Payton said after his recovery. “I’d be up moving around, doing something, then you’d want to lay down again. That lasted three or four days. By the time I got the test results back I had begun feeling better. I had my appetite back.”
Miller, 31, is set to enter his tenth season with the Broncos.
And, as Denver 7’s Troy Renck notes, Miller has been dealing with asthma and chronic allergies since childhood. We here at PFR wish Miller a speedy, and complete, recovery.
Rams C Brian Allen Tests Positive For COVID-19
Rams center Brian Allen is the first active NFL player to test positive for COVID-19, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports (Twitter link).
Allen first tested positive three weeks ago before testing positive again earlier this week. Fortunately, Allen now says he’s symptom-free and expects to receive the “all clear” this week.
The Rams, whose facilities had only been open to injured players, were forced to close down their building due to Allen’s positive test. Now that Allen is recovering, Los Angeles will be able to re-open next week, per Glazer.
It seemed inevitable that COVID-19 would eventually work its way into the NFL, and it’s entirely possible Allen won’t be the only NFL player diagnosed. It’s unclear if this news will force the league’s hand in terms of schedule; while events like free agency, the draft, and offseason workout programs have been moved to remote settings, no part of the NFL’s has been canceled as of yet.
Allen, 24, entered the league as a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. He became the Rams’ starting center in 2019 and appeared in nine games before suffering an MCL injury.
Panthers, Christian McCaffrey Agree To Record-Breaking Extension
Christian McCaffrey has agreed to a new four-year deal with the Panthers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The deal, worth an eye-popping $16MM per year, will position CMC as the highest-paid running back in the history of the NFL.
McCaffrey and the Panthers have been discussing an extension for some time, even though the youngster was a long way from free agency. The new deal, worth $64MM over the course of four years, will keep McCaffrey in place for many seasons to come.
The Panthers have overhauled their team in recent months, bidding farewell to head coach Ron Rivera, tight end Greg Olsen, one-time MVP quarterback Cam Newton, and other longtime figures. McCaffrey, of course, remained as a building block of the team’s future.
In September, Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott broke the RB record with his six-year, $90MM extension. Now, CMC has beaten that $15MM AAV by a cool $1MM. More importantly, he landed his deal on a much shorter term. The Panthers standout will be eligible for free agency while still in his prime, setting him up for even greater riches on his next deal.
Because records are made to be broken – particularly when it comes to NFL contracts – McCaffrey might not hold the mantle for long either. Saints star Alvin Kamara also has youth and accolades on his side, and his camp will certainly have this deal on the radar when it comes time to talk.
McCaffrey won’t turn 24 until June and he already has a First-Team All-Pro selection on his resume. Even in a down year for Carolina, McCaffrey still managed 1,387 rushing yards off of 287 carries, giving him an average of 4.8 yards per tote. he also caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards through the air. All combined, he notched 19 touchdowns on the year.
As great as McCaffrey is, the Panthers’ offer did not come without some serious deliberation. Past market-setting deals for running backs have yielded some seriously mixed results. Todd Gurley, for example, was unable to stay healthy after inking his four-year, $60MM whopper with the Rams. The former Offensive Player of the Year was cut midway through his deal, leading him to a one-year pact with the Falcons earlier this year.
“Obviously, we’ve had internal discussions,” GM Marty Hurney said recently, perhaps understating the status of the talks. “Everybody knows what we think of Christian as a player. Other than that I can’t really say any more.”
Even with one year left of McCaffrey’s contract, plus a fifth-year option for 2021, the Panthers didn’t want to let him get anywhere near the open market. Even after two 1,000-yard campaigns and a total of 2,523 receiving yards over three seasons, the Panthers believe that the best is yet to come.
Rams Trade Brandin Cooks To Texans
The Texans have agreed to send a second-round pick to the Rams in exchange for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a future fourth-round choice, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. With that, the Texans have found their replacement for DeAndre Hopkins while holding on to the second-round pick they acquired from the Cardinals. 
Cooks, interestingly enough, was shipped from the Patriots to the Rams roughly two years ago today. The well-traveled 26-year-old still has tons of potential, especially now that he’s in Deshaun Watson‘s offense. The biggest question mark, perhaps, is Cooks’ health. He has a history of concussions and one more bad blow could put his career in jeopardy.
Cooks, a 2014 first-round pick, emerged as a top-end wide receiver in 2015 when he racked up 84 catches, 1,138 yards, and nine scores. In 2017, the Saints shipped Cooks and a fourth-rounder to the Patriots for first- and third-round choices. After one year, the thrifty Pats sent him to the Rams, allowing L.A. to give him his payday. Now, he’ll continue on his five-year, $80MM deal with the Texans.
Even with Hopkins out of the picture, the Texans’ offense still projects to be a potent one. With Watson under center, their starting lineup will feature Cooks, Will Fuller, Randall Cobb, and Kenny Stills as their top receivers. Meanwhile, David Johnson and Duke Johnson will be in the backfield, with blocking specialist Darren Fells up front.
In exchange for Cooks, the Rams will receive the No. 57 overall pick in this month’s draft. Given the depth of this year’s crop, it might not be hard for them to fill the void at wide receiver. They’ll also gain some extra breathing room by unloading Cooks’ contract.
The Texans will take on the rest of his multi-year pact, which calls for an $8MM base salary in 2020. After that, he’s set to earn escalating salaries of $12MM, $13MM, and $14MM until 2023.
NFL Draft To Be “Fully Virtual”
On Monday, the NFL informed clubs that this year’s draft will be conducted with a “fully virtual format.” The memo from commissioner Roger Goodell lays out some of the basics for what will be the most unique NFL Draft in league history.
[RELATED: FIU QB James Morgan Drawing Interest]
The draft, which is still set to commence on April 23rd through April 25th, will go on with club personnel operating separately from their homes. Early on, there was some thought to executives gathering in their respective war rooms, but that possibility has been ruled out with more and more shelter-in-place orders throughout the United States.
“We have made this decision for several reasons,” the memo states. “All clubs will not have access to their facilities, which is contrary to the fundamental equity principle that all clubs operate in a consistent and fair way. Moreover, we want all NFL personnel to comply with the government directives and to model safe and appropriate health practices. Our staff will carry out its responsibilities in the same way, operating in separate locations outside of our offices.”
Meanwhile, this year’s draft evaluation process is tricky, especially when it comes to prospects with past medical trouble. Coaches, GMs, and other executives will be flying blind when it comes to many players, though some have gone through voluntary exams conducted by the league. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, for example, had a recheck recently and reportedly passed with flying colors.
Chiefs Re-Sign Sammy Watkins
Sammy Watkins is staying put. On Friday morning, the Chiefs reached agreement on a new one-year deal with the veteran wide receiver, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Throughout the offseason, there’s been talk of Watkins either taking a pay cut to stay in KC or walking away from football for at least one season. Watkins went with the former option. Under the terms of his old deal, Watkins was set to earn $14MM – an outsized sum given his role in the Chiefs’ stacked offense. Now, he’ll make $9MM in base salary with the potential to earn another $7MM through incentives, as Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network lays out most of those incentives, which are as follows (Twitter link):
- Eight TDs and Chiefs make playoffs: $750K
- 65 catches + playoffs: $750K
- 800 yards + playoffs: $750k
- AFC Championship Game win (50% snaps in game): $1.25MM
- 65 catches + AFC Championship Game win: $1.25MM
- 800 yards + AFC Championship Game win: $1.25MM
Those incentives “only” total $6MM, so assuming Paylor’s report is accurate, there is another $1MM incentives to be had, perhaps based on non-playoff-related milestones. If Watkins hits those incentives, he could earn up to $16MM, so in theory, his pay cut could actually wind up as a pay raise. At his best and healthiest in Buffalo, Watkins was a world-class offensive weapon. In KC, Watkins competes for targets with Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and other dangerous receivers, which makes it a little trickier to hit statistical markers.
There are two other major pluses to the new deal: it includes a no-trade clause, and it allows Watkins to hit unrestricted free agency next year at the age of 27. If he has a big year, he could cash in on a lucrative multi-year contract with the Chiefs or another club in need of a deep threat. Watkins has hauled in at least 40 catches for 500 receiving yards and three touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. He’s also shined in the postseason with an average of 92.8 receiving yards in five playoff games for the Chiefs.
Loaded with talent – especially on Watkins’ side of the ball – the Chiefs have mostly managed to keep the band together. They’ll bring back ten of their eleven offensive starters from the Super Bowl and eight of their nine best receivers, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. The Watkins restructure will help them to fortify a little bit. The Chiefs had next-to-zero cap room before the adjustment; they now have $5MM in breathing room.
Raiders’ Deal With Eli Apple Falls Through
The Raiders agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with cornerback Eli Apple during the first wave of the free agent period, but that agreement has since fallen through, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
While Schefter doesn’t indicate exactly why Apple’s deal with Las Vegas is being nixed, Apple does have a recent injury history that theoretically could have played a role. An ankle injury forced the 24-year-old to miss the Saints’ final regular season game and Divisional Round contest against the Vikings. Given the COVID-19 crisis, players aren’t able to conduct normal physicals with team medical staffs, so it’s possible Apple’s ankle issue was a factor in the undoing of his pact.
Apple, a first-round pick in the 2016 draft, spent the first two years and change of his career with the Giants before being dealt to New Orleans ahead of the 2018 trade deadline. He went on to start 20 total games with the Saints, and his performance was something close to average, as Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s No. 61 corner among 112 qualifiers in 2019.
Apple immediately becomes one of the best cornerbacks available on the open market, while the Raiders are now once again hunting for a new defensive back to play alongside fellow corners Trayvon Mullen and Nevin Lawson. Aside from Apple, other free agent options include Darqueze Dennard (who, like Apple, had an agreed-to deal canceled), Dre Kirkpatrick, Aqib Talib, Johnathan Joseph, and Ross Cockrell.
Cowboys To Sign Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith has not played in an NFL game since the 2015 season. The Cowboys will nonetheless give the former Pro Bowler a chance.
Dallas and the former first-round edge rusher agreed on a one-year deal Wednesday night, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports tweets. While Smith has run into endless substance abuse-related trouble off the field, Glazer said the former 49ers standout is “clean and sober” at this point. He has been clean for nine months, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
Interestingly, this is not a league-minimum deal. The Cowboys will give Smith $2MM in base salary and are including an additional $2MM in sack incentives, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. As could be expected, no guaranteed money is included here, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News adds.
Smith remains suspended indefinitely, but the Cowboys are clearly betting the new CBA will green-light his return to the league. The NFL denied a Smith reinstatement plea in December 2016. This is an interesting destination for Smith, because the Cowboys are making a similar bet with the oft-suspended Randy Gregory. The team is confident Gregory will be reinstated soon.
Smith, now 30, applied for reinstatement last month. He has not played in an NFL game since a Raiders-Vikings contest in mid-November 2015. Smith has been arrested more than a handful of times over the years, including several times since his indefinite suspension from the league. In addition to being banned under the substance-abuse policy, Smith has previously run afoul of the league’s personal conduct guidelines.
The NFL’s new CBA likely opened the door to this Cowboys move. This latest agreement features lesser penalties for non-PED positive drug tests, though DUIs will be dealt with more harshly. Smith, however, was arrested for suspicion of DUI in 2012, ’13 and ’15 — the final such incident leading to his 49ers release that year. This will be an interesting case for the NFL, but the Cowboys clearly believe Smith will be allowed back in the league.
The Cowboys may now be set to have two of the more frequent violators of the 2011 CBA’s substance-abuse policy — Smith and Gregory — rushing the passer for them. This is not exactly an out-of-the-ordinary move for the organization. The Cowboys in recent years gave a second chance to Greg Hardy, acquired Pacman Jones after a full-season suspension, kept Rolando McClain around during his suspension bouts and are still hoping Gregory will be back.
The 49ers used their No. 7 overall pick on Smith in 2011, and he delivered superstar-level work in his first two seasons. Smith registered 14 sacks as a rookie and landed on the All-Pro first team in 2012, recording 19.5 sacks for a 49ers team that voyaged to Super Bowl XLVII. He posted 8.5 sacks in 2013 but recorded only 5.5 between abbreviated 2014 and ’15 seasons. Smith latched on with the Raiders later in 2015, and Oakland re-signed him in 2016. Various off-field incidents prevented Smith from playing a second season with the Raiders.
Dallas let Robert Quinn walk in free agency and has not made it known a Michael Bennett re-up is on the table. If Smith is reinstated, he will reunite with his former position coach in San Francisco; Dallas hired Jim Tomsula to as defensive line coach this year. Tyrone Crawford has emerged as a possible starter opposite DeMarcus Lawrence. If that ends up being the case, the Cowboys would have one of the most interesting second-string defensive end tandems — if Gregory and Smith are allowed back into the league — in NFL history.