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.
Ronald Darby To Sign With Redskins
The Redskins and veteran cornerback Ronald Darby are in agreement on a one-year, $4MM deal, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Darby has spent the last three seasons with the division-rival Eagles, though all three of those seasons have been marred to some degree by injury. He played in only eight games in 2017, nine in 2018, and 11 in 2019. The 2018 season was cut short by an ACL tear, but he was at least playing at an above-average level prior to the injury. The same cannot be said for his 2019 effort, as Darby never seemed to get into a rhythm even when he was on the field.
Indeed, despite the league-wide need for corners, we had not heard of any interest in Darby before he agreed to terms with Washington. He will, however, have a good opportunity to rebuild his value in 2020. The ‘Skins signed fellow CB Kendall Fuller to a lucrative free agent pact earlier this month, but aside from the middling Fabian Moreau, there is not much depth behind Fuller.
A 2015 second-round pick of the Bills, Darby quickly established himself as a starting-caliber CB in Buffalo before being traded to Philadelphia in exchange for a third-round pick and wide receiver Jordan Matthews. He generated a fair amount of free agent interest last offseason before agreeing to return to Philadelphia on a one-year, $8.5MM pact. He will now help to fill the void left by Quinton Dunbar, whom Washington recently traded to Seattle.
In his career, the Florida State product has started 56 of a possible 57 games and has picked off eight passes. He also captured a Super Bowl ring in his first season with the Eagles.
2020 NFL Draft Will Occur As Scheduled
The 2020 NFL draft will not be rescheduled due to COVID-19 concerns, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). The league’s Management Council Executive Committee discussed the issue earlier today, and commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently sent a memo to teams indicating the committee “was unanimous and unequivocal that the Draft should go forward as scheduled on April 23-25, 2020.” Goodell’s full memo is available here.
At a time when most other professional sports leagues have hit pause on their respective seasons, the NFL has gone in a different direction. Of course, the NFL doesn’t have to worry about canceling an ongoing season of actual play. Instead, the NFL weighed whether to postpone last week’s free agent period before ultimately deciding to proceed, and have made a similar decision on the draft.
That’s not to say the NFL hasn’t made any changes due to the threat of COVID-19. The league canceled all pre-draft visits and has ordered all NFL teams to close down their facilities. And the draft itself won’t occur in a normal fashion. Selections will be broadcast from a studio setting with cut-ins from the headquarters of the teams on the clock, and all draft-related events scheduled to be held in Las Vegas have been canceled.
While Goodell announced the decision to proceed with the draft as a “unanimous” accord, reports have suggested some level of pushback on the part of NFL front offices. Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini of ESPN.com indicated earlier this week that NFL general managers had concerns there won’t be enough time for “player physicals, gathering psychological testing, [and] getting further verified information about the players.”
Bills To Sign OL Daryl Williams
The Bills have agreed to sign offensive lineman Daryl Williams to a one-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
In signing Williams, general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott — both former Panthers employees — will add yet another bullet point on the list of players who’ve headed from Carolina to Buffalo. Williams joins Josh Norman, Vernon Butler, Star Lotulelei, A.J. Klein, and Mario Addison as ex-Panthers now on the Bills’ roster.
Williams, 27, spent time all over Carolina’s front five last year; after playing tackle for most his career, he saw the majority of his action at guard in 2019, where Pro Football Focus graded him 57th positionally among 80 qualifiers. The former fourth-round pick was outstanding as the Panthers’ right tackle in 2017, but multiple knee injuries limited him to just one game the following season.
The Bills made a number of investments in their offensive line last offseason, signing Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Jon Feliciano, Spencer Long, and Ty Nsekhe to free agent pacts while selecting Cody Ford in the second round of the draft. Every member of that haul will return in 2020, meaning Williams may not have a shot to start. Given his versatility, he’ll add value as a utility lineman, but his best chance at significant playing time is likely at right guard, where he could compete with Feliciano and Long.
Williams looked poised to cash in following his excellent 2017 campaign, and even after injuries prevented him from seeing much action in 2018, many observers believed he’d still garner a hefty multi-year pact. Instead, he was forced to accept a one-year, $6MM deal as he re-signed with the Panthers. Given his health history, it’s perhaps unsurprising that he’s again inking a single-season pact.
Carolina perhaps signaled that it wasn’t interested in retaining Williams when it signed former Bengals guard John Miller to a one-year pact last week. Miller will take over at right guard for the Panthers, joining trade acquisition Russell Okung as a new addition to Carolina’s front five.
Dak Prescott To Become NFL’s Highest-Paid Player?
The Cowboys have re-entered negotiations with their franchise quarterback, and Dak Prescott‘s patient strategy may be about to pay off.
A Prescott extension is not yet imminent, but a source informed ESPN.com’s Ed Werder the Cowboys quarterback will exit these talks as the NFL’s highest-paid player (Twitter link). These talks are not contentious, per Werder, who adds that since the NFL has postponed teams’ offseason programs, no team deadline exists to conclude these discussions.
Prescott turned down the Cowboys’ $33MM-per-year offer — one that came with $105MM guaranteed — and is now franchise-tagged for around $33MM. Russell Wilson‘s $35MM-AAV deal remains the NFL’s high-water mark. Wilson signed that deal last April. A Prescott price in the $35MM-AAV range surfaced Wednesday night.
The Cowboys have until July 15 to reach a long-term agreement with Prescott. If the sides cannot finalize a deal by then, he will play under the exclusive tag. This process has gone on for over a year now. The Cowboys have extended both Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper, clearing the way for a Prescott tag.
While no one would logically argue Prescott is the NFL’s best quarterback, he has exerted leverage well over the past several months. Prescott bet on himself in a contract year, and he’s now negotiating under a new CBA. This and the NFL’s next round of TV deals are likely to produce bigger salary cap spikes in the coming years. The Cowboys’ price for Prescott would then set the market for Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, with the latter possessing the ability to reshape the quarterback salary spectrum when that time comes.
Cowboys, Dak Prescott Resume Contract Talks
The Cowboys and Dak Prescott have resumed contract talks for the first time since Dallas hit their signal-caller with the franchise tag, Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).
There has never been any doubt that Prescott would be under center for the Cowboys for the foreseeable future, but negotiations between player and team have moved at a snail’s pace. There was talk just before the 2019 regular season that a deal was imminent, but Prescott’s hot start to the season reportedly made him more inclined to play out the year in the hopes of landing a fatter contract. Around the time of this year’s scouting combine, Dallas put forth an offer with an average annual value of roughly $33.5MM, but that proposal didn’t gain much traction.
One of the holdups has been the Cowboys’ desire to have Prescott sign a longer-term pact, while the QB is shooting for a shorter deal that will allow him to hit free agency sooner. Per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, Dallas is still pushing for a five-year contract (Twitter link), but Yahoo’s Liz Loza hears that a four-year deal worth $35MM per year is in the offing (Twitter link).
That would be a huge win for Prescott, as it would give him the term and the dollars that he has been seeking. The two-time Pro Bowler has his detractors, but he has clearly established himself as a quality QB who may not have hit his ceiling just yet.
The Cowboys have brought back Prescott’s top target, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and though the team lost center Travis Frederick to retirement, the O-line should still be a strength.
Latest On NFL Draft
If the NFL has their way, the draft will continue as scheduled. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini report that the league “plans to stick” with their April 23rd-25th dates. While there’s still time to make a change, the consensus is that the draft won’t be rescheduled.
However, the league’s general managers are pushing back, as the NFL’s GM subcommittee recommended to commissioner Roger Goodell that the draft be rescheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, teams are concerned that there won’t be enough time for “player physicals, gathering psychological testing, [and] getting further verified information about the players.”
Further, there’s concern that there’d be a “competitive disadvantage to have some teams in their training facilities during the draft while teams in California, New Jersey and other hard-hit areas would be in lockdown and unable to be in their teams’ buildings.” We learned yesterday that the NFL had ordered teams to close their facilities by 6pm today.
“I think a lot of owners aren’t sold on keeping it on schedule,” one source told the reporters. “Of course the power owners are calling the shots. Plus, add to the fact that April is going to be the toughest month with this virus. It’s really a poor look.”
NFL Orders Teams To Close Facilities
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo to all 32 teams tonight mandating that they close their facilities by 6pm tomorrow, March 25, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). The full memo can be found here.
Of course, many teams had already closed up shop, and others had limited personnel at their facilities. We heard earlier tonight that the league was going to look into the matter to determine if the teams that remained “open” were gaining a competitive advantage, and Goodell ultimately decided that closing headquarters was for the best.
Importantly, teams remain free to conduct all normal business operations, including signing free agents. The league will reevaluate the situation on April 8.
As we know, the decision to move forward with free agency upset some execs, and the league’s plans to hold the draft from April 23-25 as normal is also being met with resistance. Per Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, the general manager subcommittee unanimously recommended to Goodell that the draft be moved back, but Goodell has not made any changes as of yet.
The desire to reschedule the draft makes plenty of sense. After all, with teams unable to visit with prospects, give them physicals, etc., they will be unable to make fully-informed decisions when the draft rolls around. And clubs in states that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus may still be on lockdown on April 23 and therefore could not be at their facilities for the draft.
The situation remains fluid, and it would not be a surprise to see Goodell reverse course at some point. As one league source told Schefter and Russini, “I think a lot of owners aren’t sold on keeping it on schedule. Of course the power owners are calling the shots. Plus, add to the fact that April is going to be the toughest month with this virus. It’s really a poor look.”
Jets To Sign WR Breshad Perriman
The Jets have found their replacement for Robby Anderson. After watching Anderson agree to terms with the Panthers earlier today, New York will sign Breshad Perriman to a one-year, $6MM deal, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link).
Perriman’s contract can reach up to $8MM with incentives, which is quite a nice payday for a player who not long ago was classified as a first-round bust. The Ravens selected him with the No. 26 overall pick of the 2015 draft, but he was cut prior to the 2018 season after three years of injuries and inconsistent play.
He hooked on with the Browns shortly thereafter and played well enough to earn another contract from Cleveland last offseason. But the Browns allowed him to back out of the deal after they acquired Odell Beckham Jr., and he ultimately signed with the Bucs. Through 12 weeks in Tampa, it again looked like he was going to wash out of the league, but in the wake of injuries to star wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, he exploded.
From Weeks 15 to 17, the big-play threat caught 17 passes for 349 yards and four TDs and made himself an attractive free agent target. Though he doesn’t have the track record of Anderson, Perriman offers the same field-stretching skill-set. And as most of the remaining starting-caliber wide receivers came off the market today, it appears as if Perriman will have plenty of opportunities with the Jets, even if the team picks up a wideout or two in the draft.
Packers To Sign WR Devin Funchess
The Packers are expected to sign free agent wide receiver Devin Funchess, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Twitter). It’s a rare foray into the free agent wide receiver market for Green Bay, which hopes that Funchess’ size and physicality will be an asset to Aaron Rodgers.
The Panthers selected Funchess in the second round of the 2015 draft, but he has yet to put it all together in the pros. He enjoyed the best year of his career in 2017, compiling 63 receptions for 840 yards and eight touchdowns, but it took him 111 targets to get those 63 grabs. After a somewhat disappointing 2018 campaign, Funchess was still able to pull down a one-year, $10MM deal from the Colts last offseason.
Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich reportedly “banged the table” for the team to sign Funchess, and Reich later said the Michigan product had displayed good route-running and a solid grasp of the club’s offense throughout spring workouts. Unfortunately, Funchess broke his collarbone in Week 1 of the 2019 campaign, and he never got healthy enough to return to the field.
Funchess still has plenty of talent, and perhaps Rodgers will be the key to unlock his potential. Although the Packers have a number of big-bodied wideouts, none of them have Funchess’ upside. He will join a WR corps that includes Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Jake Kumerow in support of the elite Davante Adams.