Chiefs To Franchise Tag DT Chris Jones
No surprises here, but the Chiefs are going to put the franchise tag on star DT Chris Jones, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was first to report (via Twitter). We had previously heard that KC was going to use the tag on Jones if the two sides could not come to terms on a long-term pact prior to the deadline to use the tag, but the Chiefs acted quickly to make sure Jones will not hit the open market (today is the first day teams can officially use the franchise and transition tags).
Of course, Kansas City wants to keep Jones in the fold for the long haul, and Jones obviously wants the security of a long-term pact, so player and team will continue negotiating. In 2019, the Mississippi State product continued to excel at getting to the quarterback, recording nine sacks in just 13 games. He was not quite as effective in terms of stopping the run, but his pass rush abilities more than make up for that.
The franchise tag value for defensive linemen is $16.1MM, but last year, Jones held out in hopes of securing a deal north of $20MM per year, and as he is coming off his first Pro Bowl campaign, his price tag won’t be dropping. He abilities and youth — he will turn 26 in July — make him one of the most attractive DTs in the game.
But the Chiefs are already paying Frank Clark over $20MM per year, and they are planning to sign QB Patrick Mahomes to a record-setting extension this offseason. As such, Jones could become a part of a tag-and-trade, though that sounds like more of a last resort at this point.
However, other players currently on the Super Bowl champions’ roster could be on the trade block. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network says that the Chiefs are looking to slash salary and the scuttlebutt at the scouting combine is that they are open for business (Twitter link).
Packers, Mason Crosby Agree To Extension
Mason Crosby will not hit free agency. The Packers are bringing their longtime kicker back on another extension, according to agent Mike McCartney (on Twitter).
The sides agreed to a three-year deal, tethering Crosby to the Packers through the 2022 season. This will be the 35-year-old kicker’s 14th season with Green Bay. The three-year pact is worth $12.9MM, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). He’ll get $6MM in year one of the deal and $9.5MM through the first two. As Pelissero points out, that makes Crosby the NFL’s third-highest paid kicker.
Crosby, who made $3.2MM in base salary last season, is by far the longest-tenured kicker in Packers history. He’s played in 208 games with the franchise — 64 more than the next-closest Packer kicker. Crosby passed Donald Driver last season for the No. 2 spot among games played as a Packer, now trailing only Brett Favre (255).
Last season marked his most accurate as a pro, with the veteran specialist connecting on 91% of his field goal attempts. Crosby made connected on fewer than 82% of his field goal tries in 2017 and ’18, with the latter season marred by a rough day in Detroit when he went 1-for-5. Crosby missed just two field goals in all of 2019, also making 40 of 41 extra point attempts. For his career, however, Crosby’s 81% make rate ranks just 46th all time — behind 21 of his active peers.
The Packers still have Bryan Bulaga and Blake Martinez looming as free agents, but they have locked down their second-longest-tenured player. While Crosby is not the NFL’s oldest active kicker, he has been in his current post longer than all but two kickers — Adam Vinatieri in Indianapolis and Stephen Gostkowski in New England. Both players began their respective runs with their current team in 2006; the Packers used a sixth-round pick on Crosby a year later.
Latest On Collective Bargaining Agreement
After momentum gradually built for weeks, the prospect of a new collective bargaining agreement being finalized soon took a serious hit Friday. The NFLPA’s board has cancelled a Friday vote on the owners’ proposal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
This comes after the NFLPA’s executive committee voted 6-5 against recommending the owners’ CBA proposal earlier today. Both the NFLPA board and executive committee hope to meet with the NFL again soon, per Pelissero, and the union announced it is planning a vote for next week. The owners have already approved their proposal, though the vote was not unanimous.
“Today the NFLPA Board of Player Representatives did not take a vote on the principal terms of a proposed new collective bargaining agreement,” the union’s statement read. “The Executive Committee looks forward to meeting with NFL management again next week before the Board takes a vote shortly after.”
The league wants a resolution on a new CBA by next week, or the 2011 agreement will remain in place for the 2020 league year. The ball may now roll back to the owners. The NFLPA would like to resume discussions next week, but Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) the owners did not sound like that would be an option. One owner confirmed more negotiations will not commence, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
This may be posturing, with ownership’s desire to have a new CBA done by March 18 not exactly a secret. Either way, the next several days will be critical toward a new deal and determining how serious the prospect of a 2021 work stoppage will become.
The owners’ push for a 17-game schedule, of course, exists at the crux of this potential impasse. But some union reps who support ratifying the CBA believe they will not get a better deal from the owners going forward, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link), adding that those opposed to moving forward with this proposal want more concessions from the owners to green-light 17 games. Ownership wants to take a ratified CBA to the TV networks to secure landmark contracts, capitalizing on the momentum of the recent ratings rise. Labor peace would obviously help on that front.
Bears To Release Prince Amukamara, Taylor Gabriel
The Bears moved to clear some cap space on Friday by jettisoning two starters. They are releasing cornerback Prince Amukamara and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Amukamara has been a Bears starter since he signed a one-year deal with Chicago in 2017. The ex-Giants first-round pick re-upped with the team on a long-term deal in 2018. One season remained on that three-year, $27MM contract. Two years remained on Gabriel’s pact. Altogether, the Bears will create $13.5MM in cap space by making these moves.
Gabriel signed a four-year, $26MM contract in 2018. That deal had no more guaranteed money. The ex-Falcon started 18 games for Chicago but battled injuries last season, limiting him to nine games. Chicago’s offense struggled as a whole last season, with Mitchell Trubisky regressing. The Bears drafted Anthony Miller and Riley Ridley over the past two years and possess greater needs than the wide receiver spot. Gabriel caught 96 passes for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns as a Bear. The 29-year-old target will get a head start on the receiver market because of this early cut.
Amukamara’s exit leaves a bigger hole. He was a key member of the Bears’ high-end defenses, starting alongside Kyle Fuller. The Bears, though, had a lot of money committed to their corner group after having signed slot man Buster Skrine a year re-upping Amukamara and matching the Packers’ offer sheet for the then-transition-tagged Fuller. Amukamara was set to earn a $9MM base salary in 2020.
Amukamara will turn 31 before Week 1 but figures to generate interest ahead of free agency. He settled for one-year deals with the Jaguars and Bears from 2016-17 before landing a multiyear Chicago accord. The Nebraska alum graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 41 corner last season, which came after he graded higher for the Bears’ No. 1-ranked scoring defense in 2018.
The Bears now hold closer to $20MM in cap space after entering Friday with barely $5MM. More moves could be on tap.
Cardinals To Extend D.J. Humphries
Shortly after Steve Keim indicated the Cardinals were confident they’d retain D.J. Humphries in free agency, Arizona’s left tackle has agreed to terms to stay with the franchise that drafted him.
Humphries agreed to a three-year, $45MM extension on Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The former first-round pick will receive $30MM over the first two years of that deal, and the pact contains $29MM guaranteed. This takes one of the top offensive linemen off the free agent market.
The second year of Humphries’ deal – worth $15MM – will become guaranteed on March 21 of this year, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. That means the first two years are effectively guaranteed; a big win for the lineman and his camp.
Humphries, 26, now becomes the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid tackle, in terms of per-year salary. He’s also one of five $15MM-AAV offensive linemen. A Humphries franchise tag would have cost Arizona nearly $15MM; that certainly played a role in these extension talks.
While Humphries has battled injuries and inconsistency, the Cardinals are sold he can be Kyler Murray‘s blind-side protector for years to come. The Cardinals had not seen Humphries play 16 games until this past season. From 2017-18, he played five and nine, respectively. Knee issues sidelined Humphries during those slates, which came after a 2015 rookie season in which he was inactive throughout. This is a big bet from Keim, whose record on first-round picks between Humphries and Murray has not been great.
From 2016-18, the Cardinals used first-round picks on Robert Nkemdiche, Haason Reddick and Josh Rosen. None were starters by season’s end; Reddick is the only member of this trio who remains with the Cards. He will almost certainly see his fifth-year option declined come May. Humphries has outperformed this trio, but other than a brief 2017 work sample, Pro Football Focus has not raved about the ex-Florida blocker’s work. That has not stopped teams from big tackle investments, however. The Buccaneers gave Donovan Smith a major extension last year, despite frequent down reviews from PFF.
Humphries began his career as Arizona’s right tackle in 2016 but switched to the left side a year later, moving Jared Veldheer from his long-held left tackle post. Humphries has played for three head coaches, but despite Kliff Kingsbury being early in his Texas Tech tenure when the Cards drafted the 6-foot-5 tackle, the second-year Arizona coach has entrusted him to protect the franchise’s top investment for a while.
Lions Release Damon Harrison
Snacks’ tenure in Detroit has come to an end. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Lions are releasing defensive tackle Damon Harrison. The move will clear up more than $6MM in cap space.
The veteran was traded to Detroit midway through the 2018 season, and he actually became the first defensive lineman to appear in 17 games during an NFL regular season. He signed a one-year, $11MM extension with the organization last offseason, and the intent was that he’d remain in Detroit through the 2021 campaign.
Snacks finished the season having compiled 49 tackles and two sacks. However, the Lions disappointed, and the 31-year-old revealed after the season that he was considering retirement.
The 2012 undrafted free agent out of William Penn spent the first four seasons of his career with the Jets before inking a five-year deal with the Giants. He earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2016.
The Lions defensive tackles corps could look a whole lot different next season. As ESPN’s Michael Rothstein tweets, A’Shawn Robinson and Mike Daniels could skip town, leading the reporter to wonder if Derrick Brown or Javon Kinlaw could make sense in the draft.
Owners Vote To Approve New CBA
A key development now shifts the focus to the players’ side. NFL ownership approved a proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The NFLPA has a conference call scheduled for Friday. While there are player reps who remain committed to voting no on this CBA measure, the owners expect to know one way or the other what set of rules teams will operate under by next week. This pertains to teams’ ability to use franchise and transition tags, which would be permitted if the 2011 CBA remains the law of the land by March 18.
Should the players not approve this measure by next week, however, owners voted to keep the 2011 CBA in place for the 2020 league year. Final-CBA-year rules would allow teams to use both their franchise and transition tags, and no post-June 1 cuts are permitted in the last year of a collective bargaining agreement. Teams want to expedite this process to know how they must proceed when the window for applying franchise and transition tags opens Feb. 25.
Players need 11 votes to block the proposal from moving to the next stage. If two-thirds of the player representatives say yes, however, the owners’ proposal goes to the entire union body. If a simple majority vote in favor of it at that point, the NFL will have a new CBA. Interestingly, ownership’s vote Thursday was not unanimous, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The proposal’s biggest changes include the move to a 17-game season at a point between 2021-23 and the expansion from 12 to 14 playoff teams, which would take effect in 2020. Owners have attempted to throw plenty of carrots the players’ way — from an increased revenue split to reduced offseason and training camp work to higher minimum salaries to nearly eliminating marijuana-based suspensions — but a faction of players remains against going to 17 games.
This is coming down to the wire. The NFLPA must elect a new president between March 7-10, and Eric Winston‘s replacement — especially if it’s Russell Okung — may be against 17 games. That may deal a major setback to this CBA from passing.
Redskins Exercise Adrian Peterson’s Option
The Redskins announced that they have exercised Adrian Peterson‘s option for the 2020 season. With that, they’ve committed to the legendary running back for his age-35 campaign. 
[RELATED: Greg Olsen Turns Down Redskins, Signs With Seahawks]
Peterson will count for a $3.1MM hit against the Redskins’ 2020 cap. Had they declined the option, the Redskins would have saved $2.4MM.
In 2020, Peterson will be chasing history. He currently sits fifth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list and he can leapfrog Barry Sanders with another ~1,000 yards. That won’t be easy to do, but Peterson ran for 1,042 yards in his first season with the Redskins and notched 898 yards on the ground last year.
Peterson has had his ups and downs, but he staved off Father Time in 2019. Last year, he played in 15 games and averaged 4.3 yards per tote. At the same time, Derrius Guice was limited to just five games and there are serious question marks about his status given his longstanding medical history.
Bringing back Peterson solves one part of the Redskins’ RB puzzle. They still have to figure out what they’ll do with pass-catching specialist Chris Thompson, who is slated for free agency. The Redskins will also have to keep an eye on 2019 fourth-round pick Bryce Love who has yet to play an NFL down thanks to his pre-draft ACL tear.
Seahawks Sign TE Greg Olsen
Greg Olsen‘s first free agency tour will produce a deal with the Seahawks. The veteran tight end will choose Seattle over Buffalo and Washington, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The 13-year veteran agreed to a one-year, $7MM deal with the Seahawks, per Schefter, who adds this pact comes with $5.5MM guaranteed. The chance to play with Russell Wilson helped make Seattle a more attractive destination than those with ex-Panthers staffers in place, per Schefter (on Twitter).
Wilson has gone through a few tight ends since Jimmy Graham‘s departure. Ed Dickson experienced consistent injury troubles over the past two years; so has promising youngster Will Dissly. Olsen will add a proven weapon to Seattle’s pass-catching corps, coming in for his age-35 season.
The Seahawks last season were down both Dickson and Dissly, and they traded Nick Vannett to the Steelers early in the season. Jacob Hollister started both playoff games. Barring injury, Olsen will be in line to join Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf as one of Wilson’s top three targets next season. The Seahawks will be Olsen’s third team, following the Bears and Panthers.
In nine Carolina seasons, Olsen became one of the best players in franchise history. He eclipsed 1,000 yards en route to three Pro Bowls from 2014-16 and helped the Panthers to a 15-1 season that produced an NFC championship. Since coming into the league as a first-round pick out of Miami in 2007, Olsen has 8,444 receiving yards — third-most in the NFL among tight ends in that span.
Olsen, however, experienced significant foot trouble late in his Panthers tenure. Although Olsen played 14 games last season, he missed 16 games between the 2017-18 campaigns because of multiple foot maladies. This marks another injury-prone tight end on Seattle’s roster. The potentially rebuilding Panthers released Olsen, who had one more season left on his Carolina contract, earlier this month.
This will put Ron Rivera‘s Redskins in the market for another tight end and may move Sean McDermott‘s Bills to pursue one as well. FOX will need to delay plans to hire Olsen for one of its Sunday broadcast teams as well. The network has used Olsen for multiple broadcasts late in his career and made him an offer to join full-time this offseason.
Saints’ Drew Brees To Play In 2020
Drew Brees isn’t going anywhere. On Tuesday, the Saints star took to social media to announce that he will continue playing in 2020. 
“I look forward to the grind and the journey, for the reward at the end will be worth it,” Brees wrote on Instagram. “Love you #WhoDatNation. Let’s make another run at it!”
Most expected Brees to stave off retirement for at least one more year, though he’s been mulling over his future since the end of the season. And, although he’ll technically reach free agency next month, he’s left little doubt about his intentions – he’s gone on the record to say that he’ll either play for the Saints, or retire. Now that Option #2 is no longer on the table, he’ll re-sign with New Orleans in short order.
Brees, who turned 41 in January, completed 74.3% of his passes in 2019, marking his third straight year as the NFL’s leader in that category. His thumb injury cost him five games, but he still managed 2,979 yards with 27 touchdowns against just four interceptions in eleven contests. And, the postseason did not go as planned, but he capped off the regular season in unbelievable fashion – he connected on 29 of 30 throws against the Colts as he set the league’s new all-time record for career touchdown passes.
Given everything he’s accomplished, it stands to reason that this will be his final season in New Orleans. He’ll also be tasked with passing the baton in 2020 – likely to Taysom Hill, a restricted free agent who is expected to be retained. Brees has said that he is comfortable with acting as Hill’s mentor in a bridge year, so it should be a seamless transition for one of the league’s most high-powered offenses.
We already knew that Brees would not be exploring the open market, but his return will have plenty of ramifications in the free agent quarterback carousel. The biggie, of course, is that backup Teddy Bridgewater is most likely out of the picture. Without the luxury of keeping the former first-round pick as a second- or third-stringer, he’ll be allowed to walk, where plenty of teams will pursue him as a starter or a bridge QB.