Panthers To Sign Gerald McCoy
Free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has elected to sign with the Panthers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that it will be a one-year, $8MM pact that can be worth as much as $10.25MM with incentives, and Schefter adds that it includes a $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link).
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds more details on the incentive package (Twitter link). In addition to his $4MM signing bonus and $3MM base pay, McCoy can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives.
McCoy quickly became the hottest name on the market upon his release from the Buccaneers, and he visited with the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers. It sounds as though the Ravens were the runner-up in the McCoy sweepstakes, as Schefter tweets that McCoy left Baltimore thinking he may very well sign there. But Carolina wowed him during his visit, and Panthers QB Cam Newton made a convincing sales pitch. The fact that he can now terrorize his old team twice in 2019 may have also been a factor.
The Panthers reinforce a strong D-line that now includes three Pro Bowlers in McCoy, Dontari Poe, and Kawann Short. McCoy may not be the player he once was, but the 31-year-old is still a fearsome presence, especially considering his ability to generate an interior pass rush. He has 54.5 career sacks to his credit, and he is also durable, as he has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011.
Short and Poe each played between 50-60% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps in 2018, so McCoy fits nicely into the club’s rotation. He ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
The Panthers cleared out $9MM in cap space over the past week by officially releasing Matt Kalil and restructuring the contract of Torrey Smith. As Joe Person of The Athletic tweets, Carolina still has $8MM to conduct the rest of its offseason business.
Broncos, Chris Harris Rework Contract
The Broncos and Chris Harris have ended their weeks-long impasse. The parties agreed to a reworked 2019 contract, Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter).
Harris’ 2019 pay will spike from $8.9MM to $12.05MM, per Klis. A clincher to this deal being done before the Broncos reconvene for their latest OTA session Wednesday: Harris will receive a $650K reporting bonus for showing up to this round of OTAs, Klis adds (on Twitter). Harris will also receive $600K to report to training camp.
This deal, as has been rumored for several days, will only cover the All-Pro cornerback’s 2019 pay. No new years were added. As it stands, Harris remains on track for free agency in 2020. But for 2019, this will bring Denver’s top secondary cog back into the fold. This comes after a trade-or-extension demand pre-draft and trade talks during the draft. But the Broncos held onto the last of their Super Bowl-era secondary cogs and will redeploy him in 2019.
Though rumored for days to be heading in this direction, the precise conclusion of this move remains unusual. The Broncos will give a long-underpaid player a raise — rather than the incentive package they gave Harris last year — but did not obtain any additional years of team control in exchange. This pay raise will make Harris the 10th-highest-paid corner in 2019.
“We have a lot of respect for Chris as a player and for everything he’s meant to our organization,” GM John Elway said in a statement. “This contract adjustment recognizes his value to our team and the high expectations we have for Chris as a Bronco this season and hopefully for years to come.”
Harris agreed to a five-year, $42.5MM deal late in 2014 — just before he was due to hit free agency — and that deal quickly became incredibly team-friendly. The versatile corner became a perennial Pro Bowler and was a key part of Denver’s Super Bowl championship defense. The Broncos agreed to give Kareem Jackson, who is a year older than Harris and has four fewer Pro Bowl nods (4-0), $11MM per year. Harris opted to stay away from the team in hopes of a new contract. While the 29-year-old corner initially demanded a new deal worth at least $15MM annually, this compromise brought him back.
The Broncos viewed Harris as essential to their hopes of returning to the playoffs. Despite Elway’s comment, it remains unclear if this will be Harris’ final year in Denver. The team will use more zone concepts under Vic Fangio after being mostly a man-based team during Harris’ tenure.
A 2011 UDFA, Harris has been one of this decade’s best corners and stands as arguably the top slot corner in NFL history, with this position having become commonplace in the modern game and the Kansas alum having excelled in this role throughout his career. He will team with Jackson and Bryce Callahan at corner this season, with it looking like Jackson will play safety in base sets and slide to corner in sub-packages.
Raiders To Sign Richie Incognito
The Raiders have agreed to sign offensive lineman Richie Incognito, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year, minimum salary deal for the controversial veteran as he makes his return to the NFL, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter) adds. 
There has been longstanding mutual interest between the Raiders and Incognito, but the team debated the signing internally because of the suspension that is likely coming down the pike. Ultimately, they didn’t see much risk in adding Incognito on a cheap deal that they can easily shed if things don’t work out.
The former Rams, Bills and Dolphins guard has a checkered past, but he’s also a proven commodity on the field. In 2017, Incognito graded out as the 12th best guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He ranked seventh amongst all guards in 2016 and second in ’15, making him the Bills’ top-rated offensive lineman in that three year period. He also earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod in 2017, giving him four in total.
Last year, Incognito agreed to a pay cut with the Bills only to “retire” for a short time and force his release from Buffalo. Days after his release, Florida cops placed Incognito in a mental hospital after he hurled weights at a gym and told officers that the government is spying on him. Incognito claimed that he drew interest even after that event, but as far as we know, the Raiders were the only team to show any interest in him this year.
On the plus side, Incognito is reportedly feeling well, both mentally and physically. If that’s the case, Incognito could factor into the Raiders’ starting left guard competition following the trade of Kelechi Osemele to the Jets. The Raiders say that Gabe Jackson will remain on the right side, which currently leaves Denzelle Good as the leader in the clubhouse at LG.
Benjamin Watson To Be Suspended 4 Games
The Patriots’ new tight end, Ben Watson, won’t be able to suit up right away. The veteran, who recently came out of retirement to join New England, announced in a Facebook post that he’ll be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season, per Mike Reiss of ESPN (Twitter link).
In the post, Watson explains that he thought for sure he was retiring for good after the 2018 season, so he wasn’t quite as careful with the treatment he received. He was given Bio Identical Testosterone Cypionate by a doctor, which is banned by the league. Only after he made the decision to return to the league did he realize the implications, and he ended up failing a drug test.
While it’s obviously not a welcome development, the news isn’t blindsiding the Patriots. Watson says in his post that he discussed the failed drug test with teams before signing, so New England was prepared for this suspension. Watson won’t be appealing the ban, as he writes that he wants to”respect the regulations that have been collectively bargained to promote fairness on the field of play and accept the discipline associated with my infraction.”
While the Patriots should be just fine in the first month of the season without him, it will leave them quite thin once again at tight end. Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement this offseason left them with very few proven options at the position, although they have signed a few guys like Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Matt LaCosse.
Watson is 38 now but he remained reliable in 2018, appearing in all 16 games for the Saints. He finished the season with 35 catches for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Just a few years ago he was a huge part of the Saints’ offense and racked up 825 yards and six touchdowns, so he’s a capable receiver. Just yesterday we heard that Watson only considered coming out of retirement for the Patriots and the Saints, despite interest from at least a handful of teams.
Adam Jones Retires From NFL
This is the end of the line for Pacman. On Friday, cornerback Adam Jones took to social media to announce his retirement from football. 
Jones, 35, hooked on with the Broncos late in the 2018 preseason. At the time, the Broncos saw him as a strong No. 4 cornerback and punt returner, but he didn’t quite live up to expectations. After seven games and ten punt returns for just 25 yards in total, the Broncos released him in November. Jones was not on the NFL radar after that, so his retirement does not come as a shock.
Jones legacy may be clouded by his string of off-the-field incidents, but he was a force while on the field in his prime. After being selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Titans, Jones made some head-turning plays, including three punt return touchdowns in his sophomore year.
Years after being ID’d as a suspect in the now-infamous Atlanta shooting incident, Jones found his second wind with the Bengals. Jones spent eight years in the Bengals’ secondary and put together three straight seasons with three interceptions in each. In 2014, Jones earned his first ever First-Team All-Pro nod and received a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
Jones leaves the game after 12 NFL seasons (he was out of football for the ’07 and ’09 campaigns), 146 games played, and nearly $40MM in career earnings.
Buccaneers Sign Ndamukong Suh
May’s biggest free agent is officially off the board. On Thursday, the Buccaneers announced the signing of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Suh will receive a one-year deal worth $9.25MM with incentives that can push it to $10MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Suh’s arrival will give the Bucs a major stopper to replace six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, who was released on Monday. In essence, the Bucs swapped McCoy’s $13MM salary for Suh and defensive end Shaquil Barrett, who will earn a combined $13MM in 2019. With all due respect to McCoy, that’s a pretty outstanding value for Tampa.
Suh, 32, has five Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections on his resume. Throughout his career, Suh has been one of the very best defensive tackles in the NFL with an impressive knack for finding the quarterback from the interior.
After five years with the Lions, Suh inked a six-year, $114MM with the Dolphins, making him the highest-paid defensive player in league history. Suh continued to play at a high level, but didn’t quite live up to the mammoth contract. Midway through, the Dolphins released him, paving the way for Suh to latch on with the Rams in 2018.
In L.A., Suh tallied 4.5 sacks and 59 tackles and graded out as the No. 20 ranked interior defender in the NFL. Those numbers aren’t in line with his best work, but it’s clear that the veteran still has a lot to offer for the Bucs.
Suh would have made sense for clubs like the Seahawks, Cowboys, Broncos, and Vikings, but the Bucs jumped at the opportunity to replace McCoy with the equally accomplished defender. Meanwhile, the deal brings Suh back to Florida, a no-income tax state.
Patriots, Julian Edelman Agree To Extension
Julian Edelman has agreed to a two-year extension with the Patriots, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The new pact will potentially take the wide receiver through the end of his career and allow him to retire in New England. It also comes with a pay bump – Edelman will receive $18MM in new money over the course of the two-year add on, giving him $21MM throughout his remaining three years, according to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston.
The deal comes with $8MM signing bonus and $12MM guaranteed, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. All in all, Edelman will earn an average annual value of $7MM, which is a solid bargain for the Patriots. Even when calculating his extension via the “new money” average, Edelman’s $9MM puts him outside of the league’s top 20 highest-paid receivers.
Edelman, who turns 33 on Wednesday, had another productive season in 2018. After missing the first four games of the season due to a ban for PEDs, the veteran amassed 74 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns. Had he produced at the same rate over the course of a full 16-game season, Edelman would have registered something close to a 93/1063/8 stat line, which is not far off from his best single season performances.
Edelman has spent his entire career with the Patriots since entering the league as a seventh-round pick (No. 232 overall) in 2009. He was quietly productive in his rookie season, but he truly broke out in 2013 with 105 grabs for 1,056 yards and six TDs. Over the years, Edelman has captured three Super Bowl rings with New England, including February’s 13-3 win over the Rams in which he took SB MVP honors.
Edelman’s career seemed to be in doubt just a couple of years ago – the wide receiver lost the entire 2017 season to a torn ACL and had to sit out the first month of the ’18 season due to his suspension. However, he came back strong and he now has a deal that should allow him to retire with the only NFL franchise he’s ever known.
Buccaneers Release Gerald McCoy
Gerald McCoy‘s time in Buccaneers limbo will end with a release. The nine-year veteran has been informed he will be cut soon, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). The Bucs announced the release.
This has been a consideration for a while, but the team has finally decided on a course of action. The Bucs did not want to pay McCoy his $13MM 2019 salary, per Stroud, and did not find a trade partner. Trade talks commenced for two months, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The team did not ask McCoy to take a pay cut.
McCoy will become one of the most attractive free agents on the market. Although, being released in mid-May does not do the longtime Bucs stalwart any favors. He will join fellow 2010 top-five defensive tackle pick Ndamukong Suh as a top-caliber free agent.
Though McCoy failed to make the Pro Bowl last season — his first such omission since 2011 — he still recorded six sacks and rated as one of Pro Football Focus’ upper-echelon interior defenders. McCoy also has avoided serious injuries, the six-time Pro Bowler having played in at least 14 games in each of the past seven seasons.
The signing bonus-averse Bucs will create $13MM in cap space; McCoy had three years remaining on a seven-year, $95.2MM contract. The Bucs currently possess barely $1MM and needed to make a move in order to finish up signing draft picks.
Of course, a Tampa Bay defense that was one of the NFL’s worst in 2018 now will be without its top two pass rushers. Jason Pierre-Paul will be out for a while after sustaining a neck injury in a recent car accident, and McCoy (54.5 career sacks; at least six in six straight seasons) will almost certainly sign elsewhere soon in advance of his age-31 season.
The Bucs used a 2018 first-round pick on Vita Vea and are moving to a 3-4 look after using a 4-3 scheme throughout McCoy’s career. Still, this now profiles as one of the NFL’s most pass rush-needy teams.
Reuben Foster Believed To Have Torn ACL
The injury that saw Reuben Foster carted away from a Redskins workout Monday appears to indeed be serious. Foster is believed to have suffered a torn ACL, along with additional damage, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
This occurred on the first series of the first drill during Redskins OTAs, the Washington Post’s Kareem Copeland tweets. Foster was seen slamming the turf in agony and sobbing while being driven off of the field.
Foster will continue to see specialists in the near future, Rapoport adds, but this is expected to wipe out his 2019 season. The linebacker has one year remaining on his rookie contract, though the Redskins have a fifth-year option decision to make by May 2020.
Washington made a controversial waiver claim on Foster last season, after the 49ers cut him following another incident allegedly involving domestic violence. The Redskins were the only team to submit a claim. But Foster avoided another suspension and was likely set to be a starting inside linebacker in Washington. That future will be on hold after Monday’s injury.
The Redskins released Zach Brown this offseason and, behind Foster, have only late-round picks at this position. Shaun Dion Hamilton (2018 sixth round), Josh Harvey-Clemons (2017 seventh round) and rookie fifth-round pick Cole Holcomb reside on Washington’s roster. Foster’s setback may prompt the Redskins to gauge the free agent market for possible help alongside Mason Foster. Among the off-ball ‘backers available: Jon Bostic, Josh Bynes, Kelvin Sheppard and Kyle Emanuel.
Reuben Foster has already missed 16 games — due to either injury or suspension — in his first two seasons. By the time the 2019 campaign concludes, the former first-round pick will have missed 32 of a possible 48 regular-season games.
Redskins’ Reuben Foster Suffers Injury
Linebacker Reuben Foster was carted off of the Redskins’ practice field with an air cast on his left leg, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Nothing is certain yet, but the air cast/cart combo suggests that this is a very serious injury and a likely season-ender. 
Foster was seen slamming the turf in agony and sobbing while being driven off of the field. The linebacker, who escaped suspension for his latest round of domestic violence accusations, is now unlikely to see the field in 2019 for his new team.
Foster, a 2017 first-round pick, is among the most talented linebackers in the NFL. He’s also one of the league’s most controversial players due to his off-the-field transgressions. Foster was accused of roughing up his ex-girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, in February of 2018. Ennis went on to recant that story, but, in November, she alleged Foster of abusing her once again at the 49ers’ team hotel in Florida. The Niners dropped him soon after and the Redskins shocked many in the football world by claiming him off waivers.
The remaining guarantees in Foster’s contract have been voided due to his off-the-field transgressions, but the Redskins will be responsible for his salary if/when he is placed on IR.