Seahawks, WR Tyler Lockett Agree To Extension
The Seahawks and wide receiver Tyler Lockett have agreed to an extension, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year deal with a base value of $31.8MM and includes a healthy $20MM guaranteed. With incentives, the value of the deal can reach $37.8MM. 
Lockett was set to reach free agency next year after completing his rookie deal in 2018. Now, he gets to stay in Seattle with a significant pay bump.
The 2015 third-round pick hasn’t put up electrifying numbers just yet, but the Seahawks are expecting an uptick in his production after moving on from Paul Richardson. Over the course of three years, Lockett has 137 catches for 1,816 yards and nine touchdowns, though six of those scores came as a rookie.
Last year, Lockett finished out with 45 catches for 555 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the annual average value of his deal is greater than $10.5MM. That’s a sign that the Seahawks have a tremendous amount of faith in him, and also shows how far the wide receiver market has advanced in the last couple of years.
Lockett figures to be the Seahawks No. 2 wide receiver this year and should continue in his role as the club’s top returner.
Alshon Jeffery To Return By Week 3?
While it’s uncertain when Carson Wentz will be ready to return for the Eagles, his top wide receiver’s timetable is becoming clearer.
Alshon Jeffery is not expected to make it back by the time the defending Super Bowl champions begin their title-defense campaign, with Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) the seventh-year wideout is set to miss at least the first two games of the season. However, optimism exists around a Week 3 return for Jeffery, the duo adds.
Jeffery’s been shelved throughout the offseason because of shoulder surgery. He played last season with a torn rotator cuff. The Eagles plan to activate Jeffery from the PUP list this weekend, and it looks like he’ll avoid the Reserve/PUP list to start the regular season. A Reserve/PUP distinction would mean the Eagles would have to operate without their No. 1 wideout for the first six regular-season weeks.
Doug Pederson said Tuesday no Jeffery decision will be made until next week, per Jeff McLane of Philly.com (on Twitter), but it looks like the Eagles have a late-September Jeffery re-emergence tentatively scheduled. However, it’s not certain that will happen. Jeffery has not practiced in 2018.
Jeffery can return to practice once being activated from the PUP list, but Eagles doctors believe it’s best for Jeffery to miss at least the first two games of the season as he finishes up a recovery from February surgery, Schefter and Mortensen report. The 28-year-old target’s caught passes on a side practice field steadily, and Eagles medical personnel have advised team brass Jeffery’s “significant” progress should allow him to avoid the Reserve/PUP list, the ESPN duo adds.
The Eagles signed Jeffery to a four-year extension late last season. His Philadelphia debut (789 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) was not as successful as some of his top Bears seasons, but the 6-foot-3 pass-catcher still caught three playoff TDs and was a vital presence during the Nick Foles-led Super Bowl march. Philly returns Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor as key receiving presences from its Super Bowl run and added Mike Wallace and Dallas Goedert to the mix. The Eagles added Markus Wheaton and Kamar Aiken as well, but neither is a lock to made the 53-man roster. They might pursue an outside upgrade via the trade market or waiver wire, Philly.com’s Zach Berman tweets.
Jeffery’s injury looks set to delay his 2018 debut, and it’s possible Wentz will be on the sideline with him when the Eagles host the Falcons to kick off this season.
Bell To Report To Steelers On Labor Day?
Le’Veon Bell has told some of his teammates that he will report to the Steelers on Labor Day, Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette hears. If Bell is in the building on Sept. 3, he’ll be able to participate in the team’s first day of practice before the season opener. 
Bell has abstained from training camp after receiving a second consecutive franchise tag which is worth $14.5MM this time around. Last year, Bell also held out from camp, but officially reported on Sept. 4.
It remains to be seen how the Steelers will use Bell in the season opener. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner could give Bell his typical workload, or he could start the year by splitting the carries between Bell and backup James Conner.
“That’s a hard question because it’s Le’Veon,” Fichtner said recently. “You’d like to think that he’ll be in good shape. But we’ll have to evaluate where he’s at — conditioning, health, things like that. Using him in the best way to help us win early will be the most important thing. There will be some things he can do that quite frankly most people who play his position can’t do. But that’s not anything against the running backs that have gone through training camp with us because they’ve done a heck of a job, including James.”
Despite his dissatisfaction with the team and his contract, it sounds like Bell will show up for work as scheduled. However, this may be his final season in black and yellow.
Bengals Sign Carlos Dunlap To Extension
The Bengals have signed defensive end Carlos Dunlap to a three-year, $45MM extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The new deal will keep him in place through the 2021 season. 
Word of Dunlap’s deal broke just moments after the Bengals reached agreement on a four-year deal with defensive tackle Geno Atkins. In one fell swoop, the Bengals have locked down two pillars of their defensive line.
Dunlap was set to enter the final year of the six-year, $40MM extension he signed in 2013. The 29-year-old will earn a base salary of $7MM (well below his true value) before starting the new deal.
Dunlap, 29, has been tremendous in Cincinnati, particularly in the second half of games. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have routinely rated him as a top-30 edge defender over the past seven seasons and he has been equally strong against the pass and the run.
Earlier this offseason, we estimated that Dunlap would have to play out the 2018 season at a high level in order to secure a $15MM/year deal. Instead, Dunlap has landed that deal without risking injury or regression, so his camp did quite well in these negotiations.
With Dunlap and Atkins squared away, the Bengals can shift their focus to other extension candidates such as cornerback Darqueze Dennard. The Bengals also have a trio of tight ends to consider in Tyler Kroft, Tyler Eifert, and C.J. Uzomah, and they may want to leave some money in the coffers to re-sign defensive end Michael Johnson after the 2018 season.
Bengals Sign DT Geno Atkins To Extension
The Bengals have signed defensive tackle Geno Atkins to a four-year extension, according to his agency. The new pact is worth $65.3M, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The 30-year-old is among the best players on the Bengals’ defense, so the deal was a high priority for the front office. The club’s recent release of safety George Iloka likely freed up the room necessary to make the deal happen.
Atkins will receive $25.5MM in the first year of the new deal and more than half of the contract ($37.5MM) will be paid in the first two years. His $16.3MM yearly average is highest yearly average ever obtained by a 30+ year old non-quarterback in NFL history.
The defensive tackle inked a five-year, $53.3MM extension with the Bengals back in 2013, which meant that his deal was set to expire after the 2018 season. That contract proved to be a winner for both sides. For the Bengals, the deal allowed them to keep a top performer under contract at roughly $10.6MM per year while the market advanced at a sharp rate. Atkins, meanwhile, made more cash than he could ever hope to spend. And, since he’s still in the prime of his career, he was able to do it all again.
Atkins finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender last year, putting him behind only Aaron Donald of the Rams. Like Donald, Atkins is a stout run defender with the ability to also disrupt opposing quarterbacks from the interior. Atkins has notched at least nine sacks in each of the last three seasons, and, save for the 2013 season cut short by an ACL tear, he has never missed a game. Donald is still three years younger and in a class of his own, but Atkins has been far more dominant than many outside of Cincinnati realize.
Raiders’ Khalil Mack Likely To Miss Games
The Raiders and Khalil Mack have made no progress in contract talks and the All-Pro defensive end is likely to miss regular-season games as a result, sources familiar with the standoff tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. The Raiders open their season on Sept. 10 against the Rams, so the two sides have less than two weeks to turn things around before Mack abstains from meaningful games. 
The Raiders have yet to make an offer to Mack, despite his prolonged holdout this offseason. Technically, the fifth-year veteran is tied to his $13.8MM fifth-year option, but Mack is willing to miss out on game checks that are worth more than $800K in order to make a point and force the Raiders into giving him a lucrative extension. Meanwhile, GM Reggie McKenzie does not expect Mack to report to the club until he has a contract in hand.
Because of the impasse, the Raiders have not ruled out trading Mack. There are at least four clubs seriously interested in making a deal for the defensive dynamo, and the Jets may be among those teams.
Apparently, things haven’t improved much since talks first stalled back in February. There have been no meaningful talks between the two sides in months, Robinson hears, and Mack’s side has taken a “pay him or trade him” stance with the Raiders.
Coach Jon Gruden has final say over the matter, but he has not been directly involved with the talks either. Robinson also hears that owner Mark Davis has the flexibility needed to give Mack a lucrative deal with guarantees, despite speculation about the Raiders’ finances. And, the two sides aren’t waiting on Rams star Aaron Donald to sign a deal. Still, with the season fast approaching, the lack of progress between the Raiders and Mack is troubling.
Giants, OBJ Agree To Extension
The Giants and star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr are closing in on a five-year mega-extension, according to Ian Rapoport and Kim Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a five-year extension worth up to $95MM with $65MM guaranteed overall, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The value of Beckham’s new deal is $90MM over the five added years, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. That’s $18MM per year in new money – or $19MM/year, if counting the potential incentives. Either way, it’s the highest average annual value for any receiver in the NFL. Beckham also gets $41MM fully guaranteed at signing, plus another $24MM in injury guarantees for a total of $65MM in guarantees.
The deal is a big win for Beckham across the board, as he leads wide receivers in AAV, total guarantees, and full guarantees at signing. Previously, Antonio Brown‘s $17MM per year represented the annual standard for receivers, and Mike Evans‘ $55MM in total guarantees and $38.25MM in full guarantees were the statistical chart-toppers.
In terms of the average annual value on the “new money,” OBJ is now the highest-paid receiver in NFL history. He’ll also collect about $60MM within the first three years of the deal.
The two sides have wrestled over the extension for some time. Although OBJ is one of the most talented receivers in the game, he missed the majority of the 2017 season with injury and the Giants had concerns about his maturity. This offseason, Beckham flirted with the idea of a training camp holdout, but ultimately showed up for work and impressed team brass.
“I see what I expected to see when we started to communicate back in February,” Shurmur said in February. “This guy loves to play football, he trains extremely hard, he’s totally engaged in the meetings behind the scenes, the things that the world is not aware of, and he’s got a lot of passion for the game. We were just out in a walk-through and I saw three or four times when he was talking to different players about certain techniques within the play. That’s all good stuff.”
The 2014 first-round pick was limited to only four games last season and finished with just 25 receptions for 302 yards and three scores. However, he finished the previous three campaigns with at least 1,300 receiving yards.
At 25 (26 in November), Beckham is four years younger than Brown, and he’s outproduced the other members of his class on a per-year basis. The Giants paid a pretty penny to lock up the three-time Pro Bowler through 2023, but it will be worthwhile if he plays up to his ability.
Raiders Trade WR Ryan Switzer To Steelers
The Raiders have traded wide receiver Ryan Switzer to the Steelers. The Raiders will receive a fifth-round pick in the trade while sending their own sixth-rounder to Pittsburgh.
The deal marks the second time that Switzer has been traded this offseason. In April, the Cowboys shipped Switzer to Oakland after acquiring Tavon Austin from the Rams. Dallas acquired 2016 Raiders second-round pick Jihad Ward in that trade.
Switzer offers experience as both a kick and punt returner, and that’s likely the main draw to this trade from the Steelers’ perspective. Switzer could allow Pittsburgh to keep Antonio Brown away from punt returns and reduce the star’s risk for injury. Cornerback Cameron Sutton was pushing to hold down that job, but the Steelers might be having second thoughts after he fumbled against the Titans in Saturday’s preseason contest. Switzer may also be able to contribute as a slot receiver.
The Raiders seemed likely to keep Switzer, but it appears that he has been leapfrogged by Griff Whalen this offseason. Whalen’s toe injury may keep him from the field in Week 1, but the Raiders opted to get something in return for Switzer instead.
Patriots Sign G Shaq Mason To Extension
The Patriots and guard Shaq Mason have agreed to a massive new deal, according to Mike Garafolo and Herbie Teope of NFL.com (on Twitter). The new five-year contract includes $23.5MM guaranteed and can be worth up to $50MM in total. 
Mason, who will earn close to $30MM over the first three years of new deal, has greatly outperformed his status as a former fourth-round pick. In terms of new money, he’s now in the top ten for guards in the NFL.
At a rate of $10MM per year, Mason matches David DeCastro of the Steelers and Kyle Long of the Bears in terms of average annual value. That’s good for fifth amongst right guards, behind Zack Martin, Kevin Zeitler, Trai Turner, and Gabe Jackson.
Mason is one of the better guards in the game today and also has age on his side. The 2015 fourth-round pick turns 25 on Tuesday and should have plenty of quality football ahead of him.
Last year, Mason graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 9 ranked guard in the NFL. While the Pats have cast aside other notables such as Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins, Dion Lewis, and Malcolm Butler, they felt that Mason was worth the major expenditure.
Jaguars WR Marqise Lee Out For Season
Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee will miss the entire 2018 season due to a knee injury suffered in Saturday night’s preseason contest against the Falcons. Lee will soon be placed on IR, opening up a spot on the club’s 90-man roster. 
It’s a devastating blow to the Jaguars, particularly after they allowed Allen Robinson to walk in free agency this year. Lee had the most catches of any Jaguars receiver in 2017 (56) and finished second in receiving yards (702). Between 2016 and 2017, Lee racked up 119 receptions for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns.
The Jaguars rewarded Lee with a new four-year deal worth up to $38MM this offseason, a pact that includes $18MM guaranteed. Unfortunately, they’ll have to wait until 2019 to see him back in action.
Without Lee, the Jaguars are left with a group that is headlined by Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, second-round pick D.J. Clark, and Donte Moncrief. It’s still a talented bunch, which explains why head coach Doug Marrone said he’s “comfortable” with his receivers when asked about the possibility of signing Dez Bryant (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com).