Titans, Taylor Lewan Agree To $80MM Deal
Taylor Lewan will be a member of the Titans for years to come. On Friday, the two sides agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal includes $50MM in guarantees and makes him the highest-paid offensive lineman in history. 
The left tackle stayed away from the club earlier this summer, but he reported to camp this week. Ultimately, Lewan was able to get what he wanted without a costly holdout.
Lewan, who just turned 27, was set to play out the the 2018 season at a cost of $9.341MM before potentially hitting the open market. Now, he’s under contract through 2023 at a much higher rate.
Lewan’s $16MM/year average tops Nate Solder‘s four-year, $62MM free agent deal signed with the Giants back in March. It’s a hefty price to pay, but kicking the can down the road via the franchise tag wasn’t really a viable option for the Titans. Next year’s franchise tag for offensive linemen may cost nearly $15MM and the 20% increase for a second tag would have meant a $17.5-$18MM payout for 2020. In that scenario, the Titans would have been left with no leverage in extension talks (a third tag would be far too expensive) after having shelled out about $33MM.
A first-round pick in 2014, Lewan has been a full-time starter since the 2015 campaign. Overall, he’s appeared in 58 games and made 53 starts for Tennessee. Lewan graded out as the seventh-best tackle in the NFL in 2016 and placed 16th last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
Redskins Sign QB Colt McCoy To Extension
The Redskins have extended quarterback Colt McCoy through the 2019 season. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the organization has signed the 31-year-old to a one-year extension that can be worth up to $7MM.
In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport notes that McCoy could still have the ability to hit free agency next summer. The deal contains a “void and buyback provision,” and if the quarterback hits the “void criteria,” the organization will have the ability to buyback for six different amounts, each of which is based on playing time and performance. McCoy it set to earn a $2.8MM base salary in what would have been the final season of his contract in 2018. He originally inked a three-year, $9MM extension with the organization back in 2016.
After spending the first four years of his career with the Browns and 49ers, the 2010 third-round has found a home in Washington. The quarterback has spent the past four seasons with the Redskins, including a 2015 campaign where he completed 71.1-percent of his passes for 1,057 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions in five games (four starts). However, McCoy slid into a backup role following the emergence of Kirk Cousins, and he’s only appeared in a single regular season game over the past two seasons.
It will likely be more of the same for McCoy in 2018. While Cousins is gone, the team added veteran signal-caller Alex Smith this past offseason. McCoy will likely serve as Smith’s backup, with Kevin Hogan rounding out the depth chart.
Seahawks Place Chancellor On PUP List
Kam Chancellor‘s season is officially over, and so is his career. The Seahawks placed safety Kam Chancellor on the Reserve/PUP list on Thursday, formally ruling him out for the year. 
[RELATED: Kam Chancellor Announces Retirement]
After eight seasons with the Seahawks, Chancellor announced his retirement earlier this month. There was little doubt about his future, but the transaction means that the Seahawks have been forced to eat his $5.2MM injury guarantee for 2019. Chancellor is undoubtedly disappointed about how things have turned out, but he won’t be hurting for cash as he leaves the club with $12MM in guaranteed cash for the ’18 and ’19 seasons.
Chancellor missed nearly half of last season with a neck injury and was unable to get the greenlight from doctors this year. His nine appearances in 2017 marked a career low. Chancellor missed 16 combined games over the last three seasons after starting at least 14 games between 2011-14.
Chancellor leaves Seattle as one of the club’s most accomplished defensive players of all time. As a pivotal part of the “Legion of Boom,” Chancellor earned four Pro Bowl nods and helped the club to its first Super Bowl win following the 2013 season.
Julio Jones Reports To Falcons
Julio Jones and the Falcons have reached a compromise. The star wide receiver will participate in training camp and the two sides will go back to the negotiating table next year. 
“We have had continued dialogue all offseason with Julio and his representation. We have come to an agreement with Julio, and we will re-address everything in 2019. I appreciate everyone’s hard work and communication on this,” GM Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement. “This adjustment does not impede us from working on other extensions with other key members of our football team. We will continue to work on those contracts going forward.”
The Falcons converted roughly $2MM of Jones’ 2019 base salary into a bonus for 2018, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic (on Twitter) hears. That’s far from the mega extension that Jones was gunning for, but it’ll be enough to get him on the practice field and focused on football.
Last year, Jones had 88 receptions for 1,444 yards and he has given the Falcons four straight seasons with at least 1,400 yards receiving.. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of his last five healthy seasons, positioning himself as one of the very best wide receivers in the game. However, with three years to go on his current contract, he didn’t have quite enough leverage to get a new deal.
Falcons, Julio Jones Working On New Deal
The Falcons are “working intensively” on a new contract for wide receiver Julio Jones, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta is open to “creatively addressing” Jones’ planned salary for 2018, which sits at $10.5MM.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced indicating Jones would be holding out from the Falcons’ training camp after requesting an “adjusted” contract in May. Thus far, Atlanta has not shown an inclination to give Jones any sort of an alteration, and were reportedly focused on new deals for players like Grady Jarrett, Jake Matthews, and Ricardo Allen.
Jones helped reset the wide receiver market in 2015 by inking a five-year, $71.25MM extension with Atlanta, tying him to the club through the 2020 campaign. However, Jones’ $14.25MM average salary now ranks just ninth among NFL wideouts, behind fellow pass-catchers such as Davante Adams, Jarvis Landry, and Sammy Watkins.
In 2017, Jones snagged 83 balls en route to finishing third in the league in receiving yards per game. The 29-year-old Jones has been to four straight Pro Bowls and has two first-team All-Pro nods under his belt. Once his contract is squared away, he’ll once top an Atlanta depth chart that now includes Calvin Ridley in additional to Mohamed Sanu.
Cardinals Sign Tre Boston
The Cardinals have signed veteran safety Tre Boston to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Boston’s signing indicates (at last) movement in the free agent safety market, which had been incredibly stagnant since free agency opened back in March. While players such as Kurt Coleman and Tyrann Mathieu received contracts early in the free agent process, other defensive backs like Boston have failed to land deals. At present, free agent safeties Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are still unsigned.
Boston met with the Colts and Cardinals earlier this summer, and while he wasn’t happy with the outcome of his Indianapolis meeting, Arizona reportedly “rolled out the red carpet” for the 26-year-old. That initial impression probably didn’t hurt the Cardinals’ chances of landing Boston, and his experience with head coach Steve Wilks — who was the Panthers’ defensive backs coach during Boston’s time in Carolina — likely also contributed to his landing in Arizona.
The Cardinals spent time with former Steelers safety Mike Mitchell earlier today, but they’ve instead chosen Boston, who is not only younger, but a better player by almost any measure. In 2017, Boston’s first and only year with the Chargers, he started 15 games and posted a career-high five interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded Boston as the NFL’s No. 30 safety, lauding his pass defense skills but denigrating his run defense.
Boston’s poor run-game work shouldn’t make much of a difference in Arizona, where the Cardinals often play three-safety sets. With Antoine Bethea and Budda Baker available to play closer to the line of scrimmage, Boston will likely spend most of his time in a center field role.
Raiders’ Khalil Mack Won’t Show For Camp
Defensive end Khalil Mack will not report to the Raiders when camp opens on Thursday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This does not appear to be a case of posturing, Schefter adds. 
[RELATED: Raiders Deciding Between Richard, Washington?]
Mack is scheduled to earn $13.846MM after having his fifth-year option picked up, but he’s pushing for a long-term deal before he hits free agency next offseason. Fellow 2014 first-round picks Aaron Donald and Jadeveon Clowney are in similar situations, and it appears that each player is waiting for one of the other two to sign first. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has said that the organization won’t use other contracts as a basis for Mack’s extension, but it’s hard to imagine that those other deals would not be used as reference points.
In a recent poll, more than half of PFR’s readers said that Donald would finish the offseason as the league’s highest-paid defender. However, Mack was not far behind in voting.
Mack has averaged 12 sacks per season over the last three years. It is believed that he is seeking a multi-year deal worth roughly $20MM per season.
Browns Sign Baker Mayfield
The Browns have signed quarterback and No. 1 overall selection Baker Mayfield, the club announced today.
According to Over the Cap, Mayfield’s four-year deal should be worth roughly $32.683MM in total, and will also give Cleveland a fifth-year option season in 2022. Mayfield will collect a ~$21.849MM signing bonus, and count for approximately $5.942MM on the Browns’ 2018 salary cap.
Mayfield had been one of only six 2018 draft picks without a contract in place, and offset language was reportedly holding up the deal. Players with offset language in their contracts who are cut before the end of their rookie deals have their remaining guaranteed money reduced by what they earn elsewhere. Mayfield’s pact does indeed contain offset language, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Even after using the first overall pick on Mayfield, the Browns have been adamant that veteran Tyrod Taylor — whom Cleveland acquired from Buffalo for the cost of the 65th overall selection — will be the club’s Week 1 starter. Still, the Browns, who face a difficult opening schedule, could conceivably insert Mayfield under center later in the season.
Cleveland still has one more draft pick to sign in cornerback Denzel Ward, the fourth overall pick in April’s draft.
Earl Thomas Not Reporting To Seahawks
As expected, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas is not reporting to training camp as he continues to demand either a contract extension or a trade, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Although the Seahawks don’t seem inclined to extend Thomas’ contract at this time, that doesn’t mean Seattle isn’t interested in a long-term deal down the road, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (video link). The 29-year-old defensive back only has one more season left on his current contract, so the idea of waiting for a fresh pact likely doesn’t hold any appeal.
However, Seattle would prefer that Thomas report to camp before any negotiations take place, a strategy that was used when the Seahawks dealt with fellow safety Kam Chancellor‘s contract last August. The Cowboys, notably, have been viewed as Thomas’ most likely landing spot if he is dealt, and Dallas has discussed acquiring the All-Pro safety in recent months.
Thomas is signed through 2018, when he’ll earn a base salary of $8.5MM and count for $10.4MM on Seattle’s salary cap. That salary is courtesy of a four-year, $40MM extension which Thomas signed in 2014, a deal which now makes him the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid safety in terms of annual value.
Chargers Negotiating With Antonio Gates
The Chargers are “actively negotiating” veteran tight end Antonio Gates‘ return to the club, Gates’ agent Tom Condon tells Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
Los Angeles told Gates in April that he would not be re-signed for a 16th campaign, but the team’s stance changed when third-year tight end Hunter Henry suffered a torn ACL in May. Since that time, the Chargers have expressed a willingness to reunite with Gates, and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reported earlier today that Los Angeles wanted to re-sign Gates before the beginning of training camp.
Gates is now 38 years old and posted a career-low 316 receiving yards in 2017, but the Chargers’ tight end depth chart is currently devoid of a starting-caliber option. Los Angeles signed Virgil Green earlier this year, but the ex-Bronco is a career reserve who’s never been an offensive force. Other tight ends on the Chargers’ roster include Sean Culkin and Braedon Bowman.
Even if Gates does end up re-signing with Los Angeles, the Chargers will need to lean on their other offensive weapons — receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams, and Travis Benjamin, plus running back Melvin Gordon — as Gates played on only 47% of the club’s offensive snaps in 2017. Given his age, it shouldn’t be a surprise if his snap count dwindles even further during the upcoming campaign.