Bills Acquire WR Jordan Matthews
The Bills have announced their second major trade of the day, as they’ve acquired wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a 2018 third-round pick from the Eagles in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby.
[RELATED: Bills Trade Sammy Watkins To Rams]
Matthews, 26, will presumably step into the void left by Sammy Watkins, whom Buffalo shipped to the Rams earlier today. However, Matthews isn’t the outside receiver that is Watkins, as Matthews has spent the majority of his career in the slot. In fact, he’s a relatively similar player to veteran pass-catcher Anquan Boldin, whom the Bills also now employ. Matthews has been a productive offensive weapon through his three-year career, averaging 75 receptions, nearly 900 yards, and six touchdowns per season.
Of course, Matthews’ contract status also plays a role in this trade, and was likely a key factor in the Eagles trading him away. Matthews is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and now that Philadelphia has Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Nelson Agholor, and Mack Hollins in tow, the club had made no effort towards extending Matthews’ contract. Buffalo, on the other hand, should be expected to work towards a multi-year agreement with Matthews, as the franchise tag is too expensive for a slot receiver.
By dealing Matthews, the Eagles have finally acquired a young, experienced cornerback, the defensive item their roster has been craving most. Philadelphia ranked second in DVOA against the pass in 2016, but that was largely due to its excellent pass rush. While the Eagles added Sidney Jones in the second round of the draft, he may not be ready to play immediately as he returns from injury. Before Darby came aboard, Philadelphia’s top defensive back options included a lackluster cast of Patrick Robinson, Ron Brooks, Jalen Mills, and Rasul Douglas.
The Bills are instituting a new defensive scheme under head coach Sean McDermott, so it’s possible Buffalo didn’t view Darby as a fit. But the former second-round pick has been productive through two NFL campaigns, although his Pro Football Focus graded tumbled from 85.9 to 62.7 (68th among corners) in 2016. Darby is eminently affordable, as he’s under team control for two more seasons with base salaries hovering around $1MM each year.
Through each of their trades executed today, the Bills have acquired a vast amount of 2018 draft pick capital. Buffalo already owned two first-round picks next year as a result of the Patrick Mahomes draft day deal, and now has received an additional second- and third-round selection for next season.
Bills Trade Sammy Watkins To Rams
In a blockbuster trade, the Bills have sent wide receiver Sammy Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Rams in exchange for for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a 2018 second-round pick, Buffalo announced.
[RELATED: Bills Acquire WR Jordan Matthews]
Los Angeles headed into the 2017 offseason with the goal of adding offensive weapons around second-year quarterback Jared Goff, and — when healthy — Watkins is a top-flight NFL wideout. After averaging 62 receptions for more than 1,000 and six touchdowns during his first two pro seasons, Watkins dealt with nagging injuries in 2016, and only managed 28 catches in eight appearances.
That lack of availability led Buffalo to decline its 2018 fifth-year option for Watkins, which would have paid him north of $13MM. As such, the Rams are acquiring Watkins as he enters his contract season, though they’ll certainly have options through which to retain him. The franchise tag will be on the table, and would allow Los Angeles to keep Watkins through at least 2018. Alternatively, the Rams could work out an extension with Watkins, something that’s presumably an ideal solution given the draft capital the club just sacrificed.
Watkins will now reunite with his former Bills teammate Robert Woods, who agreed to a free agent contract with the Rams this spring. Los Angeles also used several draft choices to upgrade a passing offense that ranked dead last in DVOA a season ago, selecting wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds while also adding tight end Gerald Everett in the second round.
Acquiring Watkins came at a price, however, as the Rams are not only giving up a 2018 second-round pick (a choice that, given the Rams’ current roster talent, could be a top-40 selection) but a young cornerback in Gaines. Gaines, 25, was a solid defender during his rookie campaign in 2014, missed the entirety of 2015 with an injury, and then struggled in 2016, grading as a bottom-four NFL corner, according to Pro Football Focus. Like Watkins, Gaines is entering the final year of his contract, during which he’ll earn $1.797MM.
For the Bills, this trade meshes with another deal struck by the club today in which Buffalo acquired wide receiver Jordan Matthews and sent cornerback Ronald Darby to the Eagles. Matthews, presumably, will be asked to replicate some form of Watkins’ production, while Gaines will be counted to start in place of Darby.
Ezekiel Elliott Gets Six Game Suspension
The NFL has brought the hammer down on Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys running back is being suspended for six games, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Elliott is expected to appeal the decision and he has three business days to do so. The NFL has since confirmed the ban and NFL.com has obtained a copy of the league’s letter to Elliott detailing the decision.
If the appeal is unsuccessful, Elliott will be out of action through Week 7 since the Cowboys have a Week 6 bye. Elliott therefore would not make his regular season debut until Week 8 against the Redskins on October 29th.
On Friday morning, Schefter cautioned that the personal conduct policy could enable the NFL to suspend Elliott for up to six games. It’s a shocking outcome considering the previous belief that Elliott would only be suspended for one or two games, if suspended at all. All throughout the process, Elliott has maintained his innocence and owner Jerry Jones has insisted that no physical violence took place. The league, apparently, does not agree with that assessment.
“I have reviewed everything, and there is absolutely nothing — not one thing — that had anything to do with domestic violence,” Jones said recently.
Meanwhile, NFL investigators determined that Elliott did use physical force against girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. Although there was “conflicting testimonial evidence” with regards to what transpired, the photographs of her injuries left no doubt about whether Elliott struck her, the league says.
If the suspension is upheld, Elliott will lose out on $8.15MM+ in salary guarantees from the 2017 through 2019 seasons. Elliott will also have to repay the Cowboys a portion of his signing bonus, on top of missing out on six game checks. For Elliott, that means giving up nearly $240K per missed game, which comes out to approximately $1.44MM.
Tony Romo Would Only Return For Cowboys
Tony Romo would only return to the NFL if Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffers an injury and Dallas is in need of a quarterback, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who labels Romo a “break-the-glass emergency [option]” for the Cowboys.
While Jay Cutler put off a broadcasting career in order to sign with the Dolphins this week, Romo doesn’t sound as willing to return to the league. However, he has vacillated on the subject of complete retirement this offseason. In mid-July, Romo said he was “done” playing football, but just eight days later he left the door open a crack, saying he was only “99.9% done”. It’s a fine distinction, but one that seems to leave a window for a potential comeback, especially given that Romo hasn’t officially filed retirement papers.
The Cowboys no longer hold Romo’s rights after releasing him following his retirement announcement, meaning Romo could technically sign with any club. But he was never mentioned as a possible solution for Miami after Ryan Tannehill‘s knee injury, and other clubs such as the Broncos may be out of luck if Romo only wants to play for Dallas. Kellen Moore and Luke McCown currently represent the backup options behind Prescott, so Romo would clearly offer an improvement if Prescott were to go down during the season.
Unless Romo decides to return to the field, he’ll serve as the No. 1 color commentator for CBS, working alongside Jim Nantz.
Ezekiel Elliott Decision Could Come Friday
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the decision on Ezekiel Elliott isn’t ready today, but it could be coming soon. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports that the ruling could come in as soon as Friday. 
Elliott has been playing the waiting game for roughly one year with the NFL. The league wants to make sure it has covered all of its bases with regards to abuse allegations from last year. Meanwhile, local authorities have passed on pursuing any charges. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been vocal in his support for the running back and insists that the allegations were without merit.
Of course, in the wake of high-profile controversies involving Ray Rice and Greg Hardy, the league is especially sensitive to domestic violence. The NFL is also not happy about other incidents Elliott has been involved in. Elliott found himself in hot water in March when he exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The youngster was also involved in – or at least near – a barroom brawl in Texas earlier this summer.
With Week 1 getting closer and closer, the Cowboys are certainly hoping to get an answer before the week is out. If a July report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter is any indication, they may not be happy with the result. The sense, Schefter said, was that Elliott would be facing a short suspension. It’s also worth noting that report came in days before the aforementioned brawl.
Teams Pursuing Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson says he’s done with football, but that’s not stopping teams from going after the wide receiver. At least six teams have reached out to Megatron to gauge his interest in a return to the field, but so far Johnson has said no, sources tell Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. 
[RELATED: Did Lions’ Losing Pushed Johnson Towards Retirement?]
Freeman’s report does not list specific teams, but one has to imagine that there’s some overlap between this list of six mystery teams and the clubs that Johnson has visited this offseason. Over the past few months, Johnson has served as a guest coach/lecturer with the Dolphins and Raiders. He has not stopped in to see the Lions, however.
If Johnson has a change of heart and decides to return, any team looking to sign him will have to go through the Lions since they still hold his rights. Still, we know that it’s not an impossible hurdle since the Raiders were able to work out a trade with the Seahawks for the previously retired Marshawn Lynch.
In 2015, his last season on the field, Johnson had 88 catches for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns. His performance earned him his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Megatron will celebrate his 32nd birthday in September.
Latest On Bengals’ A.J. McCarron
When the Bengals started receiving trade interest in backup quarterback A.J. McCarron this offseason, coach Marvin Lewis went on record as saying the team would not be trading him. It appears they are pretty serious about that position. The Bengals were offered a second round pick for the QB earlier this offseason, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears, but they still said no. 
The Bengals feel that even if they trade McCarron for a draft pick, they’ll still have to replace him by using another draft pick. The Bengals also know first hand that McCarron can be a capable fill-in if Andy Dalton suffers an injury and misses time. McCarron, 26 in September, filled in for Dalton to close out the 2015 regular season. From weeks 13 through 16, McCarron completed 66.1% of his passes with six touchdowns and two interceptions before suffering a left wrist injury. The right-handed QB returned to action in the playoffs as the Bengals lost a close contest to the Steelers.
There’s also this: because McCarron spent most of his rookie year on the non-football injury list, he’ll be a restricted free agent after the season instead of an unrestricted free agent. The Bengals will have the ability to keep him on the cheap for the next two seasons for next to nothing while top backups in the league earn $4-5MM. This year, McCarron carries a cap number of $735K.
In April, after Lewis downplayed the trade talk, it was reported that the Bengals were seeking a first round choice for McCarron. The same could still be true today. The Bengals may not be inclined to move the Alabama product, but everyone has a price and it’s hard to say no to a top-32 pick for a No. 2 QB.
Colts Release Kendall Langford
The Colts announced that they have released defensive end Kendall Langford with a failed physical designation. Langford had been on the Colts’ active/physically unable to perform list recovering from the knee injury that ended his 2016 campaign in late October.
The 31-year-old Langford’s knee has been a problem since after the 2015 season, when he underwent arthroscopic surgery. Langford returned in time for Week 1 last year, but he only lasted seven games before the Colts placed him on injured reserve. All told, Langford played 301 snaps and tallied 10 tackles. Notably, he failed to register a sack for just the second time in his nine-year career and the first time since 2011, when he was with the Dolphins.
Last season was the second in Indianapolis for Langford, who joined the team in March 2015 on a four-year, $17.2MM pact. Langford came to the Colts with an impressive track record of durability and continued that through 2015, appearing in 128 consecutive games to begin his career, and notched a personal-best seven sacks in Indy during his first season with the club.
Since going in the third round of the 2008 draft, Langford has piled up 135 appearances (113 starts) out of a possible 144 with the Dolphins, Rams and Colts. By releasing him, the Colts have saved $4MM of his $4.25MM cap number for 2017 and left themselves with Henry Anderson, Hassan Ridgeway, Margus Hunt and fourth-round rookie Grover Stewart at defensive end.
Tramaine Brock Has Charges Dropped
The felony domestic violence case against former 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock has been dismissed, according to the Santa Clara district attorney’s spokesman (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). Brock is currently a free agent and he may wind up as one of the league’s most popular available players in the coming days. 
Already, at least five teams want to bring Brock in for a workout, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter) hears. Caplan terms Brock as the best available cornerback remaining on the market, and there’s definitely a case to be made for that at this stage of the offseason. Despite some rumblings to the contrary, the incumbent 49ers are not among the clubs with interest.
Brock, 29 later this month, was arrested on domestic violence charges in April. Officers responded to a domestic violence report and found “visible facial injuries” on the woman Brock is dating. The league may have something to say about the incident, but, legally speaking, Brock is in the clear.
The 28-year-old Brock has spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Niners after first joining the team undrafted free agent in 2010. He went on to start in 40 of 80 appearances and totaled eleven interceptions.
He’s coming off his first 16-start season, in which he amassed a career-high 58 tackles, logged 14 passes defensed and picked off a pass. He also ranked 23rd in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 111 qualified corners.
Falcons Extend RB Devonta Freeman
The Falcons and running back Devonta Freeman have reached agreement on a five-year extension, the club announced today. The deal, which will keep Freeman in Atlanta through the 2022 campaign, is reportedly worth $41.25MM, which makes Freeman the league’s second-highest-paid running back in the NFL, behind only the franchise-tagged Le’Veon Bell. Freeman will earn $22MM in guarantees — a total which includes a $15MM signing bonus — and $26MM over the first three years of the pact.
Negotiations between Freeman and Atlanta had seemingly been enveloped by cooperation on both sides, as the only comment from either party that was even mildly rancorous — Freeman’s notion that he’d be seeking “elite money” — had since been walked back. Freeman had indicated that he wouldn’t request a trade, wouldn’t hold out, and was willing to wait until next spring for talks to resume, while general manager Thomas Dimitroff suggested a Freeman extension was an important item on the Falcons’ itinerary.
Given that Bell is something of an outlier as he plays out the 2017 season on the franchise tender, Freeman is now the NFL’s top-paid back currently working on a multi-year deal. His $8.125MM annual salary slots him just ahead of Bills running back LeSean McCoy, who is earning $8.01MM per annum, and the Buccaneers’ Doug Martin, who is at $7.15MM per season. Freeman had been scheduled to earn just $1.797MM in base salary for the upcoming year.
Freeman, 25, has earned Pro Bowl nods in each of the past two seasons, and averaged 1,068 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns during that span. He’s also been highly effective in the passing game, where he averaged 64 receptions and 520 yards from 2015-16. He’ll return in 2017 along with most of a Falcons offense that ranked first in DVOA a season ago, with the only real change coming at coordinator, where Steve Sarkisian is replacing Kyle Shanahan.
Mike Silver of NFL.com first reported the extension and its basic terms (Twitter links). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) followed with more contractual details. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.