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Extension Candidate: Brandon Graham

July 6th, 2018 at 10:54am CST by Zachary Links

Last year, the Eagles tacked some incentives onto Brandon Graham‘s deal amidst rumblings that he was considering a holdout. Graham is once again pushing for an extension as he nears his walk year, but this time around, it’ll take more than an extra $1.5MM in performance bonuses to satisfy him. 

Graham is among the best 4-3 defensive ends in the game today, but his current salary does not reflect his performance. His average of $6.5MM/year on his current contract ranks 20th among 4-3 DEs, despite the fact that he graded out as the eighth-best overall edge defender in the league last year.

The veteran is coming off of a career-high 9.5 sacks and even iced the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory with his late-game strip sack of Tom Brady. Even though he celebrated his 30th birthday in April, he has plenty of juice as he sits across from GM Howie Roseman at the table.

Recently, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com predicted that Graham would not accept anything less than Everson Griffen‘s four-year, $58MM extension with the Vikings, which includes $18.8MM in full guarantees. Graham is 30, but Griffen is a few months older than him and is arguably the lesser player of the two, despite his 13 sacks in 2017.

The Eagles want to keep Graham in the fold, but their tight cap situation may limit how far they can go. A creative workaround for both sides may be to give Graham an even greater guarantee percentage than Griffen. After the Vikings gave Griffen a healthy 32.4% fully guaranteed at signing, the Eagles may be willing to push that number closer to 40% in order to shave some dollars off of the overall total. It wouldn’t be completely unprecedented – the Giants guaranteed $40MM of Olivier Vernon‘s $85MM free agent deal in 2016, which accounts for 47% of his deal.

Graham’s age and recent offseason ankle surgery may give the Eagles some pause about a hefty guarantee, but the former first round pick has not missed significant time since the 2011 season. There are worse bets to make, and a fat guarantee could give the Eagles the flexibility they’ll need to retain players like running back Jay Ajayi, cornerback Ronald Darby, and wide receiver Nelson Agholor down the line.

PFR Social Media Feeds By Team

July 6th, 2018 at 9:49am CST by Zachary Links

We’ve detailed how you can follow Pro Football Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, or using an RSS reader to ensure that you receive all of our updates, 365 days a year. If you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NFL team, PFR has you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 32 teams.

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

Only 14 NFL Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

July 5th, 2018 at 3:50pm CST by Zachary Links

As training camp draws near, the overwhelming majority of this year’s NFL Draft picks have inked their rookie contracts. As shown on PFR’s tracker, 242 rookies have put pen to paper, leaving only the following 14 players in limbo:

All but three of the unsigned players are in the first round, but the circumstances surrounding each negotiation are not the same. For those in the top 10, the holdup appears to be over offset language. When it comes to the players in the backend of the first round, agents are haggling over guarantees in the fourth year of the rookie contracts.

Before fans panic about potential holdouts, it’s important to remember that elongated negotiations are not uncommon, even under the simplified parameters set forth by the current CBA. Late last June, we had a dozen stragglers still waiting to sign their first NFL deals. The time to worry, if there ever is one, will come when training camp opens later this month.

This Date In Transactions History: Lions Release Stephen Tulloch

July 5th, 2018 at 10:45am CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2016, the Lions bid farewell to one-time defensive cog Stephen Tulloch. 

Tulloch entered the league in 2006 as a fourth-round pick of the Titans. The linebacker played sparingly in his first two seasons but, eventually, he cracked the starting lineup. Between 2008 and 2010, Tulloch was first-string for 41 games with Tennessee.

When he hit free agency, old friend Jim Schwartz brought him to Detroit with a one-year deal. After he tallied three sacks from the inside linebacker position and 111 overall tackles, the Lions re-signed him to a lucrative five-year deal. Tulloch continued to hold down the fort at MLB, compiling 100+ tackles in 2012 and 135 total tackles in 2013, including a career-high 3.5 sacks.

Unfortunately, his career took a weird turn in 2014. In Week 3, Tulloch took down Aaron Rodgers with a thunderous sack. He then busted out a sack celebration which went horribly wrong. Tulloch tore his ACL, ending his season in September.

Afterwards, Tulloch was asked if he had any regrets about the doomed dance.

“Hell, no,” Tulloch said. “I’d do it again, brother. You do it every time. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Just a matter of time. I’ve played a long time in this league and I understand you’re susceptible to this kind of injury when you go out there and play. Nine years without missing a game is kind of crazy, but like I said I’m positive because I believe in my hard work, I believe in my training and what I do in the offseason and how I approach things, so I know I’ll be back even better than before.”

Unfortunately, that was not the case. On paper, Tulloch had an alright 2015 as he started all 16 games, registered 108 total tackles, and came up with two fumble recoveries. However, he wasn’t quite an every-down player, as he saw time on less than 70% of the Lions’ defensive plays. Tulloch also graded out relatively poorly in Pro Football Focus’ rankings, placing as the No. 54 inside linebacker among 97 qualifiers.

Late in the summer of 2016, Schwartz re-connected with him yet again as the Eagles inked him to a one-year, $3MM deal. Tulloch wound up as a reserve for the first time in years and had only seven tackles on the year. That proved to be Tulloch’s last season, as he announced his retirement in April of 2017.

If not for that fateful game against the rival Packers, the Lions might not have released Tulloch two years ago today.

Extension Candidate Series

July 5th, 2018 at 8:02am CST by Zachary Links

Throughout the summer, we’ve been running down some of the league’s most intriguing extension candidates. In cased you missed it, here are the players we’ve covered thus far:

July 16 Marks NFL’s Franchise Tag Extension Deadline

July 4th, 2018 at 12:59pm CST by Zachary Links

This year, the deadline for teams to reach extensions with franchise tagged players falls on July 16. If the following four players do not agree to new contracts in the coming days, they will be ticketed for free agency in 2019:

For Bell, the absence of a deal all but guarantees that he will be allowed to explore the open market next season. That’s because this is the second year in a row that Bell has been hit with the tag. He’ll make $14.544MM this season if no extension deal is reached, but a third tag would cost Pittsburgh more than $20MM. For the rest, the possibility of a second franchise tag remains, though the requisite 20% increase could prevent teams from applying the tender.

The rules of the franchise tag dictate that teams have until mid-July to hammer out an extension with players. If not, the two sides are barred from engaging in contract talks until after the season has concluded.

From 2013-2017, 16 of the league’s 33 franchise tagged players agreed to extensions before the summer deadline. This year, it’s hard to say whether deals will be reached for any of the players in question. Bell is looking for a deal that will reflect his production as a top running back and a No. 2 wide receiver. The defensive ends, Ansah and Lawrence, know that teams are willing to overpay for quality edge rushers in free agency. Joyner, meanwhile, may be content to let the Rams control his fate since he’ll either make $11MM+ this year and hit free agency, or earn $25MM through two franchise tags and reach the open market in 2020.

Then again, a serious injury could derail any member of this quartet, so there’s something to be said for financial security over monetary upside. Joyner, in particular, could be quietly eager to sign a multi-year deal after watching a dismal free agent safety market play out this offseason.

What we do know for sure is that the next 12 days will be worth monitoring.

Extension Candidate: Geno Atkins

July 4th, 2018 at 9:38am CST by Zachary Links

This offseason, we have (rightfully) heard a great deal about potential extensions for star defenders Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack, and Jadeveon Clowney. That discussion has overshadowed Geno Atkins, to some extent, as he pushes for a new deal.

The defensive tackle inked a five-year, $53.3MM extension with the Bengals back in 2013, which has him in place through the 2018 season. The deal has 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 is now primed to do it all over again at the age of 30.

When Atkins’ deal began in 2014, he was the NFL’s third-highest paid 4-3 defensive tackle with a $9MM cap number. Today, his $9.5MM cap figure for 2018 places him seventh in the same category. After finishing the year as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender – behind only Donald – something has to change.

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.

If Donald signs first, Atkins’ camp will have a favorable comp to work off of, even though his deal will be worth less. The Bengals aren’t technically on the clock here, but they may want to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

A new deal for Atkins will definitely cost eight figures per year, but it remains to be seen how far the Bengals will go. With a fluid cap situation both this year and next, you can expect the Bengals to lock up Atkins on a multi-year deal worth around $12MM per season.

This Date In Transactions History Series

July 4th, 2018 at 8:10am CST by Zachary Links

For the last several weeks, we’ve been commemorating some of the NFL’s most interesting moves with our “This Date In Transactions History” series. In case you missed any of them, here’s a rundown of every entry:

Extension Candidate: Jadeveon Clowney

July 3rd, 2018 at 3:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite an injury-riddled rookie season, Texans edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney has blossomed into one of the league’s best defensive players. Now coming off of his second-straight Pro Bowl selection and his first full season, Clowney is pushing for a lucrative new deal to put him near the top of the market at his position. 

[RELATED: Who Will End Offseason As NFL’s Highest-Paid Defender?]

Thanks to the fifth-year option, the Texans have Clowney under contract for 2018 at a salary of $12.3MM. After that, Clowney will be eligible to hit the open market, unless the Texans use the franchise tag or iron out an extension with him.

The projected franchise tag amount often provides a framework for deals, but it’s a bit more complicated than that in Clowney’s case. In 2016, Clowney saw a great deal of time at defensive end in the Texans’ 3-4 scheme. Last year, he saw more time at linebacker than defensive end. It remains to be seen how Clowney’s position will be defined for purposes of the tag. If he’s classified a linebacker, then the tag will be worth around $16.3MM in 2019. If he’s considered a defensive end, then the Texans will be looking at the prospect of at least $18MM for the one-year placeholder.

The Texans and Clowney have not made significant strides on an extension just yet, and that could have something to do with Clowney’s slower-than-expected recovery from a recent knee procedure. The pending extensions for Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald may also hold things up. We could see a three-way game of chicken here as each player would probably like to use one of the other deals as a framework for talks. Then again, Clowney is not quite as accomplished as Mack and Donald, so his agents might not be wary about being the first to the trough.

So, what sort of deal would make sense for both sides? The Texans showed a willingness to back up the Brinks truck in 2014 when they gave J.J. Watt a six-year, $100MM deal, but his injury issues are a reminder of the risks that come with big-money deals.

Clowney’s camp will certainly use Watt’s deal as a reference point, but they could use Olivier Vernon‘s five-year, $85MM free agent deal with the Giants as their real blueprint. Clowney just turned 25 in February, so a shorter deal would allow him to hit the open market near the age of 30, giving him an opportunity to cash in all over again. Copying Vernon’s deal to the letter would give Clowney $17MM/year on average with a whopping $40MM fully guaranteed at signing. An equivalent deal adjusted for cap increases, meanwhile, would give him nearly $19.5MM per season, which may be too rich for the Texans’ blood. For reference, the AAV on that deal would top Von Miller‘s six-year, $114.6MM contract, which presently stands as the league’s richest deal for a defensive player.

LSU, Alabama Lead NFL In Cap Dollars By College

July 3rd, 2018 at 1:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Alabama won the national championship this year, but LSU has them beat in another category. More salary cap dollars in the NFL are being spent on Tigers alum than any other school in the country, according to Over The Cap.

Former LSU players are set to take in a total of $160.37MM NFL dollars this year, thanks in part to top earners such as Jarvis Landry, Patrick Peterson, Andrew Whitworth, Michael Brockers, and Odell Beckham Jr. Alabama – a group that includes Julio Jones, Marcell Dareus, Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, and Kareem Jackson – is not far behind at $157.12MM.

Here’s the rundown of the Top 25, according to OTC:

Rk. College # of players Cap Dollars
1 LSU 61 $160,369,274
2 Alabama 60 $157,122,963
3 USC 48 $151,068,123
4 Georgia 44 $149,165,318
5 Ohio State 53 $130,270,159
6 Miami 50 $128,288,740
7 California 33 $126,843,410
8 Florida State 50 $121,923,570
9 Florida 51 $118,224,071
10 Oklahoma 38 $105,483,720
11 Stanford 36 $100,104,655
12 Wisconsin 32 $95,928,735
13 Clemson 42 $90,882,721
14 Michigan State 28 $90,363,894
15 Notre Dame 38 $88,797,566
16 South Carolina 28 $88,350,715
17 Texas A&M 33 $85,645,140
18 Iowa 33 $82,139,839
19 Tennessee 38 $79,788,631
20 Penn State 40 $75,628,782
21 Oregon 33 $73,695,597
22 Mississippi State 25 $71,898,567
23 Michigan 36 $71,787,690
24 Mississippi 28 $71,757,391
25 Nebraska 33 $66,999,307

There has been some movement on this list since 2017. In September of last year, Georgia led the way thanks to the big money contracts of Justin Houston, Cordy Glenn, Matthew Stafford, A.J. Green, Geno Atkins, and Thomas Davis. After that, USC, Alabama, LSU, and Cal rounded out the top five.

The list may also change between now and the start of the 2018 season. For example, if the Falcons give Jones the contract enhancement he’s seeking, Alabama could easily regain the top spot.

OTC also has the breakdown of cap dollars spent per FBS conference. As expected, the SEC leads the way with nearly $1.2 billion spent on its former players. After that, it’s the Big Ten ($834.41MM), Pac-12 ($796.4MM), ACC ($789.6MM), Big 12 ($419.21MM), The American ($299.85MM), Mountain West ($231.81MM), Mid-American ($190.55MM), Conference USA ($154.3MM), the Independents ($130.37MM, led by Notre Dame), and the Sun Belt ($96.34MM). Players from outside of the FBS fall somewhere in the middle, with a total of $643.31MM.

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