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Poll: Which AFC East Team Had The Best Offseason?

June 9th, 2018 at 3:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Over the past week, we’ve asked you which team had the best offseason from the AFC North, NFC West, and AFC West. Today we’ll take a look at the offseasons of teams from another active division, the AFC East.

The Jets started things off by making a bold move to acquire their quarterback of the future when they traded up to get the third overall pick from the Colts. They ended up selecting Sam Darnold, and also signed Teddy Bridgewater to complete their quarterback room that will return only Josh McCown from last year. They released Bryce Petty and traded Christian Hackenberg, giving up on both of their former draft picks. They signed cornerback Trumaine Johnson to a huge contract in free agency, and also picked up kicker Cairo Santos and running back Isaiah Crowell. They cut longtime headache defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson and signed Terrelle Pryor to bolster last year’s woeful receiving corp. They fired offensive coordinator John Morton and replaced him with Jeremy Bates. The Jets shocked everyone last year with how competitive they were able to be, and will look to build on that progress in 2018.

The Bills also had a bold draft strategy. They too traded up for their quarterback of the future, taking Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick. They took linebacker Tremaine Edmunds later in the first to be the quarterback of their defense. They lost guard Richie Incognito to retirement, and were mostly quiet in free agency aside from signing Star Lotulelei to a five-year deal. They did add A.J. McCarron to compete with Allen to be the starting quarterback, and fired offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, replacing him with Brian Daboll. The biggest move they made however, was trading their starting quarterback from the past three seasons, Tyrod Taylor, to the Browns. The Bills ended the longest active playoff drought in major professional sports this past season, and will look to build on that progress with a first-time starter under center in 2018.

The Patriots had a relatively quiet offseason in terms of transactions. They did trade wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Rams for a first round pick, but didn’t make many moves in free agency. The real story of the Patriots’ offseason was all the drama surrounding Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, and Rob Gronkowski. They took two players from Georgia with their two first round picks, offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn and running back Sony Michel. The Patriots will return mostly the same roster from last year’s AFC-winning team, and will hope Brady can continue to play at an MVP level as he gets another year older.

The Dolphins mostly stayed pat like the Patriots, presumably due to their dire cap situation. After lots of speculation they would look to add a quarterback in the first round to replace Ryan Tannehill, they ultimately selected Minkah Fitzpatrick with the 11th overall pick. Their offseason was mostly defined by the players they got rid of, like Ndamukong Suh, Julius Thomas, Mike Pouncey, and Lawrence Timmons. They did sign receivers Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson, and veteran running back Frank Gore. The Dolphins had a disappointing season last year after Tannehill re-tore his ACL, and the team’s success in 2018 will be nearly entirely dependent on his health.

Which team do you think had the best offseason in the AFC East? Vote in PFR’s poll below and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!

Which AFC East Team Had The Best Offseason?
New York Jets 43.40% (592 votes)
Buffalo Bills 24.34% (332 votes)
New England Patriots 16.28% (222 votes)
Miami Dolphins 15.98% (218 votes)
Total Votes: 1,364

This Date In Transactions History: Corey Liuget

June 9th, 2018 at 12:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Three years ago today, the Chargers agreed to a deal that they probably grew to regret. Fortunately for the organization, they managed to remedy the financial predicament during this past offseason.

Defensive tackle Corey Liuget had been selected by the Chargers in the first round of the 2011 draft, and he proceeded to miss only a single regular season game during his first four years in the NFL. The Illinois product received several accolades during this run, including the David Griggs Memorial Award, which is awarded to team’s defensive player of the year. Coming off a 2014 season that saw him compile 57 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles, Liuget ended up signing a five-year, $58.5MM extension ($30MM guaranteed) with the organization that would kick in at the start of the 2016 campaign.

While the 2015 season didn’t include the extension money, it was the first sign of trouble for Liuget. The defensive lineman was relatively productive in 11 games, collecting 34 tackles and three sacks. However, he ended up landing on the injured reserve after 11 games, ending his season early. He failed to put up big numbers in 2016 (29 tackles, no sacks), and he was limited to only 12 games last year. To make matters worse, Liuget was slapped with a four-game suspension to start the upcoming campaign.

The Chargers were apparently considering a way out of the contract, as they ultimately reworked the lineman’s deal this past offseason. Liuget was set to earn $6MM in 2018 (sacrificing an additional $2MM due to suspension), but his base salary was dropped to less than $1MM.

Surely, the Chargers would have preferred if the defensive lineman had ended up over-performing (or even living up to) his lucrative contract. Fortunately for the organization, they were able to wiggle their way out of a potential financial issue for the upcoming season.

Poll: Which AFC North Team Had The Best Offseason?

June 8th, 2018 at 8:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Over the past week we’ve asked you which AFC West and NFC West team had the best offseason. Another division with a lively past few months has been the AFC North. All four teams drafted quarterbacks, and all four teams changed one of their coordinators. Here’s a quick recap:

The Browns had the most high profile offseason. Holding the number one and four overall picks, the Browns and their draft plans were the topics of endless offseason discussion. When the draft finally came, they ended up taking quarterback Baker Mayfield and cornerback Denzel Ward with those picks. They made a string of splashy trades, acquiring Jarvis Landry, Tyrod Taylor, and Damarious Randall. They were also very active in free agency, signing Carlos Hyde, Chris Hubbard, E.J. Gaines, and Drew Stanton among others. Cleveland did have some significant departures with Joe Thomas retiring, Isaiah Crowell signing with the Jets, and DeShone Kizer traded for Randall. They also added an offensive coordinator for the first time under coach Hue Jackson, hiring Todd Haley after he was not retained by the Steelers. It’s been a long time since there was a competitive Browns team, but with all the offseason moves GM John Dorsey has made, this should be the most talented Browns team in recent memory.

The Ravens joined the Browns in drafting a quarterback in the first round, taking Lamar Jackson 32nd overall. Joe Flacco remains the starter for now, but it won’t be long before Jackson is pushing him. After Dean Pees retired, the team promoted Don Martindale to replace him as defensive coordinator. The team released Jeremy Maclin and signed Michael Crabtree to replace him, also adding John Brown and Willie Snead to further bolster their receiving corp. They also signed Robert Griffin III, who will be fighting for a roster spot this summer. Other than that, they were mostly quiet during free agency, and didn’t make many trades. It will be virtually the same Ravens team taking the field in 2018 as they seek to build on their 9-7 record from last season when they just barely missed the playoffs due to tiebreakers.

The Steelers also drafted their potential quarterback of the future, taking Mason Rudolph in the third round. They notably let Haley walk due to years of disagreements with Ben Roethlisberger, replacing him by promoting quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner. They used their first round pick on safety Terrell Edmunds and took wide receiver James Washington in the second. Other than that, they were mostly quiet, not signing any well-known free agents other than linebacker Jon Bostic. The Steelers elected mostly to return the same team that has dominated the division in recent years.

The Bengals had the most low profile spring. They signed defensive tackle Chris Baker and signed Matt Barkley to replace A.J. McCarron as Andy Dalton‘s backup. They swapped first round picks with the Bills to acquire offensive tackle Cordy Glenn, who the team hopes will help shore up the offensive line deficiencies they’ve faced the last couple of seasons. They took center Billy Price in the first round, and lost their defensive coordinator Paul Guenther to the Raiders. They hired Teryl Austin away from the Lions to replace him. The Bengals will have to hope that Dalton can have a career renaissance and bring them back to being the team that made the playoffs five straight years not too long ago. They’re currently projected by many to finish last in the AFC North, but have the talent to potentially make some noise.

Which team do you think had the best offseason in the AFC North? Vote in PFR’s poll below and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!

Which AFC North Team Had The Best Offseason?
Cleveland Browns 65.59% (850 votes)
Baltimore Ravens 15.35% (199 votes)
Pittsburgh Steelers 12.11% (157 votes)
Cincinatti Bengals 6.94% (90 votes)
Total Votes: 1,296

Offset Language

June 8th, 2018 at 1:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Since the NFL’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has made rookie contracts fairly regimented, negotiations between teams and draft picks have become smoother than ever, with few – if any – players expected to be unsigned by the time training camp gets underway. Still, a number players have yet to ink their rookie deals, including several first-rounders.

Although we don’t know the inner workings of each negotiation, one factor that continues to play a role in contracts for first-round picks relates to offset language. Over the last several years, only a handful of players in each year have managed to avoid having offsets language written into their deals. In 2015, Marcus Mariota‘s camp haggled with the Titans until the two sides finally reached an accord with partial offset language, a compromise that was not consummated until late July. In 2016, Joey Bosa’s holdout dominated headlines until the linebacker inked his deal on August 29th. In most cases, a lack of offsets for a player simply relies on which team drafted him — clubs like the Rams and Jaguars traditionally haven’t pushed to include offsets in contracts for their top picks, even in an era where most other teams around the league do.

Offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.

Although the negotiation of offset language might potentially delay a rookie’s signing, the offsets rarely come into play, since few top picks flame out badly enough that they’re released during their first four seasons. And even in those rare instances, if a player has performed poorly enough to be cut in his first few years, he likely won’t sign a lucrative deal elsewhere, so offset language wouldn’t help his old club recover more than perhaps the league minimum.

Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry, modified from an earlier post by PFR editor emeritus Luke Adams. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from OverTheCap.com was used in the creation of this post. 

This Date In Transactions History: Rob Gronkowski

June 8th, 2018 at 9:29am CST by Zachary Links

Six years ago, Rob Gronkowski inked the most lucrative deal for a tight end in NFL history. The Patriots tacked another six years on to the two remaining seasons of his rookie contract at $54MM, locking him down through the 2019 campaign. 

The deal made plenty of sense for both sides at the time. The pact included $13MM fully guaranteed and $18MM guaranteed for injury, which provided the 23-year-old with financial security early in his career. Through his first two NFL seasons, the former second-round pick made less than $2.5MM in total.

Meanwhile, the Patriots locked down a tight end coming off of a First-Team All-Pro selection. Although he impressed as a rookie, Gronk took his game to a new level in 2011 as he caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns with a catch percentage of 72.6%. Even today, those numbers stand as Gronk’s career bests.

A broken forearm sidelined Gronkowski for five games in 2012. Shortly after returning, he re-aggravated the injury in the Pats’ first playoff game and missed out on the AFC Championship game. In the offseason, the forearm became infected, forcing the tight end to undergo the third and fourth surgeries of his career. In June of 2013, he had back surgery. Then, in a late-season contest against the Browns, he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Gronk was undoubtedly grateful for his injury guarantees at that time.

There were more ailments to come, including a less serious knee injury in 2015 and a pulmonary contusion in 2016, but Gronkowski continued to be one of the very best at his position. Meanwhile, the salary cap continued to grow and the tight end market advanced. Over time, Gronk’s record-setting deal started to look more and more team-friendly. In 2014, Jimmy Graham signed a deal that made him the league’s highest-paid tight end with an average annual average value of $10MM and $16.5MM in full guarantees.

Eventually, something had to give. Prior to the 2017 season, the Pats tweaked Gronk’s deal to incentivize his performance while protecting the team against another injury-marred season. The deal gave him a base salary of $5.25MM with incentive packages at three different tiers:

  • A total salary of $10.75MM with either 90% play time or 80 catches or 1,200‪ receiving yards or an All-Pro nomination.
  • A total salary $8.75MM with 80% play time or 70 catches or 1,000 receiving yards or 12 touchdowns.
  • A total salary of $6.75MM with 70% play time or 60 receptions or 800 receiving yards or ten touchdowns.

With 1,084 yards (off of 69 receptions with eight touchdowns), Gronkowski satisfied the middle tier requirement. However, thanks to his First-Team All-Pro selection, the tight end maxed out his 2017 package.

Gronk still has two years to go on the deal he inked in 2012 and the Patriots will probably have to sweeten the pot for him again. The tight end has decided that acting and/or pro wrestling can wait, but his absence from early-season OTAs likely signals his desire for an improved contract. In the coming weeks, it’s likely that Gronkowski will receive yet another upgrade to separate him even further from the rest of the tight end pack.

This Date In Transactions History: Issac Bruce

June 7th, 2018 at 3:24pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2010, the 49ers traded Issac Bruce to the Rams. However, this wasn’t a typical trade. The deal was facilitated in order to allow Bruce, then 37, to retire with his original franchise. 

Bruce started his career with the Rams in 1994, the team’s final season in Los Angeles. The second-round pick played sparingly as a rookie, but he broke out as an NFL sophomore in St. Louis with 119 catches, 1,781 yards, and 13 touchdowns, all of which went down as his career bests. In his 14 illustrious years with the Rams, Bruce amassed four Pro Bowl trips and eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in eight different seasons.

“Sixteen years was enough for me,” Bruce said at his farewell press conference. “I think a lot was done. But that second training camp practice (in two-a-days) may have played a part in it. I was ready to move on and do something else other than playing football.”

After so many productive seasons in the NFL, Bruce had little left to prove. Bruce was the leading wide receiver in the Rams’ “Greatest Show On Turf” Super Bowl-winning season and left the team as its all-time receiving leader with 14,109 yards. His second act with the Niners was not quite as flashy with 835 yards in his first SF season and 264 yards in his 2009 finale.

“The two years I was away, I kept tabs on this organization,” Bruce said. “I played against this organization, I played against its players. The funny thing is I found myself encouraging them when things didn’t look bright for them. I looked down and saw myself in a different colored uniform. It was honestly just to me personally — it just wasn’t right.”

So, with the trade, Bruce returned back to the Rams and became the last member of the Rams’ first Los Angeles run to hang ’em up. Later, his No. 80 jersey was retired by the team.

Bruce was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the second time in 2018, but he remains a likely candidate for induction down the road.

20% Of Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

June 6th, 2018 at 2:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Roughly 20% of this year’s draft picks have yet to sign their rookie contracts, as shown in PFR’s tracker. So far, 213 of this year’s 256 selections have inked their deals.

Here’s the complete breakdown, sorted by round:

First Round (17)

Second Round (5)

Third Round (10)

Fourth Round (2)

  • Rams, 4-111: Brian Allen, C (Michigan State)
  • Rams, 4-135: John Franklin-Myers, DE (Stephen F. Austin)

Fifth Round (3)

Sixth Round (4)

Seventh Round (2)

As expected, the first round (17) and third round (10) lead the way in stragglers. First round picks tend to have the most leverage, which means that agents will often haggle on issues such as offset language. The third round negotiations also tend to drag since there is wiggle room when it comes to base salaries.

This Date In Transactions History: Joe Staley

June 5th, 2018 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2009, the 49ers signed Joe Staley to a sizable extension, despite the fact that he was only two seasons into his NFL career. The six-year, $42MM attachment raised some eyebrows around the league, but then-GM Scot McCloughan had no doubt that it would benefit the team. 

“Joe Staley is the type of player we want to continue to add to this football team,” McCloughan said. “He’s a tough, versatile, no-nonsense type of guy who wants to do whatever it takes to help his team win football games. Joe is a consummate team player and has been completely unselfish in the way he has approached his role on this team. We know what he means to the success of the 49ers and getting this extension done puts us in a very nice position for the future.”

In the first two years of his career, Staley carried cap numbers of $1.02MM and $1.22MM. Staley’s new deal tacked on an extra six seasons at an average annual value of $7MM per year, giving the 49ers a total of nine years of club control after the time of signing.

The deal was a huge gamble at the time, but McCloughan saw tremendous potential in the former first-round pick and also anticipated some serious advancement in the left tackle market. He was right on both fronts. Before long, Staley’s contract went from bloated to bargain. Today, 18 left tackles – more than half of the league’s starters at the position – make more than $7MM per season.

Nine years ago, not every GM in the league would have bet big on Staley after he allowed 16.5 tackles over his first two seasons. But, with talent and determination, Staley persisted and blossomed into one of the league’s best left tackles. In a 2010 game against the Rams, Staley played through a broken left fibula as he did not want to let his teammates down.

“The X-rays were negative, so I went back out there,” Staley said afterwards. “Then I got kicked again, and I knew it was broken, but I stayed in for a couple plays.”

Staley’s six-year, $42MM deal turned into an below-market deal rather quickly. In 2014, the Niners gave Staley another early extension to reward him and keep him in the fold through 2019. Then, this past April, the Niners gave him another pay bump, giving him $17.5MM over the next two seasons.

Still, Staley’s pay does not quite match his performance. For reference, Giants left tackle Nate Solder is the kingpin at left tackle with an average of $15.5MM per year. Even with the raise, Staley will average roughly half of that over the next two seasons. Last year, Pro Football Focus had Staley ranked as the second-best tackle in the NFL in 2017 while Solder placed at No. 32.

This Date In Transactions History: Colin Kaepernick

June 4th, 2018 at 7:50pm CST by Ryan Posner

In the 2014 offseason, quarterback Colin Kaepernick had been coming off back-to-back seasons in which he led the 49ers to the postseason. That also included a trip to Super Bowl XLVII when they 49ers lost to the Ravens.

It’s fair to see why the 49ers saw Kaepernick as their quarterback of the future and decided to ink him to a six-year contract extension worth up to $126MM in total, $54MM in potential guarantees and $13MM in full guarantees.

The now-30-year-old would not lead the 49ers to the postseason again following the extension and started all 16 regular season games just once before opting out of his contract following the 2016 season. The 49ers had taken Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 draft out of Nevada.

Kaepernick has yet to suit up with an NFL team since appearing in 12 games and starting 11 with the 49ers in 2016. After Jim Tomsula took over for Jim Harbaugh as the 49ers’ head coach in 2015, Kaepernick was benched eight games into the season in favor of Blaine Gabbert.

Since his release and subsequent free agency, Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging that owners from around the league colluded to keep him unsigned. The reported collusion stems from his protest of social inequalities in the United States, which included kneeling for the national anthem.

Between the 2012 and ’13 seasons, Kaepernick threw for 21 touchdowns and rushed for nine touchdowns while throwing just 11 interceptions. The team also went 17-6 in the regular season with him as a starter. From 2014-16, Kaepernick was unable to lead the team to a record better than 8-8, including 10 interceptions in 2014 alone.

The 49ers have appeared to find another “quarterback of the future” after signing Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year deal worth up to $137.5MM deal, which was the largest annual salary in NFL history at the time. The $90MM guaranteed in the first three years of his deal still stands as an NFL record.

PFR Originals: 5/27/18 – 6/3/18

June 3rd, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

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