On this date in 2018, the Bills moved on from their bizarre saga with Richie Incognito. They released the offensive lineman from the reserve/retired list, paving the way for him to play for another team. At the time, no one knew whether the veteran would get that opportunity.
Incognito, a four-time Pro Bowler and one of the league’s best guards, made headlines for all the wrong reasons throughout his career. In 2013, he was alleged to have bullied and disparaged Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin, which prompted Martin to leave the team and the NFL to suspend Incognito. After missing half of ’13 and all of ’14, he returned to the league with the Bills.
On the field, Incognito continued his excellence. He played every single snap for the Bills in 2015, earned a fresh ~$16MM deal prior to 2016, and graded out as one of the league’s best guards in 2017. The advanced metrics showed that Incognito was elite throughout those three years in Buffalo – he placed No. 2, No, 7, and No. 12 in the league in each of those seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.
Then, things turned once again. In March of 2018, Incognito agreed to rework the remainder of his contract, cutting his base salary in half. Weeks later, he fired his agent via Twitter. Then, Incognito retired, citing health issues and dissatisfaction with his deal.
“It pisses me the [expletive] off,” Incognito said. “The contract and all that pissed me [off] and all that, but (retiring) has nothing to do with that.”
The Bills placed Incognito on the retired list on April 12, 2018. On April 15, 2018, he requested his release. Then, on May 21, 2018 – about six weeks after Incognito announced that he was done with football – the Bills granted his request. Two days after that, Incognito caused a scene at a gym in Florida and told police that he believed he was being tracked by FBI agents for his possession of secret NSA documents. One psychiatric hold and a few months later, Incognito was arrested at an Arizona funeral parlor for threatening employees who refused to cut off his father’s head, which he wanted for research purposes.
Most in the football world figured that would mark the end of Incognito’s career, but Jon Gruden gave him another chance to play in 2019. Towards the end of another strong season, the Raiders inked the veteran to a new two-year, $14MM deal. Now, the veteran is in free agency limbo after missing all but two games last year due to injury. There was early chatter that the Raiders could bring him back, but that might not happen in the midst of their OL revamp. It’s not clear how much Incognito has left in the tank, but he’s not far removed from ’19 when he ranked as PFF’s 14th best guard.
Julio Jones remains on the trade block. We learned earlier today that the star receiver is still available, and the Falcons would like to trade the future Hall of Famer.
While Jones missed a handful of games in 2020, these trade rumors aren’t based on his production…there are few wideouts in the NFL who can compare to Jones’ consistent receiving numbers. Rather, the Falcons are shopping the veteran for financial reasons. The front office is currently sitting with around only $500K in cap space, and they still need to sign their draft class. With Jones earning an AAV around $22MM on his last extension, he’s always seemed like the likeliest cap casualty. GM TerryFontenot even acknowledged that the team has to consider trading the seven-timer Pro Bowler.
“We are in a difficult cap situation,” Fontenot said. “That’s just the circumstance…Our administration has done an excellent job up to this point getting us in position to be able to manage the cap. Yet, we still have more work to do.
“So, when teams call about any players, we have to listen, and we have to weigh it and we have to determine what’s best for the organization, and we have to handle everything with class. Obviously, that particular player [Jones] — we hold him in high regard. He’s special…but we have to consider [listening on] any player if it’s right for the team, because we have to do what’s right for the team.”
There are some hurdles with a trade, particularly Jones $15.3MM salary for 2021. At this point of the offseason, it’s going to be tough for teams to find the cap room to afford the receiver…and, similar to the Falcons, few teams will want to renegotiate with Jones and pile money onto the later seasons of his contract. As a result, the Falcons reportedly aren’t seeking a first-round pick for the 32-year-old.
So, considering Jones’ talent and the Falcons asking price, a long list of teams have been mentioned as potential suitors for the receiver. So, that leads us to today’s question: who will Jones be playing for come Week 1 of the 2021 season? We provided a handful of candidates below.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Jones ever since the wideout hit the block, and the connection makes plenty of sense. The team hasn’t really filled the hole on their depth chart left by Corey Davis, who signed with the Jets. If the Titans want to continue their postseason momentum, pairing A.J. Brown with Jones would make for one of the best receiver tandems in the league. Plus, new Falcons head coach ArthurSmith had spent the previous decade in Tennessee, so he’d certainly have some good words about the organization if Jones tries to control his own fate.
For what it’s worth, running back Derrick Henry made it abundantly clear on Twitter today that he’d welcome the future Hall-of-Fame receiver to Tennessee.
The downside? The Titans don’t have a whole lot of cap space, so it’d be tough to fit Jones’ massive contract on their books.
Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden has been hunting for a big-name wide receiver since he joined the Raiders organization. He played a role in the infamous acquisition of Antonio Brown, and they used their 2020 first-round pick on Henry Ruggs III. In other words, the head coach would undoubtedly be a supporter of a Jones acquisition. Besides Gruden’s apparent attraction to top wideouts, the team also kind of needs help at the position; their top-three options are currently Ruggs, John Brown, and Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders still have around $10MM in cap space, so while they’d have to overcome a few financial hurdles to acquire Jones, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have made headlines for revamping their offense this offseason. The team added the two top free agent tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, they acquired Trent Brown to solidify the offensive line, and they drafted Mac Jones to compete with Cam Newton at quarterback. However, the team’s wide receivers are still a bit underwhelming. The team dished out some money on Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, but neither of those players really profile as top-end receivers.
BillBelichick has seemingly had a love-hate relationship with receiver acquisitions over the years, as he often provided Tom Brady with too many receivers or not enough receivers. The Patriots currently have a clear need for a receiver, and Jones would certainly help their quest to return to the postseason. Plus, the Patriots are currently sitting with $15MM in cap space, which would be almost enough to acquire Jones without any funny cap machinations.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are clearly all-in on this current iteration of this team, as they’ve sacrificed their first-round picks through 2023 in order to snag Trey Lance with the third-overall pick. With that in mind, giving up a handful of non-firsts for a star receiver doesn’t seem like a huge risk when the cupboard is already a bit empty.
Plus, while it remains unseen if Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for Week 1, the 49ers could use a player of Jones’ caliber. The team hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Anquan Boldin in 2014, and Jones would provide the starting quarterback with another Pro Bowl talent alongside tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers have more than $17MM in cap space, and they could carve out even more space if they decide to move on from Jimmy G. If any suitor has the financial flexibility to add Jones, it’s San Francisco.
Atlanta Falcons
Financial ramifications aside, keeping Jones in Atlanta also makes plenty of sense. The wideout has established himself as one of the top players in franchise history, he’s been incredibly productive throughout his career, and he’s only played in fewer than 10 games twice (of course, one of those seasons came in 2020). Plus, if the Falcons have any hope of returning to the Super Bowl with Matt Ryan as their starting quarterback, a loaded offense would certainly help. Jones would just be one of the many talented targets in Atlanta, along with former first-round receiver Calvin Ridley and the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, tight end Kyle Pitts.
We could have listed at least a handful of other teams on this list: the Chargers, Ravens, Colts, and Packers have also been listed as potential suitors (by both pundits and bookies). But for the sake of a tidy poll, we’ll group each of those teams into the “other category.”
So, with all that said, who do you think Julio Jones will be playing with to begin the 2021 campaign? Vote in the accompanying poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
It’s not everyday we get a punter trade; per ProFootballReference, there have been four trades involving punters since 1994. On May 19, 2005, we hit the jackpot of punter-centric trades, as a pair of punters were LITERALLY TRADED FOR EACH OTHER.
That’s right: on this date 16 years ago, the Panthers sent Todd Sauerbrun to the Broncos, with Denver sending Jason Baker and a future seventh-round pick to Carolina (a selection that eventually turned into defensive end Stanley McClover).
At the time, this move seemed like a clear win for Denver. Sauerbrun, a former second-round pick, earned three-straight All-Pro nods between 2001 and 2003, and he set a number of Panthers punting records during his four years with the organization. However, by 2005, the veteran had worn out his welcome in Carolina. During the 2004 campaign, he publicly complained about his contract’s weight-limit clauses, he was cited for driving under the influence, and he was investigated for allegedly receiving steroids. So, by May of 2005, it wasn’t some giant revelation that Sauerbrun was on the trade block; the team had even made it clear that they’d just cut the punter in June.
Considering the Broncos special teams struggles, they emerged as a clear suitor. However, in the days leading up to 5/19/2005, there was some doubts that a deal would get done. Sauerbrun requested that the Broncos convert some of his base salary into a signing bonus, something that stalled the trade negotiations between the two front offices. However, the two sides ultimately pulled off the transaction.
While the Broncos proceeded to go 13-3 in 2005, Sauerbrun didn’t necessarily provide the consistency they were seeking. The veteran’s 43.8 yards per punt and touch back percentage were among the worst of his career, although he somewhat redeemed himself in the postseason when he forced a fumble on an Ellis Hobbs‘ kickoff return. The punter didn’t see the field for Denver during the 2006 season, and following a two-game stint with New England, he rejoined Denver in 2007 before calling it a career.
While the Panthers let go of a Pro Bowler in the trade, they ended up acquiring a future standout in the process. After having spent time with five different teams during his first four seasons in the NFL, Baker would proceed to spend the next eight seasons in Carolina following the trade. During that time, Baker set a number of his own franchise records, including punts (570) and punting yards (25,064). Baker also briefly held the distinction of being the NFL’s highest-paid punter.
We know, we know: punters don’t elicit a whole lot of excitement. However, when it comes to punter trades (especially a punter-for-punter trade), this one is hard to bear.
On this date in 2017, the Bills inked cornerback Tre’Davious White to his first NFL contract. Per the terms of his slot, his four-year deal was worth $10.1MM, including a $5.48MM signing bonus.
Of course, the Bills were not initially set to for the backend of the first round. They originally held the No. 10 overall selection, but moved down after the Chiefs agreed to send the No. 27 pick, a third-round pick, and their 2018 first-round selection. With that No. 27 pick, the Bills selected White. And, at No. 10, the Chiefs took a quarterback named Patrick Mahomes.
That’s a factoid that will forever be attached to White. However, that’s not exactly fair to the LSU product. White immediately stepped into a primetime role after Stephon Gilmore‘s departure. The Bills had also moved on from slot specialist Nickell Robey-Coleman that year — White showed his skills and promise right off the bat.
After notching six interceptions in his first two seasons, White doubled his total with a stellar 2019. His six picks led the league that year, earning him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. In 2020, the Bills happily re-upped White on a four-year, $69MM extension with $55MM guaranteed.
Consider this: White allowed just five touchdowns in his first three seasons and led all cornerbacks during that time with a 60.6 passer rating. Fans can keep talking about Mahomes if they want, but White is one heck of a consolation prize.
Four years ago today, the Eagles made a signing that ended up having a huge impact on their Super Bowl LII victory. On May 17, 2017, Philly added veteran LeGarrette Blount to their running back corps.
Blount was actually coming off a 2016 campaign where he led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns. However, he finished with only 3.9 yards per attempt, and during the Patriots run to a championship, the veteran ceded carries to pass-catching backs like Dion Lewis and James White. With the veteran eyeing his age-31 season, Blount remained unsigned through the 2017 draft.
Predictably, the Patriots saw this as an opportunity to pull off some transaction tomfoolery. By this point of the 2017 offseason, free agent signings no longer impacted the compensatory pick formula. However, New England slapped Blount with the rare May 9 Tender; the tender was worth 110% of his total pay in 2016, it gave the Patriots exclusive negotiating rights starting in late July, and (most importantly) Blount’s signing would still could toward the compensatory pick formula. This move surely deterred some suitors from making a move for Blount, as signing Blount would negatively impact their chances at an extra draft pick.
This wasn’t a concern to the Eagles. On May 17th, 2017, the Eagles inked Blount to a one-year deal worth up to $2.8MM. While Philly never fully committed to Blount as their starting running back throughout the regular season, the veteran still led the squad with 766 rushing yards (his 816 yards from scrimmage also ranked second on the team behind Zach Ertz). Blount really showed his worth during the postseason; the running back found the end zone in each of the Eagles’ three wins, and he had 90 yards on only 14 carries in a Super Bowl win over the Patriots.
Even though Blount didn’t end up sticking around Philadelphia, the move was still a clear win for the Eagles. While the Patriots lost the big game against their former player, there was some silver lining; New England ultimately got their compensatory pick, a selection that was ultimately included in a trade for offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.
Four years ago today, this move was probably seen as a standard post-draft veteran signing. Instead, it was a move that had a major influence on that year’s championship.
Bill Parcells‘ Hall of Fame coaching career included stops leading four teams. But he is best remembered for the first of those stays, when he led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles. That run came to an end 30 years ago today.
On May 15, 1991, Parcells stepped down from his post as Giants head coach. Although Parcells did not indicate health reasons prompted this move at the time, he later confirmed as such. Parcells spent eight seasons as Giants HC, rising from his role as Big Blue’s defensive coordinator to assume that post in 1983. The Big Tuna’s exit signaled the end of the Giants’ best Super Bowl-era stretch.
“This is the ’90s; I was in the ’80s. It’s going away from me. My interests are going in a new direction,” Parcells said upon announcing his exit. “I’ve given everything I could for 10 years. This job for me now was going to be just to maintain.”
Parcells, 49 when his initial coaching sabbatical began, led the Giants to five playoff berths and two Super Bowl wins. His final Giants team won Super Bowl XXV despite losing Phil Simms for the season that December. The 1990 Giants ended the 49ers’ three-peat bid and upset the Bills, who were seven-point favorites. The Giants’ 1991 coaching staff looked quite different.
Bill Belichick served as Parcells’ defensive coordinator from 1985-90 and was with the Giants throughout the ’80s. However, shortly after Super Bowl XXV, the future Hall of Famer agreed to become the Browns’ head coach. While Belichick would have been a logical Parcells successor, he was in Cleveland when then-Giants GM George Young promoted running backs coach Ray Handley to head coach. (Even had Belichick not left, Young was not especially high on him succeeding Parcells.) Parcells did not inform Young he was leaning toward leaving until late April of 1991, and the Giants promoted Handley the same day Parcells stepped down.
The Giants took a step back under Handley, going 8-8 in 1991 and 6-10 in ’92. Fired after two seasons, Handley did not coach again. Parcells resurfaced in New England in 1993, revitalizing a Patriots franchise that had sunk to the bottom of the NFL. Belichick went 1-for-5 in playoff berths in Cleveland; the franchise fired him shortly after becoming the Ravens in 1996. He rejoined Parcells soon after, becoming the Patriots’ secondary coach for the 1996 season. After the Parcells-Belichick tandem led the Jets from 1997-99, their paths diverged for good. Parcells left coaching after the 2006 season, his fourth with the Cowboys.
On this date in 2018, the Cardinals inked their quarterback of the future. At least, they thought that’s what they were getting when they signed No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen.
The Cardinals’ quarterback search was an open secret, one that dragged for years. In 2017, they tried and failed to trade up for Patrick Mahomes – they settled for Haason Reddick at No. 13 instead. This time around, they didn’t want to walk out of the 2018 draft with “what-ifs,” so they vaulted up from No. 15 to No. 10 for Rosen, a promising young passer out of UCLA.
Most evaluators viewed Rosen as the most polished and most NFL-ready passer in the entire class. There was a lot to like, especially after the Hebrew Hammer threw for 59 touchdowns over the course of three college seasons. He also saved his best for last. As a junior, Rosen turned in the best TD/INT ratio of his career (26/10) and his best completion rate (62.5%).
Rosen’s talent was apparent – he didn’t have a cannon for an arm, but his technique and footwork were virtually flawless. He was also an all around bright kid, though some evaluators wondered if he was too brainy for his own good. Curiously, his own head coach was among the nay-sayers.
“Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns,” said Jim Mora. “I think that blue collar, gritty attitude, I think his teammates will love him, I think the city will love him. He’ll say the right things. He will come in and he will represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And if I was one of the New York teams, I would take Josh *snap* just like that. I think they will both be great in the pros.”
Later on, Mora backtracked, but only slightly. Ultimately, the Browns chose the brash confidence of Baker Mayfield over the “gritty attitude” of Sam Darnold. Today, the Browns are pretty happy with their decision.
Rosen went 3-10 as the Cardinals’ starter as a rookie, completing just 55.2% of his throws with 11 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. A deeper look at Rosen’s rookie stats and metrics don’t do him any favors, either. Rosen completed 55% of his throws and averaged just 5.8 yards per attempt. He also finished with a league-worst 26.1 Total QBR and Football Outsiders listed him as the league’s worst full-time quarterback.
Midway through the year, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy got the heave-ho. After the season, head coach Steve Wilks was sent packing. Ditto for Rosen – just one year after the Cardinals selected him, they drafted his replacement in Kyler Murray. Rosen hoped for a fresh start after he was traded to the Dolphins, but he floundered in his three starts.
In 2020, Rosen had a cup of coffee with the Bucs’ practice squad before being claimed by the Niners. Now, after being retained as an ERFA, Rosen is set to battle for his place on SF’s Week 1 roster.
The 2021 NFL Draft made history with eight quarterbacks selected in the first three rounds. That was just enough to edge the previous record of seven QBs in the first three rounds, which had been achieved six times (most recently in 2012). However, there were only two more QBs taken in Rounds 4-7, making this a fairly light year on the whole for passers. For reference, there were 13 signal callers taken in 2018, 11 in 2019, and 15 (virtually) drafted in 2020.
Curious to see how the rest of the field panned out? After breaking it down pick by pick and team by team, here’s a look back at the 2021 NFL Draft, position by position:
The first-round of the 2014 NFL Draft took place seven years ago today. While there was plenty of hype heading into the first day of the draft, surely no one expected the first round to produce so many accomplished players. Among the 32 individuals who heard their name called on May 8, 2014, 17 of those players eventually earned Pro Bowl nods. That’s not shabby.
From a transactions standpoint, there were five trades completed on that Thursday evening, with the Browns and Vikings starring in a handful of the deals. While there were whispers that the first-overall pick could get traded from Houston, the Texans ultimately kept the selection and drafted Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1.
The first trade of the evening was between the Browns and Bills. Cleveland wanted to move back to select a cornerback, so they sent No. 4 to Buffalo for No. 9, a future first, and a future fourth. The Bills ended up selecting wideout Sammy Watkins. As the first round continued to progress, the Browns apparently didn’t feel comfortable staying at No. 9. So, they packaged that selection and a future fifth-round pick to the Vikings for the No. 8 pick, and they proceeded to select cornerback Justin Gilbert. The Vikings selected linebacker Anthony Barr with their new selection.
The Saints later got into the action, acquiring the No. 20 pick from the Cardinals to select receiver Brandin Cooks. New Orleans sent Arizona No. 27 and No. 91, with the Cards selecting safety Deone Bucannon with that first-round selection.
The Browns made another trade later in the night, this time in pursuit of a quarterback. Cleveland traded No. 26 and No. 83 to Philly in exchange for No.22…and the Browns ultimately selected quarterback Johnny Manziel. Really, the writing was on the wall with that selection; the team had previously drafted two other QB busts (Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn) at that same spot in the draft.
The last trade of the evening once again featured the Vikings. Minnesota acquired the No. 32 pick from the Seahawks for picks No. 40 and No. 108. The Vikings used their new selection on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
It was surely an entertaining evening, with Cleveland serving as the star of the show. However, fast forward to today, and Browns fans are surely still shaking their head at how everything unfolded.
The only two starting quarterbacks to retire after winning Super Bowls played for the same franchise. While the Broncos made the playoffs multiple times in the five years following John Elway‘s retirement — with the likes of Brian Griese and Jake Plummer operating as the team’s primary starters — they have hovered off the contention radar for most of their post-Peyton Manning stretch. No team has started more quarterbacks than Denver’s 10 (counting the Kendall Hinton game) since 2016.
This stretch has placed the Broncos back on the quarterback radar. Although their last foray into the first-round market careened off course quickly (Paxton Lynch in 2016), the Broncos’ three subsequent QB investments — Case Keenum, Joe Flacco and Drew Lock — largely struggled. Will this run of futility at the NFL’s premier position force the Broncos to acquire one of this year’s top QB prospects?
New GM George Paton has said multiple times this offseason the Broncos will acquire a quarterback to push Lock, but it is not certain that will be a rookie. Denver brass, however, did extensive work on this year’s top passer crop. Paton was at Justin Fields and Trey Lance‘s initial pro days, while offensive coordinator PatShurmur trekked to the second workouts held by the Ohio State and North Dakota State QBs. Other teams have viewed Denver as a stealth quarterback seeker as well.
Only two of the draft’s top five passing prospects will be available to teams picking after No. 3, with the 49ers moving up for a quarterback. Considering the needs of some teams picking outside the top 10 — the Patriots, Washington and Bears have been linked to trade-up maneuvers — and the not-impossible prospect of the Lions (No. 7) or Panthers (No. 8) jumping into the fray, it is possible the Broncos will be left out if they stand pat at No. 9. They are believed to have inquired about trading up, though Paton denied this. The Falcons (No. 4), Dolphins (No. 6), Lions and Panthers are all open to trades, creating opportunities for the Broncos and teams eager to trade in front of them.
Given the Broncos’ above-average defense and bevy of skill-position weapons, going into another season with Lock (29th in 2020 QBR) could lower the team’s ceiling — in a hot-seat year for Vic Fangio. But Fangio’s status could also push the team to trade for a veteran instead of hoping this year’s fourth- or fifth-best QB prospect can make an impact right away. Although the Broncos sat out the free agent market and passed on trades for Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold — after falling short for Matthew Stafford — veteran arms remain available.
Lock has not been blessed with great circumstances, despite Denver drafting Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler in the first and second rounds last year. The pandemic nixed the young passer’s first offseason with Shurmur, and No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton went down in Week 2 last year. But the 2022 quarterback class, as of now, has received far less hype than the past two drafts’ QB crops generated. The Broncos not making a move for Fields, Lance or Mac Jones next week could limit their options going forward.
How do you think the Broncos will play this? Will they prioritize acquiring another quarterback by trading up or hope one falls to No. 9? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on this situation in the comments section.
