Extension Candidate: Bobby Wagner
Bobby Wagner has one year left on his current contract with the Seahawks, and the two sides have begun extension talks. It’s unclear how much progress has been made, but with Wagner (understandably) aiming to break the $17MM/year payout that C.J. Mosley landed from the Jets this offseason, there may be some bumps in the road.
For what it’s worth, Robert Mays of The Ringer believes that the two sides will come to terms before the season begins. After all, the Seahawks are projected to have more than $75MM in cap space in 2020, and though they will be paying a ton of money to Russell Wilson for the foreseeable future and also want to extend Jarran Reed, they will be able to fit Wagner, one of the game’s best defensive players, on their books. As Mays notes, head coach Pete Carroll said back in March that, “Bobby’s going to be a Seahawk.”
Wagner attended this month’s minicamp but did not participate in team drills, and he has stated that he will continue to remain on the sidelines until he gets a new deal. And assuming he does get his wish this year, that deal could hit nine figures. Although the general consensus is that the Jets overpaid for Mosley, his five-year, $85MM pact has set the floor for Wagner, and Wagner is much more accomplished. He is a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro, and is a bonafide tackling machine, having averaged 140 tackles per year since he entered the league in 2012. The advanced metrics love him just as much as the raw numbers, as Pro Football Focus graded Wagner as the best off-ball linebacker in the league last season.
Wagner has always excelled against the run, and his coverage abilities now rival his run-stopping talents. And while some teams have devalued the inside linebacker role over the past few years, the league’s best quarterbacks exploit the middle of the field to great effect, which makes players like Wagner all the more valuable.
Indeed, Mays suggests that Wagner, who is representing himself, should shoot for a contract that pays him like one of the league’s best 4-3 defensive ends, because he has a similar impact on opposing offenses despite not being a pass rusher. That would mean a $100MM+ deal with an AAV of over $20MM and close to $50MM guaranteed at signing. And considering Wagner’s importance to the team, his place in franchise history, and his relative youth — the birthday boy turned 29 today — that sounds like a pretty reasonable guess.
The Seahawks, who surely don’t want to go to $20MM per year on Wagner’s next contract, could hold firm at whatever price they’ve set and try to put the franchise tag on Wagner next year (which is projected to carry a $16.8MM value). But going that route could lead to an ugly, Earl Thomas-esque battle, and it may be worth a couple million dollars to avoid that.
The guess here is that Wagner gets his contract at some point this summer and that he comes in just shy of the $100MM mark with a five-year, $95MM pact that includes roughly $45MM in fully-guaranteed money.
What Happens If An NFL Rookie Does Not Sign His Contract?
Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, rookie contract negotiations are fairly textbook. Players are constricted by the confines of their draft slot, meaning that we have less holdouts and deal delays than ever. 
Still, draft picks are not mandated to sign with their respective clubs, and the drafting team does not hold the player’s rights in perpetuity. In theory, a player can hold out for the entire year and re-enter the draft in the following season. Even though NFL draft picks are boxed in by the slotting system and unable to choose their employer, they are not completely without leverage.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a notable draft pick really go to the mat with his team, but it’s not unprecedented. In 1983, John Elway was selected first overall by the Baltimore Colts, but he threatened to pursue a career in Major League Baseball unless the team traded him elsewhere. Fearing that Elway’s threat was serious, the quarterback got his way when the Colts shipped him to the Broncos. Elway was satisfied with the trade, we never got to find out whether the future Hall of Famer would have followed through on his suggested season-long holdout.
In 1986, fellow two-sport star Bo Jackson refused to report to the Buccaneers after they drafted him No. 1 overall. Jackson spent the year in the Kansas City Royals’ organization instead and the Bucs were forced to renounce his rights prior to the 1987 draft. The Raiders, in turn, made one of the savviest seventh-round picks in franchise history when they selected the legendary athlete with the No. 183 overall pick.
It’s hard to imagine a drafted player taking a similar route today, but it’s always possible. A few years ago, Joey Bosa stared down the Chargers until the two sides finally reached an agreement on offset language in late August. The Chargers ultimately backed down from their position out of fear that Bosa could miss games as a rookie and maybe even re-enter the draft in 2017.
It’s safe to say that this year’s draft will not produce a year-long holdout, but a rookie’s ability to re-enter the draft is something to keep in mind for future disputes.
Poll: Will The Jets Reach .500 In 2019?
The Jets entered the 2018 offseason full of hope and a boatload of cap room. They emerged with the best available cornerback in Trumaine Johnson and drafted a potential franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold, giving them reason to believe in the coming year. The Jets hardly expected to contend, but they looked the part of a team that could make some noise and at least finish in the middle of the pack. 
That, of course, isn’t how things played out. The Jets finished the year 4-12, failing to improve on their five-win season in 2017.
With that, the Jets were in an eerily familiar position this offseason. Gang Green had more than $100MM in cash to burn and, once again, owned the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
Much of their free cap space went to signing Le’Veon Bell, much to the chagrin of new head coach Adam Gase. In April, the Jets used the third pick to select defensive tackle Quinnen Williams – regarded by most as the best player available – rather than addressing more pressing needs, such as their lackluster edge rush. After signing the biggest star on the open market and overseeing one of the most crucial drafts in franchise history, GM Mike Maccagnan was given the heave-ho in favor of Eagles executive Joe Douglas.
The Jets’ past draft blunders and internal discord have been well-documented, but despite all their warts, the Jets have real talent on both sides of the ball. If Darnold is able to take a leap forward in 2019 and Bell is able to quickly shake off the rust, the Jets just might have a balanced attack good enough to keep defenses honest. Gang Green also boasts a quietly dangerous group of receivers, headlined by Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, and Jamison Crowder.
Meanwhile, the Jets boast a fearsome interior defensive line and a serious upgrade at inside linebacker after C.J. Mosley supplanted Darron Lee. And, in the middle of the secondary, they have a young and exciting tandem of Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.
Can Adams’ strong coverage skills offset the Jets’ possible deficiencies at cornerback? Can the Williamses do enough damage up front to allow the Jets’ iffy edge rush unit to penetrate the backfield? Can the arrival of two-time Pro Bowler Kelechi Osemele help to fortify the Jets’ offensive line?
If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then the Jets just might be a competitive football club in 2019.
Will the Jets reach or break the .500 mark this season? Cast your vote below (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comments section.
Extension Candidate: Rams CB Marcus Peters
With one year to go on his contract, the Rams say they’re looking to lock up Marcus Peters for the long haul. However, things have been quiet on that front and it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be re-upped at all. 
Peters, 26, is entering the fifth year of his rookie contract. After that, the Rams have the option of keeping him off of the free market with the franchise tag, but that would be an expensive proposition. This offseason, the one-year tender for cornerbacks was set at $16.022MM. Next year, that number is expected to climb north of $17MM.
Peters’ 2018 campaign was a tale of two players. He struggled in the first half of the year, but things started to click in the latter portion of the season. He was particularly impressive in the Super Bowl and, along with punter Johnny Hekker, he was one of only a few Rams players to turn in a quality performance.vIn terms of pure talent, Peters is among the very best at his position. However, his up-and-down 2018 season and history of clashing with coaches in Kansas City may be giving the Rams pause.
It’s also worth noting that the Rams have been reluctant to pay big bucks for defensive backs in the past. In recent years, they’ve allowed corners Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins and safeties Rodney McLeod, T.J. McDonald, and Lamarcus Joyner to walk. And, in the recent case of Johnson, that proved to be a wise move – if given the opportunity by a genie, the Jets probably turn back time and tear up the veteran’s five-year, $72.5MM deal (they might also ask the genie to fire then-GM Mike Maccagnan before the thick of the 2018 offseason, but we digress.)
So, what will the Rams do with Peters? If they choose, they can stand pat and allow Peters to play out his 2019 season at a reasonable rate of $9.069MM. Alternatively, if they want to extend Peters now, they may have to back up a Brinks truck for him.
In May, the Dolphins made Xavien Howard the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history with a five-year, $76.5MM extension, giving him an average annual value of $15.3MM. The deal also includes $27MM in full guarantees, slotting him behind only Josh Norman, Johnson, Stephon Gilmore, Denzel Ward, and Jenkins. When considering that two of those corners once formed the backbone of the Rams’ secondary, it’s hard to see the team making a similar commitment to Peters before he can consistently prove his worth over the course of a full season.
For what it’s worth, head coach Sean McVay says the Rams “absolutely” want to sign Peters to an extension. We’ll see if the Rams put their money where their mouth is in the coming weeks, when Peters’ reps will likely seek a deal in the neighborhood of Howard’s.
Release Candidate: Broncos DE DeMarcus Walker
Two years ago, the Broncos used a second-round pick to select DeMarcus Walker out of Florida State. Today, the defensive end may be on Denver’s roster bubble.
[RELATED: Broncos TE Jake Butt Eyeing Training Camp Return]
Walker appeared in ten games for the Broncos as a rookie, but saw the field just three times in 2018. At one point, the Broncos tried to jumpstart his career by moving him to outside linebacker before shifting him back to defensive end, but, so far, nothing has worked.
Ordinarily, a team would stick things out with a young second-round pick like Walker, but Walker finds himself buried in a defensive line group that also includes Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis, Shelby Harris, Zach Kerr, and third-round pick Dre’Mont Jones. To make the 53-man cut, he’ll have to leapfrog at least one veteran while staving off the rest of the pack on the 90-man offseason roster.
If Walker doesn’t stick with the Broncos, you can expect him to immediately draw interest on the waiver wire. The 6’4″, 280-pound defender compiled 16 sacks as a senior at FSU and had the attention of several teams heading into the ’17 draft. In fact, before selecting Walker at No. 51 overall, the Broncos pondered a trade up to land him.
This Date In Transactions History: Vikings Sign Brock Lesnar
Fifteen years ago today, Brock Lesnar stepped out of the squared circle and on to the gridiron. The WWE superstar hadn’t played organized football since high school, but his athletic ability made the Vikings curious enough to give the muscle-bound homegrown talent an opportunity to compete in training camp as a defensive tackle.
On the surface, this seemed to be a publicity ploy for the former WWE champion, but there was reason to believe that Lesnar could defy the odds and embark on a legitimate professional sports career. Before Lesnar beat the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker, he was an amateur wrestling phenom at the University of Minnesota, where he captured the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling championship.
At 6’2″ and 285 pounds, Lesnar’s drill times and marks were downright impressive. With a reported 4.7-second 40-yard-dash time, 35-inch vertical leap, and 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press, Lesnar would have bested many DTs at the 2004 combine. For reference, No. 14 overall pick Tommie Harris ran a 4.78-second 40-yard-dash and posted 29 reps on the bench press before the Bears made him the first DT drafted in April.
Despite never playing football in college, Lesnar was still only 26 years old at the time and had real potential as a raw prospect. Still, there was one big problem – an April motorcycle accident left Lesnar with a busted jaw, a broken left hand, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Playing at less than 100% health, Lesnar’s unlikely mission became even more improbable.
After Lesnar missed the Vikings’ cut in late August, the Vikings offered him a spot on their NFL Europe affiliate team. Citing a desire to stay close to his family in the U.S., Lesnar left football, transitioned to MMA, and went on to become the heavyweight champion of the UFC.
Lesnar’s NFL career was short-lived, but his presence in camp was appreciated by Randy Moss, Nate Burleson, and other members of the Vikings’ locker room who grew up as wrasslin’ fans. Lesnar also got to put his WWE skills to good use while with the Vikes. When a Chiefs defender roughed up Daunte Culpepper during a summer scrimmage, Lesnar grabbed him by the waist, suplexed him high in the air, and slammed him on the turf. At least, that’s how Burleson remembers it.
PFR Glossary: Physically Unable To Perform List
When training camp rolls around next month, you might start hearing about players being placed on the PUP list. While the PUP list (sadly) isn’t a collection of which players are bringing their favorite canines to practice, it does have an important meaning for the NFL season.
PUP stands for physically unable to perform, and the PUP list is similar in fashion to injured reserve. It denotes which players aren’t healthy enough to practice during training camp. But there is one important distinction regarding PUP that can often get confusing.
Players who can’t start training camp due to an injury are initially placed on Active/PUP. This is a minor designation, and one that we at PFR typically won’t even cover. A player on Active/PUP isn’t able to practice until he’s medically cleared. Once he gains that clearance, he’s free to hit the practice field and is removed from the PUP list.
If a player begins training camp on Active/PUP and never gets healthy enough to practice throughout camp and into the preseason, he’s likely to be placed on Reserve/PUP. This is the more common PUP designation, and one that we will cover. Being placed on Reserve/PUP forces a player to miss the first six weeks of the regular season, so it’s a fairly serious option. After those six weeks are up, the team has a three-week window in which in must either activate the player, place him on injured reserve, or release him.
A few things to remember:
- A player can’t practice and then be placed on a PUP list. If Patrick Mahomes takes part in only a single day of training camp before suffering an injury that will knock him out for the first six weeks of the regular season, the Chiefs wouldn’t be allowed to move him to PUP.
- Similarly, if a player is on Active/PUP, gets healthy enough to practice, and then gets hurt again during camp, his team is out of luck. He won’t be able to go back on the Active/PUP list or be placed on the Reserve/PUP list.
- Any player on either PUP list does not count toward his team’s 53-man roster.
In short, you typically don’t need to fret if your favorite player is placed on Active/PUP. The majority of players on Active/PUP are there for precautionary reasons and will soon be allowed to participate in practice sessions. But if that player sticks on Active/PUP throughout the preseason and is then shifted to Reserve/PUP, buckle in for a minimum absence of six weeks.
Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
2019 NFL Free Agents
Pro Football Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2019 NFL free agents is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2018 season. The player’s 2019 age is in parentheses. Players are generally sorted by the position at which they played most in ’18, or the position at which their most recent team listed them.
Players who are currently on an NFL roster but don’t have a contract for 2019 are listed below, along with a few other notable free agents who aren’t on a roster at the moment.
Players eligible for restricted free agency are marked with (R), while franchise and transition players will be marked with (F) and (T) respectively. Exclusive rights free agents are not included. All other free agents are assumed to be unrestricted.
If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us. For instant free agent updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter @pfrumors.
Updated 8-28-19 (1:03pm CT)
Quarterbacks
Matt Cassel (37)
Connor Cook (26)
David Fales (28)
Landry Jones (30)
Brock Osweiler (28)
Brandon Weeden (35)
Running Backs
Jay Ajayi (26)
Kapri Bibbs (26)
LeGarrette Blount (32)
Alex Collins (25)
Benny Cunningham (29)
D’Onta Foreman (23)
Jeremy Hill (26)
Chris Ivory (31)
Rob Kelley (27)
Daniel Lasco (26)
Stevan Ridley (30)
Robert Turbin (29)
Fozzy Whittaker (30)
Shaun Wilson (23)
Zach Zenner (28)
Fullbacks
Derrick Coleman (28)
Jalston Fowler (29)
Tre Madden (26)
Wide Receivers
Kelvin Benjamin (28)
Dez Bryant (30)
Martavis Bryant (27)
Leonte Carroo (25)
Sammie Coates (26)
Bruce Ellington (28)
Pierre Garcon (33)
Rashad Greene (26)
Maurice Harris (26)
Darrius Heyward-Bey (32)
Andre Holmes (31)
Justin Hunter (28)
Brandon LaFell (31)
Roger Lewis (25)
Ricardo Louis (25)
Brandon Marshall (35)
Rod Streater (31)
Mike Wallace (33)
Kevin White (27)
Nick Williams (28)
Terrance Williams (30)
Read more
How The Cardinals Have Used Their No. 1 Waiver Priority
Since late December, when the Cardinals took over the top spot on the NFL’s waiver priority list due to their league-worst record, Arizona has had its pick of the NFL’s freely available talent. In that time, general manager Steve Keim has acquired five players via the waiver wire, many of whom have significant NFL experience.
Let’s take a look at the players the Cardinals have picked up on waivers over the past seven months and examine how each might contribute in 2019:
Pharoh Cooper, WR: Claimed from Rams on 12/19/18
The Cardinals may have gained some valuable intel from Cooper after claiming him in advance of their Week 16 matchup against the Rams, but Arizona also likely had Cooper’s potential 209 contributions in mind. A fourth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2016, Cooper earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2017 as a return man. That season, the 24-year-old handled 66 combined kick and punt returns, and led the NFL in yards per kickoff return (27.4). The Cardinals now have a bevy of wide receivers on their depth chart after adding draft picks Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler to holdovers Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, so Cooper is unlikely to see the field as an offensive player. But he’ll compete to become Arizona’s top return man, a role that he should be able to win.
D.J. Swearinger, S: Claimed from Redskins on 12/25/18
Sometimes you can go home again. The Cardinals brought in Swearinger — who previously played in Arizona from 2015-16 — via a Christmas Day waiver claim after the veteran defensive back was cut by the Redskins for criticizing Washington’s coaching staff and play-calling decisions. Still just 27 years old and due less than $4.5MM in 2019, Swearinger was unsurprisingly a popular name on the waiver wire, as both the Raiders and Packers attempted to claim him. Viewed as one of the more physically imposing defensive backs in the league, Swearinger graded out as the NFL’s No. 13 safety a year ago, per Pro Football Focus. He’ll start alongside Budda Baker in a now Patrick Peterson-less (at least, for six games) Arizona secondary.
Tanner Vallejo, LB: Claimed from Browns on 2/5/19
Like Cooper, Vallejo is likely ticketed for a special teams-only role in 2019. Over the past two seasons with the Bills and Browns, Vallejo played only 158 total defensive snaps but appeared on more than 500 special teams snaps. In both campaigns, he finished top-three on his club in special teams plays. The Cardinals were actually relatively successful on special teams last year, ranking as a top-12 unit in both kickoffs and punts, but Vallejo will give the club more depth. Speaking of depth, Arizona doesn’t have a ton of serviceable options behind projected starting ‘backers Haason Reddick and Jordan Hicks, so a scenario exists where Vallejo sees meaningful playing time on defense.
Pita Taumoepenu, LB: Claimed from 49ers on 5/9/19
A sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft, Taumoepenu has only played in six games (21 defensive snaps, 69 special teams snaps) over two seasons. Now 25 years old, Taumoepenu will have to compete for time on special teams, as he’s unlikely to see the field as a pass-rusher behind Terrell Suggs and Brooks Reed.
Desmond Harrison, T: Claimed from Browns on 6/6/19
The Browns cut Harrison earlier this month after he reportedly missed team meetings, but the Cardinals were willing to take a chance on his talent. Harrison joined Cleveland as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and subsequently started eight games, and while his overall marks from PFF weren’t stellar, he ranked 32nd among tackles in pure pass-blocking grade (min. 50% snap percentage). He was hurt by his run-blocking limitations and his 11 penalties, the latter of which ranked ninth-most among tackles. Harrison will open the season behind starting Arizona tackles D.J. Humphries and Marcus Gilbert, but given that those two have only played a combined 26 games (out of a possible 64) over the past two seasons, Harrison stands a decent chance to make it onto the field.
Largest 2019 RB Cap Hits
Despite the celebrity status that many NFL running backs enjoy, the market for the position has not advanced like market for quarterbacks and wide receivers has.
[RELATED: Largest 2019 Quarterback Cap Hits]
Here’s a look at the top 10 RB cap hits for 2019, with a few notes and observations accompanying the figures:
Running backs:
- David Johnson (Cardinals): $9.75MM
- Todd Gurley (Rams): $9.2MM
- LeSean McCoy (Bills): $9.05MM
- Le’Veon Bell (Jets): $8.97MM
- Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys): $7.94MM
- Leonard Fournette (Jaguars): $7.4MM
- Lamar Miller (Texans): $7.2MM
- Saquon Barkley (Giants): $7.1MM
- Devonta Freeman (Falcons): $6.75MM
- Jerick McKinnon (49ers): $5.75MM
- Surprised to see McKinnon at the bottom of the top 10 after he inked a lucrative free agent deal with the Niners just one year ago? The Jet still has plenty of money coming to him on his four-year, $30MM deal, but the deal was structured to give him the lowest cap hit in ’19. Next year, McKinnon’s hit will rise to $8.8MM, then elevate to $9.2MM in 2021, the final scheduled year of the contract. McKinnon is looking to bounce back from his lost 2018 season this year, but if he doesn’t, the Niners will be able to escape his contract and save $4.8MM next year against $4MM in dead money.
- It’s a similar story for Bell, who has the second-highest paying contract of any running back in terms of overall annual value, with a relatively affordable $8.97MM cap hit for the coming year. As of this writing, he’s slated to have the second-highest hit of any RB in 2020 at a whopping $15.5MM.
- Despite playing on a rookie contract, Barkley makes the list with a $7MM+ cap hit for his sophomore season. This, perhaps more than any other deal on this list, illustrates the gap in pay between RBs and QBs. Sam Darnold, drafted one spot behind Barkley in 2018, has the 25th highest cap hit of any QB this year.