Duke Johnson Requests Trade From Browns
It appears the Browns and Duke Johnson will part ways in the near future. Already believed to be on the trade block, Duke Johnson has submitted a request to be moved, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Since the Browns signed Kareem Hunt, the Jets, Texans and Eagles have been interested in Johnson, Cabot adds. Johnson did not show for the first day of the Browns’ offseason program.
When the Browns brought in Hunt, John Dorsey initially said Johnson was not yet a candidate to be moved. Hunt since incurred an eight-game suspension, making backfield depth paramount. But the Browns have been ruthless in moving on from talent acquired under previous regimes. Kevin Zeitler, Jabrill Peppers, Derrick Kindred and Emmanuel Ogbah have been the latest to go. Johnson, a third-round pick during the Ray Farmer regime, has been Cleveland’s passing-down back for four seasons.
Dorsey said recently he has not spoken to Johnson, but Cabot makes it clear the running back’s representatives have spoken to other Browns execs with the intention of being traded.
First-year HC Freddie Kitchens said Johnson would have a role alongside Nick Chubb, even after Hunt returns. But as Cabot points out, Odell Beckham Jr.’s arrival will likely push Jarvis Landry inside more often, decreasing the opportunities for Johnson to work in the slot. His lack of touches last season was already a point of contention, per Cabot.
“I don’t know why it’s assumed that we’re going to trade Duke Johnson,” Kitchens said. “I don’t know why we would ever want to, like, just voluntarily give up a good football player. Duke Johnson is a good football player. Duke Johnson will have a role on our football team. All these guys that are here will have a role. I don’t know when it just became a necessity to trade Duke Johnson because we signed Kareem Hunt.”
The 25-year-old back is signed to a team-friendly three-year, $15.6MM contract. He is signed through 2021. Despite playing in 16 games, Johnson saw his scrimmage-yards total plummet from 1,041 in 2017 to 630 last season. His touches dropped from 156 in 2017 to 87 last year. The former Miami Hurricane still leads all running backs in receiving yardage (2,170) since entering the league (h/t ESPN’s Field Yates, on Twitter).
In signing Le’Veon Bell, the Jets already paid a premium for a pass-catching back. The Eagles just traded for Jordan Howard, but he has not been a prolific receiver. And Darren Sproles may or may not be retiring. The Texans just lost Alfred Blue to the Jaguars and were without D’Onta Foreman for much of last season.
Darren Sproles To Make Retirement Decision In May
Free agent running back Darren Sproles will make a decision as to whether he is going to retire or continue playing in 2019 sometime in May, as David Weinberg of the Press of Atlantic City reports. If Sproles does return, it sounds as if he could suit up once again for the Eagles, as the diminutive back indicated he has been in discussions with the club about coming back for one more season.
The Eagles just traded for former Bears RB Jordan Howard in an effort to bolster their RB depth chart, but presumably the team could still find a spot for Sproles as a third-down back and return man. Of course, the Eagles are also rostering Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, and Josh Adams, and the club could also elect to use a high draft choice on a running back, so perhaps Sproles is waiting to see what Philadelphia’s roster looks like after the draft before making his final decision.
Sproles originally hinted that 2017 would be his final NFL campaign, but backtracked on that sentiment even before multiple injuries ended his season early that year. Sproles not only suffered a torn ACL, but a broken arm during the first month of the 2017 season, which concluded with Sproles having played in just three games.
After inking a one-year deal that contained $1MM in guarantees for 2018, Sproles muddled through another injury-riddled campaign. A hamstring injury limited him to just six appearances last year, but he played well when he was on the field. Additionally, the Eagles won four of five games and snuck into the playoffs after Sproles returned, which could motivate the 35-year-old to return for a 15th NFL campaign.
In the 2018 regular season, Sproles rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries while adding 15 receptions for 160 yards and two scores in the passing game. Among backs with fewer than 25 catches, Sproles was the league’s 10th-most effective receiver in DYAR, Football Outsiders’ receiving metric. He was not as successful in the playoffs, though, as he put up just 25 yards on 16 carries and 35 yards on five catches in Philadelphia’s two postseason contests.
Bears Eyeing Toledo CB Ka'dar Hollman
- Toledo cornerback Ka’dar Hollman also had a private workout with the Texans, reports Wilson. The defensive back has also had visits and workouts with the Dolphins, Saints, Bears, Colts, Eagles, Lions and Browns. While Hollman has boosted his draft stock following a strong Pro Day, he’s still at best a sixth- or seventh-rounder.
[SOURCE LINK]
Bears Trade RB Jordan Howard To Eagles
There were rumors earlier this month about the Bears exploring a trade of running back Jordan Howard. On Thursday, those rumblings were proven true as the Eagles are acquiring the back for a 2020 draft pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. 
According to Schefter, the pick is a sixth-round selection that could become a fifth-round pick.
In early March, it was reported “multiple teams” approached Chicago about a potential deal for the 24-year-old back and that discussions were ongoing. With less than a month to go until the NFL Draft, the Bears found a taker in the Eagles, who would appear to be out of the running to reunite with Jay Ajayi.
Howard is entering the final year of his contract and will make about $2MM this season. Linked to running backs early in many mock drafts, the Eagles could still land a back in the middle rounds and let him develop under Howard. Like he did in Chicago, Howard is expected to fill first- and second-round duties with Philadelphia, while a collection of Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams vie for third-down responsibilities. Obviously, this could change if the team looks to add another back in the draft.
With the Bears, Howard burst on the scene in 2016, finishing second in the league in rushing yards with 1,313 yards and earning a Pro Bowl nod. He again topped the 1,000-yard mark in Year No. 2, tallying 1,122 yards and nine touchdowns. Though trade rumors swirled last season about this time, Howard returned to the team and amassed 935 yards and nine touchdowns on 250 carries, averaging just 3.7 yards a tote.
With the move, the Bears appear to be confident in the one-two punch of Tarik Cohen and the newly signed Mike Davis. Cohen broke out in 2018, tallying 1,169 yards from scrimmage and eight total offensive touchdowns. Davis impressed in limited work with Seattle in 2018, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and tallying 34 receptions.
Eagles Re-Sign TE Richard Rodgers
The Eagles are bringing back tight end Richard Rodgers. On Thursday, the club announced a new two-year deal for the 27-year-old. 
[RELATED: Eagles Wanted To Keep Nick Foles Away From Giants, Redskins]
Rodgers, a former third-round pick of the Packers, inked a one-year deal with the Eagles last year. Unfortunately, a knee injury cut his first season in Philly short. After recording just one catch for seven yards, Rodgers is eager to show what he can do in green and white.
Rodgers’ best season to date came in 2015, when he hauled in 58 receptions for 510 yards and eight touchdowns. He also had a quietly productive 30/271/2 stat line in 2016. He never quite lived up to expectations in Green Bay, but he could make for a fine supporting TE behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert if healthy.
In other Eagles news, the club plans to keep Brandon Graham at defensive end, despite sometimes using him on the inside last year. The Eagles are also looking to extend Carson Wentz, despite his troubling injury history.
Eagles Wanted To Keep Foles Away From Giants, Redskins
For a minute there, the Eagles considered tagging quarterback Nick Foles. This week, owner Jeff Lurie confirmed what had been widely rumored – the tag was considered only to stop Foles from potentially leaving for the rival Giants or Redskins (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). However, when it became apparent to the Redskins that Foles would be leaving the conference altogether by signing with the Jaguars, the Eagles opted against the move.
Foles was beloved in Philadelphia, but holding on to him as Carson Wentz‘s backup would have been an expensive proposition. Instead, the Eagles allowed him to fly away while putting their limited cap space into other areas.
Eagles To Keep Brandon Graham At DE
- It does not look like Brandon Graham will be moving inside as much in 2019. On passing downs, the Eagles want to deploy Malik Jackson as the interior sub-package pass rusher alongside Fletcher Cox, filling the Michael Bennett role, Howie Roseman said (via Philly.com’s Zach Berman, on Twitter). This adds up, considering Jackson has been an interior defender for most of his career. Having added Jackson and brought back Vinny Curry, the Eagles’ defensive line again profiles as one of the NFL’s deepest position groups.
Eagles Eyeing Carson Wentz Extension
While Carson Wentz‘s rapid rise from Division I-FCS prospect to 2017 MVP frontrunner preceded setbacks, the Eagles showed their belief in their starting quarterback by allowing Nick Foles to defect to the Jaguars.
An open-and-shut fifth-year option decision on Wentz is due by May 3. That would allow the Eagles to have him under contract through 2020. But Howie Roseman may not want to put an extension off much longer, confirming Monday he would like to extend the quarterback (Twitter link via Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com).
Wentz has missed eight games over the past two seasons, his season-ending knee injury ending a 2017 MVP push and back trouble sidelining him last season. Both campaigns then featured Foles elevating the Eagles’ offense, winning Super Bowl LII MVP honors in one season and lifting Philly to a road playoff victory in another.
The Eagles rearranged their payroll considerably to move under the cap this month and used some of the space to bring DeSean Jackson back and add Malik Jackson. They still have more than $25MM in cap space.
The timing for a Wentz extension is interesting, given his injuries the past two seasons and $8.5MM cap number in 2019. But the Eagles have continually showed faith in their 26-year-old quarterback, whose back malady is not expected to linger long-term. (Though, back injuries certainly represent a cause for concern through a long-term lens.) He is expected to be ready for Philadelphia’s offseason program.
After a few years of relative stagnancy, the quarterback market has transformed over the past year. With the Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers extensions moving the AAV bar north of $30MM, the Packers signing their two-time MVP to a $33MM-per-year accord, a Wentz deal would be in line to step into that ballpark. The Eagles waiting until 2020 would stand to up Wentz’s price further, assuming he stays healthy, considering the Chiefs will then be in position to give Patrick Mahomes a possible market-shattering extension.
Wentz, by a considerable margin, established a new completion percentage standard last season (69.6 percent). His touchdown pass percentage dropped from 7.5 to 5.2 compared to his dominant 2017 showing, with the 11-game starter finishing with 21 TD tosses compared to 33 in 13 2017 games. The Eagles went 5-6 under Wentz last season, before Foles offered more late-season magic to steer the team to the playoffs.
Roseman, though, has long stood by his 2016 draft choice, and extension talks figure to transpire this offseason.
Eagles Could Still Re-Sign Jay Ajayi
Jay Ajayi’s free agency is in a bit of a holding pattern, but it could end with the running back landing with the Eagles. Agent Drew Rosenhaus says he is maintaining discussions with the Eagles about his client, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. 
[RELATED: Jeremy Maclin Announces Retirement]
Ajayi recently visited the Colts and Rosenhaus says the meeting went well, even though the two sides left without a deal in place. It could be a little while before Ajayi signs because, as Rosenhaus puts it, he’s expected to be ready for the start of the season, but not much before that point.
Ajayi, 26 in June, is arguably the best back still available on the open market after Le’Veon Bell, Tevin Coleman, and Mark Ingram came off the board during the first week of free agency. The Eagles pursued Coleman, but didn’t sign him, which leaves a big need in the backfield.
Jeremy Maclin Announces Retirement
Former NFL wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has announced his retirement from the NFL, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Maclin, 30, was released by the Ravens last March but still expressed an interest in continuing his career in 2018. He didn’t garner any looks in free agency, however, although the Eagles were reportedly monitoring his status. Maclin’s health was an issue, as he suffered a hamstring/glute injury during a training session that required surgery in October. That ailment ruled him out for the 2018 campaign, and may have contributed to Maclin’s decision to hang up his cleats.
A first-round pick of the Eagles in 2009, Maclin averaged 64 receptions and 864 yards per season before breaking out in 2014, when he posted 85 catches for 1,318 yards and seven touchdowns. That performance landed him a five-year, $55MM contract with the Chiefs, and Maclin’s success continued in his first go-round in Kansas City, as he managed a 85/1,088/10 line.
In 2016, however, Maclin missed four games and failed to top 50 receptions or 600 yards receiving, and the Chiefs cut him after only two years. He landed with the Ravens on a two-year deal, but his results in Baltimore resembled his final year in Kansas City, leading to his release.
PFR extends its best wishes to Maclin and his family as he enters post-NFL life.