NFC Contract Details: Vernon, Jenkins, Mack
Here are some of the latest details on many recent agreed-upon and signed contracts from out of the NFC (all links via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post unless otherwise indicated)…
NFC East:
- Olivier Vernon, DE (Giants): Five years, $85MM. $52.5MM guaranteed. $20MM signing bonus. $7MM roster bonus due on fifth day of 2016 league year (Twitter links).
- Janoris Jenkins, CB (Giants): Five years, $62.5MM. $28.8MM guaranteed. $10MM signing bonus. $1.4MM base salary in 2016 (Twitter link).
- Brandon Brooks, G (Eagles): Five years, $40MM. $21MM guaranteed. $11MM signing bonus. $1MM base salary in 2016 and $5MM base salary in 2017 fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
- Chase Daniel, QB (Eagles): Three years, $21MM base value. $36MM max value. $3MM signing bonus. $3MM roster bonus due on March 14. $3MM base escalators in 2017 and 2018 (Twitter link).
- Colt McCoy, QB (Washington): Three years, $9MM base value. Third year can be voided based on playing time. $1.8MM signing bonus. $1MM annually in playing-time incentives (Twitter link).
- Ron Brooks, CB (Eagles): Three years, $5.5MM. $1.55MM guaranteed. $750K signing bonus (Twitter link).
NFC South:
- Alex Mack, C (Falcons): Five years, $45MM. $28.5MM guaranteed. $11.5MM signing bonus (Twitter link)
- Coby Fleener, TE (Saints): Five years, $36MM. $18MM guaranteed. $8MM signing bonus (Twitter link).
- Mike Tolbert, FB (Panthers): Two years, $3.3MM. $700K signing bonus. Up to $200K in annual playing-time incentives (Twitter links).
- Charles Johnson, DE (Panthers): One year, $3MM. $2MM base salary. $1MM in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
NFC North:
- Marvin Jones, WR (Lions): Five years, $40MM. $20MM guaranteed. $8MM signing bonus (Twitter link).
- Alex Boone, G (Vikings): Four years, $26.8MM. $10MM guaranteed. Annual $100K workout bonus (Twitter link).
- Danny Trevathan, LB (Bears): Four years, $24.5MM. $12MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. $3.5MM roster bonus due on March 14 (Twitter link).
- Michael Griffin, S (Vikings): One year, $2.5MM. $250K signing bonus. $500K of $1.65MM base salary guaranteed. Up to $500K in playing-time incentives (Twitter links).
- Tavon Wilson, S (Lions): Two years, $2.2MM. $500K signing bonus. Up to $500K in annual playing-time incentives (Twitter link).
NFC West:
- Mark Barron, OLB (Rams): Five years, $45MM. $20MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus (Twitter link).
- William Hayes, DE (Rams): Three years, $17.5MM. $10MM guaranteed. $4MM roster bonus due on March 13 (Twitter link).
- Tyvon Branch, S (Cardinals): Two years, $8MM. $1MM signing bonus. $1.75MM roster bonus in 2016, $1MM roster bonus in 2017 (Twitter link).
- Tim Barnes, C (Rams): Two years, $5.6MM. $2.5MM guaranteed. $1.25MM roster bonus due in four days. $750K roster bonus due on third day of 2017 league year guaranteed for injury, skill; becomes fully guaranteed if on roster June 17. Up to $1MM in annual playing-time incentives. $250K annual Pro Bowl incentive (all Twitter links).
- Brian Quick, WR (Rams): One year, $1.75MM. $1.5MM guaranteed ($1.25MM bas salary, $250K roster bonus due on March 15). $2MM stats incentive (Twitter link).
Eagles, Ron Brooks Agree To Terms
The Bills-to-Eagles pipeline continues to flow on Day 1 of free agency, with cornerback Ron Brooks agreeing to terms to head to Philadelphia on a three-year deal, the Eagles announced via Twitter.
New DC Jim Schwartz has already added Nigel Bradham and Leodis McKelvin and now will bring Brooks aboard. The 27-year-old Brooks’ deal is for $6MM, with the potential to rise to $8.7MM in playing-time incentives, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Brooks has started just three games in his career but played under Schwartz in Buffalo in 2014. The 2012 fourth-round pick has played in 46 games the past four seasons.
The Eagles have added two former Bills corners over the past two days while shipping out Byron Maxwell. Nolan Carroll remains a free agent.
Eagles Sign Rodney McLeod
6:19pm: The Eagles have announced that they’ve officially signed McLeod.
11:45am: The Eagles and free agent safety Rodney McLeod have agreed to terms on a five-year, $37MM contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The deal, which averages more than $7MM annually, will feature $17MM in guarantees, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It can be made official after 3:00pm central time today.
McLeod, 25, has started all 48 regular season games in the Rams’ secondary over the last three seasons, picking up five career interceptions and six fumble recoveries during that time. Pro Football Focus has been fond of McLeod’s play, ranking him 10th among safeties in 2015, grading him as both a solid run defender and coverage man.
In Philadelphia, McLeod will be the most recent addition to an Eagles’ defensive backfield that’s seen turnover already this offseason. Cornerback Byron Maxwell, signed to a massive free agent deal just last year, will be shipped to the Dolphins, while fellow CB Nolan Carroll is a free agent. The Eagles did agree to an extension with safety Malcolm Jenkins last month, but the signing of McLeod likely means that Walter Thurmond, who played well in his first season after transitioning to safety, will head elsewhere on the open market.
The Rams, meanwhile, will lose the second key member of their secondary, as McLeod will follow corner Janoris Jenkins — who earlier today agreed to sign with the Giants — out the door. Los Angeles did place the franchise tag on CB Trumaine Johnson, so they still have at least one solid option in the defensive backfield, but with a lot of cap space in reserve, the secondary might be an area the club targets in the coming days.
McLeod was ranked as PFR’s No. 14 free agent. He becomes the second high-profile safety to agree to terms today, as George Iloka has reportedly agreed to return to the Bengals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles, Nigel Bradham Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Eagles and free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham have agreed to a deal, reports Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It’s a two-year accord, per Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). Financial details are not yet available.
Bradham’s decision to sign with Philadelphia will reunite him with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The two were together in Buffalo in 2014, when Bradham posted easily the best season of his four-year career. The ex-Florida State Seminole 
totaled 104 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception in 14 games under Schwartz, also earning a reserve spot on Pro Football Focus’ Pro Bowl team. Bradham’s performance fell off significantly without Schwartz last season, as he struggled to fit into the Bills’ Rex Ryan-led defense. The 26-year-old totaled 45 fewer tackles (59) and one sack in 11 games, ranking 81st out of 97 qualifying LBs at PFF.
In Philadelphia, Bradham figures to garner significant playing time in a linebacking corps that no longer features his ex-Buffalo teammate Kiko Alonso, whom the Eagles traded to Miami earlier today. Bradham will join a high-upside group featuring Mychal Kendricks and Jordan Hicks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles Sign Brandon Brooks
5:48pm: The Eagles have officially announced their deal with Brooks (via Twitter).
2:33pm: The Eagles are set to sign guard Brandon Brooks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’ll be a five-year, $40MM deal. 
Earlier this week, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated that Brooks could be in line for a deal in the range of $8MM per season and that’s exactly what he appears to have gotten. Brooks’ representatives were reportedly in touch with the Texans since the Combine but the two sides could not work out a deal to keep the guard in Houston. Brooks rated as Pro Football Focus’ 37th-ranked guard in 2015, and he got a sizable payday despite joining a crowded guard class fronted by Kelechi Osemele.
According to the advanced metrics, Brooks struggled as a run-blocker in 2015, but his pass-blocking was excellent, ranking among the league’s top 10 guards. In past seasons, Brooks has been more consistent in both aspects of his game, which helped lead to his hefty deal with Philly.
Brooks was PFR’s No. 7 ranked available interior offensive lineman, putting him behind Osemele, Alex Mack, Jeff Allen, Richie Incognito, Alex Boone, and Evan Mathis. That designation put Brooks ahead of notable names such as Ramon Foster, Stefen Wisniewski, Ben Jones, Jahri Evans, Manny Ramirez, Geoff Schwartz, Mike Harris, and J.R. Sweezy.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Titans Acquire DeMarco Murray
5:14pm: The Titans have officially acquired Murray and the Eagles’ fourth-round pick (15th in the round) from Philadelphia in exchange for Tennessee’s fourth-round pick (second in the round), the Eagles confirmed today (via Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, 10:28am: The Eagles and Titans are expected to swap fourth-round picks as part of this deal, tweets Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic. That would allow Philadelphia to move up 13 spots in the round, giving the club the second pick on Day 3 of the draft.
TUESDAY, 6:08pm: Murray’s new contract has a four-year term and base value of $25.5MM, $12.5MM of which is guaranteed, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who adds that it’s unclear whether or not that $12.5MM is fully guaranteed. Escalators can push the total value to $33MM.
For comparison’s sake, Murray had $31MM remaining on his old deal — $12MM of that total was guaranteed, and further $9MM of that was fully guaranteed.
MONDAY, 7:47pm: Even with Kelly out of the equation, Murray had been pressuring the Eagles to trade him since the season ended, tweets ESPN’s Ed Werder.
6:10pm: The Titans are finalizing a trade to acquire running back DeMarco Murray from the Eagles, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). There’s no word yet on what the Eagles will get in return. The deal will be consummated Wednesday, the first day of the league year, and will also include a new contract for Murray, his agency, SportsTrust Advisors, announced (Twitter link). However, Murray’s guarantees won’t change, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He’s due $7MM in 2016 and $7.5MM from 2017-19.
The Eagles shopped Murray over the last few weeks, per Rapoport (Twitter link), after the 28-year-old experienced a disastrous 
season in Philadelphia. Murray inked a five-year, $42MM deal to leave Dallas for Philly last offseason. At the time, Murray was coming off a season in which he earned AP Offensive Player of the Year honors thanks to a 392-carry, 1,845-yard, 13-touchdown showing. All of Murray’s numbers dropped precipitously under Chip Kelly, though, as he amassed 199 fewer attempts (193), over 1,100 fewer yards (702), and finished with six scores. Murray also averaged just 3.6 yards per rush, a full yard below his five-year career mark.
The Cowboys discussed the idea of reacquiring Murray, but that idea didn’t go very far, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
In Tennessee, Murray will join a club that ranked 25th in rushing yards last season and 17th in per-carry average. Quarterback Marcus Mariota beefed up both stats, though, with his lofty 7.4 YPC. Their running back corps was much less threatening. Antonio Andrews led Titans backs in attempts (143), yards (520) and touchdowns (three). He matched Murray with a paltry 3.6 YPC.
The Murray trade is one of at least two the Eagles will finalize Wednesday. We learned earlier today that they will send cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso, two other Kelly acquisitions from last winter, to the Dolphins for draft-pick compensation. The Eagles might also deal running back Ryan Mathews, but that could change with Murray on the outs. Mathews was also a Kelly pickup a year ago. Regardless of whether Mathews exits, it’s clear that Eagles vice president Howie Roseman and Kelly’s replacement, Doug Pederson, are taking the club’s roster in a vastly different direction than it went in under Kelly.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dolphins Acquire Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso
3:10pm: The Eagles have confirmed the trade on Twitter. Maxwell, Alonso and the 13th pick in the draft will go to Miami for the eighth selection.
10:33am: Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link) confirms that the deal, as currently constructed, would send Maxwell, Alonso, and the 13th overall pick to the Dolphins in exchange for the eighth overall pick. We’ll have to wait until the deal becomes official sometime after 3:00pm CT today, but it doesn’t appear any other picks will be involved.
9:50am: Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link) is one of a handful of writers to report that the Eagles/Dolphins trade will once again move forward as planned.
9:41am: Maxwell’s shoulder has been cleared by the Dolphins’ medical staff, according to his agent Alvin Keels (Twitter link). As such, the trade between Miami and Philadelphia should be back on.
7:36am: Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald stresses (via Twitter) that the trade is “not off” yet. The Dolphins are continuing to gather more information to determine their comfort level going forward, says Salguero.
7:06am: According to Werder (via Twitter), the trade would have seen the Dolphins and Eagles swap first-round picks, with Philadelphia moving up from No. 13 to No. 8. Werder adds, however, that the deal can be considered “dead” for the time being.
7:00am: The agreed-upon trade between the Dolphins and Eagles that will send Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to Miami is in limbo, as the new league year approaches, according to multiple reports.
A source initially told Chris Mortensen and Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the trade may be off due to concerns from the Dolphins’ side about Maxwell’s shoulder, which he injured at the end of last season. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) indicates that, while the deal is “held up” as the Dolphins take a closer look at Maxwell’s shoulder, it’s not off yet. Rapoport describes Miami’s examination Maxwell’s health as “concerning, but not abnormal.”
On Monday, the Dolphins and Eagles reached an agreement on a trade involving Maxwell and Alonso, but that agreement was pending physicals. Since no trade can be finalized until the new league year begins at 3:00pm central time today, neither team is necessarily locked into it quite yet.
Still, with both clubs having been pursuing other moves that are somewhat dependent on this trade going through, it would be a major upset if it fell apart — the Dolphins’ concerns about Maxwell’s shoulder would have to be pretty serious.
While we haven’t yet heard what sort of compensation the Eagles will be getting in the deal, it’s worth considering that perhaps news of the Dolphins’ apprehensions has leaked in an effort to encourage Philadelphia to agree to a lesser draft pick in the trade in order to get it done.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this deal as the day progresses.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFC East Rumors: Bradford, Eagles, Giants
The latest from the NFC East:
- It’s not necessarily likely, but the Eagles could theoretically trade Sam Bradford, as Mike Florio of PFT writes. The first $5.5MM installment of Bradford’s $11MM signing bonus isn’t due until March 18, 2016, according to a source. The second installment is not due until September 1st. The Eagles have yet to pay Bradford anything on this new pact and, in theory, they could trade him without paying out any portion of his new contract. After signing Chase Daniel, it’s at least fair to wonder if Philly could consider such a move.
- Giants tight end Larry Donnell received full clearance from his neck injury, agent Tamika Cheatham tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Giants have not seen his latest test results and, therefore, the team has not yet cleared him medically.
- Washington plans to hang on to Perry Riley, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Keim notes that Washington liked how Riley played next to Will Compton before he went down with an injury.
Five Teams Interested In WR Andre Holmes
The Lions, Eagles, and Bengals have all expressed interest in free agent wide receiver Andre Holmes, reports Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Earlier reports had indicated that the Vikings were also targeting Holmes, and the Raiders are also working to retain him.
Each of the newly-reported clubs presents an intriguing landing spot for Holmes. The Lions, of course, lost Calvin Johnson to retirement, but have already acted today to fill that void, agreeing to terms with Marvin Jones on a new deal. The Bengals, in turn, have lost Jones, so Holmes could make for a viable No. 2 next to A.J. Green. And finally, the Eagles have already released Riley Cooper, and are building an all-new offense under head coach Doug Pederson, one in which Holmes could potentially thrive.
Holmes will be entering his age-28 season, and is coming off a down year in Oakland — he caught 14 passes for 201 yards, and wasn’t heavily involved in the Raiders offense. Just a season ago, though, Holmes started 13 games, hauling in 47 receptions for almost 700 yards, so the potential is certainly there for Holmes to contribute to an offense.
PFR ranked Holmes as the No. 15 free agent wide receiver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Rumors: Massie, Mack, Vikings
The latest free agent rumors:
- Cardinals free agent tackle Bobby Massie is deciding between three teams and he could remain in Arizona, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) says that Alex Mack got a quality deal from the Falcons because multiple teams including the Browns and the Chargers were “in strong” for his services. Meanwhile, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (on Twitter) says that even though the Chargers reached out, they did not “develop into a major contender.”
- The Vikings are looking at free agent wide receiver Andre Holmes, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets. Holmes, who was with Minnesota as a UDFA in 2011, would give Minnesota a big target.
- The Eagles never had formal contract discussions with Walter Thurmond prior to Monday, Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic tweets. Thurmond is now on the open market and, one way or another, the Eagles need to add depth at the cornerback position.
- Keenan Robinson appears to have posted a farewell message to Washington fans on Instagram. After re-signing Mason Foster, it seems like Washington will be moving on from their other free agent inside linebacker.