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Andrew Norwell

Jaguars’ OL Andrew Norwell, Giants’ OL Kevin Zeitler On The Trade Block?

March 4th, 2021 at 10:27pm CST by Ben Levine

A pair of veteran offensive linemen are apparently on the trade block, but it’s sounding like there may not be any takers. Jason La Canfora is hearing that the Jaguars are shopping offensive guard Andrew Norwell, while the Giants are trying to move offensive guard Kevin Zeitler (Twitter link). The reporter adds that rival teams believe these two linemen will ultimately be released, at which time they’ll “generate significant interest” around the NFL.

Norwell parlayed his first-team All-Pro nod with the Panthers into a five-year, $66.5MM deal with the Jaguars in 2018. While the veteran hasn’t matched his production from that standout campaign, he’s still been a dependable presence on Jacksonville’s line over the past three years. The organization’s decision to shop (and, presumably, eventually move on from) Norwell is mostly financial; the veteran has a cap hit of $15MM in 2021 and $16MM in 2022, and cutting him would leave manageable dead cap hits of $6MM in 2021 and $3MM in 2022.

Zeitler, a former first-round pick, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bengals, including a 2012 campaign where he earned All-Rookie Team honors from the Pro Football Writers Association. He inked a five-year, $60MM deal with the Browns in 2017, making him the highest-paid guard in the NFL. He spent a pair of seasons in Cleveland before getting dealt to the Giants as a part of the Odell Beckham trade.

The 30-year-old has played the past two seasons in New York, appearing in all but one game. The veteran has a $14.5MM cap hit in the final year of his contract, and the Giants would be left with only $2.5MM in dead cap if they decided to cut him.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/20

December 19th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Jaguars Move C Brandon Linder To IR

December 16th, 2020 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars will be without their top offensive lineman for the rest of the season. They placed center Brandon Linder on IR Wednesday.

Linder did not play in Jacksonville’s loss to Tennessee, with an ankle injury sidelining the veteran blocker. He will join guard Andrew Norwell on the Jags’ IR list. The Jags did designate Norwell to return from IR Wednesday, however.

Pro Football Focus’ No. 3-ranked center, Linder has missed some time this season. He has suited up for nine games in his sixth NFL slate but will now be shut down. The Jaguars have Linder under contract through 2022. He is due a non-guaranteed $8MM base salary next season.

Linder will now see a season capped at nine games for the second time in three years. A knee injury sidelined him midway through the 2018 campaign. The 28-year-old snapper has only played one 16-game season (2019) in his career.

While the Jaguars are 1-12 and reside as the only non-Jets team with a realistic chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick (widely expected to be the Trevor Lawrence slot), rookie UDFA running back James Robinson has already cleared 1,000 yards and sits third in rushing yards this season. Linder certainly played a key part in Robinson’s breakout and should be expected to reprise that role next year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/20

November 28th, 2020 at 4:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

  • Promoted: QB Reid Sinnett

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on IR: G Sua Opeta

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Jaguars’ Josh Allen Suffers Knee injury

November 23rd, 2020 at 1:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone says Josh Allen‘s knee injury will keep him out of action for a while (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco). Allen avoided ligament damage, but he may be placed on injured reserve later this week. 

Allen went down in the third quarter against the Steelers and had to be escorted over to the medical tent. Now that the Jaguars are 1-9, they might not be in much of a rush to get Allen back on the field. If Allen doesn’t return this year, his season will end with 13 stops and 2.5 sacks across eight games. Those numbers don’t necessarily jump off of the page, but the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus frame Allen as a top-30 edge rusher in the NFL.

Meanwhile, guard Andrew Norwell is considered week-to-week with an arm injury (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). He’s a no-go for this week’s game against the Browns, who will be without star edge rusher Myles Garrett.

The Jaguars haven’t won since their season opener, putting them just behind the Jets in the race to the bottom.

Jaguars OL Andrew Norwell Reworks Contract

April 28th, 2020 at 8:59am CST by Ben Levine

Andrew Norwell has reworked his deal. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Jaguars agreed to a renegotiated contracts with the offensive lineman.

Previously, Norwell was on the books for $11.5MM in non-guaranteed money next season. Now, the offensive guard will earn $9MM guaranteed, and he has an additional $2.5M in realistic incentives. The 28-year-old gets the security he’s presumably seeking, while the Jaguars have the opportunity to save a chunk of cash.

Norwell joined Jacksonville back in 2018, signing a five-year, $66.5MM contract ($30MM guaranteed). His $13.3MM average annual value currently ranks fifth among offensive guards, although he led the position when he initially signed his contract.

The veteran was limited to 11 games in 2018 as he dealt with an ankle injury. He returned fully healthy in 2019 and managed to start all 16 games for the Jaguars.

Jaguars Place Andrew Norwell On IR

November 26th, 2018 at 1:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The ankle injury Andrew Norwell suffered Sunday will result in an IR stay for the veteran guard. His first Jaguars season will come to an end.

Norwell is now set to rehab a sprained ankle and will miss the Jags’ final five games. Jacksonville made the 2017 first-team a $13MM-per-year player this offseason.

This marks the fourth starting offensive lineman the Jags have sent to IR this season. Norwell follows Cam Robinson, Brandon Linder and part-time starter Josh Wells to the season-ending injury list. The former Panthers guard started all 11 games this season.

Jacksonville is now 3-8 and has fired its offensive coordinator and demoted its longtime starting quarterback today. While significant changes may be in store for the Jags this offseason — though, Doug Marrone is believed to be safe — Norwell will almost certainly be back in Jacksonville’s starting lineup next season.

Jaguars G Andrew Norwell Suffers Injury

November 26th, 2018 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars will be without guard Andrew Norwell for a bit. Norwell is believed to have a sprained ankle that is expected to sideline him for “a few weeks”, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 

[RELATED: Jaguars Fire OC Nathaniel Hackett]

Norwell will undergo a full MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of his injury. No matter what, it sounds like Norwell will miss multiple games, though it won’t have a major impact on the Jaguars’ season one way or another.

After Sunday’s loss to the Bills, the Jaguars dropped to 3-8 and officially took themselves out of playoff contention. They also dropped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, which may be the first of several changes to go down in Jacksonville.

Norwell joined the Jaguars in March on a five-year, $66.5MM deal with $30MM fully guaranteed at signing. With a salary of $13.3MM per year, Norwell stands as the highest-paid left guard in the NFL.

As underscored by the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, Norwell hasn’t been his usual self in 2018. PFF ranked Norwell as the third-best guard in the league last year for his work with the Panthers. So far this year, the 27-year-old is 27th among guards in the NFL.

Extra Points: Vikings, Giants, Norwell, Saints

March 13th, 2018 at 9:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Remember Zac Stacy? The former Rams and Jets running back is attempting an NFL comeback, according to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who spotted Stacy at Vanderbilt’s Pro Day earlier today. Stacy, who turns 27 next month, hasn’t played since 2015, and announced his retirement at this time last year following an ankle injury. The Rams’ starter as a rookie in 2013, Stacy racked up 973 yards and seven touchdowns during his only campaign as a team’s primary back. New York eventually acquired Stacy for a seventh-round pick, but he managed only 31 total rushes before hanging up his cleats.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Now that Kirk Cousins is closing in on a fully guaranteed deal with the Vikings, at least one source tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link) that Minnesota could ask running back Latavius Murray or defensive end Brian Robison to accept a pay cut in 2018. Murray got into the end zone eight times in 2017, but he’s due to count more than $6MM on next year’s cap and isn’t a lock to start given that rookie sensation Dalvin Cook will return from injury. Robison, meanwhile, hasn’t even decided if he’ll play during the upcoming season. If he retires, the Vikings will pick up $3.488MM in cap space, the same total as if he retires.
  • Guard Andrew Norwell was considered the Giants‘ primary free agent target this offseason, and while he ultimately landed with the Jaguars, New York’s offer was close if not the same as Jacksonville’s, tweets Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Norwell is now the league’s highest-paid after receiving $13MM annually (and $30MM guaranteed) on a five-year deal. New Giants general manager Dave Gettleman originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent in Carolina, so the connection made plenty of sense, but Norwell simply chose the Jaguars, per Raanan.
  • New details have emerged on veteran safety Kurt Coleman‘s three-year deal with the Saints, as Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com writes. In total, the pact is worth $16.35MM, but Coleman can earn another $2.25MM via incentives. Coleman will collect $6.2MM in full guarantees, $4.5MM of which will come in the form of a signing bonus. However, Coleman’s new contract is heavily back-loaded, as his 2018 cap charge is just $3.3MM. New Orleans will have a decision to make in 2019, as Coleman has a $500K roster bonus on the third day of the league year — he could be released with $3MM in dead money accelerating onto the club’s cap.

Jaguars Sign Andrew Norwell

March 13th, 2018 at 8:17am CST by Ryan Posner

The Jaguars and guard Andrew Norwell have agreed on a five-year, $66.5MM deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), with $30MM fully guaranteed. The deal is set to pay the former Panther an average of $13.3MM per season, making him the highest-paid guard in the NFL.

Norwell, a former undrafted free agent, was ranked at No. 4 in Pro Football Rumors’ Top 50 NFL Free Agents for 2018. The Jaguars fill a need at left guard as Patrick Omameh is due to become an unrestricted free agent.

Pro Football Focus ranked Norwell as the third-best guard in the league last year. The Jaguars have solidified the left side of their offensive line for newly-extended quarterback Blake Bortles and standout rookie Leonard Fournette, with Cam Robinson — the team’s second-round pick last season — entrenched at left tackle. The signing will certainly give the upstart Jaguars a boost a day after watching wide receiver Allen Robinson agree to a deal with the Bears.

Norwell started all 16 games at left guard for Carolina last year for the second straight season. They elected to not place the franchise tag on Norwell as the offensive lineman tag was at $14.54MM. The Panthers originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent in 2014 out of Ohio State.

The Giants and Cardinals had both been reported to have been in pursuit of Norwell and both have connections to the All-Pro offensive lineman. New Giants general manager Dave Gettleman originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent and new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks worked with Norwell all four years of his career while on the Carolina coaching staff.

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