Branden Albert - Pro Football Rumors

Jaguars Can Recoup Branden Albert Bonus

July 31st, 2017 at 9:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

If Branden Albert stays retired, the Jaguars have the right to recoup $3.4MM in signing bonus from the left tackle, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Jacksonville absorbed Albert’s base salaries when it acquired him from the Miami earlier this year, but — as with any trade — Albert’s prorated bonus money stayed with his original club, with the Dolphins taking on $3.4MM in accelerated dead money. Despite that, Albert’s rights, and the rights to any forfeited money, transferred to the Jaguars as part of the swap with the Dolphins, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap explains (Twitter link).

In sum, the Jaguars will never actually pay Albert a dime of his 2017-18 base salaries, which would have totaled $18.45MM. Instead, provided Albert stays retired, they’ll pick up $3.4MM in cash (not cap space). Plus, Jacksonville won’t even lose the 2018 seventh-round pick it sent to the Dolphins — because Albert wasn’t on the Jacksonville roster for at least three games, Miami was forced to return the draft choice, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

Contract squabbles between the Jaguars and Albert are nothing new, as the veteran blindside protector held out for a new deal soon after being traded to Jacksonville. General manager Dave Caldwell & Co. refused to rework Albert’s pact (with, hypothetically, could have played a role in his retirement), and Albert eventually reported to camp.

Jaguars OL Branden Albert Retires

July 31st, 2017 at 9:48am CST by Zachary Links

Branden Albert is retiring from the NFL. The Jaguars announced that the veteran tackle is walking away from the game.

Albert, 32, was acquired by the Jaguars in a trade with the Dolphins back in March. Things did not get off on the right foot for Albert and Jacksonville as the veteran immediately pushed for a new contract. When the Jaguars refused to guarantee a portion of the two years left on his deal, Albert skipped voluntary OTAs and had minimal contact with the team.

Although he showed for the mandatory minicamp in June, he has changed course here in late July. It’s not immediately clear whether his contract played a role in his decision.

“After nine seasons playing in the National Football League, I have decided to retire from the game that has given me so much,” said Albert. “I would like to thank Mr. Khan and the Jaguars organization, Mr. Ross, Joe Philbin, Dennis Hickey and the Dolphins organization and Mr. Hunt, Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and the Chiefs organization for providing me with the opportunity of a lifetime….I wish Coach Marrone and my Jacksonville teammates the best of luck on their journey this season. During my short stint in Jacksonville, I quickly realized that they are working incredibly hard to turn the corner and I truly believe that they will find success in the coming years.”

Without Albert, the Jaguars will likely start second round pick Cam Robinson at left tackle. Tyler Shatley, Patrick Omameh, and free agent addition Earl Watford could be among those competing for the left guard spot that was originally supposed to be covered by Robinson.

The loss of Albert could be devastating for a Jaguars offense that is looking to right the ship and get a quality year out of quarterback Blake Bortles. On the plus side, Jacksonville now has some extra cap room to work with in the event that a quality left tackle pops up on the free agent market in August.

Extra Points: Pack, Favre, Jags, Steelers

June 29th, 2017 at 9:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois signed with the Packers in March, and he spoke about that decision Thursday, telling Stu Courney of PackersNews.com : “To get that phone call that the Green Bay Packers want you is rare. It’s rare that you see them go outside and pick guys up and if they do, it’s for a reason.” Jean-Francois is right that the Packers typically aren’t the most aggressive team in free agency. They aren’t averse to signing released players, however, because adding them doesn’t cost compensatory draft picks. That was the case with the 30-year-old Jean-Francois, whom the Redskins cut loose a week before he caught on with Green Bay for $3MM. His decision came down to the Packers and Seahawks, and it seems Aaron Rodgers‘ presence tipped the scales in the former’s favor. “Just seeing a quarterback like him year in and year out be so successful … he’s been so consistent getting to the playoffs,” commented Jean-Francois.

More from Green Bay and two other NFL cities:

After Branden Albert ended his holdout and reported to Jaguars minicamp earlier this month, vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin told the left tackle that he looked heavier than before, according to Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders. Moreover, the out-of-shape Albert failed to impress the team’s coaches on the field, per Cummings, who notes that he’s far from a lock to start. Albert, whom the Jaguars acquired via trade from the Dolphins over the winter, will have to beat out second-rounder Cam Robinson. For now, Robinson is the front-runner for the job, suggests Cummings. At right tackle, Jacksonville has Jermey Parnell – a 16-game starter last year who ranked 31st among Pro Football Focus’ 78 qualified tackles (Albert was 65th).
We may not have seen the last of Brett Favre in a notable NFL role. The Hall of Fame quarterback told ESPN Wisconsin’s Wilde & Tausch on Thursday that he’s interested in working as a coach or a general manager down the line (via Richard Ryman of PackersNews.com). “I would say I’d never say never,” Favre said. “I believe that would be a dream job, working as a coach there or in some form of administration.” Favre would prefer to serve in some capacity with the Packers, with whom he starred from 1992-2007.
One of Arthur Moats or Anthony Chickillo could be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot with the Steelers, writes Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. With those two, T.J. Watt, James Harrison, Bud Dupree and seventh-rounder Keion Adams, the Steelers will enter training camp with six outside linebackers and only four or five spots. Watt, Harrison and Dupree are shoo-ins to make the roster, and whether both Moats and Chickillo will join them will come down to if the Steelers decide to deploy a five-OLB rotation. Meanwhile, Adams will likely head to the practice squad. Moats and Chickillo were both somewhat prominent members of Pittsburgh’s defense last year. Moats played 396 snaps, started in five of 16 appearances and picked up 3.5 sacks, while Chickillo amassed 316 snaps and 2.5 sacks in 15 games (seven starts).

Branden Albert Reports To Jaguars

June 12th, 2017 at 1:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Branden Albert has joined the Jaguars for this week’s mandatory minicamp, the team announced. Albert told the Jaguars last week that he would be in attendance, so his presence was expected.

Albert skipped the Jags’ voluntary offseason program in an effort to pressure the team to give him a better contract. Realistically, that was the only way for Albert to drum up any degree of leverage, but it was still a longshot to work. Albert has two years to go on his deal and the Jaguars aren’t exactly sure what they have in him after a down year with the Dolphins.

If Albert performs well and stays healthy this season, he may have a chance at a reworked contract next offseason. For now, he’s slated to play out the 2017 season at an $8.9MM cap number. In 2018, that figure jumps to $9.6MM. Unfortunately for him, there is no guaranteed money remaining on his contract.

Now that Albert is in the fold, the Jaguars are back to Plan A with him starting at left tackle and rookie Cam Robinson playing at left guard. Beyond that, the Jags are projected to start Brandon Linder at center, A.J. Cann at right guard, and Jermey Parnell at right tackle.

Branden Albert To Report To Jaguars

June 9th, 2017 at 12:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Finally, the Jaguars will get to see their starting left tackle in action. Jaguars coach Doug Marrone told reporters that Branden Albert has informed him he’ll be at mandatory minicamp next week (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).

The Jaguars acquired Albert via trade earlier this offseason from the Dolphins, but the tackle has been distant from the team in an effort to renegotiate his contract. With two years to go and little in the way of leverage, the Jaguars have held firm and refused to open talks with the veteran. Albert, it seems, is accepting that he will have to play out the deal that he inked with Miami. He’s scheduled to play out the 2017 season at an $8.9MM cap number. Next year, that figure jumps to $9.6MM.

Unfortunately for Albert, there is zero guaranteed money left on his contract. And even though he’s no longer considered an elite tackle, he feels that he should have a better deal, particularly when considering the way the tackle market exploded this spring.

Last year, Albert registered a career-worst 42.2 overall score on Pro Football Focus. He also missed four games due to injury. In his healthier years, however, he vacillated between above average to very good.

Latest On Jaguars’ Branden Albert

May 23rd, 2017 at 9:40am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have touched base with Branden Albert, but they’re not expecting things to get patched up overnight. The team is not anticipating the arrival of Albert as OTAs get underway on Tuesday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars do not sound inclined to do anything about Albert’s contract, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. Albert is seeking a deal similar to what Russell Okung and Andrew Whitworth received in free agency this offseason, but Jacksonville has no intention of meeting those demands. For now, Albert is slated to play out the 2017 season at an $8.9MM cap number. Next year, that figure jumps to $9.6MM, but there is zero guaranteed money left on the deal he initially signed with the Dolphins.

Albert cannot be fined for his absence until next month when mandatory camp gets started. Disgruntled players usually buckle by that point in June, but it’s possible that Albert will hold the line in an effort to get Jacksonville to give him what he wants.

South Rumors: Fournette, Albert, Vaccaro

May 21st, 2017 at 11:18am CST by Rory Parks

Leonard Fournette recently inked his rookie deal with the Jaguars, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports, Fournette is the only 2017 top-10 draft choice under contract to entirely avoid offset language. Executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin is apparently unconcerned about being on the hook for the full amount of Fournette’s rookie contract if Fournette should be cut within the first four years of his contract, or maybe he is just confident that Fournette will not fizzle out that quickly. This is in keeping with Jacksonville’s standard operating procedure, as the Jags have not included offset language for former top-5 picks Blake Bortles, Dante Fowler, Luke Joeckel, and Jalen Ramsey.

The Jaguars recently touched base with left tackle Branden Albert, who continues to stay away from the team as he pushes for a new contract. Albert still has roughly a month before he can be fined for his absence, but Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders believes he is only hurting himself. The club drafted Cam Robinson in the second round of this year’s draft and has already stated that he will compete for the starting LT position, and given Robinson’s upside, there’s reason to think that he could win it. As such, Cummings does not believe that Albert will hold out of training camp.
David Grunfeld of the Times-Picayune believes the Saints should let Kenny Vaccaro play out the 2017 season, his contract year, and then determine whether or not to give him a big-money deal or put the franchise tag on him in advance of free agency next offseason. The club has two former second-rounders, Marcus Williams and Vonn Bell, who could theoretically replace much of Vaccaro’s production at a fraction of the cost.
We heard several months ago that the Buccaneers could be preparing to move on from Roberto Aguayo, and as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk (citing PewterReport.com) writes, Aguayo is ready for his competition with newly-signed Nick Folk. Said Aguayo, “It is motivation. When I was in college there would be walk-on kids come in and I didn’t know who they were or if they were good or whatever. But whoever they were, it was always a competition for me. Just seeing someone else out there trying to compete. I like it.”
We learned yesterday that Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff is confident the team will reach a long-term pact with RB Devonta Freeman.

Jaguars Touch Base With Branden Albert

May 18th, 2017 at 12:52pm CST by Zachary Links

There has been communication this week between the Jaguars and left tackle Branden Albert, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (on Twitter). This is a positive development since head coach Doug Marrone, as of one week ago, had not spoken to the lineman.

“I just want to know so when you ask me, I can answer it or when [Coughlin or Caldwell] asks, I can answer them,” Marrone said on May 13. “They ask me, ‘Have you talked to him? Is he going to come? Is he going to play?’ I don’t know. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had a player on the [franchise] tag and they would say, ‘Hey, I’m not signing the tag, I’m not going to [show up], but I’m going to be working out and training.’ … You just want to know where everyone is at and that’s all I was expecting [from Albert].”

Albert still has roughly a month before he can be fined for his absence, but the lack of dialogue between Jacksonville and the offseason pickup is noteworthy. After Albert was traded to the Jaguars this offseason, free agent tackles like Matt Kalil, Riley Reiff and Russell Okung cashed in on the open market, and that likely led Albert to push for a better contract. The Jaguars reportedly are unwilling to renegotiate his deal.

As it stands, Albert has two years to go with cap numbers of $8.9MM in 2017 and $9.6MM in 2018. There is no guaranteed cash in either season.

AFC South Notes: Albert, O’Brien, Hooker

May 13th, 2017 at 4:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Doug Marrone was emphatic today when declaring he still hasn’t heard from recently acquired left tackle Branden Albert, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. The new full-time Jaguars coach seemed to indicate Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell have checked in with him about the situation involving the AWOL trade acquisition.

“I just want to know so when you ask me, I can answer it or when [Coughlin or Caldwell] asks, I can answer them,” Marrone said, via O’Halloran. “They ask me, ‘Have you talked to him? Is he going to come? Is he going to play?’ I don’t know. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had a player on the [franchise] tag and they would say, ‘Hey, I’m not signing the tag, I’m not going to [show up], but I’m going to be working out and training.’ … You just want to know where everyone is at and that’s all I was expecting [from Albert].”

Albert cannot be fined until June 13, when the Jags convene for their mandatory minicamp. O’Halloran reports that when Albert came to Jacksonville for a post-trade press conference in March, a source indicated a new contract wasn’t coming for the 32-year-old blocker. The tackle market then exploded, with less proven players like Matt Kalil, Riley Reiff and Russell Okung all signing for at least $11MM per year and each receiving at least $24MM in guarantees. This leads O’Halloran to believe Albert had a change of heart about playing on his Dolphins-constructed contract this season. Albert is now the 15th-highest-paid left tackle, in terms of AAV. The two-time Pro Bowler’s deal has no guaranteed money remaining.

Here’s the latest from the AFC South.

The Jaguars are lining up Cam Robinson exclusively at left tackle, O’Halloran tweets. Arriving as a second-round pick from Alabama, Robinson was believed to be viewed as either a tackle or guard. The Jags have some uncertainty at left guard despite re-signing Patrick Omameh, so an ideal setup may be Albert at left tackle and Robinson at left guard. With Albert’s status unknown, the franchise is not arranging its pieces this way.
After the Texans again sputtered on offense in 2016, the team parted ways with OC George Godsey without bringing in a new coordinator. Bill O’Brien confirmed he’s running the offense and will continue to do so. “I’ve been probably doing more coaching myself in the last four or five weeks than I’ve done in the three years that I’ve been here,” O’Brien said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “I’m really involved in the offense and I’m having a lot of fun.” O’Brien categorized last season’s stretch-run arrangement as he and Godsey splitting up the play-calling duties. Barshop notes O’Brien will call plays this season.
Malik Hooker will not participate in the Colts‘ rookie minicamp this weekend and will likely be held out until training camp, according to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. The first-round safety underwent surgeries in January to repair a torn labrum and address a hernia issue.
The Jaguars are expected to give Leonard Fournette a fully guaranteed contract like the Panthers did for Christian McCaffrey, O’Halloran notes. McCaffrey’s $17.24MM deal as the No. 8 overall pick will be well shy of what O’Halloran expects to be a fully guaranteed pact for the No. 4 overall choice, who would earn $27.15MM. That amount would exceed the league’s top guarantee for a running back. Ezekiel Elliott‘s $24.97MM guarantee leads this position by a healthy margin presently, with LeSean McCoy having the top veteran-contract guarantee at $18.25MM.

Jaguars Refuse To Rework Branden Albert’s Deal

May 1st, 2017 at 9:50am CST by Zachary Links

Branden Albert is staying away from the Jaguars as he pushes for a new deal, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to get his way. Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell says the team won’t negotiate a new deal with Albert or release him.

“We have his rights, and we expect him to show up when he has to,” Caldwell said (via ESPN.com). “This is all voluntary, so it’s his decision to not be here. He’s got that right to do that. As long as he comes in shape when it’s mandatory and comes in and does the things he’s supposed to do, we’ll welcome him with open arms.”

The Jags drafted Alabama offensive lineman Cam Robinson over the weekend and they say that they’ll give him a shot at the left tackle job. The ideal scenario for Jacksonville would be for Albert to start at left tackle with Robinson playing on the inside, but they won’t adjust the veteran’s contract in order to make that happen. The pre-existing deal Albert had with the Dolphins calls for him to earn $8.9MM in 2017 and $9.6MM in ’18, but none of it is guaranteed.