DaQuan Jones

Contract Details: Seals-Jones, Williams, Tomlinson, Jones, Montgomery, Gardeck, Singleton, Carter

Here are the latest details from contracts recently agreed to across the league:

  • Ricky Seals-Jones, TE (Giants): One-year, $1.19MM. The deal, tweeted out by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, has a $352,500 amount guaranteed at signing. The guaranteed amount includes a signing bonus of $152,500 and $200,000 of his salary worth $1.04MM.
  • Maxx Williams, TE (Cardinals): One-year, $1.27MM. The deal has a salary of $1.12MM, according to Wilson. Regardless of whether or not he is active, he’ll receive a $15,000 bonus for any game for which he is on the roster. If he is active for any game, he’ll receive an additional $52,500 roster bonus. He’ll also receive a per game active bonus of $5,000 for a potential season total of $85,000.
  • Eric Tomlinson, TE (Broncos): One-year, $1.44MM. The deal has an amount of $1MM guaranteed at signing, according to Wilson. The guaranteed amount includes a $400,000 signing bonus and $600,000 of his salary worth $1.04MM.
  • DaQuan Jones, DT (Bills): Two-year, $14MM. The deal has an amount of $10.63MM guaranteed at signing, according to Wilson. The guaranteed amount consists of a $5.5MM signing bonus, the full first-year salary of $1.75MM, and $3.38MM of the second-year salary, which is set at $6.75MM. The contract includes a voidable year for 2024 that voids automatically 23 days before the 2024 league year begins.
  • Ty Montgomery, RB (Patriots): Two-year, $3.6MM. The deal has an average annual salary of $1.8MM with an amount of $300,000 guaranteed consisting entirely of the dual-position player’s signing bonus, according to Wilson. Included in that AAV of $1.8MM are a first-year salary of $1.16MM, a second-year salary of $1.36MM, roster bonuses of $280,000 in year one and $340,000 in year two, and workout bonuses of $50,000 in each year. The former wide receiver will earn a per game active bonus of $20,000 for a potential season total of $340,000. The deal holds an annual playtime incentive of up to $300,000. The deal also holds a potential out after the 2022 NFL season that would leave a dead cap number of $150,000.
  • Dennis Gardeck, LB (Cardinals): Three-year, $10MM. The deal has a guaranteed amount of $3.75MM, according to Wilson. $3.25MM of that amount is guaranteed at signing with a $2MM signing bonus and the first-year salary of $1.25MM being fully guaranteed. $500,000 of the second-year salary, worth $3.27MM, guarantees on the fifth league day of the 2023 season (injury guaranteed at signing). The third-year salary is worth $2.46MM. Gardeck will also receive a per game active bonus of $20,000 for a potential season total of $340,000. The deal includes an annual playtime incentive of $250,000 and an escalator based on sack total that can be worth up to $625,000. A potential out after the 2022 season would leave a dead cap number of $1.33MM.
  • Alex Singleton, LB (Broncos): One-year, $1.12MM. The deal has a salary of $965,000 with a guaranteed amount of $150,000 fully consisting of Singleton’s signing bonus, according to Mike Klis of 9News. Singleton will have a playtime incentive based on snap-percentage. At the end of the year, if he has played 65% of the team’s defensive snaps, he’ll receive $250,000, $500,000 if he plays 70%, and $750,000 if he plays 75%.
  • Lorenzo Carter, OLB (Falcons): One-year, $3.5MM. The deal has a salary of $1.5MM with a guaranteed amount of $2MM fully consisting of Carter’s signing bonus, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. The deal includes a 2023 dummy year that will be voided 23 days before the 2023 league year. It will leave the Falcons with a dead cap number of $1M for Carter.

Bills To Sign DL DaQuan Jones

DaQuan Jones is heading to the AFC. The former Panthers defensive tackle is signing with the Bills, reports ESPN’s Dianna Russini (via Twitter).

After spending seven seasons with the Titans, Jones joined the Panthers on a one-year deal last offseason. He ended up starting all 17 games for his new squad, compiling 38 tackles, one sack, and six QB hits.

During his stint in Tennessee, Jones started 93 of his 99 appearances, collecting 273 tackles and 10 sacks. He also saw time in four playoff games, collecting another nine tackles and 1.5 sacks.

The Bills have also been busy adding to their defensive line today, as they signed Tim Settle to help stabilize their defensive line.

Panthers, DT DaQuan Jones Agree To Deal

The Panthers are bringing in a longtime defensive line starter. They agreed to terms with DaQuan Jones on a one-year deal Tuesday, per Joe Person of The Athletic (subscription required). The team announced the deal, which Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes is worth $4.05MM (Twitter link).

A six-year Titans starter, Jones visited the Panthers on Tuesday, Rapoport tweets. Jones’ most recent Tennessee contract expired, sending him to free agency. The Panthers marked his first offseason connection, and the seven-year veteran should be expected to play a key role with his new team.

Jones has logged 16-start seasons in five of the past six years, moving into the Titans’ lineup in 2015 and only missing time (four games) in 2017 since. Although the Titans cratered in almost every defensive aspect last season, Jones graded as a middle-of-the-pack defensive tackle — in the view of Pro Football Focus — in 2020. The former fourth-round pick registered career-high marks in tackles (49) and quarterback hits (six) last season. Jones graded as a top-30 interior defender in 2019, excelling against the run to help propel the Titans to their first AFC championship game in 17 seasons.

The 29-year-old lineman played in a 3-4 defense throughout his career but now figures to slot alongside 2020 first-round pick Derrick Brown in Carolina’s 4-3 look. The Panthers cut longtime starter Kawann Short and lost key contributor Zach Kerr in free agency. Kerr signed with the 49ers last month; Short remains a free agent.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/20

Here are today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Latest On Titans-Vikings COVID-19 Situation

The Titans and Vikingsfootball activities are on hold for the time being due to a Titans coronavirus outbreak. Here is the latest from perhaps the NFL’s defining September story:

  • The NFL is keeping open the possibility of moving the Steelers-Titans game to Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The league wants to keep the Tennessee home game scheduled for Sunday but views Monday as a contingency plan that would allow more time for testing and contract tracing.
  • Some of the players involved in the outbreak have surfaced. The Titans have placed defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, long snapper Beau Brinkley and practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson on the reserve/COVID-19 list, ESPN.com’s Field Yates and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero report (Twitter links). Three Titans players have tested positive for the virus, though it is not known if these are the three. Eight Titans players and staffers combined are believed to have tested positive. The five non-players who tested positive were all football-side staffers, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. This includes outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, who received word of his positive test Saturday.
  • While the Titans are closing their facility doors until Saturday, the Vikings will not practice until at least Thursday, Breer tweets. The NFL has suspended in-person activities for both teams until further notice. The Vikings are set to play the Texans on Sunday in Houston. Both Minnesota and Tennessee’s games are scheduled for noon CT.
  • Family members of Titans and Vikings players and staffers will be tested as well, the league announced. No players and staffers were tested on Sunday, with the COVID-19 protocols stipulating tests occur daily but not on game days.
  • Referee Clete Blakeman’s crew, which worked Sunday’s Titans-Vikings game, will not work a Week 4 contest, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The crew will undergo daily testing this week.

Titans Unsure About Extensions For Jonnu Smith, Others

Historically, the Titans have a point to lock up key players before they can leave via free agency. Taylor Lewan and Kevin Byard both landed extensions well in advance, but the ongoing uncertainty may leave players like tight end Jonnu Smith in limbo, GM Jon Robinson says. 

I’m a big analogy guy,” Robinson told Paul Kuharsky. “It’s no different than if I was if I was working for Pepsi or Coke, and I knew that we weren’t going to have as many sales. …You wouldn’t go out and buy a new house.

I don’t know what that’s going to look like. It’s something that we will certainly talk about. You know, we’ve talked to the players and the reps. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now with everything, and I would say certainly with the salary cap too, because we’ve got to be mindful. What you don’t want to do is do something and then you’ve got to undo it or try to unpack it a year, two years from now, given the uncertainty of the salary cap.”

Smith isn’t the only notable player entering his walk year. Linebacker Jayon Brown and nose tackle DaQuan Jones also have one season to go on their respective deals, but they could be left to wait as the Titans try to get a grip on their future finances. The league is facing a potential $4 billion loss in revenue, which would shrink the cap by about 35%. The NFL has pitched the idea of putting a portion of player salaries into escrow to avoid a dramatic drop, but the union is pushing back.

Smith was mostly been as a blocker in his early years, but he flashed his hands last year. The 24-year-old (25 in August) caught 35 passes for 439 yards and three scores, giving the Titans a glimpse of what could come. The former third-round pick is slated to count for just $933K this year and he’s in line for a pay bump in 2021.

Jets Targeted Jerick McKinnon, Weston Richburg, Others

The Jets looked to be Kirk Cousinsbackup plan, and the franchise had to move on to some its own contingency signings soon after. Most notably, the Jets sought a backfield option that ended up in San Francisco.

Despite entering free agency with more than $90MM in cap space, the Jets could not land Jerick McKinnon. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports the Mike Maccagnan-led franchise put a “full-court press” on the former Vikings running back, only to see him join the 49ers instead.

While McKinnon looked to be the main target that got away, the Jets also had interest in Weston Richburg, with “strong plays” for defenders DaQuan Jones and Barkevious Mingo also not working out for Gang Green, Mehta reports.

Once the Jets didn’t sign McKinnon, they moved on to Isaiah Crowell. However, Mehta reports the Jets agreeing to terms with McKinnon would not have precluded them from adding Crowell as well. Although, the team already has Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire.

Mehta reports the Jets felt their offer was strong enough to close a deal with the 25-year-old McKinnon, but the team also felt Kyle Shanahan was determined to win a bidding war. The end result shows that to be the case. The four-year, $30MM contract makes McKinnon one of the league’s highest-paid running backs.

The 49ers also beat the Jets on Richburg, but it doesn’t sound like the competition was as fierce between the two franchises as it was for McKinnon. New York eyed Richburg but knew the ex-Giants center was going to sign for more than what the team was willing to pay him. Despite having less cap space than the Jets, the 49ers signed Richburg for five years and $47.5MM.

Jones ended up re-upping with the Titans instead of replacing Muhammad Wilkerson on the Jets’ front, signing for three years and $21MM. Mingo will be one of the players the Seahawks turn to in an effort to replace Michael Bennett. The Jets’ interest in Mingo may not have been too strong, with it only taking a two-year, $6.8MM deal for the Seahawks to sign him.

Contract Details: McCarron, Green, Jones, Bushrod, Davis

Let’s take a look at the details from the latest contracts signed in the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

  • A.J. McCarron, QB (Bills): Two years, $10MM. $3MM in 2018, $7MM in 2019. $1.1MM of ’19 salary guaranteed for injury. 2019 salary fully guaranteed on Day 5 of 2019 league year. Bills would incur $2MM dead-money charge by cutting McCarron after one season (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
  • DaQuan Jones, DE (Titans): Three years, $21MM, $14MM fully guaranteed at signing. $6MM base salary for 2019 fully guaranteed (per Caplan).
  • Virgil Green, TE (Chargers): Three years, $8.6MM, $5.9MM fully guaranteed, which covers the first two years of this deal (per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, on Twitter).
  • Cody Davis, S (Jaguars): Two years, $5MM, $2.5MM fully guaranteed. Deal contains option bonus due 22 days before the start of the 2019 league year (via Caplan).
  • Jermon Bushrod, OL (Saints): One-year deal (via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)

Titans To Re-Sign DL DaQuan Jones

The Titans are re-signing defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, according to Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post (on Twitter). It’s a multi-year deal, but the exact terms are not yet known.

Jones, valued for his strong run defense, was also being chased by the Jets.

The 26-year-old enjoyed the best season of his career in 2017. He totaled 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 12 games before suffering a season-ending biceps tear. Prior to that injury, he started 44 consecutive games over three seasons.

With Jones on the defensive front, the Titans allowed just 88.8 yards per game on the ground, the fourth-best mark in the league, and surrendered the fewest rushing touchdowns in the NFL with five.

The fourth-year defensive lineman was not the only member up front re-signed to the Titans’ defense. Earlier in the day, Tennessee signed David King to a one-year deal.

[RELATED: Titans Depth Chart]

Jets Likely To Sign Spencer Long, Pushing To Sign DaQuan Jones

The Jets are “very likely” to sign offensive lineman Spencer Long on Wednesday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). They are also pushing to land defensive end DaQuan Jones as well, JLC adds. 

Last week, we rated Long as the 16th best interior lineman available. The advanced metrics aren’t crazy about Long – he graded out as just the 19th best center in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus – but he was well liked in Washington and also offers experience at guard. Meanwhile, we haven’t heard a whole lot about the Jets and Ryan Jensen, who is viewed by many as the best center available in free agency this year.

Jones, 26, enjoyed the best season of his young career in 2017. He totaled 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 12 games before suffering a season-ending biceps tear. Prior to that injury, he started 44 consecutive games over three seasons. The Titans would like to re-sign him, but it sounds like the Jets are closing in.