Jake Butt

Extra Points: Bell, Steelers, Hawks, Broncos

Using three-year cash value as a baseline metric, Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com examines the most above-market deals in the NFL at the moment. While some contracts listed — such as those signed by Kevin Zeitler, Kawann Short, or Marcell Dareus — aren’t surprising, the No. 1 slot is, as it went to 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, whose pact is more than 200% above the baseline for his position. The entire article is well worth a read, both for its interesting metric and Barnwell’s analysis.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap offer competing views on the Steelers‘ reported offer to running back Le’Veon Bell, some of the details of which were leaked earlier today. Pittsburgh apparently offered Bell a $12MM annual salary over a five-year term, with $30MM coming in the first two years of pact, but as Florio notes, it’s difficult to completely evaluate the proposal without knowing its exact specifics. But Fitzgerald writes the Steelers typically offer large signing bonuses and honor the entirety of contracts, meaning Bell may have passed up quite a commitment on Pittsburgh’s part.
  • Seahawks backup quarterback Trevone Boykin‘s court date has been rescheduled, meaning he now won’t appear until August 22, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes. That date will come amid Seattle’s preseason schedule, but it shouldn’t affect Boykin as he is required to attend the hearing. This court date is related to Boykin’s March arrest, while the fallout from his April arrest is still up in the air. As Condotta noted in May, the Seahawks aren’t expecting Boykin to be disciplined by the league.
  • As he continues to recover from a torn ACL, Broncos rookie tight end Jake Butt will “almost certainly” begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. If he remains on PUP for the duration of camp, Butt could be transferred to the reserve/PUP list, which would force him to miss the first six weeks of the 2017 campaign. When does regain full health, Butt should be able to contribute, but he’s currently near the bottom of Denver’s tight end depth chart, which also includes Virgil Green, Jeff Heuerman, A.J. Derby, and Henry Krieger-Coble.

Broncos Sign Jake Butt

The Broncos, continuing a busy Thursday, have inked fifth-round tight end Jake Butt to a contract, per a team announcement (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post).

Jake Butt

Butt, the 145th overall pick, isn’t your average fifth-rounder, as he only dropped that far as a result of the torn ACL he suffered in Michigan’s Orange Bowl loss to Florida State on Dec. 30. To that point, Butt had a chance to parlay back-to-back strong seasons into becoming a first- or second-round pick. Butt combined for 97 receptions and seven touchdowns during his final two years with the Wolverines and earned first-team All-America honors in each season.

Prior to last year, Butt purchased a loss-of-value policy which enabled him to collect compensation for his draft fall. All told, he ended up with a guaranteed $380K and could earn another $2.7MM-plus, including a $300K signing bonus, if he sees his rookie contract through. He’s the seventh member of the Broncos’ eight-player class to sign, leaving second-round defensive end DeMarcus Walker as the lone straggler.

Draft Fallout: Kizer, Abdullah, Butt, Jags

The Browns were the club most frequently connected to new Bears’ QB Mitch Trubisky prior to the draft, but Chicago made the surprising decision to trade up to the No. 2 overall pick and nab the former UNC signal-caller, and then Patrick Mahomes came off the board before Cleveland could nab him with the No. 12 overall selection. So the Browns dealt that pick and waited until the the second round to get a quarterback, selecting Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, whose stock slipped over the last few months but who certainly has first-round ability.

As Tony Grossi of ESPN.com writes, the Browns are open to having Kizer start right away. Head coach Hue Jackson said, “If he can handle [starting], great. We are not going to say, ‘No, you can’t play,’ if he is ready to play.”

Now for more fallout from the 2017 draft:

  • The Lions did not select a running back in this year’s draft, and as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes, GM Bob Quinn stated afterwards that Ameer Abdullah, who missed almost all of 2016 with a foot injury, will be the team’s starting back going into 2017.
  • The Packers drafted three running backs over the past several days, but head coach Mike McCarthy said that converted wideout Ty Montgomery will “absolutely” be the team’s starting back (via Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal).
  • The Cardinals landed guard Dorian Johnson in the fourth round of this year’s draft, even though his talent level should have made him a Day 2 selection. Johnson has a liver condition that made a number of clubs wary of making him a second- or third-round choice, and Johnson’s agent, Joe Panos, took exception to his client’s slide, saying, “I had GMs tell me they couldn’t risk a 2nd or 3rd on Dorian due to the recent discovery of a liver condition he’s had since birth, even though his heptalogist said his condition will in no way affect his ability to play. Teams couldn’t risk a high pick on him. Yet every year I see teams risk high picks on guys with serious character issues. Bad guys. They’ll take risks on those guys because his coaches ‘vouched’ for him. [A coach’s] word is gold. But Dorian’s heptalogist, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about?” (all links go to Twitter via ESPN’s Adam Caplan).
  • New Broncos tight end Jake Butt slipped to the top of the fifth round of this year’s draft due to an ACL injury he suffered in his final collegiate game (prior to the injury, he was projected to be picked at the top of the second round). But before the 2016 college season, Butt purchased a loss-of-value policy that partially compensated him for the money he lost due to his draft slide, as Darren Rovell of ESPN.com writes. Had Butt been selected at the top of the second round, he would have earned $4MM guaranteed, but as an early fifth-rounder, he is guaranteed only $380K. The insurance policy paid out roughly $900K (pre-tax), so the injury ended up costing Butt a little shy of $2.8MM. These loss-of-value policies have become increasingly popular over the last few years, and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Jaylon Smith are two of the more notable recent beneficiaries of such policies.
  • The Jaguars acquired Branden Albert earlier this offseason, but GM Dave Caldwell said second-round draft pick Cam Robinson will compete with Albert for the starting left tackle job (via Hays Carlyon of 1010XL). Albert has been absent from voluntary workouts as he seeks a new contract, though if he proves to be the best man for the job, Caldwell did indicate that Robinson could move, at least temporarily, to guard.
  • The Jaguars selected Oklahoma wideout Dede Westbrook in the fourth round yesterday despite his two domestic violence arrests that caused some teams to remove him from their boards completely. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB tweets, one AFC area scout said of Westbrook, “No thoughts. It is what it is. He’s a degenerate.”

Michigan’s Jake Butt Ahead Of Schedule

Michigan tight end Jake Butt says he is ahead of schedule in his rehab efforts and could be ready to play again by mid-July (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Andrew Groover). Butt suffered a torn ACL during the Orange Bowl in December, so a July return to football activities would mark a much quicker turnaround than expected. Jake Butt

Early mock drafts had Butt going late in the first round or early in the second round. After the injury, however, it became difficult to gauge his stock. If he can truly take the field in the summer and be ready to play in Week 1, it’s conceivable that he could be in play at the backend of the first round. Of course, teams will want to take a close look at his scans to determine whether this timetable is legit or just wishful thinking on the part of Butt.

O.J. Howard of Alabama is pretty much universally considered to be the best tight end in this year’s draft. After him, Miami’s David Njoku, Ole Miss’ Evan Engram, and South Alabama’s Gerald Everett are considered to be among the best tight ends in this year’s class.

Draft Prospect Jake Butt Suffers Knee Injury

7:14pm: It’s a torn ACL for Butt, who will need to undergo surgery, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

9:51am: A potential first-round pick may have seriously injured his knee during last night’s Orange Bowl. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com writes that Michigan tight end Jake Butt left last night’s contest with an injury. Coach Jim Harbaugh was unsure of any specifics, but he acknowledged that the offensive weapon likely tore his ACL or MCL.

Jake ButtIt can take months for athletes to recover from an ACL or MCL tear, meaning Butt will likely miss both the Combine and individual workouts with NFL teams. CBS Sports recently projected that Butt would be selected towards the end of the first round or beginning of the second round. He ranked second behind Alabama’s O.J. Howard among tight end prospects.

It’s certainly admirable that Butt prioritized his team over himself, and some NFL team’s will presumably appreciate that team-first attitude. However, while Butt should still be taken in the upcoming NFL draft, we shouldn’t expect to see him selected in the first two rounds. We can only assume that Butt’s draft stock has dropped with this recent injury, which will also cost the prospect significant money.

Butt had collected three catches and 28 yards last night prior to the injury. This season, the senior tight end compiled 46 receptions for 546 yards and four touchdowns.

Despite the injury, Butt said that he doesn’t regret playing in last night’s Orange Bowl.

“Never once crossed my mind to sit this game out and I would never change that mindset,” Butt tweeted. “I play this game because I love it, my teammates and coaches.”

We’ve seen a number of potential first-round draft prospects announce that they’ll skip out on their team’s bowl game to avoid injury, including LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey.

Extra Points: Rams, Pettine, Flacco, Raiders, Draft

A look around the NFL as Tuesday wraps up:

  • Free agent cornerback Cary Williams, whom Seattle released Monday, is drawing interest from several teams around the league, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter). One of those teams is the Rams, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • The Browns officially named Johnny Manziel their starting quarterback today, but it doesn’t sound as if head coach Mike Pettine is 100% committed to the decision. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests that the move back to Manziel from Austin Davis was motivated in part by Pettine trying to save his job.
  • Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had surgery Tuesday to repair his torn ACL. The procedure went well, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). He’s expected to make a full recovery and should be back in six to nine months, adds CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders extended the contract of fullback Jamize Olawale on Tuesday, and ESPN’s Bill Williamson points to offensive tackle Donald Penn and receiver Michael Crabtree as players the club could look to lock up next (Twitter link). Penn has started 28 straight games since joining the Raiders in 2014, while Crabtree leads the team in receptions (66), targets (115) and touchdowns (seven) this year. Both are scheduled to hit free agency during the upcoming offseason.
  • Clemson safety Jayron Kearse and Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee are leaning toward entering the 2016 draft, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter links: 1; 2). If they do, Michigan tight end Jake Butt won’t be joining them. He announced that he’ll return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Getlin).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.