Jordan Hicks - Pro Football Rumors

Restructure Details: Cousins, Bills, Cowboys, Saints, Warner, Jets, Texans

March 15th, 2023 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Facing a Kirk Cousins cap crunch last year, the Vikings worked out a third contract with their starting quarterback. They did not take that path this year. Minnesota instead agreed to a restructure, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The reworking frees up $16MM in cap space for the Vikings, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweets. The Vikes look to have tacked on two more void years to Cousins’ deal. While the void years — for cap-reducing purposes — run through 2027, Cousins’ contract expires after the 2023 season. No extension is imminent.

The 34-year-old passer has enjoyed leverage throughout his Vikings relationship — via his free agency in 2018, ahead of his 2020 contract year on that fully guaranteed deal, and in 2022 as his second Vikes pact was set to produce a historic cap hit — but Minnesota’s new regime may now be looking toward moving on after the season. This will be a situation to monitor moving forward; Cousins has not played in a contract year since his 2017 Washington finale.

Here is the latest on teams’ restructures:

The Bills moved close to the 2023 league year in a cap hole, but they restructured the deals of their two highest-profile players to create considerable space. Buffalo reworked Josh Allen and Von Miller‘s contracts to create approximately $32MM in space, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. The Bills have moved their way up past $8MM in cap room.
Per usual, the Saints have been hard at work on restructures. They adjusted the deals of Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore to create cap space, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Katherine Terrell (all Twitter links). The Jordan move created more than $10MM in cap space for New Orleans, which was back to being north of $20MM over the cap following its Derek Carr signing. As the league year begins, New Orleans made it under the cap by just more than $300K.
In addition to restructuring Tyron Smith‘s deal to ensure the All-Decade tackle plays a 13th season with the team, the Cowboys adjusted the contracts of DeMarcus Lawrence and Michael Gallup, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes (Twitter links). Between them, the Lawrence and Gallup restructures freed up around $16MM for Dallas, which had already created more than $30MM in space by redoing Dak Prescott and Zack Martin‘s deals last week.
The 49ers restructured Fred Warner‘s extension, according to Yates (on Twitter). The move created nearly $9MM in cap space for San Francisco, which gave Javon Hargrave a four-year, $84MM deal to start the legal tampering period. A void year now exists in Warner’s contract, which runs through 2026 (with the void year coming in 2027). Warner’s cap number drops to $9MM but spikes past $24MM in 2024, which will probably prompt more maneuvering from the 49ers. They currently hold just more than $12MM in cap space.
Circling back to the Vikings, Jordan Hicks agreed to a restructure that will keep him in Minnesota this season, Insidethebirds.com’s Adam Caplan tweets. Hicks signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Vikings last year.
Amid their Aaron Rodgers pursuit, the Jets created $4.8MM in cap space by restructuring John Franklin-Myers‘ contract, Yates tweets. Two void years are attached to the defensive lineman’s pact, which runs through 2025.
Texans safety Eric Murray agreed to a restructured deal as well, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. Attached to a two-year, $10MM deal he signed in 2022, Murray remains on a Texans team that has seen its roster become crowded at safety. The team has added Jimmie Ward and re-signed M.J. Stewart this week. Murray played 17 games for the Texans last season but did not start any. This sounds like a pay-cut agreement, with Wilson adding Murray can make up to $4MM this season.

Vikings To Sign LB Jordan Hicks

March 15th, 2022 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not long after being made a Cardinals cap casualty, Jordan Hicks found a new home. The Vikings are signing the veteran linebacker, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.

Hicks has agreed to a two-year contract worth $10MM, Caplan adds, noting the deal includes $6.5MM guaranteed. Incentives can take the price up to $12MM. This will be Hicks’ third team; he has played every-down roles for his previous two (Philadelphia and Arizona).

The Cardinals allowed Hicks to seek a trade after they drafted Zaven Collins last year, but the team ended up keeping Hicks in his usual full-time role. Hicks played 97% of the Cards’ defensive snaps last season, starting in all 18 Arizona games. The Cards have drafted off-ball ‘backers in each of the past two first rounds (Collins and Isaiah Simmons), leaving them less needy of a veteran presence like Hicks, who is set for his age-30 season in 2022.

A Super Bowl LII starter with Philly, Hicks has also rebounded from his injury-plagued Eagles tenure. He did not miss a game in three Cardinals seasons. Hicks made 150 tackles in 2019 and surpassed 110 in each of his next two seasons, totaling 29 tackles for loss with Arizona.

The Vikings may be set to use him alongside Eric Kendricks. An eight-year Viking, Anthony Barr is a free agent. Minnesota is also starting over after eight seasons of Mike Zimmer leading its defense. Ed Donatell is now at the controls, and Minnesota is shifting to a 3-4 defense for the first time in decades.

Cardinals Release LB Jordan Hicks

March 9th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

After three seasons as a Cardinals starter, Jordan Hicks is back in free agency. Arizona is releasing the veteran linebacker, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Cards have since announced the move.

This move comes a year after Hicks landed in trade rumors, once the Cardinals added Zaven Collins as a first-round pick. Arizona went back-to-back with off-ball linebackers in Round 1 from 2020-21, and it will be Collins and Isaiah Simmons leading the group going forward.

Hicks should garner interest as a street free agent. He is a vested veteran and can sign with a team at any point going forward. This release will give the seven-year vet a chance to catch on elsewhere before the free agent market opens March 16. While Hicks will turn 30 this offseason, he did well to change his career trajectory in three Arizona seasons.

The former injury-prone Eagle stayed healthy as a Cardinal, playing in every game with his second NFL franchise. While the Cardinals gave Hicks permission to seek a trade shortly after selecting Collins in last year’s first round, Hicks logged his usual snap rate in 2021. He played 97% of Arizona’s defensive snaps last season, that coming after working on 92% of the team’s defensive plays in 2020 and 100% in 2019. Collins will surely see more run in 2022, after participating on just 20% of Arizona’s defensive plays last season.

Last season, Hicks racked up 116 tackles and registered a career-high four sacks. He finished with 29 tackles for loss in three seasons in the desert. The Cardinals will save $6.5MM by cutting Hicks, who had one year remaining on his contract. This doubles as the end of an obscure era as well, one that featured two Jordan Hickses affiliated with professional Cardinal franchises. The other, a St. Louis reliever, remains with his team.

NFC West Rumors: Hicks, Higbee, 49ers

September 10th, 2021 at 10:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of two Cardinals linebackers mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, Jordan Hicks will join Chandler Jones in being with the team when it begins its season Sunday. The Cardinals gave Hicks permission to seek a trade in May, after drafting Zaven Collins in Round 1 and anointing him the starter alongside Isaiah Simmons. But nothing materialized. GM Steve Keim said Hicks, despite his demotion, will play “a strong role” on this year’s Arizona defense, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Citing Simmons’ positional flexibility, Keim said there will be times when Simmons, Collins and Hicks line up together. The Cards have devoted considerable resources to their off-ball linebacker spots, drafting Simmons and Collins in the first round — after taking Haason Reddick in the 2017 first round and slotting him off the ball for most of his run — and signing Hicks to a four-year, $36MM deal in 2019. Hicks accepted a $3MM salary cut in March, and the 32-game Cardinal starter’s workload will certainly be reduced from the 100% and 92% defensive snap rates of the past two seasons.

Here is the latest from the NFC West:

The Rams still reside near the bottom of the NFL in cap space, but they created some breathing room by restructuring Tyler Higbee‘s deal. The team added $1.65MM in space by moving some of Higbee’s base salary into a signing bonus, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com tweets. Prior to this move, the franchise held less than $1MM in cap room. Higbee signed a four-year, $31MM extension in 2019. This week’s move dropped his 2021 base salary to just more than $1MM.
Josh Norman is set to play a 10th NFL season and do so with a fourth team, having signed with the 49ers this week. However, Norman’s camp and the 49ers discussed a deal for months, the veteran cornerback said Friday (via KNBR). Norman, 33, has played with Carolina, Washington and Buffalo. He will join a 49ers team that was already thin at cornerback before listing Emmanuel Moseley as doubtful for Week 1. San Francisco has injury-prone Jason Verrett stationed as its other top outside corner. Norman, who has not returned to a Pro Bowl since his standout 2015 contract year, played 344 defensive snaps with the Bills last season.
The 49ers will begin their season without one of their assistant coaches. Linebackers coach Johnny Holland recently stepped away from the team due to a battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com notes. This is the second time Holland has left the 49ers because of his cancer battle; he did so in 2019 after initially being diagnosed. The fifth-year 49ers assistant began treatment this week. Holland, 56, has been an NFL assistant for more than 20 years, beginning in 1995 with the Packers, for whom he played linebacker in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Holland has worked with Kyle Shanahan dating back to their days as Texans assistants in the 2000s.

Jordan Hicks On Reduced Role With Cardinals

August 1st, 2021 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Parks

It’s been a difficult offseason for Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks. He accepted a substantial pay cut in March, and then he watched his club select LB Zaven Collins with the No. 16 overall pick of the draft. Shortly thereafter, the team announced that Collins would take over Hicks’ starting ILB role, and Hicks was given permission to seek a trade.

Hicks appreciated the fact that the Cardinals were upfront with him about their plan, and that they agreed to work with him to find a trade partner, but he understandably hoped that he would have a legitimate opportunity to compete for a starting job.

“I respected the fact that [GM Steve Keim] told me straight up [that Collins would be starting],” Hicks said (via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com). “I respected the fact that he told me he was going to work with me to try to honor a trade. And, so, there’s a part of you that respects that, but then there’s a part that just wishes you had had an opportunity to compete, which is all I asked for.”

It is somewhat curious that Arizona has already given a rookie a starting job over an established veteran like Hicks. Since joining the Cardinals as a free agent in 2019, the 29-year-old has started all 32 games for the club, and while Pro Football Focus’ metrics have not been especially high on his work, he has been among the league leaders in tackles.

On the other hand, Collins certainly offers more upside, and the fact that there has been no reported interest in Hicks from rival clubs despite his eminently reasonable salary suggests that the Cardinals are making the right call. At the time of the trade request, we heard that a swap was not particularly likely, and that is how things have played out thus far. Still, underperformance or an injury elsewhere might lead to a new opportunity for Hicks.

In the meantime, he is mentoring Collins and second-year ‘backer Isaiah Simmons to the best of his ability. He says he has been impressed with Collins and is excited about the 2021 campaign, but he was clear about his preference to be a starter somewhere.

Cardinals LB Chandler Jones Skipping Minicamp

June 8th, 2021 at 10:23pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals kicked off their mandatory three-day minicamp today, but one of their top players wasn’t in attendance. Darren Urban of the team’s website reports that Chandler Jones was a no-show at practice today. Coach Kliff Kingsbury said that Jones (along with linebacker Jordan Hicks) isn’t expected to be in attendance at all this week.

“We’ve been in communication with both guys, we know the situations and I’ll leave that dialogue between us,” Kingsbury said. “Nothing else to report on that.”

It’s not too difficult to connect the dots here. Jones is entering the final year of his contract, and the 31-year-old is likely putting some pressure on the front office as he pursues a new pact. As Urban notes, the veteran’s absence is especially notable since Jones had earned a reputation of “a player who showed up to everything in the offseason, including all voluntary work.”

Fortunately, Jones was in attendance during Monday’s media day, so the three-time Pro Bowler clearly doesn’t expect his pseudo-holdout to get out of hand.

Jones was traded to Arizona from the Patriots in 2016, and the Cardinals gave him a five-year, $82.5MM deal a year later. During his first four seasons in Arizona, Jones didn’t miss a game while averaging 15 sacks per season. He appeared in the first five games of 2020, collecting 11 tackles, one sack, and seven QB hits. However, a torn bicep forced him to miss the rest of the season.

Cardinals Give Jordan Hicks Permission To Seek Trade

May 12th, 2021 at 9:27am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have given Jordan Hicks permission to seek a trade (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The veteran linebacker could still stay on board as a reserve, but his starting job as the MIKE ‘backer has been given to new first-round pick, Zaven Collins.

It’s not a shock to hear that Collins, the No. 16 overall pick in last month’s draft, is ticketed for the starting lineup. Still, Hicks is a respected figure in the locker room and he’s already taken a pay cut to make the numbers work.

Originally, he was set to have a $9MM cap charge with a $5MM base salary plus bonuses. Now, the 28-year-old (29 in June) is ticketed for a base salary of $2MM with $1MM in per-game bonuses this year for a lighter figure of $6MM. Hicks also reduced his 2022 compensation to a $4.25MM base salary, plus a $750K roster bonus and $1MM in per-game roster bonuses.

Hicks, a former third-rounder, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles before signing a four-year, $36MM deal ($20MM guaranteed) with the Cardinals in 2019. Since then, he’s started all 32 games for Arizona over the past two years, compiling 268 stops, 11 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

As Rapoport notes, however, a trade is not terribly likely (video link). He believes Hicks will indeed remain in the desert in 2021 as a backup.

Cardinals LB Jordan Hicks Takes Pay Cut

March 31st, 2021 at 9:09pm CST by Ben Levine

Jordan Hicks has taken a sizable pay cut to stay in Arizona. Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer writes that the veteran linebacker has restructured the final two years of his contract.

Hicks was set to have a $9MM cap charge via a $5MM base salary, a $1MM roster bonus, and $3MM of his original signing bonus. The 28-year-old will now have a base salary of $2MM, and the team replaced the roster bonus with $1MM in per-game bonuses, thus leading to a reduced cap figure of $6MM.

Hicks also reduced his 2022 compensation — which were identical to his 2021 numbers — to a $4.25MM base salary, a $750K roster bonus, and $1MM in per-game roster bonuses. As Balzer explains, that roster bonus will likely be due at the beginning of the 2022 league year, at which point the Cardinals will have to decide whether they want to keep the veteran around.

The former third-rounder spent the first four seasons of his career with the Eagles before signing a four-year, $36MM deal ($20MM guaranteed) with the Cardinals in 2019. Hicks has started all 32 games for Arizona over the past two years, compiling 268 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Hicks will likely slide back into the starting lineup in 2021, although Isaiah Simmons, Tanner Vallejo, and/or Zeke Turner could push him for playing time.

West Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Johnson

October 25th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bryce Callahan situation is moving closer toward the Broncos not seeing him on the field this season. After a report surfaced indicating the offseason signing now may miss the season, Vic Fangio said (via the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran, on Twitter) seeing Callahan on the field this year has become a 50-50 proposition. Fangio said earlier this week he was hopeful his former Bears pupil would suit up in 2019. The Broncos signed both Callahan and Kareem Jackson to patch up their secondary, but the former continues to struggle to shake off the foot trouble that ended his 2018 season early. With contract-year standout Chris Harris still a trade candidate, though a player that may end up staying, the Broncos’ long-term cornerback situation is in as bleak of a place since before the franchise’s 2004 Champ Bailey acquisition.

Here is the latest from the West divisions, shifting first to another key Broncos signing:

Denver’s Ja’Wuan James investment has gone almost as poorly as its Callahan addition. James suffered an injury in the first quarter of the Broncos’ Week 1 game and has missed every snap since. However, the well-paid right tackle is expected to start this week, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. James is believed to be set to play in a part-time capacity, with a three-tackle rotation between he, Garett Bolles and Elijah Wilkinson in the cards. Wilkinson has started the past six Broncos games at right tackle.
In addition to Patrick Mahomes‘ Week 8 absence, the Chiefs will be without Frank Clark. The team declared its top defensive end out with a neck injury. Chris Jones, Kendall Fuller and Eric Fisher will miss another game as well. Clark broke out for a dominant performance against Bolles in Kansas City’s Week 7 win, but the offseason acquisition will have to wait until at least Week 9 to build on that performance.
However, the Chiefs will have Sammy Watkins back. The oft-injured wide receiver suffered a hamstring injury in Week 5, but ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher notes he will play against the Packers. In Year 2 of a $16MM-AAV deal, Watkins has not caught a pass since Week 4.
David Johnson enters this week’s Cardinals game in the same place he did the past two games: as a game-time decision. Kliff Kingsbury said (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban, on Twitter) the former All-Pro back does not need practice to suit up for a game, but with Chase Edmonds playing well in relief, this shapes up as a true game-time call. Johnson suited up for Week 7 but spent most of his afternoon on the sideline. Both Christian Kirk and Jordan Hicks are game-day calls as well.

Cardinals To Sign Jordan Hicks

March 12th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cardinals aren’t done signing linebackers. After inking outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, Arizona has agreed to terms on a contract with inside linebacker Jordan Hicks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Rapoport reports the deal is for four years and $36MM. Hicks will get a $12MM signing bonus, and $20MM of the deal is fully guaranteed. Hicks comes to the desert from the Eagles, after spending the first four years of his career in Philadelphia. A third round pick in 2015, Hicks became a near-immediate starter in Philly.

Hicks has always been a good player when on the field, but he does have a somewhat lengthy injury history. His rookie season was cut short by a torn pectoral, and he missed the final nine games of the 2017 season after tearing his Achilles. He then missed four games last year with a calf injury. The Cardinals are signaling that they’ll be aggressive rebuilding their defense as they transition into the Kliff Kingsbury era.

It’s a lot of money to plunk down, but if Hicks can stay healthy he should be worth it. He earned great marks from Pro Football Focus last year, grading out as the tenth-best linebacker in the league by PFF’s metrics. New defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will be running a 3-4 defense in Arizona, and now the Cardinals have Hicks to play alongside 2017 first round pick Haason Reddick in the middle.