Justin Britt - Pro Football Rumors

NFL Contract Details: 3/10/21

March 10th, 2021 at 9:52am CST by Zachary Links

Deetz on some of the more recent deals in the NFL, via Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter):

Texans C Justin Britt: One-year, $3.2MM deal. $500K to sign, $1.5MM salary, $1.2MM in per game roster bonuses, $5MM maximum value.
Vikings DE Stephen Weatherly: One-year, $2MM deal. $500K to sign, $2M salary
49ers TE Ross Dwelley: One-year, $920K deal. $480K to sign, $920K salary, $200K in per game roster bonuses

Britt missed the 2020 season but seems to have a solid opportunity ahead of him in Houston. The Texans just released Nick Martin last week, opening up playing time at the center position.

Texans Sign C Justin Britt

March 5th, 2021 at 6:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

After missing the 2020 season, Justin Britt appears to have secured an opportunity. The veteran offensive lineman is signing with the Texans, according to his Instagram.

This Houston agreement, which NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates is worth $3.2MM and could max out at $5MM (Twitter link), marks a rebound chance and a potential buy-low player for a Texans team in transition at center.

Britt made multiple visits during the 2020 campaign but did not land a gig. The Seahawks cut him shortly after the draft last year, and that move came after he tore an ACL in October 2019.

The Texans released longtime center Nick Martin last week. Prior to missing the past 1 1/2 seasons, Britt was a full-time Seahawks starter. He spent the 2016-18 seasons as Seattle’s center, not missing a game, and has also enjoyed full seasons at guard and tackle.

A former second-round pick, Britt will turn 30 ahead of Week 1. He visited the Seahawks before the start of last season and made a trip to Kansas City to meet with Chiefs brass during the team’s playoff run. With neither producing a contract, Britt is set to join a Texans team potentially readying for a rebuild. Whether he will make any snaps to Deshaun Watson remains uncertain.

Chiefs Host C Justin Britt On Visit

January 21st, 2021 at 3:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Justin Britt has not played during the 2020 season, with his April Seahawks release sending him to what has become a lengthy free agency stay. But the Chiefs are investigating the former Seahawks offensive line starter.

The Chiefs brought Britt in for a visit Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Britt underwent knee surgery in 2019 and has not played since Week 8 of that season. But the 29-year-old blocker brings five-plus seasons’ worth of starting experience and, if healthy, profiles as an interesting depth option or starting candidate for a team.

Britt played his high school and college ball in Missouri, becoming a second-round pick out of Mizzou in 2014, and has spent an entire season at each of the three primary O-line positions as a pro. The Seahawks used Britt as a tackle, guard and center. The center role became Britt’s long-term NFL spot, with the Seahawks using him as their starting snapper from 2016-19. Britt played right tackle as a rookie, starting there in Super Bowl XLIX, and left guard in Year 2. He was a starter in every game he played with Seattle.

The Chiefs have endured some setbacks up front this season, losing veteran guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to a COVID-19 opt-out and seeing replacement Kelechi Osemele suffer a season-ending injury early in the season. Ironman right tackle Mitchell Schwartz also went down early. Schwartz remains on Kansas City’s IR.

Seahawks Host C Justin Britt

August 26th, 2020 at 3:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two former Seahawks were back at the team’s facility Wednesday. Justin Britt joined Paul Richardson in meeting with team brass, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

The Seahawks used Britt as a starting offensive lineman from 2014-19 but released him shortly after the draft. No team has brought the veteran center in for a visit since. No Britt-Seahawks reunion is imminent, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.

Britt started 86 games for the Seahawks in his career, including Super Bowl XLIX, but missed eight regular-season games last season. He underwent knee surgery last year. Wednesday’s visit will likely feature a key determination about Britt’s recovery.

Seattle brought in former Pittsburgh part-time starter B.J. Finney to play center this offseason, so it is certainly interesting to see the team reach out to Britt four months after cutting him. However, Britt has been a full-time starter at guard (2015) and tackle (2014). He spent the past four seasons as Seattle’s starting center, earning a contract extension in 2017 for his work in that role. This would be Britt’s age-29 season.

NFC West Notes: Cardinals, Seahawks, 49ers

April 28th, 2020 at 8:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cardinals used their first-round pick on Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, widely regarded as one of the more versatile draft prospects in recent memory. Arizona defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told the media Tuesday that Simmons would primarily be a linebacker in the NFL, but that overall he’d be a “problem-solver” for the defense, via Darren Urban of the team’s official site.

Urban notes that Joseph said while he might not be able to do all the things he did in college, he still wants “Isaiah to be Isaiah.” Simmons played safety, corner, and linebacker at Clemson. “”If it’s a job that we think he can do, we will put him out there,” Joseph said. That echoes what Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has said since the draft, and it sounds like the team still isn’t sure exactly how they’re going to use him.

Speaking of Cardinals linebackers, they also signed De’Vondre Campbell to a one-year deal worth up to $8.5MM this offseason. In his comments to the media Joseph revealed that Campbell was the team’s top free agent target, but they initially didn’t think they would be able to get him because of his price. Eventually, Campbell lowered what he was asking for in exchange for a one-year deal. A 2016 fourth-round pick, Campbell spent the past four years as a starter with the Falcons. Along with Simmons, Arizona is counting on him to help revamp one of the league’s worst units.
The Seahawks did some shuffling on their offensive line the past couple days, releasing veteran interior linemen D.J. Fluker and Justin Britt. Turns out, Britt was released with a failed physical designation, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. It’s not shocking considering Britt’s 2019 season ended back in October with a torn ACL. As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets, this could reduce the cap space Seattle gains a bit since they’ll have to pay him a settlement if he doesn’t sign with another team in 2020. Condotta also notes that it’s one reason the release took a while. Still, we’ve heard Britt hasn’t suffered any setbacks with his knee, so the proven starter should land on his feet with a new team at some point.
Longtime 49ers left tackle Joe Staley recently decided to hang up his cleats, and the team acquired Trent Williams as a short-term replacement. They’ve indicated they won’t be ironing out an extension with Williams any time soon, and it’s highly possible he’s a one-year rental. That would leave them in need of another successor, and one potential option could be right tackle Mike McGlinchey. However, the 2018 first-round pick said he has no idea if he’ll ever become a left tackle and that he feels very comfortable on the right side, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSports.com (Twitter link). This echoes what we heard back in March when Staley was still mulling retirement, and it doesn’t sound like the team has any plans to move the Notre Dame product.

Seahawks To Release Justin Britt

April 26th, 2020 at 8:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Seahawks continue to overhaul their offensive line. Just a couple hours after we heard that the team was releasing guard D.J. Fluker, they’ll also be cutting center Justin Britt, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times confirmed (Twitter link).

Aaron Fentress of The Athletic was the first to report the news on Twitter. Britt spent the past six seasons in Seattle, and was a full-time starter for all of them. Originally a tackle and then a guard his first two years in the league, he made the switch to center in 2016. Britt was heading into the final year of his contract and the team will save $8.5MM in cap space by cutting him, although they will incur a $2.9MM dead cap hit, Condotta notes in the Times.

The release of Fluker saved about $3.7MM, so the Seahawks cleared a significant amount of space today. They’ve been making moves on the offensive line all offseason, and the unit is going to look considerably different in 2020. Joey Hunt, who started the second half of last season, former second-round pick Ethan Pocic, and B.J. Finney are all candidates to start at center. Finney was signed to a two-year, $8MM pact this offseason.

Britt started the first eight games of last season before tearing an ACL in an October game against the Falcons. Britt will turn 29 in May, and we haven’t heard much about his recovery, although Sirius XM NFL insider Adam Caplan did tweet that he hasn’t had any setbacks. Coming off the devastating injury he’ll likely have to settle for a prove-it deal despite playing at a high level in the past.

It’s possible the Seahawks are attempting to clear space for a bigger move like re-signing the still-available Jadeveon Clowney, but that’s far from definite.

Seahawks Pick Up Justin Britt’s 2020 Option

March 19th, 2018 at 9:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Justin Britt will be sticking around Seattle through at least the 2020 season. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reports that the Seahawks have picked up the center’s $5MM option.

As Henderson details, picking up the option was necessary if Seattle wanted to keep Britt for several more seasons. Declining the option would have voided the final year of the deal, which would have allowed the lineman to hit free agency following the 2019 season.

That would have also boosted Britt’s 2018 base salary from $2.75MM to $7.75MM, which is a pretty drastic uptick. By picking up the option, that extra $5MM will now translate in the form of a bonus, and his cap number remains at $6.17MM. These details are all part of the three-year, $27MM extension the 26-year-old signed last offseason.

The 2014 second-round pick has spent his entire career in Seattle, and he’s started all 63 games he’s appeared in since entering the league. After earning a top-10 center rating in 2016, Britt took a bit of a step back in 2017. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked the veteran 17th among 36 eligible center candidates.

Extra Points: Browns, Colts, Giants, Britt

February 11th, 2018 at 9:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Had the Browns been able to land Alex Smith, they would have strongly considered trading out of the No. 1 spot. The Browns tried to give the Chiefs one of their three second-round picks for the quarterback, and had Kansas City not chosen Washington’s offer, the Browns would have “aggressively shopped” their top pick, per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. This would have been an interesting strategy given what’s transpired over the past two drafts in Cleveland, with the currently woeful franchise passing on Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson, but the Browns do have the No. 4 pick as well. That could be used on a quarterback, and Miller hears the team is still considering trading down from one of its two top-five spots (but not both). The Browns have been connected to four quarterbacks at No. 1, with newly hired consultant Scot McCloughan being a staunch Baker Mayfield proponent.

Here’s more from the draft and a look at some Western-division franchises:

Neither the Giants nor the Colts are committed to staying at Nos. 2 and 3 in the draft. Both picks are for sale, Miller notes. The likely scenario coming out of last season was a Giants quarterback pick, since they have not held a top-five choice in 14 years, but new management has come out with effusive Eli Manning praise. The Giants trading out of a possible franchise-quarterback spot would be interesting given Manning’s age and their rare opportunity atop a draft. The Colts would make more sense as a trade-down team, with numerous needs after a season that saw them rank 31st on offense and 30th on defense. Andrew Luck‘s murky timeline notwithstanding, Indianapolis is not a threat to take a first-round quarterback and could well leverage other teams who are interested in doing so.
Miller did not mention the Broncos as a trade-down candidate from No. 5, but what happens in March will determine how they operate. If Kirk Cousins is set on establishing a new NFL salary threshold, the Broncos may need to do more than trade or cut Aqib Talib to clear sufficient funding. While the Broncos would have $37MM-plus in cap space after jettisoning Talib, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post writes they might also consider putting Emmanuel Sanders on the block. Soon to be 31 and coming off his worst season as a Bronco, one limited by an ankle injury, Sanders stands to count $10.9MM against the Broncos’ 2018 cap. Sanders’ age and 2017 season aside, the franchise has experienced rampant trouble finding wideouts since its successful 2014 Sanders signing and Cousins choosing the Broncos would likely be partially because of their veteran core. A Sanders departure would deplete that setup.
Justin Britt‘s Seahawks extension contains a $5MM option bonus that is expected to be picked up, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes. Britt signed a three-year, $27MM extension last year. The Seahawks not picking up this bonus, however, would only void the final year of the contract (2020) and shift the money to a different year. If the option is not picked up, the $5MM from 2020 would be added to Britt’s 2018 base salary, thus increasing it from $2.75MM to $7.75MM, per Henderson. Additionally, Britt’s $2.75MM ’18 base became fully guaranteed on Friday.
The NFL is going to look into the matter of Reuben Foster‘s arrest, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Police responded to a disturbance call made at 9:15am Sunday, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports. The 49ers linebacker was released from jail at around 8:35pm CT on $75K bail, per Barrows. He was booked on charges of domestic violence and possession of an assault rifle, Barrows reports.

Extra Points: Bortles, Kap, Rosen, Browns

August 17th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Blake Bortles has struggled so much this summer that the Jaguars may have to consider benching the quarterback in order to avoid a catastrophic injury that would guarantee his fifth-year option for 2018, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines (Twitter link). Such an injury for Bortles this season would leave the Jags on the hook for upward of $19MM a year from now, which even a healthy version of the 2014 third overall pick hasn’t been worth during his three seasons in the NFL. Keeping Bortles away from the field to prevent any chance of the option triggering wouldn’t be a first in the league – the Redskins did it with Robert Griffin III in 2015.

Meanwhile, in light of Bortles’ second straight lackluster performance of the preseason on Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the Jaguars should bring free agent signal-caller Colin Kaepernick in to take the starting job. While Kaepernick’s social activism makes him a tough sell for many teams’ decision makers and fans, he at least possesses a superior on-field resume to both Bortles and backup Chad Henne.

Seahawks Sign Justin Britt To Extension

August 17th, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks and center Justin Britt have agreed to a three-year extension worth more than $9MM per year, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Britt, a second-round pick in the 2014 draft, was slated for free agency after the 2017 season. The team has confirmed the deal via press release.

The new deal marks a significant pay bump for Britt, who will carry a cap number under $1.1MM this year. Britt’s extension won’t kick in until 2018, but the yearly average would tie him for third in the NFL with Alex Mack of the Falcons if it were starting immediately. Only Cowboys center Travis Frederick ($9.4MM) and Brandon Linder ($10.3MM) have higher AAVs. He’ll now be among the league’s highest-paid players at the position with the ability to cash in again at the age of 29.

Britt has been a starter for the Seahawks in each of his three seasons, but he has been moved around the offensive line quite a bit. He played mostly right tackle in 2014 and shifted to left guard in 2015 before settling in at center last year.

The 6’6″ lineman graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 11 center in the NFL last season, putting him ahead of notable names like Maurkice Pouncey, Max Unger, and Jason Kelce.