NFC South Notes: Payton, Brees, Quinn
The extension that Saints head coach Sean Payton signed last month is a whopper. Payton was making $9MM per year under his previous contract, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the offensive guru will now be pulling down around $13MM per season. That deal is one of the largest among coaches of North American professional sports, and it obviously will put an end to speculation concerning Payton’s long-term future in the Big Easy.
Now for more from the NFC South, starting with the other face of the Saints:
- Drew Brees is throwing a football again, as shown on a video that the Saints star posted on Instagram. Brees managed to avoid a trip to the IR, and last week we learned that he is making progress in his recovery from thumb surgery. New Orleans is 2-0 with Brees’ backup, Teddy Bridgewater, at the helm, and the club will try to make that 3-0 against Tampa Bay this afternoon. Previous reports suggested that Brees could return for the club’s November 10 matchup with the Falcons.
- Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is on the hot seat, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says an Atlanta loss to the Texans today could expedite Quinn’s ouster. After all, a loss would drop the team to 1-4, and with difficult games against the Rams and Seahawks following the Falcons’ matchup with the Cardinals next week, Atlanta could be looking at a 2-6 record after the first half of the season. Atlanta has three former head coaches on its staff — offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, tight ends coach Mike Mularkey, and receivers coach Raheem Morris — and owner Arthur Blank may be thinking about putting one of them in charge to finish out the season if Quinn can’t right the ship immediately.
- Greg Auman of The Athletic observes that the Buccaneers could be in line for a third-round compensatory pick to offset the loss of Kwon Alexander in free agency and a fourth-rounder to offset the loss of Adam Humphries. As it currently stands, Tampa Bay signed enough outside free agents to negate those compensatory picks, but given that some of those free agents are underperforming (or barely playing), the Bucs could cut them loose prior to Week 9 to put themselves back on track for the compensatory selections. That means that Deone Bucannon, Breshad Perriman, and Bradley Pinion could all be in danger of being cut.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: OL John Wetzel
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Zach Sieler
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Duke Williams
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Tyler Bray
- Released: TE Bradley Sowell
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Tra Carson
- Waived: DE Fadol Brown
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Shakial Taylor
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Marcell Ateman, G Lester Cotton
- Placed on IR: G Jordan Devey
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR with injury settlement: DT Aziz Shittu
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released from IR with injury settlement: TE Xavier Grimble
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: LB Demone Harris
NFL Workout Updates: 10/1/19
Here’s a look at the latest workouts from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- DL Joel Heath
- DL Zach Kerr
- DL Mike Pennel
- DL Caraun Reid
- DL Anthony Zettel
Atlanta Falcons
- LB Andrew Dowell
- LB Ahmad Thomas (signed with ATL p-squad)
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Josh Bynes
- LB Mason Foster
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- DL Domata Peko
- LB Vincent Rey
- LB Dekoda Watson
Buffalo Bills
- WR Deontay Burnett
- DT Willie Henry
- DT T.Y. McGill
- WR Kermit Whitfield
Cleveland Browns
- TE C.J. Conrad
- OT Cody Conway
- DL Frank Herron
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- C Daniel Munyer
Bucs' Jack Cichy To Miss 2-4 Weeks?
- Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians says linebacker Jack Cichy “could [miss] 2 to 4 weeks,” though his diagnosis is pending an MRI (Twitter link via the Bucs’ team website). That would be a welcome bit of news for Cichy, whose arm was twisted badly in Sunday’s win over the Rams.
Details On JPP Contract Rework
Those sack goals are pretty lofty for only ten games, and it’s unlikely he makes the max value. Because JPP suffered a non-football injury, the Buccaneers weren’t obligated to pay his 2019 salary at all and could’ve voided his guarantees. But as Auman writes, “the team wouldn’t look good not paying a player whose injury came in a car accident in which he wasn’t even cited,” so the two sides came to an agreement. It’s unclear if he’ll actually be ready to go in Week 8 after the Bucs’ bye, as we haven’t gotten an update on his neck in a while.
Jason Pierre-Paul restructured his contract with the Buccaneers yesterday, and now we have the details. Originally scheduled to make $13.65MM in 2019, his new base salary will be just $3MM, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. He’s eligible to come off the NFI list and return for the final ten games of the season, and he’ll receive a $200K bonus for each of those games that he plays in. He’ll get an additional $200K for every game he plays at least 50 percent of the defensive snaps and another $200K for each game he plays 75 percent of the defensive snaps. If he’s able to hit eight sacks he’ll get a $500K bonus and another $1MM if he reaches ten sacks, pushing the maximum value to $10.5MM.
Those sack goals are pretty lofty for only ten games, and it’s unlikely he makes the max value. Because JPP suffered a non-football injury, the Buccaneers weren’t obligated to pay his 2019 salary at all and could’ve voided his guarantees. But as Auman writes, “the team wouldn’t look good not paying a player whose injury came in a car accident in which he wasn’t even cited,” so the two sides came to an agreement. It’s unclear if he’ll actually be ready to go in Week 8 after the Bucs’ bye, as we haven’t gotten an update on his neck in a while.
Bucs, JPP Agree To New Contract
The Buccaneers and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul have agreed to a revised deal that will make him a free agent after the 2019 season, rather than 2020, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The revision will clear $4.4MM in cap space for Tampa Bay and JPP will receive upwards of $10MM in exchange.
An unfortunate car accident in the spring landed JPP on the league’s NFI list, meaning that he cannot play for the first six weeks of his season. His outlook beyond that for 2019 remains murky, though he did begin rehab in late August.
While on the NFI list, teams are not obligated to pay a player’s salary. However, JPP’s deal still called for a $7.5MM injury guarantee for 2019 with a total cap figure of $14.9MM.
Under the terms of the new deal, JPP will have an opportunity to make up to $10.5MM, with a base salary of $5MM. And, he’ll have a path to the open market in March, where he could land a decent-sized deal based on his past performance. In 2018, Pierre-Paul amassed 12.5 sacks on the Bucs’ defensive front, matching the second-highest showing of his career.
After losing to JPP’s former club in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday, the Bucs will turn their attention to the Rams this weekend.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/19
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: P Ryan Winslow
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE Carson Meier
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Nate Hall
- Released: LB Curtis Akins
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: T Matt Kaskey
- Released: G Rishard Cook
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Greg Mabin
- Released: RB Jordan Ellis
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Trinity Benson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Chris Lacy
- Released: RB Nick Brossette
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Tyron Johnson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Deante Burton
- Released: RB Darius Jackson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Alexander Myres
- Released: DB Trevon Mathis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Ishmael Hyman
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: T John Wetzel
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Kyle Peko
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: G Kofi Amichia
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Destiny Vaeao
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Fred Brown
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Dadi Nicolas
- Waived: WR River Cracraft
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Marcus Sherels
- Waived: LB Devante Downs
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Nate Stupar
- Waived: TE Eric Tomlinson
Oakland Raiders
- Placed on IR: LB Marquel Lee
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Craig James
- Waived: WR Greg Ward
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LS Garrison Sanborn
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: DL Patrick O’Connor
Washington Redskins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: C Casey Dunn
- Waived: DT T.Y. McGill
NFL Workout Updates: 9/24/19
Here is the latest from the workout circuit:
Arizona Cardinals
- S Chris Banjo (Twitter link via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson)
Atlanta Falcons
- DE Jonathan Bonner, DE Hunter Dimick (Twitter link via Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com)
Buffalo Bills
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo, WR Reggie Davis, WR J.J. Jones, WR Darvin Kidsy, WR J’Mon Moore (Twitter link via Wilson)
Detroit Lions
- C Russell Bodine, OL Tyler Gauthier, DL Joel Heath, DL Frank Herron, DL Zach Kerr, DL Mike Pennel (Twitter link via Wilson)
Indianapolis Colts
- S Kentrell Brice, S Deiondre’ Hall, S A.J. Hendy, S Shalom Luani, DB Lafayette Pitts (per Wilson, on Twitter)
Miami Dolphins
- WR Emanuel Hall, WR Andy Jones, WR Damoun Patterson, WR DeAndre Thompkins (per Balzer, on Twitter)
New York Jets
- DB Blake Countess (per Wilson, on Twitter)
Oakland Raiders
- LB Reshard Cliett, LB Quentin Poling, LB Tegray Scales (Twitter link via Wilson)
Seattle Seahawks
- OL Brandon Hitner (via Wilson, on Twitter)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QB Taryn Christion, RB Quinton Flowers, DB John Franklin, WR Ishmael Hyman, WR Marcus Johnson, WR Codey McElroy, WR Jaydon Mickens, QB Phillip Walker (via Balzer, on Twitter)
Tennessee Titans
- LB Davin Bellamy, LB Tre’ Crawford, DT Lyndon Johnson, LB Ahmad Thomas, DE Kevin Wilkins, LB Trevon Young (per Balzer, on Twitter)
Bucs To Place Blaine Gabbert On IR
The Bucs are placing Blaine Gabbert on the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. Gabbert has yet to see real action this year after dislocating his non-throwing shoulder in the club’s preseason contest against the Eagles. 
Initially, the Bucs did not believe that Gabbert would be ticketed for an extended stay on the sidelines. However, things appear to have changed after a closer look from team doctors.
For the moment, the Buccaneers will proceed with Jameis Winston as their starter and Ryan Griffin as his sole backup. However, Mississippi State product Nick Fitzgerald is also on their practice squad, so he could conceivably get a call up to the 53-man roster.
Next up for the Buccaneers and Winston – a Sunday tilt in Los Angeles against the Rams. After that, they’ll face the Saints, meet the Panthers in London, and take their bye week before resuming to take on the Titans in Tennessee.