Jets To Franchise Tag S Marcus Maye
The Jets will not let Marcus Maye hit the market. They are placing the franchise tag on their four-year safety starter, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Expected for a bit to be tagged, Maye will join Broncos standout Justin Simmons in being taken off the safety market. This comes a day ahead of this year’s spring deadline to designate franchise players.
Maye became the Jets’ secondary centerpiece last year, when the team traded Jamal Adams to the Seahawks. Maye broke through with the best season of his career; Pro Football Focus graded the former second-round pick as its No. 5 overall safety. The safety tag is expected to land in the $10-$11MM range.
Maye’s agent voiced concerns about the Jets’ negotiations with his client a few days ago, leading Joe Douglas to declare the team still has a plan to extend the Mike Maccagnan-era draft choice. The Jets will now have until July 15 to reach an extension agreement with Maye.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/21
The restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decision deadline is a little more than a week away. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Titans: WR Kalif Raymond (story)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Dolphins: LB Calvin Munson, CB Nik Needham, CB Jamal Perry
Non-tendered:
- Vikings: CB Chris Jones
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/21
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: P Dom Maggio
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: DB Dallin Leavitt
New York Giants
- Released: WR Cody Core
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: DL Pat O’Connor
Raiders To Release Lamarcus Joyner
The Raiders will clear a sizable chunk of cap space Monday. They plan to release Lamarcus Joyner, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
Previously rumored, this move will save Las Vegas $8.7MM. That would bump the Raiders to north of $10MM in cap space. Joyner marks the third key contributor the Raiders have parted ways with over the past few days, with starting guards Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito out the door as well. This news also comes after a report indicated the Raiders are shopping another of their big-ticket 2019 additions (Trent Brown). They have already cut fellow 2019 signee Tyrell Williams.
Signed to a lucrative deal two years ago, Joyner did not work out as a Raider. After excelling at safety with the Rams, Joyner moved to the slot primarily with the Raiders. Pro Football Focus graded him outside its top 80 corners in each of his two seasons with the Raiders, who will again enter a free agency period needing some coverage help.
Joyner has done well for himself financially over the past three seasons, playing on the franchise tag in 2018 and having signed a four-year, $42MM deal in the spring of ’19. Now 30, Joyner will have to settle for a less enticing salary in 2021 in order to continue his career.
Lions Cut Christian Jones, Russell Bodine
The Lions have released center Russell Bodine and linebacker Christian Jones, per a club announcement. In a related move, the Lions have also re-signed defensive back Mike Ford. 
The Lions will save just over $3.5MM between the two moves. Jones, the more expensive of the two, was set to earn $3.17MM this year — instead, Detroit will gain $2.55MM in additional flexibility. Jones hooked on with the Lions before the 2018 season and wound up starting all 16 games in Matt Patricia’s first year as coach. Then, midway through the 2019 season, he was re-upped on a two-year extension. He now exits with 177 tackles and three sacks across three seasons as a Lion.
Bodine, 29, opted out of the 2020 season at a time when he could have competed for a reserve spot behind interior linemen Joe Dahl, Frank Ragnow, and Jonah Jackson. A 2014 fourth-round pick by the Bengals, Bodine started 64 consecutive games for Cincinnati . He went on to appear in ten games for the Bills in 2018, but didn’t play an NFL snap in 2019, so he’s two years removed from live action.
Seahawks To Release Carlos Dunlap
The Seahawks are cutting Carlos Dunlap, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The move will save the Seahawks roughly $14MM in cap room and put the edge rusher on the open market. 
Dunlap, 32, was due a $3MM bonus on the fifth day of the league year with a total cap hit of $14.1MM in 2021. Pressed for flexibility, the Seahawks opted against keeping the three-time Pro Bowler.
The Seahawks swung a deal for Dunlap at last year’s deadline, sending offensive lineman B.J. Finney and a draft pick to the Bengals in exchange. Oddly enough, the Bengals released Finney just a few days ago. Dunlap managed five sacks, 14 tackles, and six TFL in his half season, but the numbers crunch forced the Seahawks to go in another direction.
Dunlap, an 11-year vet, has 87.5 career sacks to his credit. He may have to take a pay cut with his next deal, but there should still be a decent market for his services.
Saints Rework Contracts Of DE Cameron Jordan, LB Demario Davis
The Saints have been busy clearing cap space over the past few days, and they’ve once again restructured the contracts of veterans. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that defensive end Cameron Jordan and linebacker Demario Davis have both agreed to rework their contracts. These two moves will save the Saints more than $13MM in cap space.
Jordan was set to have a cap hit of $18.9MM in 2021, which would have been the highest on the team. The 31-year-old has spent his entire career in New Orleans, establishing himself as a consistent force on the defensive line. Remarkably, the former first-rounder hasn’t missed a regular season game since joining the organization, and he earned his fourth-straight Pro Bowl nod (sixth overall) in 2020 after finishing with 51 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. Jordan inked a three-year, $52.5MM deal with New Orleans back in 2019 that will keep him with the organization through the 2023 season.
Following a pair of stints with the Jets and a one-year cameo with the Browns, Davis joined the Saints back in 2018. He’s since established himself as one of the best linebackers in the game; after earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2019, the 32-year-old followed that up with a second-team nod in 2020. Davis ultimately finished this past season having compiled 119 tackles and four sacks. The veteran inked a three-year, $27MM deal with the Saints last September, and he was set to have a $10.8MM cap hit in 2021.
The Saints have made a handful of moves over the past week. The team reworked the contracts of defensive tackle David Onyemata and kicker Wil Lutz, and they released punter Thomas Morstead and tight end Josh Hill. Prior to today’s moves, Katherine Terrell of The Athletic estimated (on Twitter) that New Orleans had already opened more than $24MM in cap space with their various moves.
Saints Re-Sign Ty Montgomery
Ty Montgomery is heading back to New Orleans. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Saints have re-signed the veteran to a one-year pact. Specifically, it’s a “veteran benefit deal” that includes a $137.5K signing bonus.
The 2015 third-round pick spent the first three-plus seasons of his career in Green Bay, including a 2016 campaign where he collected 805 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. He was traded to the Ravens midway through the 2018 campaign, and he served as Le’Veon Bell‘s backup with the Jets in 2019.
Montgomery signed with the Saints last offseason but spent the beginning of the season sitting on IR. With much of New Orleans’ running back corps sidelined by COVID protocol, Montgomery had a chance to start in Week 17, finishing with 105 rushing yards on 18 carries. He finished the 2020 season having appeared in six games, and he made an additional appearance in the postseason.
The 28-year-old has displayed plenty of versatility throughout his career, serving as a running back, wideout, and return man. He’ll likely serve a similar Swiss Army Knife-type role in 2021, although it’ll be tough for him to surpass Alvin Kamara or Latavius Murray on the running backs depth chart, and he’d be (at best) the team’s fifth wideout heading into the offseason.
Texans Sign C Justin Britt
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.
Raiders To Release G Richie Incognito; Return Expected?
6:01pm: It is not out of the question Incognito returns to the Raiders on a new deal, however. The expectation is the veteran guard re-signs with the team on a lower-cost accord, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
5:48pm: The Raiders are making big changes on their offensive line. Following a Gabe Jackson release, Las Vegas plans to cut Richie Incognito, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Incognito played well in 2019, when the Raiders ended the second of his NFL sabbaticals, and signed an extension late in that season. However, an early-season injury shelved the veteran guard in 2020. Incognito is believed to be healthy and wants to play in 2021, per Rapoport.
An Incognito release will save the Raiders $5.5MM. He was signed only through the 2021 season. The controversial O-lineman played only two games last season, suffering a foot injury that ended up requiring surgery two months later. The Raiders entered Friday with barely $3MM in cap space.
While Incognito is better known for his off-field reputation — the bullying scandal that led him out of Miami and out of the league for the 2014 and another incident that preceded him being out of football in 2018 and left him suspended to start his Raiders tenure — the 37-year-old blocker has been a productive player when available. Pro Football Focus has graded him as a top-25 guard in every season he has played since 2010. Incognito made the Pro Bowl in each of his three Bills seasons — 2015-17 — and helped the Raiders’ 2019 O-line rate as one of the league’s best. That group has splintered this week.
In addition to releasing their Week 1 guard starters from last season, the Raiders are shopping right tackle Trent Brown. The player who took over for Incognito, Denzelle Good, is a free agent. Only left tackle Kolton Miller and standout center Rodney Hudson appear to be on solid ground among Las Vegas’ first-string blockers.