Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger Agree To New Deal
The Steelers have signed Ben Roethlisberger to a new contract for 2021, per a club announcement. Big Ben’s contract was too large for the Steelers’ salary cap, but the two sides found middle ground on Thursday afternoon. 
“We are excited we were able to come to an agreement with Ben Roethlisberger on a new contract for him to return to the Steelers in 2021,” said GM Kevin Colbert. “We know that Ben can still play at a high level and do special things for this team. Our goal remains the same – to put together a roster that will compete for another championship. We are happy that Ben will be one of our leaders to help us accomplish that goal.”
Roethlisberger enjoyed a solid 2020 season after losing all of 2019 to injury. The Steelers have wanted to keep him all along, but things were uncertain amidst the numbers crunch.
Rather than a multi-year extension, it sounds as though Roethlisberger has agreed to a pay reduction for the coming year. The maneuver may also include voidable years, kicking much of the cash down the road for when the Steelers have a higher cap limit and more flexibility. It’s probably not the solution that Roethlisberger wanted, but he was ultimately willing to compromise.
“It is my greatest honor to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and give my all for this organization,” said Roethlisberger. “I am grateful to be at this stage of my career and more than happy to adjust my contract in a way that best helps the team to address other players who are so vital to our success. I love this game and love to compete, and I believe in this team and my ability to deliver when called upon. It all starts with great preparation and I am ready to go.”
Roethlisberger owns countless Steelers records, including games plays (233), started (231), passing touchdowns (396), and completions (5,050). Last year, he finished out with 3,803 yards, 33 TDs, and 10 INTs. He was sacked just 13 times throughout the year, his lowest total of any complete season.
Vikings Sign DE Stephen Weatherly
Stephen Weatherly has agreed to sign with the Vikings, per an announcement on his Instagram. The 26-year-old defensive end started his career in Minnesota and now he’s headed back to where it all began. 
Weatherly came into the league as a seventh-round pick in 2016. He went on to record six sacks between the 2018 and ’19 seasons before joining up with the Panthers last March. Weatherly began the year as the team’s defensive end starter opposite Brian Burns before suffering a finger injury. That meant surgery, which meant a mid-season IR stint. After that, second-round pick Yetur Gross-Matos took his place. Weatherly recorded zero sacks in Carolina.
Last time around, Weatherly scored a two-year, $12.5MM deal in free agency. His return to the Vikings likely comes at a lesser rate, but still more than his original seventh-round contract.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/3/21
Catching up on some minor moves from what has been a busy day as we all gear up for free agency:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: CB Jalen Davis, LS Clark Harris
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed ERFAs: OL Alex Bars, LB Josh Woods, LB James Vaughters, RB Ryan Nall, TE J.P. Holtz
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed RFA: LS Trent Sieg (to three-year extension)
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed off waivers from Texans: DB Mark Fields
Giants To Release Golden Tate
The Giants will release Golden Tate, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Expected to be a cap casualty for a bit now, Tate will become a free agent for the third time.
Tate’s Giants tenure started poorly, with the veteran wide receiver being suspended four games for a positive PED test. He posted just 388 receiving yards in his second Giants season in 2020. Additionally, Big Blue will cut linebacker David Mayo, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Together, these moves will create nearly $9MM in cap space for the Giants. Both contracts had two years remaining.
Tate and New York have clearly been headed for divorce ever since the team made him an inactive back in Week 9 for issues with his effort and performance. In a signing that proved to be an unmitigated disaster in hindsight, Giants GM Dave Gettleman gave Tate a four-year, $37.5MM deal with $23MM fully guaranteed during 2019 free agency.
In his first season with the team, he had 49 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games. Tate became a Super Bowl champion with the Seahawks, and made the Pro Bowl with the Lions in 2014. From 2014-17 he had at least 1,000 yards in three of four seasons, but at 32 is now on the tail-end of his career. He should be able to catch on with somebody, but won’t get much if any guaranteed money.
The Giants gave Mayo a three-year extension almost exactly one year ago, but he didn’t make it very far into that new deal. He had a breakout 2019 season where he started 13 games and graded out well, but he fell out of favor with the new coaching staff led by Joe Judge, and only started two games this past season. The 2015 fifth-round pick of the Panthers will now hit free agency at the age of 27.
Saints Release TE Josh Hill
The Saints’ tight end group will boast a new look next season. With Jared Cook likely to depart as a free agent, the Saints also made the move Wednesday to cut veteran Josh Hill, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Still more than $60MM over the projected 2021 salary cap, the Saints will save $2.5MM by jettisoning Hill. One season remained on Hill’s deal. This move comes after the Saints adjusted David Onyemata‘s contract to create $4MM-plus in cap space.
Hill has been with the Saints for eight seasons, having only played in New Orleans as a pro. The Saints gave him a three-year, $8.85MM extension late in the 2018 season. New Orleans then signed Cook in 2019. His contract included a 2021 void year, pointing the veteran elsewhere after a two-year Saints stay.
The Saints continually brought in veteran receiving tight ends — from Coby Fleener to Ben Watson to Cook — while keeping Hill, who began his career when Jimmy Graham was still with the Saints. While Hill did not factor in much as a pass catcher last season, he remained a high-end run blocker. Pro Football Focus graded Hill as its No. 4 overall run-blocking tight end in 2020.
Hill, who will turn 31 in May, played in 117 Saints games and started 61 of those. Barring a reunion down the line, Hill will finish with 116 catches, 1,017 yards and 15 TDs as a Saint.
Lions, WR Tyrell Williams Agree To Deal
Tyrell Williams will link up with Anthony Lynn in Detroit. The former Chargers and Raiders wide receiver agreed to terms with the Lions on a one-year deal Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The recent Raiders cap casualty can earn up to $6.2MM on his new deal with the Lions. Williams played under Lynn for two seasons in Los Angeles. Lynn is now Detroit’s offensive coordinator.
This move stands to help the rebuilding Lions at a key need area. Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones are free agents. So is Danny Amendola. While Golladay has surfaced as a franchise tag candidate, Jones is expected to depart to join a playoff contender. Despite missing all last season due to injury, Williams did not linger in free agency long.
The Raiders gave Williams a four-year, $44MM deal in 2019, but only $10MM of that pact was guaranteed. Still, the Raiders guaranteed Williams’ 2020 salary last year but saw that move go bust when the veteran suffered a shoulder injury over the summer. Williams, 29, only recently returned to full health.
Williams’ most productive season came under Mike McCoy — a 1,000-yard 2016 slate — but he remained an auxiliary Chargers cog under Lynn from 2017-18. Williams totaled more than 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns between those seasons and figures to be able to quickly assimilate into Lynn’s Jared Goff-piloted offense.
Raiders To Release G Gabe Jackson
The Raiders will move on from their longest-tenured offensive lineman. They are releasing seven-year starting guard Gabe Jackson, according to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson (on Twitter).
This will end a productive partnership, with Jackson having served as a Raiders starter from Day 1. The franchise drafted Jackson in the 2014 third round, where he joined Derek Carr and Khalil Mack as instant contributors from the draft class. His exit will leave Carr as the last man standing from that haul.
This is not a completely out-of-the-blue move, however. The Raiders shopped Jackson during the 2020 draft. By releasing him now, they will save $9.6MM in cap space. The team entered Wednesday slightly over the projected 2021 salary cap. Two seasons remained on the five-year extension Jackson signed in 2017.
Jackson had battled injuries in recent years, failing to make it through 16 games from 2017-19. But he bounced back and started all 16 Raider contests last season, helping Josh Jacobs to a second straight 1,000-yard season. Pro Football Focus has rated Jackson as a middling guard in recent years, after viewing him as a high-end blocker earlier in his career. Jackson, 29, still stands to generate interest on an open market that has been increasingly kind to proven O-linemen in recent years.
This has become a key day for the Raiders’ offensive front. They are shopping Trent Brown as well. At guard, however, Las Vegas has key questions after this Jackson development.
The Raiders played most of last season without Richie Incognito. He and Brown’s absences affected the O-line’s performance, with Jacobs being limited to 3.9 yards per carry. The Raiders used Denzelle Good as Incognito’s backup and drafted Clemson product John Simpson in the 2020 fourth round. Incognito is under contract for 2021, but the polarizing player will turn 38 this year and is coming off a significant injury. Good is a free agent.
Raiders Re-Sign DE Kendal Vickers
In an unsurprising move, the Raiders are committing to one of their notable exclusive rights free agents. The team announced this evening that they’ve re-signed defensive end Kendal Vickers. The lineman will earn $780K next season.
Vickers was a bit of a revelation for the Raiders in 2020. The former undrafted free agent out of Tennessee was unable to crack an active roster during his rookie campaign in 2018, and he pivoted to the Canadian Football League for the 2019 season. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Raiders towards the end of the 2019 campaign, and he ended up making the team at the end of the 2020 preseason.
At 25 years old, Vickers ended up making his NFL debut in Week 1. He missed a game due to a brief stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but he otherwise appeared in every game for the Raiders in 2020. He finished the campaign having compiled 10 tackles, three QB hits, and a pair of sacks, appearing in 29 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. As Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com implied, Vickers could be in line for a bigger role in 2021 considering the uncertain statuses of impending free agents Johnathan Hankins and Takk McKinley.
The Raiders will still have a decision to make on another exclusive rights free agent. Safety Dallin Leavitt is also an impending ERFA.
Texans Cut DBs Brandon Williams, Mark Fields
The Texans managed to open a chunk of cap space today. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the team has released defensive back Brandon Williams and waived defensive back Mark Fields. The move will save the organization around $1.5MM.
Williams was a highly-touted third-round pick out of Texas A&M back in 2016. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cardinals, including a rookie campaign where he compiled 26 tackles and three passes defended in 13 games (three starts). He appeared in 32 games for Arizona between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but he was limited to only 12 total tackles. He spent his entire final seasons with the Cardinals sitting on injured reserve.
The 28-year-old caught on with the Giants last offseason, and he spent much of the 2020 campaign jumping on and off their active roster. He compiled one tackle in six games for New York before getting waived one final time in December. He later joined the Texans practice squad, and he was inked to a reserve/future contract following the regular season.
Fields, a former Clemson standout, started the 2020 season with the Vikings, getting into a pair of games. He was cut by Minnesota in December, but he was quickly claimed by the Texans. He saw time in two games for Houston, compiling a single tackle.
Jets Release DL Henry Anderson
Henry Anderson‘s stint with the Jets has come to an end. The team announced this evening (via Twitter) that they’ve released the veteran defensive lineman.
The 2015 third-round pick out of Stanford spent the first three seasons of his professional career with the Colts, including a 2017 campaign where he started a then-career-high eight games (in nine appearances). Following that season, he was traded to New York for a future seventh-rounder that was originally owned by the Seahawks (a pick that eventually turned into linebacker Zaire Franklin).
Anderson had a breakout campaign during his first season in New York. Despite only starting three games, the defensive lineman compiled a career-high seven sacks in 16 games. That performance ultimately earned the player a lucrative three-year, $25MM extension from the organization.
Anderson took on more of a starting role in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, but he only averaged 16.5 tackles and fewer than one sack per game during those two campaigns. Thanks in part to the reduced production, it always seemed unlikely that Anderson would stick around for the entirety of his contract. ESPN’s Rich Cimini hinted back in December that Anderson could be on his way out of New York, noting that the Jets would save $8.2MM by making the move.