Saints Exercise 2021 Options On Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk
The Saints have exercised their 2021 fifth-year options on cornerback Marshon Lattimore and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Lattimore and Ramczyk become the first members of the 2017 draft class to have their options picked up, and are also the first to have their options fully guaranteed. Under the terms of the new contractual bargaining agreement, fifth-year options — which are available for all first-round picks and had previously been guaranteed for injury only — are now guaranteed for injury, cap, and skill purposes.
Part of a 2017 Saints draft class that also included Alvin Kamara and Marcus Williams, Lattimore and Ramczyk have quickly become essential cogs for New Orleans. Lattimore has started 43 games and posted eight interceptions over his first three years in the NFL, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2017 and Pro Bowl nods in both 2017 and 2019.
Ramcyzk, meanwhile, has only missed one contest since entering the league and is arguably the NFL’s premier right tackle. Indeed, Pro Football Focus graded the former Wisconsin Badger as the league’s No. 1 offensive tackle — even including those that play on the blindside — in 2019. Both he and Lattimore should be in for hefty extensions in the near future.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/20
We’ll keep track of today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Keith Kirkwood
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Torry McTyer
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: KR/PR Jojo Natson
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: LB Justin March-Lillard
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: CB Will Redmond
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Adrian Colbert
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: WR Bryant Mitchell
Washington Redskins
- Signed: TE Logan Thomas
Cowboys Re-Sign LB Joe Thomas
The Cowboys have re-signed linebacker Joe Thomas to a one-year contract, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Thomas, 28, has spent his career oscillating between Dallas and Green Bay. While he played 632 snaps with the Packers in 2016, he’s mostly played in reserve roles. Last season, Thomas was pressed into duty during the latter half of the year following an injury to Cowboys starter Leighton Vander Esch.
The Cowboys will return Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, and Sean Lee in 2020, meaning Thomas will see most of his action come on special teams. The former undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State has played roughly 55% of Dallas special teams snaps in each of the past two seasons.
Giants, QB Colt McCoy Agree To Terms
Daniel Jones will no longer have a two-time Super Bowl MVP as his backup, but the Giants appear to have filled Eli Manning‘s most recent position Thursday.
The Giants and veteran quarterback Colt McCoy agreed to terms, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a one-year, $1.5MM deal, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. McCoy will migrate to another NFC East team after spending the past six years with Washington.
While the Giants were interested in Matt Moore, they have acquired a passer who has nearly as much experience and is two years younger. McCoy, 33, is a 10-year veteran who has played with the Browns, 49ers and Redskins. He has not been a regular starter since his first two seasons, but he is one of the league’s most experienced backups.
Working with Jay Gruden for most of his Redskins run, McCoy will now serve under another coach who spent a great deal of time organizing game plans in this division. Jason Garrett will be tasked with continuing Jones’ development, and McCoy figures to play a key role in helping the 2019 first-rounder.
The former Texas Longhorn started six games with the Redskins, sporting an 8-7 TD-INT ratio and a 7.6 yards-per-attempt figure.
Patriots To Sign Adrian Phillips
The Patriots have agreed to a two-year deal with former Chargers safety Adrian Phillips, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Phillips, 28 next week, had spent his entire career with the Chargers after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2014, but on paper, he looks like the perfect Patriot. Not only is he something of a hybrid player capable of playing both safety and linebacker, but he’s extremely active on special teams.
Phillips played on at least 40% of Los Angeles’ ST snaps in each of the past five seasons, and earned a first-team All-Pro nod as a special teamer in 2018. New England head coach Bill Belichick has always placed a priority on special teams play, and Phillips will certainly see his fair share of action in that capacity.
But Phillips will likely have a role on defense, as well. The Patriots have deployed a number of three-safety looks in recent years, and with Duron Harmon now in Detroit, New England has roughly 600 vacant safety snaps to fill. Phillips could slot into Harmon’s old role alongside Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung.
Browns To Sign CB Kevin Johnson
The Browns are adding another former first-round defensive back on a one year deal. After signing safety Karl Joseph on Wednesday night, they have agreed to terms with former Round 1 cornerback Kevin Johnson.
Johnson and the Browns agreed on a one-year, $3.5MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Incentives could spike the contract’s value to $6MM, Schefter adds.
The Texans backed out of Johnson’s fifth-year option in 2019, a move the new CBA will no longer allow teams to execute free of charge, and he wound up with the Bills. The 2015 first-round pick played in all 16 games as a role player in Buffalo’s secondary, recording 36 tackles and posting five passes defensed.
Despite being an off-the-bench contributor, Johnson stayed healthy in 2019. That proved to be pivotal for a cornerback that saw injuries derail his time in Houston. Johnson, 27, missed 10 games in 2016 and 15 in 2018. A severe concussion kept him out of action in ’18. He will join a Browns cornerback crew headed by Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams.
Redskins To Sign OT Cornelius Lucas
The Redskins are signing Cornelius Lucas to a two-year, $5.3MM deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Lucas isn’t a world-beater, but he’ll offer the club valuable depth on the offensive line.
Lucas, 29 in July, spent the 2019 season with the Bears. He appeared in every game and started in half of those contests.
Before Chicago, Lucas spent time with the Lions, Rams, and Saints. If the Redskins find a team willing to give them for a second-round pick for Trent Williams, he might take on a larger-than-expected role in D.C.
Rams To Release Clay Matthews
Todd Gurley isn’t the only Rams star on his way out. The Rams have released linebacker Clay Matthews, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Rams Cut Todd Gurley]
Matthews, 34 in May, wasn’t easy to let go. Last year, the veteran racked up eight sacks in 13 games (all starts), despite missing some time with a painful broken jaw.
Jaw aside, Matthews has been durable throughout his pro career. That’s part of what helped Matthews earned six Pro Bowl nods through his ten seasons in Green Bay and he seemed on pace for a seventh before that setback.
The Rams will have to find edge pressure elsewhere as they remake their entire defense. So far, they’ve watched Eric Weddle retire while Cory Littleton, Michael Brockers and Dante Fowler have all departed in free agency. They also turned down their option on slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman. Meanwhile, they’ve added a handful of players, including former first-rounder Leonard Floyd and A’Shawn Robinson.
Thanks to his re-emergence under Wade Phillips, Matthews figures to draw some degree of interest on the open market. Matthews, however, did not live up to the extension he signed with the Packers. He failed to produce a double-digit sack season from 2015-18, recording just 3.5 and 12 quarterback hits in 2018. Matthews managed just 11 QB hits last season.
While the former Pro Bowler’s career is winding down, he still has a chance to reach 100 sacks. The former Packers first-round pick is up to 91.5 for his career. Matthews getting there would make him the 35th player in NFL history to do so. The third-generation NFLer will need to find a third team to help him reach this milestone, however.
Rams Release RB Todd Gurley
The Rams shopped Todd Gurley in trades but now are making a major decision. They have released the All-Pro running back.
This move comes less than 15 minutes before Gurley would have been guaranteed $10.5MM. It will send the 25-year-old running back into free agency. The Rams will eat a staggering $20.15MM in dead money in total, though they’ll spread it out over two years via the post-June 1 designation (via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The Rams will also see $5.5MM in cap savings, starting on June 2.
Gurley’s four-year, $57.5MM contract reset the running back market in 2018, and the superstar all-purpose back was one of the NFL’s best players for most of the 2018 season. But a late-season knee injury ended up altering his career. Gurley has not looked like the same player, for the most part, since.
An explosive talent since coming to St. Louis in the 2015 first round, Gurley shook off an ACL tear he sustained while at Georgia to win offensive rookie of the year honors that season. His peak stretch occurred from 2017-18, when he totaled 40 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 scrimmage yards. Gurley resided as the centerpiece of Sean McVay‘s attack during the Rams’ resurgence over this time, finishing second in the 2017 MVP voting. But last season, his workload and per-touch averages plummeted.
Although Gurley played in 15 games last season, his per-carry average dropped from 4.9 to 3.8. A year after a 59-reception, 580-yard season, Gurley totaled just 31 catches and 207 yards in 2019. The Rams worked backup Malcolm Brown into the offense more, which followed Gurley’s sudden timeshare with C.J. Anderson in the 2018 playoffs. Brown and 2019 third-round pick Darrell Henderson now reside as the Rams’ top running backs.
Both McVay and Gurley danced around the topic of Gurley’s injury over the past year and change, but that matter will soon be another team’s to discuss. Gurley will not command the kind of money he received with the Rams ($21.9MM fully guaranteed) but will be a somewhat attractive commodity on the market given his production. However, the NFL’s COVID-19 policies figure to impede Gurley’s path to another team. Players are not allowed to visit teams, which will prevent other medical staffs from examining the talented back.
This marks another bad sign for high-end running back deals. Gurley resetting the market led to David Johnson, Le’Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott landing contracts averaging north of $13MM per season. The Johnson and Bell deals quickly became onerous for their respective franchises. With the talented 2017 running back class now extension-eligible, it will be interesting to see how teams proceed given the early returns from the new running back market.
Patriots Trade Duron Harmon To Lions
The Patriots have traded defensive back Duron Harmon to the Lions, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This will be another Patriots pick-swap deal, with Harmon and a seventh-round pick (No. 235 overall) going to Detroit in exchange for a fifth-rounder (No. 172), NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
Harmon has history with head coach Matt Patricia, who previously served as the commander of the Patriots’ defense. Patricia has made it a point to bring in familiar faces from New England over the years and Harmon is just the latest to come through the pipeline.
The 29-year-old has spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Patriots with near-perfect attendance. Last year, the Pats put him in the starting lineup for eight games and he finished out with 22 stops, two interceptions, and five passes defensed.
Harmon has one year to go on his deal and is set to earn a base salary of $3.5MM in 2020. After that, he’ll be on course for unrestricted free agency.
Earlier today, the Lions tapped another ex-Patriot in defensive tackle Danny Shelton. And, on Monday, they made an even bigger ex-Pats splash by agreeing to terms with linebacker Jamie Collins.