Titans Re-Sign Dennis Kelly To Three-Year Deal
The Titans lost Jack Conklin when he agreed to sign a big contract with the Browns, and they weren’t about to let a second offensive tackle walk out the door. Tennessee is re-signing Dennis Kelly with a three-year deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The pact is worth $21MM with Kelly getting $8.75M guaranteed, Yates reports. Conklin had been the team’s starting right tackle, and it seems like Kelly will likely slide into that role. Kelly would provide a steady if unspectacular transition, as he has been with the team for a while. He has served as their swing tackle behind Conklin and Taylor Lewan recently, starting at least four games in three of the past four years.
Titans beat-writer Paul Kuharsky cautioned in a tweet that it’s not guaranteed Kelly starts however, and he could remain their third tackle depending on what else they do. It’s possible Tennessee will add competition for him in the draft. A Purdue product, Kelly was originally drafted in the fifth-round by the Eagles back in 2012.
He started ten games as a rookie but missed his entire sophomore season. Just before the start of the 2016 campaign he was traded to the Titans in exchange for Dorial Green-Beckham.
Lions Sign Halapoulivaati Vaitai
A slightly more under the radar name is getting a huge payday. Former Eagles offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai is signing a massive five-year, $50MM contract with the Lions, a source told Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
It’s a pretty remarkable sum considering Vaitai has only started four games over the past two years. It wasn’t totally unexpected though, as we heard a couple of weeks ago that he would likely command between $8-12MM annually. Vaitai has clearly always had talent, but he was buried on the depth chart due to the Eagles’ abundance of tackles. Philly has announced that Jason Peters will be allowed to hit free agency, and they’ll move forward with Andre Dillard and Lane Johnson as their tackles.
Vaitai was drafted in the fifth-round in 2016, and he ended up starting six games as a rookie. The following year he started ten games, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. As the Eagles got healthy at tackle he took a bit of a backseat, starting only once in 2018 and three times this past season.
The Lions released starting right tackle Ricky Wagner a few days ago, perhaps foreshadowing this move. The Lions are also letting starting right guard Graham Glasgow, who has received very strong marks from Pro Football Focus, walk in free agency, so their offensive line is going to look a lot different next year.
Matthew Stafford missed half of last season due to injury, so obviously protecting him will be a priority in 2020. The unit is getting an overhaul, and they’ll have to build chemistry in a hurry as a result. Vaitai is 26, and together with 26-year-old former first-rounder left tackle Taylor Decker, Detroit is surely hoping they’ve established a long-term tackle pairing.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/20
Monday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bengals: TE Cethan Carter, G Alex Redmond, DT Josh Tupou, S Brandon Wilson
- Broncos: WR Tim Patrick
- Dolphins: LB Vince Biegel, P Matt Haack
- Raiders: QB Nathan Peterman, LB Nicholas Morrow
- Seahawks: WR David Moore, C Joey Hunt, DE Branden Jackson
Non-tendered:
- Bills: WR Isaiah McKenzie
- Dolphins: S Adrian Colbert, LB Deon Lacey
- Eagles: RB Corey Clement
- Giants: C Jon Halapio
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Broncos: S Trey Marshall, WR Diontae Spencer, CB Shakial Taylor
- Browns: Pharaoh Brown, RB Dontrell Hilliard, WR KhaDarel Hodge
- Chiefs: G Andrew Wylie
- Colts: DB Rolan Milligan
- Lions: CB Dee Virgin
- Ravens: RB Gus Edwards
Non-tendered:
- Chiefs: TE David Wells
Saints To Re-Sign DT David Onyemata
The Saints reached an agreement to keep one of their top free agents off the market. They will retain defensive tackle David Onyemata, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year, $27MM deal for Onyematta, Garafolo reported in a separate tweet.
Onyemata has recorded 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits over the past two seasons. He moved into the Saints’ starting lineup on a full-time basis last season.
Added in the fourth round in 2016, Onyemata graded well in the opinion of Pro Football Focus in 2017 and ’18. However, PFF viewed him as a lower-level performer upon moving into the starting lineup last season. That said, the 27-year-old defender was viewed as a player who could draw interest on the market. The Saints now have him locked down hours into the tampering period.
New Orleans entered Monday with less than $5MM in cap space. The team has still yet to re-sign Drew Brees, so some maneuvering must still commence to facilitate that. But the team moved forward with Onyemata nonetheless, which appears to be a clear sign the Saints view him as a key player going forward.
Browns Sign Jack Conklin
The Browns have made their second huge splash of the day. Hours after signing Austin Hooper and making him the highest-paid tight end in league history, they’ve doled out another big contract. Cleveland has agreed to terms with offensive tackle Jack Conklin on a three-year deal, agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Conklin is getting $42MM over the three years, with $30MM of it being guaranteed. He’ll bring in $20MM just in the first year of the contract. Conklin likely could’ve landed a longer-term deal, but Rosenhaus told Schefter they wanted to keep it short due to projected increases in the salary cap so he can hit free agency again soon. Conklin is very young for a top-flight free agent, and will still only be 28 when this new deal ends.
Just minutes ago we heard the Browns were the favorites with the Jets still in the mix, and things came together quickly. Conklin was the eighth overall pick out of Michigan State in 2016, and he’s been the Titans’ right tackle for the past few seasons. Tennessee declined his fifth-year option following a torn ACL and injury-plagued 2018 campaign, a move which blew up in their face when Conklin returned to playing at a very high level last year.
Conklin was one of the top offensive linemen available, and fills a huge need for Cleveland. The Browns already announced they won’t be re-signing Greg Robinson and there has been speculation they’ll move on from Chris Hubbard, both of their starting tackles from last year.
They now have Conklin locked in at one of those spots, and it’s possible they’ll still pursue veterans Trent Williams or Jason Peters like they’ve reportedly been considering. Baker Mayfield was frequently under duress last season, and his play suffered significantly as a result. He got skittish in the pocket at times, and upgrading his protection was always going to be a priority this offseason. With the additions of Hooper and Conklin today, his job has gotten a whole lot easier.
Ravens Cut OT James Hurst
The Ravens have released offensive tackle James Hurst, as ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley tweets. Hurst was suspended for the first four games of the 2020 season. Now, he’ll try to hook on elsewhere.
Hurst appeared in all 16 games for the Ravens in 2019 and made a pair of starts. In February, he went from on-the-bubble to a likely goner when the league handed him a one-month ban for performance-enhancing substances.
Hurst was set to count for a $5.25MM cap hit in 2020. Instead, the Ravens will shed his deal to save $2.75MM against $2.5MM in dead money.
The 28-year-old former UDFA has been with the Ravens since 2014. He appeared in 90 games over that span and started all of his games in 2017 and 2018.
Redskins Re-Sign LB Jon Bostic
As the free agency frenzy continues, the Redskins are re-upping one of their own. Washington is re-signing linebacker Jon Bostic on a two-year deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Yates reports the deal with have a base value of $5MM, and that Bostic will get $1.75MM guaranteed. The full details of the contract are base salaries of $960K and $1.69MM, a $500k first-day 2020 roster bonus, and $200K in per-game roster bonuses for 2020, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. There will then be $400K in 2021 per-game active roster bonuses, and $800K annually in playing-time incentives. Considering Bostic signed a one-year deal worth only $895K last offseason, this is a pretty nice pay bump for the Florida product. Bostic originally entered the league as a second-round pick of the Bears back in 2013.
He never lived up to his draft status in Chicago and although he started 17 games across his first two years, he was made a healthy scratch for the first few games of 2015. He was soon shipped off to the Patriots for a sixth-round pick, and barely played in New England. He missed the entire 2016 season with a foot injury, but then resurfaced with the Colts in 2017 and became a starter. He started 14 games with the Steelers in 2018, with middling results.
He landed with the Redskins last year and ended up starting all 16 games, playing reasonably well.The inside linebacker finished with 105 tackles, a sack, and an interception. He’s reached true journeyman status in recent years, but it sounds like he might’ve finally found a more permanent home in Washington.
Vikings, Britton Colquitt Agree To Deal
The Vikings will bring back Britton Colquitt. Minnesota will re-sign its punter, per Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter).
Colquitt agreed to a three-year, $9MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He will receive $5MM guaranteed. Colquitt, 34, was a free agent so he is signed through the 2022 season.
The Browns featured Colquitt as their punter for three seasons but cut him just before the 2019 regular season, and he landed in Minnesota. He averaged 45.2 yards per punt last season. The former Broncos punter will attempt to become a long-term Viking on his latest NFL contract.
49ers Trade DeForest Buckner To Colts
The 49ers have agreed to trade All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Colts, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In this stunner of a deal, the Colts will send their first-round pick (No. 13 overall) to San Francisco and sign Buckner to a newly-minted monster contract. 
Buckner’s new pact will pay him $21MM per year and make him the second-highest paid DT in league history. Now, only Aaron Donald ranks higher on the all-time list at the position.
The deal leaves the Niners with a major hole to fill on their world-class defensive front. The deal also gives them additional draft artillery. The 49ers now own two first-round picks (Nos. 13 and 31 overall), which they could quickly parlay into a larger stockpile. As of this writing, they have no picks in Rounds 2, 3, or 4. One of those first-rounders will now likely be traded for better depth in April, Schefter tweets.
Just hours ago, the 49ers struck a deal to keep defensive lineman Arik Armstead in the fold for the long-haul. His five-year deal, potentially worth $85MM, seemed to signal that the Niners would be keeping the band together. Instead, it was one half of a difficult choice the 49ers felt they had to make. With the trade, the Niners will be able to apply their limited cash to other areas and replenish with younger talent in the draft.
The former No. 7 overall pick was exceptional in 2019 and was awarded an All-Pro selection for his performance. The Oregon product tallied 62 tackles, nine for a loss, and 7.5 sacks last year as the 49ers rumbled their way to the Super Bowl. With 28.5 career sacks, he has a proven track record of getting to the quarterback and changing the complexion of any game.
The Colts, meanwhile, entered the offseason with adding pass-rush help high on their to-do list. They were particularly soft on the interior; so the upgrade that Buckner provides cannot be understated.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, things seem to be heating up with Philip Rivers. The Colts just might start free agency with the acquisition of two superstars to address their two biggest areas of need.
Panthers Release Colin Jones
The Panthers have released Colin Jones, according to Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). The safety and special teams captain requested his release as he did not want to be a part of the team’s rebuilding effort. They’ve granted that request.
Jones, a nine-year pro, has spent eight seasons with the Panthers. He’s hardly missed time over that stretch, including perfect attendance in each of the last three seasons.
At the age of 32 (33 in October), Jones is eager to win. Given his track record, he shouldn’t have a hard time finding work.