Buccaneers To Re-Sign Jason Pierre-Paul
Jason Pierre-Paul will be back for another tour of duty in Tampa. The Buccaneers and the veteran pass rusher agreed to terms on a two-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
While JPP’s status in Tampa became murky after his scary car accident, and the subsequent restructure of his deal that made him a 2020 free agent, the sides agreed on a two-year, $27MM pact. This comes hours after the Bucs made the expected move to keep Shaquil Barrett around via the franchise tag.
The Bucs traded for Pierre-Paul during the 2018 offseason and saw him deliver 12.5 sacks — his most since his dominant 2011 campaign — that season. Even after sustaining a severe neck injury in the 2019 car accident, JPP returned and registered 8.5 sacks in 10 games.
Although Pierre-Paul will be going into his 11th season, he just turned 31. Bruce Arians indicated earlier this offseason he wanted to retain Barrett, JPP and Ndamukong Suh. The Bucs are two-thirds of the way there. And they remain in the Tom Brady sweepstakes. Big day in Tampa.
Ravens Trade TE Hayden Hurst To Falcons
The Falcons’ tight ends room might be the busiest place in the NFL on an already wild day. After letting Austin Hooper walk and releasing Luke Stocker, the team is now making a splash trade. The Ravens have shipped tight end Hayden Hurst to Atlanta, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Baltimore is getting back an impressive haul, as they’re receiving second and fifth round picks in the 2020 draft while sending back a fourth-round selection to Atlanta. The Ravens drafted Hurst in the first-round in 2018, but he immediately took a backseat behind Mark Andrews, who Baltimore took in the third round of that same draft. Hurst missed the first handful of weeks of his rookie season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, and he said the injury nagged him the whole year.
He ended up catching only 13 passes for 163 yards that year. While he took a step forward this past season with 30 receptions for 349 yards and two touchdowns, he was still expendable as Andrews emerged into one of the top tight ends in the league. There was a report a couple of weeks ago that while teams were calling the Ravens weren’t necessarily inclined to trade the South Carolina product, so clearly they were blown away by the offer.
As for the Falcons, they’ve now got their guy to replace Hooper. A second-round pick is a hefty price to give up for a player who hasn’t topped 350 yards in two years, but Hurst has shown plenty of flashes and had the misfortune of getting stuck behind Andrews. Hurst is already 26 though thanks to a couple of years spent playing minor league baseball after high school, and he’s actually more than a year older than Hooper is.
Atlanta will definitely be questioned for the decision to let Hooper walk and then give up this pick for a less-proven and older player, but Hooper landed a massive deal they weren’t willing to match and they had to do something to address the position.
Dolphins To Sign Shaq Lawson
The Dolphins’ interest in Shaq Lawson looks like it will lead to a deal early on Day 1 of the tampering period. The former first-round edge defender is expected to sign with the Dolphins, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
A Bills 2016 draft choice, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks last season. He will become the fourth first-round pick currently on the Dolphins’ defensive line. It’s a three-year deal worth $30MM, Rapoport adds (via Twitter). The deal also includes $21MM fully guaranteed at signing and, through incentives, can reach as much as $36MM, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets.
Miami entered Monday with $80MM-plus in cap space — most in the league — and a roster needy at most areas. The Dolphins surprised the NFL-following world by winning five games last season but are still deficient in many areas, one being in the pass-rushing department. Miami featured one player — waiver claim Taco Charlton — record more than four sacks in 2019.
Lawson loomed as a Bills trade candidate for a while, but Buffalo held onto the Clemson product. He will join Christian Wilkins, also an ex-Clemson defensive lineman, Charlton and Charles Harris as first-round picks on Miami’s D-line.
Falcons Release TE Luke Stocker
The Falcons’ tight ends room is getting a major overhaul Monday. First Atlanta let Austin Hooper walk in free agency as he signed with the Browns, and now they’re letting go of another one.
The team is releasing veteran tight end Luke Stocker according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stocker signed with the team around this time last year, and ended up only lasting one season in Atlanta. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2011, he spent the first seven years of his career in Tampa. During that time he played under Dirk Koetter, the former Bucs head coach who is now the Falcons’ offensive coordinator, which is probably what brought him to Atlanta.
Stocker has always been more of a blocker than a receiver, and he has also spent time at fullback. The 31-year-old Tennessee product had only eight catches for 53 yards last year. He played a bigger role in the passing game the year before with the Titans, racking up 165 yards and two touchdowns. Overall he played about 37 percent of the offensive snaps for the Falcons last year in addition to contributing on special teams.
Raiders To Sign Nick Kwiatkoski
The Raiders have agreed to sign former Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Kwiatkoski has also personally confirmed the news, tweeting out a picture of the Raiders’ new stadium.
It’s a three-year deal for the free agent defender, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The longtime Bears backup/part-time starter will receive $21MM in this deal, with $13.5MM guaranteed, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Giants were also in the mix for the four-year veteran, per Garafolo (on Twitter).
Kwiatkoski will make $6.75MM in base salary this season, and Albert Breer of SI.com tweets the linebacker has a $3.4MM roster bonus that is essentially guaranteed at signing. He will receive that payment in five days.
The Bears watched Kwiatkoski progress into a legitimate contributor since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. However, after signing fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, the Bears decided to let Kwiatkoski walk via free agency. Jon Gruden, who has been eager to fortify his front seven, was happy to take him on.
Kwiatkoski, 27 in May, had perfect attendance for his last two seasons and started in half of his contests last year. In 2019, he logged 76 stops, three sacks, one interception, and four passes defensed.
Kwiatkoski, a well-respected run-stuffer, also stepped up his pass-rush pressure last year. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.8 grade in that category, showing that he’s trending towards even better things. The Broncos and Giants were among the clubs that were connected to him – at least, speculatively – before the deal with Las Vegas.
Steelers Cut Mark Barron, Anthony Chickillo
The Steelers have released linebackers Mark Barron and Anthony Chickillo, according to a team press release. In a related move, the club also cut wide receiver Johnny Holton.
For Barron, it’s an early end to the free agent deal he inked with the Steelers one year ago. With his two-year, $12MM deal terminated, he’ll look for work elsewhere. After coming over from the Rams, Barron registered 82 tackles, three sacks, and one fumble recovery in 15 games.
Chickillo, meanwhile, has mostly played as a reserve throughout his career in Pittsburgh. He has 65 total appearances to his credit with just nine starts. All in all, he’s logged 67 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three pass defenses, three forced fumbles, and lots of time on special teams.
Texans To Trade DeAndre Hopkins To Cardinals
Minutes after their David Johnson trade surfaced, the Texans and Cardinals will top that deal. The Texans have agreed to send All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Hopkins will be included in the Johnson trade, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The seven-year veteran now becomes the centerpiece of said trade. Not only are the Texans taking all of Johnson’s contract, but it appears they are dealing Hopkins without getting a first-round pick back.
Interestingly, this deal thus far does not include any first-round picks. The Texans will trade Hopkins and a fourth-round pick for Johnson, a 2020 second-rounder and a 2021 fourth-rounder, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter).
This marks one of the biggest skill-position trades in recent memory, and the Cardinals will now have a Hopkins-Larry Fitzgerald–Christian Kirk receiver trio. A rumor surfaced earlier Monday about Hopkins being available, and SI.com’s Albert Breer adds (on Twitter) that the dominant receiver came up in trade rumors in August and October. Bill O’Brien took over personnel duties last May.
Hopkins, who will turn 28 this summer, has been a first-team All-Pro in each of the past three seasons. He’s made four of the past five Pro Bowls. One of the top contested-catch players in modern NFL history, the former first-round pick will now be tasked with helping the Kyler Murray-centered Arizona offense take steps forward. Cardinals GM Steve Keim interestingly got off the Johnson contract and acquired Hopkins without having to give up a first-round pick. The Cardinals hold this year’s No. 8 overall pick. The second-rounder they are giving up is the No. 40 overall selection.
Hopkins signed a five-year, $81MM extension in 2017. Three seasons remain on that deal. While it is certainly possible the Cardinals will redo his contract, as the Raiders did upon acquiring Antonio Brown last March, Hopkins is set to make just $12.5MM in 2020 base salary.
This marks an unusual move for the Texans, who have used Hopkins as their offensive centerpiece since Andre Johnson vacated that role several years ago. Hopkins has five 1,100-yard seasons since 2014, the last year he and Johnson were on the same team, and has 54 career touchdowns. His 504 receptions, 6,590 yards and 46 TDs each rank second in the league over the past five years (h/t Field Yates of ESPN.com). Both Kenny Stills and Will Fuller are under contract for 2020, but neither is signed beyond next season.
The Texans have been active traders since O’Brien took over as de facto GM (and now actual GM). They dealt two first-round picks and a second for Laremy Tunsil and unloaded third-rounders for Duke Johnson and Gareon Conley. This Hopkins-Johnson deal will give the Texans a second-rounder back, but the team obviously is not as strong offensively after making the move.
49ers, Arik Armstead Agree To Deal
The 49ers are taking care of a major piece of offseason business. The defending NFC champions agreed to terms with Arik Armstead on a five-year extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
News emerged earlier on Monday the sides were closing in on a deal, and after the 49ers did not use their franchise tag on Armstead, they finalized an extension. Armstead will receive up to $85MM on this five-year contract, per Rapoport.
Many labeled Armstead as a bust early on, but he silenced critics with his performance in 2019. Pro Football Focus pegged the former first-rounder as the sixth-best edge defender out of 107 qualified players in the category. Meanwhile, Jadeveon Clowney ranked 20th, Shaquil Barrett ranked 25th, and Yannick Ngakoue ranked 36th. Barrett led the league with 19.5 sacks while Armstead recorded “just” ten sacks, but he had more quarterback hurries, which is perhaps a better indicator of sacks to come.
Some may say that Armstead is something of a one-hit wonder, dismissing his 2019 season as a well-timed burst before free agency. However, the talent has been there all along, and the Niners are confident that he’ll continue to build on that performance. It’s worth noting that Armstead has generated a hurry on over 9.2% of his pass-rush snaps over his career – none of the aforementioned players have topped 7.8%.
Along with Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, Armstead has helped to turn one of the Niners’ biggest weaknesses into the team’s greatest strength. With a new deal, SF will aim to keep that momentum going.
Cardinals Trade David Johnson To Texans
The Cardinals and Texans have agreed to a trade that will send David Johnson to Houston, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The deal, in effect, amounts to a salary dump for Arizona. The Texans will take on his entire salary, Schefter adds (on Twitter).
Exact terms of the exchange are not yet known, but the Texans probably didn’t give up much to facilitate the deal.
The Cardinals said that releasing Johnson was “not an option” this year. Due $13MM/year on his monster deal, and releasing him would have saddled the team with a $16.2MM dead money hit. Instead, they’ve escaped some of that obligation with the trade.
Johnson’s was once one of the league’s very best running backs. But, thanks to ankle and back injuries, he’s been a shell of his former self. Last year, the Cardinals limited his carries and pushed him further down the pecking order by trading for Kenyan Drake in the middle of the season. Drake, meanwhile, will remain tied to the club thanks to the transition tag.
Last year, Johnson missed time and averaged just 3.7 yards on 94 totes. His last big year came in 2016, when he earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods as he ran for 1,239 yards. Before that, he put his name on the map as a rookie by averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
This won’t be the only blockbuster move made by the Texans this week. Shockingly, we heard earlier today that the Texans could even entertain trade offers for DeAndre Hopkins.
Dolphins To Sign Ereck Flowers To $30MM Deal
The Dolphins have agreed to sign Ereck Flowers, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Once finalized, it’ll be a three-year deal worth $30MM with $19.5MM fully guaranteed.
Flowers, who floundered in his early years with the Giants, was not expected to find free agent riches at the outset of the offseason. However, the dearth of quality offensive line help around the league bolstered his market tremendously. Lately, we’ve heard rumors that Flowers could fetch $10MM/year on his next deal. That was indeed the case, and the Dolphins will be the team to pay out that contract.
Last year, Flowers earned $3.25MM with the Redskins. Playing at guard, Flowers started in all 16 games and surprised many with his performance. After the Redskins locked down Brandon Scherff and the Patriots took Joe Thuney off of the market with a surprise franchise tag, Flowers was looking better than ever to teams in need of interior help.
The deal brings the Miami native and former Hurricane back to his old stomping grounds. Meanwhile, the Dolphins get a talented lineman who – in theory – could offer support at multiple positions.