Patriots Pick Up Jason McCourty’s Option
The Patriots have officially exercised Jason McCourty‘s option for the 2020 season, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The cornerback will earn nearly $4MM as a result and the move may help the Patriots retain his twin brother Devin McCourty. 
The twins, 33 in August, previously said that they plan to continue playing in the NFL. However, Devin is slated to reach free agency in a couple of weeks, where he could fetch some big money offers. The Patriots want to keep him, but they’re also not inclined to pay open market money to their own FAs.
Last year, Jason appeared in 12 games (ten starts) and registered 39 tackles and one interception. His performance earned him a 74.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking him 17th among all qualified cornerbacks. Despite his advanced age, that makes his 2020 salary a tremendous value for the Pats. Meanwhile, Bill Belichick & Co. are hoping that this leads to a new deal with Devin, who has been a mainstay in their secondary at multiple spots since 2010.
Devin, for his part, has voiced concern about quarterback Tom Brady potentially leaving the team. But regardless of where Brady and the standout safety wind up, the Patriots will hold the rights to Jason.
Giants Re-Sign FB Eli Penny
Eli Penny is sticking with the Giants. The organization agreed to a two-year deal with the fullback, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter). The 26-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent.
Penny, the older brother of Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny, was an undrafted free agent out of Idaho in 2016. After serving as a running back in college, he spent the first two-plus seasons of his career as a fullback with the Cardinals. He got into 16 games with Arizona in 2017, compiling 124 rushing yards and two scores on 31 attempts. He also added two receptions and 12 special teams tackles.
He joined the Giants during the 2018 campaign, and he’s spent the past season-plus with the organization. That includes a 2019 campaign where he appeared in 16 games and contributed 39 rushing yards.
Penny will once again be serving as the lead blocker for Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman in 2020.
Packers To Cut Jimmy Graham
The Packers will release Jimmy Graham on Thursday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The release will be formally processed on Thursday, sending the tight end into free agency immediately.
This has been the expected move for some time. Despite Graham’s many career accomplishments, the Packers had little reason to keep him and his $11.6MM cap hit. By dropping Graham, the Packers will save $6MM against $3.6MM in dead money.
Graham was one of the league’s most dominant tight ends for a long stretch. In his first eight seasons – spent with the Saints and Seahawks – Graham earned five Pro Bowl nominations. In 2013, one of his seasons ever, Graham was also named a First-Team All-Pro after notching 86 catches for 1,215 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns.
After that, he inked a three-year, $30MM deal with the Packers, but he couldn’t match his previous production. In 2018, he finished out with a 5/636/2 line. Last year, he had just 38 catches for 447 yards and three TDs. It was his lowest output since his rookie season back in 2010, and it was a reminder that Father Time catches up with everyone – even the game’s greats.
While Graham won’t have an issue finding another gig, he’ll be joining a relatively deep free agent class that’s led by Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry. It’s worth noting that fellow veteran Greg Olsen got $5.5MM guaranteed from the Seahawks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LS Jacob Bobenmoyer
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: WR DeAndre Carter
Jets Release S Blake Countess
The Jets are moving on from Blake Countess. New York has released the reserve safety, they announced in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
Originally drafted by the Eagles in the sixth-round back in 2016, he was waived at final cuts during his rookie season. He latched on with the Rams, and was soon promoted to the active roster after initially signing with the practice squad. He slowly carved out a role for himself, and became an important player during the Rams’ breakout 2017 season. He played over 15 percent of the defensive snaps that year in a rotational role, notching 25 tackles and an interception.
He also was one of their most utilized players on special teams. In 2018 he appeared in all 16 games for the Rams, starting one, and again being a core special-teamer. Los Angeles tendered him a contract as a restricted free agent, but ended up releasing him later last offseason after he refused to take a pay cut from his projected $2MM salary. He caught on with the Jets in October, and appeared in six games for them. Only 26, the Auburn product should be able to latch on elsewhere and attempt to crack a different team’s 53.
Dolphins To Release S Reshad Jones
The Dolphins are releasing safety Reshad Jones, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link). The move will become official when the new league year opens on March 18.
Miami’s decision is not exactly surprising. Jones, 32, made the Pro Bowl in 2017, but he has dealt with a number of injuries over the past few seasons, and he suited up for just four games in 2019. The Dolphins plan to deploy Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe at the safety positions in 2020, and the three-year, $18MM extension that Rowe signed with the team in December made a Jones return a questionable proposition at best.
While a reworked contract for Jones was reportedly under consideration, and though the 2010 fifth-rounder expressed back in September that he would like to remain with Miami for the long haul, it always seemed more likely that the Dolphins would cut bait. The team was in trade talks with Pittsburgh at the start of the 2019 campaign, but after an injury-marred season, no one was going to trade for Jones and his $11.5MM salary this offseason.
Still, he should garner plenty of interest on the open market. The Cowboys have been in need of a high-caliber safety for a few years now, and the Browns and Raiders could also be fits. Jones is unlikely to make anywhere close to the $11.5MM he would have earned with Miami, though he may be able to land a fairly lucrative multi-year pact. The Dolphins, meanwhile, will incur a big dead money charge by releasing Jones but will still clear about $5.3MM from their books, leaving the team with close to $100MM of cap space (if a new CBA is agreed to, the team could designate Jones as a post-June 1 cut and spread the dead cap hit over the next two seasons).
Jones was the longest-tenured Dolphin, and he leaves the team with 776 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, 55 passes defensed, 21 interceptions, and six total touchdowns in 128 games (113 starts).
Titans Extend OLB Reggie Gilbert
After trading for Reggie Gilbert last year, the Titans used him as a spot starter and a rotational presence. They reached an agreement to extend Gilbert for the 2020 season on Tuesday.
Gilbert was set to be an exclusive-rights free agent, so this will bypass that process. Tennessee traded a seventh-rounder to Green Bay for Gilbert in late August of last year.
The former UDFA out of Arizona finished with 22 tackles and a sack in his Titans debut season. Gilbert made five starts for a Tennessee team that lost Cameron Wake early in the season and played 27% of the Titans’ defensive snaps.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old edge defender will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2021.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: WR/KR JoJo Natson
Raiders’ Gabe Jackson Drawing Trade Interest
The Raiders have discussed potential trades involving guard Gabe Jackson, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). As it stands, he’s due a non-guaranteed salary of $9.6MM in 2020. Other teams are intrigued by the possibility of adding the veteran, though they may seek to work out a revised deal with him. 
The Raiders selected Jackson in the third round of the 2014 draft and quickly thrust him into the starting lineup. He’s been a first-string player throughout his career, though injuries have cost him some time, including a 2019 knee malady that limited him to just eleven contests.
Jackson has been viewed as a release candidate this season due to his health and salary, so it’s not a shock to hear that he has been discussed in trade talks. Jackson might not fetch a huge haul for Jon Gruden & Co., but he could return some extra draft ammo for April.
Last year, the Raiders turned to Richie Incognito after Jackson’s injury and Denzelle Good was promoted to the starting lineup to fill the remaining guard gap. Good recently re-upped with the Raiders on a one-year, $2.3MM deal with $1.7MM guaranteed.
Bills Pick Up Spencer Long’s Option
The Bills have exercised their option on offensive lineman Spencer Long, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. In related news, the club has also re-signed cornerback Levi Wallace and wide receiver Robert Foster; both players were due to be exclusive rights free agents this offseason. 
Long spent three years as the Redskins’ primary man in the middle before signing a a four-year, $27.5MM free agent deal with the Jets in 2018. That deal wound up lasting just one season when the Jets dropped him in February 2019. Days after he hit the market as a street free agent, the Bills scooped him up on a three-year, $13MM pact to keep him in the AFC East.
With the Bills, Long appeared in 14 games as a reserve. In theory, Long could wind up as a first-stringer in 2020 if the club does not retain left guard Quinton Spain, who is ticketed for free agency in March.
Spain, 28, should be in line for a sizable pay bump – whether it’s with the Bills or another club – given the dearth of quality linemen available. The Bills were happy with his work, even though the advanced metrics weren’t high on his performance in 2019.