Raiders To Trade Kelechi Osemele To Jets
The Raiders have reached an agreement to trade guard Kelechi Osemele to the Jets, according to Adam Schefter and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oakland will receive a 2019 fifth-round pick (No. 140), while New York will acquire Osemele and a 2019 sixth-round pick (No. 196), tweets Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune.
Oakland, of course, acquired superstar wideout Antonio Brown from the Steelers late last night, just months after dealing away their own stars in edge rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper. Now, the club is dealing away arguably its best offensive lineman, so it’s unclear if the Raiders view themselves as contenders or are instead continuing with their rebuild.
Osemele, 29, inked a five-year, $58.5MM deal with Oakland in 2016 after spending the first four years of his career in Baltimore. After missing only one game during his first two years in the Bay Area, Osemele was sidelined by a knee injury for five contests in 2018. It’s fair to wonder if that knee issue bothered Osemele all season, as he finished with the worst Pro Football Focus grade of his career last season.
The Raiders will clear $10.5MM in both cash and cap off their books by moving Osemele, while the Jets will take on the same amount. Both clubs will remain among the top-seven teams in available cap space heading into the new league year on Wednesday. Osemele is under contract through the 2020 season, and will carry an $11.7MM cap charge next year.
The Jets’ fielded one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines last season, and had pursued Osemele when he was a free agent in 2016, so the marriage makes sense on paper. In 2019, New York ranked dead last in adjusted line yards, Football Outsiders’ offensive line metric, and also ranked 32nd in adjusted line yards when running behind the center/guard. James Carpenter, the Jets’ left guard starter entering last season, missed the second half of the year with injury and is now a free agent, leaving a gap that Osemele will now fill.
Browns Release TE Darren Fells
The Browns have released tight end Darren Fells after failing to trade him, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). The Jets were mentioned as a possible suitor for Fells after reports emerged Saturday that he was on the trade block, but no deal came to fruition.
Fells, 33 next month, signed a three-year, $12MM deal with Cleveland just last offseason. He’d been scheduled to earn a base salary of $2.65MM in 2019, and would have carried a cap charge of $3.7MM. Instead, the Browns will now take on a dead money hit of $1.4MM by cutting Fells.
In his lone season in Cleveland, Fells appeared in all 16 games, but played on just 38.5% of the Browns’ offensive snaps and managed only 11 receptions. While he wasn’t given many opportunities behind starting tight end David Njoku, Fells was effective when targeted. Among tight ends with fewer than 25 catches, Fells finished third in Football Outsiders’ DVOA, meaning he was productive on a per-play basis.
While Fells has historically been praised as a blocking tight end, 2018 wasn’t a banner year for him in that regard, at least according to Pro Football Focus. PFF assigned Fells a 72.9 pass-blocking grade, which put him near the middle of the pack among his position group, but a 55.9 grade in the run game, a mark which ranked near the bottom of the league.
Lions To Release Nevin Lawson
The Lions are releasing cornerback Nevin Lawson, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The move saves the Lions $4.675MM against the cap and leaves the club with just $1.125MM in dead money. 2019 would have been the final year of the two-year, $9.2MM pact that Lawson inked last March.
Although ESPN’s Josina Anderson appeared to confirm the news as soon as RapSheet reported it (via Twitter), Detroit beat writers were a little less certain. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press said that the Lions have not yet notified Lawson that he is being cut, and that the club is “working through some things” with the sixth-year pro (Twitter links). It could be that the Lions were asking Lawson to accept a pay cut or perhaps delay the $1.25MM roster bonus that he was due later this week.
Likewise, Justin Rogers of the Detroit News tweeted that he has not received any confirmation of the Lawson release. But Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, says that the release is a done deal.
Given the cap savings and Lawson’s impact on the team’s defense, the decision is not surprising. Lawson started 14 games for the Lions last year, 15 games in 2017, and all 16 in 2016, but he has yet to record an interception in his NFL career. He is a decent member of a DB rotation, but he is not a top-flight starter. Rothstein speculates that the Lions could use their cap space (up to about $45MM after the Lawson release) to pursue a high-profile free agent like Trey Flowers or Landon Collins.
Lawson will likely be scooped up in the second wave of free agency, and he may even return to Detroit at a reduced rate. The Lions selected the Utah State product in the fourth round of the 2014 draft.
Steelers To Trade Antonio Brown To Raiders
Hallelujah, the great storm is over. The Steelers have agreed to trade Antonio Brown to the Raiders in exchange for a third- and fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). The news has since been confirmed by other major outlets, but Brown himself was (fittingly) the first to break the story, having posted a Photoshopped picture of himself in a Raiders uniform and a picture of himself and Oakland QB Derek Carr at the Pro Bowl (via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area on Twitter).
RapSheet also tweets that Brown will get a new deal from the Raiders, which does not add any more time onto the three years he had remaining on his contract with the Steelers, but does make him the highest-paid receiver in the game from an AAV standpoint. Brown’s new pact with Oakland will pay him $50.125MM over the next three seasons, plus $4MM in incentives, for an AAV of $19.8MM. Plus, Brown gets $30.125MM in guarantees, and his contract with Pittsburgh had no guaranteed money left.
New Raiders GM Mike Mayock appears to have come out quite well in his first trade as the (figure)head of the Oakland front office, and the Steelers’ return has been universally panned. But as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observes (via Twitter), and as we have expected for some time, Brown’s erratic behavior and demand for a new contract torpedoed the Steelers’ bargaining position. Also, the fact that Pittsburgh was willing to accept such a low return suggests that the club was never going to bring Brown back and that it was more concerned about ridding itself of Brown’s antics, as Dulac tweets.
The Raiders played the long game, per Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). The Raiders have long coveted Brown but believed they were out of the running for him as of Wednesday. However, they did not get desperate and try to up their offer, and in the end they got their man for their price. And the fact that they did not have to add any years onto Brown’s deal to convince him to sign off on the trade makes it even more of a coup.
So the Raiders get a dynamic wideout to assist in their rebuild and their transition to Las Vegas in 2020, but what about the Steelers? The trade adds some legitimacy to the speculation that the team is trying to appease quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at all costs — perhaps to stop him from retiring — and that the relationship between Brown and Big Ben had become truly untenable. Of course, the club has an excellent track record of finding top-tier receiver talent all over the draft, and they now add a second third-round choice to their 2019 draft capital along with a fifth-rounder to replace the one they sent to Oakland last season to acquire Ryan Switzer.
However, the trade is devastating from a salary cap perspective. As ESPN’s Field Yates tweets, Brown will now count for more against the Steelers’ cap in 2019 ($21.12MM) than any other WR will count for his own team. It is a tough pill to swallow, but as with every transaction of this magnitude, the passage of time may ultimately change everyone’s perspective.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/19
Here are today’s minor moves:
New Orleans Saints
- Extended: S Chris Banjo
The Saints gave Banjo a three-year extension, which Ian Rapoport tweets is worth up to $9MM. However, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com hears the $9MM figure “might not be completely accurate” (Twitter link). Banjo doesn’t play much on defense, he played just 5% of the team’s defensive snaps on defense, but he’s a key contributor on special teams. Banjo was an undrafted free agent in 2013, and spent the first three-plus years of his career with the Packers. He’s been with the Saints since mid-2016.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/19
Today’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Colts: S Corey Moore
- Ravens: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Chiefs Sign RB Carlos Hyde
Carlos Hyde‘s Saturday visit to Kansas City will land him a deal. One of the Jaguars’ Friday cap casualties, the running back will sign with the three-time defending AFC West champions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Chiefs announced the move.
It’s a one-year deal for Hyde, who will be on his third AFC team in the past six months. The 28-year-old back’s contract is worth $2.8MM, Terez Paylor of Yahoo.com tweets.
Despite the Chiefs having accomplished far more than Hyde’s previous teams, he will have a better chance of earning a starting job in Kansas City.
The Browns traded Hyde last season to allow for Nick Chubb to commandeer their top backfield role, and the Jaguars have Leonard Fournette in tow. The Chiefs cut Kareem Hunt midway through last season, and previous third-stringer Damien Williams ended up as the No. 1-seeded team’s top running back in the playoffs.
Williams signed a two-year, $5.1MM extension and will play on a $1.7MM cap number in 2019. The Chiefs may well end up drafting another back, but a Williams-Hyde partnership may be the 2019 team’s primary tandem. Kansas City, of course, has plenty of defensive needs it may want to address in the draft. It appears the Justin Houston–Dee Ford pairing will break up, creating an immediate need that didn’t exist entering last year’s draft.
This does double as a fairly steep downgrade for Hyde, who signed a three-year, $15MM contract with the Browns last year. However, he may be a bargain for Chiefs. Hyde is relatively fresh for a running back entering his age-29 season.
Since being a 49ers second-round pick in 2014, he has only taken 827 handoffs. Injuries posed a problem earlier in Hyde’s career, but he was a 16-game San Francisco starter in 2017 and suited up for 14 contests last year. Hyde, however, averaged just 3.3 yards per carry with the Browns and Jags in 2018. His 2017 season featured a 3.9 yards-per-carry figure. Although Hyde was barely used as a receiver last season (10 catches, 33 yards), he totaled 59 receptions and 350 yards for the ’17 49ers, adding a potential auxiliary weapon to a Chiefs offense that likes to involve its backs as outlet options.
TE Dwayne Allen To Sign With Dolphins
Tight end Dwayne Allen is set to join another AFC East team. The veteran told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he’s going to sign with the Dolphins (Twitter link). It’s a two-year deal worth $7MM, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
The veteran has been busy since being released by the Patriots last week. The 29-year-old also met with the Ravens, Bills, and Lions. We learned earlier this week that Allen was set to meet with Miami.
The 2012 third-round pick spent the first six years of his career with the Colts before being dealt to the Patriots in 2017. After having compiled at least 350 receiving yards in three of his five healthy seasons, Allen didn’t play as much of a role in the offense during his two seasons in New England.
In 29 games (16 starts), Allen only hauled in 13 receptions for 113 yards and one score. While Allen has earned some recent praise for his blocking prowess, Pro Football Focus still ranked him 65th among 70 eligible tight ends in 2018.
Chargers To Release S Jahleel Addae
The Chargers are moving on from one of their longest-tenured players. ESPN’s Eric Williams reports (via Twitter) that the team is releasing safety Jahleel Addae.
Addae signed a four-year, $22.5MM deal with the organization back in 2017. The 29-year-old was set to earn $11MM over the next two seasons, but the organization had an opportunity to get out of the contract. The Chargers are apparently opting for that route, leaving the team with $1MM in dead cap.
The former undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan had spent his entire six-year career with the organization. He started all 16 games in each of the past two seasons, including a 2018 campaign where he compiled 75 tackles, one sack, three passed defended, and one interception. While Addae had previously earned high marks via Pro Football Focus, he was ranked 76th among 93 eligible safeties in 2018.
With Addae out of the picture, the team will now have a bit more money to throw at safety Adrian Phillips, who is set to hit free agency. The 26-year-old earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2018. This move could also provide a playing opportunity for former fourth-rounder Rayshawn Jenkins.
Ravens Expected To Tender DT Michael Pierce
The Ravens are expected to place a second-round tender on nose tackle Michael Pierce, reports Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (via Twitter). The 26-year-old will earn $3.095MM via the tender.
The move officially makes Pierce a restricted free agent, meaning he can field offers until April 19th. If he signs an offer sheet with another team, the Ravens will have the ability to match. If Baltimore doesn’t match, they’d receive a second-rounder.
While Pierce has shown some intriguing flashes through his first three years in the NFL, it’s unlikely a team would be willing to give up that kind of capital to secure his services. It’s most likely that the defensive tackle ultimately returns to Baltimore on the one-year tender.
The 2016 undrafted free agent appeared in all 16 games as a rookie, and that led to him earning a starting nod in 2017. Pierce only started two game in 2018, but he still finished the campaign with 32 tackles. Pro Football Focus has always been a particularly big fan of Pierce, and they ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders last season.