Buccaneers Pick Up Fifth-Year Option On OT Tristan Wirfs
While Tristan Wirfs‘ future position is in question, the Buccaneers are assuring the offensive lineman is on the roster through at least the 2024 campaign. According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports (on Twitter), the Buccaneers are picking up the OL’s fifth-year option. Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com was first with the news.
[RELATED: Buccaneers Discussing Tristan Wirfs Move To LT]
The 2020 first-round pick has established himself as one of the top right tackles in the NFL, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro selections. Wirfs has finished in the top-10 of Pro Football Focus’ guard rankings in each of his first three seasons, including a seventh-place finish in 2022. After not missing a game through his first two seasons in the NFL, Wirfs missed three games last year with an ankle injury (he was also inactive for the regular season finale).
Interestingly, the Buccaneers are considering changing Wirfs’ position and moving him to the left side of the line. Unlike some of the league’s other top RTs, Wirfs didn’t actually play much left tackle in college and ended up sticking on the right side in the NFL. While the move hasn’t been finalized, the Buccaneers seemingly started to prepare for the transition by moving on from long-time left tackle Donovan Smith. Wirfs is also reportedly open to moving to left tackle.
While today’s move locks Wirfs into an $18.2MM salary for the 2024 campaign, a potential change to the left side of the offensive line could have a significant impact on his future earnings. Lane Johnson and Jawaan Taylor are the only two right tackles in the NFL who top the $20MM AAV mark, while the league’s three top-paid left tackles (Laremy Tunsil, Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari) earn at least $23MM per year. Ryan Ramczyk has the highest total contract among RTs at $96MM, and his contract contains language that would bump his pay if he moved to left tackle and excelled.
NFL Suspends Lions WR Jameson Williams For Gambling; Four Others Banned
A year after Calvin Ridley drew an indefinite suspension for gambling, the NFL will ban another prominent wide receiver. Jameson Williams received a suspension for violating the NFL’s betting policy, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms (Twitter link).
The NFL also suspended Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus for gambling. Williams will be sidelined six games, according to the Lions. The Lions have since waived Cephus and released safety C.J. Moore, whom the league also hit with a suspension. The NFL also suspended Lions wideout Stanley Berryhill and Commanders edge rusher Shaka Toney, Rapoport reports.
Cephus and Moore received indefinite suspensions, which will cover at least the 2023 season. A former fifth-round Lions pick, Cephus had been with the team since 2020. Moore resided as a core Lions special-teamer over the past four seasons.
Williams and Berryhill remain with the Lions. Berryhill joined the 2022 first-round pick in drawing a six-game ban. Toney, a 2021 seventh-round Washington draftee, received an indefinite suspension. Toney remains with the Commanders.
“As a result of an NFL investigation, it came to our attention that a few of our players had violated the league’s gambling policy,” Lions GM Brad Holmes said. “These players exhibited decision-making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules. We have made the decision to part ways with Quintez and C.J. immediately. We are disappointed by the decision-making demonstrated by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”
This obviously represents a bad look for the two franchises and the NFL, coming not long after the league reinstated Ridley from his year-long suspension. The league’s policy permits players to bet on sports — just not NFL games — but prevents player bets while in team facilities. The NFL did not find the four Lions or Toney used inside information, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), but Friday’s news still stands to alter the Lions’ plans at wide receiver. Williams and Berryhill made mobile bets on non-NFL sporting events while in the Lions’ facility, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com adds.
The Lions traded up 20 spots to draft Williams 12th overall last year, doing so despite the Alabama-developed speedster suffering a torn ACL in the previous national championship game. Williams missed 11 games last season and caught just one pass — a 41-yard touchdown — upon returning; the Lions used their rehabbing receiver sparingly. But Williams was set to be a key component of the Lions’ 2023 offense. Those plans are on hold. Williams and Berryhill will be permitted to participate in offseason workouts, training camp and preseason games, per NFL rules, but the receivers will then be shut down until Week 7.
Additionally, the Lions fired several staffers last month for violating the gambling policy, Woodyard reports. The Lions first learned of the NFL’s investigation in March. The staffers’ dismissals coupled with the four player suspensions point to a widespread problem — regarding rule awareness at the very least — among the Lions here. Williams’ agency indicates (via Rapoport) the second-year wideout accepts responsibility for his infraction but notes the penalty stems from an otherwise-legal bet — just one that took place on team property. Players are also prohibited from making bets on team planes or in hotels on the road.
For decades, the NFL featured a short list of players banned for gambling policy violations. That number has grown substantially over the past four years. Friday’s news runs the number of NFL players suspended for gambling to seven since 2019, following Ridley and defensive back Josh Shaw. Ridley is on track to return to action as a Jaguar; Shaw never played again after his ban.
A former UDFA, Berryhill played four games for the Lions last season. Toney served as a backup pass rusher in 16 with the Commanders in 2022. He did not record a sack last season but registered 1.5 as a rookie in 2021. Toney’s future with the NFC East team should certainly be considered in doubt. Should Toney be back with the Commanders in 2024, two years will still remain on his rookie contract. This suspension will lead to the deal tolling.
As for the Lions, their receiver situation suddenly looks quite different. Williams was set to join Amon-Ra St. Brown and the recently reacquired Marvin Jones as the team’s top receivers. Josh Reynolds also remains under contract. The Lions signed Jones on March 29; it is fair to wonder if the NFL’s investigation into Williams and Cephus played a part in that move. Of course, the Lions re-signed Moore on March 18; the organization clearly learned of this investigation after that date. Cephus joined Berryhill in only playing in four games last season, but the three-year veteran represented depth for a position group that lost DJ Chark this offseason.
Falcons Release CB Casey Hayward
Casey Hayward saw an injury stop his first Falcons season after six games. The team will cut ties with the veteran cornerback, announcing the release Friday afternoon. The release comes with a failed physical designation, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.
Atlanta will pick up $5MM in cap space by releasing Hayward, who has 11 NFL seasons on his resume. This cut comes days after the Falcons agreed on a trade for former Lions No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah. The team also signed Mike Hughes in free agency. As the Falcons transition to DC Ryan Nielsen, their secondary will re-emerge a bit younger.
As the Falcons struggled to pressure quarterbacks, their secondary did not fare well last season. Hayward’s injury left a host of lower-end investments stationed alongside AJ Terrell at corner, and the Falcons ranked 25th in pass defense. Terrell remains Atlanta’s secondary anchor, but he will be joined by a host of new cover men — including safety Jessie Bates — next season. Darren Hall, a 2021 fourth-round pick who started nine games last season, also remains under contract.
Hayward, 33, suffered a shoulder injury and underwent in-season surgery that ended up shutting him down. The Falcons gave the accomplished corner a two-year, $11MM deal to come over from the Raiders, but they are now the second team in three offseasons to cut the former Packers draftee. The Chargers ended Hayward’s successful tenure after five seasons in 2021.
The Raiders received solid production from Hayward in 2021; Pro Football Focus graded the former Pro Bowler as a top-15 corner. Gus Bradley‘s Raiders hire helped lead Hayward to Vegas, after he had spent four seasons under Bradley in Los Angeles. The Chargers made Hayward one of their better free agent signings in team history back in 2016, prying him from Green Bay on a midlevel accord. Hayward made the next two Pro Bowls, the first after intercepting an NFL-most seven passes, and earned a three-year, $33.25MM Bolts extension. Hayward started 75 games for the Chargers from 2016-20.
While the Colts traded a soon-to-be 33-year-old Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys, opening a secondary job under Bradley, teams do not show much eagerness to add mid-30-something corners. Only Hayward, ex-Chargers teammate Chris Harris, Jackrabbit Jenkins and Josh Norman played at age 33 or older last season. Of that quartet, Hayward was the only one on a roster in Week 1. As of Friday, every corner on an NFL roster was born in either the 1990s or 2000s.
Cowboys Pick Up CeeDee Lamb’s Fifth-Year Option, Eyeing Extension
As the deadline for teams to pick up fifth-year options for 2020 first-round picks looms in less than two weeks (May 3), the Cowboys will extend CeeDee Lamb‘s contract through 2024. The team made the expected decision to exercise Lamb’s option.
We heard early last month the Cowboys were heading in this direction, and it will cost the Cowboys $17.99MM. Lamb is tied to a $2.5MM base salary this year and a $4.5MM cap number. Should Lamb play on the fifth-year option in 2024, the Cowboys will have a much higher cap hit on their payroll.
Although Lamb, 24, has two Pro Bowls on his resume, the first of those — in 2021 — came as an alternate. Regarding the four-tiered fifth-year option structure, Lamb being voted to the 2022 Pro Bowl Games as an original invitee places him on the second tier. Players voted to the Pro Bowl twice in their first three years comprise the top tier of the option structure, which came to be as part of the 2020 CBA.
The Cowboys have done well to identify first-round talent over the past several years. Lamb earning a Pro Bowl invite during his first three seasons follows the likes of Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Ezekiel Elliott, Leighton Vander Esch and Micah Parsons. The Cowboys gave Smith, Frederick, Martin and Elliott extensions — which reduced their cap hits before their fifth-year option seasons — and the team wants to extend Lamb as well. The Cowboys will aim to extend their top wideout at some point in 2023, Todd Archer of ESPN.com adds.
Despite rostering Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup at the time they chose Lamb 17th overall, the Cowboys going with a best-player-available strategy paid off. Gallup surpassed 1,100 receiving yards in 2019, and Cooper had just signed a five-year deal worth $100MM. But the Cowboys viewed Lamb, who went off the board after Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy, as too talented to pass up. The Oklahoma product has proved the team correct. His 260 receptions through three seasons are the most in team history.
The Cowboys carried the Cooper-Lamb-Gallup trio for two seasons but dismantled it by trading Cooper to the Browns last year. Lamb became the team’s aerial centerpiece in 2022, and his 1,359-yard year make it fairly easy to predict both the option will be exercised and extension talks will commence. Lamb, who led the 2021 Cowboys in receiving with 1,102 yards, has put himself in position for a lucrative extension.
Dallas has since traded for Brandin Cooks, whom the team pursued last year. But with the Texans eating some of Cooks’ salary, the oft-traded wideout will not check in as a No. 1-level wide receiver on the Cowboys’ payroll. Cooks will count $6MM against Dallas’ cap in 2023 and stands to count $10MM against the 2024 cap. Should the Cowboys finalize a Lamb extension, it will cost more — on a per-year basis, at least — than Cooper’s pact did.
If the Cowboys cannot come to an extension agreement with Lamb this year, they now will have the 2024 offseason to do so as well. This also keeps the door open for a potential Trevon Diggs franchise tag next year. The Cowboys want to extend the young cornerback, but with Diggs being a former second-round pick, no option exists in his contract. The Alabama alum is going into a walk year. The Cowboys having used their franchise tag in each of the past six years certainly points to a Diggs tag being a reasonable scenario.
Staff Notes: Eagles, Arians, Evero, Panthers
The Eagles officially announced their coaching updates heading into the 2023 NFL season on Twitter today, revealing some updates to their completely made-over staff that we were previously unaware of.
On the offensive side of the ball, pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo received a promotion, adding the moniker of associate head coach to his title. Also, beneath the head coach, the team has hired Tyler Yelk to serve as assistant to the head coach.
On the defensive side of the ball, a couple of others received promotions. Formerly the assistant defensive backs coach, D.K. McDonald has taken over the position room as the new defensive backs coach. Filling McDonald’s previous role of assistant defensive backs coach will be Taver Johnson, who has experience in the NFL but most recently served as defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach at Eastern Michigan. Tyler Scudder has become the team’s assistant linebackers coach after serving as a defensive assistant previously. Lastly, Philadelphia has hired Mike Diangelo in the role of defensive quality control.
Here are a few more updates in the coaching ranks of the NFL:
- The Buccaneers made an addition to their staff this week, as well, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. Tampa Bay brought Sarah Evans into the coaches office to serve in the role of senior manager of coaching operations. She’s been with the team since 2020 in roles concerning player relations and community efforts.
- In another update from Tampa Bay, former head coach Bruce Arians will reportedly be taking another step back in 2023, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Last year, he stepped down from head coach to senior advisor to the general manager. This year, he remains in that role, and has reportedly still been helpful leading up the draft but hasn’t been nearly as involved as he was last year.
- Many have drooled over the elite names joining the Panthers‘ coaching staff this offseason, lauding owner David Tepper on his financial commitment to the staff. Thanks to Joe Person of The Athletic, we have some evidence of that. New defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will reportedly move into the top ten highest-paid defensive coordinators in the NFL with a three-year contract worth about $9.3MM.
- In the Carolina front office, the Panthers’ vice president of football operations, Steven Drummond, has resigned after over 17 years with the organization, according to Person.
Bills Extend K Tyler Bass
The Bills will avoid playing kicker Tyler Bass on a contract year in 2024 after reportedly reaching an agreement on a four-year extension worth up to $21MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Bass was three years into his rookie contract after getting drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. 
Bass took over for Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo after Koo graduated from Georgia Southern to the NFL in 2017. After making 54 of 68 field goal attempts and converting 108 of 109 extra point attempts in three years, Bass was selected by the Bills in 2020 to compete with incumbent kicker Stephen Hauschka, who had missed six field goals in each of the previous two seasons and two extra points in 2019. Bass beat out the veteran for kicking duties in training camp.
Since taking over the kicking job for the Bills, Bass has converted 85.6-percent of his field goals attempts, making 83 out of 97 tries. He’s shown he has the big-leg ability that’s required to get paid as a kicker in the NFL these days. He’s also only missed four extra point attempts for a high-powered offense that has forced him to attempt 160.
If the $21MM reported by Rapoport is the face value of the contract, then Bass’s new deal poses him as the fourth-highest paid kicker in the NFL (per year), just under Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, Colts kicker Matt Gay, and Seahawks kicker Jason Myers. The “up to” included in the tweet implies that incentives may be involved, which may rank him slightly lower, but the reported $12.3MM guaranteed is the second-highest guaranteed amount for a current kicker, trailing only Tucker.
It’s a good deal for both sides as Bass gets his payday and the Bills lockdown a reliable, young kicker through the 2027 season. It’s rare to find dependability in a kicker, and the Bills have paid up in order to secure theirs for years to come.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/20/23
Today’s only minor move:
New York Jets
- Signed RFA tender: DE Bryce Huff
Initially an undrafted pass rusher out of Memphis, Huff will have another year in New York to try and establish a role on the Jets defense. Huff made his presence known after making the 53-man roster as a rookie in 2020 and working himself into the rotation at defensive end. He continued to work hard, earning six starts to open 2021 before a back injury landed him on the inactive list for seven weeks. Since the injury, Huff’s role has been scaled back a bit, but he continues to produce, racking up 3.5 sacks in limited time last year. He’ll be back for Gang Green in 2023 to continue to contribute on defense and special teams.
Chiefs Sign QB Blaine Gabbert
APRIL 20: The Chiefs will bring in Gabbert for the league minimum. The 13th-year veteran agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.2MM, Greg Auman of Fox Sports tweets. Kansas City gave Gabbert a $153K bonus. He earned $2.25MM with the Buccaneers last season.
APRIL 18: After 12 seasons bouncing around the league, Blaine Gabbert plans to return to Missouri. The Chiefs are signing the veteran quarterback to be Patrick Mahomes‘ backup, Pat McAfee reports (video link).
Gabbert spent the past three seasons as Tom Brady‘s backup in Tampa, but with the Buccaneers bringing in Baker Mayfield for a competition with Kyle Trask, the team moved in a different direction. The Chiefs had a QB2 opening, with Chad Henne retiring after Super Bowl LVII. This is a one-year deal, per the Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope (on Twitter).
While Gabbert has played for five NFL teams, he established himself as a top prospect at Mizzou. Chase Daniel‘s successor at the then-Big 12 program, Gabbert has joined Daniel in enjoying a lengthy NFL career. He will be positioned to spend his age-34 season in Kansas City.
Bruce Arians brought Gabbert to both Arizona and Tampa, signing the former first-round pick to be Carson Palmer‘s backup in 2017 and bringing him in as Jameis Winston‘s understudy two years later. Gabbert never started a game for the Bucs, with Winston staying healthy in his 2019 contract year and Brady’s durability run continuing through his final season.
Gabbert has started 48 career games; his experience stands to be important for a Chiefs team that has seen Mahomes’ backups become necessary. Henne filled in for Mahomes during a second-quarter stretch against the Jaguars in the divisional round; that marked the second playoff relief appearance Henne made as a Chief. Mahomes suffered a concussion during the Chiefs’ 2020 divisional-round game against the Browns. Matt Moore started two games in place of Mahomes in 2019 as well. The Chiefs received quality replacement work from Moore and Henne. Moore helped the Chiefs to a win over the playoff-bound Vikings in 2019, helping the eventual Super Bowl champions secure a playoff bye, while Henne aided Kansas City in holding off Cleveland in the Round 2 matchup a year later.
After starting two seasons as Missouri’s starter, Gabbert became the 10th overall pick in 2011. The Jaguars, however, quickly soured on their investment and benched him in 2012. Henne replaced Gabbert in Jacksonville, and the team traded its former top pick to the 49ers in 2014. Gabbert has since enjoyed moments as a starter — leading the Cardinals to two wins over playoff-bound opposition in 2017 and, as a Titan, starting a win over the Deshaun Watson-led Texans in 2018 — but has not been a starter since Colin Kaepernick reacquired his job in 2016.
The Bucs gave Gabbert four one-year deals, allowing for Trask to develop under the radar. The Chiefs have no need for any developmental QB, with Mahomes going into his age-28 season. But Gabbert is in a similar place compared to Henne when he joined the Chiefs ahead of his age-34 season.
Cowboys’ Terence Steele Signs RFA Tender
The Cowboys have Terence Steele back in the fold. More than a month after Steele received a second-round restricted free agent tender, ESPN.com’s Field Yates notes the fourth-year tackle signed it to lock in that second-tier RFA price (Twitter link).
Steele will be tied to a $4.3MM salary as a result of this signing. While Steele has a ways to go before completing rehab from ACL surgery, he is again under contract with the Cowboys. A player not signing his RFA tender would allow teams to rescind the tender and pay the player 120% of his 2022 salary. Steele having made $895K last year made this an easy decision.
This will be an interesting year for Steele. The Cowboys reached an agreement to bring back Tyron Smith on a restructured deal, keeping the All-Pro tackle on the NFL’s longest-running contract. They are planning to use the All-Decade left tackle on the right side, where he finished last season. Steele’s injury led to Smith moving to right tackle, a transition that kept first-round pick Tyler Smith at left tackle. This leaves Steele without a surefire starting spot in 2023.
Dallas is planning to give Steele, 25, a look at guard once he returns, though it will be a while before he receives clearance. He suffered the ACL tear in mid-December, though the Cowboys have said the former UDFA is ahead of schedule on his rehab journey.
While the Cowboys will look at Steele as a guard, the 40-game starter is set to be — assuming both Smiths enter the season healthy — the team’s swing tackle. This would be a significant downgrade for Steele, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2024. The Cowboys lost left guard Connor McGovern in free agency, potentially creating a best-five scenario in which Steele replaces him. But the Texas Tech product has only played tackle as a pro or in college, when he was a four-year Red Raiders starter at either right or left tackle. Pro Football Focus graded Steele as a top-10 run blocker among tackles last season.
PFF graded Steele 23rd overall among tackles in 2022, marking growth from his 2020 and ’21 seasons. The Cowboys turned to Steele to replace La’el Collins in 2020, when he missed the full season due to injury, and in 2021 during the since-departed blocker’s drug suspension. Tyron Smith‘s extensive injury past does swing open a door for Steele to regain his right-side gig, but the younger lineman enters his walk year in an unusual place.
Buccaneers Sign OL Matt Feiler
APRIL 20: After the Bolts passed on the final season of Feiler’s three-year contract, the Bucs added the veteran O-lineman at a low rate. Feiler will be tied to a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, Greg Auman of Fox Sports tweets. Incentives can bump the value to $3.25MM, and Auman notes the Bucs added four void years for cap purposes. That continues a recent Tampa Bay trend.
APRIL 13: The Chargers made Matt Feiler a cap casualty early in free agency. A month later, the veteran offensive lineman found a new team. The Buccaneers and Feiler agreed to terms Thursday, Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager reports (on Twitter).
Feiler will join the Bucs on a one-year deal. The former Steelers guard and tackle spent the past two seasons with the Chargers; he has been a regular starter for the past five seasons.
This contract will certainly be worth far less than Feiler’s Bolts deal, a three-year pact worth $21MM, but the Bucs are in need at guard after trading Shaq Mason to the Texans last month. Tampa Bay, which also released longtime left tackle Donovan Smith, struggled up front last season. Injuries affected the team during Tom Brady‘s finale. Feiler, who is going into his age-31 season, should have an opportunity to fill in at one of Tampa Bay’s guard spots.
Feiler started 33 of a possible 34 regular-season games during his two-season Chargers run, providing some stability for an offensive front that encountered injury issues at other spots. The Bolts saved more than $6MM by releasing Feiler. The Bucs will swoop in and provide another chance for the former UDFA. Pro Football Focus graded Feiler just outside the top 60 at guard last season but viewed the experienced blocker as far better in 2021, slotting him 12th overall at the position in his Chargers debut.
The Bucs re-signed Aaron Stinnie, a former swingman who filled in for an injured Alex Cappa in the 2020 playoffs, but the veteran guard missed all of last season with an ACL tear. The team still rosters swingman Robert Hainsey, who saw Ryan Jensen‘s MCL and PCL tears move him into a starting role, and Nick Leverett. Luke Goedeke, a 2022 second-round pick, is going into his second NFL season. But the team’s Shaq Mason trade removed the top guard from the equation. The Bucs traded for Mason in the wake of Ali Marpet‘s retirement and Cappa’s free agency defection to Cincinnati, but he will reunite with ex-Patriots exec Nick Caserio in Houston. A constant on an O-line constantly in flux, Mason started all 18 Bucs games last season.
The Steelers used Feiler at both tackle and guard, but he has settled in as an interior blocker in recent years. The Bucs have a need at left tackle — unless Tristan Wirfs moves over to fill it — but Feiler makes more sense as inside help. Feiler started 39 games for the Steelers from 2018-20, parlaying that run into the Chargers deal. He will attempt to provide another team with guard stability soon.