Raiders, DE Maxx Crosby Agree On Extension
Not long after reports of extension talks surfaced, Maxx Crosby will see a big raise. The Raiders locked down their Pro Bowl pass rusher Friday, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (on Twitter). The Raiders announced the extension agreement.
Crosby agreed to a four-year, $98.98MM extension; the deal includes $53MM guaranteed. This is a considerable development for a player who entered the NFL as a Day 3 pick from a mid-major program.
This contract bumps Crosby into the upper echelon of edge rushers. At nearly $25MM annually, the former fourth-round pick is now the league’s fourth-highest-paid defensive player. Crosby’s deal tops Aaron Donald‘s, with only T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa and Myles Garrett‘s contracts coming in ahead of his.
This is obviously a major commitment from the Raiders, who saw Crosby quickly usurp draft classmate Clelin Ferrell as their cornerstone defensive lineman. An Eastern Michigan product, Crosby is just 24 and already has 25 sacks on his resume. He played a big part of Las Vegas clinching a playoff berth in Week 18, dominating against the Chargers to cement the team’s first postseason appearance in five years.
Crosby’s extension agreement ties him to the Raiders through the 2026 season. The Raiders are transitioning to a new regime, with Patrick Graham set to take over the defense. Friday’s contract terms certainly illustrate the Dave Ziegler–Josh McDaniels duo’s faith in Crosby, acquired in Jon Gruden‘s second draft running the Raiders. The team still has Yannick Ngakoue under contract for one more season, while Ferrell and Carl Nassib are also signed through 2022.
Cowboys Cut Greg Zuerlein, Blake Jarwin
The Cowboys continue to make cost-cutting moves. They are saying goodbye to their kicker and one of their tight ends, releasing Greg Zuerlein and waiving Blake Jarwin with an injury designation. The team announced the moves.
One year remained on Zuerlein’s $7.5MM deal; this move will create just more than $2MM in cap space for the Cowboys. Jarwin is eligible for injury protection, but cutting him will add a bit to Dallas’ cap space as well. The Cowboys waived Jarwin with an injury designation.
Jarwin, who signed an extension to stay in Dallas in 2020, underwent a hip surgery that has his 2022 availability in question. The six-year veteran has missed 24 games since signing that four-year, $22MM deal. Jarwin tore an ACL in September 2020 and encountered this hip trouble last season. During that span, Dalton Schultz has taken over as the Cowboys’ primary tight end. The Cowboys franchise-tagged Schultz this week.
Zuerlein, 34, has managed to stick around in the NFL for 10 seasons, coming into the league from a Division II school and playing eight years with the Rams. He struggled in 2021, missing a career-high six extra points. While the strong-legged specialist will likely have another opportunity, he will need to find a third NFL team to continue his career.
Bears To Release NT Eddie Goldman
The Bears continue to dismantle their veteran front seven. Not long after cutting Danny Trevathan, Chicago is moving on from nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
This comes after the team made efforts to trade Goldman, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Two years remained on Goldman’s $10.5MM-per-year deal. The move will save the Bears just more than $6MM in cap space.
Goldman, 28, returned to the Bears after opting out of the 2020 season. He started 10 games, upping his total to 73 as a pro. Goldman was a part of each Vic Fangio Bears defense, starting all 16 games for the team’s No. 1-ranked unit in 2018, and retained his job after the acclaimed defensive coordinator’s exit. The Bears gave him an extension just before Week 1 of that season. Because his contract tolled after passing on the 2020 season, Goldman was signed through 2023. He should have an opportunity to catch on elsewhere soon.
Goldman and Trevathan, with the Bears since 2015 and ’16, respectively, are hitting the open market early. Akiem Hicks, with the team since 2016, is set for free agency next week. Khalil Mack, a four-year contributor after a 2018 blockbuster trade, hit the trade block and is headed to the Chargers. With Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles now in charge, Chicago’s defense will look considerably different in 2022.
Eagles, Jason Kelce Agree To New Deal
Jason Kelce is staying put. On Friday, the two sides agreed to a revamped contract that effectively comes out to one more year at $14MM, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). 
The deal positions Kelce as the league’s highest-paid center, fitting for a player who has been one of the best at his position for many years. In 2021, Kelce graded out as the No. 3 ranked center in the league, per Pro Football Focus, behind only Chiefs rookie Creed Humphrey and Chargers veteran Corey Linsley.
On Thursday, the 34-year-old announced his intentions to continue playing. After that, it was just a matter of getting his contract squared away. Kelce’s old deal had him tied through 2022 at a $10.6MM cap figure, plus several void years. The void years may still be in place, but Kelce now has a pay bump to put him atop the position. Those dummy years are the product of last year’s restructuring, one that spread out his $9MM in guarantees to accommodate the Birds.
Kelce flirted with retirement — both last year and this year — but ultimately decided to kick the can down the road. Now, he’ll work to build on his latest work, a season that ended with his fourth career First-Team All-Pro selection. Or, as he put it this week, Kelce is “looking forward to another year” so he can “dominate” with the rest of the locker room.
Jaguars To Release Carlos Hyde
The list of veteran cuts continues to grow. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jaguars are releasing running back Carlos Hyde (Twitter link). 
The 31-year-old had one season remaining on the contract he signed almost exactly one year ago. His scheduled cap hit was just under $2.4MM, and the move save Jacksonville nearly $2MM. Already in one of the best situations in the league from a financial perspective, the Jaguars will now have roughly $40MM in cap space.
A second round pick of the 49ers in 2014, Hyde started taking on a significant role in 2016 and 2017, receiving over 200 carries in each of those seasons. He topped 1,100 scrimmage yards both times, earning him plenty of outside interest as a free agent. That offseason began a stretch which saw him land in Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Houston, Seattle and, most recently, a second trip to Duval County. A 1,000-yard rushing campaign with the Texans in 2019 showed he was still capable of producing as a No.1 back. Since then, however, he has started only three games and totalled less than 800 yards.
Hyde will now look to get a head-start on free agency to find a new home. The Jaguars, meanwhile, will move forward with James Robinson and 2021 first-rounder Travis Etienne at the top of the backfield depth chart.
Bears To Release Danny Trevathan
The Bears are expected to release Danny Trevathan, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. His release clear upwards of $5MM from this year’s books but those savings would be negated by a $8.9MM dead money charge. 
[RELATED: Bears To Release Cohen]
Trevathan, soon to be 32, has been with the Bears since 2016. A training camp knee injury camp sidelined him to start 2021, but he returned after missing the first four games. His presence alongside Roquan Smith figured to strengthen Chicago’s defense, but he wound up back on IR in November. Appearing mostly as a reserve, Trevathan registered just 19 tackles across five games and appeared in roughly one-quarter of Chicago’s snaps. That’s a big drop from 2020 when Trevathan turned in a full slate, registered 113 stops, and helped bring the Bears to the playoffs.
New Bears GM Ryan Poles has made a point to clear out many of Ryan Pace’s high-priced veterans, so this is on-brand with his overall offseason plan. Already, he’s released longtime running back Tarik Cohen and traded star edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Chargers. That deal netted him a 2022 second-round pick, a 2023 sixth-round selection, and more flexibility to spend in free agency.
Trevathan, meanwhile, should be able to land a new deal elsewhere if he’s healthy and wants to continue playing.
Bears To Cut Tarik Cohen
The Bears are cutting running back Tarik Cohen (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Cohen has been unable to pass a physical on his knee injury, so the move will come with an injury designation. 
[RELATED: Latest On Bears’ Grant]
The Bears will save $2.25MM in cap room by releasing Cohen, the sure-handed running back who starred in Chicago’s offense for years. Unfortunately, injuries have taken his career off track — he’s missed 30 straight games since his torn ACL.
Cohen, a 2017 fourth-round pick, spent his entire career in Chicago up until this point. Some of his finest work came in 2018, when he finished with 1,169 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. On top of that, he was a beast in the return game with a league-leading 411 punt return yards. That showing earned him both All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.
He later started a career-high eleven games in 2019, but he was limited to just 669 all-purpose yards. Now, the Bears’ new regime led by Ryan Poles is moving on from the rest of his three-year, $17.25MM deal.
The Bears’ return game is now led by Jakeem Grant, an impending free agent who is expected to have a “robust” market next week. Grant, acquired by the Bears midway through the season, totaled 309 punt return years between Miami and Chicago.
Texans Re-Sign Christian Kirksey
The Texans have agreed to a brand new deal with linebacker Christian Kirksey (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network). Financial terms are not yet known, but it’ll be a two-year pact to keep him under contract through the 2023 season. 
[RELATED: Steelers Don’t Want Watson]
Kirksey, 30 in August, joined the Texans on a low-cost one-year deal last year. He went on to suit up for 13 games with 12 starts, emerging as one of the more productive defenders in Houston. In total, Kirksey finished 2021 with 93 stops, eight passes defensed, two quarterback hits, and a pair of fumble recoveries. The Texans were said to be prioritizing him and that was indeed the case — his deal is done before the start of free agency next week.
Kirksey came into the league as a 2014 third-round pick of the Browns. He went on to play a key role on some otherwise bad Browns teams, earning a fat extension worth upwards of $10MM/year. Unfortunately, injuries derailed him in 2018 and 2019, leading to his release. His eleven-game 2020 with the Packers — which featured 77 tackles and two sacks — was an improvement, but not in line with his early work. Now, Kirksey seems to have found a home in Houston.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/22
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Commandeers: QB Kyle Allen
- Cowboys: LB Francis Bernard, OL Mitch Hyatt
- Raiders: FB Alec Ingold
- Rams: LB Troy Reeder
- Ravens: CB Khalil Dorsey
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/22
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: WR Jake Kumerow
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: LB Rashod Berry, C Ryan McCollum
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OL Brandon Murphy
New York Jets
- Re-signed: S Will Parks
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: DL Kevin Givens, RB JaMycal Hasty, DL Maurice Hurst, OL Colton McKivitz
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: LS Morgan Cox
- Released: RB Darrynton Evans