Allen Robinson Signs Franchise Tender
Allen Robinson is under contract again with the Bears. Chicago’s No. 1 wide receiver signed his $18MM franchise tender on Thursday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Bears applied a higher-value franchise tag on Robinson, due to his 2020 salary, at the deadline earlier this month. While Robinson has expressed frustration about his situation in Chicago, he is now locked in to that $18MM salary for the 2021 season.
The sides have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term extension, though they were considerably off on terms when they discussed a deal last year. Chicago now has a new starting quarterback, with Andy Dalton‘s deal official. The former Bengals and Cowboys quarterback said Thursday that the Bears’ pledge he will be their starter influenced him to sign with the team.
Kenny Golladay also visited the Bears on Wednesday night, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes this helped influence Robinson to sign his tag. Golladay perhaps could have been a Robinson replacement at a lower rate, and the Bears could have rescinded Robinson’s tag to send him to what has thus far been an underwhelming market for receivers.
Robinson is going into his age-28 season. He is coming off his third 1,000-yard campaign, recording two such seasons in Chicago and one in Jacksonville. The Jaguars did not use the tag on him in 2018, leading him to Chicago. The Bears gave Robinson a $14MM-per-year pact — a higher-value price at the time — despite his 2017 ACL tear. Robinson has since established himself as one of the NFL’s better receivers. It will be interesting to see if the Bears move forward on an extension or if this merely becomes a rental season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/21
We’ll keep tabs on today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Darius Clark
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LS Patrick Scales
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Greg Senat
- Waived: T Drake Dorbeck
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: WR Mike Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: TE Blake Bell, RB Elijah McGuire
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: TE Johnny Mundt
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Trent Sherfield
Washington QB Kyle Allen Signs ERFA Tender
The top of Washington’s quarterbacks depth chart will look different in 2021, but it sounds like the team will be rolling with the same backups. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that quarterback Kyle Allen has signed his ERFA tender.
After getting 12 starts for the Panthers in 2019, Allen ended up following his former head coach, Ron Rivera, to Washington after he was traded for a a fifth-rounder. Allen ultimately got four starts for Washington, completing 69-percent of his passes for 610 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
However, Allen suffered a dislocated/fractured ankle in early November, and the subsequent surgery ended his season early. That injury paved the way for Alex Smith to take over the full-time starting gig, and the veteran ended up going 5-1 en route the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
In 2021, Allen will be backing up a different veteran, as the organization moved on from Smith and replaced him with Ryan Fitzpatrick. The team is also still rostering Taylor Heinicke.
Cowboys To Sign LB Tarell Basham
It sounds like Tarell Basham is heading to Dallas. Agent Aaron Henderson tweets that the free agent edge defender is signing with the Cowboys (Twitter link). It’s a two-year deal worth up to $6.5MM, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).
Basham spent the past two-plus seasons with the Jets, starting 12 games for the organization. He had a career year in 2020, finishing with 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 16 games (nine starts).
The 2017 third-round pick out of Ohio spent the first year-plus of his career with the Colts. In total, he’s appeared in 58 career games, collecting 7.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 23 QB hits.
The Cowboys have been busy adding to their defensive line today, inking a pair of free agents in Brent Urban and Carlos Watkins.
Raiders To Sign C Nick Martin
After trading their center of the past six years, the Raiders appear to have settled on a replacement. They are signing former Texans snapper Nick Martin, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Martin’s work will not remind most of Rodney Hudson‘s, with the since-traded center being a three-time Pro Bowler. Still, the Raiders figure to save substantially by replacing Hudson with Martin.
Transitioning to their Nick Caserio regime, the Texans cut Martin after he spent the past four seasons as their starting center. While he did not fare as well as Hudson did in this span, Martin did receive an $11MM-per-year extension from the previous Texans regime. Martin will attempt to rebound in Las Vegas.
The Raiders have made some interesting decisions this week. Their three highest-paid O-linemen — Hudson, right tackle Trent Brown and longtime right guard Gabe Jackson — are gone. The team has since re-signed Richie Incognito after cutting him, and brought back the player who replaced Incognito post-injury last season, Denzelle Good. Las Vegas appears to still have a hole at right tackle, but the other four spots along its offensive line may be set.
However, third-year blocker Andre James may factor into the equation at center. This should be considered James’ job to lose, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets. While Martin has a massive experience edge (62 starts to one), he might not be a lock to start in Vegas.
Seahawks To Re-Sign OL Ethan Pocic
The Seahawks reached an agreement to retain their starting center. Ethan Pocic will stay in Seattle on a one-year deal worth $3MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
A former second-round pick, Pocic has seen action at both guard and center as a pro. He opened the 2019 season as a Seattle starter but saw a back injury derail his season. The veteran blocker bounced back in 2020 and now has a deal to return in 2021.
Pocic started 14 games at center for the Seahawks last season. This re-signing is bringing Seattle’s 2021 O-line picture into focus. They have acquired experienced guard Gabe Jackson via trade from the Raiders and now have Pocic back. Tackles Duane Brown and Brandon Shell are under contract for 2021, and Jackson guard mate Damien Lewis is entrenched as a starter after a solid rookie season.
Pocic’s return, after a season in which Pro Football Focus graded him 26th overall among centers, may not move the needle for Russell Wilson. But it remains to be seen if the quarterback, who let it be known he wanted the Seahawks to do better to bolster their O-line, will be satisfied with Jackson being added to the mix.
Bills Re-Sign Taiwan Jones
The Bills are locking up a key special teamer. Buffalo has re-signed running back Taiwan Jones to a one-year deal, the team announced on Twitter.
It’s fair to assume that the contract is for pretty close to the league minimum. Jones played only four total snaps on offense last year, but played around 40 percent of the total special teams snaps. Jones will turn 33 in July, and the veteran has done a nice job of sticking around in the league for what will be his 11th pro season in the fall.
He entered the league as a fourth-round pick all the way back in 2011, and managed to carve out a career despite never carrying the ball more than 16 times in a season. He also was the Raiders’ kick returner for a couple of years, and had 829 return yards in 2015, which was the most in the AFC.
After his first six seasons with the Raiders he was with the Bills from 2017-18, then spent a year with the Texans, before returning to Buffalo last season.
Titans To Sign CB Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson is heading back to the AFC South. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran cornerback will be signing a one-year deal with the Titans.
The 16th-overall pick of the 2015 draft spent the first four seasons of his career in Houston. After starting 10 games as a rookie, Johnson settled into more of a backup role during his final three seasons with the team. He also struggled to stay on the field following that 16-game rookie campaign; he missed 10 games in 2016 with a broken foot, four games in 2017 with a sprained MCL, and 15 games in 2018 with a concussion suffered during Week 1.
Following that 2018 season, Johnson was released by the Texans, who had previously picked up his fifth-year option. He caught on with the Bills and proceeded to appear in all 16 games. That performance earned him another one-year deal last offseason, this time with the Browns. He finished the 2020 campaign having appeared in 13 games (six starts), compiling 35 tackles, one forced fumble, and three passes defended. He also started Cleveland’s playoff loss to the Chiefs.
The Titans have worked on revamping their cornerbacks corps this offseason. The team already added Janoris Jenkins, with 2020 second-round pick Kristian Fulton being one of the lone holdovers from last year’s squad.
Texans To Sign Desmond King
The Texans continue to make low-risk, high-upside signings for their defense. This time Houston has agreed to terms on a deal with cornerback Desmond King, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Per Schefter, it’s a one-year pact worth $3.5MM. A fifth-round pick of the Chargers in 2017, King quickly made a name for himself in Los Angeles. He started four games in a rookie and played in all 16, racking up 76 tackles, four sacks, five passes defended, and a 90-yard interception return touchdown.
In 2018 he entered the season as the Chargers’ slot cornerback, and had 62 tackles, ten passes defended, and three interceptions. He earned a first-team All-Pro nod for his work. He also took over punt return duties for the Chargers in 2018, and was a second-team All-Pro as a returner.
Despite being a dual All-Pro it wasn’t long before he fell out of favor with the coaching staff, and butted heads with Anthony Lynn. After seeing his playing time reduced in the secondary he griped on social media, and was traded to the Titans last November.
King is still only 26, and has obviously had a lot of success in the past. On a pretty cheap deal, the signing makes a lot of sense for a rebuilding Texans defense.
Lions To Sign WR Breshad Perriman
Breshad Perriman‘s journey around the league will make a stop in Detroit. The former first-round pick agreed to a deal with the Lions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Perriman will sign a one-year, $3MM deal with the Lions, who have also added Tyrell Williams this offseason. Detroit has said goodbye to Marvin Jones and is expected to lose Kenny Golladay soon as well.
This marks an interesting agreement. Perriman’s father, Brett, was a standout for the Lions in the mid-1990s, joining Herman Moore in becoming the first teammates to each catch 100 passes in a season in 1995. Thirty years after Brett signed with the Lions, with whom he played six seasons in a 10-year career, his son will be part of a Detroit rebuild.
The Lions will be Breshad Perriman‘s fifth NFL team. While the younger Perriman did not catch on with the Ravens, who drafted him in the 2015 first round, he has been productive elsewhere. The Browns, Buccaneers and Jets have coaxed 500-plus-yard seasons from the auxiliary wideout. Perriman averaged 17.9 yards per catch with the Bucs in 2019, coming on down the stretch, and he totaled 505 yards and three TDs in 12 games with the Jets.
This move comes after the Lions hired Antwaan Randle El to coach their wide receivers. Randle El was in Tampa during Perriman’s quality season as the Bucs’ WR3. The Browns were also interested in a potential Perriman reunion, but they have since re-signed Rashard Higgins to stay with their Jarvis Landry–Odell Beckham Jr. tandem.