HEADLINES

Giants’ Andrew Thomas To Visit Foot Specialist; LT’s Season In Jeopardy

October 15th, 2024 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

After an injury-limited 2023 season, Andrew Thomas has not missed a snap for the Giants this year. But the standout left tackle is dealing with a foot injury that will soon change that.

Thomas is visiting a foot specialist in Charlotte, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who indicates surgery is under consideration. A procedure to repair Thomas’ unspecified injury would likely be season-ending, Rapoport adds. As such, Thomas’ season is considered “up in the air” as of Tuesday.

No scenario appears to exist in which Thomas returns for Week 7 or in the immediate future. Thomas will miss an extended period due to this foot injury, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan tweets. Based on the information presented, it would stand to reason a Thomas IR placement is coming.

Thomas suffered the injury during the Giants’ third-quarter touchdown drive, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz adds. The team fears he suffered a significant malady. This would be a crushing blow to a Giants team that has seen Daniel Jones play better compared to his 2023 form. Although New York is 2-4, it has seen improvement from its offensive line. Thomas anchors that unit, which has otherwise remained healthy this season.

The Giants have seen all five of their O-line starters — Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten and Jermaine Eluemunor — log 100% snap rates this season. The team has ex-starters on its second string, with Evan Neal a potential option. Though, the 2022 top-10 pick’s stock has nosedived due to poor play and injury issues. Neal has not suited up for a game this season, leaving Joshua Ezeudu as the swingman.

Neal did not return from his ankle surgery until midway through training camp. By that point, the Giants had scrapped their plan of using Neal as their right tackle and Eluemunor at left guard. Van Roten was signed to start, kicking Runyan to the LG post. The front five the Giants have deployed ranks 23rd, per Pro Football Focus, through six games. Though, the advanced metrics website slots Thomas 16th among tackles.

The Giants had expected Ezeudu to win a starting guard job last year, but they plugged him in at LT following Thomas’ Week 2 hamstring injury that ended up costing him seven games. Ezeudu started five contests but was lost for the season due to a toe malady. Thomas, who secured a lucrative extension that includes $67MM guaranteed last year, has two ankle surgeries on his medical sheet. A foot operation may be added to the list soon, though that is not yet confirmed.

Packers Work Out K Brandon McManus

October 15th, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kicker issues have gripped the Packers for a bit now, with the team unable to find a stable option following Mason Crosby‘s exit. As a result of their most recent kicker’s struggles, Brandon McManus is back on the NFL radar.

Brayden Narveson has missed five field goals this season, and while the rookie UDFA was on Green Bay’s radar while it waged an Anders Carlson–Greg Joseph offseason competition, the team’s support looks to be wavering. McManus auditioned for the Packers on Tuesday, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo.

The NFL recently revealed McManus would not be suspended for his role in an alleged sexual assault that occurred on a plane last season while he was a member of the Jaguars. A civil suit against the veteran kicker is on going, but he is back under consideration to return to the league soon after the NFL’s statement.

Green Bay added Narveson via waivers from Tennessee, doing so after cutting both Joseph and Carlson. The rookie swooped in to win a competition he was not part of, with the Packers having eyed him for a bit before that transaction. But Narveson’s miss count ballooned from three to five during the Pack’s win over the Cardinals; Narveson has gotten there without attempting a 50-plus-yard try.

McManus signed a one-year, $3.6MM deal with the Commanders in March, but the team dropped him after the civil suit emerged. The Broncos had cut McManus after nine seasons, leading to the Jaguars agreement. Last season, McManus made 81.1% of his field goal tries (30-for-37, with five of the misses from beyond 50 yards) and did not miss an extra point. Narveson has not missed a PAT, either, but the Packers appear close to ending this experiment.

McManus, 33, denied the two flight attendants’ allegations and is aiming to resume his career. The Commanders paid the 10-year veteran his full $1.5MM signing bonus. This audition comes after the Packers worked out Chad Ryland and Lucas Havrisik earlier this month.

Broncos Designate RT Mike McGlinchey, OLB Baron Browning For Return

October 15th, 2024 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

A loss to the Chargers halted the Broncos’ win streak at three, but reinforcements are on the way. Both Baron Browning and Mike McGlinchey are back at practice for the AFC West team.

Denver designated both its starting right tackle and fourth-year linebacker for return Tuesday, 9News’ Mike Klis tweets. This would make each eligible to be activated ahead of Thursday’s game in New Orleans. While the Broncos may be cautious with both given the short week and each having a 21-day return timetable, the early return designations are certainly notable.

McGlinchey went down with an MCL sprain in Week 2, while Browning also headed to IR after an injury (a foot issue) sustained against the Steelers. The Broncos have since lost backup right tackle Alex Palczewski to a high ankle sprain; McGlinchey’s top reserve did not play in the team’s Week 6 loss to the Bolts. The Broncos also cut linebacker Kristian Welch from their active roster.

While the Broncos have a greater need along an offensive line than also recently saw center Luke Wattenberg placed on IR, Browning’s return stands to be interesting for a defense that has been one of the NFL’s most surprising units this season. Denver ranks fourth in scoring defense and yards allowed. Browning, who joins ex-Ohio State teammate Jonathon Cooper in a contract year, served as a starter in both games he played this season. Third-year player Nik Bonitto has taken over in that role; the replacement has four sacks in six games. Browning, who tallied 4.5 last season, did not register a sack before going down this year. Rookie third-rounder Jonah Elliss has operated as Denver’s top rotational rusher.

McGlinchey, 30, missed just one game for the Broncos last season and did not miss any time for the 49ers in 2022. The former top-10 San Francisco draftee missed nine games during the 2021 season due to a torn quad but rebounded to boost his market, leading to a five-year, $87.5MM Broncos agreement. McGlinchey’s 2025 salary became fully guaranteed in March, and the Broncos appear to be close to having him back at full strength.

Palczewski had played well in relief of McGlinchey, but the ankle injury he suffered in Week 5 clears a path for the starter to return. With the Broncos having a 10-day break before their Week 8 matchup, the team has some time to decide on Browning and McGlinchey. The Broncos have six injury activations remaining.

NFL Approves Tom Brady’s Raiders Ownership Stake

October 15th, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nearly 18 months after Tom Brady agreed to buy a stake in the Raiders, NFL owners have finally approved the measure. The all-time QB great-turned-broadcaster is now a part-owner of the AFC West franchise, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Brady’s ownership effort receiving the necessary 24 votes Tuesday both finishes his long-running bid to become a part-owner and ensures he will not make a comeback as a player. Brady, 47, had teased the idea as being on his radar — a late-season comeback, that is — but owners were not open to the idea of the 23-year veteran being a part-owner who also plays for a team. The current lead FOX analyst is OK with this and will move into the unique position of being an NFL owner who is also a broadcaster.

Brady is in at roughly 5% of the Raiders, with SI.com’s Albert Breer noting another 5% going to business partner/Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner. With Wagner part of Brady’s group, the latter technically holds a 10% stake in the Las Vegas NFL franchise. Brady had recently raised his ownership bid, doing enough to move this journey into the end zone.

Hall of Famer Richard Seymour, who was believed to have been separated from the Brady stake, is a part-Raiders owner at 0.5%, Breer adds. Seymour did not need to wait nearly as long as Brady did on the ownership front, with a few owners meetings coming and going without the matter being part of an official discussion. That changed Tuesday.

Mark Davis agreed to sell a stake to Brady in May 2023; the two were already partners in the WNBA, with Brady buying a piece of Davis’ Las Vegas Aces franchise. Owners took issue with Brady’s stake price and then expressed concerns about the conflict of interest FOX’s first-team color commentator also owning part of a team. The price issue was ironed out months ago, and going into this season, the NFL imposed a round of Brady-only restrictions that prevent him from attending team facilities or taking part in player and coach broadcast meetings.

The restrictions certainly limit Brady’s ability to do his FOX job, but he did not back down from this Raiders ownership pursuit. As a result, Brady will continue to broadcast without going through the usual pregame work his contemporaries do. Owners’ concern also included Brady appearing at a Raiders practice late last season, putting the eventual limitations in motion, but the recently retired quarterback had said he planned to play a passive role as an owner. That also may be subject to change.

Brady should be expected to have a prominent voice as a Raiders part-owner, an NFL source informed the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. He was linked as being involved in the Raiders’ HC and GM searches, though not to the extent Seymour eventually was. If Brady indeed becomes an integral figure in Raiders football decisions, his FOX role may come under additional scrutiny. And Tom Telesco‘s GM power may be conceivably worth questioning. For now, however, the former Patriots and Buccaneers passer is set for dual NFL citizenship of sorts.

A Brady effort to become a player/owner — with Sean Payton as the coach — for the Dolphins produced significant punishment for the AFC East franchise, though at that point, a player/owner effort was not completely off the table. A rule passed last summer, in the wake of Lionel Messi being given equity in Miami’s MLS club, now nixes any NFL player/owner crusades. As a result, Brady’s playing career will officially end.

The 49ers had pursued Brady after his second retirement, seeking to have him start and mentor Brock Purdy. Brady turning down his hometown team, which presented a loaded roster that eventually pushed the Chiefs to the brink of double overtime in Super Bowl LVIII with Purdy at the controls, effectively confirmed he was done playing. While he unretired once and made mention of doing so in an emergency circumstance again this offseason, the book — barring an about-face on an ownership bid he has spent the better part of the past two years pushing for — is closed on Brady the player.

It will now be interesting to see if Brady indeed takes on an active role with the Raiders. Seymour, Brady’s Patriots teammate who played for the Raiders from 2009-12, has been a Davis confidant for a while and was part of the team’s interview process that produced the Telesco-Antonio Pierce pairing. A Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Seymour will now work with his most prominent former teammate in Vegas.

Bills Cut WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

October 15th, 2024 at 3:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Set to add Amari Cooper to their receiving corps, the Bills will jettison one of their current wideouts. It will be Marquez Valdes-Scantling who is cut, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

The Bills agreed to terms with Valdes-Scantling in mid-May, with Josh Allen making a sales pitch to the former Packers and Chiefs starter. MVS, however, has not made many contributions to Buffalo’s cause. He has two receptions for 26 yards. The Bills have since announced the release.

With MVS not playing special teams, the Bills resided in a difficult spot regarding his fit — seeing as they obtained a more talented receiver who does not play special teams. It is possible MVS could be retained on a practice squad deal, as he would not need to pass through waivers to get there. For now, however, the seventh-year veteran is out of the picture in Buffalo.

More to come.

 

Jets Restructure Davante Adams’ Deal

October 15th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders found a team willing to pay Davante Adams‘ full remaining salary. Undoubtedly lowering the trade price, the Jets are absorbing the $10.9MM left on the All-Pro receiver’s base salary this year. As was the case with the Aaron Rodgers trade, the Jets are making a change to give themselves more breathing room.

A restructure will take place, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who indicates the revised agreement will reduce Adams’ 2024 base salary. That number stood at $16.89MM coming into the season, but with six games passing, it dropped below $11MM. While the new number is not yet known, the Jets are pushing money into the future to help defray some of the immediate cost.

Base-to-bonus restructures and the introduction of void years can help cut cap numbers, and Rapoport adds the Jets appear likely to adjust the talented wide receiver’s deal for 2025 and ’26 (no void years are on Adams’ deal prior to this restructure). Void years will now be included, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who reports the Jets have dropped Adams’ cap number to $3.21MM by adding two void years. Adams’ deal still runs through 2026, but the voids technically push it through 2028.

Adams is due nonguaranteed $35.6MM and $36.6MM cap figures, respectively, over the next two seasons. Those lofty numbers are part of the five-year, $140MM extension Adams signed upon being traded to the Raiders. That fit did not end up panning out, and the Jets had long loomed as an interested party — dating back to their April 2023 Rodgers trade.

While negotiations had pushed a deal near completion Monday, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz notes the salary component represented the final hurdle. The Raiders’ insistence an acquiring team pick up the full tab had loomed as a key component in this trade, and while the AFC West team probably would have received more in terms of trade compensation by agreeing to pay part of Adams’ remaining 2024 salary, the organization stood pat and sent the full number to the Jets’ payroll. That will now be stretched beyond 2024.

This transaction will make it more difficult for the Jets to move on from Adams after this year. Previously, the Jets would have taken on no dead money from a 2025 separation. Though, they would have faced a near-impossible task in attempting to trade a contract featuring a $35.6MM 2025 base salary.

Although Rodgers has described the team as all in after this trade, he has indicated an openness to playing beyond 2024. Rodgers’ uncertain future in Green Bay affected Adams’ decision to pass on a 2022 Packers extension offer, leading to the tag-and-trade maneuver, and the 11th-year wideout also was linked to hesitancy regarding the Jets due to Rodgers’ cloudy post-2024 plans in New York. Though, it appears the parties are onboard. Adams being tied to the Jets through 2026 will assuredly factor into Rodgers’ retirement considerations this coming offseason.

As part of a summer 2023 restructure, a $35MM roster bonus would come Rodgers’ way if he decides to play again next season. The 2025 season would be Rodgers’ 21st should he decide to stick around. Of course, the Jets firing Robert Saleh and having Joe Douglas on a hot seat — though, it may not be as hot as we previously thought — complicates even Rodgers’ 2025 status. Of course, QB talent is quite hard to procure, so a new Jets regime — if that is the way ownership proceeds after this already-tumultuous season — would need to factor that into the decision as well.

For the first time since 2020, Rodgers and Adams are each under contract for multiple seasons together. The Jets will hope this deal can trigger a midseason turnaround, as they have now checked off the top box on the QB’s wish list.

Steelers Considering Benching Justin Fields, Turning Back To Russell Wilson

October 15th, 2024 at 2:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Steelers handily defeated the Raiders in Week 6, Justin Fields‘ work is now under scrutiny. The quarterback has strung together two shaky passing performances, and consideration is now being given to benching the offseason trade pickup.

Mike Tomlin has refused to name Fields his full-time starter, but Russell Wilson practiced fully last week and suited up in a QB2 capacity in Las Vegas. Wilson won the Steelers’ starting job out of the preseason but has been unable to shake a calf injury. Tomlin has wanted Wilson to show he can stay healthy before reopening the conversation about the full-time QB job. Fields’ recent play looks to have pushed this conversation back to the forefront.

The Steelers are set to give Fields and Wilson first-team reps in practice this week, Tomlin said. The 18th-year Pittsburgh HC said Wilson has knocked off the rust that came from aggravating the calf issue, via Underdog Fantasy’s James Palmer and ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor, and is under consideration to start in Week 7.

Further clouding this situation, Tomlin said (via Palmer) the Steelers are open to using both quarterbacks. While an arrangement not too dissimilar from Kordell Stewart‘s mid-1990s part-time role would be an interesting continuation to the Steelers’ 2024 QB plot, Wilson was all but assured he would win this job this offseason. The potential Hall of Famer’s new team had established him as the clear frontrunner, but once he suffered the calf injury early in training camp, the 13th-year vet saw the more athletic Fields narrow the gap. The Steelers waited until a few days after the preseason ended to name Wilson the starter.

While the Broncos did demote Wilson to close out last season, his contract was at the root of the move to Jarrett Stidham. Wilson has never been a true QB2. The decorated passer being moved into that role on a full-time basis would almost certainly not sit well, considering he won the job initially. That makes this week of practice pivotal for Wilson’s career and Fields’ future.

It still makes more sense for the Steelers to consider a second contract for Fields than Wilson, seeing as the former is more than 10 years younger. Fields’ age-25 season started decently, with the Steelers 3-0, and then included a 312/55 day in a loss to the Colts. A depleted Cowboys defense kept Fields in check, however, and he was 14-for-24 for 145 yards — albeit with two rushing touchdowns — against the Raiders. A penalty also negated a Fields INT, helping bring Wilson back into the mix for Week 7, when the Steelers will host the Jets.

Reports of Fields having done enough to keep his job have emerged this season, but a September offering pointing to Wilson being likely to return to the starting role suddenly appears more relevant. Should Fields play fewer than 51% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps, the Bears would only receive a 2025 sixth-round pick. Fields hitting that threshold, as he is currently on track to, would send a 2025 fourth to Chicago. The Bears will have a vested interest in how Wilson performs in practice this week, as Tomlin shifting course would affect the NFC North team’s draft assets.

Browns Trade Amari Cooper To Bills

October 15th, 2024 at 1:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The receiver market is heating up. Hours after the Jets finalized their deal to acquire Davante Adams, the team that won Monday night’s game will also strike for a pass-catching weapon.

Amari Cooper is headed to Buffalo, with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reporting the Bills and Browns have a deal in place. A recent report indicated Cleveland was not expected to unload Cooper, but after the Browns did not reach an extension with the accomplished wideout this offseason, he remains in a contract year. It appears that campaign with finish in New York. The teams have since announced the trade.

This deal includes the Browns receiving a third-round pick, though NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classifies it as a pick-swap agreement. That will send a lower pick back to the Bills. Here is how the trade breaks down, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero:

Bills receive:

  • Cooper
  • A 2025 sixth-round pick

Browns receive:

  • A 2025 third-round pick
  • 2026 seventh-rounder

This is the second time Cooper has been traded in-season, with the 2018 campaign including the Raiders sending him to the Cowboys for a first-round pick. After re-signing the former top-five pick in 2020, the Cowboys dealt him to the Browns during the 2022 offseason. Cooper, 30, has produced in Cleveland, but with Deshaun Watson well off his Texans pace, he has not fared especially well this season. Given the QB upgrade he is set to see, Cooper is likely to see a production uptick soon.

Sean McDermott said last week Buffalo’s receiver situation had become a concern. The Bills’ plan of moving on from Stefon Diggs and not replacing him with a comparable wideout was passable early, but teams had limited the team’s receivers in recent weeks — a period that bottomed out with a woeful Josh Allen stat line in Houston. Even after the Bills prevailed over the Jets on Monday, they are loading up with one of the best wideouts on the market.

“Andrew Berry called me and told me what was going on,” Cooper said (via veteran insider Josina Anderson) of the trade. “As far as playing with Josh, I’ve always been fan of his game. I’m sure to see it up close and personal and play alongside him, I’m sure it’s going to be great.”

This Cooper swap comes after the Bills had monitored the Adams market. In on Adams from the beginning, Buffalo never appeared in pole position — or even in the front row — for the Raiders trade chip. It does not appear to be a coincidence that the Jets’ Adams trade went down shortly before this one. The Bills snaring Cooper gives them a weapon in an effort to hold off the Jets in the AFC East while taking away a potential Chiefs solution in the wake of Rashee Rice‘s season-ending injury.

Although Cooper is in his age-30 season and is averaging only 10.4 yards per catch this year (24/250), the Bills needed to include a third-round pick likely due to both his past production and the Browns having slashed his 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. Cooper’s offseason restructure included an incentive package and his 2024 base dropping to $1.21MM. That works out to just $783K to be transferred to the Bills’ payroll.

Cooper’s route-running chops are on Diggs’ level, making it interesting Buffalo targeted the former No. 5 overall pick. Cooper has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, with the most recent — 2023’s 1,250-yard showing with an aid from Joe Flacco — doubling as a career-high number. Cooper has never quite settled in as a top-tier receiver, but his credentials easily place him on the second rung. The refined pass catcher is a five-time Pro Bowler who has surpassed 1,100 yards in a season five times. Cooper totaled nine touchdowns in his first Browns season, doing so despite the team using Jacoby Brissett for 11 games and Watson (who re-emerged in concerning form) for the final six.

Turning 30 earlier this year, Cooper is several months younger than Diggs. The Bills had tired of Diggs’ antics, but they were beginning to miss his production. Drafted four rounds before Diggs in 2015, Cooper has not proven to be a locker room issue, as he has seamlessly transitioned to new teams via trade before.

The Alabama alum’s 2018 Dallas assimilation made a key difference in turning a sub.-500 Cowboys team into the NFC East champions. Cooper will now try to replace Diggs and help the Bills book a fifth straight division title. Set to anchor a receiving corps previously fronted by Khalil Shakir and second-round pick Keon Coleman, Cooper strengthens the Bills’ hopes of threatening the Chiefs’ AFC vice grip as well.

No stranger to splashy WR trades as the 2020 Diggs swap and the near-deal for Antonio Brown in 2019 shows, Bills GM Brandon Beane will attempt to equip his superstar quarterback with a weapon that will help him better maximize his age-28 season. Diggs moved the needle significantly in Allen’s development. With Allen much closer to a finished product now, the Bills are adding a similar playmaker. Buffalo received a 2025 second-round pick from Houston for Diggs, helping make parting with a Day 2 asset easier.

This deal comes barely two months after the Browns offered Cooper to the 49ers in a swap that would have sent Brandon Aiyuk to Cleveland. Aiyuk did not want to be traded to the Browns, who have struggled in the passing game for most of the decade despite obtaining Watson in 2022. Cooper, however, wanted to be traded to the 49ers, TheLandOnDemand.com’s Tony Grossi offers. That San Francisco proposal, which included second- and fifth-round picks as well, always made Cooper a trade chip to watch. With the Browns now 1-5 and Watson in terrible form, cashing out now with a Day 2 asset — which is more than the Browns initially gave up to acquire him from the Cowboys — can be viewed as a savvy move.

Cleveland sent just fifth- and sixth-round picks to Dallas to acquire Cooper in March 2022. The Cowboys have missed the midrange weapon’s presence, even as CeeDee Lamb has ascended to the All-Pro level. The Browns traded for Jerry Jeudy this offseason and gave the ex-Broncos first-rounder a three-year extension that brought more in guarantees ($41MM) than Cooper’s Cowboys-constructed pact (five years, $100MM, $40MM guaranteed at signing) did. The Browns also have Elijah Moore on their roster, but the ex-Jets second-rounder joins Cooper in being in a contract year.

Jeudy suddenly represents the Browns’ receiver centerpiece, as he is tied to the team through the 2027 season. Jeudy, however, is 0-for-4 in 1,000-yard seasons; Cooper is 7-for-9. A Bills team gunning for its first Super Bowl berth since 1993 will soon deploy Cooper as part of its championship effort, while the Browns — thanks to their historic Watson guarantee tying them to the embattled QB through 2026 — will pick up an asset as they reassess their passing game.

Jets Grant Haason Reddick Permission To Seek Trade

October 15th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Adam La Rose

1:07pm: Woody Johnson confirmed Reddick has permission to find a trade partner, but the longtime Jets owner said (via the Washington Post’s Mark Maske) he hopes Rosenhaus can convince the talented edge rusher to reconcile with the Jets. Upon firing Robert Saleh, Johnson had pushed for the trade acquisition-turned-holdout to join the team. Though, today’s events look to make that prospect a bit harder to envision.

8:07am: A change in representation has yielded yet another turn of events in the case of Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick. The team has allowed new agent Drew Rosenhaus permission to find a trade partner, as first reported by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

CAA dropped Reddick as a client last week, but he quickly managed to find new agents in the form of Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha. Rosenhaus spoke with the Jets during last night’s game as all parties sought to find a resolution which would end the two-time Pro Bowler’s holdout. Russni reports a small window of time has now been granted by the team for a trade partner to be found, however. Rosenhaus has begun reaching out to potential suitors to gauge Reddick’s market.

Aside from an introductory press conference in April, the 30-year-old has remained absent from the Jets since he was acquired via trade. The Jets made an initial offer on a new deal around the time of the trade, but throughout the rest of the offseason they remained insistent that talks on an extension or a revised deal would only take place once Reddick reported to the team. That has still not taken place, with the former Cardinal, Panther and Eagle accumulating millions in financial penalties. A new offer was made shortly after the regular season started, but Reddick rejected it as well.

One year remains on the former first-rounder’s current deal, which calls for a non-guaranteed base salary of $14.25MM. Reddick’s earning potential is much lower than that considering the penalties he racked up during the summer along with the game checks he continues to miss out on. To little surprise, Jets general manager Joe Douglas and Co. are not prepared to authorize a long-term agreement in this case. Given today’s update, though, it very much remains to be seen if any kind of resolution can be reached which sees Reddick play at all for the Jets.

In August, a lack of progress on negotiations with the Jets prompted Reddick to request a trade. Douglas immediately shot down consideration of moving him shortly after his acquisition, though. Since permission has in fact now been granted on the trade front, it is safe to assume talks with Rosenhaus did not yield much in the way of traction last night. A swap would mark an interesting end to this saga, but it would obviously be an unwanted conclusion from New York’s perspective.

Once the Eagles made it known they would not make a new contractual commitment to Reddick, they worked out the trade with the Jets. That deal yielded a conditional 2026 third-round pick, but another selection (a 2026 second-rounder) could also be in play. The latter pick has conditions based on where Reddick winds up if he does indeed get dealt to a new team. By rule, Philadelphia cannot re-acquire him.

Three weeks remain until the trade deadline, and any number of teams could show interest in adding Reddick (at a fraction of the cost the Jets paid to get him, no doubt). The Lions lost Aidan Hutchinson for the season on Sunday, thinning their edge rush after Marcus Davenport also suffered a season-ending injury. It will be interesting to see if Detroit inquires about a deal. To accrue a year of service team – and thus remain on course for free agency this spring – Reddick must report to the Jets (or his next team) by Week 13.

Jets Shopping WR Mike Williams

October 15th, 2024 at 12:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

A crunch-time Mike Williams slip played a key role in the Jets losing to the Bills on Monday night, perhaps pushing the Davante Adams trade across the goal line. With Adams en route to New York, the team is looking to find a trade partner for Williams.

Some around the league are wondering if the Jets will gauge Williams’ trade value, according to veteran insider Josina Anderson, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio adds that is indeed happening. The Jets are attempting to trade the recent free agency pickup, who is tied to a one-year deal worth $10MM.

Signing Williams shortly after his Chargers release, the Jets waited for the former top-10 pick to be cleared from his ACL rehab. The team has since used the eighth-year veteran on 53% of its offensive snaps. A fit with Aaron Rodgers has proven elusive, and Allen Lazard — a player who had fallen to healthy-scratch status in 2023 — has largely usurped Williams in Gang Green’s target tree. Williams has just 10 receptions for 145 yards through six games.

Last week brought rumblings of this path forming for the Jets, who are now 2-4 after a game that featured an open Williams slipping on the MetLife Stadium turf as Taron Johnson swooped in for a pivotal interception. With desperation sinking in, the Jets have both acquired Adams for a conditional third-round pick and may well be ready to end the Haason Reddick impasse with a trade as well. Williams is now part of this equation, with Adams — after three missed games due to a hamstring injury — in play to suit up in Week 7.

Postgame, Rodgers said Adams ran the wrong route on the play that ended a potential Jets go-ahead drive. Quarterbacks regularly take blame for wideouts’ mistakes, but a candid Rodgers did not in this particular instance. Rodgers doubled down during his Pat McAfee Show appearance Tuesday, indicating (h/t ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) Williams “wasn’t in the right spot.” In the coming days, Williams may well be tasked with learning another team’s scheme.

The Panthers and Steelers also scheduled Williams meetings this offseason, but the WR’s Jets visit producing a deal nixed both. It is now worth wondering if Pittsburgh, which has been connected to a receiver trade in the months since, would still be interested.

The Chargers had made the Clemson product part of their route back to cap compliance, cutting Williams first and then trading Keenan Allen to the Bears. The Jets had pursued Allen as well. Months later, two-thirds of their starting WR corps figures to include ex-Packers. Lazard, who caught Rodgers’ latest Hail Mary effort Monday, has 26 receptions for 354 yards and five touchdowns this season. Lazard’s five TD catches lead the league, coming after he scored all of one TD in 2023. The Jets have Lazard tied to a four-year, $44MM deal; they passed on cutting the former UDFA due to his 2024 base salary being guaranteed.

Williams has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, the most recent coming in 2021, when Justin Herbert became the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter. Williams totaled 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns that season, being used more as a midrange target compared to a deep weapon. The 6-foot-4 wideout had been tied to a three-year, $60MM Bolts deal entering 2024, but back and knee injuries hampered him during his final years in Los Angeles. A prior history of nagging injuries will also factor into Williams’ trade value.

The 30-year-old receiver will not come close to fetching what Adams did in a deal, and with $6.47 of Williams’ base salary remaining, the Jets may need to take on some of that amount to boost trade compensation. The Jets can aim for a Day 3 pick, and Williams may be the next WR dealt on a market that may or may not include DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Diontae Johnson and Amari Cooper. Some significant movement could commence ahead of this year’s deadline (Nov. 5).

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