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Month: November 2024

Extra Points: Anderson, Verrett, Steelers

May 26th, 2018 at 9:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

C.J. Anderson seemed surprised he didn’t see better offers after the Broncos released him. The Panthers signed the sixth-year veteran to a one-year, $1.75MM deal that comes with a $500K signing bonus. While Anderson was making much more with the Broncos the past two years, Denver didn’t do him any favors by cutting him so late into free agency. However, Anderson asked for a one-year deal for the purposes of re-entering free agency in 2019.

“I should be in my prime. I think I have an opportunity to do something really special here,” Anderson said, via Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. “I asked for the one-year deal. I want to prove myself that I can still play this game at a high level.”

Anderson will be set for what would be his age-28 season in 2019 and, at the moment, be part of a UFA class that includes Le’Veon Bell, Mark Ingram and Ameer Abdullah. Although, Anderson would be able to test the market immediately once the 2019 league year opens. And several running backs signed for more than $1.75MM per year this March.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

  • Jason Verrett has yet to be cleared for full practices after his latest injury, Eric Williams of ESPN.com reports. The former first-round Chargers pick suffered a knee injury in September of last season, cutting short a third season for the talented cornerback. But that talent’s come with a well-earned injury-prone label, with Verrett having missed 39 of a possible 64 games in his career. The Chargers have him under contract for 2018 due to picking up his fifth-year option last year, and Williams writes Verrett will start opposite Casey Hayward if he’s healthy.
  • The Steelers liked their situation at linebacker enough to avoid reaching for one in the draft, Kevin Colbert said (via the Associated Press). Pittsburgh signed veteran Jon Bostic in free agency, and Colbert said they plan to give 2016 seventh-rounder Tyler Matakevich a look at the spot alongside Vince Williams as well. Additionally, Steelers first-rounder Terrell Edmunds is expected to receive a look there. While it’s uncertain how extensive the Steelers will examine the Virginia Tech talent at this spot, he spent some time in a linebacker role in Hokies sub-packages.
  • As for some veteran safeties, the market’s been unkind. The Steelers signed Morgan Burnett early in free agency, but arguably the other three top safeties available in March — Eric Reid, Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro — remain unsigned. While Reid’s situation isn’t hard to figure out based on recent events, Boston and Vaccaro have not landed jobs despite free agent visits. A former defensive coordinator believes teams’ myriad responsibilities for these players — and the lack of reliable statistics — create issues evaluating outside talent. “It’s hard to determine the value of safeties, based on the different ways that teams use them,” the coordinator said, via Bucky Brooks of NFL.com. “You can’t simply look at the stat sheet and figure out how much of an impact a player makes, due to the different roles that they’re playing in today’s game. Some guys are center fielders asked to play in the middle of the field, while others are playing down in the box as run defenders. Throw in the other guys who play as hybrid slot defenders and nickel corners, it’s hard to put them in the right order when it comes to stacking the board.”

Community Tailgate: Rodgers’ Contract

May 26th, 2018 at 9:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Kirk Cousins‘ and Matt Ryan‘s landmark deals completed, the market is seemingly set up for Aaron Rodgers to reset it. He seems to agree, if an airport encounter with Thomas Dimitroff is any indication.

But now that those dominoes have fallen, and the QB market’s per-year ceiling has been raised by $3MM as a result, what will Rodgers’ deal look like?

Cousins ushered the NFL into new territory with a fully guaranteed contract. The Packers’ starting quarterback’s accomplishments dwarfing the Vikings’ new one, he will certainly command more money. But the Packers may not be eager to structure Rodgers’ deal this way — a three-year, fully guaranteed agreement — since he’s under contract through 2019 on his current pact.

Green Bay has Rodgers signed to what became an incredibly team-friendly contract (five years, $110MM), and while it’s virtually impossible to imagine Rodgers getting to the 2019 season on his current deal and the leverage that would come with that position, his through-’19 accord wouldn’t seem to line up with a Cousins-type deal.

Ryan’s contract structure — five years, $150MM — would make more sense for the Packers, and that certainly would be the floor for the two-time MVP that’s probably the most valuable commodity in the NFL. Rodgers is only entering his age-34 season and recently said near-future retirement is not in the cards for him.

The 2005 first-round pick had to wait until his fourth season to start, and top-tier QB peers like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger are much closer to retirement than he is. The Packers’ long-term future can still include the two-time MVP, and thus a perpetual Super Bowl window. And with those future Hall of Famers out of the picture at some point, Rodgers could have an even bigger opportunity to burnish his legacy.

Assuming the Packers follow the Falcons’ blueprint here, how much can Rodgers justifiably earn? The quarterback market moved rather slowly after Rodgers signed his extension in spring 2013. Entering the summer of 2017, the NFL hadn’t yet seen a $25MM-per-year player. But now that the market’s rapidly escalated, it sets up well for Rodgers to transport salaries further north.

Ryan’s $30MM AAV comprises approximately 17 percent of the league’s $177MM salary cap. Rodgers’ $22MM-per-year deal actually represented a greater percentage of the $123MM cap (18 percent) in 2013. An 18 percent chunk of the current cap is nearly $32MM, which would be quite reasonable. But with the cap rising, and Rodgers’ value being displayed via his absence last season, he could obviously ask for more. Is any kind of Packers-friendly discount, for the purposes of the franchise optimally building around him, in the cards? The cap’s steady rise and Rodgers’ 2013 contract becoming outdated (currently 10th among QBs) may nix that logic quickly.

Is a contract that is tied to a percentage of the salary cap a viable scenario? If a player was going to pursue that, Cousins may have been the one — a free agent franchise-level passer in his prime. But Rodgers’ immense importance to his team may make him a logical candidate for such an attempt. It would prevent his deal from becoming a bargain as the cap climbs toward (and eventually exceeds) $200MM in the next few years, but the Packers would obviously be hesitant about this type of player-friendly structure.

So, what will Rodgers’ next contract look like? He seems likely to exceed Ryan’s $94.5MM fully guaranteed figure, but by how much? Is he going to push for a $35MM-per-year deal and take the quarterback market to another stratosphere, or is a pact somewhere in between that and Ryan’s AAV where this will end up? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!

North Notes: Vikes, Browns, Ravens, Sutton

May 26th, 2018 at 7:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

At Vikings OTAs this week, they placed Mike Remmers back at right tackle, per Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Remmers finished last season playing guard, and the Vikings used a second-round pick on tackle Brian O’Neill out of Pittsburgh. Minnesota had UFA signee Tom Compton working as its first-string right guard during OTAs, per Rand. Compton has never been a full-time starter in his six-year career, coming closest with the 2014 Redskins, who used him as a nine-game starter. Last season, the Bears started Compton in five of the 11 games he played. Minnesota lost its most effective blocker, Joe Berger, to retirement and did not make any notable additions beyond Compton at the guard spot.

Here’s more from the north:

  • The Browns have made some adjustments to their front office and scouting department, and Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com expects that to continue. She targets the VP of player personnel decision as a possible turnover spot. Alonzo Highsmith, Ken Kovash and Andrew Berry currently reside in that role. John Dorsey just hired Highsmith, and Cabot reports Berry is safe from a change despite being an integral part of the previous regime. The Browns promoted Kovash shortly after the Sashi Brown regime took over in 2016 after he’d previously worked as the franchise’s director of football research.
  • Converted cornerback Damarious Randall will be the Browns’ starter at free safety this season, relocating Jabrill Peppers to strong safety, per Cabot. Gregg Williams‘ deep placement of Peppers, sometimes more than 25 yards off the ball, became a constant source of discussion and derision among Browns fans, and Peppers himself may be a bit tired of the jokes. But the Browns will now place him closer to the line of scrimmage, which is similar to the role he had at Michigan.
  • Optimism exists around Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith, who saw a strong season end early in 2017 because of a torn Achilles, but Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun notes the veteran may not be ready for the start of training camp. The career-long Raven is going into his age-30 season.
  • Additional Ravens’ timelines are coming into focus as well. Defensive lineman Carl Davis, who started nine games last season, underwent surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder earlier this offseason, Zreibec reports. The former third-round pick is questionable to participate in minicamp. Offensive lineman Nico Siragusa also had an operation this offseason. The 2017 fourth-round pick missed all of last season because of ACL, MCL and PCL tears and required an additional knee surgery this year. Zreibec reports the goal for him is a training camp return. As for Alex Lewis, Baltimore’s projected guard starter opposite Marshal Yanda, he’s fully recovered from the shoulder injury that nixed all of his 2017 season, Zreibec notes.
  • The Steelers aren’t sure where to station Cameron Sutton. The 2017 third-round pick played 117 snaps as a rookie after an injury delayed his NFL debut. Pittsburgh may be planning to use him at outside or slot cornerback, or as a safety alongside Morgan Burnett, Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. But he notes that Artie Burns and Sean Davis will still have first crack at their respective jobs, outside cornerback and the non-Burnett safety starter, with the Steelers still hoping for the high draft picks’ upside to show. Mike Hilton remains the frontrunner to be the Steelers’ slot corner, where the former UDFA fared well in 2017.

Latest On Terrance Williams Situation

May 26th, 2018 at 6:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

The bizarre twist in the Terrance Williams car-crash saga involved Kendall Wright after the Cowboys wide receiver said the new Vikings pass-catcher was, in fact, the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Williams and Wright were teammates at Baylor together and had spent time together earlier on the night of the accident. But both Williams’ attorney, Chip Lewis, and Vikings GM Rick Spielman deny it was Wright who was behind the wheel.

“I have spoken directly with Kendall and his agent and both have assured me there is no truth to the matter,” Spielman said, via Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Police arrested Williams, whose statement indicated he was the driver of the vehicle, for leaving the scene of an accident and for public intoxication. Williams told police he’d gotten a call from Wright informing him of the Lamborghini crash, but police were suspicious of this claim since Williams subsequently admitted his phone was still in the car at that point. Williams’ public statement of the events of that sequence did not include Wright.

San Diego To Land AAF Franchise

May 26th, 2018 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

While it’s yet to be determined how viable of an operation the Alliance of American Football will be, its franchise roster has taken shape. And after losing its NFL team recently, San Diego will be part of it.

Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports San Diego will be the sixth city to be part of the AAF’s first-year operation, which begins in Feb. 2019. San Diego joins Salt Lake City, Orlando, Memphis, Phoenix and Atlanta as cities that will house teams in this upstart league.

Mike Martz will coach the San Diego franchise, per Krasovic, and games will be held at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers played at this site for nearly 50 years before defecting to Los Angeles in early 2017. The AAF and San Diego have a one-year deal in place for games to be played at the stadium, Krasovic reports.

Martz’s most recent NFL coaching tenure came as Bears OC from 2010-11. Martz’s previous job was working as 49ers OC under Mike Singletary, who also will be a head coach in the AAF. Two more teams will be announced for this league’s inaugural season.

East Notes: Smith, Pryor, Giants

May 26th, 2018 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although other quarterback deals soon overshadowed this one, the Redskins made a commitment to Alex Smith. And the details of his contract have him entrenched in Washington into the next decade. Smith received a $27MM signing bonus, and his 2018 and ’19 base salaries — $13MM and $15MM, respectively — are also fully guaranteed at signing, Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington notes. On the fifth day of the 2019 league year, Smith’s 2020 salary ($16MM) becomes fully guaranteed, per Tandler. So, barring something crazy, the Redskins are essentially tethered to Smith for three seasons. The deal runs through 2022, but non-guaranteed base salaries of $19MM and $21MM are on tap in those respective seasons. Washington would save $13MM by cutting Smith after the 2020 slate. Smith’s contract will call for cap hits of $18.4MM (2018), $20MM (2019), $21.4MM (’20), $24.4MM (’21) and $26.4MM (’22).

Here’s the latest from the East divisions as teams sit midway through their OTA calendar.

  • Former Redskins receiver Terrelle Pryor has run into more injury trouble, encountering another ankle malady that’s sidelined him from Jets OTAs. But Todd Bowles said, via Calvin Watkins of Newsday, this latest issue is unrelated to the one that forced him to undergo surgery while a member of the Redskins. The Jets have a host of wide receivers under contract, and Pryor is attempting to carve out a role and rebound from his poor performance in Washington.
  • Speaking of wideouts, the Giants may not be necessarily done adding talent at that position. When asked earlier this month if the Giants had their No. 3 wide receiver on their roster, Pat Shurmur said, via Tom Rock of Newsday, “I don’t know.” This was before New York added Russell Shepard in the latter stages of free agency. But Big Blue signed Cody Latimer, and he’s been playing on the outside in that No. 3 role during OTAs, per Rock. Shepard likely represents Latimer’s top competition for this job, barring another outside hire. The Giants cut Brandon Marshall, and Dez Bryant‘s been mentioned as wanting to join this receiving contingent. They have $8.3MM in cap space.
  • Shurmur is hoping Eli Apple can rebound from what’s been a rough start to his career, and he’s not going to hold what the 2016 first-rounder did during the previous regime against him. “You hear things,” Shurmur said (via Rock) regarding Apple’s past behavior, “but I’m sure glad that I truly believe in a clean slate. He’s been nothing but professional; he’s been out here competing. He’s one of the guys that has been here almost every single day, and I haven’t seen anything that somebody might have thought I heard. He’s been great. In terms of his stature, his skill set, yeah, he’s what you’re looking for.” The Giants cut Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and did not use a draft pick on a corner. They signed William Gay, Teddy Williams and B.W. Webb, however. But Apple could well have a promising route to a starting job despite the tumultuous 2017.

Cowboys Expect Zack Martin Extension This Offseason

May 26th, 2018 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys and Zack Martin have been circling each other for a while now, and the All-Pro guard decided to skip OTAs this week. However, Albert Breer of SI.com notes this doesn’t appear to be a contentious absence, adding the Cowboys expect to have this deal done before the regular season. This promises to be an eye-opening agreement.

Dallas expects to pay Martin at least $13MM per year. While only five linemen earn that, one of them is a guard. And as good as Andrew Norwell has been, Martin’s a more accomplished player with four Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro distinctions on his resume.

So, it’s likely Martin’s deal will come in north of Norwell’s $13.3MM-per-year pact and set the market for guards, with Breer pointing out teams aren’t going to see 2018 deals for Norwell and Nate Solder as outlier pacts based on free agency but instead will view them as the norm in a changing marketplace. Quality linemen are simply more valuable now since these particular skills are much harder to acquire out of college.

The Cowboys view Martin as the game’s premier pass-protecting guard and a player who is close to the top in clearing run lanes, per Breer, so they’re eager to ensure he’s under contract well into the 2020s.

Martin, 27, is on Dallas’ books for $9.341MM because of his fifth-year option, and the Cowboys already have a significant negotiation to finish with Demarcus Lawrence. While Lawrence said he would be fine playing on the franchise tag, that is affecting the Cowboys’ books. The defensive end’s cap hold sits at $17.143MM — second-highest on the team behind Tyron Smith.

This Date In Transactions History: Will Allen

May 26th, 2018 at 1:00pm CST by Ben Levine

In 2009, Will Allen was coming off three productive seasons with the Dolphins, and he was quickly establishing himself as one of the most reliable cornerbacks in the NFL. On May 26th, the cornerback signed a two-year, $16.2MM extension ($10MM guaranteed) with Miami… and he proceeded to play zero games under his new deal.

With one year remaining on his contract, Allen signed the deal prior to the 2009 season. The deal was set to kick in during the 2010 campaign and would last through 2011. He looked like he was worth the money during the first chunk of the 2009 season, compiling 21 tackles, two interceptions, and six passes defended. It quickly went down hill for the defensive back, as he tore his ACL in a Week 6 matchup with the Saints, ending his season. That offseason, Allen was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after nearly blowing through a police roadblock.

Then, one week before the 2010 season (the season when his new contract was set to kick in), Allen was placed on the IR with a knee issue. To stick around Miami for the 2011 campaign, the defensive back had to rip up his lucrative deal and settle for a new, one-year contract that paid significantly less than the $5.5MM he was set to make. However, the veteran was ultimately released from this new deal prior to the start of the regular season.

Allen ended up catching on with Miami again in mid-September, and he ultimately compiled 43 tackles and three passes defended in 15 games. However, the team technically ended up getting zero production out of their initial $10MM investment.

Veteran QB Josh Freeman Retires

May 26th, 2018 at 12:11pm CST by Ben Levine

Josh Freeman is calling it quits. The veteran quarterback, who was playing for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, told Montreal coaches on Saturday morning that he is going to retire (via CFL.ca). Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times confirmed that Freeman is indeed hanging up the spikes.

“We would like to thank Josh for his work and dedication. He was a consummate professional throughout camp,” said Montreal general manager Kavis Reed. “We respect his decision and we wish him the best in the future.”

That makes it sound as if Freeman retired of his own accord, but in reality, he may have been forced into the decision. Per Florida Football Insiders (citing Joey Alfieri of TSN690), the Alouettes had already decided to release Freeman before he decided to call it a career.

The 2009 first-round pick had several productive seasons in Tampa Bay, starting all but one regular season game between 2010 and 2012. One of his best campaigns came in 2012, when he completed 54.8-percent of his passes for 4,065 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. He also proved to be a solid runner during his NFL career, compiling 946 rushing yards on 205 carries. Freeman’s tenure in Tampa Bay didn’t end on the best of terms, and he ended up bouncing between the Vikings, Giants, Dolphins, and Colts.

After having not played in the NFL since 2015, Freeman got a workout with the Alouettes last year. He ended up signing a two-year deal with the organization back in January.

We here at PFR wish Freeman the best in the next stage of his life.

NFC Notes: Seahawks, Carroll, Foster, Saints

May 26th, 2018 at 10:59am CST by Ben Levine

Appearing on Dave Dameshek’s podcast, Cliff Avril said that following the Seahawks‘ loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, Pete Carroll started losing the trust of his players. The former Seattle defensive end said “a lot of guys got turned off” when the head coach opted for a potential game-winning pass instead of handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch.

Of course, we know what happened next. With the ball at the one-yard line, quarterback Russell Wilson ended up throwing a game-deciding interception to New England cornerback Malcolm Butler.

“If we win that Super Bowl I think we would have won another one,” Avril said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I do think the team would have bought in more to what Coach Carroll was saying, instead of going the opposite way.

“Guys started kind of questioning him more instead of following his lead if we had won the Super Bowl.”

The Seahawks ended up losing in the divisional round during the 2015 and 2016 playoffs, and they failed to make the postseason in 2017. The team ultimately let go of a number of veterans this offseason.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

  • Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner has left Athletes First and is without an agent, reports Liz Mullen SportsBusiness Daily (via Twitter). Wagner signed a four-year, $43MM extension (about $22MM guaranteed) with the Seahawks back in 2016, and he still has two years remaining on that deal.
  • According to Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Hays Webb, 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster had “several months of clean drug screen results” during his pre-trial diversion program (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch on Twitter). Foster ultimately completed the program. In this past week, Foster has seen both of his offseason arrests lead to dismissed cases. Yesterday, the former first-rounder had a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge dismissed, and we learned earlier this week that he wouldn’t be charged in a domestic violence case.
  • The Saints are still hoping that special teams coach Mike Westhoff will return to the organization after he successfully completes recovery from offseason surgery, according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. The 70-year-old underwent surgery for “an issue from his hip all the way down his leg,” and he’s yet to return to New Orleans. Sean Payton had previously expressed some optimism in Westhoff’s return, but he also said he didn’t expect the coach to come back until training camp. After retiring in 2012, Payton convinced Westhoff to return to the NFL towards the end of last season.
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