HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Panthers Exercise Torrey Smith’s Option

March 7th, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have exercised Torrey Smith‘s option for the 2019 season, ensuring the veteran wideout will return to Carolina next season, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets.

Carolina acquired Smith, now 30 years old, from the Eagles last offseason in exchange for cornerback Daryl Worley. He’s due to collect a $5MM base salary in 2019, but the Panthers could have moved on without absorbing any dead money onto their salary cap, as Smith has no guarantees remaining in his deal. Smith will now reach free agency during the 2020 offseason.

Smith missed five games due to a knee injury last season, appearing in only 11 games while making six starts. He was targeted just 31 times on the year, hauling in 17 of those targets for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Smith has never been a volume receiver, but he hasn’t topped 12 yards per reception since 2015, and hasn’t posted more than 40 catches since 2014.

The Panthers are expected to let free agent wideout Devin Funchess walk this offseason, so Smith could be in line for more snaps. He’ll play alongside 2018 first-round pick D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Jarius Wright.

Dwayne Allen Meeting With Lions, Dolphins

March 7th, 2019 at 6:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent tight end Dwayne Allen‘s visit with the Lions has wrapped up, and he’s now on track to meet with the Dolphins, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Allen was released last Saturday by the Patriots, but a market has quickly developed for his services. The Ravens, already flush with tight end talent, met with Allen earlier this week, as did the Bills. Both the Dolphins and Lions employ former Patriots coordinators — Brian Flores and Matt Patricia, respectively — as head coaches, while former New England staffer Brian Daboll is Buffalo’s offensive play-caller.

Allen, 29, was once a relatively prolific receiving tight end during his run with the Colts, topping 50 targets and 25 reception in three of his five Indianapolis campaigns. Since being traded to the Patriots prior to the 2017 season, however, Allen has essentially become a sixth offensive lineman. In his two years in New England, Allen has managed only 26 total targets, and 22 of those looks came during his debut season with the Patriots. In 2018, Allen played 438 offensive snaps, but ran a route on only 128 of those plays.

Miami didn’t get much production out of its tight ends in 2018, as second-round rookie Mike Gesicki led the unit with 22 receptions. Gesicki will return next season, while Nick O’Leary and Durham Smythe are also under contract. A.J. Derby and MarQueis Gray, meanwhile, are each headed for unrestricted free agency.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/7/19

March 7th, 2019 at 6:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Browns Interested In WR Tyrell Williams

March 7th, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns are expected to have interest in pending Chargers free agent receiver Tyrell Williams, sources tell Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Now viewed as the most intriguing receiver scheduled to hit the open market next week, Williams is expected to be highly-coveted once free agency begins. In addition to the Browns, both the Raiders and Colts are likely to pursue Williams, who could exceed $12MM annually on his next contract.

Williams, 27, first emerged as a legitimate NFL wideout in 2015. With Keenan Allen injured, Williams stepped in as Philip Rivers‘ No. 1 target, hauling in 69 receptions for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns. Over the past two years, Williams’ volume declined as Allen re-entered the lineup and 2017 first-round pick Mike Williams began taking snaps, but he’s still remained effective. In 2018, Williams ranked 24th among 84 qualifying receivers in Football Outsiders’ DVOA, meaning he was productive on a per-play basis.

The Browns’ top three receivers in terms of playtime — Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, and Rashard Higgins — should all return next season, but Cleveland could lose former first-round pick Breshad Perriman to free agency. General manager John Dorsey has held talks with Perriman’s agent, but no deal is considered close.

Titans Sign P Brett Kern To Extension

March 7th, 2019 at 5:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Titans have reached a long-term extension with punter Brett Kern, the club announced today. It’s a four-year worth $12.55MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who adds Kern will receive a $2.2MM signing bonus.

Kern had already been under contract for 2019, so his extension will keep him in Tennessee through the 2023 campaign. In terms of new money, Kern will now earn roughly $3.14MM per season, a slight bump over his previous annual average of $3MM. That annual salary will keep him at sixth place among punters in yearly pay.

Kern, 33, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2008, spending parts of two seasons in Denver before being claimed off waivers by the Titans in 2009. He’s now been in Tennessee for more than a decade, and posted his best performances in recent years, earning a second-team All-Pro nod in 2017 and Pro Bowl berths in both 2017 and 2018.

Last year, Kern ranked eighth in the league with a 41.7-yard net punting average and dropped 39 punts inside his opponents’ 20-yard line, good for second in the NFL. According to Football Outsiders’ special teams metrics, the Titans’ punt unit as a whole ranked roughly average, finishing 15th in point of field position added.

Steelers, Ramon Foster Agree To Extension

March 7th, 2019 at 4:48pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s a busy day in Pittsburgh. After reaching an extension with Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers agreed to a new two-year, $8.25MM deal with Ramon Foster, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Before the deal, Foster was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13. 

[RELATED: Steelers, Maurkice Pouncey Agree To Extension]

Ben Roethlisberger‘s front line is now well set for the next couple of years. Foster, who earned $3.591MM last season, is now inked through his age-35 campaign.

Foster has been largely healthy throughout his Steelers career and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 16 ranked guard in the NFL last season. His pass blocking, in particular, was exceptional. Foster’s 84.5 pass blocking score was good for seventh amongst all qualified guards, per PFF, slotting him ahead of big names like Brandon Scherff, Quenton Nelson, and Andrew Norwell.

Meanwhile, tomorrow figures to be even busier for the Steelers. The club intends to trade star wide receiver Antonio Brown by the end of the week and they’re reportedly pushing for a first-round pick in return.

Dolphins Unlikely To Re-Sign Cameron Wake

March 7th, 2019 at 4:38pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like Cameron Wake will be playing for a new team in 2019. The Dolphins have not made an effort to re-sign the impending free agent defensive end, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. 

[RELATED: Dolphins Shopping Robert Quinn]

Wake, meanwhile, has already received interest from multiple teams, so the veteran figures to stick around for an eleventh pro season. The 37-year-old hasn’t earned a Pro Bowl nod since 2016, but he’s still playing at a fairly high level. Last year, Wake recorded six sacks and 36 total tackles across 14 games.

Back in December, Wake expressed a desire to remain in Miami, but also made it clear that he was willing to continue with another club.

“Another jersey?” Wake said. “Ideally, no. But I mean, again, if option number one is not in my favor and they don’t want me but I can still play and I can still provide and still enjoy it whatever needs to happen. If it makes sense then I’ll do it. If it doesn’t then I won’t.”

So far, the Dolphins are the only NFL team that Wake has ever known. He has 98 career sacks to his credit, but only one career playoff appearance.

Broncos To Trade Case Keenum To Redskins

March 7th, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Case Keenum is be D.C.-bound. On Thursday, the Redskins and Broncos hammered out a trade to send the quarterback to Washington, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The trade will send Keenum and a Broncos 2020 seventh-round pick to D.C. in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick, according to Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Keenum has agreed to rework his contract in order to facilitate the deal.

Keenum had the opportunity to earn $21MM in ’19 under the terms of his old contract, but the revised pact will give him $7.5MM in total. The Broncos will pay Keenum a $500K restructure bonus and contribute $3.5MM towards Keenum’s $7MM salary. Meanwhile, Washington will pay their $3.5MM half of the tab. Ultimately, the Broncos saved themselves a few million and the Redskins found an inexpensive veteran to compete with Colt McCoy for the starting gig.

Keenum, 31, joined the Broncos on a two-year, $36MM deal prior to the 2018 campaign. Unfortunately, his season with Denver did not go as planned as the Broncos slumped to a 6-10 mark. This offseason, he was squeezed out of his starting job when the Broncos acquired Joe Flacco from the Ravens.

With the Redskins, Keenum may have an opportunity to take over for Alex Smith, who is fighting his way back from a gruesome leg injury. He’s not long removed from leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game during a 2017 season in which he ranked second in Total QBR, seventh in adjusted net yards per attempt (the passing metric most correlated with winning), fifth in interception percentage, and seventh in sack percentage.

On the flipside, Keenum’s 2018 marks tell a different story. Among 33 qualifying quarterbacks, Keenum finished 30th in Total QBR, 28th in ANY/A, 21st in interception percentage, and 11th in sack percentage. A year after ranking first in Football Outsiders‘ DVOA (meaning he was extremely effective on a per-play basis), Keenum fell all the way to 29th in 2018.

With the No. 15 pick in the draft, the Redskins are unlikely to land either Kyler Murray or Dwayne Haskins, so a short-term solution such as Keenum might make the most sense for them. There’s also the free agent market to consider, but Smith’s $20.4MM cap hit could be prohibitive in the pursuit of someone like Nick Foles.

Steelers, Maurkice Pouncey Agree To Extension

March 7th, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers and Pro-Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey have agreed to a two-year extension worth $22MM, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With a new money average of $11MM per season, Pouncey is slated to become the NFL’s highest-paid center in 2020, provided that he is not leapfrogged in the interim. Pouncey was already signed through 2019, so the new pact will take him through the 2021 season.

Pouncey, not to be confused with brother Mike Pouncey of the Chargers, has been with the Steelers since being drafted No. 18 overall in 2010. He has earned a Pro Bowl nod in every full season since then, giving him seven selections in total. Pouncey also earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2011 and 2014.

Last year, Pouncey ranked as the No. 14 center in the NFL, a bit below his usual spot. Still, he passed the Steelers’ naked eye test and the club is moving to keep the 29-year-old (30 this summer) in the fold for years to come.

Earlier this week, the Steelers took another step towards continuity on the offensive line by assigning a second-round tender to B.J. Finney.

49ers Exercise Options On Juszczyk, Watson

March 7th, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers decided to get a good deal of their housekeeping done on Thursday. Per a team announcement, the club has made the following transactions:

Tendered:

Exercised 2019 Options:

Declined 2019 option

For the most part, these were no-brainer calls for SF. Mostert, Lee, and Mabin will all return on cheap one-year deals that require little in the way of actual commitments. Juszczyk, signed to a four-year, $21MM deal in 2017, is regarded as one of the very best fullbacks in the NFL and graded out as the second-best in the league last year, per Pro Football Focus. who rejoiced when he was cut by the Pats and claimed by the Niners in 2017, tallied a career-high 5.5 sacks in 2018.

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