Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Jake Brendel, CB Trey Johnson
- Waived: CB Craig Mager
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Josh Woodrum (AAF)
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
Washington Redskins
Kyler Murray-to-Arizona still looks to be in the cards (no pun intended), but the Nos. 2-4 quarterback landing spots — and the order in which they will be drafted — remain murky. While Dwayne Haskins‘ reported slide has led to some predicting Drew Lock would benefit, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes the Missouri product has a “very real chance” of being the fourth quarterback selected and/or falling out of the first round. Connected to Lock prior to their Joe Flacco trade, the Broncos would be intrigued by the prospect of nabbing Lock in Round 2, per JLC, who tabs Denver as more likely to address a bigger immediate need in the first round. The Broncos visited with Lock during the process, as did several other teams with some degree of a need at quarterback.
Here is the latest from the draft world, continuing with some of this year’s passing prospects:
Although many high-profile Dolphins from last year’s team are elsewhere now, some stalwarts remain firmly in the organization’s plans. Laremy Tunsil is one of them.
The Dolphins will pick up their left tackle’s fifth-year option, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. This will push Tunsil’s rookie deal through 2020.
After a pre-draft slide, Tunsil wound up in Miami three years ago. He has started 44 regular-season games, moving from left guard to left tackle full-time in 2017. Tunsil will be a constant for an offensive line that has since lost Ja’Wuan James, Ted Larsen and Josh Sitton. Miami returns Daniel Kilgore, but the 24-year-old Tunsil obviously profiles as a longer-term starter.
Pro Football Focus viewed 2018 as Tunsil’s best season, one that ended with the site grading the Ole Miss product as the No. 36 overall tackle. His salary will spike to around $10MM in 2020, barring an extension in the meantime. These options are guaranteed for injury only.
Browns GM John Dorsey addressed the media this morning and provided a number of noteworthy tidbits. Here are some highlights (compiled via the Twitter accounts of Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com):
On the status of RB Duke Johnson, who requested a trade a few weeks ago:
Dorsey said that Johnson’s trade request does not change how the club views him, and that he still envisions a key role for Johnson in the Browns’ offense. Johnson has not been with the team since the offseason workout program began on April 1, but there has been communication between the team and Johnson’s agent. There is still no word on whether Johnson will report for mandatory minicamp in June, but it sounds as though Dorsey is not particularly keen to honor Johnson’s trade request at this time (which means there may not be a particularly large market for his services).
On trading into the first round:
Dorsey did not rule out the possibility of getting his club back into the first round of this year’s draft, and he acknowledged the benefit of getting the potential fifth-year option for a top collegiate prospect. He said he has talked to teams picking in the bottom of the first round about a potential trade, but he added that he always does that as a part of his due diligence. The Browns’ first draft choice this year is the No. 49 overall selection, so they would need to give up a lot to jump at least 17 spots into the first round.
Dorsey said OBJ has not reported to the team for voluntary workouts, but he does not sound concerned. He said it would be nice to have the star receiver present, but he added that Beckham is a professional who understands what he needs to do to get ready for the season.
On Kareem Hunt:
Dorsey said that Hunt has “worked his fanny off” both with the team and in the community, and he is impressed with the progress Hunt has made.
On Morgan Burnett:
Dorsey sees the newly-acquired defender as the Browns’ starting strong safety.
Amidst a deluge of trade speculation concerning second-year QB Josh Rosen, the Cardinals opted against making Rosen available to the media last week. But Rosen himself spoke to SI.TV (video link) about his uncertain status with the club, and while he did not disparage Arizona, he certainly sounded frustrated. He said, “I definitely understand the situation. I mean, it’s annoying but, like, it is what it is. Football’s a business, and I definitely respect the higher-ups and their decisions. . . . Whatever decisions are made, it’s my duty to prove them right if they keep me, and prove them wrong if they ship me off” (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
Now for more from around the NFC:
We heard towards the end of 2018 that the 49ers and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner would be discussing an extension this offseason. After all, now that the 2016 first-round pick has three years of service time, he is eligible for a new contract, and he appears to be coming into his own after a breakout 2018 campaign.
But Matt Barrows of The Athletic (subscription required) says it’s unlikely that the two sides agree to a new deal before the season begins. Buckner’s standard four-year rookie contract keeps him under club control at a bargain salary of $720K this year, and San Francisco will soon pick up his fifth-year option that ties him to the club through 2020. It’s unclear whether Buckner or the team chose to table an extension for the time being, but speculatively, it could be that Buckner wants to put together a 2019 season that builds on his 2018 production and further enhances his value before he and his agent get serious about a new deal.
Buckner himself said, “We’ve had conversations here and there. Honestly, it’s very early. Just because I’m eligible for a new contract going into my fourth year, it’s still very early in the process.”
Buckner’s ability to generate pressure from the interior of the defensive line will make him a highly-desirable commodity should he ever hit the open market, and if he produces another double-digit sack season — he posted 12 sacks in 2018, the first time he recorded double-figures — he will almost certainly land a contract paying him over $20MM per season, whether that comes from the 49ers or from some other club. His abilities as a run stopper will only increase his asking price.
With the 49ers’ addition of Dee Ford — and perhaps an elite collegiate prospect like Nick Bosa — to the front seven, Buckner should certainly be able to replicate last year’s success.
The Redskins and DE Matt Ioannidis have agreed to a three-year, $21.75MM extension, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter). The former fifth-round pick out of Temple can earn another $3MM in incentives, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Ioannidis will receive $14MM in guaranteed money.
Ioannidis has quietly turned himself into a quality member of Washington’s defensive line rotation, and he’s gotten better with each year. He would have been eligible for free agency for the first time in 2020, but the Redskins made sure that didn’t happen. Instead, they locked him up on a relatively modest deal that still gives Ioannidis a nice influx of cash. He will now be under club control through 2022.
Ioannidis had something of an inauspicious start to his professional career, as the Redskins waived him during final cutdowns in September 2016 but re-signed him to the practice squad immediately thereafter. He was promoted to the active roster several weeks into the season and ultimately suited up for 10 games in his rookie campaign.
He cracked the starting lineup in 2017, and although his snap count actually decreased a bit in 2018, his sack totals went up, from 4.5 in 2017 to 7.5 in 2018. There is still room for him to grow, but the Redskins are clearly confident in his ability to continue developing his game as they continue to utilize his pass-rushing skills.
In 2018, Ioannidis graded out as an above-average player at his position per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.
After the Seahawks and Russell Wilson agreed to a massive four-year, $140MM extension, the parties held a press conference that produced several interesting nuggets:
The Panthers have converted $9.05MM of star linebacker Luke Kuechly‘s 2019 salary into a bonus, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The move will create an additional $7.24MM of cap space, which is quite significant given that Carolina was only operating with about $1.34MM in cap room prior to the restructure.
This marks the second year in a row that the Panthers have given Kuechly cash upfront in order to create cap space, which can be a dangerous strategy. But Kuechly, who will turn 28 in two days, remains one of the best linebackers in the league and is coming off his fifth First Team All-Pro bid. Considering his importance to the team both now and for the foreseeable future, these reworkings are likely not too difficult for Carolina to stomach.
The team now has some much-needed flexibility heading into next week’s draft, and their newfound cap space will allow the Panthers to re-enter the free agent market should they be unable to fill their remaining needs with collegiate prospects. Plus, their release of Matt Kalil earlier this offseason will add another $7.25MM to their coffers once the calendar flips to June 1.
Kuechly is under contract through 2021.
Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Defensive tackle Brandon Dunn and linebacker Brennan Scarlett, each of whom was tendered at the original round level, also inked their tenders, per Wilson.
Restricted free agents have until Friday to sign offer sheets, but it was always unlikely that a rival club would sacrifice a second-round pick to sign a kicker such as Fairbairn. Still, the Texans thought enough of Fairbairn to assign him a second-round tender, which costs nearly $1MM more than an original round tender. For Fairbairn, he’ll see his base salary increase to $3.095MM, a significant raise for a player who earned less than $1.5MM over the first three years of his career.
A 2016 undrafted free agent out of UCLA, Fairbairn became the Texans’ kicker in 2017 after spending his rookie campaign on injured reserve. Last year, he led the NFL in both field goal attempts and conversions while ranking 13th in field goal percentage. Football Outsiders‘ ranked Houston eighth in its field goal/extra point metric.