HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Eagles To Work Out Johnathan Cyprien

June 4th, 2019 at 8:05am CST by Zachary Links

Johnathan Cyprien will work out for the Eagles on Tuesday, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If signed, Cyprien would give the Eagles some cushion at safety while Malcolm Jenkins continues to stay at home.

Cyprien missed the entire 2018 season due to a torn ACL, but he is eager to make his NFL return after being OK’d by doctors last month. The soon-to-be 29-year-old also worked out for the Colts this week and should be able to hook on with a contender if he is indeed back to 100% health.

The advanced metrics have never been high on Cyprien, but he has been a starter for his entire career and has a reputation for delivering hard hits. That style of play should appeal to the Eagles, though Cyprien would have no real shot at starting unless Jenkins’ holdout extends to the regular season. Even then, the Eagles still have one bonafide starter in Rodney McLeod with Andrew Sendejo and Blake Countess also on the depth chart.

Jenkins is presumably seeking a new contract, though his current deal doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season. It’s not clear whether the Eagles would be willing to adjust his contract either. With an average annual salary of $8.75MM, the 31-year-old is still one of the ten highest paid safeties in the NFL.

Latest On Browns’ Pursuit Of Gerald McCoy

June 3rd, 2019 at 9:56pm CST by Ben Levine

We heard earlier tonight that the Browns may have made Gerald McCoy an offer that exceeded the deal he ultimately signed with the Panthers. However, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says that isn’t the case, as the Browns “weren’t touching” the $10.25MM maximum contract value he got with Carolina (Twitter link).

McCoy was set to make $13MM before he was released by the Buccaneers, and Cleveland was looking for him to “take a fairly sizable pay cut.” Fowler says the Browns ultimately pegged the 31-year-old as an $8MM player, which is what the defensive tackle ended up taking from the Panthers (without incentives). However, it’s uncertain if the Browns’ $8MM valuation accounted for incentives, and we don’t know if the guaranteed money would have exceed the $4MM he’ll be getting from Carolina.

Soon after McCoy’s release from Tampa Bay, the Browns were mentioned as potential suitors for McCoy. The Browns’ up-and-coming roster reportedly appealed to McCoy, although there was a chance the veteran would have had to play a reserve role in Cleveland. Head coach Freddie Kitchens even admitted as much last week.

“I know the more good football players you have, the better you are, the better rotation there is, the better you can get after a quarterback in a two-minute drive,” Kitchens said (via ESPN.com’s Tony Grossi). “There’s a staggering stat, like, 78 percent of two-minute drives, if you give up a sack, your chances of scoring goes to under 20 percent. He knows when we want to put pressure on the quarterback. He knows that’s what we’re going to be about. Hopefully he wants to be a part of it.”

The Browns added Sheldon Richardson earlier this offseason, and they also have former third-rounder Larry Ogunjobi slotted in as a starter. Of course, McCoy would have provided the team with a considerable upgrade over the likes of Trevon Coley and Brian Price.

Lions CB Darius Slay To Skip Minicamp

June 3rd, 2019 at 9:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Darius Slay won’t be attending the Lions’ mandatory minicamp. During an Instagram Live conversation with former teammate Crezdon Butler, the cornerback acknowledged that he “ain’t going” next Tuesday (via Jeremy Reisman of PrideOfDetroit.com). NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport echoes the report (via Twitter), saying Slay wants a new contract.

Despite having two years remaining on his deal, Slay is looking for a raise. The cornerback is set to earn about $12.5MM in 2019 and $10MM in 2020, which puts him outside of the top-10 at his position in average annual value. The 28-year-old has likely already forfeited his $250K workout bonus by skipping OTAs, and his absence from minicamp could cost him another $100K.

However, as our own Rory Parks explored yesterday, Slay (along with teammate Damon Harrison) probably won’t hold out into the regular season, when the real fines will start to pile up. Therefore, the Lions could hope that Slay ends up relenting and attending training camp, and the two sides could then revisit negotiations in 2020. Plus, it doesn’t sound like Slay is all that eager to leave the Lions; after disclosing that he won’t be attending minicamp, the cornerback made sure to pass along some love to the fans.

“I love my fans, I love Detroit,” Slay said. “I’m telling y’all, Detroit got the best fans in the world, man. Y’all got some crazy ones now, but y’all are the best ones now. Y’all are the best fans in the world.”

The 2013 second-round pick has spent his entire career with the Lions, and he’s earned Pro Bowl nods in each of the past two seasons. While his 2017 campaign was hard to match statistically, Slay did his best in 2018. He ultimately finished last season with 43 tackles, 17 passes defended, and three interceptions in 15 games (15 starts). Pro Football Focus ended up ranking Slay 23rd among 112 eligible cornerbacks.

Lions Wrap Up Draft Class Signings

June 3rd, 2019 at 7:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Lions have finished signing their entire draft class. The team announced (via Twitter) that they’ve signed third-round safety Will Harris.

The Lions had to trade up in the third round to acquire the Boston College product. Ultimately, Detroit received No. 81 from the Vikings in exchange for No. 88 (which was acquired in the Golden Tate deal) and No. 204.

Harris was undoubtedly a logical pick; as a senior captain, the safety finished with 75 tackles, earning him a third-team All-ACC nod. His best season came in 2018, when he led the nation with four fumble recoveries. Harris ended up being one of three BC players to be selected in the first three rounds, joining first-round lineman Chris Lindstrom (Falcons) and third-round defensive end Zach Allen (Cardinals).

In Detroit, Harris could have a chance to establish himself as a major contributor. At the moment, Tavon Wilson and Quandre Diggs are slotted in as the team’s starters. If that ends up being the case, Harris will be competing with free agent addition Andrew Adams and 2018 third-rounder Tracy Walker for backup reps.

As we mentioned, this signing means the team has inked all of their 2019 draft class to contracts. That grouping includes:

Ravens Offered Gerald McCoy $8MM Guaranteed?

June 3rd, 2019 at 6:38pm CST by Rory Parks

Gerald McCoy agreed to sign with the Panthers today, opting to remain the NFC South rather than venture to the Browns or Ravens in the AFC North. Apparently, though, Baltimore did everything it could to bring McCoy into the fold.

McCoy landed a one-year, $8MM pact from Carolina that could be worth as much as $10.25MM. However, only $4MM of that is guaranteed, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, the Ravens were willing to give McCoy double that amount in fully-guaranteed money (video link). RapSheet adds that the Browns also put together a strong package that may have surpassed the Panthers’ offer.

It’s unclear what incentives Baltimore or Cleveland were offering to enhance the value of their proposals, but many of the incentives in McCoy’s Panthers deal do not seem especially difficult to achieve (provided he remains healthy). McCoy is due $3MM in base pay — and it’s not as though the Panthers are going to cut him to avoid paying that salary — and he can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives. The eight-sack incentive may be a tall order, but the others are either very likely or at least attainable (and McCoy did tally 8.5 sacks in 2015, with totals of seven, six, and six in each of the past three seasons).

So in reality, McCoy may ultimately earn just as much in Carolina as he would have with the Ravens or Browns (both of whom also boast strong front-sevens). But McCoy was drawn to the camaraderie he saw during his visit with the Panthers, and he preferred to remain in the South. He enjoyed his visits to Cleveland and Baltimore but had reservations about the cities themselves.

Of course, the chance to exact revenge on the Bucs likely had at least some part in McCoy’s decision, especially with Tampa Bay giving McCoy’s No. 93 to new signee Ndamukong Suh.

Dolphins Interested In Laremy Tunsil Extension

June 3rd, 2019 at 6:14pm CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins exercised left tackle Laremy Tunsil‘s fifth-year option in April, which keeps the 2016 first-rounder under club control through 2020. However, Miami is apparently interested in working out an extension that would run beyond 2020.

Now that Tunsil has three years of service time, he is eligible for an extension, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fins would like to explore negotiations on a new contract. Miami, of course, is in the early stages of a full rebuild, but Tunsil is young enough that he could be a key part of the club when it returns to competitiveness.

Plus, he plays a critical position and appears to be trending upwards. 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. He has started 44 regular-season games in his brief career, moving from left guard to left tackle full-time in 2017. After an infamous pre-draft slide, Tunsil’s career is very much on track.

However, he has yet to make a Pro Bowl, and the Dolphins may want to lock him down now before his price tag continues to grow. Titans OT tackle Taylor Lewan is at the top of the market with a $16MM AAV and $50MM in guarantees, while Dallas’ Tyron Smith currently owns the most valuable contract ($97.2MM).

Tunsil is not at that level just yet, so if he prioritizes long-term security over the biggest payday, the Dolphins may be able to extend him for something like a five-year, $65MM pact with $30-35MM in guarantees.

Panthers To Sign Gerald McCoy

June 3rd, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Rory Parks

Free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has elected to sign with the Panthers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that it will be a one-year, $8MM pact that can be worth as much as $10.25MM with incentives, and Schefter adds that it includes a $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link).

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds more details on the incentive package (Twitter link). In addition to his $4MM signing bonus and $3MM base pay, McCoy can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives.

McCoy quickly became the hottest name on the market upon his release from the Buccaneers, and he visited with the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers. It sounds as though the Ravens were the runner-up in the McCoy sweepstakes, as Schefter tweets that McCoy left Baltimore thinking he may very well sign there. But Carolina wowed him during his visit, and Panthers QB Cam Newton made a convincing sales pitch. The fact that he can now terrorize his old team twice in 2019 may have also been a factor.

The Panthers reinforce a strong D-line that now includes three Pro Bowlers in McCoy, Dontari Poe, and Kawann Short. McCoy may not be the player he once was, but the 31-year-old is still a fearsome presence, especially considering his ability to generate an interior pass rush. He has 54.5 career sacks to his credit, and he is also durable, as he has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011.

Short and Poe each played between 50-60% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps in 2018, so McCoy fits nicely into the club’s rotation. He ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.

The Panthers cleared out $9MM in cap space over the past week by officially releasing Matt Kalil and restructuring the contract of Torrey Smith. As Joe Person of The Athletic tweets, Carolina still has $8MM to conduct the rest of its offseason business.

AFC East Notes: Bell, Bills, Flores

June 3rd, 2019 at 4:51pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bell has rung. As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets, Le’Veon Bell has arrived at the Jets‘ facility in advance of tomorrow’s mandatory minicamp. There was never a chance that Bell would fail to show up for minicamp, but given the drama that has followed him from Pittsburgh to New York, it’s still noteworthy, if for no other reason than to see how he will interact with new head coach Adam Gase.

Now for several more items from the AFC East:

  • Speaking at Jim Kelly‘s annual charity golf tournament this morning, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he believes that a new stadium is essential to the stability of a franchise (via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic). With respect to the Bills specifically, Goodell made it very clear that team ownership will need to address the club’s stadium situation at some point in the near future to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Goodell has made similar remarks in the past, but the article — which includes more of Goodell’s comments — are well worth a read for Bills fans, as it also details the unique challenges that ownership faces in meeting Goodell’s demands.
  • Brian Flores is making a strong first impression with the Dolphins, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. A number of players are less than keen on the old-school mentality and the demanding nature of the new coaching staff, but others are enjoying it, and Flores himself has drawn rave reviews. Players have lauded the rookie head coach both publicly and privately, which is a bit more meaningful for Flores than it might be for another HC. The Dolphins are in full rebuild mode, so Flores will be judged not necessarily on wins and losses — at least not for a year or two — but on how his players respond to him and compete for him.
  • In the same piece linked above, Jackson notes that the Dolphins are taking a wait-and-see approach with several players entering the final years of their contracts like RB Kenyan Drake and WR Jakeem Grant.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/3/19

June 3rd, 2019 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

Washington Redskins

Gerald McCoy Hopes To Sign Today

June 3rd, 2019 at 1:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Gerald McCoy‘s agent is actively negotiating with the Panthers, Browns, and Ravens, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). There’s no real timetable for McCoy to sign, though Rapoport notes that he would like to be on the field for the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, wherever he lands. 

McCoy drew interest from seemingly 1/3rd of the NFL, but the Ravens and Browns seem to be in the lead for his services. The Panthers have also made a strong push to land McCoy in an effort to give Kawann Short a quality partner on the interior.

McCoy has 54.5 career sacks to his credit and has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011. He’d be an instant difference maker for any of those three clubs and each team would offer him a chance to win in 2019.

Ultimately, it may come down to money for McCoy and his camp – the veteran has reportedly garnered offers as high as $11MM/year, but it’s hard to see him reaching that mark after Ndamukong Suh signed for less than $10MM with the Bucs.

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