2019 November - Pro Football Rumors

Eagles, Lane Johnson Agree To Extension

November 29th, 2019 at 3:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles and Lane Johnson agreed on a record extension Friday. In a year featuring several re-ups for Eagles offensive linemen, Johnson agreed to a four-year, $72MM deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Johnson will receive a staggering $54.595MM guaranteed in this contract, per Garafolo. In terms of per-year value ($18MM), this is the most lucrative contract given to an offensive lineman. The seventh-year lineman’s guarantee also tops the league, making this a banner day for Johnson and the oft-overlooked right tackle position.

This marks a near-$7MM-per-year raise for Johnson, who was previously signed to a five-year, $56.25MM deal that ran through the 2021 season. The 29-year-old blocker is now signed through 2025.

This pact follows a spree of 2019 extensions, with the Eagles planning far ahead with their O-line. Philadelphia has extended Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo this year. Four members of Philly’s current front five are locked up into the mid-2020s, with only 37-year-old Jason Peters on a year-to-year setup at this point. While the Johnson deal represents the biggest number, the Eagles are showing tremendous faith in their current blockers.

Philly now employs the highest-paid tackle and guard in the league, with Brooks’ $14MM-per-year deal edging Zack Martin‘s pact earlier this month. Johnson’s new contract eclipses Trent Brown‘s $16.5MM-AAV price set earlier this year. The NFL’s two highest-paid offensive linemen, interestingly, now each play right tackle. The highest-paid left tackle, Taylor Lewan, signed for $16MM annually last year. Johnson’s deal figures to move that market, however.

Taken in a 2013 draft that produced several top-10 busts, Johnson is the rare Pro Bowl right tackle. Twice given the honor that almost exclusively goes to left tackles, Johnson has helped the Eagles form one of the league’s top lines. Pro Football Focus grades Johnson as this season’s No. 2 overall tackle.

He has dealt with suspension and injury issues, however. Johnson has missed 14 career games due to two PED bans, the most recent of which in 2016. He earned first-team All-Pro honors the next year and helped the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title. Helping to explain the record-smashing contract: in Carson Wentz‘s four-year career, his QBR figure drops by more than 20 points without Johnson in the lineup. He is set to return to Philadelphia’s lineup this week after missing Week 12 with a concussion.

Cardinals DB Josh Shaw Suspended For Betting On NFL Games

November 29th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Josh Shaw will draw a season-long suspension. The NFL suspended the fifth-year defensive back for the entire 2020 season for betting on NFL games. An appeal must be filed within three days.

Currently stationed on the Cardinals’ IR list, Shaw bet on multiple games this season, according to the NFL. While a league investigation did not find Shaw to have used inside information, this is still a major development. The nature of this infraction certainly makes the Friday after Thanksgiving a logical target for this news dump. Shaw cannot apply for reinstatement until Feb. 15, 2021.

“The continued success of the NFL depends directly on each of us doing everything possible to safeguard the integrity of the game and the reputations of all who participate in the league,” Roger Goodell said in a statement. “At the core of this responsibility is the longstanding principle that betting on NFL games, or on any element of a game, puts at risk the integrity of the game, damages public confidence in the NFL, and is forbidden under all circumstances. If you work in the NFL in any capacity, you may not bet on NFL football.”

While this will not register on the same level as Paul Hornung and Alex Karras‘ season-long gambling bans in 1963, with Shaw being a journeyman, it’s still quite the late-season development. It is not known if Shaw bet on Cardinals games, though Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic tweets Shaw is not believed to have been around the team since going on IR in August.

Shaw, 27, was a 12-game Bengals starter in 2016. The 2015 fourth-round pick played at Florida and USC and has spent most of his career as a backup with the Bengals, Chiefs and Buccaneers. The Cardinals signed Shaw to a one-year, $895K deal in March. This ban certainly puts the veteran defender’s career in jeopardy.

NFC East Notes: Cooper, Kerrigan, Giants

November 29th, 2019 at 2:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Amari Cooper left the Cowboys‘ Thanksgiving Day game because of a knee injury, but it appears the wide receiver avoided a significant setback. An MRI Cooper underwent Friday revealed no structural damage in the knee, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes. The Cowboys do not have a 10-day break, set for a Thursday-night game in Week 14 in Chicago, but Cooper looks to have avoided a multi-game injury. That will obviously be pivotal to a 6-6 team vying for the NFC East title with the 5-6 Eagles.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

The Giants announced they have designated outside linebacker Kareem Martin to return from IR. A 2018 free agent signing, Martin played only in Week 1 this season. The former Cardinal has rehabbed from a knee injury and will soon be set to make it three ex-Cardinals among the Giants’ linebacking corps. New York has seen Markus Golden stand out on his one-year deal, and Big Blue added ex-Arizona first-rounder Deone Bucannon during Martin’s IR stay.
Evan Engram will miss his third straight game. After being declared out, the Giants’ third-year tight end will miss his 11th career game. The Ole Miss product is dealing with a mid-foot sprain. Engram was playing well prior to this injury. The Giants must decide on the 2017 first-rounder’s fifth-year option by early May. Blocking tight end Rhett Ellison will also miss New York’s 12th game, leaving the 2-9 team without much of note at this position.
Long out of playoff contention, the Redskins are playing only for evaluation and draft position at this point. A player the team does not need to evaluate, though, will miss his first NFL game. Ryan Kerrigan‘s 139-game streak will come to an end because of a concussion, Bill Callahan said Friday. Washington’s top edge rusher has posted double-digit sacks in each of the past three seasons but will have a tougher time running that streak to four with this news. The ninth-year outside linebacker is sitting on 4.5 sacks after 11 games.
The Eagles gave kicker Jake Elliott a five-year extension, keeping the former Bengals practice squad leg tied to Philadelphia’s roster through the 2025 season.

Patrick Peterson Seeking Cards Extension

November 29th, 2019 at 1:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Still attached to a contract he signed in 2014, Patrick Peterson has not enjoyed a strong 2019. The All-Pro cornerback will head into the offseason after a season marred by a six-game PED suspension, but he will be ready to discuss another Cardinals extension.

The Cardinals, though, have not approached the 29-year-old defender about a third deal, per Bob McManamon of the Arizona Republic. Peterson has not set a deadline for those potential talks. Arizona has resisted other teams’ interest in acquiring Peterson via trade, and Steve Keim has said he wants the three-time All-Pro to retire as a Cardinal.

After requesting a trade last year, Peterson has backtracked and hopes to play his entire career in Arizona. This points to extension talks commencing at some point next year.

“When that time presents itself, I’ll be ready,” Peterson said of an extension. “But at the end of the day, I have to make sure I’m playing the best football that I can so those talks can happen and I can get what I deserve.”

While Peterson signed his five-year, $70MM deal more than five years ago, the cornerback market has not changed much since. Peterson remains the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid corner, with his $14MM-AAV price trailing Xavien Howard‘s top-market deal by barely $1MM.

With Peterson finishing out a suspension-shortened season, and rating as Pro Football Focus’ No. 88 corner entering Week 13, negotiations between he and the Cards will be a bit different next year. Jalen Ramsey‘s Rams talks figure to overshadow other corners’ discussions as well, with the recently traded standout poised to change the stagnant market at this position.

Bengals To Place G Alex Redmond On IR

November 29th, 2019 at 12:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bengals will be without another of their offensive line starters for the season’s remainder. Alex Redmond will go on IR because of the torn biceps injury he suffered last week, Ben Baby of ESPN.com tweets.

Redmond’s move off the 53-man roster will make room for cornerback Darius Phillips, whom the Bengals will activate from IR. The Bengals placed Phillips on IR in late September, but the second-year corner returned to practice last week.

A 15-game starter last year, Redmond only made two starts for the Bengals this year. He began this season with a four-game suspension and suffered an ankle injury weeks ago. The third-year blocker was set to return to action in Week 12 but suffered this biceps malady during pregame warmups. Par for the course for what’s been a brutal Bengals season, particularly on the offensive front.

Phillips will be used in a backup role, per Zac Taylor. The 2018 fifth-round pick has played in 18 games, making one start in that time. Redmond can be retained next year via RFA tender, though the 2017 UDFA will not have much momentum going into that process.

Cowboys Notes: Beasley, Garrett, Maher

November 29th, 2019 at 11:57am CST by Marc Delucchi

Former Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley had a bumpy tenure with the team. Beasley was a fan favorite in Dallas from 2012-2018, but became frustrated with the team when his role did not expand to the degree he thought it should. After signing with the Bills this offseason, Beasley got to exert his revenge in Buffalo’s 26-15 victory in Dallas on Thursday.

In the postgame celebration of Buffalo’s Thanksgiving day victory, Beasley told reporters that he felt “disrespected” in Dallas and felt that they disrespected him again in his return, according to Angel Franco of The Dallas Morning News. Beasley caught six passes for 110 receiving yards and a touchdown against his former team.

Here’s some more Cowboys notes:

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones ripped his coaching staff after last week’s loss to the Patriots. After an even more disappointing loss to Buffalo on Thursday, all eyes were on the maverick owner to see if he would once again criticize his coaching staff. While Jones was not full of praise, he tried to calm the flames around the team by saying he will not make any coaching moves during the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. This does not remove the pressure on head coach Jason Garrett to make a deep playoff run, but should make it easier to focus on the upcoming schedule.
Cowboys placekicker Brett Maher is in the midst of a massive sophomore slump. After an impressive rookie season that included 6 makes on 7 attempts from at least 50 yards, the Nebraska product has made just 67.9% of his field goal attempts in 2019. While special teams has been a huge problem for the Cowboys, they will not be making a change at kicker, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. Maher has yet to miss an extra point on the season and remains 14 of 16 inside 40 yards, but will surely hope to improve his accuracy from deeper range during the rest of the season.

49ers WR Dante Pettis Has Knee Sprain

November 29th, 2019 at 11:10am CST by Marc Delucchi

49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis left practice on Wednesday with what could have been a serious knee injury, luckily, the sophomore wideout’s injury appears to just be a sprain that is not a cause for long-term concern, according to Ian Rapoport. The injury does make his status this week uncertain, but should not limit him later in the year.

This season has gone as good as anyone could have expected for the 49ers, but that has not been the case for Pettis. The team’s second round pick in 2018 appeared poised for a breakout after a strong finish to his rookie season. However, he found himself at the bottom of the team’s depth chart at receiver and has been unable to take advantage of limited opportunities.

In 2019, Pettis has appeared in all 11 49ers games (4 starts) this season and hauled in 11 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. For what it’s worth, Pettis only had 11 receptions and 189 yards at this point last season before recording 262 receiving yards in his next four games.

Pettis may be on the border of the 49ers plans going forward, but a season-ending injury could have spelled the end of his time in San Francisco. Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that either Pettis or wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who is dealing with minor injuries of his own, will be inactive this week in San Francisco’s big game in Baltimore against the Ravens.

Giants WR Golden Tate Out With Concussion

November 29th, 2019 at 10:16am CST by Marc Delucchi

Giants wide receiver Golden Tate will not practice today and is out for New York’s upcoming matchup against the Packers while he deals with a concussion, according to Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post. Tate sustained a concussion in last week’s 19-14 loss to the Bears on a touchdown reception and has been in the league’s protocol since.

Tate, signed this offseason by the Giants, has hauled in 36 receptions for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns over seven games this season. With Tate out and tight end Evan Ingram dealing with an injury of his own, expect New York to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley against the Packers.

According to the Giants depth chart, Cody Latimer is next in line to take Tate’s starting spot, but Darius Slayton started in place of Sterling Shepard while he was out with a concussion of his own. Regardless, this season’s revolving door of receivers has not made adjusting to the NFL any easier for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who has struggled mightily since a strong start to the season.

Eagles Lane Johnson Will Start Sunday

November 29th, 2019 at 10:02am CST by Marc Delucchi

Eagles starting right tackle Lane Johnson was cleared from the league’s concussion protocol and will return to the lineup on Sunday, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Johnson sustained a concussion in Philadelphia’s Week 11 matchup against the Patriots and missed last week’s 17-9 loss to the Seahawks.

Johnson’s return will be a sign of relief for the Eagles, who were without the entire starting right side of their offensive line last week. Philadelphia’s offense, especially quarterback Carson Wentz, have appeared in disarray in recent weeks, but playing some of the best defenses in football without full strength along their offensive front just added to a perfect storm of problems.

While the team is surely disappointed with a 5-6 start to the season, the rest of the division’s struggles leaves them within striking distance of a playoff spot. After the Cowboys loss on Thanksgiving dropped them to 6-6, Philly is only a half-game back for the division lead in the NFC East. Furthermore, the Eagles will host the Cowboys in Week 16 and have a much easier schedule than their division foe. Dallas’ opponents, aside from the Eagles, have a combined 14-20 record while Philadelphia’s have just a combined 8-36 record.

Packers RT Bryan Bulaga Returns To Practice

November 29th, 2019 at 9:44am CST by Marc Delucchi

Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga returned to practice on Thursday, according to Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Bulaga left Green Bay’s loss to the 49ers last Sunday with a right knee injury and did not return. Bulaga took part in all of the team’s pre-practice drills with the starters, which generally suggests he played in 11-on-11s (reporters were not allowed to watch that portion of practice). While he was listed as just a limited participant in practice, he is already ahead of schedule.

Green Bay made a series of roster moves early in the week that suggested they were skeptical Bulaga would be able to play. After Alex Light-Bulaga’s replacement-was dominated by San Francisco, the Packers promoted offensive tackle Yosh Nijman from the practice squad and claimed veteran Jared Veldheer off waivers. However, per the report, those moves may end up superfluous.

Bulaga has been a key part of the Packers offensive line since they drafted him in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. When healthy, he has started nearly every game for Green Bay, but injuries have allowed him to play in at least 13 games just four times in his nine-year career. Those limitations have not been due to toughness though. Bulaga showed that by playing through a right shoulder injury earlier this season. Now Packers fans will just have to wait and see if he can take the field on Sunday against the Giants.