HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Chargers Re-Sign OC Shane Steichen

February 4th, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s official. On Tuesday, the Chargers formally re-signed offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to a brand new deal that will keep him on board for the 2020 season and beyond. 

[RELATED: Chargers’ Anthony Lynn Signs Extension]

Terms of the deal are not yet known, but Steichen’s pact almost certainly will take him through the 2022 season, and possibly longer. Steichen started last season as the team’s quarterbacks coach, but he was bumped up to the OC job – with play-calling responsibilities – after Ken Whisenhunt was canned in October.

Under Whisenhunt, the run game was downright pitiful: The Chargers went four straight games without achieving 40 yards rushing and their spotty aerial attack had them ranked No. 23 in the league in points. With Steichen at the helm, things improved somewhat – they converted on more red zone opportunities, placed No. 12 in DVOA on the year, and averaged nearly three more points per contest in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Steichen’s effect on wide receiver Mike Williams was immediately apparent – the former first-round pick had an iffy start to the year, bu the helped kick off the OC’s promotion with three catches for 111 yards against the Packers in Week 9. All in all, he had 582 receiving yards in the back half of the season and finished with a league-leading 20.4 yards per reception.

Steichen’s relationship with Philip Rivers could help to facilitate a reunion. The veteran is scheduled for free agency and recently bought a home in Florida, but the Chargers are still open to keeping him via a new deal or the franchise tag.

Greg Olsen To Visit Seahawks

February 4th, 2020 at 10:33am CST by Zachary Links

Greg Olsen will visit the Seahawks as a part of his free agency tour, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. As previously reported, Olsen will also be checking in with the Bills and Redskins as he weighs his options. 

[RELATED: Greg Olsen To Visit Redskins, Bills]

Olsen, 35 in March, parted ways with the Panthers earlier this winter. The veteran wasn’t interested in being a part of a rebuild and the Panthers elected to cut him loose in order to save $8.1MM against the cap.

Olsen might not be quite as effective as he was during his prime years, but he still profiles as a productive vet who could be of use in Seattle. The Seahawks aren’t quite sure what they’ll have in Will Dissly, who is coming off of a torn Achilles tendon. Meanwhile, Ed Dickson could be released in a cost-cutting move, Luke Willson is headed towards the open market, and Jacob Hollister will be an RFA.

Olsen caught 52 passes for 597 yards and two touchdowns in 2019, showing that he can still play at his advanced age. He was also healthy, for the most part – he appeared in 14 games after missing a combined 16 contests between 2017 and 2018.

Before the injuries, Olsen was one of the league’s most consistent and reliable tight ends. Olsen topped 1,000 yards receiving in three straight seasons and was a no-brainer choice for the Pro Bowl in each of those campaigns.

Release Candidate: Trumaine Johnson

February 4th, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets will have some tough decisions to make in the months ahead. Will they part ways with running back Le’Veon Bell, even though that would result in an absurdly high dead money hit? Will they give safety Jamal Adams a top-of-the-market deal, stand pat, or open up the phone lines on trade inquiries, as they did before last year’s trade deadline? And how about free agent wide receiver Robby Anderson, who is gunning for big bucks after posting a so-so stat line?

Those are just some of the issues that need to be addressed by GM Joe Douglas this offseason. However, there are also easier calls to be made, including the future of cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

In 2018, former GM Mike Maccagnan inked Johnson to a five-year, $72.5MM deal with $34MM guaranteed at signing. Previous to that, Johnson performed as one of the league’s better cornerbacks with the Rams across six seasons. In New York, Johnson fell way, way short of expectations.

In his first year with Gang Green, Johnson missed significant time with a quad injury that some Jets staffers believe he could have played through. He did come away with four interceptions in 2018, but that stat doesn’t tell the whole story – Johnson struggled in coverage and looked like a shell of his former self.

Things deteriorated even further in 2019 – Johnson appeared in only seven games before landing on IR in early November. He was also benched for performance reasons and, unsurprisingly, they were unable to find any takers for him at the trade deadline.

Coach Adam Gase was vocal about his frustration with Johnson, but there was no sense in releasing him last year due to his deal. Cutting Johnson in 2019 would have resulted in $24MM in dead money with zero cap relief. This year, they’d still be saddled with $12MM in dead money, and they’d only save $3MM by dropping the 30-year-old, but that’s exactly what the Jets will do, in all likelihood.

The $3MM saved won’t be enough to sign a new starting cornerback, but it’s at least something. Expect Douglas to tack that on to his existing ~$50MM in cap room, a number that could grow even further by cutting vets like guard Brian Winters, cornerback Darryl Roberts, wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, and linebacker Avery Williamson.

Dolphins Unlikely To Make Strong Push For Tom Brady

February 4th, 2020 at 9:21am CST by Zachary Links

Will Tom Brady join up with the Dolphins this offseason? Owner Stephen Ross says that’s not likely to happen. 

“We’re a team that’s building, and I don’t know why he’d really want to come to the Dolphins,” Ross said recently (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). “He’s been one of the fiercest competitors there is and we’re at the stage with the Dolphins trying to really build a team for the future,” Ross said.

That’s more or less what you’d expect to hear from an owner who doesn’t want to deal with tampering accusations, but Jackson hears that Ross was telling the truth – he’s not expecting Brady to walk through that door and the Dolphins are unlikely to make a strong push for him.

For the last couple of weeks, there has been increasing buzz about the future Hall of Famer taking his talents to South Beach. The theory goes something like this: Brady is close to Bruce Beal, a business partner of Stephen Ross. Beal holds an option to buy the Dolphins from Ross and could, in turn, sell a minority stake in the team to Brady. Brady, potentially, could boost the value of the club in his twilight years by playing in Miami, but Ross, 79, says he plans on being the Dolphins’ owner for the rest of his life.

The Dolphins might not build their offseason around a Brady pursuit, but the Raiders are expected to make a strong push for him and there’s also buzz around the possibility of the Chargers making a play for him as Philip Rivers nears free agency. Meanwhile, the incumbent Patriots are prepared to pay Brady upwards of $30MM/year on his next contract, if he’s willing to stay.

Brady, 43 in August, completed just 60.8% of his throws last year – his lowest success rate since 2013. His 88.0 QB rating wasn’t anything to write home about, either, though he still managed to throw for 4,057 yards with 24 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

Rams’ Andrew Whitworth To Return

February 4th, 2020 at 8:43am CST by Zachary Links

Retirement can wait for Rams veteran Andrew Whitworth. The 38-year-old left tackle is expected to play in 2020, sources tell NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). 

Meanwhile, Whitworth is scheduled to reach free agency in March, so the Rams will have to hammer out a new deal with him if they want him back. Whitworth’s last pact paid him $33.75MM over the course of three years and his next/last contract won’t come cheap, either.

It’s become increasingly hard for teams to find quality help at the tackle position and Whitworth represents their best LT, despite his advanced age. Joseph Noteboom and Bobby Evans are on hand for support, but Whitworth is still the finest protector of the bunch.

As per usual, Whitworth turned in a perfect attendance record in 2019. He’s only missed three games since the 2013 season and hasn’t missed major time since his 10-game 2008 campaign with the Bengals. In January, Whitworth underwent ankle surgery, but he expects to be 100% healthy for the upcoming year.

The Rams’ offensive line struggled on the whole last year, but Whitworth was a bright spot for the unit. They’ll look to keep him in the fold for 2020 and uphold the pocket for Jared Goff.

Falcons Eyeing LG Help

February 3rd, 2020 at 9:17pm CST by Rory Parks

Falcons owner Arthur Blank recently brought up his team’s need for help at left guard, as Albert Breer of SI.com points out. Breer believes the mere fact that the owner is getting into the specifics of O-line upgrades in the offseason is indicative of how critical that unit will be for Atlanta next season.

Of course, the Falcons invested two first-round picks in the offensive line in 2019, when they drafted Chris Lindstrom with the No. 14 overall pick and Kaleb McGary with the No. 31 overall selection. Lindstrom, a right guard, injured his foot in the season opener and ultimately played in only five games, and though McGary started all 16 contests, he struggled, yielding a league-high 13 sacks from his right tackle position.

Still, those two will enter the 2020 campaign as the starters on the right side of the line and will hope to live up to their draft status. The fact that Blank brought up left guard is somewhat interesting, as the Falcons signed LG James Carpenter to a four-year pact last offseason and he started the team’s first 11 games before succumbing to a season-ending concussion. The Falcons would save a minimal amount of money by cutting Carpenter, though they could certainly keep him around as an experienced backup and seek an upgrade.

But such an upgrade may need to come via the draft again, as Atlanta is right up against the salary cap. If GM Thomas Dimitroff does find the room to acquire a free agent, players like Brandon Scherff or Andrus Peat could be in play.

Trent Williams To Play For Redskins In 2020?

February 3rd, 2020 at 7:59pm CST by Rory Parks

Not too long ago, left tackle Trent Williams was adamant about never playing for the Redskins again, even though he’s under contract with Washington through the 2020 season. Now, however, the tide could be turning.

Per JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, there is optimism that the club could get its seven-time Pro Bowler back. Williams sat out the entire 2019 season, because even when he ended his holdout in late October to prevent his contract from tolling, he could not pass his physical due to the pain he felt when he put on his helmet.

That pain, of course, is one small part of a much larger battle between Williams and the Redskins. Williams felt a great deal of animosity towards the organization for how it dealt with what turned out to be a cancerous tumor on his head, and the fact that the Redskins put him on the NFI list in November and opted to not pay him the remainder of his $5.1MM salary only made things worse.

But previous reports indicated that most of Williams’ ire was directed towards former team president Bruce Allen, who was fired at the end of December. Since then, the Redskins have hired the well-respected Ron Rivera as head coach, and Rivera has overhauled the club’s medical staff.

Rivera, in a recent interview with Larry Michael on Redskins Nation, indicated he wants Williams back. “We got to get Trent in, we got to sit him down, see where he is, see how he is, healthwise too,” Rivera said. “We have not really had the contact we need to have to know. He’s still our guy.”

Williams, who will turn 32 prior to the 2020 regular season, missed 13 games over the 2016-18 seasons due to various injuries, but he graded out as the league’s best overall tackle in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus, and still managed to place No. 21 in a relatively down 2018. He is due a $12.5MM salary in 2020 if he stays with the ‘Skins under his current deal.

Lions, CB Darius Slay Still Discussing Long-Term Contract

February 3rd, 2020 at 6:58pm CST by Rory Parks

The Lions and cornerback Darius Slay continue to discuss a long-term deal, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. However, it does not sound like the two sides are particularly close to an agreement, and Fowler says Detroit could look to trade the 29-year-old if a new contract is not in place in the coming weeks.

Of course, Slay’s name came up frequently in trade rumors in advance of October’s deadline, and he skipped voluntary and mandatory work last spring in an effort to get a new contract. He did report to training camp on time, but he was vocal about his displeasure over the team’s trade of Quandre Diggs, and shortly thereafter he said he didn’t care if he was traded himself. 

But he walked back those comments (to some degree) about a week later, saying he would be open to spending his entire career in the Motor City. However, Fowler points out that the Lions and Slay have been working on a new deal for some time, and they still seem to have a fair amount of negotiating to do.

Since he plays a premium position and just earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod, Slay is surely aiming for a contract that will put him near the top of the CB market. That would mean a yearly rate of about $15MM and guarantees in the $40-50MM range. Slay’s current contract, which expires at the end of next season, would pay him $10MM in salary in 2020, with workout and roster bonuses that could push that figure closer to $10.5MM

In 2019, Slay picked up two interceptions, 13 passes defensed and 46 tackles.

Greg Olsen To Visit Bills, Redskins

February 3rd, 2020 at 6:28pm CST by Rory Parks

That didn’t take long. Hours after Greg Olsen‘s release from the Panthers was made official, his free agency tour is taking shape. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the veteran tight end will take visits with the Bills and Redskins this week (Twitter link).

Though it doesn’t guarantee anything, this development makes it sound as if Olsen will play in 2020 and will postpone his journey to the broadcast booth for at least another year. If he were to sign with Washington, Olsen would reunite with longtime Carolina head coach Ron Rivera, and recent rumors suggested that Olsen is indeed amenable to joining the ‘Skins.

Fresh off their second playoff appearance in three years, the Bills would appear to give Olsen a better chance at bringing home a championship ring in 2020. But both Buffalo and Washington are obvious fits for the 34-year-old (35 in March), as neither club got much production from the tight end position in 2019.

The Bills were paced by rookie Dawson Knox, who averaged just under 26 yards per game. Rookie tight ends rarely excel, and while the Bills surely expect Knox to take a step forward in 2020, Olsen would represent a reliable veteran target for QB Josh Allen.

The Redskins, meanwhile, lost Jordan Reed for the 2019 season due to yet another concussion, and they have a young quarterback of their own in Dwayne Haskins who would benefit from Olsen’s presence. But Olsen will likely generate more interest from other clubs before he decides to put pen to paper.

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