2020 April - Pro Football Rumors

Cardinals’ Zane Gonzalez Signs RFA Tender

April 23rd, 2020 at 1:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Zane Gonzalez is back in the fold for the Cardinals. The fourth-year kicker signed his second-round tender Thursday.

The deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets passed last week, effectively tying Gonzalez to the Cardinals. He is set to earn $3.26MM on the tender, which marks a significant raise from his $645K 2019 salary.

After Gonzalez’s rough September 2018 day in New Orleans led to the Browns cutting him, he stabilized his career with the Cards. Becoming their kicker during the 2018 season, Gonzalez kicked in all 16 games for Kliff Kingsbury‘s team last season. He bounced back from an abbreviated 2018 campaign, making 31 of 35 field goals and 34 of 35 PATs.

Barring an extension, the Arizona State alum will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2018 season.

Buccaneers Eyeing Mekhi Becton?

April 23rd, 2020 at 1:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers have their sights set on Mekhi Becton as Tom Brady‘s new protector, Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network hears. If they don’t get the Louisville product, Pauline hears that they’ll look to trade out of the No. 14 pick.

Becton – who stands at 6’7″ and 364 pounds – has scouts all over the league buzzing. With the size of Trent Brown and a 5.1-second 40-yard dash, he’s a virtual lock for the first round and a strong consideration for teams in the Top 10. Georgia’s Andrew Thomas may represent a “safer” option among this year’s top-flight offensive linemen, but Becton is viewed as the highest-ceiling tackle.

Last week, we learned that Becton popped positive at the NFL Combine, but that shouldn’t impact his stock all that much as the draft closes in. Becton is coming off of a breakout season in which he registered 60 knockdown blocks, and he’s a rare talent at a paper-thin position in the league. The Bucs, at No. 14, could very well represent his floor in tonight’s draft.

In any scenario, the Bucs figure to exit the first round with a top tackle. Earlier this year, they explored a deal for veteran Trent Williams that would have sent tight end O.J. Howard to the Redskins, but those talks have not been rekindled.

NFL Draft Rumors: Lions, 49ers, Giants

April 23rd, 2020 at 12:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions (No. 3) and 49ers (Nos. 13 and 31) appear to be the most aggressive teams when it comes to trading down, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports hears (via Twitter). He also hears that the Lions aren’t getting much in the way of enticing offers, whereas the Niners could have possibilities for both picks.

We know that the Dolphins want Detroit’s No. 3, but they’re trying to pry it loose without sacrificing their No. 5 pick. That could mean a package including their two other first-round picks, plus more from their significant stockpile. The Lions, understandably, are not jumping at any offers that take them out of the Top 5.

Meanwhile, the 49ers’ pick at No. 13 could fetch a big haul, especially if they hold until this evening and wait for one of this year’s stud wide receivers to fall.

Here’s more from Robinson, with all links going to Twitter:

There’s talk of the Dolphins eyeing an offensive tackle with their No. 5 pick, but the teams surrounding them in the draft order don’t believe that’s the case (link). Most of Robinson’s sources seem to think that pick is destined for Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa. No matter what happens at #5, you can expect Miami to target tackles early on, especially since free agent pickup Ereck Flowers has been slotted for the interior.
Robinson isn’t sure what the Dolphins are going to do (same goes for everyone outside of their front office), but he senses that the Chargers are higher on Herbert than Tagovailoa (link). Robinson hears they like his makeup – Herbert has a cannon for an arm – and they’re skittish about Tagovailoa’s surgically-repaired hip. For what it’s worth, the Dolphins passed the Alabama star on his physical at the combine in February.
Assuming the Giants stay at No. 4, Robinson believes the conversation is down to Jedrick Wills Jr. and Tristan Wirfs (link). Some evaluators think Wirfs is better suited for guard, but the Giants believe that can be a strong tackle at the pro level.
With the draft drawing near, the Jaguars still aren’t getting any good bites on running back Leonard Fournette or defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (link). The Jags have been shopping Fournette for more than a month now; they might have scale back their asking price if they want to get a deal done. The Ngakoue market also seems pretty weak, though that has more to do with his contract demands. The Raiders touched base with the Jags on the franchise-tagged defensive end this week, but nothing’s brewing at the moment.

NFC West Notes: Brady, Hundley, Hopkins

April 23rd, 2020 at 11:19am CST by Rory Parks

At multiple points during this offseason’s Tom Brady saga, we heard that the 49ers‘ reported interest in the legendary signal-caller was perhaps largely driven by Brady’s camp and that San Francisco was not legitimately considering the 42-year-old. But regardless of how serious their discussions were, 49ers GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan at least explored the possibility.

“When you’re talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time with Tom Brady, of course you’re going to have some internal discussion,” Lynch recently said in an interview on The Rich Eisen Show (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). “So of course Kyle and I have discussions. … But within a day or two, Kyle and I looked at each other and said, ‘You know what, we really like what we have in Jimmy [Garoppolo].’ … I would tell you we’re more convinced than ever about who our quarterback is in Jimmy Garoppolo.”

Though he had a disappointing showing in the 49ers’ Super Bowl LIV loss, Garoppolo has largely justified the team’s steep investment in him, so it stands to reason that Lynch and Shanahan would continue moving forward with Brady’s former (and much younger) understudy.

Now for more from the NFC West:

Per TMZ Sports, Cardinals backup QB Brett Hundley is being sued by his ex-wife, who is alleging that Hundley assaulted her both before and after their marriage. The suit is outside of the statute of limitations, and while the accuser’s attorney believes they will be able to overcome that hurdle, Hundley’s attorney says the action is nothing more than an extortion attempt and that Hundley will be filing a counterclaim. Arizona recently re-signed Hundley to serve as Kyler Murray‘s QB2.
Newly-minted Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins may not be demanding a new deal from Arizona, but the two sides are talking contract just the same. Hopkins has three years (and no guaranteed money) remaining on his existing deal, but former NFL agent and current CBS Sports pundit Joel Corry says the club has no qualms about renegotiating. Corry explores the two approaches the team could take: either adding money to Hopkins’ current deal — i.e. turning the roughly $40MM that remains due to be spread out over the next three years into $50MM-$54MM — or a more conventional extension that adds time and more guarantees to the current contract. Corry’s piece is well-worth a read for Cards fans.
In case you missed it, the Seahawks have not closed the door on a Jadeveon Clowney return.

Dolphins Still Pushing For Bengals’ No. 1 Pick

April 23rd, 2020 at 11:19am CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins are hoping to acquire the Lions’ No. 3 choice and package it with their own No. 5 for the Bengals’ first overall pick, Mike Florio of PFT hears. The Lions have told the Dolphins that they won’t give up the No. 3 pick without the No. 5 pick in the package, but Miami GM Chris Grier seems to think they can be swayed.

Of course, even if Grier can swing that deal with Detroit, he still has to convince the Bengals to part with the No. 1 pick and pass on Joe Burrow. The Bengals say that’s not happening. So far, the Bengals have laughed off every offer, but it’s hard to imagine them hanging up on a team offering two Top-5 picks. At minimum, it’s something that they’d have to consider.

Burrow, by all accounts, is the Bengals’ favorite QB by a mile. But, with Nos. 3 and 5, they could tap their second-favorite passer and one of this year’s elite tackles. Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert would likely be available for them with the third pick. Then, they’d probably have at least three of this year’s top four tackles, if not the whole bunch, available to them. Tua/Herbert + Jedrick Wills/Tristan Wirfs/Andrew Thomas/Mekhi Becton would be a pretty excellent haul by any measure.

It remains to be seen what else Miami would have to give up in order to convince Cincinnati to forego the right to draft Burrow, and one wonders if the team’s No. 18 or No. 26 selections — at least one of which would presumably have to go to Detroit in this scenario — would also be in play. For a rebuilding outfit that has a lot of needs to fill and that has spent a long time stockpiling premium draft capital, that would be an exceedingly steep price to pay.

On the other hand, franchise QBs don’t grow on trees, and not only does Burrow have limitless potential, he has fewer red flags than Tua and Herbert. Though he may have benefited from LSU’s stacked roster in 2019, his otherworldly Heisman-winning campaign, which featured a 76.3% completion rate, 5,671 passing yards, and 60 passing TDs, make Burrow a tantalizing prospect.

If a team knew that a player would turn out to be Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, etc., that team would have no issues trading away its entire draft haul in a given year to draft such a player, regardless of how rich that haul might be. And while no prospect is really a sure thing, if the Dolphins are convinced that Burrow is a future Hall-of-Famer — and they seem pretty sure — then it would be hard to fault them for swinging this kind of deal (at least not until a couple years have passed).

Miami hasn’t been able to make any progress on talks yet, but deadlines spur action, and the NFL Draft is just hours away.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

Bills Pick Up Tre’Davious White’s Fifth-Year Option

April 23rd, 2020 at 10:38am CST by Sam Robinson

Not exactly a shocker here, but the Bills have announced that they are picking up Tre’Davious White‘s fifth-year option, thereby locking in the All-Pro cornerback through the 2021 season. Field Yates of ESPN.com first reported that the club was going to exercise the option (Twitter link).

Arriving in the trade that gave the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft, White has become one of the NFL’s premier defenders. The 2017 No. 27 overall pick has helped the Bills assemble one of the league’s best defenses. He picked off a league-high six passes last season and has 12 interceptions through three seasons.

This will be an affordable option for Buffalo. White’s 2021 salary will come in north of $10MM, but not much higher. That will represent strong value for the Bills. This decision also will allow the them to potentially table a White extension until 2021. They are negotiating with fellow 2017 draftees Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano, who do not have fifth-year options in their rookie deals.

A White extension would run much higher and will likely be impacted by where Jalen Ramsey takes the cornerback market on his inevitable Rams extension. Both Byron Jones and Darius Slay finally moved the cornerback salary ceiling past the $15MM-AAV place where it stood for nearly four years. Given White’s value to an emerging Bills team, it should be expected the 25-year-old defender will command a deal on Jones’ level ($16.5MM per year) or higher when the time comes for his payday.

Patriots To Sign Marqise Lee

April 23rd, 2020 at 10:01am CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots are signing wide receiver Marqise Lee, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). He’ll ink a one-year deal as he moves on to a new team in the AFC after spending the first six years of his career with the Jaguars, who released him several days ago.

New England, of course, lacked its usual offensive firepower in 2019, with veteran wideout Julian Edelman representing the team’s only reliable weapon for former QB Tom Brady. The Pats rode to the playoffs on the strength of their defense and special teams, and regardless of who is under center in 2020, they need to surround their signal-callers with more options.

The team will be returning Mohamed Sanu in 2020, but given that they gave up a second-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire Sanu, the Pats will be unable to take advantage of an unusually deep crop of collegiate receivers until the third round (assuming they don’t take a WR with the No. 23 overall selection). Sanu suffered a high ankle sprain during a punt return in his third game with New England, and he was not the same after that injury. He recently underwent surgery on the ankle, as it did not heal on its own as hoped.

Lee has battled his own injury woes over the past couple of seasons. A knee injury sidelined him for all of the 2018 season, and he battled ankle and shoulder maladies in 2019. But he totaled 1,551 receiving yards between 2016-17, leading all Jags targets in that span, and if healthy, he represents a quality vertical weapon who would nicely complement Edelman, Sanu, and second-year player N’Keal Harry.

No contract details are available at this time, but it is almost certainly a modest deal for the USC product, who hopes to reignite his career in Foxborough.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Saints Won’t Rule Out Drafting QB

April 23rd, 2020 at 9:54am CST by Rory Parks

Although the Saints have long been said to be planning for Taysom Hill to succeed Drew Brees when Brees retires — which could be as soon as the end of the 2020 season — the team will not rule out selecting a signal-caller in this year’s draft, as GM Mickey Loomis noted (via John DeShazler of the team’s official website).

New Orleans’ very public confidence in Hill, as shown by the team’s tendering the RFA passer at the first-round level this offseason, has raised plenty of eyebrows. After all, Hill will turn 30 in August and has thrown a mere 13 passes in his professional career. Although he has excelled as a gadget player and is expected to see more action as a pocket QB in 2020, a little youthful competition couldn’t hurt.

If the Saints do select a collegiate QB, it would almost certainly not be with their No. 24 overall pick. Barring a trade of some kind, New Orleans would not be on the clock again until the No. 88 selection, and the team also has picks in the fourth through sixth rounds. Players like FIU’s James Morgan, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, and Washington’s Jacob Eason could all be Saints targets if the board falls in a certain way.

“I think that any time you have a chance to get a quality quarterback prospect, regardless of your quarterback situation, you’d like to take advantage of that,” Loomis said. “For us, it hasn’t come. There hasn’t been the match where we’re picking with a prospect that we really like. Our approach is exactly the same this year: If there’s someone there that we really like and have a vision for at the time we’re picking, then we’re not afraid to pull that trigger.”

Hill is not expected to sign his RFA tender anytime soon, though he has until June 15 to put pen to paper.

Raiders, Jaguars Discuss Yannick Ngakoue Trade

April 23rd, 2020 at 9:26am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders called the Jaguars with interest in defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. The conversation happened on Wednesday, but the talks did not go anywhere and nothing seems imminent as of Thursday morning, per that source. Charlie Campbell of Walter Football (Twitter link) was first to relay the Raiders’ interest in Ngakoue.

Ngakoue would be costly for Las Vegas, in every sense. In addition to draft capital, the franchise-tagged defensive end is seeking a monster extension that would include substantial cashflow and guarantees in 2021 and 2022. That’s a major holdup for the Raiders and every other team that would be interested in the 25-year-old edge rusher.

Ngakoue has made it clear that he does not want to return to Jacksonville under any circumstances. Earlier this week, he traded barbs with owner Tony Khan, urging him to hurry up and trade him.

The relationship is broken beyond repair and a trade could go down this week. Still, nothing seems imminent and a deal might not get done until the Jaguars significantly reduce their asking price.

Steelers’ Bud Dupree Signs Franchise Tender

April 23rd, 2020 at 9:09am CST by Rory Parks

Linebacker Bud Dupree has signed his franchise tender, according to an announcement from the Steelers. Assuming he’s tagged as a linebacker, Dupree will be slated to earn over $16MM. If he pushes back and manages to get tagged at the defensive end position, he’ll be set for $18MM+.

Of course, Dupree and the Steelers will have until July 15 to hash out a long-term contract regardless of the tag value, and given that Pittsburgh is right up against the cap, both player and team are likely hoping they can get that done. Though Dupree had not exactly lived up to his billing as a 2015 first-round draft choice prior to the 2019 campaign, he had a terrific platform year, piling up a career-best 11.5 sacks while also displaying some ability in setting the edge against the run.

Though there was some thought that the Steelers could look to trade Dupree after slapping him with the franchise tag, that no longer appears to be in play. Instead, the club will head into the 2020 campaign (and probably beyond) with a fearsome Dupree-T.J. Watt combo that will keep opposing QBs awake at night. Indeed, the Steelers ranked third in defensive DVOA last season (first against the pass), and if they can get a healthy season out of QB Ben Roethlisberger, they could certainly make a return trip to the playoffs.

If the two sides do work out a multi-year pact, it would not be surprising to see the Kentucky product land something in the neighborhood of a five-year, $80MM deal, with around $30MM or so fully-guaranteed. That might seem high for a player who hasn’t made a Pro Bowl yet, but given the importance of edge rushers and Dupree’s well-timed breakout, it would be in line with his open market value.

Zach Links contributed to this post.