2020 April - Pro Football Rumors

Bears To Release TE Trey Burton

April 17th, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are cutting Trey Burton, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With that, Burton will hit free agency and try to hook on with another team.

The 28-year-old (29 in October) joined the Bears on a four-year, $32MM deal in 2018. However, thanks to the structure and cash flow of the deal, it was more like a two-year pact. Ultimately, that’s how the Bears treated it. Burton will be designated as a post-June 1 cut saving the Bears roughly $2.8MM in cap space (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns). There’s also offset language in his deal. If another teams signs Burton, the Bears will owe him less than his $4MM guaranteed sum.

Burton spent the majority of his career as a backup for Eagles, sitting behind star Zach Ertz. Over his last two Philly seasons, Burton averaged 30 receptions, 288 yards, and three touchdowns per campaign. Those weren’t eye-popping totals, but the advanced stats showed that he was extremely efficient. In his final season with the Birds, Football Outsiders ranked Burton No. 3 in DVOA among TEs, demonstrating his per-play value.

In Chicago, Burton didn’t break out the way the Bears and many fantasy owners hoped. Burton had 54 catches for 569 yards and six touchdowns in 2018. Last year, a calf injury shut him down in November. He finished out his season with 14 receptions for 84 yards and zero touchdowns.

With Burton gone, the Bears figure to be on the hunt for tight ends in the draft.

Bears To Sign OT Jason Spriggs

April 17th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have agreed to sign offensive tackle Jason Spriggs, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The former second-round pick of the Packers will ink a one-year deal with his new NFC North squad.

Back in 2016, the Packers saw Spriggs as a future starter, so they traded up to land the Indiana product at No. 48 overall. At the pro level, he wasn’t able to stick as a first-stringer. For his three seasons in Green Bay, Spriggs was mostly a part-timer for his 29 games. In between that, in 2017, he was placed on injured reserve twice.

Spriggs’ deal likely doesn’t contain much, or anything, in the way of guaranteed dollars, but he’ll get a shot to crack the team’s 53-man roster. Meanwhile, the Bears are keeping most of their focus on the draft for the next week. With their original No. 19 pick belonging to the Raiders, their first selection won’t come until the second round at No. 43.

Browns To Keep Odell Beckham Jr.

April 17th, 2020 at 1:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns say they aren’t trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Vikings. Or, for that matter, any other team in the NFL. After talking with multiple Browns sources, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports that OBJ is “firmly” in the team’s plans for 2020.

Rapoport’s sources in Cleveland “literally laughed” when asked about the prospect of dealing the wide receiver. ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s source echoes those sentiments, saying that the Browns have had no discussions this offseason about trading OBJ (Twitter link). Despite the drama and weirdness that comes with Beckham, he stands as one of the most talented receivers in the league. The Browns – who have been denying trade speculation for months – have every reason to try and make things work.

In his first year with the Browns, Beckham had his worst performance in any full season. But, before he relocated to Ohio, Beckham was an absolute monster in New York. OBJ topped 1,300 yards in each of his first three seasons, including a career-high 1,450 yards in 2015. And, after his lost 2017 season, he still managed 77 catches, 1,052 yards, and six touchdowns in just 12 games.

The former first-rounder left the Giants as one of their all-time highest ranked receivers in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. So far, he’s indicated that he wants to stick around in Cleveland to do the same for the Browns.

Besides, they paid a fortune for Beckham. The Browns shipped 2019 first- and third-round picks to the Giants, plus Jabrill Peppers and Kevin Zeitler, to acquire Olivier Vernon and the star receiver.

Jets Eyeing OL At No. 11?

April 17th, 2020 at 1:09pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s no secret that the Jets could use some help at wide receiver. And, with the No. 11 pick, they could have the opportunity to take CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy, who stand as the cream of a rich WR crop. Meanwhile, they also need to protect quarterback Sam Darnold (and his spleen), so they could opt for offensive line help in the first round. As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets, the Jets have done their homework on this year’s top big men.

Before the travel restrictions, the Jets had dinner and a private workout with Georgia’s Andrew Thomas and Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, per Pelissero. He also hears that they’ve hosted Louisville’s Mekhi Becton on a top 30 visit and Zoom-chatted with Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs. They’re the four best offensive lineman in this year’s class, so there’s no guarantee that any of them will slip to Gang Green. Thomas has also garnered interest from the Dolphins (No. 5), Pelissero hears.

Of that quintet, Wirfs is widely viewed as the most NFL-ready. He also offers serious athleticism for his size (6’5″, 320 pounds), plus versatility. At Iowa, he played primarily at left and right tackle. Pro scouts also believe that he has the ability to move inside and play guard.

The top 10 already has teams in need of line help and other teams are contemplating trades to land one of this year’s best OLs. The Bucs and Broncos have serious interest in moving up the board and they could leapfrog the Jets on Thursday.

Andy Dalton: There’s “A Scenario” Where I Go Back To Bengals

April 17th, 2020 at 12:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Andy Dalton isn’t sure what’s next for his NFL career, but he’s not dismissing the possibility that he stays with the Bengals. With less than a week to go before the Bengals take the podium – and, most likely, select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow – Dalton says there’s “a scenario” in which he could stay in Cincy.

“I truly believe they want what’s best for me, but I understand it’s a business, and you know how that goes,” Dalton told NFL Network. “With the first pick, if they take a quarterback like everyone expects, that could trigger something. There’s even a scenario where I go back there.”

Dalton served as the Bengals’ starter for years, right up until he was benched and replaced with rookie Ryan Finley midway through the 2019 season. Dalton took his job back later on, but he struggled – the veteran connected on just 57.9% of his passing attempts with seven touchdowns against six interceptions.

Ahead of his age-33 season, Dalton is likely on course to change jerseys. At one point, Dalton said he wanted to start in 2020. Ultimately, he may have to settle for a QB2 role, or wait until late in the offseason to see if an injury opens up a starting job. The former seems more likely, especially since training camp will probably be shortened or modified in some fashion.

For what it’s worth, the Bengals haven’t ruled out a future with Dalton either. If they do move forward with the vet, he’ll almost certainly have to agree to a trim on his $17.5MM base salary.

Dalton holds the Bengals’ all-time record with 204 career passing touchdowns. Unfortunately, he’s also three seasons removed from his best work.

Titans Won’t Rule Out Jadeveon Clowney

April 17th, 2020 at 11:56am CST by Zachary Links

Will the Titans be the team to land Jadeveon Clowney? Titans GM Jon Robinson won’t rule it out.

“We’ll see,” Robinson said (via Jim Wyatt of the team website). “Like I said a couple of weeks ago, we’ve had some discussions there and we’ve had some dialogue back and forth. You never close the door on anything.”

So, there’s a chance that the Titans will make a serious run at the former No. 1 overall pick, even though they’re not the favorites to sign him. In a recent PFR poll, less than 8% of you predicted that Clowney would be heading to Nashville. By all accounts, the incumbent Seahawks and Browns (not necessarily in that order) are the most likely destinations for Clowney.

At one point, the Seahawks were offering Clowney a deal worth $13-$15MM per year. That could be enough, or close to enough, to get something done. Clowney has backed down from his initial ask of ~$20MM per season and, realistically, he’ll have to scale back his expectations as time goes on.

The Titans currently have about $21MM in cap room, but their incoming draft class will chip away at that number. They could still eek out enough space for Clowney, but they might prefer to spend in another area after picking up Vic Beasley. Beasley, the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft, tallied eight sacks last year. Clowney, meanwhile, had only three sacks.

Texans’ Bill O’Brien On DeAndre Hopkins Trade

April 17th, 2020 at 11:23am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have been roundly criticized for the DeAndre Hopkins trade, but head coach Bill O’Brien doesn’t seem to be having any second thoughts about the swap. In a virtual press conference with reporters, O’Brien defended the deal that brought running back David Johnson to Houston.

“We feel very, very good about being able to get the 40th pick, being able to get David Johnson,” O’Brien said (via Reuters). “We feel really good about when we looked at the analytics of it, based on the production that was leaving our team and the production that we were bringing in, and then what we were able to do. Again, it’s very incomplete, and we have several roster moves left to go, including a draft and all the other things that I mentioned earlier. So we feel very good about the value that we got from the trade.”

The Texans didn’t stop dealing after that. Soon after shipping Hopkins to the Cardinals, they sent their original 2020 second-rounder to the Rams for Brandin Cooks while holding on to the No. 40 pick from Arizona. In short, they dealt one of the game’s most dangerous wide receivers for a lesser receiver with a history of concussions and once elite running back who has been slowed by multiple injuries. Fans in Houston are none-too-pleased, but O’Brien is asking them to be patient.

“I think the best thing I can tell the fans is to please — because I know the media’s job is to evaluate right away, I get that, I have a lot of respect for the media, I’ve always said that — but I think we have to let it all play out,” O’Brien said. “Let it play out. Let the whole thing play out, whether it’s that trade or anything else that we’ve done. I’d say let’s review it a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. Let’s let it all play out.”

In a “down” 2019, Hopkins still managed 104 catches for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns. Johnson, meanwhile, carried the ball just 94 times and averaged 3.7 yards per try.

Draft Rumors: Henderson, Dobbins, Davis

April 17th, 2020 at 10:43am CST by Dallas Robinson

Are you ready for surprises on draft day? It sounds like you should be. “The media is wronger about mock drafts this year than you guys have ever been,” one NFL general manager told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). That’s undoubtedly because of the ongoing certainly involving COVID-19, which has caused the league to upend its predraft process. As Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com tweets, “group think” is less likely to occur in 2019 because scouts and executives were unable to congregate at pro days, events where evaluators typically will — intentionally or not — develop something of a consensus on prospects.

After deciding whether “wronger” is actually a word, let’s take a look at more on the upcoming draft:

The Falcons held a predraft video meeting with Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson last week, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta currently holds the 16th overall pick, but recent reports have indicated general manager Thomas Dimitroff & Co. could be interested in moving up the board. Henderson is considered the draft’s second-best cornerback behind Ohio State’s Jeffrey Okudah, although some decision-makers may rate Henderson No. 1.
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins has held video meetings with several NFL teams, including the Chiefs, Packers, Bills, Lions, Saints, Dolphins, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. This isn’t the first time Dobbins has been linked to Miami, as he took a predraft visit with the Dolphins before such meetings were shut down due to COVID-19. Indeed, Dobbins left that visit feeling Miami was “infatuated” with him.
Alabama defensive tackle Raekwon Davis says the 49ers, Packers, Dolphins, Ravens, and Eagles are the teams that have contacted him most, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. A massive presence at 6’6″, 310 pounds, Davis a first-round projection and comparisons to DeForest Buckner from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus, however, ranks Davis just 10th among interior defender prospects, noting his lack of development as a pass-rusher.
The Ravens, 49ers, Panthers, Titans, and Seahawks have all held video sessions with TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock, per Wilson. Blacklock, who stock has risen during the predraft process, missed the 2018 campaign with an Achilles injury but was productive during both his freshman and junior seasons. Last year, he posted 40 tackles (nine for loss) and 3.5 sacks.

Latest On NFL’s Trial Run Draft

April 17th, 2020 at 10:10am CST by Dallas Robinson

With the 2020 NFL draft going fully remote due to COVID-19, the league wants to ensure that its technology platforms will work when the event gets underway next Thursday. To that end, the NFL will conduct a mock draft trial run on Monday, as Lions general manager Bob Quinn told reporters today.

But how exactly will such a dry run work? As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets, no club wants to “tip its hand” during the trial run by naming actual prospects from this year’s draft. NFL front offices, of course, are known for their secrecy, but this level of safeguarding makes sense.

Instead, teams will likely select placeholders instead of actual 2020 prospects. One example Graziano was given could involve the Bengals drafting Boomer Esiason at No. 1, followed by the Redskins taking Joe Theismann at No. 2, etc.

Using such a system would allow the NFL to determine that its system is working and ensure that every club is capable of making its picks known. And teams could rest easy knowing that they won’t be forced to give anything away in advance of the actual draft.

Jamal Adams To Skip Virtual Offseason Program

April 17th, 2020 at 8:50am CST by Dallas Robinson

Jamal Adams is not expected to participate in the Jets’ voluntary virtual offseason program when it begins later this month, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Adams, 24, became eligible for an extension at the end of the 2019 regular season, but New York hasn’t shown any interest in giving him a new deal just yet, per Schefter. He’s under contract through 2020, and the Jets also hold a fifth-year option in 2021.

Of course, Adams’ recent tenure with the Jets has been anything but smooth. He was publicly dangled at the 2019 trading deadline, with Gang Green reportedly posting an extraordinary asking price of a first- and two second-round picks.

As Schefter notes, if Adams and the Jets don’t get any closer on a contract agreement, it’s possible he could be on the trade block again. However, Adams is skipping voluntary sessions, so we’re probably not at that point yet.

One of the best safeties in the NFL, Adams has been excellent since entering the league as the sixth overall pick in 2017. He earned a first-team All Pro nod in 2019, and made the Pro Bowl in both 2018 and 2019.