2020 April - Pro Football Rumors

Gerald Hodges To Return To NFL

April 6th, 2020 at 9:41am CST by Zachary Links

Gerald Hodges has decided that he wants to play in 2020, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Hodges first decided to hang ’em up exactly one year ago today and has not been on the field since the 2018 season.

It’s worth noting that Hodges also waffled on his plans in May of last year. But, even after saying that he wanted to retake the field, he was unable to find a deal for the 2019 campaign.

Hodges, 29, has been an NFL journeyman since entering the league as a fourth round pick of the Vikings in 2013. During the 2015 season, the Vikings shipped him to the 49ers. He went on to have a career year in San Francisco in 2016. After notching career-highs in stops (83) and sacks (three), Hodges hooked on with the Saints, but did not record an official statistic in his eleven games there. In 2018, he joined the Cardinals and had a productive 55-tackle season.

For his career, Hodges has earned more than $5MM from four teams across six seasons.

AFC Rumors: Slay, Anderson, Browns

April 5th, 2020 at 6:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not only were the Raiders in on just about every big-name free agent cornerback, they pursued a Darius Slay deal as well. In addition to offers for Byron Jones and Chris Harris, and what turned out to be a failed deal with Eli Apple, the Raiders kicked the tires on a Slay trade with the Lions, Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. A trade target of multiple teams before the 2019 deadline, Slay ended up going to the Eagles for just third- and fifth-round picks. Of course, it also cost the Eagles $30MM fully guaranteed — third-most among corners.

The Raiders’ pursuit of 2020’s group of available corners points to them giving strong consideration to adding one with one of their two first-round picks, and Bair adds there is a “strong belief” corner is a high Raider priority entering the draft. As it stands now, Las Vegas is understaffed at the position.

Here is the latest from around the AFC:

For weeks, rumors of a Jets–Robby Anderson reunion circulated. Anderson said the Jets wanted him back and that he wanted to stay. The team was reported to be eyeing an Anderson agreement — but only at a price. Anderson instead signed a two-year, $20MM Panthers deal. A report emerged this week about the four-year veteran turning down a four-year, $40MM Jets offer, but Anderson (via The Athletic’s Joseph Person, subscription required) denied such a proposal occurred. The Jets moved quickly to replace Anderson with Breshad Perriman for one year and $6MM. They will likely enter the draft with a big receiver need.
The Browns have shopped Olivier Vernon in trades and, as of late February, were not expected to pay him the $15.25MM salary he’s due in the final year of his contract. But a change of thinking may have occurred. The Browns are interested in Jadeveon Clowney, but unless that partnership happens, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer expects Vernon to be back with the Browns in 2020. The Browns still have Myles Garrett on his rookie deal, and Cabot adds that — be it Clowney or Vernon — they are willing to carry a big salary at defensive end next season. Vernon struggled during an injury-plagued 2019 in Cleveland, registering just 3.5 sacks and tallying 11 quarterback hits.
Bills GM Brandon Beane sidestepped a question centered around Stefon Diggs‘ satisfaction with his contract. On a $14.4MM-per-year deal, the Buffalo-bound wideout is the NFL’s 13th-highest-paid player at his position. Four years remain on the deal.

AFC South Notes: Reader, Colts, Titans

April 5th, 2020 at 6:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans lost D.J. Reader to an unlikely team, with the Bengals deviating from a long-conservative free agency philosophy to sign the breakout defensive lineman to a four-year, $53MM deal. Bill O’Brien confirmed (via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, on Twitter) the Texans wanted to keep Reader. The seventh-year Texans HC/first-year Texans GM said team brass had “good conversations” with the interior defender’s camp about a new deal but acknowledged the team “couldn’t get that one done.” The Bills, Broncos and Titans were among the known Reader suitors before the Bengals swooped in. The Texans initially came in with a $6MM-per-year offer before the 2019 season, but Reader’s bet on himself translated into $13MM-plus-AAV deal. Houston has not made a move to replace Reader up front. The Texans have $35MM in cap space but are working on a Laremy Tunsil extension and obviously have a Deshaun Watson deal to consider.

Here is the latest out of the AFC South:

Justin Reid made a pitch to O’Brien to consider his brother as an addition at safety, Wilson notes. The Panthers recently released Eric Reid. In addition to the younger Reid brother, Houston employs Tashaun Gipson at safety and just signed Eric Murray to a deal that surprised many. The Texans are not likely to make another major addition at this position this offseason.
Coming off one of the worst kicking seasons in modern NFL history, the Titans are bringing back late-season addition Greg Joseph. But they will add competition soon, GM Jon Robinson confirmed (via Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com). Robinson said the team will look in both free agency and the draft for its second kicker. The Titans went a ghastly 8-for-18 on field goals last season. Joseph did not attempt a field goal in two regular-season games with Tennessee and only attempted one — a make — in the Titans’ three playoff games. The former Browns kicker made all 18 of his extra point tries, however, and was successful on 25 of 29 field goal tries during his 2018 season in Cleveland.
The Colts‘ T.J. Carrie addition did not seem to add up given Kenny Moore‘s place as one of the league’s best slot cornerbacks, but GM Chris Ballard said the team needed better depth at this position (via Stephen Holder of The Athletic, on Twitter). Carrie has played both inside and outside during his time with the Browns and Raiders and will likely be given time at both spots with the Colts. He’s done his best NFL work in the slot, however, so Indianapolis should be covered behind Moore this season. Moore missed five games due to injury in 2019.

Jets Contract Details: Perriman, Desir, McGovern

April 5th, 2020 at 3:54pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Here’s some of the contract details for a number of Gang Green’s offseason additions:

Connor McGovern, (Jets): three-year, $27MM, $17MM guaranteed; $4MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $5MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $8MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $9MM; $1MM roster bonus in 2020, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic New York.

Breshad Perriman, (Jets): one-year, $6.5MM, $6MM guaranteed; $3MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $3MM (fully guaranteed); $500k in per-game roster bonuses, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic New York.

Pierre Desir, (Jets): one-year, $4MM, $2MM guaranteed; $2MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1.25MM; $375k in attainable incentives, $500k in per-game roster bonuses, and $1.37MM in incentives based on playing time and awards, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic New York.

Eagles Eyeing Quarterbacks In Draft?

April 5th, 2020 at 2:55pm CST by Marc Delucchi

During the pre-draft process, the Eagles have been doing some due diligence on a number of quarterbacks expected to be late-round selections in the upcoming draft, according to Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports, and he expects the team to come away with one. Mike Kaye of NJ.com examines four potential fits and what the fallout of their selections could mean for the other backup quarterbacks on the roster like Kyle Lauletta and Nate Sudfeld.

While no Day 3 pick would be expected to compete for the team’s starting job, held by Carson Wentz, his extensive injury history makes questions about the team’s backup a particular concern for the defending NFC East champs. Of course, Philly may be less focused on replacing Lauletta and Sudfeld and more so targeting a raw prospect who can develop next season on the team’s practice squad.

The 26-year old Sudfeld is entering his fourth NFL season but has only thrown 25 career passes. Just a 6th round pick out of Indiana in 2016, Sudfeld at one time, developed a decent reputation with some speculating he could be a starter elsewhere down the road. In fact, the Eagles applied a restricted-free agent tender on him just last offseason. However, this year as an unrestricted free agent his market was not quite as lively and he returned on a one-year, $2MM deal.

Lauletta was selected in the 4th round by the Giants in 2018, but general manager Dave Gettleman and co. waived him after just one season on the roster. The Eagles signed him to their practice squad last season, but their long-term vision for his role remains unknown. With such little proven talent behind the oft injured Wentz it makes sense that the team is looking at bringing in some competition.

FIU QB James Morgan Drawing Interest

April 5th, 2020 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Parks

FIU quarterback James Morgan is starting to generate some buzz as we get closer to draft day, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. Morgan made his way onto our site for the first time today, when we wrote that the Patriots have shown some interest, and New England is not the only team sniffing around.

Per Wilson, a number of clubs are closely vetting Morgan, though COVID-19 restrictions obviously mean that he can’t visit teams or work out privately for them. Wilson’s sources say that in addition to the Patriots, the Packers, Bears, Colts, Raiders, Giants, Bills, Jets, and Dolphins are among the teams intrigued by Morgan.

It is not surprising to see most of the teams on that list. New England, of course, is in the market for a collegiate passer after watching Tom Brady sign with the Buccaneers, and the Dolphins have long been connected to this year’s top rookie QBs. The Raiders, Bears, and Colts have varying degrees of long-term uncertainty at the quarterback position, and the Packers had planned to host the best QB prospects before pre-draft visits were cancelled (Morgan is actually a Green Bay native, and the Packers may be starting to prepare for life without Aaron Rodgers).

Meanwhile, all three New York outfits seem to have a long-term solution under center already, although none of their incumbents are sure things at the moment. And given that Morgan is a mid- to late-round prospect, it couldn’t hurt for those teams to at least have a look.

Morgan performed well at this year’s scouting combine and at the East-West Shrine Game, and a Southeast Area NFL scout said Morgan has one of the three strongest arms in the draft, along with the intelligence and leadership qualities that teams covet. After an uneven tenure at Bowling Green, Morgan transferred to FIU in 2018 and earned Conference USA Newcomer of the Year honors by completing over 65% of his passes for 26 TDs and seven interceptions.

His 2019 effort was not quite as strong, but he has put together enough quality tape to start rising up draft boards.

No Progress On Jamal Adams Contract Talks

April 5th, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Rory Parks

We heard at the end of January that the Jets and star safety Jamal Adams were beginning contract talks, but as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes, those talks have been tabled for the time being. If Adams does get a new deal from Gang Green, it will not happen until after this month’s draft, and perhaps not until closer to the start of the regular season.

In the meantime, a trade is still a possibility. The Jets made Adams available in advance of the trade deadline in October, and while their asking price was too rich for a rival club to pull the trigger, we heard that a trade could still come together before the 2020 season gets underway. The Cowboys were negotiating with the Jets in the fall — they reportedly offered a first-round pick and backup corner Anthony Brown — and Cimini says there are rumors that Dallas is planning to make another run at Adams before the draft (though the club did add Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency).

However, it does not sound as if the Jets have reduced their demands. They were asking for a first-rounder and two second-rounders at the deadline, and Cimini reports that it would still take an “extraordinary offer” to convince New York to deal Adams. After all, the LSU product has already established himself as an elite safety, and he won’t turn 25 until October.

The Dallas native previously indicated he would love to join the Cowboys, so if Jerry Jones‘ outfit does swing a trade, Adams would surely be receptive to a long-term pact. But whoever gives him his next contract will need to be prepared to make him the highest-paid safety in the game. Adams stands to land a deal paying him at least $15MM per season with upwards of $45MM in guaranteed money.

AFC East Notes: Tua, Pats, Diggs

April 5th, 2020 at 10:46am CST by Rory Parks

Though Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa has most commonly been connected to the division-rival Dolphins, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe believes the stars are aligning for the Patriots to make a play for the southpaw passer. The Lions — and all of their New England connections — hold the No. 3 overall pick and will have a major impact on how the quarterback dominoes fall in this year’s draft. If Detroit trades down, as many expect, Volin suggests that New England’s No. 23 overall pick along with a mid-rounder and a veteran player like Julian Edelman could be enough to get a deal done. The Patriots’ ties with Alabama head coach Nick Saban would also help give the team a little more insight into Tagovailoa as a player and as a person.

Let’s round up a few more AFC East rumors on another stay-at-home Sunday:

Volin’s proposal may be a little far-fetched, but if Tagovailoa starts to slide on draft day — after all, the Dolphins may not be entirely sold on him, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report says the 2018 Heisman runner-up is the No. 3 or 4 QB on some teams’ boards even if he is completely healthy — then the Patriots could be in play, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com.
One way or another, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the Patriots will draft a rookie signal-caller. While he does not rule out a dramatic move for a player like Tagovailoa, he also says the team could once again target a mid-round prospect and is eyeing FIU passer James Morgan.
WR Stefon Diggs sounded like a man who wanted out of Minnesota for awhile, and he finally got his wish when he got traded to the Bills in March. However, his displeasure with the Vikings had more to do with his role in the offense than his contract; he signed a five-year, $72MM extension last summer, and he still has another four years to go on that pact. Still, the contract looks fairly team-friendly in the current market, so Buffalo GM Brandon Beane was recently asked if Diggs is content with his deal. Beane side-stepped the issue, saying simply that Diggs is “happy to be in Buffalo” (Twitter link via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News). It would indeed be rather surprising to see the Bills rework a contract that has four years remaining.
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com confirms that Jets guard Brian Winters, who was presumed to be a cap casualty not that long ago, will remain with the Jets and will compete for a job in training camp. Cimini says that if Winters does not win a starting role, he will likely be asked to take a pay cut.

Latest On DeAndre Hopkins Trade

April 5th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Rory Parks

One of the most heavily-scrutinized trades in recent memory — the deal that will presumably send star wideout DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2021 fourth-rounder — has not yet been processed because the players involved have been unable to take physicals, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com observes (via Twitter). Of course, the same holds true for a number of free agent pacts around the league, but given the magnitude of, and fallout from, the Hopkins-Johnson swap, the fact that it’s not yet set in stone is significant.

In order to avoid having their free agent signees in a holding pattern, some teams have taken the route that the Bengals recently took with one of their big offseason acquisitions, D.J. Reader. Readers’s deal is now “official,” but he agreed to additional language in his contract which states that he still must pass a physical in order for the deal to take effect. If he doesn’t pass, the Bengals will have the option of cutting him immediately or keeping the contract as-is.

Similarly, if Hopkins and/or Johnson should fail a physical, it would give Houston and Arizona the ability to back out of the trade altogether. As it presently stands, the Cardinals — who are already said to be talking contract with Hopkins — would be hurt the most by such a development, and it stands to reason that they would then push for a modified deal that still brings the three-time First Team All-Pro to the desert.

On the other hand, a failed physical would allow the Texans and head coach/de facto GM Bill O’Brien to back out of a trade that has been universally panned, and while the underlying reasons for the trade would still exist — Hopkins’ contract demands and reported friction between Hopkins and O’Brien — O’Brien would surely welcome a chance to negotiate a more favorable accord with Cardinals GM Steve Keim.

The odds are slim that either Hopkins or Johnson will fail a physical. Hopkins has been the picture of health in his seven-year career, and while the same cannot be said for Johnson, he at least appeared to be 100% at the end of the 2019 season (even if his playing time was slashed). More likely than not, the trade will go through and Texans fans will remain bitter about it, but until it becomes official, it’s a situation worth monitoring.

Extra Points: Draft, Bills, Williams, Manusky

April 4th, 2020 at 7:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting everything in the sports world, including the NFL draft. The draft being in Las Vegas has already been scrapped for a while, but now it appears teams won’t even be gathering in their respective buildings. In an unprecedented situation, multiple high-level officials will conduct the draft from their homes, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The pre-draft preparation will be more important than ever, as it will likely be more difficult for teams to coordinate internally while the draft is going on. It’ll be very interesting to see how this impacts draft-day trades, among other logistical issues.

Here’s more from around the league on a quiet Saturday night:

The Bills signed offensive lineman Daryl Williams a couple weeks ago, and now we have the details on his contract. Williams got a one-year deal worth $2.25MM from Buffalo with only $250K guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. As Pelissero points out the two sides are very familiar with one another since a lot of Buffalo’s brass, including head coach Sean McDermott, used to be with the Panthers. Williams started all 16 games at right tackle for Carolina in 2017 and played very well, but missed almost all of 2018 with a knee injury. He signed a one-year deal with the Panthers worth $7MM last year and started 12 games, a few each at left tackle, right guard, and left guard. Pelissero adds that Buffalo plans to move him back to the right side.
Greg Manusky spent the last three years as the Redskins’ defensive coordinator, but he got bounced last year after head coach Jay Gruden got the axe. Manusky has a new job now, and it’s a big step down the coaching ranks. The former 49ers, Chargers, and Colts defensive coordinator has accepted a position as a defensive quality control assistant with the University of Kentucky, according to JP Finlay of NBC Sports. It’s an unusual move for such a grizzled veteran, but it’s possible he decided to take this gig as a temporary stopgap before emerging with a more prominent role in 2021. Quality control coaches are often young guys on one of their first jobs, but nonetheless Manusky will be serving on Mark Stoops’ staff this fall.