HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Chiefs Re-Sign Sammy Watkins

April 3rd, 2020 at 8:10am CST by Zachary Links

Sammy Watkins is staying put. On Friday morning, the Chiefs reached agreement on a new one-year deal with the veteran wide receiver, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

Throughout the offseason, there’s been talk of Watkins either taking a pay cut to stay in KC or walking away from football for at least one season. Watkins went with the former option. Under the terms of his old deal, Watkins was set to earn $14MM – an outsized sum given his role in the Chiefs’ stacked offense. Now, he’ll make $9MM in base salary with the potential to earn another $7MM through incentives, as Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network lays out most of those incentives, which are as follows (Twitter link):

  • Eight TDs and Chiefs make playoffs: $750K
  • 65 catches + playoffs: $750K
  • 800 yards + playoffs: $750k
  • AFC Championship Game win (50% snaps in game): $1.25MM
  • 65 catches + AFC Championship Game win: $1.25MM
  • 800 yards + AFC Championship Game win: $1.25MM

Those incentives “only” total $6MM, so assuming Paylor’s report is accurate, there is another $1MM incentives to be had, perhaps based on non-playoff-related milestones. If Watkins hits those incentives, he could earn up to $16MM, so in theory, his pay cut could actually wind up as a pay raise. At his best and healthiest in Buffalo, Watkins was a world-class offensive weapon. In KC, Watkins competes for targets with Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and other dangerous receivers, which makes it a little trickier to hit statistical markers.

There are two other major pluses to the new deal: it includes a no-trade clause, and it allows Watkins to hit unrestricted free agency next year at the age of 27. If he has a big year, he could cash in on a lucrative multi-year contract with the Chiefs or another club in need of a deep threat. Watkins has hauled in at least 40 catches for 500 receiving yards and three touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. He’s also shined in the postseason with an average of 92.8 receiving yards in five playoff games for the Chiefs.

Loaded with talent – especially on Watkins’ side of the ball – the Chiefs have mostly managed to keep the band together. They’ll bring back ten of their eleven offensive starters from the Super Bowl and eight of their nine best receivers, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. The Watkins restructure will help them to fortify a little bit. The Chiefs had next-to-zero cap room before the adjustment; they now have $5MM in breathing room.

AFC North Notes: Steelers, Ebron, Browns

April 2nd, 2020 at 7:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a quick spin around the AFC North:

  • New Steelers tight end Eric Ebron said he still isn’t fully recovered from the ankle injury that forced him to injured reserve as a member of the Colts in 2019, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Ebron hasn’t been able to meet with the Steelers’ medical staff, but an independent doctor did examine his ankle, and Pittsburgh has officially announced its two-year, $12MM deal with the 26-year-old. Ebron, who says he decided to sign with the Steelers largely due to the presence of Ben Roethlisberger, had a public spat with the Colts when he decided to shut things down last November. Now, he’s expected to serve as one of Roethlisberger’s top offensive weapons while splitting time with fellow tight end Vance McDonald.
  • After releasing veteran Mark Barron last month, the Steelers now need to find another inside linebacker to play opposite 2019 first-rounder Devin Bush, as Mark Kaboly of The Athletic writes. Vince Williams remains on Pittsburgh’s roster, and general manager Kevin Colbert says he’s “comfortable” with Williams as a starter (as he was in 2017-18 before losing snaps to Barron last season). Sources tell Kaboly the Steelers aren’t interested in Deone Bucannon, who remains on the free agent market, but the club could spend a draft pick on another ‘backer.
  • Free agent addition Jack Conklin is the Browns‘ best offensive tackle by a wide margin, but that doesn’t mean they’ll try to play him on Baker Mayfield‘s blindside in 2020, head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters, including Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, via conference call on Thursday. Conklin, who inked a three-year $42MM deal with Cleveland after spending four seasons in Tennessee, has played right tackle for nearly all of his career (he’s lined up at left tackle just 68 times since entering the NFL). The Browns are reportedly open to considering Trent Williams (via trade) or free agent Jason Peters at left tackle, but the club could also target the position in the draft, where it holds the 10th overall pick.

Latest On Laremy Tunsil

April 2nd, 2020 at 7:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Appearing on NFL Live earlier today, Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil unsurprisingly confirmed that’s aiming to become the NFL’s top-paid offensive lineman if and when he reaches a long-term deal with Houston.

“I’m not going to talk numbers, as I’m going to keep that between me and the club,” Tunsil said, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. “I am looking to be the highest-paid lineman, of course. I worked my butt off to be in that position and hopefully we can make that happen.”

Tunsil didn’t want to talk specific figures, but numbers have been reported. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle recently indicated the Texans are willing to make Tunsil the league’s highest-paid lineman and have offered an annual salary of $18.5MM, $500K more per year than the Eagles’ Lane Johnson collects.

Tunsil is reportedly looking to top $18.5MM annually, but it’s unclear just how much more he’s searching for. A $20MM/year pact would represent a significant increase in the offensive tackle market, but given that Houston sacrificed two first-round picks and a second-rounder to land Tunsil from the Dolphins last offseason, the 25-year-old holds all the leverage in talks.

The 13th overall selection in the 2016 draft, Tunsil will earn $10.35MM in 2019, the final year of his rookie pact. The Texans could conceivably retain him through 2021 by deploying consecutive franchise tags, but an extension seems far more likely.

NFL Contract Details: Lions, Seahawks, Vikings, Jets, Broncos

April 2nd, 2020 at 7:38pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFL deals:

  • Tony McRae, CB (Lions): One year, $1MM. $200K guaranteed. $100K signing bonus (Twitter link via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News).
  • Phillip Dorsett, WR (Seahawks): One year, $1.048MM. $138K guaranteed. Qualifies as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
  • Ameer Abdullah, RB (Vikings): One year, $910K. $45K signing bonus. $45K roster bonus. Qualifiers as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune).
  • Anthony Zettel, DE (Vikings): One year, $910K. $45K signing bonus. $45K roster bonus. Qualifiers as veteran minimum salary benefit deal (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).
  • Joseph Jones, LB (Broncos): One year, $825K. No guaranteed money (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News).
  • Bennett Jackson, DB (Jets): One year, $725K. $100K guaranteed. $50K signing bonus (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).

Latest On Yannick Ngakoue

April 2nd, 2020 at 7:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars are asking for a “first-round pick and more” in trade talks involving franchise-tagged edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Ngakoue has requested a trade and indicated he is not interested in signing a long-term with Jacksonville, and the Jaguars have reportedly received some level of interest in the 25-year-old.

Ngakoue will collect $17.788MM under the terms of his franchise tender, but he’s apparently looking for more than $20MM annually on a new deal, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Currently, only three edge rushers exceed the $20MM threshold: Khalil Mack, Demarcus Lawrence, and Frank Clark.

It remains to be seen if any club is willing to deal a first-round pick and give Ngakoue a massive extension. The Chiefs performed such a maneuver in acquiring Clark from the Seahawks last offseason, but many teams might shy away from sacrificing such draft capital simply for the right to extend Ngakoue. That could be especially true when another edge rusher — Jadeveon Clowney — is still available on the open market and has reportedly lowered his asking price.

Ngakoue, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, has posted at least eight sacks in four of his NFL campaigns, but other metrics were down on him in 2019. Among edge defenders with at least 50% playtime, Ngakoue finished just 25th in pressures (51), per Pro Football Focus. And data points like ESPN’s pass rush win rate and double-team rate largely painted Ngakoue as an average rusher, as The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin recently noted on Twitter.

Raiders’ Deal With Eli Apple Falls Through

April 2nd, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with cornerback Eli Apple during the first wave of the free agent period, but that agreement has since fallen through, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

While Schefter doesn’t indicate exactly why Apple’s deal with Las Vegas is being nixed, Apple does have a recent injury history that theoretically could have played a role. An ankle injury forced the 24-year-old to miss the Saints’ final regular season game and Divisional Round contest against the Vikings. Given the COVID-19 crisis, players aren’t able to conduct normal physicals with team medical staffs, so it’s possible Apple’s ankle issue was a factor in the undoing of his pact.

Apple, a first-round pick in the 2016 draft, spent the first two years and change of his career with the Giants before being dealt to New Orleans ahead of the 2018 trade deadline. He went on to start 20 total games with the Saints, and his performance was something close to average, as Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s No. 61 corner among 112 qualifiers in 2019.

Apple immediately becomes one of the best cornerbacks available on the open market, while the Raiders are now once again hunting for a new defensive back to play alongside fellow corners Trayvon Mullen and Nevin Lawson. Aside from Apple, other free agent options include Darqueze Dennard (who, like Apple, had an agreed-to deal canceled), Dre Kirkpatrick, Aqib Talib, Johnathan Joseph, and Ross Cockrell.

Details On Aldon Smith’s Cowboys Contract

April 2nd, 2020 at 4:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys shocked the NFL world on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year deal with edge rusher Aldon Smith, who hasn’t played in the league since November 2015. As expected, Smith’s pact doesn’t contain any guaranteed money, but Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter links) has outlined the parameters of Smith’s contract, which could potentially net the 30-year-old $4MM.

In order to earn any money whatsoever, Smith must obviously be reinstated by the NFL. The former first-round pick applied for reinstatement last month, and if/when the league allows him to play, Smith will collect $90K from Dallas, per Archer. He’ll then collect a series of bonuses as follows:

  • 30 days after reinstatement: $50K
  • Start of training camp: $100K
  • After two preseason games: $100K
  • End of preseason: $100K

Clearly, the NFL’s training camp and preseason schedule could possibly altered due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But if the league’s scheduled goes according to plan, Smith will have earned $440K by the conclusion of the preseason. If the Cowboys released him at that point, they’d be on the hook for that total.

Once the regular season begins, Smith’s contract will follow a slightly more typical structure, accordibng to Archer:

  • Base salary: $910K
  • $40,625K in per-game roster bonuses, totaling $650K for the season
  • Sack incentives up to $2MM
    • Eight sacks: $500K
    • 10 sacks: $1MM
    • 12 sacks: $1.5MM
    • 14 sacks: $2MM

Because Smith didn’t play in the NFL in 2019, those incentives are considered “not likely to be earned” and thus do not count against the Cowboys’ salary cap. Smith would likely have to play at something close to an All-Pro level in order to reach every incentive, but he did meet or exceed 14 sacks in each of his first two NFL campaigns.

NFL, NFLPA Discussing Offseason Changes

April 2nd, 2020 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

In 2011, a lockout stalled the league year until training camp. But players could still work out independently in groups. This coronavirus-marred offseason has brought a different reality, and teams are growing worried.

Quarantines have players confined to their homes, and for the many NFLers without elaborate home-gym setups, it will disrupt workout routines. Teams that made quarterback or skill-position signings may not see their new-look offenses running plays together until training camp. Concerns from teams, the NFLPA and league executives have emerged regarding the physical health of players, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports, adding that these worries stem from players being in much worse shape as the quarantines stretch through April.

Teams’ offseason programs begin each April, but the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certainly set to wipe out OTAs and minicamps this year. The NFL took the step to close teams’ facilities, and Garafolo adds various players have been turned away from working out at their respective teams’ headquarters. Still, teams are hopeful the social distancing guidelines will ease up at some point in May or June to allow a truncated offseason program, Garafolo adds.

The prospect of teams convening during the several weeks on the calendar between minicamp and training camp — usually an NFL dead period — has come up. Discussions between the NFL and NFLPA of a multi-week ramp-up period before training camp occurring at some point in late June or early July have occurred, per Garafolo, who adds the NFLPA does not want players going from 0-100 come training camp.

The league still hopes to hold training camp and the regular season on time, but with even these late-summer staples not locks in this uncertain period, a pre-training camp ramp-up period may also be optimistic.

Players’ workout bonuses have also become an issue; $36MM-plus in offseason payments are in limbo. Players’ participation in teams’ virtual offseason programs has come up as away to reward these bonuses, per Garafolo. Teams are preparing to begin virtual offseason programs this month, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes. These could not occur in 2011, when teams were barred from contacting players. Teams sending players digital playbooks and, interestingly, videoconference workouts are scenarios on the table, Graziano adds.

As for free agents who remain unsigned, the inability to visit or work out for teams has doubled as a bad break for those with medical question marks. Various free agents who have already agreed to deals could run into trouble as well. Teams have raised the possibility of rescinding agreements after the draft if needs are filled to the point certain free agents are no longer needed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter).

Raiders To Re-Sign G Jordan Devey

April 2nd, 2020 at 2:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are bringing one of their key backups to Vegas. They reached an agreement to re-sign Jordan Devey on Thursday, Mike Garafolo tweets.

Devey agreed to a one-year, $880K deal to head to Oakland last year. Coming off a season marred by a torn pectoral muscle, Devey likely agreed to similar terms with the now-Las Vegas Raiders.

Starting for the injured Gabe Jackson in each of the Raiders’ four September games, Devey went down in Week 4 and missed the rest of the season. Devey, 32, played 17 games with the Chiefs from 2016-18. His most notable starting experience came with the 2015 49ers, who used him as a starter in nine games.

This will be another continuity-based step for the Raiders. They are set to bring back their entire starting offensive line — a unit that ranked sixth both in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate — and now will have Devey back in the fold as a swing man. Fellow backup interior lineman Denzelle Good remains on the team as well, being signed through 2020.

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