2020 May - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens Won’t Void Earl Thomas’ Deal

May 8th, 2020 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

This week, the Ravens were said to be internally discussing Earl Thomas‘ strange incident in Texas and whether it would classify as a violation of his existing contract. Even if they want to penalize or void a portion of Thomas’ deal, they won’t be able to, according to a source with knowledge of the contract who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT.

[RELATED: Ravens Sign J.K. Dobbins]

Thomas signed with the Ravens on a four-year, $55MM deal last year. That pact calls included substantial guarantees, including a guaranteed salary of $10MM for 2020. The Ravens can’t back out of it, and that’s no real surprise. According to the police report, Thomas’ wife allegedly pointed a gun at him and chased him with a knife after she – allegedly – caught him in the act of cheating. Had it been the other way around, the Ravens would have a case for terminating the contract. But, with Thomas on the other end of it, they have no real case.

According to that anonymously-sourced report from earlier this week, the Ravens have been less-than-thrilled with Thomas’ conduct and ability to grasp the playbook. Even if that’s true, the strange events in Austin, TX won’t allow Baltimore to back out of the deal.

Thomas, 31, registered 49 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and four passes defensed in his first season with the Ravens.

Giants Renegotiate Cooper Rush’s Deal

May 8th, 2020 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

Cooper Rush has a new team and a new contract. On Friday, the Giants reworked the quarterback’s deal to reduce his overall price while providing him with some guaranteed dollars (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).

Rush’s original deal called for $2.113MM in 2020, but that sum was completely non-guaranteed. Now, Rush will see a base value of $1.25MM, with some portion of that being guaranteed. That could bode well for Rush’s chances of making the final cut.

The Giants have Daniel Jones locked in as their starter with Colt McCoy slated to serve as the QB2. Alex Tanney and undrafted rookie Case Cookus are also in the mix, meaning that Rush will be vying with four other quarterbacks for two spots – or potentially just one. Rush has a few things working in his favor. First, there’s the guaranteed chunk of his deal. Second, there’s his longstanding relationship with new Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The same can’t be said for Tanney, a favorite of former head coach Pat Shurmur who has no guaranteed dollars on his contract.

Rush, 26, has appeared in just two NFL games since entering the league with the Cowboys in 2017.

Vince McMahon Puts XFL Up For Sale

May 8th, 2020 at 10:26am CST by Zachary Links

Could the XFL reemerge for a third time? After shutting down the league, laying off all of its employees, and declaring bankruptcy, Vince McMahon has put the XFL up for sale, according to Dan Primack of Axios.

The XFL and its managing investment bank has requested letters of intent to be submitted by June 12. After that, formal bids will be due on July 6. Together, they’re attempting to make a case for someone to purchase the XFL. They say the league was on track for $46MM in revenue last year with an average game attendance of 20K. While those attendance numbers might be accurate, the league was said to be handing out lots of free tickets to fill the seats.

It’ll be tough for the WWE czar to find a taker, industry investors tell Primack, though one source says it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

“There are lots of people who are very rich but not rich enough to own an NFL team, so maybe someone will see this as the next best thing at a bargain price,” said the investor, who is not personally mulling a bid for the XFL.

The XFL released players from their contracts on March 12, allowing quarterbacks Josh Johnson, P.J. Walker, Jordan Ta’amu, and others to seek NFL deals.

Jaguars To Sign QB Mike Glennon

May 8th, 2020 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars will sign quarterback Mike Glennon, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known.

Glennon, a veteran signal caller, will sit behind Gardner Minshew on Jacksonville’s depth chart. He’ll offer a safety net – not just for injuries, but also for potential hiccups. Minshew, a 2019 sixth-round pick, showed some serious potential last year, but the mustachioed magic cooled over time. All in all, the soon-to-be 24-year-old performed well as he stepped in for Nick Foles – first for injury, then for performance reasons. In 14 games, Minshew threw for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns against six interceptions.

For Glennon, this marks a return to the Sunshine State. The former Buccaneers passer will have a chance to see his old friends when they square off in the preseason this summer.

Glennon profiled as one of the best veteran quarterbacks left on the market, even if he wasn’t the most accomplished of the bunch. Cam Newton and Joe Flacco are still looking for work; ditto for Blake Bortles, the former No. 3 overall pick of the Jaguars.

Glennon, entering his eighth year in the league, came into the NFL as a third-round choice of the Bucs in 2013. After signing a lucrative and ill-fated free agent deal with the Bears in 2017, he hooked on with the Cardinals in 2018. Last year, he joined up with the Raiders and lobbed a grand total of ten passes. For his career, the 6’6″ vet owns a 6-16 record as a starter.

Patriots Sign Third-Round TE Devin Asiasi

May 8th, 2020 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are making headway on their 2020 draft class. They’ve signed third-round pick Devin Asiasi, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

On Day 3, the Pats moved up from No. 100 to the Raiders’ No. 91 choice for the UCLA product. With Asiasi, they filled a major need at tight end and netted their first offensive player of the weekend.

Asiasi offers speed and solid blocking technique, but scouts say he needs to spend some time in the gym in order to adjust to the pro game. He could wind up as the Patriots’ No. 1 tight end, ahead of Matt LaCosse, Ryan Izzo, and fellow third-round pick Dalton Keene. Then again, there are several notable vets left in free agency and the Patriots could explore their options between now and the start of the season.

With Asiasi officially in the fold, the Patriots have now signed seven of their ten draft picks. The only rookies left to sign are second-round safety Kyle Dugger, third-round tight end Dalton Keene, and sixth-round guard Michael Onwenu. Here’s the full rundown, via PFR’s tracker:

2-37: Kyle Dugger, S (Lenoir-Rhyne)
2-60: Josh Uche, LB (Michigan): Signed
3-87: Anfernee Jennings, OLB (Alabama): Signed
3-91: Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Signed
3-101: Dalton Keene, TE (Virginia Tech)
5-159: Justin Rohrwasser, K (Marshall): Signed
6-182: Michael Onwenu, G (Michigan)
6-195: Justin Herron, T (Wake Forest): Signed
6-204: Cassh Maluia, LB (Wyoming): Signed
7-230: Dustin Woodard, C (Memphis): Signed

Browns Officially Re-Sign Rashard Higgins

May 8th, 2020 at 9:43am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have re-signed Rashard Higgins, per a club announcement. The wide receiver will return on a one-year deal, giving him an opportunity to prove himself before trying his hand in free agency next year.

Higgins came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Browns and he’ll return to Cleveland for his fifth pro season. Over the past four years, he’s tallied 76 catches for 1,016 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, necessarily, but he did shine in 2018 when he finished out with 39 grabs for 572 yards and four scores.

Last year, a knee injury kept him from building on that performance, but a healthy season could put him back on the right track. Most of Baker Mayfield‘s targets will be going to the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and new addition Austin Hooper, but Higgins could benefit from the double teams against those stars.

In addition to Landry and OBJ, the Browns’ WR depth chart also features JoJo Natson and sixth-round rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones. Higgins is the longest-tenured player of the group.

In a corresponding move, the Browns have also waived defensive tackle Brandin Bryant.

Ravens Looking Into Earl Thomas Incident

May 7th, 2020 at 7:08pm CST by Zachary Links

According to Texas police, Earl Thomas was held at gunpoint by his wife in April after she allegedly caught him cheating. Thomas himself was not charged for the incident, but the Ravens are still looking into it and determining whether the matter violated the safety’s contract (via The Baltimore Sun).

Thomas’ deal, which runs through 2022, may give the Ravens an out, and a team official says they’re reading it over carefully. The Ravens inked the multiple-time Pro Bowler to a four-year, $55MM deal just one year ago, but they’re not necessarily happy with the results so far. That same source told The Baltimore Sun that Thomas has, at times, clashed with teammates and failed to learn the team’s defensive schemes. Thomas secured the seventh Pro Bowl selection of his career, but that was aided by his long-standing reputation for on-field excellence.

Thomas, who turned 31 on Thursday, spent nine years in Seattle as one of the very best safeties in the NFL, but his final years with the Seahawks were rocky due to disagreements over his contract . After angling for a trade or a new deal prior to the 2018 campaign, Thomas suffered a broken leg in Week 4 which ended his season early. That injury wiped out his most of his platform year, and may have prevented him from becoming the league’s highest-paid safety.

For now, Thomas is set to count for $15MM against the Ravens’ 2020 salary cap. After that, he carries cap hits of $16MM and $17MM in each of the next two seasons.

Giants Sign Mr. Irrelevant, Tae Crowder

May 7th, 2020 at 6:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The last pick of the 2020 NFL Draft was one of the first to sign. On Thursday, “Mr. Irrelevant” Tae Crowder inked his rookie deal with the Giants, per a club announcement.

Crowder – a 6’3″, 245 pound athlete – came to the University of Georgia as a running back in 2015. Midway through his redshirt frosh season, he switched to linebacker. As time wore on, he got more and more burn with the Bulldogs. Last year, he set a new single-game career high with 12 stops against South Carolina and also managed a 60-yard fumble return against Tennessee. All told last season, he had 62 tackles, four for a loss, and four passes defended.

Towards the end of Day 3, Crowder was at the point where he didn’t expect to hear his name called. He certainly didn’t expect a call from the Giants, who had already taken three other linebackers over the course of the weekend. Even though he was likely to land a deal on the UDFA circuit, it was welcome news, especially since the selection reunited him with former UGA coach Kevin Sherrer, who now serves as the Giants’ outside linebackers coach.

Crowder will look to stay relevant in New York/New Jersey and stick on the 53-man roster as a special teams player. Still, it’s a crowded portion of the depth chart with a dozen linebackers vying for a handful of spots behind Kyler Fackrell, David Mayo, Blake Martinez, and Lorenzo Carter.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/7/20

May 7th, 2020 at 6:40pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s late round signings here:

The Ravens inked third-round pick Tyre Phillips. With the Mississippi State offensive lineman under contract, the Ravens have now taken care of seven of their ten draft picks. Phillips played tackle in college, but he’ll likely move to the inside with Marshal Yanda retiring.
The Texans signed offensive tackle Charlie Heck, their fourth-round tackle.
The Patriots signed third-round linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Alabama), sixth-round guard Michael Onwenu (Michigan), and seventh-round center Dustin Woodard (Memphis), according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Jennings wasn’t the most athletic rusher in this year’s class, but his hard-nosed playing style and technique made him a strong fit for Bill Belichick‘s defense. BB’s relationship with ‘Bama head coach Nick Saban likely helped to lead Jennings to New England. The Pats have also inked kicker Justin Rohrwasser, linebacker Cassh Maluia, and tackle Justin Herron (all of whom are Day 3 picks), leaving only three unsigned players in their ten-player draft class.
The Bills signed a trio of picks from the back of their draft, per a club announcement: sixth-round kicker Tyler Bass, sixth-round wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, and seventh-round cornerback Dane Jackson. Hodgins, out of Oregon State, managed 86 receptions for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final year on campus.
The Dolphins inked a pair of fifth-round edge rushers in Curtis Weaver (Boise State) and Jason Strowbridge (UNC), as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. The bulk of their 11-man draft class still remains unsigned, so there’s more work to be done.

Toronto Argonauts Claim DeShone Kizer’s CFL Rights

May 7th, 2020 at 6:26pm CST by Zachary Links

If DeShone Kizer wants to take his talents north of the border, the Toronto Argonauts will be ready to talk. The Argos have claimed the former second-round pick’s negotiating rights, according to Justin Dunk of 3DownNation.com.

So far, Kizer’s pro career hasn’t gone according to plan. The Notre Dame product started 15 games for the Browns as a rookie and he went 0-15 on one of the league’s worst teams in league history. One year later, he was shipped to the Packers where he sat behind Aaron Rodgers and appeared in three games. All in all, Kizer has completed 53% of his passes in the NFL for 3,081 yards, eleven touchdowns, and 24 interceptions.

Kizer didn’t make the Packers cut, which led him to the Raiders. He didn’t throw a pass in 2019 and the Raiders recently dropped him during their virtual OTA period. At this point, a comeback attempt in the CFL might be his best bet.

Just a few years ago, Kizer showed potential with the Fightin’ Irish. There, he threw for 47 touchdowns against 19 interceptions over the course of two seasons, though concerns about his field vision and decision making pushed him out of the first round. In the NFL, Kizer didn’t do much to silence the critics.