2020 May - Pro Football Rumors

Broderick Washington Inks Ravens Deal

May 5th, 2020 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Defensive tackle Broderick Washington was the 170th player selected in this year’s NFL Draft. Today, he became the first place to formally sign his rookie deal, per an announcement from the Ravens.

The Texas Tech product will receive a four-year pact worth roughly $3.6MM, according to Over The Cap‘s slot estimates. For reference, Ravens first-round linebacker Patrick Queen – taken with the No. 28 overall pick – is set to earn $12.16MM over the same four year period. And, in case you were wondering, No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow will collect $36.2MM on his rookie deal with the Bengals.

Washington was taken two rounds after Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike to further strengthen the Ravens’ interior line. The Ravens see the 6’2″, 305-pound lineman as a solid run stuffer who can help them beef up in the trenches.

With Washington signed, we’ll be waiting on the signings of 254 more NFL Draft picks. To spare your Twitter feed, we’ll group most of these signings in daily posts here at Pro Football Rumors. For first-rounders and other notable signings, we’ll provide a more detailed breakdown.

Raiders To Sign Sam Young

May 5th, 2020 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have agreed to sign offensive lineman Sam Young, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.

Young, 33 in June, had a cup of coffee with the 49ers last year. Outside of those four games in the fall, he was out of the NFL and showing his stuff on the workout circuit. That tour included a visit with the Dolphins, where he spent the 2016-2018 seasons.

The veteran tackle has 92 career appearances to his credit, including 21 starts. He’s suited up for the Cowboys, Bills, Jaguars, Dolphins, and 49ers in the past. Now, he’ll try to stick in Las Vegas as a depth OL addition.

Meanwhile, the Raiders claim that they’ll keep longtime starter Gabe Jackson in the fold, despite all the speculation to the contrary. The right guard has three years left on his deal with base salaries of approximately $9.3MM per year. The Raiders were unable to find a deal for him on draft week, even though their asking price was reportedly very low. Mike Mayock says he’s staying put, but a release remains possible since there is no guaranteed money left on his deal.

Jets Place Quincy Enunwa On Reserve/PUP List

May 5th, 2020 at 2:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are placing Quincy Enunwa on the Reserve/PUP list, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Fellow wide receiver Josh Bellamy will also be parked on PUP.

[RELATED: Jets Sign Frank Gore]

After signing a four-year, $36MM extension with the Jets in late 2018, Enunwa was expected to be a primary target for quarterback Sam Darnold. Sadly, those plans came to a halt when Enunwa suffered the second neck injury of his career in the 2019 season opener against the Bills. Later on, the Jets restructured his deal, keeping him in the fold as he works his way back. Thankfully, Enunwa’s extension gave him financial security, including $10MM in fully guaranteed money.

Injuries have plagued Enunwa throughout his career, but he showed serious promise when he was healthy. In 2016, he played in all 16 games and tallied 58 catches for 857 yards. After missing the ’17 campaign, he looked like his old self in ’18. Hopefully, he’ll be able to resume his career sometime soon, though that will probably not be with the Jets. Per Brian Costello of the New York Post, the Jets are likely to cut Enunwa after the 2020 season.

Bellamy, who turns 31 later this month, joined the Jets in 2019 on a two-year deal. Previous to that, he spent four seasons with the Bears and notched at least 200 receiving yards in three of those Chicago seasons. Even though his offensive numbers took a step back in 2018, he’s shown to be a valuable special teamer. Last year, he appeared in seven games for Gang Green before landing on IR with a shoulder injury.

The Jets’ current WR depth chart includes free agent pickup Breshad Perriman, second-round pick Denzel Mims, former Redskins Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson, and one-time Patriots speedster Braxton Berrios.

Logan Ryan Won’t Return To Titans

May 5th, 2020 at 2:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Logan Ryan isn’t sure where he’ll be playing in 2020. The only thing he does know is that it won’t be with the Titans. On Tuesday, the free agent cornerback took to Instagram to bid farewell to his fans in Tennessee.

“To the Titans’ fans: Thank you for all the love. The energy and support this past season is what led to an epic run,” Ryan wrote. “To my Titans teammates: I love all y’all. Being a leader and earning y’all respect is what meant most to me. Win or lose we stuck together and backed down from no one.”

Ryan joined the Titans on a three-year, $30MM contract prior to the 2017 season and became a fixture in the starting lineup. This year, they’re going in a different direction. Ryan finished out 2019 with 113 tackles and 4.5 sacks, showing that he’s still an effective player. With a proven track record and the ability to move around the secondary, Ryan shouldn’t have a hard time finding work – it just boils down to how much he’s asking for.

In March, Ryan refused to accept anything less than the $10MM salary he earned on his last deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The Jets, who struck out on most of their targets this spring, would be a logical fit, and they’ll have the cap room to sign someone like Ryan once Trumaine Johnson is off the books. The Giants, who could use some support on both the outside and in the slot, would also make some sense for Ryan.

Ravens Re-Sign Pernell McPhee

May 5th, 2020 at 12:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are bringing Pernell McPhee back. The outside linebacker has re-upped on a one-year deal, per a club announcement.

Roughly one year ago today, McPhee inked a one year deal with Baltimore to return back to where it all started. He was a 2011 fifth-round pick and an oft-featured sub for the Ravens before moving on to the Bears in free agency. He entered and went out with a bang in Baltimore – McPhee notched six sacks as a rookie and tallied a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2014, his contract year. McPhee parlayed that success into a five-year deal, $38.8MM deal with Chicago, but injuries cost him 12 regular season games over a three-year stretch. Still, he managed 14 sacks for Chicago.

Unfortunately, injuries also slowed him last year. A triceps tear shelved McPhee in October, taking him out of action after 260 snaps, the second-highest total on the team at the time.

McPhee, 31, has 34 career sacks across nine seasons with the Bears, Redskins, and Ravens. Despite his name recognition and substantial career earnings, he’s started in just 30 of his 116 NFL games.

Jarrad Davis Remains In Lions’ Plans, Despite Declined Option

May 5th, 2020 at 12:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Even after turning down Jarrad Davis‘ fifth-year option, the young linebacker remains in the team’s plans, head coach Matt Patricia says (via the team website). With the option declined, Davis is currently set to reach free agency after the 2020 season.

“I would say this, there is no doubt that JD is one of our strongest leaders on defense,” Patricia said of the former No. 21 overall pick. “He’s a great player, someone we continue to build around. He and I just talked moreso about, ‘this is a short term conversation, as far as whatever this contract situation is, and for me it’s about long term.’ JD is a cornerstone of what we’re trying to do and he’s in those big-picture plans of where we’re trying to go.”

Even though Patricia sees the potential, the Lions weren’t comfortable with extending Davis for another year at $10MM, guaranteed for injury. The young ‘backer has shown flashes, but he’s lacked consistency. In 2018, he registered 100 tackles and six sacks. Last year, he lost a big chunk of his year to injuries and finished out with just 63 stops and two sacks.

Heading into the option deadline, no one was quite sure which way the Lions would go. Davis has shown to be effective on the blitz, but his tackling in open space and coverage has left much to be desired. If Davis can put it all together this year, however, the Lions could revisit long-term discussions. Davis could also be a trade candidate, given their uncertainty about him, but it sounds like he’ll stay put for this year, if we’re taking Patricia’s comments at face value.

Browns Execs On Garrett, Vernon, OBJ

May 5th, 2020 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

Even after the initial waves of free agency and the NFL Draft, the Browns’ work is far from done, GM Andrew Berry says.

“We have four or five months until the fall until we start playing games and then probably another six (weeks) until the trade deadline, so there are plenty of opportunities to continue to improve the roster and we’re going to be on the lookout for that over the next few months again if opportunities present themselves,’’ Berry told SiriusXM recently (via Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer). “We’re always going to look to be opportunistic across the roster and if there’s something that makes sense, we’ll see if we can attack and improve the team.’’

With lots of notable names left in free agency and on the trade block, Berry has lots of options. Could those options include a certain former No. 1 overall pick? Here’s what Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski have to say about that and more, via Cabot:

Berry on Olivier Vernon, whose presence could take the Browns out of the Jadeveon Clowney running:

“Olivier is a good football player, and we like having good football players on the roster. He’s a talented defensive end. He is here and will continue to be here.”

Berry on a potential extension for Myles Garrett, who had his fifth-year option exercised for 2021:

“We do see Myles as a long-term member and pillar in our organization. Great player, great person. Obviously, he did make a mistake last year that he’s learned from. But our confidence in and faith in Myles has not wavered and we’re looking to seeing what he does this year and certainly for years to come.’’ (via 105.7 The Fan)

Stefanski on Odell Beckham Jr., who is firmly in the team’s plans:

“We’re a better team with him on the field…Odell is one of the guys I was fortunate enough to sit down with before all this stuff kind of went sideways, so we sat down and talked about a bunch of things. One of the things we talked about is how he’s going to factor in this offense, and I showed him a bunch of tape from the previous Vikings year, I showed him tape from his Giants years, and just my vision for what he’s going to be capable of doing in this offense.” (via 92.3 The Fan)

Jets Sign RB Frank Gore

May 5th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Ben Levine

Frank Gore‘s AFC East tour has taken him to New York. The veteran running back is signing a one-year deal with the Jets, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).

In New York, Gore will be reunited with head coach Adam Gase, who served as the Dolphins head coach during the running back’s stint in Miami. Gase was also an offensive assistant in San Francisco during Gore’s run with the 49ers.

In fact, ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe tweets that Gase tried to recruit the veteran to the Jets last offseason, so the coaching staff clear has a role for him. Gore will instantly become the second running back on the depth chart behind Le’Veon Bell. The Jets are also rostering the likes of Kenneth Dixon, Josh Adams, and fourth-round rookie La’Mical Perine.

After starting 14 games for the Dolphins in 2018, Gore signed with the Bills last offseason. He ended up seeing a significant role for Buffalo, starting eight of his 16 games while rushing for 599 yards and two scores. However, Gore averaged a career-worst 3.6 yards per carry, but he’s not far removed from his 4.6 YPC campaign in Miami.

Gore sits third on the all-time rushing list with 15,347 yards and third on the all-time carries list with 3,548. While his stats in Buffalo were underwhelming, the veteran isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The soon-to-be 37 year old has only missed a pair of games since 2011.

Earlier this offseason, Gore indicated that he wanted to play in 2020 instead of hanging up his cleats. He hinted that a reunion in Miami could be a possibility, but he hadn’t been definitively connected to any teams over the past few months.

Jaguars Sign DE/LB Aaron Lynch

May 5th, 2020 at 9:30am CST by Ben Levine

Aaron Lynch is heading to Florida. The Jaguars announced that they’ve signed the defensive end/linebacker. It’s a one-year deal, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

The 2014 fifth-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers, and he compiled 12.5 sacks through his first two seasons in the NFL. Suspensions and injuries limited him to only 14 games between 2016 and 2017, and he moved on to Chicago in 2018.

The veteran has spent the past two seasons with the Bears, collecting 22 tackles and five sacks in 29 games (three starts).

Lynch will provide the Jaguars with a rotational pass-rusher, and he could be in for a bigger role if the front office finds a taker for Yannick Ngakoue.

Dolphins WR Albert Wilson Renegotiates Contract

May 5th, 2020 at 8:58am CST by Ben Levine

Albert Wilson and the Dolphins have agreed to a renegotiated deal, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The veteran wideout’s contract now has a base value of $3MM with another $1MM in incentives.

Wilson was set to make just under $9.5MM in 2020, and he had a cap hit close to $11MM. While he’s certainly not making that kind of money under his new deal, ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe opines (on Twitter) that it’s still more than he would have made on the “free market.”

Meanwhile, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets that a pay cut seemed inevitable at some point this offseason. The move should free up between $5MM and $6MM for the Dolphins.

Wilson has spent the past two seasons in Miami, but he’s been limited to only 20 games (seven starts). In total, the 27-year-old has hauled in 69 receptions for 742 yards and five touchdowns during his stint with the Dolphins. He also has 61 rushing yards on 13 attempts, and he’s completed two of three passing attempts for 72 yards and one touchdown.