2020 June - Pro Football Rumors

Month: November 2024

AFC West Notes: Chiefs, Mahomes, Raiders, Broncos

June 11th, 2020 at 12:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Patrick Mahomes could be the NFL’s first $200MM player if he takes full advantage of his leverage, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. However, Corry suggests that the Chiefs star should be less fixated on that figure and more focused on a similarly lucrative three-year extension. With a shorter deal, the quarterback could land an even bigger payday, thanks to the expected rise in revenue from the addition of a 17th regular season game.

There’s also been lots of chatter about a clause in the later years of Mahomes’ deal that would tie his contract to the salary cap as it escalates. It doesn’t seem out of the question for the NFL’s brightest star, but Corry isn’t sure if the Chiefs will be willing to set a radically new precedent in the game.

The salary cap percentage clause would be a game-changer, but I’d imagine that it’s in the realm of possibility for Mahomes, especially after Kirk Cousins secured a fully-guaranteed deal with the Vikings.

Here’s more from the AFC West:

Raiders newcomer Nick Kwiatkoski will play middle linebacker in the Raiders 4-3 scheme, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports. Kwiatkoski played on the inside of the Bears’ 3-4 layout and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther believes that he can be the team’s field general at the position. Kwiatkoski – signed for three years thanks to his $21MM deal – will be joined by fellow free agent addition Cory Littleton.
Raiders rookie Lynn Bowden Jr. had his home searched by the DEA this week, but his agency says that the running back was not arrested or charged afterwards (via Tashan Reed of The Athletic). Barring league discipline, the Raiders plan to open the year with Bowden as one of their supporting tailbacks behind starter Josh Jacobs. Devontae Booker, Jalen Richard, and Rod Smith are also on hand. On the field, Bowden has impressed – he ran for nearly 1,500 yards at Kentucky last year with an eye-popping average of 7.9 yards per carry.
After the departure of safety Will Parks, Broncos defensive back Alijah Holder says he’s ready to step up for whatever role he’s assigned. “I’m a quick learner and wherever they put me, I’m going to learn the position,” Holder said (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post). “In dime, I feel I could take on that role. In practice last year, I played dime and nickel so I’m pretty familiar with most of the stuff. I really would love the chance to play dime if [defensive coordinator Vic Fangio] if goes that way.”

This Date In Transactions History: Dolphins Sign Chad Johnson

June 11th, 2020 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

In the summer of 2012, the Dolphins were less-than-enamored with their options at wide receiver. The Dolphins had just traded Brandon Marshall – fresh off of his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season – to the Bears for a pair of third-round picks. Then, in the draft, they did not select a wide receiver until the sixth round.

‘‘You would like to have some players make it easy and distinguish themselves, maybe make the picture a little bit clearer,’’ head coach Joe Philbin said (via The Boston Globe). ‘‘We have to catch the ball more consistently at every position on offense, because it is not quite where it needs to be.’’

After missing out on the first and second wave of free agent wide receivers, the Dolphins placed a call to Drew Rosenhaus to inquire on Chad Ochocinco (née Chad Johnson). On June 11, 2012, the Dolphins inked the eccentric veteran to a one-year deal.

Ochocinco’s career credentials were as impressive as his touchdown celebrations were inventive. To that point, he had 766 catches for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns, six Pro Bowl nods, and two First-Team All-Pro selections.

However, the receiver’s best days were spent with the Bengals and he looked like a shell of his former self with the Patriots in the 2011 season. In his lone campaign with New England, Johnson had just 15 catches for 276 yards and one touchdown and was targeted just 32 times in total. Johnson clearly didn’t mesh with the Patriots’ offense and he didn’t impress in his two intra-divisional games against the Dolphins either. Against Miami, he had just one catch in each of those two games.

Ochocinco – who changed his name back to Johnson shortly after signing with Miami – didn’t mesh with Philbin and the rest of the staff. The melding of personalities turned out to be the least of his issues. In August, Johnson was arrested on domestic battery charges. Johnson proclaimed his innocence, but the Dolphins released him the very next day. Thanks to “Hard Knocks,” we have video of Philbin’s final conversation with Johnson.

Johnson’s deal with the Dolphins up being his final NFL contract. Johnson went on to play for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 2014 and was suspended for the 2015 season when he skipped mandatory practices. He re-emerged in 2017 to play in a single game for the Monterrey Fundidores of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional de México, where he scored on a 41-yard touchdown reception in the Fundidores’ winning effort.

NFL Cancels In-Person June Minicamps

June 11th, 2020 at 9:53am CST by Zachary Links

The NFL has informed teams that there will be no in-person minicamps in June, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Instead, the league has extended its “virtual” offseason activities period through June 26.

This was the expected move as the league aims to exercise caution with a gradual phase-by-phase approach to the offseason. Coaches have been permitted to return to team facilities in states, counties, and cities where that’s allowed, though as of last Friday, less than half of the league’s staffs came to the office.

The league did discuss a scenario in which rookies and newly acquired veterans could return to team facilities before 6/26, but it’s not clear if that’s still in play. When players are given the greenlight for in-person activities, they’ll be required to follow a long list of safety protocols. Teams will reconfigure locker rooms to keep players roughly 6 feet apart, disinfect equipment after each game, and have their players wear masks, unless they get in the way of “athletic activities.”

The NFL may also shorten the preseason, with two exhibition games rather than the typical four-game slate. Still, things are looking up for the NFL as the country continues to relax restrictions. On Tuesday, New Jersey nixed its stay-at-home orders, leaving California, Tennessee, and Oregon as the final states sticking to a regional reopening plan.

Offset Language In The NFL, Explained

June 10th, 2020 at 6:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Ever since the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, rookie contracts have been fairly regimented. Negotiations between teams and draft picks have become smoother than ever, with few – if any – players expected to be unsigned by the time training camp gets underway. Still, a number players have yet to ink their rookie deals, including several first-rounders.

These negotiations have been delayed, in large part, due to concerns over potential revenue loss in the coming year. Fortunately for teams, offset language is not expected to be a roadblock.

Over the last several years, only a handful of players in each year have managed to avoid having offsets language written into their deals. This year, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown were the first Round 1 picks to sign and they agreed to offset language.

That hasn’t always been the case. In 2015, Marcus Mariota‘s camp haggled with the Titans until the two sides finally reached an accord with partial offset language, a compromise that was not consummated until late July. In 2016, Joey Bosa’s holdout dominated headlines until the linebacker inked his deal on August 29th. In most cases, a lack of offsets for a player simply depends on which team drafted him — clubs like the Rams and Jaguars traditionally haven’t pushed to include offsets in contracts for their top picks, even in an era where most other teams around the league do.

Offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For the top 15 to 20 picks in the draft, those four-year salaries will be fully guaranteed, even if a player is waived at some point during those four seasons. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. If there’s no offset language on that first deal, the old team would continue to be on the hook for the full $4MM, and the player would simply earn an additional $1MM from his new club.

Although the negotiation of offset language might potentially delay a rookie’s signing, the offsets rarely come into play, since few top picks flame out badly enough that they’re released during their first four seasons. And even in those rare instances, if a player has performed poorly enough to be cut in his first few years, he likely won’t sign a lucrative deal elsewhere, so offset language wouldn’t help his old club recover more than perhaps the league minimum.

Teams Viewing Logan Ryan As Nickel CB?

June 10th, 2020 at 6:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Logan Ryan stands as one of the most attractive free agents left, in part due to his ability play both on the inside and the outside. However, some teams see Ryan as only a nickel cornerback, according to Adam Caplan of Inside The Birds.

That might help to explain the 29-year-old’s prolonged stint in free agency. Ryan is believed to be seeking $10MM per year and that’s not the kind of coin given to nickel defenders. Justin Coleman (Lions, $9MM/year), Tavon Young (Ravens, $8.6MM/year), and Chris Harris Jr. (Chargers, $8.5MM/year) lead the position in pay and Ryan probably can’t top that with a team only using him in the slot.

“A few of us during our early free agency meetings discussed whether to sign him and move him to safety,” one AFC official told Caplan. “You love his smarts, toughness and leadership…you just get concerned with putting him up against guys who can really run.”

The Jets have been heavily connected to Ryan, who was thought to be a natural fit opposite of Pierre Desir. The Dolphins – despite having already committed serious dollars and resources to the position – are also reportedly interested in Ryan, but they would only have room for him as a nickelback. Caplan notes that the Raiders – who were looking for an outside corner earlier this year – saw Ryan as a slot man. With Lamarcus Joyner already in that role, the Raiders did not pursue him.

Last year, Ryan set career-highs in tackles (113), passes defended (18), sacks (4.5), and forced fumbles (four). Given his past performance, Ryan shouldn’t have a hard time finding work, but he might not get the $10MM figure he’s seeking.

C.J. Mosley Cleared For Football Activities

June 10th, 2020 at 3:22pm CST by Rory Parks

Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley told reporters today that he has been given a clean bill of health and continues to expect that he will be a full participant in training camp (Twitter link via Connor Hughes of The Athletic). Mosley underwent surgery in December to remedy the groin/abdominal injury that cost him all but two games of the 2019 campaign, and it sounds as if his recovery has gone smoothly.

Mosley signed a massive five-year, $85MM free agent contract with New York last offseason, when former GM Mike Maccagnan was still running the show. New GM Joe Douglas eschewed such splashy signings in his first full free agent cycle, but Douglas will surely be happy to have Mosley anchoring the middle of his team’s defense.

Mosley, who will turn 28 on June 19, earned his payday after a very strong performance with Baltimore over his first five years in the league. The former first-round pick racked up four Pro Bowl nods during that time, and though he has his weaknesses in coverage, his instincts, tackling ability, and intelligence help to make up for that. He was also quite durable with the Ravens, playing in (and starting) 77 of a possible 80 regular season games, so the Jets are hoping last year’s injury was a blip in the radar.

Though Gang Green does not look like a playoff contender just yet, the way that Douglas is handling the construction of the club has generated some optimism. A healthy Mosley will go a long way towards re-establishing the Jets as a legitimate threat.

In 2018, his last full season, Mosley tallied 105 tackles, five passes defensed, and an interception that sealed a Week 17 win for the Ravens and clinched a playoff berth.

Make-Or-Break Year: Titans WR Corey Davis

June 10th, 2020 at 2:19pm CST by Rory Parks

We recently profiled Bengals receiver John Ross as a make-or-break player as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, and today we’ll look at one of his draftmates, Titans WR Corey Davis. Like Ross, Davis saw his fifth-year option declined earlier this year, which puts him on track for unrestricted free agency following the 2020 season.

Davis, the No. 5 overall pick of the 2017 draft, entered the league after a dominant collegiate career with Western Michigan. Over his sophomore to senior seasons, Davis averaged 88 catches for 1,448 receiving yards and 15 TDs, and while his level of competition in the MAC was not what it might have been in a Power Five conference, that type of production is tough to ignore. And when it comes packaged in a 6-3, 209-lb physical specimen, it’s easy to see why Tennessee pulled the trigger.

Unfortunately for Davis and the Titans, the 25-year-old has been unable to replicate that production in the pros. The all-time NCAA leader in receiving yards has just 1,867 yards in his first three NFL seasons, and after scoring 52 total TDs through the air in college – good for second-most in NCAA history – Davis has found paydirt just six times with Tennessee.

Though he has never suffered a major injury, a variety of smaller ailments may have prevented him from reaching his potential. He was unable to participate in drills during the 2017 scouting combine due to an ankle injury, and his rookie season was hampered by a hamstring injury. He managed to stay healthy in 2018, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that he posted career highs in receptions (65) yards (891) and receiving TDs (four). He led the team in all three categories, and though his catch rate was not particularly impressive – those 65 catches came on 112 targets – he appeared to be poised for a breakout.

Last season, however, Davis battled hip issues and saw rookie A.J. Brown emerge as the team’s leading receiver. Davis finished with just 43 catches for 601 yards and two scores, so Tennessee really had no choice but to decline the fifth-year option. That option would have been guaranteed for injury only but would have been worth nearly $16MM, so the Titans could not take that chance.

Given his pedigree, Davis will almost surely get another NFL opportunity in 2021 even if he continues to underwhelm in 2020. But a disappointing effort this season will likely lead to a one-year, prove-it deal next year, whereas a strong campaign could secure him a multi-year payday with a great deal of guaranteed money.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith recently sung Davis’ praises, saying, “[t]here were some huge explosive plays (last year) that Corey was the unsung hero to. He’s a big part of this offense and I think he’ll take another step.”

A full season with the resurgent Ryan Tannehill could help, though Davis did not perform any better last season with Tannehill under center than he did with Marcus Mariota. The Titans did not select a receiver in this year’s draft, so Davis will continue to start opposite Brown, with Adam Humphries in the slot. If he’s not careful, this could be his last year as an unquestioned starter, so it will be incumbent upon him to make the most of that opportunity and start realizing all of the promise that made him a top-five pick three years ago.

NFL To Shorten Preseason?

June 10th, 2020 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

The NFL and the players’ union are discussing the possibility of a shortened preseason, sources tell NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The belief is that we could wind up seeing only two preseason games played, rather than the usual four.

With a shortened exhibition slate, teams could have more time to prepare on the practice field and in the film room. Also, as Pelissero notes (Twitter link), it would buy more time for medical experts to develop and implement safety protocols for the many parties involved.

Most veteran players aren’t too fond of the preseason, but it’s a crucial platform for players on the fringe who are pushing to make the 53-man roster. Less preseason games could make it tougher for newcomers – especially undrafted free agents – to prove themselves and show what they can do in competition. Even before talk of a shortened preseason, fresh faces were facing an uphill battle. Instead, this could give a leg up to players returning from last year’s roster since they’re already familiar with the playbook.

As it stands, the NFL’s preseason is set to kick off on August 6th with the Steelers facing the Cowboys in the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame game.

Packers Notes: Rodgers, LaFleur, Bakhtiari, Taylor

June 10th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Packers’ offense lacked its usual punch in 2019 and, so far, they have yet to add a playmaker this offseason. If the Packers aren’t able to address that need between now and September, head coach Matt LaFleur believes that he can make a difference from the sideline.

“It does start with the playcalling, maybe taking a few more chances to try to help generate those plays down the field,” said LaFleur (via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky). “Typically, if you’re getting explosives, you’ve got a much better chance at scoring points.”

Last year, the Packers ranked 20th in explosive plays – passes of 20 yards or more and runs for at least ten yards. But, as Demovsky notes, it wasn’t the result of a conservative strategy. Aaron Rodgers had the league’s fifth-highest rate of pass attempts for 15+ yards and placed third in attempts for 20+ yards.

For now, the Packers are hoping that wide receiver Devin Funchess, second-round running back A.J. Dillon and third-round tight end Josiah Deguara will make a difference.

Here’s more out of Green Bay:

After taking a pay cut in late May, Packers guard Lane Taylor will earn just $910K in base salary this year, according to Demovsky (on Twitter). He’s now set to count for $2.4MM against the cap in his final year under contract, saving the team roughly $3MM against the cap. The Packers now have about $14MM to spend, which could give them some room to add a playmaker for Rodgers.
The extra cap room could also help the Packers lock up left tackle David Bakhtiari. In 2016, the Packers made Bakhtiari one of the five highest-paid tackles in the NFL with a four-year, $48MM extension. Now set to enter his final year, Bakhtiari’s value is tough to peg, as Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette writes. Bakhtiari, 29 in September, is one of the league’s best outside protectors, but he did regress slightly in 2019. Last year, he was flagged 12 times, his highest penalty total since 2015. For his part, Bakhtiari says that it was the product of adjusting to a new system. “The false starts are … I mean, that’s just unacceptable,” Bakhtiari said. “That just really comes down to thinking more about the concepts. Also just being new to a bunch of new things that are going on, So I’m taking my thought process away from the cadence. I think I kind of situated that and ironed that out.”
The Packers inked rookie Jon Runyan Jr. late last week, officially bringing one of Bakhtiari’s new backups into the fold.

Seahawks Offered Jadeveon Clowney $15MM/Year?

June 10th, 2020 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

At one point in negotiations, the Seahawks offered Jadeveon Clowney a one-year, $15MM deal, according to a league source who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT. If that proposal is still on the table, it stands to reason that the defensive end could return to Seattle, but according to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, that is not the case (Twitter link). Anderson says that the starting point for negotiations between the two sides would be “very different” than the $15MM figure.

Clowney has said that he wouldn’t mind returning to the Seahawks, though he rejected an offer from the team early in the offseason. Since then, the Seahawks have found front seven help elsewhere by adding Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa in free agency. They also found edge help in the draft by selecting outside linebacker Darrell Taylor (Round 2) and defensive end Alton Robinson (Round 5).

When free agency opened, Clowney was said to be asking for $21MM/year. Weeks later, that ask was reduced to around $17-$18MM per annum. The Browns – long believed to be a frontrunner – recently offered Clowney a deal that was worth somewhere around $12MM per year. The former No. 1 overall pick turned them down in hopes of finding a better deal, but some believe that Clowney is overestimating his market.

The Giants, Eagles, and Jets are not in the mix for Clowney, even though they could all use some help on the edge. That leaves the Browns and Titans as the likely frontrunners, though the Titans have also downplayed their level of interest. The Seahawks are still open to bringing Clowney back, per Anderson, but it seems their offer would be closer to the one that the Browns put on the table.

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