HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Pay Raise For Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore

September 11th, 2020 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s a good day for Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots have given the cornerback a $5MM pay raise for 2020, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

Gilmore, the reigning defensive player of the year, has two years to go his current deal. In 2020, he’s now slated to earn $15.5MM, with an additional $2MM bonus if he repeats as the NFL’s DPOY. For now, his 2021 remains unchanged – he’s scheduled to make $11.5MM in base pay, plus $8MM+ in bonuses.

Gilmore skipped a handful of practices over the summer, leading some to speculate about a potential holdout. Later, we learned that his absence was not contract-related. Gilmore presumably wants a new deal, but he’s not pressing the Patriots to make it happen with two years left on his current pact.

After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Bills, Gilmore joined the Patriots on a five-year, $65MM deal ($31MM guaranteed) prior to the 2017 season. The former first-rounder had an up-and-down campaign during his first season in New England, but he’s delivered some incredible performances ever since.

At the time of signing, Gilmore’s deal made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. Since then, the market has shifted dramatically. Before the pay bump, Gilmore’s average annual salary ranked him No. 11 among CBs, far behind new positional leader Jalen Ramsey.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/20

September 11th, 2020 at 10:48am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

Washington Football Team 

Ravens Rework Brandon Williams’ Deal

September 11th, 2020 at 9:28am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens and defensive tackle Brandon Williams have agreed to a reworked deal that will give the team an additional $3MM in cap space (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). Previously, Williams was set to earn $19MM over the next two years with no guaranteed cash. Now, he’ll have $8.25MM locked in with a base value of $15.75MM. 

[RELATED: Titans Beat Out Ravens, Saints For Clowney]

Williams was once among the best defensive tackles in football, but his production has slipped in recent years. He’s also been asked to move around the line, but he’s expected to play more in the middle this year. That should help the veteran get back to his old form – Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the league’s No. 91 defensive lineman from 2017-2019 on snaps played elsewhere. But, at nose tackle, he rated No. 4. He’ll go head-to-head with centers, forging a path for new teammates like Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe.

That revamped D-Line could have featured Jadeveon Clowney, but the Ravens lost out to the Titans earlier this month. According to some reports, the Ravens weren’t quite as bullish on the former No. 1 overall pick.

AFC West Notes: Chiefs, Sutton, Raiders

September 10th, 2020 at 6:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Clyde Edwards-Helaire will make his NFL debut Thursday night, doing so without the benefit of preseason carries. The Chiefs brought back both Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson to serve as his backups, but the defending Super Bowl champions considered a somewhat higher-profile RB2 option. A year after the Chiefs scooped up LeSean McCoy following his Bills release, they had interest in Adrian Peterson, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Peterson, who played under Eric Bieniemy from 2007-10 when the current Chiefs OC was the Vikings’ running backs coach, was interested in a Chiefs deal as well, per Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). COVID-19 testing and the team’s first game being on Thursday night nixed a potential partnership, Fowler adds. Peterson signed with the Lions on Sunday.

Ahead of the Chiefs kicking off the 2020 season in less than an hour, here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • The Broncos have already lost their best defensive player for the season, in all likelihood, with Von Miller opting to undergo an ankle surgery that will require a months-long recovery process. They now have their top offensive talent dealing with an injury. Courtland Sutton went down during practice Thursday, suffering what an MRI determined to be an AC joint sprain, Mike Klis of 9News notes. While Sutton will be classified as day-to-day, the third-year wideout’s right shoulder malady has his status in doubt for the Broncos’ Monday-night opener against the Titans.
  • The Chiefs made a few mid-level moves to bolster their depth chart this year, from re-signing wideout Demarcus Robinson and backup quarterback Chad Henne to adding offensive linemen Kelechi Osemele, Daniel Kilgore and Mike Remmers. Kansas City, however, does enter the season with a thin cornerback group thanks to Kendall Fuller‘s Washington return and Bashaud Breeland‘s four-game suspension. GM Brett Veach confirmed the team considered signing a veteran early in camp but saw enough from fourth-round rookie L’Jarius Sneed and young replacement options Rashad Fenton and Antonio Hamilton to stick with the status quo, per Adam Teicher of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Lynn Bowden Jr.‘s Raiders tenure not lasting until Week 1 represented one of this summer’s more surprising developments, but the team viewed the third-round pick as ineffective on the field and a potential red flag off it. A lack of explosiveness contributed to the Raiders shipping Bowden to the Dolphins, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, who adds the team was also concerned about the Kentucky product’s off-field approach — particularly after the team’s move to Las Vegas (subscription required). The Raiders ate Bowden’s $985K signing bonus to send the gadget player to Miami.

49ers, Richard Sherman Discuss Extension

September 10th, 2020 at 5:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Richard Sherman has done well to revitalize his career in San Francisco, earning second-team All-Pro acclaim last season while helping the 49ers back to the Super Bowl. Sherman confirmed Thursday he wants to keep playing after his 49ers contract expires.

While Sherman’s 49ers deal wraps up after the 2020 season, the standout cornerback said he has discussed an extension with the 49ers, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).

Sherman, 32, is hoping to play four more seasons. He is set to make $8MM in base salary this year and count nearly $14MM toward the 49ers’ 2020 cap. The former Seahawks All-Pro signed a self-negotiated three-year, $27.15MM deal in 2018. As his own agent, Sherman has put those talks on hold going into the season, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco (on Twitter).

With Jalen Ramsey just blowing the lid off the long-stagnant cornerback market, Sherman can reasonably aim for a substantial raise from his $9MM-AAV 49ers pact. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall corner last season, returning to top form after two down seasons — one of which including an Achilles tear that ended his Seattle run.

San Francisco opted not to significantly address its cornerback corps this offseason. The team has Sherman, high-end slot corner K’Waun Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon going into contract years, pointing to the position being high 49ers priority in 2021.

NFL Suspends LB Darron Lee

September 10th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Darron Lee‘s return to NFL action will have to wait until at least October. The former first-round pick has encountered another suspension.

The league handed the free agent linebacker a four-game suspension, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. The Chiefs did not re-sign Lee this offseason.

This marks Lee’s second NFL ban. The league sidelined him four games for a violation of its substance-abuse policy in December 2018. Lee had started all 12 of the 2018 Jets’ games leading up to that penalty. However, the Jets cut their losses via trade in the following offseason.

After failing to justify the Jets’ first-round investment, Lee made some contributions to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV run. Kansas City acquired Lee for a sixth-round pick and featured him in all 16 regular-season games. The Ohio State alum made 31 tackles last season. Lee, however, did not play during the Chiefs’ postseason slate.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/20

September 10th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Eagles Rework Lane Johnson’s Deal

September 10th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Jason Peters has a new deal, thanks in part to teammate Lane Johnson. The Eagles’ right tackle agreed to turn a large portion of his base salary into signing bonus pay, giving the Birds upwards of $5MM in cap room and the space to give Peters his pay bump (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 

[RELATED: Peters Gets A Pay Raise]

Johnson is in the midst of the four-year, $72MM extension he signed back in November of 2019. That deal gave Johnson a staggering $54.595MM in guaranteed cash and an average salary of $18MM/year. It was a sizable step up from his last contract, which paid less than $11MM per annum.

Minor accounting aside, the deal remains unchanged. The veteran is still signed through 2025, cementing him as a pillar of the Eagles’ O-Line for years to come. This year, with guard Brandon Brooks and tackle Andre Dillard sidelined, he’ll be more critical than ever.

The eighth-year pro is coming off of his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod, a rare feat for often under-looked right tackles.

No Talks For Cardinals, Patrick Peterson

September 10th, 2020 at 1:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Patrick Peterson is entering his walk year, but the summer didn’t yield any meaningful extension talks with the Cardinals (via the team website). The cornerback hasn’t been shy about speaking out against the club in the past, but he says he won’t let the situation cloud his season.

[RELATED: Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins Agree To Record-Breaking Deal]

“I’m at peace (with the contract),” Peterson said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m under contract until the end of the season. All I can do right now is play ball. The ball is in my court. All I have to do is go out and play P2 football, playing all-around solid football, taking No. 1s out of the game, not giving up any touchdowns, just getting back to that form.”

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen “P2 football” in action. The 30-year-old tallied 53 total tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed in his shortened ten-game campaign. That marked the first campaign of his career without perfect attendance. After months of drama and trade demands, he was hit with a six-game ban for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. At that point, he changed course, telling the world that he wanted to spend the rest of his career in Arizona.

On the whole, however, Peterson has been pretty stellar. Over the last nine years, he’s registered 25 interceptions while eclipsing some of the league’s most dangerous wide receivers.

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