2020 September - Pro Football Rumors

This Date In Transactions History: Lions Extend Theo Riddick

September 10th, 2020 at 1:45pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2016, the Lions finalized a three-year, $12.75MM deal with running back Theo Riddick. At the time, the deal positioned Riddick as one of the higher-paid tailbacks in the NFL. Today, the deal serves as a reminder of how quickly things can change in football.

Riddick, who had just turned 25, was coming off of a breakout year. He hauled in 80 passes – the most of any running back in 2015 – for 697 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions didn’t want to let the dual-threat RB get anywhere near free agency, so they locked him up through 2019. With Riddick and the speedy Ameer Abdullah in the fold, the Lions figured that they were well-set in the backfield.

Riddick kicked off his new deal with 728 all-purpose yards in ten games and set a new career-high with 3.9 yards per tote. And, naturally, he showed his soft hands with 53 grabs. Then, a wrist injury halted his season in November. Riddick returned in 2017, and stayed healthy, but the Lions’ ground game was lacking. In 2018, rookie Kerryon Johnson emerged as a total game-changer, and that changed the course of Riddick’s career. After Riddick logged just 40 carries, the Lions no longer felt that he was worth his contract. In July of 2019, they dropped the 27-year-old to save less than $4MM against the salary cap.

Today, Riddick finds himself on the fringe. After missing the Raiders’ final cut, he’s waiting for his next opportunity on Jon Gruden‘s practice squad.

Clay Matthews Turns Down Broncos Offer

September 10th, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos inquired on veteran edge rusher Clay Matthews after losing Von Miller to injury, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). According to a league source, the Broncos were informed that Matthews is “not going to play.” However, that’s not quite the case. Agent Ryan Williams says he was “unable to come to an agreement with Denver,” but his client “remains open to playing in the NFL in 2020, provided it’s the right opportunity for him and his family” (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com).

Matthews, 34, racked up eight sacks in 13 games (all starts) last year, despite missing some time with a broken jaw. In the interest of equal time, the sacks may not tell the whole story – Matthews had just eleven QB hits in 2019, similar to his 12 QB hits in 2018 with the Packers, when he finished out with just 3.5 sacks.

Regardless, Matthews would have been a strong last-minute pickup to bolster the Broncos’ edge rush. They’ll be without Miller for three months at minimum, or the entire season at maximum. They might also have to get by without former first-round pick Bradley Chubb for a bit as he works his way back from last year’s ACL tear.

Matthews has 91.5 career sacks, putting him at the doorstep of the century mark. If he returns and hits 100 sacks, he’d be the 35th player in league history to join the club.

Pay Raise For Eagles’ Jason Peters

September 10th, 2020 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Jason Peters got what he wanted. On Thursday, the Eagles agreed to revise the veteran’s deal to pay him up to $8MM with $4MM guaranteed, according to agent Vince Taylor (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).

The Eagles brought Peters back this summer to fill-in for injured guard Brandon Brooks. The lifelong tackle agreed to do so at a lesser rate – $3MM in base pay, plus $3M in incentives tied to playing time. The package included some easily achievable bonuses ($400K for 75% playing time), plus some trickier ones ($350K for 75% PT + Super Bowl victory; $1MM for 90% PT + First-Team All-Pro selection).

Then, the injury bug bit Andre Dillard. Peters asked for a pay bump to move back to his native position and the Eagles obliged. The extra expense is well worth it for the Birds. While the 38-year-old has lost a step, he still turned in a solid 2019 – Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s sixth-best tackle among 81 qualifiers in 2019. Considering the going rate for tackles – and the dearth of talent at this stage of the offseason – it was a no-brainer. Even if Peters maxes out his full incentives package, he’s still a tremendous bargain at ~$8MM for the year.

Jets Sign Alec Ogletree To Practice Squad

September 10th, 2020 at 8:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have signed former Giants linebacker Alec Ogletree to the practice squad, per a club announcement. He’ll be joined by wide receiver Jaleel Scott, a former fourth-round pick of the Ravens.

The Giants dropped Ogletree in February to save roughly $8MM against the cap. Just a couple of years ago, GM Dave Gettleman acquired him and the remainder of his four-year, $42MM extension from the Rams. The traditional stats have portrayed Ogletree as a consistently productive player – he has several 100+ tackle seasons to his credit, plus 12 interceptions and four pick-sixes for his career. The advanced metrics haven’t lined up, however, and Ogletree didn’t produce for the G-Men. Instead, they shed his salary and replaced him with newcomer Blake Martinez.

Now with the other tenants of the Meadowlands, Ogletree will be at the ready as an emergency call-up. The Jets project to start the year with Neville Hewitt and Avery Williamson as their starting inside linebackers with support from Harvey Langi and Blake Cashman.

Raiders Rework Cory Littleton’s Contract

September 9th, 2020 at 6:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders have restructured the contract of linebacker Cory Littleton in order to create more than $8MM in cap space, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The move will give Las Vegas, who had been projected to be over the cap, some financial breathing room.

Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, the Raiders appeared to have converted $10.09MM of Littleton’s 2020 base salary into a signing bonus while adding two void years to the end of his contract. In sum, Las Vegas reduced Fitzgerald’s 2020 cap charge by $8.072MM but added $2.018MM in each remaining season of his contract.

Restructures nearly always benefit the player in question. Not only does Littleton get more money up front in the form of a new signing bonus, but he’s now more difficult to release in future years. Indeed, many contracts simply have a restructure clause built in, so the team doesn’t even have to ask the player before making the move. However, it’s rare to see a newly-signed player like Littleton get a restructure before he ever plays a down for his new club.

Littleon, 27, spent four years with the Rams before inking a three-year, $35.25MM pact with Las Vegas earlier this year. An exceptional coverage linebacker, Littleton joined Nick Kwiatkoski as new additions to the Raiders’ linebacking unit.

NFC South Notes: Saints, Clowney, Bucs

September 9th, 2020 at 6:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Before Jadeveon Clowney signed with the Titans, the Saints attempted to orchestrate a sign-and-trade in order to land the star edge rusher — but the NFL put the kibosh on such a maneuver, as Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com write. In the proposed scenario, an unidentified team (widely believed to be the Browns) would have signed Clowney to a one-year deal with a $5MM signing bonus and a $10MM base salary.

Clowney then would have been dealt to the Saints in exchange for a second-round pick, per the NFL scribes. The mystery team would have absorbed the $5MM signing bonus on its salary cap, giving the cap-strapped Saints the breathing room they would have needed in order to acquire Clowney. But the league office gave word it wouldn’t approve a deal that amounted to trading cap space.

“We felt like we got close,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “We weren’t able to match the money, and that’s one of the challenges every year. Mickey (Loomis) and Khai (Harley) did a great job working with (Clowney’s agent).” The Ravens may have also attempted a sign-and-trade strategy to land Clowney, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk indicates Baltimore tried to arrange a similar strategy involving the Jaguars. Tennessee ultimately landed Clowney on a one-year, $13MM pact that includes $2MM in incentives.

Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans is dealing with a hamstring injury and could be a game-time decision for Sunday’s tilt against the Saints, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Evans ended last season on injured reserve with a hamstring issue, but he hadn’t missed any time during camp, so the injury must have flared up recently. If Evans is forced to miss Week 1, Chris Godwin could see even more targets than usual, while Justin Watson and Scotty Miller would likely become more involved in Tampa Bay’s offense.
The Buccaneers‘ backfield split became extremely murky following the addition of Leonard Fournette, but head coach Bruce Arians says Ronald Jones is still the club’s starter, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Of course, Arians has been anything but fully truthful when it comes to running back touches over the years, but Jones should at least get the first snap of 2020. Arians said Fournette will have a “situational role” in Week 1 (Twitter link via Pewter Report), while LeSean McCoy should still be a factor on passing downs. Tampa Bay also worked out a number of running backs, including veteran Kenjon Barner, earlier this week, tweets Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com.
Saints owner Gayle Benson has thankfully recovered after contracting COVID-19 in August, as Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes. The 73-year-old Benson was not forced to spend any time in the hospital while quarantined, and was still able to take part in team business.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/20

September 9th, 2020 at 5:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed: RB Raymond Calais
Placed on non-football injury list: DE Terrell Lewis

New Orleans Saints

Placed on injured reserve: P Blake Gillikin

Vikings, Dalvin Cook Not Close On Extension

September 9th, 2020 at 5:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings are “not close” on an extension with running back Dalvin Cook, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Minnesota reportedly tabled talks in mid-August, but the club is still apparently hoping to work out a new deal for Cook before the season begins. However, the two sides still appear to be far apart in negotiations.

Earlier this year, Cook was reportedly targeting a $15MM/year salary, but it always seemed unlikely the Vikings would come anywhere near that figure. Joe Mixon, perhaps the best comparable for Cook, recently inked a four-year, $48MM deal with the Bengals that contains a team-friendly structure (just $10MM guaranteed), but it’s unclear if Cook and his camp would accept such a pact.

Cook staged a mini-holdout earlier this year, but the new CBA essentially prevents any longstanding preseason holdouts from taking place. Additionally, if Cook sits out regular season games, he could put his 2021 unrestricted free agent status at risk.

Now 25 years old, Cook has been always been productive when he’s been able to remain on the field. Last year, the former second-round pick posted 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground and added 53 receptions and 519 yards in the passing game. Health has always remained a question mark for Cook, however, and his 14 games in 2019 marked a career-high.

Jaguars To Sign RB Dare Ogunbowale

September 9th, 2020 at 4:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars are signing free agent running back Dare Ogunbowale, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Released by the Buccaneers last week after they signed fellow running back Leonard Fournette, Ogunbowale didn’t last long on the open market.

Jacksonville, of course, was the club that released Fournette, and it will now add Ogunbowale to a backfield that also includes Chris Thompson, Devine Ozigbo, and undrafted rookie free agent James Robinson, the latter of whom is listed as the nominal starter for Week 1.

Ogunbowale’s skill set would seem to overlap with that of Thompson. Both are running backs who excel in the passing game — the 26-year-old Ogunbowale caught 35 passes in 2019 on just 361 offensive snaps, but rushed just 11 times for 17 yards.

An undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2017, Ogunbowale will likely contribute immediately on the Jaguars’ special teams unit. He was a core special teamer for the Buccaneers last season, playing more than 60% of Tampa Bay’s ST snaps.

Prior to signing with Jacksonville, Ogunbowale visited the Raiders, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Las Vegas was on the lookout for another pass-catching back after trading rookie Lynn Bowden to the Dolphins last week.

Latest On Rams WR Cooper Kupp

September 9th, 2020 at 4:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While the Rams are working on an extension for wide receiver Cooper Kupp, it doesn’t appear that a new contract will be in place before Week 1, according to Steve Wyche and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter links).

Los Angeles is hoping to get a fresh deal finalized for Kupp before the Rams open their season on Sunday Night Football, per Wyche, but there is “a lot of work to be done” before an extension is complete. Garafolo adds there’s “not a lot of optimism” that a deal is inked this weekend, but that obviously doesn’t mean an extension couldn’t be worked out in-season.

The Rams are already in a tight position from a salary cap perspective. Los Angeles extended star cornerback Jalen Ramsey earlier today, and that move should help them financially — the Rams had been roughly $600K over the cap before Ramsey’s new deal, but the ability to spread out his signing bonus should actually reduce his 2020 cap charge.

Kupp, on the other hand, is only making a tad over $2MM in 2020, so it could be difficult to reduce his 2020 cap figure. A substantial signing bonus would add to his cap number, and new salaries for Kupp over the next few seasons could also do harm to LA’s budget, as the club is only projected to have ~$9MM in cap space in 2021.

Projecting a Kupp extension is difficult given that the majority of top-end pass-catcher deals have been handed to outside receives. Among the top-15 highest-paid wideouts, the only player who spends most of his time in the slot is Browns receiver Jarvis Landry, who inked a five-year, $75.5MM deal in 2018. Kupp, who has arguably been more productive than Landry was at the time of his extension, would likely aim to top that annual value.

Kupp, a third-round pick in the 2017 draft, has been a key part of LA’s offense over the past three seasons. 2019 marked his best campaign to date, as the 27-year-old posted 94 receptions for 1,161 yards and 10 touchdowns.