2021 February - Pro Football Rumors

Month: September 2024

Buccaneers Tried To Trade Up Higher For Tristan Wirfs

February 14th, 2021 at 7:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A large part of the reason the Buccaneers were able to pull off their Super Bowl run was the stellar protection Tom Brady got throughout the playoffs. One of the main reasons Tampa’s O-line saw so much improvement this year was the drafting of right tackle Tristan Wirfs in the first-round last April.

The Bucs traded with the 49ers to move up one spot in the draft from 14th to 13th and select Wirfs. Speaking on a recent episode of the Pewter Report Podcast, Bucs GM Jason Licht revealed he tried to trade up much higher to get his guy.

“I was stunned,” Licht said about Wirfs slipping that far to them. “I saw him starting to fall. I was trying to go and get him, well, even higher than nine and nobody wanted to make any deals and I think we made the first trade of the pandemic at-home draft.” Licht explained how he believed there was another team below them looking to trade with the 49ers and take Wirfs. Fortunately for Bucs fans, Licht says San Francisco was worried they’d miss out on Javon Kinlaw if they moved much lower than 14th, so they took the deal from Tampa.

Licht wanted to move into the top ten, but ultimately only had to give up a fourth-rounder to move up the one spot. Had he succeeded in getting into the top nine picks or so, he would’ve had to part with a lot more draft capital than that.

Wirfs ended up being one of the best rookies in the league this season, and looks like he’ll be a high-end starter for many years to come.

Matthew Stafford: There Were Teams I Didn’t Want To Play For

February 14th, 2021 at 6:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A few days ago we heard Matthew Stafford dish on his trade process, including about how he knew a move was possible prior to the 2020 season, and offer insights into a few of the potential destinations before the Rams eventually stepped up. Now Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required) has published the second part of their interview, and there are more interesting nuggets to pore over.

There was a report that Stafford didn’t want to go to the Patriots, perhaps due to the presence of Matt Patricia. Albom asked him about that and while he didn’t specifically name New England, he did admit that there were certain teams he didn’t want to play for.

“Well, what’s accurate is — and this is an incredible thing by them — I asked to go to a team that was ready to win a championship. And, you know, there were a few teams on that list. There were a few teams that were not on that list. And they were respectful of that and understood completely. I had thoughts and reasons for each one of them,” Stafford said while raving about how the Lions handled the situation.

It sounds like he saw New England struggle to field a competitive team in 2020, and wanted no part of it. Stafford also acknowledged that the Rams would’ve been his top choice all along, which was rumored to be the case. He did try to tamp down the speculation by speaking highly of Patricia.

“He and I had a good relationship, no matter what anybody wants to say. I could go into his office and talk to him, he could get me on the phone whenever he needed to. I think we both grew in that relationship. I have a lot of respect for him and who he is, as a football coach and an unbelievable mind,” Stafford said of his former coach.

49ers To Take ‘Big Swing’ Or Stick With Jimmy Garoppolo?

February 14th, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We haven’t heard a ton about Jimmy Garoppolo since 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan last updated the media in late December. At the time, Shanahan said he believed Jimmy G would be his quarterback next year, but cautioned that “you can’t say anything with certainty.”

Since then a lot of people have treated it as a foregone conclusion that San Francisco is looking to upgrade, but that’s not necessarily the case. The 49ers “still like” Garoppolo and “believe they can win with him,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN was told, via Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report. Garoppolo is the presumed 2021 starter for now and Fowler reported that it would “take a big swing, like a Deshaun Watson effect here, to make that change.” In other words, it sounds like the 49ers are either going to make a big splash, or stick with Garoppolo for another year.

That would seemingly rule out any middle-tier veteran or available young guys like Carson Wentz, Sam Darnold, and that bunch. San Francisco reportedly sniffed around Matthew Stafford, but it doesn’t sound like they ever came close to wanting to fork over what the Rams ultimately did. Speaking of Watson, we had heard a couple of days ago from Fowler that the Texans quarterback was interested in playing for Shanahan, and he reiterated that Sunday.

While it sounds like Shanahan and GM John Lynch aren’t going to settle for an uninspiring trade or free agent signing, it’s interesting to wonder whether drafting a passer in the first-round could still be on their agenda as a “big swing.” The 49ers will pick 12th in April.

Fowler seems to think Garoppolo is in decent shape to keep his job, but as we all know a lot can happen between now and the draft.

Browns Won’t Pursue Richard Sherman

February 14th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Richard Sherman won’t be on the Browns’ radar this offseason, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer. The 49ers cornerback has familiarity with Joe Woods‘ defense, but the Browns are looking to allocate their dollars elsewhere.

Instead, the Browns are banking on a healthy Greedy Williams to hold down the fort, along with Terrance Mitchell and slot corner Kevin Johnson, if they can re-sign them. Then, they can fill out any other gaps cheaply in the draft, or go for younger corners.

Sherman, 33 in March, enjoyed a solid 2019. After tallying 61 tackles and three interceptions in 15 games, the veteran added yet another Pro Bowl nod to his resume. Then, his 2020 was sidetracked by a calf injury, limiting him to just five games.

It appears that there is some mutual interest between Sherman and the Raiders. In Las Vegas, Sherman would get to reunite with a different ex-mentor in Gus Bradley. The newly-anointed defensive coordinator guided the Seahawks’ famed Legion of Boom era, in which Sherman cemented himself as a superstar player. It’s a situation to watch, though the league office may view Jon Gruden‘s comments as tampering.

This Date In Transactions History: Raiders Release Sebastian Janikowski

February 14th, 2021 at 3:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Three years ago today, Sebastian Janikowski‘s 18-year Raiders run came to an end. The kicker was out-of-contract but, this time around, the Raiders informed him that he would not be re-signed.

Janikowski’s Raiders tenure was nearly capped one year earlier. In 2017, he initially rebuffed the team’s request for a pay cut — he later caved to keep his place on the roster. Unfortunately, a preseason back injury would sideline him for the rest of the entire season.

Seabass was synonymous with the organization. After being selected in the first round of the 2000 draft, Janikowski appeared in 268 games for the Raiders, a franchise high. And, before 2017, he had only missed a total of four games throughout his career.

Despite his long-running history with team, the Raiders had concerns about his age and possible decline. In 2016, Janikowski sank 82.9% of his field goals and 37-of-39 extra point attempts. He has not cleared the 83% mark on field goals since 2014. At this time, he was on the cusp of his 40th birthday. It’s possible that the Raiders would have cut him in ’17, if it weren’t for the bad PR that would have come along with it. After announcing the move to Las Vegas, losing Janikowski would have made things especially ugly in Oakland.

With Janikowski out of the picture, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was left as the only player from the 2000 Draft to remain with his original team. The kicker moved on to the Seahawks, unseated Jason Myers, and made 81.5% of his regular season kicks. His final play would come in the Wild Card game against the Cowboys — Janikowski missed a 57-yard field goal and suffered a hamstring injury. In April of 2019, Janikowski announced his retirement, capping his NFL career after 19 seasons.

AFC East Rumors: Watson, Mariota, Allen

February 14th, 2021 at 12:31pm CST by Rory Parks

Add veteran NFL reporter Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD.com to the list of writers who have heard that Texans QB Deshaun Watson is not budging on his desire to be traded, and that he continues to ignore every call from Houston brass. Of course, Watson has a no-trade clause that he could use to help dictate where he goes — assuming the Texans give in and deal him, which they have insisted they are not going to do — and we recently heard that the 49ers and Broncos are on his destination list.

Dunne’s source indicates that the Dolphins — who have been considered one of the frontrunners for Watson since trade speculation started to swirl — and the Niners are Watson’s top two preferred clubs. In Dunne’s view, a trade to Miami makes too much sense to not happen, and he believes the ‘Fins and Texans could line up on a deal that sends Watson to South Beach in exchange for the No. 3 and No. 18 overall picks in this year’s draft along with Miami’s 2022 first-rounder.

Now for more rumors from the AFC East:

Recent reports have indicated that Raiders QB Marcus Mariota is generating legitimate trade interest, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots could be in the mix. New England obviously needs a quarterback, and Mariota is attached to a reasonable $10.6MM salary for 2021 and would not cost much to acquire in terms of draft capital. Although he could demand a raise if he is being acquired to serve as a starter, his current salary would not preclude the Pats from continuing to explore other options, like Jimmy Garoppolo — if the the 49ers land a different QB and release Garoppolo — or a collegiate passer.
Reiss does not expect the Patriots to make a deal with the division-rival Jets for Gang Green QB Sam Darnold, though what the Jets do with Darnold could certainly have a major impact on New England (for instance, if New York trades Darnold to San Francisco, Garoppolo could become available).
The Jets have among the most cap space in the league at just shy of $70MM, and they can easily create even more flexibility, thereby giving them a huge advantage in what could be a buyer’s market given the decreased salary cap. Connor Hughes of The Athletic believes New York will release DE Henry Anderson, which jibes with a report from December. That move will save the club $8.2MM in cap space, and Hughes suggests that guards Greg Van Roten and Alex Lewis might be goners as well (their releases would save $3.4MM and $5.1MM, respectively).
Meanwhile the Jets don’t have too many of their own free agents that must be retained. Hughes expects safety Marcus Maye to be re-signed, and he also says OL Pat Elflein — who played well in 2020 after being claimed off waivers from the Vikings — is a logical candidate to return, especially if the team moves on from Van Roten and/or Lewis.
Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News does not foresee the Bills laying out major free agent dollars this offseason. Instead, he expects the club to use the majority of its cash on an extension for QB Josh Allen, which means that the Bills will likely allow LB Matt Milano to test the open market — contrary to GM Brandon Beane‘s assertion that a franchise tag could be in play — and will not be in the running for a top pass rusher like Shaquil Barrett or Bud Dupree.

Raiders To Cut Lamarcus Joyner?

February 14th, 2021 at 11:27am CST by Rory Parks

The Raiders narrowly missed the playoffs in 2020, and their defense was largely to blame for that. The unit finished near the bottom of the league in terms of total defense and points per game, and Vegas hopes that new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and an influx of new talent will lead to an improved showing in 2021.

As Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes, the Raiders can free up about $48MM of cap room with a series of cuts that shouldn’t be too difficult to make — they already plan to release WR Tyrell Williams — and they can allocate some of those funds (along with the No. 17 overall pick, perhaps) to the defensive side of the ball. One of the players that is expected be let go is defensive back Lamarcus Joyner.

Indeed, Tafur says “there is no way” that Joyner, 30, will return to the team on his 2021 salary of $9.6MM. Releasing him would save Vegas about $8.7MM in cap space, and when one considers the value of that space versus Joyner’s performance over his first two years in the Silver-and-Black, it stands to reason that the Raiders would want to part ways.

GM Mike Mayock signed Joyner as an unrestricted free agent in March 2019, giving the former Ram a four-year, $42MM contract. That did not turn out to be one of Mayock’s better decisions, as Joyner — who primarily played safety with the Rams but who has become Vegas’ top nickel corner — has generally struggled. As Tafur candidly remarks, Joyner has “made like five plays in two seasons,” and Pro Football Focus is not much higher on him. The advanced metrics ranked the Florida State product as the 89th-best CB in the league in 2020, out of 121 qualified players. While player and team could theoretically come to terms on a pay cut, Tafur says that doesn’t seem overly likely either.

In Tafur’s estimation, Mayock should use the No. 17 overall selection on one of this year’s top collegiate pass rushers while using some of his free agent dollars on an established safety like Denver’s Justin Simmons.

Saints May Be Unable To Retain DE Trey Hendrickson

February 14th, 2021 at 10:30am CST by Rory Parks

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson was a revelation for the Saints in 2020, piling up 13.5 sacks in an unexpectedly strong platform year. Selected by New Orleans in the third round of the 2017 draft, Hendrickson had never started more than three games nor played in more than 38% of the club’s defensive snaps prior to the 2020 campaign, but he started 15 regular season contests and logged 53% of the Saints’ defensive snaps last year.

As a result, he finds himself being mentioned alongside players like Shaquil Barrett, Yannick Ngakoue, and Bud Dupree as quality pass rushers eligible to hit the open market next month. The Saints would certainly like to keep Hendrickson, but it’s unclear if they will be able to make a competitive offer.

Last week, we learned that the 2021 salary cap was likely to fall between $180MM-$181MM, which represents a significant decrease from the 2020 figure of $198.2MM. Even before the drop, the Saints were projected to be well over the salary cap, and while the club has started to reduce its cap commitments by agreeing to a renegotiated deal with retiring QB Drew Brees and releasing OL Nick Eason, there is still a lot more work to be done.

Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry details how the Saints can bring themselves under the cap with a series of cuts and restructures, none of which seem particularly difficult to pull off (though they do include the type of machinations that have led to the Saints being right up against the cap, or over it, every offseason). His proposals do not contemplate an extension for Hendrickson, however, whom Corry says may have priced himself out of New Orleans.

Indeed, GM Mickey Loomis recently acknowledged that Hendrickson, 26, is “going to be an attractive free agent for anyone” (via Amie Just of NOLA.com). Loomis, who was speaking before the recent reports concerning the 2021 salary cap, said, “I can’t really say how strong a play we can make for that until I understand where the cap’s gonna be this year and as we go through the roster evaluations and start making our choices.”

Assuming the cap does settle in at around $180MM, a franchise tag for Hendrickson would cost about $14.5MM, and it’s unlikely the Saints would be able to carry that full amount on their books in 2021. So the only way for them to retain Hendrickson would be via a multi-year contract, and while the reduced cap could suppress the price tags of some players, it might still be difficult for New Orleans to bring back the Florida Atlantic product.

Hendrickson will doubtlessly be shooting for a deal worth at least $15MM per season, along with guarantees in the $30MM-$40MM range. He does not currently offer much by way of run defense or pass coverage, but the raw sack total he posted will attract plenty of attention, and he should find at least one team willing to meet his asking price. Whether that team is the Saints, who also have decisions to make on fellow free agents Marcus Williams and Sheldon Rankins, is very much an open question.

Latest On Washington’s Quarterback Plans

February 14th, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Rory Parks

The Washington Football Team attempted to trade for Matthew Stafford last month, offering a package headlined by the No. 19 overall selection in the 2021 draft in exchange for the longtime Lions passer. Although Detroit opted to take the Rams’ offer instead, there are five other quarterbacks from outside the organization that Washington wants to explore, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes.

Keim’s source did not name those QBs, but it’s safe to assume that WFT is at least kicking the tires on trade candidates like Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, and Sam Darnold. The club’s interest in Stafford and other signal-callers obviously suggests that it is not entirely sold on having Alex Smith return as the starter next season, but that scenario remains on the table.

If he does return, though, he would need to rework his contract. He is presently scheduled to count $24.4MM against the cap in 2021, and that is simply untenable. The newly-minted Comeback Player of the Year was a remarkable story in 2020, completing his recovery from a devastating leg injury suffered in November 2018 to start six games for WFT (winning five of them) and lead the club to a playoff berth. But he was more of a game manager than anything else, as he threw for six touchdowns against eight interceptions and posted a poor 78.5 QB rating.

Plus, he will be 37 when the 2021 season starts, and he missed three of the team’s final four games — including the wildcard round matchup with the Bucs — due to a bone bruise. So it’s far from a sure thing that he will be able to handle a full 16-game slate at this point, and even if he can, he no longer possesses the type of mobility that had become a key feature of his game.

He could theoretically agree to a pay cut to stay with WFT, or he and Washington could come to terms on an extension that reduces his 2021 cap number. Keim suggests that WFT would be willing to go the extension route, as the club is concerned that forfeiting draft capital for a different quarterback would limit its ability to strengthen the rest of the roster. On the other hand, it’s unlikely that Smith would play to the end of the extension, so Washington could be saddled with substantial dead money in the future.

Of course, Washington could also release Smith, but that would only happen if the team has already acquired or is prepared to acquire another quarterback. A release would save WFT $13.6MM in cap space this year, and it would also allow the team to avoid the possibility of carrying Smith-related charges on its books beyond the 2021 season. Interestingly, multiple NFL execs, coaches, and scouts tell Keim that they view Smith as a backup at this point in his career, which might make Smith more receptive to a pay cut (though that is just my speculation).

Smith could also retire, but he did not seem ready to hang up the cleats in a recent interview. And Keim says retirement is the least likely scenario at this point, so one way or another, Washington will need to be the one to make the call on Smith’s future.

All of this suggests that WFT is not going to entertain the notion of having Taylor Heinicke open the 2021 season as the starter, despite some tongue-in-cheek calls for him to do so. The team did recently hand the near-playoff hero an extension, and while it was originally reported as a two-year, $8.75MM deal, a lot will need to go right for the soon-to-be 28-year-old to max out that contract. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post has the full breakdown, which includes a $1MM salary in 2021, a $1.5MM salary in 2022, and $1.25MM in per game roster bonuses over the next two seasons (Twitter link). Field Yates of ESPN.com adds that Heinicke will pocket a $1MM signing bonus, so it’s really a two-year deal with a base value of $4.75MM and up to $4MM in incentives (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, Keim says Washington will retain Kyle Allen via an exclusive rights free agent tender. Allen followed head coach Ron Rivera from Carolina to Washington and makes for a solid third-string option if nothing else.

Trevor Lawrence Recovery Timeline To Stretch Into Summer

February 14th, 2021 at 8:34am CST by Sam Robinson

Feb. 14: Lawrence will undergo left labrum surgery on February 16, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Well-known surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the operation, and recovery time is estimated to be five to six months. As such, the expectation remains that Lawrence will be ready to go by training camp, or not too long thereafter.

Feb. 12: As expected, Trevor Lawrence did not do anything Friday to remove himself from being the favorite to go No. 1 overall. The three-year Clemson starter went through his early pro day, throwing for teams (including the Jaguars) on campus. He will not be throwing again for a while, however.

Lawrence estimated he will be able to throw again at some point in the next two months but added that it could be four or five months until he receives full clearance for all football activities, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

News emerged last week of Lawrence needing surgery on his left shoulder, and while it would certainly benefit the incoming rookie to be able to throw without restrictions during the spring and early summer, 2021 draftees’ first NFL offseasons are expected to be mostly virtual. Whereas rookie QBs from drafts prior to the 2020s went through rookie minicamps, OTAs and minicamps, this class may not take the field with their respective teams until training camp. By then, Lawrence could be ready to go.

The 6-foot-5 passer weighed in at 213 pounds Friday, but NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah expects the high-end prospect to be closer to 230 by the time he reports to camp. Clemson listed Lawrence at 220 pounds last season. Representatives from 17 teams showed up Friday to observe the 21-year-old prodigy, per ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco, with Urban Meyer, OC Darrell Bevell and passing-game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer leading the Jacksonville contingent.

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