2021 February - Pro Football Rumors

Chiefs Sign Two Receivers To Reserve/Futures Deals

February 12th, 2021 at 7:53pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

On the heels of their Super Bowl loss the Chiefs are doing some housekeeping and getting their offseason affairs in order. Kansas City signed receivers Gehrig Dieter and Dalton Schoen to reserve/futures contracts today.

Dieter is a familiar name to Chiefs fans, while Schoen is a new one. The 2021 season will be Dieter’s fifth in Kansas City after he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He’s bounced between the active roster and practice squad the past few years, catching only one pass for ten yards in four games this season. Dieter making it this far is already a pretty big success, as he only had 214 yards in his senior season at Alabama after transferring over from Bowling Green.

He’s also known for being close with Patrick Mahomes, which certainly doesn’t hurt his cause with the team. Schoen is a local kid who played college ball at Kansas State before signing with the Chargers as an UDFA this offseason. He failed to make the team and wasn’t heard of during the regular season before resurfacing now on this futures deal.

Steelers, Bills, Browns, Titans Among Teams Interested In J.J. Watt

February 12th, 2021 at 6:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hours after the Texans released J.J. Watt, the free agency pursuit of the three-time Defensive Player of the Year is underway. Around a dozen teams are interested in the future Hall of Fame defensive end, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.

Among the early pursuers are the Bills, Browns, Titans and Steelers, Werder notes. While Watt would be a fit in most places, each of these teams could use an additional pass rusher. Watt intends to sign with a contender but does not plan on making a final decision until next week.

The Texans received calls on Watt over the past two weeks but opted to grant his release request. Watt will turn 32 later this year. Under his Texans contract, Watt was set to make $17.5MM in 2021. The salary cap reduction and Watt’s injury history may prevent him from a monster free agency deal, but the number of teams in the mix here stands to drive up the veteran’s price — if, in fact, this pursuit will come down to finances.

The Steelers would likely be unable to match some of the top offers for Watt, but they certainly have an interesting selling point. Younger brothers T.J. and Derek Watt are under contract with Pittsburgh for 2021; T.J. is on track for a big-ticket extension in the near future. The Steelers are well over the projected cap, as of Friday, and may have to replace several veteran starters next season. One of those could be free agent Bud Dupree. Pittsburgh’s fit would also be interesting considering their talent at Watt’s position. The Steelers have Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt signed to long-term deals. While Watt has been dominant as an inside and outside pass rusher, the Steelers have two high-end starters at his position.

Coming off their first playoff berth in 18 years, the Browns are projected to be in the league’s top sector in terms of cap space. Olivier Vernon suffered an Achilles tear late in the season, and the defensive end is on track for free agency anyway. The Browns, who will be looking for an edge rusher opposite Myles Garrett, made a steady push for longtime Watt teammate Jadeveon Clowney last year.

The Bills have several veteran defensive ends under contract, but Watt is younger than Buffalo starters Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes. The team that did land Clowney, Tennessee struggled mightily on defense last season. The Titans’ Clowney and Vic Beasley signings produced zero combined sacks. Watt did play under Mike Vrabel for a time in Houston. Both the Titans and Bills reside in the middle of the pack in projected cap space.

While Watt did not make the Pro Bowl, he did play a 16-game season for the second time in three years. Despite major injuries in 2016, ’17 and ’19, Watt graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 overall edge defender in 2020, with the advanced metrics site praising the veteran’s work against the run and pass. His five sacks, however, were a career-low for a season in which he played 16 games. Watt made the most recent of his five All-Pro first teams in 2018, when he recorded 16 sacks and forced seven fumbles. More teams figure to emerge in this pursuit soon.

Texans Received Calls On J.J. Watt

February 12th, 2021 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans granted J.J. Watt‘s request to be released, but interest in taking the future Hall of Famer’s through-2021 contract did emerge in recent days. New Texans GM Nick Caserio took calls on Watt over the past two weeks, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com (on Twitter).

It does not sound like the Texans could have collected a prime asset for the soon-to-be 32-year-old defensive end, who was attached to a $17.5MM 2021 salary. But other teams were willing to acquire him via trade, Robinson notes. Watt is coming off a 16-game season and will certainly generate widespread interest on the open market.

Regarding the three-time Defensive Player of the Year’s future, Watt will prioritize landing with a contending team, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. No signing is expected before next week. Betonline.ag slots the Steelers, Buccaneers and Packers as the early frontrunners for Watt, while Fowler lists the Patriots, Titans and Rams as other potential destinations. The Bills profile as the best Watt fit, per NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah (on Twitter).

Watt signed a six-year, $100MM extension with the Texans in 2014. While he would have been on track for another record-setting pact had major injuries not intervened in 2016 and ’17, Watt has now played 16-game seasons in two of the past three years.

Saints Release OL Nick Easton

February 12th, 2021 at 4:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Operating as a key fill-in player for the Saints over the past two years, Nick Easton is back in free agency. The Saints released him Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

New Orleans signed Easton two offseasons ago and used him as a starter in 15 games over the past two seasons. The Saints, however, have one of the worst salary cap situations in history and must continue to make moves to get under a 2021 cap that is expected to be reduced.

The Saints will save $5.87MM by making this move. This marks the second straight offseason in which New Orleans released one of its interior O-line starters. They cut Larry Warford last year. Easton finished his second Saints season on IR and did not play in either of their two playoff games.

Coming into the offseason, the Saints were more than $100MM over the projected 2021 cap, but Drew Brees‘ recent restructure — one likely to precede his retirement — helped bring that figure down near $70MM. The Easton move will continue the franchise’s process in trimming salary.

While Warford and Easton are now gone, the Saints have invested highly on their offensive line in recent years. They used a first-round pick on Cesar Ruiz last year and extended Andrus Peat. Center Erik McCoy‘s rookie deal runs through the 2022 season.

Following his release from the Vikings in 2019, Easton signed a four-year deal worth $22.5MM with the Saints. Injuries continued to move the veteran swing man into New Orleans’ starting lineup. Pro Football Focus was not particularly high on Easton’s work, ranking him outside the top 50 among guards in each of his two seasons. But given teams’ annual interest in proven offensive linemen, Easton should not have too much of an issue finding work for next season. For his career, the 28-year-old former UDFA has made 32 starts.

The Saints also cut tight ends Cole Wick and Jason Vander Laan. Both players opted out last season. Unlike Easton, neither has vested-veteran status.

Latest On Buccaneers, Shaq Barrett

February 12th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

How the Buccaneers proceed with their historic glut of high-profile free agents will be a key offseason storyline. Bruce Arians has said he believes the Super Bowl champions can fit the group onto its 2021 payroll, but Shaquil Barrett is eyeing the type of deal that would make that difficult. It would stand to reason first-time free agent Chris Godwin and some of the others are looking to maximize their earning potential as well.

The Bucs are projected to hold the eighth-most cap space in the NFL, as of Friday. They have Barrett, Godwin, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette on track for free agency. Of this group, Barrett and Godwin would be in line to collect the most on the open market.

While the Bucs are prepared to use their franchise tag on Godwin — a prospect that would be cheaper than a second Barrett tag ($18.99MM). GM Jason Licht said the Bucs would certainly be pleased if Barrett returned but stopped there.

“I probably won’t touch on that,” Licht said, via PewterReport.com’s Matt Matera, of Barrett’s hopes for a bank-breaking contract. “I’m proud of Shaq. I understand that this is a business and there’s no hard feelings over this. It’s just part of doing business, we’ll see what happens. We’d love to have Shaq back, that’s for sure.”

Barrett has risen from Division II recruit to Broncos UDFA to a player who has recorded 31.5 (counting playoffs) sacks over the past two seasons. Tampa Bay’s top pass rusher will turn 29 in November. The Bucs have Jason Pierre-Paul signed through 2021 but want Barrett and Suh to join him next season. With Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa moving the edge defender market past $25MM per year, it will be interesting to see if the Bucs can keep Barrett from testing the free agency waters.

Matt Judon, Yannick Ngakoue and Bud Dupree join Barrett as franchise-tagged edge rushers back on track for free agency. Judon, who will turn 29 in August, said recently everything would have to line up “perfectly” for him to return to the Ravens. Leonard Floyd, Haason Reddick, Carl Lawson and Trey Hendrickson are also a month away from hitting the market.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/12/21

February 12th, 2021 at 3:28pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Carolina Panthers

Waived: DT Woodrow Hamilton
Waived/failed physical: S Natrell Jamerson

New York Giants

Waived: WR Da’Mari Scott, CB Shakial Taylor

San Francisco 49ers

Re-signed: WR River Cracraft

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed to futures deals: RB C.J. Prosise, DT Sam Renner, C Donell Stanley

Broncos, 49ers On Deshaun Watson Destination List

February 12th, 2021 at 2:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Texans bigwigs Cal McNair and Nick Caserio have insisted they intend to retain Deshaun Watson, but the quarterback continues to seek a Houston exit. With J.J. Watt now gone, the four-year quarterback now stands as the unquestioned Texans cornerstone player.

But potential destinations for the passer with the no-trade clause are surfacing. Watson is intrigued by the Broncos and 49ers, with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com indicating (video link) both franchises are on the standout passer’s list of teams he would agree to join via trade.

Former Texans teammate Kareem Jackson confirmed he and Watson had multiple discussions about Denver as a landing spot, and 9News’ Mike Klis also notes the Broncos have garnered appeal with the disgruntled quarterback (Twitter link). The Broncos were in the mix for Matthew Stafford, but they were not one of the teams mentioned as offering their first-round pick (No. 9 overall) for him. Carolina and Washington were believed to have done so. The Panthers are expected to make an aggressive Watson pursuit.

New Broncos GM George Paton came from a Vikings team that built its most recent playoff nuclei through the draft, and he balked at including members of his new team’s young core in a deal with the Lions. But the Paton-Rick Spielman-era Vikings also made splashy moves for QBs Brett Favre and Kirk Cousins. The Broncos have a host of young skill-position players — wideouts Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler and tight end Noah Fant — but have lacked a true answer at quarterback for five years. And they cannot match the Jets and Dolphins for draft capital. Miami and New York have three and four first-round picks through 2022, respectively.

The 49ers, who hold pick No. 12 overall, also inquired on Stafford — to the point the quarterback believed he could legitimately be heading to San Francisco. They also house young skill talent, in George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. While Kyle Shanahan indicated previously that Jimmy Garoppolo was on track to return as the 49ers’ starter, the team investigating Stafford certainly points to the pursuit of potential upgrades.

As for the original suitors connected to Watson, Fowler notes the Dolphins appear ahead of the Jets as a destination for the three-time Pro Bowler. The Jets were once reported to be ahead of the Dolphins in a trade pursuit that has not technically begun, but New York does not appear to be especially high on the quarterback’s list. The Dolphins do not have the skill groups (as of now) the Broncos and 49ers do, but hold the Nos. 3 and 18 picks in this draft and hold two second-round picks this year as well. All of this said, Watson is not expected to be veto-happy when it comes to potential trades.

Watson’s prospective destination list does not seem to matter at this point, though, with Fowler noting other teams view Caserio as entrenched on keeping him. Watson’s $39MM-per-year contract runs through 2025.

Kendall Wright Signs With CFL’s Toronto Argonauts

February 12th, 2021 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Titans first-round pick Kendall Wright has signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Wright, 32 in November, signed his last NFL deal in 2018 when he had a cup of coffee with the Cardinals.

Wright, a 5’10” veteran receiver, does his best work out of the slot. The Titans used a first-round pick on the Baylor standout in 2012 and saw some promising results early on. In his second pro year, Wright tallied 1,079 yards and two touchdowns off of 94 grabs. But, after that, he never topped 1,000 yards in a season – or 800, for that matter. Despite the drop off, he did manage a career-best six touchdowns in 2014.

Wright’s last live NFL action came in 2017 with the Bears, but he’s been pushing for a return ever since. In that season, he was one of the Bears’ very few bright spots on offense as he racked up 59 catches for 614 yards.

In other Argos news, Toronto recently welcomed ex-Broncos first-rounder Shane Ray. Ray’s last regular season game came in 2018. After that, he inked a deal with the Ravens, but did not make their final cut in 2019.

Bucs GM: Blaine Gabbert Could Eventually Take Over For Tom Brady

February 12th, 2021 at 11:47am CST by Zachary Links

At some point, Father Time will catch up with Tom Brady. Whenever that happens, the Buccaneers could turn to backup Blaine Gabbert as his heir, according to GM Jason Licht.

“First of all, I love his energy,” Licht told Pewter Report. “I’ve really gotten close to Blaine this year just being on the sidelines. He’s a really smart guy but he is one guy, my scouts and I talk about this a lot, he’s just one guy that I love to watch throw every day in practice because he has got a cannon. He’s very accurate with his throws as well and he can just really whistle them in in tight windows. If he had been forced to play, he played in the Detroit game, but if he had been forced to play more I think that he would have really opened a lot of people’s eyes about how talented he is, especially being in the same system for a couple of years.”

Gabbert, 32 in October, came into the league as a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2010. Since then, he’s compiled a career 13-35 record as a starter with the Jags, 49ers, Cardinals, and Titans. Needless to say, he hasn’t lived up to his draft status or built a resume to rival Brady’s. The Bucs aren’t about to anoint Gabbert as Brady’s heir, but Licht is “not going to rule anything out right now.”

Fortunately, the Bucs won’t have to consider such a scenario anytime soon. Brady is signed through the 2021 season and, as he’s said repeatedly, he plans to play for as long as possible. Right now, the Bucs will keep the focus on their pending free agents. Among their out-of-contract star contributors: Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown, and Leonard Fournette.

Texans CEO: We Expect To Keep Deshaun Watson

February 12th, 2021 at 11:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans delivered a stunner on Friday morning, releasing longtime star J.J. Watt. It’s fair to wonder whether disgruntled quarterback Deshaun Watson will be the next superstar to go, but CEO Cal McNair says he’s still very much in the team’s plans.

[RELATED: Texans Release J.J. Watt]

“There is a lot of misinformation out there, I’ll leave it at that,” McNair said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). “Today we want on focus on J.J. Deshaun is our quarterback, he is a Texan, and we expect him to remain a Texan, and we’ll leave that.”

So far, the Texans have rebuffed all inquiries on Watson, even though the quarterback has asked for a trade. Watson is reportedly interested in going to the Dolphins or the Jets. The Panthers have also jumped in, and ex-teammate Kareem Jackson says that Watson has interest in joining the Broncos. Both AFC East teams could offer the Texans a ton of draft picks to make the trade work. Or, the Dolphins could dangle rising NFL sophomore Tua Tagovailoa to make it a blockbuster for the ages. Still, the Texans say they’re keeping No. 4.

The Texans still have some leverage here. Watson would be subject to daily fines if he abstains from camp and the Texans could also 86 his $82.5MM in remaining guarantees. Still, if Watson doesn’t want to be in Houston, it’s hard to imagine a realistic path forward. It’s also possible that the Texans have privately resolved to trade Watson while putting on a strong face publicly to net the best trade package possible.