HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Titans’ Isaiah Wilson “Done With Football”?

February 23rd, 2021 at 11:28am CST by Zachary Links

In a since-deleted tweet, Titans tackle Isaiah Wilson declared that he is “done with football” (via CBSSports.com). Of course, after recent comments made by GM Jon Robinson, it’s quite possible that the Titans are also done with him.

Wilson, the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 draft, saw a grand total of four snaps last year. Once considered a top 5 prospect, Wilson went on to receive a DUI charge and spend two separate stints on the COVID-19 list. There was also a strange encounter with Tennessee State campus police in which Wilson was said to be trespassing and threatening to jump off of a balcony.

“He is going to have to make a determination on if he wants to do everything necessary to play pro football,” Robinson said earlier this month, adding that he hasn’t connected with Wilson since placing him on the non-football injury list to close the year.

Wilson has three years to go on his four-year, $11.6MM rookie deal. It’s not cost-prohibitive, but keeping Wilson could be more trouble than it’s worth. Releasing him this offseason would leave a sizable dead money charge on the books, with no real savings to be had.

Wilson was nitpicked by evaluators, as all prospects are, but no one could have anticipated such a precipitous and drastic fall for him. If the situation is unsalvageable for the Titans, and Wilson is not in fact “done with football,” there will still be plenty of interested teams. It was less than a year ago that Wilson was a rumored candidate for the Dolphins at No. 5 overall. At 6’7″ and still only 22 years of age, he’d profile as an intriguing low-risk, high-reward signing, despite all of the red flags.

Franchise Tag Candidate: Bears WR Allen Robinson

February 23rd, 2021 at 9:55am CST by Zachary Links

Allen Robinson has been the Bears’No. 1 chain-mover since 2018. Now, the Pro Bowler could be weeks away from free agency. Of course, it’s not a given that he’ll get there. The Bears could keep Robinson from the market with a pricey multi-year extension. Or, they could cuff him for another year with the franchise tag. So far, the two sides haven’t much progress on Scenario 1.

[RELATED: Bears Did Not Make Offer For Wentz]

“My personal opinion, if something could possibly work? Yes,” Robinson said (via Tyler Dunne of Go Long). “I’m not opposed to being back in Chicago by any means. I’ve even expressed that over the last couple of years — wanting to be the all-time leading receiver in Chicago which, I believe, I’m under 2,000 yards away from that. With all that being said, unfortunately we’ve come to what seems to be a fork in the road. But not even a fork. We haven’t even been given a viable option to be able to do those things that we want to do without sacrificing a ridiculous amount pretty much for the rest of my career.”

Robinson, 28 in August, is coming off of his best season as a Bear. In 2020, he finished out with 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns, in spite of the Bears’ overall inconsistency.

The franchise tag would kick the can down the road, but Robinson doesn’t want to get tagged. Also, the Bears are facing a cap crunch, so even a one-year, ~$17MM deal could be too rich for Chicago’s blood. Robinson, meanwhile, wants pre-pandemic top-WR money — that means $20MM+ per year, on average. It’s also worth noting that he views himself as the market’s top wide receiver, ahead of Buccaneers standout Chris Godwin.

The Bears have not used the franchise tag since 2016, when they kept Alshon Jeffery from reaching the open market. That tender did not lead to a new deal — Jeffery played out the year and joined up with the Eagles the following year. This time around, many view the tag as likely, but this could wind up being a tag-and-trade situation. The Bears’ offense can’t really afford to be without Robinson’s athleticism, but they also have a number of other needs to consider, including the quarterback situation.

2021 NFL Franchise and Transition Tags, Explained

February 23rd, 2021 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

Tuesday, February 23rd marks first day that teams can apply the franchise tag to free-agents-to-be for 2021. While no clubs have designated franchise players yet, there will likely at least a handful of players receiving the tag before the March 9 deadline, so it’s worth taking an in-depth look at what exactly it means to be designated as a franchise player.

Essentially, the franchise tag is a tool that a team can use to keep one of its free agents from freely negotiating with rival suitors on the open market. Designating a franchise player means tendering that player a one-year contract offer. The amount of that offer changes every year and varies from position to position. The number will also differ lightly depending on what sort of specific tag the team employs. Here’s a breakdown of the three types of franchise/transition tags:

Exclusive franchise tag:

  • The amount of the one-year offer is either the average of the top five highest-paid players at the player’s position in the current league year or 120% of the player’s previous salary, whichever is greater. The top five highest-paid players at the position are determined once the free agent signing period ends, so the exact amount isn’t known until then.
  • The player isn’t allowed to negotiate with other teams.
  • The player and his team have until mid-July to work out a multiyear agreement. After that date, the player can only sign a one-year contract.
  • The exclusive tag is typically only used for extremely valuable free agents, such as franchise quarterbacks.

Non-exclusive franchise tag:

  • The amount of the one-year offer is determined by a formula that includes the salary cap figures and the non-exclusive franchise salaries at the player’s position for the previous five years. Alternately, the amount of the one-year offer can be 120% of the player’s previous salary, if that amount is greater.
  • The player is free to negotiate with other teams. If he signs an offer sheet with another team, his current team has five days to match the offer.
  • If the offer is not matched, the player’s previous team will receive two first-round draft picks as compensation from the signing team.
  • As is the case with the exclusive franchise tag, the deadline will also come in mid-July.
  • Due to the attached compensatory picks, the non-exclusive franchise tag is generally sufficient for free agents. Few rival suitors are willing to sacrifice multiple first-rounders in order to sign a free agent to a lucrative deal, so there’s not much risk for a team to give up exclusive negotiating rights.

Transition tag:

  • The amount of the one-year offer is either the average of the top 10 highest-paid players at the player’s position in the previous league year or 120% of the player’s previous salary, whichever is greater.
  • The player is free to negotiate with other teams. If he signs an offer sheet with another team, his current team has five days to match the offer.
  • If the offer is not matched, the player’s previous team does not receive any compensatory draft picks.
  • Because it does not include any draft compensation or exclusive negotiation rights, and is only slightly more affordable, the transition tag is rarely used. However, it can be an effective placeholder for teams.

The exact amounts of these tags won’t be known until sometime after the salary cap number for 2021 is announced. Of course, this year’s cap is expected to drop from last year’s figure, though it will be no lower than $180MM, the agreed upon floor for the coming year.

This year’s candidates for the franchise tag include Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson, and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin. Here are a few other notes to keep in mind as the franchise tag period gets underway:

  • A team can withdraw a franchise or transition tag at any time once when the free agent period begins, but it would immediately make the player an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with any team.
  • If a player is designated a franchise player for a third time, the amount of his one-year offer is equal to the exclusive franchise salary for the highest-paid position (QB), 120% of the five largest prior-year salaries at his position, or 144% of his previous salary. That’s generally a non-starter, but there are no 3x-tag candidates in this year’s class anyway.
  • Teams are allowed to designate one franchise player and one transition player per offseason. A team can also designate two transition players if it doesn’t designate a franchise player, but can’t designate two franchise players.
  • Restricted free agents can be designated as franchise players.
  • If a player chooses to sign the one-year franchise tender, his salary is essentially guaranteed. The CBA notes that if a team releases the player due to a failure “to establish or maintain his excellent physical condition,” the team may recoup his salary. However, a franchise player released due to poor performance, injury, or cap maneuvering will receive his full salary.

Note: Information from OverTheCap.com was used in the creation of this post.

Jaguars To Decline Option On Tyler Eifert

February 22nd, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The upcoming free agent tight end market is getting another notable name. The Jaguars will decline the 2021 option on Tyler Eifert‘s contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

As Rapsheet points out Eifert had been set to make a little under $5MM in 2021, and they understandably viewed that as a little hefty given his production this past season. In 15 games and four starts with the Jags in 2020, he caught 36 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns. It was his first year in Jacksonville after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Bengals. The receiving numbers don’t jump off the page, but on the bright side he was able to stay healthy for the second season in a row.

Eifert broke out and became a big name during the 2015 season, when he turned a strong connection with Andy Dalton into a whopping 13 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl berth. Unfortunately things went downhill fast after that due to a string of serious injuries, and he would only play in 14 total games over the next three seasons.

The 21st overall pick of the 2013 draft bounced back to play all 16 games in 2019, which earned him the two-year contract from the Jaguars which turned out to be one year plus an option. Eifert will now be hitting a tight end market that has some solid options, including Hunter Henry, Rob Gronkowski, Jonnu Smith, Gerald Everett, and Jared Cook.

Police Case On Shooting Involving Xavien Howard Closed

February 22nd, 2021 at 5:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A story made headlines yesterday when it was reported that Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard was mentioned in a police report concerning a shooting at his former agent Damarious Bilbo’s house, but it looks like it’s going to turn out to be a nothing-burger.

The Dunwoody, Georgia police department announced Monday that they’ve closed the case, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. According to the report yesterday somebody fired a shot into Bilbo’s house, and although Howard wasn’t suspected as the shooter police did request to interview him several times but he declined. Bilbo no longer represents Howard, but he negotiated his big five-year extension with Miami in 2019.

Jackson does not that while the police department said the case is now inactive, they could reopen it in the future if more information comes to light. It’s a good thing this drama has been mostly cleared up, since Howard has enough on his plate this offseason.

He’s since grown unhappy with that aforementioned extension and feels underpaid, and is reportedly expected to ask for a trade if the Dolphins don’t renegotiate it. Miami took calls on Howard around last trade deadline, but they were understandably seeking a hefty sum and nothing got done.

Howard was a first-team All-Pro this past season and legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He’s become arguably the NFL’s top ballhawk, leading the league with ten interceptions in 2020. A knee injury cost him most of the 2019 season, but he was an All-Pro in 2018 too and is still only 27.

Even with the recent drama, there will likely be no shortage of suitors if the Dolphins do decide to trade him. Wherever he’s playing in 2021 though, it sounds like he’s going to want to be the highest-paid corner in the NFL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/22/21

February 22nd, 2021 at 4:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got a few minor moves to pass along from today:

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

San Francisco 49ers

Hilliard, Zylstra, and Kirkwood were all set to be restricted free agents before getting these one-year extensions, and they now won’t need to be tendered offers. Cracraft was an exclusive rights free agent so there wasn’t much of a question about his future. Hilliard did pretty well for himself to get $1.25MM with $200K guaranteed, considering he only appeared in two games for Houston without receiving a carry or reception.

Eagles To Release Alshon Jeffery

February 22nd, 2021 at 3:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s been trending this way for a while, but now it’s more or less official. The Eagles will release Alshon Jeffery at the beginning of the new league year, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

The writing has been on the wall for some time, as when Jeffery and Malik Jackson had their contracts restructured last month we heard that both were on their way out. This latest news comes just a couple of days after the team cut DeSean Jackson, so clearly Philly is committed to completely overhauling their underwhelming receiving group as they enter somewhat of a rebuild. The Eagles have one of the worst cap situations in the league, so more veteran purging is likely still to come.

For Jeffery, this will wrap up a four-year run with the team that included plenty of highs and lows. Although his stint will end in disappointing fashion, he’ll always have a large place in franchise history after starting all 16 games and catching nine touchdowns during the 2017 season when they won Super Bowl LII.

Injuries sapped his effectiveness, and limited him to ten games in 2019 and just seven this past year. He only had six catches for 115 yards this season, so it’ll be very interesting to see what kind of interest he draws on the open market. Obviously he has a past history of production, but he’s now 31 with a signifiant injury history. He’ll find a home somewhere, but will likely struggle for much guaranteed money.

Patriots Calling On Every QB, Newton Wants To Return

February 22nd, 2021 at 2:23pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The quarterback carousel has already seen some crazy shuffling, and we’re only just getting started on this offseason. There are plenty of teams out there still looking to make a move, including the Patriots.

New England was a big disappointment on offense last year, and it sounds like Bill Belichick is leaving no stone unturned as he pursues possible upgrades at the game’s most important position. To that end, the Pats “have had conversations regarding every potential trade target in the league,” sources told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. We know they were briefly involved in Matthew Stafford talks, and this would seem to indicate they’ve at least called about guys like Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Sam Darnold, and potentially others such as Marcus Mariota, Jimmy Garoppolo, or even Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson.

Howe writes bluntly that “if a quarterback has been perceived to be available, the Patriots have picked up the phone.” Howe thinks Belichick is taking a purposefully patient approach to avoid overpaying and to see if the asking price on a veteran he’s interested in goes down once the market starts to dry up.

As for the incumbent starter, impending free agent Cam Newton, Howe writes that the team hasn’t “ruled out” bringing him back for another year. For his part, it sounds like the former MVP would love to return.

On a recent episode of the ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast, Newton said “hell yes” when asked if he would go back to New England, via Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link). Newton says he’s “getting tired of changing” and is at a point in his career where he wants continuity. He emphasized that he already knows a lot more about the system than he did last year, and that all the receivers are now more comfortable with him.

When he was asked if there was a chance of him playing for the Pats in 2021, he said “there’s always a chance for everything,” but said “I can’t say that” when asked if he had been talking with the franchise.

Mike Tomlin Has COVID-19

February 22nd, 2021 at 1:11pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Unfortunate news to pass along, as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been diagnosed with COVID-19, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Needless to say, Tomlin is now away from the facility as the team gets ready for free agency and draft prep. It sounds like there may have been something of an outbreak on the staff, as Rapoport notes that the team confirmed numerous personnel execs and coaches were sent home after multiple positive tests came up.

One of those positives was Tomlin, who despite having coached Pittsburgh for the past 14 seasons is still on the younger side of NFL coaches at 48. The pandemic wreaked havoc on the league all season, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change in the offseason even without games being played.

With almost everything related to the draft and free agency virtual these days anyway, this hopefully shouldn’t hinder the Steelers’ process too much. All of us here at PFR wish Tomlin a full and speedy recovery.

Mike Iupati Retires From NFL

February 22nd, 2021 at 12:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Mike Iupati is hanging up his cleats. The longtime NFL offensive lineman is retiring from the game, he told Peter Harriman of the Spokesman-Review in Idaho.

“My body was telling me it was time to close the door,” Iupati said, echoing the sentiments of many a retired NFL player. “My goal was to hit ten years,” the Idaho product declared, and he ended up beating that by one season. The 17th overall pick of the 2010 draft by the 49ers, Iupati ended up playing his whole career in the NFC West. After his rookie deal expired he landed a big five-year, $40MM contract from the Cardinals, although the final season of that deal was later voided.

He signed with the Seahawks in 2019, and spent the past two seasons in Seattle. He started 15 games in 2019 but was limited by injuries to only 10 this past campaign. The retirement means more significant change is coming to the Seahawks’ shaky offensive line, an O-line that Russell Wilson is apparently already unhappy with.

He’ll wrap up his career having been a full-time starter at every stop, starting 139 games in total. It was a decorated one, as he made four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams in eleven seasons.

Lightly recruited out of high school with only a few college offers, he came a heck of a long way. All of us here at PFR wish Iupati the best in retirement!

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