2021 March - Pro Football Rumors

T.J. Carrie To Meet With Saints

March 26th, 2021 at 10:36am CST by Zachary Links

Colts cornerback T.J. Carrie is set to meet with the Saints (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM). The Saints have been looking for corners to support Marshon Lattimore and Carrie could fit the bill.

Carrie spent 2020 with the Colts and finished the year with two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns. His first TD came off of a pick six against the Jets in Week 3. Then, against the Titans in Week 10, he scored again off of a punt return.

Carrie was mostly used as a reserve last year, but he was first-string for much of his early Raiders tenure. There’s a chance that Carrie could fight his way into the starting lineup if he’s signed, though he’s more likely to fill Justin Hardee‘s shoes as a reserve and special teams ace.

The Saints previously considered corners like Chidobe Awuzie, who landed a three-year deal worth ~$22MM with the Bengals. They’re also said to be interested in multiple-time Pro Bowler Richard Sherman. Carrie would represent a cheaper solution at cornerback — one that wouldn’t limit them from a splashier acquisition later this year.

Steelers Aiming For T.J. Watt Extension

March 26th, 2021 at 9:28am CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but Steelers owner Art Rooney says he wants to keep T.J. Watt for the long haul (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor). As it stands, the outside linebacker is scheduled to reach free agency after the 2021 season.

“We’re certainly going to try,” Rooney said. “We certainly look at T.J. as a key player in the future. I can assure you we’ll do everything we can to keep T.J. on our roster beyond this year. That’s the goal.”

The Steelers exercised Watt’s fifth-year option to give him a $10.089MM salary in 2021. Historically, the Steelers have made it a point to extend key players when they’re a year away from free agency (and, by the same token, they’ve done their best to avoid those talks when stars are two years out). The Steelers could get ahead of the game by locking up the Pro Bowler this summer.

Watt, 27 in October, is coming off of his second straight All-Pro season and third consecutive Pro Bowl nod. Last year, he led the league with 15 sacks to bring his career tally to 49.5. A new deal won’t come cheap, but he’s the type of player the Steelers can’t afford to lose. Assuming the 2022 salary cap bounces back towards its usual max, Rooney should be able to get a deal done.

Latest On Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew, C.J. Beathard

March 26th, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Zachary Links

C.J. Beathard‘s new Jaguars deal includes $2.75MM in guaranteed money, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. As Rapoport notes, it’s a strong indicator that the quarterback will make the Jaguars’ final 53-man cut. By the same token, it’s a sign that one-time rising star Gardner Minshew won’t be on the roster.

Of course, the Jaguars are expected to draft Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick. Up until the Beathard signing, there was at least a chance of Minshew staying on board as the bridge/QB2 for the Clemson star. That spot now seems reserved for Beathard, so the Jaguars will probably start taking those Minshew trade inquiries seriously. Just last week, head coach Urban Meyer said that he wasn’t looking to move the Washington State product.

“At this point, no,” Meyer said. “At this point, I know Gardner a little bit. He came in yesterday. We had a good visit. That’s the second time I’ve spent time with him. This is all kind of new to me. I’m used to spending about five, six hours a day with our quarterbacks — that’s January, February, to get your quarterback ready to go, and you can’t do that in the NFL.”

Despite 2020’s struggles, Minshew is just one year removed from setting franchise records in yards (3,271) and touchdowns (21) for rookie QBs. He’s still on that rookie deal, so any team acquiring him would have him at bargain-basement salaries of $850K and $965K.

Giants Sign Zach Fulton

March 26th, 2021 at 8:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have signed guard Zach Fulton, per a club announcement. Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Fulton was cut by the Texans, just before he was set to collect a $1MM bonus on March 22. The veteran was in set to enter the final season of a four-year, $28MM deal. Before his release, Fulton started in at least 13 games across his three Texans seasons. This past year, he was first-string for all 16.

Fulton didn’t set the world on fire in Houston, but the Giants see him as an experienced hand who can help to fortify their offensive line. Last year, Pro Football Focus had him tied as the No. 42 guard in the NFL last year — good enough for a starter. And, in 2019, PFF ranked him as one of the best pass-blocking guards in the league, though his weak run-blocking marks brought down his overall score.

The former Chiefs sixth-round pick should have an opportunity to make an impact in New York that Kevin Zeitler is out the picture.

Jets Likely To Draft Zach Wilson With No. 2 Pick?

March 25th, 2021 at 9:51pm CST by Rory Parks

When the Jets deigned to win a couple of games towards the end of the 2020 campaign to take themselves out of the running for Clemson signal-caller Trevor Lawrence, their draft plans suddenly became very uncertain. There was still plenty of speculation connecting them to consolation prize QBs like BYU’s Zach Wilson or Ohio State’s Justin Fields, but a trade down, a top receiver (LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase), or a top LT (Oregon’s Penei Sewell) also became distinct possibilities.

As the offseason has gone along, though, it has looked increasingly likely that the Jets would nab Wilson. And according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, it’s Wilson’s “job” to lose (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com on Twitter). Wilson’s pro day is tomorrow, and assuming all goes well, it looks like he is destined to become the Jets’ next hope for a franchise quarterback.

Of course, that leaves the third overall pick of the 2018 draft, Sam Darnold, in an awkward position. Some of the Jets’ theoretical trade partners for Darnold may no longer be viable landing spots, and while New York could keep Darnold and have him and Wilson battle it out for the starting gig, Gang Green would obviously prefer to acquire some draft capital for Darnold if it’s committing the No. 2 overall pick to Wilson.

For what it’s worth, new acquisition Corey Davis said that when he signed with the Jets, he was under the impression that Darnold would be the team’s signal-caller. Of course, that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still notable that a top free agent wideout was comfortable enough with Darnold to hitch his wagon to the embattled QB.

Wilson was tremendous in his final collegiate season, throwing for 33 TDs against just three picks, and he added 10 rushing TDs for good measure. That showing catapulted him past Fields in the eyes of many pundits, and it seems the Jets feel the same way.

Cowboys Sign Damontae Kazee

March 25th, 2021 at 8:36pm CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys have agreed to terms with free agent safety Damontae Kazee, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson says it will be a one-year deal (Twitter link).

Kazee visited with Dallas yesterday, and even though he followed through on his plan to visit the Lions today, it didn’t take him long to strike an accord with the Cowboys. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys’ medical staff was satisfied with Kazee’s recovery from the Achilles tear he suffered in October, and once he passed that test, Dallas was quick to extend a contract offer.

Dallas has been looking for a true free safety for a long time, and it hopes it has found what it’s looking for in the 27-year-old Kazee, whose 10 interceptions from 2018-19 were tied for the most in the NFL. The fit was a good one, as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, was Kazee’s head coach for the first four years of his career in Atlanta, and secondary coach/pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was his position coach in 2020.

Kazee follows longtime Falcons teammate Keanu Neal from Atlanta to Dallas, so Quinn will have several familiar faces at his disposal. Interestingly, Kazee got his first real chance to start at safety due to Neal’s season-ending injury in early 2018, but Neal is expected to play some linebacker in Dallas, and Kazee clearly feels he will have enough snaps to re-establish himself as a ball-hawking playmaker in the defensive backfield.

In addition to Kazee, the Cowboys auditioned Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker yesterday. The club ended up signing Kearse, and with Kazee now in the fold as well, Hooker will probably need to look elsewhere for his next opportunity.

On a related note, Ed Werder of ESPN.com says that Neal’s double-duty role as an LB/S hybrid could eat into linebacker Jaylon Smith‘s snaps, but that Smith’s roster spot is not in jeopardy (Twitter link). That jibes with a report that was published late last month.

Seahawks Re-Sign Carlos Dunlap

March 25th, 2021 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks are putting the money they are about to save from Jarran Reed‘s imminent departure to good use. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was among those to report, Seattle is re-signing defensive end Carlos Dunlap to a two-year, $16.6MM contract with $8.5MM in guarantees (Twitter link).

Seattle acquired Dunlap in a trade deadline deal in October in an effort to boost its struggling pass rush. And Dunlap delivered, contributing five sacks and six tackles for loss in his eight games with the ‘Hawks. However, he was due to carry a $14.1 cap charge in 2021, and that was just too much for the team to stomach with the salary cap decreasing by about $16MM.

As such, the Seahawks released the longtime Bengal several weeks ago, but even before the release, we heard that Seattle could look to cut Dunlap and then re-sign him to a less expensive contract. And that’s exactly what happened.

The Dunlap re-up comes on the heels of Benson Mayowa‘s new one-year deal and Kerry Hyder‘s three-year accord. We heard earlier this evening that the club was set to trade or release Reed, and while Seattle certainly would have liked to retain its DT, Pete Carroll & Co. believe Dunlap is more valuable to the Seahawks at this point.

Dunlap, 32, has 87.5 career sacks to his credit, and he will have a good chance to hit the century mark with the Seahawks. There was no reported interest his services after he was released, but as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets, he wanted to return to Seattle all along. So both sides are probably pretty happy this evening.

Rams To Sign DeSean Jackson

March 25th, 2021 at 8:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Mar. 25: Financial details are in. Per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (via Twitter), Jackson’s one-year deal will include a $2.75MM base salary. D-Jax also has significant playing-time incentives, as he will earn $103K for each game that he is on the active gameday roster and an additional $1.25MM if he plays at least 50% of the Rams’ offensive snaps and the team “improves” (presumably, that means that LA wins more than the 10 games it won in 2020).

There are also $1MM in playoff incentives, so Jackson’s deal will max out at roughly $6.75MM. His cap number, though, checks in at $3.26MM.

Mar. 21: Sean McVay’s offense is adding another big name. The Rams are signing free agent receiver DeSean Jackson, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal.

McVay personally reached out to help recruit Jackson, Garafolo notes in a follow-up tweet. Financial terms weren’t immediately available, and they’ll be interesting to see considering Jackson is now 34 and has only played eight total games over the last two years. As many were quick to point out, this fills a big need for Los Angeles as they had been lacking a speed receiver since trading away Brandin Cooks.

Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are both very quality options, but neither of them are deep threat field-stretchers. Jackson’s presence, assuming he’s able to stay healthy, should now open up a lot of things underneath for everybody else. Matthew Stafford is going to have a very solid group of receivers to throw to in his first year with the Rams.

Jackson started his career with the Eagles in 2008, then had stops in Washington and Tampa Bay before heading back to Philly for the past two years. The three-time Pro Bowler could be a big addition if he’s got anything left in the tank, and as recently as 2018 with the Bucs he still led the league in yards per reception at 18.9.

The Eagles released him in a cost-saving move last month, and we hadn’t heard of any known interest in Jackson since then. He had 14 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown in five games last year.

The Cal product is certainly nearing the end of his career, but hopefully he can still make a few of his patented splash plays in 2021. With the moves he’s made this offseason, McVay’s offense is trending toward looking more like the exciting and electrifying units we saw in his first couple of years as coach.

Dolphins Won’t Draft Tagovailoa Replacement

March 25th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Rory Parks

Before sexual abuse lawsuits were filed against Deshaun Watson, the Dolphins were among the favorites to land the Texans’ signal-caller (if Houston actually agreed to trade him, of course). If that happened, then Miami’s own QB, Tua Tagovailoa, would either be in Houston as part of the trade return or playing second fiddle to Watson on the Dolphins’ bench.

While a Watson trade seems like an impossibility at this point, there has been plenty of chatter that Miami could nonetheless seek a Tagovailoa upgrade in the draft. The club is armed with the No. 3 and No. 18 overall selections, and while Trevor Lawrence will be selected by the Jaguars at No. 1 overall, the Dolphins could be in a position to land a passer like BYU’s Zach Wilson or Ohio State’s Justin Fields.

But as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins will not draft a Tagovailoa replacement in this year’s draft. Salguero says the consensus in the scouting community is that the club is not looking to draft a QB with the No. 3 pick, and that Miami might even trade down from that selection in order to accumulate even more draft capital. As such, unless they’re absolutely in love with Alabama’s Mac Jones or another collegiate QB that could be available later on in the first round, the Dolphins appear set to roll with their second-year southpaw. Apparently, the only quarterback they would have considered to replace Tagovailoa would have been Watson.

GM Chris Grier said back in January that Tagovailoa would be the team’s starter — though he did decline to say whether the team would consider drafting a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick — and head coach Brian Flores said earlier this month that he was excited to work with his young passer. As expected, though, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning.

After all, Tagovailoa had something of an up-and-down rookie campaign, and Flores turned to Ryan Fitzpatrick as a “reliever” during several of Tagovailoa’s more difficult outings. But the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 draft also showed some flashes, and he will be given a chance to make a sophomore leap.

Seahawks To Part Ways With DT Jarran Reed

March 25th, 2021 at 6:43pm CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks are expected to part ways with defensive tackle Jarran Reed, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It appears that Reed himself broke the news in a since-deleted tweet.

Per Schefter, Seattle is looking for a trade partner but will release the 28-year-old if it cannot swing a deal. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com is hearing the same thing, and RapSheet adds that Reed was seeking a long-term deal, while the Seahawks were hoping he would convert some of his 2020 salary into a signing bonus in order to reduce his $13.5MM cap number (Twitter link). Although those types of restructures are common and generally not difficult to execute, since they guarantee the player previously un-guaranteed money, Rapoport says the situation went to a “bad spot” when Seattle wouldn’t agree to an extension.

Moving on from Reed will create $8.5MM of cap space, though it will saddle the club with a $5MM dead cap hit. Clearly, however, Seattle values the cap savings more than their 2016 second-rounder at this point.

Reed had a breakout campaign in 2018, piling up 50 tackles and 10.5 sacks. But he was suspended for the first six games of the 2019 season after violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and he managed just 2.5 sacks that year. His sack total increased to 6.5 last season, and he played a full 16-game slate, but Pro Football Focus was not high on his work. PFF graded him as the 89th-best interior defender out of 125 qualifiers, and he did not receive high marks for either his run defense or his pass rushing abilities.

The Seahawks signed Kerry Hyder several days ago and brought back Benson Mayowa, but Reed’s departure will still leave a pass rushing void (despite his low PFF score). 2020 trade acquisition Carlos Dunlap is still on the market after being released by Seattle several weeks ago, so perhaps the ‘Hawks will circle back to him. They could also ask 2019 first-rounder L.J. Collier to handle more snaps at DT with Reed out of the picture.