HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Panthers “Locked On” Texans’ Deshaun Watson

March 17th, 2021 at 9:10am CST by Zachary Links

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is “Plan A, B and C” for the Panthers, according to Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). So far, the Texans have been unwilling to budge and the Panthers have been noticeably quiet in the early stages of the offseason. That could all change soon if owner David Tepper gets his man.

“We are very committed to Deshaun [Watson] as our quarterback. He is our quarterback,” new Texans head coach David Culley said recently. “It’s not a matter of me trying to change anyone’s mind. We’re committed to him. He’s a Houston Texan and we’re going to move forward with that.” 

Culley added that “there is no contingency plan” for if Watson doesn’t show up for work. Still, Watson is the only plan for the Panthers and friends like Jalen Ramsey “highly doubt” that Watson will stay in Houston.

The Panthers can make a convincing offer, starting with their No. 8 overall pick. They could also include their next two first-rounders, plus more capital to jumpstart the Texans’ rebuild. As Person notes, Tepper doesn’t like to be told no — he kept raising his hand last year until his seven-year, $60MM offer for head coach Matt Rhule made the Giants back off.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/17/21

March 17th, 2021 at 9:03am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s the deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:

RFAs

Tendered:

Non-Tendered: 

ERFAs

Tendered: 

Non-Tendered:

  • .

Raiders To Re-Sign LB Nicholas Morrow

March 17th, 2021 at 9:00am CST by Ben Levine

Nicholas Morrow is re-signing with the Raiders after all. Alex Marvez of SiriusXM reports (via Twitter) that the linebacker is re-signing with Las Vegas. His one-year deal is worth $5MM with $4.5MM fully guaranteed, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

We heard earlier this month that the two sides were working towards a new pact, but we hadn’t received any updates since that time. The 25-year-old defender had his best professional season in 2020, starting a career-high 11 games. Morrow also established benchmarks in tackles (78), tackles for loss (eight) and sacks (three). Pro Football Focus rated him as a top-30 off-ball ‘backer in 2020.

The Raiders have been busy adding to their linebackers corps this week, agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with Yannick Ngakoue. As our Sam Robinson previously detailed, the Raiders are also only a year removed from having spent big at the linebacker position; the organization signed Cory Littleton to a lucrative deal and gave Nick Kwiatkoski a respectable pact as well. The team has since reworked both Littleton’s and Kwiatkoski’s deals.

Considering Morrow’s career year, the Raiders surely didn’t secure his services for a song. This means the organization is committing even more money at the position, which will probably take them out of the running for a linebacker in the first round (as Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets).

49ers Re-Sign Trent Williams To Six-Year, $138MM Deal

March 17th, 2021 at 8:39am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have re-signed Trent Williams to a six-year, $138.06MM deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The deal comes with $55.1MM guaranteed and a $30.1MM signing bonus and makes Williams the highest-paid offensive lineman. 

The Chiefs, Colts, and Bears all wanted Williams, but the incumbents won out. There were, at least, consolation prizes for the Chiefs and Bears — Kansas City landed top guard Joe Thuney while the Bears allocated their dollars towards quarterback Andy Dalton and a new deal for (not-as-impressive) tackle Germain Ifedi.

The 32-year-old blocker graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 overall tackle last year after sitting out the entire 2019 season. He’ll turn 33 in July, but he was widely regarded as the best available free agent in this year’s class, regardless of position.

The current rate for top offensive tackles is around $22MM per year. Despite his age, Williams has topped that with an average annual value of $23MM. Previously, the watermark was held by Packers lineman David Bakhtiari, who inked a four-year, $92 million extension back in November. He could have gotten those dollars anywhere, but Williams has said all along that he’d like to play out the rest of his career in San Francisco.

“San Francisco would be the leading candidate regardless,” Williams said earlier this year. “So even if it does make it to free agency, it won’t be because I’m trying to go somewhere else. It may be simply because I want to see my value. It’s been 11 years in this league, and I have yet to see a franchise left tackle go to the open market. I think it would be interesting to kind of see what [my] value holds.”

Williams’ value is mostly predicated on his world-class performance, but it was also lifted by the lack of quality offensive linemen available in this year’s class. Rather than reaching for subpar protection, the Niners shelled out the big bucks for one of the best tackles in the business.

Mike Boone Won’t Re-Sign With Vikings

March 16th, 2021 at 9:53pm CST by Rory Parks

Though the Vikings wanted to keep RB Mike Boone in the fold, it seems they will be unable to do so. Per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter), Boone is prepared to sign elsewhere.

Minnesota non-tendered Boone this afternoon, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent. The club had hoped that it would be able to re-sign the former UDFA to a contract worth less money than an RFA tender, but Boone is seeking greener pastures.

It’s hard to blame him. The Vikings have Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison ahead of Boone on the depth chart, so he would have again been relegated to the team’s RB3 post. He has done well in that role, with a 5.3 YPC average and four TDs over his first three pro seasons, but he has only managed 71 career carries (including just 11 last year).

Per Tomasson, Boone is looking for a team that will give him a chance to be an RB2. He may have to wait until the dust settles on the first wave of free agency, but he should get that opportunity.

Latest On FA C David Andrews

March 16th, 2021 at 9:40pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like the Patriots had a chance to secure David Andrews‘ services today, but the center is now set to test the open market. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that after weighing New England’s offers today, the veteran is now pivoting towards offers from other suitors.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo confirms (via Twitter) that Andrews will now explore other options outside of New England. Garafolo clarified that the offensive lineman has been exploring all options this week, but he has yet to agree to any offers (Twitter link). Michael Giardi of NFL Network tweets that Andrews “has expressed a desire” to stick with New England, and the reporter wonders whether Bill Belichick is simply daring the free agent to find a superior offer elsewhere.

Andrews joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2015, and he started 57 of his 60 appearances through his first four seasons in the NFL. He ended up missing the entire 2019 campaign after getting diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, but he managed to return in time for the 2020 season. He missed a handful of games with a thumb injury, ultimately appearing in 72-percent of the Patriots’ offensive snaps in 12 games.

The Patriots offensive line is already set to look a bit different in 2021. The team traded for offensive tackle Trent Brown before watching starting lineman Joe Thuney sign with the Chiefs.

Colts Tender TE Mo Alie-Cox

March 16th, 2021 at 9:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Mo Alie-Cox will hit restricted free agency. The Colts have slapped the tight end with a second-round tender, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). The second-round tender value is set at $3.384MM.

The Colts will now have the chance at first refusal for Alie-Cox’s services. If the Colts don’t match a hypothetical offer to the tight end, they’ll received a second-round pick in return.

Alie-Cox made a name for himself as a forward on VCU’s basketball team. Despite the fact that he hadn’t played organized football since high school, the Colts took a chance on him as an undrafted free agent in 2017. The tight end has progressively received more responsibilities through his four seasons in the NFL, culminating in a 2020 campaign where he put up career numbers.

The 27-year-old ultimately finished the season having hauled in a career-high 31 receptions for 394 yards and two touchdowns. Alie-Cox has also earned a reputation as one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL. Assuming he returns to Indy, the veteran will likely continue serving as the team’s number-two tight end behind starter Jack Doyle.

Washington To Sign William Jackson III

March 16th, 2021 at 9:10pm CST by Rory Parks

The Washington Football Team is signing former Bengals corner William Jackson III, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that it will be a three-year, $42MM pact with $26MM in guaranteed money.

That puts Jackson in the top-10 of the cornerback market in terms of AAV. The 2016 first-rounder has proven himself as a strong cover corner over his first few years in the league, and though he has yet to make a Pro Bowl, he could receive those honors in the near future. He missed his entire rookie campaign due to injury and started just five games in his second professional season, but from 2017-20, he tallied 41 passes defensed and three picks, and he graded as Pro Football Focus’ 20th-best CB (out of 121 qualifiers) last season.

He will serve as a worthy replacement for Ronald Darby — who agreed to a free agent deal with the Broncos yesterday — and will team with Kendall Fuller to provide WFT with a strong starting tandem at the cornerback position. The club was terrific against the pass last season, so maintaining a quality 1-2 punch on the boundaries was a key part of its push for back-to-back playoff appearances.

Although Jackson had previously expressed a desire to remain in Cincinnati on a long-term basis, the writing was on the wall when the club agreed to sign Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie earlier today. Jackson is probably better than both players, but Hilton and Awuzie’s combined AAV is about the same as Jackson’s, so the Bengals saw an opportunity to acquire two quality starters for the price of one.

Keanu Neal Drawing Significant Interest

March 16th, 2021 at 8:37pm CST by Rory Parks

Free agent safety Keanu Neal is attracting significant attention on the open market. Per veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Vikings, Colts, and Panthers have all expressed interest in the Falcons’ defender (Twitter link).

After seeing his 2018-19 campaigns almost completely wiped out by injury, Neal managed to suit up for 15 games (14 starts) in 2020. He wasn’t brilliant, but he did pick up 100 tackles while grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 33rd-best safety out of 94 qualifiers. The fact that he was able to stay healthy and will only be 26 when the regular season starts is certainly driving the interest in his services.

After all, prior to suffering a torn ACL in the 2018 opener — he also sustained a torn Achilles during the third game of the 2019 season — Neal was establishing himself as one of the better young safeties in the game. He was selected by Atlanta with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2016 draft, and he racked up 106 tackles in 14 starts in his rookie campaign.

He built on that performance in 2017, starting all 16 games and piling up 116 tackles en route to a Pro Bowl nod. He moved with fluidity and demonstrated a nose for the football, as evidenced by his high tackle totals and the eight fumbles that he forced over his first two seasons in the league. Though he did not force any fumbles in 2020, nor was he as strong in coverage as he was before the injury trouble, there is reason to believe that he can return to his previous levels of performance.

Dallas, of course, has long been looking for a long-term solution at safety, while the other clubs Anderson mentions also have clear openings on the back end of their secondaries. The Jets, who recently hit Marcus Maye with the franchise tag, are an interesting fit, as GM Joe Douglas has been said to be opposed to paying big money to safeties. A Maye-Neal tandem would be a talented but expensive pairing, though trading Maye would certainly be a possibility.

One way or another, it does not sound like Neal will be returning to the Falcons, who are also preparing to bid adieu to safety Damontae Kazee and who have already parted ways with DB Ricardo Allen.

Seahawks, DT Poona Ford Agree To Two-Year Deal

March 16th, 2021 at 8:15pm CST by Rory Parks

8:16pm: Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports that the two-year pact has been agreed upon (Twitter link). The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds some more context (via Twitter), reporting that the deal is worth close to $14MM with incentives. Ford will receive $4.4MM in 2021, which is just shy of the first-round RFA tender amount. The 25-year-old will have a chance at bigger money in 2022, and he’ll hit unrestricted free agency in 2023.

6:42pm: The Seahawks lost one of their top unrestricted free agents earlier today when they saw Shaquill Griffin sign with the Jaguars, but they are trying to keep a key RFA in the fold. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Seattle is working on a two-year deal for defensive tackle Poona Ford.

A former college free agent out of Texas, Ford started all 16 games for the ‘Hawks last year, recording 40 tackles and a pair of sacks. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 15th-best interior defender, with PFF scoring him especially highly in run defense (he finished with the exact same overall score as Giants DL Leonard Williams).

Instead of giving Ford an RFA tender, the Seahawks are trying to buy out his first year of UFA eligibility and keep him around through 2022. He has served as a quality anchor for the club’s defensive front, so it makes sense that Seattle would want to continue the relationship for another couple of years.

The deadline to tender Ford is tomorrow if the two sides cannot come to terms on a multi-year pact.

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