2021 March - Pro Football Rumors

Bears Shopping WR Anthony Miller

March 16th, 2021 at 2:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears do not know who their starting quarterback will be yet, but they might have determined one player will not fit in their 2021 passing attack.

Chicago is discussing Anthony Miller in trades, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The former second-round pick is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Miller is due a $1.21MM base salary next season. He is likely to be dealt, Schefter adds.

Allen Robinson is back, via the franchise tag, and the Bears also have Darnell Mooney coming back as a supporting-caster. The Bears traded up for Mooney last year. While Miller would seemingly fit as an additional auxiliary option and is not a financial hindrance, Bears brass evidently has seen enough to dangle him in trade talks.

Although Miller has battled injuries as a pro, he has only missed one game since the Bears drafted him. The slot option has only eclipsed 500 receiving yards in one of his three seasons, but Chicago’s quarterback situation — largely a Mitchell Trubisky-led setup during Miller’s tenure — did not exactly make for the best environment for a young receiver to develop. It will be interesting to see what the Bears can collect in a deal for the 26-year-old target.

Giants To Sign John Ross

March 16th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants were rumored to be looking for another receiver this offseason, and now they’ve found one. New York has agreed to terms on a deal with receiver John Ross, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

It’s a one-year, $2.5MM deal that includes $1MM in guaranteed money, Garafolo reports. The move isn’t necessarily the big splash many Giants fans have been waiting for, but it’s a nice low-risk flyer with significant upside. Ross is well known for being the ninth overall pick in 2017, as well as his legendary NFL Combine 40-time of 4.22.

Things didn’t go as planned with the Bengals nearly immediately, and his four years in Cincinnati were an abject disaster. He struggled with injuries, playing in three, 13, eight, and three games during his four seasons there. He finished his run with 51 catches for 733 yards and ten touchdowns, a pitiful sum for a top ten pick.

Needless to say, the team didn’t exercise his fifth-year option and returning to Cincy was never in the cards. He’s obviously got game-breaking speed, and showed plenty of flashes during the 2019 season when he had 506 yards in only eight games, so the potential is there.

After releasing Golden Tate the Giants don’t have much at all at receiver beyond Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard, as Ross has a realistic path to some playing time in 2021. Keep an eye on this one.

Cowboys To Sign Ty Nsekhe

March 16th, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cowboys just lost last year’s swing tackle when Cameron Erving signed with the Panthers yesterday, and they’re wasting no time in replacing him.

Dallas has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran lineman Ty Nsekhe, his agency Elite Loyalty Sports announced on Twitter. Nsekhe will now slide into Erving’s role and fill in for either Tyron Smith or La’el Collins if necessary. Erving ended up starting a handful of games for the Cowboys last year due to injuries.

Nsekhe has had a remarkable path, as he entered the pro ranks as an UDFA back in 2009. He started off in the AF2 and after a few years in the ill-fated AFL, finally got his first taste of the NFL in 2012. He didn’t stick on a roster until 2015, when he finally found his footing with Washington.

He would go on to start a handful of games for Washington in each season from 2016-18, always filling in solidly when the team was in a pinch. Regarded as one of the better reserve tackles out there, he signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with Buffalo in March of 2019.

That turned out to be a pretty sweet gig for him, as he only started one game for the Bills the past two seasons. He’s 35 now, but will give the Cowboys very solid depth on the O-line.

Giants, Leonard Williams Agree To Extension

March 16th, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants will free up some cap space and lock down one of their top players. Given the franchise tag for the second straight year, Leonard Williams reached an agreement on an extension Tuesday.

Williams will sign a three-year, $63MM accord to stay with the Giants, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. While Dalvin Tomlinson departed for Minnesota, the Giants will retain their top defensive line playmaker. Williams did incredibly well on this $21MM-per-year deal; $45MM of the pact is fully guaranteed, per Rapoport.

GM Dave Gettleman confused most by acquiring Williams at the 2019 trade deadline, and the former Jets first-round pick did not impress in his first half-season as a Giant. After a sackless first eight games, however, Williams broke through after being tagged last year. The former top-10 draftee produced his best season, registering 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 30 quarterback hits.

This deal both locks Williams into a price he was not especially close to as a Jet and will allow him a chance to approach free agency again while in his prime. The Giants and Williams were not close on a deal last year, and he played the season at the $16.1MM defensive tackle tag price. Going into last year’s franchise tag deadline, the Giants were not ready to give Williams an extension that averaged what that tag paid. A year later, the 26-year-old defender acquired tremendous leverage and used it to cash in.

Although the Giants did a few Eli Manning deals and constructed Odell Beckham Jr.‘s current contract, Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes this is the most fully guaranteed money they have handed out (Twitter link). Tuesday’s agreement will vault Williams onto the top tier of D-line contracts. After his breakthrough Giants contract year, the USC alum matches DeForest Buckner as the second-highest-paid interior defender. Only Aaron Donald ($22.5MM AAV) comes in above Williams now. And Williams’ $45MM full guarantee surpasses Buckner’s mark.

The Giants entered the tampering period with Williams tethered to a $19.4MM tag, so this should free up some much-needed cap space for the team to pursue free agents. Despite losing Tomlinson, the Giants have a talented defensive line core still in place. Both Dexter Lawrence and B.J. Hill remain on their rookie deals, with Austin Johnson agreeing to return on a low-cost accord Monday.

Colts To Tender WR Zach Pascal

March 16th, 2021 at 2:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts will be hanging onto Zach Pascal. The veteran wide receiver received a second-round RFA tender from the team, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

This will tether Pascal to a $3.4MM salary, should no extension be reached by mid-June, in 2021. Teams have until Wednesday afternoon to tender their restricted free agents.

A 2018 UDFA out of Old Dominion, Pascal has played a key role in Indianapolis’ passing attack. Injuries to T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell thrust Pascal into increased action, and he has become a nice auxiliary playmaker in Frank Reich‘s attack. Pascal has delivered back-to-back seasons of 600-plus yards. Despite the Colts shuffling quarterbacks over the course of Pascal’s career, he totaled five TD catches in each of the past two years and has 12 as a pro.

It is not certain if Hilton will rejoin Pascal. The UFA wide receiver market has moved slowly. While the Colts are open to bringing Hilton back, they intend to allow the market to determine whether that will happen.

Browns To Sign Takk McKinley

March 16th, 2021 at 2:19pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns are getting some of the edge rushing help they’ve been seeking. Cleveland has agreed to terms on a deal with defensive end Takkarist McKinley, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets.

It’s a one-year pact with a base value of $4.25MM that can be worth up to $6MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Sounds like the deal is rich on incentives, which makes plenty of sense for a player in McKinley’s circumstances. The UCLA product was the 27th overall pick in 2017, but things never worked out for him in Atlanta. By the end he was butting heads with management and blasting the team on social media, which ultimately led to him getting waived.

A bizarre saga then ensued, with a number of teams trying to claim him to cash in on his potential. He was claimed by the Bengals and then 49ers, but failed physicals with both teams and reverted to waivers each time. He was then finally claimed and cleared by the Raiders, but spent the rest of last season on Las Vegas’ injured reserve.

McKinley has shown plenty of flashes and most metrics graded him very positively when on the field recently, so it’s a nice low-risk signing for Cleveland. The story all offseason was that the Browns were looking for a big-name pass-rusher to pair next to Myles Garrett, and they expressed interest in J.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Trey Hendrickson before they signed with different teams.

This McKinley signing isn’t as splashy as one of those other guys would’ve been, but he’s got significant upside. Still only 25, he’s got plenty of time to turn around his career narrative.

Tramon Williams Retires From NFL

March 16th, 2021 at 2:01pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Free agency is plowing full steam ahead, but signings and cuts aren’t the only thing going on. We’ve also got news of a significant retirement to pass along.

Veteran cornerback Tramon Williams is hanging up his cleats, he declared in a text to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Williams entered the league as an UDFA all the way back in 2006, and improbably defied all expectations and then some to stick in the NFL for a whopping 15 seasons. For a player at his position especially, it was a run that’s nothing short of incredible in hindsight.

Today is Williams’ 38th birthday. After initially signing with the Texans he was quickly cut and then signed to the Packers’ practice squad. He would go on to spend nine seasons in Green Bay, winning Super Bowl XLV with the team. The Louisiana Tech product then went to Cleveland, Arizona, back to Green Bay again, and then Baltimore.

The Ravens waived him back on January 18th, and he signed with the Packers one last time on January 21st just in time to suit up for the NFC Championship Game, although he didn’t end up playing in the contest.

Never a star but a quality starter for many years, Williams made one Pro Bowl in 2010. He’ll finish his legendary career having appeared in a whopping 205 games with 153 starts. He’ll go down with 153 passes defended, and 34 interceptions. There was a four-year stretch from 2008-11 where he had at least four interceptions in each season.

All of us here at PFR wish Williams the best in retirement, and a happy birthday as well!

Bengals To Sign Mike Hilton

March 16th, 2021 at 1:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bengals are continuing to add to the defense. Cincinnati has agreed to terms on a deal with free agent cornerback Mike Hilton, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). It’s a four-year pact for Hilton, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (tweet via Ben Baby of ESPN).

The four-year deal is worth $24MM with $8.5MM coming to Hilton in the first year, Rapoport tweets. The Bengals signed fellow corner Chidobe Awuzie to a three-year deal earlier this morning, and added defensive end Trey Hendrickson on a massive four-year, $60MM deal last night. With Hilton and Awuzie now in tow and William Jackson III looking likely to depart in free agency, Cincy’s secondary is going to look completely different in 2021.

Hilton entered the league as an UDFA out of Ole Miss in 2016. He initially spent time with the Jaguars and Patriots but was cut in both places before landing on Pittsburgh’s practice squad. He quickly carved out a role with the Steelers, and was a big part of their secondary the past few years. He’ll likely be the Bengals’ new slot corner.

This past season he appeared in 12 games, starting six, and playing around 45 percent of the defensive snaps in total. Despite only being on the field half the time he managed to rack up three sacks, eight tackles for loss, seven passes defended, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. That’s a lot of playmaking.

Raiders To Release C Rodney Hudson

March 16th, 2021 at 1:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

A near-full-on overhaul is taking place on the Raiders’ offensive line. They are releasing Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson on Tuesday, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

This move follows Las Vegas’ cuts of Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito and its trade of Trent Brown to New England. A Hudson release, if not designated as a post-June 1 cut, would not save the Raiders any money. It would then make sense if Las Vegas designated its longtime center a post-June 1 release.

Of the slew of moves on the Raiders’ O-line, this one qualifies as the most surprising. A 2015 Oakland signee, Hudson has made three Pro Bowls as a Raider and has become one of the NFL’s top centers. They signed him to a three-year, $33.75MM extension in 2019. The former Chiefs third-round pick figures to generate immediate interest, having proven productive and durable. Hudson has missed just four games in six Raiders seasons.

Hudson, 31, graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 overall center last season. He led the way in Josh Jacobs‘ back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has been with the franchise long enough to pave the way for Latavius Murray‘s 1,000-yard slate in 2015. He lasted less than two weeks as the Raiders’ longest-tenured offensive linemen, following Jackson out the door.

Of the Raiders’ Week 1 starting O-line from last season, only Kolton Miller remains with the team. This release also effectively makes Derek Carr the last man standing from Reggie McKenzie‘s GM tenure.

The Raiders tacking on two void years to Hudson’s extension would increase the dead-money hit to $15MM, were Hudson not designated a post-June 1 release. The latter scenario would save the Raiders $6.4MM against their 2021 cap. Thus far, the Raiders have not replaced any of their departed starters up front. Even the player who replaced Incognito for most of last season, Denzelle Good, is a free agent. This certainly becomes one of the NFL’s most interesting position groups.

Jaguars To Sign Tyson Alualu

March 16th, 2021 at 1:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Tyson Alualu is headed back to where his career started. The veteran defensive tackle is signing with the Jaguars, his agent Kenny Zuckerman announced on Twitter.

It’s a two-year deal worth $6MM for Alualu, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweeted. It’s a nice payday for a player that will turn 34 in May. It’s a familiar rate for Alualu, as each of his last three contracts signed have been two-year deals for about $6MM. The Cal product was the 10th overall pick of the Jags way back in 2010, and although he’s been a solid player he never really lived up to his draft status.

Alualu had a bit of a late career resurgence in Pittsburgh, and was widely praised for his work with the Steelers last year. He played about 44 percent of the defensive snaps in 2020 (on arguably the league’s best defense), and finished with 38 tackles, two sacks, and five passes defended. He received very strong marks from Pro Football Focus for his work as a run defender.

The big fella will now help man the middle of Urban Meyer’s first defense in Jacksonville. The Jags have been busy so far, and they just signed Shaquill Griffin to a big contract earlier this afternoon to anchor the secondary.