2021 March - Pro Football Rumors

Contract Restructures: Panthers, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Eagles, Steelers

March 10th, 2021 at 5:51pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s that time of year when teams are frantically maneuvering ahead of free agency. Due to the cap falling because of COVID-19, things are even more hectic than ever. We’ve seen a whole bunch of contract restructures come in, and there will be a whole lot more. Let’s catch you up on the latest batch and their financial implications:

The Panthers restructured Christian McCaffrey‘s contract recently, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. They converted $7MM of his $8MM base salary into a signing bonus, which freed up about $5.6MM in cap space for 2021. Almost a year ago McCaffrey signed his record-breaking extension that has him locked up through the 2025 season.
The Cowboys have had a busy week with Dak Prescott‘s massive extension now in the books, and they made a trio of moves to help clear some space. Dallas restructured the deals of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, a source told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reworking of the three offensive linemen’s contracts cleared up about $17MM in cap space for Jerry Jones. As Archer notes, these moves have now gotten Dallas under the cap for 2021.
The Giants just cut top offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler as they look to clear cap space to keep guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. The Zeitler release isn’t the only shuffling they’re doing, as they also restructured the contract of tight end Levine Toilolo, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweeted the details. Rather than a procedural restructure like you see with star players, Toilolo actually took a pay-cut to stay with the team. He had been scheduled to make $2.95MM this year but agreed to reduce that to $1.6MM, saving the Giants north of $1MM against the cap.
We’ve got four other restructures to pass along, courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Saints restructured the deals of safety Malcolm Jenkins to save $3.4MM and offensive lineman Andrus Peat to save $6MM. New Orleans has the worst cap situation in the league, and they desperately needed moves like this to do things like franchise tag safety Marcus Williams.
The Eagles saved $2.4MM by reworking the deal of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. Philly is right up there with New Orleans in terms of bad cap situations, so GM Howie Roseman is likely far from done here.
The Steelers saved $880K by adjusting fullback Derek Watt‘s contract. Not exactly front page news here, but it should shore up Watt’s spot on the 2021 roster. T.J. and J.J.’s brother signed a three-year, $9.75MM pact last offseason.

Cardinals Release CB Robert Alford

March 10th, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Robert Alford‘s Cardinals tenure has come to an unceremonious end. Arizona has released the veteran cornerback, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Alford signed a three-year, $22.5MM deal with the Cardinals in 2019, but will end his stint in the desert never having played in a game for them. He fractured a tibia in August of 2019 that cost him all of that season, and then tore a pec this past August which knocked him out for all of 2020. A second-round pick of Atlanta back in 2013, Alford spent the first six years of his career with the Falcons.

He was pretty durable during those years, playing at least 15 games in all but one season (10 in 2014). Unfortunately the injury bug has bit him hard, and he hasn’t suited up since the 2018 season when he started 15 games for the Falcons. A quality starter for a while, it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll look like now.

Alford turned 32 in November, and will likely struggle to find guaranteed money in a tough market coming off back to back season-ending injuries.

The release saves the Cardinals about $7.5MM in cap space for this season. As Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com points out in a tweet, this leaves the Cards with only one non-reserve/futures cornerback under contract for next season, 2019 second-rounder Byron Murphy.

Cardinals Re-Sign LB Tanner Vallejo

March 10th, 2021 at 4:23pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ahead of the start of free agency, the Cardinals are taking care of one of their own. Arizona is re-signing linebacker Tanner Vallejo, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

It’s a two-year deal worth $4.1MM, Rapsheet reports. Vallejo had been set to hit unrestricted free agency before getting locked up. It’s a nice payday for the 2017 sixth-round pick who spent his first few years in the NFL bouncing around the league. Originally drafted by Buffalo, he spent his rookie season with the Bills, the following year with the Browns, and spent time with both the Cardinals and Washington in 2019.

He appears to have finally found a home in Arizona, playing in all 16 games in 2020. A core special teamer who played around 65 percent of the special teams snaps, Vallejo also managed to crack the field on defense a handful of times. He played almost the whole game in the Cardinals’ crucial Week 17 game against the Rams, and Rapoport writes that he’ll have a real role in Vance Joseph’s defense next year.

Vikings Release Riley Reiff

March 10th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Yet another big name player is getting the axe. The Vikings are releasing offensive tackle Riley Reiff, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

We heard over the weekend that Minnesota was looking for Reiff to take a pay-cut, and obviously the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. The release will now save the Vikings about $11MM in cap space for 2021. Reiff had been due a $5MM roster bonus on March 19th, so there was a tight timeline here. With the move the Vikings are now officially under the salary cap as they get ready for free agency.

The cap savings are nice, but they’ll now need a new starting left tackle. Prior to Week 17 when he was placed on the COVID-19 list, Reiff hadn’t missed a snap in 2020. In his nine seasons in the league, Reiff has never played in less than 13 games, which will certainly help his cause on the open market. The Vikings did right by him and gave him a $1MM bonus back in February to make up for the playing time incentive he missed because of that COVID game, which had led to some optimism they’d be able to work something out.

The 23rd overall pick of the 2012 draft, Reiff spent his first five years in Detroit. He then signed a five-year, $58.75MM contract with the Vikings in March of 2017 and has been their left tackle ever since. Minnesota will now either look for his replacement elsewhere, or move Bryan O’Neill from right tackle to left.

Reiff will be hitting free agency again now at the age of 32. Although he’s never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he’s capable of being a solid starter. Plenty of squads should be interested as he joins a strong offensive line market, and a team like the Chargers make a lot of sense on paper.

Ravens Place Second-Round Tender On RB Gus Edwards

March 10th, 2021 at 3:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Ravens’ ground game has been dynamic over the past couple of years, and they’re not going to let a key piece of that get away. Baltimore has placed a second-round tender on restricted free agent Gus Edwards, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The second-round tender will be worth around $3.4MM this year, so it’s a nice payday for Edwards. It also means that any team that wants to sign Edwards to an offer sheet would have to give up a second-round pick, which virtually guarantees he’ll be back with the Ravens next year. Since Edwards is a former UDFA, had they tendered him at the original-round level, opposing teams wouldn’t have had to give anything up to poach him.

That original-round tender would’ve paid about $2.1MM, so it’s a better than 50 percent increase for Edwards. The Rutgers product started off on the practice squad in 2018 but quickly moved up to the active roster and even started six games that year.

Impressively, he’s averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry in each of his three pro seasons while carrying the ball at least 133 times in each of those. This past season in 16 games and six starts, he rushed 144 times for 723 yards and six touchdowns. With Mark Ingram out of the picture now, Edwards will be back splitting carries with second-year player J.K. Dobbins in 2021.

Dolphins Cut Kyle Van Noy

March 10th, 2021 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

3/10/21, 3:07pm: After failing to find a trade partner, the Dolphins have now officially cut Van Noy, they announced on Wednesday.

3/2/21, 1:25pm: Not so fast. This transaction is not expected to commence immediately. Miami is now expected to first attempt to trade Van Noy, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). While Van Noy has been an effective pass rusher under Flores and Bill Belichick, moving a $12.75MM-per-year contract will be difficult in this cap climate.

12:59pm: The Dolphins are set to release linebacker Kyle Van Noy, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The linebacker joined the Dolphins on a four-year, $51MM deal just last year.

“I am surprised and disappointed in their decision,” Van Noy said in a statement confirming the news. “As a captain, I gave my all to the team. I fought through a painful hip injury during the season, including spending a night in the hospital after a game. I was brought there to be a leader and I know my teammates looked up to and respected me. I am looking forward to making an impact o my next team, on and off the field.”

Van Noy barely played his first couple of years in the league. Then, he broke out after the Lions traded him to the Patriots. In 2019, he notched 6.5 sacks and served as a key part of the Patriots’ defense. Even though the Dolphins weren’t positioned as contenders in 2020, they saw Van Noy as a long-term cornerstone.

The veteran logged 69 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 14 games for the Dolphins. However, he was the victim of the team’s cap crunch. Rather than carrying his $13.9MM hit, they’ll save approximately $9.78MM on the books. Van Noy’s 2021 salary would have become fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2021 league year.

Miami revamped its pass rush by signing Van Noy, Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah last year. The signings helped Brian Flores‘ team contend for the playoffs in one of the more competitive years in AFC history. But with the salary cap expected to be reduced for the 2021 league year, teams are being forced to shed veterans at a higher-than-usual rate. While the Dolphins did not necessarily need to make this move, having $22MM-plus in cap space coming into Tuesday, they will create considerable funds in a buyer’s market by doing so.

Giants Release Kevin Zeitler

March 10th, 2021 at 2:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants just made a big move. New York has released guard Kevin Zeitler, the team announced on Wednesday. Zeitler becomes the latest in a string of high profile cap casualties this past week.

The move will clear about $9.6MM in cap space the Giants needed if they wanted to retain guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. We heard last week that New York was shopping Zeitler, but teams were expecting him to get cut so no one was willing to offer anything. That being said, now that he doesn’t come with the hefty contract, there will be plenty of interest.

Zeitler certainly hasn’t played poorly, the Giants could just no longer justify the cap charge. Some people were skeptical the team would actually cut their best O-lineman with Daniel Jones heading into a make or break year, but these are the kinds of decisions necessitated by the league-wide cap crunch.

Zeitler had been set to make a salary of $12MM, and while he won’t get that, he’ll get some significant guaranteed money on the open market. The 27th overall pick of the 2012 draft spent his first five years with the Bengals before signing a five-year, $60MM pact with the Browns in 2017.

That deal made him the highest-paid guard in the league at the time. He was then traded to New York in March of 2019 as part of the blockbuster Odell Beckham Jr. trade. He’s never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but has nonetheless always been a solid starter.

He’s also been reliable, starting at least 15 games in each of the past six seasons, and he’s never played less than 12. With Zeitler off the roster, Shane Lemieux and Will Hernandez now project as the Giants’ two starting guards for 2021.

Titans To Release Kenny Vaccaro

March 10th, 2021 at 1:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans are moving on from Kenny Vaccaro. Vaccaro will be cut to save $3.9MM in cap space with $3MM in dead money remaining (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

The former first-round pick joined the Titans as a free agent late in the 2018 cycle. After impressing in 13 starts, he re-upped on a four-year, $26MM deal, but he won’t see the second half of that contract in Tennessee.

Vaccaro started in all 42 of his games for the Titans across three years. Last season, he finished out with 62 stops, one sack, and five passes defensed. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus — which have never been especially fond of his work — gave him a 58.8 overall grade, slotting him just 68th out of 84 qualified safeties.

The Titans are trimming dollars and remaking their secondary all at once. Just yesterday, they released veteran cornerbackMalcolm Butler to free up $10.2MM for the coming year.

NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021

March 10th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL’s 2021 salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, marking the league’s first reduction in a decade. With that, the league has also ironed out the value of this year’s fifth-round option for 2018 first-round picks.

Here’s the full rundown, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter):

1. Baker Mayfield, Browns, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

2. Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB — $7.217MM (1x Pro Bowl)

3. Sam Darnold, Jets, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

4. Denzel Ward, Browns, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

5. Bradley Chubb, Broncos, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

6. Quenton Nelson, Colts, G — $13.754MM (2x Pro Bowl)

7. Josh Allen, Bills, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

8. Roquan Smith, Bears, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

9. Mike McGlinchey, 49ers, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

10. Josh Rosen, Cardinals, QB*

11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers, S (drafted by Dolphins) — $10.612MM (2x Pro Bowl)

12. Vita Vea, Buccaneers, DT — $7.638MM

13. Daron Payne, Washington, DT — $8.529MM (playing time)

14. Marcus Davenport, Saints, DE — $9.553MM

15. Kolton Miller, Raiders, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

16. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

17. Derwin James, Chargers, S — $9.052MM (1x Pro Bowl)

18. Jaire Alexander, Packers, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

19. Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys, LB — $9.145MM

20. Frank Ragnow, Lions, C — $12.657MM (1x Pro Bowl)

21. Billy Price, Bengals, C — $10.413MM

22. Rashaan Evans, Titans, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

23. Isaiah Wynn, Patriots, OT — $10.413MM

24. D.J. Moore, Panthers, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

25. Hayden Hurst, Falcons, TE (Drafted by Ravens) — $5.428MM

26. Calvin Ridley, Falcons, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

27. Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, RB — $4.523MM

28., Steelers, S Terrell Edmunds — $6.753MM (playing time)

29. Taven Bryan, Jaguars, DT — $7.638MM

30. Mike Hughes, Vikings, CB — $12.643MM

31. Sony Michel, Patriots, RB — $4.523MM

32. Lamar Jackson, Ravens, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

* Rosen was released from his original contract and, therefore, is not option-eligible

As a refresher, the fifth-year option year is now fully guaranteed. In the past, it was guaranteed for injury only. The values are also dependent on certain performance metrics:

Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
- 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
- 75%+ average across all three seasons
- 50%+ in each of first three seasons
Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.

Bills Release WR John Brown, DL Quinton Jefferson

March 10th, 2021 at 12:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have released wide receiver John Brown and defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, per a club announcement. The release of Brown will save $7.9MM against the cap with $1.6MM left in dead money. Meanwhile, Jefferson’s release will save $6.5MM with no dead money left over.

Brown started his Bills tenure with a bang, compiling 72 receptions for 1,060 receiving yards, both career highs. Last year, knee injuries, ankle issues, and a stint on the COVID-19 list limited him to just nine games. The 30-year-old (31 in April) finished 2020 with just 33 grabs for 458 yards and three touchdowns, so his release doesn’t come as a huge surprise. All in all, Brown totaled 105 catches, 1,518 receiving yards and nine TDs for Buffalo across two seasons.

Jefferson, meanwhile, was set to enter his second year with the Bills. Last year, he scored a two-year, $13.5MM deal — higher than most expected after serving as a part-time starter in Seattle. His final two years with the Seahawks saw a total of 51 tackles and 6.5 sacks. In Buffalo, he notched 23 stops, three sacks, and one forced fumble.

In a related move, defensive lineman Vernon Butler has agreed to a pay cut in order to keep his spot on the roster (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Originally, Butler was set to count for $7.8MM against the cap with $5.5MM in base pay. Terms of the new deal have not been disclosed.