2021 April - Pro Football Rumors

Month: November 2024

Jets Trade Sam Darnold To Panthers

April 5th, 2021 at 3:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:26pm: Carolina will exercise Darnold’s fifth-year option, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweets. This will tie Darnold to the Panthers through 2022 and fully guarantee Darnold $18.9MM next year.

3:03pm: The Jets are trading Sam Darnold to the Panthers, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Carolina will send back a sixth-round pick in 2021, as well as second- and fourth-round picks in 2022.

The Panthers had made no secret of their desire to upgrade at quarterback, and while Darnold is not coming off a particularly impressive season, he is a former top-three pick on a rookie contract. Although a previous report suggested the Panthers were not particularly high on Darnold, they had discussed him for weeks with the Jets, Schefter adds (via Twitter).

This trade also essentially confirms Jets GM Joe Douglas made his quarterback decision. The Jets have been linked to BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with their No. 2 overall pick. While some late rumblings suggested Darnold had support in the building for a fourth season, to either compete with Wilson or induce a trade-down maneuver, the Jets have been expected to draft Wilson and start over for a bit now. Douglas has now traded predecessor Mike Maccagnan‘s final two first-round picks — Darnold and Jamal Adams — over the past two years.

“He is a tough-minded, talented football player whose NFL story has not been written yet,” Douglas said of Darnold. “While all these things are true, this move is in the short- and long-term best interests for both this team and him.”

Carolina had been the team most closely linked to Deshaun Watson this offseason. Owner David Tepper‘s desire to acquire the superstar Texans quarterback became known several weeks ago. Darnold is obviously well off the Watson tier, but the latter’s sudden off-field issues have quieted his trade market. The Jets were also linked to a potential Watson push. Both teams moving on signals the Pro Bowl quarterback may well be in Houston next season.

Darnold is still just 23 but has yet to deliver on the hype he carried in 2018. The Browns were connected to the USC prospect three years ago, but they opted for Baker Mayfield at No. 1 instead. Fixated on Saquon Barkley, the Giants refused to entertain trade offers that could have sent Darnold elsewhere. His New York stay produced occasional flashes, but the situation bottomed out in 2020. Darnold ranked last in QBR, among qualified passers, during his second season with Adam Gase. Darnold has yet to eclipse 20 touchdown passes in a season and has also missed at least three games in each of his three seasons.

The once-coveted prospect will be tabbed to replace Teddy Bridgewater, whose QBR figure ranked 17th last season. But Bridgewater has established a fairly low ceiling. Illustrated by this trade package, Darnold’s still remains relatively uncertain. Darnold will reunite with Robby Anderson in Charlotte, with Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore further illustrating the skill-position upgrade the maligned quarterback will receive. Darnold going from Gase to fast-rising OC Joe Brady represents intrigue as well.

The three-year veteran is due to count $9.7MM against the Panthers’ cap in 2021, but should Carolina pick up Darnold’s fifth-year option, his 2022 price would jump to $18.9MM. The Panthers will be forced to eat a chunk of dead money if they trade or release Bridgewater, who is attached to a three-year, $63MM contract. But Tepper authorized a long-term rebuild, giving Matt Rhule a seven-year contract. It would not surprise if the team picked up Darnold’s option for evaluation purposes. Considering Carolina’s interest in Watson, it would also not surprise if the Panthers made this move as a stopgap measure while Watson’s legal situation unfolds.

Holding the No. 8 overall pick, the Panthers can now focus on helping their Darnold-centered roster. This draft will almost certainly begin with three quarterback picks for just the third time ever. The Jaguars, Jets and 49ers’ choices will leave the rest of the QB-seeking crowd with just two of the much-hyped top five quarterback prospects for whom to vie.

Aaron Rodgers On Packers Future

April 5th, 2021 at 2:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Aaron Rodgers was vague about his future when appearing on SportsCenter over the weekend, and during a Monday appearance on the ‘Pat McAfee Show,’ he elaborated more on his situation with the Packers (Twitter video link).

Rodgers certainly didn’t sound like someone expecting to be a Packer for life, saying “my future, is really, a lot of it’s out of my control.” He added that it’s “quite uncertain which directions things are going to go.” Any eyebrows that weren’t already raised around the league certainly are now.

“All I can do is play my best and I feel like last year I did do that,” the reigning NFL MVP explained. The real kicker came next, when Rodgers said he “may have thrown a wrench into some timelines that may have been thought about or desired” with his stellar 2020 season.

He clearly was referring to the fact that Packers brass drafted Jordan Love in the first-round in 2020, and may have been planning to put him out to pasture sooner rather than later. His dominant campaign and run to the NFC Championship Game obviously made things a lot more difficult for Green Bay.

Rodgers is reportedly seeking a new contract this offseason, and some rival execs and coaches think he wants a fresh start elsewhere. The Rams apparently made a push for Rodgers before dealing for Matthew Stafford, although the Packers have insisted for now that he isn’t available. Interestingly Rodgers said the adjustments he made to his mentality and general life outlook, which he’s discussed heavily over the past year, happened before the drafting of Love.

“The change was before that. The perspective adjustments and the course corrections with my own life, personal life, headspace,” all came prior to that, and “the draft was just an opportunity for those to play out in real time where I had an opportunity to respond using the tools that I’ve tried to cultivate and the habits I was trying to form and adjust in real time. And so I got a great opportunity to show where I was at mentally and to grow and to just be myself.”

Rodgers seems content not knowing if he’ll be in Green Bay long-term, and it’s a very interesting dynamic for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to have coming off a 13-3 season. Things could come to a head sometime in the near future, but for now all we’ve got is cryptic comments.

Latest On Sam Darnold

April 5th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Things have been trending toward the Jets taking BYU quarterback Zach Wilson second overall for a while now, and if that happens it’s been widely assumed Sam Darnold would be traded somewhere. But is it possible the Jets could draft Wilson and keep Darnold around as well? Maybe so.

“Can it be done? Absolutely,” Darnold’s former teammate and mentor Josh McCown, who has stayed close with the USC product, told Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “In my mind, if you can’t get the value now for him, that’s absolutely how you go about it. I wouldn’t even call it a competition. I would just say, ‘We’re going to go with Sam as the guy and bring Zach along.’ If Sam knocks it out of the park, we’ll re-evaluate where we are a year from now.”

McCown doesn’t think Darnold would shy away from the drama. “Sam would embrace it and be helpful, but he’d also go out and work hard and try to make the most of the opportunity to play this year — and put it back on them and make them have to make a tough decision at the end of the year. I think, if that happens, really and truly, everybody wins.”

While that’s fun to think about, it might be wishful thinking on McCown’s part. McCown’s scenario isn’t “crazy,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says (Twitter video link), but most people he’s spoken to still believe Darnold will be traded.

That being said, Rapoport does believe it’s realistic the Jets could keep Darnold to try to get a better draft pick for him later, rather than settle for something now when his value isn’t at its highest. Rapoport doubts New York could get a first-rounder for him, which isn’t surprising considering there was a report earlier that suggested they might not even be able to get a second-rounder for him. We already know the Broncos don’t view him as worth a second-rounder.

We had heard back in February that the Panthers weren’t overly interested in Darnold, but after striking out on other options Rapsheet interestingly highlights them as a team to watch here. With the draft rapidly approaching, we should know a lot more soon so stay tuned.

Bears’ HC, GM On Andy Dalton, Draft QBs

April 5th, 2021 at 11:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Bears’ quarterback hunt didn’t end with the splash that some fans were hoping for. When their push for Russell Wilson went nowhere, they pivoted to longtime Bengals starter Andy Dalton, who just finished a so-so year as the Cowboys’ fill-in QB. For now, GM Ryan Pace plans to build the offense around the 33-year-old.

“With Dalton, the things we like as you look at it, obviously his experience — he’s a nine-year starter, he’s been to three Pro Bowls, a lot of leadership with Dalton, decision making, his decision making, he’s won a lot of games in this league,” Pace said (via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com).

Still, with Dalton backstopped by 32-year-old Nick Foles, the Bears need to think beyond 2021. They currently hold the No. 20 overall pick, which takes them out of the mix for this year’s elite prospects. In theory, they could explore trades for the Jets’ Sam Darnold, or the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo, but they already seem set on experienced signal callers. So, where do the Bears go from here?

Over the weekend, Pace and head coach Matt Nagy discussed their decision to sign Dalton and their mindset heading into the draft.

Pace on Dalton’s fit:

“Andy’s been a durable player. I think that is something that is understated. And I think, really, Andy fits our style of offense. When you go through it with our scouts and coaches, he can handle the drop-back game, he can handle the RPOs, the play actions, the movements. And we just felt, as we went through those free-agent quarterbacks, he’s one of the more complete quarterbacks that we evaluated in free agency, and we’re excited to have him.”

Nagy on the draft’s QB depth:

“As everybody knows, we’ve been to a few pro days with some of these quarterbacks and it definitely helps, but there is only so many of those you can do and see. What’s fair is every other team is doing the same thing. Ryan and I are super excited about going through that evaluation process together and how we do it. It’s a challenge, but we look forward to it. There are a lot of good quarterbacks in this draft class.”

Nagy on the QB evaluation process:

“It is more difficult because you just don’t have the luxury of being at the combine and seeing these guys throw and see the ball come out of their hands and their footwork. You get to see every one of those guys from the top guy to the bottom guy. Right now you just don’t have the luxury of doing that.”

PFR Poll: Will The 49ers Trade Jimmy Garoppolo?

April 5th, 2021 at 11:27am CST by Zachary Links

There’s an old saying in the business world: “Don’t tell them ‘no.’ Tell ’em how much it’ll cost.” That seems to be the 49ers’ approach when it comes to Jimmy Garoppolo. There’s at least some level of interest in the quarterback, but the asking price has been set at a first-round pick, according to one recent report. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has heard similar chatter of a first or high-second round pick (h/t Bleacher Report).

The Niners only gave up a second-round pick for Garoppolo back when his stock was at its peak, so it seems unlikely that any team will be willing to cough up more. Last year, the Niners went 3-3 in the six games he started, and Garoppolo completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,096 yards and seven touchdowns against five interceptions. That’s a far cry from his best work two years ago, when he was under center for the Super Bowl. In 2019, he racked up 3,978 passing yards and 27 touchdowns (with 13 INTs) en route to the NFC title.

Even after trading up to the No. 3 pick, the Niners are insistent that Garoppolo will be in the fold for 2021. Beyond that, the job will probably belong to one of this year’s top QB prospects — Mac Jones, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or, perhaps, BYU standout Zach Wilson, if he gets past the Jets.

No one’s going to send a first-round pick to SF for Garoppolo – we can say that with confidence. Would a QB-needy team offer a third-round pick for him? That seems possible, especially since the Patriots are far from sold on Cam Newton as their starter. The Bears could also give that some thought, even though they insist that Andy Dalton will be their guy in 2021.

Assuming that no one meets the 49ers’ initial ask, do you envision the Niners trading Garoppolo between now and September? Cast your vote below (link for app users) and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.

NFL Draft Prospect Profile: BYU QB Zach Wilson

April 5th, 2021 at 9:57am CST by Zachary Links

Could Zach Wilson leapfrog Trevor Lawrence as the No. 1 overall pick in April? No, probably not. New Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has taken a refreshingly candid approach to the draft process in recent weeks, telling everyone within earshot that the Clemson star will be his quarterback of the future.

“I’d have to say that’s the direction we’re going. I’ll leave that up to the owner when we make that decision official. But I’m certainly not stepping out of line that that’s certainly the direction we’re headed,” Meyer said. “Trevor checks all the boxes, you know?”

Lawrence may be one of the best QB prospects — or pro talents, period — in recent draft memory. Still, Wilson offers lots of promise in his own right. He’s fresh off of a breakout season in which he completed 73.5% of his throws, good for second in the nation. Meanwhile, he placed third with 33 passing touchdowns and lobbed only three interceptions. And, for good measure, Wilson added ten rushing touchdowns in his 12 starts.

Wilson’s mobility is a big part of his appeal. In fact, some see a bit of Johnny Manziel in him — which is not necessarily the pro comparison that young QBs want. Like Manziel, Wilson has shown the ability to escape pressure. He also comes from an affluent background, and draft evaluators tend to nitpick everything about players this time of year. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the similarities are strictly limited to his highlight reel.

“I’ve heard Zach Wilson is an incredible kid, but again, [he’s] a little bit new on the scene,” Schefter said (via KNBR). “Have to vet it out, check him out, make more calls, but I know people that know him pretty well, and they speak pretty highly about him.”

The other major knock on Wilson comes from his so-so decision making in 2019, a season that was cut short by thumb surgery. But, last year, Wilson kept the turnovers to a minimum and consistently found the open man. He’ll be asked to work in the pocket more frequently at the pro level, but his ability to extend the play when the pocket collapses will still serve him well in the NFL. At his pro day, the BYU product showcased that for all to see, intentionally throwing a pass across his body and nailing his target dead-on.

Some critics may also wonder about Wilson’s durability — aside from the aforementioned thumb injury, Wilson underwent thumb surgery after his frosh season. Now, he’ll be facing bigger, stronger, faster defenders with just ~210 lbs on his 6’2″ frame. Still, no prospect is perfect (not even Lawrence), and Wilson profiles as one of the very best QBs in this year’s class.

Right now, just about everyone has Wilson ticketed for the Jets at No. 2. It’s not quite as certain as Lawrence going No. 1, however. Mac Jones, Justin Fields, and Trey Lance are also in the mix, but it seems more likely that those will be the names available for the 49ers. Even if the Jets throw a curveball, we’d be surprised to see him slide much further.

Contract Details: Dunlap, Bills, Texans, Burns

April 4th, 2021 at 9:27pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Let’s catch up on some of the latest contract details from around the league:

Seahawks DE Carlos Dunlap: Two-years, $13.6MM. This had previously been reported as $16.6MM, but it turns out Seattle got Dunlap back for a few million cheaper than that, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. It’s actually a five-year pact with three years that automatically void for cap spreading purposes. As previously reported, it has $8.5MM in guaranteed money. Dunlap was set to have a $14.1MM cap charge for 2021 before the Seahawks cut him and then re-signed him to this less expensive deal.
Bills LB Tyler Matakevich: One-year extension. Buffalo gave their special teams ace a one-year extension through the 2022 season, which lowered his 2021 cap number to $2.95MM from $3.7MM, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweets. His base salary for 2021 is now fully guaranteed. He’ll count for $3.25MM against the 2022 cap, but there will only be $750K in dead money if he’s released.
Texans CB Tavierre Thomas: Two-years, $4MM. We now have details on this contract, as Thomas will be getting $2MM in guaranteed money, Wilson tweets. Not bad for a player who prior to 2020 was mostly a special teams guy. He ended up playing almost 20 percent of the defensive snaps for the Browns last year as they dealt with injuries in their secondary. He got a $1MM signing bonus, a $1MM guaranteed salary for 2021, and a non-guaranteed $1.5MM salary for 2022 with $250K in per game active roster bonuses for each season.
Bears CB Artie Burns: One-year, $990K. The financial terms on this one were previously not reported, and it turns out the former first-round pick only got the veteran’s minimum from Chicago, Wilson tweets. The 25th pick of the 2016 draft by the Steelers got over $1MM to sign with the Bears last offseason, but then tore his ACL in August before playing a down for the team.

Latest On Tom Brady Knee Injury

April 4th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

When it was revealed in February that Tom Brady was undergoing knee surgery for an injury that would keep him sidelined from team activities until at least June, it understandably raised some eyebrows.

A 43-year-old quarterback getting knee surgery that will knock him out for a handful of months is significant no matter what. But fortunately, it sounds like everything is going well with Brady’s recovery. “I talked to him last week,” Bucs GM Jason Licht said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “I know things are going well. I don’t want to put an exact timeline on it right now because I don’t want to set expectations one way or the other, but I know that things are going very well.”

The injury also apparently wasn’t out of left field for the team, and the procedure had been planned for a while. Brady had been planning on having the surgery for months, and the news was “not a surprise” to the Bucs, a source told Laine.

Licht also called it a “minor surgical procedure” although it can’t really be that minor if Bruce Arians was saying back in February that he was hopeful Brady could do some 7-on-7 work in June. Obviously if there’s anyone who doesn’t need much offseason time it’s Brady, but this will still be something to monitor as the ageless wonder gets set to turn 44 in August.

NFC West Notes: Fitzgerald, Stafford, Everett

April 4th, 2021 at 5:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

When the Cardinals signed A.J. Green last month, all eyes turned to Larry Fitzgerald and his place on the team. Although the legendary receiver hasn’t made his intentions known just yet, it appears he’s headed in the direction of hanging up his cleats. “Execs anticipate” that Fitzgerald, who is unsigned for 2021, is going to retire, Mike Sando of The Athletic writes. This stops short of being a full-on report, but it certainly sounds like that’s the way things are trending.

With Green now in the fold alongside the returning DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk, the Cardinals’ receiving room would be pretty crowded if Fitz wanted to give it one last go. The surefire future Hall of Famer played in 13 games for Arizona last year, racking up 54 catches for 409 yards and a touchdown. It was easily the lowest output of his decorated 17-year career. We should know more soon, but unfortunately it seems likely we’ve seen the Pittsburgh product play his final down.

Here’s more from around the NFC West on a quiet Sunday afternoon:

Matthew Stafford was banged up a lot during his last season with the Lions, and he just had a procedure to address one of those lingering injuries. The new Rams quarterback had surgery on the thumb of his throwing hand last month, a source told Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Fortunately, Rodrigue reports it was just a simple cleanup and Stafford isn’t expected to miss any real practice time. Stafford said back in February that he had partially torn the UCL in his right thumb. Despite dealing with a slew of significant health issues, he didn’t miss a start last season.
The Seahawks signed away tight end Gerald Everett from the Rams in free agency, and it turns out a prior poaching played a large role in that. Seattle hired former Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron to be their new OC after firing Brian Schottenheimer, and Waldron played a role in delivering Everett. “Shane is a mastermind,” Everett said, via John Boyle of the team’s official site. “He’s very creative, and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do in Seattle… When Shane went to Seattle, obviously the idea was there, it lingered in my head.” Everett was a second-round pick of Los Angeles in 2017, and although he never put up huge numbers in Rams offenses that had a lot of mouths to feed, he flashed a lot of potential. “Yes, he was a factor in my decision to come to Seattle,” Everett said of Waldron. The Seahawks gave him a one-year, $7MM deal in March.
In case you missed it, the 49ers are asking for a first-round pick in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo.

NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Florida TE Kyle Pitts

April 4th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by Zachary Links

Kyle Pitts began his high school career as a quarterback. At his Pro Day last week, he measured in with the wingspan of an offensive lineman and ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash like a wide receiver. Needless to say, the 6’6″ tight end is going to hear his name called early in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Pitts put himself on the NFL radar with 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore. Then, last year, he took his game to a whole ‘nother level. In 13 games, he reeled in 43 receptions for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns. That was good for a 17.9 yards per catch average — a major leap from his previous 12.0 ypc. Pitts even placed as a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff award, which goes to the top wide receiver in football.

The Florida product profiles as a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Pitts is too fast for most linebackers and he’ll likely outstretch most cornerbacks on deep routes. His aforementioned 40-yard-dash time will only boost his stock further — most evaluators expected him to land somewhere in the high 4.5 range, which still would have been impressive for a player of his size.

On the flipside, there are questions about Pitts’ blocking ability, but he could improve in both of those areas over time. At 245 pounds, there’s ample room for Pitts to bulk up, and his 83-inch wingspan provides a solid base for pass and lead blocking.

In terms of pure talent, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah ranks Pitts as the second-best prospect in this year’s class, behind only Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. LSU’s JaMarr Chase — who captured the Biletikoff trophy as a sophomore in 2019 — sits behind him at No. 3. So, where will Pitts land? The Florida product says that the Falcons have been showing interest in him and they’d be well within range with the No. 4 overall choice.

“They were saying that they have interest in me,” Pitts said. “After today, we’ll get on another Zoom and they’ll try to learn more about myself. I feel like they are pretty interested.”

It’s been decades since a TE went in the top five. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Vernon Davis came close, but they were taken No. 6 overall in 2004 and 2006, respectively. A few weeks ago, the Falcons were expected to target a quarterback. Now, in the wake of the 49ers’ move up to No. 3, they may have to go in another direction. Pitts could very well be the pick, forming an impressive 1-2 TE combo with Hayden Hurst.

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