2021 July - Pro Football Rumors

Month: September 2024

WFT Prez Confirms New Team Name Coming In 2022

July 10th, 2021 at 3:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Next year loomed as the point when the Washington Football Team would unveil its new identity. Team president Jason Wright has now confirmed this timeline.

A new team name and logo is on the team’s agenda for 2022, Wright said (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). Wright said the team’s burgundy and gold color scheme will remain. So, the WFT identity — which emerged after the franchise ditched its “Redskins” moniker amid sponsor pressure last year — is set to have a two-season shelf life.

In addition to hiring a branding organization that has conducted surveys and focus groups on this topic, the franchise launched a website in February (Washingtonjourney.com) giving fans the opportunity to submit name suggestions. Around 40,000 submissions have arrived, according to Jhabvala.

The franchise will transition to its fifth identity — going from the Boston Braves (1932) to the Boston Redskins (1933-36) to the Washington Redskins (1937-2019) to its WFT moniker (2020-) — in less than a year, with Wright adding the new era will begin in early 2022.

Josh Allen Open To Bills-Friendly Deal Structure?

July 10th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The three most recent monster quarterback extensions broke down into two categories. Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson agreed on shorter-term, value-maximizing deals; Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year extension that reached unprecedented total value but aided the Chiefs in structure. Josh Allen may be willing to take the latter route.

An Allen-Bills deal has hovered on the NFL radar since second-place MVP finisher became extension-eligible in January, and some buzz has emerged indicating Allen might be open to working with the Bills on a friendlier extension structure, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (video link). This does not mean a discount, Fowler adds, but a contract structure that would help the Bills more than a traditional quarterback contract would.

Of the three quarterbacks who have landed on the extension radar this offseason — Allen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield — Allen is coming off the best season and may have the most incentive to sign a deal this year. Allen did not start his career as well as Jackson or Mayfield, but he has steadily improved — leading up to a dominant 2020 showing.

In April, it did not sound like the Bills and their franchise QB were close on a deal. But Sean McDermott expressed confidence recently while praising the Wyoming product’s fit in western New York.

“Josh and I have spoken,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said in April. “We’d love to get Josh extended, but it has to be a number that works for him and us. We’re all on same page. Josh wants to be here. That gives me hope we’ll get something done at some point. Can’t guarantee it’ll be this year.”

Thanks to picking up Allen’s fifth-year option, Buffalo has him signed through 2022. This will allow the Bills to take a slightly firmer stance in negotiations, even as the salary cap is set to rise to nearly $210MM next year. Allen, 25, battled inconsistency in 2018 and ’19 but led the Bills to a 13-3 season and their first AFC championship game in 27 years. The cannon-armed passer agreeing to a Bills-friendly structure would help Beane and McDermott keep the team on this level.

Mahomes’ 10-year, $450MM contract came in the same offseason in which the Chiefs extended Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones. The Chiefs have since restructured Mahomes’ deal, dropping his 2021 base salary to $990K, and the through-2031 contract will provide the team more flexibility than the Prescott’s four-year, $160MM extension will give the Cowboys. Allen agreeing to a 10-year extension would be surprising, but he and the Bills finding a structural middle ground would certainly be an interesting development for the quarterback market.

Latest On Bears RB Tarik Cohen’s ACL Recovery

July 10th, 2021 at 12:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Bears running back Tarik Cohen missed most of the 2020 campaign after suffering a torn ACL, and it sounds like the veteran still hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. Per Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com, Cohen is a candidate to open training camp on the PUP, and the delayed start to his preseason could impact his availability for the beginning of the regular season.

The 2017 fourth-round pick has spent his entire career in Chicago. This included a 2018 campaign where he finished with 1,169 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns, although it was his returning prowess (a league-leading 411 punt return yards) that earned him both an All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod. Cohen started a career-high 11 games in 2019, but he was limited to a (then) career-low 669 yards from scrimmage.

The 25-year-old didn’t start any of the Bears’ first three games of the 2020 season, with the running back collecting only 115 offensive yards. He suffered his ACL injury in Week 3 and was subsequently placed on IR.

Cohen is still an important part of the Bears’ offense, and if the team wants to make noise in the NFC, they’ll surely want one of their top skill players to be healthy. Further, the team also has some financial reasons for wanting Cohen on the field; it’s been less than a year since he signed a three-year, $17.25MM extension that will kick in this season.

Fortunately for the Bears, the team does have some depth to overcome a hypothetical Cohen absence. David Montgomery is still sitting atop the depth chart, and the team also added veteran free agent Damien Williams this past offseason. The team is also rostering the likes of Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce, and rookies Khalil Herbert and CJ Marable.

Titans OL Nate Davis Could Get $11MM+ On Next Contract

July 10th, 2021 at 11:43am CST by Ben Levine

The Titans’ offensive line has received its fair share of credit for the team’s dynamic running game over the past few years. One of the more unheralded members of that line, offensive guard Nate Davis, could be eyeing a significant contract once his rookie pact expires. As Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com writes, Davis is quickly transforming into one of the NFL’s top offensive guards, and “industry insiders believe he will get paid like it with another stellar year.”

The 2019 third-round pick out of Charlotte has spent his entire two-year career with Tennessee. After starting 12 of his 13 games as a rookie (plus another three starts in the postseason), Davis started all 16 games for the Titans in 2020, playing in each of the team’s 1,074 offensive snaps. Pro Football Focus graded the 24-year-old as one of the better offensive guards in the NFL, and another strong performance in 2021 should allow him to cash in on a potential extension.

As Beasley notes, Davis has had the opportunity to learn from a number of veterans during his short stint in Tennessee, including Taylor Lewan, Rodger Saffold, and Ben Jones. Couple that guidance with Davis’s intangibles (including a top-notch work ethic), and it shouldn’t be a surprise that the lineman has continued to improve in each of his two NFL seasons, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he takes another leap in year three.

So how much could Davis ask for on his next contract? Per Beasley, league insiders believe the player can command a deal that pays him as one of the top offensive guards in the NFL, with the writer citing Brandon Brooks ($14.1MM AAV), Zack Martin ($14MM AAV), Andrus Peat ($11.5MM AAV), and Saffold ($11MM AAV). The Titans are going to be in a bit of a cap bind going forward, so the organization may have to get creative if they want to retain Davis beyond the 2022 season.

This Date In Transactions History: Chiefs Promote Brett Veach To GM

July 10th, 2021 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

Brett Veach made his way through the coaching and front office ranks before hitting the pinnacle of his career on this date four years ago. On July 10, 2017, the Chiefs promoted the executive to the role of general manager.

Veach undoubtedly had the resume to lead the front office; after a few years as an Eagles coach and scout, he took the role of pro and college personnel analyst in Kansas City before getting promoted to Co-Director of Player Personnel, a position he held for two seasons. While the executive was certainly qualified to be GM, he also needed a bit of luck to get the job in the first place.

For starters, the Chiefs surprised the NFL world when they fired previous GM John Dorsey so late in the offseason. Dorsey had already guided the organization through much of their offseason tasks, including the draft (where they team traded up to select Patrick Mahomes) and extensions (where they handed Eric Berry a sizable pay day). Some pundits second-guessed the organization’s decision to not pivot away from Dorsey earlier in the offseason, especially since his heir apparent, Chris Ballard, had taken the Colts GM gig only months before. Ultimately, it sounds like Dorsey’s inability to effectively communicate and manage his staff (coupled with some questionable salary cap moves) spelled his demise in Kansas City. Rather than waiting another year to make a GM change, the organization decided to make their move at the end of June.

So, Veach took control of a roster that had lost in the Divisional Round in each of the past two seasons (despite averaging 11.5 wins per year during that span). After a 10-win 2017 campaign that saw Kansas City lose in the Wild Card Round, the GM made perhaps the most significant decision of his tenure. The Chiefs traded veteran Alex Smith to Washington, thus making Mahomes the full-time starter.

How has that worked out for the Chiefs? Well, Mahomes’ accolades are well-documented, but the team has also had plenty of on-field success. The team won 12 games and made it to the AFC Championship Game during Mahomes’ first season at the helm, they finally won that elusive Super Bowl during the 2019 campaign, and they made their second-straight Super Bowl appearance in 2020 (where they ultimately lost to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers).

Many fans want to give Mahomes credit for the Chiefs ascension into one of the best teams in football (rightfully so), and many pundits look back at Dorsey’s transactions and give him credit for forming the team’s core (also rightfully so). However, Veach has done a remarkable job of nurturing his roster by re-signing big names, taking shots on embattled or unheralded players, and making shrewd moves in both the draft and free agency. Signing Tyrann Mathieu to a three-year, $42MM deal was one of the GM’s best free agent acquisitions, and he’s also brought in contributors like Sammy Watkins and Bashaud Breeland via free agency, Frank Clark and Emmanuel Ogbah via trade, and Juan Thornhill and L’Jarius Sneed via the draft. The GM has also shown an ability to identify weaknesses and fix them. Kansas City’s offensive line dealt with a long list of issues in 2020, and Veach worked to revamp the unit by signing Joe Thuney to a five-year, $80MM deal and trading for Orlando Brown.

Perhaps most importantly, Veach has made sure that the team’s best players will continue to wear Chiefs uniforms. In 2020 alone, the general manager extended tight end Travis Kelce (four years, $57.3MM), defensive tackle Chris Jones (four years, $80MM), and Mahomes (a massive, unprecedented 10-year deal worth $450MM.

Clearly, the organization has valued what the GM has done. In 2020, the Chiefs gave Veach (along with head coach Andy Reid) a six-year extension.

Sure, you can question whether Veach deserves full credit for the Chiefs’ recent success, and it’s also fair to ask if he lucked his way into his position in the first place. However, plenty of replacements could have just as easily bungled the team’s roster over the past few years. Instead, Veach has helped elevate the team into a perennial contender.

Fitz Remains Undecided On Playing An 18th Season

July 9th, 2021 at 9:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals, the national media has descended upon the Cardinals’ home turf. The franchise’s most famous Arizona-era player made himself available for a status update Friday but offered little on this front.

During an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (via Pro Football Talk), Larry Fitzgerald said he has not made a decision on retiring or playing an 18th NFL season. He has been a free agent since March.

“I haven’t decided anything,” Fitzgerald said. “Training camp starts in a few weeks. I’m excited. It’s going to be another great year for the NFL.”

The future Hall of Fame wide receiver’s phrasing here is interesting, but he has yet to publicly commit either way. At the American Century Classic celebrity golf tournament Saturday, Fitzgerald added that he has stayed in shape for a possible return (h/t Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). So the door still appears to be open here.

The Cardinals may have made Fitz’s decision — at least regarding a return to the team — for him. With Fitz undecided in March and April, the Cards signed A.J. Green and drafted Rondale Moore in the second round. They will team with DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk.

Fitzgerald has taken a year-to-year approach with his career since 2016, but the latest he previously decided on returning was late January (in 2019). Going into mid-July with the same uncertain stance he had in February is not a great sign for the soon-to-be 38-year-old star’s prospects of playing in 2021. In each season since 2016, Fitzgerald has made $11MM in salary. His numbers from 2020 — 54 catches, 409 yards, one touchdown reception — and the juncture of the calendar would require him to sign for substantially less.

Although Fitzgerald has said in the past he would only play for the Cardinals, it will be interesting to see if he would entertain a return elsewhere — potentially if a contender loses a key target in training camp — now that the Cards added multiple key receiver reinforcements. Jerry Rice and fellow Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner are the only wideouts to play at least 18 seasons. Joiner played 18; Rice played 20.

The expectation around the league in April pointed to Fitz retiring, and while that would make sense, the NFL’s second-leading all-time pass catcher continues to keep fans in suspense about his choice.

Chiefs DE Frank Clark Facing Felony Charge

July 9th, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

5:16pm: Friday’s felony charge is actually in connection with Clark’s March arrest, not the Uzi incident in June, according to the Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope. With a subsequent charge potentially coming for the more publicized June arrest, the Pro Bowl defender’s off-field issues are piling up. He will be arraigned July 14. As for Clark’s second 2021 arrest, Teope notes authorities are still investigating that matter.

5:06pm: Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark is now facing a felony charge — possession of an assault weapon — in connection with his June 20 arrest, according to TMZ.

Police arrested Clark during a traffic stop in Los Angeles, when they found an Uzi in an open duffle bag in the vehicle. The 28-year-old pass rusher faces three years in prison and, on the much lighter end of the spectrum, a suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Clark is also a candidate for the Commissioner’s Exempt List (paid leave). The two-time Pro Bowler has claimed the gun did not belong to him but rather a member of his security team.

Clark, however, was also arrested on a gun charge — possession of a concealed firearm — March 13 in L.A. A traffic stop that night led to police finding two loaded firearms — a rifle and a handgun — in the vehicle. That case remains open, Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell reports.

At the least, Clark is facing the prospect of missing a sizable chunk of the 2021 season. The six-year veteran entered the NFL with a significant legal issue in his past. Misdemeanor domestic violence and assault charges led to Michigan dismissing him from the team in 2014. A plea deal led to those charges being reduced to persistent disorderly conduct, and because the incident occurred before Clark entered the NFL, he did not face a suspension under the league’s personal conduct policy.

The Chiefs, who acquired Clark from the Seahawks in April 2019, will certainly be lacking at the edge rusher spot if he is placed on paid leave and/or suspended. He is set to earn $18.5MM in base salary this season and is currently tied to a Chiefs-most $25.8MM cap hit.

Chris Godwin, Buccaneers Not Close To Deal

July 9th, 2021 at 4:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a historically aggressive free agent retention effort, the Buccaneers have all 22 starters and their main off-the-bench contributors back for their Super Bowl title defense. They will face a deadline with one member of that free agent group in less than a week.

One of seven players remaining on a franchise tag, Chris Godwin may be on the verge of playing the 2021 season for the tag price. As of Friday, the Bucs and Godwin are not close to an extension agreement, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The sides have until 3pm CT July 15 to finalize a deal. Given the team’s actions this offseason, it would not surprise to see a deal come together near the deadline. But some questions remain.

The Bucs opted to cuff Godwin with their 2021 tag, letting 2020 tag recipient Shaquil Barrett reach the free agency doorstep before extending him. Tampa Bay did not extend Barrett at last year’s deadline. Many teams followed suit, given the uncertainty with the 2021 salary cap at that point. The 2022 cap is expected to balloon past $200MM for the first time. The $208MM ceiling will create interesting opportunities, after this year’s record cap reduction to $182.5MM, and may lead to this year’s franchise-tagged players’ asking prices rising.

Godwin, 25, is also in an interesting position on his own team. The Bucs took care of all their free agents this offseason, venturing into the void-year realm to ensure their core returned in its entirety. But Mike Evans is still playing on a 2018 extension, worth $16.5MM per year. A receiver market-topping deal at the time, Evans’ pact now ranks 11th among wideouts in AAV. Godwin’s tag is worth $15.9MM, but the Pro Bowl receiver is likely shooting for a deal in the WR1 range. As a tag recipient, such an approach makes sense.

Presently holding less than $500K in cap space — last in the league — the Bucs will need to create some room to re-up Godwin. The defending champs showed earlier this year they are now willing to move money into future years to re-sign key players. It will be interesting to see how they navigate the final stages of the Godwin negotiations. No deal by Thursday will mean a near-$16MM cap hold and Godwin’s tag price rising in 2022.

The former third-round pick has just one 1,000-yard season on his resume, but the Bucs did not make him a full-time player until they traded DeSean Jackson after the 2018 season. Godwin blew up for 1,333 yards and nine touchdown receptions in 2019. Although he encountered multiple injuries last season, the Penn State product still surpassed 800 yards and remains an essential part of Tampa Bay’s loaded skill-position corps.

Mark Ingram Could Be ‘Odd Man Out’ W/ Texans RBs?

July 9th, 2021 at 3:30pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Mark Ingram signed a one-year deal worth “up to” $3MM with the Texans back in March, but he’s apparently not guaranteed to make the team.

Houston has been busy beefing up their running backs room, and they just signed Rex Burkhead last month. It’s now “unlikely” that the team will keep all of Ingram, Burkhead, David Johnson, and Phillip Lindsay, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com writes. Since she notes the Texans just restructured Johnson’s contract this offseason which gave him more guaranteed money for 2021, Barshop says he’ll “probably make the team”

That could make Ingram the “odd man out.” Ingram got a $500K signing bonus from Houston, but it sounds like they might end up eating that. Lindsay is only 26 and has shown plenty of flashes with the Broncos, so his spot on a rebuilding team that needs younger guys should be assured.

That likely means Ingram and Burkhead will be battling it out for one roster spot, so either way it seems as if one well-known veteran will be getting the axe. Ingram will turn 32 in December and had a down year last season, but was a Pro Bowler as recently as 2019.

He spent the first eight years of his career with the Saints before ending up in Baltimore for the last two. Burkhead turned 31 last week and spent the past four seasons in a part-time role with the Patriots.

Allen Robinson, Bears ‘Unlikely’ To Agree On Extension Before Deadline

July 9th, 2021 at 1:57pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals is rapidly approaching, with next Thursday July 15th being the cut-off.

There are seven tagged players left without contracts, and it sounds like it’s safe to say at least one of them won’t be getting one. The Bears and star receiver Allen Robinson have had “no substantive talks” in recent months, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. Pelissero added that it “seems unlikely a long-term deal will get done.”

Speaking a couple of weeks ago Robinson didn’t sound overly optimistic, saying “we’ll see” about the possibility of an agreement, so this isn’t too shocking. The two sides have been at a stalemate for most of the past year, outside of last September when it briefly looked like things were headed in the right direction.

Things quickly soured again, and there were reports that Chicago might look to trade him this offseason. It appears he will play for the Bears in 2021, but without any long-term guarantees. The Penn State product did show up for last month’s mandatory minicamp, so he isn’t too disgruntled.

Perhaps the $17.9MM he’s set to earn this season is keeping him from getting too negative. Robinson has been the lone bright spot on a struggling Bears offense the past couple seasons, and should put up big numbers once again whether it’s Justin Fields or Andy Dalton throwing him the ball. He had 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns in 2020,.

Load More Posts