HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Latest On Jamal Adams’ Seahawks Deal

August 17th, 2021 at 6:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

More than 18 months after becoming eligible for an extension, Jamal Adams finally signed one. After initially balking at the Seahawks’ four-year, $70MM offer, the All-Pro safety agreed to terms and began practicing for the first time since January.

Adams’ $17.5MM-per-year deal both makes him the NFL’s highest-paid safety by more than $2MM annually and keeps Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defensive player, which the team wanted. More information has come out on Adams’ extension, which ended months-long negotiations and stopped this saga from heading toward a franchise tag.

The Seahawks threatened to rescind their offer to Adams if he did not take it now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. While the team did not threaten discipline for Adams holding in and skipping drills, some hardball took place. But the historically effective blitzer has his long-term deal, with Florio adding some unspecified “cosmetics” are also included, and is signed through 2025.

After news of the 25-year-old defender’s brief stalemate surfaced, a conversation with his mother late Monday night appears to have accelerated his timetable.

“I wasn’t not going to take the contract,” Adams said, via PFT’s Charean Williams. “Where I’m from, we’re definitely taking that, man. Mom called. She called twice, and when mom called, and she told me I needed to take the contract. It was a no-brainer. Mama knows best.”

Adams’ extension includes just $21MM guaranteed at signing, but that figure bumps up to $35.44MM five days after Super Bowl LVI, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (Twitter links). With the Seahawks almost certainly not bailing on this contract by then, Adams’ effective full guarantee leads all safeties.

While the safety market hit an interesting lull in 2018, a bevy of deals in the $14MM AAV neighborhood from 2019-20 restored it. Justin Simmons‘ second franchise tag led to the Broncos Pro Bowl defender moving the market north of $15MM on average earlier this year, and Adams has taken it to a new place. The Seahawks can now move on to their Duane Brown issue, though the team does not exactly want to hand its soon-to-be 36-year-old left tackle a new contract this year.

Giants Open To Saquon Barkley Extension During Season

August 17th, 2021 at 6:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dave Gettleman has come around on the prospect of a Saquon Barkley extension in 2021. The fourth-year Giants GM is now open to the prospect of hammering out a deal with the fourth-year running back during the season.

Barkley became eligible for a new deal in January, but his knee rehab has obviously clouded such prospects. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year, however, continues to progress back to full strength. Should the 24-year-old back show his previous form, he would obviously make sense as an extension candidate.

“I think that it depends upon the guy. I think it depends on where the team is at. I used to feel like it was a bad idea, but not so much [now],” Gettleman said of in-season extensions, via the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. “Have I changed my idea on that? Yes. I’m a lot more flexible on that.”

[RELATED: Barkley Not Focused On Next Contract] 

John Mara said in March the Giants were not in any hurry to extend Barkley, though the owner added he wanted the talented back to be a Giant for life. Barkley produced one of the best rookie seasons by a ball carrier in NFL history three years ago but suffered a high ankle sprain in 2019 and saw his September 2020 knee injury (ACL and MCL tears, with meniscus damage) stall his career. But Barkley came off the active/PUP list last week and went through his first seven-on-seven session Tuesday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic notes. While Barkley is not slated to participate in team drills during the Giants’ joint practices with the Browns, the team’s cautious plan with its lead back is thus far working.

“You need to see him back on the field producing, which we expect that to be the case. Our medical people feel very good about where he’s at right now,” Mara said. “I like what I’ve seen from him out on the field. Hopefully [an extension] will be an easy decision for us as well.”

Given his health history and the nature of the running back position, Barkley may want to lock in high-end money as soon as possible. Ezekiel Elliott, Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon and now Nick Chubb received extensions before their fourth seasons. Derrick Henry and Aaron Jones each signed after their fourth years. This group formed a new running back market, with average salaries ranging from $12-$16MM. And it appears the Giants are OK with Barkley joining this club in-season, provided he shows enough early in the campaign. Of course, Barkley completing a bounce-back year would set him up to potentially sign a market-topping extension in 2022. McCaffrey’s $16MM-per-year deal still leads the pack.

The Giants picking the Penn State product second overall would naturally make them eager to lock in a long-term partnership, and the cap being set to spike toward $210MM next year bodes well for extension candidates. Barkley is set to make just $850K in base salary this season, and his fifth-year option came in at only $7.22MM.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/21

August 17th, 2021 at 5:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Tuesday afternoon marked the deadline for teams to cut down from 90 to 85 players. We’ll keep track of those cuts and the day’s other minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Jeff Badet

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Saints To Sign WR Kevin White

August 17th, 2021 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after the 49ers cut Kevin White, the former top-10 pick found a new home. The Saints are signing the veteran wide receiver, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

White participated in a Saints workout Tuesday, joining fellow wideouts Bennie Fowler, Devin White and Malachi Dupre. Reeling at wide receiver, New Orleans will give White another opportunity.

The West Virginia product played in three 49ers games last season but has not made a regular-season reception since 2018. White, 28, battled injuries throughout his Bears tenure and later caught on with the Cardinals and 49ers. San Francisco cut White last week. Despite their injury issues at wideout, the Saints will give one of the NFL’s most injury-prone players a chance to help fill this void.

New Orleans is expected to be without Michael Thomas for months, and would-be starter Tre’Quan Smith just returned to practice Tuesday after missing two weeks due to a leg injury. The Saints released Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and did not heavily address the receiver position in the draft, which has helped put former UDFA Marquez Callaway in a strong position to contribute this season.

Lions Release LS Don Muhlbach

August 17th, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions will cut ties with the second-longest-tenured player in their history. They released long snapper Don Muhlbach on Tuesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will end an 18-season partnership.

First-year Lions HC Dan Campbell, Muhlbach’s teammate from 2006-08, described this as a difficult decision — one that occurs on the long snapper’s 40th birthday. It will halt the specialist’s run of Lions work at 260 games. Muhlbach, whose birthday happened to fall on the date NFL teams had to pare their rosters down to 85 players, had not missed a game since the 2009 season.

Muhlbach is a two-time Pro Bowler who had signed a series of one-year contracts to stay with in Detroit. The Lions’ new regime signed off on another Muhlbach one-year deal in March, but the Campbell- and Brad Holmes-led team will go in a different direction at this position.

Muhlbach’s 260 games with the Lions ranks in the top 10 all time for contests played with a single franchise. His ex-teammate, kicker Jason Hanson, played the most games with one team in NFL history — 327, from 1992-2012. Campbell played with both Muhlbach and Hanson,

Rob Gronkowski Not Certain To Play Beyond 2021

August 17th, 2021 at 4:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rob Gronkowski extended his unretirement to a second season, re-signing with the Buccaneers in March. The decorated tight end was one of several veterans to re-up with the defending Super Bowl champions, who are favored to return to the NFL’s biggest stage this season.

But Gronk is not guaranteeing anything beyond this year. The future Hall of Famer described his status as “year to year, 100%,” according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

Although Tom Brady is planning to return for his age-45 season in 2022, barring an unforeseen development, Gronkowski has previously shown the quarterback’s status does not necessarily pertain to his. Though, the legendary quarterback certainly has some say in how his favorite target proceeds. Gronk retired after the 2018 season, and the Patriots’ passing attack suffered. He unretired to rejoin Brady in Tampa last season. This partnership helped the Bucs snap their lengthy playoff drought and win Super Bowl LV, with Gronk catching two touchdown passes in that game.

The Bucs have both Gronkowski and O.J. Howard in contract years, with Cameron Brate still on the roster as well. The Bills showed interest in Gronk, but there did not appear to be much doubt about his return to the Bucs. The 31-year-old pass catcher signed a one-year, $8MM deal; the contract is fully guaranteed.

Dolphins Place WR Allen Hurns On IR

August 17th, 2021 at 4:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Months away from his 30th birthday, Allen Hurns now faces the prospect of missing consecutive full seasons. After the veteran wide receiver suffered a wrist injury recently, the Dolphins placed him on IR Tuesday.

This transaction may well precede an injury settlement, which would send Hurns to free agency. The Dolphins, however, kept the former Jaguars starter this offseason — one that saw many teams simply cut role players who opted out in 2020 — rather than part ways early. Regardless, Hurns cannot play for the Dolphins this season because of this IR move.

The Dolphins revamped their receiving corps this spring, signing Will Fuller and using the No. 6 overall pick on Jaylen Waddle. Hurns and Albert Wilson‘s absences hurt last year’s Miami squad, but Wilson had impressed in this year’s training camp and is on the way back to the Dolphins’ active roster. Despite Miami extending Hurns late in the 2019 season, he may be on his way out of town.

Hurns’ wrist injury is set to sideline him for a few months, which could mean he ends up missing two straight full seasons. That will put the ex-Allen Robinson Jacksonville sidekick’s career in jeopardy, given his age. As a Parker supporting caster in 2019, Hurns caught 32 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns. He did so after a scary injury in a Cowboys-Seahawks wild-card game the previous January, so Hurns has experience surmounting significant injuries and catching on elsewhere. The former UDFA has not come close to matching his 1,000-yard season from 2015, but a few teams have sought him as a veteran contributor.

In other moves to trim their roster to 85 players Tuesday, the Dolphins waived offensive tackles Jonathan Hubbard and Timon Parris, defensive tackle Jerome Johnson and guard Tyler Marz. They also cut cornerback Jaytlin Askew with an injury designation.

49ers To Waive QB Josh Rosen

August 17th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Josh Rosen is on the move again. The former top-10 pick ended up lasting through just one preseason game in San Francisco, with the 49ers opting to cut him Tuesday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Rosen has since cleared waivers, moving into free agency.

The 49ers poached the UCLA alum off the Buccaneers’ practice squad late last season, but signs this relationship was not prospering emerged recently. Kyle Shanahan said Rosen was not impressing in practice, and the once-coveted quarterback prospect noted that he was not seeing much time at 49ers workouts in the first place. Rosen did not impress in the 49ers’ preseason opener against the Chiefs.

While the 49ers were open to keeping both Rosen and third-string QB competitor Nate Sudfeld, with the loser being stashed on the team’s practice squad, Rosen being cut this early points to him needing to find a new home. The young passer has already been with four teams despite being drafted just three years ago.

The Cardinals, Dolphins, Bucs and 49ers have now punted on Rosen. Only the Cards received value for doing so, with the Dolphins sending them a second-round pick in the teams’ 2019 trade. The Dolphins waived Rosen ahead of the 2020 season, leading him to the Bucs’ practice squad. The Bucs did not opt to move the pocket passer onto their roster to stop the 49ers from adding him to theirs. Now, the 49ers have seen enough, inviting questions about Rosen’s future in the NFL.

Sudfeld, a longtime Eagles third- or second-string QB, is now in line to serve as the 49ers’ third-stringer behind Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. Neither Sudfeld nor Rosen received any 11-on-11 reps in this week’s practices, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic (on Twitter). Having played just one full college season, Lance will certainly need as much practice work as possible as he transitions to the pros.

Eagles Waive RB Kerryon Johnson

August 17th, 2021 at 3:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kerryon Johnson has hit a career crossroads. The Eagles became the second team to waive the former second-round pick, doing so with an injury designation on Tuesday, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

The veteran running back suffered a knee injury in practice, Tim McManus of ESPN.com tweets. This sidetracked a possible role behind Miles Sanders. If Johnson clears waivers, he will revert to Philadelphia’s IR list. That taking place usually precedes an injury settlement, which would send the ex-Lions Round 2 draft choice to free agency.

The Eagles stopped Johnson from hitting free agency in early May, beating the Dolphins to the punch with a waiver claim. Johnson then agreed to a pay cut. While the Dolphins could still loom, with their running back room not oozing depth, the severity of Johnson’s knee malady will determine how soon another team gives him a shot.

One of several Lions second-round running back picks in the 2010s, Johnson flashed as a rookie by averaging 5.4 yards per carry and totaling 854 from scrimmage in 10 games. The first of his knee injuries stalled that momentum. Nothing the Auburn product has shown since has lived up to that rookie-year performance, leading the Lions to draft D’Andre Swift in last year’s second round and sign Jamaal Williams this year. Boston Scott remains Sanders’ top backup in Philly, with the team also rostering Jordan Howard and drafting Kenneth Gainwell in the fifth round.

In moving their roster down to the 85-man limit by the Tuesday deadline, the Eagles also waived tackle Casey Tucker and cut center Luke Juriga with an injury designation.

Giants Trade Isaac Yiadom To Packers

August 17th, 2021 at 1:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have agreed to trade Isaac Yiadom to the Packers in exchange for fellow corner Josh Jackson (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com).

Yiadom, 25, has now been traded twice inside of one year. The Giants acquired him from the Broncos in 2020 and went on to start him in ten games. He finished out the year with 46 stops, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, and a half of a sack. After the season, he agreed to a pay cut for 2021 — he’s now set to make $1.07MM this year instead of a non-guaranteed $2.15MM.

Jackson, also 25, was widely projected to be a mid-to-late first rounder in 2018. Instead, the Big Ten defensive back of the year slipped to the middle of the second round, where the Packers pounced on him at No. 45. He’s yet to break out as a pro, however. After starting in more than half of his games as a rookie, Jackson was first-string for only five contests between 2019 and 2020. Now, on the cusp of his walk year, he’ll have a chance to prove himself in New York.

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