HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

49ers, LB Dre Greenlaw Agree To Extension

September 19th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

Prior to the 49ers’ game yesterday, the team finalized an extension with one of their ascending defenders. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw has signed a two-year extension worth nearly $19MM, and with $10MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network). 

[RELATED: 49ers QB Lance To Undergo Season-Ending Ankle Surgery]

The 2019 fifth-rounder quickly emerged as a starter during his first two seasons in the Bay Area. He racked up 178 tackles, two sacks, three pass breakups and an interception over that span. His production made him an effective compliment to Fred Warner in the team’s linebacking corps, and led to heightened expectations going into last season.

A groin injury suffered in Week 1 required surgery and limited Greenlaw to just three games, however. Back to full health now, the 25-year-old has played every defensive snap in each of the team’s first two contests, making 13 stops and two tackles for loss. That bodes well for his prospects in 2022, and made the team’s decision to extend him a logical one.

Greenlaw will play out the final year of his rookie contract this season. Once the extension kicks in, his roughly $9.5MM AAV will rank in the top 15 in the league amongst middle linebackers. It will add significantly to San Francisco’s second-level investment, of course, with Warner already averaging just over $19MM per season on his 2021 mega-deal.

Greenlaw and the 49ers’ vaunted front seven will look to build off of their dominant performance yesterday and try to stabilize the team as it transitions back to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the rest of the year. Regardless of how smoothly that goes, Greenlaw will be on the books through 2024.

49ers QB Trey Lance Out For Year

September 18th, 2022 at 10:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

6:20pm: The 49ers confirmed in a tweet this evening that Lance “has suffered a broken right ankle and will require season-ending surgery,” according to Shanahan.

5:51pm: It seems the 49ers will have to face the worst-case scenario of today’s injury as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Lance’s ankle injury “is expected to require surgery that likely will end his season.”

San Francisco is fortunate, in the short term, that they held on to Garoppolo who will likely step in to quarterback the 49ers for the remainder of the season. There were whispers around the league that a trade could still be in the books as teams like the Cowboys saw significant blows to the quarterback position.

In the long-term, San Francisco has to have some concerns about the development of its young investment at quarterback. It’s certainly not Lance’s fault, but, if the rumor of his season ending are true, Lance will have gone three years in the NFL without playing any significant, consistent time at quarterback. In a sport that requires constant practice and refinement of skill, this is a disastrous start to what should be a promising career for Lance.

3:36pm: Today marked a significant point in Trey Lance‘s young NFL career. Instead of a bounce-back performance, however, it has resulted in the 49ers quarterback being carted off the field with a leg injury, as the team confirmed. 

Lance will be out for the remainder of the game, per a club announcement. He had an air cast on his right leg before being taken of the field to the locker room. As a result of the injury, Jimmy Garoppolo has taken over behind center for San Francisco.

Lance spent the entire offseason knowing he would take over as the 49ers’ franchise signal-caller. The team traded up to select him third overall in the 2021 draft, so it came as little surprise that they turned their attention to the 22-year-old. Expectations were understandably high, but his limited action in college and as a rookie backing up Garoppolo led to plenty of question marks entering the campaign.

The North Dakota State product did little to quell doubts about his ability to operate as a high-end starter last week. In an upset loss to the Bears, Lance completed just 13-of-28 passes for 164 yards and an interception, adding 54 yards on 13 rushing attempts. Conditions played a major part in each teams’ offensive struggles, of course, but much was thought to be riding on Lance’s performance today against the Seahawks.

It was reported earlier this week that head coach Kyle Shanahan could turn to Garoppolo as early as the team’s next game against the Broncos in the event Lance struggled. Now, he has done so out of sheer necessity. Garoppolo was the source of trade speculation all summer long, but stayed in the Bay Area via a restructured contract. Depending on the length of Lance’s absence, the veteran could once again carry the load for an extended period.

In the immediate future, Garoppolo faces the task of guiding a 49ers offense which, for the second straight contest, does not include All-Pro tight end George Kittle against the Seahawks. Seattle pulled off an upset win over Denver last week, but San Francisco currently leads 13-0. Big-picture implications loom large for the team at the QB position, however.

Titans Without CB Kristian Fulton, Two Others In Week 2

September 18th, 2022 at 9:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Titans have quite the task ahead of them as they’re set to take on the Bills in Buffalo on Monday Night Football tomorrow. Their task just got a bit more challenging as they’ll have to defend quarterback Josh Allen without starting cornerback Kristian Fulton, according to the team’s Week 2 injury report.

After spending most of his rookie season on injured reserve, Fulton established himself as a starter on the Titans’ defense last year, recording two interceptions and 14 passes defensed. Fulton left plenty of room to improve in Year 3, but, after suffering a hamstring injury, Fulton’s improvement will have to wait at least another week.

Without Fulton, the Titans have a few options for who to start opposite rookie second-round pick Roger McCreary, who earned a starting spot with Fulton this offseason. Last year’s first-round pick, Caleb Farley, made his return last week after suffering a torn ACL in Week 6 of last season. Farley was pushing McCreary for the starting job opposite Fulton but McCreary ended up victorious in that position battle. Elijah Molden also pushed for the starting job, but he remains on injured reserve for now. Behind those two, Tennessee will have to employ backups Joshua Kalu, Chris Jackson, and undrafted rookie Tre Avery.

The Titans also listed two key backup players as “out” on the injury report. Dontrell Hilliard was set to back up star running back Derrick Henry, but a hamstring injury will hold him out this week. The report also gave the “out” status for backup offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, who competed for multiple starting jobs on the inside of the line this offseason.

In the absence of Hilliard, Henry will be backed up by rookie fourth-round pick Hassan Haskins and veteran reserve back Trenton Cannon. Without Jones, the Titans still have some strong backup options on the offensive line. Dillon Radunz was in the running for those interior line starting positions this offseason, as well, and Corey Levin and Dennis Daley add to the depth of the position in Tennessee.

Lamar Jackson Rumors: Offers, Market, Agent, Nonexclusive Tag

September 18th, 2022 at 8:41pm CST by Ely Allen

There has been a ton of chatter about what the Ravens should offer to quarterback Lamar Jackson in a potential contract extension and about what Jackson truly deserves. Thanks to an article published last week by Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post, we have been given a bit of a look at what Baltimore did offer its star quarterback and what he’s rejected so far. 

In the article, La Canfora reiterates a point of conversation that has become quite common in the past few weeks: the impasse between team executives and Jackson focuses on guaranteed money, an issue punctuated by the Browns’ unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract extension for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

La Canfora reports that, over a year before the Bills extended quarterback Josh Allen at the price tag of around $43MM per year, Baltimore offered Jackson a deal worth $35MM per year. The two sides were unable to come to an agreement, though, and the contract saga continued on into this past offseason.

Jackson and the Ravens proceeded with negotiations prior to the start of the season, culminating in a significantly increased offer totaling $290MM over six years. The average annual value of $48.33MM would have been good for third in the league behind only Russell Wilson of the Broncos and Aaron Rodgers of the Packers. But, consistent with the point of conversation mentioned above, the two parties were still unable to agree to a new deal due to their difference in views on guaranteed money. The Ravens offered guaranteed money in the range of $160-180MM. It’s a significant offer and commitment, but Jackson has his heart set on the full guarantees that Watson received.

Here are a few other sources of information on the situation that offer unique views to the situation, starting with an argument against the precedent set in Cleveland:

  • Former Saints head coach Sean Payton participated in an interview with Lindsay Rhodes of the NFL Rhodes Show podcast this week. When asked to comment on the situation, Payton claimed he understood Jackson’s point of view. When compared to Watson, Jackson has more than proven that he deserves a similar, if not a better, deal to Watson’s. Payton argued, though, that the market is not going to be set by the Browns, a franchise who has made the playoffs once in the past 20 years, calling Watson’s contract a deal “no other organization in the league would’ve done.” This point has been underlined by recent deals that did not follow that precedent. Both Wilson and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray signed new long-term deals recently that were nowhere close to approaching the guaranteed money of the Watson-deal. While Jackson is pointing to Watson’s contract, the Ravens are pointing at Wilson and Murray’s as proof that Watson’s deal is an aberration.
  • Jeff Howe of The Athletic recently discussed the situation with multiple NFL executives on the condition of anonymity. While much has been made about Jackson conducting negotiations without professional representation, the rival executives produced an interesting point about Jackson’s lack of an agent. Not taking any credit away from Jackson’s ability to conduct himself in a contract negotiation, one of the executives pointed out that having an agent can serve as a buffer, removing any “personal element from business dealings.” A second general manager agreed, saying, “The club has arguments for why you’re maybe not worth as much as you think, or the club is trying to get the best deal for themselves and the player is trying to get the best deal for himself. And you come to the table with reasons why you came to your position.” Having to tell a player to his face why you think he’s not worth as much as he thinks he is can get pretty personal. So far, all signs have pointed to negotiations being completely amicable, but utilizing an agent could avoid potentially awkward situations.
  • Many expect Jackson to end up playing next season on the team’s franchise tag. In a Q&A with fans this week, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer brought up an interesting possibility that the Ravens could pursue. Breer first points out that, as of right now and subject to change, the exclusive franchise tag projects to $45.45MM. If the situation stalls again, forcing a second consecutive exclusive tag, the amount would rise by 20% to approximately $54.54MM. A third-consecutive exclusive tag would require a 50% increase, resulting in an unheard of salary of $81.81MM, which would be nearly impossible to facilitate. All of these options are less than ideal, as well, because they will all fully count against the team’s salary cap space for each season. Breer proposes that a potential solution could be the use of a nonexclusive tag. Again, subject to change, the nonexclusive tag projects at $29.7MM, a nearly $16MM difference. The risk is that anyone in the league would then have a chance to sign Jackson. Baltimore would retain matching rights, though, meaning that Baltimore can let the rest of the league set Jackson’s market and simply match it. It’s obviously possible that a team submits an offer that Baltimore couldn’t possibly match, but Breer believes that losing Jackson would likely amount in at least two first-round picks coming back. That’s clearly not what the Ravens want, but taking that risk would give them breathing room in cap space, take the pressure off their own shoulders, and would test how badly Jackson wants to remain a Raven.

QB Tyrod Taylor Sues Chargers’ Team Doctor

September 18th, 2022 at 4:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tyrod Taylor‘s time as a starter with the Chargers came to a bizarre end, and it has resulted in legal action. The veteran quarterback is suing the team’s doctor, David S. Gazzaniga, for “at least” $5MM, as detailed by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. 

Taylor was sidelined just prior to the Chargers’ Week 2 game in 2020 when a pain-killing injection was administered, puncturing his lung. The accidental action by Dr. Gazzaniga left Taylor unavailable and opened the door to then-rookie Justin Herbert taking over as the team’s starting signal-caller. The latter has held onto that spot (and much more) in the time since, leaving Taylor to hit the open market the following offseason.

As the lawsuit notes, though, Taylor did so as a backup, rather than the starter then-coach Anthony Lynn stated he would have remained for at least a short time. “The economic difference between a starting quarterback’s salary and a back-up quarterback salary,” the suit states, “is at least $5MM and is more than likely much greater. The exact amount of such past and future loss is unknown to [Taylor] at this time.” As a result, the amount he seeks could be subject to change.

The trial resulting from Taylor’s suit – which also names Dr. Gazzaniga’s Newport Orthopedic Institute as a defendant – was originally scheduled to take place in November, but it has been moved to April to accommodate the NFL calendar. It will be after the 2022 campaign, then, that the matter of Taylor’s alleged “severe physical pain resulting in hospitalization, physical therapy, emotional distress and other past pain and suffering” will be presided over.

In 2021, Taylor signed with the Texans on a one-year deal which paid him $5.5MM. He made six total starts, dealing with a hamstring injury and ceding the No. 1 role to Davis Mills. This summer, he inked a two-year contract to serve as a high-end backup to Daniel Jones with the Giants. The pact carries a similar AAV of $6.5MM.

Dr. Gazzaniga, meanwhile, still holds his position with the Chargers. He will be the subject of plenty of attention once again in the coming days as Herbert deals with the rib cartilage injury he suffered on Thursday. The NFLPA will “closely monitor” Herbert’s treatment, per the ESPN report. Regardless of how that situation plays out, Dr. Gazzaniga will have this suit looming throughout the season.

Latest On Jon Gruden’s Lawsuit, Coaching Aspirations

September 18th, 2022 at 1:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

One of the offseason’s most notable off-the-field storylines, the legal dispute between ex-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and the NFL most recently took a turn in May. The league’s motion to send the impending court battle to arbitration was denied, though it has appealed that ruling. 

While both parties wait for the appeals process to officially begin, the NFL has formally claimed that the emails Gruden sent to Bruce Allen – which ultimately forced him to resign last October – were not reflective of an isolated period. Instead, the league’s representatives argued, Gruden “continued to send the same kinds of derogatory emails consistently following his start date with the Raiders,” as detailed by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

The original leaked emails exclusively dated back to Gruden’s time with ESPN, so the allegation that a similar pattern stretching into his second stint with the Raiders is significant. As his attorney noted, however, such a claim was not made in time for the arbitration ruling to made, meaning that the league cannot use any evidence it finds on the matter as part of its continued argument against a trial in open court.

The fact that the league nevertheless made the accusation contributes further to what Gruden’s agent, Bob Lamonte, termed a ‘hit-job’ against him. “That’s why if this were to go to trial, it would be devastating for the National Football League,” he said in a separate Florio piece. The threat of widespread PR fallout has led some to believe that Gruden will coach again in the NFL at some point, something the 59-year-old has expressed a desire for.

Making his first public remarks since the legal battle, Gruden said, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, “I’m ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I’ll make no excuses for it. It’s shameful. But I am a good person. I believe that… I’ve made some mistakes. But I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. And I just ask for forgiveness, and hopefully, I get another shot.”

It remains to be seen when a resolution will be reached with respect to the league’s appeal, and, subsequently, when this situation will move forward. In the meantime, Gruden could remain a name worth watching on the coaching market down the road.

Restructure Details: Brockers, Butker, Clark

September 18th, 2022 at 12:39pm CST by Rory Parks

Here’s a roundup of a few recent contract restructures:

  • Michael Brockers, DT (Lions): Detroit converted $4MM of Brockers’ 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, which opened up $2MM of cap room, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Brockers signed a three-year, $24MM deal with the Lions in March 2021, and he appeared in 16 games (all starts) in his first year in the Motor City. However, he recorded just one sack and earned an abysmal 40.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
  • Harrison Butker, K (Chiefs): Butker injured his ankle in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Cardinals and missed the club’s Week 2 victory over the Chargers as a result. According to Yates, Butker agreed to convert $2.19MM of his 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, thereby giving KC an additional $1.46MM of cap room (Twitter link). Butker is signed through 2024 and is the league’s 10th-highest-paid kicker by measure of AAV.
  • Chuck Clark, S (Ravens): There are no specifics on this one, though Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets that Baltimore gave Clark a bit of a raise this year and also added some incentives to his deal. The Ravens doled out a big-ticket free agent contract to safety Marcus Williams in March and selected Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton in the first round of the draft, and Clark subsequently requested a trade. However, it eventually became clear that Clark would continue to play a prominent role on the defense in 2022, and in the team’s Week 1 victory over the Jets, the Virginia Tech product played in all 84 defensive snaps and tallied eight tackles and a forced fumble while continuing to wear the green dot. He is under club control through 2023 and was slated to earn $1.25MM in base pay this year. Per Zrebiec, this transaction represents a show of appreciation for how Clark handled himself this offseason.
  • Desmond King, DB (Texans): The Texans have converted $911K of King’s 2022 salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $455K of cap space (Twitter link via Yates). King re-signed with Houston this offseason after appearing in 16 games (12 starts) for the club in 2021 and posting 93 tackles to go along with three interceptions. His two-year contract is worth $7MM.

Cardinals WR Rondale Moore To Miss Multiple Weeks

September 18th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore sustained a hamstring injury in practice earlier this month, and he missed the club’s regular season opener as a result. Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Moore is expected to miss several more weeks (Twitter link).

That news is not overly surprising, as the original report on the hamstring ailment described it as “serious.” Per Fowler, Arizona will exercise caution here but expects its second-year wideout to avoid IR and to return to the field within a month.

The injury came at an especially unfortunate time for Moore, who was in line for an increased workload in the wake of DeAndre Hopkins‘ six-game suspension and Christian Kirk‘s free agency departure. The diminutive speedster caught most of his passes behind the line of scrimmage in his rookie season, though he was expected to have an expanded route tree and to have more opportunities to operate in space in 2022.

There is still time for that to happen, because when Hopkins is reinstated, it would be fair to expect that he and draft-day trade acquisition Marquise Brown will operate outside the numbers and that Moore will assume Kirk’s role in the slot, which was the plan before Moore’s injury. Nonetheless, the team is also rostering Greg Dortch, A.J. Green, Andy Isabella, and Andre Baccellia, with Brown, Dortch, and Isabella all representing viable slot options. So any lost time is significant for Moore at this point.

Isabella, however, will also miss the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Raiders due to a back injury. Brown, Dortch, and Green will serve as quarterback Kyler Murray‘s top options as the Cardinals seek to rebound from their Week 1 blowout loss at the hands of the Chiefs.

Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott To Start In Week 2

September 18th, 2022 at 10:01am CST by Rory Parks

Giants starting cornerback Aaron Robinson will miss several weeks following his appendix removal, and rookie Cor’Dale Flott will start in his place in the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Panthers on Sunday, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (Twitter link). Flott, a third-round choice in the 2022 draft, played just two special teams snaps in New York’s opener last week, so this will represent an early test of the rookie’s mettle.

Flott lost this summer’s slot cornerback battle with third-year pro Darnay Holmes, and Big Blue deployed a starting CB trio of Robinson, Adoree’ Jackson, and Holmes in Week 1. It appears that Flott, a 6-1 defender who has a three-inch height advantage over Holmes, will operate opposite Jackson on the boundaries while Holmes will remain in the slot.

The Giants pulled off a surprising upset over the Titans last week, but as Nic Bodiford of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) observes, the club did surrender seven completions of 15 yards or more, the fifth-highest total in the league. The task will not get any easier this week, as Carolina features D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson at the top of its WR depth chart. Panthers QB Baker Mayfield will likely attempt to attack Flott early and often with his speedy, talented wideouts.

Flott, an LSU product, has the speed and length to compete with players like Moore and Anderson, but he entered the league as something of a raw prospect who would need a little time to reach his ceiling. However, the Giants made James Bradberry a cap casualty this offseason, and the team is paper-thin at the CB position at the moment. Nick McCloud is dealing with a hamstring injury, leaving recent waiver claim Justin Layne and Fabian Moreau — who was promoted from the taxi squad yesterday — as the only healthy backups.

Despite their cornerback woes, the Giants are a slight favorite today as they seek to move to 2-0 for the first time since 2016.

Packers WR Amari Rodgers Near Bottom Of Depth Chart

September 18th, 2022 at 9:13am CST by Rory Parks

Packers wide receiver Amari Rodgers was the only pass-catcher the team selected in the 2021 draft, and following the offseason departures of wideouts Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown, it was fair to expect Rodgers to assume a larger role in 2022. However, it appears that Rodgers is currently near the bottom of the WR depth chart, and as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, it’s unclear if that will be changing in the near future.

Rodgers appeared in only 103 offensive snaps in his rookie year, and his primary contributions came as a return specialist. That trend continued in Green Bay’s 2022 opener against the Vikings, as Rodgers did not see any action on the offensive side of the ball and returned one kickoff for 14 yards and one punt for 12 yards. Meanwhile, rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs saw 40 and 35 offensive snaps, respectively, while veterans Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins enjoyed similar usage rates. After missing the Minnesota contest, Allen Lazard is expected to return for Sunday’s game against the Bears, which will serve as yet another obstacle to playing time for Rodgers.

Silverstein says Watson and Doubs “are the priority” when it comes to getting snaps to young receivers, and when asked about Amari Rodgers during his Wednesday press conference, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said simply, “he’s returning [kicks] for us right now. That’s all I got.” Amari Rodgers did not take offense to that statement, saying, “I mean, that’s what I am. He’s really speaking fact. I can’t do nothing about that.”

Still, it’s a disappointing development for a player who was a third-round draft choice just one year ago, who lost 20 pounds over the offseason, and who finished the preseason in strong fashion (Amari Rodgers lined up at wide receiver and running back in the Packers’ preseason finale against the Chiefs and notched four catches for 39 yards and three carries for 17 yards). After getting more reps out of the backfield towards the end of training camp, he is, at least, the third RB on the depth chart as of the time of this writing.

Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich does expect Amari Rodgers to have a role on the offense this year. “Where you are Week 1 doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where you’re going to be Week 5,” Stenavich said. “So, I wouldn’t say he doesn’t have a role. He has a role. He’s going to have some sort of role on the field this year.”

For now, though, it looks like Amari Rodgers will need to continue trying to get the coaches’ attention in practice and as a returner or running back. With five receivers above him in the pecking order, he has a long way to go to earn a meaningful spot as a wideout this year.

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