HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Falcons To Exercise CB AJ Terrell’s Fifth-Year Option

April 28th, 2023 at 6:13pm CST by Adam La Rose

Non-draft news is transpiring as we move closer to the second round. The Falcons will make their top 2020 draftee’s contract run through 2024. They are picking up AJ Terrell‘s fifth-year option, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

This will guarantee Terrell a $12.34MM salary for 2024, though the Falcons now have an additional year to work out an extension. Terrell has a second-team All-Pro honor on his resume, but since the Atlanta cornerback does not have a Pro Bowl honor, he checks in on the third tier of the option structure.

Terrell, 24, has been an anchor of the team’s secondary since his arrival in Atlanta. The 16th overall pick in 2020, he has started all 44 of his games with the Falcons, establishing himself as one of the top young corners in the league during that span. Terrell has posted four interceptions and 32 pass defections, ball skills which will likely be rewarded with a long-term deal at some point.

The Clemson product will be joined by another former notable draftee in 2023. Atlanta traded for former Lions third overall pick Jeff Okudah earlier this month, a buy-low gamble which could prove to be highly fruitful if he is able to remain healthy and live up to his potential. That move also marked another addition on the Falcons’ part to their backend, as part of their investments on defense.

The likes of Okudah and free agent safety Jessie Bates should help improve the team’s underwhelming ranks in a number of defensive categories from 2022. Terrell took a sizeable step back last season in terms of PFF grade (earning an overall rating of 63.9, compared to 82.6 in 2021). A bounce-back campaign would help both team and player, but in any event, Terrell is set to remain in the fold for at least the next two years as he looks to continue his career ascent.

Jets Re-Sign LS Thomas Hennessy

April 28th, 2023 at 6:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

In advance of the second day of this year’s draft kicking off, the Jets have taken care of some special teams business. Long snapper Thomas Hennessy has signed a four-year extension, as noted (on Twitter) by his agency. The deal includes the most guaranteed money at the position around the league (which was previously the case for Cowboys snapper Joe Cardona, at $2.6MM).

The 28-year-old joined the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2017, signing with the Colts. He was traded to the Jets later that offseason, though, and has remained in New York ever since. Hennessy has played in 98 games, making him the longest-tenure player on the team; he has yet to miss a contest during his career.

The Duke alum has been consistent during his time with the Jets, making multiple tackles in each season (and 20 in total). His track record in that department – and, more importantly, with respect to accurate snaps – has landed him another long-term extension. Hennessy inked a four-year, $4.4MM deal in 2019, and his level of play will allow him another, similar, pact.

The Jets re-signed kicker Greg Zuerlein last month, giving them familiarity at that position, as this Hennessy agreement will also do. New York reunited with veteran Thomas Morstead to handle punting duties, meaning their special teams battery is now in place for the 2023 campaign.

Chargers To Pick Up Justin Herbert’s Fifth-Year Option

April 28th, 2023 at 5:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Day 2 of the NFL draft is about to begin, but the Chargers have made a noteworthy (if entirely unsurprising) decision with the central figure already on their roster. Los Angeles will pick up quarterback Justin Herbert‘s fifth-year option, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Doing so will lock him in to a cap hit of just over $29.5MM in 2024.

The news comes on a busy week of QB developments, including the Jets’ long-awaited trade acquisition of Aaron Rodgers being agreed upon and Lamar Jackson‘s Ravens extension materializing. Herbert’s 2020 draft classmate, Joe Burrow, also had his option picked up by the Bengals. The Chargers are taking the same path with their franchise signal-caller, as attention is sure to turn on the possibility of a long-term extension soon following.

Herbert, 25, is eligible for a second contract, and his market may have seen two benchmarks established recently. The deals signed by Jalen Hurts with the Eagles and by Jackson (worth $51MM and $52MM per season, respectively) will no doubt be used during negotiations for both Herbert and Burrow. The former has one Pro Bowl nod on his resume, along with a first career postseason appearance in 2022.

The Oregon product earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, but has been maligned for the team’s lack of sustained success during his tenure. Herbert has nevertheless done enough to convince the Chargers to commit to him for the 2024 campaign, as they prepare to presumably take contract negotiations to a new level in the near future.

The Chargers have made it clear they have started talks with Herbert on what will be a monster deal. He may not land a contract with the AAV of Jackson, Hurts and (quite possibly, Burrow), but he should still be well-positioned to spend the foreseeable future in Los Angeles. At a minimum, he will be in place for the next two years as he and the team look to build off their success from last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/23

April 28th, 2023 at 5:22pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s lone minor move in advance of the draft’s second night:

Chicago Bears

Green, 27, was a Colts sixth-rounder in 2019 but his only appearance came with the Bears last season. That came after he bounced around several other teams’ practice squads, and saw him play only four defensive snaps (though it was enough to earn him a futures deal in January). The Mississippi State product will now look to catch on with another team in the post-draft wave of free agency. The Bears elected not to add a rookie to their D-line last night, leading many to expect they will do so on Day 2.

Jets, Aaron Rodgers Working Towards Restructured Contract

April 28th, 2023 at 4:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

The main takeaway from the Jets’ acquisition of Aaron Rodgers was, understandably, the draft capital they paid the Packers, and the impact he will have on New York’s Super Bowl aspirations. Another factor of interest, though, is Rodgers’ contract.

As of now, the Packers are set to incur a dead cap charge of just over $40MM, a far larger figure than the roughly $15MM he is scheduled to count against the Jets’ cap in 2023. A re-worked contract is the holdup to this blockbuster trade becoming official, and will no doubt have an effect on the way it is ultimately viewed. As Jets owner Woody Johnson recently stated, though, the price New York paid caused “zero” hesitation to sign off on the move.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini confirms that Rodgers’ agent, David Dunn, is still in the process of negotiating a new deal with the Jets. Doing so could provide much-needed clarity on how long the 39-year-old plans to play in the Big Apple, since he did not confirm his intention to continue his career beyond 2023.

On that point, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the end result of negotiations could be a two-year Jets pact allowing Rodgers to receive the full compensation he is owed in 2023 and ’24. That figure sits at $108MM, as a result of the new deal he agreed to with the Packers last offseason; much of it is made up of the option bonus he was initially due to earn this season ($58.3MM). Florio adds that the bonus is now expected to be paid out next year.

Of course, committing to Rodgers over the next two campaigns will be a worthwhile investment on the Jets’ part if he can return to his pre-2022 form. New York has taken a number of steps aimed at making sure that takes place, including the addition of players on his reported ‘wish list.’ Before that point, though, the team had already hired ex-Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to guide their offense.

Hackett (who flamed out as the Broncos’ head coach in 2022 after struggling mightily to orchestrate a serviceable offense) has a long-standing relationship with Rodgers, something which should help the pair in their attempt to duplicate their success of years past. The latter, to no surprise, named the veteran coach as a factor in his decision to head to New York.

“A big reason I’m here, I gotta mention, is Nathaniel Hackett, who is here,” Rodgers said, via NBC Sports’ Ryan Taylor. “Hack and I became really close friends for three years in Green Bay. I love him like a brother. And I believe in him. And I’m really happy to be back working with him.”

Assuming a new contract is ironed out in the near future, Rodgers will be cleared to join his new team and officially begin the second chapter of his NFL career. The particulars, from a financial standpoint, could go a long way in determining the Jets’ ability to make any further moves in the post-draft portion of the offseason.

Draft Notes: Young, Chiefs, Saints, Addison, Vikings, Patriots, Campbell, Lions

April 28th, 2023 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Panthers brass joined other front offices in being wowed by Bryce Young during his 2021 Heisman-winning season, and the team had mostly decided on the Alabama prospect by the time Frank Reich arrived. David Tepper and Panthers scouts had zeroed in on Young — prior to making the trade with the Bears — and Reich learned of the staff’s preference early during his tenure.

“And it was unanimous with every guy in that room, starting from [GM] Scott [Fitterer] on down, that Bryce was the guy. That was great for me to hear,” Reich said of an early-February meeting, via The Athletic’s Joe Person (subscription required). “But what I appreciate about the way Scott handled it, he was like, ‘Frank, you take your time.’ … And it wasn’t much convincing.”

Fitterer said he sought Reich’s final stance late in the process. It would have been interesting had Reich, who was initially mentioned as preferring a taller passer, stood his ground for another prospect. He was believed to also be intrigued by Anthony Richardson. But the veteran HC will be coaching a 5-foot-10 quarterback in Carolina.

Here is the latest from the draft, as we head into Day 2:

  • The Vikings closed the record-breaking run on wide receivers at No. 23, selecting Jordan Addison, the fourth straight receiver taken from Nos. 20-23. But Minnesota received interest in the pick. The Chiefs and Saints contacted the Vikings about moving up to 23, per KTSP’s Darren Wolfson, who adds the belief is at least one of the teams eyeing a trade-up would have taken the USC wide receiver (Twitter link). The Vikings appear to have received an offer, but they instead chose Addison. The Chiefs were mentioned as a team pursuing a move up the board, and the defending Super Bowl champions — after J.J. Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman‘s exits — had done a lot of work on this year’s wideout class. The Saints have not re-signed Jarvis Landry and have not seen much of a healthy Michael Thomas since the 2010s. Both teams will probably be on the hunt for receivers tonight.
  • It is not surprising to see Patriots first-round trade-downs, and the team allowing the Steelers to leapfrog the Jets for tackle Broderick Jones likely made the move doubly intriguing for Bill Belichick. But the Pats turned in their draft card quickly at No. 17, selecting cornerback Christian Gonzalez. New England was high enough on the Oregon product it was close to finalizing a trade-up move from No. 14, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. The Commanders had been in on corners, but they chose Mississippi State ballhawk Emmanuel Forbes over Gonzalez at No. 16.
  • While the Patriots have been praised for nabbing a high-end prospect a bit later than he was expected to go, the Lions bucked pre-draft rankings by taking a running back (Jahmyr Gibbs) at No. 12 and an off-ball linebacker (Jack Campbell) at 18. Campbell, in particular, was not viewed as especially likely to be a first-round pick, and GM Brad Holmes admitted he probably could have nabbed the Iowa defender if he had traded down once again. “It’s not about just don’t pick a running back [in Round 1] because that’s not how we really view [Gibbs],” Holmes said, via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. “And then it’s the same thing about don’t pick an off-ball linebacker. That’s not really how we view Jack. If you put them in boxes and you put on a sheet of paper and you run mock draft analytics, yeah, you can come up with those stats. But all the hours and research and all the time that we put in, in terms of looking at these players, it becomes very, very visible that what kind of impact they can bring.”

Latest On Eagles’ Jalen Carter Selection

April 28th, 2023 at 2:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

One of the key questions heading into last night’s first round was how far down the board Jalen Carter would fall. In the end, the Eagles traded up one spot (to No. 9) to draft the controversial defensive tackle.

Carter’s pre-draft process included two potential red flags for NFL teams: the fatal accident he was involved in following the Bulldogs’ national championship, and an underwhelming Pro Day performance. The former resulted in a plea agreement being reached which ensures he will not face jail time. The latter was representative of his standing amongst his coaches.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes that members of the Georgia staff “are not [Carter] fans,” adding “they weren’t bashful about saying so” in the lead-in to the draft. The All-American’s character has come into question in the wake of his troublesome offseason, and whispers emerged around draft night that Carter overcame those poor evaluations to remain a target for the Eagles – a team which has added four Bulldogs defenders in the past two drafts, including three first-rounders. To no surprise, the team’s decision was a key talking point after the opening round concluded.

“We spent a lot of time investigating the incident around it,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We talked to Jalen about a variety of things. We’re not going to get into what we talk to our players about… But at the end of the day, nobody’s hiding from the fact that a tragic event happened.”

Carter himself said the Eagles “really didn’t ask much about the accident” in their evaluation of him. Philadelphia was often named as a logical landing spot for a number of reasons, including their positioning in the top-10 of the draft order. Carter only visited with teams set to pick in that range, though some reportedly took him off their draft boards altogether. The Eagles’ need to add to their defensive front (as they did in 2022 with Jordan Davis, one of several former Georgia teammates Carer is set to re-join) made it little surprise when they traded up to select him.

Plenty of attention will be on Carter given the questions surrounding his ability to translate his college production to the NFL level and grow from the events of the recent past. Scrutiny will no doubt follow the Eagles if he is unable to do so, though the team is clearly confident he will become a long-term contributor on one of the league’s best rosters.

Steelers Mulling Offers For No. 32 Overall

April 28th, 2023 at 2:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

2:20pm: This interest has progressed to offers. The Steelers have received multiple offers to move down from 32, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Mike Tomlin‘s .500-or-better streak has restricted the Steelers from the kind of access they have tonight. During Tomlin’s tenure, the team has never made a second-round pick higher than 46th. The team will need to weigh the offers against this rare Day 2 real estate.

Pittsburgh has done well despite mid- to late-Round 2 draft windows during Tomlin’s tenure. George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, Stephon Tuitt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Le’Veon Bell, Marcus Gilbert and LaMarr Woodley have gone to Pittsburgh in the second round since Tomlin’s 2007 arrival. Current GM Omar Khan was on Kevin Colbert‘s staff throughout, but this marks his first draft in the GM chair.

9:59am: As the No. 32 overall pick is part of this year’s second round, the Steelers will have a decision to make. Will Levis was steadily rumored to land in the top 10, but the Kentucky product’s Kansas City stay has not yet produced an NFL destination.

Levis remaining unattached Friday has generated interest, and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports the Steelers were fielding calls before Round 1 ended. Other teams holding picks near the bottom of the first round received interest for Levis-related trades, Pelissero adds (on Twitter). Four teams have contacted the Steelers about a trade, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. This sets up an interesting scenario to start Day 2.

The Colts passing on Levis at No. 4, after being consistently tied to the two-year Wildcats starter in the weeks leading up to the draft, began a tough night for the latest player to hover atop “best available” boards for an extended stretch. Teams with quarterback interest (or reported QB interest) went with value elsewhere. The Raiders, Seahawks, Falcons, Lions, Titans, Commanders and Buccaneers all chose position players, with running backs Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs going in the top 12. But teams with long-term QB questions or those with shaky 2023 situations can circle back to Levis ahead of Round 2.

The Steelers obtained the 32nd pick by moving Chase Claypool to the Bears at the trade deadline. Pittsburgh reversed course on the 2020 second-round pick and chose Chicago’s offer over a Green Bay proposal, expecting the Bears’ record to produce a better draft slot. That bet paid off, as Chicago sank to 3-14. The Steelers have a chance to fill a key need, and a legacy option — Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. — joins Levis as being unexpectedly available. Porter visited his father’s former team early in the pre-draft process. The Steelers filled a tackle need, trading up three spots for Broderick Jones, but met with a few corners ahead of the draft. The team losing Cameron Sutton and being set to experiment with Patrick Peterson at safety points to corner being a point of emphasis tonight.

Should the Steelers go with Porter or stay at 32 and select another player, the Cardinals would seemingly be prepared to deal down. They moved back from No. 3 to No. 12 on Thursday night, and while Monti Ossenfort‘s team was hit with a tampering penalty just before Round 1 began and climbed back to 6 for Paris Johnson, the rebuilding squad still holds No. 33 and acquired first- and third-rounders in 2024. Both the Lions and Seahawks passed on Levis twice; each team holds a pick early in Round 2 (Nos. 34 and 37, respectively). The Titans hold No. 41; the Falcons sit at 44, Commanders at 47 and Bucs at 50. The Vikings do not have a second-round pick.

Tennessee entered Round 1 as the team most closely connected to moving up for a quarterback and held pre-draft trade talks with Arizona about moving to No. 3. But the Texans, after weeks of reported QB skepticism, went with C.J. Stroud — a player the Titans were believed to be targeting. If the Steelers pass on a trade at 32, the Titans and Cardinals could resume trade talks. Tennessee hosted Levis on a pre-draft visit. Which team will ultimately end up with the freefalling QB tonight?

RB Giovani Bernard Announces Retirement

April 28th, 2023 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

After 10 seasons, Giovani Bernard will leave the game. The former Bengals and Buccaneers running back announced Friday he is retiring (Twitter link).

Bernard, 31, wraps his career with two Bucs seasons and eight Bengals campaigns. The North Carolina product, who arrived in Cincinnati as part of the 2011 Carson Palmer trade, signed with Tampa Bay during the 2021 offseason. While his Bucs stint did not produce too much playing time, Bernard was a Bengals staple for most of the past decade.

The Bengals used Bernard as a dual-threat option. He complemented the likes of Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon for most of his Cincinnati career. Bernard ranks in the top 10 in both rushing yards (3,697) and yards from scrimmage (6,564) in franchise history. Only James Brooks totaled more receiving yards among backs in Bengals history. Bernard finished his career with 36 touchdowns. One of those scores — a 35-yard TD in Miami during his rookie season — doubled as one of the more impressive efforts in recent memory.

When the Bengals traded Palmer at the 2011 deadline, they obtained a 2012 first-rounder and a 2013 second. Dre Kirkpatrick became the first of those choices, Bernard the second. Cincinnati chose the ex-Tar Heel 37th overall in 2013, making him the first running back off the board in that draft. The shifty back soon helped the team to three more playoff appearances during the Marvin Lewis– and Andy Dalton-fronted stretch in the early 2010s.

The 5-foot-9 back ripped off three straight seasons of 1,000-plus scrimmage yards over his first three years. This production earned him a nice payday. The Bengals gave Bernard a three-year, $15.5MM deal before the 2016 season began. At the time, the deal placed Bernard in the top 10 among running backs for average annual value. Despite tearing an ACL during his first season on that contract, Bernard later signed a third Bengals deal — a two-year, $9.7MM pact — in September 2019.

Mixon became Cincinnati’s primary back in 2017, but Bernard still played a role for the next four seasons. As they rearmed their roster around Joe Burrow‘s rookie contract in 2021, the Bengals cut bait on the final year of Bernard’s deal. Bernard joined the Bucs, who were chasing another Super Bowl title. Tampa Bay allocated much of its 2021 resources to bringing back every key player from the 2020 championship team. Bernard became a mid-offseason outside addition for the eventual NFC South champs, but injuries limited him in Tampa.

Bernard, who also received interest from the 49ers and Seahawks in 2021, totaled just 41 touches as a Buccaneer. He suffered an MCL injury in 2021 and, after re-signing in 2022, battled ankle and calf trouble. Although the Bengals sought a Bernard pay cut before releasing him, the 10-year NFLer made more than $27MM over the course of his career.

Falcons, Raiders, Titans, Pats, Rams Tried To Trade Into Round 1; Eagles Fielded Calls

April 28th, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

1:30pm: The Patriots and Rams also made efforts to trade back into the first round, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Levis visited the Pats just before the meeting deadline last week, driving some intrigue around a team that is not in a great place with its quarterback. The Bill Belichick–Mac Jones relationship encountered some turbulence last season.

The Rams may not have been trying to land a QB, given Matthew Stafford‘s contract situation, but the veteran has run into a few injury issues as of late. The Rams hold the No. 36 overall pick; the Pats’ first Day 2 choice arrives at No. 46.

1:05pm: Will Levis might end up leaving Kansas City with some bad memories, but his freefall may have a market forming ahead of the draft’s second night. Teams were interested in coming back into Round 1, with Levis being the most likely reason for the efforts.

Specifically, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes the Falcons, Raiders and Titans “desperately” tried to trade back into Round 1 (Twitter link). While these teams were not desperate enough to offer a trade that made one of last year’s playoff teams move out of the first, it does set up a fascinating backdrop for the draft’s continuation tonight.

The Eagles were one of the teams to receive calls about moving down — from No. 30 — and NFL.com’s James Palmer adds (on Twitter) teams were interested in trading back into the first round to secure a fifth-year option on a quarterback. Multiple teams called the Eagles about their second first-round pick, but the defending NFC champions stood pat and selected Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith.

Teams were believed to already be calling the Steelers about No. 32 last night, and those conversations look to be continuing today. Although No. 32 is normally a first-round slot, a team convincing the Steelers to move down would not secure a fifth-year option. Only players chosen in Round 1 have those clauses in their contracts. Prospects chosen from the second round and down are tied to four-year rookie deals. This matters a bit more with quarterbacks, and Levis will be the center of attention going into the second round.

A report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen indicated teams had concerns over a toe injury Levis previously battled, though the veteran reporter did not confirm this was the sole reason Levis fell (Twitter link), it may provide a bit more clarity as to why every team with a first-round pick passed on the high-profile Kentucky prospect. Not every team buys into this sudden toe concern, with one GM expressing considerable skepticism (via Florio) that is the reason everyone passed. Mortensen also notes multiple teams tried to trade back into Round 1.

The Titans, who are not exactly committed to Ryan Tannehill as their 2023 starter, discussed trading up to the Cardinals’ No. 3 spot; Tennessee was believed to have targeted C.J. Stroud, whom Houston ended up taking. When the Cardinals found a taker to move ahead of the Colts, it was the Texans with a Will Anderson Jr. aim. The Titans hold the No. 41 overall pick tonight. That sits behind the Raiders’ second-round pick (No. 38) but ahead of the Falcons’ (No. 44). The Levis matter may end up being decided via trade-up and not by the draft order.

Las Vegas gave Jimmy Garoppolo a three-year deal, though the guarantees would allow the team to escape the contract with a modest dead-money hit after one season. But after Jarrett Stidham chose the Broncos, only 37-year-old Brian Hoyer resides behind Garoppolo on the Raiders’ depth chart. The Raiders hosted Levis and Hendon Hooker on pre-draft visits; the Silver and Black were believed to be impressed with Hooker, who expects Week 1 clearance from ACL surgery. Hooker enjoyed late momentum but did not sneak into the first round. The Falcons, who have pledged support for 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder, also hosted Levis. Atlanta rosters a capable backup in Taylor Heinicke but was connected to QBs ahead of the draft.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. slotted Levis as the 11th-best prospect in this draft; every other player in the database’s top 18 is off the board. Levis figures to be picked early in Round 2, and the Steelers have likely heard from this trio of teams about a trade. If the Steelers stay at No. 32, the Cardinals — at 33 — would have another opportunity collect future assets.

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