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Month: January 2025

Cards LT D.J. Humphries Returns To Practice

June 11th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries returned to the practice field for voluntary OTAs last week, per Darren Urban of the team’s official website. Humphries missed the second half of the 2022 season due to a back injury.

Humphries, a 2021 Pro Bowler, acknowledged that he “had to roll the dice a little bit” in electing to forego back surgery in favor of rehab. As of the time of this writing, he is not quite back to full strength, but he remains on track to suit up for Week 1 of the regular season.

Humphries’ shortened season was one of many difficulties that the Cardinals faced in 2022, and it was a disappointing setback for a player who dealt with significant injury issues in the early stages of his career but who had missed only one contest — a COVID-related absence — from 2019-21.

That newfound durability, along with generally solid play as Arizona’s blindside blocker, allowed Humphries to land multiple three-year contracts from the Cards. His current deal, which he signed last August and which was restructured in March, keeps him under club control through 2025.

Arizona did select Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr. with the No. 6 pick of this year’s draft, and it is still rostering 2020 third-rounder Josh Jones, who played well at left tackle in Humphries’ absence last season. Nonetheless, Urban expects Humphries to reclaim the starting LT job, with Johnson beginning his professional career on the right side.

Even a rebuilding outfit like Arizona benefits from a quality left tackle, and assuming he can stay healthy, Humphries is exactly that. He also comes at a reasonable price, as he is due under $16MM per season over the 2024-25 seasons. Thanks to the above-referenced restructure, Humphries is earning just $5.5MM in base salary in 2023, though that is because a chunk of his salary was converted to a signing bonus for cap purposes.

Unless they were to make him a post-June 1 cut or trade next year, the Cardinals cannot now feasibly extricate themselves from Humphries’ contract until the end of the 2024 season. That suggests that the club, like the player himself, did not worry that the back injury would be a career-threatening one, and that Humphries could remain on the roster for the foreseeable future.

Arizona’s three-day mandatory minicamp begins on Tuesday, at which point we may have more clarity on the team’s plans with respect to Humphries and Johnson.

Lions DE Charles Harris Agreed To Pay Cut

June 11th, 2023 at 12:04pm CST by Rory Parks

Lions defensive end Charles Harris agreed to a pay cut this offseason, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports (subscription required). Due to make $6MM in base pay in the second year of the two-year, $14MM contract he signed in March 2022, Harris agreed to a reduction to $3MM.

Harris, selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2017 draft, failed to live up to his draft status in Miami and was traded to the Falcons in exchange for a seventh-round pick in May 2020. The 2020 campaign was another nondescript one for Harris, who played in just 1/3 of Atlanta’s defensive snaps (though he did record three sacks, which was then a career-high).

The Lions took a low-cost flier on Harris in March 2021, and that move paid off in a big way, as the Missouri product led the team with 7.5 sacks and earned an excellent 78.7 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus. Detroit rewarded Harris with the above-referenced two-year deal, but 2022 was mostly a lost year for the 28-year-old defender.

Harris recorded just one sack during the first four games of the season and suffered a groin injury near the end of a Week 4 loss to the Seahawks. He played in just two more games before landing on IR in November, and he spent this spring rehabbing from the surgery that followed his IR placement.

As such, he likely had no choice but to accept the reduction in pay. As Birkett notes, however, Harris did take first-team reps at outside linebacker during the Lions’ mandatory minicamp, and he will compete with the likes of James Houston and Julian Okwara as he seeks to reclaim a starting job.

Head coach Dan Campbell believes Harris is ready to do exactly that.

“Charles has picked up where he left off from before the injury,” Campbell said. “He has an injury. Well, he doesn’t miss a beat. He’s back at it, he’s working and to him it’s like, ‘I’m at the bottom again. I’m on my way back up.’ That’s his approach. And I mean, to last in this league and be a good player in this league and produce, like, you have to have that mindset and he’s got it.”

If Harris replicates his 2021 performance in 2023, he should be in line for another lucrative, multiyear contract next offseason.

Giants Unlikely To Address Leonard Williams’ Contract?

June 11th, 2023 at 9:33am CST by Rory Parks

Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams is attached to a $32.3MM cap figure for 2023, which is the third-highest mark in the league and which places Williams behind only Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Tannehill. Nonetheless, Big Blue seems prepared to carry that number on its ledger.

Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (subscription required), the Giants have shown “no interest” in extending Williams, who will be eligible for free agency after the season, or restructuring his contract. Either maneuver, of course, would push more money onto future caps, so it stands to reason that GM Joe Schoen would be hesitant to go down that road for a player whose sack totals have declined sharply over the past two years and who missed significant game action due to injury for the first time in his career in 2022.

Duggan himself reported back in March that Schoen planned to sit down with Williams to discuss a reduction of the player’s cap charge. Based on Duggan’s most recent report, however, it seems as if those talks may have been designed to gauge Williams’ interest in a pay cut and may not have included much conversation about an extension or restructure. Williams suggested in January that he may be amenable to a reduction in pay, but his current stance on the matter is unclear.

Despite Williams’ declining surface-level production — 11.5 sacks in 2020, 6.5 in 2021, and 2.5 in 2022 — he continues to perform well in the eyes of the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 74.2 overall grade last year, which placed him 19th out of 127 qualified interior linemen, and he was viewed as an above-average run defender and pass rusher. Plus, although Schoen did bolster his DL rotation with free agent acquisitions of A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, the playoff-hopeful Giants are clearly better with Williams than without him, so a release seems unlikely.

Indeed, the Robinson and Nunez-Roches signings may even enhance Williams’ performance by reducing the number of snaps he has to play, which was a priority for Schoen when the offseason began. As Duggan notes, Schoen could theoretically wait until closer to the start of the regular season to demand that Williams agree to a reduction of his $18MM salary, because at that point there will likely be no team that would be willing or able to absorb a contract worth anything close to that figure. Of course, that would represent a hardnosed negotiation tactic that would be sure to anger Williams and his teammates, so Schoen is unlikely to go that route.

For now, it appears that Williams will get his $18MM salary and that the Giants will have to live with his massive cap charge, secure in the knowledge that even if Williams falters in 2023, they will be free from his contract in 2024, when they will only be on the hook for a ~$6MM cap hit stemming from a September restructure.

Bills DE Greg Rousseau Changes Agents

June 11th, 2023 at 8:06am CST by Rory Parks

Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau is entering the all-important third season of his NFL career, and he has made a change in representation. Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link), Rousseau, who was previously represented by Drew Rosenhaus, has hired Ness Mugrabi and David Canter of GSE Worldwide.

Once a player accrues three years of service time, he becomes extension-eligible. So while Rousseau obviously needs to complete the 2023 season before he and his new agents can enter into negotiations with Buffalo brass, Mugrabi and Canter will at least have plenty of time to get familiar with their client and prepare for those discussions.

Rousseau, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2021 draft, took a step forward in his second professional campaign in 2022, despite missing time with an ankle injury. The Miami (FL) product posted eight sacks last season after recording four sacks in his rookie year, and he earned a stellar 80.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which placed him 20th out of 119 qualified edge defenders. PFF thought especially highly of his pass rushing ability, which is the most critical trait for his future earning power.

That said, Rousseau accumulated four of his eight sacks in the first four games of the season, so the Bills will be looking for more consistent production if they are going to authorize a contract that will put him anywhere near the top tier of edge players, who are among the biggest earners in the NFL. Indeed, unless he forces the team’s hand with a Pro Bowl-worthy year, Buffalo may be content to play the waiting game, as Rousseau will still be on his rookie deal through 2024 and can be retained via the fifth-year option in 2025 (and via the franchise tag beyond that).

A review of GSE’s NFL clientele suggests that the agency does not represent many high-end pass rushers, with the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence a notable exception. No reason was given for Rousseau’s decision to part ways with Rosenhaus.

Jets Approached LB C.J. Mosley Over Restructure

June 10th, 2023 at 9:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jets have already agreed to a re-worked contract once with linebacker C.J. Mosley. The parties may end up doing so again as they continue exploring their financial options this offseason.

New York has approached Mosley’s agent about a restructure, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. The 30-year-old is due to count $21.5MM on the Jets’ capsheet for each of the next two seasons. That setup is the result of the re-worked contract the sides agreed to before the start of the 2022 campaign, which also saw two void years tacked onto the deal.

Mosley signed a five-year, $85MM pact in 2019, one which helped raise the ceiling of contracts at the position. He joined the Jets with substantial expectations given those terms, along with his level of play with the Ravens at the start of his career. However, the former first-rounder played just two games in his first year in the Big Apple and opted out of the 2020 season.

He has delivered much more signficant performances in the past two years, though. Mosley logged seasons of 168 and 158 tackles in 2021 and ’22, respectively, adding three sacks, nine pass deflections and one interception over that span. He was named a Pro Bowler and earned second-team All-Pro honors for the fifth time in his career last season. Lowering his cap hit would would have obvious benefits in the short-term future, though adding further to his cap burden down the line represents a notable downside.

“They talked to my agent. I’m not really concerned or worried about it too much,” Mosley said about the situation. “I come here to work every day, focused on getting better and trying to win a championship and being the best player I can be. Whatever happens, happens. It hasn’t been a concern.”

The Jets currently have $24.8MM in cap space, but they have yet to work out a new deal with Aaron Rodgers, something which will be necessary to avoid a 2024 cap hit of over $107MM. Moving on from Mosley, meanwhile, would result in considerable dead money charges in each of the next two years, providing potential incentive to agree to another restructure this offseason. It will be interesting to monitor how the Jets proceed with their remaining financial hurdles given their win-now approach.

RB Mark Ingram Expected To Retire

June 10th, 2023 at 7:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

Mark Ingram had previously stated an intent to continue his playing career in 2023, but his short-term future appears to be headed in a different direction. The veteran running back’s broadcasting career could begin in the fall.

Ingram is expected to retire and join FOX Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff” show, reports Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. There is set to be an opening on the college pregame program with fellow former Saints running back Reggie Bush‘s contract expiring. Making the move to broadcasting would mark a signficant about-face on Ingram’s part given his recent remarks on his playing future.

The 33-year-old said in April that he felt he could still be a valuable member of a RB committee this season. Ingram enjoyed a highly productive campaign in 2019, his first season with the Ravens. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and scored 15 total touchdowns that year, earning a third Pro Bowl nod. His opportunities and production since then, however, have taken a turn for the worse.

The former first-rounder ultimately fell out of the lineup in Baltimore in 2020, and began the following season in Houston. He was traded to the Saints to begin a second stint in New Orleans in October 2021, and he remained there last season. Ingram saw 130 total carries in his new Saints tenure behind Alvin Kamara, but the team looked elsewhere this offseason in their bid to add different backup options. Veteran Jamaal Williams was signed to a three-year deal, while Kendre Miller was added in the third round of the draft, leaving Ingram in search of another new home.

Nothing has materialized with respect to interest from prospective teams – something which comes as little surprise given how modest the RB market has been this year and the group of experienced backs still available. Rather than attempting to take the field for a 13th NFL season, Ingram could soon formally start the second phase of his football career.

Latest On Panthers’ QB Situation

June 10th, 2023 at 6:54pm CST by Adam La Rose

Few developments during OTAs have long-term effects for teams, given the voluntary and non-contact nature of the spring practices. In Carolina, though, an expected change on the team’s quarterback depth chart recently took place.

The Panthers moved Bryce Young to the top of the QB pecking order during practice earlier this week, as detailed by Joe Person and Larry Holder of The Athletic (subscription required). The 2023 first overall pick took full first-team reps for the first time this offseason, having previously split them with veteran Andy Dalton. As confirmed by by both head coach Frank Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer, this switch was had been planned in advance and communicated to both signal-callers.

The move comes after the Panthers had taken a cautious approach with Young to begin his first NFL offseason, one in which he is widely expected to be confirmed as the team’s No. 1 for the season. The Alabama product was the target of the team’s trade-up to the top selection, and is thus in their plans as a franchise passer for the long-term future. To no surprise, though, Reich declined to use the depth chart promotion as a reason to declare Young the 2023 starter.

“Not yet,” Reich said when asked about a timeline on that front. “He’s showing everything you want to see. But this goes back to even the draft decision – you don’t make a decision until you have to make it. We’re just giving him and our team the opportunity to get better and to earn that starting role.”

Dalton, 35, signed with the Panthers on a two-year deal in March, continuing his moves around the league after the end of his Bengals tenure. The three-time Pro Bowler had one-year stints in Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans where he was brought in to serve as a backup, though he logged 29 starts over that span. After staying ahead of Jameis Winston on the Saints’ depth chart last season, Dalton confirmed his belief that he could handle QB1 duties in a different situation.

“I definitely think that I’m still one of the 32 [best] guys out there,” the former second-rounder said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “But I know that’s not the position I’m in. My whole goal is to kind of be the example and… not necessarily set the standard but show how it’s supposed to be done.”

Dalton posted a 6-8 record as a starter in New Orleans, tossing 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 66.7% of his passes. Those totals helped keep the Saints in playoff contention deep into the season, though they elected to retain Winston and add Derek Carr this offseason. Dalton could still be a trusted backup for Carolina, especially compared to third-stringer Matt Corral, who missed his entire rookie year in 2022 due to injury.

The Panthers face numerous questions heading into 2023, given the myriad changes which have taken place on and off the field and the sidelines, and the resultant expectations for improvement on offense. Young will no doubt be a focal point for attention in that regard, and his process toward being the starter has taken an important step. His progression through the rest of the offseason will remain a storyline to follow in Charlotte.

Bengals Set To Face Challenge To Young Culture

June 10th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bengals have established a pattern in recent years that show they prize youth and tend not to sign players to third contracts. After past days of paying staples like Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, and A.J. Green, Cincinnati has flipped gears, allowing such mainstays as C.J. Uzomah, Vonn Bell, and Giovani Bernard to walk in favor of younger players. Center Ted Karras is the only starter currently in his 30s, and backups safety Michael Thomas and quarterback Trevor Siemian are the only others on the roster older than him.

This newfound aversion to paying players into their 30s will be put to the test in the next two years, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Next year will be a contract year for cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, wide receiver Tyler Boyd, and defensive tackle D.J. Reader, all currently wrapping up their second contracts. The following offseason will see the pending free agency of defensive end Trey Hendrickson, as well. If recent tradition holds true, none of the four would don striped helmets in 2025. These four present a great challenge to the Bengals’ young philosophy.

Perhaps projecting this exact philosophy, Cincinnati used three draft picks on these positions, selecting pass rusher Myles Murphy in the first round, cornerback DJ Turner II in the second round, and wide receiver Charlie Jones in the fourth round. Jones doesn’t quite have the size to be an eventual replacement for Boyd, but Murphy and Turner seem like clear attempts to bolster the future at those two positions.

You’ll notice Reader didn’t have a possible replacement drafted. Dehner asserts that of all the aging players, Reader stands the best chance of returning on a third contract. Ever since arriving from Houston, Reader has played at another level for the Bengals. He’s a captain and the spirit of the team’s defense. Dehner asserts that the benefits of milking every last ounce of football talent out of Reader outweigh the risks of taking on a portion of his eventual decline. The Bengals may need some convincing, though, as interior defensive linemen rarely display top play into their 30s. Reader turns 29 at the turn of this month.

Hendrickson likely holds the spot as the next most-likely candidate for a third contract. An underrated addition when he came over from New Orleans, Hendrickson has been nothing short of a star in Cincinnati. He followed up an impressive contract year as a Saint with two straight Pro Bowl seasons, including one with 14.0 sacks. Hendrickson turns 29 this December, meaning the Saints will have to consider whether to bring him back for any of his 30s next offseason. Truly talented pass rushers are hard to come by, so if Hendrickson performs to his usual potential, it should be an easy decision for the Bengals. Any injuries or setbacks in production, though, could put his future with the team in jeopardy.

Of course, this is all purely academic as of right now. The Bengals recent moves could all be coincidental, or they could be working on a case-by-case basis with none yet meeting the requirements necessary to reach a third contract. Regardless, Reader, Hendrickson, Boyd, and Awuzie are all headed towards that eventual consideration. Will they be the first to buck the team’s recent trends or will Cincinnati’s roster continue to be one of the youngest in the league?

More On The New Contract For Bills DT Ed Oliver

June 10th, 2023 at 4:35pm CST by Ely Allen

When the Bills extended defensive tackle Ed Oliver last week, we examined how the deal was an accurate reflection of Oliver’s talents, rewarding him for his accomplishments while not placing him with the elite at the position. If anything, the deal seemed a bit heavy for what Oliver had shown on the stat sheet, but some insight, provided by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, was able to help put the deal in perspective.

We already noted that the deal reduced his cap hit in the coming season from $10.75MM down to $5.78MM. We also noted that the big payday only slotted Oliver 11th at his position for average annual value. These points help to explain a bit about how reasonable the deal was financially, but Breer gave some reasoning for why the deal was as high of a payday as it was despite the apparent lack of production.

The Bills reportedly utilized advanced statistics when determining Oliver’s value. They saw that, despite his lack of statistical production, Buffalo’s pass rush excelled significantly more when Oliver was on the field. They found that, while Oliver’s lack of size and length can make it difficult to finish plays, he’s still disruptive enough to move to the ball out of position, allowing his teammates to reap the benefits off of his impact.

The team also expected much more from Oliver in 2022, predicting a breakthrough year after an impressive camp. Unfortunately, a high ankle sprain in the first half of the season opener against the Rams really knocked him off-kilter. Although he was able to return to the field just five weeks later, Oliver told people he didn’t quite feel right again until March. This projected potential helped inflate Oliver’s deal a bit, despite what was considered a bit of a down year.

We were also provided with some details on terms of the deal, thanks to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. We had reported a four-year, $68MM value with $45MM (now, more accurately, $45.28MM) guaranteed. We later added on that part of that guaranteed money was a $14.75MM signing bonus. Now, we know that, of that $45.28MM, $24.53MM is guaranteed at signing and is composed of the signing bonus, Oliver’s 2023 base salary of $2.03MM, and $7.75MM of his 2024 base salary (worth $14.75MM total). The $7MM-remainder of the 2024 salary becomes guaranteed the day following next year’s Super Bowl. $8.25MM of his 2025 base salary (worth $13.75MM total) becomes guaranteed on the fifth league day of the 2024 season, and the remaining $5.5MM becomes guaranteed if he’s still on the roster for the fifth league day of the 2025 season. He’ll have base salaries in 2026 and 2027 of $14.13MM and $14.4MM respectively.

Oliver can earn plenty in bonuses over the course of the deal. He’ll get a 2024 option bonus of $12.5MM, which, if exercised, would reduce his base salary amount for that year to $2.25MM. He can also receive an offseason roster bonus in 2025 of $1.25MM. There are workout bonuses of $500k per year starting in 2024, as well as per game active roster bonuses starting in that season of $25k for a potential additional $425k per season. There are also two undefined incentives worked into the deal for a potential $500k in 2023 and a possible $750k in each of the following years of the deal. The deal also has a built-in out that would allow the team to cut Oliver after the 2025 season for over $40MM of cap savings and only $5.9MM of dead cap.

So, that’s the skinny on how the Bills constructed Oliver’s new deal. They were able to reward the anchor of their defensive line while incentivizing him to continue to improve his performance. They locked Oliver down for a long-term deal and were able to alleviate their cap situation a bit in the process.

Browns WR Amari Cooper Back With Team After Surgery

June 10th, 2023 at 3:10pm CST by Ely Allen

The Browns knew that they’d have to go through part of the offseason without their lead receiver, Amari Cooper, after he underwent core surgery back in February. Luckily for Cleveland, Cooper is already back working with teammates, missing a fairly minimal amount of offseason work, according to Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Cooper is a crucial returning member of the Browns offense. After a down 2021 season in Dallas that saw him fail to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2017, Cooper rebounded beautifully in Cleveland as a top target for quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Deshaun Watson. He delivered a masterful performance in his age-28 season, catching 78 passes for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns, leading the team in all three categories.

Cleveland also returns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and tight end David Njoku, who ranked second and third on the team in the different receiving categories, but after them, production dropped off dramatically, making Cooper’s presence in the offense that much more crucial. The Browns did trade for former Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore, who had varying levels of success in New York and signed veteran Marquise Goodwin, who has historically been a strong contributor throughout his career. Those additions should take some of the pressure off of young receivers Cedric Tillman (2023 third-round pick out of Tennessee), David Bell, Anthony Schwartz, and Jaelon Darden to be immediate contributors.

The team has also been exploring the possibility of reuniting Watson with his former Houston teammate, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Having a top-three of Hopkins, Cooper, and Peoples-Jones would improve the team’s talent in the room from good to elite. The addition of Hopkins has been deemed “unlikely,” but it’s still apparently on the table. With neither Hopkins nor Cooper, the Browns top-three would be Peoples-Jones, Goodwin, and Bell or Tillman, making Cooper’s return all the more relieving.

Regardless, Cooper is back with plenty of time to get back in shape for the regular season. He’ll be working to get fully healthy while continuing to build on his rapport with Watson in preparation for a full season with Watson behind center.

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