HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Latest On Sale Of Commanders

June 7th, 2023 at 8:27pm CST by Ely Allen

In one of our most recent updates on the situation, we mentioned a meeting between Josh Harris and the NFL owners finance committee set to take place today. The meeting with the eight-member committee did, in fact, occur today, and according to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, it went very well.

Harris attended the meeting with fellow investor Mitchell Rales. Rales, co-founder of the Danaher Corporation, is one of the group’s top investors and reportedly holds favor with the committee. Other reported investors include South American billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo, whose family’s portfolio includes the likes of Anhueser-Busch InBev, Chilean bank Corpbanca, and Spanish bank Inmobiliaria Colonial, ex-CEO of Google Eric Schmidt, chair of the DC Open tennis tournament Mark Ein, and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

The meeting was intended to be an opportunity for Harris to address a number of issues the committee had with his most recent proposal, namely issues concerning the amount of debt held by the potential new owner, as well as some tax and incentive issues. Maske and Jhabvala reported that the two and a half hour meeting “was productive and, barring any unforeseen setbacks, the sale is advancing toward expected ratification by the league’s team owners as soon as next month.”

In the meeting, Harris was apparently very cooperative and “continued to pledge to make the requested adjustments to his deal.” The impending ratification is contingent on Harris meeting those requests, but everyone around the situation seems nearly certain that he will be able to do that.

The next owners’ meeting isn’t scheduled to take place until October, but a call for a special session is expected to take place to assist the progress of the sale. The special session could take place as soon as late July and would require approval from 24 of the league’s 32 owners. The approval is not a main concern, as the owners generally follow the finance committee’s recommendations in situations like the sale of a franchise. The vote, theoretically, could be taken remotely, but for important matters such as this, the league tends to prefer an in-person meeting.

Part of the rush comes from the exclusivity of the deal. Harris reached a signed, exclusive agreement with current owner Dan Snyder on May 12, following the submission of a nonexclusive version of the deal to the NFL for an informal review. The exact number isn’t known but the time limit on Harris’ exclusivity is estimated to be either 60 or 90 days. Seeing as the next scheduled owners’ meeting is far beyond that deadline, the special session becomes crucial.

So, to this point, Harris and the finance committee have come to an agreement as to what will make the deal acceptable. The finance committee will meet several more times virtually to ensure that things are on track and a vote will hopefully be taken in the next 60 days. The owners are reportedly eager to approve the deal and oust Snyder, but they need Harris to meet their demands. The finish line is coming more and more into focus with each report and seems just on the horizon.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/7/23

June 7th, 2023 at 6:53pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Banogu is a local product for Dallas, even playing for the nearby Horned Frogs in Fort Worth for college. While at TCU, Banogu totaled 8.5 sacks in each season while racking up a combined 34.5 tackles for loss. His ability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage factored into the Colts selecting him in the second round in 2019. After a disappointing first three seasons, we considered him a likely release candidate, but he was able to finish out his rookie contract and hit free agency instead.

In Dallas, Banogu has a long line to work through to earn snaps. The Cowboys have quite a bit of depth at defensive end with Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, last year’s second-round pick Sam Williams, Dante Fowler, Takkarist McKinley, Chauncey Golston, and more on the roster. Banogu will have to live up to his second-round draft stock in order to break onto the field in Dallas.

Titans Work Out DL Michael Brockers

June 7th, 2023 at 5:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thanks to a February Lions release, Michael Brockers has been a free agent for more than three months. The veteran defensive lineman, however, is receiving interest to join what would be a third NFL team.

The Titans brought in the former Rams and Lions defensive lineman for a recent workout, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. A former first-round pick, Brockers has 11 years’ experience. Though, he ended his Lions stay with a run of healthy scratches.

[RELATED: Titans To Meet With DeAndre Hopkins]

Last season marked a change of pace for Brockers, who had played in at least 14 games in each season from 2013-21. The durable defensive lineman started 16 games for the 2021 Lions, being traded just before the Rams began their Super Bowl LVI march. Brockers did log a start in Super Bowl LIII, however. For his career, the 32-year-old interior D-lineman has made 157 career starts.

Tennessee lost some of its D-line depth this offseason, seeing DeMarcus Walker and Mario Edwards depart in free agency. The Titans did not draft a D-lineman this year, and although they roster one of the game’s best — in the recently extended Jeffery Simmons — and still have veteran Denico Autry under contract, it would not surprise to see the team make a summer addition to its defensive front.

Dating back to the Rams’ St. Louis days, Brockers spent nine seasons as a starter for the Missouri- and California-based franchise. The former No. 14 overall pick arrived two years before Aaron Donald, moving into St. Louis’ starting lineup as a rookie. While Brockers spent the first several years of his career in Jeff Fisher‘s 4-3 scheme, he successfully transitioned to the role of a 3-4 end under Wade Phillips and then Brandon Staley. Once one of the better interior defensive lineman in the game, Brockers did not transition too well to Detroit’s defense. Pro Football Focus rated him as one of the league’s worst D-line regulars in 2021, and the Lions benched him after five starts last season.

Brockers has 29 career sacks and 64 tackles for loss. He posted five sacks and 10 TFLs during his final Rams season (2020). Tennessee has utilized a 3-4 scheme for many years, and while Brockers signed a big-ticket Rams extension back in 2016 and agreed to a three-year, $24MM Lions deal in 2021, the LSU alum is unlikely to be a costly addition for a Titans team that has Hopkins on its radar.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Metchie

June 7th, 2023 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts had Isaiah Rodgers in mind when they traded Stephon Gilmore and let Brandon Facyson defect to the Raiders in free agency. It now looks like Rodgers, currently under investigation for an alleged violation of the NFL’s gambling policy, will not play this season. Three other players — C.J. Moore, Quintez Cephus and Shaka Toney — found to have bet on NFL games received indefinite bans that will cover at least the 2023 season. The Colts did not become aware of the Rodgers investigation until it surfaced recently, Stephen Holder of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter).

Although the Colts did not know about any Rodgers gambling probe during the draft, they chose cornerback Julius Brents in the second round. But the team already had a long-term need at the position, even if Rodgers was part of the 2023 equation. Rodgers, who admitted to some degree of wrongdoing hours after the report of his gambling surfaced, was not at the Colts’ latest OTA session, per Holder. The fourth-year defender had attended Indy voluntary workouts this offseason.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • As the list of AFC teams connected to DeAndre Hopkins expanded again today — via the former All-Pro’s upcoming Titans meeting — the Jaguars do not appear interested. Doug Pederson said (via 1010 AM’s Mia O’Brien) it is “not a reality” for the team to add another receiver piece. This makes sense, as the Jaguars already have their top three receivers tied to notable contracts. The team’s top move for 2023 was adding Calvin Ridley to a receiving corps housing Christian Kirk‘s $18MM-per-year contract and Zay Jones‘ $8MM-AAV deal. Ridley is tied to a $10.9MM fifth-year option, which tolled from 2022 due to his gambling-induced absence.
  • On the subject of re-emerging receivers, the Texans will have to wait a bit longer for John Metchie. While the 2022 second-round pick did some offseason work, he is currently sidelined with a hamstring strain. Metchie suffered the injury during the first phase of Houston’s offseason program, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who adds a training camp return is expected. Metchie is on his way back from the leukemia diagnosis that sidelined him as a rookie. The Alabama product also has not played since suffering a torn ACL late in the 2021 season.
  • A ruptured Achilles tendon kept Rigoberto Sanchez off the field throughout last season, but the veteran Colts punter is back at work. Sanchez is punting again, per the Indianapolis Star, though he has yet to participate in a Colts workout. The team is ramping up its seventh-year punter, who sustained the injury to his punting leg in practice just before last season. Sanchez, who has also served as Indy’s kickoff man, is entering the final season of his four-year, $11.6MM contract. Sanchez, 28, is the only punter on Indianapolis’ roster.

Latest On Jets’ Tackle Situation

June 7th, 2023 at 3:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

On track to play a 16th NFL season, Duane Brown expressed hesitation regarding a potential move to right tackle to accommodate Mekhi Becton. As was the case last year, Becton may still be ticketed for the Jets’ right tackle gig.

Becton affirmed his strong preference to return to left tackle, and predicted he would regain the job early in training camp, but Robert Saleh has not ruled out keeping the injury-prone blocker on the right side. With Brown having 15 years’ experience and winning over Saleh and other Jets staffers by playing through a shoulder injury last year, the New York Post’s Brian Costello views the five-time Pro Bowler as having the inside track to the job protecting Aaron Rodgers‘ blind side.

[RELATED: Jets Decline Becton’s Fifth-Year Option]

“You guys know I love Duane,” Saleh said. “Like I said, last year his money was guaranteed, didn’t have to play a down … and he didn’t have to subject his body to what he did, but he stepped on the field, played as many games as he possibly could with torn rotator cuffs and did a really nice job, so he’s going to fight for it.

“He doesn’t believe he’s entitled to anything. He believes he’s got to earn everything, and there’s a reason why he’s played for so long and has had so much success. I mean, look at him: He’s a brick house. He can still play as many years as he’s willing to play.”

Saleh has been asked to respond to two Becton salvos about his positional preference, and Costello adds the former first-round pick blaming the Jets coaches for his second major knee injury understandably did not go over well with the staff. Becton spent a second offseason out of commission due to knee surgery, and while he has dropped upwards of 45 pounds this year and is expected to be healthy by the time camp starts, Brown’s experience may still win out.

Brown, 37, is the league’s oldest active O-lineman and has 215 career starts on his resume. That sits in the top 10 all time for pure tackles. Pro Football Focus assigned Brown a career-worst grade last season, placing him barely inside the top 70 at tackle, but it has been made clear the former Texans and Seahawks left tackle played hurt. Brown underwent shoulder surgery this offseason. While it does not sound like the Jets are entertaining a late-summer cut, which would save them $9.7MM, Brown is not a lock to be ready by the time camp starts. (The Jets are not holding a minicamp this year, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets, with Saleh having canceled it. The team is set to report to training camp a week early due to its booking in this year’s Hall of Fame Game.)

Becton, who has missed 33 straight games since a September 2021 knee injury threw his career off track, was not due to participate in the since-canceled minicamp. The Jets planned to make Becton their starting right tackle last year — prior to his second major knee malady — and Costello expects that scenario to play out this year. He will still need to beat out Nathaniel Hackett favorite Billy Turner, who has now worked with Hackett in three cities (Green Bay, Denver, New York), and second-year pro Max Mitchell for the gig.

With the much-discussed Broderick Jones what-if in the rearview, Becton’s position will be one of the top Jets storylines to follow at camp. Seeing as the Jets’ tackle situation will garner more attention thanks to Rodgers’ arrival, how Saleh, Hackett and new O-line coach Keith Carter divvy up snaps between Brown, Becton and Turner will certainly be worth monitoring later this summer.

Bills Targeted Leonard Floyd Regardless Of Von Miller’s Status

June 7th, 2023 at 12:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Von Miller is coming off his second ACL tear. While the future Hall of Fame pass rusher re-emerged from a December 2013 tear in time for Week 1 of the ’14 season, he is now 34. Given how the Bills proceeded with Tre’Davious White, it would not surprise to see the team exercise caution with Miller’s return.

Miller now expects to be ready by Week 1, but Buffalo’s recent one-year Leonard Floyd deal provides some protection against the 13th-year veteran needing more recovery time. Though, the team will be expected to have both veterans in uniform fairly early in the season. GM Brandon Beane has since said (via ESPN.com’s Alaina Getzenberg) the Bills targeted Floyd regardless of Miller’s health situation.

Last year, the Bills gave Miller a $120MM deal with guarantees stretching into Year 3. This pried Miller from the Rams’ grasp, with the Bills viewing the star edge rusher as a missing piece in what had been a homegrown defensive end crew. Miller tallied eight sacks in the 10 games he finished last season, but the team certainly missed him following the Thanksgiving ACL tear. Floyd, who has not missed a game since the 2017 season, profiles as a seasoned insurance option.

Floyd, 30, benefited from Miller and Aaron Donald during the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI push two seasons ago but also totaled a career-high 22 quarterback hits last season — one in which the Rams shut down Donald after 12 games. Floyd collected four of his nine sacks without Donald in the lineup, offering potential as a standalone edge presence for a Bills team that hopes to see more from its younger rushers. Of course, Floyd’s presence will reduce that contingent’s playing time.

Gregory Rousseau, a 2021 first-round pick, totaled three of his eight sacks after Miller’s injury, and A.J. Epenesa (Round 2, 2020) finished with a career-best 6.5. Boogie Basham has struggled to make a steady impact since going off the board in the 2021 second round, totaling 4.5 sacks in 23 career games. The Bills also re-signed Shaq Lawson this offseason. It does not seem the team will have room for six D-ends. Unless Miller begins the season on the reserve/PUP list, it would seem likely one of the sextet is not on the team’s initial 53-man roster.

Floyd’s arrival will give the Bills three players with at least one eight-sack season on their resume. Miller and Floyd have combined for 13 such slates, with Rousseau getting there in 2022. Floyd still fared decently as a street free agent, despite waiting until June to sign. Several edge rushers resided in the same boat, as that market has not moved much this year. Floyd’s deal may help establish a veteran market of sorts, with the likes of Frank Clark, Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney still available.

To land Floyd, the Bills authorized $7MM guaranteed on a contract that maxes out at $9MM. The team will spread out Floyd’s $5.84MM signing bonus over four years, via the use of three void years, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The void years drop Floyd’s cap hit to $2.6MM. Thanks to Ed Oliver‘s extension taking the defensive tackle’s fifth-year option price out of the equation, the Bills created some cap room for Floyd. They still hold $5.5MM, which is nearly $5MM more than they carried at this point last week.

Falcons’ Avery Williams To Miss Season

June 7th, 2023 at 10:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Avery Williams has served as the primary kick- and punt-return option for the Falcons over the past two seasons. The team looks likely to need other contributors in these roles in 2023.

An injury sustained during the Falcons’ offseason program is set to sideline Williams — probably for the season. Arthur Smith said Wednesday that Williams will undergo ACL surgery. While the third-year HC did not specify if the ligament was fully torn, ACL surgery obviously threatens Williams’ third NFL season. It is, in fact, an ACL tear, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The noncontact injury occurred during a Falcons OTA practice last week; Williams’ surgery is scheduled for Thursday.

Smith said Josh Ali, offseason addition Mike Hughes and perhaps wide receiver Penny Hart are candidates to take over as Atlanta’s punt returner, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter (on Twitter). Williams logged 38 punt returns over the past two seasons. All-Decade kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson obviously looms as a candidate to handle the kick-return role, especially considering the Falcons’ Bijan Robinson draft choice. But Patterson has been used mostly as a running back in Atlanta.

Williams stepped in as Atlanta’s main kick returner following Patterson’s early-season knee injury last year. The former fifth-round pick has logged 41 kick returns during his two-season run. Williams, whom the Falcons converted from cornerback to running back in 2022, also played a role as a reserve on offense last season. After not seeing time on defense as a rookie, Williams’ position change led to 22 carries (for 109 yards) and 13 receptions (for 61) in 2022. Williams’ 292 punt-return yards ranked 10th last season.

The Falcons are fairly deep at running back, minimizing this injury on that front. The team added Robinson to a group housing 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley. The return game figures to be more impacted by this offseason setback. It will certainly be interesting if the Falcons utilize Patterson, 32, as a full-time kick returner. While not used much as a punt returner during his 10-year career, the four-time All-Pro is one of the best kick returners in NFL history. He led the NFL with 35 kick returns with the Bears in 2020 but has not topped 18 in either of his Falcons seasons.

Dalton Risner Drawing Free Agency Interest

June 7th, 2023 at 10:12am CST by Sam Robinson

The 2023 guard market produced four deals north of $7MM per year, but as Dalton Risner‘s top free agent peers committed to deals soon after the league year began, the four-year Broncos starter did not get what he wanted. Nearly three months later, Risner remains unsigned.

This might not continue for much longer. It sounds like Risner will have an opportunity soon, with 9News’ Mike Klis noting the former second-round pick has received interest from several teams. Seven clubs are in on Risner, and while that picture would present a bidding war, it is unlikely the offers are especially lucrative at this point in the offseason.

Still, Risner is one of the top players available. He joined Ben Powers, Isaac Seumalo and Nate Davis as guards on PFR’s top 50 free agents list. Powers will replace Risner in Denver, signing this offseason’s top guard deal (four years, $52MM; $27MM fully guaranteed). Davis signed for $10MM per year (with the Bears), while Seumalo received a three-year, $24MM pact from the Steelers. Connor McGovern also signed a three-year, $22.35MM deal with the Bills. The Broncos’ Powers pact came together quickly, being reported minutes after this year’s legal tampering period began. That effectively ensured Risner, a Colorado native, would need to land his second contract elsewhere.

Risner is going into his age-28 season. The Kansas State product started all 62 games he played in Denver, playing both left and right guard. Joining Garett Bolles as a Broncos O-line constant over the past four years, Risner will be looking for a new team — potentially a one-year audition to better position himself for success on the 2024 market — after the Broncos gave Powers his job. A Denver reunion is highly unlikely, with Powers joining emerging right guard Quinn Meinerz as the team’s starters.

A number of teams could still use guard help, however. Among guards, ESPN rated Risner as a top-10 pass blocker in 2022 and a top-10 run blocker in 2021. Pro Football Focus ranked Risner just outside the top 40 at guard last season; the advanced metrics site gave him a top-30 guard grade in 2021. Beyond Meinerz’s improvement, not much went right for the Broncos’ offense last season. While Risner helped Phillip Lindsay to the second of his 1,000-yard seasons to start his career back in 2019, the Broncos have not accomplished much offensively during the 2020s. Sean Payton is now in place to remedy that, and after rumblings of Risner residing behind Dre’Mont Jones in Denver’s free agency pecking order, the now-Payton-led team re-signed neither and pivoted to outside help on both their offensive and defensive lines.

Risner did finish his contract year on IR, having suffered a UCL sprain. It is worth wondering if the injury affected his market. It will be interesting to see where the veteran starter lands.

Shaq Thompson Discusses Decision To Stay With Panthers

June 7th, 2023 at 9:54am CST by Sam Robinson

The only Panthers starter left from Super Bowl 50, Shaq Thompson agreed to terms on a new contract this offseason. The decision kept Thompson in Carolina, but it amounted to a pay cut.

Thompson was previously tethered to a four-year, $54.43MM deal — one agreed to in December 2019 — that ran through 2023. While that contract paid nearly $14MM per year, Thompson’s new deal ties him to the team through 2024 at a $6.3MM AAV. In exchange for this reduction in average salary, the Panthers handed Thompson $8.5MM in guaranteed money.

Guarantees notwithstanding, Thompson is now on a deal in line with many linebackers who signed this offseason. While Tremaine Edmunds and Bobby Okereke signed deals for eight figures per year, a number of linebackers — Kyzir White, Azeez Al-Shaair, David Long, Bobby Wagner, Alex Singleton, Cole Holcomb, Alex Anzalone, T.J. Edwards, Eric Kendricks and Germaine Pratt — signed for between $5MM and $7MM per annum.

“Just look at the linebacker market; nobody was getting paid,” Thompson said, via Panthers.com’s Augusta Stone. “So it was just weighing out, ‘Do I want to be here, or do I want to go somewhere else? Do I want to be with my brothers, who I went to war with, or do I want to go to a different team and meet new people?’ And shoot, I’m a big loyal guy. So I stayed with my brothers.”

Thompson agreed to his redone deal just before that market formed, with news of the contract coming out March 11 — two days before the legal tampering period began. The new deal also extended Thompson’s contract by a year and includes a $2MM salary guarantee for 2024. That would be unlikely to stop the Panthers from moving on next year, should Thompson’s play tail off in his upcoming age-29 season, but the team did make a 2024 release more difficult by adding three void years to the deal.

Of the above-referenced lot of ILBs, only two (Anzalone and Singleton) received more than the $8.5MM fully guaranteed Thompson did. Both the Lions and Broncos linebackers secured $9MM guaranteed. Thompson’s agreement effectively served as one of the market-setting moves at a position this offseason. While Thompson’s previous extension gave him the third-most guaranteed money among linebackers at the time, this one will keep his Carolina career going as another new coaching staff takes over.

Thompson’s name emerged in trade rumors shortly after Matt Rhule‘s firing, joining just about every other Panthers veteran of note. While Christian McCaffrey, Chosen Anderson and D.J. Moore are gone, Thompson will stick around after his fourth straight 100-tackle season. As the Panthers rallied back from their 1-5 start, Thompson finished with a career-high 135 tackles. Pro Football Focus rated the Washington alum as a top-25 linebacker overall but slotted him second at the position against the run, with only Wagner earning a higher grade in that area.

Drafted during the Dave Gettleman–Ron Rivera period, Thompson has 106 games for the Panthers. Among linebackers, that number trails only Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly — the team’s prized duo when Thompson arrived — in franchise history. Thompson starting 13 games this season will move him past Kuechly on that list.

Bills Sign CB Cameron Dantzler

June 7th, 2023 at 8:09am CST by Sam Robinson

Cameron Dantzler is now headed to a third city this year. The Bills will give the former Vikings third-round pick a chance, doing so not long after the Commanders moved his rookie contract off their payroll.

The Bills are signing the fourth-year cornerback to a one-year deal, according to the team. Washington had claimed Dantzler’s rookie deal in March, but the Mississippi State product will now attempt to play his fourth NFL season in Buffalo.

While the Bills have been busy with defensive transactions over the past few days, extending Ed Oliver and signing Leonard Floyd, the three-time reigning AFC East champions have not done too much at corner this offseason. The team selected Alex Austin in Round 7 but is largely running it back at the position. Dantzler figures to compete for a backup job. In a corresponding move, Buffalo waived cornerback Kyler McMichael.

The Vikings used Dantzler as a regular starter last season, doing so despite drafting Andrew Booth in the 2022 second round. Dantzler, 24, played ahead of Booth and worked as the team’s primary boundary corner opposite Patrick Peterson. The Vikings have moved on from both veterans, with Peterson now with the Steelers. After adding Brian Flores as defensive coordinator, Minnesota has retooled on that side of the ball this offseason. Dantzler has 26 starts on his resume, bringing extensive experience to a Bills team that has seen injuries make a major impact on its depth at this position in recent years.

Tre’Davious White‘s long-awaited return from an ACL tear did not come until Thanksgiving, with the team’s No. 1 corner being out a full calendar year. Emerging seventh-round pick Christian Benford also missed eight games as a rookie. Dantzler stands to join Benford as a backup for a team eager to play 2022 first-rounder Kaiir Elam alongside White.

Pro Football Focus graded Dantzler as a mid-tier corner last season, slotting him 65th at the position. The advanced metrics site viewed Dantzler’s work in 2020 and ’21 as superior, grading the 6-foot-2 cover man in the top 25 each year. The Bills will take a flier, with the former SEC defender aiming to avoid being cut by a third team in 2023. Buffalo also rosters fourth-year corner Dane Jackson (22 career starts) and Siran Neal, with Taron Johnson still in place in the slot.

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