2024 February - Pro Football Rumors

Month: December 2024

Jets To Release OL Laken Tomlinson

February 26th, 2024 at 7:06pm CST by Ben Levine

Laken Tomlinson‘s stint with the Jets has ended after two seasons. The Jets are releasing the veteran offensive guard, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The move will save the Jets more than $8MM against the cap, with the lineman counting for $10.71MM in dead money. Tomlinson was set to enter the final season of the three-year, $40MM pact he signed with the organization back in 2022. While the veteran has been a consistent presence through his two years with the organization, his future in New York was in doubt considering his $18.85MM cap hit for the 2024 campaign.

The former first-round pick spent his first two seasons in Detroit before finding a home in San Francisco. He ended up spending five seasons with the 49ers, including a 2021 campaign where he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod while ranking 13th among 82 eligible guard candidates (via Pro Football Focus).

Part of the appeal of Tomlinson was his reliability, and he certainly delivered in that regard during his time with the Jets. He started all 34 of his appearances in New York, and the 32-year-old lineman has an active 114-game starting streak. However, Tomlinson wasn’t able to carry over his 49ers production during his stint in New York.

Following that aforementioned 13th-place finish in 2021, Pro Football Focus hasn’t graded Tomlinson higher than 53rd in either of his two seasons in New York. The website was especially critical of his run-blocking ability, ranking him in the bottom-20 at his position in that category this past season.

With Tomlinson officially out, the Jets will be seeking at least three new lineman next season. Depending on how the team proceeds with Alijah Vera-Tucker, the Jets could be pursuing two new offensive tackles and a new offensive guard. There’s an expectation that the organization will look to fill at least one of those holes via free agency, and they could also turn to the draft for reinforcement (especially with their tenth-overall pick).

Raiders Will “Attempt” To Re-Sign RB Josh Jacobs

February 26th, 2024 at 6:17pm CST by Ben Levine

None of the big-name, impending-free-agent running backs are expected to be franchise tagged, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that teams are closing the door on retaining their offensive focal points. This includes the Raiders, who will attempt to re-sign free agent RB Josh Jacobs, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

There have been previous rumblings that the Raiders could look to retain the star running back, but only on their terms. The team had no interest in franchising Jacobs for a second-straight season, a move that would have locked the RB into a $14.14MM salary. That commitment would have placed Jacobs third at his position in average annual value (behind Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara) and would have marked a nearly $2.5MM increase on his 2023 cap hit.

Considering the deep free agency class at the position and the anticipated squeeze that some free agent RBs will surely face, it should be a relief for Jacobs that the Raiders are somewhat valuing continuity. The running back has spent his entire career with the organization, including a 2022 campaign where he finished with a league-high 2,053 yards from scrimmage to go along with 12 touchdowns. That performance followed the Raiders’ decision to not pick up his fifth-year option, making Jacobs an impending free agent last offseason.

The organization never let their star hit free agency, slapping him with the franchise tag instead. The two sides couldn’t agree to a long-term extension but ultimately reworked the 2023 contract to avoid a holdout. While Jacobs couldn’t match his 2022 production, he still compiled 1,101 yards from scrimmage before missing the final four games of the season.

This time around, Jacobs will be facing a different regime in Las Vegas, although that might not end up working out in his favor. As our own Adam La Rose recently pointed out, new Raiders GM Tom Telesco was running the Chargers front office when the organization allowed Austin Ekeler to pursue a trade in lieu of an extension. The standoff between running backs and front offices will certainly be one of the major story lines of the offseason, and Jacobs will be a central figure in the conversation.

If Jacobs doesn’t return to Las Vegas, the Raiders could pivot to Zamir White. The former fourth-round pick had a chance to start at the end of this past season, averaging more than 114 yards from scrimmage in his four games as the lead back.

Lions Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin To Two-Year Extension

February 26th, 2024 at 5:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Jalen Reeves-Maybin is sticking in Detroit, and the special teams ace is making history with his next contract. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Reeves-Maybin has agreed to a two-year extension with the Lions. The veteran was set to hit free agency in a few weeks.

The contract is worth $7.5MM and can max out at $8MM. The deal features $5.245MM in guaranteed money, including a $2.5MM signing bonus. That type of money makes Reeves-Maybin the “highest-paid core special-teamer ever,” per Garafolo.

The Tennessee product was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He served as a backup linebacker and special teamer through his first four seasons in the league, but he finally had a chance to start in 2021. Reeves-Maybin started 11 of his 15 appearances that season, finishing with 82 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles.

He parlayed that performance into a two-year contract with the Texans, but he mostly found himself playing special teams in Houston. After getting cut by Houston last offseason, he returned to Detroit on a one-year deal. He ended up turning into a special teams ace, finishing the season with 20 tackles and a handful of highlight plays. Thanks to his performance, the 29-year-old earned second-team All-Pro honors.

Dave Ziegler To Join Saints Through 2024 Draft

February 26th, 2024 at 4:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

When the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels midway through his second season with the team, general manager Dave Ziegler was also dismissed. The latter has found his next NFL opportunity, at least on a short-term basis.

Ziegler is joining the Saints as an advisor through the upcoming draft, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. This temporary agreement will give New Orleans an experienced voice in key personnel decisions over the coming weeks as the team navigates its annual slate of cap gymnastics and free agency. The draft itself will of course be another crucial checkpoint on the offseason calendar.

Ziegler started his executive career with the Broncos in 2010. He worked as a player personnel assistant that year, but some of his subsequent experience came on the scouting side of the operation in Denver and New England. The 46-year-old worked his way up to player personnel director with the Patriots in 2021 before taking the Raiders’ GM gig.

Things did not go according to plan in Vegas, however. The Raiders went 14-20 during his time in charge, a span which took on a distinctly ‘Patriot Way’ flavor. A number of ex-Patriots players were brought in, including quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The veteran encountered new injury concerns in his debut Vegas campaign, and he was benched in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell by interim coach Antonio Pierce. Garoppolo’s PED suspension will allow the Raiders’ new regime to cut bait, but finding a replacement will be a top offseason priority in the bid to move on from the McDaniels-Ziegler tandem.

The Saints have a number of important decisions to make in the near future, including a continuation of the restructures and extensions which will be needed to get under the salary cap ceiling. A number of veterans – including wideout Michael Thomas, whose contract is set up for him to be released – will likely be let go, though. Replacing them via free agency and the draft will be key factors in the Saints’ bid to reach the postseason after going a combined 16-18 under head coach Dennis Allen. It will be interesting to see if Ziegler earns an extended stay in New Orleans or helps his stock for another executive position elsewhere once the draft has concluded.

Latest On Commanders’ Dan Quinn Hire

February 26th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

For much of the Commanders’ head coaching search, Lions OC Ben Johnson appeared to be in pole position for the gig. After he bowed out of the running, Mike Macdonald and Dan Quinn remained as the favorites, and it was the latter who was formally hired earlier this month.

Quinn is now in place for his second head coaching opportunity after a three-year run as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Further details on the hiring process have emerged, courtesy of a detailed piece from ESPN’s John Keim. Among the key takeaways is his report that Quinn was never considered a “Plan B” option for owner Josh Harris and the committee he assembled to find general manager Adam Peters and the team’s new coach.

That comes in the wake of serious interest shown by Washington in Macdonald, who turned a successful two-year stint as the Ravens’ DC into the head coaching position with the Seahawks. Multiple reports have stated the Commanders offered their HC spot to Macdonald before he ultimately joined Seattle on a six-year deal. Still, Peters has expressed confidence in Quinn’s candidacy irrespective of the other candidates looked at during the team’s lengthy search.

“Every time we spoke with Dan, it became more and more clear that he was the guy,” Peters said. “Both times it was like we were speaking the same language. It was really, really cool, had a great connection, had a great shared vision, so it was almost right away that I knew Dan would be a great coach for us.”

As Keim notes, Quinn received more votes of confidence from people outside the Commanders’ search committee than any other candidate. The 53-year-old has spent all but two seasons as a coach at the NFL level since 2001, earning a strong reputation as a defensive mind and leader along the way. He was viewed as being in the same tier for coaching options as Johnson, Keim notes, though the former ultimately received the highest score in the Commanders’ evaluation.

While those factors alone were obviously not the only ones informing Harris’ decision, they underscore how well-regarded Quinn was in the build-up to his hire. He will be tasked with replacing Ron Rivera and overseeing a rebuilding effort after Washington posted a 4-13 record in 2023. Given the nature of his arrival in the nation’s capital, it would not come as a surprise if he received a long leash as part of that process.

Raiders Add JoJo Wooden To Front Office

February 26th, 2024 at 1:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

FEBRUARY 26: The Wooden hire is now official, per a team announcement. The veteran executive will hold the title of senior director of player personnel, meaning he will be able to carry on in the same capacity as his time paired with Telesco with the Chargers.

FEBRUARY 8: Tom Telesco will bring one of his former lieutenants to the desert. The staffer who replaced Telesco as Chargers GM to close out the season, JoJo Wooden, is expected to join the Raiders.

Wooden, who worked alongside Telesco for 11 years in San Diego and Los Angeles, is set to become a key part of the next Raiders front office structure, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Prior to finishing out the season in the interim Bolts GM role, Wooden was in place as the team’s director of player personnel.

Although the Chargers interviewed Wooden for their GM job, no other teams brought him in for a meeting this offseason. The Raiders did not interview Wooden in 2022, though both the Bears and Steelers brought him in to discuss their GM jobs that year. Wooden, 54, has been a front office staffer in the NFL since 1997.

Telesco did not work with Wooden during his long-running Colts stay; the latter spent more than a decade with the Jets prior to trekking to San Diego in 2013. The former Syracuse defender started his personnel career during Bill Parcells‘ stay with the Jets in the late ’90s and stayed in New York through the 2012 season. Wooden rose to the role of assistant director of player personnel with the Jets, rising up the ranks on the scouting side.

Telesco hired Wooden as his player personnel director upon taking over as GM in 2013; the latter will bring extensive experience as a high-ranking FO staffer. The Raiders will rely on a Chargers blueprint they viewed in a positive light, despite their AFC West rivals’ frequent underachievement on the field.

With Jim Harbaugh reshaping the Chargers’ front office, hiring longtime Ravens execs Joe Hortiz and Chad Alexander to lead the way in L.A., Wooden did not appear to have a realistic chance of sticking around. The ex-Chargers bastions will go about competing with Harbaugh, along with Andy Reid and Sean Payton, in Las Vegas. While Harbaugh, Reid and Payton are the top figures with the other AFC West teams, the Raiders are the only one to have installed a GM atop their decision-making hierarchy. Telesco will control the Raiders’ roster.

Mutual Interest Between Broncos, K Wil Lutz

February 26th, 2024 at 1:24pm CST by Adam La Rose

Wil Lutz was one of many former Saints who joined head coach Sean Payton with the Broncos last offseason. The pair could continue their relationship in 2024 and beyond.

Denver has no plans on franchise tagging the veteran kicker, Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette reports. There is, however, a mutual interest for the sides to work out a multi-year agreement, he adds. Lutz came to Denver via trade from the Saints in late August, setting him up to handle kicking duties in the Mile High City.

The Broncos moved on from longtime kicker Brandon McManus, leaving open the door to a competition. Lutz’s arrival solidified the position, though, and he appeared in every game for the team. The 29-year-old experienced a rebound from his recent performances during his debut Denver campaign. Lutz connected on 30 of 34 field goal attempts (including three of five 50-plus yard tries), good for a success rate of 88.2%.

That marked Lutz’s highest conversion rate since his Pro Bowl campaign in 2019. It was also a better figure than any which McManus posted during his nine years in Denver or his performance with the Jaguars in 2023. In addition to his field goal success, Lutz went 29-for-31 on extra point attempts. As a result, it comes as little surprise both player and team would be willing to work out a deal in this case.

Lutz made $1.7MM in 2023 as he played out the end of his most recent Saints contract. His most lucrative pact earned to date was the five-year New Orleans deal he inked in 2019 averaging $4.05MM per year. After a strong showing last season, a raise will no doubt be coming his way soon, provided talks on a new deal gain traction ahead of free agency. It will be interesting to see the price point the Broncos are willing to reach to avoid the risk of losing Lutz on the open market in March.

Latest On Packers, S Darnell Savage

February 26th, 2024 at 12:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Darnell Savage joined the Packers in 2019 with high expectations, but his time with the team could soon come to an end. The veteran safety was among those players whose contracts recently voided, creating dead cap charges regardless of if they re-sign with Green Bay or head elsewhere in free agency.

As noted at the time by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Savage’s contract will carry the largest dead money of the group. The Packers will be hit with a $5.46MM charge for the former first-rounder, who is on track to test the open market for the first time in his career next month. His representation is well aware of the opportunities which could arise taking him out of Green Bay.

“Darnell loved his time in Green Bay, and we remain optimistic that a deal can get done before the league year,” Savage’s agent Seth Katz said (via Demovsky). “But realistically, the window for free agent communication is around the corner, and there will be significant interest in Darnell.”

Savage remained a full-time starter throughout much his five seasons with the Packers, a tenure which included a number of ups and downs. The former first-rounder was benched in a four-game stretch in 2022, although he returned to first-team action when healthy this past season. He was limited to 10 regular season contests due to a calf injury, but he was activated in time for Green Bay’s closing regular season contests and both playoff games.

The Maryland alum totaled a career-low 51 tackles in 2023, and he was held without an interception (in the regular season) for the first time. Savage’s downturn in ball production (one pass deflection) came about as his struggles in coverage continued. He allowed a completion percentage of 78.3% as the nearest defender while surrendering an opposing passer rating above 100 for the third consecutive season. PFF rated Savage 15th amongst qualifying safeties, though, a far more favorable evaluation than the team’s other options at the position.

Still, it would come as little surprise if the 26-year-old were to head elsewhere. Demovsky confirms no contract talks have taken place between Savage and the Packers, leaving him on course for free agency. Presuming the Buccaneers use the franchise tag on All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr., the list of available safeties will likely offer little in the way of star power. Demovsky reports Savage could land the largest deal in the 2024 class at an AAV between $5MM and $7MM.

In any event, the Packers could see a number of departures on the backend this offseason. Savage is joined by Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens – who combined to see 20 starts last season – as pending free agents. With a new defensive coordinator in place, improvements in the secondary will be a key offseason goal. A number of new faces at the safety position could be a major factor in that effort.

Nico Collins Open To Texans Extension; Latest On Team’s WR Plans

February 26th, 2024 at 11:08am CST by Adam La Rose

A major element of the Texans’ surprise run to the divisional round was an uptick in passing efficiency with C.J. Stroud at quarterback. The play of the Offensive Rookie of the Year helped wideout Nico Collins enjoy a career year, and it could help him land a lucrative extension.

Having played three seasons in the NFL, the latter is now eligible for a second contract. Collins’ value saw a major spike over the course of the 2023 slate given his production compared to his first two seasons. The former third-rounder averaged 35 receptions and 464 yards per campaign in 2021-22, but Stroud’s arrival sparked a major step forward. Collins posted a statline of 80-1,297-8 in 2023, operating as Stroud’s top target.

To little surprise, the 24-year-old is open to parlaying his production into an extension. Collins recently confirmed his willingness to open negotiations when speaking to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. Wilson notes, however, that it is currently unclear if the Texans and Collins’ agents have discussed a deal. Nevertheless, he adds that there is “definitely mutual interest” in an agreement keeping the Michigan alum in the fold beyond 2024.

Collins and 2023 third-rounder Tank Dell profile as giving Houston a productive 1-2 punch at the receiver position. For that reason, Wilson writes that the Texans are likely to be interested only in second- or third-tier WR options on the free agent market. The team is set to have considerable spending power in March, but other positions will represent more pressing roster needs. Collins could further boost his value with a strong follow-up campaign in 2024, something which will of course be easier if he remains the team’s leader in targets.

A new contract for tight end Dalton Schultz is also on the team’s radar, Wilson notes. The ex-Cowboy is interested in a re-up, and agreeing to one could provide Houston with three familiar pass-catching options for at least one more season. Changes on offense (including at the running back spot) could be taking place in the near future, but a major addition amongst available receivers would come as a surprise. Collins is therefore on track to showcase himself for the Texans or outside suitors next season in the event an extension does not come to fruition in the coming months.

Latest On Steelers’ QB Situation, Possible Justin Fields Pursuit

February 25th, 2024 at 10:31pm CST by Rory Parks

Last week, we heard that the Steelers were interested in re-signing quarterback Mason Rudolph and having him compete with 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett to be the club’s starting signal-caller. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that, even if the Steelers are unsuccessful in their pursuit of a Rudolph re-up, the club will not consider an external addition who is eyeing a QB1 role. Naturally, that would rule out a passer like Justin Fields, who is widely expected to be traded by the Bears.

On the same day that Dulac’s piece was published, however, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (subscription required) wrote that Pittsburgh will, in fact, acquire via trade or free agency a quarterback who can push Pickett for the starting job, and that such a quarterback would be “more than a stopgap.” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is reportedly a fan of Fields, and Fowler said that the rumblings connecting Fields to Pittsburgh are intensifying.

For a team like Pittsburgh that, as Fowler observes, could be just a quarterback away from championship contention, adding a clear upgrade over Pickett would make plenty of sense. But Mark Kaboly of The Athletic is aligned with Dulac, his fellow Steelers beat writer (subscription required). Kaboly confidently avers that the team is not going to go after Fields, and that while there may be a competition between Rudolph and Pickett if Rudolph is re-signed, Pickett will get one last chance to prove his worth before Pittsburgh looks outside the organization.

While these starkly contrasting reports between a national writer and two beats add to the uncertainty of the Steelers’ quarterback situation, it continues to look like there is no uncertainty concerning Fields’ future in Chicago. Though the Ohio State product recently said he would like to remain with the Bears — as relayed by Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times — Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune does not believe there is any internal debate as to whether the club should keep Fields in lieu of using its No. 1 overall draft choice (or a slightly lower choice in the event of a small trade down) on a top collegiate prospect. Rather, the real question is simply which passer in the 2024 draft class the Bears like the best.

Per Biggs, it is at least conceivable that the Bears retain Fields if they do not find a trade offer to their liking, but a trade is their preference. Previous reports have indicated that the team would finalize its QB plan one way or another by the start of the scouting combine (which opens tomorrow), and it sounds as if that plan is indeed to seek a suitor for Fields. Biggs says there is no disconnect on that point between GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren.

Expect plenty more Chicago-related rumors this week as team brass discusses its incumbent passer — and perhaps the No. 1 selection in the upcoming draft — with rival clubs.

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