HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Bengals WR Tee Higgins Requests Trade

March 11th, 2024 at 9:10am CST by Sam Robinson

To no surprise, the Bengals used the franchise tag on wideout Tee Higgins and in doing so prevented him from reaching free agency. He could still be playing on a new team by the start of the 2024 season, though. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Higgins has requested a trade.

This is complicated territory for the Bengals, who may well be renting Higgins via the tag. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow extension and its plans for a Ja’Marr Chase payday — its top WR priority — may make a Higgins extension untenable. But the team carved out enough cap space for a Higgins tag this year. The team’s No. 2 wideout may not be on board with the team’s plan, one that would delay his long-term payday by a year.

The Bengals saw their hopes at breaking through for a Super Bowl title dashed when Burrow went down in November. A Higgins tag would offer a mulligan of sorts, keeping the Burrow-Chase-Higgins window open for one more year. Player personnel director Duke Tobin, who shot down Higgins trade rumors at the 2023 Combine, recently said a tag-and-trade scenario was unlikely.

“The message is we really like Tee and we’re a better team with Tee. In terms of our intentions and answering hypotheticals, I won’t get into that,” Tobin said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith. “We feel like we’re a better team with him. The reason we franchised him is we’d like to have him.”

Tag rentals have been going on since the NFL introduced the player-retention tool in 1993, and standout wide receivers regularly need to wait until Year 5 for a payday. CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson are in this boat, due to being first-round picks in 2020, and Chase will probably join them. The Bengals picking up Chase’s fifth-year option can allow them to table extension talks to 2025.

Cincinnati dealing Higgins would hurt its chances of winning a championship this year, though the receiver market not including Mike Evans (re-signed) or Michael Pittman Jr. (tagged) could make offers for the Clemson alum tempting. Higgins would certainly fetch a strong haul for the Bengals, and Cincy tagging Higgins so early could have been interpreted as a way for the team to see what a trade would bring back. But this is an old-school organization that typically does not give in on these fronts. It will be interesting to see if any traction develops here.

Latest On Chiefs’ Chris Jones Contract

March 11th, 2024 at 9:10am CST by Sam Robinson

Last year, the Chiefs were unwilling to go near the Aaron Donald salary range for Chris Jones, attempting to pay him in line with the younger crop of defensive tackles extended in 2023. With Jones on the cusp of free agency, the team relented. And some big numbers are coming out as a result.

Saturday night’s Chiefs-Jones agreement produced a new interior D-line AAV record and a new guarantee standard — the latter by a massive margin. Jones agreed to a five-year, $158.75MM deal, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. That comes out to $31.75MM per year, a significant number due to Donald’s $31.67MM accord leading the way at the position previously.

It does not appear that previous $95MM number represents a full guarantee, but it does double as a practical guarantee. The Chiefs will revisit the rolling guarantee structure they used for Patrick Mahomes with Jones. The team would have to cut Jones in 2025 to avoid the $95.3MM guarantee, Florio adds. Guaranteed at signing: a $30MM signing bonus, Jones’ 2024 and 2025 salaries ($1.25MM, $13.75MM) and a $15MM 2025 roster bonus. The rest of Jones’ guarantees are in place to vest in 2025.

Jones’ 2026 salary ($19MM) is guaranteed for injury at signing but becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2025 league year. The future Hall of Fame D-tackle will be due a $16MM roster bonus in 2025. This is classified as a 2026 roster bonus, but KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson indicates it is guaranteed for injury already and will be guaranteed fully if Jones is on the Chiefs’ roster on Day 3 of the 2025 league year. The Chiefs have turned to this year-out guarantee on multiple fronts with Jones, who should be set to pick up the second bonus as well.

The contract shifts to a more traditional structure after Year 3. If Jones is still on the Chiefs’ roster as of Day 3 of the 2027 league year, $3MM of his 2027 base salary ($28.25MM) will become guaranteed. Jones’ 2028 base salary ($35MM) is nonguaranteed. This deal almost definitely will not be an active contract by 2028.

Jones has a clear path to securing $95.3MM in guarantees by 2025. For reference, Donald received $46.5MM of his 2022 raise guaranteed at signing. Though, the Rams icon only agreed to a three-year deal. Jones signing a five-year contract helped on this front.

It is safe to assume the Chiefs would not have needed to go near this guarantee place had they agreed to pay Jones last year — before the historic cap spike occurred. But the threat of Jones’ departure looks to have changed the Chiefs’ thinking, and the longtime DT standout’s quality contract year — one that led the way in another Super Bowl win, as Kansas City’s offense regressed — set himself up for this monumental payday.

Patriots Plan To Release LB Chris Board

March 11th, 2024 at 8:43am CST by Adam La Rose

Chris Board played every game in his debut Patriots season in 2023, but he will not be retained for a second campaign with the team. New England plans to release the veteran linebacker and special teamer this week, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Board was on the books for one more season, and he was due $2.4MM. Moving on will create $1.96MM in cap savings while creating a dead money charge of $938K. Waiting until after the new league year opens would allow New England to designate the former UDFA a post-June 1 release, but doing so would not change the financial elements of the move in this case.

The 28-year-old had a four-year stint with the Ravens to begin his career. Board started only two contests on defense across his 63 games in Baltimore, but he established himself as a core special teams player along the way. His subsequent deals in Detroit and New England also kept him sidelined with respect to defensive workloads, and he logged only one defensive snap with the Patriots. Board saw a career-high special teams snap share of 89%, though, and his third phase contributions will be missed.

Franchise mainstay (and special teams ace) Matthew Slater retired earlier this offseason, marking an end to his decorated career with New England. Losing Slater and Board in the same offseason will create a notable vacancy on special teams for the Patriots, a team which ranked 28th in that capacity last season in terms of DVOA. Board will now look to find a new home as he faces the possibility of playing for a third different team in as many years in 2024.

New England entered Monday with nearly $83MM in cap space, the second-most in the NFL. That figure will grow slightly once the Board release is processed. The Patriots are already a team worth watching closely with respect to free agent additions given the holes on their roster and their ability to make multiple major additions. Part of that process will involve at least a few moves aimed at re-building their special teams units with Slater and Board no longer in the fold.

Panthers To Re-Sign CB Troy Hill

March 11th, 2024 at 8:39am CST by Sam Robinson

Troy Hill spent the 2023 season on his third team in as many years. His time in Carolina will provide short-term continuity, however. The veteran corner is re-signing on a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Serving as one of this period’s longest-running slot cornerbacks, Hill stepped into that role with the Panthers in 2023. The team signed the veteran inside cover man just before last season, reuniting the ex-Rams cog with former Los Angeles DBs coach Ejiro Evero. With Evero blocked from leaving Carolina this offseason, the Panthers are rolling with that plan once again.

Despite signing barely a week before last season, Hill played in 16 Panthers games and saw action on 50% of the 2-15 team’s defensive snaps. Hill’s age (33 in August) would not stand to line up with the Panthers’ timeline, given the significant step back that occurred last season. And teams do not exactly make a habit of signing corners nearing their mid-30s. But Hill’s familiarity with Evero’s scheme will help him stay in the game ahead of what would be a ninth NFL season.

Hill worked with Evero for four seasons in Los Angeles. While he missed the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl-winning season, the longtime slot cog was a regular as Sean McVay rebuilt the team. Hill played in Super Bowl LIII, but the Rams traded him to the Browns during the 2021 draft. He returned to L.A. in 2022, but Evero was in Denver by then.

Last season, Pro Football Focus rated Hill 77th overall among corners. He intercepted one pass and broke up six others, forcing a fumble as well. Hill is certainly not a long-term solution at this point in his career, but the Panthers will aim to use him as one of their Jaycee Horn complementary pieces in 2024. The team has more questions at corner, after cutting Donte Jackson, but Hill’s presence could answer one of those just before free agency opens.

Lions To Re-Sign G Graham Glasgow

March 11th, 2024 at 8:10am CST by Adam La Rose

Graham Glasgow‘s second Lions stint will not be a one-year endeavor. The veteran guard has agreed to a three-year, $20MM deal to remain in Detroit, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact includes $9.5MM in guaranteed money.

After playing out his rookie contract with Detroit, Glasgow landed a four-year, $44MM deal with the Broncos in 2020. He was released last offseason, however, paving the way for another free agent venture. That led the 31-year-old back to the Motor City on a one-year, $2.75MM pact. That low-cost addition proved to be critical from the team’s perspective.

Glasgow was initially brought back as a utility option along the interior, but injuries early in the season led to him seeing time at center as well as both guard positions. He ultimately locked down a spot as Detroit’s right guard starter, and he delivered a strong performance at that spot. The Michigan product graded out as PFF’s eighth-best guard in 2023, excelling in run blocking in particular.

He has now been rewarded with another multi-year pact, one which Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes came together last night. Glasgow will no doubt be expected to remain a first-team contributor on Detroit’s O-line moving forward, especially considering the departures which could be seen for the unit. Pro Bowl left guard Jonah Jackson‘s rookie contract is up, and he is positioned as one of the best interior lineman in the 2024 free agent class. If Jackson were to depart, Glasgow would offer welcomed stability along with the flexibility to replace him at the LG spot if needed.

The Lions entered Monday with over $45MM in cap space. That figure will drop to an extent once this Glasgow deal is finalized. Detroit will have plenty of spending power for other additions, but Jackson is one of several in-house contributors in need of a new contract or a lucrative extension. As the team looks to build off last season’s run to the NFC title game, though, stability along the O-line will be available with Glasgow still on the books.

Jaguars To Sign C Mitch Morse

March 11th, 2024 at 8:06am CST by Adam La Rose

Not long after being connected to a Jaguars deal, Mitch Morse is indeed headed to Duval County. The Pro Bowl center is joining Jacksonville on a two-year, $10.5MM deal, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The contract includes $7MM guaranteed.

The Steelers made an “aggressive push” to land Morse, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds. That comes as little surprise given the events since Morse was let go as part of the Bills’ cap purge. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville were the teams which hosted the 31-year-old on a free agent visit recently, and the latter squad has won out.

Morse will now once again play under head coach Doug Pederson, after he served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator during Morse’s time in Kansas City. The latter parlayed his four-year Chiefs run into a four-year, $44.45MM deal with Buffalo. Morse ultimately signed a two-year extension in 2022, but he was released with one year remaining on that deal during the Bills’ efforts to attain cap compliance.

To little surprise, the 126-game starter has not needed to wait long to find a new opportunity. Morse will replace Luke Fortner as Jacksonville’s starter in the middle. The latter had occupied that role over the past two seasons, starting every game while not missing any action. Fortner graded out as PFF’s second-worst center in 2023, however, leaving room for an upgrade. Especially on a short-term deal (and, of course, if he can remain healthy), Morse should be able to provide that.

Jacksonville has made a few notable moves along the interior of the O-line recently. Left guard Ezra Cleveland – acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Vikings – was retained on a three-year deal which prevented the possibility of a free agent departure. Right guard starter Brandon Scherff had his contract restructured yesterday, meanwhile, putting an end to speculation about his immediate future. That guard tandem will remain intact for 2024, with a new center in between them as Jacksonville aims to improve up front.

Colts, LB Zaire Franklin Agree To Extension

March 11th, 2024 at 8:03am CST by Adam La Rose

Zaire Franklin was under contract for 2024, but he will remain in place for years to come on a new, lucrative Colts contract. Indianapolis has agreed to a three-year, $31.26MM extension with the veteran linebacker, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Franklin has been with the Colts since his rookie year in 2018, but his value to the team over that span has increased dramatically over the past two seasons in particular. The former seventh-rounder has taken on full-time starting duties over that span, becoming even more of a centerpiece when the decision was made to move on from Shaquille Leonard.

Between the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, Franklin has totaled 346 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 12 pass breakups and four forced fumbles. That production had him in line for a notable raise compared to the three-year, $12MM extension he inked in 2022. ESPN’s Stephen Holder confirms the 27-year-old was eyeing a new pact reflecting his value to the Colts’ defense. The team certainly agreed with that sentiment, and long-term security for both sides is now in place. The Syracuse alum will become one of only nine inside linebackers averaging over $10MM per year once this extension kicks in.

In spite of Franklin’s strong play last season, the Colts ranked 24th against the run with an average of 124 yards per game allowed on the ground. Improvement in the front seven will no doubt be a key priority for general manager Chris Ballard, who has other notable pending free agents to try and retain. Among those is defensive tackle Grover Stewart, who could be set to cash in on the continued upward movement of the position’s market on a deal with an outside team.

Frankin is due $2.8MM in salary with a cap hit of $3.36MM in 2024 under the terms of his previous pact. Adjusting the latter figure will now be an option but in any case, the Colts will have one of their top defensive playmakers in the fold for years to come. The team entered Monday with over $49MM in cap space, so plenty of financial flexibility remains for further moves.

Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield Agree To Deal

March 10th, 2024 at 10:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

Baker Mayfield will not reach free agency. The Buccaneers’ efforts to retain their starting quarterback have produced a lucrative new pact. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports the sides are finalizing a three-year, $100MM contract featuring $50MM guaranteed.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds this pact -which the team has since confirmed – could reach a maximum value of $115MM. Even if that does not take place, this new deal marks a massive raise for the former No. 1 pick in his bid to cash in following his successful debut Bucs campaign and find stability in the process. After playing in Tampa on a one-year, $4MM deal last year, Mayfield has certainly accomplished that goal.

Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero notes Mayfield’s $30MM salary in 2024 is guaranteed in full. $10MM in 2025 is guaranteed at signing, meanwhile, and a further $10MM comes in the form of an injury guarantee which is set to vest next year. The 28-year-old will see $40MM in 2026, and he can earn $5MM in incentives every year of the pact, per Schefter.

Mayfield easily surpassed expectations after winning out a training camp competition with Kyle Trask in the summer. Mayfield posted career highs in passing yards (4,044) and touchdowns (28) last season. His play helped lead the team to another NFC South title and a run to the divisional round of the postseason. Aiming to retain several main elements of their core, the Buccaneers faced the challenge of keeping Mayfield, Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. in the fold.

Evans landed a two-year accord after being linked to a free agency endeavor. Winfield, meanwhile, has received the franchise tag and as such will either play out the 2024 season on the tag or agree to his own long-term deal. Mayfield will join that tandem for next year and beyond as he looks to prove his first performance in Tampa Bay was not a fluke.

The Browns’ Deshaun Watson acquisition facilitated Mayfield being traded to the Panthers in 2022. His time in Carolina was short-lived, however, and his struggles led to a release and a late-season cameo with the Rams. The Oklahoma product parlayed that into a flier from Tampa Bay under new offensive coordinator Dave Canales. The latter has since departed (to take over the Panthers as head coach), but Mayfield was involved in the search for Canales’ replacement. That pointed to the player-team relationship being extended, and sustained talks in recent days has brought an deal together.

General manager Jason Licht confirmed the Bucs’ intention of keeping Mayfield in the fold, which has at all times been the expected outcome of this situation. Mayfield’s asking price was pegged as approaching (or perhaps surpassing) $40MM per year, and the base value of the pact falls short at $33.3MM. Maximizing its value would create an AAV of $38.3MM, though, a figure which represents legitimate franchise passer compensation and by far the most lucrative deal of Mayfield’s career.

Of course, the ripple effect of today’s news will be felt around the league. Mayfield was projected to be the second-best quarterback on the market, behind only Kirk Cousins. Many teams which could be suitors for the latter were connected to the former as a backup plan, but attention will now shift even further to Cousins and Minnesota. A new Vikings deal could come to bear in the immediate future; failing that, however, teams such as the Falcons will be able to negotiate a Cousins pact knowing Mayfield is not an option.

Tampa Bay entered Sunday with less than $15MM in cap space, a figure which will be affected by the particulars of the Mayfield deal. The Bucs are not expected to be big players on the open market with respect to outside additions considering their financial situation. Retaining each member of the Mayfield-Evans-Winfield trio was atop the offseason priority list, though, and it has now been achieved. Mayfield’s ability to replicate his 2023 success will be a major talking point for the Buccaneers next season and beyond given the investment made in him by the team.

Jaguars To Acquire Mac Jones From Patriots

March 10th, 2024 at 10:33pm CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots have agreed to trade quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Although the deal cannot be finalized until the new league year opens on Wednesday and until Jones passes a physical, it appears that Jones — a Jacksonville native — will try to resurrect his career in his hometown.

Schefter reported that New England and Jacksonville were discussing a sixth-round pick as trade compensation, and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network confirms that a sixth-round choice (No. 192 overall) is the official return for Jones. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says four teams were in the mix for the Alabama product, though Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports says that, as of yesterday, the Jags were the only club to make an offer. Albert Breer of SI.com adds that New England was seeking a fifth-rounder before ultimately settling for the sixth.

A report from late last month suggested that the Patriots had a three-step plan in place for addressing their quarterback situation this offseason, and trading Mac Jones was one of those three steps. While there was some pushback on the notion that New England had developed some sort of QB flowchart that had been distributed throughout the organization, it has seemed clear for some time that the club would seek a Jones trade, which would represent a beneficial change of scenery for both player and team. Now, the Pats can focus on adding a veteran to their roster and/or acquiring a top collegiate prospect in the draft. The most recent rumors on the draft front have indicated that if Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels are off the board by the time New England is on the clock with the No. 3 pick, the club will trade back.

While Jones is obviously not a threat to unseat Trevor Lawrence as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback, he will have an opportunity to regain his footing while working with Lawrence — whom he has known for years, as the two frequently competed against each other in high school recruiting camps — and head coach Doug Pederson, a celebrated quarterback whisperer. Jones, the Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021, clearly has potential that may have been stunted by the Patriots’ coaching and schematic maneuvers in 2022, and as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, Pederson & Co. will try to unlock some of that potential and at least turn Jones into a viable backup.

Another factor in the trade is the health of current backup C.J. Beathard, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler details. Per Fowler, Beathard has been “banged up,” so the Jones acquisition gives the Jags a healthy QB2 option. The nature and extent of Beathard’s injury is unclear, and so is his future with the club at this point, though ESPN’s Mike Reiss says Jones and Beathard are expected to compete for the backup job.

The Jaguars will still have a sixth-round compensatory choice (No. 212 overall) in the 2024 draft.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/24

March 10th, 2024 at 10:31pm CST by Ely Allen

With so many headline-grabbing transactions in the NFL today, here are a couple minor moves that may have slipped through the cracks:

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers signed Bartch off of the Jaguars’ practice squad in late November and saw him immediately contribute as a backup on offense and as a special teamer. In San Francisco, Bartch appeared in regular season games at all three interior line positions. He’ll bring that same versatility back to the Bay in 2024.

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