HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Cowboys To Decline Trey Lance’s Fifth-Year Option

May 1st, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys sent the 49ers a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance in August; the parties are going into their second season together. No immediate plans for a third will be in place.

Even with Lance’s participation rate qualifying him for the bottom tier of the fifth-year option structure, exercising it would cost the Cowboys $22.41MM. The former No. 3 overall pick will instead, as expected, move into a contract year. The Cowboys are declining Lance’s 2025 option, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer reports.

[RELATED: 2025 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker]

Plans for Lance remain unclear for the Cowboys, who are effectively renting the one-year North Dakota State standout as a project on a depth chart headlined by Dak Prescott but still including Cooper Rush. The latter’s contract calls for a $2.25MM base salary. Lance is due a $1.1MM base salary, but the Cowboys picked up a guaranteed roster bonus worth $4.25MM in March.

As it stands, Lance is on track to become one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. After turning to Lance as their Week 1 starter in 2022, the 49ers reversed course following an ankle injury that required two surgeries. Lance could not beat out Sam Darnold for San Francisco’s backup job last year, and the team kept Brandon Allen as its third-stringer. While Brock Purdy has bailed out the 49ers, they sacrificed two future first-round picks and a third to move up — from No. 12 to No. 3 — for Lance three years ago. Purdy has allowed San Francisco to move on rather cleanly, but Lance’s future is cloudy.

This year will be a bit different for Lance, as he will go into the preseason with the Cowboys. He arrived in Dallas after the 2023 preseason slate wrapped, but he and Rush stand to see extensive time during the Cowboys’ August tilts this preseason. The Cowboys have liked what they’ve seen from Lance in practice, per Archer, and will be ready to give him plenty of run in the preseason. That said, Lance was inactive for every Cowboys game last season.

Next year’s free agency may well feature four of the five first-round QBs from the 2021 draft. The COVID-19-marred period undoubtedly affected teams’ evaluations, but that first round included three passers that have not worked out (Lance, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones) and another inconsistent option (Justin Fields) that was traded due to the Bears having access to a better option in this year’s draft (Caleb Williams). Lance’s marks the last of this batch of declined options, with the Broncos, Jaguars, and Steelers each declining the option to greenlight guaranteed money for their low-cost reclamation projects. Only one of the five 2021 first-round QBs — Trevor Lawrence — saw his option exercised.

A dual-threat sensation for North Dakota State in 2019, Lance was denied a chance to build on that success due to the pandemic prompting Division I-FCS to nix its fall seasons. Lance declared for the 2021 draft and did well to score a $34MM guarantee from the 49ers. Unable to threaten Jimmy Garoppolo‘s job security as a rookie, Lance completed 15 of 31 passes in 2022. He has thrown just 102 NFL passes and still has fewer than 500 attempts since high school. This preseason will at least provide Lance the chance to display progress.

While Prescott’s contract-year status could conceivably impact Lance, the latter has not shown much to indicate he will be worthy of longer-term consideration. It will be interesting to see if that changes in the coming months.

PFR Glossary: The Fifth-Year Option

May 1st, 2024 at 10:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

This week brings the annual deadline for teams to exercise or decline fifth-year options, with the 2021 first-round class in the crosshairs this year. That group marks the fourth crop of first-rounders to have their fifth seasons evaluated with fully guaranteed money in play, but the fifth-year option has existed since the 2011 CBA.

With first-round contracts becoming increasingly burdensome as the 2000s progressed, 2011’s lockout-marred offseason produced a rookie pay scale that remains in place today. The slot system also ended teams’ ability to sign first-round picks to six-year contracts, as Sam Bradford, Trent Williams and a few others from the 2010 draft received (while attached to deals that dwarfed some impact veterans’ accords).

As owners removed lavish rookie contracts from the game, they gave up a year of control. Draft-slot contracts have spanned four years since the July 2011 agreement, but the fifth-year option — available on first-rounders’ rookie deals — became a way for teams to retain their top picks without extension costs entering the picture.

A loophole existed that further benefited teams during the 2011 CBA’s version of the fifth-year option. As second- through seventh-round draftees could hit free agency following their fourth seasons — making teams more likely to negotiate ahead of Year 4 — first-rounders both could be tied to a fifth season and then see their team bail on the option free of charge by March of Year 5.

The 2011 CBA guaranteed the options for injury only, meaning a team could move on from a player with no dead money if the player passed a physical at the start of the league year. This allowed teams to put off negotiations for extension-eligible players into Year 5 and also gave clubs the freedom, provided the player was healthy, to escape a first-rounder’s rookie contract before the money became guaranteed when the league year began.

This happened on a few occasions, with Robert Griffin III being the most memorable example. Washington picked up RG3’s fifth-year option in 2015 but cut him, after bubble-wrapping the former No. 2 overall pick behind Kirk Cousins, in March 2016. The 2020 CBA addressed this issue. When teams exercise a player’s option now, his fifth season is fully guaranteed.

The 2020 CBA also changed the structure of the fifth-year option. Exercising an option from 2014-20 meant players drafted from Nos. 1-10 were tied to the value of their position’s transition tag. For players chosen from Nos. 11-32, the option came out to the average of the third-25th-highest salaries at their position. With the 2020 CBA fully guaranteeing the options, it also introduced a performance- and participation-based system that divided each position’s option prices into four tiers.

Players selected to two or more Pro Bowls (original ballot only) in their first three seasons reside on the top tier, which matches the franchise tag value. Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain and Ja’Marr Chase checked in on that tier this year. Tier 2 covers first-rounders who earned one original-ballot Pro Bowl invite over their first three seasons; this level matches the transition tag number. Rashawn Slater and Kyle Pitts‘ option prices came in here. Participation covers the final two tiers. Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th-highest salaries at their position:

  • Players who averaged at least a 75% snap share through three seasons
  • Those who logged at least a 75% snap share in two of their first three seasons
  • Those who crossed the 50% snap barrier in each of their first three seasons

Tier 4 covers players who did not meet these participation standards; those players’ options come out to the average of the third-25th-highest salaries at the position. Teams have until May 2 to exercise or decline options. With the 2020 CBA not set to expire until March 2031, this option format stands to be in place for a while.

Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. This post was modified from an earlier entry by Zach Links. 

Latest On Falcons’ First-Round Decision

May 1st, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Ely Allen

The Falcons shocked many last Thursday when the team opted to take Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Some saw the pick as a reach in value, thinking Penix could’ve been acquired after trading back; others saw it as a wasted opportunity to address a position of need after Atlanta had just given Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180MM contract with $90MM guaranteed. All this while the team faces significant tampering charges that could deprive them of more first-round picks in the future.

In terms of value, the Falcons feel like they got a steal, at least concerning positional value. Penix ended up being the fourth quarterback off the board, following Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye, but was drafted before J.J. McCarthy, who was ahead of him in most mock drafts and rankings. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Atlanta was satisfied with how the order of quarterbacks played out, favoring Penix over Maye and McCarthy, though Maye’s camp had reportedly declined to work out for the Falcons, thinking he’d certainly be gone by No. 8 overall. Some in the building even had Penix ahead of Daniels at No. 2.

There also didn’t seem to be any interest in trading back. Breer reports that the team had made inquiries about moving up previously, investigating the availability of the draft’s top picks while in Indianapolis. They reportedly “got flat-out no’s” from Chicago and Washington, while the Patriots and Cardinals informed Atlanta that they would not be moving from their selection until they were on the clock. These rejections were part of what spurred the Falcons to land Cousins.

Speaking of Cousins, we’ve mentioned that the 36-year-old passer was understandably “stunned” by the team’s decision to take a quarterback with their first-round pick, much like the rest of us. Breer added a bit of context to Cousins’ shock that came with little-to-no heads up. He tells us that Cousins’ departure from Minnesota was, in part, due to the Vikings informing him that they had plans to draft a passer in 2024, making the Falcons’ similar plan sting all that much more.

The reasoning for the Falcons’ decision ended up coming down to their research into draft history. Head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot explored a history that showed, on average, only one or two quarterbacks that make it in the NFL out of each draft class, very few of whom are drafted outside the top 10 picks. Also, having sought Cousins to escape from the past two years of a kind of quarterback crisis, owner Arthur Blank was not content with Cousins being the only plan moving forward; he desired a succession plan.

Fontenot explained to Blank that the personnel department didn’t have much faith in the quarterbacks that would be coming out over the next two years, that their best chance for a strong succession plan to Cousins was right in front of them. Fontenot asked Blank, “Are we gonna win for a couple seasons and then not be able to win anymore…?”

In the end, Blank agreed to the moves deemed necessary, Fontenot called Cousins once they were on the clock, and the team selected his eventual replacement. In doing so, though, the team gained a newfound sense of security. Assistant general manager Kyle Smith told the media that with the acquisition of Cousins and the drafting of Penix, the brass feels great about the quarterback position “for the next five years…minimum.”

Giants Sign CB David Long

May 1st, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Ely Allen

After four years in a fairly consistent, part-time starting role with the Rams, David Long struggled to find consistency in 2023. He’ll hope for less changes of scenery in 2024 after signing with the Giants today.

After playing out his rookie contract as a third-round pick out of Michigan, Long signed a deal to join the Raiders at the opening of free agency last year. He started one of eight game appearances for Las Vegas before getting waived by the team in early November. He was claimed by Carolina, where he started one more game in three appearances before getting waived by the Panthers. He was claimed one more time last year by the Packers but was waived just prior to the playoffs. After clearing waivers, the Green Bay signed Long to its practice squad, elevating him for the team’s victory over the Cowboys.

After a delayed start to his rookie year in Los Angeles, Long started 10 games in 52 appearances. After playing minimally in his first two seasons, Long established himself on the Rams defense as a key defender in the rotation of defensive backs. He logged 77 total tackles, an interception, and seven passes defensed for the team that drafted him.

In New York, Long will come in to add some depth to the secondary. With Adoree’ Jackson departing in free agency, the Giants return Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott as starters. The team also brought in Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips in last week’s draft. Phillips and Long should be two of the team’s top options to step into a third cornerback role.

Chargers Agree To Terms With 21 UDFAs

May 1st, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers’ roster is set to look very different in 2024. With the departure of key players such as Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Gerald Everett, Kenneth Murray, Austin Johnson, and several others, Los Angeles had plenty of room on the roster for this summer, even after selecting a nine-man class in the 2024 NFL Draft. To fill out the roster, the Chargers turned to these undrafted free agents:

Barnhart brings an intriguing versatility to a new Chargers offense led by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Roman loves a guy who can play all over the line (see Patrick Mekari in Baltimore), and Barnhart started games at every offensive line spot but center during his time with the national champion Wolverines. In the team’s championship-winning season alone, Barnhart started eight games at right tackle, four games at left tackle, and three games at right guard en route to second-team All-Big Ten honors.

Heins is another great fit for a Roman offense. Helping the Jackrabbits to back-to-back FCS national championships, Heins established himself as a starter due to his in-line blocking abilities. While, in his three years as a full-time starter, he only racked up 989 receiving yards, he also tallied 17 touchdowns in that same stretch.

The team adds two intriguing options at safety, as well. Harper started for the Fighting Irish as a transfer after four years at Oklahoma State. He didn’t make may plays on balls in the air but showed versatility as a nickel option and a blitzer. Dent, a one-time five-star recruit as a junior in high school, has tons of athleticism, he’s just never been able to convert it into on-field production.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Tyler Boyd Visits Chargers, To Meet With Titans

May 1st, 2024 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have more incentive to sign free agents following the draft, when the market presents opportunities. The deadline for signings to affect the 2025 compensatory formula expired this week, opening the door for some players to find new homes ahead of offseason work.

Tyler Boyd remains unsigned, but that may not be the case for long. The longtime Bengals wide receiver met with the Chargers this week, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds the Titans have a Boyd meeting scheduled as well. Boyd will be in Nashville later this week.

Among the teams linked to Boyd earlier this offseason, the Chargers still have an apparent need at wideout. The team traded Keenan Allen — the second-longest-tenured receiver in franchise history — to the Bears and released Mike Williams as the cap compliance deadline neared. Williams joined the Jets. The Bolts passed on filling their receiver need with Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze — the latter joining Allen in Chicago — to draft Joe Alt at No. 5. We had heard continued rumblings the Bolts would proceed this way, and even though the team added Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in Round 2, it is arguable it still needs help at the position.

Los Angeles also drafted two receivers in Round 7 — USC’s Brenden Rice and ex-Jim Harbaugh Michigan charge Cornelius Johnson. That presents a complication for a team that does still roster Josh Palmer and 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston. The latter struggled to acclimate as a rookie, but the team will still expect development in Year 2. With the Chargers not making a secret they plan to commit to the run game, they probably are not too eager to pay much for a veteran receiver.

The Titans have more money invested at the position, beating out the Jaguars and Patriots to sign Calvin Ridley (four years, $96MM) while still rostering 2023 addition DeAndre Hopkins. The latter is under contact at an $8.27MM salary on his two-year deal. The Titans saw Hopkins, 31, shake off his run of injuries and stay healthy last season — his seventh 1,000-yard campaign. They also carry 2022 first-rounder Treylon Burks, but the Arkansas alum — acquired shortly after the A.J. Brown trade — has not panned out just yet. This Tennessee regime also did not draft Brown, with Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel since fired.

Tennessee does feature a familiar face for Boyd in new HC Brian Callahan, the Bengals’ OC for the previous five seasons. Boyd produced three straight 800-plus-yard seasons — including a 1,000-yard showing in 2019 — in Callahan’s first three seasons. Boyd is coming off a down year (67 receptions, 667 yards, two touchdowns), but so is Tee Higgins. Joe Burrow‘s injury impacted Cincy’s receiving corps across the board.

Boyd, 29, was also linked to the Chiefs, 49ers, Lions, Dolphins and Steelers before the draft. Mutual interest in a Boyd return to his hometown (Pittsburgh) existed, but the former second-round pick’s asking price proved too high for the Steelers. With signings no longer affecting the compensatory formula, teams are traditionally more willing at this time of year to add midlevel free agents. Boyd, who has made his bones in the slot, continues to command interest as an auxiliary option.

Bears To Waive P Trenton Gill

May 1st, 2024 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears turned to the fourth round for a punter last week, tabbing Iowa’s Tory Taylor to take over. This will mean a change, and Chicago is not wasting much time finalizing it.

Rather than entertain any notion of a competition, the Bears are waiving incumbent punter Trenton Gill, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. Gill operated as the Bears’ punter for the past two seasons. Two years remain on Gill’s rookie contract.

Among regular punters, Gill’s 46.1-yard average ranked in the bottom quartile last season. The Bears ranked 31st in net punting, which obviously affects more than just Gill’s range, but finished 30th in punts inside the 20 (26.9%). Chicago chose Gill 255th overall out of NC State in the 2022 draft. Gill is due a $985K base salary in 2024; the Bears will incur a minimal dead money hit (less than $40K) via this transaction.

The move clears the way for Taylor, who was on the field often for an Iowa team that struggled offensively in 2023. Averaging 48.2 yards per boot in 2023, Taylor managed this despite punting 93 times. Iowa’s 15.4 points per game ranked 132nd in Division I-FBS. Their punter, meanwhile, broke several FBS single-season and career records and earned All-America acclaim in 2022 (second team) and ’23 (first team).

Entering the draft with only four picks, the Bears brought in Caleb Williams (No. 1) and Rome Odunze (No. 9) before drafting Yale tackle Kiran Amegadjie 75th overall. When the Bears took Taylor at No. 122, they were out of picks. The team later traded a future selection to move into Round 5 for Kansas State edge rusher Austin Booker. Taylor’s rookie contract will run through 2027; the Bears will be hoping his Windy City tenure lasts longer.

Three teams over the past four years have chosen a punter in Round 4, though between 2007 and 2019, only one — the 2012 Jaguars, who chose Bryan Anger in Round 3 — did so. The Bears decided to follow the recent trend, deeming an upgrade here a priority.

Broncos Met With Drake Maye, Spencer Rattler; Raiders’ QB Need Impacted Team’s Bo Nix Plan

May 1st, 2024 at 1:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Sean Payton effectively admitted he participated in a smokescreen effort regarding the Broncos‘ interest in trading up for a quarterback, the team was most closely tied to Bo Nix during the draft run-up. That did not end up costing the Broncos, who selected the Oregon prospect at No. 12. But the team also did its homework on other passers.

We heard before the draft that J.J. McCarthy trekked to Denver and Nix threw for Broncos brass in Eugene, but SI.com’s Albert Breer notes the Broncos did meet with Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler before the draft. Maye proved to be well out of Denver’s price range, as New England turned down two offers — from the Giants and Vikings — that included 2025 first-round picks. Ticketed to be Derek Carr‘s backup in New Orleans, Rattler did not go off the board until Round 5.

[RELATED: Assessing Bo Nix’s Prospect Profile]

Multiple reports pointed to the Broncos being interested in making an aggressive move up the board for a passer; McCarthy, who met with the Broncos on a “30” visit, was mentioned as a target. It turns out Broncos-Nix connections early this offseason doubled as prescient reports. The five-year college starter will likely be given the keys early in his rookie season, with ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano mentioning during a recent TV appearance the recent Pac-12 star is expected to “play right away.”

Broncos GM George Paton scouted Nix at four Oregon games but did not share his views with Payton, per Breer, with an aim toward the Super Bowl-winning HC — and the current Broncos top decision-maker — reaching his own conclusions on the prospect. Payton said post-draft Broncos brass viewed the Vikings as being McCarthy fans and the Raiders eyeing Michael Penix Jr. The Broncos did carry some fear, especially after the Falcons chose Penix at No. 8, the Raiders would leapfrog them for Nix, Breer adds. The QB-needy Raiders’ presence at No. 13 influenced the Broncos to stay put and make a pick many have labeled a reach.

The Raiders were, in fact, interested in Penix — more so than Nix or McCarthy — according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. After a second straight offseason of extensive work on QB draft prospects, the Raiders did not add a high-value pick at the position. As the Raiders regroup around Gardner Minshew, the Broncos do not have a clear hurdle in Nix’s path to seeing action early. Denver has Jarrett Stidham as a placeholder and took a flier on Zach Wilson before passing on the ex-Jet’s fifth-year option. Barring something unexpected, it would surprise if Nix is not Denver’s starter early this season.

Although QBs coach Davis Webb ran Nix’s workout, Breer adds the Paton-Payton tandem — along with ownership — did not reveal to other members of the team’s staff where Nix stood on the team’s board. It is believed the Broncos viewed Nix as this draft’s third-best QB prospect. Most do not agree with that placement, and longtime draft analyst Todd McShay said during an appearance on The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo Podcast (h/t the New York Post) at least 10 NFL evaluators he spoke to did not have a first-round grade on Nix. The Broncos are high on Nix’s accuracy, with their research effort removing QB prospects’ screens and short routes to reveal a player who still ranked as one of Division I-FBS’ most precise passers when those dumpoffs are taken out of the equation.

Since Peyton Manning‘s retirement, the Broncos have used two first-round picks on QBs (Nix, Paxton Lynch) and one second-rounder (Drew Lock) on the position. The team made three trades for starters, obtaining Joe Flacco (2019), Teddy Bridgewater (2021) and Russell Wilson (2022), while signing Case Keenum (two years, $36MM) in 2018. Nothing has worked for the NFL’s only franchise to see a QB retire following a Super Bowl win. That has occurred twice in Denver, and the team has encountered a much tougher journey replacing Manning than John Elway.

Nix now holds the keys to the Broncos’ effort to pick up the pieces post-Russell Wilson, whose $85MM dead money number will cut into Denver’s ability to capitalize on the No. 12 pick’s rookie contract. Although Payton led the effort in pointing Drew Brees to the Hall of Fame and helping develop Tony Romo in Dallas, grooming a first-round pick from scratch will be new territory. With Wilson’s contract quickly becoming an albatross, the Broncos did not have much of a choice but to turn back to the draft.

Saints To Sign DB Will Harris

May 1st, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Sam Robinson

A Saints-to-Lions pipeline formed recently, with Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn in place after lengthy New Orleans tenures. Will Harris will make the reverse trip, committing to the Saints on Wednesday.

The veteran defensive back is joining the Saints, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Harris has experience at both safety and cornerback, and he will relocate within the NFC a year after re-signing with the Lions. Harris, 28, has made 40 career starts.

[RELATED: Marshon Lattimore Still In Saints’ Plans]

Busy reshaping their DB corps last year, the Lions reduced Harris’ playing time despite re-signing him. After the former third-round pick had played 1,012 defensive snaps for the 2021 Lions and logged 660 in 2022, the Lions’ bevy of additions kept him as a backup last season. Harris played in every Lions game but started only two and was on the field for just 192 defensive plays. The Bob Quinn-era draftee will nevertheless bring some versatility to the Saints, having spent full seasons at both safety and corner — with some time as a sub-package linebacker — while in Detroit.

As the Lions brought in C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and second-rounder Brian Branch last year, Harris played on a one-year, $2.58MM deal. The Lions have now moved on from three of these players, making a concerted effort to upgrade at corner, where Harris spent the 2023 season. Detroit moved Harris to corner before the 2022 season and kept him there upon re-signing the Boston College product. Harris started two games last season, playing behind the likes of Sutton, Jerry Jacobs and Kindle Vildor. Only Vildor remains with the Lions among that CB cadre, as the team traded for Carlton Davis and used its first two draft choices on corners last week.

Harris started 11 games from 2019-20 but made 17 starts during Campbell’s first season, a rebuilding campaign that ended at 3-13-1. Pro Football Focus has never been particularly impressed by the 6-foot-1 defender, though he made 93 tackles in 2021 and stuck as a starter for much of Glenn’s second DC season.

The Saints released Marcus Maye this offseason but reached an extension agreement with Tyrann Mathieu. The team used rookie Jordan Howden as a Maye fill-in during his injury- and suspension-marred 2023. New Orleans also re-signed Johnthan Abram in March. At corner, the team added Kool-Aid McKinstry to a crew housing Marshon Lattimore and recent Day 2 picks Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo. If nothing else, Harris stands to supply some depth and special teams assistance for the NFC South club.

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