HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/5/24

June 5th, 2024 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Ilm Manning

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Waived/injured: WR David White

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

White suffered a torn ACL during one of the Jaguars’ practices last week, Doug Pederson said recently. The Jags signed White as a UDFA following a career at Western Carolina. White will revert to the Jags’ IR list if unclaimed, with this process generally leading to an injury settlement that moves the player off the team’s roster. White was among five UDFAs receivers the Jags signed this year.

A sixth-round Titans draftee back in 2021, Breeze was most recently with the Texans. He spent the second half of last season on Houston’s practice squad, staying on the AFC South champions’ 16-man unit until season’s end. No reserve/futures contract emerged for the Oregon alum, however. Breeze has played in 11 career games, splitting his career in Tennessee and Detroit.

Chiefs Sign First-Round WR Xavier Worthy, Wrap Draft Class Deals

June 5th, 2024 at 3:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Opting to downgrade in wide receiver talent upon trading Tyreek Hill in 2022, the Chiefs managed fine without the All-Pro weapon. The team is riding back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Though, the wideout issues from last season clearly played a lead role in Kansas City’s 2024 offseason plan.

The team signed Marquise Brown to a one-year deal and further bolstered its receiving corps with a first-round trade-up for Texas’ Xavier Worthy. He of a Combine-record 4.21-second 40-yard dash, Worthy will be expected to infuse Kansas City’s passing game with a long-range upgrade. The Chiefs and Worthy moved past one offseason hurdle Wednesday, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reporting the sides have agreed to terms on the receiver’s rookie contract.

[RELATED: Prospect Profile: Xavier Worthy]

Worthy is now signed through the 2027 season, and the Chiefs have a fifth-year option on the player chosen 28th overall. The deal is fully guaranteed. Worthy is the first Round 1 wideout the Chiefs have chosen during Andy Reid‘s tenure and the franchise’s first since Jonathan Baldwin in 2011. Worthy will enter the NFL in a considerably better situation, having Reid calling the shots and Patrick Mahomes targeting him.

The former Longhorns standout generated interest from multiple teams. The Patriots made an effort to move up for Worthy; they are believed to have presented the Bills an offer for No. 28. The Chiefs’ offer to climb up from No. 32 clearly impressed the Bills more, as they were willing to move down to accommodate the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. Kansas City’s trade allowed Buffalo to jump up 38 spots (to No. 95) and move up in Round 7 as well. While many have questioned the Bills for allowing this, the perennial AFC East champs clearly did not have Worthy too high on their board. Though, Worthy’s progress in Missouri will spotlight the Bills’ choice.

Worthy’s size likely presented an issue for some teams; he checked in at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds. The 4.21 talent did not operate purely as a downfield producer with the Longhorns, though it will be interesting to see how his frame translates to the NFL. The Chiefs are banking on the coach that drafted DeSean Jackson 16 years ago boosting Worthy, as both the team’s top WR acquisitions are diminutive targets; Brown goes 5-9, 180.

Worthy brings both a strong body of work and an explosive final college season. Last year, the Texas speedster caught 75 passes for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns. That was Worthy’s only 1,000-yard season, but he topped 750 in both his other college campaigns and combined for 21 TDs from 2021-22. Texas saw its top two receivers drafted in the first two rounds, with Adonai Mitchell going off the board in Round 2 (Colts). Worthy led the CFP semifinalist in yardage, while Mitchell paced the Big 12 in receiving TDs.

Although the Chiefs prevailed in Super Bowl LVIII, they dealt with inconsistency at WR throughout 2023. Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (playoff contributions aside) proved largely unreliable. Toney remains in the team’s plans, though it is unclear for how much longer, while Rashee Rice — the team’s lead WR last season — is headed for a likely suspension. A Rice ban would put more pressure on the Chiefs’ new wideouts to pick up the slack during the upcoming threepeat effort.

Here is how the Chiefs’ 2024 draft class wrapped up:

Tyreek Hill Addresses Contract Situation

June 5th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Tyreek Hill‘s four-year, $120MM contract held the belt for most lucrative wide receiver deal for 25 months, this offseason’s developments have made the contract look Dolphins-friendly.

Prior to Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown and Justin Jefferson raising the AAV bar past Hill’s $30MM number and the Dolphins giving Jaylen Waddle more in total guarantees compared to their WR1’s contract, Miami’s future Hall of Fame pass catcher had been angling for an adjustment to his deal. The backloaded structure of Hill’s contract came up during the Jefferson-Vikings negotiations, and the younger wideout superstar managed to avoid the issue the Miami-based performer is navigating.

Jefferson’s guarantee numbers lap the WR field, with his fully guaranteed figure ($88.7MM) checking in $36MM north of Hill’s previous highwater mark. The Minnesota standout’s contract structure does not feature a phony final year to prop up the AAV figure the way Hill’s Dolphins pact does. Hill’s agent (Drew Rosenhaus) has communicated with Dolphins GM Chris Grier on this matter, but with the All-Pro talent signed through 2026, the team does not exactly have to act now.

“About the contract situation, I’m going to let my agent do his job,” Hill said, via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. “That’s his job, man. His job is to get great at that. My job is obviously to come out here and help this team win. … We want to make sure it benefits both sides. I want to be able to help the team as much as I can. That’s as much as I can say about it.”

Hill, 30, added his top priority is making sure he will be a “Dolphin for life.” Offering glowing sentiments about his situation in Miami, Hill does not appear ready to force the issue just yet. His contract issue comes as the Dolphins are negotiating a blockbuster extension with Tagovailoa. As this situation plays out, Mike McDaniel said (via ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Beasley) Hill did not participate in team drills at this week’s minicamp.

It will be interesting to see, however, if Hill’s tone shifts should the Dolphins continue to hold their top player to a contract that includes three more seasons. Teams have held comparable players to club-friendly terms in the not-so-distant past. The Steelers did not relent on a third Antonio Brown contract until his walk year in 2017, and the Patriots never gave Rob Gronkowski a third contract, keeping him on the six-year deal he signed in 2012.

Hill made his way to South Florida after Davante Adams‘ Raiders contract prompted a course change during talks on a third Hill-Chiefs contract. While Hill said at the time he was not asking to be the NFL’s highest-paid receiver, the Chiefs bailed upon learning the speed merchant’s new asking price. The trade became mutually beneficial, with the draft capital obtained helping Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls and Hill elevating his profile with consecutive first-team All-Pro seasons while boosting Tua Tagovailoa‘s career in the process.

This Dolphins regime did cave to Xavien Howard earlier this decade. A year after giving Byron Jones a then-cornerback-record contract, the Dolphins dealt with Howard displeasure regarding a deal he signed in 2019. Four years remained on Howard’s deal when Grier authorized a reworking, and the GM greenlit a new contract that brought $50.7MM in new money months later. This process has probably already come up as the Hill camp presents a case for an adjusted contract, and after back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons, the eight-year veteran can certainly cite his impact on Tagovailoa as a reason he deserves to be paid in step with the new WR market.

Hill’s guarantees run out after 2024, and the 2026 season features an inflated base salary ($43.9MM) that almost definitely will not be paid. While Hill’s age and the duration of his contract provide some complications on his path to an adjusted accord, the Howard precedent — and perhaps the Dolphins wanting to finalize this before a CeeDee Lamb extension impacts the market further — may lead to a near-future resolution.

Zack Martin To Consider Retirement After 2024 Season

June 5th, 2024 at 1:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Micah Parsons might be the Cowboys’ most talented player, Zack Martin is easily the most accomplished performer on Dallas’ roster. A surefire future Hall of Famer, Martin has been one of the NFL’s top guards since being a 2014 first-round pick.

Year 10 brought an interesting chapter for Martin. The decorated blocker held out and saw his tactic produce a solid reward, with the Cowboys greenlighting a raise and a substantial guarantee bump. Martin rewarded the club with a seventh first-team All-Pro season. One year remains on Martin’s deal, and the Canton-bound guard is unsure he will follow Tyron Smith in pursuing another contract. Martin said he will consider retirement following the 2024 campaign.

[RELATED: Cowboys Expected To Make Dak Prescott Strong Offer]

“I’m not saying 100%, but I think it’s definitely in the realm of possibilities,” Martin said, via the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken, of the possibility 2024 is his last season. “And that’s one thing I don’t want to do. For myself, I don’t want to be thinking, ‘Oh, this is it. This is it.’ I want to stay in the moment, and I want to play the best that I can play at this point and be the best right guard this team needs on a weekly basis. And then after the season, we’ll figure out what’s going on.”

Despite coming into the NFL two years after Smith, the acclaimed right guard is a month older than his longtime teammate. Drafted at 23, Martin will turn 34 in November. Martin signed a six-year, $84MM extension before the 2018 season. The extension ties the cornerstone lineman to the Cowboys for seven years. While the team revised Martin’s deal to end his holdout last year, the parameters of the 2018 agreement still shape his path to free agency.

Martin remaining at or close to his All-Pro form would, even at 34, make him an attractive free agent — particularly for contending teams — in 2025. Guards rarely receive the franchise tag, due to all O-linemen being under one umbrella on the tag, and the Cowboys’ contract situation has produced complications to the point a 2025 tag for anyone might not be in the cards. The team has Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb deals to complete, with a monster Parsons payday likely coming next year.

Restructures also stand to make matters difficult for the Cowboys regarding Martin, as a $26.5MM dead money hit would come to pass if he is not re-signed before the start of the 2025 league year. As the Tom Brady Buccaneers contract showed, a retirement would also stick the Cowboys with that void years-driven bill.

ESPN’s run block win rate metric slotted Martin fifth last season, though his 18th-place Pro Football Focus finish marked a career-low ranking. The 2014 first-round pick said his holdout, along with nagging injuries, hindered him — to a degree, as an All-Pro nod still commenced — in 2023. That said, Martin is in rare territory among guards. Even counting pre-merger players, Martin’s seventh first-team All-Pro selection tied him for first all-time at the position — with Hall of Famers John Hannah and Randall McDaniel.

The Cowboys did not re-sign Tyron Smith and, after the Tyler Guyton first-round choice, are expected to keep All-Pro Tyler Smith at left guard. As the team breaks in a new center post-Tyler Biadasz, Martin remains the team’s anchor piece up front. The Cowboys will count on the Notre Dame product again in 2024, but with his contract expiring and retirement under consideration, the All-Decade-teamer’s future is uncertain beyond the upcoming season.

Chargers Release C Corey Linsley

June 5th, 2024 at 12:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Transactions with retired players for cap purposes have transpired this week. The Eagles moved Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox to their reserve/retired list, while the Buccaneers did the same with Ryan Jensen, who retired earlier this offseason. The Chargers are making a different move with Corey Linsley.

While Linsley is expected to retire, the Bolts are moving on via release. Chargers president John Spanos said Linsley “has taken his last snap in the NFL,” and this release will conclude the veteran center’s run with the Bolts. The Chargers will create a bit of cap space by making this move.

Linsley, the Chargers’ center from 2021-23, being cut after June 1 will create $1.2MM in cap savings for the team. Had the Bolts made this cut prior to June 1, they would have been hit with more than $5MM in dead money. Doing so now keeps the dead cap figure at $2.6MM, with the remainder of the money being pushed to 2025.

The Bolts and Linsley agreed on a restructure in February; that transaction dropped the veteran blocker’s 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. That laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s release.

Linsley, 32, played in just three games last season. The Chargers placed the former Pro Bowler on IR after Week 3 due to a “non-emergent heart-related medical issue.” This abruptly halted a standout career for Linsley, who emerged from fifth-round pick to a player who once commanded a record-setting center deal. He was still playing at a high level when the medical issue transpired, having — per Pro Football Focus — not allowed a sack over his final 1,572 pass-blocking snaps. That covered his entire Chargers career.

The team, which changed coaches and GMs since Linsley last played, began its transition away from the talented center last season. The Bolts have since signed Bradley Bozeman, who is expected to transition from Carolina’s first-string snapper to the same role in Los Angeles.

After playing out his second Packers contract, Linsley signed a then-position-record five-year, $62.5MM deal to help the Bolts during Justin Herbert‘s rookie contract. Linsley joined Rashawn Slater and Matt Feiler as starter additions on the Chargers’ O-line that offseason. Slater remains in place as the Bolts’ left tackle to start the Jim Harbaugh era, while Linsley will transition away from the NFL after 10 seasons.

A Chargers team that needed to release Mike Williams to move under the 2024 salary ceiling will bump its cap-space figure beyond $27MM via the Linsley release. The team still needs to sign its first- and second-round picks (Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey), however.

49ers Extend RB Christian McCaffrey

June 4th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers’ acquisition of Christian McCaffrey brought in a high-priced running back with three-plus years remaining on his contract. McCaffrey has proven tremendously valuable for his second NFL team, and he entered the 2024 offseason with two seasons left on his Panthers-constructed deal.

McCaffrey and the 49ers have reached an agreement on a new contract that will tie the reigning rushing champion to the team beyond 2025. The 49ers are giving McCaffrey a two-year, $38MM extension, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. This will now tether the dual-threat dynamo to San Francisco through 2027.

This represents a bump for the running back market, which McCaffrey had paced since his Carolina extension came to pass in April 2020. In addition to the eighth-year veteran moving beyond his $16MM-per-year number, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter adds he will see $24MM guaranteed on this 49ers agreement. McCaffrey will earn an additional $8MM over the deal’s first two years as well. No guarantees remained on McCaffrey’s previous contract.

McCaffrey, who will turn 28 later this week, had made it known internally he wanted a new deal, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. The former top-10 pick had stayed away from San Francisco OTAs. While that was not exactly cause for alarm regarding this relationship ahead of this week’s minicamp, the 49ers will act early on a player who has rewarded them the October 2022 pickup that required second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round draft choices to complete.

Tuesday’s agreement also stands to drop CMC’s 2024 cap number, which stood at $14.1MM. Via a restructure, the 49ers had already included two void years in McCaffrey’s previous contract. This extension will help out on that front as well. Given the instability on the running back market over the past two offseasons, it is somewhat surprising to see a back reach $19MM-AAV territory. No other RB is tied to a deal worth more than $15MM per season.

The 2023 offseason removed a few high-priced RB contracts from the equation. The Cowboys and Vikings respectively cut Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook, and the Bengals and Packers respectively gave Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones pay cuts. The 2023 franchise tag deadline featured the three tagged RBs (Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard) not receiving extensions. McCaffrey was among those who voiced concerns about teams’ valuations of the position, and a Jonathan Taylor-Colts impasse took place. Since Taylor’s battle with his team, the market has shifted a bit. McCaffrey’s new deal follows Taylor’s $14MM-per-year extension and Barkley’s three-year, $37.5MM Eagles agreement.

San Francisco will use a $14.29MM signing bonus to spread out McCaffrey’s cap hits, and Florio adds a 2025 option bonus is in place. The team will guarantee $8.5MM of McCaffrey’s $14.25MM option bonus at signing. Beyond this $24MM guaranteed, the 49ers should still have some flexibility beyond 2025. McCaffrey’s deal includes a nonguaranteed 2026 option bonus ($10.55MM), per Florio, with a nonguaranteed $1.3MM 2026 base salary. CMC’s 2027 base ($16.85MM) is also nonguaranteed.

McCaffrey’s deal reminds of the Cardinals’ 2020 DeAndre Hopkins accord, as it raises a positional AAV ceiling for a player already signed for at least two more seasons. Hopkins received a $27.25MM-per-year extension, which tied him to the Cardinals for five total seasons. The former Arizona wideout collected the guaranteed money on that deal but was not with the Cardinals for the extension years, as the team cut him in 2023. Although signing bonus prorations will create some dead money if the 49ers opt to move on, this contract provides McCaffrey security for 2025 at the very least.

Following the 49ers’ whiff on the Jerick McKinnon signing in 2018, the team used low-cost RBs — Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson among them — until presented with the opportunity to acquire McCaffrey at the 2022 deadline. Outbidding the Rams for CMC, the 49ers took a risk on a player who had missed much of the 2020 and ’21 seasons due to injury. McCaffrey has rewarded the 49ers’ faith, making two Pro Bowls and — after a season with 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns — winning the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year award.

Missing 23 games due to quad, hamstring, shoulder and ankle maladies from 2020-21, McCaffrey has managed to play all but one game since being traded; he missed only an inconsequential Week 18 contest last season. He has been a vital part of the 49ers’ success over the past two seasons, providing Brock Purdy unmatched versatility from the RB position. The 49ers will have a Purdy payment to consider, but a 2025 Purdy extension would still stand to align with this latest CMC payday. McCaffrey may be out of the picture by the time the QB’s lofty cap numbers (assuming a Purdy extension indeed comes to pass) surface. For now, the 49ers have rewarded their top offensive player during the final stages of Purdy’s rookie deal.

This agreement leaves the 49ers with one fewer offensive pillar with a contract year in 2025. Purdy, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel are scheduled for walk years in ’25, with Brandon Aiyuk unsigned beyond his fifth-year option season. The Aiyuk situation lingers, but the 49ers checked off one box Tuesday, rewarding the top player at a marginalized position.

Cowboys Prepared To Make Strong Dak Prescott Offer

June 4th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Plenty of extension candidates and recipients have come through Cowboys headquarters in recent years, as the team has strung together three straight 12-win seasons. But this profiles as a unique offseason for the oft-discussed franchise, as three cornerstone players — Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons — are each extension-eligible.

Both Prescott and Lamb are in contract years; the latter has not shown for minicamp this week. Two seasons remain on Parsons’ deal, via the fifth-year option. Prescott resides in the most interesting situation — due to the terms of his current contract.

Dallas’ QB cannot be franchise-tagged, and a no-trade clause gives the MVP runner-up security on that front as well. As of now, Prescott’s cap number ($55.13MM) trails Deshaun Watson‘s ($63.77MM). Both numbers would shatter an NFL record for a cap figure in-season.

Absent another restructure, the Browns could be ready to take some medicine on their Watson contract. The Cowboys, however, have a clear motivation to complete an extension. Although a report in the spring suggested Dallas was open to having Prescott reach free agency, pushback emerged soon after pointing to the team — as should be expected — having no desire to move to the free agency cliff with their QB. The team is “all in” on a Prescott extension, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noted during a recent Get Up appearance.

The “all in” phrase has become a bit tiresome when connected to this Cowboys offseason, but the team has made clear it wants to do a third deal with Prescott. Thus far, however, Fowler notes the team has taken a passive approach here. The Cowboys waiting with Lamb has likely cost some money, especially considering the monster guarantees the Vikings gave Justin Jefferson. As more quarterback deals are completed, that will certainly affect Dallas-Dak talks. The sides have been in discussions since March, though it is clear these talks have not reached the serious stage.

As the offseason winds down, the Cowboys will need to operate in a more urgent fashion with their ninth-year QB. They are planning to make a strong offer at some point this summer, Fowler adds. Considering the way Prescott operated during his first negotiation, the numbers associated with these discussions remain a central 2024 NFL storyline. Prescott bounced back from a down 2022, throwing an NFL-most 36 TD passes (compared to just nine INTs) and ranking second in QBR, to boost his market. Though, it would have been strong regardless.

While the 30-year-old passer downplayed his desire for a market-setting contract, the shrewd negotiations that led to his four-year, $160MM extension in March 2021 point have the Cowboys battling uphill. The team’s inability to tag Prescott and a recent restructure inflating the void years-driven penalty to $40.1MM in 2025 dead money leave the former fourth-round pick in the driver’s seat.

How the Cowboys handle this Prescott-Lamb-Parsons situation will be one of the more interesting contract chapters in recent league history. A quarterback on a deal at or near $60MM per year and a wideout on track for a near-Jefferson-level payment would be difficult enough, but Parsons having a clear case — thanks to his accomplishments and the cap increase — to top Nick Bosa‘s defender-record contract by a notable margin creates quite the crunch for the Cowboys, whose depth will be tested should the team indeed go through with extensions for all three.

WR Brandon Aiyuk Not Present At 49ers’ Minicamp

June 4th, 2024 at 9:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey extension ensures they have one fewer key player who would be in a contract year come 2025, Brandon Aiyuk remains unsigned beyond this season. Attached to a fifth-year option, the standout wide receiver continues to stay away from his team.

Aiyuk joined CeeDee Lamb by failing to report for his team’s minicamp Tuesday. Aiyuk did not show for the start of 49ers three-day camp, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. Should the two-time 1,000-yard receiver skip all three days of the mandatory offseason session — as it certainly looks like he will — a $104K fine would be levied. Aiyuk has missed all of San Francisco’s offseason program thus far.

Players who miss OTAs usually show for minicamp, but it is not especially rare to see someone engaged in big-ticket extension talks to steer clear of the June session. Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel each attended San Francisco’s minicamp (though, neither participated) while in contract negotiations, respectively, over the past two years. The 49ers reached extensions with both players before Week 1. As of now, Aiyuk is tied to a guaranteed $14.12MM option salary.

The wide receiver market has shifted this offseason, with the top average salary changing hands three times since April. Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown and now Justin Jefferson have topped Tyreek Hill‘s $30MM-per-year number, and the Vikings ventured into unprecedented guarantee territory to lock down their All-Pro talent. Jefferson raised the full guarantee bar at WR from $52MM (Hill) to $88.7MM. The could conceivably produce sticker shock from other teams negotiating with receivers. Aiyuk would not be a candidate to top Jefferson’s salary, but he is believed to be eyeing a deal in the $30MM-per-year neighborhood.

A May report indicated Aiyuk was targeting an extension worth slightly more than the $30.05MM-AAV deal the Lions gave St. Brown. Prior to the Jefferson contract, Aiyuk-49ers talks were not progressing. The 49ers passed on trading Aiyuk during the draft, though teams inquired; it was believed San Francisco targeted a mid-first-round pick for the 2020 draftee. John Lynch effectively put a stop to Aiyuk and Samuel trade talks, though neither player should be considered a lock to be a 49er this season.

The team’s first-round selection of Ricky Pearsall does appear based on a future in which one of the Samuel-Aiyuk pair is elsewhere, but for now, the team understandably seems keen on reloading and attempting another Super Bowl run with its core skill-position pieces in place alongside Brock Purdy‘s rookie contract. With Purdy extension-eligible in 2025, it appears likely Samuel or Aiyuk will be elsewhere. The 49ers still have some time on this front, holding exclusive negotiating rights with Aiyuk until March 2025 and the franchise tag at its disposal.

With no deal at minicamp, this saga does appear headed toward training camp, the window the 49ers have used to reach several key extensions during the Lynch-Kyle Shanahan era.

Keenan Allen Open To Bears Extension

June 4th, 2024 at 9:12pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears acquired veteran wideout Keenan Allen with the understanding that it could be a one-season pairing. While the two sides have yet to discuss an extension, Allen made it clear that he’d be interested in re-signing with Chicago…although the Bears would have to pay him accordingly.

[RECENT: WR Keenan Allen Addresses Chargers Departure]

“I’m going to play as long as I can,” Allen told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times. “As far as an extension, I’m going to let the play speak for itself, and if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.”

Allen is entering the final season of a four-year, $80.1MM extension he signed with the Chargers back in 2020. The wideout is attached to a $34MM-plus cap hit in 2024 and an $18MM-plus base salary, which contributed to his trade from the Chargers. Before Los Angeles dealt their star receiver, the front office attempted to negotiate an extension with the player. Allen was presented with “multiple contract options,” although it sounds like each of those routes would have come with a 2024 pay cut.

The Bears were willing to absorb Allen’s financial commitment for the 2024 campaign, as the organization was focused on surrounding first-overall pick Caleb Williams with as much talent as possible. Allen was certainly a worthy target. In addition to his lengthy resume, the wideout notably rebounded from a disappointing 2022 campaign, finishing the 2023 season with 108 catches for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

If the Bears hope to retain Allen beyond the 2024 campaign, they’ll have to compete with a rapidly increasing WR market. Allen noted as much, saying that Justin Jefferson‘s four-year, $140MM extension with the Vikings once again “reset” the market. With the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb also set to receive lucrative new deals, it’s in Allen’s best interest to remain patient.

It sounds like the Bears also aren’t feeling much urgency to complete an extension. As Finley notes, the Bears have “yet to engage Allen on a new deal.” As the writer notes, the team also somewhat prepared for a potential Allen exit when they selected Rome Odunze with the ninth-overall selection.

While neither side is in any particular rush to complete a deal, it sounds like they’re both interested in a long-term arrangement. After spending his entire professional career in California, Allen said it hasn’t been difficult getting used to Chicago.

“It wouldn’t be hard to adjust to a city like this,” Allen said.

Dolphins Sign Five Rookies

June 4th, 2024 at 8:12pm CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins finally inked some of their rookies to contracts. The team announced that they’ve signed five of their 2024 draft picks:

These five rookies kick off the organization’s draft-class signings. First-round edge defender Chop Robinson and second-round offensive tackle Patrick Paul remain unsigned.

Considering how much the Dolphins have gotten out of their running backs in recent years, Jaylen Wright is certainly an intriguing addition. The Tennessee prospect took it to another level this past season, finishing with 1,154 yards from scrimmage. The rookie has an uphill battle for playing time behind the likes of Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane, and Jeff Wilson, but he could easily slide up the depth chart if/when the team faces injuries.

Patrick McMorris is another prospect who could see a role in 2024. After two standout seasons at SDSU, the safety continued his production after transferring to California, finishing with 90 tackles and eight passes defended. The rookie will compete with Elijah Campbell for any leftover snaps at the safety position.

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