HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Dolphins OLB Shaquil Barrett Announces Retirement

July 20th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins signed Shaquil Barrett at the beginning of this offseason as one of several recent free agent additions to their defense. Before we get a chance to see just how he would fit into Miami’s defense, though, it appears that the veteran linebacker has informed his new team of his intentions to step away from the game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

A former undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2014, Barrett took a bit of a slow start to his NFL career, spending his entire rookie season on the Broncos’ practice squad. The next year, though, Barrett almost immediately made it known that he should’ve been drafted. Leading the team in sacks during the 2015 preseason, Barrett made the 53-man roster for his sophomore campaign.

His first career sack came in Week 3, and he eventually earned his first starts due to an injury to DeMarcus Ware. In six starts over 16 appearances, Barrett totaled 5.5 sacks in his first season on the field. The remainder of his time in Denver saw him vastly undervalued. He would only make nine starts in the next three years (all nine coming in 2017), but in a mostly rotational role, Barrett totaled 14.0 sacks during his time in Denver.

After five years with the Broncos, Barrett signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year, $4MM deal. In a one-year audition, Barrett put on the performance of a lifetime. In Week 2 of his first year in Tampa Bay, Barrett sacked Cam Newton three times. A week later, Barrett upped his own performance with four sacks on the Giants. While that furious pace didn’t continue for a season full of multi-sack games, he did lead the NFL in 2019 with a career-high 19.5 sacks, adding 37 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss while earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. The Buccaneers placed the franchise tag on him in 2020 but eventually rewarded Barrett in 2021 with a four-year, $72MM deal.

Barrett never quite reached the heights of that career year, but over the next two seasons, he continued to be effective and disruptive, totaling 18.0 sacks, 38 quarterback hits, and 20 tackles for loss. He earned his second Pro Bowl bid in 2021 after reaching double-digit sacks for the second time. His 2022 season was marred by a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season after eight games, and last year, he returned to add 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles to the defense.

Barrett found his way to free agency as a cap casualty after Tampa Bay made it known that they only wanted to bring him back at a reduced rate. He signed with Miami a couple weeks later as the Dolphins searched for some quality depth while Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recover from their respective Achilles and ACL tears. Phillips and Chubb were recently put on the team’s active/physically unable to perform list, so the Dolphins continue to lack experienced depth at a position group now led by first-round rookie Chop Robinson.

This late into the offseason, the Dolphins still have some options to fill in the outside linebacker spot in veteran free agents Carl Lawson, Tyus Bowser, Markus Golden, and others. Lawson visited the team back in April, while Bowser has experience with new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver from their time in Baltimore. They will have a little financial flexibility to sign a replacement as Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network notes that the team should get back Barrett’s $5.5MM signing bonus and $6.8MM cap impact.

For Barrett, though, his run appears to be over. While it comes as a surprise for many of us, as the 31-year-old was days away from attending training camp with the Dolphins, he claimed on his Instagram that he’s “been thinking about this for a while and the decision has never been more clear then it is now.” He gives the reasoning that, knowing how it feels and what it takes to accomplish your greatest dreams, he now wants to help his family to reach dreams of their own. Best of luck to Barrett and his family in their future endeavors.

Jaguars Place DL Arik Armstead On PUP

July 20th, 2024 at 2:32pm CST by Ely Allen

When Arik Armstead underwent knee surgery two days after his former team’s Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, it was apparent that he would be missing most, if not all, of the offseason. That makes it no surprise that the Jaguars have placed their newly acquired defensive lineman on the active/physically unable to perform list.

Armstead revealed after the season finale that he had suffered a torn meniscus at the beginning of December during the 49ers’ roadtrip to Philadelphia. The 30-year-old has already had an extensive history of dealing with injuries in his career since coming out of Oregon. Since being selected in the first round in 2015, Armstead has missed 31 regular season contests. He missed large expanses of time in both his second and third seasons before rebounding with a show of health for the next four years. Unfortunately, 2022 saw the return of some demons for the veteran as he missed 13 games over the last two seasons.

The silver lining of this history of maladies is that he hasn’t seemed to have a trick knee or bum shoulder that is continuously a point of concern with these injuries. Early upper body ailments have more recently been replaced with lower body injuries. There is a little cause for potential concern as the recently operated upon knee cost Armstead some time in training camp in 2022 with a sprain, though it was a hairline fracture in his fibula that led to missed games that year.

The good news is that with his extensive history of injuries comes an extensive history of recoveries. While you never wish injury on any particular player, someone with Armstead’s experience of rehabilitation stands a strong chance of a more efficient comeback. He was aiming to return in time for training camp, buy this transaction puts a bit of a damper on those plans as Jacksonville kicks off camp in three days.

Still, we’ve seen a number of players already pass physicals even a day after being placed on their respective injured lists. Without much more insight into the status of Armstead’s rehab, he could come off the list tomorrow or he could be at risk of missing regular season time. Time will tell as the Jaguars begin to come back for the summer.

Latest On Extension Talks Between Lions, Taylor Decker

July 20th, 2024 at 10:27am CST by Ben Levine

While the Lions spent much of the offseason handing out lucrative, long-term pacts to their top players, one key member of the squad is still heading into the final year of his contract. Offensive tackle Taylor Decker is an impending free agent, and while it’s been relatively quiet on the extension front, there’s optimism the former first-round pick will continue to stick around Detroit.

[RELATED: Lions, LT Taylor Decker Discussing Extension]

According to Justin Rogers of The Detroit News, Decker’s camp “seemed encouraged” by early extension talks. We heard back in April that the two sides had opened negotiations, but there haven’t been any developments over the past few months.

Rogers notes that GM Brad Holmes has “every intention” of keeping his core together, and that sentiment would surely include Decker. The 16th-overall pick in the 2016 draft has played under a number of regimes during his time in Detroit, starting all 112 of his appearances in eight seasons.

Pro Football Focus has always graded Decker as an above-average OT, but the veteran had his best showing in 2023. The 30-year-old graded ninth among 81 qualifying offensive tackles, and he continued a five-year stretch of ranking in the top-30 at his position.

Decker is heading into the final year of his second career contract. Following the completion of his rookie pact, Decker inked a five-year, $70MM extension with the Lions. The lineman has fallen out of the top-10 average annual values at his position (he now ranks 12th), and he’ll probably stick around his $15MM AAV on his next deal. Rogers suggests the two sides will eventually land on a two-year extension for the long-time offensive tackle. With Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell having inked lucrative extensions this offseason, Detroit’s front office will have to get a bit creative as they manage their future cap sheets.

Broncos RBs Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine Competing For One Spot?

July 20th, 2024 at 8:51am CST by Ben Levine

With two young running backs expected to earn a pair of roster spots in Denver, the Broncos may have to choose between two of their more experienced rushers. Troy Renck of the Denver Post believes Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine are ultimately competing for one roster spot.

This would be an unfortunate turn of events for Williams, who was a second-round pick only three years ago. The North Carolina product never truly got a chance to lead the backfield in Denver. He did top 1,200 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, but he still split most of his reps that season with veteran Melvin Gordon. Then, his sophomore season was limited to only four games thanks to a torn ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner.

To Williams’ credit, he managed to return and start 13 of his 16 appearances in 2023. However, he averaged only 3.6 yards on his 217 carries, and while he finished the year with 47 receptions, that resulted in only 228 yards. While that drop in production could easily be attributed to his recovery from a devastating knee injury, the Broncos will surely use training camp and preseason to evaluate the running back ahead of the 2024 campaign. For what it’s worth, Renck observed that Williams “looked bigger and stronger” during the spring.

Perine was productive during his first season in Denver, finishing with a career-high 50 receptions and 693 yards from scrimmage. Heading into his age-29 season, Perine is the most veteran member of the Broncos RB corps, and with rookie Bo Nix under center, the Broncos may lean on the former fourth-round pick (especially in the passing game). Still, as Renck notes, Williams has also proved to be a capable pass-catcher, so the offense wouldn’t be completely lost without Perine.

Renck believes rookie fifth-round pick Audric Estime will earn one of the spots on the depth chart. The Notre Dame product had a breakout campaign in 2023, finishing the year with 1,341 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. The rookie suffered a knee injury during OTAs but is expected to be a full participant at training camp.

The team is also expected to hang on to Jaleel McLaughlin. The 2023 UDFA had a productive rookie season in Denver, finishing with 570 yards from scrimmage. He also notably hauled in 31 of his 36 targets, perhaps making him an option on third downs.

At Least Five Teams Interested In 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk

July 19th, 2024 at 10:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The 49ers are starting to become notorious for having some of the stingiest purse strings in the NFL. The latest example sees the team go toe-to-toe with yet another star wide receiver in contract negotiations; this time, it’s Brandon Aiyuk. In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show today, Mike Florio of NBC Sports revealed that at least five teams had shown a willingness to pay Aiyuk his asking price.

Florio’s tidbit is a little out of context for the current situation but is still relevant. According to Florio, during the draft, Aiyuk and his camp asked for permission to gauge interest in Aiyuk’s value around the league. His agent was given permission to see how much other teams would be willing to pay Aiyuk, and five teams were willing to meet his asking price at the time of $28MM per year.

Since then, new deals for receivers such as Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson have vastly shifted the wide receiver-market. Aiyuk, who finished seventh in the league in receiving yards last year (1,342), may not have the stats to reach the payday of some of the players above him, but one must consider two other contributing factors.

First, after missing four games his rookie season (two with COVID-19), Aiyuk has only missed one game in the following three years. Second, Aiyuk is putting up the numbers he’s putting up without being the main focal point of the offense. Even throwing aside star players like running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle, Aiyuk didn’t even get the most opportunities in the wide receivers room. While Aiyuk outpaced Deebo Samuel with 105 targets to Samuel’s 89, Samuel had 37 rushing attempts on top of that.

Aiyuk producing as much as he has in four years while being a third option of four star players should certainly have an impact on his asking price. Imagine the numbers Aiyuk would be able to put up had he the target share of a CeeDee Lamb or a Jefferson. Aiyuk’s contributions over his first four years could be considered comparable to those of Waddle, who recently received a three-year deal averaging $28.25MM a year with the Dolphins.

Now, having requested a trade, the 49ers face the consequences of allowing Aiyuk to theoretically test the market. Not only are there going to be teams willing to give Aiyuk the payday he deserves, but those teams are also going to be willing to give something up in order to obtain his rights in the first place, giving San Francisco little wiggle room to negotiate the price down.

Aiyuk’s situation is becoming a familiar one in San Francisco. Playing the compliant team player has gotten him nowhere in his contract negotiations. To move the needle, Aiyuk made the call to model his behavior after that of two 49ers who did receive paydays in recent years: Samuel and pass rusher Nick Bosa. Both players needed to get creative in negotiations, with Samuel requesting a trade and Bosa holding out at camp. As Florio so aptly worded it, “We’ve seen that you’ve got to be the squeaky wheel to get paid by the 49ers.”

Regardless, there is a market for Aiyuk in the NFL. The 49ers are not bidding against themselves, though their goal of $26MM-27MM suggests that they believe they’re negotiating in a vacuum. Just days ago, we saw the Patriots make inquiries into acquiring Aiyuk. The Commanders and Steelers were also considered contenders to land the wide receiver at some point. Aiyuk will get paid somewhere in the near future. The 49ers just have to decide if they want to open the pocketbook or let someone else pay Aiyuk.

Ravens To Sign S Eddie Jackson

July 19th, 2024 at 10:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

Another member of the veteran safety market has found a deal ahead of training camp. Eddie Jackson has agreed to a contract with the Ravens, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

To little surprise, Schefter adds this is a one-year agreement. Many veterans at all positions take short-term accords at this point in the offseason, but that has particularly been the expectation at the safety spot in 2024. Jackson had spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, but he will now turn his attention to Baltimore as the next phase of his NFL tenure begins.

The 30-year-old has started each of his 101 regular season and playoff games, earning a number of accolades along the way. Jackson received first-team All-Pro honors in 2018 and he duplicated his Pro Bowl nod from that season during the following campaign. He has recorded multiple interceptions four times in his career, but his ball production has declined over time. The former fourth-rounder was named as a trade candidate ahead of the 2023 deadline, though no suitors emerged.

Jackson entered the 2024 offseason with one year remaining on his deal, and he was due $14.15MM in compensation. None of his base salary was guaranteed, though, and a message to Chicago sent in February suggested the Bears would move on. Days later, the team did indeed release the Alabama product. No reports had emerged in the following months connecting Jackson to any known suitors, but he will now spend the summer competing for a role in the Ravens’ secondary.

Baltimore still has Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton in place as starters, but the latter’s versatility was displayed last season when the team deployed three-safety looks. Geno Stone thus logged a notable workload, and his success earned him a deal from the Bengals in free agency. The Ravens added options to replace Stone during and after the draft, but Jackson represents a veteran presence capable of serving in a third safety capacity. His 87% defensive snap share in 2023 was the lowest of his career, and a 120.6 passer rating allowed illustrates his struggles in coverage.

Jackson will not be counted on as a full-time defender as long as Williams and Hamilton remain healthy. He could earn a part-time role in the secondary over the coming weeks, though, and in that event he could use the 2024 campaign to rebuild his free agent value to an extent as he joins a new team for the first time in his career.

No Progress In Extension Talks Between Saints, Alvin Kamara

July 19th, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

A number of receivers are at risk of skipping out the start of training camps around the NFL in the near future, but they are not alone in that respect. Saints running back Alvin Kamara‘s future is somewhat uncertain given his desire for a new deal.

The five-time Pro Bowler walked out of New Orleans’ final minicamp practice as a sign of his unhappiness with his current situation. He is on the books for two more years, but his 2025 salary ($22.4MM) is not guaranteed and has long been seen as a means of artificially inflating the overall value of his pact. With training camp looming, progress on negotiations will be a key storyline to follow for Kamara and the team.

On that note, traction does not appear to have been gained recently. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football notes team and player have not made notable progress with respect to a contract resolution (video link). Kamara, entering his age-29 season, represents a risky candidate for a new deal from the Saints’ perspective given the age at which running backs tend to drop off in terms of production. The former third-rounder is, though, open to a restructure to his existing pact rather than an extension tacking on several years to his New Orleans tenure.

Despite missing the first three games of the 2023 campaign through suspension, Kamara managed to top 1,100 scrimmage yards and score six total touchdowns. Talks on a new agreement have taken place during the offseason, but Underhill’s latest report echoes earlier ones suggesting nothing is imminent. Considering the state of the running back market (2024 notwithstanding), Kamara could be hard-pressed to land a notable raise on a new or reworked contract.

Several backs quickly found new homes during free agency this spring, and Christian McCaffrey secured a raise on a new 49ers pact. He leads the way in terms of AAV at the position ($19MM), while Kamara remains in second at $15MM. The latter figure will be altered one way or another considering the nature of the 2025 structure, but whether or not that happens in the immediate future remains to be seen. Kamara would be subject to $50K in mandatory daily fines if he engaged in a training camp holdout.

NFL Workouts: Texans, Quarterman, Fromm

July 19th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans appear to be looking for another body in the running backs room. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Houston hosted veteran rusher Deon Jackson and undrafted Ohio State rookie Miyan Williams for workouts today.

Jackson spent his first two seasons out of Duke with the Colts as an undrafted free agent. Due to injuries to Jonathan Taylor, Jackson saw extended time in two starts during his sophomore campaign. He recorded career highs in carries (68), yards (236), and touchdowns (1) that season. Last year, Jackson bounced around, playing games for the Colts, Browns, and Giants.

Williams played four seasons for the Buckeyes in five years with the team, spending most of his time as a backup. Injury trouble for TreVeyon Henderson in 2022 opened the door for Williams to have a breakout season, rushing for 825 yards at 6.4 yards per clip and scoring 14 touchdowns. In 2023, a healthy Henderson and an influx of new talent severely reduced Williams’ role.

With free agent addition Joe Mixon and third-year back Dameon Pierce in place atop the depth chart, Jackson and Williams are trying out for an opportunity to push Dare Ogunbowale and sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan for a backup job.

Here are a couple other workouts from around the league recently:

  • The Bears looked at some potential linebacker depth yesterday in Shaquille Quarterman, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After four years with the Hurricanes, Quarterman returned to his hometown as a fourth-round pick for the Jaguars. While he never started a game over the course of his rookie deal in Duval, Quarterman became a core special teamer. He earned some defensive snaps in his second season with the team, totaling 30 tackles that year and, though his time was even more limited in 2022, he made the most of it, forcing a fumble on Derrick Henry in a division matchup. Chicago returns their top three linebackers, so Quarterman is likely looked at only as a potential depth addition.
  • The Packers worked out a notable name at quarterback today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, hosting former Georgia championship-winning passer Jake Fromm. Since being drafted by the Bills in the fifth round in 2020, Fromm has bounced from Buffalo to the Giants to the Commanders. His only playing time came in New York where he started two losing efforts, completing 45 percent of his passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Green Bay hopes to not need anyone behind Jordan Love, but perhaps they are seeking a bit more experience in a camp arm than the two draft picks from the last two years they currently roster.

Bears QB Caleb Williams Attempted To Skirt Tax Implications Of Rookie Contract

July 19th, 2024 at 9:16pm CST by Ely Allen

JULY 19: Despite the efforts from Williams’ camp to land a precedent-setting pact, Florio confirms the deal falls firmly in line with the standard rookie-scale structure. Even the matter of offset language is as expected based on typical rookie contracts. Moving on from Williams with term left on the deal would indeed leave the Bears in line for offsets, though team and player will of course hope such a situation does not arise.

This is a bit of a surprise as Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes that the Bears made such concessions on offsets for Mitchell Trubisky, whom the team drafted No. 2 overall in 2017, and Justin Fields, No. 11 overall in 2021. It’s not even like either of those situations came back to bite them as Trubisky played out the entirety of his rookie contract in Chicago and Fields, while no longer with the team, had his contract taken over by the Steelers when they acquired him via trade.

JULY 17: The Bears signed No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams to his rookie contract today, and we’ve already reported on a number of intriguing negotiation tactics utilized by Williams throughout this process. These include the lack of an NFLPA-certified agent, opting instead for a “board of directors” approach, and the quarterback’s aim to secure a no-franchise tag clause in the deal.

According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, though, these weren’t the only tactics Williams pursued. After already trying to set new precedents with the no-franchise tag clause, Williams reportedly also attempted to break new ground on how his rookie salary will be taxed. Williams’ father has experience working in commercial real estate, providing his camp with unique insight into tax law.

One of the attempts employed by Williams’ camp reportedly tried to get Williams paid as an LLC. As a corporation, Williams would face different tax laws than those of an individual. While the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t appear to have any stipulations limiting this approach, the NFL ultimately made the overarching call to deny Williams, telling the Bears that a player’s money can’t go to a business entity other than the individual.

A second approach saw Williams attempt to model his rookie contract payments after a forgivable loan. In this scenario, Williams could have received the money tax-free until the loan was forgiven in as many as 10 years. Once again, through the league’s advice, Chicago ultimately turned down this option, as well.

Other rumors suggest a situation in which the contract would’ve included “language that will void future guarantees,” bringing up questions of whether or not the Bears would be entitled to receive an offset should they release Williams with guaranteed money remaining and he signs with a new team.

Credit where credit is due, Williams and his crew were extremely creative in their attempts to maximize the value of Williams’ new source of income. The Bears appeared to be willing to play ball but were time and again blocked by the league. While unsuccessful in these attempts, Williams may have opened the door for future first-round picks to have more grounds for negotiation in their rookie contracts.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/24

July 19th, 2024 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Friday’s minor transactions:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

  • Placed on active/NFI list: LB Jontrey Hunter
  • Placed on active/PUP list: RB Terrell Jennings

Seattle Seahawks

Brooks’ appearance on this list doesn’t come as much of a shock. After suffering a torn ACL as a Longhorn last November, he is not going to be cleared for the start of camp, though he can be activated at any time. His injury is considered a “non-football injury” because it occurred before his NFL career began, otherwise he would’ve been on the PUP. Wonnum’s presence on the PUP was also not a surprise as he deals with complications from his offseason quadriceps surgery.

Everett’s appearance, on the other hand, is a bit of a surprise. To date, no injuries have been reported this offseason on the veteran tight end, leaving a bit of a mystery as to the cause of his unavailability.

Williams, who was placed on the NFI list yesterday, lasted one day before passing his physical and getting activated off the injured list. As can tend to be the case, some situations this early can be more precautionary than a tell of something more serious.

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