HEADLINES

Brandon Aiyuk Skipping OTAs; WR, 49ers Not Close On Extension

May 22nd, 2024 at 11:18am CST by Sam Robinson

Abiding by the usual playbook for players in the mix for a lucrative extension, Brandon Aiyuk is not at 49ers OTAs this week. The two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver remains tied to his rookie contract and is operating as other high-profile 49ers have in recent years.

While Nick Bosa is at OTAs, the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback skipped workouts — including minicamp — during his negotiations last year. Deebo Samuel did not participate in the team’s 2022 minicamp, though he did show up weeks after requesting a trade. Aiyuk’s situation is somewhat similar to Samuel’s, but he has not requested a trade. As they did involving Samuel, the 49ers listened to trade offers during the draft’s first night. The team, which rebuffed pre-draft Aiyuk trade inquiries, was believed to be targeting a mid-first-rounder.

[RELATED: 49ers Did Not Consider Day 2 Trade For Aiyuk, Samuel]

Aiyuk and the team, however, still have a long way to go to reach a resolution. The sides are no closer to hammering out an extension than they were when negotiations started, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes. Since the 49ers and Aiyuk began discussions earlier this year, two other wideout contracts — those going to Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown — have changed the market. Both deals checked in north of $30MM per year, which will almost certainly impact Aiyuk’s talks with his team.

Despite topping 1,000 yards in 2022 and ’23, Aiyuk has not matched St. Brown’s production over the past two seasons. Though, the Lions WR also has a significantly higher target share compared to Aiyuk. The 49ers’ leading receiver last season, Aiyuk reached 1,342 yards on fewer targets (105) than he received in 2022 (114). Aiyuk averaged 17.8 yards per reception last season. With Samuel two years older, Aiyuk may well profile as the receiver the 49ers want to build around beyond 2024.

For now, however, the 49ers have an intriguing receiver situation. Samuel and Aiyuk join first-rounder Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, the team’s multiyear WR3. Jennings has not signed his second-round RFA tender, but that is almost certainly coming due to the former seventh-rounder’s limited options. Unless the 49ers circle back to trade talks involving their top duo, they are poised to have a better receiving corps than they did during their latest NFC championship campaign.

The team’s post-2024 situation invites obvious questions, with Aiyuk unsigned and every other key skill-position presence — including Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle — set to be in a contract year come 2025. Brock Purdy‘s contract year will force the 49ers into big decisions, but the team has one more season with its former seventh-round QB find tied to a rookie deal.

While the 49ers would have the franchise tag as a potential Aiyuk option next year, early projections have the team more than $38MM over the 2025 cap. A tag salary would certainly pose an issue on that front, raising the stakes for this year’s extension talks. The 49ers appear to have paused any trade conversations on Aiyuk or Samuel, and the team has a John Lynch-era history of reaching extensions during camp. Samuel, Kittle and Fred Warner signed big-ticket extensions from training camp, and Bosa’s defender-record deal came to pass shortly before last season.

Time remains for Aiyuk and the team, but this offseason’s round of WR deals — a chapter that could be further muddled if Justin Jefferson or CeeDee Lamb sign during the 49ers’ talks — add potential complications. As it stands, Aiyuk is tied to a $14.12MM fifth-year option salary. San Francisco’s June minicamp, the offseason’s only mandatory activity, will mark the next stage of the Aiyuk saga.

WR DeVante Parker Announces Retirement

May 22nd, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Ben Levine

MAY 22: The Eagles officially placed Parker on their reserve/retired list Wednesday. Barring a comeback attempt, Parker will wrap his career after seven seasons as a Dolphin, two as a Patriot and two months with the Eagles.

MAY 20: DeVante Parker is calling it a career. After signing with the Eagles earlier this offseason, the veteran wide receiver told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he has decided to retire.

“I want to see my kids, spend quality time with them,” Parker said of his decision. “I want to be there for them whenever I can.”

The former first-round pick spent the first seven seasons of his career in Miami, including a 2019 campaign where he hauled in 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. Parker ultimately finished his Dolphins career having collected 4,727 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. While Parker didn’t necessarily live up to his first-round billing in Miami, he still left the organization ranked top-10 in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

“I also appreciate the Dolphins for drafting me and giving me the opportunity,” Parker told Schefter. “I always will have love for the Dolphins and their organization. And I want to thank all the teams, the Patriots and the Eagles, too. But the Dolphins were the first team, and I really want to thank them.”

Parker was traded to the Patriots ahead of the 2022 campaign and ultimately had two inconsistent seasons in New England. The Patriots’ QB uncertainty limited the wideout to only 933 yards in 26 games with the organization, including this past season where he finished with a career-low 394 receiving yards.

He was released by the Patriots in March and quickly caught on with the Eagles, where he was expected to compete for the third spot on the depth chart behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. With Parker out of the picture, the job is now Parris Campbell‘s to lose. The veteran addition will be competing with the likes of rookie Ainias Smith (fifth round) and Johnny Wilson (sixth round) for reps.

Kenyon Green Back At Full Strength, In Mix For Texans’ LG Job

May 22nd, 2024 at 10:24am CST by Sam Robinson

Offensive line injuries represented part of the reason the Texans burned through their eight IR activations last season, but multiple pieces were unable to return following injuries. Kenyon Green was among them.

Chosen 15th in the 2022 draft, Green worked as the Texans’ primary left guard starter as a rookie but did not play at all in 2023. A torn labrum sidelined the Texas A&M in August, and he underwent surgery. DeMeco Ryans confirmed this week Green is back at full strength.

“I think that was Kenyon’s biggest thing,” Ryans said of Green’s health, via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. “Once he gets over that hurdle, now we can see how good of a football player Kenyon can actually be when he’s not battling and dealing with injuries. So, I’m excited of what’s ahead for Kenyon because he’s really put in the work to give himself a really good chance this year.”

Green was never eligible to return from IR last season, having been placed on the injured list before Houston finalized its initial 53-man roster. This shut down Green for the season, denying a chance at a bounce-back effort from a disappointing rookie season. Pro Football Focus ranked Green as the worst guard regular in 2022, viewing him as particularly embattled in pass protection. Prior to the shoulder operation last year, Green had already undergone two knee surgeries, including an arthroscopic procedure during the 2023 offseason, since joining the Texans as part of the Deshaun Watson trade.

The Texans used the Watson first-rounders to trade down for Green, up for Will Anderson Jr. and then out of the 2024 first round (via the Vikings) to stockpile more draft capital. While Anderson showed immediate standout potential by winning Defensive Rookie of the Year acclaim, Green is already at a career crossroads. He is believed to be in better condition midway through his third Texans offseason program, but the past two years create questions about the former All-American’s viability as an NFL starter.

As Kenyon Green aims to avoid bust status, he is poised to match up against Kendrick Green and Jarrett Patterson in the primary competition for the Texans’ left guard post, Wilson notes. This would stand to move Juice Scruggs, who played all 439 of his rookie-year snaps at left guard, to center. The Texans lost just about every O-lineman to injury at some point last season. Scruggs, Patterson, Tytus Howard, Laremy Tunsil and Kendrick Green were also among them. Acquired on roster-cutdown day from the Steelers, Kendrick Green joined Kenyon Green in suffering a season-ending injury.

Each of Howard’s 2023 snaps came at left guard as well, but the 2019 first-rounder’s journey across the O-line appears pointed back to right tackle. The Texans drafting tackle Blake Fisher in Round 2, a year after extending Howard on an $18.7MM-per-year deal, adds depth and intrigue to Houston’s O-line. Howard went down with a season-ending knee injury in November. The Texans have durable right guard Shaq Mason going into his second season with the team, but left guard will be a place to monitor on Houston’s depth chart this offseason.

Vikings’ Justin Jefferson Seeking To Become NFL’s Highest-Paid Non-QB?

May 21st, 2024 at 10:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

Justin Jefferson is one of several high-profile players currently absent from OTAs in the NFL. Missing out on voluntary workouts, the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year is in talks with the Vikings on a monster extension.

Jefferson is a strong candidate to become the league’s top earner at the receiver position. Given his age (24) and the historic start to his career, however, that may not be the bar he is aiming for. Outkick’s Armando Salguero reports Jefferson is “expecting” to surpass Nick Bosa as the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback.

Bosa’s 49ers deal, signed last offseason, carries an AAV of $34MM. That figure comfortably moved him to the top of the pecking order amongst defenders (although Chris Jones is now not far behind) and it surpassed the top of the receiver market at the time. Tyreek Hill‘s $30MM-per-season Dolphins contract has been eclipsed recently by new deals for Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) and A.J. Brown (Eagles).

The latter pact is worth an average of $32MM per season, and it therefore represents the new target for Jefferson and other extension-eligible wideouts. Salguero notes Jefferson has already turned down one offer which would have allowed him to top the receiver market, but that was before Brown’s deal was signed. Talks with the Vikings nearly produced an agreement last offseason, but instead the LSU alum remains on track for free agency next year as things stand. Jefferson is set to earn $19.74MM in 2024 on his fifth-year option.

A multi-year pact will check in at a much larger rate, although particular figures regarding AAV are not known at this point in negotiations. Salguero adds the three-time Pro Bowler was previously seeking $40MM annually, but that may no longer be the case. That figure matches the AAV of the contracts quarterbacks Daniel Jones, Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott are presently attached to.

With respect to guaranteed compensation, Salguero reports Jefferson is aiming for roughly $100MM on his next deal. Only eight contracts in the league are at that mark in terms of total guarantees; all of them, unsurprisingly, belong to quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see if Jefferson manages to reach (or at least approach) his asking price in terms of total and guaranteed money.

Minnesota has a cost-effective quarterback room with Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy positioned to replace Kirk Cousins in the short and long term. The team’s skill position group features one expensive pact (tight end T.J. Hockenson), but wideout Jordan Addison will be attached to his rookie contract for at least the next three years. An expensive new deal for left tackle Christian Darrisaw will likely be on the Vikings’ books down the road, but it will pale in comparison to the one Jefferson will have if talks can produce a market-topping agreement.

Patriots G Cole Strange Could Miss Start Of 2024 Season

May 21st, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

Cole Strange saw his second season with the Patriots come to an abrupt end in December. The knee injury which forced him to end the campaign on injured reserve is threatening to keep him sidelined into the fall.

New England’s starting left guard is expected to miss the beginning of the 2024 campaign, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He adds Strange could be unavailable until the middle of the coming season, something which would deal a considerable blow to the team’s offensive front. The 2022 first-rounder has started all 27 of his appearances to date.

“He’s more of a, let’s say, week-by-week or you can go month-by-month if you want to,” head coach Jerod Mayo said when speaking about Strange’s health status (via Rapoport). “But he is working hard, he is doing his rehab. Here every day. He is in the meeting room, so I am happy where he is.”

Eyebrows were raised when the Patriots selected Strange on Day 1, as many expected him to be a mid-round prospect. His rookie season produced a PFF grade of only 54.6, which ranked 61st amongst qualifying guards. The UT-Chattanooga product took a step forward in his 10-game follow-up season, though. Strange earned a 64.6 mark, slotting him 26th at his position.

The Patriots – a team which is set to use free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor on the blindside after he previously worked at right tackle during his Steelers tenure – will have a notably different left side of the line if Strange is unable to start the season. As Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald notes, 2023 fourth-rounder Sidy Sow took first-team left guard reps when the team’s OTAs began yesterday. The 25-year-old Canadian logged 13 starts as a rookie, all of which came at right guard. He would thus represent one of the top options to replace Strange this fall if he is unable to suit up.

NFL Front Office Updates: Commanders, Chiefs, Patriots

May 21st, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Commanders director of pro personnel Chris Polian is on his way to work under one of his former employees. According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Polian, a former vice president and general manager with the Colts, is heading to Cleveland to work under Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who was a scout in Indianapolis under Polian.

Polian will serve as a front office special advisor under Berry. This isn’t the first time Berry has pulled such a move. He previously hired Ryan Grigson, another former Colts general manager, as a Browns personnel advisor in 2020. Grigson is now in Minnesota as the Vikings senior vice president of player personnel.

Pro scout Connor Barringer is also leaving Washington, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. While he hasn’t found a new destination, the Commanders’ scout of the past three years marked the end of his tenure with the team on his LinkedIn account.

Here are a few other front office staff updates from around the NFL:

  • The Chiefs originally hired Madison Aponte as a personnel assistant after her stint in the team’s Norma Hunt Training Camp Fellowship Program. As a personnel assistant, Aponte has essentially acted as the team’s de facto college scouting coordinator since the start of the 2022 season. According to Stratton, she has officially been granted that title in addition to a promotion that will make her college scouting coordinator/pro scout.
  • Lastly, the Patriots have promoted Marshall Oium from assistant director of scouting to director of football strategy, per Stratton. Oium has served five years in New England after a four-year stint in the Browns’ front office.

NFC South Front Office Updates: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

May 21st, 2024 at 9:36pm CST by Ely Allen

The changes to NFL front offices continue in the recent aftermath of the NFL draft. For example, the Buccaneers announced a number of promotions in the scouting department recently, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports.

Sean Conley is set to begin a new role as assistant pro director after previously serving as a pro scout. A former recruiting assistant for Northwestern at the collegiate level, Conley has been in Tampa Bay for the last six seasons, serving the last three as a pro scout.

Donovan Cotton joins Conley as assistant pro director. Cotton has been with the Buccaneers for 10 years, spending the last nine seasons as an area scout. He originally broke into the league as a training camp scouting intern for the Packers before working a full-season player personnel internship in Seattle.

Lastly, Zach Smith will go from the NFS/combine scout role he earned two years ago to a college scout. Smith is entering his seventh year with the team.

Here are a few other front office staff updates in the NFC South:

  • The Falcons continue to respect the work done by Michael Ross. After starting in Atlanta as an intern in 2008, Ross has gradually risen through the ranks of the team’s scouting department. According to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com, his most recent promotion grants him the title of assistant director of college scouting.
  • Finally, the Panthers are bringing on a new hire to their scouting department in Colton Chapple, per Stratton. Chapple hasn’t worked in the NFL for the past two years, working in private business during that time, but prior to his absence, he worked nine years in the Browns’ scouting department.

Rams RB Kyren Williams To Miss OTAs

May 21st, 2024 at 8:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Rams running back Kyren Williams broke out in a big way during his sophomore campaign. His impressive season came to an end in the playoffs, when he exited his team’s loss to the Lions with a broken bone in his hand, but now, a “foot issue” is preventing him from participating in Los Angeles’ offseason program, per Sarah Barshop of ESPN.

Williams is no stranger to injury. The Notre Dame product finished third in the NFL in rushing yards last year, behind only Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry, despite missing five games (four on injured reserve with an ankle injury, another resting in the regular season finale) in 2023. Williams led the NFL in rushing yards per game with a mark of 95.3. The surprise offensive asset figures to be an integral part of the Rams’ offense in 2024, as long as his health allows it.

Williams’ stint on IR in 2023 wasn’t his first bout with injury, either. In OTAs before his rookie season, Williams broke his foot. After working his way back from that injury in time to make his rookie debut in Week 1, Williams suffered an ankle injury in his first NFL game that caused him to miss the next seven games of the 2022 season.

Head coach Sean McVay didn’t seem too worried about the 23-year-old’s status. Though he’ll miss the team’s offseason activities, Williams is expected back in time for training camp. “It’s nothing to worry about,” McVay told the media. “He’ll be ready to go for training camp, but there’s a little issue when he was training…But nothing to be concerned about.”

Williams’ absence wasn’t the only notable attendance feature in OTAs. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was in attendance and reportedly taking part in organized team activities, despite the veteran’s current efforts to attain more guaranteed money on his current contract. The 36-year-old passer is one year through a four-year, $160MM deal, but is done earning anymore guarantees ($10MM of his 2025 base salary was guaranteed in March).

There is a benefit on the team’s part to come to a restructured deal, as well. Stafford is set to represent a cap hit of $49.5MM this season, $50.5MM in 2025, and $49.5MM in 2026. A restructured contract could serve dual purposes of both getting Stafford more guaranteed money and also lowering his cap liability in the future.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/21/24

May 21st, 2024 at 6:53pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday’s minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived (with injured designation): WR Keilahn Harris

Jackson is the only name here with much extended experience in the NFL. Jackson was part of the Colts’ three-pronged approach to replace lost production during Jonathan Taylor‘s injury-riddled 2022 season.

Zack Moss and Nyheim Hines were the other two to earn starts, but Jackson displayed the most versatility. Moss had 365 rushing yards but only had four catches for 12 yards, while Hines had 188 receiving yards but only 36 rushing yards. Jackson found extended use in both areas with 236 rushing yards and 209 receiving yards. This is because Jackson’s role as a backup changed partway through the season, when the Colts traded Hines to Buffalo for Moss. When Hines was on the team, Jackson was the primary backup ball carrier. When Moss came to town, Jackson’s role shifted to more of a third-down receiving back. His past versatility could land him on another NFL roster once he’s healthy again.

Cardinals Move Paris Johnson Jr. To LT

May 21st, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Seven years ago, the Cardinals flipped their starting tackles by moving Jared Veldheer to the right side and first-round pick D.J. Humphries to the left edge in their then-Carson Palmer-centered offense. Chosen in the first round eight years after Humphries, Paris Johnson Jr. will be at the center of a Cardinals position revamp up front.

Arizona used Johnson as its right tackle in 2023, but the former No. 6 overall pick is ticketed for the blindside post this season. Jonathan Gannon confirmed the Ohio State product will play on the left side during the offseason program, as a development effort — one that will see free agency addition Jonah Williams continue at right tackle — ensues ahead of Johnson’s second season. Johnson has been working at his new spot since the Cardinals began on-field work this offseason.

“Paris obviously playing both, Jonah playing both, but we’ll start there and see how it goes,” Gannon said, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “That’s what they both feel comfortable with right now.”

While noting he holds veto power regarding this effort, Gannon is pointing to another Cardinals tackle switch-up. The above-referenced change occurred after Humphries played right tackle in his de facto rookie year (the 2015 first-rounder missed all of his actual first season). Humphries remained in that post through last season. The Cardinals said they would be open to re-signing Humphries — a March cap casualty — but their recent Johnson-focused announcement makes a reunion highly unlikely.

At this time last year, the prospect of Johnson beginning at guard was in play. The Cardinals employed Humphries and Josh Jones and had just re-signed Kelvin Beachum. But the team slotted its top draftee on the right side. Johnson started all 17 games at RT as a rookie. A move to the left side always seemed in play, with Johnson finishing his college career there and earning first-team All-American acclaim. Johnson played right guard for the Buckeyes in 2022.

This move is perhaps more interesting for Williams, who made a trade request — a Bengals regularity over the past two springs — after the team kicked him to the right side. Cincinnati’s Orlando Brown Jr. signing “blindsided” Williams, though the three-year Bengals LT retracted his trade ask and went to work on the right side. Williams started opposite Brown throughout last season and signed a two-year, $30MM Cardinals deal.

Williams agreeing to terms with a team to play right tackle is notable given the events in his final Bengals offseason. It would also seem easier for the Cardinals to keep Johnson on the right side and install Williams at the position with which he is most comfortable. But Johnson certainly brings higher upside; the team will begin an earnest developmental effort for him to take over as Kyler Murray‘s blindside protector. Pro Football Focus ranked Johnson and Williams 57th and 59th among tackles last season.

Beachum, 35 next month, remains on Arizona’s roster as a swing tackle. The team returns right guard Will Hernandez and center Hjalte Froholdt. Williams’ deal contains $19MM fully guaranteed, covering part of his 2025 salary. The team added Evan Brown in free agency, still rosters Elijah Wilkinson and used a third-round pick on Isaiah Adams. Brown, Wilkinson and Adams are set to compete for the left guard gig, Urban adds. Gannon confirmed the Brown signing will not move the Cardinals to try Froholdt at guard.

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