Clelin Ferrell

NFC East Notes: Reddick, Eagles, Burns, Giants, Kendrick, Cowboys, Commanders

March 21st, 2024 at 6:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles signed Bryce Huff and reached a reworked agreement with Josh Sweat. Brandon Graham is coming back for what would be a record 15th season with the franchise, and Nolan Smith is going into his second season. This setup would stand to point Haason Reddick out of town, and the Eagles recently made a contract adjustment that could help facilitate a trade. The team moved Reddick’s $1MM bonus, which was scheduled for March 15, to April 1, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler.

Reddick, 29, is due a $14.25MM base salary in 2024; that amount is almost entirely nonguaranteed. The Eagles gave Reddick permission to seek a trade ahead of free agency, and while the Philadelphia native said he did not request to be moved, the team’s other decisions at edge rusher may have made that decision already. Calls have come in, and it will be interesting to see what offers emerge. A team acquiring Reddick would likely be doing so with the intent of extending him, which will impact his value. He of back-to-back double-digit sack seasons and the driving force behind Philly nearly breaking the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record in 2022, Reddick is tied to a $15MM AAV; that ranks 19th among edge defenders.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

On the edge rusher topic, the Giants‘ Brian Burns extension is not quite as lucrative as initially reported. While the extension can be worth up to $150MM, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes its base value checks in at $141MM with $76MM fully guaranteed. The deal will pay out $90MM over the first three years. In terms of total guarantees, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan places that number at $87.5MM. Burns’ 2024 base salary is fully guaranteed, but his 2025 and ’26 numbers are not. Burns has $10.75MM of his $22.25MM 2025 base guaranteed at signing; his $22.25MM 2026 base is guaranteed for injury. The deal features a surprisingly flat structure that does not involve void years, giving the Giants — who would have Kayvon Thibodeaux eligible for an extension in 2025 — some flexibility down the road. Burns’ $28.2MM AAV tops T.J. Watt for second among edge defenders, but his full guarantee trails the Steelers All-Pro’s $80MM figure.
The Giants created some additional cap space Thursday, moving $10MM of Dexter Lawrence‘s base salary into a signing bonus. This will free up $7.5MM in space for New York, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. The Giants did not move all of Lawrence’s 2024 base into a bonus, potentially leaving some room in case more funds are needed. Lawrence’s $22.5MM-per-year deal runs through 2027.
Eric Kendricks agreed to a one-year, $3MM Cowboys deal, and ESPN’s Todd Archer notes he accepted a lesser offer in order to rejoin Mike Zimmer in Dallas. The longtime Vikings starter had agreed to terms with the 49ers, but a lower cost of living — albeit for a player who has made $52MM in his career — and a familiar scheme will await him in Dallas. The 49ers moved on to De’Vondre Campbell.
While Devin White‘s Eagles contract can max out at $7.5MM, the33rdTeam.com’s Ari Meirov indicates the deal’s base value comes in at $4MM ($3.5MM guaranteed). This is a staggering drop for White, who had requested the Buccaneers trade him — as he pursued a top-market ILB contract — last year. The former top-five pick will follow the likes of Kyzir White, Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow as low-cost solutions on Philly’s defensive second level.
Frankie Luvu‘s Commanders contract can max out at $36MM, but KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes the base value is $31MM. Washington is giving the productive Carolina linebacker $14.6MM guaranteed at signing. Just $2MM of Luvu’s $8.5MM 2025 base salary is fully guaranteed. Another $4.5MM locks in on April 1, 2025. Clelin Ferrell‘s one-year Commanders pact is worth $3.75MM with $3.1MM guaranteed, per Wilson, who adds $1.5MM is also available via incentives. As for DB Jeremy Reaves, Wilson adds he re-signed on a two-year, $6MM contract. The Reaves deal includes $2.7MM guaranteed. Lastly, Jeremy Chinn‘s Washington deal includes a $4.12MM base salary ($3.5MM guaranteed), via Wilson.

Commanders To Sign DE Clelin Ferrell

March 12th, 2024 at 8:33am CST by Adam La Rose

The defensive re-tooling effort in Washington is continuing. The Commanders are expected to sign defensive end Clelin Ferrell, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

After spending last season with the 49ers, the former No. 4 overall pick saw his most recent team devote more funds to replacing him. San Francisco added both Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos on the first day of the legal tampering period, leaving Ferrell out of the mix. Dan Quinn’s team will add the five-year veteran to its evolving group of DEs.

Although the 49ers added both Chase Young and Randy Gregory via trade last year, they turned to Ferrell as the full-time starter opposite Nick Bosa. That setup produced 3.5 sacks but a career-high 13 quarterback hits. Ferrell, however, suffered what turned out to be a season-ending injury in San Francisco’s meaningless Week 18 contest. The 49ers placed him on IR, with the timing of that move preventing an activation before Super Bowl LVIII.

In addition to trading Young and Sweat on deadline day, the Commanders have fill-in starters James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill unsigned. Dorance Armstrong is expected to take over as one D-end starter; Ferrell could well have a chance to supplement him. Washington also agreed to terms with Frankie Luvu to help out its sack efforts, though the ex-Panther is technically a linebacker.

Ferrell joins Arden Key as a player the 49ers helped rebound. While the Raiders cut Key before the conclusion of his rookie contract, they retained Ferrell for four unremarkable years. He closed that tenure as a healthy scratch at points for the Silver and Black. Quinn will see what the former top prospect looks like in his system.

49ers’ Arik Armstead To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss Extensive Offseason Time

February 13th, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Arik Armstead missed extensive time down the stretch for the 49ers, but the veteran defensive lineman was back on the field for each playoff game. Now that the season has ended, the former first-round pick revealed the injury he played through.

The nine-year 49er said Tuesday he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during the team’s Dec. 3 win over the Eagles, indicating (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver) he will undergo surgery. This operation is expected to sideline Armstead for most of the team’s offseason program, though NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco adds the veteran hopes to return by training camp. Armstead will join Dre Greenlaw in missing offseason time, though the concern regarding the linebacker will overshadow worries on the Armstead front.

Armstead, 30, has run into a number of injuries over the course of his career. The Oregon alum has missed 31 regular-season games since going off the 2015 draft board 17th overall. That said, Armstead turned his career around following some early-career setbacks. He played every 49ers game from 2018-21, earning a lucrative extension during that span. But the past two seasons have brought injuries back into the equation.

Upper-body injuries cost Armstead time early in his career, though he rallied back in time to have the 49ers pick up his fifth-year option and ultimately extend him on a five-year, $85MM deal. In 2022, however, Armstead battled trouble with this same knee. A sprain during the 49ers’ 2022 training camp cost Armstead time, and while he returned for Week 1 that year, a hairline fibula fracture led to a half-season absence. This season, Armstead battled knee and foot injuries before coming back for the 49ers’ divisional-round game.

Despite these setbacks, Armstead has remained vital to the 49ers’ defensive blueprint. The team opted to pay Armstead over giving DeForest Buckner a more lucrative extension, trading the latter to the Colts in 2020. Both Buckner and Armstead have remained upper-echelon D-linemen, though Armstead’s ex-Oregon teammate is a higher-level performer. Buckner has received three Pro Bowl nods while picking up two All-Pro honors, whereas Armstead profiles as more of a high-end role player on the 49ers’ Nick Bosa-led D-line.

One season remains on Armstead’s deal, and the void years San Francisco added upon restructuring the contract make the 6-foot-7 interior defender more difficult to cut. Armstead is set to carry a $28.4MM 2024 cap number — third-highest on the team — and would cost more than $25MM to release in a non-post-June 1 capacity this year. If the 49ers do not extend Armstead before the start of the 2025 league year, they will be hit with $15.5MM in dead money due to the three void years tacked onto the deal. Armstead recorded one sack in the playoffs and five during the regular season, grading as Pro Football Focus’ No. 16 overall interior D-lineman.

With Armstead available, the 49ers rolled out a formidable defensive line in the playoffs. San Francisco paired he and Bosa with big-ticket free agent signing Javon Hargrave, trade pickups Chase Young and Randy Gregory, and former first-round pick Javon Kinlaw. Young and Kinlaw are on track for free agency, while Gregory’s contract — a bill the Broncos footed almost entirely this season — may need to be adjusted or shed from the team’s payroll. Backup defensive end Clelin Ferrell is also a free agent-to-be; Ferrell and Drake Jackson missed Super Bowl LVIII.

Ferrell also suffered a torn meniscus, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. The 49ers placed the free agency pickup on IR in January. Despite the 49ers trading for Young and Gregory, Ferrell started 17 regular-season games opposite Bosa. The former Raiders top-five pick elevated his stock this season, though the knee injury stands to interfere with Ferrell’s attempt to parlay that rebound into a nice contract.

Armstead is the 49ers’ longest-tenured starter, beating out George Kittle by two years. Injuries have nagged him at points, but the veteran remains a productive player for San Francisco. He and Greenlaw, who suffered an Achilles tear while merely trotting onto the field for a defensive possession, will be out of the picture for a while.

49ers Activate S George Odum, Place DE Clelin Ferrell On IR

January 20th, 2024 at 5:51pm CST by Ely Allen

Shortly after losing starting safety Talanoa Hufanga for the year to a torn ACL, the 49ers were worried that they would be down another body in the secondary after George Odum suffered a biceps injury that the team feared could be season-ending. Luckily, they were wrong. San Francisco activated Odum off of injured reserve today, opening a roster spot for him by placing defensive end Clelin Ferrell on IR in his place.

Odum, a former undrafted free agent, signed a three-year contract with the 49ers after a breakout year that saw him start seven games for the Colts. Up until that breakout season, Odum had seen most of his use coming on special teams. The patient defender was given his opportunity to start thanks to multiple injuries to starters Khari Willis and Andrew Sendejo. He took advantage of that opportunity, finishing sixth on the team with 55 total tackles while recording an interception and two passes defensed. While Odum may not be a game changer on the 49ers defense, the depth he provides at safety will be a welcome one as San Francisco starts their 2023 playoffs.

Ferrell, a former top-four pick out of Clemson, has ultimately failed to live up to his draft stock over his five years in the league. After seeing his fifth-year option declined by the Raiders, Ferrell signed a one-year deal to come to San Francisco. Despite not meeting expectations in Las Vegas, Ferrell stepped in as a full-time starter for the 49ers this season. Ferrell hasn’t been very productive as a pass rusher (only 3.5 sacks), but he hasn’t needed to be as Nick Bosa (10.5), Javon Hargrave (7.0), and Arik Armstead (5.0) have fed off of their combined pass rushing effort. With Ferrell out with a knee injury, trade acquisition Chase Young, who has been coming off the bench since being acquired before Week 10, will once again step into a starting role.

In addition to the two IR transactions, the team also announced their standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Defensive tackles Alex Barrett and T.Y. McGill will be called up to add some depth to the defensive line against the Packers tonight.

49ers Work Out CB Casey Hayward, Expect Arik Armstead Back For Playoffs

January 9th, 2024 at 6:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jason Verrett ran into yet another unfortunate setback last week, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in practice. The 49ers are looking at adding another veteran cornerback as insurance.

Enter Casey Hayward, whom KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes worked out for the 49ers on Tuesday. Hayward, 34, has not played this season. But the 49ers, as their continued Verrett interest and past in-season additions show, place value on veteran corners in the event of injuries to regulars. They again want a veteran corner on their practice squad, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows.

San Francisco brought in the likes of Jackrabbit Jenkins, Josh Norman, Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard from 2021-22; that group joined Verrett, whom the team continued to prioritize in recent offseasons despite his near-annual injury troubles. Hayward spent last season with the Falcons, but the team cut him early during the 2023 offseason.

The former Packers, Chargers and Raiders cover man played well in 2021, garnering a two-year, $11MM Atlanta agreement in March 2022. But he sustained a shoulder injury that limited him to six games last season. A 118-game starter who played on five straight Gus Bradley-run defenses from 2017-21, Hayward was medically cleared this summer. The 49ers are in fairly good shape at corner, with Charvarius Ward making the Pro Bowl and Deommodore Lenoir, Ambry Thomas and ex-Hayward Falcons teammate Isaiah Oliver in place as sidekicks.

More relevant to the No. 1-seeded team’s Super Bowl chase: Arik Armstead appears set to return from his latest injury trouble. The veteran defensive tackle has missed the past five games due to foot and knee injuries. Armstead will practice this week, and Kyle Shanahan said (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) he could have played against the Rams — had the team needed to win its regular-season finale. A ninth-year 49er, Armstead has been pivotal to the team’s Nick Bosa-era D-lines. He is set to team with Bosa, Javon Hargrave and Chase Young upon returning for the divisional round.

The 49ers also designated safety George Odum for return from IR, ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner tweets. Odum, used primarily on special teams during his San Francisco tenure, suffered a biceps injury on Thanksgiving. While that malady was expected to sideline the former All-Pro for the season’s remainder, Odum will be in play to return for the 49ers’ divisional-round game.

The news on safety Tayler Hawkins and defensive end Clelin Ferrell is not as good. Ferrell is likely to miss a few weeks due to a knee injury, Shanahan said. The seventh-year HC did stop short of saying this is a season-ending setback, however. Despite the arrivals of Young and Randy Gregory, Ferrell — who had drifted to healthy-scratch status at points with the Raiders — has started all 17 games this season. Hawkins, a rookie UDFA who made his NFL debut in Sunday’s nonessential Rams tilt, suffered a season-ending wrist injury, the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman notes.

Shanahan added Drake Jackson, who has been on IR since November with a knee injury, is not healthy enough to practice. In the event Odum comes back and Jackson is healthy enough to return, the 49ers are in good shape for injury activations. After using all eight of their IR-return moves during the regular season last year, they have five activations left.

Latest On 49ers, DE Nick Bosa

September 6th, 2023 at 8:43am CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Jones and Zack Martin‘s holdouts qualified as more contentious than Nick Bosa‘s, but like the Chiefs interior defensive line standout, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is close to missing regular-season time.

Bosa still has a few more days to sign an extension and end his holdout, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes the 49ers have moved past one hurdle as they attempt to finalize this deal. As expected, Bosa will soon become the NFL’s highest-paid edge defender. The 49ers have offered Bosa at least $30MM per year, as we heard late last week. T.J. Watt‘s $28MM-AAV deal has paced the edge rusher market since September 2021.

The issue of Bosa passing Aaron Donald‘s defender-record deal, which averages $31.7MM per year, still looms. More specifically, the topic of the $5MM roster bonus the Rams gave Donald as part of his guarantee package is part of the Bosa-49ers equation, Rapoport adds. This would seem a small barrier to negotiate, but the parties are running short on time to have Bosa in uniform for the San Francisco-Pittsburgh opener.

If Bosa is not uniform for the 49ers against the Steelers, they are prepared to start free agency pickup Clelin Ferrell and 2022 second-rounder Drake Jackson, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweets. This would mark a dramatic change for Ferrell, a bust with the Raiders after being the No. 4 overall pick in 2019. The 49ers have done well to coax quality play from discarded veteran D-linemen in recent years, and it will be interesting to see what D-line coach Kris Kocurek generates from Ferrell, a healthy scratch at points last year in Las Vegas. Ferrell signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal in March.

Bosa’s presence has helped the revolving cast of veteran defensive ends operate, however, and the 49ers have let this matter run up against the regular season. They are still expected to waive Bosa fines for skipping training camp, which the CBA permits for holdouts on rookie contracts, separating this from the Chiefs-Jones impasse. The 49ers have budgeted for a Bosa extension for years, but this journey’s completion is proving difficult.

The guarantees on Bosa’s contract will most likely dwarf Donald’s, as those were part of a three-year deal. The Steelers gave Watt a defender-most $80MM guaranteed at signing; Joey Bosa received $78MM locked in from the Chargers back in 2020. It will be interesting to see if Nick Bosa ends up on a lengthy contract like Trent Williams, who signed a six-year deal in 2021, or a medium-term pact like Deebo Samuel (three years).

Donald staged a holdout ahead of his fourth season and missed the first two games of the Rams’ 2017 season. The circumstances behind that differed, though the Rams did waive Donald’s fines and paid him for Week 1. That holdout came in Sean McVay‘s first season, when little was expected of a retooling Rams team. The 49ers are again a Super Bowl contender, a status Bosa helped restore after he missed most of a down 2020 season with an ACL tear. Not having the 25-year-old standout in a road game against the Steelers may well impact the NFC’s home-field advantage chase four months from now.

49ers, DE Clelin Ferrell Agree To Deal

March 15th, 2023 at 2:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

Clelin Ferrell‘s time with the Raiders did not go according to plan, but he will now have an opportunity to rebuild some of his value in a new home. The defensive end is signing a one-year deal with the 49ers, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).

The Raiders raised eyebrows when they drafted Ferrell fourth overall in 2019. That decision upped expectations for the Clemson product, who profiled as a solid contributor at the NFL level, but not the focal point of a team’s edge rush group. He operated as a full-time starter for the first two years of his career, but totaled just 6.5 sacks across that span.

A dramatic drop in playing time followed, as fellow 2019 draftee Maxx Crosby established himself as the team’s top performer in the pass rush department. Ferrell saw his snap share fall to 24% that year, leaving his future with the team very much in doubt. He, like the Raiders’ other first-rounders from the 2019 class, had his fifth-year option declined in a move which came as little surprise.

The 25-year-old’s roster spot was thought to be in jeopardy during training camp, given the arrival of a new coaching and defensive staff, along with his struggles early in his career. He did manage to remain on the 53-man roster, though his name was included in trade talk in the build-up to this year’s deadline. In 2022, Ferrell played in a rotational role, recording a pair of sacks and drawing a middling review in terms of PFF grade.

In San Francisco, he will have the chance to play alongside a number of highly-regarded d-linemen. The 49ers have already added Javon Hargrave to their defensive interior, and have Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead available as productive veterans up front. The team is set to lose Charles Omenihu to the Chiefs, so Ferrell could step into his place as a young option aiming to serve in a rotational capacity and play his way into a more substantial deal next year.

Raiders Not Considering Defensive Changes

November 18th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Part of the Raiders’ struggles this season has been an underwhelming performance by the team’s defense. Aside from a notable coaching decision made last week, though, no major changes with respect to players or coaches will be coming any time soon.

Las Vegas ranks 28th in the league in both total and scoring defense, despite a number of moves made in the offseason which led to heightened expectations the unit could at least effectively complement the Raiders’ talented array of skill-position players. That included bringing in Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator after he spent the past two seasons in the same capacity with the Giants.

One element of the team’s lackluster performance to date has been its pass rush. Despite having a starting edge tandem of Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones, the Raiders have registered a league-worst 10 sacks this season. The latter has accounted for just 0.5 of that total, a figure which marks a major disappointment relative to the $52.5MM deal he signed this offseason. Significant alterations to the rotation, or along the sidelines, are not being considered for the remainder of the season, however.

“What’s the alternative?” head coach Josh McDaniels said, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic (subscription required). “I think that’s our job to look at that and consider it that way, but I also think throwing things out there just because you’re frustrated with the results doesn’t necessarily mean that the results are going to change for the better at all. Matter of fact, they could get dramatically worse.”

Eyebrows were raised this past Sunday when three notable defenders were deactivated. Defensive linemen Clelin Ferrell, Matthew Butler and Neil Farrell were each healthy scratches for the team’s 25-20 loss to the Colts. Reed tweets that the decision was made as a result of an unspecified non-football matter.

Amidst the Raiders’ 2-7 campaign, questions have been raised about the commitment level of certain players, a list which may include Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. McDaniels’ job security has also been a talking point in recent weeks, though owner Mark Davis emphatically put an end to speculation about a change being made in that regard in at least the intermediate future. The same will apparently hold true both on the field and the sidelines for the team’s defense.

Raiders Shopping DL Clelin Ferrell, S Johnathan Abram

October 19th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Ben Levine

With a new regime in place, the Raiders could be looking to move on from a pair of 2019 first-round picks. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders have talked with teams about trading defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell and safety Johnathan Abram.

Since Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels were brought on board, the Raiders have been busy reworking their roster. As one NFC executive told Fowler, the organization is valuing players “who fit their personality,” and it’s not overly surprising that they’d be looking to move from a pair of players who were drafted by the former front office.

Abram’s name has been “circulating a lot,” per Fowler. The safety missed the majority of his rookie campaign with a torn rotator cuff and labrum, but he’s otherwise been a reliable defender for the Raiders. He finished with 116 tackles in 2021, with Pro Football Focus grading him as an above-average linebacker (especially when it came to pass rush). However, the Ziegler/McDaniels combo had little time to evaluate Abram before having to decide on his fifth-year option, which they ultimately declined. The 25-year-old is still seeing a significant role in 2022; he’s started all five games while collecting 32 tackles. However, after appearing in almost all of the team’s defensive snaps through the first four games, he was limited to only 75 percent of the Raiders defensive snaps in Week 5.

Similar to Abram, Ferrell also didn’t have his fifth-year option picked up by the new front office. The fourth-overall pick in 2019, the defensive lineman has disappointed during his time with the organization. He started all 26 of his appearances through his first two seasons in the NFL, compiling 6.5 sacks. He didn’t start any games in 2021, and while he’s seen time in all five games in 2022, he’s still appearing in less than half of his team’s defensive snaps.

Meanwhile, Fowler notes that the Raiders could be a match in a trade with New England if the Patriots decide to move on from wide receivers. Ziegler has already pulled off a handful of trades with his former organization, and he played a role in the Patriots adding their current crop of wideouts. Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor are among the names that have been mentioned as traded candidates, per Fowler.

Latest On Raiders DL Clelin Ferrell

July 7th, 2022 at 10:27am CST by Adam La Rose

With training camp approaching, attention is being turned to each team’s top positional battles and some of the players most in danger of not making final roster cuts. While it is inevitable that a number of players, including notable names, suffer that fate in the build-up to the season, it is another matter when it happens to former top-five picks.

Clelin Ferrell “might be on high alert” regarding his roster status, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. The 2019 No. 4 overall pick has proven doubts over his draft stock to be well-founded. After a 4.5 sack rookie season, Ferrell has seen his playing time drop over the past two years. He didn’t register a start in 2021, playing only 24% of defensive snaps. The presence of not only classmate Maxx Crosby, but also Yannick Ngakoue, relegated him to a backup role.

Ngakoue has seen been replaced by Chandler Jones, so Ferrell is likely to once again be shut out of a starting spot on the edge. As a result, it will be interesting to see how far new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham takes the experiment of using Ferrell at defensive tackle throughout the remainder of the offseason. Significant playing time along the interior of the team’s d-line could help extend his career in Las Vegas, or generate a market for him elsewhere.

Just like fellow 2019 first-rounders Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram, Ferrell had his fifth-year option declined this offseason. That leaves him need of a much more productive season in 2022 than the three he has put together to date, as he moves towards free agency for the first time in his career. Before looking that far ahead, however, he needs to ensure he will have a roster spot come the fall – something which is in doubt to a far greater degree than many would have expected when he entered the league.

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