HEADLINES

Germain Ifedi

NFL Distributes Performance-Based Payouts

April 10th, 2021 at 4:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Since 2002, the NFL’s performance-based pay system has rewarded low-salary players who exceed their expected playing time. This year, due to the pandemic, the league and the players’ union negotiated a gradual payout schedule, one that will meter out the money between now and 2024.

All in all, the league divested $8.5MM per club. This year’s top earner is Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa, a 2018 third-round pick who played every single snap for the eventual champs. Cappa will now receive an extra $622K on top of his $750K base salary for 2021. Per the union’s records, 25 other players also topped $500K, including Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum ($604K), Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ($579K), Rams guard Austin Corbett ($573K), Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye ($572K), Bears tackle Germain Ifedi ($571K), Steelers offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor ($568K), Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier ($561K), Ravens safety DeShon Elliott ($557K) and Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead ($555K).

The full list, going team-by-team, can be found here, courtesy of the NFLPA.

Bears To Re-Sign OL Germain Ifedi

March 16th, 2021 at 7:51pm CST by Rory Parks

It sounds like the Bears’ pursuit of Trent Williams will not result in a deal, but the club is bringing back one of its own offensive linemen. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Chicago is re-signing Germain Ifedi to a one-year deal worth up to $5MM (Twitter link). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that $4.25MM of that amount will be in the form of base salary.

This represents a nice raise for Ifedi, who signed a veteran salary benefit contract with the Bears last offseason. After serving as a guard during his rookie season in Seattle in 2016, the former first-round pick kicked out to right tackle for the 2017-19 seasons. Chicago moved him back into the interior of the line, and he performed reasonably well, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 35th-best guard in the league (out of 80 qualifiers).

He also played better towards the end of the season, which certainly played a part in his pay bump. But after making a failed push for Williams and Russell Wilson, the Ifedi re-up is not likely to get the juices flowing for Bears fans.

The 26-year-old Texas A&M product will be blocking for Nick Foles, the newly-acquired Andy Dalton, or a rookie passer (or maybe all three).

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/6/20

November 6th, 2020 at 4:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/3/20

November 3rd, 2020 at 6:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

NFC Notes: Slay, Hurts, Cowboys, Bears

April 4th, 2020 at 6:19pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eagles were eyeing Darius Slay for a long time. In March, they finally got him for the cost of a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and a brand new three-year, $50MM deal. We heard all the way back in January that upgrading the secondary was a priority for Philly, and it looks like they could change their style of play a bit on defense. The Eagles traditionally play strictly zone under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, without a number one corner shadowing the opponent’s top receiver. Slay apparently wants to change that. “I love the challenge,” Slay said of shadowing during his introductory press call, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com.

“I kind of ask for it a lot because the fact that I want the game on me, and I want to help win the game, and if the best route to go about it is me traveling with a guy, then I’ll do it,” he continued. “I’ve been doing it the past four or five years,” the former Lion explained, “and I’ve been very, very successful at it. If they need me to continue to do it, that’s what I’ll continue to do.” Most observers seemed to agree that the Mississippi State product’s play dropped off a little bit last season as he dealt with injury, but the Eagles’ new top corner rejected that assertion. “I had a great year, in my opinion,” Slay said of 2019. “I think I played freaking fantastic. … It was dang sure good enough to make a Pro Bowl third season in a row.”

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • The Cowboys are still waiting to close an extension with starting quarterback Dak Prescott, and while those negotiations continue they’re apparently taking a look at some of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. Dallas owner Jerry Jones conducted a video interview with Oklahoma passer Jalen Hurts, via a post on the team’s Instagram page. The Cowboys’ post offers a cool behind the scenes look at what the pre-draft process is looking like for teams in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hurts is expected by many analysts to go off the board sometime in the second or third-round, which would be pretty early for the Cowboys to be taking a backup. If they do end up picking Hurts and still don’t have a deal done with Prescott, that would certainly raise a lot of eyebrows.
  • Yesterday we passed along word that the Bears were planning on using free agent acquisition Germain Ifedi at guard, and now we have the details on his contract. Ifedi got a $137.5K signing bonus and a $910K base salary on his one-year deal, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. We figured Ifedi didn’t get too much, but this is still pretty cheap for a 25-year-old with versatility who has started 60 games the past four seasons. A first-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2016, Ifedi became a full-time starter but always underwhelmed and never lived up to his draft status. He played both tackle and guard extensively for Seattle.
  • In case you missed it, the Seahawks may only be willing to pay between $13-15MM for Jadeveon Clowney.

NFC Notes: Foles, Trubisky, Bears, Ifedi, Lewis, Giants

April 3rd, 2020 at 5:12pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We heard earlier today that the Bears were planning an open quarterback competition between Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky, but that might not be entirely accurate. Both general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy insisted during a teleconference with the media that it would be a fair battle and even that Trubisky would take the first snaps whenever they hit the field for their first practices, but Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is skeptical.

Trubisky is the incumbent and is being treated as such for now, but Biggs thinks the team is just paying lip-service to the former number two overall pick. “Short of the 31-year-old falling on his face or being injured,” it’s Foles’ job to lose, Biggs writes. It makes sense why Pace doesn’t want to admit defeat with Trubisky, considering he traded up to draft him so early in 2017. Biggs writes that it’s the inverse of the situation the Bears had in 2017, when Mike Glennon was technically the starter but everyone knew Trubisky would be taking over sooner rather than later. As of right now, Foles looks like a heavy favorite to be under center Week 1.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • Speaking of the Bears, one big move they made this offseason was signing offensive lineman Germain Ifedi away from the Seahawks. The 2016 first-round pick played both tackle and guard extensively during his time in Seattle, and Chicago is planning to play him in side at guard Pace said, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Ifedi was a full-time starter the past few years with the Seahawks, but never lived up to his draft status.
  • Running back Dion Lewis agreed to sign with the Giants back on March 23rd, and now we’ve got the details. New York got a pretty good deal, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets that Lewis received a one-year deal worth $1.55MM with nothing guaranteed. New Giants coach Joe Judge was with Lewis during their time with the Patriots. Lewis turns 30 in September but doesn’t have too much tread on his tires since he’s never been a workhorse back. Lewis signed a four-year, $20MM deal with the Titans in 2018, but lasted only two years in Tennessee after Derrick Henry emerged as the undisputed featured back. He should backup Saquon Barkley in 2020.
  • In case you missed it the Lions are likely looking to trade down from the third overall pick, and they could have their eye on Ohio State corner Jeff Okudah.

Bears To Sign OL Germain Ifedi

March 25th, 2020 at 4:25pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bears and offensive lineman Germain Ifedi are in agreement on a one-year contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Financial details are not yet known, but it is likely not a high-dollar deal.

The Seahawks drafted Ifedi in the first round of the 2016 draft, and though he has been a full-time starter since his rookie campaign, he has never lived up to that billing. Seattle declined his fifth-year option last May, and his play did not improve enough to make the team regret that decision.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll did express interest in bringing Ifedi back, but no reports of negotiations between the two sides ever surfaced. Instead, the Texas A&M product will attempt to rebuild his value with the Bears.

Rapoport says that the Bears — who have Bobby Massie penciled in at right tackle — could give Ifedi a shot at guard. He played guard in his rookie season in Seattle before kicking out to RT.

Chicago’s O-line was one of the worst in the league in 2019, but Ifedi represents the lone free agent addition the club has made to that unit thus far.

Seahawks Hope To Keep O-Line In Tact

January 15th, 2020 at 8:40am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks’ entire offensive line could wind up with a face lift in March. With several key linemen headed towards free agency, head coach Pete Carroll says he wants to keep the band together. 

[RELATED: Latest On Jadeveon Clowney]

“I hope we can keep our guys connected here,” Carroll said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson). “I think the whole group, it could be a really solid group coming back. I’d like to see the guys that have played for us stay with us.”

Carroll is aiming for continuity, because the unit “made good progress” in 2019. But, to keep the O-Line in tact, they’ll have to work out new deals with right tackle Germain Ifedi, left guard Mike Iupati, and backup left tackle George Fant, all of whom are set to be unrestricted free agents. Center Joey Hunt, meanwhile, will be a restricted free agent.

Seahawks coaches might have liked what they saw out of the offensive line, but the advanced metrics saw things differently. The Seahawks graded out 30th in pass blocking and 14th in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

The individual rankings for the pending free agents weren’t so hot, either. Out of 214 qualified offensive linemen, PFF had Fant (No. 133), Iupati (No. 135), Ifedi (No. 150), and Hunt (No. 180) all positioned as below average players.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks have bigger fish to fry with six other key players headed towards the open market, including defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed. On the plus side, they have upwards of $58MM in projected cap space this offseason, giving them the most flexibility they’ve had in seven years.

Seahawks Interested In Long-Term Deal With Germain Ifedi

May 4th, 2019 at 10:45am CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks may have declined Germain Ifedi‘s fifth-year option earlier this week, but that doesn’t mean the organization is ready to move on from the lineman following the 2019 campaign. Head coach Pete Carroll told Pro Football Talk’s Curtis Crabtree that he’d still be interested in re-signing Ifedi to a long-term deal.

“Well, there’s a lot of factors,” Carroll said (via PFT’s Charean Williams). “We’re in the midst of trying to continue to fit the roster together and all that and the big demands, sometimes we can jump on it; sometimes we can’t. We love Germain. He’s grown with us. He’s become a solid football player and done a great job, started a ton of games for us and hanging in there and being tough about it. We’d love to have him. This is not an indication of anything. We like the guy and hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Had the Seahawks picked up the former first-rounder’s fifth-year option, Ifedi would have been due $10.35MM in 2020. Instead, the offensive lineman will now have an opportunity to test unrestricted free agency following the 2019 campaign.

Ifedi was the 31st overall pick of the 2016 draft, and he played 13 games (all starts) at right guard during his rookie campaign. He switched to right tackle for each of the last two years, and he started 31 of a possible 32 games regular season games during that span. However, his play has been underwhelming, and he barely graded out as an average tackle in 2018, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. He may even end up losing his starting job this year, as former undrafted free agent George Fant may push him for playing time.

Seahawks To Decline Germain Ifedi’s Fifth-Year Option

May 2nd, 2019 at 4:31pm CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks will decline the fifth-year option for 2016 first-rounder Germain Ifedi, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Ifedi will now be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2019 season.

Ifedi was the 31st overall pick of the 2016 draft, and he played 13 games (all starts) at right guard during his rookie campaign. He kicked out to right tackle for each of the last two years, and he started 31 of a possible 32 games regular season games during that time.

But his play has not been particularly great, and he graded out as an average tackle in 2018, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. He may even end up losing his starting job this year, as George Fant could push him for playing time.

On the other hand, Ifedi does represent a known commodity at a position that can be tricky to fill, so Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times suggests that the Seahawks could look to sign Ifedi to an extension that would allow them to carry the Texas A&M product at a lower cost than the $10.3MM 2020 option for tackles.

As our handy tracker shows, every team that is rostering a 2016 first-round pick has now made a decision on the fifth-year option for those players.

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