Isaac Seumalo - Pro Football Rumors

NFC East Notes: Giants, Eagles, Lamb

June 7th, 2022 at 12:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants‘ long-rumored James Bradberry separation leaves them thin at the cornerback position. Although Big Blue should not be ruled out of a veteran addition here, the team is turning to one of its holdovers to fill Bradberry’s spot. Aaron Robinson, a 2021 third-round pick, is the early favorite to start on the outside opposite Adoree’ Jackson, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY notes. A 2021 third-round pick out of Central Florida (by way of Alabama), Robinson played in just nine games last season and made two starts. Despite beginning the season on the PUP list due to an offseason core surgery, Robinson played 243 defensive snaps as a rookie. The Giants also have 2021 slot corner Darnay Holmes as a possible outside option in Don Martindale‘s defense, per Vacchiano, with third-round rookie Cor’Dale Flott competing with Holmes for the slot gig.

If the Giants are to pursue vets, many are available. Kevin King, Xavier Rhodes, Joe Haden and Trae Waynes remain free agents, as does ex-Martindale Ravens charge Jimmy Smith, though he has battled injuries and is going into what would be his age-34 season. Here is the latest from around the NFC East:

New York did make a replacement effort at tight end, after losing Evan Engram to Jacksonville. Ex-Texan Jordan Akins is a Giant, and Ricky Seals-Jones remains rostered. But fourth-round rookie Daniel Bellinger resides as a candidate to usurp both on the depth chart, Vacchiano adds. Bellinger, who played collegiately at Georgia, has taken first-team reps during OTAs. The 6-foot-6 pass catcher was a three-year Bulldogs contributor, though he only topped 350 receiving yards once (357 in 2021, a two-touchdown season).
Ex-Bellinger Bulldogs teammate Nakobe Dean entered the draft with more fanfare, though he nearly joined Bellinger as a Day 3 pick. The Eagles stopped the acclaimed linebacker’s freefall at No. 83 overall, doing so in part because they were high on his football IQ during the pre-draft process. In working at both the middle and weakside spots, Dean has a chance to carve out a significant role as a rookie, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank. This could mean Dean ascends to a three-down role as a rookie. The Eagles signed ex-Charger Kyzir White but nontendered 2021 regular Alex Singleton as an RFA. T.J. Edwards, however, has been a starter for the past two seasons. It will be interesting to see where Dean is once the Eagles convene for training camp.
Isaac Seumalo is involved in a rather high-stakes offseason. The injury-prone guard looms as a cut candidate, but he remains an option to be a Week 1 starter. This is by design, with Frank adding the veteran blocker will either be the Eagles’ right guard starter or be released. This appears a test to see if Seumalo (21 missed games since 2020) can still show the form that prompted the Eagles to give him a three-year, $17.6MM extension in 2019. Now that we are into June, a Seumalo release would create more than $5MM in cap space.
CeeDee Lamb has both bulked up and, strangely, grown a half-inch this offseason. The 23-year-old Cowboys wide receiver has gained 10 pounds and said he grew to 6-foot-2 1/2, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News notes. With Jerry Jones calling Lamb a superior No. 1 option to the since-traded Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup unlikely to be ready for Week 1, Lamb will have plenty on his shoulders to start the season.

Latest On Eagles G Isaac Seumalo

June 3rd, 2022 at 7:03pm CST by Ely Allen

After missing 21 games in the last two seasons, Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo is healthy and looking to stay that way, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com. Not only is Seumalo ready to return to the field, but offensive coordinator Shane Steichen seemed to imply that Seumalo was running with the first team.

After being drafted in the third-round out of Oregon State in 2016, Seumalo spent two years as a key backup, starting six games while appearing in 23. Seumalo entered the 2018 season as a backup until forcing Stefen Wisniewski to the bench in Week 5. Seumalo would start the next nine games of the season, only allowing Wisniewski back on the field for the last three games of the year, when Seumalo suffered a pectoral injury.

Once Seumalo had established himself as the team’s starter at left guard, though, the Eagles locked him up, signing him to a three-year, $15.92MM extension in 2019. Seumalo responded to the new contract by starting every game of the season for the Eagles that year, proving he was a worthy investment. Unfortunately, injuries began to bite the young guard. A knee injury forced him to miss seven games in 2020 on injured reserve. Last year, Seumalo suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 3 of the season and failed to return to the field for the remainder of the year.

Due to his inability to stay on the field and the back-loaded nature of his extension, Seumalo was seen in some league circles as a potential cut candidate. In the final year of his extension, Seumalo is set to have a cap hit of $7.67MM. The Eagles played Nate Herbig and Jack Driscoll quite a bit in Seumalo’s absence last year. Herbig is now with the Jets, but among backup lineman Driscoll are Andre Dillard and Jack Anderson. Philadelphia also drafted Cameron Jurgens in the second round this year. While Jurgens is widely seen as the successor for center Jason Kelce‘s eventual retirement, he may too talented to keep off the field.

All of this information seemed to point to Seumalo’s eventual exit from Philadelphia, but Steichen’s comments seem to imply that Seumalo is heading in a more positive direction. If Seumalo can stay healthy and provide the Eagles with a reliable starting guard, Steichen and company may be much more willing to pay the large cap number.

Latest On Eagles LG Isaac Seumalo

May 27th, 2022 at 12:07pm CST by Adam La Rose

As June 1 approaches, a number of names will be making headlines as potential cut candidates. One such player is Eagles offensive linemen Isaac Seumalo, whom Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network reports could find himself on the open market soon.

As Kaye writes, “there stands a chance” that the 28-year-old could be let go shortly. Seumalo has been with the Eagles for his entire career, after the team drafted him in 2016. He has made 64 appearances, including 43 starts, over the course of his NFL tenure. That stretch only includes one season in which he was available for a full season, however.

Seumalo has struggled to stay on the field since 2019. This past campaign, he suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 3 which ultimately ended his season. One year prior, he was only able to play in nine games. That raises the question of whether or not the team will allow him to see out the final year of his contract.

The former third-rounder signed a three-year deal in 2019, although the Eagles added three void years to the end of the contract. He is due $5.65MM in salary, but, since none of it is guaranteed, the team could save that much by cutting him at the start of the month. Doing so would incur a dead cap charge of just over $2MM. If they decide to keep him, he will carry a cap hit of $7.67MM.

As Kaye notes, the Eagles have a number of options to choose from, should they decide to cut bait with Seumalo. Landon Dickerson impressed as a rookie, and the team also has Jack Driscoll as an option at guard. While Dickerson and Seumalo were also seen at times as successors to center Jason Kelce, that title now belongs to 2022 draftee Cam Jurgens. If the Hawaiian is indeed released, Kaye also predicts a mid-level veteran signing to take place to compete with the team’s younger linemen.

Eagles’ Isaac Seumalo Done For Year

September 28th, 2021 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo will undergo season-ending surgery for his Lisfranc injury, per a club announcement. Seumalo will be placed on injured reserve, leaving the Birds with a major gap on their interior line.

A regular starter since October 2018, Seumalo is in his second year of his contract extension. This also marks his second straight year marred by injuries. In 2020, a knee injury limited him to just nine games. This time around, he’s done after just three starts — this was the outcome doctors feared after Seumalo had to be carted off in the fourth quarter.

Of course, this comes after the Eagles also lost Brandon Brooks for the year. They’re also awaiting word on left tackle Jordan Mailata, who was unable to play in last night’s 41-21 loss to the Cowboys. For now, Nate Herbig will likely take over Seumalo’s place in the lineup.

Meanwhile, defensive back K’Von Wallace is expected to miss three-to-six weeks with a partially separated shoulder (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). While he avoided major structural damage, he’s expected to be placed on the short-term IR list.

Contract Restructures: Panthers, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Eagles, Steelers

March 10th, 2021 at 5:51pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s that time of year when teams are frantically maneuvering ahead of free agency. Due to the cap falling because of COVID-19, things are even more hectic than ever. We’ve seen a whole bunch of contract restructures come in, and there will be a whole lot more. Let’s catch you up on the latest batch and their financial implications:

The Panthers restructured Christian McCaffrey‘s contract recently, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. They converted $7MM of his $8MM base salary into a signing bonus, which freed up about $5.6MM in cap space for 2021. Almost a year ago McCaffrey signed his record-breaking extension that has him locked up through the 2025 season.
The Cowboys have had a busy week with Dak Prescott‘s massive extension now in the books, and they made a trio of moves to help clear some space. Dallas restructured the deals of Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, a source told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The reworking of the three offensive linemen’s contracts cleared up about $17MM in cap space for Jerry Jones. As Archer notes, these moves have now gotten Dallas under the cap for 2021.
The Giants just cut top offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler as they look to clear cap space to keep guys like defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson. The Zeitler release isn’t the only shuffling they’re doing, as they also restructured the contract of tight end Levine Toilolo, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweeted the details. Rather than a procedural restructure like you see with star players, Toilolo actually took a pay-cut to stay with the team. He had been scheduled to make $2.95MM this year but agreed to reduce that to $1.6MM, saving the Giants north of $1MM against the cap.
We’ve got four other restructures to pass along, courtesy of this tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Saints restructured the deals of safety Malcolm Jenkins to save $3.4MM and offensive lineman Andrus Peat to save $6MM. New Orleans has the worst cap situation in the league, and they desperately needed moves like this to do things like franchise tag safety Marcus Williams.
The Eagles saved $2.4MM by reworking the deal of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. Philly is right up there with New Orleans in terms of bad cap situations, so GM Howie Roseman is likely far from done here.
The Steelers saved $880K by adjusting fullback Derek Watt‘s contract. Not exactly front page news here, but it should shore up Watt’s spot on the 2021 roster. T.J. and J.J.’s brother signed a three-year, $9.75MM pact last offseason.

Eagles Activate G Isaac Seumalo From IR

November 20th, 2020 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles may be back up to four starting offensive linemen available in Week 11. They activated guard Isaac Seumalo off IR Friday.

Seumalo will play against the Browns, per the team, after practicing without limitations Friday. The fifth-year guard has been out since Week 2 due to a knee injury.

A regular starter since October 2018, Seumalo is in his first year of the contract extension he agreed to in 2019. The Eagles have four of their five starters on long-term contracts but have seen injuries sideline most of them this season. At one point, Jason Kelce resided as the only healthy Eagles O-line starter. But with Seumalo back and Lane Johnson getting in a limited practice this week, the Eagles should have four of their first-stringers blocking for Carson Wentz and Co.

While Philadelphia has struggled nearly as much as the other three NFC East teams — who each have seven losses — the team remains in first place at 3-5-1. The Eagles are healthier going into Week 11 than they have been all season. Zach Ertz, however, is unlikely to make his return this week, according to Doug Pederson.

Eagles Place Isaac Seumalo On IR

September 21st, 2020 at 11:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles can’t catch a break. On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson announced that starting left guard Isaac Seumalo has been placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Per league rules, Seumalo will miss at least the next three weeks. This was the outcome the Birds feared after the interior lineman went down in the second quarter against the Rams. After his early exit, Matt Pryor moved into his spot, and he profiles as the likely LG replacement in the interim.

The Eagles’ bad luck on the O-Line began this summer, when star guard Brandon Brooks was lost for the season. Fortunately, they had old friend Jason Peters on speed dial, and he was ready to return and change positions to help fill the gap. Then, the injury bug bit Andre Dillard, pushing Peters back to his native spot at left tackle.

As the Eagles move ahead with yet another new front five, there is at least one silver lining – Seumalo’s injury does not appear to be a season-ender. But, at the very least, they’ll be without the 26-year-old (27 in October) for the next three games against the Bengals, 49ers, and Steelers. And, of course, they’re working their way out of an 0-2 hole following losses to the Washington Football Team and the Rams.

Eagles Exercise Options On Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery, Others

March 27th, 2020 at 5:14pm CST by Ben Levine

The Eagles picked up Zach Ertz‘s 2021 option earlier today, but that wasn’t the front office’s only move. The NFL transactions report shows that the organization exercised the options on quarterback Carson Wentz, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, defensive end Brandon Graham, offensive guard Isaac Seumalo, and defensive lineman Malik Jackson.

As Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes, these moves were merely “procedural,” and similar to the Ertz move, they’re not all that surprising.

Jordan Dajani and Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports provide some helpful insight on these moves. For instance, Wentz’s option had to be exercised by today. Otherwise, his 2020 salary was set to jump to more than $30MM, and the remaining four years of his extension would be void. Instead, the quarterback will earn a $1.38MM base salary with a cap hit of $18.65MM.

The Jeffery move is a bit surprising, as the team was reportedly looking to move on from the wideout. On the flip side, the organization would have been hit with more than $16MM in dead cap by making the veteran a post-June 1st cut. Therefore, it’s not shocking to see the organization make a procedural move until they find a potential trade partner.

Per Dajani and Kerr, Graham will earn a $1.36MM base salary with a $6.28MM cap hit in 2020. Seumalo’s option bonus means the 2022-24 portion of his contract kicks in, while Jackson’s $2.4MM option bonus prevented his base salary from jumping to $10MM.

Eagles Extend G Isaac Seumalo

March 4th, 2019 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another Eagles extension is on tap. The team reached an agreement on a three-year contract with Isaac Seumalo, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The three-year add-on, which will lock him down through the 2022 season, will give him roughly $17MM in new money with about $12.6MM guaranteed, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

The Seumalo re-up follows Jason Kelce‘s, which came after the Eagles’ decision to keep Brandon Graham in the fold long-term. Seumalo became a full-time starter last season, grading as Pro Football Focus’ No. 36 overall guard in his nine regular-season starts. This move shows the Eagles believe the 25-year-old Hawaiian can sustain the momentum.

This will not do much to help Philly’s cap situation, with Seumalo’s rookie deal calling for a $939K cap figure. But it will allow Philly to retain its youngest offensive line starter. Two of Seumalo’s line mates are north of 30, in Kelce and Jason Peters, and the other two starters — Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson — are in their late 20s. Philly’s line now has five starters on veteran deals.

Seumalo did not develop quickly, as has been the case with numerous linemen who have come into the league under a CBA that cut back on practice time compared to prior agreements, having been benched in 2017. The Oregon State product served as a backup for the Eagles’ Super Bowl edition. His gradual emergence stands to help an Eagles team that employs one of the oldest offensive line starting fives in the game.

NFC Rumors: Vikes, Saints, Hawks, Eagles

September 22nd, 2017 at 9:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A left knee injury will shelve Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford for the second straight game on Sunday, but it’s not necessarily time to panic, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network says (video link). While Bradford’s knee is “painful,” according to Pelissero, doctors have not told the quarterback that it has any structural that would require surgery. Notably, Bradford underwent procedures for two torn ACLs in that knee earlier in his career. For now, Bradford and the Vikings are hoping he’ll return for their Week 4 home game against Detroit – the first of three divisional matchups in a row.

A lack of continuity is one of the key causes of the Saints’ years-long defensive struggles, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com observes. The Saints have started the most defenders (55) in the NFL dating back to 2014, and have also seen a league-high 23 defensive backs start at least two games in that span, per Triplett. The club has simply missed on too many defensive free agent signings and draft picks – including linebacker Stephone Anthony – to establish a rhythm on that side of the ball, Triplett contends. The Saints traded Anthony, a first-round selection in 2015, to Miami this week for a 2018 fifth-rounder after he failed to live up to his draft status in New Orleans. Safety Kenny Vaccaro, a 2013 first-rounder, may also find himself in another uniform soon. A starter in 57 of 58 career appearances, Vaccaro sat on the bench for a large portion of the Saints’ blowout loss to New England last week. Former teammate Scott Shanle, a retired linebacker, informed Triplett that Vaccaro is “the most bipolar player I’ve ever seen as far as consistency. When he’s on, he’s one of the best players in the league. When he’s off, I just don’t get it.”
Seahawks tight end Luke Willson told Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times that he expected his offseason foray into free agency to go better than it did. Willson was on the market for a week before re-signing with the Seahawks on a modest deal worth between $1.8MM and $3MM. “To be honest with you it was a miserable process,’’ Willson said. “Not what I expected. I don’t know what day I officially signed back but it wasn’t the first few days and it was, whatever it was — four days of being unemployed felt like about four months.’’ Willson added that he has no complaints about the end result, noting that he’s still “making quite a bit of money playing football.” The 27-year-old has never been a prolific pass catcher during his four-plus seasons, meaning he could once again have trouble scoring a coveted long-term contract by next spring.
Eagles executive vice president Howie Roseman erred in handing guard Isaac Seumalo a starting job before training camp began, Paul Domowitch of Philly.com opines. Roseman traded Allen Barbre to Denver on July 26 to further drive home the point that he wanted Seumalo in the starting lineup, but the second-year man is already headed to the bench in favor of Chance Warmack after a pair of rough games. The Eagles’ hope was that Seumalo would start all 16 games at left guard this year and then, perhaps as early as next season, shift to center to take over for Jason Kelce, Domowitch suggests. Kelce’s under contract for a few more years, so if Seumalo doesn’t return to a No. 1 role this season and show marked improvement, perhaps the former will stick around in 2018.