NFL - NEWS & NOTES

It took a pair of kegs to persuade him, but Jason Kelce is headed back to the Philadelphia Eagles next season.

The veteran center and the Eagles announced his decision on Thursday afternoon in a video, which showed Kelce drinking from one of the two kegs that coach Nick Sirianni had sent him as a gift.

 

Browns tender D’Ernest Johnson, will be able to match any offer he gets



The Browns already have two expensive running backs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and so there’s little chance that they’ll spend significant money to keep third-string running back D'Ernest Johnson. But they’re putting themselves in position to keep Johnson if the price is right.

Cleveland tendered Johnson, a restricted free agent, with a right-of-first-refusal number. That means that if Johnson wants to, he can sign a one-year, $2.4 million contract and stay with the Browns in 2022, then hit free agency in 2023.


Johnson is also free to sign a contract with any other team, but if he does the Browns can match that contract. If the Browns don’t match the offer, Johnson would go to his new team and the Browns would not receive any compensation.

Johnson has played well enough in limited action that some team might decide to sign him, and given what the Browns have invested in Chubb and Hunt, it seems unlikely that the Browns would match an offer that pays Johnson much more than that $2.4 million tender. But the Browns like Johnson enough that they’re leaving themselves the opportunity to keep him at the right price.

PFT

 

Raiders announce multi-year extension with Maxx Crosby



Two years to the day that he became sober, Maxx Crosby signed a multi-year extension with the Raiders. The team and Crosby announced the signing, which, according to multiple reports, is a four-year deal and contains $98 million in new money with $53 million guaranteed.

It makes the pass rusher one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history.


Earlier in the day, Crosby had tweeted that today marks the two-year anniversary of when he checked himself into an alcohol rehab center.

He has made good.

In 2019, the Raiders made Crosby a fourth-round choice. He has 25 sacks in three seasons and made his first Pro Bowl in 2021.

Crosby’s 82 quarterback pressures and 53 quarterback hurries were the most in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats.

Now, he reaps the reward.

PFT

 

Hmmmm... SI is reporting that Calvin Ridley bet on more games than he acknowledged earler. Ridley tweeted that he bet $1500 while saying he didn't have a gambling problem. SI now says he also made other bets on NFL games (over $3000 total) as well as many bets (well into five digits) on other sporting events.

If SI's report is accurate, Ridley certainly has a problem with the truth, let alone issues with gambling.

 

Carlos Hyde’s second stint in Jacksonville is reportedly coming to an end.

The Jaguars are expected to release the veteran running back, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday. Hyde, 31, logged 72 carries for 253 yards and one touchdown in 12 games played (two starts) last season.

The move will save the Jaguars nearly $2 million in cap space, per Spotrac; the team signed Hyde to a two-year, $6 million contract last offseason.

The former Ohio State Buckeye has played for five franchises since entering the league as a second-round pick with the 49ers in 2014. Back in 2018, Hyde, then with the Browns, landed in Duval County after being traded for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft; he appeared in eight games and was released by the club after the season.

Prior to returning to the Jaguars, Hyde played 10 games for the Seahawks in 2020 following a one-year stint as the Texans’ lead back. He posted his only 1,000-yard season while in Houston, logging 1,070 yards and six scores on a career-best 245 carries.

SI

 

Browns agree to trade for Cowboys WR Amari Cooper

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the Cleveland Browns have agreed to trade for Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick. Rapoport added that the Browns and Cowboys also are swapping sixth-round draft picks in the deal.

 

Hmmm.... in a mock GM simulation, he would be a primary target for me in free agency: (1) should be dirt cheap, as I only have the cap space to shop at the clearance sales at the thrift stores. (2) pretty good with blocking in pass protection. (3) good hands for catching the outlet pass.

In real life Atlanta might be a good match for him. We generally like the big bruisers. Want to turn your late stage career around like Cordarelle Patterson did last year? Come on down...

 

Nice move by the Browns... just clicked them up a notch.

 

In a corresponding move, the Browns have given Jarvis Landry permission to seek a trade.

 

they wish they could find a trade.

 

Be nice if they could keep Landry... getting a weapon and losing a weapon = no gain, but i suppose they know that, lol.

 

shocking

 

Truth is, they are two different weapons. It would be nice to keep them both, but the salary cap doesn’t allow for it. jarvis is gone. I’ll miss his leadership.

 

Welcome to free agency week



As the offseason goes, the busiest week is upon us.

The new league year begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 16. That’s when trades officially can happen. It’s when every team needs to be in compliance with the 2022 salary cap of $208.2 million, based on the 51 highest-paid players on the roster. It’s when players whose contracts with their current teams have expired may sign new contracts with new teams.


It all gets started, officially, at 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, when negotiations may commence between players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents (i.e., four or more years of experience with an expiring contract) and new teams. New teams can’t talk directly to the player (it happens sometimes, and the league rarely does anything about it — except when it does), unless those players represent themselves.

The discussions already have begun, with the Scouting Combine being the hotbed for it, since all teams and most agents are in town at the same time. Agents and teams have a general idea as to who the targets will be, even if teams have become a bit more discreet when it comes to actively exchanging numbers before the window opens. It’s tampering, but there’s nothing the league can do about it, because it’s so widespread.

The league simply doesn’t have the investigation and enforcement apparatus to do it properly. So it doesn’t do it at all, unless it’s blatant. And it needs to be very blatant, apparently, to spark action at this point. Two years ago, for example, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians spoke openly at the Combine about interest in Tom Brady, who at the time technically remained under contract with the Patriots. After Brady signed with Tampa, the Bucs tried to create an alternative narrative in which there was no tampering, even though there was. Nothing came of it.

Last year, the Packers made some noise regarding a belief that the 49ers and Broncos tampered with Aaron Rodgers. Nothing came of it.

No team has been publicly whacked for tampering since 2016, when the league slammed the Chiefs for speaking directly to receiver Jeremy Maclin in 2015 during the negotiating window. It was unfair because the Chiefs were far from the only team doing it.

Maybe that’s why no one has gotten punished since then. If the rules aren’t going to be enforced fairly, they shouldn’t be enforced at all. Or maybe the rules should change to reflect the widespread behavior in which teams routinely engage.

PFT

 

Patriots appear likely to keep free agents Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, Brian Hoyer



Bill Belichick does not seem ready to move on from a few of the oldest veterans on the Patriots’ roster.

New England quarterback Brian Hoyer, defensive back Devin McCourty and special teams captain Matthew Slater are all poised to become free agents on Wednesday, but all are likely to remain in New England: Mike Reiss of ESPN writes that they want to play in 2022 and that Belichick views them as important team leaders.


The 36-year-old Hoyer originally signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and is on his third stint in New England, having also spent time with the Steelers, Cardinals, Browns, Texans, Bears, 49ers and Colts. He’s the classic example of a quarterback who has never been a particularly good starter, but has always been the kind of player coaches like to have around as a backup.

The 34-year-old McCourty is still a significant contributor to the Patriots’ defense, and although he’s likely to have offers elsewhere, he has spent his entire career with the Patriots since they drafted him in the first round in 2010, and he’s a good pick to remain in New England.

The 36-year-old Slater is one of the best special teams players in NFL history, and Belichick has always put a premium on special teams contributions. Belichick won’t want him to go anywhere.

New England had a solid season in 2021, and Belichick likely views his team as one that should stay the course, rather than making major changes. Staying the course will include keeping the veteran leaders in place.

PFT

 

My yearly plug in the wrong forum for this because by the time it's noticed in the proper section it's too late.

 

Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup will be staying in Dallas for years to come.

Gallup, who was slated to hit free agency on Wednesday, has instead agreed to a new contract with the Cowboys. According to multiple reports, it’s a five-year contract worth $62.5 million.


The Cowboys considered retaining Gallup a high priority, and after shedding salary cap space by agreeing to trade Amari Cooper to the Browns, the Cowboys had both the cap space and the need to keep Gallup around.

Last year Gallup missed half the season but still managed 35 catches for 445 yards.

Gallup is the No. 33 player on PFT’s list of the Top 100 free agents.

PFT

 

In other words he was driving his wife nuts and she said GTF out of here

 

Devin McCourty agrees to new deal with Patriots



Signs pointed toward safety Devin McCourty remaining with the Patriots this offseason and the deal is reportedly done.

According to multiple reports, McCourty will be back in New England on a one-year, $9 million deal. It will be McCourty’s 13th season with the team that took him with the 27th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.


McCourty, who was No. 95 on our list of the top 100 free agents this offseason, played every game last season for the sixth straight year and he finished the regular season with 60 tackles and three interceptions. His 31 career interceptions are third in Patriots history.

The Patriots are also expected to bring back special teams ace Matthew Slater and backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, although there’s no word on those deals being done at this point.

PFT