NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Panthers DT Derrick Brown agrees to four-year, $96M contract extension

It's been difficult for Derrick Brown to garner national attention while playing for the struggling Panthers, but that didn't prevent Carolina from rewarding its ascending star.

The former seventh-overall pick of the 2020 draft has agreed to terms with the Panthers on a four-year, $96 million extension with more than $63 million in guarantees, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Friday.

Despite Carolina's 2-15 finish in 2023, Brown earned his first Pro Bowl nod, putting together a stellar season that stretches beyond the traditional box score. He racked up 103 tackles (seven for loss), two sacks, and led all defensive tackles in run stops with 79, 10 more than the next closest defensive tackle, per Next Gen Stats. Brown mixed in 37 quarterback pressures despite facing double teams on 42 percent of snaps, and posted a stop expected points added (a per-play measurement of how his stops impacted opposing offenses' scoring) of -43.1, a top-six mark among all defensive tackles.

The Next Gen Stats listed above tell the true story of Brown's impact on a defense that often found itself tasked with attempting to keep the lowly Panthers competitive. Pro Football Focus backed up these totals, too, handing Brown the fourth-best defensive grade among all interior defenders in the NFL in 2023, acknowledging his entry into an elite group that included Aaron Donald, Quinnen Williams and Dexter Lawrence.

Those names garner immediate respect. Brown's name should be treated similarly in the years ahead. Carolina isn't waiting for the rest of the football world to realize Brown's effectiveness before signing him, though, handing the Auburn product a contract that aligns him with Williams in terms of compensation.

NFL.com

 

It’s beating a dead horse, what’s the point? We’ve had this debate way too many times already on here.

 

Fine then.

 

LOL, sorry Willie... I shoulda kept that to myself...

 

Its all good... there may be an argument or case made for another defensemen, but i couldnt think of one at the time. Just left it out there for any possibilities. Besides, at 4 or 5 am, im not quite with it anyways... takes me 2 days to clear my head at times, even when Im sober.

 

1 year/$3.25M

 

Just now spotting this. Welcome to ATL, indeed! He's a guy who can potentially start at one of the outside CB spots. At the very least, Atlanta needs quality depth on the outsides.

He missed games because of one of the more unusual injuries we've seen in recent years - he burned his feet in a cooking accident. Seriously... he was on IR because of a mishap while cooking.

 

Cooking is dangerous round these parts too. I remember a few years ago, I was deep-frying in the Summertime, had no shirt on... I splattered boiling oil on my belly... had blisters. Fortunately, I was so drunk I didnt care... the fish were excellent (walleye and perch, fresh caught, Lake Erie). I didnt go on IR tho, just cracked another bottle.

 

The Patriots and safety Kyle Dugger have agreed to terms on a new contract.

NFL Media reports that Dugger will sign a four-year deal with the team. The Patriots used their transition tag on Dugger earlier this offseason, which gave them the right to match any deal the safety agreed to with another team but no offer sheet was ever signed.

Per the report, Dugger’s deal has a base value of $58 million with a max of $66 million and $32.5 million in guaranteed money. Dugger was set to make $13.815 million under the tag.

Dugger was a 2020 second-round pick in New England. He has 343 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interception returns for touchdowns, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

 

T'Vondre Sweat, former Texas Longhorns DL, arrested, faces DWI charge

If true, his stock just took a giant hit

 

George Foreman grill on the floor next to his bed?

 

Falcons just signed Kevin King at CB also... no terms announced yet.

 

Even more defensive help in ATL

The Falcons are adding some depth to their defensive line.

Free agent James Smith-Williams has agreed to a one-year deal to playin Atlanta this season, agent Mike McCartney announced.

Smith-Williams played in 13 games for the Commanders last season, with seven starts.

A 2020 seventh-round draft pick, Smith-Williams spent his entire career in Washington. He has played 55 games with 27 starts and recorded seven sacks in his four-year career.

 

Defensive back Logan Ryan has decided to call it a career.

Ryan announced his retirement on social media on Tuesday morning. Ryan called his 11 years in the NFL a “beautiful journey of highs and lows.”

Two of the highs came during his first four years in the league. Ryan was a 2013 third-round pick of the Patriots and he helped them to a pair of Super Bowl titles during his run in New England.

Ryan left the Patriots as a free agent in 2017 and played three seasons for the Titans. During that time, he returned Tom Brady’s final pass as a Patriot for a touchdown in a Tennessee playoff win over his former team. Ryan moved on to two years with the Giants and reunited with Brady in Tampa in 2022 before closing out his career with a trip to the Super Bowl as a member of the 49ers last season.

Ryan played 154 regular season games and 19 playoff contests across those stops. He had 861 tackles, 21 interceptions, 14 sacks, 17 forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries over all 173 appearances.

PFT

 

Bolding that part was just mean Willie

 

I thought it was quite ironic, but mean works too, lol.

 

UFL ratings hold firm for Week 2

The UFL is off to a solid start.

Yes, the attendance leaves something to be desired, in every city except St. Louis. The TV ratings are solid, especially given the competition.

Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, the four UFL games for Week 2 had average viewership of 842,000. It’s a 38-percent bump over the average viewership of the XFL and USFL for their Week 2 ratings a year ago.

On Saturday, San Antonio at Memphis averaged 718,000 viewers on ESPN. Arlington at St. Louis drew 908,000.

On Sunday, Birmingham at Michigan drew 903,000 on ESPN. Houston at D.C. on Fox got 849,000 viewers.

The Houston-D.C. game started at 4:00 p.m. ET, putting it up against the women’s NCAA basketball championship, which averaged 18.7 million viewers.

None of the Week 2 games cracked seven figures. Two of the Week 1 games did.

PFT/SI
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Hasnt been any chatter here about this League. Ive seen pits & pieces of a couple games, including the St. Loius game a week back or so which had a great crowd in comparison to the others I seen glimpses of. Its ok football, but the times Ive watched, defenses dominated, very low scoring.

Personally, Summer Leagues might always have trouble catching on and if someone turns into a star, he wont be in the UFL for long... so this type of stuff may just be doomed from the get-go.

 

Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen will be staying in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars and Allen have agreed to a five-year, $150 million contract with $88 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports. The precise structure of the contract has not yet been reported.

The 26-year-old Allen hit free agency coming off his best NFL season, in which he started all 17 games, recorded 17.5 sacks and was chosen to the Pro Bowl. He emerged as one of the league’s elite pass rushers at the right time to cash in as a free agent, and now he has done so.

The Jaguars selected Allen out of Kentucky with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. He has played out his five-year rookie deal and got the franchise tag last month, and now he’s part of the Jaguars’ long-term plans, as they attempt to build a team that contends for years to come.

PFT