NFL - NEWS & NOTES

It’s official: Broncos use franchise tag on Justin Simmons



It’s official: The Broncos confirmed earlier reports by announcing they have placed the franchise tag on Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons.

It prevents Simmons from hitting the free agent market later this month and gives the team until July 15 to reach agreement on a long-term deal. They were unable to do that last year, with Simmons playing 2020 under the tag.

This year, Simmons will get 20 percent raise in salary on the tag, setting him up to make $13.729 million if he does not sign a long-term deal with the team.

General Manager George Paton insisted since his hiring in January that extending Simmons was a top priority.

“Designating Justin with the franchise tag is a procedural move that allows us to continue working on a long-term deal,” Paton said in a statement Friday. “We are completely focused on making sure Justin remains a big part of the Denver Broncos for many years to come.”

In 2020, Simmons recorded a career-high five interceptions as he earned his first Pro Bowl nod. He made four picks in 2019 when he garnered second-team All-Pro honors.

His 16 career interceptions place him among the most productive safeties in team history through his first five seasons. The former third-round pick has not missed a snap in three seasons.

NBC

 

Bills sign safety Micah Hyde to two-year extension

Micah Hyde is cashing in just two months after turning 30.

The Buffalo Bills have signed Hyde to a two-year extension, the team announced Friday. The deal is worth $19.25 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, as Hyde is now under contract through 2023 with his cap number essentially staying the same for 2021.

Hyde initially joined the Bills on a five-year deal signed in March, reaching the Pro Bowl in his first season with Buffalo and serving as a starting safety through the duration of him time with the team. Hyde recorded five passes defensed and one interception to go along with 70 tackles in 2020, playing alongside Jordan Poyer on the back end of Buffalo's secondary.

Hyde posted a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 70.3, his worst grade in his time in Buffalo but still significantly better than all but one season spent in Green Bay, where he began his NFL career. Hyde ranked as the 25th-best safety in the NFL in 2020, per PFF.

Hyde was entering the final season of his $30 million deal, which was set to account for $6.7 million of Buffalo's cap in 2021. While the Bills could have saved a little over $5 million by releasing him, they'll instead retain an effective safety for a few more years as they chase a title.

NFL.com

 

Report: Bears’ top priority at QB is a Russell Wilson trade

When Russell Wilson‘s agent put out word that he was willing to accept a trade, the Bears were among the four teams on Wilson’s list. And the Bears are very open to that.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears have prioritized trading for Wilson as they make their plans to upgrade at quarterback this offseason.

Bears General Manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy know their jobs are on the line this year, so they’re surely willing to put together a significant package of players and draft picks to acquire a quarterback like Wilson, who would significantly improve their chances of winning in 2021.

It’s not clear to what extent the Seahawks are interested in trading Wilson, but they haven’t ruled it out.

If the Bears can’t land Wilson, their next option for upgrading at quarterback would be a free agent like Ryan Fitzpatrick or Jameis Winston. Neither of those would make the kind of splash Pace and Nagy may need to make to save their jobs, so it’s easy to see why they would strongly prefer Wilson.

NBC

 

The Bears are tough enough already adding Russell Wilson as QB would make them extremely dangerous IMO not good as a Vikings fan

 

Seahawks will release Carlos Dunlap



Word last month was that the Seahawks were likely to cut defensive end Carlos Dunlap before a $3 million roster bonus came due early in the new league year and that move will come on Monday.

PFT has confirmed multiple reports that Dunlap will be released. The move will clear over $14 million in salary cap space for Seattle.

Dunlap was acquired in a trade with the Bengals last season and had five sacks in eight games with the team. He reworked his contract to convert $3 million of 2020 salary into the bonus that he won’t be receiving.

The Seahawks traded a seventh-round pick and offensive lineman B.J. Finney for Dunlap. Finney was released by the Bengals last week.

Dunlap had six sacks overall last season and has 87.5 for his career. He’ll look to add to that total by catching on with a new team.

NBC

 

Isaiah Wilson has been traded to the Dolphins along with a seventh-rounder 2022 in exchange for a 2021 seventh-rounder in 2021

 

Report: Raiders trading Trent Brown to Patriots



Trent Brown is on the move, from Las Vegas to New England.

Brown, the Pro Bowl offensive tackle, is being traded from the Raiders to the Patriots, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The deal includes Brown agreeing to rework his contract, which previously had two years and $19.25 million left on it. On the new deal, Brown will play one year in New England before hitting free agency in 2022.

There’s no word on what the Patriots are sending to the Raiders in the deal.

This will be Brown’s second trade to New England; the Patriots previously traded for him in 2018 after he had spent his first three seasons in the league with the 49ers. Brown started every game at left tackle for the Patriots in 2018 but then left in free agency and signed with the Raiders in 2019.

The 27-year-old Brown played in just five games in 2020, missing time on the reserve/COVID-19 list and having to go to the hospital after a mishap with an IV in the locker room. Now he’ll head back to New England, where he played some of his best football, and where the Patriots hope he can stay healthy in 2021.

NBC

 

oh hell yeah Trent Brown. I bring my kids to Pats' training camp every year and seeing Trent Brown was really something that year he was here. He was a sight, even compared to the other lineman. Seemed like he was a half-helmet taller and good 25% wider than everyone. Made Gronk look like a puppy. My 5 year old called him a Brachiosaurus........what I (and probably most here) knew as a Brontosaurus.

 

Yeah, and your boy is a Sabres fan! (Or, has he come into his maturity and knows the Sabres suuuuuck?)

 

Pats and Raiders are swapping a 5th and a 7th next year in the Brown deal.

 

Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David agree to 2-year, $25M extension

On the brink of free agency, the Super Bowl champions are extending one of their most valuable defenders.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and linebacker Lavonte David have agreed on a two-year extension worth $25 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

NFL.com

 

Packers don't use franchise tag on RB Aaron Jones

Aaron Jones will be a free agent.

The Packers didn't use their franchise tag on the star running back before Tuesday's deadline, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The decision doesn't mean his days in Green Bay are over. But he'll hit the open market next week after making his first Pro Bowl this past season and leading the league in rushing touchdowns the year prior.

NFL.com

 

Saints placing franchise tag on S Marcus Williams

No one does salary-cap gymnastics quite like Mikey Loomis and his New Orleans Saints front office. Now, they've given themselves a few more aerial cartwheels to account for in the coming week.

Sitting as the most cap-strapped team in the NFL didn't stop the New Orleans Saints from utilizing the franchise tag.

The club is placing the franchise tender on safety Marcus Williams, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport first reported, per a source informed of the situation. New Orleans later announced the news.

The salary cap is not officially set, so figures aren't finalized, but the franchise tag for safeties is estimated at around $10.5 million.

The Saints have wanted to find a way to retain the former second-round pick, who remains a key member of New Orleans' stifling defense. Williams is a plus playmaker roving all over the formation. He earned 59 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions in 14 games in 2020.

Tagging Williams means more salary-cap gymnastics for Loomis and his staff. New Orleans is the gold standard when it comes to kicking the can down the road to continue to build its roster despite the salary-cap questions. The Saints are projected to be roughly $58 million above the salary cap projections, per Over The Cap.

An extension for Williams could come down the road to lock him up long term and lower his cap. The $10-plus-million safety tag is actually very affordable, which is likely why the Saints utilized that option rather than battle to retain the 24-year-old on the open market. Williams likely would have fetched a massive deal had he hit free agency, even with the salary cap shrinking.


The move could also mean extensions for fifth-year-option players -- right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and corner Marshon Lattimore --- could be on the way. Lowering each's cap number would go a long way to alleviating some of the salary-cap concerns.

Once again, even in a year when the salary cap is shrinking, the Saints prove that if teams really want to retain a player, they'll find a way to make it work under the salary cap.

NFL.com

 

Seahawks don't use tag on Shaquill Griffin, Chris Carson

The Seattle Seahawks have cap space to clear to attempt to rework their team into a competitive one with an effective offensive line, meaning the franchise tag isn't a tool they're using in 2021.

They weren't going to use it on cornerback Shaquill Griffin, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation. The Seahawks will work to retain Griffin in free agency, Rapoport added, as Griffin will attract interest in a thin free-agent market at the position.

Seattle also did not use the tag to keep running back Chris Carson, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Carson has served as Seattle's lead runner for the last three seasons and carries plenty of value for Pete Carroll's desire to establish and rely on an effective rushing attack, making his potential departure a significant one for the Seahawks.

The window to remake its cap situation is now for Seattle. We'll see if the Seahawks can get it done and keep their key guys, even without using the expensive tag.

NFL.com

 

At long last, the NFL has set its salary cap for 2021.

The league informed teams on Wednesday that the number will be $182.5 million. PFT reported earlier Wednesday morning that figure was “almost definitely” going to be the case.

The $182.5 million cap represents a $15.7 million decrease from the 2020 salary cap of 198.2 million. The reduction stems from losses due to the pandemic.

The 2021 cap could have been reduced by tens of millions more without the NFLPA and league finalizing a new CBA and negotiating an agreement in July to have the season.

But with new TV deals on the horizon and anticipated fans in stadiums in 2021, the salary cap should be on track to increase again for 2022.

For now, teams will have to be in compliance with the $182.5 million cap by Wednesday, March 17, at 4:00 p.m. ET.

NBC

 

The Saints still have work to do to get under the salary cap, and veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is the latest casualty.

New Orleans will cut Sanders, and Sanders confirmed the move on Instagram.

“New Orleans it’s been real. Sucks we didn’t bring a Super Bowl to the city which was the goal when I signed but it was a blessing to showcase my talents in front of you guys,” Sanders wrote.

Losing Sanders will hurt, as Sanders was the Saints’ leading wide receiver last season with 61 catches for 726 yards. Although Sanders is about to turn 34 years old, he’s still playing at a high level.

But the Saints simply have no choice but to make some painful decisions, and cutting Sanders and his $6 million salary is one of them. Now Sanders hits free agency.

NBC

 

The Saints are also expected to release linebacker Kwon Alexander in the coming days, Rapoport reported.

 

I was hoping that Mickey Loomis could figure out a way around the salary cap and somehow keep most of that supporting cast, But it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. It's going to be a long offseason.

 

Too much put off for later and with the COVID-19 season later came sooner than expected.

 

Very true. What's the old saying? If Ye live by the sword, so shall Ye die by the sword.