NFL - NEWS & NOTES

This is good!

 

Yeah, someone should arrest Vikings GM for that theft. And it's mind boggling that a team with $12 mil in cap space can sign a player for a one year, $17 mil contract. I know these teams work magic to get under that cap number every year, but something like that just seems silly, to me.

Maybe I'm bitter because he's going to the Vikings. Don't like that.

 

There was word earlier this month that the Texans were looking to extend the contracts of quarterback Deshaun Watson and linebacker Zach Cunningham before the start of the regular season.

They are halfway there. NFL Media had the first report that Cunningham agreed to an extension with the team. They reported that Cunningham’s deal is worth an average $14.5 million a year in new money. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that it is a four-year pact for Cunningham.

Cunningham was a 2017 second-round pick in Houston. He has 339 tackles, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two sacks and an interception in 46 career games.

Watson is under contract through 2021 after the Texans exercised their fifth-year option on his deal. Whether he plays that out or not may be decided in the next couple of weeks.

PFT

 

Jaguars releasing Leonard Fournette



The Jaguars declined Leonard Fournette‘s fifth-year option this offseason, and they decided they didn’t want the fourth year either.

According to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, the Jaguars are releasing the former first-round running back.

Not only was Fournette the fourth overall pick in 2017, he was taken four spots ahead of Christian McCaffrey, who has gone onto sign a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Panthers this offseason.

Fournette ran for 1,152 yards last year in 15 games last year, so he should get opportunities (though the Jaguars were unable to trade him).

Ultimately, it’s another sad personnel chapter for a team that has collected talent, but continues to shed it at a rapid rate and hasn’t turned any of those good players into consistent winning.

PFT

 

Chargers S Derwin James (meniscus) will miss significant time

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James, who missed 11 games in the 2019 season, is likely to miss significant time with a meniscus injury he suffered during Sunday's practice, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

Now comes the waiting game of just how long it will be until James can return to the field.

With the waiting game comes options, pending further evaluation, though each of them would see James with an elongated absence. One possibility is a meniscus trim, which could be four or so weeks, or a full repair, which would bring upon several months on the shelf, Rapoport reported.

Multiple reports were that James left practice grabbing his right leg, clearly frustrated, and entered the medical tent.

Regardless of just how long James is shelved, it's a difficult turn of events for a burgeoning star who burst upon the NFL scene and has seen it halted by significant injuries in consecutive offseasons.

James began the 2019 campaign on injured reserve with a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his foot. He returned in Week 13 and started the last five games of the season, tallying 34 tackles.

In 2018, James was an All-Pro and Pro Bowler in a sensational rookie campaign in which he filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 105 tackles, 13 passes defended, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.


While it's another discouraging turn of events for James and a huge blow to the Chargers defense, it might well open the door for another opportunity to Earl Thomas, as pointed out by Rapoport. Current Bolts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley previously coached Thomas with the Seahawks. Within the roster, the most likely scenario is that Desmond King, Alohi Gilman and Nasir Adderly are the likely candidates to step into James' starting role.

Nonetheless, for James and the Chargers on a sunny Southern California Sunday, it quickly became a cloudy day ahead of a promising season once again.

NFL.com

 

Eagles rookie WR Jalen Reagor (shoulder) could miss start of season

Jalen Reagor opened camp buzzing around the field, causing hype about what the rookie receiver could bring to the Philadelphia Eagles' offense. That plan could be on hold to start the season.

The first-round pick exited practice early Sunday with a shoulder injury.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday on Good Morning Football that Reagor dislocated his shoulder and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks. No surgery is needed and a firm timeline for his recovery is not yet in place, but Reagor could miss the season opener, which kicks off Sept. 13 against the Washington Football Team.

The good news is that the TCU product avoided serious injury that could have wiped out all or most of his rookie campaign. With the season kicking off in 13 days, however, he appears likely to miss a game or two.

NFL.com

 

Veteran free agent defensive back Logan Ryan has finally found his landing space.

The Giants and Ryan have agreed on a one-year, $7.5 million contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Ryan had indicated at the start of free agency that he wanted at least $10 million a year, but that didn’t pan out.

The 29-year-old Ryan was born and raised in New Jersey and played his college football at Rutgers, so playing for the Giants will be a homecoming for him.

Ryan spent the last three years with the Titans and four years before that with the Patriots.

The Giants need some help in their secondary after losing Deandre Baker and Xavier McKinney. Ryan can play both safety and cornerback and should provide an immediate upgrade with the Giants.

PFT

 

There was no trade involving running back Leonard Fournette after the Jaguars announced plans to put him on waivers, but another player was traded instead of being cut on Monday.

A report on Monday morning indicated that the Panthers would be cutting linebacker Andre Smith before the day was out and the team announced the move. That announcement appears to have pushed the Bills to make the Panthers an offer they didn’t refuse.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports Smith has been traded to Buffalo for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2023.

Smith was a 2018 seventh-round pick and played two-thirds of the team’s special teams snaps during the 2019 season.

PFT

 

Chargers coach Anthony Lynn struck a somber tone when talking about Derwin James‘ right knee injury Monday morning. It foreshadowed Monday evening’s news.

James will miss the season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

The All-Pro will require surgery on his meniscus and the full repair will keep James out six to eight months, per Rapoport.

The Chargers were hoping James could get by with a meniscus trim, which would have sidelined him four weeks or so. But James has not had much injury luck.

As a sophomore at Florida State in 2016, James played only two games while dealing with a torn meniscus and cartilage damage in his knee.

He began last season on injured reserve with a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his foot. He returned in Week 13 and started the final five games of the season.

NBC

 

I think every draft class has one of these guys. Immense talent, can't stay healthy. Such a shame.

 

It does seem that way.

 

It’s a shame to see a really good player just live under an injury cloud

 

A week after Bengals running back Joe Mixon missed several days of practice with migraines (or “migraines”), he’s back and ready to give headaches to opposing defenses.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bengals and running back Joe Mixon have agreed to terms on a four-year extension. The deal has a base value of $48 million, which equates to a new-money average of $12 million.

Mixon, a second-round pick in 2017, became eligible for a new contract after the 2019 season. He had 1,168 rushing yards in 2018 and another 1,137 in 2019.

Mixon gets his money while other 2017 draft picks, like Saints running back Alvin Kamara and Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, continue to wait. The Panthers signed running back Christian McCaffrey, who had more than 1,000 rushing yards and more than 1,000 receiving yards, to a long-term deal earlier this year.

NBC

 

Mixon isn’t worth 12 million a season.

 

Mohamed Sanu never panned out in New England, and now he’s on the way out.

The Patriots are releasing Sanu, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

That’s a massive disappointment for New England, which gave up a second-round draft pick to acquire Sanu in a trade with the Falcons last year. Sanu caught just 26 passes for the Patriots.

Sanu has played well at times in his career, for both the Bengals and the Falcons, and there will surely be other teams interested in him once he officially hits free agency. He should be on an NFL roster this season, but it won’t be in New England.

NBC

 

Buc's and Patriots both interested in, Leonard Fournette...

 

D

they have any room on their IR for him?