Category: Latest News

With CBA set, Bengals can get back to work on A.J. Green, Joe Mixon extensions

The Bengals can get back to work on the important stuff.

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The holding pattern seizing the Cincinnati Bengals is finally over.

With Sunday’s announcement players had voted to accept the new collective bargaining agreement, the Bengals can get back to working on contracts for guys like A.J. Green and Joe Mixon.

A prior report said the Bengals couldn’t make serious headway on the Green and Mixon front due to the limbo status of the CBA and what it meant for tags and important details like the salary cap.

With the CBA approved and the salary cap cementing Bengals cap space, the front office can now pursue these deals with a confirmed understanding of their impact.

Of course, there isn’t much time to work on the long-term status of Green. The deadline to tag players is Monday at 11:59 a.m. ET. The tag will happen, purely to extend the timeframe of getting a long-term deal done until mid-July.

An extension for Mixon can happen at any point and might just happen if the two sides can agree on a fair price. That would avoid any potential holdout debacle as the Bengals try to focus on keeping everyone on the same page around likely rookie quarterback Joe Burrow.

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Delanie Walker: 3 potential landing spots for former Titans TE

Here are three teams Delanie Walker could sign with in free agency

The Tennessee Titans officially moved on from tight end Delanie Walker on Friday, as he was one of four roster cuts the team made last week.

Walker should be an attractive option for teams looking to add a veteran tight end who can help in the passing game and is a good blocker when healthy.

Just who might some of those teams be, you ask?

Let’s take a look.

New England Patriots

After years of having immense talent at tight end, the Patriots got next to nothing out of the position in 2019.

Whether or not Tom Brady returns, the Pats need to upgrade, and Walker would be the kind of veteran addition New England would make.

And I’m sure Walker wouldn’t mind playing for the Pats, a team that would give him a chance to win a Super Bowl in 2020.

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NFL league year and free agency will start on time

The official start of the new league year will begin on time.

The official start of the new NFL league year and free agency will not be pushed back, despite the mounting fears about the coronavirus outbreak.

The news comes from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFLPA was the driving force behind the decision.

There was a thought that the starting date would be pushed back due to the recent outbreak that has put all sports in general on hold, but the NFL has apparently decided to push ahead.

This means that the legal tampering period will begin on Monday, March 16, as originally planned, with the official start of free agency and the new league year falling on March 18.

The legal tampering period is when teams can start negotiating with free agents, and the start of the new league year is when those free agents can begin signing contracts with teams.

Monday will be a busy day in the NFL, as teams also have to designate franchise tag players by 11:59 a.m. ET. The legal tampering period begins just one minute after that deadline at noon ET.

The only thing left to decide now is if the 2020 NFL Draft, which is slated to start on April 23 in Las Vegas, will be pushed back to a later date or if it will start on time.

Bengals cap space update after salary cap info for 2020 released

Here’s how things break down after the CBA vote.

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Players voted and approved a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement Sunday, finalizing one of the big question marks hovering over the NFL.

In the process, the 2020 salary cap went official at $198.2 million.

It’s around the expected mark and doesn’t alter the conversation around the Cincinnati Bengals too dramatically. Original expectations planted the cap at about $200 million and the 2020 number is the smallest year-to-year cap jump since 2013.

According to Spotrac, the Bengals rolled over roughly $11 million from the prior year, bringing the number to about $209 million. Factor in the top 51, projected draft class and other factors and the Bengals have about $53.4 million in free cap space right now.

The Bengals have an interesting money plan for free agency. After Sunday’s announcement, there is plenty of room to be aggressive in free agency while also going to work on extensions for A.J. Green and Joe Mixon.

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Report: Titans-Derrick Henry contract talks ‘haven’t really gotten off the ground’

The Titans and Derrick Henry reportedly haven’t made much progress on a contract.

It appears that the Tennessee Titans and Derrick Henry aren’t making much progress on a contract extension.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, contract talks between the two sides “haven’t really gotten off the ground too much…”

Rapoport also notes that with Tannehill locked up to the four-year deal worth $118 million that the Titans signed him to, the franchise tag is “very much an option” for Henry.

The deadline to place the franchise tag on a player hits on Monday at 10:59 a.m. CT, so if no long-term deal is reached by then the Titans have to tag their running back in order to avoid him hitting the open market.

Even if that happens, all hope is not lost for Henry and the Titans coming to an agreement. Tennessee will have until July 15 to reach a multi-year deal with the Alabama product.

In the meantime, he won’t be able to negotiate with other teams should the Titans use the exclusive franchise tag, which makes the most sense in this instance.

Should Henry play out the entire 2020 season on the franchise tag, he’d stand to make about $10.2 million, as projected by former agent and CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry.

Tennessee wouldn’t mind paying that, but chances are the team would rather get a deal done in order to avoid the messy situation that a franchise tag can create.

Current and former Titans react to Ryan Tannehill’s contract extension

Current and former Titans reacted to Ryan Tannehill’s contract extension.

It’s safe to say that Ryan Tannehill’s teammates are happy about the contract extension he received from the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The deal keeps Tannehill in Nashville for the next four years and will pay him $118 million, with $62 million guaranteed.

Safety Kevin Byard retweeted Tannehill’s reaction and congratulated the Titans’ signal-caller.

Fellow safety, Kenny Vaccaro, echoed those sentiments.

Former Titans wide receiver Nate Washington reacted with one of the more memorable images from Tannehill’s sensational 2019 season.

Former Tennessee linebacker Will Compton noted the incredible comeback it took for Tannehill to earn this kind of deal.

Former safety Bernard Pollard was happy for Tannehill, but also pointed out that it’s time to get a deal done with Derrick Henry.

Tennessee has yet to get a contract extension worked out with its star back, which is leading many to believe that he’ll get the franchise tag in order to avoid letting him hit the open market.

Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Tannehill reacts to new contract extension

Ryan Tannehill tweeted out his reaction to his new contract extension.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill got himself a contract extension from the Tennessee Titans on Saturday — and he’s understandably excited.

Part of the reason is that it’s a huge deal that pays him $118 million over four years ($62 million guaranteed), but he’s also happy because Tennessee was where Tannehill wanted to be all along.

Now that the deal has been announced, Tannehill took to Twitter to give his reaction to the contract extension.

While the Titans will officially be able to “run it back” with Tannehill now that a deal is done, there is still another big deal yet to be done that will keep their fantastic quarterback-running back duo together.

The deal we’re talking about is with Derrick Henry, who has yet to be signed to an extension. Should no deal get done, the Titans must franchise tag Henry by the deadline on Monday or else he’ll hit the open market.

Regardless of how they get it done, there’s no way the Titans let Henry go, so fully expect to see both he and Tannehill in the backfield next season.

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Ryan Tannehill contract: Titans giving big bucks to franchise QB

Ryan Tannehill’s new contract is massive.

The Tennessee Titans and Ryan Tannehill have agreed to a contract extension that will pay the signal-caller quite a hefty sum of money.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Tannehill’s deal is for four years and is worth $118 million, with $62 million guaranteed.

This is HUGE money for the 31-year-old quarterback, but this is kind of the going rate for some of the better signal-callers on the open market these days.

This deal will undoubtedly have its critics, as Tannehill is garnering this kind of payday after just 10 games with the team.

However, those 10 games were extraordinary, as Tannehill played like one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league last season.

Not only did he finish first in yards per attempt and passer rating, as well totaling the third-best completion percentage in the NFL, he also won Comeback Player of the Year.

His sensational season took the Titans from a 2-4 start to a playoff berth, all the while leading the offense to produce at levels this franchise has rarely ever seen.

As a result, Tannehill got paid and is now officially the franchise quarterback of the Tennessee Titans.

Report: Titans and Ryan Tannehill agree on contract extension

The Titans have agreed to terms on a contract with Ryan Tannehill.

The Tennessee Titans have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with their quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the two sides have agreed to terms on a deal.

The writing was on the wall that this was coming soon, as ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported earlier in the day that the team was interested in signing Tannehill instead of trying to land Tom Brady.

And so ends the debate that we’ve had all offseason long; Tannehill is the Titans’ guy.

This move just made too much sense. Tannehill had a career year in 2019 and took Tennessee’s offense to new heights it hadn’t reached in quite some time, if ever.

After starting out 2-4, the Titans replaced Marcus Mariota with Tannehill, who helped the team reel off seven wins in its final 10 games en route to a 9-7 finish and a playoff berth.

Tannehill finished first in passer rating and yards per attempt, and third in completion percentage. His outstanding performance rightfully garnered him Comeback Player of the Year honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Report: Ravens finalizing 2-year deal with Calais Campbell worth $27M

The Baltimore Ravens pulled off the trade for Jaguars DE Calais Campbell but now need to get his 2020 salary cap hit under control.

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The Baltimore Ravens are set to trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for defensive end Calais Campbell, helping patch up one of their biggest holes this offseason. Now they’re finalizing a new contract with Campbell to keep him in Baltimore.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Ravens are working on a deal that will pay Campbell $27 million over the next two seasons, with $20 million guaranteed. Though there is no formal breakdown of how that’s split out, it’s likely going to be a smaller cap hit than the $15 million Campbell is currently owed for the 2020 season, according to Over The Cap.

If the contract plays out exactly at those numbers, it would give Campbell an average of $13.5 million per year with $10 million a year guaranteed. That would tie him for 15th most in APY and tied for second-most in guaranteed money per year among defensive ends, according to OTC.

The Ravens likely wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on a trade with Campbell given his large 2020 cap hit unless they were confident they could get either a contract extension or new deal worked out. When combined with the nearly $16 million Baltimore is set to pay on the franchise tag for outside linebacker Matthew Judon, it would eat up most of the Ravens’ available salary-cap space for this season.

Getting Campbell on a more cap-friendly deal for the 2020 season would mean Baltimore can still be very active in free agency if they wish. Before trading for Campbell, the Ravens were set to have a little more than $19 million available for this season and with some potential cost-cutting moves still to make like extending Judon or cutting cornerback Brandon Carr before his roster bonus is due.

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