Tag: 2020 NFL Offseason

Falcons release CB Desmond Trufant after seven seasons

The Atlanta Falcons have officially released cornerback Desmond Trufant after seven seasons with the team.

The Atlanta Falcons have officially released cornerback Desmond Trufant after seven seasons with the team.

Trufant, a 2013 first-round pick, racked up 329 tackles (272 solo), 13 interceptions and 79 passes defended during his time in Atlanta. His release is somewhat of a surprise since the team has no clear replacement on the roster.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is doing what he can to free up cap space, which means cutting players that still have value. Trufant’s release will save Atlanta roughly $5 million in 2020.

Isaiah Oliver, Kendall Sheffield and Blidi Wreh-Wilson will have to pick up the slack if the team doesn’t add a corner in free agency. or the 2020 NFL Draft.

Check out Trufant’s tribute video as shared by the Falcons’ Twitter below:

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The sports world reacts on Twitter to the DeAndre Hopkins-David Johnson trade

The NFL’s offseason wheeling and dealing is in full force, and the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals have jumped out in front of the current pigskin musings with a trade that involved wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back David Johnson. …

The NFL’s offseason wheeling and dealing is in full force, and the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals have jumped out in front of the current pigskin musings with a trade that involved wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back David Johnson.

What would have been a head-scratcher of a deal had the sports world not been locked in a room with the entire family fighting over the mobile devices and television remote has now intensified from a ‘topical depression’ into a social media hurricane.

It began with the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson crafting a near-perfect tweet, summarizing the magnitude of the deal without going over the 140-character limit:

From there, the good, the bad, and the insightful thoughts and reactions (the memes) from around the sports world landed in the Twitter cosmos.

Of course, there is this guy…

And this guy…

The best Faux Account take goes to:

Was this 2017 snippet from NFL Films a precursor to today’s news?

How will this deal play out? That remains to been, as usual. But this tweet from SportsCenter does paint (or, probably burn into the minds of the Texans fan base) what was lost and gained:

Joe Thomas predicts Chargers to make pair of splash moves in free agency

Will the Los Angeles Chargers make a splash in free agency?

The free agency frenzy is in full effect.

The Chargers have been fairly quiet on Monday as we are hours into the legal tampering period.

While Los Angeles has yet to make an acquisition, speculations and predictions continue to be made.

Former NFL offensive tackle and NFL Network analyst Joe Thomas is the latest notable to project what the team could do.

ā€œDonā€™t be surprised if the LA Chargers make two big splashes here during free agency,” Thomas said.

The first is one that’s been brought up quite a bit, with that being the franchise signing quarterback Tom Brady.

But since the 42-year old will need some protection, Thomas wouldn’t be surprised if Los Angeles trades for and signs offensive tackle Trent Williams to the monstrous contract extension that he is desiring.

The Chargers currently have $49.9 million in available salary cap space, which is the most that they’ve had in years. But both players mentioned are going to require top dollar.

If Los Angeles was to make a move to acquire Brady and Williams, the team likely wouldn’t have enough money to re-sign their own players or make other acquisitions in free agency.

Should the Jets target free agent cornerback Xavier Rhodes?

Xavier Rhodes doesn’t fit schematically with the Jets and his bad seasons with the Vikings wouldn’t bode well for his ability in New York.

Once touted as the next shutdown corner, Xavier Rhodesā€™ production fell off dramatically the past two seasons.

He became known as one of the worst cover cornerbacks in the league in 2019, prompting the Vikings to release him last week. The Jets, however, are desperate and can use all the help they can get at cornerback. That makes Rhodes the ultimate high-risk, high-reward signing for them.

While Rhodes may have made the Pro Bowl this past season, his numbers didnā€™t exactly look impressive. He didnā€™t grab a single interception but managed to record a career-high 63 combined tackles ā€“ likely because he allowed a whopping 75.6 percent catch rate and an 84.3 percent completion rate when targeted, according to Player Profiler. Rhodes also allowed a 132.7 passer rating, was burned on 3.5 percent of his targets and gave up 12 yards per receptions.

Yikes.

But if you rewind the clock back to 2016 and 2017, youā€™d see a different Rhodes, one who combined for seven interceptions over those two seasons and averaged 54 tackles with 10 passes defended per season. He looked like the next Darrelle Revis at times and signed a massive contract with the Vikings the summer before the 2017 season.Ā 

Something changed between 2017 and 2018, though, and Rhodes has looked worse ever since. Part of the problem could be attributed to his age ā€“ heā€™ll turn 30 in June ā€“ but heā€™s also shown an inability to perform in the Vikingsā€™ new defensive coverage schemes.

Touted as a physical corner who excelled at punishing receivers at the line of scrimmage, Rhodes appeared poorly positioned in the Vikingsā€™ zone-heavy defense in 2019. Minnesota employed a zone defense on almost 70 percent of its defensive snaps and specifically a Cover-2 zone on 21.3 percent of snaps. Some ascribed his abysmal performance to that defense, but Rhodes also looked bad in man coverage. He ranked at the bottom of FiveThirtyEight.comā€™s Opponent Receptions Plus/Minus for man coverage with -10.52 ā€“ meaning heā€™s rarely expected to force an incompletion and he actually allows more than any other cornerback. That checks out considering his catch rate and competition rate stated earlier.

None of this bodes well for how heā€™d fit into Gregg Williamsā€™ defense. The Jets defensive coordinator used a lot of man coverage but leaned on zone coverage when his cornerbacks underperformed last season. Itā€™s a big reason why Trumaine Johnson didnā€™t last more than one season with Williams and why the Jets are searching for new cornerbacks to play with Bless Austin.

To make matters worse, Rhodes was also one of the most heavily penalized cornerbacks last season. He tied for fourth-most in the league with eight penalties ā€“ four of which were for pass interference. For reference, three of the seven penalties Darryl Roberts committed were pass interference. The Jets need fundamentally-sound cornerbacks who donā€™t ruin defensive drives with penalties, and Rhodes was exactly that in 2019.

It would be a tremendous risk for the Jets to bring in Rhodes after such a spectacularly bad season given his obvious drop in ability, production and efficiency. But if Joe Douglas can look past the bad and see what Rhodes once was and can still be, he could be a great signing for the secondary-starved Jets. The Bills gave Josh Norman a one-year, $6 million prove-it deal after back-to-back horrid seasons in Washington and a similar deal for Rhodes would mitigate the risk.Ā 

Schematically, though, Rhodes isnā€™t an ideal fit for Williams and the Jets. New York would be better served looking elsewhere for cornerback help.

The Titans are going to make Ryan Tannehill prove 2019 wasn’t a fluke

The Titans have committed to Ryan Tannehill for three years. Will they regret it?

This NFL offseason, Steven Ruiz will be offering his thoughts and grading every major deal that goes down, including contract extensions, trades and free-agent signings.

The Titans have found their franchise quarterback. A year after trading a seventh-round pick for Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee made him the highest-paid player in the history of the franchise, locking him down to a four-year, $118 million deal.

Tannehill is coming off a career season in which he led the Titans to a 7-3 record as a starter and an appearance in the AFC title game after replacing Marcus Mariota in the starting lineup. The 31-year-old completed 70.3% of his passes for 2,742 yards and 22 touchdowns against only six interceptions.

Will Tannehill be able to replicate the success or did the Titans just shell out big money on a player with a longer track record of mediocrity? Letā€™s grade the deal ā€¦

While the rest of the NFL world wonders if Tannehill can do it again, the Titans seem to be confident he can do it again based on the details of the contract laid out by ESPNā€™s Jeff Darlington.

Essentially, this is a three-year, $91 million deal with Tannehillā€™s 2022 salary becoming fully guaranteed next offseason and a $39.5 million dead cap hit preventing Tennessee from dropping him before that happens. And in that third year, Tannehill’s cap hit will jump to $34 million. So, in other words, Tannehill has to be just a smidge better than “a team would rather pay him $62 million for only one season than keep him on the roster” bad in order to earn that $91 million. That’s how low the bar is for him.

This is no ā€œprove itā€ deal. The Titans have fully bought into the Ryan Tannehill experience until 2023.

Prior to negotiations, a reasonable goal for the Titans would have been to construct a deal that allowed them to bail after two years. Thatā€™s how the 49ers constructed the contract they gave Jimmy Garoppolo. The Titans had more than enough cap space to give Tannehill a similar structure — San Francisco was able to push most of the guaranteed money to Year 1 by giving Garoppolo a large roster bonus in 2018 — but GM Jon Robinson decided to keep his cap hit low for 2020 instead. In other words, Tennessee chose short-term cap space over the ability to pull the plug on this contract early if things go south next season. The Jaguars have a similar set-up with Nick Foles’ contract … ask them how that’s going.

Now, if Tannehill continues to play like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, none of this will matter and Tennessee will be able to count this deal as a win. But, as I covered in December, there are plenty of reasons to believe that regression will hit Tannehill hard next season. He was unsustainably good under pressure and on play-action passes. His receivers basically caught every accurate deep ball he threw and were among the league leaders in yards-after-catch. So even if Tannehillā€™s individual performance doesnā€™t fall off, there is essentially no chance heā€™s able to produce at the level he did during his abbreviated time as Tennesseeā€™s starter in 2019.

(Itā€™s worth point out that Tannehillā€™s more stable production — from a clean pocket and on non-play-action attempts — wasnā€™t bad necessarily; it just wasnā€™t at the level youā€™d expect from a QB making $29.5 million a year. He ranked 17th in EPA per attempt on passes from a clean pocket and 18th on non-play-action attempts, per Sports Info Solutions.)

With the franchise tag looming as an option, the Titans are making an unnecessarily risky bet on a player who was available for a seventh-round pick just one year ago. Of course, the front office will probably now use that tag on Derrick Henry, but it doesnā€™t make a lot of sense to mortgage your future on a 31-year-old quarterback who has been average throughout his career just to keep your options open for a running back — even one as good as Henry.

If Tannehill isnā€™t the quarterback he was in 2019, itā€™s hard to envision this deal working out for the Titans. If he plays poorly, theyā€™re stuck with him anyway. If heā€™s just good enough to win with (but not good enough to be the reason the team is winning), it might convince the front office to build around Tannehill rather than searching for an upgrade at the position.

Grade: C-

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Calais Campbell trade grades: The Ravens took advantage of an impatient Jaguars front office

The Jaguars gave up their best player for little in return.

This NFL offseason, Steven Ruiz will be offering his thoughts and grading every major deal that goes down, including contract extensions, trades and free-agent signings.

The Jaguarsā€™ purge of defensive talent continued on Sunday when the team agreed to send DE Calais Campbell to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick.

If it wasnā€™t obvious before, it is now: Jacksonville is firmly in rebuild mode. Campbell follows Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye as the latest star from the 2017 playoff team to leave town. Disgruntled pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue has requested a trade and could be next. Meanwhile, the Ravens add another star to their defense and one who fills a major need.

So, who got the better end of the swap? Letā€™s grade the dealā€¦

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Letā€™s start with Baltimore, which clearly wins this trade from an on-field perspective. Campbell will turn 34 before the start of the 2020 season, but heā€™s coming off another stellar campaign that saw him finish fifth among interior rushers in ESPNā€™s Pass Rush Win Rate metric. He also earned a 90.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and 90.6 grade against the run.

Campbell fills two holes for the Ravens defense, which had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback with a standard four-man rush. And as the playoff loss to Tennessee showed, that was far from Baltimoreā€™s biggest issue defensively. As good as the Ravens defense was against the pass, the run defense was among the worst in the league. That will change with Campbell joining the roster. Heā€™s been one of the best run defenders of the last decade. Even if Campbell has lost a few MPH off of his pass-rushing fastball, he’ll help to improve the unit as a whole.

On top of that, the Ravens acquiring Campbell via trade will not affect the teamā€™s compensatory draft pick formula. Smart teams have started to swap late-round picks for productive vets, allowing them to add talent without sacrificing draft capital. Itā€™s almost become a secondary form of free agency for more creative teams like Baltimore, New England and Philadelphia.

This is how good teams stay good.

(The Ravens have reportedly agree to a two-year deal with Campbell worth $27 million and $20 million guaranteed. I will grade that deal separately once the structure of the contract is revealed.)Ā 

Ravens grade: A+

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

It doesnā€™t look so great from Jacksonvilleā€™s perspective. The Jaguars parted ways with their best player and have only a Day 3 pick and an extra $15 million in cap space to show for it.

That extra space is good to have, sure, but I donā€™t know if the Jaguars need that spending money right now. Itā€™s not like this team should be buyers in free agency considering where they are in their rebuild.

That the Jaguars werenā€™t willing to be patient and play the comp pick game with Campbell is a bad sign. Does this mean the front office is planning on spending big in free agency over the next two years, which would cancel out Campbell signing elsewhere in the comp pick formula? This team should know from experience that spending big in free agency isnā€™t the best team-building strategy. GM Dave Caldwellā€™s frivolous spending (along with his poor performance in the draft) is a big reason why the Jaguars are in their current predicament.

Thereā€™s just no way to spin this as a win for the Jaguars. They gave up an asset for short-term cap relief that the team didnā€™t necessarily need. And did so for a pick they likely would have received had they just waited a year and let Campbell hit free agency.

Think about this: The pick the Ravens sent to Jacksonville was acquired when the Vikings traded for their backup kicker last August. Minnesota ended up cutting that kicker a few weeks later. The point is, teams get desperate the closer we get to the start of the season. Campbell’s trade value was only going to go up between now and September.

If the team was insistent on trading Campbell, a little patience could have paid off in a big way.

Jaguars grade: F

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How the new CBA impacts the Redskins in 2020 and beyond

The NFLPA voted to approve a new CBA on Sunday, which will bring about a number of changes for the Redskins, and the NFL at large.

An NFL lockout will not be necessary any time soon after players voted to approve the proposed collective bargaining agreement, putting the new deal in place for the next 10 years. In order for the proposal to pass, a majority of NFL players had to vote yes. The NFLPA announced SundayĀ that the final tally was 1,019 votes in favor of the CBA and 959 votes against it ā€“ so it was an extremely close race.

A lot of changes will come with the new CBA, while the masses of players who earn the minimum salary will receive a big pay bump, and the player’s revenue share will increase as well. The regular-season and playoff schedule will also receive a shake-up, as an extra game will be added to the calendar for every team, and who extra wild-card weekend games will be implemented.Ā Starting in 2020, the postseason field will expand to 14 teams and beginning as early as 2021, the regular season will be 17 games with only three preseason games.

Hereā€™s a quick list of the biggest changes this new CBA will bring:

  • 17-game season, 3-game preseason starting no earlier than 2021
  • 14-team playoff field
  • 7 in each conference, only No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye
  • Higher minimum salaries
  • Increased revenue share for players
  • Only one tag (franchise or transition) can be used
  • Reduced penalties for positive drug tests, with no suspensions

So, how does all of this affect the Redskins? Letā€™s lay out what it means for D.C. in 2020 and beyond.

Salary Cap could spike in coming years

The Washington Redskins are currently in salary cap heaven, as they head into the coming free agency period with about $60 million to work with. Their cap bliss will likely continue for the next couple of years too, as they have a load of young players who have been highly-productive on rookie contracts.

The salary cap is projected to be around $200 million this year, but that number could rise significantly in 2021.

With no labor strike or lockout coming, the NFL stands to make more money in the near future with TV deals, which should lead to an inflated salary cap in the next few years. That means that when it comes time to pay these players in Washington, the Redskins will have a lot more flexibility to do so, keeping more of the drafted talent around for the future.

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Report: Chargers restructuring LB Denzel Perryman’s contract

The Los Angeles Chargers continue to make moves to clear up cap space.

The Chargers have been very active on Friday leading up to free agency, which starts next week on March 18.

First, came the announcement on tight end Hunter Henry getting franchise tagged. Then, came the news of linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive tackle being released.

Now, Los Angeles and linebacker Denzel Perryman have agreed to a restructured deal, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Perryman signed a two-year deal before the start of the 2019 season. He was set to make $6.5 million in salary and bonuses during the upcoming season. The new compensation has not been announced, but he will have the opportunity to earn it through incentives.

In 2019, the former second-round selection appeared in 14 games, recording 68 total tackles, five tackles for loss, one interception and a forced fumble.

Report: Chargers franchise tag TE Hunter Henry

The Los Angeles Chargers are keeping a playmaker for another season.

The Los Angeles Chargers have placed the franchise tag on tight end Hunter Henry, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

The tag, which will keep him around for one more season, will cost approximately $11 million in 2020.

The 25-year old missed one game as a rookie in 2016 and then two games in 2017 before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2018. He had his most productive season in 2019, but he sustained another knee injury that kept him out for a few games, drawing some durability concerns.

When healthy, he is easily one of the leagueā€™s top tight ends. Heā€™s averaging 8.9 yards per target and has 17 touchdowns in 41 games. Along with his impressive skillset as a pass-catcher, Henry has been a reliable run-blocker.

The Chargers know what he is capable of doing when he is on the field, but the team wants Henry to put together a full healthy season before making a long term commitment.