PFF tabs free agent Chargers need to target this offseason

Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga would be a great signing for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco has had a knack for finding some gems via free agency – offensive tackle Russell Okung, center Mike Pouncey and cornerback Casey Hayward.

Los Angeles enters this offseason with the most salary cap space they’ve had since Telesco took over in 2013 ($56,245 million). That means the team could be in a prime position to acquire one or two big-name free agents.

In need of shoring up the offensive line, there will be a few options that should bring some intrigue, depending on whether or not they decide to re-sign with their original team.

For Pro Football Focus, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga is the soon-to-be free agent that the Bolts need to pursue this offseason.

The Chargers’ offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL in pass-protection last year, ranking 31st in PFF pass-blocking grade. They need fresh veteran faces, and right tackle Bryan Bulaga is the perfect fit. Bulaga has routinely been one of the best right tackles in pass-protection in his career. In each of his full seasons since 2014, Bulaga has ranked among the 10 best right tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade, with three ranking in the top three.

No matter who is behind center next season, making sure that quarterback is kept clean is an absolute must. Bulaga is a proven right tackle that would be able to aid in the pass protection department.

Watch Elgton Jenkins. Recovers after getting beat and then effortlessly makes the switch on the stunt

Watch Bryan Bulaga. Runs 98 completely out of the play, opens up the extended play opportunity

Rodgers/Lazard do the rest pic.twitter.com/s2YSfGgU0n

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 12, 2019

Bulaga, who started all regular season games in 2019, ranked No. 21 in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency (97.2), which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

Bulaga has started 111 of the 115 games he has played. An injured hip forced him to miss seven games in 2012. He then missed the 2013 season after tearing his right ACL in training camp and 11 games in 2017 after tearing his left ACL.

Since the knee injury three seasons ago, Bulaga has managed to stay on the field. When he is playing, he is a dominant force – shutting down the league’s best pass rushers.

Bulaga, 30, is coming off a five-year, $33 million contract, but his new deal is expected to cost more annually. He could command a little north of $10 million per year, which calculates the market value of his next contract to be three years and about $30.4 million, per Spotrac.

It may seem like a decent amount of money, but given how much of a need it is to fulfill the position, giving one of the league’s best right tackles that type of paycheck could pay huge dividends.

2020 NFL Free Agency: 9 guards to watch for the Saints

The New Orleans Saints should consider free agents like Joe Thuney and Graham Glasgow when replacing Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat.

The New Orleans Saints must upgrade the left guard spot this offseason, with longtime starter Andrus Peat expected to walk away in free agency. They have a few options on the roster already — veteran Nick Easton, signed last year, has to be the favorite — but otherwise only a couple of inexperienced reserves are on hand, like Will Clapp and Cameron Tom (if he re-signs, being a restricted free agent).

Unfortunately, the 2020 free agent crop isn’t very deep, largely made up of backups looking for their big break. The Saints will probably need to make a big splash if they want to improve. We’ll break the group into tiers following the same general standards from an earlier post discussing free agent options at wide receiver.

Bank-Breakers ($8 million or more per year)

Brandon Scherff, Washington Redskins
Joe Thuney, New England Patriots
Graham Glasgow, Detroit Lions

Scherff is the brightest star in this group, and rightly so: when healthy, there aren’t many blockers who can match him in pass protection. But Scherff has missed 15 games in the last three years, and was limited to just 11 appearances last season while managing elbow and shoulder injuries. He would have to slide back to the left side, his college position, after playing right guard in the NFL.

Enter Thuney, the Patriots stalwart who hasn’t missed a game in four years. Thuney has started predominately at left guard, though he’s played right tackle in a pinch. He’s been graded highly in both pass protection and run blocking, and would be a terrific fit with the Saints. The only concern is that the Patriots rarely let great players like him walk away.

Glasgow is an interesting prospect with experience at both guard and center. He’s developed into a nice blocker who rarely blows his assignments or gets dinged with penalties. The question is whether the Saints would be willing to overpay him in what’s looking like a top-heavy market for guards.

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Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater are the only Saints in ESPN’s top 50 free agents

New Orleans Saints quarterbacks Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater were the only Saints players on ESPN’s list of the top 50 NFL free agents.

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The analysts at EPSN ranked the top 50 free agents who will be on the market this offseason, and just two New Orleans Saints made the list. Worryingly, they both play quarterback: Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater.

Brees was named the third-best free agent set to hit the market in 2020, trailing only two other passers: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and New England Patriots legend Tom Brady. Here’s what ESPN had to say in ranking Brees so high among hist peers:

Brees produced the NFL’s third-best QBR (72.0) after returning in Week 10 from a torn thumb ligament, trailing only Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes during that period. His performance was a strong signal that he could play at a high level in 2020, even after a shaky outing in the Saints’ wild-card playoff loss to the Vikings. Brees has never been interested in leaving the Saints. Has anything changed? Would the Saints move on in favor of Teddy Bridgewater or Taysom Hill?

A few other free agent quarterbacks slotted in between Brees and Bridgewater, who ranked No. 29. That group includes Ryan Tannehill (No. 7), Philip Rivers (No. 16), and Jameis Winston (No. 25), with Marcus Mariota rounding out the group behind Bridgewater at No. 50. Bridgewater’s future — with the Saints or otherwise — figures to be one of the more interesting storylines of the offseason:

If there were any doubts, Bridgewater showed he can play at a winning level over an extended period of time. Three years after a catastrophic knee injury, Bridgewater helped the Saints to a 5-0 record after Brees injured his thumb. Bridgewater was picky last offseason, turning down the Dolphins’ starting job to return as a Saints backup. Would he do it again, assuming Brees returns? And can the Saints afford to give him a raise off the $7.5 million he earned this season?

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If Teddy Bridgewater leaves in free agency, who could replace him?

The New Orleans Saints will have options to replace Teddy Bridgewater in free agency with Marcus Mariota, Mike Glennon, and other veterans.

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What are the New Orleans Saints going to do at quarterback this year?

It’s an easy question to ask, and almost too simple to try and answer. They should re-sign Drew Brees for one more year, if he’s willing, because he gives the Saints their best shot at winning a Super Bowl title. They should also keep Teddy Bridgewater around as a top-paid backup, because he impressed while winning all five of his starts. And Taysom Hill should return on a cheap restricted free agent tender; he’s a fun weapon who can run and catch, but has shown some serious limitations as a passer. It’s fine if his future isn’t at quarterback.

But things rarely go according to plan in the NFL. Bridgewater should be a hot commodity in free agency — we’ve already highlighted several teams who could try to sign him away from New Orleans. While the Saints can’t afford to pay a starter’s salary to both Brees and Bridgewater (or other top free agents like Dak Prescott, Ryan Tannehill, or Jameis Winston), he’s definitely earned it, and it’s very possible the backup leaves town in pursuit of a starting gig.

So let’s say Bridgewater bows out for greater opportunities, while Brees and Hill remain. Which free agents could the Saints try to recruit in free agency to pad out the depth chart at quarterback? Here are four options that could make sense.

Marcus Mariota

He makes sense if… The Saints see him as a future starter. Mariota is on the outs, having flopped as a high first-round pick with the Tennessee Titans. But it’s not like he was surrounded by offensive masterminds. In fact, he’s had to work with a new coordinator every year he’s played in the NFL. The Saints could offer rare stability for the 26-year-old quarterback, who thrived with similar passing concepts in college. Mariota is kind of similar to Bridgewater, having protected the ball well while struggling to pull the trigger on deep-field throws. Maybe Saints coach Sean Payton can tap into the potential the Titans squandered.

Trevor Siemian

He makes sense if… Payton wants another reclamation project. An ugly ankle injury ended Siemian’s season before it could get off the ground, but he’s a mechanically-sound passer who’s won games in this league. Granted, he’s only gone 13-11 as a starter with the Denver Broncos, but that isn’t far from Bridgewater’s mark of 17-11 with the Minnesota Vikigns. Siemian has shown he can navigate a collapsing pocket and hit receivers in stride. He’d be worth a look as someone who could develop behind Brees and compete with Hill for the starting job in the future.

Chase Daniel

He makes sense if… The Saints aren’t worried about life after 2020. Let’s say that the Saints have a ton of faith in Hill’s projection in the long-term. If he’s their guy after Brees calls it a career, they won’t need a younger option to work with while pursuing a Super Bowl berth next season. Daniel knows the offense well, won’t break the bank, and can provide a steady presence for Brees to workshop new signature handshakes with during his swan song. At 33, he could easily stick around as a safety blanket should Hill struggle in the starting role later on down the road.

Mike Glennon

He makes sense if… Chase Daniel is ready to retire. Maybe Daniel wants to go out on top, with $34.3 million and a couple of Super Bowl rings to his credit. If so, Glennon makes sense as a veteran alternative. Payton has been a fan of Glennon going back to the 2014 NFL Draft, even if the N.C. State product’s career hasn’t gone as hoped. He was immediately replaced by the Chicago Bears when they made an ill-advised trade up for Mitchell Trubisky, and spent last season quietly on the bench behind Oakland Raiders passer Derek Carr. Maybe Payton still likes him enough to ask Glennon to hold a clipboard for a year while Brees chases another Super Bowl.

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PFF doesn’t rank any Saints players among 50 best free agents

The analysts at Pro Football Focus did not rank any New Orleans Saints players in their list of the 50 best available free agents in 2020.

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The analysts at Pro Football Focus put together their ranking of the 50 best available free agents in 2020, and not a single New Orleans Saints player made the list. It’s not for a lack of pending free agents out of New Orleans: their offseason priorities include starters like left guard Andrus Peat, cornerback Eli Apple, safety Vonn Bell, defensive tackle David Onyemata, and linebacker A.J. Klein.

While the Saints can probably afford to let some of those players go and choose to pursue upgrades instead, many of them were still critical to the team’s success in 2019. If anything, it goes to show just how deep and talented this year’s free agency crop may be.

However, the list doesn’t feature any quarterbacks — the PFF team covered them separately, recognizing the different scale in value they present to teams around the league. Both Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater were profiled as maybe-limited passers who teams can win with, but should have reservations about over-committing to. Between Brees’ disappointing finish down the stretch and Bridgewater’s limited exposure compared to other young quarterbacks like Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, any teams (the Saints or otherwise) have questions to ask themselves before making a contract offer.

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6 pending free agents the Saints should make priorities to re-sign in 2020

With quarterbacks Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater headed for free agency, the New Orleans Saints have many tough decisions to make in 2020.

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The 2020 offseason is full of difficult decisions for the New Orleans Saints, particularly in unrestricted free agency. Both of their top two quarterbacks are headed for the open market, as is a starting defensive back who’s rapidly developed into one of their most-reliable playmakers. Some role players are also up for new deals and should be retained.

We’ve already considered what should be done with the Saints’ restricted free agents, and highlighted several unrestricted free agents who should probably be allowed to leave due to prohibitive costs or poor fits moving forward. Here are six names the Saints must make priorities in the months ahead.

Drew Brees, quarterback

This is easy: Brees is the best player in Saints history and still the face of the franchise. He should never throw for another team. Now keeping him around is easier said than done, and the adjustments the Saints must make to remain competitive with an aging quarterback are another set of issues. If Brees can’t be counted on to complete passes 35 or more yards downfield, it dramatically impacts the entire offense.

Teddy Bridgewater, quarterback

Bridgewater deserves a big payday, that’s not under debate. The question is how much it would cost to retain his services as the backup to Brees. Bridgewater is just 27 and very much in the prime of his career, and proved he can win in the NFL by going undefeated in his five starts last season. If there isn’t much of a market for Bridgewater in free agency, it’s possible he and the Saints can reach an agreement.

Vonn Bell, safety

Bell emerged as one of the most consistent big-play threats in the secondary, having led the NFL in fumble recoveries and logged his first career interception. He’s a sure tackler and a vocal leader in one of the youngest position groups in New Orleans, and they’d do well to retain him. The trouble with him is that he was just a part-time player for his first three years before finally hitting his groove in 2019. Additionally, we’ll be curious to see whether Eddie Jackson’s big contract with the Chicago Bears woke up what was a sleepy free agent market at safety.

P.J. Williams, cornerback

Williams has proven to be a capable slot defender and a quick fill-in at safety, thanks to his understanding of inside-breaking route concepts and aggressive downhill tackling. The Saints would be smart to keep him around as one of their most-experienced defensive backs, but he should receive more active interest in free agency than he saw last year after an early-offseason DUI arrest.

Dwayne Washington, running back

Alvin Kamara is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Latavius Murray played well enough to safely demand more snaps moving forward. That leaves Washington on the outside looking in as far as the Saints running back rotation goes. But his real value is on special teams, where he’s developed into a nice blocking specialist in the return game alongside J.T. Gray, Justin Hardee, Craig Robertson, and Taysom Hill. Of that group, only Hardee and Robertson played more snaps. Washington will hardly command a huge salary, so the Saints should do the smart thing and retain him.

Zach Line, fullback

Few teams utilize a fullback more often than the Saints, and Line’s proven to be a great fit for their offense. Before he went down late in the season with a knee injury, he was ranked top-three leaguewide in snaps played at his position. Though he isn’t asked to run often (which is no surprise with talents like Kamara, Murray, and Hill on the team), Line has converted 16 first downs on his 23 career attempts, while occasionally catching passes or flipping them to Kamara on a trick play. The Saints should be able to re-sign him in the same $1.1 million to $1.9 million range they originally agreed to back in 2017.

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5 pending free agents the Saints should let walk in 2020 offseason

Whether they’ve earned a huge contract or performed poorly, not all of the New Orleans Saints pending free agents should re-sign in 2020.

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The New Orleans Saints have dozens of tough decisions to make in the next few months. They’re facing a large group of pending free agents, with several starters and many big contributors among them. New Orleans is going to be dealing with limited salary cap resources again this year, but the 2020 signing period could be the first time they’ve really been limited by it.

Not all of their free agents should return. Whether it’s because they’ve played themselves out of the Saints’ price range or have disappointed by not playing as well as expected, some Saints will be looking for new squads in March. Here are our five picks for players who shouldn’t re-sign, for one reason or another.

Ted Ginn Jr., wide receiver

Hopes were high for Ginn after his breakout 2017 campaign with the Saints, having posted the highest rate of receptions per game (3.53), receiving yards per game (52.5), and catch rate (75.7%). Each of those numbers trailed off during his next two years in New Orleans, falling to 1.9 catches and 26.3 yards per game in 2019, with a catch rate of just 53.6%. He closed out the 2019 season with only three catches for 41 yards in his final four games. It’s time for the Saints to invest in younger, more capable options in the receiving corps behind Michael Thomas.

Andrus Peat, guard/tackle

The Saints have been patient with Peat, trying him out at four different offensive line positions before he settled in at left guard. Film study gurus swear that he’s one of ten or twelve best guards in the NFL, but that says more about the sad state of guard play in the league than anything great about Peat. He’s been a liability in too many big moments and is by far the weak link for the Saints up front. Even if they have to draft a rookie guard highly or invest in another veteran, they have to find a way to upgrade his roster spot.

A.J. Klein, linebacker

Klein has developed into a fine starter for the Saints, and even come through in some clutch situations. With two of next year’s three projected starters currently rehabbing injuries, it does make sense for the team to consider re-signing him. But the relatively-high salary cap hits for Demario Davis ($9.9 million) and Kiko Alonso ($6.4 million) make it tough to justify investing too much in a third veteran, and this could be Klein’s last opportunity to cash in with a big NFL contract. It’ll be tough for the Saints to reach a compromise with him, because he probably deserves more than they’ll be able to budget for him.

David Onyemata, defensive tackle

Much like Klein, Onyemata is someone the Saints picked up and developed into a quality NFL player — he hadn’t even heard of football until he started classes at the University of Manitoba. He’s come a long way; Onyemata created 3 sacks and a career-best 11 quarterback hits in 2019 while starting 15 games in place of Sheldon Rankins. He’s a big part of the rotation up front, having led all interior linemen with 37.7 snaps played per game. Losing him would be huge, but he’s set himself up to earn at least as much as the Saints just paid nose tackle Malcom Brown ($15 million over three years), and the Saints may have bigger fish to fry. At least they’ve been developing backups like Shy Tuttle and Taylor Stallworth for larger roles.

Austin Carr, wide receiver

Carr played the fourth-most snaps at wide receiver for the Saints last year (188), which is almost as much as Deonte Harris, Krishawn Hogan, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Keith Kirkwood had combined (213). He used all those opportunities to catch one pass for nine yards. The Saints were so thin at receiver this year that Carr was averaging 31.3 snaps per game and he still wasn’t a viable part of the passing game. If he’s back on the roster in 2020, it’s because the Saints failed to take a serious look at the depth chart and realized big changes are needed to support Drew Brees.

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Eddie Jackson’s goal is to ‘help bring a Super Bowl’ title to Chicago

Newly-extended safety Eddie Jackson not only wants to retire a Bear, but he wants to help bring a Super Bowl championship back to Chicago.

The Chicago Bears didn’t waste any time locking down safety Eddie Jackson to a long-term deal, which secured an anchor to the back end of the Bears’ championship-caliber defense.

But in the city of Chicago, it’s not enough to be “good enough” to win a championship. You have to prove it, which the Bears failed to do in their disappointing 2019 season.

Jackson isn’t getting complacent after signing a massive four-year extension worth $58.4 million with $33 million guaranteed. Not only does Jackson want to retire a Bear, but he wants to help bring a Super Bowl championship to the Bears.

“There’s still a lot of unfinished business out there,” Jackson said. “The most important part is bringing that Super Bowl trophy back to Chicago. I’m not going to stop until I can’t go no more. That’s one thing they’ll get from me. I want to retire a Chicago Bear and I want to do that after I help bring the Super Bowl to the city.”

But following a disappointing 8-8 season, those Super Bowl aspirations feel like a pipe dream to fans. The Bears missed the playoffs for the eighth time in the last decade, and the Bears haven’t won a Super Bowl in 34 years.

Safe to say, the Bears and their fans are hungry for a championship. And Jackson’s goal is to get it for them.

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Breaking down contract status at every position for Bears’ offseason

With the Bears offseason in full swing, we decided to take a look at the current contract status at every position and the cap hit for each.

The Chicago Bears concluded their 2019 season at 8-8, which was quite disappointing considering the sky-high expectations surrounding the team prior to the start of the year.

Now, the attention turns to the offseason, where general manager Ryan Pace will have plenty of work to do and not a whole lot of cap space to do it with — at least at the moment. The Bears have roughly $16 million in cap space, although that is prior to Eddie Jackson’s massive four-year extension.

With the offseason in full swing, we decided to take a look at the current contract status at every position.

For note: Those listed that still have time left on their contracts could be released or traded during the offseason (such as Kyle Long), and some could sign extensions (like Jackson, whose new contract is NOT included in this list, as his current cap hit is unknown.)

This list also includes players entering free agency and those on injured reserve, although not the practice squad.

Here’s a key:

UFA – Unrestricted free agent
RFA – Restricted free agent
ERFA – Exclusive Rights Free Agent
CO – Club option
Ages are as of Sept. 1, 2020

Quarterbacks

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap Hit
Mitchell Trubisky	1	26	$9.237M
Chase Daniel	UFA	33	n/a
Tyler Bray	UFA	28	n/a

Total cap hit: $9.237M

Running backs

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Tarik Cohen	1	25	$894K
David Montgomery	3	23	$946K
Ryan Nall	1	24	$585K

Total cap hit: $2.425M

Wide receivers

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Allen Robinson	1	27	$15M
Anthony Miller	2	25	$1.46M
Cordarrelle Patterson	1	29	$5.75M
Taylor Gabriel	2	29	$6.5M
Javon Wims	2	25	$684K
Riley Ridley	3	24	$755K

Total cap hit: $30.149M

Tight ends

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Trey Burton	2	28	$8.55M
Adam Shaheen	1	25	$1.88M
Ben Braunecker	1	26	$1.62M
Jesper Horsted	1	23	$585K
J.P. Holtz	ERFA	27	n/a
Bradley Sowell	UFA	31	n/a
Eric Saubert	1	26	$735K

Total cap hit: $13.32M

Offensive line

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Cody Whitehair	5	28	$7.4M
Charles Leno Jr.	2	28	$10.3M
Bobby Massie	3	31	$8.3M
Kyle Long	CO	31	$9.6M
James Daniels	2	22	$1.895M
Rashaad Coward	RFA	25	n/a
Alex Bars	1	24	$585K
Cornelius Lucas III	UFA	29	n/a
Ted Larsen	UFA	33	n/a
Corey Levin	1	26	$735K
T.J. Clemmings	UFA	28	n/a

Total cap hit: $38.815M

Defensive line

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Akiem Hicks	2	30	$11.8M
Eddie Goldman	3	26	$10.8M
Bilal Nichols	2	23	$734K
Nick Williams	UFA	30	n/a
Roy Robertson-Harris	RFA	27	n/a
Brent Urban	UFA	29	n/a
Abdullah Anderson	1	24	$585K

Total cap hit: $23.919M

Linebackers

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Khalil Mack	5	29	$26.6M
Roquan Smith	3	23	$5.039M
Danny Trevathan	UFA	30	n/a
Leonard Floyd	1	27	$13.222M
Nick Kwiatkoski	UFA	27	n/a
Kevin Pierre-Louis	UFA	28	n/a
Aaron Lynch	UFA	27	n/a
Isaiah Irving	RFA	26	n/a
Joel Iyiegbuniwe	2	24	$829K
Josh Woods	1	24	$600K
Devante Bond	RFA	27	n/a

Total cap hit: $46.29M

Cornerbacks

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Kyle Fuller	2	28	$11.5M
Prince Amukamara	1	31	$9M
Kevin Toliver II	1	24	$665K
Buster Skrine	2	31	$6.1M
Sherrick McManis	UFA	32	n/a
Duke Shelley	3	23	$616K
Michael Joseph	1	25	$510K
Josh Simmons	2	24	$585K

Total cap hit: $28.976M

Safeties

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Eddie Jackson*	1	26	$901K
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	UFA	27	n/a
Deon Bush	UFA	27	n/a
DeAndre Houston-Carson	RFA	27	n/a

*Four-year extension not factored in

Total cap hit: $901K

Specialists

	Years left	Age	2020 Cap hit
Pat O’Donnell	1	29	$1.85M
Eddy Pineiro	1	24	$660K
Patrick Scales	UFA	32	n/a

Total cap hit: $2.51M

Contract information courtesy of Over The Cap and Spotrac.