Tag: 2021 NFL Free Agency

Video: Watch John Johnson III play the run in this highlight reel

Video: Cleveland Browns new safety John Johnson III is not only great against the pass but also against the run. A great highlight video.

When the Cleveland Browns signed John Johnson III this offseason the hype was primarily around his ability in coverage. That excitement is based on a lot of tape study and Pro Football Focus grading. PFF graded Johnson as the third-best coverage safety in the NFL at 86.6.

Johnson was also graded as the overall third-best safety in the NFL with a grade of 85.3. Not surprisingly, this also means he was a quality run defender as noted by his PFF run-defense grade of 81.6.

With the Browns planning to play three safeties often, taking a linebacker off the field to do so, Johnson’s ability against the run will be vital. The team’s other two starting safeties, Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit will need to play the run and pass well, also, but it is Johnson who will take on a major role in the box.

Today we got a video highlight reel reminder of just how good Johnson is at this role:

 

Plenty of exceptional plays here where it is clear that when Johnson diagnoses a play and makes a decision, he is quick to react. His “click and close” speed keeps runs from getting past the line of scrimmage.

Johnson’s versatility will be helpful against the Baltimore Ravens stout rushing attack but also against mobile quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, as well.

With all the additions this offseason, it will be exciting to watch the Browns defense come together. Johnson could end up being the team’s play-caller on the field and, perhaps, biggest offseason addition.

Lions sign free agent WR Chad Hansen, cut Jonathan Adams

Hansen played in college with Jared Goff

The Detroit Lions have made a move at wide receiver. On Friday, the team announced it has signed veteran free agent wideout Chad Hansen.

Hansen, 26, played for the Houston Texans in 2020. He hauled in 17 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in five games, starting two. It was his most prolific season since joining the NFL as a fourth-round pick with the New York Jets in 2017. Hansen played his college ball at California, where his quarterback for most of his Bears tenure was new Lions QB Jared Goff. He has been a frequent offseason workout partner with Goff.

To make room for Hansen, the team cut undrafted rookie Jonathan Adams from Arkansas State.

Jacksonville’s best and worst offseason contracts

The Jaguars were active on the free-agent market this offseason, but some of those deals make more sense in hindsight than others.

After a franchise-worst 1-15 season that netted the first overall pick for the first time in team history, there wasn’t much for the Jaguars to do but aggressively hit the free-agent market. And aggressive, they were.

The team added several immediate impact players, namely cornerback Shaquill Griffin and receiver Marvin Jones Jr., the latter of which is considered Jacksonville’s best offseason deal, according to Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger.

Best: Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. — Two years, $12.5 million ($9 million total guaranteed)

Jones was incredibly reliable in his stint with the Detroit Lions, earning PFF grades between 71.9 and 76.3 in all five seasons with the team on at least 500 offensive snaps each year. His 59.1% contested catch rate since 2018 ranks fourth among 32 wide receivers with at least 50 such targets over that span. After serving as a consistently reliable go-up-and-get-it receiver for quarterback Matthew Stafford, he’ll look to do the same for 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.

Jones also brings an important veteran presence to a wide receiver room led by D.J. Chark (24 years old) and Laviska Shenault Jr. (22).

At 31 years old, Jones is a veteran that’s a bit past his prime. But with that being said, he’s coming off a 2020 season that saw him receive career-highs in both targets and receptions, and the result was his most productive season since 2017, finishing with 978 yards.

Paired with a young receiver duo in D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault, and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a nice arsenal of targets in the receiving game. However, the wide receiver room is getting a bit crowded, and that brings us to Jacksonville’s worst offseason signing, according to Spielberger.

Worst: Wide receiver/Cornerback/Special teamer Jamal Agnew — Three years, $14.25 million ($4 million total guaranteed)

While it remains to be seen if Agnew will once again be a backup wide receiver like he was in 2020 (after years serving as an end-of-depth-chart cornerback), his main contributions will likely be on special teams. Agnew ranks fourth in punt return grade (79.2) since he came into the league in 2017 and ninth in kick return grade (69.4) among qualifiers. However, $4.75 million per year is a rather hefty sum for an above-average return man, especially considering the initial reports of the deal from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo characterized the incentives that could push the value to $21 million in total as “reachable.”

That said, the guarantees are not particularly substantial. The choice here for the Jaguars could have been a number of players, as they seemed to pay a bit more than they probably needed to for a handful of 2021 free agents, including safety Rayshawn Jenkins, among others.

A teammate of Jones in Detroit, the decision to bring in Agnew was a bit of a head-scratcher during the offseason. It’s fair to assume that the Jags see most of his value as a returner, but even then, the price tag the team is paying him would seem to indicate that it hopes he’ll contribute in the passing game, as well.

But he hasn’t exactly demonstrated that aptitude. In four seasons, he has just 16 catches for 105 receiving yards. Unless he’s going to break through and see targets over all the players above him on the depth chart, Jacksonville will mostly look to his special teams impact to justify the contract it gave him. In his career, he has over 2,500 return yards.

Overall, the Agnew signing isn’t the worst deal, but the fact that it was followed by the decision to sign Jones raises questions about how the former fits into this team.

Lions sign free agent DT Brian Price

Price has bounced around the NFL for the last five years

The Detroit Lions filled out the 90-man roster in a big way on Tuesday morning. The Lions announced they have signed free agent defensive tackle Brian Price to a contract.

Price, all 322 pounds of him, spent the 2020 season with the Green Bay Packers. The 26-year-old nose tackle from Texas-San Antonio bounced between the active roster and the practice squad. He’s played in 24 career games in five NFL seasons with stops in six different cities, including two stints with the Packers.

The Lions had an opening after placing DT Joel Heath on injured reserve late last week. Heath suffered a season-ending knee injury during a non-contact drill in last week’s OTAs.

The Jets have money to spend — if Joe Douglas wants to

New York currently boasts the second-most salary cap space in the NFL entering post-June 1 free agency.

The Jets entered free agency as one of the richest teams in football and made good use of their wealth, handing out big contracts to fill pressing needs and spending wisely to upgrade their depth on both sides of the football.

Despite all the moves New York made in free agency, Joe Douglas still has plenty left in the bank. According to Over The Cap, the Jets rank second in salary cap space with $25 million — a number that does not include $2.8 million in savings from restructuring Alex Lewis’ contract.

New York still has to sign its top-four draft picks, which will eat up $9.1 million in cap space, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. That will leave the Jets with $18.7 million to spend, but that number could grow as post-June 1 free agency approaches.

If Douglas and Marcus Maye come to an agreement on a contract extension, it would lower the safety’s current $10.6 million cap charge from his franchise tag tender. There’s also always the possibility the Jets rework other contracts or cut someone.

Whether the Jets extend Maye this offseason or not, it remains to be seen how Douglas will allocate the remaining salary cap space. He could either spend on veteran upgrades in the secondary — such as Steven Nelson or Richard Sherman — or elect to roll the unused cap space in 2022. The NFL’s salary cap could increase by as much as 14 percent next offseason. If it hits the $208.2 million ceiling, New York would be $67 million under the salary cap threshold, not counting any potential 2021 rollover.

Douglas still has work to do when it comes to building up Gang Green’s roster before training camp and the beginning of the regular season, but that does not necessarily mean he is going to spend big while doing so. If Douglas opts to roll a chunk of New York’s remaining cap space into 2022, the Jets will be positioned to spend big once again next March.

That does not sound like a bad proposition for a team in the midst of a rebuild.

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Free agent RB Todd Gurley visits Lions

Free agent RB Todd Gurley visits the Detroit Lions

Free agent running back Todd Gurley was in Allen Park visiting the Detroit Lions during the last day of this week’s OTAs.

Gurley has connections to the new Lions front office. Brad Holmes, now the GM in Detroit, was the director of collegiate scouting for the Los Angeles Rams when that team picked Gurley No. 10 overall in the 2015 NFL draft. He was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons after knee problems sullied his strong early career with the Rams.

Jags WR Marvin Jones Jr. speaks highly of team’s situation on offense

The recent free-agent addition said he likes the energy around the Jaguars right now, and he’s excited to contribute in Year 1.

When incoming, high-profile free agents are hyped to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars, you can tell there’s a culture change going on within the franchise. On a recent episode of the “O-Zone Podcast” with Jaguars.com senior writer John Oesher, Marvin Jones Jr., a free agent signing from Detroit, spoke highly of the teams new pieces in Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence.

“When there’s a coach like coach Urban, you bring in guys — generational talents, who I think Trevor Lawrence is — and along with my offense that I know,” Jones said, according to transcripts obtained from 247Sports. “I’m running with the No. 1s, but I’m still coach. When I’m not in there, I’m like, ‘Boom, this is what you’ve got to do.'”

Jones has a lot of experience within this offensive system. Jacksonville’s new offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, held the same role with Jones for the last two seasons in Detroit.

“I know (the offense) like the back of my hand,” Jones said. “So why not? Why wouldn’t this be the situation for me? So that was my whole thought process, going in, coming in.”

Jones is coming off a 2020 season that was his most productive since 2017, making 76 catches for 978 yards and nine touchdowns. The Jaguars invested a decent amount of money in the 31-year-old, especially considering the fact that they already have a pair of impressive young receivers on the roster in D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault. He signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal, and he will likely see significant action on the outside in 2021.

“I just want to catch the ball and make great plays, and that’s all I’ve ever done so that’s all I want to do,” Jones said. “So when I go in there and the stadium’s full or it’s not full, I just want to make those big plays, those big impactful plays and score a lot of touchdowns. So it’s all fun. I just keep going. So when there’s any doubt in my mind, I’m just going to stop. But I don’t see that happening now, when I’m playing at the level that I’m playing. But I’m not going to try to chase any records.

“… You always want something to look forward to and you just want to be around good people, great people with great energy, and the moment that I’m around bad people with bad energy and I just feel bad about the situation, then I’m just not going to play. But being here, I don’t see that happening for a while. So we’ll see.”

Jags fans will hope that “great energy” in the building translates to early on-field success for the new regime.

Note: All used quotes were transcribed by 247Sports.

Lions sign free agent OT Darrin Paulo

Paulo spent 2020 on the Broncos practice squad

On the eve of the OTAs, the Detroit Lions have added another offensive tackle to the mix. The Lions announced they have signed free agent OT Darrin Paulo.

The 6-5, 317-pound Paulo is entering his second NFL season. He spent 2020 on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad as an undrafted rookie out of Utah. Paulo also had time with the New Orleans Saints during the 2020 offseason. He was a starting left tackle for Utah but projects almost exclusively as a right tackle in the NFL.

Signing Paulo brings the Lions to a full 90-man roster entering this week’s OTAs in Allen Park.

Jets workout veteran WR Tavon Austin

Austin spent a few months with the 49ers in 2020 before playing the last four games with the Green Bay Packers.

New York worked out veteran wide receiver Tavon Austin on Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The 31-year-old Austin, who went eighth overall in 2013, spent last season with the 49ers and Packers. San Francisco released Austin with an injury settlement midway through the season after he landed on injured reserve with a knee ailment. He played 30 snaps for the Packers in the final four games of the season, tallying just five receptions for 20 yards and returning three punts for 14 yards.

Austin, if signed, would provide more offensive depth as a multi-dimensional player who can catch passes and run. He’d be a solid veteran presence for second-round rookie Elijah Moore, a player with whom he shares a similar build and skill set.

Austin caught 194 receptions for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns, as well as 184 rushes for 1,238 yards and nine touchdowns, with the Rams from 2013-2017. He also spent two seasons with the Cowboys, tallying 419 total yards on 33 touches for four total touchdowns. Austin can also return kicks and punts.

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Report: Vikings have had preliminary conversations with WR Dede Westbrook

Do you want the Minnesota Vikings to sign free agent wide receiver Dede Westbrook, who was previously with the Jaguars?

Minnesota found good value throughout the 2021 NFL draft. That said, the Vikings still have some possible openings for next season.

For one, the team did not take a defensive end until the third round. Minnesota needs a starter opposite DEvDanielle Hunter. The team also did not take a wideout until the fifth round, despite having a need at wide receiver three.

Josina Anderson reported that the Vikings are at least in the market for a third wide receiver. Minnesota and Cincinnati have been in preliminary conversations with Dede Westbrook, a wideout who has played all four of his NFL seasons with the Jaguars. Westbrook also played under then-Jaguars wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, now with the Vikings in that role.

I think Westbrook could be a great option for Minnesota. The team could use a more explosive player at wide receiver three, and Westbrook definitely has play-making potential. We will update you if anything happens.