Tag: 2021 offseason

Signing John Johnson named Browns smartest offseason move so far

Signing safety John Johnson named the Cleveland Browns smartest offseason move so far

The Cleveland Browns have been busy retooling the defense in the early portion of the offseason. GM Andrew Berry and the Browns have brought in several new faces.

Which one is the best move thus far?

According to Bleacher Report, it’s the biggest fish the Browns have landed: signing safety John Johnson. Cleveland added the Rams starter on a three-year deal worth $33.75 million to upgrade the back end of the secondary.

It’s a smart choice by Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox. In his reasoning for choosing Johnson over (among others) signing CB Troy Hill, DT Malik Jackson or DE Takk McKinley, he notes,

Johnson was largely overshadowed by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey in the Los Angeles Rams defense, but he was an outstanding contributor. Last season, the versatile safety amassed 105 tackles, eight passes defended and an interception. He also allowed an opposing passer rating of just 71.9.

It was also smart to go with a young playmaking safety rather than an older veteran such as the 29-year-old Anthony Harris. Johnson is only 25 and can be a long-term member of the resurgent Browns.

It’s tough to argue with signing a premium starting safety, arguably the biggest position of need on the Browns defense.

Browns offseason hints at something big coming at defensive end

The Cleveland Browns sure appear poised to make a major move at the DE spot opposite Myles Garrett in the very near future

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Something big is coming to the Cleveland Browns at defensive end. I can feel it. GM Andrew Berry and the Browns brass typically do a masterful job of concealing their hand, but on this front, it sure feels like they’ve shown they want to make a splash with the starting DE spot opposite Myles Garrett.

Maybe I’m just drinking in too many of the tea leaves, but it’s hard to not read all the signs from Berry & Co.

And it even goes back to last offseason. Remember the repeated courtship of Jadeveon Clowney? The Browns got lucky in avoiding that disappointment, but it wasn’t for lack of trying to sign the big-ticket DE.

They tried again–allegedly–with J.J. Watt. While no exact details ever have been confirmed, numerous reputable outlets had the Browns as one of the primary teams trying to lure the ex-Texans star. He settled on going to Arizona instead, with a bigger contract than expected, too.

On Tuesday, they let Adrian Clayborn go. The No. 3 DE last year is 32 and didn’t make a great impact on the Browns in his one season in Cleveland, but he was penciled in as the starter opposite Garrett. With Olivier Vernon a pending free agent and also in the early stages of recovering from a torn Achilles, dumping Clayborn leaves just Porter Gustin and Joe Jackson in that spot.

Nothing against Gustin or Jackson, but it’s difficult to envision either of them being more than situational subs on the defense of a legit contender. Clearing Clayborn off the books frees up $3 million more to spend on someone who can be an impact performer for a Browns team that has legitimate contender status.

The big question now is, what’s the move?

Is it a prominent veteran free agent, someone like Cincinnati’s Carl Lawson or Tampa Bay’s Shaq Barrett? The Browns have the cap room to make it happen and the appeal of being a worthy landing spot for a ring-chaser.

Or will it be a draft pick? The pass-rush class doesn’t have any elite standouts, none who project as much above the 11-20 overall range. The Browns currently pick at No. 26. Players like Georgia’s Azeez Ojulari, versatile Tulsa standout Zaven Collins or freakish Penn State athlete Jayson Oweh should all be in consideration. Berry and the Browns have the ammo to trade up if they have a specific target in mind, too.

It’s going to be fun to see how it plays out and who winds up being the new starting defensive end. Expect it to be a significant move, no matter which direction the Browns turn. They’ve laid out too many bread crumbs for that trail to not result in a big feast.

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Report: Jaguars have fourth-highest carry-over figure for 2021

The league has reportedly finalized its 2021 salary cap adjustments, and the Jags’ is the fourth-largest in the league.

It seems the rich are getting richer. Jacksonville already had the most cap space available in the NFL at nearly $82 million, and according to a report from ESPN NFL insider Field Yates, it will add even more to that.

The league has finalized its salary cap “carry-over” figures for 2021, which refers to salary cap the team didn’t use during the previous year which can now carry over. According to this report, the Jaguars have the fourth-highest cap adjustment in the league, carrying over more than $26.7 million.

Only three teams had a larger cap adjustment (The Cowboys, Browns and Jets). Assuming the NFL sets the salary cap at $180 million per team, which has not been finalized, this adjustment would bring Jacksonville’s total salary cap to over $206.7 million. In terms of their figure for available space, Over the Cap has them leading the league with $85,243,714 for new contracts.

For a team that went 1-15 last season, this is good news. There’s a number of high-profile players the Jaguars could target in free agency, including players at receiver and on the offensive and defensive lines. And especially after this adjustment, it seems they will have the capital to be aggressive on the market.

Bears re-sign several exclusive rights free agents

The Bears took care of some of their own re-signing several exclusive rights free agents, including Alex Bars, Josh Woods and J.P. Holtz.

The Chicago Bears announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed five exclusive rights free agents, including offensive lineman Alex Bars, inside linebacker Josh Woods, outside linebacker James Vaughters, running back Ryan Nall, and tight end J.P. Holtz.

Exclusive rights free agents are players with fewer than three accrued NFL seasons and were only permitted to negotiate and sign with their own team.

Bars has become a promising prospect on the Bears offensive line last season, where he started the final eight games — at center, left guard and mostly right guard — as well as Chicago’s wild-card game against the Saints at right guard. He’s a part of a promising interior of the offensive line heading into 2021, alongside fellow undrafted Notre Dame teammate Sam Mustipher.

Woods, a former undrafted free agent out of Maryland, played in 15 games last season — as a reserve — and tallied 14 total tackles on defense and seven stops on special teams. He filled in at linebacker when starter Roquan Smith suffered an elbow injury in the regular-season finale.

Vaughters, Nall and Holtz have also become key reserves for the Bears, as well as on special teams.

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Offensive line may be bigger offseason concern for Cowboys than even secondary

There is no denying that the secondary is a huge need for the Cowboy’s this offseason. But, could the offensive line be a bigger need?

With the start of NFL free agency quickly approaching and the NFL draft just 57 days away, the talk surrounding the Dallas Cowboys will continue to center around the Dak Prescott contract saga. However, coming off a 6-10 season there are a number of other needs Dallas must address this offseason.

The Cowboy’s defense last season was historically bad, they surrendered a team record 473 points and gave up the second-most yards in team history. Apart from Prescott’s injury, most of last season’s struggles can be a attributed to the defense. With last season’s struggles and the impeding loss of three starters, it’s been very easy to tab the secondary as Dallas’ biggest need by both fans and media alike. Nonetheless, Football Outsiders lists getting improved play out of their offensive line as the biggest concern for the Cowboys this offseason.

“From Prescott’s first year in 2016 to 2019, the team finished in the top eight in adjusted line yards every season. Last year, they finished 12th, and star running back Ezekiel Elliott suffered his career worst season by both yards per attempt (4.0) and rushing DVOA (-1.0%).”

The drop-off in rushing wasn’t only felt by Elliott. Backup Tony Pollard lost an entire yard per carry, from 5.3 to 4.3, off his 2019 average.

Injuries were the biggest culprit for the decline of a Dallas offensive line that surrendered 44 sacks in 2020. With the Cowboy’s top three tackles, Tyron Smith (two games) La’el Collins (zero games) and Cameron Erving (five games) all playing limited time due to injury, Dallas was forced to play with undrafted rookie Terrance Steele and second-year player Brandon Knight. Although the two youngsters fought admirably during the season and improved as the year went on, the drop-off in talent is considerable when comping them to Smith and Collins.

The interior of the offensive line had their share of struggles in 2020 as well. All-Pro RG Zack Martin was limited to parts of 10 games during the season and even had to fill-in at tackle during one point. At center, Joe Looney and rookie Tyler Biadasz split time, with the latter likely to take over as the full-time starter in 2021. While Connor Williams started all 16 games at LG in 2020, the former second-round pick continued to struggle at times. Look for former third-round pick Connor McGovern to push Williams for a starting job after filling in for Zack Martin and playing well last year.

If Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins can stay healthy the offensive line unit can still be formidable for the 2021 season. However, both Smith and Martin will be over 30 next season and while it’s not uncommon for offensive linemen to play well into their 30’s, Smith has missed time with injuries the last five seasons. With Joe Looney and Cameron Erving free agents, Dallas could look to add some depth this offseason.

Yes, the secondary will still be a position that Dallas will likely address in both free agency and the draft.

With Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods all preparing to enter free agency, the Cowboys may have to replace three starters. According to Football Outsiders, Dallas could have the hardest time replacing Lewis.

“[Lewis] finished among the top 10 qualifiers allowing 6.2 yards per target with a 60% coverage success rate playing primarily in the slot”.

During the last decade, the Dallas Cowboy’s best seasons seem to coincide with the play of their offensive line. When the big guys were healthy and on their game, success seemed to follow, whether it was Tony Romo or Dak Prescott that lined up behind them. Protecting the quarterback is and always should be the priority.

So while the case can be made that the secondary is the biggest need to fill for the Cowboys this offseason, the offensive may be the more substantial concern.

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Chris Simms: ‘Mitch (Trubisky) isn’t the worst thing in the world’

The Bears have been scrambling looking for a quarterback this offseason. Could Mitchell Trubisky be an option?

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Chicago Bears have a quarterback problem.

The Bears have been scrambling looking for a quarterback this offseason following another uneven season from both Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles. And, so far, it’s not encouraging.

Mike Florio and Chris Simms discussed the Bears’ quandary at quarterback, including the possibility of Trubisky returning in 2021. Florio wouldn’t be surprised if Chicago ultimately came to the decision that he might be the best option out there.

Simms believes the Bears can win with Trubisky, although there are plenty of questions surrounding this team in regards to the former No. 2 overall pick. Whether that’s how the fanbase would react or whether Matt Nagy would actually change his tune and help get this offense back rolling like they did at the end of the season.

But Simms brings up a good point, which has left Chicago scrambling this offseason: What are the other options out there?

The Bears hold the 20th overall pick in the NFL draft, which won’t land them a top quarterback prospect, and the best free-agent options out there include Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick, as Dak Prescott is expected to return to Dallas.

Simms noted that “Mitch isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

While that’s true, that statement is indicative of how the Bears have handled the quarterback problem in the past — they’ve settled. This franchise as a whole has settled for mediocrity, which was clear during the end-of-year press conferences, and it’s certainly no recipe for success.

Although, this offseason, you can’t say the Bears haven’t been trying to fix the quarterback position. They’ve inquired — and/or offered — about quarterbacks on or rumored to be on the trade block, from Deshaun Watson to Matthew Stafford to Derek Carr to Carson Wentz.

The problem is, as Simms noted, is that Chicago isn’t exactly an attractive destination given the uncertain futures of general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy.

But even if Chicago wanted him back, there’s also no guarantee Trubisky would want to return to the Bears given how everything transpired last season. It might be best for both sides to go their separate ways at this point.

While it’s still most likely that Trubisky doesn’t return to Chicago, the Bears are running out of options on the quarterback market. There aren’t many viable options in free agency — where Trubisky would arguably be the best option. Which means we could be gearing up for Pace to make a big move to grab a top quarterback prospect in the NFL draft or else suffer through an entire season of Foles.

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2021 NFL offseason: Important upcoming dates to know

Franchise tag dates, free agency tampering period and more dates to know

The NFL’s offseason calendar begins to ramp up this coming week, and it won’t cease progressing forward throughout the rest of the period between now and the onset of training camp in late July.

Here are some important upcoming dates to know from the NFL’s official calendar

February 23-March 9: Teams can apply the franchise and/or transition tags to pending free agents during this period

March 15-17: Legal negotiating window before free agency, a.k.a the “legal tampering” period

March 17: The new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET

March 17: After 4 p.m. teams can begin officially signing free agents

April 29-May 1: The 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland

The exact dates for OTAs, minicamps and the beginning of training camp are not yet established and will vary from team to team.

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Falcons 2020 draft class ranked No. 16 by NFL.com

The Atlanta Falcons’ 2020 draft class only consisted of six players, headlined by the selection of Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell in the first round.

The Atlanta Falcons’ 2020 draft class only consisted of six players, headlined by the selection of Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell in the first round.

Initially, very few draft analysts had good things to say about the Falcons’ draft. One year later, the class definitely looks better than originally advertised. Terrell was one of the most criticized first-round selections. While he did get off to a rocky start, Terrell went on to show all the traits of a No. 1 corner.

There’s still a lot to learn about Atlanta’s 2020 class as a whole, though. NFL.com’s rookie report card — which gives each draft class a grade and ranking — listed the Falcons at No. 16 and gave the team a “B” grade. Nick Shook complimented Terrell’s upside:

Terrell’s stat line — 74 tackles, seven passes defensed, three forced fumbles, one interception (and nearly two) — is promising. The upside with Terrell is visible; he just needs more time to hone his craft and become an effective professional corner.

The real strength of the class, as Shook puts it, is fourth-round pick Mykal Walker out of Fresno State:

Walker carries this class, earning an overall grade of 74 from PFF and an elite coverage grade of 90.7 as a rookie, giving the Falcons solid value from a fourth-round pick. He didn’t play anywhere near a full season’s worth of defensive snaps in 2020, but that’s bound to change in 2021.

However, he wasn’t as high on the rest of the draft class:

Hawkins ended up spending most of his time on special teams, though he did register a half-sack in Atlanta’s blowout win over Las Vegas. Hofrichter appeared in all 16 games and dropped 17 punts inside the opposing 20, but landed near the bottom of the league in average yards per punt.

The Falcons have hired a new general manager and coaching staff, which could potentially hurt the development of last year’s draft class. On the other hand, head coach Arthur Smith has said he is a believer in talent dictating scheme. Atlanta currently holds the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

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Report: Bears never made an offer for Carson Wentz

While the Bears did their due diligence on Carson Wentz, they never made an offer to the Eagles, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer.

Rest easy, Bears fans. The Carson Wentz saga has officially come to an end.

The Philadelphia Eagles are trading the former No. 2 overall pick — and his massive contract — to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that could turn into a first-rounder, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Chicago, along with Indianapolis, was mentioned as a front-runner for Wentz throughout this process, especially given quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo’s experience with Wentz back in Philadelphia.

While the Bears have been doing their due diligence on the quarterback market this offseason — including Wentz — they never made an offer to the Eagles, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer.

There were reports indicating the Eagles were seeking out two first-round picks for Wentz, something many believed general manager Ryan Pace wouldn’t relinquish, despite being desperate for a quarterback.

Ultimately, the Eagles weren’t able to get much back in return for Wentz, an indication that perhaps Chicago wasn’t all-in on Wentz.

The Bears trading for Wentz wouldn’t have been the worst move. But it was always the cost that was the greatest concern, especially considering Wentz’s regression, injury history and contract.

Now, we’re back to square one as the quarterback market continues to thin for the Bears. Could we be in for a potential one-year extension for Mitchell Trubisky or Pace trading up in the NFL draft to grab his guy?

We’ll soon see as the quarterback saga continues in Chicago.

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Fact or fiction: Are Dolphins limited in free agency spending ability?

Fact or fiction: Are Dolphins limited in free agency spending ability?

The Miami Dolphins’ salary cap situation up for a bit of a debate. Because while Miami ranks 8th as things currently stand in their 2021 cap space across the league, their rough estimate of cap spending power (somewhere around $34M) is perceived as a tough number to swallow and the Dolphins are perceived to be facing a scarcity of spending power in 2021.

So which is it? Are the Dolphins in good position relative to the rest of the NFL or are they a team that is going to struggle to “keep up” relative to the heavy hitters in free agency next month?

Ultimately, Miami is operating under the same unexpected deviation from the salary cap trend as everyone else. And yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and New England Patriots are projected to boast nearly twice the salary cap as Miami is projected to have on the books. But when you consider what the rest of the league currently looks like from a cap and spending power perspective, not every free agent in the league is going to flock to one of the four teams with a dramatic excess of cap.

Will it prevent the Dolphins from locking in some of the premiere free agents? Probably. The team can’t realistically offer Allen Robinson $20M per season. Nor can they offer Lions WR Kenny Golladay the reported $16M per season he’s looking for (not that he’s a fit for Miami as things currently stand). But there are somewhere around 10 teams around the league currently projected to sit over the salary cap without having conducted a transaction. Another three have less than $10M in cap space. Miami’s projected cap space is more than double the team than ranks 17th to sit atop the bottom half of the league.

Everyone has a money problem right now, with the exceptions being the Colts, Patriots, Jaguars and Jets. And once those teams concede the financial desires of some of the top free agents, then what? Miami will be as well positioned as nearly any team to find fair market price based on what the restrictions of the 2021 cap will allow.

So while the Dolphins don’t have as much cap space as what was anticipated before a global pandemic delivered a major blow to the league’s revenue sharing, they’re still in great shape relative to the league with wiggle room to create significant more space with a few simple cuts. Releasing Albert Wilson, Jakeem Grant and Clayton Fejedelem, for example, saves over $7M against the cap. Each of these three figure to be marginalized players with the points of emphasis Miami carries into 2021.

And that doesn’t even get into some of the creative restructures Miami can do to some of their short-term contracts to manufacture more space or any strategic moves involving players like Bobby McCain (who the team could save over $5.5M against the cap for if they chose to part ways this offseason).

The point being this: the Dolphins’ cap situation allows them plenty of flexibility to make a competitive offer to any player on the market. And that, relative to the rest of the league, is a great place to be. Unless you’re measuring them to one of the four top-cap teams in the league. But even then, give them a signing or two apiece and suddenly Miami can find themselves on equal footing next month.