Tag: contract

2021 NFL free agency: Tracking all the Seattle Seahawks’ moves

A live tracker of all the Seattle Seahawks’ signings, departures and trades throughout the start of the 2021 new league year and free agency.

The 2021 NFL new league year kicks off on March 17 at 1:00 p.m but there will be plenty of moves ahead of the official start of free agency – teams will be releasing players and agents will be negotiating potential deals during the legal tampering period.

Clubs have three types of free agents: unrestricted, restricted and exclusive rights. For a look at the Seahawks pending free agents for 2021, click here.

We will be tracking all of the Seahawks’ moves throughout the first wave of free agency, including new signings, player departures and any trades Seattle is able to execute, so check back often. The most recent information will appear at the top of the post.

Here’s what we know so far:

Seahawks tendered defensive back Ryan Neal.

 

Seahawks tendered guard Kyle Fuller and defensive tackle Bryan Mone as exclusive rights free agents, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

 

Seahawks released defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Seahawks released wide receiver Josh Gordon.

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How does Drew Brees retiring impact the salary cap?

The New Orleans Saints have expected Drew Brees to retire for some time now. They’ve built a plan to account for him into their salary cap.

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Drew Brees is retiring. The Hall of Fame-bound New Orleans Saints quarterback made that official on Sunday in an all-time great Instagram post starring his children, who shared the news with the football world. So how does it influence the Saints’ high-stakes salary cap situation?

In brief, it doesn’t really change anything. Brees already agreed to a $24 million pay cut earlier this offseason, signaling his decision to step away from the game, meaning his 2021 salary cap hit is just $11.15 million. If he were moved to the reserve/retired list now, that would raise the hit to $22.65 million.

Instead, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Saints will wait until later this summer to file the retirement paperwork, which will designate Brees a post-June 1 cut and defer $11.5 million in dead money into 2022. His 2021 salary cap hit remains the same, and the remainder will be paid off next offseason. If the salary cap remains stagnant at $182.5 million, Brees will end up accounting for about 6% of it in 2022. If it rises, as is expected between the additional regular season game and new broadcasting rights contracts, then his final cap hit will be even more negligible.

That’s not quite the version of cap hell we’ve been told to expect for life after Brees. His departure leaves a huge void to fill at quarterback, but it’s not gutting the team financially. This is something the Saints have expected for years. Now it’s time to see the next step in their plan.

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Taysom Hill restructures contract, including $140M in funny money

The New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with backup QB Taysom Hill, saving salary cap space and setting Twitter on fire.

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Calm down, everyone: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the New Orleans Saints have restructured their contract with Taysom Hill in the wake of Drew Brees’ retirement, including $140 million over four years in a contract extension — but it’s funny money. Monopoly money. All of that money voids automatically for salary cap accounting purposes, making this an incredible troll towards anyone paying attention.

No, Hill is not going to earn $35 million a year. Schefter clarified that Hill’s restructure lowers his salary cap hit by more than $7.5 million, converting most of his $10.72 million base salary into a signing bonus spread out over the years of this new (automatically voiding) contract. The Saints were only about $12 million in the red anyway so now they’re nearly cap-compliant.

So why bother with that outrageous $140 million figure? Because the new years added onto the contract will void automatically, the Saints could have written anything they wanted; none of it is guaranteed or counting against the cap. Instead, in doing this they continued to preach the company line of viewing Hill as a franchise quarterback worth top dollar. They just aren’t actually paying him that.

Consider it a boost to morale with Jameis Winston likely returning to compete with him for the starting job. Hill didn’t show enough in his limited starts to win it outright, so if Winston re-signs or if the Saints bring in another quarterback, Hill is in for a tough contest to replace No. 9. This is just a small gesture to reaffirm the team’s belief in him while helping their salary cap outlook.

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Kyler Murray’s fifth year option in 2023 could exceed $23 million

Kyler Murray could see more than $23 million on his fifth-year option.

The fifth-year option numbers were recently released for the rookies of the 2018 NFL draft. Current Cleveland Brown and former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield is set to earn over $18 million if his option is picked up. That number will impact the 2022 season as Mayfield is going into his fourth year. Cardinals Wire recently looked at what those numbers could be Kyler Murray in 2023.

The Arizona Cardinals know they have a two-year window in which they have quarterback Kyler Murray on a rookie contract. His cap hit, even as a former No. 1 pick, is a manageable $9.7 million in 2021.

Knowing that, the Cardinals have been aggressive in adding talent around him to try and win a championship before Murray will become very expensive.

Even the fifth-year option in 2023 will be pricey.

Cardinals Wire provided these bullet points on the potential contract for Murray.

  • He would make more than $16.5 million no matter what.
  • If he hits the playing time requirement (he will and probably already has), he would make more than $18.5 million.
  • For making one Pro Bowl, which Murray has done, that salary goes up to a little more than $23.0 million.
  • For multiple Pro Bowls, it would be more than $25.1 million.

Provided that Murray is selected to yet another Pro Bowl, he could see that number go north of $25.1 million.

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Former Saints RB Mark Ingram agrees to free agent deal with Texans

Former New Orleans Saints RB Mark Ingram agreed to a free agent deal with the Houston Texans after being released by the Baltimore Ravens.

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Hey, good for Mark Ingram. There was some speculation among New Orleans Saints fans that he could return at a veteran’s minimum salary to replace running back Latavius Murray (a potential salary cap cut), but instead he’ll be running with the Houston Texans in 2021. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday afternoon that Ingram agreed to a free agent contract worth up to $3 million. That’s not a price the Saints would likely pay, especially if they had to move on from Murray to get there.

Ingram made a Pro Bowl appearance after signing with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, but their loaded depth chart saw him take a step back in the rotation. His reluctance to play special teams made him a healthy scratch late in his Ravens career, so now he’ll look to compete for touches with David Johnson, who signed an extension this offseason.

It would have been a great story to see Ingram come back to New Orleans and win the franchise rushing yards record (he’s ranked second-best in team history with 6,007, behind Deuce McAllister’s 6,096) to go with his rushing touchdowns record (50). Especially considering that Alvin Kamara is probably going to break that scoring record very soon — he’s already bagged 43 touchdown runs, leading the league with 21 scores on the ground last season.

That said, it’ll take time for Kamara to catch up to Ingram and McAllister’s rushing yards totals (he’s only up to 3,340 so far), but his long-term contract extension gives him a real shot at owning both records. It’s just a shame he and Ingram couldn’t stay together as one of the NFL’s most electric running back duos.

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Report: Saints expected to release DT Malcom Brown

The New Orleans Saints expect to free up about $5 million in cap space by releasing nose tackle Malcom Brown in a salary cap-minded move.

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NFL insider Josina Anderson reported Friday that the New Orleans Saints intend to terminate their contract with starting nose tackle Malcom Brown, saving nearly $5 million against the salary cap. This wasn’t entirely unexpected; Brown’s name popped up in trade talks recently, but between teams over-valuing their draft picks and under-valuing good run defenders like Brown, it was probably difficult for the Saints to cut a deal.

Still, it’s a tougher loss than it appears on the surface. Brown was a force in the middle of the Saints defensive line, and the unit noticeably stepped back when he wasn’t available against the Philadelphia Eagles (snapping their 55-game streak of games played without allowing a 100-yard rusher). It won’t be easy to replace him, and the problem is compounded if veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins leaves in free agency.

That’s not to say the Saints don’t have options. David Onyemata has developed into one of the sport’s better interior defenders. Young backups Shy Tuttle and Malcolm Roach have earned more minutes. But moving on from both Brown and Rankins in the same offseason creates a void of experience that no one on the roster is positioned well to replace.

Brown initially signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Saints as a New England Patriots free agent back in 2019. He appeared in 29 regular season games and 3 playoff games, all starts. Just 27 years old, it shouldn’t take long for him to land on his feet.

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Report: Saints expected to release DT Malcom Brown

The New Orleans Saints expect to free up about $5 million in cap space by releasing nose tackle Malcom Brown in a salary cap-minded move.

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NFL insider Josina Anderson reported Friday that the New Orleans Saints intend to terminate their contract with starting nose tackle Malcom Brown, saving nearly $5 million against the salary cap. This wasn’t entirely unexpected; Brown’s name popped up in trade talks recently, but between teams over-valuing their draft picks and under-valuing good run defenders like Brown, it was probably difficult for the Saints to cut a deal.

Still, it’s a tougher loss than it appears on the surface. Brown was a force in the middle of the Saints defensive line, and the unit noticeably stepped back when he wasn’t available against the Philadelphia Eagles (snapping their 55-game streak of games played without allowing a 100-yard rusher). It won’t be easy to replace him, and the problem is compounded if veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins leaves in free agency.

That’s not to say the Saints don’t have options. David Onyemata has developed into one of the sport’s better interior defenders. Young backups Shy Tuttle and Malcolm Roach have earned more minutes. But moving on from both Brown and Rankins in the same offseason creates a void of experience that no one on the roster is positioned well to replace.

Brown initially signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Saints as a New England Patriots free agent back in 2019. He appeared in 29 regular season games and 3 playoff games, all starts. Just 27 years old, it shouldn’t take long for him to land on his feet.

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Michael Thomas restructures contract to save more Saints cap space

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas agreed to a restructured contract, which saved more salary cap space for 2021 and helped him out, too.

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It’s a race to $182.5 million, give or take a couple million dollars. And the New Orleans Saints are well on their way to reaching salary cap compliance after restructuring contracts with several of their cornerstone players. They already moved some money around in deals with Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, as well as Wil Lutz and David Onyemata, but now the bigger names are starting to get involved as the Saints make a final push ahead of free agency.

Remember, these are not pay cuts. The players are getting a nice bonus check now instead of when they expected it in the fall. There are real, long-term risks involved in restructuring contracts for short-term cap relief. That hasn’t stopped the Saints before, and it isn’t slowing them down now. After issuing the franchise tag to pending free agent Marcus Williams, New Orleans had to work overtime to get back on track.

Michael Thomas is a big restructure, reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, lowering his 2021 salary cap hit from $18.8 million (highest on the team) to about $10.1 million. The Saints did this by converting a large chunk of his $12.6 million base salary and his preexisting bonuses (a $200,000 workout bonus and a lucrative $6 million from his initial signing bonus) into a new signing bonus, which raises his future cap hits and gives him more job security. Consider that a rebuttal to the speculation that he could be traded or that there’s bad blood between him and the team after a frustrating down year in 2020. This move ties him tighter to the team, meaning they won’t be able to get out of his contract until at least 2023.

This follows a series of salary cap cuts after the Saints parted ways with veteran players like Kwon Alexander, Janoris Jenkins, and Emmanuel Sanders. After all of those moves and this restructured deal with Thomas, the Saints are somewhere between $16.8 million and $20.9 million over the cap (it’s hard to pin down an exact number with so many ongoing transactions). They’re flying very close to cap compliance, and extensions with Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, and Marshon Lattimore should get them there — if not below the cap far enough to start signing new free agents.

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Saints release CB Janoris Jenkins in first difficult salary cap cut

The New Orleans Saints are in a tough salary cap situation, forcing them to release starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins and open a big hole.

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The hits keep coming for the New Orleans Saints, with multiple reports breaking news on Thursday of the termination of their contract with cornerback Janoris Jenkins. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill suggested a release could be coming, which was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The move saves New Orleans $7 million against the salary cap.

And this one hits differently from the team’s previous cap cuts. Jenkins was the team’s most consistent cornerback last season, sometimes outplaying No. 1 cover corner Marshon Lattimore when the youngster’s effort flagged against the lesser competition. He came away with 12 pass deflections (3 interceptions) as well as 55 combined tackles (44 solo, 2 for loss) in 13 games with the Saints.

Jenkins was owed a $10 million base salary this year that could have been converted into a signing bonus to save cap room, but his age (32) and the volatility of the position made that option undesirable. It’s also possible he was reluctant to take a pay cut, instead preferring to test free agency.

This is a big loss. Jenkins’ departure puts veteran backup Patrick Robinson in the spot to replace him, unless Robinson is also a cap casualty — in which case the Saints would have to ask someone like Grant Haley or Keith Washington to make the jump from the practice squad to covering Chris Godwin and Calvin Ridley each week.

It’s certainly a more practical loss than previous cap cuts, like wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (who caught 3 passes or fewer in half the games he played) or linebacker Kwon Alexander (who appeared in just 7 games for the Saints). But that’s the cost of doing business against a depressed salary cap, especially after assigning the lucrative franchise tag to free safety Marcus Williams. Tough cuts like this are inevitable in the Saints’ situation.

Could the Dallas Cowboys soon move on from Amari Cooper?

Former Alabama WR Amari Cooper is under contract with the Dallas Cowboys until 2024, but due to money constraints, he could be gone.

The Dallas Cowboys agreed to a monster deal with quarterback Dak Prescott. However, the move could have cost them more than a bunch of money, they may need to depart from some of their biggest offensive playmakers.

Amari Cooper, who was originally drafted to the then-Oakland Raiders, was traded to the Cowboys in 2018.

The former Alabama wide receiver signed a large contract with Dallas, which could keep him with the organization through 2024. However, there is a potential out for the Cowboys after the 2021 season.

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio claims that Cooper and star running back Ezekiel Elliott could either be on the trading block or released.

“Although some are speculating that running back Ezekiel Elliott or receiver Amari Cooper could be traded soon due to Dak’s deal, the more likely outcome will be at least one more season with Cooper and Elliott before either or both are traded or released.

Last year, Cooper signed a five-year, $100 million contract that is, as a practical matter, a two-year, $40 million deal. After 2021, the Cowboys can walk away with no guaranteed money remaining and only a $6 million cap charge.”

In a weird 2020 season with a pandemic and an injured starting quarterback, Cooper still managed to record over 1,000 receiving yards.

There’s no telling what Dallas may do after the 2021 season, but Florio believes that Cooper could rework his contract if he wants to stay with the team.