Tag: Extension

Should the Saints pick up fifth-year options for Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk?

The New Orleans Saints must decide whether to pick up fifth-year options on All-Pro RT Ryan Ramczyk and Pro Bowl CB Marshon Lattimore.

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The players selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 2017 NFL Draft have formed a core for the rest of the team to build around. That draft class included key fixtures such as cornerback Marshon Lattimore, right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, free safety Marcus Williams, and running back Alvin Kamara, as well as contributors like linebacker Alex Anzalone and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

But now it’s time to make contract decisions for each of them. With the 2019 season in rear-view, they’re all eligible for long-term contract extensions, even with one year left on their rookie contracts. As former first-round picks, the Saints can exercise fifth-year options for Lattimore and Ramczyk, which would keep them under contract through 2021. But would doing that be worth it?

In a word: yes.

Because neither Lattimore nor Ramczyk were top-10 draft picks, their fifth-year options are worth quite a bit less than if they had been selected higher. The values for fifth-year options are determined both by draft slot (1 through 10 versus 11 to 32) and the position they play. Top-10 options are the average of the 10 highest-paid players at that position, while those picked outside of the top 10 are paid the average of the third through 25th highest salaries.

Last offseason, the Saints declined Eli Apple’s fifth-year option for 2020 — because he was the tenth overall pick back in 2016, he would have been owed more than $13.6 million in the upcoming season. Instead, he’ll likely test free agency or re-sign with the Saints at a significantly cheaper rate.

These numbers will rise slightly as new deals are signed with other players between now and 2021, but here’s what the estimated fifth-year options would look like for Lattimore and Ramczyk, per annual salary data from Over The Cap:

  • Lattimore’s estimated fifth year option: $11,648,790
  • Ramczyk’s estimated fifth year option: $12,860,543

To be clear: exercising these options for 2021 will not impact either player’s cap hits in the upcoming season, when Lattimore will count for north of $4.8 million against the salary cap while Ramczyk is due more than $2.8 million.

Those 2021 salaries will be fully guaranteed for injury, but it’s easily worth the price considering both players are All-Pro talents. Either of them could reset the market at their respective positions once it’s time to pay their long-term contract extensions (right now, Xavien Howard paces the cornerbacks with $15.05 million per year; Lane Johnson leads all offensive linemen at $18 million per year).

While keeping both Lattimore and Ramczyk under relatively-low salary cap hits is important, the real benefit of picking up these options is creating more time for old contracts to get off the books. The Saints are going to have at least $21.3 million in dead money counting against the salary cap whenever Drew Brees retires, so if they can buy more time on these mega-deals for Lattimore and Ramczyk, they should. It’s one of the easier decisions they’ll have to make this offseason, compared to more serious issues like whether Williams and Kamara should be re-signed long-term.

Lattimore deservedly caught some flak for his poor performance against Adam Thielen in the playoffs; Thielen went off with 7 catches for 129 yards with Lattimore primarily covering him. But fans (and the Saints) shouldn’t be prisoners of the moment and think that justifies trading or, ridiculously, cutting him. No player in the NFL has recorded more passes defensed from 2017 to 2019 than Lattimore (44 in 43 games), and he’s played fewer games than each of the runners-up (Tre’Davious White, with 43 in 47 games and Marlon Humphrey, who had 40 in 46 games). He’s one of the most consistent playmakers the Saints have.

So, to summarize: Ramczyk and Lattimore are two of the most-valuable players in New Orleans, and they deserve to be paid as such. And the Saints can help ensure that happens by picking up their fifth-year options to maximize their salary cap resources in the years ahead. The Saints will have until early May to decide whether to exercise these team options for the 2021 season, but from where things stand in January, it’s an easy call to make.

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What should the Saints do with their 5 restricted free agents?

It’s time for the New Orleans Saints to make contract decisions on restricted free agents like Taysom Hill, Justin Hardee, and Austin Carr.

Many New Orleans Saints players are set to enter unrestricted free agency, giving them the opportunity to negotiate with new teams and potentially land a big payday. However, five of their teammates are going into March’s signing period with restricted free agency status. Here’s what that means.

Restricted free agents can negotiate with other teams, but their current squad can claim the right of first refusal through exercising one of several different one-year contract tenders. But the ability to match contract offers comes with a price.

The latest projections from Over The Cap suggest tender values in the range of $4,667,000 (for first-round pick compensation) to $3,278,000 (second-round pick compensation), and $2,144,000 (for original-round draft pick compensation). Those totals are fully-guaranteed against the salary cap.

New Orleans doesn’t have a good history with restricted free agency. They have only used the lowest tender level in recent memory, and rarely matched opposing contract offers. They let wide receiver Willie Snead leave uncontested when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to a two-year, $7 million deal in 2018. Backup tight end Josh Hill signed a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet with the Chicago Bears in 2016, but the Saints matched it and extended him again in 2018.

They didn’t even tender defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker back in 2015, despite it only costing about $1.54 million at the time and Walker having shown some rare bright spots in a historically-bad defense (the Detroit Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal, and re-upped him the next season). He’s an example of a player the Saints hoped they could keep on a veteran’s minimum salary, which is obviously a riskier option.

But things are projecting differently in 2020. There’s a good chance the Saints exercise one of the more-valuable tender options; in fact, they may have to. They could also work out long-term contract extensions if they so choose; Saints kicker Wil Lutz did just that last year, when he was a restricted free agent. Here are the five Saints players that qualify, and what the team should do with each of them.

Justin Hardee, cornerback

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Hardee’s had an interesting career path, and now he’s one of the Saints’ central special teams aces. He plays often on the punt and kickoff units, and led the team in snaps played in the game’s third phase (362) last season, outpacing even Craig Robertson (324) and Taysom Hill (286). He’s someone the Saints coaches have invested years of development in, and should definitely try to keep around for the future.

The question they have to ask now is how much Hardee’s contributions are worth. He doesn’t play defense (just 37 snaps logged last season) and is still learning the position’s finer points after entering the NFL as a wide receiver. He can’t be counted on just yet to be a top backup behind Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins. But his presence on special teams speaks for itself, and the Saints might do well to sign him to the lowest contract tender, then wait and see whether the market can set a price on his long-term contract value.

Verdict: Sign him to a right-to-match tender.

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Report: Texans and D.J. Reader nowhere close to an extension

The Houston Texans and defensive tackle D.J. Reader are reportedly not close to an extension at this time.

The business side of football won’t come to the foreground until the end of the postseason, and one issue that will be there is the contract extension status of Houston Texans defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

According to a report from the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, the two sides aren’t close to an extension as the club prepares to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs Sunday at 2:05 p.m. CT at Arrowhead Stadium.

However, just because there is a chasm between the Texans and Reader as far as an extension goes doesn’t mean the former 2016 fifth-round pick from Clemson doesn’t want to remain with his original draft team.

“Oh, you know I love it here,” Reader said via Wilson. “I love the fans. I love the organization. They gave me my first real job. I love the city. People love me here. Hopefully, that opportunity comes around.”

From the organization’s point of view, they also highly respect Reader and his contributions.

“D.J. Reader has had a really good year for us,” coach Bill O’Brien told reporters on Jan. 6. “He does a lot of things that, you’re right, don’t show up on the stat sheet. He’s an excellent inside defensive tackle that plays the run very well. He gives us some juice in the passing game.”

Now, it will be up to the Texans to determine just how much bread to give the 6-3, 347-pound defensive lineman. Reader has collected 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and six tackles for loss in 15 games for Houston, all of which he started.

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The Texans extending OLB Whitney Mercilus was inevitable

The writing was on the wall for outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus’ contract extension with the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans signed outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus to a four-year, $54.5 million extension with $24.5 million guaranteed, his second contract extension since the club drafted him in Round 1 of the 2012 NFL draft.

Though the 29-year-old’s production has been inconsistent in 2019, the extension should come as no surprise. After the Texans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16, coach Bill O’Brien raved of Mercilus and stated he’d like to bring him back.

“He tries to do whatever he can to do what’s best for the team. He is an excellent teammate,” O’Brien said of Mercilus. “We want Whitney back here and we want him to be a part of our team for a while. It was great to see him break through with a sack, but he does a lot of other things other than that that help us win.”

A week later, the Texans did what they wanted to do: extend Mercilus.

In 2019, Mercilus leads the Texans with 7.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and his 15 QB hits only trail defensive end J.J. Watt’s 21. Mercilus has also been disruptive with the ball in the air as he has collected two pass deflections and two interceptions. While his statistics don’t scream $54.5 million, his veteran leadership, edge setting and presence as a pass-rusher help make up for them.

Mercilus is the rare case of a player that started with a team and then earned two extensions with that club. That should come as no surprise. He’s a constant leader in the locker room and the community.

Houston will pay Mercilus an annual value of $13.5 million a year, making him the NFL’s 16th highest-paid edge rusher. However, the official contract may not quite resemble that. In the extension, Houston should opt to front-load the money, especially the guarantees.

The Texans may have slightly overpaid for Mercilus, but the reality of the matter is that edge rushers will always be overpaid. If Houston did stack the contract as they should, paying him less as time wears on, the deal looks like a solid one for a foundational piece of their defense.

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Details of Texans OLB Whitney Mercilus’ extension revealed

Houston Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus signed a four-year extension with the team. What are the details of the new contract?

Details of Houston Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus’ four-year extension have been revealed.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the former 2012 first-round pick’s extension is worth $54 million, an average of $13.5 million annually, and $24.5 million of that deal is guaranteed.

According to Over the Cap, the Texans are projected to have $74.3 million in salary cap space in 2020. The Mercilus contract would also cost them $13.5 million in 2020, which would be the third-highest salary on the roster behind defensive end J.J. Watt ($15.5 million) and receiver DeAndre Hopkins ($14 million), according to preliminary figures from Over the Cap.

Mercilus has collected 48 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two pass breakups, two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in his 15 starts for the Texans. When the club traded edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney on Aug. 31, Mercilus became the complementary presence to Watt’s pass rushing prowess on the other side. When Watt tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27, Mercilus became the point of attack for Houston’s defense in rushing opposing quarterbacks.

Report: Texans re-sign OLB Whitney Mercilus to four-year contract

The Houston Texans have reached a four-year contract with outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

The Houston Texans like what they have seen from 29-year-old Whitney Mercilus and want to keep the outside linebacker a part of their future plans.

According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Texans have reached a deal with the former 2012 first-round pick from Illinois that would keep him in Houston for the next four years.

Mercilus has collected 48 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two pass breakups, two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 15 starts this season. The 6-4, 258-pound edge defender has had to play more of a role generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks since the club traded Jadeveon Clowney on Aug. 31 and lost defensive end J.J. Watt to a torn pectoral on Oct. 27.

After Week 16’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Bill O’Brien expressed interest in bringing back Mercilus. Now, that has become a reality.

Use your Anger: Texans give punter three-year extension

On Saturday, the Houston Texans locked up punter Bryan Anger to a three-year extension, locking him in for the long haul.

The Houston Texans found their punter.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Texans are signing punter Bryan Anger to a three-year extension. The terms of the deal are not yet known.

Anger, 31, signed-on with the Texans on July 23. He did not make the roster, losing the job to Trevor Daniel. However, on Sept. 17, before Houston’s Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Charger, he signed back with Texans.

On 40 punts in 2019, Anger has 1,846 yards, good for an average of 46.2 yards per punt. He has a long of 71 yards on the season. He has sent 21 boots inside the 20 and has a net average of 44.1 yards per.

The Texans rank tops in the NFL in punt return yards allowed with 73.

“Anger‘s done a good job. He’s flipped the field for us,,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said of Anger on Dec. 11. “He’s punted well. He’s come in here and he’s a good teammate. He does a really good job as a teammate and I think he’s punted well.”

Anger was a third-round selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012 out of California. He moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016 and finally the Texans in 2019.

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There’s someone else to blame for Cowboys coaching woes

Jerry Jones is disappointed in Jason Garrett’s coaching ability, but he knew what he had in the Cowboys coach.

Anyone who has watched the Cowboys kind of knew what was going to happen when Dallas was driving for a game-tying score with under seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter against the Patriots in Foxborough. We’ve seen it before. The Cowboys offense gets desperate, they stall and are left with a long fourth-down conversion or in this case the option to take a field goal. The failed fourth-down conversion happened in the Cowboys game against the Vikings. Dallas got conservative while Dak Prescott was absolutely cooking the Minnesota defense. The Cowboys ran the ball twice and failed to convert.

In the New England game, the Cowboys ran two desperation passes on second and third down and settled for a field goal. It makes sense when you’re down seven in a torrential downpour and heavy winds against the best defense in the league to kick the field goal to remain a score down. When you need a touchdown, always kick the field goal to still need a touchdown. Not surprisingly, Jerry Jones wasn’t exactly happy with the coaching in the game or the results.

The internet was not kind to the man at the helm of the Cowboys. Jason Garrett got absolutely roasted.

That’s fine. Many a coach has been outsmarted by Bill Belichick. The problem isn’t that Garrett was beaten by one of the best to ever coach. The problem is that he was even in this position in the first place.

See, Garrett’s coaching has been questionable for a while now. You don’t get a meme made up about you unless you’re very good or very bad. We’ll have you guess which one Garrett is.

Sure, he’s been able to coach some Cowboys teams to the playoffs, but no one would ever say Dallas had a coaching edge. He started off his career as perfectly mediocre with an 8-8 record in his first three full-time years. Since then the Cowboys have been up and down. Now they are 6-5 with one of the most talented teams in the NFL. Going into Week 12, Dallas was fourth in DVOA behind only New England, Baltimore, and Kansas City. They were ahead of San Francisco. They should be better than their record.

They aren’t because of Garrett, but maybe Garrett shouldn’t be in this situation. You can’t complain about the meal when you bought the groceries to make it. Jerry Jones knew exactly what he was getting himself into this year. He’s had a soft spot for Garrett ever since he took over as head coach and started out with that constant .500 record. Some folks say Jones liked keeping Garrett around because the head coach was never going to be a bigger star than the owner. Garrett is quiet and reserved. Jones can say and do whatever he wants and there won’t be any issues. That makes some sense. Maybe Jones has a soft spot for Garrett since he was around during the last time the Cowboys were truly Super Bowl contenders. We can guess all day as to why the Garrett-Jones relationship has worked out for so long.

It shouldn’t matter. Dallas knew it had something to build on this year, and they also knew that their window could be short with the impending contracts of Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper. This was the year. They have one of the best offenses in the NFL. They have a talented defense, yet coaching comes back to bite them at an inopportune time more often than not.

It would have been hard to move on from Garrett after Dallas won the NFC East in 2018 — over a disappointing Eagles team — and even won a playoff game. It still would have been the right move. Sometimes teams need to move on from their coach to reach the next level. We know Garrett’s ceiling. Jerry Jones knows Garrett’s ceiling as well, yet he brought him back to coach anyway. If Jones had a ton of faith that Garrett was the answer, he would have extended Garrett’s contract in the offseason. He didn’t. Garrett is a lame-duck coach.

So Jones shouldn’t be surprised when the Cowboys get outcoached week in and week out. He knew what he was getting. If only there was someone who could have made the decision to move on from Garrett in the offseason. Someone like the owner.

What could a Jamal Adams extension look like?

Jamal Adams will want to be the highest-paid safety in NFL history, and the Jets can’t afford to wait to sign him if they want to keep him.

If Christopher Johnson really wants Jamal Adams to be a Jet for life, he’s going to have to pony up a lot of cash to keep Adams in New York.

Though the Jets control Adams through the 2021 season if they pick up his fifth-year option, they’d be apt to offer him an extension sooner rather than later, both as a show of good faith after a chaotic year and because of the potential price tag he could command in two years.

Adams is currently the 18th highest-paid safety with the $22.2 million rookie deal he signed in 2017 after the Jets took him sixth overall, but he will soon earn a much bigger salary. The Jets have three options with Adams: They can sign him to a contract extension at any point after this season, pick up his fifth-year option by May 3, 2020, or do nothing and let him play out the final year of his contract and let him hit free agency at the end of the 2020 season.

The Jets should take the first option if they truly believe Adams is the face of their franchise and the future of their defense. 

What would it take to sign Adams to a long-term deal? Well, you’d have to look at the two record-setting contracts signed by safeties Landon Collins and Kevin Byard last offseason. Collins signed a six-year, $84 million contract with the Redskins in March that included $44.5 million in guaranteed money. With an average annual salary of $14 million, he became the highest-paid safety in the NFL until Byard signed a five-year, $70.5 million extension with the Titans in July that included $31 million guaranteed and will pay him an average of $14.1 million annually.

Byard’s yearly salary is the starting point for Adams’ contract extension. In all likelihood, Adams would want somewhere close a $15 million annual salary, which isn’t completely unthinkable given Adams’ play of late.

The Jets also can’t afford to wait longer than this offseason to extend Adams because of the other safeties in line for massive deals.

If the Jets exercised Adams’ fifth-year option today, it would cost around $11.81 for the 2021 season. Since Adams was a top-10 pick, his option is calculated by taking the average of the top 10 safety salaries. That $11.81 million number could increase if another safety signs a deal that vaults him into the top 10.

That’s below anything Adams would ask for in a contract extension this winter, but by pushing the Jets’ deadline to sign Adams long-term by another season it could potentially raise the floor well for Adams if other safeties sign bigger deals.

The three names Joe Douglas will have to watch if he plays the waiting game are the Vikings’ Harrison Smith, the Bears’ Eddie Jackson and the Chargers’ Derwin James. Smith is up for an extension after the 2021 season when he’ll turn 32, so the odds of him setting the market price are low. James is already one of the best safeties in the league but also isn’t eligible for a new deal until after the 2021 season unless the Chargers exercise his fifth-year option where he’ll have to wait until after 2022. 

The price could go up for Adams if the Jets wait for Jackson’s impending deal.

Jackson is two years older than Adams and much more of a ballhawk, but he’s also one of the best safeties in the league and could easily sign a bigger deal than Byard and Collins as early as this offseason. If the Bears choose to extend Jackson before the Jets extend Adams, it could massively affect Adams’ asking price down the road.

The Jets shouldn’t wait for any of these dominos to fall. Getting Adams locked up before the market resets will be crucial to Joe Douglas’ ability to remake the roster and keep Adams at the same time. He’ll have at minimum $46.4 million to spend in 2020, and that’s before he inevitably cuts other contracts for overpaid players like Trumaine Johnson.

Yes, spending upward of $15 million per year on a safety is a massive risk for the Jets given the holes in various other positions on the roster. But for someone like Adams, it’s worth it given his performance this year. The Jets won’t just be paying for an incredible defensive back, but they’ll be paying for a top-flight pass rusher as well.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been able to unlock Adams’ versatility both in coverage and as a pass rusher. He’s blitzed Adams at multiple positions on the field – edge, safety, cornerback – which helped Adams notch five sacks the past two weeks (six on the season) and put him on pace to break the NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back (eight).

According to Next Gen Stats, Adams blitzed an average of 5.2 times per game over the first eight games of the season. Adams lined up as an edge rusher 14 times against the Redskins, rushed 13 times and finished with a 26.4 pass-rush win percentage, per Pro Football Focus. On the season, he ranks first among defensive backs in blitzes (55) and quarterback pressures (12). Though he only has one interception on the season, Adams has broken up six passes and allowed a completion percentage of 53.8 percent and a passer rating of 78.7 when targeted.

Retaining Adams will come at a hefty price, but it will be worth it to preserve the closest thing the Jets have to a superstar. Generational defensive talents don’t come around often and the Jets would be wise to lock theirs up for the foreseeable future.

Clark Hunt provides update on Chris Jones extension talks

Where are the Chiefs at with Chris Jones in terms of contract negotiations?

The Kansas City Chiefs brass remains hopeful that the team will be able to extend the contract of defensive lineman Chris Jones.

Jones is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2019 season. He joined the Chiefs as a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft out of Mississippi State University. Jones spent a portion of the 2019 offseason holding out in hopes of coming to an agreement with the team on a contract extension, but he ended his holdout before training camp and has played out this final season.

On Wednesday, Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt confirmed that the team is engaged in continuous discussions regarding an extension for Jones with his agents the Katz Brothers.

“There have been ongoing discussions with Chris’ representatives,” Hunt said. “As I mentioned in the preseason, we are very hopeful that we can extend Chris’ contract and bring him back to Kansas City for many years to come. He is obviously a fantastic player, a great guy in the locker room and we’re glad to have him a part of the Chiefs.”

The question remains whether both sides will be able to come to an agreement on an extension. The two sides didn’t appear to be close to an agreement ahead of the 2019 season. This was the statement released by his agents at the onset of training camp:

“He knows his value and if he has to play out his deal in order to reach free agency, then that’s what he will do. For now, he’s focused on winning a Super Bowl for Kansas City.”

Jones is only gaining leverage in contract negotiations as his role expands beyond simply playing the defensive tackle position. With an injury to defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, Jones will be tasked with playing more defensive end. Interior players tend to be valued less than those that can provide pressure off the edge.

“Yeah, it will be a little back and forth,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of Jones’ role on Friday. “He’ll probably end up playing both for us now.”

Jones has missed some time with a groin injury and his numbers are down from the 2018 season, where he set career highs in tackles, tackles for loss, pressures and sacks. The Chiefs haven’t seen a decline in his play in 2019. Hunt, in particular, has come away impressed with Jones.

“Absolutely, I think that he has played extremely well,” Hunt said. “He has transitioned to the new defensive scheme, I think, very well, and has been a part of the success that we have had in improving the defense.”

How Jones and the defense finish out the season in Kansas City is perhaps the most important factor in the Chiefs’ decision to retain Jones.