Tag: J.J. Watt contract

The 51 best NFL free agents left on the open market

After the Dak Prescott and J.J. Watt deals, and eight franchise tag designations, here are the NFL’s 51 best upcoming free agents.

The 2021 NFL free-agency period, which officially begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 17, promises to be like few others in the league’s history. Due to projected revenue shortfalls in the age of COVID, the league has anticipated that the 2021 salary cap will be somewhere between $180 million and $185 million per team.

That’s down from $198.2 million in the 2020 league year, which obviously puts several teams in a major pinch. Right now, per OverTheCap.com, there are 12 NFL teams over a projected salary cap of $180.5 million, and teams like the Saints ($58,718,146 over before franchising safety Marcus Williams), Rams ($35,136,331 over), Eagles ($34,146,468 over, which is mostly the Carson Wentz aftermath), Chiefs ($22,984,019 over), and Steelers (from $26,131,664 over to $3,617,086 over after a lot of pruning), will have to engage in some highly creative accounting just to get into compliance — forget about making any big splashes.

On the other hand, we have teams like the Jaguars ($71,821,714 under the cap), Jets ($67,341,082 under), Patriots ($62,211,837 under before the Trent Brown trade), Colts ($44,681,614 under), and Bengals ($40,979,130 under). The radical disparity between the haves and the have-nots when it comes to the capacity to spend in free agency could lead to an unusually constricted market, especially for those players who are more rank-and-file than sheer superstar. Not that those players won’t have offers; but those offers might not be what they may have been in previous years. It’s not the fault of the players; it’s simply how the market lands in this particular time. This could result in a lot of free agents taking one-year contracts and shining it on until new television deals and the hope of a more “normal” world make things more equitable in the 2022 league year.

After the Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to a four-year, $160 million contract, the Cardinals signed J.J. Watt to a two-year, $28 million free-agent deal, the Buccaneers signed Lavonte David to a two-year, $25 million contract, and franchise tags were handed out to eight different players (Broncos safety Justin Simmons, Jets safety Marcus Maye, Saints safety Marcus Williams, Bears receiver Allen Robinson, Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin, Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton, Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson, and Washington guard Brandon Scherff), the free agency picture got shaken up, especially at or near the top of everybody’s lists.

So, let’s talk about remaining free-agent value, at least how we see it at Touchdown Wire. Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield have compiled their list of the top 51 players who should be available as unrestricted free agents, after tags have been applied and new deals were signed. Mark assembled the offensive players, Doug put together the defensive list, and they then compiled the top remaining free agents in the upcoming 2021 league year, regardless of position.

Why the addition of J.J. Watt could push the Arizona Cardinals over the top

Now that the Cardinals have added J.J. Watt, it’s not to early to speculate that it’s the move that could guide them to an NFC West title.

When the Texans released J.J. Watt on February 12, several other NFL teams jumped in as potential suitors, with the Browns, Packers, and Titans among the most-mentioned. If the Cardinals were among those in the running, we certainly didn’t hear it from a lot of “insider” reports. But from under the radar they come — on Monday, the Cards signed Watt to a two-year, $31 million deal that includes $23 million in guaranteed money.

For the Cardinals, who ranked fourth in the NFL last season with 48 sacks, fourth in the NFL in blitz rate at 39.4%, and had the fifth-most total pressures with 169 in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s multi-faceted fronts, the addition of Watt is yet another cog in a pressure defense that ranked ninth in Pass Defense DVOA despite a defensive backfield that was a distinct liability last season.

Injuries have complicated Watt’s overall legacy over the last few seasons, and he has amassed just nine sacks in the last two seasons, but as is the case with sack totals in any instance, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In 2020, Watt also had 11 quarterback hits, 29 quarterback hurries, and 34 stops on a defensive line that wasn’t exactly packed with other stars. Last season, the Texans had 33 solo sacks (middle of the pack) and 211 total pressures (sixth-worst in the league), which means that Watt had 21.3% of the team’s total pressures.

That will no longer be a problem for Watt; the presence of edge-rusher Chandler Jones alone will give Watt more opportunities to find single teams among blockers and more pressure opportunities.

As it turns out, this is kind of a big deal.

To narrow it down to just the last three seasons, only Aaron Donald, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Cameron Jordan, and Za’Darius Smith have more sacks than Jones since 2018. The Cardinals also made the most of their fast, athletic linebackers and edge defenders (Hasson Reddick, Markus Golden, Dennis Gardeck), who combined for 22.5 sacks and 40 quarterback hits. Jones played in just five games and had just one sack in 2020 after putting up nine sacks in 2019, so expect a big rebound season there.

How does Watt make this all better? Though he wasn’t often used as an interior disruptor with Houston last season, he’s been dominant in that role before, and one could argue that at his age (he’ll turn 32 on March 22), Watt could benefit from more snaps inside the tackles, as they generally present fewer steps to the opposing quarterback. As to the injury history, Watt played 1,016 total snaps in 2020, his highest total since 2016, when he amassed 1,026 snaps. If he can keep that up through the next few seasons, the Cardinals got themselves quite the bargain.

In 2020, per Pro Football Focus, Watt played 702 snaps at LEO, 134 snaps at REO, 90 snaps at left end, and 32 snaps at right end. He played just 10 snaps at defensive left tackle, eight at right defensive tackle, 10 at any kind of nose tackle, and a handful of snaps as an off-ball linebacker.

Does he still have what it takes as a potentially dominant edge guy for the next few seasons? Per the tape, the answer is: Absolutely, unequivocally, yes. Add in the multi-gap potential, and we’ve got liftoff in the Valley of the Sun.

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Houston Texans’ top-10 most expensive contracts that are without guaranteed money

The Houston Texans will have to employ belt-tightening in 2021 as their salary cap situation is not ideal at all. Here are contracts worth examining.

The Houston Texans are estimated to be over the salary cap by $17.9 million in 2021. Consequently, the Texans will have to take a look at their contracts that do not have any guaranteed money remaining.

Here are the Texans’ top 10 most expensive contracts that do not have any guaranteed money attached.

Report: Texans DE J.J. Watt wants clarity entering final year of contract

Defensive end J.J. Watt would like some clarity as to his future with the Houston Texans.

Lost in all of the drama of the Houston Texans hiring a new general manager, a new coach, and alienating their franchise quarterback along the way is the status of their face of the franchise.

Defensive end J.J. Watt is entering the last year of his contract. While the Texans are on the hook for $17.5 million in 2021, the money is not guaranteed — meaning, the Texans can cut bait and not count as dead money against their 2021 salary cap.

NFL Network insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is looking for clarity when it comes to his future with the Texans.

James Palmer from the NFL Network, whose beat is primarily the Texans, chimed in on Twitter and added that teammates and coaches believe Watt, 31, played his last game for Houston on Jan. 3 in the 41-38 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

“There’s too many unknowns to really know,” Watt said after the game on if it was his last with the Texans. “But if it is, I really — it’s unfortunate that it wasn’t in front of a full stadium and all the fans, and it’s unfortunate it wasn’t a win, it’s unfortunate it was in this type of a season. But who knows.

“Like I said, there’s a lot of unknowns. But I think this city knows, I hope they know how I feel about them and how thankful I am. I’ve tried to do everything I possibly can and give everything I possibly have.”

The Texans will have to provide clarity for Watt before free agency starts so as to give him a head start on landing with a new team. Houston could also trade him or restructure his contract and give him a long-term deal that ensures he finishes his career with the Texans.