Tag: Mario Edwards

Mario Edwards’ contract extension with Bears will pay him $4.5M in 2021

Bears DE Mario Edwards’ three-year extension will pay him $11.55M, including $4.5M for the 2021 season.

[mm-video type=video id=01f0rssjfsgxvkqc9y playlist_id=01eqbve7kb6he6scwe player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f0rssjfsgxvkqc9y/01f0rssjfsgxvkqc9y-893aeeed1a45d01bdd90026c970e7f54.jpg]

The Chicago Bears locked up a valuable rotational piece along the defensive line just a couple of days ahead of the start of the new league year.

Chicago re-signed Mario Edwards to a three-year contract extension that keeps Edwards in Chicago through 2023.

Edwards signed with the Bears last summer after he was cut by the New Orleans Saints, and he carved out a crucial role on Chicago’s defensive line. Last season, Edwards appeared in 15 games, where he totaled 17 tackles, four sacks, and one pass deflection.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Edwards’ deal is valued at $11.55 million over three years. That would pay Edwards just under $4 million per year.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Edwards will get $4.5 million in the first year of his deal.

Now all eyes will turn to the salary cap, where Edwards’ cap hit will be no doubt be at its lowest for the 2021 season.

With Edwards locked in for the next few years, that leaves another one of Chicago’s key rotational players in free agent Brent Urban waiting in the wings.

[listicle id=468707]

The Bears are re-signing DL Mario Edwards to 3-year deal

The Bears are bringing back a key rotational piece on the defensive line in Mario Edwards, who joined Chicago last summer.

The Chicago Bears continue to bring back their own players with just days before the new league year begins.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Bears are re-signing defensive end Mario Edwards to a multi-year deal.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that it’s a three-year deal for Edwards.

Edwards signed with the Bears last summer after he was cut from the New Orleans Saints when rosters were trimmed. He appeared in 15 games last season, totaling 17 tackles, four sacks, and one pass deflection. He became a crucial role player on the defensive line as the season wore on. Edwards Jr. did have some hiccups along the way, however.

In December, the veteran was charged with assault on a female in North Carolina while the Bears were preparing to take on the Panthers during an October weekend. A month later, the NFL suspended Edwards for the first two games of the 2021 season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

The Edwards deal is the latest extension for the Bears, who have already brought back kicker Cairo Santos and punter Pat O’Donnell earlier in the week. NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday.

[listicle id=468707]

6 potentially inexpensive free agent candidates for the Cardinals

The Cardinals may not have a ton of cap room this offseason – here are six players that could help and not cost a ton of cap space.

The Arizona Cardinals enter the NFL offseason without a lot of money to spend on free agency. They do not have that much cap space. That could change with a few moves, but those may or may not happen, and there are a few holes the Cardinals could look to fill.

Since they might not be able to target many higher-priced free agents, here are some potentially less expensive free agents they could target next month.


Bears OLB Khalil Mack, DE Mario Edwards Jr. questionable vs. Falcons

The Bears released their injury report ahead of Sunday’s game against the Falcons and Khalil Mack and Mario Edwards Jr. are questionable.

The Chicago Bears released their final injury report ahead of Sunday’s Week 3 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, and it’s certainly encouraging when compared to the Falcons.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. are questionable for Sunday’s game.

Mack has been nursing a knee injury since the start of the season, where he’s been limited in practice throughout the start of the season. While Mack’s designation has been questionable, he’s played in both games and it should be the same against Atlanta.

While the Bears injury report is cluttered with names, nothing of significance has been noted. Receivers Allen Robinson (knee), Anthony Miller (calf) and Darnell Mooney (quad), as well as edge rusher Robert Quinn (ankle) and a number of others have practiced in full this week and don’t have a designation.

The Falcons are not as lucky. They have five players listed as questionable for Sunday, including star receiver Julio Jones, pass rushers Dante Fowler Jr. and Foye Oluokun and right tackle Kaleb McGary.

Bears signing former Saints DE Mario Edwards

Less than a day after finalizing their initial 53-man roster, the Bears have made a roster move in adding DE Mario Edwards.

Less than a day after finalizing their initial 53-man roster, the Chicago Bears have made a move on the waiver wire.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Bears have agreed to terms with former second-round pick defensive end Mario Edwards, who was released by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday.

The Bears add some veteran help on the defensive line with the addition of Edwards, who spent his first three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. Edwards played for the New York Giants in 2018 before signing with the Saints in 2019.

Last season, Edward had eight tackles and three sacks on 293 defensive snaps in New Orleans.

[vertical-gallery id=453765]

[lawrence-related id=453967,453901,453930,453887,453866]

Full list of Saints roster moves at NFL cuts deadline

The New Orleans Saints released a list of players including Tommy Stevens and Mario Edwards Jr. at the 2020 NFL roster cuts deadline.

[jwplayer oKSb0iHZ-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints went through their roster and made many tough decisions cutting it down from 80 players to just 53, and their work isn’t finished just yet. Waiver wire pickups and practice squad acquisitions are sure to follow as more tweaks are made ahead of Week 1.

In the meantime, here is the full list of roster moves made by the Saints in accordance with NFL rules on Saturday:

Players released by the Saints

  • LB Anthony Chickillo
  • DE Mario Edwards Jr.
  • DL Margus Hunt
  • WR Bennie Fowler
  • OL Patrick Omameh

Because of their veteran status with four or more accrued NFL seasons, none of these players are subject to waivers. And due to new COVID-19 rules impacting the practice squad, the Saints can re-sign any of them if they so choose.

Players waived by the Saints

  • LB Joe Bachie
  • WR Emmanuel Butler
  • WR Austin Carr
  • DE T.J. Carter
  • LB Andrew Dowell
  • TE Garrett Griffin
  • CB Kemon Hall
  • WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
  • WR Juwan Johnson
  • RB Tony Jones Jr.
  • LB Wynton McManis (CFL)
  • OL Jordan Steckler
  • TE Tommy Stevens
  • OL Calvin Throckmorton
  • OL Cameron Tom
  • CB Keith Washington Jr.
  • TE Ethan Wolf

Each of these players could return to the Saints practice squad, but they must first pass through the waiver wire without being claimed by another team.

Injured/suspended Saints players

  • LB Kiko Alonso (PUP)
  • S Saquan Hampton (waived/injured)
  • DE Anthony Lanier (injured reserve)
  • OL James Hurst (suspension)

With the exception of Hampton (who is subject to waivers, and could theoretically be claimed by another team), each of these players figure to stick with New Orleans. Alonso will have about six weeks to show progress in his recovery from ACL surgery earlier this year before the Saints must make a decision on sending him to injured reserve, while Hurst will be suspended the first four weeks of the season due to a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy from his time with the Baltimore Ravens. Because Lanier has accrued enough NFL experience, he can be designated directly to injured reserve without first testing waivers.

Saints release veteran defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr.

The New Orleans Saints released veteran defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr., saving more than $2.3 million against the 2020 salary cap.

[jwplayer bJ5cinSP-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints have started trimming their roster down to just 53 players, and there’s a bit of surprise to one of their first cuts: defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr.

Edwards signed with the Saints last summer and appeared in 14 games, totaling 293 snaps played on defense. But the Saints can save $2.345 million against the 2020 salary cap by parting ways with him, and improved depth along the defensive line made him too expensive of a luxury. That raises their salary cap estimate to about $9.3 million.

Expect the Saints to round out the rotation behind Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport with returning backup Trey Hendrickson and second-year pro Carl Granderson — unless they’re able to land pricey free agent Jadeveon Clowney. The salary cap resources saved by releasing Edwards may go a long ways towards fitting Clowney onto their books.

[lawrence-related id=37542]

4 potential Saints salary cap casualties for the 2020 offseason

New Orleans Saints veterans like Janoris Jenkins, Patrick Robinson, Nick Easton, and Mario Edwards could be salary cap casualties in 2020.

There’s no getting around it: the 2020 offseason will be difficult for the New Orleans Saints. They must navigate contract decisions with a number of important free agents, including all three quarterbacks (Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater will be unrestricted free agents, while Taysom Hill is designated with restricted status). With the 2020 salary cap expected to settle somewhere around $200 million, the Saints will have between $16 and $20 million to spend. That won’t be enough to keep everyone.

Some restructures should be expected; it’s a staple of the playbook built by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and salary cap specialist Khai Hartley. But they’ll also have to consider cutting veteran players to curb costs. Here are four potential Saints salary cap casualties.

Janoris Jenkins

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Potential savings: $11.25 million

The Saints claimed Jenkins off of waivers in December, inheriting the final year of his New York Giants contract in the process. That agreement carries with it a 2020 salary cap hit of $11.25 million, none of which is guaranteed — yet. Jenkins will be due a $1 million roster bonus on March 16, which would be fully-guaranteed. So the Saints could theoretically release Jenkins before that date and leave no dead money behind; doing so afterwards would leave $1 million in dead money.

That said, cutting Jenkins doesn’t make sense, but it could benefit him and the Saints to add a year or two onto his current deal to spread out the salary cap hits. He played so well in his two starts for New Orleans (ending the Week 17 game Carolina Panthers with an interception, and erasing Stefon Diggs in the the wild-card loss to the Minnesota Vikings) that he should definitely be a part of their plans for 2020.

Keeping Jenkins is even more sensible when you consider Saints cornerbacks Eli Apple and P.J. Williams will test free agency in a few months. Ironically, Apple and Jenkins were once teammates with the Giants — and the Saints declined Apple’s fifth-year option, which would have guaranteed him about $13.6 million for the 2020 season. Instead, Jenkins has taken his starting job.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4