Friday recap 3/12
This week in the NFL was all about the franchise tag deadline and teams saving money against the cap. Today we’ll go through all the cuts, new free agents, franchised players as well as new contracts.
To begin we will briefly touch on the franchise tag deadline, as we previously published a blog about it. The most notable names who were tagged were Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson, Leonard Williams, Marcus Williams, Marcus Maye and Brandon Scherff. These players are forced into a one year deal with their team and will be paid a predetermined amount. Some will be happy, others will not. Some notable names who were not tagged are Hunter Henry, Kenny Golladay, Haason Reddick, Bud Dupree, Jonnu Smith, Shaq Barrett and Aaron Jones. Some of these players will look to find a new home in 2021 and others will likely consider coming back for another year or even a long term deal with their 2020 team.
This week there has also been many notable releases, as was expected going into the week. This list is long so buckle up, this list includes Carlos Dunlap, Lamarcus Joyner, Malcolm Butler, Kenny Vaccaro, Emmanuel Sanders, John Brown, Quinton Jefferson, Kevin Zietler, Janoris Jenkins, Kwon Alexander, Justin Coleman, Jesse James, and Trai Turner. Lots of these players have played at a high level as of late and most have come as a surprise to the fans of their teams. The majority of these will look to sign with a team either for a long term deal, but most likely a one year deal, not worth an incredible amount just so that they can stay active and potentially have a chance at a championship. Two names not listed above that were released in the past few days are two of the Chiefs tackles, former first overall pick Eric Fisher and also Mitchell Schwartz. After the Chiefs suffered their worst loss in years, falling to the Buccaneers 31-9 in the Super Bowl, they released their two top lineman who were both out for that game, arguably one of the main reasons they lost the Super Bowl.
This week has also been one for signings and restructurings as well as a couple of trades. To begin, the Raiders Sent Trent Brown back to the Patriots, causing Joe Thuney not to be tagged therefore becoming a free agent. The Titans also made a trade this week, sending 2020 first round pick, Isaiah Wilson to the Dolphins. Hopefully in Miami, the disgruntled offensive lineman can get on the right path to success. This week the Buccaneers signed Lavonte David to a two year deal worth $25 million, keeping their championship team intact. Along with this signing, they’ve also extended Tom Brady though 2022, but also including three voidable years for cap purposes, thus resulting in a four year extension, but not really. Staying in the NFC south, the Falcons and the best kicker in the league from 2020, Younghoe Koo agreed to a deal to come back for 2021. Speaking of kickers, the Bears and Cairo Santos agreed to a five year deal worth $16 million. The Bills resigned Matt Milano to a four year deal worth $44 million. The Patriots are bringing Cam Newton back for another year on a one year deal worth $14 million, and the Cowboys have agreed to a long term deal with Dak Prescott, averaging over $40 million a year. The 49ers are signing Emmanuel Mosley to a two year deal worth $10.1 million. And finally the Texans are bringing Mark Ingram in on a one year deal worth $3 million. For the restructurings, the Saints restructured Michael Thomas’ contract, ensuring he wont be traded this offseason. The Chiefs restructured Patrick Mahomes’ contact, and the Ravens restructured Marcus Peters’ contract. All of these restructures are simply for cap saving purposes and indicate nothing more than the team intending to keep them this year.
Some final items that have happened this week include a Kyle Long return to the NFL, the salary cap being officially set at $182.5 million. Texans new head coach, David Culley has gone on the record to say once again that Deshaun Watson will not be traded and that he will be on the team in 2021, making it seem more likely that Watson might not play at all next year. And finally, Patrick Mahomes has announced that he is opening his own museum in Missouri, called “The Museum of Mahomes.” The museum has six art pieces on auction, and all the proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls club in Missouri.
In summary, this week in the NFL has been very exciting. From surprise cuts to surprise decisions and trades and signings, so much has happened, and with even more to come, stay tuned for more!