HENDERSON, Nev. — Consider it one of the biggest challenges facing the Las Vegas Raiders‘ new regime. And it’s not merely a single-prong problem.
Because while general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels have to clean up what can only be considered draft misses (messes?) by previous staffs, they also have to show they have learned from those mistakes and avoid making the same ones going forward.
Consider: The Raiders have given out second consecutive contracts to six of their 68 post-Al Davis draft picks from 2012 to 2019.
Only one was a first-rounder (left tackle Kolton Miller, who was drafted by Jon Gruden and Reggie McKenzie in 2018) and one was taken in the second round (quarterback Derek Carr, who has signed a pair of extensions after being picked by McKenzie and Dennis Allen in 2014).
Two third-round picks (guard Gabe Jackson went 81st overall in 2014 and offensive tackle Brandon Parker went 65th in 2018) and a pair of fourth-rounders (defensive tackle Justin Ellis was No. 107 in 2014, while defensive end Maxx Crosby was taken No. 106 overall by Gruden and Mike Mayock in 2019) round out the list.
Only the New York Giants have signed fewer of their draft picks over the same time frame to second contracts (two), while the Jacksonville Jaguars have extended 10 of their 59 picks from 2012 to ’19.
And when you throw in the fact that three of the Raiders’ 15 eligible first-round draft picks since 2005 have signed second deals with the team — Miller, running back Darren McFadden (drafted in 2007) and 2006 first-round defensive back Michael Huff (Las Vegas also re-signed 2016 first-round safety Karl Joseph in 2021 after Joseph spent a year with the Cleveland Browns) — it’s easier to fathom how the team has only been to the playoffs twice, losing both postseason games, since appearing in Super Bowl XXXVII … in January 2003.
Yet, as Carr said last week at the news conference announcing his three-year, $121.5 million extension — he previously signed a five-year, $125 million extension in 2017 — he wanted to make sure money was left on the table to take care of teammates in need of, yes, second contracts.
“Guys like, hopefully, Hunter [Renfrow] and Foster [Moreau],” Carr said of his slot receiver, who was a fifth-round pick in 2019, and his backup tight end, a fourth-rounder that same year. “And [hopefully] those guys can stay here the way we structured [my extension].
“I went through a heartbreak already last time I signed my contract, my best friend [Khalil Mack] left, and I didn’t want that to ever happen again. And so, this was an opportunity for me to prove to the team, to the organization, to our fans, that the way we’re going to structure this is so that we can keep everybody together and really, really have real continuity, really have something to build on. And so, for me, it was like, how do we do that?”
The Raiders will also get roughly $20 million in salary-cap space after June 1, thanks to the releases of defensive end Carl Nassib and linebackers Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski.
Plus, the Raiders will have to make decisions on whether to apply fifth-year options on their 2019 first-round picks — defensive end Clelin Ferrell, running back Josh Jacobs and safety Johnathan Abram.
“Usually in these negotiations, ‘How much money can we get?'” Carr said. “And then they’re, ‘How much can we save?’ And this was just different. There was a learning curve about it. Like, how do we make that happen to where I feel good and to where the team feels great, like, ‘Man, we can still build a championship team around you.’ And so, that was what was important to us. And hopefully this contract proves that.”
The proof, though, remains in the draft and the regime’s coming selection technique.
It is the lifeblood of any organization, and with Raiders owner Mark Davis bringing in a couple of lifelong New England Patriots in Ziegler and McDaniels to run the football side of things, expect big changes.
Such as the actual, well, draft philosophy. The Raiders do not have first- or second-round picks, thanks to the Davante Adams trade, and are not scheduled to make the first of their five selections until the third round, at No. 86 overall.
“We’re going to try to draft the best players [available],” McDaniels said at the NFL owners meetings. “I mean, if we draft three in the same position in a row, because they’re clearly the three best players when it’s our turn to draft, I mean, you make a strength stronger.
“To me, the best way to improve your team is to continue to take the right guy. Not, ‘Oh, man, we’ve got a hole on the roster, let’s take this guy just because his name says whatever position beside him.'”
And maybe, just maybe, the Raiders will find some guys worthy of second contracts that way.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The edge rushers at the top of the 2022 NFL draft come in all shapes and sizes with a wide range of skills. The New York Giants have a need at the position, hold the No. 5 and No. 7 overall picks and will consider several potential fits.
There is Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, projected by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and many other draft analysts to be the No. 1 overall pick. Hutchinson stands almost 6-foot-7, 260 pounds and has the best technique of the bunch.
Georgia’s Travon Walker (6-5, 272) is working his way up draft boards with his power and eye-catching skills for his size. His 4.51-second time in the 40-yard dash was the fastest by a 270-pound player at the combine since at least 2006. Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson II showed quick hands and feet and the production to match (11.5 sacks) as a senior. Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is not especially big for the position (6-4, 254), but has a first step that tantalizes the upside crowd.
The sheer variety of edge rushers is the beauty of the position, and this year’s draft is no different. Not everyone is Von Miller (Buffalo Bills) or Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), the pass-rushing prototypes who most anyone could scout and predict their greatness. It’s a position where seemingly flawed prospects such as 2021 NFL defensive player of the year T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was considered an effort rusher and selected 30th overall in 2017, continuously prove the evaluations wrong.
So where does it all go bad? What is non-negotiable when scouting edge rushers and determining what really makes them effective getting to the quarterback at the next level?
“If you start focusing on just the measurables and you try to create something, sometimes you can get yourself in trouble,” Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said at the NFL scouting combine. “I always say the most important part is: Is he winning those 1-on-1 matchups?”
This is what the Giants and general manager Joe Schoen must figure out. Which of this year’s top edge rushers won consistently at the college level and will it translate to the NFL game? Are they worth the No. 5 or No. 7 overall pick?
The Giants, who who haven’t addressed the position in the top 10 since selecting Cedric Jones in 1996, are just one of the teams in the market for an edge rusher at the top of the draft. The teams with the top four picks — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and New York Jets — also have needs at the position.
Hutchinson, Walker, Johnson and Thibodeaux all have visited the Giants or will be visiting them prior to the draft, according to sources. It’s a position they must address even after selecting Azeez Ojulari out of Georgia in the second round last year. He had 8.0 sacks as a rookie.
“We have enough needs on the roster to take the best player available,” Schoen said recently of the two high picks. “That is how we’re going to set [the draft board]. We’re going to set it best football player 1-7.”
Schoen was part of a front office that drafted edge rushers Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa with Buffalo’s top picks each of the previous two years. Neither was a workout warrior, but both were long and productive coming out of college.
Length could be a preferred attribute for the Giants with defensive coordinator “Don” Wink Martindale coming from the Baltimore Ravens and bringing his 3-4 defensive scheme that favors long outside linebackers. Walker (35.5-inch arms) and Johnson (34 inches) have that working in their favor.
Hutchinson (14.0 sacks) and Johnson have the production, which is still the No. 1 non-negotiable on the wish list of many evaluators.
“Legitimate production, where you watch the film and this guy is really affecting the quarterback because he’s doing it,” former Giants draft boss and current NFL Network analyst Marc Ross said of what he looks for in edge rushers. “Not through scheme. Not through cleanup. Sacks. Not through garbage sacks, but this guy is legitimately affecting the quarterback consistently based on how he plays and his talent and ability.”
Ross brought up George Selvie, who played alongside Jason Pierre-Paul at South Florida. Selvie had 14.5 sacks his sophomore year and Pierre-Paul had 6.5 in his only season at USF. But the film showed that a lot of Selvie’s sacks were hollow. Pierre-Paul, meanwhile, was affecting the quarterback constantly despite his modest sack total.
The Giants and Ross drafted Pierre-Paul 15th overall in the first round of that 2010 draft. Pierre-Paul went on to become an All Pro who helped New York win a Super Bowl in his second season. Selvie, who finished his career with the Giants, was drafted in the seventh round and had 14 sacks in six NFL seasons.
So perhaps more important than collegiate sacks are pressures. There does appear to be a correlation between edge pressure from college to the pros in recent years. Thibodeaux has the highest pressure rate (15%) of the four pass-rushers projected by Kiper to be selected the highest. He was followed by Hutchinson, Johnson and Walker in pressure rate.
This is, in my view, quite concerning for Travon Walker — who had just an 8% pressure rate in college.
Here’s where he, Hutchinson, Thibodeaux and Bonitto (!) stand on the x axis of this chart. pic.twitter.com/NVrN70TJhe
But analytics alone can’t show the full picture for edge rushers. There are other boxes that must be checked.
“My one thing that is pretty [firm], if you don’t have an element of power in the National Football League, then people are just going to be able to set you soft,” one NFC executive said. “And you have to be a really good athlete then if you don’t have power.”
The executive brought up Carolina Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns as an example of the occasional outlier. He considers him among the rare class of players who can survive without that true power because of his short-area quickness.
Burns, who ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash and had a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump, has 25.5 sacks in his first three NFL seasons. It was obvious in the athletic testing that his skills might translate.
The evaluator thinks the same should be the case with Thibodeaux. He was banged up this past season but still produced. He had 7.0 sacks and a 17.8% pressure percentage despite playing just 10 games and dealing with an ankle injury.
In Thibodeaux’s case, the athletic testing matches the on-field product. But it’s rarely that easy. It’s not simply a size, speed and weight position. Multiple evaluators said they aren’t going to simply eliminate edge rushers based on a slow 40-yard dash. There is too much that goes into the position: Hand usage. Power. Moves. Counter Moves. Get-off. Leverage. Technique. Not all of it can be measured while running and jumping in shorts at the combine.
“You want [confirmation in athletic testing], but it’s not a must,” Ross said. “What are you seeing on film? It was the Terrell Suggs lesson. You watched him on tape and there was a guy that legitimately got after it non-stop. Looked explosive as can be on film. And then he goes out and runs a 5.0 flat [in the 40-yard dash]. Well, this guy can’t play anymore. What!?”
Not that anyone in this year’s top crop falls into that category. Hutchinson ran a more than respectable 10-yard split of 1.62 seconds. The other three ran 4.58 seconds or better in the 40-yard dash.
It’s what makes this a strong group of edge rushers at the top of the draft. And it gives Schoen and the Giants quality options to fill what has become a longstanding void — assuming one they like is available when they are on the clock.
“No, Josh is a great coach. I’m sure he feels like it’s a great opportunity; that’s why he took it. Other than against us, I hope he does well. I’m sure he will do well. He’s an outstanding coach. Some of the people that are with him are very good, too. It all worked out well. It’s an opportunity we couldn’t provide.” — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, when asked if he had any issues with new Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels pilfering any of his coaches and players.
HENDERSON, Nev. — On the surface, it looks like Josh McDaniels simply pillaged the Patriots’ front office and coaching staff, bringing with him to Las Vegas a general manager (Dave Ziegler), offensive coordinator (Mick Lombardi), offensive line coach (Carmen Bricillo) and quarterbacks coach (Bo Hardegree).
But, as expected, McDaniels also brought in a gaggle of players he knew from New England.
And the effect — in real life and the fantasy sports realm — will be felt mostly in the Raiders’ running back room.
Because while Las Vegas returns Josh Jacobs, who rushed for a career-low 872 yards in 2021 after authoring a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his first two years, and Kenyan Drake, who is returning from a broken right ankle, the Raiders brought in a pair of ex-Patriots in Brandon Bolden and fullback Jakob Johnson in addition to former Carolina Panthers running back Ameer Abdullah.
“That’s a position that’s hard to stay healthy, it just is,” McDaniels said at the recent NFL owners meetings. “They touch the ball more than everybody but the quarterback, and they get hit more than anybody.”
McDaniels referenced two backs who were “rehabbing” at the moment.
“To have depth in that room is important because if you don’t have quality depth in the running back room today in the NFL, a lot of times you’re going to run into some issues and some injuries, you know, and then you get caught in trying to make a quick transaction during the middle of the season,” McDaniels said. “So we’ve always tried to have as much depth in that room as we can.
“It’s a position that it’s really critical to have good players, but it’s also really good to have good depth that you can plug in there and they can serve a lot of roles.”
Here, in Week 1 of Phase 1 of the Raiders’ offseason training program, it’s safe to pencil in Jacobs as the starting running back, even if he is new to McDaniels’ system.
Even quarterback Derek Carr, in his news conference announcing his contract extension, said the benefit from the offense would be felt most by the lead back.
“Right now, we’ve only had two days of [classroom] work,” Carr said, “but the happiest person in the building should be Josh Jacobs. I know that.”
The versatile Drake, meanwhile, was rounding into form when he went down with 63 carries and 30 catches for a combined 545 yards and three touchdowns. He remains a wild card as he rehabs and learns the offense.
Trey Ragas returns after spending most of last season on the practice squad (he did have one regular-season carry, for 9 yards, and two catches for 6 yards).
Abdullah, a seven-year veteran, caught a combined 38 passes for 289 yards and a TD and rushed 51 times for 166 yards for the Panthers and Minnesota Vikings last season.
It was Bolden, though, who made his name as a pass-catching back in New England, catching 41 passes for 405 yards and two touchdowns last season, while rushing for 226 yards and a score on 44 carries.
Johnson? He’s a seldom-used fullback in McDaniels’ system, who, nonetheless, knows the system well.
“Look, the opportunities that we had to add a few players that you have some familiarity with, that never hurts,” McDaniels said.
Same thing with the coaching staff. Because as McDaniels said, the last time he was hired as a head coach, by the Denver Broncos in 2009, he did not know nearly enough people to bring with him.
“I had only been in the league for eight years, so I didn’t have as much experience and as many connections as I do at this point,” he said. “It’s a blessing that we have an opportunity to work together, some of us that have had those relationships. You just hit the ground running a little quicker when you have the opportunity to do that, and those guys have done a great job. I’m really pleased with our staff, the way they’re working, their mindset, their attitude, their work ethic has been tremendous so far this spring.
“I give them a lot of credit for the time they’re spending at the facility. It’s tireless. Most of our families aren’t out there yet. We go from the end of one season and it’s work all day and all night now. Really enjoy being around this group of guys.”
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On the morning of March 8, many Denver Broncos players found out the team had acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks when their phones imploded with a tidal wave of texts, calls and notifications.
They knew Wilson’s resume as a player — a Super Bowl winner and nine-time Pro Bowl selection. But in the weeks and sun-splashed throwing sessions in California that have followed since that franchise-altering deal, many of his Broncos teammates have learned something else about their starting quarterback.
“He’s a big FaceTimer,” Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said with a smile.
Wilson’s drive, his proclaimed “wild obsession” with preparation and his hit-the-ground-throwing approach has already made an imprint on how the Broncos have proceeded through the early portion of their offseason program. But Wilson’s affinity for FaceTime has influenced how he’s reached out to his teammates in the first few weeks since being traded from the team that selected him in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.
“A few days [after] we found out we were going to have Russ as our quarterback, he shot me over a FaceTime,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said. “[He] just expressed his excitement … I was like, ‘We’re the ones who are excited.'”
After Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos as a free agent in March 2012, he said “football will come naturally, it’s the thing we all have in common and we’ll get to work on the field,” but emphasized getting to know his teammates and familiarizing himself with the team’s staff would take as much effort and consideration as the on-field work.
He often joked about the number of wrong turns he took on the way to the Broncos’ facility in those first few weeks.
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Russell Wilson heaves a dart to a fan in the crowd during his introduction to the Nuggets crowd.
Wilson’s first public appearance as the Broncos’ quarterback came when he visited patients at Children’s Hospital in Denver shortly after the trade. Since then he has made the rounds of Denver’s sports scene, sitting courtside with his wife, Ciara, at a recent Denver Nuggets game and throwing the first pitch at the Colorado Rockies‘ season opener, which he attended with his family.
He also held throwing sessions in California with a group of Broncos. And through it all, his teammates have learned to expect a FaceTime ring from Wilson.
Randy Gregory, who signed a five-year, $70 million deal with the Broncos last month, said Wilson was firing off texts to Gregory like deep crossers before Gregory made his decision between signing with the Broncos and re-upping with the Dallas Cowboys. And Wilson greeted Gregory with another FaceTime when Gregory agreed to terms with Denver.
“I don’t know if it was eight times, but he hit me up a lot,” Gregory said after he signed. “The first night I was afraid to answer back, there was a lot of uncertainty with everything going on. I woke up the next morning and the first text I saw was from him again. Then he sent me another one. I said you know what — and mind you, he’s FaceTiming me throughout this whole entire process.
“It’s funny — he was coming from the Children’s Hospital. There’s a certain image he has out in the public. It was funny, I was telling my parents, and I was telling my wife, I was like, ‘He’s literally what he is out in the public.’ He’s coming from a Children’s [Hospital], taking the time to call a guy that he’s trying to bring to the team.”
It’s all part of Wilson’s franchise quarterback equation. And in a locker room that, save kicker Brandon McManus, has no players remaining from the Broncos’ last playoff team — one that won Super Bowl 50 — it’s something they can sense in everything that Wilson does.
“His knowledge of the game is to a different level,” Sutton said. “It comes to him so easy, he wants everyone around him to understand it the way he understands it. … [But] you all can feel it, we all can feel it, the juice is just different. I wasn’t here when Peyton Manning was here, but everyone who was here when Peyton was said the juice is similar. … Everyone understands we have to operate at a different level, a different standard.”
Not that Carr himself has ever gone public with an excuse, mind you, it’s just … they have always been baked into his Raiders career.
Stop us when we’re lying.
From fractured bones in his pinky, leg and back, to broken relationships with wideouts such as Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper and Antonio Brown, to whatever that was that went down near Washington, D.C., at the height of the protests during the national anthem, to team rebuild after team rebuild, to a leaky offensive line, to an oft-generous defense, to Jon Gruden’s emails, to Henry Ruggs III‘s fatal car crash and subsequent release.
And the Raiders, who have privately grumbled about the checkdowns, fourth-down throwaways and turnovers as much as they have celebrated Carr’s 24 comeback wins over his eight-year career, have essentially given themselves a four-year window to win a Super Bowl.
A game they haven’t played in since the 2002 season. One they have not won since 1984, when Ronald Reagan was president.
Carr also reiterated that he only wanted to be a Raider and he was “crazy enough” to be willing to play out the final year of his deal this season sans extension.
“I told my agent, ‘I’m either going to be a Raider, or I’m going to be playing golf. I don’t want to play anywhere else,'” he said. “That’s how much this place means to me.
“I hope people can hear my heart on that, that I was dead serious when I [said] that. I had one year left on my contract; if it was one year, it was going to be one year. Thankfully it will be four more. Hopefully we can build on that, I can finish and just do what I set out to do nine years ago. And that was to win a championship.”
Carr, who turned 31 last month, owns virtually every passing record in franchise history … but has a career record of just 57-70 — the 70 losses are the most by a quarterback in his first eight seasons and is already tied with Jeff George for most by a QB in his first nine — and is 0-1 in the postseason.
The 26-19 loss in the wild-card round at the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in January was a microcosm of his career. He led the Raiders to the precipice of a score, kept his team competitive with a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line before he spiked the ball on first down (the Raiders wanted him to run a play with the clock running), never looked tight end Darren Waller‘s way in the series and threw an interception on fourth down short of the end zone with 12 seconds to play.
Then again, Las Vegas would not have been in such a position without Carr’s late-game heroics, as he helped lead the Raiders to an NFL record six walk-off victories in 2021.
Carr reflected on being passed over in the first round eight years ago and landing with the Raiders, who then called Oakland home.
“I don’t know why, but I just wanted to go there,” he said. “I was like, I want to be a part of fixing that. I want to be part of helping get them back to the playoffs and be a winning franchise again.
“We’ve proven it in spurts, but I think it’s time we just do it more consistently … we’re in the middle of what I dreamed of doing. I wanted to be someone, when all was said and done, my name would be at the top of a lot of lists on some stats sheets. And then I wanted to hold trophies. We haven’t done some of those things yet, but I wanted to leave my mark on this organization. I’ve got four more years for that opportunity. That’s exciting for me.”
Such is the polarizing factor of Carr within Raider Nation, which either loves or loathes him. And that fan base will have another four years to get into and sort through its feelings.
The Chargers entered free agency with a star quarterback in Justin Herbert, who was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season after throwing for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdown passes in 2021. And they were able to take care of a big offseason priority by re-signing receiver Mike Williams, who agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract, with $40 million guaranteed and $28 million in the first year of the deal after having a career year in 2021.
The Chargers are also making moves to bolster their defense, as they acquired pass rusher Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears to provide pass-rush help to Pro Bowl Joey Bosa to combat an AFC West that’s gotten even tougher with the Denver Broncos trading for Russell Wilson.
They were also looking for a right tackle, a guard and possibly a cornerback, along with some big guys on the defensive line to shore up a rush defense that was among the NFL’s worst.
What it means: The Chargers just watched the team they share a stadium with (the Los Angeles Rams) win a Super Bowl and still have star quarterback Justin Herbert on his rookie contract. In other words, it’s time to push their chips in and go after a Super Bowl. That’s the only logical conclusion after agreeing to terms with the market’s best cornerback, trading for edge rusher Khalil Mack and re-signing receiver Mike Williams to a $20-million-a-year deal. The Chargers just missed the playoffs last year but in the uber competitive AFC, they clearly recognized that big moves were needed.
What’s the risk: Big-money free agent signings always come with some level of risk. With Jackson, the risk comes in comparable players, such as Malcolm Butler, who have soared from undrafted free agents to highly-paid No. 1 corners and not panned out. Jackson also had some struggles against Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs, raising some questions about how he’ll hold up weekly against other top wideouts. But Jackson’s 25 interceptions are the most in the NFL over the past four seasons and he’s allowed the lowest passer rating (42.0) as the nearest defender in the league since 2018. It’s risky, but worthwhile to pursue for a defense now loaded with talent. — Nick Wagoner
The former Rams defensive tackle agreed to move across town to play for the Chargers, as he will sign a three-year deal worth up to $24 million.
What it means: Joseph-Day only has to switch home locker rooms at SoFi Stadium to join his new team as the Chargers continue to spend big to bulk up their defense. Joseph-Day reunites with coach Brandon Staley (the former Rams defensive coordinator) and joins edge rusher Khalil Mack, cornerback J.C. Jackson and defensive tackle Austin Johnson as important additions to the Los Angeles defense and, like Johnson, will be tasked with improving a run defense that yielded the third most yards in the league in 2021. He finished second in the NFL in run stops per game (2.75) last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
What’s the risk: Joseph-Day was limited to just seven regular season games in 2021 because of a pectoral injury. Though that was the only time he missed in the past three seasons, it brings a bit of a question mark as he joins the Chargers. To his credit, Joseph-Day returned to play in the Super Bowl. Like with Johnson, this isn’t a bank-breaking deal, but Joseph-Day will need to avoid further injury and ramp up production for this deal to be a win for the Chargers. — Wagoner
Hopkins has signed a multi-year deal with the Chargers, according to the team.
What it means: Bringing Hopkins back was a no-brainer for the Chargers, as he provided much-needed stability in the kicking game after being signed this past October. Hopkins hit 18 of 20 field goals (90%) and 30 of 32 extra points (93.8%) after taking over for Tristan Vizcaino. Hopkins previously played for the Washington Commanders from 2015 through the first six games of 2021.
What’s the risk: Hopkins performed above his career average this past season, so he might be prone to falling back. But considering the problems the Chargers had at kicker prior to his arrival with the likes of Vizcaino and Michael Badgley, it’s worth it to them to continue to roll with Hopkins.
Covington is re-signing with the Chargers, according to the team. Contract terms were not disclosed.
What it means: The Chargers get back a role player for the interior of their defense to join free agent signings Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson. Covington played in 16 games last season with three starts and had 52 tackles along with one sack.
What’s the risk: There appears to be very little risk by re-signing Covington. He’s coming off a career-high year for tackles and with the addition of Khalil Mack, Covington may end up with more opportunities to get to the quarterback with so much attention being paid to Mack and Joey Bosa. He could also help bolster a run defense that was among the worst in the NFL. — Josh Weinfuss
What it means: The Chargers continue to make significant additions to a defense that needed them. While this won’t move the needle like the Khalil Mack trade or J.C. Jackson agreement, this is a quietly solid move. Johnson has been a productive, durable player for the Giants and was one of the top run stoppers in the league in 2021 (he ranked sixth in ESPN’s run stop win rate among nose tackles). That’s important for a Chargers defense that allowed the third most rushing yards in the league last year. Los Angeles had now added an impact player at every level of its defense as it continues to build toward becoming a legitimate AFC contender in 2022.
What’s the risk: Johnson hasn’t missed a game in five seasons and though this deal isn’t anything to sneeze at, it’s also not a bank-breaking move, either. Which means there really isn’t a whole lot of risk here. Although he is probably more of a two-down player, Johnson is a logical fit who should be fine in the Chargers scheme. — Wagoner
Daniel agreed to a 1-year, $2.25 million deal, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
What it means: With Justin Herbert locked in as the starter, Daniel will return in a backup role for the Chargers. Which means if he makes the roster, Daniel will enter his 14th NFL season, all of which have been spent as a backup. Daniel has just five career starts to his name. Not many players have carved out such a niche and continued to receive significant paychecks for this long without ever getting a real shot to be a starter.
What’s the risk: There really isn’t much risk here given the price and what will be asked of Daniel. The only real risk might come in some form of opportunity cost. Which is to say it’s fair to wonder if the Chargers could have found a better backup option instead of re-signing Daniel. Still, this price tag wouldn’t prevent the Chargers from pursuing such a possibility if it were to present itself. — Wagoner
Terms of Everett’s deal were not disclosed.
What it means: The Chargers have their pass-catching tight end. Everett had the best season of his NFL career in 2021, his only year with the Seattle Seahawks, when he caught 48 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns. The Chargers’ leading pass receiver at tight end from last season, Jared Cook, is a free agent.
What’s the risk: Everett looks like a good bet for the Chargers. He’s only 27 and his production in terms of catches and yards has increased every season since he arrived in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. He doesn’t have to put up big numbers to justify the signing, not with the Chargers having receivers like Mike Williams and Keenan Allen and a back like Austin Ekeler.
The Chargers signed Reeder to a one-year deal.
What it means: Reeder reunites with Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who was the Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2020. Reeder joins the Chargers after three seasons across town with the Rams. He’s played in every game the last three seasons with the Rams, compiling 91 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. He started 13 games, including the playoffs and Super Bowl LVI.
What’s the risk: While the Chargers need reinforcements at inside linebacker, as they lost Kyzir White in free agency and saw Kenneth Murray Jr. deal with injuries and inconsistency a year ago, Reeder was not tendered by the Rams as a restricted free agent. He does have limitations in pass coverage, but perhaps familiarity with Staley will be a boon for Reeder.
MIAMI — You assume every team in the NFL wants to win. Some do a better job of showing it than others.
The Miami Dolphins have spared no expense in building a contender this offseason. Their biggest additions have come on offense with the signing of left tackle Terron Armstead and a trade for receiver Tyreek Hill. However, they didn’t forget their defense.
Their latest move was a five-year, re-worked contract with cornerback Xavien Howard that gives the three-time Pro Bowler $50 million in new money even though he had three years and $39 million remaining on a contract he signed in 2019.
Howard felt he outplayed his contract, especially after Miami gave cornerback Byron Jones a five-year, $82 million deal in 2020. Howard publicly requested a trade prior to the 2021 season, and the team put a bandage on the issue by slightly restructuring his contract and promising to renegotiate after the season.
By making good on their promise, the Dolphins seemed to send a message to their locker room that the days of squabbling with their best players are over.
“Just to bring everybody back, especially on defense, is so exciting,” Howard said. “My boy [Emmanuel] Ogbah, I was happy he’s back. We can make some plays out there together. It’s exciting to have the defense back, especially going into our third year in the same defensive scheme.”
Miami began the reunion tour with its defense by retaining coordinator Josh Boyer and several other members of last year’s defensive staff, then re-signed Ogbah, their top defensive end, to a four-year, $65 million contract just minutes before legal tampering began on March 14. The sides had negotiated throughout the season but were unable to agree to a contract prior to the offseason.
Speaking at the NFL combine, however, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel publicly made it known that he wanted Ogbah back. He got his wish 12 days later.
Since then, Miami has made it clear it feels its defense from last season was worth building on. It re-signed its entire inside linebacker room and defensive tackle John Jenkins. When the team began its offseason workout program April 4, players described a new atmosphere in the locker room despite many of the same faces.
“It’s just different. You can tell,” Ogbah said. “A lot of guys are happy to be back. Everybody is just happy to see each other again. It’s only been like two months, but it felt like forever. We’re just glad to be back working again.
“Coach McDaniel brings a different type of energy into the program, so we’re excited about that, too.”
The 2021 season was a tale of two halves for the Dolphins — they were statistically one of the worst defenses in the league during the first eight weeks, which featured a seven-game losing streak.
However, the defense fueled Miami’s seven-game winning streak that began in Week 9. During the streak it led the NFL with a 40% pressure rate, allowed a league-low 257 yards per game, held opponents to a league-low 28.6% third-down conversion rate and held six opponents under 200 total yards. The Dolphins finished the season tied for second in the NFL with 48.0 sacks and tied for eighth with 26 takeaways.
They are banking on the second half of last season being more representative of the team’s true defensive identity.
“We should be as good as we want to be,” Ogbah said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back, a lot of guys in key spots. We’ve just got to take that one step and get better.”
The return of all 11 starters from a season ago brings high expectations, but winning the AFC East won’t be easy. Miami is 1-7 in its past eight meetings against the Buffalo Bills, who have won two consecutive AFC East titles and are the favorites again in 2022 after improving this offseason.
But the Dolphins, coming off consecutive winning seasons, have committed more than $186 million in guaranteed money to Armstead, Hill, Howard and Ogbah alone this offseason, and Howard knows what is now demanded of this team.
“To win,” he said bluntly.
“We’ve got to finish off what we started on the defensive side. We’ve been making plays and getting stuff done for the team. We’ve got to continue doing that, add more pieces to it and hopefully cause more trouble out there on defense.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. More WR picks: Coach Bill Belichick’s history of selecting wide receivers in the draft — with the misfire on 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry the most recent log on the fire — is annually a hot-button topic at this time on the NFL calendar.
It isn’t all bad. But it could be a lot better.
And a case could be made that the reason it isn’t better is right before Belichick’s eyes, with the upcoming NFL draft (April 28-30, ESPN) — along with the dramatic, shifting financial landscape among top veteran receivers — making the timing right to prioritize drafting more receivers.
Consider that since Belichick arrived in New England in 2000, he’s selected just 18 receivers in the draft. That is tied for the fifth-lowest total over that span and doesn’t take into account that six of those receivers were picked in the seventh/final round, and one is a special-teams-only option (Matthew Slater).
The Ravens (30), Bengals (30) and Packers (29) have drafted the most receivers since 2000, with Green Bay viewed by many as one of the most impressive teams when it comes to developing prospects at the position. The Steelers (23), just above the league average of 22.5, are also widely regarded as excellent.
The Patriots’ acquisition of DeVante Parker in a trade last week might lessen the immediate need for a receiver, but there is still a future void to consider with Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor scheduled for unrestricted free agency, and Kendrick Bourne another solid season away from possibly being in position to request a pay raise himself.
Then consider the recent run of big-money extensions for receivers creating sticker shock for some around the NFL — Davante Adams (five years, $141.25 million, $65 million guaranteed), Tyreek Hill (four years, $120 million, $75 million guaranteed), Stefon Diggs (four years, $104 million, $70 million guaranteed) — and teams might now prioritize drafting receivers more than they have in the past.
“When you start throwing that money around, if it’s a quarterback, I get it. If it’s a pass-rusher, I get it. Guys that are impacting games all the time. With a receiver — they’re important don’t get me wrong, but a good defensive coordinator can take them out of the game plan,” said Scot McCloughan, the former Washington and San Francisco general manager who now works as an independent scouting consultant for NFL teams.
“So now you’re lucky if he touches the ball 6-8 times a game … it’s just who’s going to impact the game the most.”
McCloughan added that the price can always be justified if a team feels it’s close to a championship, but he views the draft — and getting quality production on players on cheaper rookie contracts — as becoming even more critical.
This echoes something ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid pointed out: “With wide receivers projected to make so much money after their rookie deals, we could see teams elect to simply turn to the draft to restock the talent of that player instead of paying him.”
This is one reason Belichick and the less-than-average investment at receiver could be costly (financially and otherwise) for the Patriots if it continues.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be at pick No. 21, although it’s always good to be aware of receiver-needy teams like Green Bay (No. 22) and Kansas City (Nos. 29 and 30) lurking behind them. Prospects such as Ohio State’s Chris Olave, Alabama’s Jameson Williams, Penn State’s Jahan Dotson and Arkansas’ Treylon Burks would be among those to consider in the first round.
In a draft considered deep at receiver, there should be plenty of options through the middle rounds to consider as well (ESPN’s Matt Bowen identified Boise State’s Khalil Shakir as a fit for New England in the middle rounds).
McCloughan, who got his start in the NFL as a regional scout with the Packers and remembers current Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf attending meetings as a youngster to see his father (GM Ron Wolf), said one of the biggest challenges of being a GM was adjusting to the market when salaries spiked.
“I think that’s kind of what’s going on now [at receiver],” he said.
2. Mac’s mission: Some who have spent time around quarterback Mac Jones this offseason describe him as being on a mission — from following a disciplined diet to focusing on full-body fundamentals that will help him get more pace on his throws when needed, arm-care maintenance, as well as strengthening bonds with teammates on and off the field. While Bourne’s Instagram photos from Tampa last week put a spotlight on Jones’ work with receivers, I’m told it wasn’t the first time Jones gathered with teammates this offseason, with a handful of sessions in Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago that included Agholor, tight end Jonnu Smith, practice-squad receiver Tre Nixon and running back Damien Harris, among others.
3. Brown’s target — 365 pounds: Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown‘s two-year contract includes a $750,000 weight bonus in 2022 and 2023, and here are the specifics:
385 pounds or less on first day of offseason program — $150,000
375 pounds or less on June 1 — $75,000
365 pounds or less on July 15 — $75,000
365 pounds or less each Thursday during the season — $25,000 per week
The 6-foot-8 Brown is one of the NFL’s largest players and one of the main things to deduce from the contract is that the team views him at his best at 365 pounds. He is listed at 380 pounds on the official roster.
Brown also has significant playing-time incentives. He can earn $500,000 if he participates in 65% of the offensive snaps, and an additional $500,000 at 70%. He can also earn $750,000 at each of the following playing-time markers — 75%, 80%, 85%, and 90%. A final incentive is $500,000 for 95% of the snaps or being selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot.
4. Penning a story: Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning, a projected first-round pick, was reportedly among a group of prospects visiting New England last week. Teams can host up to 30 prospects at their facility, and the visits are often used to clean up any final details (e.g. medical, interview, etc.). Offensive tackle wouldn’t be a headline-grabbing pick, but with starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the 2022 season, and Brown on a heavily incentivized deal, it would also make some sense. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay on Penning: “Big, strong, physical, nasty dude. He’s probably the nastiest offensive lineman in this class. He’s a finisher.” Sounds a lot like former Patriot Logan Mankins.
5. Wise guy: Sixth-year defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., who received an unexpected $2.85 million signing bonus as part of a restructured deal to help the Patriots create cap space last week, has had a daily presence at Gillette Stadium in recent weeks. That continued on Saturday when he held a Q&A for season-ticket members at the Patriots’ annual Draft Preview event.
6. Middle class: When Patriots salary cap guru Miguel Benzan tweeted that each Patriot in the top 51 has a cap charge of $1 million or more — a rarity in the NFL in terms of spreading out the wealth across the roster — the first thought that came to mind was this comment from owner Robert Kraft at the NFL’s annual meeting. “I think people who don’t understand our sport also don’t understand the opportunity cost of not having players on the field. If you saw our nutrition staff, our rehab staff, and our weight-room people, there is a composite picture of trying to give us a chance to have as many of the guys out there on Sunday as possible. That makes a big difference.” The Patriots, true to form, are betting that paying more for depth will be an advantage.
7. Parker’s number: Parker wore No. 11 in his seven seasons with the Dolphins, which the Patriots haven’t issued to a player on the 53-man active roster since Julian Edelman retired last season. Practice-squad kicker Riley Patterson was given 11 at one point last year, sparking a humorous reaction from Edelman on Twitter. On the humor front, Parker wore No. 9 at Louisville and had a light-hearted back-and-forth with linebacker Matthew Judon on possibly prying that away from him.
8. Patriots Hall: The Patriots Hall of Fame committee gathered on Wednesday to discuss nominations for this year’s inductee, and as usual, there was passionate discussion, with Bill Parcells’ candidacy the most polarizing. Nine players/coaches were nominated, and then each member of the committee voted to narrow the list to three — a first-place vote gets five points, second place is three points, third place is one point on each ballot (my ballot: Mike Vrabel, Parcells, Vince Wilfork … with Wes Welker/Mankins on deck and Julius Adams my top Seniors candidate in 2023). The finalists are expected to be announced later this week, and then a fan vote will decide the inductee. One reason I enjoy taking part in the process is that there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to a team Hall of Fame. It’s what strikes you personally.
Patriots Hall of Fame Committee concludes its annual meeting. Those nominated in 2022: Julius Adams, Chuck Fairbanks, Logan Mankins, Lawyer Milloy, Bill Parcells, John Smith, Mike Vrabel, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork.
3 finalists to come from this group. Then fan vote for inductee.
9. Eyes on staff: Ross Douglas’ official title on Belichick’s staff last year was NFL coaching fellowship/defense, and this offseason, he’s flipped to the offense. So that leaves an opening on defense and a familiar name is a good fit to fill it — V’Angelo Bentley. Die-hard Patriots fans remember that Bentley had signed with New England as an undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Illinois. Bentley spent last season as a graduate assistant at Penn State, working mostly with defensive backs, which is similar to the void that Douglas’ move to offense has created.
10. Did you know: Patriots wide receivers combined for 103 receiving first downs last season, ranking 28th in the NFL. In addition, the Patriots were the first team since the 2009 Rams to go an entire season without a player having a 100-yard receiving game.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The New York Giants aren’t messing around with their quarterback situation. The new regime has made the pecking order abundantly clear: Daniel Jones is the starter and Tyrod Taylor is the backup.
No quibbling over semantics. No saying the QBs will compete or that everyone has to win a job or that this is a pure meritocracy.
Nope, Jones is the starter under new general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll, with perhaps his biggest backer being ownership and John Mara.
“He’s shown enough when we’ve had the right pieces around him — when we’ve been relatively healthy — he’s shown enough talent to make us believe we can win with him,” Mara said last week at the NFL annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
Mara and the Giants believe Jones is a quarterback you can build around, even if they need to see it before putting up the money that proves it completely.
Schoen and Daboll followed the latest Mara endorsement by specifically referring to Taylor, who was signed as a free agent three weeks ago, as the “backup.” So barring an unexpected setback, Jones will begin the spring workouts, training camp and the regular season as the starter.
This is a make-or-break 2022 season for Jones, who is on the final year of his rookie contract. The Giants said they haven’t made a decision about whether to pick up his fifth-year option. They have until May 2.
It was just two years ago that Joe Judge took over as head coach and wouldn’t say the name of Jones (or any player for that matter) until he had them in the building and saw them on the field.
This is the opposite end of the spectrum — naming your starting quarterback in March.
“Yeah, [Taylor] came in as the backup,” Daboll said last week at the NFC coaches’ breakfast in Palm Beach. “Again, you’ve seen Daniel here the last few years. I think Daniel, I’ve said this before, he’s got good athleticism, he’s made some really good throws. I’m sure there are some plays that he wants back just like everybody.
“I think going into it right now and [the start of the offseason program], we kind of got it set the way we want it set.”
The Giants have no concerns about Jones’ neck injury, which cost him the final six games of last season. There will be no limitations this spring.
In fact, there were people in the organization who thought Jones was legitimately close to a return late last season. Four months later and almost five months before he will face his first contact, it’s hardly even a topic.
“He should be ready to go,” Daboll assured reporters about his starting quarterback’s availability this spring.
The Giants have Taylor just in case. It was a priority for Schoen to get a reliable backup this offseason, even with the team short on salary-cap space. He first went after Mitch Trubisky (who signed with Pittsburgh as the presumed starter) before turning his attention to Taylor.
Taylor, 32, was signed to a two-year deal worth $11 million with the potential to earn more with incentives he can only hit if he plays. He fits what the Giants were looking for in their backup quarterback — a veteran to work behind and push Jones.
“I like Tyrod a lot,” Schoen said. “I was in Buffalo with him that first year [2017] when we broke the 17-year drought in terms of the playoffs there. Morning workout guy. He was always the first one in. Always in there. First one in, last one to leave. He’s smart. He’s a leader. He’s athletic. He can run Dabes’ system and [offensive coordinator Mike] Kafka — the stuff they want to do on offense. You don’t have to change up your offense if he has to go into the game. Similar type skill sets [as Jones] and they can run the same offensive scheme.
“That was kind of some guys that we targeted. It was guys you don’t have to completely change your scheme in order to run your offense. That was important.”
Jones’ history suggests Taylor will end up playing this year. Jones has missed games because of injury in each of his first three professional seasons.
That is just one of the reasons there is uncertainty surrounding Jones as the long-term answer at quarterback. There is also his 12-25 record as a starter and 49 turnovers in 38 career games.
Yet the new coach, GM and ownership are looking beyond the inconsistent start to his career and believe this is going to be the year he finally puts it together.
“You’re going to have to wait and see,” Mara said. “I can understand there is going to be a lot of skepticism about that. But you’re just going to have to wait and see. You tell me: Which quarterback would have thrived in the situation that we’ve been in over the past two or three or four years? It was very difficult. I think he did the best he could. Plus, he’s been hurt.
“We think he’s going to be healthy this year. Our offensive line should be better. There are also some pretty good skill players out there. We have a new scheme. We have a head coach who has been very successful developing quarterbacks.
“So all of those things indicate we’re going to be better. Until we do it, I understand there is going to be skepticism.”
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Looking for the hottest trend in NFL circles? Try … teams taking advantage of their young-but-elite quarterback’s still relatively manageable rookie contract.
“It’s not just enough to outscore people in this league,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said at last week’s NFL owners’ meetings. “You’ve got to win in a lot of different ways in this league. It’s not just surrounding [Herbert] with offensive weapons; it’s surrounding him with a complete team, where the pressure isn’t on him every single game to score 35 [points], to throw for 350 [yards], you know, to bring you back. And I think that’s what we’re trying to do is surround Justin and all of our players with a complete team.”
And you have to be able to afford said pieces, right?
So with Herbert, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2020 draft, entering Year 3 of his four-year, $26.5-plus million contract, the Chargers were able to go after big names with just-as-big price tags. And primarily on the defensive side of the ball.
First, the Chargers acquired edge rusher Khalil Mack from the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a sixth-rounder in 2023. The deal was agreed to March 10 and made official on March 16, the first day of the new league year. Mack has been an All-Pro performer in eight seasons with the Raiders and the Bears, registering six sacks in seven games last season and a career-high 12.5 in 2018 in Chicago when Staley was his outside linebackers coach.
“That’s going to be a fun guy to play with,” Mack said of Herbert. “He has a lot of different intangibles. Not just from a football aspect, but just the mindset. Just watching that mindset from afar, I’ve kind of admired it. I admire his mindset more so than his play.”
Los Angeles converted $13.5 million of Mack’s salary into a bonus and created $9 million in salary cap space, setting the stage for the rest of the week.
Because on March 14, the Chargers got defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day to change SoFi Stadium locker rooms, convincing the former Los Angeles Rams nose tackle to agree to a three-year, $24 million free-agent contract with $15 million guaranteed. Joseph-Day had three sacks in seven games last season before suffering a torn pectoral in early November, though he returned for the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI triumph.
And a day after that, the Chargers reached a deal to sign cornerback J.C. Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million deal with $40 million guaranteed, as well as defensive lineman Austin Johnson to a two-year, $14 million contract with $10.625 million guaranteed. Jackson has a league-best 25 interceptions since entering the league in 2018 and his eight interceptions in 2021 were one more than the Chargers had as a team.
“Football,” Herbert said last season, “is a three-phase game.”
Even if the Chargers were defense-heavy in free agency … ostensibly to help Herbert. And without Herbert’s still-affordable contract, it probably wouldn’t have been possible.
“I think what you’re seeing right now is competition in the NFL,” Staley said. “I think it’s amazing for the NFL. You’re seeing all these teams make these types of moves and I think that’s what the NFL represents is, ‘Hey, you better be working to make your team as good as you can be or you’re going to get left behind.'”
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