Houston Texans Continue Trimming the Roster

On Friday Houston continued the trimming of their roster with the releases of two veterans in Center Nick Martin and Runningback Duke Johnson. The two transactions further move Houston into the positive side of available cap space, now approaching $16.1 million. These moves are not unexpected as new GM Nick Caserio works to clean up the salary cap mess left behind by Bill O’Brien.

Houston extended Nick Martin in August 2019 with an over valued 3 year extension with an APY of $11 million. This contract placed Martin in the Top 3 (at the time) paid Centers. Martin’s performance prior to the contract did not align with the contract value, and Martin’s performance continued to decline in 2019 and 2020. The release saves Houston $6.25 million in cap space and $7.5 million in cash.

Another questionable move in the 2019 offseason was the trade for Duke Johnson. Houston sent a 3rd round compensatory pick to Cleveland in exchange for the remaining three years of Johnson’s contract. Johnson is not a bell-cow type back, but should have been used as a third down back and a player that flexed out to wide receiver. Houston never utilized Johnson the way many envisioned. Totaling 1,304 total yards (rushing and receiving) over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The release saves Houston $5.03 million in cap dollars and $5.15 million in cash.

Houston’s starting running back in David Johnson was also a topic of discussion on social media over the weekend. Reports from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle noted Houston was looking to retain David Johnson under a revised contract for the 2021 season. Johnson has a scheduled cap charge of $8.5 million dollars with a scheduled (potential) cash earn of $9 million. Johnson does have a $2.1 million salary guarantee for 2021. If Johnson does remain in Houston, expect the cap and cash charge to come down to $3.5-$4.0 million including incentives.

These moves come on the heels of earlier releases with All Pro Defensive End J.J. Watt, veteran Guard Senio Kelmete, and Linebacker Peter Kalambayi.

Expect more roster moves for Houston in the coming days and weeks prior to free agency. The team needs to make a decision on veterans on Linebacker Bernardrick McKinney, Tight End Darren Fells, Guard/Center Zach Fulton, and Defensive Tackle Brandon Dunn.

Houston does have three remaining pending Restricted Free Agents in P.J. Hall (DI), Pharaoh Brown (TE), and A.J. Moore (DB). Reportedly Houston wants to retain all three players either on new contracts or original round tenders. Houston has already agreed to terms with Buddy Howell (RB), Dontrell Hilliard (RB), and Cornell Armstrong (DB). Those contracts are expected to be finalized this week.

Reportedly the team is expected to open negotiations with veteran inside linebacker Tyrell Adams this week. Adams is 29 coming off of a career season after filling in for McKinney, determining Adams’ value will be difficult for Caserio. And yes, Caserio is doing all the contract negotiations for Houston at this point in time.

The continued saga with Deshaun Watson continues with the latest report on Watson completing a remote meeting with new head coach David Culley. Reports from that meeting suggest Watson does not plan to report or play for Houston this year. Caserio continues his assertion that Houston does not plan to trade Watson. Expect this trend to continue up to the draft in late April. When draft night closes in, the team’s position may alter once the proposed packages become more real.

Jets to Release Darrelle Revis

The Jets announced the pending release of cornerback Darrelle Revis tonight with a statement from owner Woody Johnson

“Darrelle Revis is one of the greatest players to ever wear a Jets uniform,” said Jets owner Woody Johnson. “His combination of talent, preparation and instincts is rare and helped him become one of the most dominant players of his generation. I appreciate Darrelle’s contributions to this organization and, wherever his career takes him, his home will always be here with the Jets.”

Revis has a $6 million salary guarantee that should still be owed to him unless his recent arrest allowed the Jets to void the guarantee. Continue reading Jets to Release Darrelle Revis »

NFL Franchise Tag Season Begins

With the deadline to designate franchise players just two days away, many NFL teams began the process today and designating their franchise players. The official franchise designations were made by the Cardinals, Steelers, and Panthers on Chandler Jones, Le’Veon Bell and Kawann Short. The Giants will also be tagging Jason Pierre-Paul but did not officially place the designation on him. None of the names thus far are a surprise. Continue reading NFL Franchise Tag Season Begins »

Steelers and Antonio Brown Agree on $68M Contract

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport the Steelers and Antonio Brown have come to terms on a massive $68 million contract extension that will make him the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL by over $2 million a season on an annual basis.

Continue reading Steelers and Antonio Brown Agree on $68M Contract »

Browns Release Receiver Andrew Hawkins

The makeover of the Cleveland Browns continues with the release of receiver Andrew Hawkins in what is a sign of the Browns continuing with a youth movement as they overhaul their entire franchise. The Browns released a statement from head coach Hue Jackson praising Hawkins work last season with the teams young receivers that read in part:

“Our young players are going to be better players and better people because of the time they spent with Andrew Hawkins”

Though it did not get much attention, Hawkins signed one of the more interesting contracts in recent memory back in 2014, which I think is worth looking back on. Continue reading Browns Release Receiver Andrew Hawkins »

49ers Sign Earl Mitchell

Since the Super Bowl 19 name value players have been released from their contracts and today the first one of those players actually signed a new contract when Earl Mitchell agreed to a four year, $16 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. While we don’t know the full details Matt Maiocco tweeted out that the first year salary is $5.5 million which is a pretty nice haul for a player who was released in part because his former team determined paying him $4 million for the season was too high. Continue reading 49ers Sign Earl Mitchell »

Bucs Release Verner

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be release cornerback Alterraun Verner according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Verner’s release will save the team $6.5 million.  As is typical with Buccaneers contract there will be no dead money associated with the release since the Bucs do not use signing bonuses and all the guarantees in Verner’s contract had run out. Tampa Bay should now have around $68 million in cap room, which ranks fourth in the NFL behind the Browns, 49ers, and Jaguars.  Continue reading Bucs Release Verner »