The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Brady’s move highlights start of NFL year
Deals everywhere, but nothing official with NFL in limbo.
Tom Brady preparing to trade the red, white and blue threads of this century’s most successful franchise for one of the NFL’s bottom feeders served as the highlight of a topsy-turvy start to the league’s new year Wednesday.
Brady, 42, will take his six rings from his unparalleled 20-year reign in New England to Tampa, where the Buccaneers have sat out the playoffs every season since 2007. During that time, Brady has won 18 playoff games and half of his record-tying six Super Bowls.
Like the rest of everyday life that’s been upended by the new coronavirus pandemic, the start of free agency was anything but normal, with Brady’s deal and most every other one in semi-limbo.
Free-agent contracts and trades agreed upon in recent days or weeks won’t become official until players can undergo physicals and sign their new deals — meaning they aren’t being paid under their new deals. The NFL has barred travel to team facilities by free agents and has banned team personnel from traveling to meet with players as a safeguard against the new coronavirus.
Several people familiar with a memo the league sent to the 32 teams Tuesday night tell The Associated Press that while teams can announce reaching agreements with free agents or concluding trades, nothing is official. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been made public by the NFL or the teams.
Although information on dozens of contract agreements and a slew of trades has been leaked, teams were not allowed to complete the deals until the 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday start of the 2020 NFL business year. However, all of those transactions now come with the caveat that the signings and physicals need to occur.
Of course, if a club drafts a contract and sends it digitally to a player, he can sign it remotely and send it back to the team. Then teams must submit it to the league and that would constitute official signing. But few, if any, teams would be willing to do that without conducting a physical. Players can undergo physicals locally, but many teams have expressed being uncomfortable with such an arrangement.
Among the players moving in free agency in one of the busiest years of action are such stars as Brady, Philip Rivers and Jason Witten. While they certainly can afford to wait for everything to become official, it’s a strange dynamic in what, of course, is a strange time.
The NFL has delayed the offseason schedule of practices amid the uncertainty — meetings and organized team activities (OTAs) would have begun in April. Becoming familiar with new surroundings, teammates and coaching staffs for the likes of veterans Brady, Rivers and Witten — who collectively spent 52 years with their original teams — and the dozens of other players changing addressed must wait.
While Brady’s representatives and the Buccaneers worked out details of their contract, teams went ahead with plans to bolster their rosters amid the uncertainty:
Trade of the day: The Jaguars agreed to trade quarterback Nick Foles to the Bears for a compensatory fourth-round draft pick, according to a person familiar with the transaction. The Jaguars are dumping Foles a little more than a year after giving the 2018 Super Bowl MVP a four-year, $88 million contract that included a whopping $50.125 million guaranteed.
The Bears are getting a veteran starter to compete with Mitchell Trubisky, who struggled in his third season. They are expected to rework
Foles’ contract, which has three years remaining. Dealing Foles will still be costly for the Jaguars — they will take on $18.75 million in dead money this fall — but it will free up about $35 million over the next two years. The Jaguars are in full rebuild mode after their 10th losing season in the last 12 years.
Dolphins: From tanking to banking, the Dolphins have been the busiest team on a spending spree, committing a whopping $133 million in guarantees to seven players. After making Byron Jones the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, the Dolphins also have agreed to deals with C Ted Karras, LB Kyle Van Noy, DEs Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah, RB Jordan Howard and G Ereck Flowers. The total value of the new deals is more than $222 million.
That’s big change — and a big change for a franchise that began stockpiling money and draft picks a year ago with a roster dismantling so drastic Miami used an NFL-record 84 players and was accused of tanking.
Broncos: A day after losing out on NT D.J. Reader to the Bengals, the Broncos made their second big trade (A.J. Bouye from Jacksonville) of the offseason by acquiring five-time Pro Bowl DL Jurrell Casey from the Tennessee Titans for a 2020 seventh-round pick, people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. Casey, due $11.2 million this season and under contract through 2022, plugs a gaping hole on Denver’s D-line just as the free agent acquisition of C-G Graham Glasgow (four years, $44 million) fills a big need on the O-line.
Steelers: Pittsburgh turned the opening day of free agency into a family affair for the Watt family, agreeing to terms with OLB T.J. Watt’s older brother, FB Derek Watt, on a three-year contract worth $9.75 million. Their other brother, J.J. Watt, is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year for Houston.
Cardinals: Arizona bolstered its struggling defense by agreeing to deals with DL Jordan Phillips and LB Devon Kennard. But as has usually been the case over the past year in Arizona, the loudest buzz is surrounding the offense. Arizona’s biggest move came on Monday, when the team added elite WR DeAndre Hopkins in a trade with Houston that sent RB David Johnson back to the Texans.
Chargers: CB Chris Harris Jr. is remaining in the AFC West after agreeing to a contract with the Chargers, a person familiar with the situation told the AP. Harris spent nine seasons in Denver, anchoring the “No Fly Zone“defense that helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50. Also, defensive tackle Linval Joseph agreed to a two-year contract with the Chargers, worth as high as $19 million including incentives. Joseph spent the past six years with the Vikings and was released last week in a salary cap move.
Panthers: Released safety Eric Reid just 13 months after giving him a three-year contract extension. The move means the Panthers will be on the hook for $5 million in dead cap money. The 28-year-old started 29 games over the past two seasons and had 201 tackles, five sacks and one interception.
Rams: A person with knowledge of the deal said left tackle Andrew Whitworth agreed to a threeyear contract to return to the Rams. The 38-year-old will play his 15th NFL season in the fall. Whitworth spent 11 years with the Cincinnati Bengals before joining the Rams as a free agent and has been an anchor on the line while protecting Jared Goff ’s blind side.
Seahawks: The Seahawks are reuniting with an old friend, bringing back former first-round pick Bruce Irvin, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Irvin will be a boost to Seattle’s pass rush that needed attention. He had a career-high 8½ sacks and 16 quarterback hits last season in just 13 games during his one year with Carolina. Both those totals would have led Seattle. He also made stops with Oakland and Atlanta after leaving Seattle following the 2015 season.
Bills: Signed cornerback Josh Norman to a one-year contract in hopes the eighthyear player can secure a starting job opposite Tre’Davious White. Norman was available after struggling to meet expectations before being cut by Washington last month with one year left on his fiveyear, $75 million contract.