Cards cut Mathieu; Browns’ Thomas retires
All those promises worth millions upon millions to free agents turned into paydays Wednesday when the NFL’s business year began.
Of course, teams needed to clear salary cap space or rejigger their ledgers to make it work, and they’ll still be doing so for months.
While the likes of Drew Brees, Malcolm Butler and Andrew Norwell cashed in big-time, having reached agreements in the past two days before everything became official, some value entered the marketplace.
Arizona released former All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu when it couldn’t rework his deal.
Baltimore cut receiver Jeremy Maclin. Detroit said goodbye to tight end Eric Ebron. Pittsburgh tore up a secondary that often was torn up by opposing quarterbacks, cutting Mike Mitchell, Robert Golden and William Gay.
But Carolina had more success with a veteran, completing a one-year deal with defensive end Julius Peppers.
The 38-year-old Peppers, who contemplated retirement after 17 pro seasons, remains with the Panthers for $5 million, with $2.5 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
Cleveland, meanwhile, did nothing more than listen to one of its greatest players, tackle Joe Thomas, announce his retirement. The Browns save his $10.3 million salary for 2018 and a $3 million bonus but lose their best player and leader in the expansion era (1999-present), a 10time Pro Bowler.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, but the right one for me and my family,” Thomas said. “Playing in the NFL has taken a toll on my body and I can no longer physically compete at the level I need to.”
Mathieu was due for $18.75 million of his contract to be guaranteed when the league year officially begins. By cutting him, Arizona will save close to $5 million in cap space.
Baltimore frees up an estimated $5 million in salary cap space by releasing Maclin, who signed on as a free agent in June. But Maclin missed two games with a shoulder injury, two more with knee issues, and finished with only 40 catches for 440 yards and three touchdowns. Then the Ravens agreed to deals with free-agent receivers John Brown (Arizona) and Ryan Grant (Washington). In other moves: • The San Francisco 49ers agreed to a four-year deal with running back Jerick McKinnon (Vikings) and a five-year deal with center/guard Weston Richburg (Giants). McKinnon replaces departing starter Carlos Hyde, and Richburg could start anywhere in the interior line.
• The New York Giants agreed with offensive tackle Nate Solder, late of the Patriots, to become its starter on the left side. Solder, 29, will get a four-year deal worth about $62 million.
• Tennessee kept right guard Josh Kline and defensive end David King with new contracts.
• The Buffalo Bills restocked their quarterback position by agreeing to a two-year contract with AJ McCarron. The 27-yearold spent the past four seasons backing up Andy Dalton in Cincinnati after being selected by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. Buffalo also added defensive end Trent Murphy from Washington.
• The Falcons addressed a need by signing offensive guard Brandon Fusco, who started 16 games for San Francisco last season, to a three-year deal.
• The Dolphins officially released five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh when the trades to acquire defensive end Robert Quinn and send Jarvis Landry to Cleveland were formalized. Miami also released tight end Julius Thomas, which had been expected, but decided to keep right tackle Ja’Wuan James, which guarantees him $9.34 million in 2018.
• The Los Angeles Chargers signed free-agent tight end Virgil Green (Broncos) to a threeyear contract and re-signed safety Adrian Phillips with a one-year deal.
• The New York Jets signed linebacker Avery Williamson (Titans) to a three-year contract worth $22.5 million. The Jets also tendered wide receiver Quincy Enunwa at the secondround level, worth $2.9 million.