Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Carr gets three-year extension from Raiders
Through a season of turmoil, Derek Carr performed at his best. So the Las Vegas Raiders have given the veteran quarterback a three-year contract extension.
The extension is worth $121.5 million, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press, speaking last week on condition of anonymity.
Despite all of the issues with the Raiders last season, including the resignation of coach Jon Gruden, Carr helped them to the playoffs as a wild card in the tough AFC West. He threw for a career-high 4,804 yards and 23 touchdowns as Las Vegas went 10-7 before losing at Cincinnati in the postseason.
“I’ve only wanted to be a Raider again and I told my agent (Tim Younger), I said, ‘I’m either gonna be a Raider or I’m gonna be playing golf.’ I don’t want to play anywhere else,” Carr said. “That’s how much this place means to me.”
Carr said it also meant a lot for him to structure the contract so the team could keep key components around him for a long time while building “a championship team.”
“We made sure guys like Chandler (Jones), guys like Davante (Adams), guys like hopefully Hunter (Renfrow), and Foster (Moreau) and those guys can stay here,” said Carr, the longest-tenured quarterback in the AFC. “I went through a heartbreak already the last time I signed my contract, my best friend (Khalil Mack) left. And I didn’t want that to ever happen again.
“This was an opportunity for me to prove to the team, to the organization, to our fans, that the way we’re gonna structure this is so we can keep everyone together and really have real continuity, really have something to build on.”
An eight-year veteran, Carr, 31, was entering the final year of his deal, worth nearly $19.8 million in base salary. That contract was for five years at $125 million, the richest in the NFL at the time he signed it in 2017.
When healthy, Carr has been a starter for nearly all of his time with the Raiders and has made three Pro Bowls.
Carr had a career-high and franchiserecord
4,804 passing yards in 2021 and was the only quarterback in the league to finish among the top five in both passing yards and completion percentage (68.4).
Carr holds franchise records for passing yards (31,700), passing touchdowns (193), games with multiple-touchdown passes (59), games with a passer rating of at least 100 points (44), and 300-yard passing contests (31).
Extending Carr is the latest move in a busy offseason. Carr will have All-Pro Adams added to his receiving group in a trade with Green Bay, and standout pass rusher Jones as a free agent.
Mayfield: Browns ‘disrespected,’ deceived him about future: Baker Mayfield feels the Cleveland Browns deceived him about their offseason plans, which resulted in them trading for Deshaun
Watson.
Speaking on a podcast, Mayfield, whose tumultuous four-year run as Cleveland’s quarterback essentially ended when the team acquired Watson in a stunning deal last month with the Houston Texans, said the team was not upfront with him.
“I feel disrespected 100% because I
was told one thing and they completely did another,” Mayfield said in an appearance on the “Ya Never Know” podcast.
Mayfield struggled while playing most of last season with a torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder, which he injured in Week 2. Cleveland fell way short of expectations, finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs after ending a long postseason drought the previous season.
He underwent surgery right after the season and Browns general manager Andrew Berry publicly indicated the team was planning to bring Mayfield back as the starter while privately investigating whether to add Watson, accused by two dozen massage therapists in Texas of sexual assault and harassment.
When Mayfield learned of the Browns’ interest, he demanded a trade. Watson, who initially turned down Cleveland, then changed his mind, waived his notrade clause and signed a record-setting $230 million fully guaranteed contract.
While still upset over the way it was handled, Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, said he’s at peace with his time with the Browns.
“I really, truly honesty have no regrets of my time in Cleveland of what I tried to give that place,” he said. “True Clevelanders and true Browns fans know that, and that’s why I can walk away from the whole situation feeling like I did it.”
Mayfield remains on Cleveland’s roster as the team tries to work out a trade. The tricky part for the Browns is that he’s due to make $18.8 million, and there aren’t many teams willing to take on that salary.
As his performances worsened last season, the 26-year-old Mayfield acknowledged he spent too much time caring about how he was being treated. He said a break from social media helped, but it was hard to block out everything.
Mayfield was booed at FirstEnergy Stadium during a win over Detroit in Week 11 and skipped his postgame news conference.
“When people are so critical of it,” Mayfield said, “I would love to show up at somebody’s cubicle and just boo the (crap) out of them and watch them crumble. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that I get caught up in all the negativity and stuff during the year last year.”
Mayfield reflected on his time with the Browns during the 90-minute interview, his first since the Watson deal was completed.
He feels liberated being out of Cleveland.
“I got my taste of it because I’ve had four different head coaches in four years, a bunch of different coordinators. I’ve had the highs and they always come back,” he said. “I had great times my rookie year. I didn’t start in the beginning. I came in and had fun in the back half of the year. 2019 sucked. 2020 was great, made the playoffs.
“2021 was miserable. I’m just looking for stabilization right now. I know what I need to do to be the best version of me and be able to lead an organization. I’m in a good place right now. I have no clue where I’m going.”
Seattle and Carolina are still believed to be possible landing spots for Mayfield, who is looking forward to a reset of his career.
Source: Browns, Ward agree on $100M contract extension: A person familiar with the negotiations tells AP that Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward has agreed to a five-year, $100.5 million contract extension with the Cleveland Browns. Ward’s deal includes $71.25 million guaranteed, said the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the 24year-old has not yet signed the contract. With a yearly average of $20.1 million, Ward will be the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback.
ESPN was first to report the agreement. Ward has developed into one of the league’s best coverage cornerbacks during his four seasons as a pro. The Browns selected the former Ohio State star with the No. 4 overall pick in 2018.
Ward has 10 career interceptions in 52 games. Last season, he picked off Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for the Browns’ 41-16 win over the Bengals, who went on to win the AFC title. Ward, who has started 51 games, has 186 tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered three.
His impact goes beyond the field as Ward was the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year winner last season for his community work. He also started the “Make Them Know Your Name Foundation,” in honor of his father, Paul, who died unexpectedly in 2016 due to cardiac arrest.
Arrests in shooting from SUV in which Cowboy was riding: Dallas police say two men have been arrested in a fatal shooting from a vehicle in which a Dallas Cowboys player was riding. Dallas cornerback Kelvin Joseph is not mentioned in a police news release that says 28-year-old Aries Jones and 21-year-old Tivione English were identified as the shooters and arrested Saturday.
Joseph’s attorney, Barry Sorrels, said Friday that Joseph was a passenger in the SUV from which the shots were fired on March 18, but was unarmed and did not shoot the victim, Cameron Ray. Jones and English were jailed Saturday in Dallas. Police did not immediately return a Saturday phone call for comment. The Cowboys selected Joseph, the former
LSU and Kentucky star, in the second round of last year’s NFL draft.
WR Green returns to Cardinals: Receiver A.J. Green is coming back to the Arizona Cardinals on a one-year deal. The seven-time Pro Bowler played in 16 games last season, catching 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns. The 33-year-old is expected to be the team’s No. 2 option next to three-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins. He joined the Cardinals last season after playing his first 10 seasons with the Bengals.
Green’s first season with the Cardinals was a mixed bag. He was a big piece of the offense during the team’s 10-2 start but wasn’t as productive late when Arizona lost four of five games.
Jaguars’ Robinson signs franchise tender: Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson has signed his franchise tender that guarantees him $16.7 million this season. General manager Trent Baalke and new coach Doug Pederson have said repeatedly they hope to sign Robinson to a long-term deal.
The former Alabama standout has started 61 games over five seasons since Jacksonville drafted him with the 34th overall pick in 2017. But he’s been far from one of the league’s best blind-side protectors.