There will be no second franchise tag for Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short. Three months after sticking the tag on Short, the Panthers have and their star defensive lineman have worked out a five-year, $80.5 million contract with $35 million in guaranteed money. The contract will pay Short $40 million over the first two seasons, with an average of $16 million a season. Short is now the third highest paid defensive tackle in football.
Done Deal! @kk_mr93 will be rocking a #Panthers jersey through 2021! pic.twitter.com/6988APkRqx
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 17, 2017
Of course, that’ll all change when the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald work out their new deal. Regardless, Short is long on money as of Monday morning.
Last year Short recorded 55 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble and three pass defenses.
“KK (Short) has been very important to what we’ve been able to accomplish on defense,” Panthers GM Dave Gettleman said. “In 2013, when we drafted KK, I thought he was the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in the draft, and he’s been able to develop into one of the top young defensive tackles in the NFL. Off the field, KK is a top-notch young man and great representative of our team. I’m absolutely thrilled that we were able to get this deal done.”
Pacman causes trouble for Adam Jones
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones tried to put away his troubled “Pacman” moniker a few years ago. He really should have let Pacman in on that.
Monday, Pacman showed up unannounced at an Adam Jones media session. Jones was asked about his upcoming criminal case over a misdemeanor assault arrest back in January. Jones, for his part, did warn reporters that he wouldn’t be answering questions about the case before he agreed to meet with them.
Those Adam Jones Anger Management Classes Are Apparently Not Going Well. https://t.co/x5ntrvzs3j pic.twitter.com/OMz6Mbs4Y0
— 700WLW (@700wlw) April 17, 2017
Still, a guy from WXIX-TV in Cincinnati decided he would go ahead and charge ahead anyway. Jones did not react well, yelling and cursing at the reporter and, reportedly, other media members in the room. Needless to say, the locker room cleared out pretty fast. It was the first official media sighting of Pacman, and if you’re up on your Pacman history, angry outbursts can sometimes be coupled with gunplay.
To be fair to Jones, it was bullshit that the TV asshole asked that question., I’ve had to deal with issues like that during interviews before and if the guy says he doesn’t want to address it, that’s what you put in the story. You don’t ignore it, but you mention up front that he refused to take questions about it. You do your job and keep from pissing off someone just trying to protect some aspect of his privacy. You know, like a professional.
Bucs tie up Evans with fifth-year option
The fifth-year options continue to fall for the talented 2014 NFL draft class. Tampa Bay Buccaneers will exercise the option on wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans was the second wideout taken in the 2014 draft, right after Sammy Watkins and ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. Kelvin Benjamin went later in the first round to the Panthers. All four men should eventually get their fifth-year options picked up.
“Yeah we picked up his (Evans’) fifth-year option today,” Bucs General Manager Jason Licht told reporters Monday. “Mike, in terms of his future here, I know I can speak for myself and I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for everybody here, well I know I am, but Mike is a Buc for life. Today, we picked up his option. It wasn’t a very tough decision. We’ll take it from there. I can promise you at some point, I can’t tell you when, we’ll be contacting his agent to try to make him an offer that will make him a Buc for long term.”
Bucs picked up fifth-year option on WR Mike Evans, still want to sign him to long-term deal.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 17, 2017
Evans caught 96 passes for 1,321 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. In his three seasons, he’s never caught less than 68 passes and never gained less than 1,051 yards, so this fifth-year option was pretty much a no-brain move.
In other Buccaneers news, running back Doug Martin showed up to voluntary workouts Monday, with the team still hanging on to his $7 million salary for 2017. Martin rushed for 1,402 yards in 2015, but struggled with injuries and a suspension last season, that could have given the Bucs the option to toss him without a salary cap penalty. Instead, it seems like they’ll play it out and see how he’s recovered and ready to play this year.
“He (Martrin) looks great,” Licht said. “He looks, right now, as good as I’ve seen him since I’ve been here from a physical standpoint. Seemed to be in very good spirits. Excited to have him. Excited to see how he does out here in OTAs… Seems like everything, the trajectory is going up. We’ve got 10 days here before the draft. Can’t answer all questions in 10 days but, like I said, it’s just good to see him here. It’s good to see that he’s been working his butt off.”
Certainly a healthy and unsuspended Martin is the best option for the Bucs at running back. If he’s on the field, he’s a guaranteed 1,000-plus-yard back. It’s just that keeping him on the field has been a problem.
Other NFL News
While Doug Martin showed up to the Bucs’ first offseason workouts, Brandon Albert has skipped the Jacksonville Jaguars’ opening OTAs. The Jaguars just acquired Alberts from the Miami Dolphins in a trade and he’s angling for a new contract. Currently Albert is set top make $8.875 million in 2017 and $9.575 million in 2018, so that’s probably not going to happen.
32-year old Brandon Albert's 2017 salary $8,900,000
24-year old Jarvis Landry's 2017 salary $1,105,652One of these players is holding out.
— josh houtz (@houtz) April 17, 2017
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr broke his leg late last season, effectively derailing any real playoff hopes for the team. There’s good news for 2017, as Carr has been a full participant in the Raiders’ entire offseason training program. Carr is also part of that legit 2014 NFL draft class and since he was a second round pick, there’s no fifth-year option on his contract. The Raiders have to work out a deal the old fashioned way and Carr, for his part, is obviously willing to put in the work required to be an elite NFL quarterback.
Former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald won’t face rape charges in court after Judge David A. Cena dismissed the case Monday because the alleged victim refused to testify. McDonald was charged with raping an intoxicated person and was facing a possible eight years in prison. The 49ers cut McDonald back in 2014.
To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
