NFL Analysis
7/31/24
11 min read
2024 NFL Training Camp: Grading Latest Signings as Camps Open
As training camps are now open around the NFL, there’s been a flurry of recent contract extensions and restructures, with teams locking up critical players before they hit free agency.
Sometimes, the salary cap motivates teams to reduce a player’s 2024 cap hit with an extension or restructure. Plus, players on the roster will soon count in the regular season instead of just the top 51.
Here are 10 of the most prominent recent extensions and restructures, starting with three star quarterbacks:
Grading NFL's Latest Signings
JORDAN LOVE, QB, GREEN BAY PACKERS
JORDAN LOVE, QB, GREEN BAY PACKERSIt was a relatively small sample size, but Jordan Love did enough in one year as the Green Bay Packers starter to convince his team to extend him for four years and $220 million with $155 million guaranteed.
It was a bigger new money deal than anticipated for the 25-year-old former first-round pick (in 2020), who has made only 20 career starts.
The $55 million yearly in new money ties him at the top of the quarterback market with Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. But when the last year of his old contract (for $11 million) is factored in, the $46.2 million per year average over five years makes sense for Green Bay.
After a lackluster first half of last season, Love had a terrific late-season surge, throwing 18 TD passes and one interception as the Packers went 6-2 and earned a wild-card berth. Then, Love threw three touchdown passes in the wild-card blowout in Dallas and almost led a divisional-round upset in San Francisco.
In his first season as Aaron Rodgers’ successor, Love ranked second in the league with 32 touchdown passes and seventh in passing yards (4,159). Now, the pressure is on Love to become the Packers’ fourth Super Bowl-winning quarterback after Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Rodgers.
Green Bay Packers Grade: A-
Jordan Love Grade: A+
TUA TAGOVAILOA, QB, MIAMI DOLPHINS
TUA TAGOVAILOA, QB, MIAMI DOLPHINSThe 2020 first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins (fifth overall) signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension ($53.1 million per year) with $93 million guaranteed at signing and $167 million in total guarantees.
Including the final year of his rookie deal, Tua Tagovailoa will earn $47 million annually over five years. He also has some incentives in the new deal based on games played: 50 percent + playtime and playoff wins, including $1 million for a Super Bowl win (which the Dolphins would love to pay out).
Miami reduced Tagovailoa’s 2024 cap hit to $9.5 million under this new deal. Last season was the first time he played every game after missing eight games in the previous two seasons. The Dolphins hope the 26-year-old Tagovailoa proves to have great upside if he can stay healthy and improve his late-season performance after finishing 2023 with losses in four of the last six games.
That included a bad game for Tagovailoa in the wild-card loss in the cold at Kansas City. He threw for only 199 yards with a 63.9 passer rating.
More impressive on his NFL resume is a Pro Bowl selection last season when he led the league with 4,624 passing yards. He also had career highs in completion percentage (69.3) and passing touchdowns (29). In 2022, Tagovailoa was the NFL passer rating leader.
Miami Dolphins Grade: B
Tua Tagovailoa Grade: A
MATTHEW STAFFORD, QB, LOS ANGELES RAMS
MATTHEW STAFFORD, QB, LOS ANGELES RAMSThe Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl LVI-winning quarterback received an adjusted contract after he sought more guaranteed money and reportedly threatened a hold-in at training camp. The Rams will move $5 million to this season from a future contract year and will increase his 2025 roster bonus from $5 million to $9 million.
Matthew Stafford’s $40 million per year deal with three years remaining was not extended. So, the Rams apparently are taking Stafford’s contract situation a year at a time, which is a smart move for the team, considering Stafford’s age and injury history.
Stafford, 36, must now be considered underpaid after being selected to the Pro Bowl in 2023 when he led the Rams back to the playoffs. He could have forced an extension if he had executed a holdout or hold-in.
Stafford finished last season strong, throwing 16 touchdown passes and four interceptions in the final seven regular-season games. He then passed for 367 yards and two touchdowns, almost leading the Rams to a wild-card round upset in Detroit against the team that drafted him first overall in 2009 and traded him to the Rams in 2021 (for Jared Goff and several high picks).
Los Angeles Rams Grade: A
Matthew Stafford Grade: C+
AMARI COOPER, WR, CLEVELAND BROWNS
AMARI COOPER, WR, CLEVELAND BROWNSAmari Cooper is entering the final year of the five-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. The Cleveland Browns traded for him in 2022.
He was scheduled to earn $20 million this season without guaranteed money. Cooper sought an extension and held out from the June mandatory minicamp (earning $101,000 in fines).
He agreed to a restructured deal that adds $5 million in incentives and guarantees his $20 million base salary this season, with half of that sum paid in a signing bonus. That helped the Browns’ salary cap situation by lowering Cooper’s 2024 cap number from $23.776 million to $12 million. Cooper’s pay still falls far short of the top receivers, led by Justin Jefferson’s $35 million per year extension signed in June.
Cooper, 30, was the Raiders' first-round pick in 2015 (fourth overall) and spent his first four seasons in Oakland before being traded to Dallas and eventually to Cleveland. He was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl last season after having 72 receptions for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns.
Cooper can become a free agent next March, but Browns general manager Andrew Berry said an extension is possible.
Cleveland Browns Grade: A
Amari Cooper Grade: B-
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW, OT, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW, OT, MINNESOTA VIKINGSChristian Darrisaw just landed a four-year, $104 million extension worth up to $113 million with incentives and escalators. $67 million is guaranteed on this deal, which locks up the 25-year-old left tackle for the next six seasons, including the two remaining years on his rookie contract.
His new money average of $26 million per year ranks him among the league’s highest-paid tackles, and his overall average over six years is $20.5 million per year. He may have cashed in at a higher level by waiting until 2025, but then he would risk the deal going away if he had a serious injury.
Darrisaw hasn’t made a Pro Bowl in his first three seasons after being drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. However, he has consistently graded out among the top left tackles, so honors should soon come his way.
He’s a physical player who is an elite pass protector and run blocker, but he needs to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season, which he hasn’t done (missing 10 games in his first three years).
Minnesota Vikings Grade: A
Christian Darrisaw Grade: A-
TAYLOR DECKER, OT, DETROIT LIONS
TAYLOR DECKER, OT, DETROIT LIONSThe Detroit Lions have invested heavily in their offensive line, with Taylor Decker’s three-year, $60 million extension the latest example.
The Lions have the NFL’s highest-paid center, Frank Ragnow, at $13.5 million per year, and right tackle, Penei Sewell, who signed a $28 million per year extension in April.
Now, their 30-year-old left tackle Decker is under contract through 2027 as Jared Goff’s blindside protector and team leader. He’s been an eight-year starter since the Lions selected him in the 2016 first round. His teammates, such as Ragnow, lobby for Decker to be selected to the Pro Bowl or All-Pro, which has not yet happened.
This investment in their offensive line has paid off for the defending NFC North champs. Led by their third-ranked offense, they were a final-four team last season.
Detroit Lions Grade: B
Taylor Decker Grade: A
QUINN MEINERZ, G, DENVER BRONCOS
QUINN MEINERZ, G, DENVER BRONCOSGeneral managers often feel confident extending top offensive linemen with long-term deals since they can play well into their 30s. Quinn Meinerz is the third offensive lineman to recently garner a major extension with his four-year, $72 million contract that has $45 million guaranteed.
Meinerz was the Denver Broncos’ third-round pick in 2021 out of small school Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has started every game since Week 9 of his rookie season except for four games missed with a hamstring injury in 2022. He allowed only two sacks last season and is still seeking his first Pro Bowl berth.
Denver Broncos Grade: B+
Quinn Meinerz Grade: A-
KENNY CLARK, DT, GREEN BAY PACKERS
After earning his third Pro Bowl selection and achieving career highs with 7.5 sacks and 16 QB hits in 2023, Kenny Clark signed a three-year, $64 million extension, which included a $17.5 million signing bonus.
Clark’s deal falls several million per year shy of the highest-paid defensive tackles, like the Chiefs’ Chris Jones, who earns $31.75 million per year, and the Raiders’ Christian Wilkins (who has not made a Pro Bowl), who earns $27.5 million per year.
Clark, 28, was the Packers first-round pick in 2016. He’s the durable anchor of the Green Bay defensive line at the physical defensive tackle position and hasn’t missed a game in the past two years. He’s had more than 40 tackles in the past seven seasons.
Green Bay Packers Grade: A
Kenny Clark Grade: C+
TYSON CAMPBELL, CB, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
TYSON CAMPBELL, CB, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARSTyson Campbell, 24, was the first pick in the 2021 second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was going into the final year of his rookie deal when he was just extended on a four-year, $76.5 million deal with $53.4 million guaranteed.
The contract’s $19.1 new money average puts Campbell among the league’s highest-paid corners, with the Packers’ Jaire Alexander leading the way at $21 million per year.
Campbell hasn’t made a Pro Bowl and is coming off a season in which he missed six games with a hamstring injury. He had only one interception and five passes defended (along with 60 tackles) last season. His best year was in 2022, with three interceptions, 15 passes defended, and 70 tackles.
Jacksonville GM Trent Baalke considers Campbell “a young, talented player who is an integral part of our defense.”
Jacksonville Jaguars Grade: B+
Tyson Campbell Grade: A
JULIAN LOVE, S, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
JULIAN LOVE, S, SEATTLE SEAHAWKSJulian Love had an excellent season in 2023 with four interceptions, 10 passes defended, and 123 tackles. He made his first Pro Bowl last season and was rewarded with a three-year, $36 million extension.
Love signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2023 free agency on a two-year, $12 million contract after spending his first four seasons with the Giants, who drafted him in the 2019 fourth round. He was a full-time starter for only the 2022 season in New York.
Love needs to improve in man coverage, but new coach Mike Macdonald obviously values the 26-year-old Love’s potential to excel as a safety in his scheme.
Seattle Seahawks Grade: B
Julian Love Grade: B+
