Clayton: Former Broncos TE Vannett victim of new NFL trend
Mar 24, 2021, 1:47 PM | Updated: Mar 26, 2021, 6:56 am
Lost in the news that safety Kareem Jackson re-signed with the Denver Broncos on a one-year, $5 million contract was the release of tight end Nick Vannett.
The move was expected. The Broncos have invested so much in the secondary that they were looking for cap casualties and Vannett was at the top of the list. His release saved the Broncos $2.678 million against the salary cap.
What is surprising is watching teams around the NFL release or trade so many 2020 unrestricted free agents who signed multi-year contracts. Vannett fits that trend of teams clearing cap room by letting go of players they just added last offseason.
It started with the Miami Dolphins when they cut linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who was on a four-year deal that him paid him $12.75 million a year. Later, they traded defensive end Shaq Larsen to the Houston Texans, he signed a three-year-$30 million deal just last year.
The list is long. The Detroit Lions, for example, wiped out a good portion of their 2020 free agent class. They cut quarterback Chase Daniels and defensive tackle Danny Shelton and are currently negotiating a pay cut for defensive tackle Nick Williams. The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t pick up the option on tight end Tyler Eifert, Buffalo cut defensive end Quinton Jefferson and Cleveland wiped out defensive end Adrian Clayborn. The New England Patriots cut defensive tackle Beau Allen. Defensive end Stephen Weatherly took a $2.5 million pay cut to go to Detroit after he was released by the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers also cut defensive tackle Zach Kerr, a former Bronco, who was on a two-year contract. And speaking of former Broncos, New Orleans released wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal last year.
More players than ever are signing one-year deals. Last year, only 10 players signed four-or-five-year deals. There were 69 players who signed for two or three years. The rest went for one-year contracts.
The lesson here? Signing a multi-year deal in free agency doesn’t create job security, particularly in a down cap year. Nick Vannett is the latest example of that.
