Both Antony Auclair and the Houston Texans had openly mentioned their desire to continue their association. It’s done, now that the tight end has agreed with the team for another year of contract.
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The Beauceron would become free as the air Wednesday at 4 p.m., but he preferred to stay in Houston, he played last season. According to journalist Tom Pelissero, informant at NFL Network, the contract would guarantee Auclair the sum of 1.6 million and could even allow him to pocket up to 2.2 million.
“We are really happy with the agreement, which pleases both parties. Antony had a great season. He gained the trust of his coaches, his teammates and people in the organization. It’s a contract that secures Antony, ”rejoiced his agent, Sasha Ghavami.
From words to deeds
During the recent Combine of the NFL in Indianapolis, the general manager of the Texans, Nick Caserio, had made flattering remarks about the former player of the Rouge et Or, during an interview with the Newspaper.
He said he wanted the return of the Quebecer, who perfectly personified the mentality that the Texans want to establish on the field and in the locker room.
“The success that Antony has had pays off,” added his agent. He played a good percentage of games on offense and returning to Houston was the option we were most interested in.
Indeed, Auclair, who excels at blocking in both passing and running situations, took part in 32% of his team’s offensive plays last season, a personal mark. He was in uniform in 16 of his 17 games and scored his first professional touchdown.
Duvernay-Tardif on hold
In the case of guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, everything indicates that he will become a free agent.
He spent the second part of the last campaign with the New York Jets, but they have just signed guard Laken Tomlinson. At three years old for more than 40 million, it is clear that he was hired as a starter, unlike the young and promising Alijah Vera-Tucker.
Duvernay-Tardif is now faced with three options. Either he still gets along with the Jets to bring depth, or he accepts an offer elsewhere to see more ground, or he looks to his future in medicine.
“I’m not worried about him. For now, we are not ruling out any options. We are still in the process of gathering information. There are still good guards available and we will think about what will come up, ”explained Ghavami.
Even if several large contracts are currently awarded, the Duvernay-Tardif clan intends to be patient.
“People think everything settles in the early days of the free agent market, but patience is key. At this stage of his career, Laurent can afford this approach.
Jaguars are raining dollars
The opening of the free agent market may be officially scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, but the legal window for negotiations is open and the Jacksonville Jaguars are already shaping up to be the kings of spending.
Starting Monday at noon, the teams had the opportunity to agree on the parameters of the contracts with the available players. The agreements will become official tomorrow at 4 p.m.
From the first day of shopping, the Jaguars signed four players. They first hired star guard Brandon Scherff, who played seven seasons in Washington. For the moment, the terms of the contract have not been revealed, but it is easy to assume that it will be a monstrous pact.
The Jaguars have also invested heavily to help their young quarterback Trevor Lawrence by opting for receiver Christian Kirk, four years for 72 million in addition to tight end Evan Engram, who did not meet expectations. with the Giants.
For Kirk, that’s a gigantic amount, considering Kirk has never dominated with the Cardinals to date. However, he is only 25 years old.
The team also got defensive reinforcements with linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (3 years, 46.5 million) and tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (3 years, 30 million). Oluokun led the NFL last season with 192 tackles for the Falcons.
The Bengal line
As expected, the Bengals didn’t take long to strike to improve their offensive line, a major shortcoming of the team. They opted for Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa (4 years, 40 million), a reasonable sum in today’s market. They also hired Patriots center Ted Karras (3 years, 18 million), a player who will bring leadership and physical presence.
The Bills are another team that made changes to their offensive line with the arrival of guard Rodger Saffold, formerly with the Titans.
Another chance pure Trubisky
Elsewhere in the league, the Steelers, in their quest to find a replacement quarterback for Ben Roethlisberger, have turned to Mitchell Trubisky.
The latter was Josh Allen’s reserve in Buffalo last season, after four seasons punctuated with ups and downs in Chicago.
To demonstrate how NFL teams don’t value the current crop of draft quarterbacks favorably, Trubisky was seen as an outcast a year ago as he announces himself as the starter in Pittsburgh the next season.
Big Defensive Holds
The biggest defensive blow goes to the Chargers, who got their hands on cornerback JC Jackson. The former Patriots has had 25 interceptions in four years and his five-year, $82.5 million deal seems justified for a fine 25-year-old in a quarterback-ridden division.
As for the Eagles, they have set their sights on Haason Reddick (3 years, 45 million), who managed 23.5 quarterback sacks in the last two seasons.