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NFL notebook: Raiders' Mack wants $65M guaranteed

[April 12, 2018] Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack was absent from the start of voluntary workouts under new head coach Jon Gruden. Money appears to be at the heart of the matter as Mack is seeking a long-term contract extension.

The 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and two-time first-team All-Pro is looking to get paid like the game's top defensive player and wants a contract that guarantees $65 million, reports NFL Network's Steve Wyche.

Denver linebacker Von Miller received $70 million in guarantees in the six-year contract he signed in 2016, while the Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald figures to top that number when he inks a new deal. Rams general manager Les Snead hinted this week the two sides are "on the verge" of a massive deal.

Mack is entering the final year of his rookie contract, a fifth-year team option in which he will earn nearly $14 million. If he is looking to become the highest-paid defender in the league, he will need to top $19 million annually, which is Miller's salary.

--Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will meet with Dez Bryant on Friday to discuss the wideout's contract, according to a report from Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan.

Bryant, 29, has been considered a possible candidate for a pay cut or release this offseason, as he is due $12.5 million in salary in 2018 and is set to count $16.5 million against the Cowboys' cap.

Outright releasing Bryant would save Dallas $8.5 million against the cap while incurring a dead-money charge of $8 million. Doing so with a post-June 1 designation would save $12.5 million in 2018, while spreading the dead money across 2018 and 2019 with $4 million in each year.

--After weeks of rumors and speculation, NFL teams no longer expect the New York Giants to trade wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., according to an ESPN report.

Per ESPN, many teams believed as recently as last week that there was "a real chance" that Beckham would be traded, particularly after owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur each indicated in March that the team was listening to offers for the wideout.

However, the Los Angeles Rams' acquisition of Brandin Cooks removed one potential suitor, quieting the market significantly. Likewise, Beckham reported to the start of the Giants' voluntary offseason program on Monday despite speculation about a possible holdout as he seeks a contract extension.

--Days after telling reporters his surgically repaired right forearm is "100 percent," Giants safety Landon Collins might need an additional surgery, according to an NFL Network report.

Per the report, the arm is not healing as quickly as doctors hoped and Collins might undergo a second surgery to plate the break again, which would keep him out six to eight weeks. That timeline would still have Collins on track to be ready for training camp, which opens in mid-July.

Collins, 24, broke his arm while making a tackle in Week 16 of last season against the Arizona Cardinals. He was placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery to fix the break.

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--The New York Jets will pick up the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Leonard Williams' rookie contract before the May 3 deadline, according to the New York Daily News.

Williams, who the Jets drafted sixth overall in 2015, is set to make $2.975 million in 2018 in the fourth year of his deal.

The option will pay him the average of the top-10 players at his position and becomes fully guaranteed at the start of the 2019 league year. The team can also still opt to sign Williams to a long-term deal that overrides the fifth-year option.

--Restricted free-agent wide receiver Cameron Meredith will join the New Orleans Saints after the Chicago Bears declined to match the Saints' offer sheet -- a two-year deal worth $10 million -- according to multiple reports.

Because Chicago gave Meredith an original-round tender, and because Meredith entered the league as an undrafted free agent, the team will receive no compensation for his departure. According to ESPN, the Bears' decision to decline was mostly medical related.

Meredith, 25, missed all of 2017 after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and slightly torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee during a preseason game last August.

--The NFL released the full 2018 preseason schedule, featuring eight nationally televised games and a Super Bowl LII "rematch."

The league announced in February that the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens would kick off the preseason in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio, the day after linebackers Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis don their gold jackets. The Ravens will be on national TV a second time, on "Monday Night Football" against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 20.

Among other highlights: The top two picks of the 2018 NFL Draft could meet in the first week of the preseason when the New York Giants host the Cleveland Browns; old-and-new Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden will make his "debut" against the Detroit Lions; and Super Bowl LII's participants, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, will meet in the second week of the preseason in Foxborough, Mass. The Eagles and Pats will not meet in the regular season until 2019.

--The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a deal with free-agent cornerback Dontae Johnson, the NFL Network reported. Terms weren't immediately available.

Johnson spent the past four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Coincidentally, the Seahawks had a need at cornerback after long-time star Richard Sherman ended up with the 49ers as a free agent.

Johnson started all 16 games last season and had one interception, which he returned 50 yards for a touchdown against Jacksonville's Blake Bortles. He has one other interception in his career, as a rookie in 2014, and also returned that one for a score.

--Field Level Media

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