NFC Notes: Aaron Donald, Sam Howell, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

Cardinals

• According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, “it’s not a guarantee” new OT Jonah Williams will replace former LT D.J. Humphries.
• Both Williams and OT Paris Johnson Jr. have played RT, and Weinfuss expects Arizona to evaluate both players before making a decision. 
• The Cardinals signed Williams to a two-year, $30 million contract with $21.5 million in guarantees including a $14 million signing bonus. (Over The Cap)
• According to Aaron Wilson, all of Williams’ $2.5 million base salary for 2024 is guaranteed, and $5 million of his $10.78 million base salary for 2025 is guaranteed for injury at signing.
• Wilson adds Williams can earn up to $510k each season in per-game roster bonuses and another $100k per season in workout bonuses. If he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, he will earn a $1.5 million roster bonus.
• Arizona signed DT Bilal Nichols to a three-year, $21 million contract with $12 million in guarantees including a $6 million signing bonus. (Over The Cap)
• The rest of his guarantees come from the entirety of his $2.7 million base salary in 2024, along with $3.3 million of his $5.69 million base salary in 2025. If he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, the rest of his 2025 salary will be guaranteed. 
• Nichols also has up to $255k each season in per-game roster bonuses. 
• The Cardinals have signed LB Mack Wilson signed a three-year, $12.75 million contract with $6.445 million guaranteed including a $3.5 million signing bonus. (Over The Cap)
• According to Aaron Wilson, all of Mack Wilson’s $1.945 million base salary in 2024 is guaranteed along with $1 million of his $3 million base salary for 2025. 
• Aaron Wilson adds Mack Wilson can earn up to $255k each year in per-game roster bonuses along with an annual $50k workout bonus and a $750k playtime incentive every season. 

Rams

• According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Rams restructured former DT Aaron Donald‘s contract on March 12th to create cap space for 2024.
• The Rams converted a $5 million roster bonus Donald was owed into a signing bonus, along with most of his $10 million base salary to an option bonus.
• By doing this, Donald’s base salary dropped to the minimum of $1.21 million which created $9.193 million in cap space for Los Angeles in 2024. 
• Overall, Florio thinks any team would have to offer at least $35 million to Donald to get him to come out of retirement.
• New Rams TE Colby Parkinson on what he adds to the offense: “What I do bring is a complete tight end, someone who can play all 3 downs and stretch the field at the same time, be able to stretch the seams and be a red zone threat while also being dominant in the run game – kinda what I pride myself on.” (Jourdan Rodrigue)

Seahawks

Seahawks GM John Schneider talked about the trade for QB Sam Howell and had some praise for the former Commanders’ signal caller.

“We were kind of sweating that this morning and talking to the Commanders and Adam Peters, their general manager,” Schneider said, via Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton of Seattle Sports. “We were sweating it out. There were several teams involved with it and you know, Sam’s a football player, that’s the best way to describe it.”

“He had a great day against us this past fall. He’s a quarterback, but he’s really a football player. That’s what I love about him. Really tough, young, he’s 23 years old and has 18 starts in the league already. He’s the same age as (Jayden) Daniels from LSU, (Spencer” Rattler, and (Michael) Penix (Jr.) and he’s a year younger than Bo Nix. We’re just really excited to be able to acquire him. We know he’s a serious dude, he’s into it, works his tail off, we got great reviews on him and we loved him coming out of college. So, yeah, we’re happy to get him in the mix. Geno is the guy, and Sam will be backing him up.”