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NFC North Notes: McCown, Tillman, Turner

January 29th, 2014 at 4:20pm CST by Rob DiRe

Without an extension or a new contract from the Bears, Charles Tillman will be the most accomplished of all the free agent cornerbacks this offseason. Despite that, his age might take him out of the running for a large contract, according to Joel Corry of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Corry sees that Tampa Bay would be a logical fit, where Tillman could reunite with Lovie Smith. Here are some other notes from the NFC North:

  • Josh McCown has been a prominent name after filling in for Jay Cutler for five games this season, and there was thought to be an opportunity to compete for a starting job next season, but Scott Krinch of CSNChicago.com believes that McCown is sincere in saying he wants to return. “It’s going to have to look really good for me to go someplace else,” McCown stated. “Because my heart is in Chicago and that is where I want to be.”
  • Norv Turner will join Mike Zimmer’s staff in Minnesota to be the Vikings offensive coordinator, reports Derek Wetmore of ESPN (via Twitter). Turner was the offensive coordinator for the Browns in 2013.
  • The Lions have been looking for a second receiver to supplement Calvin Johnson‘s production for years, but Hall of Fame receiver and ESPN analyst Cris Carter does not believe that should be the team’s top priority, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. While Carter states that the team already passes for 5,000 yards as it is, he believes that a healthy Nate Burleson will be enough of an upgrade as to allow the organization to focus on its other shortcomings. Birkett does note that the Lions had the highest drop percentage in the NFL last year, and that general manager Martin Mayhew has taken a receiver in every draft he has been in that position.

Patriots Notes: Wendell, Talib, Daly

January 29th, 2014 at 3:36pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Patriots have already started their offseason process of improving their roster, and Zuri Berry of Boston.com ranked the team’s top 12 players set for free agency. The list is of course highlighted at the top with Aqib Talib and LeGarrette Blount. However, he has center Ryan Wendell as the Patriots’ third priority, ahead of bigger names such as Brandon Spikes and Julian Edelman. Wendell was far from an All-Pro center this past year, but Berry notes that the success the offensive line had as a group only raises the importance of bringing back their center at what is likely only to be a small raise. Other notes from the Patriots’ offseason:

  • The list of Patriots’ free agents also includes both Michael Hoomanawanui and Matthew Mulligan, the tight ends who were pushed into starting roles due to the losses of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, noting that neither’s presence on the roster is guaranteed next year. The surprise thought from Berry is that the team could opt to pass on Edelman in favor of the much cheaper Austin Collie, who despite difficulty staying on the field, made a few big plays this season.
  • Count Devin McCourty as someone who wants Talib back in New England, writes Jeff Howe of BostonHerald.com. “He’s been a key part,” McCourty said.“I hope he is back. That doesn’t just go for him. I hope a lot of our guys stay where we’re at, especially in the secondary. We have a good core, and I hope we can stay together as long as possible.”
  • Brendan Daly was hired as a Patriots’ defensive assistant, according to Patriots.com. Daly has been a defensive line coachin the NFL since 2005, most recently for last year’s Vikings under Leslie Frazier.

NFC Rumors: Redskins, Graham, 49ers

January 29th, 2014 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Redskins expect to be active in free agency this offseason, and it sounds like the team anticipates plenty of overall roster turnover. GM Bruce Allen told CSN Washington that the club will be adding “about 20 new players” for the 2014 season, according to Tarik El-Bashir. Considering the Redskins are coming off a 3-13 campaign, don’t have a first round pick, and will have significant cap space for the first time in the last several years, it figures to be an interesting offseason in Washington.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFC:

  • Jimmy Graham is a strong candidate for the franchise tag, meaning his position will be a point of contention next month, since the gap between the franchise tag for tight ends and wide receivers is $4MM+. Taking that disparity into account, the Saints likely appreciate Drew Brees‘ input on the matter. Appearing on NBC Sports Radio, Brees argued that Graham is a tight end, suggesting that tight ends aren’t always used traditionally in the team’s offensive scheme. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the details.
  • The 49ers will have the opportunity to extend Aldon Smith‘s contract this offseason, but may be better off simply exercising his fifth-year option, putting off extension talks for another year, says Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, with an assist from cap expert Joel Corry.
  • Suspended Seahawks defensive back Brandon Browner is trying not to get caught up in the financial ramifications of his current situation, as he tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Browner, who will miss the Super Bowl as he continues to fight a ban that could force him to miss the 2014 season, is eligible for free agency this offseason, and would have been in line for a major payday if not for the suspension.
  • While the Packers need to add some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, linebacker figures to be a lower priority than the defensive line or secondary this spring, writes ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky.
  • Concerned about waiting too long to fill out their staff, the Browns bypassed Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and hired Mike Pettine as their head coach last week. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter), Quinn admits that he would have wanted to wait until after the Super Bowl to have a second interview with the Browns.

AFC Rumors: Manning, Ravens, Sheets, Gaine

January 29th, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, Peyton Manning attempted to dispel any rumors or speculation that he’d retire if the Broncos win the Super Bowl, telling reporters that he intended to play beyond this season. Not everyone is buying that though, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, who writes that many people around the NFL think Manning will call it a career after this game, especially if he wins. “The belief around football,” according to Freeman, is that Peyton doesn’t want to announce such a decision now because it would be a distraction heading into Sunday.

As we wait to see whether Freeman is right, or whether Manning’s career will continue into 2014, let’s round up a few other Wednesday notes from around the AFC….

  • The Ravens tried out a pair of free agents this week, auditioning linebacker Craig Wilkins and defensive end Cordarro Law, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Law spent last season with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, recording 14 sackes, while Wilkins was cut in the summer by the Seahawks after spending training camp with the team.
  • Wilson also reports (via Twitter) that running back Kory Sheets worked out for the Raiders this week. The Regina Leader-Post first had the details on the 2013 CFL Grey Cup MVP’s audition with Oakland.
  • Eric Decker will be a free agent this winter, and could interest the Jets as New York pursues receiving help. However, Decker said on Media Day in Newark that he hadn’t thought about the possibility of playing with the local team, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post.
  • The Dolphins announced today that they’ve mutually parted ways with assistant GM Brian Gaine (Twitter link). Gaine had been a finalist to become Miami’s new GM, so when the team hired Dennis Hickey instead, Gaine’s departure was considered somewhat inevitable.
  • Craig Kelley and Kevin Bowen of Colts.com look ahead to the Colts‘ offseason, with Kelley answering fans’ questions in a two-part mailbag, while Bowen focuses on question marks surrounding the club’s receivers, tight ends, and offensive line.

Broncos Don’t Expect To Re-Sign Moreno

January 29th, 2014 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of key Broncos contributors will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason, and Knowshon Moreno is one player the team doesn’t expect to re-sign, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Moreno, 27, enjoyed a career year in 2013, establishing new personal bests in rushing yards (1038) and rushing touchdowns (10), among other categories. The former 12th overall pick initially had a team option on his contract for 2014, but it was voided, which will give him the opportunity to hit the open market a year early.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Broncos already have more than $122MM in salary commitments on their books for the 2014 season. While Denver can carry over some unused cap space and can clear additional room by shedding a handful of contracts, it will still be tricky for the club to create the flexibility to bring back all its notable free-agents-to-be. Eric Decker, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Zane Beadles are among the other Denver starters eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Assuming the Broncos don’t draft or sign another starting running back to replace Moreno, Montee Ball is the odds-on favorite to assume a larger role in the offense in 2014.

Jonathan Martin Plans To Continue NFL Career

January 29th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

After being at the center of a high-profile bullying scandal involving Richie Incognito and the Dolphins this season, offensive lineman Jonathan Martin hopes to continue his NFL playing career next season, as he told Tony Dungy of NBC Sports this week (interview transcript via James Walker of ESPN.com). Martin hasn’t spoken with the Dolphins since leaving the team and appears unlikely to return to Miami, but would like to play somewhere.

“I understand opportunities in the NFL are fleeting,” Martin said. “I’m hopeful that I get another opportunity and I can make the most of it, because this is what I love to do. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t playing football.”

According to Jason Cole of the National Football Post, Martin would like to work with the Dolphins to find a suitable trade destination. While Miami likely wouldn’t receive much of a return for Martin, who will become trade-eligible in March, two NFL general managers at last week’s Senior Bowl told Cole the former second-round pick would have a little trade value.

It’s also possible that the Dolphins will simply release Martin, but potential suitors may be more inclined to work out a deal with Miami to avoid competing with other teams in the waiver process. The 24-year-old tackle is on an affordable contract, with a cap number of about $1.3MM in 2014 and $1.52MM in 2015.

Rodgers-Cromartie “Definitely Not Retiring”

January 29th, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 9:44am: Rodgers-Cromartie completed a 180-degree turn on Monday’s comments today, telling Mike Klis of the Denver Post that he’s “definitely not retiring.” According to DRC, he simply meant that he has to start thinking about his post-playing career, since there are no guarantees.

TUESDAY, 10:05am: At Tuesday’s Media Day, Rodgers-Cromartie told reporters, including Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com (Twitter links) that his retirement talk was misunderstood, adding that if he receives a long-term contract offer this offseason, he’ll take it.

MONDAY, 12:54pm: It doesn’t sound like Peyton Manning has any plans to retire whether or not the Broncos win this weekend’s Super Bowl, but the outcome of the game could affect one of his teammates’ futures. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie told reporters today that he may retire if Denver beats Seattle on Sunday. “I set a goal of five years. I’ve played six,” Rodgers-Cromartie said, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).

While Mike Garafalo of FOX Sports 1 tweets that Rodgers-Cromartie sounded almost positive about his intentions to retire, and Lindsay Jones of USA Today (Twitter link) stressed that the Broncos cornerback was definitely serious, the 28-year-old added that his plans aren’t “set in stone” yet, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports 1 (Twitter link).

As Rodgers-Cromartie himself noted, he has only played six NFL seasons, so he’ll be hitting unrestricted free agency this winter as a 27-year-old. Coming off a season in which he started 13 games for the AFC champions, he should draw plenty of interest on the open market, so we’ll have to wait and see if he sticks to his retirement plan when teams start calling in March.

NFC Notes: Eagles, Packers, Bears, Cowboys

January 29th, 2014 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

While the Eagles have made significant splashes in free agency a handful of times during the last several years, GM Howie Roseman says the team isn’t necessarily looking at big-name free agents this winter, as Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com details. According to Roseman, the club doesn’t want to compromise its flexibility in the long-term by committing heavily to one or two pieces that may not work out.

“If you only sign two guys in free agency and you put a lot of resources in them, and for one reason or another a guy doesn’t work out, you’re hamstrung,” Roseman said. “But if you go after a bunch of guys that you think may fit and a couple don’t work out as much as you want every one of them to work out, you feel like, you know what, as long as I have a good batting average on these guys, I’m improving the quality of our football team.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

Extra Points: Henne, Packers, Keisel, Rivera

January 28th, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Contract talks could start soon between the Jaguars and quarterback Chad Henne, writes Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “We’ll reach out to their people at some point in time,” general manager David Caldwell said. “There’s not a glaring rush. We’ve got some more meetings to go through, some game-planning with our coaching staff and our personnel staff just to see where we’re at and put together our plan for free agency and the draft.” Henne, who signed a two-year deal worth $6.75MM with the team in 2012, started 13 games in ’13 and threw for 3,421 yards and 13 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com looks at the Packers‘ defensive line situation. Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett, B.J. Raji, and C.J. Wilson are all free agents this winter and it sounds like there’s a decent chance that Raji winds up elsewhere. The defensive tackle didn’t have the kind of value-raising season he hoped for as he closed out his rookie contract.
  • Appearing on ESPN Radio with Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Russillo, free-agent-to-be Brett Keisel didn’t sound like a man ready to retire. The longtime Steelers defensive end suggested he feels as if he still has a couple years in left in him, as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk details.
  • Extending Ron Rivera‘s deal was a no-brainer for the Panthers, writes David Newton of ESPN.com.
  • Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com looks at Adam Gase, the Broncos‘ offensive coordinator who has positioned himself as one of the prize candidates of next year’s head coaching searches. Gase politely rebuffed advances by the Browns and Vikings to interview for their head coaching openings in order to focus all of his energy on Denver’s playoff run.

NFC East Notes: Shanahan, Cowboys, Redskins

January 28th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of the NFC East..

  • In a conversation with Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington.com, Redskins GM Bruce Allen said he didn’t fire Mike Shanahan as coach sooner because he wanted to give him a chance to change his mind with wins over the Cowboys and the Giants. “We wanted Mike to have an opportunity to rectify the ship and sail it in the right direction and get a win against the division teams,” Allen said. “It didn’t happen. And that left us really with no choice. …He understood it. It was the right thing for this football team at that point.”
  • Before today’s announcement that Bill Callahan would be retained as Cowboys offensive coordinator, Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com argued that rather than creating potential distraction, the club should let Callahan out of his contract if he wants to take a job where he’ll be happier. Callahan was also linked to the Browns’ OC job.
  • In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Mike Jones of the Washington Post what the Redskins‘ gameplan will be in free agency. Upgrading the secondary, Jones writes, figures to be high on their list. Some of the top defensive backs expected to be available are cornerbacks Aqib Talib and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Bills safety Jairus Byrd, and Browns safety T.J. Ward.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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