2014 September - Pro Football Rumors

AFC South Notes: Watt, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

September 2nd, 2014 at 7:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans held all the cards but did the right thing in extending superstar defensive end J.J. Watt, writes Andrew Brandt of The MMQB. Watt’s contributions, he argues, go far beyond what he does on the field individually. As a team without a franchise quarterback, Watt is the locker room leader and beloved in Houston. Here’s more from the AFC South..

Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap gives his initial thoughts on Watt’s $100MM deal. The contract now sets the market for the young pass rusher in the NFL and it’s good news for Robert Quinn, Muhammad Wilkerson, Greg Hardy and others who were watching Watt’s situation with great interest.
In an interview on 1070 The Fan, Colts GM Ryan Grigson made it sound as though an offensive line signing is on the way, tweets Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. He also intimated that the addition will happen at offensive tackle where Xavier Nixon and Joe Reitz are hurt.
The Jaguars worked out wide receivers Jace Davis and Chris Harper, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Jacksonville also got a look at defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo before he signed with the Chiefs’ practice squad and linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat before he hooked on with the Redskins’ taxi squad. The Jags added Tony Washington to their practice squad a few days ago, so it’s not clear if Davis or Harper could fit in.
The Titans brought in defensive back Crezdon Butler for a visit today, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Butler last played for the Chargers.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 2nd, 2014 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL:

5:17pm:

The Browns have cut offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann with a failed physical designation, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). That clears a roster spot for Vinston Painter, whose signing was noted below.
The following players have been removed from their teams’ respective IR lists with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links): Ryan McKee (Chiefs), Larry Asante (Raiders), Greg Jenkins (Raiders), and Eric Ward (Titans). C.J. Davis (Seahawks) has also been removed from IR with a settlement, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

4:44pm:

The Jets have signed linebacker Jeremiah George and wideout Quincy Enunwa to their practice squad, the team announced today (via Twitter). New York selected the duo in the fifth and sixth rounds of this year’s draft, respectively.

4:13pm:

The Panthers have signed former Jets wideout Stephen Hill to their practice squad, cutting linebacker D.J. Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Redskins will also interested in bringing Hill in for a workout, but Carolina offered him a deal.
The Cardinals have added wideout Kevin Cone, defensive tackle Christian Tupou, and running back Dominique Williams to their practice squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
Tight end Jerome Cunningham has signed with the Giants‘ practice squad, according to agent Howard Shatsky (via Twitter).
The Chargers filled their practice squad by adding running back Marion Grice, who cleared waivers after being cut yesterday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
The Cowboys have also filled their 10-man squad, adding offensive lineman John Wetzel and defensive back Jemea Thomas, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). Presumably, one of the 10 players on the unit will be cut tomorrow if the team intends to bring Michael Sam aboard.
A.J. Jefferson of the Seahawks and Justice Cunningham of the Rams have both been removed from injured reserve lists with settlements, according to Caplan and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links).

3:28pm:

According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter), the Browns are signing offensive lineman Vinston Painter off the Broncos‘ practice squad, which will open up a spot on the 10-man unit for long snapper Kevin McDermott, whose signing was noted below. Cleveland will need to make a corresponding roster move to clear room for Painter.
The Redskins made a series of changes to their practice squad today, signing offensive lineman Braxston Cave and linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat. Linebacker Chaz Sutton and offensive lineman Tevita Stevens were cut.
Offensive lineman Matt Patchan has been removed from the Buccaneers‘ injured reserve list with a settlement, says Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).

1:23pm:

A number of teams have filled their 10-man practice squads by adding a player. The Jaguars signed tight end Marcel Jensen, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter); the Bills signed tight end D.J. Tialavea, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com; the Bengals signed wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (via Twitter); and the Browns officially announced the signing of fullback Kiero Small, which had been previously reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
A pair of clubs also swapped in one player for another on their practice squads. The Dolphins signed defensive end Gerald Rivers and dropped defensive end D’Aundre Reed, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). And the Vikings signed offensive lineman Austin Wentworth to their squad to replace cornerback Kendall James, the team announced (via Twitter).
The Broncos are also making an addition to their practice squad, in long snapper Kevin McDermott, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter). But Denver already had a full 10-man unit, so we’ll have to wait to hear about the corresponding move.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) provide the respective details for Ray McDonald‘s contract restructure with the 49ers and Glover Quin‘s reworked deal with the Lions.
The Buccaneers intend to open up a roster spot by placing running back Charles Sims on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Teams can begin to use that IR spot as of 3:00pm central time today.
Cornerback Bobby Felder has been removed from the Bills‘ injured reserve list after reaching a settlement with the team, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550.

Colts Sign Jamon Meredith

September 2nd, 2014 at 5:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have made a series of roster moves this evening, including signing offensive lineman Jamon Meredith, as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun notes (Twitter links). Indianapolis cut Tyler Hoover from practice squad and Deji Karim was removed from injured reserve with an injury settlement. Meanwhile, the Colts have added tackle Reid Fragel to the practice squad while placing Xavier Nixon on injured reserve-designated to return.

Meredith signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers for $2.7MM, with $350K in guaranteed money and up to $750K available in playing time incentives. However, Tampa Bay made the decision to let him go late last week as a part of their effort to get down to a 53-man roster. It was somewhat surprising given Meredith’s contract and his role in practice. The tackle/guard had been seeing some reps with the first-team offense, which intimated to outsiders that he could be a big part of the Bucs’ O-Line. That was not meant to be, but he’ll now try and make a mark with the Colts.

Saints Re-Sign Shayne Graham

September 2nd, 2014 at 5:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Saints have added a new kicker to their roster, and he looks an awful lot like the one the team cut over the weekend. Per Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate (via Twitter), the Saints have re-signed Shayne Graham, just three days after releasing him.

The series of moves seemed to suggest that Graham was the player the Saints’ had in mind all along for their kicking job, and that the team wanted to wait until today to re-add him to the roster in order to move a player to the injured reserve list with a designation to return. However, the corresponding roster move for New Orleans involved waiving quarterback Ryan Griffin, as Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets.

During a two-game regular season stretch last season with New Orleans, Graham was perfect, converting both of his field goal attempts and all seven of his extra point tries. He also didn’t miss a kick in the postseason, making four field goals in the team’s Wild Card win over the Eagles.

Cowboys Sign Jack Crawford

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cowboys have placed second-round edge defender Demarcus Lawrence on their injured reserve list with a designation to return, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). With the active roster spot vacated by Lawrence, the team signed former Raiders defensive end Jack Crawford.

Crawford, who turns 26 this weekend, saw 126 defensive snaps last year for the Raiders, and also contributed occasionally in kick and punt coverage. The Penn State product, a fifth-round pick in 2012, logged 15 tackles overall, and doesn’t figure to play a significant role for the Cowboys.

As for Lawrence, the Cowboys liked him enough that they traded their third-round selection in May’s draft to move up and snag him at 34th overall. However, he suffered a fractured foot during training camp, with the original timetable for his return estimated at up to 12 weeks. He should be able to contribute for Dallas in the second half of the 2014 season.

Chiefs Sign Alex Smith To Four-Year Extension

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:42pm CST by Ben Levine

TUESDAY, 4:42pm: Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) has the specific details on Smith’s new deal, which includes an $18MM signing bonus and $19MM in fully guaranteed money. The additional $26MM in reported guarantees will become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2015 league year.

SUNDAY, 6:30pm: The Chiefs have officially announced the extension. General manager John Dorsey also released a statement:

“It was a priority of ours to get this deal done and keep Alex in a Chiefs uniform long-term. Alex is a proven leader on and off the field. He is a special individual with a lot of ability, and we are fortunate to have him here.

“John and his staff along with Tom and his group have worked hard to get this deal done. They’ve done a nice job,” Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid said. “Alex is a smart, talented football player that has adapted well to our offensive scheme. He also, obviously, has had a tremendous amount of success as a quarterback in this league. We as a team are very happy to have Alex as our quarterback moving forward.”

5:47pm: Alex Smith will be the Chiefs quarterback for the foreseeable future, as Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to a new deal. A league source tells Paylor that the deal is a four-year extension worth $68MM, with $45MM in guarantees. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms the report, tweeting that the Chiefs are finalizing a deal worth about $17MM per season. ProFootballTalk.com reports (via Twitter) that the deal is worth $30MM guaranteed at the time of the signing, with another $15MM vesting next March.

Smith was entering the final year of his contract and was set to earn $7.5MM in 2014. There had been whispers over the past month that the two sides were negotiating, but a report in mid-August suggested that an extension wasn’t close. Smith addressed the rumors twice, stating earlier in the month that he wanted to “play out” his next contract. Last week, the quarterback stated that he didn’t want negotiations to bleed into the regular season.

Smith had a tumultuous career with the 49ers after being selected first-overall in the 2005 draft. However, once Jim Harbaugh took over as coach, Smith showed the potential that had previously warranted such a high draft pick. Smith had success in his final two seasons in San Francisco, but he was shipped to Kansas City following the 2012 season for a second-rounder and another conditional draft choice.

The 30-year-old had arguably his best season in 2013, earning himself his first Pro-Bowl birth. Smith threw for 3,313 yards, connecting on 23 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Smith also confirmed that he could perform in the postseason, as he threw four touchdowns in the Chiefs 44-45 loss to the Colts.

However, ProFootballFocus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) weren’t as high on Smith’s 2013 season. He ranked as the 20th-best quarterback in the league, coming in just ahead of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Sam Bradford. In fact, Smith rated as a below-average passing quarterback but elite as a running quarterback, which shouldn’t be too surprising since Smith ran for a career-high 431 yards last season.

PFR’s Zach Links took a look at Smith’s extension candidacy in May, predicting that he could receive a contract similar to that of Tony Romo or Jay Cutler. Ultimately, Zach concluded that $18MM per year would be reasonable for a player of Smith’s caliber.

Chiefs Sign Kurt Coleman

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

4:08pm: The Chiefs have officially announced the signing of Coleman, moving linebacker Joe Mays to the injured reserve list with a designation to return, according to a team release.

9:53am: The Chiefs have reached an agreement to sign free agent safety Kurt Coleman, according to agent Blake Baratz (via Twitter). Coleman had hit the open market after being released by the Vikings over the weekend when the team went from 75 players to 53.

Coleman, 26, spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Eagles, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. Although he was the team’s starter at free safety in 2011 and 2012, he ranked 85th out of 88 total qualified safeties in ’12, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Those grades may have contributed to the team reducing Coleman’s role in 2013, a season in which he played just 74 defensive snaps. However, he still played a significant role on special teams, racking up nine tackles in kick and punt coverage.

Coleman, who also visited the Jets and Colts this offseason before signing with the Vikings, will join a Chiefs secondary that includes standout strong safety Eric Berry. However, the team has some question marks at the other safety spot, with Husain Abdullah looking like the probable starter, replacing the departed Kendrick Lewis.

In order to fit Coleman on the 53-man roster, Kansas City will need to make a corresponding move.

Bears Re-Sign Kelvin Hayden

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bears have placed wide receiver Marquess Wilson in IR with a designation to return, opening up a roster spot to bring back defensive back Kelvin Hayden, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Hayden had been one of the Bears’ last cuts over the weekend when the team trimmed its roster from 75 players to 53.

Hayden, 30, tore a hamstring last August, which landed him on injured reserve, forcing him out of action for the 2013 season. For his career, Hayden has been active for 101 games, including 49 starts, racking up 12 interceptions and 45 passes defended in parts of eight seasons. He’ll be a depth piece in Chicago’s secondary.

Wilson had been poised to assume a larger role on the Bears’ offense this year, but won’t be eligible to return until at least Week 10, since the Bears have a bye in Week 9. When he gets back, he’ll look to carve out playing time on a receiving corps that now features Santonio Holmes behind Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.

Bills Extend Garrison Sanborn Through 2017

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 3:18pm: According to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter), Sanborn’s new three-year contract includes a $550K signing bonus, a slight bump up from the $530K bonus he got on his last deal. That’s the only guaranteed money on the extension.

FRIDAY, 5:51pm: Sanborn’s new deal is worth $3.3MM, or $1.1MM annually, according to Buscaglia (via Twitter). That’s a slight bump up from Sanborn’s last contract, and makes the Bills long snapper one of the league’s top five highest-paid players at his position.

5:31pm: The Bills have reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension for long snapper Garrison Sanborn, a source tells Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 (Twitter link). The new deal ensures that Sanborn, whose contract was set to expire at season’s end, is locked up through the 2017 season.

Sanborn, 29, has been the Bills’ long snapper since joining the club in 2009. His most recent contract, a three-year pact, included a $530K signing bonus and annual workout bonuses of $25K, in addition to base salaries that exceeded the minimum. Assuming the Bills are still happy with his performance, we can probably expect similar numbers this time around, though terms have yet to be reported.

Sanborn’s extension is the latest roster move for a Bills team that also announced 10 cuts and placed three players on injured reserve earlier today.

Cards GM Talks Dockett, Roster, Washington

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the weekend, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic published a Q&A with Steve Keim, in which the Cardinals GM talked about how the team responded to Darnell Dockett‘s injury, the strategy of giving more snaps to young players, and Daryl Washington‘s season-long suspension. Keim made a number of interesting comments, so let’s dive right in and check out some of the highlights….

On the team’s reaction to Dockett’s torn ACL:

“The first thing that comes to mind is, what does this do to us from a depth standpoint? I know we have other guys who can help us and step up, whether it’s Frostee Rucker, Kareem Martin and Ed Stinson. I know we have guys who can play. I know we can’t replace Darnell’s emotional leadership, but are we good enough to sustain another injury, and where can we go for help next?

In my mind there is no reason to bring in another Ed Stinson or Kareem Martin. Those are two guys, all they need to do is continue to play and get quality reps. We need to find out if Isaac Sopoaga is the kind of guy who can help us? Is Tommy Kelly the kind of guy we can bring in to help us? Bring in veteran leadership and experience.”

On being patient about bringing in veteran help when an injury occurs:

“In years past, before Coach [Bruce] Arians, I felt like there was always trepidation in terms of playing younger guys. And in my opinion, you never know until you throw them out there and give them a chance. A lot of times I think you can be pleasantly surprised that these guys have ability, and if you ask them to do what caters to their strengths, they’ll have some success. To me, whether it’s a young quarterback or positional player, you don’t get better practicing.”

On Washington’s suspension:

“I would say of all our losses that Daryl Washington hurts the most. You can accept a player being injured because that’s going to happen, but when off-field issues come about, those are unacceptable. You certainly can’t plan for them, and I’ll never be able to get over those kinds of consequences. Because one of the things we’ve tried to do over the years is to create a filter – whether it’s in drafting or signing free agents – that we’ll not only draft good players but good people, guys who carry themselves the right way off the field. If you’re getting suspended in the NFL anymore, it means that you’ve been in trouble multiple times. And really at the end of the day, you’re hanging out your teammates as much as anybody.”

On whether the door will be open for Washington to return if and when he’s reinstated:

“You know what? We haven’t even gotten into that discussion yet. The one thing I do know that’s happened, since the suspension, we haven’t talked about him for a minute. Out of sight, out of mind.”