2015 January - Pro Football Rumors

NFC West Notes: Harvin, Rams, Maxwell

January 27th, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Seahawks GM John Schneider has no regrets about sending Percy Harvin to the Jets, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. “It was difficult, but we had talked to ownership about it,” Schneider said. “When you have support of the ownership, it makes it that much easier. So, he knew there were several reasons why it may not work out. As long as we’re communicating with ownership in that regard and explaining why it didn’t work out, it’s much easier to do than waking up in the morning and saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this.'”

The Rams did not have their second interview with Nathaniel Hackett as was once planned, according to Jim Thomas of the Post Dispatch (Twitter links). However, St. Louis still plans on discussing its offensive coordinator vacancy with him and that follow-up chat could come later this week.
Earlier today, Seahawks GM John Schneider said that re-signing cornerback Byron Maxwell will be one of the team’s top offseason priorities, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Seattle has already locked up several of its key impact players and a new deal for quarterback Russell Wilson is likely around the corner. Keeping Maxwell might be something that the Seahawks want to do, but carving out the space for it is another matter.
The Eagles interviewed the Seahawks‘ director of college scouting, Scott Fitterer, for their personnel executive opening, but he decided to stay in Seattle, Schneider said. “He spoke with the Philadelphia Eagles, kept it on the down low,” Schneider said, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s staying with us.” The Eagles have interviewed at least three candidates for a job that could have the GM title, McLane writes. Chris Polian, former GM of the Colts, recently had a second interview and is considered a serious contender.

Jets Notes: Revis, Quinn, Bowles, Idzik

January 27th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by Zachary Links

On Tuesday at media day, Darrelle Revis was asked it must be like for a Jets fan to watch him play on game’s biggest stage after making a name for himself for his first six seasons in New York. Revis didn’t have much in the way of consolation for fans of Gang Green. “It’s not really my fault,” Revis said, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. “I didn’t make the call. Management made the call at that time and they felt it was best to get rid of me. So that’s the situation. That’s how I look at it.” More on the Jets..

The Jets were heavily interested in Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their head coaching vacancy, but they were never completely convinced that they were No. 1 on his wish list, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Meanwhile, Todd Bowles clicked with new GM Mike Maccagnan and owner Woody Johnson felt comfortable with the former Cardinals defensive coordinator.
Seahawks GM John Schneider doesn’t think that John Idzik got a fair shake in New York. “I felt bad for him. I think that, it’s just my personal opinion that you should be able to hire a head coach,” the Seattle GM said, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter).
Veteran tight ends coach Jimmie Johnson told some coaching colleagues that he’s joining the Jets staff to coach their tight ends, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Three offensive position coaches have been named to Bowles’ coaching staff according to an announcement on Tuesday — Steve Marshall as offensive line coach, Kevin Patullo as quarterbacks coach, and Marcel Shipp as running backs coach.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Chudzinski, Jaguars

January 27th, 2015 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Wisconsin-based American Family Insurance added a pair of big names as endorsers this week, hiring NBA star Kevin Durant and Texans star J.J. Watt, as Darren Rovell of ESPN.com writes. Watt, who had 20.5 sacks and five touchdowns this season, is known for his humanitarian endeavors and the endorsement deal will have a tie-in with his personal charity. More from the AFC South..

The new deal that Rob Chudzinski signed to remain with the Colts is only for one year, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Still, Chudzinski, who was named associate head coach, is the probable heir apparent to offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton if Hamilton leaves next year, says Rapoport.
Devin McCourty is the sort of impact free agent who would be an ideal fit for the Jaguars, but Jacksonville may not get a chance to make a play for the Pats safety, who is a franchise tag candidate, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Earlier this afternoon, I took a look at McCourty and other AFC East players who could be tagged this offseason.
After interviewing him earlier today, the Jaguars have hired Kelly Skipper as their new running backs coach, parting ways with Terry Richardson, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.

2015 Franchise Tag Candidates: AFC East

January 27th, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

One game remains on the NFL’s calendar for the 2014/15 season, but for teams besides the Seahawks and Patriots, the offseason has already begun. And one of the first tasks on most clubs’ offseason to-do list involve the franchise and transition tags. As our list of important offseason dates shows, teams can assign their franchise or transition tag to a player beginning on February 16, and will have until March 2 to make use of one of those tags.

Franchise and transition tags are tools that allow teams to keep free-agents-to-be off the open market. Our glossary entry on the subject goes into greater detail, but essentially, a player receiving either tag can’t sign freely with a rival suitor — the exclusive franchise tag prohibits the player from even negotiating with another team, while the non-exclusive franchise and transition tags ensure that the player must sign an offer sheet, which his previous club would have the opportunity to match.

Franchising a player means tendering him a one-year contract offer — he can accept and sign that offer, or attempt to work out a longer-term arrangement with his club. The salary for the one-year offer is determined using a formula that looks at the highest-paid players at each position, and is often exorbitant. Because it can be tricky to accommodate a franchise or transition salary within the cap restraints, not all teams will make use of the tags this offseason. Last year, for instance, only six clubs took advantage of the opportunity, with four teams using the franchise tag while two others used the transition tag.

Still, most teams around the NFL have one or two players that warrant at least passing consideration for one of the tags. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll take a look around the league, division by division, identifying which players on each of the NFL’s 32 teams might be candidates for the franchise tag in 2015. We’ll start today with the AFC East — let’s dive in….

Buffalo Bills:

Candidates: Jerry Hughes
Odds of being used: Unlikely
Running back C.J. Spiller and safety Da’Norris Searcy are among the free-agents-to-be that the Bills might look to re-sign this winter, but only Hughes is truly a viable candidate for the tag. The pass-rushing specialist has been excellent for Buffalo, recording consecutive seasons of double-digit sacks, but the price for his tag may be simply too high — even if he were considered an outside linebacker rather than a defensive end, Hughes would still likely cost at least $12MM for 2015. That may not be doable for the Bills, considering how much money the team has already invested into its other standout defensive linemen.

Miami Dolphins:

Candidates: Charles Clay, Jared Odrick
Odds of being used: Unlikely
Clay and Odrick are solid players, and the franchise prices for tight ends and defensive tackles aren’t bad relative to many other positions. Still, the Dolphins don’t have a ton of cap space to work with, and committing big money to either Clay or Odrick on a one-year deal isn’t a prudent use of that space. If Miami wants to retain them, both players can probably be locked up for lower per-year salaries.

New England Patriots:

Candidates: Devin McCourty, Stephen Gostkowski
Odds of being used: Possible
The price for a franchised safety is less than $10MM, which certainly isn’t outrageous for McCourty, who has developed into one of the more consistently productive players at his position. Gostkowski, meanwhile, has been one of the league’s most reliable kickers for the last several years, and would cost about $4MM to franchise. Bill Belichick and the Pats are notoriously willing to let players go when their cost outweighs their benefit, but McCourty and Gostkowski are still effective enough that the team will likely at least consider tagging one or the other.

New York Jets:

Candidates: David Harris
Odds of being used: Unlikely
The Jets will certainly have plenty of cap room to work with this offseason, but without an ideal franchise candidate, the team will likely choose to pass on the tag. An inside linebacker, Harris is coming off a deal that paid him $9MM annually, but he just turned 31 and the ILB position has seen its value decrease a little in recent years. Dawan Landry, a top-10 safety in 2014, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), makes for an intriguing under-the-radar candidate, but not a very realistic one.

Coach/Exec Notes: Washington, Jets, Raiders

January 27th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will be joining one of New York’s division rivals, having accepted a job as Washington‘s defensive backs coach, reports Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (via Twitter). The 49ers also had an offer out to Fewell, and one other suitor may have been in the mix, but staying close to his family in New York was a major factor in the coach’s decision, tweets Dianna Marie Russini of NBC Washington.

Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon items on coaches and front office execs around the league:

Reports have suggested for some time that Rams scout Brian Heimerdinger would be joining the Jets‘ front office, and the team has now announced the hiring in a press release. According to the club, Heimerdinger will serve as the director of player personnel under new GM Mike Maccagnan, who previously worked with him in Houston.
The Raiders formally announced four new additions to their coaching staff, with three of the names – Bobby Johnson (TE coach), Rob Moore (WR coach), and Bernie Parmalee (RB coach) – having been previously reported. The new name on the list is Tracy Smith, who will be the club’s assistant special teams coach.
Asked at Media Day in Arizona if he’d like another shot at becoming a head coach, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said he’d “love to do it again” in the right situation, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
Joel Corry of CBSSports.com takes a look at the seven teams that made head coaching changes this offseason and attempts to predict how the new coaches could affect those clubs’ plans in free agency.

NFC Notes: Packers, Bears, Cruz, Falcons

January 27th, 2015 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As 2015’s Super Bowl Media Day rolls on, let’s round up a few Tuesday notes from across the NFC….

Only four of 11 Packers players who had per-game roster bonuses in their contracts failed to collect all their money, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, breaking down the players who did and didn’t receive their bonuses.
The Bears announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve reached an agreement with Clint Hurtt to become their outside linebackers coach. The fact that the team is distinguishing between outside and inside linebackers coaches now suggests a transition to a 3-4 defense under new DC Vic Fangio.
Victor Cruz‘s $8.125MM cap number will be the second-highest on the Giants‘ books in 2015, prompting Dan Graziano of ESPN.com to explore whether the team will need to address Cruz’s contract this offseason.
A pair of Falcons assistant coaches recently interviewed for other jobs, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, who tweets that Glenn Thomas talked to the Browns about their quarterbacks coach position, while Gerald Brown met with the Raiders about their running backs coach job.
In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Mike Sando takes a detailed look at how the Seahawks built the team that’s looking for its second consecutive Super Bowl win this Sunday.
Seahawks defensive tackle Kevin Williams is happy with the choice he made in free agency last offseason, but considering he narrowed his options down to Seattle and New England, he admitted this week that he “couldn’t have gone wrong,” writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News expects the Cowboys to target a pass rusher with their first-round pick this April, or at least to nab a defender if there are no ideal pass-rushing fits at No. 27.

Poll: Best Potential 2015 Free Agent?

January 27th, 2015 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Six weeks from today, the NFL’s free agent period for 2015 will officially open. By that point, a number of the more notable names on our 2015 free agent list may be off the board, having reached new agreements with their current clubs, or perhaps receiving the franchise or transition tag.

That certainly applies to the players at the very top of teams’ free agent boards for the coming offseason — it’s hard to imagine the Cowboys letting Dez Bryant reach the open market, or the Broncos allowing Demaryius Thomas to test the free agent waters. Still, for now, those players are eligible for unrestricted free agency, and there’s no indication that they’re on the verge of long-term extensions.

Even though players like Bryant and Thomas may not ultimately reach the open market, we can still examine how they’d stack up against the year’s other top free-agents-to-be. In PFR’s most recent free agent power rankings, Dallas Robinson listed those receivers third and fourth respectively, trailing a pair of formidable defenders, in Ndamukong Suh and Justin Houston — Suh is arguably the NFL’s best defensive tackle, while Houston may be the league’s top pass rusher not named J.J. Watt.

The same four players topped the first edition of our FA power rankings as well, and seem to make up the first tier of 2015’s free agent class. Putting aside the fact that they won’t all actually become available, which of these four players would you consider the best free-agent-to-be of 2015?

Obviously, a team stacked on defense may prefer one of the wideouts, while a club heavy on receiving talent would lean toward one of the defenders, but if we assume all else is equal, who do you like best going forward? Suh, Houston, Bryant, or Thomas? After submitting your vote, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

Coach Notes: Broncos, Phillips, Schwartz, Jets

January 27th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

As our offensive/defensive coordinator search tracker shows, hirings of OCs and DCs have slowed down a little in the last few days — the teams that headed into this past weekend with job openings on either side of the ball have yet to name their new coordinators, and in some cases those clubs may wait until after the Super Bowl to announce any official decisions.

Still, that doesn’t mean there’s no forward movement on any coordinator searches. An update out of Denver headlines our latest round-up of coaching-related items, so let’s dive right in….

Former head coach Wade Phillips is in Denver today to interview for the Broncos‘ defensive coordinator position, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who notes that Phillips coached the team way back when John Elway and Gary Kubiak were players.
While Phillips is a viable candidate for the DC job in Denver, the Broncos‘ top choice still appears to be Bengals defensive backs coach Vance Joseph. Alex Marvez of Fox Sports tweets that one potential scenario would see Phillips getting the job for 2015, then transitioning to a senior assistant role in 2016 when Joseph is freed from his contract in Cincinnati.
Former Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz confirmed that he’s being selective about the next job he takes, as Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun writes. “I saw the opening up in Buffalo as a good opportunity, so I took it,” Schwartz said. “But no, right now, I can’t see myself doing anything else. Coaching is something I love, something I have a passion about. Another opportunity will present itself. I’m not too concerned.” Schwartz reportedly had two years remaining on his contract in Buffalo when the team let him go, which is perhaps contributing to his patient approach to finding another job.
Titans assistant receivers coach Kevin Patullo will be the new quarterbacks coach for the Jets, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). Patullo previously worked with new Jets OC Chan Gailey in Buffalo.
Former Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell is currently considering multiple options, per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The 49ers reportedly have an offer out to Fewell, and the Bengals could be in the mix as well, though Raanan writes that Washington may have the edge.
The Jaguars have fired running backs coach Terry Richardson and are interviewing former Raiders running backs coach Kelly Skipper for the newly-opened job, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Skipper worked with new Jags OC Greg Olson in Oakland.
Speaking of the Jaguars, their current defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker is drawing interest from other teams, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
Earlier today, we learned that Rob Chudzinski, an offensive coordinator target for both the Rams and 49ers, would stick with the Colts and receive a new title.

Colts Suspend Richardson, Void Guarantee

January 27th, 2015 at 9:29am CST by Rob DiRe

TUESDAY, 9:29am: Richardson’s suspension for conduct detrimental to the team does indeed void the guarantee on his $3MM+ base salary for 2015, reports Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). With the reasoning for the suspension still not clear, I’d expect Richardson’s camp and the NFLPA to fight it.

FRIDAY, 5:44pm: Much was made of Trent Richardson not traveling with the team to Foxborough to play the Patriots last weekend. Now, general manager Ryan Grigson confirms that Richardson was suspended for two games heading into that weekend, reports Mike Chappell of RTV6 in Indianapolis (via Twitter). The reason for the suspension is unclear at the moment.

Richardson was a healthy scratch in the divisional round against the Broncos, and was reportedly going to miss the AFC Championship due to a family emergency, although he was not expected to be active anyway.

The suspension in itself is not the most interesting part of the story. Richardson’s time with the Colts has been a tremendous disappointment, and Grigson and the Colts would not commit to having him on the roster for 2015 as it was, saying he would be “lumped into that conversation with guys this offseason,” according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com.

Richardson is owed just north of $3.18MM for 2015 according to OverTheCap.com, and because his rookie contract was fully guaranteed, it has been assumed that the Colts would have to pay him that money whether he was on the team or not.

That may not be the case though, as this suspension could change Richardson’s status going into the offseason. Jason Fitzgerald surmised that if Richardson was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, that may void the guaranteed money left on the deal (via Twitter).

This suggestion comes with precedent, as Fitzgerald notes that when the Raiders suspended Rolando McClain in 2012, that allowed the team to get out from the guaranteed money in his contract (via Twitter). Like the Raiders, the Colts may have gotten creative in order to get out from under a contract that they don’t want on their books going forward (via Twitter).

Former Buccaneers general manager and current ESPN analyst Mark Dominik confirms that Richardson’s contract has strong voiding language, and that the team will be able to move on from following this suspension (via Twitter).

While this news may inspire celebrations from Colts fans about being free from a player who has been tough to watch over the last year and a half, it needs to be stated that no matter what the language in the contract is, Richardson will likely fight for that money and the NFLPA would fight on his behalf.

Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, Richardson fans can take solace in the way McClain turned his career around with the Cowboys — while this is a terrible situation for Richardson, it doesn’t necessarily signify the end of his career after only three seasons.

Rob Chudzinski To Remain With Colts

January 27th, 2015 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Despite receiving interest from the Rams and 49ers, Rob Chudzinski will remain in Indianapolis rather than interviewing for an offensive coordinator job. According to a press release from the Colts, Chudzinski and the team have agreed to a new contract and a new title for the assistant, who will serve as the associate head coach for the 2015 season.

“We’re excited to keep Chud in our family,” head coach Chuck Pagano said in a statement. “He’s been a critical part of our operation and we’re looking forward to sharing even more success in the future.”

Chudzinski, who previously coached the Browns and served as a special assistant in Indianapolis in 2014, had received multiple interview requests from teams looking for an offensive coordinator this offseason. Both the Rams and 49ers, the only teams still actively looking for a new OC, had been willing to wait for his contract with the Colts to expire, which was scheduled to happen this week.

St. Louis and San Francisco will now have to look elsewhere for offensive coordinators, and that could be good news for Nathaniel Hackett, as the former Bills OC had a second interview lined up with the Rams this week. It’s not clear which target the 49ers will zero in on now, since another one of their reported candidates, Lane Kiffin, took himself out of the running over the weekend by committing to Alabama for 2015. Mike Shanahan was cited as an option earlier in the process, but there hasn’t been much buzz surrounding him in the last week or so.