HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Sunday Roundup: Wilson, Manning, AFC North

February 1st, 2015 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league on this Super Bowl Sunday:

  • According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, negotiations on a long-term extension for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will begin “as soon as the Super Bowl ends.” As we have been hearing, Wilson is expected to become the highest-paid player in NFL history, with Aaron Rodgers‘ $22MM average annual salary serving as the starting point for negotiations with Wilson. Rapoport adds that everything Seattle has done this year, including its dealings with Percy Harvin, Cliff Avril, and K.J. Wright, was done with a Wilson deal in mind (Twitter link to NFL Media PR).
  • Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is expected to play in 2015, and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen writes that official confirmation could come from Manning this week.
  • Falcons star receiver Julio Jones is under contract through 2015, but an extension for Jones will be put on hold until incoming head coach Dan Quinn has had time to fully assess the roster, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Those sentiments come from team owner Arthur Blank, which suggests that Quinn will have a great deal of input into roster decisions and creates more questions about the role of GM Thomas Dimitroff.
  • Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines the state of the Steelers‘ secondary, which looks to be a major area of concern heading into the offseason.
  • Ravens running back Justin Forsett spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk about a number of topics, including his impending free agency. The tailback made it known once again that he’d like to stay in purple and black. “I would like to stay in Baltimore, but it is a business and I’m looking for a commitment. However that comes, I just want to be able to take care of my family,” the veteran said. Florio also asked Forsett about the possibility of following former Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to Denver. Forsett was complimentary of Kubiak but downplayed the likelihood of a reunion, noting that the Broncos have multiple tailbacks under contract, including C.J. Anderson. However, as Florio rightly noted, none of the Denver backs amassed 1,266 yards on the ground in 2014 like Forsett did.
  • There is a mechanism in the collective bargaining agreement by which the Browns could seek to recover a pro-rated portion of Gordon’s signing bonus because of games missed due to suspensions, as Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com writes. That pro-rated portion for 2015 is just over $564K, however, so it’s not clear if Cleveland will pursue that process.

Zach Links contributed to this post

Lions Favorites For Ndamukong Suh

February 1st, 2015 at 11:57am CST by Rory Parks

11:57am: Lions president Tom Lewand said in an interview today, “I think there’s a very, very good chance that we can get something done with [Suh] in the next few weeks,” writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Lewand added that affording Suh and fitting his lucrative contract under the salary cap will not be an issue. According to Birkett, Lewand’s statements are the strongest indication yet that Suh will return to Detroit.

11:19am: The Lions are favored to re-sign Ndamukong Suh, writes ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The fate of the star defensive tackle, who is eligible for free agency this year, has dominated headlines for much of 2014 and will continue to be a prominent storyline until he signs his next contract.

Suh is regarded as perhaps the second-best defensive lineman in the league, taking a backseat to only Houston’s J.J. Watt, who received 13 MVP votes for his outstanding play in 2014. As such, Suh is expected to command a contract similar to the $100MM deal that Watt signed last year, and Mortensen’s sources believe Detroit will be the team to give him that money.

Of course, the salary cap ramifications of such a deal represent the biggest concern for Detroit, who would apparently be willing to go so far as to part with Calvin Johnson to create enough cap space to re-sign Suh. However, the Lions believe they can manage to keep both Suh and Johnson on the roster.

For his part, Johnson may have expressed a willingness to rework his own deal if it would allow his team to retain Suh, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “I’ll do whatever I got to do,” Johnson said. It is unclear if that statement means that Johnson is willing to restructure his contract or if he simply meant that he would be aggressive in trying to convince Suh to stay in Detroit.

According to Mortensen, though, Suh may not need much convincing. Although the Lions suffered a disappointing loss in the first round of this year’s playoffs, they showed the ability to contend for a championship, and a Suh return would allow them to return as many as 18 starters. All of that has led Suh to express his desire to continue his career where it started.

Seahawks Offer Marshawn Lynch Extension

February 1st, 2015 at 11:25am CST by Rory Parks

11:25am: ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that there have been no negotiations on the extension as of yet, but talks are scheduled for next week.

8:46am: The Seahawks have made a “huge” extension offer to Marshawn Lynch that would likely keep him with the club for the rest of his career, writes Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Lynch remains under contract for the 2015 season, but the extension, in addition to giving Lynch long-term security, would also double his 2015 pay. The 28-year-old running back is set to make $5MM next year, but Rapoport writes that the new deal would give Lynch over $10MM in 2015 alone.

Although the enigmatic Lynch has made the news for his bizarre press conferences and certain obscene gestures, and even though he has at least considered the possibility of retirement in each of the last two seasons, his on-field production for Seattle has largely overshadowed all of that. Lynch has rushed for at least 1,200 yards in four consecutive seasons, and his 2014 campaign was perhaps the best of his career. Lynch rushed for over 1,300 yards, maintained a 4.7 yards-per-carry average, and scored 13 touchdowns. He added 37 receptions for another 367 yards and four receiving touchdowns to his dominant season.

The former Bill was traded to Seattle during the 2010 season in exchange for two mid-round draft picks, and the deal immediately paid dividends for the Seahawks. Lynch, affectionately known as “Beast Mode,” was instrumental in Seattle’s surprise upset of the defending-champion Saints in the first round of that year’s playoffs, breaking off a memorable 67-yard touchdown run that was later dubbed “Beast Quake.”

Lynch was rewarded with a four-year, $31MM contract after the 2011 season, and after a brief holdout in 2014, he agreed to a new deal that provided him with a bit more financial certainty. Per Rapoport, the team feels that Lynch has outplayed that contract, and so they have offered him a lucrative extension just hours before he takes the field in Super Bowl XLIX. Rapoport does note, however, that if the Seahawks become repeat champions tonight, Lynch could follow through on his retirement plans.

Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that, in addition to paying Lynch $10MM in 2015, the extension would be second to only Adrian Peterson in average annual value (which is over $14MM per year). We heard nearly all year that Lynch would probably not return to Seattle after 2014, but his tremendous production this year has underscored his value to the club, and the team is prepared to reward him accordingly. It would be difficult for anyone to turn down such an offer, but Lynch is not your ordinary player or person, so unless and until the ink dries on this new contract, no one will really know where Lynch will be in 2015 and beyond.

East Notes: Kraft, Revis, Cowboys

February 1st, 2015 at 10:55am CST by Rory Parks

As the Patriots prepare to represent the AFC East in the Super Bowl tonight, let’s take a look at some notes regarding the Pats, their division rivals, and a few items from the NFC East:

  • Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes that the league’s handling of “Deflategate” has thawed the relationship between Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has been one of the commissioner’s biggest supporters and who publicly backed Goodell during the Ray Rice fiasco. Reiss notes that, if Goodell were to lose Kraft’s support, his hold on the commissioner’s job could become a bit more tenuous.
  • ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Patriots star corner Darrelle Revis will be courted not only by his current team this offseason–after New England inevitably declines his 2015 option–but he expects the Bills and Jets to be in on Revis as well. Joel Corry tweets that Revis will have a great deal of leverage, as the Patriots cannot put the franchise tag on him if they decline the 2015 option.
  • Jets owner Woody Johnson received the Steinberg DeNicola Humanitarian Award on Saturday, and before receiving the award, he provided a few clues to his team’s offseason plans. In response to criticism he received earlier this week, when he announced that the Jets would be aggressive in free agency, Johnson stated that although he was not afraid to spend money on free agents, he would not waste money. He specifically mentioned cornerback and strong safety as positions that could be addressed in the free agent market, and he also touched on a possible extension for Muhammad Wilkerson and the team’s quarterback situation (article via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
  • If Washington is to become competitive again in the NFC East, Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com says new GM Scot McCloughan must move away from the team’s historic reliance on big-ticket free agents.
  • After hearing that the Seahawks have offered Marshawn Lynch a lucrative extension, Joel Corry tweets that the Cowboys will have to substantially increase their offer to DeMarco Murray if they are serious about keeping him.
  • Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News looked at the Cowboys linebacker situation in 2015, both with and without impending free agent Rolando McClain. Fortunately for Dallas, Anthony Hitchens showed that he can play any of the linebacker spots in his rookie season. If McClain comes back, he’ll play in the middle and Sean Lee will be on the weakside. If McClain doesn’t come back, Machota thinks it will be Lee in the middle with Justin Durant/Hitchens on the weakside.
  • More from Machota, who writes that he’d be surprised if Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley, a restricted free agent, gets plucked away by another team. Linebacker Bruce Carter, however, is a different story. Carter has freakish athleticism and he was a projected first round choice in 2011. There could be teams out there that believe they can better utilize his abilities than Dallas has, perhaps by making him an inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

Zach Links contributed to this post

 

Falcons Investigated For Artificial Crowd Noise

February 1st, 2015 at 10:04am CST by Rory Parks

The Falcons are being investigated for piping artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome the past two seasons, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. According to Schefter, Atlanta is accused of piping in the noise while the opposing team was huddling and trying to call its play. If the Falcons are found to have employed that tactic, they could face a hefty fine and even be stripped of a draft choice.

A team spokesperson issued the following statement:

“We were informed during the season that the league office is looking into crowd noise during our games. We have cooperated fully with them, and we’re awaiting the outcome.”

Ann Mara Passes Away At 85

February 1st, 2015 at 9:49am CST by Rory Parks

Giants co-owner and matriarch Ann Mara passed away today at the age of 85, writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. Mara slipped in front of her home in Rye, New York during an ice storm several weeks ago, and she injured her head in the fall. Although her family was hopeful for her recovery, complications from the fall ultimately led to her passing.

Mara’s father-in-law, Tim Mara, founded the Giants in 1925. After Ann’s husband, Wellington, passed away in 2005, Ann and her 11 children assumed control of 50% of the club. The other 50% was sold to the Tisch family in 1991.

Of those 11 children, three currently work in Giants’ front office: John Mara serves as president and CEO, Chris Mara is the senior vice president of player evaluation, and Frank Mara is the vice president of community relations.

Commissioner Roger Goodell released the following statement:

“Mrs. Mara was a tower of strength, dignity and inspiration for her family and all of us in the NFL. Her family and the Giants organization have always reflected Mrs. Mara’s competitive spirit, integrity, and wonderful sense of humor. Our thoughts and prayers are with John Mara and the entire Mara family.”

Our thoughts and condolences are with Mrs. Mara’s friends and family.

49ers Notes: Brown, York, Wideouts

February 1st, 2015 at 8:38am CST by Rory Parks

As the 49ers prepare to watch their division rivals in the Super Bowl tonight, let’s take a look at a few notes on the team’s outlook for next season:

  • We learned yesterday that the 49ers were set to add Clancy Pendergast (inside linebackers coach) and Tim Lewis (defensive backs coach) to its defensive coaching staff, and Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News adds that the team has also tabbed Scott Brown as its next defensive line coach. Brown served as the 49ers’ Midwest-region scout in each of the past three seasons after working for over 30 years as a college assistant. He most recently worked in the college ranks with Arizona State in 2011.
  • Although many have expressed skepticism over the 49ers’ recent coaching decisions, beginning with their decision to part ways with Jim Harbaugh, CEO Jed York believes that the staff he has assembled will allow Colin Kaepernick to fulfill his vast potential. York said, “But with [Kaepernick] you got a guy in (new offensive coordinator) Geep Chryst who knows him better than anybody else. You have a great guy in (new quarterbacks coach) Steve Logan that’s coming in that’s going to work with him on fundamentals and to put a system that’s going to put Kap in the best position to make plays…We can throw the ball in ways that allows him to be successful and let him be the absolute stud that he can be on the field, and that’s what you’re going to see from us next year.” (link via Kevin Patra of NFL.com).
  • In a separate piece, Inman looks at 10 ways the 49ers could get back to the Super Bowl in 2015 and become the first true home team in a Super Bowl. Inman notes that the coaches must mesh quickly and become the staff that York apparently believes they can be, but he also says San Francisco would do well to add a tall, speedy wide receiver to give Kaepernick the type of weapon he has never really enjoyed. With Anquan Boldin entering his 13th year, Michael Crabtree likely to depart in free agency, and the question marks surrounding Vernon Davis, the team’s receiving corps is a major area of concern.