2015 March - Pro Football Rumors

NFC South Notes: Falcons, Quinn, Newton, Hill

March 25th, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Falcons were told at this week’s owners meetings that they will face “severe” discipline for violating an NFL policy, according to ESPN. The Falcons were investigated for piping artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome over the last two seasons, which team owner Arthur Blank acknowledged in February, and the severity of their punishment will be announced next week. Per ESPN, the Falcons could face “a hefty fine, a loss of a draft pick or picks, or other penalties,” though Blank and the team have been fully cooperative in the league’s investigation.

“We have great respect for the shield and the integrity of the game, the integrity of competition,” said Blank.

Here’s more on the Falcons and one of their NFC South rivals:

The Falcons are done free agency shopping after adding linebackers Brooks Reed and Justin Durant, defensive end Adrian Clayborn, and tight ends Jacob Tamme and Tony Moeaki, among others, this offseason. They will now turn their attention toward the upcoming draft, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re always looking,” new head coach Dan Quinn said in regards to adding more free agents, but he also stated that “the focus has kind of shifted to the draft.”
Quinn shot down the notion that the Falcons recently discussed a trade with the Seahawks for defensive end Michael Bennett, reports Ledbetter. “I don’t know where that story came from,” said Quinn. “It was just one of those random things that should have been mark down as ‘nothing.’ He’s a great player, but there have been no talks at all.” Quinn coordinated Seattle’s defense from 2013-14, during which time Bennett combined for 15.5 sacks.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told reporters he’s confident that the team and Cam Newton will work toward a new contract, adding that he’d like to see it get done prior to the season (Twitter links via Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com’s David Newton). Newton is entering the final year of his deal.
Rivera also said Wednesday that having Stephen Hill in the mix takes some pressure off the Panthers when it comes to drafting a wide receiver, per David Newton (via Twitter). Despite Rivera’s endorsement, Hill hasn’t shown himself to be much of a threat since entering the league in 2012. He caught a combined 45 passes between 2012-13 for the Jets and spent last season on the Panthers’ practice squad. It’s tough to imagine his presence will heavily influence the Panthers come draft time.

Gruden On Draft, Culliver, Kerrigan, Williams

March 25th, 2015 at 6:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Second-year Washington head coach Jay Gruden had plenty to say Wednesday as he and the club continue focusing on ways to improve on their 4-12 record from last season. Let’s take a look at some of the salient points Gruden addressed:

New general manager Scot McCloughan didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement to much-maligned quarterback Robert Griffin III on Tuesday. Neither did Gruden on Wednesday, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Per Jones, Gruden said he’s been studying the draft’s top two quarterbacks – Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Florida State’s Jameis Winston – in case one falls to Washington at fifth overall.
Despite Gruden’s statement, Zac Boyer of the Washington Times (Twitter link) doesn’t believe Washington will take a quarterback at No. 5 based on the coach’s tone.
In other draft news, Boyer tweets that Washington will likely go that route to address outside linebacker, per Gruden. Washington has a hole to fill at OLB after losing Brian Orakpo to free agency earlier this month.
Cornerback Chris Culliver, whom Washington signed to a big contract in free agency, drew praise from Gruden. According to Boyer (Twitter link), Gruden considered Culliver second only to Darrelle Revis among free agent corners. Culliver spent the first three years of his career in San Francisco, intercepting seven passes for the 49ers. He had a career-best four picks last year, when Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him a terrific 14th among 108 qualifying corners.
Regarding the future of free agent wide receiver Santana Moss, Gruden said, “I would not hesitate to call him,” tweeted Boyer. Moss, who will turn 36 in June, is mulling retirement after 14 NFL seasons. He has spent the last decade in Washington and totaled nearly 600 catches and 47 touchdowns. Moss went scoreless last year and had just 10 receptions in 10 games.
Moss aside, Gruden sounded less interested in bringing back other unsigned players who were previously with Washington, according to Boyer (via Twitter). “If they’re not on our roster right now, we don’t have any plans for them to be with us,” said Gruden.
Finally, Gruden indicated that Washington is discussing long-term extensions with the agents for outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and offensive tackle Trent Williams, tweeted Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. The duo will eat up over $20MM in cap space in 2015, the final year of their respective deals. Kerrigan, 26, is coming off a career campaign that saw him rack up 13.5 sacks, giving him 38 over his four-year career. Williams, also 26, has made three straight Pro Bowls and finished last season ranked 18th out of 84 qualifying tackles, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Minor Moves: Wednesday

March 25th, 2015 at 5:19pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A look at Wednesday’s minor moves:

The Buccaneers waived linebacker Brandon Magee, according to Scott Smith of the team’s official website (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Magee joined the Bucs last year after spending 2013 with the Browns. He appeared in nine games for Tampa last season and accrued seven tackles. He’ll next switch sports and try out for the Red Sox, per Pat Yasinkas of ESPN.com.
Tight end Ifeanyi Momah, who was in attendance at the recent veterans’ combine, has signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals, tweets Darren Urban of the team’s official website. The Cards will be Momah’s fourth organization since going undrafted out of Boston College in 2012. The 25-year-old has spent time with the Eagles, Browns and Lions, but has never appeared in a game.
The Packers have signed defensive back Kyle Sebetic, according to the team’s website. Sebetic went undrafted out of Dayton last year and spent some time on the Giants’ practice squad.

Bucs Notes: Winston, Mariota, Glennon

March 25th, 2015 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers are coming off a 2-14 season, but all eyes will be on Lovie Smith and company over the next weeks, as the 2015 NFL draft nears, since Tampa Bay holds the first overall pick. With most observers, reporters, and fans believing the Bucs will snag Jameis Winston, that pick may be lacking a little intrigue, but speaking to the media today, Smith didn’t fully commit to the Florida State quarterback. Here’s what the Bucs head coach had to say about Winston and a handful of other topics:

Smith said today that he’s never done so much research on a player as the Bucs have done on Winston, tweets John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. The team has also done plenty of work on Marcus Mariota, but has spent more time on Winston, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. Bucs ownership has given the OK to both players (link via ESPN.com).
Odds are good that either Winston or Mariota will be Tampa Bay’s pick at No. 1, but Smith belives “you have to keep your options open.” According to the head coach, the Bucs would be “very comfortable” selecting one of the quarterbacks, but there’s no rush to make the decision yet, and Smith points out that “there are mega-deals that have come up” in past drafts (all Twitter links via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
More from Smith on having the first overall pick, via Stroud (Twitter link): “We realize how important that position is and very seldom do you get a chance to have your pick of the litter like that.”
Putting a bow on the No. 1 pick talk, Smith indicated that it wouldn’t be an erroneous assumption to forecast Winston as the first overall pick, tweets Stroud. However, the team continues to go through the research process.
With the Bucs preparing to draft a quarterback, one signal-caller on their roster has drawn trade interest. According to Smith, teams have inquired on a potential Mike Glennon deal (Twitter link via Stroud). I’d imagine that’s something the Bucs will consider as the draft nears if they’re comfortable with Winston (or Mariota). For now though, Glennon and Seth Lobato are the only QBs on the roster, so the team may have to sign a veteran if Glennon is dealt, and there aren’t many still on the market.
Asked about how much longer veteran guard Logan Mankins wants to continue playing, Smith replied, “Forever. He’ll tell you forever.” So it doesn’t sound as if retirement is imminent for the former Patriot (Twitter link via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald).

Goodell Talks L.A., Peterson, Investigations

March 25th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Unsurprisingly, there were no earth-shattering revelations from commissioner Roger Goodell during his press conference at the league’s annual meetings today in Arizona. However, Goodell did answer questions about a number of pertinent issues, so let’s check out his answers on a few of those topics, with all links pointed toward the Twitter accounts of reporters in attendance:

The NFL isn’t necessarily focused on getting a team (or two) to Los Angeles in time for the 2016 season, but if that happens, it would have to be in temporary stadium. Goodell expects more discussion about L.A. possibilities at the league’s May meeting, adding that there’s “a great deal of work being done.”
The league’s relocation window is typically January 1 to February 15, but the NFL has discussed the possibility of moving that window forward, with the race to L.A. heating up. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network notes, there’s a good chance the Los Angeles situation crystallizes by the fall, in which case moving up the deadline for relocation could help to allow an L.A. stadium break ground by year’s end.
The NFL still appears to be handling Adrian Peterson‘s situation as if the league’s original suspension of the running back is in place. Goodell says he expects to meet with Peterson by April 15 to make a “determination on his status,” which is the same timeline initially announced by the league, before a judge ruled that the suspension should be overturned.
Asked if Ted Wells‘ DeflateGate investigation needs to be finished by the draft, Goodell said there’s no timetable for its completion. Obviously, if the Patriots were to lose a 2015 draft pick for the incident, the NFL would need to announce that within the next few weeks.
The Browns’ TextGate investigation appears poised to conclude sooner. Goodell said today that Troy Vincent is heading that case, and the commissioner expects to be brought up to speed on it within the next few days. The fact that GM Ray Farmer was reportedly texting his opinions to the team’s sideline may be a mitigating factor when determining discipline for the franchise, per Goodell.
Goodell said today that the league is looking into the pre-free-agency actions of “several” teams to determine if the NFL’s tampering rules were violated. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that more than 20 teams are being investigated, though there’s no word on potential penalties for those clubs.
A decision on Greg Hardy‘s discipline – or lack thereof – is expected in the “near future.”

NFL Adjusts 2015 Compensatory Picks

March 25th, 2015 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

No one outside of the NFL quite has a full handle on the formula the league uses to determine the 32 compensatory draft picks that are handed out on an annual basis. And as it turns out, the formula is complicated enough that even the NFL itself made a few errors when it announced 2015’s compensatory picks earlier this week.

While the majority of this year’s picks remain unchanged, the Panthers, Broncos, and Steelers were all affected by today’s changes. Here are the adjustments made by the league:

Panthers‘ sixth-round pick (No. 213) becomes fifth-round pick (No. 174), per Bryan Strickland of Panthers.com (via Twitter).
Broncos‘ sixth-round pick (No. 208) becomes seventh-round pick (No. 250), per Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
Steelers‘ seventh-round pick (No. 252) becomes sixth-round pick (No. 212), per the team (via Twitter).

While those are the only picks to undergo significant changes, many other fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-round picks will move up or down a spot, based on these adjustments.

You can view the complete draft order for 2015, which has been updated to reflect today’s news, right here. We also have an updated breakdown of 2015’s picks by team.

Bears Sign Mason Foster

March 25th, 2015 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 3:26pm: The Bears have officially signed Foster, the team announced today (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 5:15pm: It’s a one-year deal for Foster, tweets Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.

4:43pm: The Bears have reached an agreement with free agent linebacker Mason Foster, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Jen Lada of CSNChicago.com, who reported nearly two weeks ago that Foster and the Bears were getting close to a three-year deal, tweeted this afternoon that Foster was “finally in.”

Foster, who turned 26 earlier in March, appeared in 10 games for the Buccaneers last season and started all of them. In that time, he recorded 62 total tackles and three pass deflections. The former third-round pick also impressed with 105 tackles in 2012, and 92 tackles – to go along with three interceptions and two sacks – in 2013.

For the Bears, it’s their third notable defensive addition of the day, as they continue to add talent to fit new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio‘s 3-4 scheme. The team also agreed to terms with defensive linemen Jarvis Jenkins and Ray McDonald today. When Jenkins’ deal was reported, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune noted that Jenkins and Foster had been texting frequently, indicating that the linebacker was a good bet to land in Chicago.

Foster also reportedly drew interest from the Dolphins and 49ers.

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Mathis, Barwin

March 25th, 2015 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly drew a big crowd at this morning’s NFC coaches’ breakfast in Arizona, and many of those reporters in attendance passed along noteworthy comments and quotes from the team’s de facto GM. Here are a few of the highlights from Kelly, with all links going to the Twitter accounts of various reporters in Phoenix:

Since being offered a first-round pick shortly after he acquired Sam Bradford from the Rams, Kelly hasn’t received any other trade inquiries involving the quarterback. As for that original offer, Kelly declined to confirm which team offered the first-rounder pick for Bradford, but it was certainly the Browns, who also offered the Rams the 19th overall pick for the QB.
Discussing the Bradford trade, Kelly said the Eagles had originally tried to get the deal done with just picks, in the hopes of keeping Nick Foles, but the Rams wanted Foles as part of the package.
According to Kelly, the Eagles haven’t actively shopped guard Evan Mathis, but the club has given Mathis and his agent permission to seek a possible trade. At the end of the day, Kelly said, he’s willing to listen to offers for any player.
Explaining the decision to spend big on cornerback Byron Maxwell and not wideout Jeremy Maclin, Kelly indicated that there had been an imbalance of money devoted to the offensive side of the ball, as opposed to the defensive side of the ball, and “it showed” on the field.
Kelly confirmed that Connor Barwin‘s contract restructure didn’t help the Eagles’ cap at all — Kelly reworked the deal simply because he felt like Barwin had exceeded and outperformed his initial contract.
It sounds as if wide receiver will be an area the club targets in the draft. Kelly said today that wide receiver may be the position with the most depth in this year’s draft class.
The Eagles remain active in some discussions with free agents, but Kelly isn’t sure if the team will sign any more players.
Although Kelly said today that LeSean McCoy wasn’t “moving off” his large cap number – prompting the team to part ways with him – Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer hears from sources that the team never approached the running back about restructuring his deal.

Zimmer: No Plans To Trade Adrian Peterson

March 25th, 2015 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Vikings recently came out and said that they have no intentions of releasing Adrian Peterson, and it appears that same stance applies to a possible trade of a running back. As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press details, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters today that the team has “no plans to trade Adrian.” According to the Vikes coach, there haven’t even been any discussions with other teams about a deal (Twitter link via Ed Werder of ESPN.com).

Although Zimmer doesn’t want the star running back to be unhappy, he notes that Peterson is under contract for three more years with the team, and told reporters – including Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com (Twitter link) – that he never once said he would “accommodate” the 30-year-old if that means assenting to a trade request.

Asked about a potential next step for Peterson, Zimmer acknowledged that the back will have to officially come off the exempt list following his suspension. “[Besides that], I don’t know that there is a next step,” Zimmer said, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). “We’re good to go.”

Zimmer’s comments may be a bargaining tool, intended to either encourage Peterson to keep an open mind about a return to Minnesota, or to help improve the club’s position if trade talks do occur. Still, the Vikings’ stance shows that the team has most of the leverage over Peterson at this point — after paying him for not playing last year, the Vikes are willing to pay him again this year at a rate that’s very fair, if not generous, for a 30-year-old running back ($12.75MM base salary for 2015).

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), Peterson’s current unease is about money as much as it’s about a lack of trust with the Vikings. Cole indicates that, whether or not Peterson changes teams, the former MVP wants either a raise or a portion of his salary guaranteed for additional security. Presumably, as he enters his 30s, Peterson recognizes that this could be his last chance at a significant payday. But I’d be surprised if there are other teams willing to guarantee him significantly more money than the $12.75MM Minnesota is prepared to pay him for the 2015 season.

The Cowboys, Cardinals, and Colts are among the most frequently cited potential trade partners for the Vikings, in the event that Minnesota does eventually put Peterson on the block.

North Notes: Steelers, Cutler, Patterson

March 25th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL has informed the Steelers that the seventh-round compensatory pick the team received will actually be a sixth-rounder (Twitter link). The league initially miscommunicated the pick, which will now be the 212nd selection rather than the 252nd (Twitter link). Conversely, the Broncos‘ sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 208) will be bumped down to a seventh-rounder (No. 250), according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter). We’ll update our list of draft picks by round and by team this afternoon to reflect the change.

Let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFL’s two North divisions….

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (all Twitter links), Bears decision-makers, including new head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace, discussed Jay Cutler‘s contract as the guarantee date for more of the QB’s salary neared earlier this offseason. After meeting with Cutler, the Bears’ brass left convinced that he’s their guy going forward.
If there was any doubt about the Vikings‘ commitment to wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, head coach Mike Zimmer cleared things up on Tuesday, as Chris Wesseling of NFL.com details. According to Zimmer, there’s “no chance whatsoever” that the team will trade Patterson this year.
Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams will visit the Ravens prior to next month’s draft, league sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
The Lions aren’t pursuing tampering charges against the Dolphins in regard to Miami’s pursuit of Ndamukong Suh prior to the start of this month’s free agent period, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Of course, just because Detroit isn’t pushing for it, that doesn’t mean the league isn’t looking into a potential violation by the Dolphins and other teams who reportedly reached agreements with free agents prior to March 10.