2015 March - Pro Football Rumors

Bills Sign Jerome Felton

March 11th, 2015 at 12:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

WEDNESDAY, 12:57pm: Despite GM Doug Whaley suggesting earlier today that the Bills didn’t have an agreement in place with Felton, the fullback has now signed his contract with the team, tweets Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. It’s a four-year deal worth $9.2MM, with $4MM guaranteed, says Carucci (via Twitter).

TUESDAY, 3:56pm: After acquiring LeSean McCoy last week, the Bills have found him a lead-blocker, agreeing to terms with fullback Jerome Felton, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s expected to be a four-year pact worth $2.3MM annually, tweets Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News.

The 28-year-old Felton opted out his contract with the Vikings last month, reportedly unhappy his role on the team. He should more pleased in Buffalo, where Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are expected to install a power-running game with McCoy and veteran Fred Jackson.

Felton acted as the lead blocker for Adrian Peterson‘s 2012 MVP campaign, paving the way for Peterson to nearly break the all-time rushing record — Felton himself went to the Pro Bowl that season, and was named second-team All Pro.

Steelers, Maurkice Pouncey Restructure Contract

March 11th, 2015 at 12:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have finally completed their restructuring of Maurkice Pouncey‘s contract, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). The re-worked contract will save the Steelers $3.8MM this year and will put Pittsburgh about $7.5MM under the cap now, according to the NFLPA.

Pouncey’s deal takes him through the 2019 season and originally called for a $8.1MM cap number in 2015. The two sides were working to reduce that cap hit for several weeks.

The 25-year-old (26 in July) started in all 16 games for the Steelers in 2014 after seeing just one game of action in 2013. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) placed Pouncey as the sixth-best center in the NFL with a 9.8 overall score.

Chip Kelly On Mariota, McCoy, Bradford

March 11th, 2015 at 12:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly hosted a press conference this afternoon and we’ve gathered all the highlights right here. All links to go the Twitter feed of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, unless noted otherwise:

Kelly told reporters, including the staff of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (on Twitter), that he didn’t think that he needed to control the team’s personnel and said that it was a decision that the team’s owner had made. Of course, Kelly got control over the roster this offseason in a front office reshuffling that saw former GM Howie Roseman change roles. Kelly feels that the biggest difference in the draft this year will be having the final say over matters, something that he didn’t have over the last two years (link).
The Eagles coach dispelled the notion that the Eagles will try and trade up for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota (link). The Eagles have been heavily connected to Mariota for months now and speculation has only intensified as Kelly appears more driven than ever to fill the Eagles’ roster with Oregon alum. Kelly feels that Mariota is the best QB in the draft, but he’s unwilling to mortgage the future to land him and the team has too many other needs to address (link).
Kelly considered the trade of LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso to be important because it allowed the team to go after cornerback Byron Maxwell (link).
The coach claimed that the Bills leaked the news of the McCoy trade before he could call the running back to notify him, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
Kelly said it was “essential” to get Mark Sanchez back (link) and added that he never would have been able to acquire a quarterback of Sam Bradford‘s caliber had he not torn his ACL. The team has yet to have extension talks with Bradford (link). That’s not a big concern to Kelly, however, who said that everyone is essentially playing year-to-year and believes that Bradford has tremendous upside (link).
The Eagles coach/exec claims that the Eagles were offered a first-round pick for Bradford on Wednesday morning (link). However, Bradford wasn’t brought in to be a trade chip, Kelly said, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter).
There were other teams involved in the Bradford sweepstakes, Kelly says (link). Meanwhile, the Eagles only spoke with the Rams about Nick Foles.

Titans Sign Harry Douglas

March 11th, 2015 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 12:44pm: The Titans have officially announced their deal with Douglas, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

TUESDAY, 12:04pm: The Titans have reached an agreement with wide receiver Harry Douglas on a three-year contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). We heard late last night that Tennessee looked to have a good chance to secure the former Falcon, who was cut by Atlanta last month.

Douglas, 30, enjoyed his best season in 2013, when injuries to Julio Jones and Roddy White increased his role in the Falcons’ offense, allowing him to set new career highs in catches (85) and receiving yards (1,067). Jones and White returned to health for the 2014 season, and Douglas returned to his role as Matt Ryan‘s No. 3 target, but he still managed to rack up 51 receptions in just 12 games.

In Tennessee, Douglas will have a chance to reprise his role as a No. 3 receiver, with Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter expected to see the majority of the targets at the wideout position. Douglas will also reunite with Mike Mularkey, who is now Tennessee’s assistant head coach — Mularkey was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2011, overlapping with Douglas’ stint in Atlanta.

Giants Re-Sign Mark Herzlich, Henry Hynoski

March 11th, 2015 at 12:13pm CST by Zachary Links

12:13pm: It’s a two-year deal worth $2MM for Hynoski, Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger tweets.

11:58am: The Giants have confirmed their agreement with Herzlich and also announced in a press release that they’ve re-signed fullback Henry Hynoski. Hynoski is considered one of the league’s best blocking fullbacks, ranking second in the category in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required).

10:36am: The Giants have re-signed linebacker Mark Herzlich, according to Nick Powell of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter). Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter) adds that it’s a two-year pact.

Herzlich, 27, didn’t have a significant role on defense for the Giants in 2013, playing just 194 snaps. However, this past season, he wound up making eight starts for the Giants. In significant time at both Sam and Will linebacker, Herzlich recorded 52 total tackles, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one sack.

The Boston College product has spent all four seasons of his young NFL career with the Giants.

Chiefs Sign Jeremy Maclin

March 11th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Rob DiRe

12:01pm: The Chiefs have officially signed Maclin, the team confirmed in a press release. The announcement should pave the way for Bowe’s release.

WEDNESDAY, 10:03am: The Chiefs are working on their cap situation before officially signing Maclin to his new deal, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com, who tweets that the five-year deal will be worth $55MM, including $22.5MM in guarantees. The wideout will receive $13MM in year one, tweets McLane.

MONDAY, 8:41am: A source tells Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) that Maclin will receive $11MM per year, or close to it, on his deal with the Chiefs. The wideout got more than Cobb’s $10MM annual salary, McLane’s source confirms.

SUNDAY, 7:36pm: The Chiefs have agreed to terms on a deal with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, reports Chris Mortensen of ESPN (via Twitter). Maclin will reunite with his former coach Andy Reid and join a team that did not complete a touchdown pass to a wide receiver last year.

Mortensen writes that the team will likely have to clear up cap space in order to make the deal official, and the logical move would be to cut Dwayne Bowe before Tuesday (via Twitter).

Maclin is coming off a breakout season in which he caught 85 passes for more than 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Details of the contract have not yet been released.

Latest On Ron Parker

March 11th, 2015 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Chiefs free agent safety Ron Parker is visiting with the Bears today, according to a source that spoke with Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are still in play for him, but Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter) hears that at least three other teams are also in the mix for him.

The market for safeties is really strong, Cummings adds (Twitter link), with lots of teams willing to overpay. That also might help to explain why the Bucs have held on to Dashon Goldson this offseason, despite turning in one of the worst performances of any safety in football last season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). By those same metrics, of course, Parker was only the 73rd ranked safety out of 87 qualified players.

Parker spent most of his time at strong safety last year for Kansas City, but he’s capable of moving around to different positions, including free safety.

East Rumors: Revis, Mariota, Washington

March 11th, 2015 at 11:51am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets had a significantly higher offer on the table for cornerback Darrelle Revis than the Patriots did, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. Howe isn’t exactly sure of what the gap was, but the Pats apparently didn’t approach the five-year, $70MM pact that includes $39MM in guaranteed cash. Howe (link) was also told that the Patriots did not give Revis permission to explore his value from the competition before the official opening of free agency on Tuesday like they did with Browner. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..

John Clayton of ESPN.com (on Twitter) is convinced that Washington will take quarterback Marcus Mariota if he falls to No. 5 overall.
Sal Paolantonio of ESPN said on 97.5 The Fanatic that relative of Nick Foles relative said the quarterback is ecstatic to no longer be a member of the Eagles, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. “I just talked to a member of Nick Foles’ family. He is absolutely pumped, overjoyed he’s out of Philly,” Paolantonio said. Foles is now a member of the Rams following Tuesday’s trade.
New Washington defensive lineman Stephen Paea says the Lions, Broncos, and Buccaneers were also in the mix for his services, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes.
When asked if the Bills ever considered cutting running back Fred Jackson, GM Doug Whaley flatly said “no,” Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Whaley also said that he does not have a framework of a deal with fullback Jerome Felton, Joe Buscaglia of WGR tweets.
Earlier today, we rounded up the latest on Cowboys free agent running back DeMarco Murray.

Cards, Mike Iupati Agree To Five-Year Deal

March 11th, 2015 at 11:43am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 11:43am: The Cardinals’ five-year deal with Iupati is now official, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.

TUESDAY, 4:24pm: Iupati’s deal is worth $40MM over five years with incentives that can take the total package up to $41MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In total, the deal has $22.5MM in guaranteed cash.

MONDAY, 5:40pm: Free agent guard Mike Iupati has told people he plans to sign with the Cardinals, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Iupati was widely viewed as the top available interior offensive lineman of the offseason. Financial terms of the possible agreement are not yet known.

The Raiders were said to be “hot after” Iupati and he also had serious interest from the Bills and Jets. The Cardinals, meanwhile, weren’t really mentioned as a leading suitor for his services. The marriage makes quite a bit of sense, however, as Arizona could use a boost on the interior of their offensive line. That’s a role that 2013 first-round choice Jonathan Cooper was expected to fill, but so far he hasn’t realized his potential. Assuming Iupati stays on the left side, Cooper could wind up shifting over to right guard.

The three-time Pro Bowler graded out as the 14th best guard in the NFL out of 78 qualified players, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Iupati, a former first-round pick who’s started missed only five games during his career, is regarded as a much better run-blocker than pass-blocker. The Cardinals, therefore, could look to add a running back in the coming days, and have been tied to both Adrian Peterson and DeMarco Murray.

Iupati will be just the latest player to leave the Bay Area in recent days. Justin Smith and Patrick Willis are expected to retire, Frank Gore will sign with the Eagles, Stevie Johnson will be released, and Michael Crabtree isn’t expected to be retained.

Cardinals Sign Sean Weatherspoon

March 11th, 2015 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 11:42am: The Cardinals’ deal with Weatherspoon is official, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets.

MONDAY, 7:05am: The Cardinals have reached an agreement with linebacker Sean Weatherspoon and will sign him to a one-year deal when free agency opens on Tuesday, reports Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link), Weatherspoon’s new one-year deal with the Cards will be worth close to $4MM.

Weatherspoon, 27, was viewed as a priority for the Falcons, though we heard last week that Arizona would be waiting with its arms “wide open” if the linebacker didn’t work something out with Atlanta. The Saints were also believed to have interest in Weatherspoon, who has missed all but seven games during the last two seasons due to an Achilles injury in 2014, and knee and foot issues in 2013.

In spite of Weatherspoon’s health problems, I still listed him as one of the top options when I explored the free agent market for 4-3 outside linebackers last month, noting that he averaged 110 tackles per season in 2011 and 2012. In Arizona’s 3-4 scheme, the former first-round pick looks like a good bet to assume one of the inside linebacker spots.

En route to a playoff berth in 2014, the Cardinals had to make do with a depleted linebacking corps that was without Karlos Dansby (departed via free agency), John Abraham (out with concussion issues), and Daryl Washington (suspended for the season). The club heavily relied on Larry Foote on the inside, but it appears the veteran Foote will be transitioning to the coaching staff for the 2015 season, unless he changes his mind later this summer. A healthy Weatherspoon would go a long way toward solidifying a linebacking group that has seen plenty of turnover in the last year.