2015 March - Pro Football Rumors

Keenan Lewis Wants Guarantee Or Release

March 10th, 2015 at 3:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

If the Saints aren’t willing to guarantee the remaining three years of his contract, cornerback Keenan Lewis wants the club to release him, tweets Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Per Triplett (Twitter link), Lewis is unhappy with the “team being broken apart,” apparently referencing the trade of Jimmy Graham earlier today.

The 28-year-old Lewis has three years left on his deal, with base salaries totaling $10.8MM. He’s a good player, but I’m sure not the Saints would be willing to guarantee the remaining years. It would probably set a poor precedent to allow a player to demand that his contract be tweaked because he doesn’t approve of the moves of the club.

Lewis, signed over from the Steelers two years ago, has started 16 games in each of the past two seasons, posting six interceptions.

Colts Re-Sign Mike Adams

March 10th, 2015 at 3:28pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts will keep an important member of their secondary, as Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reports (via Twitter) that the team has re-signed safety Mike Adams. The pact is for two years, according to Garafolo.

The former undrafted free agent has bounced around since entering the league in 2004, playing for the 49ers, Browns and Broncos prior to joining Indianapolis last offseason. The 33-year-old had one of the best seasons of his career in 2014, establishing or tying career-highs in tackles (87), forced fumbles (two) and interceptions (five). He also earned his first Pro Bowl appearance.

Falcons To Sign Reed, Durant

March 10th, 2015 at 3:19pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Falcons have added a pair of linebackers, signing Brooks Reed and Justin Durant to deals, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Reed’s contract will be worth $22MM over five years. Details of Durant’s deal have not yet been released.

Reed spent the first four years of his career in Houston, where he started 52 of a possible 60 games and racked up 14.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him the 26th-best 3-4 OLB in the NFL out of 46 qualifiers last season.

In signing with the Falcons, Durant joins his fourth team in what will be his ninth year. He spent 2014 with the Cowboys and missed 10 games with a torn bicep, amassing 49 tackles in six contests. Durant finished 17th out of 40 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus’ 4-3 OLB rankings. The Cowboys “hoped” to retain the 29-year-old, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News

Both Reed and Durant are expected to beef up a Falcons defense that finished dead last in yardage allowed and 27th in points surrendered last season. They’ll also help fill the void of ex-Falcon Sean Weatherspoon, who agreed to a deal with the Cardinals.

Pats Think Darrelle Revis Is Headed To Jets

March 10th, 2015 at 3:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The sense out of New England is that Darrelle Revis is likely headed to the Jets, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Pats will still make a final push, but it’s not over yet. Meanwhile, sources tell Dianna Marie Russini of NBC4 (on Twitter) that Revis wants $40MM guaranteed and Jets owner Woody Johnson wants to make it happen.

The Jets reportedly have been involved in “serious internal discussions” about the possibility of bringing Revis back and they figure to be one of many teams to make a serious play for the star cornerback. The Jets‘ “ideal-world plan” for the offseason would be to land both Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, according to Peter King of The MMQB.

Revis, 30 in July, had his 2012 season with the Jets cut short by injury. Since then, he has had back-to-back 16 game seasons, one with the Bucs and one with the Pats in 2014. This past season, Revis helped lead the Pats’ defense to a Super Bowl championship.

In 2014, Revis had 50 total tackles, 16 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions in the regular season. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Revis as the fourth-best corner in the NFL last season, behind Chris Harris Jr., Vontae Davis, and Richard Sherman.

Brandon Browner To Become Free Agent

March 10th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

3:00pm: According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter), the Patriots have not informed Browner that they’ll exercise his 2015 option. He’ll now become a free agent.

1:56pm: Brandon Browner won’t take a pay cut to stay in New England, a source tells Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). At this point, New England’s options will be to exercise his option as it stands or cut him by 3pm CT. The cornerback is owed $5.5MM for 2015.

The Pats allowed him to gauge interest from other teams around the league and the interest is clearly there for the veteran, Breer tweets. Right now, his market is shaping up at $7MM-$8MM, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. The Pats, meanwhile, would probably like to work out a deal that extends beyond 2015.

If the Patriots exercise Browner’s option, he would count $4.8MM against the cap, but he would also earn a $2MM roster bonus on Tuesday. If they decline the option, they would save $4.8MM against the cap without any dead money, but re-signing him from that point could prove to be difficult. The team source indicated to Howe that his value on the open market might actually approach $7MM to $8MM per year thanks to the deals given to Byron Maxwell ($63MM over six years), Brandon Flowers ($36MM over four years) and Kareem Jackson ($34MM over four years) in the last couple days.

Browner, 31 in August, appeared in nine regular season games for the Patriots in his suspension-shortened season. He recorded 32 total tackles, seven pass deflections, and one interception during that time. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) wasn’t wowed by Browner’s performance in 2014, ranking him No. 79 out of 108 qualified cornerbacks.

Broncos Re-Sign Virgil Green

March 10th, 2015 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

2:53pm: The deal is worth $8.4MM over three years, per Renck.

2:19pm: The Broncos have officially announced their new deal with Green. It’s a three-year pact, according to the team.

2:13pm: He didn’t catch double-digit touchdowns last season, and he wasn’t on anyone’s list of top free agents for this offseason, but tight end Virgil Green will be returning to the Broncos, tweets Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Green, like Julius Thomas, had been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this week.

Green, 26, actually ranked just ahead of Thomas on Pro Football Focus’ overall tight end rankings in 2014, in large part due to his excellent run blocking (subscription required). Green isn’t much of a pass-catching threat – his six catches in 2014 brought his career total up to just 23 – so the Broncos figure to pair him with someone who can be involved in the aerial attack. Owen Daniels, who is very comfortable with Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison, looks like the favorite for that role. The team is reportedly set to host Daniels for a visit on Wednesday.

While a Saturday report indicated Green had six to eight “serious” suitors, his decision appeared to come down to the Broncos and Bears. As Legwold notes, Green informed the Bears today that he intended to remain in Denver.

Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported earlier today that the Broncos were the frontrunners for Green.

Dan Williams Has Deal In Place

March 10th, 2015 at 2:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent defensive tackle Dan Williams has an agreed to sign with a unknown club, according to Aaron Leming of BearReport.com (Twitter link). Per Leming, William has informed the Bears that he will be signing elsewhere.

Williams has been linked to the Raiders, Washington, Lions, and Giants, but the latter club is reportedly no longer in the mix for him. The 27-year-old Williams, who ranked as the No. 33 free agent on PFR’s Top 50 list, has started 40 games in his five-year career, all with the Cardinals, who selected him in the first round of the 2010 draft.

Williams has spent the majority of his career as a nose tackle, so Washington, which plays a 3-4 defense, makes sense as a possible destination. The Lions, however, are looking to replace Ndamukong Suh, and Williams is capable of playing in a 4-3, so Detroit isn’t out of the question, either. Williams is expected to garner between $5-6MM per year. With Suh, Jared Odrick, Terrance Knighton, and Stephen Paea all nearing deals with other clubs, Williams and Nick Fairley sit atop the available crop of free agent interior lineman.

Saints Open To Trading Jimmy Graham

March 10th, 2015 at 2:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have called around and are open to shopping many of their players, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Surprisingly, that list includes star tight end Jimmy Graham.

Graham’s 2015 salary became guaranteed on the third day of the waiver period, which fell on February 4th. Now, after counting for just $4MM against New Orleans’ cap in 2014, the tight end’s cap number has jumped to $11MM for the coming year. The Saints, of course, are tight against the cap this offseason and have been making some tough choices regarding their veteran players. Dealing Graham would be the most surprising move of all, however.

Less than a year ago, Graham ended an uncomfortable stalemate with the Saints by agreeing to a four-year, $40MM deal. The deal includes another $9MM in 2016 and $10MM in 2017, meaning the annual cap hits going forward are $11MM, $12MM, and $13MM, respectively.

Graham was been the league’s most consistent and productive tight end from 2011 through 2013, averaging 90 receptions, 1,169 yards, and 12 touchdowns per season during that span. Last season, he continued the trend with 85 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Latest On Terrance Knighton

March 10th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 2:33pm: The Raiders are the frontrunners for Knighton but the Colts are still in the mix, according to Cecil Lammey of ESPN Denver (on Twitter). The Bears and Washington, meanwhile, are out.

Aaron Leming of BearReport.com (on Twitter) hears that the Raiders are expected to be the winners.

10:01am: Knighton will reach the open market in just under five hours, but there’s no guarantee he’ll sign with the Raiders at that point. After ESPN’s Bill Williamson tweeted last night that the situation remains “fluid,” Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports hears from a source today that Knighton still isn’t close to an agreement with any team (Twitter link). Oakland still looks like the most logical fit to me, given the Del Rio connection and the Raiders’ abundance of cap room, but we’ll have to wait and see what Pot Roast decides.

MONDAY, 1:35pm: The Raiders and Terrance Knighton are nearing agreement on a deal, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Tafur cautions that he hasn’t heard of the deal being finalized yet, however.

Pot Roast started drawing “serious interest” from a handful of teams, including the Raiders, Colts, Bears, and Washington, once Ndamukong Suh came off the board. Oakland has also long been viewed as a logical landing spot for Knighton, considering his history with new Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio. Not only did he play for Del Rio’s defense in Denver; he also played under Del Rio in Jacksonville earlier in his career.

When Luke Adams listed PFR’s top 50 free agents recently, he ranked Knighton 16th on our list, identifying the Raiders as his most logical suitor. The six-year veteran was an integral part of a Broncos team that had the league’s second-best run defense in 2014, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated Knighton 12th among 81 qualifying D-tackles last season.

Cardinals Sign LaMarr Woodley

March 10th, 2015 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

1:57pm: The deal is official, according to Cards VP media relations Mark Dalton (on Twitter).

1:44pm: Woodley’s deal is a one-year contract for the minimum salary of $870K, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter).

1:17pm: It’ll be a one-year deal for Woodley with the Cards, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

1:06pm: The Cardinals are expected to sign LaMarr Woodley, according to Peter Schrager and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Last season was something of a lost year for Woodley, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Steelers. After playing strictly as an outside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme, Woodley moved to defensive end in Oakland’s 4-3 look, and didn’t adjust particularly well, ranking 44th out of 59 qualified 4-3 DEs per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Michigan alum played in just six games before tearing his biceps and missing the remainder of the season.

Woodley is no stranger to the disabled list as he missed a total of 14 games from 2011-2013 but still amassed 18 sacks during that span. The three years prior to that were Woodley’s absolute best as he recorded 34.5 sacks and established himself as one of the most nightmare-inducing players for NFL quarterbacks. Between his time off to heal and his move back to a 3-4 scheme, it seems very possible that Woodley could be in line for a bounce back year in 2015.