2015 April - Pro Football Rumors

Rams Declining Mark Barron’s 2016 Option

April 27th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

After reporting earlier today that the Rams are picking up their fifth-year option on defensive tackle Michael Brockers for the 2016 season, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an update on the team’s other option-eligible player. According to Thomas (via Twitter), St. Louis won’t exercise its ’16 option for safety Mark Barron, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency next winter.

Barron, the seventh overall pick in 2012, started his career with the Buccaneers and spent two and a half seasons in Tampa Bay before the team sent him to St. Louis at last year’s trade deadline. The Rams surrendered a fourth-round pick and a sixth-rounder for Barron, but the decision to decline his option doesn’t come as a real surprise.

Because he was a top-10 pick in 2012, Barron’s 2016 salary – if the Rams had picked up his option – would have been equal to the 2015 transition salary for a safety — $8.263MM. There aren’t many safeties in the league making that sort of money, and Barron hasn’t exactly ranked among the NFL’s best defensive backs in his first three NFL seasons. The Alabama product played only 174 defensive snaps for the Rams after last season’s trade.

Barron is currently set to earn a fully guaranteed salary of $2.363MM in 2015, the final year of his rookie contract.

NFC Notes: Bucs, Perry, Hardy, 49ers, Rams

April 27th, 2015 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said last week that teams had contacted him to gauge the availability of the first overall pick, suggesting at the time that those calls would probably continue over the next few days. Speaking to Steve Wyche of NFL.com, Licht confirmed as much, indicating that more than one team called him on Sunday to inquire about the No. 1 pick.

According to Licht, the calls were more about “feeling out what it would take” to trade up to No. 1, so it doesn’t sound like any serious discussions took place. It would presumably take a significant offer for the Bucs to consider moving down, since the club has decided which player it will select with that pick. While Licht, of course, declined to name the player, he said that he and head coach Lovie Smith “are in complete alignment” on the choice. Jameis Winston is considered the strong favorite.

As we wait to see if the Bucs have any last-minute surprises up their sleeves, let’s check in on a few other items from across the NFC….

The Packers are expected to decline their fifth-year option on linebacker Nick Perry, but nothing is official yet and the team has a few more days to make its decision, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. It would cost $7.751MM for the 2016 season to exercise the option on Perry, who has yet to make a real impact on Green Bay’s defense since being selected 28th overall in 2012.
As expected, the NFLPA has officially appealed Greg Hardy‘s 10-game suspension on behalf of the Cowboys defensive end. According to Pro Football Talk (Twitter link), the union filed the appeal on Friday night.
As Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com writes, 49ers GM Trent Baalke won’t be pressured into drafting a receiver early this week, but the team is certainly considering wideouts. Georgia Tech’s Darren Waller said today on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) that he had a pre-draft visit with the Niners, who spoke to him exclusively about playing wide receiver — Waller is considered a potential tight end in the NFL by some other teams, including the Cardinals (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports).
Given the advancing ages and rising cap numbers for James Laurinaitis and Chris Long, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com thinks it’s possible that the Rams will eye potential replacements for their veteran defensive leaders in this year’s draft. In Wagoner’s view, a defensive end is more likely than a linebacker, given the strengths and weaknesses of 2015’s class, but ideally both players would have nice 2015 seasons and adjust their contracts to stick around St. Louis even longer.

Rams To Exercise Brockers’ 2016 Option

April 27th, 2015 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rams will exercise their 2016 option on defensive tackle Michael Brockers, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The team has until May 3 to make the move official.

Brokers, 24, has played well for St. Louis since being drafted 14th overall by the team in 2012, though his sack total slipped in 2014. After recording 46 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2013, Brockers totaled just 32 tackles and 2.0 sacks last year.

The presence of 2014 first-round pick Aaron Donald may have limited Brockers’ impact last season, and he may see his playing time reduced a little this coming season after the Rams signed former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley in free agency. I imagine Brockers will still see plenty of action on running downs, but the idea of having Donald, Fairley, Robert Quinn, and Chris Long getting after the quarterback on passing downs must be tantalizing for the Rams.

As the 14th overall pick in 2012, Brockers is in line for a salary of $6.146MM on his fifth-year option. That figure will initially be guaranteed for injury only — if he’s still under contract when the 2016 league year begins, his fifth-year salary becomes fully guaranteed.

For a full breakdown on the status of fifth-year options around the league, be sure to check out our tracker.

Washington GM On Draft, Cousins, Extensions

April 27th, 2015 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing earlier today that his team had exercised its 2016 option on Robert Griffin III, Washington general manager Scot McCloughan weighed in on a few more topics. Let’s dive right in and round up the highlights from McCloughan’s presser….

Picking up Griffin’s option won’t change how the team approaches the draft, tweets Tom Schad of the Washington Times. In other words, if the best player available is a quarterback, Washington will select that QB. However, I’d be very surprised if the club used its fifth overall pick on a signal-caller, even if Marcus Mariota is still on the board.
According to McCloughan, Washington’s draft board is just about set, but the team is open to trading pick and acquiring more picks. In fact, McCloughan says he’d “love” to pick up as many as 10 picks — Washington currently has seven (Twitter links via Mike Jones of the Washington Post and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com).
If Leonard Williams is still available by the time Washington’s No. 5 overall pick rolls around, “it might bring a trade more into play,” according to McCloughan (link via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). The club feels good about the its defensive front, and there may be other teams interested in moving up for the USC defensive lineman.
Per Jones (via Twitter), McCloughan said the team hasn’t received trade offers for Kirk Cousins yet. The GM would be open to listening, but would like to keep Cousins, whom he feels is a good, young quarterback.
Washington is having ongoing extension discussions with offensive tackle Trent Williams and outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, but there’s nothing imminent, according to El-Bashir (Twitter link).
McCloughan is targeting players with size and strength in the draft, particularly on the offensive line, tweets Jones.

Washington Exercises RGIII’s 2016 Option

April 27th, 2015 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

11:06am: Speaking today to reporters, including Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link), Washington GM Scot McCloughan confirmed that the team is exercising Griffin’s 2016 option. The club made it official in a press release.

8:32am: Since his Pro Bowl rookie season, Robert Griffin III has been plagued by injuries and has struggled to make an impact when he’s been healthy. Still, Washington will likely exercise the fifth-year option for the former No. 2 overall pick, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link). John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that Griffin has yet to be notified of the decision, but Keim’s source agrees that it appears likely to happen.

Griffin, who threw 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions and averaged a league-high 8.1 yards per passing attempt in his rookie year, has seen his production slip since then, and ceded playing time to Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy last season. He’s expected to head into the 2015 season as the starter, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Washington make a change if he doesn’t look good in camp or early in the season.

Because he was a top-10 pick in 2012, Griffin’s 2016 option is worth $16.155MM, the same amount that the Colts and Dolphins would have to pay Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill, respectively. That’s a significant investment for a player who doesn’t even have the starting quarterback job locked up, but the salary doesn’t become fully guaranteed until the first day of the 2016 league year.

Of course, that ’16 salary is guaranteed for injury if it’s exercised, and given RGIII’s injury history, there’s certainly some risk there. But as Breer points out (via Twitter), if Griffin doesn’t meet expectations this coming season, he may not even see the field for a good chunk of the year, and he wouldn’t be a real injury risk if he’s sitting on the bench.

Washington will have until May 3 to make a decision on the option.

Antonio Brown Seeking New Contract

April 27th, 2015 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 27, 10:41am: A week after it was reported that Brown wouldn’t attend the Steelers’ offseason program, he is in attendance today, according to photos posted by the team’s official Twitter account. As Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com note (Twitter links), the wideout is still seeking a new contract, but has decided to take a different approach to the negotiations by reporting to workouts.

APRIL 20, 10:07am: Antonio Brown was arguably the league’s best wide receiver in 2014, leading the NFL in both receptions (129) and receiving yards (1,698). Now, it appears the Steelers wideout is looking for a new contract that better reflects that production.

According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, Brown won’t attend Pittsburgh’s offseason workout, and is mulling possibly holding out for minicamp and training camp as well, as he seeks a new deal. Garafolo adds that the receiver and his camp have approached the team about redoing his contract.

Brown, a former sixth-round pick, signed his first big, long-term contract in 2012, agreeing to a five-year, $41.7MM pact. That deal pays him over $8MM per year, but that annual average value is outside the top 10 at his position, and places him behind players like Victor Cruz and Pierre Garcon.

Presumably, Brown would want a bump in salary to at least the $11MM per year range, which is what this year’s top free agent wideout, Jeremy Maclin, received. Of course, Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas were kept off the free agent market with franchise tags that will pay them salaries worth $12.823MM in 2015, so perhaps Brown will be seeking an annual salary closer to that neighborhood.

Although 2014 was the first time Brown led the league in either catches or receptions, his first All-Pro season certainly didn’t come out of nowhere. In 2013, the 26-year-old racked up 110 catches and 1,499 yards, placing him second in the NFL in both categories.

While the Steelers don’t have a ton of cap space available this year, a new deal for Brown could reduce his $9.788MM cap number, so that shouldn’t be an issue. However, the team should be wary of adding too significantly to the later years of Brown’s deal — he’s already slated for cap hits of $12MM+ in 2016 and nearly $11MM in 2017, and a new signing bonus would increase those figures if his future salaries aren’t reduced.

Draft Rumors: Falcons, Gurley, Cowboys

April 27th, 2015 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Falcons have long coveted a standout pass rusher, and the club could get the opportunity to draft one this year. The team currently has the No. 8 pick, but according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, GM Thomas Dimitroff will consider the possibility of moving up a few spots to land Florida edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. It would cost Atlanta an extra pick or two to trade up for Fowler, who is widely considered the top pass rusher in the draft, but the club hasn’t hesitated to make that sort of move in the past, most notably moving up to snag Julio Jones in 2011.

Here are a few more notes and rumors from around the NFL, as draft night approaches:

With his ACL healing well, Todd Gurley now appears likely to be a top-20 pick, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. According to Breer, when he called around this weekend, the Browns (Nos. 12, 19), Dolphins (No. 14), and Chargers (No. 17) were all linked to the Georgia running back.
The Browns may be considering Gurley with one of their two first-round picks, but the team figures to take a long look at receivers as well. Per Pro Football Talk (Twitter link), UCF wideout Breshad Perriman dined last night with Cleveland GM Ray Farmer and other team executives.
While a consensus is forming for a few picks near the top of the draft, it’s not clear where USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams – viewed by many as 2015’s best prospect – will land, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. As badly as the Raiders may need a wide receiver, I’d be surprised if Oakland passed on Williams at No. 4, assuming he’s available there.
The Cowboys will have a hard time passing up Washington’s Marcus Peters or Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson in the first round if either cornerback is still on the board at No. 27, says Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter).
Colts owner Jim Irsay isn’t ruling out any possibility for his team on Thursday, suggesting that the Colts could easily trade up or down from No. 29, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.

Colts Re-Sign Jerrell Freeman

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

Restricted free agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman has signed his one-year tender and will return to the Colts for the 2015 season, the team announced today in a press release. Because Indianapolis assigned him a second-round RFA tender, Freeman will be in line for a salary of $2.356MM.

Freeman, who turns 29 later this week, was one of a number of players around the league to skip his team’s voluntary workouts last week, apparently due to his contract situation. However, even if the linebacker would have liked to sign a more favorable, longer-term deal, his leverage was limited — Friday was the last day for RFAs to sign offer sheets with rival teams, so unless the Colts withdrew their tender, Freeman didn’t have any other viable options besides signing.

During the 2014 season, Freeman and D’Qwell Jackson saw the majority of the snaps for the Colts at the inside linebacker spots on the team’s 3-4 defense. After playing 781 defensive snaps in 2014, Freeman may have to fight to earn that many opportunities in 2015, since Indianapolis added free agent linebacker Nate Irving to the mix last month.

Irving and Freeman complement each other well, with Irving excelling as a run defender while Freeman’s is stronger in pass coverage. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two players trade snaps depending on the situation, while Jackson continues to be a full-time contributor, or close to it.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Maclin, Jets

April 26th, 2015 at 10:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos need stability up front to establish a physical running game and they should find that in the upcoming draft, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post writes. The inability to find adequate replacements midstream last year undermined the Broncos, leaving them lacking an identity in the playoffs. It sounds like Denver is well aware of that and they likely see several lineman that could fit. “There are a lot of good tackles in this draft,” said Broncos GM John Elway. “I think that is one area where the draft does have some depth, especially at the top.” More from the AFC..

New receiver Jeremy Maclin is working to develop chemistry with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. For his part, Smith is unsure of how long that will take, but he feels that Maclin’s previous experience in Andy Reid’s offense will help matters. “I think some things click for some guys faster than others, it just depends,” Smith said. “I think there will be a little more of smoother transition — he’s been in the system, he’s learned his terminology. None of this is brand new for either of us.”

Todd Bowles‘ Jets defense needs pass rusher, Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday writes. Like his predecessor Rex Ryan, Bowles favors an aggressive scheme in the front seven and a heavy dose of blitzing. USC’s Leonard Williams and Dante Fowler Jr. of Florida are expected to be gone by No. 6, but there are plenty of other quality options within range, including Missouri’s Shane Ray.

If the Jets can’t get Fowler, they may pass on an outside linebacker in the first round, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Jets wait until the second round to address the need and if they want to go for an inside linebacker, Mississippi State’s Benardrick McKinney could be a candidate there.

Quarterbacks Brett Hundley, Bryce Petty, Garrett Grayson, and Sean Mannion could all make some sense for the Jets in the upcoming draft, Bob Glauber of Newsday writes.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Kelly, Cruz

April 26th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Eli Manning is hopeful that Victor Cruz will be able to return, Tom Rock of Newsday writes. “You just hope he’ll be able to come back,” Manning said. “You see some of the plays, the catches and the stops real quick, making that first guy miss, some of the cuts, and you hope he’ll be able to do those things again. I think you hope for the best and he can make a full recovery. But we’re going to be smart with him, make sure he comes back on his own time, and when he’s ready get in there and be right back in the mix.” The good news is that the Giants aren’t desperate for a No. 1 wide receiver heading into the draft thanks to the emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. Here’s more news out of the NFC East..

Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (on Twitter) hears that Washington cornerback Marcus Peters or Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson may be too good to pass up if either are available for the Cowboys in the first round.
Some teams are going for the best available player, but in the Eagles‘ draft strategy, players must fit their system, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “What Seattle is looking for is different than what San Francisco is looking for,” coach Chip Kelly said in March. “I think the teams that do it the best are getting players that fit their system.” This year, Alabama’s Landon Collins is viewed by many draft analysts as the top safety in the draft but he might not be an ideal fit because he’s more of an in-the-box safety and the Eagles require their safeties to cover like a cornerback.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Todd Archer of ESPN.com whether the Cowboys will go defensive back or defensive lineman in the first round. Archer believes that Dallas’ preference is to go with a cornerback at No. 27 because there likely won’t be a pass rusher worth the pick at that spot. Randy Gregory is a name to watch, he says, if he falls that far. Personally, I don’t see the embattled Nebraska star staying on the board that long.
The Eagles could choose from several offensive lineman at No. 20, Berman writes. Of course, that group includes Oregon standout Jake Fisher, and not just because Kelly recruited him to the Ducks.
One league executive told Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel that this year’s draft class doesn’t feature any quality kickers. “There’s no draftable kickers. The combine was probably the worst display of kicking talent I’ve ever seen. It was, like, ‘Are you kidding me? You can’t develop a kicker?,‘” the unnamed exec told McGinn.