Former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, Adrian Peterson‘s teammate for six seasons, has questioned whether the star running back has shown appropriate remorse for his incident last year, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. “Obviously, AP can still play, but I think he needs to show that he understands he did something wrong and that he wants to work to change that, which I don’t know that he’s really shown yet,” Kluwe said. Peterson is now eligible to return, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll be in a Vikings uniform. Here’s more out of the NFC North..
As of tonight, the Cowboys have still yet to speak with the Vikings about Adrian Peterson, sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. Peterson would love to play in Dallas, but the Cowboys simply are not willing to pay the price to acquire him. Apparently, not even Jerry Jones himself is willing to part with the significant draft compensation and money it would take to pry AD loose.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are still refusing to part with a first-round pick in a Peterson deal and the Vikings don’t want to take a second-round choice for him, especially one as late as the Cards’ at No. 55. The Cardinals’ front office and coaching staff feels like they already have a really good team, particularly if quarterback Carson Palmer is healthy. While Peterson would represent a significant upgrade for their offense, they like the price of the No. 24 pick and three years of guaranteed money for a 30-year-old running back is too steep. However, Robinson cautions that things could theoretically change on draft day. Georgia running back Todd Gurley seems likely to go in the top ten, meaning that Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon probably won’t be there for Arizona at No. 24.
Ultimately, Vikings GM Rick Spielman is making the call and Robinson hears that he badly wants Peterson in purple next season. Sources say that Spielman has the support of everyone around him on this point, so it’ll be his call as to whether No. 28 is traded or not. And, if Peterson isn’t traded by Saturday morning, Robinson posits that he’ll stay a Viking in 2015. Draft picks would be in play in any trade, and because the Vikings are looking for high compensation, any deal would have to happen before the end of the second round.
NFL teams morph into private detective units between the end of the season and the draft, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe writes. Most teams go to tremendous lengths to discover everything they can about a prospect, particularly the ones being considered for the top of the first round, with several millions of dollars and potentially the future of the franchise at stake. This year, Jameis Winston is the one under the microscope and teams have gone through to great lengths to learn everything possible about him. Here at PFR, we don’t do much sleuthing, but do keep a watchful eye on every bit of draft news. Here’s the very latest..
- North Dakota State defensive end/outside linebacker Kyle Emanuel remains a name to know for the Vikings next weekend, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets, but the Eagles have done more homework on him than anyone.
- Central Florida left tackle Torrian Wilson had a private workout for the Patriots and participated in the Dolphins’ local prospect day, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Wilson, a four-year starter, was an all-conference second-team selection and named the Golden Knights’ Outstanding Offensive Lineman. He was recruited by Stanford, Louisville, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan and South Florida before committing to UCF years ago.
- Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star rated the top inside linebackers in this year’s draft. At the top of the list is UCLA’s Eric Kendricks, followed by Clemson’s Stephone Anthony, and Miami’s Denzel Perryman.
Responding to a reader’s question in today’s mailbag, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reveals that the Browns had the opportunity to trade left tackle Joe Thomas to a NFC East or NFC West team last year. It’s a bit of a confusing statement — Thomas is one of the best offensive lineman in the NFL, meaning it shouldn’t be difficult for Cleveland to find suitors for him if he were on the block, so the fact that Kabot uses the term “opportunity” is odd. Reading between the lines, I’m guessing that the Browns may have had extremely preliminary discussions about dealing Thomas, but decided to retain their All Pro.
Here’s more from the AFC North, with several notes out of Baltimore:
- The Ravens had a predraft visit with Miami tight end Clive Walford, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore is on the lookout for a tight end given Dennis Pitta‘s injury concerns, and Walford could be in had in either the second or third round. PFR’s Rob DiRe pointed to Walford as the possible standout among this year’s crop of tight ends.
- Baltimore coveted pass rusher Khalil Mack in the 2014 draft, but Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome wasn’t able to convince the Raiders to trade picks. This year, writes Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun, Newsome & Co. will have to decide whether to move up, down, or stand pat, while noting that Newsome has executed a draft-day trade in 13 consecutive seasons.
- In his latest mailbag for ESPN.com, Jamison Hensley opines that the Ravens could work out a long-term deal for Marshal Yanda before the season, and argues that despite Jimmy Smith‘s recent extension, cornerback is still an area of need for Baltimore.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is expected to selected first overall by Tampa Bay on Thursday night, and the Buccaneers have certainly done their research on the 2013 Heisman winner. General manager Jason Licht tells Joey Johnston and Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that his club spoke with more than 75 people in an attempt to properly vet Winston. Curiously, the Bucs did not speak with the woman who accused Winston of sexual assault in 2013, but they did talk to a member of the Tallahassee State Attorney’s Office, which declined to press charges against Winston.
Here’s more from the NFL’s South divisions…
- Of the 18 prospects who are known to have visited the Saints, 12 are defensive players, which could be an indication of which direction New Orleans is leaning with its two first-round picks, writes Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Of course, as Woodbery adds, each club is allotted 30 predraft visits, so there up to 12 Saints player meetings that the public isn’t aware of.
- Speaking of the Saints, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com doesn’t think the club will take a risk on players with off-the-field trouble, such as edge rusher Randy Gregory or receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.
- The Colts will likely have to trade up if they want a chance at a player like Alabama safety Landon Collins, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Indianapolis owns nine picks, so they could have the draft capital to make such a move.
- Although a poor draft (and a similarly underwhelming 2015 season) would probably threaten the job of Titans GM Ruston Webster more than head coach Ken Whisenhunt, Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com thinks both could be in jeopardy if Tennessee struggles this year.
The Dolphins rushing attack was the most dynamic part of the club’s offense in 2014 — third-year pro Lamar Miller ran for more than 1,000 yards, scoring eight touchdowns, and Miami ranked second in rushing DVOA, per Football Outsiders. But the team reportedly wants to add another option to its backfield, as multiple sources tell Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald that the Dolphins “covet” Georgia running back Todd Gurley.
“He’s a talent,” Miami assistant general manager Eric Stokes said of Gurley. “He’s definitely a player that his ability stands out and shines. He’s an exciting guy to watch. We’ve enjoyed working through that process with him and seeing him. From there, we’ll see where things shake out.”
Let’s take a look at some more Dolphins notes, courtesy of Beasley’s Herald colleague Barry Jackson:
- With Dion Jordan‘s future with Miami in doubt, the Dolphins could look to select a defensive end in this week’s draft, per Jackson. Fellow end Cameron Wake is 33 years old, while Olivier Vernon is a free agent after this season, so depth at the position could be an issue.
- On the other hand, Jackson writes, the club is high on young defensive lineman Derrick Shelby (who saw more than 400 snaps last season) and LB/DE Chris McCain, so perhaps Miami feels comfortable with its option along the defensive line.
- General manager Dennis Hickey has taken risks on players with character questions in the past, so Washington CB Marcus Peters and Oklahoma WR Dorial Green-Beckham probably aren’t off the Dolphins’ draft board. Peters, specifically, had a private workout with Miami, and PFR’s Rob DiRe has the club selecting Peters with its first-round pick.
The original content produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- Rob Dire continued his 2015 NFL draft breakdown series, analyzing the offensive lineman, the defensive lineman, and the pass rushers. Check out Rob’s entire series here.
- I profiled free agent guard Justin Blalock, who remains unsigned after being released by the Falcons in February.
The headlines from the past week at PFR:
Key News:
- The Ravens signed cornerback Jimmy Smith to a four-year, $48MM extension, with $21MM in guarantees.
- The NFL suspended Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy for 10 games; he’ll appeal the ban.
- The Bengals agreed to an extension with head coach Marvin Lewis that will keep him in Cincinnati through 2016.
- Steelers receiver Antonio Brown is seeking a new contract, and is mulling a training camp holdout.
- Read the latest Philip Rivers/Titans rumors, and check out all the Rivers-related news here.
Signed:
- Bears – TE Bear Pascoe (link)
- Eagles – QB Tim Tebow (link)
- Dolphins – WR Greg Jennings (link) and G Jeff Linkenbach (link)
- Titans – T Byron Bell (link) and WR Hakeem Nicks (link)
Fifth-Year Options:
- Chiefs – DT Dontari Poe (exercised)
- Lions – T Riley Reiff (exercised)
- Panthers – LB Luke Kuechly (exercised)
- Titans – WR Kendall Wright (exercised)
Retired:
- S Adrian Wilson (link)
Other:
- Patriots, Jerod Mayo restructure contract (link)
- Eagles rescind RB Chris Polk‘s RFA tender (link)
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league on this Sunday afternoon, including one note on the first overall pick in Thursday’s first round:
- Multiple teams have reached out to the Buccaneers recently to determine what it would take to move up to the No. 1 overall pick, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). However, Getlin adds in a second tweet that although the Bucs have listened, no offer has been strong enough for the team to seriously consider trading down just yet.
- Similarly, Conor Orr of NFL.com writes that Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has fielded calls on Oakland’s No. 4 overall selection.
- In a separate piece, Orr writes that the Chiefs are keeping the lines of communication open with star outside linebacker Justin Houston, who was slapped with the franchise tag in March. Kansas City has a little under three months to work out a long-term deal with Houston, and the fact that talks are still ongoing and are still progressing is a good sign that something will get done.
- Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic believes Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon would be the perfect first-round choice for the Cardinals, who hold the No. 24 overall pick.
- Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post feels the Broncos should take an offensive tackle in the first round, even if they have to trade up a couple of spots to do it. Renck goes on to examine some of the prospects that could be available when Denver is on the board.
- Chargers safety Eric Weddle feels “highly disrespected” by the team’s refusal to engage in contract talks despite his desire to retire with the organization, but Matt Calkins of U-T San Diego believes the Chargers are taking the right approach.
- Given that the Jaguars feel better about their roster than they have in the past two seasons, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union would not be surprised if the team traded a couple of picks to move into the back of round 1 or up in rounds 2-3.
- Continuing a theme among NFL beat writers, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean looks at the offensive side of the Titans‘ roster heading into the draft and offers his predictions as to what the team will do to address its deficiencies on that side of the ball during draft weekend.
- Washington GM Scot McCloughan‘s history suggests he will select an edge rusher with his top pick in this year’s draft, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com. Although Tandler says Randy Gregory‘s red flags will probably keep him off McCloughan’s board, Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler, Jr. would both be good bets.
Former 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald, who signed a modest one-year deal with the Bears this offseason, has been cleared of any violation of the league’s personal conduct policy for the domestic violence incident that landed him in jail last year, according to Adam Jahns of The Chicago Sun Times. McDonald was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence on August 31, 2014, but due to insufficient evidence, no charges were filed. As Jahns writes, the league completed its investigation of the incident on Friday, and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash released the following statement:
“We have completed that [domestic-violence] investigation. [Special counsel for investigations] Lisa [Friel] and her team completed that investigation [and] did not establish a violation of the personal-conduct policy. We informed the player and the [NFL] Players Association.’’
However, the league continues to investigate an alleged sexual assault that involves McDonald. Again, no charges have been filed in that matter, but the incident did prompt the 49ers to release the 29-year-old in December despite his promising 2014 campaign. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), McDonald was the league’s 12th-best 3-4 defensive end in 2014, grading well both against the run and as a pass rusher.
It is unclear when the second investigation will conclude, though as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk wrote last month, McDonald has announced his intention to sue the woman who accused him of sexual assault.