2015 April - Pro Football Rumors

Chargers GM On Rivers, Mariota, Stadium

April 22nd, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Minutes ago, Chargers GM Tom Telesco addressed reporters and took questions on a wide range of topics, including the uncertainty surrounding quarterback Philip Rivers. Here’s a look at the highlights with all links going to Twitter..

Telesco says that Rivers is the Chargers’ quarterback and his “intent” is to keep it that way, tweets Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. That statement probably won’t stop the chatter, and neither will this one: “I figure at least half of you are here for a Philip Rivers update. … There really is no update,” the GM said (link).
Still, Telesco told reporters (including Gehlken) that he’d be as honest as possible about Rivers and other matters, explaining, “I’m Cathlolic. I tell the truth.“
The GM dodged a question about whether he’s spoken to the Titans about Rivers (via Gehlken).
Telesco said the Chargers are evaluating Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota because “it’s what we do,” Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean tweets.
Like Rivers, Telesco said he wants safety Eric Weddle with the Chargers long-term, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. Weddle, of course, is absent from camp as he pushes for a contract extension. Even though the interest is mutual, the two sides probably won’t hammer out a new deal in the next eight days. “Right now, we’re focused on the draft,” Telesco said (via Gehlken).
When asked about Weddle’s no-show, Telesco emphasized that they are voluntary (via Williams).
Telesco said the stadium issue has not affected day-to-day football operations, but he’s not naive about what is going on, Williams tweets.
Telesco says he’s pleased with what the organization has got done so far this offseason (via Williams).

Dolphins To Sign Jeff Linkenbach

April 22nd, 2015 at 1:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have agreed to sign offensive guard Jeff Linkenbach, agent Andy Simms tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Miami brought Linkenbach in for a visit earlier today and it didn’t take long for the two sides to shake hands on a deal.

The former member of the Colts and Chiefs has started 36 games over five seasons. The 27-year-old (28 in June) spent his first four NFL campaigns with the Colts (where he amassed 33 of those starts) before joining up with the Chiefs last season. Miami also met with former Vikings sixth-rounder Jeff Baca, but Baca remains unsigned.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) wasn’t wild about Linkenbach in 2013, the last season in which he served as a full-time starter. The veteran graded out with a -9.4 overall score, placing him 57th out of 81 qualified guards. Linkenbach has also seen some time at tackle and could theoretically pitch in there.

Last year, Linkenbach signed with the Chiefs for a base salary of $900K with $250K guaranteed and up to $600K in incentives.

AFC Notes: S. Brown, Texans, Pats, Titans

April 22nd, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent safety Stevie Brown, who is said to be close to deciding on where to sign, visited the Texans yesterday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Houston already signed one free agent safety this offseason, adding Rahim Moore, so we’ll see if the club makes a play for Brown, who may prefer the Giants if everything is equal.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

Georgia running back Todd Gurley is in New England today to meet with the Patriots, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Gurley is widely considered a strong bet to come off the board in the first round, so he may not last until the Pats’ pick at the very end of the first.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk doesn’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the Titans would draft a wide receiver with the second overall pick next Thursday.
The Broncos are hosting Florida offensive lineman D.J. Humphries and Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on pre-draft visits today, writes Mike Klis of the Denver Post.
Offensive lineman Chris Hairston got a $25K bonus on his new minimum salary deal with the Chargers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
Taiwan Jones, who started his career with the Raiders as a running back before moving to cornerback in 2013, will return to running back this year, according to Oakland’s official site. Whether he’s listed on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, Jones contributes primarily as a special teamer.
Intriguing Hobart guard Ali Marpet is visiting the Browns today, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

Jerod Mayo, Pats Agree To Reworked Deal

April 22nd, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo will remain in New England after the two sides agreed to a reworked contract that reduces the veteran’s cap hit. Mike Gafarolo of Fox Sports first reported that Mayo and the Pats were finalizing a new deal, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting that an agreement has been reached.

Mayo’s previous contract with the Pats called for a $6.25MM base salary in 2015, and cap numbers averaging about $10MM for the next three years, through 2017. According to Rapoport (Twitter links), the new pact is a one-year contract that includes $4.5MM in guaranteed money. That amount is equivalent to the injury guarantee New England would have owed the 29-year-old if the club had cut him before he was deemed healthy.

Mayo will have a chance to earn $6MM this year, while the Pats will hold a pair of option years on the deal. If New England elects to pick up those option years, the club would owe the linebacker a $4MM bonus before free agency.

After earning his second Pro Bowl berth following a 2012 campaign in which he racked up 147 tackles and forced four fumbles, Mayo battled injuries, playing just six regular season games in each of the last two years. After tearing a pectoral muscle in 2013, the former first-round pick suffered a torn patella tendon during an October game against the Bills in 2014, prematurely ending his season.

Draft Visits: Strong, Steelers, Lions, Langford

April 22nd, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

With draft night just eight days away, several teams who are doing research and due diligence on Marcus Mariota are also intrigued by Bryce Petty, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. While Petty may not be a first-round pick, he could very well be the third signal-caller off the board after Jameis Winston and Mariota, says La Canfora.

The fact that the draft is now right around the corner also means that today is the final day for teams to host pre-draft visits for prospects. While clubs can still conduct private workouts over the next several days, visits have to be completed by tonight. Here are a few updates on the final visits happening around the NFL:

Jaelen Strong, WR (Arizona State): Visiting the Texans today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The team will get a chance to look at his injured wrist.
Landon Collins, S (Alabama); Preston Smith, DE (Mississippi State); Dexter McDonald, CB (Kansas); Davis Tull, OLB (UT-Chattanooga): All visiting the Steelers today, per Scott Brown of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Danny Shelton, DT (Washington): Visiting the Lions today, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
La’el Collins, T (LSU); Jamon Brown, T (Louisville): Also visiting the Lions today, tweets Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.
Jeremy Langford, RB (Michigan State): Has had visits with the Colts and Buccaneers in addition to previously-reported visit with Broncos, tweets Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News.
Paul Dawson, LB (TCU): Recently visited the Falcons, after previously having worked out for the club, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
John Miller, G (Louisville): Visiting the Saints today, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Alani Fua, OLB (BYU): Visiting the Eagles today, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Bengals Extend Marvin Lewis Through 2016

April 22nd, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis will no longer have to worry about heading into the 2015 season on a lame-duck contract. The club announced today (via Twitter) that it has extended Lewis’ contract by one more year, keeping him locked up through the 2016 campaign.

Lewis, who has been coaching the Bengals since 2003, is the second longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, behind Bill Belichick in New England. During his 12 seasons with the team, Lewis has led Cincinnati to a 100-90-2 regular-season record and has earned a playoff spot six times. However, the Bengals have yet to win a postseason game under Lewis.

Lewis said back at the combine in February that he had yet to speak to the team about a new contract, so discussions for this extension likely occurred within the last couple months. While the extra year gives Lewis a little more security, it wouldn’t necessarily prevent the Bengals from making a coaching change a year from now if the club endures a disappointing 2015 season.

East Notes: Scandrick, Dolphins, Washington

April 22nd, 2015 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick is allegedly unsatisfied with the modest $1.5MM base salary he’s set to earn in 2015, and didn’t report to the club’s voluntary offseason program this week in the hopes of pushing for a new deal. While it’s possible the Cowboys relent at some point, EVP/COO Stephen Jones – appearing on 105.3FM in Dallas yesterday – didn’t make it sound like that would happen anytime soon, writes Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.

“He’s under contract, but not unlike a lot of players, they’d like to have more,” Jones said. “Orlando is under contract. If something makes sense for us to add some years or do something then we’ll take a look at that, but we just re-did Orlando’s contract a couple years ago and he’s been a really good football player for us. He’s a leader on this team, and we certainly need him out here. In my mind, he should be out here right now, working out.”

While we wait to see how the Scandrick saga plays out, here are a few more items from around the league’s two East divisions:

The Dolphins are bringing in several free agent offensive linemen today, intent on perhaps adding a veteran guard, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. According to Jackson, Jeff Linkenbach and Jeff Baca are among the players expected to get a look from the team.
Breshad Perriman‘s visit to Miami is happening today, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who tweets that the UCF wideout is visiting the Dolphins.
Mark Maske of the Washington Post examines the decision Washington is facing on Robert Griffin III‘s fifth-year option for 2016, citing one source who believes the team will pick up RGIII’s option following the draft.
Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links) passes along the names of a number of players participating in Washington‘s local prospect day, including Maryland wideout Stefon Diggs and many others.
Texas Southern cornerback Tray Walker is also visiting Washington today, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link).
The Jets are hosting Utah pass rusher Nate Orchard for a pre-draft visit today, tweets Pauline.

Carson City Council OK’s Stadium Project

April 22nd, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Following in the footsteps of Inglewood, the Carson City Council unanimously approved a proposal for a privately funded NFL stadium on Tuesday night, according to Tim Logan and Nathan Feeno of the Los Angeles Times. Whereas the Inglewood stadium project centers on the Rams, the Carson proposal was put forth by the Raiders and Chargers.

Like Inglewood, Carson received the signatures necessary to avoid scheduling a public vote for later in the summer, and will also be able to skip lengthy environmental reviews. City Council voted 3-0 in favor of the project. However, while the $1.7 billion stadium proposal now has local approval, that’s just one early step in what will be a long process.

As the Times piece outlines, the 26-page initiative petition related to the project pledged that no tax dollars will be used, but provided very few specific details about the stadium’s construction. In addition to the L.A. stadium proposals for Inglewood and Carson, the cities of St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland are also working to keep their franchises with new stadiums.

While there has been some optimism about one or two NFL franchises moving to the Los Angeles area as soon as the 2016 season, neither the Inglewood nor the Carson stadium would be ready for several years, so any team moving to L.A. would need a temporary home in the interim.

Extra Points: Brown, Jets, Winston

April 21st, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Steelers star Antonio Brown is seeking a new deal, but Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette doesn’t see it happening. Brown is in the middle of a six-year, $43MM pact that he signed in 2012 and the scribe can’t remember another Pittsburgh player pushing for a new deal with three years still to go. The Steelers might want to compensate Brown better (he’s not among the top 10 highest-paid wide receivers), but doing so would set a very bad precedent going forward. Here’s more from around the NFL…

It turns out FSU quarterback Jameis Winston won’t visit the Jets after all, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. That doesn’t mean Gang Green has removed him from the draft board, but it does mean that they probably have enough info on the signal caller. Of course, the Jets pick at No. 6 and Winston is widely expected to go No. 1.
No surprise here, but ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky hears from a source that Winston is ‘in play’ for the Titans if he’s available at No. 2. The Titans have done their homework on Winston and feel that he “checks out,” according to the source.
Starting inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman has abstained from the Colts‘ voluntary workouts so far, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star writes. Freeman, a restricted free agent, was issued a tender but has yet to sign it. Ostensibly, the 28-year-old is holding out for a more favorable deal. Freeman led the Colts in tackles in 2012 and 2013.
The Bengals hosted TCU linebacker Paul Dawson on a visit spanning Monday and Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Bengals are keeping a watchful eye on Dawson and other intriguing linebackers in this year’s class as Vontaze Burfict recovers from microfracture surgery.
The Dolphins brought in Texas A&M guard Jarvis Harrison on Tuesday, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. The Dolphins are looking for help on the interior of their offensive line and the potential mid-round pick has caught their eye.

Draft Notes: Edwards, Beasley, Agholor

April 21st, 2015 at 8:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Florida State defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. visited the Jets today, as Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post writes. Edwards, who is regarded as a rising draft prospect, also has visits scheduled with the Cowboys, Lions, Panthers, Seahawks, 49ers, Bears, Patriots, and Texans, among other NFL teams. Edwards had 44 tackles and three sacks last season for the Seminoles. Here’s a look at the latest draft news..

Clemson outside linebacker Vic Beasley is visiting Washington today, Aaron Wilson of the National Post writes. Beasley ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, where he also had a 41-inch vertical leap and bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times. The collegiate star is regarded as one of the top pass rushers in this year’s class.
USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor will be visiting the Dolphins on Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Agholor has been gaining more and more steam as a first round possibility lately.
Maryland defensive tackle Darius Kilgo worked out for the Ravens during their local prospect day, Wilson writes. Kilgo, who has also visited the Bills, Packers, Dolphins, and Washington, is projected as a late-round pick.
James Madison wide receiver is Daniel Brown is drawing interest from the Dolphins, Colts, Falcons, and Washington, Wilson writes.