2015 April - Pro Football Rumors

Texans Sign Chris Polk

April 29th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 4:20pm: The Texans have officially announced the signing of Polk, via a team release.

TUESDAY, 6:16pm: Polk’s deal calls for him to earn a $660K base salary and he can make an additional $100K through per-game bonuses, according to McClain (on Twitter).

5:00pm: It’ll be a one-year deal for Polk, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

4:43pm: Four days after he officially became an unrestricted free agent, former Eagles running back Chris Polk has found a new home. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), Polk has reached an agreement to sign with the Texans.

Polk, 25, took on a slightly larger role in Philadelphia’s offense last season behind LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, totaling 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. After agreeing to a trade that sent McCoy to the Bills, the Eagles – presumably expecting Polk to play an even more significant part on the offense in 2015 – assigned him a $1.542MM RFA tender.

Later in March, however, the Eagles landed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to go along with Sproles, creating a bit of a crowd on the team’s running back depth chart. After reportedly approaching Polk about signing for less than his $1.542MM tender, the team elected to rescind that tender last Friday, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent and sign anywhere.

Arian Foster still has a firm hold on the Texans’ No. 1 running back job, but Houston could use some depth at the position, and has been linked to multiple running backs in the draft. Polk figures to challenge Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes, and Ben Malena for playing time and touches in camp this summer.

Per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter), Polk also received some interest from the Seahawks before he decided to sign with the Texans.

Steelers Re-Sign Robert Golden

April 29th, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have re-signed safety Robert Golden, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who tweets that the restricted free agent signed his tender to remain with the team. Because Golden was tendered at the lowest level by Pittsburgh, he’ll be in line for a $1.542MM salary in 2015.

Golden, 24, has played all but one regular season game for the Steelers since joining the club in 2012, but has yet to see significant action on defense. In those three seasons, Golden has played just 107 defensive snaps, contributing more regularly on special teams — he has 17 tackles in kick and punt coverage over the last two years.

Despite Golden’s limited contributions – and the team’s limited cap flexibility – the Steelers saw enough out of the Arizona product that they were willing to tender him a one-year contract offer. With Troy Polamalu no longer in the mix in Pittsburgh’s secondary, it’s possible Golden will see his role expanded for the 2015 season.

Assuming he earns the necessary service time this coming season, Golden will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2016.

Draft Rumors: Gregory, Falcons, Bills, Saints

April 29th, 2015 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

While Randy Gregory‘s failed drug test at the combine might not be enough to push him too far down draft boards on its own, there’s concern about the pass rusher’s ability to “handle the mental rigors of professional football,” according to Ian Rapoport and Albert Breer of NFL.com. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, the NFL.com report is quite vague and short on specifics, but Rapoport and Breer suggest that multiple teams have removed Gregory from their draft boards entirely. According to the duo, Gregory’s issues might be manageable, but not fixable, which makes it crucial that he lands in the right situation.

“It all depends on the organization, and what they have in place for him,” said one NFC personnel executive. “There are quite a few players that have issues. It’s where you place football character over the things he can’t control. That’s the big thing to me.”

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports indicated earlier today that he wouldn’t touch Gregory, alluding to the Nebraska defender’s “other issues” (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets that those “issues” are a combination of mental health concerns and recreational drug use.

With players like Josh Gordon and Dion Jordan set to serve season-long suspensions, it makes sense that teams would be wary of a player like Gregory, who could potentially run into similar off-field trouble. It’ll be interesting to see which club eventually takes a chance on a player who has top-10 talent, and when exactly that happens.

Here are a few more draft updates:

As rumors swirl suggesting that the Falcons could trade up from No. 8 for a top pass rusher, Rapoport tweets that most of the teams he has spoken to believe Atlanta will actually trade back and select an offensive lineman.
According to Rapoport (via Twitter), Bills owner Terry Pegula initially planned to make the trip to Texas this week for the club’s meeting with Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty. It ultimately didn’t work out, but it could be a sign that Buffalo is serious about Petty.
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com identifies the Rams, Saints, Bengals, Cowboys, Colts, Patriots, and Seahawks as teams that may be willing to roll the dice on some of the prospects in this year’s draft class who have red flags related to character and/or off-field incidents.
While the Saints earned a mention in La Canfora’s list, GM Mickey Loomis did say today that some players will be off New Orleans’ draft board because of character issues, tweets Brett Martel of The Associated Press. Still, Loomis noted that in many cases he’s more concerned about a player’s judgment than the incident itself, and said it’s important to be careful about labeling a player based on one incident (Twitter links).
Loomis also said today that the Saints are unlikely to trade picks, but will listen to opportunities to move up or down. The overarching goal for the draft, according to the GM, is to make the team better “right now” (Twitter links via Martel).
Penn State tight end Jesse James, a probable mid-round pick, worked out for the Ravens, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Dolphins Rumors: Parker, Draft, QBs

April 29th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Wednesday updates on the Dolphins, who hold the No. 14 pick in tomorrow’s draft….

Todd Gurley has been generating plenty of buzz as a Dolphins’ target recently, but Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link) says he keeps hearing the team is interesting in selecting a wide receiver in the first round.
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) takes Marvez’ report a step further, writing that he’s hearing the Dolphins are interested in moving up for wideout DeVante Parker. According to La Canfora, the Rams at No. 10 would be a logical trade partner, since St. Louis has interest in moving down.
Recognizing that they need depth at the position behind Ndamukong Suh and Earl Mitchell, the Dolphins have done a lot of homework on defensive tackles in this draft, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. While Miami may not address the position in the first round, the team brought in several potential second-round picks for pre-draft visits.
According to Jackson, the Dolphins have been “aggressive” as they consider adding a developmental quarterback to the roster, privately working out Garrett Grayson, Connor Halliday, Chris Donner, and Andrew Hendrix. While they won’t necessarily select one in the draft, the Dolphins are a good bet to add a rookie QB after the draft.
Within Jackson’s piece, several draft experts weigh in on what the Dolphins should do with the 14th overall pick.

Martellus Bennett On Trade Block

April 29th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier in 2015, a report suggested that Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett wanted a new contract and a trade out of Seattle. Members of the Seahawks organization quickly shot down the idea that Bennett was seeking a trade, though it does still appear that the standout pass rusher wants to rework his deal.

Now, a similar report has surfaced regarding Bennett’s brother, Martellus Bennett. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Bears are entertaining trade offers for their Pro Bowl tight end, and Bennett wants a new contract, whether he remains in Chicago or lands with a new team.

Bennett, 28, is coming off his best season, having racked up 90 receptions, 916 receiving yards, and six touchdowns for the Bears in 2014 — all of those figures were career-highs. So it makes sense that the veteran tight end would be seeking a raise, particularly since his contract doesn’t include any more guaranteed money.

Bennett is slated to earn about $5MM annually in 2015 and 2016, the final two years of his contract. While those are respectable salaries, Bennett presumably took notice of what happened on the free agent market this offseason, as players like Jordan Cameron and Charles Clay signed for $7.5MM per year — between them, Cameron and Clay combined for fewer catches than Bennett had in 2014.

While no teams have been linked to Bennett as potential suitors at this point, the Ravens, Packers, Browns, and Falcons are a few clubs with ample cap room and without a top-tier tight end.

Bears To Decline Shea McClellin’s Option

April 29th, 2015 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bears will not exercise their fifth-year option on outside linebacker Shea McClellin, general manager Ryan Pace told reporters today (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune). The decision means that McClellin will enter a contract year, and will be eligible to hit the open market in 2016.

McClellin was selected 19th overall by the Bears in the 2012 draft, and after playing sparingly in his rookie year, he earned 20 starts for the club over the past two seasons. However, the 24-year-old failed to have a real impact for the defense during that stretch, compiling a combined 66 tackles and five sacks in 2013 and 2014.

If the Bears had elected to pick up McClellin’s option for the 2016 season, it would have cost the team $7.751MM, though that salary is guaranteed for injury only until the start of the ’16 league year. New Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is transitioning the unit from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2015, so given McClellin’s underwhelming play to date, and potential concerns about his fit in the new system, it makes sense that the new coaching staff would decide to pass on the option.

Of course, it’s possible that switching to the 3-4 will actually help McClellin, but if that’s the case, the Bears should still have the opportunity to negotiate a new deal with him next winter before he reaches the free agent market, likely at a rate far below $7.75MM.

Here are a few more Bears notes:

West Virginia wideout Kevin White said today that he believes he’ll be the Bears’ choice if he’s still on the board at No. 7, per Around the NFL (Twitter link). Receiver is an area of need for Chicago after the team traded Brandon Marshall, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the club opted for a defender instead.
According to Pace, the team has identified seven players as targets for the No. 7 pick, so at least one of them will be available if the club doesn’t move up or down (Twitter link via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times).
Pace had fielded calls for that seventh overall pick, tweets Jahns. The GM hasn’t ruled out the possibility of trading up from No. 7, but would be mindful of the cost and proceed with caution in that scenario (Twitter link via Jahns).
According to Jahns (via Twitter), Pace’s big board features 170 prospects.

Jets Re-Sign Damon Harrison

April 29th, 2015 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Another restricted free agent is officially under contract with his team, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. According to Mehta (via Twitter), defensive tackle Damon Harrison told reporters today that he signed his RFA tender from the Jets earlier this week.

Harrison, 26, has started all 32 regular season games for the Jets over the last two seasons, acting as the team’s primary nose tackle. Teaming with Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, Harrison has contributed to one of the more formidable run-stopping fronts in the league during that stretch — according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Harrison’s +16.8 grade against the run in 2014 placed him third among defensive tackles, behind All-Pro players Marcell Dareus and Ndamukong Suh.

The Jets assigned Harrison a second-round tender last month, so he’ll be in line for a $2.356MM salary in 2015 before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2016. While other teams may have had interest in Harrison, they would have had to surrender a second-round pick to sign him away from the Jets.

With Harrison now under contract, only four restricted free agents remain unsigned: Browns safety Tashaun Gipson, Seahawks wideout Jermaine Kearse, Steelers safety Robert Golden, and Browns defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen.

La’el Collins Returning To Louisiana

April 29th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Having traveled to Chicago this week, LSU guard La’el Collins was set to be one of 27 prospects that would be in attendance at the 2015 draft. Instead, Collins had opted to leave Chicago to return to Louisiana in order to meet with police in an effort to clear his name, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

As we learned yesterday, Louisiana police are looking to question Collins following the shooting death of a pregnant woman last week. The woman, Brittany Mills, is believed by police to be a former girlfriend of Collins, though the LSU offensive lineman isn’t considered a suspect in the case. Jim Boren, the attorney for Collins, told Schefter that he has been in constant contact with the lead detective in the case, and spoke to the district attorney yesterday.

“We took the investigation seriously,” Boren said on Tuesday. “We’ve tried to rule him out as a suspect. We’re going to provide that information to the police, and ultimately [Collins] will sit down and talk to them. But the timing is poor.”

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Collins had originally intended to speak to police and submit to paternity tests following the draft. However, it’s clear that the situation requires urgent attention, so the first-round prospect will attempt to clear his name in Louisiana rather than walking across the stage to shake Roger Goodell’s hand in Chicago.

Peter King of TheMMQB.com reported today that one team interested in drafting a tackle in the first round was debating whether or not to keep Collins on its board.

King’s Latest: Bucs, Mariota, Cowboys, Pats

April 29th, 2015 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Before answering readers’ questions in his weekly mailbag this week, Peter King of TheMMQB.com passed along a number of the latest draft rumors he’s hearing with the first round just one day away. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

The Buccaneers have yet to receive a trade offer that “would come close” to making them decide to move down from No. 1.
The Titans, Buccaneers, and Jaguars have all inquired with teams picking late in the first round about moving up from the second round, says King. The three teams have the first, second, and fourth picks, respectively, in round two.
One GM told King that while the Titans still look like the favorites to end up with Marcus Mariota, he wouldn’t be shocked if Cleveland “trades the farm” to land the Oregon quarterback. The thinking is that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is sick of the merry-go-round at the position, and would like to land a “squeaky-clean” signal-caller to lead the franchise.
The Cowboys would love to see running back Melvin Gordon fall to them at No. 27, but two other names to watch are linebackers Eric Kendricks (UCLA) and Benardrick McKinney (Mississippi State).
One team considering drafting a tackle in the first round is debating whether or not LSU’s La’el Collins will be on its draft board on Thursday night. While King acknowledges that this may be unfair, he explains the club’s thinking: “How can you draft a guy who’s being sought in connection with the death of a woman, even if police are saying now he isn’t a suspect? He needs to be exonerated by Thursday.”
The Patriots like USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who looks like a logical target for the club if he’s still available at No. 32.
With the 21st overall pick, the Bengals are considering Texas A&M tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, who had ACL surgery in January. King views this is a sign that teams are willing to wait on a prospect who wouldn’t be healthy enough to contribute immediately if they think he can be a premier player in the long term.

Draft Rumors: Collins, Bucs, Gurley, Titans

April 29th, 2015 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

We heard yesterday that police are looking to question La’el Collins following the shooting death of a pregnant woman last week, though the LSU offensive lineman isn’t considered a suspect. Jim Boren, the attorney for Collins, tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that he has been in constant contact with the lead detective in the case, and spoke to the district attorney yesterday.

“We took the investigation seriously,” Boren said on Tuesday. “We’ve tried to rule him out as a suspect. We’re going to provide that information to the police, and ultimately [Collins] will sit down and talk to them. But the timing is poor.”

Indeed, even if Collins is officially ruled out as a suspect by police, which appears likely, it’s not clear if that will happen before the draft gets underway tomorrow night, and teams figure to approach the lineman with extra caution.

As we wait to see how the ongoing investigation affects Collins, let’s round up a few more Wednesday draft rumors from around the league….

According to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, trade inquiries involving the No. 1 overall pick are on the rise this week, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Still, I think Tampa Bay would have to be blown away to move out of that first overall spot.
One team has Georgia running back Todd Gurley at No. 1 overall on its draft board, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, adding that it’s safe to say that’s not the consensus around the NFL. In fact, scouts who have spoken to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report don’t believe Gurley will be a top-10 pick, as has been rumored.
Within Freeman’s piece, the BR scribe notes that the Jets are still very much in the hunt for Marcus Mariota, though he’s skeptical that New York will offer enough to move the Titans out of the No. 2 spot.
Speaking of those Titans, Jeff Darlington of the NFL Network (Twitter links) hears that Tennessee isn’t just taking trade calls — the club is making them as well. So far, things haven’t gotten serious, but trade talks involving that second overall pick could heat up today and tomorrow, says Darlington.
Amidst reports that Shane Ray could slide out of the first round, and perhaps much further than that, one NFL executive tells Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link) that the Missouri pass rusher “isn’t going to fall very far” following his citation for marijuana possession.
Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian appears to be a popular target, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who writes that Siemian has received calls from 11 teams in the past two days. Those teams are the Broncos, Jets, Jaguars, Raiders, Vikings, Packers, Browns, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, and Dolphins.