Running back Alfred Morris is aware that his contract situation could become a subject of interest and speculation as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, but he tells Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com that he couldn’t care less about it.
“I approach every year the same,” Morris said. “I’m a running back so I’ll be running the ball, blocking, catching it. I don’t even think about next year.”
For the team’s part, Washington appears set to take a wait-and-see approach with Morris. Since he was a sixth-rounder in 2012, the running back’s contract doesn’t feature a fifth-year option for 2016, but Washington will have exclusive negotiating rights until next March.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- “It’s a hypocritical league,” Bears running back Matt Forte said of the NFL, in reference to his contract situation (link via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times). Forte is seeking an extension, and recognizes that if he hadn’t reported to the voluntary portion of Chicago’s offseason program, he would’ve been labeled selfish. “But then if, say, I didn’t perform last year and (the Bears) wanted to cut me or cut my pay, they can do that,” Forte said. “They can get rid of you. So nobody says nothing to the team about that.”
- Former Giants defensive back Aaron Ross, who played 83 career NFL games for New York and Jacksonville, is aiming to return to action after missing last season with a torn Achilles, and has workouts lined up with the Rams and 49ers, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- Reports this offseason have indicated Brandon Carr isn’t interested in accepting a pay cut, but the Cowboys still hope to reduce the cornerback’s 2015 cap number, and owner Jerry Jones says there could be ways to do that that benefit Carr as well as the team, writes Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Vikings are expected to explore a possible contract extension with safety Harrison Smith this offseason, but he tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that a new deal is “the furthest thing” from his mind at the moment. There’s no urgency for Smith or the Vikes, since his contract includes a fifth-year option for 2016.