HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Offseason In Review: Green Bay Packers

July 17th, 2015 at 11:39am CST by Rory Parks

Notable signings:

In January, the Packers suffered one of the more crushing playoff defeats in recent memory, blowing a 16-0 halftime lead in the NFC Championship Game in Seattle and ultimately succumbing to the Seahawks in overtime, 28-22. That game saw a fake field goal attempt result in a touchdown, a recovered onside kick, and a two point conversion that is still difficult to explain.

Despite all that, the fact remains that Green Bay was within a hair’s breadth of advancing to the Super Bowl for the second time in the Aaron Rodgers era. The Packers were finally able to establish a legitimate running game with the emergence of Eddie Lacy, and their defense was at least good enough to support the league’s most prolific offense, which racked up 486 points as Rodgers cruised to his second league MVP award.

As a result, the team did not really need to make a big splash in free agency, and it did well to retain two foundational pieces of its offense, pieces that would have been quickly scooped up by another club. Randall Cobb, perhaps the best slot receiver in the league at the moment, agreed to stay in Green Bay on a four-year, $40MM pact, which was probably $4-8MM less than he could have received on the open market. Indeed, Cobb may have had as many as seven other offers on the table, but because he chose to remain with the team that drafted him, the Packers now have the luxury of fielding one of the most dynamic receiving tandems in the game for the next few years. Cobb and fellow wideout Jordy Nelson, who signed a four-year extension with Green Bay in July 2014, combined for 2,806 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, and since entering the league in 2011, Cobb has caught a league-best 75.2% of his targets. Nelson and Cobb, along with Lacy and Rodgers, will give the Packers more than enough firepower to continue terrorizing opposing defenses.

After re-signing Cobb, the Packers quickly moved on to star right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who was also generating plenty of interest from other teams. Bulaga graded out as the league’s fourth-best right tackle last season, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), and he was able to stay healthy after losing almost half of 2012 and all of 2013 to injury. He received especially high marks for his pass-blocking performance in support of Rodgers, yielding just four sacks–two of which came in one game–and two other quarterback hits over the course of the season. Like Cobb, Bulaga agreed to take a contract a little under market value in order to stay in Green Bay as an integral part of a legitimate championship contender. Although the five-year, $33.75MM deal was a little out of the Packers’ comfort zone, when you have a quarterback like Rodgers, you have to give him the weapons he needs to succeed. By retaining Cobb and Bulaga one year after extending Nelson, Green Bay has managed to do just that.

Defensively, the modest one-year deals given out to B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion may not seem like major moves, but they help provide veteran stability to a fairly deep defensive line rotation. Raji has not been much of a factor in the pass rush since 2010, but after missing all of 2014 with a torn bicep, his return should at least help boost a defense that ranked 23rd against the run last year.

Guion played well at nose tackle in Raji’s stead last season, and although he could be suspended for as many as four games to begin the 2015 campaign, he should continue to be productive when he does see the field, particularly since he will likely be playing more snaps at defensive end as a result of Raji’s return. By combining Guion and Raji with Mike Daniels’ consistently excellent play against both the run and pass, not to mention potential contributions from Josh Boyd and former first-round pick Datone Jones—who will serve a one-game suspension to open the year—the Packers will field a solid, if unspectacular, defensive front.

Notable losses:

Although the Packers did not perform particularly well against the run last year, they made up for it by generating a great deal of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and by getting a strong performance from the back end of their defense. Unfortunately, the depth of their secondary will be tested in a big way after losing Davon House and Tramon Williams to free agency.

Williams had started almost every game for the club since 2010, and though his excellent 2010 campaign resulted in his only Pro Bowl nod, he has been a consistently above-average corner for years. At age 32, he is certainly closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and it makes sense that the Packers would not want to match the three-year, $21MM deal that Williams landed from the Browns, but his presence will certainly be missed.

House, meanwhile, was ranked above Williams in PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents, and though he saw only part-time action in nickel and dime packages with Green Bay, it is clear that he is ready for a full-time role (House allowed only 46.8% of passes thrown into his coverage to be completed, which ranked fourth among qualified corners). The Jaguars will give him that opportunity, and they will pay him accordingly, with a four-year, $25MM deal. Without House and Williams, Green Bay will need to rely on rookies Damarious Randall and Quentin Rollins, the team’s first two selections in this year’s draft, to help solidify the secondary.

Otherwise, the Packers did not suffer any major losses this offseason. The team released longtime linebackers A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones, but the on-field ramifications of those releases should not be terribly significant. Hawk, of course, had played for the Packers since Green Bay selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 draft, and he averaged over 100 tackles per season in his nine years with the club. However, as our Luke Adams wrote when Hawk was released, “toward the end of his tenure with the franchise, the 31-year-old’s production no longer matched his salary. In 2014, he saw his playing time scaled back toward the end of the season and in the playoffs as he struggled with an ankle injury, and he recorded a -14.4 grade for the season, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required).” Similarly, Jones’ playing time was significantly reduced in 2014, and the team was able to clear over $7MM in salary cap space by releasing both him and Hawk.

Green Bay also ended its on-again, off-again relationship with Matt Flynn. Both Flynn and fellow backup signal-caller Scott Tolzien were unrestricted free agents, but the team elected to retain Tolzien on a one-year pact while Flynn ultimately signed with the Patriots.

Jarrett Boykin, who put together a nice season with the Packers in 2013 while filling in for an injured Cobb, caught just three passes last season and left to seek greener pastures in Carolina.

Although he will be best remembered for failing to secure the fateful onside kick that allowed Seattle to complete its comeback in last year’s NFC Championship Game, it was somewhat curious that the Packers decided to release Brandon Bostick given the team’s relative dearth of tight end talent.

Trades:

  • Acquired a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 147; QB Brett Hundley) from the Patriots in exchange for a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 166; LS Joe Cardona) and a 2015 seventh-round pick (No. 247; CB Darryl Roberts).

In one of the more surprising moves of this year’s draft, the Packers moved up 19 spots in the fifth round to select former UCLA signal-caller Brett Hundley. Although much has been made of the similarities between the respective draft day experiences of Hundley and Rodgers—the anxious and frustrating wait, being drafted by the Packers when they already have a beloved Hall-of-Fame caliber quarterback in place, etc.—there is one major difference: Hundley will not be groomed to be Rodgers’ heir apparent. Rodgers has too many good years ahead of him for that. Rather, Hundley, who is an excellent athlete with flaws that can be fixed, may be the heir apparent to Tolzien, and if he can hone his mechanics while improving his ability to read defenses, he can develop into a quality backup that could hold some trade value in the latter stages of his rookie contract.

Draft picks:

  • 1-30: Damarious Randall, S (Arizona State): Signed
  • 2-62: Quinten Rollins, CB (Miami (OH)): Signed
  • 3-94: Ty Montgomery, WR/KR (Stanford): Signed
  • 4-129: Jake Ryan, ILB (Michigan): Signed
  • 5-147: Brett Hundley, QB (UCLA): Signed
  • 6-206: Aaron Ripkowski, FB (Oklahoma): Signed
  • 6-210: Christian Ringo, DE (Louisiana-Lafayette): Signed
  • 6-213: Kennard Backman, TE (UAB): Signed

As noted above, the Packers will need to rely on Randall and Rollins to develop into at least capable rotational pieces in order to sufficiently overcome the losses of Williams and House. Both players are highly versatile and certainly have the potential to become quality starters in the league. Ty Montgomery may not see the field much as a receiver, but his return abilities may help the Packers find the endzone even more than they did last season. Jake Ryan is a quality middle-round selection who may be able to start at inside linebacker sooner rather than later, thereby allowing Clay Matthews to shift to outside linebacker. Aaron Ripkowski is a prototypical old-school fullback who could take over for John Kuhn in the near future. Christian Ringo may crack the roster as a rotational defensive lineman or as a member of the practice squad, and Kennard Backman is a limited player who may nonetheless have a chance to crack a thin tight end corps.

Other:

The Packers’ coaching staff saw saw no major hirings or firings of note, but there was one major shakeup. Tom Clements, who had previously served as the team’s offensive coordinator while head coach Mike McCarthy dialed up the offensive plays, was promoted to associate head coach and given play-calling duties. Edgar Bennett, a long-time positional coach who presided over the running backs for six seasons in Green Bay before serving as the wide receivers coach the past four years, was elevated to offensive coordinator. Bennett certainly deserves the promotion, as the receiving corps has flourished under his guidance.

Nick Perry has largely disappointed in his career in Green Bay, and the Packers consequently declined to pick up his fifth-year option, which would have cost the team $7.75MM. As a result, Perry is eligible for free agency at the end of the 2015 season. He played in all but one game last year and recorded 4.5 sacks, but he was on the field for less than 35% of the team’s defensive snaps and is not likely to see a major uptick in playing time this season, likely his last in a Packers uniform.

As noted previously, the depth of the defensive line will be tested early with the possible suspension of Guion and the one-game ban that Datone Jones received. Jones was not fully healthy until the end of last year and has not yet lived up to his status as a first-round pick, but he still has potential that he could begin to realize as a healthy part of a solid defensive line rotation.

Top 10 cap hits for 2015:

  1. Aaron Rodgers, QB: $18,250,000
  2. Clay Matthews, OLB: $12,700,000
  3. Julius Peppers, DE/OLB: $12,000,000
  4. Sam Shields, CB: $9,062,500
  5. Josh Sitton, G: $7,000,000
  6. T.J. Lang, G: $5,800,000
  7. Randall Cobb, WR: $5,350,000
  8. Morgan Burnett, S: $5,131,250
  9. Jordy Nelson, WR: $4,600,000
  10. Mike Neal, DL: $4,250,000

The Packers won the NFC North for the fourth consecutive year in 2014 and earned a first-round bye in the process, narrowly missing out on a trip to the Super Bowl. Although the Lions remain a worthy opponent and the Vikings are a trendy pick to get back into the playoffs in 2015, the Packers should once again be the favorites to capture the division. Despite the lack of a true playmaker at tight end, Richard Rodgers showed some promise as a rookie in 2014 and should provide enough of a receiving threat to take some pressure off the team’s explosive wideouts, and though there are no truly elite players on the other side of the ball outside of Matthews, there is enough quality at all three levels to at least maintain a middle-of-the-pack defense. But with Aaron Rodgers under center and the weapons he has at his disposal, there is no reason to think that the Packers cannot avenge their 2014 heartbreak and book a date to San Francisco in February 2016.

Contract information from Over the Cap and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Reggie Wayne Still Plans To Play In 2015

July 17th, 2015 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

It has been a few months since we’ve heard any concrete updates on Reggie Wayne‘s plans for 2015, but the veteran wide receiver still intends to play this season, he told reporters this morning. According to Mike Wells of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Wayne said today that teams have been calling him, and he plans to eventually sign with one of them.

It’s not clear which specific teams have interest in Wayne, but it’s hard to imagine the longtime Colt joining a club without Super Bowl aspirations. When Wayne indicated back in March that retirement wasn’t in the cards quite yet, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that the 36-year-old figured to sign with a contending team.

Wayne, who spent 14 years in Indianapolis after being drafted by the Colts in the first round way back in 2001, is no longer the sort of impact player he was during his prime. However, he was still a reliable target for Andrew Luck last season, compiling 779 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 64 catches. According to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com (via Twitter), Wayne’s ideal scenario would be to play for one more season and then retire.

Any club with interest in signing Wayne would presumably deploy him as a third or fourth wideout, rather than relying on him as a top target. When camps get underway and injuries begin to mount, his list of potential suitors may increase.

Cowboys Notes: Valuation, Dez, Offseason

July 17th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, Forbes released its breakdown of the top 50 most valuable franchises in sports, and 20 NFL teams earned a mention, making it the best-represented league on the list by a comfortable margin. First among those 20 NFL franchises was the Cowboys, valuated at $3.2 billion by Forbes. Dallas didn’t quite earn the top overall spot on the list, but the team was a close second to soccer’s Real Madrid.

Of course, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, NFL franchises are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them, and the fact that Forbes’ figure for the Bills falls well short of the $1.4 billion paid by Terry and Kim Pegula last year suggests that it’s not an exact science.

Here’s more on the NFL’s most valuable franchise:

  • In providing the specific details on Dez Bryant‘s new contract, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun notes (via Twitter) that the deal includes $500K de-escalators in the event that the wideout misses workouts.
  • Referring to reports about a supposedly damning videotape as a “smear campaign,” Jarrett Bell of USA Today suggests that Bryant is owed an apology by those who “sloppily reported” the existence of such a video earlier this offseason. For his part, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told USA Today that he’s skeptical of the existence of such a tape.
  • Using his “expected contract value” metric, Bryce Johnston of Over the Cap explains why Bryant’s new extension is more player-friendly than Demaryius Thomas‘ deal, despite the fact that the two contracts looked similar on the surface.
  • Babe Laufenberg of The Dallas Morning News rates the Cowboys‘ offseason as excellent, citing the addition of La’el Collins as the move that put it over the top. Still, the team lost the NFL’s leading rusher, has signed two pass rushers with checkered histories, and has only one top-flight corner, so there are some causes for concern in Dallas.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Steelers, Cam Heyward Agree To Extension

July 16th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Zachary Links

9:52pm: Heyward will earn $15MM up front in signing/roster bonuses, with $21MM paid over the first eight months, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

8:21pm: The Steelers announced that they have signed Cameron Heyward to a new six-year deal, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). Heyward, a 2011 first-round pick, was previously due to earn a $6.969MM base salary for the 2015 season. With his new deal, Heyward is now under contract through the 2020 campaign. The deal is worth $59.25MM, according to Bouchette (link).

"<strong

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Last season, Heyward was the first defensive end to lead the Steelers in sacks in a decade as he and the now-retired Jason Worilds tied with 7.5 apiece. The 26-year-old has appeared in every regular season game for the Steelers since his debut in 2011. Over the last two seasons, he has started 29 games for Pittsburgh and racked up a combined 114 tackles and 12.5 sacks.

We’re still waiting for the full breakdown of the deal, but it sounds like the pact is effectively ~$52.28MM in new money for an additional five years. That puts Heyward in the neighborhood of fellow defensive end Cameron Jordan, who added $55MM and five years on to his deal with the Saints last month. While Jordan’s five-year, $55MM extension includes $33MM guaranteed for injury, just $23.96MM of that is fully guaranteed.

Heyward recently told Robert Klemko of The MMQB that he thinks he can play better than he did in 2014, when he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-best 3-4 defensive end.

“I hope last year wasn’t a breakout season because I think I can achieve way more,” Heyward said. “I still have a mentality where I think of myself as a bust. I’ve got to prove everybody wrong including myself. I want to get better, and I want to shut people up.”

AFC Notes: Raiders, Chargers, Tucker

July 16th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) heard from people in the know that it’s not out of the question for the Raiders to play two years in San Antonio, Texas while a stadium is built for them in Los Angeles. Here’s more from the AFC, including updates on the Los Angeles situation..

  • By a 6-3 vote, the San Diego City Council authorized $2.1MM to fund an expedited environmental review for a new stadium at the Mission Valley site, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. San Diego is working hard to find a way to keep the Chargers, though the allure of Los Angeles is strong.
  • Council members who voted in favor of the proposal endorsed that strategy, while council members in opposition called the accelerated environmental impact report an improper use of taxpayer money that wouldn’t help keep the Chargers, David Garrick of the Union Tribune writes. “People might say this is a fool’s errand,” councilman Scott Sherman said. “I still have faith with the right deal we can get the Chargers back here at the table. I think the NFL will tell the Chargers that ‘San Diego is committed, San Diego is ready to go and you guys need to come back to the table.’”
  • Stephen Gostkowski‘s new deal with the Patriots could provide a blueprint for the Ravens when it comes to their upcoming talks with kicker Justin Tucker, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes. Gostkowski, 31, has a longer track record than Tucker, but the Ravens kicker doesn’t take a back seat to anybody when it comes to accuracy. Tucker has been mum about his contract demands, saying only that he’d love to stay with the Ravens for his entire career. To make that happen, Zrebiec says the Ravens will likely need to eclipse the deal that the Patriots just gave Gostkowski.
  • The Browns will have a new director of player engagement in the near future. Jamil Northcutt, who has held the title since April 2014, and the franchise are expected to part ways in the coming weeks, a league source confirmed to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. Northcutt previously worked with Browns GM Ray Farmer as a player development coordinator for the Chiefs.

Cowboys’ Stephen Jones On Bryant Talks

July 16th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Cowboys executive vice president and COO Stephen Jones joined Ben and Skin on KRLD-FM to discuss the inner workings of the deadline deal with star Dez Bryant. While there appeared to be serious discord between Bryant and Dallas, Jones says that a sense of urgency pushed the two sides closer together, leading to a deal.

“I’d say at the end of the day it’s all about a timeline. That’s what pushes everybody to a place probably they’re uncomfortable to go to, and I’d say that in all due respect to both sides, but I think obviously deadlines cause things to happen, and I think in this case, that’s exactly what happened,” Jones said, according to a transcript from The Dallas Morning News. “We had a number that we had strategized over for probably weeks, and really getting our hands around how the number would affect us, not only this year but over the next five years.”

Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Jones’ chat..

On if there was any way in the world the Cowboys would have let Bryant go at some point.

We were never going to let Dez go. We had actually three years of franchise tags. Losing Dez never crossed our mind. It was just a matter, was it going to be a comfortable one or a little bit of an uneasy one because he was being tagged each year? There was never a thought that Dez wasn’t going to be a Dallas Cowboy.

On what the Cowboys had to get from Bryant’s side to get the deal to happen.

It all starts with what we were going to be paying Dez under a franchise tag. I think everybody made public we were going to pay him right at [$13MM] this year, we were going to pay him a little over [$15MM] next year, so you’re going to be paying him $14MM anyway over two years. Usually in this business, the cap keeps going up and players’ salaries keep going up. It made for a nice deal .We made some concessions in terms of moving some numbers his way. I think things went good.

On if there was anything Cowboys needed to hear from Roc Nation to make them comfortable.

I think the biggest thing, Roc Nation, Tom [Condon]’s really the negotiator in this deal, but the bigger thing for Roc Nation is we really got comfortable that they were going to be good people and good mentors and good managers for Dez in terms of what he does with this money and really think that he’s going to be going in a good direction with this group. I think it’s going to be a positive for him. It was good to hear what his strategies are for Dez and what they intend to do in terms of hoping that he’ll be a prudent guy with his money and he’ll be efficient with his money and won’t wake up and not have any. 

On Stephen and Jerry Jones going up to New York to get the deal done.

We talked about three weeks ago that we were going to go to New York and visit with them. It was a good place for us to meet. Jerry had business up there. It’s easy for me to get up there, but Jerry was coming back from overseas and made for a nice meeting place. We could do multiple things up there, and Jerry had other meetings as well. 

Buccaneers’ Demar Dotson Changes Agents

July 16th, 2015 at 6:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Buccaneers offensive tackle Demar Dotson has hired agent Joby Branion of Vanguard Sports to represent him, according to Rand Getlin of NFL Network (on Twitter). Dotson skipped voluntary workouts with the Bucs last month as he pushed the team for a new contract.

The Buccaneers entered contract talks with Dotson’s camp this summer, aiming to secure their longest-tenured player to an extension. However, Doston’s absence from OTAs threw a wrench into things. Reportedly, negotiations were nearly complete, but they stalled due to a team policy that prohibits the negotiation of contracts with players who are absent from workouts, whether those workouts are voluntary or mandatory. Dotson showed up for those mandatory workouts later on, so that he wouldn’t “lose any money.”

While the Buccaneers have struggled to find a reliable left tackle in recent years, they have received steady production on the right side from Dotson, who has started all but one game for the team since the start of the 2012 season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dotson has recorded a positive grade in each of the last three seasons, and ranked 28th out of 84 qualified tackles in 2014. He’s set to earn a base salary of just $2.5MM in 2015, which makes him just the 22nd-highest-paid right tackle in the NFL.

It’s possible that Dotson’s change in representation can breathe new life into talks between the two sides. At the same time, giving him a new deal could signal to other Bucs players that skipping workouts is an effective way to make noise and get a pay raise. The Bucs clearly don’t want to send that message and doing so would go against the spirit of their policy about negotiating with players who are absent from practices.

Offseason in Review: Minnesota Vikings

July 16th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings didn’t do a whole lot of business in free agency but they did upgrade through trades and the draft.

Notable signings:

After trading Matt Cassel – who we’ll talk about in a bit – the Vikings moved quickly to fill his spot on the depth chart by signing Shaun Hill. The seasoned veteran has played for four teams, including a stint with the Vikings from 2002-05. His latest stop was in St. Louis, where he played nine games (eight starts) last year and threw eight touchdowns against seven interceptions for an 83.9 passer rating.

Tom Johnson signed with the Vikings last offseason on a one-year contract, coming off of a three-year stint with the Saints. He impressed the coaching staff with a strong year in 2014 the led him to staying with the Vikings. He graded out positively as a rotation player on the defensive line according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and should continue to help the team going forward. Minnesota didn’t have many impact free agents hitting the open market this year but Johnson was one of the guys they wanted to retain.

Terence Newman spent the last three seasons in Cincinnati, starting 41 regular season contests for the Bengals during that stretch. By signing with the Vikings, the 36-year-old has reunited with Mike Zimmer, who was the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati when Newman joined the Bengals. In 2014, Newman logged 75 tackles to go along with 15 passes defended and an interception, and graded as a middle-of-the-pack cornerback according to Pro Football Focus’ grades, placing 56th out of 108 qualified players at the position (subscription required).

Running back Matt Asiata was given an opportunity to shine in 2014 thanks to the absence of Adrian Peterson and, for a handful of games, he shined like a diamond. In March, Asiata was a restricted free agent and neither the running back nor the team knew what kind of role he would fill in 2015 thanks to Peterson’s status being up in the air and the emergence of freak athlete Jerick McKinnon. The two sides ultimately agreed to an incentive-laden deal that would protect Minnesota in the event of Peterson’s return and reward Asiata if he was starting and getting 20+ carries per game. Now that AD is back in action (more on that further down the page), it’s unlikely that Asiata will get to cash in on most of those incentives.

Notable losses:

Greg Jennings was asked to restructure his contract in order to remain with the team, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement and that led to the wide receiver being released in mid-March. Jennings’ release saved the Vikings $5MM, but $6MM worth of dead money remains on the team’s 2015 cap. Jennings was catching passes from a combination of Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder, and even Josh Freeman during his first year with the Vikes, and never appeared to be an ideal fit. Even after Teddy Bridgewater emerged as the starter in 2014, Jennings’ production was unspectacular — he recorded just 59 receptions for 742 yards last season. That’s a far cry from his best work. During the three seasons in which he played all 16 games, from 2008 to 2010, Jennings posted three straight 1,100-yard seasons, averaging about 75 receptions, 1,223 yards, and eight touchdowns per year.

Ponder, 27, started 36 games during his four years with the Vikings, though he was essentially the team’s No. 3 signal-caller in 2014, behind Teddy Bridgewater and Cassel on the depth chart. The former No. 12 overall pick is now with the Raiders and will serve as the understudy to Derek Carr. All throughout 2014 it was widely speculated that Ponder’s time in Minnesota was drawing to a close.

As a youngster with the Jets, the rap on Vlad Ducasse was that he was an extremely green (no pun intended) lineman with immense strength. Throughout his first four seasons with the Jets and his 2014 campaign with the Vikings, Ducasse still looked rather raw and never fulfilled his second round potential. The UMass product started just five games during his time with New York. He topped that number in ’14 alone, starting six contests in Minnesota while playing at both guard positions. In total, Ducasse played in 13 games last season, totaling 417 snaps, but graded as the league’s No. 61 guard among 78 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Vikings, understandably, didn’t make a great effort to keep him.

Jasper Brinkley wanted to return to Minnesota and in March, he made that known to everyone.

“I would love to come back,’’ Brinkley said. “They gave me an opportunity and it still feels like home for me. I would love to definitely come back. Coach Zimmer is doing great things with the team, turning the culture around there and everything is on the up and up.’’

Ultimately, however, that was not to be, as Brinkley wound up signing a two-year pact with the Cowboys. The veteran started 11 games for Minnesota last season, compiling 54 tackles and one sack.

Veteran guard Charlie Johnson started 61 of 64 potential regular season games for the Vikings over the past four years, but he was not welcomed back for the 2015 season. Despite his extensive experience (115 career starts), the 31-year-old received a negative grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) in each of his four years in Minnesota, including a -12.1 mark in 2014.

Corey Wootton, 28, spent the first four seasons of his NFL career in Chicago before joining the Vikings for the 2014 season. While he has never been an every-down player, Wootton saw 22 starts and totaled 10 sacks during his final two seasons with the Bears. Last year in Minnesota, he came off the bench and recorded just a single sack.

Trades:

  • Acquired a 2015 fifth-round pick and a 2016 seventh-round pick from the Bills in exchange for QB Matt Cassel and a 2015 sixth-round pick.
  • Acquired WR Mike Wallace and a 2015 seventh-round pick from the Dolphins in exchange for a 2015 fifth-round pick.
  • Acquired a 2015 third-round pick (No. 80) and a 2015 sixth-round pick (No. 193; DL B.J. Dubose) from the Chiefs in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick (No. 76; WR Chris Conley).
  • Acquired a 2015 third-round pick (No. 88; DE Danielle Hunter) and a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 143; TE MyCole Pruitt) from the Lions in exchange for 2015 third-round pick (No. 80; CB Alex Carter).
  • Acquired a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 146; WR Stefon Diggs) and a 2015 sixth-round pick (No. 185; T Tyrus Thompson) from the Falcons in exchange for a 2015 fifth-round pick (No. 137; DT Grady Jarrett).

Exit Jennings, enter Mike Wallace. On March 13th, the Vikings acquired Wallace and a seventh-round pick from the Vikings for a fifth-round choice. Wallace, who spent the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh, signed a five-year, $60MM contract with the Dolphins prior to the 2013 season. He subsequently caught 140 passes for nearly 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns during his two years in Miami. The Dolphins will replace him with fomer Saints wide receiver Kenny Stills, who hauled in 63 passes for over 900 yards as a second-year man in 2014. Wallace is coming off a campaign that saw him tie a personal best with 10 TDs, giving him 47 for his career, and the Vikings hope to see more of that in 2015.

The Vikings probably didn’t mind parting with a fifth-rounder since they added one from the Bills in the Matt Cassel trade. For the Vikings, Cassel was largely expendable since he was their backup to Teddy Bridgewater. The Bills, however, were faced with major question marks at the quarterback position and needed to make a move for a proven vet.

Extensions/Restructures:

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked John Sullivan as one of the league’s better centers in 2014, with a +7.5 run-blocking grade buoying him to a 12th-place finish among 41 qualified players at the position. It was no surprise that the Vikings offered him another year on his deal.

Draft picks:

  • 1-11: Trae Waynes, CB (Michigan State): Signed
  • 2-45: Eric Kendricks, ILB (UCLA): Signed
  • 3-88: Danielle Hunter, DE (LSU): Signed
  • 4-110: T.J. Clemmings, T (Pittsburgh): Signed
  • 5-143: MyCole Pruitt, TE (Southern Illinois): Signed
  • 5-146: Stefon Diggs, WR (Maryland): Signed
  • 6-185: Tyrus Thompson, T (Oklahoma): Signed
  • 6-193: B.J. Dubose, DL (Louisville): Signed
  • 7-228: Austin Shepherd, OL (Alabama): Signed
  • 7-232: Edmond Robinson, OLB (Newberry): Signed

The Vikings were widely connected to Michigan State standout Trae Waynes in the weeks leading up to the draft and they did not make fools of the prognosticators. Waynes possesses top-end speed and many believe that he will be a natural fit for Zimmer’s system. Mike Mayock of NFL.com is one of the many pundits who feels that Waynes is an outstanding corner, particularly in press coverage. As a junior in 2014, Waynes three interceptions and eight pass breakups and finished sixth on the team with 46 tackles.

After taking Anthony Barr in 2014, the Vikings went back to the well when they took fellow UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks. Kendricks boasts solid in-game speed and can also drop back for man-to-man coverage when needed. If Kendricks can add weight to his frame without losing speed, he could have a very bright NFL future ahead of him.

Other:

Of course, the biggest story for Minnesota didn’t have anything to do free agency, trades, or the draft. Instead, the Vikings waited and waited to find out if they’d have the services of embattled running back Adrian Peterson and in April, they got confirmation of his reinstatement. Just one problem: Peterson and his agent said that he would not suit up for the Vikings without a sign of a “commitment,” which everyone took to mean that AD wanted the remainder of his contract guaranteed. Ultimately, the Vikings did not blink in that stare-down and came out on top. The 30-year-old is under contract for three more years, and is scheduled to earn a $12.75MM base salary this season.

Since entering the league as the 29th overall pick in 2012, Harrison Smith has evolved into one of the NFL’s most effective free safeties — in 2014, he had his best year yet, compiling 92 tackles, five interceptions, and three sacks for the Vikes.

Matt Kalil, on the other hand, has struggled. Although he earned a Pro Bowl berth in his rookie season, and has started all 48 regular season games at left tackle for Minnesota since being selected fourth overall, the 25-year-old has regressed over the last couple years, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required). PFF assigned Kalil a -21.1 grade as a pass blocker in 2014, which ranked 83rd out of 84 qualified tackles. Still, neither player’s salary is fully guaranteed until the first day of the 2016 league year, so as long as Kalil doesn’t sustain a significant injury, the Vikes will still be able to move on from him after this season if they so choose.

Top 10 cap hits for 2015:

  1. Adrian Peterson, RB: $15,400,000
  2. Mike Wallace, WR: $9,900,000
  3. Everson Griffen, DE: $8,200,000
  4. John Sullivan, C: $7,333,333
  5. Phil Loadholt, RT: $6,750,000
  6. Kyle Rudolph, TE: $6,440,625
  7. Matt Kalil, LT: $6,290,644
  8. Greg Jennings, WR: $6,000,000 (dead money)
  9. Brian Robison, DE: $5,650,000
  10. Chad Greenway, LB: $5,575,000

For several months there were rumblings that Peterson would force his way out of Minnesota – possibly into the welcoming arms of Jerry Jones. As we look ahead to training camp, No. 28 is still in purple and the Cowboys are, somewhat surprisingly, without a blockbuster running back. The Vikings held on to Peterson and with all of their other core players under contract through 2016, they didn’t lose much of anything this offseason. The Vikings have a real chance to take the NFC North, but much of their success will rest on the 30-year-old shoulders of Peterson, who may have to battle some rust before getting back to his old form.

Contract information from Over the Cap and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.

Community Tailgate: Who Will Win NFC North?

July 16th, 2015 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re still nearly two months away from the start of battles on the NFL gridiron, but there’s no offseason when it comes to debate amongst fans. Earlier this summer, we launched a new series here at PFR that will be known as the Community Tailgate. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

As the 2015 season inches closer, we’re examining each NFL division, asking you which team you expect to finish atop the East, North, South, and West. Having already taken a closer look at the East divisions and the AFC North, we’re shifting our focus to the NFC North, where there’s one clear favorite up in Green Bay.

As long as Aaron Rodgers is at the helm, the Packers figure to be the perennial favorites in the division, especially if the club can continue locking up its key players to affordable deals, like it did this offseason with wide receiver Randall Cobb and offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga. Green Bay wasn’t active on the trade market and didn’t bring in any notable outside free agents, but the team still heads into the 2015 season as the frontrunner in the North.

Still, it won’t be a cakewalk for the Packers. The Lions nearly took the division crown in 2014, and despite the loss of Ndamukong Suh, Detroit should field a solid team again this year. The Bears were one of the NFL’s biggest disappointments last season, and will look to rebound under new head coach John Fox in 2015. It remains to be seen if Fox and new offensive coordinator Adam Gase can have anywhere near the success in Chicago with Jay Cutler that they did in Denver with Peyton Manning, but the duo looks like an upgrade over former head coach Marc Trestman and OC Aaron Kromer.

Finally, the Vikings are a popular early dark horse pick in the NFC, with Teddy Bridgewater heading into his second season, Adrian Peterson returning to the field, and young linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks looking to help lead an underrated defense. Minnesota isn’t viewed as a probable playoff team at this point, but there’s plenty to like about Mike Zimmer‘s squad.

What do you think? Do any of the Packers’ three division rivals have a shot to take the division from Green Bay in 2015? Who do you expect to win the NFC North? Let us know in the comment section below!

East Notes: Kromer, Cassel, Harris

July 16th, 2015 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is scheduled to appear in court for an August 12 plea date, following his arrest last weekend, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. With Kromer having been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave by the Bills this week, that August court session could go a long way toward determining whether or not he’ll have a job with the team by the time the regular season gets underway.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • We’ve been hearing in recent weeks that Matt Cassel may be in danger of losing his roster spot on the Bills, but Rodak believes that, despite a shaky spring and a sizable salary, Cassel still has about a 60% chance of making the regular season roster.
  • This week, ESPN.com’s AFC East writers weighed in on which coach is on the hottest seat in the division. Unsurprisingly, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin ran away with the dubious distinction. Philbin is 23-25 as Miami’s head coach. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan (Bills) and Todd Bowles (Jets) were just hired earlier in 2015, and Bill Belichick‘s job with the Patriots certainly seems safe.
  • Wide receiver Marcus Harris, cut by the Giants yesterday with an injured designation, underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee last month, which led to his removal from the team’s 90-man roster, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. Assuming he’s not claimed today, Harris figures to land on the Giants’ injured reserve list. It’s the second straight year that the 26-year-old has seen his chances of earning a spot on the club’s Week 1 roster dashed by injuries.
Load More Posts