2015 July - Pro Football Rumors

East Notes: Rice, Wilkerson, Brady, Cofield

July 28th, 2015 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Ray Rice and his supporters are reportedly lobbying NFL teams to give the veteran running back a shot to make a roster this preseason, and the Cowboys are the team most often linked to free agent backs, but Dallas has no interest in signing Rice, a source tells Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter links). According to Williams, the Cowboys want to see how their current running backs look — the team hasn’t ruled out adding a veteran, but it likely won’t happen for a couple weeks, if it happens at all.

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

As expected, Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson will report to camp rather than holding out, despite the fact that he has yet to sign a contract extension, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post. According to Costello, the two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal, though I’d expect negotiations to continue in the coming weeks.
Although there have been whispers that an announcement on Tom Brady‘s suspension appeal could come within the next day or two, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the NFL and NFLPA are still exchanging offers for a potential settlement (link via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). However, with the Patriots quarterback seemingly unwilling to accept a deal that includes any sort of suspension, a compromise remains unlikely. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com echoes Rapoport’s report, tweeting that the NFL and NFLPA aren’t expected to reach a settlement for Brady.
Rapoport (Twitter link) suggests keeping an eye on free agent defensive tackle Barry Cofield, who is recovering from groin and abdomen surgeries and should be ready to go in four to six weeks. Cofield, who was released by Washington earlier this year, said last week in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he was “doing really well” in his recovery and was looking forward to signing with a team.

Jake Long Working Out For Falcons

July 28th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

After being released by the Rams earlier this offseason, veteran offensive tackle Jake Long is paying a visit to another NFC club. According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN (via Twitter), Long is in Atlanta today to take a physical and work out for the Falcons.

Long, 30, saw time in just seven games for the Rams last season thanks to a torn ACL. The former No. 1 overall pick had been in St. Louis for the past two seasons after spending the first five years of his career with the Dolphins. There was some talk that Long could play on the right side with 2014 No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson taking his place on the left, but that never came to fruition.

Long has torn his ACL in each of the prior two seasons, playing in just 22 games during that stretch. Last season, Pro Football Focus as (subscription required) ranked him as just the No. 36 tackle out of 84 qualified players. In 2013, however, Long graded out as the seventh-best tackle in the league with a strong 22.5 overall score, based on PFF’s advanced metrics.

Earlier this offseason, Long paid the Giants a visit, but it doesn’t appear New York ever got serious about signing him, though Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com (Twitter link) says that door isn’t completely closed. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap is skeptical that Long will land anywhere, given his health issues, tweeting that a contract would probably have to be heavy on incentives for games played and overall playing time.

If Long were to join the Falcons, he’d be protecting Matt Ryan, the player who went third overall in 2008, two spots after the Dolphins selected Long.

Lions Sign R.J. Stanford

July 28th, 2015 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

After working out three cornerbacks at their practice facility today, the Lions have signed veteran free agent R.J. Stanford to a contract, writes Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. The move brings Detroit’s offseason roster back up to 90 players.

Stanford, 27, entered the league as a seventh-round draft pick by the Panthers in 2010, but only appeared in 12 regular season contests for Carolina in 2011 before moving on to Miami. The Utah product spent the last three years with the Dolphins, contributing as a special-teamer and providing depth in the secondary.

The Lions are now carrying 10 cornerbacks, so Stanford will have to impress over the next few weeks to have a chance to make the regular-season roster. The team opted to sign him after auditioning a group of defensive backs that also included Javier Arenas and Ethan Davis, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links).

Dolphins Re-Sign Josh Freeman

July 28th, 2015 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

10:44am: According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, a clause in Freeman’s contract meant that the Dolphins assumed less risk financially by cutting him and re-signing the quarterback, rather than just keeping him.

10:37am: Just four days after cutting him, the Dolphins have re-signed quarterback Josh Freeman, the team announced today (via Twitter). Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report first reported (via Twitter) that Freeman was returning to the Dolphins.

It’s not immediately clear why Miami released Freeman, only to re-add him to the roster a few days later. It’s possible that the team simply wanted to negotiate different terms, but I wouldn’t expect the new contract to look much different from the one-year, minimum-salary pact Freeman initially signed. Either way, with Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore ahead of him on the depth chart, Freeman probably won’t make the Dolphins’ regular season roster unless there’s an injury, or he has an unexpectedly productive preseason.

Freeman, 27, was Tampa Bay’s full-time starting quarterback from 2009 to 2012, but saw the wheels come off in 2013 and was cut by the team. In his first four seasons, the former 17th overall pick completed 58.8% of his passes and tossed 78 touchdowns to go with 63 interceptions, as well as throwing for more than 4,000 yards in 2012.

In 2013 though, Freeman’s completion percentage in four starts with the Bucs was just 45.7%, a number which declined even more after he joined the Vikings and performed poorly in his lone start. After not playing in the NFL in 2014, Freeman signed with the Dolphins earlier this offseason.

NFL, NFLPA Discuss Le’Veon Bell Settlement

July 28th, 2015 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

Tom Brady‘s suspension appeal is getting all the headlines, but the Patriots’ Week 1 opponents – the Steelers – will also be without a key player whose suspension was though to be appealed. Explaining why there haven’t been any recent updates on Le’Veon Bell‘s case, Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets that the NFL, NFLPA, and Bell’s reps have been in frequent contract and a formal appeal hearing may not be required.

The Steelers running back, who would argue that he’s being punished twice for the same incident, tells Breer that he’s hoping for the penalty to be reduced, not wiped out entirely (Twitter links). And according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, that remains a possibility — Graziano tweets that the two sides are negotiating a settlement that could reduce the suspension to one or two games.

Bell’s three-game suspension came as a result of his arrest for marijuana possession and driving under the influence. Both charges came as a result of the same incident, and it appears the suspension considers them separate offenses, with the running back getting two games for the DUI and one game for the marijuana possession.

As is the case with Brady’s appeal, I’d expect the NFL to announce something on Bell soon, since the league likely won’t want to have the situation drag out too far into training camp.

Patriots Notes: Brady, Flynn, Allen

July 28th, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

As the Patriots, along with the rest of the NFL, continue to wait for Roger Goodell to announce a ruling on Tom Brady‘s suspension appeal, let’s round up a few of the latest notes out of New England….

Appearing on ESPN today, Adam Schefter said the NFL isn’t “inclined to budge much” on Brady’s appeal, adding that he expects the suspension to remain at four games (Twitter link via Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal). If Schefter’s prediction turns out to be accurate, Brady and the NFLPA will almost assuredly fight the decision in court.
As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, Brady is hardly the only one whose 2015 outlook will be significantly altered by Roger Goodell’s ruling on his suspension appeal — Matt Flynn‘s odds of making the Patriots‘ 53-man roster hinge largely on whether or not Brady will be available.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) and Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter links) have the details on Ryan Allen‘s new contract extension with the Patriots. Allen’s deal is worth $6.685MM, including a $2MM signing bonus and $3MM in new guarantees. The contract also features $200K in annual per-game roster bonuses from 2016 to 2018, and an annual $50K incentive for making the Pro Bowl.

AFC Notes: Brady, Pettine, Broncos, Chargers

July 27th, 2015 at 9:11pm CST by Zachary Links

After Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti denied that he was among those pushing commissioner Roger Goodell to keep Tom Brady‘s full four-game suspension, Colts owner Jim Irsay issued a similar denial today.

“That’s not true at all,” Irsay told Zak Keefer of The Star when asked about a recent assertion made by ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “I haven’t talked to Roger Goodell about DeflateGate since late January. Not true. That’s not the way things work involving someone else’s business and someone else’s team. It’s not something I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around ownership (in the NFL) for half a century.”

Irsay claims his last interaction with Goodell regarding the Deflategate controversy came months before the results of Ted Wells’ investigation were released in May. Here’s more out of the AFC..

Despite a recent report to the contrary, Browns coach Mike Pettine swears he’s on good terms with GM Ray Farmer, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. “I think it was that late summer slow news day,” Pettine said. “The unfortunate thing is this: When you don’t win, when you have the history, or not so recent history of the Browns, to me, there’s not much credibility there. You can take an individual event and extrapolate that out to it has a negative connotation to it. That was the disappointing part of that.”
If the status of Antonio Smith‘s case doesn’t change, he could report to Broncos training camp on Thursday, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post writes. Denver excused Smith from voluntary offseason workouts to tend to his personal matters but the club has remained in contact with him over the past two months and is expected to determine his status soon. If the Broncos decide they need more time to make a decision on Smith he cannot be fined for his absence from camp. Smith is being investigated following a complaint of sexual child abuse.
NFL executive Eric Grubman will visit San Diego again on Tuesday to get a briefing from the Chargers and local government officals on the progress of the stadium initiative, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.

Latest On Seahawks, Russell Wilson

July 27th, 2015 at 9:07pm CST by Zachary Links

9:07pm: The training camp contract deadline has been in place since talks began in early February, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets.

4:37pm: Russell Wilson will shut down contract negotiations with the Seahawks if he does not have a new deal by the time Seattle begins training camp on Friday, sources told ESPN’s John Clayton and Jim Trotter. Although a long-term deal for Wilson remains Seattle’s top priority, the star quarterback does not want contract talks to extend into training camp, according to sources who spoke with the ESPN duo.

Meanwhile, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com would be “very surprised” if we see things change between Seattle and Wilson. La Canfora doesn’t see either side flinching at this point and despite some reports to the contrary, he hears that true guaranteed money remains a sticking point. Ultimately, he sees this all resulting in a franchise tag for 2016.

How much guaranteed money is the quarterback looking for? Apparently, if he can’t be the highest paid player in the NFL, Wilson wants the mantle of earning the most guaranteed money in NFL history, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears. The two sides are “inching” closer to a new pact, but with Wilson looking to top Ndamukong Suh‘s guarantees, that could be too big of a gap to bridge. If things continue to stall, Cole expects the NFLPA to look into the “funding” rule, which effectively limits the amount of guaranteed cash a team can give a player.

While today’s updates don’t seem to point to a deal getting done, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap is fairly optimistic. If the two sides can agree to a $21MM average annual value, then he feels there is little reason for the Seahawks and Wilson to not get a deal done.

Wilson, 26, is currently is scheduled to make $1.54MM this season, which marks the fourth and final year of his rookie contract.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/15

July 27th, 2015 at 8:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor NFL moves and signings..

The Jets are signing former University of Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Hill participated in both the Jets’ and Raiders’ rookie minicamp. Hill initially signed with the Seahawks as a UDFA this year but he did not pass his physical.
The Browns cut undrafted former West Georgia defensive lineman Tory Slater, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. After healing up from a hamstring injury, Slater was cut from a Browns team that has several defensive linemen ahead of him on the depth chart.
Washington announced the signing of undrafted free agent running back Mack Brown, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Brown appeared in 49 career games at Florida across the 2010-14 seasons, gaining 805 career yards on 210 rushing attempts with four rushing touchdowns. Last season, he appeared in all 12 games for Florida and served as a key member of the Gators’ special teams unit.
The Colts announced that they have signed offensive tackle Matt Hall and waived guard Will Corbin. Hall, 6-9, 326 pounds, re-joins the Colts after spending the 2014 season on Indianapolis’ IR list.
The Eagles waived running back Matthew Tucker with a non-football injury designation, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Tucker originally signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and spent the 2014 season on the taxi squad.
The Bears are signing Arena League wide receiver/kick returner A.J. Cruz, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). The Brown product previously played for the Arizona Rattlers.
The Dolphins announced that they have waived wide receiver Nigel King, according to James Walker of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Rams Sign Rookie Isaiah Battle

July 27th, 2015 at 6:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have signed rookie Isaiah Battle to his rookie deal, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Rams selected the Clemson offensive tackle in July’s supplemental draft.

The Rams used a fifth-round supplemental pick on Battle, which means that they will give up their 2016 fifth-round pick. The team made the young lineman the first player selected in a supplemental draft since the Browns used a second-round pick on wide receiver Josh Gordon back in 2012.

Battle, who had been penciled in as Clemson’s starting left tackle for the coming season, decided to enter the supplemental draft instead, citing “family” reasons, including a child due this summer. Earlier in the year, Mike Huguenin of NFL.com had identified Battle as a candidate to play in next year’s Senior Bowl, writing that the Clemson lineman “remains somewhat raw, [but] is a good athlete who plays with some nastiness.”

Of the seven prospects eligible for the supplemental draft, Battle was considered the one most likely to be picked, with some pundits suggesting that a team could go as high as a third-rounder for the lineman. However, teams were reportedly wary of Battle due to possible off-the-field concerns, so he ultimately cost the Rams only a fifth-rounder. As it turns out, Battle was the only player taken in this year’s supplemental draft.

The offensive line was viewed as one area the Rams figured to address this offseason, and while they were perhaps not as active on the free agent market as expected, the club has added several young players to its group up front. Battle represents the fifth offensive lineman St. Louis has picked in a draft this year — the Rams were the only one team in the NFL to add as many as four offensive lineman during back in May, selecting one in the second round (Rob Havenstein), third round (Jamon Brown), fourth round (Andrew Donnal), and sixth round (Cody Wichmann).

Last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Greg Robinson, projects as the Rams’ long-term left tackle, but Battle figures to provide depth on both the left and right sides, and could challenge the team’s other young players, including Havenstein, for playing time at the right tackle spot.