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Month: November 2024

T.Y. Hilton To Miss Several Games?

September 13th, 2015 at 4:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton left today’s game against the Bills after suffering a knee injury, and owner Jim Irsay told reporters, including Mike Chappell of CBS 4 (Twitter link), that Hilton is expected to miss several weeks. Meanwhile, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link) that Hilton “should be fine”, but that he will undergo an MRI.

The two reports aren’t mutually exclusive, as Hilton could still be “fine” even if he is sidelined for a few weeks. Indy’s hope, obviously, is that Hilton didn’t suffer a serious injury that will force him out for an extended period of time. The Colts do have the receiver depth to cover for a Hilton injury, though, especially if it’s only for a short period of time. Andre Johnson would step in as the club’s No. 1 pass-catcher, while Donte Moncrief and rookie Phillip Dorsett could see expanded roles.

Still, losing Hilton for any period of time will certainly hurt. The 25-year-old caught 82 passes for 1,345 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and was handsomely rewarded for his efforts, inking a five-year, $65MM extension earlier this year.

NFC East Notes: Hardy, Cowboys, LA, RGIII

September 13th, 2015 at 3:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Defensive end Greg Hardy is expected to play a large role on the Cowboys‘ defense when he returns from a four-game suspension, but because he signed a one-year deal, Dallas will have to make a decision on whether to retain Hardy at season’s end. The Cowboys recently locked up Hardy’s linemate Tyrone Crawford to a long-term extension, but team owner Jerry Jones says the club hasn’t yet discussed such a deal with Hardy.

“We haven’t really broached it up to this point,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s Ben and Skin show. “But it certainly is something, like we said, any young players that only have a year on their contract, then that becomes something that we look at.

“We obviously know the circumstances that were out there when we brought Greg in here. Boy, he’s just been a model guy for our football team and is as hard a worker as anybody that we have out there. He certainly has demonstrated day-in and day-out, night-in and night-out how important football is to him.”

  • Jones could play a key role in the NFL-to-Los Angeles saga, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who notes that Jones is a major supporter of Rams owner Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood project. Jones and Kroenke are business partners — the two are working on a land development deal in Texas — but a source told La Canfora that the Jones’ business ties play no role in his stance. “Jerry will follow the money (in terms of how he votes for NFL matters), and Jerry is very attracted to the mega-rich,” said the source.
  • David Moore of the Dallas Morning News provides an interesting of profile of Jones’ son Stephen Jones, the Cowboys; chief operating officer. The entire piece is a good read, and paints Stephen as something of a calming influence throughout the organization, especially when it came to selecting offensive lineman Zack Martin over Johnny Manziel in last year’s draft.
  • Multiple sources tell Jeff Darlington of NFL.com that Washington has used Robert Griffin III — who is now listed as the club’s third-string quarterback — as the scout team safety, a curious decision on multiple levels. For one, RGIII’s 2016 $16.1MM option is guaranteed for injury only, and has seemingly forced Washington to demote him in order to stave of the risk of injury. To employ him as a safety merely for practice’s sake, then, seems like an odd choice.

PFR Originals: 9/6/15 – 9/13/15

September 13th, 2015 at 2:38pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past seven days:

  • The PFR staff weighed in with our predictions for the 2015 NFL season, and we asked you to do the same.
  • Now that Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor‘s holdout has officially begun, how do you see the situation playing out? Post your thoughts here.
  • Luke Adams recapped all the players who have been placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list.

Week In Review: 9/6/15 – 9/13/15

September 13th, 2015 at 1:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The headlines from the past week at PFR:

Extended:

Signed/Re-Signed:

  • Bills – Matt Cassel, QB (link) and Andre Fluellen, DT (link)
  • Cardinals – Joseph Fauria, TE (link)
  • Giants – Jasper Brinkley, LB (link)
  • Packers – James Jones, WR (link)
  • Raiders – Aldon Smith, LB (link)

Trade:

  • Colts – acquired DE Billy Winn from the Browns in exchange for a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick.

Released:

  • Bears – Sam Acho, LB (link)
  • Falcons – Joe Hawley, C (link)

Placed on IR-DTR:

  • Browns – Charles Gaines, CB (link)
  • Patriots – Bryan Stork, C (link)
  • Ravens – Brent Urban, DE (link)
  • Vikings – John Sullivan, C (link)

Other:

  • Giants fear Jason Pierre-Paul could miss the season (link)

 

Giants Fear JPP Could Miss Season?

September 13th, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Connor J. Byrne

SUNDAY, 11:54am: Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk has once again cast a black cloud on the JPP story. Citing Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Smith writes that Pierre-Paul has lost a great deal of weight because he has been unable to work out. Glazer adds that JPP has severe injuries to three fingers and had a skin graft within the last week. Between Glazer’s report and a pair of tweets from Jordan Raanan of NFL.com this morning, it appears that, if JPP returns in 2015, it will not be until the second half of the season. As his franchise tender would have paid him $14.8MM this year, each week that Pierre-Paul misses will cost him roughly $870,000.

SUNDAY, 9:07am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports puts a more positive slant on this development. La Canfora writes that the Giants are “very comfortable” with the plan that Pierre-Paul has been following in Florida and are pleased with the progress he has made. La Canfora says nothing is imminent, and it will be several weeks before New York reassesses JPP physically and settles his contract, but the Giants are not unhappy with what they saw; on the contrary, they are “very enthused.” Although it may be a bit optimistic at this point, La Canfora says an early October return is not out of the question.

SATURDAY, 9:36pm: The right hand injury defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul suffered in a July 4 fireworks accident is worse than the Giants have been led to believe, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Further, there are some within the organization who fear that Pierre-Paul could miss the 2015 season.

The Giants don’t yet plan to rescind Pierre-Paul’s unsigned franchise tender, per Graziano, who notes that – in addition to his missing right index finger, fractured thumb and skin grafts – JPP is without a portion of another finger on his right hand. If the Giants don’t rescind the tender, he could sign it in an effort to get back on the field and collect a prorated amount of the $14.813MM sum. However, the Giants could subsequently place Pierre-Paul on the non-football injury list and end his season. The team would then be able to avoid paying him. Graziano writes that the odds of Pierre-Paul winning a potential appeal are low, given how he sustained the injury.

JPP has been working out on his own and will continue to do so, but it appears the chances of him returning to the field in the near future are slim. While he told the Giants last week that he’d be able to play if outfitted with a protective device for his hand, the team doesn’t want to risk deploying him at less than 100 percent, according to Graziano.

Pierre-Paul has been an important piece for the Giants during his five-year career, collecting 42 sacks – including 12.5 last season – since they used a first-round pick on him in 2010. The Giants had the NFL’s 29th-ranked defense last year even with Pierre-Paul, so it stands to reason that the unit could be in for worse trouble this season without him.

Panthers Sign Luke Kuechly To Extension

September 13th, 2015 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

SUNDAY, 10:45am: Former NFL agent Joel Corry passes along a few notes on Kuechly’s new deal in a series of tweets. The exact average annual value of the contract is $12,359,059, an homage to Kuechly’s No. 59 jersey number. The deal includes over $34MM of guarantees, of which $26MM is fully guaranteed ($6MM of that $26MM figure is an option bonus that isn’t technically guaranteed, but Kuechly’s receipt of that bonus money is certain).

THURSDAY, 5:56pm: It’s official – the Panthers have announced the deal in a press release.

THURSDAY, 1:42pm: A pair of local Panthers reporters, Steve Reed of The Associated Press and Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links), indicate that the deal isn’t quite done, with Person reporting that the two sides are “hammering out [the] final details.” It sounds to me like the Panthers and Kuechly have agreed to the general parameters of a contract, but the linebacker has yet to put pen to paper. We’ll keep you posted on the latest as it breaks.

THURSDAY, 11:36am: After reporting yesterday that the Panthers and Luke Kuechly were nearing a new deal, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports says today (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement. The star linebacker will get a five-year, $62MM contract, according to Getlin. That makes Kuechly the NFL’s highest-paid inside linebacker, as he surpasses Bobby Wagner‘s $10.75MM annual salary.NFL: Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers

Kuechly, 24, has established himself as one of the game’s best defenders since entering the league in 2012. The Boston College product has started all 48 regular season contests during his three-year career, averaging 167 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and 10 passes defended per season. The former ninth overall pick has received his fair share of accolades, winning the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He’s also been named to a pair of Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams.

Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required) confirms Kuechly’s dominance. After ranking seventh in his rookie season and eighth in 2013, Kuechly placed first among all qualified inside linebackers last season, with a +28.4 overall grade. That grade was buoyed by a strong performance against the pass, as he easily ranked as the league’s best coverage inside linebacker, per PFF.

Despite his impressive résumé, Kuechly was never in line for the sort of megadeal that the league’s best quarterbacks or pass rushers can land. However, as I wrote last month when a report suggested extension talks between the two sides were heating up, Kuechly had a strong case to land an average annual salary of $12MM, after Wagner set a new standard for inside linebackers earlier this year. The new deal will pay the Panthers’ star $12.4MM per year.

It’s not yet clear how long the Panthers have now locked up Kuechly — he still had two years remaining on his rookie contract, including a fifth-year option worth $11.058MM in 2016, so five new years would take him through the 2021 season. However, that ’16 year may be included in the initial reports on his new deal. We’ll wait for further word to find out for sure.

In any case, it’s the latest contract extension in an offseason full of them for the Panthers. So far this year, the team has also locked up quarterback Cam Newton, tight end Greg Olsen, and Kuechly’s fellow linebacker Thomas Davis. GM Dave Gettleman had indicated earlier this year that this offseason would be less about bringing in outside players and more about Carolina securing its core pieces for the future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Cousins, F-Jax, Bills

September 13th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Rory Parks

After Geno Smith suffered a broken jaw at the hand of former teammate IK Enemkpali, the Jets did not know how long their starting quarterback would be sidelined. In their efforts to address the situation, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the Jets called Washington to discuss the possibility of trading for Kirk Cousins (Twitter link). Now, of course, we know why Washington was unwilling to seriously entertain those communications.

Washington, though, was not the only team the Jets contacted. As Rapoport adds in a separate tweet, New York did its due diligence and made plenty of phone calls around the league before ultimately settling on veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead them at least until Smith’s return.

Now for some more links from the league’s east divisions:

  • We learned yesterday that Robert Griffin III was listed as Washington‘s third-string quarterback behind backup Colt McCoy for today’s game against Miami, but as NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington reports, RGIII will remain third on the depth chart moving forward (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). As Darlington said, “After further consideration the team is more likely to keep Griffin as the third quarterback because of the financial repercussions that they would face if Griffin were to enter a game and be injured.”
  • Long before Fred Jackson signed with the Seahawks, he was supposed to be a member of the Steelers, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. After the Bills acquired LeSean McCoy in March, Buffalo GM Doug Whaley told Jackson that he would be released. Jackson had effectively worked out a deal with the Steelers and was en route to Pittsburgh when he was told by Buffalo team officials that he was too important to the Bills and the community to let go. When Jackson actually was let go a few months later, the Steelers had long since signed DeAngelo Williams to be their primary backup. That saga is what precipitated Jackson’s recent remarks that Whaley had lied to him.
  • When Bills head coach Rex Ryan was with the Jets, he tried to acquire Tyrod Taylor, as Albert Breer of The NFL Network tweets. According to Breer, Ryan did so on the advice of some pretty respected names who were teammates and coaches of Taylor when he was in Baltimore: Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Cam Cameron, and Jim Caldwell.
  • When Taylor signed with the Bills this offseason, his three-year deal that will pay him just $750,000 in 2015 made it clear that he was a backup quarterback. But as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, nothing prevents Buffalo from giving Taylor a new contract at any time, and although there has been no indication that will happen, Florio believes it should.
  • Muhammd Wilkerson‘s contract situation has garnered a great deal of media attention, but as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com writes, the Jets have two other important defensive starters who are in the final years of their respective contracts: Demario Davis and Damon Harrison. As Cimini writes, the Jets have made no push to sign either before the start of the season, as they want to see how the players fit in the team’s new defensive scheme before making a long-term commitment.

Kam Chancellor Updates: 9/13/15

September 13th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Rory Parks

Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor will watch his team’s season opener against the Rams today from afar, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests that there is potential for a compromise at some point in the near future. Here are a few notes on Chancellor’s situation, and we will update this post as necessary should there be any further developments in this saga today:

  • Rapoport tweets that Chancellor wants to earn $9MM in 2016, while the Seahawks have offered to pay him $8.1MM, with no change in his 2015 payout.
  • In a separate tweet, Rapoport adds that Chancellor wants the team to waive all of the fines that he has accrued over the course of his holdout. The Seahawks, though, have been unwilling to waive everything at this time. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com points out (via Twitter), between salary and bonus money, Chancellor could potentially lose $500,000 just by missing today’s game.
  • Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the best way for Chancellor to get his fines waived would be to allow the Seahawks to facilitate the resolution. League sources indicate that if Chancellor reports to the team and appears to be in good shape, a compromise could be reached in short order. However, although Seattle is open to waiving a substantial portion of the fines that Chancellor has accrued and to shifting some future money into next year’s contract, the team does not plan on dramatically sweetening his deal. After all, Chancellor is already the top-earning strong safety in the game.
  • Former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who currently works as an NFL Media analyst, says Chancellor wants to be paid for more than just his work as a strong safety. Per Robinson, “[Chancellor] does a lot of (head coach) Pete Carroll‘s dirty work. He talks to players who need talking to because again, Pete doesn’t accentuate the negative.” Robinson also says that Chancellor lines up fellow safety Earl Thomas on every play, which Thomas himself confirmed (via Connor Orr of NFL.com).

Raiders Sign Aldon Smith

September 13th, 2015 at 8:11am CST by Luke Adams

SUNDAY, 8:11am: The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport passes along a bit of news on the Smith signing this morning (via Twitter). We already knew that Smith chose the Raiders’ offer over competing contracts from the Jaguars, Buccaneers, and Rams, and Rapoport says those other clubs actually offered more money than Oakland. Smith, however, wanted to stay close to his support system in the Bay Area. Rapoport also reports that the Raiders are confident in the information they have on Smith’s criminal charges, which suggests that Smith may not be facing significant punishment from the judicial system or, consequently, from the league.

SATURDAY, 11:25am: ESPN’s Field Yates has slightly different contract numbers for Smith (Twitter link), reporting that the base salary is worth $1.25MM. He also notes that there is $2.75MM in sack incentives and $4MM in per-game bonuses, both of which differ from Rapoport’s tweet.

FRIDAY, 5:06 pm: Smith’s deal with the Raiders is worth up to $8MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It includes a $1MM base salary, $5MM in 53-man roster bonuses, and $2MM in sack incentives.

12:47pm: The Raiders have officially signed Smith, cutting defensive end Lavar Edwards to create a spot on the roster, according to a team release.

11:16am: After being released last month by the 49ers, outside linebacker Aldon Smith has found a new home across the bay. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter), the Raiders have agreed to sign Smith to a one-year contract.Aldon Smith

When he’s healthy and on the field, Smith can be one of the league’s most effective pass rushers, as he exhibited during his first two years in the NFL. As a part-time player in his rookie season, the linebacker recorded 14 sacks, and he piled up another 19.5 as a starter in 2012, en route to a spot on the All-Pro first team.

However, Smith’s off-field issues have limited his production since then — he missed nearly half the Niners’ games over the last two seasons after entering a rehabilitation facility in 2013 and serving a nine-game suspension in 2014. Most recently, Smith was arrested by Santa Clara police on hit and run, DUI, and vandalism charges, though when he was released from jail, the outside linebacker disputed the fact that he had been driving under the influence.

The incident is the latest in a series of off-field run-ins for Smith, who has had DUI arrests in the past, and it was the last straw for the 49ers. The team parted ways with him in early August, with GM Trent Baalke issuing the following statement: “This organization has tried very hard to help Aldon fight his issues. Although he is no longer a member of this team, our support and concern for him will continue.”

Cole reported earlier this week that at least four teams had interest in signing Smith, but things were still in a holding pattern at that point, since the NFL had yet to make a decision on possible discipline after his latest legal situation. As Cole noted, if Smith were to sign with a club and then received a year-long suspension, that would be a PR embarrassment for both the team and the league.

The fact that the Raiders are willing to bring Smith aboard suggests that the club either has an idea of what his potential suspension might look like or is simply willing to roll the dice on a talented but troubled player. It’s also not clear how long the NFL’s investigation will take, so Smith could potentially play until the league announces its decision. If he’s able to stay on the field for the majority of the 2015 season, the Raiders should have a very strong pass rush this year, with the ex-Niner joining Khalil Mack and Justin Tuck in Oakland.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Smith chose the Raiders over the Jaguars, Buccaneers, and Rams.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/15

September 12th, 2015 at 9:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Latest minor moves:

  • The Eagles released wideout Jeff Maehl with an injury settlement, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
  • As mentioned below, the Saints placed LB Davis Tull on IR on Saturday. The reason is now known: Tull has a left shoulder tear. It’s unrelated to earlier labrum surgery he had on his right shoulder. (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com).

Earlier:

  • In opening a spot for Bates, Washington cut defensive end Frank Kearse, per Zac Boyer of the Washington Times (via Twitter). Kearse, the fifth defensive end on Washington’s depth chart, has played in 29 career games and started eight since entering the league in 2011 as a seventh-round pick of the Dolphins. He’s accrued 4.5 career sacks. Boyer notes (on Twitter) Kearse dealt with a shoulder injury since training camp. He played 15 games for Washington last year.
  • To make room for Seantavius Jones, Opurum and defensive back Don Jones, who joins his practice squad teammates in receiving weekend promotions to the active roster, the Saints cut Tim Hightower and guard Mike McGlynn, and placed rookie linebacker Davis Tull on injured reserve, Evan Woodberry of NOLA.com reports. McGlynn, dubbed the worst guard in football in two of the past three seasons as a member of the Colts and Chiefs, was not going to be active Sunday, and New Orleans needs special teams contributors, reports Woodberry (on Twitter). Hightower was serving as the Saints’ third-string running back in C.J. Spiller‘s absence.
  • In bringing LeGarrette Blount back to the 53-man roster after his one-game suspension, the Patriots waived linebacker Eric Martin, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Martin played on special teams for New England in its season-opening win over Pittsburgh.
  • New Orleans added a second player from its practice squad to the active roster in promoting fullback Toben Opurum, according to Woodberry. The Saints, notes Woodberry (on Twitter), are stockpiling special-teamers, with five of their own talents out due to injuries.
  • The Saints are promoting wideout Seantavius Jones to the active roster, reports Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com. Terrell notes Jones will likely play as the team’s fifth receiver with a special teams role. A corresponding roster move hasn’t been announced.
  • Washington will promote outside linebacker Houston Bates off its practice squad for Week 1 due to the team having concerns about Jackson Jeffcoat‘s thigh ailment, according to Boyer (on Twitter). Boyer looks to serve as the backup to Trent Murphy on the right side after being one of the team’s last cuts this preseason, joining Washington as an undrafted free agent from Louisiana Tech.
  • The Browns are promoting Shaun Draughn to their active roster from their practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Draughn played 16 games for the Chiefs in 2012, rushing for 233 yards. He’ll sit behind Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson and Robert Turbin on the depth chart.
  • The Texans agreed to injury settlements with outside backers Lynden Trail and Tony Washington to take them off injured reserve, Wilson reports. Both undrafted rookies, Trail’s preseason ended after a quadriceps injury, with Washington’s concluding after a chest malady in the team’s preseason finale.
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