Here are the latest practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
The Cowboys made the wise decision to select ex-Notre Dame offensive guard Zack Martin 16th overall in the 2014 draft, but they did so against owner Jerry Jones’ wishes, chief operating officer Stephen Jones – Jerry’s son – told David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
“Let’s go over this quarterback thing one more time,” said Jerry Jones, despite hearing endorsements of Martin from Stephen Jones, senior director of college/pro personnel Will McClay, head coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
The Cowboys then tried – and failed – to move down in the draft before settling on Martin.
“Son, if you want to do special things in life, you can’t keep picking and doing things down the middle,” Jerry said to Stephen afterward. “What we just did was down the middle.”
Martin did special things as a rookie, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Quarterback Johnny Manziel, whom Dallas could have taken instead of Martin, had a poor first year both on and off the field and enters his second season backing up journeyman Josh McCown in Cleveland.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
Wide receiver Michael Crabtree spent the first six years of his career with the 49ers after they drafted him 10th overall in 2009. His time in San Francisco was somewhat underwhelming, given his production at Texas Tech and draft status, as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau just once and never racked up double-digit touchdowns in a season. Crabtree stayed in the Bay Area and signed with Oakland during the offseason, but he told Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle that the 49ers wanted him back. The feeling wasn’t mutual.
“A lot of people don’t know that the Niners offered me a contract, I just didn’t take it,” the 27-year-old said. “I wanted a fresh start. It was more money too — the Niners offered me more money than anybody did — but business is business and I wanted to come to a team that really wanted and needed me.”
Crabtree then took a shot at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, saying, “I needed a quarterback that can deliver the ball, and that was hungry like I was.”
More from the NFC:
5:55pm: Crawford received a $10MM signing bonus, according to Archer (Twitter link).
5:00pm: Crawford’s deal includes $17.5MM in fully guaranteed money, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
4:54pm: After word surfaced of the Cowboys’ interest in signing Tyrone Crawford to an extension, the team acted quickly. Crawford agreed to a five-year, $45MM pact that includes $27.5MM in guaranteed money, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Todd Archer (on Twitter).
The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defender confirmed the extension in a series of tweets, including the signing of the contract.
The fourth-year player emerged last season after starting no games in his first two years, one of which was derailed by a season-ending injury, and became a dependable defensive tackle for the Cowboys.
The 25-year-old Crawford is coming off a year where he rated as Pro Football Focus’ 15th-best defensive tackle out of 81 graded. Playing the 3-technique job in Rod Marinelli‘s 4-3 scheme, Crawford only recorded three sacks last season, but will now be supplemented by stronger edge-rushing talent in Greg Hardy and Randy Gregory, which points toward that figure increasing this season.
Crawford’s $9MM-per-year salary that will come from this extension rates him firmly as the seventh-highest-paid 4-3 defensive tackle, coming in just behind the eight-figure club that begins with Ndamukong Suh and ends with Kyle Williams.
Illustrating what the team believes could be ahead for its 2012 third-round pick, Crawford will earn a salary, however, that will place him well ahead of the next tier, with the Colts’ Arthur Jones next on that list at $6.6MM per season.
The Jets and standout defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson are far apart on contract talks as Sunday’s opener draws ever closer, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. It’s unlikely the two will continue negotiating when the season begins, according to La Canfora, which means the 25-year-old could be on the eve of beginning his final season with the Jets. La Canfora writes that the Jets haven’t been willing to give Wilkerson similar guaranteed money to what Cameron Jordan ($23.96MM) and Cameron Heyward ($15MM) received from New Orleans and Pittsburgh, respectively. Further, given the massive extension AFC East rival Buffalo signed Marcell Dareus to earlier this week, the Jets’ offers to Wilkerson look even less appealing to the defender. The team’s latest offer to Wilkerson is far lower than what Dareus received from the Bills, per La Canfora, even though Wilkerson – like Dareus – has established himself as one of the NFL’s best D-linemen.
While Wilkerson is displeased with the Jets’ negotiating tactics, his agent, Chad Wiesteling, says it won’t affect his on-field performance.
“Mo loves being a Jet, and nothing less than a Super Bowl for New York will satisfy him this season. He will play his heart out for this team regardless of his contract situation.”
More from around the AFC:
The Raiders are sticking to their word of intending to play Aldon Smith two days after signing him to a one-year deal.
The mercurial pass-rusher will play in Raiders sub-packages, doing so mostly on third downs, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports.
Oakland is anxious to use Smith, who was released by the 49ers after his latest arrest, alongside emerging star Khalil Mack, La Canfora notes. The CBS-based scribe reports Smith’s snap count will depend on his physical readiness, with his array of speed-centric moves not requiring much scheming, hence the Raiders’ insistence on putting the former All-Pro into action immediately.
This could mean Smith at one edge spot and Mack at another in passing-down packages, with Justin Tuck sliding to the inside, as he did with the Giants. But this Mack-Smith pass-rushing union could also be shortlived and will almost certainly be interrupted this season.
Smith’s suspected suspension, which La Canfora categorizes as one that could be lengthy, is not expected to affect his playing status in Week 1. But a suspension appears likely to deter his path at some point this fall.
For the second straight Saturday, the Bears cut ties with a veteran linebacker, this time cutting Sam Acho to make room for second-year inside backer Lamin Barrow, according to Jeff Dickerson and Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Barrow had resided on the Bears’ practice squad.
This cut, however, is due to an illness, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. The Bears released Acho with a non-football illness designation.
Like Mason Foster, who Chicago released last week after signing him in March, Acho was set to serve as a backup linebacker in the Bears’ new 3-4 set. The Bears added Acho to a one-year, $745K deal in April after the former fourth-round pick played four seasons with the Cardinals, accruing 13 career sacks — seven, and four forced fumbles, as a rookie in 2011.
Acho has 32 career starts, but 26 of those came in 2011-12 before a broken leg suffered in 2013 derailed his career. He is a vested veteran and can sign with any team.
A fifth-round pick of John Fox‘s last May with the Broncos, Barrow saw action in all 16 games last season, mostly on special teams. Although the LSU product participated in just 49 defensive snaps, Barrow played all three linebacker positions in Denver’s 4-3 scheme and made one start as the team battled injuries on the second level.
The Broncos waived Barrow last week. He chose to accept the Bears’ practice squad offer due to a relationship with Fox, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
The Jets entered the day with the second-least amount of cap space in the league, but an adjustment to their kicker’s salary will give them some breathing room.
Nick Folk agreed to convert $1.78MM of his $2.5MM base salary into a signing bonus, freeing up more than $1.18MM in cap space, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). This leaves the Jets with just more than $2.17MM worth of space heading into the season; they previously had just $985K, which was ahead of only the Saints’ $465K +, according to OverTheCap.
Folk enters the season with a $1.46MM cap number.
Here is some news from around the AFC, with Week 1 approaching for 30 teams.
Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert was involved in a road rage incident on Friday, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The 23-year-old crashed his car into a ditch after being pursued by another driver, who he had had a previous disagreement with.
Rapoport notes that Gilbert was sober and not injured, and police ultimately issued him a ticket for lack of reasonable control. Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com tweets that Gilbert notified the Browns organization immediately, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says (via Twitter) that the cornerback will be on the team plane to New Jersey.
Some more notes from around the NFL…
The Bills have re-signed veteran defensive tackle Andre Fluellen, reports Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (via Twitter). The 30-year-old was released yesterday to make room for edge defender IK Enemkapli, who was activated from the team’s practice squad. Enemkapli has since been suspended four games by the NFL for punching former Jets teammate Geno Smith, and Fluellen will seemingly take over the extra roster spot.
The Bills originally added Fluellen, a former third-round pick, in June. The former Florida State standout had spent the majority of his seven-year career with the Lions, besides a brief cameo with the Dolphins in 2012. He’s played in 77 career games (six starts), compiling 39 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) rated Fluellen positively on the pass rush, but he received a negative grade for his run defense.