A look around the NFL as Tuesday wraps up:
- Free agent cornerback Cary Williams, whom Seattle released Monday, is drawing interest from several teams around the league, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter). One of those teams is the Rams, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Browns officially named Johnny Manziel their starting quarterback today, but it doesn’t sound as if head coach Mike Pettine is 100% committed to the decision. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests that the move back to Manziel from Austin Davis was motivated in part by Pettine trying to save his job.
- Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had surgery Tuesday to repair his torn ACL. The procedure went well, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). He’s expected to make a full recovery and should be back in six to nine months, adds CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
- The Raiders extended the contract of fullback Jamize Olawale on Tuesday, and ESPN’s Bill Williamson points to offensive tackle Donald Penn and receiver Michael Crabtree as players the club could look to lock up next (Twitter link). Penn has started 28 straight games since joining the Raiders in 2014, while Crabtree leads the team in receptions (66), targets (115) and touchdowns (seven) this year. Both are scheduled to hit free agency during the upcoming offseason.
- Clemson safety Jayron Kearse and Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee are leaning toward entering the 2016 draft, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter links: 1; 2). If they do, Michigan tight end Jake Butt won’t be joining them. He announced that he’ll return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Getlin).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
I can’t wait until Jake Butt gets drafted
The Raiders could lock up both and still have plenty of money left over to add some much-needed defensive talent. Oakland’s $72MM beats everyone else by more than $15MM, and the Raiders aren’t having core young FAs coming off their books. It’s going to be a very interesting offseason for once for the Raiders, throwing in the potential relocation. But the team itself can gain a lot of ground on their AFC West rivals, who will have much bigger offseason issues to handle.
I don’t know why everyone’s so worried about what the Browns are going to do with Manziel. There are 3 Quarterbacks in next year’s draft worthy of top 10 picks. Goff from
Cal, Cook from Mich St, and that 6’7” kid from Memphis. The Browns will obviously get one of them, (maybe their choice), and keep Johnnie as a backup.
Given that Manziel really hasn’t had a fair chance, it’s hard for them to give up on their first round QB after two seasons and a handful of starts. And why would they keep a third year QB who was a first rounder as their backup?
I would suggest that the Browns also need to find out the value of Manziel. If they don’t intend to keep him they can use the final weeks to see if he can work himself into a valuable trade chip.