A look around the NFL as Saturday wraps up:
- Whether the Broncos bring back DeMarcus Ware next season might depend on if they can get a deal done with free agent-to-be Malik Jackson, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Both pass rushers have been important cogs in the Broncos’ dominant defense, but the salary cap could preclude the Super Bowl champions from retaining the pair. At 26, Jackson is significantly younger than Ware, who will enter his age-34 season. Further, releasing Ware would add $10MM to the Broncos’ cap for 2016. That money could obviously be put toward re-signing Jackson. If Denver does cut ties with Ware, his two-year stint with the team will have ended with a 3.5-sack playoff run. Two of those sacks came in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory over Carolina.
- If the Bears determine that tight end Martellus Bennett is a holdout threat, they’ll start shopping him around the league next month, writes Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com. A holdout wouldn’t be unheard of for Bennett, who sat out the voluntary portion of the Bears’ offseason program last year in an effort to land a better contract. The Bears didn’t bite then, and it doesn’t sound as though they’d blink in the event of a hypothetical Bennett holdout this year. If Chicago shops the soon-to-be 29-year-old – as it did last offseason – and ends up unable to find a taker, the team could cut him and save nearly $5.2MM on its cap in 2016. Bennett’s status is one of many points touched on by PFR’s Dallas Robinson in his offseason preview of the Bears, which can be found here.
- Regardless of whether they keep Brent Grimes, the Dolphins hope to add at least two new cornerbacks this offseason, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The team cut corner Brice McCain on Friday and could also send Jamar Taylor packing, according to Jackson. Doing so would save Miami just shy of $900,000 on its cap next season.
I’ll bet miami brings in more than two corners to camp, especially if they intend to keep two. i think miami will cut dallas thomas, greg jennings, earl Mitchell, matt moore, jordan cameron, shelly smith, dion jordan, jacques McClendon, john ulrick, and john denney.