2016 February - Pro Football Rumors

JPP Unlikely To Return To Giants

February 17th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Pending free agent Jason Pierre-Paul is unlikely to return to the Giants for a seventh season, a league source tells Kristian R. Dyer of USA Today.

“[A]ll signs point toward the Giants letting Pierre-Paul test free agency,” the source stated, adding, “as of right now he isn’t going to be returning.”

[RELATED: Offseason Outlook: New York Giants]

Pierre-Paul has been one of Big Blue’s fiercest defenders since they drafted him 15th overall in 2010. The 27-year-old end totaled 42 sacks from 2010-14, including a career-high 16.5 during the Giants’ Super Bowl-winning campaign in 2011. However, his career took a terrible turn last summer when he lost his right index finger thanks to a July 4 fireworks accident. The Giants withdrew a $60MM contract offer for Pierre-Paul afterward, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, and he refused to report to the team and its doctors for several weeks while recovering.

The two sides ultimately patched up their differences enough for Pierre-Paul to come back and play the 2015-16 season for $7.35MM, a steep drop-off from the $14.8MM he would have made as their franchise player.

Pierre-Paul returned to the field in November and ended up appearing in eight games, registering 26 tackles and a personal-low one sack. Despite his statistical decline, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) still ranked Pierre-Paul a solid 30th out of 91 qualifying edge rushers. The site remained impressed with his pass-rushing ability, though it gave him a poor grade against the run. He clearly disagrees in regards to the latter, having stated in December that, “I think I play the run better than I play the pass.”

Pierre-Paul also expressed a desire before the season ended to finish his career with the Giants, but the chances of that happening now appear low. While JPP should garner plenty of interest as a free agent from teams in need of an edge rusher, it remains to be seen if he’ll end up with a deal anywhere near the one the Giants were willing to give him prior to his accident.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

James Harrison To Return In 2016?

February 17th, 2016 at 4:34pm CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY: Harrison said he’ll need six weeks of training to determine if his body will enable him to return next season, tweets Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’ll begin training in Scottsdale in mid-March and the six-week timeline will take him up to the start of OTAs (Twitter link via Dulac).

“I’m going to start the process of making sure that I can get back to where I need to be so I’m able to give 100 percent, Harrison stated. “If I get to that point and I’m feeling good, there’s probably a good chance – no, not probably – I will play” (Twitter links via Dulac).

TUESDAY, 5:50pm: Hold the phone. Despite his agent’s comments, Harrison told his business and PR managers that he’s not certain he will return in 2016, Dulac tweets.

5:08pm: Steelers veteran James Harrison will celebrate his 38th birthday in May but that doesn’t mean that he’ll be retired come September. On Tuesday, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert indicated that he anticipates the linebacker will want to continue playing (Twitter link via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Colbert added that he doesn’t “see any reason” why he wouldn’t want to have the veteran linebacker back in the fold.

With that in mind, Harrison’s representation says that the plan is for the veteran to join the Steelers in camp this summer.

“I guess we will be there,” Harrison’s agent, Bill Parise, told Kaboly. “This is not a announcement or anything like that, but we are under contract and everything is going forward.”

When asked in late January, Harrison was on the fence about his plans. Now, all signs are pointing to Harrison returning to Pittsburgh for at least one more season. Of course, as Harrison’s agent cautioned, nothing will be for certain until Harrison personally addresses his NFL future.

Harrison is due a $1.25MM base salary in 2016. This past season, Harrison appeared in 15 games, racking up 40 total tackles, 5.0 sacks, 1 interception, two forced fumbles, and four pass deflections. Now that Charles Woodson has retired, Harrison stands as the NFL’s oldest active defensive player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Staff Notes: 49ers, Washington, Rams, Cowboys, Vikes

February 17th, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The latest coaching staff updates from around the NFL:

The 49ers’ Chip Kelly is hiring Dana Bible as a senior advisor, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Bible’s last NFL experience came as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 1998. He hasn’t worked since 2012, when he was an assistant at North Carolina State.
Washington has hired Kevin Carberry as assistant offensive line coach and Shane Waldron as offensive quality control, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com tweets.
The Rams hired former Georgia tight ends coach John Lilly to the same position, sources tell Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Cowboys are hiring Michigan defensive backs coach Greg Jackson to coach the safeties while Joe Baker will coach cornerbacks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Vikings have named Brent Salazar their strength and conditioning coach, Chris Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Salazar was previously the Chiefs’ assistant strength coach for nine seasons. He’s replacing the fired Evan Marcus in Minnesota.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

David Bruton Wants To Return To Broncos

February 17th, 2016 at 3:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Safety David Bruton will be eligible to sign anywhere in a few weeks, but he says his preference is to stay with the defending World Champions, as Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post tweets. However, there figures to be a pretty healthy market for Bruton this spring. The Broncos safety tells Wolfe that he’s heard the Bears, Dolphins, and Giants are interested in him.

Bruton could also be pricing himself out of Denver. The safety told Wolfe (link) that he is eyeing a three-year, $15MM deal like the one that Justin Bethel received from the Cardinals. With more pressing needs to address, it would be surprising to see the Broncos give him that sort of deal prior to the start of free agency or even early on that week. The Broncos project to have T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart at safety, so they can afford to let Bruton go if he does not fit into the budget.

Bruton was placed on IR in December after breaking his leg and, therefore, did not play in the Super Bowl. Remarkably, Bruton played through three quarters of a late-season tilt against the Steelers with a broken fibula and, by his own estimation, he could have played in SB50 had he been eligible (link). At this point, Bruton says he’s 100% and is already riding bikes and doing squats in preparation for next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Skuta

February 17th, 2016 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

A pair of pending Colts free agents have hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent them, per Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter links). Tight end Dwayne Allen and linebacker Jerrell Freeman will both be represented by the super agent heading into March and that could be a promising sign for the Colts. Rosenhaus has a history of getting deals done with Indianapolis and the team would surely like to retain both players.

Here’s more from the AFC South:

Linebacker Dan Skuta had never been considered a probable cap casualty for the Jaguars this offseason, but that possibility became even more remote last week. According to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), $3.5MM of Skuta’s $3.6MM base salary for 2016 became fully guaranteed on Friday, meaning there would be extremely minimal cap savings this season for the Jags if they were to cut him.
Finding a starting center should be a priority for the Jaguars this offseason, says Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. As we noted last week during our Jags offseason preview, incumbent starter Stefen Wisniewski is a free agent, and Alex Mack – who drew significant interest from Jacksonville two years ago – may hit the market again.
Colts linebacker Jonathan Newsome was arrested early Wednesday morning on possession of marijuana charges, as Matt Adams of FOX59 writes. Authorities first came to Newsome’s home to follow up on a noise complaint and during the investigation, officers found marijuana. Police said Newsome cooperated with authorities as he was taken into custody. Newsome established himself in 2014 with 4.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits. In 2015, the 25-year-old didn’t put up the same kind of numbers, recording 18 total tackles and 1 sack.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Latest On Giants, Prince Amukamara

February 17th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara says that he doesn’t expect to discuss a new contract with the Giants before hitting free agency in March (Twitter link via SiriusXM NFL Radio). Noting that his agent instructed him to “open-minded” through the free agency process, Amukamara says that he hopes to return to the G-Men in 2016 (link).

Amukamara, 26, has had an up-and-down run with the Giants since his entry into the league in 2011, but some of his problems can be chalked up to injury. Of course, that’s a double-edged sword when evaluating a free agent. Amukamara’s only 16-game season came in 2013 and in the last two years, he has only taken the field for 19 contests. Still, in his 11 games in 2015, Amukamara was a difference maker, notching 63 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one interception.

When healthy, Amukamara has demonstrated the ability that made him the No. 19 overall pick in the 2011 draft. I’d expect the Giants to make an effort to re-sign Amukamara before free agency officially gets underway, but the team will only go so far to retain him given the options that are out there at cornerback. If the bidding for him gets into the neighborhood of $10MM annually, that’s a price that the Giants probably won’t pay.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lions Won’t Re-Sign Manny Ramirez

February 17th, 2016 at 3:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Lions guard Manny Ramirez will not sign a new deal with the club. Both the guard and the team are ready to move on as he approaches free agency, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

[RELATED: Lions Cut RB Joique Bell]

Ramirez, who turns 33 on Friday, saw time in all 16 games this season but started only seven contests. When he was relegated to the bench in favor of younger interior linemen, Ramirez missed out on several playing-time incentives in his contract. When asked in November if he felt his benching carried financial motives, Ramirez took the high road.

“I hope not,” Ramirez said.“But I can’t worry about that. I can only worry about the things that I’m in control of, which is, every time I step on the field, that I’m ready to go. That’s all I can do.”

Ramirez played more than 1,000 snaps for the Broncos in 2014, seeing time at both center and guard. On Day 1 of the draft, however, Denver shipped him to the Lions in a deal that allowed them to move up and select Missouri pass rusher Shane Ray.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dennis Pitta “Definitely” Wants To Play Again

February 17th, 2016 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

In 2012, Dennis Pitta broke out as one of the league’s top offensive tight ends. In the last three years, however, he has played in only seven games. Despite the constant setbacks, Pitta is adamant that he is not done playing.

“I definitely do want to be on the field playing football,” Pitta told Glenn Clark Radio Friday (audio link). “That’s something that I really want to happen.”

At the same time, Pitta also admitted that he is not a lock to play again and that he will heavily lean on the advice of doctors. The tight end has played in only three games since receiving a five-year deal with $16MM guaranteed in February 2014, leading many to wonder if he might be forced to retire at this point.

Pitta’s five-year, $32MM contract extension does not call for any guaranteed money, so his spot on the Ravens’ roster is not a sure thing. Pitta, who has suffered multiple major hip injuries, was advised by doctors in November that he could not take the field in the 2015 season. Although Pitta hoped to return anyway, Ravens officials and the coaching staff urged him to follow the advice of those doctors, to avoid risking re-injury.

Pitta recorded career-best marks in receptions (61), yards (669), and touchdowns (7) in 2012 and he hopes to bring that kind of production back to Baltimore in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers, LS J.J. Jansen Agree To Five-Year Deal

February 17th, 2016 at 2:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers announced that they have signed long snapper J.J. Jansen to a five-year deal. The pact is worth $5.5MM, according to a source who spoke with Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).

Jansen has been an absolute rock for the Panthers and has not had a bad snap since September 2010. Originally was acquired by Carolina in a trade with Green Bay in 2008, Jansen told the team website that he is humbled and honored to receive a new multi-year deal.

“[Former GM] Marty Hurney traded for me. I hadn’t even played in a regular season game, but he saw something in me that he was willing to trade for,” Jansen said. “I’ve just always felt like it’s my job to take care of this position and make it easy on the punter and kicker.”

In seven seasons with the Panthers, Jansen has handled more than 1,000 snaps on punts, field goals and extra points. Since the lone slip-up in 2010, Jansen has executed more than 600 snaps without fail.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Bills, Pats

February 17th, 2016 at 12:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross created a bit of a stir on Monday when he said, per Jeff Ostrowski of the Palm Beach Post, “After three years, if we haven’t made the playoffs, we’re looking for a new coach. That’s just the way it is. The fans want it.” However, Ross associates tell Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald that the owner was referring to general NFL trends, not specifically addressing Adam Gase’s situation in Miami.

Here’s more out of the AFC East:

The Bills could use their franchise tag on left tackle Cordy Glenn at some point during the next two weeks, but if they do, it will essentially cancel out the cap space they’d save by releasing Mario Williams, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com details. Buffalo could make that swap work, but the team would need to make additional moves to clear cap room for other offseason business.
The Patriots re-hired Dante Scarnecchia as offensive line coach, a source confirmed to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Scarnecchia retired after the 2013 season but he has remained around the Pats, particularly to help with evaluating offensive line prospects in the draft. Scarnecchia had retired after 32 seasons in the NFL, 30 of which came in New England.
Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo does not currently have plans to coach, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. Instead, Mayo will focus on some business interests. On Tuesday, Mayo announced his retirement from the NFL.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.