Peyton Manning‘s 2016 base salary of $19MM becomes fully guaranteed on March 9, and according to his agent, Manning knows that he needs to make a retirement decision before that date or risk being released by the Broncos. “There’s a time when the contract becomes guaranteed, so they’ll just have to make a move before then,” said Tom Condon on The Mighty 1090 in San Diego (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “He’s completely aware of the guarantee obligation from the club on a date certain, and he knows that there has to be some accommodation prior to that.”
Here’s a quick look at some news and notes from around the NFL:
- The Vikings are expected to target several Bengals free agents, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in large part due to head coach Mike Zimmer‘s familiarity with Cincinnati players — Zimmer was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator from 2008-13. According to Tomasson, Minnesota will look hard at safeties George Iloka and Reggie Nelson even after agreeing to re-sign Andrew Sendejo earlier today.
- Ravens edge rusher Terrell Suggs was arrested in Arizona on Friday morning and charged with driving on a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident, reports Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun. Both are seemingly minor offenses, but Zriebec notes that both can be tied to jail time in Arizona (though apparently the more common penalty is a fine). In a separate piece, Florio writes that the leaving the scene charge makes the situation appear more “ominous,” and he wonders if the league might look to impose discipline.
- Pending further roster cuts, the Jets will enter the free agent period will less than $7MM to work with, leading Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News to observe that the club won’t be able to target high-priced free agents like it did in 2015. Affordable players like Ladarius Green or Alfred Morris might be more the Jets’ speed this year, opines Mehta.
- This year’s receiver draft class is not expected to be special, leading Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link) to believe that clubs needing pass-catchers could overspend — and potentially, make mistakes — in free agency.
- The Chiefs made a number of changes to their offensive staff following the departure of play-caller Doug Pederson, and head coach Andy Reid told reporters, including Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link), tonight that assistant quarterbacks coach Corey Matthaei will be helping out in coaching the team’s offensive line this season.