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Falcons Sign Courtney Upshaw

March 25th, 2016 at 5:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after visiting with Courtney Upshaw, the Falcons signed him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Falcons announced the move on their website.

Upshaw started for the bulk of his time with the Ravens, logging at least nine starts in each of his four seasons and lining up with Baltimore’s first-string unit for at least 13 contests from 2013-15.

The former second-round pick could be a replacement for UFA O’Brien Schofield, with the Falcons and the outside linebacker not in harmony during negotiations. Philip Wheeler is also a free agent.

Upshaw previously visited with the Jets, and had other suitors, with the Patriots and 49ers vying with the Ravens among potential suitors.

Upshaw (five career sacks) didn’t serve as a key pass-rusher for the Ravens like Terrell Suggs or Elvis Dumervil, which could be at the root of why he wasn’t snatched up earlier like former sought-after Ravens Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee. An ex-Alabama talent, Upshaw rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 84 edge defender last season. Upshaw, however, was a top-20 performer against the run and may be well-suited to play in Dan Quinn‘s 4-3 defense that isn’t as dependent on linebackers to serve as pass-rushers.

The newest Falcon recorded 51 tackles and three fumble recoveries last season for the No. 8-ranked Ravens’ defense.

The Ravens have now lost both of their 2012 second-round selections after Kelechi Osemele bolted on Day 1 of free agency.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Von Miller Gunning For High-End QB Money?

March 25th, 2016 at 5:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos and Von Miller haven’t begun substantive talks on a long-term extension, but when the sides do resume discussions, the outside linebacker’s asking price will be in line with what elite quarterbacks earn annually.

Miller will ask for close to $22MM per year, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). As of now, the only players who earn that per year are Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers.

The outside linebacker’s reported price stems from what he could earn on the open market, especially considering Olivier Vernon‘s $17MM-AAV deal with the Giants. Miller’s camp views Vernon as a far inferior talent, Cole said. Multiple GMs told Cole that Miller’s demand isn’t unrealistic, with the star pass-rusher potentially being able to command $24-$25MM per year as a free agent.

Miller, who turns 27 on Saturday, posted 25 sacks the past two regular seasons compared to Vernon’s 14 and has four double-figure sack slates on his resume compared to Vernon’s one. So, his side will probably point out the chasm between these performers’ production.

John Elway has signed the three players he authorized a franchise tag for with the Broncos, giving long-term deals to Matt Prater, Ryan Clady and Demaryius Thomas in July of 2012, 2013 and 2015, respectively. But with Miller — the first player since Drew Brees in 2012 to receive the exclusive franchise tag — aiming to establish a new realm of defenders’ contracts, these negotiations figure to be more complex.

Justin Houston established the benchmark for outside rushers last season by signing for $16.8MM per year. Ndamukong Suh makes $19.1MM on average. Despite his two first-team All-Pro honors and his five-sack postseason, Miller will probably have trouble securing over $3MM more than Suh earns annually due to his franchise tag.

Miller’s tag will pay him just more than $14MM, and should he opt to play on that this season, the Broncos could apply the tag again in 2017 on a 20% raise ($16.95MM). With that figure coming in well shy of what Miller’s seeking, the Broncos aren’t necessarily inclined to measure what Miller could earn on an open market like the Giants were with a UFA like Vernon.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Stefen Wisniewski Visits Steelers

March 25th, 2016 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers continued their inquiries on veteran interior linemen recently by visiting with Stefen Wisniewski, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter).

This news comes after Geoff Schwartz visited Pittsburgh on Thursday.

These summits may stem from Maurkice Pouncey‘s availability after the All-Pro center missed all of 2015 with a broken fibula. Pouncey may not participate in Steelers OTAs this year, which would leave Cody Wallace again as the team’s top snapper for the time being.

Although, Schwartz has played guard and tackle in his career, so the Steelers may just be in the market for interior-line assistance. They already re-upped Ramon Foster, however, and have All-Pro guard David DeCastro entrenched opposite him.

Wisniewski has started every game in which he’s played since entering the league in 2011. He opened all 16 Jaguars games as their starting center last season after signing a one-year contract. The former Raiders second-round pick graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 19-ranked center in 2015.

Wisniewski visited five teams last spring before eventually signing in Jacksonville, but his search for another employer hasn’t been as widespread this season. The Browns had some interest in the 27-year-old center, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, after Alex Mack departed. But nothing much emerged from it.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Jets’ Quarterback Situation

March 25th, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick remain far apart in talks to bring the veteran back for a second season.

Fitzpatrick is still eyeing a contract commensurate with the league’s established starters at $16MM per season or close to that, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who reports the Jets’ best offer toward the 33-year-old currently sits at $7MM AAV.

Cole also reports the Jets’ offer could be approaching $9MM per year when factoring in incentives, which goes along with a New York Post report from earlier today. Fitzpatrick’s camp has resisted this idea.

Gang Green’s offer to retain Fitzpatrick is now coinciding with top-end backup money after Chase Daniel and Robert Griffin III signed accords worth upwards of $7MM per season. Both will obviously compete for their respective team’s starting job, but their salaries have created a range that previously didn’t exist for veteran QBs.

That appears to be Fitzpatrick’s floor after he set a career high with a Jets single-season record 31 touchdown passes last season. Fitz, though, completed just 59.6% of his passes, which represented a considerable drop from his previous seasons.

Although the Jets do not view Geno Smith as a viable option to reclaim his starting job as his contract year approaches, Gang Green isn’t concerned at this juncture about its quarterback situation, per Cole. He expects the Jets to pursue a trade for another team’s backup, with Mike Glennon‘s name emerging soon after.

Glennon’s name has surfaced lately as a player that seems to be making its way onto the trade block as the Buccaneers backup’s contract year nears. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports the Jets have indeed researched Glennon as a possible solution and are scanning reserves around the league in case they cannot re-sign Fitzpatrick, whom they want to retain.

It won’t take a first-round pick to pry Glennon from Tampa Bay, Mehta reports, and a second-rounder would exceed any compensatory value the career 58% passer would produce. The Jets may not be willing to go that far, however.

Muhammad Wilkerson would probably be a way for the Jets to escape giving up a second-rounder in this potential deal, Mehta writes, but the Bucs already have Gerald McCoy signed to a top-end defensive tackle contract (seven years, $95.2MM). The Bucs’ willingness to fork over $40MM+ guaranteed for the Jets’ franchise-tagged stalwart may be a stumbling block here.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

NFC Draft Updates: Giants, Cowboys, Saints

March 25th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, when Mississippi wideout Laquon Treadwell cited five teams who had shown interest in him, one of the five he mentioned was “New York,” creating some uncertainty about which New York team he meant. As expected, it seems he was referring to the Giants and not the Jets — Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes that the first-round prospect will pay a pre-draft visit to the Giants.

Unlike the Giants, the Jets have a clear No. 2 option on their depth chart at wide receiver, with Eric Decker complementing Brandon Marshall. The Giants, having lost Rueben Randle this week, will be looking for someone to step up and take that No. 2 role behind Odell Beckham, but it remains to be seen whether that player would be Treadwell — the Giants have been considered more likely to use their first-rounder on an offensive lineman or a defender.

Let’s round up a few more draft updates from around the NFC…

  • The entire Cowboys coaching staff was in attendance to work out Ohio State prospects today, according to the Buckeyes’ director of player personnel, Mark Pantoni (Twitter link). Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa are among the high-end Ohio State players the Cowboys could consider in next month’s draft.
  • Speaking of the Cowboys, they worked out Florida safety Keanu Neal this week, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Neal would likely be a second-round target if Dallas is interested in him.
  • Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed will visit the Saints in April, a league source tells Kristian Garic of WWL 870AM (Twitter link). Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate also provides an update on the Saints’ draft prospects, tweeting that San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin will privately work out for the team.
  • We heard on Thursday that the 49ers recently put Shaq Lawson through a workout, but he wasn’t the only Clemson defensive end to get a look from the team. According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, GM Trent Baalke also worked out Kevin Dodd. Both players are expected to visit the Niners in the coming weeks.

Saints Sign Craig Robertson

March 25th, 2016 at 3:14pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

FRIDAY, 3:14pm: The Saints have officially announced their three-year deal with Robertson (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 8:54am: The Saints and Robertson are in agreement on a three-year contract, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal isn’t official yet, but word of the agreement comes as no surprise after Payton talked this morning as if Robertson would be on the team.

TUESDAY, 6:43pm: The Saints and free agent linebacker Craig Robertson are “working on” a deal, and head coach Sean Payton expects it to get done, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com corroborated Triplett’s report (on Twitter).

If the Saints sign Robertson, he’ll be the second notable addition to their linebacking corps since last week. New Orleans Craig Robertsonpreviously picked up James Laurinaitis, who is clearly the more established of the two. Nevertheless, Robertson has had a productive four-year career, all of which has been spent in Cleveland, and easily outdid Laurinaitis by Pro Football Focus’ standards last season. The site ranked Robertson 37th and Laurinaitis 83rd in overall performance among 97 qualifying linebackers.

For his career, Robertson – a former undrafted free agent from North Texas – has appeared in 58 of a possible 64 games and made 37 starts. Nine of those starts came in 2015, when Robertson amassed 59 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in 12 appearances. Prior to that, Robertson racked up 85 or more tackles in three straight campaigns, including a personal-best 99 in 2014. He also has six career INTs.

Robertson was an inside linebacker in Cleveland, but the Saints already have both Laurinaitis and Stephone Anthony as middle men. It’ll be interesting, then, to see how the club deploys those three (if it signs Robertson) – not to mention OLBs Hau’oli Kikaha and Dannell Ellerbe.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

FA Rumors: Bolden, Bears, Morris, Larsen

March 25th, 2016 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The free agent contracts for players like Brock Osweiler, Olivier Vernon, and Malik Jackson dominated NFL discussions when the new league year opened earlier this month, but Field Yates of ESPN.com wants to make sure that some of this year’s less heralded deals don’t fly entirely under the radar.

In an Insider-only piece, Yates identifies the Panthers‘ one-year deal with defensive end Charles Johnson, the Seahawks‘ three-year agreement with wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, and three other signings as moves that perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserved.

Here’s more on 2016 free agency:

  • Omar Bolden‘s previously-reported visit to the Bears is set to happen next Wednesday, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, who tweets that Chicago is the favorite to land the versatile defensive back, special-teamer, and return man.
  • Sean Stellato, the agent for Alfred Morris, appeared on 105.3 FM-KRLD The Fan in Dallas to discuss why his client was ready to move on from Washington, and why he wanted to sign with the Cowboys. The Dallas Morning News has the key quotes from Stellato, who said Morris was seeking “a fresh start.”
  • Free agent guard Ted Larsen continues to consider his options and isn’t expected to sign a contract today, but his visit with the Falcons went “great,” a source tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
  • As Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com details, new Jets running back Matt Forte wasn’t thrilled with the Bears‘ willingness to pursue C.J. Anderson in free agency after announcing they were moving on from Forte. Despite comments from head coach John Fox suggesting the team was happy with its young, in-house backs, the Bears reportedly made Anderson an offer higher than the one he signed with Miami.

Pigskin Links: Draft, RGIII, Jets, Sweezy

March 25th, 2016 at 1:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Here at Pro Football Rumors, we deliver up-to-the-minute news on NFL transactions and high-quality original analysis. Each week, we also feature some of the best blog articles from around the web in our regular feature, Pigskin Links.

We’re looking for interesting reads on all things football from blogs of all sizes. While PFR is dedicated to player movement, Pigskin Links is open to pieces on all areas of the game. If you would like to suggest your blog post (or someone else’s) for Pigskin Links, send us an email with the link and a brief synopsis at PigskinLinks@gmail.com.

Here’s this week’s look around the football blogosphere:

Got a great football blog post that you want to see featured in next week’s Pigskin Links? Email it to Zach or tweet it to him: @ZachLinks.

Lions Rumors: S. Martin, Center, Frohnapfel

March 25th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Standout players like Ezekiel Ansah and Darius Slay will receive most of the attention when the Lions look to extend members of their 2013 draft class. But Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press warns not to overlook a late-rounder from ’13 — fifth-round punter Sam Martin recently changed agents, hiring Sean Kiernan and Erik Burkhardt of Select Sports, signaling that he’s open to discussing a new contract.

Martin, 26, won’t be in line for any sort of mega-deal, but he should do well for a punter. In 2015, his 42.0 net-yard average was fourth in the NFL, and just three of his 80 attempts went for touchbacks. As Over The Cap’s data shows, to crack the top 10 highest-paid punters in the league, Martin would have to average $2.8MM annually on an extension, and he’s probably a good bet to match or exceed that figure.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

  • The Lions have made a habit of including playing-time incentives and/or per-game roster bonuses in most of the free agent contracts they’ve handed out this offseason, Birkett observes in a piece for the Free Press. New GM Bob Quinn explained that it’s a way to protect the team a little, while also giving players a chance to max out their value. “We want these guys to earn their contracts,” Quinn said.
  • The Lions weren’t in the mix for Alex Mack and haven’t shown any real interest in the second tier of free agent centers, but the team would still like to add some competition for center Travis Swanson, according to Birkett. Quinn was noncommittal when asked if the center position would be a priority in the draft: “If there’s a center there that I like, yeah. I mean, you tell me who’s going to be there and I’ll tell you if it’s a priority or not.”
  • Massachusetts quarterback Blake Frohnapfel met with a Lions scout and quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan in advance of his pro day on Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/16

March 25th, 2016 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL, with any new moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Bears have re-signed safety and special-teamer Chris Prosinski to a one-year contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Although Prosinski, who turns 29 next month, did make five starts for the Bears last season, he has primarily been a reserve since entering the league in 2011, and figures to return to that role in 2016 if Antrel Rolle and Adrian Amos are healthy.
  • Linebacker Steven Johnson has agreed to a one-year contract with the Steelers, the team announced today (Twitter link via Burt Lauten). Johnson, 28 next Monday, spent his first three NFL seasons in Denver before playing in Tennessee in 2015. He projects as a depth piece and a special-teamer in Pittsburgh.
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