2016 March - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick

March 21st, 2016 at 4:52pm CST by Zachary Links

As we approach the final week of March, just one top-20 player from our list of this year’s top 50 free agents remains unsigned. There continues to be mutual interest between quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets in a reunion, but there’s also still a significant gap between what the player is demanding and what the team is offering.

On Monday, Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke about the ongoing talks with the 33-year-old and passed along the message that he hopes Fitzpatrick will “come back to the Jets.”

“I kind of hope so because he had such a good year last year,” Johnson said of Fitzpatrick, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “I mean, it seems like an ideal [situation]. I like him a lot as a person. He’s very engaging. He’s great with kids, great with our fans, great with our players. They really respect him. He’s two guys. He’s the Harvard guy and then he’s the normal guy. They all make fun of him for being a Harvard guy, but he’s a normal guy, too.”

While some observers are surprised that Fitzpatrick isn’t already under contract with the Jets, Johnson said that he’s not surprised by the ongoing negotiations. He also hinted that the Jets would be comfortable with Fitzpatrick missing the offseason program since he already has a handle on Chan Gailey‘s offense.

Johnson declined to discuss the Jets’ Plan B if Fitzpatrick is not re-signed, but GM Mike Maccagnan previously indicated that Geno Smith is a “definite possibility” to step into the starting role. The Jets also have reserve Bryce Petty under contract and have explored a few other out-of-house options. The team recently met with Robert Griffin III, but Cimini writes that the Jets do not have “strong interest” in him. For what it’s worth, Johnson says that the team was very impressed with RG3 as a person.

When it comes to quarterback, Johnson admits that the team has swung and missed on at least one tremendous opportunity.

“We could’ve drafted Russell Wilson in the second round [in 2012],” he said. “We’ve had shots at players, but we didn’t take those. Hopefully, we’re getting better at evaluating talent, particularly at quarterback.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers Sign Trenton Robinson

March 21st, 2016 at 4:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers announced that they have signed safety Trent Robinson. The former member of Washington’s secondary has now joined Carolina on a one-year pact.

Robinson started a career-high seven games in 2015 before his season was cut short due to a hamstring injury. In December, Washington waived Robinson and later released him from IR with an injury settlement. In total, Robinson has played in 38 career games and recorded 88 tackles, two interceptions, and four passes defensed for the 49ers and Washington. The former sixth-round pick out of Michigan State will now look to have his most impactful season to date with his third NFL team.

FA Rumors: J. Jones, A. Smith, Dansby, Randle

March 21st, 2016 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Packers have informed Frank Bauer, the agent for wide receiver James Jones, that they don’t currently have interest in re-signing Jones, writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They’re going to go with the young guys,” Bauer said. Davante Adams, Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis, and Jared Abbrederis are expected to complement top targets Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb in Green Bay.

Here are a few more free agent updates from across the NFL:

Asked about outside linebacker Aldon Smith, who will be suspended until at least mid-November, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie tells Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com that “conversations have been good.” Oakland – or another team – could sign Smith immediately, but McKenzie and the Raiders are more likely to be patient to ensure that the veteran pass rusher continues to make good off-field decisions.
Following his release last week, veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby suggested that he wouldn’t mind heading to Arizona, Cincinnati, or Green Bay. However, Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 in Arizona (Twitter link) hears that the Cardinals haven’t reached out to Dansby. The division-rival Seahawks have shown some interest though.
After paying a visit to the Jets last week, Saints RFA tight end Josh Hill is meeting with the Bears today, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Orleans would have the opportunity to match any offer sheet Hill signs with another team.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that the Rams are unlikely to add wide receiver Rueben Randle to their roster, despite hosting him for a visit earlier in March.
Before he signed with the Broncos, free agent tackle Russell Okung drew interest from other teams on a traditional multiyear deal, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Okung was seeking $10-11MM per year though, which was too rich for clubs, given his injury history, says Pelissero.

South Rumors: Glennon, Bucs, Hardy, Panthers

March 21st, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Broncos, Jets, and Browns among the teams still in the market for a possible starting quarterback for the 2016 season, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht was once again asked today about the likelihood of a Mike Glennon trade, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times details.

Licht confirmed that teams have expressed interest in Glennon, and didn’t oppose the idea of a deal as strongly he has in some past instances. However, it still sounds like he and the Buccaneers prefer to keep the backup signal-caller, with Licht suggesting he feels “very good about the fact we have two good young quarterbacks.”

The Bucs GM also dismissed the idea that he has been demanding a first-round pick from any team interested in Glennon: “It’s false that I’ve been calling every team saying I need a first (round pick). I haven’t been calling every team. Even with those that have inquired, it’s been ‘Let’s keep talking.’ It hasn’t been, ‘we need this.'”

As we wait to see if Glennon remains in Tampa, let’s check in some other items from out of the NFL’s South divisions…

Licht also said today that the Buccaneers have not discussed the possibility of signing free agent defensive end Greg Hardy, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The Buccaneers reportedly considered Hardy a year ago, but passed on him then and appear likely to pass again this time around.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera likes his current group of edge defenders, but wouldn’t mind adding another pass rusher “for the future,” tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
Saints cornerback Damian Swann was arrested early last Friday morning on charges of reckless driving and speeding, according to Jason Butt of the Macon Telegraph.
Texans head coach Bill O’Brien spoke to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche about the team’s decision to sign Brock Osweiler, suggesting that he and the Texans’ front office did plenty of homework on the ex-Broncos QB beyond the seven games he played in 2015. Marc Sessler of NFL.com has the details and the quotes from O’Brien.

Jets Sign Steve McLendon

March 21st, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Zachary Links

MARCH 21, 2:45pm: The Jets have officially signed McLendon, the team announced today via its official website.

MARCH 16, 11:29am: The Jets’ deal with McLendon is a three-year pact worth up to $12MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds that it features $4MM in guaranteed money. Terms of the deal were first reported by Dom Cosentino of NJ.com.

MARCH 15, 6:18pm: The Jets will sign nose tackle Steve McLendon, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. McLendon will help fill the void left by Damon Harrison when he signed a five-year deal with the Giants.

The Steelers liked McLendon and wanted to retain him, but they were reportedly resistant to paying big money to a player who only sees the field for about 25-30% of the club’s defensive snaps. Pittsburgh could now enhance Dan McCullers‘ role with McLendon heading to New Jersey. Up until now, McLendon had spent his entire six-year career in Pittsburgh.

In 2015, the 6’4″ interior lineman saw time in all of Pittsburgh’s 16 regular season games and made 10 starts. In that time, McLendon tallied 14 tackles and 1 sack. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated McLendon as the No. 91 interior lineman in the NFL last year out of 123 qualified players. He did, however, earn a decent 74.8 grade for his run defense, which put him in the 50s. Harrison, meanwhile, was Pro Football Focus’ top ranked run defender in 2015.

Pro Football Rumors had McLendon ranked as the No. 15 interior defensive lineman in this year’s free agent crop, putting him ahead of players like Kevin Williams, Al Woods, Ahtyba Rubin, Randy Starks, and Henry Melton.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jaguars Notes: Kiffin, Draft, Hurns, Beachum

March 21st, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jaguars made a big-name addition to their coaching staff today, formally announcing that veteran NFL coach Monte Kiffin would be joining the team as a defensive assistant. Kiffin, formerly the defensive coordinator in Dallas, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, and Minnesota, served in 2014 and 2015 as an assistant head coach for the Cowboys. In 2016, he’ll work with a unit that will be adding Malik Jackson, Prince Amukamara, and 2015 first-rounder Dante Fowler Jr., among others.

Here’s more on the Jaguars:

In addition to hiring Kiffin, the Jaguars also announced a couple more coaching changes, adding John Benton as assistant offensive line coach and John Donovan as offensive quality control coach.
GM Dave Caldwell is open to the idea of moving down in the draft, suggesting to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that he’d be willing to go from No. 5 overall to “somewhere in the early teens.” Caldwell’s comments suggest that the Jags probably feel the top of the draft is fairly deep, and that the team will keep an eye out for opportunities to add another early pick.
Caldwell acknowledged that the Jaguars may look into a contract extension for wide receiver Allen Hurns this offseason now that he’s eligible for a new deal. “I think we’ll wait until after the draft to see where we’re at,” Caldwell said, per O’Halloran. “And if we did anything, it would be before the season.” I’d be surprised if Jacksonville gets anything done with Hurns this year, since he won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until 2018.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle provides several details on the Kelvin Beachum contract (all Twitter links). The deal is worth $5MM in year one, with a $2.5MM salary and up to $1MM in per-game roster bonuses. $1.5MM of that $5MM comes in the form of a guaranteed roster bonus. After the 2016 season, the Jaguars will have until 22 days prior to the start of the 2017 league year to decide whether or not to exercise Beachum’s $5MM option bonus for 2017-2020, when his salaries would range from $7.5MM to $10MM.

Chiefs Formally Appeal Tampering Penalties

March 21st, 2016 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Amidst this month’s free agent frenzy, at least one noteworthy story flew somewhat under the radar, with the NFL announcing on the first day of the 2016 league year that it had fined the Chiefs $250K and taken away two draft picks from the franchise – including a 2016 third-rounder – as penalties for tampering with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin prior to last year’s free agent period.

At the time, owner Clark Hunt indicated that the Chiefs intended to fight those sanctions, and Hunt has now confirmed to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star that his club formally filed that appeal. The franchise had five days to appeal the decision in writing, and did so.

“We’re in the very beginning process of that,” Hunt said. “We’ve not had a discussion with the league on the (timeline), but I’ll say from our standpoint, we would like it done by the draft.”

It’s not clear what sort of odds the Chiefs have of overturning some or all of the penalties handed down by the NFL, but Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets that he has heard the league “has pretty strong information” it gathered on the situation. The NFL alleged that the Chiefs were in direct contact with Maclin during the time leading up to 2015 free agency. Teams are only permitted to talk to player agents – not players themselves – during the legal tampering period, and can’t discuss free agents at all prior to that.

In addition to being docked a 2016 third-round pick, the Chiefs also lost a 2017 sixth-rounder as a result of the league’s ruling.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Washington, Eagles

March 21st, 2016 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Cornerback Patrick Robinson and running back Alfred Morris are visiting Dallas today, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported this morning (via Twitter) that there’s an expectation that at least one of them – likely Robinson – could sign with the club. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram confirms (via Twitter) that the Cowboys are indeed closer to getting a deal done with Robinson than they are with Morris, though nothing has been finalized yet.

As we wait to see if the team can work something out with Robinson, and perhaps Morris as well, let’s check in on some other NFC East items….

Washington general manager Scot McLoughan sounds prepared to move down more than once in this year’s draft, suggesting that he’d like to add four more picks to the club’s current collection of eight. Andrew Walker of Redskins.com has the details and the quotes from McLoughan.
Nose tackle is a position of need for Washington, and the team has plenty of options, including re-signing Terrance Knighton. As John Keim of ESPN.com writes, Washington hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back Pot Roast, but could opt instead to sign another veteran or add a prospect in the draft.
Whereas money “does a lot of the talking” early in the free agent process, Eagles GM Howie Roseman believes offering players the opportunity to fill a potential hole or compete for playing time is a key factor during this later stage of the free agent period, per Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. Roseman acknowledged the Eagles may still add some free agent depth, but said the club is shifting its primary focus to draft preparation.
The Cowboys are scheduled to have a private workout with Florida State linebacker Terrance Smith today, tweets Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Smith projects as a probable late-round pick.

Packers Promote Eliot Wolf, Brian Gutekunst

March 21st, 2016 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Packers announced a pair of front office promotions today, confirming in a press release that former director of player personnel Eliot Wolf is now the team’s director-football operations. Replacing Wolf as Green Bay’s director of player personnel is Brian Gutekunst, who had previously been the club’s director of college scouting.

“We think both of them are very worthy of those promotions and it’s an indicator… for stuff that they’re already doing,” general manager Ted Thompson said, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They’ve become leaders and have been leaders in our organization for some time now. Maybe it’s a little overdue. We thought this was a good time. We’re leading up to the draft, so everybody understands the contributions they make.”

Wolf, the son of former Packers GM Ron Wolf, has received several promotions since joining the club’s front office in 2004, and is viewed by many as a future general manager himself. Although Wolf has been cited as a potential candidate for several teams who have hired new GMs in recent years, he has always been considered highly unlikely to leave Green Bay, since he’s viewed as the possible heir apparent to Thompson.

As for Gutekunst, he has also drawn interest from outside the Packers’ organization in the past. When Chip Kelly was looking to hire a personnel executive for the Eagles in 2015, Gutekunst was considered a candidate, but ultimately didn’t interview — either he or the Packers turned down the Eagles’ request.

Lions Sign Jeremy Kerley

March 21st, 2016 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

11:49am: The Lions have officially confirmed their deal with Kerley, per a press release.

9:49am: It’s a one-year deal worth just over $1MM for Kerley, reports Caplan (via Twitter).

9:41am: The Lions continue to fortify their wide receiving corps, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has agreed to a deal with free agent wideout Jeremy Kerley. Because Kerley was released by the Jets, his signing won’t count toward the compensatory draft pick formula for 2017.

Kerley, 27, agreed to a four-year extension with the Jets about a year and a half ago, but GM John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan were replaced by Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles, respectively, shortly after that deal was signed. Largely written out of New York’s offense in 2015, Kerley posted the worst statistics of his career, hauling in only 16 passes for 152 yards, and was subsequently released.

Still, Kerley has enjoyed some productive seasons in the past, most notably in 2012, when he hauled in 56 passes for 827 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In Detroit, he’ll likely compete for the No. 3 job on the depth chart behind Golden Tate and the newly-signed Marvin Jones. Calvin Johnson, of course, is no longer in the mix in Detroit, having announced his retirement earlier this month.

Kerley also drew interest from – and reportedly made visits with – the Chiefs and Bills before agreeing to sign with the Lions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.