2016 March - Pro Football Rumors

Draft Rumors: Cowboys, Ramsey, Bosa

March 16th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys want Jalen Ramsey, but they fear that he’ll be gone by No. 4, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net writes (via PhiladelphiaEagles.com). With that in mind, Dallas is eyeing Ohio State standouts Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott. Bosa would help bolster the team at defensive end while DeMarcus Lawrence recovers from surgery and Randy Gregory serves his first month suspension. Elliott, meanwhile, would give the team help at running back.

Here are the latest rumors on the 2016 NFL Draft (all of which come from Pauline, unless otherwise indicated):

Insiders believe that we could se three offensive tackles – Laremy Tunsil, Ronnie Stanley, and Jack Conklin – go in the first top 12 picks of the draft. That could start a run and Pauline writes that we could see six tackles taken in the first round.
The Cowboys would consider trading down, Pauline hears, but they want to stay ahead of the Giants at No. 10.
Observers at the UCLA pro day described Myles Jack as a “remarkable athlete.” One source told Pauline (in his running log for Walter Football) that “he looked like a defensive back doing linebacker drills.”
Aaron Wallace, the Bruins’ other notable linebacker, is gaining a lot of momentum in the scouting community, Pauline hears. Wallace currently has official visits set up with the Buccaneers, Browns, and Raiders with more likely on the way.
UCLA offensive lineman Caleb Benenoch has been graded as a top-75 selection, according to Pauline. Many believe that Benenoch can play tackle and guard in addition to center.
Georgia linebacker Jordan Jenkins says that he’ll have private workouts with the Raiders, Patriots, and Saints, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) reports that Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook has private workouts scheduled with the Cowboys and Dolphins.
All 32 NFL teams were in attendance at MSU’s pro day, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. At the event, Cook met with the 49ers and Rams before the workout and met with the Browns‘ staff after.
Michigan State defensive tackle Joel Heath says that he will have a private workout with the Patriots this week, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. In addition to that, he’ll meet with the Titans later this month. Heath previously met with the Colts and Buccaneers.
Pittsburgh wide receiver Tyler Boyd looked great at his Pro Day and the slowest unofficial 40-year-dash time that has been reported was in the low 4.5s.
Pittsburgh corner Lafayette Pitts recorded 40-yard-dash times under 4.4 seconds, with some watches marking him at 4.35.
There’s no definitive word on whether Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller will work out before the draft.
Youngstown State linebacker Terrell Williams is drawing interest from clubs. The Jets and Eagles, in particular, see him as a quality backup linebacker/core special teams guy.
The Lions have a private workouts set up with Michigan State offensive linemen Jack Conklin, Jack Allen, and Donavon Clark later this month, Birkett tweets.

Ravens To Cut Will Hill

March 16th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Luke Adams

4:22pm: Hill has been suspended ten games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, league sources tell Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

4:02pm: As I speculated below, the Ravens may in fact have known something that we didn’t regarding Hill’s off-field behavior. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), the safety is facing potential discipline from the NFL. Since Hill has already been suspended three times by the league, he could be facing a lengthy ban if he’s suspended again.

2:10pm: Following the Ravens’ signing of free agent safety Eric Weddle, the other shoe has dropped. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the team is releasing safety Will Hill. The move has since been confirmed by the team.

After acquiring Weddle, the Ravens had a glut at the safety position to address, with Hill, Lardarius Webb, Kendrick Lewis, and Matt Elam among the players on the club’s depth chart. Although Hill didn’t have as large a cap hit as Webb, and likely had a better chance of making an on-field impact in 2016 than Lewis or Elam, he’s the one who finds himself out of a job.

Having made 14 starts in 2015 and received a contract extension from the team, Hill was Baltimore’s best safety according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked him 17th out of 88 qualified safeties at the position. For the season, he had 64 tackles, a sack, an interception, and six passes defended, but he saw his role reduced near the end of the season, appearing in just 49 defensive snaps in the Ravens’ final two games.

Hill has violated NFL policies in the past, resulting in multiple suspensions, and it’s possible the Ravens know something that we don’t regarding his off-field behavior. For now though, it looks like an on-field decision, with the team prepared to pair Weddle with Webb in its starting lineup. By cutting Hill, the Ravens will create $2.84MM in cap savings for the 2016 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Sign Nate Stupar

March 16th, 2016 at 4:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints announced that they have signed linebacker Nathan Stupar to a three-year deal. Stupar was non-tendered by the Falcons earlier this offseason.

The specials teams ace, originally selected by the Raiders in the seventh round of the 2012 draft, came to Atlanta prior to the 2015 season. In 2014, he appeared in 15 games for Atlanta and finished the season ranked second on the team with nine (seven solo) special teams tackles. In 2015, Stupar appeared in all 16 regular season games for Atlanta and mae three starts. In total, he had 31 tackles, one fumble recovery, and one defensive touchdown.

Bills’ Kyle Williams Takes Pay Cut

March 16th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have reworked another contract, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, who writes that defensive tackle Kyle Williams is the latest Buffalo player to have adjustments made to his deal for the 2016 season.

Per Rodak, NFLPA records show that Williams’ $6MM base salary for the 2016 season has been sliced to $4.25MM. The move has apparently created $1.75MM in cap room for the team, reducing the 32-year-old’s cap charge from $8MM to $6.25MM.

Typically, when a player takes that sort of pay cut, he gets some sort of bonus or incentive added to his contract to help make up for the lost salary, potentially giving him a chance to earn it back. However, Rodak suggests that the records don’t indicate Williams’ restructure includes anything besides the pay cut.

Williams had been owed a $500K roster bonus earlier this week, so it’s possible that the Bills agreed to pay out that bonus if the veteran defensive lineman agreed to reduce his pay. This is just my speculation, but Buffalo could have created $5MM in cap room by releasing Williams, so perhaps the team used that scenario as leverage to encourage a restructure.

Williams remains under contract with the Bills for two more years, with a cap hit of $8.3MM and a base salary of $6.3MM for 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

South Notes: D. Jackson, Titans, Brees, Draft

March 16th, 2016 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was found guilty of simple assault, stemming from a February 2015 altercation with a delivery driver. On Tuesday, Jackson responded to the decision by issuing the following statement, per Mike Berman of CBS4 in Indianapolis (Twitter link):

“I was surprised and disappointed by yesterday’s verdict and we are planning to appeal. I sincerely believe justice will eventually prevail. Nevertheless, I sincerely regret that this case ever happened and has gotten to this point. I will continue to live my life in a way that confirms I am a good and honorable citizen.”

While Jackson seems unlikely to face severe legal penalties, no matter how the case is resolved, the NFL could eventually hand down discipline of its own for the incident.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two South divisions:

Word in league circles is that the Titans are still shopping the first overall pick, exploring trade options, a league source tells Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (Twitter link). If Tennessee does make a deal involving its No. 1 pick, it’s unlikely to be consummated until much closer to draft day.
Former agent Joel Corry takes a deep dive into the Drew Brees contract situation in a piece for CBSSports.com, explaining how the Saints could create $10MM in 2016 cap room by signing their star quarterback to an extension through the 2020 season.
Albama running back Derrick Henry and Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd are among the draft prospects set to visit the Panthers, per multiple reports (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of USA Today and Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer). David Newton of ESPN.com explores Henry’s potential fit in Carolina.
The Falcons, who are looking to improve their team speed at the linebacker position, have a private workout scheduled with LSU’s Deion Jones on Thursday, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com details.

Cardinals To Sign Evan Mathis

March 16th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

3:15pm: Mathis’ one-year deal with the Cardinals, which can max out at $6,000,069, features a $2MM signing bonus, a $1MM guaranteed base salary, up to $1MM in per-game active roster bonuses, writes Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com, citing colleague Adam Caplan.

2:26pm: It didn’t take the Patriots long to find their replacement for defensive end Chandler Jones, as they struck a deal with Chris Long. Now, the other team involved in the Jones trade has found a replacement of its own. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter), Evan Mathis has agreed to one-year, $6MM deal with the Cardinals, who had a vacancy on their offensive line after sending Jonathan Cooper to New England.

We heard on Tuesday that the Cardinals had offered Mathis a two-year deal, but Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the veteran guard will earn more money by signing for one year.

It’s unlikely that the Cardinals had been offering less than $6MM for two years, so McLane presumably means that Mathis will make more money in 2016, with the opportunity to potentially sign a new deal a year from now. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports clarifies (via Twitter) that $6MM is the max value of Mathis’ new deal.

Despite the fact that he’s now 34 years old, Mathis continued to perform at a high level in 2015, serving as a key cog on the offensive line for the Super Bowl champion Broncos. Pro Football Focus ranked him third overall among guards in 2015, assigning him the best run-blocking grade of anyone at the position.

In the wake of Denver’s Super Bowl win, Mathis contemplated retirement, but he recently resumed working out with an eye toward continuing his career, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. According to Renck, the Broncos weren’t looking to re-sign Mathis. Meanwhile, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) that Mathis owns a gym in Arizona, so his workouts figure to take place there going forward.

In Arizona, Mathis will join an offensive line that features another highly-touted guard, Mike Iupati. Jared Veldheer and D.J. Humphries are currently penciled in as the starting tackles, while there may be a handful of contenders for the center spot — Cooper had been expected to shift over from guard to compete for that job.

The Cardinals had been scheduled to bring in veteran guard Geoff Schwartz for a visit on Thursday, but with Mathis now in the mix, it seems Arizona is no longer a potential landing spot for Schwartz. “Well things change quickly in this league,” Schwartz tweeted after the Mathis news broke. “Staying put for now.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles, Chris Givens Agree To Terms

March 16th, 2016 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

3:11pm: Givens’ one-year pact with the Eagles is worth $760K, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. That’s the minimum salary for a player with Givens’ NFL experience.

1:21pm: The Eagles have added a wide receiver to their roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year deal for veteran free agent Chris Givens. After previously visiting the Jets, Givens had been in Philadelphia today to meet with the Eagles.

A Rams fourth-round pick in 2012, Givens previously caught passes from Sam Bradford in St. Louis, and will now reunite with Bradford in Philadelphia. The 26-year-old’s best season came in his rookie campaign, when he caught 42 balls for 698 yards and three touchdowns. In subsequent years, Givens saw his role reduced, until he was ultimately traded by the Rams to Baltimore last October.

For the Ravens, Givens appeared in 12 games, starting six. While he was targeted 53 times by Baltimore quarterbacks, Givens managed to haul in just 19 of those passes for 346 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles, who released Riley Cooper earlier this offseason will add Givens to a wide receiving corps that includes Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, and Josh Huff, among others. All three of those players have been day one or day two picks in the last two drafts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Philadelphia won’t target the position again in this spring’s draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Greg Hardy

March 16th, 2016 at 2:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Several teams are currently interested in signing Greg Hardy, according to two sources who spoke with Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, those teams are hoping to stay “under the radar” with their interest for fear of attracting negative PR. Cole adds that interested clubs are hoping to sign Hardy to a two-year deal filled with incentives in an effort to keep his work ethic high.

Hardy, who racked up 35 tackles and 6.0 sacks in 2015, could bring some negative attention to clubs because of his domestic violence incident in 2014. Still, his talent has multiple teams intrigued and Cole hears that his market could start to open up now that fellow free agent defensive end Chris Long is off the board. There aren’t many talented edge rushers left on the board, so teams are starting to warm up to Hardy, despite his faults.

Hardy wasn’t quite as dominant as he was during his best years in Carolina, but he did rank as the league’s 28th-best edge defender, out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Cowboys are reportedly unlikely to bring him back for 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Browns To Release Dwayne Bowe

March 16th, 2016 at 2:07pm CST by Zachary Links

2:12pm: The Browns have confirmed the move.

2:07pm: The Browns will release Dwayne Bowe today, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer. Linebacker Karlos Dansby, who has already been released by Cleveland, relayed the news of Bowe’s pending cut to Cabot.

Bowe was set to earn a $6.15MM salary for the 2016 season. Of that sum, $2.85MM was guaranteed, plus $1.75MM in prorated bonus money. Ultimately, the Browns have reduced that cap hit from $8MM to $4.6MM.

In March of 2015, the Browns signed Bowe to a two-year deal worth $9MM guaranteed. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the Browns to regret that deal. In September of last year, word leaked out that the Browns had the veteran on the roster bubble.

Bowe was part of the underachieving and record-setting group of Chiefs wide receivers that managed to go the entire 2014 season without catching a single touchdown pass. It was the third straight mediocre season for Bowe, who has averaged approximately 59 receptions and 743 yards per year since 2012, on the heels of back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2010 and 2011. Despite all the warning signs, the Browns went ahead and signed Bowe to a lucrative deal last offseason. In 2015, Bowe saw time in only 7 games, catching 5 passes for 53 yards.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Browns Release Karlos Dansby

March 16th, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

1:48pm: The Browns have made Dansby’s release official, confirming the move in a press release.

12:10pm: The Browns have informed veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby that they will be releasing him, reports Pat McManamon of ESPN.com (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). The news comes on the heels of Cleveland signing free agent inside linebacker Demario Davis to a two-year deal.

Dansby, a former second-round pick, signed a four-year, $24MM contract with Cleveland two years ago, and has started 28 games for the team since then. In 2015, he played all 16 games for the club, racking up 109 tackles, forcing three fumbles, and intercepting three passes, including two for touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranked him 25th out of 97 qualified non-rush linebackers.

Dansby’s solid 2015 season makes his release a bit of a surprise, but there are several reasons Cleveland may be deciding to move on. The veteran linebacker will turn 35 later this year, and had been set to count for $6.5MM against the team’s cap in 2016. Releasing him will create $3.5MM in cap savings, and take the Browns off the hook for his $5MM salary.

Additionally, moving on from Dansby allow the Browns to go a little younger at the position. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton said last month that 23-year-old Christian Kirksey is “probably a starter for us,” as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. Dansby’s and Kirskey’s strengths and weaknesses overlap somewhat, as PFF’s grades show — both players received very strong pass coverage grades and very poor marks for their run defense.

For his part, Dansby will be eligible to sign with a new team immediately once the move becomes official. He tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), “It’s time for me to go get a ring.” So expect him to target contending teams as he searches for his new NFL home.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.