2016 March - Pro Football Rumors

Russell Okung To Visit Steelers; Several Teams Still In Mix

March 12th, 2016 at 5:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

5:57pm: Okung’s visit to Pittsburgh will take place Sunday, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

SATURDAY, 1:57pm: Okung will visit the Steelers, according to NFL.com’s Michael Silver (on Twitter). The seventh-year tackle remains high on the Lions, with the Giants, 49ers and Seahawks still in the mix, per Silver. The Steelers aren’t generally big on pursuing high-priced free agents but do have Kelvin Beachum unsigned as a UFA.

FRIDAY, 5:44pm: Finished with his Giants meeting, Okung will make the trip to Detroit and meet with the Lions’ contingent like he originally planned, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Okung’s Lions summit will take place Saturday. The Giants remain interested in signing the left tackle, per ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter).

8:15pm: The 49ers have also reached out to Okung, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). With the veteran tackle set to visit the Giants and Lions on Friday, it doesn’t appear anything has been set up yet with San Francisco.

7:44pm: An executive from a team that spoke with the agent-less Okung said the former first-round pick was very well-prepared and professional, but his shoulder injury that forced him out of the Seahawks’ divisional-round loss to the Panthers could prevent him from securing a big payday, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Okung had surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder and already sent an email out to the 32 NFL teams pronouncing he’d be fully recovered by summer.

THURSDAY, 7:37pm: Russell Okung had to wait six years to become a free agent, and his initial foray onto the market was delayed by an NFL memo preventing self-represented players from participating in the legal tampering period.

But the seventh-year left tackle’s market is beginning to take shape. Okung will visit the Giants on Friday and the Lions potentially after that, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport adds (Twitter link) that since the Giants summit is first on the 28-year-old Okung’s itinterary, they have a chance to keep him from trekking to Detroit.

After cutting Will Beatty and Geoff Schwartz, the Giants have a need at tackle. Despite spending on mega-deals for Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins, and hefty accords in terms of AAV for Damon Harrison and Jason Pierre-Paul, Big Blue still has $20.8MM in cap space, per OverTheCap.

The Giants have Ereck Flowers, who could be shuttled back to right tackle in the event an Okung accord occurs Friday.

Lions left tackle Riley Reiff will enter his fifth-year option season, but new GM Bob Quinn said recently he’d like to upgrade the position for the future.

As the No. 11 player on PFR’s list of 2016’s top 50 free agents, Okung is the top UFA remaining.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Washington Re-Signs Tress Way

March 12th, 2016 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:54pm: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) reports that it’s actually a four-year extension for Way — as noted below, the club announced the deal as a five-year extension, but was likely counting 2016, when Way was already under contract as an ERFA, as one of the years. The new deal is worth $9.4MM, per Rapoport, and contains $2.95MM guaranteed and a $1.25MM signing bonus.

3:46pm: Washington re-signed Tress Way to a five-year extension that would keep the third-year punter in D.C. for the decade’s remainder, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com tweets.

Washington previously tendered the exclusive-rights free agent but elected to lock him up long-term.

Way, who will turn 26 in April, played in all 16 Washington contests upon taking over as the team’s punter in 2014. Arriving as an undrafted free agent in ’14, Way finished 13th last season with a 46.1-yards-per-punt average. The University of Oklahoma product boasted a 47.5-yard average in 2014.

Browns Waive Johnny Manziel

March 12th, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Zachary Links

MARCH 12, 4:36pm: Manziel has officially cleared waivers and is now free to sign with any team, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

MARCH 11, 10:34am: The Browns have officially waived Manziel, as Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com writes.

9:20am: The Browns are expected to waive Johnny Manziel by the end of Friday, Tony Grossi of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move has long been expected and the Browns will make it all official in a matter of hours.

Some speculated that the Browns would wait on making a move with Manziel to see if they might be able to trade him for a late-round pick. Given his off-the-field troubles and uneven play on the field, teams were apparently unwilling to give up anything of value for Manziel.

Since the Browns drafted the former Texas A&M star in the 2014 first round, he has appeared in 15 games, made eight starts, and tossed seven touchdowns and seven picks. Manziel showed progress in parts of his six starts last season, but his off-field issues overshadowed his positive steps on the gridiron and have carried into the offseason. The Dallas County District Attorney’s office is currently investigating the 23-year-old over a Jan. 30 altercation with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, who alleges that Manziel assaulted her and ruptured her eardrum.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mike Wallace To Visit Ravens

March 12th, 2016 at 4:27pm CST by Zachary Links

SATURDAY, 4:27pm: Wallace will visit the Ravens on Monday, SI.com’s Don Banks tweets. However, Baltimore’s interest hinges on the recently released receiver accepting a low-budget deal, per Banks.

WEDNESDAY, 9:34am: The Ravens are interested in free agent wide receiver Mike Wallace, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com tweets. The Ravens are clearing cap space, she writes, in an effort to do something significant in free agency. The Ravens are also interested in left tackle Kelvin Beachum (link).

The Vikings released Wallace on Tuesday when they could not agree on a pay cut. During his first and only season in Minnesota, Wallace matched or set career-lows by catching just 39 balls for 473 yards and two touchdowns. The 29-year-old becomes the latest in a long line of veteran wideouts to hit the open market, joining free agents like Marques Colston, Roddy White, and Greg Jennings, and Andre Johnson.

Prior to last season, Wallace logged five straight seasons of 60-plus receptions, 800 or more yards and at least five touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bears Bring Back Marc Mariani

March 12th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears’ busy afternoon continued, with the team announcing (on Twitter) it has re-signed Marc Mariani on a one-year deal.

Mostly used as a kick returner in Chicago, Mariani generated a modest market for himself this week, with the Raiders, 49ers and other teams inquiring about his future.

Mariani signed with the Bears prior to the 2014 season after spending the first four years of his career with the Titans. The 28-year-old wide receiver averaged 26.5 yards per kick return — on 16 returns — last season for the Bears.

A one-time Pro Bowler, Mariani saw by far the most time as a receiver last season, with the Bears besieged by injuries to their receiving corps. Mariani caught 22 passes for 300 yards in 2015 after not catching a single pass from 2012-14.

Patriots To Re-Sign Nate Ebner

March 12th, 2016 at 2:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots plan to bring back key special teams presence Nate Ebner, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter). It’s a two-year deal for the fifth-year defensive back, Tom Curran of CSNNE.com tweets.

Terms of the deal are not yet disclosed. The team sought to keep Ebner, a sixth-round selection in 2012, on an accord worth around the veteran minimum.

Ebner’s played in at least 15 regular-season games in three of his four seasons with the Patriots. His 11 special teams tackles last season ranked third on the Patriots, behind Pro Bowler Matt Slater‘s 17 and Brandon King‘s 12.

DeMarcus Ware, Broncos Agree To Pay Cut

March 12th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

2:47pm: No extra years were added to Ware’s deal, per Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). He will make $4MM in base salary, with a $500K roster bonus in addition to the potential incentives mentioned below.

2:41pm: Ware’s wages in 2016 will be reduced from $10MM to $6.5MM, Mike Florio of PFT reports. $4MM of that figure is fully guaranteed. The 33-year-old linebacker can earn back all of the salary he reduced via sack-based incentives, Florio notes, with a formula that starts at eight sacks and ends at 13. Ware’s representatives believed on this market the veteran linebacker, who turns 34 in July, would have earned upwards of $10MM AAV. But Ware didn’t want to change teams again.

However, the Broncos wanted to reduce Ware’s contract because he’s in line to have less of an every-down role and more of a passing-situation presence, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos have Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray as able backups who could see more time as a result.

1:39pm: DeMarcus Ware and the Broncos have agreed to a reduced contract for 2016, keeping the Pro Bowl linebacker in Denver, according to ESPN (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

The 12-year veteran potentially faced a situation where he’d be cut of he didn’t agree to restructure his contract, which called for the 33-year-old edge stalwart to make more than $11.66MM in the final year of his three-year, $30MM contract with the Broncos.

Ware was due a $3MM roster bonus on Sunday, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) and the Broncos identified the All-Pro blind-side rusher as a priority during an offseason where the Super Bowl champions’ roster has been gutted by free agent defections and cap-related cuts.

The Broncos lost Brock Osweiler, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan on Day 1 of free agency and cut Louis Vasquez and Owen Daniels to create cap space Wednesday. C.J. Anderson could be the latest defection, with the Dolphins signing the running back to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet after the Broncos opted to apply the low-end tender to Anderson and open the door for teams’ interest.

A four-time first-team All-Pro, Ware registered 12 quarterback hits in the Broncos’ three postseason contests. Super Bowl MVP Von Miller totaled six during this span. Ware collected 7.5 sacks in 11 games last season despite missing a career-most five contests due to a back injury.

The Broncos have discussed a restructure of Ryan Clady‘s contract with the two-time All-Pro left tackle twice, per Renck (via Twitter), but nothing’s been resolved along that front.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Latest On James Laurinaitis

March 12th, 2016 at 2:28pm CST by Ben Levine

2:28pm: The amount of interest in Laurinaitis appears to have been exaggerated. Per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the report below indicating five teams have already met with the free agent linebacker came from a Twitter account posing as Laurinaitis’ father (Twitter link). The Saints and Falcons appear to be in the mix, but it’s probably not safe to assume any of the new teams are pursuing Laurinaitis.

12:00pm: Add the 49ers to that list of questionable inclusions. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes that the linebacker hasn’t met with the 49ers, and it’s uncertain whether the player will even meet with the organization.

10:18am: ESPN’s John Keim tweets that a person within the Washington organization wasn’t aware of a meeting with Laurinaitis. The writer notes that he’s “putting no stock” in the comments by the linebacker’s father.

9:18am: James Laurinaitis has been a busy man since being cut by the Rams last month. We knew that the linebacker had already traveled to New Orleans and Atlanta to meet with the Saints and Falcons, respectively. However, it doesn’t sound like his travels ended there.

According to the Laurinaitis’ father (via Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com), the 29-year-old has met with five other teams: the Patriots, Bears, 49ers, Giants, and Washington.

The Ohio State product was a consistent force in the Rams’ defense for the past seven years. The linebacker started every possible game during his tenure in St. Louis, and he never finished with less than 100 tackles in a single season. This past year, Laurinaitis compiled 109 tackles, one sack and one interception. The linebacker has averaged 122 tackles, two sacks and five passes defended per season.

Despite these consistent numbers, the advanced stats have not been particularly friendly. For his 2015 performance, Pro Football Focus ranked Laurinaitis 83rd among eligible linebackers, which placed him third on the Rams (behind Mark Barron and Akeem Ayers). He still earned a spot on our rankings of the best free agent inside linebackers, placing seventh.

Robert Griffin III To Visit Jets

March 12th, 2016 at 2:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

SATURDAY, 2:20pm: RG3 is meeting with Jets officials again today, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The Jets’ focus remains on working out a deal with Fitzpatrick, however, per Breer (on Twitter).

FRIDAY, 1:16pm: Although the Jets have not given up on re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, they are exploring the quarterback market. Gang Green will do so first by hosting Robert Griffin III on a visit today, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The Jets will be Griffin’s first visit since Washington cut him on Monday. RG3’s meeting with the Jets still resides at the exploratory stage, with a source telling ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson that Fitzpatrick remains the focus (Twitter link).

Fitzpatrick and the Jets remain far apart in negotiations to bring back the UFA quarterback. The team is believed to be offering something only a little better than what Chase Daniel got from the Eagles. Daniel and the Eagles agreed to a three-year deal with a base value of $21MM (max value of $36MM) this week.

Griffin won’t cost that much after the swoon his career has taken. Washington picked up the 26-year-old passer’s fifth-year option last year but cut Griffin rather than pay him a $16.155MM salary that would have become guaranteed on Wednesday.

Rumored to be on the Broncos’ radar once they lost Brock Osweiler, Griffin will visit the Jets as the first step toward potentially reviving his career.

The 2012 offensive rookie of the year hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL in the playoffs that season. Although the former Pro Bowl quarterback completed a career-best 68.1% of his passes in 2014, RG3 threw just four touchdown passes compared to six interceptions and fell out of favor with Jay Gruden and did not take a snap in 2015 as Kirk Cousins captured Washington’s starting job and subsequently received the franchise tag.

Griffin accounted for 4,015 yards as a rookie, rushing for 815, and 27 touchdowns — throwing for 20 and just five interceptions. In 2013, however, Griffin’s completion percentage dropped five points and Washington went 3-10 in games that the former Heisman Trophy winner started.

Injuries knocked Griffin out of the starting lineup in 2014 and ’15, the latter coming in the preseason, when Washington opted to shelve Griffin and begin its exit strategy from its one-time franchise quarterback.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bears To Re-Sign Mitch Unrein

March 12th, 2016 at 2:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears and Mitch Unrein agreed to a two-year deal that will keep the defensive lineman in Chicago, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

Unrein spent 2015 with the Bears after signing in Chicago last September upon being cut by the Chargers. The Bears had two UFA defensive tackles from their rotation, with Jarvis Jenkins having met with the Jets recently.

The 29-year-old Unrein played in a mostly reserve capacity last season, although the four starts he accrued were a career-high. Unrein accumulated just three starts in the initial four years of his career.

Unrein looks to be set to spend a sixth season on a John Fox-coached team. The interior lineman spent the first four seasons of his career with the Broncos during Fox’s four seasons there before signing a two-year, $1.9MM deal with the Chargers last season.