HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

PFR Originals: 4/17/16 – 4/24/16

April 24th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

  • Friday marked the deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets with competing clubs, and Luke Adams provided an update on the latest RFA news. Just three RFAs — 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite, Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, and Cowboys guard Ronald Leary — remain unsigned. Four restricted free agents did receive offers from other teams, but only two (receiver Chris Hogan and defensive end Benson Mayowa) ended up changing uniforms. Click the link for the full roundup.
  • Teams across the NFL have until May 3 to officially pick up their 2017 options on players who are entering the final year of their rookie contracts. These fifth-year options can only be exercised on first-round picks, and the salaries are determined by where players were drafted and what position they play. Bookmark our 2017 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker to keep up on all the latest.
  • With the draft set to begin on Thursday, Rory Parks asked readers to chime in with their thought on possible sleepers and busts in the latest edition of Community Tailgate. So far, readers of PFR have pointed to Carson Wentz and Joey Bosa as potential busts, while listing Southern Mississippi receiver Mike Thomas and North Carolina Central cornerback Ryan Smith as underrated sleepers. Jump in and join the conversation!

Week In Review: 4/17/16 – 4/24/16

April 24th, 2016 at 1:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Headlines:

2017 Fifth-Year Options:

Signed/Re-Signed:

Released:

Waivers:

North Notes: Packers Execs, Browns, Lions

April 24th, 2016 at 12:53pm CST by Rory Parks

In the past year, the Packers have denied its three highest-ranking personnel executives under GM Ted Thompson the opportunity to interview with other NFL clubs, as Bob McGinn of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Eliot Wolf was not allowed to speak with the Lions in November about their GM job, Brian Gutekunst was not permitted to interview with the Eagles in 2015 for a major front-office position or with the Titans in January 2016 for Tennessee’s director of player personnel position, and Alonzo Highsmith was denied the chance to interview with Washington last year for its director of player personnel job.

Thompson, the man responsible for denying those opportunities, has attempted to “make it up” to Wolf and Gutekunst by giving them more grandiose titles and higher salaries, even though their duties did not change much, but Highsmith has remained senior personnel executive since May 2012. Those executives have expressed a small degree of frustration, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, but by and large they enjoy working for Thompson and are part of a generally positive environment. Wolf, of course, is widely viewed as Thompson’s heir apparent, although scouts who have recently interacted with the 63-year-old GM say they cannot envision his retiring anytime soon. Thompson has three years left on his current contract.

Now for some more notes from the league’s North divisions:

  • In a different piece, McGinn spoke with an NFL personnel executive who said the Packers really need to focus on the defensive line in this year’s draft, particularly with the team’s first pick, No. 27 overall. Although that executive believes Green Bay can “get by” with its skill positions, he believes the Packers, after addressing their defensive line, should grab a running back, and should also fortify their offensive front.
  • In her latest mailbag, Mary Kat Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Browns and head coach Hue Jackson were simply not high enough on Jared Goff or Carson Wentz to justify staying put with the No. 2 overall selection, particularly when the Eagles’ presented them with a bounty of draft picks that they could not refuse. Jackson has indicated he might like another quarterback just as much or more than Goff and Wentz, and Cleveland will stockpile talent until it can justify pulling the trigger on that particular signal-caller.
  • Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press takes a look at five players that may be available when the Lions are on the clock with the N0. 16 overall selection. True to Birkett’s statement that Detroit is one of the biggest wildcards in this year’s draft, each of the five players Birkett lists plays a different position.
  • The Ravens are no strangers to picking up quarterbacks in the later rounds of the draft, having selected Keith Wenning in the 2014 draft and Tyrod Taylor in 2011, and Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com thinks Baltimore could do it again this year. With Ryan Mallett‘s contract set to expire at the end of the 2016 campaign, Brown sees Kevin Hogan, Dak Prescott, and Brandon Allen as potential fits.

 

Community Tailgate: Sleepers And Busts

April 24th, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Rory Parks

With the NFL draft rapidly approaching, there are plenty of topics and storylines to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those stories. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. We’ll highlight one of the top talking points in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Today, we want to know two things. First, who do you think might be the biggest “bust” in Thursday’s draft? We are now all but certain that two quarterbacks, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, will be off the board after the first two picks, and while both players have the potential to be franchise-caliber signal-callers, neither are a “sure thing”–to the extent sure things exist in the draft–like Andrew Luck was when he was selected in 2012. Maybe you see one or both of Goff and Wentz as a bust waiting to happen, a la Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell.

Or perhaps you’re not as high on a player like Joey Bosa or Jalen Ramsey as many draft pundits appear to be. Ramsey is widely considered to be the best defensive back prospect to enter the draft in at least a couple of years, but maybe you see something in his footwork or relative dearth of interceptions–just three in his collegiate career–that give you pause. Or maybe you subscribe to the belief that Bosa has already hit his ceiling and will not become the dominant pass rusher that his draft stock would seem to indicate.

Predicting sleepers is an inherently more difficult exercise than predicting busts, but we’d like for you to give it a shot anyway. Can former Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller become a successful wide receiver at the next level? Will Western Kentucky’s Tyler Higbee or Southern Mississippi’s Mike Thomas make their new club’s GM look like a genius in a few months?

Let us know what you think. Give us the players you don’t believe will live up to the hype, and give us a hidden gem or two as well. You don’t need to explain your answers, of course, but it’s always encouraged.

East Notes: Norman, Jets, Dolphins

April 24th, 2016 at 9:14am CST by Rory Parks

The addition of Josh Norman should pay big dividends on the field for Washington, at least for the next couple of seasons, but Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com is already looking ahead to the difficult choices that the team will have to make in 2017 as a result of the deal. For instance, Tandler suggests that Washington is gambling it will be able to sign Kirk Cousins to a long-term contract sometime before the start of the 2017 league year. If it has to put the franchise tag on Cousins again next season, at a projected value of $24MM, then Cousins and Norman, whose 2017 cap hit is $20MM, would be taking up more than a quarter of its overall cap space, a clearly untenable situation.

Further, regardless of what happens with Cousins, the Norman contract will also force some difficult decisions with regards to Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, Junior Galette, and Chris Baker. Of course, Washington was probably not planning on retaining all of those players anyway, but it is now a near certainty that at least a couple of those players will be moving on after the 2016 season, particularly Garcon and Jackson. As such, Tandler further opines that the Norman contract increases the likelihood that Washington will take a wide receiver early in this week’s draft.

Now let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s East divisions:

  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com weighs in on the Norman contract, and his examination of the overall contract, the cash flow, and the guarantee structure reveals that the deal is even more favorable to Norman than it appears on the surface, and is arguably the best contract for a cornerback in the entire NFL. The whole article is worth a read, but since the contract structure indicates that Washington wants to retain Norman for at least the first three years of the deal, Fitzgerald believes the key for Washington is to let this be the one risky contract the club signs in the next two years and not compound the risk by restructuring in 2017.
  • Jets head coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan have very different quarterback philosophies, as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com points out. Bowles believes he can win with a competent game manager as long as he has a strong defense, whereas Maccagnan thinks teams should draft a quarterback every year and create something of a pipeline. Those differing viewpoints may well lead to a real conflict for New York on Thursday, when the team could have the opportunity to draft Paxton Lynch–the last time it could draft a first-round quarterback talent for the next couple of seasons, as the 2017 and 2018 classes of signal-callers are considered very lean–or it could fill a major defensive need by selecting a cornerback or an edge rusher. For what it’s worth, Cimini believes the Jets will pass on Lynch and will ultimately re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick while continuing to groom Bryce Petty.
  • Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald has grown weary of the newly-popular cliche that running backs in today’s NFL are a dime a dozen. As Beasley points out, 14 qualifying running backs averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in 2015, and all but three went in the first two days of the draft. Plus, four of Pro Football Focus’ 10 highest-graded backs last season were first-round picks; second- and third-rounders made up most of the rest. As such, Beasley suggests that the Dolphins, who currently have only one running back guaranteed to be on the team in 2016 (Jay Ajayi), will take a running back in the early rounds of this week’s draft. Of course, we heard recently that Miami could trade up from their No. 13 overall selection in an effort to land Ohio State star Ezekiel Elliott, but even if the Dolphins don’t have the chance to take Elliott, there are a number of other talented collegiate backs that could be a fit in South Beach and that could be had on Day 2 of the draft. Devontae Booker and Kenyan Drake, both of whom visited the Dolphins in recent weeks, are two such players.

Update On 2016’s Restricted Free Agents

April 23rd, 2016 at 8:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Friday’s deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets with rival teams came and went without any noteworthy RFA news, which can be attributed – at least in part – to the lack of restricted free agents remaining on the market. Although nearly 40 players eligible for restricted free agency this offseason were tendered by their respective teams, only three of those players remain unsigned.

Now that the deadline for offer sheets has passed, the three unsigned RFAs have little leverage when it comes to securing a long-term contract. At this point, an unsigned RFA could still get a multiyear offer from his own team, but he can’t sign elsewhere unless his current team rescinds his tender. As such, the players who haven’t yet signed their tenders will likely do so in the coming days or weeks.

These are the three RFAs who have yet to sign their tenders:

While Wilhote received a right-of-first refusal tender, worth $1.671MM, Leary and Marshall got second-round tenders, worth $2.553MM. As such, it’s no surprise that they were unable to land offer sheets from a rival team — any team signing Leary or Marshall would have had to surrender a second-round pick to do so.

Most other restricted free agents simply signed their tenders in recent weeks, but four RFAs signed offer sheets, with two of those players ultimately changing teams. Here’s a breakdown of that group:

  • C.J. Anderson, RB: Signed four-year, $18MM offer sheet with Dolphins. Matched by Broncos.
  • Josh Hill, TE: Signed three-year, $7.1MM offer sheet with Bears. Matched by Saints.
  • Chris Hogan, WR: Signed three-year, $12MM offer sheet with Patriots. Bills did not match.
  • Benson Mayowa, DE: Signed three-year, $8.25MM offer sheet with Cowboys. Raiders did not match.

The following players signed their RFA tenders, so they’re off the market and back under contract with their respective teams. These salaries are non-guaranteed, but if they play out the 2016 season on these one-year deals, they’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2017:

First-round tenders ($3.635MM):

Second-round tenders ($2.553MM):

Original-round/right-of-first-refusal tenders ($1.671MM):

Over The Cap was used in the creation of this post.

Extra Points: Clark, Oakman, Dolphins, Randle

April 23rd, 2016 at 7:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Texas Tech offensive tackle Le’Raven Clark had 10 visits and 12 private workouts for teams in recent weeks, and has two more workouts this week with teams that pick in the back half of the first round, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. While Rapoport sounds bullish on Clark’s draft stock, I think the former Red Raider is more likely to come off the board late in the second round than late in the first.

Here are a few more Saturday odds and ends from across the NFL:

AFC West Notes: Fisher, Aldon, San Diego, Broncos

April 23rd, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

With fifth-year option decisions due Tuesday, May 3, the Chiefs are procrastinating — at least publicly — on their choice on whether or not to pick up Eric Fisher‘s.

“I know a lot of guys have been exercising these options on players right now,” Chiefs GM John Dorsey said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “I do things a little bit different. I think what I do is, I’m, at times, compartmentalizing a little bit too much. So really, the task at hand, for me, is to make sure we nail this draft. And I think when we get to Monday, we’ll deal with Monday.”

Fisher would be due a guaranteed-against-injury $11.9MM in 2017 if the Chiefs pick up their left tackle’s option. The No. 1 overall pick in 2013, Fisher improved last season after an unremarkable initial two years. But at $11.9MM, he’d stand to be the fourth-highest-paid tackle in 2017 — behind only Tyron Smith, Trent Williams and Anthony Castonzo. And by waiting until the draft is over, the Chiefs appear to be keeping their options open regarding their blind-side protector’s future, considering he hasn’t yet shown himself worthy of a cornerstone-type contract similar to the ones the aforementioned players received.

Kansas City has already participated in extension talks with Fisher in a likely effort to bring that prospective $11.9MM cap number down for a franchise that doesn’t look to have much cap space come next year, with most of its key players locked in for the next two seasons.

Here’s the latest from the AFC West.

  • Speaking at a stadium rally in San Diego on Saturday, Roger Goodell endorsed keeping the Chargers in the city and said that if the downtown stadium initiative goes through, the Super Bowl will return to San Diego. “I said it. I mean it. The Chargers belong in San Diego,” the commissioner said (via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, on Twitter). The Super Bowl last came to the city in 2003, with Qualcomm Stadium — now considered one of the worst in the game — hosting Super Bowl XXXVIII.
  • Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and Dean Spanos also spoke in support of the $1.8 billion stadium/convention center project, although as Kevin Acee of the Union-Tribune points out, the words “convention center” weren’t spoken by any of the guest speakers at the signature-collecting showcase that drew around 4,000. “I mean, dadgumit. … It just makes sense right? I hope I’m still around to play in it. Let’s get it done together,” said Rivers, who wasn’t enthusiastic about relocating to Los Angeles when the subject surfaced last year.
  • Aldon Smith‘s trial is set to begin May 2, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com reports. The recently re-signed Raiders edge presence faces three charges from the August 2015 incident that led to his release from the 49ers — DUI with a prior conviction, hit and run and vandalism under $400 — according to Bair. Smith remains suspended for a substance-abuse policy violation and can’t return to aid the Raiders on Sundays until November, but the sixth-year veteran must be reinstated by Goodell. That hasn’t been a smooth process for recent offenders.
  • Free agent linebacker Nick Moody remains on track to testify at Smith’s trial despite a judge issuing a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in a Florida court to confirm this, Florio reports. Moody now insists his failure to appear in court Friday stemmed from a miscommunication. Moody spent two years with the 49ers before playing in three games with the Seahawks in 2015.
  • The Raiders are showing “serious interest” in Utah interior lineman Siaosi Aiono, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Broncos spent plenty of time trying to re-sign Brock Osweiler and Malik Jackson, and the defending champions added two tackles expected to start during the offseason. But they released Owen Daniels and didn’t make an attempt to bring back Vernon Davis, who signed with Washington. This could be due to the team’s high hopes for second-year tight end Jeff Heuerman, who missed his rookie slate with a torn ACL. “We expect (Heuerman) to step in and be a force,” GM John Elway told media, including Troy Renck of the Denver Post. “We’re counting on (Heuerman) big time,” Gary Kubiak said. “We feel like Jeff can be a total tight end. He’s not just a receiver. We think he has the ability to do both (catch and block).” A former third-round pick, Heuerman wasn’t known for his receiving chops at Ohio State. The 6-foot-5 tight end hauled in 792 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in four years, playing extensively as a junior and senior. Virgil Green is the only experienced tight end on the roster, so it may behoove the team to add some depth at this spot.

South Rumors: Panthers, Brees, Texans

April 23rd, 2016 at 3:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Josh Norman admitted the Panthers‘ decision to rescind his franchise tag “sideswiped” him, as the fifth-year veteran was preparing to play in North Carolina again before Wednesday’s changing of his status eventually sent him up the Atlantic coast, David Newton of ESPN.com writes.

Dave Gettleman made his top offer — $44MM over four years — at the Combine but felt the $13.9MM franchise tag cost for Norman could have been spent better elsewhere, as his usual policy is not to spend big on defensive backs, Newton writes.

An extension for Kawann Short will be a likely domino to fall in Carolina as a result, Newton offers. The Panthers now have the fourth-most cap space in the league at $31.17MM, and the former second-round pick is entering a contract year.

Here’s the latest coming from the NFL’s southern contingent.

  • The Panthers will look to add a veteran cornerback in the coming weeks, but it probably won’t be an unrestricted free agent, Newton reports. With Norman’s Friday-night defection putting Carolina in position to grab a compensatory third-round pick in 2017, the signing of a UFA corner — and one who hovers far beneath Norman’s career arc — would negate that opportunity. The Panthers will likely target a player who’s been released, with Newton mentioning Antonio Cromartie, who was cut after a one-season reunion with the Jets, as an option here. As of now, Bene Benwikere and Brandon Boykin are the team’s top two corners going into the draft, where Carolina’s need for another talent immediately increased.
  • Drew Brees reportedly being willing to restructure his $30MM cap number to help the Saints sign Norman struck Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio as a PR move as the 15th-year quarterback prepares for questions about that figure, which is by the largest in the league in 2016 — $6MM clear of Eli Manning‘s $24MM cap charge. Florio believes Brees was the source for the ESPN.com report that emerged after Norman signed with Washington, and the writer categorizes it as a calculated salvo from Brees in an attempt to preempt backlash that could come from fans realizing his 2016 cap hold was the main reason New Orleans couldn’t afford Norman or a player of his ilk earlier in free agency. The perpetually cap-strapped Saints cut Jahri Evans and Marques Colston in March, making the two Bayou icons the latest such casualties. The Saints have the least amount of space in the league at $2.9MM.
  • One of the receivers the Texans brought in for a visit, Leonte Carroo acknowledged the team is looking for a receiver to pair with DeAndre Hopkins, whom the Rutgers prospect spoke to during his Houston tour, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. “That’s what I’m excited about, that they’re looking for a wide receiver,” Carroo told Wilson. “I fit their system very well. They could use a big, physical receiver like myself on the other side from Hopkins. I feel like I could help them tremendously.” Houston has essentially been seeking a quality No. 2 wideout during the franchise’s entire run, with Kevin Walter‘s late-2000s work representing the best the Texans have coaxed from this role. Carroo also visited the Saints, Patriots and Dolphins and worked out at the Jets’ and Giants’ local pro days.
  • The Titans have likely moved on from their interest in former Broncos All-Pro guard Louis Vasquez, Jim Wyatt of Titans.com writes. Cut by the Broncos early last month, Vasquez visited the Titans. But nothing emerged from the eighth-year veteran’s meeting and he remains a free agent. Chance Warmack and Jeremiah Poutasi reside as the Titans’ projected starting guards this season.

Jets Notes: Clady, Fitzpatrick, Bradford

April 23rd, 2016 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Unlike their lengthy delay in adding a quarterback, the Jets moved swiftly to acquire Ryan Clady, doing so one day after D’Brickashaw Ferguson announced his intention to retire.

Clady represents a risk, having missed 36 regular-season and playoff games for the Broncos during their 2013 and 2015 Super Bowl seasons, respectively. But Jets GM Mike Maccagnan proclaimed that his new left tackle is “good to go,” per NJ.com’s Darryl Slater.

“I think, from a medical standpoint, he’s cleared to play. I think he was actually cleared earlier for full participation, back in January or December, according to the information I got from the Broncos,” Maccagnan told media, including Slater.”

Jets OTAs begin May 24, which is around a year after Clady tore his ACL on Day 1 of Denver’s OTAs in 2015. Maccagnan said the team will bring the 29-year-old Clady along slowly and that he was encouraged by how well Clady bounced back from the 2013 Lisfranc injury that sidelined him after Week 2. Clady earned his fourth Pro Bowl nod for his work in 2014, when he played all 17 Broncos games, but he wasn’t quite the dependable edge presence he was prior to his first significant injury. Pro Football Focus deemed it well off of Clady’s pace in 2011-12.

Here are some more Jets headlines as the draft nears.

  • While Clady represents a probable upgrade from what Ferguson showed in 2015, he’s not close to as reliable health-wise. And per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, the former 2008 first-round pick is a stopgap solution, along with most of Gang Green’s front as presently constructed. Of the current projected starters — Clady, James Carpenter, Nick Mangold, Brian Winters and Breno Giacomini — only Carpenter looks like a potential long-term option up front, inciting Cimini to argue the Jets need to take an offensive lineman high, perhaps in Round 1, and have to exit the draft with two players who can serve as starters by 2017. The last time the Jets took a blocker that high was 2006, when they selected Ferguson and Mangold.
  • The Jets’ relentless back-and-forth offseason with Ryan Fitzpatrick makes the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta wonder if the Jets are serious about making the playoffs in 2016. The sides remain at an impasse, with Fitzpatrick wanting franchise QB-level dollars (around $16MM AAV) and the Jets having not been connected to an offer in eight-figure-per-year territory. Mehta sees the free agent quarterback’s trip to a Rangers-Penguins playoff game with Mangold and Eric Decker, while Brian Hoyer was at the team’s facility, as evidence the Jets players see Fitzpatrick as their quarterback and that Maccagnan should move faster to re-sign him. “In a perfect world, we’d like to potentially compete for the playoffs,” Maccagnan told media. “I don’t necessarily view that as a benchmark of success or failure. The goal is not to just sort of mortgage the future. We haven’t sort of leveraged everything to try to make one big run.”
  • Cimini sees the Jets running out of patience in their Fitzpatrick negotiations, but they won’t budge before the draft, when the team possesses just six picks (two seventh-rounders are among them). The ESPN scribe also does not envision the Jets making a play for Sam Bradford, whom the Eagles owe an $11MM signing bonus even in a trade scenario, placing more emphasis on Gang Green’s willingness to pay up for the soon-to-be-34-year-old Fitzpatrick.
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