2016 May - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons, Keanu Neal Agree To Terms

May 4th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Falcons have become the first NFL team to agree to terms with their first-round pick from the 2016 draft, striking a deal with safety Keanu Neal less than a week after selecting him. The team announced the agreement today in a press release, adding (via Twitter) that Neal will officially sign his contract when he reports to the team’s rookie minicamp on Thursday.

A league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that Neal informed the Falcons he wanted to focus on playing football, rather than negotiating a contract. That prompted the two sides to get the rookie deal for the Florida product done quickly, allowing him to get under contract before fully participating in the club’s offseason activities.

Neal’s four-year pact will be worth about $10.738MM in total, with a signing bonus of $6.009MM and a 2016 cap figure of $1.952MM, according to Over the Cap. As is the case for all first-round picks, Neal will have a fifth-year option attached to the end of his contract, allowing the Falcons to keep him under contract through 2020 if they eventually pick up that option.

Neal, a favorite of Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, came off the board with the 17th overall pick last Thursday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vikings Reach Deals With Four Draft Picks

May 4th, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Vikings have been the most active team so far when it comes to locking up their draft picks. After officially announcing the signing of German wideout Moritz Boehringer earlier this week, the team has now reached agreements with four other draftees, including second-round cornerback Mackensie Alexander, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

In addition to Alexander, the Vikings have agreed to terms with sixth-round tight end David Morgan, seventh-round linebacker Stephen Weatherly, and seventh-round safety Jayron Kearse. All four players are expected to formally sign their rookie contracts on Thursday. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News first reported word of Morgan’s agreement (via Twitter), while Tomasson had the rest.

Contract negotiations with rookie draftees are easy than they used to be, since the total value of a rookie contract, along with the signing bonus, is essentially predetermined by where a player is drafted. For the Vikings, Alexander will get a signing bonus worth about $1.4MM on his four-year contract. Morgan, Weatherly, and Kearse are in line for bonuses of about $135K, $81K, and $64K, respectively, per Over the Cap.

With five members of their eight-man draft class having agreed to terms, the Vikes will just have to get first-round wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, fourth-round offensive lineman Willie Beavers, and fifth-round linebacker Kentrell Brothers under contract. That’s expected to happen very soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers’ Michael Wilhoite Signs RFA Tender

May 4th, 2016 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite has become the latest restricted free agent to sign his contract tender from his team, according to a team release from the Niners. The one-year deal will set Wilhoite up to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $1.671MM for the 2016 season.

Wilhoite, 27, started all 16 games for the 49ers back in 2014, but had been expected to transition back into a reserve role in 2015. However, after Patrick Willis and Chris Borland announced their respective retirements, Wilhoite was thrust back into the starting lineup at one of the Niners’ inside linebacker spots.

The former undrafted free agent, who made 12 starts last season before injuries cut his year short, was graded as the league’s worst linebacker out of 97 qualified players by Pro Football Focus. Based on his shaky performance and the presence of Gerald Hodges, who started down the stretch, Wilhoite won’t be assured of a spot in the lineup in 2016.

Wilhoite becomes the second-last restricted free agents to officially sign a contract this offseason, leaving only Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall unsigned. I examined the status of this year’s group of RFAs a couple weeks ago.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Jets, Giants, Tuck, Davis, Bills

May 4th, 2016 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Three Jets players tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) that there are concerns in the locker room regarding the state of the quarterback depth chart. After the draft, coach Todd Bowles declared that Geno Smith will be the team’s starting quarterback and there isn’t much faith in him amongst Jets players. Meanwhile, rookie Christian Hackenberg doesn’t offer strong fundamentals and Bryce Petty‘s time at Baylor didn’t give him real experience in a pro-style offense.

While Jets players believe that the defense can help carry the team into contention, they still would like to see a veteran quarterback like Ryan Fitzpatrick or Sam Bradford at the helm, says Cole.

Let’s check in on a few other items from around the NFL’s East divisions…

When veteran pass rusher Justin Tuck announced his retirement back in February, he indicated that he planned to ink a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Giants. That will officially happen this Friday, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post explores whether it would make sense for the Giants to pursue a trade for disgruntled 49ers tackle Anthony Davis, who is a New Jersey native. David remains on San Francisco’s reserve/retired list and would need to be reinstated before any trade could be completed, but he doesn’t sound enthusiastic about the idea of returning to the Niners.
While the Bills made the right call in extending left tackle Cordy Glenn, working out new contracts for quarterback Tyrod Taylor and cornerback Stephon Gilmore may be a little trickier, as Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News writes.
Linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens says that Washington “didn’t even look my way” leading into the draft (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of SiriusXM). However, Cravens says he’s excited about how things turned out.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Matt Slauson To Visit Chargers, Bills

May 4th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of his release from the Bears’ roster, veteran offensive lineman Matt Slauson didn’t waste much time setting up visits as he looks for a new NFL home. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Slauson has visits lined up with the Chargers and Bills.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that the visit to San Diego is taking place today, with a trip to Buffalo expected to follow. Other teams could be in play for Slauson as well, according to Biggs.

Chicago’s primary left guard since 2013, Slauson played with the Bears for the last three seasons, starting all 37 games in which he played. However, after the Bears signed Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen in free agency, then selected Kansas State guard Cody Whitehair, Slauson became expendable, and was cut by the club following the draft.

As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links) notes, Slauson has some connections to members of the Bills’ coaching staff, including head coach Rex Ryan and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who previously coached the 30-year-old with the Jets and Bears, respectively. Buffalo, having created some cap room after extending Cordy Glenn, is looking at Slauson as a possible right tackle, a source tells Rodak.

The Chargers, meanwhile, having a coaching connection of their own to the ex-Bear — new assistant offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was Slauson’s offensive line coach in 2012 with the Jets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Personnel Dept. Notes: Titans, Lions, Eagles

May 4th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Following the draft, Titans general manager Jon Robinson dismissed scouts Mike Yowarsky and Marv Sunderland, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com writes. Yowarsky was with the Titans for three seasons while Sunderland has spent the last nine with Tennessee.

“It is the ugly part of the game, but new leadership has the prerogative to make changes,” said Sunderland, who has 39 total years of experience as a scout. “The Titans will be much better next fall and are headed in the right direction. Would I prefer to be there to watch Marcus [Mariota] and the team flourish? Absolutely. But Jon has control of the football part of it and I’m sure he wants his own people. He ran a good draft and the new draft picks should represent themselves very well.”

As I noted yesterday when passing along word of the Lions parting ways with two of their scouts, teams with new general managers often wait until after the draft to shake up their personnel departments, with those new GMs bringing in their own people. That’s the case with both Bob Quinn in Detroit and Robinson in Tennessee.

In fact, Quinn has already made a new hire, bringing in a veteran scout with whom he’s very familiar. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press details, the Lions have hired Jay Muraco, formerly of the Chiefs and Patriots, as a regional scout. Quinn and Muraco were both a part of New England’s scouting department from 2000 to 2008.

Here’s more on personnel department changes around the NFL:

The Panthers‘ personnel department is undergoing some changes, though those changes involve employees leaving of their own accord rather than being fired. Per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, Carolina’s college scouting director Ryan Cowden is leaving to take a position with the Titans, while college scout John Peterson is retiring.
Cowden will be joining the Titans as the team’s new director of player personnel, as reported by Person and confirmed by Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. According to McCormick, Cowden will serve as Robinson’s “right-hand man in the personnel department,” with director of college scouting Blake Beddingfield and director of pro personnel Brian Gardner both reporting to him.
The Eagles requested and were granted permission to interview Bears college scouting director Joe Douglas for their personnel chief job, two sources tell Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Philadelphia put its search for the position on hold in February, with the intention of resuming it after the draft, and while Douglas isn’t a lock to get the job, he’s a “very strong candidate,” says Biggs.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Saints Sign Terron Armstead To Extension

May 4th, 2016 at 8:07am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 8:07am: Armstead’s five-year deal will be worth $64.5MM, with $38MM guaranteed for injury and $25MM fully guaranteed, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The average annual value on the contract is $12.9MM, which makes Armstead the league’s third highest-paid tackle, behind Trent Williams ($13.2MM) and newly-extended Bills tackle Cordy Glenn ($13MM).

TUESDAY, 3:35pm: Armstead has officially signed his new deal, according to Josina Anderson (Twitter link).

2:19pm: The Saints have reached an agreement on a contract extension with one of the most important players on their offense — not quarterback Drew Brees, but left tackle Terron Armstead. According to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Armstead will be signing a five-year extension with the Saints today, locking him up through the 2021 season.

Armstead, 24, was selected 75th overall in the 2013 draft by the Saints, and after appearing in just six games in his rookie year, he emerged as the team’s full-time left tackle in 2014. For his career, he has made 29 starts for the club, including 27 within the last two seasons.

Since entering New Orleans’ starting lineup, Armstead has developed into one of the more reliable left tackles in the NFL. In 2015, Pro Football Focus ranked him third overall out of 77 qualified tackles, assigning him top-three grades as both a run blocker and a pass blocker. Only Joe Thomas of the Browns and Tyron Smith of the Cowboys placed ahead of Armstead.

As a member of the 2013 draft class, Armstead has outperformed most of the tackles who were selected ahead of him that year, including first-rounders like Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel. Because he was a third-round pick, Armstead didn’t have a fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract, so while the Chiefs and Jaguars were deciding whether to pick up 2017 options on their respective 2013 draftees, the Saints were working to extend their player.

Armstead’s old contract had called for a $1.671MM base salary in 2016, as a result of the proven performance escalator he earned for his performance to date. The new agreement may not increase his 2016 salary, but it certainly figures to increase his 2016 earnings, via signing and/or roster bonuses.

Saints head coach Sean Payton said back in December that he wouldn’t trade Armstead for any other lineman in the league, a comment the tackle’s agent probably brought up once or twice during negotiations. In his preview of New Orleans’ offseason earlier this year, PFR’s Dallas Robinson suggested that an extension for Armstead might not be quite as expensive as long-term deals for fellow tackles Tyron Smith ($12.2MM) and Trent Williams ($13.2MM). We should soon find it whether that’s indeed the case.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Tom Brady, Suspension

May 3rd, 2016 at 8:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFLPA and Tom Brady‘s legal team have been granted an extension and will now have until May 23rd to appeal the latest pro-NFL ruling on Brady’s Deflategate suspension, Mark Maske of the Associated Press tweets. Unsurprisingly, the NFL objected to the two week extension, as Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal tweets.

Brady‘s four-game suspension related to the Patriots’ Deflategate incident, which was initially overturned in court last year, was been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit late last month. In the immediate aftermath, it was reported that Brady was prepared to continue his fight and Pats owner Robert Kraft was quick to stand alongside him. Meanwhile, the NFL does not see any need to reignite settlement talks. Ultimately, this dispute being Brady and the league office will be settled by the justice system.

If Brady’s four-game suspension is ultimately upheld, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots would be without their starting quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in that scenario. Understudy Jimmy Garoppolo would likely step into the starting role in New England if Brady is forced to miss the first month of the coming season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Leon Hall Visiting Giants, Falcons

May 3rd, 2016 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

8:30pm: Hall is now on his way to visit the Falcons, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.

8:35am: Only four players who earned either a spot or an honorable mention in our top 50 free agents list are still on the market, and one of those four will be visiting a team today. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the Giants are hosting former Bengals cornerback Leon Hall for a visit.

The Giants have fortified the cornerback position significantly since the 2016 league year began, signing standout free agent Janoris Jenkins and using their first-round pick on Ohio State’s Eli Apple. Those two corners will team with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to form a strong top three, but Big Blue could still use a veteran like Hall, who has extensive experience playing in the slot.

Hall, 31, has spent his entire nine-year NFL career to date in Cincinnati, playing 121 regular-season games since 2007 for the Bengals, and starting 105 of them. However, the Bengals haven’t been overly aggressive when it comes to re-signing their former first-round pick, and used this year’s first-rounder to add another cornerback in Houston’s William Jackson III.

Teams like the Cardinals and Cowboys have also expressed some interest in Hall – and brought him in for visits – so far this offseason, and the Dolphins may be lurking as a potential suitor as well, given the presence of former Bengals defensive backs coach Vance Joseph as the new defensive coordinator in Miami. However, there appears to be some concern about Hall’s health — the veteran cornerback has suffered two major Achilles injuries since 2011, and recently underwent back surgery to repair a disc issue.

While Hall’s back could be a problem, he has managed to recover from those Achilles injuries impressively. The former Michigan Wolverine has played in 29 regular-season games over the last two seasons since last tearing his Achilles in 2013, and received solid grades from Pro Football Focus in 2015, ranking 33rd out of 111 qualified corners.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Rumors: Giants, Hall, Cowboys

May 3rd, 2016 at 8:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the NFC East:

Cornerback Leon Hall left the Giants‘ facility without a contract today, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets. Hall, 31, could conceivably give the Giants some cornerback support behind a strong trio of Janoris Jenkins, first-round pick Eli Apple, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. But, for now, there’s no deal. Hall has spent his entire nine-year NFL career to date in Cincinnati, playing 121 regular-season games since 2007 for the Bengals.
Jets GM Mike Maccagnan says the team “strongly considered” trading out of the first round in a proposed deal with the Cowboys, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. The Cowboys, drafting at No. 34, were working to get their hands on Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. The offer wasn’t enough to entice the Jets to move down and the team wound up staying pat to select linebacker Darron Lee. Lynch, meanwhile, fell to No. 26 where Denver moved up to snag him.
Washington exec Bruce Allen says the team just couldn’t resist taking wide receiver Josh Doctson at No. 22 (Twitter link via SiriusXM). The TCU product was the third wide receiver to come off the board in this year’s draft, behind Corey Coleman of Baylor (Cleveland) and Will Fuller of Notre Dame (Houston).