2016 May - Pro Football Rumors

Colts Sign Entire Draft Class

May 25th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have officially signed their entire 2016 draft class by reaching agreement with third-round pick Le’Raven Clark today, as Mike Chappell of CBS4 writes. According to his slot, Clark will earn a four-year deal worth ~$3.2MM. That deal includes a signing bonus of $750K.

Clark, the last of eight Colts rookies to put pen to paper, was selected as part of a larger effort to help bolster the Colts’ offensive line. Prior to the draft, draft analysts Dane Brugler and Rob Rang of CBSSports.com wrote that Clark projects as a NFL starter at tackle or guard. Clark boasts the kind of “wide base [and] moldable frame” scouts look for in offensive line prospects, but the duo did note that he lacks power as a drive blocker. The Texas Tech product earned three-time All-Big 12 first-team selections and started all 51 games during his four-year collegiate career.

Here is the complete rundown of the Colts’ 2016 draft:

1-18: Ryan Kelly, C (Alabama)
2-57: T.J. Green, S (Clemson)
3-82: Le’Raven Clark, T (Texas Tech)
4-116: Hassan Ridgeway, DT (Texas)
4-125: Antonio Morrison, LB (Florida)
5-155: Joe Haeg, T (North Dakota State)
7-239: Trevor Bates, DE/OLB (Maine)
7-248: Austin Blythe, C (Iowa):

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC South Notes: Colts, Jones, Jaguars

May 25th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have 33 million reasons to be getting antsy with Arthur Jones, Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes. In 2014, Jones inked a five-year, $33MM contract with Indianapolis. Since then, he has played only nine games in two seasons due to two different ankle injuries. Because he has been unable to stay on the field, the Colts asked the defensive tackle to take a $2MM pay cut from his 2016 base salary. In 529 snaps for the Ravens in 2013, Jones recorded a +15.7 PFF grade, performing very well against the run while also compiling 25 quarterback pressures. The Colts would love to see that kind of production from Jones in blue and white.

Here’s more out of the AFC South:

In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Kevin Bowen of Colts.com whether the Colts have taken a different approach this offseason than they have in years past. Last year, the Colts signed aging free agents like Andre Johnson and Frank Gore and drafted seemingly NFL-ready players like defensive end Henry Anderson and defensive tackle David Parry. This year, Bowen notes that the Colts have, in fact, taken a different approach, choosing instead to build around their younger core players. The Colts also had limited cap space this offseason, which obviously changed their strategy.
The Jaguars are relieved that Jalen Ramsey only needs minor surgery, but the best outcome would have been no surgery at all for the rookie cornerback, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union writes. The belief is that Ramsey will not have to miss any regular season time as a result of his procedure.
On Tuesday, the Titans learned that offensive lineman Byron Bell will be sidelined for the entire 2016 season with a dislocated ankle. Bell, 27, was expected to compete for time at guard.

Packers Open To Re-Signing John Kuhn

May 25th, 2016 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

In recent weeks, we have heard conflicting reports on whether the Packers intend on bringing back fullback John Kuhn. Earlier this month, one report cited an NFL source claiming that “mutual interest” remained between the two sides with ongoing talks. However, the next day, a separate report cited a Packers source saying the team had “moved on” from the veteran. This week, coach Mike McCarthy went on the record and indicated that the team has not ruled out a reunion with Kuhn.

“Player acquisition is year round so I would never say doors are closed, especially on any of our former players, especially John Kuhn,” McCarthy said (link via the Journal-Sentinel). “As far as his situation, we’re still focused on the players we have right now. So as far as John and his future, those are probably questions for other people. But I don’t think you ever close the door. But guys filled out our roster and right now we’re working and focusing on these young players.”

The Packers don’t necessarily need Kuhn after selecting fullback Aaron Ripkowski in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. Beyond the second-year man, Green Bay also added undrafted free agent Alstevis Squirewell this offseason. Still, Kuhn has an intimate knowledge of the team’s offense and he’s a popular figure within the Packers’ locker room. The 33-year-old has spent the last nine seasons with the Packers, a stretch that is topped only by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been with the club for eleven seasons.

Kuhn was also in limbo last offseason despite being the fullback on the 2014 All-Pro first team. Ultimately, he agreed to play for the league minimum in April 2015. In total, Kuhn played in 23.4% of the Packers’ offensive snaps last season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bengals To Work Out Dwight Freeney

May 25th, 2016 at 6:31am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 6:31am: Freeney is visiting and taking a physical with the Bengals today, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

TUESDAY, 9:44am: One of the most prominent free agents remaining on the board could be getting closer to finding his NFL home for 2016. The Bengals are scheduled to work out longtime Colts outside linebacker Dwight Freeney this week, a league source told Coley Harvey of ESPN.com.

Freeney spent roughly a third of the 2015 season at home, waiting until the Cardinals called in October to get back on an NFL field. In his 11-game season, Freeney made a larger-than-expected impact for Arizona, racking up 8 sacks, his highest total since 2011. At this stage of his career, Freeney is a situational pass rusher, but he is an extremely effective one. Impressively, Freeney set that watermark without having started a single game and he did it on a paltry prorated $970K salary.

The Bengals watched veteran pass-rusher Wallace Gilberry join up with the Lions in free agency this spring, so they are looking into their options in that category. Gilberry signed a modest one-year, $1.75MM deal with Detroit and it stands to reason that Freeney could agree to something in that range, though perhaps with incentives that would boost the value of the contract. The Bengals already have another ex-Cardinals veteran in their front seven after signing Karlos Dansby to a one-year, $2MM deal.

Freeney has said that he would like to return to the Cardinals for this upcoming season, though he is also very open to playing for another contender if that doesn’t pan out. Over the course of 14 years in the NFL, Freeney has earned seven Pro Bowl selections and three First-Team All-Pro nods. He spent many of those years as a key member of the Colts’ defense where he clashed frequently with Bill Belichick‘s Patriots. Despite that history, the veteran recently said that he would not rule out a union with New England if they called.

“Well,” Freeney said, “That’s hard to fathom. But I’m not against Bill. I understand the dynamic involved, but at the end of the day, this is a business. My first allegiance right now is to Arizona, if they’re interested. But if it happened that I ended up in New England, I can tell you, both sides would win.”

In 2015, the advanced stats at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated Freeney as (tied) for the 51st best edge rusher in the NFL out of 110 qualified players. In total, Freeney saw 276 pass snaps and just 41 run snaps last year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tyler Eifert Could Miss Season Opener

May 25th, 2016 at 6:18am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 6:18am: Eifert is undergoing ankle surgery today and, according to a source, “could miss the first couple of games of the season,” Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The worst-case scenario is that he could be out for the first few games, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. However, Eifert’s surgery today is minor, and the hope is he’s ready for the start of the 2016 season.

TUESDAY, 1:55pm: When Tyler Eifert suffered an ankle injury at the Pro Bowl, the early word was that it was a minor injury with estimates of a quick recovery. Months later, the Bengals have learned that is not necessarily the case. The tight end will undergo a “minimal procedure” on that ankle this offseason, according to Jim Owczarski of The Enquirer. Minimal or not, this procedure could sideline Eifert for the start of the 2016 season, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Owczarski, meanwhile, hears that Eifert will need only three months to recover.

Eifert, 26 in September, had a breakout season in 2015, earning his first Pro Bowl nod since entering the league as the 21st overall pick in 2013. After spending the majority of the 2014 season on injured reserve, the Notre Dame alum hauled in 52 passes for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns in just 13 regular season contests last year.

Eifert has been expected to take on an even larger role in the Bengals’ passing game in the 2016 season, with secondary receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones no longer in the mix. Cincinnati signed Brandon LaFell as a free agent to help complement A.J. Green and the team also added Tyler Boyd in the second round of this year’s draft, but it was anticipated that Eifert would be in line for a career high in targets next season. Hopefully for the Bengals, Eifert will be on the field to see that plan through.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Fitzgerald, Redskins, Manziel

May 24th, 2016 at 8:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had something of a comeback season in 2015, catching 109 passes for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns in his age-32 season. Now, as he enters the final year of his contract with Arizona, could retirement be on the horizon? “Honestly, I have no idea,” Fitzgerald told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). “I really don’t look at it like that.”

“We’re just in OTAs right now, man,” added Fitzgerald, who is set to enter his 13th season with the Cardinals. “We’ve got training camp and minicamp and the regular season. We’ve got a long ways to go before that’s even a point of discussion. So I’m enjoying this. I’m trying to make it the best year yet.”

Let’s take a look at some more news and notes from around the NFL…

The Redskins are likely to add a running back to their roster at some point, according to Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. Asking second-year back Matt Jones to handle the load by himself seems like a big ask, write the CSN scribes, who toss out Pierre Thomas, who played in four games for Washington last season, as a possible free agent worth targeting. Arian Foster, Joique Bell, and Bryce Brown are among the other running back options still left on the board.
Those close to former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel have begun to fear for his safety, and some are worried that he might not live much longer if he doesn’t change his ways, according to a report from TMZ. Manziel’s own father said in February that Manziel might not make it to his 24th birthday if he doesn’t seek help. We learned yesterday that Manziel is the subject of an ongoing NFL investigation.
In a recent mailbag, a reader asked Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com whether Bears running back Jeremy Langford can replace the production of Matt Forte, who left the team in free agency this spring. Forte leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage (12,718) since 2008, so obviously those are huge shoes to fill. Langford, luckily, won’t have to fill them on his own, as Chicago plans to use a committee — comprised of rookie Jordan Howard, third-year player Ka’Deem Carey, and Jacquizz Rodgers — in the backfield.
Here’s a fun fact from ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitterink): Steelers star Antonio Brown made $62K per catch in 2015, the lowest among wide receivers making $5MM or more last year. Brown is set to make just $6.25MM in base salary this season and with a $12.37MM cap hold. The wide receiver says that finishing his career under another long-term extension with the Steelers would be “an honor,” and he’s not planning to hold out for a new contract just yet.
NFL owners voted today to approve several changes to the instant replay process, all of which can be found in this PDF.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Raiders, Las Vegas

May 24th, 2016 at 7:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As Peter King of TheMMQB.com reported yesterday, the Raiders’ potential relocation to Las Vegas was not scheduled to be on the agenda at the owners’ meetings today. Still, it was practically inevitable that the subject would get brought up, with reporters questioning the league’s 32 owners on the viability of such a move. Let’s take a look at the latest, with reports and comments from several different sources…

While Raiders owner Mark Davis allowed that the issue of his club moving was not on the docket today, he did say that he hasn’t received any pushback as of yet. “I haven’t heard no,” said Davis, according to ESPN.com.
Appearing later on NFL Network, Davis claimed that Las Vegas would be act as a solid middle ground for all parties involved. “The Raider fan in Northern California get upset a little bit when we talk about going to Los Angeles, and the L.A. fans get a little ticked off at the fans in Northern California, so it seems like Las Vegas is a neutral site that everybody’s kind of bought into,” said Davis, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “It will unite the Raider nation more than divide it.”
Davis confirmed that he is now longer attempting to move the Raiders to Los Angeles, per the ESPN report, as he told those in Las Vegas that he would not use the city as a bargaining chip in order to find a stadium elsewhere. “[Los Angeles] doesn’t have anything to do with where my train of thought is right now,” Davis said. “If Las Vegas comes through, we’re going to Las Vegas.”
Oakland isn’t completely out of the picture, according to Davis, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he spoke with Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf last night, and hopes that the two sides can reach a “combined solution,” reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Goodell, for his part, called the Raiders-to-Vegas “premature” and “pure speculation,” as Steve Reed of the Associated Press tweets.
Gambling isn’t the primary concern for owners who might be against the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, according to Cole (video link). Rather, owners have some worries about the city’s ability to finance a new stadium, per Cole.

Bills Notes: Watkins, Barnes, Free Agents

May 24th, 2016 at 6:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

News hasn’t been very positive in Buffalo this offseason, as the injury bug has hit hard. Bills first-round pick Shaq Lawson could miss a third of the regular season after undergoing shoulder surgery, while receiver Sammy Watkins will be out until training camp with a foot fracture. The Bills had been counting on both players for contributions, so the club will need both to approach full health at some point during the season if they have any hope of toppling the Patriots in the AFC East.

Here’s the latest out of Buffalo…

Bills general manager Doug Whaley doesn’t anticipate Watkins missing any time in the regular season, Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. Earlier this month, Watkins suffered a broken small bone in his foot and had a screw inserted to hold things in place. Last season, Watkins was sidelined for three games but hauled in 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. Of course, Whaley also insisted that first round Lawson would not have to undergo shoulder surgery, and the Clemson product went under the knife soon after the draft.
Buffalo could conceivably target any number of veteran free agents to replace the production that might be lost due to Lawson and Watkins’ absences, but Whaley said the club hasn’t yet made contact with any street free agents left on the board. “We want to see what we have and the development of the guys on the roster in the OTAs,” said Whaley, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com. “[Veterans] we look at as consummate professionals. They’re always going to be in shape and if the time comes where we think the guys aren’t progressing like we need them to that’s when you look at a guy like Anquan Boldin or a Dwight Freeney, but right now we want to develop some young guys with an eye on the future saying those guys are out there if for needs sake we need to pick them up.” Whaley added that the Bills would “keep [their] options open” and would “never say never.”
Nose tackle T.J. Barnes is worked at left tackle today for the Bills, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (Twitter link). Buffalo plucked Barnes — who has no offensive line experience either in the NFL or at Georgia Tech — off of the Jets’ taxi squad in December of 2015.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Knowshon Moreno

May 24th, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

MAY 24: Moreno himself took to Twitter today to say that he does plan to return to an NFL field in 2016. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Klis’ report below was incorrect, as the 9NEWS scribe specifically noted that Moreno might change his mind. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that any club will have interest in Moreno even if he does follow through with a comeback.

MAY 14: Running back Knowshon Moreno hasn’t handled an NFL carry since Week 5 of the 2014 season, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be returning to game action anytime soon. According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, Moreno is “80 percent” committed to retirement, but the veteran back is staying in shape in case he changes his mind.

After a solid 2013 campaign during which Moreno topped 1,000 yards rushing and scored 10 touchdowns for the Broncos, he garnered surprisingly little interest on the free agent market, ultimately signing a one-year, ~$3MM contract with the Dolphins. Moreno managed only 31 carries Miami before tearing his ACL, and was placed on injured reserve in October of 2014. Per Klis, Moreno took the 2015 season off in order to let his knees heal.

Moreno will be 29 years old when the 2016 season begins, so it’s hard to imagine that he’d generate much interest even if he were open to playing. There haven’t been any rumblings about Moreno in the past year, as he hasn’t been mentioned on PFR since March 2015. Regardless, if Moreno does decide to officially retire, the former first-round pick will have posted a largely successful career, rushing for more than 3,500 yards and scoring 36 times.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/24/16

May 24th, 2016 at 5:50pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings and other minor moves here:

The Dolphins agreed to terms with two members of their draft class today, signing third-round receiver Leonte Carroo and seventh-round tight end Thomas Duarte, as Wilson reports (Twitter link). Miami now only has third-round running back Kenyan Drake left to sign, as PFR’s Zach Links detailed when looking at unsigned 2016 draftees earlier today.
The Lions waived offensive lineman Darius Johnson on Tuesday, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press adds (via Twitter) that Johnson was waived with an injury waiver designation. Johnson, a Middle Tennessee State product, signed with Detroit following the team’s rookie minicamp.
The Chargers placed safety Matt Daniels on the injured reserve list with a leg injury, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. Daniels appeared in only one game for San Diego last season. Former Michigan linebacker James Ross has been signed to fill Daniel’s void, a source tells Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
After signing as an undrafted free agent out of UTSA, edge rusher Jason Neill was waived today by the Cowboys, according to Wilson (Twitter link). To replace Neil, Dallas signed fellow defensive end Zach Wood, tweets Wilson.
The Panthers placed tight end Jake McGee on waivers with an injury designation last week, and after reverting to injured reserve, McGee has now been cut from IR with an injury settlement, per Wilson (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

The Bills have signed second-round linebacker Reggie Ragland, according to his agents at Vanguard Sports (on Twitter). Ragland was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after recording 97 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, and six pass breakups. GM Doug Whaley has said that he expects to see Ragland in the starting lineup to begin the 2016 season.
The Raiders announced that they have signed free agent wide receivers Robert Herron and Nathan Palmer. To make room, the Raiders have waived/injured wide receiver Andre Debose and waived quarterback Garrett Gilbert. Palmer auditioned for New Orleans last week alongside a handful of notable names, including Hakeem Nicks. Herron was originally selected by the Bucs in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in eight games his rookie season, posting six receptions for 58 yards (9.7 avg.) and one touchdown.
The Browns signed undrafted free agent wide receiver David Richards, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Arizona product first hooked on with Atlanta after the draft but was waived soon after.
The Jets waived tight end Jerome Cunningham and signed running back Romar Morris, as Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets.
The Buccaneers have placed safety Johnny Lowdermilk on the reserved-retired list, creating a second opening on the 90-man roster, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.