2016 June - Pro Football Rumors

Month: November 2024

AFC East Notes: Jets, Harbor, Bills

June 19th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has frustrated and disappointed fans with his hard-line stance on the Ryan Fitzpatrick and Muhammad Wilkerson contract negotiations, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com commends Maccagnan for at least being willing to take an unpopular position and hold his ground in a pragmatic way that suggests he has the club’s long-term interests at heart. Cimini adds that Maccagnan’s approach is a refreshing change of pace from that of predecessor Mike Tannenbaum, who often made decisions with an eye towards fan and media approval. Of course, now that Maccagnan has drawn a line in the sand, he cannot back down for fear of losing credibility in the agent community, but he also cannot afford to enter the season without Fitzpatrick and Wilkerson.

As we wait to see if Maccagnan can pull off this delicate balancing act, let’s check out a few more links from the AFC East:

In the same piece, Cimini says he would be surprised if Wilkerson reported to Jets training camp–after all, he’s not under contract, so he cannot be fined for missing camp–but he would also be surprised if the Pro Bowl defensive end missed any regular season games. Perhaps the two sides can work out a deal wherein Wilkerson agrees to play out the 2016 season for the amount of the franchise tender ($15.7MM), and the team agrees to not use the tag on him again in 2017.
In a separate article, Cimini reports that the mother of Jets rookie linebacker Darron Lee, Candice Lee, has quit her job as a reporter and weekend anchor for WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, and will serve as Darron’s manager. She will devote her time to handling her son’s off-the-field affairs, including endorsements and marketing (of course, there is not yet any money to manage, as Lee is one of four 2016 first-round draft picks who have yet to sign their rookie contracts).
Now that Patriots No. 3 tight end Michael Williams suffered a season-ending ACL tear, free agent acquisition Clay Harbor becomes the favorite to assume that role, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. However, Reiss cautions that even though Harbor received a $400K signing bonus–which is significant for a player for Harbor’s caliber–he will still have to earn his spot on the field (after all, the team handed out a $450K signing bonus to Reggie Wayne last year, and Wayne’s tenure as a Patriot lasted all of two weeks).
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes a look at the best and worst contracts on the Bills, and he concludes that the best contract is Tyrod Taylor‘s fairly modest pact, while the worst is Marcell Dareus‘ mega-deal that he signed last year. Fitzgerald goes into detail on both contracts, and the whole piece is well worth a read.

Charles Tillman Still Eyes Panthers Return

June 18th, 2016 at 8:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite a suffering a torn ACL late last year, Charles Tillman clearly enjoyed his time with the Panthers last season. He enjoyed being with the Panthers so much, in fact, that they’re the only team he’s willing to play for in 2016.

“I just want to play for Carolina,” Tillman told Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com. “That’s the only team I really want to play for. It’s a great group of men. … A great group of coaches. The front-office guys are great. To me it was no surprise they were, or we were, 17-2.”

The fumble-forcing dynamo similar comments back in February when he was on the brink of free agency. Tillman, though, is a ways away from being a serious candidate to sign with a team. Tillman is still recovering from the ACL tear he suffered in Week 17 and is about two months away from being able to partake in football activities. The 35-year-old corner says that signing with a team near the end of training camp serves as a realistic goal at this point.

“Being in Carolina felt like I had been there my entire career,” he said. “The team, the community, the atmosphere, that vibe. The Carolinas — North Carolina and South Carolina — they showed a lot of love.”

A Bears starter for 12 seasons, Tillman missed most of the 2013-14 seasons with torn triceps injuries but managed to play in 12 games for the Panthers. Carolina, however, has remade its cornerback corps after rescinding Josh Norman‘s franchise tag. The Panthers certainly have the cap room to add veterans to the mix, but the team seems intent on giving reps to young players instead.

The Panthers selected James Bradberry in the second round, Daryl Worley in the third, and Zack Sanchez in the fifth. Now, Bene Benwikere stands as the team’s only surefire veteran contributor, as Roster Resource details. In theory, the Panthers might want to consider a vet like Tillman, but there has been no indication they are interested in a reunion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jets Notes: Marshall, Decker, LBs, Smith

June 18th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jets wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, accompanied by Kimberley Martin of Newsday, took a helicopter ride to Marshall’s doctor’s office recently, where the older of the two New York starting wideouts received an advanced treatment as he prepares for training camp. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation, along with some additional Jets news.

An 11th-year pro who’s registered 1,000+ yards for four franchises in the past eight years, Marshall told Martin he spends around $200K per year on various health maintenance routines and spent a recent evening undergoing the same treatment Kobe Bryant used late in his career. Marshall uses the Regenokine Program, an anti-inflammation treatment involving injections, multiple times before training camp during the seasons to help accelerate recovery. “It’s what a lot of people call ‘the Kobe Bryant shots,’ ” Marshall told Martin. “For older athletes . . . this is like the fountain of youth.” The 32-year-old Marshall underwent this treatment for turf toe and knee maladies during the 2015 season and received injections in both areas during the recent visit.
Marshall admits he wasn’t sold on Decker as much more than a Peyton Manning-propelled player before he saw Decker’s Jets work, Martin reports. “Today he told me, ‘I honestly thought you were a product of Peyton [Manning]. Like I didn’t believe you were good,” Decker said. Decker doesn’t quite have Marshall’s body of work but displayed last season he could thrive without Manning’s assistance. The now-29-year-old receiver delivered his best statistical sample for the record-setting 2013 Broncos, gaining 1,288 yards through the air and finishing a two-season stretch with Manning where he scored 24 touchdowns. In 2015, Decker added 12 more scores and 1,027 yards.
As training camp approaches in less than six weeks, Marshall admitted he’s tired of talking about the Ryan Fitzpatrick saga, that still sits with the sides disagreeing on a three-year, $24MM offer. Although the duo was reported to have skipped a portion of Jets OTAs as a show of support for the team to re-sign Fitzpatrick, Marshall would prefer to know who his quarterback is soon. “It was funny and cool at the beginning,” Marshall told Martin regarding the Fitz situation, “Like, you can throw some punchlines in there. But now it’s like, it’s time to roll.”
The Jets have offered Fitzpatrick $15MM in guaranteed money and still want him to be their starter despite Geno Smith‘s offseason progression, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Todd Bowles said recently Smith is “light years” ahead of where he was going into last year before the locker room sucker-punch incident derailed his season, but Cimini points out the fourth-year former second-round pick’s status atop the Jets’ depth chart this close to camp has strengthened the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick’s leverage. Although no other teams appear to be in on him at this point, Fitzpatrick and his camp has a Smith-led Jets offense as a point in their favor as the sides’ impasse continues.
Lorenzo Mauldin and Jordan Jenkins reside as the favorites to start at outside linebacker for Gang Green, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports. Third-round picks in the past two drafts, the duo would obviously bring little experience to the position, although Mauldin did back up Calvin Pace last season, playing 261 snaps. Two-hundred-twenty-four of those came on passing downs, which enabled him to see pass-rushing work en route to four sacks last season — second-most among Jets ‘backers. As Roster Resource details, the Jets are counting on these two young cogs, with Pace gone and no one drafted above the seventh round sitting behind them.

AFC Notes: Lombardi, Polumbus, Ravens, Fins

June 18th, 2016 at 5:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mike Lombardi‘s departure from the Patriots after two seasons could close a Cleveland-to-New England pipeline to some degree, and that particular route has been successful to the Pats recently.

The veteran front office executive helped tip Bill Belichick to Dion Lewis and assisted in paving the way for Jabaal Sheard to join the Patriots, Tom Curran of CSNNE.com notes.

Lewis spent 2013 on the Browns’ IR after breaking his leg and did not make Cleveland’s 2014 roster. But Lombardi, fired from his brief post as Browns GM in February 2014, helped bring the scatback to the Patriots, with whom Lewis proved explosive, totaling 622 yards from scrimmage in six starts in 2015.

The Patriots extended Lewis quickly last season, signing him for a minuscule two years and $3MM in October before he tore his ACL a month later.

Here’s the latest from the AFC.

During the Dolphins‘ stadium renovation fight, Miami Gardens mayor Oliver Gilbert feared owner Stephen Ross could move the team if he didn’t receive public money to help fund an upgrade that ended up costing approximately $500MM, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. Although Ross ended up financing the stadium with private money, Gilbert took the threat seriously, per Beasley. “I worried some, because sometime people don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone, and I never want that to be the case,” Gilbert said. “It’s interesting that we like to call ourselves a world-class community. To be a world-class community, you have to have the Miami Dolphins, you have to have the Miami Heat. You also have to have culture and the arts. You have to have all of those things. It’s a composite.” The project, though, only has a chance at being completed by the Sept. 1 deadline, when the Dolphins host the Titans in the teams’ preseason finale.
Peyton Manning wasn’t the only Broncos cog to make a mid-game entrance during the team’s seminal Week 17 victory over the Chargers last season. Tyler Polumbus replaced an ineffective Michael Schofield at right tackle when Manning entered in the third quarter. But the two-time Bronco did not keep that spot in the playoffs, with Schofield reclaiming the job; Polumbus then retired after in April. But in an expansive piece on former Broncos tight end Jeb Putzier‘s struggle stemming from the concussions he sustained while playing in Denver during the 2000s, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reports the now-31-year-old Polumbus retired because of an MRI that showed a herniated disc in his neck and four degenerated discs in his lower back that, per Polumbus, caused significant pain last season. He collected a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos after the team, which initially added him as a UDFA in 2008, brought him aboard as a waiver claim early last season.
Now that the Ravens cut Eugene Monroe, the only position battle on Baltimore’s offensive line figures to be at left guard between John Urschel and rookie Alex Lewis, John Eisenberg of BaltimoreRavens.com writes. Urschel stepped in at guard last season, with the Ravens moving since-departed Kelechi Osemele to tackle. A rookie fourth-round pick Lewis, per Eisenberg, turned heads at minicamp this month but adds that John Harbaugh likely won’t start two rookies on the left side. Ronnie Stanley almost certainly will begin the season as the Ravens’ left tackle.

Broncos Rumors: Miller, Elway, Schofield

June 18th, 2016 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

In an offseason where Andrew Luck looms as an expiring contract, not much has emerged on that front. Instead, Von Miller‘s Broncos negotiation has seized command of the NFL financial news cycle.

In the past two weeks, Miller’s situation with the Broncos transformed from pleasant to contentious, with the fearsome edge defender turning down a six-year, $114.5MM offer and threatening to hold out. There was also the deep-cutting Instagram cropping out of John Elway from a White House photo taken earlier this month.

The Miller camp being fine with the total value of the deal pushes guaranteed money to the forefront of negotiations that figure to pick up again as the July 15 deadline looms. The Broncos, though, could have several reasons for offering Miller less than $40MM in fully guaranteed money, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out.

The team fearing a Miller tailspin either in the form of a return of the substance-abuse issues that plagued him in 2013 — his only non-Pro Bowl season, one that included a six-game suspension — or in the form of an immense dip in production a la Albert Haynesworth with the 2009 Redskins. The latter seems particularly unlikely given Miller’s five-year sample size for the team with which he’s negotiating.

Florio also writes that Miller is not seeking to dwarf Ndamukong Suh‘s $59.5MM in full guarantees at signing, but rather to have as much as $70MM in guarantees to vest by March 2017 instead of March 2018. Denver would then be required to fund the remaining guaranteed money that didn’t come as fully guaranteed dollars upon signing by then. The Eagles gave Fletcher Cox $63MM in guarantees, with $55MM+ of that amount becoming fully guaranteed by March of 2017. With Cox making one Pro Bowl and no All-Pro first teams compared to Miller’s four and two such achievements, Florio notes a $70MM guarantee vesting by next March is a plausible request for the 27-year-old pass-rusher.

Here’s more on the Broncos and the AFC West.

Elway’s been able to deftly navigate delicate situations during his Broncos GM tenure, from cutting Peyton Manning‘s pay to jettisoning Elvis Dumervil after a fax machine foul-up and trading Tim Tebow. But Miller’s status in the game after his Super Bowl MVP performance and five-sack playoffs could loom as a bigger hurdle than both given how important Elway’s first Broncos draft pick is to the team’s success, Mark Kizsla of the Denver Post writes.
The fourth option to start at tackle for the Broncos in 2015 but a player who ended up being the Super Bowl champions’ primary right tackle as a result of injuries to Ryan Clady and Ty Sambrailo, Michael Schofield did not put together consistent film in his second season as a pro. The Broncos brought in Donald Stephenson to take his spot despite Stephenson delivering unspectacular production with the Chiefs, but Schofield’s added weight in the offseason to help his cause, Mike Klis of 9News reports. He’s up to close to 310 pounds now after playing at under 300 in 2015. Out of 77 tackles assigned grades as full-time performers in 2015 by Pro Football Focus, the 2014 third-round pick ranked 66th. Although Schofield lined up exclusively at left tackle in minicamp due to Russell Okung‘s absence, he’ll likely return to his role of swing backup given Denver’s three-year, $14MM commitment to Stephenson — who actually rated 69th on PFF’s list last season. Denver, though, believes the 2012 third-round Chiefs pick will be better as a zone-blocker than he was in Kansas City’s power-blocking scheme.
After Brandon Marshall became the first non-rush linebacker to sign an extension in Denver since Joe Mays in 2012, we also heard Emmanuel Sanders will be the next Denver cog extended.

AFC South Notes: Ferguson, Jaguars, Titans

June 18th, 2016 at 2:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts did not do much conventionally to add depth to their backfield this offseason, leaving them with no obvious change-of-pace option behind 33-year-old Frank Gore. But the team did place a high priority on signing UDFA Josh Ferguson, a player a source told Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star the Colts eyed as high as the fourth round.

Indianapolis took defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway and linebacker Antonio Morrison with their two fourth-round selections and continued to address issues on both sides of their line in the fifth and seventh rounds. The Colts, though, immediately turned their attention to the versatile Illinois running back by telling Ferguson’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to “name his price” when it came time to add UDFAs.

Ferguson ended up signing for $35K guaranteed with a $10K signing bonus. Holder adds that the versatile ball-carrier’s compensation package was one of the league’s most lucrative proposals offered to a 2016 undrafted player. He’ll still earn the league minimum at $450K if he makes the team, but given that Indianapolis doesn’t house many deterrents to that occurring, the former crafty Big Ten pass-catcher could well see the latter amount instead of a practice squad salary.

As Roster Resource details, the Colts’ contingent behind Gore consists of Robert Turbin, Jordan Todman, Trey Williams and Tyler Varga, so the shifty Ferguson — who totaled 4,093 yards from scrimmage from 2011-15, including making 168 career receptions for 1,507 yards and eight touchdowns — will have an easier route to a roster spot than most UDFA running backs will this summer.

Here’s the latest on the Colts’ top rivals.

In projecting the Jaguars‘ 53-man roster, Jacksonville.com’s Ryan O’Halloran projects Sen’Derrick Marks to lose his starting job and instead tabs Roy Miller to play alongside Malik Jackson at defensive tackle, with Jared Odrick and Dante Fowler Jr. lining up with the first-string ends. Jackson hasn’t played defensive tackle since 2013 with the Broncos, but the highly coveted performer served as a disruptive presence for the AFC champions that year. He’s played three positions in the past three years, shifting to 4-3 end in 2014 and 3-4 end last season. Marks tore his ACL to close the 2014 season and saw knee and triceps injuries limit him to four games in 2015, so the former ascending talent’s star has fallen to some degree.
With another big year, Allen Robinson should see a deal that pays north of $25MM in guaranteed money, O’Halloran writes. Considering the Jags paid their second-best Allen pass-catcher $20MM guaranteed when Allen Hurns signed for four years and $40MM earlier this month, $25MM would be an easy floor should Robinson produce a similar season in 2016. Not yet 23, he’s nearly two years younger than Hurns and is coming off a 1,400-yard, 14-touchdown season.
Tashaun Gipson didn’t exactly deviate from the norm when he said he was excited to leave the Browns and join the Jaguars because he wanted to play for a winning team. Players often are quick to praise the teams that just agreed to pay them, regardless of their recent accomplishments. But the fifth-year safety explained on a Sirius XM Radio appearance (Facebook link) that while the Jags haven’t been a winning team in many years, their collection of talent has placed the team in a position to win. “A lot of people didn’t understand that. It doesn’t mean that, ‘Hey, I’m coming to the Jaguars, we just came off a Super Bowl.’ But I know what it looks like when you’re changing an organization and you turn this thing around and you’ve got all those pieces in the right part,” Gipson said. “And I think that, when you look at this organization, yeah they were 5-11 last year, but a lot of the things that needed to be addressed were addressed in free agency and the draft, as everybody knows.” Jacksonville hasn’t pieced together a winning season since 2007, when David Garrard quarterbacked them to an 11-5 record and a divisional playoff game.
The Titans will look to use their No. 1 position in the waiver hierarchy to add offensive line depth, Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com writes. While Tennessee does have some depth on its interior line given that the loser of the Brian Schwenke–Jeremiah Poutasi left guard competition will be a quality backup, not much else in terms of seasoning exists.
Despite going into only his second year with the Texans, Cecil Shorts accepted a pay cut on Saturday.

Saints Place Jamarca Sanford On Injured Reserve

June 18th, 2016 at 12:14pm CST by Ben Levine

Jamarca Sanford may have signed an extension with the Saints this past offseason, but the veteran’s tenure in New Orleans might be over. Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com reports (via Twitter) that the team has placed the veteran safety on the injured reserve. To take his roster spot, the Saints have signed nose tackle Lawrence Virgil.

The 30-year-old played in all 16 games for the Saints last season, compiling 14 tackles and one interception in 105 total defensive snaps. The former seventh-round pick has settled into a back-up/special teams role over the past several years, but the Saints thought enough of him to offer a one-year contract this past offseason. Before joining the Saints in 2014, Sanford played for the Redskins and Vikings, where he started 44 games in five seasons.

The Saints signed veteran defensive back Roman Harper earlier this month, but Woodbery isn’t sure if that addition was related to the Sanford move. Either way, the writer notes that Sanford’s roster spot was certainly in question following the acquisition of Harper.

As Woodbery tweets, Lawrence Virgil was originally signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After compiling a pair of tackles as a rookie, the Valdosta State product spent 2015 on the injured reserve.

Texans’ Cecil Shorts Accepts Pay Cut

June 18th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Ben Levine

11:40am: Shorts’ $15,625 per game active roster bonus (totals $250K) is still intact, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Texans also removed the $100K workout de-escalator from the original contract.

As Wilson notes, Shorts’ anticipated $3.421MM cap figure has now been reduced to $2.371MM.

10:02am: Texans veteran wideout Cecil Shorts has taken a slight pay cut, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The 28-year-old’s previous base salary was $2.7MM, but that has been reduced to $1.2MM. The inclusion of a new $500K roster bonus means Shorts is ultimately eyeing about a $1MM cut.

The former fourth-rounder’s first season in Houston was a moderate success, as the receiver compiled 42 catches for 484 yards and two touchdowns. Shorts also returned 11 punts, his first special teams action since 2011. For his efforts last season, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him 90th among 121 eligible receivers.

Before joining the Texans, Shorts spent four seasons with the Jaguars. His best season came in 2012, when he caught 55 passes for 979 yards and seven touchdowns. Following the 2014 season, Shorts joined the Texans on a two-year, $6MM deal.

According to Roster Resource, Shorts is in line to be the team’s third wide receiver, sitting behind DeAndre Hopkins and rookie Will Fuller on the depth chart.

Todd Bowles On Wilkerson, Contracts, Fitzpatrick

June 18th, 2016 at 11:11am CST by Ben Levine

Things haven’t necessarily gone smoothly for the Jets this offseason. Neither the organization nor incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are budging in their contract negotiations, and the team may be forced to rely on Geno Smith as their starter.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Wilkerson is still awaiting a long-term deal, and the Pro Bowler recently told The New York Post that he’s “shocked” and “frustrated” by the entire situation.

All the while, coach Todd Bowles has continued to operate as if no turmoil existed. However, the second-year coach addressed some of the Jets’ major offseason storylines earlier this week. Brian Costello of The New York Post passed along some of the notable quotes, which we’ve compiled below…

On his reaction to Wilkerson’s recent comments:

“You can ask any player in the league and they’re going to have the underpaid answer. It’s not a distraction, it’s just part of business. People get frustrated. People vent out. It’s no different than your kids. If you get frustrated, you vent, you vent out and you move on.”

On how he approaches the situation:

“It doesn’t bother me. I was 20-something once too, and I said a lot of things that I said or didn’t want to say. When you’re younger, you say things, but he says things that he means, so obviously he meant them.”

On how the organization plans to handle the Wilkerson issue:

“I’m not going to discuss Mo’s situation here in public. I’ll talk to them and Mo about it. I’m not going to talk to everybody else about it. It’s something that I’ve always done.”

On the Jets’ current quarterback situation and the status of free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick:

“With all due respect, I’m through talking about Fitz. I’m going to worry about the guys I have on the team. I think I’ve expressed and said everything about the quarterback that I’m going to say at this standpoint. Until I get to training camp and see what happens, I’m pretty much done talking about it.”

Lions To Sign TE Orson Charles

June 18th, 2016 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

SATURDAY, 10:20am: The Lions have official announced the move on their website.

THURSDAY, 1:06pm: The Lions have agreed to sign tight end Orson Charles, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Charles was in camp with the team this week on a tryout basis and made a good impression on coaches.

The Lions still have to clear a spot on their 90-man roster for Charles and it’s possible that Stephen Tulloch could be the player jettisoned. The veteran linebacker has been in limbo since February, but there’s reason to believe that his saga will be coming to an end soon. This week, the Lions excused Tulloch from minicamp and that could be a sign that he won’t be with the team much longer. Tulloch, 31, has spent the last five years with the Lions but they would apparently prefer to free up cap space.

As for Charles, he has not appeared in an NFL game since 2013 when he was with the Bengals. In the year prior, he logged six starts for Cincinnati. Currently, the Lions have six other tight ends on the roster: Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron, Adam Fuehne, Matthew Mulligan, Ben McCord, and Cole Wick.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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