Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:
The fact that the Jets have a pair of terrific receivers in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker is one of the reasons running back Matt Forte chose to sign with the team over the winter, writes Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “If Brandon and Eric can be on the outside to help me out and if I can be really effective in the running game, it can help them out, too,” said Forte, who noted in 2013 – perhaps his best season – the Bears had two high-caliber wideouts (Marshall and Alshon Jeffery) whose respective presences aided the club’s running game.
Elsewhere around the AFC…
Zach Links contributed to this post.
The five-year, $37.5MM deal offensive tackle Eugene Monroe signed in 2014 is the worst contract the Ravens have ever given out, opines Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Monroe – whom the Ravens released earlier today – received $17.5MM in guaranteed money and, because of injuries, ultimately made just 17 starts after inking the contract. Hensley adds that the Ravens began souring on Monroe when he didn’t start their 2014 AFC divisional playoff game in New England because of an ankle injury. Monroe was healthy enough to be active for that contest, leading the Ravens to wonder about his toughness.
More from the NFL’s two North divisions:
Zach Links contributed to this post.
The Jets’ Todd Bowles indicated Tuesday that there’s no deadline to sign free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the head coach backtracked on that today, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If it’s Week 4 in training camp and he’s not here, you know who your starter is going to be Week 1,” Bowles said, implying that Geno Smith would be the Jets’ No. 1 signal-caller in such an extreme scenario. “You have time until you don’t have time,” continued Bowles, who added that the Jets will consider signing a veteran to compete for a backup role with rookie Christian Hackenberg and second-year man Bryce Petty if Gang Green doesn’t re-up Fitzpatrick.
More from the NFL’s two East divisions:
Star linebacker Von Miller is embroiled in a contract dispute with the Broncos, leading to questions as to whether he’d go so far as to sit out at least some of this season, but the Super Bowl 50 MVP may have put that notion to rest. On the possibility of skipping regular-season games this year if the franchise-tagged pass rusher and the Broncos don’t work out a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline, Miller told Netflix’s Chelsea Handler, “No, I mean .. we still have a month. I just can’t see myself with any other team. My boys — T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib, Kayvon Webster, DeMarcus Ware. All those guys, I built very, very close relationships with those guys, and I would like to continue to build that for the rest of my career.” Miller also stated that he’d like the franchise to reciprocate his desire to be a career-long Bronco (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post).
More regarding Denver and one of its division rivals:
Bad news for the Bears as wide receiver Marquess Wilson has suffered a broken left foot, coach John Fox told reporters. That’s the same foot that Wilson broke in 2015 and that injury ended his season in December. Now, Wilson is scheduled to begin training camp on the active/physical-unable-to-perform-list and he could go into the regular season on the PUP list if he does not make a quick recovery. 
[RELATED: Why The Bears Could Sign Ravens OT Eugene Monroe]
The news is a significant blow to the Bears as Wilson turned in a career-high 464 yards off of 28 catches with a touchdown in 11 games last year. Wilson went under the knife to stabilize his foot towards the end of 2015 and another surgery is on the way for the 23-year-old (24 in September).
Wilson was widely expected to hold down the Bears’ fourth wide receiver spot in support of star Alshon Jeffery, blue chip prospect Kevin White, and veteran Eddie Royal. Now, the Bears will hope to see quality play out of Josh Bellamy and Cameron Meredith to help fill the void. The injury could also open things up for seventh-round pick Daniel Braverman and Marc Mariani.
If Wilson misses significant regular season time, the injury could impact his long-term prospects. Wilson is scheduled to hit the open market after the 2016 season and this year was a chance for him to prove that he can stay healthy for a full year and produce. Wilson missed the home stretch of the 2015 campaign with the aforementioned foot problem and a broken clavicle in 2014 limited him to just seven games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
More than a week after Aqib Talib was shot in Dallas, the specifics of the incident are still shrouded in mystery. The Dallas Police Department is still struggling to gain intel into what happened on the morning of June 6th and few people, if anyone, are talking, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter links). As of this writing, police have not recovered the weapon used the night Talib was shot and there are few or no witnesses. Furthermore, the club where Talib was supposedly frequenting hasn’t confirmed that he was there. 
The five Ws of the ordeal (what/who/where/when/why, for those of you who pursued better majors in college) of the situation are still up in the air, but what we do know is that Talib emerged relatively unscathed. The bullet entered and exited Talib’s leg without hitting any arteries or tearing any ligaments and the cornerback has reported back to the Broncos. Talib is not participating in this week’s minicamp, but if all goes well he may be able to suit up for the start of training camp later this summer.
Details of what transpired could impact Talib and the Broncos in 2016. Needless to say, commissioner Roger Goodell is not crazy about players being linked to gunplay and Talib has a history of running afoul of league policy. Specifically, Talib has a history with weapons and it would appear that Talib was intoxicated on the night/early morning in question. The lax gun laws in Texas probably mean that Talib will not face criminal charges even if the nature of the event was of the Plaxico Burress variety. However, the league office could still take action against the 30-year-old.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
On Tuesday, one report claimed that the Dolphins are skeptical about Dion Jordan‘s commitment to football and perhaps his overall wellness as he looks to return. Jordan, who was banned from the league in 2015 due to his latest violation of league substance abuse policy, was eligible to apply for reinstatement in late April but did not get the ball rolling until June, which raise eyebrows in Miami. 
[RELATED: Reshad Jones Reports To Dolphins Minicamp]
The account from Omar Kelly of The Sun Sentinel indicated that the Dolphins could consider moving on from the former No. 3 overall pick or, at the very least, negotiate with him to reduce or eliminate his upcoming ~$1.7MM roster bonus. For what it’s worth, Jordan’s agent tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the league is ready to welcome his client back and the league office will almost certainly green light his return by the end of July.
“I feel very strongly he will be reinstated without question,” agent Doug Hendrickson said. “He’s done everything he has been asked to do. We feel very good where we’re at. We expect Dion to start training camp with the Dolphins…They are excited to have him back. Every team wants top talent.”
Jordan is slated to earn $600K in base salary and is due a $1.69MM signing bonus if he’s on the roster on the fifth day of training camp. Hendrickson seems to believe that Jordan is virtually guaranteed to have a place with the Dolphins in 2016, though he’s not sure where he’ll be used in the front seven. The Dolphins could keep Jordan at his original defensive end position or they could shift him to linebacker. Jackson notes that despite the team’s defensive end depth, DE might be the way to go for this year since there would be a steep learning curve in changing positions after spending a year away from the team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
11:30am: Speaking to reporters today, Jones said that the holdout is “behind him” and it’s now “all about football” (Twitter link via Armando Salugero of The Miami Herald). Furthermore, the safety said he will not hold out from training camp.
Recently, it was reported that Jones was mulling the idea of an in-season holdout if he did not get a pay raise, but it seems unlikely that Jones will go that route if he is committing to show for training camp.
9:19am: Reshad Jones‘ practice boycott is over, at least for now. After skipping out on the first day of June’s mandatory minicamp, the safety is in the building today, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (via Twitter). 
[RELATED: Dolphins Skeptical Of Dion Jordan’s Situation?]
Today marks Jones’ first appearance at the Dolphins’ practice facility as he also stayed away from voluntary OTAs in May. Despite having two years remaining on his current contract, the 28-year-old is pushing to renegotiate the terms. After earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2015, Jones apparently feels like now is the time to strike.
He is ostensibly looking to be paid like one of the top safeties in the NFL, but that will be quite the uphill battle for him since strong safeties are not paid as highly as free safeties. As far as strong safeties go, Jones is actually the highest paid one in the NFL, so long as you count him as a free safety these days. As it stands today, Jones is slated to earn base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively.
While Jones continues to pout, the Dolphins have been publicly upbeat about the group of safeties that have been participating this offseason. Of course, they’d much rather have Jones in the fold and they’d like to avoid the in-season holdout that he is reportedly mulling. However, caving into those threats and reworking Jones’ deal with two years to go would set a bad precedent for the team going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Dolphins hold their ground and force Jones to play out the ’16 season on his current deal before discussing a new one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera admits that Fletcher Cox‘s massive new deal with the Eagles doesn’t help the Panthers’ cause in trying to lock up Kawann Short, Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review writes.
“This is the hard part right now is what’s going on in the league,” Rivera said. “I think some of these contracts are unbelievable as far as what I’m seeing and hearing.”
Word is that the Panthers may not be willing to go above $15MM/year for their standout defensive tackle. Cox, meanwhile, will average nearly $17.2MM per season on his new deal with a great deal in the way of guarantees early on in the pact.
Here’s more from the NFC: