2016 August - Pro Football Rumors

K’Waun Williams Fails Bears Physical

August 31st, 2016 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

K’Waun Williams won’t be joining the Bears after all. Claimed off waivers from the Browns just yesterday, Williams failed his physical today with Chicago.

Williams is in limbo once again and it’s just the latest turn in the cornerback’s strange offseason. The 25-year-old held himself out of the Browns’ preseason opener after injuring his ankle. The Browns believed that his ankle was fine and insisted that he play. When he did not comply, the team slapped him with a fine and suspension. Then, before the 75-man deadline, the Browns decided to drop him from the roster.

If Williams was healthy, he could have been a quality option for Chicago in the slot. Now, the Bears will continue to look for cornerback health. Meanwhile, today’s failed physical may give additional credence to Williams’ claim that he was too hurt to play in Cleveland.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Browns Seeking High Draft Pick For Josh McCown

August 31st, 2016 at 2:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Should we cross another name off of the Vikings’ list of possible quarterback targets? The Browns are demanding “a high draft pick” in order to part with veteran Josh McCown, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.

When the Cowboys were showing interest in McCown earlier this summer, it was said that the Browns were seeking a fourth-round selection while Dallas was unwilling to part with anything higher than a sixth-round choice. Neither side budged and the talks quickly cooled off. Now, it sounds like that asking price may have increased a bit.

The Browns are not inclined to trade McCown since they are worried about RGIII suffering another major injury. McCown has also been acting a mentor towards RGIII and rookie Cody Kessler. The exact asking price on McCown is unknown, but Cabot writes that it is likely more than the Vikings are willing to pay.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Restructure Scandrick’s Deal

August 31st, 2016 at 2:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys restructured the contract of cornerback Orlando Scandrick, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. To carve out some additional breathing room, Dallas turned $4MM of Scandrick’s $5MM base salary into a signing bonus.

The Cowboys are hoping for big production from Scandrick after an ACL tear robbed him of his 2015 season. In the year prior, Scandrick ranked as the tenth-best cornerback in the NFL out of 108 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. According to PFF’s data, quarterbacks completed 74.3% of their passes into Scandrick’s coverage, but those completions averaged just 9.9 yards, and the Cowboys’ corner didn’t allow a touchdown in his 14 games in ’14. For the year, he recorded 63 tackles and grabbed a pair of interceptions.

Thanks to an extension signed in 2015, Scandrick is under contract with Dallas through 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Seahawks Open To Brandon Browner Return

August 31st, 2016 at 1:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks brought their reunion with Brandon Browner to a close this week, but it’s possible that the two sides could get back together in the future. Browner could return to the team later on this year, coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (on Twitter).

Carroll explained that the team simply “ran out of time” converting Browner to safety and that others just beat him out. Others, like Kelcie McCray and Steven Terrell, pushed themselves ahead of Browner on the depth chart, leading to the Legion Of Boom OG’s release on Monday.

Of course, Carroll & Co. have a soft spot for Browner who broke out as a cornerback for Seattle in 2011, so a mid-season deal cannot be ruled out. However, one has to wonder how much Browner even has left in the tank if he was not good enough to make the cut down to 75.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Link Between Mike Neal, Guyer Institute?

August 31st, 2016 at 1:42pm CST by Zachary Links

This afternoon, the NFL cleared three of the four linebackers mentioned in the now infamous Al-Jazeera America documentary. The one player who has yet to be OK’d by the league is Mike Neal. That could be because Neal’s interview took place later than the talks with James Harrison, Julius Peppers, and Clay Matthews. It’s also possible that the NFL is still investigating the link between Neal and the Guyer Institute.

For what it’s worth Neal did have a relationship with people at Guyer Institute, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). The quick resolution for the other three, meanwhile, supports the claim that they did not know anyone at the Indiana-based company (link).

Neal, 29, started a career-high 15 games last season and has posted at least four sacks in each of the past four years. However, he has drawn very little in the way of free agent interest this offseason. A suspension from the NFL would further hurt his chances of continuing his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Clears Harrison, Matthews, Peppers

August 31st, 2016 at 1:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL has cleared James Harrison, Clay Matthews, and Julius Peppers in the PED probe, a source tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). There was “no credible evidence” found in the league’s investigation or interviews.

Late last year, a documentary from Al- Jazeera America linked Harrison, Matthews, Peppers, Peyton Manning, and Mike Neal to a pharmaceutical company in Indiana where Charles Sly claimed that he supplied athletes with performance enhancing drugs. Since then, the NFL has been investigating the five players named and recently began the process of interviewing them.

Manning immediately consented, but the other players were opposed to the interviews and fought back per the advise of the NFLPA. Eventually, Harrison, Matthews, Peppers, and Neal (after some additional deliberation) agreed to do the interviews. Roughly one week later, the first three have been cleared by the league office while there is no word just yet on Neal.

Cowboys Give Sean Lee Additional Bonus

August 31st, 2016 at 12:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Last year, linebacker Sean Lee was slated to earn a $2MM bonus for appearing in 80% of the team’s defensive snaps. In Week 17, Lee was on the cusp of locking that bonus in, but he was battling a hamstring injury. Rather than play at half-strength to cash in, Lee opted to sit out of the game so that a healthy player could take his place. That gesture was not lost on the Cowboys. Today, Dallas gave Lee a $125K per-game bonus this year, totaling $2MM if he plays 16 games, a source tells Don Banks on Twitter.

Of course, it’s not a given that Lee will stay healthy for the entire year. Injuries cost Lee the entire 2014 season and he also missed significant time in 2012 and 2013. Last year, however, Lee bounced back to appear in 14 games and log a career-high 128 tackles on his way to a Pro Bowl nod. After suspensions ravaged the Cowboys’ front seven, Dallas is rooting for Lee to earn that extra $2MM this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jason Campbell To Stay Retired

August 31st, 2016 at 12:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings may go out of house to find a full-in at quarterback, but veteran Jason Campbell won’t be an option for them. Campbell intends to stay retired, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports tweets.

Campbell played in Norv Turner’s scheme in 2013 while with the Browns. However, it sounds like the former signal caller is content in retirement.

In June 2015, Campbell reportedly decided to call it a career, though he never made his retirement official. Since then, several teams including the Colts and Cowboys have tried – unsuccessfully – to get Campbell to return to football. At this point, it sounds like Campbell may be done with football for good.

Over the course of his NFL career, Campbell has appeared in 90 games (79 starts) for Washington, Oakland, Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. He saw his most extensive action in D.C., where he started 52 contests for Washington after being selected by the club in the first round of the 2005 draft. Most recently, he backed up Andy Dalton with the Bengals in 2014.

While Campbell’s 32-47 career record as a starter isn’t overly impressive, his career stats – including a 60.3% completion percentage, an 81.7 passer rating, and 87 touchdowns to 60 interceptions – are respectable.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers To Sign Stevie Brown

August 31st, 2016 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have agreed to sign safety Stevie Brown, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Carolina auditioned Brown earlier this month and finally circled back to him with a contract offer.

Brown was without an NFL gig in 2015, despite his past success. A seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2010, Brown posted a career year in 2012 as a member of the Giants as he hauled in an eye-popping eight interceptions. However, he failed to register a pick in each of his other three seasons – one apiece with the Giants, Raiders and Colts. Brown signed with the Chiefs in early April but he became an early roster casualty when he was dropped recently. Now, he’ll help support Tre Boston at safety in Carolina along with Major Wright

The Panthers also auditioned Donte Whitner, but they did not sign him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Buccaneers Likely To Keep Three QBs

August 31st, 2016 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

As the Buccaneers prepare to cut down from 75 players to 53, they know they will have some tough choices to make. One option they apparently won’t consider is having only two quarterbacks on the final roster. Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter explained that he would ideally like to keep two QBs on the team with one signal caller on the practice squad, but he does not believe that third-stringer Ryan Griffin would survive the waiver process (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).

“I feel great about that room. I think we have good depth,” Koetter said. “If it was a perfect world, we are getting to the point where it would be better for our football team if we could keep two quarterbacks because we’re going to have to let some guys go that we don’t want to let go. And I think the perfect set-up with the way the NFL is structured right now, is two quarterbacks and one on practice squad. But if you have a good one and you try to put him on practice squad, the league is so short of quarterbacks, he’ll get scooped up like that…I think it’s safe (to say) that we’re probably going to keep three quarterbacks.”

In March, Koetter indicated that Griffin would be capable of backing up starter Jameis Winston in the event that Mike Glennon was traded. With that kind of confidence in Griffin, it makes sense that they would want to retain him.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are less inclined to trade Glennon now than they were in the spring. Glennon is poised to hit the open market after the 2016 season and if he goes elsewhere, the Bucs will receive a compensatory pick for him. If another team – say, the Vikings – wants to trade for Glennon, they’ll really have to make it worth it for the Buccaneers. For now, the Bucs like the security of having two quality backups behind Winston and an additional future draft choice.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.