2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

Bengals G Kevin Zeitler To Play Out Contract

September 9th, 2016 at 2:51pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals and right guard Kevin Zeitler will not agree to a contract extension before the club’s self-imposed Week 1 deadline, sources tell Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The fifth-year lineman will now play out the season on his $8.070MM fifth-year option.

Zeitler, the No. 27 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has been a starter in each of his four seasons with the Bengals. In the last week or so, the interior line market has been reset and Zeitler was likely pushing for a deal that would have put him at the top. DeCastro, a fellow 2012 draft pick, signed a five-year, $50MM extension with the Steelers. The Bears also gave guard Kyle Long a four-year, $40MM deal and inked Josh Sitton to a three-year, $21MM contract.

As shown on Roster Resource, Zeitler is slated to start on the right side next to tackle Cedric Ogbuehi. The offensive line also includes All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth, left guard Clint Boling, and center Russell Bodine.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pigskin Links: Kelly, Eagles, Patriots, Packers

September 9th, 2016 at 2:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Before we get into this week’s edition of Pigskin Links, we here at PFR would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to NFL scouting consultant and friend of the site Dave-Te Thomas, who recently lost his wife to cancer. Dave-Te eulogized Laurie Pennycook earlier this week on The NFL Draft Report. Laurie, 58, selflessly put herself through experimental treatments while in her terminal stages with the hope that the research would one day help others in the future. She is survived by the veteran scouting guru, four children, and ten grand children.

Here is this week’s look around the football blogosphere:

Total Sports Live says Howie Roseman has cleaned up all of Chip Kelly‘s mess.
From The Rafters sees two Patriots assistants getting head coaching jobs soon.
Brew City Sports Report discussed a pair of Packers UDFAs.
Titans 247 ranked the Titans’ final roster by position.
Today’s Pigskin says it’s the year of the running back on the latest podcast.
Wayniac Nation has some Week 1 fantasy advice.
HBT Sports previewed the Ravens.
Fueled By Sports has Week 1 predictions with fake quotes.

Got a great football blog post that you want to see featured in next week’s Pigskin Links? Email it to Zach or tweet it to him: @ZachLinks.

Bills Promote K Jordan Gay To 53-Man Roster

September 9th, 2016 at 1:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills will promote kicker Jordan Gay to the 53-man roster, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (on Twitter). A roster spot opened up earlier today when Seantrel Henderson was officially hit with a four-game suspension by the league office.

Gay, 26, has spent the last two years in Buffalo. With Dan Carpenter there to handle field goals, Gay will likely handle kickoffs if he is active in the next four games. Gay, who has been listed as a punter in the past, has had two stints with the Panthers with a Giants stop in between. The Bills are the only team to put him on the field in the regular season, however.

With Gay on the 53-man roster, the Bills have an open spot on the taxi squad.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Marshawn Lynch

September 9th, 2016 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Marshawn Lynch is not coming out of retirement. At least, that’s what he told former teammate Michael Robinson (Twitter link).

“I called Beast Mode. Record this, everybody. Marshawn Lynch is retired, he told me from his own mouth,” Robinson said on Periscope.

During the Super Bowl, Lynch announced his retirement on Instagram with a photo showing his neon green cleats hung up on a phone wire. Later on in the offseason, however, reports indicated that Lynch was possibly waffling on his decision to call it quits. Lynch also backed that up in an interview with 60 Minutes Sports in June. Then, this week, a source told Mike Florio of PFT that Beast Mode could come back.

“I‘m done. I’m done. I enjoyed my time playing. Now it’s time to watch my cousins do their thing,” Lynch said this summer. “I’m retired. Is that good enough? Which camera do you want me to look into? This one? I’m done. I’m not playing football anymore.”

In 2015, Lynch battled hamstring and abdominal injuries that limited him to seven games and career worsts in rushing attempts (111), yards (417) and touchdowns (three). If Lynch did decide to return to the NFL, the Seahawks would hold his rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lions, P Sam Martin Agree To Extension

September 9th, 2016 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions and punter Sam Martin have agreed in principle on a four-year extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The new deal is worth $3.4MM per year, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter), which should put him in a tie for the third-highest paid punter in the NFL. The contract, totaling $13.6MM, includes up to $1MM in incentives (Twitter link via Rapoport).

Currently, Dustin Colquitt of the Chiefs is the highest paid punter in the NFL with a yearly average of $3.75MM. Behind him is Thomas Morstead (Saints, $3.647MM) and Andy Lee (Panthers, $3.4MM). When finalized, Martin’s deal should put him right in line with Lee.

Martin, a member of the Lions’ 2013 draft class, has established himself as one of the better punters in the league. The 26-year-old is coming off of a strong year, having recorded best net punting numbers of his career at 41.95 yards per punt. Opponents, meanwhile, averaged only 6.12 yards per return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bills, C Patrick Lewis Agree To Extension

September 9th, 2016 at 10:54am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have given reserve center Patrick Lewis a one-year extension, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The backup gets a $200K signing bonus before earning $800K in 2016 and $1.2MM in 2017.

Lewis was waived by the Seahawks late last month after they cut down to 75 and the Bills quickly scooped him up. Seattle reportedly attempted to trade Lewis before cutting him loose, but they could not find a suitable deal. Buffalo was all the way down at No. 19 in waiver priority, but they managed to land the 25-year-old lineman.

Lewis started 13 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons but he was pushed out of a job when Justin Britt was moved to the center position. Now, he’ll serve as the backup for starting center Eric Wood in Buffalo. Speaking of Wood, he agreed to restructure his deal with the Bills today, freeing up roughly $2.5MM in cap room for the Bills.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Browns’ Desmond Bryant Accepts Pay Cut

September 9th, 2016 at 10:42am CST by Zachary Links

Browns defensive end Desmond Bryant has agreed to take a pay cut for the 2016 season, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Bryant, who will miss the 2016 season with a torn pectoral muscle, will now earn $1.25MM instead of the $6MM he was slated to make.

The Browns and Bryant have been negotiating his salary for more than a month. Since Bryant suffered his injury away from the Browns’ facility, the Browns were not obligated to pay him any of his would-be $6MM base salary since they placed him on the non-football injury list. However, Bryant was working out to stay in shape on his own time, which is expected of players in the offseason. If the Browns refused to pay him anything, there likely would have been in a messy battle with the NFLPA with far reaching implications for the whole league.

Bryant, 30, had been expected to start at defensive end. He is signed through the 2017 season, but the Browns can easily get out of his contract once he gets healthy. Bryant is due a $7MM base salary in 2017, and will only have $1MM remaining in signing bonus proration. Therefore, if Cleveland doesn’t think Bryant is going to be worth his salary next season, it can release Bryant and save $6MM against the salary cap.

Last season, Bryant appeared in 14 games and racked up 6.0 sacks with 33 total tackles.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chargers’ Philip Rivers Restructures Contract

September 9th, 2016 at 9:51am CST by Zachary Links

Philip Rivers has agreed to move some of his money around in order to help the Chargers’ fiscal situation. Rivers inked a reworked deal on Wednesday that will see $6MM of his $16.5MM salary this season converted into a roster bonus, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets. The adjustment creates $4.5M in cap space for the Chargers.

Rivers signed an extension with San Diego last summer and that deal should keep him in place through the 2019 season. The veteran showed no signs of slowing down in 2015 as he led the league with 437 completions and racked up 4,792 passing yards to go along with 29 touchdown passes.

Rivers’ contract makes him the ninth-highest paid quarterback in the league in terms of annual average. His $20.81MM AAV is only bested by Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, and Eli Manning. Rivers will try and lead his team to a better mark than the 4-12 record they had last year. The Bolts’ season opens on Sunday when they face off against the Chiefs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bills Restructure Eric Wood’s Contract

September 9th, 2016 at 8:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have restructured the contract of center Eric Wood, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Woods agreed to convert $3.775MM of his $4.775MM base salary to a signing bonus, and tacked on a voidable year in 2018 to his deal. That shuffling created ~$2.5MM in 2016 cap room for Buffalo.

Last year, Wood hit an escalator in his contract that increased his cap number by $650K. By restructuring his deal, Buffalo has successfully negated that increase and then some.

Last year, Wood appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Bills on his way to his first career Pro Bowl selection. A first round pick in 2009, Wood has started in every game he’s played for Buffalo. This year, he’ll anchor the O-Line alongside fellow starters Cordy Glenn, Richie Incognito, John Miller, and Jordan Mills.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jets’ Buster Skrine Restructures Contract

September 9th, 2016 at 8:23am CST by Zachary Links

As Sunday fast approaches, more and more players are restructuring their deals to accommodate their teams. Cornerback Buster Skrine has joined the club, as Darryl Slater of NJ.com writes. The Jets created $2.5MM in salary cap space for 2016 by giving Skrine a $3.75MM signing bonus and dropping his 2016 base salary from $6.5MM to $2.75MM. Skrine’s cap number has now gone from $7.754MM to $5.254MM.

Skrine, 27, joined the Jets on a four-year, $25MM deal ($13MM guaranteed) last offseason. With Antonio Cromartie out of the picture, Skrine is now serving a more important role as he’ll start opposite of Darrelle Revis in the base defense while also serving as the primary slot corner in the nickel formation.

In 2015, Skrine appeared in all 16 regular season games and started in seven contests. He had one interception, six passes defensed, and 55 total tackles.

The Jets are roughly $430K under the cap now, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.