Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Green Bay Packers
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers aren’t ready to give up on Karlos Williams. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter) that the organization has signed the running back to a reserve/futures contract. The NFL also lifted Williams’ 10-game suspension.
After being taken by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, Williams showed plenty of promise during his rookie season. In 11 games (three starts), the running back rushed for 517 yards and seven touchdowns on 93 carries, and he added another 11 receptions for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, Williams showed up overweight to training camp this past season, and he was subsequently handed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The Bills ultimately decided to cut the promising running back, and he passed through waivers unclaimed.
Several teams showed interest in Williams, including the Jets and Steelers. Even the Bills were rumored to be considering a reunion. The running back ultimately caught on with Pittsburgh’s practice squad, but he was handed with a 10-game suspension in late November.
Williams could have an opportunity to make the Steelers’ roster next season. Starting running back Le’Veon Bell is expected to return, but backup DeAngelo Williams is also hitting free agency. Considering the veteran is set to turn 34 this offseason, the team could instead look towards the younger Williams, who is still only 23-years-old.
The Browns have locked up one of the top impending free agents. The organization announced that they have signed linebacker Jamie Collins to a four-year contract. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says (via Twitter) the deal is worth $50MM, with $26MM in guaranteed money.
When reports surfaced last week that the two sides were close to an extension, it was said that the Browns defender was focused on topping Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly‘s $12.36MM average yearly salary. Since Collins’ annual salary will presumably be lingering around $12.5MM, it appears that he succeeded in his goal. Among linebackers, Collins’ annual salary will only trail Von Miller, Justin Houston and Clay Matthews.
Collins had previously turned down $11MM a season from the Patriots. While this new contract surely would have strapped New England, the Browns have plenty of money to spend thanks to their projected $110MM in cap space.
Following three-plus seasons in New England, Collins was traded to the Browns for a conditional 2017 third- or fourth-round pick. The linebacker ultimately started each of his eight games with Cleveland, compiling 69 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. In his seven games (six starts) for the Patriots, Collins collected 43 tackles, two interceptions, and one sack. Pro Football Focus ranked Collins 44th among NFL edge defenders this past season. The 2013 second-round pick was a Pro Bowler in 2015 after finishing that campaign with 89 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles.
“We are going to be aggressive about acquiring talent, and when we had the opportunity to trade for Jamie back in October, it was done with the intent of him becoming a long-term part of our defense,” said Sashi Brown, Executive Vice President of Football Operations. “Jamie has shown throughout his NFL career that he is a very talented player with a rare skill set that allows him to impact games in a number of ways. He’s a versatile, smart, competitive and physical football player who has experienced winning at the highest level. Jamie was great to have in our building this season, and we look forward to him being a Cleveland Brown for a number of years to come. We are counting on him to be a big part of us becoming a winning team.”
“From the day I walked in the door, I felt welcomed by my new teammates and everyone in this organization,” Collins said. “The past is the past as far as last season’s record, but today is a new day. I’m only looking forward. I know we have a lot of work to do, and with Coach Hue leading us and the front office bringing in talent, I feel like we are going to get there and I feel good about continuing my career here.”
With Collins locked up, the Browns can now shift focus to another major free agent. Wideout Terrelle Pryor is set to become a free agent following his breakout 2016 campaign. Since the team signed Collins to an extension, the Browns could look to apply the franchise tag to Pryor.
For the second time today, a long snapper has inked an extension. According to Terez A. Paylor of KansasCity.com, the Chiefs have signed special teamer James Winchester to a new contract. Details are unknown, but we shouldn’t expect a giant raise for the 27-year-old. Winchester’s 2016 base salary was $525K, per OverTheCap.com.
The long snapper caught on with the Eagles after going undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2013. After spending much of that season on the practice squad, Winchester found himself out of the NFL in 2014. Chiefs long-time long snapper Thomas Gafford left the team following the 2014 season, and the organization subsequently inked Winchester. The special teamer proceeded to appear in every game over the past two seasons.
Winchester has contributed positively to the Chiefs impressive special teams unit in 2015 and 2016. The long snapper had a key fumble recovery during his team’s overtime victory over the Broncos earlier this season.
Winchester’s father, Michael, was a punter at Oklahoma during the 1980s. Michael was tragically killed in a shooting at Will Rogers World Airport this past November.
T.J. Lang will be a sought-after guard if he makes it to the free agent market, joining the likes of Kevin Zeitler, Ronald Leary and Larry Warford among a talented contingent of interior blockers. But the six-year Packers starter wants to wrap up his prime years in Green Bay.
“I think everybody in this locker room knows that this is where I want to play,” Lang said, via Ryan Wood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s been eight years now. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ve been saying that since the beginning. I love this team; I love Green Bay; I love everything about being a Packer.”
Already having two tackles signed long-term, Ted Thompson did not make a Lang extension a priority this season. Nothing emerged about the sides discussing a deal. Lang, who will undergo hip surgery for an injury that’s bothered him all year (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com), won’t turn 30 until September. He made his first Pro Bowl this season, but Thompson cut three-time Pro Bowler Josh Sitton last year. The Packers have depth at tackle with Bryan Bulaga, David Bakhtiari and second-rounder Jason Spriggs, but the build-from-within team doesn’t have a surefire replacement lined up at guard. Center J.C. Tretter also stands to be a UFA come March.
Here’s more coming out of Green Bay after the franchise’s second NFC championship loss in three seasons.
Most of the league’s head coaching and coordinator vacancies have been filled, but teams are still making important coaching decisions. Let’s round up a few of the latest coaching-related notes:
In advance of March 9, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the Seattle Seahawks, who earned their fifth straight postseason appearance in 2016 before being bounced in the divisional round.
1) Ameliorate the offensive line: Seattle’s problems up front have been incredibly well-documented, and realistically, the offensive line could probably be listed first, second, and third in this piece. But although the Seahawks ranked 25th in adjusted sack rate and 26th in adjusted line yards, head coach Pete Carroll said earlier this month that his club probably won’t be active in free agency as it attempts to address the front five.
“I don’t think that way. That’s now how we — ‘OK, let’s take money and put it here and all of a sudden you’re going to get better.’ You’ve got to get guys that can play worthy of it, and when they demonstrate that then they get paid,” Carroll said. “I don’t think you can just buy your way to it. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to go out and spend a ton of money in free agency on one guy to try to save the day. That’s now how we function at all.”
The Seahawks did find one solution during the 2016 season, as Justin Britt — who has been shifted from offensive tackle to guard to center during his three years in the NFL — finally found a home at the pivot, and should solidify the middle of Seattle’s line for years to come. The rest of the group, however, represents what Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus termed an “unavoidable problem.” George Fant, Garry Gilliam, and Bradley Sowell all ranked as bottom-10 tackles last season, per PFF, while guards Mark Glowinski and Germain Ifedi also graded out poorly.
Guard is probably the lesser of the two priorities, as Glowinski (fourth round, 2015) and Ifedi (first round, 2016) are both recent draft picks who just completed their first seasons as starters. But if the Seahawks want to scour the free agent market for a cheap alternative, there are options available. Chance Warmack is set to become a free agent after flaming out with the Titans, and though he clearly never lived up to his draft billing (10th overall in 2013), Warmack might offer the sort of tool package that Seattle offensive coach Tom Cable could seek to rework. Saints veteran Jahri Evans, who spent training camp with the Seahawks last season, is also expected to be available once again.
Tackle — both right and left — needs to be the primary focus for Seattle this offseason, and though Carroll clearly doesn’t think free agency is the correct avenue to find talent, the Seahawks would do well to bring in at least one external option in the next few months. Old friend Russell Okung could hit the market if the Broncos decline his option, which seems likely given that said option will lock in an additional four years, $48MM, and $19.5MM in guarantees. Fellow left tackle Kelvin Beachum is in a similar situation, as the Jaguars hold an option that is also likely to be declined.
Aside from Okung or Beachum, it’s difficult to see how the Seahawks could improve via the free agent market, assuming that they’re not going to spend at the top of the market to bring in Riley Reiff, Andrew Whitworth, Ricky Wagner, or the like. The Vikings’ Matt Kalil figures to be available, but he’s been among the worst tackles in the league since his promising rookie season. Menelik Watson and Sebastian Vollmer could come cheap, but neither has played a significant number of snaps lately. Veteran Andre Smith, who managed only four games with the Vikings before being placed on injured reserve, stands out as a potential option on one-year deal.
If Seattle wants to add a new tackle through the draft, the club should have several options on Days 1 and 2. Alabama’s Cam Robinson is viewed as the best tackle in the 2017 class, in the estimation of Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com, while Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk — whom Josh Norris of Rotoworld recently mocked to the Hawks — isn’t far behind. Garett Bolles (Utah) is also “shooting up” draft boards, as Matt Miller of Bleacher Report recently noted, and could end up becoming the first tackle selected. Florida States’ Roderick Johnson, Temple’s Dion Dawkins, and Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey could also be considered in the first few rounds of the draft.
Browns coaches represent one of the two staffs summoned to instruct sides at the Senior Bowl, and the team made a specific request. The Browns asked Deshaun Watson to play in the Senior Bowl only to see the Clemson quarterback pass on the opportunity, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports.
Despite being a junior, Watson was eligible for the game due to having graduated early. Neither of his potential first-round peers, Mitch Trubisky and DeShone Kizer, are eligible to compete in the top college all-star game. Watson would have played for the South team, which the Browns’ staff is instructing. Bears coaches are leading the North squad. The Browns have been linked to both Watson and Trubisky recently, but the latest report coming out of Cleveland pointed to the Browns eyeing Watson with their No. 12 overall pick. The direct communication with the dual-threat passer certainly points to this interest.
“There are going to be other guys that are not participating either, so I won’t hold it against him,” Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. He’s still a draftable player. … Obviously, we wish he were here. It would’ve been a great chance to have an opportunity to evaluate him doing the things we do in meetings and on the practice field.”
Here’s more from Cleveland and other AFC North cities.
The Colts’ list of candidates for their GM role thus far consists entirely of executives who interviewed with the 49ers as well, and one may have a choice to make. George Paton will interview with the Colts, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports.
Indianapolis requested an interview with Paton, along with Seahawks co-player personnel directors Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, earlier today. Paton is scheduled to meet with the 49ers again on Friday or Saturday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), where he’s slated to join Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (via Twitter). Pelissero adds the Colts hope to meet with GM candidates in the next few days. They are also scheduled to meet with internal candidate Jimmy Raye III.
While each of the Colts’ candidates has interviewed with the 49ers, Paton is unique because he is a finalist for the San Francisco job. He’s “very much” the leader in that race, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Complicating matters, the Colts have proven to feature a more stable environment, Ryan Grigson‘s ouster notwithstanding, in recent years. The 49ers became the first team in nearly 40 years to fire first-year coaches in back-to-back years, and the Colts obviously have a long-term quarterback in Andrew Luck. Despite underwhelming at 8-8, the Colts won more games in 2016 than the 49ers did in the past two seasons combined.
A 10-year Vikings exec, Paton rejected opportunities to leave Minnesota in recent years. But this time Rick Spielman‘s top staffer appears serious about becoming a GM elsewhere.
The Redskins re-signed longtime long snapper Nick Sundberg, the team announced, putting him in position to play into the next decade with the franchise. It’s a four-year deal running through 2020, Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets. This marks Washington’s first re-signing of the offseason.
Serving as the Redskins’ primary long snapper since being acquired in 2010, Sundberg has played in 91 regular-season games with Washington. Sundberg’s previous deal paid him a career-high $1MM in base salary in 2016 and averaged $1MM annually. Considering Dolphins long snapper John Denney leads this anonymous group with with a $1.15MM-AAV contract, Sundberg’s next pact figures to be similar in value to his previous accord.
The 29-year-old specialist played in each of Washington’s 16 games in both 2014 and ’15 but missed two contests due to injury this season, inducing the Redskins to sign Rick Lovato as a free agent. Sundberg, though, returned to action soon after.
