HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Bears Notes: Pace, Fox, Jeffery, Cutler, Staff

January 4th, 2017 at 9:40pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Armed with significant cap space and the third overall pick in this year’s draft, the Bears should be in position to bounce back from their three-win 2016 next season. General manager Ryan Pace is cognizant of that, as he told reporters Wednesday that the Bears are “going to be aggressive and calculated” in the coming months. “This offseason’s huge,” he said (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune). “And I think there’s a big responsibility with that much cap space, (picking) this high in the draft. It’s a significant offseason for us. And we’ve got to get going in that direction.”

The Bears have gone just 9-23 in two years under Pace and head coach John Fox, but chairman George McCaskey hasn’t put either on the hot seat. “I’m not a patient person but I promised (Pace) that I would be patient,” he stated (via the Associated Press). “With all the adversity that we’ve had, I like the steady hand that he and John have had on the team.”

More from Chicago:

  • The Bears’ marquee free agent is wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a 2016 franchise tag recipient who posted underwhelming production (by his lofty standards) and missed four games because of a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Pace assessed Jeffery’s season Wednesday and added that the team has a “big decision” forthcoming on whether to retain him. “I don’t think, I feel like this season, he really got into a rhythm that he would’ve liked to have gotten into,” said Pace (per Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times). “I think that was because a lot of different quarterback play and also he missed four games. It’s hard for him to get in a rhythm and I think he showcased what he can do.”
  • As Pace mentioned with regards to Jeffery, the Bears shuffled through various quarterbacks – primarily Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer and Jay Cutler – this season. The club will now have an offseason call to make on Cutler, who’s a strong release candidate. By cutting the soon-to-be 34-year-old Cutler, whom injuries limited to five games this season, the Bears would save $14MM in cap space against $2MM in dead money. McCaskey revealed he “has always been” a Cutler fan, but he noted that the 11-year veteran’s fate rests with Pace and Fox. A decision on Cutler hasn’t “been completely finalized yet,” according to Pace, who added that the signal-caller is “significantly ahead of schedule” from the right shoulder surgery he underwent last month. At the time same, though, Pace declared that “everything is on the table” as far as finding a franchise passer goes (via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com and Conor Orr of NFL.com).
  • The Bears will retain their most prominent assistants – offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio – but changes are underway elsewhere on the coaching staff. Fox fired his longest-tenured assistant, offensive line coach Dave Magazu, and let assistant defensive backs coach Sam Garnes go, reports Biggs. The team will also need a new running backs coach, as Stan Drayton stepped down Tuesday to take a position with the University of Texas.

Latest On Futures Of Raiders, Chargers

January 4th, 2017 at 8:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Raiders have long been preparing to file for Las Vegas relocation after the season, but owner Mark Davis’ relationship with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has hit rough patches along the way. Adelson, who could commit $650MM to a $1.9 billion stadium in Las Vegas, threatened to bail out in October. That preceded a December report stating he and Davis had continued to encounter difficulties in their talks.

Las Vegas Raiders (featured)

It now appears the two sides are on the right track, though, as they’ve “made significant progress” in negotiations, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Raiders previously cleared a major relocation hurdle in October when Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Legislature signed off on a record $750MM in public money toward a stadium. If Adelson follows through on his commitment, the Raiders would take care of the rest and put forth $500MM.

With Adelson on board, the Raiders would still have to file for relocation, which they could do this month, and receive at least 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners to head from Oakland to Las Vegas by next season. The voting process would likely take place in March, Cole reported in October.

Like the Raiders, the Chargers could leave their current home this offseason, but owner Dean Spanos hasn’t shown much eagerness to depart San Diego. The league’s finance and stadium committees will meet Jan. 11 to discuss the Chargers’ future, per the Associated Press, which could mean the team will hold off on announcing its 2017 plans this week, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Chargers are facing a Jan. 15 deadline to choose whether to join the Rams in Los Angeles, but they could land an extension that would enable them to postpone the decision, a source told Acee.

To this point, neither the Raiders nor Chargers have come close to finding stadium solutions in their current cities. Oakland, with the help of ex-Raider Ronnie Lott, has a $1.3 billion stadium proposal on the table, but the franchise doesn’t view it as economically viable. San Diego – both the city and county – and San Diego State are willing to put up $375MM toward a facility for the Chargers, who would contribute $350MM and receive another $300MM from the league. However, the Chargers contend that joint effort would still fall anywhere from $100MM to $175MM short of what it would cost to build a stadium, notes Acee.

NFL To Decide Randy Gregory’s Fate Soon

January 4th, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The NFL will make a decision on whether to suspend Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory within the next seven to 10 days, reports Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That means Dallas, the NFC’s top seed, will know Gregory’s fate before its Jan. 15 divisional round matchup.

Randy Gregory

Gregory had a Tuesday appeal hearing with the league stemming from a November failed drug test that could trigger a one-year ban. If it does, it would be the third suspension in Gregory’s two-year career. The 2015 second-round pick from Nebraska missed 14 games this season because of his first two suspensions, and it appeared he wouldn’t play at all after his latest failed test. Gregory elected to challenge the ruling, though, which allowed him to return to the field in Week 16. In the only two games he played during the regular season, Gregory racked up nine tackles and his first career sack.

If the league does bar Gregory from participating for the next year, it seems unlikely to affect his status with the Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones hasn’t shown any willingness to give up on Gregory, whose substance abuse issues date back to his time as a college star. Those problems led Gregory to fall to the draft’s 60th pick, where the Cowboys took a gamble on his upside. Gregory’s on-field impact has been minimal thus far, however, and the Cowboys managed a 13-3 record in 2016 without any significant contributions from the 24-year-old.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/17

January 4th, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:

  • The Packers are promoting cornerback Herb Waters from their practice squad, head coach Mike McCarthy announced Wednesday (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). He’ll replace fellow corner Makinton Dorleant, who is going on injured reserve with a knee ailment. Along with Dorleant, a couple other Packers corners – Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins – are banged up as their Sunday wild-card showdown with the Giants approaches. As a result, Waters, an undrafted rookie from Miami who began as a wide receiver, will suit up for the first time.
  • The Cowboys signed receiver Shaq Evans to their practice squad. Evans had been available since the Patriots cut him from their practice squad Oct. 20. The former UCLA Bruin has also spent time with the Jets, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and Jaguars. He hasn’t yet recorded a statistic in the NFL.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/17

January 4th, 2017 at 6:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

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.

Los Angeles Rams

  • DB Jerome Couplin
  • LB Cassanova McKinzy
  • LB Reggie Northrup
  • DB Kevin Peterson
  • WR Brandon Shippen
  • DB Kevin Short
  • RB Brandon Wegher
  • TE Bryce Williams

New Orleans Saints

  • LB Adam Bighill
  • DB Forrest Hightower

New York Jets

  • K Ross Martin

Philadelphia Eagles

  • WR Rasheed Bailey

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • TE Kivon Cartwright
  • K John Lunsford

Kyle Shanahan Wants Broncos’ HC Job

January 4th, 2017 at 6:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With 170 regular-season victories and two Super Bowl titles from 1995-2008, Mike Shanahan remains the most successful head coach in the history of the Broncos. Now, if Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has his way, he’ll follow in his father’s footsteps and take over the Broncos’ sideline. The popular head coaching candidate is a possibility to fill several vacancies around the NFL, but his preference is to end up in Denver, league sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Kyle Shanahan

It’s easy to understand Shanahan’s appeal to head coach-needy teams, as the 37-year-old has distinguished himself as one of the league’s premier offensive assistants in stints with the Texans, Redskins, Browns and Falcons. Atlanta won the NFC South and has a first-round playoff bye thanks largely to its Shanahan-coached offense, which ended the regular season atop the league in DVOA and scoring. The Falcons piled up 71 more points than second-place New Orleans and scored on more than half their offensive possessions.

Now, if Shanahan parlays his success as a coordinator into the Broncos’ head coaching job, he’ll do as his father did and team with John Elway. Of course, in Mike Shanahan’s heyday, Elway was the quarterback. He’s now the general manager of a franchise that has less appealing signal-calling options in Trevor Siemian and 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch. The younger Shanahan would have to get more from either Siemian or Lynch than Gary Kubiak did this season, though the team could look outside the organization for a more estalished starter in the coming months.

Regardless of its future direction under center, it’s clear that the Broncos need help on offense after lackluster showings in each of the past two seasons. Denver’s defense carried a below-average offense to a Super Bowl championship a year ago, but the team wasn’t able to replicate that in 2016 en route to nine wins and a third-place finish in the AFC West.

AFC Notes: Titans, Bills, Raiders, Texans, Fins

January 4th, 2017 at 5:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Titans made wide receiver Kendall Wright a healthy scratch for their season finale last Sunday, and now the impending free agent is ready to leave Tennessee. “I saw the 2017 Tennessee Titans, and I am not a part of the 2017 Tennessee Titans,” Wright told TitansOnline.com on Monday (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). “It is what it is. I respect everybody in the building.” A first-round pick in 2012, Wright began his career with three straight seasons of at least 57 catches and 93 targets, but the Titans tamped down their reliance on him the past two years. In 21 games dating back to 2015, Wright has combined for just 65 receptions and 102 targets. Now, with a trip to the open market looming, Wright feels “free.”

While Wright looks like a lock to exit the organization, two of his coaches – Bob Bratkowski (receivers) and Jason Tucker (assistant WRs) – definitely won’t be back in 2017. The Titans parted ways with the duo Wednesday, tweets Jim Wyatt of the team’s website.

More from the AFC:

  • The Bills will interview their interim head coach, Anthony Lynn, on Thursday, according to John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter link). There was a report Tuesday that Lynn might not want to take over on a permanent basis in Buffalo, though he’s at least keeping that option on the table. The 48-year-old is a popular candidate around the NFL, as PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker shows.
  • Raiders safety Karl Joseph says he’ll play in Saturday’s wild-card matchup in Houston, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. The rookie missed the last four games of the regular season, and his return is big for Oakland with Nate Allen in the concussion protocol.
  • Unlike Joseph, Texans quarterback Tom Savage won’t be available this weekend, relays Palmer (Twitter link). Savage suffered a concussion last Sunday, thereby reopening the door for Brock Osweiler to start, but there was hope that Savage would be OK to serve as a backup. That won’t be the case, though, and the Texans will have to turn to Brandon Weeden as their No. 2 option.
  • The Dolphins worked out linebacker Ron Thompson, defensive end Arthur Miley and four defensive backs – L.J. McCray, Floyd Raven, Trent Matthews and Daniel Davie – according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Miami’s need for DBs is obvious, as its secondary is extremely banged up with the team’s weekend wild-card game in Pittsburgh approaching. Cornerback Byron Maxwell and safety Bacarri Rambo didn’t practice Wednesday, while safeties Reshad Jones and Isa Abdul-Quddus are on the shelf thanks to season-ending injuries.
  • In addition to the previously reported Elijah Shumate and Jeff Richards, the Chiefs auditioned receiver Tre Houston, kicker Devon Bell, defensive tackle Montori Hughes, linebacker Deon Lacey, defensive end Terrell Lathan, tight end Ryan Malleck, running back Will Ratelle and defensive back Julian Wilson last Friday, per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. All are candidates to sign reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs, writes Paylor, who notes that now-starting running back Spencer Ware joined the team on that type of contract in January 2015.
Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cowboys Sign Jonathan Cooper

January 4th, 2017 at 4:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have signed guard Jonathan Cooper and cut fellow guard Ryan Seymour in a corresponding move. Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram reported earlier Wednesday that Dallas and Cooper had agreed to terms (Twitter link).

Jonathan Cooper (vertical)

Cooper, who was recently cut loose by the Browns, worked out for the Cowboys this week and made a solid impression on coaches. The former No. 7 overall pick hasn’t come close to living up to expectations, but the advanced stats indicate that he was pretty decent in his short stint with Cleveland.

The Cowboys are still waiting on the return of La’el Collins, but Cooper can help shore things up on the interior line until he gets back. Cooper figures to slot in as a depth piece behind starters Ronald Leary and Zack Martin and reserve Joe Looney.

The Cowboys have a first-round bye before getting started in the divisional round.

Latest On Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill

January 4th, 2017 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins coach Adam Gase says Ryan Tannehill won’t practice today (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com). If he gets one day of practice, that will be enough for Miami to play him on Sunday. However, Gase admits the Dolphins “may run out of time this week” (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). Ryan Tannehill (vertical)

[RELATED: Dolphins To Release DL Mario Williams]

Miami’s original plan was to bring Tannehill back for Week 17 against the Patriots, but they decided to play it safe since they already had a 92% chance of making the postseason. With the ultra-tough Steelers on the docket, however, the Fins are eager to get their No. 1 QB back.

Tannehill was able to shed the cast on his injured leg some time ago, so he is at least moving in the right direction. Initially feared to be an ACL tear, Tannehill is dealing with an ACL/MCL sprain. That’s no walk in the park, but not as grim as it could be.

In his 13 games this season, Tannehill has completed a career-high 67.1% of his passes with 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. If Tannehill is unable to go, quarterback Matt Moore will start in his place.

Draft Rumors: Kaaya, Watt, Conley, Thomas

January 4th, 2017 at 1:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest NFL Draft news:

  • Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya will enter the NFL Draft, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Kaaya has long been expected to go pro this year and take advantage of a weak QB crop. Reportedly, the Bears are among the teams that are fond of him and some say he has the highest football IQ of any QB in this year’s class.
  • Wisconsin standout T.J. Watt announced that he is NFL-bound. After tallying 63 tackles and 11.5 sacks in 14 games, Watt stands as one of the very best outside linebackers in this year’s class. The younger brother of Texans superstar J.J. Watt is expected to go within the first two rounds.
  • Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley declared for the draft this week. It has been long expected that the fourth-year junior would forego his final year on campus to go pro. Conley is one of the best cornerbacks available this year and projects as a late first-round or early second-round pick.
  • Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas announced that he is declaring for the NFL Draft. Thomas could potentially be a first round pick, but he is in competition with an uncommonly stacked defensive end class.
Load More Posts