2017 February - Pro Football Rumors

Marc Trestman Returns To CFL

February 27th, 2017 at 8:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Bears head coach Marc Trestman is returning to the Canadian Football League to become the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts, according to Gary Lawless of TSN. Trestman was previously the head coach of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes from 2008-12.

Trestman, 61, was hired as Chicago’s head coach prior to the 2013 season, and led the Bears to an 8-8 season and, perhaps more impressively, a No. 6 rating in offensive DVOA. The bottom fell out during the following campaign, however, as Chicago stumbled to 5-11 record. Trestman and general manager Phil Emery were both fired after that 2014 season.

A longtime offensive coach in both the collegiate and pro ranks, Trestman quickly found a new job, as he was hired as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator prior to the 2015 campaign. Baltimore’s offense struggled under Trestman’s watch, though, and he was let go following Week 5 and replaced by Marty Mornhinweg.

Latest Between Dont’a Hightower, Patriots

February 27th, 2017 at 8:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

A new deal between the Patriots and free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower is “not imminent,” reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (all Twitter links). New England could employ the franchise or transition tag on Hightower before Wednesday’s deadline, but it’s unclear whether the club will use that option. If they do, it could be a sign the two sides are nearing an extension that would supersede the tag, per Howe.

Hightower has indicated a willingness to sign the franchise tag, which would pay him roughly $14.7MM for the 2017 campaign. But the Patriots are also reportedly considering deploying the transition tag, which will cost less but also wouldn’t entitle New England to draft pick compensation if Hightower signs elsewhere. The Patriots have plenty of cap space, however, and would likely be able to match any offer Hightower scores on the open market.

Hightower, 26, played in 13 games last season and racked up 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-best linebacker among 87 qualifiers. Given that the Patriots have already traded away other key defenders such as Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones, Hightower may be the last man standing when New England decides where to spend its free agent dollars.

Chargers Franchise Tag Melvin Ingram

February 27th, 2017 at 7:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chargers have placed the franchise tag on edge rusher Melvin Ingram, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Ingram becomes the fifth pending free agent to be handed the franchise tender today, joining Chandler Jones, Kawann Short, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Le’Veon Bell.

Ingram, 27, will earn a one-year, fully guaranteed salary of roughly $14.75MM, although the exact figure won’t be known until the NFL announces the official salary cap for 2017. After seeing Ingram post 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons, Los Angeles was more than willing to pay that total in order to ensure he’ll will remain with the Chargers for at least one more campaign.

Rival clubs can still bid on Ingram, but they’d have to sacrifice two first-round picks in order to sign him away. Los Angeles has until July 15 to sign Ingram to an extension, or he’ll be forced to play out the season on the one-year tender.

Ingram placed fourth on the most recent edition of PFR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, and was listed second on our list of free agent edge defenders, just behind Jones and ahead of Pierre-Paul. The No. 6 pass rusher in the NFL last season — according to Pro Football Focus — Ingram will return to Los Angeles to pair with PFF’s No. 5 edge player, Joey Bosa. Both defenders will likely play end in new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley‘s 4-3 scheme.

The 2017 free agent class of edge defenders is rapidly thinning now that Ingram, Jones, and Pierre-Paul are all under the franchise tag. Nick Perry (Packers), Jabaal Sheard (Patriots), James Harrison (Steelers), and John Simon (Texans) look like the next best options among pass rushing free agents.

Jets Still Shopping Sheldon Richardson?

February 27th, 2017 at 6:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets entertained offers for pass rusher Sheldon Richardson prior to last year’s trade deadline, and Gang Green will “almost certainly” keep trying to deal him this offseason, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. While New York is likely to ask for a first-round pick in exchange for Richardson (as the club reportedly did in 2016), the Jets will likely have to settle for less attractive compensation, such as a third-rounder, per Cimini.

At least two known clubs — the Broncos and Cowboys — expressed interest in Richardson near last season’s trade deadline. Dallas, specifically, made an offer for Richardson, but it wasn’t enough for the Jets to part ways with the former first-round pick. Theoretically, the Cowboys could still be intrigued by Richardson’s talents as they seek to rebuild their lackluster pass rush. Denver, meanwhile, once again fielded one of the league’s best defenses in 2016, but might be able to use another pass rusher next year, especially if DeMarcus Ware leaves town.

Richardson certainly has his warts, however, which could contribute to a limited trade market. For one, the 26-year-old wasn’t all that effective last season, as he managed only 1.5 sacks in 15 games (though he still graded out as the NFL’s No. 31 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus). Richardson also comes with off-field question marks, as he has a substance abuse suspension in his past, and has dealt with commitment and tardiness issues.

Additionally, Richardson is only under contract for one more season. In 2017, Richardson will earn $8.069MM under the terms of his fifth-year option before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/27/17

February 27th, 2017 at 5:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

The 49ers have re-signed exclusive rights free agents Carl Bradford (linebacker) and Mike Purcell (defensive lineman), the team announced. San Francisco claimed Bradford, a former Green Bay fourth-round pick, off waivers near the tail end of last season, and the 24-year-old went on to play in two games with the Niners. Purcell, meanwhile, has spent the past three seasons with the 49ers. In 2016, he appeared in 15 games (five starts) and played on roughly a quarter of San Francisco’s defensive snaps.
The Buccaneers have re-signed exclusive rights free agents WR Adam Humphries (wide receiver), DB Jude Adjei-Barimah (defensive back), Adarius Glanton (linebacker), and Freddie Martino (wide receiver), reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Humphries (55 receptions, 622 yards, two scores) and Adjei-Barimah (290 defensive snaps before a PED suspension) played the largest roles among this group in 2016.
The Cardinals announced that they’re re-signed linebacker Gabe Martin, who was an exclusive rights free agent. Martin, 24, played in eight games last season but spent most of his time on special teams. The former undrafted free agent was placed on injured reserve in November after suffering a knee injury.
The Jaguars announced that they’ve signed offensive lineman Greg Van Roten. Van Roten, 27, hasn’t appeared in the NFL since 2013, when he played in three games for Green Bay. After spending a few months with Seattle in 2014, Van Roten signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, where he’s played the past two campaigns.
The Colts have agreed to sign offensive lineman Fahn Cooper, the club announced today. Cooper, a 2016 sixth-round choice out of Ole Miss, spent his rookie season on the 49ers’ practice squad. The 23-year-old was placed on San Francisco’s taxi squad injured reserve list in November.
The Saints have waived offensive lineman Avery Young, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Young, 24, went undrafted out of Auburn in 2016, and ended up spending the entirety of his rookie campaign on the non-football injury list.

Dwight Freeney To Continue Playing?

February 27th, 2017 at 5:04pm CST by Zachary Links

After Super Bowl 51, Dwight Freeney said he wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue playing in 2017. After some thought, the veteran has decided to return for his 16th NFL season, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. However, Freeney himself tells Jim Trotter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that while he’ll “most likely” continue his career in 2017, he hasn’t yet made a final decision.

Freeney signed on with the Falcons in August 2016 and wound up helping the team to an NFC championship. After Atlanta’s unfortunate collapse in the Super Bowl, the 37-year-old apparently wants one more chance to leave the game on a high note. In 15 regular season games, Freeney totaled ten tackles and three sacks.

He’s no longer a Pro Bowl-caliber defensive end, but he is still effective as a situational pass rusher. Last week, we ranked Freeney as one of the 15 best edge defenders scheduled for free agency. Still, teams might not want to commit guaranteed dollars to him while the free agent period is in bloom, so he might have to wait until the summer again before he signs.

Giants To Franchise Tag Jason Pierre-Paul

February 27th, 2017 at 3:51pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants will apply the non-exclusive franchise tag to Jason Pierre-Paul, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). Unless the two sides work out a new deal between now and July, JPP will play out 2017 on a one-year, $16.955MM contract. The transaction was not formally processed before the end of business on Monday, but the Giants have informed him of their decision.

The G-Men will work “aggressively” to lock Pierre-Paul up beyond 2017, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. The Giants have about $31.5MM in cap space before factoring in the tag and they can preserve a good chunk of that by smoothing out JPP’s cap hit on a multi-year deal. Ideally, the Giants would like to retain their defensive core, which means brand new deals for JPP and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins.

Had JPP reached the open market, he would have stood as one of the best free agent edge defenders in this year’s class. Now that he and Jones have been franchise tagged and Melvin Ingram probably isn’t far behind, Packers standout Nick Perry probably has to be considered the best of the bunch. Perry, 27 in April, will be heavily targeted by 3-4 teams looking to boost their pass rush.

Chiefs Extend Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

February 27th, 2017 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have locked up one of their starting offensive linemen for years to come. The team has agreed to a five-year, $41.25MM extension with guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal includes $20MM in guaranteed money, a source tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). It’s not immediately clear how much of that $20MM is guaranteed at signing versus yearly guarantees that are triggered at the outset of each league year.

Over the last two years, the 6’5″ lineman has appeared in 30 games for KC with 27 starts. In 2016, he was ranked as the 27th best guard in the NFL by Pro Football Focus with a 78.4 overall score. That grade put him ahead of notables like Kyle Long, Austin Pasztor, and Patrick Omameh. His pass blocking was particularly strong and he had the 14th highest score amongst guards in that area by PFF’s measure.

Duvernay-Tardif had one more year to go on his rookie deal, but the Chiefs saw an opportunity to lock him up on what they feel is a team-friendly extension. The contract could take the guard through his age-30 season. Sometime after that, the McGill product hopes to become a full-time doctor.

Steelers Franchise Tag Le’Veon Bell

February 27th, 2017 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have placed the franchise tag on running back Le’Veon Bell, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Steelers have opted for the exclusive tag, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), which means that no other team can sign him away. The two sides now have until July to hammer out a new contract. If they do not, Bell will play out 2017 on a one-year, ~$12MM deal.

The non-exclusive variant of the tag, which costs the same as the exclusive one, opens the door for another team to sign the player if the original club does not match. When that happens, the team losing the player collects on two first-round picks.

Bell, 25, is arguably the best running back in the NFL. Had he reached unrestricted free agency, Bell probably would have become the highest-paid tailback in the NFL, considering that Adrian Peterson‘s current deal is days away from being terminated.

In 12 games last year, Bell ran for 1,268 yards off of 261 carries (4.9 yards per attempt) and had seven rushing touchdowns. Bell was often utilized as a receiver too, totaling 75 catches for 616 yards and two scores. As if that wasn’t enough, Pro Football Focus gave him the sixth-highest pass blocking grade of any running back in the NFL last year. His overall grade, naturally, was No. 1 amongst RBs.

Browns Don’t Plan To Tag Terrelle Pryor

February 27th, 2017 at 2:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Kawann Short and Chandler Jones were officially hit with the franchise tag on Monday, but it doesn’t sound like Terrelle Pryor will be joining them in that boat. The Browns still do not plan to use the designation on their pending free agent wide receiver, a league source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

[RELATED: Browns Release WR Andrew Hawkins]

Pryor broke out in 2016, but a ~$16MM salary would still be astronomical for a player of his caliber. The Browns are working feverishly to lock him up between now and the start of free agency, but they won’t chance having to absorb that cap hit. One alternative could be the transition tag, which would effectively make Pryor a restricted free agent without giving the team a chance of draft compensation.

We have the 6’4″, 223 pounder rated as the second-best wide receiver slated for free agency. Despite having to catch passes from five different quarterbacks, Pryor managed 77 receptions for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns. In a dismal season for the Browns, Pryor was one of the few bright spots.