2017 June - Pro Football Rumors

Details On Derek Carr’s Contract

June 22nd, 2017 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

We now have some additional details on Derek Carr‘s new extension with the Raiders. As previously reported, the five-year, $125MM deal gives Carr a record-setting $25MM per year when evaluating only the new money. A closer look shows that the deal, while still lucrative, is far from a sure thing for the young quarterback.

Carr will get $40MM fully guaranteed at signing with $70.2MM guaranteed for injury, as ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets. However, the particulars of the deal effectively make this a two-year, $47.5MM contract with team options the rest of the way. That’s because Carr’s 2019 and 2020 guarantees do not vest until February in each of those years. It’s also worth noting that the final two years of the deal – 2021 and 2022 – are non-guaranteed.

If the Raiders do not release Carr before that date in 2019, he’ll be in line for $67.5MM in earnings through the first three years of the deal. As we learned on Thursday morning, Carr’s agents purposely pushed for a backloaded contract so that Carr could take full advantage of Nevada’s 0% state tax. Still, the fine print of the deal leaves Carr with little certainty in the event that he regresses. The notion of Carr falling off before his 30th birthday seems unlikely today, but stranger things have happened in the NFL.

Chiefs Fire GM John Dorsey

June 22nd, 2017 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Shocking news out of Kansas City as the Chiefs have fired general manager John Dorsey. This comes on the heels of a brand new extension for coach Andy Reid.

“I notified John that we would not be extending his contract beyond the 2017 season, and after consideration, we felt it was in his best interests and the best interests of the team to part ways now,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “This decision, while a difficult one, allows John to pursue other opportunities as we continue our preparations for the upcoming season and the seasons to come. My family and I sincerely appreciate John’s work over the last four-and-a-half years, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

It’s not often that teams will make a GM change this late in the offseason. Dorsey was at the helm for the draft and the meat of free agency, but the Chiefs, for one reason or another, have decided to can him in June.

The Dorsey-led front office made some major moves this year, including the signing of Eric Berry to a substantial extension and trading up to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It’s not immediately clear what decision(s) led to Dorsey’s ouster or whether Reid wanted him gone.

Dorsey, who has 27 seasons of experience as a personnel member, was given the title of GM in Kansas City in January of 2013. After playing for the Packers and spending time in their front office, you can expect to hear some speculation about him eventually succeeding GM Ted Thompson in Green Bay.

“I want to thank Clark, the Hunt family and the Chiefs fans for the opportunity to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom over the last four seasons,” Dorsey said. “I believe this team is well positioned for the future and I wish Coach Reid, the players and the entire organization all the best.”

The Chiefs are expected to explore both internal and external options to replace Dorsey. After letting Chris Ballard leave to become the GM of the Colts, they are down one excellent in-house candidate.

Rams Release DT Tyrunn Walker

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have released defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Walker joined the Rams as a free agent just three months ago.

The Rams were Walker’s third NFL stop and he’ll now be in search of team No. 4. Walker, 27, spent the first three seasons of his career with the Saints and the last two with the Lions. All in all, he has totaled 42 appearances with the majority of his 13 career starts (eight) coming in 2016.

Walker tallied 26 tackles and played in 34.1% of the Lions’ defensive snaps last year. He ranked a below-average 77th among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.

With the Rams, Walker was supposed to provide depth at defensive tackle behind starting nose tackle Michael Brockers. Now, the Rams will evaluate Mike Purcell, rookie Tanzel Smart, and untested 2015 UDFA Louis Trinca-Pasat as reserve options.

Chiefs, Andy Reid Agree To Extension

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have signed coach Andy Reid to a contract extension, according to a team announcement. It’s a four-year extension, keeping him under contract through 2021, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter).

“My family and I have been very pleased by the success the franchise has sustained over the last four seasons under Coach Reid,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “He has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the league, and he is well on his way to solidifying a place among the all-time greats. We are proud to have him leading our football team, and I look forward to working with him to bring a championship to Chiefs Kingdom.”

Reid is entering his fifth year Kansas City and his 19th season as an NFL head coach. He owns a career regular season record of 173-114 (.602) and has 184 wins in total if you include the postseason. That total win count puts him second among active NFL head coaches, trailing only Bill Belichick (260). After helping KC reach the playoffs three times in the last four years, an extension was widely expected.

“I’d like to thank Clark and the entire Hunt family for the opportunity to continue my coaching career here in Kansas City,” Reid said. “We’ve made quite a bit of progress over the last four seasons, but we are not done yet. We are going to continue to work towards our ultimate goal of winning championships. I’ve been blessed by the support of the community, our fans, the Hunt family and the entire Chiefs staff. I’m looking forward to the years ahead as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Last year, Reid’s Chiefs finished with a 12-4 record and captured the AFC West title. After securing a first-round bye, the Chiefs lost to the Steelers in the divisional round. This year, they’ll hope for a better outcome.

NFC West Notes: Smelter, 49ers, Cardinals

June 22nd, 2017 at 2:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The odds are against receiver DeAndre Smelter making the 49ers‘ final cut, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes. Even though he’s 6’2″ and the rest of the team’s WRs are lacking size, the numbers crunch will make it hard for him to stick. The starters right now are Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin, and Jeremy Kerley. Meanwhile, Kyle Shanahan favorite Trent Taylor is almost assured a roster spot and Aldrick Robinson has a leg up thanks to his familiarity with Shanahan’s system. That leaves seven receivers, including Smelter, vying for one potential spot.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

Big things could be in Byron Leftwich‘s future. Leftwich is currently serving as the Cardinals‘ quarterbacks coach but head coach Bruce Arians seems to think he’ll ascend the ranks quickly. “He’ll be a head coach early and fast,” Arians said (via Darren Urban of the team’s official website). Leftwich was promoted to quarterbacks coach in January after Freddie Kitchens was moved to running backs coach as Stump Mitchell‘s replacement.
The Rams‘ inability to build a winning culture for the past 12 years has left them in a tough spot, Michael Lombardi of The Ringer writes. The Rams have just 60 wins over that period and have not done better than .500 in that span.
A pair of ex-49ers employees had some not-so-complimentary things to say about Colin Kaepernick.

Reactions To Derek Carr’s New Contract

June 22nd, 2017 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Derek Carr is now the highest-paid player in the NFL – if you count only his new money average. Carr will begin a five-year, $125MM deal in the 2018 season, giving him a record $25MM average annual value. If you roll in his 2017 salary, which is less than $2MM, then Carr’s yearly average falls closer to $21MM. Carr’s deal is substantial, but what kind of ripple effect will it really have on other top quarterbacks around the NFL?

Here’s a look at some reactions to Carr’s new deal:

The market for quarterbacks truly peaked with Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap (on Twitter) argues. Top players have failed to really push the market since 2013, in his view, as he feels that the league’s top quarterbacks should be earning between $27-$30MM per year at this point. Keep in mind, the salary cap has grown roughly 35% from 2013 to 2017 and top QB deals have not ballooned at the same rate.
Fitzgerald (Twitter links) also believes that Carr’s $70MM in injury guarantees hints at a contract that is going to be more like Russell Wilson‘s than a real market setter. A deal giving Carr about $43MM in Year 1 new money, $60MM by Year 2, and $80MM Year 3 would have pushed the market further, in Fitzgerald’s view. For what it’s worth, the expected cash flow on the deal might not be too far off at the start with $40MM fully guaranteed at signing. His $69MM intake over the first three years, however, falls short.
Carr’s new deal led Mike Florio of PFT to wonder how much Tom Brady could have gotten from the Patriots if he drove a hard bargain. One beat writer suggested to Florio that he could have gotten as much as $40MM per year. Florio doesn’t think it’s quite that high, but he does believe that the future Hall of Famer would be making at least $30MM per season if he wanted to squeeze every penny out of New England. Brady is under contract with the Pats through the 2019 season and he is arguably one of the league’s most underpaid players.
Even when going by new money average, Carr’s deal only tops Andrew Luck‘s by $271K per season, Florio notes.
Carr’s deal will impact negotiations for Matthew Stafford, but it probably won’t mean much to the Redskins and Kirk Cousins, as one agent tells Mark Maske of The Washington Post. “The Stafford contract clearly will take it the next step higher,” said one NFL agent not involved in the Carr, Stafford or Cousins negotiations. “Whatever Carr gets, Stafford will get more. The Cousins thing, that’s a little bit different. Those are negotiations where the numbers are set by the [franchise] tag, more so than [by comparison to] other contracts.”

NFC Rumors: Cousins, Kaepernick, Verner

June 22nd, 2017 at 11:12am CST by Zachary Links

There’s lots of talk about the Redskins and Kirk Cousins working out a deal in the mold of Derek Carr‘s record-breaking pact, but JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com wonders aloud if the two sides could instead do a shorter-term deal with full guarantees instead. The Redskins claim they are comfortable with going year-to-year with Cousins and controlling him for at least two more seasons via tags. However, that would mean paying out $24MM in 2017 and $34MM in 2018 with no certainty for 2019 and beyond. Instead, Finlay proposes a three-year deal worth $24MM per season with full guarantees. Given Cousins’ willingness to bet on himself, I have a hard time seeing the QB accepting such an offer, but it’s certainly a creative proposal.

Here’s more from the NFC:

One 49ers employee tells Albert Breer of The MMQB that Colin Kaepernick wouldn’t stay late at the facility during the season like many quarterbacks routinely do, opting instead to take work home. That didn’t set well with coaches who felt that his mediocre prep work led to bad mistakes in games. When asked if he thinks Kaepernick wants to continue playing, another team employee said, “I do think he wants to play—to stay relevant.” It should be noted that Kaepernick tossed only four interceptions against 16 touchdowns last season, so his errors did not result in a ton of turnovers. However, a player’s TD/INT rate obviously does not take other play-reading errors into account, such as missing an open receiver.
Free agent Alterraun Verner is still without a team as July approaches, but the former Buccaneers cornerback remains hopeful that he’ll find an NFL home for 2017. “I’ve worked out for a few teams including the Jaguars. I feel very confident something will happen come late summer,” Verner told SiriusXM (on Twitter). Verner was supposedly out of shape when he auditioned for Jacksonville and, as far as we know, the rumored mulligan on the workout never came to fruition.
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen is not ruling out the possibility of a holdout.

Backloaded Deal For Raiders’ Derek Carr?

June 22nd, 2017 at 9:43am CST by Zachary Links

Derek Carr and the Raiders have a new deal which will keep the quarterback in place through the 2022 season. We know that the new money average on the deal – $25MM per year – is an all-time record, but there are other factors which will dictate the true value of the deal. Naturally, the cash flow and nature of the guarantees will tell us a lot about how Carr did in negotiations, but his reps may have also structured his deal with the Nevada state tax code in mind, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

California’s state tax rate is 13.3%. Meanwhile, there is no state tax in Nevada. A backloaded deal could make a lot of sense for Carr and allow him to hang on to millions more in income.

We know that the Raiders plan to play their home games in Oakland for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In 2019, the team could move to a temporary home in Nevada while waiting for it’s new home to be built, but it’s also possible that they’ll extend their stay in Oakland for one more year. It stands to reason that Carr’s team has opted for less money in the first two years of the new deal (’18, ’19) with a step up in 2020, when the new stadium is projected to open.

It’s not just Carr that will be thinking of the Battle Born State when negotiating a new contract with the Raiders. The same will go for any Raider in extension talks, including Khalil Mack, Gabe Jackson, and Amari Cooper, Schefter tweets.

South Notes: O’Callaghan, Falcons, Decker

June 21st, 2017 at 9:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Chiefs and Patriots offensive tackle Ryan O’Callaghan has come out as gay, as Cyd Ziegler of OutSports.com writes. O’Callaghan, a former fifth-round pick who played in the NFL from 2006-11, describes a deeply dark period in his life during which he used painkillers extensively in order to cope with injuries and his mixed feelings regarding his own sexuality. Sadly, O’Callaghan admits he was on the verge of committing suicide before meeting with a clinical psychologist linked to the Chiefs. Slowly, O’Callaghan began coming out to family and friends — including former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli and college teammate Aaron Rodgers — and is now working with an LGBT organization in his native Redding, California. O’Callaghan’s story is one of courage and inspiration, and Ziegler’s article is well worth a full read.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two South divisions:

As Tom Pelissero of USA Today reported yesterday, Eric Decker‘s one-year contract with the Titans can be worth as much as $5.35MM, and today Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details exactly how Decker can reach that figure. In addition to his $2.5MM signing bonus and $1.35MM base salary, Decker can earn another $150K in gameday active roster bonuses. Additionally, Decker can get $250K if he scores four touchdowns, per Florio. He’ll receive $125K for every 10 catches starting at 30 and maxing out at 70 (netting him as much as $625K), and can earn another $125K for every 100 yards receiving starting at 450 and maxing out at 850 (potential total: $625K).
If recent history is any guide, cornerback Marcus Peters shouldn’t expect an extension from the Chiefs when he becomes a free agent in 2020, opines Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Kansas City has liberally used the franchise tag on its elite defenders, including edge rusher Justin Houston and safety Eric Berry in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Of course, both of those players eventually garnered long-term deals, and are each among the top-three at their position in annual salary. Still, the Chiefs are likely to exercise Peters’ fifth-year option for 2019, then use the franchise tag in 2020 before extending him.
A one-year deal is seemingly never a bad investment, but some single season pacts are more valuable than others, leading Field Yates of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) to examine the best one-year contracts handed out this offseason. Decker is the most recent signee to make the list, as he’s expected to act as a veteran presence on a young Titans receiving corps. Other featured players from the NFL’s South divisions include Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe ($10MM), Chiefs defensive tackle Bennie Logan ($8MM), and Colts wide receiver Kamar Aiken ($5MM).

Corey Coleman Not Charged In Assault

June 21st, 2017 at 9:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Browns wideout Corey Coleman was not charged in relation to a December assault that occurred at his apartment building, but Coleman’s brother and another man were indicated, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. However, the incident remains under investigation, so it’s unclear if Coleman could be charged at some point in the future.

“Corey has cooperated with the authorities,” Coleman’s attorney Kevin Spellacy tells Ulrich. “He continues to cooperate with the authorities. And he’s maintained he was not involved in a physical altercation at that incident whatsoever. Whether that be encouraging somebody, whether that be participating in fighting, he wasn’t involved. Period.”

As Ulrich details, the December 31 police report regarding the episode states Adam Sapp was assaulted as he walked towards an elevator in Coleman’s apartment complex. Sapp doesn’t remember the altercation, but a woman who was with him has accused Coleman of being involved in the fight and claims Coleman “beat up Sapp.” Sapp reportedly suffered a concussion, a ruptured eardrum, and other minor injuries, per Ulrich.

Even if Coleman isn’t eventually charged with a crime, he could still be subject to NFL discipline. As previous investigations have shown, the league often doesn’t take its cue from the legal process, preferring to mete out punishment of its own volition.