2017 June - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens TE Benjamin Watson Takes Pay Cut

June 13th, 2017 at 1:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Ravens tight end Ben Watson has agreed to take a pay cut, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. If Watson is healthy, the deal could improve his chances of making the final 53-man cut.

Watson was previously slated to make $3MM in the coming season. Instead, he’ll now take in a base salary of $1.25MM with more than half of that sum ($750K) fully guaranteed. The deal also has incentive opportunities that can bring him back up to the original $3MM mark.

Watson could be key for the Ravens in the coming year now that Dennis Pitta is out of the picture. Last year, Pitta battled back from multiple hip injuries to turn in one of the best seasons of his career. Watson might not be able to match his production – Pitta caught 86 passes for 729 yards and two scores – but he could help to fill the void.

Watson, 36, signed a two-year, $7MM contract with Baltimore last spring, but never made it on the field after going down in August. In 2015, he had 74 receptions for 825 yards and six touchdowns for the Saints.

Colts Work Out TE Larry Donnell

June 13th, 2017 at 1:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have invited a number of tryout players to minicamp, including cornerback Phillip Adams and former Giants tight end Larry Donnell (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of CBS4).

At this stage of the offseason, Donnell stands as one of the most notable tight ends remaining on the open market. The Grambling State product first made a name for himself in 2014 when he had a breakout season with the Giants, catching 63 passes for 623 yards and six scores. Since then, however, he has been hampered by injuries and has been unable to reprise that performance. He missed half of the 2015 season and found himself with a lesser role in the offense in 2016. Donnell is coming off of a season with just 15 catches (22 targets) for 92 yards and one score.

Adams, 29 in July, has played for six different teams across six NFL seasons. In 2016, he was out of a job, but he’s hoping to hook on with someone for the upcoming year.

Jets Auditioning WR Kenbrell Thompkins

June 13th, 2017 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

He’s not quite Eric Decker, but he could help fill a roster spot at wide receiver. The Jets are auditioning Kenbrell Thompkins this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Thompkins, like former Jaguars running back Denard Robinson, will participate in the Jets’ three-day mandatory minicamp. If Thompkins performs well, he could get a shot at joining the team’s preseason roster.

Thompkins is perhaps best known for his time with the Patriots, but he has also spent time with the Jets and Raiders in the past. Gang Green met with Thompkins in late May and they apparently liked him enough to loop him back in for practice this week.

In 2013 with New England, he caught 32 passes for 466 yards and four scores. In the next season, he split time with the Patriots and Raiders and didn’t have quite the same level of success (21 catches, 262 yards). After a forgettable 2015 effort with the Jets, we did not see Thompkins in live NFL action in 2016.

Jason Peters Wants Restructured Contract

June 13th, 2017 at 10:46am CST by Zachary Links

On Tuesday morning, left tackle Jason Peters strongly hinted to reporters that he wants the Eagles to restructure his contract (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Peters explained that he doesn’t want to have to worry about getting cut as he enters each year of his contract and also expressed a desire to retire as a member of the Eagles.

Earlier this offseason, the Eagles approached Peters about taking a pay cut. Those talks were not fruitful, but the Eagles opted to keep him at a base salary of $10.45MM (per Over The Cap) rather than replace him.

The 35-year-old has solid comp over the next two seasons, but he has little in the way of certainty. In 2017, he’s slated to carry a $11.7MM cap number. Next year, he’ll have an $11.25MM cap figure, but the Eagles would be left with just $1MM in dead money if they choose to release him.

Peters doesn’t have leverage, per se, but the two sides could come to terms on a reworked contract that benefits everyone. A revised deal could see Peters take a cut in base salary in the next two years in exchange for a bump in guaranteed money or even years.

Last season, Pro Football Focus placed Peters as the eighth-best tackle in the entire league. His 88.3 overall score on PFF ranks as the third-highest showing of his career. For his career, he has made nine Pro Bowls and is a three-time first-team All-Pro.

Jets Looking At Denard Robinson

June 13th, 2017 at 10:31am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets want to see what running back Denard Robinson has to offer. The former Michigan standout is working out for Gang Green this week, according to his agents (on Twitter).

Robinson, 27 in September, will participate in the Jets’ three-day mandatory minicamp and try to make a solid impression on coaches. After making a name for himself as a quarterback at Michigan, Robinson converted to running back for the Jaguars.

The fifth-round pick appeared in 55 of the Jaguars’ 64 games in that span and made 13 starts, with the bulk of his career 263 carries coming in 2014. That season, Robinson piled up 135 rushes for 582 yards – good for a quality YPC of 4.3 – scored four touchdowns and totaled a personal-high 23 catches. Unfortunately, Robinson’s production has dipped since then, as he posted the second-worst YPC (3.5) of his career in 2016 off of 41 attempts.

The Jets have a pretty crowded group in the backfield, particularly after adding Jordan Todman on Monday. Still, Robinson is hoping to find his way on to the 90-man roster in New York.

Redskins Announce Front Office Changes

June 13th, 2017 at 9:54am CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins are reshuffling things in the front office. On Tuesday morning, the team announced a number of moves, including the promotion of Doug Williams to the title of senior vice president of player personnel.

In related news, Eric Schaffer has been named vice president of football operations and Scott Campbell will become senior personnel executive. The most notable element here, however, is perhaps the move that wasn’t made by Washington. The team did not announce a new general manager, giving the impression that team president Bruce Allen will once again call the shots and have final say over the roster.

Williams, of course, is a Redskins legend for his Super Bowl XXII MVP performance following the 1987 season. In that game, the former first round pick helped the Redskins put up 42 points as they downed John Elway and the Broncos. Williams, who has spent eleven years in various scouting and personnel roles with the Buccaneers and Redskins, says that he is excited for the new challenge.

“You want this day to come. You hope it comes. It’s here today,” Williams said at a presser on Tuesday morning. “I’m blessed and I’m going to embrace it.”

At least for this year, the expectation is that Williams & Co. will report to Allen, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. More tweaks could be on the way, however. Redskins’ Director of Pro Personnel director Alex Santos is one of the execs that could be primed for a bigger role, per Pelissero.

Ravens Sign WR Jeremy Maclin

June 13th, 2017 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The decision is in. Jeremy Maclin has signed with the Ravens, according to a team announcement. It’s a two-year deal for the wide receiver worth $11MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll earn $6MM in year one of the deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) says, adding that there isn’t a lot of “funny money” in the contract.

The Ravens aren’t done adding to the receiver group, either. Even though Maclin has been signed, the Ravens continue to be in the mix for Eric Decker, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Jets have informed Decker that he will either be released or traded in the coming days, but it is not clear whether the Ravens are looking to make a deal with Gang Green or wait to see if he is cut loose. The Ravens and the Jets had preliminary trade talks about Decker last week.

Baltimore surprised many during the draft when it did not select a wide receiver. The patient approach has paid off for the Ravens as they have landed a former Pro Bowler in the late stages of the offseason. The Ravens will now roll into 2017 with a receiver group led by Maclin, Mike Wallace, and Breshad Perriman. Joe Flacco will have nothing but speed at his disposal and that could mean big things for this Ravens offense.

The Ravens are hoping that the addition of Maclin will help to mitigate the loss of tight end Dennis Pitta. Pitta was released earlier this month after he suffered yet another hip dislocation. Last season, he returned to his old form and became one of Flacco’s top targets. Although Pitta will be missed, the Ravens passing attack is likely in better shape than it was in 2016.

In 2015, Maclin had 87 catches for more than 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns for the Chiefs. Even though he is not far removed from that performance, KC cut him in order to avoid paying his $9.75MM base salary for 2017. Last season, Maclin had 44 catches for 536 yards and two scores in 12 games.

NFC Notes: Maclin, Revis, Newton

June 12th, 2017 at 9:54pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Eagles, not the Bills, were the runners-up for Jeremy Maclin‘s services, which came as something of a surprise given last week’s report that Philadelphia did not have interest in reuniting with Maclin. Per Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links), Eagles head coach Doug Pederson claims he was not being coy when he said the team was not considering Maclin, but that the Eagles did not reach out to Maclin until the weekend, when they contacted him to gauge interest. However, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets the Eagles never really got into a bidding war with the Ravens, who ultimately signed Maclin and who apparently gave him “solid money” to come to Baltimore.

Now for more from the NFC:

Cowboys WR Dez Bryant tweeted free agent corner Darrelle Revis yesterday and told him to consider signing with the Cowboys, leading some to speculate that the club could be interested in relocating Revis Island to Texas, despite earlier reports to the contrary. Nonetheless, Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram, citing a team source, tweets that there is “nothing going on with Revis.”
We heard earlier today that Eddie Lacy passed his weigh-in with the Seahawks, which netted him a $55K bonus, but he was not the league’s biggest loser this week. As Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes, Cowboys offensive lineman Byron Bell picked up $150K by weighing in at less than 320 pounds on Monday, and he can earn another $300K if he meets his weight requirements at the start of training camp and the first week of the regular season. And, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), if Falcons NT Dontari Poe weighs 340 pounds or less tomorrow, he earns $125K.
Panthers QB Cam Newton will not throw at this week’s minicamp, but the quarterback is still on schedule with his recovery and is expected to be ready for training camp, as Edward Lewis of NFL.com writes.
The Saints may be shopping Travaris Cadet, but Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune does not believe they can realistically expect to get any takers, so the team will probably be forced to release him.
We learned earlier tonight that Rams DT Aaron Donald could miss this week’s mandatory minicamp as he continues to push for a long-term deal.

Aaron Donald, Le’Veon Bell May Skip Minicamp

June 12th, 2017 at 8:32pm CST by Rory Parks

We heard earlier tonight that Duane Brown is not expected to report to the Texans’ minicamp tomorrow, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Conor Orr of NFL.com) reports that Rams DT Aaron Donald and Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell could miss their teams’ respective minicamps as they seek new contracts of their own.

Bell is now the only franchise-tagged player in the league not to have signed the franchise tender or agreed to a long-term extension, though he and the Steelers have been working on a deal for awhile, and it was reported at the end of last month that neither Bell nor Pittsburgh is worried about the running back’s status. At this point, though, the Steelers have most of the leverage. As talented as Bell is, and as important as he is to the team’s offense, his suspensions and injury history are certainly working against him in contract talks, and the closer we get to training camp, the more difficult it would be for Bell to land a contract on the open market that pays him even $10MM in 2017, much less the $12.1MM he stands to receive under the franchise tender.

As Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, the franchise tag value makes a long-term deal unlikely at this point. Bell is no doubt pushing for a multiyear deal that includes twice the amount of the franchise tender in guarantees with a roughly $12MM average annual value, and Bouchette is skeptical that the Steelers would meet those demands (particularly when they can just tag Bell again next season for about $14.5MM, which does not sound too exorbitant for a player of his caliber).

Because Bell is not under contract, he cannot be fined for missing minicamp. The same cannot be said for Donald, who is under club control through 2018, but it is unlikely Los Angeles would actually impose a fine on Donald. We learned last month that negotiations on a long-term deal had entered the “serious phase,” but we have not heard anything since that report. It still looks as if the two sides may reach a multiyear pact sometime soon, though the Rams’ tight salary cap situation could be complicating things a bit. Indeed, Donald’s next contract could make him the highest-paid defensive player in the game, and with hardly any cap room at the moment, the Rams may need to get creative to take on such a contract.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/12/17

June 12th, 2017 at 7:53pm CST by Rory Parks

Monday’s minor moves from around the league:

The Browns signed LB Deon King and WR Richard Mullaney and waived DL Nile Lawrence-Stample with a failed physical designation, as Pat McManamon of ESPN.com reports. King was with the Colts and Chargers last season, while Mullaney was in the Texans’ and Cowboys’ training camp.
The Ravens waived CB Carlos Davis with an injury settlement.