USC quarterback Sam Darnold has long been pegged as the top prospect in the 2018 draft. Now, there’s word that he could instead wait until the 2019 draft. Several sources close to Darnold tell Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com they wouldn’t be surprised if the QB played two more seasons at USC.
Of course, Darnold has tons of time to make his decision, so it’s too early for this year’s rebuilding teams (like the Jets) to panic about what Darnold will or won’t do. Naturally, his performance in 2017 will be a factor in whether he jumps after his redshirt sophomore season or spends another season with the Trojans.
If Darnold performs at the level that he’s expected to, then he’ll solidify himself as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 class. If that’s the case, then frankly it would be hard to see him gambling with his future by spending another year in school.
Darnold impressed scouts last season as he threw for 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Darnold also completed 67.2% of his throws.
Eric Weddle helped convince the Ravens to go hard after safety Tony Jefferson in free agency, Childs Walker of The Baltimore Sun writes. Now that Jefferson has landed in Baltimore on a four-year, $34MM deal, Weddle is delighted to partner with him in the secondary.
“He’s physical, explosive and he’s only going to get better,” Weddle said. “I not only look at this season but for the future as far as building this team. He can be that guy to lead this defense. From the outside looking in, when I move on, the Ravens D is still going to be good.”
Weddle also believes that the arrival of Jefferson will take a lot of work off of his plate.
“No disrespect to any of the guys I’ve played with, but it’s nice not to have to explain why I do certain things or why I’m doing this in this coverage,” Weddle said. “From day one, he already had a feel for how I play and how to work off me. … It frees me up a lot more mentally. I don’t have to tell him after each play why I did this or, before the snap, let’s do this. He already knows. That is just light years ahead of most guys I’ve played with. I’ve loved every guy I’ve played with, but he’s just on another level.”
Here’s more from Baltimore:
The pressure could be building in Baltimore for coach John Harbaugh, Jim Owczarski of USA Today writes. Harbaugh might not be on the hot seat at this moment, but his team has compiled a 31-33 record since winning the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, missing the playoffs in three of the last four years. It’s possible that Harbaugh could be a victim of the high expectations he set for his teams in Baltimore. Before winning the Super Bowl, the Ravens made the postseason in each of his first five seasons and reached two AFC Championship Games. Even if things go terribly wrong in Baltimore this year, I have a hard time seeing any scenario in which Harbaugh does not get the chance to turn it around in 2018.
The Ravens are using 10% of the salary cap on players who are no longer with the team, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes. That helps to explain why the Ravens are near the bottom of the league in available cap room. Offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, who has not played for the team since November 2015, accounts for the biggest dead money hit with a $4.4MM cap charge for 2017, giving him the tenth-highest hit on the team. After Monroe, there are four more players with $2MM+ dead money cap hits: tight end Dennis Pitta ($2.7MM), cornerback Shareece Wright ($2.66MM), linebacker Elvis Dumervil ($2.37MM), and center Jeremy Zuttah ($2.2MM). Hensley notes that the Ravens are usually in the middle of the league when it comes to dead money – they landed in the top 10 only twice in the last five years and placed No. 14 last year.
Former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is working out in Florida with the hope of getting on the field this season, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Of course, the offset language tied to the $6MM he is owed from the Jets complicates matters.
At this stage of his career, no team would dream of paying Revis upwards of $6MM, but that’s what the veteran was said to be pushing for back in May. Playing for anything less $6MM would mean that Revis is effectively playing for free, but that’s exactly what he’ll have to do if he wants to get on the field this fall.
“His tape is so bad that it’s probably scaring a lot of teams away,” one scout said in the spring. “If he still thinks he’s a starter — and wants to be paid like a starter — that will be an issue.”
Revis is no longer an elite cornerback, but he could still be a viable starting option for a team out there. Last year, he graded out as the league’s No. 64 corner, according to the advanced stats at Pro Football Focus.
Revis’ market could also be impacted by his perceived lack of effort in 2016. Many who watched the tape on Revis have said that the cornerback seemed to be giving up on plays and his body language indicated that he had given up on his Jets team as well. To some degree, Revis’ frustrations with the lowly Jets of 2016 are understandable. But teams will be wary about bringing in a veteran who might be a bad influence on younger players.
Cowboys linebacker Damien Wilson has been arrested for two counts of aggravated assault with deadly weapon, as CBS Dallas tweets. Wilson was cuffed on Tuesday night near Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas where MLS soccer team FC Dallas played a game and concluded the evening’s festivities with a fireworks show. The 24-year-old posted bond and has been released from holding.
Wilson has appeared in every possible regular season game for the Cowboys over the past two seasons. Last year, he made a career high five starts and registered 30 total tackles plus half a sack.
Wilson was pushing to be the Cowboys’ starting strongside linebacker for Week 1, but he could now be on shaky ground with the team and the league office. If Wilson’s legal situation drags on, the Cowboys may need to look at external options. There are a handful of notable linebackers remaining on the open market, including former Lion DeAndre Levy.
Yes,DeAngelo Williams is 34 years old. And, yes, he made his pro wrestling debut last weekend. But the running back is not ready to leave the game of football just yet.
“Oh I’m definitely playing football,” Williams told ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (link). “I’m just, I guess you could say I’m waiting on the phone call. I guess you could say that. I mean, not guess, you can say that. I’m waiting on the phone call with a GM or head coach or whoever decided I need my services I’ll be ready.”
Williams’ largely successful debut in the squared circle will not lead to a new career just yet, because he feels that he still has unfinished business to take care of on the gridiron. It’s easy to understand why he feels he has a lot left in the tank. Williams is only two years removed from a season in which he had 907 yards on the ground (4.5 yards per carry), 11 rushing touchdowns, and 40 catches for 367 receiving yards. Last year, he was held back by November knee surgery, but based on the way he looked in his tag team match, he appears to be all healed up.
As a quality player entering a contract year, Bears lineman Akiem Hicks has a realistic chance of ending up as one of the richest defenders in next winter’s free agent class. While there’s no indication that the Bears have prioritized an extension for Hicks, it’s fair to suggest that an ideal scenario for general manager Ryan Pace would include keeping the five-year veteran in the fold for the long haul.
In March 2016, Hicks’ first trip to free agency, Pace lured him from New England on a two-year, $10MM deal. Hicks entered the NFL in 2012 as a third-round pick of the Saints, who employed Pace at the time. Three years later, New Orleans deemed Hicks expendable, sending him to the Patriots for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. That proved to be yet another shrewd move by the Pats, with whom Hicks fared well across 13 games in 2015 before departing for a richer payday.
Pace made an astute decision of his own when he signed Hicks, as the 318-pounder thrived last year while taking on more responsibility than he had in either New Orleans or New England. Hicks tied a career high with 16 starts and established new personal bests in snaps (930, which led all Bears defensive linemen), tackles (54), sacks (seven) and forced fumbles (two). Those are impressive traditional numbers, and Hicks also fared well in terms of advanced metrics, as Pro Football Focus ranked his performance a stellar 15th among 127 qualified interior D-linemen last season.
Now, eight months from potentially becoming a free agent again, Hicks is in the market for a new representative, and he seems cognizant that he’s on the verge of a raise.
“I am a free agent that is almost a free agent,” Hicks said last month. “You get it?”
Preventing an unsigned Hicks from leaving Chicago via the franchise tag next winter would cost the club a lofty amount, somewhere in the $17MM neighborhood. With that in mind, when the defensive end hires an agent, it would behoove Pace to reach out to his representative regarding an extension. The question is: What would be a fair offer for the 27-year-old Hicks, who went from a solid lineman from 2012-15, when he combined for 33 starts and 9.5 sacks, to a borderline excellent one last season? Among PFF’s other top 15 interior linemen from last year, several have recently landed contracts, including Calais Campbell (No. 2), Kawann Short (No. 3), Fletcher Cox (No. 5), Damon Harrison (No. 7), Mike Daniels (No. 9) and Malik Jackson (No. 12). Here’s a quick rundown of those deals:
Campbell: Four years, $60MM, including $30MM guaranteed (March 2017)
Short: Five years, $80MM, including $35MM guaranteed (April 2017)
Cox: Six years, $103MM, including $63MM guaranteed (June 2016)
Harrison: Five years, $46.25MM, including $24MM guaranteed (March 2016)
Daniels: Four years, $42MM, including $12MM guaranteed (December 2015)
Jackson: Six years, $90MM, including $42MM guaranteed (March 2016)
At around $10MM per year over a handful of seasons, the Harrison and Daniels contracts look like more reasonable benchmarks than the others for Hicks, though the guaranteed money would likely have to approach Harrison’s total. It’s important to note that the salary cap has risen since those two signed, and it’s only going to continue going up. Both the NFL’s ever-increasing cap and another terrific season would enable Hicks to further make his case for something closer to the pact Campbell landed earlier this offseason. So, having already received one decent-sized payday in his career, it’s possible Hicks will bet on himself this year, go without an extension and try to play his way to Campbell-type money (if not more) by next winter.
A year ago at this time, the Broncos, Panthers and Cardinals were popular picks to rank among the NFL’s elite teams in 2016. Denver was the reigning Super Bowl champion, after all, while Carolina was coming off a 15-1, conference-winning campaign and Arizona was second to the Panthers in the NFC. Each of those teams won their divisions two years ago, and not only were they unable to repeat that feat in 2016, but all three watched the playoffs from home last winter. They were among a whopping six division-winning clubs from 2015 that failed to qualify for the playoffs last season, joining the Bengals, Redskins and Vikings.
If the volatility from 2015 to ’16 is any indication, some of the league’s eight division champions from last year are in trouble as the upcoming season approaches. Once again, both Super Bowl representatives won their divisions in 2016, with the Patriots coasting in the AFC East and the Falcons knocking the Panthers from the NFC South throne. Like the Pats and the Falcons, the Chiefs, Steelers, Texans, Cowboys, Seahawks and Packers are aiming to repeat atop their divisions this season.
Of those teams, the Patriots look as though they’re in the best position to secure their division again. The Bill Belichick– and Tom Brady-led outfit has ruled the AFC East eight consecutive times, and during New England’s latest Lombardi Trophy-winning season, the club was a 14-2 juggernaut that easily led the league in point differential. While Brady’s a year older, set to enter his age-40 season, he hasn’t shown any signs of mortality, and even if he suffers an injury or falls off dramatically in 2017, the Patriots may have a starting-caliber quarterback behind him in Jimmy Garoppolo. Of course, there’s also plenty of talent on hand elsewhere on the Pats’ roster, including new additions in wide receiver Brandin Cooks, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, defensive lineman Kony Ealy, linebacker David Harris, tight end Dwayne Allen and running back Mike Gillislee.
There might not be any shoo-ins to repeat among the league’s seven other returning division winners, but it’s hard to bet against clubs with franchise quarterbacks. In the cases of the Falcons (Matt Ryan), Packers (Aaron Rodgers), Seahawks (Russell Wilson) and Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), there’s little reason to expect anything other than excellence from under center, which makes potential playoff berths more realistic for each. The Cowboys also seem to have an outstanding signal-caller in sophomore Dak Prescott, who was so stunningly great as a fourth-round rookie that he took Tony Romo‘s job and essentially forced the four-time Pro Bowler into retirement.
Kansas City (Alex Smith) and Houston (Tom Savage) aren’t as well off under center, though the Chiefs have done plenty of winning in the regular season since turning to Smith in 2013. But if he and the untested Savage disappoint this year, they have first-rounders behind them in Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, respectively. Poor performances or injuries could force either Mahomes or Watson into action, perhaps paving the way for the emergence of a Prescott-like rookie this year in KC or Houston and making another postseason appearance more likely.
While some of these teams look to be in enviable shape at QB, the game’s most important position, things could still go awry. The Panthers had the reigning MVP 12 months ago in Cam Newton, but his play took massive steps backward, as did the team’s, en route to a 6-10 season and a last-place NFC South finish. The likelihood is that some of last year’s division winners will end up in similar situations in 2017, going from playoff teams to bitter disappointments overnight.
If given a choice, which NFC East quarterback would you want leading your team for the next three years? Todd Archer, Jordan Raanan, and John Keim of ESPN.com all agree that Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is the guy to have. That answer may come as a surprise to some people since the division also features two-time Super Bowl champ Eli Manning and rising stars Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz. However, the consensus here is that Cousins is the most reliable of the quartet since he has proven himself over the last two years. More needs to be seen from Prescott and Wentz, the writers argue, and it’s hard to bet on Manning given his age and the down year he had in 2016.
Here is more from the NFC East:
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has come a long way in the last two years, Mike Florio of PFT writes. On this day in 2015, JPP’s unfortunate fireworks mishap shook the football world on an otherwise quiet holiday weekend. Pierre-Paul was already scheduled to play out the season on the franchise tag but lost millions that year after being sidelined for multiple games. Against all odds, JPP still looked good on the field despite the condition of his hand and he parlayed a strong 2016 into a four-year, $62MM deal this past offseason. Some fans laughed at the notion that Pierre-Paul could recover from such a devastating injury, but he was arguably better than ever in 2016.
Can the Patriots be stopped by any team in the AFC this year? Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh certainly thinks so.
“I think the Patriots are definitely beatable,” Suh told ESPN (video link). “It’s just a matter of playing a good game, almost a perfect game in a lot of ways because they’ve got great coaching and obviously great players and talent on their side of the ball. So you’ve got to be going on all cylinders. Without question, I have a ton of respect for them, but without question, they’re definitely beatable as everybody is in the league.”
While you mull the mortality of the Patriots, here’s a look at the AFC East:
Former Dolphins tight end Evan Rodriguez is hoping that his performance in the American Flag Football League last week will help him catch the attention of NFL teams. “I feel like this gave people a different view of me,” the former second round pick told Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. “I know I was a big guy that coaches wanted to use as a physical guy with my size, and this flag football league let me take advantage of my size and show my athleticism for a big guy.” Rodriguez, who was drafted by the Bears in 2012, also had stints with the Bills and Buccaneers. He has not seen live NFL action since 2014 and he has not been on a roster since the Bucs cut him prior to the 2015 season.
Rookie contracts are no longer a negotiation nightmare for general managers, but some deals take longer than others to come together. When PFR’s Dallas Robinson checked in on unsigned rookies in June, there were a dozen stragglers. Weeks later, we still have ten players without deals, including some very notable names:
Nearly 22% of this year’s first round picks are still without contracts and the likely culprit is offset language. No one wants to be this year’s Joey Bosa, but teams don’t want to risk having a holdout situation in training camp either. For what it’s worth, Trubisky says that he’ll be practicing with the Bears no matter what. The 49ers’ situation with Thomas, on the other hand, has the potential to get complicated. The Niners already made a big concession when they agreed to give No. 31 overall pick Reuben Foster guarantees that extend into his fourth year, so they could have a hard time standing their ground with Thomas on something like offset language. Last year, it took the Niners and Joshua Garnett until July 29th to agree to terms. They might have to play the waiting game again with this year’s first round pick from Stanford.
Besides the glut of unsigned first round picks, the list also has one other common thread: the Raiders. Although the Raiders have agreed to terms with six of their draft picks, their top three rookies remain unsigned. The extended talks for Conley, Mlifonwu, and Vanderdoes could be a sign that the Raiders are holding firm on the same issue, but they could also be for entirely different reasons.
In the case of Conley, his legal situation could be holding things up, in addition to the typical offset language issues with first round picks. Vanderdoes is only one of two third round stragglers this year, but as we saw in 2016, negotiations with third rounders can be complicated. That’s because base salaries are usually maxed out for all first- and second-round picks while picks in rounds 4-7 receive the minimum. However, there is no set number for third round picks, which means that there is extra wiggle room.
