2017 July - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Ravens, Colin Kaepernick

July 28th, 2017 at 11:06am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens signed former Arena League quarterback David Olson earlier today, but that won’t necessarily prevent them from adding free agent Colin Kaepernick, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

Staring quarterback Joe Flacco is dealing with a back injury, and although a worst-case scenario clouds his Week 1 status, Harbaugh doesn’t sound worried about Flacco’s condition. “Joe is day to day, so do we really need to make that move or not?” Harbaugh said of signing Kaepernick, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Baltimore has been in contact with Kaepernick, but the club is “weighing need and fit,” tweets Zrebiec.

In addition to Flacco and Olson, the Ravens currently have two other quarterbacks on their roster: Ryan Mallett and Dustin Vaughan. Mallett has struggled through eight career starts as a member of the Patriots, Texans, and Ravens, while Vaughan, a 2014 undrafted free agent, has never appeared in an NFL game.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin’s Contract Vests

July 28th, 2017 at 10:22am CST by Dallas Robinson

Mike Tomlin is now under contract as the Steelers head coach through 2019, as his contract has vested based on wins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport indicates Pittsburgh has had discussions about a longer deal for Tomlin, and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports an extension could be announced soon (Twitter link).

Bouchette suggested earlier this week that Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert could be in line for new contracts. Colbert is the more pressing situation, as his current deal expires after the 2018 draft. Tomlin, one of only three Pittsburgh head coaches since 1969, could still land a new pact, but given that he’s now locked in for three more seasons, his status is a bit less imperative.

Tomlin, 45, has been extremely successful in his 10 seasons as the Steelers head coach, as the club has earned seven postseason appearances during his decade-long run. Pittsburgh has never finished with fewer than eight wins during Tomlin’s reign. Overall, Tomlin has posted a 103-57 regular season record and owns one Super Bowl and two AFC Championship titles.

Seahawks To Sign DE Marcus Smith

July 28th, 2017 at 9:57am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks have reached an agreement with former first-round pick Marcus Smith, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith was waived by the Eagles earlier this week.

This isn’t the first time Seattle has taken a chance on a disappointing high draft choice, as the club agreed to deals with offensive tackle Luke Joeckel (No. 2 overall in 2013) and defensive end Dion Jordan (No. 3 overall in 2013) earlier this year. While Joeckel landed $8MM on a one-year pact, Jordan signed for the minimum salary with no guaranteed money. While financials haven’t been released on Smith’s contract, his deal will likely be more in the Jordan vein.

Smith, who made the transition from outside linebacker to defensive last season, has never broken out since being selected with the 26th pick in 2014. While he’s appeared in 37 career games over three seasons, he’s never made a start and has registered only four sacks. In 2016, the 25-year-old Smith played on only 20% of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps, but did see action on 40% of the team’s special teams plays.

Smith won’t be assured of a roster spot in Seattle, as he’ll compete with Jordan and Garrison Smith to earn a place as a reserve defensive end.

Chiefs Sign OL Bryan Witzmann To Extension

July 28th, 2017 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs announced that they have signed lineman Bryan Witzmann to an extension. The new deal adds one year to his contract and will keep him in place through the 2018 season, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star hears.

Witzmann missed the Cowboys’ 53-man cut last September but he was quickly scooped up by the Chiefs on waivers. He didn’t do much on the field for KC last year, appearing in just four offensive snaps and 49 special teams snaps. Apparently, the Chiefs like what they’ve seen in practice.

The 6’7″ guard/tackle split some first-team reps at left guard with Zach Fulton during organized team activities this spring, Paylor notes, so he could be a bigger part of the team’s plans going forward. Parker Ehinger is still slated to start at left guard, but he is still recovering from a serious knee injury. Witzmann could be called upon to help fill the void on the interior in addition to snaps at tackle.

Terms of the deal are not yet known, but we do know that Witzmann was originally slated to carry a cap number of $540K in 2017.

Ravens Sign QB David Olson

July 28th, 2017 at 8:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have added a quarterback to the roster, but not the one everyone was waiting on. One day after coach John Harbaugh admitted that the team has interest in Colin Kaepernick, the Ravens have signed former arena league signal caller David Olson.

Signing Olson doesn’t necessarily slam the door shut on Kaepernick given the amount of roster tinkering that goes on this time of year, but the the Ravens now have three healthy arms in camp while Joe Flacco heals up from a minor back issue. The Ravens could theoretically circle back to someone like Kaepernick if they want to push Ryan Mallett or Dustin Vaughan, but by that point Kaepernick would be late to the party with only a few weeks to go before Week 1.

Olson, a Stanford product, was buried behind Andrew Luck, Josh Nunes, and Kevin Hogan while in college. He has only three passes in live NCAA action to his credit.

Raiders Cut OT Austin Howard

July 28th, 2017 at 8:03am CST by Zachary Links

Early Friday morning, tackle Austin Howard took to Instagram to announce that he is being cut by the Raiders. Howard’s release comes midway through a five-year, $30MM contract signed in 2014.

The Raiders signed Howard to that sizable free agent deal when he was just 26 and coming off of two consecutive 16-game seasons with the Jets. Unfortunately, Howard has missed eight games over the past two seasons and his play declined sharply in 2016. Howard graded out as the 52nd best tackle in the NFL out of 77 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. On the plus side, he committed only two penalties in his eleven games that resulted in a loss of yardage.

Had Howard stayed on board, he would have been relegated to a bench spot. The Raiders project to start Marshall Newhouse at right tackle, but Vadal Alexander and fourth-round rookie David Sharpe are also competing for the job.

Howard was slated to make $4.9MM in base salary in 2017. By cutting him, the Raiders will be left with $2.4MM in dead money against the cap.

Howard was hampered by an ankle injury last year and he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason, so he may want to take some time to heal up before he signs with another club.

NFC Notes: Elliott, Brees, 49ers, Lions

July 27th, 2017 at 9:36pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The NFL was reportedly close to ending its investigation into domestic violence allegations against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott nearly a week ago, but his fate is still unknown. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expects that to change soon, though. “I think we’ll have a decision imminently,” Jones told SiriusXM on Thursday (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). “Of course, I don’t know what that will be and wouldn’t want to have conjecture in any way involving that.” Jones claimed over the weekend that his own review cleared Elliott of any wrongdoing, and he once again defended the superstar rusher Thursday. “What I have seen, though, is the presentation of Zeke and his people, and I’ve seen the league’s presentation. There’s no domestic violence involved here,” Jones insisted.

Elsewhere around the NFC…

Quarterback Drew Brees signed a one-year extension before last season to remain with the Saints through 2017, but he’s not pushing for another deal this summer, writes Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. When asked Wednesday whether the Saints have approached him about a new contract, Brees said: “I don’t expect them to I don’t really desire them to. I just want to play football. I want to help this team.” Theoretically, New Orleans is at some risk of losing the soon-to-be 39-year-old Brees after next season, though it seems he expects to eventually ink a new deal with the club. “I know that that stuff takes care of itself,” he commented. “It takes care of itself when it’s supposed to. That shouldn’t be a priority right now.”
General manager John Lynch suggested Thursday that the 49ers aren’t in a rush to sign any of their contract-year veterans to extensions, telling Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group and other reporters, “We’re going to let this play out a little bit and see how they fit with what we want to do.” That’s not a surprising stance on Lynch’s part, as it’s debatable at best whether the team has any must-sign players due for free agency next offseason. Running back Carlos Hyde, safety Eric Reid, and linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Aaron Lynch are San Francisco’s headliners in contract years.
More on the 49ers, who got some welcome news Thursday when rookie linebacker Reuben Foster announced that he has been completely cleared to participate in training camp, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. The former Alabama defensive stalwart underwent right shoulder surgery in February, which contributed to his falling draft stock and helped the 49ers land him at No. 31 (after trading up from No. 34). Adam Schefter of ESPN then reported after the draft that Foster’s surgery “didn’t take,” leading to fears that he’d miss his first season, but he’s good to go for now.
The Lions worked out safety Stefan McClure on Thursday, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. Two of the Lions’ safeties, Don Carey and Rolan Milligan, are on the physically unable to perform list, thereby opening up room at the position. Unlike Carey, McClure hasn’t seen any game action in the NFL. He went undrafted from California last year and spent some time on the Colts’ practice squad.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Kap, Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, Pats

July 27th, 2017 at 8:32pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith became $2MM richer when he showed up to training camp Thursday, making his reporting bonus the largest in the NFL, per Field Yates of ESPN (on Twitter).

With Smith and first-round pick Patrick Mahomes in the fold, the Chiefs aren’t in the market for a signal-caller, but there would be “no hesitation” to sign polarizing free agent Colin Kaepernick if they were, owner Clark Hunt told NBC Sports Radio in San Francisco on Wednesday (via Scott Gleason of USA Today).

While Kaepernick’s political activism has made it difficult for him to find work since he opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March, that wouldn’t have deterred the Chiefs from pursuing him. Clark noted that “there are certain circumstances where guys get in trouble off the field, and that is something as an organization and as a family we care about,” but Kaepernick isn’t someone who has been a problem away from the gridiron.

Notably, Kaepernick was teammates with Smith when the two were 49ers from 2011-12. Kaepernick took the No. 1 job from Smith during that stretch, which led San Francisco to trade him to Kansas City, but there’s no chance of the two appearing on the same depth chart with the Chiefs.

More on KC and a few other AFC franchises:

Free agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin‘s workout in Buffalo this past Monday hasn’t led to a deal, though head coach Sean McDermott hasn’t closed the door on the 36-year-old signing with the Bills. McDermott told Mike Rodak of ESPN.com and other reporters Thursday that the two sides are still determining whether they’re the right match for each other. McDermott also called the meeting with Boldin a “nice visit,” according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
The Ravens were the only team other than the Jets to put him in a claim for wide receiver Lucky Whitehead, tweets Field Yates of ESPN. Whitehead hit waivers after the Cowboys cut him Monday, and he joined the Jets on Wednesday.
The Chiefs promoted Mike Borgonzi from co-director of player personnel to director of player personnel on Wednesday, per BJ Kissel of the team’s website. Borgonzi had shared the position with Brett Veach, who took over for the fired John Dorsey as Kansas City’s GM earlier this month. Veach beat out Borgonzi and others for the role.
Undrafted rookie Austin Carr could benefit from Andrew Hawkins‘ retirement more than any other Patriots receiver, observes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The Pats are still loaded at receiver, where they’ll primarily rely on Julian Edelman, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola, but Hawkins’ exit leaves Carr as the next man up, writes Reiss. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Carr was the Big Ten receiver of the year last year, when he piled up 90 catches, 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns at Northwestern.

Latest On 49ers’ Talks With Solomon Thomas

July 27th, 2017 at 7:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas is one of just three rookies without a contract, and general manager John Lynch told reporters Thursday that he’s “concerned” that the third overall pick remains unsigned. Lynch is “hopeful,” though, that the two sides will reach an agreement before San Francisco starts training camp practice Friday.

“I wish this were done. I think it should be done,” said Lynch (via NBC Sports Bay Area).

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the battle between the 49ers and the ex-Stanford star likely centers on offset language, signing bonus cash flow or a combination of the two. Last year’s third overall pick, defensive end Joey Bosa, fought over those issues with the Chargers and didn’t strike a deal until the end of August, when he landed the largest upfront signing bonus in franchise history ($17MM) in exchange for letting the Bolts include offsets in the deal.

The 49ers and Thomas won’t necessarily go down the same ugly road that the Chargers and Bosa did, but it’s worth noting that the players are both CAA clients. Also of concern is that Thomas missed most of the 49ers’ offseason program because NFL rules stipulate that rookies who haven’t completed their undergraduate degrees are not allowed to join their teams on a full-time basis until the spring semester ends. So, sitting out a chunk of camp on top of that missed time during the spring would place Thomas further behind the 8-ball than he already is.

When Thomas does sign with the 49ers, they’ll get a player who totaled 61 tackles and 8.5 sacks last year en route to third-team All-America honors. For now, he and two other first-rounders – Titans wide receiver Corey Davis (fifth overall) and Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley (24th) – are the only members of this year’s draft class awaiting contracts.

Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.

Latest On Dolphins’ Jarvis Landry

July 27th, 2017 at 7:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins have not made contract-year wide receiver Jarvis Landry an extension offer – reportedly because they’re afraid of offending him with a lowball proposal – and there’s no guarantee one is coming, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. With Landry having set a Week 1 deadline for talks, the Dolphins only have about a month and a half to lock him up before their Sept. 10 opener, but owner Stephen Ross said Thursday that doing so isn’t “really mandatory.”

“I think that he’s a great player,” commented Ross. “There’s no question about it. I think he handled himself well. He didn’t hold out. It’s not a question — if we don’t sign him now, we lose him. We can franchise him and go from there. There’s a lot of opportunity for him to stay here. I hope he stays here. He’s a great player.”

Placing the franchise tag on Landry would cost Miami around $15.7MM in 2018, which is an enormous amount in a vacuum. However, it’s a much more tolerable figure when you combine it with his near-minimum salary of $893K this year. Anyone would sign up for two years and $16.5MM for Landry, a force in the slot who holds the record for most catches in his first three NFL seasons (288, to go with 13 touchdowns). And while many players are averse to the tag, Landry’s remarks Thursday indicate he won’t cause a stir if the Dolphins do use it on him.

On whether he gave any consideration to holding out this summer, the 24-year-old told reporters (via Mike Florio of PFT) : “No, there was not. Like I said, for me, being a leader and having an opportunity to take another step, we don’t need anything hindering us off that path. So for me to be here and to show the guys that it is about them and it’s about the team, that’s what I’m here to do.”

As was the case last year, Landry will front a receiving corps that also includes the talented tandem of Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker. Landry easily topped those two and his other teammates in receptions (94), targets (131) and yards (1,136) in 2016. Another strong season will net him a massive raise, whether it comes via the franchise tag or an extension.