2017 July - Pro Football Rumors

NFC East Notes: OBJ, Cowboys, Redskins

July 27th, 2017 at 6:29pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Giants aren’t prioritizing a new contract for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who’s under control at eminently affordable prices through next season. If they do attempt to lock up Beckham down the line, it doesn’t seem that it’s going to be an easy negotiation. Beckham told uninterrupted.com on Thursday that he’s aiming to eventually become the NFL’s highest-paid player (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). “It’s like the elephant in the room and you don’t want to talk about it,’’ said Beckham. “I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I’m like, there’s no need to not talk about it. I believe that I will be, hopefully not just the highest-paid receiver in the league, but the highest paid, period.”

As great as Beckham has been during his three-year career, the top-paid honor tends to belong to a quarterback. That’s the case right now, with the Raiders’ Derek Carr‘s just-signed deal (five years, $125MM-plus) atop the heap on an annual basis. The Steelers’ Antonio Brown leads all receivers in yearly pay ($17MM per on a four-year, $68MM accord), but he lags far behind Carr. And it might be awhile before the 24-year-old Beckham is even able to challenge Brown and the league’s other richest wideouts, given that the Giants will have the option of placing the franchise tag on him for tolerable costs in both 2019 and ’20 if he’s unsigned. In the meantime, Beckham’s set to play this year for $1.8MM – a pittance relative to his production – and the Giants picked up his $8.5MM fifth-year option for 2018.

More on New York and two of its NFC East rivals:

The Cowboys’ signing of running back Ronnie Hillman on Thursday has nothing to do with a potential suspension for Ezekiel Elliott, reports David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Rather, the Cowboys added Hillman as both a possible Lance Dunbar replacement and someone capable of accruing touches during the summer and taking some of the stress off the team’s other backs in the coming weeks. As for Elliott, who was bracing for a suspension two weeks ago, the NFL probably won’t announce his fate until later in the preseason, per Moore.
Redskins outside linebacker Trent Murphy underwent offseason surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot, according to JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Murphy is now healed, but he still won’t factor into the Redskins’ early season plans as a result of the four-game performance-enhancing drugs suspension the NFL handed him in April. When he returns in Week 6 (the Redskins have a Week 5 bye), the nine-sack man from 2016 will look to continue that strong production in a contract year.
Giants coach Ben McAdoo told reporters on Thursday that defensive end Owa Odighizuwa has reported to camp (Twitter link via Schwartz). Odighizuwa stayed away from the Giants during the offseason on account of personal issues.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC North Notes: Bengals, Steelers, Browns

July 27th, 2017 at 5:49pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

When the NFL handed Bengals cornerback Adam Jones a one-game suspension last week, it appeared he would fight the ban. That won’t be the case, though, Jones announced Thursday. “You know, I take all accountability for what I did and my actions and my words. I accept it — the one game suspension — and I’m ready to move on, man,” Jones told reporters, including Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The 33-year-old’s suspension came after he was charged with three misdemeanors and a felony, though he was able to avoid jail time after pleading guilty to a lesser offense.

Buccaneers Sign Justin Trattou

July 27th, 2017 at 5:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Buccaneers have signed defensive end Justin Trattou and waived/injured fellow DE Evan Panfil, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

The 28-year-old Trattou joins the Bucs after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Giants and Vikings. Since going undrafted out of Florida in 2011, Trattou has totaled 37 appearances but hasn’t yet started a game. His most productive campaign came with Minnesota in 2015, when he improbably logged more interceptions than tackles (two to one) across five games. He then posted his first 16-game season in 2016, but only 10 of his 280 snaps came on defense. Trattou was third on the Vikings in special teams snaps (270) and is now moving from an ST unit that finished ninth in DVOA last year to one that placed 21st.

Panfil, formerly with Purdue, signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent in May.

Cardnals Sign Philip Wheeler

July 27th, 2017 at 5:19pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Cardinals have signed linebacker Philip Wheeler to a one-year contract, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.

Arizona is the sixth NFL team for the 32-year-old Wheeler, who entered the league as a third-round pick of the Colts back in 2008. Wheeler has since racked up 133 appearances and 66 starts, including 16 and four in those categories with the NFC-winning Falcons last season. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder amassed 27 tackles on 339 defensive snaps along the way, and after posting those modest totals, he didn’t generate any known offseason interest prior to signing with the Cardinals.

While a healthy Cards team should be fairly deep at linebacker, they’re in need of bodies there now with Deone Bucannon and Jarvis Jones dealing with injuries. For the time being, Wheeler will provide some extra help at the position, though he’s clearly not a lock to crack their season-opening roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/17

July 27th, 2017 at 4:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thursday’s minor moves:

The Texans have claimed wide receiver Devin Street off waivers from the Jets. Houston’s already the fourth team this year for Street, who had brief stints with the Patriots and Jets after the Colts cut him in May. The three-year veteran has just 10 catches in 35 games.
While the Jets lost Street to waivers Thursday, they claimed running back Marcus Murphy from the Saints. Two years after New Orleans used a seventh-round pick on Murphy, the club cut him Wednesday. Murphy made no offensive impact with the Saints (one carry, one reception in 16 games), but he did return 34 kicks – one of which he ran back for a touchdown – and 19 punts. To make room for Murphy, the Jets waived running back Brandon Wilds, who totaled 12 touches (10 rushes, two catches) with the team as an undrafted rookie last year.
The Redskins have signed tight end E.J. Bibbs and waived linebacker Houston Bates. Bibbs’ only action to this point came as an undrafted rookie with the Browns in 2015, when he appeared in seven games and picked up one reception. Bates is more experienced, having collected 24 appearances with the Redskins from 2015-16. Although he didn’t make a dent on defense during that time, Bates did lead the Redskins in special teams snaps (293) last season.
The Rams made four additions on Thursday, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, signing offensive lineman Parker Collins, running back De’Mard Llorens, and linebackers Andy Mulumba and Folarin Orimolade. Mulumba is the most notable member of the group, having played 22 games with the Packers and started three from 2013-15. He
As part of a series of moves, the Cardinals signed tight end Gerald Christian to a one-year deal and cut fellow TE Steve Wroblewski, an undrafted rookie. They also also reached injury settlements with cornerback Jumel Rolle and linebacker Tevin Floyd. Christian came into the league in 2015 as a seventh-round pick of the Cardinals, but his only game time came with Buffalo last season. He caught one pass in three contests as a Bill.
The Patriots have signed receiver Tony Washington, who’s joining his third team since hooking on with the Colts as an undrafted free agent from Appalachian State in 2014. Washington logged six appearances with the Jaguars over the previous two seasons and caught one pass.
The Falcons have added offensive lineman Larson Graham, an undrafted rookie from Duquesne.
The Broncos have waived undrafted rookie O-lineman Chris Muller, tweets Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. Muller signed with the team last month.

Broncos To Sign Stevan Ridley

July 27th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Broncos have agreed to a deal with running back Stevan Ridley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Ridley worked out for the club on Thursday and did enough to earn a one-year contract, tweets Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post.

The addition of Ridley comes in response to the wrist injury fellow running back Devontae Booker suffered. With Booker set to miss six to eight weeks, Denver wanted a replacement to slot in behind C.J. Anderson and Jamaal Charles in its backfield.

The 28-year-old Ridley joins Charles as the Broncos’ second back with at least one 1,000-yard season under his belt, though the former hasn’t been particularly effective overall. Since a strong 2011-13 showing in New England that included a 1,263-yard, 12-touchdown season, Ridley’s output has declined substantially. He wasn’t much of a factor in 2014, his final season with the Patriots, and combined for just 10 appearances, 39 carries and 97 yards with the Jets and Falcons over the previous two years.

Thanks to his recent downturn in production, Ridley didn’t generate much offseason interest prior to reaching an agreement with the Broncos. He worked out with one of his ex-teams, the Jets, back in May, but it was radio silence otherwise.

Bills Not Interested In Colin Kaepernick

July 27th, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you were wondering, the Bills’ newfound vacancy at quarterback will not create a space for Colin Kaepernick. Bills GM Brandon Beane told reporters on Thursday that he is not interested in signing the free agent signal caller (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).

The Bills traded quarterback Cardale Jones to the Chargers this week, positioning rookie Nathan Peterman as the QB2 and T.J. Yates as the third signal caller. Beane also tells reporters that the team will keep three QBs for the foreseeable future and that’s a good sign for the journeyman Yates.

The Bills are passing on Kaepernick, but we learned on Thursday that the Ravens are at least exploring the possibility. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh has chatted with Kaepernick throughout the summer about backing up starter Joe Flacco.

Broncos Work Out Stevan Ridley

July 27th, 2017 at 3:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Running back Stevan Ridley worked out for the Broncos on Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post tweets. The audition comes in the wake of news that Devontae Booker will need minor surgery on his wrist.

Booker was unknowingly lifting weights with the injury for weeks and wound up aggravating it in training, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). . He is said to be facing a 6-8 week recovery after surgery and although the Broncos expect to have him in the lineup for Week 1, they may want to have their bases covered by adding someone like Ridley.

Ridley was hampered by injuries in 2016 and bounced around the league a bit, but it has been said that he’s now mostly healthy. His only other known audition of the offseason came when he worked out for the Jets in May.

We’re now years removed from Ridley’s 1,ooo+ yard campaign with the Patriots in 2012. It remains to be seen what he can offer in 2017.

Saints Sign OL Orlando Franklin

July 27th, 2017 at 2:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Orlando Franklin is now a member of the Saints. The former Chargers offensive lineman has inked a one-year deal with New Orleans, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Franklin, 29, came to the Chargers as a free agent prior to the 2015 season, but he did not live up to his five-year, $35.5MM contract. He played in all 16 games last season – something he didn’t do in the previous year – but he also graded out as one of the seven worst qualified guards in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. In May, the Bolts cut him loose.

With a number of injuries on the offensive line – including starters Terron Armstead and Max Unger – adding depth was a major priority for the Saints. They’ve now added a veteran in Franklin, an interior lineman who also experience playing tackle from his days with the Broncos.

Franklin also met with the Jets on Tuesday, but it’s not clear whether the Jets made him an offer before his trip to New Orleans.

Steelers, Villanueva Agree To Extension

July 27th, 2017 at 2:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Alejandro Villanueva has himself a new deal. The Steelers offensive tackle has agreed to a fresh four-year deal with the Steelers, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

The four-year deal is worth $24MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), with $14MM over the first two years. It’s a big step up considering that he was slated for a $615K salary this year as an exclusive rights free agent, but it’s still a team-friendly deal on the whole when considering Villanueva’s talent level. The top ten tackles in the league are making five figures per year and Villanueva effectively added three seasons at an average of $7.8MM. Villanueva may not be a top ten talent at the position, but he’s not far off and he’s just entering his prime years. The tackle turns 29 in September.

Villanueva waited to sign his ERFA tender this offseason in hopes that he could hammer out a long-term extension with Pittsburgh instead. Even though he wasn’t eligible to reach the open market until 2018, the Steelers opted to do right by one of its most important offensive linemen while also securing him for years to come.

Since debuting in 2015, Villanueva has appeared in 32 straight games, including 26 starts. He started every Steelers game last year and was the only member of its offense to play on all 1,083 of the unit’s snaps.

Last year, he was the 24th best offensive tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.