2017 August - Pro Football Rumors

Bengals Place Cedric Peerman On IR

August 29th, 2017 at 10:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals have placed running back Cedric Peerman on injured reserve, the team announced on Tuesday. Peerman suffered a shoulder injury while covering a punt on Sunday night.

Peerman, a special teams specialist, also missed the first ten games of the 2016 season with a broken forearm. He was activated off of the Bengals’ injured reserve last year, but there’s no indication as to whether he’ll be able to return from this latest ailment. Peerman earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015 for his special teams work, so he’ll certainly be missed on the field in Cincinnati.

Peerman’s deal expires after the 2017 season and he’ll have only six games of experience between the 2015 and 2016 seasons to show teams as he tries to land his next contract in the spring.

Giants Waive Owa Odighizuwa

August 29th, 2017 at 10:29am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have waived Owa Odighizuwa. The move was expected after the defensive end was hit with a four-game suspension on Monday.

For much of the offseason, it seemed like Odighizuwa was prepared to walk away from football at the age of 25. After taking some time to mull it all over, Odighizuwa was a late entrant to training camp and put himself in the mix to make the final 53-man cut. Word is that he was struggling in practice, however, and was far from a lock to stay with the team past the Saturday deadline. Once word of the PED ban came down, it was a fairly easy call for GM Jerry Reese & Co.

Odighizuwa will be free to sign with any club if he clears waivers in the next 24 hours. Odds are, he will.

Browns Shopping Cameron Erving

August 29th, 2017 at 10:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns are trying to trade offensive lineman Cameron Erving, a league source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Erving, a former first-round pick, has lost the starting right tackle job to Shon Coleman, so he is too expensive for a backup role and therefore expendable.

Erving was competing for the No. 1 right tackle job before suffering a calf injury last week. Even though the battle was ostensibly close, Erving’s salary is significantly higher than that of Coleman, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft. If possible, the rebuilding Browns would like to take Erving’s salary off the books and get some draft capital in return.

The former Florida State standout is due to carry a cap hit of $2.571MM this year and $3MM in 2018. He has yet to put it all together at the NFL level, but he does offer versatility, including the ability to play center.

Erving isn’t the only Browns player on the block. The team is aggressively working to trade cornerback Joe Haden and quarterback Brock Osweiler is said to be available.

Lions Waive Cyrus Kouandjio

August 29th, 2017 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions announced that they have waived offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio. He’ll be free to sign with any team if he clears the waiver wire over the next 24 hours.

The release of Kouandjio means that Greg Robinson is now in line to serve as the Lions’ starting left tackle in Week 1. Of course, this isn’t quite how the Lions thought things would go this offseason. Taylor Decker was set to resume his role at left tackle before a torn labrum forced him to the sidelines. Detroit added Robinson and Kouandjio with the hope that one of them could hold down the fort and Robinson ultimately proved to be the better man.

Kouandjio showed some promise with the Bills, but he was waived this year after an odd off-field incident in which he was found partially undressed in a field near the scene of a car accident. Robinson not arrested, but he taken to a hospital for evaluation afterwards. Last year, Pro Football Focus placed him a solid 34th among 78 qualified tackles.

Browns Aggressively Shopping Joe Haden

August 29th, 2017 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

Teams in need of a cornerback will want to answer the phone when they get calls from a Cleveland area code. The Browns are aggressively trying to trade Joe Haden, multiple teams tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He adds that the Browns are “very motivated” to move his contract.

Haden is no stranger to trade rumors as the Browns explored moving him prior to last year’s trade deadline. The Saints were among the inquiring clubs, but the asking price was ultimately too rich for their blood.

Haden was limited to five games in 2015 but he gutted out a painful groin injury last year and appeared in 13 contests. The two-time Pro Bowler finished out with 48 tackles and three interceptions. For what it’s worth, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus only ranked him as the No. 88 corner in the league last year out of 110 qualified players. In his best years, Haden profiled as a Top 10-20 CB.

Plenty of teams would be happy to acquire Haden and see what he can offer, but his contract will be a stumbling block in talks. The 28-year-old is due to make $11.1MM this season and is under contract through 2019.

Bills Release Bacarri Rambo, Others

August 29th, 2017 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are getting a head start on their roster cuts in advance of the Saturday deadline. The team announced that the following six players have been waived:

RB Cedric O’Neal
S Bacarri Rambo
DE Jake Metz
G Karim Barton
WR Rashad Ross
CB Jumal Rolle

Rambo, 27, had his first stint with the Bills in 2014 and 2015, appearing in a combined 19 games with eight starts. Last year, he joined the Dolphins midway through the year and racked up 39 total tackles, one interceptions, and three passes defensed in nine games (five starts). He returned to the Bills this July, but he was not able to stick for long.

Metz, 26, spent the bulk of last year with the Qingdao Clipper of the China Arena Football League. He’ll presumably try to find another NFL gig, but he could also wind up getting a new stamp in his passport.

Buffalo’s roster now stands at 83 players, meaning that they still have to cut 30 guys by Saturday afternoon.

Saints Release DE Jason Jones

August 29th, 2017 at 8:48am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have released veteran defensive end Jason Jones, according to a source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). It was a short stay in New Orleans for Jones as he was signed roughly two weeks ago.

Jones, 31, appeared in 14 games last season with Miami, racking up 22 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Late last year, he was slapped with a substance abuse violation that prompted the Dolphins to release him before their first-round playoff game against the Steelers. The unfortunate ending to Jones’ 2016 campaign might be the culprit for the lack of interest he received this summer. Jones sat on the market until the Saints came calling in August, and now he’s out of work once more.

The veteran, who has 109 career games (70 starts) under his belt, has also spent time with the Titans, Seahawks, and Lions.

Patriots, Bengals Complete Trade

August 29th, 2017 at 8:37am CST by Zachary Links

With the 53-man deadline creeping up, the Bengals and Patriots have completed a trade. The deal will sent linebacker Marquis Flowers to New England in exchange for a seventh-round pick, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The pending Vontaze Burfict suspension seemingly opened up a roster spot for Flowers, but that’s apparently not the case. Instead, the former sixth-round pick has been shipped off for some late-round draft capital in 2018.

The 25-year-old appeared in all 16 of the Bengals’ regular season games as a rookie in 2014, but he missed all of 2015 with a shoulder injury. Last year, he bounced back with another perfect attendance record, but he played primarily on special teams.

Owczarski now expects undrafted rookie free agent Hardy Nickerson to make the Bengals’ 53-man roster for Week 1.

Lions, Matthew Stafford Agree To Extension

August 28th, 2017 at 8:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions and Matthew Stafford have agreed to a five-year extension that will make the quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms (via Twitter) Stafford’s deal surpasses Derek Carr‘s per-year value.

It’s a five-year, $135MM deal for Stafford, Rapoport tweets. That comes out to $27MM per year in new money, putting Detroit’s franchise passer well north of Carr’s $25MM AAV.

This ties Stafford to the Motor City through 2022, and the Lions — per this GIF on their Twitter account, making it official in unique fashion — are pretty excited about it

Stafford and the Lions have been in talks for much of this offseason, and he now has a third Lions contract in place. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press said (via Twitter) Stafford underwent an MRI earlier today, noting that represented the final step between the signal-caller and the landmark accord.

The Lions quarterback’s contract will raise the NFL annual salary ceiling more than Carr or Andrew Luck‘s deals did, with Carr’s per-year value coming in less than $500K per year more than the Colts passer received in 2016.

Bob Quinn said earlier this month he was confident the sides would reach an extension agreement, and the second-year GM now has his quarterback signed into the next decade. Stafford was entering his contract year. He’s on the Lions’ books for $22MM this season. Detroit entered Monday night with just less than $7MM in cap space, and Justin Rogers of the Detroit News tweets Stafford’s re-up is expected to create approximately $5MM in 2017 space.

Stafford has been the Detroit starter for the past eight seasons, and while he doesn’t have the accolades or the numbers the league’s top-tier quarterbacks do, he had leverage going into a contract year in an extreme sellers’ market. The 2009 No. 1 overall pick has made one Pro Bowl, in 2014, and has a 5,000-plus-yard season (2011) on his resume. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards as well. The Lions are also just 51-58 during Stafford’s tenure, but the quarterback capitalized on being a prime passer with leverage.

The Georgia product, though, shook the injury concerns that plagued him in his early 20s. After playing in just 13 games combined in 2009-10, Stafford has suited up for every Lions game since. While he’s yet to win a playoff game, he helped the franchise out of its 2000s abyss and guided Detroit to playoff berths in 2011, ’14 and ’16 after the franchise went 11 seasons without a playoff berth.

This deal represents major news for the next crop of quarterbacks who are in or nearing contract years, and the financial landscape’s shifted to point where $30MM AAV will not be an outrageous figure in the near future. Considering the cap could push $180MM in 2018, the quarterback market figures to further escalate.

Kirk Cousins could become a free agent next year, and Drew Brees‘ year-to-year arrangement with the Saints will require another contract if he’s to stay in New Orleans. Matt Ryan will enter 2018 in a contract year — if no extension is reached in 2017. Aaron Rodgers‘ deal expires after the 2019 season. So does Tom Brady‘s, if he’s intent to play through that point.

And this group of (largely) more accomplished players saw the bar raise considerably Monday night.

Eagles Trade LS Jon Dorenbos To Saints

August 28th, 2017 at 7:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Monday’s been oddly populated by long-snapping news, and the Eagles and Saints jumped into the fray toward the end of the day.

Philadelphia traded long snapper Jon Dorenbos to New Orleans in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick, the Eagles announced Monday night.

Dorenbos spent 11 seasons with the Eagles and has been snapping since 2003. The 37-year-old figures to take over the Saints’ specialty snapping duties. The longest-tenured Eagle, Dorenbos made two Pro Bowls — in 2009 and 2014 — and made enough of an impact for owner Jeffrey Lurie to release as statement (via Geoff Mosher of FanRag Sports, on Twitter) thanking him for his contributions over the past decade.

The 15th-year snapper signed a three-year extension in 2016, and $500K of his $1MM base salary is fully guaranteed, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter). Caplan adds (via Twitter) $500K of Dorenbos’ 2018 salary ($1.015MM) becomes fully guaranteed on March 18.

Rick Lovato will take over the Philly gig. The 24-year-old Lovato snapped in seven games with the Packers, Redskins and Eagles between 2015-16. The younger specialist was likely going to supplant Dorenbos, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets.

The Saints re-signed their longtime snapper, Justin Drescher, earlier this month. Dorenbos figures to be the favorite to win this job, though. Drescher, 29, has snapped with the Saints for seven straight seasons. Sean Payton said just before Drescher’s return he was unhappy with the team’s inconsistent long snapping but noted last week he was pleased with Drescher’s work during the preseason.

Drescher was outfitted with a walking boot on Monday, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reveals (on Twitter). That would help explain the decision.

This is the second trade involving a long snapper today. The Jets and Colts made a lower-profile swap earlier. The Ravens and Bears also signed long snappers today.