2018 January - Pro Football Rumors

NFL: Raiders “Complied With” Rooney Rule

January 5th, 2018 at 7:02pm CST by GregGoldstein

We have now learned that the Raiders have hired Jon Gruden to come back to the organization that traded him. Although, prior to the decision being announced, the NFL made a statement regarding the team’s following of the Rooney Rule, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). League spokesperson Joe Lockhart stated that, “We believe the Rooney Rule was complied with. Minorities candidates were interviewed. We’ll see what decision they make.”

There had been some questioning coming from around the NFL that the Raiders were clearly violating the spirit of the rule given there all-in pursuit of their former head coach. It was reported yesterday that the team had interviewed tight ends coach Bobby Johnson for the position, but it did not seem like a legitimate interview because it was widely known that the Raiders were after the former Monday Night Football analyst.

The Rooney Rule makes it so at least one minority candidate must be interviewed for all head coach or senior football operations positions in the NFL. It was first implemented back in 2003 in order to promote diversity among NFL front offices and coaching staffs. However, it’s clearly been just a hurdle for teams to get over in multiple cases, including this one.

Clearly the Raiders did interview a minority candidate as a means to comply with the rule, and at this point the league appears to be satisfied with how the franchise conducted the search. We’ll have to wait and see if the NFL makes any changes to the rule moving forward, but this news has made clear that a team can do the bare minimum to comply without any punishment.

Mark Ingram Will Not Become A Free Agent This Offseason

January 5th, 2018 at 6:22pm CST by GregGoldstein

The NFL All-pro team was released today, but Saints running back Mark Ingram was not on it. Voters instead opted for Rams third-year playmaker Todd Gurley in the running back spot and the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell in the “flex” position. Without the All-pro designation, Ingram will not become a free agent this offseason, points out Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The veteran back had a clause in his contract that if he were to make the All-pro team, he would be released from his current deal and test the open market in a few months.

Ingram, 28, has seen his career take off in the past two years. The former 2011 first round pick has rushed for over a combined 2,100 yards in 2016-2017. He had a career-high 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season in New Orleans. Despite being older for running back standards, Ingram would have likely gotten a raise over his $4MM base salary for 2018.

By slightly missing out on the designation, he will remain with the team that drafted him for one more season. While unfortunate for the veteran back, this is certainly good news for the Saints considering that Ingram seems to have a lot of tread left on the tires. He should continue to be an extremely formidable backfield partner to breakout rookie running back Alvin Kamara.

Giants Interview Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia

January 5th, 2018 at 5:43pm CST by GregGoldstein

Apart from all the Patriots drama unfolding today, both of their coordinators, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, have completed their scheduled interviews with the Giants. The team announced that they had interviewed Patricia earlier in the day, but McDaniels had finished his conversation with the team this afternoon, according to James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link). Palmer adds that the group who interviewed McDaniels consisted of team owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams.

Patricia and McDaniels are now the second and third head coaching candidates to be interviewed by the organization. Current interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo spoke to the Giants about their head coach vacancy on Wednesday. However, it should be noted that McDaniels is the first offensive head coach that has been interviewed in the team’s search. New York hasn’t flat out mentioned that they rather go in a certain direction, but there has been chatter that they want someone who has experience in the head coach role, which McDaniels certainly has from his time in Denver. Although, Patricia does not have head coaching experience and the team clearly still has interest in him, so that may not ultimately be a deciding factor.

Meanwhile, the Giants are far from done speaking with prospective candidates. They have also requested to interview Jim Schwartz (Eagles DC), Pat Shurmur (Vikings OC), Steve Wilks (Panthers DC) and Eric Studesville (former Broncos assistant HC).

Patriots Report Fallout

January 5th, 2018 at 4:54pm CST by GregGoldstein

A surprising report dropped earlier this morning from Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com detailing the apparent rift between long-time Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and franchise-changing quarterback Tom Brady. Since then, those men along with owner Robert Kraft have released a statement pushing back on the reports that the leader of his football team and legendary signal caller are currently on bad terms.

“For the past 18 years, the three of us have enjoyed a very good and productive working relationship. In recent days, there have been multiple media reports that have speculated theories that are unsubstantiated, highly exaggerated or flat out inaccurate. The three of us share a common goal. We look forward to the enormous challenge of competing in the postseason and the opportunity to work together in the future, just as we have for the past 18 years. It is unfortunate that there is even a need for us to respond to these fallacies. As our actions have shown, we stand united.”

It seemed reasonable that the Patriots would come out in some way considering the many shocking revelations that were published about the two key members of the franchise. The Patriots have made it a habit of shifting focus away from distractions and to next week’s opponent. That sentiment will be pushed to the test next weekend even if the three men have provided a statement that the report released today is false.

Out of the three key members of the organization, it would seem that Belichick would be the most likely to leave if the feelings reported within the Pats power structure are true, opines Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Breer outlines that obviously the owner is not going anywhere and with Brady still playing MVP caliber football without a true successor behind him, it would be difficult to see the team moving on from him either. He notes that Belichick is 65 years old and clearly didn’t want to trade Jimmy Garoppolo as he reports that the team flat out told potential bidders the young backup “wasn’t available” when trade talk swirled during last year’s NFL Draft. Breer summarizes that the Patriots latest moves to trade Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett this season don’t jive with Belichick’s thoughtful style in which he builds for now and the future. This could be foreshadowing that should the bombshell report turn out to have a lot of truth to it, then it seems the five-time Super Bowl winning head coach could move on from the team before his quarterback.
However, there was no mandate to trade Garoppolo midseason, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT. This news completely contradicts Wickersham’s reporting that Brady “won” in convincing Kraft to trade Garoppolo against the wishes of his head coach. Florio continues that the team instead pushed their backup to take an “under the bridge” type deal that would pay him “very well to be a backup and then starter money”. The reporter also speculates that if a mandate was given, it would have come during this past offseason when teams were offering better picks for Garoppolo.
Another factor in this story was the relationship between the Patriots and Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero. According to this morning’s story, many players felt uncomfortable if they rejected to use Brady’s “TB12” training program to use team doctors. This allegedly contributed to the uncomfortable feeling around the locker room. Guerrero has since released a statement in response to the report in which he basically defends his work with the Patriots and Tom Brady over the years. Read the full statement here via Doug Kyed of NESN.com.

Lions Block Teryl Austin From Packers

January 5th, 2018 at 3:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Request denied. The Lions will not allow Teryl Austin to interview with the Packers for their defensive coordinator vacancy, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

This week, the Lions permitted Austin to interview with the Bengals, so this could be a move to stifle a divisional rival. Alternatively, this could be a sign that the Lions are now giving serious consideration to promoting Austin to head coach. The Lions met with Austin this week to discuss the position, making him one of seven known candidates for the gig.

This is the second time today that the Packers have been shut down when trying to poach talent from another team in the NFC North. On Friday morning, the Vikings denied their request to interview executive George Paton.

Rob Gronkowski Maxes Out Incentives

January 5th, 2018 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Rob Gronkowski has reason to celebrate this weekend. The Patriots tight end has been earned a First-Team All-Pro nod, meaning that he will earn the maximum $10.75MM incentive-based salary this season.

In May, the Patriots and Gronk restructured his deal to incentivize his performance while protecting the team against another injury-marred season. The deal gave him a base salary of $5.25MM with incentive packages at three different tiers:

A total salary of $10.75MM with either 90% play time or 80 catches or 1,200‪ receiving yards or an All-Pro nomination.
A total salary $8.75MM with 80% play time or 70 catches or 1,000 receiving yards or 12 touchdowns.
A total salary of $6.75MM with 70% play time or 60 receptions or 800 receiving yards or ten touchdowns.

With 1,084 yards (off of 69 receptions with eight touchdowns), Gronkowski satisfied the middle tier requirement. With Friday’s First-Team All-Pro selection, the tight end maxed out his 2017 package.

With a few extra dollars in his pocket, Gronkowski can rest up and get ready for the divisional round of the playoffs. The Patriots’ postseason gets underway on Saturday January 13th against the lowest winning seed from the AFC Wild Card round.

Packers Want To Interview Teryl Austin

January 5th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

[UPDATE: The Lions have denied the Packers’ request]

The Packers are seeking to interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin for their vacant defensive coordinator position, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The team will also their own secondary coach Darren Perry for the same job.

Austin figures to be a popular name this offseason. In early December, the Fritz Pollard Alliance listed him as one of four excellent minority candidates for head coaching jobs. The Lions met with Austin this week to discuss their own head coaching vacancy and the Bengals are meeting with Austin on Friday to about their DC opening.

Austin interviewed for a dozen head coaching positions over the past three seasons, but has not yet been given his shot. If he is unable to land a head coaching job this offseason, he may look to build his DC resume elsewhere. The Packers would give Austin the opportunity to hook on with a potential contender and make the Lions regret overlooking him.

NFC Notes: Panthers, Peppers, Giants, Apple

January 5th, 2018 at 2:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers would like to have 37-year-old Julius Peppers back in the fold next year, as David Newton of ESPN.com writes.

“I’d love for him to come back, absolutely,’’ head coach Ron Rivera said. “And I know we’ve managed him [in terms of practice time] and we’ll do whatever we need to. But it’s all up to him. He’s had a very good year. Who knows? Hopefully, we can keep it rolling.”

Peppers is playing out a one-year deal with a base value of $3.5MM that could reach up to $4.25MM with bonuses. Of course, his focus is currently on helping the Panthers advance in the playoffs.

Here’s more from the NFC:

New Giants GM Dave Gettleman had a sit-down meeting with Eli Apple this week, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter). Schwartz takes this as a sign that Apple could still be in the team’s plans for 2018 and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) agrees. However, that comes with the caveat that Apple shows increased maturity. If all goes right, both Apple and offensive lineman Ereck Flowers could be a part of the team moving forward.
The Cardinals are in town to interview Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for their head coach opening today, a source tells Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). First, Schwartz gets his shot in the afternoon, followed by DeFilippo in the evening.
The Packers want to talk to a key executive from the Ravens about their GM vacancy.

Frontrunner Emerges For Texans GM Job

January 5th, 2018 at 2:15pm CST by Zachary Links

A favorite has emerged in the Texans’ GM search. Bills executive Brian Gaine is the favorite for the role, according to Peter Schrager of NFL.com (on Twitter).

As shown on PFR’s 2018 NFL General Manager Search Tracker, Gaine appears to be up against Nick Caserio and Monti Ossenfort of the Patriots, Brian Gutekunst of the Packers, Eagles VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, and internal candidate Jimmy Raye III.

Gaine was hired away from Houston last year when he was tabbed to be the Bills’ vice president of player personnel. Gaine spent three years with the Texans and it sounds like he could be poised to return as the head honcho.

NFL Ends Tramaine Brock Investigation

January 5th, 2018 at 1:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Good news for cornerback Tramaine Brock. The NFL has dropped its investigation against the pending free agent, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The league informed Brock on Friday that there is “insufficient evidence to support a finding” that he violated the personal conduct policy. Without the threat of a potential suspension hanging over his head, Brock should have an easier time landing a deal this offseason. He also won’t have to worry about being held out of postseason action this year.

It was a strange 2017 for Brock. In April, the Niners cut him on the heels of a domestic violence arrest. After that charge was dropped in August, the Seahawks jumped at the chance to bolster the Legion of Boom. Then, before the start of the season, Seattle shipped Brock to Minnesota for a conditional 2018 seventh-round pick.

Brock, 29, suited up for eleven games this season, but a foot injury could prevent him from taking the field in the divisional round. In 2016, he finished second among 49ers defenders in snaps (1,102) and graded 21st in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified cornerbacks.