2018 February - Pro Football Rumors

Month: November 2024

Buccaneers Fire DL Coach Jay Hayes

February 11th, 2018 at 8:23am CST by Rory Parks

The Buccaneers, despite some rumblings that they would fire head coach Dirk Koetter at the end of the 2017 campaign, have actually kept their entire coaching staff intact. Until now.

Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports that Tampa Bay has fired defensive line coach Jay Hayes, which comes over a month after Koetter said he did not anticipate making any changes to his staff. It is unclear why he opted to reverse course at this point, but Hayes’ unit certainly left much to be desired during his two-year tenure with the club.

Over the 2016-17 seasons, the Bucs’ defense registered 60 sacks, tied for 27th in the NFL, and in 2017, the team finished with 22 sacks, last in the league. Tampa Bay yielded 378.1 yards per game to opposing offenses in 2017, which was also last in the league.

Of course, the defensive line is not entirely to blame for that performance, especially given that Hayes’ group was hit by several significant injuries in 2017. But no one can really fault the Bucs for making this move, even though the timing of it is somewhat curious. The only other change the team made to its coaching staff this offseason has been promoting Skyler Fulton to wide receivers coach.

Hayes previously served as the Bengals’ DL coach for 13 seasons and was credited for the development of players like Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson, and Carlos Dunlap.

Broncos Interested In Case Keenum?

February 10th, 2018 at 9:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Plenty of variables exist in what promises to be a complex quarterback marketplace this offseason. Kirk Cousins and the Broncos are centerpiece elements of it, with both the quarterback and the team standing to affect how free agency and the draft unfolds.

The Broncos could conceivably go either way in addressing their quarterback situation, and whether they sign Cousins or lose that race and end up taking a passer at No. 5 will determine plenty about how the offseason plays out. But what happens if the Broncos can’t land Cousins? Do they still target a veteran? And if so, would any non-Cousins addition induce Denver to use its No. 5 pick on a non-quarterback?

One other passer might. The Broncos are intrigued by Case Keenum, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report notes. He adds that a Keenum addition would allow the team to select a player at another position at No. 5, so Keenum could be the Broncos’ second choice on the veteran market. They are expected to enter the Cousins sweepstakes.

Of course, the Vikings could still place the franchise tag on their primary 2017 starter and effectively take him off the market. They are open to doing so, and may be likely to take this route with one of last season’s biggest surprises. But if Keenum hits the market, the Broncos — who discussed a Keenum trade during the 2016 offseason, when his price was much lower — figure to be interested.

Keenum will not cost what Cousins would, but the sample size of proficiency is far less than what Cousins’ career has offered, so spending lower-end or midlevel franchise-quarterback money on Keenum would be a risk. Mike Klis of 9News noted recently Denver’s Cousins contingency plan was likely to be Keenum (if available) or a bridge player that would mentor the passer the team would be in line to select at 5.

The Broncos may well believe Keenum is good enough not to be viewed as a stopgap passer, which would take a team out of the mix for a quarterback at the top of the draft. But the Vikings may believe this as well and retain Keenum to make outside interest essentially moot.

Steelers Create Nearly $15MM In Cap Space

February 10th, 2018 at 7:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mired in another negotiation with Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers will have a friendlier cap situation to work with after two starters agreed to adjust their contracts.

The team will take the restructure route to create space. Both David DeCastro and Stephon Tuitt agreed to convert their 2018 base salaries into roster and signing bonuses, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports, and this will free up $13.26MM in 2018 cap space.

Neither player will lose any money, with these being merely adjustments to help out in the short term. Tuitt, who signed an extension just before last season, now has a $10.21MM signing bonus included in his contract. DeCastro, extended just before the 2016 season, has a $6.79MM signing bonus coming his way.

DeCastro will count for $5.69MM against Pittsburgh’s 2018 cap as a result of this conversion, and Tuitt will represent $5.43MM of the Steelers’ ’18 payroll. Both will earn $790K in base salary this season. However, these adjustments will inflate the linemen’s 2019 figures. Tuitt comes in at $13.64MM for 2019, and DeCastro’s cap hit is set to be $11.97MM next year.

Bell stands as the only high-profile UFA for a team that’s usually not too big on free agency, but with the running back franchise tag cost rising to $14.5MM and a decision due by March 6, the team appears to be preparing for a tag scenario — if only as a means of retaining negotiating rights through mid-July.

New York Notes: Staley, Jets, Anderson, Bills

February 10th, 2018 at 7:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aside from facing off in three playoff games in a seven-season stretch from 1993-2000, the Giants and Vikings can’t exactly be classified as rivals. Well, the teams may have some animosity for a bit. The Vikings denied Kevin Stefanski a chance to interview for the Giants’ OC position, and Minnesota’s QBs coach being the previous favorite for that job could make matters difficult for Pat Shurmur.

The Vikings complicated this search further by hiring Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo to succeed Shurmur as Minnesota’s OC, bypassing Stefanski and poaching a coach off Philadelphia’s staff.

This is relevant because Duce Staley remains under contract with the Eagles, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports. Staley, Philly’s RBs coach, is said to be viewed as the Giants’ next choice for the OC role. But with Frank Reich in contention to become the Colts’ head coach, the Eagles could well deny their NFC East rivals permission to speak with Staley. This would keep the 42-year-old assistant in Philly in an attempt to foster some continuity in the event Reich leaves. This chain of events unfolding would make Staley a logical candidate to be the next Eagles OC.

The Giants have not yet requested permission to speak with Staley, but if the Eagles were to block the move, Darrell Bevell and Harold Goodwin may be the next coaches in line. Both are coaching free agents. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv gives an edge to Bevell in the event Staley stays in Pennsylvania. Complicating this further, Bevell has been mentioned as a possible Colts OC.

Here’s the latest out of the Big Apple:

The Jets not landing Kirk Cousins could give Josh McCown another chance, with Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writing a McCown/No. 6 overall pick solution would be the best bet at a Cousins contingency plan. A Nick Foles trade would not be as likely, per Mehta, who would be “stunned” if the Jets offered the Eagles one of their two second-round picks for the Super Bowl MVP. With Carson Wentz not a lock to be ready by Week 1, the Eagles would be unlikely to unload Foles for a third-rounder given his current stock and potential importance to a title defense.
Mehta adds the Jets are not planning to cut Robby Anderson because of his recent arrest. However, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes no extension offer should be expected anytime soon. Gang Green’s leading receiver in 2017, Anderson will be an RFA after next season. However, the January arrest produced three felony charges. And the 24-year-old wide receiver has a history of encountering police. Cimini reports he has 10 traffic violations on his record since 2014, all coming in Florida. His 941-yard season notwithstanding, Anderson may be on thin ice.
Both Jermaine Kearse and Quincy Enunwa are due to be UFAs after 2018, and the Jets have some of the most cap space in the league. Cimini would be surprised if the Jets used a sizable chunk of that space to outbid the competition for Jarvis Landry. Instead, he envisions a realistic pursuit of Allen Robinson, noting that since his ACL tear occurred in September, the 24-year-old Jaguars receiver would be a better bet as a long-term investment that had the injury taken place later in the season. If the Jets did land Robinson, Cimini writes the team will likely look to trade Kearse.
Two Alabama assistants will be part of Sean McDermott‘s second Bills staff. William Vlachos and Shea Tierney will make their way from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Buffalo to become Bills offensive assistants, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. These two will follow Brian Daboll, the Bills’ new OC, in making this move.
While John Butler was hired to replace secondary coach Gill Byrd, the Bills have shifted assistant DBs coach Bobby Babich‘s title to safeties coach, Rodak notes (on Twitter). Rodak expects Butler to focus more on corners this year.

Jets Hoping To Acquire Two Starting CBs

February 10th, 2018 at 5:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets are going to be active on the cornerback market this offseason, and their goal will be to land two starting corners.

Gang Green wants to keep Morris Claiborne, and the parties have already begun negotiations, and pair him with a “true No. 1 cornerback,” Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports.

Mehta expects the Jets to be interested in Malcolm Butler, who will surely draw extensive attention as a UFA. Given a first-round tender in 2017, Butler resided as one of the game’s top corners in 2015 and ’16 prior to a down contract year that culminated with the ignominious DNP-CD in Super Bowl LII. Butler, Trumaine Johnson and Kyle Fuller are three of the top names that the Jets — expected to hold $90MM-plus in cap space — could pursue. Second-tier types David Amerson, Prince Amukamara and Byron Maxwell are either available already (Amerson) or UFAs-to-be.

Claiborne functioned as the Jets’ de facto No. 1 corner this season on a one-year, $5MM deal and expressed interest in returning. The Jets did not receive Claiborne’s best season, but he did suit up for 15 games for just the second time in his career. And Mehta writes the team would “love” to bring him back as a No. 2 corner.

The Jets have a few young corners under contract and will face a decision on Buster Skrine. The experienced slot man will enter the final season of his four-year contract — signed during the same offseason that brought Darrelle Revis over from New England — but would produce $6MM in cap space if the Jets released him. Having made many similar cost-cutting moves last year, the Jets figure to consider this. But the team does not have an established corner under contract. So, that could work in the 28-year-old Skrine’s favor.

However, productive slot stoppers Patrick Robinson and Nickell Robey-Coleman are one month from unrestricted free agency. It’s possible Gang Green could look to upgrade here as well.

Panthers Conduct Second Interview With Lake Dawson

February 10th, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marty Hurney met with NFL investigator Lisa Friel on Friday as part of a league investigation into a since-withdrawn domestic violence claim made by Hurney’s ex-wife. This has affected the Panthers’ GM interview process, with Hurney — who served as interim GM last season — previously viewed as the favorite to be named full-time GM.

However, the Panthers may now be leaning toward hiring an external candidate, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter).

One of the outside candidates that went through the initial interview process, Lake Dawson, was summoned back to Charlotte for a second meeting, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports.

Dawson was one of three outside candidates interviewed for this post, joining 49ers exec Martin Mayhew and Texans player personnel VP Jimmy Raye III.

Currently the Bills’ assistant college scouting director, Dawson also interviewed for the Panthers’ GM position when it was previously open in 2013. Dave Gettleman won that race, but Dawson is firmly in the mix this time. Ron Rivera has been part of this search process as well, but the eighth-year HC wasn’t in the meeting when Dawson returned to North Carolina.

Hurney is currently on paid leave as the NFL conducts its investigation, and Person reports nothing is imminent on making this hire. Although Jerry Richardson intends to sell the Panthers, Person reports does not want to make a rash decision regarding Hurney, whom he once fired to clear the way for Gettleman.

Vikings Deny Giants Permission To Interview Kevin Stefanski

February 10th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants are going to have to look elsewhere for an offensive coordinator, because the Vikings don’t plan to open the door for Kevin Stefanski to leave the Twin Cities.

The Vikings denied the Giants permission to interview their quarterbacks coach for their OC job, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (Facebook link). This comes even after the Vikings hired Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo to replace Pat Shurmur.

Shurmur will now have to move on to other candidates to fill the OC post in New York. DeFilippo’s arrival in Minnesota certainly makes the franchise preventing Stefanski from becoming an OC interesting, especially after the Eagles granted DeFilippo permission for the Vikings interview, but the defending NFC North champions did interview Stefanski for their OC job and clearly don’t want to lose him just yet.

The Giants are also believed to be considering Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley and former Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell for the position. But with Stefanski’s ties to Shurmur, he was the logical favorite to be the new Big Blue HC’s right-hand man on offense.

No interviews have commenced for this position, with Stefanski apparently set to be the first. Meetings about this job figure to occur soon, though, now that Stefanski won’t be going to the Big Apple.

Stefanski, 35, has been with the Vikings for 12 seasons. He was already an assistant quarterbacks coach by age 27, when then-starting passer Brett Favre was 40, illustrating how the franchise views him. Stefanski’s moved from tight ends coach to running backs instructor to QBs coach over the past four years, and it looks like he’ll stay on for a second season developing Minnesota’s signal-callers — now under DeFilippo’s direction.

Shurmur and Staley have an extensive history, with the former running back being a player during Shurmur’s first Philadelphia stint and then a coach during his second, whereas Shurmur and Bevell have never coached on an NFL staff together. However, Shurmur looks to be seeking an OC with experience coaching quarterbacks, and Staley has yet to serve in that role since breaking into the coaching ranks. Former Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin has also been mentioned as a candidate.

Staley will require Eagles permission to interview with the Giants, whereas Bevell and Goodwin are coaching free agents.

49ers Accepted Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo Offer “In 10 Minutes”

February 10th, 2018 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Shanahan said he met with Bill Belichick at the 2017 Combine and asked the Patriots’ top decision-maker about Jimmy Garoppolo‘s availability, and the then-rookie 49ers coach was told the then-Pats backup quarterback was not on the block.

The 49ers did not have a quarterback on their roster at that point and were pessimistic about former Shanahan pupil Kirk Cousins‘ availability as well.

“At that time, the only guys we thought were franchise quarterbacks that were being mentioned were Kirk and Jimmy,” Shanahan told Albert Breer of SI.com in an expansive interview. “And I knew Kirk wasn’t going to be a possibility. And I remember asking Bill personally down at the combine about Jimmy, and very quickly he told me that wasn’t a possibility. So we moved on from that. He told me he wasn’t going to trade him.”

However, Shanahan confirmed to Breer the Patriots contacted him on Oct. 30 with a Garoppolo offer. The Patriots’ trade-process timeline is murky, but on the 49ers end, it didn’t take long to finish this agreement.

Shanahan went to John Lynch and the duo decided to accept New England’s proposal of a second-round pick for the contract-year passer, Breer reports. Shanahan indicated to Breer he was shocked when informed Garoppolo was now available, and while he was concerned about having to make a decision about a long-term contract based on a small sample size, Lynch reassured him they would use the franchise tag to buy them time if necessary.

“There really was,” Shanahan said when asked if there as a moment of shock when the Patriots called him. “We were 0–8. We’d just gotten our asses kicked by Philly. I came in on a Monday and that was the last thing I was thinking about. And that ended up popping up. It’s different, because it’s a big deal; we want those draft picks. We know have a ways to go; we want to build this organization the right way. And what worried me was having to decide long-term on a guy in just a few games.”

The 49ers did not need to use their contingency plan, signing Garoppolo to a record five-year, $137MM extension. The Patriots’ about-face on Garoppolo ended up being a franchise-changing moment for the 49ers, who may not have been as quick to match a Browns would-be offer of the Texans’ first-round pick. But Cleveland did not have a chance to deal for Garoppolo during the small time window he was available, with the call coming to Shanahan and the first-year San Francisco power structure deciding in minutes to pull the trigger.

Shanahan’s Cousins exploration did not deter a Garoppolo deal, with the 49ers having moved on after their new quarterback’s 5-0 start. But they were interested in Cousins last offseason. Now that Cousins is expected to be available, the 49ers are set at sports’ marquee position.

The now-second-year HC, however, told Breer they hadn’t closed the door on Cousins even after trading for Garoppolo. This extension will close the door on the Cousins-to-San Francisco rumors, likely for good.

“Yeah, of course, it was there,” Shanahan told Breer about the franchise’s Cousins interest after the Garoppolo trade. “Everyone knows how I feel about Kirk. And for anybody who knows how I feel about Kirk, I think this shows how I feel about Jimmy, the fact that we ended up doing this. I’m not a guy who’s going to get excited and just go with the momentum, at all. I usually do the opposite, question it to make sure I’m absolutely confident, and not go with the momentum or the excitement.

“Talking about Kirk, understanding where he could be in the next year, for me to feel this way about Jimmy? It says a lot about Jimmy.”

Steelers Sign FB Roosevelt Nix To Extension

February 10th, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Roosevelt Nix is staying in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future. The Steelers announced that they have signed the fullback to a four-year extension. The deal will keep the 25-year-old with the organization through the 2021 season.

Following four seasons as a linebacker at Kent State, Nix joined the Falcons after going undrafted during the 2014 draft. He didn’t catch on as a fullback, and he ultimately landed with the AFL’s Cleveland Gladiators. He eventually signed with the Steelers in 2015, and he’s proceeded to appear in 41 games (nine starts) since that time.

Nix earned a Pro Bowl birth this past season after playing a major role in Le’Veon Bell‘s productive campaign. Nix finished the season with zero rushing yards on three carries, and he added a pair of receptions for six yards and one touchdown. Nix also compiled 10 special teams tackles.

QB Notes: Cousins, Rodgers, Boykin

February 10th, 2018 at 12:05pm CST by Ben Levine

Following his arrest in March of last year, charges have been dropped against Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The 24-year-old was arrested for “for possession of more than two ounces of marijuana and public intoxication” following an incident outside a Dallas bar.

The former TCU standout spent his rookie season serving as Russell Wilson‘s backup, completing 13 of 18 pass attempts for 145 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Following the team’s acquisition of Austin Davis, Boykin spent the 2017 campaign on the practice squad. He was inked to a futures contract in January.

Let’s take a look at some other quarterback notes from around the NFL…

Following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s new contract with the 49ers, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio took a look at the quarterbacks who are next in line for a big payday. The writer lists Kirk Cousins, Drew Brees, and Matt Ryan atop his list, followed by a trio of Vikings signal-callers (Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater). A.J. McCarron and Aaron Rodgers, who Florio believes may want to trump Garoppolo’s average annual salary, round out the list.
As the salary cap continues to rise, so do quarterback salaries, and Florio wonders if Cousins will become the first signal-caller to tie his contract compensation to cap percentage. The writer notes that the CBA permits this strategy, and he adds that cap percentage is already used for the “various baseline franchise tenders.” Cousins previously tried to get a similar contract from the Redskins (to no avail), and Florio believes he’s the free agent who’s in the best position to pull it off this offseason.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano believes Cousins is line for an “unprecedented” contract, noting that only a pair of “top-level” quarterbacks (Brees in 2006 and Peyton Manning in 2012) have become unrestricted free agents. The writer doesn’t believe the Redskins will ultimately franchise Cousins for the third straight season, adding that few teams would give anything of value for that type of deal in a trade. Ultimately, the franchise would receive a third-rounder for compensation if Cousins walked, and that could prove to be the ideal route.

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