2018 February - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons Open To Long-Term Deal With Ricardo Allen

February 1st, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

Free safety Ricardo Allen is a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Falcons may look to lock him up with a multi-year contract. When asked about whether Allen could receive a long-term deal rather than play out the year under the one-year restricted free-agent tender, GM Thomas Dimitroff seemed open to the possibility.

“Yes, I believe we can create space for Rico and a number of other players,” Dimitroff said (via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com). “That said, we are always striving for creativity. And decisions made on certain free agents, whether they be restricted or unrestricted, oftentimes are contingent on the creativity they enable or not.”

No matter what, Allen is in line for a significant pay bump. Last year, he earned just $615K as an exclusive-rights free agent. Meanwhile, he proved to be an excellent value as he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 31 ranked safety in the NFL (tied with Eric Reid, Tashaun Gipson, and Tre Boston).

The Falcons seem likely to at least place a second-round tender on Allen, which figures to come in at just under $3MM this year. RFAs have until April 20 to sign an offer sheet from a rival club and teams have until June 15 to withdraw the tender. Even if Allen signs a tender, it will not preclude the team from inking him to an extension.

As McClure notes, right tackle Ryan Schraeder signed a $2.553MM second-round tender in March 2016 only to agree to a five-year, $31.5MM extension with the Falcons that November. Allen could take that route, but he may also want to borrow a page from Andrew Norwell‘s playbook. The Panthers guard played under the $2.746MM RFA tender in 2017 and now figures to become one of the highest-paid players at his position as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Zach Miller Hopes To Continue Playing

February 1st, 2018 at 9:51am CST by Zachary Links

After a scary leg injury last year, Bears tight end Zach Miller says that he hopes to continue playing. At the same time, he acknowledges that he may be facing an uphill battle.

“[If it doesn’t happen], then that’s just the way it goes and we’ve got to move on and do something else,” Miller told Scott Voorhees of 1110 KFAB (audio link). “Physically I’ve been through a number of surgeries or whatever it may be. I can recover from that. But the mental aspect is something you’ve got to learn how to work it, how to block out some stuff and really just stay positive, which I’ve done a pretty good job doing.”

After severely dislocating his left knee and tearing his popliteal artery, doctors told Miller that he was at risk for losing his leg. Thankfully, after nine surgeries, Miller’s knee is safe. Of course, playing football represents a much steeper challenge.

Miller has done his best work over the past three years with the Bears. In 2016, Miller caught a career-high 47 passes and 486 yards with four touchdowns. In 2017, he was on pace for similar numbers with 20 catches for 236 yards and two TDs through the end of October.

Larry Fitzgerald Would Only Play For Cardinals

February 1st, 2018 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

Larry Fitzgerald is pondering his future in the NFL, but there’s no question about where he wants to play, according to his father. Larry Fitzgerald Sr. says that his son is only interested in playing for the Cardinals.

“There’s no chance,” Fitzgerald Sr. told Gil Brandt and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM. “This will be it. If it’s not with the Cardinals, we’ve seen the last of Larry Fitzgerald in the National Football League wearing No. 11.”

Still, it’s not clear when Fitzgerald will make the call on playing versus retiring. At the moment, the 34-year-old (35 in August) has a lot to digest between the team’s hiring of Steve Wilks as head coach and the retirement of Carson Palmer, which leaves the team without a clear successor at quarterback. If Fitzgerald decides to move forward with the new-look Cardinals, there’s already a contract in place thanks to his one-year, $11MM extension signed in November.

Fitzgerald has plenty of incentive to return to football, including his pursuit of a Super Bowl ring and his own personal place in the record books. With another 92 catches and 390 receiving yards, he’ll bypass Tony Gonzalez and Terrell Owens for second all-time on the NFL’s receptions and receiving yards list, respectively.

Latest On Johnny Manziel

February 1st, 2018 at 9:16am CST by Zachary Links

Recently, Johnny Manziel‘s agent set a deadline of January 31 for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats to present his client with a deal to his liking. That date has come and gone, but the Ti-Cats say that they will continue to pursue a deal with the troubled quarterback.

“While the discussions with Johnny Manziel and his representative have been very cordial and informative, there is nothing imminent and nothing to report. We will continue to do our due diligence and will have no further public comment on the matter as we move forward,” the team said in a statement.

Manziel’s camp is trying to play hardball with Hamilton, but the reality is that the QB doesn’t have many options on the table. So far, no NFL team has been willing to take a chance on the former first-round pick, not even on a practice squad deal. The Tiger-Cats hold the CFL’s exclusive negotiating rights for Manziel and the north-of-the-border league is the best professional platform for Manziel to showcase himself. Ultimately, he may have no choice but to accept whatever offer is put in front of him.

In his statement last month, agent Erik Burkhart said that he was seeking a contract in line with what other Ti-Cats QBs have received in recent years. As ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert notes, last year’s starter Zach Collaros earned about $500K in 2017.

For his part, Manziel doesn’t seem to think the two sides are far apart in negotiations (Twitter link).