2018 May - Pro Football Rumors

Giants Turn Down Ereck Flowers’ Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 4:18pm CST by Zachary Links

You knew this one was coming. The Giants will decline tackle Ereck Flowers’ fifth-year option, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Flowers remains under contract for the 2018 season, but it’s far from a certainty that he’ll remain with the Giants. Dave Gettleman worked hard to trade Flowers during last week’s draft, but was unable to find a taker – even at a modest asking price of a mid-round pick. Just three years ago, Flowers was selected ninth overall by the Giants.

The Giants reportedly do not plan on cutting Flowers in the near future, but one has to imagine that it’s at least a consideration for the team. Flowers has badly underperformed in his three years in New York and the team would save $2.2MM in bonuses by cutting ties. At the same time, his contract would still leave the Giants with nearly $4.6MM in dead money.

With his future hanging in the balance, Flowers has obtained the services of power agent Drew Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus, presumably, will try to steer Flowers towards a team that will start him in 2018.

Ravens Decline Breshad Perriman’s Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but the Ravens will decline Breshad Perriman‘s option for the 2019 season, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. As shown on PFR’s fifth-year option tracker, Perriman would have earned $9.387MM in the additional year, per the equation dictated by the collective bargaining agreement.

Perriman, the 26th overall pick in 2015, missed his entire rookie season due to a PCL sprain. After Perriman re-aggravated the injury in 2015, coach John Harbaugh told reporters that it was “probably one of the all-time slowest healing sprained PCLs ever.”

Perriman made his NFL debut in 2016, but he has yet to show much on the field. The UCF product has 43 catches for 576 yards for his career and has never had more than four receptions in an NFL game.

Dolphins Decline LB Stephone Anthony’s Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 4:02pm CST by Zachary Links

As expected, the Dolphins have declined the fifth-year option for linebacker Stephone Anthony. The additional year would have come at a cost of $9.232MM.

Anthony seemed to have a great deal of promise when he entered the league as a first-round pick of the Saints in 2015. After starting in all 16 games as a rookie, he was moved from middle linebacker to strongside linebacker with poor results. The Dolphins acquired him for a fifth-round pick last fall, but the change of scenery didn’t do much for him. Anthony had just 15 tackles in eight games last year.

Anthony has solid speed for a player in the 240-pound range, but he has yet to turn his natural gifts into quality play on the field. He is now slated to hit the open market next March.

Eagles Sign WR Markus Wheaton

May 2nd, 2018 at 3:51pm CST by Zachary Links

On Wednesday, the Eagles announced the signing of veteran wide receiver Markus Wheaton to a one-year deal. The Eagles will also add quarterback Joe Callahan, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Wheaton signed a two-year, $11MM deal with the Bears last year that included $5MM guaranteed. Unfortunately, he was one of several busts in that Bears free agent class. In March, Chicago cut the former Steelers draft pick.

Wheaton, 27, has registered just 51 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons. However, he had more than 40 receptions for the Steelers in both 2014 and 2015. With the Eagles, he’ll fight to be one of five or six wide receivers out of a group that is currently in the double digits. The WR depth chart is headlined by star Alshon Jeffery as well as Nelson Agholor and free agent addition Mike Wallace. Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, Bryce Treggs, and Marquess Wilson are also among those under contract.

Callahan, meanwhile, went unclaimed after being waived by the Packers on Monday. There could be an opportunity for him to stick as the No. 3 QB behind Carson Wentz and Nick Foles and he should see reps in the preseason as Wentz’s availability is expected to be limited.

Before signing Callahan, the Eagles also considered Ohio State product J.T. Barrett, according to Garafolo. Barrett instead chose to sign with the Saints this week.

Patriots Decline Options For Brown, Dorsett

May 2nd, 2018 at 3:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots had to make the call on three players with fifth-year options for the 2019 season. They have declined all three of them.

In addition to turning down the option for defensive tackle Danny Shelton, the Pats have also declined an extra season for defensive tackle Malcom Brown and wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Turning down Dorsett was something of a no-brainer and Shelton was something of a 50/50 proposition, but the decision to decline Brown’s option comes as a surprise.

Brown, the final pick in the first round of the ’15 draft, would have earned $7.154MM had his option been exercised. The Patriots may look to hammer out an extension to keep him in the fold beyond 2018, but it would likely be at a lesser rate per season. The 24-year-old defensive tackle has started in 37 of his 45 games for the Pats over the last three seasons. In that time, he has managed 8.5 sacks from the interior. In each of the last two seasons, he graded out as a top-32 player at the defensive tackle position, per Pro Football Focus.

The Patriots are known for crafty cap maneuvering, so they could be eyeing cheaper replacements in 2019 for their young defensive tackles. They would also stand to gain compensatory picks by losing either player to free agency after the 2018 season.

The option on Dorsett, 25, would have cost New England nearly $9.4MM in 2019. After Dorsett played sparingly in 2017 and amassed just 194 receiving yards, the team gave no real thought to extending him through 2019.

49ers To Decline Laken Tomlinson’s Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers are not exercising fifth-year option on left guard Laken Tomlinson, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. However, he adds that the team still views him as a starter. With that in mind, the Niners will try to keep him around on a deal that will cost less than the $9.6M option.

Tomlinson, 26, was made the No. 28 pick in the 2015 draft by the Lions. He started the first two years of his career at left guard for the Lions and served in the same capacity for the Niners after coming over in a trade last summer. Tomlinson missed the 2017 season opener, but played in the next 15 games.

Last year, Tomlinson earned the best marks of his career from Pro Football Focus. He graded out as the league’s No. 32 ranked guard, per PFF, which shows that he is clearly a starting caliber player. Still, the Niners believe that they can lock him up at a lesser rate going forward.

For now, he’s under contract for one more season as a part of an overhauled Niners offensive line. The Niners project to start three newcomers – guard Jonathan Cooper, center Weston Richburg, and first-round tackle Mike McGlinchey – along with Tomlinson and left tackle Joe Staley.

Patriots Decline Danny Shelton’s Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots aren’t planning to pick up the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Danny Shelton, a source tells Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Many expected the Pats to tack the additional year on to Shelton’s rookie deal, so this comes as a bit of a surprise.

Shelton is now on course to hit the open market after the 2018 season. As shown on PFR’s Fifth-Year Option Tracker, Shelton would have cost the Patriots $7.154MM in 2019 had they exercised the option and kept him on the roster through next year.

The Patriots acquired Shelton from the Browns (along with a 2018 fifth-round pick) in exchange for a 2019 third-round choice. In his three seasons with the Browns, Shelton started in 45 of his 46 appearances and turned in some solid performances as a part of a not-so-solid Browns front seven. Even in a down 2017, he still graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 35 ranked interior defender out of 122 qualified players.

As shown on Roster Resource, the Patriots also have Lawrence Guy and Malcom Brown in the middle, but Shelton should have an opportunity to compete for a first-string job in camp. Shelton has demonstrated the ability to play in multiple schemes and his versatility should make him a solid replacement for Alan Branch in the rotation.

Jaguars Decline Dante Fowler’s Fifth-Year Option

May 2nd, 2018 at 2:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars elected not to exercise the fifth-year option on defensive end Dante Fowler, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. However, he adds that the Jags still believe he’s an ascending player and hope to sign him to a long-term deal.

The decision on Fowler may have been one of the trickier calls in this year’s bunch of fifth-year options. Fowler, 24 in August, missed his entire rookie season but became a solid contributor for the team upon taking the field in 2016. Last year, he set new career highs with eight sacks and two forced fumbles.

Still, extending Fowler’s deal through 2019 would have cost the team an additional $14.2MM. The option is guaranteed for injury only, but that would have been a risky proposition in light of his 2015 ACL tear.

Fowler will return as the Jaguars’ first defensive end off of the bench behind starters Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell. Campbell has three years to go on his four-year, $60MM deal with the Jaguars and the team will have to address Ngakoue’s contract after the 2019 season, so there’s definitely a limit on how much they can pay Fowler.

Latest On Dez Bryant

May 2nd, 2018 at 2:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The market for Dez Bryant is not nearly as strong as he expected it to be. At this point, there are “far more” teams unwilling to pay Bryant the league minimum salary than there are teams that would consider Bryant, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via PFT).

Bryant recently turned down a multi-year offer from the Ravens and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) hears that it was in the neighborhood of the team’s three-year, $21MM deal for Michael Crabtree. The wide receiver wanted a one-year deal that would allow him to cash in as a free agent in 2019, but the Ravens could only offer Bryant a multi-year deal due to cap restrictions.

Right now, it looks like Bryant has overplayed his hand. Bryant may have to settle for less than the $7MM average annual value he would have gotten from Baltimore, which is a tough pill to swallow given his previous five-year, $70MM deal with Dallas.

Bryant says that he would like to sign with an NFC East team in order to play against Dallas twice in 2018, but it’s not clear whether he’ll find serious interest from the Eagles or Giants. We learned shortly after Bryant’s release from the Cowboys that the Redskins are not looking to sign him.

Giants Sign DT A.J. Francis

May 2nd, 2018 at 1:59pm CST by Zachary Links

One team’s trash can be a rival’s treasure. On Wednesday, the Giants signed defensive tackle A.J. Francis.

Francis was released by the Redskins this week as a part of their defensive line overhaul. The 6’5″, 337-pound lineman has bounced around the NFL, but the Giants are curious to kick the tires on him. Details on Francis’ deal are not currently known, but it is likely a one-year deal for the minimum salary with little or no guarantees. If Francis doesn’t pan out, the Giants can easily move on and release him before the final 53-man cut in September.

Francis has played in nine regular season games – one for the Dolphins, two for the Seahawks, and six for the Redskins. Last year, he had 18 total tackles (five solo) for the Redskins. Interestingly, his best game of the year came in the season finale against the Giants when he recorded six tackles.