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Month: December 2024

East Notes: Wentz, Eagles, Clay, Bills, Burkhead, Patriots

November 25th, 2018 at 4:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eagles have struggled mightily in 2018, and while a lot of their troubles can be explained by the rash of injuries they’ve suffered on defense, the offense has also been much worse than last year. Carson Wentz hasn’t looked like himself, and now we have some clarity on why. Wentz returned because Nick Foles was awful the first couple of weeks, and rushed himself back in the process. Wentz is still not 100 percent, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), who reports Wentz still isn’t able to plant “hard on his left foot.”

Wentz came back from a torn ACL and LCL, which Rapoport says is supposed to take at least a full year to recover from. It helps explain why Wentz hasn’t played at the level we’re all used to, and could mean the Eagles’ offense will only trend upward as the season progresses and he gains more and more confidence in his leg.

Here’s more from the league’s Eastern Divisions:

  • This is tight end Charles Clay‘s fourth year with the Bills, and it’s looking like it will also be his last. The Bills will likely move on from Clay after this season, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (Twitter link), who writes this is “the first chance the Bills have to get out of the contract.” Buffalo can save $4.5MM in cap space by cutting him this spring, which makes sense to Buscaglia given Clay’s “complete void in production this year.” Once one of the best tight ends in the game, Clay’s production has completely dropped off a cliff this season as he’s dealt with injuries, catching only 19 passes for 169 yards.
  • Patriots running back Rex Burkhead is eligible to return from injured reserve next week, and New England will have to make some room on the roster to bring him back. The Patriots are likely to cut one of their excess offensive linemen, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, who lists both tackle Matt Tobin and guard James Ferentz as being in danger of losing their jobs.
  • In case you missed it, there’s a growing sense that the Cowboys might not want to commit huge money to Ezekiel Elliott.

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PFR Originals: 11/18/18 – 11/25/18

November 25th, 2018 at 3:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

  • As part of our ‘This Date In NFL Transactions History’ series, our Ben Levine took a look back at the suspension of Panthers defensive end Frank Alexander. Alexander was a very promising young player who saw his career cut extremely short by off-field troubles. The suspension he earned in 2015 was his third for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in just a couple of years in the NFL, and ultimately ended his career.
  • Around this time of year, people start paying more and more attention to potential draft order. Many teams are having abysmal seasons, and there’s a crowded field of teams all in position to pick very early in the draft. Our Zach Links asked readers in a poll which team was most likely to wind up with the first overall pick, and laid out the case for each side. The Raiders won the poll, garnering 49.2% of the votes with the Cardinals coming in second place.

 

Jets Notes: Maccagnan, Bowles, Anderson, Darnold

November 25th, 2018 at 1:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

If the Jets’ season continues to go the way it has gone so far, it’s very likely that head coach Todd Bowles will be fired after the season. GM Mike Maccagnan is apparently in far better shape with ownership, and “all indications” are that “Maccagnan will survive this mess of a season and get a chance to finish his rebuilding project”, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. While Maccagnan seems like a heavy favorite to survive, Cimini writes that it’s unclear exactly how much power he’ll have.

Cimini writes that it’s an open question whether or not Maccagnan will get to be the one who hires New York’s next head coach, and notes that the pairing of Bowles and Maccagnan was an “arranged marriage” from ownership. For what it’s worth, Cimini thinks the Jets will “add a couple of years to Maccagnan’s deal” if they keep him, so it doesn’t send the impression that the GM has less job security than the new coach. While Maccagnan will hang on by the skin of his teeth, the way everyone is talking now it seems like a foregone conclusion that Bowles’ days are numbered.

Here’s more from New York:

  • Robby Anderson is a very talented young receiver, but has dealt with multiple off-field incidents as well as injuries this season, so Cimini thinks he might not be long for the team. Anderson will be a restricted free agent this offseason, and while Cimini expects the Jets to tender him, he thinks they might look to trade him next offseason. He mentions the Eagles as a possible trade destination, and notes that the Eagles “tried to pry him away” from the Jets at the trade deadline. He also thinks the team might just let him walk if a team signs him to a huge offer sheet this spring. It was reported earlier this week that the Jets are trying to get an extension done with fellow receiver Quincy Enunwa, and it seems like the team definitely values Enunwa more than Anderson moving forward.
  • Sam Darnold isn’t playing today against the Patriots, and it looks like he might not play next week either. While Darnold could still possibly return in Week 13, “the following week is more likely”, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that the Jets want to take it easy on Darnold and make sure he’s 100 percent healthy before returning. The team isn’t going to rush him back, so it’ll likely be Josh McCown again next week against the Titans.

Ravens Notes: Flacco, Suggs, Harbaugh

November 25th, 2018 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Parks

Quarterback Joe Flacco is expected to return to practice on Tuesday, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Of course, first-round rookie Lamar Jackson is getting his second consecutive start today as Flacco deals with a hip injury, and if Jackson can lead Baltimore to a win over Oakland this afternoon, La Canfora suggests that he could keep the starting job even if Flacco proves that he is healthy.

Now for more out of Charm City:

  • Ageless linebacker Terrell Suggs indicated back in May that 2018 would not be his last season in the league, but it is his last season under contract with the Ravens. La Canfora confirms that Suggs fully intends to continue playing, but given that the Ravens are transitioning to a new GM and are potentially parting ways with fellow stalwarts Flacco and John Harbaugh at the end of the season, it seems they will let Suggs test the market for the first time in his career. Suggs is still playing at a fairly high level and has adamantly asserted that he wants to finish his career in Baltimore, and that is certainly not out of the question in light of his continued strong performance. But other teams will finally get a crack at him first.
  • Speaking of Harbaugh, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that the 11th-year head coach would be one of the top three candidates for the expected head coaching vacancy at USC (Twitter link). It is unclear if the Trojans — who are also interested in Penn State coach James Franklin and free agent Jack Del Rio — would wait for Harbaugh to finish his season, but if so, he could join brother Jim Harbaugh in the collegiate ranks.
  • We have heard that the Ravens and John Harbaugh are headed for a parting of the ways at the end of the season, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that Baltimore players expect Harbaugh to be gone unless the team qualifies for the playoffs. Of course, as Florio notes, Harbaugh will immediately garner plenty of interest from other NFL clubs in need of a head coach, and, as noted above, perhaps at least one blue blood college team.
  • The Ravens activated CB Maurice Canady from IR yesterday and cut offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu in a corresponding move.

49ers Notes: Foster, Mack, Goodwin

November 25th, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Rory Parks

We know that soon-to-be-former 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested on a domestic violence charge last night following an incident at the team’s hotel in Tampa Bay, and that the team is going to put Foster on the waiver wire tomorrow. GM John Lynch has since given an interview on the situation, and he indicated that the decision to cut Foster was made because Foster failed to uphold the standards set for him after the issues he had earlier this year (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). Lynch added that he and team ownership agreed on the move.

Now for more from San Francisco, starting with more Foster fallout:

  • Matt Barrows of The Athletic provides a series of tweets with more detail on the Foster incident and Lynch’s reaction to it.
  • Former NFL agent Joel Corry notes that the 49ers will carry roughly $2.35MM in dead money for Foster on the 2019 cap (Twitter link). Foster’s two-game suspension that he served at the beginning of this season wiped out his base salary guarantees, so the dead money figure stems entirely from signing bonus proration.
  • In two separate pieces, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examines Foster’s chances of being picked up by another club. Florio notes that any team interested in Foster’s services would first want to know if the league plans to place Foster on the Commissioner Exempt list, which is a device for keeping players off the field when those players face certain types of criminal charges, including allegations of domestic violence. A player cannot be placed on the list unless he is on a team, but he would be eligible to be paid during his stay on the list. Any team is free to call the league office to determine what its intentions are with respect to Foster, but unless the league is able to definitively say that Foster is not a candidate for the list — which seems unlikely — it does not appear that Foster will be claimed on waivers. It also seems that no one will be interested in signing Foster even when he clears waivers until his status with the league is determined.
  • We knew that the 49ers were interested in trading for Khalil Mack before he was dealt to the Bears, but we also heard that San Francisco had simply been outbid by Chicago. However, Lynch indicated during a radio interview with 95.7 The Game on Friday that he continues to believe that the 49ers had a better offer on the table for Mack (audio link). To get Mack, the Bears gave up two first-round picks, a 2019 sixth-rounder, and a 2020 third-rounder (though some draft capital came back to Chicago as well), so Lynch is apparently suggesting that he was prepared to give more than that to land the elite defender.
  • Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin traveled with the team to Tampa Bay, but he is not present for San Francisco’s matchup with the Bucs, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Goodwin was reportedly excused from the team to address a personal matter, and he was also excused from practice earlier this week due to a personal matter, though it is presently unclear whether it is the same issue.
  • Ahkello Witherspoon, who was selected two rounds after Foster in the 2017 draft, is at something of a crossroads with the 49ers, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Witherspoon has been benched twice this year and has regressed in coverage and tackling after a strong rookie campaign, and while it seems unlikely the 49ers would cut him at the end of the season, his play over the course of the team’s final six games will have a big impact on how aggressively the 49ers pursue cornerback upgrades in the offseason.

Latest On Philip Rivers’ Future With Chargers

November 25th, 2018 at 11:18am CST by Rory Parks

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is having, at age 36 (37 in less than two weeks), a career year. He has completed 67% of his passes for 2,860 yards and 23 touchdowns against just six interceptions, good for a 112.1 quarterback rating — which would be the highest of his career — and he is on the fringe of the MVP conversation. More importantly, his team sits at 7-3 and is in full control of its playoff destiny.

However, his contract expires at the end of the 2019 season, and between that and his advanced age, there are plenty of questions about his future with the club. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says the Chargers want Rivers to be their starting quarterback “for as long as he wants to do it” (video link). RapSheet notes that Rivers, who is owed just $11MM in base salary in 2019, is also due a $5MM roster bonus near the start of the 2019 league year in March, which Los Angeles is expected to pick up. The team will therefore be paying him $16MM next season unless they reach an extension before then, which is a bargain for a quarterback of his caliber.

Rapoport also suggests that Rivers wants to be the Bolts’ QB at least until the team moves into its new stadium, but the stadium will open in 2020, so that does not do much to clarify Rivers’ long-term future. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, it makes sense for player and team to have a frank, candid discussion about how long Rivers wants to play. The 2004 first-round pick has said that he would like to play for a few more seasons, but it is unclear exactly what that means, and the Chargers will need to know that before they go ahead and agree to pay Rivers a boatload of guaranteed money.

Rapoport says that the Chargers are willing to draft a quarterback and allow him to sit behind Rivers for several seasons, and depending on what Rivers tells them about his plans, that could happen as soon as 2019. Indeed, the Chargers were rumored as a potential fit for Baker Mayfield prior to the 2018 draft.

Coaching Rumors: McDaniels, Arians, Marrone

November 25th, 2018 at 10:25am CST by Rory Parks

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels seemed to irreparably damage his future head coaching prospects with every team in the league except New England when he infamously jilted the Colts last offseason. But he has already been mentioned as a candidate for the Browns‘ head coaching job, and as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, there will be no shortage in interest in McDaniels when the head coaching carousel starts spinning in 2019. La Canfora does not specifically name any teams who are expected to pursue the 42-year-old, but his sources indicate that McDaniels will be under strong consideration despite the fiasco in Indianapolis.

Now let’s take a look at other rumors concerning current, and possibly future, head coaches:

  • Speaking of the Browns, former Colts and Cardinals HC Bruce Arians recently said he would only consider becoming a head coach again if he were hired by Cleveland, but he walked those comments back shortly thereafter. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Arians was serious the first time and that he will contemplate returning to the sidelines if he can become the Browns’ head coach. Arians indicated that he will not consider overtures from any other clubs, but that if he does land the Cleveland gig, he would keep Freddie Kitchens as offensive coordinator and would consider keeping defensive coordinator Gregg Williams — currently the Browns’ interim HC — as well.
  • It remains to be seen whether Arians’ interest in the Browns is mutual, but La Canfora reports that the team is expected to reach out to Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, who is very much on the NFL’s radar as a legitimate head coaching candidate. We have heard previously that Cleveland GM John Dorsey is a big fan of Campbell.
  • Although the Jaguars are in the midst of a hugely disappointing season, Rapoport says that head coach Doug Marrone is not on the hot seat and is in no danger of losing his job at the moment (video link).
  • Despite unceremonious ousters from Oakland and Cleveland, La Canfora writes that Hue Jackson could become a head coach again as soon as next year. Jackson is back in Cincinnati as special assistant to Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, and if Lewis were to retire or transition to an upper-management position, JLC suggests that Jackson could take the reins. Team owner Mike Brown, who does things his own way, is a big fan of Jackson, and league sources say they would not be surprised if Brown goes that route.
  • The Bears‘ defense is excelling in 2018, which means that Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will once again garner significant interest from teams looking for a new HC this offseason, per La Canfora. Fangio has interviewed previously for the head-coaching jobs in Chicago and San Francisco, and the Bears paid him very well to keep him aboard as Matt Nagy‘s DC when they hired Nagy to be their head coach earlier this year. There is a general bias against defensive-oriented coaches these days, but Fangio is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game and has a strong reputation for being able to connect with troubled players and to get the most out of his units.

Latest On Extension Talks For Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott

November 25th, 2018 at 9:32am CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys indicated earlier this month that they are planning on signing the newly-acquired Amari Cooper to an extension. However, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, the two sides have not yet had any talks regarding a new deal. Cooper is under club control through 2019 under the fifth-year option that Oakland had previously exercised, and Cooper would be a legitimate franchise tag candidate for at least the 2020 season if it comes to it, so the Cowboys have not prioritized a new contract. However, Schefter said player and team do plan to discuss a long-term extension after the season, and that Dallas is prepared to pay Cooper.

Cooper’s price, though, is only going up. He is starting to look a little like his old self in Dallas, and he exploded for 180 yards and two scores in the team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Redskins. Now riding a three-game winning streak, the Cowboys have suddenly become the favorites to win the NFC East, and Cooper — who has 22 receptions for 349 yards and three TDs in four games with the team — is a big reason for that.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examines what a new contract for Cooper could look like, and he suggests that any deal reached prior to the 2019 season would need to include at least $30.6MM in fully-guaranteed money, and probably more. Plus, in light of recent contracts for players like Sammy Watkins and Brandin Cooks, Cooper could easily make a case for a deal that features an average annual value of $16MM+. Cooper is represented by agent Joel Segal, who of course did wonders for Khalil Mack earlier this year.

In addition to Cooper, the Cowboys are also planning an extension for third-year signal caller Dak Prescott. as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirms (video link). Owner Jerry Jones and executive VP Stephen Jones are reportedly convinced that Prescott is the team’s franchise quarterback, and they plan to pay him accordingly. As Florio notes, it will be difficult to determine a true starting point in negotiations for Prescott, but Rapoport says that Dallas wants to lock up both Cooper and Prescott for the foreseeable future this offseason and that the club is making financial preparations now. The Cowboys have not yet initiated talks with Prescott’s camp either but will do so at season’s end.

As we heard yesterday, star running back Ezekiel Elliott may be left out once Dallas has finished paying Prescott, Cooper, and (potentially) Demarcus Lawrence.

Reuben Foster Arrested For Domestic Violence, Cut By 49ers

November 25th, 2018 at 8:05am CST by Rory Parks

49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested at the team hotel in Tampa Bay at 9:10pm last night on one count of first-degree misdemeanor domestic-violence battery, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (among others) reports. The 49ers announced that they will waive the 2017 first-rounder.

Foster was held without bail overnight, but has since been released on $2K bail, as Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. The judge also ordered that Foster have no contact with the alleged victim, who has been identified as Elissa Ennis. As those who have followed Foster’s brief but troubled NFL career will recall, Ennis is the same woman who accused Foster of striking her last February, which led to Foster’s arrest. The domestic violence charges stemming from that arrest were then dropped after Ennis recanted her allegations and admitted that the injuries she sustained were actually suffered during a fight with another woman or two women.

In a statement, Tampa Police said Foster and Ennis — whom the statement identified as a “female victim” — have been involved “in an on-again-off-again relationship over the past three years.” The statement said the two were engaged in a verbal altercation and that “Foster slapped [Ennis’] phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area, and slapped her with an open hand on the left side of her face. Officers observed a one-inch scratch on the victim’s left collarbone.”

Foster’s February arrest — which also included a weapons charge that led to 232 hours of community service and two years of probation — came just a few weeks after he was arrested for possession of marijuana. Though the marijuana charge and the domestic violence charges were dropped, Foster was still suspended for the first two games of the 2018 regular season for violating the league’s conduct and substance abuse policies. Of course, his draft stock fell following injuries and several incidents at the 2017 scouting combine, but the 49ers made him the 31st-overall pick of the 2017 draft anyway. It initially appeared that they would be rewarded for their gamble, as Foster performed quite well in his 10-game rookie campaign, which was shortened due to an injury he sustained in the 2017 opener.

This year, in addition to his two-game suspension, Foster had also missed a pair of games due to a hamstring injury and was questionable for the team’s contest against Tampa Bay this afternoon. Given his obvious talent, and given the fact that the current allegations were made by the same woman who admitted she fabricated previous allegations, it will be interesting to see if any teams put in a waiver claim. He will officially hit waivers at 4pm ET tomorrow.

Extra Points: Cowboys, Elliott, Panthers, Funchess, Jets, Offensive Line

November 24th, 2018 at 10:11pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cowboys are riding high off their recent three game winning streak, but they’ll have to get serious soon. While head coach Jason Garret’s future with the team has been discussed endlessly, they have some personnel decisions to make that have flown mostly under the radar. The Cowboys have a bunch of young players, and will need to make some tough decisions soon, writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

The Cowboys have a bunch of players who will need to either be extended or let go in the near future, including Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Ezekiel Elliott. All three will be looking for a ton of guaranteed money, and they might not be able to keep everybody. While owner Jerry Jones has said repeatedly the team plans on extending Prescott, Florio notes that Jones hasn’t “said much if anything about Elliott getting a new deal.” Florio writes that “it’s possible that the Cowboys won’t ever make a major financial commitment to Elliott”, and points to how they handled the DeMarco Murray situation a few years ago as evidence they might not value running backs that highly. It hasn’t been talked about much, but it’s a very interesting perspective and it definitely seems possible Elliott doesn’t get locked up longterm in Dallas.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Panthers receiver Devin Funchess is set to be a free agent after this season, and it’s up in the air about what type of contract he might land. Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports Analyst Joel Corry thinks Funchess will get somewhere between what Marqise Lee and Stefon Diggs got on the open market, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. Corry thinks Funchess is a “1.5” type of receiver, better than a number two receiver, but not quite good enough to be a top option. Funchess’ free agency will be one of the most interesting in a pretty weak free agent class.
  • The Jets’ offensive line could end up looking a lot different next year. In order to free up salary cap space, it’s possible the Jets cut all three of Kelvin Beachum, Spencer Long and Brian Winters, according to Matt Stypulkoski of NJ.com. The Jets already have a lot of salary cap space, but Stypulkoski thinks all three aren’t worth their salaries next year, and that the Jets will be looking to totally revamp their offensive line and better set up Sam Darnold for the future.
  • In case you missed it, the Jets are discussing an extension with receiver Quincy Enunwa.
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