HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Marquise Brown To Miss Combine

February 18th, 2019 at 12:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise Brown will not be able to participate in the NFL Draft combine or his school’s pro day, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Brown, a projected top-10 or top-15 pick, is still recovering from a January surgery for his Lisfranc injury. 

[RELATED: Raiders Eyeing Kyler Murray?]

On the plus side, Brown is still expected to be ready for training camp in the summer, so the injury may not tank his stock. There has been buzz about Brown’s 40-yard-dash time being in the low 4.3s, or perhaps even the high 4.2s, so his speed and potential still makes him a tantalizing selection. History is on Brown’s side – Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis was also sidelined for key workouts in 2017, but he wound up going fifth overall to the Titans.

Over the last two seasons, Brown caught 132 passes for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns for Oklahoma over the last two seasons. Those numbers and Brown’s speed, which he won’t be showing off in Indianapolis, are a pair of reasons Brown is expected to come off the board early in this year’s draft.

Brown put himself on the map in 2017 with 57 catches for 1,095 yards and seven touchdowns. He stepped his game up even further in 2018 when he reeled in 75 passes for 1,318 yards and ten TDs.

Latest On Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid

February 18th, 2019 at 10:51am CST by Zachary Links

Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid reached a settlement with the NFL in their collusion case last week, leading to speculation of big numbers. However, speculation that the settlement amount landed in the range of $60-$80M is incorrect, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT. 

[RELATED: Kaepernick Lawyer Predicts A Team Will Sign QB Soon]

There are other indications that Kaep and Reid did not land a colossal settlement. For example, the payments by the league to the duo did not require the approval of team owners. Instead, the NFL’s Management Council Executive Committee approved the settlement, without a vote of the member clubs, which suggests that it was not a monumental figure.

Also, multiple people connected to the league have downplayed the settlement as an amount that will cover anticipated legal expenses, which suggests a number in the seven figures, rather than eight figures. It also appears the settlement did not “buy out” Kaepernick professional football employment – that settlement amount would have been astronomical, but it’s likely a smaller sum since Kaepernick will still have the opportunity to earn an NFL paycheck, should he be given the opportunity.

The AAF expressed interest in Kaepernick (and Tim Tebow), but negotiations came to a halt when the QB reportedly asked for a $20MM salary. Reid, meanwhile, is set thanks to his recent three-year, $22MM+ extension with the Panthers.

Peter King On Brown, Clowney, Murray

February 18th, 2019 at 10:23am CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown has scared off at least one interested team with his tweets, Peter King of NBC Sports hears. The Steelers star hasn’t been shy about airing his dirty laundry over social media and King suspects that other potential suitors are also viewing his outspokenness as a red flag.

Brown’s latest Twitter outburst included shots at coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which jibes with reports of serious friction between Brown and key team figures in recent months.

“No conflict just a matter of respect! Mutual respect!” Brown said, on Twitter. “He has a owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches. Players know but they can’t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It’s a dirty game within a game. #truth.”

Over the past 40-plus days, Brown has requested a trade and been involved in a domestic dispute. Meanwhile, he’s denied any wrongdoing in connection with the incident.

Here’s more from King’s column:

  • King is skeptical of the Texans reaching a long-term deal with Jadeveon Clowney this offseason because he’s “not as hard of worker bee some others on that defense are.” However, that could change if Clowney receives the franchise tag and proves himself in 2019. Clowney recently earned a payment of $1.005MM to resolve a dispute over the position designation for his fifth-year option, so he’d earn roughly $17.3MM under the terms of the tag.
  • The Raiders have three first-round picks and there has been speculation that they could target a quarterback early in the draft, despite the presence Derek Carr. The Raiders, King hears, are fascinated with Murray. If that’s the case, he wonders whether Oakland might flip Carr to to the Jaguars, Dolphins, or Redskins and select the Oklahoma star. If that happens, Murray could wind up playing his first home games on the field of the Oakland A’s.

This Date In Transactions History: Dolphins Sign Jay Fiedler

February 17th, 2019 at 9:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins are expected to end their seven-year run with Ryan Tannehill, the longest-tenured starter (albeit with the emergency-circumstances Jay Cutler season interrupting Tannehill’s time atop the depth chart) they’ve had since Dan Marino‘s retirement. On this date 19 years ago, Miami made a move that helped lead to Marino’s exit.

Transitioning from Jimmy Johnson to Dave Wannstedt, the Dolphins signed Fiedler to a three-year, $3.8MM deal — a low-cost accord even in 2000, when the cap rested at $62.2MM. Mark Brunell‘s previous backup in Jacksonville, Fiedler was brought in as a starter-type option despite having started just one game in four previous NFL seasons.

Marino, though, had not yet retired when Fiedler signed. The Miami icon voided the final two years of his contract earlier that February, making him a free agent. Then 38, Marino would have made $7.58MM in 2000 under the terms of his previous contract. He was coming off his worst statistical season (12 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions in 11 games) but did help the Dolphins to a first-round playoff win. Though, the next round saw Fiedler receive extensive work in a 62-7 Jaguars blowout.

That ended up being Marino’s final game. Following the Fiedler signing, Marino retired in March 2000. But this came after an offer emerged from the Vikings. Quarterbacked primarily by Jeff George in 1999, the Vikings offered Marino their starting job. Rather than trek to Minnesota, which would have stood to delay future Dolphin Daunte Culpepper‘s tenure as the Vikings’ starter, Marino retired as the NFL’s leader in every major passing category.

Fiedler ended up playing five seasons with the Dolphins, signing a far more lucrative deal — five years, $25MM — in 2002. He started 59 games with the franchise from 2000-04. Although Fiedler was never a high-end starter, averaging more than 200 passing yards per game in just one season and hitting the 20-touchdown pass threshold once (2001), he led the Dolphins to two playoff berths. He was the starter for Miami’s most recent postseason win — a wild card-round victory over the Colts in 2000 — and piloted the team to an 11-5 record in 2001.

Though Fiedler went 36-23 in his Dolphins starts, Miami moved on after the ’04 season, signing Gus Frerotte to start in 2005. The then-Nick Saban-led Fins, who were involved in the Drew Brees sweepstakes the following year, then traded a second-round pick for Culpepper.

Broncos Notes: Harris, Flacco, LBs, Leary

February 17th, 2019 at 8:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Aqib Talib having been traded and Bradley Roby likely to leave Denver as a free agent, the Broncos have work to do to repair their once-formidable cornerback corps. However, the third player from the team’s longtime trio may be in position to sign a third contract soon. Chris Harris is entering a contract year, and with the Broncos having no other foundational pieces at this position, it would seemingly behoove them to enter into extension talks with their versatile All-Pro. Harris has said he is open to signing a third Broncos contract, and Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post writes the 29-year-old defender will be on the 2019 team, as opposed to being shopped around, and is a likely target for an extension. One of this era’s premier corners, Harris nonetheless has a manageable cap number this season ($8.77MM), so an extension would stand to be more about keeping him in the fold than reducing his 2019 figure.

Denver is also expected to let Tramaine Brock walk, so cornerback — for the first time since the Broncos swapped out Champ Bailey and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for Talib and Roby five years ago — is a major need for this franchise.

Here is the latest from Denver, shifting to its quarterback decision:

  • Joe Flacco will be the fourth Broncos Week 1 starting quarterback in the past five seasons, and thus far the reaction to Denver’s move has skewed negative. But multiple executives viewed this as potentially a short-term gain, with O’Halloran noting one called this a solid move for both the Broncos and Ravens and another seeing the 34-year-old passer having multiple good years left. One defensive assistant, however, disagreed, viewing the veteran as having little quality football left. Flacco has not ranked above 19th in QBR since the 2014 season, when he was ninth. The Broncos will attempt to place him in a similar offense to the Gary Kubiak-coordinated attack that unleashed Flacco five years ago, but with so much time passing, it’s obviously no guarantee Flacco can return to form.
  • The Broncos prioritized Brandon Marshall over Danny Trevathan three years ago, in extending the former and letting the latter walk as a free agent. But in cutting Marshall this week, the Broncos jettisoned their top coverage linebacker. They are expected to look for help on this front in the draft, Mike Klis of 9News notes. Denver still has plus run defender Todd Davis and 2018 fourth-rounder Josey Jewell, but Klis writes the team will look for a rangier addition to complement its incumbents.
  • Offensive line will also be a need for the Broncos, with free agent center Matt Paradis‘ status up in the air. But one member is in line to return. Ronald Leary will not be ready to pass a physical by March 17, Klis tweets. This would fully guarantee $5.35MM of the guard’s $8.1MM salary. Unless the Broncos want to eat a reasonable amount of dead money, as they did upon releasing Menelik Watson last year, Leary can be expected back. The 29-year-old guard has played well in Denver but finished the past two seasons on IR, a 2018 Achilles injury shelving him after seven games.

Eagles Rumors: Darby, Agholor, RBs, Draft

February 17th, 2019 at 6:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

With free agency opening less than a month from now, the Eagles still have work to do to move under the cap. They remain $16MM-plus over the projected 2019 salary ceiling. And it does not look like Philadelphia will be making cap room to bring back its most experienced cornerback. Ronald Darby is expected to depart in free agency, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. Darby spent two seasons in Philly but was only healthy for 1 1/2, tearing an ACL in mid-November. However, Darby will likely still draw extensive interest in free agency. It’s a thin corner class, with Robert Alford‘s $7MM-plus-per-year deal with the Cardinals illustrating that. Darby’s Eagles exit will leave Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox and 2018 waiver claim Cre’Von LeBlanc at corner.

Here’s the latest out of Philly:

  • One name to monitor when it comes time for cap casualties could be Nelson Agholor. With Golden Tate likely on his way out, Agholor would seem to be a player the Eagles would need next season. But the trade for Tate showed the Eagles wanted more than what Agholor was providing, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap writes. While the former first-round pick nearly matched his 2017 receiving-yardage total, catching a career-high 64 passes for 736 yards, he comes at a $9.4MM cost via the fifth-year option. While the Eagles could work out an extension and lower that cap figure, cutting Agholor would save a big chunk of money.
  • A place the Eagles should look in the early rounds of the draft is running back, Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes. After a 12-year stretch of Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy leading the way, the Eagles have not featured the same punch in the backfield. While they did win a Super Bowl with a running back-by-committee approach, Zangaro expects the team to look at running backs with one of its two second-round picks. Of the Eagles’ most recent committee, Josh Adams, Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood are under contract. Adams and Clement are ex-UDFAs, and Smallwood was a fifth-round pick.
  • As for Philadelphia’s first-round choice: it will likely be a lineman, per Zangaro. Despite the Eagles having a lot of money tied up in their offensive line, Jason Peters is now 37. If he does come back, 2019 will likely be the stalwart left tackle’s final season with the Eagles. On defense, the team may well let UFA-to-be Brandon Graham walk. The Eagles still have Michael Bennett, if he is not a cap casualty, and Derek Barnett. Chris Long wants to play in 2019 but isn’t certain about returning for a 12th season. Howie Roseman called this year’s glut of defensive line prospects “historic”, and the Eagles have drafted five first-round linemen already this decade. Eighteen of the past 25 Eagles first-round picks have gone to address the lines.

5 Key NFL Stories: 2/10/19 – 2/17/19

February 17th, 2019 at 4:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

NFL settles with Kaepernick, Reid. Both Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid had accused the NFL of colluding to keep them off the field, and the league succumbed last week, agreeing to a settlement with both players. While official financial details of the deal weren’t (and won’t be) announced, figures ranging from $40-80MM have been tossed out, at least for Kaepernick. Reid, for his part, had already re-signed with the Panthers before the settlement was disclosed. Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s lawyer believes the veteran quarterback with land with a club in the near future.

Broncos to acquire Joe Flacco. The Case Keenum era is over in Denver after the Broncos shipped a fourth-round pick to Baltimore in exchange for Flacco. The Ravens had already handed over the reins to 2018 first-rounder Lamar Jackson, so they had no use for Flacco, who still has three years left on his contract. The Broncos will assume Flacco’s remaining base salaries and install him under center, meaning Keenum will either accept a pay cut, be traded, or be released.

Kareem Hunt returns to the NFL. The Browns opted to give Hunt a chance despite the optics of such a move, signing the veteran back to a one-year, $1MM deal with no guarantees. Hunt, of course, is under investigation for three separate 2018 incidents, with the most notable being an assault of a woman that was caught on video. Now that he’s been signed, Hunt is back on the commissioner’s exempt list until further notice. He’ll be suspended for a unknown amount of time during the 2019 campaign, but will presumably be given a chance to compete with incumbent Cleveland running back Nick Chubb.

Kyler Murray commits to football. The Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner formally declared his intentions to become a NFL quarterback, spurning the Oakland Athletics and his No. 9 overall draft status in Major League Baseball. Murray will return most of the $4.66MM signing bonus he received from Oakland, but given that he’s expected to become a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, he’ll be quickly able to recoup that money. He’s already hired a football agent, and will attend the scouting combine later this month.

Antonio Brown formally submits trade request. Although he’s asked to be dealt away from the Steelers, Brown will now meet with team owner Art Rooney II. Brown was initially hesitant to sit down with Rooney, but the meeting is expected to occur next week. The veteran wideout took to Twitter on Saturday, discussing Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, and other Steelers issues.

NFC Notes: Lions, 49ers, Seahawks, Saints

February 17th, 2019 at 3:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While the Lions are in need of a slot receiver, a reunion with Golden Tate isn’t a likely outcome for the club, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Detroit shipped Tate to the Eagles at midseason in exchange for a third-round pick, and now the veteran pass-catcher is scheduled to hit the open market next month. After moving Tate, the Lions deployed T.J. Jones as their slot receiver, but they’re expected to pursue an upgrade either through free agency or the draft. Other free agent options who spend most of their time in the slot include Adam Humphries, Jamison Crowder, and Cole Beasley, but those receivers could be just as expensive as Tate.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • If the 49ers add another running back this offseason, they’ll suddenly be staring at a crowded backfield, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. San Francisco thought it had found its No. 1 back last spring, when it signed Jerick McKinnon to a four-year, $30MM pact that contained nearly $12MM in guaranteed money. McKinnon tore his ACL before the 2018 campaign began, but Matt Breida performed well in his absence. Meanwhile, backup RB and special teams ace Raheem Mostert will be tendered as a restricted free agent and could even earn an extension. For what it’s worth, the 49ers could conceivably release McKinnon, and designating him as a post-June 1 cut would make the move financially palatable.
  • The Seahawks are expected to place the franchise tag on defensive end Frank Clark, but they’ll probably have to target cost-effective veterans rather than other star players as they rebuild their defensive line, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Although Seattle did pursue Ndamukong Suh last year, it’s unlikely the club will go after him again. Instead, cheaper options such as Bennie Logan or Earl Mitchell could make sense for the Seahawks, per Condotta.
  • The Saints have hired former Penn State staffer Phil Galiano as an assistant special teams coach, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Galiano has spent most of his career in the collegiate ranks, but work for the Buccaneers from 2010-12. He’ll now assist Darren Rizzi, who was hired as New Orleans’ special teams coordinator last week.

PFR Originals: 2/10/19 – 2/17/19

February 17th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

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

New York Notes: Beckham, Collins, Maccagnan

February 17th, 2019 at 12:15pm CST by Rory Parks

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. is once again being mentioned in trade rumors, with one prominent national writer expressing his belief that OBJ will be dealt this offseason. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv, though, believes the Giants would be foolish to pull the trigger. For all of his perceived character issues, Beckham is well-liked in the locker room, displays a strong work ethic, and generally holds himself accountable when things go badly. He has done and said things that the team would obviously prefer he didn’t, but on the balance, he is an irreplaceable talent, and Vacchiano believes the Giants would be well-served to simply deal with whatever distractions Beckham creates, as they have not been damaging to this point (at least not when compared to his on-field production).

Now for more from the Big Blue and Gang Green:

  • Ryan Dunleavy and Matt Lombardo of NJ.com debated a few of the most pressing issues facing the Giants this offseason. Dunleavy believes that somehow taking care of Landon Collins should be the club’s top priority, and it still seems likely that the team will put the franchise tag on him. After Collins, Dunleavy believes the next unrestricted free agent that the Giants should prioritize is cornerback B.W. Webb, while Lombardo believes the club should focus on Russell Shepard, who should not be overly expensive to retain.
  • While Dunleavy and Lombardo agree that trading Beckham will hurt the Giants in the short-term, they both appear convinced that he will not see the end of his five-year contract with the team, and that trading him will be in the team’s best interest at some point in the near future.
  • The Jets hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019, and since they already have (they think) their franchise signal-caller, they could trade that pick to a QB-needy team for a bounty of draft capital. As Vacchiano suggests, the Giants are one team that could be giving the Jets a call.
  • The Jets have 23 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, and Brian Costello of the New York Post offers his thoughts on some of the biggest names on that list and whether they will return next season. Costello believes 2018 revelation Henry Anderson will be retained, while the futures of Morris Claiborne and Jason Myers are a little more uncertain.
  • Costello believes the Jets will tender RFA Robby Anderson at the second-round level, which is in keeping with what we have heard before.
  • Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has a spotty free agent record, a poor draft record (outside of the first round), and has put together a potentially volatile coaching staff in 2019. With a ton of cap space and a young talent under center, the potential is there for Maccagnan to engineer a quick turnaround, but as Vacchiano writes, if the team does not show good progress in 2019, the blame will fall squarely on Maccagnan, and not new head coach Adam Gase.
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