2019 March - Pro Football Rumors

Jared Cook Remains Committed To Saints

March 25th, 2019 at 11:08am CST by Zachary Links

Rob Gronkowski is retired – we think – and that leaves the Patriots with a serious void at tight end. Some have speculated that the Patriots could convince Jared Cook to back out of his not-yet-signed commitment to the Saints, but that won’t happen, according to Peter King of NBC Sports.

Cook will not reconsider his decision, according to King. That’s disappointing news for the Pats’ front office, especially since they aggressively pursued the former Raiders tight end.

Cook would not have been a true “replacement” for Gronkowski, but he would have given the Patriots a quality pass-catcher to keep the offense moving. Last year, the 31-year-old started 14 of his 16 games, hauling in 68 receptions for 896 yards and six scores. It was the most productive season of Cook’s career, though he has topped 50 catches in three other seasons.

Instead, Cook intends to still sign with the Saints, where he has an opportunity to fill a role similar to the one occupied by Jimmy Graham years ago. Drew Brees tends to spread the ball around in the New Orleans offense, but Cook could be an opportunity to assert himself as one of the very best tight ends in the NFL, especially now that Gronk is focusing on non-football endeavors.

Jets Re-Sign Brandon Copeland

March 25th, 2019 at 10:42am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have re-signed outside linebacker Brandon Copeland, according to a team announcement. The club also retained tight end Neal Sterling, per the press release.

Copeland, who had a career-high five sacks in 2018, also drew interest from the Patriots, Redskins, and Lions during the free agent period. Ultimately, he decided to return to the Jets, where he enjoyed the most productive season of his career.

After going undrafted out of Penn in 2015, Copeland spent three seasons with the Lions as a special-teamer, topping 300 ST snaps in both 2015 and 2016. He suffered a torn pectoral the following year and missed all of the 2017 campaign, and subsequently signed a one-year deal with Gang Green in 2018. Last year was a breakout season for Copeland, as he saw action on a career-high 611 defensive snaps and tied for the third-highest sack total on the Jets’ roster.

The Jets may still be in the market for edge rush help, but Copeland’s return will go a long way towards addressing that void. They’re also still in the hunt for cornerback and center help, so the re-signing of Copeland could allow them to prioritize those needs moving forward.

Bills To Sign CB E.J. Gaines

March 25th, 2019 at 9:33am CST by Zachary Links

E.J. Gaines is returning to the Bills. The cornerback has agreed to a new one-year, $3.6MM deal with Buffalo, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Gaines joined the Browns on a one-year, $4MM deal last year, but spent the 2017 season with the Bills after coming over in the Sammy Watkins trade with the Rams. In that season, he finished out as Pro Football Focus‘ No. 12 ranked cornerback and placed ninth in Football Outsiders’ success rate, though injuries limited him to just eleven games.

Last year, the injury bug bit Gaines once again. He appeared in only six games for the Browns (two starts), so he’s eager to re-assert himself.

The Bills’ cornerback room is starting to shape up with quality starters in Tre’Davious White and Levi Wallace and support from Gaines and fellow new addition Kevin Johnson.

Lions To Meet With Dontrelle Inman

March 25th, 2019 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman will visit with the Lions on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Inman has said that he wants to return to the Colts, but he’s exploring other options as well.

Last year, Inman caught 28 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns for Indianpolis. Colts GM Chris Ballard hasn’t ruled out re-signing Inman after adding Devin Funchess to the WR group, but he was also non-committal on the idea when addressing the topic last week.

“There’s a difference in age between Dontrelle and Funchess,” Ballard said (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star). “We’re still working through it with Dontrelle. We like Dontrelle a lot, and he had a great year last year, but we’re still working through some details on that.”

Inman joined the Colts in the middle of the 2018 season and turned into a solid No. 2 WR for Andrew Luck. If he doesn’t return to the Colts, he could join a Lions group that includes Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, and new addition Danny Amendola.

Extra Points: Giants, Beckham, Redskins, Keenum, Broncos, Morse, CBA

March 24th, 2019 at 10:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Count Giants owner John Mara among those who never thought the team would trade Odell Beckham Jr. Speaking today from the owner’s meetings, Mara said “he never thought they’d trade Odell right up until the final day,” according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link). Mara also said he finally gave his “reluctant approval” for the deal, Vacchiano wrote in a separate tweet.

In additional comments made to reporters, Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch emphasized over and over how difficult of a decision it was to ship Beckham to the Browns. Mara also said whether or not the trade proves to be a success will be determined by the front office making “the right decisions” with the draft picks the Giants got from Cleveland.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Redskins traded for Case Keenum, but so far they’ve insisted that Keenum will have to compete for Washington’s quarterback job with Colt McCoy, and potentially with a rookie. Alex Smith is all but certain to miss the entire 2019 season. McCoy is, like Smith, recovering from a leg injury. McCoy recently underwent a second surgery on his leg, but is expected to be ready for the Redskins’ offseason program, according to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). It remains to be seen if McCoy will actually seriously push Keenum for the job, but he’ll at least be healthy enough to put up a fight.
The Broncos let center Matt Paradis walk in free agency, and they apparently attempted to make a big splash to replace him. Denver tried to sign center Mitch Morse before he signed with Buffalo, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9News. The Bills made Morse the highest-paid center in the league, which priced him out of the Broncos’ range, Klis writes. The Broncos now have major questions on the interior of their offensive line, and Klis expects them to make a move to address them soon.
There’s been a lot of talk about a potential work stoppage the next time the CBA expires, with players expected to make major demands that the owners might not be willing to meet. In the run up to those negotiations, there are apparently major tensions between the NFLPA and NFL agents, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. A group of players and agents had a meeting last week, and multiple sources told Florio “it did not go well.” In a separate post, Florio posted the full memo he obtained about what happened in the meeting. Florio writes that the discord between the two camps “will be music to the ears” of the owners, who would like to see their opponents as divided as possible.

West Notes: 49ers, Draft, Bosa, Broncos

March 24th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The 49ers are in the midst of a pivotal offseason. They dealt with a mountain of injuries last year which excused their poor record, but with Jimmy Garoppolo back healthy next season expectations will be very high. Fortunately for San Francisco, they have the second overall pick at their disposal. For a long time, Ohio State pass-rusher Nick Bosa was the favorite to go first overall to the Cardinals. But with many now expecting Arizona to take Kyler Murray, Bosa could fall into San Francisco’s lap.

To that end, the “consensus opinion at this stage appears to be that Bosa will end up with the 49ers,” writes Matt Maioccio of NBC Sports. One NFL front office member told Maioccio at a recent pro day that the 49ers were going to take Bosa. The 49ers are in desperate need of outside pass-rush, so Bosa makes a lot of sense if he’s available. He would provide a massive boost to Kyle Shanahan’s defense.

Here’s more from the league’s western divisions:

The 49ers were expected to be players for Earl Thomas, but ultimately didn’t end up signing any of the big name safeties available. Safety was seemingly a position of need, but the 49ers opted not to make any splashes there. In a recent interview, 49ers GM John Lynch elaborated on the decision to more or less stay pat. “We feel good about our free safety depth. We feel we’re pretty well stocked there,” Lynch said, per Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. Lynch did leave the door open for a future acquisition, saying “it’s not to say, if an opportunity presents itself, that we won’t go there, but we feel pretty good at our free safety spot.”
The Broncos may have traded for Joe Flacco, but that isn’t going to preclude them from looking for a quarterback of the future in the draft. Denver will host Kyler Murray, Drew Lock, Dwayne Haskins, and Daniel Jones on visits before next month’s draft, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Broncos have the tenth pick in the draft and seem to be seriously considering taking a signal-caller then, although Murray and Haskins are likely to be off the board by the time they’re scheduled to pick.
The Broncos didn’t pick up their option on linebacker Brandon Marshall, and as such might need to add an inside linebacker to replace him. New head coach Vic Fangio said earlier today that “we like the guys we have but we’re always looking to add guys to all the personnel positions. … I do like Josey and Todd, but we’re always looking to get better” referring to second-year UDFA Josey Jewell and veteran Todd Davis, per Mike Klis of Denver 9News (Twitter link). The Broncos’ run defense has been very inconsistent the past couple of years, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them add a run-stuffing linebacker either in free agency or through the draft.

Reactions To Rob Gronkowski’s Retirement

March 24th, 2019 at 7:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Rob Gronkowski stepping away from football sent shockwaves through the NFL. While it wasn’t totally unexpected, it came suddenly and has left a massive hole in the Patriots’ offense. Gronkowski’s retirement will have implications well beyond what happens in New England, and reactions and additional tidbits about the retirement began pouring in soon after he made the announcement on his Instagram. We’ve compiled the best of those below:

Gronkowski called Patriots owner Robert Kraft to let him know of his decision earlier today, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Reiss writes that Kraft “found out not long before” Gronkowski made the social media post announcing the news himself. It sounds like New England didn’t have much advance notice, and as such not too much time to prepare for the news.
Gronk’s decision will give the Patriots some additional cap flexibility. The retirement will save the team around $9.5MM in cap space for this season, notes Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). New England also recently restructured the contract of cornerback Stephon Gilmore, so they have a decent amount of money to work with.
The Patriots reportedly “aggressively courted” tight end Jared Cook before he decided to head to New Orleans, but New England shouldn’t give up on signing Cook, writes Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com. Gantt points out that Cook still hasn’t officially signed with the Saints, and that the Patriots recently attempted to steal away Adam Humphries at the 11th hour after he had agreed to sign with the Titans. Cook reportedly chose the Saints because of the uncertainty surrounding Gronkowski, so it’s reasonable to think he could reconsider with Gronk now out of the picture.
With not many big name tight ends left available in free agency, the Patriots could turn to the draft to replace Gronkowski. The Patriots “immediately become a favorite for Noah Fant or Irv Smith if they’re available” when the Patriots pick at number 32 in the draft, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Fant is the tight end from Iowa while Smith is from Alabama, and both could go toward the end of the first round. Miller writes he could also see the Pats taking Dawson Knox from Ole Miss in the second round.
Kraft and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick both released statements on Gronkowski’s retirement, which you can view here courtesy of this tweet from Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Both men gushed over Gronkowski, and declared him one of the best tight ends to ever play.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Still Talking Extension

March 24th, 2019 at 6:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Ben Roethlisberger is going to sign a new contract with the Steelers, but it doesn’t sound like anything is imminent. Pittsburgh’s GM Kevin Colbert told reporters today talks were “still ongoing”, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Interestingly, Colbert also acknowledged the fact that Roethlisberger’s career is entering it’s final stage. “This is probably his last contract as an NFL player, so it’s significant,” Colbert said. Roethlisberger is 37 now, and whatever deal he does end up signing will end up taking him into his early 40’s. Roethlisberger has flirted with retirement a few times in the past, but appears set to sign a huge new extension that will keep him around at least a few more years.

With Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown no longer on the books, the Steelers suddenly have a lot more money they can use to lock up Roethlisberger. Big Ben started all 16 games last year, the first time he had done that since the 2014 season. The Steelers had a down season as a team and didn’t make the playoffs last year, but Roethlisberger led the league in passing yards. He also led the league with 16 interceptions.

Roethlisberger has faced a lot of criticism recently for his alleged calling-out of teammates, but Colbert doesn’t think it will effect things. “I don’t think that will bother him. I think Ben is very comfortable in who he is, what he has done and what he can still do. I don’t think it will affect him,” Colbert said, according to a tweet from Mark Kaboly of The Athletic.

Rob Gronkowski Announces Retirement

March 24th, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has announced his retirement via his Instagram page. Gronkowski released a lengthy statement in the caption to the post, saying in part:

It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far. I will be retiring from the game of football today. I am so grateful for the opportunity that Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick gave to me when drafting my silliness in 2010. My life experiences over the last 9 years have been amazing both on and off the field. The people I have meet, the relationships I have built, the championships I have been apart of, I just want to thank the whole New England Patriots organization for every opportunity I have been giving and learning the great values of life that I can apply to mine.”

Gronkowski has flirted with retirement in the past, but it felt especially sincere this time around, and the recent increased chatter about retirement turned out to be accurate. The surefire future Hall of Fame member was reportedly nearly traded to the Lions last offseason, but threatened to retire in order to block it. We heard earlier this morning that the Patriots “aggressively courted” Jared Cook before he decided to sign with the Saints, which in hindsight might’ve foreshadowed this move.

Gronkowski entered the league as a second round pick out of Arizona back in 2010. He immediately became a star, and was a generational talent at the tight end position. But he was done in by injuries the past handful of seasons, with recurrent back injuries and other ailments. If this really is it, he’ll be retiring at the age of 29. Gronkowski is hanging up his cleats as a three-time Super Bowl champion and a four-time first-team All-Pro.

Gronk had some big moments this past season, but overall didn’t look like his old self. He appeared in 13 games, catching 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, he’ll finish with 521 receptions, 7,861 yards, and 79 touchdowns. He wasn’t just a pass-catcher, as the Patriots’ running game always ran through his blocking. He’ll go down as one of, if not the, best tight ends of all time. Gronkowski has numerous off-field interests, and has signaled an interest in going into acting in the past.

The Patriots signed former Broncos tight end Matt LaCaosse earlier this month, but are almost certainly not done adding to the position. They’re armed with 12 draft picks, and should be a good bet to take a tight end early next month.

Jeremy Maclin Announces Retirement

March 24th, 2019 at 4:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former NFL wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has announced his retirement from the NFL, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Maclin, 30, was released by the Ravens last March but still expressed an interest in continuing his career in 2018. He didn’t garner any looks in free agency, however, although the Eagles were reportedly monitoring his status. Maclin’s health was an issue, as he suffered a hamstring/glute injury during a training session that required surgery in October. That ailment ruled him out for the 2018 campaign, and may have contributed to Maclin’s decision to hang up his cleats.

A first-round pick of the Eagles in 2009, Maclin averaged 64 receptions and 864 yards per season before breaking out in 2014, when he posted 85 catches for 1,318 yards and seven touchdowns. That performance landed him a five-year, $55MM contract with the Chiefs, and Maclin’s success continued in his first go-round in Kansas City, as he managed a 85/1,088/10 line.

In 2016, however, Maclin missed four games and failed to top 50 receptions or 600 yards receiving, and the Chiefs cut him after only two years. He landed with the Ravens on a two-year deal, but his results in Baltimore resembled his final year in Kansas City, leading to his release.

PFR extends its best wishes to Maclin and his family as he enters post-NFL life.