HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Lions Host LB Brandon Copeland

March 21st, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions met with free agent edge rusher Brandon Copeland on Wednesday, according to NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link).

Copeland, 27, already has experience with Detroit, as he played for the club from 2015-17 under former head coach Jim Caldwell. While the Lions visit marked the first official meeting of Copeland’s free agent period, he has drawn interest from the Patriots and Redskins, although neither team has scheduled a sit-down.

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 posted five sacks, tied for third-best on the Jets’ roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/19

March 21st, 2019 at 9:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

2019 NFL Draft Capital By Team

March 21st, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While each NFL team is organically handed seven draft picks per season, trades involving draft choices and the compensatory pick process ensures that many clubs end up with more (or fewer) than their original seven selections. As always, you can view the complete 2019 draft order, but here we’ll look at how much draft capital each club has amassed.

Let’s take a look at how many draft picks each NFL club currently possesses:

Updated: 4-23-19 (12:57pm CT)

12 picks

  • New England Patriots
  • New York Giants

11 picks

  • Cincinnati Bengals

10 picks

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

9 picks

  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Detroit Lions
  • Indianapolis Colts
  • Washington Redskins

8 picks

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Denver Broncos
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • Oakland Raiders

7 picks

  • Carolina Panthers
  • Houston Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6 picks

  • Dallas Cowboys
  • New Orleans Saints
  • New York Jets
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Tennessee Titans

5 picks

  • Chicago Bears
  • Seattle Seahawks

Of course, not all draft picks are created equally, as holding more early-round selections is eminently more valuable than collecting mid-to-late round picks. Using Chase Stuart of Football Perspective‘s draft value chart, we can calculate how many draft capital points each team owns heading into the 2019 NFL draft:

  1. New York Giants: 75.0
  2. Oakland Raiders: 74.1
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 66.5
  4. Green Bay Packers: 63.1
  5. San Francisco 49ers: 57.0
  6. Buffalo Bills: 53.8
  7. Jacksonville Jaguars: 52.9
  8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 51.8
  9. New England Patriots: 51.7
  10. Indianapolis Colts: 50.7
  11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 50.1
  12. Cincinnati Bengals: 49.0
  13. Denver Broncos: 49.0
  14. Atlanta Falcons: 48.3
  15. Detroit Lions: 47.8
  16. Carolina Panthers: 47.4
  17. New York Jets: 47.3
  18. Washington Redskins: 45.2
  19. Houston Texans: 42.6
  20. Philadelphia Eagles: 42.5
  21. Miami Dolphins: 41.9
  22. Seattle Seahawks: 40.8
  23. Tennessee Titans: 39.9
  24. Baltimore Ravens: 39.4
  25. Minnesota Vikings: 38.4
  26. Los Angeles Chargers: 34.3
  27. Los Angeles Rams: 29.9
  28. Cleveland Browns: 29.2
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 26.6
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 23.7
  31. New Orleans Saints: 12.7
  32. Chicago Bears: 12.4

Patriots, Stephen Gostkowski Working On New Deal

March 21st, 2019 at 6:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent kicker Stephen Gostkowski is working towards a new deal with the Patriots after receiving interest from other teams, according to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston.

Gostkowski, 35, was selected by New England in the fourth round of the 2006 draft and has been the club’s kicker for 13 seasons. Last year, Gostkowski made 27 of his 32 field goal attempts, good for an 84.4% conversion rate that ranked 20th in the NFL. He missed only a single extra point, and the Patriots ranked 17th in Football Outsiders‘ field goal/extra point metric.

As Curran notes, this is Gostkowski’s first trip through unrestricted free agency. The Patriots used the franchise tag on Gostkowski in 2015 but subsequently inked him to a four-year, $17.2MM extension. That $4.3MM annual value would still rank second among kickers, but Gostkowski may be looking for a pay increase. New England declined to franchise Gostkowski this season, as the tender would have cost $4.971MM.

FA Rumors: Colts, Ajayi, Giants, Lions, Chiefs

March 21st, 2019 at 6:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Colts met with free agent running back Jay Ajayi this week, there’s no deal imminent between the two parties, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). However, Indianapolis does plan to continue talking with Ajayi, which suggests it could look to sign the ex-Eagle down the line. Ajayi, 25, is arguably the best back still available on the open market after Le’Veon Bell, Tevin Coleman, and Mark Ingram came off the board during the first week of free agency. The Colts don’t necessarily need another running back given their depth chart already includes Marlon Mack, Jordan Wilkins, and Nyheim Hines, but Ajayi could give the club another dimension in the backfield.

Here’s more from the free agent rumor mill:

  • The Giants had interest in defensive end Vinny Curry before he signed with the division-rival Eagles, and in fact offered Curry more money than Philadelphia, reports Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Aside from last season, Curry had spent his entire career with the Eagles, and it sounds like he simply preferred to return to Philadelphia rather than consider other destinations. Indeed, Curry only landed a one-year deal with a base value of $2.25MM from the Eagles, although the pact does contain $1.25MM in incentives. Before landing with the Eagles, Curry also took a visit with the Bengals.
  • Free agent Jake Fisher will work out as a tight end for the Bills on Thursday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. A second-round pick of the Bengals as an offensive tackle in 2015, Fisher is now attempting to convert to a skill position, and is reportedly down to 285 pounds. Fisher, who played tight end in high school, has been limited by injuries and ineffectiveness throughout his career, and has started just 12 games in four years. He’s also auditioned for the Texans and Redskins.
  • The Lions hosted defensive tackle Al Woods on Wednesday, according to NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Woods is now entering his age-32 season and didn’t perform well in 2018 (bottom-20 DT among 112 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus), so he likely won’t command much guaranteed money. Detroit is already well-stocked in the middle of its defensive line with Damon Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson, and Da’Shawn Hand in tow.
  • Although he recently announced his retirement and took a collegiate coaching position, former Buccaneers tight end/fullback Alan Cross took a visit with the Chiefs this week, tweets Greg Auman of The Athletic. Cross, who posted 13 receptions over three seasons in Tampa Bay, would give Kansas City an option as they seek to replace former No. 2 tight end Demetrius Harris. The Chiefs also met with former Jets tight end Neal Sterling this week.

Saints To Sign Marcus Sherels

March 21st, 2019 at 4:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have agreed to sign return specialist Marcus Sherels to a one-year deal, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. Sherels spent the previous nine seasons with the Vikings and he’ll look to carve out a role with another promising NFC team. 

Sherels, an undrafted player out of the University of Minnesota, joined up with the Vikings in 2010. Before today’s signing, Sherels tied Everson Griffen as the team’s longest tenured player. Griffen will stay put after agreeing to a revised contract, but Sherels is headed south.

Last year, Sherels averaged 12 yards per punt return, marking the fourth time he’s eclipsed 11 yards per try in his career. Without him, the Vikings will have to look into other punt return options and they may have a few in-house between cornerback Mike Hughes and wide receivers Chad Beebe and Brandon Zylstra. Also, as Tomasson notes, new running back Ameer Abdullah volunteered his services, even though he has yet to return a punt at the pro level.

The Saints, meanwhile, seem to have an affinity for ex-Vikings. In the last week, the Saints have also signed running back Latavius Murray and offensive lineman Nick Easton.

Cowboys To Meet With George Iloka

March 21st, 2019 at 4:40pm CST by Zachary Links

George Iloka‘s free agent tour continues. After meeting with the Raiders on Wednesday, he’ll travel to visit the Cowboys on Friday, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). 

Iloka, who played for the Vikings last year, previously had a six-year run with the Bengals. Meanwhile, he’s the third safety to meet with the Cowboys since the start of free agency. Earlier, Dallas huddled up with Clayton Geathers (who has since re-signed with the Colts) and Eric Berry.

In the safety hierarchy, Iloka is closer to Geathers than Berry. He has nine interceptions for his career and 79 starts to his credit, but has never been named to a Pro Bowl. Still, Iloka could be a low-cost upgrade to a secondary that could use the extra support.

Iloka can play free or strong safety and wouldn’t be a costly addition for the Cowboys. Last summer, he settled for a one-year, minimum salary agreement with the Vikings and started in only three games, so it’s hard to see him commanding a significant pay bump.

Bengals To Meet With Kerry Wynn

March 21st, 2019 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Kerry Wynn will visit the Bengals on Thursday, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Wynn, a versatile lineman and quality special teams player, also has the interest of the incumbent Giants. 

Wynn, 28, notched 1.5 sacks and 39 tackles while playing both end and tackle last year. For his work in 393 snaps, Wynn graded out as the No. 77 ranked defensive tackle in the league last year, per Pro Football Focus. The Bengals, meanwhile, got solid performances from Geno Atkins (No. 18) and Andrew Billings (No. 38), plus quality support from Christian Ringo, Josh Tupou, Adolphus Washington, and Ryan Glasgow in smaller samples.

The Giants were interested in signing Vinny Curry, but he left the Bucs to return to the Eagles on Thursday. That could ramp up the Giants’ urgency in getting retaining Wynn, but he’ll first hear what the Bengals have to say.

Ravens To Re-Sign RG3

March 21st, 2019 at 2:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are re-signing quarterback Robert Griffin III to a two-year deal, according to a source who spoke with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). RG3 is now in line to back up Lamar Jackson and serve as his mentor for at least one more season. 

Griffin, 29, attempted a grand total of six passes last year and has not seen seen significant action since the 2016 season with the Browns. In that year, Griffin started five games and was the first-unit passer in the club’s only win. RG3 was benched throughout 2015 in order to protect the Redskins against the potential vesting of his fifth-year option and was out of football in 2017 – in total, he’s thrown just five touchdown passes since the end of the 2013 season.

It seems like ages ago when Griffin was a rising star as an NFL rookie with the Redskins. We may never see RG3 return to that form, but he could be one snap away from seeing live action in 2019.

Kaepernick, Reid Settled For ~$10MM

March 21st, 2019 at 2:03pm CST by Zachary Links

In February, the NFL reached a settlement with Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid to put their collusion grievances to bed. All sides were sworn to a non-disclosure agreement with regards to the particulars, but Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal hears that the two former 49ers settled for less than $10MM. 

[RELATED: Kaepernick Interested In Playing For Dolphins]

In the immediate aftermath of the settlement, many speculated that Kaepernick and Reid could have collected tens of millions of dollars. Ultimately, they received a much more modest sum, one that does not amount to much when factoring for taxes and legal expenses.

Kaepernick and Reid accused NFL teams of colluding in order to keep them out of work. Reid eventually found a home with the Panthers in 2018, but Kaepernick has been out of football since the 2016 season.

The deal may not be a precursor to Kaepernick’s NFL return. Recently, the QB’s lawyer predicted that Kaepernick could be nearing a contract, but nothing has come to fruition over the last month. Meanwhile, Kaep reportedly wants $20MM to play in the AAF and we’ve heard nothing about his talks with the XFL since word of those negotiations broke three weeks ago.

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