HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Jets To Sign K Chandler Catanzaro

March 15th, 2019 at 7:22am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets have found their kicker. Brian Costello of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed veteran Chandler Catanzaro.

It’s a reunion of sorts for Catanzaro, who spent the 2017 campaign with the Jets. He ended up parlaying his solid performance into a three-year deal with the Buccaneers last offseason, but he struggled during his brief stint with Tampa Bay. The 28-year-old ended up only connecting on 73.3-percent of his field goal attempts and 85.2-percent of his extra point attempts before being released by the team in November.

Catanzaro ended up catching on with the Panthers for the stretch run. In four games, the kicker converted all five of his field goal attempts and seven of his eight extra point attempts.

Veteran kicker Jason Myers appeared in all 16 games for the Jets in 2018. The 27-year-old ended up agreeing to a four-year deal with the Seahawks earlier this week.

49ers Offered Le’Veon Bell ~$38MM

March 15th, 2019 at 7:15am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like the 49ers really did make a big push for Le’Veon Bell. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the organization offered the running back a three-year, $38MM contract that was “just about fully guaranteed.” Bell ended up inking a four-year, $52.5MM deal ($25MM guaranteed) with the Jets.

We heard conflicting reports earlier this week regarding the 49ers’ interest in Bell. The team would have been a relatively peculiar fit, as the team already invested a four-year, $30MM contract in Jerick McKinnon last offseason. Matt Breida also emerged as a potential two-down back for San Francisco, meaning Bell wouldn’t have been as much of a necessity as a commodity. Ultimately, the 49ers ended up adding former Falcon running back Tevin Coleman to their backfield.

Meanwhile, while Bell had an idea he was going to join the Jets around the NFL Combine, it sounds like a team besides New York and San Francisco continued to push for his services. Fowler notes that Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wideout (and former Steelers teammate) Antonio Brown were trying to get the running back to join Oakland.

Fowler also tweets that Bell intended to return to the Steelers in Week 7 last season. However, the running back subsequently learned that he didn’t need to accrue a full season in order to reach free agency, a revelation that changed his plans. Had the running back returned, he would have played around 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Latest On Dolphins DE Robert Quinn

March 14th, 2019 at 10:42pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Robert Quinn was thought to be a surefire candidate for release heading into the offseason, but the veteran defensive end remains on the Dolphins’ roster. In fact, Miami will Quinn a $1.1MM roster bonus Friday, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

The Dolphins have held trade talks regarding Quinn, and they may still have every intention of dealing him. By taking care of Quinn’s roster bonus, Miami has now reduced the commitment an acquiring club would take on by picking up Quinn. As Beasley notes, any team that trades for Quinn is now only responsible for his base salary of roughly $11.8MM.

That figure still may be too expensive for interested clubs, but Quinn is still a relatively effective player. While he finished with only 6.5 sacks in 2018, Quinn tied for 20th among defensive ends with 24 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, assigned Quinn the 19th-highest pass-rush grade among 103 qualifying DEs. And although he’s been in the NFL since 2011, Quinn is still only entering his age-29 campaign.

As Beasley writes, it’s unclear where the Dolphins go from here. If they can’t generate any trade interest in Quinn and end up cutting him, they’ve essentially wasted $1.1MM for no reason. It’s possible Quinn remains on the Miami roster for the entire season, but he’d been an odd fit on a club that’s going into a hard rebuild.

Free Agent Rumors: Seahawks, Texans, Bills

March 14th, 2019 at 8:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

With the first wave of NFL free agency largely in the books, teams have begun hosting lesser-known options that remain on the market:

  • The Seahawks met with free agent defensive tackle Caraun Reid on Thursday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Reid has bounced around the league, but spent most of the 2018 campaign in Dallas, compiling 10 tackles and a half-sack on 28% playtime. Seattle lost defensive tackle Shamar Stephen in free agency, meaning the club is looking for depth behind Jarran Reed and Nazair Jones.
  • Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens visited with the Texans today, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Mickens is a wideout-in-name-only, as he’s garnered only six total receptions over his two-year career (all in 2017). Instead, Mickens is a core special-teamer, with a focus on punt returns. He handled 27 for Jacksonville last season, managing 10.6 yards per return with one touchdown. Houston is already one of the best return teams in the NFL, per Football Outsiders‘ metrics, and is bringing back DeAndre Carter, who split return duty last season.
  • The Bills hosted linebacker Mark Nzeocha on Thursday, per Yates (Twitter link). Like Mickens, Nzeocha is primarily a special teams player, topping 60% ST playtime in each of the past two years with the 49ers. But he saw a bit of action on defense in 2018, starting three games and playing on 13% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps. He’d give Buffalo depth at linebacker.

49ers Re-Sign Antone Exum

March 14th, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 49ers have agreed to re-sign safety Antone Exum to a one-year deal worth $895K, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Exum, 28, was one of five San Francisco safeties that saw at least 25% playtime in 2018, joining Jaquiski Tartt, Marcell Harris, Adrian Colbert, and D.J. Reed. Add in Jimmie Ward, who re-signed on Wednesday and can play both corner and safety, and the 49ers will likely have quite the competition in their defensive backfield.

Exum played the most snaps of any of those aforementioned safeties last year, appearing in 15 games while starting seven. In that time, the former sixth-round pick posted 40 tackles, one interception, and one sack while grading as the NFL’s No. 61 safety among 93 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Jets Sign CB Brian Poole

March 14th, 2019 at 7:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets have agreed to sign cornerback Brian Poole to a one-year, $3.5MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Poole, 26, was recently non-tendered by the Falcons as a restricted free agency. Financially speaking, however, Poole is going to come out ahead on his new deal with New York. The original round tender would have netted Poole only $2.025MM and wouldn’t have come with any guarantees. He’ll earn more with the Jets, and likely secured some level of guaranteed money.

In line to replace Buster Skrine as the Jets’ slot corner, Poole set new career highs in in tackles (74), sacks (three), and interceptions (three) last season. However, most advanced metrics weren’t complimentary of Poole’s play. Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 81 CB among 112 qualifiers, while Poole ranked as bottom-three corner in success rate, per Football Outsiders’ charting data.

Poole had drawn other interest around the league before signing with the Jets, taking a visit with the Bengals on Wednesday.

Contract Details: McCourty, Williams, Lewis

March 14th, 2019 at 6:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts:

Saints Hosting Nick Easton, Vikings Still Interested

March 14th, 2019 at 5:49pm CST by Micah Powell

Free agent offensive lineman Nick Easton visited with the Saints on Thursday, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. A return to the Vikings, however, is not out of the question and the team still has interest in retaining his services, Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune tweets.

After starting 12 games with the Vikings in 2017, Easton suffered a season-ending injury when he fractured his ankle in late December. He signed a one-year restricted free-agent deal with the team in hopes of signing a long-term deal the following offseason. However, the Harvard product missed the entire 2018 season after having surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck in August.

Although he has seen time at center, left guard, and right guard, he was slated to be the team’s top LG in 2018. Kramer adds that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman says Easton fits the athletic type that team is looking for along the line.

Coming back from back-to-back season-ending injuries, Easton would likely serve as depth no matter where he signs.

49ers Sign WR Jordan Matthews

March 14th, 2019 at 5:46pm CST by Micah Powell

The 49ers have signed free agent wideout Jordan Matthews, the club announced today. 

The fifth-year wideout should slide right into a serviceable role as receiver who can play both on the outside and in the slot. He figures to feature primarily inside, with Marquise Goodwin and Dante Pettis serving on the outside.

The 49ers definitely had a need at the position, with only Goodwin, Pettis, Trent Taylor and Kendrick Bourne the only receivers on the team with much experience.

Matthews broke into the league in 2014 and immediately impressed, logging 67 catches for 872 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. He followed that up with another eight scoring grabs and a career-best 85 catches in 2015 before logging 73 receptions in 2016. He then spent a year in Buffalo after being traded for cornerback Ronald Darby.

After a year with the Bills, Matthews signed a one-year deal with the Patriots but was cut before the start of the 2018 season. He then returned to the Eagles, and added 20 catches for 300 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games.

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