HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Raiders Notes: Brown, Bell, Williams, Joyner

March 13th, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by Ben Levine

The 49ers weren’t the only team to miss out on Le’Veon Bell. Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes that the Raiders made an offer to the star running back, and “there was some real buzz in the building” yesterday.

The reporter also notes that the Raiders thought they could land Bell if “money wasn’t the most important thing,” as the running back reportedly preferred to play for the Raiders. After missing out on Bell, the team also took a run at Mark Ingram, who ended up landing in Baltimore.

Bell ultimately agreed to a four-year, $52.5MM deal with the Jets, forcing the Raiders to look elsewhere for a running back. At the moment, the team is rostering three backs in DeAndre Washington, Chris Warren, and James Butler.

Let’s check out some more notes out of Oakland…

  • The Raiders weren’t even considering an Antonio Brown trade until the deal between the Steelers and Bills fell apart, general manager Mike Mayock told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (Twitter link). The organization ultimately acquired the Pro Bowl wide receiver in exchange for a third- and fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.
  • The Raiders continued to show interest in wideout Tyrell Williams even after pulling off the Brown trade, according to Jason La Canfora (on Twitter). The team ended up agreeing to a four-year, $44MM deal ($22MM guaranteed) earlier today. La Canfora notes that several other teams pursued Williams, including the Ravens, Saints, Steelers, Jets. Many of those teams were offering contracts between $8MM and $9MM annually, with the 27-year-old ultimately receiving $11MM a season from the Raiders.
  • The Raiders are planning to rely on Lamarcus Joyner as their primary nickel cornerback, writes Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 28-year-old has primarily played safety throughout his career, although he did play some cornerback early on his career. The team will occasionally deploy Joyner at safety, although Gehlken notes that the team could still add another player at the position. Joyner is set to sign a four years, $42MM deal with the Raiders.

Latest On Saints’ Offer To Teddy Bridgewater

March 13th, 2019 at 5:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Teddy Bridgewater will reportedly meet with the Dolphins today, but he has a firm offer in hand. The Saints are willing to pay him a base value of around $7MM, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.

With the Saints, Bridgewater would serve as the backup for and heir apparent to Drew Brees. However, the Dolphins have a starting job available and Bridgewater is from Miami. There’s reason to believe that Bridgewater would be interested, but there’s no word yet on whether he would entertain the idea of leaving the Saints.

Meanwhile, if Bridgewater does depart for Miami, the Saints will likely be interested in the man he’s replacing. New Orleans is expected to target Ryan Tannehill as Brees’ backup if Bridgewater leaves, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). There’s a connection in place for Tannehill, as he was originally drafted by now-Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland.

AFC East Notes: Waddle, Allen, Copeland

March 13th, 2019 at 5:02pm CST by Rory Parks

Here’s a quick rundown of some AFC East items:

  • The Dolphins lost right tackle Ja’Wuan James and are seeking a cheaper alternative. The club had a discussion about free agent LaAdrian Waddle, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, but nothing had materialized on that front as of this afternoon. Jackson says Miami could also be interested in former Falcons RT Ryan Schraeder, whom Atlanta released today.
  • New Dolphins TE Dwayne Allen is under contract through 2020, but his $3.5MM salary for 2020 is not guaranteed, as Jackson writes in a separate piece. As such, the club could cut him at the end of the 2019 campaign and incur only $625K in dead money.
  • The Patriots lost their top sack artist from last season, Trey Flowers. and are looking for some pass rush help. To that end, the club has inquired on free agent Brandon Copeland, who had five sacks for the division-rival Jets last season.
  • In case you missed it, the Jets are unlikely to re-sign return man Andre Roberts.

49ers Sign Tevin Coleman

March 13th, 2019 at 4:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 49ers have signed running back Tevin Coleman to a two-year, $10MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

San Francisco was surprisingly in the running back market even after inking Jerick McKinnon to a four-year, $30MM contract last offseason. McKinnon, of course, missed the entire 2018 season after tearing his ACL, and it wouldn’t result in a significant financial hit for the 49ers to part ways with him. SF reportedly also pursued Le’Veon Bell before he signed with the Jets.

For Coleman, a $5MM annual value is the disappointing result of a disappointing campaign. Coleman witnessed the Falcons give starting running back Devonta Freeman an $8.25MM annual average on a 2017 extension, all but ensuring Coleman wouldn’t be back in Atlanta when his contract expired. When Freeman went down in 2018, Coleman wasn’t able to capitalize with his expanded work load on the ground. While he managed 4.8 yards per carry, Coleman was also among the least efficient backs in the league, per Football Outsiders‘ metrics.

Where Coleman does excel is in the passing game. He’s posted at least 25 receptions in each of the past three seasons, while FO ranked him as a top-20 back in terms of receiving efficiency. Matt Breida, who took over as the 49ers’ starting back once McKinnon went down, isn’t much of a pass-catcher, so Coleman would complement him well. But if Coleman is taking over as San Francisco’s receiving back, McKinnon might not have a role (or a job).

Chiefs To Host Ronald Darby

March 13th, 2019 at 4:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chiefs will meet with free agent cornerback Ronald Darby tonight, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds Darby could sign this evening if the visit goes well.

Darby was arguably top free agent corner available when the legal tampering opened on Monday, and he’s now without question the best CB remaining on the market. Cornerback contracts haven’t gotten out of hand this offseason, but that’s largely due to an uninspiring crop of available options.

Still only 25 years old, it’s possible Darby is searching for a long-term pact. But it’s also just as likely that he’s looking for one-year, pillow deal after he missed half of last season with a torn ACL. Health has actually been a question in each of the past two years, as Darby has only appeared in 17 games since 2017.

When has been on the field, however, Darby has been effective. In his limited work last season, for example, Darby finished 11th in Football Outsiders’ success rate, meaning he was excellent at stopping opposing receivers short of the sticks. Pro Football Focus graded Darby as the league’s 39th-best corner, squarely within the top 25% of the league.

Kansas City’s pass defense improved as the 2018 season progressed and ultimately finished 12th in DVOA, but there’s no question the club needs cornerback help. The Chiefs already lost Steven Nelson to the Steelers earlier this week, while Orlando Scandrick is also a free agent. KC’s cornerback depth chart is currently topped by Kendall Fuller and Charvarius Ward.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/19

March 13th, 2019 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Rob Gronkowski Leaning Towards Returning?

March 13th, 2019 at 4:41pm CST by Rory Parks

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski may be leaning towards a return in 2019 (video link). Agent Drew Rosenhaus said that he spoke with Gronk recently but that the star tight end still has not made a firm decision.

However, Rapoport says that other people close to Gronkowski believe it is more likely he plays next season, and that he will put off retirement for at least one more year. The Patriots are also tentatively planning to have the soon-to-be 30-year-old suit up for them in 2019.

Rapoport indicates that New England has been involved in the tight end market to some degree over the past couple of days, but it does not sound as if they are anxiously seeking a Gronkowski replacement (not that there are too many intriguing TEs available anyway). Combined with several reports we heard back in February, it is looking more and more like Tom Brady will have one of his best weapons back as he seeks his seventh Super Bowl championship.

Final Terms Of Odell Beckham Jr. Trade

March 13th, 2019 at 4:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The trades of Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon were originally reported as separate moves, but the Browns and Giants have have each announced the acquisitions as one large transaction. Additionally, as Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com first reported, the fourth- and fifth-round picks that were originally part of the Vernon/Kevin Zeitler trade are no longer involved in the swap.

Here are the full terms of the stunning trade:

Browns acquire:

Giants acquire:

Patriots Pick Up Matthew Slater’s Option

March 13th, 2019 at 4:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Matthew Slater is entering his age-34 season, but the Patriots are set to bring him back.

New England’s special teams ace will return for the 2019 season, with the Pats picking up Slater’s option, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Slater collected a $400K roster bonus Wednesday. He is set to make $1.6MM this season.

This coming season will be Slater’s 12th with the Patriots. He has enjoyed a unique career as a niche performer, the wide receiver-in-name-only having caught one pass but been an integral part of New England’s specialty units. He made seven straight Pro Bowls from 2008-18.

With Stephen Gostkowski a free agent, Slater is the Patriots’ second-longest-tenured player — behind only Tom Brady.

 

Seahawks Re-Sign LB Mychal Kendricks

March 13th, 2019 at 4:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Mychal Kendricks, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, $4MM deal, tweets Mike Garfolo of NFL.com. Kendricks, of course, was arrested for insider trading last year and will face sentencing next month.

Previously, head coach Pete Carroll indicated that he would like Kendricks back in 2019, provided that a prison sentence did not interfere with his availability. Kendricks could be facing 30-to-37 months in prison, so there’s no way of knowing whether he’ll be able to play football again anytime soon. If he is imprisoned for 37 months, he’ll be 31 years old at the time of his release and three years removed from the game.

Kendricks made his Seahawks debut — following a post-arrest release from the Browns — in Week 2 against the Bears, but after some back-and-forth with the league, he was hit with an eight-game suspension in October. His 2018 season ended with 20 tackles and two sacks over the course of four games.

Seattle could potentially lose fellow linebacker K.J. Wright to free agency, so Kendricks could help fill at the second level, provided he’s allowed to play.

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