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Month: September 2024

Latest On Broncos, Chris Harris

April 28th, 2019 at 6:16pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The situation surrounding cornerback Chris Harris and the Broncos has taken several twists and turns recently. Harris is seeking a new contract, and so far the Broncos have been unwilling to meet his demands.

That led to the Broncos initiating trade talks, which had been picking up steam recently. We heard early on Friday that the Broncos were deciding between various offers, and a deal appeared imminent. It seemed like only a matter of time before Harris changed teams, and it looked like he would be shipped out sometime during the draft. The draft came and went without Harris going anywhere however, and it turns out a trade was never actually that close to happening.

Broncos GM John Elway said after the draft that the team didn’t have any contact “with Chris or about Chris” this weekend, per Lindsay Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Elway also said he’ll resume negotiations with Harris and his agent on a new contract now that the draft is over. If Elway is telling the truth, then the Broncos weren’t ever that serious about moving Harris. Denver didn’t draft any cornerbacks, so it sure seems like they’re planning on having Harris on the roster.

After demanding a new contract or a trade, Harris has toned down his rhetoric and insisted that he wants to stay with the Broncos, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas back in 2011. Harris is one of the last remaining players from Denver’s once vaunted ‘No Fly Zone’ secondary, and he’s made the Pro Bowl in four of the last five seasons.

He’s reportedly seeking at least $15MM per year on a new deal, and as of right now the Broncos are unwilling to pay that. Harris reportedly felt disrespected by Denver’s decision to give Kareem Jackson, who is older and less accomplished than Harris, a three-year, $33MM deal this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see if Harris is able to get $15MM annually, but either way it doesn’t sound like Elway plans on trading him anytime soon.

Bengals Attempted To Trade Up For OL

April 28th, 2019 at 5:40pm CST by Micah Powell

With their first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Bengals addressed the offensive line by taking Alabama product Jonah Williams at No. 11. They attempted to do the same by trading up in the second round when a handful of projected first-round offensive linemen slipped, but nothing came to fruition, Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson writes.

According to Hobson, the team couldn’t make a deal to draft Jawaan Taylor, Cody Ford or Greg Little, all of whom went in the first six picks of the second round, because it coveted its fourth-round picks.

“They tried trading up in the second round for one of those first-round offensive lineman that slid. But they were also adamant. They coveted one of those guys, but they were holding on to their fourth-rounder. And later their fifth. They came into the draft believing the fourth round was where they could make some hay,” Hobson writes.

Cincinnati ended up with three picks in the fourth round, and used those selections on NC State quarterback Ryan Finley, Arizona State defensive tackle Renell Wren and Ohio State guard Michael Jordan.

Without making that move, the Bengals offensive line projects to feature Williams at right tackle, with Cordy Glenn on the opposite side, Clint Boling and John Miller at guard, and 2018 first-round pick Billy Price at center.

5 Key NFL Stories: 4/21/19 – 4/28/19

April 28th, 2019 at 4:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

2019 NFL Draft in the books. After three days and 254 selections, the 2019 NFL draft is complete. Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray came off the board to the Cardinals at No. 1 overall, while Ohio State edge rusher Nick Bosa (49ers), Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (Jets), Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell (Raiders), and LSU linebacker Devin White (Buccaneers) rounded out the top-five. PFR tracked all the results, both by round and by team.

Tyreek Hill investigation re-opened. After prosecutors declined to press charges against Hill following allegations of child abuse, audio emerged in which Hill admits to abusing his three-year-old son (who now has a broken arm) and misleading detectives. Hill, who also threatens his fiancée on tape, has been indefinitely banned by the Chiefs but remains on the club’s roster. Meanwhile, authorities have since re-opened the criminal investigation against Hill.

Cardinals trade Josh Rosen to Dolphins. After taking Murray first overall, Arizona found a trade partner for Rosen in the Dolphins, who sacrificed the No. 62 pick and a 2020 fifth-rounder in exchange for the UCLA product. Miami initially balked at surrendering its own 48th overall pick for Rosen, but subsequently turned that selection into No. 62, No. 200, and a 2020 second-rounder. Because the Cardinals already paid Rosen his signing bonus, the Dolphins will owe the 2018 No. 10 pick less than $7MM over the next three seasons.

Chiefs acquire Frank Clark. Kansas City had already traded its own franchise-tagged edge rusher this offseason, shipping Dee Ford to the 49ers for a 2020 second-round pick. Now, they’ve picked up Clark, who was on his own franchise tender with the Seahawks. Kansas City sent a first-round pick (No. 29), a third-round pick (No. 92) and the lower of their 2020 second-round picks to Seattle in exchange for Clark and a third-round choice (No. 84). The Chiefs have since extended Clark on a five-year, $104MM deal that contains $43.8MM guaranteed.

Marshawn Lynch retires, and Doug Baldwin may be forced to follow suit. Lynch has again retired, hanging up his cleats after spending the past two seasons with the Raiders. He originally announced the end of his career after the 2016 campaign, but came back to play for his hometown team. Baldwin, another member of the Seahawks’ championship run, may be forced to end his career after dealing with knee, shoulder, and hernia injuries.

Sebastian Janikowski Announces Retirement

April 28th, 2019 at 3:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Longtime NFL kicker Sebastian Janikowski has announced his retirement after 19 seasons, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Janikowski, 41, was selected 17th overall by the Raiders in the 2000 draft and spent the subsequent 18 campaigns in Oakland. Only one other kicker (Steve Little in 1978) has ever been chosen in the first round of the draft, and only three kickers have been selected in the first three rounds since Janinkowski went in the first (Nate Kaeding, Mike Nugent, Roberto Aguayo).

Clearly, it would have been difficult for any kicker to live up to Janikowski’s draft billing, but he did accrue statistics simply by being available. He’ll finish his career with the ninth-most field goal attempts (563) in league history, although his conversion rate (80.4%) ranks just 37th. Pro Football Reference’s approximate value metric, which attempts to boil down a player’s contributions to a single number, ranks Janikowski as the 13th-most valuable kicker in NFL history.

A Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro member in 2011, Janikowski left the Raiders in 2018, signing a contract with the Seahwaks after spending the previous season on injured reserve. He made 22-of-27 attempts for Seattle, and his 81.5% conversion rate ranked just 23rd among all kickers. Janikowski wasn’t expected to be re-signed by the Seahawks, who have since added free agent Jason Myers.

Janikowksi will hang up his cleats as the NFL’s all-time highest-paid kicker with more than $53MM in career earnings. PFR extends its best wishes to “Seabass” as he enters retirement.

Jaguars Sign 21 Undrafted Free Agents

April 28th, 2019 at 3:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars have become the third NFL team — joining the Steelers and Chargers — to announced their crop of undrafted free agent signings following the conclusion of the 2019 draft. Jacksonville agreed to terms with the following 21 UDFAs:

Saivion Smith, in particular, is an interesting addition for the Jaguars, as he’d been mentioned as a possible third-round pick earlier this year. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com pegged Smith as a Round 4 or 5 selection, noting the Alabama product’s ability as a press-man corner but cautioning that he must improve his consistency. Simth could compete for snaps behind incumbent Jacksonville corners Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, and D.J. Hayden.

North Rumors: Browns, Duke, Lions, Snacks

April 28th, 2019 at 2:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Browns running back Duke Johnson has requested a trade, and Cleveland is believed to have shopped him, there’s seemingly no guaranteed he will be moved, as head coach Freddie Kitchens indicated to Tony Grossi of ESPN.com. “Duke’s under contract. I’ve said this for a month now, I don’t know where all this trade talk started happening,” said Kitchens. “People just assumed we would trade him because we signed another good football player [Kareem Hunt]. I like good football players, and I like as many as I can get.

“At this point in time, him asking for a trade doesn’t matter to me. He’s a Cleveland Brown. Duke’s the type of the guy who’s going to show up and he’s going to do his job and he’s going do his job well. That’s all I can ask for as a coach. His demands, I’m not impacted by that one bit.”

Hunt is suspended for the first eight games of the 2019 season, so the Browns will need a back to play behind starter Nick Chubb. Johnson, 25, is under contract through 2021 thanks to the three-year, $15.6MM extension he signed last summer. While he handled only 40 carries a year ago, Johnson managed 47 catches and was one of the NFL’s most efficient receiving backs, per Football Outsiders.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • Defensive tackle Damon Harrison isn’t participating in the Lions‘ offseason program, but his absence isn’t related to his request for a new contact, general manager Bob Quinn told Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “The offseason program is voluntary,” Quinn said. “We have different guys, in different stages and different things in their lives, just like we have every year. So, Damon hasn’t been here the last couple of weeks, but we’ve communicated with him, talked to him multiple times and I’m sure we’ll see him here soon.” Harrison, whom the Lions acquired from the Giants last year in exchange for a fifth-round pick, has two years remaining on his current deal, with cap charges north of $7MM in each season.
  • The Ravens were attempting to sign Arizona defensive tackle P.J. Johnson to an undrafted free agent deal when he was selected by the Lions with the 229th overall pick, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “It was kind of funny,” Johnson said. “I tried to be as polite as possible,” Johnson said, “but get off fast: ‘Excuse me, but the Lions are calling. I’ve got to go.’ ” Baltimore did not have a selection after No. 197, so the club would have had to trade back up (using 2020 capital) in order to land Johnson.
  • Miami defensive tackle Gerald Willis surprisingly went undrafted before reportedly inking a UDFA deal with the Ravens, and his fall was likely caused by a few off-field issues, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes. Willis allegedly got into an altercation with Skyler Mornhinweg (son of ex-Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg) before being dismissed at Florida, while some former Miami coaches also bad-mouthed Willis, per Zrebiec. The current Hurricanes staff, however, praised Willis.

Giants Sixth-Rounder Corey Ballentine Shot

April 28th, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Rory Parks

Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft yesterday, was shot in central Topeka just hours later, per Erika Hall of WIBW.com. Ballentine, a cornerback from Washburn, is expected to make a full recovery, and he could recover in a matter of weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots around 12:45am. Ballentine and Dwane Simmons, another Washburn football player, were both shot, but while Ballentine suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Simmons, 23, passed away in the street. Ballentine was taken to an area hospital.

The Giants have released the following statement (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Twitter):

“We are aware of the tragic situation and continue to gather information. We have spoken to Corey, and he is recovering in the hospital. Our thoughts are with Dwane Simmons’ family, friends and teammates and the rest of the Washburn community.”

Tyler Greever of WIBW says that Ballentine was very close to Simmons, and that Ballentine was supposed to discuss being selected by the Giants at 3pm today (Twitter links). Obviously, the interview has been postponed.

Ballentine has the athletic ability to eventually compete for a significant role in the Giants’ defensive backfield, and hopefully he will be able to bounce back from this tragic turn to the start of his professional career.

We here at PFR offer our condolences to Simmons’ friends and family.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman Defends Drafting Daniel Jones At No. 6

April 28th, 2019 at 11:02am CST by Rory Parks

Giants GM Dave Gettleman has already dealt with plenty of criticism for selecting Duke QB Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick of this year’s draft. We heard on Friday that Gettleman may have been concerned that the Redskins — who held the No. 15 overall pick — were going to nab Jones, which forced him to take the former Blue Devil at No. 6 rather than wait until the Giants were on the clock again at No. 17.

And as Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv tweets, Gettleman says he knows for a fact that at least two teams would have taken Jones between pick nos. 6 and 17. Those two teams, according to Vacchiano’s sources, are the Redskins and Broncos.

However, ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweets that the Redskins were never going to draft Jones, and Russini says the Broncos were not interested in Jones either. Mike Klis of 9News tweets that Denver was not going to take any QB with its No. 10 overall selection, and that Drew Lock was the team’s top-rated quarterback. Klis says the Broncos were considering a trade into the back end of the first round to take Lock, but Jones was not on the radar at No. 10.

Of course, other clubs, like the Bengals (No. 11) or Dolphins (No. 13), could have been in the market for Jones in the first round, but it appears that the top two purported threats to Gettleman’s favorite QB weren’t threats at all.

If Jones ultimately is successful with Big Blue, this will all become an amusing footnote to the story of his career. But if he’s not, Gettleman will have a major blemish on his run as the team’s GM.

Chad Kelly Nearing Deal With Colts?

April 28th, 2019 at 10:21am CST by Rory Parks

Former Mr. Irrelevant and current free agent Chad Kelly could be nearing a deal with the Colts, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Holder adds that an accord between the two sides has been “percolating” for awhile.

The Broncos selected Kelly with the final pick of the 2017 draft, which seemed like a good value pick on the surface. Kelly was once considered one of the top QB prospects in the nation, but his senior season at Ole Miss was cut short by a torn ACL and lateral meniscus, and he also came with plenty of character concerns. He missed his entire rookie campaign in Denver due to wrist and knee surgeries, but he opened the 2018 season as the backup to Case Keenum. He actually may have been on the verge of displacing the struggling Keenum in the starting lineup, but a bizarre October arrest led to his ouster from the team.

Since then, all we’ve heard about Kelly is that he has pleaded not guilty to the felony trespassing charge that stemmed from his arrest. But Indianapolis is apparently willing to give Kelly a shot at reviving his professional career. Kelly could compete with Jacoby Brissett for the team’s backup QB job, and he could even stick as the No. 3 signal-caller if the club elects to carry three QBs. Brissett is entering his contract year, so the Colts may be planning for the future of its backup quarterback situation.

Tim Graham of The Athletic agrees with Holder’s report, and he says that Central Connecticut State QB Jake Dolegala, who recently talked with the Colts about signing as an undrafted free agent, pulled out because his camp learned that Indy was prepared to sign Kelly (Twitter link).

Latest On Redskins’ RB Situation

April 28th, 2019 at 9:46am CST by Rory Parks

The Redskins selected Stanford running back Bryce Love in the fourth round of the 2019 draft yesterday, and running back Derrius Guice — whom Washington drafted in the second round last year — promptly tweeted out a nonplussed emoji that drew plenty of attention on the NFL Network’s draft coverage. Guice later said his tweet was not a response to the Love selection at all, but regardless of his thoughts on the matter, the pick does set up an interesting dynamic in the team’s RB room.

Guice, of course, tore his ACL last August, thereby ending his rookie campaign before it started. There was a report in December that his recovery had hit a snag, though he was said to be sprinting at full-speed in February. The last we heard, Guice was aiming for a training camp return, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote this morning, head coach Jay Gruden expects the LSU product to be back prior to the start of training camp. Gruden also refuted the December report that Guice’s rehab was delayed, and he added that the Love selection is no reflection on Guice.

Gruden said, “[The Love pick] is no reflection of anybody. We just got an opportunity to draft one heck of a player with an unbelievable production at a big-time school.”

Love entered his final collegiate season as a potential Heisman candidate after a tremendous junior year, but he put together an underwhelming campaign before tearing his ACL in December. There has been some chatter that Love could redshirt his rookie season in Washington as he continues to recover, but Love himself said he plans to be ready to go by the middle of training camp.

That is probably a little ambitious, and Love may very well spend the entire season the PUP list. But if he is ready to suit up at some point this year, it would create a logjam in Washington. The team is also rostering Adrian Peterson — who signed a two-year pact in March — Chris Thompson, and Samaje Perine. As Florio notes, one or more of those players will be on the move when Love is ready to go.

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