HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

Matt Rhule To Control Panthers’ Roster

January 30th, 2021 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers ended their expansive GM search by hiring longtime Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer. While this will be a key jump for the veteran personnel man, he will transition from one organization where the head coach has considerable power to another.

Matt Rhule confirmed he will have control of Carolina’s roster, though the second-year HC indicated Fitterer will obviously have tremendous responsibilities in this area as well.

“I think in terms of on the contract, a lot of those things probably rest with me,” Rhule said, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. “But that’s not something I’m real interested in. I think it’s kind of a formality. Scott’s here to run the personnel. He’s here to build the roster. He’s here to establish the draft process. I think some things are written into the contract, but I think we’re going to work collaboratively and work together.”

Fitterer likened this situation as a Seahawks-esque partnership, where Pete Carroll and John Schneider work in tandem. Though Carroll maintains final say, which led to the Lions considering a Schneider pursuit earlier this year.

“In the beginning, Pete was really in charge. But through no egos and the collaboration and the trust and the deep conversations they’ve had, Pete has opened up, and it’s really a partnership. It’s really a marriage between the two, and I’ve never seen an argument between them,” Fitterer said.

“They can challenge each other; they can have discussions. But in the end, they’ve always been in lockstep, and I think that’s important for a GM and a coach to have. That’s what I think it’s going to be like here. Matt’s been great so far, and it’s only going to grow from here.”

Panthers owner David Tepper indicated he sought an experienced exec who could help Rhule while he acclimates to the NFL. Fitterer having worked with Carroll as he transitioned back to the pro game was a factor in the hire as well, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. The Panthers gave Rhule a seven-year, $63MM deal in 2020, so it certainly makes sense they will entrust him with their biggest decisions.

Fitterer stopped short of committing to Teddy Bridgewater as the Panthers’ 2021 starter, though the new GM was not specific regarding many players. Fitterer did say he sought a quarterback “who could win with the game on the line in the fourth quarter,” and as ESPN.com’s David Newton points out, Bridgewater was 0-8 in games in which he had a go-ahead or game-tying drive chance on the final possession.

The Panthers are set to make a run at Deshaun Watson, if the Texans make him available. They also have the No. 7 overall pick, putting them in position to draft Bridgewater’s eventual successor.

Trade-downs may well be coming to the Panthers soon. The Seahawks have consistently used their late-first-round draft perches to move down and accumulate capital. Fitterer said a line of demarcation between drafts’ top-tier and second-tier prospects usually falls around picks 16-18 and that there are not major talent disparities between players who fall between Nos. 25-40 on respective big boards (Twitter link via Person). This approach, which will not apply this year considering the Panthers pick seventh, will come not long after the franchise went five drafts (2013-17) without ever trading down under Dave Gettleman.

Falcons Add Kyle Smith To Front Office

January 30th, 2021 at 3:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Smith will go from being a key lieutenant in Washington’s power structure to playing a similar role in Atlanta. The Falcons hired the young executive as its VP of player personnel.

While Smith will move from having the same job title in Washington, he will become the Falcons’ top-ranking executive behind new GM Terry Fontenot. Washington hired Martin Mayhew as GM and Marty Hurney as its executive VP earlier this month, lowering Smith’s standing in an organization that has given HC Ron Rivera considerable power. Smith, 36, will now play an integral role in Atlanta’s new regime.

Other teams were interested in Smith, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, who adds one year remained on his Washington contract. Washington did not interview Smith for its GM post, per Jhabvala, who adds Smith and Rivera were not believed to be on bad terms during their short stay together. But the team did interestingly meet with Eric Stokes, who worked under Smith as director of pro personnel in Washington’s previous front office setup.

Washington, which hired Smith in 2010, promoted him to VP of player personnel last year. The team did not hire a GM in Rivera’s first season. Well respected for his draft acumen, Smith figures to be a GM candidate in the not-too-distant future.

T.J. Yates Joins Falcons Coaching Staff

January 30th, 2021 at 12:55pm CST by Ben Levine

While the Falcons may have hired a pair of offensive minds in new head coach Arthur Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone, they’ll be turning to a former NFL quarterback to (partly) handle their passing game. The Falcons announced today that T.J. Yates has been hired as their passing game specialist. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle was first with the news (via Twitter) yesterday.

Yates, a 2011 fifth-round pick out of North Carolina, managed to put together a seven-year career, including stints with the Texans (thrice), Falcons, Dolphins, and Bills. He last played in 2017 with the Texans, when he garnered three starts. In total, Yates finished his career having appeared in 22 games (10 starts), completing 55.2-percent of his passes for 2,057 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

Yates joined the Texans coaching staff in 2019, working his way up from offensive assistant to assistant quarterbacks coach. The 33-year-old is somewhat familiar with his new personnel; he was the backup to Matt Ryan during the 2014 season. Yates will work alongside Smith, Ragone, and new quarterbacks coach Charles London.

The Falcons also announced the hiring of two more coaches on Saturday. Lanier Goethie, who most recently served as linebackers coach at Duke, will join Atlanta as a defensive assistant. Nick Perry, who spent the past four years at Alabama, is joining the team as an assistant defensive backs coach.

Latest On Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

January 30th, 2021 at 12:10pm CST by Ben Levine

While it sounds like Ben Roethlisberger is willing to meet the financial demands of owner Art Rooney II, those impending contract discussions still left some question marks about the quarterback’s future in Pittsburgh. Well, it sounds like Roethlisberger will have a say in roster construction, another indication that he’ll be back next season. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter) that Roethlisberger is set to meet with Rooney and head coach Mike Tomlin next month to discuss “what roster plans they have for the 2021 season.”

“Ben knows he has more left, but having key players back, like (Maurkice) Pouncey, will be important,” agent Ryan Tollner told Dulac (Twitter link). “Ben’s contract won’t hold things up. We told them immediately after the season we will make any necessary adjustment to help their cap situation in 2021.”

Earlier this week, we learned that Rooney wanted to reduce Roethlisberger’s $41.2MM cap hit for next season. We learned later that day that the quarterback’s camp was willing to oblige, and these recent quotes from Tollner seem to emphasize that they won’t be haggling over a contract. It sounds like the main sticking point will focus on what the Steelers do with the rest of their roster.

The organization is already projected to be more than $30MM over a $175MM cap, though it is not known how far the cap will drop from this year’s $198MM ceiling. Wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster is set to hit free agency, and the Steelers front office will have to trim some more salaries (like, potentially, Pouncey’s) before the start of next season. While any hypothetical Roethlisberger restructuring would undoubtedly help the cause, the organization will still have to make tough decisions elsewhere on their roster.

Latest On J.J. Watt’s Future With The Texans

January 30th, 2021 at 10:35am CST by Ben Levine

Deshaun Watson may not be the only star player who could find his way out of Houston. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) there’s a “sense” that the Texans could look to move on from their star pass rusher J.J. Watt as they pivot toward a rebuild.

Following rumblings from November that the organization could look to trade the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rapoport notes that the new front office believes Watt deserves clarity on the situation. NFL Network’s James Palmer adds some fuel to that fire (on Twitter), noting that teammates and coaches believe the veteran has played his final game in Houston, with that sentiment being the general “mood in the locker room after their final game.”

With a new coaching staff and front office, things were already expected to look a whole lot different in Houston next season (even if the organization refuses to trade Watson). Considering all that Watt has done for Houston — both on the field and in the community — it’d certainly be tough to justify a trade without some explicit request.

On the flip side, one could argue that the front office should look to get whatever assets they can for the veteran, especially with the future Hall of Famer heading into the final year of his contract. With Watt being on the wrong side of 30, having never advanced past the second round of the playoffs, and being uninterested in a rebuild, the front office could find themselves losing the pass rusher for nothing next offseason. Watt is due to make $17.5MM in 2021.

This past season, Watt appeared in all 16 games for only the second time in the past five years. The 31-year-old finished the campaign having compiled 52 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pick-six.

Ravens Re-Sign Jordan Richards

January 30th, 2021 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

Jordan Richards is sticking with Baltimore. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Ravens have signed the veteran to a one-year, $1.015MM deal. The contract includes $125K in guaranteed money. As Yates notes, the contract “qualifies for the veteran salary benefit,” meaning Richards will have a cap charge of only $875K.

Richards was a second-round pick by the Patriots back in 2015, and he spent most of his three years in New England as a rotational defensive back. His final game for the Patriots came in Super Bowl LII, when he collected six tackles in a loss to the Eagles. He was traded to Atlanta the following offseason, and he put up career-highs during his one year with the Falcons, including 39 tackles and three passes defended. Richards inked a one-year deal with the Raiders prior to the 2019 season, but he was cut by the team at the end of training camp. He ended up landing back on New England, but he was cut after a month with his old/new team.

Richards caught on with Baltimore for the stretch run of that 2019 campaign, appearing in nine games (including a Week 17 win over the Steelers where he returned a fumble for a touchdown). Despite getting cut at the end of the 2020 preseason, the 28-year-old still managed to appear in 16 games for the Ravens this season. All but 15 of his snaps came on special teams, and he finished the year with four tackles.

The Ravens have been busy this week retaining their veterans. We learned yesterday that the organization signed tight end Nick Boyle to an extension.

Rams Shopping QB Jared Goff?

January 30th, 2021 at 8:31am CST by Ben Levine

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Following news from last night that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford would welcome a trade to the Rams, we’re now hearing that Los Angeles is shopping around their incumbent signal-caller. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports that the Rams have held “exploratory talks with multiple teams” regarding a Jared Goff trade.

[RELATED: Rams In Play For Matthew Stafford?]

From a financial perspective, trading Goff is easier said than done. As Rodrigue explains, the Rams would be stuck with $22.2MM in dead money if they were to trade the former first-overall pick. However, a trade would be more palatable if it took place after June 1, as the Rams would be left with only $6.8MM in dead money (plus another $15.4MM in dead cap in 2022). As our own Sam Robinson pointed out last night, releasing Goff is also unrealistic. The guarantees in the quarterback’s four-year, $134MM deal go through 2022, and the organization doesn’t have an easy out on that contract until 2023. While Stafford has base salaries of just $9.5MM and $12.5MM over the next two years, Goff’s contract certainly complicates any potential trade.

After earning Pro Bowl nodes in his sophomore and junior seasons (including a 2018 campaign where he helped guide the Rams to a Super Bowl loss), Goff has seemingly plateaued over the past two years. He tossed a career-high 16 interceptions in 2019, and his 20 passing touchdowns in 2020 was the lowest total since his rookie year (when he started only seven games). For comparison’s sake, Stafford has tossed fewer than 20 touchdowns only once since 2011, and that came during a 2019 campaign where he compiled 19 passing touchdowns in only eight games.

As Sam noted last night, Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead have recently made comments indicating Goff’s status is less than secure. Rodrigue also notes that there’s a connection between the Rams’ and Lions’ front offices; new Lions GM Brad Holmes previously served as the Rams’ director of college scouting. Now ,that’s not to say that any Goff trade would necessarily involve the Lions; considering Detroit’s apparent desire to restart, it doesn’t seem that Goff would be a fit in any hypothetical Stafford-to-Los Angeles deal. Still, the connection between the front offices is too obvious to ignore.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Golden, 49ers

January 29th, 2021 at 6:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the second time in three years, K.J. Wright is a free agent. The longest-tenured Seahawks player has already signed three contracts with the franchise that drafted him. He is eager to ink a fourth.

“I’m having fun; I love this city. I love this team, so let’s make it happen,” Wright said of a return to Seattle, via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson. “… (A return is) up to Pete (Carroll) and John (Schneider). They know how much I mean to this team. They know I’m a great teammate, a great leader and it would be a great investment — in my opinion — if they invest in K.J. and to bring him back into the building. You get what you pay for, and I bring a lot to the table still.”

Wright, 31, does not sound interested in a hometown discount, per veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The Seahawks have paired Wright and Bobby Wagner for nine seasons and used both as sub-package linebackers for most of the 2020 slate. But Seattle drafting Jordyn Brooks in last year’s first round could complicate a Wright return. Pro Football Focus rated Wright as its No. 8 overall ‘backer this past season.

Here is the latest from the NFC West:

  • The Seahawks were not planning to part ways with OC Brian Schottenheimer, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes an end-of-season meeting — in which Carroll reinforced his preference to focus on the run game — helped lead to the team changing play-callers. The Seahawks deviated in the season’s first half from Carroll’s run-centric vision but reverted more toward their usual setup down the stretch. It will be interesting to see how Seattle’s offense looks under new OC Shane Waldron, who spent five years in Washington and Los Angeles working under Sean McVay.
  • Markus Golden‘s sack total dropped from 10 in 2019 to 4.5 in 2020, and the Cardinals saw Haason Reddick complete a contract-year breakout. Still, the older Arizona edge rusher would like to return. “It gave me another shock of energy just being back home,” Golden said of the trade that sent him from the Giants to the Cards, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. “Being here where I know my heart is, it really matters to me to be in Arizona on the Cardinals.” Golden, who signed with the Giants in 2019 and stayed in New York via the rare UFA tender last year, is set for free agency for a third straight year.
  • Big expenses at the top of the Rams‘ payroll have forced the team to let several role players walk in recent offseasons. This year may be no exception. The Rams are unlikely to re-sign Josh Reynolds, Malcolm Brown or Gerald Everett, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes (subscription required). The Rams having drafted contributors at these positions in 2020, and having two wideouts (Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods) and a tight end (Tyler Higbee) signed long-term already, pointed this trio to free agency.
  • Jeff Wilson‘s one-year 49ers extension can max out at $3.6MM, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. Wilson will receive $2.05MM fully guaranteed, with another possible $1.55MM available via incentives. The incentives would give Wilson a chance to out-earn the low-end RFA tender price, which OverTheCap projects at $2.24MM for running backs. He is still due to be a 2022 UFA.
  • Nick Mullens underwent elbow surgery last month, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. This, however, was not a Tommy John operation, with Garafolo adding the 49ers backup’s injury was not as severe as initially feared. He is expected to be ready by training camp.
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