City Of Los Angeles - Pro Football Rumors

Breer’s Latest: Fitzpatrick, Cowboys, L.A.

December 18th, 2015 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest Inside the NFL Notebook piece, Albert Breer of the NFL Network takes a deep dive into Washington‘s season, examining the type of player the team has targeted under head coach Jay Gruden and new GM Scot McCloughan. Washington’s first major draft pick (No. 5 overall selection Brandon Scherff) and long-term signee (Ryan Kerrigan) in 2015 checked all the boxes the club was looking for in terms of intangibles.

“If you’re gonna spend some money, you want talent, but you also want strong leadership, guys you don’t have to worry about Friday night or Thursday night,” Gruden said. “Guys that are gonna be here, and be in the weight room and lead the way for younger guys. Sometimes, to have these guys in here for a number of years, they pave the way for younger players, and that’s just as important as production.”

Here are a few other topics covered by Breer in his latest column:

There’s no rush for the Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick to finalize a deal that keeps the quarterback in New York beyond 2015, since the team has other players it may need to focus on first. But Breer suggests that each side knows where the other stands, and there’s a good chance they can work something out between the end of the season and the start of the 2016 league year.
With DeMarco Murray leaving in the offseason, the Cowboys targeted T.J. Yeldon as a potential second-round pick, and would’ve had a hard time deciding between him and Randy Gregory in the second round, says Breer. However, it turned out to be a moot point, since Yeldon came off the board early in the second round to the Jaguars. Dallas also liked Todd Gurley in the first round, but as his stock increased leading up to the draft, it became clear there would be no chance for the club to land him with the 27th overall pick.
According to Breer, despite the turnover at the running back position in Dallas this season, the Cowboys aren’t expressing any regrets about letting Murray go. One team source offered the following comment on the Eagles running back: “The guy is a pro in his preparation and toughness and competitiveness. But he’s also entitled, selfish and condescending. He’s a great ‘team’ guy when he’s the guy.”
Citing team sources, Breer says that Rams owner Stan Kroenke views St. Louis’s stadium proposal as falling short of what he’d want to keep the franchise in the city, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts if his Inglewood plan doesn’t get approved. As Breer observes, all parties involved in potential Los Angeles relocation had hoped that the league would have found “an elegant solution” and would be nearing some sort of agreement with the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders at this point. Instead, the January owners’ meeting is drawing closer without a clear sense of what will happen regarding L.A.

Extra Points: Bucs, Bills, LA, Cowboys, Pryor

December 17th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from around the NFL as Thursday wraps up:

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is enamored with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston. “I wouldn’t trade him for another quarterback in the league,” Licht said, per Jeff Darlington of NFL.com. Licht stated he expected more growing pains and perhaps as many as 30 interceptions this year from Winston, but the ex-Florida State star and No. 1 pick in this year’s draft entered Thursday with only 11 in 13 games.
The Bills are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to the long-term status of signal caller Tyrod Taylor, but if they give him a new contract, it could end up being their most important transaction over the next several years, opines Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Taylor, who has been one of the top statistical QBs in the league this year, will be a free agent after next season. If he acquits himself well again in 2016 and the Bills wait until the season’s over try to lock him up, he could either sign a sizable deal elsewhere or stay in Buffalo and take up a large portion of its cap. For his part, Taylor says he isn’t focused on anything other than this season. “I have three important games. I don’t have time to talk about contract situations.”
With as many as two of the Rams, Raiders and Chargers potentially relocating to Los Angeles at season’s end, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examined where exactly the teams could call home starting next year. Multiple league sources believe the Chargers are the likeliest of the three teams to end up in LA, per Florio.
Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore took “a couple” first-team practice reps this week, head coach Jason Garrett said. That’s a sign his first NFL action could be approaching, Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. With the Cowboys out of contention and Matt Cassel having performed poorly in place of the injured Tony Romo, giving Moore a shot before the year’s out would seem to make sense. Dallas signed Moore, 26, to its practice squad in November and added him to its active roster earlier this month. The fourth-year man has never taken a regular-season snap since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor, formerly a quarterback, made his regular-season debut at wideout last week and played 16 snaps. Quarterback Johnny Manziel didn’t target Pryor, but that could change this week because Pryor will get more playing time, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.
Veteran safety Brandon Meriweather, whom the Giants cut Wednesday, went through waivers unclaimed and is now a free agent, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Latest On St. Louis Stadium, L.A. Relocation

December 16th, 2015 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The St. Louis Board of Alderman approved a modified plan for a new riverfront football stadium in the city this week, setting the issue up for another vote on Friday, as David Hunn and Nicholas Pistor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outline. The latest development moves the possibility of a new St. Louis stadium slightly forward, but there are still plenty of roadblocks to overcome.

The most notable new detail of the stadium proposal includes a commitment from the NFL for an extra $100MM toward the construction of the building. However, this $100MM, which Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal notes isn’t guaranteed yet, would come at a cost. Per the Post-Dispatch report, the St. Louis stadium task force would agree to rebate city ticket taxes back to the team in this scenario, which would cost about $3MM per year.

Some St. Louis decision-makers seem apprehensive about the last-minute changes to the proposal, expressing concern about adhering to the NFL’s schedule rather than taking more time to review the plan. Alderman Scott Ogilvie asked, “Were we elected to write checks to the NFL without understanding what we are doing?”

Even if the stadium proposal is ultimately approved by St. Louis officials, it still must receive approval from the NFL as well. However, it certainly seems as if the St. Louis stadium plan is much further along than the ones in San Diego or Oakland, which may make NFL owners increasingly motivated to make things work in St. Louis.

Texans owner Bob McNair – one of six owners on the league’s Los Angeles committee – spoke to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle about St. Louis, Los Angeles, and the teams vying to relocate to L.A., and offered up a few interesting nuggets. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation:

On the support the stadium plan is receiving in St. Louis and what that could mean for an NFL vote:

“One of the teams would not be able to move if we approve two. So they’d have to stay in their home market. And one of our concerns is what level of support are they receiving in their home market? And if they’re receiving a reasonable amount of support, my personal feeling and most owners’ is we don’t think people should move.

“St. Louis, they have come up with a proposal that is getting pretty close, in my opinion, to being an attractive proposal. And if they do come up with an attractive proposal, then in my view, my personal opinion, I don’t think the Rams will receive the approval to relocate. So that would mean then you’d have two teams, San Diego and Oakland, that would be going into Carson. They have a partnership to build a stadium.”

On the possibility of a new stadium getting built in San Diego or Oakland:

“In San Diego, they’ve been trying for about 15 years. They’ve had all kinds of political problems there. At one time, half the council went to jail or something. It’s been pretty bad. It’s hard to negotiate when you’ve got to go to the jail to negotiate. So they haven’t accomplished anything. They’re saying they’re going to do something now. But in order to do it, they’d have to have a referendum and the referendum isn’t until next June. Well, we can’t have these teams in limbo. You need to have certainty and you don’t know if the referendum would pass or fail. We can’t take what they’re saying very seriously.

“Oakland is basically saying, ‘We don’t have any money. We’re going to take care of the baseball team and we’re not going to do anything for the football team.’ So that’s where they are. And those are the two worst stadiums in the league.”

On the likelihood of a team – or two teams – relocating to L.A. for 2016:

“It’s the second-largest market in the country and certainly we should be there. On the other hand, we’ve done very well not being there. So it’s not the end of the world [if no team moves there].”

AFC Notes: Bradham, Broncos, Dolphins

December 15th, 2015 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham is one of three starters for the team whose contract will expire at season’s end. While Bradham was a better fit under Jim Schwartz‘s defensive scheme in 2014 than he has been for Rex Ryan and Dennis Thurman this year, the veteran linebacker would still like to return to Buffalo next season, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com details.

“Yeah, I will always envision [being in Buffalo next season],” Bradham said today. “I’m here now, so I’m hoping that I’ll be here next year. But it’s one of those things where you never know. I just look forward to being here.”

Here’s more from across the AFC:

Despite an up-and-down first year in Buffalo, Bills head coach Rex Ryan is almost certainly safe. However, GM Doug Whaley‘s job security is less certain, writes Rodak in a separate ESPN.com piece.
Former third overall pick Trent Richardson is among the players working out for the Broncos today, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). However, Klis adds that the players auditioning for Denver today are only being considered for future contracts, not for this season.
The Dolphins have invested big money into their defense, but the unit still looks like one in need of an overhaul, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Middle linebacker, safety, and cornerback are among the positions Miami needs to address this offseason, in Salguero’s view.
It’s true that some NFL team owners oppose the Raiders moving to Los Angeles, tweets Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego. That’s why, in Acee’s estimation, it’s foolish to think that Chargers owner Dean Spanos would never team up with Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Sunday Roundup: Murray, Tomsula, Spiller

December 13th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some links from around the league, starting with more news on the Eagles‘ running back drama:

During DeMarco Murray‘s recent and much-ballyhooed conversation with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the embattled running back told Lurie that head coach Chip Kelly was “unapproachable.” When speaking with the owner, Murray openly questioned the abilities of Kelly and running backs coach Duce Staley.
According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links), Murray did have a lengthy meeting with Kelly earlier this week, but Kelly made no assurances to Murray regarding his role for the remainder of the season. In fact, Murray is listed as the fourth back on the Eagles‘ depth chart today.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the message that the Eagles have sent to the rest of the league is clear: Murray is available. On a related note, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com explores the Eagles‘ options with regards to Murray’s contract, ultimately concluding that trading Murray in 2016 is the strategy that would work best for Philadelphia.
The 49ers‘ improved play over the last few weeks has lightened the mood in the locker room and has likely bought head coach Jim Tomsula another year with the club, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. The team has appeared more engaged and has given the front office tangible signs of hope, which means Tomsula will probably be back in 2016.
La Canfora writes that many league owners are concerned about the strength of the Raiders‘ ownership group and would prefer that the Chargers either move to Los Angeles by themselves or partnered with the Rams. Although that seems unlikely at this point, the overall “trepidation” surrounding the Raiders and the prevailing belief that Oakland remains a viable NFL market could mean that the Carson project–which would see the Raiders and Chargers move to LA together–may not get the requisite 24 votes at the league meetings in January to move forward.
Tim Hightower has stepped in for the injured Mark Ingram in the Saints‘ backfield today, which represents yet another blow to free agent addition C.J. Spiller. Per Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune (citing The NFL Network), Spiller is a “long shot” to return to New Orleans next season.
Although the Seahawks of course have been delighted with Thomas Rawls‘ performance thus far, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Marshawn Lynch is progressing and the team is very open to Beastmode’s return.
Mark Potash of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that Bears GM Ryan Pace will have a tough decision to make with Matt Forte this offseason, and Potash examines Pace’s options in that regard.

AFC West Notes: Crabtree, Penn, Stewart, Iger

December 11th, 2015 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

After betting on himself during the 2015 offseason, signing a modest one-year deal in the hopes of having a big season and increasing his value, Raiders wideout Michael Crabtree is happy to have a new extension in place, which will keep him from worrying about dealing with the free agent market again this winter.

“It’s always nice to get it done, right?” Crabtree said on Thursday, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. “That way we can just go play football. You ain’t worried about where you’re going to be next year and all that stuff. It’s pretty neat to know you’re wanted and you want to be on a team and you’re here.”

Here’s more on Crabtree’s new contract, along with some other items out of the AFC West:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has a few more specific details on Crabtree’s four-year deal with the Raiders, tweeting that it can be worth up to $35.2MM, with a base value of $34MM. The pact doesn’t include a signing bonus, but Crabtree will make $11MM in 2016 and a total of $18MM by 2017. That $18MM is guaranteed for injury, according to Bair.
As Bair details at CSNBayArea.com, veteran defensive back Charles Woodson believes Crabtree’s new contract – and his decision to stay with Oakland – is a sign that this isn’t the same old Raiders. “That’s great, because you hear that people don’t want to come to Oakland, that they don’t want to play here,” Woodson said. “Things are starting to change. With Crabtree signing his deal, other free agents will take notice once that time comes around. They’ll want to know why he wanted to stick around and play in Oakland. He’ll be a great ambassador for guys who are undecided.”
Could left tackle Donald Penn be the next Raiders player to sign an extension? He’s not focusing on a deal right now, but says he’d like to spend the rest of his career in Oakland, as Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes.
Safety Darian Stewart doesn’t have Pro Bowl nods on his resume, like many of his fellow defensive backs in Denver, but the Broncos coaching staff has referred to him as the quarterback of the secondary, and his contract is looking like one of the bargains of the 2015 free agent period. Arnie Stapleton of The Associated Press has the story.
Earlier today, we rounded up several quotes from Disney CEO Bob Iger on the Carson stadium proposal put forth by the Chargers and Raiders. Scott M. Reid of the Orange County Register has a few more comments from Iger, who says a Carson stadium would be well-positioned to attract football fans from Orange County.

Bob Iger Talks Los Angeles, Carson, Inglewood

December 11th, 2015 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Carson stadium proposal put forth by the Raiders and Chargers got a big boost earlier this fall when Disney CEO Bob Iger came aboard. Iger, who became attached to the project a month ago, will only officially take over as the chairman of Carson Holdings if NFL owners vote to approve the Carson proposal, which would relocate the Raiders and Chargers to Los Angeles. However, he’s already involved in the planning process, and spoke to reporters on Thursday about the latest developments. Here are a few highlights from the Disney CEO, via Ramona Shelbourne of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

On why he decided to become involved with the Carson proposal, rather than the Inglewood plan:

“First of all, I believe in the two-team concept. This is a great market in Los Angeles, and it hasn’t had football for a long time. I’m convinced that not only can it sustain two teams, but if you’re going to bring football back to Los Angeles, do it in a big way, and two is twice as big as one. Why not give the fans real choice in terms of the teams they want to root for? It also enables the creation of a stadium that is affordable but also very exciting. It just makes such a loud statement about the NFL being back to Los Angeles. I like that. … I also thought that the concept for Carson and the choice of location was attractive and unique from a variety of different perspectives. It was an easy thing for me to get behind.”

On the possibility of leaving Disney in 2018 and potentially buying a minority stake in either the Chargers or Raiders:

“This is a great job, and it’s one I don’t want to give up quickly. But I have decided that 2018, I will have been in this job for 13 years at that point, it’ll be time. I am looking to have a variety of different activities post-Disney. I love the sport of football. I like the NFL a lot. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to use the dozens of years of expertise that I have in entertainment and in sports and apply myself in a different way.”

On what his role would be if the Carson projects gets approved:

“I’m really working, should they get the approval, to shape the project. That’s everything from the fan experience to how the stadium will be programmed to repositioning the teams both physically and from a brand perspective to the Los Angeles market. Bringing my knowledge of site-based entertainment and customer/user interface and my knowledge of Southern California to the project.”

On the likelihood of the Carson or Inglewood plan getting approval:

“There is not much leeway. If the decision is not made soon, neither team will be able to relocate. … [But] I get a strong sense, and I actually have some optimism, that there is true momentum. While I can’t guarantee that it will happen, I feel pretty good about the prospects about the NFL finally reaching a decision and moving the NFL back to such a great city.”

Latest On Rams, Possible New St. Louis Stadium

December 10th, 2015 at 6:47pm CST by Zachary Links

A city of St. Louis committee has OK’d a financing plan for a new $1 billion stadium, as Jim Salter of the The Associated Press writes. A final vote on the matter from the city will take place next week, in advance of a Dec. 30 deadline imposed by the NFL for the three cities whose teams want to move to Los Angeles.

However, in an interview on WXOS, NFL Executive VP Eric Grubman opined the city “will fall short of having a compelling proposal that would attract the Rams.” Grubman also said the proposed stadium will “cost more than is at the drawing board at the moment, the funding has declined and new taxes are being proposed to the Rams.” For his part, St. Louis stadium task force co-chairman Dave Peacock is surprised by Grubman’s comments, as Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal tweets. Peacock feels that the 7-2 vote is a “significant milestone” in the city’s effort to retain the Rams and he dismissed Grubman’s comments as a negotiating tactic.

The St. Louis proposal calls for the city to contribute $150MM while the NFL team would kick in $250MM. On top of that, the league would give the team a $200MM loan and fan seat licenses would generate $160MM. The rest of the funding would come from the state, either through tax credits or bonds. Peacock has said in the past that while the new stadium is being built to try and keep the Rams in St. Louis, the city could alternatively use the stadium to try to bring another franchise to Missouri.

Los Angeles Rumors: 12/7/15

December 7th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chargers‘ and Raiders‘ joint stadium plan for Carson seems to have momentum at this point than the Rams‘ Inglewood proposal, writes Peter King of TheMMQB.com in today’s Monday Morning Quarterback column. As King explains, the reason is fairly simple: owners around the league want to support Chargers owner Dean Spanos, whom they feel has done all he can to try to make a stadium work in San Diego.

King’s piece includes plenty of interesting tidbits on the Los Angeles situation, so let’s dive in and round them up….

The Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities will likely vote 4-2 or 5-1 in favor of the Carson project, a source tells King. However, that prediction hinges on how solid the St. Louis stadium proposal is — if any of the six owners on the committee are uncertain about St. Louis’ proposal, they could switch to the Inglewood plan.
Looking ahead to the league-wide vote involving all 32 owners, neither side is close to having the 24 votes necessary to approve a relocation plan, according to King.
Disney CEO Robert Iger has been a major boon to the Carson side, with one source suggesting to King that Iger “feels like a partner to people like Roger Goodell and Bob Kraft.” One ownership source believes that if the Carson plan just involved the Chargers, Spanos, and Iger, it would already have 24 votes from league owners — some owners, however, view the Raiders as a drag on the project.
While the league would like to finalize its Los Angeles plan during the January meetings in Houston, that’s not a lock. It’s probable, but not certain, says King.
If Kroenke’s Inglewood project doesn’t come to fruition, no one knows what he’ll do, writes King. If Kroenke doesn’t like St. Louis’ stadium plan, it could be “an ugly shotgun marriage,” perhaps with the Rams owner “refusing to go to the altar.”
One more L.A. note from Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link): Oakland city leaders have talked to the NFL about developing a stadium in Oakland. While those discussions are ongoing, it’s hard to imagine the city putting together a concrete plan within the next few weeks.

Extra Points: Amendola, Patriots, Los Angeles

December 6th, 2015 at 4:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Returning from injury, Patriots receiver Danny Amendola has had a nice — and profitable — day so far, as New England is tied with Philadelphia as the contest heads to halftime. Amendola not only caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady, but caught his 50th pass of the season, good for a $150K bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league as the second slate of NFL games reach their midway points…

Appearing on the Patriots‘ pre-game show, owner Robert Kraft said that NFL owners discussed the possibility of moving a team — or teams — to Los Angeles for roughly three hours at last week’s owner’s meetings. However, the group still has “no sense” of what clubs will ultimately end up in southern California (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
While the owners might not have a solid plan for the NFL in LA, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has several, which he outlined earlier this morning. Each scenario involves some combination of the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders in either Carson or Inglewood, CA, and the entire post is well worth a read.
The league recently shortened the legal tampering period from three days to two, and according to Florio, that’s not the only change the NFL will implement. Actual negotiations will be allowed to take place during that two-day window, a source tells Florio, instead of just vague contract concepts. Whether or not that means teams and agents can come to concrete agreements is still unknown.

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