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NFC Notes: Cowboys, Stafford, Cardinals

November 6th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With the work week winding down, let’s round up some Friday news items and notes from around the NFC….

  • Appearing on 105.3 FM in Dallas this morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Tony Romo has offered to help identify his own eventual replacement, adding that Romo has put in time studying what he’d look for in a college quarterback. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the story, with the quotes from Jones.
  • Examining Matthew Stafford‘s future in Detroit, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press makes the case that the only way it makes sense for the Lions to part with their quarterback after the 2015 season is if they end up with the first – or perhaps second – overall pick, to give a new coach and GM a chance to groom a new QB. A Thursday report suggested that Stafford’s future beyond 2015 with the Lions is uncertain, with GM Martin Mayhew out of the picture and head coach Jim Caldwell a good bet to follow him out the door.
  • In addition to the kickers and punters we heard about yesterday, the Cardinals also worked out several other players, including defensive backs Shaun Prater and Cassius Vaughn and long snappers Brandon Hartson and Andrew East, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
  • The Bears also brought in a few players for tryouts today, auditioning offensive linemen Aaron Adams, James Brewer, and Martin Wallace, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Within his latest NFL.com column, Albert Breer of the NFL Network touches on several topics of notes, exploring the Lions‘ organizational changes, Geep Chryst‘s job status with the 49ers, and the Rams‘ decision to draft Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick in the spring.

North Notes: Browns, J. Thomas, Lions

November 6th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

With Josh McCown bothered by a painful rib injury, second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel got the nod for the Browns on Thursday night. The returns weren’t great, with Manziel struggling in the second half, completing less than 50% of his passes as the Browns fell 31-10 to the division-rival Bengals.

Still, there were some positive signs for the former 22nd overall pick, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Was it enough for the Browns to give him another start? Head coach Mike Pettine wasn’t ready to commit to that following the game, as Pat McManamon of ESPN.com writes.

“When we get in and get back from this time off, we will assess what pool of players are available and go ahead and make those decisions from there,” Pettine said. “This will be a good time to step away and reassess where we are moving forward.”

As the Browns figure out who their starting quarterback will be the next time they take the field, let’s check in on some other items from out of the NFL’s North divisions….

  • All-Pro Browns left tackle Joe Thomas was nearly dealt to the Broncos at the trade deadline on Tuesday, and while he admitted he would have been “really crushed” to leave Cleveland, he added that he’s not upset the team considered moving him. “It doesn’t really bother me that they listened to people that offered things,” Thomas said, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “It’s kind of like you’re walking down the street and somebody says, ‘Hey, nice watch. You want to sell it?’ You say, ‘Well, it’s not for sale.’ But then you think and go, ‘Well, what will you give me?’ It’s just a matter of what the price is. Obviously, from the sounds of it, it was close but no cigar.”
  • Having watched Dwayne Bowe outperform Taylor Gabriel in Thursday’s game, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk wonders why the Browns have been playing Gabriel over Bowe for most of the season. In Smith’s view, the fact that Bowe hasn’t seen much playing time after Cleveland gave him $9MM in guaranteed money speaks to a possible disconnect between GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine.
  • After seeing GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand get axed yesterday by the Lions, Detroit players acknowledged that major changes to the roster could be the next shoe to drop. “When new people come in, they obviously feel like the people who were here weren’t getting the job done, so they try to bring in their own guys,” safety Glover Quin said, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Everybody, at least for me, I feel like everybody’s on the chopping block. Everybody’s job is on the line.”

Lions Notes: Stafford, Mayhew, Wolf

November 5th, 2015 at 8:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a fun fact – under former GM Martin Mayhew the Lions drafted 53 players and only one – Ndamukong Suh – became a first-team All-Pro. Furthermore, of that group, Suh and Matthew Stafford are the only players to have made Pro Bowls so far.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

  • It could be hard for the Lions to find a trade partner for Stafford, but given the lack of quality quarterbacks out there, there could be a market, Mike Florio of PFT writes. On Thursday, it was reported that Stafford’s future in Detroit beyond 2015 is in doubt. Stafford, 27, is completing passes at a career-high 64.5% rate, but he has already nearly matched last year’s interception total in just a half-season, and his yards per completion average is the lowest it has been since 2010. While Stafford is under contract through the 2017 season, his deal doesn’t feature any more guaranteed money after this year.
  • With Mayhew out of the picture, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press ran down ten Lions GM candidates to watch. Birkett’s list starts with Packers director of pro personnel Eliot Wolf, who figures to be a hot candidate this offseason. Wolf, 33, is the son of Hall-of-Fame general manager Ron Wolf and knows the NFC North well. Birkett also mentions Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, who is the heir apparent to the GM job in Baltimore and therefore will be hard to pluck away.
  • Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com gave the Lions an “A” grade for the firing of Mayhew. While his tenure was promising to start, Mayhew made multiple poor draft picks as GM, including Brandon Pettigrew, Jahvid Best, Titus Young, Riley Reiff, Ryan Broyles, and Kyle Van Noy. The Lions were also fleeced in a deal this spring when they acquire Haloti Ngata from Baltimore.

NFC North Notes: Patterson, Bennett, Lions

November 5th, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

With Stefon Diggs emerging as the Vikings‘ top explosive young receiver, a role that Cordarrelle Patterson had previously been expected to occupy, Patterson tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he’s not worried about his future in Minnesota.

“I don’t need to worry about my future,” Patterson said. “I’m here. I’m here for a reason. If they wanted to let me go, they would have let me go when the trade [deadline] was here. I’m not worried about anything.”

Although Patterson isn’t sure why he’s barely seen the field this year, he says he just wants “to control what I can control,” and is trying to make the most of his limited snaps. Here’s more from around the NFC North:

  • Bears tight end Martellus Bennett doesn’t sound thrilled by his role in the Bears’ offense, but tells Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times he’s not going to complain about not getting more looks. “That’s a bad employee,” Bennett said. “I just kinda keep my head down and go to work. Because when you say something, you become the a–hole, even if it’s a valid point. So I just avoid drama.”
  • Bears GM Ryan Pace has scouted Cal’s Jared Goff and Michigan State’s Connor Cook in person this season, and will constantly be on the lookout for the type of elite franchise quarterback he had in New Orleans with Drew Brees. Still, as Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune writes, Jay Cutler has shown positive signs under new offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and the guaranteed salary left on his contract suggests he’s likely to be Chicago’s quarterback again in 2016.
  • While Sheldon White is taking over for Martin Mayhew as the Lions‘ general manager on an interim basis, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com identifies five potential candidate for the permanent GM job in Detroit.

Lions Fire Martin Mayhew, Tom Lewand

November 5th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

1:11pm: Speaking to the media this afternoon, Martha Ford announced that Sheldon White, the Lions’ director of pro personnel, will act as interim general manager. Allison Maki will be the acting COO, and there will be no changes to the coaching staff at this time, per Ford (link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). The team will soon begin a search for candidates to fill the positions permanently.

11:16am: The Lions’ front office received a major shake-up today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the organization has parted ways with general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand.Martin Mayhew

Just 10 days ago, the Lions made significant changes to their coaching staff, firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and a pair of offensive line coaches. Detroit had hoped the changes to the offensive coaching staff would jump-start the team, but reports in the wake of those moves suggested it was possible those wouldn’t be the last ones made by the team this season.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted at the time (via Twitter) that there had been “rumblings around the league about larger-scale changes in Detroit,” since Martha Ford is now in charge of the ownership group, and observers weren’t sure what to expect from her. It now appears those rumblings were well-founded, as ownership is making large-scale changes to the organizational structure.

While teams typically wait until the offseason to replace general managers and other decision-makers in the front office, the Lions had been one of the most underachieving teams in the NFL this season, and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Coming off an 11-5 campaign that earned them a playoff berth in 2014, the Lions are off to a league-worst 1-7 start this year, and have been outscored by 96 points in just eight games.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), there’s a “total wipeout” happening in Detroit today, with bosses “going through the building deciding who stays and goes.” So it appears Mayhew and Lewand won’t be the only casualties.

For now, head coach Jim Caldwell still has his job, though he’s hardly a lock to keep it. The Lions may want to identify a new general manager before replacing Caldwell, to give that new GM an opportunity to make the decision on Caldwell’s future, and potentially to hire his own man for the job.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets that one “hot” name for the Lions’ GM vacancy – at least on an interim basis – is Brian Xanders, who is currently a senior personnel executive for the club. Whoever takes over that role will have several key decisions to make in the coming months, including deciding whether to extend Haloti Ngata, and possibly addressing Matthew Stafford‘s and Calvin Johnson‘s contracts. Stafford has been extremely inconsistent this season and is owed a non-guaranteed $17MM base salary in 2016, while Megatron’s cap number is set to leap to $24MM+.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Matthew Stafford’s Future With Lions In Doubt

November 5th, 2015 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Amidst a coaching and front office upheaval in Detroit, one key player’s future with the organization appears unsettled as well. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Matthew Stafford‘s future with the Lions is “very much in doubt” beyond the 2015 season, as Rapoport understands it. GM Martin Mayhew said last week that the idea of the Lions jettisoning Stafford in the offseason was “comical,” but Mayhew is no longer in charge of that decision, having been fired today.

Stafford, 27, is completing passes at a career-high 64.5% rate, but he has already nearly matched last year’s interception total in just a half-season, and his yards per completion average is the lowest it has been since 2010. With the Lions having sputtered to a 1-7 record following last year’s postseason berth, Stafford is among the players who will shoulder the share of the blame for the team’s poor season, particularly if he doesn’t turn things around under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

While Stafford has shown in the past that he’s capable of posting huge numbers – most notably throwing for more than 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2011 – the Lions’ new management group may want to make a change at the position, and Stafford would be a valuable trade chip to accumulate draft picks for a retooling process.

While Stafford is under contract through the 2017 season, his deal doesn’t feature any more guaranteed money after this year. If a team were to acquire him in a trade, that club would take on base salaries (and cap hits) of $17MM in 2016 and $16.5MM in 2017. A quarterback with a résumé like Stafford’s, along with a palatable contract that has more than one year left on it, could fetch multiple high draft picks in a deal.

Of course, depending on how the rest of the season plays out, and depending on who takes over for Martin Mayhew as the Lions’ new GM, the team may ultimately decide it makes more sense to hang onto its starting quarterback. This looks like a situation worth monitoring as the offseason approaches, however.

NFC Notes: JPP, Bradford, 49ers, Megatron

November 4th, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason Pierre-Paul is practicing for the Giants, and while the team had initially been eyeing a Week 10 showdown with the undefeated Patriots as a target date for JPP’s return to the field, it sounds like he could play in Week 9 against the Buccaneers (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).

As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter), Pierre-Paul’s one-year deal with the Giants was set up to be based on seven weeks’ worth of playing-time incentives and per-game roster bonuses. However, if JPP makes his season debut this weekend, he would have eight weeks to try to earn those bonuses and incentives.

As we wait to see if Pierre-Paul is activated for the Giants’ next game, let’s round up some more odds and ends from across the NFC….

  • If the Eagles offered Sam Bradford a four-year contract extension at some point, it sounds like that’s news to him, as the veteran quarterback told reporters today (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “That offer must have gotten lost in the mail,” Bradford said.
  • Colin Kaepernick likely hasn’t started his last game for the 49ers, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who says that the team hopes to get the quarterback back on the field in the second half, believing he has too much talent to simply give up on him. While the Niners may feel that way today, continued ineffectiveness from Kaepernick down the stretch could result in him being traded or even released in the offseason.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, writing for The Sporting News, sounds more skeptical that Kaepernick will see much playing time during the remainder of the 2015 season, and suggests the 49ers will likely find a way to move on from their quarterback in the offseason.
  • Asked if he asked the Lions to consider moving him prior to the trade deadline, wide receiver Calvin Johnson replied that he hasn’t thought about anything like that, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “No, I haven’t got to a point where I’ve said that,” Johnson said. “I’m just always trying to play ball. I love my teammates, so that hasn’t crossed my mind.”
  • Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane is on track to return to practice next Monday after spending the season’s first nine weeks on the physically unable to perform list, writes Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. Lane’s return to practice would begin a three-week clock for the Seahawks to either move him to the active roster or shut him down for the year.

Lions Place DeAndre Levy On IR

November 4th, 2015 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

After a few weeks of deliberation, the Lions have decided to place linebacker DeAndre Levy on the injured reserve list, ending his 2015 season, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter). With the newly-opened roster spot, the club officially signed linebacker James-Michael Johnson, whose deal was reported yesterday.

Levy, 28, made his season debut in a Week 5 blowout loss to the Cardinals, but aggravated the hip injury that had kept him sidelined for the first several weeks of the season. Although he said after the game that he didn’t think this injury was as bad as the strained muscle he suffered in August, he underwent surgery on the hip, and the Lions ultimately made the decision to shut him down for the year.

In 2014, Levy established a new career high in tackles, racking up 155 stops to go along with 2.5 sacks, five passes defended, and an interception. So it didn’t come as a surprise that the team signed him to a four-year, $33MM contract extension in August that, at the time, made the former third-round pick the highest-paid 4-3 outside linebacker in the league.

The timing of the extension was good for Levy, whose stock would’ve dipped this winter if he became a free agent coming off his troublesome hip issue. As is, he’ll return to Detroit next season ready to play the first year of his new four-year deal, which keeps him under team control through 2019.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/3/15

November 3rd, 2015 at 4:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other non-trade transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Raiders cut wide receiver/kick returner Walter Powell, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
  • The Saints signed wide receiver T.J. Graham while cutting fullback Austin Johnson and safety Akeem Davis, according to Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune (Twitter links).

Earlier Updates:

  • The Chargers, once again dealing with a banged-up offensive line, are re-signing veteran center J.D. Walton, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chris Watt, who had seen some time at center, was among San Diego’s offensive linemen who left Sunday’s game against the Ravens due to an injury.
  • With Keenan Allen headed to the injured reserve list, the Chargers will also be signing wide receiver Javontee Herndon, who had been on the club’s practice squad, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Herndon certainly won’t be counted on to emulate Allen’s production, but he’ll provide some depth for San Diego’s receiving corps.
  • The Texans are signing former Chiefs sixth-round pick Eric Kush to their 53-man roster, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 26-year-old interior offensive lineman will join the Houston roster in the wake of a knee injury to C/G Greg Mancz, who has been placed on IR, Wilson observes (via Twitter).
  • Former Jaguars linebacker James-Michael Johnson is signing with the Lions, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. While Johnson didn’t see much action for either the Jags or Bucs this season, he earned 18 starts for the Browns and Chiefs from 2012 to 2014.

Trade Rumors: Mack, Weddle, Boldin

November 2nd, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Cardinals GM Steve Keim says that while there are always talks going on, there is “nothing imminent” for his team, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. When asked specifically about targeting a pass rusher, Keim noted that teams aren’t really offering up anyone that fits the bill unless they are overpaid or dealing with off-the-field issues. Even if the Cardinals aren’t on the precipice of anything, a whole lot can change between now and the deadline. Meanwhile, plenty of other teams are assessing their trade options at the midway point. Here’s the very latest:

  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears that Bears defensive end Willie Young and Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry can be had via trade. Neither player is getting much playing time so far in 2015.
  • More from Cole (video link), who hears that the Browns expect Alex Mack to exercise his opt-out clause and go to the highest bidder, therefore making him a prime trade candidate heading into the deadline. The center’s deal features a no-trade clause, but he is allowed to waive it to expedite a move to a contending team.
  • Cole adds that pending free agents Eric Weddle (Chargers) and Anquan Boldin (49ers) aren’t really in play since both teams are hoping to net compensatory draft picks for them in the offseason if they head elsewhere. As a result, it would take a significant haul to pry either player loose.
  • When asked if a trade for a running back could happen, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said, “I don’t see that coming,” as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Falcons head coach Dan Quinn says that trades are not a priority for the team right now, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Browns linebacker Paul Kruger isn’t surprised to hear his name in trade rumors because of “the way [he’s] been used,” Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer writes.
  • Joel Corry of CBSSports.com came up with some creative hypothetical trade ideas, including one that would have the Panthers acquire Calvin Johnson from the Lions.
  • Keeping up with the theme of hypothetical deals, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com would like to see Washington send Robert Griffin III to the Chiefs for fellow QB Chase Daniel. Another interesting idea would have the Bears ship Alshon Jeffery to the Falcons in exchange for a second-round choice.
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