Justin Smith - Pro Football Rumors

Justin Smith Considering Comeback?

February 26th, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former 49ers/Bengals defensive end Justin Smith announced his retirement last May, but rumors are circulating at the combine that Smith would like to play again, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, Smith would not want to return to San Francisco, adds Florio.

While Smith may not want to return to the Bay Area, the 49ers would still hold his rights in the even that he came out of retirement, as Florio notes. Smith had one year left on his deal at a cap charge of nearly $6.5MM, and that contract has tolled, meaning San Francisco would control Smith for one more season. Smith could presumably be traded, but as Florio adds, its tough to imagine another club giving up much of value for a 36-year-old lineman who has spent a year away from the NFL. Of course, the 49ers could also choose to release Smith, but they’d have little incentive to do so.

Even in his final NFL season, Smith was still a dominant force, racking up five sacks and grading as the league’s No. 11 3-4 defensive end among 47 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. He was just one of several San Francisco players to hang up his cleats after the 2014 campaign, including linebackers Chris Borland and Patrick Willis, and right tackle Anthony Davis (who is also said to be mulling a return to the NFL). Head coach Jim Harbaugh also notably left the NFL for the University of Michigan; his replacement, Jim Tomsula, has since been fired and replaced by Chip Kelly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Bryant, Thomas, Mathis, Green

July 15th, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Zachary Links

After signing wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to a five-year contract today, the Broncos issued a statement publicly denying that they colluded with the Cowboys to limit the earnings of Thomas and Dez Bryant, as the NFLPA has alleged. “The suggestion that our club may have colluded with another team about a negotiation is completely false and without any merit,” the Broncos said, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Earlier tonight it was reported that the union is now unlikely to pursue collusion charges against the two teams. Here’s more from around the NFL..

In an appearance on CBS Sports Radio, free agent guard Evan Mathis said that he expects his options to be clearer in a week or two, as training camps around the NFL begin to get underway. “There’s no rush at all,” according to Mathis (Twitter links via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald).
Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer looked at how the deals for Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas might affect Bengals star A.J. Green. The $14MM/year precedent sound reasonable for Green, but the Bengals still shouldn’t expect agent Ben Dogra to accept a carbon copy of those deals. Green has said that he is willing to play out the 2015 season on his current deal and Dehner writes that his patience could pay off.
Having recently announced his retirement from the NFL, former 49ers defensive end Justin Smith is considering heading back to the NCAA, according to Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel, who says Smith may join the Missouri coaching staff as an assistant. Chase Goodbread of NFL.com has the details.
Thomas should send a thank you note to Bryant, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. Kiszla doesn’t believe that Broncos GM John Elway would have been willing to ink Thomas to a deal before seeing what Bryant got, because he wouldn’t want to pay a dollar more for DT than the Cowboys did for Dez.
Some Ravens fans have slammed the team’s decision to give punter Sam Koch a multi-year commitment with $7MM in guaranteed money, but Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun believes that the deal makes sense for both sides. Koch doesn’t boom 60-yard punts down the middle of the field but he does nullify opposing return games and pin the opposition inside the 20-yard line with his directional punts. Koch is one of the most reliable and most respected players in the Ravens locker room and even with his new deal, he is not one of the league’s five-highest paid punters in terms of average salary per year.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Reactions To Ray McDonald’s Release

May 25th, 2015 at 7:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, defensive lineman Ray McDonald was arrested after another apparent domestic violence incident. Hours later, the Bears made a rare Memorial Day move and released McDonald from his contract. Here’s a look at the latest reactions to the biggest story of the day..

McDonald’s attorney, Steve Defilippis, told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the accuser in the case stemming from McDonald’s arrest Monday morning is McDonald’s former fiance, who was the alleged victim when McDonald was arrested last August. Defilippis told Anderson that he is still gathering information on what transpired and he strongly indicated that his client might be innocent of the charges.
Former Bears teammate Kyle Long didn’t mince words on Twitter. “Good riddance,” the offensive guard tweeted.
The Bears need to be punished for their lackadaisical fact-finding efforts prior to signing McDonald, Nancy Armour of USA Today Sports opines. Armour feels that the Bears should lose a draft pick or two and that GM Ryan Pace and owner George McCaskey should both face suspensions for their decision not to sit down with McDonald’s alleged victim. “An alleged victim, I think – much like anybody else who has a bias in this situation – there’s a certain amount of discounting in what they have to say,” McCaskey said at the time.
The risk versus reward ratio was not worth it for the Bears to sign McDonald, Dan Pompei of WSCR-AM tweets. McDonald is no Lawrence Taylor, so he was simply not worth the gamble in Pompei’s estimation. Given where it has been, Pompei (link) feels the Bears locker room needed leaders and men who do things the right way.
The San Jose address at which McDonald was arrested is that of a house that belongs to ex-49ers teammate Justin Smith, according to property records viewed by Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com. Smith has not been implicated in the incident in any way, however.
Bail has been set at $15K for McDonald at Santa Clara County Jail on misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment charges, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).

Extra Points: Brown, Wilkerson, Raiders

May 19th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL and NFLPA recently reached a settlement that capped the number of unsigned veterans who can participate in tryouts at rookie minicamp to five players, sources tell Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. The financial compensation for participating veterans was one of the NFLPA’s concerns, and that apparently outweighed the upside of deals coming together for players like Josh Morgan, who signed with the Saints after an impressive tryout during rookie minicamp. Here’s more from around the NFL..

The Patriots had free agent cornerback Tarell Brown in for a visit today, a team source tells Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This is the second time that the Pats have hosted Brown for a visit.
Jets owner Woody Johnson didn’t make it sound like a new deal for Muhammad Wilkerson is coming anytime soon, as Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes. “We’re continuing to have dialogue sporadically, but it’s got to be something that works for both sides,” Johnson said.
The Raiders are open to selling a minority stake in the team to a Bay Area company if that company can help fill the $400MM stadium financing gap that currently exists, Peter Schrager of FOX Sports tweets.
Washington proposed that roster cuts should go from a 90-man roster to a 53-man roster, but that idea was voted down, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
With 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith retiring in May, he has more than $2.1MM in unearned signing bonus money, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. The 49ers could try and recoup that money, but they might feel indebted to Smith after he restructured his deal in 2013. Meanwhile, the former defensive end known as Cowboy says he checked out 49ers rookie minicamp and he might want to “dip my toe into coaching” after a couple years, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
Saints receivers coach John Morton probably had some input in the signing of wide receiver Lance Lewis, who spent last year under Morton on the 49ers’ practice squad, Evan Woodbery of The Times Picayune tweets. Earlier today, New Orleans signed Lewis and dropped kicker Shayne Graham.
The release of Graham leaves the Saints on the hook for his $10K signing bonus, Woodbery notes (on Twitter). The team’s dead money total has now risen a tad, from $21.67MM to $21.68MM.

Extra Points: Tebow, Smith, Falcons

May 18th, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Can Tim Tebow find success with the Eagles? Former teammate Eric Decker seems to think so. “Chip’s been doing a lot of stuff this year, so I think anything’s possible,” Decker, now with the Jets, told Manish Mehta of the Daily News. “Really, (Tebow) can create his own role. I know he wants to be head quarterback, but he can create a role for himself that can help a team in many ways (whether it’s) the two-point conversion if it’s moved up or a goal-line package. He has the athletic ability to be a personal punt protector… and can play other positions. They’ll figure out a way to utilize him if it’s going to help them be a better football team.” Here’s more from the NFC..

Justin Smith told reporters, including Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter), that the left side of his body hasn’t been responding well as of late. “If you don’t have the tools, you can’t do the job. It’s time to go,” said the 49ers defensive end, who walked away from the game of football earlier today.
The Falcons rearranged their front office this winter, giving more responsibility to new head coach Dan Quinn and assistant GM Scott Pioli while taking some duties away from GM Thomas Dimitroff. So far, owner Arthur Blank is happy with how things have worked out, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes. “I think it’s working great,” Blank said. “There is tremendous respect both ways. They’re working off each other; playing off each other’s strengths. They’re both good listeners to each other and to others. And I think the dynamic has worked out as well as anybody could have possibly thought. I think Thomas and Scott have worked beautifully together as well. So I’m very happy with all of that.”
Buccaneers defensive tackle Clinton McDonald says fellow DT Henry Melton is a great addition to the defense and will help the Bucs get to the quarterback, Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com tweets.

49ers’ Justin Smith To Retire

May 18th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

After months of speculation, the 49ers announced that defensive end Justin Smith has decided to retire.

Smith spent the last seven years in San Francisco after a seven-year stint with the Bengals. From his rookie season through 2014, he appeared in 221 total regular season contests, racking up 87 total sacks and earning spots in five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2009 to 2013. Last year, in his age-35 season, Smith totaled five sacks (giving him 87 for his career) and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him the NFL’s 11th-best 3-4 defensive end out of 47 qualifiers.

“Tough. Physical. Durable. Hard-working. Dedicated. Selfless. Justin embodies each of those qualities and brought even more with him to work each and every day,” said 49ers CEO Jed York in the press release. “Whether it was chasing down a wide receiver and forcing a fumble to seal a win, or driving a tackle back into the quarterback’s chest, he gave everything he had every play. Justin has earned the respect of the entire NFL community and he will always be remembered as one of the 49ers all-time greats.”

The former No. 4 overall pick has the unique distinction of having been named an Associated Press All-Pro at two different positions in the same year. In 2011, he ws named as a first-team defensive tackle and a second-team defensive end. Smith was also named Second-Team All-Pro at defensive tackle and defensive end in 2012.

During his career, Smith started 217 of 221 games played, including a streak of 185 consecutive starts from his rookie season through December of 2012. He finished his career with 1,370 tackles, 87.0 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, three interceptions and 30 passes defensed.

Justin Smith To Announce Decision Today

May 18th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Justin Smith has made a decision about his future, but it’s not clear which way he’ll be going. The 49ers defensive end tells Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter) that the verdict is in and an announcement is expected to come from the team later today. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link) adds that the news could come down at 1pm PT (3pm CT/4pm ET).

On Thursday, 49ers GM Trent Baalke said that he hoped to get a better grasp on Justin Smith‘s future on Friday. At the time, it sounded like the team didn’t gain any clarity on his decision. “As of right now, there’s not [any additional clarity on his situation],” coach Jim Tomsula said. “[Friday] morning, we were working and meeting and doing our thing. The guys were lifting. Then we came out here. So, no, I haven’t seen or talked to him.”

Smith has indicated that if he does come back, it would probably be for only one more season. Some speculated that the 49ers picking Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead was a sign that Smith was set to call it quits but, since Smith doesn’t intend on being around beyond 2015 anyway, that draft choice meant very little in terms of the veteran’s future. Smith has been the 49ers’ top defensive lineman since he arrived in free agency in 2008, but he has battled injuries in recent years, including a triceps injury in 2012 and a shoulder injury in 2013.

In 2014, his age-35 season, Smith totaled five sacks (giving him 87 for his career) and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him the NFL’s 11th-best 3-4 defensive end out of 47 qualifiers.

West Notes: Chiefs, Smith, Cardinals

May 16th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have an interesting class of rookies at their three-day minicamp, as Dave Skretta of The Associated Press. Kansas City’s group includes a Star Wars expert, the son of wrestling superstar Sting, and a player who beat cancer. While you get to know the newest prospective members of the Chiefs, here’s a glance at the AFC and NFC West..

On Thursday, 49ers GM Trent Baalke said that he hoped to get a better grasp on Justin Smith‘s future on Friday. That didn’t exactly happen, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. “As of right now, there’s not [any additional clarity on his situation],” coach Jim Tomsula said. “[Friday] morning, we were working and meeting and doing our thing. The guys were lifting. Then we came out here. So, no, I haven’t seen or talked to him.” Tomsula added he has not scheduled a meeting with the 14-year NFL veteran.
Rookie quarterback Dylan Thompson went undrafted two weeks ago, but he stands as the third quarterback on the 49ers‘ roster. Tomsula sees a bright future for the young signal caller, Maiocco writes. “He’s a collected individual. He’s got those, you talk to him, there’s the intangibles. Then you watch the tape. This guy can throw a football around. He spins it. We’re excited about him. We really are.”
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians sees an outstanding future for third-round running back David Johnson. “Very, very bright,” Arians said of Johnson, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic. “The kid can do anything as far as a wide receiver, running back, fullback. He will find a niche quick because he can learn so much.”

NFC Notes: Collins, J. Smith, Giants, Davis

May 15th, 2015 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

In a piece for TheMMQB.com, Robert Klemko details La’el Collins‘ unusual draft journey, from the death of his former romantic partner Brittany Mills to his decision to sign with the Cowboys. Klemko’s story is full of interesting details, including a reveal that, despite telling teams their client would refuse to sign and would re-enter the 2016 draft if he was selected on Day 3, Collins’ agents were probably bluffing.

“We can put it on the record now: We were never going back in the draft,” Rick Smith of Priority Sports said of waiting for the 2016 draft. “If someone had drafted him, we would’ve had a long, long discussion about it, but at the end of the day you can’t go back in the draft. He could get injured, gain weight, or 10 great tackles could come out. Too many risks.”

Smith also revealed that a team – one that had already drafted four offensive lineman – told Collins’ camp it planned to select him in the seventh round, but ultimately decided against it after being informed again by Smith that it would be a waste of a pick. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk notes, the only team that drafted four offensive linemen was the Rams.

Here’s more on Collins, along with a few more items from around the NFC:

Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) has the specific details on Collins’ three-year, $1.599MM contract with the Cowboys, which includes a $21K signing bonus.
Speaking on Thursday to Pro Football Talk, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said he should have “more of a feel” for defensive end Justin Smith‘s future today, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Smith has been mulling either returning for another season or retiring, and is expected to make his decision soon.
Jordan Raanan of NJ.com passes along signing bonus and salary info for the Giants‘ undrafted free agent class. The team’s biggest UDFA investment was Tulane offensive lineman Sean Donnelly, who received $15K in guaranteed salary, along with a $15K signing bonus.
Asked again about his contract negotiations with the Panthers, linebacker Thomas Davis referred to those talks as “a work in progress,” though he expressed optimism that “it’ll eventually get done.” Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer has the full quotes and details.
Defensive tackle Josh Brent has decided to end his playing career, but that doesn’t mean his ties to the Cowboys will be severed, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, who writes that owner Jerry Jones plans to continue to support Brent in different ways.

Justin Smith To Decide On Future Soon

May 4th, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Justin Smith plans to sit down with 49ers officials some time this month and decide whether he will return for a 15th season, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee writes. “You’ll know in about three weeks or so,” the veteran defensive lineman said.

Smith, 35, would not say which way he was leaning, however. The veteran is under contract for one more season and although he has not been taking part in the 49ers’ offseason program, he is working out regularly on his own. His workout routine does not hint at his decision though – he says he’d work out even if he was out of football for health reasons.

If Smith does come back, he says it would probably be for only one more season anyway. Some speculated that the 49ers picking Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead was a sign that Smith was set to call it quits. However, since Smith doesn’t intend on being around beyond 2015 anyway, that draft choice meant very little in terms of the veteran’s future. Smith has been the 49ers’ top defensive lineman since he arrived in free agency in 2008, but he has battled injuries in recent years, including a triceps injury in 2012 and a shoulder injury in 2013.

In 2014, his age-35 season, Smith totaled five sacks (giving him 87 for his career) and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him the NFL’s 11th-best 3-4 defensive end out of 47 qualifiers.