Alec Ogletree - Pro Football Rumors

Rams Pick Up Options For Ogletree, Austin

May 2nd, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rams have exercised their 2017 options for a pair of former first-round picks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that both linebacker Alec Ogletree and wide receiver Tavon Austin had their fifth-year options picked up.

[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]

There was never much doubt that the Rams would exercise their 2017 option on Ogeltree, which is worth $8.369MM. Despite the fact that ankle issues cost him most of the 2015 season, the 24-year-old remains one of the more talented players on Los Angeles’ defense, particularly among non-defensive linemen. In his last full season, Ogletree recorded 111 tackles, two interceptions, 12 passes defended, and four forced fumbles in 2014.

As for Austin, that decision wasn’t quite as simple. The 25-year-old enjoyed his best season in 2015, establishing new career-highs in receptions (52), receiving yards (473), rushing yards (434), and touchdowns (nine). However, as a top-10 pick, Austin will be owed a $12.268MM salary for 2017 now that his option has been exercised. That’s a significant price for a non-traditional wideout who had never topped 500 receiving yards.

We heard back in February that the Rams are interested in getting extensions done with both Ogletree and Austin, so it’s possible that neither player will actually play out the 2017 season on the terms of his current contract. Working out agreements that extend Ogletree’s and Austin’s stays in Los Angeles beyond 2017 could allow the Rams to reduce both players’ cap numbers for ’17.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Schwartz, Bears, Love, Bucs, Rams

March 29th, 2016 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Geoff Schwartz‘s next stop on his free agent tour will be in Detroit, with the Lions hosting the eighth-year lineman, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter).

This will be Schwartz’s second visit with the Lions. He did so in 2012 before signing with the Vikings, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Schwartz will visit the Lions’ facilities on Wednesday, Birkett tweets.

Having already visited the Cardinals and Steelers, Schwartz continues to survey the market for a fifth team. Recently released from the Giants, Schwartz has proven to be an effective performer when healthy. The 29-year-old guard/tackle hasn’t been able to stay on the field the past two years, however, with his stay in New York limited to just 13 games in two seasons.

The Lions don’t have an immediate opening at guard, with Larry Warford and 2015 first-rounder Laken Tomlinson occupying those slots. Of course, the Steelers didn’t have a guard vacancy either. Detroit could use more help at tackle.

Here’s the latest coming out of the NFC.

John Fox acknowledged to media (including Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com) the Bears are in need of a swing lineman and will look to sign one during the latter stages of free agency. Second- and third-year players with limited experience pack the Bears’ tackle depth chart, but Fox clearly seeks someone with more seasoning. Chicago cut Jermon Bushrod in February before he signed with the Dolphins. Khalif Barnes, Jake Long and Nate Chandler are some of the players who could fit here that remain on the market. Dickerson also mentions Will Beatty in this group. Beatty remains in search of a job after the Giants cut the former well-paid left tackle starter along with Schwartz. But Beatty would profile more as a left tackle starter, with the Bears not exactly having an untouchable cog there in Charles Leno.
The Panthers still need a defensive tackle, a safety, and a nickel back, ESPN.com’s David Newton writes. Carolina is still having dialogue with free agent defensive tackle Kyle Love, but the team could also use a high draft pick to solidify the position, Newton notes.
The Buccaneers remain in the mix for kick-return man Kyle Williams, although the Broncos and Jets are also involved in the pursuit, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) reports. Williams played for new Bucs coach Dirk Koetter at Arizona State. A former 49ers return man whose NFC championship fumbles identify him to most of the football landscape, Williams missed last season with an Achilles injury after signing with the Broncos. A return to Denver would be tricky given the Broncos’ limited cap space and having re-signed receiver/returner Jordan Norwood last week.
Los Angeles will have decisions to make regarding fifth-year options for Tavon Austin and Alec Ogletree soon, and Jeff Fisher told media (including Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com) discussions are underway and the Rams would like to keep the duo around for a long time. Fisher previously acknowledged Ogletree’s option would probably be picked up, but with Austin being a top-10 pick and costing transition tag-type money ($12.27MM), Wagoner writes an extension would be a more prudent approach to retaining Austin than putting the gadget wideout on the Rams’ books for that amount in 2017.

Zach Links contributed to this report

Rams Notes: T. Johnson, Ogletree, Zuerlein

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been an eventful day for the Rams, who were announced as the subject of this year’s installment of HBO’s Hard Knocks series, and are also believed to be the favorites to “host” a regular-season game in China in 2018. Head coach Jeff Fisher spoke this morning at the NFC coaches’ breakfast about several topics related to his roster as well, and we’ll round up the highlights right here, courtesy of Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com:

The Rams hope to lock up cornerback Trumaine Johnson to a long-term deal in the near future, per Fisher (Twitter link). The team has until July 15 to work out a multiyear extension with Johnson, who has already signed his franchise tender.
At the other cornerback spot, Fisher anticipates Coty Sensabaugh will compete with E.J. Gaines “and/or a draft choice” for the starting job. The head coach added that the Rams were “a lot closer” to re-signing Janoris Jenkins than people think (Twitter links). Jenkins ultimately signed a five-year deal with the Giants worth $12.5MM annually.
The Rams will have to make decisions on the 2017 options for linebacker Alec Ogletree and wide receiver Tavon Austin this spring, and Fisher said it’s virtually a lock that Ogletree’s fifth-year option will be exercised. He added that the team would like to keep both players for the long term (Twitter link).
Greg Zuerlein remains a free agent, and while Fisher said there’s mutual interest in a new deal between the two sides, he also stressed that there will be real competition at the kicker spot (Twitter link).
Fisher evaded a question about his own contract situation — a report earlier this month indicated he and the Rams were discussing a new deal, but he said today that he’s “not concerned about it” (Twitter link).

Rams Want To Extend Alec Ogletree, Tavon Austin

February 28th, 2016 at 2:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Flush with nearly $60MM in cap space heading into the 2016 league year, the Rams will seek to extend one exciting young player on each side of the ball, as Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News reports (Twitter link) that the club is likely to open negotiations later this offseason on long-term deals for linebacker Alec Ogletree and receiver Tavon Austin.

This isn’t the first report to indicate that an Ogletree extension could be forthcoming, as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that the Rams would meet with Ogletree’s representatives at the combine. General manager Les Snead has also indicated that coming to an agreement with Ogletree would be a priority this offseason.

The 24-year-old Ogletree had an injury-plagued season in 2015, as he played in only four games before being placed on injured reserve/designated to return after undergoing ankle surgery. Due to the designation, he wasn’t eligible to return to game action until Week 16, and due to either his condition or the inconsequential nature of the Rams’ final two contests, Ogletree never got back on the field. A career weakside linebacker, Ogletree is expected to move to the middle in 2016 to replace James Laurinaitis, especially if Los Angeles is able to re-sign Mark Barron to play the WILL.

Austin, like Ogletree a member of the Rams’ 2013 draft class, had a breakout campaign in 2015, posting career highs in starts, receptions, yards, and touchdowns, and was also a factor in the ground game, rushing for more than 400 yards and scoring 4 times. Austin, who will turn 25 next month, also averaged 7.8 yards per punt return and brought one back for a touchdown. Former offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, for all his faults, helped Austin to the best season of his career, and it’s open question as to whether new play-caller Rob Boras can continue to aid Austin’s development.

The Rams can control Ogletree and Austin through the 2017 season via the fifth-year option — given that the club is intent on extending both players, exercising the options should be a foregone conclusion. Because he as a top-10 selection, Austin would be entitled to the value of the 2017 wide receiver transition tag value, which should be worth around $13MM. Ogletree’s salary would be a bit more complicated, as it would be determined by the average of the third through 25th top salaries among linebackers.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Combine Updates: Packers, Colts, Rams

February 25th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The scouting combine continues today in Indianapolis, and so have the press conferences and media scrums with head coaches and general managers around the NFL.

Here are some highlights from a few of those conversations, sorted by team:

Green Bay Packers:

Despite the fact that the Packers aren’t generally major players in free agency, GM Ted Thompson said his team isn’t averse to exploring the market. With that in mind, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) says Green Bay will likely be in the mix for a complementary wide receiver.
Asked whether Thompson listens to him if he wants a certain player, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, “Everybody wants something. Someone has to say no. That’s why you have a chain of command. Someone has to be the bad guy” (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
McCarthy also said today that he’s “disappointed” in Mike Pennel‘s four-game suspension, according to Demovsky. “Mike’s one of our guys, but we’ll see him through this,” McCarthy said. “He’s a young player who really came on in the second half of the season.”

Indianapolis Colts:

Colts head coach Chuck Pagano didn’t go into specifics on personnel moves today, but he didn’t pull punches when discussing the team’s pass rush, tweets Stephen Holder of ESPN.com. Pagano conveyed that it hasn’t been good enough, and needs to be upgraded.
GM Ryan Grigson also weighed in on the idea of adding pass rushers, suggesting that the draft isn’t as deep at that spot as he’d like, and acknowledging that there will be some financial constraints in free agency (Twitter link via Holder).
Asked about Andrew Luck‘s potential contract extension, Grigson said today that the team has yet to open negotiations, “but that will probably happen soon” (link via Holder). While he declined to discuss specific numbers, the GM expressed confidence that there would be no issues holding up talks.

Los Angeles Rams:

The Rams’ top priority right now is re-signing the team’s many free agent defensive backs, GM Les Snead said today, per Andrew Siciliano of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, along with safety Rodney McLeod, are eligible to hit the market in March.
The Rams released three veteran players last week to create cap room, but the team is planning to keep offensive lineman Rodger Saffold on its roster, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Snead made it clear today that, in addition to addressing this year’s free agents, the Rams are also hoping to lock up key extension candidates, including defensive tackle Michael Brockers and linebacker Alec Ogletree (Twitter link via Wagoner).

Rams Rumors: Keenum, Foles, Ogletree

February 24th, 2016 at 8:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the Los Angeles Rams:

Jeff Fisher reiterated that Case Keenum is going into the 2016 season as the starter, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Still, he says that veteran Nick Foles has a chance to compete for the job. The Eagles were rumored to have trade interest in Foles earlier this month, but even if they did like Foles, his cap number and dead money charge mean that a trade is unlikely.
Still, Fisher says there’s a “good chance there will be one, maybe two new quarterbacks on roster” by training camp, as Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
The Rams have a meeting scheduled with Alec Ogletree‘s agent this week at the Combine, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter) and he says an extension is looming. Ogletree, 25, suffered a right ankle injury in the fall and underwent surgery to repair the damage. He was placed on IR-DTR but he did not return later in the year. The Rams will have to decide on Ogletree’s fifth-year option for 2017 this year.

Rams Hope To Re-Sign LB Mark Barron

February 19th, 2016 at 8:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams released two veteran defenders earlier today, parting ways with defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis (in addition to tight end Jared Cook), and now Los Angeles might use some of that newfound to cap space to retain another member of its defense. Per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Rams are hopeful that they’ll be able to re-sign linebacker Mark Barron, who is scheduled to hit free agency on March 9.

The title of “linebacker” is itself new to Barron, who was drafted as a safety No. 7 overall by the Buccaneers in 2012. Traded to the Rams prior to the 2014 deadline, Barron has spent much of his time with the club in a hybrid sort of role, but a decent chunk of his action has come as a linebacker (his transition to the position was chronicled by Wagoner last October). If re-signed, Barron will stick at weakside linebacker, allowing Alec Ogletree to move to the middle, per Wagoner.

In 16 games (12 starts) last season, Barron played 920 defensive snaps, the second-most among Rams linebackers (Laurinaitis was first), accruing 76 tackles, three forced fumbles, and one sack. Barron’s play was impressive according to advanced metrics as well, as Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 20 linebacker in the league in 2015.

Barron is heading for free agency because the Rams declined his fifth-year option, which, because he was a top-10 pick, would have entitled him to a 2016 salary equal to that of the transition tag figure at his position. The debate over what position Barron plays might have proven interesting, as Los Angeles may have argued that he is a safety — which would have netted Barron around $9MM — while Barron and his representatives likely would have fought for the linebacker moniker (and its ~$11.7MM charge).

Instead, Barron will enter the market eyeing a yearly salary far less than either of those figures. He should be especially affordable for Los Angeles, which after today’s cut now stands with more than $58MM in cap room, according to Over the Cap. But the Rams will need to use a decent chunk of that space if they want to re-sign their key defensive free agents, a list that includes corners Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod, and defensive end William Hayes.

Rams Place Alec Ogletree On IR-DTR

October 27th, 2015 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rams have placed linebacker Alec Ogletree on injured reserve with the designation to return, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Due to the timing of the move, Ogletree won’t be eligible to practice until after the club’s Week 13 game, and wouldn’t be able to return to the field until Week 16.

Ogletree, 24, suffered a right ankle injury several weeks ago, and underwent surgery to repair the damage. The former first-round pick, who had started each of his first 36 career games for the Rams prior to the injury, was viewed as potentially lost for the season, but the IR-DTR slot will give him an opportunity to return down the stretch, if his recovery moves quickly.

The fact that the Rams waited three weeks to place Ogletree on IR-DTR looks like poor roster management on the surface. However, as Wagoner explains (via Twitter), St. Louis knew the linebacker’s recovery period would be longer than eight weeks, so the team was waiting to see if it would need the IR-DTR slot for anyone else.

It’s still possible that a Rams player could suffer an eight-week injury, but if that were to happen this weekend, any player receiving the IR-DTR spot next week would only be eligible to return for Week 17, so it makes sense now to pull the trigger and use it on Ogletree.

The complete breakdown of how teams have used their IR-DTR slots in 2015 can be found right here.

NFC Notes: White, Forte, Ogletree, Kam

October 6th, 2015 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

While Roddy White is happy with the Falcons‘ 4-0 start, and is focused on his No. 1 goal of obtaining a championship ring, the veteran wideout tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com that he’s frustrated about not contributing more to those victories.

“For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes,” White said. “I’m not out here just f—ing around just to sit around to just block f—ing people all day. It’s not what I want to do. … I’ve contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don’t catch any balls in a game because it hasn’t happened in so long.”

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) speculates that White wouldn’t be averse to a trade, and adds that there are teams that would have interest in determining the receiver’s trade value. That’s not how I interpreted White’s comments though, and I’d be pretty shocked if Atlanta seriously considered that option — I think it could just be a matter of getting the longtime Falcon a few more looks going forward.

For what it’s worth, White told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s not “disgruntled” — he simply wouldn’t mind a bigger role on offense.

Here are some more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NFC:

Appearing this morning on The Dan Patrick Show, Bears running back Matt Forte was asked about the trade rumors swirling around him, and said he’s not worried, adding that “a lot of it is media speculation.” Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk has the details, along with the quotes from Forte.
We heard on Sunday that Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree‘s 2015 season could be in jeopardy due to a right ankle injury. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Ogletree underwent surgery and it went well, but St. Louis has yet to announce a potential timeline for his return — don’t expect him back anytime soon though, says Anderson.
Following Kam Chancellor‘s crucial forced fumble in Monday night’s win over the Lions, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett interrupted Chancellor’s post-game interview to implore team owner Paul Allen – the “17th-richest man in the world,” according to Bennett – to give the star safety a new contract (Twitter link via Matt Miller of Bleacher Report). Chancellor appears unlikely to negotiate a new deal until after the season, but I’m sure he appreciates the support from his teammate.
Cardinals running back Chris Johnson admitted that he seriously contemplated retirement earlier this year after getting shot in the shoulder, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com details.
In the wake of the Dolphins’ decision to fire Joe Philbin, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that owner Jerry Richardson has assured him he wouldn’t fire him in the middle of a season, as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. Of course, with the Panthers riding a four-game winning streak, it doesn’t look like that’s something Rivera would have to had worry about in 2015 anyway.

Rams’ Alec Ogletree Could Be Out For Season

October 4th, 2015 at 9:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree suffered a right ankle injury in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals and will require surgery. As a result, he could miss the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. The best-case scenario for Ogletree, it seems, would be a late-season return.

“The doctors still have some discussions, and we still have to do MRIs and things like that,” said head coach Jeff Fisher. “There’s potential right now for [him to go on injured reserve with the] designation for return, but we’ll have to see.”

If the Rams slap the designated label on Ogletree, he’ll be eligible to return eight weeks after he undergoes surgery.

Prior to his injury, Ogletree had 10 tackles against Arizona and an impressive 42 for the season. The 24-year-old, whom the Rams selected in the first round of the 2013 draft, entered the NFL with back-to-back 100-tackle seasons. Whether he returns later this season or not at all, his loss will be a significant one for the 2-2 Rams.