HEADLINES

Arthur Moats

AFC FA Rumors: Harvin, Raiders, Adams

March 10th, 2015 at 10:38am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders‘ interest in wide receiver Percy Harvin will be contingent on meeting him and also finding out his price tag, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Even with Harvin’s connection to Bill Musgrave, the Raiders have to inspect the baggage before going any further with him. The latest free agent rumors..

  • Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) still anticipates the Colts re-signing safety Mike Adams, but no deal is done just yet. Adams, who turns 34 later this month, has said that he wants to retire with the Colts.
  • Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter) suggested that the Raiders are pursuing Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith. Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (via Twitter) believes that the Raiders are the favorites when it comes to him.
  • Linebacker Arthur Moats spoke with the Bengals and Cardinals and seemed set to go to the Falcons before deciding to re-sign with the Steelers, Ross Tucker of NBCSN tweets.
  • The Titans are still working to retain both defensive end Derrick Morgan and kicker Ryan Succop as the clock ticks towards the opening of free agency, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets.
  • McCormick (on Twitter) isn’t sure that the Titans will land him, but he expects them to seriously pursue Jason Worilds.
  • Linebacker Andrew Gachkar has received interest from the Vikings, Panthers, and Raiders, and may end up visiting all three teams later this week, tweets Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. Washington has also talked to Gachkar’s camp, but hasn’t made an offer yet, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had his best season for the Chargers in 2014, playing nearly 400 defensive snaps.

Contract Details: McCourty, Jones, Moats, Ginn

March 9th, 2015 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few noteworthy contract details on deals recently agreed upon:

  • Devin McCourty, S (Patriots): Five years, $47.5MM base value. $15MM signing bonus. $28.5MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun).
  • Jacoby Jones, WR (Chargers): Two years, $5.5MM base value. $1.6K signing bonus (Twitter link via Pro Football Talk).
  • Arthur Moats, OLB (Steelers): Three years, $7.5MM base value. $1.9MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Ted Ginn Jr., WR (Panthers): Two years, $4.2MM base value. $1.7MM signing bonus. Up to $1.5MM in incentives (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
  • Derek Carrier, TE (49ers): Three years, $2.985MM base value. $400K signing bonus. About $1MM in escalators (Twitter link via Pelissero).

Steelers To Re-Sign Arthur Moats

March 9th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Zachary Links

12:49pm: Moats’ deal is worth $7.5MM over three years, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter).

12:36pm: Not only is Arthur Moats staying with the Steelers – he decided to give himself the scoop on the story.

“Steeler Nation, I’m proud to announce that my family and I will be staying in Pittsburgh! #GoSteelers!,” the linebacker tweeted.

Moats, 26, signed with Pittsburgh last March on a minimum salary benefit deal. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) was very high on his performance against the run in 2013 and this year he received high marks for his overall performance. PFF had Moats ranked as the 17th best outside linebacker in a 3-4 set with his 7.3 overall grade. Those advanced numbers put him ahead of guys like Clay Matthews, Trent Cole, Aldon Smith, and Brian Orakpo in 2014.

Moats appeared in all 16 games for Pittsburgh last year and made nine starts. In total, he had 24 tackles and a career high 4.0 sacks.

AFC Notes: Moats, Hudson, Edelman

January 19th, 2015 at 9:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats is set to be an unrestricted free agent, and Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the former sixth-rounder could end up being a priority for Pittsburgh. For what it’s worth, the 26-year-old is hoping to return next season.

“I hope to be back, but it is a business,” Moats said. “I feel I have to do what’s best for me and my family. We will see what happens, but I definitely want to be back.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

  • Chiefs center Rodney Hudson switched representation from Shoreline to Athletes First agents Joe Panos and Brian Murphy, tweets Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal. As the writer points out, the move may be in preparation of the 25-year-old’s potential free agency.
  • Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets that Patriots wideout Julian Edelman will receive a $500K bonus for making the Super Bowl. The bonus would have kicked in had the 28-year-old compiled 1,057 yards, 70 receptions/seven scores, 80 receptions/13 wins or 80 receptions/Super Bowl appearance (via ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss). Edelman finished the season with 92 receptions for 972 yards. Meanwhile, the Patriots finished with 12 wins.
  • ‘DeflateGate’ is less than 24 hours old, but some within the NFL are already trying to distance themselves from the story, including Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. “Did not notice, and that’s something for the league to handle. It’s not my place to comment on it,” Pagano said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com).

Arthur Moats, Steelers Agree To One-Year Deal

March 24th, 2014 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

2:06pm: According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), it’s a minimum salary benefit deal for the Steelers and Moats, who will earn a $730K base salary, plus a $65K signing bonus.

1:28pm: The Steelers will sign Arthur Moats to a one-year deal, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement.

As PFR’s Dallas Robinson noted yesterday when he passed along news of Moats’ meeting with the Steelers, it’s a little surprising that the veteran linebacker didn’t draw more interest this offseason. Moats has only been a part-time player during his first four seasons in the league with the Bills, including just over 300 defensive snaps in 2013, but he’s only 26 years old and performed very well against the run, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Steelers Notes: Moats, RBs, Harrison

March 23rd, 2014 at 2:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers will meet with free agent inside linebacker Arthur Moats, likely on Monday, tweets Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Moats, 26, has drawn a surprising lack of interest during free agency. He started 12 games last season for the Bills, accruing 54 tackles and grading as the 12th-best inside linebacker in the league, especially excelling in run defense, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He would slot in next to Lawrence Timmons in the Steelers 3-4 defense.

Some other Steelers items:

  • Robinson also tweets the Steelers will add a veteran running back, and corroborates an earlier report that the team will meet with LeGarrette Blount on Friday.
  • Continuing on the running back theme, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chimes in, adding that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin “felt good” about last week’s visit with RB Maurice Jones-Drew, and that Pittsburgh remains amenable to signing the veteran (Twitter link).
  • Dulac also adds that the team maintains interest in bringing back linebacker James Harrison, quoting general manager Kevin Colbert as saying the team is “never going to close the door on any possibility, especially with a guy who was a huge part of our success” (via Twitter).
  • Dulac tweets that recently-signed Cam Thomas will work as a defensive end, but could also get time at defensive tackle.
  • Robinson reports that the Steelers scouting staff will attend the pro days of North Carolina, Duke, and Texas A&M, with Colbert and Tomlin likely attending the Aggies event (Twitter link).
  • Signing a steady, low-cost free agent like receiver Lance Moore is symbolic of the Steelers free agency strategy, writes Scott Brown of ESPN.com.

Browns Rumors: Hawkins, Whitner, Moats

March 11th, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s what’s happening in Cleveland..

  • With Andre Roberts off the table and Julian Edelman possibly re-signing with the Pats, the Browns’ next move might be to go after Bengals wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, tweets Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com.
  • There’s a lot of talk that the Browns could bring Ohio State alum Donte Whitner home this offseason, tweets Albert Breer of NFL Network. Whitner would help anchor the secondary of new head coach Mike Pettine.
  • Kinkhabwala (link) hears the same with regards to Whitner and adds that things could be getting close with former Bills linebacker Arthur Moats. Of course, Pettine is familiar with Moats from their time together in Buffalo.