Billy Price

NFC North Rumors: Packers, Ebron, Vikings

April 1st, 2018 at 6:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bryan Bulaga has now seen two of his past five seasons either wiped out or largely nullified by severe injuries, and the Packers‘ starting right tackle is now entering the seasons of his contract where a cap-casualty cut is not incredibly prohibitive. Yet, the ninth-year blocker is expected to return for the fourth season of said deal.

“Whenever players are injured it’s tough as personnel guys who are not 100 percent sure of when they’re coming back,” Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst said, via Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But I know that he’s been working exceptionally hard. We’ve got a lot of faith that he’s going to come back sooner rather than later, and obviously when Bryan is in there, Bryan is a good player.”

Mike McCarthy also wants Bulaga to be part of the 2018 Packers, indicating he’s heard the 29-year-old edge protector is on schedule following an ACL tear. It would only save the Packers $4.2MM to release Bulaga while tagging them with a $3.2MM dead-money penalty. That savings figure spikes to nearly $7MM in 2019, so Bulaga staying healthy will likely be paramount to him seeing the final year of that contract.

Here’s the more out of Green Bay as well as some of the Packers’ top rivals.

Jahri Evans remains in the picture, to some degree, for a second season with the Packers. Although, the former perennial All-Pro is going to turn 35 next season. “Jahri is definitely part of the conversation,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know exactly where he is as far as what his goals are, but we’re open (to him returning.” On the strength of his pass-blocking, Evans graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 30 guard last season. While his 71.7 grade was slightly down from his Seahawks season, Evans showed in 14 games he’s still a viable NFL starter. He didn’t sign with the Packers initially until late April of last year, so the door may still be open on that front.
The Lions dangled Eric Ebron up until the deadline for his fifth-year option to vest before ultimately releasing him. Bob Quinn elaborated about why the former first-round pick ended up as a free agent instead of netting the Lions a draft pick in a deal. “I guess the general response that I got was, ‘The number’s too big,'” Quinn said, via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com, of Ebron’s then-$8.25MM cap figure attached to the 2018 option. “The salary that came along with the fifth-year option was something that we weighed, you know, really up until the last minute, to be honest. It was just one of those things that we knew was coming down the pike, we obviously had some trade conversations with a few teams that didn’t work out.” Ebron ended up with the Colts on a two-year, $13MM pact.
Not receiving any compensation for Ebron, the Lions are targeting picks via trades prior to this draft. Detroit holds just six picks. “That’s something that’ll definitely be in the talks I’d say, a week or two leading up to the draft — try to get more picks,” Quinn said, via Meinke. The Lions have a basic draft allotment, holding all their own picks save for the sixth-rounder they surrendered for Greg Robinson last year.
With Joe Berger and Jeremiah Sirles now out of the picture, the Vikings‘ top remaining need is on their offensive line, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. Although the team signed swing blocker Tom Compton, draft help is likely en route. Rick Spielman recently attended Billy Price‘s pro day at Ohio State, and Goessling notes the team could be on the lookout for another veteran. The Vikings still have $19MM-plus in cap space.

Extra Points: Draft, Nelson, Price, Cap

March 7th, 2018 at 10:19am CST by Zachary Links

A quick look around the NFL:

Some teams consider guard Quenton Nelson to be top overall player in this year’s draft, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’s not int he mix to go No. 1 overall, but his tape has impressed scouts around the league. Nelson is widely expected to be a top ten pick, particularly after a strong showing in Indianapolis.
Ohio State center Billy Price is expected to be sidelined for four months after undergoing successful surgery on his “incomplete pec tear,” a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Price should be ready for the start of training camp, so it’s possible that he could still be a first-round pick.
The NFL set the 2018 salary cap at $177.2MM, and while that number fell short of the high end of recent projections, the league and the NFL players association have agreed to place more money in the NFL’s player performance pool, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The player performance pool, which does not affect the salary cap, is designed to divert extra money to low-paid players who contribute on a regular basis. Last year, the pool amounted to $3.995MM per team, but that figure will increase to $4.415MM per club in 2017, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets.

Ohio State OL Billy Price Suffers Injury

March 2nd, 2018 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

Ohio State offensive lineman Billy Price suffered a partially torn pec while doing the bench press on Thursday, sources tell TomPelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The good news is that the MRI results are in and a doctor tells Price that surgery is not required (Twitter link via Conor Orr of NFL.com). Price says he will seek a second medical opinion but, as of right now, he believes that he will not miss any time in 2018.

“I’m not worried about this at all. This is something where I’m gonna come back stronger,” Price said of his “incomplete” tear. “You’re gonna really have to put a bullet between us Ohio State guys’ eyes to put us down. So I’m looking to get back out there and whatever team ends up selecting me, we’re going to be 100 percent going into it.”

Price is one of the draft’s top offensive lineman and widely viewed as a first or second-round prospect. Depending on the news he receives from this point, he could still be in range for the top 64 picks.

Weeks ago, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote that Price was expected to “crush the bench press at the Combine.” Unfortunately, what was meant to be a statement event for Price turned awry. Still, with accolades including the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year award in 2017 plus All-Big Ten and/or All-American honors in each year from 2015-17, his future looks bright.

Ohio State OL Billy Price Believed To Have Torn Pec

March 1st, 2018 at 8:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ohio State offensive line prospect Billy Price is believed to have suffered a torn pectoral while bench pressing during the scouting combine today, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).

Price is considered one of the best interior line prospects available in the 2017 draft, and was expected to be selected in the first round. His stock doesn’t necessarily have to slip, especially since a torn pectoral’s recovery time is typically five-to-six months, meaning Price could still be ready for the start of the regular season in September. But it would be surprising if Price didn’t experience a slight drop, possibly into Day 2.

Price, who started 55 games for the Buckeyes, has “freaky strength and explosiveness,” per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. He was named as the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2017, and earned All-Big Ten and/or All-American honors in each year from 2015-17.

Extra Points: Contracts, Kaepernick, Manziel

July 16th, 2017 at 4:17pm CST by Rory Parks

The peak of the NBA’s free agent season and the eye-popping contracts it generated had more of an impact than usual on the NFL this year, thanks in large part to Richard Sherman‘s recent comments that, if NFL players are to begin receiving the same share of their league’s revenue as NBA players receive — and/or see more guaranteed money in their deals — they are going to need to be prepared to go on strike. The NFL Players Association has publicly sided with Sherman (via Twitter), but scribes like Ben Volin of the Boston Globe are not so sure.

Volin says the problem with NFL players going on strike is that their career span is much shorter than their NBA and MLB counterparts, and half of the players who are currently in the league will not be when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in the spring of 2021. That reality means that NFL players will justifiably want to maximize their earnings before their careers are over and do not really care what happens to their successors.

Likewise, Volin does not believe the focus should be on more guaranteed money, though other writers like Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believe teams should consider offering fully guaranteed contracts immediately. Volin believes that, if contracts become guaranteed, owners would simply adjust by giving players shorter deals and less money up front. Instead, Volin says the solution to NFL players’ “problem” is twofold. He says the union should 1) work to remove the franchise tag, which prevents players from realizing their true value and can keep them under their original club’s control through their prime seasons; and 2) fix the rookie contract system, which has eliminated the NFL’s “middle class” by allowing teams to replace serviceable veterans with much cheaper rookies. Indeed, the league has been trending younger and younger, and fewer players are getting a second contract.

This is a discussion that will only pick up steam the closer we get to 2021, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at a few more links from around the league:

It was not that long ago that running backs were viewed as dime-a-dozen assets in a pass-heavy league, but players like Le’Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, and David Johnson have helped to change that perception. Johnson himself has noticed as much, and he believes Bell’s next contract — the Steelers star will likely play out 2017 on his franchise tender, but another strong season could make for an interesting free agency case in 2018 — will have a ripple effect on the league’s top rushers. Johnson said, “We’re making the running back position more relevant, much more important. I feel like you need a running back to have a successful team. Hopefully starting with [Bell] getting the contract he deserves, hopefully that can jump start the running backs being more important in this league” (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News).
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes that two of the world’s most notable unemployed men, Johnny Manziel and Colin Kaepernick, are represented by the same firm, Select Sports Group (though they are represented by different agents within the firm). Florio says that fact could create a conflict of interest, as both players are vying for the same quarterback jobs. Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal disagrees, as she points out that it is common for NFL agents to specialize in representing players at a certain position (Twitter link). Florio also says that, if Manziel gets an NFL job before Kaepernick — we learned yesterday Manziel has had conversations with several clubs, though it is unclear if they were serious conversations — it will intensify the claims that Kaepernick is being blackballed by the league. That proposition, too, seems suspect, as Kaepernick has not displayed much interest in continuing his football career, his visit to the Seahawks notwithstanding.
Lance Zierlien of NFL.com takes a look at 10 collegiate offensive linemen who could make a splash in the NFL in 2018. His list includes Ohio State’s Billy Price, who, like Vikings rookie and Ohio State product Pat Elflein, will switch from guard to center this year.