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Poll: Which Rookie QB Will Be Best In 2014?

August 14th, 2014 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Ron Jaworski made comments earlier this week that raised a few eyebrows, suggesting that he believed Cardinals signal-caller Logan Thomas has been the best rookie quarterback he’s seen so far this summer (link via Marc Sessler of NFL.com).

“When I plugged the tape in yesterday morning and I saw Logan Thomas, I was shocked,” Jaworski said on ESPN yesterday, referring to the Cards’ contest against Houston. “He was fantastic in this game. He’s big, strong and he can rip throws. … Of all the rookie quarterbacks that I’ve watched so far – yes, early in the preseason – Logan Thomas has been the best that I have seen.”

Even if Jaworski’s assessment of Thomas is spot-on, the sixth quarterback selected in this year’s draft may not have the opportunities for playing time that many of the guys selected ahead of him will have. Carson Palmer isn’t an elite QB, but for a Cardinals team expecting to compete for a postseason berth, he’s the more reliable option than the rookie at this point.

On the other hand, players like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, and Derek Carr will play for teams who combined for a total of 17 wins in 2013. While the Browns, Vikings, Jaguars, and Raiders may have aspirations of a playoff spot, it would be somewhat surprising if any of those clubs actually earned one.

As such, those situations are more ripe for a rookie quarterback to receive a more significant opportunity, to help him develop and learn his new team’s system in preparation for contention in a year or two. Perhaps a strong performance from one of those rookie signal-callers in 2014 could even help his club contribute immediately.

Still, for now, veterans like Brian Hoyer, Matt Cassel, Chad Henne, and Matt Schaub remain penciled in as starters, so there’s no guarantee that any one of those rookies makes a huge impact this season. What do you think? Which rookie do you expect to have the most productive 2014 campaign?

Sunday Roundup: Manziel, Marciano, Chiefs

August 10th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Rory Parks

As teams try to improve upon their performances from the first week of preseason games, let’s take a look at some links from around the league:

AFC South Notes: Jaguars, Colts, Titans

August 9th, 2014 at 5:03pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Jaguars have a number of players battling for a very few roster spots, and Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com has evaluated which players he thinks the Jaguars will be putting on the field come the opener. He writes that the team is only keeping five cornerbacks, and that four spots are already taken, which leaves Rashaad Reynolds fighting five corners for the last spot. However, he does believe the team will keep four running backs and a fullback, so they will have room for Jordan Todman, Denard Robinson, and Storm Johnson on the roster.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC South:

  • While first-round pick Blake Bortles is still a long way from taking over as the starter for the Jaguars, DiRocco writes that he is far ahead of expectations so far. His knowledge of the offense has impressed, and he has made improvements as a passer since coming into camp.
  • The Jaguars could still use help at center, but John Oehserof the O-Zone does not seeing that happening (via Twitter). He said the issue is closed for this season, but that the team would revisit the position at some point next offseason.
  • The Colts worked out two linebackers today with hopes that one could earn a spot on the team, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Former Texan Mister Alexander and former Redskin Brandon Jenkins will both both have their chance to impress the Colts’ coaching staff.
  • The Titans have an ongoing battle between two kickers trying to make the team, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. He writes that Maikon Bonani has the stronger leg, but Travis Coons has been far more consistent and accurate during camp.

Rookie Quarterback Roundup: Bortles, Bridgewater, Carr, Manziel

August 9th, 2014 at 8:02am CST by Matt Feminis

Jaguars No. 3 overall choice Blake Bortles had an encouraging pro debut against Tampa Bay last night, completing 7-of-11 pass attempts for 117 yards, “which included three drops and just one questionable decision, a check-down effort on 3rd-and-19 that was tipped and nearly picked off,” according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Paul Tenorio. Head coach Gus Bradley was quoted after the game, saying, “I thought [Bortles] did a nice job, showed some good poise. We felt like we could protect him. Just the poise factor, we wanted to see that in him, and he did a nice job.”

How did the other rookie QBs fare?

  • Vikings first-rounder Teddy Bridgewater’s first play was encouraging, as he bootlegged right and threw a 21-yard strike on the move. The gain was negated by penalty, but Bridgewater performed well enough against Oakland to generate excitement despite an uneven stat line (6-of-13, 49 yards, two sacks, fumble). Overall, Bridgewater generated excitement, but clearly has aspects of his game to work on before he challenges for the starting job. “He looked unsteady at times when challenged by unfamiliar defensive alignments,” according to Brian Murray of TwinCities.com.
  • Meanwhile, Derek Carr, chosen by the Raiders four picks after Bridgewater, went 10-of-16 for 76 yards an interception (which should have been caught by the intended receiver). Carr was victimized by a few drops and bailed out on a few throws behind his receiver, but overall received passing grades in his debut. In terms of improvement areas, ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez notes the rookie needs to work on his touch.
  • As Dallas Robinson mentioned last night, Patriots second-rounder Jimmy Garoppolo looked better in his first NFL game action than he had looked in practice, outshining veteran backup Ryan Mallett. The rookie from Eastern Illinois went 9-of-13 for 157 yards and a touchdown. Garoppolo “showed a poise and pocket presence that was impressive,” according to the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian. “The players in the huddle responded to him. And, unlike Mallett, who struggled at times dealing with a shaky offensive line, Garoppolo made plays when the going got tough during Thursday night’s 23-6 loss to the Redskins in the preseason opener.”
  • As for Browns 22nd overall pick Johnny Manziel, his debut in Detroit tonight ranks as one of the most anticipated preseason games in recent memory. “The Johnny Football Circus comes to Detroit” as Free Press columnist Drew Sharp puts it. The game is sold out and the Lions issued credentials for all 200 seats of the press box, reports Sharp’s colleague Dave Birkett.

AFC Links: Dareus, Ravens, Bortles, Raiders

July 20th, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was placed on the active/non-football injury list yesterday, and today we have learned the reason: Dareus has yet to pass a conditioning test, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Dareus has had a tumultuous offseason — he was arrested in both May and June, and could face an NFL suspension. His 2015 fifth-year option was exercised, but the pair of legal incidents, combined with a failure to stay in shape, could conceivably dissuade Buffalo from offering the 2011 third overall pick a contract extension. More from the AFC:

  • 2013 wasn’t as kind to the Ravens as was 2012, but Lardarius Webb is more optimistic about 2014.“Oh yeah, my team is going to bounce back,” Webb told Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “Last year wasn’t that bad. A lot of people want to say it was bad just because we didn’t make the playoffs. We don’t usually not make the playoffs…There were a few games that left us out of the playoffs. We just have to learn from it. We have some young guys, and we just have to keep growing up with all those guys. I like where we’re at and we just have to keep on going.”
  • Wilson’s colleague at the Sun, Jeff Zrebiec, previews the Ravens’ defensive line, and believes Baltimore will keep seven players at the position group.
  • In an interview with Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley allows that rookie quarterback Blake Bortles has a chance to start a preseason game. “It would be late [in the preseason] if he did, and we’ll see how things go,” said Bradley. “We’re really excited about Chad [Henne] and what he’s going to do so we’ll see how it goes with him until that fourth preseason game.”
  • The Raiders want to implement a run-heavy offense in 2014, and Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com previews an offensive line that will need to improve if Oakland is to succeed in that goal.

AFC Notes: Titans, Bortles, Bills, Raiders

July 8th, 2014 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Johnson has never rushed for fewer than 1,047 yards in an NFL season, but with his cap number on the rise and the price of running backs around the league on the decline, the Titans decided to release him this offseason. As the new Jets running back tells Brian Costello of the New York Post, Tennessee’s decision will provide plenty of incentive for him to succeed in 2014 and beyond.

“Of course I have a chip on my shoulder,” Johnson said. “It gives me more motivation to continue to work hard and come here and be that guy I’ve been my whole career. I want to prove [the Titans] wrong. They released me and I want to let them know they made a mistake.”

Here’s more from around the AFC, including a couple items related to Johnson’s old team:

  • In a piece for the Tennessean, Jim Wyatt surveys the Titans‘ landscape at wide receiver, and looks specifically at the odds of journeyman Derek Hagan cracking the regular season roster. Like fellow Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, Wyatt suggests it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tennessee add another receiver to the roster in August or even September.
  • No. 3 overall pick Blake Bortles is on board with the decision to sit in his rookie season, with Chad Henne starting at quarterback for the Jaguars. However, as he tells NFL Media’s Bryan Fischer, Bortles will be ready if he’s called upon earlier than expected.
  • The Bills will have some decisions to make soon on their running backs, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, who says he thinks Buffalo wants Bryce Brown to develop into one of the team’s lead backs. If that’s the case, the futures of C.J. Spiller or Fred Jackson, who are both eligible for free agency in 2015, figure to be up in the air.
  • After an offseason which saw the Raiders add several veteran free agents, including some with championship experience, cornerback Taiwan Jones believes there’s a different feeling in Oakland heading into this season, according to Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com.

Browns Notes: Manziel, Gilbert, Bortles

June 27th, 2014 at 5:35pm CST by Ben Levine

As PFR’s Matt Feminis briefly touched on earlier today, Johnny Manziel remains defiant amid all of the negative press regarding his off-the-field behavior. Manziel, who was attending the NFL Rookie Symposium’s Play 60 youth clinic in Cleveland, said he was planning on maturing instead of completely changing his character. Via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer…

“I’m not going to change who I am for anybody. I’m growing up and continuing to learn from my mistakes and trying not to make the same ones over and over again, but am I going to live in a shell or am I just going to hide from everybody and not do anything? I don’t think that’s the way I should live my life and I’m not going to do it.

“I’m here, I’m very committed to football. I’m committed to my job, but on the weekends, I’m going to enjoy my time off. We deserve it. We work hard here.

“I am going to enjoy my time off. I’m very about football and very about my job, which doesn’t get reported or won’t get reported, but I am going to enjoy my time off. That’s I think what everybody else does and that’s what I should do.”

Meanwhile, teammate Terrance West didn’t necessarily express frustration towards Manziel. However, was the rookie running back annoyed about the continuing questions about the quarterback’s antics? Mary Kay Cabot has the answer:

“Yes, because it’s a distraction,” West said. “We’re here to play football and it’s all about all of his off-the-field stuff, so it’s a distraction.

“He’s enjoying life. He’s not doing anything negative. He’s not getting arrested or getting DUIs or anything like that. I don’t think it’s a big deal. Everyone’s supposed to enjoy life and have fun.”

Additionally, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that team owner Jimmy Haslam was turned off by a particular Manziel video and asked the quarterback to “tone it down” (Cabot has the story on Cleveland.com).

Let’s see what else is going within the organization…

  • The Browns other first-round pick, cornerback Justin Gilbert, didn’t sound optimistic when asked if he’d sign his contract prior to training camp. “I don’t know,” Gilbert said (via Fox Sport Ohio’s Fred Greetham). “They’re still working on it.”
  • Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, who was also in Cleveland for the youth clinic, wasn’t expecting to be drafted third overall. In fact, he originally thought there was a better chance of being picked by the Browns. “I had no idea. I was as surprised as anybody else when they called me,” Bortles said (via the Morning-Journal’s Jeff Schudel). “I definitely thought there was more of a possibility I’d be here (Cleveland) than Jacksonville, but that’s not the way it turned out and I couldn’t be happier to be where I am.”
  • When it comes to “diamonds in the rough” among the wide receiver depth, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com points to undrafted rookie Chandler Jones (via Twitter). The former San Jose State Spartan finished 2013 with 79 catches for 1,356 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was signed by the Browns in the middle of May.

Rookie Notes: Clowney, Bortles, Manziel, Beckham Jr., Cooks

June 27th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Matt Feminis

This week, Texans top overall pick Jedeveon Clowney opened up about the sports hernia injury he had surgically repaired two weeks ago, admitting the injury bothered him as far back as last football season. The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain has the story of Clowney revealing the information to Gil Brandt, while Pro Football Talk wonders if the Texans should have known.

In other rookie news and notes…

  • Jaguars third-overall pick Blake Bortles will receive first-team reps in training camp, writes NFL.com’s Mike Coppinger.
  • Meanwhile, Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel continues to be a lightning rod even during the slowest of news periods, as he told Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, “I’m not going to change for anybody.” A couple of Hall of Famers advise Manziel to stay out of the non-football headlines, though. Joe Montana weighed in on NFL Network, while Warren Moon talked to Alex Marvez and Pat Kirwan SiriusXM NFL Radio.
  • “[Draft picks] better all contribute right away, whether it be on special teams, defense, offense, whatever it is they’re going to be,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin tells Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. “There’s no waiting around in this game today.” With that in mind, Raanan examined realistic expectations for rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
  • The ingenuity of the Saints’ offensive system should enable first-rounder Brandin Cooks to thrive given the rookie’s explosiveness, playmaking and versatility, asserts SI.com’s Doug Farrar.
  • Bleacher Report’s Dan Hope highlights ten rookies already making favorable impressions and earning early reps, including the Raiders’ Gabe Jackson, the Cardinals’ John Brown.

Jaguars Sign Blake Bortles

June 18th, 2014 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

8:15am: There are no offsets in Bortles’ deal, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports.

8:07am: The Jaguars have locked up the third overall pick from last month’s draft, announcing today that they’ve signed quarterback Blake Bortles. As a first-rounder, Bortles’ four-year rookie deal will also feature a fifth-year club option for the 2018 season.

“It’s awesome,” Bortles said of signing his contract. “It’s awesome to be able to kind of put this in the past. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, signing your first contract. It’s a cool feeling.”

The first quarterback selected in the draft, Bortles will receive a signing bonus worth in the neighborhood of $13.342MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at Over the Cap. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes (via Twitter) that the entire amount ($20.65MM+) of Bortles’ four-year deal is guaranteed, though it’s not clear whether offsets are included in the agreement.

By signing Bortles, who currently ranks behind Chad Henne on the team’s depth chart, the Jaguars move a step closer toward locking up their draft class. Two of Henne’s and Bortles’ targets, second-round receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson, remain unsigned, as our tracker indicates.

Rams Sign Robinson, Donald, Eight Others

June 12th, 2014 at 5:12pm CST by Luke Adams

5:12pm: Donald doesn’t have offsets in his deal either, Breer adds (on Twitter).

5:01pm: The Rams’ deal with Robinson does not have offsets, tweets Albert Breer of NFL Network. He’s the first player to get that concession this year and that could factor into the Jaguars’ talks with Blake Bortles, Breer adds.

4:34pm: The Rams may have waited the longest of any NFL team to get a draft pick under contract, but it didn’t take the team long to complete the process once it was started. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the Rams have signed all 11 of their 2014 draftees. In addition to the previously reported Lamarcus Joyner, that group includes first-rounders Greg Robinson and Aaron Donald and 249th overall pick Michael Sam.

A year ago, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher wanted to take the team’s rookies through “Financial Planning 101” before those players received their signing bonuses. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Rams did the same thing this year, delaying the signing process to ensure that their players know how to manage their money when they receive it.

Among those signing bonuses, Robinson’s will be the largest — according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the signing bonus for the No. 2 pick should fall just short of $14MM. As the 13th overall pick, Donald will be in line for a bonus of $5.692MM. The remaining eight bonuses range from about $46K to $638K.

Besides Robinson, Donald, Joyner, and Sam, the Rams now have the following draftees under contract:

  • Tre Mason, RB, Auburn (3.75)
  • Maurice Alexander, S, Utah State (4.110)
  • E.J. Gaines, CB, Missouri (6.188)
  • Garrett Gilbert, QB, SMU (6.214)
  • Mitchell Van Dyk, OT, Portland State (7.226)
  • Christian Bryant, S, Ohio State (7.241)
  • Demetrius Rhaney, C, Tennessee State (7.250)
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