Brice McCain

FA Rumors: Carter, Helu, Gresham, McCain

Free agent linebacker Bruce Carter is drawing interest on the open market, and he’ll first visit the Buccaneers, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link). If he doesn’t sign with Tampa, he’ll head to Houston to meet with the Texans, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Here’s more from the free agent front…

  • The Buccaneers will meet with center Stefen Wisniewski, per Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). Tampa just signed center Evan Dietrich-Smith last offseason so Wisniewski could be viewed as a guard.
  • Cornerback Tramon Williams will visit with the Saints tonight, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN. The veteran CB is wrighing a return to Green Bay and has also drawn other interest.
  • Running back Roy Helu probably won’t be returning to Washington, per John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link), but he does have other suitors, including the Patriots, Raiders, and Jets (link).
  • The Patriots are interested in another free agent running back, C.J. Spiller, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, but their interest isn’t considered serious.
  • As we’ve heard earlier, the Raiders want to sign tight end Jermaine Gresham, Caplan (via Twitter) would be surprised if a deal doesn’t get done.
  • The Vikings were hoping to meet with cornerback Brice McCain, but he’s meeting with a mystery team and taking a physical, reports Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).

Vikings Notes: Murray, Peterson, McCourty

The latest on the Vikings..

  • If the Cowboys let DeMarco Murray walk, Adrian Peterson would be interested in going there, provided that Dallas would guarantee at least $25MM on a deal that amounts to a three-year pact, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets. Robinson adds (link) that if the Cowboys won’t pay Murray $8MM per year and guarantee $25MM+, they’re unlikely to deal for Peterson and do the same thing.
  • The Vikings were in on Devin McCourty until the bidding reached $7MM per year, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. That could be an indication of how far they’re willing to go on free agent safeties.
  • The Vikings have also inquired about linebacker Brooks Reed, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The Cardinals, Jets, Raiders, and Bears are interested in Reed but he’s reportedly leaning towards signing with the Falcons.
  • You can count the Vikings among the teams that are interested in cornerback Davon House, Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune tweets.
  • The Vikings will likely host cornerback Brice McCain for a visit, Andrew Krammer of 1500 ESPN tweets.
  • The Vikings have inquired on free agent linebacker Andrew Gachkar and may bring him in for a visit later in the week, Wolfson tweets.
  • The Vikings have checked on guys like Bradley Fletcher and Sterling Moore, but everything is still preliminary with both, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets.

AFC North Notes: Pettine, Stewart, Steelers

Browns‘ head coach Mike Pettine’s history as a high school coach might be the reason he likes the success of undrafted free agents, writes Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. Grossi notes that Pettine has often felt looked down upon because of his unheralded past, and sees a kinship with the underappreciated talents.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:

  • The Browns have taken criticism for a lack of depth on the offensive line, but Grossi believes the injury to Alex Mack was an unforseen setback. He notes that the team’s linemen have rarely missed practice or game time, and that the timing of the injury was unfortunate with Nick McDonald getting back into game shape.
  • Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com doesn’t necessarily see Darian Stewart sticking around after this season. The safety signed a one-year, $1.3MM deal with the Ravens in the offseason and if he wants to come back, it’ll probably be in a bench role. Baltimore will go with either Terrence Brooks or Will Hill at free safety next year. Stewart might balk at that idea or he may be okay with it given his history with secondary coach Steve Spangnuolo.
  • Two key contributors for the Steelers have struggled with consistency this season in cornerback Cortez Allen and linebacker Sean Spence. Allen was benched in favor of Brice McCain, but Scott Brown of ESPN.com writes that the move was more to send a message to allen and reward McCain for positive performance in practice. Spence has not lost his starting spot, but that might only be because Vince Williams cannot cover anyone at linebacker.

AFC Notes: Shorts, Cameron, Patriots

In addition to having a delightful name, Jaguars‘ receiver Cecil Shorts has been one of the few bright spots on the club over the past couple of seasons. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times Union examines the recent extension that Doug Baldwin signed with the Seahawks, and wonders if a similar contract would make sense for Shorts, who will become a free agent at the end of the 2014 season.

O’Halloran concludes that if Jacksonville were to offer Shorts a contract resembling the one that Baldwin received–the Seahawks added two years to Baldwin’s contract to create a three-year, $13MM with $8MM guaranteed–Shorts should jump at the opportunity. Both players have put up similar numbers during their three years in the league, but considering that the Jaguars drafted highly-touted receivers Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee last month, and given that rookie quarterback Blake Bortles will probably find himself under center at some point this season, Shorts’ stats may take a hit. This is not to mention the fact that Shorts has frequently been able to bolster his numbers in garbage time, when the Jaguars were forced to throw the football and opposing teams were willing to let them eat up big but meaningless chunks of yardage. If the Jaguars are more competitive this season, as they expect to be, those opportunities would decrease.

On the other hand, Shorts is doubtlessly a talented and sometimes electric playmaker, so he certainly could eclipse the 1,000-yard mark and drive up his price, particularly if he is able to stay healthy. As such, both sides would do well to consider an extension, and we will see if they enter into talks as we move closer to training camp.

Now a quick look at the AFC:

Steelers Sign Brice McCain

1:19pm: McCain’s contract with the Steelers is a minimum salary benefit deal with a $65K signing bonus, so it’ll count for $635K against the team’s cap, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

12:00pm: The Steelers have signed free agent cornerback Brice McCain, according to agent David Canter (via Twitter). ESPN.com’s Scott Brown reported earlier today (via Twitter) that McCain, who was cut by Houston last month, was visiting Pittsburgh.

McCain, who grabbed one interception and defended seven passes for the Texans in 2013, had the dubious distinction of ranking dead-last among 110 qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). While he was solid against the run and avoided taking penalties, McCain ranked as the league’s worst cover corner by a wide margin, according to PFF.

Nonetheless, the Steelers saw enough in the 27-year-old that they liked to bring him aboard. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but it’ll likely be a minimum salary deal.

Texans Cut Brice McCain

The Texans have released longtime cornerback Brice McCain, reports John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). McCain had been on the books for a $1.75MM cap hit, which will be reduced to $900K in dead money, saving the club $850K in cap room.

McCain, who grabbed one interception and defended seven passes for the Texans in 2013, had the unfortunate honor of ranking dead last among 110 qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). While he was solid against the run and avoided taking penalties, McCain ranked as the league’s worst cover corner by a wide margin, according to PFF.