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NFC Notes: Maclin, Revis, Newton

June 12th, 2017 at 9:54pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Eagles, not the Bills, were the runners-up for Jeremy Maclin‘s services, which came as something of a surprise given last week’s report that Philadelphia did not have interest in reuniting with Maclin. Per Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links), Eagles head coach Doug Pederson claims he was not being coy when he said the team was not considering Maclin, but that the Eagles did not reach out to Maclin until the weekend, when they contacted him to gauge interest. However, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets the Eagles never really got into a bidding war with the Ravens, who ultimately signed Maclin and who apparently gave him “solid money” to come to Baltimore.

Now for more from the NFC:

  • Cowboys WR Dez Bryant tweeted free agent corner Darrelle Revis yesterday and told him to consider signing with the Cowboys, leading some to speculate that the club could be interested in relocating Revis Island to Texas, despite earlier reports to the contrary. Nonetheless, Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram, citing a team source, tweets that there is “nothing going on with Revis.”
  • We heard earlier today that Eddie Lacy passed his weigh-in with the Seahawks, which netted him a $55K bonus, but he was not the league’s biggest loser this week. As Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes, Cowboys offensive lineman Byron Bell picked up $150K by weighing in at less than 320 pounds on Monday, and he can earn another $300K if he meets his weight requirements at the start of training camp and the first week of the regular season. And, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), if Falcons NT Dontari Poe weighs 340 pounds or less tomorrow, he earns $125K.
  • Panthers QB Cam Newton will not throw at this week’s minicamp, but the quarterback is still on schedule with his recovery and is expected to be ready for training camp, as Edward Lewis of NFL.com writes.
  • The Saints may be shopping Travaris Cadet, but Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune does not believe they can realistically expect to get any takers, so the team will probably be forced to release him.
  • We learned earlier tonight that Rams DT Aaron Donald could miss this week’s mandatory minicamp as he continues to push for a long-term deal.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

April 2nd, 2017 at 3:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Safeties aren’t a priority in Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli‘s scheme, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, which could help explain why Dallas didn’t seriously attempt to re-sign Barry Church or J.J. Wilcox. Church landed a four-year, $26MM deal with the Jaguars, while Wilcox inked a two-year, $6.5MM pact with the Buccaneers. Former first-round pick Byron Jones, meanwhile, is signed for two more years (plus a fifth-year option), and could be an interesting “case study” as Dallas will be forced to consider handing a hefty contract to a safety, per Archer.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • The Eagles hosted UConn safety Obi Melifonwu for a top-30 draft visit on Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. At least seven other NFL teams have expressed interest in Melifonwu, who is expected to be drafted in the the first or second round. Philadelphia is set at safety for the immediate future, although veteran Malcolm Jenkins has reportedly been discussed in trade talks.
  • Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham has “attracted the interest” of the Giants, and could be in the mix for New York when it picks at No. 23, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. While the Giants famously haven’t selected a first-round linebacker since 1984, the club needs reinforcements at the position, as Devon Kennard, Keenan Robinson, and Jonathan Casillas isn’t exactly a world-beating starting group. Earlier this year, a scout told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that Cunningham “needs to gain strength” and “make more tackles.”
  • Offensive lineman Byron Bell‘s one-year deal with the Cowboys has a base value of $2MM, reports Wilson (Twitter link). Bell, 28, will receive a $1MM base salary, a $250K signing bonus, and $300K in per-game roster bonuses. He can also earn another $450K through weight bonuses, which will immediately count on Dallas’ salary cap as likely-to-be-earned because they’re considered to be under the player’s control.

Cowboys To Sign Byron Bell

March 24th, 2017 at 4:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Byron Bell‘s visit to Dallas today led to the veteran tackle signing a one-year deal with the Cowboys, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Bell has not played since the 2015 season but will now step into a possible role on arguably the league’s best offensive line.

Doug Free‘s retirement opened a spot at right tackle, and Bell will assuredly factor into the competition for that vacancy. Free had manned the Cowboys’ right tackle spot for most of this decade and was a starter for Dallas dating back to the 2009 season. The Cowboys will go about replacing two starting linemen from last season, and Bell’s signing gives an indication of how they plan to do that.

La’el Collins now looks likelier to slide back to the left guard position he occupied prior to a foot injury derailing his 2016 season. Ronald Leary‘s defection to Denver opens up that spot again. Dallas brass said earlier this offseason Collins could be a right tackle option. Bell has spent most of his six-year career at tackle, serving as the Panthers’ right-edge protector for three seasons before moving to the left side in 2014. He played both tackle and guard for the Titans in 2015, but with Collins having only seen time at guard, Bell’s 2017 spot looks like it will be right tackle.

Prior to visiting the Cowboys, the 28-year-old Bell met with both the 49ers and Packers. He missed all of the 2016 season due to a foot injury sustained during OTAs last year. He ranked as PFR’s No. 7 tackle option left on the market. Bell stands to compete with 2015 third-rounder Chaz Green for the starting right tackle gig.

Cowboys Host OT Byron Bell On Visit

March 24th, 2017 at 12:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent tackle Byron Bell is visiting the Cowboys today, Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram tweets. The Cowboys are in search of a right tackle after Doug Free retired earlier this month and Bell could be a candidate to replace him. Byron Bell (vertical)

Bell did not play last season after dislocating his ankle during Titans OTAs. In the previous season, however, he started 16 games at three different positions: eight at right tackle, seven at left guard, and one at left tackle. Right now, I have him down as the seventh-best tackle left in free agency.

Bell, 28, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Panthers. In his final season with Carolina, he was asked to play left tackle for the first time and things got ugly. He graded out as the second-worst offensive tackle in football out of 84 qualified players in 2014 with a -33.4 overall rating, according to Pro Football Focus. However, he showed his ability and versatility in 2015.

Packers Host RB Christine Michael On Visit

March 22nd, 2017 at 3:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers hosted running back Christine Michael on a visit Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The team also hosted offensive tackle Byron Bell. Christine Michael

[RELATED: Ricky Jean-Francois Visits Packers]

Michael, who has bounced around a bit, finished out the 2016 season with Green Bay. In six games with the Packers, he had 31 carries for 114 yards and one touchdown. Between his time with the Seahawks and Packers last season, C-Mike averaged a so-so 3.9 yards per carry. The Packers could be open to a reunion given their lack of depth at running back. As it stands, Ty Montgomery is their top RB with with former UDFAs Don Jackson and John Crockett in reserve.

I have Michael listed as the eighth-best tailback left on the open market. Adrian Peterson, LeGarrette Blount, Jamaal Charles, ballroom dancing enthusiast Rashad Jennings, Tim Hightower, DeAngelo Williams, and Chris Johnson are all ahead of him on my list.

Bell did not play last season after dislocating his ankle during Titans OTAs. In the previous year, however, he started 16 games at three different spots: eight at right tackle, seven at left guard, and one at left tackle. I have him down as one of the ten best tackle options left in free agency.

Top 2017 Free Agents By Position 3.0: Offense

March 17th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The initial wave of NFL free agency is now complete, and while many of the league’s top available players are now off the board, there are still plenty of quality options still on the open market.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each offensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by offensive position for 2017:

Quarterback:

  1. Jay Cutler
  2. Chase Daniel
  3. Ryan Fitzpatrick
  4. Colin Kaepernick
  5. Josh McCown
  6. Robert Griffin III
  7. Case Keenum
  8. Matt McGloin
  9. Mark Sanchez
  10. Christian Ponder
  11. Blaine Gabbert
  12. Ryan Nassib
  13. Shaun Hill
  14. Kellen Moore
  15. Austin Davis

Tony Romo is not a free agent…at least not yet. If the Cowboys do not find a suitable trade and release him, you’ll find him at the top of this list.

Laugh if you must, but Cutler is far and away the best quarterback available on the open market. While most of this year’s QB-needy teams are done with their free agent shopping, the Jets are still searching for their 2017 starter and no one would make more sense for them than Cutler. He’s not all that far removed from playing solid football and he’s a logical transitional option for the Jets until they can isolate a better, younger option for 2018. Jay Cutler (Vertical)

Kaepernick’s reps wisely told the press that he will be standing for the National Anthem this year. Still, Kaepernick is an outspoken guy who wants to use his platform to discuss hot button issues, so there’s no guarantee that the media circus around him will cease. Jets owner Woody Johnson loves seeing his team on the back pages of the New York tabloids, but even he has to have more sense than to entertain Kaepernick. McCown, who has been contact with the team, would be an okay choice if they can’t get something done with Cutler. Chase Daniel could be an option too, but there isn’t much game film on him.

Needless to say, the No. 3 ranked player on this list isn’t an option in New York.

Running back:

  1. Adrian Peterson
  2. LeGarrette Blount
  3. Jamaal Charles
  4. Rashad Jennings
  5. Tim Hightower
  6. DeAngelo Williams
  7. Chris Johnson
  8. Christine Michael
  9. Benny Cunningham
  10. Bobby Rainey
  11. Brandon Bolden
  12. Denard Robinson
  13. James Starks
  14. Matt Asiata
  15. Kenjon Barner

Honorable mention: DuJuan Harris, Antonio Andrews, Khiry Robinson

Adrian Peterson (vertical)The Vikings have moved on and Peterson will not be back in Minnesota. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess. When Peterson’s option was declined by the Vikings earlier this month, there were tons of stories (likely sourced by Peterson’s camp) about interest from a litany of contenders. Since then, each team – through anonymous sources – has denied being in the mix for the veteran. It would be easy to doubt Peterson at this juncture, but he has come back from serious injuries multiple times in his career and he is only one year removed from his stellar 2015 campaign. He gets the top spot over the bruising Blount as well as Charles, who hasn’t been healthy in a long while.

Jennings was brought to New York with the idea that he would be the team’s workhorse. Unfortunately, two of his three seasons with the G-Men were marred by injury. Jennings is currently putting his agility to good use on Dancing With The Stars and it remains to be seen how committed he is to football. After that, we have a trio of vets (Hightower, Williams, CJ2K) who could still advance the ball in limited spurts.

In case you’re wondering – Mike Gillislee is not listed here because he is a restricted free agent.

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NFC West Rumors: Lang, Ware, 49ers, Rams

March 13th, 2017 at 10:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

T.J. Lang saw the Lions change his mind at the last minute and possibly changing the fortunes of the team that beat Detroit in the wild-card round. The ninth-year guard was “99 percent” sure he was going to sign with the Seahawks after the sides’ Saturday summit. But the Lions improved their offer and ended up signing the Michigan native to a three-year, $28.5MM deal.

“I didn’t know Detroit was coming back with a counter-offer,” Lang said in an interview with 97.1-FM (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “When I left Seattle I was about 99 percent sure I was flying back there to sign a contract and Detroit stepped up and things changed pretty quick.”

Lang’s former team did not offer him as much as the Lions did. The Packers proposed a three-year deal worth $21.5MM. While the Lions pact includes $19MM in guarantees, the Packers’ offer housed just $6.5MM guaranteed. Opining on the Packers’ usual free agency-phobic tendencies, Lang said Green Bay’s offer made this decision easier.

“I think just throughout the years they were able to get some guys back in town because they used the whole, we’re good, we’re competitive, we compete for championships every year. Do you want to play with the best quarterback in the NFL-type thing, you’re going to have to take a little less money, and I think it just kind of wore some guys out the last couple years and watching guys leave,” Lang said during the radio interview.

Here’s more from the NFC West.

  • DeMarcus Ware‘s Rams visit did include discussions with Wade Phillips and new HC Sean McVay, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. But he adds the sides did not get into serious talks about the now-retired pass-rusher joining the Rams.
  • UFA tackle Byron Bell visited the 49ers this weekend, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. He did not play during the 2016 after dislocating his ankle on the first day of Titans OTAs last summer. Bell proved versatile for the 2015 Titans, however, starting 16 games but at three different spots — eight at right tackle, seven at left guard and one at left tackle. The 28-year-old Bell has been a career-long starter, serving as the Panthers’ primary left tackle from 2011-14.
  • Kyle Juszczyk received an even better offer than the fullback-record deal (four years, $21MM) he signed with the 49ers, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports. The fifth-year fullback’s agent told King one team would have paid Juszczyk more than what the 49ers offered. The Bills, Browns, Eagles and Jets were also in on this competition.
  • The Seahawks‘ Jared Cook visit will create questions regarding Jimmy Graham‘s long-term spot with the team, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Graham is already 30, having turned 25 during his rookie year. However, Cook is less than six months younger. Graham will be a UFA in 2018, and the Seahawks have potential third contracts for Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor to consider. Both have observed other safeties surpass their second Seattle contracts in terms of value in recent years. Pete Carroll said at the Combine there is no reason to doubt Graham’s status on the 2017 Seahawks. He will count $10MM against Seattle’s cap this year.
  • Jarvis Jones‘ Rams visit will occur Tuesday, per Gonzalez. The Rams signed their most recent visitor, cornerback Kayvon Webster, on Monday night.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/3/16

June 3rd, 2016 at 7:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Titans announced that they have officially placed tackle Byron Bell on injured reserve. Bell, 27, suffered a dislocated ankle in May which ended his season before it could even begin. The veteran restored his value by moving across the offensive line across a full 16-game season. In a related move, the Titans have added undrafted wide receiver Reece Horn, a University of Indianapolis product who managed nearly 1,400 yards receiving in 2015. Horn participated in the Colts’ rookie minicamp last month.
  • The Raiders announced (Twitter link) that they’ve waived wide receiver Andre Debose. Debose was recently waived and then placed on injured reserve by Oakland, so the two sides presumably reached an injury settlement, enabling Debose to seek employment elsewhere. For more on injury settlements, check out the Pro Football Rumors glossary entry on the subject.

Titans’ Byron Bell Out For Season

May 24th, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for the Titans as offensive lineman Byron Bell has suffered a dislocated ankle that will sideline him for the entire 2016 season, coach Mike Mularkey tells reporters (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online). Byron Bell (vertical)

Bell was expected to “be in the mix” for the right tackle job in 2016 prior to the draft, though the selection of Jack Conklin probably put him in line for a key spot in the offensive line rotation instead. Last year, Bell started eight games at right tackle, seven games at left guard, and then started the season finale at left tackle when Taylor Lewan was sidelined.

“Since I’ve been in the league, I have played four positions,’’ Bell said at the end of the season. “I am blessed to still be playing ball. I just want to be a guy who is dependable, and be a guy a team can count on.”

Bell, 27, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Panthers, starting 56 of the 62 regular season contests he played for the club since 2011. In 2014, the New Mexico product was handed the reins at left tackle for the first time, and the results were not pretty. Bell graded out as the second-worst offensive tackle in football out of 84 qualified players, with a -33.4 overall rating, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Only Jake Matthews of the Falcons (-36.8) finished lower. Last year, he restored his value by moving across the O-Line across a full 16 game season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: Dunbar, Bell, Trattou

March 21st, 2016 at 9:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are the contract details on some notable deals which were agreed upon or signed within the last week:

  • Byron Bell, OL (Titans): One-year, $2.25MM deal. $400K signing bonus, $650K guaranteed, $250K of $1.75MM salary guaranteed, plus $1M playing time incentive (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle).
  • Justin Trattou, DE (Vikings): One-year, $810K deal. $760K salary plus $25K 53-man any-game roster bonus. $30K playing time incentive plus $428K full split. (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Lance Dunbar, RB (Cowboys): One-year, $1.25MM deal. $100K signing bonus. $800K salary. ~$22K per-game active bonus. $500K stats incentive. $40K workout de-escalator. (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Nathan Stupar, LB (Saints): Three-year, $5MM deal. Additional $900K possible through incentives. $1.2MM signing bonus. $675K base salary in 2016. $1.075MM cap number in 2016. (Twitter link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com).
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