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Charles Clay (TE)

Bills Place Charles Clay On IR

December 29th, 2015 at 7:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have placed a pair of players on the injured reserve list, announcing today that they’re sending tight end Charles Clay and cornerback Ron Brooks to IR (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).

After inking a massive five-year contract with the Bills in the offseason, Clay was limited to 13 games this year, as he battled knee and back issues. In his first season in Buffalo, Clay caught 51 balls for 528 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers look similar to the ones he posted in 2014 in Miami – 58 receptions, 605 yards, three TDs – but the Bills were likely expecting more production from the veteran tight end after inking him to a $38MM offer sheet.

With a $10MM roster bonus owed to him in 2016, Clay will likely have his contract restructured in the offseason, but he’s not going anywhere for now, since that money is fully guaranteed.

As for Brooks, the defensive back who contributes primarily on special teams will be eligible for free agency at season’s end, so he may have played his last game with the Bills. His 2015 season came to an early end due to a neck injury.

Extra Points: Ravens, Patriots, Clay, Bush

September 14th, 2015 at 10:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With Terrell Suggs lost for the season, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes his team has the internal options to fill the void. However, he acknowledges that the club is also looking at external options and could add somebody soon (Twitter links via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun). Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com scans the free agent market and identifies a few possible targets for Baltimore.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Patriots employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally won’t face further discipline from the NFL for their possible involvement in DeflateGate, and will meet with the league soon to discuss new roles with the team, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Neither Jastremski nor McNally will be involved in the preparation, handling, or supervision of game balls going forward.
  • According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, new Bills tight end Charles Clay had his knee drained at least a half-dozen times last season while he was a Dolphin. Clay’s knees were a source of concern for suitors in free agency, and specifically for the Dolphins, who declined to match Buffalo’s huge offer sheet to Clay back in March. As Schefter explains, there are some who wonder how much longer Clay will be able to play.
  • The Saints received some bad news on the injury front, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that safety Rafael Bush tore his pectoral muscle during Sunday’s loss in Arizona.
  • Elsewhere in the NFC South, the Panthers will be without offensive tackle Daryl Williams for two to four weeks after he sprained his right MCL, as David Newton of ESPN.com details.

AFC Notes: Clay, Browns, Worilds, Wilfork

March 22nd, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the offseason’s biggest winners, Charles Clay reportedly twice received offers worth more in 2015 than he was asking for from the Dolphins, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Initially, Clay only sought $6.8MM per year from the Dolphins when the sides were negotiating, but Clay’s would-be salary for this season rose to $7MM when the Dolphins placed the transition tag on their developing tight end. Clay’s initial asking price represented the logic behind Miami opting to place the lesser-used transition tag on Clay as opposed to the franchise tag ($8.2MM for tight ends this year), per Salguero. This would’ve forced the Bills to part with two first-round draft picks if they matched the offer and ultimately kept Clay in Miami.

The Bills will now pay Clay, who signed a five-year contract worth $38MM, more than any tight end over the next two seasons ($11.5MM per season in ’15 and ’16) due to the frontloaded deal.

  • The Browns are the frontrunners to be the subject of this season’s Hard Knocks, reports Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News reports on Twitter. This would mark the first such time the Browns, who finished 7-9 last season, would appear on the HBO training camp show.
  • Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said prior to Jason Worilds‘ retirement he was not in the Steelers’ plans, as the team thought the improving linebacker would receive an offer they weren’t prepared to match, reports Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Twitter.
  • Signing DeAngelo Williams required the Steelers’ brass to take a “little leap of faith” after what happened regarding LeGarrette Blount‘s abrupt midseason exit, Colbert said (via ESPN’s Scott Brown on Twitter). Coming off a career-worst season and entering his age-32 campaign, Williams received a key endorsement from quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner, who recruited and coached the running back when he was on staff at Memphis in the early 2000s (Twitter link).
  • Colbert told Brown the Steelers will pursue cornerbacks in the draft and that three of Pittsburgh’s four starting linebacker positions, excluding the inside backer spot manned by Lawrence Timmons, are open competitions.
  • Texans owner Bob McNair wanted to sign Vince Wilfork when he became a free agent in 2010, reports Tom Curran of CSN New England. Instead, Wilfork re-signed with the Patriots on a five-year, $40MM contract — then a league-high pact for defensive tackles. McNair received a slightly lesser version of the run-stuffing tackle this year, with the now-33-year-old signing for $9MM across two years.
  • Elite edge-rushing prospect Randy Gregory will visit the Ravens, whom he already met with at the NFL Scouting Combine, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson.
  • Former Titans and Ravens linebacker Brandon Copeland participated in Sunday’s inaugural Veteran Combine and caught the eye of several teams, per Wilson on Twitter. Copeland, who will be 24 in July, told Wilson he spoke with the Chiefs, Titans, Colts, Bengals, Giants and Eagles after a workout that he said included a 4.52-second 40-yard dash. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound linebacker went undrafted out of Pennsylvania and appeared on the Ravens and Titans rosters in 2013 but did not accrue any statistics.

Bills Sign Charles Clay

March 19th, 2015 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

4:13pm: After the Dolphins formally declared their intention not to match Buffalo’s offer sheet, the Bills have officially announced the signing of Clay.

3:08pm: According to James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the paperwork has officially been filed by the Dolphins to the NFL, confirming their decision and making Clay a Bill.

10:24am: The Dolphins have decided not to match the Bills’ offer sheet for tight end Charles Clay, according to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). While the team has a few more days to change its mind, Miami is moving on, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), paving the way for Clay to become a member of the Bills.

Clay, who turned 26 last month, saw his numbers dip a little in 2014 after he set career highs with 69 receptions, 759 yards, and three touchdowns in his breakout 2013 season. Still, the Dolphins liked him enough to make him their transition player, assigning him a one-year tender worth $7.071MM.

The transition tag essentially makes a free agent restricted, allowing his current team to match any offer sheet from a rival suitor. However, Miami won’t receive any compensation for losing him now that the team has decided not to match Buffalo’s offer.

That Bills’ offer was a massive one — Buffalo will lock up Clay for five years at a price tag of $38MM, and the deal includes more than $20MM in guaranteed money, according to reports. The former sixth-round pick is the latest offensive weapon to join Rex Ryan in Western New York, following recent additions LeSean McCoy and Percy Harvin to the Bills.

As for the Dolphins, while they lose Clay, they also free up some cap space by removing his $7MM+ transition offer from their books. The team has also lined up a replacement already, signing Jordan Cameron last week to join Dion Sims at the tight end position.

Charles Clay Signs Bills Offer Sheet

March 18th, 2015 at 11:11am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 11:11am: The Bills formally announced that Clay has inked his offer sheet, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The Dolphins have until Sunday night to match.

TUESDAY, 6:33pm: The Bills’ offer is for five years and $38MM, according to Carucci (on Twitter). The deal includes more than $20MM guaranteed. Meanwhile, Michael Silver of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that the Dolphins’ final offer to Clay was $27MM over four years with less than $15MM guaranteed.

The Bills’ offer is structured to attack Miami’s cap in 2016, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

6:24pm: The Bills have given Charles Clay an offer sheet and the tight end has inked it, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (via Twitter). The Dolphins now have five days to match the offer.

On Monday, Carucci reported that the Bills were steadfast in their hopes of signing Clay to an unmatchable offer sheet. The Bills, for their part, have been confident and bordering on cocky in their pursuit of Clay. A source told Carucci that it was a 90% certainty that Buffalo would land the tight end. New head coach Rex Ryan has been pushing hard for the team to sign Clay and he knows just how hard he can be to defend from his time coaching against him in intra-divisional action.

Buffalo has been going over both their cap numbers and the Dolphins’ cap numbers in an attempt to structure a contract that Miami can’t match. Over the weekend, it was reported that the Dolphins were losing interest in retaining Clay and that’s not all that hard to believe, given the potential contract that Clay could command coupled with the presence of the newly-signed Jordan Cameron.

FA Notes: Newman, Johnson, Clay, Lowery

March 17th, 2015 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

As Peter King of The MMQB.com observes in his latest column, spending big in free agency often doesn’t translate to wins in the next season or two. As such, this year’s spenders – such as the Jets, Eagles, Dolphins, and Jaguars – should be wary about how much of an on-field impact their signings will have in 2015. A team like the Ravens, on the other hand, has enjoyed great success by consistently letting big free agents leave for other teams, then collecting compensatory picks for those players and replenishing the roster with young talent.

Here are a few more free agent updates:

  • Veteran cornerback Terence Newman will turn 37 in September, but he intends to continue his playing career. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Newman visited the Vikings yesterday, and is headed to New England today to meet with the Patriots.
  • When Michael Johnson‘s new four-year contract with the Bengals was initially reported, figures of $20MM and $24MM were cited as the overall value of the deal. Rapoport offers some clarity on that front, tweeting that the $20MM base value increases to $24MM if Johnson records 10 or more sacks during the 2015 season.
  • Rex Ryan has been the “driving force” behind the Bills‘ pursuit of tight end Charles Clay, a source tells Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. Having become familiar with the Dolphins tight end over the last few years of AFC East divisional games, Ryan badly wants Clay in Buffalo, and the Bills continue to prepare an offer sheet for Miami’s transition player.
  • Safety Dwight Lowery admits that the Falcons haven’t shown much interest in re-signing him, and says he hasn’t spoken to new head coach Dan Quinn, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes. Atlanta is still without a starting free safety, so it’s possible the team will circle back to Lowery at some point.
  • Referring to an article in Australia’s Courier-Mail, former Seahawks defensive lineman Jesse Williams suggested in a tweet that he didn’t actually speak to the outlet. The Courier-Mail piece indicated that Williams himself said he expected to re-sign with Seattle, so it’s not clear whether or not a new deal with the club is actually in the works.
  • Earlier today, I listed a few of the top free agents still on the board at each position.

FA Notes: Clay, Canty, Spencer, Irving, Moore

March 16th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

There hasn’t been much movement on the Charles Clay front lately, but the Bills are still steadfast in their hopes of signing him to an unmatchable offer sheet, a source tells Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Buffalo appears confident in landing the Dolphins transition player, as the source tells Carucci that it’s a 90% certainty that the Bills will acquire the tight end.

Rex Ryan is reportedly pushing for Clay, as the Bills head coach knows how difficult Clay is to defend from the former’s time with the Jets. Per Carucci, Buffalo is currently going over both their cap numbers and those of the Dolphins, in an attempt to structure a contract that Miami can’t match.

Let’s take a look at the what’s happening on the rest of the free agent market:

  • Defensive lineman Chris Canty will visit the Seahawks tomorrow, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was released by the Ravens last month, and while a reunion with Baltimore is possible, he’s also met with the Jets as he explores his options.
  • Canty isn’t the only defender who will take a meeting with Seattle, as LB/DE Anthony Spencer will also visit the Seahawks, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Seattle had success in bringing in veteran defensive lineman Kevin Williams last season, so perhaps they’re trying to find another diamond-in-the-rough between Canty and Spencer.
  • While his visit with the Colts today went well, linebacker Nate Irving is still weighing all his options, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN. The former Bronco has also been linked to the Dolphins and the Cardinals.
  • After asking a source whether receiver Denarius Moore could return to the Raiders, Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (via Twitter) got a clear response: “Not a chance.” The 26-year-old hasn’t drawn any known interest during the free agent period.
  • Although we heard on Thursday that the Bears were discussing a multi-year deal with linebacker Mason Foster, no such pact is imminent, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that nothing is close between the two sides.

AFC East Notes: Johnson, Revis, Gachkar, Clay

March 15th, 2015 at 8:42pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Patriots have been targeting wide receiver Stevie Johnson since his release from the 49ers, and we learned yesterday that Johnson would be visiting the team on Monday. Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com believes that could be the last visit Johnson takes, saying the team “find a way to make sure he sticks around.” 

“He is only 28-years-old, 6’2″ a little under 200 pounds, absolutely electric in getting off the line of scrimmage and making people miss,” said Curran. “What happened last year at San Francisco you wonder? That’s a horrible passing game. I talked to our collegue Matt Maiocco with CSN Bay Area, and he said the only guy that could be satisfied out there was Anquan Boldin.”

Dolphins Losing Interest In Charles Clay?

March 14th, 2015 at 8:22pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 8:22pm: The Dolphins are ready to bow out of the Clay duel with the Bills after “losing patience” with their transition-tagged tight end, the Buffalo News’ Tim Graham reports on Twitter.

FRIDAY, 3:58pm: The Bills won’t give Clay an offer sheet today, but it’s still expected to happen at some point, a source tells Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 12:46pm: Having agreed to trade Dannell Ellerbe to the Saints, the Dolphins will clear some additional cap room and are still trying to sign Clay to a long-term extension, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

FRIDAY, 8:09am: After snatching tight end Jordan Cameron away from the Browns yesterday and signing him to a two-year deal, the Dolphins decided not to rescind their transition tender to Charles Clay. On the surface, the move suggests that Miami would still like to keep Clay, and would be fine rolling with both tight ends in 2015 and beyond. However, the decision may also signal an ongoing game of chicken between the Dolphins and their division rivals in Buffalo.

The Bills’ interest in Clay has been well documented over the last week, and having released Scott Chandler and watched Lee Smith sign with the Raiders, Buffalo badly needs a tight end. That’s why the Bills were reportedly preparing to sign Clay to an aggressive offer sheet that would be difficult for Miami to match.

Although the Bills may still structure their offer to make things hard on Miami, they now have to consider whether doing so would only make things harder on themselves. After all, there’s little chance that the Dolphins would match an expensive long-term offer for Clay now that they’ve locked up Cameron. So the Bills may just end up sticking themselves with a frontloaded contract for the tight end, and that may be why Miami hasn’t rescinded that transition tag — doing so would allow Clay to sign with Buffalo immediately, without the Fins having the right to match.

In any case, the Bills are still preparing to make an offer to Clay today or Saturday, and they believe they’ll get him, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Having already added LeSean McCoy, the Bills are also hoping they can add Percy Harvin on a one-year deal to complement Sammy Watkins. Whether it’s Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel, or Tyrod Taylor heading the team’s offense next season, it’s clear Buffalo is doing everything it can to ensure that its starting quarterback has plenty of weapons at his disposal.

AFC East Notes: Hardy, Bush, Bulaga, Clay

March 14th, 2015 at 4:56pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Patriots have a history of taking in players with checkered pasts, and could have the opportunity to do so again by signing Greg Hardy this offseason, write Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com. He notes that the team took in trouble souls such as Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Aqib Talib, and most recently LeGarrette Blount, all of whom had successful runs with the team.

Considering the cap space the Patriots have available after losing both Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, Hardy could be the next reclamation project for Bill Belichick.

  • The Patriots lost versatile tailback Shane Vereen to the Giants, and missed out on Reggie Bush, who signed with the 49ers earlier today. That puts them in the market for a pass catching option out of the backfield, writes Mike Reiss of ESPN. Reiss writes that last year’s fourth-round pick James White could fill that role, or Dion Lewis, both of whom are still on the roster. He also picks out University of Miami running back Duke Johnson and former Saint Pierre Thomas as possible options.
  • The Bills were pursuing offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga aggressively in free agency, and Andrew Brandt noted that Buffalo had offered him more money than he got to return to the Packers, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.
  • The Bills may have lost out on Bulaga, but they are still trying to land Charles Clay away from the Dolphins, writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. The team fully intends to sign Clay to an offer sheet, then the Dolphins would have to either match or allow Clay to leave.
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