HEADLINES

Chris Hogan

Patriots Notes: Jones, Hightower, Ebner, Hogan

February 28th, 2016 at 2:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots have filled the vacancy created when Bob Quinn left for the Lions, as Dave Ziegler has been promoted to director of pro personnel, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Ziegler, 38, had spent the past three year’s as Quinn’s No. 2, and previously worked for the Broncos under current New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Here’s a bit more on the Patriots…

  • New England has an impressive crop of players entering the final year of their contracts, as Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and Malcolm Butler — among others — will be free agents after the 2016 season. But the club hadn’t initiated extension talks with any of those players as of Friday, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The Patriots might begin contract conversations after free agency concludes, per Volin, but Hightower, for his part, appears likely to play out the season on his fifth-year option without coming to a long-term agreement.
  • Receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell are both potential cap casualties, but the Patriots haven’t “tipped their hand” about their plans for the pass-catchers, writes Volin. Additionally, offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon, also though to be on the roster bubble, aren’t sure of their status.
  • The Patriots want to retain free agent defensive back Nate Ebner — a special-teams ace — but the team is playing “hardball” at the moment, and hopes that it can re-sign Ebner for the veteran’s minimum.
  • Defensive tackle Alan Branch‘s $400K option bonus is due on the third day of the new league year, according to Reiss. If he’s retained, the 31-year-old Branch is due to count $2.75MM against New England’s cap.
  • The Patriots have a history of targeting restricted free agents — both those who are tendered by their clubs and those who aren’t — and one such player who might interest New England this offseason is Bills receiver Chris Hogan, per Reiss, who notes that Buffalo may not tender Hogan due to its salary cap restraints.

AFC Notes: Patriots, Steelers, Pouncey, Vick

August 27th, 2015 at 9:44pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s not immediately clear whether Micahel Williams, acquired by the Patriots in a Tuesday trade, will be playing tight end or tackle, Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. Williams came on to the practice field wearing a No. 74 jersey but later changed into No. 85 and could be seen working out with the tight end group. The 6’6″ athlete first came into the NFL as a tight end but was moved to tackle by the Lions in 2014 after their selection of Eric Ebron. Here’s more from the AFC..

  • Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says center Maurkice Pouncey, who fractured his left fibula Sunday against the Packers, has a chance to return this season, as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. However, he did not offer a timetable on when that might be. Pouncey has told teammates he would like to play this season and it sounds like he’s a candidate for the IR-DTR list.
  • Michael Vick‘s one-year contract with the Steelers calls for a base salary of $970K, the veteran’s minimum, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The deal has no injury split and zero guaranteed money.
  • Bills receiver Chris Hogan has had an up-and-down summer and is battling a knee injury, but he doesn’t believe his roster spot is in jeopardy, as he tells Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News. A handful of Bills wideouts, including Deonte Thompson and Andre Davis, have had strong preseasons, which could make for a difficult decision or two in Buffalo.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

RFA Decisions: Thursday

March 5th, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agency will get most of the publicity, but UFAs aren’t the only players impacted by the beginning of the new league year on March 10. By 3pm CT on that date, clubs must decide whether to tender offers to restricted free agents — players who have exactly three years of service time. We’ll round up those decisions here, with the latest updates being added to the top…

  • The Colts made several moves today, announcing they’ve tendered restricted free agent linebacker Jerrell Freeman, as well as three exclusive rights free agents: running back Dan Herron, and linebackers Daniel Adongo and Cam Johnson. Freeman and Herron are the biggest names here — despite missing four games, Freeman finished with the fifth-most snaps on Indy’s defense, while Herron took over as the club’s starting running back by the end of the season.
  • On the other hand, the Colts won’t tender an offer to RFA center A.Q. Shipley, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Shipley was the club’s Week 1 starter at center, and received positive marks from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so he should find some interest on the open market.
  • Following their trade of LeSean McCoy, the Eagles don’t have much depth at running back, and while they plan to offer an RFA tender to RB Chris Polk, it will only be at the “right of first refusal” level, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. Therefore, Philadelphia will only commit about $1.5MM to Polk, and won’t receive any compensation if another club signs him away.
  • The Bills have decided to bring back three ERFAs, tendering offers to receivers Justin Brown and Chris Hogan, as well as defensive tackle Corbin Bryant, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Hogan, who saw the most snaps of the three, was a prominent feature of the Dolphins’ Hard Knocks season on HBO in 2012. Additionally, Buffalo did not tender an offer to ERFA kicker Jordan Gay, per Rodak (Twitter link).
  • The Giants have tendered exclusive rights free agent corner Chandler Fenner, tweets Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. Fenner, 24, saw action in 11 games for New York last season.

Minor Moves: Bills, Lions, Jaguars, 49ers

April 22nd, 2014 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Within this post, we’ll round up all of Tuesday’s minor transactions — players accepting exclusive rights contract tenders, teams signing players without real NFL experience, minor contract restructures, and so on. Any new minor transactions that pop up during the rest of the afternoon and evening will be added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Dolphins have signed punter Matt Szymanski to a contract, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Given the presence of Pro Bowl punter Brandon Fields on the Dolphins’ roster, Szymanski will likely just be an extra camp leg for the team.

Earlier updates:

  • Exclusive rights free agents Chris Hogan, Antoine McClain, and Frank Summers have re-signed with the Bills, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (via Twitter). Of the three players, Summers played the most for the club in 2013, appearing in 232 offensive snaps and scoring a pair of touchdowns. Hogan also caught 10 balls and recorded nine special teams tackles.
  • Cory Greenwood, who previously had two years remaining on his contract with the Lions, has eliminated the 2015 season and reduced his 2014 salary and cap number to the minimum ($645K), says Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). The renegotiation also eliminates a $20K workout bonus for this year, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
  • Jaguars fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou has signed his ERFA tender to return to the team, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Ta’ufo’ou, who had 10 carries and a single reception for Jacksonville in 2013, will be eligible for restricted free agency after the 2014 season.
  • The 49ers have waived fullback Alex Debniak, who spent his rookie season on IR with a torn Achilles, the team announced today in a press release.

Contract Updates: Jets, Bills, Ratliff, Titans

March 6th, 2014 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Restricted free agent cornerback Darrin Walls agreed to a new deal with the Jets last night, and agent Jordan Woy tweets that it’s a two-year contract. Ellis Lankster, who also agreed on a new deal with the Jets, will be on a two-year, $1.63MM contract, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Lankster’s pact appears to be worth slightly more than the minimum.

With free agency looming and several players having already signed new contracts or reworked old ones, we have plenty more contract and cap updates to pass along, so let’s dive right in….

  • The Bills extended contract tenders to all four of their exclusive rights free agents, and cornerback Brandon Smith has accepted his, according to Joe Buscaglia of WGR550 (Twitter links). With Smith set to return to the team on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, offensive guard Antoine McClain, fullback Frank Summers, and wide receiver Chris Hogan will also be back in Buffalo if and when they sign their tenders.
  • Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) has the details on Jeremiah Ratliff‘s new two-year contract with the Bears. It’s worth a total of $4MM, with $600K guaranteed.
  • The cap figures on Troy Polamalu‘s new three-year contract with the Steelers are $6.387MM (2014), $8.25MM (2015), and $8MM (2016), with respective base salaries of $1.5MM, $6MM, and $5.75MM, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
  • The Browns have extended a contract tender to inside linebacker Craig Robertson, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Robertson, who was an exclusive rights free agent, will be in line for a minimum salary of $570K for 2014.
  • New one-year deals for running backs Jackie Battle (Titans) and Bobby Rainey (Bucs) are both worth the minimum, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean and Tom Pelissero of USA Today, respectively (Twitter links). Battle’s minimum salary ($855K) is a little more substantial than Rainey’s ($570K) due to his extra years of service time.
  • Wyatt also shares (via Twitter) a few more specifics on Bernard Pollard‘s two-year deal with the Titans, which has base salaries of $1.65MM in 2014 and $3.1MM in 2015.