HEADLINES

Chris Polk

Texans Sign Chris Polk

April 29th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 4:20pm: The Texans have officially announced the signing of Polk, via a team release.

TUESDAY, 6:16pm: Polk’s deal calls for him to earn a $660K base salary and he can make an additional $100K through per-game bonuses, according to McClain (on Twitter).

5:00pm: It’ll be a one-year deal for Polk, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

4:43pm: Four days after he officially became an unrestricted free agent, former Eagles running back Chris Polk has found a new home. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), Polk has reached an agreement to sign with the Texans.

Polk, 25, took on a slightly larger role in Philadelphia’s offense last season behind LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, totaling 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. After agreeing to a trade that sent McCoy to the Bills, the Eagles – presumably expecting Polk to play an even more significant part on the offense in 2015 – assigned him a $1.542MM RFA tender.

Later in March, however, the Eagles landed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to go along with Sproles, creating a bit of a crowd on the team’s running back depth chart. After reportedly approaching Polk about signing for less than his $1.542MM tender, the team elected to rescind that tender last Friday, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent and sign anywhere.

Arian Foster still has a firm hold on the Texans’ No. 1 running back job, but Houston could use some depth at the position, and has been linked to multiple running backs in the draft. Polk figures to challenge Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes, and Ben Malena for playing time and touches in camp this summer.

Per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter), Polk also received some interest from the Seahawks before he decided to sign with the Texans.

Five Teams Interested In Chris Polk

April 25th, 2015 at 10:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Five teams are in the running for free agent running back Chris Polk, Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets. One of the teams with interest in Polk, he adds, is from the NFC East. The former Eagle is currently weighing his options.

The Eagles rescinded Polk‘s RFA contract tender on Friday, making him an unrestricted free agent. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, Philadelphia was open to re-signing the running back at a lower salary, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.

Polk, 25, took on a slightly larger role in Philadelphia’s offense last season behind LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, totaling 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. After agreeing to a trade that sent McCoy to the Bills, the Eagles – presumably expecting Polk to play an even more significant part on the offense in 2015 – assigned him a $1.542MM RFA tender. Later in March, however, the Eagles landed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to go along with Sproles, creating a back log on the running back depth chart.

Now, Polk is on the open market and he just might land with a divisional rival of the Eagles.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Hardy, Bradford, Polk

April 24th, 2015 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Giants‘ top three most-played safeties from 2014 – Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps, and Stevie Brown – are no longer under contract with the team, and the club missed out on Devin McCourty in free agency. However, GM Jerry Reese doesn’t view the position as an area of need, as Conor Orr of NFL.com details. While Reese may not consider safety to be as important a position as some other spots on the field, it would still be a surprise if the Giants don’t grab one or two at some point in the draft.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • There are some “smart people” around the NFL who believe Greg Hardy‘s suspension will ultimately be reduced from 10 games to something in the neighborhood of two to six games, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Even if Hardy’s appeal isn’t successful, the NFLPA may file a lawsuit on behalf of the Cowboys defensive end, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  • Hardy’s stint in Dallas is off to an ominous start, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who reports that the defensive end was involved in an altercation with Cowboys teammate Davon Coleman today. A source tells Garafolo that Hardy questioned Colemans’s effort during conditioning drills, and a verbal altercation nearly turned into a physical one. Meanwhile, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links) hears that Coleman incited Hardy by calling him a “woman beater.” According to Getlin, there’s some concern among the Cowboys that Hardy is already at odds with another member of the club’s defensive line.
  • Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Sam Bradford isn’t willing to settle for a “substandard” contract extension, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Instead, the former first overall pick is hoping to submit a strong 2015 campaign and reassess his market value at that point. There’s also not 100% certainty that the Eagles will hang on to Bradford through the draft, so the QB wants to make sure he knows where he’ll be playing before he locks himself into a long-term extension.
  • Earlier this afternoon, the Eagles rescinded Chris Polk‘s RFA contract tender, making him an unrestricted free agent. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Philadelphia was open to re-signing the running back at a lower salary, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.

Eagles Rescind RFA Tender For Chris Polk

April 24th, 2015 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

After a March shopping spree that included two major running back signings, the Eagles appear to have decided they no longer require a back to whom they tendered an offer earlier in the offseason. According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter), the Eagles have rescinded their RFA tender for Chris Polk.

Polk, 25, took on a slightly larger role in Philadelphia’s offense last season behind LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, totaling 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. After agreeing to a trade that sent McCoy to the Bills, the Eagles – presumably expecting Polk to play an even more significant part on the offense in 2015 – assigned him a $1.542MM RFA tender.

Later in March, however, the Eagles landed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to go along with Sproles, creating a back log on the running back depth chart. If the team hadn’t rescinded Polk’s RFA offer, he would have had to sign an offer sheet with another club by today. Philadelphia’s decision to withdraw the offer allows Polk to hit the unrestricted FA market without potential suitors having to worry that the Eagles might match their offers.

Eagles Rumors: Murray, Mathews, Kelly

March 12th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles coach Chip Kelly took the podium today to announce the team’s signing of DeMarco Murray. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from that and more concerning the Eagles..

  • Kelly said his plan was always to bring in two running backs, according to the staff at PhiladelphiaEagles.com (on Twitter). Kelly believed that the three best backs in free agency were Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Frank Gore, and he wanted to get two to replace LeSean McCoy (link).
  • Despite speculation that the signing of Murray could dissuade Mathews from going through with his agreement, Mathews said the situation was never in doubt, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (via Twitter). Breer also writes that people within the Eagles’ organization were uncertain of Mathews would sign with the team after Murray was signed (via Twitter).
  • Kelly said he thought Murray would be out of the Eagles’ price range, but Murray turned down more money to go to Philly, Chearean Williams of the Star-Telegram tweets.
  • Despite having Murray, Mathews, and Darren Sproles on the depth chart, Kelly said he still plans to retain restricted free agent Chris Polk, Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets. Kelly also said that he might only carry three tight ends this year.
  • Kelly isn’t sure if he can or will make a move towards a wide receiver in free agency, but he’ll look hard at this year’s wide receiver crop in the draft, Mosher tweets.
  • Kelly went into free agency with dollar figure earmarked for each position, Mosher tweets. He said the numbers were flexible, but his actions clearly show that he values running backs over wide receivers.
  • Murray told reporters that he felt that the Eagles gave him a great opportunity to win a Super Bowl and that the deal “wasn’t about financial security or anything like that,” Williams tweets.

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.

Extra Points: Dreessen, Cutler, Ferguson

July 12th, 2014 at 1:11pm CST by Matt Feminis
  • Speaking with Vic Carucci & Dan Leberfeld on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Broncos tight end Joel Dreessen weighed in on the Jimmy Graham ruling, saying the decision struck a nerve and that he agreed with Tony Gonzalez’s take on the situation: “It’s kind of frustrating that guys who get asked to do probably the second most after the quarterback is kinda down there on the pay scale.”
  • Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune listed 12 NFL training camp storylines to watch, including Jay Cutler‘s new deal. “The Bears signed quarterback Jay Cutler to a $126 million contract extension that is essentially a $54 million deal for the next three seasons before it goes year-to-year,” says Biggs. “It’s a huge payday that general manager Phil Emery based on future performance, as Cutler’s resume includes only one postseason victory.”
  • Last year was an “uncharacteristically bad year” for Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, says the New York Post’s Brian Costello, who believes 2013 will prove to be “an aberration and not a sign of decline.” However, Costello does caution: “Ferguson has the highest salary cap figure on the team at $11.7 million. After a few restructurings to help the team gain salary cap space in 2012 and ’13, the bill is now coming due for the Jets. Ferguson’s cap numbers are huge for the next four years. If Ferguson’s play slips, the Jets might have to consider releasing him before the 2016 season, when they could save $9 million in cap space by cutting him.”
  • Branden Albert of the Dolphins and Jairus Byrd of the Saints topped ESPN’s list of free agents who will transform teams. The last three seasons, Albert has allowed just 4.6 pressures per 100 pass blocks, good enough for third in the league over that span. As for Byrd, he allowed a paltry 0.23 yards per coverage snap last season, third-best in the league.
  • Answering questions about the Eagles’ projected roster, PhillyMag.com’s Tim McManus said he doesn’t expect many “curveballs,” i.e. surprises, when the team’s 53-man is finalized. McManus expects LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk to serve as the running back trio, and he expects Brad Smith to stick as the fifth receiver. The one mild surprise could be Travis Long forcing veteran Brandon Graham out, though that would mean employing two backups at defensive end (Long and first-rounder Marcus Smith) with no NFL experience.
  • Entering training camp, 49 Patriots players are “sure-fire locks” or “near locks,” in the estimation of ESPN New England’s Mike Reiss, who breaks down the projected roster.