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Danny Amendola

Extra Points: Slauson, Okoye, Flacco, Amendola

May 7th, 2016 at 12:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL on this Saturday morning…

  • Former Bears offensive lineman Matt Slauson left his visit with the Bills without a contract, tweets Michael Gehlken of San Diego Union-Tribune. The 30-year-old is also set to meet with the Chargers, who Gehlken says are “very much in the mix.”
  • Amobi Okoye is attempting another NFL comeback, writes Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The former first-round pick was stricken with a rare illness, which seemingly ended his career in 2012. Luckily, the defensive tackle made his way back with the Cowboys last season, but he was cut before he could take the field. “The illness happened and I really beat it,” Okoye said. “I’m feeling really good. My doctor has cleared me for full-contact football since August of 2014. I’m working hard to get back in the NFL. I’ve always felt a passion for working out and my recovery has gone very well. I’ve been going through my normal training regimen. I’m full-go, training hard and waiting to get that call to get back on a team. I’m still fairly young. That kind of helps.”
  • There was one interesting participant at the Ravens rookie minicamp (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun on Twitter): tight end Michael Flacco, brother of quarterback Joe Flacco.
  • Danny Amendola‘s role on the Patriots is “irreplaceable,” said the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe on CSNNE.com. As a result, the reporter says it would have been interested if the wideout has called the Patriots’ bluff in regard to a pay cut.

AFC Notes: Dolphins, Patriots, Texans

March 26th, 2016 at 10:16am CST by Ben Levine

After having spent the first four years of his career with the Ravens, Courtney Upshaw joined the Falcons yesterday. Still, the 26-year-old was quick to recognize his former team’s fans.

“No thank you!” he wrote on Instagram. “#ravennation I appreciate all the love! Gonna miss those guys! Gonna miss those all black uniforms! Next man up! I understand that it’s a business! I met some great people in Baltimore who treated me like family and I appreciate it all! God has a plan for me and this is part of it! Call it a fresh start or whatever but I’m ready for the challenge!”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the AFC…

  • Dolphins rookie head coach Adam Gase has watched as a trio of talented young players (Olivier Vernon, Lamar Miller, Rishard Matthews) left Miami this offseason. Still, he understands the roster turnover is part of the job. “That’s the struggle, that’s the tough part about being, at least for myself being in Year 1, there’s nothing that I was able to do as far as moving forward,” he told ESPN.com’s James Walker. “We were in that situation. We had three good players that were wanted by other teams. Obviously we would have loved to keep them but it was too late. Once they hit the market, it was going to be a challenge to keep them on our roster.”
  • Despite the receiver’s $6.8MM cap hit, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss believes the Patriots should hold on to wideout Danny Amendola. With the team acquiring a handful of new targets for Tom Brady, the writer wonders whether the organization would ask Amendola to take a payout for the second straight season.
  • The Texans could use a speedy wideout in the draft, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. He also notes that offensive tackle, defensive end, safety, tight end, and center are other positions of need.

AFC Notes: Amendola, Jordan, Titans, Jets

March 17th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

After acquiring tight end Martellus Bennett and signing wide receiver Chris Hogan, the Patriots are now carrying five pass-catchers whose 2016 cap hits exceed $4.4MM. The two new additions almost certainly aren’t going anywhere, and the same can be said for tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman, whose $4.421MM cap number is the smallest in the group.

That leaves Danny Amendola and his $6.804MM cap charge, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk hears from a source with knowledge of the situation that Amendola’s spot on the Patriots’ roster isn’t necessarily safe. That doesn’t mean he’ll be cut — the two sides could work out a new deal that reduces Amendola’s cap hit for 2016 and allows him to stick around. But his contract is likely to be addressed in some form or another.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • Defensive end Dion Jordan is eligible for reinstatement from his suspension next month, and the Dolphins are open to the possibility of having him back on the team for 2016, as Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald details.
  • More than a week into free agency, the Titans have made plenty of moves, but there’s no indication that the team is interested in signing an offensive tackle, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. The team has 2014 first-rounder Taylor Lewan penciled in as one of its starters at tackle, but Byron Bell‘s free agency leaves a hole on the other side, and it seems increasingly likely that the team will address that spot in the draft — perhaps by using its No. 1 pick on Laremy Tunsil.
  • After Demario Davis and Antonio Allen signed with new teams on Wednesday, the Jets were left with no players from their 2012 draft class on their roster. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News takes a look back at the impact – or lack thereof – that the Jets’ 2012 draftees had on the franchise, as well as GM Mike Maccagnan.

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.

East Notes: Eagles, Giants, Patriots, Hickey

January 2nd, 2016 at 2:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles interviewed running backs coach Duce Staley for their head-coaching job, Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, on Twitter).

The former Eagles running back has been on the Philadelphia staff since 2010, serving as the running backs coach since 2013.

Staley’s coaching experience doesn’t meet the usual criteria for a realistic shot at the job. This pre-offseason summit does, however, allow the Eagles to meet the Rooney Rule requirements put in place for the consideration of minority candidates. Not exactly in the spirit of the rule, as more qualified candidates are certain to follow the 40-year-old Staley in interviewing once the season ends.

Here is some more from the Eastern divisions on the eve of the final regular-season Sunday.

  • Chip Kelly‘s year of full personnel control went awry quickly, and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman takes a look at the steps that led to the early divorce. Not paying enough attention to keeping the offensive line fortified after releases of Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans proved to be part of the downfall, Berman writes.
  • The Giants expect Owa Odighizuwa to come off IR-DTR today, per NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter). The 23-year-old defensive end’s been out since October with a hamstring malady, playing in just four games as a rookie. When the Giants used their IR-DTR slot on their third-round pick Nov. 5, the playoffs remained in sight. But Sunday was the earliest Odighizuwa could play, and present circumstances mean he’d make a rare return for a meaningless contest.
  • In the likely event Tom Coughlin‘s 12-season Giants tenure concludes after Sunday’s game, Big Blue needs to pursue former OC Sean Payton or Nick Saban, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News writes. The New York reporter notes those two candidates wouldn’t require any on-the-job training, although Saban’s Dolphins stint left much to be desired, and the Giants’ winning pedigree shouldn’t force them to settle for an unseasoned coordinator. Vacchiano also reports the Giants interviewed the 64-year-old Saban for their head-coaching job in 1997 and offered the then-Michigan State head coach the position. Jim Fassel eventually became Big Blue’s coach, and Coughlin took over seven years later. The Giants would have to trade for Payton, who earns $8MM per season and is signed through 2017.
  • Dennis Hickey remains unlikely to be retained as Dolphins GM, Armando Salguero reports (on Twitter). Hickey has not been fired yet and could be reassigned, Salguero notes. Mike Tannenbaum‘s presence stripped power from Hickey, who’s only been on the job two years after being hired to succeed Jeff Ireland in Jan. 2014.
  • Danny Amendola, who has 63 receptions, can earn $225K in incentives with seven catches against the Dolphins, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports. The inconsistent Patriots wideout’s made $525K in incentives already this season. Julian Edelman missed out on $500K in incentives by finishing nine catches shy of 70. The bonus only applies to the regular season, meaning the top Pats receiver’s prospective playoff receptions wouldn’t count toward it. Sebastian Vollmer will miss out on a $750K bonus by falling short of the 80% snap threshold this season, and Alan Branch won’t hit the 50% standard to receive a $250K bonus.

 

Extra Points: Amendola, Patriots, Los Angeles

December 6th, 2015 at 4:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Returning from injury, Patriots receiver Danny Amendola has had a nice — and profitable — day so far, as New England is tied with Philadelphia as the contest heads to halftime. Amendola not only caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady, but caught his 50th pass of the season, good for a $150K bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league as the second slate of NFL games reach their midway points…

  • Appearing on the Patriots‘ pre-game show, owner Robert Kraft said that NFL owners discussed the possibility of moving a team — or teams — to Los Angeles for roughly three hours at last week’s owner’s meetings. However, the group still has “no sense” of what clubs will ultimately end up in southern California (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
  • While the owners might not have a solid plan for the NFL in LA, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has several, which he outlined earlier this morning. Each scenario involves some combination of the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders in either Carson or Inglewood, CA, and the entire post is well worth a read.
  • The league recently shortened the legal tampering period from three days to two, and according to Florio, that’s not the only change the NFL will implement. Actual negotiations will be allowed to take place during that two-day window, a source tells Florio, instead of just vague contract concepts. Whether or not that means teams and agents can come to concrete agreements is still unknown.

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Payton, Pats

November 24th, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

After losing Julian Edelman for several weeks, the Patriots appear to have dodged a bullet with fellow receiver Danny Amendola. Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com writes that Amendola has a knee sprain that will limit his ability to practice this week, but he’s not expected to miss much action, and could play in Week 12 vs. the Broncos. The same can’t be said for Aaron Dobson, who is expected to miss that Denver game, and perhaps more than that, so the Pats will be hoping for a quick recovery from Amendola.

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

  • There will be a wide field of worthy candidates for the Dolphins to consider when they search for a permanent head coach this winter, but “none look as attractive or experienced” as Sean Payton, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, who says Dolphins owner Stephen Ross needs to go hard after the Saints’ head coach.
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick is the best option right now for a Jets organization that has been searching for a strong young quarterback for years, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Fitzpatrick might be flawed, but he gives Gang Green the best chance to make the postseason. Geno Smith, he feels, is is a far inferior option.
  • The Patriots opted to keep defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Dane Fletcher on the PUP list rather than activating them, as Rich Garven of The Providence Journal writes. The two veterans both seem to be healthy, but the Pats just couldn’t carve out space for them.
  • The Dolphins worked out defensive backs Dax Swanson, Brandon McGee, Dewey McDonald, and Jeremy Harris, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

Pats Restructure Danny Amendola’s Contract

March 12th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Wide receiver Danny Amendola will be sticking with the Patriots for the coming year, as the team has restructured his contract in order to keep him on the roster, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link). According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Amendola’s new deal is also for three years and is worth a total of $12.75MM, with a max value of $15MM.

Amendola was previously set to count for $5.7MM against the Patriots’ cap in 2015 with $1MM increases each year, taking him to $6.7MM in 2016 and $7.7MM in 2017. The new deal is a bit more reasonable for the Pats given Amendola’s production and overall health. The 29-year-old did play a full 16 game season in 2014, but that was his first since his sophomore season in 2010.

Last year, Amendola caught 27 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown. The advanced stats at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave Amendola an overall grade of -7.0, ranking him 93rd out of 110 qualified wide receivers.

Had the Pats cut Amendola, they would have freed up $2.1MM in cap room. Designating Amendola as a post June 1st cut, meanwhile, would have saved New England $4.5MM.

Joel Corry On Worst Salary Cap Situations

December 25th, 2014 at 10:18am CST by Rob DiRe

On Christmas Eve, Joel Corry of CBS Sports took a look at a few NFL teams who have the worst salary cap situations going into 2015. He picked out the five organizations stuck deepest in salary cap hell:

  1. New Orleans Saints – $23.07MM over the cap
  2. Arizona Cardinals – $6.44MM
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers – $2.901MM
  4. New England Patriots – $1.945MM
  5. San Francisco 49ers – $928,000

Here are some of the highlights of actions Corry suggests that would help them get under the cap in order to have a successful offseason:

Saints

  • Pass rusher Junior Galette could see his contract restructured to open up $10MM, despite signing the extension this past offseason.
  • Another contract doled off last offseason that can be restructured is of prized free agent Jairus Byrd, which could open up $5.6MM in cap space.
  • A third contract from last offseason that can be restructured is that of tight end Jimmy Graham. That move could save $4.77MM in cap space.
  • Both of their Pro Bowl guards are suddenly highly paid luxuries as they have seen their performance drop, and Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs are candidates for release. If cut, they will free up $6.6MM and $3.6MM, respectively.
  • Veteran receiver Marques Colston holds a $9.7MM cap number, and has seen a sharp decline in his play. It will be a tougher cut, but is a candidate to be released.
  • The team could restructure Drew Brees‘ contract again, although they will only push their cap problems into the future in exchange for immediate relief.
  • Releasing linebacker David Hawthorne will free up $2.99MM in cap space if he is released before his $2.5MM roster bonus on the third day of the 2015 league year.

Cardinals

Steelers

Patriots

  • The obvious move for the Patriots would be signing Darrelle Revis to a long-term deal, which would create substantial cap space. The team is unlikely to keep him in 2015 at his current number. They will open $20MM in cap space if they do not keep him on the roster.
  • The Patriots could open up $4MM in cap space by restructuring Tom Brady‘s contract.
  • The team will likely ask linebacker Jerod Mayo to take a pay cut, or they may release him. Corry writes that his $4.5MM injury guarantee will be the only thing that potentially saves him from being released.
  • Danny Amendola will be expendable, and cutting him will free up $2.1MM in cap room or $4.5MM if he is designated a post June 1st cut.
  • Vince Wilfork could also become a cap casualty, as the team will have to decide whether to guarantee his contract for 2015 and 2016. Releasing him will free up $7.566MM in cap room.
  • The team could also recoup some money from Aaron Hernandez‘ signing bonus if the grievance ruling comes back favorable for the Patriots.

49ers

  • The 49ers could restructure Colin Kaepernick‘s contract to lower his 2015 cap number.
  • Linebacker Ahmad Brooks may be released, freeing up a little over $4MM in cap room.
  • Another staple of the team, Vernon Davis, could be released as performance has dropped. The team would gain $4.95MM from releasing him.
  • If Aldon Smith‘s off-field troubles are too much for the 49ers, the team could decline his 2015 option and pick up $9.754MM in cap space.
  • The team could pass on re-signing Michael Crabtree, and will likely cut Stevie Johnson and save just over $6MM unless they lose Crabtree and replace him with Johnson.
  • The team will most likely not seek to bring Frank Gore back to the team, unless it is at an extremely reasonable number.

Pats Notes: Amendola, White, Gaston

September 21st, 2014 at 9:20am CST by Rory Parks

After signing a lucrative five-year deal prior to the 2013 season, Danny Amendola has become the “invisible man” in the Patriots’ passing game, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Through two games in 2014, Amendola has two catches for 16 yards, and he was on the field for just 18 snaps against the Vikings last weekend. As Volin notes, “It’s a continuation from the end of last year, when he had one pass thrown his way in the AFC Championship game, which he dropped.”

Volin writes that there is a disconnect between quarterback Tom Brady and Amendola, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Some of it should be placed on the offensive line, whose shoddy pass-blocking has forced Brady to get rid of the ball on hot reads and bubble screens, and some should be placed on Brady himself (after all, Amendola has gotten himself open at least a few times and Brady has missed him). Nonetheless, there was some talk at the beginning of the offseason that New England would release Amendola, and if things do not improve soon, a release following the 2014 campaign could be inevitable.

Now for some other Patriots items:

  • Amendola is not the only New England wideout yet to establish himself in the team’s aerial attack this year. As Volin writes in the same piece cited above, newly-acquired Brandon LaFell is “frustrated as hell” that he has mostly been reduced to blocking, but Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald writes that more passes will come to LaFell, Aaron Dobson, and Kenbrell Thompkins when the Patriots “expand a game plan that called for a run-first offense and quick throws to offset protection concerns.”
  • Speaking of the run-first offense, Howe writes in the same article that rookie RB James White has been the team’s only healthy scratch for the first two weeks of the season, and despite his impressive training camp, White realizes that he will need to continue to excel in practice to get a shot on game days.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com tweets that the Patriots could look to bring back DL Bruce Gaston, who was waived by the Dolphins yesterday, and place him on the practice squad.
  • In a separate piece, Reiss writes that, since the Logan Mankins trade, Nate Solder has stepped up to fill the off-the-field leadership void. Reiss also wonders if the Buccaneers are regretting the trade, which appeared to be a big win for them at the time it happened but has drawn more scrutiny during the team’s early struggles.
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