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Dion Lewis

East Notes: Hardy, Fins, D. Lewis

October 11th, 2015 at 12:02pm CST by Rory Parks

Greg Hardy is set to make his Cowboys debut today, though it will not come without some extra controversy. On Tuesday, in his first media session since he signed a one-year deal with Dallas this offseason, Hardy made some bizarre and ill-timed comments regarding Tom Brady‘s wife and returning to the field with “guns blazin,'” and a rap video heavy on strippers and guns–which Hardy made during his suspension–surfaced just yesterday. The NFL’s first vice president of social responsibility, Anna Isaacson, recently issued the following statement:

“I couldn’t disagree more with Greg Hardy’s comments, and they do not reflect the values of the league. We are working hard to bring attention to the positive role models many other players represent and also to continue our education with all members of the NFL family.”

As the early Week 5 games approach, let’s take a quick swing around the league’s east divisions, including more notes on Hardy:

  • Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett reportedly admonished Hardy for his comments, but on Friday, owner Jerry Jones took to the airwaves to defend his player. In so doing, says Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News, Jones undermined his head coach and further enabled the apparently oblivious Hardy.
  • In a bit of Twitter repartee this morning, ESPN’s Ed Werder and former Packers executive Andrew Brandt discussed the Hardy signing. Brandt points out that, in normal circumstances, Hardy would have generated interest from 12-15 clubs, but given his impending suspension, only one or two teams were interested. Werder says that, had teams known Hardy would have agreed to the team-friendly terms that the Cowboys offered him, there would have been at least 15 clubs in the running. The lack of interest, Werder says, was not based upon morality.
  • The Dolphins might have just fired Joe Philbin, but it was not that long ago that owner Stephen Ross was determined that Philbin would lead his club for the foreseeable future. Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Miami vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum pushed Ross to at least pursue Dan Quinn, who was ultimately hired by the Falcons, but Ross would have none of it, and the Dolphins never even made an effort to contact Quinn.
  • Whether or not the Dolphins are able to land Sean Payton in the offseason–and all indications are that Payton will remain in New Orleans—James Walker of ESPN.com says the interest in Payton makes it clear that Miami will be seeking an experienced head coach at season’s end.
  • Ben Volin of The Boston Globe explores why the Patriots, who rarely invest in running backs, recently signed Dion Lewis to a contract extension through 2017 after just three games. As Volin points out, the Pats got tremendous value out of the deal, as Lewis has no guaranteed money for 2016 or 2017, and his cap number for 2017 will be the second-lowest among all starting running backs. New England is privately shocked that Lewis accepted a deal so far below market value.

AFC East Notes: Patriots, Dolphins, Jets

October 10th, 2015 at 5:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dion Lewis agreeing to a deal the Patriots felt was below market value shocked the team, sources told Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

By signing the deal, Lewis agreed to accept just $600K guaranteed, in the form of a signing bonus, despite averaging 108.3 yards from scrimmage per game in his three-game stint in New England.

Volin notes that Lewis’ 2015 overall earnings will be $1.19MM, the same as backup Brandon Bolden, and his 2016 base salary ($800K) will be less than punter Ryan Allen‘s $1MM haul.

In pointing out that Shane Vereen and Roy Helu received $4.75MM guaranteed and $4.1MM over two years, respectively, Volin argues Lewis, who he calls potentially a much better player than both, sold low on himself.

In other news from the AFC East …

  • The Patriots, thanks to trades of and for complementary parts and compensatory picks, will have an interesting stable of draft choices in 2016, writes Volin, who points out that a quarterback-desperate team like the Texans could fork over as much as a first-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo. That seems high, considering Ryan Mallett came to Houston for a Day 3 draft pick. Although if the Pats trade for a first-rounder, the NFL will deprive them of whichever selection is higher — their pick or an acquired selection — due to the Deflategate penalties stripping them of their first-rounder.
  • Stephen Ross will have to stop firing staffers in sections, writes Volin, if he wants any kind of stability to be associated with his franchise. The Dolphins owner fired Tony Sparano but kept GM Jeff Ireland in 2012, fired Ireland but retained Joe Philbin and now staggered the firings of Philbin and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.
  • Sheldon Richardson won’t be restricted much despite missing four games due to suspension, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Mehta also expects Jets coach Todd Bowles to use more four-man fronts now that arguably his top defensive lineman is back in a way to get Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams on the field together.
  • Daryl Slater of the New York Daily News argues Richardson will be eased into action more gradually than Mehta predicts, with the ex-Missouri lineman being barred from practice at the Jets’ facilities during his suspension.
  • Richardson’s next suspension for his speeding/resisting arrest incident over the summer won’t come until 2016, Slater offers, with the case continuing to see delays.

Patriots Extend Dion Lewis Through 2017

October 10th, 2015 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 2:07pm: Lewis’ official extension is for two years and $3MM, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Cap charges for Lewis’ deal are $791K for 2015, $1.2MM in 2016 and $1.6MM in ’17, per Howe. The latter number as of now represents the second-lowest cap figure for any running back for the 2017 campaign, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports.

Additionally, the newest Patriots backfield contributor can earn $12.5K per game in roster bonuses in 2016.

Another such bonus comes from Lewis’ snap count, Howe notes, with the running back set to collect $200K for participating in 40% of New England’s plays next season. That number could rise to $400K if Lewis plays in 60% of the Pats’ snaps. He’s played in 67.8% of them through three games this season, doing so after Shane Vereen‘s number came in at 52.6% in 2014.

THURSDAY, 10:15am: The Patriots have locked up running back Dion Lewis to a new contract, signing him to a two-year extension that keeps him under team control through the 2017 season, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Lewis’ minimum-salary pact had been set to expire after this year.

Yates reports (via Twitter) that the deal features base salaries of $800K (2016) and $1.2MM (2017), along with a signing bonus of $600K, so it sounds like the base value will be at least $2.6MM. The contract also comes with up to $1.8MM in incentives that Lewis could earn in 2016 and 2017, says Yates. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds (via Twitter) that the contract could be worth up to about $5MM in total.

Lewis, 25, hadn’t seen the field in a regular season game since December 2012 coming into this year, but he has quickly become a key component of the Patriots’ offense. Through three games – all wins – Lewis has tallied 146 yards on the ground and another 179 through the air, with a pair of touchdowns.

If Lewis hadn’t received a new contract from the Patriots, the former fifth-round pick would have been eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the 2015 campaign.

AFC East Notes: FJax, Bills, Dolphins, Lewis

October 9th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Running back Fred Jackson was hurt when the Bills released him earlier this year and in a heartfelt piece for The Players’ Tribune, the veteran discussed the events surrounding his departure from Buffalo.

“Any time you get caught off guard with news like that, you don’t know how to respond,” Jackson wrote. “The natural reaction is to be disappointed — which I was — or angry — which I also was. But at the end of the day, the NFL is a business and the team decided they thought it was in its best interest to release me. And no matter how I felt about the situation, I needed to find a new team. The best thing I could do is to find an organization that wanted me to be there, where I had a chance to make it to the playoffs and make a run at a Super Bowl — something I never got the opportunity to do in Buffalo.”

Within the essay, Jackson also says that he asked GM Doug Whaley if he needed to worry about his job being in jeopardy after pulling his hamstring in training camp. Whaley, he asserts, told him not to worry about his job, but he was dropped from the roster soon after.

Here’s more out of the AFC East..

  • James Walker of ESPN.com wonders if the Dolphins should explore their trade options between now and the deadline. He feels that wide receiver Rishard Matthews, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2016 and looking for a nice raise, would make sense as a trade chip. Through four games (but really three games because of his quiet Week 4) this season, Matthews has posted 17 cathes, 278 yards, and three touchdowns.
  • It’s hard to criticize Patriots running back Dion Lewis for signing a new deal when given the opportunity, Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald said on CSNNE. The Patriots signed Lewis to a contract extension through the 2017 season on Thursday. With the way Lewis is playing, that deal looks rather team-friendly at the moment.
  • Lewis can earn up to $400K in incentives in 2016 and 2017 if he plays in 60% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps, Howe tweets.

AFC East Notes: J. Taylor, McCourty, Dareus

August 23rd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Giants suffered yet another blow to their secondary last night, and as Adam H. Beasley of The Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins‘ secondary is also growing thin due to injury. After losing Louis Delmas to a torn ACL last week, Miami saw Jamar Taylor leave last night’s preseason game to a quadriceps injury. Taylor, fighting for a starting cornerback spot opposite Brent Grimes, dealt with a sports hernia in his rookie campaign in 2013, and last year he was placed on IR with a shoulder injury. The severity of Taylor’s latest ailment is unknown at this time.

As the Giants and Dolphins fret over their secondaries, let’s take a look at a few more links from the AFC East:

  • Devin McCourty played cornerback for the Patriots in their preseason contest against New Orleans last night, and he did not like it one bit. McCourty said, via Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com, “I hope it’s not permanent. It didn’t feel great, and I don’t think it looked great so we’ll see.” McCourty, of course, transitioned to safety from corner in 2012, and has thrived as a safety in the past couple of seasons. But with the exodus of starting-caliber corners from New England this offseason, the team may be forced to utilize McCourty’s versatility more than he would like.
  • In a separate piece, Curran discusses the status of the Patriots‘ running back battle in light of the impressive performances from James White and Dion Lewis last night.
  • PFR’s Sam Robinson wrote yesterday that Marcell Dareus has softened his public stance towards his contract negotiations with the Bills, and as Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News opines, it’s the right move. Sullivan writes that Dareus may be an excellent player, but he is surrounded by other terrific players on the defensive line, and he is not nearly the run defender that Ndamukong Suh is. Those facts, combined with Dareus’ past indiscretions, suggest that Dareus should not be paid like Suh, regardless of what Dareus himself thinks. In the end, the Bills will likely bend a bit, Dareus will bend a bit, and Dareus will remain in Buffalo for the foreseeable future.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com says Jets‘ tight end Jace Amaro, a holdover from the John Idzik regime, is on the “moderate” hot seat. Amaro was listed as the third tight end on the team’s first official depth chart, and the team has mixed feelings about him. Cimini adds that wide receiver Jeremy Kerley is in a similar situation, especially given the strong training camp of Quincy Enunwa.

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.

Minor Moves: Friday

February 6th, 2015 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor moves around football, including multiple back-of-the-roster NFL transactions as well as a one-time starting quarterback heading north to the CFL….

  • Center Darren Keyton, who was cut by the Lions before the team’s Wild Card game, has re-signed with the club, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • Quarterback John Skelton, who started 17 games for the Cardinals from 2010 to 2012, has signed a two-year pact with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Skelton’s stint in Arizona wasn’t particularly effective — he finished with 15 touchdowns to 25 interceptions, completing just 53.2% of his passes and posting a 63.0 QB rating. The 26-year-old spent time most recently with the Bengals in 2013.
  • Former University of Miami center Jared Wheeler signed with the Seahawks today, according to agent Brett Tessler (via Twitter). Wheeler, who was cut by the Bills prior to the 2014 regular season, is the latest signee for Seattle, after the team added 11 players on reserve/futures contracts earlier this week.
  • The Patriots also made several reserve/futures signings yesterday, and completed a few more today, according to a team release. Defensive lineman Antonio Johnson, linebacker Rufus Johnson, and running back Dion Lewis have new contracts with the Pats.

Minor Moves: Wednesday

December 31st, 2014 at 7:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Playoff teams and non-playoff teams both continue to make roster moves this week, and we’ll round up today’s minor transactions below. Here’s the latest:

  • The Jaguars signed wide receiver Arrelious Benn to a two-year deal, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Dan Duggan of NJ.com reports (via Twitter) that the team also signed safety Jeremy Deering.
  • Long snapper Brandon Hartson inked a futures contract with the Chiefs, according to agent Brian McLaughlin (via Twitter). Kansas City has been busy locking up players for 2015, announcing 14 reserve deals yesterday.
  • Per Oliver Thomas of PatriotsObserver.com (via Twitter), the Patriots signed three players to reserve/futures contracts today: Defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, linebacker Rufus Johnson, and running back Dion Lewis. Since New England’s season isn’t over, the team can’t yet lock up any players from its practice squad to futures deals.
  • The Saints have added another player on a reserve/futures contract, signing veteran safety Kenny Phillips today, tweets Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune. A former first-round pick, Phillips worked out for New Orleans in November.

Earlier updates:

  • Cornerback Roc Carmichael and guard Antoine McClain inked reserve/futures deals with the Cardinals, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). Carmichael has spent time with the Eagles over the last two seasons, while McClain finished the 2014 campaign on the Bears’ practice squad.
  • The Panthers signed guard Tyronne Green to a futures contract for 2015, the team announced today (Twitter link). Green most recently spent time with the Cowboys, having been cut by the team in July.
  • The Bengals have placed wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher on the injured reserve list due to a concussion, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). While losing Sanzenbacher, who caught just nine balls this season, isn’t a significant blow for Cincinnati, the team hopes A.J. Green won’t miss this weekend’s game with a similar ailment. With the newly-opened spot on the 53-man roster, the Bengals promoted wideout Cobi Hamilton from the practice squad.
  • Offensive tackle Joe Long, the brother of Rams tackle Jake Long, has been added to the Lions‘ taxi squad, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Detroit had been carrying just nine players on its unit, so no corresponding move was required to make room for Long.
  • The Buccaneers have signed former Northern Colorado quarterback Seth Lobato to a reserve/futures contract for 2015, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

East Notes: Revis, Washington, Jets, Giants

December 4th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

There were times last season in Tampa Bay when Darrelle Revis didn’t necessarily look like one of the league’s best cornerbacks, but the veteran corner has re-established himself this year in New England, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Sando (Insider link), who calls Revis the year’s No. 1 free agent or trade acquisition. The East’s two division leaders get nods in Sando’s piece, with the Patriots being recognized for their signing of Revis and the Eagles lauded for their trade for Darren Sproles, who ranks seventh on the list.

Here’s more from around the NFC and AFC East divisions:

  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com expects quarterback Colt McCoy to return to Washington next season, but notes that McCoy is eligible for free agency, and if he reaches the open market, he’ll likely get offers from other teams after holding his own as a starter this year.
  • 35-year-old Washington safety Ryan Clark is focused on finishing this season strong, and isn’t thinking about his NFL future, writes Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. Still, while Clark stopped short of saying he’ll retire, he indicated that this season could be his last.
  • The Jets brought in several players for tryouts this week, focusing on the defensive line and special teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Wilson reports that the club worked out defensive linemen Ben Bass, Kona Schwenke, and Zach Thompson, punters Kasey Redfern and Jacob Schum, and long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • In addition to working out cornerback Keith Lewis, whose audition was previously reported, Washington also took a look at running back Terrance Cobb and offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson earlier this week, tweets Wilson. Johnson has since signed with the division-rival Giants‘ practice squad.
  • Those Giants worked out several players of their own this week, per Wilson, who provides the list of participants (Twitter link): D.J. Bryant (OLB), Mike Golic Jr. (OL), Dion Lewis (RB), Jordan McCray (OL), and Uani Unga (LB).

Audition Notes: Thursday

November 13th, 2014 at 7:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest workouts from around the National Football League..

  • The Buccaneers worked out a trio of punters (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter): Chase Tenpenny, Jacob Schum and Tom Hornsey.

Earlier updates:

  • The Patriots auditioned running back Dion Lewis, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Lewis worked out for the Giants late last month during their bye week.
  • Before signing D.J. Smith to the taxi squad, the Browns also worked out linebacker Dan Fox, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
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