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AFC East Links: Patriots, Idzik, Orton

October 30th, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Linebacker Jonathan Casillas was acquired by the Patriots earlier this week, and the 27-year-old is doing everything in his power to play this weekend. It isn’t easy switching teams midseason, and the six-year veteran realizes that he has a lot of catching up to do (via Lee Schechter of ESPNBoston.com):

“I feel like I’m cramming for a final in college,” Casillas said. “I’m happy to be here and blessed to have this opportunity to play for a great organization.

“This is my fourth [defensive] coordinator in four years since Gregg [Williams], so five [defensive] coordinators in five years, and that’s the tough part — learning all of these different defensive schemes — not really transitioning city to city because a city is a city. I can get acclimated to my surrounding place. My job learning the Xs and Os about what I’m going to do every day and the verbiage and the communication, that’s the difficult part.”

Casillas was also asked how he felt being traded from the last-place Buccaneers to the place-first Patriots:

“Do I really have to answer that question?”

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

  • Recently released linebacker Deontae Skinner has cleared waivers and is expected to re-sign with the Patriots, tweets the Boston Globe’s Shalise Manza Young. The rookie was released by New England yesterday following the signing of Alan Branch.
  • ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss reacts to the Patriots handling of the trade deadline, writing that Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck could have helped, but the price was likely too high. Reiss notes that he never bought into the Vincent Jackson/Doug Martin rumors.
  • Jets supporters seemingly haven’t been too thrilled with the work of general manager John Idzik, and some fans have created a website called firejohnidzik.com (via John Healy of the New York Daily News).
  • Mike Rodak of ESPN.com examines the Bills options for handling Kyle Orton‘s contract should the quarterback lead the team to the playoffs. The veteran currently has $5.4MM base salary for next season (with a $7MM cap hit), but he has the opportunity to void his contract immediately following the Super Bowl. If Orton decides to stick around, Rodak believes the team’s two options are to either extend him to a long-term contract or offer him a more lucrative, one-year deal.

Buccaneers Notes: McCoy, Smith, Barron

October 29th, 2014 at 10:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Buccaneers signed defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to a big money extension earlier this week, with initial numbers reported to be $98MM over seven years, with $51MM guaranteed. While more information trickled out about the details of the contract, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has more information on the specifics, which he released in a series of tweets. He reports that $20.3MM of that total will be earned in 2014, and the rest of the money is paid out on a pay-as-you-go system. It only becomes guaranteed in the event of injury.

La Canfora gives out how much money will be owed going forward. “McCoy will make $11.5M in 2015 ($5m base/$6.5 roster bons). $12.5M in 2016 ($6M/$6.5M). $13.75M in 2017 (all base salaries), $12.75M 2018, $13M in 2019.” He also notes that McCoy will have base salaries of $10MM in 2020 and 2021, with an additional $2.5MM in roster bonuses.

Overall, after the contract guarantees kick in on the third day of the 2015 league year, the contract becomes a three year, $44.3MM deal at its minimum.

Here are some other notes from around the Buccaneers:

  • Head coach Lovie Smith does not believe the team is bereft of talent after deadline deals saw a few key players move to new teams, writes Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “The move we made gave us the best chance to win right now. … Yeah, we picked up draft picks on both of those players — moved up on one and picked up (picks) on the other,” said Smith. “But no, it’s not about the future. Yeah, it’s always about the future, but it’s about our current roster. As I said, you don’t trade players unless you feel pretty good about the other players you have.” Smith also noted that moving on from former first-round pick Mark Barron will give Major Wright and Bradley McDougald a chance to shine. Smith said Wright has been playing as well as any safety on the roster, and praised McDougald’s future as a star on the defense. He also mentioned his desire not to have any player who was one-dimensional, saying he wanted his safeties to be able to play both the pass and the run.
  • Speaking of Barron, the Rams should be very happy with the player they acquired, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He considers the trade the first move of the 2015 offseason, and believes that the Rams will correctly use him as an in-the-box safety to strengthen the run defense. He writes that in 2012 Barron was the ninth ranked safety against the run in the box by Pro Football Focus.
  • With the exit of Barron, the Buccaneers are left with only three first round picks on the roster, the others being McCoy, this year’s pick Mike Evans, and Adrian Clayborn (who is on the IR), according to Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com. (However, Doug Martin was also drafted in the first round, with the team trading back into the first round to grab him in 2012.) Guard Logan Mankins, defensive end Larry English, and cornerback Mike Jenkins are also first-rounders, although they were acquired via trade and free agency. Altogether, the first rounders have played 1,699 snaps, third worst in the NFL after the Jaguars and Raiders. Those three teams are a combined 2-20 this season.
  • The Buccaneers also made a big splash in free agency this offseason, but those investments have not paid dividends, writes Yasinskas. Anthony Collins, Evan Dietrich-Smith, Josh McCown, and Michael Johnson have all disappointed, while Alterraun Verner and Clinton McDonald have merely been solid.

Bucs Open To Offers For Martin, Barron

October 28th, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

While Vincent Jackson has been the Buccaneers player most frequently cited as a trade candidate in recent weeks, the team is also open to offers on other players, including two former first-round picks. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), the Bucs will consider offers for running back Doug Martin and safety Mark Barron.

Given the cap implications of trading for veteran players, and the tendency NFL teams have to hang onto their high draft picks, it’s possible that the Buccaneers won’t find an offer they like by this afternoon’s deadline. Additionally, just because Tampa Bay is willing to listen to proposals for some of its players doesn’t mean the team is aggressively trying to move any of them. Still, at 1-6, the Bucs are as one of the clubs most likely to be sellers today.

According to Stroud (via Twitter), the Bucs have received interest from other teams for Martin, Barron, and Jackson, but are least likely to move the veteran wideout, since his age may prevent Tampa Bay from getting fair value for him. It makes sense that Martin could be viewed as expendable, considering he was already splitting carries with Bobby Rainey, and Charles Sims is set to return and take away even more of Martin’s touches. Martin and Barron both remain under contract through the 2015 season, but neither player appears to be firmly in the Bucs’ long-term plans at the moment.

Poll: Who Is Most Likely To Be Traded?

October 27th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Rory Parks

The trade deadline is tomorrow at 4pm eastern time, and a number of prominent players have been the subject of swirling trade rumors over the past several weeks. After a nightmarish start to the season, the Buccaneers may be entertaining the idea of a fire sale, with Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin, and Dashon Goldson all potentially on the trading block.

The Titans, meanwhile, appear ready to usher in a new era with the insertion of Zach Mettenberger into the starting lineup, and they are reportedly taking calls on veterans Nate Washington, Michael Griffin, and Wesley Woodyard. The Bengals, who have regained control over the AFC North without much help from Jermaine Gresham, may be waiting for someone to meet what should be a fairly low price for Gresham’s services. And the Rams, who suffered an ignominious defeat at the hands of the Chiefs yesterday after a surprising upset of the Seahawks in Week 7, could be shopping players like Kendall Langford and Zac Stacy.

We also learned yesterday that the Vikings could be taking calls on Adrian Peterson, Chad Greenway, and Greg Jennings. However, all of those players, for various reasons, are probably less likely to be on the move than some of the other names mentioned above.

Indeed, given the level of interest in his services, the struggles of his current team, and his potential impact on a new club, the player who may be the most likely to be dealt is Jackson. This is despite NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport’s belief that Tampa Bay would not settle for less than a second-round pick in exchange for its top wideout.

But that’s just one person’s opinion. Odds are, of course, that no one will be traded; that’s simply the status quo when it comes to the NFL trade deadline. And several head coaches whose teams were rumored to be active participants in the trade market said today that they did not expect their clubs to pull the trigger on a deal. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, even though he lays out a number of trades that he thinks would be beneficial for teams who appear destined for losing records in 2014, acknowledges that seeing one of those trades come to fruition would be very surprising.

However, reality is not always exciting. So, with that in mind, which of the above players do you think are mostly likely to be traded? Do you think a different player will be on the move? Or do you live so relentlessly in the real world that you think all of this smoke will fail to give rise to a single fire?

King On Lynch, Fairley, Martin, Pats

October 27th, 2014 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Let’s check out some of the highlights from Peter King’s weekly MMQB column..

  • King agrees with ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and feels that this is the end for Marshawn Lynch in Seattle. However, he doesn’t see him getting moved by Tuesday’s deadline unless the Seahawks are blown away by an offer. Even a team desperate for a running back isn’t going to give the Seahawks anything like the third-round pick that they would need to start considering a deal, King opines. Lynch is set to earn $6.5MM in 2015 but Seattle might cut him loose instead.
  • The Lions initially believed that defensive tackle Nick Fairley hadn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury in London on Sunday, but King is now hearing that the injury is bad. Fairley’s MRI results should be in later today.
  • King notes that on NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast, Mike Florio noted that the Patriots could be in the market for Buccaneers running back Doug Martin. Martin is in the midst of a down year and injured his ankle yesterday.
  • John Brown was the Cardinals‘ hero on Sunday and that may have surprised some, but not Cardinals GM Steve Keim. When Keim traded the No. 20 pick in the draft to New Orleans for the Nos. 27 and 91, he was hoping and praying Brown would fall to him at No. 91. Brown, who doesn’t have a big program pedigree, was available, and it would appear that the Cards made one heck of a selection.

More Trade Rumors: Bucs, Eagles, Pats

October 26th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at a couple more trade-related items to add to this morning’s rumors: