HEADLINES

Gosder Cherilus

Gosder Cherilus Visiting Bills, Lions

July 29th, 2015 at 3:11pm CST by Zachary Links

3:11pm: After visiting the Bills, Cherilus has left without signing a deal and is on his way to visit his old team, the Lions, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

10:11am: The Bills are working out free agent offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus, a source tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Cherilus, 31, was released by the Colts on Sunday after a disappointing run with the team.

Buffalo has a need along their offensive line following the retirement of tackle Wayne Hunter last week and the release of guard Chris Williams on Tuesday. They could really use a veteran tackle like Cherilus with 2014 second-round pick Cyrus Kouandjio and 2014 seventh-round pick Seantrel Henderson currently set to battle for the starting right tackle job.

Cherilus signed a five-year, $35MM contract with the Colts in 2013, and started 29 games for the club at right tackle over the past two seasons. However, after a solid first season in Indianapolis, he struggled last year. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Cherilus 70th out of 84 qualified tackles, and he graded particularly poorly as a pass blocker. According to PFF’s data, he allowed six quarterback sacks, another 42 hits or hurries.

Because he received a sizable signing bonus when he signed his deal back in 2013, Cherilus will still count for a decent chunk of dead money against the Colts’ cap. His $6.9MM hit in 2015 will be reduced to just $2.9MM, but he’ll count for another $5.8MM against the club’s 2016 cap. All that dead money will serve as the Colts’ latest reminder of a poor class of 2013 free agents — the club has since cut LaRon Landry and Ricky Jean-Francois as well.

 

Reaction To Gosder Cherilus’ Release

July 26th, 2015 at 3:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts released veteran offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus this morning — the club will save $4MM in cap space this season, but they’ll incur $5.8MM in dead money in 2016. Let’s look at some of the reaction to the move, as well as what it means for both the Colts and Cherilus himself:

  • The Colts tried to work out a contract restructure before releasing Cherilus, but negotiations were not fruitful, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Cherlius’ agent, Greg Diulus, tells Holder that Indy’s offer was “not a reasonable proposal.”
  • Cherilus is “healthy and in great shape,” Diulus tells Holder, a sentiment that Holder corroborates with a second source. But even though the veteran right tackle is injury-free at the moment, the Colts still view him as an injury risk. Were to he suffer another serious injury during training camp or the preseason, the club would’ve been on the hook for his entire 2015 cap charge, so parting ways now makes sense, writes Holder.
  • More from Holder, who says that while a reunion between Cherilus and Indianapolis isn’t out of the question, the 31-year-old expects to sign elsewhere.
  • Given Cherilus’ 2016 cap charge of $9.9MM, he was probably going to be released after the upcoming season regardless, tweets Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap. By releasing him now, the Colts are able to save $4MM, which might not seem like a significant figure, but given that the club is going to offer a large extension to quarterback Andrew Luck, every penny that can be saved — both in cash and on the salary cap — is beneficial, says Fitzgerald (Twitter link).
  • Now that Jack Mewhort is slated to take over at right tackle, Mike Wells of ESPN.com rounds up some quotes from general manager Ryan Grigson and Mewhort himself on the second-year pro’s versatility and the differences between playing tackle and guard.

Colts Release Gosder Cherilus

July 26th, 2015 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Colts have released one of their starting offensive players from last season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with right tackle Gosder Cherilus. As a veteran player, Cherilus won’t have to pass through waivers, and will immediately be free to sign with another team.

Cherilus, who turned 31 last month, signed a five-year, $35MM contract with the Colts in 2013, and started 29 games for the club at right tackle over the past two seasons. However, after a solid first season in Indianapolis, he struggled last year. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Cherilus 70th out of 84 qualified tackles, and he graded particularly poorly as a pass blocker. According to PFF’s data, he allowed six quarterback sacks, another 42 hits or hurries.

Because he received a sizable signing bonus when he signed his deal back in 2013, Cherilus will still count for a decent chunk of dead money against the Colts’ cap. His $6.9MM hit in 2015 will be reduced to just $2.9MM, but he’ll count for another $5.8MM against the club’s 2016 cap. All that dead money will serve as the Colts’ latest reminder of a poor class of 2013 free agents — the club has since cut LaRon Landry and Ricky Jean-Francois as well.

Now that the Colts have moved on from Cherilus, who was identified by our Dallas Robinson earlier this month as a release candidate, expect Jack Mewhort to get the first look at right tackle for the Colts, tweets Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Mewhort was the team’s starting left guard in 2014.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Colts, Raiders

July 24th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest from around the AFC as Friday wraps up:

  • Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith missed voluntary offseason workouts because of an ongoing investigation into criminal abuse allegations against him in Texas. However, he could be with the Broncos when veterans report to their training camp Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala and Troy Renck of the Denver Post report. The 10-year veteran spent last season with AFC West rival Oakland, racking up three sacks (giving him 44.5 for his career), before signing with Denver as a free agent.
  • Kansas City’s Justin Houston signed the richest deal ever for a linebacker earlier this month (six years, $101.5MM with $52.5MM guaranteed), which sets the bar for the Broncos’ Von Miller‘s next contract, writes Jhabvala. “I guarantee you Von thinks he deserves Justin Houston money,” Joel Corry of CBS Sports, an ex-agent, told Jhabvala. By career sack total alone, Miller has a case: He has 49 in four seasons, while Houston has 48.5 in the same amount of years.
  • It’s always risky to expect big things from a player returning from a torn Achilles’, which Colts pass rusher Robert Mathis is doing this season, but head coach Chuck Pagano has high hopes for the 34-year-old linebacker. “He will make a huge impact this season,” Pagano said, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder (via Twitter). Mathis missed all of last season after leading the league in sacks with 19.5 in 2013.
  • In other Colts news, Kevin Bowen of the team’s official website wrote of the concerns centering on the club’s offensive line as the season nears. Indy needs a major bounce-back season from veteran right tackle Gosder Cherilus, who struggled with injuries and poor play last year, and for newly signed Todd Herremans to be the answer at right guard.
  • Running back Latavius Murray was one of the Raiders’ few standouts last season, rushing for 424 yards on 82 attempts (a sterling 5.2 per-carry average) during his first year of action. Oakland is counting on him to be its No. 1 back this season, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. That would mean a significant increase in workload for the 2013 sixth-round pick.

Colts Place Gosder Cherilus On IR

December 31st, 2014 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

As they prepare for this Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Bengals, the Colts have moved offensive lineman Gosder Cherilus to the injured reserve list, ending his season, the team announced today. Guard David Arkin has been promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster to take Cherilus’ place.

Cherilus, 30, started 13 of the team’s 14 games for the Colts this season at right tackle before being slowed by groin and shoulder injuries, appearing in all but three offensive snaps in those 13 contests. Now that he’s slated to be out for any and all postseason games Indianapolis plays, Joe Reitz looks like the most likely candidate to step in and take over at right tackle.

A former first-round pick, Cherilus remains under contract with the Colts through 2017, though his cap hit jumps from $3.9MM this year to $6.9MM in 2015. We’ll have to wait and see if the club intends to keep him on board at that rate, particularly after a season in which he recorded a subpar -16.8 grade, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required).

To replace Arkin on the taxi squad, the Colts signed wide receiver Kadron Boone.