Haloti Ngata - Pro Football Rumors

NFC North Notes: Ngata, Copeland, Rodgers

April 3rd, 2015 at 10:45pm CST by Zachary Links

We had a fairly exciting Friday, with a number of players finding new homes for the 2015 NFL season.

Before calling it a night, here are some notes from around the NFC North:

If you were waiting for fireworks between the Ravens and Lions regarding Haloti Ngata, prepare to be disappointed. The Lions released a statement on Thursday, saying that they were not concerned about comments made by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti regarding Ngata on a Wednesday conference call. “The Ravens have reached out to us concerning the comments made yesterday by Steve Bisciotti regarding Haloti Ngata,” the Lions’ statement read, according to Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. “We appreciate both the Ravens’ professionalism and the context in which Mr. Bisciotti’s comments were made. We consider the matter to be a non-issue.”
Linebacker Brandon Copeland visited five teams and had a dozen teams interested in signing him before he agreed to join the Lions, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).
Jacquizz Rodgers‘ one-year deal with the Bears is for the minimum salary, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). The deal has a $745K base salary with a $40K signing bonus.

Ravens Owner On Ngata, Yanda, Flacco

April 1st, 2015 at 6:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier tonight, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti hosted a conference call with season ticket holders and touched on a wide range of issues. Here’s a look at some of the highlights with all links going to Twitter..

Bisciotti didn’t rule out potential scenario of new Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata returning to the Ravens as a free agent in 2016, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Ngata is in the final year of his current pact. I can’t help but think that Bisciotti’s comments could lead to tampering accusations. Bisciotti added that Ngata rejected an extension offer that would have reduced his annual salary (link).
The owner identified cornerback and pass rusher as the two positions he’s looking at with the No. 26 overall pick, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
The owner indicated that the Ravens can carve out more cap space by extending the contracts of Marshal Yanda, Jimmy Smith, and Justin Tucker, Hensley tweets. Yanda, who has started 78 of his 80 games with Baltimore over the past five years, is entering the final year of his deal and is set to earn $5.5MM in base salary in 2015.
Bisciotti is confident that the Ravens can make it a “win-win” for the team and Joe Flacco when it comes to getting a new deal done after this season, Hensley tweets. Even with the pending contract restructuring next season, he’s not concerned about Flacco’s future in Baltimore, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets.
Bisciotti says he is still “praying” that tight end Dennis Pitta comes back from hip surgery, Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com tweets. That language doesn’t sound too encouraging when it comes to the veteran’s chances of getting back on the field.
The owner said that you can’t do it with two pass rushers anymore and knows that the team has a need there too, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. “I would be just as pleased with a pass rusher. Quietest need we have,” Bisciotti said. He’d like to see Baltimore take a pass rusher in the first round, but things are wide open at this stage (via Wilson on Twitter).
Bisciotti said domestic violence issues have changed the Ravens’ approach to who sign in free agency and who they draft, according to Hensley (on Twitter). He added that if the team had seen the Ray Rice video sooner, the running back likely would have been released earlier, according to Zrebiec (link).
Bisciotti said Lardarius Webb is a much better player than he showed in first half of last year and pointed to his lower back issues as a reason for his 2014 struggles, Wilson tweets. Webb reworked his deal with the Ravens this offseason in order to stay on board.
Bisciotti says he wants to see the Ravens acquire another Pernell McPhee type, Wilson tweets. McPhee, of course, joined up with the Bears on a five-year deal worth just under $40MM.
Bisciotti knows the Ravens need a corner but he’s not desperate for a wideout, Wilson tweets. The Ravens, he says, absolutely need a tight end but they’re not exceptionally desperate for a wideout (link). He identified in-house names like Michael Campanaro, Kamar Aiken, and Marlon Brown as players who could help fill that WR need from within.
Bisciotti also identified safety as an area of need, Zrebiec tweets.
The Ravens are more likely to take a tight end in the third or fourth round rather than the first or second round, Zrebiec tweets.
Biscotti added that the Ravens might target wide receivers in the third round, Zrebiec tweets.
Bisciotti said there’s not one issue in seven years that GM Ozzie Newsome and coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t come to a resolution on, even after disagreeing vehemently, Hensley tweets.

NFC North Notes: Peterson, Williams, Guion

March 24th, 2015 at 5:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As if Adrian Peterson‘s agent stating that it’s not in the running back’s best interests to play for the Vikings doesn’t paint a clear enough picture, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports that Peterson definitely wants out Minnesota, preferring to move on and play for a different organization. Per Cole, the three most likely destinations for Peterson are the Cardinals, Colts, and Cowboys — however, the Vikings know of Peterson’s desire to land in Dallas, and have no intention of helping him attain that goal. Vikings GM Rick Spielman has already stated that the club will not release Peterson, so a trade seems to be his only way out of Minnesota.

Here’s more from the NFC North…

Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams has a meeting lined up with his hometown NFL club, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that Williams will visit with the Vikings. Williams is expected to be the first tight end selected in next month’s draft.
Free agent defensive tackle Letroy Guion won’t face any charges resulting from his February arrest, and his case is now considered closed, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. However, the 27-year-old could still face discipline from the league, as Demovsky adds in a second piece. The Packers have expressed interest in re-signing Guion, who started all 16 games for them last season.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press explains how the Lions acquired Haloti Ngata from the Ravens earlier this month, noting that Detroit’s personnel department began looking at game film of Ngata immediately after Ndamukong Suh signed with the Dolphins.
The Lions are working on setting up a visit with Arkansas guard Cameron Jefferson, per Birkett (Twitter link).

Sunday Roundup: Ngata, Cameron, Rams

March 15th, 2015 at 12:38pm CST by Rory Parks

We have seen one major signing thus far today, as Michael Johnson and the Bengals agreed to reunite. As we wait for more free agent dominoes to fall, let’s take a look at a few more notes from around the league:

Justin Rogers of MLive.com looks at how the Lions might work out an extension for newly-acquired DT Haloti Ngata. It is still unclear whether Detroit will even approach Ngata about an extension–the team may view him as a one-year stopgap, although the draft picks they sent to Baltimore suggest that is not the case–but Rogers believes a new three-year, $26MM deal might work well for both sides. Ngata himself said he believes he has three good years left, and such an extension would give Detroit a little more cap space for 2015 while creating manageable $7.5MM cap numbers in 2016 and 2017.
Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com says the Browns‘ strategy in attempting to re-sign Jordan Cameron did not make much sense. The Browns could have put the transition tag on Cameron for cheaper than the deal they offered, but they did not use the tag before the deadline and then made Cameron an offer for more than the tag value.
Despite the team’s flurry of activity in the first week of free agency, the Rams have a few major holes to fill, and most of those holes are along the offensive line. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the team has about $11MM in cap space, which should give them enough room to sign two out of the three of Stefen Wisniewski, Justin Blalock, and Joe Barksdale.
Speaking of the Rams‘ offensive line, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com writes that recently-released Jake Long could be back as the team’s right tackle on a shorter, cheaper deal, but that likely would not happen until after the draft. As far as the team’s quarterback situation is concerned, Wagoner believes all options in the draft–trade up, trade down, etc.–are on the table, despite the acquisition of Nick Foles.
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) lauds the 49ers‘ signing of Reggie Bush, who will pair with Carlos Hyde to create a strong 1-2 punch in the backfield. Miller adds that the team’s acquisitions in free agency will allow them to once again pursue the best player available in the draft rather than drafting for need.
Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Ravens had interest in Mike Wallace before he was traded to Minnesota. Baltimore thought that Miami might cut Wallace, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent.
There is no new deal in place between the Saints and Keenan Lewis, but Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets that Lewis feels better about his long-term security with the club after meeting with unspecified team officials this week.
While they will not receive any compensatory picks in this year’s draft, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com points out that the Bills are in line for multiple compensatory selections next year.

North Rumors: Bradford, Browns, Johnson

March 11th, 2015 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Eagles coach Chip Kelly told reporters that he got offered a first-round pick for newly-acquired quarterback Sam Bradford. Speculation immediately began to bubble that the Browns were that mystery team, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com isn’t so sure that Cleveland’s talks with the Rams went very far. One source with knowledge of the Browns’ offseason quarterback plans said St. Louis never felt Cleveland was serious about a Bradford trade. While there were few calls back and forth, there was never much of a push because the Browns weren’t overly aggressive. There was correspondence, but the Browns probably could have had Bradford if they were willing to part with at least one second-round pick for him. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC North..

A source close to defensive end Michael Johnson said it’s early in the process but there’s a good chance the Vikings will be in the running him, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “Mike Zimmer’s his guy,’’ said the source, referring to the Vikings coach. “He almost went (to Minnesota) last year.’’ Johnson was waived by the Bucs on Wednesday afternoon.
New Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata says he’s open to an extension, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. “Definitely. We’re open to anything,” Ngata said. The Ravens were talking with the veteran for some time about an extension but weren’t able to get far.
Bears GM Ryan Pace made it clear that he is looking at safeties and wide receivers in free agency, but he refused to name names, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
The Lions are hosting quarterback Alex Carder on a visit today, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Carder was signed as a UDFA in 2013 by Detroit and has bounced around a bit in other football leagues ever since. He recently spent some time with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.

Lions Acquire Haloti Ngata

March 11th, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

WEDNESDAY, 1:49pm: Ngata has passed his physical and is officially a Lion, says Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 3:36pm: Detroit will receive Ngata and a seventh-round pick while sending a fourth- and fifth-round pick to Baltimore, per Schefter (Twitter link).

2:55pm: The Lions have acquired defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Ravens, Baltimore announced via Twitter. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun was the first to report the news (Twitter link). Detroit is expected to send a fourth- or fifth- round pick to the Ravens, tweets Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

Baltimore has expressed optimism that it would be able to retain the 31-year-old Ngata via some sort of contract restructure involving either an extension or a pay reduction. He had been scheduled to carry a $16MM cap charge for 2015. Now that they’ve traded him, the Ravens will only be responsible for his prorated bonus money, which comes to $7.5MM.

In landing Ngata, the Lions have found their replacement for departed free agent Ndamukong Suh, who agreed to terms with the Dolphins over the weekend. Ngata is also reuniting with Teryl Austin, Detroit’s defensive coordinator, who previously coached in Baltimore. The Lions will assume Ngata’s base salary of $8.5MM for the upcoming season. The nine-year veteran has started 133 games in his career, accruing 25.5 sacks.

Former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley is now a free agent, and it will interesting to see if Detroit’s move for Ngata will impact their pursuit of him.

North Notes: Revis, Ngata, Steelers, Packers

March 10th, 2015 at 4:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers looked into signing Darrelle Revis, but it doesn’t look like it’s possible, per Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link), who says that it’s down to the Jets and Patriots for the star corner. Revis was asking for more money than Pittsburgh could afford, tweets Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network.

Meanwhile, the Packers have emerged as a suitor for Revis, adds Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter), who lists the Jets, Pats, Packers, and a mystery team as the finalists for Revis.

Here’s more from the North divisions:

The Lions are expected to approach the recently-acquired Haloti Ngata about an extension, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Ngata is entering the final year of his contract.
The Packers had a “few discussions” with free agent defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link), but a deal isn’t likely. Green Bay has had discussions about retaining Letroy Guion and B.J. Raji, but the club could wait out the DT market.
Looking to retain one of the core special teams players, the Bears have interest in re-signing cornerback Sherrick McManis, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, though nothing is yet in the works.

Terrell Suggs, Ravens Rework Contract

March 10th, 2015 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

Terrell Suggs is converting $3MM of his $4MM base salary for 2015 into a signing bonus, freeing up some 2015 cap room for the Ravens, a source confirms to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides were working on restructuring Suggs’ deal.

With four years remaining on his deal, Suggs’ new $3MM signing bonus will count for just $750K on each season, creating $2.25MM in cap savings for 2015. It was a logical move for Baltimore since the veteran’s base salary for the coming season was already fully guaranteed, so the team would be paying that $4MM sooner or later. Suggs’ cap hit will be reduced from $6.2MM to just below $4MM in the move, while his cap numbers for 2016 through 2018 each increase by $750K.

After agreeing to a restructure with Suggs, the Ravens are also continuing to explore the possibility of working out a similar arrangement with Haloti Ngata, says Wilson (via Twitter). However, Ngata doesn’t seem to be in any danger of being cut, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the defensive lineman’s contract will likely go unchanged. Ngata likely isn’t enthused about the idea of taking a pay cut, and any other form of restructure would have to involve the team extending his deal beyond 2015.

AFC Notes: Fins, Broncos, FA Targets, Ravens

March 1st, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Always among the biggest players in free agency, the Dolphins will look to fill several holes when the new league year begins next week. Corner, defensive tackle, and linebacker are among the positions that could use upgrades in South Beach, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald offers several names that could be of interest to the Fins. Per Jackson, the Dolphins have internally discussed both Kareem Jackson and Brandon Flowers at corner, and the club also wants to re-sign Jimmy Wilson.

Along the defensive line, Miami is interested in Tom Johnson, Corey Peters, and Terrance Knighton, the latter of whom, as Jackson adds, will be the most expensive. Kenrick Ellis is viewed as a “backup option,” while Haloti Ngata will be on the Dolphins’ radar if he’s released by the Ravens. At linebacker, Jackson has previously reported that Miami is intrigued by David Harris, Mason Foster, and Dan Skuta.

Here’s more from the AFC:

Like the Dolphins, the Broncos are expected to be heavily involved in free agency, as they have been for the duration of GM John Elway’s reign. According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, the Broncos will target a variety of positions next week, with offensive line, safety, tight end, and defensive end among them. Center Rodney Hudson, edge defender Pernell McPhee, and and tight end Charles Clay all figure to spark Denver’s interest, per Klis, who adds that center is the one position where the Broncos will surely add a high-profile free agent.
Ravens cornerback Victor Hampton was arrested for DWI last night, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Hampton was signed to a futures deal in January, and given Baltimore’s low-tolerance for off-the-field incidents at the moment, Aaron Wilson of the Sun (via Twitter) doesn’t see Hampton ever setting foot on a field for the Ravens.
The Raiders haven’t officially released safety Tyvon Branch, leading Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap to believe (Twitter link) that Branch will be designated a post-June 1 cut. Such releases can’t be formalized until the new league year begins next week.
In a full-length piece, Fitzgerald takes a look at the Colts’ cap situation as they head into free agency. Check out PFR’s Connor Byrne’s Indianapolis outlook here.

La Canfora On Manning, Suh, McCown, Saints

February 25th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Weighing in on two of the biggest offseason stories, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com leads off his latest piece by looking at the Peyton Manning and Ndamukong Suh situations. In La Canfora’s view, Manning will ultimately return to the Broncos after the two sides tweak his contract a little. As for Suh, the CBSSports.com scribe doesn’t have any updates on the Lions‘ talks with the defensive star, but says he thinks the Jaguars and Raiders will be major players. For those teams to be involved in the Suh derby, he’d have to reach the open market, which would mean no long-term deal or franchise tag from Detroit.

La Canfora also passes along plenty more tidbits related to free agency, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

When it comes to the market’s top pass rushers, La Canfora thinks Pernell McPhee can reach $10MM per year, with Jerry Hughes in the $9MM range, and Brandon Graham and Jason Worilds around $7.5MM. La Canfora also believes that all four of those players will join new teams next month.
Free agent quarterback Josh McCown is expected to decide on his new team later this week or early next week, and could land another deal worth $5MM annually. The Bills and Browns look like the best bets for McCown, according to La Canfora.
The Saints are working through contract issues with about a half-dozen players on their roster, sources tell La Canfora. If things work out the way the team hopes, Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, and Curtis Lofton would likely stick around on reduced salaries, while Ben Grubbs, Brodrick Bunkley, and David Hawthorne could be let go. As for Junior Galette, La Canfora is hearing that head coach Sean Payton has “expressed a desire” to part ways with him, following his January arrest. However, Galette’s contract still contains a sizeable chunk of guaranteed money, and the team likely can’t void those guarantees.
Percy Harvin probably won’t accept a pay cut from the Jets, which means the team will likely cut him. La Canfora expects the wideout to gamble himself in free agency, signing a one-year deal with a team that has a good quarterback in place.
The Jaguars will be seeking a top pass catcher, and La Canfora wouldn’t be surprised if the team lands a player like Randall Cobb or Julius Thomas. Per La Canfora, the Packers recognize Cobb’s market could get out of hand, and may focus on re-signing other key free agents, like Bryan Bulaga and Letroy Guion.
Chiefs center Rodney Hudson came very close to signing a four-year extension worth $6MM per year during the season. He’s a good bet to exceed that amount in free agency, and the Raiders are one viable suitor.
La Canfora anticipates the Ravens will work out a restructured deal with Lardarius Webb, but isn’t as certain about Haloti Ngata, who may play for a new team in 2015.
The Jets would have interest in Ryan Mallett if he reaches the open market. However, the Texans have made their interest in the quarterback clear, and Mallett himself said today that he’d like to return to Houston (Twitter link via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle).