Jarius Wright - Pro Football Rumors

NFC North Notes: Golladay, Bears, Vikings

March 30th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Golden Tate long gone and Marvin Jones entering the final year of his contract, Kenny Golladay figures to be a high priority for the Lions this offseason. Because Golladay was a third-round pick, his fourth season doubles as a contract year. The Lions would like to extend him, and Golladay has expressed interest in a long-term Detroit stay, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. However, no extension talks have commenced yet. Despite Matthew Stafford missing much of the season, Golladay established career-high marks in receiving yardage (1,190) and touchdowns (11). With the floor for No. 1 wide receivers being around $16MM per year now, Golladay will not come cheap after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

Here is the latest from the NFC North, shifting first to some more receiving situations:

Anthony Miller dealt with as many as five shoulder dislocations as a rookie in 2018, leading to a 2019 surgery. The Bears wide receiver’s shoulder troubles are not over. He underwent another shoulder operation recently, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com notes. Miller missed time during the 2019 offseason but did not miss a game last season. That seemingly won’t be an issue this year, with COVID-19 making it highly unlikely any teams will conduct any offseason workouts. The former second-round pick came on down the stretch last season, finishing 2019 with 52 catches for 656 yards.
The retooling Panthers did not pick up Jarius Wright‘s 2020 option, sending the veteran wideout into free agency. Although the Vikings shed Stefon Diggs‘ contract, do not expect Wright to return to Minnesota. The longtime Vikings slot receiver has a slim chance of returning to the team for which he played six seasons, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. The Vikings released Wright in 2018; the 30-year-old wideout played the past two seasons with the Panthers.
The Packers‘ agreement with free agent running back/return man Tyler Ervin is a one-year, $1MM pact, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes. Ervin will collect a $910K base salary. The Packers claimed Ervin off waivers from the Jaguars last year and used him on kick and punt returns.

Panthers To Decline Jarius Wright’s Option

February 25th, 2020 at 2:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers will decline Jarius Wright‘s option for 2020, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The move will save the club $3MM against the cap.

Had Wright’s option been exercised, he would have been in line for $1MM in guaranteed pay. Instead, he’ll look for work elsewhere after a so-so year. Wright, 31 in November, had just 28 grabs for 296 yards with no touchdowns in 2019. It was a drop-off from his 2018 season – his first with Carolina – when he had 43 catches for 447 yards and one score.

Wright spent his first six seasons with the Vikings and put together a solid stretch from 2013-15, recording at least 430 receiving yards in each of those seasons. But, once Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen emerged, he slipped in the pecking order.

In other Panthers news, the club is reportedly planning to keep Cam Newton as its starting quarterback in 2020. They’ll also evaluate their options when it comes to cornerback James Bradberry, but the pending free agent will be chased by a number of clubs and a reunion with Ron Rivera could be in the cards.

Extra Points: Gronkowski, Patriots, Peterson, Schaub, Wright

December 29th, 2018 at 7:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Rob Gronkowski is arguably the greatest tight end of all time, and as the regular season winds down, we could be seeing the end of Gronk in a Patriots uniform, opines Tom Curran of NBC Sports. Curran breaks down all the drama between Gronkowski and the New England front office regime over the past couple of years, and thinks that the fact that Gronkowski has been severely underpaid for years played the main role in the thawing of the relationship.

Both sides are unhappy with one another, and the Patriots already tried trading Gronkowski this offseason. Given that they already deemed him non-essential before the season began it won’t be at all surprising if they want to move on at the end of the year, and it’s highly possible Gronkowski will want to move on as well, as Curran writes he’s grown tired of the ‘Patriot Way.’ Curran thinks the writing is on the wall that things are coming to an end, and Gronk is having a very disappointing season by his lofty standards. His body has been breaking down, and he hasn’t been his usual game-breaking self most times this season. If it is indeed the end, it’ll be an end of an era in Foxborough.

Here’s more from around the league:

On the subject of the Patriots, the team brought in CFL players defensive back Tevaughn Campbell and receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert for workouts, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN (Twitter link). Since CFL players aren’t eligible to be signed until after the season, these workouts are likely for consideration for reserve/futures contracts to be handed out in 2019.
While he’s already rewritten the rule book about what a running back can do at his age, Adrian Peterson isn’t done yet. The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer wants to continue playing, and wants to be back with the Redskins next year,per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Signed at the last minute when Derrius Guice went down with a torn ACL, Peterson has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2018 NFL season, rushing for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s slowed down a bit as the season has gone on, but Washington could bring him back as a veteran mentor and change of pace option behind Guice.
Speaking of veterans who want to keep playing, quarterback Matt Schaub hopes to be back with Falcons next year, according to Matt Winkeljohn of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schaub is aware his NFL career might be coming to an end, as most teams are trending toward having younger players as their backups. But the 37-year-old signal caller, once one of the league’s better starting quarterbacks, hopes to be back in the place where he’s taken on a coach-like role behind Matt Ryan. If he does end up hanging up his cleats, Schaub said he wants to stay “around sports in some form or fashion whether it’s trying to do broadcasting or with an organization somehow.”
While the Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16, at least one player did get some good news. Receiver Jarius Wright got a $200K bonus for hitting his catch incentives, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). So far this season the 2012 fourth round pick out of Arkansas has 41 catches for 427 yards and a touchdown. He should be back in Carolina next year at his $2.5MM salary.

Panthers To Add WR Jarius Wright

March 19th, 2018 at 2:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jarius Wright will follow his former offensive coordinator south, agreeing to terms with the Panthers. The Vikings cut Wright last week and were open to a reunion with him. But Wright will follow Norv Turner to Charlotte.

The Panthers have agreed to a three-year deal with Wright, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter links), and will provide him with a $2MM signing bonus. The first year of this deal is worth $3.5MM with incentives, per Rapoport. Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer first reported a deal was imminent.

Wright follows Torrey Smith to Carolina, adding some veteran help for a young receiving corps that will see up-and-coming slot presence Curtis Samuel rehab from a season-ending injury this offseason. The Panthers also have veteran Russell Shepard under contract for 2018.

Minnesota released Wright but were open to having him back for a seventh season. However, the 28-year-old target opted for his first NFL agreement elsewhere instead. He pieced together a nice stretch from 2013-15, recording at least 430 receiving yards in each of those seasons. Wright posted a career-high 588 air yards in 2014 but regressed in the Vikings’ pecking order after Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen‘s arrivals. He caught 18 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in 2017.

North Notes: Bengals, Vikings, Ansah

March 18th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Steelers signed Jon Bostic to a two-year deal as a potential fill-in for Ryan Shazier, and now we’ll take a swing around a few other north division clubs:

Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer think the Bengals did very well for themselves during the first week of the new league year, and they believe the club is done with its major free agent additions/trades in 2018. One of the reasons the team was so successful is that it did not force itself into an expensive Russell Bodine contract. The market has not developed for Bodine, a four-year starter in Cincinnati, in the way that he thought it would, and he may have to settle for a modest deal. We heard earlier today that he will be making a visit to the Bills, and while the Bengals will have center options in the draft, they could bring back Bodine if his price falls far enough.
Yesterday, we heard that the Vikings were open to bringing back the recently-released Jarius Wright at a lesser rate, and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says that Wright himself would be open to rejoining Minnesota at a reduced salary. Wright said, “It’s not out of the question. But it’s the NFL. We’ll have to see what happens. But I love Minnesota. I would love to come back, so you just never know what will happen.”
The Broncos signed OL Billy Turner yesterday, but Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Vikings also had interest in Turner as a depth option. Tomasson tweets that the team might not have the funds to make a major O-line addition, though it will continue to monitor the market for potential bargains (like Turner). Any potential starter, though, would likely come through the draft.
The Lions recently retained Zach Zenner on a one-year deal and signed LeGarrette Blount to a one-year pact, which leads Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com to believe that the club will target an RB early in the draft.
In the same piece, Rothstein says he believes Ziggy Ansah will play out the 2018 season on the franchise tender and that he and Lions are not likely to reach a long-term agreement before the July deadline. Rothstein also said the team cut Eric Ebron and saved his significant salary cap charge for a reason, though it’s not clear what that is just yet. Rothstein says Ebron would not have been cut unless the team knew it had a better option coming in (although the Lions could have simply felt that Ebron’s role as a potential mismatch receiving tight end might not be as important to the offense in 2018).

Vikings Notes: Johnson, Richardson, Newman

March 17th, 2018 at 2:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Now that the Vikings have Sheldon Richardson set to add to an already stacked defense, the team is probably going to move on from previous defensive tackle starter Tom Johnson. Rick Spielman does not expect Johnson to return, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). The Vikes were previously open to a Johnson re-up, but that was before Richardson agreed to terms. Johnson turned down a $4MM extension offer last year that would have kept him alongside Linval Joseph on Minnesota’s front in 2018. But now, a menacing-looking Joseph-Richardson setup will be deployed. The Seahawks lost Richardson and now have interest in the 33-year-old likely-to-be former Viking.

Here’s more from the Vikings, courtesy of Tomasson.

Terence Newman has expressed interest in returning for an age-40 season, and Tomasson tweets he would like that to be with the Vikings. However, he wonders if Newman — who counted nearly $4MM toward Minnesota’s 2017 cap — would be a fit at that price now that major dollars have been allocated for big-name talent this offseason. The Vikings still have nearly $20MM in cap space but also have several key extension candidates entering contract years.
Spielman is confident Richardson has left his off-field trouble in the past. The former defensive rookie of the year encountered legal trouble while with the Jets, resulting in suspensions in 2015 and ’16 — the former a four-game ban. “We did a lot of research on that. That was maybe 2 1/2, 3 years ago,” Spielman said, via Tomasson (on Twitter). “We talked to a ton of people about it. … I felt very confident with him coming into this culture into our locker room that he’ll fit right in.’’
The Vikings cut Jarius Wright after six seasons on Friday. The team kept him in the loop throughout this process. The 28-year-old pass-catcher added the Vikings alerted him a cap-casualty cut was a possibility. “They had come to me and let me know that it was a possibly with some of the contracts they were looking at,” Wright said, via Tomasson (on Twitter). “They kept me updated.” It’s possible Wright, who was set to make $3.64MM in base salary next season, could be brought back at a lower rate.

Vikings Interested In Bringing Back WR Jarius Wright

March 17th, 2018 at 9:10am CST by Ben Levine

Receiver Jarius Wright‘s tenure with the Vikings may not be over, after all. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets that the organization is interested in bring back the 28-year-old. The team released Wright yesterday, freeing up $2.64 MM in cap space (while counting towards $2.12 MM in dead money).

In 2017, the slot receiver notched 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added another six catches for 107 yards in two postseason games. Drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2012, Wright logged 153 receptions for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Wright was a solid contributor with the Vikings and earned a 75.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. If Wright does return to Minnesota, he’ll likely regain his spot on the depth chart behind Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Laquon Treadwell.

Vikings Cut WR Jarius Wright

March 16th, 2018 at 5:27pm CST by Micah Powell

The Vikings continued their offensive reshuffling on Friday, announcing the release of sixth-year wideout Jarius Wright (Twitter link). According to Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, part of the timing with the move is to allow the receiver time to find another team (Twitter link).

The move helps free up cap space to allow the Vikings to sign the likes of Kirk Cousins and Sheldon Richardson. Wright was due a $3.6 MM base salary in 2018, and the move frees up $2.64 MM in cap space. He will count $2.12 MM in dead money.

In 2017, the slot receiver notched 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added another six catches for 107 yards in two postseason games. Drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2012, Wright logged 153 receptions for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Wright was a solid contributor with the Vikings and earned a 75.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.

NFC North Notes: Vikings, Nelson, Trubisky

December 28th, 2017 at 7:00pm CST by GregGoldstein

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was hired to his post mostly because of his mastery in calling an NFL defense. Zimmer was the Bengals defensive coordinator for six seasons before making the jump to the head coaching ranks in 2014. Although, he’s still been calling Minnesota’s defensive plays for the past four years. However, that is something that may change come 2018, reports Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.

Krammer passes along that Zimmer almost gave up his playing calling duties this past year to defensive coordinator George Edwards. He ultimately decided against the move largely because of his success at calling defensive schemes for the past 18 years. Zimmer did express that Edwards is the main orchestrator of the team’s defensive game plan for the most part anyway.

“George does everything,” Zimmer said. “He helps with the game plan. He runs a lot of the meetings, the defensive meetings. Him and I really sit down and talk about all the different things that are going on. He studies the game just like he’s calling the game. So he’ll come in and talk to me about second down-and-whatever. ‘They’re doing this,’ or, ‘they’re doing that.’ Really, he does everything other than call the game on Sunday.”

Edwards used to call plays for the Bills back in 2011, but has taken a backseat in that regard in order to work as a member of Zimmer’s staff. This dynamic could be a subplot as we approach next year’s training camp because Zimmer appears to be letting go of the idea that he has to be the one making the final defensive decisions on Sundays.

“It’s a lot of work when you sit down and do it,” Zimmer said of calling plays. “I’ve done it for a long time. And because I have confidence in George, as well. I think maybe just the fact that, um, you know, I don’t know – I guess I’m just getting older.”

Here’s more stories from around the NFC North:

In other Vikings news, wide receiver Jarius Wright is reported to have restructured his deal at the beginning of the season, which dropped his base salary from $2.5MM to $1.05MM, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Goessling notes that Wright has earned weekly roster bonuses of about $93k in order to get back his original salary figure. With that in mind, he’ll have earned back the rest of his money by the time Week 17 kicks off.
Packers longtime receiver Jordy Nelson appears to be stuck in limbo with the organization the drafted him back in 2008, opines Rob Demosvky of ESPN.com. Nelson, who’ll turn 33 over the summer has seen a major drop off in production in his 10th year in the NFL. Demovsky suggests that the veteran wideout may hinder the team’s ability to re-sign the more productive and younger Davante Adams, who’ll be a free agent this offseason. Nelson will collect about $10MM in salary and bonuses in 2018, which will make him more difficult to cut or trade in the next few months. Randall Cobb is signed long-term as well, but is five years Nelson’s junior, which makes him a better piece to have moving forward. Not being able to sign Adams would be a major blow for a Packers team that saw what life is like without Aaron Rodgers this year. This puts the Packers in a very difficult position entering a crucial offseason with the team having missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Mitch Trubisky has had his moments during his rookie campaign, but has largely faced a lot of difficulty in his first season in the NFL. It’s expected that the Bears coaching staff and roster will have a lot of turnover this offseason, but the young signal caller expects to take a “big jump” in 2018, reports Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. “I’m always motivated to get better,” Trubisky said. “I expect to make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. The experience I got this year, I’m definitely going to carry that with me into the offseason and expect to have a lot of momentum and just a full head of steam going into next year.” While he experienced a number of challenges in 2017, Trubisky emphasized “growth and development” in his reflection of his first foray into professional football. Expect the Bears to put an emphasis on surrounding Trubisky with more talent this offseason. He’s had to work with patchwork receiving groups all year long, which certainly does not bode well for his outlook moving forward. The former first round pick comes into Week 17 completing under 60% of his passes, while throwing just as many touchdowns as interceptions at seven apiece.

Jarius Wright Hopes To Stay With Vikings

October 28th, 2016 at 11:22am CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this year, Jarius Wright was the subject of trade rumors. As this year’s trade deadline approaches, however, the Vikings wide receiver says that he has not caught wind of any trade possibility, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. Furthermore, he says that he hopes to remain in Minnesota.

As it stands, Wright is slated to be with the Vikings for a long time thanks to the extension he signed about 13 months ago. Initially slated to finish out his rookie deal after the 2015 season, the four-year extension worth $14.8MM ($7MM guaranteed) should keep him in place through 2019.

Last season, Wright caught 34 passes for 442 yards. However, he’s been mostly relegated to the bench this season with Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson, Adam Thielen, and Cordarrelle Patterson ahead of him. Wright has only seen the field in two games this season and did not get his opportunity until injuries carved a path for him.

“The only reason I was frustrated was I just know that I could help this team,’’ said Wright earlier this month (via Tomasson). “But I also have been in the league long enough to understand it’s a long season. But who would I replace? All the receivers have been making plays. … Sometimes it takes an injury to get a chance.’’

Wright, 27 in November, could get more of an opportunity elsewhere. But, as far as he knows, he’s not being shopped and wants it to stay that way.