Jason Peters

East Notes: Dolphins, Marino, Bills, Incognito

The Bills have indicated that they’ll prioritize re-signing Richie Incognito in the coming weeks, and that interest in a new deal is mutual, according to the veteran guard (link via Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com):

“My goal is to come back and play in Buffalo,” Incognito said during an appearance on The John Murphy Show. “I love it there. I love my teammates and I love playing for coach Rex and Greg Roman. I really think that my personality and my hard work approach and physical nature really resembles the spirit of Buffalo. A blue collar town and a bunch of hard working people up there, and they just want to win. That’s my number one goal is just to win and restore the glory of Buffalo.”

Here are a few more items from out of the NFL’s East divisions:

  • Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino was a part of the Dolphins‘ contingent at the Senior Bowl and he’s becoming more and more involved in the team’s personnel decisions, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Originally, Marino was more involved in the PR side of things than the front office. Ultimately, he wants to work his way into more of an executive role and the current higher-ups say they’re delighted with him.
  • At a press conference today, Steelers president and co-owner Art Rooney II revealed that the Eagles have received permission to interview Steelers executive Brandon Hunt for their director of player personnel job (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links), Hunt has already met with Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie, and will meet with Tom Donahoe on Friday — Donahoe, a former Steelers GM, is having a major impact on Philadelphia’s search for a top personnel exec, tweets Mosher.
  • Eagles left tackle Jason Peters turned 34 this month, and his cap hit will rise to nearly $10MM in 2016, but new head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t want Peters to go anywhere, as Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes. “I think J.P.’s got several good years left in him,” Pederson said. “I think that he does the right things in the offseason to get himself ready to go for another year.”
  • Former Bengals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, now the defensive coordinator in Miami, admitted today that he felt responsible for Adam Jones‘ penalty against the Steelers in the Wild Card game, referring to Pacman as his “guy.” As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) observes, Joseph’s new role means Jones might be on the Dolphins‘ radar in free agency this winter.

East Notes: Coughlin, Grimes, Eagles, Pats

Asked after Sunday night’s embarrassing loss to the Vikings about his job security, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin insisted that he’s not worried about it, and that it’ll “take care of itself,” according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.

While Coughlin claims he’s not concerned about his future with the Giants, he probably should be, says Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who adds that the “walls are closing in” on the team’s longtime head coach. Graziano adds that there was a strange vibe in New York’s locker room after Sunday’s game, suggesting that players seem somewhat resigned to Coughlin’s potential fate, despite the fact that most of those players still strongly support and respect the coach.

As we wait to see what the next couple weeks hold for the Giants and Coughlin, let’s check in on some other notes out of the NFL’s East divisions….

  • As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes, members of the Dolphins‘ front office, including Mike Tannenbaum, aren’t thrilled with the attention that Brent Grimes‘ wife, Miko Grimes, brings to the organization. After being arrested before a game earlier this season, she has recently been critical of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, as well as certain local media members. Although her outspoken nature may not significantly impact Grimes’ future in Miami, it’s fair to wonder if it’ll be taken into consideration if the club explores the possibility of cutting the cornerback or asking him to take a pay cut.
  • After Jason Peters removed himself from Saturday’s game against Washington, reports surfaced that the Eagles’ veteran tackle didn’t want to risk further injury for a team that wasn’t headed to the playoffs. Confirming that story, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News explores what it might mean for Peters and Chip Kelly in 2016.
  • The Patriots took another injury hit on Sunday when starting tackle Sebastian Vollmer went down with a sprained ankle, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Vollmer has an MRI scheduled for Monday.
  • The fact that the usually-effusive Jerry Jones wasn’t even willing to talk to reporters following the Cowboys‘ latest loss is a reflection of how bad things have gotten in Dallas this season, says Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. It’ll be interesting to see whether the frustrating year results in major offseason changes, or if the Joneses will simply count on Tony Romo‘s return to reverse the team’s fortunes in 2016.

Sunday Roundup: Matthews, Dimitroff, Brees

As the NFL world continues to reel from the Peyton Manning HGH allegations, let’s take a look at some links from around the league:

  • Although the majority of the fallout from the Al Jazeera documentary has naturally focused on Manning, it should not be forgotten that other star players, like Packers LB Clay Matthews, were also named in the report. Per Mike Garafolo of FOXSports, via colleague Jay Glazer, Matthews has denied even knowing who former Guyer Institute intern Charlie Sly is and has naturally denied receiving any medications from him (Twitter link).
  • No one disputes that there is a talent deficiency on the Falcons roster, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says GM Thomas Dimitroff will not necessarily take the fall for that deficiency. Per Rapoport, owner Arthur Blank will sit down with Dimitroff after the season to hear his GM’s plan for the team moving forward, and Blank will make a decision about Dimitroff’s future then (Twitter links).
  • Speaking of embattled GMs, Kevin Patra of NFL.com (citing Rapoport) says Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey–who was essentially rendered superfluous when the team hired Mike Tannenbaum–will likely be fired at the end of the season.
  • Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News has even more troubling news for Eagles fans, reporting that veteran left tackle Jason Peters took himself, unhurt, out of last night’s loss to Washington because he did not want to risk getting injured for a team that was not going to make the playoffs.
  • Following a report this morning that Drew Brees would need to take a hometown discount to remain with the Saints in 2016, former NFL agent Joel Corry weighs in on the matter in a series of tweets. Corry says that New Orleans will have to make a quick decision on Brees’ future, as $10.85MM of his $19.75MM base salary becomes fully guaranteed on February 10, 2016, the third day of the waiver period. Because there is no offset language in Brees’ deal, if the Saints were to wait until after February 10 to cut him, they would be saddled with nearly $21MM of dead money. As Corry points out, that reality gives Brees a great deal of leverage, which should allow him to “slow play” contract negotiations.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at the dilemma the Panthers will face this offseason when deciding whether to re-sign Josh Norman, put the franchise tag on him, or let him walk in free agency.
  • Citing a league source, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets that the 49ers plan to keep Jarryd Hayne on the team’s active roster through the end of the season, thereby allowing San Francisco to keep Hayne under club control for 2016.

Notable Contracts Guaranteed Today

On today, the fifth day of the league year, a number of contracts have become fully or partially guaranteed.

Below are a number of notable contracts that have money guaranteed as of today, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports. All links are via Twitter.

Eagles Cap Details: Peters, Cooper, Kelce

Offensive tackle Jason Peters, center Jason Kelce, and wide receiver Riley Cooper have all reached long-term contract agreements with the Eagles this week, and the details of those deals have slowly become public over the last couple days. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the three contracts look:

  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com has the specifics on Peters’ new contract, including a new chart that clearly exhibits how the annual figures. The deal includes a $5MM signing bonus and a $5MM roster bonus for 2014, so Peters will receive $10MM of his guarantee before the 2014 season even begins. Additionally, his full ’14 base salary (down to $1.75MM) is now guaranteed, as is a portion of his 2015 salary ($4MM of $6.8MM). The contract also includes $3MM in escalators based on Pro Bowl and All Pro selections.
  • Fitzgerald also has the year-by-year breakdown of Cooper’s new five-year contract, which included a $4MM signing bonus. According to Fitzgerald, Cooper’s $1MM base salary for 2014 is fully guaranteed, as is $3MM of his 2015 base salary ($4MM). The receiver can ensure that an extra $1MM in base salary is guaranteed in both 2015 and 2016 if he remains on the roster beyond the fifth day of those league years. Fitzgerald’s piece on Cooper’s deal also takes a look at how it might affect the rest of the secondary receiver market.
  • Cooper’s contract includes annual escalators worth $625K from 2015 to 2018, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. As Fitzgerald’s chart details, that means the deal only amounts to a total of $22.5MM over five years, with the possibility of Cooper earning an extra $2.5MM via those escalators.
  • According to Pelissero (Twitter links), Kelce’s base salary for 2014 remains the same, before jumping to $3MM in 2015. Both of those amounts, plus $2.602MM of his $4MM base salary for 2015, are fully guaranteed. The center also received a $6MM signing bonus, and his deal includes $200K per year in Pro Bowl escalators.
  • Overall, the three new contracts resulted in an extra $1.409MM being added to the Eagles’ 2014 cap total, tweets Pelissero.

Eagles Extend Jason Peters

10:12am: Peters’ new contract, which has now been confirmed by the team, will create about $2MM in cap savings for the Eagles in 2014, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

8:52am: The Eagles have reached an agreement to extend the contract of Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jason Peters, agent Vincent Taylor tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). According to Schefter, Peters will ink a four-year deal worth $41.3MM, with $19.55MM in guaranteed money.

Peters, 32, had been set to enter the last year of his contract, which would have paid him a base salary of $9.65MM. It’s not clear yet exactly how the new deal will break down season to season, but according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link), the contract adds four new years onto Peters’ current pact, rather than including the 2014 season. As such, the Eagles will have their left tackle under contract through 2018, and his full five-year deal maxes out at $51MM+.

The agreement will also create more short-term flexibility for the club by reducing Peters’ $10.292MM cap number for the ’14 season, tweets Pelissero. Meanwhile, the Arkansas alum will earn $10MM in bonuses before July 1 of this year, his agent tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Although the contract runs through Peters’ age-36 season, there’s no guarantee he’ll remain on Philadelphia’s roster until the end of the 2018 season. Still, it’s a significant commitment on the Eagles’ part, and one that will likely allow Peters to retire as an Eagle, for which his agent praised Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman, according to Rapoport.

It’s also the sort of commitment that Peters has earned. Coming off an Achilles injury that wiped out his 2012 season, the former Bill started all 16 games for the Eagles in 2013, earning his sixth Pro Bowl berth and his second first-team All Pro nod. While Peters didn’t quite return to the very top of Pro Football Focus’ rankings, he got close, placing fourth among 76 qualified tackles (subscription required). He’ll anchor the Eagles’ line and protect Nick Foles‘ blind side for the foreseeable future.

Eagles Notes: Cooper, Maclin, Peters, Allen

With free agency looming and approximately $20MM worth of cap space to work with, the Eagles have decisions to make on key players. At the top of the list are receivers Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin. The belief among NFL people is that both players will be back next season, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.

  • A combination of factors could work to keep the 26-year-old Cooper, whom GM Howie Roseman calls a “young asset,” in Philadelphia. Cooper made a favorable impression on Chip Kelly, but other GMs could be reluctant to bring him into the locker room after last summer’s incident.
  • Maclin, 25, has been a playmaker when healthy, and his skill set is ideal for Kelly’s system, but he’s coming off his second right ACL tear. Consequently, Maclin acknowledges he might be willing to settle for a one-year, “prove-it” contract in an effort to cash in next year.
  • The team is pleased with its three tight ends. Zach Ertz is a bargain on his rookie deal, while Brent Celek ($4MM) and James Casey ($3.99MM) are reasonably priced, meaning the trio could remain intact.
  • DeMeco Ryans is scheduled to make $6.8MM next year and might have to take a pay cut to stay.
  • Franchise left tackle Jason Peters has one year remaining at $9.65MM and could be in line for an extension.
  • Free safety Nate Allen is also a free agent and a question mark to return. A second-round pick in 2010, Allen has not taken his game to the level expected when he was drafted, and was “afraid to hit,” according to an unnamed former coach.