HEADLINES

Jason Pierre-Paul

NFC Notes: McKay, Bears, JPP, Rodgers

August 11th, 2015 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Falcons president Rich McKay, who received a suspension from the NFL as part of the team’s penalty for pumping fake crowd noise into the Georgia Dome, is set to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials about reinstatement to the competition committee, writes D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Owner Arthur Blank says he’s “optimistic” McKay will be reinstated.

“We’ve had some discussions with the league,” Blank said. “Rich is scheduled to go up there in a few weeks and meet with the commissioner and others. Rich certainly has my support. He was a very valued member of the committee for 22 years and was mentioned [Saturday] night by Bill Polian, who was an inductee into the Hall of Fame, as somebody who was important that he worked with for a number of years.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • The Bears, having traded guard Ryan Groy to the Patriots, have been keeping an eye out for potential offensive line additions during camp. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the club worked out veteran free agent Lucas Nix last week. Nix, 25, started 10 games for the Raiders in 2013.
  • Despite Jason Pierre-Paul‘s absence from the Giants‘ training camp, co-owner John Mara says the team still has “a good relationship” with the defensive end, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. However, Mara added that JPP won’t rejoin the Giants “until he’s ready to come do some [physical] therapy.”
  • Speaking to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks he’s got another eight years in him. Of course, since Rodgers is still just 31 years old, it’s impossible to predict what his health or his NFL future will look like seven or eight years down the road. For what it’s worth, the two-time MVP also said two years ago that he hoped to play eight more seasons.
  • The Rams‘ new two-year extension with quarterback Nick Foles is a smart deal for both sides, opines Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • The Seahawks recently worked out several defensive linemen, including former Colorado State Pueblo pass rusher Darius Allen, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

NFC Notes: JPP, Eagles, Saints

August 9th, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Giants coach Tom Coughlin revealed Saturday that he got in touch with injured defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and the two had a “good conversation.” Co-owner Steve Tisch hasn’t been able to get in contact with Pierre-Paul, however, and is irked that the 26-year-old hasn’t responded to his overtures.

“It’s been very frustrating,” Tisch told the team’s website, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “I’ve reached out to Jason. I’ve not heard back from Jason. I’m not going to hold that against him. I understand his situation is difficult, complicated, and I’m sure very confusing to him personally.’’

Pierre-Paul, who led the Giants with 12.5 sacks last year, injured his hand in a fireworks accident in July and still hasn’t signed his $14.8MM franchise tender for 2015.

“My message to him is get better, we cheer for you,” said Tisch. “[Senior vice president of medical services] Ronnie [Barnes] and our doctors have access to the best doctors, if not in New York City and the country, possibly in the world. He should take advantage of that.

“Let us see you sooner than later. You’re not going to be judged, you’re going to be helped.”

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • Eagles cornerback JaCorey Shepherd hurt his right knee Sunday and there’s concern it could be an ACL injury, reports Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. Shepherd, a sixth-round rookie who has been getting first-team nickel corner reps during training camp, will have an MRI on Monday.
  • Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the team focused on adding talent and, more importantly, leadership during the offseason. He noted that the defense was especially lacking in leadership. The defense lost talent but arguably improved in the leadership department last month when it released pass-rushing linebacker Junior Galette, whose on-field success (22 sacks from 2013-14) was overshadowed by poor behavior off the field.
  • In other Saints news, offensive lineman Andrus Peat, the 13th pick in this year’s draft, has impressed head coach Sean Payton with his ability to play both tackle and guard. “I do see him as a tackle and yet he’s athletic enough to play inside,” said Payton, Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com tweeted. “We’ll keep moving him around,” Payton added (Twitter link).

Latest On Jason Pierre-Paul

August 8th, 2015 at 5:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Speaking to reporters earlier today, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin revealed that he had finally gotten in touch with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, adding that the two had a “good conversation,” according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. JPP, of course, hasn’t been with the club since injuring his hand in a fireworks incident a month ago, one that ultimately led to the amputation of his right index finger.

“He’s looking forward to coming,” Coughlin said. “He’s anxious to be here. But he’s not going to come until he feels like he’s ready to be able to play.”

It’s unclear when exactly that will be, obviously, as there has been little word as to the actual extent of Pierre-Paul’s injury and recovery. But recent reports have indicated that he is in good spirits and is confident that he will play at some point during the season — but again, whether that means he’ll be ready for Week 1, or at some point further down the road, is unknown.

What is known is that JPP has no intention of signing his franchise tag tender until he is physically able to contribute — as soon as he signs the offer, the Giants have the right to place him on the non-football injury list, which allows them to withhold his pay. As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes, the mostly likely outcome involves Pierre-Paul and the team agreeing to a new contract altogether — one that would presumably pay him something close to the franchise tag figure, but probably a bit lower — at which point JPP will report to camp.

But for now, the entire situation remains clouded with uncertainty. “It could be whatever amount of time,” said Couglin when asked when he thought JPP might return. “I’m not even going to speculate.”

“There’ve been many people talking to him,” Coughlin continued. “He’s little by little tried to make his contacts. That is a positive thing. I was glad to hear his voice. He sounded good. He sounded interested, that he wanted to get back here.”

East Notes: Bills, Vick, Cowboys, Milliner

August 7th, 2015 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have yet to name a starting quarterback, and it may be several more weeks until they do so. Matt Cassel, E.J. Manuel, and Tyrod Taylor are currently vying for the job, and head coach Rex Ryan admitted today on PFT Live that he and the Bills also considered Michael Vick (Twitter link). However, Ryan had concerns about Vick playing in bad weather in Buffalo. Vick, of course, played for Ryan in New York last year, but it doesn’t appear that his old coach will bring him in for a look this year.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • The Cowboys worked out several players today, bringing in the following players for auditions, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link): Offensive tackle Cody Clay, running backs Tim Cornett and Demitrius Bronson, and linebackers Jerrell Harris and Alex Singleton.
  • Shortly after learning that Antonio Allen had torn his Achilles and waiving the injured safety, the Jets saw another one of their defensive backs go down with an injury. According to a team release, cornerback Dee Milliner, who missed most of last season with an Achilles injury of his own, is undergoing surgery today to repair a torn tendon in his wrist, and will likely be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
  • Giants defensive line coach Robert Nunn said today that he has been in contact with Jason Pierre-Paul throughout the offseason, both before and after JPP’s fireworks accident, writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. “When I’ve talked to him, we’ve talked more about where he is from a mental standpoint, just texted back and forth to let him know we’re here for him, whatever he needs,” Nunn said. “And his response has been, ‘Coach, I’m good. I want to get myself right and I’ll be back.'”

NFC East Notes: JPP, Giants, Galette

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:04pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants GM Jerry Reese wouldn’t say much about his conversation with Jason Pierre-Paul, but Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears from a source that nothing has changed with his status. JPP still won’t sign a tender or report to the Giants until he can pass a physical. One person who has spoken with JPP described him (link) as being in good spirits. That source is confident that he’ll play this season, though he’s unsure of when that’ll happen. Here’s more from the NFC East..

Giants Notes: JPP, Reese, Mara

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Zachary Links

Giants GM Jerry Reese told WFAN that he spoke with Jason Pierre-Paul on Sunday, but wouldn’t elaborate on the conversation (via Graziano on Twitter). “[It was] a personal conversation. I want to keep it private,” the GM said. He did say, however, that there’s no timetable for the defensive end’s return (link).

  • Reese says that the Giants’ defense can be really strong, even without Pierre-Paul in the lineup, as Tom Canavan of The Associated Press writes. “I think we’ll be really good defensively,” Reese said. “I think we’re going to surprise people. I think we have five defensive ends that we feel like can play and play at a high level at that position. I do think our defense is going to be a better unit than it was last year. I’m excited to see them out there playing.”
  • The Giants are trying to build a dominant pass-rusher from the ground up with third-round pick Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes. Still, he’s green and has a long way to go before he can start replicating the production of someone like JPP. Odighizuwa was a 3-4 defensive end at UCLA and wasn’t asked to develop pass-rush moves or get after the quarterback in that scheme so he has a lot to learn.
  • Giants owner John Mara told WFAN that he believes the NFL will return to Los Angeles with two teams by 2016, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News tweets.

NFC East Notes: JPP, Giants, Gallette

July 30th, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Zachary Links

When asked whether he had any idea when Jason Pierre-Paul might report to training camp, Giants co-owner John Mara said that he has no clue, as Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger writes.

“I don’t know how many fingers he has,” Mara said. “We know what we’ve read and what we’ve been told, but until we actually see him and the extent of the damage, it’s hard to make any sort of prediction as to what kind of condition he’s in.”

As the Giants wait to learn more information about their star defensive end, let’s take a look at more from the NFC East..

  • When asked about a new deal with quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants owner once again expressed optimism, but also said that it will take some time as Manning’s agent is asking for an unreasonable amount of money in negotiations, Raanan tweets.
  • Former Saints outside linebacker Junior Galette, who is meeting with Washington tonight, has also drawn interest from six other teams, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. However, Galette would prefer Washington over his other suitors and feels like it’s a good fit, Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets.
  • Interestingly enough, Zac Boyer of The Washington Times (on Twitter) hears that Washington is the only team that has reached out with interest in Galette. The Bucs no longer seem to be in the mix, he adds.

NFC East Notes: JPP, Mincey, T. Williams

July 29th, 2015 at 5:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Giants co-owner John Mara has “no idea’” when Jason Pierre-Paul will report to training camp, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Mara acknowledged it was “very disappointing” to him that Pierre-Paul refused to see two team officials who traveled down to Florida to check on his physical condition. Mara also said that no one from the organization has seen JPP’s damaged right hand, and he fears the defensive end is not “receiving very good advice right now.”

As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes, Pierre-Paul continues to rehab and get his own medical care near his home in South Florida. Here’s more on JPP, along with a couple other NFC East updates:

  • Within Graziano’s story, he cites a source who says that Pierre-Paul expects to be healthy and to return to the field for the Giants this season “sooner than a lot of people think.”
  • With defensive end Jeremy Mincey preparing to hold out from Cowboys camp, it sounds like the team is preparing to play hardball. According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link), Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said today that Mincey will be fined for each day of camp he misses, and the team won’t discuss a new deal as long as he’s absent.
  • Having locked up linebacker Ryan Kerrigan to a long-term extension, Washington figures to focus on left tackle Trent Williams next. Head coach Jay Gruden confirmed today that Williams, who is entering the final year of his current deal, is in talks with the team about a new contract, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.

La Canfora On WR Extensions, Colts, JPP, Jets

July 27th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

After addressing a few burning questions on DeflateGate, the Marcus Mariota contract negotiations, and Junior Galette‘s release, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com takes a look around the rest of the NFL, passing along several noteworthy tidbits from all over the league. Let’s dive right in and check out a few of the highlights from La Canfora’s newest piece…

  • La Canfora expects both Julio Jones and A.J. Green to sign new deals before the 2015 season begins, and estimates that both deals will fall in the range of $13MM per year. I’m guessing that figure takes into account their current $10.176MM salaries for 2015, so the annual average of the new money would be closer to the $14MM per year that Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas received.
  • Several executives around the league believe that Andrew Luck‘s price tag may end up being so high that it puts the Colts in a bind with T.Y. Hilton. La Canfora thinks Hilton’s extension could come in at close to $12MM per year, and some observers aren’t convinced Indianapolis would go that high.
  • Jason Pierre-Paul and the Giants will likely come to terms on a one-year contract agreement that features per-game roster bonuses, says La Canfora, adding that New York also hopes to get something out of Will Beatty in the season’s second half.
  • La Canfora suggests that Muhammad Wilkerson and the Jets should consider working out a short-term extension – perhaps for two or three years – that gives the standout defensive lineman a nice chunk of guaranteed money and buys the team some time to make long-term decisions on Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams. Wilkerson would be “very open” to the idea, per La Canfora.
  • Some team executives around the league raised an eyebrow at the Steelers‘ big-money extension for Cameron Heyward. However, Pittsburgh likes Heyward more than a lot of clubs do and was willing to take a “calculated gamble” on his upside, writes La Canfora.

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Galette, Holmgren, JPP

July 25th, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Cardinals wideout Damond Powell was shot Friday night at his home in Toledo, Ohio, the city police announced today (via Fox10Tv.com). The undrafted rookie was reportedly sitting in his driveway with friends when shots were fired from a car down the street.

Police do not believe the injuries to be life-threatening, and they’ve yet to make an arrest.

The Iowa star finished his two-year career with 31 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns. He also added three rushes for 23 yards. The 22-year-old was among 14 undrafted free agents to be picked up by the Cardinals in May.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

  • Several Saints players told Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller that Junior Galette was a “cancer” in the locking room. The writer praises the Saints for the move, citing the team’s desire to change the culture of the franchise. Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett says the Saints should be “ripped” for making a bad investment, but should also be “applauded” for not letting money cloud their judgement.
  • Mike Holmgren had reached out to the 49ers regarding their head coaching vacancy, but the 67-year-old was told the organization wanted someone younger. “I probably needed to hear that because you get your ego stroked and you’re flattered when people call you and you kind of get into a place where I’m not sure you’re making great decisions, but when I heard that I said, ‘Okay, I needed to hear that and now I’m going onto other things,’” Holmgren told CBS Sports’ Rich Eisen (via ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio).
  • Giants legend Phil Simms told SiriusXM (via Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News) that defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul should have trusted the organization following his firework accident. Simms cited the organization’s willingness to work with injured players, and Samuel notes that the team held on to David Wilson this past season despite the player suffering a career-ending injury.
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