Joe Thomas (OT)

Extra Points: Bills, Thomas, Carter

January 23rd, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL (and one tidbit from the CFL)…

The Bills hiring of Kathryn Smith wasn’t made to steal headlines. As Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes, the team added Smith because they believed she’d help improve the squad. “I hired Kathryn because I believe she’s going to do a tremendous job,” said coach Rex Ryan. “The reason that I think she’s going to do a tremendous job is it starts with everything else. Just like with any profession, you’ve got to have a work ethic, you’ve got to have a passion for it…And I just like the way she is. She’s really all about the team – how she can help and all that. Regardless of the job we’ve asked her to do, she’s done a tremendous job in that and exceeded, I think, what we thought she would do.”
Before Ryan hired Ed Reed as the Bills assistant defensive backs coach, the head coach had brought the future Hall of Famer to the Jets. Ryan noticed the way Reed interacted with the younger players, an indication that the safety would make an excellent coach. “And from Day One he walked in, he was trying to make players better,” Ryan told Carucci. “And they knew it and they followed him. I mean, it was the Pied Piper. They just followed him. He took them to film after (practice). His thing was about the preparation after you leave the practice field. We played a lot better. He did a tremendous job.”
If Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas wants a trade, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer believes the organization should grant his request. However, the writer notes that the team could use the nine-time Pro Bowler, so they should do everything in their power to convince him to stay.
If Duron Carter decides to return to the Canadien Football League, he’ll sign a deal to remain with the Alouettes, reports Gary Lawless of TSN (via Twitter). Carter, the son of Hall of Famer Cris, briefly spent time on the Colts practice squad this season.

Browns Notes: Front Office, Manziel, Gordon

January 21st, 2016 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

New Browns front office duo Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta spoke to reporters today at an afternoon press conference, and while the session wasn’t exactly filled with headline-worthy nuggets, Brown and DePodesta made a few comments worth passing along. Here’s a round-up:

The Browns are looking to fill a crucial spot in their front office, but that position won’t get a general manager title, according to Brown (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). The new addition to the front office will be the vice president of player personnel, and Cleveland intends to make a hire within about a week.
Brown is confident that the team can attract top candidates for that VP of player personnel role, even though Brown will retain final say over the 53-man roster. However, he acknowledges that teams are reluctant to let their top personnel guys go at this time of year, with the draft coming up (Twitter links via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com).
The Browns are in no hurry to make a decision on quarterback Johnny Manziel, but Brown says he’ll defer to Hue Jackson if the new head coach decides he doesn’t want Manziel (Twitter link via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald).
As for Josh Gordon, the Browns also won’t rush into any decision on the suspended wide receiver. If Gordon is reinstated, the team will sit down with him and see how he’s doing, Brown said today (Twitter link via Ulrich).
Brown has met with left tackle Joe Thomas and indicated that he’ll “be a big piece of what we do moving forward” (Twitter link via Cabot). Thomas suggested at season’s end that he may ask to be traded if he wasn’t fond of the new head coaching hire and the franchise’s offseason direction.
DePodesta downplayed the idea that the Browns will be employing any sort of radical analytics, suggesting that his approach is more about a mindset than an algorithm, and the ultimate goal is to make the best possible decision (Twitter links via Ulrich).

Extra Points: Dolphins, Gruden, Browns, Titans

January 7th, 2016 at 9:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

As the Dolphins search for their next head coach, the areas they’re prioritizing when talking to candidates are quarterback and defense, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Dolphins brass wants to hear from prospective head coaches how they plan to help the two improve after an up-and-down fourth season from Ryan Tannehill and a year in which the defense finished 25th overall.

Further, per Salguero, interim head coach Dan Campbell‘s only chance to get a promotion to the full-time role is if he presents Miami’s hierarchy with two proven coordinators willing to join his staff. Whether it’s Campbell or someone else, the Dolphins want a coach who has real solutions to repair their problems on both sides of the ball.

Latest On Browns, Joe Thomas

January 4th, 2016 at 4:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas said he wants to see who the team’s new coach and GM will be before deciding whether he’ll ask for a way out of the organization, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. The perennial Pro Bowl left tackle has been in Cleveland ever since the organization drafted him No. 3 overall in 2007.

“When there’s turnover in the coaching staff, a lot of good players end up leaving, a lot of good coaches leave,” Thomas said over the weekend. “There’s a lot of uncertainty when there’s turnover in the coaching staff. Certainly I could be one of them not here next year.”

Thomas was hoping that coach Mike Pettine would return, but he was fired on Sunday, along with GM Ray Farmer. Now it seems that Thomas could follow both men out of the door in Cleveland.

Thomas has three years and $29.5MM left on his contract, which contains no dead money. Back in November, the Browns nearly completed a deal that would have sent the left tackle to the Broncos in exchange for valuable 2016 selections. It was reported that the deal broke down, at least in part, over a holdup on converting Thomas’ remaining salary for 2016 and 2017 into guarantees. However, Thomas denied those claims.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Browns Links: Coaching/GM Search, Manziel, Thomas

January 3rd, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Browns have promoted executive vice president/general counsel Sashi Brown to executive VP of football operations, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan. Brown will join owner Jimmy Haslam, Dee Haslam (Jimmy’s wife), and consultant Jed Hughes in finding the club’s next head coach, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (on Twitter) and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The coach will then help them hire a general manager (Twitter link via Ulrich). The new GM will report to Brown and the coach will report to Haslam, according to Ulrich (via Twitter). The GM’s duties will center on talent acquisition and scouting, while Brown will handle the 53-man roster and salary cap (via Ulrich on Twitter).

More on the Browns as they embark on another new era:

Haslam acknowledged that the Browns are in for a long rebuild. Thus, they’ll add talent through the draft and, for the time being, avoid spending big on free agents (Twitter link via Ulrich).
A report Sunday night stated Jacksonville assistant Doug Marrone would be the first to interview for the Browns’ head coaching vacancy. However, Haslam shot down the notion of Marrone being first in line, according to Cabot (Twitter link). No word yet on whether the team will speak with Marrone.
The Browns will interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin for their head coaching opening in the coming days, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Haslam informed previous GM Ray Farmer he was firing him before the Browns’ loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, not after, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Further, Haslam notifed the coaches of the Farmer and Mike Pettine firings via email, tweets Rapoport.
More Johnny Manziel drama, courtesy of Peter King of TheMMQB.com: The two-year veteran didn’t show up to concussion protocol at 9 a.m. Sunday, which is a team requirement even if the player is inactive. Moreover, Manziel was unreachable via phone when the Browns tried to contact him. King now doubts the quarterback will ever play another down for the Browns. The 2014 first-round pick would prefer to go to the Cowboys (Twitter links: 1; 2; 3).
Perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas, who has been in Cleveland since it drafted him third overall in 2007, is unsure about whether he’ll be a Brown next season. “When there’s turnover in the coaching staff, a lot of good players end up leaving, a lot of good coaches leave,” he said, according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi. “There’s a lot of uncertainty when there’s turnover in the coaching staff. Certainly I could be one of them not here next year.” On whether he even wants to stay a Brown, Thomas stated, “I’ll have to wait and see what happens with everything next week.” Thomas had previously hoped Pettine would return, per Grossi. Whether Pettine’s firing affects Thomas’ relationship with the Browns remains to be seen. For what it’s worth, Thomas has three years and $29.5MM left on his contract, which contains no dead money.

North Notes: Joe Thomas, Bengals, Peterson

November 10th, 2015 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re a full week removed from the trade deadline, but whispers about the blockbuster deal that didn’t get done on that day – Joe Thomas to the Broncos – continue to linger. For his part, Thomas today denied a weekend report suggesting he and/or his agent asked the Browns to explore the trade market for a possible deal.

“I’m not sure where that report came from, but I can say in no uncertain terms that I never asked the Browns for a trade, that I never talked to them about wanting to be traded, (nor) did any of my representatives talk to the Browns about wanting to be traded,” Thomas said today, per Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. “From what I understand about how things went, the Browns were contacted by the Broncos and that’s where the trade came from.”

That weekend report also indicated that Thomas wanted the Broncos to guarantee his 2016 and 2017 salaries before agreeing to a deal, which the Browns star tackle also denied.

“The other thing I’m going to be very firm and make no qualms about is myself was never involved in any contract discussions with the Denver Broncos, my agent was never involved in any contract discussions, there was never any guaranteed money discussed,” Thomas said. “I was off the grid this weekend, so I was a little surprised to see (the report).”

Let’s round up a few more Tuesday notes from across the NFL’s North divisions….

The Browns will add running back Glenn Winston and cornerback Charles Gaines to their active roster at some point this week, according to head coach Mike Pettine (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). Having cut linebacker Jayson DiManche and defensive back De’Ante Saunders yesterday, Cleveland shouldn’t need to make any other roster moves to accommodate the returning players.
A pair of Bengals players that opened the year on reserve lists returned to practice for the team today, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. As Harvey notes, Cincinnati will now have a three-week window to decide whether or not to activate offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (non-football injury list) and linebacker Sean Porter (physically unable to perform list).
As Joel Corry of CBSSports.com observes (via Twitter), Adrian Peterson needs at least 1,350 rushing yards and a Vikings playoff berth to keep his 2016 roster bonus from dropping by $2MM. While those may have seemed like tall orders before the season, Peterson – the league’s leading rusher – is currently on pace to exceed 1,500 yards, and Minnesota is tied for first place in the NFC North.

North Notes: Thomas, Bell, Janis

November 8th, 2015 at 11:12am CST by Rory Parks

As expected, the agent for Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, Peter Schaffer, has quickly moved to dispute this morning’s reports that the trade that would have sent Thomas to the Broncos fell through because Denver would not guarantee Thomas’ 2016 and 2017 salaries. Those reports, of course, also mentioned that Thomas asked Cleveland to see if it would be able to trade him. In a series of tweets, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com passes along Schaffer’s response.

Schaffer says Denver and Cleveland never discussed Thomas’ contract, adding that if the Broncos were willing to give up a first-round pick for Thomas, they had no intention of cutting him, so there would have been no need to discuss guaranteed salaries. Furthermore, Schaffer says neither he nor Thomas asked the Browns to pursue a trade, and he is frustrated that this morning’s news made Thomas–who expressed surprise that he was almost traded, and said he would have been crushed should the deal have happened–look like a liar. Former NFL agent Joel Corry weighed in as well (via Twitter), noting that even if Thomas did ask for his 2016 and 2017 salaries to be guaranteed, that should not have killed the trade unless Schaffer convinced Denver that a holdout was coming next year.

Now let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s north divisions:

Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the Steelers, who typically refuse to entertain in-season extension talks with their players, may have to make an exception for Le’Veon Bell, who underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Bell is on target to return right when the 2016 season begins, but Kaboly points out that any complication would make it an in-season return. If the Steelers then choose to wait until the end of the season to negotiate with Bell, it could be too late, as the talented back would be eligible for free agency. As such, Pittsburgh may have to bite the bullet and discuss an extension with Bell in the midst of the 2016 campaign.
The Steelers will not, however, discuss an extension with Bell until they at least get some idea of how his knee handles game action, as Corry tweets. La Canfora agrees, tweeting that although the team feels “very good” about how Bell will recover, they will shelve extension talks for a while, particularly since they will likely need to address Antonio Brown‘s contract in the near future as well.
In his latest mailbag, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com explains why he believes Tashaun Gipson will not be with the Browns in 2016, and he looks at the dilemma head coach Mike Pettine faces in deciding whether Johnny Manziel or Josh McCown should be under center for the remainder of the year.
Jeff Janis, the Packers‘ seventh-round selection in 2014, is the only member of the team to amass 78 or more receiving yards in a single game during the last month. However, as Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes, Green Bay has shown a strange reluctance to consistently include Janis in the game plan, despite the team’s offensive struggles. Cohen takes a look at Janis’ journey to this point in his career as he awaits an opportunity to prove himself on a weekly basis.
Matt Vensel of The Star Tribune describes how the Vikings, who again looked to the later rounds of the draft to address their biggest offseason need, the offensive line, have been hurt by that strategy this year. Vensel goes on to explore the team’s history of seeking out late-round gems to fill out its O-line.

No Joe Thomas Deal For Broncos, Browns

November 8th, 2015 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

SUNDAY, 8:20am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds, in a series of Twitter links, a little more context to the deal that nearly sent Thomas to the Broncos. Our Zach Links wrote a few hours after the trade deadline passed that the deal broke down, at least in part, over a holdup on converting Thomas’ remaining salary for 2016 and 2017 into guarantees. Rapoport reiterated that report this morning, noting that the trade fell apart when the Broncos would not guarantee as much as Thomas wanted.

Furthemore, Rapoport says that although Thomas certainly does have strong feelings for the Browns, he did ask Cleveland to explore potential trades prior to the deadline. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com writes, that news, along with the report that the trade did not happen because of Thomas’ push for guaranteed money in 2016 and 2017, does not mesh with Thomas’ recent statement that he would have been crushed and surprised if the deal had been consummated. Although Thomas may release another statement in light of these reports, the fact remains that he is still a Brown and is under contract through 2018. He is due to make $8.3MM, $8.8MM, and $8.8MM over the next three seasons, respectively.

MONDAY, 3:20pm: Troy Renck of the Denver Post and Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter links) both dismiss the idea that the Broncos didn’t finalize a deal because they ran out of time or didn’t have the cap space, suggesting it was the Browns’ asking price that made Denver balk.

Russini adds (via Twitter) that the Broncos were offering a fifth-round pick and the Browns wanted a third-round pick, though it’s not clear how those selections fit into her previous report (noted below). According to Klis (via Twitter), the Browns wanted a first-rounder and at least one other early-round pick, which was too rich for the Broncos.

MONDAY, 3:07pm: Moments before today’s 3:00pm CT trade deadline, the Broncos were “racing” to restructure contracts in order to create the necessary cap room to accommodate a trade-deadline addition, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). However, it appears that deal fell through, or the team simply ran out of time.

According to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter links), the proposed trade would have sent Browns left tackle Joe Thomas and a fourth-round 2016 pick to Denver in exchange for the Broncos’ first- and second-round picks in 2016. Russini suggests that it’s not clear whether the two sides were in agreement on that proposal before the deadline — it sounds as if it was close, but couldn’t get finalized before the deadline.

Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine confirmed to reporters moments ago the Browns didn’t make any trades (Twitter link via Albert Breer of the NFL Network).

The Browns were reportedly considering deals for several of their veteran players in advance of today’s deadline, including Thomas, Alex Mack, Paul Kruger, and Barkevious Mingo. A report this afternoon indicated that the team wasn’t likely to complete a major trade, so perhaps the Broncos made an unexpected last-minute push to try to land Thomas.

This wasn’t the first time the two teams had discussed a potential Thomas trade, with at least one report this morning suggesting that Denver offered a first-round pick for the standout tackle earlier in the season. With both Ryan Clady and Ty Sambrailo out for the year, the Broncos could have used a stalwart lineman like Thomas to protect Peyton Manning‘s blind side the rest of the way, but the Browns’ asking price was steep.

North Notes: Browns, J. Thomas, Lions

November 6th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

With Josh McCown bothered by a painful rib injury, second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel got the nod for the Browns on Thursday night. The returns weren’t great, with Manziel struggling in the second half, completing less than 50% of his passes as the Browns fell 31-10 to the division-rival Bengals.

Still, there were some positive signs for the former 22nd overall pick, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Was it enough for the Browns to give him another start? Head coach Mike Pettine wasn’t ready to commit to that following the game, as Pat McManamon of ESPN.com writes.

“When we get in and get back from this time off, we will assess what pool of players are available and go ahead and make those decisions from there,” Pettine said. “This will be a good time to step away and reassess where we are moving forward.”

As the Browns figure out who their starting quarterback will be the next time they take the field, let’s check in on some other items from out of the NFL’s North divisions….

All-Pro Browns left tackle Joe Thomas was nearly dealt to the Broncos at the trade deadline on Tuesday, and while he admitted he would have been “really crushed” to leave Cleveland, he added that he’s not upset the team considered moving him. “It doesn’t really bother me that they listened to people that offered things,” Thomas said, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “It’s kind of like you’re walking down the street and somebody says, ‘Hey, nice watch. You want to sell it?’ You say, ‘Well, it’s not for sale.’ But then you think and go, ‘Well, what will you give me?’ It’s just a matter of what the price is. Obviously, from the sounds of it, it was close but no cigar.”
Having watched Dwayne Bowe outperform Taylor Gabriel in Thursday’s game, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk wonders why the Browns have been playing Gabriel over Bowe for most of the season. In Smith’s view, the fact that Bowe hasn’t seen much playing time after Cleveland gave him $9MM in guaranteed money speaks to a possible disconnect between GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine.
After seeing GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand get axed yesterday by the Lions, Detroit players acknowledged that major changes to the roster could be the next shoe to drop. “When new people come in, they obviously feel like the people who were here weren’t getting the job done, so they try to bring in their own guys,” safety Glover Quin said, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Everybody, at least for me, I feel like everybody’s on the chopping block. Everybody’s job is on the line.”

Broncos Notes: Davis, Thomas, Clady

November 3rd, 2015 at 8:18pm CST by Zachary Links

In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Troy Renck of The Denver Post if he thinks that the newly-acquired Vernon Davis will have a similar impact to Julius Thomas at tight end. Renck writes that Davis will not have the same impact because the offense is not the same. However, he can be a tantalizing weapon for an offense that is starting to turn the corner. Denver didn’t give up much to land Davis, and Renck feels that was a flyer worth taking for the Broncos.

Here’s more out of Denver..

A potential deal that would have sent Joe Thomas from the Browns to the Broncos broke down over a holdup on converting his remaining salary for 2016 and 2017 into guarantees for security, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Browns and Broncos agreed on the deal including a Broncos first-round pick in 2017, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. However, in 2016, the Browns wanted to orchestrate a high-round pick swap and Denver declined.
Klis (link) supports the Broncos’ refusal to part with that much. If Manning were to retire after the season and Denver were to tank in 2016, they might be unable to get a top QB if they finished worst than the Browns and had the picks swapped.
On the surface, the Broncos’ play for Joe Thomas looks like an effort to replace left tackle Ty Sambrailo, who is done for the year with a shoulder injury. On a deeper level, Mike Florio of PFT writes, the talks can be interpreted as a bad sign for left tackle Ryan Clady, who has suffered two season-long injuries in three years and is earning major money. Clady is set to earn $9.5MM in 2016 and $10MM in 2017.

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