Jon Beason - Pro Football Rumors

Giants Cut Schwartz, Beatty; Beason Retires

March 1st, 2016 at 5:10pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 1: The Giants have officially cut Schwartz, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 17: The Giants have officially released Beatty, adding that he failed his physical, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Beatty is recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

FEBRUARY 10, 1:55pm: The Giants have officially announced Beason’s retirement, and confirmed the release of Schwartz and Beatty. Beason said that he wanted to continue playing, but after consulting with numerous doctors, those experts unanimously recommending that he retire because of his injured knee.

11:04am: Beason could end up announcing his retirement, tweets Graziano. As noted below, a report last month suggested the veteran linebacker was considering retirement due to ongoing injury issues. It probably makes sense for Beason to wait until after the Giants cut him though, to ensure there’s no risk of losing a portion of his signing bonus.

10:53am: In addition to releasing Schwartz and Beason, the Giants are also cutting veteran tackle Will Beatty, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. Like his two teammates, Beatty has had to deal with health problems as of late — he missed the entire 2015 campaign due to pectoral and rotator cuff injuries.

Releasing Beatty will leave $5MM in dead money on the Giants’ 2015 cap, but the move will also clear $4.175MM in space. Overall, the three cuts will create more than $12.2MM in cap savings for GM Jerry Reese and the Giants.

10:37am: The Giants are releasing a veteran player on either side of the ball, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter links), who reports that the team is parting ways with offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz and linebacker Jon Beason.

Both Schwartz and Beason signed contracts with the Giants in March of 2014, with Schwartz inking a four-year pact while Beason agreed to a three-year deal. Since then, injuries have plagued both players, with Schwartz appearing in 13 games over the last two seasons for New York, while Beason has played in just nine.

Schwartz, 29, started 11 games for the Giants in 2015, but his seasons was cut short when he fractured a bone in his left leg in late November, forcing the team to place him on injured reserve. By releasing him, the Giants will avoid paying him $3.925MM annual salaries this year and next year, taking on a hit of about $1.917MM in dead money for 2016. The move creates nearly $3MM in cap savings for the club, while Schwartz – like his brother Mitchell Schwartz – could be on the lookout for a new home.

As for Beason, according to Over the Cap, he would have been owed a $1MM roster bonus if he were still on the Giants’ roster on the fifth day of the 2016 league year. Instead, the Giants’ will clear that bonus, $1.2MM in per-game roster bonuses, a $100K workout bonus, and his $2.8MM base salary from their cap, creating a total of $5.1MM in cap savings.

While Schwartz and Beason didn’t provide the Giants with much value over the last two years, both players were effective for other teams earlier in their careers. Schwartz started 26 total games for the Panthers and Chiefs, and Beason was even more impressive, earning three Pro Bowl nods during his years in Carolina.

If the two veterans show they’re healthy heading into 2016, they could be intriguing buy-low candidates. However, that depends on whether they both want to continue their careers. A report last month indicated that Beason was considering retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants’ Jon Beason Contemplating Retirement

January 8th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Giants linebacker Jon Beason will require offseason knee surgery which could place his career in jeopardy, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Beason indicates that he will attempt to return to the NFL in 2016, but if his knee does not respond to rehab treatments, he could retire.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Beason’s career possibly ending prematurely due to injury. When Beason, 30, was originally placed on injured reserve back in November, reports indicated that his NFL tenure was likely finished. Injuries are nothing new for Beason, whom the Giants from the Panthers in 2007. While he was extremely durable during his first four years in the league (he didn’t miss a single game), Beason played in just 29 out of a possible 80 games from 2011-15, including only nine games during the past two seasons with New York.

Beason and the Giants agreed to a three-year, $14MM contract prior to the 2014 season, but the two sides restructured that deal before the 2015 campaign, slashing Beason’s base salary by nearly half. Beason would have been able to make up much of that loss via playing time incentives, but he presumably will be unable to reach those goals now. If he does end up retiring, Beason will count for about $1.47MM on the Giants’ cap in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants’ Jon Beason’s Career In Jeopardy

November 8th, 2015 at 3:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

When the Giants activated defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul last week, they cleared a spot for him on the active roster by placing veteran linebacker Jon Beason, who had been dealing with knee and ankle injuries, on injured reserve. According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, not only is Beason’s season over, but his career is likely finished as well, as mounting injuries have taken their toll.

Injuries are nothing new for Beason, 30, whom the Giants from the Panthers in 2007. While he was extremely durable during his first four years in the league (he didn’t miss a single game), Beason will have played in just 29 out of a possible 80 games from 2011-15, including only nine games during the past two seasons with New York.

Beason and the Giants agreed to a three-year, $14MM contract prior to the 2014 season, but the two sides restructured that deal before the 2015 campaign, slashing Beason’s base salary by nearly half. Beason would have been able to make up much of that loss via playing time incentives, but he presumably will be unable to reach those goals now. If he does end up retiring, Beason will count for about $1.47MM on the Giants’ cap in 2016.

A first-round pick out of Miami in 2007, Beason has accrued more than 500 tackles during his near-decade long career.

Sunday Roundup: Hardy, L. McCown, Welker

November 8th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Rory Parks

As this week’s games get underway in full force, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:

Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, reports that the Buccaneers put together a contract structure for Greg Hardy that the Cowboys ultimately mirrored, but Tampa Bay’s contract was contingent on the club meeting with Hardy for evaluation. Once it became clear that such a meeting was not possible, the Bucs pulled the offer (Twitter links).
Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune writes that Saints backup quarterback Luke McCown will get a second opinion on his back injury this week, but Terrell’s source indicates that McCown will likely require season ending surgery. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, the news is fairly significant, as New Orleans has never had to rely on a rookie to back up Drew Brees.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes that free agent wide receiver Wes Welker is still waiting for his phone to ring, and that he has passed both physicals he has taken this year. He wants to play for a contender, and he has instructed his agent to reach out again to the teams on his list to see if there is a fit.
ESPN’s Jane McManus tweets that the NFL’s investigation into Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel‘s recent encounter with police is expected to conclude this week. McManus notes that the police report and various witness testimony have complicated the investigation.
Although there was more league-wide effort to make a deal prior to this year’s trade deadline than in seasons past, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that only one trade was made because the demand from sellers was too great. The Browns and 49ers in particular asked for compensation that rival executives believed was unreasonable.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes a detailed look at the 2016 wide receiver free agent class and the types of contracts some of the bigger names in the class can expect to land. Fitzgerald says the best player on that list, Alshon Jeffery, is better equipped to handle a franchise tag should the Bears go that route because he is so young and the tag will not impact the way teams view his future as long as he remains healthy.
ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets that the Jaguars are likely to part ways with Toby Gerhart at season’s end.
Likewise, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com believes Jon Beason has played his last game for the Giants (Twitter link).

Giants Activate Jason Pierre-Paul; Jon Beason to IR

November 7th, 2015 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:28pm: The Giants lifted Pierre-Paul’s roster exemption, and the defensive end will play Sunday, Rapoport tweets.

Jon Beason will head to injured reserve as the corresponding transaction, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Beason’s played in five games for the Giants this season, starting four at middle linebacker, but the oft-injured linebacker will once again head to IR. Beason, 30, played in just four games for Big Blue in 2014. He took a paycut to stay with the Giants this season.

The former Miami Hurricanes stalwart’s played in five or fewer games in four of the past five seasons after playing in all 16 in his first four seasons with the Panthers.

The latest spate of injuries, with knee and ankle maladies finishing his season this time, could mark the end of Beason’s career, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reports.

1:52pm: Jason Pierre-Paul is traveling with the Giants for their Week 9 clash with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter).

From the impression of teammates, it looks like Big Blue plans on deploying him immediately, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

The Giants have until 3 p.m. Central Time to activate their former All-Pro pass-rusher to their 53-man roster and officially conclude his turbulent offseason.

New York is the only team in the league still in single digits in sacks with nine. They trail the second-worst Falcons’ pass rush by three and sit 20 behind the first-place Broncos.

The sixth-year edge presence looks to be set for passing-down work against the Bucs, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), who would be very surprised if the Giants don’t activate him today.

He’ll indeed be on a snap count, according to Hubbuch, but the ex-first-rounder who registered 12.5 sacks last season and has lofty incentives for reaching double digits this year will obviously help the Giants’ anemic rush, even in a limited role.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and we’re very positive about it,” Tom Coughlin told media. “He obviously has played many, many years in all circumstances, so I don’t think necessarily that’s true [that Pierre-Paul would be in a specialized role].”

NFC East Notes: RGIII, JPP, Randle, Beason

August 23rd, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Rory Parks

Despite suffering a concussion during Thursday’s preseason game against the Lions, Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III participated fully in practice today, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a rather quick turnaround for a player who had entered into the league’s concussion protocol just days ago. Per head coach Jay Gruden, Griffin was cleared for non-contact activity, and has shown no ill effects from his head injury (link).

Here’s more from Washington and the rest of the NFC East:

There has been some discussion as to whether the Giants should simply cut ties with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, but as Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, last night’s preseason game against Carolina serves as a clear reminder why New York has not done so. Without JPP, Vacchiano says, “it sure looks like the Giants can’t get near opposing quarterbacks at all.”
Receiver Rueben Randle, dealing with knee tenditis, might not be close to a return, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters, including Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “This thing with Rueben has really confused me,” said Coughlin. Elsewhere on the nijury front, Coughlin said linebacker Jon Beason has a strained knee and is week-to-week, according to James Kratch of NJ.com.
In a full-length piece, Keim sees RB Trey Williams as the only undrafted free agent that has a legitimate chance to make Washington‘s 53-man roster, though Keim notes that Williams still has some work to do to earn that spot.
Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News examines the Cowboys‘ battle for the wide receiver spots behind Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, and Cole Beasley. Devin Street and Lucky Whitehead are the current favorites, but George notes that there is some intriguing talent behind those two.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

Giants’ Justin Currie Fractures Ankle

August 22nd, 2015 at 8:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Giants rookie safety Justin Currie fractured his right ankle during the team’s game Saturday against Jacksonville, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link). Currie will miss the season as a result, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweeted.

Currie signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan in May, but the team cut him in July before signing him yet again a week later. He’s the latest first-year Giants safety to suffer an injury this summer, joining Mykkele Thompson (torn Achilles) and Landon Collins (sprained MCL).

In his first NFL action, an Aug. 14 preseason loss to Cincinnati, Currie led the Giants with 50 snaps (41 on defense, nine on special teams), according to James Kratch of NJ.com.

In addition to Currie, the Giants also lost two other defenders – linebackers Jon Beason (sprained left knee) and Mark Herzlich (concussion) – to injuries against the Jaguars. It’s currently unknown how much time, if any, the two will miss.

Giants, Jon Beason Restructure Contract

March 9th, 2015 at 8:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After hearing last week that Jon Beason was working with the Giants to restructure his contract, the two sides have reached an agreement, reports Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It’s a straight pay cut for the linebacker, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, as Beason’s 2015 base salary will be slashed from $3.6MM to $1.9MM.

Beason will able to make up a chunk of that loss through playing-time incentives, adds Raanan. All told, the 30-year-old’s cap figure will be lowered from $7.4MM to roughly $4.154MM, saving the Giants about $3.246MM. Beason had been scheduled to earn a $1MM roster bonus on Tuesday.

While clearly a talented player, Beason simply cannot stay healthy — he’s played in just 22 games over the previous four seasons. Beason, who was traded from the Panthers to the Giants in 2013, played in only four games last year while dealing with numerous foot injuries. But if he can avoid the training room, the former first-round pick projects as New York’s starting middle linebacker for 2015.

NFC East Notes: Beason, Branch, Eagles

March 4th, 2015 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Not long after we included a few NFC East items in our morning look at both East divisions, there are a few more updates to round up. Here’s the latest out of the NFC East:

Linebacker Jon Beason confirmed today to SiriusXM NFL Radio that he has been working with the Giants on restructuring his contract, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. Beason, whose 2014 season was mostly wiped out due to foot problems, would count for $7.4MM against the cap in 2015 if the two sides don’t reach an agreement. Working as his own agent in the negotiations, Beason recognizes he’ll likely have to accept a pay cut and is optimistic about his return, per Raanan.
After meeting with the Colts today, free agent safety Tyvon Branch will visit Washington tomorrow, tweets Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports.
The Eagles have yet to approach linebacker Mychal Kendricks about a potential contract extension, reports Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). As a 2012 draftee, Kendrick is now eligible for a new contract, with his rookie deal set to expire after the 2015 season, but it’s not clear if Philadelphia plans to broach the subject this offseason, particularly after the looming addition of Kiko Alonso.
While the cuts of Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, and Cary Williams, as well as the trade of LeSean McCoy, will create a ton of cap space, players around the league are somewhat leery of Chip Kelly and the Eagles after seeing him part ways with several solid veterans, along with DeSean Jackson last year, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Cole notes that any free agents considering signing with Philadelphia may be unsure about whether Kelly will be willing to hang onto productive players over the long run.
Within the same video, Cole also wonders if the Eagles‘ moves to create cap space are motivated in part by a desire to fill a number of holes in free agency, making their draft picks more expendable if they decide to try to move up for Marcus Mariota.
Earlier this afternoon, we learned that the Eagles are expected to go after outside linebacker Jason Worilds once the free agent period begins.

NFC Mailbags: Panthers, Suh, Rodgers, Giants

January 24th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Ben Levine

We checked out ESPN.com’s AFC mailbags earlier this morning. Let’s now switch focus to the NFC…

David Newton still believes the Panthers could re-sign Byron Bell, even following the offensive lineman’s subpar season. Even if the 26-year-old proves that he can’t cut it as a starter, the writer believes the former undrafted free agent could still contribute as a depth piece.
Michael C. Wright would choose a safety in the first round if he was in charge of the Bears. However, the writer notes that general manager Ryan Pace believes in selecting the best player available, regardless of position.
If Ndamukong Suh ultimately leaves Detroit, Michael Rothstein thinks the Lions have the flexibility to move to a 3-4 defensive scheme. If the team decides to stick with a 4-3, then Rothstein suggests the team could look to sign Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton as Suh’s replacement.
It’s not necessary for Aaron Rodgers to restructure his contract, writes Rob Demovsky. With more than $18MM in projected cap room, the Packers shouldn’t have an issue retaining free agents such as Randall Cobb.
Dan Graziano explores potential cap casualties for the Giants. The writer points to defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka as the most likely to be released, while linebacker Jon Beason and center J.D. Walton are also candidates.