Julius Thomas - Pro Football Rumors

Julius Thomas Drawing Trade Interest

February 20th, 2017 at 2:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Even though they’re unlikely to acquire Julius Thomas for left tackle Branden Albert, the Dolphins are interested in trading for the Jaguars tight end. But Miami’s going to face competition if it attempts to land Thomas in a separate deal, as Mike Kaye of WTLV reports that multiple teams are eyeing a possible trade for the 28-year-old.

Aside from the Dolphins, it’s unclear which clubs are targeting Thomas, but the Broncos, Cardinals, Packers, Giants and Jets are among the teams that either got little production from tight ends in 2016 or could lose their No. 1 option to free agency. Thomas has already played in Denver, where he put up back-to-back 12-touchdown seasons from 2013-14. He parlayed that two-year stretch into a $46MM contract with Jacksonville in 2015, but the deal hasn’t gone according to plan for the franchise.

Thomas has missed 11 of 32 games as a Jaguar and averaged under 10.0 yards per catch with them. On the other hand, he has combined for respectable reception and touchdown totals since leaving Denver, having amassed 76 grabs and nine scores.

Any team that acquires the 6-foot-4, 251-pound Thomas would take on a sizable financial commitment, though a contract restructuring would be a possibility. For now, Thomas is due base salaries between $7MM and $9MM over the final three years of his deal, which also carries cap hits ranging from $8.3MM to $10.3MM through 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dolphins, Jaguars Working To Swap Branden Albert, Julius Thomas

February 20th, 2017 at 7:53am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins are discussing a trade that would send left tackle Branden Albert to the Jaguars in exchange for tight end Julius Thomas, according to Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. Albert was first linked to Jacksonville last week by Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who speculated Thomas could be a target for the Dolphins.

Miami, of course, was close to releasing Albert last week, but trade talks materialized before the Fins officially made the move. The Jaguars, who recently declined their option bonus on left tackle Kelvin Beachum, were immediately viewed as the “primary destination” for Albert. While Albert and/or Thomas may need to restructure their contracts in order to finalize a deal, “all parties are willing participants” in negotiations, per Kelly.

“Why ruffle feathers when you don’t have to?” Albert said when asked about the trade. “It’s the business of the game. I honestly believe where I’m going to go is the right fit. It is going to be a surprise when [the terms] comes out.”

Albert, 32, has two years left on his current deal, with cap charges north of $10MM in each season. Miami would incur $3.4MM in dead money by dealing Albert to Jacksonville. Albert will visit the Jaguars today, and they could sweeten his deal in order to facilitate a trade, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The 28-year-old Thomas, meanwhile, is signed through 2019, and $3MM of his $7MM 2017 base salary has already become guaranteed, though he might accept a small pay cut, per Rapoport (Twitter link). Regardless, his salary would become the responsibility of the Dolphins in a trade, while the Jaguars would incur $3.6MM in dead money.

While Albert would take over the left tackle spot in Jacksonville, Thomas would also represent a solid fit for Miami. Incumbent Dolphins tight ends Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims are each pending free agents, and while Miami has interest in re-signing Sims, the club could certainly use a more established option. While Thomas has struggled during his time with the Jags, he did catch 24 touchdowns over two seasons in Denver while current Dolphins head coach Adam Gase served as offensive coordinator.

AFC Notes: Garoppolo, Murray, Fins, Jaguars

February 19th, 2017 at 10:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bill Belichick is unlikely to spend much time working on a trade proposal involving Jimmy Garoppolo, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Despite the Belichick-era Patriots making a league-high 61 trades since he took over in 2000, the coach is more likely to let Garoppolo and Tom Brady‘s agent, Don Yee, find a team that’s willing to extend Garoppolo and have said team put together a compelling array of assets.

La Canfora notes the latest Pats backup quarterback/trade candidate has a chance to be a quality starter. Of course, a buyer-beware element could exist based on Garoppolo’s small sample size (94 pass attempts in three seasons) and the Patriots’ previous trades of Brady backups not working out well for the teams acquiring them.

Relationships between certain key members of quarterback-needy teams and Yee could come into play, with La Canfora noting Hue Jackson has known Yee for more than 20 years and Bears GM Ryan Pace (from the Eastern Illinois grad’s relationship to Yee client Sean Payton; Garoppolo is an Eastern Illinois alum) has known Yee for many years as well. Both teams have been linked to a possible Garoppolo trade, one that La Canfora estimates will send the Patriots a similar haul to the one the Eagles collected for Sam Bradford. Although, some Garoppolo skepticism emerged this week, with a group of anonymous decision-makers preferring A.J. McCarron to the fourth-year Patriot as a trade asset.

Here’s more from the AFC.

A possible contractual hangup stands in the way of a Dolphins–Jaguars Branden Albert-for-Julius Thomas swap, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Albert, 32, has two years remaining on his five-year, $47MM deal. Thomas, 28, has three remaining on a five-year, $46.5MM accord. Both teams are in need of upgrades, the Jaguars at left tackle and Dolphins at tight end. Neither player has proven he can stay healthy throughout a season, however. With Albert being set to make $4MM more than Kelvin Beachum did last year at $9MM, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap wonders (Twitter links) if the hesitation is on the Jags’ end. Thomas is scheduled to make $7.1MM; Miami paid Jordan Cameron $6MM in 2016 for little production. Mike Garafolo of NFL.com expects the deal to be finalized by the time the new league year opens, however.
The Raiders want to retain Latavius Murray, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). But the reporter adds the fifth-year running back will have a market as well. Teams like the Giants, Buccaneers, Vikings and others could be in need of a medium- or long-term backfield solution. Murray may have some additional appeal due to the fact he has less wear and tear than other backs who have entered free agency in recent years. A starting back for barely two years and having missed his entire rookie season due to injury, the 27-year-old Murray only has 543 carries on his odometer. The sides have discussed an extension, and Reggie McKenzie noted Murray’s importance to Oakland’s offense — while acknowledging he may be swayed toward the market — earlier this month.
The Titans may not view a three-down linebacker as a primary need the way, holding fourth-year ‘backer Avery Williamson in a reasonably high regard, Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com notes. The Titans hold two first-round picks and could nab a top-flight ILB with one. ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr. (Insider link) has the team going with Marshon Lattimore and O.J. Howard, respectively, with its two first-rounders.
Within the same mailbag piece, Kuharsky adds Broncos RFA linebacker Todd Davis could have several suitors. The Broncos experienced an eventful RFA last year, placing a low-end tender on C.J. Anderson before ultimately matching a Dolphins offer sheet on their starting running back. Denver applied a second-round tender to Davis’ inside linebacker mate, Brandon Marshall, last season before signing him to a four-year extension later.

Dolphins, Jags Nearing Branden Albert Trade

February 17th, 2017 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

On Thursday, the Dolphins decided to release tackle Branden Albert. That is, until at least one team phoned them with trade interest. For now, Albert remains on the roster as the Dolphins explore trade possibilities. Apparently, it didn’t take long for serious talks to materialize. The Jaguars and Dolphins have talked trade, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. A source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) that the Jaguars are the “primary destination” for Albert at this time.

The Jaguars are in need of a starting left tackle after declining Kelvin Beachum‘s contract option on Thursday. At this time, Salguero writes that the Jaguars could be the only team to have expressed interest in an Albert trade. In addition to an agreement of terms between the two Florida teams, the Jaguars will presumably want the blessing of Albert. Albert may not have explicit no-trade rights, but there’s little sense in bringing him on board if he does not want to be there. Albert will turn 33 in November and he might not be gung-ho about joining a team that went 3-13 in 2016.

The Dolphins want draft compensation, though it won’t necessarily have to be an early pick, Salguero writes. Miami will want a pick in the 2017 draft but Jacksonville might push it to be a conditional 2018 pick based on Albert’s performance. If they can’t agree on proper draft considerations, Salguero writes that the two teams might move on to players.

One player who might not figure into the Jags’ plans for 2017 is tight end Julius Thomas and Salguero raises him as a trade candidate, though it’s not clear whether that is speculative or based on direct knowledge. The versatile Thomas would fill a need for Miami and a trade would allow the Jags to get off the hook for the remaining three years of his deal, including his guaranteed base salary. The Dolphins willingly absorbed Byron Maxwell’s contract this time last year, but I’m skeptical as to whether they’d do the same with Thomas after two disappointing years.

Extra Points: Broncos, Jags, 49ers, Falcons

February 8th, 2017 at 9:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Broncos have been connected to quarterback Tony Romo, whom they could pursue in free agency if the Cowboys cut him, but head coach Vance Joseph insisted Tuesday that Denver’s 2017 starter is already on its roster. On whether he’s committed to Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, Joseph said (via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com): “Absolutely, I am. They’re both smart guys. Obviously different skill sets, but I’m committed to both of those kids. They’re good football players and we’ve got to build around those guys.” Joseph’s offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy, echoed his boss, saying he’s “happy with the guys we have.”

After the Broncos hired Joseph and McCoy last month, Mike Klis of 9News reported that the club would rather start Lynch than Siemian next season. As a first-round rookie last year, Lynch sat behind Siemian – who fared OK in his first season as a No. 1 – but did see action in three games and pick up two starts.

AFC Notes: Colts, Patriots, Petty

December 18th, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Rory Parks

There are plenty of pundits who expect the Colts to part ways with at least one of head coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson at season’s end, but owner Jim Irsay has downplayed the notion of major changes, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Irsay said, “I would say it would be unlikely for any changes to occur, honestly. It’s unlikely, but look, we’ll see when we sit down and thoroughly vet the season.” One reason for Irsay’s hesitation is the fact that the first five year’s of the Pagano/Andrew Luck regime has gone better than the first five years of Peyton Manning‘s career in Indianapolis.

Now for more from the AFC:

DT Darius Kilgo may be on the Patriots‘ practice squad, but the Pats are not paying him that way. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe in a series of Twitter links, New England is paying Kilgo $30,882 per week, which gives him the same compensation he would have received under his original contract (the practice squad minimum is $6,900 per week). The team also guaranteed him $92,647, the equivalent of three weeks pay. As Volin observes, the team is attempting to “do right” by Kilgo, who was claimed off waivers from the Broncos when it looked like Alan Branch would be suspended, but who was cut and re-signed to the practice squad when Branch won his appeal.
The Patriots have until Wednesday to activate quarterback Jacoby Brissett to their active roster, or he will revert to injured reserve and be lost for the season. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots do plan to activate Brissett but that they are waiting until the last possible moment to do so because they do not have an obvious corresponding roster move to make. We had previously heard that the team was expected to activate Brissett on Friday.
Cyrus Jones has had a disappointing rookie year for the Patriots, but the second-round selection out of Alabama is not going anywhere, as Volin writes in a separate piece. Jones, who was coveted for his return skills, has been a disaster as a return man this season, and he hasn’t fared much better as a corner. But even if he does not get much playing time the rest of the season, Jones will get the chance to right the ship in 2017.
Jets quarterback Bryce Petty was knocked out of last night’s loss to Miami, and initial reports suggested that he had the wind knocked out him. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that Petty will have a CT scan on Monday to determine if he has a punctured lung.
The injury that landed Jaguars TE Julius Thomas on IR was a fractured tailbone, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The Jags could save $4.7MM against the cap if they were to cut Thomas, who has disappointed since Jacksonville made him the highest-paid tight end in the game last March.
One reason for the Raiders‘ success this season is the fact that they have done such a good job at getting contributions from undrafted free agents. As Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com observes, Oakland started the season with four undrafted free agents on the 53-man roster, and now have seven on the active roster. That list includes players like Jalen Richard, Johnny Holton, and Marquette King.

Jaguars Put Julius Thomas, Jared Odrick On IR

December 10th, 2016 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two 2015 free agent signings who haven’t quite panned out to the Jaguars’ liking will spend the rest of the season on injured reserve, with the Jags shelving Julius Thomas and Jared Odrick, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets.

Offensive lineman Luke Bowanko and running back Bronson Hill will ascend to the 53-man roster, Bowanko from the PUP list and Hill from the practice squad, respectively, per O’Halloran.

Sidelined with a back injury, Thomas has not played since Nov. 20 and has not delivered the kind of production the Jaguars envisioned when they signed him to one of the top tight end contracts in the league at five years and $46MM. Of course, not much has gone right for the Jags this season, and Thomas isn’t the only offensive talent to underperform. The sixth-year pass-catcher has 30 receptions for 281 yards and four touchdowns in nine games.

Odrick, who will miss the rest of the season due to a spate injuries, inked a five-year deal worth $42.5MM last year and also hasn’t lived up to the contract. He has one sack this season in six games. A former Dolphins first-round pick, Odrick started every game in 2015 but has seen numerous maladies sidetrack him during this his seventh season. Triceps, quadriceps, ankle and shoulder ailments plagued Odrick, who profiles as a potential cap casualty in the spring.

The Jags can save $8.5MM off their 2017 cap by cutting Odrick in March. His contract structured as a two-year deal with an escape hatch after 2016, Jacksonville would not take on any dead money by shedding it before the ’17 league year begins.

Thomas, meanwhile, would bring a $3.6MM dead-money charge. The former Broncos tight end who came to north Florida having back-to-back seasons of 12 touchdown receptions has totaled nine in two years with the Jags, and the injury troubles that induced the former 2011 fourth-round pick to miss 28 games in four Denver seasons have continued in Jacksonville. Although this season didn’t bring the kind of ankle trouble Thomas experienced during his first five, his deal will likely be a discussion point for what is almost certain to be a revamped Jags decision-making staff in 2017.

Extra Points: Foles, Redskins, Orr

July 17th, 2016 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Parks

Nick Foles, currently listed as the Rams‘ No. 3 quarterback on the team’s depth chart (per Roster Resource), is a prime trade candidate, and as Vincent Bonsignore of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets, nothing has changed in that regard. Bonsignore notes that, barring a last-second trade, the plan is to bring Foles to training camp and to wait for another club to have a need open up at quarterback as a result of injury or underperformance. At that time, Los Angeles hopes to deal Foles to such a quarterback-needy team. And, because the Rams already paid out Foles’ guaranteed $6MM roster bonus, an acquiring club would only be on the hook for Foles’ $1.75MM base salary, which is certainly a palatable figure for a backup quarterback. Also, since the $6MM roster bonus is already a sunk cost, the Rams could simply cut Foles if they cannot find a trade partner during camp.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from around the league:

The Redskins‘ cornerback competition will be a fascinating one to watch this summer, as Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com writes. Tandler observes that the maximum number of corners Washington can keep without creating a major numbers squeeze elsewhere is five, and Josh Norman, Bashaud Breeland, Kendall Fuller, and Quinton Dunbar are all virtual locks to make the club. That means that the team will have to cut a player it would prefer to keep, or else try to sneak such a player onto its practice squad. Dashaun Phillips, Greg Toler, and rookie Lloyd Carrington will all battle for that fifth spot, and Toler is the only member of that trio without practice squad eligibility.
Ravens‘ third-year inside linebacker Zach Orr will be under the microscope in training camp, as Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. Orr is currently the favorite to start alongside fellow ILB C.J. Mosley, but despite the fact that his playing time increased late in the 2015 season, he is still largely unproven. If he should struggle, the Ravens could turn to Albert McClellan, Arthur Brown, or (more likely) a free agent.
After Isaiah Crowell made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week, many Browns fans have clamored for his release. Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, however, confirmed that Cleveland will not cut Crowell at this time. She says the club believes his public apology was sincere and adds that the Browns will give him a chance to be part part of the solution instead of the problem. Crowell will be donating $35K to the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation and will continue doing “other things in the community” to atone for his mistake.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com continues his ongoing series on each club’s best and worst contracts. In his opinion, Tashaun Gipson‘s five-year, $36MM deal is the most team-friendly contract on the Jaguars‘ books, while Julius Thomas‘ five-year, $46MM contract is the worst.

Extra Points: Hunter, Brady, Thomas

September 1st, 2015 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter‘s case was continued until Sept. 15 because a defense witness did not show up to court today, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. Just days ago, Hunter had his charge reduced to a misdemeanor. The 24-year-old was viewed as a potential breakout candidate last year, but battled injuries and complied just 498 yards and three touchdowns on 28 receptions.

Here’s more from around the NFL..

Judge Richard Berman will issue his decision and order in the Tom Brady case by the end of the week, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. As it stands, the Patriots QB is set to serve a four-game suspension.
Following his doctor’s visit, Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas has decided to have surgery on his injured finger on Wednesday, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Thomas could be out for a month, as previously estimated.
Larry Foote was coaching at Cardinals practice today, which is likely a sign that he’s not playing this season, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. Foote had to make a decision on his status by 1pm Arizona time, and that deadline has come and gone. The Cardinals added the 35-year-old to their coaching staff earlier in the offseason with the intent of signing him to the roster later in the summer if he decided to continue playing.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher made it clear that Case Keenum will be the team’s No. 2 quarterback, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets. That leaves Austin Davis and Sean Mannion to battle for the No. 3 job (link). Given that Mannion was a third-round pick this year, it seems unlikely that Davis will win that battle.

AFC Notes: Thomas, Green, Jets

August 31st, 2015 at 9:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the AFC..

Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas is expected to need surgery on a tendon in his finger and is expected to miss 4-5 weeks, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Thomas will go in for a second opinion on Tuesday.
Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer expects the Bengals and A.J. Green to get a lucrative, long-term deal hammered out in the coming weeks. If they don’t, he writes, it’s fair to wonder if they ever will. There are serious hurdles for the two sides to overcome in talks, including the Bengals’ reluctance to guarantee base salaries and Green’s desire to be paid higher than Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, and Julio Jones.
According to head coach Todd Bowles, Jets cornerback Dee Milliner, who is recovering from a wrist injury, is a candidate for the team’s short-term IR slot “if his hand’s not healthy,” tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.