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Kai Forbath

AFC Notes: Texans, Richardson, Bowe

September 28th, 2015 at 10:19pm CST by Zachary Links

With Randy Bullock looking shaky, the Texans will audition a number of kickers this week, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Houston will take a look at Nick Novak, Connor Barth, Kai Forbath, Chris Boswell, and Giorgio Tavecchio as potential replacements, though it’s not a lock that they’ll sign one of those players.

Here’s more from the AFC..

  • The Jets haven’t heard from the league about more possible discipline for Sheldon Richardson and as of right now, coach Todd Bowles is operating under the assumption that he’ll be back on Monday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Despite the fact that he has yet to make his mark in Cleveland, Browns coach Mike Pettine says the team has not discussed cutting wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer tweets.  Bowe had a $9MM guarantee on his deal and the team expects him to play this season.
  • Jets guard Willie Colon suffered a sprained knee on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.  Colon will likely be out this week and may miss more time beyond that.
  • Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth told reporterss, including Coley Harvey of ESPN.com, that length wasn’t the most important factor for him when it came to his extension. Whitworth only wanted to be in Cincinnati again and the length of the deal was apparently secondary.  He admitted that his family and other factors could influence decisions on future deals.  “I want Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Adam Jones and all these guys to know what it’s like to win a Super Bowl,” Whitworth said (link).

Nick Novak, Others Auditioning For Eagles

September 28th, 2015 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

12:07pm: Today’s tryouts are simply precautionary, according to head coach Chip Kelly (Twitter link). I speculated as much below, noting that the team could simply be attempting to identify a Plan B in case Parkey has to miss a game or two.

10:31am: Kai Forbath, Shayne Graham, and Carey Spear are also part of today’s workout for the Eagles, per Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link).

10:13am: Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reported earlier today that the Eagles would be auditioning kickers today after Cody Parkey re-aggravated a preseason groin injury during Sunday’s game, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has provided some additional details, tweeting that ex-Changers kicker Nick Novak is working out for Philadelphia.

After Marvez tweeted that there are at least two other free agents in attendance, Rapoport reported those names as well, tweeting that Caleb Sturgis and Billy Cundiff are getting a look from the Eagles. Connor Barth, Jay Feely, and ex-Eagle Alex Henery are among the other notable veteran kickers who are currently without NFL jobs, but it doesn’t sound like they’re being considered by Philadelphia.

Novak, 34, had been the Chargers’ full-time kicker from 2011 to 2014, making 101 of his 117 field goal attempts (86.3%) during his time in San Diego, including 11 of 17 from 50+ yards. However, he was beaten out in camp this year by the younger, cheaper Josh Lambo, and was released by the Chargers earlier this month.

Sturgis, meanwhile, was the Dolphins’ kicker for the last two seasons, but his performance was a little shakier, as he missed eight field goal attempts in each of his two seasons with the team, for an overall mark of 77.5%. He lost his job to Andrew Franks this year. As for Cundiff, he kicked for the Browns in 2013 and 2014, converting 78.2% of his field goal tries.

If Novak, Sturgis, or Cundiff impresses the Eagles, it won’t necessarily result in a deal — according to Marvez, it’s unclear whether Parkey will be healthy enough to kick for Philadelphia in the club’s Week 4 game against Washington. Today’s workout may just be a fact-finding mission to identify the best alternative in case Parkey’s groin ultimately keeps him out of action.

Washington To Cut Forbath, Sign Hopkins

September 14th, 2015 at 11:14am CST by Zachary Links

Washington plans to release kicker Kai Forbath and sign former Saints and Bills kicker Dustin Hopkins, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Forbath missed a 46-yard field goal against the Dolphins on Sunday and while that’s hardly considered to be a chip shot, one has to imagine that played a role in his release today. Heading into the season, Forbath owned a solid 88% completion percentage on field goals for his career. The 28-year-old inked a new deal to remain with Washington this offseason, but as we all know, kickers typically don’t have the best job security.

Hopkins inked a three-year futures deal with the Saints back in January and while the deal could have kept him there through 2017, his stay ended on September 5th when the team made their cuts to get down to a 53-man roster.

Washington Re-Signs Kai Forbath

April 16th, 2015 at 8:26am CST by Rob DiRe

THURSDAY, 8:26am: Washington has officially announced Forbath’s new contract for 2015.

WEDNESDAY, 5:31pm: Kicker Kai Forbath has signed a deal that will keep him in Washington for another season. Forbath announced the signing on his Instagram account.

Forbath won’t be handed the starting job in Washington, despite making his field goals at a rate of 88% for his career. J.P. Finlay of CSNWashington.com writes that the team drafted Zach Hocker out of Arkansas last season, and although his accuracy has been suspect, Hocker has shown a huge leg on kickoffs.

As long as Forbath keeps connecting on his field goals, he should be able to hold on to his position. However, Hocker’s powerful leg will put him in position to take over the starting job if he can even come close to matching Forbath from an accuracy standpoint.

 

East Notes: Hardy, Washington, Pats

March 22nd, 2015 at 8:39am CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys‘ signing of Greg Hardy understandably raised a few eyebrows in this era of heightened scrutiny of players with histories of domestic violence. Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings called the signing a “shot to the gut,” and Dan Lebowitz, executive director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, wonders if the decision to allow someone like Hardy a path to redemption is compassionate or irresponsible.

Nonetheless, as Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News writes, even the most ardent critics of the Hardy decision realize that if the Cowboys did not believe Hardy could contribute on the field, he would not be there. Josh Brent and Joseph Randle would not be there. The Cowboys, who also signed Michael Sam to their practice squad last season, are not trying to be a vehicle for social dialogue, they are simply trying to build a better football team. And since Dallas is well-acquainted with the type of controversy that Hardy brings, their latest high-profile acquisition has a good chance to do just that.

Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • Washington‘s free agent acquisitions this offseason were generally greeted with more enthusiasm than last year’s class, and John Keim of ESPN.com looks at how the major signings of 2014 panned out and what to expect from them moving forward.
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com believes Washington, just like last year, will bring in a kicker to compete with incumbent Kai Forbath. But despite Forbath’s relative lack of leg strength, which manifests itself in opposing teams’ starting field position, Tandler does not see anyone unseating Forbath at this point.
  • Given the departure of Vince Wilfork, the fact that Chris Jones and Sealver Siliga both underwent offseason surgery, and Dominique Easley‘s appearance on the injured reserve list in December, Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com expects the Patriots to further solidify their defensive tackle corps this offseason.
  • Echoing sentiments that have been widely shared across the league, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News writes that this offseason has narrowed the gap between the perennial class of the AFC East, the Patriots, and the rest of the division.

Tender Updates: Saturday

March 7th, 2015 at 9:01am CST by Ben Levine

As teams prepare for free agency, they have to figure out a plan for their restricted free agents. Teams will often slap these players with a mid-round tender, at least assuring some kind of compensation should they sign elsewhere. The second-round tender is popular, and this year’s value is worth $2.356MM. The value of a minimum-level tender is worth $1.542MM.

With that said, we’ll pass along any tender updates throughout the day, with the most recent updates added to the top of the list…

  • Defensive end Ryan Davis has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the Jaguars, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • The Chiefs have tendered outside linebacker Josh Martin to a one-year deal, reports Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Martin is an exclusive-rights free agent. The team has also tendered tight end Demetrius Harris (via Twitter).
  • The Dolphins have re-signed A.J. Sanders and Jordan Kovacs to their tenders, reports Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Twitter). He notes that the team has not yet been able to re-sign Derrick Shelby or Michael Thomas.
  • The Broncos notified linebacker/special teams ace Steven Johnson that he would not be tendered, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports Mike Klis of The Denver Post. The 26-year-old started seven games for the Broncos last season, compiling a career-high in tackles (32). Klis notes that the organization could bring Johnson back on a cheaper contract, but their unwillingness to offer the one-year, $1.542MM contract indicates they won’t overspend.
  • Washington tendered kicker Kai Forbath, tweets ESPN’s John Keim. Citing Mike Jones of The Washington Post, Keim says the two sides haven’t discussed a longterm deal. The 27-year-old finished 2014 with career-highs in field goals made (24) and total points (103), while his 88.9 field goal percentage ranked in the top-10 in the NFL.
  • ESPN’s Field Yates passes along a pair of second-round tenders (via Twitter): Raiders wideout Rod Streater and Eagles defensive tackle Cedric Thornton. Streater didn’t have the best 2014 season, finishing with career-lows across the board. However, his performance in 2013 (60 catches, 888 yards, four touchdowns) showed that he can contribute in the NFL. Meanwhile, Thornton has continued improving during his three years in the league, and he finished last season with 52 tackles.
  • Streater’s teammate, receiver Andre Holmes, received the low tender from the Raiders, tweets Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo. The former undrafted free agent followed an impressive 2013 season with a better 2014, compiling 47 catches for 693 yards and four touchdowns.

NFC East Notes: Washington, Giants, Spiller

March 6th, 2015 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing today on the NFL Network, Brian Orakpo left the door open for a return to Washington, but didn’t sound overly optimistic about the possibility, as Mike Jones of the Washington Post details.

“There’s obviously a chance. Obviously the window is still there. The sides are still talking, but it’s very minimal right now,” Orakpo said. “It’s always the numbers. Numbers have to make sense for both sides. And I understand, me coming off of injury, they have to look out for themselves, and I have to look out for myself. So, if we can come up with something that works out for both sides, who knows?”

Jones hears from sources that Orakpo’s return to Washington is unlikely, and Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 Washington (Twitter link) reports the same thing, even more definitively. It looks like Orakpo will be on the lookout for a new NFL home very soon, and the veteran linebacker said today during that NFL Network appearance that he’d have some interest in playing for a team in his home state of Texas.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • With no progress on a long-term deal for restricted-free-agent-to-be Kai Forbath, Washington will likely just offer the kicker a one-year tender, a source tells Jones (Twitter link).
  • If the Ravens and Justin Forsett don’t work out a deal within the next few days, the veteran running back will have an interesting market, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. According to Rapoport, Washington is ready to make a play for Forsett, and the Saints will likely be among his suitors as well.
  • In addition to having interest in Devin McCourty, as he previously reported, the Giants also figure to explore the possibility of signing safety Rahim Moore, says Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. All three of New York’s top safeties from 2014 are eligible for free agency, so there figures to be some turnover at the position next week.
  • Sources close to Chip Kelly tell Russini (Twitter link) that the Eagles head coach wasn’t willing to rework LeSean McCoy‘s contract, especially considering the running back was looking for a raise. I’d be surprised if McCoy thought the Eagles – or the Bills – would increase his $9.75MM base salary for 2015, but perhaps he wanted to renegotiate his deal to include more guarantees beyond ’15.
  • As for the running back McCoy is replacing in Buffalo, C.J. Spiller appears to be campaigning to sign with the Eagles, writes Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com.

East Notes: Cowboys, Maclin, Forbath

March 1st, 2015 at 11:23am CST by Rory Parks

Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray have understandably dominated the discussion surrounding the Cowboys‘ offseason, but there are still other decisions for Dallas to make once the Bryant and Murray situations are resolved. For instance, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News recently predicted that the team would opt not to exercise Morris Claiborne‘s fifth-year option, which is surprising in that it directly contradicts what owner Jerry Jones said last month. And, on the topic of underperforming defensive backs, Machota thinks the Cowboys will retain Brandon Carr but that Carr will probably end up taking a pay cut, which reaffirms what our Ben Levine wrote last night.

Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at how the Cowboys will address their backup quarterback situation in 2015. Although Brandon Weeden is still under contract, Jones did not give Weeden a ringing endorsement at the NFL combine a few weeks ago, and the team is high on third-stringer Dustin Vaughan. George does not believe Dallas will ultimately sign a free agent to replace Weeden, but he does note that the Cowboys would not hesitate to do so if the right deal came along.
  • The Cowboys’ decision to put the franchise tag on Bryant is good news for the Eagles, as it prevents Bryant from setting a market price for wide receivers like Jeremy Maclin that Philadelphia would be unable to meet. But Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets that, if the Eagles cannot agree to a long-term deal with Maclin by tomorrow afternoon, then Maclin will also get the franchise tag.
  • Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com passes along Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman‘s thoughts on trading up in the draft. Roseman is generally against such a move, which is interesting given the rumors surrounding the team’s alleged desire to move up to select Marcus Mariota. But Roseman, of course, will not have a say in the Eagles’ ultimate decision to trade up or stay put as a result of his redefined role in the team’s front office.
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com examines whether Washington should part ways with kicker Kai Forbath, a restricted fee agent. Washington has not been particularly eager to extend an offer to Forbath, who would be the most accurate kicker in team history if he had enough attempts to qualify, and Tandler says the reason for that is Forbath’s leg strength. Forbath was near the bottom of the league in net kickoff average, and the team may choose to trade a little accuracy in field goal attempts below 50 yards for improved field position and the chance to make a long-range field goal every once in a while.
  • After the Bills missed out on Josh McCown, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News took a look at other signal-callers that the team could pursue. The free agent class is, of course, underwhelming, with the possible exception of Brian Hoyer, though Nick Foles or even Jay Cutler could be intriguing trade targets.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com looks at the free agent case of right guard Willie Colon. Colon could make sense for another team looking for a one-year stopgap, but the Jets are likely to seek an upgrade in free agency.

NFC Notes: English, Beckham Jr., Redskins, Vikings

July 25th, 2014 at 9:04pm CST by Ben Levine

Selected in the second round of the 2010 draft, linebacker Pat Angerer made an immediate impact on the Colts defense. It seemed like the Iowa product would have a successful NFL career, but injuries derailed his plans. In December, Angerer underwent microfracture surgery, a procedure seen in the NBA but rarely in the NFL.

Less than a year later, the 27-year-old is playing with the Falcons, competing for a roster spot. Even if he doesn’t ultimately make the squad, Angerer is still thrilled with the opportunity to even play football again.

“It was about 50-50 but more like 20 percent chance of coming back (with) the way my knee was,” Angerer told Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was pretty beat up. To come back and to even be on the field, that’s a pretty big accomplishment and something I’m really proud of. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity.”

The player is also optimistic about his surgically-repaired knee.

“You definitely see the durability,” he said. “It feels better than it did the last two years. Today it felt good. This is the first time I’ve played football since December. Definitely rusty, got to get a little bit more strength in there, but I feel decent.”

Let’s see what else is going on around the NFC…

  • The Cowboys are taking a look at former first-rounder Larry English, a source told Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News. The linebacker was cut by the Chargers earlier this week.
  • There is no word on when rookie Odell Beckham Jr. and his injured hamstring will be allowed to practice. As a result, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano writes that the Giants are “frustrated that their first-round pick is not on the field.”
  • The first day of the Redskins‘ kicker competition was a “draw,” writes ESPN.com’s John Keim. Rookie Zach Hocker had longer kickoffs than Kai Forbath, but the two were perfect on their field goal attempts.
  • Wide receiver Adam Thielen was on the Vikings practice squad last season and may be in line for a larger role in 2014. “He works his rear end off, he runs his routes real hard, he catches the ball good,” coach Mike Zimmer told ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling. “He’s got an opportunity to make this football team.”

NFC East Links: Melton, Eagles, Skins, Giants

July 5th, 2014 at 3:55pm CST by Rob DiRe

If new Cowboy Henry Melton can match his career high of seven sacks in 2014, the team will more than likely pick up the final three years of his contract, writes Todd Archer of ESPN.com in his mailbag. Picking up the rest of the deal will guarantee Melton $9MM in 2015.

Archer also discusses whether the Cowboys keep three of four tight ends on their active roster, and picks James Hanna as the odd man out if they only keep three. Hanna is the weakest blocker of the group, and the team has not been able to take advantage of his standout athleticism in his two years in Dallas.

He also highlights Bruce Carter, Justin Durant, and Kyle Wilber as the three players most likely to start at linebacker for the Cowboys’ defense in 2014.

Here are some more links from around the NFC East:

  • The Cowboys‘ have lost their players to the third most games due to injury over the last two seasons, totaling 133 games missed over that time period, writes Brandon George.of DallasNews.com. The team has employed more protective equipment during practices, and the use of two ProFlex stretching machines, two other stretching machines designed for the core and lower body, one World Cup skier’s plyometric apparatus, one Dynamic Edge skier’s machine, and a vibration machine in attempt to increase their players’ resistance to injuries.
  • The Eagles are better and deeper than they have been in years past, writes Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. The addition of Malcolm Jenkins should provide consistency, and Nate Allen improved again last year after regression in years prior. Backup Earl Wolff has been working with Jenkins, and will find his way onto the field in certain packages and situations, or to spell the two starters.
  • Mosher also examined why the Eagles decided they didn’t need to get bigger on the defensive line this offseason, despite allowing success on the ground in their playoff loss to the Saints. Despite criticism of being too small, he notes that the unit was tenth in the league in rushing yards allowed, and were even better on a per carry basis, where they ranked fourth.
  • Chris Chester struggled in 2013 as the Redskins‘ right guard, but he is still the frontrunner to start in 2014, writes Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. However, third-round pick Spencer Long will challenge for the starting spot, and backup Josh LeRibeus could be in the mix as well.
  • The Redskins have many issues they need to improve on special teams, but maybe none more than their touchback percentage, writes Chris Russell of ESPN980.com (via Twitter). According to Russell, Kai Forbath produced a touchback on only 24.6% of his kickoffs in 2013. The league average number was 48.8%.
  • There is disagreement over who will return punts for the Giants in 2014, but fortunately they have a number of promising options according to the writers at Giants.com. Michael Eisen sees the job as Rueben Randle‘s to lose, as he performed well in that role in 2013, although he is not a home run threat. John Schmeelk envisions Odell Beckham Jr. taking over as a rookie, as he displayed explosive ability to do so at LSU. Finally, Dan Salmone chose the 5’5″ Trindon Holliday to be the big play threat the Giants have been missing in their special teams.
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