HEADLINES

Kam Chancellor

NFC Notes: White, Forte, Ogletree, Kam

October 6th, 2015 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

While Roddy White is happy with the Falcons‘ 4-0 start, and is focused on his No. 1 goal of obtaining a championship ring, the veteran wideout tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com that he’s frustrated about not contributing more to those victories.

“For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes,” White said. “I’m not out here just f—ing around just to sit around to just block f—ing people all day. It’s not what I want to do. … I’ve contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don’t catch any balls in a game because it hasn’t happened in so long.”

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) speculates that White wouldn’t be averse to a trade, and adds that there are teams that would have interest in determining the receiver’s trade value. That’s not how I interpreted White’s comments though, and I’d be pretty shocked if Atlanta seriously considered that option — I think it could just be a matter of getting the longtime Falcon a few more looks going forward.

For what it’s worth, White told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s not “disgruntled” — he simply wouldn’t mind a bigger role on offense.

Here are some more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NFC:

  • Appearing this morning on The Dan Patrick Show, Bears running back Matt Forte was asked about the trade rumors swirling around him, and said he’s not worried, adding that “a lot of it is media speculation.” Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk has the details, along with the quotes from Forte.
  • We heard on Sunday that Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree‘s 2015 season could be in jeopardy due to a right ankle injury. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Ogletree underwent surgery and it went well, but St. Louis has yet to announce a potential timeline for his return — don’t expect him back anytime soon though, says Anderson.
  • Following Kam Chancellor‘s crucial forced fumble in Monday night’s win over the Lions, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett interrupted Chancellor’s post-game interview to implore team owner Paul Allen – the “17th-richest man in the world,” according to Bennett – to give the star safety a new contract (Twitter link via Matt Miller of Bleacher Report). Chancellor appears unlikely to negotiate a new deal until after the season, but I’m sure he appreciates the support from his teammate.
  • Cardinals running back Chris Johnson admitted that he seriously contemplated retirement earlier this year after getting shot in the shoulder, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com details.
  • In the wake of the Dolphins’ decision to fire Joe Philbin, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that owner Jerry Richardson has assured him he wouldn’t fire him in the middle of a season, as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. Of course, with the Panthers riding a four-game winning streak, it doesn’t look like that’s something Rivera would have to had worry about in 2015 anyway.

Latest On Seahawks, Kam Chancellor

September 27th, 2015 at 11:45am CST by Zachary Links

SUNDAY, 11:45am: Citing Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that the Seahawks plan to take a “sizable chunk” of the money that Chancellor stands to lose as a result of his holdout. As Florio points out, it is one thing to not pay Chancellor the $534K of salary he has not earned, but it is quite another to ask him to refund money that he has already paid taxes on. It remains unclear exactly what a “sizable chunk” means, but regardless of what Seattle demands from Chancellor, the safety will undoubtedly seek to recoup it and then some when the two sides revisit his contract next year.

WEDNESDAY, 6:12pm: Kam Chancellor‘s holdout cost him $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings. Today, he decided enough was enough and returned to his team. What does this all mean for the 0-2 Seahawks and for Chancellor’s future in Seattle? Here’s the latest..

  • Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the holdout started because the two sides couldn’t agree on an adjustment to Chancellor’s contract that would have applied in 2016, Mike Florio of PFT writes. In August, the team and Chancellor had a tentative understanding that Chancellor would be paid like one of the top safeties in the game starting in 2016. The Seahawks later pulled that off the table, citing a concern about setting a precedent for others. In the preseason, however, Seattle offered a revised deal worth less money than that proposal, which made Chancellor even more angry.
  • Chancellor said he’ll handle business things – like a contract – after the season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s not surprising to hear that the two sides will table discussions until after the season is through, though the safety is probably expecting some major changes at that point. Rapoport adds that Chancellor believes he’ll play this Sunday.
  • The safety must write the commissioner seeking reinstatement to the active roster before he can play, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Once Goodell signs off, Chancellor moves from the reserve/did not report list to the active roster. The Seahawks can then seek roster exemptions of up to two weeks (link). In this case, however, no one expects the team to seek any more than a few days at most (link).
  • Teammate Michael Bennett praised Chancellor for reporting to the club, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets. Michael Bennett on the return of Chancellor: “It takes a man to come in when the world is against you,’‘ Bennett said.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/15

September 26th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Dolphins elevated center Sam Brenner from their practice squad to the active roster and cut guard Jacques McClendon, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald notes (on Twitter). A third-year player, Brenner made four starts with the Dolphins in 2013. McClendon’s bounced around after being selected by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, playing for five teams and only staying in the same place in consecutive seasons once, with the Jaguars from 2013-14.
  • To make room for Kam Chancellor on their 53-man roster, the Seahawks waived safety Dion Bailey, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. The second-year player started the Seahawks’ opener against the Rams, but an ill-timed stumble allowed a costly Lance Kendricks fourth-quarter touchdown en route to St. Louis’ overtime victory. Bailey joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.
  • Wide receiver Tony Washington received a promotion to the Jaguars‘ 53-man roster from their practice squad, while the team waived linebacker LaRoy Reynolds to make room, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reports. Washington’s promotion coincides with Marqise Lee being downgraded from probable to questionable for the Jags’ Week 3 contest against the Patriots. Washington will play behind Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and recently re-signed Bryan Walters if Lee is unable to go, notes O’Halloran. Reynolds has played in 30 games for the Jags over the past three seasons, starting in three games in 2014, and O’Halloran speculates the 24-year-old special-teamer could be brought back if he clears waivers.

Seahawks Notes: Lynch, Graham, Kam

September 25th, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest on the 0-2 Seahawks, who will try to break into the win column this week against bottom-feeding Chicago:

  • Running back Marshawn Lynch has a calf injury and will be a game-time decision Sunday, head coach Pete Carroll said (Twitter link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta). Lynch hasn’t quite been himself in 2015, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry with no touchdowns. The Bears give up 4.3 yards per attempt, so whether it’s Lynch or backup Fred Jackson, Seattle should be able to run the ball this weekend.
  • Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report said earlier this week that tight end Jimmy Graham is frustrated with his lack of usage so far this year. That’s news to Graham, Condotta tweeted. Graham added that he’s only frustrated with losing games (Twitter link). The 28-year-old was among the NFL’s best weapons from 2011-14 in New Orleans, which traded him to the Seahawks in the offseason for Max Unger and a first-round pick. He has been quiet in Seattle, though, with only seven catches, 62 yards and a score in two games.
  • Safety Kam Chancellor, who ended his long holdout earlier this week, is expected to play Sunday (Twitter link via Condotta).

West Notes: Chancellor, Osweiler, Bailey

September 24th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

As someone who has plenty of experience with NFL contract negotiations and standoffs, former Packers executive Andrew Brandt has an interesting summary of the Kam Chancellor situation over at TheMMQB.com. According to Brandt, the Seahawks were willing to shift about $3MM from 2017 to 2016 for their star safety, but were unwilling to add any new money to his contract.

Meanwhile, although Brandt isn’t sure how much – if any – of Chancellor’s fines and prorated bonus money the Seahawks will actually attempt to collect, he notes that many team executives around the NFL would prefer for those fines to be less optional. The thinking there is that if players faced mandatory fines for holdouts, they’d be less likely to sit out — knowing that the team may forgive those fines, a player is a little more likely to roll the dice on a holdout.

Here’s more on Chancellor, along with a couple other notes from out of the NFL’s West divisions:

  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) believes that Chancellor doomed his leverage in future negotiations by eventually reporting to the Seahawks, since the team will now have little reason to fear a holdout in the future. I’m not sure I buy that — the club lost two games without Chancellor, and will certainly want to avoid a similar scenario in the future. Once the safety has just two years left on his deal, I could see the Seahawks becoming a little more willing to compromise.
  • While there’s “no denying” how highly the Broncos coaching staff thinks of quarterback Trevor Siemian, Troy Renck of the Denver Post expects the club to make a strong effort to retain QB Brock Osweiler beyond the 2015 season. With no guarantee how much longer Peyton Manning will play, Osweiler may still eventually take on a larger role in Denver.
  • Former Eagles wide receiver Rasheed Bailey, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in the spring but was waived during the cutdown to 53 players, is working out for the Chiefs today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Caplan adds that Bailey will likely audition for the Browns next.

Reactions To Kam Chancellor Ending Holdout

September 23rd, 2015 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

Word broke this morning that Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor is ending his holdout and reporting to the Seahawks, despite not getting a new contract from the team. The two sides still need to sort out whether or not Chancellor will pay all of his fines and return bonus money to the team, and a player will need to be removed from Seattle’s 53-man roster before Chancellor can officially return. But it looks like he could play this weekend against the Bears.

Here are a few reactions and updates on the Chancellor situation:

  • Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) confirm that Chancellor doesn’t have a new deal in place with the Seahawks, and simply decided to report. According to Rapoport, the 27-year-old flew on a private plane from Los Angeles to Seattle this morning.
  • As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, Chancellor racked up $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary, for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings. The Seahawks could choose not to go after all of that money, and if they do, it could make sense for the club to waive the fines, since they don’t count against the salary cap anyway, tweets Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap.
  • One could argue that the Seahawks would be setting a dangerous precedent if they waive all of Chancellor’s fines and don’t go after his signing bonus, since it could encourage others to hold out in the future. But Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) believes that refusing to budge on Chancellor’s contract is a more important precedent — as Corry observes, players won’t be lining up to hold out and miss out on pay checks.
  • Still, Corry wouldn’t be surprised if Chancellor requests a trade if the Seahawks don’t meaningfully address his contract in 2016 (Twitter link).
  • The Seahawks have received a roster exemption for Chancellor, meaning he can practice with the team without Seattle having to move someone off the 53-man roster for now, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). To make him active on game day, the club would have to move Chancellor onto the 53-man roster.
  • There’s no doubt that the Seahawks have missed Chancellor on the field, writes Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com in his look at what the safety’s return means for Seattle’s defense.

Kam Chancellor To Report To Seahawks

September 23rd, 2015 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

The final holdout of the 2015 NFL season appears to be coming to an end, according to Adam Schefter and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (Twitter link), who report that Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor is reporting to the team.

“Ima go help my teammates that are understanding of my position and the ones who aren’t,” Chancellor said in a text message to Smith, according to Schefter. “God forgives all, why can’t i? Time to help us get back to the big dance . I can address business after the season. Me and Marshawn started a mission 2 years ago. I can’t let my Dawg down….Real talk.”

As Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports notes (Twitter links), there are still plenty of issues for Chancellor and the Seahawks to iron out, even if the club doesn’t plan on altering his contract at all. The team has told Chancellor’s agent, Alvin Keels, that they weren’t going to forgive the fines the Pro Bowler has piled up during his holdout, but they’ll likely discuss a possible reduction. To date, Chancellor has forfeited more than $2MM, including lost salary, bonus money, and fines.

After signing a four-year contract extension with the Seahawks in 2013, Chancellor saw his $7MM annual figure surpassed by a handful of safeties in the two years since then, and wanted a raise heading into this season. Reportedly, the 27-year-old hadn’t been seeking any extra money for 2015, but wanted a chunk of 2017 money pushed forward to 2016. The two sides were said to be less than $1MM apart, but with three years still remaining on Chancellor’s deal, GM John Schneider and the Seahawks were reluctant to give in to his demands and set a precedent going forward.

Without Chancellor in their lineup, the Seahawks have started off the season 0-2. Of course, it’s possible that the team would have the same record even with their star safety in the mix, since the schedule began with two tough games in St. Louis and Green Bay. Still, Chancellor’s Week 1 replacement Dion Bailey did get burned for a key touchdown against the Rams.

Assuming Chancellor and the Seahawks are able to reach an accord on the issue of his fines and lost salary, I’d expect him to suit up for the team’s Week 3 contest against the Bears. Before that can happen, the Seahawks will have to clear a spot on the 53-man roster for Chancellor, who had been on the reserve/did not report list.

NFC Notes: Chancellor, Boyd, Alonso

September 21st, 2015 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we learned that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will likely be placed on the club’s injured reserve list with the designation to return this week. Here are a few more Monday morning items from around the NFC, including some more noteworthy injury updates:

  • With the Seahawks now winless in their first two games of the regular season, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if there will be any movement on the Kam Chancellor front this week, while NFL.com’s Michael Silver spoke to several of Chancellor’s teammates about the star safety’s holdout.
  • The diagnosis for Packers defensive tackle Josh Boyd isn’t as bad as it first seemed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Boyd broke a small ankle bone, but isn’t expected to be sidelined for a long time.
  • Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso doesn’t believe he has an ACL injury, but he’ll have an MRI today to assess his left knee, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Alonso left yesterday’s game after aggravating the same knee he injured in 2014.
  • After winning a power play against former GM Howie Roseman in January, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly took control of the team’s roster and made several bold, risky moves in the offseason. As Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, that means that Kelly has to shoulder the blame for the Eagles’ slow start.

Sunday Roundup: Bryant, Chancellor, Broncos

September 20th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

Cowboys dynamic receiver Dez Bryant has a very unclear timeline for his return. Initial reports had him returning in 4-6 weeks, while subsequent stories suggested he could miss as many as 10 or 12 games due to his foot injury. However, amidst these conflicting reports, Bryant himself chose to weigh in on these reports via his personal Twitter account.

“Whenever the media can’t talk to me, reports get made like this,” Bryant tweeted. “10 to 12 weeks… we will just see how long I’m out lol. Go cowboys!!”

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Seahawks general manager John Schneider can sleep a little easier while holding strong in his stance against renegotiating Kam Chancellor‘s contract. Owner Paul Allen supports Schneider in this standoff, reports Conor Orr of NFL.com. That is one less force pressuring the team to soften its stance on negotiations with the superstar safety.
  • The Broncos may be 2-0 after escaping with narrow wins against both Baltimore and Kansas City, but they have a big question at running back. Starter C.J. Anderson has been ineffective, and backup Ronnie Hillman has emerged as a potentially better option for Denver. Troy Renck and Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post argue about if and when the team should make a change.
  • Many fans were confused by how quickly the Texans switched from Brian Hoyer to Ryan Mallett after just one game. Kevin Patra of NFL.com passes on a few reasons, courtesy of reporting done by Ian Rapoport. Those reasons include the spark Mallett brought to the team, how he handled losing the starting job, eliminating negative plays, and simply looking for star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

No Talks This Week For Chancellor, Seahawks

September 19th, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

With the Seahawks prepared to face the Packers in Green Bay in a rematch of last year’s championship game, safety Kam Chancellor still appears no closer to joining the team. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there has been no contact between the Seahawks and Chancellor’s agent since September 8, several days before the regular season got underway.

As Florio points out, it isn’t really a surprise that the two sides haven’t spoken recently, since the Seahawks have maintained that they aren’t interested in negotiating with the safety, who still has three years remaining on his contract. Entering into discussions with Chancellor would mean contradicting that stance.

Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter links) observes that it could be a big weekend for Chancellor and the Seahawks, since the Pro Bowler would lose a significant chunk of leverage if Seattle is able to pick up a road win against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. While I’m sure Chancellor isn’t rooting for his team to lose, he’s in an unusual position, since his best chance of winning the contract standoff will come if the Seahawks struggle without him.

Once Chancellor misses tomorrow’s game, the cost of his holdout will increase to north of $2MM.

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