Kam Chancellor - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: JPP, Chancellor, Colts, Saints

September 8th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Judge Richard Berman’s Deflategate ruling, Steelers linebacker James Harrison suggested he might try to recoup the salary he lost in fines over the years, and his agent, William Parise, tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that his client wasn’t joking.

“Certainly there’s an open door because of the courts overturning the commissioner’s ability to hear his own appeals,” Parise said, adding that he has discussed the issue with Harrison and with the NFLPA.

Of course, it’s not likely that Harrison gets that fine money back, but as Fowler notes, the fact that anyone’s even talking about such a possibility is a signal of what a big impact Judge Berman’s decision could have on the league going forward.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:

While Jason Pierre-Paul‘s camp has been optimistic about the Giants defensive end getting back on the field soon, a league source tells Tom Rock and Bob Glauber of Newsday that it’s unlikely to happen right away. Pierre-Paul and the Giants still need to work out a contract agreement before JPP can play in a game for the team.
Seahawks players are planning for Week 1 as if safety Kam Chancellor will continue his holdout and won’t play in the game, with one telling Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), “I don’t think we’re going to have him at all this season.”
In the wake of recent reports about tension between the Colts‘ head coach and GM, Chuck Pagano and Ryan Grigson predictably dismissed the idea of a rift, suggesting that they’ll work together and always do what’s best for the team. However, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star hears that Grigson has a tendency to make decisions that run counter to Pagano’s wishes, including lineup decisions. While Holder stops short of calling it a “rift” between the two decision-makers, he acknowledges that there are issues.
In addition to working out Nick Novak today, the Saints are also bringing in Caleb Sturgis for a look, says Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. However, Triplett and Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune (Twitter link) both agree that Zach Hocker‘s job is probably safe for now, with New Orleans simply building a list of potential options.
Despite being demoted to third on the Bills‘ quarterback depth chart, E.J. Manuel isn’t seeking a release or trade, sources close to the QB tell Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (Twitter link).

Latest On Kam Chancellor

September 7th, 2015 at 7:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said “a couple teams” have called to express trade interest in safety Kam Chancellor, according to Gregg Bell of The News Tribune (on Twitter). However, he said that Seattle not interested in any sort of trade involving Chancellor, despite his holdout.

Carroll wouldn’t name names, but Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News confirms that the Giants were among those clubs inquiring on Chancellor. As Carroll alluded to, however, Vacchiano hears that the Seahawks either won’t part with Chancellor or, if they do entertain offers, they’ll set an absurdly high asking price.

Here’s more on the Seahawks safety..

With days to go before the start of the regular season, nothing has changed between the two sides, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Carroll echoed that sentiment in a morning chat with710 ESPN Seattle, telling beat writers that “everything is pretty well stated” and that the team is unlikely to budge on its position despite how things may go in the first few games of the season, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets. Carroll also called this “an important week” to see where things with Chancellor are headed (link).

Seahawks Confirm McCray Trade, Set Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Seahawks have confirmed one of their two recently-reported acquisitions, announcing that they’ve traded for safety Kelcie McCray, sending a fifth-round draft pick to the Chiefs in the swap, as we heard earlier. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the deal for McCray is a public sign of what the team has privately told Kam Chancellor: Seattle isn’t willing to negotiate with him.

We’re still awaiting official word on Seattle’s reported agreement with running back Fred Jackson, so an additional cut will be required when that move is finalized. For now though, the Seahawks are down to 53 players. Via a team release, here’s how they got there:

Released:

CB Will Blackmon
TE Anthony McCoy

Waived:

LB Tyrell Adams
TE Rashaun Allen
QB R.J. Archer
DE Obum Gwacham
S Keenan Lambert
S Ronald Martin
DT T.Y. McGill
CB Douglas McNeil
OL Keavon Milton
S Ryan Murphy
OL Will Pericak
LB Eric Pinkins
OL Terry Poole
LB Alex Singleton
WR Kevin Smith
RB Rod Smith
DE Julius Warmsley
WR Kasen Williams

Placed on injured reserve:

CB Mohammed Seisay
RB Robert Turbin

Placed on reserve/non-football illness list:

DT Jesse Williams

Giants, Seahawks Discussing Kam Chancellor

September 5th, 2015 at 4:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Stricken with injuries at safety, the Giants are setting their sights on one of the game’s best.

The Giants engaged in discussions with the Seahawks about a trade for Kam Chancellor, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reports. Chancellor’s missed all of the Seahawks’ preseason work due to a contentious holdout.

Raanan points out a deal for the 27-year-old Chancellor would likely cost the Giants two high draft choices.

While the need is there and the player would certainly fill it, the Seahawks are not exactly clamoring to trade their strong safety. The Giants and other teams have asked about Chancellor but have been told he’s not getting traded, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).

Continuing the impasse, the Seahawks haven’t granted their disgruntled safety permission to speak with other teams, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora (on Twitter).

We heard earlier today the Seahawks are exploring trades for veteran safeties, with the availability of its own in question. Earl Thomas is expected to play soon but is coming off a serious shoulder malady.

Unhappy with the four-year, $28MM deal he signed in 2013, Chancellor has been reported to be “dug in” on his holdout, which could increase Seattle’s efforts to facilitate a trade unless it wants to set a precedent of surrendering cash with this much time left on a deal.

The Seahawks have signed many of their holdovers in recent years and could set course down a slippery slope if they appease Chancellor.

Big Blue’s lost four safeties — Mykkele Thompson, Nat Berhe, Justin Currie and Bennett Jackson — to season-ending injuries, and Landon Collins sprained his MCL during preseason play. The Giants signed Brandon Merriweather and Stevie Brown as bandaids at this position.

West Notes: Manning, Chancellor, 49ers

September 2nd, 2015 at 9:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the AFC and NFC West..

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said on ESPN that he hopes to play next season, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. “I am really enjoying myself.. I feel good and feel I can help and contribute,” Manning said. Manning, 39, had another excellent season for the Broncos in 2014, putting up 4,727 passing yards to go along with 39 touchdown passes. However, he was hampered by injuries late in the season and struggled down the stretch, particularly in the team’s divisional playoff loss to the Colts, in which he totaled just 211 passing yards on 46 attempts.
Both the Seahawks and Kam Chancellor need to find a way to save face, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, and he doesn’t think that it will be hard to do. Chancellor is due to make $4.55MM this year, $5.1MM in 2016, and $6.8MM in 2017, so Florio suggests that the Seahawks could take $1MM from next year and $1MM from 2017 and move it to 2015. Alternatively, the Seahawks could give Chancellor more guaranteed cash in 2016 and/or 2017. At some point, Seattle should stop reworking deals, but Florio doesn’t think that this is the place to draw the line given Chancellor’s importance in the locker room.
Niners head coach Jim Tomsula said the decision to waive defensive lineman Lawrence Okoye during the first round of cuts to 75 players was made to give him the best opportunity to land with another team this season, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. “Just to be frank, Lawrence hasn’t played a lot of football,” Tomsula said. “So for somebody to give him an opportunity in fairness to him, they’re going to want to (see him before the cut to 53 players). So, when you have a guy in that situation, was my thought, that it gives him a better opportunity … What he’s done in three years or two-and-a-half years is remarkable.”

NFC Notes: Galette, Chancellor, Falcons

August 27th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

The hits keep coming for Junior Galette, as the Saints are claiming that the veteran outside linebacker voided the guarantee on his base salary of $1.25MM for this season and don’t intend to pay any of that money, according to two sources who spoke with Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

It’s not clear exactly how the team believes Galette voided that guarantee, and there’s no indication the Saints are trying to get back any of the $12.5MM they paid him in the spring, but that $1.25MM figures to be a point of contention. Galette, who signed with Washington in the offseason, suffered a torn Achilles and has been ruled out for the season.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

While it hasn’t received the sort of attention that a quarterback’s holdout would, the Kam Chancellor situation is drawing plenty of interest around the NFL, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who writes that teams – and even some agents – don’t want to see the Seahawks cave to their star safety. In La Canfora’s view, the club has to be willing to see if Chancellor will give up game checks.
According to former agent Joel Corry (via Twitter), Chancellor’s holdout has cost him his salary guarantee for this season, unless his contract language is different from other Seattle deals. Meanwhile, former team executive Andrew Brandt suggests (via Twitter) that he thinks the Seahawks will waive Chancellor’s fines if and when he reports, but the team can’t say that now, since there’d be no incentive for Chancellor to end his holdout.
Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports has some details on the Eagles‘ new deal with Mychal Kendricks, tweeting that the linebacker got a signing bonus worth $8MM and will get $16.9MM over the next three years.
The Falcons considered signing offensive guard Evan Mathis, but elected not to pull the trigger on a deal, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “We certainly did evaluate him,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Thomas [Dimitroff] and I both did.” Mathis, of course, signed with the Broncos on Tuesday. A deal with the Falcons would have marked a homecoming of sorts for the Birmingham native.
In an effort to cut back on his day-to-day involvement, 72-year-old Falcons owner Arthur Blank will hire a CEO to oversee all of his for-profit businsess, including the Falcons, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

West Notes: Chancellor, Seahawks, 49ers

August 26th, 2015 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

You have questions about Kam Chancellor‘s holdout with the Seahawks and Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times has answers. Condotta notes that there is precedent for a player coming back to the team after holding out deep into training camp – former Jaguars star Maurice Jones-Drew held out for 38 days in 2012 before coming back and playing the season. It seems quite possible that the two sides could work something out, but the Seahawks are afraid of setting a dangerous precedent and it is unlikely that the safety will get everything he is asking for. Here’s more out of the West divisions..

The Seahawks refuse to do anything to Chancellor’s contract, one league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. At this point, Florio believes the only questions remaining are whether Chancellor will cave and whether the Seahawks will waive all or part of daily fines in the amount of $30K.
Niners fullback Bruce Miller continues to be under review for discipline under the NFL’s policy on personal conduct more than two months after pleading no contest to disturbing the peace, a source told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Miller, 28, a four-year NFL veteran, has started 42 of the 61 career games in which he has appeared. On Wednesday, 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was charged with sexual battery.
It took nearly six months, but Broncos GM John Elway properly repaid his Hall of Fame quarterback for giving back $4MM in salary with the blockbuster signing of Evan Mathis on Tuesday, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post writes. Mathis, 33, figures to bring the kind of experience and skill that Denver’s offensive line desperately needs. Without Manning’s paycut, the deal would not have been possible for the Broncos.
In a mailbag on Wednesday, a reader asked Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post if Montee Ball be in danger of being traded by the Broncos. Renck isn’t ready to say that Ball is on his way out of Denver, but he says that he has to make a strong impression on coaches for the remainder of the preseason.

Extra Points: Lions, Taliaferro, Chancellor

August 25th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Linebacker Kyle Van Noy, the Lions‘ second-round pick in 2014, had half of his rookie season wiped out by a stint on injured reserve, and he never got fully healthy after he returned, contributing just six tackles for the year. After undergoing hip surgery earlier this year, Van Noy had higher hopes for the 2015 campaign, but the 24-year-old continues to be nagged by injury issues with the season approaching.

According to head coach Jim Caldwell, the first opinion Van Noy received on his latest injury suggested more surgery isn’t necessary at this point, but the team is seeking a second opinion (Twitter link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). While it’s possible that Van Noy lands in Detroit’s IR-DTR spot again, the timetable on his return isn’t clear yet, and the club may want to save that designation this time around.

Let’s check in on several more items from around the NFL…

Caldwell also said today that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of two fullbacks – Michael Burton and Emil Igwenagu – making the Lions‘ roster (Twitter link via Rothstein).
Phones are lighting up across the league as teams look to make trades before the roster cutdown to 75 players next week, tweets Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com. Russini adds that, despite all the chatter, it’s not clear how many deals will actually go down.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh says running back Lorenzo Taliaferro will miss a “few weeks” with an MCL sprain, writes Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com. Taliaferro was listed as the Ravens No. 2 running back behind Justin Forsett, but now rookie fourth-round pick Buck Allen figures to see an increased workload for the rest of the preseason — and potentially early in the regular season.
Drawing on his past experience as an NFL executive, Jeff Diamond of The Sporting News takes a closer look at Kam Chancellor‘s holdout, suggesting that GM John Schneider and the Seahawks will have to consider the possibility of trading Chancellor if his holdout extends into September.
Speaking today to reporters, including Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks said that his new extension came together within the last two weeks or so.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Kam Chancellor “Dug In” With Holdout

August 21st, 2015 at 7:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor has made his position very clear from the beginning of his holdout. He alerted the team he would hold out if his contract was not renegotiated, and has not wavered from that position. The second preseason game has already started, and Chancellor is still waiting for his contract to be addressed.

Preseason games and training camp are one thing, but missing regular season games take a different kind of commitment. With a base salary of $4.55MM, per OverTheCap.com, he would miss upwards of of $267,000 per week through the regular season. Most players wouldn’t be willing to forgo those game checks when push comes to shove.

Chancellor’s former teammate Michael Robinson believes that the All-Pro safety is serious about his threat. When asked on NFL Total Access if he could envision Chancellor missing the full season, he admitted that he could, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

“From what I know of the situation, yeah,” said Robinson. “He’s dug in. He really feels that they have the ability to pay him.”

Robinson, a former fullback who was a member of the Super Bowl Championship Seahawks. He says he has remained close to Chancellor, and that the two have spoken about the safeties situation.

Just two days ago, we heard from Chancellor’s agent that nothing had changed and that he would not report until the two sides would be able to compromise on a new deal. Everything changes once these holdouts start effecting the player’s pockets, but if he is serious it will be an interesting beginning of the season. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are both dealing with injuries that could limit them early on, and Chancellor has long been a marquee player on these great Seahawks defenses.

Extra Points: Weddle, Chancellor, Brady

August 19th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Adam Jones will probably go down as one of those “what-if” history stories in sports and the Bengals cornerback is well aware of that. “If I would have never gotten suspended, I would have $100 million right now,” Jones said, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. Still, Jones says that he tries not to live with regrets and that he hopes to make the most of the remainder of his career. Here’s more from around the NFL..

Eric Weddle‘s agent David Canter confirmed (via Twitter links) that he would like to see the Chargers safety land with the Dolphins. However, he made it clear that he and Weddle “have never and will never ask for a trade from San Diego.” Teams typically don’t trade their best players, Canter notes, and he says that Bolts fans can rest assured that he won’t be going anywhere, at least in 2015.
Agent Alvin Keels told ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter) that everything is status quo with his client, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor. “Nothing has changed. He will not report without his contract being addressed this season. The team and I have been in contact, but we haven’t been able to agree on any compromise,” Keels said.
Right now, there are no more settlement talks planned between the NFL and NFLPA until the August 31st court appearance, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Brandon Meriweather‘s deal with the Giants is a one-year pact worth $870K and no guaranteed cash, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
During practice Sunday, Raiders‘ WR Andre Holmes fractured his hand and now is expected to be out 3-4 weeks, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
New Jets quarterback Matt Flynn says that there’s no timetable on when he’ll recover from his hamstring issue and added that he is not guaranteed a roster spot with Gang Green, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets.
Guard-center Josh Samuda, former Dolphin and Viking, worked out today for the Chiefs, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).