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Cowboys Notes: Hardy, QBs, Smith, Lawrence

May 5th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Stephen Jones, the Cowboys were done with Greg Hardy when the 2015 season ended, despite not publicly making that stance clear until more recently, as Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram writes.

“I think one of the most important things is when you take a chance with a player, if you see it’s not working, it’s time to move on,” said Jones, the Cowboys’ executive VP. “We gave it its due in terms of a year here, and we just felt like at the end of the day, it wasn’t the right fit.”

Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went on record saying that Hardy will not be back, but it appears that the decision was made months ago. On the field, Hardy still has plenty to offer, but it would seem Dallas is not interested in dealing with the off-field headaches. Last season, Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Let’s round up a few more Cowboys-related items:

  • The Cowboys missed out on drafting Paxton Lynch, but they’re content with their quarterback depth chart as it stands today, writes Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram. Kellen Moore will be Tony Romo‘s primary backup in 2016, per Jerry Jones. “I think Kellen Moore has shown the ‘it,'” Jones said. “He has the instincts. He has the anticipation. He knows what’s going on. He gives me and us a great feeling about basically improving. Obviously those interceptions were not something you can live with, but some of the stuff he was doing was pretty obvious that the team was responding. He was able to move the team.” Rookie Dak Prescott will likely fill the No. 3 spot behind Romo and Moore.
  • While the general consensus in the Cowboys organization seems to be that second-round pick Jaylon Smith will miss the entire 2016 season, Jerry Jones isn’t ready to commit to taking the linebacker off the regular-season roster, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Jones said Smith “will not be IR’d,” noting that the club hopes Smith can be available for the latter part of the season. We’ll see if Dallas sticks to that stance in September.
  • During that appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones also said that he’s holding out hope for Demarcus Lawrence‘s suspension to be reduced from four games to two games (link via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Lawrence’s four-game ban is currently under appeal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cowboys Rule Out Re-Signing Greg Hardy

April 29th, 2016 at 11:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Having not seriously engaged in talks with defensive end Greg Hardy since his contract expired last month, the Cowboys have long appeared unlikely to re-sign him. Tonight, owner Jerry Jones formally confirmed that Hardy won’t be back, telling reporters – including ESPN’s Todd Archer – that door is officially closed.Greg Hardy

The Cowboys are looking thin at defensive end, and are in need of pass-rushing help, with Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory facing four-game suspensions and Jeremy Mincey no longer under contract. The club also didn’t use any of its first three 2016 draft picks to select an outside pass rusher.

Hardy would certainly qualify as an upgrade for the Cowboys on the field — the former Panther had another solid season as a pass rusher in 2015, recording six sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception in 12 games. He wasn’t quite as dominant as he was during his best years in Carolina, but Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender, out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus.

However, Hardy’s off-field history and his behavior during his lone season in Dallas didn’t particularly endear him to the Cowboys as the season wore on. When taking into account his questionable in-season decisions, both on and off the field, as well as his alleged domestic violence history, it makes sense that the Cowboys would consider Hardy to be too much of a liability – or at least a distraction – to invest in going forward.

Here are a few more notes from out of Dallas:

  • Jerry Jones said today that he doesn’t think it’s mandatory that the Cowboys select a quarterback on the final day of the draft. The team had interest in trading up for Paxton Lynch on Thursday, but Jones says he’s comfortable with Kellen Moore as Tony Romo‘s backup (Twitter link via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News).
  • A source tells Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link) that the Cowboys feel better about Jaylon Smith‘s medicals than they did about Myles Jack‘s. That’s not a big surprise, since Dallas selected Smith with Jack still on the board. Even if Smith misses the entire 2016 season, as is expected, there’s a perception that his knee condition will improve, while Jack’s could deteriorate.
  • While Smith will likely miss all of 2016, Jerry Jones cautioned not to count out the former Notre Dame linebacker just yet, tweets Archer.

East Notes: Deflategate, Bills, Beckham, Cowboys

December 21st, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL filed its final salvo in the Deflategate saga, countering the NFLPA’s 73-page appeal earlier this month with a 38-page response that centers on how the Patriots‘ alleged manipulation of footballs does not compare with uniform or equipment violations as the Players’ Association previously stated.

The case that resulted in Tom Brady being suspended for four games, then being permitted to play during that period by Judge Richard Berman, will reach the appeal stage March 3, 2016.

Let’s look at some more news coming out of the Eastern division as Week 15 wraps up.

  • Rex Ryan said today he’s “pretty sure” Tyrod Taylor will be the Bills‘ starting quarterback next season, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. After winning a three-man quarterback race as a newly signed free agent this offseason, Taylor will be able to further develop with an entire offseason shaped around him being atop the depth chart, Ryan said. After beating out the since-traded Matt Cassel and ex-first-rounder EJ Manuel, Taylor has completed 63.2% of his passes — although the ex-Ravens backup’s failed to surpass the 60% plateau in each of his past five games — and thrown 20 touchdown passes compared to just five interceptions.
  • Mario Williams continued his recent path out of Buffalo on Sunday in criticizing Ryan’s defensive scheme, and Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News said the 30-year-old defensive end’s team-high $19.9MM cap number next year makes that an easier decision. Dunne also sees Kyle Williams ($7MM 2016 cap figure) having a potential uphill battle to remaining on the roster.
  • Odell Beckham took issue with Panthers practice squad players allegedly lobbing homophobic slurs at him before Sunday’s eventful Giants-Panthers game, sources inform Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer. Jones also notes Beckham was, per sources, intimidated by Panthers defensive backs swinging a baseball bat during pregame warmups, a ritual that’s spawned this season for the unbeaten Panthers. Carolina sources obviously don’t believe the bat routine could have necessitated Beckham’s rampage.
  • In its letter communicating Beckham’s suspension, the NFL found six violations committed by the Giants second-year wideout, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Two of the three transgressions for which Beckham wasn’t penalized involved punches being thrown. “Your actions adversely reflected on the NFL and have no place in the game because incidents like this erode public confidence in the orderly conduct of our game as well as the good character of our participants,” NFL V.P. of operations Merton Hanks told Beckham in the suspension letter.
  • Kellen Moore‘s late-season audition for the Cowboys will be for the No. 2 job and won’t influence what the team does this coming offseason in pursuing Tony Romo‘s potential heir apparent, Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). The 26-year-old Moore, a UDFA who the Lions cut this year, completed 15-of-25 passes and threw three interceptions against the Jets.
  • Eagles high-priced corner Byron Maxwell sprained his SC joint in Sunday night’s loss to the Cardinals and may miss Saturday’s pivotal tilt with Washington, Les Bowen of Philly.com reports.

 

 

East Notes: K. Moore, M. Williams, Bills

December 21st, 2015 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

After seeing his first action of the season on Saturday night against the Jets, Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore will get the start for Dallas in Week 16, head coach Jason Garrett confirmed today (Twitter link via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Unlike teammate Matt Cassel, Moore remains under contract with the Cowboys through the 2016 season, so if he can finish strong this year, he should receive consideration for the role of Tony Romo‘s backup going forward.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • With his cap number set to increase to $19.9MM in 2016, Bills defensive end Mario Williams looks like a candidate to be released this offseason, particularly after the trouble he has had adjusting to Rex Ryan‘s defensive scheme. While a pay cut could be an option for Williams, he doesn’t sound like someone interested in taking one for the team, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News writes. “If this is the turnout of our defense, how does that even sound right?” Williams asked on Sunday, when the possibility of a pay cut was mentioned.
  • Meanwhile, after the Bills lost again on Sunday to fall to 6-8 on the season, Ryan suggested that “drastic changes” may await the club this offseason. Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com has the details and the quotes from the Buffalo head coach.
  • DeMarco Murray received just two touches in Sunday’s night game against Arizona, which looks like the latest sign that the Eagles may consider simply cutting their losses with the unproductive running back this offseason, says Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Mike Sando speaks to agents and NFL team salary-cap managers about what sort of salaries we should expect for quarterbacks like Washington‘s Kirk Cousins ($15MM per year), the Jets‘ Ryan Fitzpatrick ($8-12MM), and the Eagles‘ Sam Bradford (projections were “all over the map”).
  • Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald questions what interim Dolphins coach Dan Campbell has done to deserve an interview for the team’s permanent head coaching job.

Sunday Roundup: Cowboys, RGIII, Pagano

December 20th, 2015 at 12:52pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some links from around the league while waiting for the murky playoff picture to begin to sort itself out:

  • Although Kellen Moore did not exactly set the world ablaze in the Cowboys‘ loss to the Jets last night, he nearly helped his team to an upset victory and demonstrated that he is a better option than Matt Cassel moving forward. However, as ESPN’s Todd Archer writes, head coach Jason Garrett is as yet unwilling to name Moore the starter for the final two games of the season. The Cowboys will need to address the backup quarterback situation behind Tony Romo next year, and it makes sense for the club to at least see what it has in Moore.
  • Last night’s loss officially eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention, so owner Jerry Jones expects the team to put Romo on injured reserve, according to Charen Williams of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
  • Washington has made it clear that it is ready to move on from Robert Griffin III, but Ian Rapoport (article via Conor Orr of NFL.com) identifies a number of teams that may be interested in RGIII. That list includes the Cowboys, Eagles, Texans, and Saints (or whichever team happens to employ Sean Payton).
  • While Chuck Pagano‘s future in Indianapolis is still very much up in the air, if the Colts do decide to part ways with him, Rapoport says that he would immediately become one of the most sought-after head coaching candidates in the league. Although Pagano has previously said the Colts job would be his last coaching gig, there will apparently be no shortage of teams trying to change his mind.
  • Although things could change in the next several weeks, Mark Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com suggests that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is growing increasingly weary of his team’s performance and could be leaning towards a “clean sweep” that would see both head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer lose their jobs. We had previously heard that one of Farmer or Pettine would be fired, but not both.
  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says the NFL-to-Los Angeles process is getting uglier by the minute, with “members of the league’s Los Angeles committee making promises to St. Louis in an effort to keep the Rams there and publicly trashing San Diego in an effort to get the Chargers out.” Florio suggests one way to placate all parties involved may be to have Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Rams owner Stan Kroenke swap their franchises, much like the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams were swapped in 1972. The entire article is worth reading, and although Florio concedes it is something of an outlandish idea, he suggests it could gain traction as we get closer to the critical owners meetings in January. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, however, was quick to throw cold water on that notion (via Twitter).
  • According to Rapoport (via Twitter) Leonard Hankerson, who was claimed by the Patriots this week, was released by the Falcons off the injured reserve list when he told Atlanta that he was healthy and wanted to be cut. The Falcons obliged, and now Hankerson is suited up for New England this afternoon.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at the 2016 class of free agent cornerbacks.

Extra Points: Broncos, Cowboys, Draft

December 19th, 2015 at 6:26pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With quarterback Peyton Manning nearing a return from injury, the Broncos are on the brink of having to make the most important decision of their season, Troy Renck of The Denver Post offers.

The 39-year-old Manning was having a bottom-of-the-barrel season before he landed on the shelf in mid-November with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and his loss looked like addition by subtraction as the Brock Osweiler era got off to a solid beginning. Osweiler’s first three starts all ended up as wins for Denver, but some shine wore off two weeks ago in a 17-3 victory over a horrific San Diego team and matters worsened in a 15-12 loss to Oakland last Sunday.

Manning will be inactive for Sunday’s game against playoff-caliber Pittsburgh, but he’s likely to be healthy enough for activation by Week 16. That means Osweiler might be playing for the starting job at Heinz Field. As Renck points out, Denver’s Osweiler-led offense has gone 23 straight possessions without scoring a touchdown, which isn’t going to cut it with a prolific Steelers offense on the other side. With another underwhelming showing from Osweiler, head coach Gary Kubiak could turn back to Manning as the playoffs near.

Some other NFL news and notes:

  • Tonight is potentially the end of the Matt Cassel era in Dallas. The 33-year-old has fared poorly in place of Tony Romo this season, and he’ll be on a short leash against the Jets, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. The Cowboys’ current No. 2 QB, Kellen Moore, got some first-team reps in practice this week and could see his first action since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
  • Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright capped off an injury-riddled junior year Saturday by announcing he’ll enter the 2016 draft, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports. A foot injury cost Wright all but three games this season, making it a disappointing follow-up to a highly productive 2014 campaign that saw him earn All-America honors, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Jack Lambert Award (nation’s best linebacker), and the Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s top defender).
  • A list of the top 20 failed free agent signings from last offseason reveals predictable names – Dwayne Bowe, DeMarco Murray, Brandon Browner, among others – but also mentions lower-tier additions like Tampa’s Bruce Carter and Arizona’s Sean Weatherspoon, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com writes. Both Carter and Weatherspoon were beaten out early for starting linebacker jobs.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report.

Extra Points: Bucs, Bills, LA, Cowboys, Pryor

December 17th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from around the NFL as Thursday wraps up:

  • Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is enamored with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston. “I wouldn’t trade him for another quarterback in the league,” Licht said, per Jeff Darlington of NFL.com. Licht stated he expected more growing pains and perhaps as many as 30 interceptions this year from Winston, but the ex-Florida State star and No. 1 pick in this year’s draft entered Thursday with only 11 in 13 games.
  • The Bills are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to the long-term status of signal caller Tyrod Taylor, but if they give him a new contract, it could end up being their most important transaction over the next several years, opines Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Taylor, who has been one of the top statistical QBs in the league this year, will be a free agent after next season. If he acquits himself well again in 2016 and the Bills wait until the season’s over try to lock him up, he could either sign a sizable deal elsewhere or stay in Buffalo and take up a large portion of its cap. For his part, Taylor says he isn’t focused on anything other than this season. “I have three important games. I don’t have time to talk about contract situations.”
  • With as many as two of the Rams, Raiders and Chargers potentially relocating to Los Angeles at season’s end, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examined where exactly the teams could call home starting next year. Multiple league sources believe the Chargers are the likeliest of the three teams to end up in LA, per Florio.
  • Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore took “a couple” first-team practice reps this week, head coach Jason Garrett said. That’s a sign his first NFL action could be approaching, Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. With the Cowboys out of contention and Matt Cassel having performed poorly in place of the injured Tony Romo, giving Moore a shot before the year’s out would seem to make sense. Dallas signed Moore, 26, to its practice squad in November and added him to its active roster earlier this month. The fourth-year man has never taken a regular-season snap since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
  • Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor, formerly a quarterback, made his regular-season debut at wideout last week and played 16 snaps. Quarterback Johnny Manziel didn’t target Pryor, but that could change this week because Pryor will get more playing time, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.
  • Veteran safety Brandon Meriweather, whom the Giants cut Wednesday, went through waivers unclaimed and is now a free agent, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Cowboys Sign Kellen Moore

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Cowboys have signed quarterback Kellen Moore to the active roster, as David Moore of The Dallas Morning News tweets. In other news, the Cowboys placed defensive end Ryan Russell on IR with an abdominal injury. Taking his place on the 53-man roster will be rookie offensive tackle Chaz Green, who is being activated off the PUP list.
  • The Chiefs placed Ben Grubbs on injured reserve, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. Grubbs last played in the Chiefs’ 23-13 win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 25. “We’ve gone four or five weeks here with rehabilitation (and) he hasn’t improved,” head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said. “He’s going to need at least another month to come back from this.” The Chiefs promoted offensive lineman Daniel Munyer to the active roster to fill the newly-created opening.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/12/15

November 12th, 2015 at 8:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Thursday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the league:

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

  • To be signed: TE Chase Ford (link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press)

New England Patriots

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/15

November 11th, 2015 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL, with any additional moves listed at the top of the page throughout the day:

Earlier updates:

  • The Vikings have activated cornerback Josh Robinson from the physically unable to perform list, waiving tight end Chase Ford in a corresponding roster move, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As Tomasson writes, Ford – who has been with Minnesota since 2012 – took the news well, pointing out that it’s “part of the game” and it’s not his first time being cut.
  • Having cut quarterback Kellen Moore, the Cowboys added linebacker Mark Nzeocha to their active roster, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Nzeocha, who began the season on the non-football injury list, will help add depth to a group of linebackers that has been affected by injuries.
  • The Cardinals have waived-injured cornerback Cariel Brooks, elevating cornerback Robert Nelson from their practice squad to fill the empty roster spot, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). Brooks, who is dealing with an ankle issue, played exclusively on special teams during his limited action this season, so Nelson isn’t expected to have a major role either.
  • After placing him on the injured reserve list last weekend, Washington has now removed outside linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat from the roster entirely with an injury settlement, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.
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