Marcell Dareus - Pro Football Rumors

Bills Still On Hook For Marcell Dareus’ Guarantees?

August 16th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, the Bills were dealt a big blow when they learned that Marcell Dareus has been slapped with a four-game suspension by the NFL for another substance abuse policy violation. Typically, that punishment also results in players losing the rights to all previously guaranteed money under the terms of the contract. For Dareus, that won’t quite be the case.

Dareus’ four-game suspension will cost him $1.505MM in total forfeiture (signing bonus and option bonus). His guarantee in 2016 will void, but the rest of his guarantees will not be affected because very rare language limits the voiding of guarantees to the year he commits the breach, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. In short – Dareus will get banged for 2016, but the guaranteed cash he is set to receive through 2021 as a part of his six-year, $95.1MM deal will remain untouched. Given that Dareus does have some off-the-field history, one has to wonder why the Bills would consent to such an unusual clause.

In an afternoon press release, the Bills did not hide their frustrations with the star defensive tackle:

“We are very disappointed Marcell chose to put himself first, before his teammates, coaches and the rest of the organization through his recent actions. From ownership down we have made it clear his behavior is unacceptable. We will continue to take the necessary steps to work with him in order that he adheres to the policies set forth by our league. As an organization, we will move forward with our preparations for the start of the 2016 NFL season in Baltimore on September 11.”

Dareus will be forced to sit out games against the Ravens, Jets, Cardinals, and Patriots before returning to the Bills’ active roster on Monday, October 3.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marcell Dareus Facing Four-Game Suspension

August 16th, 2016 at 1:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is facing a four-game suspension for another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, league sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Dareus still could appeal his four-game ban, but if it sticks, it will be another big blow to the Bills’ D.

The suspension stems from Dareus’ alleged use of marijuana, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (on Twitter). Today’s news could have lasting implications beyond the first four games of the season as it could void some of Dareus’ guaranteed money.

A defensive tackle under old head coach Doug Marrone, the Bills signed Dareus to an extension last year, locking him into the nose tackle spot in Rex Ryan‘s 3-4 scheme. Interior defensive linemen typically don’t post huge sack numbers, but Dareus did an impressive job getting after the quarterback in his first four seasons, recording 28.5 career sacks, including 10 in 2014, a total that matched teammate Jerry Hughes‘ output. Last year, that number declined as Dareus moved to nose tackle – he logged just 2.0 sacks. However, the Bills value his ability to stop the run at least as much as his ability to bring down the quarterback. Now, they’ll be without that run-stuffing power through the first month of the season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Harbor, Bills

June 19th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has frustrated and disappointed fans with his hard-line stance on the Ryan Fitzpatrick and Muhammad Wilkerson contract negotiations, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com commends Maccagnan for at least being willing to take an unpopular position and hold his ground in a pragmatic way that suggests he has the club’s long-term interests at heart. Cimini adds that Maccagnan’s approach is a refreshing change of pace from that of predecessor Mike Tannenbaum, who often made decisions with an eye towards fan and media approval. Of course, now that Maccagnan has drawn a line in the sand, he cannot back down for fear of losing credibility in the agent community, but he also cannot afford to enter the season without Fitzpatrick and Wilkerson.

As we wait to see if Maccagnan can pull off this delicate balancing act, let’s check out a few more links from the AFC East:

In the same piece, Cimini says he would be surprised if Wilkerson reported to Jets training camp–after all, he’s not under contract, so he cannot be fined for missing camp–but he would also be surprised if the Pro Bowl defensive end missed any regular season games. Perhaps the two sides can work out a deal wherein Wilkerson agrees to play out the 2016 season for the amount of the franchise tender ($15.7MM), and the team agrees to not use the tag on him again in 2017.
In a separate article, Cimini reports that the mother of Jets rookie linebacker Darron Lee, Candice Lee, has quit her job as a reporter and weekend anchor for WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, and will serve as Darron’s manager. She will devote her time to handling her son’s off-the-field affairs, including endorsements and marketing (of course, there is not yet any money to manage, as Lee is one of four 2016 first-round draft picks who have yet to sign their rookie contracts).
Now that Patriots No. 3 tight end Michael Williams suffered a season-ending ACL tear, free agent acquisition Clay Harbor becomes the favorite to assume that role, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. However, Reiss cautions that even though Harbor received a $400K signing bonus–which is significant for a player for Harbor’s caliber–he will still have to earn his spot on the field (after all, the team handed out a $450K signing bonus to Reggie Wayne last year, and Wayne’s tenure as a Patriot lasted all of two weeks).
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes a look at the best and worst contracts on the Bills, and he concludes that the best contract is Tyrod Taylor‘s fairly modest pact, while the worst is Marcell Dareus‘ mega-deal that he signed last year. Fitzgerald goes into detail on both contracts, and the whole piece is well worth a read.

Newton, Peterson, Others Get Salary Guarantees

March 11th, 2016 at 8:38pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Several NFL players have contracts containing language which states that they’ll get a full or partial salary guarantees for 2016 and/or 2017 if they remained on their respective teams on Friday, the third day of the league year. Let’s check in some of those players (link courtesy of CBS Sports’ Joel Corry):

Cam Newton, quarterback (Panthers): $13MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed. Friday is also the deadline for the Panthers to pick up Newton’s 2020 option for $10MM.
Eli Manning, quarterback (Giants): $17.5MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Jay Cutler, quarterback (Bears): $16MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Adrian Peterson, running back (Vikings): $7MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Julio Jones, wide receiver (Falcons): $11.5MM base salary for 2017 is now fully guaranteed.
A.J. Green, wide receiver (Bengals): $6MM roster bonus is payable.
Brandon Marshall, wide receiver (Jets): $9.5MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Mike Iupati, guard (Cardinals): $6.75MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed, as is $2MM of Iupati’s $8MM base salary for 2017.
Rodney Hudson, center (Raiders): $7.35MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Gerald McCoy, defensive tackle (Buccaneers): $13.25MM base salary for 2017 is now fully guaranteed.
Marcell Dareus, defensive tackle (Bills): $9.75MM base salary for 2017 is now fully guaranteed.
Justin Houston, linebacker (Chiefs): $14.75MM of Houston’s $14.9MM base salary in 2016 is now fully guaranteed, as is $6.75MM of his $16.35MM base salary for 2017.
DeAndre Levy, linebacker (Lions): $5.25MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.
Aqib Talib, cornerback (Broncos): $8.5MM base salary for 2016 is now fully guaranteed.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bills Sign Marcell Dareus To Extension

September 10th, 2015 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

5:00pm: Dareus’ deal calls for $42.9MM fully guaranteed at signing, Rand Getlin of NFL Network tweets. That puts him second only to Ndamukong Suh for defensive players and well north of the guarantees given to quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Cam Newton.

He’ll make a whopping $28MM in the first year of his deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

9:54am: As is often the case with new contracts, it appears the initial reports on Dareus’ extension overvalued the deal a little. Per Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (all Twitter links), the base value for Dareus’ six new years is around $95MM, though he could earn up to about $100.35MM via incentives. That sounds similar to Mario Williams‘ six-year deal with the Bills, which is worth $96MM, or up to $100MM in incentives.

Carucci adds, as expected, that the $60MM in guarantees aren’t all full guarantees.

9:30am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com provides an important detail on Dareus’ deal, tweeting that the $108MM figure includes the 2015 season, so the six new years are worth about $100MM — right in line with Watt’s deal.

9:17am: With just three days to go until their regular season opener, the Bills have locked up star defensive lineman Marcell Dareus to a new contract, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. According to Schefter (via Twitter), the Bills and Dareus have agreed to a six-year extension worth $108MM.

The agreement is the result of negotiations that appeared to be ongoing for a good chunk of the offseason, with Bills GM Doug Whaley indicating after the draft that getting Dareus signed to a new contract was the team’s top priority this summer. Dareus had been set to play out the final year of his rookie contract, with a fifth-year option salary of $8.06MM.

A defensive tackle under old head coach Doug Marrone, Dareus appears likely to continue playing on the inside under Rex Ryan, occupying the nose tackle role in Dennis Thurmond’s 3-4 scheme. Interior defensive linemen typically don’t post huge sack numbers, but Dareus has done an impressive job getting after the quarterback in his first four seasons, recording 28.5 career sacks, including 10 in 2014, a total that matched teammate Jerry Hughes‘ output. That number may decline for the first time in 2015 as Dareus moves to nose tackle, but the Bills value his ability to stop the run at least as much as his ability to bring down the quarterback.

Without extensively studying Dareus’ game tape, his overall impact against opposing run games is hard to quantify, particularly since the Bills were outside of the top 10 run defenses in 2014, allowing 106.4 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry. However, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Dareus first among the league’s defensive tackles as a run defender, giving him a +20.7 grade. By comparison, Ndamukong Suh was second, with a +17.6 mark.

Speaking of Suh, when Dareus addressed his contract situation last month, he cited the Dolphins’ defensive star when he expressed his frustration with his own negotiations. At that point, the Bills had reportedly offered Dareus an extension worth $90MM over six years, and when he was asked what sort of figures he was seeking, the Bills’ star replied, “I’ll just say, ‘Thank you, Suh.’”

His new extension doesn’t quite match Suh’s deal with Miami, but Dareus appears to have done very well, surpassing J.J. Watt‘s six-year, $100MM contract with the Texans. According to Schefter (via Twitter), Dareus’ contract features $60MM in guaranteed money, which would be the highest guarantee for a non-quarterback deal in NFL history. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets that the extension includes $65MM in injury guarantees, along with a $25MM signing bonus.

At this stage, many of those figures are coming from the player’s camp, so we’ll have to see how much of the contract is fully guaranteed. But it sounds like a massive deal for Dareus, and one that will keep him in Buffalo for the next several years. It could also pave the way for other defensive lineman extensions, with players like Muhammed Wilkerson of the Jets and Dontari Poe of the Chiefs among the extension candidates at the position.

Dareus will serve a one-game suspension to start the 2014 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extension Rumors: Bradford, Eli, Dareus

September 9th, 2015 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Patriots locked up left tackle Nate Solder to an extension earlier today, but Solder is unlikely to be the last notable player to sign a new contract this week. With regular season openers right around the corner, teams will be looking to wrap up negotiations with key extension candidates, getting something done with them before the real games begin, since many of those players won’t want to continue talks during the season.

Here’s the latest on a few noteworthy extension candidates:

The Eagles are no longer engaged in discussions regarding a short-term extension for Sam Bradford, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The two sides were exploring a bridge deal that would give the former first overall pick some security while still allowing him to hit free agency in a couple years. However, it appears Bradford’s preseason success has made him less enthused about signing a below-market deal at this point.
Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reported earlier this week that the Giants and Eli Manning were making progress on an extension, and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News hears the same thing, writing that there’s optimism a deal can be reached “relatively quickly,” though there’s still some work to be done.
Contract talks between the Bills and defensive lineman Marcell Dareus have continued, a league source tells Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). There were indications in August that Dareus and the Bills were far apart in negotiations, but the team still hopes to get something done by Sunday.
The Jets would like to get their own standout defensive lineman, Muhammad Wilkerson, locked up to an extension, but it’s unclear whether something will happen this week, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. A July report indicated that Wilkerson would play out the final year of his current contract if he and the Jets can’t finalize an agreement by the start of the regular season.

Bills Clearing Room For Marcell Dareus Deal?

September 5th, 2015 at 2:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Matt Cassel‘s release earlier today appears to be part of the Bills’ plan to make enough room for Marcell Dareus‘ looming contract extension, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (on Twitter).

The Bills, according to Carucci, want to extend Dareus before the season begins. If a deal cannot be completed in the next week before the regular season begins, the team will not address the fifth-year standout’s contract until the season ends, notes Carucci (on Twitter).

Buffalo also wants to extend outside linebacker Nigel Bradham, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (via Twitter).

Like Dareus, who will earn just more than $8MM this season as part of the defensive tackle’s fifth-year option, Bradham is entering a contract year. Although since the third-year starter arrived as a fourth-round pick in 2012, he has no such fifth-year negotiation-delaying luxury, increasing the team’s incentive to lock up the underrated outside backer.

King’s Latest: Broncos, Rams, Walsh, Dareus

August 24th, 2015 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As a former quarterback himself, Broncos general manager John Elway admits that it wasn’t easy asking Peyton Manning to take a $4MM pay cut this offseason, money which Manning could make up in incentives. Elway tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com that it was a “really hard” conversation to have.

“A lot of times, as much as you like to say you want those things to stay business, they always end up being a little personal,” Elway said. “That’s the hard part, because I have a great deal of respect for Peyton. I think, hopefully, Peyton will be able to look back in a few years, especially if we have a really good year, and see that, ultimately, the decision was made to give us the best chance to go out and win a Super Bowl this year. That, ultimately, is the best thing for Peyton Manning—even though, of course, it was $4MM.”

Here are a few more items of note from King’s latest Monday Morning Quarterback feature:

With three starters on the offensive line who have never played a regular season snap, the Broncos will likely move a late-round pick for an offensive lineman, or claim a player – likely a guard – off waivers in the near future, says King.
One team owner who spoke to King believes that Stan Kroenke‘s plan for a new NFL Network facility and multi-purpose theater in Inglewood could be a big factor in the league’s decision on the Los Angeles market. King adds that he views the Inglewood stadium plan, along with the Rams, as the NFL’s preferred route to L.A., though that’s far from a sure thing at this point.
While the Vikings are “trying not to show their concern” with recently extended kicker Blair Walsh, the situation is worth keeping an eye on after Walsh missed five kicks in the team’s two preseason games, writes King. When I examined Walsh as an extension candidate back in May, I suggested the team may want to see how he responds to the longer extra point this year before extending him, but Minnesota locked him up to a new deal last month.
Responding to reports that Marcell Dareus didn’t accept an alleged six-year, $90MM extension offer, King suggests that the Bills defensive tackle is “misreading the market.” In King’s view, Dareus has a case for a rich contract, but not one that exceeds J.J. Watt‘s deal.

AFC East Notes: Wayne, Jets, Bills

August 23rd, 2015 at 8:32pm CST by Ben Levine

There was a mixed reaction among league executives to reports that veteran wideout Reggie Wayne visited the Patriots, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.

“He’ll be in great shape – always takes car of himself,” said one AFC executive. “Tremendous pro and teammate. Health has been issue past two years. Great hands and routes. Did not have a lot left in his legs last year and struggled. Will struggle vs press – very savvy vs zone. New England has history of getting some production out of players like him.”

“Possession guy with hands and savviness but loss of speed and explosiveness evident,” said another AFC exec. “Maybe as a role player, but don’t see him as a starter solution.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the AFC East…

Colts coach Chuck Pagano was thrilled that Wayne may get an opportunity to play this season. “I think that’s great for Reg,” Pagano said (via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells on Twitter). “Happy they’re looking at him and there’s an opportunity.”
While John Idzik‘s tenure with the Jets has certainly been scrutinized, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes that he may have found a pair of diamonds in the rough. Cornerback Marcus Williams and wideout Quincy Enunwa were both under-the-radar pickups by the former general manager, and the players are set to contribute in 2015.
Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus has continued to complain about his contract situation, and Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News has some of the player’s comments following last night’s game. “They’re making it hard,” said Dareus, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. “And it’s just really making me unhappy. I feel like they don’t really want me here…We’re still waiting. I feel like they don’t want me here as bad as I want to be here, as bad as the fans and my team wants me here. I feel like they’re saying, ‘Whatever. You come a dime a dozen.’”

AFC East Notes: J. Taylor, McCourty, Dareus

August 23rd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Giants suffered yet another blow to their secondary last night, and as Adam H. Beasley of The Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins‘ secondary is also growing thin due to injury. After losing Louis Delmas to a torn ACL last week, Miami saw Jamar Taylor leave last night’s preseason game to a quadriceps injury. Taylor, fighting for a starting cornerback spot opposite Brent Grimes, dealt with a sports hernia in his rookie campaign in 2013, and last year he was placed on IR with a shoulder injury. The severity of Taylor’s latest ailment is unknown at this time.

As the Giants and Dolphins fret over their secondaries, let’s take a look at a few more links from the AFC East:

Devin McCourty played cornerback for the Patriots in their preseason contest against New Orleans last night, and he did not like it one bit. McCourty said, via Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com, “I hope it’s not permanent. It didn’t feel great, and I don’t think it looked great so we’ll see.” McCourty, of course, transitioned to safety from corner in 2012, and has thrived as a safety in the past couple of seasons. But with the exodus of starting-caliber corners from New England this offseason, the team may be forced to utilize McCourty’s versatility more than he would like.
In a separate piece, Curran discusses the status of the Patriots‘ running back battle in light of the impressive performances from James White and Dion Lewis last night.
PFR’s Sam Robinson wrote yesterday that Marcell Dareus has softened his public stance towards his contract negotiations with the Bills, and as Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News opines, it’s the right move. Sullivan writes that Dareus may be an excellent player, but he is surrounded by other terrific players on the defensive line, and he is not nearly the run defender that Ndamukong Suh is. Those facts, combined with Dareus’ past indiscretions, suggest that Dareus should not be paid like Suh, regardless of what Dareus himself thinks. In the end, the Bills will likely bend a bit, Dareus will bend a bit, and Dareus will remain in Buffalo for the foreseeable future.
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com says Jets‘ tight end Jace Amaro, a holdover from the John Idzik regime, is on the “moderate” hot seat. Amaro was listed as the third tight end on the team’s first official depth chart, and the team has mixed feelings about him. Cimini adds that wide receiver Jeremy Kerley is in a similar situation, especially given the strong training camp of Quincy Enunwa.