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Marcell Dareus

Bills, Dareus Progressing On Contract Talks

May 27th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Bills general manager Doug Whaley said earlier this offseason that locking up defensive lineman Marcell Dareus to a long-term contract extension would be the team’s No. 1 priority following the draft, and the GM stressed that point again today. According to John Wawrow of The Associated Press, Whaley called Dareus’ contract Buffalo’s top priority, and said he has had preliminary talks about a new deal.

Earlier today, Dareus expressed a desire for the Bills to advance those contract extension discussions, admitting that the situation is weighing on him a little. While he didn’t specify what sort of salary he’ll be seeking on his next contract, the All-Pro defensive tackle told Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links), “Turn on the tape. It speaks for itself.”

Dareus’ comments could be interpreted as the 25-year-old hinting at a little frustration with the negotiations, but it appears both sides are on the same page in wanting to get something done. Whaley told Wawrow that he intends to meet with Jim Overdorf, the Bills’ chief negotiator, on Wednesday in an effort to move the talks along.

Dareus will serve a one-game suspension to start the 2014 season, but that penalty isn’t expected to have a real impact on his extension negotiations with the Bills. In 2014, Dareus was the league’s fourth-best defensive tackle, behind only Aaron Donald, Gerald McCoy, and Ndamukong Suh, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). PFF also ranked the Bills star as the NFL’s best run defender among defensive tackles, with a +20.7 grade.

East Notes: Richardson, Dareus, Cowboys

May 22nd, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

When PFR’s Zach Links passed along word earlier this week that Sheldon Richardson was absent from the Jets‘ practices, he noted that the defensive lineman probably wasn’t seeking a new contract, since he’s not even eligible to negotiate a new deal until after the season. That still appears to the case, and Richardson took to Twitter today to respond to critics, writing that he has “a life outside of football” and simply wanted to spend a little more time with his family.

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

  • While Richardson isn’t eligible for a new contract with the Jets, his fellow defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson is, and the addition of Leonard Williams in the draft has made that situation murky. Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap takes a closer look at Wilkerson’s contract, concluding that the standout defender would probably be able to earn a bigger contract outside of New York, and may end up being the odd man out with the Jets.
  • Marcell Dareus of the Bills is another AFC East defensive lineman seeking a contract extension, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Buffalo still wants to lock up Dareus to a long-term deal, preferably before training camp gets underway. Rapoport echoes something I wrote yesterday, suggesting that Dareus’ one-game suspension won’t have an adverse effect on extension talks.
  • We heard yesterday that the Cowboys worked out a number of free agent running backs, including Ben Tate, Felix Jones, and Daniel Thomas. According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the club also auditioned wide receivers B.J. Cunningham, Kris Durham, and Tommy Streeter.

Bills’ Marcell Dareus Suspended One Game

May 21st, 2015 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL announced today that All-Pro defensive tackle Marcell Dareus has been suspended for the first game of the 2015 season, as Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports tweets. Dareus’ suspension comes as a result of violating the league’s policy on substance abuse, relating to his 2014 arrest in Alabama. As Garafolo details (TwitLonger link), the standout Bills defender has issued a statement in the wake of the announcement:

“Last year, I made a mistake involving possession of a banned substance. The NFL’s discipline for this conduct is part of the drug policy, and I apologize to my family, my teammates, the entire Bills organization and Bills fans that I will miss one game as a result of my mistake. I will work intensely that week and will be extremely happy to contribute to a win in Week Two for the Bills.”

The timing isn’t great for Dareus, since he’s expected to try to hammer out a long-term contract extension with the Bills before the season gets underway. Still, the team likely anticipated that this suspension was coming, and GM Doug Whaley indicated earlier in the offseason that locking up Dareus to a long-term deal would be Buffalo’s No. 1 priority after the draft. This one-game ban shouldn’t change that.

If Dareus and the Bills aren’t able to reach an agreement on a multiyear contract before the season gets underway and his 2015 salary remains untouched, the suspension will cost him $474,118 in base salary. That’s 1/17th of his $8.06MM salary for the season.

AFC Links: Odrick, Lewis, Dareus, Titans

April 4th, 2015 at 6:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Deploying just seven position players that received positive grades from Pro Football Focus last season, the Jaguars have a steep climb back to contention. The fulcrum of that attempted ascent, however, could reside on their defensive front, with talent returning and incoming.

Two of the aforementioned septet came on the defensive line, Sen’Derrick Marks and Ryan Davis, and high-priced supplement Jared Odrick, who signed a five-year, $42.5MM contract on Day 2 of free agency, will add to this unit in a specific role, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

Jags defensive line coach Todd Wash expects to plug Odrick at their 4B spot, which is the bigger of the two defensive ends in Jacksonville’s 4-3 scheme, according to O’Halloran. Odrick played defensive tackle in the Dolphins’ 4-3 alignment last season and rated as PFF’s 19th-best interior lineman (subscription required) — two slots behind Marks. Odrick’s last season as a 4-3 end (2012), however, marked his worst as a pro. His previous work as an outside starter in a 3-4 scheme (2011) resulted in a career-best six sacks, half of which came in coverage, per O’Halloran.

Marks and Davis’ success came almost exclusively inside, making the edge a priority. The Jaguars could have their pick of ends Dante Fowler Jr. or Leonard Williams at No. 3 overall, depending on Marcus Mariota‘s potential to go at No. 2, providing a significant starting point in their rebuild.

  • Fowler will reportedly visit Jacksonville this week after his pro day in Gainesville, Fla., reports O’Halloran. The Jags probably won’t use all of their 30 permitted player visits but could exercise 20 of those meetings, O’Halloran reports.
  • Using Dashon Goldson‘s recent trade where the Bucs agreed to pick up the safety’s $4MM signing bonus in 2015 as he suits up for Washington, O’Halloran suggests this method as a way to make Marcedes Lewis a movable commodity for a potential late-round pick. No longer the starting tight end after the Jags signed Julius Thomas, Lewis is slated to count $8.2MM against the cap this year as Thomas accounts for $10.3MM of it — a league-high amount at the position, making the current arrangement unlikely to last.
  • In addition to a report earlier this week regarding Marcell Dareus‘ potential extension with the Bills, ESPN’s Josina Anderson hears the team will address this after the draft, although no offer has been sent yet (Twitter link).
  • The Titans could trade down if they don’t envision Mariota leading their offense or Williams chasing signal-callers, and The Tennesseean’s Jim Wyatt speculates wide-receiving help could arrive in that scenario in the form of Amari Cooper, Kevin White or DeVante Parker. ESPN’s Todd McShay has that trio going off the boardat Nos. 3, 7 and 10, respectively, in his latest mock draft (subscription required). The Titans selected current starter Kendall Wright in the first round in 2012.
  • While listing wideout, running back and starting right tackle as the team’s biggest needs, Wyatt envisions one of the top backs, Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon, as Titans targets at No. 34.

East Notes: Dareus, Bills, Eagles

March 30th, 2015 at 8:21pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills‘ top priority at this point would probably be hammering out an extension with defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, but the timetable on that isn’t 100% clear, as Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes. “In the near future,” GM Doug Whaley said when asked about when Dareus could get his new deal. “He will be priority No. 1 once the dust settles post-draft, maybe even before then, just to get the ball rolling.” The defensive tackle is one of the game’s best players at his position and after Ndamukong Suh‘s massive deal with the Dolphins, Buffalo will have to bring some serious bucks to the table. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..

  • The Bills could find that space to accommodate a deal for Dareus by restructuring their deal with defensive end Mario Williams. Williams is due to earn $19.4MM this year, $19.9 million next year, and $16.5 million in 2017. “He could free up the most and make it the most logical, because what we would do is not only restructure, but extend him similar to [what we did recently with defensive end] Kyle Williams, so these guys retire as Buffalo Bills,” Whaley said. “We want to set a precedent that we retain our own and we have them retire as Buffalo Bills. I think that’s a sentiment we’re trying to show the players on our roster now.”
  • While some have said that Miles Austin will be taking the spot of Brad Smith on the Eagles, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter) doesn’t feel that’s really the case. The versatile Smith was a key special teams contributor while Austin is likely being signed to be more of a pure wide receiver.
  • Sam Bradford‘s former coach Josh Heupel helped talk him out of quitting football, as Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Meanwhile, Heupel is confident that Bradford will shine with the Eagles. “If he’s 100 percent healthy,” Heupel said, “he’ll be able to perform at an elite level.”

AFC Links: Maclin, Dareus, Colts, Revis

March 28th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Ben Levine

Part of Jeremy Maclin‘s decision to join the Chiefs was surely based on the five year, $55MM contract (including $22.5MM guaranteed) he received. However, the wideout insists the move had nothing to do with the value of the contract (via Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com):

“It wasn’t really about money. Obviously you want to get paid because of all the stuff that you do. But it wasn’t necessarily about who could pay me the most money.”

Meanwhile, Eagles coach Chip Kelly acknowledged that he wanted Maclin to return to Philadelphia:

“We didn’t think there was another receiver in that price range in free agency. We were trying to get Mac back. Felt we gave him a real competitive offer. Kansas City offered him a lot more than we did. We just weren’t going to go that high.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

  • Marcell Dareus is in line for a big payday, and despite his previous issues off the field, Bills general manager Doug Whaley told ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak that the organization is comfortable with the defensive tackle’s maturation. “I think the maturity we saw this (past) year has us feeling that unless he has a relapse soon, that we’re pretty comfortable that he’s taking that step for him, as a professional, to be more professional,” Whaley said (via John Kryk of Canoe.ca). “He has taken those steps now.”
  • The Colts have made some notable moves this offseason, bringing in Frank Gore, Andre Johnson and Trent Cole. Still, as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star points out, the team has plenty of holes, including safety, defensive line and center. “It can’t be Christmas every day,” general manager Ryan Grigson said. “There’s not a forever, endless river of cash flowing. We have a plan. We followed it.”
  • Rodney Harrison knows a thing or two about elite defensive backs, and the two-time Super Bowl champion said the Patriots made the right move by not over-extending to keep Darrelle Revis. “Bill (Belichick), he’s not gonna sell the farm for Darrelle Revis,” Harrison said while appearing on NBC Sports Radio’s “Under Center with McNabb and Malone” (via Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com). “Darrelle, as good as he is, maybe in a year or two he won’t be quite the same player he was this past season for the New England Patriots. I believe that was the right move to make.”

 

Bills Rumors: Draft, QBs, Spikes, Dareus

March 24th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills are one of two teams – along with the Seahawks – without a first-round pick this year, and it doesn’t look like that will change. General manager Doug Whaley tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that his team has no plans to trade into the first round this spring. Whaley also weighed in on a number of other Bills-related topics today, so let’s check out the highlights….

  • Trade speculation has been swirling around veteran quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Philip Rivers lately, but Whaley hasn’t been contacted by the Saints or Chargers, and hasn’t reached out to either team, about those signal-callers, tweets Rodak. Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) independently confirms, via multiple sources, that the Bills aren’t pursuing Rivers at all, though he cautions that could change if the San Diego QB nears free agency next year.
  • Whaley intends to get in touch with linebacker Brandon Spikes next week, and isn’t ruling out a potential return to Buffalo for the veteran free agent (Twitter link via Rodak).
  • While the Bills may be willing to make Spikes a modest offer, they don’t have much flexibiity to go higher than the minimum. Whaley, on the team’s remaining cap space: “We’re tapped out. [We’re] at the point now where we’ve got to save for the draft choices and injury replacements” (Twitter link via Carucci).
  • Asked by Rodak if he’s concerned that Ndamukong Suh‘s monster contract could set a precedent for Marcell Dareus‘ next deal, Whaley replied with an emphatic “yes” (Twitter link).

AFC Links: Dareus, Ravens, Bortles, Raiders

July 20th, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was placed on the active/non-football injury list yesterday, and today we have learned the reason: Dareus has yet to pass a conditioning test, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Dareus has had a tumultuous offseason — he was arrested in both May and June, and could face an NFL suspension. His 2015 fifth-year option was exercised, but the pair of legal incidents, combined with a failure to stay in shape, could conceivably dissuade Buffalo from offering the 2011 third overall pick a contract extension. More from the AFC:

  • 2013 wasn’t as kind to the Ravens as was 2012, but Lardarius Webb is more optimistic about 2014.“Oh yeah, my team is going to bounce back,” Webb told Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “Last year wasn’t that bad. A lot of people want to say it was bad just because we didn’t make the playoffs. We don’t usually not make the playoffs…There were a few games that left us out of the playoffs. We just have to learn from it. We have some young guys, and we just have to keep growing up with all those guys. I like where we’re at and we just have to keep on going.”
  • Wilson’s colleague at the Sun, Jeff Zrebiec, previews the Ravens’ defensive line, and believes Baltimore will keep seven players at the position group.
  • In an interview with Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley allows that rookie quarterback Blake Bortles has a chance to start a preseason game. “It would be late [in the preseason] if he did, and we’ll see how things go,” said Bradley. “We’re really excited about Chad [Henne] and what he’s going to do so we’ll see how it goes with him until that fourth preseason game.”
  • The Raiders want to implement a run-heavy offense in 2014, and Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com previews an offensive line that will need to improve if Oakland is to succeed in that goal.

AFC Notes: Bills, Patriots, Broncos, Texans

July 19th, 2014 at 9:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s see what’s going on around the AFC on this Saturday evening…

AFC East Notes: Jets, Dolphins, Bills

July 1st, 2014 at 12:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Jets legend Joe Namath will not be purchasing a Geno Smith jersey in the foreseeable future. Talking to New York’s WFAN, Namath didn’t sound too impressed with the second-year player. Via Darryl Slater of The Star-Ledger…

“I can’t evaluate Geno other than what I’ve heard from his coaches. I don’t see anything outstanding about him. He’s not an outstanding passer. He’s not an outstanding runner. He’s good, but nothing jumps out at me with intangibles that I’m not aware of because I’m not there on an everyday (basis).

“I haven’t seen anything really extra special from Geno, and that’s not to be negative at all. The guy performed really darn well on a professional level against guys that were so much better than he’s ever played against. The upside of Geno is going to be strong. The upside is grasping his offense versus the defenses he sees.

“Just looking at him physically, what’s outstanding about his running ability? What’s outstanding about his passing ability? Nothing to me is outstanding about it, but it’s pretty good.”

Here’s some more news from the AFC East…

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