HEADLINES

Marcell Dareus

AFC Notes: Louis, Dareus, Thomas, Taylor

June 7th, 2014 at 10:35am CST by Matt Feminis

With Donald Thomas injured, Lance Louis, who hasn’t played since November 2012 because of a torn ACL injury, is working as the Colts’ first-team left guard, shares ESPN’s Mike Wells. Louis appeared to be an emerging talent in 2012 when he started the first 11 games for the Bears, and Colts GM Ryan Grigson took notice: “I was sitting watching the Bears (on tape) with Tom Telesco when we were preparing for them. I look at the tape and I said, ‘Who’s No. 60?’ I look him up in the system and the guy ran a 4.72 (40-yard dash) at 309 (pounds) coming out of San Diego State. He was faster than some of the receivers who are going to go in the second round this year. So, we’re watching that and we’re thinking, in free agency, this guy is going to break the bank because he’s the best player on their line. He gets his knee blown out and things change. We stayed on him all (last) year and the knee’s fine now and we have him here for two years. Hopefully he gets back to that level of play where he’s a good starter. He’s a guy who is completely off the radar who we’re optimistic about.”

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • A pair of off-season arrests for Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus has thrown his long-term stability into question, prompting Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio (highlighted on the web by Pro Football Talk) to ask head coach Doug Marrone if Dareus “gets it.” The coach’s response? “That’s a good question.”
  • Steelers 6-4, 330-pound defensive lineman Cam Thomas, who signed a two-year, $4MM deal in March, is working at nose tackle and five-technique, writes Mark Kaboly of Triblive.com.
  • Dolphins cornerback Jamar Taylor, a 2013 second-rounder, played just 40 snaps as a rookie after a pre-draft kidney ailment and subsequent sports hernia affected him. He’s healthy now and competing with Cortland Finnegan and Will Davis for available playing time between the No. 2 corner and nickel back jobs, writes ESPN’s James Walker, who also notes the Dolphins got just 1,126 snaps by their rookies last year, third-fewest in the league.
  • It was a tale of two seasons for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper in 2013, writes ESPN’s Adam Teicher, who identifies Cooper as a young player who must improve. A seventh-rounder claimed on waivers, Cooper immediately “looked like he belonged,” earned the third cornerback job and “played better than either of the two starters for the first half of the season,” according to Teicher. However, Cooper’s play deteriorated during the second half of the season and he was demoted. At 6-2, 192 pounds, Cooper has the dimensions and physical tools the Chiefs desire, but the team needs more consistency out of him.
  • Because of free-agent departures, there’s competition for jobs up and down the Chiefs roster, details AP writer Dave Skretta.
  • MarQueis Gray, an undrafted college quarterback out of Minnesota, converted to tight end and stuck with the Browns last season, appearing in 12 games (two starts). The team is again tapping into his versatility, this time trying him at fullback, according to George M. Thomas in the Beacon Journal.

AFC East Notes: Marino, Dareus, Patriots

June 2nd, 2014 at 7:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino has joined 14 former players in suing the NFL, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. In an 18-page complaint, the litigants claim that the league withheld ” information about football-related brain injuries and misled players,” allegations that the NFL has long denied. Marino, who retired in 1999, had been a broadcaster with CBS’ The NFL Today from 2002 until January 2014, leading Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post to wonder (via Twitter) if Marino would have been involved in the lawsuit had his relationship with CBS (and tangentially, the NFL) not been terminated.

More news from the AFC East:

  • Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, already facing felony charges in Alabama stemming from a May incident, was arrested last week and charged on seven counts regarding a car race, according to James Staas of the Buffalo News. Dareus, whose 2015 option was exercised in April, could face an NFL suspension. This latest episode could also dissuade the Bills from offering Dareus an extension; in February, Buffalo general manager Doug Whaley said a new deal was “on the radar,” but perhaps not a priority.
  • The Bills have several options regarding Dareus, writes ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak, which include releasing the Pro Bowler immediately (unlikely), releasing him following the 2014 season (his 2015 option is guaranteed for injury only) or allowing him to play out his contract.
  • ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss and Field Yates offer opinions on several complementary free agents who have been linked to the Patriots, opining that New England should sign linebacker James Anderson and tight end Dustin Keller, while passing on tight end Jermichael Finley (who visited the team last week) and running back Michael Bush.
  • New Dolphins running back Knowshon Moreno appears to be out of shape at OTAs, and is playing behind Lamar Miller, writes James Walker of ESPN.com.
  • Walker, in a series of tweets, adds that free agent signee Louis Delmas is happy with the Dolphins’ roster: “I see a group of guys that want to win. We don’t have any 14- or 15-year vets on the team,” said Delmas. “This is a very young group that’s determined to get better each and every day. I plan on being a part of that.”

Bills Exercise Option On Marcell Dareus

April 25th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have picked up the fifth-year option for 2015 on former first-round choice Marcell Dareus, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Bills GM Doug Whaley recently said that a contract extension for the defensive tackle was “on the radar,” but he’s apparently content to wait things out.

As shown in our 2015 Fifth-Year Option Tracker, Dareus will earn $10.633MM in his final year under the current contract. Dareus was taken with the No. 3 overall pick and as someone chosen in the top ten, his 2015 salary matches the 2014 transition tag salary for his position.

The 24-year-old hasn’t missed a game over the course of his three-year career and, statistically, last season was his best yet. In 16 starts, Dareus racked up 45 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and three pass deflections.

Bills Notes: QBs, Johnson, Dareus, Williams

February 23rd, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Rory Parks

Although it is unusual for a team’s general manager to make definitive statements at this time of year, Bills GM Doug Whaley made it clear that his club will not take a quarterback with its first-round pick, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak. Starting quarterback E.J. Manuel was the only quarterback selected in the first round of last year’s draft, which boasted a weak class of QBs. Given the more talented group of quarterbacks in the 2014 class, and given that Manuel suffered his third knee injury in December, there has been speculation that the Bills would take a QB in the first round for the second consecutive year. Whaley, however, indicated that the Bills would not go in that direction.

More notes out of Buffalo:

  • Wide receiver Stevie Johnson‘s future with the team is uncertain, given that he is due a sizable roster bonus in March. However, head coach Doug Marrone has reached out to Johnson to assure him that the team still wants him. As Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reported, there was some disconnect between Johnson and the Bills’ coaching staff last season, and his “act” was wearing thin among his teammates.
  • Whaley says that a contract extension for defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is “on the radar,” but it does not sound as though it is a priority right now. Since Dareus was a first-round pick under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Bills hold a team option on him for the 2015 season.
  • Although defensive end Mario Williams will cost the Bills a hefty $18.8MM cap hit in 2014, Whaley indicated that he has no intention of restructuring Williams’ deal at this time.
  • In a separate piece for the Buffalo News, Graham indicates that the Bills met with Jairus Byrd‘s agent on Saturday and that the team still hopes to sign Byrd to a long-term deal.