Marcus Cannon - Pro Football Rumors

Patriots Notes: Jones, Hightower, Ebner, Hogan

February 28th, 2016 at 2:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots have filled the vacancy created when Bob Quinn left for the Lions, as Dave Ziegler has been promoted to director of pro personnel, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Ziegler, 38, had spent the past three year’s as Quinn’s No. 2, and previously worked for the Broncos under current New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Here’s a bit more on the Patriots…

New England has an impressive crop of players entering the final year of their contracts, as Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and Malcolm Butler — among others — will be free agents after the 2016 season. But the club hadn’t initiated extension talks with any of those players as of Friday, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The Patriots might begin contract conversations after free agency concludes, per Volin, but Hightower, for his part, appears likely to play out the season on his fifth-year option without coming to a long-term agreement.
Receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell are both potential cap casualties, but the Patriots haven’t “tipped their hand” about their plans for the pass-catchers, writes Volin. Additionally, offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon, also though to be on the roster bubble, aren’t sure of their status.
The Patriots want to retain free agent defensive back Nate Ebner — a special-teams ace — but the team is playing “hardball” at the moment, and hopes that it can re-sign Ebner for the veteran’s minimum.
Defensive tackle Alan Branch‘s $400K option bonus is due on the third day of the new league year, according to Reiss. If he’s retained, the 31-year-old Branch is due to count $2.75MM against New England’s cap.
The Patriots have a history of targeting restricted free agents — both those who are tendered by their clubs and those who aren’t — and one such player who might interest New England this offseason is Bills receiver Chris Hogan, per Reiss, who notes that Buffalo may not tender Hogan due to its salary cap restraints.

East Notes: L. Johnson, Patriots, Bills, Cowboys

January 30th, 2016 at 6:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although perennial Pro Bowler Jason Peters currently mans left tackle in Philadelphia, the Eagles‘ extension of Lane Johnson indicates that the club clearly views him at its left tackle of the future. Johnson’s new deal, which locks him up through 2021, makes him the highest-paid right tackle in the league, and would put on him par with the most well-compensated left tackles, as well. For his part, Johnson agrees that his time on the blindside will come eventually.

“I think that’s what they drafted me for,” Johnson tells Zach Berman of Philly.com. “Obviously, Jason Peters is probably the best tackle of all time. One of them. Him and Walter Jones, in my opinion. Having him here, he’s taught me so much. I’m going to continue to [play right tackle] until that time comes.”

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

The Patriots‘ offensive struggles were on full display during the AFC Championship Game, and the club will have some work to do to improve the unit in 2016. But one lineman who is unlikely to be retained is swing tackle Marcus Cannon, whom Matt Dolloff of CBS Boston believes will be a salary cap casualty. Releasing Cannon would save New England about $3.69MM (the Patriots currently project to have only ~$4MM in 2016 cap space).
If the Patriots opt to make outside additions to its offensive line, someone like Browns right tackle Mitchell Schwartz will probably be outside of their comfort level financially. But Chiefs free agent Jeff Allen would be more affordable, and as Dolloff notes, Allen’s ability to play both guard and tackle could be intriguing to Bill Belichick.
Free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham clearly won’t be a priority for the Bills as they seek to re-sign Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, who predicts that Bradham won’t return to Buffalo if he asks for $4-5MM annually. One potential replacement could be Jets linebacker Demario Davis, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com, who says Buffalo could circle back to Davis after the first wave of free agency.
While reports have indicated that Johnny Manziel — who is in the news again for an off-field incident — would like to play for the Cowboys, Todd Archer of ESPN.com doesn’t think it would be a good move. Returning to the state where he is the biggest celebrity would not be a positive for the 23-year-old, opines Archer.

East Notes: Carr, RGIII, Cannon

June 1st, 2015 at 6:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In a series of several tweets, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram checks in on the Brandon Carr situation in Dallas, writing that the Cowboys haven’t approached the cornerback’s agent recently about a possible pay cut. The team did so earlier in the offseason, but was rebuffed, and now it seems as if Carr may head into the 2015 season with his contract unchanged. According to Hill, nothing is set in stone yet, but Carr has talked to the media about the issue more than he’s talked to the team about it.

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

Speaking at the team’s charity golf tournament on Monday, Washington president Bruce Allen touched on a handful of topics, calling the decision to pick up Robert Griffin III‘s fifth-year option a “no-brainer,” according to Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. Allen also said that DeSean Jackson‘s absence from the club’s OTAs isn’t a concern (link via Scott Allen of the Washington Post), and suggested that Washington is still keeping an eye on players to acquire (link via ESPN.com’s John Keim).
According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Marcus Cannon‘s contract with the Patriots includes a $35K weight bonus — to earn that bonus, the offensive lineman must be under 345 pounds today.
A first-round pick in 2012, wide receiver A.J. Jenkins has been traded by the 49ers and cut by the Chiefs, and now hopes his third team is the charm. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com writes that Jenkins is grateful for the opportunity he’s getting from the Cowboys, who signed him last week.

Patriots Notes: Salary Cap, Brady, Cannon

December 13th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Rob DiRe

The Patriots still have $5.9MM in cap space this season, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He writes that they will likely lose some of that after incentives this season, but will likely roll the rest over into next season.

Here are some more notes surrounding the Patriots financials:

Assuming the Patriots do not cut Tom Brady before Week 17 (a pretty safe assumption by Volin), his base salaries for the next three years become fully guaranteed (via Twitter). This seemed like a bigger deal in early October.
Volin also came up with a few details on Marcus Cannon‘s extension (via Twitter). He writes that the $3.2MM signing bonus will be split over three seasons, and he will have base salaries of $1.2MM and $3.4MM the next two seasons.
For those looking at a more in-depth look of the Cannon extension, Field Yates of ESPN.com provides a comprehensive breakdown of how the contract is structured.

Pats, Marcus Cannon Agree To Extension

December 11th, 2014 at 8:12pm CST by Zachary Links

8:12pm: The deal includes a $3.2MM signing bonus, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (via Twitter).

7:38pm: The two-year pact is worth $9MM, according to Schefter.

6:47pm: The Patriots have signed offensive lineman Marcus Cannon to a two-year contract extension, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Financial terms of the deal are not yet known.

Cannon has served as the Pats’ third offensive tackle this season, giving New England depth behind starting left tackle Nate Solder and starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. As Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) rightly notes, Nate Solder is due a fifth-year option that will significantly raise his base salary for 2015. With Cannon in the fold, the Pats have extra flexibility. It also stands to reason that the Pats could look to move on from Solder regardless of cost due to his inconsistent play. Solder has graded out as an average pass blocker and a rather abysmal run blocker this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In total, Solder’s play has given him an overall score of -4.1, good for just 41st out of all qualified tackles in 2014.

The 26-year-old was set to hit the open market after the 2014 season. Cannon’s previous deal paid him just $743K this past season, so his next two years should see a bit of a pay raise.

Pats Notes: Brady, Gronk, O-Line

September 28th, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Rory Parks

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes that, although the league’s quarterbacks have seen a general uptick in overall statistical performance through the first three weeks of the 2014 season–standard small sample size disclaimers apply–those numbers are not being driven by the traditionally elite signal-callers. Among the under-performing big names is the Patriots’ Tom Brady, who as Volin notes, has produced “head-scratchingly bad” statistics.

Those stats include a 58.8 completion percentage, 5.5 yards per attempt, and 210.7 passing yards per game. There are, of course, reasons for those numbers: Brady is clearly uncomfortable throwing the ball downfield and has little faith in his receivers and his offensive line. Nonetheless, Brady will, as Volin points out, have to pick up the slack if the team is to make its yearly run to the playoffs, even though the AFC East is shaping up to be just as weak as it always is.

Here are a few more Patriots tidbits to pass along this morning:

Speaking of Brady’s struggles, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald writes that analysts like Trent Dilfer and Matt Hasselbeck point out the flaws in the Patriots’ roster to explain some of Brady’s problems, along with Brady’s increasing penchant to take the safe throw rather than force the issue. Nonetheless, both believe that Brady will be able to overcome his early-season woes and put up solid numbers yet again.
One thing that would certainly help a Brady resurgence is the continued good health of Rob Gronkowski. Phil Perry of CSNNewEngland.com observes that Gronkowski should be able to become the middle-of-the-field threat that the team needs him to be sooner rather than later, which would open up the passing game for the rest of the team’s receiving corps.
As noted above, the offensive line has been a big problem for New England. Adam Kurkjian of the Boston Herald writes that the Pats will go into Monday’s game against Kansas City with Nate Solder at left tackle, Bryan Stork at center, Dan Connolly at right guard and Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle. Kurkjian notes that left guard remains unsettled, with Marcus Cannon and Ryan Wendell as possibilities. Perry has the same suggestion in a video post.

AFC Notes: Shorts, Cameron, Patriots

June 8th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Rory Parks

In addition to having a delightful name, Jaguars‘ receiver Cecil Shorts has been one of the few bright spots on the club over the past couple of seasons. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times Union examines the recent extension that Doug Baldwin signed with the Seahawks, and wonders if a similar contract would make sense for Shorts, who will become a free agent at the end of the 2014 season.

O’Halloran concludes that if Jacksonville were to offer Shorts a contract resembling the one that Baldwin received–the Seahawks added two years to Baldwin’s contract to create a three-year, $13MM with $8MM guaranteed–Shorts should jump at the opportunity. Both players have put up similar numbers during their three years in the league, but considering that the Jaguars drafted highly-touted receivers Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee last month, and given that rookie quarterback Blake Bortles will probably find himself under center at some point this season, Shorts’ stats may take a hit. This is not to mention the fact that Shorts has frequently been able to bolster his numbers in garbage time, when the Jaguars were forced to throw the football and opposing teams were willing to let them eat up big but meaningless chunks of yardage. If the Jaguars are more competitive this season, as they expect to be, those opportunities would decrease.

On the other hand, Shorts is doubtlessly a talented and sometimes electric playmaker, so he certainly could eclipse the 1,000-yard mark and drive up his price, particularly if he is able to stay healthy. As such, both sides would do well to consider an extension, and we will see if they enter into talks as we move closer to training camp.

Now a quick look at the AFC:

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com observes that, for the time being, Danny Amendola looks like the player that the Patriots thought they were getting when they signed him to a big free agent deal last year.
Staying on the subject of the Patriots, Christopher Price of WEEI.com notes that the team is “taking it slowly” with the tackle position. Starters Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer have been limited this spring, so the team has been working out Marcus Cannon on the left side of the line and Jordan Devey on the right. Price notes that New England could be on the lookout for depth at tackle, especially since June 1 has come and gone.
Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com notes that Browns tight end Jordan Cameron‘s already-impressive numbers stand to improve in Kyle Shanahan‘s offense and in the absence of Josh Gordon, and that improvement–along with Cameron’s recent changing of agents–should make any long-term negotiations between the two parties very interesting.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains why the Steelers, to the surprise of many, waited until the fifth round of last month’s draft to select a corner. In short, the team believes Antwon Blake and Brice McCain have a great deal to offer should the opportunity arise.
Mike Klis of the Denver Post reexamines the 2011 draft-day trade between the Broncos and 49ers that landed Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco and Rahim Moore, Quinton Carter, and Julius Thomas in Denver.