HEADLINES

Marquis Flowers

South Rumors: Falcons, Buccaneers, Morgan

October 15th, 2018 at 4:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons will be looking for a new kicker for temporary purposes. Matt Bryant will miss Atlanta’s Week 7 Monday night game, Dan Quinn said. The longtime Falcons kicker is dealing with a strained hamstring, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, who adds Giorgio Tavecchio is among the names the Falcons are considering as a replacement. Tavecchio was briefly affiliated with the Falcons earlier this year, but Bryant’s kicked in all six Falcon games in his 10th season with the franchise. He hasn’t missed a game since he was limited to 11 appearances in 2015. Tavecchio will be among “a number of kickers” considered during the lead-up to the Falcons’ home Monday-nighter against the Giants.

Here’s the latest from the South divisions, continuing on the Atlanta injury front:

  • Another week of recovery will likely be required for Devonta Freeman, per McClure. The Falcons’ starting running back is has dealt with knee and foot trouble and now has a groin issue to overcome. Atlanta’s gotten by with Tevin Coleman and newcomer Ito Smith in the backfield.
  • Ali Marpet became the latest Buccaneers starter to sign a lucrative extension, joining Mike Evans and Cameron Brate in doing so this year. More re-ups could be on track. Kwon Alexander and the Bucs are still talking an extension, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. While Stroud writes it’s uncertain if the Bucs want to pay Alexander like a top-tier linebacker — they have Lavonte David on the books at $10MM per year — he’s on the radar. As is fourth-year left tackle Donovan Smith, who’s in a contract year. Despite rarely being viewed as a productive player by Pro Football Focus, Smith is well thought of among Bucs brass, per Stroud. Adam Humphries is another player the Bucs would like to retain, though they have a crowded receiver room. Chris Godwin‘s emerged as Tampa Bay’s No. 3 man and may be Evans’ top complement if DeSean Jackson ($10MM non-guaranteed salary in 2019) isn’t back next year. Humphries’ contract expires after this season.
  • Derrick Morgan will miss a few weeks because of a shoulder injury, Mike Vrabel said. A ninth-year player who dealt with a knee injury during the preseason, Morgan has played in all six Titans games this year and has only missed more than two games in a season once in the past eight years. Harold Landry will likely start opposite Brian Orakpo in the meantime.
  • Stationed on the Texans‘ PUP list, D’Onta Foreman can return to practice this week but probably won’t, per Bill O’Brien (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, on Twitter). Foreman’s been out since late last season because of an Achilles’ tendon tear.
  • Braden Smith appears to have solidified himself as the Colts‘ right tackle. Indianapolis went through several players in hopes of identifying a candidate, but Frank Reich said Monday (via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells, on Twitter) this job will be Smith’s to lose. Smith’s started three games for the Colts this season.
  • Former Lions, Patriots and Bengals linebacker Marquis Flowers worked out for the Texans on Monday, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com tweets. The Lions cut Flowers last week. He played in 16 games for the Bengals in 2015 and ’16 and suited up for all 19 of the Patriots’ games last year.

Lions Claim Pipkins, Cut Flowers

October 10th, 2018 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have claimed cornerback Lenzy Pipkins off of waivers from the Colts, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, the Lions have cut veteran linebacker Marquis Flowers.

Pipkins, an Oklahoma State product, appeared in 12 games for the Packers last season. He started out the 2018 season on the Colts’ practice squad, but earned a promotion in early October and actually started in his lone game with the varsity squad, a 38-24 loss against the Patriots in primetime.

Flowers is out of work, but he’s no stranger to the transactions wire. This offseason, he missed the Pats’ final cut before reuniting with old defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in Detroit.

Flowers mostly played special teams for the Bengals in 2016, but he saw time on 361 snaps for the Patriots in 2017. The 26-year-old finished out the regular season with 30 tackles and 3.5 sacks and even started in two games. In the playoffs, he added another six tackles and one sack.

Lions, Quandre Diggs Agree To Extension

September 3rd, 2018 at 8:19am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Lions are locking up safety Quandre Diggs, signing him to a three-year extension according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Diggs played just five games at safety last season, but Rapoport says “Detroit really liked what they saw” in those five games. The extension is worth $20.4MM. Starting his career as a cornerback, Diggs was taken in the sixth round out of Texas back in 2015 and was heading into the final year of his rookie contract.

Diggs started four games in each of his first two seasons before starting 11 last year. He’s received solid marks from Pro Football Focus throughout his career, and apparently impressed new coach Matt Patricia during their short time together.

The Lions were busy this morning, also signing former Patriot Marquis Flowers. Flowers will now be reunited with Patricia. Flowers was a reserve in New England but ended up making a couple of starts down the stretch in 2017. He was originally drafted by the Bengals in 2014 before being traded to the Patriots.

Patriots Make Roster Cuts

September 1st, 2018 at 5:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots are the latest team to move to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Placed on injured reserve:

Cut:

New England kept only three true wide receivers on its initial roster, meaning the club will almost surely be searching for more options on the waiver wire.

Contract Details: Richardson, Fluker, Pats

March 26th, 2018 at 5:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Some details on recent free agent deals:

  • Sheldon Richardson, DT (Vikings): One year, $7MM deal. $7.8MM guaranteed ($5.8MM base + $2MM signing bonus). $200K workout bonus. Incentives up to $3MM, but categorized as Not Likely To Be Earned (NLBTE) for cap purposes (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune).
  • D.J. Fluker, OL (Seahawks): One year, $1.5MM deal. $300K guaranteed. Cap charge of $1.37MM (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
  • Marquis Flowers, LB (Patriots): One year, $2.55MM deal. $1.05MM base salary. $200K signing bonus. Up to $400K in roster bonuses plus $50K workout bonus. Incentives package: $100K for playing 30% of the defensive snaps, $300K for 40%, $550K for 50%, and $800K for 60% (In 2017, Flowers played 26 percent of the defensive snaps) (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).

Patriots Re-Sign LB Marquis Flowers

March 22nd, 2018 at 8:52am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are re-signing linebacker Marquis Flowers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal worth up to $2.55MM.

The Patriots acquired Flowers just prior to last year’s 53-man deadline. The linebacker was not going to make the Bengals’ final cut, so Cincinnati shipped him to New England in exchange for a conditional seventh-rounder.

Flowers mostly played special teams for the Bengals in 2016, but he saw time on 361 snaps for the Patriots in 2017. Flowers finished out the regular season with 30 tackles and 3.5 sacks and even started in two games. In the playoffs, he added another six tackles and one sack.

The Patriots lost several key free agents this offseason, but they have largely kept their special teams unit in tact with new deals for Matt Slater, Nate Ebner, Brandon Bolden, Brandon King, and Flowers. Johnson Bademosi left to sign a deal with the Texans, but he has been replaced by Cordarrelle Patterson.

Patriots, Bengals Complete Trade

August 29th, 2017 at 8:37am CST by Zachary Links

With the 53-man deadline creeping up, the Bengals and Patriots have completed a trade. The deal will sent linebacker Marquis Flowers to New England in exchange for a seventh-round pick, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Marquis Flowers (vertical)

The pending Vontaze Burfict suspension seemingly opened up a roster spot for Flowers, but that’s apparently not the case. Instead, the former sixth-round pick has been shipped off for some late-round draft capital in 2018.

The 25-year-old appeared in all 16 of the Bengals’ regular season games as a rookie in 2014, but he missed all of 2015 with a shoulder injury. Last year, he bounced back with another perfect attendance record, but he played primarily on special teams.

Owczarski now expects undrafted rookie free agent Hardy Nickerson to make the Bengals’ 53-man roster for Week 1.

Draft Signings: Vikings, Chiefs, Eagles, Jags

May 21st, 2014 at 10:50pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re dedicating full posts to first- and second-round picks who sign their rookie contracts, but we’ll be recapping the remaining mid-to-late round signings in posts like this one. Here are the latest draftees to agree to terms with the clubs that selected them earlier in May:

  • Vikings third round pick Scott Crichton tweeted out a picture of himself signing his rookie deal. The Oregon State defensive end racked up 22.5 career sacks in three seasons. With Crichton in the fold, Minnesota has just one unsigned rookie remaining: third-round running back Jerick McKinnon.
  • The Chiefs have signed fifth-round quarterback Aaron Murray, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Kansas City is now one player away from locking up its modest six-player draft class, with only first-rounder Dee Ford left to sign.
  • Fifth-round safety Ed Reynolds has agreed to terms with the Eagles on his four-year rookie contract, the club announced today (via Twitter). The Stanford product is in line for a signing bonus worth about $184K, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
  • The Jaguars have also signed a fifth-round pick, securing defensive end Chris Smith, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. Smith went three spots ahead of Reynolds, at 159th overall, meaning he figures to receive a slightly larger bonus of about $187K.
  • The Bengals inked a pair of draft picks today, signing sixth-round linebacker Marquis Flowers and seventh-round wideout James Wright to four-year deals, says Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Flowers and Wright are the first two draftees that have reached agreements with the Bengals so far this month.