Marshawn Lynch - Pro Football Rumors

Cole’s Latest: Lynch, Carroll, Chargers, Lacy

January 19th, 2016 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

In a series of videos today for Bleacher Report, Jason Cole tackled a handful of notable topics from around the NFL. Here’s the latest from Cole:

The Seahawks would like to bring back running back Marshawn Lynch in 2016, since the team feels he’s still capable of big-time production. However, Seattle isn’t interested in retaining Beast Mode at his current $9MM base salary and $11.5MM cap hit, says Cole (video link). The club will explore the possibility of a pay cut – perhaps lowering Lynch’s base salary and adding incentives to his deal – but if the two sides aren’t making much progress, Seattle may eventually have to cut the standout running back.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is currently signed through 2016, but it’s unclear what his future holds after that. If Carroll wants to continue his coaching career, I’d expect Seattle to try to keep him around, but Cole suggests that the Rams – and the Chargers, if they move to L.A. – could make a play for the former USC head coach (video link).
Speaking of those Chargers, they’re still a little apprehensive about dealing with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, but the NFL has been encouraging Dean Spanos‘s franchise to take advantage of the opportunity to move to Los Angeles, according to Cole (video link). The league believes that the basic deal it has outlined for the Chargers would allow the team to make more money in L.A. than it would if it remained in San Diego.
Not that we needed to be told, but Cole cites Packers sources who say running back Eddie Lacy looked “sluggish” during his 61-yard run against Arizona, adding that the team was disappointed with Lacy’s lack of development and fitness level this season. There’s major uncertainty surrounding Lacy’s future with the franchise, says Cole (video link).

King’s Latest: Chiefs, Steelers, Packers, Lynch

January 18th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the weekend’s divisional playoff games, Peter King of TheMMQB.com takes a look at what’s next for the four teams eliminated from the postseason, and passes along several notable tidbits. Here are the highlights:

Odds are that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will promote quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy to replace Doug Pederson as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, says King. Brad Childress has been viewed as a candidate for that job as well.
With Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali eligible for free agency, King expects the Chiefs to retain one of those two players, at most — the team is more likely to spend on its free agent defensive backs, Sean Smith and Eric Berry.
Michael Vick doesn’t appear to be in the Steelers‘ plans going forward, so the team should bring in a backup quarterback to challenge Landry Jones, King suggests. The MMQB scribe would also like to see Pittsburgh use a high draft choice on a tight end.
With Jordy Nelson back next year and the Packers developing some promising young receivers, James Jones may be a luxury that GM Ted Thompson decides he can’t afford. King writes that Green Bay also needs to invest in a pass rusher and perhaps draft Eddie Lacy‘s replacement.
“Even the most ardent Marshawn Lynch fan has to see it’s over for him,” according to King, who suggests that the Seahawks are likely to cut their longtime running back to create cap room for other core players.

Extra Points: Dolphins, Chargers, Lynch, Lions

January 9th, 2016 at 12:52pm CST by Ben Levine

When reports came out earlier today regarding Adam Gase being hired as the Dolphins head coach, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Bengals defensive back’s coach Vance Joseph was expected to join the staff as Miami’s new defensive coordinator. However, Rapoport later clarified (via Twitter) that Joseph will be a target, but no deal has been finalized. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that Joseph has had zero discussions with the Dolphins regarding the position.

If Joseph does end up joining Gase’s staff, he’s expected to hire several notable names. Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez tweets that Bengals linebackers coach Matt Burke, Bears defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, and Cowboys defensive back’s coach Jerome Henderson would presumably join Joseph’s staff.

Meanwhile, Albert Breer tweets that Hue Jackson is scheduled to have his interviews with the 49ers and Browns tomorrow. If he secures any of those head coaching jobs, Breer believes Joseph will be a target to become defensive coordinator (with Mike Solari an option at offensive coordinator).

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

The Chargers request to interview Buccaneers defensive line coach Joe Cullen was denied, tweets Fox Sports’ Mike Garafalo.
Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times gives a list of reasons why it’d be in the Seahawks best interest to move on from Marshawn Lynch (via Twitter): they’d save $6.5MM against the cap, he’s 30-years-old, and he only appeared in seven games this season.
The Jets, Browns, Texans and Rams are among the teams scouting North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz at today’s FCS title game, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter).
Count Gil Brandt among those who are big fans of new Lions general manager Bob Quinn. “He’s not one of these guys that’s known because he doesn’t seek out jobs,” Brandt told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But he knows the personnel part of it, he knows the cap part of it. He knows how to make people better at the job they do. You’ll like this guy because … he’s a hustler, and he’s very low-key.”

Extra Points: Dolphins, Lynch, Giants, Browns

January 1st, 2016 at 10:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

As the Dolphins get their head coaching search under way, the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero lists a slew of candidates. Chip Kelly, Todd Haley, Josh McDaniels, Jim L. Mora, Jim Schwartz and Hue Jackson are those with NFL head coaching experience. The potential first-timers consist of three offensive coordinators – Carolina’s Mike Shula, son of legendary ex-Dolphins coach Don Shula, as well as Chicago’s Adam Gase and Tampa’s Dirk Koetter. The Dolphins are looking for a leader of men capable of assembling a great staff, according to Salguero.

More from around the league as the first day of 2016 wraps up:

Welcome news for the Seahawks as the playoffs near: Running back Marshawn Lynch should return to practice Monday, head coach Pete Carroll said (link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta). Lynch has been out since mid-November because of abdominal surgery.
Sunday could be head coach Tom Coughlin‘s last game with the Giants. The same holds true for a pair of the club’s defensive institutions, writes Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, as end Jason Pierre-Paul and cornerback Prince Amukamara are both pending free agents. “I’d be lying if I said it’s never come up in my head or someone has never brought it up to me,” said Amukamara, whom the Giants chose in the first round of the 2011 draft. Amukmara added that he’d like to remain a Giant. “I love the organization, definitely treated first class here, so it’s been great.’’ There’s no word on whether the Giants want to retain Amukamara, but there was a report Thursday that they are hoping to keep Pierre-Paul, a 2010 first-rounder.
Browns pass rusher Paul Kruger indicated Thursday that the team’s coaching staff hasn’t deployed him properly this year. “Personally, I probably wouldn’t say so. I don’t have too much more to say about it, and I don’t put everything personally this year on that, but I don’t think I was utilized in the best way,” he opined, per Jeff Schudel of the Morning-Journal. Kruger has just 27 tackles and 2.5 sacks, his lowest total since 2010, though Schudel notes that he’s second in the league in quarterback hurries (33, up from 18 in 2014). Assuming Kruger’s with the Browns next season, he’ll probably work under a different staff than the one with which he’s currently disenchanted, as head coach Mike Pettine and coordinator Jim O’Neil are both on the outs.

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Holmgren, Freeney

December 29th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

For the second consecutive year, veteran NFL coach Mike Holmgren has expressed interest in the 49ers‘ head coaching job, a source tells Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Holmgren said back in July that when he reached out to the Niners last winter, the team conveyed to him that it wanted someone younger. For Holmgren to get an opportunity in San Francisco, the club would have to change that stance, and would also have to part ways with current coach Jim Tomsula.

Let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFC West…

Nose tackle Ian Williams likely ranks as the 49ers‘ top priority in free agency, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. When asked if he wants to re-sign with the 49ers, Williams said, “I would love to. This is where I’ve been. This is where I know guys on the team. This is where I’m comfortable at. I’d love to be back.”
Veteran pass rusher Dwight Freeney has been a terrific addition to the Cardinals‘ defense, but he said on Monday that he has “no clue” whether he’ll continue playing in 2016, per Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Freeney intends to re-evaluate his future a month after his season ends.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll suggested on Monday that running back Marshawn Lynch could be cleared to return to practice by Wednesday, which might put him in position to return to the field for Week 17 and the postseason (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Forte, Lions, Lynch, Bonuses

December 28th, 2015 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

With Matt Forte‘s contract set to expire, Bears tackle Kyle Long hopes to continue playing with his veteran teammate, but knows there’s a chance next week’s game could be their last together, as Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com writes.

“I’d love to play with Matt forever, but it’s a business,” Long said. “I understand that. If he is around, I’ll be as psyched as anybody. And it will be one of the hardest things ever to see him in another jersey if that’s the case. But we have one more game with him, sure. We’re going to run the workhorse until the wheels fall off.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has turned around his 2015 season since Jim Bob Cooter took over as the team’s offensive coordinator, so it’s no surprise that Stafford would like to see Cooter keep the job in 2016, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com details.
Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch hasn’t progressed as quickly as expected in his recovery from a sports hernia ailment, but he was seen training on Christmas Day at a San Francisco facility. The 29-year-old is expected to be back in Seattle this week, with an eye on potentially returning to practice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. A determination on Lynch’s ability to play in his fifth postseason with the Seahawks remains elusive, however.
In advance of the Seahawks‘ rematch with the Rams on Sunday, GM John Schneider said offensive rookie of the year contender Todd Gurley rated as the No. 1 player on Seattle’s draft board, the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta reports (on Twitter).
Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) identifies a couple players with major money on the line in Week 17, noting that Vikings running back Adrian Peterson‘s 2016 roster bonus will be reduced by $1MM if he doesn’t rush for 132 yards against the Packers, while Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee will miss out on a $2MM salary increase if his playing time for the season dips below 80% (he’s currently at 82.1%).
One player who has cashed in on bonus money recently is Cardinals edge defender Dwight Freeney, who earned an extra $300K on Sunday after racking up three more sacks. Per Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Cardinals president Michael Bidwell says he hopes to write Freeney a year-end bonus check worth more than the $500K the veteran pass rusher has already earned.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

NFC West Notes: Mathieu, Rams, 49ers, Lynch

December 24th, 2015 at 10:35am CST by Sam Robinson

Tyrann Mathieu‘s season-ending ACL tear did come with some positive news. Bruce Arians informed media the standout defender’s tear is “clean,” unlike the ACL and LCL tear the Cardinals‘ third-year dynamo suffered in Dec. 2013, NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling reports.

Arians hopes Mathieu will be ready for OTAs, as Carson Palmer was following his late-season tear in 2014.

The former LSU star boasted a brace on his right knee and was instructing Arizona defensive backs on the practice field Wednesday.

Here is some more from the NFC West.

Rams starters Robert Quinn and T.J. McDonald went on injured reserve just before Mathieu, and both St. Louis defenders underwent successful surgeries this week, Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Both Quinn (back) and McDonald (shoulder) should be back for OTAs in April, Lyons adds. “From a timing standpoint, we needed to do it, just so we could get (McDonald) in the offseason program. Both of them will be fine early in the offseason,” Jeff Fisher told media, including Lyons.
Although Fisher noted Stedman Bailey‘s injuries were severe enough to end his NFL career, the third-year Rams wideout returned home from the hospital a month after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to the head, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports.
Marshawn Lynch will return to an altered Seahawks offense now that Russell Wilson‘s taken his game to a higher level. A faster Seahawks tempo will be an adjustment for the Pro Bowl running back, offensive line coach Tom Cable told media (including Pro Football Talk’s Curtis Crabtree). “We’re counting on him to get healthy whenever that is and then once that happens, it’s for him to come back in and be able to adapt to this football team and the way it acts and the way it’s moving right now collectively,” Cable said. “That will be his challenge, but right now his number one thing is getting healthy.” Pete Carroll remains iffy on when the 29-year-old bruiser will return, noting there’s “a chance” he’s back by the time Seattle plays its wild card game in just more than two weeks. PFT’s Mike Florio continues to opine that Lynch, due to occupy an $11.5MM cap number in 2016, will not be back with the Seahawks next season.
49ers GM Trent Baalke has been out on the practice field instructing defenders, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes, despite his only coaching experience coming as the defensive line/strength and conditioning coach at South Dakota in the early 1990s. Although it’s unlikely 49ers defensive coordinator Eric Mangini would tell one of his bosses to step off here, the former Jets head coach said Baalke hasn’t been shy about helping out on the field. “I haven’t been everywhere, but there are some GMs who might not be as present and maybe that works for their style,” Mangini told media. “For these guys it’s a little bit different and Trent has always been on the field at different points.”
The 49ers’ No. 1 need going into 2016 will be on their offensive front, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes. Although Barrows offers recently retired right tackle Anthony Davis could well return for his age-26 season, the Northern California scribe obviously notes the team cannot count on him. Both starting guards, Alex Boone and Andrew Tiller, are due to be free agents.
Jarryd Hayne remains in the 49ers’ plans going forward despite being passed over for a late-season promotion onto the active roster, 49ers OC Geep Chryst told media (including Maiocco). The former rugby star not being as likely to be active on game day as newly signed DuJuan Harris led to the 49ers leaving Hayne on the practice squad.

Jason Fitzgerald on Kaepernick, Free Agency, Rams

December 19th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Ben Levine

Jason Fitzgerald of OvertheCap.com answered a variety of questions on Twitter last night. The conversation focused on the upcoming offseason, and the writer did his best to make some early predictions. We’ve compiled the best of them, which you can find below…

Fitzgerald is convinced that the 49ers will be able to trade quarterback Colin Kaepernick. With a maximum $14.3MM cap hit (due to the $1MM savings if the team decides to deactivate him), the writer believes the Eagles could be a good fit for the embattled star.
Among the big-name players who could switch teams in free agency are (according to Fitzgerald) Alex Mack, Matt Forte, Russell Okung, Prince Amukamara, and Lamar Miller.
On the flip, Fitzgerald could imagine several big names being cut loose by their current teams, including Jamaal Charles, Jimmy Graham and DeMarcus Ware.
One of Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins will be back with the Rams next year, with Fitzgerald predicting an $8MM contract for Jenkins and $6MM for Johnson.
Assuming Marshawn Lynch‘s tenure in Seattle is over, Fitzgerald could envision the Patriots pursuing the running back. However, the writer is uncertain whether New England would have much interest.

NFC Notes: Bradford, Lynch, Panthers, Cooley

December 14th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is a few months from free agency and could be in another uniform next season. If you’re to believe head coach Chip Kelly, he hopes the sixth-year man is under center again for Philadelphia in 2016.

“We’ve always wanted Sam here. We wouldn’t have traded for him if we thought he was (only) going to be here for a year,” Kelly said, per Les Bowen of Philly.com.

Kelly sent former Eagles starting QB Nick Foles and a second-round pick to St. Louis last offseason for Bradford, whose performance in Philly has been a mixed bag. Bradford’s stats aren’t great – 6.71 YPA, 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 82.9 rating in 11 games – but the Eagles have won the last three games the 28-year-old has both started and finished, and Kelly likes the former Heisman winner’s progression.

“I just see improvement from Sam on a weekly basis that gets you excited about him. I thought he threw the ball extremely well (Sunday),” said Kelly, whose Bradford-led Eagles knocked off Buffalo, 23-20, and are atop the NFC East at 6-7.

Sunday Roundup: Murray, Tomsula, Spiller

December 13th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some links from around the league, starting with more news on the Eagles‘ running back drama:

During DeMarco Murray‘s recent and much-ballyhooed conversation with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the embattled running back told Lurie that head coach Chip Kelly was “unapproachable.” When speaking with the owner, Murray openly questioned the abilities of Kelly and running backs coach Duce Staley.
According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links), Murray did have a lengthy meeting with Kelly earlier this week, but Kelly made no assurances to Murray regarding his role for the remainder of the season. In fact, Murray is listed as the fourth back on the Eagles‘ depth chart today.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the message that the Eagles have sent to the rest of the league is clear: Murray is available. On a related note, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com explores the Eagles‘ options with regards to Murray’s contract, ultimately concluding that trading Murray in 2016 is the strategy that would work best for Philadelphia.
The 49ers‘ improved play over the last few weeks has lightened the mood in the locker room and has likely bought head coach Jim Tomsula another year with the club, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. The team has appeared more engaged and has given the front office tangible signs of hope, which means Tomsula will probably be back in 2016.
La Canfora writes that many league owners are concerned about the strength of the Raiders‘ ownership group and would prefer that the Chargers either move to Los Angeles by themselves or partnered with the Rams. Although that seems unlikely at this point, the overall “trepidation” surrounding the Raiders and the prevailing belief that Oakland remains a viable NFL market could mean that the Carson project–which would see the Raiders and Chargers move to LA together–may not get the requisite 24 votes at the league meetings in January to move forward.
Tim Hightower has stepped in for the injured Mark Ingram in the Saints‘ backfield today, which represents yet another blow to free agent addition C.J. Spiller. Per Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune (citing The NFL Network), Spiller is a “long shot” to return to New Orleans next season.
Although the Seahawks of course have been delighted with Thomas Rawls‘ performance thus far, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Marshawn Lynch is progressing and the team is very open to Beastmode’s return.
Mark Potash of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that Bears GM Ryan Pace will have a tough decision to make with Matt Forte this offseason, and Potash examines Pace’s options in that regard.