HEADLINES

Matt Shaughnessy

Cards To Put Matt Shaughnessy On IR-DTR

October 6th, 2014 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

A defensive unit that has been decimated by injuries and suspensions this year took another significant blow this weekend, as the Cardinals will be without linebacker Matt Shaughnessy for an extended period. Head coach Bruce Arians confirmed today that Shaughnessy suffered knee cartilage damage, and will be placed on the injured reserve with the designation to return, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.

The Cardinals’ linebacking corps took its first hit in the offseason when Karlos Dansby left for Cleveland. Since then, the club has also lost Daryl Washington to a year-long suspension and placed John Abraham on injured reserve after he suffered a concussion.

It’s not just the linebacker position where the Cardinals are shorthanded — already dealing with a season-ending injury for Darnell Dockett, the club saw defensive end Calais Campbell go down with a knee injury of his own on Sunday. According to Arians (per Somers, via Twitter), Campbell didn’t suffer a tear, but sprained his MCL and will be sidelined for one to three weeks.

As for Shaughnessy, the designation to return means he’ll be eligible to resume practicing six weeks from now, and can return to game action in eight weeks. For the full breakdown of how teams have used that IR-DTR slot this year, be sure to check out our tracker.

NFC Contract Details: Hatcher, Jennings, Cards

March 14th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason Hatcher told reporters today that the Redskins blew away the competition with their pitch and offer to him, and Tom Pelissero of USA Today brings us the specifics of Hatcher’s deal (via Twitter). The four-year, $27.5MM deal includes $10.5MM in guaranteed money, made up of a $9MM signing bonus and a $1.5MM guaranteed base salary in 2014.

Here are more details on contracts signed for players by NFC teams this week:

  • While Rashad Jennings‘ four-year deal with the Giants can apparently max out around $14MM, it only has a base value of $10MM, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • Matt Shaughnessy‘s two-year contract with the Cardinals includes a $1.4MM signing bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Pelissero tweets that there’s a “trigger” of sorts including in the deal, in the form of a $500K roster bonus due next March.
  • Jonathan Dwyer‘s one-year deal with the Cardinals is a minimum salary benefit contract. Wilson tweets that the base salary of $730K is non-guaranteed, while Dwyer also got a $65K signing bonus.
  • Meanwhile, another Cardinals signee, Ted Larsen, gets two years and $2.6MM, with a $470K, tweets Pelissero. The deal also features per-game roster bonuses and additional escalators, as Pelissero explains.
  • The Vikings‘ one-year pact with Derek Cox doesn’t include any guarantees, according to Pelissero (via Twitter). It features a $730K base salary, a $50K workout bonus, and $220K in potential playing time incentives, meaning it can max out at $1MM.
  • Domenik Hixon‘s one-year contract with the Bears is worth the minimum salary ($730K), but the receiver can earn up to $100K in roster bonus money, tweets Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com. Dickerson adds (via Twitter) that M.D. Jennings has a similar deal, though the safety’s minimum salary is $645K.
  • Ramon Humber received a minimum salary benefit deal from the Saints, with a $65K signing bonus and $300K in overall guaranteed money, tweets Wilson.

Cardinals To Re-Sign Matt Shaughnessy

March 12th, 2014 at 8:04pm CST by Luke Adams

8:04pm: Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 has details on the contract (via Twitter): the deal is worth $4.4MM over two years with another $2.2MM in incentives.

6:23pm: The Cardinals and Matt Shaughnessy have agreed to terms on a two-year deal, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). The new agreement will keep the free agent linebacker in Arizona after he drew some interest from the Patriots.

After spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Raiders, Shaughnessy signed in Arizona last season and started 12 games for the club, accumulating 36 tackles, three sacks, and three fumble recoveries. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), Shaughnessy performed well against the run, but was only the league’s 34th-best 3-4 outside linebacker out of 42 qualified players.

While the Cardinals have agreed to contracts with a few players since free agency began, including offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, Shaughnessy is the first player the team has brought back or added to a linebacker corps that will be without Karlos Dansby in 2014.

Pats Rumors: Amendola, Smith, Shaughnessy

March 12th, 2014 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

Late last night, the Broncos agreed to a six-year, $57MM deal with free agent cornerback Aqib Talib. While the Kansas product’s departure isn’t a total shock, it does leave the Pats with a significant gap to fill this offseason. The latest out of Foxboro..

  • Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) notes that $2MM of Danny Amendola‘s $3MM base salary with the Patriots became guaranteed yesterday. While he has offsets, the $2MM guarantee means he’ll likely stay put in New England.
  • The Giants have competition for guard Shelley Smith, tweets Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. He also has a scheduled visit with the Patriots on Thursday.
  • The Patriots are hosting outside linebacker Matt Shaughnessy on a visit today, a league source tells Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter).

FA Rumors: Tatupu, Graham, Shaughnessy

March 4th, 2014 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Seahawks linebacker and three-time Pro Bowler Lofa Tatupu is working out today for the Broncos, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Knee and pectoral injuries derailed the career of Tatupu, who hasn’t played a regular season game since 2010, but he’s still just 31 years old, so a comeback isn’t out of the question. The former All-Pro linebacker is an unrestricted free agent right now, but the rest of the players in this roundup will have to wait another week before getting the chance to hit the open market. Let’s dive in and check out the latest….

  • While Jimmy Graham will have the ability to field offers from suitors in free agency, the franchise tag will limit his options. In any case, Saints GM Mickey Loomis is confident that his club will find a way to reach a long-term deal with the star tight end, as he said today on SiriusXM NFL Radio (link via Pro Football Talk). “I had hoped and I’m sure he had hoped we’d come to some conclusion on a longer-term deal before this,” Loomis said. “But we haven’t yet, and hopefully we will…. We’ll just let it play out, and I’m sure we’ll get something resolved.”
  • The Cardinals are in talks with Matt Shaughnessy‘s agent Rick Rosa in hopes of signing the free agent DE/LB to a new deal, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. “They are actively trying to re-sign him,” Rosa said. “He wants to be there, so we’ll see how it goes.”
  • Although cornerback Alterraun Verner acknowledges that he loves Tennessee and his Titans teammates, he sounds lukewarm on the idea of giving the club a “hometown discount” in free agency, as Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean writes.
  • The Broncos have the cap room in 2014 to bring back prospective free agent Eric Decker, but future obligations to Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas will make the team wary about investing too heavily in Decker, says Mike Klis of the Denver Post, who spoke to the wide receiver about his impending free agency.

NFC Notes: Murray, Austin, Cardinals

February 9th, 2014 at 7:53pm CST by Ben Levine

In spite of putting up career numbers in 2013, running back DeMarco Murray isn’t expected to receive an extension from the Cowboys any time soon, writes Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Murray ran for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns this past season, which were solid improvements for the 25-year-old. Still, Archer refers to the Cowboys reluctance to re-sign former running back Julius Jones as a clue that the team may be patient with their third-year star. Here are some other notes from around the NFC:

  • Archer adds that the Cowboys want to move on from wide receiver Miles Austin. Hamstring injuries derailed Austin’s 2013 season, as the 29-year-old only had 24 receptions. Archer thinks there’s a chance Austin could return at a reduced rate, but he also believes the team may replace Austin in the draft or free agency. The writer names Robert Meachem as a possible target.
  • ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss feels there’s a possibility that the Cardinals don’t re-sign any of their top free agents, but suggests that Karlos Dansby, Matt Shaughnessy and Antoine Cason are among the players most likely to return.
  • Weinfuss also guesses that the Cardinals will not cut offensive guard Daryn Colledge. While the move would save the Cardinals $5MM, Weinfuss believes that the offensive guard played well enough in 2013 to stick around.