Mike Morgan - Pro Football Rumors

Seahawks Place LB Mike Morgan On IR

October 3rd, 2016 at 5:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks have placed linebacker Mike Morgan on injured reserve with a sports hernia, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Head coach Pete Carroll said Morgan will have surgery and will miss four-to-six weeks, so it’s possible that he could return off IR later in the year (link). To fill Seattle’s empty roster spot, the club will promote linebacker Jordan Tripp from the practice squad (link).

Morgan, 28, is a starting linebacker in the Seahawks’ 4-3 scheme, but given that the club is the nickel the majority of the time, Morgan has only played on roughly a third of Seattle’s defensive snaps this season. A six-year NFL veteran, Morgan has spent his entire career with the Hawks and has appeared in 71 games, but he’s only started four contests. According to Carroll (link), backups Cassius Marsh and Kevin Pierre-Louis will fill in during Morgan’s absence.

In other Seahawks news, reserve defensive end Quinton Jefferson had hand surgery and will be out a few weeks (Twitter link via Condotta), while the club has waived offensive tackle Terry Poole off IR, per Condotta.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: P. Robinson, Robertson, Cook

March 28th, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are some specific details on several of the latest contracts recently agreed upon or signed by NFL free agents. All links courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless otherwise indicated.

AFC:

Patrick Robinson, CB (Colts): Three years, $14MM. $6MM guaranteed. $1.5MM signing bonus. $2MM roster bonus due this Tuesday. $1MM roster bonus due on fifth day of 2017 league year — becomes fully guaranteed if on roster beyond this Friday (all Twitter links).
Chris Hairston, OL (Chargers): Two years, $2.9MM. $550K signing bonus (Twitter link).
Brandon Thompson, DT (Bengals): One year, $840K. $50K signing bonus. $30K workout bonus. $150K incentive for playing time (Twitter link).
Leonard Hankerson, WR (Bills): One year, minimum salary benefit. $40K workout bonus. $40K first-game 53-man roster bonus (Twitter link).
Steven Johnson, LB (Steelers): One year, minimum salary benefit. $25K signing bonus. $55K first-game 53-man roster bonus (Twitter link).

NFC:

Craig Robertson, LB (Saints): Three years, $5MM. $1.965MM guaranteed. $1.2MM signing bonus. $250K roster bonus due on fifth day of 2017 league year. $275K due on fifth day of 2018 league year. Up to $1.5MM in annual incentives (Twitter links).
Jared Cook, TE (Packers): One year, $2.75MM. Up to $900K in incentives for catches, TDs, and Pro Bowl (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
Courtney Upshaw, OLB (Falcons): One year, $1.25MM. $390K signing bonus. $100K in per-game active roster bonuses. Up to $250K in incentives for playing time and playoffs (Twitter links).
Mike Morgan, LB (Seahawks): One year, $1MM. $200K signing bonus. $150K incentive for playing time (Twitter link).
Jamarca Sanford, S (Saints): One year, minimum salary benefit. $80K signing bonus. $130K of $885K salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).

Seahawks Re-Sign Mike Morgan

March 19th, 2016 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Seahawks have brought back one of their own free agents, with owner Paul Allen announcing today (via Twitter) that the team has re-signed linebacker Mike Morgan. Terms of the agreement aren’t yet known.

Morgan, 28, has primarily served as a special teams player for the Seahawks since joining the team in 2011. However, he did earn a pair of starts in 2015, recording his first career sack in Week 6 against the Panthers. Pro Football Focus assigned him a solid pass coverage grade, though it was a small sample size — he appeared in fewer than 100 defensive snaps.

Before agreeing to re-sign with the Seahawks, Morgan reportedly had a Friday visit to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers on his schedule. That visit may have prompted Seattle to make an offer to retain the veteran linebacker, though it’s unlikely to be too lucrative a deal — Morgan earned $1MM on a one-year deal in 2015, and I don’t expect he’ll be in line for much of a raise for 2016.

The Seahawks lost a starting linebacker earlier this month when Bruce Irvin inked a four-year contract with the Raiders, so depending on what the team does during the rest of the free agent period, and in the draft, Morgan could find himself vying for a larger role next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

FA Rumors: Fitzpatrick, Steelers, Norwood

March 18th, 2016 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Only five players on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents remain unsigned, and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (No. 19) is the highest-rated player of that group. The Jets and Fitzpatrick have been at an impasse since free agency opened, with Fitzpatrick seeking a sizable raise and New York offering a more modest deal.

Speaking today to reporters, including Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said that Fitzpatrick remains a “very good fit” for the team, adding that the goal is to eventually re-sign him. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN (Twitter links), Maccagnan declined to put a time frame on those talks, suggesting there’s no real deadline. The GM also confirmed that the Jets’ visit with Robert Griffin III was “due diligence,” and that the club remains focused on getting something done with Fitzpatrick.

As we wait to see if the two sides can reach an agreement, let’s check in on a few other free agent updates from across the NFL…

The Steelers are hosting free agent linebackers Spencer Paysinger and Mike Morgan for visits today, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Neither player projects as a probable starter, so Pittsburgh is presumably looking to fill out its depth chart after losing Sean Spence to the Titans. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes (via Twitter) that the Dolphins would like to bring back Paysinger, but he wants to see if he can get more than the minimum salary from another club.
Free agent wide receiver Jordan Norwood ended his visit with the Lions today without a deal in place, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. According to Birkett, Norwood – who also met with the Jets – has a visit with another team set up for next week, and has yet to make a decision.
Offensive tackle Andre Smith, who signed with the Vikings, said today that his agent told him he would have a visit with the Cardinals, but that trip never happened (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

Minor Moves: Monday Evening

March 9th, 2015 at 10:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Our first round-up of today’s minor transactions around the NFL was starting to get a little unwieldy, so we’ll recap the rest of the afternoon and evening minor moves right here. Here’s the latest:

The Titans won’t tender either receiver Kris Durham or linebacker Kaelin Burnett, making both free agents, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
The Ravens have tendered ERFA cornerback Rashaan Melvin at $585K, per Wilson (Twitter link). Melvin started two games for Baltimore near the end of the season.
The Ravens also have extended an exclusive rights tender worth $435K to long snapper Patrick Scales, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Scales was originally signed in December, becoming Baltimore’s third snapper of the season. The man he replaced, Kevin McDermott, didn’t get an RFA tender, tweets Wilson.

Earlier updates:

Rather than tendering restricted free agent linebacker Mike Morgan, the Seahawks have simply signed him to a one-year contract, per Condotta (via Twitter).
Updating a previous note, the Seahawks actually have tendered receiver Ricardo Lockette, and have offered a contract to ERFA defensive back DeShawn Shead, as well, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links).
The Jets have tendered offers to two RFAs — defensive tackle Damon Harrison received a second-round tender worth $2.356MM, while safety Jaiquawn Jarrett received the lowest tender.
With Ryan Mallett returning to the fold and a deal with Brian Hoyer moving closer to completion, the Texans started clearing out a crowded quarterback position today by cutting Thad Lewis, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. Somewhat ironically, Lewis was initially added to Houston’s roster back in November to replace Mallett, who landed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury.
The Ravens extended an RFA tender to safety Will Hill at the low-end level, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). The $1.542MM offer ensures that Baltimore maintains the right of first refusal if Hill signs an offer sheet with another club. The Ravens also tendered ERFA defensive end Steven Means, locking him up for 2015, tweets Wilson.
The Seahawks have elected not to tender contracts to wide receiver Bryan Walters and offensive lineman Stephen Schilling, says Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). All three players could still re-sign with Seattle, but they’ll be unrestricted free agents and can negotiate with other teams too.
Punter Marquette King, safety Brandian Ross, and safety Larry Asante all received low-end RFA tenders from the Raiders, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Defensive back Chimdi Chekwa and running back Kory Sheets weren’t tendered, and will become UFAs tomorrow.