HEADLINES

Mike Zimmer (Coach)

Draft Notes: Vikings, Rams, Patriots, Bears

May 10th, 2015 at 12:21pm CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings could have an exciting offense next season, and that’s because the front office dedicated last year’s draft picks to improving their team on that side of the ball. Although the organization had acquired some foundational players, including quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, head coach Mike Zimmer said his team was still considering offensive weapons in the first round of this year’s draft. Via Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune…

“The Teddy thing was huge because that was really the number one priority of the organization. We had to get a quarterback we thought could take us to the next level. Honestly, we didn’t go into this draft saying this was going to be a defensive draft. We went in and we had offensive guys targeted, but they might have gotten picked before we could pick them.

When we picked Trae Waynes, there were three or four guys there we thought we would be happy with, but part of it with Trae was the position he plays. Typically when you draft those corners, you draft pretty high. Once it gets down lower, to the second round, they don’t produce like the higher picks. Knock on wood — we hope we’re drafting a little lower next year.”

Let’s take a look at some more draft notes from around the NFL…

  • The Rams were involved in the bidding for undrafted free agent La’el Collins, head coach Jeff Fisher told ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. “Yeah, we were involved in it,” Fisher said. “There were some things, we still had some unanswered questions at the time in which he made his decision but we were involved. We were told by them that we were in the final four, which is not necessarily a consolation but we were involved, yes.”
  • Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck contacted Collins to recruit him to their respective teams, tweets Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez. The reporter adds that the lineman seriously considered the Dolphins‘ pitch.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots would have willingly traded their first-rounder if an inquiring team had sweetened their offer. Ideally, the Patriots would have preferred an early second-round pick and a third-round pick in return. Reiss clarifies that the team is still please with their selection of Malcom Brown.
  • The Bears had been eyeing quarterback Shane Carden during the draft, and ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson writes that the team was thrilled about the opportunity to sign the player as an undrafted free agent. “He was actually a guy that we had good grades on, a guy that could have potentially been a draft pick,” Bears coach John Fox told Dickerson. “Our scouts, obviously, saw a lot more of him than the coaching staff. But he was productive, smart. He has good moxie, being able to execute in a pass offense that throws the ball quite a bit and was very productive.”

NFC Links: McCourty, Bridgewater, Packers

March 22nd, 2015 at 8:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Devin McCourty ultimately stayed with the Patriots, but not before being lured by the NFL’s largest market. The Giants‘ offer was comparable to what McCourty ended up signing to stay in New England — five years, $47.5MM — co-owner John Mara told Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.

The best safety on the market’s refusal to take the Giants’ money began a failed venture that leaves the team with one of the most barren depth charts at any position in the league with the draft less than six weeks away. As of now, the Giants have only Nat Berhe and Cooper Taylor, fifth-round picks in 2013 and 2014, respectively, on their roster. Neither has started a game. Former Giants starters Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps still reside in free agency.

Other news from the NFC …

  • Like the Steelers, the Packers are a staunch build-from-within franchise, and this year furthered that philosophy. As a result, corners Tramon Williams and Davon House departed, and coach Mike McCarthy expects Casey Hayward and former Gonzaga basketball talent Demetri Goodson to challenge for those spots, reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Unless Carl Bradford or another player enables Clay Matthews to relocate to his former spot outside, the Pro Bowl linebacker may stay an inside linebacker going into the season.
  • Packers president Mark Murphy doesn’t expect the Bears’ proposal of both teams receiving a guaranteed overtime possession to pass, reports ESPN’s Jason Wilde. Murphy probably won’t support any of the rules changes, reports Silverstein on Twitter.
  • Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wants Teddy Bridgewater to gain weight and develop additional strength before he begins his first full season as the Vikings’ quarterback, writes Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Zimmer said the 2014 first-rounder played at around 210 pounds last season, and the second-year coach prefers the 6-foot-2 signal-caller to be closer to 220.
  • After reports surfaced of Adrian Peterson‘s agent declining a Vikings meeting, the All-Pro runner didn’t solicit much of a response from Zimmer. “Well, Adrian is under contract with us, and we’re excited to get him back here with his teammates and get him back playing,” Zimmer told Hartman.
  • The NFL held its first Veterans Combine on Sunday night in Arizona with numerous former NFLers participating. The Eagles were among the few teams to talk with offensive linemen after their drills concluded, NFL.com’s Mark Sessler reports on Twitter.

NFC North Notes: Raiola, Bears, Zimmer

January 21st, 2015 at 8:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of the NFC North, where Adam Gase has reunited with John Fox..

  • Longtime Lions center Dominic Raiola confirmed today that the team has told him he won’t be back for the 2015 season. Raiola added that he’s “obviously disappointed” by the news, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
  • The Bears announced (on Twitter) that they have reached agreement with Ed Donatell to become their new defensive backs coach. He replaces Jon Hoke, who has been let go. Donatell was released from his Niners contract at the same time as new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and the duo was widely viewed as a package deal.
  • There’s still a possibility that the Bears could have a holdover or two from Marc Trestman‘s old staff, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Not every assistant was released from his contract following the firing of Trestman and others.
  • The Vikings have one hire to make to fill out their coaching staff for the 2015 season, but it appears the rest of the group is intact for the long haul, as Ben Goessling of ESPN.com writes. Coach Mike Zimmer said the Vikings plan to extend the contracts of most of their assistant coaches through the 2016 season. When asked about his own deal, Zimmer said that it runs beyond the 2016 season.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Teammates React To Peterson’s Absence

September 14th, 2014 at 8:06pm CST by Rob DiRe

While the Vikings have decided not to address the Adrian Peterson situation until Monday, his absence became a huge part of the story of the team’s 30-7 loss to the New England Patriots.

Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune captured some of head coach Mike Zimmer’s press conference following the loss.

“I don’t want to discuss the Adrian issue at all today,” said Zimmer. “This is about the football game here. We’ll talk about it Monday or whenever we have the press conference on.”

While Tesfatsion noted many players declined to comment on playing without the star running back, there were some players willing to discuss it. Tom Pelissero of USA Today noted that even players who were willing to broach the subject, they had no answers for the media.

“He’s one of the best players in the NFL. Obviously, everybody knows that,” said linebacker Chad Greenway. “The reality is there’s going to be some interesting times ahead. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I don’t think we have any excuses for what happened out there today,” said center John Sullivan. “If you go out and execute the way we did on the first drive the entire game, this question isn’t being asked right now.”

“We obviously don’t condone any of the alleged (actions),” said safety Harrison Smith. “But we’re going to stand behind our guys, and that’s pretty much all I’ve got to say.”

The entire organization was still frustrated following the blowout loss. Zimmer made an emphasis on how little the lack of Peterson influenced the game.

“It didn’t affect the team,” said Zimmer. “You know what affected the team? Throwing interceptions. Getting a field goal blocked. Not tackling well enough. Having penalties on defense.”

The team will likely not have Peterson rejoin the team anytime soon, and must go into a game against the 0-2 Saints without their best offensive weapon. The team’s new best player on the offense also commented on how the team is handling the situation, according to Mark Craig of the Star Tribune (via Twitter).

“We just have to get that mindset,” said Cordarrelle Patterson. “28 probably ain’t going to be here with us.”

NFC Links: Kluwe, Hayden, Ponder

June 9th, 2014 at 9:28pm CST by Ben Levine

The Chris Kluwe investigation is coming to an end. According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the lawyers in charge of the case estimate that the process will be finished in the next ten days.

Kluwe, who claimed his 2013 release by the Vikings was related to his support for same-sex marriage, has yet to find a job this season. Former coach Leslie Frazier was fired in late December, but special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer (who Kluwe accused of making “homophobic remarks”) was retained by new coach Mike Zimmer.

Let’s see what else is happening in the NFC…

  • Christian Ponder doesn’t have better than “an outside chance” of being the Vikings starting quarterback, writes ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling. According to the writer, the former first-round pick hasn’t done anything “to suggest he’s changed enough to challenge for the job.”
  • D.J. Hayden missed another practice this afternoon, and Raiders coach Dennis Allen doesn’t sound too optimistic about a quick return. “It’s hard to tell,” Allen said (via Steve Corkran of The Mercury News). “Initially I was hopeful of (a quick return). Hopefully we’ll have him out here, because he needs the work.”
  • Former Lions (and current Bears) defensive end Willie Young doesn’t have any hard feeling against his former team. “They did [show interest] but we definitely broke ways on good terms,” Young said (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). “I definitely enjoyed my years here, I can say that. Thankful for the opportunity I was able to create for myself here and landing me in Chicago right now.”

NFC Notes: Zimmer, Newton, Kaepernick

June 4th, 2014 at 9:04pm CST by Zachary Links

A report yesterday quoted Vikings coach Mike Zimmer as saying that he almost didn’t show up for his second interview for the job. Today he clarified that story for reporters, including Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. The coach didn’t consider bailing on the Vikings interview because he wasn’t enthused for the position; he says he was just disappointed about not getting the Titans’ gig and didn’t think he had a great chance anywhere else. Here’s more out of the NFC..

  • A lot of people are surprised by Colin Kaepernick‘s hefty new contract, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues that salary cap spikes could drive the quarterback market even higher. Because of that, he says that the Panthers need to move quickly on a new deal for QB Cam Newton. Soon, he says, the high-water mark for an elite QB will be $25MM per year and, eventually, $30MM per season. With another strong year or two, Newton could push the ceiling sky-high.
  • The 49ers spent 15 hours straight negotiating with Kaepernick’s representatives, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The 49ers knew that the QB would play out his rookie deal rather than accepting anything with an average annual value under $20MM.
  • The Falcons are counting on free agent pickup Dwight Lowery to fill their free safety hole, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After starting eight of 27 games for the Jets in 2009 and 2010, Lowery was a full-time starter for the Jaguars over the past three seasons. However, his season ended after just three games in 2013 after he suffered a bad concussion and went on injured reserve.
  • There might not be an opportunity at present, but after signing a three-year extension with the Eagles yesterday, guard Allen Barbre says he would like to start, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Of course, the Eagles value his versatility off the bench as he has filled in admirably at both guard and tackle.
  • Brian McNally of The Washington Times wonders if Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson can fill the void left by the retirement of London Fletcher.
  • The Cardinals signed undrafted rookie free agent running back Damien Thigpen, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. To make room, the Cards dropped wide receiver Kevin Smith. Thigpen was in rookie minicamp a couple of weeks ago with Arizona and apparently made quite an ipression. The 5’8″, 180 pound tailback tore his ACL late in his junior year and also missed part of his senior season.

Extra Points: Zimmer, 49ers, Texans, Bengals

June 2nd, 2014 at 11:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

A few assorted items to close out this Monday evening:

  • The union between the Vikings and new head coach Mike Zimmer almost didn’t happen, writes Mike Garafolo of FoxSports.com. Having missed out on the Titans job, Zimmer felt as though his opportunity for a head coaching job might never come. “I almost didn’t go (on the second interview with Minnesota), yeah. I was so disappointed,” said Zimmer. “It was like, ‘Why even do this?’ It was to that point. I figured I was getting too old. I thought, ‘Forget this.'” Zimmer had been a successful defensive coordinator for the past 14 seasons.
  • The 49ers are creating more cap space to make room for a Colin Kaepernick extension, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. San Francisco got $6.6MM in relief when Carlos Rogers‘ contract (a post-June 1 designation) was cleared off the books, and received another $2.6MM after NaVorro Bowman converted some of his base salary into a signing bonus.
  • Keshawn Martin will face competition for the Texans’ returner job, per David Barron of the Houston Chronicle. “There are many candidates for those jobs,” said head coach Bill O’Brien. “Preseason is when we really have to get a true evaluation of the guys who are back there and who is going to return punts, who are going to be the kickoff return guys, and who will be the emergency guys if something happens to the starters.”
  • New Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson thinks that right tackle Andre Smith is entering the upcoming season with a new fire, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “In my opinion, this Andre Smith is a different Andre Smith than the one I’ve ever seen,” said Jackson. “He’s a more focused, agile, hungry guy after something.” Pro Football Focus rated Smith as the 20th-best offensive tackle in the NFL last season (subscription required).
  • It might just be the usual preseason platitudes, but Raiders coach Dennis Allen claims there is no official depth chart as of yet, and states he is especially looking forward to the running back competition between Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew. “We’re going to put the best players on the field, and the guys that give us the best opportunity to win, whoever that may be,” said Allen. “I do know this: I do know throughout the course of a 16-game season, you’re going to need everybody. I think it’s great when you have multiple players that you feel confident that they can come in and do the job. We’ll let the competition dictate who plays and how much they play. It’s a good feeling to know that you’ve got some qualified people in the running back room that can carry the loads for you.”

NFC Draft Notes: Eagles, Vikings, Giants

May 3rd, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Peter Sowards

Eagles coach Chip Kelly is on record saying how much he loves Johnny Manziel. Kelly recruited Manziel while at Oregon, but Manziel spurned Kelly’s best efforts and ended up at Texas A&M.

Is a possible reunion in order?

Andrew Kulp of The 700 Level pegs Johnny Football as the best fit for the Eagles at No. 22, citing Kelly’s affinity for the free-wheeling Texan. It’s highly unlikely that Manziel slips that far, but it sure would make for must-see TV every Sunday.

More draft notes from the NFC…

  • The Vikings select Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley in Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ latest mock draft. Vikings brass could be skittish after the Christian Ponder pick didn’t work out so well, Tomasson writes.
  • A strong relationship between head coach and general manager is key to a team’s success in the draft room, and it appears that the Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman of the Vikings are in the process of building one, reports Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune.
  • The Giants will need to get as close as they can to batting 1.000 in the upcoming draft, says Tom Rock of newsday.com. After building a reputation as a draft savant — leading to two Super Bowls — general manager Jerry Reese has not had the same success in recent years.
  • Three players that the Giants could target at No. 12, according to the New York Daily News’ Ebenezer Samuel: North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron, Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans and Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin.
  • If the Seahawks want to stay on top of the league, they’ll have to do more of the same — draft well. But, as The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta writes, it’s become even more important to hit on late-round picks now that key players like safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas are earning second contracts and eating up prime real estate on the salary cap.
  • The Bucs may have to take Manziel if he’s on the board at No. 7, writes Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. If not, Stroud thinks the team could take a QB in the second or third round, possibly offering 2013 third-round pick Mike Glennon in a trade.
  • The Panthers worked out Fresno State cornerback L.J. Jones, reports Aaron Wilson of National Football Post. Jones is projected as a late-round pick after being named as an All-Mountain West-Conference honorable-mention.
  • You can try your hand as Ted Thompson and play GM of the Packers with an online roster builder tool launched by Press-Gazette Media, spending up to $133MM and cutting the roster down to 53 players.

NFL Notes: Saints, Redskins, Vikings

February 14th, 2014 at 6:29pm CST by Matt Feminis

Despite cutting ties with a handful of veterans earlier this offseason, the Saints hover just $3MM under the salary cap with free agent tight end Jimmy Graham‘s future still uncertain. Accordingly, Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune lists a handful of veterans who could be released in order to create more room (cap figure in parentheses): Brodrick Bunkley ($6.1MM), Lance Moore ($5.1MM), Pierre Thomas ($2.9MM), Darren Sproles ($4.25MM) and Patrick Robinson ($2.8MM).

In other NFC notes:

    • The Redskins “must devote a significant of attention and efforts to improving the offensive line,” says Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The coach and scheme will not change, and eight of the team’s top nine linemen are under contract, but personnel upgrades are needed. Aside from stalwart left tackle Trent Williams, left guard Kory Lichtensteiger (who could be tried at center) seems like the only 2013 starter whose job is safe. Whether or not the team intends to release center Will Montgomery, right guard Chris Chester and/or right tackle Tyler Polumbus is uncertain, but any of the three could be replaced via free agency or draft.
    • Vikings new head coach Mike Zimmer plans to implement a more aggressive defensive scheme, meaning the team’s scouting staff will take a longer look at prospects whose skill sets might not have fit with Leslie Frazier’s more conservative cover-2 system, writes ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling.
    • Panthers free agent Captain Munnerlyn says his agent will meet with team officials at the Combine next week, according to Charlotte Observer beat reporter Joe Person (via Twitter).