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Nick Fairley

Jets Interested In Nick Fairley

March 7th, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have interest in Nick Fairley as a contingency plan if they lose one or more of their key pieces up front, Manish Mehta of the Daily News tweets. The Jets could possibly lose Damon Harrison when free agency opens on Wednesday, so they’re exploring their options in advance. "<strong

Fairley was expected to secure a hefty contract last offseason after a solid contract year with the Lions, but ultimately inked a one-year pact to join the Rams. The 28-year-old played in 15 games last season before being placed on IR prior to Week 17. Seeing time as a rotational lineman, Fairley was in on slightly less than 40% of the club’s defensive snaps. Still young and productive (he graded as the league’s No. 24 interior lineman per Pro Football Focus), Fairley will once again try his hand on the open market.

In addition to Harrison, the Jets have long been rumored to be willing to explore the possibility of trading Muhammad Wilkerson. Still, it’s somewhat hard to imagine that a team will cough up a first-round pick to the Jets and give Wilkerson the ~$40MM deal that he is after.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

 

Extra Points: Lions, Dolphins, Broncos

February 13th, 2016 at 12:11pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL on this Saturday afternoon…

Rams Place Nick Fairley On IR, Claim Troy Hill

December 31st, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams have made several roster moves in advance of their regular season finale against the 49ers, including placing two defensive lineman – Nick Fairley and Doug Worthington – on injured reserve, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link). To fill those two roster spots, St. Louis claimed cornerback Troy Hill off waivers from the Patriots (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN) and promoted running back Malcolm Brown from its practice squad (Twitter link via Wagoner).

Fairley, the most high-profile name of the bunch, was expected to secure a hefty contract last offseason after a solid contract year with the Lions, but ultimately inked a one-year pact to join the Rams. The 27-year-old had played in all 15 games this season, seeing time as a rotational lineman, playing on slightly less than 40% of the club’s defensive snaps. Still young and productive (he graded as the league’s No. 24 interior lineman per Pro Football Focus), Fairley shouldn’t have any trouble landing another deal this spring.

Despite being a year older than Fairley, Worthington has far less NFL experience, having played in just eight career games. He’s bounced around quite a bit this year, spending time on the Rams’ practice squad before being activated prior to Week 15. The Ohio State product saw just 53 snaps on the year, but St. Louis does control his rights for 2016, so there’s a chance he could return.

Speaking of well-traveled players, Hill now joins his third organization in less than a month. Signed by the Bengals an undrafted free agent out of Oregon, Hill was waived earlier this month by Cincinnati only to be claimed by the Patriots, who subsequently cut ties earlier this week. An unheralded favorite of the scouting community, Hill has actually landed in a good space, as the Rams could use secondary depth with both Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson headed to free agency.

Like Hill, Brown was a 2015 undrafted free agent, having signed with St. Louis after his college career at Texas came to an end. He’s spent the entire season on the Rams’ practice squad, and with Todd Gurely nursing a foot injury, Brown has an outside chance to contribute during Week 17.

Rams Notes: Gurley, Cignetti, Ross, Fairley

June 20th, 2015 at 6:39pm CST by Rob DiRe

As the St. Louis Rams look to compete in the NFC West and make the playoffs for the first time since 2003, here are a few notes from around the team heading into the summer months:

  • While the Rams hope first-round pick Todd Gurley will be ready to play this season, his contract has language that protects both the player and team in case he is unable to recover from the torn ACL he suffered at Georgia, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Even if Gurley is unable to be a part of the active roster in his first two seasons, he will still receive his full salary for both years, but the Rams will be able to get out of the deal if he is unable to recover from his college injury.
  • The Rams will be making changes to the offense this year without Brian Schottenheimer, but they won’t be reinventing the wheel in St. Louis with quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti as the new offensive coordinator, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s like this: Coach Schottenheimer put a tremendous foundation in place here,” said Cignetti. “It’s like buying a house. The foundation’s there. What do you do? ‘Let’s remodel a couple rooms.’ So really that’s what we’ve done.”
  • The Rams have brought in cornerback Aaron Ross for a workout, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Ross spent 2014 on injured reserve with the Ravens, but won two Super Bowl rings with the Giants and also spent time with the Jaguars during his NFL career.
  • New addition Nick Fairley is excited for his first season in St. Louis, writes Mark Inabinett of AL.com. “I feel good being part of their defense,” said Fairley. “Just the style that they play – attack. It fits my skills, especially the D-line that they have is going to be amazing this year.” He also mentioned that he was planning on bulking up to 290 pounds in order to retain his quickness but still anchor the defensive line against the run.

Contract Details: Morgan, Gilchrist, Cameron

March 16th, 2015 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are some details on several of the new contracts agreed to or signed by free agents within the last few days:

AFC deals:

  • Derrick Morgan, OLB (Titans): Four years, $27MM base value. $10.5MM fully guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun).
  • Marcus Gilchrist, S (Jets): Four years, $22MM base value. $10MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
  • Jordan Cameron, TE (Dolphins): Two years, $15MM base value. $5MM fully guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Paul Fanaika, OL (Chiefs): Three years, $6.5MM. $1.75MM signing bonus. Incentives and escalators available (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Alan Branch, DT (Patriots): Two years, $4.3MM base value. $700K signing bonus. Option for 2016 (all Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Tyrod Taylor, QB (Bills): Two years, $3.35MM base value. $1.15MM fully guaranteed. $400K signing bonus. Third year voids (all four Twitter links via Wilson).

NFC deals:

  • Jasper Brinkley, LB (Cowboys): Two years, $6.5MM base value. $2MM guaranteed, $2MM option bonus in 2016 (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Akeem Ayers, LB (Rams): Two years, $6MM base value. $2.75MM guaranteed. $1.3MM roster bonus in 2015 (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Andrew Gachkar, LB (Cowboys): Two years, $5.2MM base value. $1.2MM signing bonus. Up to $1MM in annual incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Nick Fairley, DT (Rams): One year, $5MM base value. $1.5MM roster bonus in 2015. Sack and playoff incentives available (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Erik Pears, OL (49ers): Two years, $4.7MM base value. $1MM guaranteed. $500K signing bonus (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Kurt Coleman, S (Panthers): Two years, $2.8MM base value. $600K signing bonus (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • O’Brien Schofield, DE (Falcons): One year, $1.7MM base value. $255K signing bonus (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Chris Conte, S (Buccaneers): One year, $1.5MM base value. $1.25MM fully guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com).

Rams Sign Nick Fairley

March 13th, 2015 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

11:17am: It’s a one-year, prove-it deal for Fairley, who can earn up to $7.5MM in 2015, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The contract has a base value of $5MM, which isn’t far off from what the veteran defender would have been paid if the Lions had picked up his fifth-year option.

Playing with such a talented group of defensive linemen, Fairley has a nice opportunity to have a big year and earn a more lucrative deal a year from now, if he can stay healthy.

11:09am: One of the league’s best defensive lines will be even scarier entering the 2015 season. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley will join the Rams, having agreed to terms on a new deal with the team. The team revealed the move at Nick Foles‘ introductory press conference today (Twitter link).

Fairley had his 2014 season derailed by injuries, but he was very effective when healthy, and received plenty of interest this week. The 27-year-old paid a visit to the Bengals, and a Wednesday report indicated that about a half-dozen teams were interested in him before free agency even began on Tuesday.

A former 13th overall pick, Fairley had his best season in 2013, when he recorded 35 tackles and six sacks to go along with a pair of forced fumbles. Despite that impressive showing, the Lions elected not to exercise his relatively inexpensive ($5.477MM) fifth-year option for the 2015 season, allowing him to reach free agency. It’ll be interesting to see if Fairley signs for more or less with the Rams than he could have received from the Lions, who have now lost both Fairley and Ndamukong Suh.

As for the Rams, defensive line certainly wasn’t a pressing area of need for a team that has Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, Chris Long, and Michael Brockers on its roster, but the team did cut Kendall Langford earlier in the offseason and was looking to add another interior piece. In Fairley, St. Louis lands one of the top defensive tackles on the market, and will move forward with a front four that’s extremely capable of both getting to the quarterback and stuffing the run.

Nick Fairley Visiting Rams

March 12th, 2015 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

One of the league’s best defensive lines could add even more talent in free agency. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley is on his way to visit the Rams in St. Louis today.

Fairley had his 2014 season derailed by injuries, but he was very effective when healthy, and is drawing plenty of interest this week. The 27-year-old paid a visit to the Bengals already this week, and a report yesterday indicated that about a half-dozen teams were interested before free agency even began on Tuesday.That same Wednesday report also revealed that Fairley isn’t currently considering re-signing with the Lions, who lost Ndamukong Suh this week, but added Haloti Ngata.

As for the Rams, defensive line certainly isn’t an area of need for a team that has Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, and Chris Long on its roster, but the team did cut Kendall Langford earlier in the offseason and could be looking to add another interior piece. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported yesterday that the Rams had reached out to Fairley.

When I ranked this year’s top 50 free agents last weekend, I placed Fairley 18th, which makes him one of the top unsigned players on our board.

Rams Rumors: Blalock, Fairley, Williams

March 11th, 2015 at 2:19pm CST by Zachary Links

A quick look at the Rams..

  • Free agent guard Justin Blalock plans on visiting the Rams but the Lions are also in the mix for him, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets. The Lions and Blalock haven’t finalized their plans for a meeting, but there have been discussions, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Rams have reached out to Lions free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley but no visit has been scheduled yet, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Earlier today, we learned that the Lions will not be re-signing Fairley.
  • Giants free agent linebacker Jacquian Williams (on Twitter) says that his agent recently spoke with the Rams. Earlier this week, Williams told his Twitter followers that he has interest from five teams in total.

Lions Won’t Re-Sign Nick Fairley

March 11th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions appear ready to move on from Nick Fairley after telling at least two agents that they are out of the running for the defensive tackle, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. That message has been received by Fairley, who is no longer considering a return to Detroit, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Fairley is visiting the Bengals today and had interest from about six teams before free agency opened up on Tuesday afternoon, Birkett writes. Fairley was in talks with Detroit for part of Tuesday, but the two sides could not come to an agreement on terms. Birkett notes that the Lions were able to rekindle things with linebacker Stephen Tulloch in 2011 when talks were shut down in a similar fashion, but as of right now it looks like the former first round pick will be headed elsewhere.

In four seasons with the Lions, Fairley racked up 13.5 sacks. After posting a top-20 season for defensive tackles, per PFF (subscription required), he should see a healthy payday no matter where he goes.

Nick Fairley to Visit Bengals

March 10th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After the Lions acquired Haloti Ngata earlier today, there might not be a spot left in Detroit for free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley. Instead, Fairley will meet with the Bengals, a team that could use help along the defensive line, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN (Twitter link). The visit will take place on Tuesday, per Anderson.

The Bengals have been typically quiet thus far in free agency, signing only linebacker A.J. Hawk to a two-year deal. However, as they finished last in the league with only 20 sacks last season, the club was expected to target pass-rushing help during the FA period. Cincinnati could still look for an outside rusher, but Fairley is extremely adept at creating disruption from his spot at the interior of line. He’d team with former All-Pro Geno Atkins if signed.

Nearly every defensive tackle on Detroit’s roster was set to become a free agent, so there would certainly be space on the team for Fairley. But Ngata’s $8.5MM base salary will eat up quite a bit of cap space, so after losing Ndamukong Suh, the Lions might look to bring back C.J. Mosley or another cheaper option to pair with Ngata.

Fairley, 27, ranked 27th on PFR’s Top 50 free agent list.

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