HEADLINES

Randall Cobb

North Notes: Suh, Smith, Allen, Manziel, Cobb

July 26th, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Ndamukong Suh‘s contract has been a popular topic of discussion in Detroit for much of the offseason, but now that the Lions‘ defensive tackle has reported to camp, he has taken up a common refrain when it comes to his contract: He’s not too concerned about it.

“That’s what you’ve got agents for,” Suh told Noah Trister of The Associated Press. “They can take care of business, and just go from there. … I don’t have a timetable. That’s my agent. I don’t have to worry about it. I can focus on football, and that’s my job, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • Torrey Smith is another player who claims not to be thinking about an extension as he enters the final year of his current deal, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Sources tell Wilson that discussions between Smith and the Ravens aren’t heating up at this point, though that doesn’t mean progress won’t be made before the wideout is eligible for free agency.
  • Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune spoke at length to Jared Allen about the defensive end’s decision to sign with the Bears after leaving the Vikings this offseason. As Wiederer writes, Allen left Minnesota with no hard feelings, and the spring rumor that he was considering retiring wasn’t just an empty threat.
  • Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said today that rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel has “made some mistakes” and that the team expects “better from him” (link via Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group). While Haslam is entitled to his opinion on Manziel’s off-field behavior, the timing is interesting, considering Haslam’s Pilot Flying J company was recently fined $92MM for cheating customers out of promised rebates and discounts.
  • It’s not clear yet where the Packers‘ new long-term deal with Jordy Nelson leaves Randall Cobb, but you can count quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy among those who would like to see Cobb sign an extension of his own, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com details.

Packers Sign Jordy Nelson To Extension

July 26th, 2014 at 11:09am CST by Matt Feminis

Packers receiver Jordy Nelson has agreed to a four-year, $39MM contract extension, including $14.2MM guaranteed, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. He says the deal will average $9.76MM and Nelson will receive a $11.5MM signing bonus.

On Thursday, Luke Adams relayed a report that Nelson was seeking $10MM per year, and provided perspective on Nelson’s standing amongst some of the league’s other top receivers. Ultimately, Nelson got what he was seeking at a number the Packers are probably happy with, too. In his story, NFL.com’s Kevin Patra says Nelson is “still a very good bargain for the Packers.”

In terms of guaranteed money, Nelson’s $14.2MM will slot just below the likes of Eric Decker ($15MM), rookie Mike Evans ($14.6MM) and Percy Harvin ($14.5MM) and above Golden Tate ($13.3MM) and Pierre Garcon ($13.1MM). The 29-year-old Nelson has established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFC, earning the role of Aaron Rodgers go-to man thanks to his consistency, dependability and playmaking. The departure of Greg Jennings did not affect Nelson’s production last season, as he totaled 85 receptions for 1,314 and eight touchdowns.

Now, the Packers will turn their attention to Randall Cobb, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. In a Twiter exchange, two of the media’s most prominent salary cap experts, CBS’ Joel Corry and OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald, provided instant reaction to the Nelson news and how it affects Cobb’s future. Corry says most teams do not have two high-priced receivers, adding, “If Randall Cobb views himself as a Percy Harvin type player, signing him to a contract extension will be extremely difficult.”

Poll: Jordy Nelson Vs. Randall Cobb

July 7th, 2014 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

During the past two offseasons, the Packers have witnessed the departure of several of Aaron Rodgers‘ longtime pass-catching weapons. In 2013, Donald Driver retired and Greg Jennings signed a lucrative five-year deal to join the division-rival Vikings, and in 2014, James Jones headed west, inking a three-year pact with the Raiders. Additionally, Jermichael Finley, who is coming off spinal surgery, has reportedly not been cleared by the Packers’ team doctor, making a reunion with the free agent tight end unlikely at this point.

Two more veteran Green Bay receivers are on contracts that expire after the 2014 season, but Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb seem less likely to be playing elsewhere in 2015. The Packers reportedly have interest in locking up both players to contract extensions, ensuring that they’ll remain two of Rodgers’ top targets for years to come.

In Rob Demovsky’s latest mailbag at ESPN.com, he writes that the Packers may be inclined to reach an agreement with Nelson “sooner rather than later,” so that the team can subsequently move on to Cobb. While Demovsky doesn’t cite specific sources in his response to the latest Nelson/Cobb inquiry, he’s plugged into what the Packers’ front office is thinking, and his comments suggest that Nelson may be the club’s first priority.

Nelson established himself as the Packers’ No. 1 receiver in 2013, setting new career highs in receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,314), despite Rodgers missing a chunk of the season. So it makes sense that the team would prioritize a new agreement with him. On the other hand, Cobb, who had 80 receptions of his own in 2012, looked poised to take on a bigger role in the offense last season before he was sidelined with an injury of his own. Cobb doesn’t have the sort of size you’d expect for a prototypical top receiver, but he’s five years younger than Nelson, and his versatility allows the Packers to utilize him in a number of different ways — he has averaged an impressive 15 yards per carry over the last two seasons, for instance.

What do you think? When the Packers approach their wideouts about contract extensions, which player should the team be more intent on keeping? Who’s the No. 1 priority?

NFC Notes: Orakpo, Hosley, Packers, Ponder

June 4th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he refuses to hold out, Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo still hopes to get a multiyear contract worked out with the team this summer, as Jason Reid of the Washington Post writes. The two sides have discussed the parameters of a deal, but Orakpo deferred to GM Bruce Allen when asked if there had been progress toward an agreement.

“You’ve got to ask Bruce about that,” Orakpo said. “You’ve got to ask them boys (senior Redskins management) about that. Money talks.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • The suspensions just keep on coming for the Giants, who announced today that cornerback Jayron Hosley will miss the first four games of the season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. News of Hosley’s suspension comes on the heels of a six-game ban for safety Will Hill, who was subsequently waived by the club. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets, assuming he doesn’t meet the same fate as Hill and find himself looking for a new team, Hosley’s four-game suspension will cost him about $134K of his $570K salary.
  • Lori Nickel and Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explore whether Packers receivers Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson are both in line for new contract extensions.
  • Addressing for the first time the Vikings‘ decision not to exercise his fifth-year option, Christian Ponder said he wasn’t surprised at all by the decision, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press details. “It gives me an opportunity,” Ponder said of not having a contract beyond 2014. “It has my options open after the season whether I have leverage to stay here or go somewhere else, whether there’s a better place for me to play.”
  • Vernon Davis, who is reportedly seeking a new contract, tells Maggie Gray on SI Now that he’s keeping a close eye on Jimmy Graham‘s positional grievance, even though Davis considers himself a tight end and not a receiver. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee has the quotes from the 49ers tight end.
  • New Buccaneers offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford isn’t saying much about what his plan will be for this upcoming season, writes Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. One thing Tedford did tip, however, is that he’s a fan of a running back by committee approach.
  • Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post passes along Reed Doughty‘s Instagram farewell message to the Redskins and their fans, suggesting the unrestricted free agent won’t be re-signing with the team.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extension Candidate: Jordy Nelson

May 24th, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Peter Sowards

Few teams consistently reward high-level play from homegrown talent like the Green Bay Packers. Draft picks that come in and play well usually earn a second contract and play out their primes in Titletown. And, by not waiting until the player’s contract expires, the team can avoid a bidding war with 31 other teams and negotiate exclusively with its talent. Jordy Nelson

This was the scenario for wide receiver Jordy Nelson early in the 2011 season. A second-round pick in 2008, the Kansas State product totaled modest numbers in his first three years — 100 catches, 1286 yards, six touchdowns — before exploding for career highs (68-1,263-15) in the Packers’ 15-1 season. Green Bay signed Nelson to an incredibly team-friendly three-year, $13.35MM extension after four games, locking him up through the 2014 season.

Nelson fought through injuries in 2012, playing in 12 games and catching just 49 balls. But, proving he doesn’t need an elite quarterback to put up elite numbers, Nelson set career bests in receptions (85) and yards (1,314) in 2013, catching passes from Aaron Rodgers, Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn.

Now, with just one year left on his deal, Nelson is one of the Packers’ prime candidates for a contract extension. Right behind him — or along side — is fellow wideout Randall Cobb, who is still on his rookie contract, but we’ll get to him later.

In February, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport was told that signing Nelson to an extension is an important offseason task for the team.

In March, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that the team’s salary cap is in excellent standing, with plenty of room to extend Nelson and Cobb if and when they choose to do so.

Today, answering tweets from his readers, Demovsky said it would be a surprise if at least one of the two free-agents-to-be didn’t receive his extension before September. He also suggests that Cobb is a more vital re-sign, given his youth and a “budding star” status.

In a Facebook poll, the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Wes Hodkiewicz asked readers which receiver they’d choose to extend. 69 voted Nelson, 41 voted Cobb and 31 couldn’t get off the fence, voting for both.

Nelson’s not exactly old — he’ll turn 29 in a week — but the Packers have recently shown a willingness to walk away from wide receivers who might have seen their best years in the rear view. Case in point, Greg Jennings, whom the Packers let walk after seven incredibly productive seasons. Jennings got his payday in Minnesota, signing a five-year deal with a maximum value of $47.5MM ($18MM guaranteed).

After next season, Nelson will have been in Green Bay seven years, just like Jennings. Both are former second-round picks who were locked up to team-friendly deals in the midst of their rookie contracts.

According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers offered Jennings a contract averaging $8MM to stay in Green Bay once the free agency period started. Jennings chose Minnesota. During the season, with Jennings at his peak, the team reportedly offered $11MM/season, which Jennings turned down, far less than the $15 million AAV he was after.

Just last week, another division rival has helped set the market for receivers, with Chicago’s Brandon Marshall signing a four-year, $40MM extension with $22.5MM guaranteed. Will Nelson’s agent use Marshall’s extension to negotiate his client’s new deal? Will the Packers go the same route with Nelson they did with Jennings if the asking price is too high? Only time will tell, but all of Titletown — and especially its quarterback — will be watching.

 

NFC Extra Points: Saints, Cobb, Nelson, Dockett, Ansah, Harbaugh

May 24th, 2014 at 1:05pm CST by Matt Feminis
  • Three players are vying for the Saints’ No. 2 cornerback job — Champ Bailey, Patrick Robinson and Corey White — and ESPN’s Mike Triplett thinks “it’s pretty close to a three-way tie between that trio for the No. 2 job — or they may all be used in situations that favor their skill sets.” As for Robinson in particular, Triplett says he will get a legitimate shot because otherwise they would have released him to alleviate their salary cap crunch. The 2010 first-rounder hasn’t lived up to expectations, and is entering the final year of his rookie deal counting $2.8MM against the cap.
  • It would be a surprise if the Packers didn’t extend the contract of Randall Cobb or Jordy Nelson (both free agents in 2015) before September, writes ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, who says Cobb is a must re-sign while Nelson is a “little bit trickier” because he’ll be 29 this season.
  • Soon to be 33, Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett has two years remaining on his deal. He will count $8.75MM against the cap in 2014 and is scheduled to count $9.8MM against the cap in 2015, but ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss says after the upcoming season the team will ask him to take a pay cut or likely release him.
  • Aldon Smith‘s future is unknown thanks to his legal issues, and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is already aggravated talking about it, writes Aaron Wilson at National Football Post. “I’m not going to get into speculating on what’s going to happen, what could happen, what will happen. There’s nothing really further that I can add to this line of questioning. You can take bamboo shoots and stick ’em under my fingernails and there still wouldn’t be any more I could add further to this discussion.”
  • Also at NFPost, Greg Gabriel spotlights a handful of second-year players in the NFC North poised to break out in 2014, including Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah. Says Gabriel: “As a rookie last year, [Ansah] had 32 total tackles and eight sacks. With a year of learning the game under his belt, I expect those numbers to nearly double. There is no telling how good Ansah can eventually become.”
  • Jackson Jeffcoat, a defensive end out of Texas, garnered a $15k signing bonus from the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, reports the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, who has the full list of the team’s signings/bonuses.

NFC Notes: Marshall, Packers, 49ers

May 19th, 2014 at 1:43pm CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings will have the first opportunity to pitch their city as the host of Super Bowl LII in 2018, according to the team’s Twitter account. As NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport points out (via Twitter), that is exactly what the team was hoping for. Minneapolis hasn’t hosted a championship since 1992 and the construction of a new stadium may be enough to bring the game back to Minnesota. The Saints and Colts are also finalists for the bid.

Now, for more notes from around the NFC…

NFC North Notes: Suh, Hester, Packers, Vikes

March 19th, 2014 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of suggesting earlier this week that there was no rush to extend defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, Lions president Tom Lewand said today on WJR in Detroit that the team expects to meet with Suh’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, next week in Orlando at the NFL owners meetings (Twitter link via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com). While a Suh extension may not be urgent, it definitely should be on the Lions’ offseason checklist, and it looks like the two sides will take the first steps toward a new deal within the next several days.

Let’s round up a few more links from around the NFC North….

NFC North Rumors: Suh, Tillman, Cobb

February 19th, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions would like to meet with Ndamukong Suh’s reps this week to discuss a new deal for the defensive lineman, but if Suh has hired a new agent, no one has informed the team yet, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports have been linked to Suh, but it’s still not entirely clear if Roc Nation will only represent the 27-year-old for marketing purposes, or if the agency will be negotiating his contracts as well. As we wait for confirmation from Suh’s camp on who will be negotiating his new deal, let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFC North….

  • In an appearance on WSCR-AM 670 in Chicago, prospective free agent Charles Tillman continued to leave the door open for a return to the Bears, though he’ll definitely hit the open market, as Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune writes. “If I’m here, sweet,” Tillman said of Chicago. “If I’m not, that’s business.” The veteran cornerback also acknowledged that retirement may not be too far off (“I don’t want to play forever”), but shot down the idea of moving to safety in 2014.
  • Packers receiver Randall Cobb is entering a contract year in 2014, and as far as he knows, there haven’t been any extension talks yet between his agent and the team (link via Dan Hanzus of NFL.com). “I would definitely love that,” Cobb said. “But unfortunately that won’t be my decision. That will be on the team to come to me with that decision.”
  • Although the Vikings will have to address a “glaring need” at cornerback in either free agency or the draft, safety may be the only position on defense with no turnover this offseason, according to Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune.

Demovsky On The Packers

February 18th, 2014 at 6:47pm CST by Matt Feminis

The Packers and agent Drew Rosenhaus have engaged in open dialogue about free agent cornerback Sam Shields, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, who participated in a chat with fans. Other tidbits:

  • Inside linebacker A.J. Hawk‘s 2013 season was his best yet, and Packers coaches value the veteran’s dependability, reliability and accountability despite his physical limitations. Brad Jones, however, must “play much better or they need to find a replacement,” says Demovsky.
  • Nick Perry and Jerel Worthy, the team’s first two 2012 draft picks, have both disappointed and it’s unknown if either fit the defensive scheme.
  • Demovsky spoke to a scout who believes Johnny Jolly could slide inside to nose tackle if he’s re-signed.
  • When asked about the team potentially locking up receivers Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson long-term, Demovsky described Cobb as a “no-brainer,” but wondered if Nelson would “drive a harder bargain” because he took a below-market deal (four years, $12.6MM) in 2011 and his next deal will likely be his last big contract.
  • Demovsky does not envision the team splurging for a blockbuster free agent (i.e. a player requiring an $8MM-$10MM signing bonus), but sees a few “mid-level” signings as realistic.
  • “Chances are good” the team will draft a developmental quarterback in the mid to late rounds.