HEADLINES

Rashad Jennings

FA Rumors: Delmas, Jackson, Decker, Pace

February 27th, 2014 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

A handful of potential free agents, including wide receiver Riley Cooper, center Roberto Garza, and defensive lineman Chris Baker, came off the board today, having agreed to new contracts with their current teams. However, there are still plenty of rumblings about other players who will hit free agency on March 11, not to mention those who are already available. Let’s dive in and round up the latest….

  • Free agent safety Louis Delmas, who was cut by the Lions earlier this month, visited the Saints today, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Because he was released, Delmas is eligible to sign before March 11 if he gets an offer he likes.
  • Recently released linebacker D’Qwell Jackson is in the same boat, and has already lined up weekend visits with the Titans and Broncos, says Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). La Canfora adds (Twitter link) that the Vikings among the clubs looking to schedule a visit for next week, while Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that eight interested teams have already reached out.
  • Following up on a tweet from Vic Lombardi of CBS4 in Denver that indicated there could be mutual interest between wide receiver Eric Decker and the Colts, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star says (via Twitter) that potential interest is unlikely to materialize into anything concrete.
  • The Jets met with linebacker Calvin Pace‘s reps at the combine in Indianapolis and made it clear they’d like to re-sign him, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. However, the club has not yet engaged in contract talks for Pace, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
  • Costello adds in a tweet that the Jets also have interest in retaining defensive tackle Leger Douzable, who will be an unrestricted free agent.
  • Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com explores the possibility of the Bills using their franchise tag on free agent safety Jairus Byrd, which it sounds like the team is willing to do.
  • Free-agent-to-be Rashad Jennings has signed with VMG Sports and will be represented by Mike Simon, Greg Diulus, and Adam Heller, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. The Raiders running back had previously been repped by Kelley Drye.

Raiders Notes: Jennings, McFadden, Houston, Draft

February 20th, 2014 at 5:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders have an important offseason ahead of them, as general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen try to turn the franchise around. Here are some notes from Oakland:

  • Allen identified running back Rashad Jennings as an important piece for the Raiders to re-sign this offseason, while failing to mention fellow ball-carrier Darren McFadden, also a free agent, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. McFadden struggled with in 2013 not only with his usual array of injuries, but with ineffectiveness. Jennings picked up the slack on his way to rushing for 733 yards and six touchdowns. We learned this morning that McFadden’s representatives will speak with Raiders management at the combine on Saturday.
  • In addition to Jennings, defensive end Lamarr Houston and offensive tackle Jared Veldheer are offseason priorities, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Allen noted that the trio’s mindset will be key during negotiations. “They want to be here, and we want them here,” said the Raiders coach. “And I think when you add those two elements together, usually you’re able to get something done.”
  • In a separate piece, Bair reports the Raiders are leaning towards taking a quarterback with the fifth overall selection in the draft. Allen did note that the Raiders won’t pick a signal caller just for the sake of doing so, saying that “when you try to force a quarterback, it really sets your franchise back.” But if a QB the team likes is available at No. 5, will the Raiders take him? “Oh, sure, yeah. If they’re at the same page, if we were drafting tomorrow, probably,” said Allen, which is about as much “certainty” as a coach will offer at draft time.
  • Continuing on the quarterback theme, Allen said former Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel will be a “fun guy to…evaluate,” according to Paul Sheridan of ESPN.com.