HEADLINES

Ricky Jean-Francois

Colts Cut Ricky Jean-Francois

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Colts have cleared some cap room for the coming year, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois. Jean-Francois, who had spent the last two seasons in Indianapolis, had two more years left on his contract with the club.

Jean-Francois, 28, parlayed a part-time role with the 2012 NFC champion 49ers into a four-year, $22MM pact with the Colts, who made him a starter and increased his playing time. Jean-Francois held his own in the increased role, ranking 26th out of 47 qualified 3-4 defensive ends in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). He also set new career highs last season with 34 tackles and three sacks.

Still, with a $6.125MM cap number for 2015, Jean-Francois wasn’t worth the investment for a Colts team that will create nearly $5MM in cap savings by cutting him. With annual prorated bonus figures of $625K on his deal, Jean-Francois will now count for $1.25MM on Indianapolis’ 2015 cap, as those bonus amounts accelerate to the ’15 league year.

The Colts already had a huge chunk of cap room available for 2015, and releasing Jean-Francois will give the team even more flexibility. According to OverTheCap.com’s data, Indianapolis is now armed with $40MM+ in projected cap space, which should give the club the flexibility to splash around a little in free agency, and to work out long-term extensions for core players like Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton.

Extra Points: Welker, Spiller, Concussions

November 3rd, 2014 at 10:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While they’re surely focused on the regular season after losing 43-21 to the Patriots yesterday, the Broncos are going to have to make several difficult decisions during the offseason. Most importantly, Denver will need to figure out how to retain both Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas, meaning that fellow pass-catcher Wes Welker‘s impending free agency might be put on the back burner. A team source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that Welker is the odd man out in regards to a new contract, and that the 33-year-old will likely be playing somewhere else in 2015. Welker, working under the final year of a two-year, $12MM deal, has just 22 receptions for 212 yards and one touchdown this season. Though he currently earns $6MM per year, Cole speculates that Welker will be lucky to find $2-3MM on the open market.

  • Despite being placed on IR-DTR after breaking his collarbone, C.J. Spiller tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he isn’t worried about his free agent stock. “I think I’ve laid a great foundation,” says the Bills running back, who will be part of a free agent running back class that could include DeMarco Murray, Mark Ingram, Shane Vereen, and Frank Gore.
  • 220 former NFL players have opted out of the proposed concussion agreement, per an ESPN report. The league has agreed to pay in excess of $765MM in order to cover health risks associated with concussions. The retired players, or their families, who opted out of the settlement have the option of suing the NFL individually.
  • Colts defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois has hired Drew Rosenhaus as his new agent, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). It’s probably not a signal that the 27-year-old is looking for a new contract, as he signed a four-year, $22MM deal with Indianapolis just last year. He’ll count $6.125MM against the cap in 2015, and though the club could save $4.875MM by cutting him, it’s presumably pleased with his production, as he graded out positively, especially against the run, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).