HEADLINES

Russell Bodine

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/18

December 4th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Redskins

Bills C Russell Bodine Done For Year

December 3rd, 2018 at 11:55am CST by Zachary Links

Bills center Russell Bodine had surgery on Monday morning to repair a broken fibula, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The injury will end Bodine’s season prematurely and he will be placed on injured reserve this week to free up a spot on the roster. 

Bodine, 26, was the Bengals’ starting center from 2014-2017. This offseason, he joined the Bills on a two-year, $5MM pact. Up until now, Bodine had never missed a game in his NFL career.

Through 13 weeks of the 2018 season, Bodine ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 20 ranked center in the NFL. In all likelihood, the Bills will turn to guard/center Ryan Groy to replace him as their new starting center.

In an effort to add interior line depth, Rapoport tweets that the Bills are “bringing in” free agent center Dillon Day. It’s not immediately clear whether Day has been signed or if he’s simply working out for the team. Day, 27, was most recently with the Packers and worked out for the Colts last week. The Mississippi State product has yet to make his NFL debut, despite signing his first pro deal in 2015.

Contract Details: Burnett, Bodine, Williams

March 23rd, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Ryan Posner

Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts around the NFL:

AFC

NFC

Bills Sign OL Russell Bodine, Marshall Newhouse

March 19th, 2018 at 5:35pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Bills instantly added depth to their depleted offensive line following the trade of left tackle Cordy Glenn, agreeing to deals with Marshall Newhouse and Russell Bodine, with Buffalo confirming both deals. Bodine will receive a two-year deal and Newhouse will join the team on a one-year deal. Bodine’s pact will be worth $5MM, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Newhouse’s deal is worth up to $2MM, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter).

Bodine looks to be the major haul of the two after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Bengals while starting all 16 games at center each season. Eric Wood started all 16 regular-season games at center for the Bills last year but was forced to call it a career after failing his end-of-season physical with a neck injury. The Bills hosted Bodine for a visit Sunday and Monday. The Bengals offered the lineman a long-term, low-guarantee deal, but Rapoport notes that Bodine decided the Bills offer “is best for his future.”

The 25-year-old center graded as one of the bottom-10 centers in the NFL out of last season’s qualifiers, according to Pro Football Focus. With other centers like Ryan Jensen and Weston Richburg off the market, Bodine served as one of the top players at the position still available in free agency.

Newhouse, 29, started 14 games at right tackle for the Raiders last season. The Raiders released Newhouse earlier this month, a year into a two-year $3.5MM deal signed last offseason. Along with the trade of Glenn, the Bills lost Seantrel Henderson, who signed with the Texans this offseason. The Bills were set to enter the season with Dion Dawkins and Jordan Mills starting at tackle.

Newhouse was graded in the bottom-third of tackle qualifiers last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s appeared in 100 games and has made 70 starts over a seven-year career, including stints with the Packers, Giants and Bengals.

[RELATED: Bills Depth Chart]

North Notes: Bengals, Vikings, Ansah

March 18th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that the Steelers signed Jon Bostic to a two-year deal as a potential fill-in for Ryan Shazier, and now we’ll take a swing around a few other north division clubs:

  • Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer think the Bengals did very well for themselves during the first week of the new league year, and they believe the club is done with its major free agent additions/trades in 2018. One of the reasons the team was so successful is that it did not force itself into an expensive Russell Bodine contract. The market has not developed for Bodine, a four-year starter in Cincinnati, in the way that he thought it would, and he may have to settle for a modest deal. We heard earlier today that he will be making a visit to the Bills, and while the Bengals will have center options in the draft, they could bring back Bodine if his price falls far enough.
  • Yesterday, we heard that the Vikings were open to bringing back the recently-released Jarius Wright at a lesser rate, and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says that Wright himself would be open to rejoining Minnesota at a reduced salary. Wright said, “It’s not out of the question. But it’s the NFL. We’ll have to see what happens. But I love Minnesota. I would love to come back, so you just never know what will happen.”
  • The Broncos signed OL Billy Turner yesterday, but Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Vikings also had interest in Turner as a depth option. Tomasson tweets that the team might not have the funds to make a major O-line addition, though it will continue to monitor the market for potential bargains (like Turner). Any potential starter, though, would likely come through the draft.
  • The Lions recently retained Zach Zenner on a one-year deal and signed LeGarrette Blount to a one-year pact, which leads Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com to believe that the club will target an RB early in the draft.
  • In the same piece, Rothstein says he believes Ziggy Ansah will play out the 2018 season on the franchise tender and that he and Lions are not likely to reach a long-term agreement before the July deadline. Rothstein also said the team cut Eric Ebron and saved his significant salary cap charge for a reason, though it’s not clear what that is just yet. Rothstein says Ebron would not have been cut unless the team knew it had a better option coming in (although the Lions could have simply felt that Ebron’s role as a potential mismatch receiving tight end might not be as important to the offense in 2018).

Bills To Host Russell Bodine

March 18th, 2018 at 10:01am CST by Rory Parks

The Bills are set to host free agent center Russell Bodine today and tomorrow, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Buffalo has a major need at center following Eric Wood‘s retirement.

Bodine, of course, is not an ideal replacement. Although he has started all 64 possible games since entering the league as a fourth-round pick of the Bengals in 2014, he has not been overly effective. In 2017, he graded as a bottom-10 center, per Pro Football Focus.

But he is young, durable, and has significant starting experience. Indeed, the Bengals previously expressed interest in retaining his services, and Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said several months ago, “Russell’s been, physically, mentally a tough football player for us. He was installed there as a rookie and he’s done nothing but continue to grow and get better and frankly grow into a guy you can count on to help lead the football team. I feel really good about him. So hopefully we’ll be able to get that done.”

Bodine did not crack PFR’s original list of top free agent interior lineman, but now that top centers like Ryan Jensen and Weston Richburg have signed with new clubs, Bodine will start to attract more interest. Buffalo also has Ryan Groy on the roster as a potential Wood replacement.

North Notes: Bengals, Packers, Vikes, Lions

January 26th, 2018 at 6:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While Bengals center Russell Bodine hasn’t been all that effective during his four years as the club’s starting center, he’s been durable enough to the point where Cincinnati would to like to re-sign him, as head coach Marvin Lewis explained to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Russell’s been, physically, mentally a tough football player for us,” Lewis said. “He was installed there as a rookie and he’s done nothing but continue to grow and get better and frankly grow into a guy you can count on to help lead the football team. I feel really good about him. So hopefully we’ll be able to get that done.” Bodine, 25, has started all 64 possible games since entering the league as a fourth-round pick in 2014, but he graded as a bottom-10 center in 2017, per Pro Football Focus.

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

  • Although the Vikings waived tight end Kyle Carter in order to create a roster spot for quarterback Sam Bradford earlier this month, the club intended to re-sign him when it was first eligible to do so after the Super Bowl, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. Even earlier this week, Carter’s belongings were still in his Minnesota locker, so the Vikings clearly had a reserve/futures deal in mind. Instead, the Giants — who now employ former Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as head coach — claimed Carter off waivers, meaning they’ll control his rights for the remainder of the offseason.
  • New Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst intends to make changes to Green Bay’s front office, but not until after the 2018 draft, he told Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Packers have already experienced a good deal of turnover this offseason, as former GM Ted Thompson was reassigned to an adviser role, while Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith both defected for Cleveland. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported earlier this year that both college scouting director Jon-Eric Sullivan and pro personnel director John Wojciechowski could be candidates for promotion.
  • The Lions have parted ways with defensive backs coach Tony Oden in what is just the latest move in a complete defensive staff overhaul, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit has already let nearly every one of its defensive assistants out of their respective contracts, and the majority have landed elsewhere. While presumptive head coach Matt Patricia hasn’t yet officially made any hires, the Lions are reportedly interested in Boston College defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni for defensive coordinator.

2017 Proven Performance Escalators

January 17th, 2017 at 6:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.Donte Moncrief (Vertical)

If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure should be around $1.8MM in 2017. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.

Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2017 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:

49ers: Aaron Lynch, LB; Marcus Martin, OL

Bears: Charles Leno, T; Will Sutton, DT

Bengals: Russell Bodine, C

Bills: Preston Brown, LB; Seantrel Henderson, T

Broncos: Michael Schofield, OL

Browns: Christian Kirksey, LB

Buccaneers: Kevin Pamphile, G

Cardinals: John Brown, WR

Chiefs: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, G; Zach Fulton, G; Phillip Gaines, CB

Colts: Donte Moncrief, WR

Cowboys: Anthony Hitchens, LB

Falcons: Devonta Freeman, RB

Giants: Devon Kennard, LB

Jaguars: Aaron Colvin, CB; Brandon Linder, G; Telvin Smith, LB

Lions: Nevin Lawson, CB; Travis Swanson, C

Packers: Corey Linsley, C; Richard Rodgers, TE

Panthers: Tre Boston, S; Trai Turner, G

Raiders: T.J. Carrie, CB; Justin Ellis, DT; Gabe Jackson, G

Rams: Maurice Alexander, S; E.J. Gaines, CB

Redskins: Bashaud Breeland, CB; Spencer Long, G; Morgan Moses, T

Texans: C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE; Andre Hal, S

Titans: DaQuan Jones, DL; Avery Williamson, LB

Vikings: Shamar Stephen, DT

NFL Issues Performance-Based Bonuses

March 13th, 2015 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL has announced and issued its performance-based pay bonuses for the 2014 season, according to a press release from the league. The bonuses, which are based on a player’s playing time relative to his salary level, come from a pool of $3.633MM per team. Here are the top performance-based pay amounts for the past season:

  1. Seantrel Henderson, T (Bills): $373,671
  2. Corey Linsley, C (Packers): $339,566
  3. Russell Bodine, C (Bengals): $318,612
  4. Avery Williamson, LB (Titans): $315,120
  5. E.J. Gaines, DB (Rams): $308,338
  6. Zach Fulton, G (Chiefs): $303,352
  7. Kelvin Beachum, T (Steelers): $297,687
  8. Preston Brown, LB (Bills): $293,179
  9. Michael Wilhoite, LB (49ers): $292,406
  10. Paul Worrilow, LB (Falcons): $287,413

AFC North Notes: Bengals, Steelers, Ravens

May 23rd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier today, significantly more than half of 2014’s draft picks have already signed or at least agreed to terms on contracts with their NFL teams. However, that ratio doesn’t particularly apply to the AFC North — of the division’s 32 draftees, only 13 had reached agreements coming into today, and seven of those were Baltimore picks. In this afternoon’s divisional roundup, we have word of one draftee to add to that list of signed players, along with a couple other notes. Let’s dive in….

  • The Bengals have signed fourth-round center Russell Bodine, the team announced today (via Twitter). Cincinnati has been busy this week, having locked up five of the club’s eight draftees within the last three days. Bodine, the 111th overall pick, is in line for a $456K+ signing bonus, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
  • Two of the most noteworthy players still available on the free agent market, Santonio Holmes and James Harrison, have interest in returning to the Steelers, Ike Taylor said earlier this week on his TribLive radio show (link via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Speaking about Harrison specifically, Taylor said, “He still wants to play football, and of course his first option would be Pittsburgh. … He’s probably in the best shape of his life. Right now he looks like the Hulk. He’s been banged up, and he feels he has something to prove.”
  • After going undrafted earlier this month, Middle Tennessee State cornerback Sammy Seamster fielded calls from about 20 teams interesting in signing him as a free agent, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. As Wilson writes, Seamster narrowed his options to the Ravens, Dolphins, and Jaguars, and is happy that he ultimately opted to sign with Baltimore.