HEADLINES

Ryan Fitzpatrick

QB Notes: Fitzpatrick, Kaepernick, Broncos

July 23rd, 2016 at 9:11am CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals may play the Jets in mid-October, but Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer is still rooting for Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s pursuit of a new contract. The two signal-callers were teammates on the 2008 Bengals squad, and they remain good friends today. Palmer has been watching from afar as his free agent pal has been battling the Jets at the negotiation table.

“He’s a good friend of mine, he’s an ex-teammate of mine, and I know what he means to a locker room, I know what he means on the field,” Palmer said (via Dom Cosentino of NJ.com).

“He’s been a great player for them. I hope they take care of him the way they should because he means so much to that team, that team wants him there. They have a legit shot, with him at quarterback.”

Let’s check out some more notes pertaining to the league’s quarterbacks…

 

AFC Notes: Fitz, Jets, Ravens, Williams, Colts

July 19th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight to the months-long contract standoff between the Jets and free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Even though training camp is fast approaching, the two sides haven’t spoken in over a month, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Similarly, Fitzpatrick and the Jets’ Brandon Marshall haven’t talked in multiple weeks, the concerned receiver stated Monday. And whether it means anything remains to be seen, but Fitzpatrick put his New Jersey house up for rent last week, per Darryl Slater of NJ.com. He and the Jets have been at odds since March over the club’s three-year, $24MM offer that features $15MM in guarantees.

Elsewhere around the AFC…

  • Nose tackle Brandon Williams is the most obvious extension candidate on the Ravens’ roster, opines Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. However, Zrebiec doesn’t see any real incentive for Williams to discuss a new deal now, writing that his next contract could rival the five-year, $46.25MM pact fellow nose tackle Damon Harrison signed as a free agent with the Giants over the winter. Williams, 27, is coming off his third NFL season, one in which he started all 16 of Baltimore’s games, amassed 53 tackles and two sacks, and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 21st-best interior defender (fourth overall against the run) among 123 qualifiers. He’s scheduled to make $1.67MM in 2016, the final year of his rookie accord.
  • Right guard and inside linebacker are two positions that will feature interesting battles for the Colts this summer, per Kevin Bowen of the team’s website. Incumbent Hugh Thornton, who has started in 32 of 37 career appearances, will try to fend off Denzelle Good, former No. 1 center Jonotthan Harrison and fifth-round rookie Joe Haeg at right guard. With Jerrell Freeman having departed as a free agent, Nate Irving and Sio Moore will fight for starting ILB duties next to D’Qwell Jackson. Irving (14) and Moore (22) have a combined 36 NFL starts between them.
  • The Colts don’t have a clear long-term solution at running back, where 33-year-old starter Frank Gore is ancient for a rusher and coming off the worst season of his decorated 11-year career. But the club is bullish on undrafted rookie Josh Ferguson, writes Mike Chappell of CBS4. “He’s very, very athletic,’’ head coach Chuck Pagano said of the ex-Illinois back. “He’s a great receiver out of the backfield. We can split him wide. We can displace him formationally. He’s a mismatch out in space. He’s got juice. He can go. He’s got great vision. Just not a third-down back, but he’s a good runner.” Offered owner Jim Irsay, “We think guys like Josh Ferguson have a chance to be special. Time will tell.’’ Notably, draft guru Dave-Te Thomas, who has served as a scouting personnel consultant to NFL teams for multiple decades, lavished praise on Ferguson when assessing the Colts’ rookie class for PFR earlier this month.
  • Earlier Tuesday, Dave-Te Thomas analyzed some Baltimore rookies who could make significant impacts this year.

AFC East Notes: Geno, Fitz, Harris, Foster, Pats

July 18th, 2016 at 8:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets/Ryan Fitzpatrick saga could last well into training camp, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), who adds that New York’s staff may need to see how Geno Smith performs in preseason contests before deciding if the club can cope without Fitzpatrick. Given that the Jets cleared some cap space by lowering Muhammad Wilkerson‘s 2016 charge (through an extension), some observers believed that Gang Green could now afford to offer Fitzpatrick the deal he’s sought, but it doesn’t sound like an agreement is close.

Meanwhile, while Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com opines that Jets management needs to set a deadline for talks with Fitzpatrick, wide receiver Brandon Marshall says he’s lost communication with the veteran quarterback. “To be honest, me and Fitz talk everyday, all the time, but I texted him the last two weeks three times and there’s no response,” said Marshall, per Ryan Mayer of CBS New York. “The only thing that he can do to make this right is to say he was on vacation, I was out of the country. It’s not like him. It’s scaring me right now.”

Let’s take a look at more from New York and the rest of the AFC East:

  • Although David Harris doesn’t have any guarantees left on his contract in 2017, the Jets figure to hang onto the veteran linebacker through the end of his deal, argues Brian Costello of the New York Post. Harris’ three-year deal, which he signed prior to 2015, contained $15MM guaranteed, but all of that total was made up of base salaries. As such, the club could release him after the upcoming season without any dead money accelerating onto their cap. But as Costello notes, Harris is viewed as a locker room leader, so as long as his play doesn’t fall off completely, it stands to figure that he’ll remain on the roster.
  • “I still feel like I’m a Pro Bowl player and I intend to show that,” said running back Arian Foster after agreeing to terms with the Dolphins earlier today, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Foster inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal that can max out at $3.5MM, and his presence in South Beach further complicates a running back unit that already boasted Jay Ajayi, Damien Williams, and rookie Kenyan Drake. Foster’s pact only contains $400K guaranteed, so if he can’t stay healthy during the preseason, Miami can cut ties without too much of a fiscal penalty.
  • Patriots safety Nate Ebner has been selected for the United States rugby team, agent Sean Stellato tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Head coach Bill Belichick has indicated that he supports Ebner’s Olympic bid, provided that he reports to the New England in shape and ready to go for the upcoming season. This offseason, the Patriots re-signed the special teams standout to a two-year, $2.4MM deal, presumably with the knowledge that he would go out for the U.S. rugby team. Ebner won’t Olympian with NFL experience, as former Lions running back Jahvid Best will be member of Saint Lucia’s track team.
  • Although the Bills used a fourth-round pick on him, rookie quarterback Cardale Jones won’t have much of an impact during the 2016 campaign, writes Joe Buscaglia of WKBW. Jones didn’t look NFL-ready during minicamps, so any hopes of him usurping backup EJ Manuel are no more, and given that Buffalo doesn’t need to keep three quarterbacks active on gameday, Jones figures to spend much of rookie year holding a clipboard.

East Notes: Wentz, Garoppolo, Jets

July 17th, 2016 at 10:06am CST by Rory Parks

It’s won’t come as much of a surprise, but Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will likely be spending at least the first part of his rookie season on the inactive list, according to head coach Doug Pederson (article via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com). Said Peterson, “Typically, the third quarterback is down. It’s hard right now to look down the road, but if we had to play this week, Carson would be down. He’d be the third quarterback. He’d be deactivated. That’s probably the direction we’re heading, I would think is going that route.”

After re-signing Sam Bradford this offseason and acquiring Chase Daniel, the Eagles can afford to be patient with Wentz, whom the team selected with the No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft after sending a ransom of draft picks to Cleveland to grab that second overall selection. Philadelphia fully expects Wentz to be a long-term fixture under center, but it knows that the North Dakota State product will need time to transition to the pro game.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • In the wake of Tom Brady‘s decision to not file a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe lays out what to expect from Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s four-week audition to open the 2016 season. McBride opines that, if Garoppolo can lead his club to a 3-1, or even 2-2 mark, he will have solidified his place as an NFL starter. And while he will of course turn the reins back over to Brady at that point, New England could seek to lock him up long term or else try and deal him after the season for a draft pick or two. Garoppolo’s contract expires at the end of the 2017 season–Brady’s does not expire until the end of the 2019 campaign–and a successful stint as a starter in 2016 could make him a highly-coveted free agent at that time. The Patriots, of course, are fully aware of this prospective timeline, which was a significant factor in their decision to grab Jacoby Brissett in this year’s draft.
  • Brian Costello of The New York Post believes Jets GM Mike Maccagnan scored “big points” when he found a way to keep Muhammad Wilkerson in the fold on a long-term basis with an 11th-hour extension, but the longer the Ryan Fitzpatrick situation remains unresolved, the worse things could get for Maccagnan. If the team does not come to an agreement with Fitzpatrick, it is not difficult to envision default starter Geno Smith struggling out of the gate, at which point Maccagnan’s approval rating, which is pretty high right now, would plummet, as he, rather than Smith or head coach Todd Bowles, would be the scapegoat. Neither the GM nor Fitzpatrick has blinked during these negotiations, and as training camp inches closer, there are no new developments to report.
  • Yesterday, PFR’s Dallas Robinson looked at how the Wilkerson deal with the Jets came together, and what it means for the future of the club’s defensive line.

Reactions To Muhammad Wilkerson’s Deal

July 16th, 2016 at 9:12am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets surprised the NFL yesterday by inking Muhammad Wilkerson to an extension. The five-year deal is worth $86MM, including $37MM in guaranteed money.

Predictably, the league’s pundits have plenty of reactions to the extension. Let’s take a look at the opinions and rumblings from around the NFL…

  • ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes that this is the biggest “upset victory” for the Jets since their win over the Patriots during the 2010 playoffs. The writer notes that it never made any sense to trade the 26-year-old star, and he commends general manager Mike Maccagnan for understanding the player’s value.
  • Cimini also points out that fellow defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson is now a “valuable bargaining chip.” If the team is pessimistic about signing him to a long-term extension, Cimini believes we could see Richardson on the trading block by next offseason.
  • Maccagnan’s “last order of business” is signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, writes Steve Serby of the New York Post. With newfound cap space, the team could easily offer the signal-caller a one-year deal worth $12MM, which would allow Fitzpatrick to hit free agency again next offseason.
  • The Wilkerson extension was a “major victory” for Maccagnan, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com was “stunned” by the extension, as he thought Wilkerson was the least likely of the extension candidates to sign a new deal. Of course, he also notes that the Jets still weren’t going to emerge as total winners, as the team could have saved about $3MM annually by signing Wilkerson a few years ago.

AFC East Notes: Fitz, Carpenter, Ragland, Fins

July 12th, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

There’s no been “no progress” in talks between the Jets and both defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, sources tell Brian Cosetllo of the New York Post. The Wilkerson news isn’t surprising, because despite the fact that New York is reportedly planning a “last-ditch” effort to retain Wilkerson for the long term, the two sides have been far apart for some time. The Fitzpatrick front, then, is a bit more interesting, and Costello says there’s a “thought” that the veteran quarterback is waiting for another team to suffer an injury, hoping he can parlay such a scenario into a payday. The Jets, however, may need to set a deadline for negotiations, as Costello writes that it might be unfair for the club to essentially hold Geno Smith in reserve, waiting for Fitzpatrick to sign.

Here’s the latest from the AFC East:

  • In a separate piece, Costello profiles Jets offensive guard James Carpenter, who signed with the club prior to the 2015 season, and has already agreed to restructure his contract. By reworking his deal, Carpenter has made it more difficult for Gang Green to part ways with him, as he increased his cap hit in each of the next two seasons by $1.23MM. As Costello writes, Carpenter excelled in the run game last season, and was particularly adept in blocking for running back screens, which should prove a useful skill during the upcoming season given that New York added Matt Forte over the offseason.
  • One of the key questions facing the Bills this season is whether they have enough depth on the defensive side of the ball, writes Joe Buscaglia of WKBW. While the club has solid starting options, Buffalo could be in trouble if injuries hit. And of course, health concerns have already struck the roster, as first-round pass rusher Shaq Lawson is expected to miss several regular season games after undergoing shoulder surgery. General manager Doug Whaley said in May that the Bills could target a veteran free agent — he specifically name-checked Dwight Freeney — if the club’s young players didn’t develop as hoped, and it’s fair to assume Buffalo would also check in on veteran options if injuries deplete the team’s depth.
  • Bills second-round linebacker Reggie Ragland could end up being the best AFC East newcomer, opines Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Ragland will act as a captain of the Buffalo defense, as he’ll start on the inside next to Preston Brown. Reiss points to former Rex Ryan pupil David Harris as the model for Ragland, but it’s an open question as to how much Ragland can contribute given that he could simply be a two-down player, at least to begin the season.
  • The presence of new head coach Adam Gase might not be enough to help turn around Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s career, argues Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Tannehill will be playing in his third offensive scheme in just his fifth NFL season, so no amount of coaching may be able to help him live up to the contract extension he signed last summer.

Todd Bowles On Wilkerson, Contracts, Fitzpatrick

June 18th, 2016 at 11:11am CST by Ben Levine

Things haven’t necessarily gone smoothly for the Jets this offseason. Neither the organization nor incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are budging in their contract negotiations, and the team may be forced to rely on Geno Smith as their starter.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Wilkerson is still awaiting a long-term deal, and the Pro Bowler recently told The New York Post that he’s “shocked” and “frustrated” by the entire situation.

All the while, coach Todd Bowles has continued to operate as if no turmoil existed. However, the second-year coach addressed some of the Jets’ major offseason storylines earlier this week. Brian Costello of The New York Post passed along some of the notable quotes, which we’ve compiled below…

Todd BowlesOn his reaction to Wilkerson’s recent comments:

“You can ask any player in the league and they’re going to have the underpaid answer. It’s not a distraction, it’s just part of business. People get frustrated. People vent out. It’s no different than your kids. If you get frustrated, you vent, you vent out and you move on.”

On how he approaches the situation:

“It doesn’t bother me. I was 20-something once too, and I said a lot of things that I said or didn’t want to say. When you’re younger, you say things, but he says things that he means, so obviously he meant them.”

On how the organization plans to handle the Wilkerson issue:

“I’m not going to discuss Mo’s situation here in public. I’ll talk to them and Mo about it. I’m not going to talk to everybody else about it. It’s something that I’ve always done.”

On the Jets’ current quarterback situation and the status of free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick:

“With all due respect, I’m through talking about Fitz. I’m going to worry about the guys I have on the team. I think I’ve expressed and said everything about the quarterback that I’m going to say at this standpoint. Until I get to training camp and see what happens, I’m pretty much done talking about it.”

Extra Points: Monroe, Arians, Jets, Tebow, Pats

June 17th, 2016 at 8:04pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent offensive tackle Eugene Monroe will likely begin visiting prospective employers next week, reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With training camp still a good distance away, Monroe will take his time before signing somewhere, adds Fowler. Since the Ravens released him Wednesday, Monroe has reportedly drawn interest from the Giants, Seahawks and 49ers. In addition to those three clubs, PFR’s Dallas Robinson analyzed five others that could sign the 29-year-old.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians told Andrea Kremer of HBO that he felt “betrayed” when the Steelers let him go after the 2011 season, ending his five-year stint as their offensive coordinator (via Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic). “I had admired Mike Tomlin so much. And I really thought he was a coach who really cared about his people. And for him to do this, well, I felt very disillusioned,” said Arians, who accused Tomlin of reneging on a promise to renew his contract. Arians believes the perception that he was too close with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger – with whom he won a Super Bowl – contributed to his demise in Pittsburgh. The 63-year-old also told Kremer he was “legitimately retired” after his tenure with the Steelers concluded, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano then hired him as Indianapolis’ O-coordinator. Arians ended up as Indy’s head coach for 12 games, leading the team to a 9-3 record as Pagano battled leukemia. That success paved the way for Arians to land in Arizona, where he has helped the Cardinals to a sterling 34-17 regular-season mark and three straight playoff appearances.
  • With both quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson at loggerheads with the Jets over money, the team is on track to open training camp July 27 in less-than-ideal fashion, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini doesn’t expect Fitzpatrick – who’s still a free agent – to re-sign with the club by then, while the Jets and Wilkerson are too far apart on his next contract to hammer out a long-term agreement by the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players. Wilkerson will lose $900K per week if he holds out into the regular season, notes Cimini, so the likelihood is the Pro Bowler will ultimately sign his $15.7MM franchise tender this summer and play out the year under that.
  • Free agent Tim Tebow could take another crack at making an NFL roster as a quarterback, he told Larry King (via Mark Fischer of the New York Daily News). “You pursue what’s on your heart, you pursue what you’re passionate about and for me in the game of football, is the position of quarterback,” said the 28-year-old. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, was one of the Eagles’ final cuts last summer. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2012, when he was a backup signal-caller with the Jets.
  • Longtime front office executive Michael Lombardi is leaving the Patriots, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. No reason has been given for Lombardi’s exit, but the former NFL Network analyst could be headed to HBO to join Bill Simmons’ new venture, according to Reiss. Lombardi, whom the Pats hired in 2013 as an assistant to their coaching staff, was previously the general manager in Cleveland.

East Notes: Jets, Gilmore, Giants, Redskins

June 17th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Geno Smith is the Jets current starting quarterback, although the team would clearly prefer Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. Second-round pick Christian Hackenberg is the future at the position. So, where does that leave Bryce Petty?

As Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes, the team shouldn’t be giving up on the sophomore signal-caller. While the Jets have considered keeping four quarterbacks for 2016, Petty’s roster spot is no guarantee, and the writer doesn’t believe the organization should give up on the project so quickly.

For what it’s worth, Petty is ready for the challenge.

“You like competition,” Petty said. “So it’s one of those deals like, ‘Okay, they did draft a guy. Now it’s my chance to prove that they took the right guy the year before. … They made a good choice when they drafted me.”

Let’s check out some other notes from the NFL’s East divisions…

  • The Jets willingness to play hard ball with Fitzpatrick and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson leads to the perception that the team is “not as committed to winning as they ought to be,” writes Steve Serby of the New York Post. The writer believes the real fear is that this sentiment will leak into the locker room, which could make for a toxic environment.
  • The Bills don’t intend to pay Stephon Gilmore “Josh Norman cornerback money,” writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. If the defensive back is seeking a contract that nears Norman’s five-year, $75MM, the team will presumably let Gilmore walk following the season. On the flip side, the Bills may be willing to pay the former first-rounder $12.5MM a year.
  • The Giants are a natural fit for former Ravens offensive lineman Eugene Monroe, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The team has an obvious hole on the offensive line, and Monroe’s track record proves that the organization shouldn’t be wary of the veteran’s presence.
  • Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan has only held his position for 17 months, but the executive has already done an admirable job of turning around the organization. As Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports writes, the offseason acquisition of Josh Norman was McCloughan’s biggest move yet, and the GM is confident that the signing will ultimately prove to be worth it.

East Notes: Fitz, Wilkerson, Cousins, Cowboys

June 15th, 2016 at 5:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets’ Todd Bowles indicated Tuesday that there’s no deadline to sign free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the head coach backtracked on that today, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If it’s Week 4 in training camp and he’s not here, you know who your starter is going to be Week 1,” Bowles said, implying that Geno Smith would be the Jets’ No. 1 signal-caller in such an extreme scenario. “You have time until you don’t have time,” continued Bowles, who added that the Jets will consider signing a veteran to compete for a backup role with rookie Christian Hackenberg and second-year man Bryce Petty if Gang Green doesn’t re-up Fitzpatrick.

More from the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is content to play this season under the $19.95MM franchise tag if he and the club don’t reach a long-term agreement by the July 15 deadline, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. One reason the 27-year-old is fine with operating under the tag is because he knows his price will continue rising if the Redskins franchise him again next offseason, relays Florio. Indeed, it would cost Washington $23.94MM to tag Cousins in 2017 and $34.47MM to do the same in 2018.
  • Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson – who skipped OTAs and is sitting out minicamp (and could hold out of training camp) – will not settle for less than the $103MM extension the Eagles gave Fletcher Cox on his next deal, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Although Wilkerson has a star-level track record, the Jets don’t regard the two-time second-team All-Pro highly enough to pay him Cox-type of money and already have a pair of other stud D-linemen in Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams. Thus, Wilkerson is likely to eventually sign his $15.7MM franchise tag, play 2016 under that and then bolt in free agency, per Costello.
  • The Cowboys have named Lionel Vital their director of college scouting, tweets Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. Dallas hired Vital as a senior personnel executive in March, but the team has now clarified his role. Vital was previously the personnel director for the Falcons, who parted ways with him in January.
  • After a mini-holdout, standout Dolphins safety Reshad Jones reported to minicamp earlier today.
Load More Posts