Sam Bradford - Pro Football Rumors

AFC South Notes: Colts, Greene, Titans, Jags

April 25th, 2015 at 1:52pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts have thought outside the box as they’ve attempted to round out the bottom of their roster. As Stephen Holder of the Indy Star points out, the team currently has four former CFL players, two college basketball players and a Kenyan rugby player under contract.

The mix of different backgrounds isn’t unusual to general manager Ryan Grigson, who is willing to look anywhere to make his team better:

“If you have elite athletic traits, you can do this. This isn’t one of those specialized sports, like golf. If you have a level of toughness and you can move and you have instincts, if you have those at an elite level, you’re going to get a chance.”

Let’s take a look at more notes out of the AFC South, including additional whispers from Indianapolis…

The Colts may have a tough time retaining both Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, but ESPN.com’s Mike Wells opines that the team should hold on to the tight end pair. As the writer points out, the best case scenario would be for the duo to establish themselves as one of the best pairings in the league, forcing the team to re-sign both players.
If Antonio Andrews has a solid showing in minicamp, Paul Kuharsky would anticipate the Titans cutting veteran running back Shonn Greene.
NFL Network’s Mike Mayock believes it would be difficult for a team to acquire the Titans first-round pick unless an established veteran quarterback becomes available. “Trading up to 2 is a big deal, because if you look at the old trade value chart, 1 through 4 have by far the highest values, and then there’s a precipitous drop to No. 5 and it gets a lot easier to start trading,” Mayock said (via Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean). “So trying to get up to 2 is really hard, unless you have an existing player like San Diego has with Philip Rivers or perhaps Philadelphia has with Sam Bradford.”
Michael DiRocco is the under the impression that Jaguars wideouts Tandon Doss, Bryan Walters and Ace Sanders will all be fighting over one roster spot, with the writer giving punt return specialist Doss the early advantage.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Hardy, Bradford, Polk

April 24th, 2015 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Giants‘ top three most-played safeties from 2014 – Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps, and Stevie Brown – are no longer under contract with the team, and the club missed out on Devin McCourty in free agency. However, GM Jerry Reese doesn’t view the position as an area of need, as Conor Orr of NFL.com details. While Reese may not consider safety to be as important a position as some other spots on the field, it would still be a surprise if the Giants don’t grab one or two at some point in the draft.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

There are some “smart people” around the NFL who believe Greg Hardy‘s suspension will ultimately be reduced from 10 games to something in the neighborhood of two to six games, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Even if Hardy’s appeal isn’t successful, the NFLPA may file a lawsuit on behalf of the Cowboys defensive end, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Hardy’s stint in Dallas is off to an ominous start, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who reports that the defensive end was involved in an altercation with Cowboys teammate Davon Coleman today. A source tells Garafolo that Hardy questioned Colemans’s effort during conditioning drills, and a verbal altercation nearly turned into a physical one. Meanwhile, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links) hears that Coleman incited Hardy by calling him a “woman beater.” According to Getlin, there’s some concern among the Cowboys that Hardy is already at odds with another member of the club’s defensive line.
Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Sam Bradford isn’t willing to settle for a “substandard” contract extension, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Instead, the former first overall pick is hoping to submit a strong 2015 campaign and reassess his market value at that point. There’s also not 100% certainty that the Eagles will hang on to Bradford through the draft, so the QB wants to make sure he knows where he’ll be playing before he locks himself into a long-term extension.
Earlier this afternoon, the Eagles rescinded Chris Polk‘s RFA contract tender, making him an unrestricted free agent. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Philadelphia was open to re-signing the running back at a lower salary, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.

NFC East Rumors: DGB, Harris, Eagles

April 19th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are some rumors coming out of the NFC East on Sunday night.

First-round talent Dorial Green-Beckham declined a pre-draft visit with the Cowboys, according to Ross Jones of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). No reason was given for this decision.
While the never-ending spree of Adrian Peterson-replacing-DeMarco Murray-in-Dallas rumors will persist for at least another 10 days, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News writes Murray won’t be the toughest Cowboy to replace this season. On the surface, it appeared the Giants handed a typo-worthy check to pry return man Dwayne Harris from the Cowboys, but the five-year, $17.5MM deal goes a long way to fix Big Blue’s special teams while depleting the Cowboys’, notes Gosselin.
The Eagles won’t likely trade up in the draft, and if they do it would probably be for Marcus Mariota, but Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com picks out two other potential prospects that he could imagine the team making a move to grab, in cornerback Trae Waynes and receiver DeVante Parker.
In light of Sunday’s news that Tim Tebow intends to sign with the Eagles, ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini (via Twitter) passes along the polarizing quarterback’s QBR in the final five minutes of fourth quarters. Cherry-picking, indeed, but Tebow’s 80.7 crunch-time figure crafted largely in the middle portion of the 2011 season nearly doubles Sam Bradford‘s 46.8 mark.

Rob DiRe contributed to this report

Browns Leaning Towards Giving Up On Manziel

April 2nd, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Publicly, the Browns have been supportive of quarterback Johnny Manziel as he works to get his off-field issues in check. Privately, it sounds like they might be thinking differently. In an appearance on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike (audio link) on Thursday, Chris Mortensen estimated that Browns officials have “90%” moved on from Manziel in their own minds.

Of course, the Browns added veteran signal caller Josh McCown this offseason, which was a reaction to their question marks concerning Manziel. Also this offseason, the Browns dangled their No. 19 pick to the Rams in an effort to pry away Sam Bradford. Bradford was eventually sent to the Eagles in a swap for Nick Foles since the Browns could not offer a quality quarterback to St. Louis. Mortensen doesn’t see the Browns being able to get Bradford from the Eagles since he’ll likely be their Plan A under center once healthy. On top of that, Bradford wouldn’t sign an extension with Cleveland, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to give up a significant asset to acquire him.

Ultimately, the Browns are very unsure about Manziel’s future in the league and it’s no coincidence that they have searched high and low for alternatives this offseason.

East Notes: Dareus, Bills, Eagles

March 30th, 2015 at 8:21pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills‘ top priority at this point would probably be hammering out an extension with defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, but the timetable on that isn’t 100% clear, as Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes. “In the near future,” GM Doug Whaley said when asked about when Dareus could get his new deal. “He will be priority No. 1 once the dust settles post-draft, maybe even before then, just to get the ball rolling.” The defensive tackle is one of the game’s best players at his position and after Ndamukong Suh‘s massive deal with the Dolphins, Buffalo will have to bring some serious bucks to the table. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..

The Bills could find that space to accommodate a deal for Dareus by restructuring their deal with defensive end Mario Williams. Williams is due to earn $19.4MM this year, $19.9 million next year, and $16.5 million in 2017. “He could free up the most and make it the most logical, because what we would do is not only restructure, but extend him similar to [what we did recently with defensive end] Kyle Williams, so these guys retire as Buffalo Bills,” Whaley said. “We want to set a precedent that we retain our own and we have them retire as Buffalo Bills. I think that’s a sentiment we’re trying to show the players on our roster now.”
While some have said that Miles Austin will be taking the spot of Brad Smith on the Eagles, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter) doesn’t feel that’s really the case. The versatile Smith was a key special teams contributor while Austin is likely being signed to be more of a pure wide receiver.
Sam Bradford‘s former coach Josh Heupel helped talk him out of quitting football, as Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Meanwhile, Heupel is confident that Bradford will shine with the Eagles. “If he’s 100 percent healthy,” Heupel said, “he’ll be able to perform at an elite level.”

Extra Points: Pagano, Bradford, Broncos

March 27th, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is entering the final year of his contract and, despite news this week that the team isn’t planning to extend him prior to the 2015 campaign, the 54-year-old isn’t concerned about his long-term status. Pagano issued a statement Friday that expressed his excitement about “coaching the Colts this season and for many years to come,” tweeted Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Mathis, Barwin

March 25th, 2015 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly drew a big crowd at this morning’s NFC coaches’ breakfast in Arizona, and many of those reporters in attendance passed along noteworthy comments and quotes from the team’s de facto GM. Here are a few of the highlights from Kelly, with all links going to the Twitter accounts of various reporters in Phoenix:

Since being offered a first-round pick shortly after he acquired Sam Bradford from the Rams, Kelly hasn’t received any other trade inquiries involving the quarterback. As for that original offer, Kelly declined to confirm which team offered the first-rounder pick for Bradford, but it was certainly the Browns, who also offered the Rams the 19th overall pick for the QB.
Discussing the Bradford trade, Kelly said the Eagles had originally tried to get the deal done with just picks, in the hopes of keeping Nick Foles, but the Rams wanted Foles as part of the package.
According to Kelly, the Eagles haven’t actively shopped guard Evan Mathis, but the club has given Mathis and his agent permission to seek a possible trade. At the end of the day, Kelly said, he’s willing to listen to offers for any player.
Explaining the decision to spend big on cornerback Byron Maxwell and not wideout Jeremy Maclin, Kelly indicated that there had been an imbalance of money devoted to the offensive side of the ball, as opposed to the defensive side of the ball, and “it showed” on the field.
Kelly confirmed that Connor Barwin‘s contract restructure didn’t help the Eagles’ cap at all — Kelly reworked the deal simply because he felt like Barwin had exceeded and outperformed his initial contract.
It sounds as if wide receiver will be an area the club targets in the draft. Kelly said today that wide receiver may be the position with the most depth in this year’s draft class.
The Eagles remain active in some discussions with free agents, but Kelly isn’t sure if the team will sign any more players.
Although Kelly said today that LeSean McCoy wasn’t “moving off” his large cap number – prompting the team to part ways with him – Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer hears from sources that the team never approached the running back about restructuring his deal.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Rams, Cards

March 25th, 2015 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, Rams coach Jeff Fisher, and Cardinals coach Bruce Arians all offered up a few notable comments today during their morning session with reporters in Phoenix at the owners’ meetings. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights from the breakfast discussions, starting with the reigning NFC champs….

Pete Carroll
(Twitter links via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times and ESPN.com’s Terry Blount)

Carroll reiterated what GM John Schneider said earlier this week, indicating that defensive end Michael Bennett has never said anything to him about wanting to be traded or wanting a new contract.
Carroll is optimistic about a number of the team’s free agents returning to the fold, indicating the club plans to re-sign center Stephen Schilling and defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs. The head coach is also confident that the Seahawks will work something out with backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who remains on the market. Jackson visited the Dolphins, but Miami ultimately brought back QB Matt Moore.
Caroll suggested that the Seahawks and Russell Wilson‘s camp have had “great talks” about a new contract for the young signal-caller. “It’s a long process with extraordinary ramifications,” according to Caroll, but he’s hopeful that the two sides can work something out.

Jeff Fisher
(Twitter links via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, and Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com)

According to Fisher, trade discussions with the Browns involving quarterback Sam Bradford happened on the weekend of March 7, before free agency opened. The Rams eventually announced their deal with the Eagles on Tuesday, March 10.
The Browns’ offer for Bradford featured the No. 19 overall pick and never the No. 12 pick. However, Fisher said today that it wouldn’t have made a difference if Cleveland offered the higher first-rounder, since St. Louis still wouldn’t have gotten a QB back in the deal — the Eagles’ willingness to part with Nick Foles gave the Rams a Bradford replacement.
The Rams remain active in their search for offensive linemen, with talks expected to pick up again following this week’s league meetings. Joe Barksdale, who played right tackle for the team last year, is still an option, and the Rams are in talks with him. According to Fisher, Barksdale’s initial asking price was a little surprising, but it’s in a more reasonable range now, and “it makes sense to get Joe back.”
The Rams have added Jeff Imamura to their staff as a defensive assistant, according to Fisher. Imamura previously worked for the Vikings.

Bruce Arians
(Twitter links via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com and Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)

The Cardinals cut center Lyle Sendlein earlier in the offseason, but would like to get him back on the roster at a reduced cap number.
Running back figures to be a spot the Cards will address in the draft, perhaps in the fourth or fifth round. The team is looking for a player with both size and speed.
The Cards also figure to look at cornerbacks in the draft. Arians said today that he wants to add a young, speedy corner, but doesn’t see a need to add a veteran to the roster.
Veteran linebacker Larry Foote is currently a member of the Cardinals’ coaching staff, but may still decide to play for the team in 2015. Arians is hopeful that Foote, who is recovering from knee surgery, will make that decision in time for training camp.

North Notes: Greenway, Browns, Bears, Rice

March 24th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) that the club is trying to work through a contract restructure with linebacker Chad Greenway, adding that the team wants him to retire as a Viking. As a declining player set to count more than $7MM against the cap, Greenway will probably have to accept a straight pay cut to remain on the roster.

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

Rob Brzezinski, the Vikings’ vice president of football operations, met with agent Ben Dogra last night, but Dogra’s client Adrian Peterson didn’t come up in conversation, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). Dogra also represents free agent corner Terence Newman, whom the Vikes are rumored to be interested in, leading Wolfson to speculate that he was the topic of the meeting.
As was widely rumored, it was the Browns that offered a first-round pick to the Rams in exchange for Sam Bradford, St. Louis GM Les Snead confirmed to Sal Palantonio of ESPN (Twitter link via John Middlekauf of 95.7 The Game).
Bears chairman George McCaskey initially told GM Ryan Pace that he could not sign embattled defensive end Ray McDonald, noting that the “pattern” and “frequency” of McDonald’s off-the-field trouble worried him, per Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com wonders why former Raven Ray Rice is still a “pariah” in the eyes of the NFL, especially given that players with similar incidents (such as Greg Hardy) have been signed by other clubs.
Texas A&M-Commerce receiver Ricky Collins has a visit lined up with the Browns, tweets Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net.

AFC Links: Texans, Jaguars, Dolphins, Browns

March 23rd, 2015 at 9:16pm CST by Ben Levine

The Texans current batch of quarterbacks would never be confused with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer and Tom Savage don’t evoke fear, but that doesn’t mean their team can’t be successful. Owner Bob McNair is a supporter of that sentiment, as he told Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com that he believes his team could contend for a Super Bowl:

“Teams have done that. Look at Baltimore back in 2000. They had an outstanding defense. They could run the ball and they had a quarterback that didn’t turn it over that much. I think that is a plan that can bring you great success. Look what we did last year playing four quarterbacks. We didn’t have that consistent play at quarterback and yet look how close we came. We’ve improved our defense this year.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

Jaguars general manager David Caldwell told Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that his team has interest in free agent wideout Greg Jennings, but he warns that they haven’t scheduled a visit (Twitter link).
While appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum said his team also hasn’t scheduled a visit with Jennings (via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports on Twitter). However, Tannenbaum noted that Miami could pursue the veteran wideout later in free agency.
Following news earlier today that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam could be a candidate to purchase the Titans, a Browns spokesman told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that the Tennessee native is devoted to Cleveland. “It’s 100% false,” the spokesman said. “There is no truth to the careless speculation from the reporter.”
Browns general manager Ray Farmer said the organization would continue to monitor potential quarterback additions, tweets Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com.
Farmer would not reveal whether the Browns offered a first-round pick to the Rams for Sam Bradford, but he did comment that the current Eagles signal-caller likely isn’t available (via Ulrich on Twitter).