Spencer Paysinger

AFC East Notes: Fins, Tannehill, Bradham, Jets

The Dolphins will work this spring on attempting to finalize a long-term contract extension for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, but if the two sides don’t reach an agreement, Miami will be comfortable exercising Tannehill’s fifth-year option for the 2016 season, writes Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

That option would pay Tannehill $16.155MM, and would give the Dolphins a little more time to work something out with the signal-caller. However, the team may prefer to get a deal done sooner rather than later in order to ensure that Tannehill’s 2016 cap number isn’t quite so high.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the AFC East, including a couple more Dolphins notes….

  • The Dolphins don’t have plans to add a guard in free agency or in the first couple rounds of the draft, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who passes along some quotes from executive VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum on the subject. The club currently plans to have Billy Turner at one guard spot, with Dallas Thomas getting the opportunity to win the other starting job.
  • Tannenbaum also spoke to Salguero about why the Dolphins were comfortable swapping out Mike Wallace for Kenny Stills, even though it meant essentially giving up a third-round pick in exchange for a fifth-rounder.
  • The Bills are expected to discuss a potential contract extension for linebacker Nigel Bradham this week, sources tell Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bradham, who established new career highs with 104 tackles, a pair of forced fumbles, and seven passes defended, is eligible for an extension on his rookie deal for the first time this offseason, and hired Drew Rosenhaus as his new agent back in January. Both Rosenhaus and Bills negotiator Jim Overdorf are in attendance at the annual league meetings in Arizona.
  • Former Giants linebacker Spencer Paysinger could become the latest free agent to make the move from one New York team to the other. According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter links), Paysinger is scheduled to visit the Jets tomorrow.

Giants Re-Sign Spencer Paysinger

Linebacker Spencer Paysinger has accepted his restricted free agent tender from the Giants and is now under contract with the team for 2014, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. The Giants tendered Paysinger for the lowest RFA amount, meaning he’ll be on a one-year, $1.431MM deal.

Paysinger, 25, saw an increased role for the Giants in 2013, starting 11 games for the team and playing both middle linebacker and outside linebacker. The Oregon product graded better playing on the weak side than in the middle, according to Pro Football Focus, whose grades had Paysinger ranked 16th out of 35 4-3 outside linebackers (subscription required).

The Giants have now re-signed 2013 starters Paysinger and Jon Beason, and have added a third free agent linebacker in Jameel McClain.

FA Rumors: Monroe, Ward, Dolphins, Hester

We’ve already passed along one round of free agent rumors this afternoon, but with the 2014 FA period just a few days away from officially getting underway, there will be plenty more items to track in the near future. In fact, we’ve already got another handful of updates to run through:

  • Left tackle Eugene Monroe and the Ravens remain far apart in talks on a new contract, reports Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times. It’s still possible that the two sides could work out an agreement, but it appears unlikely to happen before Monroe becomes eligible to hit the open market and negotiate with other clubs, says Zenitz. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) also hears that the sides are still far apart, though he says there were no new negotiations today, meaning things haven’t gotten any worse.
  • The agent of Browns safety T.J. Ward has released a statement about his free agent client to the Akron Beacon Journal, as Nate Ulrich details. It reads, in part: “With the passing of the franchise/transition tag deadline, we remain open to further discussions with the Browns in working towards a long-term deal and look forward to that possibility. However, if things don’t work out in Cleveland, we likewise look forward to the opportunity that can coincide with becoming an unrestricted free agent.”
  • To the surprise of the players’ agents, the Dolphins have yet to make contract offers to free-agent-to-be defensive tackles Randy Starks and Paul Soliai, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
  • It looks like Ernie Sims won’t return to the Cowboys, according to ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins, who says the team wants to get younger at its backup linebacker spots (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders have tendered contracts to five of their exclusive rights free agents, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Offensive linemen Matt McCants is eligible for the minimum salary for players with one year of NFL experience ($495K), while linebacker Kaelin Burnett, running backs Jamize Olawale and Jeremy Stewart, and cornerback Brandian Ross are eligible for the two-year minimum ($570K). All five players have to accept the tenders if they want to play in the NFL next season.
  • The Buccaneers aren’t expected to tender a contract to restricted free agent tight end Kyle Adams, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. The team would still have the option of trying to re-sign Adams for less than the RFA tender amount.
  • The Bears are making no attempts to sign Devin Hester, meaning the return specialist appears likely to leave Chicago this offseason, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
  • When the Redskins released Adam Carriker today, I wrote that the defensive end would likely have to sign with another team if he hopes to return to the field in 2014, and John Keim of ESPN.com confirms as much (via Twitter). A source tells Keim that Washington won’t re-sign Carriker at a lower price.
  • The Giants have tendered contracts to Spencer Paysinger ($1.431M) and Dallas Reynolds ($570K) while the Browns tendered Craig Robertson ($570K), according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter).